CHAPTER 5

"Come on, String, what is it?"

"Leave it, Dom."

"It can't be that bad," Dominic insisted determinately.

"I don't want to talk about it. We didn't part under the best of terms to say the least, okay? Just leave it at that."

"I…"Caitlin hesitated, then decided she should stay out of this one. Obviously he didn't want to talk about it, and it wasn't her place to know. Whatever it had been was in the past and there was nothing more anyone could do to change that, good or bad.

"Fine, I'll let it be for now," Dom gave in, "but if there is something we should know…"

"If you needed to know I would have told you."

"Russia's coming up in about ten miles and the scope is all clear."

"Go ahead into full stealth mode and I'll drop down into the canyon to avoid radar."

"Where is Lexa supposed to be picked up?" Caitlin inquired.

"Near Tver," Hawke answered, abruptly dropping several feet.

"Don't take it out on the Lady just 'cause you're mad at me."

Hawke ignored Dominic's comment and dropped even further. "Stay on the scopes. I think we may be having company soon."

\A/

Yellow golden fingers of sunlight peeked over the horizon as Lexa paced nervously back and forth. Where were they? Please let them be here soon, she prayed, very soon.

Already she could hear sirens in the distance again and knew the Russian police were on her tail.

"Damn but they're hard to loose," she muttered to herself, pulling her sweater tighter around her body and abandoning all her other belongings other than the information and sample she had retrieved and ran west in search of more cover in the fleeting shadows. How would they even find her? she wondered. She had no coordinates to give them, only a general location, and she was constantly on the move avoiding the law enforcement.

Well, if she didn't come out of this one alive, she'd get what she deserved, Lexa decided. Like her father had said, she was somewhat of a rogue, a maverick, a lone warrior who did whatever was necessary to survive and complete the mission, even at someone else's expense if need be. It wasn't the kindest way of doing things and not always the most tactful, but it got the job done nevertheless. And if she did die, at least she wouldn't be here for the after effects of a global nuclear war, she thought with a self depreciative grin. That was something she didn't want to be around for.

\A/

"You got all scanners on?"

"Everything," Dom confirmed.

"There's a bogie up ahead at two thousand feet, three miles and closing," Caitlin reported.

"Let's see if they spot us."

Caitlin ran the ID and found it was a MiG 23 patrolling their airspace and intending to keep them out.

"Dom, give me full turbos."

"String, we're only at a hundred feet," Dom cautioned.

"Turbos," Hawke repeated.

"You got 'em," the engineer said as he slid the lever up in the back. "Man, I hate it when you do this," he grumbled.

Hardly above the ground, Airwolf skimmed just over the land, stray tree branches occasionally brushing the Lady's belly as they sped by faster than the speed of sound.

"We're past the MiG, now can we slow down so I can actually see what we're looking for?"

Gradually Airwolf slowed a little then he asked for Dom to reengage the rotors.

"Any sign of….her….yet?" Hawke questioned, standoffishly.

"Her does have a name you know. Lexa, I do believe you said, a very nice name is I do say so."

"Yeah."

"What is it you dislike about her so?" Dominic asked. "I've never met her before, but you have to have some reason for not caring for her much."

Hawke remained silent, clearly not intending to share any of his personal reasons on the absolute displeasure of this agent and the mission in general.

Caitlin cast a quick glance in his direction though, trying to see if she could catch some hint by his emotions, but no such luck. They, as usual, were carefully enclosed by the nearly impenetrable mask. All she could tell was that there was something, something major, he didn't want to share, probably felt it was his problem so he should be the only one to have to deal with it. Somewhere below all those defenses she could sense hurt, a sense of vulnerability, something Stringfellow Hawke liked to prove he didn't have. Still, sometime he could be too stubborn and hard-headed for his own good. Not everyone was out to get him, hurt him in one way or another. On the other hand, that same stubborn determination and perseverance was a good part of what had helped him survive all these years and would probably be what brought his brother back if anything did.

"String, what is it? I'm not going to judge you for whatever happened between you two in the past, I just want to know what's eating you like this. I really hate seeing you tear yourself up over these things," Dom persisted, this time more compassionately.

"Dom, I've always been grateful for what you've done for me, but I just don't want to talk about it, with anyone. It's over, and honestly, it doesn't concern you; if I did it would have been five and a half years ago."

"You're punishing yourself over something that happened five years ago? People change, circumstances change. Everything could be different by now."

"Some people just don't change, Dom."

\A/

"Where are they?" Lexa muttered. She risks life and limb after years of faithful service to the FIRM …..maybe she did cause a few problems, but… and they can't even get their extraction team here on time."

"You," a voice behind her said. "We've been looking for you."

Spinning around suddenly, Lexa came face to face with Dimitri, the leader of one of the groups that was after her.

\A/

"Hey, I think I've got something," Dom reported from the engineer's console in the back. "Two hundred yards ahead near that alleyway."

"What's she doing in the middle of the city? She's going to be waiting a while if she expects us to pick her up there."

"Wait a minute. She's not alone."

"What do you mean she's not alone! She said it was just her and she is the only one coming; we don't have the room or the weight capacity for anyone else, and if I had my way we'd leave her too."

"You can't just leave her," Caitlin spoke up now. " Her life would still be in danger for stealing the stuff."

"She's deserve it," Hawke spat, anger and temper flaring, "she would deserve every bit of whatever they would do to her, every little bit."

"String!"

"I mean it, every word of it."

"What has gotten into you? She doesn't deserve to die just because you're mad at her."

Hawke offered no rebuttal, but fury and rage visible seethed through him.