SINS OF THE DAUGHTER

A/N: I do not own or make any profit off of the Airwolf name or any of the characters involved within. My stories are for entertainment purposes only.

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Chapter 3

"I don't believe it. I just don't believe it!" Dominic said as Marella clicked off the VCR and removed the tape from the machine.

"Dom, I actually tend to agree with you on this one but on the other hand, we've been unable to find anything to disprove what she says., " Michael answered as he adjusted his glasses.

"Oh, come on, Michael," Hawke said with exasperation, "You don't really believe that Angelica Horn is willing to turn over evidence implicating her father in any number of illegal activities and that she's trying to become some kind of model citizen. That's preposterous and you know it!"

For the past 30 minutes the group had sat and watched the tape of Archangel's conversation with Angelica Horn that had taken place earlier that morning in his office when she had shown up unannounced at Knightsbridge. During the course of the conversation, Angelica had revealed that she had had enough of her father's criminal activities and that hearing of what he had had done to Caitlin was the final straw for her. So she had come to the spy's office with a peace offering of sorts in hand; several files worth of documents linking her father in several crimes, mostly related to drug and weapons runs in and out of Communist countries. Some files would even give The Firm information on other criminals they had been looking for that John Horn had long been associated with.

"Of course, the first thing we did was have our people check the facts in her files," Marella explained. "Every piece of information she provided to us seems to check out. With this evidence we can guarantee that John Bradford Horn and several of his associates are going to rot in jail for the rest of their lives. As much as I hate to admit it, the information she provided will actually go a long way in making this country a whole lot safer."

"So what does she expect in return? Angelica Horn doesn't do something like this out of the goodness of her heart. She's playing you, Michael…what is she after?" Hawke demanded to know.

The room grew silent as Michael and Marella exchanged knowing glances.

"Out with it Michael!" Hawke said impatiently.

" There is one thing you didn't see on that tape," the spy said as he nervously played with his cane. "About five minutes after Ms. Horn left and we had turned off the recording equipment she returned to my office. She said she had forgotten her glasses, and sure enough they were laying on the edge of my desk, but as she was headed out the door she did say that there was one thing she would like if possible but that it wasn't contingent on her turning over the information. Obviously, as you saw, she had already given us the files."

"Here it comes…" Dom interjected with a grunt.

Taking a deep breath, the spy continued. "She wants to meet with you, Hawke."

Caitlin who had been completely silent from the time the tape had first been turned on finally spoke. "No," was all she said but the forcefulness with which she said it and the steely look in her eyes was enough for everyone to take notice.

"Well of course we didn't directly agree to anything, Cait." Michael responded as he did his best to avoid eye contact with the redhead.

"You didn't directly agree to anything…what the hell does that mean?" Hawke asked as he immediately picked up on the spy's hesitance.

Not wanting her boss to have to face the brunt of what she knew was coming all by himself, Marella stepped in to answer Hawke's question. "While she did give us all of those files that we talked about, there was one more thing she said she could guarantee if you would meet with her…"

"NO!" Caitlin said again as she stood and possessively put her arm around Hawkes waist. "I don't care what it is, she's not getting anywhere near String ."

"Now, Caitlin, you know I wouldn't even consider it if what she had wasn't so damn important", Michael countered.

"Nothing's that important, Archangel," Dom said as he came over and stood next to Cait and Hawke in a show of support.

"I have a feeling you'll think differently when I tell you her offer," Michael said as he brushed his mustache with a nervous hand.

"There is nothing, and I mean NOTHING, Michael that would ever convince me to meet with that woman." Hawke assured the agent.

"Not even a guarantee of Caitlin's safety?" Marella said as she watched the comment register with the young pilot. "She said that if you agreed to meet with her, alone, she would guarantee that no one in her circle would ever come near Cait again, she would personally guarantee it."

"And if I don't?" Hawke asked as the hairs on the back of his neck stood up.

"And if you don't…" Archangel answered as he looked directly into Hawke's ice-cold eyes, "she said you could consider Caitlin as good as dead. And just so you know, I believe her Hawke. She had photos of every place you and Cait have been in the last couple of weeks, including your cabin, and the therapists office. She's evidently had you under constant surveillance. How, I don't know but she's had someone near you at all times from what we can tell. "

"Mamma Mia!" Dom exclaimed as he sat heavily back in his chair with his face in his hands.

"Wait a minute, this doesn't make sense," Cait tried to reason as she struggled to come to terms with what Michael had just told them. "If she had me in her sights all along, why even bother with coming to you and giving you information you can use? Why the charade?"

Nodding her head to show she understood Cait's confusion, Marella tried to explain what the spies had figured out, "We figure that with her father and several of his main associates out of the picture, Angelica can take over her father's organization. By giving us the information, she effectively wipes out any competition to her claim as her father's successor. Also, it was simply her way in to The Firm to see Archangel."

"But you let her go, dammit! Just let her walk right out of your office? What the hell were you thinking?" Hawke demanded to know.

"We had no choice, String. She made it clear that she had left instructions that if she didn't return within the hour, the hit on Caitlin was to be carried out. We couldn't take that chance," Michael explained. "She said she would give you 24 hours to decide and then she'd contact you. I'm sorry, Hawke. "

The room grew silent as the group realized the implications of what had just taken place. Once again, their lives had been thrown into complete turmoil by the Horn family and this time, none of them were sure they would make it out intact.

TBC…..