Airwolf: A Matter of Trust

Part 1 of 2

Hawke heard the gunshot. It was such a loud pop sound that he and Dom nearly jumped out of their skins because they were not expecting it. The two men ran to the outside of the hangar to find out what was going on. When they rounded the corner, Hawke stopped short for a moment to take in the horror before him. Caitlin and his girl friend of six months, Lisa both on the ground, covered in blood. Caitlin was sitting with a gun in her hand. She stared up at him with tears welling in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry," she replied. "I just…."

Hawke couldn't hear her. His mind was focused on Lisa. He ran to her and cradled her in his arms.

"Dom, call an ambulance," he screamed as he tried to comfort Lisa.

Caitlin stood slowly and made her way over to the hangar. She was afraid to look at him but her eyes darted towards him. The look of disgust he gave her broke her heart.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered before running inside.

The place was suddenly as flurry of police and ambulances along with Michael and his people. Lisa was a government informant and the Firm had a vested interest in her. Caitlin was whisked away for interrogation and Hawke followed Lisa's ambulance after being told he wasn't allowed to ride with her.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Back at the Firm, Caitlin was given a change of clothes and allowed to shower before meeting with Michael. She was growing more and more depressed with the chain of events that had occurred. She was quickly ushered into his office where she sat down right after Marella joined them.

"Great job Cait," Michael said with a smile. "My sources say they bought her death. She's on her way out of here and to the witness protection program. You should feel good that not only have you helped give Lisa a new life but you sealed our deal with her. She gave us some pretty interesting information concerning St. John."

"At what cost?" she replied softly. "Hawke thinks I killed her. I'm pretty sure he was in love with her. Will he think it was all a good trade when he finds out the truth?"

"He can't know the truth just yet," Michael warned her. "It would blow everything we've been working on, including our chances to possibly find St. John."

"Michael, you knew I wasn't happy about all of this when you first came to me," Caitlin replied angrily. "I only did it because Lisa begged me and I wanted Hawke to have a chance at finding his brother."

"It all went down successfully," Marella reminded her. "You should feel good."

Tears slowly welled in Caitlin's eyes. "How can I feel good knowing that Hawke hates me," she replied. "He thinks I killed the woman he loved. How do I face him?"

"You don't," replied Michael. "Not yet anyway. We'll rule what happened as justifiable, of course but you need to stay away from Hawke for awhile. We can't risk him knowing just yet. He'll demand we tell him what we know about St. John and he might jump the gun."

Caitlin took a deep breath and stood up. "I want to know what you found out about St. John and I want to know now," she replied.

Caitlin's comment took Michael by surprise. "Okay, okay," he told her. "I guess you deserve to know what we found out."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Hawke sat outside of the Firm's clinic and stared up into the sky. He couldn't make sense of what had transpired. He had enjoyed the six months he'd spent with Lisa. They had gotten close and slowly he was letting his guard down with her.

"String," Dom said softly as he put his hand on Hawke's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"No," he replied angrily. "I can't believe it all ended this way."

"Look String, the report I just got said that Lisa pulled the gun on Cait," Dom carefully informed him. "They struggled with the gun and it went off. Caitlin never meant to kill her."

Hawke stood up and pulled away from Dom. "Damn it Dom," he yelled. "She hated Lisa and you know it."

"Oh come on String," replied Dom. "You know that's not true. Cait wanted you to be happy."

Hawke took a deep breath. "She was jealous," he whispered. "I want her gone. I don't want her to ever come back to the hangar again."

"String, you can't mean that," Dom said sadly. "She doesn't deserve that."

"And Lisa didn't deserve to die!" he yelled as he climbed into the red, white, and blue jeep and took off.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Marellla took Caitlin home later that evening. She walked her up to her apartment door before leaving.

"Are you going to be okay?" Marella asked. She couldn't help but to be concerned about her.

"No, but don't worry," replied Caitlin. "Maybe time will help me find some clarity in all of this."

Marella gave her a slight smile. "Okay," she replied. "If you need anything you know where to reach me."

Caitlin opened her apartment door and sighed. "Thanks," she replied before going inside and shutting the door behind her.

She threw her keys on the table and turned on the kitchen light. It felt like an eternity since breakfast that morning and she hadn't eaten since. Caitlin felt her stomach rumble but she was too squeamish to eat. She knew that she had done the right thing in helping out Lisa but she couldn't help but feel sad about how it was affecting Hawke. The last thing she ever wanted to do was cause him pain. She loved him. She knew it and she figured he did too. But, still, she stepped aside and didn't let on how much his being with Lisa bothered her. Maybe that's why she did it," she thought to her herself. "I was selfish. I wanted her out of the way. It's true and Hawke will see it that way even if she isn't really dead."

Caitlin opened a cabinet door and pulled out a glass. Slowly she poured herself a glass of milk. She felt that she needed something in her stomach before going to bed. She drank it slowly before heading to her bedroom to change. She put the glass on her night stand and sat on the edge of her bed. "What am I going to do?" she asked herself out loud.

"You're going to tell me the truth," Hawke said angrily, startling her.

"Hawke, what are you doing here?" she asked as she jumped up off of the bed.

"I want to know what happened," he demanded. "I know Lisa would never pull a gun on you."

"And I would?" she asked him sarcastically. "You think I wanted to kill her?"

"Maybe," he replied in a short tone. "Weren't you jealous of her and all the time we were spending together?"

Caitlin shook her head. "It was the other way around," he replied. "I thought you knew me better than that."

"I'm beginning to think I knew Lisa better," he said as he grabbed her by the wrist. "Come on, you're coming with me."

"Let me go," Caitlin screamed as she tried to pull away from him.

"Not until I find out why you had to kill her," he demanded. "Let's go."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Caitlin sat quietly after Hawke pulled her into the Santini helicopter and took them up and towards a destination she was unsure of. She watched closely and tried to figure out where they were headed but after awhile her mind drifted and she lost focus.

"How can I admit that it was all a rouse," she thought to herself. "I can't tell him the truth or it might jeopardize everything. But how can I go on letting him believe I'd do this to him?"

An hour later, Hawke slowly landed in a small valley. To her surprise there was a tent and a campfire set up just outside of it.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"Let's just say it's a place that no one can find us," he replied. "No one can trace us here or pick up any kind of signal. I accidently discovered it awhile back. I figured it might come in handy one day. So, if anyone is trying to bug us, they won't hear a thing."

Caitlin studied him carefully. "What are you saying? Why are we here?" she asked apprehensively.

"To get to the truth," he told her, his tone growing angry again.

"I told you the truth," she replied, trying to figure out a way to pacify him.

"Fine, you want to play it that way," he replied. "I'm going inside the tent. The sun is going down and it will be pretty cool out here. If you decide you want to tell me the truth, come inside and join me."

Caitlin sat down on a large boulder just to the right of tent. She shivered as she watched the sun slowly disappear over the horizon. Her heart ached to tell him the truth. She wasn't sure exactly what he wanted her to say. If he thought she killed Lisa, what could she say? Could she admit that she was jealous? Would he believe the story that Michael fabricated about Lisa being jealous?

Caitlin sighed. She had no choice but to go along with Michael's story no matter how much she hated it. The last thing she wanted to do was to hurt Hawke more but it was all Lisa's choice and she had to continue the charade.

She slowly unzipped the tent flap and crawled inside. It was larger than it appeared. Hawke had set up a double blow up bead on one side and two lawn chairs on the other. He was sitting in one of the chairs waiting for her.

"Have a seat," he told her after she came in and zipped the flap closed.

Caitlin slowly made her way over to him and sat. She couldn't look him in the eyes. It pained her too much.

"Tell me what happened," he demanded. "Why would you shoot her?"

"She pulled the gun on me," she lied. "She said she didn't trust me around you. We struggled with it and it went off. I never meant to kill her."

"You're lying!" he yelled as he got up, grabbed her by the wrists and pulled her to her feet. "Tell me the truth! What is really going on?"

Caitlin stared at him. He was holding her wrists so tight it began to hurt. "What makes you think that's not the truth?" she asked, trying to hold her emotions together.

"Lisa became my best friend," he finally said as he released her wrists. "She knew everything about me. I opened up to her and told her things I hadn't told anyone else. She wouldn't do that to you. I know she wouldn't."

"So you think I initiated it all?" Caitlin asked, her hands suddenly beginning to tremble. "I thought you knew me better. All I've ever wanted was for you to be happy. If that meant with Lisa then I would have supported you."

Hawke stared at her. He couldn't help but be angry because he knew she was lying to him. "You've never lied to me before," he finally admitted. "I know Lisa is still alive. The blood I saw was faked. Why? Tell me what's going on!"

Caitlin was shocked by his questions and what he knew. "What are you talking about?" she asked.

Hawke shook his head. The anger inside him was growing but he didn't want to unleash it all on Caitlin. Something told him what was happening was beyond her control.

"Damn it Cait," he replied. "No one is here but the two of us. You can tell me the truth."

"You don't want the truth," she finally yelled back. "You never have."

"What does that mean?" he asked while grabbing her wrists again.

"Let me go Hawke," she replied. "Take me home. You can't keep me here and I'm not scared of you."

Hawke pulled her closer to him. He could feel her shaking. "Aren't you?" he asked softly. "If you aren't afraid then why are you shaking?"

Tears began to stream down her face and she finally gave in. "She wanted to go into the witness protection program," she replied softly. "She begged me to help her. I asked her why she would want to leave you and she said that…."

"She said what?" he demanded.

"She said she didn't love you that way," Caitlin replied in a near whisper as she left the tent.

Hawke followed her outside. The wind was picking up slightly and the breeze gave him a chill.

"Take me home Hawke," she insisted. "You got what you wanted."

"No, I haven't," he replied. "Not yet."

"You wanted to know the truth," she replied. "Yes, she's alive and yes I helped stage her death."

"Why?" he asked bluntly. "Why would you help knowing it would hurt me? What did they promise you?"

"Lisa promised a lot of things to Michael and the Firm," Caitlin replied. "She had some information on St. John."

"Yeah, she told me," he replied softly.

"What?" Caitlin replied angrily. "I put our friendship at risk and you already knew the information she claimed to have? I can't believe this."

"Our friendship was never at risk," he finally admitted. "I figured most of it out in the beginning. I thought it was best that I play along. I'm pretty sure we were being bugged at the clinic and the hangar. I thought it was best to make whoever was listening think I was upset."

"Wait, you said there was no bugs here," she replied angrily. "Why were you acting so angry with me?"

"Because you've never lied to me before," he replied. "I don't like it and I'm angry at Lisa for making you do that. I didn't know they'd use the information on St. John to get to you. She knows that….."

Hawke's voice trailed off. He wasn't sure how to proceed with the conversation. He had it all worked out in his mind how this would all go down but he was losing his nerve.

"She knows what?" Caitlin finally asked.

Hawke moved close to her. He grabbed her arms and pulled her to him, kissing her softly on the lips. Startled, she pulled away and stared at him.

"Take me home Hawke, I'm not your consolation prize," she replied in a near yell.

"I never thought you were," he replied softly. "You've been my main focus for a long time. That's what I was trying to tell you. That's how I knew what happened was a lie. Lisa and I were just friends, nothing more. She knew that I'd know. I guess she convinced Michael otherwise. I'm not sure why. Maybe he wouldn't go along with it any other way."

Caitlin stood and stared at him. She wasn't quite sure how to respond. She'd been played by Lisa who had no intention of lying to Hawke. She thought back to the conversation they had about Hawke and it all finally made sense. "She really didn't love you like that," she said softly. "Now I get why. But why play this game if she knew you'd know the truth?"

"I don't know," he replied. "I guess she thought I'd talk her out of leaving. Maybe I would have. I just don't know."

"Take me home Hawke," Caitlin said again. "This is all just too much for me to handle for one day."

"No," he replied as he moved back towards her and wrapped his arms around her. "It's not safe. If I can sneak in to your apartment unnoticed by Michael's people, so can Lisa's enemies. I'm not taking that chance."

"It's my chance to take," she insisted. "Not yours."

Caitlin felt her heart racing as he held her tighter. She couldn't get his words out of her head. She had been his focus? Why? What did he mean by that? She wanted so badly to learn more but fear took over. "He was right," she thought. She was afraid of him. She had been hiding from her feelings for so long that the thought of him feeling the same way scared the hell out of her for some reason.

"This can go down the easy way or the hard way," he insisted. "But there is no way in hell you are leaving here tonight."