Airwolf And I, Vice Versa

Chapter Sixteen

The hangar at Kristien’s estate was full of Airwolf parts that had been taken off and replaced by new ones. Various panels of Airwolf were still open. Dominic was occupying himself with an open panel on Airwolf and polishing the panel before closing it. The over haul had taken but only 10 days. He had watched Kristien and Hawke become very close. They were back to their ‘telepathy’ again. Kristien had installed passive deflectors, touch screen monitors, a high powered blu ray, as well as a few other things on Airwolf, including being able to make the windows dark to light and vice versa.

“So you er you know, gonna stay behind?” Dominic asked Hawke directly.

Hawke looked up at Dominic polishing Airwolf, watching every stroke that he did. “Well we’ll get the Lady back to the Lair and then I will fly back on concorde and stay. I have access to Kristien’s account for Concorde so we can fly back and forth.” Hawke told the elderly italian. “I need to have a chat with Kristie first.”

Dominic opened his eyes wide hoping it maybe a marriage proposal at long last. Over the weeks he had spoken to Alfred and got to know Kristien’s life story very well. Dominic and Hawke had gone to London a few days before to meet with Archangel as well as see the sights and to do some shopping. Dominic had enjoyed seeing London again and how it had changed from the war days.

“Oh a chat you say.” Dominic winked over at Hawke.

“Dom.” Hawke tried to shrug off Dominic’s persistance. Hawke was shy in public but in private with Kristien he showed his emotions off and was proud of them. Deep deep down Hawke was an idealistic romantic and he enjoyed being with Kristien and doing little surprises for her, including a picnic the day before which he had organised with Alfred and took Kristien riding over the estate and then spent the afternoon under a huge old english oak tree where they had made love again.

Hawke walked down to the gallops and one of the training area for the horses at Kristien’s estate in his Airwolf flight suit. Carsten was in his usual place next to the huge arena watching Kristien with the show jumping stallion that had been troublesome a couple of weeks before. There were eight showjumps all set around five feet to six feet, some uprights and some with spread of six feet also. He watched as Kristien and the stallion jumped the fences with relative ease. Carsten looked Hawke up and down as he too paused to watch the training session.

“You’re leaving and so soon.” Carsten noted the look on Hawke’s face. He had watched Hawke solidly for over two months with Kristien at his side so he had got to know when Hawke wanted to say something.

“Thought you would be celebrating with fireworks on that one.” Hawke replied knowing that Carsten hated every second Hawke and Dominic were on the estate. More over he hated Hawke and made no bones about showing it.

“So we don’t hear from you for over five years, then you breeze in, get what you want and your leg over also, then fly off again. Nice job if you can get it.” Carsten spat vindictively. “God you really piss me off.”

Hawke could not believe what had just been said to him and took off his sunglasses to look Carsten in the eye.

“What the fuck’s it to do with you?” Hawke stared at the dressed in black man reminding him that he was just the hired help around the estate.

“I am the one that has to pick up the pieces you bastard.” Carsten removed his sunglasses and looked Hawke stone cold in the eye. Hawke was surprised that Carsten took him on as all the other times, Carsten had backed down. But here on the ground, with in the walls of Kristien’s estate, they were on equal footing.

Neither man looked away keeping the eye contact and just about their tempers.

“What pieces?” Hawke shouted with gritted teeth breaking the stand off between them.

Carsten put his glasses back on and started to walk away. “Why don’t you ask her.” He pointed to Kristien who was still jumping the horse. “You say you know her, but do you really?” Carsten paused an looked directly at Hawke. “If you knew her, really knew her you would not be so cavailer about drifting in and out of her life.”

Hawke looked at Carsten knowing he was right.

“Oh fuck I am right about you two aren’t I! You haven’t talked…….ever!” Carsten could not believe that for once he was right and walked towards Hawke. “Oh God in heaven, I can’t believe this.” Carsten was amazed that he knew more about Kristien than Hawke. “You really don’t know about her do you other than what the report said about her.”

“She is a very private person.” Hawke replied weakly.

“You ever read Persuasion?” Carsten asked Hawke not quite believing the coincidences of the classic to this particular situation.

Hawke thought for a moment, he could remember, painfully remember, the high school sweet heart, his girlfriend, his fiancee, who he loved before going to Vietnam, who died in the car crash that he survived, had read it to him in their last summer together. Hawke felt the deep brooding curse start to bubble inside of him.

Carsten looked at Hawke and saw a vulnerbility that he had never seen before. Part of him wanted to take advantage of this weakness that had shown itself, the chink in the armour plate that Hawke wore on a daily basis, this would probably get rid of the flyboy once and for all. Instead of going in for the kill Carsten did something that he would probably regret for the rest of his life, but as he looked at Kristien jumping the horse he felt an overpowering urge to help Hawke and maybe this would allow Kristien to get over her past and move on.

“Why don’t you take her for a ride in that souped up black helicopter you have borrowed from the FIRM and actually find out about each other. You know talk, I know you are not big on talking but hell your telepathy between you pair misses out a hell of a lot you know.” Carsten suggested and walked away and then stopped. “Hawke.”

“Yeah?” Hawke replied putting his sunglasses back on hiding the deep brooding eyes that were filling up with tears.

“Just take her and guard her with your life.” Carsten told him. “Oh and Hawke, if anything happens to her don’t bother coming back alive, you hear.” Carstens warning to Hawke was received.

“I understand.” Hawke told him remembering the last time he was allowed to take Kristien ‘off base’ which ended up a trip to Libya. Carsten was never going to let him forget that.
Carsten walked off to not only chase up the delivery of the new artic trucks but to see if the sports cars had been mended, Kristien would be needing them and soon.

Kristien was finishing up with the stallion and only caught Carsten walking off from Hawke. Would those two ever stop their egos clashing, she thought to herself. Hawke walked over on the all weather surface waiting for Kristien to finish. Kristien cantered over and circled Hawke, bringing the stallion to a standstill. The horse stood happy with what he had just done and waited for his next instruction. Kristien patted the horse on the muscular neck. Hawke walked over to Kristien. The horse stood over 17 hands and Kristien looked tiny on board, totally over horsed but what he had just witnessed proved otherwise.

“Is this the stallion that got away the other week?” Hawke remembered that incident where Kristien just walked up to the rearing stallion that had knocked over its handler, galloped through a whole yard of stables and had evaded a couple of other grooms, knocking them to the ground also. Hawke knew enough about horses and especially entires that you always treated them with respect. Kristien had ignored all of the hooves and just walked up to the horse and stood calmly getting hold of the rope when the horse tried to canter off with her holding on, in the blink of an eye, Kristien turned the horse with ease, standing it up and becoming in charge of it without a fight. He thought she was fearless.

“The very same.” Kristien was pleased with the horse and how she had got him to channel all his frustrations back into his work. “What’s up?” Kristien felt Hawke’s sadness.

“Come fly with me?” Hawke told her.