Airwolf Legacy

Chapter Sixteen

Twenty minutes later, as Hawke ran through the evacuated Palace, the pull at his shattered breaking heart was almost beyond imagination, she was here, somewhere in this maze of corridors and lavish gold adorned rooms, she lay on the floor broken and bleeding, waiting for him to come and rescue her, to take her home. The knot in the pit of his stomach tied even tighter as the closer he got to her, the fainter her life seemed to be. He was losing her.

The corridor split off now, the trail of blood led up the stairs but the drag marks on the floor to the left told them they were down that way. Just for the merest instant, in his mind, Hawke saw her tumbling down the stairs with her brother standing over her.

There was more blood on the floor where she landed, it was smeared on the marble floor. As the drag-line began, the trail of crimson spread out from it on the right and another trail lay right in the middle where her head had been. As Hawke and Archangel walked through the palace, nothing could be heard, even the air was deadly silent.

Kristien’s body lay bloodied and naked, discarded on the floor. Her limp lifeless body covered in copious amounts of her own blood, dried, congealed and smeared over her, the pool of blood stretching out from her, like a lagoon. Archangel paused at seeing her battered naked body, knowing for his part, he had allowed this to happen, as if he had beaten her physically himself. Hawke dropped to his knees beside Kristien. He saw her chest rise and fall. She was somehow, clinging to life.

“Oh Kristie……oh baby…..it’s alright, I am here.” Hawke picked up Kristien’s bloody body, soaking his flight suit immediately.

“Ssssssttttrrrinnng.” Kristien whispered with a dry raspiness.

“Michael, help me.” Hawke called to Archangel. “Oh God…..Kristie you stay with me, please.” Hawke kissed Kristien’s blooded forehead. Her skin was very cold. He rocked her gently in his arms. She was so cold. How the hell can he help her? He needed a doctor, fast. Kristien would be the one to ask in a situation like this. Hawke had an idea.

Archangel stood in the doorway watching the scene play itself out. He couldn't believe that after all Stringfellow and Kristien had gone through the possibility that she was going to die was hanging heavily in the air around them.

Archangel grabbed a silk tapestry that was hanging on the palace wall and handed it to Hawke. Hawke covered Kristien’s fragile naked bloodied body with it. The tapestry instantly started to soak up the blood like a sponge. Hawke scooped up Kristien’s delicate body and carried her through the Palace. Archangel held his gun out ready to fire at anything that came across their path.

Hawke laid Kristien down in the back of the EDCC. Dominic was shocked at the state of Kristien.

“Dom, turn up the heating in the Lady.” Hawke quickly bandaged both of Kristien’s wrists that were still bleeding badly.

“String we are in the middle of the desert here, the air con is the only thing keeping us cool.” Dominic protested.

“Kristie has lost so much blood she is freezing.” Hawke told him.

“Oh ………..okay.” Dominic paused. “You want me to find the nearest hospital?”

“No.” Hawke replied. “Contact Doctor Parsons.”

Hawke gently caressed Kristien’s cheek. “Kristie……come on baby, please wake up, I need your help.” Hawke needed her. He needed her to wake up to help him help herself. If he thought about it hard enough maybe he could get through to her. How he wished she had taught him to do an IV when he had the chance.

Kristien stirred and opened her eyes. One of her eyes was full of blood. The dim lighting of the EDCC allowed Kristien to focus on Hawke who was holding her. Hawke produced a weak smile holding back the desperate tears that wanted to fall. “Hey, that’s my girl.” Hawke knew he had to stabilise Kristien’s condition before he would be able to use Airwolf’s turbo’s to get her to the medical help that she so desperately needed. He was taking a calculated risk delaying getting her to medical help. Hawke knew he needed to replace Kristien’s blood loss. He was hoping that she had not lost more than thiry percent. Dominic held the medical kit that Doctor Parsons packed up for them. Hawke took the morphine and put one of the syringe’s into Kristien’s thigh. As it took effect Kristien became a little more lucid. He noticed Kristien’s breathing was rapid. He had to replace the blood loss and quickly too.

Hawke smiled at the reaction that he got. “Hey, that’s better. Now you need an IV and I have no idea how to do this.” Hawke held up the catheter to Kristien. He guessed that her field of vision was no more than 12 inches. Kristien weakly held up her left hand which was swollen, cut and bruised from the restraints that she had been kept in. Hawke held her right hand which was equally bruised and placed the catheter on top. Kristien somehow managed to get the catheter and insert it into her vein on her right hand first time. Hawke quickly attached the warmed saline and opened up so it would flow quickly. He hooked it up at the back of the EDCC. He quickly taped down the catheter.

“Dom, contact Doctor Parsons and find out how much blood we need to give.” Hawke told him wrapping two thermal blankets around Kristien. “Make sure we are on one hundred percent oxygen in here.”

“Sure thing String.” Dominic replied.

“Laptop.” Kristien whispered.

“You want the laptop baby?” Hawke opened up the port storage bin and got out Kristien’s laptop that she kept in Airwolf in case she needed to do anything when in flight with Airwolf. “You want me to plug it into Airwolf.”

“Yes.” Kristien whispered.

Hawke looked up at Dominic. “Keep an eye will you. I have no idea what she’s up to but at least it will keep her awake.” Hawke was not going to argue with Kristien, not when she was like this. The morphine and the saline had somehow helped bring her back to some kind of consciousness and if she was concentrating on what ever she was now doing then that too would help keep her on this earth and not to the darkness that was creeping in, inviting her to a place of peace and pain free existence.

“And Dom.” Hawke looked directly at Dominic. “Remove the lid of the Lady. We need Mach Two all the way.”

Dominic raised his eyebrows and looked down at the state of Kristien. He did not want to even think at what had happened to her in the past twenty hours. Dominic nodded. “Well you gotta give Kristien something to kick your butt over when she gets better.” Dominic tried to remain positive and smiled down at Kristien who was weakly typing into the laptop.

“Give me a bullpup.” Hawke requested.

Dominic selected the weapons. “You got it.”

Airwolf took off and Hawke flew her up in the air, hovered and turned around to face where he had just come from. He pressed the button and below the ADF pod released a Bullpup missile towards the Palace, where Kristien had been beaten within an inch of her life. Hawke watched with little satisfaction at the fireball that erupted down below him. Archangel sat quietly in the co pilots seat. His eyes watched the air speed of Airwolf go over Mach Two. Would Airwolf hold together to get Kristien back? He was glad that Kristien had overhauled Airwolf before this trip. Certainly Kristien would have her work cut out for her when she woke up, if she woke up. Airwolf’s turbines would probably all need replacing after this manic flight home.

Airwolf landed at Kristien’s Estate with most of the alarms going on at the EDCC. Doctor Sarah Parsons met the helicopter with her medical team and a gurney. Hawke scooped up Kristien and placed her gently down on the gurney. The Doctors held on to the IV carefully. Doctor Sarah Parsons looked at the ECG readout from Airwolf. Kristien was still tachycardic.

“We gave her everything you packed for us.” Hawke told the awaiting Doctors and Dominic gave over the medical bag that Doctor Parsons had packed for them, just in case they needed it. They had.

“Get sixteen units out of Kristien’s blood.” Doctor Parsons spoke into her radio. “We have a long night ahead of us.” She told Hawke, she looked at the catheter. “Well done for getting her here alive.” They all ran in pushing the gurney inside and went straight in to the resuscitation room to stabilise Kristien before operating on her.