Episode 16 -

Chapter 1

The Williston Northampton School, Long Island, New York

Alex Marks adjusted the backpack strap on his shoulder as he squinted disapprovingly at the sun. "Why can't it just rain?"

"You seriously asking for rain?" a familiar voice asked behind him.

He turned his head to Jade, his best friend. "Yeah, that way you can't go have fun without me."

Jade was tall and gangly, with mahogany skin and short black hair. School rules forced her to wear pants and a collared shirt, but she rebelled by wearing a bright pink hair clip and purple lipstick. Her nails were covered with small stickers depicting cats.

"Is your mom ever going to let you hang out? My dad said he'd drop you off at home safe and sound." Her voice was getting deeper by the day, but it had a melodious quality that Alex found calming.

"No, she's working late again. I have to get back to the house." He stepped out into the sunshine and headed for the buses lined up outside the campus gates.

Jade followed after him. "She's a bit overprotective, don't you think?"

Alex kept his eyes on the ground. "It's not that. I'm just an inconvenience to her."

She put a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, you know that's not true. She's your mom."

He paused but didn't turn. "It's true, though. I know she'd rather be back in D.C."

A taller male student bumped into Jade roughly. "Sorry, fag," he muttered under his breath.

She rubbed her shoulder. "Yeah, no problem," she said bitterly.

Alex whirled around, his eyes narrowed. "What did you say?" His voice rose.

The bigger boy turned. "What?"

Alex's hands clenched into fists. "What did you call her?"

The boy gave him an incredulous look. "Her? You're kidding right? Don't you mean 'it'?"

Jade's cheeks flushed. She ducked her head and started to walk away. "Let's just go," she muttered.

Alex didn't budge. "Apologize to her. Right now."

The boy gave him a calculating look as he folded his arms across his chest. "No."

Jade tugged hard on Alex's sleeve. "Just forget it."

He went with her reluctantly. "You don't have to take that crap," he told her darkly.

"It's fine. Just leave it."

"No, it's the exact opposite of fine." He took a deep breath and let it out to calm himself. "This day just keeps getting better…"

The screaming of tires could be heard by the gate. A sleek black car barreled through the entrance and up onto the grass. People scattered, diving out of its path as it headed straight for Alex and Jade.

Alex shoved Jade to the side hard, then shielded his head with both arms. The car braked bare inches from him.

The Driver's door opened and a man dressed all in black stepped out. He wore dark sunglasses and a leather jacket with a high collar. "Alexander Devon Marks, come with me and no one will be hurt."

Alex lowered his arms. "You're kidding, right?"

The man drew a gun from his jacket as he approached. "I am not." He stopped right in front of him, gun pointed at his head. "Quietly, please."

Alex's eyes narrowed. He lashed out quickly, with a sharp kick to the man's shin. He was knocked off balance. Alex grabbed his wrist with both hands and turned. He could hear his father's voice inside his head, as if he were there coaching him. 'Use their weight against them.' He twisted and threw the man over his shoulder.

He landed on his back on the grass. Alex held his gun with both hands, pointing it at the man's face. 'Always follow through. Don't think about it. Don't take any chances.' He hesitated, his hands shaking.

"Alex?" He looked over at Jade, whose eyes were wide with fright. Her lips quivered as she spoke. "What are you doing?"

There was a ping! behind him and he felt a pinch on the back of his neck. Everything went numb all at once. The gun slipped from his hands as his vision went dark.

Sam got to his feet as Alex tipped over. He caught the boy around his waist and lifted him up. He retrieved his gun and headed back to the Driver's side of the car.

"Wait!" Jade ran up. "Let him go!"

Sam pointed his gun at her and she stopped, her shoes slipping on the grass. She pulled out her phone and began snapping pictures of him and the car as Sam dumped an unconscious Alex into the passenger's seat and drove off.

xxxXXXxxx

F.L.A.G Underground Facility

Kat sat at the table in the kitchen. There was a plate of food in front of her but she wasn't eating. Her attention was taken up by Kevin, who was cleaning out the large refrigerator.

"I don't even want to know what this is..." he muttered as he threw a container into the trash.

"We're just a bunch of savages to you, aren't we?" she asked in amusement.

"More like toddlers." He dumped a plate that contained half a sandwich and what might have once been mashed potatoes.

"Are you missing your old job?"

He gave her an incredulous look. "Are you kidding? I'll take moldy potato salad over used prophylactics and severed limbs any day."

He eyebrows shot up so high they nearly hid in her hair. "Dare I even ask what you were doing before David found you? I'm starting to wonder what personnel records he was reading when he built this team."

He jammed his gloved hands down into the trash can, compacting the contents down so he could add more. "Nah, it wasn't David that found me. I was already working for Knight Industries when he put me on the team."

She sipped her tea delicately. "Go on..."

"There's not much to say. John, Casey, and me were on a smoke break when he comes over to us and asked if we wanted to make an extra ten grand a year." He shrugged. "It wasn't a hard decision."

"Moving into a secret underground facility for five years wasn't a hard decision? What about your family?"

"Don't have one." He turned back to the refrigerator.

"Everyone has a family."

"Not everyone. My parents died when I was little. After that I was in foster care till I aged out." He pulled out half a bag of wilted lettuce and an open container of yogurt.

Kat gave him a sympathetic look. "Sorry."

"Don't be. You can't miss what you've never had." He checked the expiration date on a package of cheese. He gave it a disapproving look and tossed it. "I started working for a cleaning company so I could put myself through school."

"You cleaned crime scenes right? You weren't working for the mob or something, right?" Kat leaned forward in her seat.

He gave her a sidelong glance. "I don't know if I should answer that…" he said shrewdly.

"Kevin!"

He laughed. "Yeah, you got me, I cleaned up crime scenes. Sheesh." He smiled at her warmly, his eyes twinkling. "You're so fun to tease." When he smiled, his cheeks dimpled.

She felt her own cheeks heat up. "Geez, you're terrible."

"I know." He closed the refrigerator door and pulled off his gloves. He let out a heavy sigh.

"Taking a break?"

"Yeah. I'll pull out everything that's still good later on and scrub the whole thing out." He waved his hand at it dismissively, then pulled off his gloves. He stuck them in the back pocket of his coveralls.

"Come over here and sit down with me. Have a snack."

He walked over. "Can I have your cookie?" he asked hopefully.

She picked up the wrapped chocolate chip cookie. "What will you give me for it?"

He patted his front pockets. "Do you smoke?"

"I do not."

"I don't have anything else on me."

Her expression turned sly. "Close your eyes."

He immediately looked suspicious. "Why?"

She held the cookie up. "Do you want this or not?"

He pretended to think it over carefully. "Chocolate chip isn't really my favorite... Now, oatmeal raisin is to die for..."

"I'll just eat this, in that case.". She pulled the cookie away.

"I'm teasing again," he assured her. "Look." He closed his eyes and held out his hand. "Okay?"

She stood up, bracing her hands on the table. She leaned up till she was on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek.

His eyes flew open. She tapped his nose with the cookie and placed it in his hand. "That wasn't so bad, was it?" she murmured.

"Definitely not." He lifted his free hand up, but paused. "I've been thinking about you," he confessed. "A bit."

"What an amazing coincidence."

Ian walked into the kitchen just then. As soon as he spotted the pair he turned around and walked right back out without a word.

Kevin put a hand to the back of her neck and rubbed her cheek with his thumb. "Katherine..."

She smiled. "You can call me Kat." She closed her eyes and kissed him softly.

There was a loud squawk from the radio in his back pocket. He reached for it automatically. He didn't pull away from Kat till it was at his ear. "What?" His voice was sharp. She was surprised by his harsh expression.

The agitated squawking from the radio continued, growing louder. "Of course," he muttered. To Kat he said "Come on. That was Amanda. There's trouble." He turned and headed for the door.

"What kind of trouble?" she asked as she quickly followed him.

"The bad kind."

xxxXXXxxx

Ian sat in K.I.T.T's passenger seat. He had a large book open in his hands. He flipped through the illustrated pages idly. "Are you almost done?" he asked.

"Almost," K.I.T.T answered. "I'm still confused by the alignment system."

"What's confusing about it?" Ian asked. "It's pretty straightforward. Are you having trouble choosing an alignment?"

"No, I've decided to go with Neutral Good, since it matches most closely with my own personality."

"Then what's confusing you?" He shut the book. There was a large, fire-breathing dragon depicted on the cover.

"How can someone be both Lawful and Evil?"

"Oh that's easy. A Lawful Evil character doesn't mean a character that doesn't break the law, though there are those as well. They have their own laws that they hold themselves to, a strict set of rules in which they commit their evil deeds. I'll give you some examples." He pointed up at Charles' office door. "Lawful Good." He pointed at David's office. "Lawful Evil."

"I understand perfectly now."

"Glad to help." HeHe smiled at the dash. "Now pick your class already."

"I'm having even more trouble with that."

Ian sighed and opened the book again. "I thought you were almost done..."

"This game is much different than the others we've played. I understand all the rules, but it's still so open. In AfterShock everything was much simpler."

"That's because AfterShock has clear goals; defeating the other team. This game allows you to come up with your own goals and figure out how to work towards them." He tapped the side of his head. "It requires you to think. Not only that, but to interact with the other players as well. Beyond just shooting them."

"I'll admit that it's a bit difficult."

"Good. We finally have something that can test the limits of your A.I." Ian's smile became a grin.

"So you mean we haven't just been playing games because you're bored?" K.I.T.T asked. "You're testing me?"

"Of course. I want to understand how much you're capable of. Since Pierce is still in holding it's been up to me to determine how I do that." He turned another page in the book. "Do you really think David would just let me fool around and play games if it wasn't also useful?"

"You have a point."

Suddenly red lights came on throughout the Main Lab. Ian looked up at the ceiling. "What the-"

"It seems there are intruders infiltrating FLAG," K.I.T.T observed.

"That's not good." He looked over at the dash. "You're not concerned?"

"No."

Ian relaxed a little. "Well, who's trying to get in?"

The double doors leading in the Main Lab from the upper floor burst open and several armed men and women wearing dark blue jackets entered. They quickly spread out, keeping their guns raised. Last of all was Karen Summers, also dressed in a dark blue jacket. Her expression was one of just barely contained fury. "Where is he?!" she shouted down at the Main Lab.

Every team member's eyes went to David's office door. It opened the next second. David stepped out, his expression calm. "Karen, you didn't tell me you were dropping by."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Where is he, Marks? I don't have time for your games."

One of David's eyebrows arched. "'Marks'? This is serious." He kept his tone placable. "Who are you looking for and why do you think he's here?"

"Stow the crap! I'm talking about Alex! Where is my son?!"

David's eyes widened briefly. He recovered quickly, settling his expression back to one of calm. "What makes you think Alex is here?"

She pulled a cellphone out of her pocket and tossed it to him. "We have pictures of that monster you call a car kidnapping him from school today." Her words were sharp as knives.

David swiped the phone's screen and studied the picture. A black and silver Camaro was depicted, driver's door open. Sam held an unconcious Alex under one arm.

His grip on the phone tightened, threatening the hard plastic. "KARR..." His voice was like the heart of winter.

"You will tell me where he is, or I am taking down this entire facility brick by brick, do you hear me?"

David pocketed the phone. "He's not here. It was someone else that took him, not the Three Thousand."

"Do you really expect me to believe that there are two of those things running around?"

"It's the truth. The other one is working with a rival corporation. He's using technology stolen from us."

Karen's expression was confused now as well as outraged. "Are you saying that Alex was kidnapped by another company?!"

David turned to the Lab. He put his hands on the railing. "What facilities does ROOC have in New York?"

Kai immediately sat at his computer and started typing.

"The Crawler shows a dozen locations in the New York area," K.I.T.T answered. "Offices, factories, warehouses."

"Check traffic cams in those areas for KARR," David ordered. "Start with the warehouses."

Kat hurried through the doors behind Karen. "What's going on?" she asked urgently.

David turned to her. "You have a new mission."