Knight Rider

Remember The Knight

Part I
By Ldydeb

The Foundation for Law and Government was a bustle of activity.  Michael and KITT drove through its gates, both feeling very glad to be home.  Michael was eager to know the news on Salina Kirk's recovery.  It had been only a few weeks since he'd seen her in the hospital.  He had been shocked to find that her injuries had been more extensive than Devon had led him to believe while he was busy chasing the monster that had been responsible for putting Salina in the hospital.  Michael had come to visit her only to learn that her mind had not only locked away memories of him, but also over two years of her life.  As if protecting her from herself – her sanity – her conscience buried anything and everything to do with Patrick Judson and his brutal enslavement of her.

It was hoped that through therapy, medication and hypnosis that the doctors could help her recover her memory in a safe environment yet not cause her to become unstable.  Devon especially was hopeful; and not just because he needed her testimony to convict Patrick's accomplices, but also because he had become fond of the woman.  Devon had admired her investigative talents – talents that had been displayed in the reports Selena had done for her former company, Judson International before Patrick had stolen it from his father.  Michael realized that He and Devon shared a great feeling of guilt and failure for the way they had mishandled the Judson case from the beginning.  They both knew, like Selena had so painfully accused them, that if her sisters had stayed at the Foundation that fateful day, like she had begged, they would not have fallen into harm's way; and, she would not have been forced by Patrick Judson to kidnap Michael and steal KITT.  He and Devon had promised to protect her and her sisters if she cooperated in their investigation.  Instead Patrick cruelly drove Selena to the brink of insanity, faking Michael Knight's death to convince Selena she was helpless and alone.  Then just as she learned the truth and was about to be rescued by the very much alive Michael Knight; and her sisters were safe and unharmed; Selena was pushed over the side of a cliff.  Michael had been sent out on another assignment to chase down monsters while Selena suffered and then mended from the physical injuries of her ordeal.

As Michael entered the outer offices of the Foundation, he was greeted with the scent of wild jasmine.  His eyes caught sight of a shapely figure bent down under a desk in front of the door that led to Devon's office.  Only her long Auburn hair, simply braided down her back was visible.  His urge was to reach out and smother her with a million grateful-she-was-alive kisses.  Instead, he cleared his throat, "Hello?  Excuse me."

Bright emerald eyes rose out from where the woman knelt.  A smile lit up her face – gone were the bruises around her eyes, the bloody lip.  The only evidence of her abuse:  A thin ragged line, a scar, running down the very outside edge, from her ear along the bone resting faintly in the hollow of her cheek.  Selena replied, "Hello again, Mr. Knight, nice to see you.  Devon has been very impatient in waiting for you."

Concern heavy in his voice, Michael asked, "How are you, Selena?  Last time we were together you were still in the hospital."

Selena tried to remain professional; but her smile faded, her eyes averted Michael's and her hand self-consciously tried to cover-up the hated injury when she realized where Michael was looking.  She misinterpreted his look of concern for a look of pity.  She knew Devon Miles had been a friend of her former employer, Patrick Judson Senior – a man she could barely remember but knew had something to do with the accident that left her battered and missing a good chunk of her past.  Every time she tried to bring up a memory the result was disastrous. 

There was something very familiar about the man who stood before her desk.  She remembered him talking to Devon while she was in the hospital.  Bonne and a nurse had been helping her get used to her crutches.  Selena noticed Michael – a split second she saw herself standing outside, drenched from the rain and this man throwing his jacket around her shoulders and then putting her into this weird, sci-fi car.  Nothing else connected.  Selena didn't know why she was walking in the rain or where the man had taken her after that.  When she tried to think about it more, her head became an electrical field of pain, shooting sparks behind her eyes and down her neck.  But as she watched Devon talking to him, her heart felt warm and tender.  She knew she wanted, needed to meet him. Then Devon had explained who Michael was and from her sisters she learned that it was he who had rescued them from the man she could not remember.  Her heart told her there was more to Michael Knight – their relationship to each other than just him coming to save her sisters. 

Now as he stood before her desk, her initial reaction had been one of pleasant surprise – excitement to see him.  Then she found him looking at the scarred side of her face.  She was both ashamed and irritated at him because he knew how she got the hated thing and she could not stand what she thought was his pity.  Ignoring his stares, she responded to his greeting, "I'm fine, Mr. Knight.  I hear congratulations are in order.  Devon is very excited about the success of the operation this time."

Michael wanted to pull her hand away from her face, tell her that she was still very beautiful.  Instead he politely inquire, "How are Jazz and Tina?"

Worry appeared in Selena's manner as she replied, "Better than I am.  They have been talking to therapists Devon arranged."  She spoke in a tone that said she was both grateful and ashamed, "I don't know why he has been helping us like this.  I may not remember much, but from the stories I've heard I am as much to blame as this Patrick Jr."  The name rolled off her tongue like it was dirty, hated.

Michael fiercely replied, looking deeply into her green eyes, "That is not true, Selena!  No One! And I mean No One will ever blame you!  You are not responsible for anything that happened!"

Selena studied Michael closely, absorbing his strength into her own.  A very tiny smile appeared, "Devon is waiting for you in his office.  Are you ready?"

Michael nodded.  He waited, resisting the urge to reach out to help Selena.  It took a few minutes for her to rise up from the floor.  Her right leg encased in a walking cast up to her knee.  Her hand reached out for the cane she kept behind a nearby filing cabinet.  Her ability to get around with it had improved a great deal since Michael's last trip home.  Michael was pleased and proud of her as she led him slowly down the corridor to Devon's office.

Coming into the familiar office, Michael found Devon drowning in files and paperwork.  His desk was covered with a mass of colored folders.  Gone was the distinguished, no-nonsense very organized man.  Around the room lay a sea of boxes, some taped and ready to move, some empty and waiting to be filled, some half-filled, and some filled to over flowing.  Inside them were computer reports, disks, photographs, old books and an array of items that waited to be packed, labeled, and stored.  Michael asked, amusement thick in his voice, "What is all of this?"

Devon had just finished going through his thousandth case file, trying to decide whether it was old, closed out forever, needed to be pitched, needed to be stored on computer disk in order to reduce what was kept in the main offices of the Foundation and which were to be moved to storage.  He looked up from underneath the mess and grimaced, "OH.  Hello, Michael.  Ask HER what I'm doing.  This woman is more of an organizer than I am!"

Selena watched her new employer closely.  Though he was grumpy she knew he was pleased with the way she worked and her ideas about making The Foundation run more efficiently; to be able to reduce the administrative budget so that the funds could be given to Bonnie for KITT and for Michael.  She met his grumpy tone with one of concern, "Devon, you have been going through these files since 8 o'clock this morning!  Time to stop for lunch."  She hobbled over to a long table on the side wall where a coffer maker sat surrounded by tea cups with matching saucers, a small pitcher of milk; a bowl of freshly cut slices of lemon, a metal container of tea bags, another with little bags of sugar, and a platter of pastries.  The coffee maker's pot was not filled with coffee, but hot water.  Selena gently withdrew a saucer and teacup; filled the cup with a tea bag and hot water; added a dribble of milk to the cup; and began the trek across the room to a cleared conference table.

Devon watched, already tasting the heavenly, soothing brew.  He instructed, "Selena, please bring that here.  I want to finish this…"

Selena set the cup down and interrupted, hobbling over to his desk, "I don't think so, Devon.  You need a break and to talk to Michael.  She lifted the file from his hands and then tapped his shoulder.  "…rise, and I'll arrange for something more healthy than those fat filled, sugared things over there."

Michael held himself from laughing.  He would bet that Devon had not expected Selena to take over after he took her on to be his assistant.  Devon didn't even argue, just rose and meekly let Selena guide him to the table.  Michael's laughter ceased when Selena turned on him and demanded, "Michael, when was the last time you ate a decent meal?"

From Michael's wrist came KITT's voice, "About a month ago, Miss Kirk.  And good for you!  My sensors tell me both Devon and Michael need some nourishment."

Selena heard the voice and looked about to see who had spoken to her.  For a second she thought she had lost her mind, until Michael spoke, bringing his wrist communicator to his mouth, "I eat, KITT!  Cut it out!"

Selena's brow wrinkled in confused recognition as she questioned, "That's…That's KITT?"  Her eyes remained puzzled; her mind however flashed a picture of herself speaking to the communicator, of hearing KITT's voice.  A brilliant, painful static invaded her thoughts, the result a twisting inside her brain – her temple pounding against her skull.  In pain she reached to her forehead, her free hand reaching to steady herself against the edge of the table.  Her stomach wanted to expel its contents, her legs threatening to crumble beneath her.

Michael was across the room and at her side before Devon, who was closer to her could reach out to steady her.  Michael felt her lean into him, her free hand reaching to his arm.  The pain left as quickly as it appeared, Selena smiling slightly in embarrassment at her rescuer.  Breathing away the rest of the attack, she joked, "Guess I could use to eat too."

Devon asked, "Did you remember something?"

With a grimace, Selena indicated, "Almost," with a nod of head.

Devon asked, "It brought another attack?"

Selena replied, "I'm fine, Devon.  Thank You."  She looked back at Michael's wrist and sighed, "that's how you talk to The Knight Industries Two Thousand, isn't it? Devon and Bonnie told me about you and your friend, Michael.  I guess…I just didn't…remember"  Her tone was anxious.  Her mind tried to open up again only to cause more pain.  Shaking away the troubling thoughts, she stood up from the chair and excused, "I'll be back with lunch."  Before Michael could say anything, express concern or sympathy, Selena took a firm hold of her cane and ran out of the office.

Michael turned to Devon as the door closed behind her.  Before he could ask, Devon remarked, "No, Michael.  She is not completely well.  When she tries or something becomes familiar, it causes her great pain.  Dr. Lindel advised that was to be expected.  The trauma of the events too recent for her to feel safe in remembering them."

Michael's irritation was evident.  KITT asked, "Then why was she released from the hospital?"

Devon explained, "Because she's not in any danger of hurting herself or anyone else.  Other than the amnesia, she's perfectly healthy."

Michael remarked dryly, "Real perfect!  She can't walk without help!"

Devon laughed, "I wouldn't try to help her, if I were you, Michael.  You saw her just now!  I don't know who runs this office any more…me or her and I'm having a hard time coming up with good excuses of why I haven't sent her on an assignment."

Michael was bewildered, "You mean she wants to be like ME!  Go chase after the scum of the earth!"

Devon replied, "Very much so, Michael.  As soon as she's off that cane, she wants me to arrange for her to train at the Los Angeles Police Academy.  She already has a degree in criminal justice and forensic science from UCLA.  I believe that was why Judson Senior hired her in the first place.  He needed someone he could completely trust and knew how to do criminal investigations."

Michael replied, "But look where it got her!"  Her wanted her to stay safely behind Foundation walls!  He wanted her to a "mom" to her sisters!

Understanding Michael's thoughts, Devon responded, "I did try to talk her out of it.  Bonnie even tried.  I told her she was needed more here, helping me."  Looking around at the project Selena had started, knowing how much she had already accomplished in the short time she had worked. Devon continued, "And as you can see, that was not a lie!  I didn't realize how much I needed an assistant until now.  I don't know what I'll do when she goes to the other side."

Michael remarked, "Then don't let her, Devon.  You don't have to let her become a Foundation investigator!"

Selena came through the doors at that moment, directing another woman who was dressed in a housekeeper's uniform and pushing a cart filled to overflowing with food.  Selena had heard the tail end of the exchange between Michael and Devon.  She spoke up, "Thank you, Mrs. Greenly.  I'll bring you the cart when we're finish.  Would you please send a basket over to the lab for Bonnie and her team?  I'm sure they are ready to take a quick break."

When the woman had gone, Selena turned to Devon and suggested, "I'd try the fruit salad, it looks heavenly."  She turned away, saying, "I'll go back to my little, safe desk where I belong, now."  The words were said with ridicule.  She hobbled past a cabinet and stopped in front of a bin that read "New" on the outside.  She fingered through the red folders reading through the labels.  A small satisfied smile appeared as she pulled a folder from the pile.  She approached the table, stopping between the two men who wanted to over-protect her.  She laid the file open.  She informed, "This is about an organization that offers desperate pregnant women a place to go for help, only to get them to sign away their children into a private adoption.  Looks legitimate, except that there are no records of the mothers, no records of where the children have gone, no records of their funding or expenses.  The girls go to a building in the valley, told they will be taken to a halfway house somewhere in the mountains where they will be fed, clothed, taught job skills, employment counseling, medical care, after care, and the choice to keep their babies with help afterward either way."

Devon remarked, "Sounds like a wonderful organization, Selena.  What interest would the Foundation have with this?"

Selena remarked, "I wasn't sure at first, Devon.  Until I discovered that the girls who have gotten on the bus for the halfway house have never returned.  The other odd thing is that several of these girl's families report getting letters for the first few weeks and then nothing.  When the organization is asked about the women, a document is presented with her signature giving up her child and a report on how she left the house for a new job far away."

Michael replied, "I'm not surprised, Selena.  I imagine it would be hard to come home without your child."

Selena retaliated, "Michael, hear me!  All of the girls signed away their children.  None of them have been heard from since – including the teenagers – the ones who haven't even graduated high school yet!  When the families try to use the supposed new address to reach the girl, the information is bogus.  Wrong phone number, no such person at this address.  Yet this organization's bankbook is very healthy and they've been making private shipments of something in the middle of the night and no one is doing inspections on the cargo.  There's no logs or manifests filed – nothing!"

Michael and Devon chorused, "How…"

Selena laughed, "Let's just say after we got this letter with this article inside it, I did a little background work."  She handed Devon the letter and Michael the article detailing the gruesome murder of a young woman on a mountain road near where the halfway house was located.  She then walked away, commenting, "It will be very interesting watching you get into this one, Michael.  Can KITT fake a pregnancy test?  I'm sure Bonnie and I can come up with something to disguise you as a woman."  She stopped by the cart of food, dished herself a plate of fruit.  She halted her movements and looked into the air wistfully.  "It's shame The Foundation doesn't have some able-bodied, trained female investigator for this.  She'd be able to get in with no problems."  Michael tried to speak, but Selena turned away from him, balancing her full plate in one hand and her cane in the other.  Without so much as spilling a drop, Selena made the distance from the cart to the door.  Michael waited for her to ask for help.  The door was closed and he knew there was no way she'd be able to open it with both hands full.

Devon had already lost this battle with her.  He refused to be put in his place by that young woman again.  He busied himself with the report she'd given him while enjoying his tea.

Michael crossed the room toward the door, stopping by the food tray.  He wanted to be close enough to help should she need it.  He too however had learned that Selena could be very stubborn to her own detriment.  She wanted so badly to keep proving that she didn't need anyone; she could "save" herself, that she ended up getting herself into trouble.  A smile came to him as he remembered a glass sailing at his head the last time he tried to talk sense to her.  He pulled a lid off a heated platter to discover a piping hot shredded steak, mozzarella, mushroom, onion, and pizza sauce on a soft "hoagie-style" bun.  It was the same sandwich he'd ordered the day he and Selena had taken her sisters shopping.  When he looked up she was smiling at him in self-satisfied amusement.  She supplied, to his questioning eyes, "I don't know why, but I had a feeling this would get you to eat."  She hooked her cane to her stiff wrist holding her plate.  She quickly opened the door and without using it stepped gingerly into the hallway.  Before closing the door, she added, "By the way, there are a few photographs you should take a look at.  One is of a certain captain of the Port Authority and a Vice President of Federal Union Bank exchanging envelopes.  There's a very scared and very young girl standing between them dressed as a hooker – a very bad hooker.  She can't be more than 15!  And, She looks a lot like the girl in photo #2.  Then again, what do I know?  I'm just a crippled secretary!"  She walked away allowing the door to slam behind her.

Michael rejoined Devon by the table.  Devon handed him the information.  Michael remarked, admiration and contrition in his voice, "This is not the same woman I met three months ago, Devon."  But images of her talking about fighting the system twice to become her sister's guardian, of her racing him to KITT, and of her daring to help him get information for his case against Patrick Judson came to mind.  He recalled witnessing first hand the tactics Patrick used to destroy Selena – things that Selena's mind had to erase in order to keep her sane and bring back the woman she used to be.

Devon replied, "Don't be fooled, Michael.  She is still on shaky ground.  Her temper is very short and at times violent.  But she is right, there is no way we can investigate this without help."

Michael replied, "I would agree except that she's still on that cane and still untrained.  She needs to be able to defend herself."

Devon agreed, "I know, Michael.  There is this project I can use to keep her here for awhile, but…"

Michael smiled, an idea floating through his head, "That is not what I am saying.  I want to train her.  Teach her what I know, help her build her strength."

Devon cautioned, "But what if something triggers her memory?  That could be very dangerous."

"She's already accepted me, Devon.  If I were going to cause her problems, they would have happened by now.  I think she trusts me deep down."

"That maybe, Michael, but you'll have to be very careful.  She has medicines to take and therapy to keep up with," Devon spoke understanding what Michael was suggesting.

Michael added, "Jasmine and Tina will need to be taken care of"

Devon agreed, "Not a problem, Michael.  They are staying with another of Selena's Aunts.  Do you remember when she told us about family living outside of San Francisco?  She was not lieing.  Jasmine and Tina are there until Lennox's trial begins."

Michael gave Devon a questioning glance.  Devon answered, "Yes, they have to testify, Michael.  Lennox's lawyers are contesting the kidnapping, murder, and attempted murder charges.  He claims Patrick and Selena duped him.  They were blackmailing him into cooperating.  He even produced a tape with Selena's voice seducing, then threatening him."

Michael took hold of the table, his sandwich becoming an unwelcome morsel in his mouth.  "But Jasmine and Tina?  What do they know?  Why do they have to get on the stand?  Why can't they just be interviewed by the judge?"  He remembered the first few nights after Selena went into the hospital.  Both he and Bonnie sat by the beds of the girls helpless to prevent the nightmares.  Michael wanted to kill the detective grilling Tina about her experiences.  She had sought safety inside his arms, weeping how she wanted to see Selena.  "Does Selena know?"  Michael asked.

Devon replied, "She knows, Michael.  She knows it is the only way to get Lennox and the few other thugs of Patrick's behind bars."

"When?"

"Not for a few weeks.  Trust me.  The Girls are in very good hands between Selena's family and the therapists I've arranged for.  I've also promised Selena that I would not let them take the stand if they might be harmed."

Michael swallowed a little of the lemonade he'd poured himself.  He smiled and took another taste.  He commented, "I'm gonna take her away from here."

"No, Michael.  She needs to stay close.  I told you!"

Michael replied, "I know!  I mean out of the mansion.  There's got to be somewhere on the far edge of this property where we can go."

Before Devon could respond, KITT spoke up, "There is that Foundation bungalow up in the mountains that border this property to the north, Devon."

Michael smiled, "Trust me, Devon.  I'll make sure no one ever abuses her again."

Devon thought a loud, "I wonder, Michael, we could create an uncontrollable monster.  She's got go much anger in her, I'm truly afraid for her."

Michael agreed, "I'll take care of her, Devon."

KITT offered, "And I'll take care of both of them, Devon."  The Plan was settled.