by Birgit Staebler
mac@robyn.rhein-neckar.de
The old junk yard lay abandoned and nothing was processed here any more. Here and there a few tools lay scattered and old machinery rusted in the wind coming in from the sea. A large building, like a garage hall, was almost in the middle of the junk yard and the former owner had used it to take apart cars and other vehicles that had been in better shape than the rest, remove parts and maybe sell or trade them with customers. Lately it had seen some action, however short lived that had been, and there were still vehicle tracks visible in the dust, as well as on the concrete of the garage floor. Burned rubber tracks, to be precise.
Everything was silent now.
-- until the sound of car engines disturbed the silence. Birds flew up, squawking angrily, and rats hid in their holes. Three cars pulled up, one limousine and two vans. Men in dark clothes hopped out of the vans and started to run over to the garage building while the passenger of the limo just looked around. He was a man of undefined age, dressed in an expensive business suit, hair graying slightly at the temples, the face broad and bony. A pair of sun glasses sat on his nose, hiding his eyes. All in all he looked like a very wealthy business man on his way to an important meeting.
And it was important.
One of the dark-clad men came back to him. Like each of them he was armed, wearing a bullet proof vest, his clothes almost like a uniform, though he belonged to no known army.
"We found him, Sir!" he reported, voice crisp and sharp. Military. "The vehicle is located in a steel box in the ground. Everything but a section of the roof is covered by what we believe is steel. It appears like he was trapped there, pushed inside, then covered by molten metal."
"Get him out," the man said.
The other nodded and dug a walkie-talkie out of his uniform jacket, barking orders. Several of his men began unloading the vans. A truck pulled up into the junk yard.
The man walked into the garage building, watching how his men set up the necessary equipment for the task. It might take a while, but he knew they would be fast. They had everything they needed to perform what they had been asked to do.
"General?"
He turned and faced a tall, dark-haired man in plain clothes. "What can I do for you, doctor?"
Dr. Jake Ingrim had been called for only one reason: treat a man who might suffer from oxygen deprivation and maybe inhalation of toxins, but right now he had no way to get to his patient.
"How long has the subject already been in that pit?"
The general shrugged. "Who knows?"
"General, please! It might be important when I get to him."
"I don't know that, doctor. You just have to do your job on your own."
Ingrim snorted and watched the others work. "Let's just hope he is still alive."
* * *
Martin Jantzen looked out of the window of the expensively furnished office room, his eyes roaming over a meticulously groomed garden, beautifully cut trees and a small, clear blue lake. Birds flew over the cloudless sky.
"What do you want?" he now asked, not turning round, and watched a man in a dark suit and glasses patrol outside.
A soft chuckle could be heard behind him. "I want what you want, Mr. Jantzen."
Jantzen turned, raising one eyebrow. "And what do I want?"
It had been three days now. Three days since he had suddenly woken in what looked like a hospital room and found he had not died. His memories of what had happened were quite clear and his rage was still fresh, but he was confused as to where he was and what he was supposed to do here. He knew he had been betrayed by Marland again, that the cursed Team Knight Rider had prepared a trap for him and KRO, and that they had tried to kill them. Tried. Emphasize this one word. He had lost consciousness as the molten steel had started to cover his car, he remembered. And he recalled KRO's promise that he wouldn't die. Hm, he had kept it.
"I take it, the foremost feeling would be revenge, am I right?"
Jantzen studied the stranger who hadn't even introduced himself. He was a man of power, that he had recognized immediately, and he was someone he could use.
"Probably. Where is my car?"
"Oh, nothing has happened to him. Currently my men are reconstructing the exo-shell. He has taken a little damage from your last confrontation."
Jantzen frowned. "What do you want from us? Why free us?"
"Because we both have the same goal: revenge. Granted, we might not have the same target, but the outcome will be the same."
Martin turned away from the window and walked over to the couch arrangement. He sat down, putting his feet up on the expensive marble table.
"Why me?" he then asked.
The man folded his hands and smiled. "Because I know you, Mr. Jantzen. We met some years back."
"I don't know you," Jantzen snapped.
"But I know you. You were trained in one of my facilities but we sadly had to discontinue the project."
Jantzen's eyes narrowed. "Nash!" he then hissed. "You are the General!"
The other man smiled more, nodding. "We never met personally, but I had high hopes for you. Sadly enough, they were shattered. I heard you found a new employer in Marland, but he had no respect for you and your abilities, had he, Mr. Jantzen?"
He snorted. "Since you know everything, you know where I spent my last years. White Sands!" Jantzen spat. "No thanks to you as well!"
"I'm sorry to say that my position forbid me to show myself back then. I couldn't answer your requests. And you know my employment policies." The General leaned forward. "But I know you can help me now. My little project was destroyed, though I tried to rebuild it, and I want the one responsible found and destroyed. Coincidentally, he is also connected to those who destroyed you: the Foundation."
Jantzen grinned widely. "Now you are talking! Who is our target?"
The General smiled coldly in reply. "An old acquaintance of mine. Before we get to that, though, maybe you would like to meet your partner? I believe he is waiting for you."
Martin sat up, eyes alight with a cold smile. "Lead the way."
*
The lab was several levels below ground and it was furnished with the latest high tech equipment. Technicians in white overalls moved between the machines or swarmed around the car sitting almost in the middle of it all. Cables and tubes snaked away from the open front and the inside, connecting to read-out monitors or feeds, and the screens showed fluctuating lines, dots or diagrams. Jantzen looked around, impressed, then his eyes fell on the car.
"Nice looks," he commented, walking down the stairs.
KRO had changed. He was still black, a color Jantzen had always thought suited the killer mind inside the innocent looking shell, but he was no longer a regular-design Ferrari. The new model, custom-made, was based on it, but the edges were rounder, the car looked much sleeker but still sturdy. The inside, as far as he could see from all the still open panels, had been revamped, and he liked it.
"Very nice."
The General smiled. "Your car was damaged and we had to find a new shell, but he will be ready within the next twenty-four hours."
"You are putting a lot of money into this. Why?"
The older man gestured him to follow. As they arrived in a kind of office cubicle he switched on a monitor. "This is why."
Jantzen leaned forward and his eyes widened a bit.
"I want you to rid me of this," the General added.
"You want us to hunt down KARR?"
The General steepled his fingers, leaning back. "Yes."
Jantzen shook his head. "KARR no longer exists. He was destroyed over fifteen years ago!"
"No, the AI is still alive and kicking, very much kicking, I have to add. And he is in the hands of a former employee of mine. He is your target."
Jantzen snorted, laughing coldly. "How does this connect to Marland?"
"Destroy Karr and his driver and I'll deliver you the whole team on a silver platter." The General leaned forward. "Destroy Michael Knight and Kitt, and I'll let you have Marland to deal with all on your own."
"The Knight Industries Two Thousand is likewise out of commission."
"Oh, you are wrong, Mr. Jantzen. Both Kitt and Karr exist. Karr has a driver called Nicholas MacKenzie. They worked for FLAG for a while, then he went completely freelance again. Michael Knight was one of the founding members of TKR, though no one has any idea. Knight is pulling the strings, he is working behind the scenes and guiding Mr. Stewart and his merry little band."
Jantzen stared at him. "How do you know all this?"
"I had a lot of time finding it out, Mr. Jantzen. Now you will do what I cannot do openly. Destroy Nicholas MacKenzie and his car, then Michael Knight and Kitt. Afterwards, Marland and TKR are yours."
Martin leaned forward. "Where do I find this MacKenzie?"
* * *
The house was spacious, but not too large and far from the definition 'mansion'. It wasn't a villa either, it was just large, well-kept and had been moderately expensive. A garden stretched behind it, a paved way leading from the iron gates to the main entrance. A lower building at the side was home to a garage and work space. The neighborhood at Laguna Beach was quiet and people respected privacy, which had been a major factor in choosing the site, as had been the beach just beyond the garden and the small forest, as well as the fresh air.
A tall man was sitting at the beach, enjoying the afternoon sun. He was dressed in jeans and a loosely fitting T-shirt, and he was bare-footed. His name was Michael Knight and several years back he had been the lead operative of FLAG, driving the very first artificial intelligence of its kind, the Knight Industries Two Thousand; Kitt. A lot had happened since he had joined FLAG, all leading eventually to this. When Kitt's ownership had been transferred to him, thanks to Nicholas MacKenzie and Karr, he had worked for FLAG a few more years. After the contract had run out Michael had decided to stay, freelancing just like Nick had always done. It had been amazing just how long MacKenzie had stayed and their partnership had been as interesting as it had been full of surprises. He had left only when Michael was safely out of the FLAG contract and finally really master of his own fate.
Well, he hadn't left for good or had disappeared anonymously. It was impossible for him to pull this stunt anyway. Since Kitt and Karr were forever linked, both knew where the other was. One call and the other AI would be updated on the driver's condition. Nick had kept in touch, in his own special way, and Michael had been thankful. He owed this man so much that he would never be able to repay him.
Now he was still with FLAG, he mused, but in a totally different position. Seeing that their only operative would soon be freelancing and without a binding contract, the Foundation had developed a new plan to continue their work. No one had ever thought about asking Nick and Karr to stay. Michael grinned. Good for them. Everyone on the Board of Directors knew what the connection between the cars and the drivers was, especially Jennifer Knight. Jennifer had resigned her position a few years ago, had taken her share of the Foundation – at least as much as the will of Wilton Knight had let her – and had disappeared out of the immediate line of sight. No great loss. When Michael had declared he would stay, several members of the Board had asked him to take the matters of the new team in his hands. He had accepted because he had announced he would no longer take on the extremely dangerous and hair raising cases. He was feeling his age and he wanted to have a long retirement life.
Michael grinned. Huh, yeah, old age. He wasn't even fifty. Yet. Retirement was a long time off for him. With the request he had also placed several conditions: he would be out of sight for the new team, just a player in the background. He would help, advise and guide, but he wouldn't have them running to him for advice. He was a legend to the new operatives, as was Kitt, and he wanted them to work free from hero admiration. He and Kitt would still do their own work, help people and solve criminal cases, but the new team was a separate unit, a second independent project. No direct contact.
That the Foundation was officially called a branch of government intelligence service was just another cover. John Landes had initiated that, giving the FLAG operatives a more official character and support from all side, while below the surface FLAG was still run by the Board of Directors and their man in charge of operations was no one else but Michael. He grinned. He liked the sound of 'in charge' and it was not connected to office work. He had not wanted to step in Devon's shoes, even when James Marland had left the Foundation after the KRO disaster.
Except for one person, no one knew about Michael Knight, and this man was Kyle Stewart. Kyle knew all and everything about Michael's role and he knew that he was alive and present within FLAG. Michael had been the one to finally pick Kyle Stewart out of many and he knew that Stewart could keep secrets. He had been a top agent once, the best, until he had taken the worst fall possible and nearly died.
//Michael?//
The warm touch to his mind was something normal and everyday, but it still filled Michael with warmth and admiration, as well as wonder sometimes. The neuro link to Kitt had come as a surprise, then as a gift, something he treasured each and every day.
//Yes, Pal?//
//I got a call//
Michael frowned. Kitt's voice held a strange quality. //From who?//
The smile spread through him and he had to smile as well as he recognized the undercurrents. //Nick and Karr//
Now the smile was even wider. //How are they? Where are they?//
//Karr didn't say, only that Nick needs to talk to you. They are coming here!//
Michael laughed softly, though part of him wondered why Nick was suddenly coming to his place. Another part mirrored Kitt's child-like joy. His partner was simply happy to see his older brother again, though he suspected they had met frequently within the safe confines of their CPUs.
//When?//
//They'll be here soon//
Michael rose and walked up the beach toward where a small path led to the garden. Slipping on his shoes, which he had deposited at the edge of the path, he jogged back to the house. Kitt would keep him informed about their friends' arrival and he had a few things still to deal with before nightfall.
* * *
The black car pulled up in the drive way, the finish giving the impression of sucking up the last rays of the sun as it set slowly on the horizon. It was of an unknown brand, a special construction, nothing you could buy anywhere. The papers told everyone asking that it was a 'Stealth', the shell constructed by the owner's orders and the interior modified to his requests and wishes. The door opened and a man got out. He had black hair, a sun-tanned face that didn't reveal his age and his eyes were hidden by sunglasses. The man was dressed in black jeans, a black jacket and a white shirt. As he turned and looked at Michael, a slow smile spread over the harsh looking features, turning them into a more human face.
"Hello, Michael."
Michael's smile was wide open and he was quite visibly happy about the stranger's arrival. "Nick!"
Nicholas MacKenzie, former government operative, freelancing agent for jobs he selected by his own criteria and driver of the most dangerous artificial intelligence FLAG had ever developed, looked at the house.
"Nice. Really nice. Better than living in a warehouse."
Michael grinned. "Oh, I wouldn't say that. The old place had its good sides. It's been a while," he added.
"Nearly two years," the other man agreed.
"You never called."
"And you never wrote," Nick answered with a sarcastic note. "You know it's not my style. If you were worried, which I'm touched about, you could have asked Kitt." He raised an eyebrow. "Which I guess you did anyway."
"Oh, my secret revealed. Yes, sometimes I asked him to pry."
"Guessed as much."
"Thanks for the Christmas and birthday cards anyway."
"What cards?" Nick asked, feigning innocence as he followed Michael inside.
Michael grinned again. "Right."
"Nick!"
MacKenzie had no chance as a dark-haired, slender woman came and hugged him tightly. He embraced her as well, returning the friendly hug.
"Wow, Dr. Barstow!" he said, a smile in his voice. "Don't embarrass me!"
Bonnie smiled widely. "It's so good to see you again! You should have come visit much sooner!"
Nick shrugged, slightly embarrassed now anyway. "I was busy. As were you, I take it."
"Kinda," Michael confessed, shrugging.
"How's Alex?" Bonnie wanted to know, face still alight with a smile.
"Her usual self."
Dr. Alexandra Christopher was about the only woman who had ever managed to crack Nick's shell enough to have a lasting relationship with him. She had visited the mansion back when Nick had still been around FLAG and both Bonnie and Michael had gotten to know her. That this relationship was a strange one stood not to argue. It simply was. Nick was someone who liked to keep everything locked tightly behind walls and masks, and it was hard to gain his trust enough for him to relax around another human being.
"How is Kitt? How are both of you?" Nick asked.
"He is fine, we are fine." Michael grinned widely. "The link is still working, which I know you know... and I think he missed Karr."
Nick didn't reply and Michael switched topics. "So, why are you here?"
"Curiosity?"
"I believe that you are curious, but you never do anything without reason, Nick. So, what is it that gives me the honor of you popping up? Kitt told me Karr called ahead and that you needed to talk to me."
"Karr talks too much from time to time."
"Uh-huh. Karr. Talking too much. Right-o! Good one."
They had arrived in what Michael called his 'office', a spacious room with a lot of computers, printers, a twenty-four hour online connection and a satellite uplink. It was a small headquarters away from the main FLAG building and his way to keep in touch.
"And now... the truth?"
Nick looked around, then sat down, his blue eyes suddenly shadowed by a mixture of worry and something else. "What do you know about a file with the number 17-328-2 from Marland Industries?"
Michael frowned and looked at Bonnie, who just shrugged. "Can't tell you off the top of my head."
//Kitt?//
//Michael, it's the .....//
"K.R.O.," Nick said simultaneously.
Michael straightened, face dead serious all of a sudden. He remembered the KRO, the Knight Reformulation One, only too well. It had been developed before the idea for a complete team had come up. KRO and his driver had been supposed to take over from Michael and Kitt when their contract ran out, but everything had turned from bad to worse. In a way it had been almost like KARR back when he had been created, only that KARR had never been driven insane by his driver, and KARR had reformed. KRO on the other hand... it had been a nightmare with a lot of fatalities – which had gone home with Marland, who had back then still been in charge of FLAG. He had replaced Devon, but after the KRO incident and when Michael had accepted the Board's offer, he had become redundant.
"What about him?" he now asked flatly.
"He is back."
* * *
Duke DePalma stopped his large, black truck just outside the junk yard, watchful eyes roaming over the silent place. Nothing moved, except for a few birds and possibly rats, but else it was quiet as a grave. KRO's grave. A grim expression appeared on his face and he slowly drove inside. Still nothing. No enemy attack, no suddenly appearing insane AI; silence. As he approached the site they had buried the mad vehicle, he tensed unwillingly. The events from not so long ago were still lodged deep inside his mind. He had nearly bought it in a confrontation with KRO, just like the AI who was his partner.
"Anything?" he asked, feeling that his voice was unnaturally loud.
"No," Beast answered briskly. Duke heard the subtle undertone and knew the AI was just as unhappy to be here as he was.
"Okay, keep your eyes open."
"What do you think I'm doing? Sleeping on the job?" Beast snapped.
Duke smiled slightly, then parked the car and got out. Still nothing, though now he could see that someone had been here recently. A lot of new tire tracks criss-crossed in front of the old garage building and from the looks of it, at least one truck had been here. Something had been towed away from the garage. He felt dread rise and quickly swallowed it, walking inside. There was barely any sun filtering through the leaky roof, but the light was enough to see by and it was quite enough to confirm their fears.
The pit was empty.
Duke raised his wrist watch, depressing a button. Trek had fiddled with the small devices and improved their functions. By now they were not simply a communications device, they also doubled as a kind of small scanner, as well as held several other handy features. Since the watch was around the drivers' wrists, the AIs partnered with the humans were able to take life signs to a degree. The look had been changed as well, replacing the watch face with a digital design. The holographic transmission had been canceled in favor of the medical scanners.
"Duke to Sky One. Kyle, can you hear me?"
"I hear you," Kyle's slightly tinny sounding voice replied.
Duke walked around the empty pit, noting the signs of heavy work, of how steel had been cut apart and the trapped object freed enough to transport it.
"Kyle, he is gone."
There was a brief silence, then Kyle's voice came back, strangely level, almost emotionless. "Thanks, Duke. Get back here ASAP. Kyle out."
Duke lowered his hand, still staring at the empty pit. Beast had rolled almost silently closer, but he hadn't dared to entered the garage area.
"He's out there," Duke muttered, the feeling of dread returning. "God help us all....."
* * *
It was a cloudy day and the airport was cast in a dreary light, drops of impending rain falling now and then. The big thunderstorm the weather forecast had warned of was still a few miles away, but by midday it would hit here as well. Small passenger planes took off now and then, but generally it was a slow day. Out of the immediate business area sat a gigantic plane. It was a C-5, a military transporter, one of the largest planes ever built, sturdy and strong. It was colored in subdued gray colors and had no markings on its belly or wings. The back ramp was lowered and people were driving stuff into the massive belly or were unloading. Men in uniform were taking care of security.
The plane's name was Sky One, the mobile Headquarters of the Foundation for Law and Government and also the home of a special new team called Team Knight Rider, TKR for shorts. Currently not all operatives were aboard while the plane's supplies were restocked and repair crews went above their business, but those who had had leave had been recalled. Kyle Stewart, leader of this small force, sat in the darkened situation room, staring at a silent wall of dark screens. His eyes held a slightly far-off expression, but there was also dread in them, a dread coming from having heard the worst possible news.
Only yesterday he had wished he would be on the road and hunting criminals, instead of logging old reports and cleaning up his files while Sky One received shipments they needed. He hated slow periods and lately it had been very slow. A few minor, petty cases, nothing that was a real challenge and he knew people around him had started to feel his increasing agitation quite openly. Dante had remarked on it more than once and Kyle had tried to ignore the truth in his AI's words.
He wanted some action. He needed it!
Kyle hadn't signed on to this experimental team to sit around and do bureaucratics, though after his near-death and the life-threatening injuries that had taken him off the active list of the CIA he had cherished the office work at first. Now it was utter boredom. He needed the action to convince himself that he was still alive, that he still had a life. Sometimes he missed his undercover government work, but then he thought of this near-fatal day, the one where his spying had been revealed because a turncoat had supplied the Russians with a list of enemy agents, and he had been on it. Kyle sighed and chased those thoughts away, turning his attention to something else: the call a mere twelve hours ago, a call that had initiated Duke and Beast's trip to the junk yard. What they had found – well, what had not been found – had let his worst fears come true.
Finally he sat forward and depressed a button on his console. A secret, encoded number was dialed and he waited. Almost immediately he received a reply. The screen stayed anonymous, with only the logo of TKR turning slowly, but he didn't need a vid link.
"Have you found him?"
Kyle closed his eyes, shaking his head. "No," he said slowly, aware that the other one couldn't see him either.
Silence. "Damn," Michael Knight finally whispered softly. He expressed something Kyle felt. "Okay, I think we have a problem. KRO was seen several days ago and he attacked someone."
"You knew he was alive?" Kyle exclaimed.
"I had heard it, Kyle," Michael answered cautiously. "I needed you to confirm it. As it seems, Jantzen survived as well because he was identified as the driver."
This was getting worse and worse. "Has Marland been informed?" he wanted to know, aware that if both car and driver were alive and as insane as ever, James Marland would be a target.
"Yes. He has been brought to a safehouse. My information is that he isn't a target yet, Kyle."
"Then who is?"
"I have no idea, actually. The contact who told me about KRO hasn't been able to trace him, but we are on it. I want you and your team to do the same: find KRO and Martin Jantzen, but be careful. They didn't get out on their own; somebody dug them out. Whoever this somebody is, he didn't only know about the KRO vehicle, he also knew about what happened and where to find him."
"You think we have a leak?"
"I'm not sure. I want to be on the safe side, Kyle, and there will be a thorough check of all FLAGNet systems and connections. Inform Trek that if he finds someone testing systems, it's a friendly someone."
"So you don't want Trek to check it out?"
"No. You and your team concentrate on finding KRO, I'll do my part on getting behind who supported Jantzen and maybe still is."
Kyle nodded thoughtfully. "Understood. I'll keep you informed, Michael."
"Same here. Good luck, Kyle, and be careful."
With that the link was terminated. Kyle leaned back, closing his eyes. KRO and Jantzen were back, with some shadowy figure in the background helping them. Somehow he felt this was only the beginning.
* * *
Martin Jantzen sat inside the new exo-shell of his partner, smiling. The General's information had been correct; this little spot in the middle of nowhere was Michael Knight's residence and Nicholas MacKenzie had come here.
"Happy reunion," he muttered, the smile cold. "It won't last long."
"We could destroy them now," KRO commented coolly.
"Yes, we could, my friend, but that would take the fun out of it," Jantzen told the AI. "I have other plans, much more entertaining plans."
"Our mission is to eliminate them."
"I know, I know, but the General never said how or when. He only told us to do it, and believe me, KRO, we will." He chuckled. "But I want it to be out in the open where everyone is a witness, where their precious team can see it! And I want it to be slow. You know the plan." He ignited the engine and it purred to life. "First we prepare the stage, then we start with the showdown."
The custom-made sports car left soundlessly, disappearing around the next bend.
* * *
Kitt and Karr were parked side by side in the large lab/garage complex next to the main building, presenting a harmonious picture of two powerful cars with highly intelligent AIs controlling them. One was a rough, dark and sometimes cold presence, a black spark inside a tightly secured and defended CPU with walls that kept out everyone but two individuals. The other was alight, brightly white entity, spreading warmth in gentle waves, likewise secured, though the safety measures less vicious in its display, and linked to only two other presences as well. Karr had found it immensely easy to adapt to his brother's nearness again and he had no problem dealing with the gentle presence close to him.
_I knew KRO, Kitt said, voice soft. _They created him while Michael and I were still actively working for FLAG. In a way he was a product of my core programming, like a child.
Karr snorted. _Who became an insane killer.
Kitt smiled sadly. _Which wasn't his fault. His programming was clear and clean, nothing should have happened, but they insisted on the matrix program. Marland had developed the new technology, mimicking what the neuro implant gives us. I was created to compliment Michael, but I never received a personality matrix. We just grew with each other. Marland didn't want to wait so long for what he said was 'perfection'. He took a clean AI and tainted it. I wish I could have stopped it.
He fell into a thoughtful, slightly depressed silence. Karr regarded his younger brother, as always amazed how innocent he could sometimes be, despite the fact that he was in constant contact with a human mind, learning, adapting.... and still keeping his core alive with old values and insights. Karr liked to call it an overactive conscience of sorts. It was just Kitt; he wouldn't want him any other way. This conscience had saved him before, had warmed and held him, and even the most gruesome act against him – the inhuman experiments of Jennifer Knight – had never managed to taint it.
_They expected a lot of this new intelligence, he now remarked gruffly, shielding his thoughts from Kitt.
_Of course. He was supposed to take over when Michael left. FLAG was under a lot of pressure and they worked everything they knew from me and Michael, all the technical advances, all the experience, into him.
_Still, it failed. Karr suddenly smiled darkly. _Like I failed.
Kitt turned and looked at him in surprise. A pure white tentacle of his self reached out for the silky darkness not far away from him, lightly flickering over it. _No, Karr, you didn't. You were not given the chance I had. What happened to you cannot be compared to KRO. KRO turned insane because of the matrix pattern....
_I just turned a killer, Karr finished emotionlessly. Secretly he enjoyed the contact. _Same thing.
_You had Nick, Kitt reminded him gently. _Not at first, but he was what saved you. KRO's driver was what drove him over the edge in the end. And you never killed anyone.
_I could have. I was close many time.
_Close is not the same as killing five humans in cold blood, running them over.... Kitt shivered. _You are not him, Karr, never.
Karr was silent, suffering from age-old memories. He hated them; there were few, but they were violent, cold and dark. Kitt sent a wave of warmth and he sighed, letting the tentacle entangle itself with a part of him.
_I'm fine.
_It hits close to home for you, Kitt whispered. _I know it. I feel the same.
The two AIs sat together in silence, Karr watching the lighter one with worried virtual eyes.
_Do you blame yourself?
Kitt looked up. _What? No, not really. Maybe a bit, but there was nothing I could have done to stop it. The project was doomed from the moment they merged driver and AI. KRO was like us, Karr, he was alive and bright and beautiful. Jantzen was a shadow that darkened him, drove him over the edge. He fell and no one could have caught him.
_Just as well they didn't repeat the neuro implant procedure, Karr rumbled. A bit of subdued jealously played into this as well. He liked to be the prototype; something no one could ever take from him. And he liked to be one of the only two computer entities with a neuro link to its driver. It made him unique.
Kitt could only agree. _It was bad enough as it was. When the team hunted him down, I felt pained by it all. KRO couldn't react any differently than Jantzen because he had essentially turned into a part of him. He protects his driver, he is programmed to keep him alive, but he also follows his initial programming as a weapon, and Jantzen uses it. I think he never saw KRO, only the arsenal he controlled.
Karr nodded. He knew the feeling. Without Nick MacKenzie he would have ended the same way, forever locked in the confines of his cold, hatred-filled mind, searching for new ways to destroy the one who had succeeded in becoming what he should have been. He had nearly been completely obliterated because of his rage and hatred, but he had found an escape, thanks to a single human being. It had been a miracle, one he cherished. That he had tried to wipe out the human mind at the other end of the link was a horrible part of his past, but it was forgotten, buried and dealt with. Nick was his driver, his partner alone, and he fiercely protected him.
_Karr?
_Yes?
_Why did KRO attack you and Nick?
Karr frowned slightly. _I don't know. It's a mystery to both of us. He identified himself, he told us he was sent to take us out, and then he attacked. He never finished the job, though, which I found strange.
_Could he have? Kitt asked, slight dread in his voice.
Karr smiled darkly. _Give me some credit, Kitt. I can take care of myself and my partner. He didn't so much as dent my fender.
The younger AI chuckled. _Of course. But still.... He grew serious again. _Why attack and then back off?
_I really don't know. Maybe because he is unstable?
Yes, maybe, but was it really the reason?
* * *
Nicholas MacKenzie sat on the couch in Michael's office, cross-legged, his ever-present laptop resting on his knees. He was hacking quickly through the FLAGNet files and initiated his own little programs, those looking for a leak, for an unauthorized access or even an authorized one in files connected to KRO. Michael was behind his desk, talking softly to someone else on the phone. He finally hung up, appearing thoughtful, then gazed at Nick, who was absorbed in his work.
Michael was amazed by his friend. Of course, they knew each other for years now and they had worked and lived together, solved dozens of dangerous cases, but Nick had taken a while to accept that Michael was not his enemy when it came to opening up and letting others close. In time he had and Michael Knight had gotten to know most of Nicholas MacKenzie, had heard the story and had been shocked. He understood a lot about his friend now, though he knew some of Nick's past was still shrouded and kept secret. But Nick had trusted him. He had trusted him with his story and also his life. Looking at him now he knew MacKenzie was totally relaxed. There was no wariness, no tension as if he needed to be ready for an attack; he trusted.
From the sensations he received through the link to Kitt he knew the same was true for Karr. The Stealth was parked in the spacious garage next to the modified TransAm and the two brothers had had no problem falling immediately 'in synch'. Karr was his old self, Kitt was his self, and though they were so totally opposite, they were still very much alike. And just like Karr hadn't changed, except maybe for modifications and updates to his shell, so had Nick. He didn't look any different than from the day they had went separate ways again and Michael wondered what had happened to him in the meantime, who he had worked for, what cases he had taken on. Sometimes he had really been close to spying, but every time he had reminded himself of the trust Nicholas had placed in him. He wouldn't break it and he had Nick's word that if anything came up that would need Michael's attention, he would call. And Kitt had always been with Karr.
Now Nick looked up, raising an eyebrow as he caught Michael's grin. "Something wrong?"
"Oh, no, nothing at all. I was just wondering; have you ever regretted it?"
Nick looked at him with a mystified expression on his features, then he slowly shook his head. "No," he said. "Not ever. In the beginning maybe. When I didn't understand why and when I was fighting for my sanity every step of the way, but now.... I wouldn't want it any other way. Why do you ask?"
"Call it curiosity. Lately I've been thinking about ... about back then again. I was lucky to meet you when I did, I was lucky when you decided to help even though it compromised you and Karr. I was very lucky to discover the link." Michael's voice had a distant quality to it. "Kitt and I were always close, we were a team, but the link... It completed it; it made us whole."
Nick smiled, a gentle and open smile. "I know. It gives you a lot, though it also demands a lot."
"Sometimes I wonder if Wilton Knight knew, if he had somehow seen the future, then again I think I'm slightly deranged." He chuckled.
Nick shrugged. "I know he saw the potential and he had a good sense concerning human nature to know who he wanted, though I doubt he ever fully knew what he was getting with me as a driver for Karr. Still, I have to congratulate him."
Michael looked thoughtfully at his hands. "Have you ever thought about what would happen when one side ceases to exist?"
Nick's face locked up for a moment. His features had a frozen look to them and Michael wished he hadn't voiced a question that had bugged him for months now.
"Yes," the dark-haired man then said slowly. "And I refuse to think about it ever again."
Michael nodded, lost in thought for a while. They had had their close encounters and every time he had seen his partner's reaction, or Karr's when it had concerned Nick. "Never question miracles, never try to analyze them, never try to foretell the future."
"Words you should live by," Nick told him.
"I do. So," he broke the slightly dark mood. "Found anything?"
Nick shook his head, accepting the change of topic. "Not yet, I initiated several search programs and we'll have to wait and see. Might take a while. You?"
"I called some contacts and none of them knows anything at all about either Jantzen or KRO, but one said he heard rumors. Nothing definite at all, though."
"What rumors?"
"Someone was hiring men for a well-paid job, short-term employment. Nothing is known about who and what it was about, but whatever it was, the guy paid handsomely."
"Anyone left to tell what it was?" Nick asked matter-of-factly.
Michael grimaced. "You think they were killed by the man who hired them?"
He shrugged. "Just one option. You think we should track down those who took the job?"
"Exactly."
Nick rubbed his chin. "It happens in every generation, doesn't it?" he suddenly said thoughtfully.
"Come again?" Michael asked, confused.
"Back in Kitt's generation, it was KARR. They created him and he went haywire. Now it's KRO. What did you do? Copy the KARR program?" There was a certain amount of sarcasm in Nick's voice.
Michael grimaced. "No. Everything resulted from an experiment the Board agreed upon. It was while I was still freelancing and active. FLAG was trying to find a new pair of operative and AI to jump in the day I decided to leave. Martin Jantzen was hand-picked by Marland because he came highly recommended and because of his files. He was a former government agent and used to extreme situations – according to his file. Marland fought a lot of members of the Board to get him on the program. The Foundation wanted to copy what they had in me and Kitt, except for the neuro implant, and so they transferred a personality matrix of Jantzen onto the computer program that was KRO. The matrix and the program merged and KRO came to life. What neither knew was that Jantzen was mentally unstable and his instability had been transferred to KRO. They both deteriorated quickly, Jantzen probably driven over the edge by KRO himself and pulling the AI with him. They killed five people and were finally apprehended. KRO was deactivated and secured, Jantzen was put into the White Sands Detention Facility."
Nick frowned slightly. "Ever heard of testing a person before giving his personality profile to a machine? Helps tremendously and keeps you from getting insane killers as operatives." The sarcasm was more pronounced now.
Michael smiled humorlessly. "You can believe me, FLAG paid dearly for this failed project. They learned from it, but I don't think they actually understood the consequences of their actions. When the team was created and I was put in charge of field operations, some protested, reminding everyone of the KRO incident. The result was that none of the new vehicles received a MBS shielding, though the personality matrix was still more or less adapted to the driver, but without the merging effect."
Nick rolled his eyes and shook his head. "No MBS? How stupid can you get? These AIs are as vulnerable as if they'd sit right in the middle of a sharp shooter's line of fire!"
"Don't tell me, I know. Nick, this went through the Board and I don't have the necessary power to convince them otherwise. They did it, I had to make the best of it."
"Ever heard of fail-safe devices?"
Michael sighed deeply. "You are talking with someone who nearly despaired over the pig-headedness of the Board. John tried to help, but he was out-voted. The end of it was that the vehicles are not protected, have known weak spots for easier deactivation in case of a rogue incident and that we nearly lost some of them in the more serious confrontations, among them the KRO business."
"It won't be any different this time if those bureaucrats don't learn," Nick snorted. "A MBS doesn't mean the vehicle is invincible as long as you have the override ready." He shook his head again. "Looks like FLAG likes to generate its own problems if it can't find anyone else's to solve."
Michael just shrugged. "And we have to deal with such an old problem now. My contact has given me the names of those who hired on to the little mission of freeing KRO."
Nick locked down the laptop and got up, stretching a bit. "Okay, where do I start?"
Michael smiled. "I'll give you the list to work with, but before that I need a question answered I haven't asked yet, but it's something I should have asked right away." He met Nick's eyes. "Why did KRO target you? And how did he find you?"
Nick's face was suddenly expressionless. "I don't know, Michael. That's the answer to both questions. The attack came out of the blue and he disappeared just as quickly again."
Michael frowned. "Okay. You get going with finding the guys who were hired, I'll talk to Kyle. Keep in contact, Nick."
"Of course."
* * *
"He can't be still alive!" Jenny Andrews protested. "We destroyed KRO and with him Jantzen!"
"No, we covered him in molten steel," Kyle objected, sounding tired and weary. "We never confirmed that the AI was destroyed. We assumed it."
"Uhm, since we packed him in steel, what makes you think he survived it?" Trek asked in surprise.
"KRO was covered by the Molecular Bonded Shell, Trek. The MBS can withstand these temperatures. All we did was actually fuse him to the place we buried him in, but we never killed him."
"Well, but the guy should be dead by now," Erica objected, regarding her freshly painted nails. "Either that or he's breaking the world record in holding his breath for a really long time."
Kyle rubbed his forehead, then glanced at Duke who had been silent and stony-faced throughout the whole conversation. "Duke?"
The large man nodded. "Beast and I went to the site where we left KRO and Jantzen. The pit was empty. Someone moved in with heavy equipment, dug them out and left."
The other three members of the team stared at him open-mouthed.
"How.... who knew that KRO was there?" Jenny whispered, horrified.
"That's something we have yet to get behind, but our foremost duty is to find and stop KRO," Kyle told them. "He was last seen here." A map popped up on the view screen. "Trek, you and Erica will go there and see what you can find. Duke and Jenny, you comb the area for any traces. Marland has been brought to safety, just in case, and I think Jantzen will surface again. Oh, and KRO's appearance has changed. It looks like he is now inside a custom made car shell, still equipped with the MBS and as deadly as ever weapons-wise. I supplied each of the vehicles with a description from the attack."
They rose and left, except for Jenny. When the door had closed after the last of them, she turned and gave Kyle an inquiring look. He just raised an eyebrow.
"Where do you know all of this from?" she asked. "And how do you know it's really KRO if he looks different?"
Kyle shook his head. "That's not important, Jenny. As for the knowledge, my contact knows and that's enough for me. We verified the fact that KRO is missing and my contact told me about the modifications. It's even logical, considering that the old body shell was put under a lot of strain."
Kyle pressed a button and Jenny looked at the model now displayed. It looked like the design had been loosely based on the Ferrari KRO had resided in before, but it had less edges, looked more like a bullet and a bit sturdier. The whole model was computer-generated.
"That's what you got from this contact?"
"Yes. He got it from a witness."
"Who was attacked, Kyle? And why?"
Kyle was silent, mainly because he actually didn't know all that much about the attack itself either.
"Kyle, please! This sounds a bit strange and mysterious!"
"Not any less strange and mysterious than past cases. It's a new a case and we have it. Our objective is to stop KRO."
"And what will you be doing while we are fine-combing the area?"
He smiled. "Talk to my contact and try to find out more."
* * *
It had been a long day, filled with tracking down people and questioning them with different methods about the whereabouts of others, those who had been hired by the mysterious stranger to do a job. It had been tiresome, but at least Nick had been getting somewhere, and when he had started to check back on some of his own data banks, he had finally found at least one person willing to talk. None of the others had so much as spilled a drop and he wasn't at the point of threatening them with physical force yet.
"Hey, it was a normal job," the man on the other side of the coffee table explained as Nick continued asking. "All I was asked to do was drive a truck. No big deal about it. Paid well."
"What about the others?"
"Most of the guys I didn't know. I think the boss brought them along and they were not from around here. I just went to the meeting point, got my truck and followed."
"Tell me about the job."
The heavy-built man, Carl Summers, shifted in his seat, evading Nick's piercing eyes. "I was told to shut up about it," he muttered.
Nick had tried to find out as much as he could about Summers before he had met up with him, but there was pretty little in the police files. A few tickets because of speeding with his truck, a few drinking incidents and a bar brawl. Nothing serious. He was a truck driver who worked for various companies and he specialized in heavy trucking. He handled whatever they needed him to drive and he did it always on time. That he was easily roused into a fight was secondary.
"I can double what they paid you if you talk," Nick offered.
There was a glint in Summers' eyes and Nick smiled coldly. Money opened a lot of doors.
"Listen, I really don't know much. I followed the vans, then waited for whatever they were doing, and when the cargo was in the truck I drove it to the meeting point again."
"Describe the cargo."
"It was something packed in steel. They took a while to get it out of this pit. You know, it was on a junk yard. I think it might have been a car. I have no idea. They worked on it, then there was a lot of commotion and someone, I think he was a doctor or something, told them to open it up. I don't know what they did then. I was told to get the truck over there and help with the cargo."
Nick nodded. So far it confirmed everything they had suspected. "What about the boss?"
Summers shifted uneasily again. "Rich guy, I think. Paid a lot of money to all of us. He was there to oversee the work. He had a neat limo and he was dressed in those very expensive suits. You know, he didn't really give orders, but you just knew he was in charge."
"Describe him."
Summers scratched his head. "Didn't see a lot of him. Tall guy, old, well-dressed, wore sunglasses all the time. Dunno what else to say."
Nick folded his hands. That really didn't help a lot. "Okay, what about the truck. Where did you leave it?"
"At the meeting point. Someone else returned it to wherever they got it from. I just got my money and left."
"Do you know anyone else from the men hired for this job to who I could talk?" Nick wanted to know.
"Ben's still in town. He did some of work on the cargo. Art left right away. Said he and Vegas have a date." Summers grinned widely.
Nick smiled slightly as well. "Where can I find Ben?"
"Usually at the Arcade. Just ask. Tell them I sent you, that helps."
Nick rose, leaving the newspaper he had carried along on the table. "Thanks, Carl, you helped me a bit further." He left a few bills and then walked away.
Carl took the newspaper, grabbed the money hidden between the pages and stuffed it into his pockets, then he left as well.
Nick had returned to his partner and sat thoughtfully in the Stealth, not inclined to drive anywhere right now. Karr was equally silent, his mind occupied by the latest events.
"Nick?"
MacKenzie snapped out of his thoughts. "Yes?"
"Is KRO like me?"
Nick was speechless for a moment. "No," he then told his partner, voice gentle. "He is not like you and never was."
"Not even before.... before we linked?"
He shook his head. "Not even then. Listen, KRO was contaminated the moment the personality matrixes merged. Jantzen corrupted him. You were never corrupted, Karr. You were hurt and you felt anger, but you never had to suffer this insanity."
Karr was silent for a moment. "Maybe."
Nick touched the perceptor, gently pushing his palm against it. The soft material beneath his fingers was connected to intricate net of wires, all leading to the core unit of the CPU, transmitting a physical sensation the AI could never have on its own. A shudder coursed through the implant, Karr's touch like cool, dark silk as he allowed his driver to briefly get this close.
"No, not maybe," he said softly. Definitely. Karr, you and KRO were never alike>
Karr didn't reply, but he relaxed a bit and Nick smiled, pulling his hand away. There was a soundless gasp from Karr as the contact was broken, but the mind-link dissolved only slowly.
"Come on, let's find a drive-thru. My caffeine level is way too low."
Karr made a rude noise. "How about a pure caffeine feed?" he asked nastily.
"Not such a bad idea. We might just install a new function in you," Nick chuckled.
"Only over my dead CPU!" the AI snarled.
"That can be arranged."
Karr rumbled dangerously. Nick grinned, then he steered the Stealth down the road on the look-out for a coffee shop or a fast food drive-thru.
* * *
Kyle Stewart closed the doors of the silver SUV and gave the hood a pat. It was a gesture he had subconsciously adapted and sometimes he thought maybe he was reading too much into the artificial intelligence inside the car, but then Dante surprised him again and again. He and the AI were a team for nearly a year now and he had gotten to know his partner quite well, though sometimes he wondered if he really understood him. Dante had been chosen to match him and his personality, which Kyle had highly doubted in the first few months, but he slowly started to see what FLAG had intended to create.
"Be right back," he now said and headed over to the small diner not far from the parking spot.
"Oh, take you time. I can wait," Dante groused. "It's not at all hot out here."
Kyle smiled slightly. The weather wasn't any warmer than usual for this time of the year and it wasn't even midday yet.
Dante was parked in front of the diner, his silver skin a stark opposite to the black one of the sports car next to him.
_Hello, Dante_> Kitt greeted him warmly.
Dante made a noise like clearing his throat. _Hello_> he then answered.
There was a certain amount of formal distance in his voice, one he always had when talking to the first generation AI. Kitt was almost like an ancestor, and on top of it also a hero in his eyes. He had been the first and he had reached a level of understanding, knowledge as well as a link to his driver any other AI could only dream of. Dante was a child compared to Kitt and he always felt slightly awed. Kitt, despite his 'age' was capable of more than any of the TKR vehicles and he and his driver were a team linked by soul. And that Kitt chose to communicate via the CPU link was even more amazing. Still, he was the only one who knew about the continued existence of both Michael Knight and Kitt, and it filled him with a certain amount of pride.
_How are you and Kyle?_>
_Managing, I think_>
Kitt chuckled. _Same old problems?_>
_No, a growing amount of new ones_> Dante said, sniffing. _I wish Kyle were as easy to handle as Michael is for you. You fit, we just....well... rub each other wrong_>
_Dante, don't believe we understood each other right away. It took both me and Michael a while to get to know each other. The same is true for you and Kyle, and a little bit of arguing and difference is healthy for a relationship. Michael and I are not in synch, we are still two very different individuals. And we fight from time to time_>
Dante was silent for a while, unconsciously scanning Kyle. He appreciated his driver and partner, and there was nothing more important than his life and health, but Kyle could be so.... so... so much Kyle! He wanted to be perfect, never missing even the slightest flaw in a plan, and he swallowed a lot of his initial reactions to a situation. He was too controlled for Dante's liking. Dante's responses were both preprogrammed and also born out of the contact with his driver. He would express his opinion, he would point out Kyle's flaws with dry amusement and satisfaction, deflating his driver, and he would rib him to no end. In a way it was fun, but sometimes he thought it was just a defense.
_You were chosen to compliment each other, Dante. Never forget that_> Kitt added.
_How could I_> Dante muttered dryly.
Kitt only smiled.
Inside the diner, Kyle stirred his coffee, looking thoughtful. He and the man he had come to meet sat in a booth away from the counter, able to see most of the customer area from here. There were only a few people visiting, most of them sitting at the counter and watching a football game, cheering for their team or complaining loudly about their incompetence.
"So you won't tell me who the victim of KRO's attack was, right?" He shook his head. "Why did I expect exactly that?"
Michael Knight smiled slightly. "I can't reveal his identity, Kyle. He is a contact and he works in the background, like me. I'll relate all information to you as usual, but right now I want you track down KRO, nothing else. I'll handle the search of who is behind it."
Kyle sighed deeply. "Why did I ever agree to this secrecy?" he muttered.
"Because I asked you to, Kyle."
He grimaced. "So, someone we have no idea about freed KRO, revived him and with him Jantzen, and he is now sending him out on missions, am I correct?"
Michael nodded.
"Michael, if we knew who or what he is after, we could predict where he appears."
He sighed. "Kyle, it's not that easy. KRO's target doesn't really fit any profile and even if I told you, you wouldn't a) believe me and b) get any further."
"Try me," the ex-agent said dryly.
Michael just smiled humorlessly. "Not at this point."
"Michael, please! Keeping secrets doesn't help this one bit!"
"Maybe you are right, but right now I can't reveal the name. Kyle, believe me, it won't help you or anyone else. Find KRO. You have the description, you have his profile, get to work on it. Whatever is going on behind the scenes is something I'll work on myself."
Kyle sighed angrily. "You are the boss."
Michael just smiled.
* * *
A crowd of people had gathered around the building, all craning their necks to get a good look at what was going on. A police car was parked at the curb and a coroner's car had stopped right behind it. Two men working for the coroner's service wheeled a stretcher out of the building. On the stretcher was a zipped up, black body bag.
"Please stay back," one of the police officers instructed and pushed some spectators back behind the police line.
A man approached, clad in civvies and flashing a badge. "Lt. Carson," he said briskly. "What happened?"
"Found a body in a dumpster, sir," the officer replied dutifully, recognizing authority when he saw it. "Looks like he bled to death. Not a pretty sight."
"Suicide?" Carson asked.
"Not clear yet, but the pathologist gave us a first estimate. Looks like someone stabbed him."
"Do you have a name yet?"
"One of the witnesses said it was Ben Jameson. Was known around here. Worked small jobs, sometimes involved in criminal activity."
Carson nodded. "Thanks, officer."
The police officer turned back to the crime scene. "Okay, keep back, fellows!" he shouted and forced some spectators back.
Nicholas MacKenzie walked back to the waiting Stealth, sitting wordlessly down on the driver's seat. "They are removing witnesses and possible leaks," he said almost as if to himself.
"Who?" Karr asked simply.
"That I wish I knew. Let's go back. I want to check on the programs."
Karr swallowed his reply that they would be able to do that from here as well. His systems were always locked on to the laptop's and he could check on results any time of the day. But going back to Knight's house was a welcome idea. He caught himself, then shook his head and sighed. It was so easy to fall back to the old routine and he was really looking forward to talking to Kitt again. Of course, they had been in contact through the link, but it had seemed less personal, more straining, and talking in person was largely different. Karr had also noticed that Nick had easily adjusted to working with Michael again, that he was relaxed and sociable.
Cut it out!> Nick growled.
Karr smiled darkly. Afraid of the truth?> he teased.
Look who's talking> was the muttered reply.
Karr snarled something uncomplimentary and slammed up a shield, but deep down inside he enjoyed it. Kitt's presence was as welcome as his driver's and he would miss either if cut off too long, though Nick's prolonged absence had more devastating effects on his mood and behavior. Still, Kitt was an essential part of his being and largely responsible for many changes in his life. Looking back at them now, he wouldn't want it any other way, even if he had the chance to live those years again.
* * *
Erica lazily chewed her gum, watching Trek talk to an older man and nodding animatedly. This was boring. They were out here, in the middle of nowhere, and looking for a killer car come back to life, but nothing was happening. Sipping at her soft drink she cast Trek a mildly inquisitive look as he returned.
"So?"
"Not much, but Jantzen was here. The car left an impression. Quite flashy, as the guy said. They left after asking around a bit."
"Huh. Nothing as usual then."
"Not really." Trek grinned brightly. "This time we know what he was looking for."
Erica raised a brow. "Yes?"
"Someone called MacKenzie. Drives a black car as well and he came through here."
"Oh, and that's such a hot trail?" She shook her head.
"It is if we find out who the guy is. Got a description of him, his name and the car's registration number."
Erica gave him a look of surprise. "The guy remembered the license plate?"
"Nope, but his kid did. Talked to him as well. He loves sports cars and he gave me a lot of details on the car. The moment I'm back in Sky One I'll hunt through the computers. Must be a special construction and those aren't hard to trace."
She yawned. "The sooner the better. Geez, it's hot and stuffy here. No fun, no action. Can you believe that the guy of the little shopping mart tried to hit on me?" She threw the can into a bin. "The nerve. Thinks he is James Dean or something."
Trek grinned and put on his helmet. Erica grimaced and followed suit. The two bikes left the small town, accelerated and headed back for Sky One.
* * *
In a side street across from the diner, a modified car sat silently in the shadows. Martin Jantzen watched the Ford leave and nodded to himself. "Hello, Kyle," he muttered. "And soon it will be good-bye."
"Our mission is not to destroy the team," KRO told him, his voice as level as always.
"Who said anything about destroying them?" Martin chuckled. "I'm just spreading a bit of confusion. When the leader is down, the team is headless. TKR will be too busy running around and searching for us to actually get somewhere. Then we'll destroy the others."
"Why not attack Karr?" KRO asked, anticipation in his voice. The first attack had lit a fire inside him, a lust to finish what they had started. KRO saw Karr as a worthy opponent and he wanted to go up against him again.
"Later, my friend. First our esteemed leader Mr. Stewart, then we get Karr, and in the end we destroy Kitt." Jantzen laughed again.
It was also a personal matter for him. Kyle Stewart had been the Foundation's prime candidate for KRO, but since they had been unable to get him back then, they had taken the next best man. Jantzen sneered. He had always been 'the next best' for all the jobs. There had always been someone better, someone more qualified. At the CIA, back with Project Phoenix, and then with FLAG. He had won KRO for himself, but he had not met expectations. As always. Now he would at least even the score with one of the two people who had outdone his performance, who he had gone up against in one way or the other, who he had try to beat in the eyes of his superiors.
KRO followed the silver car as it pulled out of the small town and onto the highway. A map appeared on his viewscreen and informed Jantzen how much further until the point of attack. He had chosen a lonely place, somewhere where the wreck would not be found too soon. As they closed in, KRO armed his weapons array.
"Bye, bye," Jantzen whispered.
* * *
Trek was in the situation room, using the computer to track down the license plate number the man had given him. Erika was present as well, playing with a pen, staring either at the ceiling or watching him with a bored expression on her face. Still, Trek had learned never to underestimate the con artist. If she out her mind to a job she could achieve incredible results, but most of the time she liked to hide behind her masks.
"All right," he now muttered. "Registration office." He typed in the license plate number and waited.
After a minute the computer beeped that the results had come back and Trek leaned forward eagerly. As he read the display, his expression went from disbelief to stunned amazement.
"What is it?" Erica asked.
"Uhm, there must be some mistake." He repeated the request – with the same results.
"What?" the other operative demanded.
"According to this, the license plate belongs to the presidential car park!"
Erica stared at him. "KRO is after the President?"
Trek impatiently shook his head. "No. The license is just registered to the official car park. Something must be wrong. I'll check what kind of car it's been issued to." He typed in the request and his face dropped once again within five minutes.
"Well?"
"Ehm...."
"Trek!"
"It's the Chief of Staff's private car," he managed. "That can't be right! And it doesn't fit the description of the black car the kid saw!"
Erica thoughtfully chewed on her gum. "So check the car maybe?"
Trek glared at her. "Doing that already."
"Oh, sorry to step on the genius' toes."
"Still, it can't be the right plate! He must have mixed something up. I'll do a sweep and see how many plates come up."
He set to work again.
* * *
Nick had arrived back at Michael's house and had immediately set to work. Michael wasn't home yet, still talking to Stewart if he remembered correctly, and it was rather silent. He hadn't seen Bonnie anywhere, which meant she was either somewhere outside, in the lab or not home either. Karr was parked in front of the main entrance, plainly visible in case one of them came home. He had taken his place on the couch again, leaning back against the armrest, laptop on his knees, activating the report of the program he had sent through FLAGNet. Everything looked normal. All access to the monitored files had been authorized and had come from within FLAG, except....
Nick frowned and typed several commands. He followed the path one of the users had taken and was bounced off several minor files until he reached a dead end. A cold feeling spread through him. Calling up another of his personal search programs he sent it along the path as well and suddenly discovered a small trap door, one used to exit the dead end without anyone noticing, least of all the guard dogs who would follow an intruder. Nick broke the door and hurtled down then cyber-link. The cold feeling inside him increased as he began to recognize the programming pattern that was now opening slowly.
"No," he breathed, his voice icy. "Impossible....." A mental scream of rage bounced inside the confines of his mind and he felt Karr's confusion.
Nick?> the AI asked carefully.
Nick sat like frozen on the couch, a myriad of thoughts colliding with each other while a part, the clinically logical mind of him, drew the correct conclusions. Why had KRO attacked him and Karr? Why not go and seek out his creator, the one who had destroyed him in the first place, the one who had given birth to this AI and then denied it life? Because KRO and Jantzen didn't work their own agenda; they worked for someone else.
Nick!> Karr called, breaking into the darkness that was threatening to overcome him.
It's him> Nick whispered.
Who?>
Nash>
* * *
Kyle was thinking over his conversation with Michael and from whatever angle he looked at it, he didn't like it at all. Michael was keeping something from him, mainly the name of the one who had been attacked, and Kyle knew it was vital for their mission. Finding KRO was tightly linked to knowing what or who he was after, but since Knight didn't reveal it, he had no real leads. Angrily staring through the windscreen he mulled over what arguments he might be able to use to get at least some information. Maybe Trek could get some answers if he set him on hacking into the computer files, but that would raise too many questions if the young computer genius actually breached a file with Michael Knight's name in it. And Kyle would have to explain where he had gotten those latest information from.
Sometimes it was a dance on a very thin wire. He was the only one who knew about Kitt and Michael, who were all but heroes in the others' eyes, and it was hard not to let anything slip. But he had held worse or more important secrets in his time at the CIA and he could keep this one.
"Kyle?" Dante's cultivated, British-accented voice broke into his thoughts.
"Yes, what is it?" he asked, trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice but failed.
"I just thought you might like to know that we are not alone, though in your current mood you can just ignore that fact," the AI said haughtily. "You are not up for company."
Kyle snapped out of his thoughts and glanced into the mirror. Yes, there was a car not far behind them, but still far enough that he couldn't identify him yet.
"He has been following us for the last ten miles."
"You could have told me sooner!"
"I thought you were busy," Dante replied pointedly.
Kyle sighed and shook his head. Sometimes.... "Okay, let's slow down and see what he does." He took his foot off the accelerator and the Ford slowed down to a leisurely 50 mph.
"He is slowing down as well, but he has come closer," Dante reported.
"Scan," Kyle ordered.
"Unknown vehicle," the AI answered after a short time. "Unknown construction, to be precise."
Kyle stared at the screen where the dark car was coming closer. He felt a small tingle run down his spine, something he called his 'internal alarm'. "Zoom," he ordered. The rear cameras zoomed in on their 'shadow' and he swallowed a curse. "Dante, call Sky One. We found KRO."
Dante was silent for a second, then he complied. "Kyle...." he suddenly started.
An alarm inside the cockpit went off and Kyle cursed loudly now, tearing the steering wheel to the left as something flashed by and exploded only a few feet in front of them.
"Missile! Evasive maneuvers!"
He knew Dante was no match for KRO if the other car was still equipped with the MBS and he felt like strangling the Board for deciding against this vital protection for the vulnerable cars. Dante might be more sophisticated and he was armed as well, but KRO had the advantage of being nearly indestructible!
"No confrontation!" he snapped. "We have to get out of here!"
"I sent off the call, Kyle, but he's jamming us!" Dante reported. "I don't think it went through, though...."
Kyle inhaled deeply, floored the pedal and prayed. If the whole team were he, he wouldn't run, but he remembered quite clearly what had happened to Beast and what else KRO had done in the past. He couldn't risk it.
"Missile!" Dante called again.
"Hold on!"
The missile hit and Dante was suddenly faced by a wall of flame. Kyle held on to the steering wheel, clenching his teeth as Dante hit an obstacle, most likely some rocks on the side of the road, and his front went high up into the air. The Ford was momentarily airborne. All the AI's systems were going haywire with the missile's emissions and Dante gave an involuntary gasp. Within a nano-second every single of his supports went down and it was like getting cut off from all his senses at once without warning. His body, the car he was installed in, did a 360 degree turn in the air and then hit the ground at an impossible angle to outbalance. The momentum carried them on, turning him over several times, flames erupting from where the missile's liquid contents had ignited on his skin. He tried to get the PLRS working, but to no avail. Kyle's head hit the steering wheel with force, then he was thrown back into the seat by the impact. His head hit the side window and Dante heard a sickening 'thud'.
The Ford still turned over and over. Dizzy, feeling the fire lick at his systems, Dante tried to get his bearings.
"Kyle!" he croaked.
There was no reaction from his driver and even without his failing systems it was clear to him that Kyle was unconscious. Blood was running from a deep gash on his forehead.
And then there was an impact on his left side, rocking the now severely compromised structure of what was his only protection: the car. Kyle moaned and his hand twitched faintly.
"Kyle!" Dante cried, panic worming its way into his normally so controlled voice.
"Dan....?" the blond man groaned.
Another jolt pushed Dante precariously close to where the street fell sharply toward a deep ditch.
"What's happening?" Kyle asked groggily.
"No time for explanations, Kyle, we have a situation. KRO is trying to kill us!"
"Never would have guessed," Kyle mumbled, blinking blood out of his eyes. "System check?"
"Nothing is working. Get out of the car. Save yourself!" Dante instructed urgently.
"No. Won't leave you here alone," the human growled stubbornly, still too dazed to function properly, Dante suspected, but he knew better than that.
"Kyle, don't be a hero. Go!"
And then KRO hit them the third time.
"No!" Dante exclaimed in horror as the car tilted and then fell.
Kyle didn't even have time to scream as Dante was turned over and fell. Then there was just black nothingness again.
* * *
Nicholas was outside, leaning against Karr, eyes closed, arms crossed in front of his chest. He appeared to be relaxed and calm, but inside he was close to erupting. Michael had still to come home and Bonnie had not shown up either. Karr held his silence as his driver and long-time partner tried to come to grips with the news he had unburied.
Jackson Nash, the General, Nick's creator and former superior, was back. He had freed KRO and Jantzen, had set them on Nick's trail and had tried to hit him. That the attempt had failed only meant that it had been nothing but a warning shot. Jantzen, and with him Nash, planned something else completely. But what? Nick was his enemy, the student who in the end had defied him and tried to bring him down. Nick had finished his career, had thwarted several projects and a few years back had destroyed a new plan to create assassins for hire. Nothing had been heard of him ever since – until now. This had to be a revenge plan, but why not go after Nick again and again? Why had he left him alone for nearly a week now?
A sudden idea struck him and he took the laptop, which he had placed on the seat, and opened it. For a while he worked in total concentration, then his features froze.
"Shit!" was all that came next.
Nick curled his hands into fists, shaking with suppressed emotions, and Karr was privy to a thunderstorm of anger, rage, hatred and pain. He probed carefully.
"Nicholas?"
"He was one of them, Karr," Nick grated.
Karr was slightly confused. "Of whom? And who?"
Nick sank down on the driver's seat, trying to control old emotions raging forward. He tapped in a few commands and linked Karr's systems to the laptop. On the small screen a file appeared, the picture of Martin Jantzen prominent in the left hand corner.
"I checked Jantzen's files. He was a CIA operative and he came highly recommended. I went back and through all the departments and special projects he worked for, and there is one I recognize. Project Phoenix, also called 'Project X'." Nick inhaled deeply. "It's... it was Nash's little pet project," he managed. "It was what created me."
Karr felt his circuits stop and freeze. Nick's emotions were quite clear now and they reminded him of when they had destroyed Nash's assassin ring.
"When I left, he recruited others. One of them was Jantzen. Looks like the last part he played with the CIA was in Nash's team. After that FLAG hired him," Nick went on tonelessly. "Nash destroyed Jantzen and no one at FLAG saw it. All they read were his achievements, his perfect record; no one knew Project Phoenix." He closed his eyes, shaking. "Damnit! I should have killed him back then when I had the chance!"
Karr didn't know what to say. He simply upheld the link as tightly as Nick let him, giving him support, though he knew it was very little.
"Now he is using what FLAG supplied him with: a deadly machine that is as unstable as the driver. And the driver was created by Nash."
"What do you want to do now?" Karr asked neutrally.
"Find and destroy Nash."
"Nick? I have just received an emergency call," Karr suddenly said. "Very badly ripped up and barely comprehensible, but I decoded it."
Nick opened his eyes. "Who from?"
"Dante. He and his driver were under attack. It was KRO."
"Position?"
A map appeared on the screen and he quickly calculated the distance. "Let's go."
"The call didn't go through to Sky One; it was cut off before it could reach them. Shall I inform the team?"
Nick nodded, then the black car accelerated and they raced toward the coordinates.
* * *
Martin Jantzen stopped his car and looked at the barely visible, slightly smoking wreck of the silver Ford. A satisfied smile played over his lips.
"Well done, partner."
"Thank you," KRO replied.
He reversed slightly, parking KRO off the street, then got out. He checked the gun he had started the habit of carrying, then slowly advanced on the SUV. Dante was lying half on his side, the right front tire caught on a piece of rock protruding out of the ground. His hood was a mangled piece of metal, burned and twisted, one tire flat, his passenger side burned and the rear fender had been torn off. The windows were miraculously all intact, but one showed heavy web-cracking. The fire that had briefly raged through the engine had died down, the hot metal cracking and popping.
Kyle Stewart was unconscious. His head had lolled to the driver's door, blood smeared all over his face and now clinging to the window.
"Kyle, Kyle, Kyle," Jantzen muttered, walking around Dante, grimacing in mock sympathy as he discovered the seriously indented front grille. "Should have chosen a better car."
He came back to the driver's side.
"I could finish you here and now. No witnesses, no police, just you and me. No Team Knight Rider to rescue you, no Foundation, no Marland."
The name was spoken with venom in it.
"He chose you first, you know that, don't you? But you were the top of the top, you were busy with all those secret missions. So they took me. Poor little Martin was given the chance to be the first." He laughed humorlessly. "I was given the prototype. I was supposed to be Michael Knight's replacement. Now they hunt me."
He leaned closer to the unconscious man.
"They won't get me, Kyle. Neither will you or anyone of your team. I could shoot you right here and now, but this would be so un-sportsman-like. Consider this a taste of what is to come."
He secured the gun and stepped away from the Ford. Then Jantzen began to climb back where KRO was patiently waiting for him. The black finish gleamed menacingly in the sun and he smiled involuntarily. His partner. Strong, powerful and beautiful. None of the others was a match for KRO, not even the antiquated relic Karr. He would finish them off and then be free, especially of Nash.
"Let's go, partner," he said softly.
The black Ferrari pulled away and soon nothing but the settling dust told of the vehicle recently parked here.
*
Kyle was faintly aware of someone calling him. It was a voice he knew, someone he trusted, someone he had worked with, a friend..... But he couldn't attach a name to the voice. It was very insistent and it was starting to pound in his head like the headache he was already feeling. There was a metallic taste in his mouth and after a while he identified it as blood.
"Kyle! Can you hear me? Wake up!"
The voice again, this time clearer. And all of a sudden he knew the name of the caller.
"Dante?"
His voice was slurred, heavy, and he felt terrible. His lip hurt, his teeth ached, his head was about to explode and his ribs were telling him a story as well. He suspected at least one broken rib, maybe two - or a badly bruised one - as well as bruised or torn muscles.
"Kyle!"
Dante's voice had lost most of its so controlled tone. There was pure relief and happiness in it, underlined with a lot of worry and fear.
"Status report," he ordered, lower lip hurting like hell.
"Most of my systems are down, including self-diagnosis. The missile damaged the front tires and the shell around my engine, though the engine is probably still functional." Dante didn't sound very confident though.
"Probably?" Kyle opened his eyes and was greeted by a slightly tilted view. His left eye was encrusted with blood and as he tried to clean the crust away he felt the swelling bruise on his cheek bone.
"I can't run a check, Kyle. All systems are off-line. I think KRO was very thorough." Dante sounded frightened and Kyle understood him in a way. The car, the systems in it, were his body, his support. Without them he was nothing but a blind, almost deaf computer core in an expensive body shell.
"Where are we, Dan?" he asked, trying to sound his usual calm self, give Dante some focus, even if he didn't feel so secure either.
"In a ditch. A very deep ditch. I have failed establishing contact with anyone of the team or Sky One." Dante's voice wavered again. "My radio has shorted."
Kyle closed his eyes and rested his head briefly against the seat. "Any ideas, partner?"
Dante was silent. "I have to confess....," he then said hesitantly. "No."
Kyle wished the pounding headache would recede. "Can I repair the radio?"
The AI seemed to mull it over. "Possibly, though I doubt it will be any use for long-range communications. I'd also advise that you don't move, Kyle."
The blond man straightened, hissing in pain. "Well, too bad that I hate to take advice."
"I'm your car," Dante remarked with just as much of his old snobistic strength as he could summon. "I know."
Kyle smiled dimly and fumbled for the latch under the dash that would give him access to the outer systems of the AI. It took a while and he bit his lip hard once to keep from crying out in pain, but he finally managed to get it off. Wires and diodes greeted him.
"Dante, I need help here," he wheezed.
Dante proceeded to guide him through the steps, but it was getting increasingly hard to concentrate. His head throbbed, the head wound had started to ooze a small trickle of blood, which steadily ran into his eyes, and his ribs were a fiery agony.
"Kyle!"
He blinked, forcing back the blackness around him. "Dante?"
"You lost consciousness," the AI told him, sounding seriously perturbed. "You shouldn't do this."
"I have to. We have to call help." Kyle swallowed a moan of pain. "How is it so far?"
"I think you made progress. I believe if you can boost the power by connecting the blue wire to the other blue one, I should be able to pull enough power from the back-up for one signal."
Kyle went to work again. Finally he was done, pulling himself slowly and painfully away from the dash. "Okay?" he asked, voice wobbly.
"Yes. I have started sending the signal. I hope it's strong enough to reach someone."
"Me too," he whispered.
"I'm sorry," Dante suddenly said into the silence that ensued them.
Kyle opened his eyes. "Why are you apologizing? None of this was your fault!"
The AI was silent, but it was a depressed silence. Kyle tried to change his position, but the pain made him give up. He suppressed a groan and sank back, fighting against the blaze in his side and the pounding in his head.
"None of this was your fault," he repeated. "Dante, KRO is outfitted with the MBS!"
"He is superior. Like Kitt," Dante muttered, trying to find at least some of his old sharpness but failing.
"You know why FLAG decided against the MBS."
"Michael could have changed the decision." There was slight anger and a hint of betrayal in the car's voice.
"No, he was overruled. He doesn't have that much power." Kyle closed his eyes again, feeling slightly dizzy. "The Board was afraid the episode of a crazed-out and totally insane AI could repeat itself."
Dante shuddered. "Instead they left us vulnerable. I would never turn on you, Kyle," he added all of a sudden.
Kyle's mouth curled into a weak smile. "I know, Dante. You are my partner. I trust you."
"Thank you. I didn't know if you would."
Kyle was shocked for a moment. "Why? You are my car!"
"Yes, just a car."
"No, wait, Dante..... You are more. I admit, I first thought of you as just a rather nifty device, a car with a computer chip, but..." He struggled for words. "You are more."
"Am I?" Dante tried to sound neutral but failed.
"Yes," Kyle said softly. "I care for what happens to you; you are my partner; we are a team. I never thought it possible, but it's true. I do care about what happens to you."
"Thank you," Dante said, moved.
Silence settled over them and Dante channeled some more power into his visuals, keeping a close eye on his driver. His medical data base told him that if Kyle had a concussion, which was more than likely, he had to keep him awake.
"Kyle?"
His driver blinked. "Hm?"
"You have to stay awake."
"I'm awake," Kyle muttered.
"Talk to me," Dante ordered. "About whatever. You have to stay awake."
Kyle tried to concentrate and started talking. It was a bit incoherent at first, then his voice found some strength. Dante listened, then asked questions and coaxed Kyle to keep on talking. He had to stay conscious until help arrived.
* * *
Jenny felt tired and like she was running from one dead end into another. She and Duke had been driving through the area where KRO had been seen in for half a day now and nothing had popped up. Domino was monitoring the police frequencies in case something happened that sounded like KRO and Jantzen, but no luck there as well.
"Incoming message," Domino announced.
"Jenny? This is Trek. Nothing much here, but we got a name."
"Name?" she echoed.
"Yeah. Looks like Jantzen was on the look-out for a guy called 'MacKenzie'."
"And this is who?" Jenny wanted to know.
Trek sighed. "I have no clue. Didn't Kyle say there was a witness or a victim?"
"Yes...."
"I guess that either of the two was this MacKenzie. Drives a black car of no known brand."
Jenny frowned. "Did you check on it?"
"In a way," Trek answered slowly. "I ran the plate by the registration office and came up with something...uhm... strange. It's licensed to the Presidential car park and to top that, it's the Chief of Staff's family car."
Jenny blinked. "Come again?"
"Gets better. I searched for the model the kid described and came up completely empty. None was ever licensed to drive these streets. I went back on the plate, did a total sweep in case the numbers had been switched, and hit zero once more. Then I did the same call to the office again, and guess what?"
"What?"
"This time it's not the Presidential car park, it's the US Air Force."
"Impossible."
"Thought the same. Whoever the driver is, he has one hell of a good system running protecting his identity."
"Thanks, Trek. Jenny out."
"Needle in a haystack," Domino remarked.
"I know, Dom. I just wish Kyle would spill what he is hiding."
"Oh, men with secrets are so sexy," the AI remarked, voice deep and suggestive.
"Domino!"
"Come on, confess it, sweetheart," she teased.
Jenny clamped her mouth shut, hands curling around the steering wheel. "Tell Duke we are going back to Sky One," was all the said. "I'll have to talk to Kyle again."
"Only talk?"
"Domino!"
"Spoilsport," Domino sighed but complied. "Hang on a second, hon. There is a signal coming in. It's on the emergency channels."
Jenny was suddenly alert. "What is it?"
"Oh, no, it's Dante!"
"Position?" she snapped.
Domino gave her the coordinates and Jenny floored the accelerator. "Duke, we have a call for help on the emergency channel from Kyle!" she called over the line. "Follow me!"
"Right behind ya!"
"Don't all men say that?" Domino sighed. "And never a grain of truth."
Jenny didn't reply, face grim, mind running wild with what could have happened.
* * *
Dante had lost track of time. He was only aware of the harsh sounding breathing of his driver, scanning his heartbeat and blood pressure as best as he could with his now limited systems. Kyle was barely conscious, but he was holding on with stubborn determination.
Suddenly there was a sound. Someone was approaching the overturned Ford and Dante felt hands on his outer shell, trying to force open the door. Not too far away he heard something else, like a low running engine.
"Dante? Are you still functional?"
The voice was unfamiliar and Dante was unable to get visuals working, except for those focused on the inside.
"Kyle?" the voice now addressed his semi-conscious driver. "Can you hear me? I'm a friend. I heard your signal."
"Who....?" Kyle murmured.
The stranger managed to force the door open and gently examined the injured driver. Kyle hissed in pain. "Sorry. You need a trip to the hospital, my friend, and your car a pro-longed stay at the repair shop."
"Who are you?" Kyle mumbled.
"Like I said, a friend. Michael knows me."
There was a sudden light in Kyle's open eye, the one not encrusted with blood. "Michael?"
The stranger smiled. "Don't worry."
"Two vehicles are currently traversing this way and will be here in three minutes and twenty-five seconds. I suspect they are his team mates," a cool voice suddenly said, startling not only Kyle but also Dante.
"Call an ambulance nevertheless," the man replied.
"Who is that?"
"Another friend. I bounced your signal to your team mates."
"We have to leave," the voice suddenly said. "They are here."
Dante heard the stranger walk away.
Nicholas MacKenzie left the wreck lying where it was, aware that he was putting himself in danger by openly showing himself and Karr. Okay, so no one knew them, but it was no advised. Looking at the silver Ford he felt a shudder of sympathy. KRO had hit them good and hard, and from the looks of it, Dante needed more than just a beauty repair.
Did you scan him?> he now asked.
Yes. His CPU is showing fluctuations> Karr reported emotionlessly.
Integrity failure?>
Not yet>
Nick's eyes narrowed at the two new-arrivals. One was a red convertible Mustang with white stripes on the hood, the other a black truck. He had read Michael's files on the team and he knew who they were.
"Let's go."
*
Jenny stopped Domino in almost a dead break and jumped out. "Oh, god! Kyle, Dante!" she whispered.
Duke stared openmouthed at the wreck of the formerly proud silver Ford. One door hung open and he saw Kyle's limp form in the driver's seat. Jenny was already at Kyle's side. He was barely conscious and his breathing was coming in ragged gasps.
"There is an ambulance approaching," Domino informed her driver, voice very level and totally unlike herself. Shock sat deep in the AI as well. "I don't know who called it, but it will be here in approximately eight minutes."
"Thanks," Jenny whispered. "Call Sky One and tell them what happened."
"And what exactly did happen?" Duke inquired. "Beast said the emergency call was bounced off another source before it reached us."
Jenny's eyes sparked with anger. "KRO happened!"
In the distance she heard the sound of sirens.
"I'll run him into the ground next time he gets in front of my tires!" Beast growled, pure anger leaking through. Duke touched the black nose unconsciously.
"Kyle?" Jenny now asked.
Kyle moaned softly. His eye-lids fluttered and heavily clouded blue eyes looked at him. Jenny winced.
"Dante....?" he whispered.
Jenny looked at the severely damaged Ford Expedition. Dante had not reacted to their presence and she didn't know if he was at all still functional.
"I'm here....." the AI suddenly rasped and Jenny heard a lot of pain out of his voice. "Still functional."
Duke swallowed and Jenny briefly closed her eyes. Kyle was losing hold on his last scrap of consciousness fast. "KRO," he whispered. Then he blacked out.
Jenny heard a sound from Dante that sounded almost like a choked-off moan, then the car fell silent.
The ambulance arrived two minutes later.
* * *
"I thought we had an agreement."
Jantzen shrugged as he looked at the viewscreen where the General's face expressed his displeasure. "Hey, it was fun. Don't worry. Your friend will be next."
"I hope so, Mr. Jantzen, because otherwise I might have to look for alternative solutions." The screen went dark.
Martin sneered. "Otherwise I might have to look for an alternative," he echoed. "Who does he think he is?"
KRO remained silent.
"Let's give him some of what he wants then. Keep him happy," Jantzen growled.
* * *
Michael was pacing his office, gray eyes alight with bright anger. Bonnie watched him, only too aware of what he was feeling, and Nicholas sat on the arm rest of the couch, face expressionless.
"We have to find him!" Knight finally exploded.
"No argument from me," Nick remarked coolly. "The question is: how? First Karr and me, now Kyle and Dante. There is no logic behind the attack."
Michael transferred an angry glare at his old time friend. "He doesn't need a reason, Nick! He is insane!"
MacKenzie shook his head. "Yes and no. He might have gone over the edge, but he is doing what he does for a reason."
"Why Kyle and Dante then?"
"Revenge? The team thwarted his plans to kill Marland last time. And Kyle was his replacement."
"And why you before that?"
Nick fell silent. Michael's eyes narrowed.
"Why you?" he repeated the question.
Still silence.
Michael stopped his pacing and his face grew cold. "Nick, why?" he asked, sounding slightly frigid. "You know why, don't you? You found something as you went through FLAGNet."
The ex-agent met his gaze, old masks trying to slip over his face. "It's something personal."
"I didn't hear that just now," Michael said coldly. "This isn't personal. It stopped being personal when you contacted me. Now this 'personal stuff' nearly killed one of my best men! Spill it!"
"If I had known that KRO's attack was personal, I would not have contacted you, Michael."
"But you have and now I'm involved. We all are!"
Nick was silent for a while, then said, "Nash is back."
Bonnie paled. "The man who created those killer kids?"
"The very one. Looks like he unburied KRO."
Michael was speechless for two full seconds. "How....?"
"He broke into FLAGNet and his traces, though not obvious, are there. I found some as I searched for corrupted safety mechanisms." Nick pinched the bridge of his nose as if fighting a searing headache. "I'm sorry I pulled you into this, Michael, but Nash is my responsibility."
Knight shook his head. "No, he isn't. He is using FLAG property, he actually stole it to be precise, and he attacked my team. This is *our* responsibility. Don't start going rogue on me here, Nick. We work together."
Nick sighed. "Okay," he said softly. "Okay, a team play." He smiled dimly. "What's your plan?"
"What you said, work as a team. I'll go and check on Kyle, you get me everything you have found. I'll have to take care of TKR as well. Nick, no stunts, okay?"
"Promise," the dark-haired man said, smiling slightly.
* * *
Jenny tried not to display how worried she had been, how she had felt like chewing off her nails and screaming at everyone who caught her in the wrong way, and she knew it was slowly showing. Not that the others didn't really know how worried their second-in-command was. It was an open secret that Kyle and Jenny felt more than just friendly towards each other, though both denied it vehemently. It was hard to ignore Dante and Domino's teasing though; very hard. Mainly because there was a grain of truth in there.
Now Kyle had been seriously injured and Dante had been almost scrapped. The mechanics had set to work right away and were busy getting the AI back into a functioning shell, but it would take time.
"Ms. Andrews?" She looked up and met a pair of warm, brown eyes in a round face. "My name is Ross Hendrik." The doctor shook her hand. "I treated your friend."
"How is he?"
"Not as bad as it first appeared to you maybe," Dr. Hendrik told her. "He has a cracked rib, a concussion, a laceration, several bruises and some scrapes. What Mr. Stewart needs is a lot of rest and relaxation. He has already told us he wants to leave, which I wouldn't advise." A grimace appeared on the doctor's features. "He insists, though. Mr. Stewart assured me there is a medical facility close to his home."
Jenny nodded. "Yes, we have a doctor."
"I know Mr. Stewart is working for the government and that the government takes care of its employees, but I strongly advise that he takes it easy. He will be released under his own responsibility, but I want to tell you to keep an eye on him. He is likely to think he is fit enough to continue as did before."
Jenny smiled wryly. "Very good description. I'll take care of him." She felt a blush starting to creep up her face as the wording of the sentence struck her.
Dr. Hendrik just nodded. "Good luck," he remarked dryly. "He'll be discharged this afternoon."
* * *
The garage was silent, a rare occasion. It was in the middle of the night and none of the mechanics were around, as if they felt that the occupants needed to be by themselves. The night shift was just around the corner, though, ready to deal with their current patient if anything came up. Beast didn't mind the quiet because no mechanics meant no one poking around in his engine, though sometimes the poking resulted in another nice and very cool weapon to be added. But tonight his thoughts were as far away from new weaponry as possible, as was most likely everyone else's. His scanners were fixed on the partially repaired, silver truck. It had been somewhat of a shock to all the vehicles to hear about Dante's encounter with KRO, even more when they had found out that Kyle had been seriously injured. When Dante had been brought in, Beast had winced, though had not said anything or let anyone know how close this was getting to him.
Even though he and Dante sometimes came head to head, he respected the other AI as a team mate and friend. To see him like this.... Dante was the boss' vehicle, always calm, level-headed and above a situation. He complimented Kyle Stewart in this. But unlike Kyle, who liked to keep a quiet and low profile, Dante was not immune to sometimes boasting a bit or letting the others know that he was the leader's car. He was proud to be Kyle's partner. Sometimes he was irritating as well, highly snobistic if piqued and his snide remarks were grating on Beast's nerves when he was caught in the wrong mood. Still, they were friends.
And now this.
Dante had not spoken a word since he had been towed in, not a single haughty comment. Beast had watched the mechanics dismantle the ripped open and torn body shell and had winced repeatedly as more and more damage had been revealed. This was a deep wound, a very deep one. The missile had destroyed a lot. The engineers had taken out the CPU, placed it on a work bench and hooked an independent supply to the fragile heart of the AI. Just seeing Dante's innards spilled out was sickening.
Domino had contacted him almost immediately on a private line and had told him that she was not getting a single reply from Dante, which was worrisome enough. Dante also wasn't talking to the technicians and mechanics, which he usually did to complain about things in general. But when Domino had told him the results of the first scan the mechanics had taken, Beast had become decidedly sick. Dante was still on-line, but his CPU had been compromised and even though he had been more or less stabilized after hours of work, he remained eerily unresponsive.
Suddenly one of the monitors showed a wildly fluctuating line. Beast's attention was immediately drawn there and he watched in alarm as the lines became totally erratic.
"Something is wrong!" Domino exclaimed nearly simultaneously.
Beast rocked back in shock. "What is it?" he stuttered. He was totally unfamiliar with this. Combat he understood, but computer science? No.....
"I don't know!" Domino replied, panic worming its way into her voice.
Alarms went off, calling the computer technician on duty. A man in an orange coverall stormed into the room, casting quick looks at the screaming monitors. Beast recognized him as Brian Holmes, one of the few of the bunch he really liked. Brian had a knack for understanding the big vehicles needs when it came to repairs, additional systems and overhauls, and he was a great guy to talk about missions to. Now he immediately homed in on the only wounded member of the five vehicles and cursed softly. Getting out a small laptop he connected to Dante's CPU. He worked feverishly for a moment, then everything went back to normal – as if there had been no such incident.
"Damn," Brian muttered. "What's going on?" Dante remained silent. Brian sighed. "Still in no mood to talk? Not even a snobby comeback?"
That usually roused the silver Ford into a reply, but there was nothing. Only silence. Brian shook his head and stayed for some more time, running several system checks, but everything came out okay.
"Is he going to be okay?" Domino asked.
Brian turned to the Mustang. "Yes, but he needs time to stabilize completely, The missile did a lot of damage and that he lay in the middle of the desert so long didn't help either."
Domino didn't answer and Beast felt like running someone over, preferably KRO. The insane car had nearly killed him as well when they had first encountered him and Beast had to say he felt rather reluctant to face him without heavy armament once again, but the feeling revenge drowned the apprehension and the slight fear. KRO had nearly killed Dante!
Brian left again and the garage was silent once more, the AIs watching their wounded friend anxiously.
* * *
Nick looked at the viewscreen showing him the large plane they were headed to. "Nice," he remarked dryly. "So much more roomy than the Semi."
It was a C-5 Galaxy transporter, sitting at the airport like a gigantic bird waiting to lift off. The turbines were pointing downward. VTOL, Nick mused, Vertical Take Off and Landing. Comes in handy.
Michael had given him access to the TKR files, though even if Nick didn't have the codes, he would have been able to hack into them. The plane was called Sky One, TKR's flying home and more than just a base. There were about sixty crew members on this mobile unit, taking care of everything from food catering to the crew and operatives to the mechanical challenges of working with five AIs. Nick knew the names of the pilots, the most important crew members and all the functions that he might need when he was aboard. He had also familiarized himself with the operatives, their vehicles, and whatever technical data there was about the AIs. All in all at first look he judged none of them were a match for either Kitt or Karr; and at second look neither.
"I hate planes," Karr growled.
"I don't expect you to fly in one, partner. We are just attending a meeting."
Karr rumbled darkly. Nick knew he didn't like it and neither did his driver. Michael had decided that this was serious and if Nash was the mastermind behind KRO's revival, this concerned TKR as much as it concerned Nick. Michael had been against a vid screen conference or informing Kyle via a short email. The TKR leader had every right to know what was going on from his 'superior' in person and Knight had never liked the holographic message system anyway. A lot could be faked, even within such a secure system as FLAGNet supposedly was, and the case had been blown out of proportion by Nick's revelation.
"Here we go," he muttered as they drove up the ramp after Kitt had cleared them.
*
"He is here."
The slightly stiff, cultivated voice jerked Kyle out of his thoughts. He tried to get into a more comfortable position, but his cracked rib protested every move. He clenched his teeth, briefly considered taking another pain-killer, then decided against it. One side of his face was a big bruise, the stitched cut above his eye swollen and sensitive to the touch. He knew he looked like he had gone through the wringer and he felt like it as well.
"Thanks, Dante," he said through almost clenched teeth and finally pushed himself up.
Kyle had not been able to get Michael to change his mind about coming aboard Sky One and he knew that when the other team members saw Knight, the truth would come out and the secret would be blown. But if Michael came here in person, whatever he had to say was serious and very important. The com lines were all secure and scrambled, but Michael didn't seem to trust in them, and since Kyle was unable to leave Sky One, Michael had to come to him.
"You should rest," the haughty British voice of the AI said. "Doctor's orders."
"Yeah, thanks for reminding me."
"Always a pleasure."
Kyle smiled wryly, but the banter at least showed him that Dante was back to almost normal again. He had heard about the instability that had threatened to be a nightmare for the technicians and he knew Dante had been thoroughly shocked by the near-miss, as well as Kyle's close call. He had to chew on it for a while, but he would get over it. Kyle had been down in the garage once, to see how his friend was faring, and when he had seen the totally dismantled car, the small CPU case sitting next to it, he had understood what Dante was for the first time. The heavy Ford was just the armor for a fragile AI inside, something sophisticated and programmed, but still a personality that had developed through contact with his driver and others, but mostly Kyle. Then he had understood Dante's fear.
Kyle tried to breathe as shallow as possible as he left his office, intent on meeting his guest down in the garage. The back of the former transporter had been rebuilt into a garage area where not only the vehicles parked – five all in all – but which also served as the mechanics' area and the loading zone. With four of the five vehicles gone, it appeared empty. As Kyle stepped down the stairs he saw a familiar black car pull up the ramp and park next to Dante – followed by another black car, one he hadn't seen before. It wasn't a model he was familiar with and as he glanced at the license plate he didn't see a FLAG registration either.
"Hello, Michael," he greeted the driver who now climbed out of the revamped TransAm.
"Hi, Kyle. You should be in bed."
Kyle grimaced. "I'm fine. How often do I have to repeat it?"
"I know your medical record. You are not fine," Michael told him sternly. "I know you don't like hospitals and I agree that you can rest on Sky One just as easily, but this means staying in bed and not running around. You'll end up in the infirmary this way sooner or later."
"Yes, sir," he muttered.
Michael smiled slightly. The other driver got out as well and Kyle sized him up, immediately on the edge as his old instincts screamed danger.
"Kyle, this is Nicholas MacKenzie, a friend of mine. We need to talk."
"My pleasure," Kyle replied warily.
"Where are the others?"
"On their way back. Michael, are you sure...?"
The older man nodded. "Yes, I'm sure. What I tell you now will convince you that this is necessary." He turned to the TransAm. "Okay, Kitt, you and Dante be friends while we are in a meeting, okay?" Michael tapped Kitt's roof once.
"Michael, please!" Kitt muttered. "You make it sound like we'd be at each other's throat!"
Michael chuckled and they both walked down the corridor, leaving the two vehicles alone.
"You are taking a pretty high risk coming here," Kyle remarked.
"I know, but it's necessary. I was aware of the risk that one day I had to reveal my identity, though I wish it would have been under more pleasant circumstances."
"So what is this all about?" Kyle asked as he eased himself into the chair once more.
Nick MacKenzie flopped down in another and Michael remained standing.
"We have the background information we needed," Michael explained. "We know who is behind this and I'm sure you won't like it....."
*
The rest of the team arrived about two hours after Michael and Nick, and as Jenny pulled Domino up into her usual parking space she immediately discovered two strange cars on the spare parking area. One was a black, new TransAm with some minor alterations to the basic model, the other a completely unknown model, equally painted black.
"Dig that look," Domino remarked and zoomed in on the two cars. "Nice outfit."
Jenny grimaced and got out, her team mates casting questioning looks. She shrugged. Visitors maybe? If yes, who? Trek walked over to the TransAm and peered at it with interested eyes.
"Neat. Basic latest TransAm model with some alterations. Do we have a new team member?" he joked.
"Two, if you think the other car is an addition as well," Duke remarked, also coming over.
"Hey, look at the license plate!" the young man suddenly exclaimed.
They gathered around the back of the car and Duke whistled. "Knight."
"And it's a TransAm!" Trek added excitedly. He bounced over to the front and pointed at the dark scanner. "See?"
"Dream on, boy wonder," Erica told him with a sarcastic smile. "This is probably some kind of museum piece."
Trek shook his head. "No, I don't think so!" He looked through the side window, but except for a slightly revamped dash he saw nothing remotely like what he had expected.
"And the other is the stand-in or what?" Erica laughed. "Listen, Trek, this isn't Kitt! They are probably just pulling a joke or testing something or whatever."
Jenny nodded. "Let's go and meet Kyle. It sounded like it was important."
Trek cast a last look at the cars, then they marched toward the meeting room.
_Museum piece? Karr sent with mock malevolence in his voice.
Kitt chuckled slightly. _Well, if I am, so are you – the stand in, he teased.
_At least I upgraded my shell, Karr sneered. _Unlike some other AI I know.
_It served me well and I liked the look.
Karr snorted. _You should have flipped the license plate, he then remarked. _This was a dead giveaway.
_Why? Michael isn't hiding and no one knows you. I won't tell.
Karr didn't answer and looked around the room, scanning the five vehicles present. He couldn't believe how stupid the Foundation was. No MBS, plainly visible weak spots, and no actual defenses against a CPU intrusion.
_Somebody paint a target on them. Would make it easier, he grumbled.
Kitt only laughed softly.
*
Trek was arguing with Duke about a minor matter, which ended in the young man muttering about the unfairness of the world, as the doors to the situation room swished open. Kyle was already present, seated in his usual place and Jenny bit her tongue not to snap at him why he was out of bed. He looked pale and slightly drawn, the lines of pain plainly visible around his eyes and mouth. Her eyes fell on a second man and she stopped. All her alarm bells rang as something about him made all her senses scream to be careful.
"Oh my god!" Trek suddenly exclaimed and his voice rose to a squeak.
Jenny's head snapped up and she knew her mouth hung open, but she had no control over her reaction.
"Sit down, people," Kyle ordered and she found herself reacting automatically, eyes still pinned on the third person in the room.
That was impossible..... This man was... Michael Knight? Jenny knew all about the first and almost legendary operative of FLAG and she had memorized his picture. He hadn't changed all that much. A bit older, leaner, a few gray hairs, but all in all it was Michael Knight.
How...?
"We have received the latest information on the KRO incident," Kyle started as if nothing out of the ordinary had just occurred, as if they were among themselves in a meeting. "Something has surfaced that might shed some light on what has been going on, something I haven't been told before." His eyes shot a look into Knight's direction and Jenny saw accusation in them. "We now know who KRO's target was in the first place and we might have an idea what is going on." He nodded at the unknown man. "May I introduce Nicholas MacKenzie, a close friend of mine."
"You!" Trek called. "That's the guy then!" A triumphant light was in his eyes. "The old guy who had seen KRO mentioned the name MacKenzie and a custom-made sports car!"
Nick bestowed a half-smile on him.
"And you are the one whose license plate keeps popping up in the most unlikely places among the registered plates!" Trek went on. "How did you do it?"
"Talent."
"Nick was the victim of the first attack," Michael now confirmed. "KRO chose him for a reason and it is connected to Jantzen's past. He stepped forward, pushed a button and the awe-filled eyes of the team turned briefly to the screen where a picture of Martin Jantzen had appeared, together with a file about his career. "Martin Jantzen was a former CIA operative when FLAG hired him. Or to precise: when Marland hand-picked him," he went on. "We all know what happened when he and KRO were put together as a team, but we didn't know why it happened. Jantzen had a clean slate, no record of any mental problems in the past, but still he broke under the pressure of teaming up with an artificial intelligence that had been created to compliment him. We never knew – until now."
A section of the file was enhanced.
"Project Phoenix?" Duke read, his voice slightly strangled as he also tried to come to grips what had overrun them.
"Project Phoenix was a rogue experiment, run by a highly placed individual who had his own agenda among the government services. I won't go into detail, except maybe for the fact that the goal was to create an elite of assassins, of individuals who were more like machines than human. Jantzen was taken into this project and through it apparently broken. Nothing of this ordeal and its consequences made it to his surface mind, but when KRO stepped into his life, he cracked. Project Phoenix is also the connection between his resurrection and his attack on Nick. The one who dug out the almost dead team is the one who ran Phoenix, a man we know only by the name 'General' or who likes to use the alias 'Jackson Nash'."
"Jantzen was such a trained killer?" Trek now asked.
Michael nodded. "Yes, or at least he was on his way to it. I don't believe that Nash finished the training because Jantzen didn't fit the profile he was looking for. He was after replacements for someone who had managed to free himself and who had nearly destroyed everything he had worked for more than once. Nash never worked for any government, people, he worked and still works only for himself. What he does is out of self-interest. This self-interest has led him to hack into FLAGNet, unbury KRO's file and dig him and Jantzen up."
"Someone breached the Net?" Trek looked aghast. "But... Why didn't we hear any alarms."
The stranger – Nick – now smiled and Jenny didn't like the smile at all. It was cold, emotionless and with a slightly cruel touch. "Mr. Sanders, if you want to get into a system, you find a way. The General has a lot more at his disposal than you think." The smile widened. "I was in the Net as well and followed his trace. No guard dog even woke to my presence."
Trek gaped even more.
"So why is this General after you?" Jenny now asked, voice cool.
"We have an open argument which he wants to win," was the reply.
Michael smiled slightly. "I ran into Nash before, though at the time he wasn't a FLAG case and he was actually again attempting to get to Nick again. That was a few years back and he disappeared. Now he is back and is using KRO for his plans. Because of that it has turned into a case for FLAG, which is why you were involved. Had we known the whole truth, we could have warned you earlier. Jantzen's attack on Kyle and Dante was nothing but Jantzen's instability coming through as far as we suspect, and he will be coming after Nick soon now."
"Which is why this meeting has been called," Kyle went on. "The next confrontation will be on our terms. A challenge has been sent to Jantzen and we know he will react. Mr. MacKenzie will be the bait and we will form the trap."
"We can't let someone go up against KRO in an unprotected car!" Duke argued.
"I'm not unprotected."
"Only because you have a fancy car doesn't mean it's good against a homicidal maniac like KRO."
Nick smiled. "Believe me, I'm quite aware of the danger and I'm used to homicidal maniacs, thank you."
"The Stealth is armored," Michael now intervened, choosing his words carefully. "It's a special construction and we won't let KRO close enough to inflict any real damage."
Kyle shook his head. "I still don't like it, Michael. It endangers Mr. MacKenzie's life."
"I'd be in just as much danger inside one of you cars," Nick remarked coldly.
"Wow, wait a sec!" Trek protested.
Kyle shot him a quick look and the young man shut up, glaring at Nick.
"Why is this General after you in the first place?" Jenny wanted to know, fixing Nick with a steady gaze.
"Like I said, an old argument. The contents of this argument is not important for the success of the trap," MacKenzie explained calmly. "If not for KRO, I would take care of it myself, but the AI is FLAG business. And I promised to play with the team for now."
Kyle regarded him suspiciously, mind working on overdrive. "This open argument wouldn't have anything to do with Project Phoenix, now would it? With the person who took down Nash and the project? The person Jantzen was supposed to replace?"
"You tell me," Nick replied levelly.
Jenny felt a shiver run down her spine. She definitely didn't like this guy.
"This whole case is highly sensitive," Michael went on, pulling their attention to him again. "I know a lot of the latest development has come to you as a shock and I wish we could have handled this differently, but KRO and Jantzen have targeted the team before, they attacked Kyle and Dante, and we can't be sure it won't happen again. I hope you understand this."
All nodded.
"In this case, thank you for your attention."
* * *
"You knew Michael Knight was playing behind the scenes and you never told us? Why, Kyle? Why keep us in the dark about it so long?!"
The accusation rang loudly in the room and Kyle closed his eyes, wishing the painkillers would work faster. Facing an irate Jenny Andrews was a challenge all on its own; facing her with a killer headache and a cracked rib was worse.
"Jenny, please," he groaned. "It was confidential and you should know what that means. I couldn't tell anyone. Except for Dante, no one knew a thing."
She snorted. "And now we get the sudden shock of his reappearance! Everyone was told that Michael Knight had disappeared off the face of the earth! We were told Kitt had been disassembled! Do you know what this means?"
Kyle regarded her from behind the hand that was massaging the bridge of his nose. "It means we work just as we used to and nothing has changed. Michael Knight's presence changes nothing."
"Right!" she snorted.
"Please...."
She shot him a dark look. "I thought we were a team."
He sighed. "We are."
"So why the secrecy?"
"You should know. Jenny, this is a moot discussion now. We have more important things to worry about." Kyle rose slowly, wincing.
Jenny glared again. "No, it's not a moot point! You know I have an invested interest in this and you could have helped me all along!"
"No, I couldn't have."
Jenny stared at him, then turned and left.
* * *
"This is stupid."
Nick had to grin at the remark and looked at the black dash with faint amusement in his eyes. "How so?"
"We are playing target without the confirmation that KRO will even attack," the AI told him coldly. "It's a trap and every half-intelligent computer will see it."
"Yes, it's a plainly visible trap, but KRO is controlled by his driver, who has gone over the edge a long time ago, and the driver is employed by Nash, who wants me dead. I don't think attacking Kyle and Dante was somewhere remotely close to what KRO should have done and now they need to make up fast before Nash decides they are of no use to him."
"If KRO thinks like this, I agree. If he works his own agenda, I don't."
Nick smiled slightly and scanned the horizon. Nothing to see. "Maybe he does both, but Jantzen is smart enough to know that crossing the General is not a good idea. He will try and appease him through a hit. We are the target."
"A dream come true," Karr remarked dryly. "Especially with the shadows we have."
Nick knew what he meant. Dealing with the team had been a straining day and after Kyle had announced that he would be shadowed by at least two of them to be there when KRO attacked, Nick's mood had dropped several degrees. Of course, no one knew the real identity of the Stealth and everyone assumed he was an easy target, but it was still annoying. His current watchers were Domino and Beast. Both were hidden among the scrap yard's vast collection of old automobiles and junk.
"Well, let's get this show on the road," he muttered and entered the yard.
It was the place of KRO's grave and it was a fitting place for a showdown. Nick had sent a message to Jantzen, using the known frequencies KRO was monitoring, even those that were only known to KRO, a kind of private line, and had asked for a meeting. That Jantzen would use this meeting to kill him was plain obvious. Still, it would get him out in the open and he would be vulnerable.
Now they waited.
It took three more hours in which Nick did some checks on background and activities, getting himself immersed in FLAG's little new project, the TKR, and generally occupying his always busy mind with new things to ponder.
"He is here," Karr suddenly announced and Nick's attention snapped back to the present.
KRO's new form was visible at the entrance to the junk yard, slowly coming forward, but still staying far enough away that he could make a hasty retreat.
"Okay, showtime," Nick muttered and left the relative safety of the Stealth.
Be careful>
He smiled. You worry too much>
I just don't want to break in a new driver> Karr replied nastily.
Nick watched as KRO drover closer and finally stopped. Seconds ticked by, then the door of the modified car opened and Jantzen got out. It was the first time he saw the other driver in person and Nick immediately scanned him. He recognized the bearing, the arrogance, but also the training. Jantzen was dangerous along with mentally unstable.
Have to work it carefully, he thought. He has the training, he knows what he is up against, and he has a car with an insane AI in control at his disposal.
"Nice of you to come, Mr. Jantzen," he greeted the driver.
Jantzen smiled coldly. "Nice of you to present yourself on a silver platter. I didn't know you gave up so easily, MacKenzie."
"Who said anything about giving up? I only want to talk."
"Ah, then you have come to the wrong establishment. You see, I don't like talking. I prefer to act." He made a little gesture and KRO rumbled. "As does my partner."
"I see."
"You can make this easy or very, very hard and painful for yourself, MacKenzie."
"How much is the General paying you? Enough to erase the time at the project?" Nick asked all of a sudden.
Jantzen's eyes narrowed and a dark shadow crossed his face. "That's not to debate here."
"Is it enough to erase the nightmares of the training?"
Still darker clouds gathered.
Not far away, Duke sat inside Beast, eyes glued to the monitor. "What the heck is he doing?" he hissed.
"It's called psychological warfare, Duke," Beast replied. "Go and look it up."
"Very funny," the big man replied.
A few piles of junk further down, Jenny wondered the same, but she also knew that MacKenzie was trying to get to his opponent.
"KRO is still too close to the exit for us to safely trap him," Domino reported. "I think he's smelling the trap."
"Who wouldn't?" Beast remarked. "Even a thick head like Duke would eventually get it."
"Shut up, Beast," Duke growled.
Jenny smiled, but her gaze never wavered from the scenario in front of her. Michael Kitt were just outside the scrap yard, ready to seal off the entrance when KRO was safely inside.
"Shut up!" Jantzen cried.
"Why? Can't take the truth? Can't take what Nash did? He used you, just he like used me, Jantzen. He destroyed our lives!"
"I said shut up!"
Nick pressed on. "And now he has taken control of you again, hasn't he?"
"No one controls us!" the other man snarled. "And no one manipulates me, least of all you and your outdated machine. KRO....!"
Nick knew he had lost.
* * *
Bonnie closed the panel on the small device she had been working on, humming to herself. She had to work to stop herself from pacing because she knew what Michael was doing. When they had become more than just friends, when their relationship had deepened, she had known the risk – the risk of losing him. But Kitt had once assure her that nothing would ever happen to Michael and she knew that the AI meant it. Michael was not just his driver, he was a part of Kitt, linked to him through the neuro implant. And he was Bonnie's life partner. They had gone through a lot when he had been working for FLAG and when he had freelanced, Bonnie had understood the reasoning. He couldn't just stop being what he was, stop his life and start yet another new one. He loved what he did. Still, when she wasn't there as a support as she had been in the past, she felt like fretting for hours. Now even more than ever.
KRO was dangerous. Bonnie had been working in the back when the technicians had put the AI together and she had watched in horror how it had developed after the matrix merge. KRO had held so much hope and promise, and they had killed this beautiful AI, tainting it with the insanity that was Jantzen. She couldn't blame the computer; he had reacted by program, not out of malicious intent. He had been a victim.
Bonnie sighed and shook her head. Sometimes she wished she could turn back time and go head against the chief development engineer, show him where he was making the wrong steps. But it was impossible. She sealed the device and straightened, working the kinks out of her neck.
Suddenly something was pushed into her face and Bonnie gave a scream of denial as the cloth covered her mouth and nose. Her senses fled her as darkness descended quickly. She felt the hands gripping her, catching her fall, then there was nothing at all.
* * *
KRO was bearing down on Nick at full speed. Jantzen laughed maniacally and fired several shots as MacKenzie jumped aside, rolled around and came up behind an old VW wreck. KRO didn't mind that there was an obstacle between him and his target. He plowed into the wreck and pushed it against the small mountain of scrap metal behind it. Nick had barely a second to react and he nearly got caught between the wrecked cars. He came down hard, feeling his left wrist protest, Karr's angry scream in his mind, and was aware that the Stealth had launched his own attack.
He cursed softly to himself, knowing that the cover was probably blown now, at least concerning his car being just a car. Karr shot toward the attacker, hit his left back side and turned him around by the impact. KRO slid away, engine howling, his tires fighting for grip. He caught himself, righted his position and seemed to stare maliciously at the interloper. Jantzen was still outside the car, armed, looking for his target; Nick.
Keep him busy!> Nick ordered.
From not far away he heard the others approaching, but he knew that neither could really act because maneuvers in the tight confines of the junk yard were restricted.
Michael and Kitt are here>
As if to add to that the black TransAm came to a screeching stop at the entrance to the junk yard, blocking KRO's only exit. Kitt's scanner ran back and forth, bright red against a midnight black brow.
"Do you think you can stop me?" the AI asked coldly.
"I don't think it," Karr replied just as coldly, voice emotionless, "I know."
KRO gave a derisive laugh. "You are a first generation model. I am vastly superior to you. You were outdated the moment they sealed your file. You are ancient history; a museum piece."
Anger blossomed in the other AI and Nick reached out to cool his temper. Don't let him rouse you, partner. He aims to exploit weaknesses>
Karr hissed angrily. "I am still alive while you are nothing but scrap," he replied. "You have crossed the line."
"And you haven't?" KRO taunted. "You were my origin, Karr. You were the first of us. You were my role model." There was sarcasm and a small amount of acid in his voice.
Something cold trickled through his circuits and Karr was glad for Nick's continued presence.
"I became what you could have been: perfect, but you crawled back to the Foundation. You became their pet. I am strong. I can survive."
Karr felt close to erupting in rage, but Nick clamped a lid on it, strained to keep his partner rational and unresponsive.
He is doing this on purpose!>
Kitt was coming closer and both Beast and Domino were lurking not far away. With Jantzen still outside the insane car, now was their chance.
Tell Michael you have to trap KRO between you. Vice-grip action. I'll deal with Jantzen>
Nick received an affirmative and he smiled almost imperceptibly as he saw both brothers move. He transferred his gaze to Jantzen. His target.
He moved.
*
Martin Jantzen surveyed the action with a grim smile. KRO could handle the assault, he knew, and he had to take care of someone else. Nicholas MacKenzie had to die, the General had told him. He was what Jantzen should have been; he was the one who had betrayed Nash. Traitors perished.
"Jantzen!"
The cold voice cut into his thoughts and he smiled widely as he discovered the dark-clad figure. "Ah, Mr. MacKenzie. Just the man I have been waiting for."
"I'd like to give you the chance to surrender," the other agent said levelly. "But something tells me you wouldn't accept."
They circled each other, the background filled with screeches, tearing metal and the roar of engines.
"Ah, well, you can try," Jantzen chuckled. "I'm afraid you are right, though. I won't accept." With that he materialized a knife. A gun was to cruel. He had style.
MacKenzie raised an eyebrow.
Jantzen attacked.
*
KRO knew what the two other black cars were trying to do and he also knew he had very little space to maneuver in – as had the others. He reversed, slamming into a towering stack of old cars, making it creak dangerously, then switched to forward and went straight for Karr. He was his prime target. He was aware of two other vehicles close by, but they were of no importance. They were weak and unprotected.
"Afraid?" he asked as Karr moved back step by step.
"Not of you," was the neutral reply.
KRO aimed a laser at the Stealth. "Where is your weakness, old-timer? Is it the exhaust? The tires? Some tiny spot no one knows of?"
Karr shot forward and KRO reversed again, hitting the stack of cars once more. This time it tilted over and crashed right into the path of a black truck coming for him. He chuckled slightly and watched the truck reverse, its driver looking for another approach. Kitt stopped only a few feet away.
"Give up, KRO," the older AI said calmly. "There is no way out of it."
"There is always a way out."
"KRO, this is futile. You and Martin need help."
"We have all the help we need."
KRO accelerated and whisked past Kitt before he could react. Karr appeared in his way and he rammed his front. It was a circuit-jarring jolt and KRO hissed as alarms went off inside his CPU. Karr was protected by the MBS, just like Kitt, who now came up behind him. KRO was suddenly reminded of a human saying: 'Caught between a rock and a hard place'.
"KRO, stop playing, we are leaving the party," Martin's voice suddenly said.
"Affirmative," he sent back and reversed once more, pushing Kitt away with an engine-straining effort, then turning in a tight circle and racing over to where his driver had managed to briefly disentangle himself from MacKenzie.
KRO was tempted to just run the other human over, but his driver had not told him to. So he simply braked hard, his backside swinging sideways. MacKenzie jumped out of the way with almost inhuman reflexes and KRO had to give it to him; he was good. Then Martin was inside.
"GO!" his driver yelled.
He accelerated, fishtailing slightly. A red car appeared in his way and Martin smiled evilly.
"Get rid of her."
"As you wish."
The Mustang's driver reacted within a fraction of a second and got out of his way, the laser he had shot at the car grazing her, leaving an ugly scar on the gleaming finish.
Then they were home free.
*
Nick dusted himself off, breathing a bit harder than he would have liked to, then sat back on Karr's warm hood. He felt his partner's anger at KRO's escape and he sent a soothing wave.
We'll get him next time>
Michael pulled Kitt up next to him, casting a worried look at his friends.
"Nothing but a bruise," Nick said immediately, his pride more bruised than his body. "He got away."
"I know, but he didn't get away unscathed."
Domino and Beast came up and their drivers got out. Jenny stared at Nick, her eyes more fixed on the car, than the driver.
"So what didn't you tell us?" she almost snapped.
Michael ignored the demand. "Back to Sky One," he ordered.
Jenny was about to protest, but his expression silenced her, and maybe the fact that he was Michael Knight.
"I'll explain later," Michael added. "Nick?"
"I said I'm fine. Both of us are." Anger swung in MacKenzie's voice and he swallowed it. "Let's get back."
The four vehicles pulled away from the scrap yard.
* * *
"The car moved on its own!" Duke stated again. "I saw it. What is going on here? First someone we were told had disappeared pops up again and takes over, then the supposed victim has a talking car! Who are you, man?"
Kyle transferred his gaze to Michael, the same question in his eyes. "I always thought I knew all of what could possibly come my way concerning you and Kitt. What is going on?" he repeated the question Duke had placed.
Michael folded his hands, looking silently around the room. MacKenzie had leaned back, tense and withdrawn, and Jenny had the impression that he was ready to leave without so much as a good-bye if this became tricky.
"I'm sorry that I couldn't tell you the truth about the case right away," Michael started, voice calm and level. "I know it's also a shock to you to see me, to find out that I've been here all the time, in one way or the other. I had to handle it like this, believe me. My involvement with FLAG ended when my contract ran out; I freelanced, I took over cases I wanted, not those the Foundation told me to, and I was in control of my own life. There is a lot I could tell you, but most of it has nothing to do with this case. As for Nick, he was an operative of FLAG for a while and we worked as a team."
Eyes flew to the silent man who just smiled humorlessly.
"But...." Trek started. "It never said anything in the history archives...."
"No one ever acknowledged his presence and his files were kept under strict wraps."
"So who are you, Mister?" Duke wanted to know, addressing Nick directly. "And what is that thing you drive?"
"Another FLAG experiment?" Jenny ventured a guess.
"In a way," Michael said slowly.
"Why weren't we told about it?" Kyle asked quietly.
"Because it's not exactly something FLAG invented or built a few months ago." Michael's eyes met Nick's and the dark-haired man shrugged slightly. "The AI in the car – which was not built by the Foundation – was born even before Kitt," he then explained slowly. "And Nick was chosen by Wilton Knight to be the pilot of this prototype."
"Wow, wait a sec," Trek's brow furrowed in deep thought. "There was no other car before Kitt, right? Least of all was there another operative!"
Kyle's face had turned into a mask and his blue eyes were chips of ice. "There was," he said flatly, holding Michael's gaze. "It went haywire and the computer was shut down, to my knowledge. I can't recall a driver though."
"What are you talking about?" Jenny asked, confused.
Trek blinked, apparently making the connection. Michael just nodded.
"Before I came to the Foundation, Nick had been there and he had been chosen to be the pilot of KARR."
Several features froze, Erica just raised her eyebrows while continuing to chew on her gum, and Trek searched for words.
"But... the KARR was a homicidal killing machine!" he finally blurted.
Nick smiled humorlessly. "Told you I had experience."
"You mean to tell us that the unknown car down in the garage is Karr?" Kyle asked tonelessly, his eyes flashing with anger at the secrets that had been kept from him.
"Yes."
Several voices rose again and eyes wide with disbelief or anger, as well as wariness and open distrust looked at Nick. Michael raised a hand and they fell silent again.
"The car down there has nothing to do with the KARR I encountered twice. Nick and Karr worked for FLAG for several years and both Kitt and I owe them our sanity, as well as our current lives. I know this is hard for you to understand and at the time the continued presence of an AI that had tried to destroy both me and Kitt was revealed to me, I was wary and angry as well." Michael looked at them. "But we don't have time for hostilities here. We have to work together, all of us. Nick is a trusted friend of mine, as is Karr, and if you have any doubts, come to me. Or to Kitt."
After a brief discussion that nearly flared into a heated argument, four of the five TKR members left, each casting a suspicious look at Nick. Kyle remained, blue eyes fixed on Michael with an open display of the betrayal he felt.
"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, voice level.
"Because at the time it was not important, Kyle. Nick's, and especially Karr's, existence has always been a secret within FLAG. They aren't exactly proud of the past events, of what happened. Because of those two I survived, Kitt survived, and I eventually became the owner of the Knight Two Thousand. No one on the Board will acknowledge the fact that Nick ever worked for them." Michael sighed tiredly. "The fight we had was long and hard, and I won. I won against the Foundation and survived to come back out of this confrontation with my sanity. And so did Kitt. I owe a lot to them."
Nick was silent, but when Kyle glanced at him he saw a softness in the harsh features that told him quite a lot.
"When Nick left FLAG and I took over the reigns of the team, the Foundation kept Karr's presence under wraps. No one was to know and most of it was wiped. I'm sorry it had to come to the surface like this."
"The AI in the car is the same as the one that was created by Wilton Knight?" Kyle asked neutrally.
Nick nodded. "The very same."
"With the difference that he is now stable," Michael added. "Kyle, you know everything about Kitt's and my history. Nick was the first driver chosen for the dream Wilton had. He was the prototype, just like Karr." There was a meaningful tone to his voice and Kyle felt a puzzle turn into a clear picture.
"The implant?" he stuttered, staring at MacKenzie.
"The implant," Karr's driver agreed, smiling again.
"Great god...." Kyle felt his headache turn into a full-blaze migraine. "How long...?" He almost dreaded the answer.
"Well, almost from day one, but for sure after the second time Karr was nearly killed," Nick explained neutrally.
"I don't believe it...."
"You better do," Michael told him with a fine smile.
Down in the garage, Dante was dumbstruck for a second. He had been listening in – something he did frequently, even though he knew it might be called rude – and now he had to deal with the new information. His scanners, at least the fraction of the whole he had at his disposal since he was essentially still very much under reconstruction, fixed on the two black cars, one Kitt, the other.... Karr.
"Nice, now we got a new killer among us," Beast remarked rudely. "First KRO, now this freak."
Karr didn't react.
"I knew FLAG liked maniacs. Just a surprise they keep 'em around."
"Beast!" Dante snapped.
"Hey, nothin' but the truth. They created the KARR, the thing freaked, and now it's back among us."
Dante knew that a dark part of him thought the same, especially considering that Karr was protected by the MBS as well. But then there was Kitt...
"And how come ya knew all about this little secret, hm?" Beast now turned his anger on Dante. "Michael Knight is still around, as well as Kitt, and the high and mighty leader's vehicle knew, right?"
"It was confidential," Dante answered haughtily.
"So they trust you with it but no one else?" Domino asked. "Why do I feel like second choice? Aren't we trustworthy?"
"It wasn't my decision to make," Dante nearly snapped.
"No, it was mine," a new voice intruded into the argument. Michael Knight stepped into the garage, followed by MacKenzie. "I let Kyle in on the truth and with him Dante. I requested this to be confidential. No one else was to know and as hard as it was for Dante, and still is, he had to keep this secret. I know you feel like I didn't trust you, but it was necessary, minimizing the risk of my exposure."
Beast rumbled to himself. "What about the freak?"
Nicholas shrugged, smiling coldly as he walked over to his car, and Michael mirrored the smile, just with more warmth.
"Karr is no danger to any of you."
"Hope ya don't mind if I don't take your word for it," the black truck replied gruffly. "I like to have my own opinion, and this thing is a freak."
Dante 'heard' a smile from Kitt, but he didn't inquire. He was still too baffled and feeling way too hurt to actually talk to the older AI. Finally he activated the com link he and Kitt normally used.
_Why didn't you tell me?_> he demanded.
_It was need to know_>
_Let me guess: I didn't need to know_> Dante finished angrily.
_I'm sorry to say it, but yes, you didn't need to know. Karr and Nick's presence and even existence was a secret. No files existed of them_>
Dante was furious. _You lied to me!_>
_You never asked_>
_Oh, stop it!_>
Kitt sighed. _Dante, I apologize. We had to keep this secret. It's like the secret you had to keep from your team mates. It was necessary_>
Dante didn't reply. He sat in angry silence, trying to ignore the other AI.
_Dante, Karr is my brother. Nick is one of my best friends and has been working with Karr as a team for nearly fifteen years now. Risking to spread the knowledge of their existence...._>
_Who would I have told? The same people I told all about you and Michael?!_> Dante snapped.
_Dante, please...._>
But Dante turned away and cut the link. He felt hurt and betrayed. His logical mind told him that Kitt was right. No one had known about Karr, not even Kyle, and it was a secret that had been unimportant all the time, but now it mattered and now he felt betrayed. Kitt should at least have informed him after Michael had revealed their existence and brought Karr and his driver aboard!
Kitt regarded the sulking AI with a sigh and shook his virtual head. He was aware of Karr's close presence and looked at his brother to scan for a reaction. There was none.
_He'll get over it, the dark AI remarked levelly, then retreated.
Yes, Dante would get over it, but Kitt still felt slightly guilty.
*
K.A.R.R. – Knight's Automated Roving Robot.
Kat digested the information and tried to see the creature that was described in the file in the silent black Stealth parked not far from her. She had watched him since the revelation of his identity, had kept a very close eye on him and his driver, and she had discovered that even though Karr was projecting an aura of coldness to the outside in general, there was a bond between those two. Nick MacKenzie had been down in the garage once, checking on something, briefly talking to Karr, and it didn't really need a close voice analysis to hear that there was a friendly, almost teasing undertone in it.
Kat tried to project the information onto the Stealth, that Karr was a predatory, self-serving machine with no emotions other than disgust for everything else. It didn't fit! Karr had risked his existence at the junk yard and he had defended his driver. It definitely didn't fit the profile and it roused her interest in the silent, dark AI. She had dug up all there was about Karr. Still, she didn't understand. If Karr was or even had been the enemy number one.... why was he here? What was his connection to Kitt?
Only one way to find out whether or not the files were true. Kat searched through her systems and found something neither of the vehicles ever used for direct communication: the interface com line. It was for data transfer only and conversations were usually conducted via the voice module.
::Karr? ::
No answer. She hadn't really expected one. Karr had yet to speak to any of them and acknowledge their presence.
::I know you can hear me, so I'll just continue talking::
Again no answer. Kat shrugged, as far as an AI was able to do that, and continued.
::I heard some stuff about you. Most of it could be called bad and I took it you had been destroyed by Kitt. What happened? ::
::None of your concern:: was the flat reply.
Kat smiled. Well, it was a reply and it meant Karr was listening.
::Maybe it is. I'm curious::
::Curiosity can kill a Kat:: Karr replied passionlessly.
::A human saying, I know. But it refers to cats, not computers:: Kat cheered silently. He was talking! ::I read all the construction files about your past, Karr. Why do you work with a human? I thought you didn't have a driver::
Silence.
::You endangered yourself even though your file says your programming was self-preservation:: she added.
::I am designed to protect myself at all costs:: Karr told her, voice chilly.
::Sounds like a recital. And you don't act like it.::
::It is illogical to endanger myself for anyone.::
::Why?::
Karr hesitated. ::Why what?::
::Why is it illogical to endanger yourself?::
::It goes against my primary programming:: he snarled
Kat smiled again, something no one could see. ::But you did it at the junk yard and since you have a driver who you protect, it looks like your primary programming has changed.::
Karr was silent.
::Isn't it like that?:: Kat prodded.
::I do not understand:: he said flatly, his wall of aggressive iciness the only defense he had.
::You care about your driver, don't you? The files say KARR doesn't care. Are you really KARR?:: Kat pressed on curiously.
Karr growled. ::Leave me alone.::
Kitt watched the exchange of 'pleasantries' and smiled. Karr sent a vicious look his way.
_This is not funny!
_Oh, but it is. Why are you so hostile?
_She is nosy.
_Kat is simply curious about you.
_She'd better be careful of me! Karr hissed.
Kitt smiled softly and nudged the darker AI gently. _It's only friendly conversation.
_She goes on my nerves! Why can't she be icily hostile like the rest?
Kitt sighed. Yes, that was a problem. Not Kat's open inquiries and interest in another AI, but the rest of the team watching Karr with suspicion and fear. Kitt remembered his own feelings before he had gotten to know what lay behind the wall of ice and self-defense hostility, and it had taken him a while – until the discovery of the private link – to really believe it.
_Maybe that's good, he now said calmly.
Karr snorted disgustedly and curled in on himself. He didn't like it here but he'd never say it out loud. About the only thing that kept him from leaving the garage or even bodily threatening one of the others about a remark were Nick and Kitt. Kitt stayed close with him, trying to calm his temper, and Nick kept the link open, his dry amusement counter-acting the wide-open anger of his partner.
Kat was silent now, but her curiosity was something he still felt and which was not far away. Karr had to say he was intrigued by this young AI, but he was not ready to actually talk to her.
* * *
The spot was a quiet, rarely visited place, even though it was close to the beach. The reason was that on top of being rather inaccessible for most cars, it also had no attractions for sunshine-and-beach tourists. There were no shops, no entertainment and no patrols from lifeguards or police. A few houses dotted the cliff stretching to the left, while the cliff to the right was clotted with gnarled trees. Martin Jantzen didn't care for lifeguards or shops. He wanted somewhere to be alone. The last few days had been extremely straining for him, though he would never either let it show or admit it. He had woken to find that someone he had always hated had revived him, was giving him a second chance, just like back then when he had been accepted for Project Phoenix. In his CIA days there had been nothing more satisfying than a job well-done, pleasing his superiors and getting even better assignments to add another recommendation or positive note to his file. He had been in constant battle with other agents, most of all Kyle Stewart, who had been the ace, the top dog and the most highly placed agent of all, though this battle was only with himself.
He wanted to be the best.
The offer to join Phoenix to become part of an elite government secret force had been so tempting then and he had never even guessed what it really was until it had destroyed him. Even now Jantzen knew that the General was responsible for most of the development after he had been evicted from Phoenix; because he hadn't been good enough! Anger flushed through him and he swallowed it. FLAG had then hired him, James Marland wanting him so badly that he had never asked twice about many things, and Jantzen had believed this would be the new start. He had outdone even Kyle Stewart, though when he had later heard that Kyle had actually been first candidate for this job, he had nearly lost it. Again he had been a substitute for someone else!
But then he had met KRO. Jantzen smiled, a rare gentle smile and his hand caressed the smooth, black skin of his partner. KRO had been like a child back then, innocent and unblemished, programmed to learn and to work with the one individual who was assigned to him. But beneath the innocence was a firepower and strength far beyond a child's. KRO was naive and powerful, and Martin Jantzen had been his teacher – in everything. He had been caught unawares by the AI's protective streak, how fiercely the car thought of belonging to him, how much they were bonded. Then he hadn't understood the meaning of a merged personality matrix completely, but in time he had. They had learned and worked together – and KRO had grown. He had grown into an equal, his partner, his friend, the only one he could trust because KRO was in part like him.
Then FLAG had decided to pull the plug. The shock had sat deep and the defenses had flared immediately. No one would take his partner away from him! No one would separate them! What had then occurred was a blur in most parts, but Jantzen remembered quite clearly how KRO had killed the five technicians as they had tried to take him apart. He remembered the shared rage, the fury as to the nerve of these people, and he remembered how they had run. They had evaded FLAG and about everyone else for a time, but in the end had been caught. KRO had been deactivated and a part of Martin Jantzen had been as well.
Jantzen looked out over the rough landscape, watched the surf beat viciously against the cliffside. They were back again now, after fighting FLAG for their freedom before and losing again. KRO had saved his life, knocking him out with gas, then keeping him alive with a minimum of oxygen, just enough for his unconscious body to survive by. He continued to caress the car body. No one and nothing would ever tear them apart now. He had made the promise to KRO and he intended to keep it. Nash wanted them to destroy MacKenzie and Karr and that was fine with Jantzen, but after that he'd go his own way.
"Martin, I have received a message from our employer," the AI said, disturbing the silence.
"What is it?"
"He said to come to the meeting place. Everything is ready and waiting."
Jantzen snarled. He hated Nash, but the General was also the one who had brought them back. He owed him at least this service. "Tell him we're coming."
"As you wish."
He got in and ignited the engine, driving away from the quiet, lonely spot in the middle of nowhere. He wished he could remain here forever, but first he had to get several people off of his back. Then he'd be finally free.
They would be free.
* * *
It looked like a bomb had struck the place. The floor was barely visible under a layer of clothes, sweet wrappers, paper, disks, comics, computer magazines and assorted other stuff that defied identification. Clothes decorated the chair, were strewn over the bed and the sheets of the bed were rumpled. Posters were plastered over the walls, kept in place with tacks and duct tape. Between the posters were postcards, assorted toys and sometimes a schematic for something or other. Somewhere on an overloaded table sat a computer, the keyboard lost in the depths of garbage piled there.
Trek's room.
Trek didn't mind the chaos. He went by the saying that cleaning up was for the weak-minded and that a genius was in control of chaos. He knew where to find what and the cleaning staff had long since given up on ever venturing into his domain. Currently he sat on his bed, cross-legged, a laptop that was connected to a wall socket on his knees, munching on a chocolate bar. The screen of the laptop was alive with a colorful cover page from one of FLAG's main archives and Trek was digging around in the subprograms to find even the slightest mentioning of who he was looking for: KARR.
The news that had been broken to them had baffled and even shocked the whole team, but with Trek the shock had transformed into interest and curiosity. Of course he had heard of KARR. Everyone knew about the prototype-turned-killer. It had been a programming flaw and at the time Trek had first read about this he had thought that with a bit of finesse the computer technicians and engineers would have been able to solve this problem, cleaning the program of the error. Instead they had mothballed a multi-million dollar machine and had gone to create Kitt. In a way it was like what happened to KRO, with the one difference that extracting a matrix out of a merged core program was much more difficult and might end with the destruction of or severe damage to the AI in question.
"Aha," he now muttered and entered a string of files that led to the history of FLAG.
Trek ignored all the historical stuff concerning Wilton Knight, how he had founded a dream, and went straight to the prototypes. While there was a sheer endless list of files concerning Kitt, there was nothing so much as a short note concerning KARR. Cracking his fingers, the computer genius accepted the challenge and began a different approach.
About two hours later Trek was none the wiser. Yes, FLAG had information about the KARR prototype, but it all ended with 'deactivated' or 'destroyed, case file number....'. Not a single word about his return and repeated work for FLAG. If he had understood Michael correctly, Nicholas MacKenzie was the KARR's driver and they had worked for FLAG. Why was there no case file?
Trek knew a challenge when he saw one and attacked the stubborn database with renewed vigor. But the deeper he dug, the more obstacles were thrown into his path. Suddenly he was rerouted to old case files from Michael and Kitt, then he was in the employment archive from 1982 to 1984! Trek nodded to himself.
"Whoever you are, you are good," he muttered.
Someone had set up diversions and traps and he hadn't seen them until he had blundered right into one. Okay, the guy was good, but Trek was better! He evaded the next set of traps quickly, dodged another and finally was in a branch of the FLAG base he had never seen before. He frowned and tried to get a directory or an index. Nothing. Intrigued and not the least bit inclined to give up, Trek unwrapped a new chocolate bar and began searching. Almost immediately he ran into walls again and he muttered a curse. Geez, this was really good. And it showed him one thing: this was not FLAG anymore. FLAG might have blocked the general files of KARR from unauthorized access, but unauthorized in Trek's book of terms only meant that he had to dig around and crawl through tunnels to circumvent security procedures. Nothing was safe from him.
"Hah!" he exclaimed as he arrived in what seemed like a visible directory, hundreds of smaller file branches leading into different directions, all consisting of a string of numbers.
Wherever he was now, it was almost eerie. How eerie he found out a second later as the screen filled with nothing but darkness, like ink spilling over it.
"Hey!" Trek muttered, hacking a few commands, but without success. "Geez! What now?!"
This was new.....
Unauthorized Access to File, the screen told him.
"Old story," he mumbled and tried to get around the file. "Must be password protected."
"Wrong," a cold voice suddenly said and Trek gave a squeal of surprise and shock, nearly throwing the computer off his lap.
"What?" he breathed, eyes wild.
"You are good, but no match," the voice continued and there was a malicious satisfaction in it that made the young man shiver.
Something seemed to materialize out of the inky darkness, floating to the surface. It was the model of the Stealth down in the garage and Trek blinked, his breath catching in his throat.
"KARR....?" he squeaked.
"More luck next time," the voice said, then the screen dissolved and went dark, a natural dark.
Trek sat with his mouth open, then he became aware of what had just occurred. He entered several commands, but nothing happened. "Oh, no, he didn't....." He quickly pulled the plug out of the wall socket and tried to get access to his laptop again.
No success.
"He did!" he cried, outraged.
Down in the garage, Karr sat back, satisfaction the most prominent emotion in his CPU right now. Trek would need a while to get everything he had downloaded onto his laptop off the hard drive – if he ever managed to access his hard drive again. By accessing the files he had delivered himself right into a sophisticated trap Nick had once set up around all the case files and personal information FLAG had ever kept about him and Karr in their data base. A lot had been erased, but un-erase programs were quite good nowadays and so he had programmed the traps. Karr was monitoring them subconsciously, only alerted when someone dug too deeply, and he had to admit that Trek was good.
Well, now he could show how good he was by undoing the damage on his laptop. Karr grinned maliciously. This had been fun.....
* * *
The strong scent of ammonia stung in her nose and shocked her awake. Dr. Bonnie Barstow fought against the stinging chemical invading her nose and choked. She tried to draw a breath through her mouth, then realized with a start that she couldn't. Panicked, she sucked in air through her nose. The searing ammonia brought tears to her eyes and she found she had also been blindfolded.
"Good morning, Dr. Barstow," a cultivated but still cold voice whispered into her ear and she struggled again. "Don't," the voice advised. "It only makes it worse."
Bonnie stopped, anger worming through the shock and panic as her mind pieced together what had happened. Someone had broken into her home and kidnapped her. Fingers touched the blindfold and it was removed. Bonnie blinked. Then the tape over her lips was torn off and she suppressed an exclamation of pain. She looked at her captor and glowered.
"Oh, doctor, not so angry. This is just a necessity."
"Who are you? What do you want?" she demanded.
"Let's just say I have an interest I want to protect and you are the one who is providing this protection." The man smiled and she definitely didn't like it. He looked like a regular business man, his suit expensive, his fingers manicured, his hair styled. His face was sun-tanned and only slightly lined, though she guessed he was in his sixties. His hair was still dark, though his temples were graying, but if Bonnie was any judge she suspected he had dyed his hair out of vanity.
Now he gestured at a man who had been standing next to the door and the man walked over to her. Bonnie was freed of her bonds as well.
Her eyes narrowed at the well-dressed man. "You are in a lot of trouble, Mister."
"No, just the opposite. Your boy-friend and his little troupe is."
She felt coldness spread through her. "What do you mean?"
"You'll see." The man walked over to the door leading out of her prison. "Relax, Dr. Barstow. It'll be over soon."
With that the door closed. Bonnie looked around the room, which seemed to have been either a storage room or some kind of multi-purpose one. Old shelves lined one wall, all thickly coated in dust, and dirty rags piled in a corner. The skeleton of a bed, its mattress long gone, the springs rusted, one leg broke, had been shoved under a tiny window. She checked the window and found it barred.
Bonnie angrily paced around, mind working overtime. Who was this guy? What did he want? Why kidnap her? Had it something to do with the KRO case? If yes, what? She finally sank down on a moderately sturdy looking chair. There was nothing she could do now, but she knew she had to get out of here.
* * *
Nick had spent the last hour familiarizing himself with Sky One. Karr had searched for and found several interesting data files and after reading them thoroughly, Nick had wandered around the corridors, aware that the cameras were watching him. Michael was still talking to the team, answering questions, trying to explain as much as he could and would to them as was possible.
If I have to remain here one more hour I'm going to tear something apart> Karr snarled and he felt his partner's growing unease.
I know. Relax, Karr>
I can't>
Nick sighed and turned around, walking back into the direction of the garage.
Kat?> he asked, knowing very well that it most likely was. For some reason, the female AI in control of the motorbike had taken it upon herself to make small talk to Karr and his partner was not amused. It amused Nick more so in turn.
She is ... obnoxious>
And?>
Annoying>
And....? >
A pain>
Ah. And ....? >
Karr growled. I think that is enough>
What did she do?> Nick wanted to know.
She talks>
He laughed silently and let Karr hear it.
Not funny> the dark AI hissed.
Karr, we all talk>
She does so incessantly>
Nick chuckled again. Ever tried talking back? >
No>
Why? >
Silence.
She just tries to be friendly, you know. Compared to the others, she seems to like you>
She is an annoyance>
She is interested in getting to know you>
But I'm not>
Nick felt amusement bubble up again. This was definitely a first. None of the other vehicles had so much as tried to talk to Karr, but Kat did. It was as strange and confusing as it was highly entertaining, mainly because his partner fought it every step of the way.
He was halfway in the garage when Karr contacted him again. Michael wants you in the situation room>
What now?> he sighed.
Karr refused to answer and Nick just changed direction once more. When he arrived in the situation room he immediately knew something was terribly wrong. The team was present, apparently called just minutes before, and Michael was standing in front of the viewscreen, his face devoid of emotions except one: hatred. Nick ignored the glances from the others and shot his friend a questioning look.
"What happened?" he then asked quietly.
"He has Bonnie," Michael said tonelessly without much of an introduction.
Nick's expression froze and his eyes were chips of ice. No sound came over his lips. Jenny's eyes were wide with realization and Kyle just rubbed his forehead. The others held various expressions of shock or grim knowledge.
"He demands that the two of us surrender, Nick."
MacKenzie laughed coldly. "Only the two of us?"
Michael didn't reflect any of the dark humor. "It's personal and always was. Not just for you, Nick."
"Looks like Nash has grown more ambitious with age," the ex-agent remarked. "Where?"
"The old harbor."
Nick's eyes grew even colder. "I'm going alone. I got us into this."
Michael met the frigid gaze and held it. "No, we are into this together, Nick. I have your word, remember? No rogue stuff."
"I'm not going rogue. I'm just solving a problem I created."
"Not acceptable. We are in this together, we solve it together. As a team."
Nick looked at the five operatives. "They are a liability."
"Wow, wait a sec!" Duke started.
"Your cars are no match for KRO. He has the MBS, all you have is a slightly more armored version of the original vehicle," Nick stated matter-of-factly.
"Hey...." Several voices rose, indignation among the loudest.
"It's the truth."
"Huh, right, and you and your little playtoy are so much stronger," Erica remarked. "We saw how you handled the bad guy at the junk yard."
Nick gave her a patented cold smile. Michael briefly closed his eyes, then exchanged a look with Kyle.
"We will handle this together. Nash is not working alone. He had Bonnie kidnapped and he has Jantzen and KRO as his main weapons," Knight then said. "Our main object is to free Bonnie and apprehend KRO."
"I'll deal with Nash," Nick added.
Michael didn't comment on that, just gave a brief nod. "Kyle?"
"Your call. We'll be ready."
"Thanks."
* * *
Nick had stopped Karr plainly visible on the old loading dock of the former harbor. Michael had pulled Kitt up beside him and the two black cars sat together, their engines running silently, smoothly, but ready to explode into action within a second. Karr had been silent and tense ever since they had left Sky One and Nicholas had not lost a word either. His mind was busy going over every scenario he could think of and it all danced around Bonnie Barstow's life. Nash had her and he would kill her without so much as an eyeblink if something went not according to his plan. But what was his plan? Why did he want Kitt and Michael as well? Had Nick pulled them into this by coming to his old friend to tell him about KRO? He didn't know.
Suddenly Nick's eyes caught a movement and he felt his hands clench around the steering wheel, gritting his teeth, as he recognized the man. It was Nash, looking older than he remembered him, but still as manicured and well-groomed as ever, accompanied by a tall, broad-shouldered goon with a gun. KRO moved out of the shadows of the near-by harbormaster building.
"Dr. Barstow is not with them," Karr reported emotionlessly, his voice almost monotone, reflecting what his driver felt.
"Michael, stay with Kitt. I'm going first."
Michael acknowledged, not even starting to argue. Nick eased Karr forward, then stopped again and scanned the area. No one else seemed to be present, but that was an illusion. He suspected at least one or two more thugs employed by Nash. Slowly he opened the door and got out.
"Where is Dr. Barstow?" he asked without so much as a greeting.
"Close by, Nicholas. Don't worry. She is all right."
"I hope for you she is."
"Ah, emotional attachment. You have weakened so much."
"Bring her here."
"You are in no position to demand anything, Nicholas. I, on the other hand, am. Step away from your little toy and tell Mr. Knight to do the same."
Nicholas carefully closed Karr's door and was aware of Michael getting out of Kitt as well. If there where hidden sharpshooters close by, now was their time to act, but nothing happened.
I scanned the buildings>, Karr told him. Dr. Barstow is here, along with an armed man>
Send the coordinates to Kyle. He has to take care of that>
Understood>
Kyle and Dante had come along for this mission even though neither was in top shape. Dante was mobile again, but a lot of his systems still needed to be reinstalled. Kyle had argued that some of the basic weapons were functional and that they would need everyone for this job, and in the end Michael had given in.
"I didn't come unprepared," Nash went on. "Actually, I have come well-prepared. You see, all of this was just a game so far. Maybe a test even. Entertainment to say the least."
Nick's face was a mask of barely suppressed fury. "It's all a game to you, isn't it? We are all just pawns. KRO, Jantzen.... I...."
Nash smiled pleasantly. "Kindly send Kitt to park away from his driver," he addressed Michael, ignoring Nick.
Kitt slowly left Michael wide open and stopped opposite KRO. Jantzen was watching it all with narrowed eyes and there was a smile Nick didn't like on his lips.
"I'm quite thoroughly prepared," Nash went on. "I don't like to underestimate my opponents and since there are four of you, I have to get rid of some of the opposition." He made a curt gesture and Jantzen opened the door, climbing out of KRO.
Nick tensed even more, feeling Karr's ready-to-snap fury rising. Jantzen pulled a gun and pointed it at Kitt. It didn't really look like a normal gun. It seemed heavier, though more slender and colored totally in a reflectionless gray. Nick had only a fraction of a second to realize what it was, then it was already too late.
Jantzen pulled the trigger.
The blast hit Kitt full face so to speak, his circuits frying under the high power assault. It was the same weapon the General had used years back to immobilize Karr to get to Nick and over the time he had perfected it. Now it was Jantzen using this terrible device and it paralyzed Kitt completely. He screamed in pain, aware of only the fire in his mind, the blazing agony everywhere. Michael scream echoed with his and he knew his driver was caught in the same firestorm, but there was nothing either of them could do.
*
"What is going on?!" Jenny cried, unable to react to the terrible scene playing right before them.
Michael Knight had broken down with a scream, lying motionless like a puppet whose strings had been cut on the ground. No one had touched him, no weapon had been fired at him, but he was still unconscious. Kitt had screamed out as well, a bone-chilling yell of agony. Whatever Jantzen had hit the AI with, it was pure agony. Kyle swallowed heavily and he more felt than heard Dante's moan.
"We have to do something!" Trek exclaimed.
Yes, but what? Duke and Erica were trying to find Bonnie and free her while the rest of the team was back-up for the two main targets of this game. Two of their operatives were already out of the game, Michael unconscious, Kitt... hopefully still functional, but he would be of no use in an attack.
"Any ideas?" he whispered.
"Except for a frontal attack?" Dante answered, voice sounding strangely strained. He wasn't too keen on confronting KRO like this again. "No, not really. Wait, I'm getting a transmission from Karr. He says to distract them."
"Trek, Jenny, you heard it. Let's move in."
Kyle knew he was in no shape for a prolonged battle, even if he was 'only' driving, and Dante had reminded him again and again. But he was part of this and he would help as much as he could.
The team moved out.
*
Kitt was fighting the effects of the paralyzer, the pain and the all-out fire spreading through him. Michael had been hit so suddenly that there had been no defense against it. Kitt was still conscious and in a rather acceptable shape. His circuits, though strained, were in no danger of blowing. Between their first encounter with this horrible weapon and today, enough time had passed for modifications to strengthen his mind.
Suddenly two small holes slid open in KRO's front and a nozzle appeared in each. Something sprayed over Kitt, the drops clinging to his skin like glue.
"No!" he gasped as he realized what this was, his sensors analyzing the substance immediately.
The MBS breaker.....
KRO rammed into him, the shell splintering in part, pushing him over to a stack of metal bars. Kitt tried to get his bearings, his neuro link to Michael flooded with renewed pain and terror, his outmost perceptors screaming pain, and his tires squealed on the concrete. Part of his front was indented deeply as the MBS gave way to the chemical solution.
*
Bonnie's eyes were wide with shock, her voice nothing but a whisper. "Michael, no!" she moaned as she watched her partner break down from the strain on his mind.
Then Kitt was attacked and she swallowed a scream as 'her baby' was sprayed with the chemical, breaking his armor and then attacked by KRO. She struggled against the man holding her, but to no avail. She was too far from the events anyway. Suddenly there was a soft sound, audible even through the screech of tires, and from one second to the other her guard collapsed with a moan. Bonnie turned and was faced by a tall, broad-shouldered black man who gave her a reassuring smile.
"Dr. Barstow? Duke DePalma. Rescue squad."
A blonde woman appeared next to him, holding what looked like a piece of metal tubing. She had a self-satisfied grin on her face. DePalma freed her of the bonds keeping her wrists locked tightly behind her back. Bonnie rubbed her hands, blood circulation finally starting to flow freely again.
"Thanks," she breathed.
"Don't thank me yet. We are not out of it by a long shot."
There was a terrible crash, the sound of tearing metal and Bonnie stared in horror as Kitt was pushed into a stack of metal bars.
"No!" she protested faintly. "Oh, god....."
"Come with me. We've got to get you out of here." DePalma took her arm.
"No, I can't go! Michael!"
"We are taking care of it," Duke repeated. It sounded like a prayer. Then he pulled gently at her arm and Bonnie stumbled after him. The blonde woman followed them.
A black truck was parked not far away and she recognized the Attack Beast immediately.
"Dr. Barstow," the deep voice of the AI growled. "What a pleasure to meet you."
"Beast, stuff the smooth talk! We have a job to do."
"Ignore him," Beast told her. "He's just the driver."
Bonnie found herself smiling despite the serious situation. Duke floored the accelerator and they shot off.
*
Karr roared in denial.
_"KITT!"
The cry went through the link and was also audible to everyone outside. Nash just smiled, his gaze locked with Nick's.
"Ah, brotherly love, isn't it nice? Like you, your machine has developed emotions; faults. You should have had that corrected right away."
Nick glared at him.
"I can enhance the dosage and it will kill him for sure. I don't know what it will do to Mr. Knight or even your beloved toy. A link is such a nice connection between two minds. What if one mind dies?"
"Keep them out of it," Nick grated. "This was always our personal argument."
"You changed it when you went back to FLAG. You gave me more targets."
The ex-agent stared at him in cold fury. "It's me you want. Here I am. Let them go."
Nash 'tsked'. "Too late for that." He gestured at Jantzen who, weapon pointed at Nick, walked slowly over to him. "You had your chance, you blew it. You turned against me too often to think that if I show mercy in part you will deliver yourself to me."
Behind him, KRO drove into Kitt again, destroying the front completely, Kitt nearly tilting over.
"You see the error of attaching yourself emotionally to someone now, Nicholas? You are pulling them all down. The first time I only wanted you, now I'll also destroy what you hold dear." Nash's voice dropped. "Michael Knight and Kitt, as well as the whole Foundation. Knight's precious little team is nothing against the combined power I wield. You will see them die, all of them, and your conscience will scream, won't it? Because you let yourself have one."
Karr> Nick's voice was cold and calculating, devoid of any human emotion as he contacted his partner. Get KRO. Stop him>
Karr understood.
Kill him> Nick added in a harsh whisper, then his attention was back on Jantzen and his old enemy.
*
KRO turned to his adversary, malevolence in his whole bearing. "You think you can destroy me?" he taunted.
"I know it," Karr replied icily.
Karr knew the construction plans of the other AI and the car, though he suspected there had been alterations when Nash had reconstructed the shell. Still, the basics were the same as far as he had seen. And KRO had already revealed a weak spot. Of course, it needed a precise and steady aim, as well as taking a great risk, but Karr knew there was a chance he would succeed.
KRO shot toward him and the slits leading to the tanks containing the chemical solution he had sprayed Kitt with opened. Karr remained where he was, his monitor coming to life with a targeting system. His laser activated and homed in on one of the openings. He had to let the other one come very close to apply as much power as was possible, and it meant he would most likely be in danger of coming in contact with the chemical.
It didn't matter.
Part of him was in agony over Kitt's injuries, the private link between them flooded with his brother's suffering. Kitt was in no condition to control what he was sending out, which was why Michael was out cold and Karr was fighting hard to keep his own sanity. If he let Kitt control him, if he let the other emotions swamp him, he would lose concentration. He couldn't risk it.
Distance. Counting. The numbers shrank closer to zero and KRO laughed coldly. A shot of colorless liquid sprayed out of the small nozzles at his front and the drops clung to Karr's front. He gritted virtual teeth and waited a nanosecond longer, then ignited the laser. It hit the nozzle, entered KRO's system and then exploded the tanks.
"NO!" the other AI screamed, veering hard left and plowing through a pair of old wooden crates. He caught himself, turned in a tight circle, steam coming from his front axle.
KRO gathered momentum and crashed into Karr as the Stealth moved back, trying to get out of his way. Karr felt his front dent under the impact as the solution destroyed his MBS, but he was less affected than Kitt had been. Still, it spun him around and he dug his tires into the ground to stop himself from crashing into the silent wreck of his brother.
"I'll destroy you!" KRO vowed, seething with anger.
"Ah, hon, sorry to burst your bubble," a female voice suddenly said and the red and white form of Domino appeared, followed by a motorbike and Dante.
"Can we play as well?" Trek asked.
KRO howled, reversing, trying to get into a position to use his laser. The shot hit Plato frontally and the young AI gave a shriek.
"Fire in the hull! Abandon shop, abandon shop! This is not a daffodil!"
Trek fought for control over the wildly swerving bike, nearly missing running into the wall of the building closest to him. Plato have a small, weak wheeze, his system fighting a total crash. The laser had eaten right through his armor!
"His front axle is weakened," Karr told the other AIs as he maneuvered himself in front of Kitt to protect him.
"Gotcha," Domino acknowledged, trying to ignore Plato's fate.
Dante pulled up at her side, rocket launchers already open and ready to fire. "Let's get him," the SUV growled, surprising Domino by the vicious streak to his voice. This was personal for him.
As the remaining two team members attacked, KRO had to pull back, finally starting to retreat. Karr rumbled darkly, aware that even though his opponent was weakened, he was not yet beaten. He scanned the harbor, trying to ignore what was coming through the neuro link. His partner was able to take care of himself. He had a mission. Destroy KRO.
_Kitt?
There was a soft, pain-filled moan coming through the link, fueling his fury. _Karr?
_He is not going to hurt you again, Karr promised darkly.
He felt cold logic permeate his mind as his scanners followed the fight. KRO was weakened but not defeated. His underbelly was vulnerable, most of all the front axle, which meant he could hit him there, then take his time dismembering him. Karr smiled malevolently.
Target: K.R.O.
Position: acquired.
Attack vector: acquired.
Laser: locked.
And Karr moved.
*
Nick felt his leg burn with the pain of a grazing shot, but he forcefully ignored it. He delivered a roundhouse kick at Jantzen, who fell back with a gasp. Still, there was a grin on his face that was far from sane. And he was good. His training had been thorough and he knew how to deflect several of Nick's blows, landing some of his own. He danced out of Jantzen's way with cat-like agility, but the other was matching him. Nash was retreating, MacKenzie discovered, but this time he wouldn't escape.
"Sorry to cut this short," he hissed and struck at Jantzen, feigning an attack, then kicked hard at the man's ribs.
Something cracked. Jantzen gasped loudly, doubling over. Nick brought both fists down on the man's neck and he went to his knees. Another kick insured that he was out cold.
Nash had already disappeared, but he was still not gone.
Nick ran after him.
*
Jenny fought for control over the Mustang and hissed a curse. KRO was still a formidable opponent, even though they now knew where to hit, and he was armed to the hilt. Neither of the vehicles had a MBS and they were vulnerable. Domino had already sustained several burns to her skin and Dante had come close to being fried by what had hit Kitt, but since KRO was fighting against several opponents, his aim was wide-spread instead of focused.
"Jenny, look," Domino suddenly said, voice filled with surprise.
"What?"
And then the black, damaged form of Karr shot past her.
"What's he doing?!"
"I think it's called rage, sweetie," Domino remarked. "I just love a man with temperament."
The two vehicles crashed into each other. Karr's prow was buried into KRO's side and shoved him forward. KRO gave a roar of anger and tried to get out of the way, but the force of Karr's impact was too great. KRO was forced back against the quay wall and the bricks behind him burst into a shower of mortar and debris. Karr activated his front defense system, a small array of sharp needle-like projectiles, and launched them. KRO screamed as the multiple bullets buried themselves in his weakened underside, some tearing through outer circuits, one disabling his laser control. Finally he managed to free himself, turning around and reversing hard. Smoke curled in thin wisps out of the jagged wound. Karr was rammed frontally with the rear bumper and shoved back.
Suddenly KRO stopped and cried, "Martin!"
Jenny's head whipped around and she discovered Jantzen not far away. He was standing, eyes wide open in what she recognized as shock, then his knees buckled and he fell to the ground.
"Dom?" she inquired.
Domino's scanners came to life and a human figure appeared on her monitor. "He was shot," the AI reported, sounding mystified.
KRO pulled away from Karr, metal tearing with a sickening noise. He had lost all interest in his opponents.
"Out of the way, boys and girls!" Beast announced, barreling around a corner. "It's time to end this!"
The heavy artillery the truck carried was unleashed upon the black Ferrari.
*
Michael was slowly coming around, his head throbbing mercilessly with harsh reminders of the pain that had swamped him minutes earlier. He blinked, trying to clear his foggy vision, automatically probing for Kitt. His partner was a confused, aching ball of light not far from him, hurting and hurt.
//Kitt?// he breathed.
//....?//
Michael touched him gently, all the time forcing his weary body to move. His ears heard loud crashes and the squeal of tires and he knew it was far from over.
//Fighting?// Kitt finally managed, his presence strengthening. He was recovering, faster than expected. Michael felt pride course through him.
//Yeah, fighting//
Michael blinked again and then became aware of his surroundings. And he saw Martin Jantzen as the other man reached for a gun lying not far away from where he was. Jantzen's fingers curled around the butt and he pulled the weapon to himself, his eyes fixed on a figure who was running toward the end of the dock.
"Nick!" Michael breathed, forcing himself to move now. Then he yelled, "Jantzen!", launching himself at the other man.
They collided and he took the former operative down. Jantzen hissed angrily, kicking at him. Michael fought with the anger of a man who had just about had enough. He might be a bit rusty, but he was still not out of the league. They traded blows for several minutes, neither giving up all that easily, and Jantzen was glaring at him with growing fury. Suddenly he feigned a roundhouse kick at Michael, who moved back automatically. Jantzen jumped forward, rolled to the left and came to his feet holding the gun Michael had kicked out of his hands earlier.
"The end of the road for you, Knight!" he snarled.
"Jantzen...." Michael started.
"Shut up!"
Suddenly a shot rang through the commotion around him and Michael automatically expected the pain of a wound, but there was none. Instead Jantzen's mouth opened to form an 'O', then his knees buckled.
A scream rang over the old harbor, followed by the sound of about every weapon they had detonating at once. Michael felt the shockwave hit and he threw himself to the ground, hot air blasting over him, though not hot enough to singe. Coughing, he turned his head to find out what was going on.
"Oh, damn!" he exclaimed and rolled to one side as a burned looking car drove toward him, then past, and stopped beside Jantzen.
It was KRO. He still looked rather intact, except for the area where the chemical had cracked the MBS and the attack had damaged him. His skin was ravaged by burns, but nothing had done any real damage to the protected parts. Now the Ferrari stopped beside his driver, engine running and Michael heard the unevenness in it. Damage to the engine block, he thought.
Duke, Erica and Jenny stopped not too far away and Michael picked himself up, slowly, carefully, and took several steps away from KRO.
"Domino," he said, never taking his eyes off the car. "Kill his engine."
"Right, hon!" the AI acknowledged.
An almost invisible, faintly red beam struck out from the Mustang and went straight through the unprotected side of the black car, eating through the metal and plastic, hitting the engine. There was a hiss, then a tiny explosion, followed by sickening sound of metal grating upon metal and tearing it apart. KRO didn't even seem to mind. He sat beside his driver, his engine destroyed, smoke curling out of multiple, jagged wounds, a dead duck right there to take down for real.
"Martin, talk to me!" he demanded, his voice harsh and uneven.
Michael walked around the car's front and swallowed hard as he saw the almost lifeless heap in front of him. Martin Jantzen had been caught in the chest by an unknown shooter, though Michael guessed it was Nash's way of saying he had grown redundant, and the blood had started to soak through his shirt, dripping onto the concrete. Jantzen's eyes were open and he coughed painfully, one hand spasming.
"KRO....." he now rasped.
There was a strange, choking noise coming from the AI. "Why?"
"Because we could do it." Jantzen smiled, his eyes sliding shut. "Because we needed to be....free." He coughed, blood running out of the corner
Michael knelt down beside the injured man, searching for a pulse. It was there, weak, thready, almost gone. He knew without a medical opinion that Jantzen would most likely not make it. Someone appeared at his side and when he discovered who it was, relief wiped all the pain and exhaustion from his face. Bonnie smiled, her face pale, her own ordeal visible, but she was alive.
"Martin?" KRO inquired, sounding suddenly very weak and scared. "Answer me! Please?"
"Is he...?" Jenny started.
"No," Michael answered quietly. He met her eyes and she swallowed. He wasn't dead yet, but he was dying.
//Michael?//
//Yes, Pal// he asked tiredly.
//It's Nick...//
There was the howl of a strained engine from behind him and he saw how Karr pulled off down the quay, struggling for speed and control over the damaged Stealth.
"Stay with them!" he ordered and straightened. "Secure KRO. Duke, I need a lift."
"Where to?"
Michael transferred the question to Kitt and his partner sent a hazy description what he had received from Karr.
"So whatcha waiting for?" Beast growled.
"I'm coming with you," Bonnie said silently.
The went after Karr.
*
Nick was running after his target with relentless stubbornness. Nash wouldn't get away this time. Not again! He was peripherally aware of Karr's angry struggle with KRO, the cold fury of his partner as he fought with an opponent that was slowly weakening, but who had damaged him as well.
"You never learn, do you?"
Nick stopped, eyes narrowing as he scanned the empty street running between two old warehouses. No one was visible, neither on the fire escapes above him, nor on the street. Shadows obscured some areas, but Nick was certain no one was there either.
"Show yourself!" he demanded flatly.
Nash laughed. "Please excuse my bad manners if I don't. I'm not someone to underestimate my students, but my students like to underestimate me."
Nick concentrated, looking for the source of the voice, listening, scanning.
"Did you really think I'd trust a mentally unstable person to do what needs to be done? Yes, you probably did. Martin was such a promising student; he had so much potential, but he wasn't you. No one could replace you, Nicholas."
"I'm touched," Nick snarled.
"You should be. You see, I'm torn between killing you and keeping you around for some more entertainment. You provide it so well. I also hate to destroy what I spent years creating, what functioned so well." A soft chuckled echoed around him. "Martin was easy to manipulate."
"You destroyed him."
"Oh, no, those harsh words. I destroyed him? I don't think so. Your precious Foundation gave him an AI with his personality merged into it. You see, they are trying to copy what you and your friend are as well. But I have the copyrights," he whispered harshly all of a sudden.
"I belong to no one, Nash!" Nick growled.
"That's where you are in error." The voice seemed to shift and Nick tensed.
"Why FLAG?" he now demanded, intent on keeping Nash talking.
"No specific reason really. You were always my prime target, old friend, but your friends interfered the last time and I thought it was time to teach them just who they are dealing with. Since my friend Martin wanted his own revenge I let him run. Could I know he'd attack the secondary targets before finishing the job?" Laughter again. "But enough small talk now. I have an appointment to keep."
There was movement and Nick homed in on it like a preprogrammed missile. Suddenly something whisked toward him and before he had time to react, he felt a hot sting in his already injured leg. With a gasp he stumbled forward, looking down. A dart stuck in his thigh.
Nash laughed and it sounded slightly insane. Nick felt his knees buckle as the substance the dart had been coated with took effect.
"Don't fight it, Nicholas. It's something not even you can cope with."
A shadow detached itself from a dark niche. Nick fought to stay on his feet, but he collapsed, feeling numbness spread through him.
"It's a hard decision," the General said slowly, holding a weapon plainly visible in his hands. It was pointed at Nick's head. "Live or let die?" He curled a finger around the trigger.
Nick simply stared at him, unable to talk anymore. His body was rapidly falling victim to whatever the substance was Nash had poisoned him with and even if Karr could make it here, it wouldn't be on time.
Two hard, cold pairs of eyes met. Nash studied him emotionlessly, then he suddenly smiled darkly. He secured the weapon and let it fall to his side.
"Another time, another encounter. Like I said," he told the paralyzed and half-conscious man pleasantly, "you provide me with entertainment."
Then he turned and walked away.
It was over.
Nick trembled, his adrenaline level dropping with the absence of any more threats. He felt cold and was sweating in one, but his mind was still rather clear. He fought for control over his body and felt his muscles react weakly. His will power was immense and he had to get away from here. Fingers bit into the ground as he forced himself on his knees. His stomach churned, his vision fogged now and then, and he had trouble staying on his feet, but he fought.
Nick stumbled and fell against something hard, noting it was a wall. Wall? How had that gotten here?
He staggered again.
.... his partner. Where was he? Karr? Partner? Where are you?
Nothingness.
His stomach heaved and he nearly had to throw up, but only nearly.
Poison.....
His mind slowed down on him and it was infinitely hard to catch a thought.
Karr?> he sent weakly, the world blacking out around him.
The neuro link screamed with Karr's reaction, but Nick didn't hear it anymore. He slipped deeper into unconsciousness, finally surrendering to the needs of his body.
Michael was out of Beast and at Nick's side in a flash, but not fast enough to catch the collapsing body. He didn't feel all that well either, but at least all he only suffered from a tremendous headache, not poisoning.
"Duke, call an ambulance," he ordered, voice rough.
"Already on its way," DePalma replied.
"Thanks."
"What happened to him?" Bonnie wanted to know, fear in her voice.
"Kitt said it was poison....."
Duke cursed softly. It was all Michael could do as well.
Karr shot around the corner behind them, his badly damaged front not enough hindrance for him not to drive. The tires were still intact, but Michael doubted that the axle was. Duke jumped out of the way, though Karr was far enough away from him to be of no threat.
"He's alive, Karr," Michael said immediately, not moving from Nick's side.
The Stealth sat shivering and rumbling close to his driver. "Poison," he managed.
"An ambulance is on the way." As he briefly touched the Stealth, Michael felt the tremors more pronounced. "He'll be okay," he said softly.
Kitt's mind-touch was careful and gentle and he hugged his partner tightly. //I'm okay// Kitt replied. //Shaken and my circuits ache, but I'm fine. I think I'll need some time in repair though//
Michael smiled wryly. //We all do. Is Karr in control?//
//Yes, just heavily confused and very worried. I'm with him, he's with me. Don't worry, Michael//
The ambulance arrived almost simultaneously with a team of mechanics and helpers from Sky One. Michael stood back and let the men and women work. Kyle joined him. The team leader just shot him a wordless look and Michael answered it. There was time for a debriefing later, when everyone was in shape for it.
Bonnie laid an arm around his waist and he hugged her close, feeling the tension drain away, his body weighing down with exhaustion.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
She nodded against his shoulder. "In need of a hot bath and a bed, but I'm fine." Bonnie looked up and into his eyes. "You look terrible."
Michael smiled wryly. "Nothing too bad really. Some backlash from Kitt. Gets to you."
Kyle looked at them. "Need a lift?"
Michael nodded. "To the hospital."
* * *
Kat winced as she watched silently as Sky One's mechanics crew pulled the injured and wounded into the hangar, the garage. Kitt was heavily dented on one side, the paint cracked, the shell torn apart. He was still able to assist by driving slowly, but he needed to be pulled. Karr was worse off, his front one single mass, the hood twisted in such a manner that it would most likely need to be cut open. There were long, deep cuts on one side and a net of web-like cracks all over the black skin. Domino had burns to her outer skin and would need a new paint job, and the rest had stress fractures to various body parts. Kat included. KRO had exploited their weaknesses and though he had not been able to hit them full force, what he had done was enough. They'd be out of business for a while.
::Karr?:: Kat sent softly.
As not otherwise expected there was no reply. She smiled slightly.
Karr was pushed and pulled over to one of the rear repair bays and then left.
::Don't worry. They'll take care of you::
::They better not touch me:: Karr snarled.
::No one will hurt you:: she assured him.
Karr growled slightly, then fell silent. As if they felt the hostility the mechanics left the Stealth alone and turned to their own cars and Kitt first. Kat silently watched the busy humans, one virtual eye on Karr.
*
Kyle got out of Dante, holding his numbly throbbing ribs, clearly not in shape either, but he doggedly refused to give in yet. He looked at the assembled, damaged vehicles, then watched the tired and exhausted team walk to their quarters.
"You should rest as well, Kyle," Dante remarked.
"I'm fine."
"And you will be very grouchy in the morning," the AI sighed. "Guess who has to suffer the mood then?"
Kyle grimaced and followed Jenny who was the last to leave. They climbed the stairs in silence and Kyle knew that he really had to get some rest. Michael was at the hospital with Nick and Bonnie. MacKenzie had still been unconscious when the ambulance had arrived at the emergency entrance and though he didn't really understand all about the neuro implants, he had seen Michael react to Kitt and vice versa. Karr and MacKenzie were connected by the same implant.... He wondered how much the AI felt from his driver now.
"Let's get some rest," Kyle now said softly and Jenny nodded. "There will be a meeting ASAP when we have had a night of sleep and Michael is back."
"Okay," Jenny simply said.
Kyle watched her walk into her quarters and he felt exhaustion weigh him down. His body was protesting loudly against all the abuse it had been put through and a headache was threatening to overwhelm him. Somehow he got into his quarters; somehow he managed to at least get his shoes off; then he was dead asleep on his bed.
* * *
Nick lay in the hospital bed, only half-aware of his surroundings, his body like an alien attachment to his mind. He knew little of what had occurred between his breakdown and waking up in here. He only knew he wanted to be out of this hospital as soon as possible. He felt his partner's presence hovering close by, backed up by another one he had touched infrequently before. Kitt.
Wow, both of you?> he asked tiredly. I'm flattered>
Karr pulled back, growling in what was a mixture of disgust and embarrassment. Nick smiled. He knew both AIs had suffered from the attack, Kitt directly because of the shock gun, Karr through his human partner. For them it was natural to pull together and heal as one.
How long have I been here?>
A day>
Great> Nick forced his eyes open and squinted around the room. He was alone. Good.
Don't even think about it> Karr's cold voice interrupted the line of thought currently starting and which had something to do with getting out of this hospital. You need rest>
Nick muttered something dark. I liked you better when you weren't mother-henning me!> he then sent.
I'm not mother-henning you> Karr replied neutrally. Just protecting my interests>
Interest? I'm an interest?>
You are my driver>
Oh, right> Nick sent back teasingly. Nothing but the driver>
Karr stepped back, a brief wave of anger flooding Nick. Confusion hit him after that and he sighed.
Hey....>
The dark AI growled again like a large cat unsure of what the appropriate next step would be.
Nick laughed softly, feeling exhaustion creep on him. What's the situation?>
Nothing you should concern yourself with> was the brisk answer.
Nick sighed. I'm not invalid and I'd really like to know what's going on>
Karr rumbled darkly. What is going on is that you are in a hospital bed, recovering from a strong but not life-threatening poison> he told his partner flatly.
That much I had figured>
There is nothing else>
Nick sighed deeply. He felt sleepy. All right, all right. But don't think you can keep this up for long, partner>
I'd never dream of it>
Karr's presence moved closer, a smooth, silky dark mass that was cool to the touch. Nick closed his eyes, relaxing, feeling him wrap himself protectively around the link. Then he was asleep.
* * *
Dante watched the mechanics clean up Kitt as best as they could. He knew that the car was not as badly damaged as it seemed at first, but it would still require quite some work. Plato was almost back to his old self, Domino had had her superficial scars cleared away as well, and the others were currently checked.
_Kitt?_> Dante finally asked, sounding hesitant.
_Hello, Dante_> Kitt greeted him warmly and it made Dante feel even more miserable. Couldn't Kitt be at least slightly hostile? But that went against what he was.
_I'd like to apologize_> the silver SUV said slowly. _For yelling_>
Kitt sent a smile. _It's okay. I know how you must have felt, but I hope you understand_>
_I do, which is why I need to apologize_> Dante sighed. _I had no right to demand and to insult on top of it_>
_What happened was understandable, Dante_>
Dante was silent for a while, optical sensors resting on the mutilated TransAm, then flickering over to the Stealth. Karr hadn't said a single word since arriving and everyone avoided coming too close to him. It was like there was a 'hands off' sign somewhere.
_Are they really linked?_> he then asked softly.
Kitt understood what he meant. _Yes. As tightly as Michael and I are_>
_It's amazing_>
_Yes_> There was a soft smile in Kitt's voice.
Silence descended once more, but in a way it was a friendly silence. Dante let the mechanics continue to repair him, answered their questions with a distracted note as they activated the rest of his systems, and generally felt more relaxed than before.
* * *
Nick sat in the silent garage, fighting a major headache, wishing he wouldn't feel so weak. The poison had yet to wear off completely, but the doctor had told him there would be no lasting effects and if he took care of himself he should be back to normal within a week. Still, it bothered him. That he was finally out of the hospital was thanks to his stubbornness and Michael giving up after arguing with him for an hour. He was okay, just weak, and if something happened, Sky One had an infirmary, though he'd rather not see it.
Karr was parked the farthest away from the other vehicles as possible and his shell looked still battered and torn. Nick had allowed the mechanics to get him back to Sky One – well, he really hadn't had any influence over it since he had been unconscious at the time and Michael had made the decision – and now he was waiting for repairs. This damage was beyond what Nick could safely say he could handle. Kitt was next to him, equally damaged, though his front had already been cleaned and was under repair.
"How are you, partner?" he now asked.
"Angry," Karr snarled. "As to my bodily condition, I could use a car wash and a wax job."
Nick smiled involuntarily. "I can see that. He hit you good."
"He had the advantage of the chemical solution," Karr grated.
Nicholas was feeling a new wave of exhaustion hit him and he leaned forward, not caring whether or not someone saw him at the moment. His arms curled around the steering column in a gesture Michael used more frequently and without reserve with Kitt, and his fingers came in contact with the sensor. He felt a hum, a vibration barely perceptible, coming through the link. Coming face to face with Nash had rattled him more than he wanted to admit. The man had had him at his mercy and not killed him. Could he never be rid of him? Couldn't this end one way or the other?! Nick caught himself, inhaling sharply. If he had been killed, which would have been a way to end the game, Karr would have gone over the edge. He couldn't let it end this way; ever. Karr was linked to him and his sanity lived and died with Nick. He was responsible for his partner and responsible for his heritage. Severing the link would send the AI hurtling back to his KARR self and then.... Nick swallowed. KARR would have to be deactivated, maybe even destroyed. The consequences...
The link was suddenly filled with conflicting emotions and he simply let them happen. He couldn't wall himself off and at the moment he didn't want to. What Kitt and Michael had taught them in turn so many years ago had finally become natural to him, though it had taken a while: acceptance of the other presence – completely.
A monitor next to him came to life and showed him his vital signs. Not good.
"You need to rest," Karr told him.
"I know," he whispered.
"In a bed."
"Karr....."
"I mean it," the AI insisted.
Nick sighed. "Yes, Mom."
Karr didn't deign this remark worthy of a reply.
"Hey."
The voice startled him and Nick cursed himself. He looked up and discovered a familiar figure wearing an 'Armageddon' T-shirt.
"Hey, Justin."
Justin Turner, former chief mechanic for FLAG and someone with the largest TV/movie T-shirt collection Nick knew, smiled. "I thought I'd have a nice, leisurely time while you and Michael were having a happy reunion, but I guess I should have known."
Nick smiled as well. Justin had left FLAG when Michael and Kitt had. The renovations that had turned the old Foundation into what it was today had required new teams and Justin had felt that though he had the talent to adapt, he didn't like what was happening. Nick knew the potential this man had and he had introduced him to Bear. The two had quickly come to accept each other and Justin had joined Nick's technical and engineering back-up team. Now and then he helped out Bonnie with Kitt and he was generally a very busy man.
"Sorry to burst your bubble."
Justin looked at the mangled Stealth and grimaced. "Wow, Karr, what did you do to yourself?"
There was no answer and none had been expected. Justin shook his head again and looked around the garage, familiarizing himself with the equipment.
"How long do I have? Just the basics for mobility or the whole thing?"
"I'm not sure yet. I'd like to be out of this trap as soon as I can. I thought if possible we can move this party to Michael's place."
Justin nodded. "The basics then. I'll get right at it, but I can't promise to perform a miracle. Even from the outside this looks bad."
"In case you need help," a new voice said, "call me."
Nick and Justin looked at the man in the mechanic's uniform and who now smiled at them. "The name's Gil. If you need assistance, let me know. This looks like more than a one-man job."
"Thanks. I'll get back on that offer," Justin said, nodding.
"You're welcome."
Nick slid out of the seat and straightened slowly, feeling his head swim. He definitely needed some rest. "Thanks for coming," he told the other man quietly.
"Hey, you know me. Always ready for a challenge." Justin glanced at the Stealth. "And this sure as heck is one. Wait till Bear sees it."
Nick grimaced, then left the garage.
Justin scratched the back of his head, his gaze wandering back and forth between the two black cars, both equally damaged.
"You two get into all sorts of trouble," he muttered.
"Now that's not true," Kitt protested, red scanner running back and forth.
Justin snorted. "Right!"
"And this time it was neither fault."
"Sure."
"Why does my voice analyzer tell me you don't believe me?" Kitt asked, amusement in his voice.
"I have *no* clue," Justin grinned. "Might be a malfunction induced by the damage." Karr made a rude noise and Justin raised an eyebrow. "You have anything to add?"
"No," Karr stated flatly.
The mechanic grinned broadly, aware that he had several eavesdroppers as not only the technicians in the garage but also the AIs tried to unobstrusively listen in. He didn't care. He liked to rouse Karr out of his silence now and then, especially when working on him. It did him good.
"Damaged sense of humor, I understand," he teased the darker AI. "I hope I have the replacement parts for it with me."
"I don't have a sense of humor I'm aware of," Karr stated dryly, readily falling into the banter.
Justin chewed his lower lip as he worked the hood of the Stealth free and propped it open. "Ah, well, now that you say it.... geez, look at that mess. Karr, how are the perceptors?" he asked, suddenly serious.
"Fine. I switched most of them off."
"Keep them off."
"Understood."
Justin set to work, talking to both Kitt and Karr conversationally as he was waist-deep in his patient's engine department.
Somewhere throughout the next hour Bonnie joined him and he received some unexpected help from a team of mechanics led by Gil. Neither actually came too close to Karr anyway, all trying to repair Kitt first, but Gil's barked order to stop being babies and do their job worked wonders.
_I feel like a lab experiment, Karr muttered.
Kitt looked at him, surprised.
_So.... dissected, the other AI added.
Kitt scanned the Stealth. The remainders of the nose had been taken off, the engine hauled out of its compartment to check for damage, then cleaned and settled on a block next to him, the front lifted. Justin was currently lying under him, doing something or other.
_Half as bad as it looks, Kitt assured him, smiling. _We've been through worse.
So much was true, but getting taken apart in the middle of a place where he trusted almost no one was not exactly a dream come true. It was more of a nightmare. Justin had apparently picked up on his discomfort and asked for a wall to separate the repair area from the rest.
_Not by much, Karr now remarked with slight anger at his situation.
Kitt smiled again, giving him a quick hug of comfort, then withdrew. A tendril was left, a thin but wiry and strong connection to his brother. Karr let it be, aware how good it felt, then concentrated back on what was going on around him.
* * *
"Martin Jantzen died four hours ago of heavy trauma to the chest and heart failure. The damage from the bullet was too great to repair and the blood loss only added to that."
Michael nodded. He had been to the hospital and he had seen the body. It had been burned immediately by his orders and even if the Board protested, he knew it was the right decision. KRO was in a high security facility at the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base outside Oceanside. The AI had been almost catatonic by the time they had arrived there and the Board was discussing a complete dismantling of the car. The CPU had already been taken out as a precaution. Erica and Duke were present to keep an eye on things.
"Looks like it is over," Kyle said, sounding strangely mute but also tired.
Michael folded his hands, staring at the table. "I hope so. Nash got away."
Kyle smiled humorlessly. "Yes, but we got KRO back and Jantzen is dead."
"I wish it wouldn't have come this far. Nash must have had a sharp shooter there to take care of loose ends. Jantzen was one."
"What will you do with KRO now?"
"It's not my decision. The Board is still arguing." Michael met his friend's eyes. "I hope they don't destroy him completely. He is the innocent part of this partnership; he was tainted by Jantzen."
Kyle rubbed one finger, thoughtful. "Yes, but he also can't be healed, can he?"
"No one knows. I want to set a team of specialists on it. Maybe there is hope."
"Will Kitt be okay?"
He nodded. "Just some superficial damage and some strained circuits. Bonnie is taking care of the latter and when we get home he gets a complete overhaul." Michael rubbed his neck. "Most of what happened was a severe shock to his system and an overload of the link."
"What about Karr?"
Michael met the clear blue eyes of the younger man, trying to read the meaning of this question in them. Neither one of the TKR members had been thrilled about Karr's and also Nick's presence aboard, or even the fact that Karr was still alive and functioning, but Kyle's question concerned something else.
"Someone's taking care of him. Nick and Karr will leave the moment he is mobile enough to get home."
"I have to confess that I'm amazed, Michael," Kyle said slowly. "He defies the definition of KARR in the files. Until the most recent events, the name KARR stood synonym with evil."
He smiled. "He changed, Kyle. He is no longer what the Foundation created, a single-minded killing machine."
"I can see that. MacKenzie was always the intended driver?"
Michael nodded. "Complete with the neuro implant."
"Why didn't it work right away?"
He was silent for a moment. "I think because Wilton Knight never considered how long it might take for an artificial intelligence to accept what is on the other side of this link. Kitt and I worked together for a long time until it happened. Karr and Nick never did. Karr was deactivated right away but the core was still alive. He grew to hate humans and FLAG, especially Kitt, and came after us. When Nick finally found him, which was after our second encounter and even though he knew he might invite his own death, he repaired and reactivated Karr. Believe me when I say that Karr was not amused by what he called a 'weak human mind' connected to his CPU. But they survived. They have been together for over a decade, Kyle. Karr is no longer what Wilton Knight created."
Kyle nodded slowly. "I saw that. It's just not very comforting to know what is parked down in the garage when you only have access to ancient files that report about a homicidal car out to kill you."
Michael chuckled. "No one asks you to welcome him with open arms. I just want to tell you that he is not a danger. Kitt and Karr are brothers, they share a link, and Kitt owes him his life and his sanity. Don't let his behavior fool you. Karr will do nothing to harm anyone aboard this plane."
"Except an innocent laptop," Trek muttered under his breath.
Kyle raised an eyebrow, but stopped when it pulled at the still healing cut. Michael shot him an inquiring look. Trek grimaced.
"Virus."
"A virus? How did you acquire a virus?" Kyle wanted to know.
"Errrr... I ....."
Michael suddenly laughed. "You tried to hack into files protected by not only Nick's safeguards but also Karr."
Trek ducked his head. "Yeah."
"And he sent you a virus?" Kyle asked, disbelief in his voice. "What were you doing there anyway?"
"I was just curious!" Trek defended himself. "How should I know he's taking it this personal?"
"The files were taken out of FLAGNet for a reason," Michael said pleasantly. "Everything was erased and what remains is no longer part of the Net."
"I know, I know, and I'm sorry." Kyle raised his brows again and Trek sighed. "Really! But, I mean, he totally wiped my laptop!"
"That should teach you," the ex-CIA agent remarked, a glint in his eyes.
"Ha-ha," Trek replied, slightly grumpy.
"He will be out of your hair soon," Michael told them.
Kyle looked thoughtful. "But probably not out of FLAG life, right?"
"Well, no.... You can never tell with Nick, but he will be around for a while. There will be changes for this team, so much I can say, and I'm still working on convincing the Board that the MBS is needed, as well as a few more features, and I need Nick as my back-up. John Landes is already on our side. KRO was a single case that made the team vulnerable because of bureaucratic stubbornness. I'm going up against them again and again until we have this cleared."
"Quite a lot you want to change."
Michael shook his head. "No, actually just a few little things. Now that I'm out in the open concerning TKR I can damn well take the initiative and fight for what they want me to run."
"You got our vote," Jenny said and walked around the table, sitting down.
He cast her a smile. "Thanks. I can't promise to any of you that you won't see Karr or Nick ever again. He is part of FLAG, even if everyone denies it, and Kitt and Karr are part of each other. Neither of us will be in your way. My time as a front operative is over. I have my own cases to deal with and I'm in charge of the field operations you run. You are the new team and I'm your back-up."
Kyle nodded. Michael's sudden appearance had startled the others as it had the AIs to encounter their 'predecessor' – as well as the 'evil twin' – and it would take a while to get them used to it, but he was certain that they'd be back to normal operations soon. With the still continuing repairs everyone still had time to deal with it his or her own way.
"We are leaving tomorrow afternoon," Michael added. "TKR is off duty as long as repairs are under way; after that we continue where we stopped."
"One more question," Kyle said slowly.
"Yes?"
"What about this General? Nash?"
"No one knows, least of all Nick. He won't talk about it and I respect that wish. Nash is a dark figure out of his past which is now threatening FLAG and the team just as much as he threatened Nick in the past."
"Oh, fun. As if Mobius wasn't enough," Trek mumbled.
Kyle grimaced.
Michael sighed. "We might have to consider him a new enemy, though none that is top priority. Last time we beat him he crawled into a hole and came out only now. There are other cases that demand our attention. I will keep an eye out for him and you can rest assured that Nick does the same. If he rears his head again...."
"We'll be there to chop it off!" Trek piped, grinning.
Michael chuckled and Kyle rolled his eyes. "Yes, something like that."
* * *
Jenny Andrews stood in front of the visitor's room Michael Knight had been assigned to and hesitated, one hand raised for a knock. She had wanted to talk to Michael almost from day one and still she had never had the nerve to approach him before. What if she was wrong? Even worse, what if she was right?! There was only one way to find out. She inhaled deeply and finally knocked.
"Come in," Michael's voice called.
She stepped into the room as the door slid open, looking around. Michael sat at the terminal and was typing something into it. Now he looked up and smiled.
"Hello, Jenny. What can I do for you?"
Jenny took a few more steps forward and heard the door close after her. "Am I disturbing you?" she asked, cursing her insecurity.
"No. Just some bureaucratic stuff."
She fidgeted. "Michael.... I need to ask you something."
He raised an eyebrow and she suddenly thought he must know why she was here, then she shook her head. How should he?
"When I was hired for this team... did you hire me?" Jenny started, fishing for the right approach to the question she needed to have answered.
"Yes and no. I was among those making the selections in the first place. The Board had asked for my opinion and I went through every file, but the Board made the final decision. I had no influence on that." He smiled. "Why?"
"I want to know why you chose me."
He frowned. "Well, your file was rather promising. And I have to add, I didn't choose you, Jenny. You were one of many and you had the best references out of those reviewed for Domino at the time."
"Did the Board's decision, or even yours, have something to do with my parents?"
Jenny saw something flicker over his face that was quickly replaced by innocence. But it had been there. She was sure of it. "Your parents?" he now echoed.
She took all of her courage together. "Are you my father, Mr. Knight?"
Michael looked at her for a long time, seconds ticking by, and Jenny briefly wished the ground would open up and swallow her. Maybe she had misjudged what she had seen. Then her Marines training broke through and she defiantly met the calm, gray eyes.
"Please sit, Jenny," Michael now said slowly.
"Are you?" she repeated her question, voice growing stronger as she found she was really going somewhere.
Michael switched off the terminal and folded his hands. "I know you have been trying to access my file. Trek is good, but I have safeguards in place not even his genius can crack easily. Even if you got that deep into the confidential files, you'd never find what you were looking for. Jenny, I never had children."
"What about Michael Long?"
Michael shook his head. "Him neither. You were born before Michael Knight's time and while Michael Long was still in police service."
She deflated. "But...."
"There were always rumors and you have been almost on the right track all the time," he continued calmly.
"You know who my father was?"
Michael nodded.
"Tell me," Jenny demanded, but also dreading the truth. "Who is he? Is he still alive?"
"He is dead. He died several years ago," Michael said, voice almost thoughtful. "He didn't know he had a daughter and I think it was for the best. Devon told me about it only once. Your mother gave you up for adoption when you were a baby; your new family were your mother's sister and brother-in-law."
Jenny swallowed.
"In a way the rumors were true that you are also related to me; I could be your uncle, though not in blood." Michael met and held her eyes.
Jenny stared at him, then paled and had to sit down. "No," she whispered.
He smiled sadly. "I'm sorry that the news were not what you had expected. I wish I could say you were my daughter, Michael Long's daughter, but those were just rumors."
Jenny swallowed, trying to catch herself again. "Why was I never told?"
"Because it had been too dangerous. If he had known about you, I'm not sure what could have happened. At the time Devon heard about it, he decided it had to be kept under wraps. When I took over from him in part, he gave me all the files and he told me. Now that your father is dead..."
"Now I can know," she finished tonelessly.
"I'm sorry."
Jenny just nodded. "Is the file classified or confidential as well?"
"No. It never was, except for one little sub-file, but I can give you access to it as well."
She rose. "Then I think it's time I got to know my father."
Michael watched the door close after the young woman and sighed. This had been something he had dreaded all along and he had known Jenny would come and ask sooner or later. Her attempts to break into his highly secured file had never gone unnoticed and it had been only a matter of time until he would have to reveal the true name of her father to her. Now he wished it wouldn't have been such a shock.
* * *
It was Kitt and Karr's last night aboard Sky One before they would leave, and the plane was scheduled to take off soon after that. The garage was quiet, several mechanics checking on the vehicles and doing a few last adjustments. Everyone was almost back to normal and it was like a sigh of relief no one heard. The encounter with KRO had rattled them all, most of all the fact that KRO had simply surrendered after Martin Jantzen had been shot. The AI had been almost catatonic by the time the damaged Ferrari had been secured, and when Jantzen's death had been announced, almost all functions had dropped further. Neither of the TKR AIs knew what to do, how to handle it, since KRO was suddenly no longer the vicious entity he had once been. He had been beaten, his driver killed, his body mangled, and now he was just a shadow of his former self. The CPU had been removed from the partially mobile car, the shell had then been dismantled and destroyed, and except for a small outside feed, KRO had no more connections to anything. FLAG was discussing a complete shut-down now.
Beast regarded the silent Stealth carefully. Over the last two days he had come to accept Karr's presence among them, though he couldn't say he felt well with him here. He had watched in wary and suspicious silence as the mechanic, Justin, had repaired most of the damage to Karr, assisting Bonnie with Kitt as well, to get them mobile again. None of the other mechanics had come close to Karr, though some had offered their help with Kitt. Gil had been the only one to 'risk' work on the prototype and nothing had happened.
"Hey, freak," he now called gruffly.
He knew Karr was suddenly looking at him, though nothing had changed. Cold visual scanners ran over him and Beast bit back a snarl. The Stealth gave him the creeps! Reading the files had been a horror trip for the AI already. Thinking that this was what they had all evolved from was a nightmare, though he had to confess that the Karr he had met was different from the KARR in the files. He had evolved. That he, like Kitt, shared a neuro implant link to a human had been even worse news. What did the human driver of Karr have to be like to link with him? Looking at Nicholas MacKenzie, the few times he had seen him act, he knew.
"What do you want?" Karr asked levelly.
"Just wanted to say one thing," Beast rumbled. "Ya handled yerself well."
There was a brief silence. Kitt's scanner came to life and the red band tracked back and forth. Beast thought it looked like a smile.
"Thank you," Karr finally spoke up again, voice as chilly as before. It was amazing how he could drop from a conversational voice – which he had shown when talking to either Nick or Justin, or even Bonnie – to sub-zero. "With maybe a few alterations, you might function better as well."
"Alterations?" Beast asked, anger worming its way into his CPU. "What alterations? I can take ya any day of the week."
Karr gave a derisive snort.
"Hey, ya want some of this?" Beast challenged.
The other AI didn't answer.
"Stop it, Beast!" Dante ordered, voice sharp.
"Why? Ya on the freak's side?"
"I'm on no one's side but my own, and I want some peace and quiet."
Beast gave a harsh laugh. "Why? Poor little Dan got a headache?"
"Oh, shut your big mouth."
Karr raised a virtual eyebrow as he watched the two younger AIs spar back and forth. Beast had simply switched his annoying attention to his team mate.
_And they are the next generation? he asked in general.
Kitt's smile was wide. _Believe it or not, yes.
* * *
Jenny sat at her computer terminal, hands hovering over the keyboard. She was afraid to enter the search request, but she also wanted to know. She had to know. Biting her lower lip she finally opened the search engine's main program.
SUBJECT NAME: _
She inhaled deeply.
KNIGHT, she typed. GARTH.
PLEASE WAIT, the screen told her.
Jenny leaned back, her heart hammering as if she was breaking into a top secret file. Then suddenly a file number appeared.
DO YOU WANT A FULL FILE DISPLAY? Y/N
She typed 'Y' and watched the file appear. The picture in the upper right corner was almost a dead copy of Michael Knight's face, except for the expression and the look in the slightly darker eyes. Jenny massaged cold finger, then started to read – and with it finally knew the truth.
* * *
"It's not fair!"
The statement was uttered with an angry frown on Trek's face and a dark expression in his eyes. He held his now useless laptop balanced on his knees as he sat beside Kitt, whom he had been talking to for the past minutes.
"Why not?" the AI inquired mildly. "You hacked into confidential files."
"I know I was hacking!" Trek muttered. "It's just... I mean, throwing me out would have sufficed!"
"Really?"
If Kitt would have been able to raise an eyebrow, he probably would have done it now. Still, the image came across. Trek shot him an angry look, then deflated a little.
"Yeah, well, maybe. But a virus?"
"Nick likes to protect his interests, as does Karr."
"He destroyed my hard drive!" Trek accused.
"You could say you are responsible for that on your own," Kitt answered slowly.
"Ha-ha! I have firewalls to keep it from happening!"
"So why did this hit the laptop HD?"
He frowned. "Because it was darn well-engineered and because *he*," Trek glanced at the silent Stealth, "hacked into my laptop in turn. A 'hands off' and maybe a normal virus would really have been enough."
"I always complete the tasks given to me," Karr suddenly said and Trek felt like jumping out of his skin. The voice was cold, almost monotone, with an evil, dark tone to it.
"Task? You weren't given the task to destroy my whole harddrive!" Under normal circumstances confronting Karr like this would have been farthest from Trek's mind, but he had protection, he told himself. Kitt wouldn't let Karr hurt him, now would he?
"My task was to insure the files' protection. I merely followed my orders."
"Yeah, right."
"Do you accuse me of lying?"
Trek moved back slightly, clearing his throat. "Never! No!" he answered quickly, noting a small squeak in his voice.
"You entered a restricted area," Karr went on and Trek swallowed. "I merely kept you out of what you had no clearance to read or even know of."
"You wiped my harddrive," he muttered defiantly.
"Next time it might be more." The threat hung in the air and somehow the black car seemed even more vicious now.
"Errr....." Trek managed.
Kitt's scanner band came to life with a warm red glow. "You are scaring him," he admonished the other AI, voice far from serious or angry.
"Good."
"Now, really, Karr...."
Karr snorted. "He has to learn to keep out of files that are none of his business and protected by potentially lethal means."
"Hey, that's what they got me here for," Trek mumbled.
"Then keep within the confines of your job description," Karr told him, the threat audible again. There seemed to be icicles growing from every letter.
"Are you kids having fun?"
Trek turned and discovered Justin coming down, carrying some tools and parts. This time he was wearing a 'Men in Black' shirt. There was a smile plastered on his youthful face.
"How can you work with this thing?" Trek muttered.
Justin smiled. "Thick hide, lots of dark humor and enough common sense not to stand in front of him when kicking his exhaust the wrong way," he answered. He dropped his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "And he's not too bad actually. Got a big soft spot which he hates to confess of ever having been created with."
There was a low, dangerous warning rumble coming from the Stealth. Justin grinned brightly.
"See?"
Trek sighed, shook his head and left, clutching the useless laptop to him. Justin raised an eyebrow at Karr.
"What did you do to him? Growl?"
"No, I was just getting to that," was the smooth reply.
"Huh, do we need to get a muzzle for you next?"
"Very funny, Justin," Karr replied edgily. "Just remember which of us has the MBS."
The mechanic laughed, shaking his head in amusement. He knew how far he could go with Karr.
*
They left the next day. Karr was glad to finally be out of Sky One and he let his driver feel it. Nick smiled, one hand lightly resting on his roof as he waited for Michael, who was talking to Kyle.
::Karr::
He swallowed a groan. Not *her* again!
::I know you can hear me:: Kat went on. ::Please?::
Karr sighed. ::What do you want?:: he growled.
::Just wanted to say that it was nice to meet you:: the other AI answered.
Karr was silent for a moment, wondering what this meant. ::Why do you say that?:: he then inquired.
::Because it is the truth:: Kat smiled. ::Don't be a stranger::
Thoroughly confused, Karr cut the link. He felt Nick close by, his partner grinning maliciously. What?> he snapped.
She likes you>
She is a pain!>
Nick grinned and got in, bright blue eyes dancing behind his sunglasses. Sure>
Karr slammed a shield into his face and fell into icy silence. Nick simply chuckled, then ignited the engine and followed Kitt as Michael drove away from the large C-5.
* * *
John Landes folded his hands and smiled slightly as he listened to the Board argue. The meeting had been over fifteen minutes ago, but even now, outside the conference hall, members were still debating the pros and cons of the request that had come in. Well, it wasn't really a request. It was more or less a demand. Now he rose and walked out of the room, nodding at a servant who was holding out his coat.
"Thank you."
He walked down the hall and finally left the old mansion, the former FLAG HQ and now a kind of secondary council hall. It was eerily quiet, the giant hangars dismantled, the rooms in the mansion itself empty, the labs antiquated. Sometimes he felt sad that Wilton Knight's former home was no longer the headquarters of his dream, but he understood the necessity for the more official looking building outside central LA. Since FLAG was running under the guise of an official government branch they had to look like one as well.
John stopped as he became aware of a visitor parked next to the old fountain. A slender, tall man was leaning against the parked vehicle, arms crossed in front of his chest, dressed as always mainly in black. A smile spread over John's features, warm and welcoming.
"Hello, Nick." His gaze flickered over the Stealth. "Karr."
"Need a lift?" MacKenzie asked neutrally.
John looked at the black Stealth. The door clicked open. "Are you sure?"
Nick, who had walked around the car, raised an eyebrow over the rim of the glasses.
"I don't kill people for breakfast as long as they suit my purposes," Karr suddenly said, voice holding on a mildly sarcastic note, making Landes jump.
He didn't know if that was intended as a joke – did Karr crack jokes? -- or not. It didn't make him feel better though. Still, he carefully walked around the softly humming vehicle and grabbed the open door, peering into the interior, then sat down on the co-driver's seat.
"What gives me the pleasure of this pick-up service?" he asked as they passed the iron gates and were on the road.
"I need some information."
"I see. I suspect it concerns the Board's decision?"
"Yes."
"They are still arguing and there will be several more meetings until the whole matter has been decided upon." Landes watched the landscape fly by. "What is your interest in it?"
Nick smiled slightly. "The usual."
He understood. "So you are back?"
"You could say that."
John smiled secretly. Unlike many of the other Board members, he didn't object to Nick's presence inside FLAG. "I have to thank you for your assistance in the KRO case."
"Purely self-interest. I don't take well to getting attacked by killer AIs."
Landes looked at the slightly futuristic dash which displayed nothing of the highly intelligent AI underneath it. "I thought as much. Still: thank you. I appreciate it."
Nick smiled wryly. "I can't say the same about what happened to the Foundation. You might have more operatives, but they are as much a target as a normal agent would be. How can you let a multi-million dollar machine become so vulnerable?"
"We had setbacks. You know the results."
Nick snorted. "Like I told Michael: fail-safe devices can work miracles." He stopped Karr and Landes saw that they had arrived at his home. He didn't want to inquire where Nick had known the address from. "Think about this mess, John. Your team is good, but it needs the protection. Give it to them."
Landes slowly got out of the Stealth. "I will. I've always been on Michael's and even your side, Nick. I'll do whatever is in my power."
The Stealth drove of and merged with the late afternoon traffic. John watched him until he had disappeared. Nicholas MacKenzie and Karr were back, working as a team with Michael and Kitt again, and they were adversaries to be reckoned with. A small smile crept over his features. The Board hadn't even started to go into an uproar over this and he knew that changes would occur.
"Welcome back, old friend," he muttered, then walked to his home.
Life surely had gotten very interesting once again.
* * *
"Are you sure you don't want to reconsider?" Michael asked.
Nick looked around the dusty, twilightish hall and shook his head, a smile on his lips. "Nope. I'm home."
"I always thought you had sold it."
"No, I was kind of attached to the place, even though I didn't know if I'd ever return." Nick's eyes took on a slightly faraway look. "I never told you, but I consider this a place where my life changed." He met Michael's eyes. "For the better.
Michael was caught, unable to find a proper response to this moment of openness. He knew what was hidden behind those simple words.
"With a bit of work and fresh paint, this will be like new. And it's roomy enough for us," Nick continued, walking around the silent first floor. "But I gladly take you up on your offer for staying overnight until it's renovated completely."
Michael chuckled. "You are welcome. I could use a hand with what is already flooding my way because of my so-called demands."
"Gladly. I like a good fight."
The two men left the dark warehouse and stepped out into the sun. The surf slapped against the quay and salt air wafted toward them. Kitt and Karr were parked side by side, gleaming black, powerful cars, each with his own personality, as different as their drivers, but still very much alike.
Several sea gulls circled over the abandoned area, crying, as the cars pulled away.
* * *
In a silent, cold and lonely storage area, a heavily guarded vault that kept government secrets or locked weapons away from mankind, a small, black box sat inside a high security entrapment. KRO was faintly aware of his surroundings, but they didn't matter to him. He wasn't interested in what was outside anymore because what was inside him hurt too much all on its own.
Martin was dead. His driver; his partner; a part of him. A single bullet had ended a life KRO had been programmed to protect, and he had been unable to prevent it. He and Martin had been one, a unit, a unity. They had worked well together, even if FLAG had declared them insane and out of control. KRO didn't care. Martin Jantzen had been chosen for him and their bond had been strong and unbreakable – except through death. They could deactivate him if they liked; he had lost interest in his continued existence.
He was empty.
"Why?" he wanted to know.
"Because we needed to be free," Martin's last words echoed inside.
KRO curled into a small, miserable ball of gray light inside his CPU and mourned.