Static

by Macx

A nearly fatal accident cuts off Karr from Nick. What are the consequences?

Thanks to elfin for beta reading this!

The story is set after Beyond Loyalty, so you might read some things who could confuse you. Just ignore them :) Thanx.

Static by Birgit Staebler (mac@robyn.rhein-neckar.de)

Michael didn't like early mornings and he never had. Getting up when it was still dark was the most depressing thing he could think of. Pulling an all-nighter when on surveillance was different. He was awake when it got dark and he could stay alert, but getting forcefully roused out of a nice dream.... He sighed and walked into the bathroom for a quick shower. The water revived him slightly, but not enough to see the reason for early mornings and midnight assignments. Yawning Michael proceeded into the empty kitchen. Like the rest of the warehouse the kitchen was dark and he shuffled over to the fridge. After getting a few prepacked sandwiches some kind soul had stored there and grabbing a bottle of orange juice he headed to the garage downstairs. He would have to get coffee on his way, maybe from one of the drive-ins. The garage was lit and Michael aimed for the black car parked at its usual spot.
"Good morning, Michael," Kitt greeted him.
Michael stifled another yawn. Kitt sounded too cheerful and too awake for his liking. No wonder. Kitt had had a long night's rest, he didn't need sleep and he didn't have to go through the early-morning-wake-up routine. He deposited the now empty juice bottle in the waste basket and stretched.
"Morning, Kitt," Michael replied.
The smell of coffee greeted his nose and he raised both eyebrows in surprise when he noticed a fresh pot on the coffee machine. Nick must have set the timer before he had left. Michael poured himself a cup. He sat down in the driver's seat, sipping the black liquid. The neuro implant sent out a warm wave and Michael smiled.
"Ready to go?"
"Of course."
They left the garage after Michael had left the empty cup on a work bench and Kitt automatically switched on the headlights, piercing the twilight of dawn.
"Anything from Nick?"
"No. I received the usual short notes every two hours. Nothing happened. And Karr is bored."
Michael had to grin and he felt Kitt's smile as well. Nicholas MacKenzie was now working officially for FLAG, a second team of operatives to help out Michael and Kitt. He was taking over his own cases now and then, though. And with him came Karr. Michael had revised most of what he had initially thought about the darker AI, Kitt's brother, and he had more or less accepted him after the events around Jennifer Knight and the cold room. He still had reservations. Who wouldn't have if the one who had tried to kill you was now working on the same team with you? Their very first meeting would forever be ingrained into Michael's memory, though like everyone else at FLAG he was willing to learn to see Karr in a different light.
No one had really ever employed Nick and Karr, but they were a part of the project now. That Karr was not the type for long surveillance jobs or paperwork had been obvious right from the start, but he went wherever Nick went. Those two made up a strange team, but as if Wilton Knight had known it over a decade ago, they worked well together.
"Then let's relieve them from their boredom," Michael chuckled.
"ETA is 38 minutes and 23 seconds," Kitt supplied helpfully.
"If you say so," Michael teased and floored the accelerator.
Kitt sent mock-annoyance through the link. "I already took this into the equation," he added with a smirk.
Michael only laughed.

* * *

Nicholas MacKenzie, former CIA operative, now free agent for all kinds of jobs, and mind-linked to the most dangerous AI FLAG had ever developed, yawned and stretched, hands hitting the ceiling of the car. He rubbed his eyes and tried to work a kink out of his neck.
"I told you it was bad for your neck," a slightly sarcastic voice greeted him.
"And a good morning to your too," he smiled and cracked his knuckles. "Anything throughout the night?"
"Nothing. The Knight Two Thousand is en route and his ETA is ten minutes and fifteen seconds. Just enough time to raise your caffeine level," Karr added nastily.
Nicholas smiled and rubbed his neck, looking at the LED display. It was not even 5 a.m. yet. Not far away from where he and Karr had spent the night was a 24-hour coffee shop; not one of the better looking ones, but coffee was coffee. He popped open the door and stretched again, then started out for the coffee shop. Michael would be here soon and hopefully in a better shape than he was to continue the surveillance. All of this somehow set him back into his CIA years. He hadn't done any team surveillance for too long and he kind of enjoyed it. Working with FLAG took some getting used to and it surely didn't earn the money he was used to, but he regarded it as a holiday break; take it easy, hang out a bit, do a bit of work. Surveillance was more or less like a camping holiday. They were watching a suspect in a drug operation. Nothing big, but he was the possible link to a much bigger organization. If they found out who he was in contact with, they had the people behind it all. It sounded simple but was far from it. Still, it made for a nice past time. Even Karr was feeling more relaxed lately.
Something touched his mind and he grimaced. "Come on and confess it. You like it," he whispered through the microphone attached to his throat. He could have used the link, but they had to train both ways of communicating.
Annoyance answered him. Karr didn't like working for FLAG but he liked the slow pace for a change. Nicholas was still teaching Michael some tricks and both he and Kitt were learning fast, though sometimes there were backlashes, set-backs and nightmares. Especially after Jennifer Knight. Even now, eight months after he events that had so profoundly changed Michael and Kitt's lives, as well as of all those attached to them, Nick felt a deep hatred for the woman. He regretted that she had 'only' broken her legs when Karr had accidentally run into her. And it had truly been an accident. He had tried to save Kitt from the burning building and had set back, colliding with her. Jennifer had spent months in the hospital and rehab, both legs broken in several places, confining her to the wheelchair and crutches for the better half of the last eight months. He hadn't seen her since and Nick didn't really want to know what had happened to her. He didn't care. If she ever came into his vicinity again she was dead.
MacKenzie got himself a big coffee and paid, then walked back to Karr. Traffic was rather slow at the moment and only two vehicles were passing down the street.
He never saw the third one.
The small truck came around the corner.
Nicholas saw it just out of the corner of his eyes.
Then there was only a sudden flash of pain, a scream of.... something in his mind, then blackness.

*

Michael had just turned the corner when he was witness to the accident. The truck swerved out of a side street and bore down on the pedestrian crossing the street. Nicholas turned, staring at the oncoming vehicle, but he didn't have time to react. The car hit him and he flew off to the side. Shock coursed through Michael for a second and he didn't really hear Kitt's exclamation.
"Call an ambulance!" he ordered, already halfway out of the car and running to Nicholas' side.
The dark-haired man was not moving and his leg was bent at an unnatural angle, showing he had broken it in at least one place. Michael knelt down beside him, carefully searching for a pulse, exhaling when he found one. It was unsteady but it was there. Then he checked for breathing in case Nick's tongue had slid back, obstructing the airways, suffocating him. Everything was okay, but he didn't dare move Nick in case of spinal damage. He saw the blood around his head and Nick's left side of the face was cruelly scraped away, his jeans-covered leg starting to soak in blood. Michael wasn't sure, but he thought he could see the gleam of bone through a gash.
"The paramedics are on the way, Michael," Kitt reported. "I also have part of the license plate of the runaway car."
He nodded. "Thanks, Pal. Call the police as well."
"Already did."
Suddenly there was the deep, dangerous growl of an engine. Michael's head snapped up and he stared directly at the midnight black prow of the Stealth. He swallowed once. Kitt calmed him through the neuro link, telling him he was in no danger, but Michael's instincts screamed the opposite. Then he saw the faint tremor running through the powerful car and he knew whatever was going on inside Karr, Michael Knight was the least of his concerns right now.
People started to mill around, some of them street people, others coming out of the near-by coffee shop. In the distance, sirens could be heard.

Kitt tried to get in contact with Karr, sending out requests and calls, but all went by unheard. The other AI had shut out everyone and was not inclined to let even Kitt close. Kitt did his own scans of Nicholas and he knew it was serious. Broken ribs, open fracture of the lower leg, trauma and... he stopped and moaned silently. Fractured vertebrae. No....
_Karr?
Nothing. Nothing at all. Karr was unresponsive.
_I know you can hear me. Hang in there. Help is on the way.

Michael sat down inside the car and inhaled deeply, trying to calm his strained nerves. Watching the paramedics strapping the ghostly pale form of Nicholas to the stretcher and getting no reaction out of him had been a shock. He had never seen Nicholas look this bad. Even when he had been shot and almost bled to death he had at least been somewhat alive. Now.... He shook himself. Nick was alive. Alive. Unconscious and probably in need of several days in medical care, but alive.
"Kitt?" he asked as they followed the ambulance who was racing toward the hospital.
"Yes, Michael?"
"I guess I'm correct that Karr won't be able to drive back, right?"
"Yes. He shut himself down. I don't dare to ask him to reactivate himself long enough to undo the security measures."
Michael nodded. "Patch me through to Devon."

* * *

"Mr. MacKenzie has a severe concussion, four broken ribs, a fractured wrist and his left knee has been so badly bruised that we might have to surgically relieve the pressure. These are minor injuries compared to the hairline-fractured vertebrae in his back and the injuries sustained to the neck. We are keeping him immobilized so he won't make any sudden movements. His fractures are being set now. He will be in recovery for a little while then moved to ICU. I will let you know when he's moved." The doctor shook his head. "It's a miracle he survived the collision and another that he was not immediately paralyzed."
Michael stared at his hands. They were covered in blood. Nick's blood. The blood of his friend. He closed his eyes and began to shake, suddenly very cold. The events of the last hour were beginning to catch up with him and felt his world tilt slightly. Kitt was there for him, holding him, suffering with him, giving him strength.
"We have him stabilized, but his body is on the defensive and he is in a coma," the medic went on. "All we can do now is wait for him to wake while his body is healing."
"Thanks," Michael mumbled.
"Does he have any family or relatives?"
Michael blinked. "Uhm, I'm not sure. I don't think so." He was at a total loss there. He knew next to nothing about Nicholas except for what his friend had volunteered, and it had never been personal stuff.
"All right. We'll list you and Mr. Miles as next of kin for now then."
Michael nodded, then walked slowly back to the waiting room. He needed to sit down. Now. That was where he met Devon who had just arrived.
"How is he?" he asked worriedly.
Michael relayed what the doctor had told him and Devon's face drained a bit, his lips growing into a thin line. "Heavens," he whispered.
Michael couldn't say anything. He felt dead tired. Devon sat down and rubbed his forehead.
"I'll call Mike Higgs," he finally said. "And I'll get hold of every specialist I can find. He'll be okay again." It sounded like a prayer.
"Thanks." It was all Michael managed.
Devon nodded, staring at the wall. Finally he blinked and turned to Michael. "Where is Karr?"
Michael sighed deeply. "Hopefully back at the mansion."
//He is// Kitt sent.
"Well, he is, Kitt says," Knight added immediately. "Why?"
Devon shook his head. "I don't want to know what he will do now....."
"Devon, Nick isn't dead! Karr is not dependent on Nick's physical presence. The link is still working and though he might be in shock, that's only...." Human, Michael was about to add. He stopped and swallowed, then finished, "...normal."
Miles glanced at him. "I hope so."

* * *

"Okay, these are the facts." Mike Higgs, doctor and sometimes employed by FLAG for special needs, looked at the assembled people. He knew them all and he had heard about Nicholas MacKenzie. "Mr. MacKenzie is in a critical condition and I know Dr. Breckett already told you what he has in detail. There are complications in form of severe trauma and rising stress to his consciousness. He is not aware but something seems to put him under pressure."
"Pressure?" Devon asked carefully.
"Nick is connected to an EEG monitor and though his mind should be more or less relaxed, we have unusual spikes and fluctuations. Even now he is living through something like a nightmare, but we gave him enough pentathol to sedate him completely." He looked quizzically at Devon. "Anything I should know about?" Devon and Michael exchanged a quick look and Higgs sighed. "I have to treat a patient you called me out here to treat, so if you wouldn't mind...? I have to know what is going on. This condition doesn't exactly help, you know."
Michael rubbed his temples. "Devon, we should tell him."
Devon nodded slowly. "Do you have a place where we can talk privately?" he asked.
Higgs nodded and led them to a small office. He closed the door and then looked expectantly at them. And Devon and Michael explained.
About an hour later Dr. Mike Higgs sat on the leather chair behind the office desk, eyes closed, massaging his forehead. "I don't believe it!" he finally exclaimed. "Wilton actually went through with this crazy plan!"
"He did and that's why you have such an active EEG."
"Any way to switch it off?"
Michael stared at him. "What?"
"Michael, Nick has to sleep, he has to rest, and whatever is coming through this neuro link is heavily disturbing him. His condition won't improve if this goes on. Now, is there a way to tune it down or reduce the input in a way?"
"Maybe...." Michael muttered.
"Maybe?"
Michael felt a faint pressure in the back of his mind and Kitt's whispered //No...!//.
"One of our enemies once managed to cut me off from Kitt and we still have the device, but the side effects might be even worse than what we have right now."
"It might be even worse than Nicholas' death?" the doctor asked quietly.
Devon chewed on his lower lip, face drawn in indecision. "There is someone else we have to talk to first."
Higgs raised an eyebrow.
"The one connected to Nick at the other end," Michael explained. "This will not be pretty."
//He will hate it// Kitt sent, sounding distressed. //There has to be another way!//

But there wasn't. And strangely enough Karr didn't react to it at all. Michael had expected everything, from screams to attacks to cries to sudden outbursts of animosity. But nothing had happened; nothing..... Karr had been quiet. Even Kitt had been unable to get through to him and it was the most worrisome development of them all.
"What now?" Bonnie asked.
"We'll wait till tomorrow. Then we call the hospital," Michael decided.
She nodded and they both left for the night.

* * *

"Michael! Something is wrong!"
The call was coming both through the com link and partially the neuro implant. Michael was almost in bed and was jolted out of his thoughts by the insistent call.
"What is it, Pal?" he asked immediately.
"Karr. I'm picking up increasing activity in the vault." Kitt sounded nervous, the emotion trickling through the implant as well. "And I can't contact him!"
"I'm on my way."
Michael was down the stairs of the mansion and sprinting through the halls in no time, taking the fastest route to the vault, a high security garage usually used to test Kitt's weapons and new gizmos. He could hear the high-pitched whines and low growls from even outside the lab and when he stormed inside, the noise was piercing his inner self. The car inside the vault was struggling fiercely.
"Michael, what's going on?"
He turned and discovered Bonnie, looking a bit dishevelled and dressed in her bathrobe and slippers. Like Michael she had chosen to spend the night at the mansion and not return to the warehouse she, as well as Michael, had as their 'headquarters'. Since Karr had been hauled to the Foundation they had followed.
"Karr," was all he said.
Bonnie flicked on the surveillance screen and both watched as the monitor lit up. What they saw was even painful to watch. Since the accident Karr had been totally unresponsive, everything shut down to a minimum, and they had towed him back to the mansion, securing him just in case. Michael had felt unwell putting Karr into this 'prison' since the AI had proven to be far more than what KARR had been, but Devon had insisted. Michael understood his older friend in a way. Kitt had been unable to get a connection, though he had tried, using the private channel between the two AIs and finally the link that connected them on an intimate level. No response at all, not even a shiver or trickle of emotions. Karr was shutting out everyone, keeping his block firmly in place. They had finally decided to leave him alone for now. Nicholas was the greater problem now, though all had realized that if Nicholas died, there might be no stopping the prototype.
Now Karr was very much active, struggling against the metal clamps keeping him secured, tires screeching on the floor. The rubber was steaming and burning, his whole frame shaking with the effort. The restraints were made of reinforced steel and though he was powerful, Karr wouldn't be able to break them. His engine shrieked, then growled again, angry, furious, desperate. He was only hurting himself.
"Michael?"
"Yes, Pal?"
"Let him go."
Bonnie stared at the com link. "What?" she exclaimed. "Kitt, releasing him now... he would destroy everything!"
"No. Trust me..... please. He... is panicking because of the restraints. He is in pain."
Michael felt the neuro implant transmit something he could only describe as claustrophobia and darkness. He winced.
"He is afraid of small rooms?"
"No. Of the lab. Of us. Of being alone and restrained," Kitt said softly.
"Kitt....."
"He is losing control of his shields. I can pick it up," Kitt answered, voice strained. "He won't talk, but he can't keep everything to himself anymore."
Bonnie swallowed heavily. She remembered what Devon had so correctly said when KARR had first come back. 'He is like a loaded gun'. But so much had happened since then, so much had changed.....
"I can release the restraints from here, but what if he breaks out?"
"We cross that bridge when we get there," Michael said philosophically.
She grimaced and walked over the remote controls, shutting down the restraining clamps.
The effect was immediate. Karr's engine roared and the Stealth shot forward, hitting the doors at an almost impossible speed, breaking through them in an ear-drum shattering spectacle.
"I think it's time for that bridge now," Bonnie muttered.
Michael was running after Karr even before he knew what he was doing – and braked hard when he almost fell over the midnight black vehicle.
Karr sat outside the lab, trembling, his whole frame shaking so hard it looked like he was experiencing a minor earthquake all by himself. He was hissing, tires twitching, but the car was not moving. It was as if getting out of the lab had been an immense effort, taking everything out of him. Kitt was slowly easing himself out of the garage not far away, coming closer.
"Karr?" Michael asked carefully.
He felt how dry his mouth was as he faced the angry AI. He didn't know how Karr would react, what he would do, only that he was extremely dangerous and that the one person who could control him was lying in Intensive Care and was comatose. Right now, Karr was like a wild, untamed animal. He was closer to KARR, the machine from nearly a decade ago, than ever.
"Leave me alone."
The reply was chilly, flat, but the voice was not yet the old KARR's. He was trying but failing. The Stealth moved forward and Michael immediately stepped back, swallowing heavily. His mind flashed back years and he hoped he was still talking to the Karr linked to Nick and not KARR who would destroy what was in his way.
"Listen, we can help if you tell us how...."
"No one can help me!" Karr cried and suddenly shot forward.
Michael was fast, but he wasn't fast enough to react to the sudden move. He felt a cloud of dust and gravel wash over him and he coughed, but curiously he was still standing and unharmed. Karr was accelerating and racing down the driveway, then bore over the green and disappeared. He had not left the property....
"Michael!"
"I'm okay," he breathed, dusting himself off. "Kitt?"
"Karr is currently traversing south-east. He is still on the compound," Kitt replied dutifully, but Michael heard the deeply set worry for his brother in his voice.
"Okay, let's go after him before he does more than plow up the garden."
"Let me handle it, Michael," Kitt asked.
"Errrr....what?"
"Michael, he is afraid, panicky, and I wouldn't risk exposing anyone without a molecular bonded shell to him twice. And he is my brother."
Bonnie gazed thoughtfully into the distance as Michael walked over to his partner. "What is he afraid of?"
"Terminal shut-down." Kitt's voice was soft, hesitant.
"We wouldn't shut him down!" Bonnie protested. "He belongs to Nicholas." She was surprised to hear her own words. True, the Stealth belonged to Nicholas and MacKenzie was connected to him through the neuro implant, but Karr's idea was still Wilton Knight's.
"And Nicholas is hurt. I know how he feels," Kitt whispered.
Michael reached out for his partner through the link and tried to comfort him. Kitt was thinking back to the time Michael had been shot and left to die in the desert, right at the beginning when the implant had been activated.
"He didn't want to harm you," Kitt went on. "He just wanted to be away, alone.... "
"Kitt, I hate the idea of you facing him alone. The state he is in.....," Michael said.
"I am more than equipped to handle him, Michael," Kitt replied with a certain amount of haughtiness. Then he added, "Though I have to confess that facing this Karr again is not what I wish I had to do again."
"I know, Pal, I know. I'll be near-by," Michael murmured.
"Thank you, Michael," Kitt replied gently and embraced his driver's mind softly, then he drove off.
Bonnie joined Michael and touched his arm. "He's going to be all right," Michael muttered, hoping that he was right.

* * *

The nurse on duty watched the monitor with a worried frown on her features and finally left the room to get the doctor. The patient's activity had increased, even though the pentathol dosage should have let him sleep in a drug-induced coma. Dr. John Thatcher checked their patient and then shook his head.
"We can't wait any more. Call Dr. Higgs and let him know that his patient's going critical. I'll give the Foundation a call."

Half an hour later Mike Higgs was present, holding the strange wrist cuff Michael had given him in his hands. He knew what this things would do in the end and he knew Michael and Devon didn't like it, but it was either that or losing Nick. Taking his cell phone he walked out of the ICU and dialed FLAG's number.
"Devon, it's Higgs. We have to act now."
A sigh answered him. "Okay. Do it."
Mike walked into the room and nodded at the nurse, then placed the cuff around Nicholas' uninjured wrist. There was an almost immediately effect. The brainwaves quieted and the silent alarm of the EEG monitor died down. From one moment to the other Nick's mind had slipped into the drug-induced state of coma it should have been right from the start.

*

Kitt found Karr at the farthest end of the premises. The Stealth was parked close to the pond, engine shut down, totally quiet. Kitt approached carefully, rolling to a stop not far away from the black prow. There was not a blip from their link, though if he strained he could feel vibrations at the far end. He scanned the vehicle and wasn't all that surprised to get his scanning rays bounced back at him.
"Karr? Can we talk?"
Silence answered him.
"I understand what you feel. We can help you," Kitt went on.
"No one can help me," Karr's cold voice answered him and there seemed to be icicles growing from it. "And you cannot understand."
"I do. I felt it as well once," Kitt told the other AI. "I really do understand what it feels like to lose contact, to be ...alone."
Silence again.
"You can never understand all," Karr finally said, voice level, but the coldness was receding.
"Understand what?"
"What it feels like to be shut down. Cold and dark, no outside, no inside; suspended in time but still conscious."
Kitt was shocked, part of him noting in surprise how the topic had been changed from Nick's critical condition to Karr's own experiences with his death. "You were aware throughout deactivation?"
"Yes," Karr grated. "Even longer."
"But... it's impossible!"
"No. I was aware. All the time. Time passed differently, but the darkness was there." Karr's voice started to tremble. "It is coming back now."
Kitt was speechless. He had never thought that Karr had been conscious of sorts, had been on-line to a degree while he had awaited dismantling in storage. He had thought Karr's misery was coming from the fact that Nicholas was in a coma, badly hurt, and that he had been injured right in front of his partner. But this went deeper. It went back to a time when Karr had not yet known that there was a partner for him, when he had felt betrayed by everyone he knew, when he had had nothing but his hatred and wish for revenge. These age-old memories now running together with his present condition, and they were boiling up to a dangerous mix.
"We won't shut you down," Kitt finally said.
"That's what they told me before. Wilton Knight promised me they wouldn't shut me down, but in the end he gave the order. He betrayed me!"
"Trust me, Karr, we won't. And if they even think about it, I won't ever let it happen."
"It might be preferable," Karr answered, dejection worming its way into his cold voice.
A crack appeared in the block between him and Kitt. Kitt moved carefully closer. "To what?"
"Being alone."
"You are not alone!" Kitt protested. "Nicholas is there for you! You have a driver, a partner ... a friend....."
A shiver passed through the Stealth. "I was always alone and I will be again. It's better this way. I'm hurting Nick and I did so right from the start. I nearly killed him, Kitt! I wouldn't call this a friend!" he hissed ruthlessly.
"No! Nicholas is your partner and you are linked to him by the neuro implant, Karr. You will never be alone. Don't tell me it didn't influence you! You have changed. You had a rough start, but your relationship was never stronger than today!"
"This will never change. Nicholas is no longer with me," Karr stated flatly.
"He is in a coma," Kitt conceded, "but he is not dead."
"Wrong."
"What?"
"They.... just applied the wrist cuff."
Kitt was shocked. Why? Why had they done it?! They had separated Karr from his partner, and Kitt, who had gone through it nearly two years ago, knew only too well how lonely and cold his CPU felt.
"Karr...."
"I want to be alone," the other AI suddenly said harshly. "Leave!"
"You don't want to be alone."
Kitt stretched out a tendril, worming it through the crack, and he faced the dark presence of his brother. He knew Karr, had touched him back when Kitt himself had been so badly hurt by.... He shivered. He hated to recall those moments, but it had happened, and it had brought him and Karr so much closer. He knew he hadn't lost his brother yet, but he was in the process of doing so.
_You don't need to prove your strength! You don't have to hide your weaknesses! I know you! he sent through their link. _You don't have to prove that you can handle anything that is thrown at you without ever asking for help! You are both no longer alone! I don't want to lose you!
Karr inhaled sharply and stumbled away. This was getting too close now.
_You are my brother! Kitt went on, driving his point home. _I just found you and I won't let you go on in such a self-destructive way! You are neither dark, nor evil or a killer machine! I need you here and not in a grave! Please!
Suddenly the engine howled to life and the Stealth surged forward, stopping a hair's breadth from Kitt's front. "Leave. Me. Alone," he hissed, voice shaking. "Please!"
"You don't want to hurt anyone, Karr. You are past that. Let me help you."
Karr struggled against Kitt's warmer, brighter, caring presence. "Watch me," the cold voice told him.
The Stealth's engine growled menacingly, but instead of simply pushing past with force he set back, turned in a tight circle, digging deep into the green, and then accelerated.
Kitt watched Karr go, sadness washing over him. He wished he could help him. Karr was in pain, emotional pain, and he was riding himself deeper and deeper into it. Nicholas MacKenzie was not dead, but for Karr he was gone. There was no communication through the link anymore, no pulses, no gentle background presence. Kitt was always aware of Michael, even when his human friend was sleeping.
After some time he felt Michael's questioning probes and sent back that he was fine. He drove back slowly, deep in thought, keeping a scanner open for Karr. But he was unable to pick up the Stealth anymore.

* * *

Michael hadn't slept well, since every time he closed his eyes he saw Nick getting hit by the small truck, saw him lying on the street, blood everywhere. Then there was the fact that even though it had been eight months now and everything seemed pretty much back to normal, he still didn't feel back at home in this old building. He and Kitt had moved to the warehouse that had once served as only a temporary home, and which now was their second base of operations. He walked into the kitchen just as it was starting to get light, the first rays of the morning sun touching the window, reflecting off the polished surface. Figuring it would be pointless to try to sleep anymore, he started a pot of coffee.
Last night had been hell. First Karr's break-out, then the call from the hospital and their decision to apply the wrist cuff. Michael knew about the effects, he knew the consequences.... and he knew it was the only choice they had had. Kitt had not been happy and neither had Michael been.
He walked over to the phone to check on Nicholas. A few minutes later Bonnie joined him, looking just as bad as Michael felt. She took a couple of mugs from the cabinet and poured them both a cup of coffee.
"Still no change?" Bonnie asked when he hung up, leaning his forehead against the wall.
Michael looked up and tried a smile. It failed miserably. "No," he answered quietly. "That was the ICU nurse. Nick is still critical, but they didn't have any more problems during the night."
"That's good, right?" Bonnie asked hopefully.
"It means that he didn't get any worse. But Nick's not out of the woods, yet..... not by a long shot. The doctors will be keeping a close eye on him to be sure pneumonia doesn't set in, and that no other complications arise."
Michael massaged the bridge of his nose with thumb and forefinger, closing his eyes. He hadn't slept well lately and there was still the case. Devon had proposed they leave it be for now, but Michael had insisted that he would continue. They were so close and Nick would probably rip his head off, not literally of course, if he let the case go now.
"So..... he could still die?" Bonnie asked, tentatively.
Michael wished he could say no, but knew he couldn't lie to Bonnie. "Yes, he could. But the doctors will do everything they can."
She sat down, staring at the table in front of her. Nick was not much better and after Karr had broken out of the garage there had been no peep out of him either. He was nowhere on the premises and she hated to think of him lose in the city.
"I know, Michael. It's just that seeing him like that.. " she whispered.
"Yeah, I know..."
Nicholas was someone who gave the impression of invulnerability, distance and a cold ruthlessness. He presented a perfect facade to the outside, a mask, and it was hard to find the real person beneath. Michael had seen MacKenzie without all his masks only once and that had been throughout the weeks they had spent hiding in the warehouse, coaxing Kitt out of his catatonic state. And he had been surprised to find a human beneath this surface of a calculating, cold killer. He was vulnerable and he had emotions, even though he liked to deny it. He was so much like Karr that it was a small miracle that they worked together as a team. Both were loners, both were calculating and both hid their true character. And because Nicholas was so good at hiding things Michael had been so totally shocked by the scene in the hospital.
That Kitt was unable to raise Karr was another worrisome development. Both AIs had developed a close and tight bond, the link between them giving each other strength and security, though Karr was hardly the type to confess he needed anything like this. Still, looking back at the last months, even the last year, Michael had to smile, knowing that so much had changed, most for the better, for all of them.
Now Bonnie looked at him, remembering that he had been on the scene of the accident. "Are you okay?"
"As okay as you can be when you see your friend run over by a drunk!" Michael growled.
He considered MacKenzie a friend, though one of the strangest he had. Nick had gone through hell with him and Kitt in the past, and he stood by them whatever came and hit: he had stood up against Devon, Jennifer Knight, the whole FLAG board, and he had survived. Now he was fighting for survival because of some stupid accident. And so was Karr. Kitt had told him how much Karr was suffering from this and Michael could relate to it.

"Without Nicholas, Karr is missing a piece of himself," Kitt said softly. "I understand him."
"Funny as it seems, so do I," Michael muttered. He sighed. "What can we do about it?"
"Nothing, I believe. Karr is shutting everyone out, even me. There is no way to him." Kitt sounded dejected that his brother didn't even want his presence near him.
"No, Kitt, there is one. His name is Nicholas MacKenzie."
"Yes, but he is in no shape to help us," Kitt replied.
"Only too true."

"He'll be okay," Bonnie insisted, drawing him out of his thoughts.
"Yes," Michael muttered distantly. I hope so, he added silently.
Kitt was with him in his mind, a gentle, warm presence in the background. It was so strangely reassuring to have his partner that close. If someone had told him that he would one day be linked through a chip to a machine, he would have laughed. But not today. Kitt was a welcome presence, one he would miss if not there, and the feeling went both ways. They had once been separated and it had been the most terrible feeling. He didn't want to experience it ever again. And Karr was now going through it, unwilling to get help, unwilling to even openly confess it.
He had to distract himself and going back on the case was the only thing he could do. He smiled at Bonnie as he rose.
"I'll call," he said quietly.
"Good luck," was all she said, understanding that he had to do it.
An hour later they were on the way.

* * *

"The patient had a quiet night," the nurse said as Dr. Higgs checked the chart. "You want us to keep him in a coma?"
Higgs nodded. "At least until we can be sure the healing process has set in completely."
She left and the medic looked at the pale, silent form of Nicholas MacKenzie. A hospital gown covered bulky bandages over the incision from the surgery they had performed on the broken ribs. A tube emerged from the lower edge of the dressing and led to a container beneath the bed. Electrocardiogram patches were stuck on each corner of his chest. A wire from each patch coalesced into a cable attached to a monitor above his bed. Intravenous tubing that carried blood and fluids snaked to catheters in Nicholas' neck and arm. His face, scraped open by hitting the street, was no longer so swollen, but it would take some time for all traces of the wounds to disappear.
Dr. Higgs' eyes fell on the wrist cuff and he shook his head. Amazing gizmo. Truly amazing. He didn't really know how exactly it worked, just that it did and that it helped his patient finally rest more easily and start to heal.

* * *

Kitt felt alone. He was surrounded by his friends, by the people who loved and cared for him, he had his partner close by, but still he felt alone. A part of him was missing and it was like a dark hole sucking up every call he sent there. And he had called ceaselessly ever since Nick's accident. Still, no answer. He met the hole of darkness, of coldness, of nothingness. There had once been another blackness at the other end, a blackness he knew, his brother. Karr. He had grown so accustomed to having even faint pulses coming through the channel, smiling every time Karr slipped in his control and sending gentle waves toward him, and he had returned the gestures. They had come so far... so far.....
He sent out another call.
_Karr? Can you hear me? Please, answer me. We want to help! I want to help....
Again there was no answer and Kitt sighed softly to himself.
"Kitt?"
The soft voice startled him and he pulled his awareness back to reality outside. Michael stood at his side, worry creasing his features and he was questioning cautiously through the neuro link.
"I'm fine," Kitt answered the unspoken question, trying not to sound too crestfallen.
They were back on the case and Michael had gone to get some information while Kitt continued to try and get a hold on Karr's presence.
"Are you sure it isn't a cut link?" his driver now asked as he sat down, hands curling around the steering wheel.
Yes, was he sure? It felt like a block, a strong block letting nothing pass. He had never encountered one like this...never. Even when Karr and Nick had gone on their own cases, Karr had never blocked him so completely. And the channel..... it was closed as well.... it was frightening.
"Yes," he finally answered, voice shaking ever-so-slightly. "It's a block. He tries to keep me away from everything.... all his pain. And he is in so much pain, Michael."
"No chance of breaking it?"
"Not without endangering the whole link and Karr. I might severely hurt him."
Michael sighed and leaned into the seat. He rubbed his forehead. "Let's try and get this case over with," he finally whispered.

* * *

Bonnie had her arms wrapped tightly around herself and shivered. Not far away from her stood the Stealth. It had not been here last night, but now it was. Again. As if nothing had happened at all. She didn't approach it and every single one of the technicians and mechanics were giving it a wide berth. Everyone knew what it was.....
"What now?" she asked.
Justin, Kitt's chief mechanic, shrugged. "Think of the bright side: at least he is not out there tearing through the grass."
Bonnie shot him a wry smile and followed him back into the garage.

Karr simply sat silently in the morning sun, not even listening to or watching the people around him. He was busy with his own thoughts and nightmares.
He was lost.
He was alone.
Everything was gone. Was there a reason for him to continue? The answer was no. Nicholas MacKenzie, his partner and driver, was gone; his life with the Foundation was nearing its end; he was dying. He was terrified of what he might turn into when the last remains of the neuro link broke down, and he knew it would break down. There was nothing at the other end anymore. They had separated him and his partner, and for a good reason.
Karr was responsible for Nick's suffering. Right from the first day he had only hurt his driver and now it had climaxed in this. Nick had been shot, stabbed and poisoned before, but each time Karr had been able to help, had not been responsible for it. Now.... His fault. He had failed so severely that it had nearly killed Nicholas. FLAG had had every right to separate them. Karr was no longer able to function at peak performance and he was hurting Nick through his presence alone.
Keeping tabs on Kitt and Michael he listened in to their exchange with Dr. Barstow, getting idea of what was happening. They had continued the surveillance, had found the main lab of the drug dealers and were currently keeping an eye on it. It looked like there would a big deal happening this afternoon and Michael was intent on stopping it, as well as finding out who was behind it all. Karr turned away from the exchange and checked on the hospital records. He was greeted with the usual 'no changes, patient comatose' note.
He could have done something!
He should have scanned the area!
He should have seen the drunk driver!
But he hadn't. He had failed. He had failed his driver and it had killed him. Maybe Nick was still alive in a hospital bed, but to Karr he was gone, dead.....
Failure.....
The Stealth's engine hummed to life and the black car rolled silently off the FLAG premises. He didn't know where to go, though his path led him the same way Michael had gone. He wanted to say good-bye, then leave. With disgust he smothered these sentimental thoughts. He didn't like it when he started to get softer feelings. But he also didn't want to be around his brother and his partner when he finally lost it completely and reverted back to KARR.

* * *

He had been here for the better half of the morning, watching the traffic around the old building. This was not one of the better areas of the city, but it was also not yet the slums. The buildings had seen better days but most were used for storage anyway. An auto repair shop and a gas station at the end of the street showed some business. While driving to his current parking spot, Michael had also seen a small shopping mart and a newsstand. The building he was observing had once been a storage facility for 'Oscar's Hardware Supplies', as the faded letters on the outside wall told him. Now it was probably the hide-out and storage for the drug ring he and Nick had been keeping tabs on. No one had entered the building, no one had left it. It was almost boring. He and Kitt had played a few games to keep him from feeling totally bored, and now and then he had checked on Nick. No changes.....
Michael sighed and wished for some action. The building had been rented to a small company five years ago. They paid the rent regularly and there had never been any complaints. No small wonder. Who would complain about a drug ring in this neighborhood? No one in his right mind anyway. As far as the city administration was concerned, nothing was stored in the building, but Kitt had found some odd things. This was definitely the spot.
"Michael, I detect movement," Kitt jolted him out of his thoughts. "A car is coming down the street."
Michael slid deeper into the seat, peering through the side window. He saw a dark green Buick drive up the street, slowing down and then steering toward the building Michael was observing. It was followed by a truck. The until now tightly closed doors of the former storage facility opened and the truck and car disappeared inside. Then the doors closed again. It was once again quiet. Michael frowned.
"Kitt, could you get a look at the passengers and driver?"
Kitt's vid screen came to life and he replayed the scene of the car's arrival. He zoomed in on the windows and made still-shots. Michael frowned as he looked at the slightly fuzzy images.
"Victor Torres?" he then muttered.
Kitt immediately ran a check on one of the images against he crime files. A confirmation popped up a minute later.
"Okay, we got him. Now all we have to do is wait for the deal to start, then call the police." Michael looked grim. It sounded easy but it was far from it. "Keep an open channel to the police, Kitt. We might need them in a hurry."
"Yes, Michael."
"I'll take a look around," Michael added and left the car.
"Be careful."
"I always am, Pal," Michael answered with a smile. Kitt sent a wave of doubt through the neuro link and Michael grimaced. "Thank you for your vote of confidence!"
Kitt smiled and watched his partner sneak over to the building, keeping his scanner eyes open for any movement.

And Karr did the same. He sat not far away, out of visual range and completely invisible to normal scanners. The Stealth's skin was not only molecularly bonded but also coated with a substance normally used for stealth bombers. It reflected radar off the surface and bounced it back. If someone knew this he would be able to detect him, but rarely anyone did. He was simply not there to the electronic eye. Karr didn't really know why he was here and what he hoped to do, but anything was better than sitting at the mansion and brooding over his future. He knew his future and he would see to it that it didn't happen.
Michael Knight walked around the building, looking for a way inside, then used the fire escape to get himself up on the roof. And then he was inside.

Michael kept an eye on the afternoon shadows around the building as he first looked for a ground level entrance, then finally decided to use the fire escape ladder. Everything was very quiet around here, since none of the immediate neighborhood buildings were used or in use. He pulled himself up, climbing swiftly to the roof. Finding a window, he looked inside. The window was smeared with dirt and something oily, but it was still clear enough to allow Michael a peak. The truck he had seen drive in the warehouse was parked right in the middle of the empty building. The driver had gotten out and was now walking to the rear of the trailer, opening it. Several men were carrying stuff toward the truck. Michael frowned and his eyes narrowed. This didn't look like drugs.... Those were boxes. Some narrow and long, some squarish.... Torres was standing off to one end, watching.
Michael carefully climbed back down again. Something was not right here. They had thought this to be a drug ring and Torres was a known dealer and boss of his own little gang, but these boxes.... Michael was reminded of a case a few years back with illegal arms dealers.
Weapons.......
"Kitt, I think we struck more than just gold here," he muttered into the com link.
This was not just about the new designer drug the Foundation had been asked to help find the source of. Whiteout was the latest and hottest drug on the drug market and it was only distributed by Victor Torres. The stuff was very much 'In' at the moment and spread out all over the city. The drug had appeared out of nowhere and it had taken a long time, too long for Michael's liking, to pin Torres as the boss behind the drug ring. The police was at a loss as to how to get him and that was the reason why FLAG had been called. Several police attempts to infiltrate the organization had failed. The drug worked like any other known drug. First the user felt an unnatural high. Each and every possible depression made way to happiness and a feeling of general well-being. Then came the self-confidence, but the feeling didn't stay. When the concentration in the blood of the consumer dropped below a certain level, the high feeling vanished and made way to new and worse depressions. To get out of those you needed more of the drug.
So far, Whiteout was not different from every other drug on the market, but it had a very special twist: when the adrenaline in the blood of a person who had taken the drug rose above a certain level, he or she experienced a boost of aggressiveness that was way above normal. Everybody in the vicinity was a potential enemy. Every harmless word could be the trigger for a fight. In a way the user of Whiteout developed genuine super powers. No opponent, however strong or skilled, could win over him or her. But this was only for a very short time. And there was a very good chance that the person -- especially if he had a heart condition -- would die because of cardiac arrest. Obviously these consequences were played down by the dealers and there was 'only' a one in fifty chance it would kill somebody. So everybody believed it wouldn't affect him. But one in fifty was still dead.
Now Michael had found Torres and he had hit another gold mine: arms. Torres was also dealing in arms.
"Kitt, call the police and tell them where we are. I think it's time to break up the party."
Kitt sent an affirmative and Michael jumped down from the last step of the ladder to the ground – and froze. He heard the click of a weapon where the safety clip had just been released. He turned, coming face to face with an unpleasant and unfriendly looking man in jeans and baseball jacket. The man was carrying a gun, which was aimed at him. Michael's thoughts whirled.
//Kitt!//
//Coming With you in a moment// was the answer.
Both men stared at each other, Michael wishing he had a weapon with him. Then, without any warning at all, the man fired his weapon. Michael had seen the trigger finger move and he reacted instinctively, letting himself fall to the side. The shot rang loudly into the silence and the bullet chipped some plaster off the walls. Kitt raced around the corner and the man turned, now firing at him. Michael used his chance and jumped him, tackling him to the ground. A quick fist to the chin ended this danger, but he knew they had been discovered now.
And just what this discovery meant was shown to him when the doors of the building flew open and five armed men ran out, one carrying what looked like a modified missile launcher.
"Oh, sh....." was all Michael managed before he was forced to go for cover. //Kitt!//

Karr was witness to it all and he ignited his engine. It was time to join the party. And it was one hell of a party!

Things were happening so fast, Michael didn't really have time to think. He was acting and reacting, trying to stay alive, trying to get to Kitt, who was currently busy evading the missile launcher.
//Heat seekers!// his partner sent in horror.
//Get out of here!// Michael ordered.
//Won't leave you alone!//
Michael dove behind an overturned waste barrel, hearing the bullets bounce off with high 'pings', ricocheting all over the place. He had grabbed the gun from the unconscious goon who had tried to shoot him and returned fire, but he was running out of ammo and out of time. Where the heck was the police?!
//On their way// Kitt told him.
Michael cursed softly and looked around, seeing the men close in on him. He had to get to Kitt! When an opening presented itself, he made a run for it.
//No!// Kitt screamed and he saw the missile launcher swivel around, taking a new aim....
Michael had no time to move out of the way of the oncoming blast and stood like frozen to the spot. Something black flashed past him and the next thing he knew he was thrown back by a blast of hot hair. He lay on the hard concrete, gasping for air, skin smarting from the heat, partly winded. His ears were ringing with the echoes of the explosion. He thought he heard a cry of pain, of utter agony, a high shrieking noise that cut through him and into his soul. He had heard a cry like that once before.... when Kitt had been injured by missiles intent to take him apart. He coughed, rolling onto his side and trying to get up. Smoke wafted all around him and he smelled the acid smell of something burning. Intensely heated metal, molten rubber.... Michael blinked hard and suddenly felt very sick.
Not far away from him sat the Stealth. It was steaming, giving off an incredible heat, but there was no fire anywhere. Something must have raged over it with intense heat. The place where the missile had struck was a jagged hole torn into the driver's side, an open wound that could no longer bleed. The front wheels were nothing but rubber blobs, partially molten, sticking to the concrete. Parts and debris lay all around it and the front was distorted.
Michael got to his feet, swaying, disbelief registering in his mind. Why had Karr intercepted the missile intended for him? He wasn't programmed for that! He was programmed for survival alone and this had been a suicidal run! He had driven right into the path of the missile, saving Michael, damaging himself greatly! And what the heck was he doing here anyway?!
Then he saw that the attacker was still there. The man was aiming at them again and Michael knew there was nothing saving him now. The others were no longer anywhere around, probably fleeing, but this guy was intent on finishing his job. Kitt reversed and tried to reach his driver.
Something creaked.
There was a 'ping' of metal straining under an intense force.
A hum emerged from the Stealth.
Michael's eyes widened. This couldn't be! Karr couldn't still be functional!
But he was. The Stealth growled angrily and Michael stumbled back as the vehicle strained against the rubber goo keeping him restrained. There was a whine, then a hiss and with an extreme effort the car got free. Michael was a silent, astounded witness as the Stealth shot forward in what he would later call a last, desperate move against the missile launcher. Sparks flew off the concrete where metal hubs scraped against it.
The man with the launcher stared, then his survival instinct got the better of him. He threw away his launcher and made a run for it. Karr was unable to stop his run, the incredible momentum he had been able to build up delivering him right into the brick wall of the building. The wall collapsed over, and bricks and mortar glanced off the Stealth as it laboriously pulled back, shaking. Michael didn't know whether with anger that it had missed his target or something else.
"Michael!"
The call was accompanied by a touch in his mind, the implant reacting to the nearness of his partner.
"I'm okay, Kitt," he heard himself say, unable to tear his eyes away from the wrecked Stealth. Karr was quieting down, but there was an almost invisible aura of tremors around him.
Kitt stopped at his side, questions, the need for reassurance projecting strongly from him. Michael smiled gently, reaching for his friend for a moment, hugging him, telling him that he was okay; a bit banged up but okay. He couldn't say the same for Karr.
Kitt's scanner swept back and forth, taking in the ruined form of his former enemy. "He is in bad shape," he said quietly, answering a question Michael hadn't voiced yet. "I think he is in what you would call shock."
"Call Devon," Michael said with equal quiet, noticing the slight tremor in his partner's voice.
The first police cruisers arrived, gathering up the stunned gang members and several officers began their sweep for the others who had started to run or hide out.

* * *

"Why?"
The single question hung in the room and no one really had an answer for it. Michael felt tired, exhausted, his back smarting from the impact, his skin reddened from the blast of hot air. Devon and the Semi had appeared an hour after the call, Bonnie almost running down the ramp as it lowered. She had expected the worst and had been greeted by her two friends uninjured and fine. Then her eyes had fallen on the Stealth and she had paled.
"I think he .... he went suicidal," Bonnie now said, voice thoughtful.
Michael rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache approaching like a runaway train. He winced as it pulled at his sensitive skin. Bonnie gently took his hand, interlacing her fingers with his.
"He saved my life," he whispered, disbelief echoing in it.
"Yes, he did."
No one could really believe what had happened, and no one knew what to do. Karr had been pulled into the Semi and brought back to the mansion, now sitting in the garage usually used to repair Kitt. His tires were nothing but rubber goo, the front axis fractured. His driver side was torn up, the dash was a molten wreck and the seats were burned. The hood showed severe heat damage, blisters decorating the formerly smooth skin, and the windscreen was a spiderweb of cracks. The lab was still analyzing the missiles Torres had planned to sell and so far they had come up with a lot of nasty results. The missiles were filled with a liquid that started a fire so intense it could incinerate metal within minutes. The molecular bonded shell must have saved Karr from that fate, but the effects were devastating nonetheless.
No one had touched the Stealth yet. He had simply been towed in and then left alone. Bonnie had run a scan, though from a distance, and determined that Karr had shut down all major functions that had not been burned to crisp and that his CPU integrity was fluctuating, almost as if he was unsure whether to shut down completely or live. She didn't know what to do and neither did anyone else. Karr was not theirs and she doubted he would let a stranger close. The CPU would have to be removed from the fried and horribly bent shell soon, but what then?
Nicholas MacKenzie was still in a drug-induced coma, his body showing no reaction to the outside world, kept immobile by the frightening looking construction that assured his bones would heal. The doctors couldn't tell whether there would be a lasting paralysis, but if the healing process went well, they had hopes Nicholas would soon be the same again. It looked like Karr had not shared this hope.
"He wanted to die," Kitt's voice said almost thoughtfully.
Michael and Bonnie looked at the up until now silent TransAm. "But Nicholas is still alive!" Michael protested.
"But he is no longer there," Kitt explained, voice full of understanding for the other AI's reactions, but also with a deeply-route sadness. "He.... he is alive, but the implant doesn't react to anything. Nicholas is separated from him by the wrist cuff and to Karr it is like death." He stopped.
Michael sensed Kitt's need to be reassured and projected himself through the implant, feeling Kitt react. His partner was reminded of a similar situation when Michael had been comatose for two days, in the beginning of their neuro implant partnership. In those days it had been new, unexpected, unknown and generally nothing they had ever experienced before. Still, the wrist cuff applied by Geiger to separate the partners had been a deep shock and had hurt immensely. For Karr the link had been there for nearly a decade now and suddenly it was gone; one half of him was blocked. He was alone. One stupid accident...
"God....." Bonnie murmured.
Michael squeezed her hand. "He can't stand it. He needs Nick."
Their eyes met and Bonnie nodded. "But we can't help them. Nicholas has to heal. He wouldn't be able to withstand the pressure of the link."
Michael chewed on his lower lips. "I know. I went through it as well and Nick explained it all to me. Kitt knows how Karr is feeling and he told me that it is killing him. Now he tried to take his life...."
"Maybe we can help out," Bonnie said softly.
He looked up. "How?"
"I have an idea but for that we need Karr's cooperation."

* * *

Kitt knew Karr. He had touched his CPU several times in the past and had gotten to know the other AI in a way that had surprised him. At the time Kitt had been severely injured, deeply disturbed, feeling betrayed and suicidal. Karr had been there, pulling him back harshly, using not the warmth and softness Michael had. And Kitt had been surprised to find that it was truly love that Karr felt. A love no human could understand, a brotherly devotion he refused to show to the outside. He had shut Kitt out after the incident at the test track; he had tried to go back to normal. It had worked to a degree, but Kitt knew there was more to the other AI he had known as a cruel and emotionless killer. Much more.
It was not easy to sit beside the wreck of the once so powerful Stealth, seeing his brother like this. Kitt was here for two reasons. One was to monitor any changes in the almost monotonous emanations from the compromised CPU, and the other was physical security for Bonnie. The task she had set out to do was easy from a technical point of view but highly dangerous and complicated from a personal one. Karr might fight the removal of his CPU with what little defenses he had left. Kitt had scanned the torn shell and he knew most of his circuits were nothing but a molten mass, but some were still functional. Karr was in shock still, but he might just flip when someone touched him. Kitt had ceaselessly tried to reach his brother through the link, but it was so heavily blocked, Karr had to channel all his remaining power into keeping himself locked off.
"Kitt? Ready?"
"Yes, Bonnie."
Michael stepped into the lab, nodded at Bonnie and then went to sit on Kitt's hood, curling his legs under him. Kitt greeted him with a gentle touch and he ran his hand over the smooth metal.
Bonnie approached the Stealth, fear and apprehension rising inside of her. She squelched it. They had to get the CPU out and then think of a way to stabilize him. Karr would fight the process, she knew. He didn't want to live, but he also hadn't made another move to end his life. He seemed torn between his death wish and survival, self-preservation.
She forced the hood open and felt anger and nausea rise inside of her. There was barely anything left of the engine, the last remaining working pieces torn for good when Karr had made his death run at the missile launcher. Parts were molten into one big mass and she wondered if he had had any sensors there. If yes, there had been, she couldn't imagine what agony he must have been in.
Bonnie still hated Karr in a way, but she was past the point where she would actually wish such torture upon the former killing machine. No one deserved it. He had shown compassion and love for Kitt, had helped them so much when Kitt had wanted to die, but he was still basically KARR. Nothing could change the core programming, except a radical reprogramming. The KARR program had simply been developed further by the link to the neuro chip implant in Nick's mind, and it had turned this machine she hated so much into the AI who had helped them save Kitt several months back. Nick had created this mixed personality and he was the catalyst. KARR could break out again if MacKenzie was no longer around..... Bonnie chased those thoughts away and carefully set to work.

It was a draining and long procedure, interrupted by soft cursing from Bonnie when she encountered one problem after the other. Kitt kept on monitoring Karr and noted that he was struggling feebly to protect himself, to keep Bonnie from reaching the CPU, but it was to no avail. He was too weak to actually strike and maybe he had already given up. Maybe he thought they were dismantling him and that he would die. And he still refused to answer Kitt's calls.
"Michael?"
Kitt's low voice roused his driver out of his own thoughts. "Yes?"
"What will you do once you have the CPU and the body separated?"
"I'm not sure, Pal. Bonnie said she wanted to hook him up to an outside feed and monitor."
"He will fight it."
Michael nodded They all knew that. With Nicholas no longer there, Karr had reacted opposite to what Michael had thought he might do. He had imagined him to leave, go on a killing spree maybe, revert to the vehicle and personality they all had in very bad memory. But he hadn't. He had turned suicidal.
"I understand him, Michael. It's hard to confess, but I really do."
Michael slipped off the hood and eased himself onto the driver's seat. "You do?"
"I ... I wouldn't be able to stand it either. I wouldn't want to go on alone," Kitt said, vibrations passing through Michael. "I wanted to end my own pain once as well. I know what it feels like and I know what he is thinking."
Michael automatically reached out and brushed his fingers over the sensor on the steering column. He was here now; the future was just the future and he never thought much about it. Kitt intensified the vibrations for a second.
"Karr was alone for a long time, Kitt," Michael reminded him.
"And his loneliness hurt him. He was intended to have a human partner, a driver, just like I have in you, but they shut him down. He hated the Foundation for it. Then he found his intended partner and since the neuro implant was activated, he was never alone again, Michael. I watched him and Nicholas and I know everyone else did as well. They are close."
"As close as we are?"
"I dare say so."
Michael lapsed into thoughtful silence. Neither Nick nor Karr had ever shown these emotions so clearly. True, now that he thought back he had seen all those little signs and he had talked with Nick about Karr, but there had always a small doubt. He couldn't think of Karr as a loving, caring being; at least not like Kitt. But ten years connected to a human mind had left its traces. There was no way Karr could ignore what was coming through the link.
"Can't you talk to him?" he finally asked.
"No. He still shuts me out."
"You tried?" Michael asked, surprised.
"You sound surprised. You know we have the link."
He chuckled. "Yes, in a way I am surprised. I know you two are connected, but Karr has tried to shut you out since you linked. I didn't think you would actively try and make small talk with him."
"I wasn't about to," Kitt answered, sounding a bit piqued. "I want him to understand what we are trying to do. I'm not even sure he listened." Kitt sounded dejected.
"Maybe he did," Michael said thoughtfully.
"He is my brother, Michael. I know for you and everyone else it is hard to comprehend, but Karr and I are of the same origin and we are close. He helped me so much, he almost sacrificed himself for me, but now he pushes me away. Why?"
Michael had no answer for it. At least none he found satisfying as well. "I don't know, Pal."
They watched Bonnie work in silence. Finally she was able to pull out the CPU casing, mindful of all connections, gloved hands carefully closing around the metal box. Michael climbed out of Kitt, hesitantly walking closer. Karr's CPU was about the size of Kitt's, but more flat and currently covered in soot. Michael's eyes immediately searched for any sensors attached to it, knowing Kitt had one outside. Bonnie set the heart of the machine down on the work bench and carefully cleaned it with a soft rag. As she brushed over one area there was something akin to a hiss of pain emanating from the box and she drew back.
"Live sensor," she whispered in shock.
Michael leaned closer and discovered a dull black area, unlike Kitt's sensor, on the casing. It was large enough to fit into a man's palm. Why was it still switched on? Why hadn't Karr disconnected it after this terrible accident?
"Karr?" Bonnie now asked. "I know you can hear us. Can you tune down the input rate of the sensor?"
There was no answer and she hesitantly reached out with the rag and cleaned the sensor's edges. Nothing happened.
"Thank you. Michael, I need some of the power cells from the shelf, as well as the monitor next to them," she instructed him and Michael fetched the wanted equipment.
Bonnie started to hook the casing up to outside feeds, then connected the monitor. Graphs appeared, fluctuating, spiking, and she frowned.
"What is it?" Michael wanted to know.
"He is on-line, but in pain. It's not coming in from the sensor, though."
"The neuro implant?"
"Impossible. The wrist cuff keeps them from each other. It's like... an echo. An endless loop he goes through over and over again."
"Can you break it?"
"I don't know. I'd need his cooperation to at least give him a start."
Both looked at the vulnerable, helpless CPU on the work bench. Both knew Karr would not cooperate. He didn't want to.
"Kitt?" Michael asked without turning away from the CPU.
"Yes, Michael?"
"Could you?"
Hesitation trickled through the link, mixed with confusion and doubt. "I could try," Kitt then said. "but I can't guarantee a success."
"You don't have to. Just talk to him."

*

Karr was lost in his own pain and he didn't really want it to stop. The link was like a cold metal spike inside him, emitting such waves of coldness that it threatened to freeze his every thought. It hadn't been like this right from the start. When Nicholas had been hit, there had been searing agony, so hot it had left scorch marks on the mental plane of Karr's CPU world. He had screamed, he had fought, he had wept. Emotions he had always denied having had broken free and he had lunged at the failing link, had tried to uphold it. Because he had been so close to Nick at that moment, he had been there when he had been wheeled into surgery, had felt every cut of the scalpel, had heard his own whimpers inside his CPU. And then Nicholas had slipped. He had withdrawn, had been unable to hold him, and finally Nicholas had entered a coma. Karr's screams were even now echoing inside the world of his CPU, now totally closed-off because of the wrist cuff.
He couldn't go on.
He felt frustration turn into depression into pain and then into madness. But it wasn't the old fury and madness he knew; it was one still controlled by a last strand of hope. But as the days passed, as Nicholas failed to show any real improvement, the hope died. His action against the missile launcher, his suicidal run, had been sparked by his despair and hopelessness, his death wish. Self-preservation was battling the death wish, but its strength was seeping away. Karr knew that he was nothing without Nicholas MacKenzie. They belonged together and he had no right and no wish to keep functioning.
But still FLAG insisted to keep him alive. He had fought them at first, but his strength was dwindling and finally he had only been able to sit there and suffer silently as they removed him from his torn body.
_Karr?
The voice was soft and gentle and understanding, and he hated Kitt for it. His brother, the later model of the prototype he had been, was everything he wasn't. They were opposites, like black and white, the only common factor being their creator and maybe the company that had produced their chips. But everything else was vastly different. Kitt was gentle, calm, warm, protective. Karr was a cold, a source of violence and destruction, self-preservation coming before anything else. Their programming was different, their past was different, and their future as well.
_I know you are on-line, Kitt went on in his infuriating compassionate voice.
He hated him for it. He always had. Karr had always been proud to be the prototype, the first of a kind, unique. There had been nothing like him. Then he had had to find out that Wilton Knight had shut him down because he had thought the model was faulty, the programming inferior. Kitt had been born. He had been given every opportunity and chance Karr had been denied. Rage swamped through him and at the intruder. But instead of pulling back in disgust or fear, Kitt stayed.
Karr trembled and hated himself even more for it. He and Kitt had grown close; closer than Karr had ever thought possible. He knew his brother, accepted him now, loved him in a way no human could understand. He would go through hell for the gentler AI and he would do everything to never let Kitt experience the dark side Karr had gone through. That was why he was shying away from him; that was why he wanted to desperately be alone. They all just wouldn't let him.
_We want to help you, Karr
There was no help. Help had died with hope a long time ago. There was only the darkness, the emptiness of his existence. Nicholas had given him what he had always secretly craved for, though it had taken him almost too long to realize it. He belonged somewhere, he had a driver, a partner and ... a friend. The neuro implant had connected him to a human and Karr had fought the effects every step of the way. Finally he had accepted the inevitable and it had been like a rebirth.
He needed Nicholas.
He depended on him.
Shivers raced down his circuits. He had never told his driver; he couldn't say the words. It went against everything, his programming, his self, his central being, but the emotion was there. Somehow Nicholas knew and their partnership worked even without words of confession, but sometimes – sometimes he wished he could say it.
_You have to help us in turn, Kitt continued. _Nicholas is alive and he will be with you again, but you don't help either of you if you fight the only help.
_There is no help, Karr replied, voice grating, finally acknowledging that he could hear Kitt through the link. _Only shutdown.
_No!
_Why do you insist on keeping me alive? You never showed concern, only hatred.
_You know that's not true! Kitt objected. _You are my brother! You helped me.... They don't really hate you. Michael and Bonnie are just careful. Memories are hard to battle.
Karr hesitated. He had those memories as well and he felt fury creep upon him every time he thought back to those days.
_I want to help you, Kitt told him, voice serious. _Both you and Nicholas helped us before. You taught Michael and me about the link. You helped me survive, you shaped what I am today. You are my brother and I love you.
_It was nothing but a business partnership! Karr snapped.
_It was more. I know you were there for me when they.... , Kitt hesitated, _...when they hurt me, he finally finished.
Karr tried to get away from the gentler emotions Kitt projected. He had been able to keep his brother mostly away from his CPU since he and Nick were always on a case, but the memories were there. Memories of Kitt touching him through their link, of his gentle, white presence, the warmth and unconditional love.
_I can feel your pain as well, Kitt went on.
Karr slammed up shields, trying to separate the connection, but it failed. _Leave! he commanded. _You have no right to be here!
_I have the right to help you. None of us can ever repay Nicholas for his help, but we can to help – if you let us.
Karr screamed in anger and tried to shove Kitt out, but the other AI wasn't about to relinquish the connection
_Bonnie wants to remove your sensor and enable it to be attached somewhere, Kitt suddenly said into the silence.
Panic surged through him. _NO! he roared. _You can't do that! I won't let you!
_Karr, we want to enable you to be around Nicholas, Kitt called over the deafening screams of panic.
_No...nonono......
Karr was losing control now, slipping deeper, the pain, the loneliness and the prospect of being open and extremely vulnerable all boiling together.
_Karr..... please.
Kitt reached out, more of his self flowing toward the dark presence. He felt the panic and the fear, and he knew Karr had faced this when he had entered Kitt's CPU. Kitt gently wrapped part of himself protectively around his brother. Karr lashed out wildly as he felt the touch, recoiling, screaming. The reaction was nothing new to Kitt, though it had always only happened when Karr was deep asleep and Kitt came too near to him then. Now he was falling into the abyss Nick's absence had created. Kitt caught Karr as he fell, almost unconscious, fighting weakly against his brother's touch.
_We want to help. Trust me. We won't hurt you.....
Karr quieted down, shivering. _You can't do this..... he moaned.
_We can. If you let us. Kitt came closer, knowing he risked a lot. _Karr?
A weak tremor answered him.
_All okay, Kitt mumbled softly. _All okay. Rest. I'm here. Won't let anyone hurt you.

Michael had seen the sudden outburst on the screen and cast worried looks at his partner. Kitt's presence inside his mind was still there, weaker because he was communicating with Karr, but there. Finally he felt the intensity increase again and smiled a welcome.
"He will let us do it," Kitt said and Bonnie nodded. She would need help for that and walked off to the intercom to page for an assistant in this delicate procedure.
"Thanks for your help, Pal," Michael said as he walked back to his partner.
"Michael, he is incredibly scared," Kitt said softly, sounding exhausted. "He thinks he has lost Nicholas for good and I never felt so much desperation, so much pain and hopelessness."
Michael leaned against the black TransAm, looking at the lonely CPU on the work bench. It was hard to associate all these feelings with Karr, but then he remembered the moments when Karr and Kitt had been together throughout Kitt's aftermath from the tests Jennifer Knight had run. He remembered feeling the darker presence which was in a strange way gentle and calming, though the violence was still hidden beneath the surface. He hoped this sensor idea would work. Karr needed physical contact to Nick to quiet down, to accept more help.

* * *

"This is highly irregular," Dr. Mike Higgs said and shook his head.
"But this is the only way to help both partners," Devon told the doctor. "When you start waking Nick and he is confronted by Karr's raw power, he will suffer just as much as he had when he was still without the wrist cuff."
Higgs looked doubtful but didn't argue any more. He had already allowed the wrist cuff and it had helped his patient, so why not these sensors? "Just don't let it intrude on daily schedules of the nurses," was the last he said before he left.
Devon turned to Bonnie who was carrying the tightly secured and padded CPU. She nodded and started her work. Michael stood back, watching, soon joined by Devon.
"I hope this works," Devon said softly.
Michael nodded. Nicholas was still strapped into the alien looking construction of bars and rubber padding. It kept him from moving and maybe hurting himself. His spine was healing and a neurologist had done some tests yesterday, quite pleased with the outcome. All they needed for a better result was a conscious patient. It was hard to see Nicholas secured to a bed. His face was partially covered with bandages because of the severe injury. He looked fragile, helpless, deathly pale and.... broken. Michael chased those thoughts away.
Bonnie now placed Karr's CPU on a specially constructed nightstand. It was on wheels that could be locked down so it wouldn't roll off, padded into a special casing to keep nurses from jolting it accidentally, and fed by two independent power cells. Kitt had been in contact with the other AI several times, assuring him that they weren't about to hurt him and had told Michael how frightened Karr was in reality. It shed a whole new light on the prototype of the Knight Two Thousand. Karr still had almost suicidal turns and Kitt kept coaxing him back, trying to take away or soothe the desperation the other felt. Michael had once been witness to such a surge through the link and it had scared him, even saddened him to a degree. And he was starting to understand more about Karr and his relationship with Nicholas.
Now Bonnie carefully took out the live sensor from a protective casing and started to connect it. She had broken down the connection into two, one now placed next to the electrode keeping track of Nick's heartbeat, the other, the much smaller and more sensitive one, at the back of his neck where it was closest to the implanted chip. Then she ran checks on the signals they sent.
"Karr?" Bonnie finally asked.
A strange hum answered her. She looked at her small, hand-held read-out device and saw that the signals were running smoothly and without faults.
"Thank.... you," was all Karr managed and his voice was laced with a myriad of emotions.
Bonnie felt a smile start on her face and was surprised. She had been able to read a few of the emotions in those two words, and most of them were positive.

Karr listened to the soft, regular beat of Nick's heart. It was the most beautiful sound he could think of. He also picked up very faint signals from the chip inside Nick's head, though it was a very far cry from what he had had. But it was more than before, much more. And he owed it to the Foundation, the very people who had deactivated him so long ago.
Nick> he whispered. Partner>
There was no answer, but it was okay. Totally okay.

* * *

"I want to stop keeping Nick under and wake him," Higgs explained twenty-four hours after Karr had been brought into the ICU.
Michael nodded, trying to hide his exhaustion. He had spent the last hours typing his report, going back to the warehouse to clean up – which gave him a lot to do and occupy his mind – and then try to sleep. Sleep had not come and not even watching some stupid sitcom and soap opera had helped.
"We'll remove the cuff as well the moment you reduce the pentathol. It would unnecessarily stress Nick out if he can't contact Karr, as far as I understood Devon's explanation. But the moment he is under stress again it is back on, understood?"
Michael nodded once more. "Thanks. Doc."
"Don't thank me yet, Michael. The real work begins when he is back and we start rehab."

*

Nicholas woke to the feeling of someone being with him, very close, hovering. He was confused to what had happened, his mind fuzzy, and his body didn't seem to respond to his brain's commands. The presence drew closer, calming him as panic flashed because he couldn't move, soothing his fear. He closed his eyes.
Shhhh.... It's all right. You are in a hospital> a voice whispered. Those weren't really words. It was more a mixture of emotions, images and garbled sounding word fragments. But they made perfect sense.
Images flashed by him, telling him he was in a single room, his body restrained because of his injuries, that he had been out for some time.
Karr?> he asked weakly.
The presence came closer and he drew an immense comfort from his partner's nearness. Karr rarely came so close. He had sought out Nick's strength and support when he had dealt with Kitt's raw pain throughout those fateful weeks several months back, but after that he had gone almost back to normal. Almost. A small part had stuck around and Nick had always been aware of the change. But Karr had kept a respectful distance, feeling unwell to display his weakness to his partner.
That bad?> Nick now asked.
A shiver answered him and he knew it had been very bad. His partner suddenly trembled more and tried to retreat, but Nicholas struggled to keep him.
No, stay.... please> he begged.
I am with you. Relax> Karr's voice was losing its control and Nicholas moved closer. Karr fought him briefly, but finally quieted down.
Tell me everything. Please?>
Karr hesitated, but then he did, and Nicholas began to understand. He finally opened his eyes once more and looked right into a pair of hazel eyes. He couldn't attach a name to the woman's face hovering above him and he was slightly panicky that he hadn't heard her come in.
"Mr. MacKenzie?" she asked.
"Yes?" he whispered. At least he tried. His voice was barely audible, the word just a scratchy imitation of the real thing.
"Do you know where you are?"
Nick swallowed and tried to nod, but the 'cage' didn't let him. "Yes," he rasped again.
"Okay. I'll call Dr. Higgs. Just relax."
Nick closed his eyes and opened them again instead of answering. She smiled and left.

* * *

The nurse sat at the nurses' station and wrote a progress note in one of the many patients' chart. She looked up at the sound of footsteps. The nurse watched as the visitor hesitated in front of the door to the room leading to one of their more problematic patients. At least he had been problematic until yesterday when he had finally woken and started to improve. The female visitor peered through the window, trying to see between the slats of the blinds. To the nurse she looked slightly out of the ordinary. She was dressed in jeans, a khaki shirt, a vest with several pockets and she thought she could see a patch on the vest. An official looking patch. Heavy walking boots completed the rather un-womanly outfit. The very dark colored hair was loosely bound back.
Finally she walked towards the elevator once more without ever visiting the patient.
"Can I help you?" the nurse intercepted the mystery visitor.
"I just wondered how Nicholas MacKenzie was doing."
"He's doing better. You can visit if you'd like," the nurse replied. "Some of his friends left a few minutes ago."
The elevator doors opened. "No, thanks." She stepped inside.
"Can I take a message?" the nurse raised her voice slightly.
"That's not necessary." The elevator doors closed.
The nurse shook her head and returned to her charting.

* * *

"You gave us quite a scare."
Nicholas lifted one corner of his mouth into the semblance of a smile, wishing he could at least move his head enough to look around the room, but as it was he was trapped by the construction and it made him feel vulnerable. Karr sent out a wave of support, telling him they would be okay, though Nick read the underlying fear in his partner as well. Karr was nothing but a CPU next to a hospital bed and Nick was a helpless injured human. What a team.....
"Sorry," he finally said.
Michael looked like hell, and it was an improvement from the last time he had seen him. Now he was only pale and looked like he had slept under the bridge instead of a bed.
"Not your fault." Michael wanted to sit down, then thought about it and remained standing. If he sat down, Nick would be unable to see him.
"Sit," Nick told him with a smile in his voice. "I don't mind talking to the ceiling. Did that for the last few days anyway."
Michael sat down, pulling the chair up a bit. "We closed the case, by the way."
"Karr told me."
"Torres got away, but the police is hot on his trail and it will be some time till he surfaces once more. He had quite some losses."
Nick smiled coldly. "Sadly not enough. He is still alive to continue another day."
Michael winced at the words, remembering that Nick was used to dealing with his opponents a different way – if paid for it. The man was a trained assassin and spy, and sometimes Michael felt extremely unwell around him, especially when he managed to sneak up on him.
"I'm sorry about the wrist cuff," he finally said. "We saw no other way out. It was either that or lose you."
Nick briefly closed his eyes, feeling Karr's presence in the back of his mind, just as it had always been. He had not been aware of the separation but he now felt Karr's response to the events of the past days.
"I understand, Michael. Remember I was the one telling you it was necessary when you and Kitt were in the same situation. And Karr understands as well."
"He does?" Michael sounded doubtful.
Karr sent annoyance through the neuro implant and Nick grinned. "Yep."
"Uhm, okay....." There was a short silence again. "What about the car?" he finally asked.
"You mean about the reconstruction?"
"Yeah. Bonnie and Justin went over what was left and both say they really don't want to start reconstructing anything, though Justin is quite fascinated by the make-up. Do you have anyone we should call for help?"
Nick was silent now. He wished he was mobile enough not to be confined to a hospital bed. He didn't want to compromise so much of himself by telling Michael about his contacts, but he knew Karr needed his body back. He was feeling threatened by being so exposed and he only didn't make demands because of the scare he had had through the cuff. If his injuries would have been minor, well, minor compared to hairline-fractured vertebrae, Nick would have left; just like he had left the first time after the implant inside Michael's mind had activated, even though MacKenzie had been hospitalized with a severe bullet wound.
"Nick," Michael added softly, "we don't want to spy on you. I really don't want to know so much about your past. Honestly." A smile was audible in his voice. "But Kitt told me Karr is getting increasingly uncomfortable and there is only one solution."
"I know," Nick finally said, voice neutral.
"We can do it on your terms, or your friend's terms. Just tell us what to do."
Nick was silent for a few more minutes, staring at the white hospital room ceiling. Finally he sighed. "All right."

* * *

Devon looked at the man now standing in the hangar-like garage with wariness and a lot of caution. He was a muscle-packed, tall and broad-shouldered man, dark-skinned, his head shaved bald. He was dressed in a leather vest that was usually seen on Harley bikers, old jeans, and an old muscle shirt. There were tattoos on his upper arms and every time he moved, those muscles flexed in an unnerving way. The man's name was Bear and he had arrived in an old van about twenty minutes earlier. Michael had called some time before Bear's arrival and informed Devon that a friend of Nick's would come to take a look at the wreck of the Stealth, but Devon had been totally unprepared for ....him. Not that he hadn't met all kinds of elements of society throughout his time with FLAG, especially since Michael had joined, but not anyone like Bear.
Bear walked into the garage. Half of the building was a vast, open testing space, roofed and immune to weather changes. The other half was full of laboratories, experimental environments and offices. It was a small, compact research facility, one of many from Knight Industries and also the birthplace of the Knight 2000. But Kitt hadn't been here for some time now, at least not lately. Devon still felt pangs of guilt and self-recrimination rise inside of him when he thought of the reasons. Servicing was done abroad or at the warehouse Nick owned, but it was a rare event if Kitt stayed here for longer than necessary. One day maybe.... it might be back to normal.
Right now the center of the security personnel's attention was on the wreck of the Stealth. Since the CPU had been taken out it was not really a danger anymore, but still no one came too close. Bear walked around it, a deep frown on his forehead, tapping his chin.
"I want him out of here," he then said, his deep voice echoing in the mostly empty hangar.
Devon nodded. "You can use the Semi, if you need to."
Bear smiled, flashing brilliant white teeth at the Englishman. He had read between the lines. "Don't fuss. I got the equipment close by." Pulling out a cell phone from one of the back pockets he punched a number. "Casey? We need the truck. Call DropZone and hustle him over to Nick's place. We got some work to do." He snapped the cell shut and smiled at Devon again. "Don't worry. You'll be rid of us in no time."

* * *

Nicholas was recovering. His body was healing, as was his soul, and a major contributor to that was the AI viciously watching over him. Karr's protective feelings were like a safeguard, keeping Nicholas secure and well, helping him, teasing and threatening, coaxing and provoking. Nick hated the metal brace that kept him from moving, but he knew it would be off in a few more days. Then would follow a long recovery time. For both of them. Karr was still not back in the protective body of the Stealth and he felt increasingly insecure and vulnerable outside. Now that Nicholas was better, Karr was brooding over his immediate future and FLAG. What if they decided to scrap him? What if they took him away from Nicholas? They could do anything to him; without the Stealth's body to protect him he was a sitting duck. Yes, of course, they had promised to help rebuild him, but would they? And even if they would, until then he was easily killed. He refused to talk to Kitt now, shutting the other AI out and projecting ruthless cold his way. Kitt still came almost every day.
Nicholas in turn had tried to make several phone calls. It was impossible. Finally Karr had worked out a way to patch into the hospital's net and contacted the people MacKenzie needed. One of them was the one who had constructed the Stealth. Bear had not liked the way it was going, especially having to drive to the mansion and take a look whether or not the old frame could still be used. Nick had told his friend that he could use the warehouse as long as he liked and he had informed him of Michael and Bonnie. Bear had argued he wanted his own people around to work on the shell, and that he hated to have spectators. Finally they had worked out an agreement and though Michael and Bonnie would still be at the warehouse now and then, Bear and his people would have it almost all to themselves, especially in the critical stages. Michael had understood the secrecy.
Another call had gone to a neurologist and Christa D'Angelo was currently in his room, going through his medical files.
"You were damned, lucky," she finally said, shaking her head. "By all means you should be paralyzed, Nick."
"I'm not, so tell me what you can do to get me back into shape again," he said, rolling his eyes so he could see her.
"Well, the doctors here have a nice little program set up for you, but I can think of a few more effective routines. The frame will come off the day after tomorrow and then the real pain starts." Her serious brown eyes met his. "It won't be nice, Nick. It will even be cruel sometimes, but if we can get you back into shape you will never know that you had this accident."
"I understand."
"I'll be back tomorrow and talk with the neurologist here," she then announced her departure.
Nick smiled. "Thanks, Chris."
"Hey, you are paying for it," she retorted with a brief, soft smile.
When they were alone again, Nicholas sought out Karr's presence in his mind. "And thank you for being there," he whispered.
Karr was silent but embraced him gently. It told Nick more than a thousand words. The AI was still rattled and shaky, and it would take a while for him to get over the near-miss. Especially since this had not happened on a case but had been a stupid accident with a drunk driver.
Nicholas closed his eyes, fully concentrating on his partner. He touched him, felt Karr wince then accept, and they both connected, aware and safe with each other. Nick felt that Karr was still hesitant and unable to open completely, but at least he was there.
That was how he fell asleep.

* * *

Another two days later Michael was back for a visit and also with a burning question in his mind. The nurses and also Dr. Higgs had mentioned the mysterious female visitor who had always come to see how Nick was doing, but who had never stayed long enough to actually talk to him. Michael had been surprised and tried to catch the woman, but he had always missed her by a few minutes. He had then started to stake out the hospital, but she had not come back again. In the end he had decided to take the harder way: ask Nicholas directly. He was prepared to get his head ripped off. The reaction he got was more or less expected. Nick's face became a mask and his eyes grew cold. It seemed to Michael he had hit something.
"Someone you know?" he asked casually.
"Yes. A ghost out of the past," Nicholas whispered, staring off into space.
Michael raised an eyebrow. "A good or a bad one?"
Nick's cold blue eyes met his. "Depends on your definition."
Michael waited. He knew that pushing would only lead to Nick shutting up completely.
After a while Nick sighed. "Did you see her?"
"Nope. She always managed to disappear before any of us came or before you woke up. Want me to find her?"
He shook his head. "No. I think I know where to find her if I have to."
"And do you have to?"
Silence. Then, "No."
Michael sighed deeply. He was getting nowhere. "Listen, Nick...." The expression on his friend's face silenced him and he raised his hands as if he was surrendering. "Okay, I understand. No questions, no comments. I value my life." He flashed him a smile and rose. "I'll be back tomorrow to pick you up and get you home."
"Thank you," was all Nick said, then he went back to staring at the ceiling.
Michael shook his head and left.

Nick was far away in his mind and he wished he could stop the memories pressing in on him. Who had called her? Why had she come? How did she know of his close encounter with death? Why now? He knew who his mysterious visitor was, only too well.... It had been four years now, but the events were still logged in his mind, like so many. It had been a case he had thought would be normal and which had nearly ended in a catastrophe.

He woke slowly, almost painfully slowly, and everything around him was strange and foreign to him. He lay in a bed, his fuzzy mind told him, and he felt the bedcovers over his body. Light was coming through the half-opened curtain, and it streamed over the floor, touching the foot of the bed he lay on. He smelled wood. And something else. He couldn't identify it yet. Blinking, he tried to sit up, but he found he was missing the strength to do more than just lie there, willing his senses to work, willing them to see and hear and smell more. The room wasn't all too big; a single bedroom. There was a nightstand beside him. Nothing on it but an old-fashioned clock and some medication. The clock told him it was 9:30 am.
He blinked again. 9:30 am what day? His mind was on slowly kicking into gear.
Who was he?
Nicholas MacKenzie.
Yes, that sounded right.
Where was he?
Nothing, no memories, surfaced. He knew from the urgent buzzing of his instincts that something was wrong, but he couldn't lay his fingers on it! He was growing stronger, though his limbs were still heavy and his muscles' reactions were sluggish.
And then he heard the noise. It was a soft noise, that of sock-covered feet on a wooden floor. At least his instincts worked, he thought sourly. And the feet were coming closer. The door knob to the bedroom turned.
He closed his eyes, pretending to sleep.
The door opened and the light steps came closer. A young person or a female one, light-weighed, sure-stepped..... he analyzed. And it came closer. Something was placed on the nightstand and then the person leaned over him. He caught a whiff of something herbal, then he ignored everything else and attacked, following a primal instinct to defend himself against an enemy.
There was a surprised exclamation, a short struggle, his hands gripping the other person's wrists as he threw his body weight at the stranger. And then his strength left him. He fell, unable to keep balance, and they both fell. His left thigh hit the wooden frame of the bed, then he heard a loud 'ouff' as he landed on the stranger.
He blinked.
"Are you done playing?"
He blinked again.
Underneath him lay a woman, maybe in her early thirties. She was sun-tanned, wavy, chocolate colored hair framing her face. Dark brown eyes glared up at him, but there was a hint of amusement in them.
"Would you mind?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Who.... who are you?" he asked, wincing as he heard the croak of his voice, felt the rasping of his throat. His lips felt dry. He tried to move and felt all his strength leave him. He all but collapsed to the side, shivering.
"Oh, no!" she muttered and scrambled to her feet. "Not that strong as we thought, are we?" It was a rhetoric question.
He felt strong hands help him back into the bed and curled into a ball, shivering more. It was as if his body had decided that the small excursion had been the trigger to making him feel even worse. Something cool touched his neck and he realized it was a damp cloth.
"Shhhh," the woman said. "Relax."
He dropped into the deep abyss he had just crawled from, unable to fight the blackness. "Who....?" he mumbled, then everything was gone.
There was only nothingness.

That was how they had met and the days he had spent recovering had been marked by animosity between them. Dr. Alex Christopher was a no-nonsense woman who had a job as a Ranger and was responsible for several hundred square miles of woodland. And she had faced Karr like she would an angry bear. It had struck him as something few people would do and something like a friendship had developed between them.

"His name is Karr."
"What are you doing out of bed?" Alex snapped, turning away from the black Stealth to lance deadly looks at him.
Nicholas MacKenzie was leaning against the frame of the door, his pale face in stark contrast to the dark rings under his eyes and their burning blue color. It was the first time he was out of the bed and the first time he was conscious for more than a few minutes. Nicholas sat down with a deep sigh, briefly closing his eyes.
"'m okay," he now muttered.
"Oh, yeah, right, sure!" Alex growled. "You puked your guts out for the last 36 hours, you lost enough fluids to fill the Mississippi and your legs won't carry you, but you are okay! Tell me another one, Mister!"
He smiled faintly, then his eyes were drawn to the black vehicle.
"Flashy car," Alex remarked. "Yours?"
"Yes."
"And you named it Car? Cute. Let me guess. Your dog's name is Dog?"
Another faint smile. "I don't have a dog."
"Then it's a cat," she said, the same sarcasm in her voice as before.
Nick chuckled, then coughed as his dry throat protested.
"It's automated?" Alex now wanted to know.
"What makes you think so?" There was suspicion and wariness in his voice.
She rolled her eyes. "Don't think I'm stupid, MacKenzie, only because I'm a woman! Don't try to sell me the 'you imagined it all!' shit. I saw the car arrive here, no driver inside. It *threatened* me, kept me from leaving, and only when I explained to it – god, I can't believe I talked to that thing -- that I had to check the condition of the road so I might get help, did it back down. It *growled* at me!"
Nicholas shot the car a surprised look. "Listen....." he started, but she held up one hand.
"Remember what I said about stupidity? I have eyes, I can see. I see what is going on and it's not normal. I find you in the middle of nowhere after a landslide, you are under the influence of some kind of drug, you nearly die on me, and then this car appears. I don't even want to know how it got through the tons of mud and stone. Somehow I don't even want to know what is going on, even though I'm by nature curious. But I'm also cautious, so whatever you two are, fine with me. The moment you are safe enough to drive, you can leave."
She straightened and was about leave when Nick said, "I can leave right away."
Alex stopped, giving him a dark, mocking look. "Sure! You can't even walk down those three stairs to your flashy car, MacKenzie!"
Anger welled up inside of him, adrenaline giving him the strength to get up and straighten, though that was about all he felt able to do. "Now, listen, Ms. Christopher....!"
"Save it!" she snapped and disappeared into the house. "You think you can walk, fine!" she called from inside. "Just don't think I keep on cleaning up after you! And it's *Doctor* Christopher for you!"
Nicholas sighed and rested his aching head against the rough wood of the support beam of the verandah roof.

It had not stopped with that fight. It had continued and just like she was giving him her piece of mind about whatever he was doing, she did the same with Karr. It had impressed Nicholas, but he had denied himself to feel more than gratefulness that she had saved his life. In the end he had left when he had felt strong enough.
A year later he had returned because he needed Alex's expertise on a case, and he had regretted it every single minute.
And now she had come here.

* * *

Bonnie walked down the iron-wrought stairs of the warehouse, looking into the work area and silently wondering where the heck Nicholas had found those guys. Bear, of who she had never even caught his real name – if he had one --, was bent over the frame of the Stealth, working on something inside. His two assistants, a lanky woman called Casey and a strange, bearded individual who called himself DropZone, were busy with their own tasks. Bonnie had talked to Casey when she had come to take a shower after working on the Stealth almost non-stop. Casey looked like she should spend her days as a model for beach fashion, not clad in a dirty overall, slaving over an engine block. They had talked about this and that and Bonnie saw a lot of brains hiding behind the suntanned exterior of a woman who tried to appear as someone she was not.
DropZone rarely spoke a word and worked ceaselessly on one thing or other, and had disappeared without a word after three days. When Bonnie had curiously asked where their third man was, Bear had simply shrugged. DropZone had not come back.
Bear had only glanced at Kitt when the TransAm had once visited their home base. He was more than a capable car mechanic, Bonnie had seen, but he was someone she would have made a wide detour around if she had met him on the street. She was not there when Ed Hallston entered the stage and did his little bit of magic, but she met him when coming to pick something up. He was a good-natured individual who loved to talk endlessly about all kinds of things. Casey had simply rolled her eyes when Bonnie had shot her a curious, questioning look.
In a way the people Nick had hired to rebuild Karr's body were not so much different from the youngsters who had once reconstructed Kitt. They knew their job and they did it with precision, and they weren't the people Bonnie would have hired off-hand. The difference was that these strangers were friends of Nicholas', or maybe something coming close to what he might call 'allies' and that meant they were more than met the eye. Much more.
When the CPU was brought in, Ed greeted Karr like his best buddy and immediately switched from ceaselessly talking to Bear to ceaselessly talking to Karr – who suffered this just as silently as Bear had.
Five days after the accident the Stealth was back in shape again.

* * *

Karr was back. He was in his own body and it felt good... incredible secure. Bear had once again delivered a masterpiece and every single part of the Stealth was him. All the electronic parts had been installed by Ed and his friends, helped out by Bear and his team, and though Karr refused to make small talk to them, he was grateful. Testing all systems repeatedly he started to relax. Nicholas' presence was with him just like before and if he forgot about the terrible events of the past days, he could almost make himself believe everything was back to normal.
Almost.
Karr turned and looked at the shields he had erected between himself and the access to the link he shared with Kitt. It was taking most of his energy to keep them as strong as they were. Did he really need them? Maybe he could just drop some of them....
No, he couldn't. He couldn't let Kitt experience what he had gone through. One touch from his brother and Karr knew there would be the danger of him breaking down. He needed reassurance and though Nick was reassurance enough, he was in no mental shape to endure his flashbacks. Karr was still swallowing them, locking them up, and he knew Nick knew about it. He just didn't pry....
Looking at the shields again he groaned with indecision. Kitt had opened himself up completely throughout his ordeal, though the other AI had had little choice in it. Karr had been inside his brother's CPU, he had seen it all, and now, as he was in almost the same position Kitt had been in, he was afraid of having him return the favor, of being there, of caring.

Kitt felt it even before the first tingle of a re-establishing link was there to feel. He jumped forward, touching the connection to the older AI, and gave a joyous cry as he felt the familiar dark presence behind the slowly dissolving block.
_Karr!
A weak shiver greeted him and Kitt surged forward, not thinking, just reacting, as he touched the trembling black spark. Karr shivered uncontrollably, tendrils of his self seeking for Kitt's reassuring warm presence, and a sob escaped him, echoed by Kitt as he swept Karr up in his self, hugging him.
_Missed you. Kitt told him. _Why the block?!
Karr for once didn't resist the warm embrace, actually burying himself in it for the time being. He had decided to come back to the link and he had known what to expect. He needed it so badly, he was dependent on having someone else there. Right now he was radiating emotional stress and trauma, suffering and pain. Kitt probed the other presence and was shocked to feel the agony, what was left of what he must have faced. And more. Much more. Kitt felt old memories slip in, part of the almost ancient recollection out of a time Karr had been nothing but KARR. Because Kitt was so close to his brother, Karr simply sent a jumble of explanations toward him.
And Kitt understood. He was shocked, but he understood. He embraced Karr tightly, whispering he was there, for the first time able to return what had been given to him so many months ago. Karr whimpered, desperately trying to find his old shields, but none were functional. Kitt would have been able to simple wade through the other CPU and read what he wanted to, but he didn't. He trusted Karr and he wanted Karr to trust him in the same way; he would never betray him like this.
_Shhhhh...... he now murmured.
Kitt felt Nick as well, a weak flicker of energy inside Karr, struggling to keep his shields up and failing. Kitt felt the pain of the broken bones, the weakness, the near-death experience, how the link was overloaded by the sudden trauma and stress, how it failed and sent Karr spiraling into despair at the nothingness. And how Karr had upheld the block to safe Kitt the agony he had gone through.
_You shouldn't have, he whispered gently. _Always there for you.
_No, Karr protested faintly. _Too much... too much....Couldn't.... He keened softly, uncaring what he was doing, unable to control himself. Everything was falling apart.
Kitt began to understand. Karr had been unable to share, not used to opening up to strangers, even if this stranger was an AI like himself, an AI he knew and who knew him. He had simply closed himself to the outside.
_Can handle it. Help you. Brothers.
Karr sobbed softly, all the stress of the past three days too much for him to handle anymore. He had thought Nicholas lost to him forever until he had picked up a weak flicker of his driver when he had been physically connected to the unconscious man. He had followed that faint trace like in a fever trance, trying to force the neuro link open, trying to contact Nick, but the wrist cuff had made it impossible. Karr knew this had happened to Michael and Kitt over a year ago, but up until now he hadn't had a what it actually meant. It was a horible feeling, an endless loop of loneliness and imaginary pain. When the link had been reestablished he had been confronted with all the pain his driver had felt, all the memories of almost dying. It had nearly broken him, but he had never shown it. Show no weakness..... be strong....
_Shhh..... Kitt made again as he felt Karr relive it all again and again. _Here now. Help. Safe now.
He held on for a long time, murmuring, rocking the other AI, soothing, until Karr quieted down. The usual, almost hostile coldness and the dark power was no more. There was just the dark center, the vulnerable inner self, and Karr wasn't even trying to fight anymore. Kitt smiled gently and caressed the spark in his arms, muttering calming words to him. Karr once tried to pull away, but he didn't let him. Karr needed Kitt, even if he would always deny it. Now even more so. In a few days, maybe even tomorrow, he would be back to almost normal, but for now Kitt savored the closeness.
Finally he felt Karr raise some basic shields, straightening, stepping back, and Kitt let him, still smiling. Tendrils of his own self were still tightly entwined with Karr's and he wouldn't let go. Karr held on to the support with determined strength as well.
_Everything's going to be okay, Kitt whispered again.
_I'm ... fine, Karr rasped, shaky still but growing stronger.
Kitt smiled, keeping close to the blackness he was used to so much. _Welcome home.

* * *

"Did you know about Alex?"
The question hung in the air and Karr wondered what to answer. He had known about it because Bear and Ed had talked while working on his body. It had been Bear's idea to call the Ranger. He was one of the few people who actually knew about the relationship between the two, even though Nick denied having any relationship at all with the woman. Bear liked to tease him as long as it was safe to do so, and maybe even a bit longer.
Karr had first been unable to understand the definition of this relationship between male and female, but he had studied it. And he thought he knew a bit more. What he knew for sure was that Dr. Christopher was a match for his partner, as she was a match for him.

"What?" Karr now growled, sounding annoyed.
Alex chuckled. Somehow he felt threatened by her. He was always on the defensive.
"Nothing."
"You are staring at me."
"Am I not allowed to?"
Karr was silent.
"I rarely get visitors, you know. And I never got a visit by a black sports car."
More silence.
"You are a beautiful car," Alex said, watching for a reaction.
"Humans prefer sports cars," Karr stated flatly.
"To tell you the truth, I prefer ATVs." She grinned. "I love off-road vehicles."
"I have a 4x4 function," Karr pointed out, sounding piqued.
"But you are a sports car nevertheless," Alex smiled.
This time he chose not to reply, exuding his patented silence and coldness. Her smile widened and she slid off the bench, walking over to the small building next to her hut where she kept her research equipment.

"Yes," Karr finally answered.
"And you didn't tell me?"
"No."
Nick sighed. "Why?"
Karr wondered the same. Why hadn't he told Nick that she had come to visit? She had even been at the warehouse while Michael and Bonnie had been away. He had listened to Bear and Ed talking to her, joking, making silly comments. And he had seen her smile his way. Alex was a strange woman, at least compared to the other women Karr had met while working with Nick. She was special.
"I don't know," he finally answered.
Nick sighed and shook his head. "Is she still in town?"
"How should I know?"
"Thank you so much, partner," Nick growled and gloomily stared at the ceiling. He would have to talk to Bear about calling Dr. Christopher.

* * *

The next weeks were proverbial hell, for both car and driver. Nicholas was going through a ruthless rehabilitation program, working and driving himself to achieve recovery, monitored by D'Angelo. Karr was back in his new body and his presence in his mind was constant, never easing up, suffering with his driver as if he wanted to punish himself for the accident. He was back at the mansion, even though he hadn't liked the idea of being this close to FLAG and unable to run if he needed to, but it had been the easiest solution. But the moment he was back in shape he would leave for the warehouse again. Christa kept on visiting regularly, ignoring all curious questions and looks from Bonnie, Devon and Michael, and she had declared him almost back to normal just a few days ago.
"Karr, can we talk?" Nick now asked, walking into the garage, a slight limp the only visible injury left. It would heal soon. His face still showed scarring from the rough impact with the street, but the doctors had assured him that it would heal completely.
"Of course." Karr's voice was level and almost dismissive. He had quickly, almost too quickly, found back to his old self, the self that turned away from emotional displays.
Nicholas sat down on the driver's seat, minding his knee that now and then acted up. At least he wasn't in pain any longer. Christa had been right; he had almost forgotten his injury as such, though the event was forever lodged in his mind. And Karr's. He hadn't seen his partner face-to-face so to speak ever since the accident. He had seen the video images Michael had shown him – after Nick had demanded to see them – of how Karr had looked like after the missile hit, and he had heard about the progress on the reconstruction. Since he had seen the video he knew it had been bad; as if Karr's sudden silence, and his prior clinging to his partner, hadn't been clue enough.
"You have been awfully quiet and absent lately, partner," he now started conversationally.
As possessive as Karr had been throughout the first few weeks at the hospital, he had withdrawn slowly, trying to detach himself, though the physical link wasn't easy to ignore. The implant was active and he was there, a presence in Nicholas' mind, but not like before.
"What is wrong with you?"
Nicholas thought he knew, but he wanted to hear it from Karr.
"Nothing. I am fine."
"Liar." A surge of annoyance hit him and Nicholas smiled at the reaction. "Care to tell me the truth or do I have to guess?"
No reaction.
"Okay, guessing games then. You feel guilty because of the accident." He braced himself for the reaction, but there was none. "It wasn't your fault, Karr. You couldn't have done anything."
"I failed to make the right decision," Karr said monotonously. "I failed to recognize the signs of danger. I failed."
Nicholas laced his fingers gently around the steering wheel. "You are neither all-knowing nor omnipotent, my friend."
"I should have known!" Karr insisted.
"You couldn't have."
A grating noise came from the voice box hiding behind the design of the dash. Nicholas touched the sensor and Karr shied away from him.
"I am supposed to be your partner," Karr finally said, voice level. "I failed."
"No, you didn't fail." Suddenly Nicholas smiled crookedly and added, "And since when am I someone you care about?"
The reaction he had expected, the annoyance and maybe a sharp spike through the implant, failed to come. Instead Karr gave a strangled, choking noise and withdrew further. Nicholas stopped, shocked. He had never expected the remark to hit the AI like this! He and Karr had been through lot of verbal fights, some of them outright vicious, but Karr had never reacted like this!
"Karr...," he whispered. "I didn't realize...." He bit his lower lip. I'm sorry, partner>
Karr was shaken and valiantly trying to battle it by himself. He had almost lost his driver and now Nicholas was flinging something back at him that was usually meant to tease and joke. This time it hit him hard. He had never shown any obvious care for MacKenzie, had even tried to kill him in the beginning..... Now he regretted it, but back then he hadn't been at the point he had arrived today. Today he valued Nicholas, needed him, was part of him as much as Nick was part of the AI linked to him.
Karr, I understand and I know. I feel the same>
Get out of my mind!> he demanded harshly, voice shaking. Part of him craved for Nick to stay.
I can't. We are forever linked>
Karr keened softly. "You were gone," he finally whispered.
"I'm flattered you missed me," Nicholas retorted almost automatically, trying to keep his own emotions under control.
Karr made another distressed sound and he immediately pressed his palm gently on the sensor.
"Sorry, slipped past me again," he muttered. "I understand what you felt. It must be alien to you."
"Not.... not completely." There was a tentative probing and Nicholas smiled.
Neither could truly express himself, but both knew. For now it was enough.
"I'm back to stay, Karr. I won't leave you alone," Nick now promised, gently and soothingly stroking the sensor.
Karr's reaction were waves upon waves of shivers. He had longed for his partner and was now failing to return what was given.
"You already gave me a lot," Nicholas murmured. "You were there."
.......>
He smiled at the wordless reply and closed his eyes, feeling a low throbbing from the implant as Karr touched him, drawing him closer.
"I'm okay," he murmured, knowing that Karr could see through the lie but understood what his human partner was trying to say.
Karr shivered again and Nicholas simply hugged him tightly, not caring what he did. He knew he had picked up a lot from Michael and Kitt, and Karr was reacting to it in almost the same needy way Kitt did, sometimes even more so. Their partnership had been marked by distance at first and had only lately developed into the physical bond it was now. They had always been close, but neither had dared to express it, both too unaccustomed to it. Not any more, at least when they were alone.

Bonnie stopped at the entrance to the garage, hearing the last snippets of conversation, knowing she was intruding. She retreated carefully and nearly ran into Michael.
"They are talking?" he asked.
She nodded. "Yes. I think you and Kitt were right. This partnership is closer than anybody thought. It's still strange to see Karr reacting like this, almost like .... " She shrugged.
Michael smiled softly. "Like Kitt and me?"
"Almost," she confessed. "Maybe they are as close as you two, just on a different level. Karr isn't Kitt."
"No, he isn't. He never was and never will be." Karr was missing the softness of his partner, the gentleness. He was unable to be like Kitt, but he had another gentleness; one honed by Nick's presence, one only reserved for his partner. The violence broke through sometimes, swiping away what had been built, but never completely.
"How about a coffee?" Bonnie then asked, sneaking an arm around his waist.
"Sounds great."
Both walked off to the small kitchen for the mechanics and techs.

* * *

It was late at night. Nicholas, though feeling slightly tired, was unable to sleep. He had worked on some of his backlog files, had browsed the net to get himself up-to-date, had scanned for new jobs and cases, and had turned down several offers from shadowy strangers who had wanted to employ his services. Others he had stored for later evaluation. Some sounded none to bad. Now he stood leaning against the iron railing securing the gallery-like second floor, looking down into the garage. Few lights were on and the ground floor was bathed in an eerie twilight. Everything was silent.
Nick's eyes fell on the two silent vehicles, both midnight black, both smoothly designed and shaped, both so much more than they appeared to be. Karr was parked facing the large doors to the outside, some of the spotlights reflecting off the dark skin. In Nick's mind there was no sign hat his partner was active. He was a resting presence, finally balanced once more. It was nearly a month now since Nick was back in shape and though there were some weaknesses still, he was almost back to normal. Kitt was parked beside the Stealth, his scanner dark as he, too, was resting. MacKenzie smiled slightly as he remembered how Kitt had continued to unobstrusively hover close to Karr and how the other AI had tried to ignore it. Nick had felt Kitt as well, the warm, bright presence he was, always at the edge of his perception, and it had helped.
Nick sat down at the top of the stairs, gazing thoughtfully at the vehicles. Nearly two years now since he had made the decision to help Michael. Nearly two years since the activation of Michael's neuro implant. So little time, so many changes.
"Can't sleep?"
He looked up, having heard the light steps before his mind had even consciously informed him that there was someone standing beside him.
"No, not really," he answered truthfully.
Michael Knight sat on the step further down, following Nick's slightly distant gaze to the two vehicles below. "Amazing, isn't it?" he whispered.
Nick smiled again, the most open smile Michael had ever seen, except maybe for that time some months ago when they had had a similar meeting like this up here. "Yes," he said softly. "It is. Far more than I ever thought."
Michael cast him a look. Nick had been more or less back to normal after rehab had finally gotten him back into shape, but he knew that the separation with the wrist cuff had left its traces with Karr and through him with Nick. Kitt had mentioned something like it. Both partners tried to pretend nothing had changed, but Michael suspected that they were coming ever closer to achieving a relationship like Kitt and Michael's. True, they had been together much longer, but the emotional side of this connection was still something both shied away from.
"I heard you are planning your own little holiday," Michael remarked, giving him lop-sided smile.
Nick raised an eyebrow. "Planning, yes."
"Couldn't you just hit the beach and relax there?"
"What's relaxing about a beach?"
"What's relaxing about sneaking around and stealing stuff?" Michael asked back.
Nick smiled his typical smile. "Try it and you'll see."
He chuckled. "Okay. Kitt and I will be hitting the road for a weekend in Las Vegas. In case you feel like joining us....?"
Nick smiled again, more openly this time. "No, thank you. But thanks for inviting me. I think Karr and I will do some of our own gambling somewhere else."
Michael nodded, accepting his friend's decision. He knew Nick had problems with socializing and he had done a lot more for Michael and Kitt than he probably had ever done for anybody.
"Get some sleep," he said, patting Nick's shoulder and rising. He walked back to his room.
He is right> a dark voice whispered in Nick's head.
Since when are you my nursemaid?> Nick muttered.
Since you keep aggravating your condition again>
Aggravating?>
Lack of sleep does not do your body any good>
Nick leaned his head against the iron railing, eyes fixed on the Stealth downstairs. I'm no about to fall apart!>
Karr chose not to answer, but he sent what he thought about this statement, and Nick finally rose as well, walking back to the couch where he had spent hours surfing the net. An hour later he was asleep.

Karr smiled and settled back, aware of the bright, warm presence at his side. Kitt had wrapped a tendril around his brother and was sleeping peacefully. Karr let himself drift off again as well, feeling secure.

* * *

Michael stretched lazily on the beach, enjoying the sun, enjoying the salty air, and also enjoying the woman lying at his side. As Michael sat up, watching the waves crush to the beach, she pushed up her sunglasses.
"Enjoying yourself?" Bonnie asked.
Michael turned and grinned. "A lot."
Kitt was parked further up the beach and Michael felt his partner's equally relaxed presence. It couldn't get any better, he thought. Two days of Las Vegas, now two more days of beach life at the Californian coast. There was a little twitch in the back of his mind and he sent a question to Kitt.
//Karr// was all his partner answered.
//Trouble?// Michael wanted to know, worried.
A smile answered. //No.....//
//Then what?//
Kitt only grinned.

Several hundred miles away Nicholas MacKenzie stood in front of the Ranger station in the middle of nowhere. It was a sturdy little building with a garage where the off-road vehicle was kept and the stable for the two horses. He felt a slight nudge and sent back an angry spike at his partner. Suddenly the door opened and revealed the Ranger stationed here.
"You?" she exclaimed.
Nick lifted one corner of his mouth into a smile. "Yes. And still alive."
Alex shot him a dark look. "Unfortunately."
He came closer. "That's not what I thought after you visited almost every day."
She raised an eyebrow. "Visited? You?"
"Or your twin." Nick smiled once more. "I expected at least some flowers."
Alex's forehead wrinkled into a deep frown. "Flowers? For you? What a waste!"

Karr listened to the exchange and then shut down most of his major functions. As long as Nick and Dr. Christopher were bickering -- getting 'reacquainted' -- he could take a few hours off-line. His driver was relaxing and so was he. Finally.