Recipe for Revenge

by Theatrefangirl014

Michael Knight and his faithful companion (KITT) find themselves entangled in a government case involving the theft of top secret military documents. But an escaped criminal, avalanche, decision resulting in life or death, and danger mixed with intrigue makes the perfect recipe for revenge. Will Michael make the right choice? Will vengeance fall to the hands of Michael's enemies?

Recipe for Revenge

(Knight Rider 1982 Fanfiction)

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Knight Rider. These characters belong to Glen A. Larson and associates.

"Knight Rider…a shadowy flight into the dangerous world of a man who does not exist…Michael Knight, a young loner on a crusade to champion the cause of the innocent, the helpless, the powerless, in a world of criminals who operate above the law." –Knight Rider Intro

"Michael?" the Knight Industries Two Thousand (also known as KITT) called out. "Are you alright?"

Michael glanced at his buddy's voice module on the dashboard and furrowed his eyebrows. "Yeah, Kitt. I'm fine."

"Michael, from my readings, your blood pressure is elevated and—"

Michael rested his head on the headrest and sighed, slightly exasperated. "Kitt, I'm fine. I'm just a bit stressed. So will ya knock it off, please?"

"Sorry, Michael," Kitt replied softly. "I just thought you would be all excited about your newly acquired vacation time."

He rolled his eyes and gripped Kitt's wheel tighter, getting agitated. "Vacation? What vacation? Every single time that I'm all set and ready to go, Devon calls, and my vacation is forgotten!"

Kitt's systems made a sound, and Devon appeared on the screen. "What was that you were saying, Michael?" the British gentleman asked curiously.

Michael groaned. "Nothing."

"Well, if it's nothing then you won't mind me giving you a bit of a detour before you go on that vacation…" Devon answered with a smile brightening his aged but somewhat handsome features.

"Look, Devon, is it really that important? I haven't had a vacation in months, I am running on fumes at the moment, and I can barely even stay awake."

"I completely understand. I wouldn't have asked you unless it was of the utmost importance…and I assure you it is."

"Fine, what is it now?"

"Over the past few months, bits of top secret information have been stolen—and not all at the same time or place either. All 10 pieces alone are virtually worthless, but together they are very valuable."

"Am I allowed to know what exactly these pieces of information are about? Or aren't I cleared?"

"You're cleared to know the basics. These pieces put together will make the deadliest warhead in American history."

"Wow, but why can't the FBI or CIA or some other government agency handle this? I mean, why the Foundation for Law and Government?"

"Getting the FBI or any of those other organizations involved would most likely attract the press and other unwanted visitors. So they figured that F.L.A.G. would be able to stop these thefts from happening and recover the missing pieces without a lot of hassle."

"Alright, Devon," Michael said holding up his hands in surrender. "But, after this, I am going on vacation. That's a promise." He pointed his finger threateningly at Devon.

"Quite right. Now, I need you to check out the government base in Fort Worth, Texas."

"Texas?! Do you know how far away Texas is from where I am now?"

"Michael, has it ever occurred to you that that is the very reason you have Kitt?"

"Point taken."

"I am having Bonnie transfer over the documents that you will need to get in."

"Yeah, here they are." He grabbed the papers that Kitt was printing out.

"Good luck, Michael."

Then the screen went black, and it was just Kitt and Michael again. "See what I told you? Always happens like clockwork!" He slapped the wheel angrily.

"Michael, I have an idea. What if I drive to Fort Worth?"

"Now Kitt—"

"I could tint the windows so that you don't get pulled over by the cops like that one time…Then you could get that much needed nap."

"Well, it is a tempting offer." He rubbed his temple thoughtfully. "Alright. You win. Take over." Michael released the steering wheel and reclined the chair slightly. He laid his head back on the headrest, trying to get comfortable and then closed his eyes.

Kitt switched the controls from Normal Cruise to Auto and began to move the steering wheel and maneuver the road. He also switched the window setting and made them darken so that no one could see the sleeping driver. Seeing that Michael was half asleep, he added softly, "Now I can get some peace and quiet."

Michael grinned and whispered, "I heard that." He closed his tired eyes and drifted off to sleep as Kitt drove on.

Hours and hours passed until they finally reached Fort Worth. "Michael? Michael? Wake up, Michael. We're here."

Michael yawned and stretched his arms. "Hmm?" he replied, sleepily.

"We're here."

"Oh." He yawned again. "Where are those papers that Bonnie sent over?"

"They're on the passenger seat."

"Thanks, buddy. Now let's see what we're getting into." He scanned the paper. "It looks like we're checking out the security of the document, some history of it, and…all that jazz." He ran his hands through his hair and checked out the exterior of the building. "Wow, it's pretty buttoned up."

"It is, Michael," Kitt replied, "very highly 'buttoned up' as you say."

"Once we get inside the gate, I want you to put on your scanners and gather as much information as you can about the setup of the security system and the layout of this base." Kitt's sensors whirred to life as Michael pulled up to the gate.

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

"Ah, you must be Michael Knight from the Foundation of Law and Government," a tall dark haired man said, shaking Michael's hand vigorously.

"Yes. And you are?"

"Norman Kane," he replied quickly. He adjusted his tie and then ushered Michael further into the building. "We've been expecting you. Come right in."

As they walked along, Michael took note of Mr. Kane's very expensive-looking suit. "Is that Armani?" He motioned to Mr. Kane's suit with an air of interest.

Mr. Kane replied curtly, "Yes, it is." He cleared his throat and continued on to change the subject. "So what exactly are you here to do? The director didn't really tell us why the Foundation was gracing us with their presence."

Michael leaned close and softly said, "That's probably because both of our organizations would like to keep it under a low profile."

"Right, of course." He nodded fervently. "So you're here to ensure that the document is adequately secured. Well, I assure you, Mr. Knight, it is and with state-of-the-art equipment guarding it 24/7."

Michael furrowed his eyebrows. "Equipment? No live guards?"

"Oh no, no live guards—at least, not in the traditional sense. It's much more efficient to have computers and such do safeguarding duties. With the advances in technology, it is much more practical not to use humans as the primary source of protection…Besides human guards were the reason that the other documents were stolen. It was multiple human errors that led to the theft in the first place. That is why our building has beefed up the security and eliminated the human guards in that perspective."

"I'm not all that familiar with the other thefts, and it sounds like you know quite a bit of the story. You mind filling me in on some of the other thefts?"

"But of course. The first theft occurred at a government base in Tucson, Arizona. It was guarded by human guards and monitored by computers and humans. The thief…or thieves are very cunning. They knew exactly how to temporarily disconnect all the computers. Then they killed the guards and got to the document fairly easily. And no one even knew that there had been a theft until they found the bodies."

"What about the alarms and cameras? Didn't they pick up anything?"

"The alarms never went off, and there was nothing suspicious on the cameras at all."

"And the same thing happened at all the other places?" Michael questioned as he rounded the corner.

"Yes, exactly. Right down to the cookbook."

"Cookbook? What does cooking have to do with any of this?" Michael stopped in his tracks, demanding an explanation.

"Nobody's quite sure exactly. But every time a theft occurs, the document is replaced with a cookbook."

"Is anything written in these cookbooks?"

"Nothing solid. There's a few stray markings and such but there's nothing substantial as far as we can tell."

"Can I see the vault?"

"Right this way." He led Michael down the passageway to the left and then down another to the right. He explained a couple of the features as they walked. "The vault is protected by multiple levels of security. The first one is a fingerprint analyzer. Only the people in the system can get through this part. Ah, here we are." He motioned towards a pedestal complete with flashing lights. "You put your hand on top of the sensor like this." He laid his whole right hand flat on the sensor, and the lights flashed green. A huge door clicked unlocked.

"So how many people are in the system?" Michael asked, admiring the solid structure of the door.

"About half a dozen. There's the head of the defense department and his second-in-command, Mr. Miles, the head of the building, Ms. Almere, and myself." He pushed a button by the door and walked through with Michael following. The door closed behind them. "Next are the maze-like corridors. These corridors are so confusing that even I get lost in here from time to time. So an outside person trying to steal the document would have a very hard time here." He wove to and fro from corridor to corridor until Michael was dizzy. "Are you alright there, Mr. Knight? I'm so sorry. I'm used to rushing through to check on things…Did I go a bit too fast for you?"

Michael put a steadying hand on the wall and shook his head. "No, I'm…I'm fine. Do all of the facilities housing these documents have the same security systems?"

"Yes, however all the ones that have been broken into have had less security cameras and more guards standing at each checkpoint. All the others may be broken into, but this one is impenetrable."

Michael nodded slowly as Norman began to talk about the next step of security. "To get through this door, an official badge has to be scanned in followed by an eye scan."

"Eye scan? How does that work?"

"You simply look into this little contraption here and wait for the green light to flash." He stood in front of the contraption and looked inside. He stood completely still and looked straight ahead as the computer scanned. Within a few seconds, a green light flashed and the door clicked opened. "You see? Practically foolproof!" He walked through with Michael by his side. The door closed behind them, and he continued, "The last bit of security is to type in the code. The clever thing is that the code is so long and if you mis-click anything, you're completely locked out." He typed in the code slowly with care. Finally, the door opened and Mr. Kane led Michael straight to a medium-sized safe. "The document is secured in here. The code is the same one for the other door, only it's completely backwards." He slowly turned the lock until every click was heard and opened the safe for Michael to see that there indeed was a document marked 'Confidential'. "Are you satisfied with the security of the document, Mr. Knight?"

"How can I not be? It's as you said 'impenetrable'."

Norman smiled and relocked the safe, ushering Michael back out as the door closed and locked itself. "I have other work to do, so if you'll excuse me…Just follow this corridor until you find a security office, Ms. Almere would like to meet you."

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

"Mr. Knight! How nice to finally meet you! I'm Cassia Almere." She shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Ms. Almere." Michael straightened and smiled. It wasn't every day that he got to meet a drop-dead gorgeous CEO of a security company.

She flashed him a smile and motioned for him to take a seat. "I'd love to show you our external security, Mr. Knight."

Michael took a seat. "Please call me Michael."

"Alright, Michael. This external security is state-of-the-art just as the internal security is. This room is fitted with bullet-proof glass that is also tinted so that we can see out but no one can see in. In the case that there ever was a break-in or any suspicious activity, we could lock down the whole building or specific parts all without getting killed or even seen."

Michael whistled. "Very impressive!"

"I thought you would be pleased. This is something that the other security centers have not had. Only this location and Colorado Springs are equipped to these standards as far as outer security goes. There are one of these rooms on every floor. This floor actually has two. Each room has full vision of the vault as well as that floor."

"Are there people always watching or are there points of just the computers doing all the watching?"

"There are always people watching. In fact, they were watching you the whole time. The only reason there was no suspicion or lockdown was because I told them that you would be accompanying Mr. Kane today. You see, I tell them who is allowed in the vault area and let them know ahead of time."

"So no one goes through without your knowing?"

"Exactly. If anyone tries to, they are in serious trouble and have to deal with me." She looked to her watch. "I'm very sorry, Michael. I've got to do my rounds. One of the guards will see you out."

"Goodbye."

"Goodbye." She smiled and then left the room.

"What rounds is she talking about?" Michael questioned the guards curiously.

One blonde-haired man answered, "Every hour she personally checks on the document."

"By herself or with someone else?"

"By herself. That way, there's no need to input more people in the system than necessary."

"Thank you for your help. Can you direct me to the parking lot, please? I've got a few things to do myself."

"Of course, Mr. Knight. And may I say it was such a pleasure to have you here today? Ms. Almere's told us so much about you!"

"She has, has she?"

"Oh yes, she says you're the greatest employee FLAG has ever had!"

"Really?"

"Oh, yes! She's a great admirer of you, sir."

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

"Kitt, did you get that all on audio and video?" Michael asked, sliding into the driver's seat.

"Yes, Michael. I recorded them just as you asked."

"Was it just me or did it strike you a little strange that Ms. Almere knew so much about me?" Michael asked, settling onto the seat.

"Why should it, Michael?"

"Because Devon just told me about this a few hours ago, and I seriously doubt he would have told her that much." He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel absentmindedly.

"I see your point, Michael." Kitt was silent as he processed what he had seen.

"I'll have to review those videos later, buddy. Do you have any information about the cookbooks?"

"They were in the printout Bonnie sent you."

"Oh," he searched through the stack of papers and found one about the cookbooks.

"What does it say?" Kitt asked inquisitively.

"According to this, the cookbooks were found at every location."

"But we knew that already."

"Hang on, here's something interesting…The cookbooks were all pocket-sized."

"What's the significance of that, Michael?"

"It means that one could be slipped in without anyone noticing. If I were to walk in with one in my pocket, the security people would never see it and never expect that anything had been switched…especially if it was one of their own people who switched it."

"Oh, so you think it was an inside job?"

"Yeah, I do, buddy. I do."

Kitt's systems made a sound. "Devon's calling."

"Hello, Devon."

Devon's face appeared on the screen. "Hello, Michael. Did you find anything interesting?"

"Well, I think I might have…"

"What on earth is that supposed to mean?"

"Devon, when you were telling Ms. Almere about me, you just told her I was coming, right? You didn't tell her anything else?"

"Of course I didn't tell her anything else. All she needed to know was that a FLAG employee named Michael Knight fitting your description would be coming—nothing else…Why so quizzical?"

"That lady knew an awful lot more about me than you told her."

Devon shifted in his chair. "Is it possible that you maybe met her somewhere else?"

"No, I would have remembered her if I did."

"Are you certain?"

"Yes, Devon. She's the kind of girl a guy can't forget."

"Oh." Devon nodded. "I see how it is. I haven't met her myself."

"Something about her makes me uneasy, though."

"She has a wonderful record, if that's what you're worried about." He turned to retrieve a file.

"What kind of a record?"

Devon read the page and answered, "She's a very distinguished young lady. In fact, she's worked at the military bases at Tucson, Philadelphia, Chicago, New York City, Phoenix, Denver, Houston, Cheyenne, Colorado Springs, and Fort Worth."

"Aren't those the facilities that had the break-ins?"

Devon's eyes widened as he reread the paper. "I think you're right, Michael. That is, excluding Colorado Springs and Fort Worth."

"He is right, Devon," Kitt chimed in. "According to the records Bonnie gave me, Ms. Almere has been going from job to job at these facilities each a week or so after the break-in."

"Why wasn't she raising red flags, though?" Michael asked, leaning back in the seat.

"She had such a wonderful track record from before the security firms hired her and passed it off as a coincidence that she worked at all the firms at the time of their break-ins," Devon said, reading from the file in hand.

"So she was never investigated?" Michael asked.

"No, Michael," Kitt replied. "Mr. Theodore Kessle of Homeland Security said she had an alibi for each of the break-ins, so there was no need to investigate her."

"Keep me updated, Michael," Devon said. "I need you to check out the other location for me. Oh, and the firm insisted that you be given the security access code in case of an emergency. Bonnie's sending it through now."

Michael glanced over in time to see Kitt print out a paper with a 12 digit number printed in bold across the page.

"You'll need to commit this code to memory and destroy the paper immediately," Devon added.

"Where is this firm, Devon?" Michael asked, getting a little irritated.

"Colorado Springs."

"But Devon—that's where I was supposed to go for my vacation."

"I know, Michael. That's what makes this more favorable for you. You can be close by the one location and still be on your vacation."

"A working vacation," Michael said under his breath. "Devon, you know I don't—"

"Michael, please. You wanted to go to Colorado Springs, and I said you could go to Colorado Springs, and you ARE going to Colorado Springs."

"But Devon! A working vacation!"

"I promise you, Michael. The next one will be in Maui, and you will not be working."

Michael perked up a bit and pointed his finger threateningly at the screen, "I'm going to hold you to that, Devon!"

"Don't I know it?" Devon replied, shaking his head. "Good luck, Michael." He disappeared from the screen.

"Michael, you don't seem very happy considering that Devon just gave you good news," Kitt said.

'You'll probably never come to understand this but a working vacation is no vacation at all."

"Maybe you're right about that…but what were you planning to do in Colorado Springs anyway?"

"What else? Skiing," Michael replied with a grin.

"Skiing? You can't be serious! Michael, do you know how dangerous a sport that is? Do you know how many deaths occurred due to skiing just this year?"

"No, I don't but I'm not sporting, I'm just doing it for fun."

"Fun? You call racing at death-defying speeds from the top of the mountain down and possibly breaking your neck fun?!"

"Yeah, but I don't think that's the best way of wording it, buddy. You could scare someone away from a fun pastime with an introduction like that."

"Michael, it's a very dangerous—"

"Kitt! I live a dangerous life, and I can tell you that yes, skiing does have some risks but it is no more dangerous than my job!"

"You do have a point there, Michael."

"Thank you."

"But that still doesn't mean I agree with it."

"So does that mean you won't be joining me?" Michael asked.

"Joining you? You have to be kidding, Michael. You're not going to see me put on a pair of skis—not even if Bonnie made me a pair!"

Kitt's systems beeped. "Devon's calling."

"Again?" Michael asked, rubbing his forehead. "The man never gives up." He shook his head in frustration.

"What was that you were saying, Michael?" Devon asked as he appeared on the screen.

"Nothing, I…uh…what's up?"

"I called to tell you that Bonnie needs to update Kitt's systems."

"Update them how?"

"Since you are so persistent about participating in pastimes involving snow and ice, we thought it best that Kitt be equipped with a sensor that can withstand colder than normal temperatures. We are a few miles from your location, and it will only take a few minutes to install." Devon noticed the frown on Michael's face. "Michael, what's your problem?"

"Nothing, I don't have any problems when you're here," he replied sarcastically.

"Michael, will you never learn?" Devon shook his head.

"No, and I hope I never will!" he said with a smile.

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

"Alright, Kitt. That should be it," Bonnie said, closing the hood of the sleek Trans-Am.

"Thank you, Bonnie," Kitt replied gratefully.

"You're welcome." She turned to Michael. "It hasn't been tested but Kitt's functioning at full capacity so you should be good to go."

"Thanks, Bonnie!" Michael said, hopping into Kitt's front seat. "Now wait a minute!" Michael shouted, searching Kitt's interior. "Where's my ski poles?"

"Ski poles?" Bonnie questioned. "You're going skiing?"

"Uh, yeah. That's what you do in Colorado."

"Now, Michael! I don't think that's such a good idea!"

"Bonnie—you don't know anything about skiing. I'll be fine, okay?" He felt something at his feet and looked down. "Ah, here they are." He picked them up and tossed them in the backseat. He looked up to see Bonnie's downtrodden face. "Look, Bonnie, I'm sorry. But I'll be fine—really. You don't need to worry about me."

Bonnie sighed in resignation. "Have a good trip. And take care of Kitt this time, okay?"

"Don't I always?" He chuckled as he closed Kitt's door.

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

"Anything especially interesting about this next base, Kitt?" Michael asked.

"The security at Fort Worth was way more extensive than this one. For instance, there's no eye scan and maze. But it is still very secure with both computers and live guards, however I did dig up something that is a bit of a twist."

"What would that be?"

"Ms. Almere not only has ties to this firm, but she actually created the security system here and at all the other firms. She even helped install them."

"Ah, so our Ms. Model does have some smarts as well as beauty."

"So do you think she's the one who's been committing all this thievery?"

"Well it sure looks that way. But let's see what else we can turn up…tomorrow. Today is my day to relax and head out to the ski lodge."

"Ski lodge? Don't tell me you're going to leave me in one of those parking lots!"

"I have to, unless you wanna ride the slopes with me, buddy!" Michael laughed heartily and slapped the steering wheel.

"Oh heavens no! I wouldn't be caught dead wearing those….those…ugh! PERISH THE THOUGHT!" Michael threw back his head and laughed again. When he settled down, Kitt asked, "Michael, what exactly is the point of all of this?"

"All of what?"

"Skiing. Isn't it a freefall down a mountain only with your feet on the ground? And what's the point if all it gets you is a cold and some bruises?"

"That's not how I would describe it."

"Pray tell, Michael. How would you describe it?"

"Pure exhilaration in one of the closest forms of human flight. And," He pointed his finger at Kitt, "it's a great stress reliever, too."

"But why go all the way up a mountain when I can give you one of the best forms of stress relief ever created? Have I ever told you the joke about the peanut butter?"

"Oh no! Not another one of your jokes!" Michael buried his head in his hands.

"What's wrong with my jokes?" Michael sat in silence. "Michael—"

"Nothing, Kitt! They're fine!"

"Alright, did you hear the joke about the peanut butter?"

"No."

"Good, I'm not telling you. You might spread it!"

"Ugh!"

"Michael?"

"Yes, Kitt?"

"What do you call candy that was stolen?"

"What?"

"Hot chocolate!"

"This is going to be a loooooong trip," Michael said, rubbing his already aching head.

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

"Are you really going to wear that ridiculous outfit in public?" Kitt asked.

Michael shifted the ski suit in his hands. "You bet I am. What else would I wear?"

"Something more suitable…perhaps a bubble wrap suit would keep your accident-prone self injury-free."

"Haha, very funny."

"But honestly, Michael. Couldn't you have picked a less brightly-colored suit? You stand out like an orange in a potato field."

Michael furrowed his eyebrows. "I'm just going to pretend I never heard that, okay?" He retrieved the rest of his gear from the backseat and shut the door. "Keep your scanners peeled."

As Michael started to walk away, Kitt called out, "Michael! Must you insist on skiing? Can't you just relax in the lounge with a book, some coffee, and the nightly news? It would certainly be a lot safer," he reasoned.

Michael turned and approached the Trans Am. "Kitt, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you were worried about me."

"Worried? Me? Of course not! I'm just a little uneasy, that's all. After all, you will be in a virtually inaccessible place for several hours. What if something happens? What if—"

"Like I keep telling you, I'll be fine. I have the comlink. If I do need anything, you'll be there in a flash."

"But—"

"Not everything I do has to be a life or death situation. I mean, there's even little kids that ski."

"Little humans skiing? Now, Michael, I—"

"Kitt!" Michael warned.

Kitt buttoned up real quick. "Have a nice…safe and uneventful descent, Michael."

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

"Well hello there, ladies!" Michael exclaimed with a smile, approaching the front desk.

"Hello," the blonde said flirtatiously in a high pitched response.

"Hey there, handsome," the brunette added.

"You're not here all by yourself, are you?" the blonde asked, batting her eyes.

"As a matter of fact, I am…Do either of you two ladies have anyone with you?"

"No, Laverne and I just hang out here. I'm Dorothy by the way," the brunette said.

"You see, we work here," Laverne giggled, tossing her golden locks over her shoulder.

"It's kind of boring, but the…scenery makes up for it," Dorothy said, giving Michael a wink.

Michael flashed them a smile, "Would it be too much trouble to ask you two to sign me in and show me to the ski lift?"

"Of course," Laverne replied with another giggle.

"No problem," Dorothy added.

"Great, my name's Michael Knight. I believe the reservation is under a Mr. Devon Miles."

"Here it is," Dorothy said, signing him in.

"Right this way, Mr. Michael Knight!" Laverne giggled.

When they reached the ski lift, Michael thanked them, and they returned to their post. I have the feeling this is going to be an exciting day, Michael thought to himself.

All of the sudden, a tall woman ran right into him, knocking him to the floor. "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going. Are you okay?"

Michael picked himself off the floor and helped her up. "Yeah, I'm fine."

She looked him in the face. "Are…are you Michael Knight?"

Michael studied the woman before answering, "That would be me. And you are?"

"Jennifer Knotts," the brunette answered.

"Jennifer…what a beautiful name."

"Why thank you, my parents gave it to me as a birthday present."

Michael's grin widened. "Ha, somehow you didn't strike me as the joking type."

"I never cease to amaze people, it seems."

"But how did you know my name?"

"Oh yes! I've just come down from the slopes, and there's a man up there. He's holding up a picture of a man and saying that he desperately needed to contact him and couldn't reach him on the phone. He said if anyone saw you to tell you to meet him at the top."

"Thanks for delivering the message. This is a pretty big place, though. Do you think you could show me where I'm supposed to meet him?"

"Sure, I'd love to. But don't you want to change into your ski clothes first?"

"Uh, yeah. I'll be right back."

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

"Oh, Michael! You look so very dashing in that suit!" Jennifer exclaimed, laying on the charm.

Michael blushed furiously. "You hear that, Kitt?" he whispered ever so softly.

Jennifer and Michael got situated on the ski lift and started up the mountain. As they were on their way up, Jennifer asked, "So what do you do for a living?"

"Oh, you know, boring government work."

"I have a friend with a job like that. He said he was positively dying to find other prospects."

"Oh, I'm pretty content with it."

"A man like you? I pegged you as the kind of man who just lives for adventure."

"I do. I just prefer my adventures to not be work-related."

They sat in silence for a moment before Jennifer lifted up Michael's face. "You know, you have the most beautiful eyes? And your hair is just so adorable, the way it hangs over your forehead. It's so—" She searched for the right word.

"Dashing?"

"Poetic. I just love things that are poetic." She brushed her lips over his and kissed Michael with such passion that Michael dropped his ski poles to the floor of the lift. He cupped his hands around her petite face and kissed her back.

When they came back up for air, they were at the top of the lift. "You're quite a charmer, Mr. Knight."

"Please," Michael kissed her again. "Call me, Michael."

"Right this way, Michael," Jennifer said sexily. Michael picked up his poles as well as Jennifer's and followed her through the crowds of people. "He was right here ten minutes ago."

They searched the whole upper section and didn't find a trace of Devon. Finally Michael decided to ask the desk clerk if she had seen him.

"Yes, sir. He'd like you to meet him on the lower level. He got a bit impatient waiting for you up here."

"That sounds like Devon alright, thanks." He turned to Jennifer. "It seems he's waiting for me at the lower level."

"Oh, alright. Wanna ski down with me?"

"Sure!" Michael headed towards the top of the slope.

"You sure can tell you're not from around here."

"How?"

"You were going to start your descent from here. Most of the skiers from around here start higher up."

"Higher up?"

"Yes, by that cabin." She pointed uphill. "You get a much better ride by starting up there. It's a lot better view, too."

"Well then, let's go."

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

"Kitt?"

"Yes, Devon?" Kitt answered.

"Is Michael there with you?"

"No, he's out on the slopes."

"Please see if you can contact him. I've just received word that Allistar McKay escaped from prison."

"Isn't that the terrible man that Michael and I put away a few years ago…the Asian one?"

"One and the same. Apparently he outsmarted the security system, and they just now noticed his absence. He's been gone for a little over eight hours."

"Eight hours?"

"Yes, and I'm afraid he's after Michael for putting him in there."

"Don't worry, Devon. I'll contact him right away." Kitt switched channels and called out, "Michael? Michael?" There was a long stretch of silence. "Michael?" More silence ensued. "Devon, I can't reach him. His comlink must be malfunctioning."

"For his sake, I hope that is all that is keeping him from responding…Kitt, try to locate him and then get him out of there as soon as you can. It could prove rather dangerous if he sticks around in public longer than necessary."

"Yes, Devon. I'll get right on it." Kitt disconnected the call and tried to reach him on the comlink. Unable to find him, he decided to call the service desks at the upper and lower levels in hopes of paging him. But ten minutes later, he knew no more about Michael's whereabouts than before. He decided to scan the slopes. What's he doing up there? he wondered. That part of the mountain doesn't appear to be part of the ski trail…

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

"You're right," Michael said. "This is a very nice view." He turned to Jennifer. "That's not the only beautiful thing around, though."

"You flatterer!" Jennifer called out with a laugh.

Michael held his hands up in mock surrender. "Guilty as charged."

Jennifer tensed and replied dryly, "In more ways than one."

"What's that supposed to mean? Is this some kind of inside joke? If it is, then why aren't you laughing?" he asked, alarmed at her sudden seriousness.

"It's no joke, Michael. It's the cold hard truth," she replied in an icy tone.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, taking a step back.

"You are guilty in more ways than one—guilty of leaving a good friend of mine in jail to rot and guilty of getting in the way of business. You've been very naughty, Mr. Knight."

"I'm afraid you've got me mixed up with some other guy. I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, come now, Mr. Knight. I'm surprised you didn't see through my little act. But I guess it's true that there are endless possibilities that come from acting lessons." She laughed evilly. "But you really don't know do you? Allistar McKay and I were engaged to be married. But you had to come striding in with your fancy black car and Foundation to ruin the whole thing. I've spent my life in misery these past few years. And all because of you." Her eyes narrowed and she continued, "But don't worry, I'll see that you get what's coming to you." Her lips twisted into a smile as a man came up behind Michael and stabbed him with a needle in the neck. He writhed and moaned, trying to struggle but the man held him still until he subsided to the floor. She smiled at the man and kissed him. "Good work, Allistar darling. I love a man who does what he says he's going to. Take him to the cabin and tie him up. We'll deal with him there."

"Alright, but remember, we have more important things to do than just toy with him. Once we get what we need, we'll contact Cassia, and she'll get us the big one. Then we'll have the keys to being rich beyond our wildest dreams."

"Yes, living the life of luxury. But right now you need to take him, and I need to take care of some loose ends, alright?"

"Fine, baby."

"You know, it's really too bad I won't be here to see all the fun. I would have so enjoyed it. It's not every day that you get to see a man such as Michael Knight struggle for his life with one of the most fascinating poisons of all time. He'll be in excruciating pain, you know? Did I ever tell you how it works?"

"No, how does it work?"

"Once injected, it takes effect immediately, knocking the victim out cold for several hours. When the victim wakes up, they will be disoriented and in extreme pain. In this state, the poison in the victim's system can be used as an effective truth serum. We'll get what we want from Michael, and then we'll leave him to die.

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

"Devon, I've located Michael, but I can't communicate with him. It looks like trouble."

"What do you mean, Kitt?"

"He was above the normal skiing trail with female. Then a male came up behind him, and Michael was suddenly on the ground. It doesn't look good."

"Where is he now?"

"There's a cabin 50 yards away from where they were. I scan two people in there—Michael and Allistar McKay."

"Allistar? Are you sure?" Devon asked with his voice full of concern.

"Yes, Devon, I'm afraid so."

"Is Michael ok at the moment?"

"I'm too far away to scan his vitals, but he's not moving."

"Alright Kitt, I want you to stay right where you are and keep trying to get in touch with Michael. I will get there as soon as I can."

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

Michael groaned. He was in darkness. Where am I? A pain knifed through him jolting him conscious. He cried out and looked around. He was in a cabin and was bound to a chair. "Kitt?" he called out before doubling over in pain again. "Kitt!" Although his hands were tied, he could feel that the comlink was still there. He ran his finger over the special watch and was startled to find a bump on it that wasn't supposed to be there. He felt around it. This feels like it's stuck on it somehow. It feels like a jammer of some sort. He painstakingly tried to remove it from the watch with his fingernail and after several minutes heard a small item drop to the floor behind him. He was sweating hard now and the pain kept increasing as time went on. He mustered enough strength to whisper, "Kitt?"

"Michael?" Kitt's voice crackled through. The pain intensified inside Michael's body, making Michael cry out in pain. "Michael! Are they hurting you?"

Michael panted. "I think…they stuck me…with some kind of poison."

"I'm too far away to scan your vitals, but maybe I can figure out what kind of antidote to get you…Tell me how you feel."

"I'm numb…all…over…I can't…think straight…" He gasped as another pain seized him. "Can't…breathe right…shooting pain…sweating bullets…getting worse." He cried out again.

"Do you know where they injected you?"

"My…neck…" He shouted again. "Kitt, I…need ya…"

"I can't get up the slope, Michael." Kitt was silent a moment as he searched his systems for a poison with matching symptoms. "I think I've found it. It appears to be a poison with an experimental antidote. There's some at a lab a half an hour from here. Devon's on his way."

"Kitt…if I don't make it…tell—" he cried out. "Tell Devon…I'm sorry and that he's been…like a…father to me…Kitt...you've been…the best…partner…a guy could ask for…tell Bonnie…I love her—" He gasped as the pain overtook him again.

"Michael, don't talk like that. We're going to get you help, and then you can tell them yourself."

"Kitt!" He panted, his breathing getting more labored. "Promise…promise me!"

"I promise."

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

Cassia Almere trudged up the slope to the cabin with anger and determination in every step. How dare Allistar and Jennifer go behind my back like this? Killing Michael Knight was not supposed to be in the agenda. Why kill him? All they needed to do was to get him out of the way…Let's see how they feel when I go behind their backs and turn the cops on them? Sure, I'll probably go to prison, but at least I'll drag them through hell right with me.

When she reached the cabin, she peered in the window. Seeing that it was only Michael, she flung the door open and rushed to his side. He was pale, covered in sweat, and completely unconscious. She knelt beside him and lifted his head up, shaking him. "Michael?"

Michael's eyes fluttered open. "What are you…doing here?" He panted. "I didn't want to believe…you were in on it, too."

"Believe it or not, I'm here to help you. There was never supposed to be any killing." Michael shook his head in confusion. A pain stabbed him, and he doubled over. Cassia's eyes widened at his weakened state. "Here, let me untie you." She walked behind him and pullet a pocketknife from her pocket. She began to cut him free.

Before she could get very far, Jennifer appeared at the door. "Well, well, well. I come back expecting to find one traitor and instead I find two." She slammed the door shut behind her. "Drop the knife, and step away from him, Cassia." Cassia dropped the knife. She stood and backed away. "Thought you could double-cross us, didn't you? Well, I have news for you, honey. We suspected you from the very beginning, but your bold display of attempted valor has earned you an even earlier death." She drew a gun from her coat pocket and aimed it at Cassia.

Cassia's eyes widened but she stood her ground. "You can't kill me. I know the codes. You need me, and you know it!"

Jennifer glowered. "Michael does, too. Your luck's run out, sweetheart." She approached Cassia and pistol-whipped her in the face. Cassia screamed and fell to the floor. "That should teach you." She turned her attention to Michael. "Mr. Knight, tell me the code for the vault." Michael lowered his head and then cried out as another pain grabbed him. "The poison's in your bloodstream now and sooner than I thought. That's all the better." She approached Michael and wretched his head up. Gripping his chin within her claw-like nails, she shouted, "What is the code?"

Michael looked her in the eye. "I…can't think straight." He panted some more.

"Maybe this will help." She slapped him as hard as she could across the face.

He lifted his bruised face towards her. "Why are you doing this?"

She ignored his question and dug something out of her pocket. It was another syringe. "Don't worry, Michael," she said in a soft voice when she saw Michael stiffen. "This is just a higher dosage of the poison, it will help you…tell the truth more easily." She held Michael's head still and pushed down the plunger. Michael shouted. He could feel the poison coursing through his veins and weakening his body. "Now, tell me the code. If you do, I will end your suffering…Just give me that beautiful 12 digit code that Devon Miles sent you."

Michael's face constricted in pain. He could feel himself slowly weakening and knew he was dying. He had always thought of himself as strong, but he certainly didn't feel strong at all. As the poison started to cloud his brain, he whispered, "1-9-4-6-9-9-6-3-5-7-2-9."

Jennifer wrote it down and repeated it to him. "Is that correct?" He was silent. "Is that correct?!" she shouted.

"Yes," he whispered.

"Good. I have no more use for you." She picked the pocketknife off the floor and cut Michael free. She aimed her gun and him and then swung it over to Cassia. "Outside. Both of you. Now!"

Michael slowly got to his feet and tripped. He looked down and saw that his skis were still on. He also spotted his poles propped up by the door. He knew it would be a long shot, but at the moment, it looked like it might be his only shot. He stayed on the floor until Jennifer pulled him to his feet. As she did, he socked her in the face and started towards the poles.

Jennifer recovered quickly and grabbed for the gun. She ran out the door after Michael and aimed. She fired and caught Michael in the shoulder.

Michael felt a little rush and a fiery heat. But he was numb all over and could hardly feel his own feet and arms propelling himself down the ski trail. He shrugged it off and kept pushing himself down the mountain as fast as his skis could take him.

Cassia saw Jennifer aim and leapt towards her. Jennifer got a shot off at Michael before Cassia got to her. She saw Cassia out of the corner of her eye. She turned and fired at Cassia. Cassia crumbled to the ground, making the snow turn crimson where she fell.

All of the sudden, a loud thundering sound filled the air. Jennifer turned and saw the snow pouring down from the top of the mountain. She ran to the cabin and shut the door tight. She hunkered down away from the windows and hoped that the avalanche wouldn't get her.

"Michael, get out of there quick! There's an avalanche!" Kitt shouted through the comlink. Michael tried to push onward faster, but he could only do so much in his state of mind and health. "Hurry, Michael! Hurry!" Kitt quickly contacted Devon. "Devon, there's an avalanche, and Michael's trying to race it down the mountain! But I don't think he'll make it in time."

"Keep an eye on him. The authorities are trying to evacuate everybody down here."

Kitt cut off the transmission and turned his attention to Michael. "Hurry, Michael!" Kitt watched as the snow caught up with his friend. It sent him flying through the air and then buried him and kept on moving the rest of the way down until it reached the flat part of the land.

"Michael! Michael? Can you hear me?" An eerie silence met Kitt. "Michael?"

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

"Kitt, what on earth are you doing?" Devon asked, running up to Kitt.

"I'm going to find Michael," Kitt replied with determination.

"But Kitt, you're not equipped for this terrain."

"Michael's in danger, Devon. I am not going to sit idly by and let anything happen to him."

"Where did you last see him on the slope?"

"That's the problem. I don't know. All the snow has knocked my sensors for a loop. But I think it was right by that row of trees there." Kitt's video showed a clump of trees with a huge drift of snow piled in front of them.

Devon shielded his eyes from the sun and looked in the direction of the trees. "Is there any way you can search for heat?"

"I'm trying, but I won't know where he is unless I'm right on top of him. But we have to find him soon; he won't last long under these circumstances."

"What exactly caused the avalanche?"

"Some shots were fired, and if I'm not mistaken Michael got caught with one of them."

"The authorities and police are doing everything they can, Kitt. They're forming a search party even as we speak. However, they are worried about an aftershock avalanche, so it may be several hours before they begin their search."

"But that will be too late! We need to find him now!"

"I want to find him as much as you do, but we can't risk the lives of a couple dozen people…However, if you can assure them that there are no signs of any aftershock, they may allow a small party to search the bottom section of the slope."

Kitt scanned the top of the mountain. "There are no signs of any movement up there."

Devon nodded and was silent for a moment before asking, "How long can he last?"

"Not long. I wasn't able to scan his vitals before but he sounded…awful. The poison was torturing him and…he wasn't in good shape at all. And that was before he got shot."

"But if he was able to ski down the hill…"

"I don't like it, Devon. He's hurt bad and trapped in the snow somewhere out there."

"Before you do anything rash, how about you try contacting him again?" Devon said, sliding into the driver's seat.

"Michael? Michael? Can you hear me?" There was a crackling noise and a moan that came through the speakers. "Michael!"

"K..kitt?"

"Yes, Michael. Do you know where you are?"

"Ss…ssnow..I…I'm in the ss…snow," he slurred.

"I think he's in a snow pocket, Devon."

Devon leaned forward, "Michael, are you alright? Are you shot?"

"Don't…feel…too hot…I think…she…clipped me…so numb…I..I'm..not…sure." Michael shouted in pain.

"Michael? Are you there?" Devon asked, very concerned.

Michael groaned. "Yeeeahh..." He cried out again as another pain overtook him.

"Don't worry, Michael. Help is on the way," Kitt replied quickly. "Devon, let's get that search party started."

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

"Kitt…you…there…buddy?"

"I'm here, Michael. How do you feel?"

Another cry filled Kitt's speakers and then Michael's rasping voice, "I've…been better."

"Hang in there, Michael. Try to stay awake."

"Kay…Kitt? What happened…to the...other two?"

"The woman who was shooting at you took cover in the cabin and took off after the avalanche. The second woman was shot and was dead before she hit the ground. I'm sorry, Michael." Michael was silent. "Michael, who was the deceased woman? Did you know her? She got shot trying to help you."

"It..was..Almere." He gasped again as another pain shot through his body.

"Cassia Almere?"

"Yeah."

"Alright, Michael. Stay calm."

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

"Kitt says that there is no activity or signs of movement up on the mountain." He pointed to the black Trans Am behind him. "He is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and assures me that it is safe to search," Devon said, trying to convince the search and rescue team leader.

"Alright, Mr. Miles. But I can only allow a small party just at the bottom for a few minutes, no more, alright?"

"Alright. Thank you."

The lady gave him a nod. "Okay, people! We've got a male skier who was last seen somewhere by that grove of trees." She pointed and then continued. "He's injured, but still alive and in a snow pocket. So everybody, keep your eyes and ears peeled for anything."

The search party of about a dozen people set out. Within a few minutes, one of Michael's poles was found.

"Now Mr. Miles, this doesn't mean that he's buried here, but we'll have two people start to dig around some, just in case," the lady in charge explained.

"Thank you," Devon replied. He turned to face Kitt. "Can you scan this area, Kitt?" He motioned towards where his pole had been found.

Kitt shifted his gears from Park to Drive and edged towards the mound of snow. "No, Devon. He's not in there. Besides, I'm sure he was further up than this."

"You heard him!" Devon shouted to the searchers. "Further up!" The group moved further up and continued their search.

"Michael? Do you have one of your poles, with you?" Kitt asked.

"Yeah…there's one right—" Michael cried out loudly.

"Michael? Michael?"

Silence met Kitt. "Devon! Michael said he has one ski pole with him, but I think he just passed out."

"Good work, Kitt," Devon said.

"Mr. Miles! Mr. Miles!" a young man shouted. "I think I've found him!"

"Where?"

"Up here, follow me!" The young boy led him up the slope a few more yards and stopped at a big mound. "I think I heard someone shout, and I believe that's the tip of a ski pole right there."

"Quite right!" Devon shouted happily. "Over here! He's over here!"

The rescuers began to dig away at the huge mound. After several minutes, the ski pole was confirmed as Michael's and someone found his boot. "It's still on his foot!" one of them exclaimed.

Carefully they dug enough snow away that they were able to pull him out. "Kitt, call an ambulance!"

"I already did. The ETA is 2 minutes."

Devon rushed towards Michael. "Michael!" He pulled Michael's head out of the snow and laid it on his lap. "Someone get him a blanket! He's ice cold." Devon felt his neck for a pulse. He was relieved when he found one, but it was thready and very faint. "What are his vitals?"

Kitt replied, "I'm doing a scan now. His BP is 110/60. His pulse is 38 beats per minute, and his respirations is 10. Devon, I suggest you put some pressure on his wound. It's his left shoulder."

The wail of an ambulance's siren was heard in the distance as Devon unzipped Michael's suit and pressed a handkerchief into his shoulder. He looked down at Michael's nearly lifeless body. He was drenched in sweat but was icy cold and deathly pale. His face was marred with bruises and cuts.

The ambulance pulled to a stop at the bottom of the slope, and two paramedics made their way to Michael. Devon called out, "Hurry, he's been poisoned, shot, and was buried in the avalanche!" The short paramedic reached Michael first and began to take his vitals. Devon stopped him, "There's no need for that. Kitt, tell them his vitals."

Kitt listed Michael's vitals. "There are no broken bones either, but he's been poisoned with a Sodium Amytal mixture and needs the antidote immediately. There is some available at the Stratmoor Hills Lab."

"Who's talking?" the short paramedic asked.

"The car, but there's no time to explain, he was injected with the poison hours ago."

The tall paramedic called the hospital, "This is Squad 21. We have a male skiing victim approximately age 35. He was poisoned with a Sodium Amytal mixture several hours ago and was also shot in the left shoulder. His vitals are as follows: BP is 110/60. Pulse is 38 beats per minute. Respirations is 10. The patient is unconscious and showing potential signs of hypothermia."

The short one pulled out a penlight and opened Michael's eyes. He flicked the light at them. "Pupils are unequal and unreactive."

"Pupils are unequal and unreactive," the tall one repeated.

"21, administer oxygen, and start an IV with lactative ringers. Begin warming procedures, and transport as soon as possible. I want an update on vitals every few minutes."

"Copy that. Oxygen, IV with lactative ringers, warming procedures, and updates frequently." The man turned off the transition. "Alright, let's load him up."

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

"Excuse me!" Bonnie shouted, trying to get the doctor's attention. The doctor turned.

"How is he, doctor?" Devon asked concerned.

The doctor looked up from his clipboard. "Considering the circumstances, pretty well. Fortunately we were able to locate the antidote quickly. Unfortunately, it had caused a lot of stress on his body previously. The bullet didn't help either. It didn't hit anything vital, but it really shredded his shoulder tissue."

"How long do you expect recovery to take?"

"Mr. Miles, he was poisoned, shot, and caught in the crossfire of an avalanche. He's fortunate to be alive…Several weeks maybe even a month. He's been through a lot and is very weak—and will be for quite a while."

Devon nodded. "May we see him?"

The doctor glanced at the door and then back at Devon and Bonnie. "Alright, but you must remember that he's very weak. Don't overexcite him or do anything to upset him if possible."

"Thank you." The doctor nodded, walked down the hall, and disappeared into one of the other rooms. Devon held the door open for Bonnie. "You first."

Bonnie entered the room and approached Michael's still form as Devon entered and closed the door behind him. "Oh Devon! He looks so…pale."

Devon put a comforting arm around Bonnie and helped her into the chair. "I'm sure he'll be alright, Bonnie. He's a fighter, you know that." But the mark of worry was plain to see on his face, as well.

"I know, Devon. It's just hard to…to see him like this."

"Don't worry. I'll stay with him for a few hours then I'll have some of FLAG's bodyguards take over."

"No, Devon! I'll…I'll watch him for a bit. You can go and get some coffee."

"You're sure?"

"Yes." She gave him a smile and patted him on the hand.

"Quite right. Would you like a cup?"

"Sure. I'll stay with Michael." She watched as Devon left the room and then turned to Michael's pale form. "Oh, Michael, what have you gotten yourself into now?" she whispered, shaking her head. "You look so peaceful…and handsome," she said, thinking aloud. "You always do." She grinned and tucked her stray hairs behind her ear. "I wish you'd wake up." She watched as his chest moved up and down in time with the beeping of the heart monitor. "You know, sometimes working with you is, well, a dream come true." She looked around the room to make sure that they were alone and then continued, "When I came to FLAG, I was excited at the endless possibilities. I had no interest in the people I was going to work with. But I never realized I was going to meet someone like you…Until I met you, I had absolutely no idea what being in love was like." She blushed and folded her arms across her chest. "And I guess I never will…You're always in it for the danger and the thrill, taking unnecessary risks and never thinking of how your actions might hurt others!" She raised her voice slightly, her eyes tearing up. "I'm afraid that…one of these days something might happen to you and…and I might…lose you." Her voice faltered, and she wiped away the tears quickly, trying to compose herself. "So I daydream and I imagine what life would be like if we could be together. It helps me take my mind off whatever dangerous situation you're in, but it makes it even harder when you come back injured." She held Michael's limp hand in her own. "You know, you're the only one who can make me smile even when I'm upset." She gulped, trying to hold back her emotions. "I never thought I'd tell you this, but being that you can't actually hear me right now, it's the best time for me to say what I'm going to say…I…like you…a lot," she paused. "No! It's so much more than that. I think…I think I might love you, Michael Knight." She gently released his hand and her gaze settled on his lips. She hesitated for a second and then made a bold move. She leaned over him and brushed her lips against his. She gasped when Michael lifted his hands to her face, pulled her close, and kissed her back. Finally, she broke the kiss and backed away with her eyes wide. "Michael! I…I didn't…I…" she stammered, blushing bright red.

"It's okay, Bonnie," Michael replied, reaching out his hand to her. Bonnie put her hand towards Michael, and he grasped it gently in his own. A faint smile lit across his tired face. "I didn't want you to know I was awake. I wanted to hear what you had to say."

"Just how much did you hear?" Bonnie asked with a concerned expression marring her pretty face.

"Oh Bonnie, I never thought it was possible."

"Thought what was possible?"

"That Bonnie Barstow could be in love with me."

Bonnie slid her hand away from his. "Now, Michael…I…I"

"No, don't say anything." He tried to sit up in the bed and grimaced as a pain shot through his chest. He fought the pain and sat up. He locked eyes with Bonnie. "The truth is…I love you, too, Bonnie."

Bonnie's mouth opened in surprise. "What? Do you really? No. No, this must be a dream. This can't be happening."

"It's no dream, Bonnie. Kiss me, and you'll know this isn't a dream." Bonnie thought about it for a second then edged closer to Michael. She leaned in cautiously but didn't make a move to kiss him. Michael cupped her face in his hands and kissed her with all the passion that he had.

A throat cleared and Devon asked tersely, "Am I interrupting something?"

Bonnie broke away from Michael and turned to face Devon with a horrified look. "Oh, Devon! I…I…" Bonnie stuttered, at a loss for words.

"This is why you wanted to watch him, is it?"

"No, Devon, it's not what it looks like—really," Bonnie replied quickly. She turned to Michael and shook her head, exclaiming with frustration, "Oh, Michael!" She fled from the room, slamming the door shut behind her.

"Bonnie? Bonnie…I…oh." Devon stammered. "Oh dear! Did I interrupt something, Michael?" Devon pried.

"You always interrupt at the most inopportune times." Michael cast his eyes down at the sheets and laid back on the bed.

"Is there something I should know?"

"I can't think of anything."

Devon gave Michael "the eye" and sighed. "Well, I am happy that you're…feeling better. When they brought you in you looked…absolutely frightful!"

"Oh, thanks, Devon!" Michael shook his head.

"What have I told you about chasing females with attractive features?" Devon asked with a warning tone.

"Now Devon!" Michael shouted. "It didn't happen like that!"

"Then what exactly did happen out there? I thought you knew not to mix business with pleasure," Devon replied, disappointed.

"Devon…a girl came up to me—and I'll admit that she was pretty, but I didn't do anything. She asked if I was Michael Knight, and she said that a man fitting your description named Devon Miles was looking for me. She said you were up at the top of the slope and needed to give me an urgent message because you couldn't get through on the phone. It's as simple as that."

"Simple as that? You believed her?"

"What else was I supposed to do?" Michael shot back. "I nearly died out there, and I realize that. But I promise I didn't do anything…Did you find Allistar McKay?"

"By the time we searched the cabin, he was gone."

"He got away?"

"Finding you was a little more important, don't you think?"

Michael was silent, thinking over what had happened. "Did they find the body?"

"No, they're still looking."

"What about Jennifer?"

"No, Michael." Michael's eyes widened and he groaned, covering his face with his hands. "What? What is it, Michael?" Devon raced to his side. "Are you in pain?" He put his hand on Michael's shoulder.

"No, but I gave her the code!"

"You did what?!"

"I gave her the code, Devon! Jennifer has the code!"

"Michael!"

"She injected me with this truth serum thing and forced me to tell her."

Devon moved to the doorway. "I'll alert security immediately and have the code changed."

"But someone's going to need to go down there and keep an eye on things."

"Oh, and just who do you suggest that has the proper clearances?"

"Me?"

"You? Michael, you've got to be joking! Do you think the hospital's going to let you leave just like that? Oh, goodbye, Mr. Knight. Try not to pop a stitch." He shook his head vehemently. "You'll be fortunate if they let you out in two weeks."

"Two weeks?! You've got to be kidding me! I'm bored stiff already!"

"Michael?" Kitt's voice came through the comlink.

"Yeah, Kitt?"

"I don't mean to eavesdrop but isn't your health more important..?"

"What? I'm in perfect health!"

"Michael…" Kitt said.

"Devon, come on. Help me get out of here," Michael whispered.

"I can do no such thing. Besides, the documents are at the moment as safe as they've ever been. The codes have been changed. They are safe for the time being. And as for you, you're going to get some much needed rest."

"Devon, I'm a grown man. I think I can make these decisions on my own."

"I'm afraid that's where you're wrong, Michael. Since you were unconscious when they brought you in, I was given the responsibility of making decisions for you until you are released."

"So how long will I be stuck in this place?"

"A week is what the hospital policy requires for a situation of this kind, and I insisted that they keep you at least a week and a half or more depending on your progress." Michael opened his mouth to say something but Devon put his hands up. "Don't argue with me, Michael. My decision is final."

"Thanks a lot," he mumbled under his breath.

"I think you will be thanking me when you don't have to come back here multiple times in the next couple of weeks. And don't you dare think of escaping or doing anything drastic." He paused for a moment and then added, "And that goes for you, too, Kitt. Under no circumstances are you to allow him to leave this room."

"Is that understood?"

"Yes, Devon," Kitt replied.

"Michael?"

"Yeah…"

"Besides, it could be detrimental to your health."

"Detrimental to my? Devon!"

"Stop this nonsense! I'll hear no more of it. Now, I have guards posted throughout this hospital to keep an eye on you in case Allistar or Jennifer shows up. Someone will be checking in with you from time to time, as well."

"What am I going to do all by myself?"

"Sleep. Relax. Have that vacation you were talking about."

Michael slapped a hand to his forehead in frustration. "Don't even mention vacations, please!"

"Maybe you should think of the consequences before you do something dangerous like this again. This is the third time this year, you've been in the hospital…and it's only March."

"Hey, maybe we'll get some kind of discount like frequent flyer points."

"Oh, Michael, what am I going to do with you?" Michael opened his mouth to reply but Devon replied quickly, "Don't answer that! But you really worry us all a lot every time something like this happens. Last time, Bonnie was reduced to tears and was absolutely sick with worry."

"Was she?" Michael asked with an added interest.

"Michael, really! I'd think you'd have more respect for Bonnie especially since you were just…just…"

"Just what?"

"Oh, never mind! I'll be saying good evening then."

"Yeah, yeah. Goodnight, Devon." Devon nodded and left the room.

"Michael, there's something I don't understand."

"What's that, buddy?" He held the comlink up to his mouth and rested his head against the pillow.

"I really am having a hard time following what's going on."

"Hard time following what?"

"You and Bonnie."

"What about Bonnie and I?"

"It's just hard for me to understand. One minute your pupils are dilated, your heart rate's accelerated, and you're happy as could be and kissing her, and the next minute you're bickering with her like she's your worst enemy. I just don't understand. Have I missed something?"

"Maybe someday you'll figure this out for yourself, Kitt, but love makes you do strange things. Sometimes when I'm arguing with her, it's a way of showing that I care for her."

"But isn't arguing stressful and counterproductive?"

"Usually but…"

"But what, Michael?"

"Never mind, Kitt. It's too hard to explain. You don't have emotions like humans do." A knock at the door quickly shut Kitt up.

"Come in!" Michael called out.

"Ah, Mister Knight! It's sooo good to see ya awake," the nurse chattered with her Irish accent lilting all over the place. "Oh what a handsome lad ya are! Ah, those baby blues o' yers are lovely! Absolutely lovely!"

"Why thank you," Michael replied, charmingly.

"Ummm, such a charmer! Well, I pert near forgot to introduce meself. I'm Nurse Flannigan. I am the lucky lassie who gets to give ya your pills and get ya anything that ya might find yerself needing." She rifled through her uniform pockets and produced two brightly colored pills. "Unfortunately, the both of them have yer name on 'em. So open yer mouth and swallow 'em up!" She handed him the pills and filled a cup of water. "Look out stomach, here the pills come!" Michael opened his mouth slowly and swallowed them down with a few gulps of water. He coughed for a spell and caught his breath.

"Are ya alright, there, Mr. Knight?"

"Yeah." He coughed again. "I'm fine."

"Good, it'd be a shame to lose a patient this early in the evening. Well, I'd better be off. Is there anything I can get ya before ya head off to Dreamland tonight?"

"No, I'm good. Thanks."

"A polite laddie, too." She giggled girlishly and pointed to the bell by the bedside. "If ya be needing anything, just ring that bell, and I'll be along in two hops and a skip."

"Thank you."

"Yer very welcome. I really do hope ya ring it again, though. Ya know, yer enough to give a girl like me a heart attack." She looked at the clock. "Oh my lord! Grumpy Mr. Elias is probably climbing the walls by now. Goodnight, young laddie. Rest up!" She went up to him and planted a huge kiss on his cheek before leaving the room.

As soon as she was gone, Kitt remarked, "What an…interesting woman."

"Yeah, you can say that again," he replied, trying to rub her lipstick off his cheek.

"Michael, an alarm is going off at the vault."

Michael struggled to sit up. "What's going on? Can you tap into the security cameras?"

"I'm trying. Let's see." Kitt was silent as he hacked the system. "There we go….Michael, there's no one there."

"Are the documents still all there?"

"Yes. It looks like Devon got the code changed right in time."

"Yeah. Look, buddy, I'm gonna get some sleep. But you keep me posted if anything changes."

"Will do, Michael."

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

"Yoohoo! Mr. Knight! Wakey, wakey!" Nurse Flannigan called out cheerfully at two o'clock in the morning. "It's time for yer 2:00 pills!"

"2:00 pills?" Michael asked groggily.

"Ya, now open 'er up! That's a laddie!" she exclaimed, shoving them into his half-open mouth. She handed him a glass of water.

Michael gulped them down with some swallows and got the pills down without starting another coughing spell. Instead he made a face and stuck out his tongue. "Those were some really nasty tasting ones."

"Unfortunately, most of them are. Tis a sad part of working here, ya never bring anyone any good food. But I try to make up for it with my good looks and pleasant company." She smiled at Michael and then checked all the monitors. "Oh my!" She looked to Michael. "Have ya been messing with yer IV?"

Michael sat up, slightly alarmed. "No…"

"A poor dear, that's what ya are. Yer IV's at too low a flow, and it's a wonder ya were able to sleep with it like that. It wasn't hardly doing anything for ya. Didn't it cause ya any pain?"

"Uh, no."

"Well, ya must be from stronger stock than I thought. I'll fix it for ya, though. It'll make ya more comfortable." She adjusted the drips and sighed. "Well, I guess me work here is done, for now at least. If ya be needing anything…"

"The bell is by the bed."

"Exactly. Now get some sleep."

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

"Michael?" Devon's voice called out through the depths of Michael's consciousness.

Michael eyes slowly opened and fluttered at the bright light of the hospital room. "Devon?"

"Yes, good morning!" Devon replied cheerfully.

Michael moaned and threw the sheet over his head. He closed his eyes trying to block out everything so he could go back to sleep. But a cough tickled his throat and then another and another. Soon, there was hardly enough oxygen left for him to breathe.

"Michael? Are you alright? This better not be some joke!" Devon exclaimed running to the bed. He lifted the sheets from Michael's face and knew immediately that this was no joke. He hit the call button and shouted for help. "Michael, come on. Stay with me," Devon ordered as Michael's body began to convulse.

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

Nurse Flannigan heard the bell ringing and the shouting, and she knew exactly who it was. She ran down the corridor and entered the room. She looked to Michael on the bed and Devon's bewildered face. "Stand back!" she shouted. She adjusted the IV to a lower setting and quickly drew a vial of clear liquid from her uniform pocket. She dumped it onto the cloth in her hand and whispered, "Relax, Mr. Knight. This should help you. Breathe it in," as she clamped the chloroform cloth over his mouth and nose. "No, keep it right there, Mr. Knight!" Michael struggled with her, trying to pull her hands away to release the pressure. But in his weakened state, he was succumbing to the drug much quicker than normal. His struggling lessened and his eyes drooped shut. The nurse ripped the comlink off Michael's wrist and busted it under her foot.

When Devon saw what was going on, he catapulted himself at the nurse, tackling her to the ground. As Devon wrestled with her on the floor, he realized that she was really a he. Devon pulled the wig off, and the man punched Devon hard right in the nose. Devon fell backwards and before he knew it, was flying through the air headed headfirst into the wall. A sickening thud put an end to the struggle as Devon's body lay prone on the floor.

The man quickly put the wig back on and assumed his Irish nurse routine. He tied Devon up and shoved him under the bathroom sink. Then he went out into the hallway. "Hurry! Hurry! I'm gonna need a stretcher in here STAT! The poor dear needs transferred immediately! Take him out to the ambulance!"

The attendants quickly moved Michael's still form onto a stretcher and wheeled him out to the ambulance entrance. With sirens blaring, Nurse Flannigan (or whoever he was) and the attendants rode away with a very still Michael Knight.

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

"Michael? Devon? What's going on?" Kitt shouted. His signal from the comlink had vanished suddenly and he hadn't seen or heard anything out of the ordinary on his scanners. "Michael? Devon?" When he received no reply, he called the nurse's station on that floor and explained that he couldn't get ahold of Mr. Knight or Mr. Miles. The nurse took the phone down the hall and knocked on the door. Getting no reply, the nurse walked into the room and looked around. It was empty! She picked up the phone, "I'm sorry, sir. But the patient is gone. And there's no sign of his friend either." She heard a low moan coming from the bathroom. "Wait a minute, someone's in the bathroom." She knocked on the door. "Is everything alright in there?" She pressed her ear against the door.

"Help!" a voice cried out weakly.

She opened the door a crack and screamed when she saw Devon. He was a mess of bruises and cuts all tied up and bleeding all over the white tile floor.

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

"Devon, are you sure you're alright?" Bonnie asked, handing him an ice pack.

"I'm…fine, Bonnie. Just a bit of a headache is all." Devon replied, gently touching the ice to his bandaged head.

"Kitt said there was blood everywhere."

"It was a head wound. Even the tiniest head wound will bleed out like a gushing river. Oh!" He winced as the cold ice hit a sore spot.

"Lie back. Why don't I have the nurse—"

"No, Bonnie. I've already been checked out. There's no concussion—only bruises and cuts."

"And a black eye and swollen lip."

"Yes, thank you for reminding me," he grumbled, running his hand across his face. "Did you get a chance to figure out what was wrong with Kitt?"

"Yes, somebody attached a device to Kitt that looks like some kind of a bug. But it acts like an acid for electronics equipment."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"The "bug" eats away at Kitt's machinery and slows down or stops all his functions. It appears that when Michael was kidnapped, his scanner was so eaten away that he didn't detect anything out of the ordinary."

"Can it be fixed?"

"Yes, but I don't think it will be ready in time to help Michael. Did they figure out how the nurse got away?"

"Apparently she, I mean, he, rolled him to the ambulance bay under the pretense of transporting to another hospital better equipped for treating him. The guards were unharmed but tied up in the broom closet. The two ambulance attendants were found on the side of the road a few miles out."

"Are they alright?"

"They are fine—just a bit battered and shaken up."

"Why do you think they took Michael instead of just killing him in the hospital room?"

"I don't know, Bonnie."

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

"Michael Knight, we meet again!"

Michael's eyes fluttered open. He blinked rapidly, trying to adjust his eyes to the light. "Where am I? What happened?" he asked groggily.

"A little disoriented, are we? It's hard to imagine that some people enjoy that feeling. I forgot the effect that chloroform can have on people…And about what happened, I'm sure that will come back to you shortly." The man smiled slyly before continuing, "Did you really think that you could outsmart and escape me? Changing the code…now Mr. Knight, aren't we better than that?"

"What are you talking about?" Michael, asked, tugging at his tightly bound wrists.

"Don't mess with me! We both know the drug isn't that powerful. Now what is the new code?"

"I can't tell you." Michael scanned the setup and decided that he was in a warehouse of some type.

Allistar stepped forward and slapped Michael across the face. "Don't be insolent!"

Michael recovered from the blow and looked him in the eye. "I don't know the new code!"

"You're the main Foundation man on the case. You have to know," Allistar shouted angrily.

"But I don't because I was injured because of you," Michael fired back defiantly. Allistar growled and paced the room. Michael could almost see the wheels turning in his head. He stopped suddenly at the end of the room and snapped his fingers. Two men entered. Allistar whispered to them and then they left.

"What are you up to now, you snake?"

Allistar turned to face Michael with fire in his eyes. His fists clenched and unclenched at his sides. Containing his fury, he whispered, "Wouldn't you like to know?"

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

"How is it coming along, Bonnie?" Devon asked peering at Kitt's slightly taken apart form.

"It's coming—but very slowly," Bonnie replied, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

Devon put a hand on her shoulder. "Keep up the good work, Bonnie." He left the room and headed to his office, leaving Bonnie and Kitt alone.

"Bonnie, may I ask you a question that is a bit on the personal level?"

"Sure, Kitt. Go right ahead," she said as she busied herself about her work.

"I've noticed that you and Michael have a sort of…shall we say…history together. I know what Michael's feelings are but I was wondering what your feelings toward Michael are."

Bonnie stopped what she was doing and swallowed. "Well, Kitt, I…love him. It's as simple as that."

"Simple? From my calculations and observations of what love is, I would have to say that the human phenomena of love is anything but simple. I mean—"

"Kitt, what I meant is that I love him. Is there anything more that you need to know?" she snapped.

"I'm sorry, Bonnie. I've overstepped your privacy. I won't do it again," Kitt apologized.

Bonnie groaned and rubbed her throbbing temples. "No, I'm sorry, Kitt. I'm just very worried for Michael. Even more so now that I know he might truly…love me."

"Don't worry, Bonnie. We'll find him."

Bonnie gave Kitt a faint smile and fingered her necklace absentmindedly. "I have a couple of supplies I need to get from headquarters. I'll be back shortly."

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

A few hours later, Devon noticed that the semi was awfully quiet. So he went to the workspace where Kitt was. "Kitt, where's Bonnie?"

"She went to the FLAG headquarters for supplies nearly an hour ago. I'm worried, Devon."

Devon furrowed his eyebrows and a frown appeared on his face. "She should have only been gone fifteen…maybe thirty minutes. I'll call the headquarters and see what's keeping her."

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

Michael shifted his weight and tried to turn the chair he was tied to around so that he could see his surroundings better. The exertion was not in his best interest he realized as a crimson spot started to wet his shirt in the shoulder area where he had been shot. Exhausted, he looked up to see Allistar approaching with a hideously evil grin plastered on his face.

"Well, well! Popping your stitches already?" He slapped Michael on the shoulder none too easily, making Michael grunt in discomfort. "Now that you've had some time to think about it, are you ready to tell me the code?"

"I already told you, I don't know the new code."

"I suppose then that the love of your life might have to have a tragic accident…"

"The love of my—Bonnie? Don't you dare touch a hair on Bonnie's head!" Michael shouted.

"Got your attention now, have I?"

"You wouldn't dare touch her!"

"Oh yes, I would. And if you don't cooperate, I'll do more than just touch her." He smiled cruelly and snapped his fingers loudly. His two henchmen appeared again, this time with a kicking and screaming Bonnie. "Are you ready to do business, Michael?"

Michael looked to Bonnie and then to Allistar. "I told you the truth. I…I don't have the code."

"But you certainly can find a way to get the code…You have connections…why don't you call Devon Miles?"

"And tell him what? That I'm being held hostage with Bonnie and need the code to help a criminal like you steal the final piece to the biggest military assault weapon in the history of mankind? You've gotta be joking."

"I assure you, Michael, this is no joke. Call Mr. Miles and tell him that the kidnapping hospital thing was all an elaborate plan of yours to divert attention from yourself and get to me. Tell him that you are going undercover and need the code."

Michael thought about it. "Alright. I'll do it."

Allistar had his goons untie Michael and handed him the phone. He pointed a threatening finger at Michael. "If you warn him or don't tell him exactly what I told you, Ms. Barstow, here, will suffer greatly. Do you understand?" Michael nodded and cast a glance Bonnie's way. Her clothes were ripped and her hair was a mess, but overall she seemed fine. It looked like she'd put up a good fight. "Well, are you going to spend all day gawking at Ms. Barstow, or are you going to make that call?" Allistar demanded. Michael shifted the phone in his hands and dialed Devon's number.

"Hello, Devon Miles speaking…"

"Hey, Devon. This is Michael…"

"Michael, where on earth have you been?" Devon exploded on the other end of the phone. "We've been worried sick about you!"

"I know, I know. I'm sorry. But it just had to be that way."

"What exactly happened back there at the hospital? I demand an explanation, Michael!"

"I needed to disappear for a while—I needed to make Allistar think that I'd been kidnapped. Look, Devon, I'm gonna lay low for a bit."

"Why wasn't I informed of this hair-brained idea of yours? I've been so worried—Michael, and Bonnie's missing, too."

"It's okay, Devon. She's with me."

"With you?"

"Yeah, I needed her help with something and thought it would be too suspicious if I contacted you directly."

"You don't know how relieved I am to hear that! I understand the secrecy but why all the violence?"

"Devon—I don't have the time to explain everything now. But I promise when this is all over, I'll tell you everything. But right now, I need the new code. I want to check on the document and follow up a lead."

"Alright, if you're sure. The new code is 7-2-9-0-1-8-6-4-6-8-5-2."

"7-2-9-0-1-8-6-4-6-8-5-2?"

"Yes, that's correct."

"Thanks, Devon. Gotta go."

"Oh, Michael?"

"Yeah?"

"Be careful."

Michael cast a glance at Allistar and then turned to the phone and replied, "Sure, Devon. Bye." Michael handed the phone back to Allistar. "There, are you happy now? Let Bonnie go, you don't need her anymore."

"Ah, ah, ah," Allistar replied shaking his finger at Bonnie and Michael. "She knows too much, and you're too valuable to get rid of just yet." He turned to his men, "Take Ms. Barstow to her quarters, I need to speak with Michael about his little assignment." The men nodded and dragged Bonnie from the room.

"Now, Michael. As you know, the code is no good to me on its own. Since Cassia decided to turn her back on us and met a sooner death than any of us would have liked, I need someone to get me inside that building."

"What makes you think I can do it? I don't have my car with me, and they'll be suspicious if I come without it," Michael reasoned.

Allistar paced back and forth. "Hmm, that is true enough. Get your car as quick as you can. And no pit stops or anything. I will hold Bonnie until you return." He snapped his fingers. "I need you two to escort Mr. Knight half a mile away from the FLAG headquarters. Drop him there and return to me," he instructed his goons.

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

After Michael was blindfolded, he was dropped off half a mile away from the FLAG headquarters. He quickly located Kitt and drove him out of the semi.

"Michael, you look terrible! Are you sure you don't want to go back to the hospital?"

"I'm fine, Kitt. And no, I don't want to go back there."

"Alright, Michael…But I still can't believe that that whole scene in the hospital was a set up for you to lay low and get away from Allistar."

"What's so difficult to believe? I had to make everyone believe that I was out of the picture—kidnapped—for a while."

"Need you make it so realistic, though?"

"What do you mean?"

"The man that you apparently hired to "kidnap" you injured Devon. That certainly doesn't sound like a necessity to your plan."

Michael groaned. "He wasn't supposed to get hurt. How bad is it?"

"He's sore all over and has a huge bump on his head where your man flung him against the wall. Not to mention, he's sporting the biggest black eye I've ever seen. And on top of all that, the ambulance attendants got thrown out of the vehicle."

"Are they okay?"

"They're just a bit sore and shaken up but really, Michael! You could have planned this better. I think you owe a lot of people an apology." Michael remained silent so Kitt ventured a question. "Where are we going, Michael? Are we meeting with someone?"

"You could say that…" Michael replied, turning right into the parking lot of an abandoned warehouse. "Stay here, Kitt." Michael parked and got out.

The two goons grabbed Michael and the one said, "The boss said to make sure that your car here to follow us."

"You heard the man, Kitt. Follow us, and please don't ask any questions."

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

"Welcome back, Michael," Allistar said as his men took the blindfold off him. He looked out the window. "I see you found your super car. Now listen carefully to my instructions and follow them to the letter, and nobody will get hurt. You are going to drive your car to the Colorado Springs base and act as though this is your normal routine 'check on the document' visit. You will then make it through all the levels of security and replace the document with this." He handed him a miniature cookbook with a cover identical to the ones in the files that Michael had seen. "Before you switch them out, push this button on the watch, it will scramble the security cameras, so that they won't see anything out of the ordinary. Then you get out of there and meet me at the same address that these two," he gestured towards his goons, "picked you up a few minutes ago. Is that clear?"

"Yeah."

"Hold out you wrist."

"What?"

"I said hold out your wrist!" he shouted, getting impatient.

"Why?" Michael asked suspiciously.

"Just do it!"

Michael hesitantly held out his wrist as Allistar snapped on a watch that looked remarkably like his comlink. "What's this?"

"This is the watch with the button that will scramble the cameras. It also doubles as a newly designed high powered Taser of sorts. On the outside and to the guards at the base, it will look like your usual watch, when really it will be an insurance to me. One wrong move and not only will the girl be in mortal danger, but you will literally be toast…And don't try to get it off unless you want a little taste of what is to come if you don't do what you're told. I am the only one who can disarm it."

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

"Michael? What's all this about? I don't understand."

"I'm sorry, Kitt, but I just can't tell you. You just have to trust me. You trust me, don't you, buddy?"

"Yes, Michael, but—"

"Kitt, please. No questions. I'll explain everything to you later."

"Alright, but will you at least tell me where we are going?"

"We are finishing the assignment that Devon gave us and checking out the Colorado Springs base."

The rest of the drive to the base was filled with an uneasy silence as both man and machine pondered the situation at hand.

When they arrived, Michael said, "Keep your scanners peeled, buddy."

"I'll try my best, Michael. But Bonnie never got to finish fixing me up."

Michael's face was grim, but he nodded and headed inside. He got to the vault without any problem. He punched in the code and opened it. Sure enough, the document was safe and sound inside. Michael looked around nervously and then pushed the button on the watch. He waited a few seconds to make sure that the computer scramble was in full effect and then switched the document and the cookbook. He locked the vault up and started to leave the building, but a man wearing a Homeland Security uniform walked up to Michael.

"Excuse me, sir, but how did you have access to the vault? I thought I knew everyone on the list of approved people."

"I'm Michael Knight from the Foundation of Law and Government. Devon Miles sent me here to check on the security of the document."

"And is the document completely secured?" Michael looked around, as if searching for the invisible eyes that he knew must be watching him from somewhere. "Sir? Are the documents safe?"

Michael didn't answer right away, trying to decide what to do next. He decided to take a chance and he replied softly just above a whisper, "Actually no, sir. The documents are not secure currently. You see, I have them right here. A criminal mastermind named Allistar McKay is holding my friend hostage and blackmailing me, and I—" he stopped suddenly feeling tension in his wrist where the watch-Taser was fastened. It glowed red. "Sir, I need—" His statement was cut off when the Taser sent electricity coursing through his body. He crumpled to the ground still spasming as the electricity continued to run through him. His vision started to darken around the edges as he saw the Homeland Security officer pull the documents out of his pocket and run away in the opposite direction of the vault.

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

"Michael! Michael! Can you hear me?" Devon asked, leaning over Michael's still body as the paramedics worked on him.

Michael's eyes blinked open. "Devon? Is…that you?" His vision blurred in and out but the black and blue face that he thought he saw didn't at all look like Devon to him.

"Yes, Michael. I'm here." Devon put his hand on Michael's good shoulder in a comforting gesture.

"What happened?" Michael asked groggily, trying to sit up. The paramedics coaxed him back down to the floor. "I feel like I was…"

"Electrocuted?"

"Yeah, something like that," he answered with a moan.

"That's because you were, as far as we can tell."

"Sir," one of the paramedics leaned over Michael, "We're going to need to take off that watch of yours, it's getting in the way. But we'll give it to your friend here for safe keeping."

Michael nodded and then looked down at the watch confused. Suddenly it all came back to him. "No! Don't touch the—" The Taser took effect again, electrocuting him into a state of unconsciousness.

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

Michael opened his eyes. His body was tense and ached all over. It was as if… I've been electrocuted. He glanced down at his wrist and glumly realized that the dreaded watch that had caused all this trouble was still there. He moaned loudly, rousing Devon from his rough nap in the chair beside Michael's hospital bed.

"Michael? Are you awake?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

Devon rubbed his aching neck and pointed to the watch. "Where did you get that thing? What's going on, Michael?"

"Devon—I…I can't tell you."

"I know what happened. Kitt told me what he knows but I want to hear from you." Michael stared in silence without speaking a word.

"Michael, this is becoming very childish. I asked you a question, and I expect an answer."

"I did what I had to do, Devon, and that's all I can say now."

"Well you'll have to say more than that because the FBI is at this moment waiting in this hospital for you to awaken so that they can lock you up until a trial can be scheduled."

"The FBI? A trial? What are you talking about, Devon?"

"What did you expect when you used your clearances to steal an important government document and pass it along to the rest of the criminals who started this whole charade?"

Michael's face became downcast. "Devon, you don't really believe I actually stole it, do you?"

"I don't know what to believe anymore, Michael. You haven't been yourself recently. You've been keeping secrets. Then there was the scene at the hospital that you said was your own doing. More secrets, not checking in with me, disappearing and taking Bonnie with you…Then you reappearing without a trace of Bonnie—"

"Bonnie's not here?

"Of course not, you said on the phone she was with you. I haven't heard anything since then." Michael laid there taking in all in with a worried expression on his face. "Although you aren't in perfect health, the hospital has agreed to let you go. The medical staff supplied by the FBI will be sufficient in your case."

"What?" Michael asked, looking at Devon with a betrayed expression.

"I'm sorry to have to do this, Michael. But I've got to hand you over to the authorities. I can't have an employee from FLAG acting with such conduct. From this point on, consider yourself permanently terminated from FLAG's employment." Devon got up from his chair and walked to the door slowly.

"No, Devon! You can't do this!"

Devon turned to face Michael. "I'm sorry." He opened the door. "He's all yours." Michael watched as his former boss left the room, replaced by a nurse and a handful of grim-looking FBI agents.

The nurse took out the IV and detached the monitors. "Here's your clothes, young man." She handed him a bag of his personal belongings. "Hurry up, and get changed. Then I have some papers for you to sign."

Michael took the bag and headed for the bathroom. He shut the door behind him and peeled off the hospital gown. He happened to catch a glimpse in the mirror of his well scarred body. Every scar brought back memories of his previous life as Michael Long and his adventurous journey with the Foundation with Devon and Bonnie by his side as Michael Knight. He looked around, unable to think of what his future might hold. He painstakingly pulled on a shirt and a pair of pants before leaving the bathroom.

"Sign here and here," the nurse said pointing to two sections on the release papers. Michael signed and lifted his eyes to those of the FBI officers.

One of the officers stepped forward with a pair of handcuffs extended, "I'm afraid I'm going to have to put these on you, Mr. Knight." Michael nodded sullenly as the cold steel snapped and locked around his tender wrists. The officers—all six of them—escorted Michael out to one of their vehicles and put him in the barred section of the backseat.

As they began to drive away, Michael gazed out the window, knowing this might be his last time to see the outside world. He caught sight of Kitt, parked right outside where his hospital room had been. He hadn't even gotten to say goodbye to his friend and partner. Now there was a slim chance that he ever would. He sensed that Kitt was watching him, a sense that he had picked up after working with him for so long. Finally he looked away, choking back a single tear.

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

Several days later, Michael was still as melancholy as could be. He hadn't spoken more than a handful of words to anyone—even to Devon when he came to visit at the FBI holding facility, and he absolutely refused to talk to Kitt.

"Mr. Knight, a pleasure to meet you. I'm Ted McMason, your defendant for the trial." Michael nodded solemnly. "Now, Devon Miles called me up special to have me work on this case. He said that he didn't believe that you did this of your own free will, so I'm here to see that you get justice." Michael nodded again. "Since the trial is tomorrow, I'd like to go over some of our strategy and the possible outcomes and such." He pulled out of his folder a stack of documents and flipped to a page. "First of all, you are not only being charged with stealing a top-secret government document, but also treason, kidnapping Bonnie Barstow, and aiding and abetting a criminal." He paused to look over his glasses at Michael. "These are all very serious offences, Mr. Knight…How do you plead?"

"Guilty and not guilty."

He scribbled something down on his page. "What is the offense for which you are not guilty?" he asked with his pen poised.

"I didn't kidnap Bonnie."

He wrote that down. "So you confess to the rest?"

Michael studied the man for a second and thought what the consequences of his actions might be. "Yes."

Ted wrote something else down and then pondered the information for a moment before shuffling through his papers. "Aha! This is what our course of action will be," he exclaimed pulling yet another paper from his folder. "You will plead not guilty to the charge of kidnapping. And for the rest, you will plead guilty due to insanity. The courts will be a lot more forgiving that way."

Michael furrowed his eyebrows and stood with anger burning in his eyes. "I'm not insane!" he growled.

"Of course you're not." He chuckled softly. "That's what they all say. Believe me, Michael, I'm just trying to help you." He stood and began to walk away.

But Michael grabbed him by the collar. "You can't make me plead guilty by insanity. It's not true!"

Ted acted cool and calm until he looked Michael in the eye. Then Ted got a bit frightened at the possibility of Michael doing him harm. "Guards!" he shouted. "Get this man off me!" The officers came running and pulled Michael away. "Thank you very much," he said, dusting off his gray suit.

"You can't do this to me! I'm not insane!" Michael shouted, trying to get ahold of Ted.

The guards restrained him as Ted replied, "I'm sorry, Michael. But I have to do what has to be done."

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

"Did you visit Michael today?" Kitt asked Devon.

"Yes, I did." Devon rubbed his chin.

"Well, what did he say?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Oh, hang it all, Kitt! He refuses to speak to me. He just sits there with a vacant expression on his face." Devon began to pace the room.

"That's not like Michael at all!"

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

The day of the dreaded trial came, and everyone was put on edge. Devon was agitated and out of sorts, Kitt was uncharacteristically bent out of shape, and Michael was the picture of melancholy depression.

The judge stood before the court and addressed them, "Ladies and gentlemen of the court, we are gathered here today to settle the Michael Knight vs. United States Government case. Michael Knight is charged with the theft of a top-secret government document, treason, the kidnapping of Bonnie Barstow, and aiding and abetting a criminal. Mr. Knight, how do you plead?" he asked as he sat down.

Michael didn't speak so his lawyer, Ted McMason, stood. "Your honor, Mr. Knight pleads not guilty of the kidnapping offense and guilty to the rest."

"Not guilty of kidnapping and guilty of the rest?"

"Yes, sir."

"Mr. Knight, why did you steal, commit treason, and aid and abet a criminal?"

"Your honor, my client—" Mr. McMason started.

"Mr. McMason, I would like to hear what the accused has to say." He gave him a warning glance that sent McMason back to his seat. "So, Mr. Knight, why did you do it?"

Michael rose and spoke the words he had practiced in his head the days and days that he'd been imprisoned. "I have no real reason, your honor. I was very stupid, and that's all I can say."

"Come now, Mr. Knight," the prosecutor said, raising his voice. "We all read the file on you. You're a very cunning man—you have to be in your job situation. What was your real reason?" he prodded.

"I'm sorry. I can't tell you."

"Mr. Knight," the Judge spoke up, "do you realize that your vague answers will only harm your future prospects? You have nothing to gain by keeping it to yourself."

"I realize that, sir."

"Your Honor, may I approach the bench?" McMason asked, opening a file.

"You may."

"While my client admits his guilt to some of the offenses, the court must take into account that Mr. Knight is not currently and has not been mentally stable in the recent weeks."

"Why, you weasel!" Michael shouted in anger. "I'm not insane!"

"See? He's not right in the head. He pleads guilty by cause of insanity."

"No, I don't! I'm not insane!" Michael shouted, racing towards McMason. He grabbed his collar and pressed him against the judge's stand. "Why I oughta—" Michael threatened.

"Mr. Knight, control yourself!" the judge shouted. "Bailiffs!" The bailiffs came running and seized Michael's writhing form. "Really? Is that how you behave in a court of law? You should be ashamed of yourself Mr. Knight—utterly ashamed. This problem is easily sorted out. We will have a psychiatrist examine and test you to determine your mental state of health. Does the jury agree?" The jury nodded and several members concurred with a shake of their heads. "Alright, I officially postpone this trial until tomorrow at 2:00. Court adjourned."

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

"Dr. Deladoros, the court will be asking you any moment to examine Michael Knight. It is pertinent that he is found mentally insane…Do you understand?"

"I believe, I do. However, it's a very risky situation, and I'll need some incentive," the doctor said, pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose.

"Of course." The man reached in his briefcase and produced a neatly pressed stack of bills. "Does this suit you?"

"Yes indeed," the doctor said, nodding. He reached out to touch the bills but the man withdrew them and shoved them back into the case.

"You will be given your incentive when the results are switched and not before. Is that understood?"

"Yes. Yes."

"Good," the man said as he hurried to the door. "I will be seeing you." He closed the door shut as the doctor got a glance of a badge under the strange man's jacket.

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

"Alright, Mr. Knight," Dr. Deladoros said. "That should conclude the testing."

"How soon will we know the results?" Devon asked, putting a hand on Michael's shoulder.

"We should know within the hour. Now, if you'll excuse me." He took the papers and exited the room quickly.

"How do you think it went, Michael?" Devon asked, looking over at his friend.

"How should I know?" Michael asked angrily as the guards led him back to his cell.

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

"Your Honor, I have here the results of Michael Knight's psychiatric examination. According to these documents, Mr. Michael Knight is indeed insane," the doctor announced. The court room was suddenly filled with the whispering of surprised voices and the accusing eyes of the audience.

Michael's lawyer stood to his feet and loudly said, "In accordance with this new information, I beg of Your Honor to reduce the sentence and assist him in getting the help that he obviously needs."

"Your Honor, I protest!" Devon shouted, angrily approaching the bench. "Michael's not insane nor is he in any way out of his mind. I demand that Michael is retested with the same exact test by FLAG's Knight Industries Two Thousand. It is much more reliable than any doctor and more importantly, it is unbiased."

"But Your Honor," Mr. McMason countered, "Dr. Deladoros is one of the best psychiatrists in the area. I don't believe that a retesting is necessary."

The judge pounded his gavel and demanded silence. When the conversations of the room came to a stop, he said, "Although I am well aware of Dr. Deladoros's reputation, I agree to this retesting that Mr. Miles has suggested." He turned to Devon, "Mr. Miles, how soon can this Knight Industries get results?"

"About fifteen minutes, Your Honor."

The judge nodded. "Court is recessed for twenty minutes." He pounded his gavel.

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

"Here's the printout, Devon. He's definitely in his right state of mind." Kitt printed out a stack of papers.

"I wonder how the doctor got it so wrong…" Devon wondered aloud.

"It is possible that he changed the results on purpose, Devon. This test doesn't even show the slightest inkling of insanity."

"We still have a few minutes. I'm going to see if I can take another look at those original results and compare them."

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

"Based on the evidence that Mr. Miles has provided us with, Mr. Michael Knight is and has been in his right state of mind these last few weeks. The results of the first test appear to have been deliberately tampered with either by Dr. Deladoros or an associate. Since Mr. Miles is suing for malpractice, we will handle this matter next week in court. As for the present time, the court has found Mr. Michael Knight guilty of all charges and sentences him to imprisonment for a period of twelve years. Further punishment is currently pending. Court is adjourned." He pounded the gavel down, sealing Michael's fate.

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

"Mr. Knight, you have a visitor." The government agent opened the door and motioned for Michael to follow him.

Michael followed and nearly balked when he saw Devon sitting on the other side of the glass. "What are you doing here?" he muttered.

The agent looked Devon in the eye through the glass and said, "Mr. Miles, you have five minutes. A guard is standing outside of the door on your side, and I will be standing outside of this door in case you need anything."

Devon nodded and pursed his lips in a tight line, waiting for the guard to leave. When they were alone, he wrung his hands. "I just came to see how you were getting along." When Devon was met with silence, he asked, "Well, how are you getting along? You don't look so well, Michael."

Michael's chest heaved up and down angrily. "How do you think I am? I'm condemned to death!"

"You're what?" Devon questioned, alarmed.

"I'm going to be shot by a firing squad tomorrow at dawn."

"But that's…that's intolerable!" Devon shouted, slamming his fists on the counter. "They can't change the ruling like that!"

"Well they did. Apparently this is the further punishment that was pending." Michael cast his eyes to the floor.

"Michael, what's wrong with you? Aren't you going to fight this?"

Michael looked at Devon with his bloodshot eyes. 'There's nothing I can do."

Devon furrowed his eyebrows. "So you're saying that you did…everything?"

Michael buried his head in his hands. "You wouldn't understand. I can't—" He groaned. "It's out of my hands." Devon watched his friend with his heart torn in two. He owed it to Michael as a friend to try to help him but he also owed it to his country to protect the public.

"Time's up," the guard said, opening the door.

The guard started to lead Michael away, but Devon called out, "Michael, I'll do everything I can to help you." Michael gave Devon a ghost of a smile before the door closed behind him.

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

After Devon's disturbing conversation with Michael, he confided his concerns to Kitt. "Something's wrong with him, but what…I can't put my finger on." Devon leaned against the wall of the semi's interior.

"I know that Michael did take the document, but Michael wouldn't sell out his own country for money. He wouldn't even steal a candy bar—much less a military secret…Do you think he was blackmailed?"

"I'd like to believe that but I really don't know, Kitt. He had been acting very strange before this all happened what with the scene at the hospital and all."

"Yes, and that interesting rendezvous with those men before Michael was found with the document."

"Rendezvous? What rendezvous?"

"Michael picked me up in the semi at FLAG headquarters before he went back to the base. He drove me to this abandoned building and was acting very strange."

"Strange how?"

"He was not answering my questions, and the ones he did answer were very vague…Anyway, he got out and two men approached him with a blindfold. They said that the boss wanted me to follow them. So I did. I followed them all the way to another warehouse. Michael got out and returned shortly with that Taser watch thing on—I didn't know it was a Taser at that point in time, though. Then he drove me to the base and told me not to ask any questions."

"Could you ID the two men?"

"I thought of that, but Bonnie never finished fixing me so…"

Devon bowed his head in defeat. "Bonnie. I hope and pray she's alright."

Kitt was silent as he tried to pull his resources together. "I wish there was something I could do. I feel so useless in this state."

All of the sudden, a revelation dawned on Devon. "My word! How could I have been so blind? April! April could fix you up right as rain!"

"April? But I thought you said she moved to another state."

"She did, however she's vacationing nearby! I'd nearly forgotten about it!" He hopped inside of Kitt and started the engine. "I'll drive since we're not sure your GPS coordinate system is working properly." He buckled his seatbelt, and they were off.

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

"Can you fix him, April?"

"I don't know, Devon. He's in pretty bad condition."

"I need him fixed in a few hours' time."

"A few hours' time? Devon! You've got to be joking! This job will take a few days minimum."

"That's just it! We don't have a few days. We only have hours. Michael's going to be shot by a firing squad at dawn tomorrow!"

"What?" April exclaimed, looking up from Kitt with a bewildered expression on her face. "You can't be serious!"

"I'm dead serious, April. But if you can fix Kitt, we might be able to save him." Devon continued on to explain the situation as April further assessed Kitt.

"Alright, I think I can make the necessary fixes in a few hours."

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

Several hours later, April wiped her grime-covered hands on a rag and shut Kitt's hood with a sigh of triumph. "We did it. I don't know how, but we did it."

"Actually, I didn't do anything, April. You did it all, and quite a good job, too, I must say."

"Thank you, Kitt," April said, collapsing into a chair. "Devon, Kitt's ready!"

Devon rushed out of his office. "How are you feeling, Kitt?"

"I'm in superb condition, Devon. April even installed a new program that will protect me from any further bugs of that kind."

"Great work, April!"

"Kitt, now you should be able to bring up those video clips from the day at the warehouse," April said, moving her chair over to the computer. She keyed in some codes and the video came through on the computer. It was quite a damaged video, though. The sound was hard to hear and the visual was blurry and blacked out at points.

With a few quick fixes, they were able to hear a few key parts of the conversation. "Meeting with someone…have your car follow…don't ask any questions…documents safe…mastermind…McKay…hostage…blackmailing…" Then the transmission ended with static.

"That's all I've got, Devon."

"We all heard it, someone said McKay. That can only be Allistar McKay. And that confirms our suspicions that Bonnie was kidnapped, and Michael was blackmailed in some way." Devon tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"Kitt, can you come up with a GPS coordinate for the warehouse?" April asked, adjusting her stylish glasses.

Kitt searched his systems and then stated, "Yes, I've got it. It's about ten miles from here."

"Alright, Kitt. I know I don't need to say this to you, but be careful." He tapped Kitt's hood affectionately.

"I will, Devon," Kitt said as he backed out of the semi, did a quick U-turn and headed out into the night.

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

"I found the building. There's no one here now, but there are tracks all around—two men, no, wait—three men and one woman. The woman did not go along peacefully, though. That must be Bonnie."

"Are there any signs that could point to their current whereabouts?" Devon asked via Kitt's audio link.

"These tracks are several hours old…Devon, what was Bonnie wearing when she was kidnapped?"

"Let's see, the last time I saw her, she was wearing her coveralls."

"But was she wearing a necklace underneath?"

"A necklace? Why, yes. I believe she was! That one with the meteorite beads that I gave her as a present.

"I think Bonnie left us a paper trail—or rather a bead trail."

"What do you mean?"

"Here's one of her beads right here. I would be 99% certain that if I were to scan for more of these beads, I'd find a trail leading to Bonnie."

"Oh, yes."

"Exactly. I'm scanning now…" His sensors whirled. "Aha! That's a girl, Bonnie!" Kitt exclaimed. "There's a trail from here heading towards Fort Worth."

"Fort Worth!"

"But don't worry, Devon. They aren't that close to it now. They are still several hours away…If I hurry, I might be able to catch up to them."

"Do what you have to, Kitt. Michael only has about nine hours left."

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

The hours ticked by, and slowly Kitt began to close the gap between them and him. Finally, he caught up with them at a gas station. He parked just out of their sight and scanned the area. No one else was around except for the store manager, Allistar, Allistar's two goons, and Bonnie. Allistar had gone inside to pick up supplies while the goons stayed in the white unmarked van with Bonnie. Kitt knew he needed to distract them because time was running out. It had taken him four hours to catch up with them and Michael only had five hours left. I can cause a distraction that will lure the goons out of the van and away from Bonnie. Then I can scare the whole bunch of them away and take Bonnie back…But what kind of a distraction? He thought for a moment. Ah, I'll pretend to be the police. Kitt edged closer to the van and started blaring the prerecorded sounds of police sirens.

The goons heard the noise and jumped out of the van without Bonnie and ran away. By the time Allistar caught up with them, and they realized it was only Kitt making the noises, they were greatly upset and tried to double back to Bonnie and the van. But they were too late. Bonnie had already hopped into Kitt and the twosome were speeding down the highway kicking up dust.

"Are you alright, Bonnie?" Kitt asked as he cut Bonnie's bound hands with a specially designed interior laser.

Bonnie sighed as the laser cut through the rope, and she pulled the disgusting gag from her mouth. "I'm fine, Kitt. Just a little banged up," she replied rubbing at where the rope had bit into her tender wrists. "What took you so long? Where's Michael?" she asked rapid-fire as she looked around Kitt. "Why are you going so fast? Do you know the speed limit's only 70? You're going nearly 150!" she exclaimed, examining the speedometer.

"It's a long story, Bonnie. But Michael's going to be facing a firing squad in about five hours if we don't hurry."

"A firing squad? What's going on, Kitt?" she exclaimed with a worried expression marring her beautiful but bruised face.

"When you disappeared and Michael was found stealing a top secret government document, a trial date was set. He was accused of theft, treason, kidnapping, as well as aiding and abetting a criminal. There was some trouble and they insisted that Michael was insane, so they tested him and the results were changed by a prestigious doctor, making Michael appear to be insane. However, I ran the same test and showed that he was as sane as could be. But that didn't really matter because the court found him guilty of all charges and sentenced him to twelve years of imprisonment. However they mentioned something about further punishment pending and before we knew it, he was sentenced to death by firing squad."

"Oh my goodness!" Bonnie said, covering her mouth in astonishment. "It's all my fault!"

"What do you mean, Bonnie?"

"Allistar and his goons kidnapped me and threatened to hurt or even kill me if Michael didn't do what they wanted him to. They said that he couldn't mention anything about them or I would be done for."

"But Bonnie, that's not your fault—" Kitt started.

"But don't you see?" she interrupted. "If I had been watching my surroundings that day, I could have eluded them and prevented all of this unnecessary suffering."

"You couldn't have prevented anything, Bonnie. If they hadn't gotten you then, they would have gotten you later."

"But Kitt, he might…he might…die because of me," she whispered with her voice wavering.

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

Four hours and forty-five minutes later, Bonnie and Kitt were stuck in traffic within site of the military holding facility. "We're so close, Kitt but with this traffic, we'll never make it in time!"

"I'm sorry, Bonnie. But I can't find anyway to maneuver in this jam of cars."

"Can you turbo boost?"

"It's too dangerous with this many people around."

"Oh, I know, Kitt. But we've got to find a way to get to him." She leaned her head against the cool passenger window. "There has to be a way! There has to!" she said with a determined air. "I've got it!" she shouted. "I'll run there!"

"Bonnie, you can't be serious! It's a good mile or more away!"

"Kitt, I was on my high school track team. I used to be able to do a fast mile."

"But Bonnie that was many years—" Kitt started.

"It doesn't matter, Kitt. I can make it. I know I can."

"I don't like it, Bonnie. But go with a flashlight, I'll keep trying to get through."

"See you there, Kitt!" She took off running at a pretty even jogging speed with her flashlight weaving in and out among the stopped cars.

By the time she reached the gate, she was out of breath. "Officer, please…I need to get inside…my friend isn't…isn't guilty…but he's facing the…firing squad…at dawn…Please help me."

The officer looked at Bonnie like he didn't believe her. "I'm sorry, lady. We can't let just anyone in."

"I'm with the Foundation for Law and Government. Bonnie Barstow. Please call Devon Miles. This is a matter of life and death!" Bonnie's urgency must have gotten the best of the officer because he let Bonnie through the gate without any more of a fight. "Where is he?"

"Who?"

"Michael Knight. Where will the firing squad be?"

"In that open air section, but you're not allowed—" he started.

But Bonnie was so far ahead of him that she didn't even hear him. She leaned over the edge and saw that one level down was where it was to happen. She looked and saw several men leading a blindfolded Michael into the courtyard. She watched as they chained his feet and his hands together and put him in front of the post.

The colonel in charge of the firing squad cleared his throat and then began his spiel. "According to the state of Colorado and the judicial court of Colorado Springs, Michael Knight (formerly of the Foundation for Law and Government) has been found guilty of theft of a top secret military document, treason, aiding and abetting a criminal, and the kidnapping of Bonnie Barstow and is condemned to death by firing squad."

Bonnie ran down the steps in horror, shouting, "Michael! Michael!"

Michael's head perked up as if wondering if he really heard her voice or not. He mouthed the word "Bonnie" and then actually called out, "Bonnie?"

Bonnie ran in front of the firing squad and threw her arms around Michael. "Stop! You can't kill him!"

The colonel ordered some other bystander soldiers to take action. Two soldiers pried Bonnie away from Michael and pulled her screaming and crying, off to the side. The colonel resumed, "Ready, Aim!" The firing squad raised their rifles and aimed at Michael.

A split second before the colonel finished the command, a big black car came flying through the air over their heads. The car landed right in front of Michael as the colonel shouted, "Fire!"

The firing squad fired but their bullets harmlessly bounced off the car. Seeing that this mysterious black car was still there and their job was not completed, they reloaded and fired again until the comforting voice of Devon Miles was heard on the intercom. "Cease your fire! Release Michael! We have evidence that proves his innocence." The soldiers hurriedly unchained Michael at Devon's request.

"Oh, Michael! You're alive!" Bonnie shouted, running to him. "I thought I lost you!" She threw her arms around him.

Michael took the blindfold off and tossed it aside as he took her up in his arms and kissed her. "Oh, Bonnie. I was so afraid of what they might do to you," he whispered in a husky voice. Then he just held her in his arms until Devon got down to the courtyard.

"Michael!" Devon exclaimed with relief flooding his face. He held his arms out to Michael like the father of the prodigal son did when he returned home. Bonnie reluctantly moved aside as Devon engulfed Michael in a huge fatherly hug. Devon didn't speak but Michael could see from the emotion on Devon's face that he was well loved by the man despite their differences and reoccurring squabbles. Devon even unashamedly wiped away a stray tear. "It's good to have you back, son," Devon said softly, putting a hand on Michael's shoulder. Michael just smiled, at a loss for words, as Bonnie and Devon joined around him for a group hug.

The Colonel approached the threesome. "You're a very fortunate man, Mr. Knight. You were very close to being killed just now.

"Actually," Kitt spoke up, "he wasn't."

"What?" everyone asked, confused.

"All of the bullets were blanks."

"That's impossible," the Colonel scoffed. "There was one piece of live ammunition somewhere."

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong, Colonel. I've scanned this whole area and the nearest piece of live ammunition is loaded in that soldier's gun on the upper level."

"Well, it wasn't done on purpose," the Colonel decided. "It must have been sabotaged by someone else."

"That's very likely," Kitt replied. "It might even have been another ploy of Allistar's to get Michael."

"What do you mean 'another', Kitt?" Michael asked.

"Now that April has repaired me, I am able to perform to my fullest capabilities. I realized that Dr. Deladoros was part of Allistar's grand scheme. He didn't want you to be shot by firing squad because Allistar still needs you for his purpose. That's why Deladoros faked the test results. But when I showed them the correct test results, they had to adjust their plans. But they couldn't stand idly by while you got killed because they still need you.

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

A few hours later, Michael was free to leave—for the most part. He was on probation and had to check in frequently, but at least he could leave the military facility.

"So what's your plan, Michael?" Kitt asked as Michael got into the driver's seat.

"I don't know, Kitt. I'm just waiting for Allistar to make his next move."

"What do you mean by that?" Kitt asked, sounding a bit concerned.

"Well, Allistar wants me alive for some reason…most likely to get him inside the base at Fort Worth."

"But how will you find Allistar?"

"I don't know, Kitt. I don't—" Michael froze.

"What's wrong, Michael? Are you in pain?"

"What? No! I'm fine, great actually. I think I figured out how to find Allistar."

"Really? Do tell," Kitt answered eagerly.

"Where are those papers that Bonnie sent us?"

"Still on the floor…passenger side where you left them."

"Ah, yes." He reached over and grabbed the file and flipped through it quickly. "Aha! Here it is! Each of the thefts had a cookbook left at the crime scene, right?"

"Yes, that's correct."

"And there were stray markings on each, right?"

"Right…"

"Can you bring up all of the markings from each document on the screen?"

"Sure, but why?"

"Just bring 'em up, buddy. I have an idea about those markings."

The 9 markings showed up on Kitt's screen in the order that they had been left. "Never mind, Kitt. I think all the stress is messing up my head." Michael rubbed his head, grimacing when his fingers came in contact with his temples. "Agh!"

"Michael, maybe you just need a break. I could drive you to the nearest gas station, and you could get something to eat…maybe that would help your head."

"I don't know, Kitt. We have to catch up with Allistar and I—"

"Michael, you have absolutely no way of knowing when Allistar will make a grab for you, so you might as well do something while you wait."

"Alright, Kitt. Take over." He leaned back in the chair as Kitt reclined it and closed his eyes.

When they arrived at the gas station, Michael got out and went inside, forgetting to close the door.

"Michael!" Kitt called out. "Oh, never mind! I'll get the door." Kitt closed the door and sighed. He was about to find a better parking space when he heard a person crying. He scanned the area and found a boy about ten years old standing around the corner. Kitt drove around to the boy and parked right in front of him. "What's wrong, small one? Why are you crying?"

The boy looked around wildly, trying to spot the speaker. "Where are you? Who are you?"

"My name's Kitt. What's yours?"

"D-danny."

"Why are you crying, Danny?"

"My parents drove away with my five siblings and forgot me here."

"Oh, you poor child! And on such a hot day! Why don't you get into the car, and we can wait together for them to get here?"

Danny wiped his eyes. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm not allowed to get into stranger's cars."

"I'm very happy your parents have taught you that. It's an important rule to follow, but I think that in this particular circumstance, it would be alright." Kitt opened the door. "See? There's nothing to be afraid of."

Danny carefully looked inside Kitt's interior and got inside on the passenger side. He shut the door and then asked, "Where are you? I don't see you."

"I'm right here," Kitt said.

Danny gazed in awe at the dashboard and his jaw dropped. "You're a talking car?!"

"Yes, hard to believe, isn't it?"

"Yeah! Wow! You even have a code game up! Cool! I love solving these things! I'm really good at them!"

"Are you?"

"Yep, oh this one's so easy!"

"What do you think it says?"

"You take these markings and join them together and they form the letters N-R-M-N-K "

"Do you know what it means?"

"Sure, I do!"

"It says Norman K. All you have to do is add vowels and a space. But whoever made this code was a little tricky, they left out the last piece that would form the rest of the K…Anyways that was fun! Do you have anymore?"

"No, I don't but thank you for solving that puzzle. It was giving me some trouble."

"You're welcome!" He pointed out the windshield. "Hey! There's my family!" He turned to Kitt's voice module. "Thanks for letting me stay with you!"

"You're quite welcome! But remember what your parents taught you, and don't get into other people's cars without your parent's permission. Some people would try to take advantage of you or try to take you away."

"I will! Thanks, Kitt!"

"Have a good day, Danny!" Kitt watched as the boy jumped inside the van. "Norman K…so simple and yet I couldn't even figure it out."

Michael emerged from the gas station convenience store a few minutes later with a can of soda and bag of potato chips in hand. "Man! That line was long!" He ripped open the chip bag and dug in. "Ummm." He smiled, licking the salt residue from his fingers before opening the soda.

"Michael, I know what the code says."

Michael took a sip and then set the can in the cup holder. "What do you think it says?"

"It says Norman K."

"How did you get Norman K out of all that garbled mess?" he asked, indicating the picture on Kitt's screen. Kitt explained what the boy had said and how the boy had come to figure it out in the first place. "Norman K," Michael wondered aloud. "Why does that sound so familiar?"

"Maybe because it's the name of the man who showed you around the facility at Fort Worth—Norman Kane."

"Norman Kane. That's right," he paused. "Come to think of it, I did notice a few odd things about him."

"But do you really think he could be behind it all?"

"Stranger things have happened."

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

"Michael, you can't be serious about confronting Norman Kane. There's no telling what he might do." Devon said.

"I'm dead serious, Devon. It's the only way. I gotta go, we are almost at Fort Worth."

"Michael, be careful."

"I will, Devon," Michael promised as Devon's image faded from Kitt's computer screen.

"Here goes nothing, buddy. Standby, and let me know if you see anything suspicious." Kitt turned on his sensors and waited as Michael entered the Fort Worth facility.

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

"Hello. I'm Michael Knight from the Foundation for Law and Government. I need to speak to Norman Kane immediately," Michael explained to the officer at the front desk. He drummed his fingers anxiously across the wooden information desk.

"I'll call him down." The officer picked up the phone and said, "Yes, please. There's a visitor down here for Mr. Kane—Michael Knight from the Foundation for Law and Government." There was a pause as she listened to the speaker on the other end of the phone. "Alright, thank you. I'll let him know." She hung up the phone and turned to Michael. "It seems you are just in time, he was just about to do his rounds. He'll see you in his office. It's on the first floor—number 106—on the right."

"Thank you." Michael flashed a smile at the officer who blushed and returned to her paperwork. He then walked through corridor after corridor until he found 106.

He was about to knock at the door when a voice called out, "Mr. Knight, won't you come in?" Michael entered the room and stepped aside as Norman closed the door behind him. "Won't you have a seat?"

"I'd prefer to stand," Michael replied curtly, giving Norman a wary glance.

"What can I do to help? Alyssa said you wanted to see me."

"Let's cut to the chase, Norman. It was you, wasn't it?" Michael asked.

"What on earth are you talking about, Michael?"

"You know what I mean—you're the one behind all the cookbooks, right?"

Before Norman could respond, Kitt called to Michael through the comlink. "Michael! Someone is accessing the vault. It—it's Allistar!"

"What's going on, Norman?"

Norman studied Michael with an air of distaste. "I had thought you were smarter than that." After seeing Michael's confused look, he continued, "You really thought we saved you from the firing squad to use you to get to the vault? Didn't it ever occur to you that you were just a distraction? You're disposable, but we wanted to be the ones to kill you. That privilege shouldn't go wasted to the government."

"But you were the mastermind behind getting the documents?"

"Yes, I was," he replied with pride.

"And the code was your signature. It was your way of telling everyone that it was all you—if they were smart enough to figure it out."

"Precisely. Allistar was in charge of the manpower and the sale of the document. Jennifer was in charge of keeping you off balance while Theodore did the odd jobs. He pulled his Homeland Security rouse to help Cassia evade the authorities as well as getting the document from you and bribing Deladoros. Ole Theo also doubled as the Irish-spoutin' Nurse Flannigan. I was in charge of everything else," he said with pride in his voice. "And we were going to get away with it, too, until you came and caused all this trouble." He smiled at Michael with an evil glint in his eye. "Now, I have the privilege of putting an end to this distraction." He reached into his pocket and flicked open a knife.

Michael backed away as Norman began to circle him with the knife glinting in his hand. Norman thrust the knife forward as Michael leapt out of the way. While Norman was off-balance, Michael charged forward and seized Norman's wrists. He wrestled him to the floor of the office and repeatedly hammered his knife-wielding hand against the ground, trying to knock it free. At this point, Michael was nearly completely on top of Norman. But when Norman figured out Michael's strategy, he rolled over so that he was on top of Michael. He then pushed the knife closer and closer to Michael's wounded shoulder until he overpowered Michael and plunged it into the wound. Michael shouted and after a brief moment of shock, knocked the knife from Norman's grasp. Michael struggled to his feet and propelled himself and Norman towards the large glass windows. They struggled for a moment and then Michael shoved Norman out the window. The glass shattered in a million pieces as Norman crumpled to the ground on the other side.

Sirens were heard as Devon's men came to the rescue. They were able to apprehend Theodore Kessle and Jennifer Knotts as they tried to get away. Some of the men collected Norman's disoriented form and took him off to the military stockade for his trial with his two friends. Michael gripped his bleeding shoulder as Devon rushed towards him.

"Michael! Your shoulder!"

"Yeah, unfortunately, Norman got a swipe at me before I could stop him." Michael's eyes fluttered as he stumbled forward.

Devon helped Michael to the side of the building and propped him up against the wall. Then he knelt down and applied pressure to Michael's shoulder. "Is an ambulance on the way?"

"It should be here in about two minutes, Devon," Kitt responded.

Michael laid his head against the wall and tried to maintain a steady breathing pattern. When he had calmed down a bit, he asked, "What happened to Allistar, Kitt?"

"I'm sorry, Michael but I lost track of him during your sparring practice with Norman Kane. He's probably long gone by now."

"S'okay, Kitt. We'll get him next time."

"Kane! Kane! Come in, Kane!" a voice called out.

"What was that?" Michael raised his head, looking for the source.

"Kane! Are you there?" the voice called again.

"Kitt, can you locate the voice?" Michael asked. "It sounds like Allistar."

Kitt scanned the area. "It's coming from Kane's office—it's a high tech walkie-talkie."

"Kitt, do you think you could convince Allistar that you're Kane?"

"Yes, I can use the recordings I have of his voice."

Devon wiped the blood off his hands onto the grass and retrieved the walkie-talkie from the office. "Are you ready, Kitt?"

"Yes, I'm ready."

Devon pushed the button as Kitt played back Kane's words. "Allistar, come in. Allistar?"

They waited for Allistar's response which soon crackled through the walkie-talkie. "What took you so long?"

"Michael caused trouble. I have to get away."

"Alright, meet me at the marina in two hours. You know where." Then the transmission ended.

"I have to get to that marina, Devon," Michael said, struggling to his feet.

"No, you're not going anywhere until the paramedics get here." Michael let out an exasperated huff and leaned against the wall.

"Devon, I'm getting a call from the military stockade," Kitt replied, edging nearer to where Michael and Devon were gathered on the grass.

"Answer it," Devon replied.

"Hello, this is the Knight Industries 2000, how may I be of service?"

"Yes, this is the commanding officer at the Colorado Springs military stockade. Our recently acquired prisoner, Norman Kane, wishes to speak to Devon Miles. In fact, this is his one allowed phone call. Is Mr. Miles there?" Kitt waited for Devon's response. Devon nodded, and Kitt replied, "He's right here."

"Hello, Mr. Miles. I'm going to put Mr. Kane on the line now."

There was a pause as they heard the phone shuffled around on the other end. "Hello, Mr. Miles?"

"This is he."

"I was wondering if you and I could make a deal."

"It depends on what sort of deal you are talking about."

"If I tell you how to get the Taser watch off of Michael, will you help me get a lesser sentence?"

"I thought Allistar was the only one able to release the watch. He said so himself," Kitt added in.

"Well, Allistar's a lie and a cheat. Why should you believe everything that he says?"

"That's not saying much, considering your current predicament," Devon added under his breath.

"What was that?" Norman asked. "I didn't get what you just said."

"Just—never mind. If you give us the code, and if it works, then I suppose we can work something out."

"Great, the code is TMP20P08MOALW18MM."

"How do you input the code? I don't see a place to type all that in."

"There's a small flap on the left hand side with a miniature keyboard inside." Devon examined the watch, found the flap and asked, "Could you please repeat the code again? But much slower this time?" So Norman repeated it—and repeated it and repeated it until Devon had gotten it all typed in. Fortunately, the code was correct and allowed Devon to slip it off Michael's wrist without an ounce of electricity leaving it. "I'll work out the details with your lawyer at a later time. Goodbye, and thank you for your cooperation, Norman."

"Yeah, yeah. Just don't forget about your promise." Then the call ended.

"What an insolent and rude man!" Devon exclaimed as the paramedics rushed forward.

"Sir, we're going to take a look at your shoulder, okay?" the tall one said softly. "Anthony, help the man lay on the ground so we can have a better look at it."

The shorter man replied with a nod and helped Michael to the ground. Then he unbuttoned the shirt the rest of the way down and peeled the reddened material from the wound. "It's definitely reopened your wound, sir. What was your previous wound anyway?"

"It was a gunshot wound received right before an avalanche," Devon replied.

"You can't be serious," Anthony replied with a look of disbelief.

But Devon's stern look set the young Anthony back to his work. Anthony opened up the biophone and called the hospital. "Ward Hospital, this is Squad 119. Come in, Ward."

"Go ahead, 119. This is Dr. Rams."

"We have a male victim approximately age 35 who is suffering from a knife wound in the shoulder. This area of the shoulder was very recently the site of a gunshot wound. The victim has reopened the old wound and lost a lot of blood."

"119, what are the vitals?"

The taller one whispered to Anthony, "BP is 125/70. Respirations is 18, and heart rate is 120 beats per minute. Pupils are equal and reactive." The other paramedic repeated the vital signs into the biophone.

"Look guys," Michael interrupted. "I feel fine. Really."

"Did the patient pass out at all?" Thomas and Anthony looked to Michael for a response.

"No," Michael replied quickly.

"Aha!" Devon exclaimed. "He didn't actually pass out but he nearly did after it happened."

Anthony repeated, "The patient didn't pass out, but did get a little dizzy right after it happened."

"Has the bleeding stopped?"

"Negative, we are applying pressure but it won't let up."

"Start an IV with lactative ringers and put on 2 liters of oxygen. Transport as soon as possible, and keep pressure on that wound. It sounds like we'll need to do a transfusion."

"Copy that, Ward. IV with lactative ringers, 2 liters of O2, and pressure on wound. 119, out." Anthony hung up the biophone and turned to Devon. "We'll be taking him to Ward Hospital. Do you want a ride in the ambulance?"

"Yes, I'll come along."

"And I'll follow behind," Kitt added.

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

An hour later, Michael was all stitched up and "good as new" as he tried to convince Devon. "Look, Devon. I'm as good as new. That transfusion really did something for me. I only have an hour left, and then I have to meet with Allistar. If no one shows up, he'll get suspicious." Michael finished buttoning his shirt.

"Michael, haven't you put everyone through enough these past few days? It would be easy enough for me to send another agent to nab Allistar."

"But Devon! Sometimes easy enough doesn't cut it!" Michael shot back. "Look, I'm sorry to be so stubborn but Allistar needs to be stopped. And if I have the chance to stop him, I'm gonna do it—whatever the cost," Michael said with that certain fire in his eyes.

Devon straightened his tie. "If I can't stop you—"

"You can't."

"Then go. God be with you, Michael."

"Thanks, Devon." Michael clapped Devon on the shoulder. Michael started to walk away but then stopped and turned to face Devon one last time. "In case…this doesn't work out…Will you tell Bonnie…that I love her? You'd do that for me, right?"

"You can tell her yourself when you get back."

Michael's jaw clenched. "Right…when I get back. So long, Devon." Michael shut the door behind him.

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

Allistar paced the dock at the marina edge. "Where is Kane? He's late."

"Kane's not coming, Allistar!" a voice shouted from the far edge of the dock as a dark figure approached him.

"Who are you? And where's Kane?"

"Kane couldn't make it. I guess prison was a little more important than his meeting with you."

"Who are you? Step into the light!" Allistar commanded, getting a little nervous.

The figure stepped into the moonlight to reveal Michael Knight clothed in black from head to toe. "Allistar McKay, we meet again," Michael said in a mocking tone.

"Michael Knight, I must say this is a surprise. I guess Norman is not as good with a knife as he claimed." His eyes roamed over Michael's getup and settled on his left bare wrist. "Apparently Norman is not as good with keeping secrets either," he added with a sneer. "But it doesn't matter anymore. I have the document, and you don't."

"You know, you're right. But I do know where it is."

Allistar's brow furrowed as he gave Michael a nervous look. "No you don't."

Michael smiled and lifted his comlink to his mouth. "Kitt, scan the area for a document with the official seal."

Kitt's sensors whirled as he scanned the marina and surrounding area. "It's in the tackle box below the deck of the boat directly to the left of Allistar." Allistar's mouth dropped in disbelief. He stuttered for a moment, then regained his composure and withdrew something from his pocket. "Michael, it's a grenade!" Kitt warned.

Michael ran towards Kitt before Allistar had even thrown it. By the time the grenade landed, Michael was safely on the other side of Kitt's molecularly bonded shell. The grenade dissipated with a boom, smoke, and a little shake from Kitt. "You okay, buddy?"

"Yes. And you, Michael?"

"Yeah, but where's Allistar?"

"He's headed for the document."

Michael took off at a run down the dock and leapt into the boat. Allistar was digging through the interior of the dark and unlit cabin of the boat searching for the tackle box. When Michael appeared in the doorway of the cabin, Allistar's hand found the document. Allistar darted for the door, ducking under Michael's arm, but Michael grabbed hold of his coat before he could slip past. In the struggle, the document dropped to the floor unnoticed. Michael and Allistar's shuffle brought them closer and closer to the edge of the dock. Finally, Michael gave Allistar a shove toward the water. Allistar teetered at the edge and pulled Michael in with him as the water rose up to meet them.

Allistar slipped under the water and bobbed back up again, sputtering and shouting, "I can't swim!" Again the dark waters engulfed him. Allistar kept bobbing to the surface and gasping for air but the current kept dragging him under and out farther.

Michael's shoulder was killing him and he himself was fighting the ice cold water to stay afloat. But he couldn't stand aside and let Allistar die there in the water. He grabbed ahold of the back of Allistar's jacket and slowly started to swim towards the shore. Every second his limbs began to feel heavier and Allistar grew more and more limp and deadweight. Finally, Michael dragged Allistar and himself onto the shore. Both men collapsed, panting for breath and shivering in the chilly night air.

Michael clutched his shoulder and propped himself up against one of the posts as Allistar coughed up all the water he'd taken in. When Allistar was through, he rested against the post opposite of Michael. The sound of sirens filled the silence of the night and flashing lights of red and blue could be made out in the distance.

Michael started to get to his feet, but Allistar quickly said, "I won't run." Michael searched Allistar's face and then finally settled back against the post with his hand pressed firmly against his wound, hoping it wouldn't reopen.

"Michael, Michael! Are you alright?" Kitt asked as he approached the two men.

"I'll live."

"The police will arrive soon. ETA is about two minutes. Do you want me to hold Allistar with my windows until they arrive?"

"No, Kitt. He won't run—not this time."

"Are you so sure, Michael? You know he's gotten away before…"

"If he does, I have confidence that you can catch up to him without my help."

Kitt was quiet as Allistar looked at the ground and hesitantly asked, "Why did you do it?"

"Do what?" Michael asked, curious.

"You could have let me drown, but you didn't. You could have gotten rid of me and no one would have been the wiser. Why would you save someone like me who has done so much wrong against you and the people you love? It doesn't make sense to me."

Michael shifted his position. "I couldn't let you die out there despite my hunger for revenge. You deserve justice and a trial, not a watery grave. Besides, doesn't it say somewhere to 'Do to others what you would have them do to you'? If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't want to die like that. That's the one time that I'd want someone to show me mercy."

"I just don't know what to say. Had our places been switched, I sure don't think I would have saved you. All my life I've never had anyone do anything like that for me. I always thought about myself and nothing else, but you, you care about others and put others ahead of yourself." He paused. "You know, what I'm about to say is going to sound crazy and I never would have dreamed of saying anything like this before today, but I'll give myself up to the authorities, tell them everything, and willingly take whatever punishment they give me."

Michael was silent as he watched the older man turn aside. The sirens grew louder and the lights flashed right beside Michael and Allistar as the squad cars halted and several officers jumped out. "Hands in the air where I can see them!" one shouted in Allistar's direction.

Allistar did as he was told and remained still as they checked him for any weapons. "Michael, I don't know if it means anything to you, but thank you for what you did. I also wanted to say that…that I'm sorry for all the harm I caused you and your friends. I know I don't deserve it, but I'd like your forgiveness." He watched as Michael's face tensed. "I'll understand if you can't forgive me, I just needed to ask. Thank you." They handcuffed Allistar's wrists and led him away.

"Well, that certainly was not expected," Kitt responded with an air of surprise.

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

"I hereby sentence Allistar McKay to death by firing squad for his multiple offenses against the government and the people of the United States of America. This punishment will be carried out tomorrow at sunrise. Dismissed!" The judge said firmly as he hit his gavel. Allistar didn't say anything. He just stood there.

Michael's mind had been tormenting him the previous night because of Allistar's words, so Michael decided to make things right. He approached Allistar, but was stopped by the guards. "Please, I just need to say one thing to him. I'll only be a few seconds." The guards obliged and let Michael through. "Allistar, I don't know if it'll make any difference or not, but I do forgive you." Michael turned and walked away leaving Allistar to his thoughts.

RECIPE FOR REVENGE

The next morning at sunrise, Devon, Bonnie, and Michael all stood and watched as Allistar was chained and blindfolded. And although this was a serious and somber event, Allistar seemed to stand firm, ready to accept his fate with a clear conscience. The threesome watched as the commands of "Ready, aim, fire!" were given, and the shots were fired. Allistar dropped down, dead.

"I guess it really is true," Devon contemplated aloud.

"What is?" Bonnie asked.

"That greed is a recipe for disaster…All of Allistar's actions were caused by greed and selfishness and look where it led him."

Michael spoke up, "The recipe for revenge doesn't lead anywhere good either."

"How so?" Devon asked.

"If I would have killed Allistar myself or even let him drown to satisfy my vengeful spirit, I wouldn't have been any better than him. The recipe for revenge leads to a similar road of destruction."

"Yes, I suppose you're right. Nonetheless, the documents are safe at last, and justice is served." Michael and Bonnie stared at the downed man with an expression of seriousness and even a hint of sadness. Devon noticed this and patted them on the shoulder. "Enough of the past, we ought not dwell on it. In fact, I think we can all learn an important lesson from the happenings of these past weeks. Best to carry on and not repeat it, wouldn't you say?"

Michael gave Devon a shallow smile and put his arms around Devon and Bonnie as they walked out of the military facility into the rising sun.