Note: This is really just an angst-between-the-lines coda for the third season episode 'Knight in Disgrace', where Michael goes undercover to catch a notorious crimelord but can't tell Kitt or Bonnie in case FLAG is under surveillance. Spoilers abound, obviously, if there exists anyone who hasn't seen the episode! Thanks to sara_merry99 for the beta and nostalgic support!
Strategy
Michael
He had a long day ahead of him, and saying goodbye to Kitt was only the beginning. Michael Knight looked back over his shoulder, but the Foundation gates were well out of sight now. Devon knew the truth, but lying to Kitt made this whole act seem real – he had been suspended, he was setting out alone to prove his innocence, without back-up for the first time in two years. Yet there was no thrill at the prospect of surviving on his own wits, and no anger towards those he was leaving behind, because his disgrace was a sham.
He only felt guilty, and very lonely without Kitt.
Slinging his overnight bag over one shoulder, Michael kept going. Walking reminded him of the sacrifice he was making – not giving up a car, but risking a friendship. He knew Devon was right, that his cover would be blown if LaSalle managed to hack into Kitt, but Kitt's words had also hit home: 'We're a team'. His partner had never let him down, and Michael now knew that there was more to Kitt's trust and support than programming. Yet he also recognised how fully he had come to depend on Kitt's constant presence, taking risks in the field and overlooking that instinctive caution he had learned as a cop.
Perhaps going it alone to infiltrate LaSalle's operation was the right move after all, giving him a chance to prove – to himself, if no one else – that he was still the right man for the job. He just wished that lying to Kitt wasn't part of the plan.
Michael's thoughts were interrupted by a shrill beep from his watch. The comlink – Kitt was hailing him. Without thinking, he raised his left wrist to his mouth, but then let it fall back to his side like a dead weight. What could he say that was safe for LaSalle's technicians to overhear, or that might offer any reassurance to Kitt? He had to stick to the script – the board of Foundation directors had decided he was a liability, Devon's hands were tied, and that meant that Michael Knight was suspended from duty until further notice.
He didn't know what was going to happen to Kitt in the mean time, or how the silence and the deception were affecting his partner, and there was no way to find out until it was all over. One way or the other...
The black Limousine pulled up at the side of the road, gliding to a neat stop with the rear passenger door directly in front of the young man in a black leather jacket who stood waiting. Michael Knight got into the back of the car, folding himself into the low seat.
"So where are you taking me?" he asked the man beside him. "Disneyland? Your favourite restaurant?"
"Not so far, and never again, in that order," Devon Miles replied. He pressed a button on his armrest, and the car started moving again. "Michael – it's on," he announced.
Michael looked at him, meeting his steel blue eyes in the muted light of the cabin. "LaSalle?"
"Yes. One of his errand boys, a petty criminal named Willis, has agreed to assist us in a deal with the District Attorney."
Michael sighed, but he had been a cop long enough to know how the system worked.
"When?" he asked.
"I shall be sending you and Kitt to New Orleans in two days, ostensibly to tail this Willis character. You are to operate as usual, maintaining surveillance, until a prearranged time and place, when you will catch him with a briefcase packed with pure heroin. The police there will assist."
"Devon –" Michael spread his hands. "LaSalle doesn't deal in drugs."
"That we know of," Devon corrected him, "and I said that Willis will be found with the heroin, not LaSalle."
"OK – then what?"
"Then a sample of Willis' merchandise will be found on you, by the police, and I shall be left with no choice but to suspend you while the Foundation investigates your involvement."
"You don't have to sound so excited," Michael said. "And then – I'm on my own?"
"Well, not entirely," Devon hedged.
"Then we're on our own, me and Kitt," Michael said. "You know what I mean."
"No, Michael. Kitt won't be with you," Devon warned. "It would hardly make sense for you to retain the use of Foundation equipment after appearing to sever all ties with us, now would it? But you won't be left completely at the mercy of LaSalle – I shall stay in touch."
"No, I guess not," Michael agreed quietly, "but I'm telling you now, Kitt is not going to like this plan!"
"He won't know about it," Devon told him. "Michael, it isn't safe for anyone else to hear about this. Why do you think I arranged to meet you on the move, as it were, and not in the privacy of my office? LaSalle has employed some of the best security and computer technicians in the country – he could be tapped into our system as we speak."
"But Devon, Kitt isn't a phone or a camera circuit that can be bugged," he objected. "He's my partner."
"Michael, everything that Kitt sees and hears is processed as a stream of data and then uploaded to a mainframe," Devon explained patiently. "His information banks are protected, and the link is secure, but we cannot take the risk. In this instance, the less he knows, the safer you will be."
"Does Bonnie agree?"
Devon said nothing.
"You haven't told Bonnie, either?"
"It's the only way, Michael."
"There's going to be trouble when those two find out," Michael said, shaking his head.
"If everything goes according to plan, I am willing to take full responsibility, believe me."
This time, Michael was silent.
There was a taxi was waiting on the corner, booked to drive him to the airport. He had a three hour flight to New Orleans ahead of him, losing another two hours along the way, and then the fun really got started. Michael checked the time, ignoring the red light that was flashing on the comlink. He thought about taking it off and burying the device at the bottom of his bag, but the connection he shared with Kitt wasn't that easy to ignore.
Besides, Michael thought to himself, it would feel strange without the comlink strapped to his wrist. He hardly ever took it off, despite Kitt's track record of interrupting at inopportune moments. The important thing was that LaSalle would only see a digital watch and his army of techs were unlikely to suspect its more advanced capabilities, so there was no reason to leave behind his remaining link to Kitt.
When Michael looked at the display again, the red LED indicator was dark.
KITT
He couldn't help it, he had to try. Nine minutes and forty seconds after watching Michael Knight leave the Foundation alone and in disgrace, Kitt sent a signal to the comlink. They shared a private frequency, encrypted for security, which only the primary FLAG team could access. Did a suspension mean that his link to Michael had been disconnected? He hoped not.
"Michael?" No response, but at least the line was still open. Kitt sent an alert in case his partner had the receiver turned off, allowing him ten seconds to react and respond.
He could even anticipate Michael's actions on hearing the customary tone, and visualised him raising the comlink to his mouth before answering with, "Yeah, Kitt, what is it?" The electronic alarm had been devised by Bonnie to help Michael communicate more conveniently – and safely – with Kitt. An electronic alarm on a wristwatch was easier to explain than a talking car, as Michael phrased it.
Nothing.
Silence was the most frustrating human condition that Kitt had to deal with, an absence of feedback that could mean anything. Was Michael unable to respond because he couldn't talk privately? Unlikely, unless he had arranged to meet someone outside the grounds of the Foundation. A convenient fault with the device itself was also improbable, nor could Kitt detect any interference over the channel. The steady rhythm of his partner's vital signs reassured Kitt that Michael was alive and well, which left only one disagreeable explanation: Michael was ignoring him.
It was all so illogical! Michael involved with drugs, Devon all but disowning him and supporting an external decision to impose a temporary suspension. Kitt held onto that word, 'temporary'. Such random behaviour must have an eventual resolution. His family unit was rapidly destabilising and no one would tell him why.