Hell Hath No Fury
Part One
I caught you in the act, can't put up with that
Messing where you shouldn't be
I wanna hear you say you're sorry
'Cause nobody takes advantage of me
If Looks Could Kill - Heart
//I can still feel her hand touching me, covered in blood. Warm and dark and sticky. Her life flowing out of her. I'm loosing her...I'm loosing her. Dannie...Dannie...don't leave me. I don't want to be alone in the dark again...But the memories won't go away. I can still feel her...//
Fury pulled herself out of recharge quite suddenly when her scanners picked up someone in the vicinity approaching. Her defensive systems powered up to full strength before she realised that it was just her driver being insomniac again.
"Still can't sleep huh Jade?" Fury called. The words had a joking tone, but with a serious edge to them. Fury wasn't the most demonstrative of the Shadow AI's, but that didn't mean she did not care about her chosen partner.
Jade just shrugged and sat down at her PC workstation, waiting for it to boot up. The young hacker looked dreadful. Her green eyes had dark circles under them, mute evidence of how little she had been sleeping lately, and Fury could swear that Jade had lost weight - which wasn't good when she was already so slender. Even so, Fury knew that she could do very little about it - Jade had never listened to her partner's advice before, so why would she start now?
Then again, Fury's own recharge state had been somewhat less than peaceful lately. Just now, Fury could have sworn she heard Echo's voice, chanting on about blood, and about Dannie, but when Fury checked her aural sensors, she had found nothing. Echo hadn't made a peep, and Fury knew it couldn't be the resonance link - it simply wasn't strong enough or stable enough to transmit words - right?
The orange scanner on the Ferrari's nose swished back and forth briefly as Fury considered asking Jade to check it out, but as she watched the human working, her fingers going up and down on the keys as though she had to force every movement, Fury decided against it - Jade had enough problems right now.
As if aware of Fury's scrutiny, Jade turned to fix her eyes on the scrolling amber lights.
"Michael gave us a mission set for tomorrow - you better get all the rest you can now." Jade said and Fury winced internally at how exhausted and hurt her partner sounded. It could be argued that Jade needed the rest more than Fury did, but the red F40 did not argue - Jade just didn't have the strength to retort.
As Fury powered down, she never felt something move into her systems and settle there. A powerful computer program moved itself into the background of the AI's normal functions and waited for its instructions.
Dawn arrived in the usual course of time, and it was shortly after the sun peeped over the horizon that a red Ferrari F40 left the grounds of Shadow Base.
Kyle busied himself with his emails, and Michael decided that it might be a good idea to give Kitt a proper wash and wax. Meanwhile, Bonnie attempted to get some work done in her lab. Echo simply sat in her garage space, alone.
The pen bounced at it was slammed down against the desk. Bonnie glared at it sullenly. She couldn't seem to concentrate. She sighed and gazed around her lab. It was spotless, and filled to the brim with the best and most high-tech equipment, only the best for the Knight Shadows. There were several plasma-screen monitors hooked up to sophisticated diagnostic computers, displaying data on all five of the Shadows vehicles. They were also able to call up information from Intelligence and police databases from around the world, enabling near-instant access to information.
None of that interested her right now. She glanced briefly at the few personal effects she kept in the room. There were several framed photos, many of herself, Michael and Kitt had been taken many years ago. Her gaze lingered on a stunning shot of Michael lounging on Kitt's hood, sunbathing without his shirt. A smile pulled at her lips. She had taken that shot herself, hiding behind the bush candid-camera style. Michael looked utterly at peace in the picture, but Bonnie remembered quite clearly his reaction after he realized he had been snapped - he had chased her with a bucket of ice water for ten minutes, before finally pouring it all down her. To this day she still shivered when she thought of it.
Despite everything she had experienced before she had left the Foundation fifteen year ago, she was genuinely pleased to be here. Her work was fulfilling, she had people here she really cared about, and she had access to the most up-to-date technological equipment in the world. But most of all, she was back with Kitt, and with Michael. For some reason, she couldn't get the day she arrived out her head. It kept playing around in her head over and over. Michael had greeted her exuberantly, saying he was glad she had come, she had smiled, replying that wild horses couldn't keep her away. He had enfolded her in an embrace, and planted a kiss on her cheek. At the time the kiss had seemed like just a simple demonstration of friendly affection, nothing more. But now, looking back, she began wondering if it had been more. The kiss still seemed to burn on her cheek. Bonnie closed her eyes, recalling the warmth of his body, the strength of his arms, his fresh, masculine scent...
She opened her eyes and took a deep breath, realizing belatedly that she was walking dangerously close to a line she had vowed never to cross.
Bonnie glanced one again at the picture of sunbathing Michael and found herself entertaining thoughts that left her blushing to the roots of her hair, she felt giddy, like a schoolgirl in the throws of an adolescent crush. Bonnie sighed deeply and buried her face in her hands. She breathed deeply for several seconds, before standing up and heading out the door. She needed to tell him, she needed to say something, before she went out of her mind
Black ominous clouds had gathered overhead, threatening a downpour. Michael looked up at them briefly and absently swirled the last dregs of coffee in his cup before downing it, wincing briefly at the bitter taste. Kitt was parked not far away, his scanner swished from side to side, keeping tabs on his human friend and partner. Michael turned back to the man sat beside him on the bench, noting the expectant look in the younger man's eyes, despite the emotionless expression on the pale face. Michael was beginning to understand where Dante got his cold attitude from - at times his human partner could be just as machine like.
"What was it you wanted to ask me?" Michael said finally, breaking the silence. Kyle flinched slightly, fidgeting in his chair and briefly touching the burn scar that ran across his arm, a reminder of the violence that had destroyed TKR.
"Before that last...mission, Jenny had Trek do some research into her past. She was looking for the names of her real parents. Trek managed to dig up one name...yours."
Michael took a deep breath and tried to find a way to phrase this explanation so it would actually make sense. It was a long, convoluted story, but Michael knew Kyle wouldn't be patient enough to listen to it all, so he decided on the abbreviated version.
"Okay...begin at the beginning. Jenny's real Dad was a respected scientist called Professor Charles Landon. He was working on a weapons project for the government during the 80's, but a terrorist organization called 'Spiral' wanted those weapons and was willing to kill to get them. Landon went into hiding but the Spiral didn't bother to go after Landon - they tracked down his family. Then the Foundation got called in. We took down most of the Spiral, but Jenny's mom was killed. We put Landon's kids up for adoption at his request, but to protect Jenny from being used against Landon again, Kitt accessed her birth records and changed to name. Changed it to Michael Knight - a man who doesn't exist except as a shadow in the system."
"The perfect protection." Kyle murmured.
Michael's lips curled up in a faint smile.
"We never expected her to join the Foundation."
Kyle chuckled, then frowned as a new though occurred to him.
"Wait...you said Landon's 'kids'."
"Right. Jenny had a brother called Marcus."
Kyle's eyes widened.
"A brother?" He gasped.
"Yeah, but I don't know what happened to him. I kept track of Jenny though - even looked in on her a few times while she was growing up."
Kyle stared at the clouds for a moment, a reflective sort of look on his face.
"One more mystery cleared up." Kyle said quietly.
Michael looked at him sympathetically.
"Trying to tie up all the loose ends huh?"
"I guess you could put it that way. I'm just trying to sort everything out in my head." Kyle replied.
"It's hard to start a new life when bits and pieces of your old one are still hanging around." Michael smiled. Kyle gave him a dour look.
"Thanks, but I don't feel like changing my name to 'Kyle Knight' just yet."
Michael chuckled wryly.
"Not easy being a man who doesn't exist, but it pays well, and there are all sorts of perks." He grinned, glancing at the sleek black sports car parked on the driveway. Kyle shook his head and stood up.
"Thanks for the information, Michael. I gotta go, Bonnie wants to try some new modifications for Dante."
"No problem Kyle. Anytime."
Michael watched him go then slumped down in his chair, allowing his mood to show itself in his posture for the first time. He felt mentally exhausted, worn out. Things had just gotten a whole lot more complex, and he wasn't sure where to go from here. He had never thought of himself as a leader, but now he found himself entrusted with the lives of four humans and five AI's. It wasn't an easy job.
Michael Knight had changed over the years, accommodating changing fashion as well as his own, more personal alterations. The buttons of his shirts were now fastened to the neck; a heavy leather duster that he wore in all but the hottest of weather had replaced his leather jacket. He no longer flirted with every woman he came across, but sometimes wondered if that were simply because he had lost some of his attractiveness to the opposite sex. He hated to admit it, but he was getting older, though he had always made sure to keep himself in excellent physical condition.
Despite opinions to the contrary, he had always been a man of his word, he had promised many of the women he had met during his travels that he would come back someday, and he had kept his promises. His line of work meant that he was always traveling, and it wasn't difficult to stop off for a few minutes as he was passing through town, renewing old acquaintances. Even during that brief period of his 'retirement' the Foundation had kept him busy, moving up and down the country, often with only a day's notice.
As always, Michael shuddered when he remembered those bleak years. He had bought a car that was as far removed from a TransAm as was possible without sacrificing his own sense of taste, finally settling on a blue Toyota Celica. It would have been far too painful to have a car that looked like Kitt, and yet was missing his bright, warm personality. It would have been too difficult to sit in the driver's seat and not hear Kitt's cool, soothing voice.
Michael almost jumped out of his skin went he felt a hand touch his shoulder, he was out of his chair and in a defensive stance before his brain registered that it was actually Bonnie.
"Bonnie..." He sighed and relaxed, "Sorry, didn't realize it was you." He said, sitting back down and waving her towards a seat. She accepted his offer, and took a chair close to his.
"That's okay. We're all a little bit tense after what's been happening recently." She looked him square in the eye and Michael suddenly heard alarm bells begin to ring in the back of his head.
"Michael..." She began, holding his blue gaze with her own, "I promised myself long ago that I'd never do this, but I just can't hold it back anymore, not when I feel so hard that it almost hurts. I need to tell you..."
Michael held his breath, knowing what was coming, but praying he was wrong. Bonnie had leaned in towards him, close enough that he could feel her breath on his face, feel the heat that was radiating off her in waves, her eyes bright with desperation and hope, her hands twisting together. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Kitt's scanner start up, moving slowly from side to side.
"Michael...I love you." She breathed. She felt certain that he would kiss her now, kiss her and soothe the burning ache she felt inside, fill the emptiness she had so long denied.
He didn't.
Michael's bright blue eyes grew troubled, and Bonnie saw the pain and division written there. He looked away from her, fixing his gaze on the faceted red light on Kitt's nose. When he finally spoke, in what in a soft, choked voice.
"I'm sorry Bonnie. I just can't..." His voice was filled with pain - pain endured and pain remembered. "I can't let myself get that close to anyone again, I won't endanger anyone that way."
Bonnie remembered Michael's beloved bride, his tears, and her bloodstained wedding gown. Bonnie's eyes filled with tears, he was breaking her heart. She stepped closer.
"Michael... please. I love you. I have loved you for so long. I want to make you happy..." Bonnie took another step towards him.
Michael's comlink bleeped before she could get any closer, Michael glanced at it for a second before answering.
"What is it Kitt?" Michael asked.
"Michael...are you all right?" Kitt asked, concern coloring his voice, "Your heart rate is elevated and your breathing is..."
"Shh, Kitt. I'm fine." Michael reassured him with a faint smile. Bonnie almost smiled. Kitt was always so protective of Michael, but lately there had been another quality in his usually cool, gentle voice, a tone that was almost...possessive.
Michael turned back to face her, and gently took her small hands in his larger ones.
"You only need to make yourself happy. You don't need me, Bonnie. To see you happy would make me happy." He released her hands and stood up, looking away from her once more. "I don't want to hurt you, Bonnie, believe me, that's the last thing I ever want to do, I care for you a lot. But if you get too close to me you'll be at risk. I won't put you in danger like that, I can't. It hurt too much last time." Michael's shoulders slumped almost imperceptibly as memories overtook him.
He stared at Kitt's scanner light, mesmerized by the smooth sweeping, the soft sound it made as Kitt searched out his heartbeat. He watched it until the memories slid away.
His comlink chirped again. He glared at it for a second, and Kitt's voice filtered over the tiny speaker.
"Michael, we're getting a call from Jade." Kitt's voice had once again returned to his usual cool, detached tone and Michael suddenly realized how different Kitt sounded when the partners were conducting a private conversation. He looked at Bonnie, still worried about the volatility of her feeling right now, but she just smiled sadly.
"Go, Michael. You've got work to do."
Michael looked torn for a second before he turned around and walked the way he had been facing, towards the object of his unconscious fascination. The TransAm's door opened smoothly on his approach allowing him to take his place in the driver's seat. Bonnie wiped her face dry with the back of her hand.
To see him happy would make her happy.
Maybe it would help if she kept telling herself that.
Michael made himself comfortable in the plush seat, deciding to leave Kitt in control as they set out from the base.
"What was that all about?" Kitt asked with a faint edge in his voice. Michael flinched, as he was pulled out of his reverie.
"Huh? Oh, Bonnie just wanted to talk, that's all." Michael said easily, completely missing the odd tone of Kitt's voice.
"Michael," Kitt said reprovingly, "You know you can't lie to me."
Michael sighed heavily, suddenly feeling his age.
"Bonnie...she well...she told me that she's in love with me, Kitt."
There was a shocked silence as Kitt checked his audio sensors.
"And what did you tell her?" Kitt said, feeling an inexplicable sense of dread.
"I told her that I care for her, but I can't put her in danger that way. It would be so easy for someone to use her to get to me."
"Oh." Kitt said feeling oddly relieved. It had become increasingly hard to ignore the shift in attitude he felt towards Michael. Always before he had watched with little comment or emotion as Michael spent time with his various 'conquests'. They had been, for the most part, one-time affairs, born of gratitude and the allure of the mystery that surrounded Michael Knight. But now Kitt felt very...possessive of his partner's free time. Before his retirement, before TKR or the Shadows, Kitt and Michael had spent endless hours together, talking, laughing, crying, or simply sitting in companionable silence knowing that whatever happened, they would never be alone. Since Michael had created the Shadows, there had been so many demands on his time. So much needed his attention that Michael had much less time to spend with Kitt, and when they spoke on a mission, their conversation was, be necessity, mostly professional.
Kitt resented that, in an odd sort of way, it felt like Michael was drifting away.
Then he called up his memory files of a few weeks ago...
**Flashback**
"I will always be yours, you know that."
"Yeah," Michael smiled, wiping his eyes, "That's something that I always took pride in, something I treasured. But in all these years I never told you that I'm yours, too."
**End Flashback**
Kitt felt a shiver pass through his processor.
The desert scenery had long since become a gray/brown blur as Fury hurtled down the freeway towards the Foundation. The stereo was blaring and the window was wound down as far as it would go, which was actually a scant two inches, as the only human occupant of the modified Ferrari attempted to keep herself awake. It wasn't really necessary for her to force herself to stay awake, as the car's temperamental AI was in perfect control. No, Jade's real reasons for trying to remain with the here-and-now club were more personal. She glared irritably into the side mirror, knowing that if she let herself fall asleep, not only would she would wake up with her hair in disarray, but she would also be groggy and out-of-sorts, and she had no plans to report to her boss feeling irritable and looking like she had been dragged through a bush backwards. The blond-haired young woman looked around her. She had owned the basic Ferrari body for several years before she even knew of Fury's existence and those who knew the F40 would know that the interior was incredibly bare, but when she joined the Shadows the sparse racing interior had been completely refitted. The Foundation engineers had added a digital dash, comfier seats, all sorts of security safeguards, a fantastic new stereo system and, most significantly, the faceted orange scanner light on the outside and the triple-columned voice panel on the inside. Jade fastened her gaze the darkened panel realizing belatedly just how much those tiny LED's had changed her perception of Fury. The voice modulator had become a focal point, and it allowed Fury to express herself much more freely than she had before, when all she had was a tiny monitor with scrolling text.
Jade's head snapped back up from where it had been rested against her chest. Willing herself to stay awake, she began singing along with the stereo.
"You've been trying pretty hard, now this time you've gone too far.
Your performance, perfect in every way, perfect.
I hear rumors all around, contracts to lawyers, champagne downtown.
Tell me what you think you want me to do..."
"I will always bear with you, turning on me after all we've been through." Fury completed in her husky voice.
"Hey," Jade protested lightly, "That's my song."
"Jade, you are exhausted. You frail humans need your rest." The music tuned down of it's own accord.
"I'm fine, Fury." Jade replied with a faint edge in her voice.
"No, you're not. You're suffering from physical exhaustion and need sleep. Forcing yourself to stay awake isn't good for you."
Jade folded her arms and prepared to retort, but Fury's voice cut her off.
"I know you haven't been sleeping well, Jade. Kyle told me about the nightmares."
Jade's eyes widened. Kyle's apartment was next to Jade's own, and he had been the only one aware of her nocturnal terrors. Most of them involving dream images of Dannie and her death. Not surprisingly, it had prevented her from sleeping soundly. Kyle had been amazingly comforting, but she had thought it would have remained between them.
"That snitch! I'll kill him!" Jade growled.
"It's for your own good, Jade." Fury said in an uncharacteristically soft voice, as she tilted the seat back. Jade sighed and gave in completely, curling onto her side and letting the movement of the car lull her into a deep sleep.
Jade awoke suddenly when the car lurched violently to one side. She sat bolt upright, almost banging her head on the low roof. She looked out the windscreen with sleep-blurred eyes, noticing that they had swerved off the road.
"Fury?" She asked, concerned, "Are you okay?"
The lights on the high-tech dash flickered for a second before Fury replied.
"I am functional."
Jade's eye widened. That had not been Fury's usual voice. It was far harsher, more metallic, less emotional. Even in her current torpid state of mind, she could recognize the implications.
"Fury..." Jade said, alarmed.
"No...no...don't..." Fury moaned then, her voice returning to normal, but sounding like she was in pain. Jade, fully awake now, could sense that something was drastically wrong. She grabbed the steering wheel, but even when she exerted all her strength, she couldn't move it.
"Fury! What's happening?!" She cried in a near panic.
"To...terminate...Orders..." The harsh, rasping voice grated through Fury's voice box.
Jade shrank back fearfully, afraid of what that dark voice had meant.
"No!" Fury screamed, "You won't hurt her!!"
Jade watched helplessly as the sunroof opened and the 'eject left' button lit up. There was a brief sensation of flying through the air, and then she landed heavily on the ground. Despite the pain caused by the impact with the ground, Jade forced her eyes open, watching her beloved red Ferrari F40 disappear, taking her closest friend with it.
"No..." She moaned before unconsciousness claimed her.
To Be Continued...
Part One
I caught you in the act, can't put up with that
Messing where you shouldn't be
I wanna hear you say you're sorry
'Cause nobody takes advantage of me
If Looks Could Kill - Heart
//I can still feel her hand touching me, covered in blood. Warm and dark and sticky. Her life flowing out of her. I'm loosing her...I'm loosing her. Dannie...Dannie...don't leave me. I don't want to be alone in the dark again...But the memories won't go away. I can still feel her...//
Fury pulled herself out of recharge quite suddenly when her scanners picked up someone in the vicinity approaching. Her defensive systems powered up to full strength before she realised that it was just her driver being insomniac again.
"Still can't sleep huh Jade?" Fury called. The words had a joking tone, but with a serious edge to them. Fury wasn't the most demonstrative of the Shadow AI's, but that didn't mean she did not care about her chosen partner.
Jade just shrugged and sat down at her PC workstation, waiting for it to boot up. The young hacker looked dreadful. Her green eyes had dark circles under them, mute evidence of how little she had been sleeping lately, and Fury could swear that Jade had lost weight - which wasn't good when she was already so slender. Even so, Fury knew that she could do very little about it - Jade had never listened to her partner's advice before, so why would she start now?
Then again, Fury's own recharge state had been somewhat less than peaceful lately. Just now, Fury could have sworn she heard Echo's voice, chanting on about blood, and about Dannie, but when Fury checked her aural sensors, she had found nothing. Echo hadn't made a peep, and Fury knew it couldn't be the resonance link - it simply wasn't strong enough or stable enough to transmit words - right?
The orange scanner on the Ferrari's nose swished back and forth briefly as Fury considered asking Jade to check it out, but as she watched the human working, her fingers going up and down on the keys as though she had to force every movement, Fury decided against it - Jade had enough problems right now.
As if aware of Fury's scrutiny, Jade turned to fix her eyes on the scrolling amber lights.
"Michael gave us a mission set for tomorrow - you better get all the rest you can now." Jade said and Fury winced internally at how exhausted and hurt her partner sounded. It could be argued that Jade needed the rest more than Fury did, but the red F40 did not argue - Jade just didn't have the strength to retort.
As Fury powered down, she never felt something move into her systems and settle there. A powerful computer program moved itself into the background of the AI's normal functions and waited for its instructions.
Dawn arrived in the usual course of time, and it was shortly after the sun peeped over the horizon that a red Ferrari F40 left the grounds of Shadow Base.
Kyle busied himself with his emails, and Michael decided that it might be a good idea to give Kitt a proper wash and wax. Meanwhile, Bonnie attempted to get some work done in her lab. Echo simply sat in her garage space, alone.
The pen bounced at it was slammed down against the desk. Bonnie glared at it sullenly. She couldn't seem to concentrate. She sighed and gazed around her lab. It was spotless, and filled to the brim with the best and most high-tech equipment, only the best for the Knight Shadows. There were several plasma-screen monitors hooked up to sophisticated diagnostic computers, displaying data on all five of the Shadows vehicles. They were also able to call up information from Intelligence and police databases from around the world, enabling near-instant access to information.
None of that interested her right now. She glanced briefly at the few personal effects she kept in the room. There were several framed photos, many of herself, Michael and Kitt had been taken many years ago. Her gaze lingered on a stunning shot of Michael lounging on Kitt's hood, sunbathing without his shirt. A smile pulled at her lips. She had taken that shot herself, hiding behind the bush candid-camera style. Michael looked utterly at peace in the picture, but Bonnie remembered quite clearly his reaction after he realized he had been snapped - he had chased her with a bucket of ice water for ten minutes, before finally pouring it all down her. To this day she still shivered when she thought of it.
Despite everything she had experienced before she had left the Foundation fifteen year ago, she was genuinely pleased to be here. Her work was fulfilling, she had people here she really cared about, and she had access to the most up-to-date technological equipment in the world. But most of all, she was back with Kitt, and with Michael. For some reason, she couldn't get the day she arrived out her head. It kept playing around in her head over and over. Michael had greeted her exuberantly, saying he was glad she had come, she had smiled, replying that wild horses couldn't keep her away. He had enfolded her in an embrace, and planted a kiss on her cheek. At the time the kiss had seemed like just a simple demonstration of friendly affection, nothing more. But now, looking back, she began wondering if it had been more. The kiss still seemed to burn on her cheek. Bonnie closed her eyes, recalling the warmth of his body, the strength of his arms, his fresh, masculine scent...
She opened her eyes and took a deep breath, realizing belatedly that she was walking dangerously close to a line she had vowed never to cross.
Bonnie glanced one again at the picture of sunbathing Michael and found herself entertaining thoughts that left her blushing to the roots of her hair, she felt giddy, like a schoolgirl in the throws of an adolescent crush. Bonnie sighed deeply and buried her face in her hands. She breathed deeply for several seconds, before standing up and heading out the door. She needed to tell him, she needed to say something, before she went out of her mind
Black ominous clouds had gathered overhead, threatening a downpour. Michael looked up at them briefly and absently swirled the last dregs of coffee in his cup before downing it, wincing briefly at the bitter taste. Kitt was parked not far away, his scanner swished from side to side, keeping tabs on his human friend and partner. Michael turned back to the man sat beside him on the bench, noting the expectant look in the younger man's eyes, despite the emotionless expression on the pale face. Michael was beginning to understand where Dante got his cold attitude from - at times his human partner could be just as machine like.
"What was it you wanted to ask me?" Michael said finally, breaking the silence. Kyle flinched slightly, fidgeting in his chair and briefly touching the burn scar that ran across his arm, a reminder of the violence that had destroyed TKR.
"Before that last...mission, Jenny had Trek do some research into her past. She was looking for the names of her real parents. Trek managed to dig up one name...yours."
Michael took a deep breath and tried to find a way to phrase this explanation so it would actually make sense. It was a long, convoluted story, but Michael knew Kyle wouldn't be patient enough to listen to it all, so he decided on the abbreviated version.
"Okay...begin at the beginning. Jenny's real Dad was a respected scientist called Professor Charles Landon. He was working on a weapons project for the government during the 80's, but a terrorist organization called 'Spiral' wanted those weapons and was willing to kill to get them. Landon went into hiding but the Spiral didn't bother to go after Landon - they tracked down his family. Then the Foundation got called in. We took down most of the Spiral, but Jenny's mom was killed. We put Landon's kids up for adoption at his request, but to protect Jenny from being used against Landon again, Kitt accessed her birth records and changed to name. Changed it to Michael Knight - a man who doesn't exist except as a shadow in the system."
"The perfect protection." Kyle murmured.
Michael's lips curled up in a faint smile.
"We never expected her to join the Foundation."
Kyle chuckled, then frowned as a new though occurred to him.
"Wait...you said Landon's 'kids'."
"Right. Jenny had a brother called Marcus."
Kyle's eyes widened.
"A brother?" He gasped.
"Yeah, but I don't know what happened to him. I kept track of Jenny though - even looked in on her a few times while she was growing up."
Kyle stared at the clouds for a moment, a reflective sort of look on his face.
"One more mystery cleared up." Kyle said quietly.
Michael looked at him sympathetically.
"Trying to tie up all the loose ends huh?"
"I guess you could put it that way. I'm just trying to sort everything out in my head." Kyle replied.
"It's hard to start a new life when bits and pieces of your old one are still hanging around." Michael smiled. Kyle gave him a dour look.
"Thanks, but I don't feel like changing my name to 'Kyle Knight' just yet."
Michael chuckled wryly.
"Not easy being a man who doesn't exist, but it pays well, and there are all sorts of perks." He grinned, glancing at the sleek black sports car parked on the driveway. Kyle shook his head and stood up.
"Thanks for the information, Michael. I gotta go, Bonnie wants to try some new modifications for Dante."
"No problem Kyle. Anytime."
Michael watched him go then slumped down in his chair, allowing his mood to show itself in his posture for the first time. He felt mentally exhausted, worn out. Things had just gotten a whole lot more complex, and he wasn't sure where to go from here. He had never thought of himself as a leader, but now he found himself entrusted with the lives of four humans and five AI's. It wasn't an easy job.
Michael Knight had changed over the years, accommodating changing fashion as well as his own, more personal alterations. The buttons of his shirts were now fastened to the neck; a heavy leather duster that he wore in all but the hottest of weather had replaced his leather jacket. He no longer flirted with every woman he came across, but sometimes wondered if that were simply because he had lost some of his attractiveness to the opposite sex. He hated to admit it, but he was getting older, though he had always made sure to keep himself in excellent physical condition.
Despite opinions to the contrary, he had always been a man of his word, he had promised many of the women he had met during his travels that he would come back someday, and he had kept his promises. His line of work meant that he was always traveling, and it wasn't difficult to stop off for a few minutes as he was passing through town, renewing old acquaintances. Even during that brief period of his 'retirement' the Foundation had kept him busy, moving up and down the country, often with only a day's notice.
As always, Michael shuddered when he remembered those bleak years. He had bought a car that was as far removed from a TransAm as was possible without sacrificing his own sense of taste, finally settling on a blue Toyota Celica. It would have been far too painful to have a car that looked like Kitt, and yet was missing his bright, warm personality. It would have been too difficult to sit in the driver's seat and not hear Kitt's cool, soothing voice.
Michael almost jumped out of his skin went he felt a hand touch his shoulder, he was out of his chair and in a defensive stance before his brain registered that it was actually Bonnie.
"Bonnie..." He sighed and relaxed, "Sorry, didn't realize it was you." He said, sitting back down and waving her towards a seat. She accepted his offer, and took a chair close to his.
"That's okay. We're all a little bit tense after what's been happening recently." She looked him square in the eye and Michael suddenly heard alarm bells begin to ring in the back of his head.
"Michael..." She began, holding his blue gaze with her own, "I promised myself long ago that I'd never do this, but I just can't hold it back anymore, not when I feel so hard that it almost hurts. I need to tell you..."
Michael held his breath, knowing what was coming, but praying he was wrong. Bonnie had leaned in towards him, close enough that he could feel her breath on his face, feel the heat that was radiating off her in waves, her eyes bright with desperation and hope, her hands twisting together. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Kitt's scanner start up, moving slowly from side to side.
"Michael...I love you." She breathed. She felt certain that he would kiss her now, kiss her and soothe the burning ache she felt inside, fill the emptiness she had so long denied.
He didn't.
Michael's bright blue eyes grew troubled, and Bonnie saw the pain and division written there. He looked away from her, fixing his gaze on the faceted red light on Kitt's nose. When he finally spoke, in what in a soft, choked voice.
"I'm sorry Bonnie. I just can't..." His voice was filled with pain - pain endured and pain remembered. "I can't let myself get that close to anyone again, I won't endanger anyone that way."
Bonnie remembered Michael's beloved bride, his tears, and her bloodstained wedding gown. Bonnie's eyes filled with tears, he was breaking her heart. She stepped closer.
"Michael... please. I love you. I have loved you for so long. I want to make you happy..." Bonnie took another step towards him.
Michael's comlink bleeped before she could get any closer, Michael glanced at it for a second before answering.
"What is it Kitt?" Michael asked.
"Michael...are you all right?" Kitt asked, concern coloring his voice, "Your heart rate is elevated and your breathing is..."
"Shh, Kitt. I'm fine." Michael reassured him with a faint smile. Bonnie almost smiled. Kitt was always so protective of Michael, but lately there had been another quality in his usually cool, gentle voice, a tone that was almost...possessive.
Michael turned back to face her, and gently took her small hands in his larger ones.
"You only need to make yourself happy. You don't need me, Bonnie. To see you happy would make me happy." He released her hands and stood up, looking away from her once more. "I don't want to hurt you, Bonnie, believe me, that's the last thing I ever want to do, I care for you a lot. But if you get too close to me you'll be at risk. I won't put you in danger like that, I can't. It hurt too much last time." Michael's shoulders slumped almost imperceptibly as memories overtook him.
He stared at Kitt's scanner light, mesmerized by the smooth sweeping, the soft sound it made as Kitt searched out his heartbeat. He watched it until the memories slid away.
His comlink chirped again. He glared at it for a second, and Kitt's voice filtered over the tiny speaker.
"Michael, we're getting a call from Jade." Kitt's voice had once again returned to his usual cool, detached tone and Michael suddenly realized how different Kitt sounded when the partners were conducting a private conversation. He looked at Bonnie, still worried about the volatility of her feeling right now, but she just smiled sadly.
"Go, Michael. You've got work to do."
Michael looked torn for a second before he turned around and walked the way he had been facing, towards the object of his unconscious fascination. The TransAm's door opened smoothly on his approach allowing him to take his place in the driver's seat. Bonnie wiped her face dry with the back of her hand.
To see him happy would make her happy.
Maybe it would help if she kept telling herself that.
Michael made himself comfortable in the plush seat, deciding to leave Kitt in control as they set out from the base.
"What was that all about?" Kitt asked with a faint edge in his voice. Michael flinched, as he was pulled out of his reverie.
"Huh? Oh, Bonnie just wanted to talk, that's all." Michael said easily, completely missing the odd tone of Kitt's voice.
"Michael," Kitt said reprovingly, "You know you can't lie to me."
Michael sighed heavily, suddenly feeling his age.
"Bonnie...she well...she told me that she's in love with me, Kitt."
There was a shocked silence as Kitt checked his audio sensors.
"And what did you tell her?" Kitt said, feeling an inexplicable sense of dread.
"I told her that I care for her, but I can't put her in danger that way. It would be so easy for someone to use her to get to me."
"Oh." Kitt said feeling oddly relieved. It had become increasingly hard to ignore the shift in attitude he felt towards Michael. Always before he had watched with little comment or emotion as Michael spent time with his various 'conquests'. They had been, for the most part, one-time affairs, born of gratitude and the allure of the mystery that surrounded Michael Knight. But now Kitt felt very...possessive of his partner's free time. Before his retirement, before TKR or the Shadows, Kitt and Michael had spent endless hours together, talking, laughing, crying, or simply sitting in companionable silence knowing that whatever happened, they would never be alone. Since Michael had created the Shadows, there had been so many demands on his time. So much needed his attention that Michael had much less time to spend with Kitt, and when they spoke on a mission, their conversation was, be necessity, mostly professional.
Kitt resented that, in an odd sort of way, it felt like Michael was drifting away.
Then he called up his memory files of a few weeks ago...
**Flashback**
"I will always be yours, you know that."
"Yeah," Michael smiled, wiping his eyes, "That's something that I always took pride in, something I treasured. But in all these years I never told you that I'm yours, too."
**End Flashback**
Kitt felt a shiver pass through his processor.
The desert scenery had long since become a gray/brown blur as Fury hurtled down the freeway towards the Foundation. The stereo was blaring and the window was wound down as far as it would go, which was actually a scant two inches, as the only human occupant of the modified Ferrari attempted to keep herself awake. It wasn't really necessary for her to force herself to stay awake, as the car's temperamental AI was in perfect control. No, Jade's real reasons for trying to remain with the here-and-now club were more personal. She glared irritably into the side mirror, knowing that if she let herself fall asleep, not only would she would wake up with her hair in disarray, but she would also be groggy and out-of-sorts, and she had no plans to report to her boss feeling irritable and looking like she had been dragged through a bush backwards. The blond-haired young woman looked around her. She had owned the basic Ferrari body for several years before she even knew of Fury's existence and those who knew the F40 would know that the interior was incredibly bare, but when she joined the Shadows the sparse racing interior had been completely refitted. The Foundation engineers had added a digital dash, comfier seats, all sorts of security safeguards, a fantastic new stereo system and, most significantly, the faceted orange scanner light on the outside and the triple-columned voice panel on the inside. Jade fastened her gaze the darkened panel realizing belatedly just how much those tiny LED's had changed her perception of Fury. The voice modulator had become a focal point, and it allowed Fury to express herself much more freely than she had before, when all she had was a tiny monitor with scrolling text.
Jade's head snapped back up from where it had been rested against her chest. Willing herself to stay awake, she began singing along with the stereo.
"You've been trying pretty hard, now this time you've gone too far.
Your performance, perfect in every way, perfect.
I hear rumors all around, contracts to lawyers, champagne downtown.
Tell me what you think you want me to do..."
"I will always bear with you, turning on me after all we've been through." Fury completed in her husky voice.
"Hey," Jade protested lightly, "That's my song."
"Jade, you are exhausted. You frail humans need your rest." The music tuned down of it's own accord.
"I'm fine, Fury." Jade replied with a faint edge in her voice.
"No, you're not. You're suffering from physical exhaustion and need sleep. Forcing yourself to stay awake isn't good for you."
Jade folded her arms and prepared to retort, but Fury's voice cut her off.
"I know you haven't been sleeping well, Jade. Kyle told me about the nightmares."
Jade's eyes widened. Kyle's apartment was next to Jade's own, and he had been the only one aware of her nocturnal terrors. Most of them involving dream images of Dannie and her death. Not surprisingly, it had prevented her from sleeping soundly. Kyle had been amazingly comforting, but she had thought it would have remained between them.
"That snitch! I'll kill him!" Jade growled.
"It's for your own good, Jade." Fury said in an uncharacteristically soft voice, as she tilted the seat back. Jade sighed and gave in completely, curling onto her side and letting the movement of the car lull her into a deep sleep.
Jade awoke suddenly when the car lurched violently to one side. She sat bolt upright, almost banging her head on the low roof. She looked out the windscreen with sleep-blurred eyes, noticing that they had swerved off the road.
"Fury?" She asked, concerned, "Are you okay?"
The lights on the high-tech dash flickered for a second before Fury replied.
"I am functional."
Jade's eye widened. That had not been Fury's usual voice. It was far harsher, more metallic, less emotional. Even in her current torpid state of mind, she could recognize the implications.
"Fury..." Jade said, alarmed.
"No...no...don't..." Fury moaned then, her voice returning to normal, but sounding like she was in pain. Jade, fully awake now, could sense that something was drastically wrong. She grabbed the steering wheel, but even when she exerted all her strength, she couldn't move it.
"Fury! What's happening?!" She cried in a near panic.
"To...terminate...Orders..." The harsh, rasping voice grated through Fury's voice box.
Jade shrank back fearfully, afraid of what that dark voice had meant.
"No!" Fury screamed, "You won't hurt her!!"
Jade watched helplessly as the sunroof opened and the 'eject left' button lit up. There was a brief sensation of flying through the air, and then she landed heavily on the ground. Despite the pain caused by the impact with the ground, Jade forced her eyes open, watching her beloved red Ferrari F40 disappear, taking her closest friend with it.
"No..." She moaned before unconsciousness claimed her.
To Be Continued...
