Disclaimer: Vin and the rest of The Magnificent Seven are copyrighted to TNN, CBS, MGM, The Trilogy Entertainment Group, and The Mirisch Corp. The ATF AU was created by Mog. Michael, Kitt and the Knight Rider premise belong to Glen A. Larson and Universal. Nick, Karr, and the neural link belong to Birgit Stäbler. These stories are strictly for entertainment, yours and my own. No monetary gain is made from them. Please don't sue.

Umbra #1: Predators and Prey By Moonbeam (mbeam@hotmail.com)

Category: Alternate Universe, Crossover, Action/Adventure, some Angst, some Humor. No Romance. No Original Characters, no Mary-Sues!

Rating: PG-13 due to violence and language.

Summary: Nick gets kidnapped and Karr heads for Denver to get help from a former secret operative turned federal agent. Features Vin Tanner (M7) and Karr (KR). Set in 2001: three years into The Magnificent Seven's ATF Alternate Universe, and three years into Michael and Kitt's partnership with Nick and Karr in Gryph's Knight Rider 'Fire & Ice' Alternate Universe. Mainly KR-oriented, but with strong M7 representation.

Author's Notes: These stories are unusual. They are crossovers, but they cross two previously established alternate universes. In the Magnificent Seven fandom, a wonderful woman named Mog created and opened the ATF AU. It has since been built into a whole new world that has become as real as the original Old West of the TV series. In the Knight Rider fandom, Gryph has had no less of an impact with the creation of her Fire & Ice AU. The characters of Alex, Nash, Nick and Karr, and the creation of the neural link, are copyrighted to Birgit Stäbler (a.k.a. Gryph or Macx). They are used with permission. (These stories have no relation to Macx's Borderlines or Denuo AUs.)

Special Thanks: First, a big thanks to my three betas! Val (JJJunky), Timovena, and even Gryph herself -- your input was invaluable. Gryph especially, for being so kind as to allow me to borrow her interesting characters and to answer my many questions so I could do them justice. There are brief references to events in her stories "Beyond Loyalty", "Payback", "The File", and "Liability". Thank you to Mog, for starting the M7 ATF AU, and to those great authors who've continued it. Also to those who provided name's for the Seven's horses. Vin's horse, Peso, uses his own name. Ezra's horse, Chaucer, I believe was originated by Kristen. And credit for Chris's horse, Pony, goes to LaraMee. Lastly, thanks to my father (an electrical engineer) for his technical expertise.

On to the story . . .