Knight Rider 2008 Alternate Storyline – Episode 12 – Knight Lights

Chapter 2

Kat looked up and down the hallway carefully. Once she was satisfied that no one was around, she walked down it quickly. She stopped at a door. On it was a gold-colored plaque that read: Delilah Cromwell.

Kat tested the knob carefully. It was unlocked. Kat looked a little exasperated. Did Delilah have to make it so easy for someone to assassinate her? She opened the door and stepped into the room.

The room was not deserted though. "Dylan." Kat said in surprise.

His back was to her. After a moment, he turned and spotted her. He smiled at her warmly. "Katherine." He said in a way that made her joints turn to rubber. "Do you know where Delilah is?" He asked. "There was this scene I wanted to practice with her."

Kat took a moment to focus on what he was saying. It was fairly difficult. Her brain stalled up whenever she looked at his mouth. "She's doing the restaurant scene now." She said finally, pointing out the door behind her.

"Damn." Dylan said, his perfect brow furrowing. "That's going to take hours." He looked at Kat and his expression cleared. "Do you want to help me out?"

Kat gave him a small nod. "Sure, okay. What do I have to do?" She asked.

"Just stand there while I act this one part to you. You'll be Delilah." He said, holding up his hands. He pulled a rolled-up copy of the script from the back pocket of his jeans. He grimaced as he quickly read through the lines. "My agent called me just now."

"Oh?" Kat asked. That might explain why he was so distracted when she came in.

He nodded, his eyes on the page. "She says I'm getting too old, that it's harder to find a role for me." He looked back up at Kat and smiled weakly. "She said this movie might be my last major gig."

Kat gave him an incredulous look. "Too old? Aren't you in your twenties?"

His smile widened. "Twenty-nine. Though my website has been set to twenty-five the past four years." He stuffed the script back into his pocket. "Okay ready."

Kat watched as his expression changed from boyish cheerfulness to an almost manic earnestness. "The last thing I want to do is hurt you, don't you see that?"

He walked over to her slowly. "The plots, the secrets, the lies. They've all been to protect you." Kat didn't know what the other half of the conversation was supposed to be, so she just kept still.

Dylan continued on flawlessly. He stopped right in front of her and looked down at her almost pleadingly. "You have to stop this. You can't continue with this kind of life. You'll burn up. We both will." He lifted one hand and gently traced her cheek with his fingers.

He jerked away from her then as if she had slapped him, which was what was probably in the script. Though, Kat would be incapable of doing such a thing at that moment. It took all her mental resources right now just to stand upright.

"Fine then." He said, his eyes taking on a determined gleam. "If that's the way it has to be. Tomorrow is the final run, the last race. And I'll be in it." He loomed over her. "And there is only one prize that I'll be driving for." He bent his head down to hers.

Dylan paused and grinned. "Well? How was I?"

A small, indiscernible noise escaped from Kat's throat.

He straightened up. "Looks like I've still got it." He said cheerfully, his expression completely changed. "Thanks Katherine." He turned and walked out of the room, whistling merrily.

Kat stared after him for a long moment. Then, she began to breathe again. "Kat?" K.I.T.T asked in her ear.

"Guh?" Kat answered.

"That's not a word." K.I.T.T said. "Is it really wise to let your guard down?" He asked in a disapproving voice.

Kat took a moment so her brain could form coherent words. "You have a problem with Dylan?"

"He seems somewhat nefarious." K.I.T.T replied. "He cornered you alone in that small room. His intentions are untrustworthy."

"You don't like the handsome, intelligent actor who might have an interest in me." Kat deduced. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Are you insinuating that I am jealous of that man?" K.I.T.T asked narrowly.

"You? Jealous? Never." Kat said. She turned away from the door, her mind turning back to her original purpose for being in Delilah's dressing room. "But... haven't you noticed that you are just a teensy bit overprotective sometimes?"

"There is no such thing as 'overprotective' when it comes to someone as reckless as you." K.I.T.T retorted. "There are days when it takes nearly all of my impressive, nigh limitless resources just to keep you alive."

Kat rolled her eyes. She began opening drawers. All she could find was makeup. Though there was a surprising amount of cute animal stickers scattered around. Delilah had a fascination for all things cute.

"What are we searching for that we are ransacking the dressing room of the one we are supposed to be protecting?" K.I.T.T asked.

"There has to be some reason why someone out there hates Delilah." Kat said. "You checked her records. There is nothing on file that can account for so many attempts on her life. But there must be evidence of a reason somewhere." She looked through a stack of fashion magazines.

"Something that would really be helpful would be if you could find those threatening letters that were sent to Delilah." K.I.T.T inputted. "Though, it is unlikely that she had kept them. The police would have confiscated them."

Kat opened another drawer. She pulled out a manila envelope. She lifted up the flap and peered inside. "No, I think it is very likely that she kept them." She said, shaking the contents out. At least a dozen smaller, white envelopes spilled out. All of them had been opened.

She picked up the first one and opened it. She pulled out the note. It was handwritten in black ink. But it looked like it had been written by a madman. The pen had been pressed hard into the paper, breaking through in certain places. Blank ink was splattered on the page.

Kat looked over the letter. She swallowed hard. "Wow." She said. "This is, this is a lot of hate."

"If you bring the letters to me, I can analyze them." K.I.T.T told her.

Kat nodded. She placed the envelopes back into the manila envelope and unzipped her leather vest. She stuffed the envelope inside and zipped it back up.

Just then, a high-pitched scream echoed down the hall. "Looks like that's my cue..." She said as she hurriedly exited the room.

********

Kat raced down the hallway. She came to the area in front of the bathrooms and stopped in her tracks. Delilah lay on the floor, her eyes closed. A man with long, dark hair was kneeling next to her. In his hand was a pipe wrench.

"Back away from her!" Kat warned, one hand moving to her watch.

The man turned his head and looked at her. His eyes were narrowed. "I'm not leaving." He said firmly. Kat could see that he was holding Delilah's hand.

"I've alerted the paramedics stationed on the set." K.I.T.T informed her. There were a few big stunts planned for today, so there was a medical team on standby at all times.

Kat didn't let her guard down, though. "Do you know what happened?" She asked as she hurried to Delilah's side. She examined her carefully, but there were no obvious injuries.

The man seemed reluctant to let Kat touch Delilah, but didn't try to stop her. "I was in the bathroom." He nodded to the door to the men's room. "When I heard the scream I came running."

"What's with the wrench?" Kat asked suspiciously.

The man glared at her. "Someone threw this at me when I got out of the bathroom. I ducked behind the door, and they ran off. That's when I spotted Delilah."

"Did you see what they looked like?" Kat pressed as she checked Delilah's pulse.

"I wasn't watching them." He said, looking back down at Delilah. Kat deduced that she was unconscious, but unharmed. Most likely, she had fainted.

"Who are you?" Kat asked. "I haven't seen you hear before." Though, he did look vaguely familiar.

"I could say the same about you." He gave Kat a piercing look. "I'm Malcolm Blake, I've been away a few days, family matters." Kat blinked blankly at him. He sighed in exasperation. "I play Ethan, Kyle's brother." There was no spark of recognition on Kat's face. "Dylan plays Kyle." Malcolm said. "You know Dylan, right?"

This time comprehension dawned. "Oh." Kat said. "I haven't seen any of the scripts, so I don't know the names." She told him. "I don't even know what the movie's about. I'm just a stunt girl."

Delilah stirred then. She opened her eyes slowly and groaned. "Oh, what was that?" She asked. She spotted Kat and smiled. "Hey Katherine, what's up?"

"Delilah, are you okay?" Kat asked urgently. "Are you hurt?"

Delilah groaned again. "Ohhhh, just my head, I think. I must have fallen..."

"There was someone here." Malcolm said, making eye contact with her. "They were carrying this." He held up the wrench. "Did you see who they were?"

"Mal, when did you get back?" Delilah asked in confusion.

Malcolm quelled his frustration. "This morning. Did you see them, Delilah?" He asked.

Delilah's brow furrowed. "No, I didn't see anyone." She said. "I was heading to the lavatory when someone grabbed me from behind. They knocked me down. I guess I hit my head, because I don't remember anything after that."

Kat frowned deeply. "Can you sit up?" She asked gently.

Delilah tried to sit up, Malcolm and Kat helped her. "I'm a little dizzy, and I'll have a headache, but I'm fine." Delilah smiled. "Really."

"You should get looked at, just in case." Malcolm said. He set the wrench down and took out his cell phone.

Just as he was about to dial a number, two paramedics hurried in. They went to Delilah immediately, who kept insisting that she was fine. Kat stepped back. She watched as the paramedics left with Delilah, Malcolm close behind.

Kat looked at the wrench on the floor. She bent down next to it, pulling a tissue from her pocket. She draped the tissue over the wrench and picked it up.

It had some weight to it. Someone was planning on doing some serious damage. "But why here?" Kat asked. "Why out in the open like this?"

"Actually, it's not." K.I.T.T told her. "Everyone is outside right now preparing for the race scene. And if you'll turn slightly to your left and look up." Kat complied and spied a camera overlooking the entrances to the bathrooms. "That camera is broken."

"Not everyone is outside." Kat told him. "Malcolm said he was in the bathroom."

"I've done a search on Malcolm Blake. His father passed away last week. He's been away tending to funeral arrangements. I believe that no one expected him back so soon."

Kat thought this over for a bit. "So, either he came back early so he could try to kill Delilah. Or he's back early for a different reason, and Delilah's attacker didn't realize he was in the bathroom."

"Both scenarios are plausible." K.I.T.T said. "The attacker is careful. They would have checked to make sure everyone was outside before going after Delilah. Since Malcolm just got back this morning, they wouldn't think to make sure he was accounted for."

"I'm heading over." Kat told him. "We have some evidence to analyze."