Chapter 4

Bonnie had waited for Carlee in the garage, leaning casually against K.I.T.T.'s front fender.

She held out her hand, the newly linked comm link resting on her up turned palm. "K.I.T.T. asked me to set up a comm link for you."

Carlee took the comm link, which looked like nothing more than an ordinary digital wrist watch, and strapped it on her wrist.

Bonnie pulled Carlee into a sisterly embrace, saying, "Please, be careful! I don't think K.I.T.T., or for that matter the rest of us, could take losing you, too!"

"I will! I promise!" and with that, Carlee turned to K.I.T.T., who opened his driver's side door for her. "Oh, K.I.T.T., are you sure?"

"Yes, Carlee. You are the only other person I would ever want to drive me!"

Carlee settled herself into the driver's seat. She had to pull the seat forward several inches, so she could reach the gull wing steering wheel, and the pedals. She adjusted the mirrors, then turned the key in the ignition. K.I.T.T.'s turbine engine rumbled to life.

Carlee backed K.I.T.T. out of the garage, and drove towards Los Angeles.

"What will we do first," K.I.T.T. inquired.

"We're going back to the warehouse where Michael was shot. There may be something the police missed. K.I.T.T., I need all of the details about what happened that night. I know this is going to be hard on both of us, but I need any audio and visual you have."

K.I.T.T. let out a human sounding sigh of resignation, "Very well."

An audio recording of K.I.T.T.'s last conversation with Michael came on.

"Hey, Pal! You there?"

"Where else would I be, Michael?" K.I.T.T. responded amiably to Michael's banter.

"Just wanted to check in, let you know I'm okay. I'm getting close to identifying the boss."

"Michael! My scanners indicate our signal has been intercepted! Get out of there! I'm on my way!"

K.I.T.T.'s recorder now picked up static from Michael's end. Michael's comm link had either been damaged or lost.

"Michael! Michael!" On the recording, an engine roared to life, and tires squealed on pavement. Then the recording cut off.

"I was parked in a parking structure two miles away. I reached the warehouse in one minute, nineteen seconds, just as this was taking place," K.I.T.T.'s dash monitor came to life.

Carlee watched in horrified fascination.

Michael stumbled out a side access door of the warehouse, into the alley. He had blood running down the side of his face from a head wound, and he was cradling his left arm.

He nearly stumbled, but managed to keep his balance.

Two men charged out the door right on Michael's heels. He dropped one with a round house kick to the chest. The other already had his gun out and trained on Michael.

There was no way for K.I.T.T. to get between the two men, so he opened his driver side door, yelling, "Hurry, Michael! Get in!"

Michael's roundhouse kick had left him facing K.I.T.T. He leapt forward. Nearly simultaneously, two shots echoed through the alley.

The impact of the bullets into Michael's back propelled him forward two more steps. Then he crumpled to the ground and lay still.

K.I.T.T. was yelling, "Michael! Michael! Hang on! Help is on the way!"

The gunman jumped on a nearby motorcycle, gunned it to life, and sped away. K.I.T.T. made no move to follow, choosing to stay at his fallen driver's side.

K.I.T.T. turned the recording off. Bringing up a still shot of the gunman to replace the video.

"I called 911, but my life signs scanner already told me it was too late," K.I.T.T. whispered, as if afraid Carlee would blame him for Michael's death.

"It's not your fault, K.I.T.T. You did everything humanly possible to protect him."

"That's just it, though. I'm not human! There should have been something more I could have done," K.I.T.T. trailed off into the low keening sound of his sobs.

Tears shimmered in Carlee's eyes, but she refused to let them fall. Later, she would mourn again. Right now, she had a friend who desperately needed her, and a job to be done.

"Now you listen to me, K.I.T.T.! There was nothing else you could have done! Nothing! We are going to find that gunman, and God willing, the mob boss, too. We are going to bring them to justice for what they've done! It's what Michael would do, if he were here. It's what he would want us to do, now, together!"

The keening sound slowly faded away.