My systems gradually came online, but they were sluggish and full of glitches. A quick diagnostic confirmed that the electromagnetic pulse had caused extensive damage to a number of my systems. Fortunately, my scanner was not affected in any way, so I activated it and allowed the yellow light to travel back and forth once before fading to darkness. I didn't want my activity to be noticed. My surroundings were recognisable to me as the interior of the Foundation's semi. The engine was running, which meant that I had not yet arrived at whatever destination Devon had in mind for me. I knew that, wherever that was, would not be good.
An hour later, the semi came to a stop, and the doors were opened. I didn't dare activate my scanner to get an accurate sense of where I was, for the light would be an obvious indicator to anyone nearby that I was online.
"I want a complete analysis of Karr's source code, including a rundown of each and every coding error," I heard Devon say. Why did he want my source code? Surely, he already had a copy of it.
"Is that all?" an unknown voice answered. I assumed they must be a technician.
"After that, I want the car dismantled and scrapped. As for the circuitry, I want that completely destroyed. Is that clear?"
"Yes sir."
I was quickly unloaded from the semi, and the sound of its engine alerted me to its swift departure. An irregular beeping informed me of various electrical devices in… wherever I was. If I wanted to keep up the charade of being deactivated, then I needed to give these technicians access to my circuitry, so when I detected someone attempting to open my hood, I allowed it to be opened. When various wires were attached to my memory banks, I did nothing to interfere with their course of action.
"The transfer is complete," I heard an unidentifiable voice say.
"Excellent work everyone," another unknown said. "Why don't you all take a break and get back to work later," they suggested. The wires were quickly disconnected, and soon after, I heard a door slam and the only sound I could detect was the continued beeping of machinery.
I had heard that I was going to be destroyed, and yet I didn't want to run. There was no thought process regarding my self-preservation, and yet that was my primary function. My programming dictated that I needed to prioritise my continued existence above anything else, but I wasn't. The thought of escaping hadn't even been considered.
"Karr?" Kitt said, opening the channel once again.
"Yes Kitt?" I replied.
"Thank goodness you responded. I need your help," he informed me. "Michael has been kidnapped and I have less than six hours to find him or they're going to kill him."
"Can't you track the comlink?" I questioned.
"The signal has been blocked. I've tried contacting Devon as well, but I haven't had any luck." Kitt wanted my help. Why? Why did he decide that I could be trusted with something as important as helping to save the life of his driver? Immediately, I stopped that thought process in its tracks. My questions could wait.
"Send me your co-ordinates," I told Kitt. "I'll be there as soon as possible."
The moment I had received the co-ordinates I switched on my scanner and slammed my hood. I revved my engine and accelerated towards the door of what I now knew was a warehouse, smashing through it as though it was paper. I made my way toward the front gates and various alarms sounded, however they weren't of any concern to me, for I would be long gone before they would be ready to try to prevent my departure. I picked up speed as I headed towards the nearest highway while plotting the fastest route to Kitt's location. "ETA twenty-two minutes," I informed Kitt, accelerating in an attempt to cut that time down. "I need you to give me as much information about the situation as you can."
Kitt almost instantly sent me a series of photographs. One of which showed a car and, with a bit of image enhancement, the license plate of the vehicle. "Have you had any luck tracking this vehicle?" I asked.
"I'm afraid not," Kitt replied. "They quickly went out of scanner range, so I only know the direction…"
I didn't hear the rest of Kitt's sentence, for I detected the car from the photograph travelling along the highway in the opposite direction. I spun around, and turbo boosted over the central barrier, although my landing was less than perfect as there was minor damage to that system.
"I've found them," I informed Kitt. "I'll send you the coordinates."
"I'll catch up within the next ten minutes," Kitt said.
"How?" I asked, for that amount of time was too short according to my calculations.
"I've had a few upgrades since our encounter a couple of years ago." I chose not to reply to that, instead making sure that the car I was following didn't get out of scanner range. I would have just locked their brakes, but the system I required for that had been knocked out by the electromagnetic pulse.
The car turned off at the next exit, and I followed a short distance behind. They turned left, entering the grounds of a large mansion. I came to a stop on the side of the road and monitored the area. I couldn't follow yet without being noticed. Instead I worked on a plan this rescue mission that I now gotten myself involved in. They took Michael into a small structure next to the main building. He was tied up but appeared to be unharmed. I couldn't perform a medical scan, as that system was non-functional. Outside, there was one guard posted, and there appeared to be no surveillance system installed.
Deciding on my course of action, I quietly made my way up the driveway, before immediately making my way onto the grass, weaving my way through various sprinklers scattered around the entrance. Once I was directly behind the building, I patched into the comlink frequency. "Don't speak, just listen. There is one guard outside and the door is unlocked. I'm waiting for you behind the building." Now it was up to him.I could be of more help, but at this point things needed to be handled as subtly as possible.
Not a moment later, the door opened, creaking as it did so and alerting the guard. I raced around to the front of the building just in time to see the guard sound the alarm. "Get in," I told Michael, opening the passenger side door. The moment he closed it I headed towards the exit, only to find it blocked by several vehicles armed with machine guns. I couldn't turbo boost over them because the distance was too far. The surrounding fence was electrified, and due to the damage to my systems, that was also not an option. I was trapped.
Deciding on the next best course of action, I turned around heading further onto the grounds of the mansion. If I couldn't leave that way, then I would have to find another path.
"Karr, I'm here," Kitt told me. "What's going on?"
"Is there an exit other than the main gate?" I asked, ignoring his question.
"I'm afraid not," he replied. "I can however create a diversion for you." I was about to reply, only I found that Kitt had closed the channel.
Almost immediately, I detected that Kitt was behind me. "What are you doing?" I asked speaking aloud.
"Giving them a new target," he replied. I quickly set off in the direction of the exit once again. I found it strange how Kitt had so quickly been accepted as a new target, when they knew that I was the one who had their prisoner.
Just as I was about to reach the gates, I detected an explosive device which was set to explode the moment anything passed through the gate. "You're on your own now Kitt," I told him, hoping that he was paying attention to the channel. I ejected Michael out of the car, throwing him onto the grass, before going through the gate. The explosion echoed around me, my molecular bonded shell doing nothing to prevent the fire and heat from tearing me to pieces.