Chapter 10
The day was spent bantering back and forth. Michaela also thumbed through a couple of magazines she'd bought at the convenience store.
She occasionally glanced at the screen, noting the guards' alert but unconcerned manner as they made their rounds. For the most part, though, she trusted K.A.I.S.Y. to monitor the facility and report any changes to her.
The readout of the highly modified dash board's clock had just clicked over to two fifteen, and Michaela was stifling her fourth or fifth yawn in as many minutes when all hell broke loose.
"In bound vehicle traveling at two hundred fifty miles per hour, heading straight for the D.O.D. facility," K.A.I.S.Y. said, as his engine roared to life.
On the monitor, the M.P.s patrolling the building were swarming toward the far fence, which K.I.T.T. was rocketing toward.
K.A.I.S.Y. was already rolling out of the parking lot, his tires squealing on the asphalt as they found purchase.
Michaela had already tossed her magazine aside and was holding on to the steering wheel with white knuckled anticipation.
"E.T.A.?"
"K.I.T.T. came in from the opposite side of the building, so I just picked him up. He'll be there before us."
They rounded the building just in time to see K.I.T.T. crash through the fence. The closer M.P.s jumped frantically out of the way. The farther ones opened fire with their M-16's.
Between the fence and the wall, K.I.T.T. didn't bother to slow down. If anything, he sped up.
The wall exploded into the building, sending concrete chunks flying everywhere.
Michaela hoped no one had been in that section.
"Block the hole, maybe we can trap them," Michaela suggested.
M.P.s who had cautiously crept forward scrambled back out of the way as K.A.I.S.Y. sped through the hole in the fence and skidded sideways against the hole in the wall, sending even more debris flying in all directions.
Recovering M.P.s turned toward K.A.I.S.Y. and Michaela, raised their M-16's and opened fire.
"Damn!" Michaela exclaimed, slamming her hands down on the steering wheel. She knew K.A.I.S.Y. wouldn't allow her out with bullets flying. "What's going on in there?"
"They've got the laser. They're headed back this way. Even with turbo boost, K.I.T.T. couldn't get enough speed to get back out of one of the undamaged walls. He needs more area to speed up than he's got in there."
"What's the integrity of the top of this wall? Could K.I.T.T. turbo over us?"
"There's a forty percent chance the remainder of the wall would hold against a turbo boost."
"Let me guess, they're going to try it."
Looking out the passenger side window, Michaela could now see K.I.T.T. heading back through the destruction he'd wreaked.
She watched in horrified fascination as turbo boost catapulted K.I.T.T.'s front end into the air. He easily cleared them, sending chunks of concrete raining down on them from the remaining part of the wall and part of the roof.
When K.I.T.T. landed, his tires threw up clods of already decimated turf as they spun. Then they caught and he rocketed away.
K.A.I.S.Y.'s tires were already spinning. They threw up a few dirt clods of their own as he fishtailed toward the hole in the fence. Then they were rocketing after K.I.T.T. and Carlee, who still had a slack look on her face.
Closing in on the sleek Corvette, they tried to maneuver around, but K.I.T.T. matched them move for move.
They were still about twenty minutes from the city, but it was obvious K.I.T.T. was heading in that direction. It was imperative that they stop him now.
"Got any ideas for stopping K.I.T.T.?" Michaela asked.
"Even if it could get a purchase on him, he'd break my grappling hook," K.A.I.S.Y. said.
They rode in tense helpless silence. Neither able to come up with a viable option to stop K.I.T.T. and Carlee.
A few minutes later, they were in the city.
"They're leading us directly into a residential area, Michaela," K.A.I.S.Y. said, as he steered around a slower moving car. The black Corvette they were chasing had just turbo boosted over the same vehicle.
"Has K.I.T.T. responded to your calls?" Michaela asked, hanging onto the steering wheel for dear life, even though she wasn't in control of the vehicle.
"No! He's receiving my signal, but refusing to acknowledge," K.A.I.S.Y. replied in frustration. "We're coming up behind a slow moving semi, and there is on coming traffic," K.A.I.S.Y. informed Michaela.
"Turbo boost," she yelled out, punching the button a second later.
The midnight blue GMC Canyon was launched into the air and sailed effortlessly over the semi. Spinning tires meeting asphalt sent them rocketing forward once more.
K.I.T.T. and K.A.I.S.Y. were too evenly matched, though. Neither could make any headway.
Late afternoon pedestrians were left with slack jaws, wondering how a mid-size pick-up truck could be keeping pace with a high end sports car.
"We have to stop," K.A.I.S.Y. concluded a moment later. "That residential area is going to be full of kids playing outside. We just can't risk their lives."
Michaela reluctantly agreed, and K.A.I.S.Y. brought the truck skidding to a halt.
Michaela slammed her palms down on the steering wheel in helpless rage, uttering a curse which would have her mother washing her mouth out with soap, if she ever found out.
Tears were streaming down her face, as she finally allowed herself to give in to the thought that she might have lost her mom and lifelong best friend.
K.A.I.S.Y. had pulled to the side of the road.
"K.I.T.T. just made contact!" K.A.I.S.Y. said a moment later, his voice suffused with joy.
"What?" Michaela looked up, wiping her eyes with the backs of her hands. "How?"
"Highly encoded short burst transmission. They must be monitoring him. Give me a few minutes to decode it."
Michaela sat in tense silence, waiting for K.A.I.S.Y. to decode the message.
"He says Bonnie's program worked. He's been 'playing along' with the Stalov's for the last two days, and they don't suspect anything..."
* * *
"We'll have police support standing by at the airport," Devon assured Michaela.
"We have to catch the Stalovs in the act of turning Mom and K.I.T.T. over to the Al Quida insurgents."
"They'll have no idea the police are there."