Knight Rider Festival '09

Hip-Hop KITT

KITT quickly sent Sarah a text message as soon as he realized something...

KITT: Sarah, please close the chat window now! It is vulnerable to being observed by the audience.

Sarah suddenly understood KITT's urgency and quickly complied. Sarah X'd out the live video chat window and it disappeared from KITT's HUD. KITT then put the smaller, more manageable text box on the small black 7' Domino monitor. As per the security camera feeds, he just routed them through his processor and left no visual reference to them for the whole world to see.

With his hands still up in the air and his face still set in full on concentration, Mike winked slightly at KITT letting him know that he had done well.

KITT not only noticed the wink through the security camera footage but seemed to glow with pride at having done well for Michael. He was just glad that Michael had given him a second chance to do it all over.

Sarah and Billy were loving the antics of Mike and KITT just as much as the audience. Neither of them had seen both Michael and KITT act so crazy together like this before. Yeah, they had shared a joke or two and had even shared a game of water-guns but never something so off-the-wall as this...This was just plain wacky!

Mike slowly lowered his hands down to his sides and then spoke firmly for all to hear, "It's about time you pay attention to me!"

Everyone laughed at that, which was hard for them to do because they were all quickly taking pictures and videos of the newly revealed interior.

Mike then had to plan Phase 3 of his wild and yet attainable escape plan...How to get KITT out of here? It had to be a clean drive away with no one looking back...now, how do you do that?

Mike quickly ascended the small staircase and then shimmied cautiously between the conference table and the 4' drop off that was the very front end of the massive stage. And boy was he grateful when everyone sitting behind the long flimsy table decided to scoot back a couple of feet and moved the table back with them. He now had enough room to take a step back and swallow the slight bit of vertigo that he was feeling by being so close to the precarious edge.

Mike then playfully addressed the happy crowd, "I hear that KITT and I still have some die hard cynics out there. I mean, look at him. Not only is KITT handsome in his RED HOT convertible mode, but he is also really glad to meet you all! KITT, show the nice people just how happy you are."

KITT knew that that was his cue to do something exciting and it only took one second for him to come up with exactly what it was going to be. With the lightening fast speed attributed to his high-tech awesomeness, KITT commanded his highly-sensitive nanobots to form the complicated system and network required to...

The attentive crowd suddenly erupted into a roar of joyous laughter and applause as KITT slowly began to use his newly formed high-powered hydraulics to bounce his bulky front end up and down.

Even though they loved it, KITT wasn't satisfied with just that. Any jerry rigged car could bounce on the front or the back wheels. Now, it was time to ramp things up a bit.

In order to prepare for his next brave maneuver, KITT started out light. He slowly and rhythmically bounced his front end up and down. Not too high, just a foot and a half to set the pace. Once he felt comfortable enough to add the back wheels into the mix, he did.

Now KITT looked like he was rocking from his front wheels to his back. Still, KITT kept it slow and low. He still had more crazy moves to perform. And by the sounds coming from the audience, KITT knew that they approved of his spontaneous and fun idea. He smiled internally and then concentrated fully on the precise calculations and timing that he needed for his next bold trick.

Mike was laughing openly at KITT's crazy antics. He knew that he had given KITT an open forum to pretty much do whatever he wanted but Mike would have never guessed that KITT wanted to be one of those crazy looking hip-hop cars. He was sort of glad that KITT had taken on the Domino form before he started bouncing back and forth like a huge rocking horse missing the wooden rocking bar.

Little did he know that the nice back-and-forth was only a precursor to KITT's next action.

The dark haired promoter hadn't planned a stunt show at this time. He knew that all this was really killing the time he had set aside specifically for the Knight Rider actors to bond with the gathered crowd. However, he couldn't say that neither he nor all of the Question & Answer Event panel members weren't enjoying the whole impromptu action, because they were. However, as with everything...All good things must come to an end.

The dark haired promoter carefully snuck up next to Justin and whispered so softly that the people sitting only 3 feet away couldn't hear. "Justin, I wish to thank you for using your awesome talent to entertain our audience. You have them all eating out of the palm of your hand. Also, you have me absolutely baffled as to how you are making that car do that with no one behind the wheel, I will never know. But, now we need to focus..."

The dark haired promoter never had a chance to finish his statement. He was shocked silent and the words he had so carefully planned to deliver never reached his lips.

The timing was perfect. The sheer heights of his volleys were tall and perfect. And, if his calculations were made with the same attention to perfection, this was definitely going to be a crowd pleaser. So, that's what KITT named this crazy program just in case he had to access and/or use it again...The Crowd Pleaser.

Right when KITT was in mid-air between having already bounced on the back axel and rebounding into his front wheel bounce, he shifted his weight to the right and then led his forward bouncing hydraulic on his passenger's side to touch the cement walk only .5 of a second sooner than his driver's side wheel. And, it worked. Now, KITT had a sequential bounce that ran Passenger front-Driver's front- Driver's back- Passenger's back with only a .5 second delay between them all.

As soon as KITT's frame began to rock forward again on the next wave in the odd little circle he was making, he decided to do that again. He leaned a precisely measured bulk of his weight toward his passenger's side front wheel just as his forward thrust had hit its apex. It instantly had the same results as before. However, KITT now had a full second delay between each of the four wheels.

To a spectator's point of view, it looked like KITT was dancing from wheel to wheel. They loved it. Most had never in their whole entire existence seen anything like this. They had watched snippets of it on TV somewhere but it was never such an elaborate program as KITT was doing right now. To top it all off, KITT was doing it better and better by the second. And to show their enthusiastic happiness, they were all clapping in unison to an imaginary beat as they shouted KITT's name.

Once KITT felt comfortable and experienced enough to handle the hydraulics with ease, he started to mix up the action. He had been rhythmically bouncing front-front-back-back. Now, he wanted to change it up to a crisscross pattern. So, he carefully calculated how much weight and pressure to use on his last cycle around each wheel. Then he took another cycle around to double check his numbers.

Mike knew that KITT wasn't done. The current stunt was amazing in and of itself but he knew that KITT would want to try to improve upon it even more. KITT never ever settled on just getting it done right the first time. If he could make it even better, he would...Oh Yeah, he would.

The intoxicating enthusiasm of the chanting and clapping audience was all entrancing for KITT. It was helping spur on his more dare-devilish tendencies. Well, it was dare-devilish to him anyway. KITT was never the one to play as a Showman's Stunt Car for a live audience. He was built with stealth and apprehension of suspects in mind. This was new and different but KITT couldn't say that he disliked it.

Sarah and Billy were both stunned beyond words as they watched KITT go from a simple front axel bounce to the more complicated bounces that only a well trained and very experienced driver would ever even consider performing.

Sarah couldn't believe what she was seeing. No one had ever hinted about even adding hydraulics to KITT that would make him bounce around like a Mexican Jumping Bean. But not only was KITT pulling it off, he was also improving on it and changing up his repertoire. Sarah was pleasantly surprised by the complexity of his fluid movements especially since he had never even considered doing such a thing until and hour ago. Amazing. Simply Amazing.

Deep down inside Billy's geeky computer-loving self was a Billy that was always partial to cars. He loved every aspect of them and seeing this extraordinary spectacle being played out by the world's most amazing vehicle, nearly made him cry with joy. That was KITT! His KITT!

This is exactly why he had chosen to work with Dr. Graiman and Knight Industries. Billy had always felt comfortable around computers. Even at the tender age of 3, he was curious enough to take apart his See-An-Say to see how it worked. The crazy part was, he reassembled it so perfectly that his own parents didn't even know that he had even fiddled with it. They finally discovered his high aptitude for computers when they purchased an old used Apple II. It was nonfunctional when they got it but they figured that they could get it fixed later when they had enough money. Little Billy was only 10 years old and his eyes lit up like it was his birthday when his mom unpacked the clumsy thing from its unmarked cardboard box. Within 10 minutes, young Billy Morgan not only had it turned on and working but he also was playing a game on it.

When his Mom asked him how he had managed to not only get it turned on but also playing a game, the 10 year old dishwater blonde boy merely smiled and shrugged his little shoulders and said, "I don't know. I just played with it until it worked."

Ever since that day, he was encouraged to spend every second of his life working with computers. Don't get me wrong. He loved every single minute he spent learning about and/or playing on computers. He just happened to have another passion too. Cars. Well, it was more of an uninformed nerdy lust for hot cars. He couldn't tell you the fine differences between models but he did always stop to enjoy the view whenever he saw a real hot car.

Billy really loved his employment with FLAG, especially today. He got to not only work with the very latest in new and experimental technology but he also got to work with the very hottest of cars. And at this very moment, that very hot car was now a fiery red convertible dancing to a silent hip-hop beat. Billy was both excited beyond belief and confused about how KITT managed to know how to do it. But any way you look at it, he was loving every second of it.

Mike knew what the nice dark haired promoter was about to tell him. He knew that KITT and he were having a bit too much fun. And he knew that it was just about time to wrap this up. So, how do you stop a 2000lb dancing car and then explain it to an awestruck audience of hundreds? And to top it all off, he had to explain the obvious absence of a driver.

Well...Here goes nothing.

"KITT, hold on for a second." Mike yelled firmly at the top of his lungs.

KITT immediately slowed down his momentum and within 5 seconds, he came to a full stop that he augmented with a loud hiss of escaping air and a lowering of his frame as he settled. He was actually enjoying this game.

Now came the hard part, the part where he would not only have to convince a whole audience of unbelievers but he would also have to convince one cautious and skeptical. Lt. Cast. Yeah, this wasn't going to be some leisurely drive through a national park.

Even though his mind was racing. Even though there were several hundred pairs of eyes criticizing his every move. And even though he knew that KITT was currently paying close attention to him but couldn't read his mind and might not keep up with the plan. Mike was as calm and as ready as he was ever going to be.

Mike quickly descended the small metal staircase and headed straight for KITT. As he was making his way over to the RED HOT Mustang convertible, he loudly addressed the closely watching crowd, "As I have been telling you, this is KITT. By a showing of hands, how many of you believe that this is KITT?" The very second he finished asking, he dramatically patted his hand on KITT's hood just above KITT's driver's side wheel.

A little over half of the large gathered crowd reluctantly raised their hands.

Mike smiled wide at the crowd and then leaned his full weight trustingly against KITT's driver's side door with his arm lazily lying on the huge Roll Bar. In the same bold loudness but with no malice intended, he continued to interrogate the crowd. "Only half, huh? Even after you saw him do all of that without a driver?"

A couple more people raised their hands slowly.

"What about when he drove up to me with no help, no strings attached?" Mike continued with a wicked gleam in his soft eyes.

A few more people hesitantly raised their palms up in the air.

"And are you all forgetting his amazing stunt? A stunt he performed driverless?" He continued to taunt from his relaxed position leaning against KITT.

SARAH: KITT, what's Mike doing?

KITT: Talking

SARAH: I think that I had that figured out!

KITT: Then why did you ask?

SARAH: Never mind!

While smiling inwardly for having outwitted and frustrated Sarah, KITT realized real quick that whatever Michael had planned next was going to involve the Sarah clone. That didn't bode well for KITT's future sanity if he kept up the direct security camera feed of Fremont St to the SSC. Sarah would ask too many hard questions that he knew deep down inside, he wouldn't be able to answer. So, KITT did something drastic...

NO SIGNAL-CHECK SIGNAL SOURCE

Sarah and Billy were both caught completely off guard by the sudden appearance of a crackling static that was quickly followed by that nasty error in massive deep blue font. Billy quickly tried to recapture the signal while Sarah questioned KITT on exactly what just happened.

SARAH: KITT, we just lost our Fremont St. camera feed. What's going on?

KITT: It's nothing to be alarmed about.

KITT couldn't lie to Sarah but he could evade questions better than the best of them. And that was what he was up to now.

Now Mike acted like he was actually going to count every single hand that was raised up high in the air. He wanted them to believe that he was really going to poll them all. And to his surprise, more audience members quickly jetted their hands up as high as they could.

Mike grinned wickedly before he quickly pushed off of KITT and then turned to face him. "KITT, are you real?"

The quietly clamoring audience suddenly turned silent. They had all been debating on whether the red convertible was KITT or not. Most still held on tight to their skepticism. But at the same time, they steadfastly held up their hands because they either were mimicking the people around them or they just wanted to look good to Justin. Either way, it didn't matter. Nearly 75% of the smiling crowd had their hands raised up high in agreement. Now, they shushed each other in excited anticipation of Justin's results.

SARAH: KITT clarify...What's going on?

KITT: I cannot discuss it at this time. I strongly suggest that you inquire it of Michael when we return.

Sarah rolled her eyes in frustration. 'Not this again! All it does is prolong his suffering before he ultimately gives in to my relentless prodding.'

SARAH: KITT, you might as well re-initiate the feed or answer my question. You know that I won't give up.

KITT: Please Stand By...

KITT had no time to banter with Sarah right now. Michael had just turned around to face him and something very big was about to happen. KITT had a very strong inkling that whatever it was, he was going to be needed. His attention was going to have to be undivided.

Mike softly patted KITT's hood a couple of times and then announced, "Congratulations Everyone! All of you that have your hands up are..."

Mike suddenly paused once again to build up tension. He loved to dish out the suspense even more.

Sarah really wanted to continue prodding KITT for answers but she also wanted to hear what Mike had to say. So instead of typing away like a mad woman and missing the show of her lifetime, she did something she hadn't done since the highly annoying General Alarm interrupted her lazy Sat. afternoon. Sarah flopped down in the overstuffed leather office chair, propped her perfectly-manicured bare feet on the cluttered desk in front of her, and then she closed her eyes to get a better picture in her mind's eye. She wanted to see Mike, KITT, Las Vegas, Fremont St and whatever crazy stunt Mike had planned.

"Hey KITT, why don't you tell 'em?" Mike asked sarcastically but didn't give KITT any time to actually respond before saying, "He can't! KITT is not REAL people, though you, I, and the rest of the living world wish upon a thousand falling stars that he were, right?

Everyone in the crowd that had their hands raised up high in the air quickly pulled them down and began discussing whether or not they were right.

Mike knew that an explanation of KITT's magical driverless stunts was needed. Now that Sarah had shown him the hard-to-come-by remote control, Mike had a very good idea how they were going to convince this pretty gullible crowd how a driverless car could perform such difficult stunts with utter ease.

"Without further ado may I introduce, Dr. Sarah Graiman?" Mike announced as he happily extended his hand toward the Sarah clone in the audience.

Deanna gently took his hand and then stepped carefully out of her crowded spot in the audience. Like a prince leading a princess to the ball, her arm was delicately wrapped around his and her long piano-like fingers were interlaced with his.

The really real Sarah Graiman, not some imitation, gasped in realization and a bit of horror when she heard her name being called. She knew Mike had used her name to talk about someone other than her. Involuntarily, she yelled, "KITT, what in the H*** is going on?!"

Through his constant link to the security cameras in the SSC, KITT could see Sarah's instantaneous yelp of shock. He knew that it wasn't such a hot idea to allow Sarah to learn about Deanna. KITT himself was still having difficulty accepting the replicas of himself and KARR. This was exactly why he had closed the surveillance camera window in the 1st place. But one thing was for sure, he definitely wasn't answering any of her questions. Definitely.

Mike had no idea Sarah was eavesdropping and yet...he felt compelled to correct himself as he led her to the grey metal staircase. As soon as they topped the stairs, he separated from the Sarah clone to take his spot at the front and center of the crowded stage. "Actually, her name is Deanna Russo, I believe." He coyly added as he turned to face the woman who looked eerily similar to his Sarah.

Deanna stayed put at the top of the stairs. Mike may have wanted her to join him but as he looked at her pleadingly, she shook her head shyly and held firm to her position. She wasn't much of a get-up-on-stage-and-make-a-speech kind of a girl anyway. She could wait. Really...It was okay.

Mike grinned widely at the Sarah clone and then invitingly outstretched his hand to her. He laughed openly when she shyly shook her head "No" and took a couple of tentative steps back into the shadowy depth just behind her. In a way, that sudden shyness in the face of a massive crowd didn't match his Sarah. His Sarah had been a talented professor at a prestigious college. She was well used to addressing large groups of people. So seeing the shyness in this Sarah was fun and refreshing.

Mike gingerly hop-skipped over to the hiding Sarah clone with a wide open and inviting smile. Very softly, he gathered up her soft right hand into his and then he slowly shuffled backward to his spot center stage. "Come Miss Deanna. Don't be shy." He teasingly whispered under his breath.

At first, Deanna fought the inevitable as he gently tugged her into the brilliant white spotlight. She really didn't want to go onstage in the first place and she definitely didn't want to be out there alone. Yeah, she was an actress. But her chosen professional medium was TV. She could handle that just fine. However, theatrical performances in front of a critically watching audience were strictly forbidden.

Deanna had reluctantly agreed to do this festival because she was promised that she wouldn't be onstage alone and that if she had to present something, her time facing the scrutinizing audience would be extremely minimal. Joining this Michael Knight onstage did not sound healthy for her psyche.

KITT and the rest of the silent observers on Fremont St waited patiently for Michael to coax the Sarah clone out into the open. It was actually quite sweet to see him gather up her hand so tenderly. Her nervous laugh in the face of her desperation only added to everyone's amusement as they waited for Michael to pull her out into the open.

However, there was one individual that was clearly upset with this scenario and she couldn't even see what was going on. Sarah Graiman could only imagine in her mind's eye what that woman was doing with her Mike. And the ooo's and ahh's coming for the packed crowd wasn't helping. However, Sarah did her level best to bite her lip and contain the boiling rage that was building up deep inside her.

Somehow, the gentle coaxing coupled with the light tugging managed to work. Mike was able to get a very reluctant Deanna to nervously stand center stage with him. Even though she had struggled with every step, she now stood firm and under her own power next to Michael, Michael Knight. Oh yeah...and that helped too. She had never met a fictional-character-come-to-life before, especially one with a fictional crush on her.

"Finally!" Mike happily announced. "Everyone this is Deanna. Deanna this is everyone!"

Without a word of prompting, the whole audience yelled in unison, "Hello Deanna!"

She blushed a brilliant red and then shifted nervously again.

"Well, now that you have got that out of your system, may I continue?" Mike teased and then said, "She alone holds the key to the mystery."

KITT steadied himself in preparation for his next big maneuver. Whatever Michael had planned, KITT needed to be prepared for it.

"Deanna, why don't you tell the nice folks about that little black device in your hand?" Mike led as he grinned knowingly at the Sarah clone.

She had one response for that. Deanna shoved the hotel remote control into Mike's hand. She then triumphantly waved her empty hands in the air all to see. "Nothing! I got nothing!" She grinned full-on in mock acknowledgement as she announced it in her best bad grammar.

Everyone broke out in laughter.

Mike gentle grabbed her right hand and then lifted it up to her chest level. With an exaggerated flare, he then slapped the little black remote into it. "No Excuses!" He announced devilishly. "You know that you are the only one that knows how to use this."

Deanna smiled shyly and then decided to just go along with it. So she positioned the little remote control so that it would be cradled in the left palm leaving her right hand free to dial in any imaginary code into it. The whole time it was aimed purposefully at KITT. "Okay, if I have to do it," She sarcastically whined. "Then you give me the directions and I'll have KITT do 'em."

"Sounds good." Mike readily agreed. "Okay, how about we start out easy? Make KITT flash his headlights at me."

Deanna suddenly shot Mike a wide-eyed look of surprise, "Are you kidding?" She asked exasperatedly. "You know very well that that is one of the toughest sequences to type in." She huffed through a soft smile.

Suddenly she began vigorously typing out an unknown code into the little remote. She was pressing the keys so fast and furious that only the clicking of the keys could be heard. Finally, she looked up at KITT with a little smirk on her face. "I think I got it right. Once I hit this key, KITT should flash his headlights in an S.O.S. pattern. Are you all ready?"

"Do it already!" He whined with a huge smile.

Deanna raised the little black remote up and pointed it even more deliberately at KITT and then with an added flare she raised her hand way up in the air before she came down fast onto the ENTER key. "Wham!" She yelled just for added drama.

Immediately, the fiery red convertible with the bold white racing stripes began flashing his headlights in Morse Code.

Mike let a grateful smile cross his lips...

Deanna watched with her mouth agape...

And the audience began to clap in appreciation.

"Thanks Deanna, now type in the code for telling KITT to come forward 2 feet." Mike instructed more to the crowd than to Deanna herself.

Once again, Deanna feverishly began typing out a code into the little remote control. Suddenly, she forcefully pointed it at KITT and then dramatically pressed the ENTER key.

KITT started his powerful engine, revved it twice for a dramatic effect and then let it grumble for a few seconds. He loved hamming it up for the crowd as much as Michael. And as long as Michael was feeding him the directions verbally like this, he could properly prepare and perform perfectly. Yes, they were a team again.

The restless crowd began to murmur to each other again. Most of them were trying to figure out how that little handheld remote could be coded to do so much. Or how that little red Mustang Convertible was able to perform all of it's abilities with no outward sign of added electronics. They were all highly excited about the whole scene.

"Okay, Deanna..." Mike began as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "One more request and then we will wrap this up. I want you to have KITT use his hydraulics to bounce from side to side."

Deanna slowly looked up at Mike trying to comprehend exactly what he wanted. "How so? Like before?"

Mike stood straight up dramatically and withdrew his hand from Deanna's shoulder. Then, in a voice loud enough for everyone on Fremont St. to hear, Mike clarified exactly what he wished Deanna to program into her little black remote. "I want KITT to use his hydraulics to..." then he quickly whispered his instruction into her ear.

Deanna's eyes grew wide as comprehension spread across her whole face. She even seemed to lose a little color for a half a second.

Mike smiled deviously. "I know that he can do it KITT is very talented. I trust his abilities."

"Mike do you seriously think...?" She began in a very unsure tone.

He cut her off. "Don't worry. He knows what he is doing. Just type it in."

"But how will he know what to do?" She whispered back with a little fear in her voice.

"Trust me. He knows." Then he winked again at KITT.

Deanna put on her most determined and stern expression. Her eyes were set on the keys of the remote as she precisely typed a willy-nilly pattern into the remote. Her back was taunt as she slouched slightly as she typed. And her beautiful brunette hair fell forward covering her face as she continued her work. It took a good couple of minutes before she felt satisfied that she had used enough code to make the crowd happy.

Carefully and with a purposeful slowness to add drama, Deanna straightened up to her full height and pointed the little remote at KITT with a very satisfied smile across her face. "Okay KITT," She began. "I hope you were paying attention."

Not only was KITT paying attention, he was also making all the necessary adjustments and calibrations he needed to pull off this stunt. He had never seen this stunt in action. He had never even heard if this stunt had been pulled off successfully or not. But that didn't matter. He was KITT. He was a highly advanced computer wrapped up in a highly responsive car. He had quicker reflexes than any human driver and he had a quicker processing power than any human driver. He could react to any malfunction with skill and ease and make it look like nothing had ever been wrong. Yeah, KITT was ready...Ready as he would ever be.

"Okay," Deanna chocked out apprehensively. "NOW!"

At first, KITT did nothing outwardly. He had to prime the hydraulics and prepare the systems. But that only lasted about 2 seconds. With precise timing that only a computer such as KITT could do, he sent a simultaneous command to both his driver's front and rear tires. Only on that side of the car. They responded in perfect unison with a 5 inch high bounce.

The shocked audience stayed silent as they took pictures and video recordings. Only the left side of the Red KITT Mustang was bouncing...only the left side. Wow!

Within another second, KITT commanded the bounce to gain a little more air...The heavy duty hydraulics responded instantly and still in unison. And even though KITT could feel the slight burden to his axel and frame, he knew that he was doing just fine. So he decided to ramp it up to Michael's request. It was time to integrate the right side of his body into the mix.

While continuing to send the necessary commands to his Driver's side hydraulics, KITT timed his next move down to the millisecond. He needed to. He wanted this maneuver to look flawless and that required flawless instructions at the perfect time. Sure enough, just as his driver's side tires touched down to the sun warmed cement walkway, his passenger's side tires quickly lifted up into the air.

The audience reaction was instantaneous. They roared in loud approval as they watched and recorded it for posterity. Most were clapping but some had to yell out their happiness. This awesome remote controlled car was amazing!

Mike smiled widely at KITT as he watched his talented partner show off his stuff. He knew that KITT had gained a confidence that he hadn't had last year but he didn't think that KITT would be so brave as to perform stunts for a wildly screaming crowd. He had to be pleased as well as surprised with KITT. "Good Job KITT." Mike silently mouthed as he watched KITT, his partner and friend, bounce from his left side to his right.

KITT was just settling back down from his amazing stunt when he saw Michael say, "Good Job KITT." He beamed with pride on the inside. He had not only made Michael proud of him. He had also made Michael have the need to praise him. Today is a good day!

KITT only did the side bounce for about 3 hops per side. It was tougher on his frame and axel than the crisscross pattern and he didn't want to limp home tomorrow. Sarah would be mad and he would have only himself to blame. Just the idea almost made him blush in his CPU.

Mike knew that it was time to wrap this up. The dark haired promoter was giving him the frustrated evil eye. It wasn't mean-spirited just pushy. "Okay Sarah," He announced boldly for the entire crowd to hear. "Time to get KITT that car wash you promised him."

Deanna gave him an astonished and fearful stare. Was he asking her to join him? Was she about to take a ride in KITT? Did she want to take a ride in KITT? Oh My Gosh! Her mind was spinning with questions and possibilities.

Mike could see the visible fear in Sarah, Deanna's, soft brown eyes. He could see her whirling with his prospect. He smiled a knowing soft smile and gathered up her incredibly soft hand into his. And when she flinched, he only slightly tightened his grip on her hand. "Follow me. It will be okay." He whispered softly in her ear and then turned toward the grey metal staircase descending from the stage.

KITT couldn't believe what he was seeing. Mike was going to bring a stranger into here? A woman who looked the very part of Sarah. A woman who if Sarah saw her would get a wild earful. A woman who looked just as scared to be asked to ride in him as he was to have her ride in him. But KITT swallowed the virtual lump in his throat and prepared for a passenger.

The crowds awed as they watched Mike slowly descend the stairs like a prince leading a princess. He was careful to point out each deep step all the while keeping his strong handhold and reassuring gaze. It was definitely like a fairy tale. They loved it. It was sweet and wonderfully played out for them.

At the bottom of the stairs, Mike leaned in close to Deanna and breathed a question into her sensitive ear. "I need you to call KITT here. My darling should never have to walk to him."

Deanna felt her knees nearly buckle as she felt his warm breath against the side of her neck. Did he have to be that close?! Her mind yelled at her as she stabilized both her body and her soul. Finally, her mind wrapped around his suggestion and she quickly typed in a short code before she lifted her remote and pointed it at KITT. "Okay KITT, get ready to come here." She playfully ordered him and then dramatically pressed the ENTER button.

KITT instantly started his powerful growling engine. It grumbled madly and then rumbled softly as it idled.

The happily gathered audience smiled in appreciation as they listened to the red Mustang Convertible's engine do more than purr. It threatened. It meanly growled and they all swooned at the deep baritone sound. Several women seemed to close their eyes and just soak up the grumbling through their pores. It was pure heaven for everyone.

Finally, KITT decided to obey the verbal commands of the Deanna woman. He put his strong transmission in first and gently, smoothly made his way over to Michael and Sarah. At first, it felt odd to actually be moving forward. His wheels and hydraulics were still primed from his stunt and they seemed to be complaining at him about just driving forward. Plus, he could feel every point in his frame that had complained about the stress of his wild stunts. KITT really needed a good long stretch of road to loosen up and wind down. Good thing they were getting out of here!

The instant KITT came to a stop in front of him; Mike gentlemanly opened the bright red passenger side door for Deanna. He waited patiently as she slowly, tentatively decided that it was okay to get inside the posh convertible. She didn't need to be pushed into something she didn't want to do.

SARAH: KITT, what is going on?

KITT had momentarily forgotten about the chat window in the Domino screen and those words made him jump inside his CPU. He wanted to close that window very badly but Sarah had still made it nearly KITT proof. The only course of action he had now was to turn off the Domino labeled monitor but allow Sarah to just send the text to his CPU. Upon that discovery, he did just that.

Mike pranced around the front of KITT after he had gently closed the Sarah clone inside KITT. He grinned like a mad dog at the audience and then did something that he had only seen in a Dukes of Hazzard show. He leaped clear over the reddish door and slid down into the plush beige leather seat.

With a massive toothy grin, Mike slid KITT out of gear and slammed his lead foot down on KITT's sensitive accelerator. He nearly shook with happiness as KITT's powerful engine wailed deafeningly. It echoed viciously off of the Fremont St Experience canopy and resounded all the way down the tunnel like walkway.

The huge audience screamed and began clapping. Even if this was just a red convertible Mustang and not the real KITT that they knew, it had earned their appreciation a long time ago. And this was just another great reason why this car was just spectacular! So they did everything they could think of to let Justin and anyone know that they loved this car! That included: screaming, clapping, whistling, and even catcalls!

Deanna slid down in an embarrassed heap in her soft leather passenger's seat. She wasn't used to this kind of stuff ever and had even considered getting out. But her curiosity about KITT and this odd Mike character made her decide to stay. However, she still felt highly embarrassed and covered her face.

"MAKE WAY!" Mike yelled as he angled KITT toward a small opening in the gathered crowd.

Deanna slid even further down in the seat and KITT did his best to shield her as the crowd parted to let him by but kept up its happy whistling and catcalls. KITT could feel her rising body temperature as she curled up tightly in his passenger's seat. He even turned on the A/C on her side to help cool her down.

Mike slowly made his way out of the limelight and through the guard gate leading off of Fremont St. He fastidiously kept his eyes open for stray children or oblivious walkers as he slowly, excruciatingly made his way. He would be devastated if they had hurt anyone.

Within minutes…

Mike had hit the wide open freeway.

KITT was soaring at a little over 100mph.

And Deanna was stretching out in her soft beige seat with the warm March air dancing through her long brown hair.

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A/N: YEY!!!!!!! I finished it! OMG! That was a long one! I even split it up…This chapter alone was 15 pages long. O_O

Thank you EVERYONE!!!!!!! You all keep me writing! Love the positive reviews!

Thank you again!

As always…

Enjoy!