Knight Rider and all associated characters (except mine) are owned by National Broadcasting Company and Universal Studios. All persons described herein are fictional and any resemblance to persons living or dead is coincidental. Copyright infringement is not intended.
Chapter 9: Racing
Mikayla was first to recover from the sight of KITT's EM construct standing guard over two bound men, one of whom was Jay Montague. She scrambled out of the Hellcat, leaving the door open in her urgency. "Kitt!" she called as she sprinted forward, and when she reached him, he gratefully swept her up in his arms.
"Oh, Mikayla," he said with profound affection and relief. "I'm glad you found me; it has been a rather trying day." That was certainly an understatement, but he didn't want to worry her more than she likely had been. Holding her at arm's length, he asked, "Is Peter all right?"
"I don't know," she said. "The explosion shook him up a bit, but then he was kidnapped. A group of men was paid by Dierdre Leopold to take both him and you. Are you all right?" She glanced from the construct to the car in concern. "I already know that your communications array is down."
Kitt nodded in confirmation. "Parts of the drive system were jarred out of alignment while the car was being towed. I can't drive without damaging it further. Listen," he continued urgently, "I believe that Ms. Leopold has Peter. She left ten minutes and forty-one seconds ago in a Porsche Spyder, and is on the way to her family's beach house in Malibu."
"I have apprised the local authorities and the Rook," said KARL. "They will be here shortly. Ms. Leopold's cellphone signal is active and I am tracking it."
"Thank you, KARL," said Mikayla over her shoulder. "I'm coming with you… that is," she amended as she turned back to Kitt, "if you'll be all right by yourself."
He kissed her on the forehead. "You know better than that," he teased gently. "Now go on, and be careful."
With a loving smile she returned his kiss and then hurried back to KARL. "I'll drive, if you don't mind. I've a feeling that we're in for a tough chase." Devante promptly switched seats, allowing her to take the wheel. As soon as KARL had sealed the cabin, she navigated them back out onto the highway, glad that KARL was willing to take her orders. "Where to from here?"
A map popped up on KARL's windshield display, with a rapidly moving red dot. "The vehicle in question is headed west on Highway 405, and its speed is in excess of posted limits within the area. A high-speed pursuit risks endangering lives," KARL warned.
"I'm aware," said Mikayla grimly, "but she won't lose us that way." Even though Dierdre had a ten-minute head start, Mikayla was confident that they'd be able to catch up to her relatively quickly. "On the highway, there are few vehicles faster than KARL."
"Undoubtedly," KARL said with a slight undertone of pride.
Devante snickered. "I had a feeling you'd say that, partner."
"Pursuit Mode, please," Mikayla requested, and the AI complied. Taking a deep breath to help herself focus, she muttered, "Boogity, boogity, boogity, boys, let's go racing!" as the numbers on the speedometer climbed and they overtook the traffic.
After a few minutes Devante asked, "Why are you doing this anyway, sis? Why not let me or the police handle things from here on?"
"I could ask the same," KARL said. "Such behaviour is irrational."
She shook her head. "Humans aren't exactly rational creatures. That woman has drugged and kidnapped Peter. Under normal circumstances we would get the police involved, and I'd trust Peter to be able to extricate himself because he's trained for it. But she also stole KITT, and from the looks of it, planned to have him destroyed. That makes it personal." Then she had to concentrate on the road ahead, weaving in and out of lanes as they gradually closed in on the Porsche ahead of them.
"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Devante asked fearfully as the car made a particularly rough transition.
"Don't distract me!" was her annoyed retort.
As nervous as he was, he was also extremely impressed at his sister's driving skill. Even though she'd trained him to be able to work with KARL, he knew he'd never be able to match her. It was little wonder why she'd asked him to cede the wheel to her; he wouldn't have been able to keep up.
Mikayla asked, "KARL, with the current traffic flow, can we intercept her before the 107 interchange?"
"Yes," KARL reported. "However, police transmissions and satellite imagery indicate a minor accident at the Inglewood Avenue underpass, causing a backup of traffic on the highway. Ms. Leopold will be forced to slow down well before that."
"Good," Mikayla said. "Let's get behind her." She maneuvered the Hellcat into position. Ahead of them, the driver of the Porsche glanced back in surprise, and then the car surged forward, pulling away.
"How the…?" she exclaimed. "What's under the hood of that thing, a jet engine?"
"Not as such," said KARL as he scanned the Porsche. "But its engine has been modified for an output greater than a standard vehicle of that type."
"Is she crazy?" Devante burst out. "She'll lose a lot of maneuverability at that speed!"
KARL's body began to vibrate slightly as he kept pace. "Maintaining this velocity under these traffic conditions will increase the likelihood of a fatal accident by–"
"I know the numbers!" Mikayla growled.
Devante asked worriedly, "KARL, can you lock her brakes or kill the engine?"
"At this speed, either of those actions will cause her car to spin out of control," the AI objected.
"Then our only option right now is to back off and hope she slows down," said Mikayla with a frustrated sigh. "We can't endanger Peter more than he already is right now."
"I concur," KARL said.
However, it appeared that Dierdre had no intention of slowing. The Porsche feinted a lane change and then increased speed again, causing the startled driver in the adjacent lane to honk the horn and jerk the car to the right. The car behind hit the brakes and skidded to the left, partially blocking two lanes.
Even with all her skill, Mikayla knew she wouldn't be able to avoid a collision. "Turbo Boost!" she cried.
Powerful rockets on the underside of KARL's chassis fired, propelling the Hellcat upwards and over the careening car. They came down with a jolt in a clear lane, behind the Porsche. Up ahead, the traffic in the two right-most lanes was beginning to bunch up as a result of the accident that KARL had mentioned earlier. The only place that the Porsche could go was the reserved commuter lane on the extreme left, and there would be no opportunity to safely exit the highway for a considerable distance.
As expected, Dierdre shot into the left lane, nearly sideswiping a taxi as she did so.
Mikayla had to bite her tongue to stop herself from swearing. "This has already caused enough damage. Do we have enough clear road ahead to overtake her and force her to stop?"
"Barely," KARL said as he accessed satellite images. "I suggest you allow me to make the maneuver."
She released the wheel and KARL took over, his engine whining, and he deftly slid himself in front of the Porsche with half a car length to spare. In the rear-view mirror Mikayla could see Dierdre leaning on her horn in a temper and glancing wildly back along the lane to her right, but there was no opening to pull out. In the next instant, the Porsche began to slow, and KARL reduced his speed to compensate, blocking her way.
"When we reach a safe speed, lock her brakes," Mikayla instructed. "We don't want her to get a chance to change lanes and escape."
"And if she tries?" Devante asked.
Her expression turned somber. She was not going to allow Dierdre to get away after what the woman had done. "Then we'd better hope that both she and Peter are belted, because I'm prepared to have us cross directly into her path."
Her brother paled. "You wouldn't!" He might have considered something along those lines, but he'd never thought that Mikayla could be so ruthless.
"If that's what it takes to stop her. KARL can withstand the impact." She'd witnessed enough accidents on a racetrack to know how much force a human could survive. But she wasn't so sure if Peter would forgive her for pulling such a stunt.
Fortunately, it didn't come to that. Dierdre finally gave up and brought her car to a stop, and KARL locked its brakes just in case before laying down a few emergency flares to warn other drivers. Due to the traffic congestion, it was unsafe to exit the car and it would be some time before support vehicles reached them. None of them were going anywhere for a while.
Mikayla sighed and leaned forward onto the steering wheel, her tension dissipating. "Thanks, KARL."
"You're welcome," the deep voice responded, and then continued more softly, "For a moment, I was reminded of myself… before. In such a circumstance, I would not have hesitated to endanger others in order to escape. The fact that you were willing to risk injury to Ms. Leopold and Mr. Bishop was a contradiction of all that I know of you."
She gazed at the amber voice modulator. "I will apologize for that. Plus, we've agreed that humans aren't always rational. It's a good thing to have a partner, whether human or AI, who will tell us when we're being stupid."
"You got that right," said Devante, reaching over to squeeze her shoulders. "Hey, you really do care a lot about both of them, don't you?" he asked, meaning Peter and KITT.
With a nod, she replied ardently, "Yes, but I will share myself with only one."
Devante sat back in his seat with a smile. No more needed to be said.
KARL noted the companionable silence between the siblings as well as Mikayla's recent words and actions. He considered them to be his friends. KITT was his brother. But the relationship that Mikayla and KITT had was far more than that; it was special. It was something that he thought he might want, if only he knew how to find it. "Will I…" he hesitated, "Will I ever have such a relationship with anyone?"
Both humans glanced at him in surprise. "Anything is possible," Mikayla said, with a comforting pat on the dashboard.
It wasn't much longer before a pair of police cruisers, a tow truck, and an ambulance arrived. Devante waited until it was safe before getting out of the car; Mikayla didn't because she was boxed in by the concrete barrier on their left, and she trusted her brother to adequately explain the situation.
A police officer and two EMTs strode over to the Porsche, where Dierdre was shrieking into her phone, apparently trying to get further assistance. The officer kept an eye on her as the EMTs carefully pulled an unconscious but otherwise unharmed Peter out of the passenger seat and strapped him onto a gurney. Then Dierdre was ordered out of the car and immediately arrested.
Devante opened the passenger door and leaned down so his sister could see him. "It's all taken care of," he assured her. "She's going to face charges for kidnapping and reckless driving at the very least. I'll go to the hospital with Peter so you can get back to KITT, and KARL can pick me up later. Is that all right?"
"That is acceptable," said the AI, and Mikayla gave him a thumbs-up. He closed the door with a nod and moved away.
She couldn't help but become increasingly impatient to return to KITT, and the time it took for the Porsche to be towed and the highway cleared didn't help matters. Sensing his friend's agitated state, KARL took control without being asked and plotted them the quickest route to rendezvous with the Rook.