Chapter 16
KITT was able to access the conversation in 2022 though Sam's phone and was aware that Bonnie from the future had greater plans for him. His sensors indicated another energy spike as the travelers returned to 1984. Older Bonnie stood holding the box and grinned as her eyes settled in KITT.
"You are a sight for sore eyes, KITT." she spoke towards the car sitting in the hanger. She walked over to the Trans Am, placed the box on the ground and spoke to KITT through the driver's side window. "I missed you." she told him.
"I heard the conversation through Sam's phone." he informed. "I am aware of the upgrade and my future demise."
"We're about to change all that." she assured. "Pop the hood, KITT." she gave a command.
The hood unlocked and Bonnie opened the engine compartment. She found Sam hanging over her shoulder as she was interested in the car and computer system. String and Michael also gathered around with Caitlin and Dom hanging back slightly to not crowd the area.
Bonnie smiled to Sam, "I'll show you how KITT works."
"I already read the specs. Just wanted to see it myself." she informed wishing it was her car.
"Then you can help me." Bonnie told the young scientist. She began to retrieve the parts and a laptop computer to hook up to KITT's main frame. Curiously she asked, "Did you ever get your penny back that you dropped on KITT's floorboards, Sam?"
She dug into her pants pocket and held it up, "Got it back this morning from Michael."
Bonnie took a moment and grasped the penny. She chuckled as she shook her head, "When I found this I knew stumbled onto something bigger. I just assumed it was some CIA project. I never would have dreamed it was just you and your family." She handed the penny back to Sam.
She replied, "Keep it! It's just a penny."
"I will put it in a coin holder." she told her and placed the penny in her pants pocket.
Sam wondered, "Had this been some CIA project would it be more authentic?" For to Sam the whole project seemed out of control and unyielding.
She grinned, "Heck no! You doing this on your own makes it authentic. If the clowns had it…" she rolled her eyes.
Michael asked as he watched her work, "What if it was Knight Industries who had it?"
She replied, "Little better but…" she glanced at Sam, Dom and String, "Not as good as family."
String had to agree, "We don't want the feds to get their hands on this."
Dom added, "Or the FIRM."
Caitlin listened and Sam's worry about if her experiment was authentic ran through her mind. She assured Sam, "If this project was the FIRM's doing, I would be worried about the true intent. I don't worry about it falling into the wrong hands with you and String and Dom and your dad running this. It's authentic!"
She felt a little more confident, "Thank you, Aunt Cait."
She asked, "I'm family now?"
"You told me I should call you 'Aunt Cait'." she informed.
Dom agreed, "I was there! Future you said she could call you that, Cait."
"I guess I'm Aunt Cait then." she figured.
Sam asked, "Can I help you and String plan the wedding?"
The two traded glances for no talk of wedding had ever been brought up. String stated, "I didn't ask to get married."
"Obviously," she miffed. "I figure maybe if we just set up and tell you two to be there we can avoid that heart break."
Bonnie started to laugh, "Millennials! No filter!"
Dom grinned, "How about an old fashion shotgun wedding." He had to agree with Sam's assessment as both String and Cait seem to avoid the subject.
String rolled his eyes, "Funny Dom."
Caitlin asked, "No filter means?"
Bonnie explained, "Sam's generation is a generation that grew up in a world far different from our generation. So, they kind of just say what they are thinking. They grew up with the internet, computers that are far faster and more powerful than KITT, in a world were the divorce rate is 50% and a lack of stability."
Sam admitted, "I'm lucky. My folks never divorced and they kept me out of public schools. I never got bounced around between homes or indoctrinated. I know cursive!" she bragged. "My dad taught me how to write cursive."
Michael replied, "We all know how to write in cursive, Sam."
Bonnie stated, "They took it out of the schools, Michael. They replaced it with typing class. Many kids can't read or write cursive. Something we learned in elementary school."
He gasped, "They removed cursive?"
She nodded, "You are in as a substitute teacher right now. Take this time to make sure to teach those kids because they will have to teach their own children what the schools fail to teach in the future."
Sam asked, "What is Home Ec class? It's on my school schedule but I have no idea what that is."
Bonnie explained, "You learn how to cook, sew and home economic skills." She glanced at her audience, "Yes, they removed that and shop class as well. Cut math classes to basic levels. School is not what it used to be." she repeated.
Sam assured, "I know how to cook. I use the microwave all the time."
Bonnie cocked an eyebrow, "Can you cook from scratch without a microwave?"
"Um…" she had to admit. "My mom can…she likes to bake stuff…"
String stated, "You better go to home ec class, kid."
Next Morning
Bonnie had finished the upgrades and returned to the future but left an embedding recording to herself in the past in KITT's computer system just incase her younger self found the work though she attempted to hide the upgrades.
Sam sat in Dom's office going through the newspapers looking for stories about the man in the red suit as she tried to gather more information on Mr. Hinkley. She found it was close to the Presidential election between Ronald Reagan and Walter "Fritz" Mondale. As she recalled Ronald Reagan got two terms in office. "The election is in a week." she read.
Caitlin came to the door. She was dressed in jeans and a pink blouse and ready to go back to school undercover for they kept the ruse going to keep the FIRM off Sam's trail. She grinned, "Ready to be sixteen again?" she laughed.
Sam looked up, "I'm only going in to keep an eye on Mr. Hinkley." she informed.
Caitlin walked into the office and saw the papers. She noticed Sam was clipping out articles of the man in the red suit. She figured, "Research?"
"Yup." she nodded.
Caitlin picked up the paper with the election coverage. "So…who wins."
"Reagan." she stated. "He had two terms. Then his VP was in office for one term then William Clinton then it went to Bush Junior for two terms…" she tailed off as she noticed the disturbed look on Caitlin's face. "What?"
"You know who the president will be in all the upcoming elections until 2022." she stated.
She shrugged, "And?" For Sam it was the past and not something to worry about.
"Just…kind of weird…" she replied. "Knowing the election results for the next 38 years is kind of weird."
"I read about it." she stated as she rose to her feet. "Who you voting for?" she wondered.
"I will decide when I go to vote." she declared. She then asked, "Would you vote in a past election if you could?"
She shook her head, "I think that would be the second rule, to not interfere with past elections."
"Good idea." she agreed. "Let's go! We're gonna be late for school."
"Right behind you." she stated as she gulped down the remainder of her coffee.
School
Bill Maxwell arrived to the school to give a debriefing to Ralph before school started. "Stringfellow Hawke and Saint John Hawke are brothers. Both served in Nam. Saint John is MIA. No one knows where he is. Stringfellow Hawke works for Santini Air and a place called the FIRM…a CIA front."
Ralph stated, "Stringfellow Hawke is working as a substitute teacher here."
Bill figured, "He must be the operative the FIRM sent into the school to look for the money source." He pondered, "What if…?" he pondered, "he's protecting the source instead of looking for the source."
Ralph came to gut wrenching conclusion, "The CIA has time travel and Sam is the source of the money. Why would she come here and why spread future money around?"
Bill suggested, "Maybe they want to get their hands on the suit?"
His heart sank, "Sam! A spy!"
"A time traveling spy." Bill added. "I ran a background check on her. Only info I found was the fake birth certificate she used to enroll in school. Nothing else."
Ralph shot an angry look, "What? Fake birth certificate."
He nodded, "This thing is amateur level fake too. Like someone just used a copier. But the ink is not toner. It's ink, like…from a…printer." he informed. "I got it, took it to the FBI labs and they found it's fake but not from a copier. Something else printed it. No DMV records, nothing with the county clerk."
Ralph stated, "She said she has a driver's license."
"Well, if you get her real driver's license maybe we can find out who she really is. If the book belongs to her father as she claims then it's either Stringfellow Hawke or his missing brother, Saint John Hawke who is her real daddy."
His shoulder's slunk, "She seemed like such a nice kid." He felt as if he was being used and it that broke his heart. "All I ever wanted to do was help others." he soured at the thought that Sam was there to get the red suit.
"That's thing about giver's, Ralph. You need to know your limits because takers don't have any." he warned.
"I know." he agreed feeling like a heel.
Bill suggested, "If the CIA dose have a time traveling program…we may be the only who can find that out. Time travel would be the ultimate weapon, Ralph. You could change election outcomes, change the course of history and even who wins wars. Imagine if someone went back in time and made it so Hitler won World War Two." he suggested.
He agreed, "That would be bad." He then countered, "But it could be used for good too. What if you went back in time and prevented something bad from happening. Like a plane crash or an accident. It would have to be something where you would know the exact date and time." he figured. His mind started to come up with reasons as to why Sam could be traveling through time. "Maybe Sam is here to help and not harm." he told Bill.
"Maybe but ask yourself what you do if you had a time machine." he instructed.
Curious Ralph asked, "What would you do, Bill?"
He confessed, "I'd win the lotto, buy an island and retire there."
Ralph had to agree, "I can see you doing that."
The class began to filter in for the day. Tony greeted, "Morning! See what?" he only caught part of the conversation.
Bill smirked, "Question, what would you kids do if you had a time machine class?" His eyes settled on Sam as she sat down in her seat. It was a direct question to his suspect.
Tony chirped, "I would win a bunch of money and buy a new Mustang."
Rhonda rolled her eyes.
Karl cheered, "Man! If I had a time machine? I would like go see every World Series game there was."
Jose suggested, "I would use it to go back to last week and give myself answers to that test I failed."
Rhonda joined in, "I would go to the future and see what next years fashion trends would be and get it first." It was more of a joke than anything that would be accomplished for the young woman.
All eyes settled on Sam who had yet to state what she would do.
Bill asked, "Well Sam…How about you?"
"I'm wondering what Mr. Hinkley would do." she deflected.
Ralph stated. "I would use it for good."
"Same," she gave him a nod.
Tony asked, "Good? Like bring back money from the future and spending it here." He laughed.
She declared, "That was an accident."
He pushed, "Seriously, Sam! What would you do if you have a time machine?"
She casually answered, "I would bring the deep fried pies back to McDonald's. I would try to not drastically change anything. I would make sure to not accidentally leave my cell phone laying around where anyone can find it. I would go to a movie theater and watch a block buster movie that I had already seen dozens of times just for the atmosphere. I would meet new people who are amazing. I would learn to drive a stick shift. I would be very careful to not let my time machine fall into the wrong hands. I would not trust any government agency with it. I would keep it private and hidden." she informed.
The class fell silent as many wondered if perhaps Sam really did have a time machine and she was speaking the truth.
Bill looked directly at her and replied, "Interesting! I'll see ya around, kid." He then walked out the door as he knew Sam was disclosing information openly to him and the class. He figured she must be in Ralph's class for a reason and now wondered if perhaps his friend's future was in danger.