Chapter 3: The Duty of Line Knight

"Marissa," Cassa asked, sounding surprised, "Why haven't you drank your tea? I made it myself."

She looked up and at her aunt, blinking. She then replied, "Oh…I'm not very thirsty right now. I will later."

The woman nodded, although she seemed a bit impatient.

"Anyway," she curtly said, "Devon, I wish that I had good news about this…new kind of Gypsy that you spoke of, but I don't know a thing."

Right then, she heard three familiar beeps coming from the comlink that was on her wrist.

"Oh…Aunt Cassa, I need to go to the kitchen. May I, please?" She also whispered to Devon, "Kitty's calling me."

He nodded, understanding quickly, then said, "Yes, if I remember correctly, you have some medication you need to take. Take the cup with you, dear."

Cassa nodded in agreement.

"Thanks," she said as she got up, taking her purse and the teacup with her into the kitchen.

As soon as she did, she saw a plastic zip bag on the counter. She then carefully poured the tea into the bag and sealed it. After doing that, she took the bag and went to the farthest corner before she activated her comlink.

"Kitty?" she asked.

"Marissa!" she heard, and it wasn't from Kitt…but from Michael.

"Michael!"

"Listen close and fast. Get yourself and Devon out of the hotel, on the double!"

"Is there an emergency?"

"Yeah, a big one!"

"Can you call up on the phone here? I'll answer it and—"

"Say no more, I'll do it," he said and cut the connection.

She nodded and snuck the bag into her purse, closed it, then went back into the living room, managing to keep her face calm, something she learned from the incident in March.

"Everything all right—" Devon started to ask when the phone rang.

Marissa moved quickly, stating, "I'll get it!" and picked up the receiver before anyone else could move.

Devon peered at her and Cassa looked annoyed.

"Hello?" she asked, innocently, then said, "Oh, hi Michael. Something wrong…?" She then asked, looking worried, "What happened? Ok, I'll pass on the message. See you soon. Bye."

Devon looked at her, blinking a bit as he asked, "Michael…?"

"Yeah. There's an emergency at the Foundation. He said we need to get going, and now."

"But, you haven't finished your—"

"Rissie's right…we need to get going. We'll have to try again some other day, perhaps tomorrow."

Cassa calmed and nodded, then remarked, "She's quite the dutiful girl."

"Thank you, Aunt Cassa," Marissa replied, "I try to be."

With that, Devon and Marissa left the room, then went straight into the elevator.

"Rissie…? Are you…all right…?" he asked, blinking faster.

She didn't answer but activated the comlink again.

"Michael, where are you?"

"We're pulling up to the hotel now. Where are you?"

"In the elevator, going down. I'll need help with father."

"Oh no, did he—"

"Yeah," she said, "You were right about the emergency."

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Outside, Michael got out of Kitt and ran into the hotel lobby.

"Marissa! Devon!" he called out and saw the elevator doors ahead of him open.

"Michael, help!" she yelled, her tone very worried.

At that, he bulldozed through the crowd and got to the elevator. When he looked in, his eyes went wide.

"Devon!" he exclaimed and moved quickly to catch him as he fell. He then put an arm around the older man to support his weight and started moving towards Kitt. Marissa walked beside him.

This time, the crowd parted, providing a clear line to the exit. As soon as they were in Kitt, Michael said, "Kitt, get us to the hospital, fast, and call Dr. Alpert. Break the speed limit if you have to!"

"Oh my goodness. Devon! Right away."

With that, Kitt immediately went into autopilot and increased speed while calling Dr. Alpert's residence.

"What happened?" Michael asked her.

"Father's been poisoned, intentionally," she replied, "And Aunt Cassa's the one that did it."

"Did you get the object?"

"Yeah, she served us both Earl Grey tea. She insisted that I drink mine, but the whispers told me not to. I put my tea in a bag. Here—"

"Keep it in there," he interjected.

"I also…well…I stole the cup that father drank out of. I know I shouldn't steal, but…"

"Don't worry about it. You just might have saved his life doing that."

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As soon as they arrived at the hospital, there were a couple of orderlies, as well as Dr. Alpert, on hand to help Devon onto a stretcher. In between the hotel and the hospital, his skin had become deathly pale and a bit clammy.

Also at the ER doors was Bonnie, her own expression pale and tight with worry.

"My God, what happened?" she asked.

"Father's been poisoned, intentionally, and Aunt Cassa did it," Marissa replied.

"She's certainly the prime suspect, but don't go saying that as a definite yet. Rissie, take out the bag of tea, and I'll walk you through the process to use my analyzer," Kitt put in, then took the process, step-by-step, including using an eyedropper filled with the tea onto a small slide.

After a few seconds, Kitt said, "My goodness! Marissa's right, there is poison in the tea, and a very exotic one at that."

"Exotic? How?"

"It comes from a very specific plant, although there are three varieties of this. Most likely it is flora sentientus."

Michael nodded grimly as he said, "Looks like we're paying someone a visit. Bonnie, take Marissa in the hospital, will ya?"

Bonnie glared as she said, "Now wait a minute! Aren't you going to wait to find out if he's going to make it or not?" while Marissa got out of Kitt.

He shot back, "Someone tried to kill both him and Marissa. I'm going to find out who and why. This is my duty!"

He immediately snapped the door shut and drove off, leaving an angry Bonnie and a grim little girl.

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In the apartment at Foundation headquarters, Laura and Jack were in the living room, going through meditation exercises. The older girl found it strange that not only was the young man related to her, but that they were living together.

She had met Jack in March, during the incident with the True Liberty Movement. At the time, he had been the leader of a martial arts biker gang called the Black Dragons. She had been very disdainful, considering that he was "one of those back-stabbing troublemakers"…and was equally shocked when, after the rescue mission, he left the Dragons and joined the Foundation's Youth. She heard that Chris Sato was still in the gang, as of a week ago.

A telephone ringing shattered the quiet, still air that came with meditation.

Laura sighed, got up, then answered the phone with, "Hola." There was a pause before she added, "I'll get him. Un momento, por favor." She then yelled, "Dad? Papa!"

There was a groan before Rodrigo replied grumpily, "This had better be important."

"Papa, you're wanted on the phone. It's Dr. Alpert and he says it's an emergency."

There was a grumbling noise as her father, Rodrigo Mariz, scrambled into the living room and took the phone.

"Hola." There was a pause before he continued, "Senor, senor, slow down. What happened?" Another pause.

Laura looked at her father closely, looking for any sign as to what the emergency could be.

She found one, a very blatant sign.

"What! When did this happen? Si, si, we're on our way. Yes, them, too. Adios."

He then slammed the phone down on the receiver, then turned to the two teenagers, saying, "Get dressed and bring some books. Our dinner tonight's going to be something besides what I just finished cooking."

Laura bounced to her feet as Jack asked, "What happened, Tio?"

Rodrigo replied grimly, "There's an emergency. Senor Miles is in the hospital, in critical condition. Poison's most likely involved."

"Devon!" Laura exclaimed while Jack added, "Oh my G—goodness, no."

"I'm afraid so. I've been called in to try to identify the original source of the poison. Now come on, both of you!"

Both youngsters scurried as they got ready to go to the hospital, in record time.

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Michael and Kitt arrived back at the hotel within a few minutes, the young man fuming. With everyone telling him that nothing was wrong, that he was unnecessarily being jumpy, he had relaxed a bit, thinking that maybe he was wrong about the gut feeling he had.

And now, he had been the one proven right in a most devastating way: Devon was poisoned, and Marissa had squeaked out of sharing the same fate.

"Kitt, is anyone in Cassandra Miles' hotel room?"

"Yes, Michael. She's still in there."

"Then that's where I'm going," he said, then got out, walking rather quickly into the hotel, into the elevator, then up the third floor corridor.

"Michael, the person inside seems to be moving about in a peculiar manner."

"She might be trying to make a run for it," he muttered, then knocked on the door.

"Who's there?" he heard the female inside ask, a little irritated.

"I'm Michael, Michael Knight. Marissa said she accidentally picked up something of yours…a teacup, I think she said."

There was a moment before the door was unlocked, then opened.

Michael took the opportunity to barge in, looking furious.

"Just what is this? I doubt that you have that teacup," she demanded.

"Plain and simple, I want some answers, and I want them now, lady."

"Such as?"

Eyes brimming with fury, he asked in a cold voice, "Like who you really are, for starters."

Her eyes went wide as she replied, "What foolishness is this? I am Cassandra Miles."

"Strike one," he growled, moving towards the telephone, "You got two left. You strike out and I call the police."

She hissed as she said, "You uncouth brute…why do you think I would lie?"

He snapped, "You might fool Devon, but not me. I did some checking on Cassa Miles. She's been dead for a long time." He then saw her edging towards the door, while reaching into the band of her dress. Michael quickly yanked her arm from there and knocked her wrist against the wall, making her drop the object, a dagger.

"Not smart," he hissed as he pinned her against the wall, arm pinned to her back, "Strike two. One left. I suggest you start talking." He paused as he thought for a second, then asked, "Does the name Medina ring any bells?"

That question made the woman gasp, then hiss angrily.

"Thought so," he added, "You're with Marco Chavez and his dirty little bunch."

She spat out, "What do you know of MAGE?"

"MAGE, huh? So that's the name. Accent's slipping, by the way. Who was your target?" he demanded.

She was silent.

"Who was the target!" he snapped, putting pressure on the arm, "Devon or Marissa!"

She refused to say anything.

"Stri—" Michael started to say.

"Both!" she shot out, "The old geezer and the little brat both!"

His breath came in a sharp hiss at that.

"Won't do you any good, anyway. I'll have completed part of my mission soon enough, he drank the whole cup."

Michael yanked her harshly, turning her around to face him. He said to her, "You tell your MAGE pals this: A member of Line Knight walks the Earth…and if anyone, anyone, tries to get their hands on a Mystic, it'll be the last mistake they make!" He added, "Kitt, call the police."

At this, the woman hissed and suddenly snapped her mouth closed, gritting her teeth. She went into a seizure for a few seconds before she became limp.

"Kitt! Check her vitals."

"I'm sorry to say, Michael, she's dead. A fast, deadly poison entered her bloodstream."

He sighed angrily and asked, "Did ya record everything?"

"Yes, I did. I even ran a check on the name MAGE. They're an organization based out of Mexico."

Michael remembered something that was said months before and repeated grimly, "Mystic and Gypsy Eradication. MAGE."

"That's correct. How did you know?"

"Something Devon told me in March. Okay…get the police anyway, but not a word as to the Mystics."

"I doubt they would understand," Kitt agreed.