It was 1:15. Bonnie watched Michael's grim face as they drove around the back sections of the large ranch. Mason's rental storage space and warehouse had drawn a blank, so now they were combing Warren's ranch an acre at a time. The terrain wasn't helping them much, rough and broken, hills and ravines, limiting KITT's scanners to quite close range.
Bonnie wondered whether Mary and Candy might be held in a trap somewhere else entirely, but she didn't say so. There was no point. They didn't have time to search every square mile at random surrounding the town; if Michael's guess at the two locals involved wasn't right, or if the captives were at another point off their property, then the woman they had been trying to help and her daughter would be killed.
How could you stake everything, absolutely everything, on a guess like that? Bonnie herself would have still been wanting more information, more proof before narrowing the field of the town's population down. She would have wanted to be certain she was right with so many consequences if she were wrong. But they didn't have time. No, it had to be a bold guess or nothing.
Michael topped another hill, pushing KITT on terrain that was far from a road, and as they reached the crest, he stopped the car. Another ravine stretched out below them. "Anything, KITT?" he asked.
The screen lit up as KITT scanned. "Not definitely, Michael. There is, however, an apparent abandoned mine in the side of the hill below. I am unable to scan from this distance through the rock; there are minerals in it which are preventing fine detail. I can, however, make out the door." The screen focused in on the old door in the hillside, now a firm barricade with a sign across it. Danger.
"Then we get closer to check it out," Michael said.
Bonnie tensed up. "Down there? How?"
"By driving," Michael responded. He accelerated again, putting KITT on what was clearly a horse trail and meant for sure-footed horses at that. Bonnie cringed. "Don't worry," Michael snapped, a bit of the tension he was obviously feeling creeping into his tone. "If I knock KITT out of alignment, I'm sure you can fix him, even if I get a lecture while you're doing it."
"I wouldn't -" Bonnie trailed off. She did in fact give Michael plenty of lectures while she fixed KITT. Did demands like this on cases happen that regularly?
They reached the bottom after a wild drive. Bonnie had been hanging onto the dash, bracing herself. Michael, unbelievably, had been asking KITT questions all the way down, even while driving that rough track, and by the time they were on the floor of the valley, KITT had researched all information on the mine at this location. It had been a very small iron ore find 20 years ago, and Ben Warren had exhausted the lode and put in quite a bit of effort trying to find more. He finally gave up pouring money literally into a hole in the ground, and the mine had been abandoned and sealed.
KITT finished this recitation as they pulled up near the heavy door. Michael studied it. "Any booby traps if I open that, KITT?"
"I do not detect any. I would advise caution, however."
"Thanks." Michael opened the door, grabbed a flashlight from the back floorboard, and stood up, looking back over at Bonnie. "You stay here."
"I will," she promised. She had no desire to go into an old abandoned mine on a long shot. If she had definite proof Mary and Candy were there, she might have risked it, but Michael could probably do more than she could anyway. She watched him approach that sign, bright red letters against the wood. Danger. She shivered.
"I am afraid I knocked one of my circuits slightly out of alignment driving down into the valley," KITT announced. "It is a minor problem, one easily worked past, but it will need attention eventually."
"Hopefully I can do a little quick repair in town after all this is over," Bonnie replied.
"Do not blame Michael, Bonnie. Time is of the essence. He had to get down."
"I know. I won't." Michael had worked the door open by now and disappeared into the mine. "KITT, is this case - usual?"
"Fairly standard," KITT responded.
She shook her head. "How does he do this?" If this was the usual and this were her job, she would have either been killed or quit months ago.
"He is very dedicated," KITT said. "He also, fortunately, has the training from his background to enable him to do it at safely as he can. It will never be a safe job, however."
"I can see that." She sighed. "I hadn't - I guess I've just been seeing one side of it, every time he brings you back."
At that moment, Michael's voice filled the car. "Anything, KITT? Can you scan better this close with the door open?"
"I have been working on it. The trace elements in the rock still interfere somewhat." Indeed, KITT's screen had been active even during his conversation with Bonnie. She sat there tensely, watching that black square in the hillside that had, like a giant mouth, swallowed Michael. Had it swallowed Candy and Mary, too?
"Michael, there is a branching tunnel to your left shortly ahead. There might be readings up there a few hundred feet. Unfortunately, I'm unable to be precise, and the readings are faint. It could just be an animal."
"I'm on it," Michael said. "Thanks, KITT."
An animal. Bonnie sat there wondering what kind of animals might live in deserted mines. Rats? Maybe even a mountain lion if another entrance had been found somewhere. Were there bears in this region?
"They're here!" Michael's voice was triumphant. "Hang on. I'll get you loose, but I'm going to have to do it carefully so as not to trip things. KITT, what's the time?"
"Ten minutes, Michael," KITT replied.
There was a tense silence. Bonnie began counting off seconds herself, even though she didn't have to, because KITT had a steadily decreasing timer on his screen now. Five minutes. Three minutes. Two minutes.
"Got it! Candy, climb on my back. Now, let's run!"
Bonnie sat there waiting, watching. Several hundred feet in a low passageway in the dark complete with intersections. 30 seconds. 20 seconds. They appeared at the door to the mine, Mary running full speed, Michael obviously holding back to keep pace with her, Candy on his back. KITT scooted forward to meet them, doors opening, and they were barely in the car before the doors closed and KITT made his fastest reverse.
BOOM! The blast shook the entire hillside. Thick dust billowed out from the mine, and then the passageway collapsed. When they could see again, there was no longer a black mouth into the hill, just a tightly packed pile of rubble.
Michael let out a deep breath and turned to the back seat, where Mary was clutching Candy, both of them looking shaken to the core. "We made it!" he announced.
Candy was the first of the two to stir. She smiled and reached forward, clutching his arm. "Thank you, Michael, for saving us again."
He smiled back at her. "You're welcome."