Risky Behavior
KARR hacked into the old surveillance cameras in the bowling alley. Travis had neglected to tell him how feisty the girls were. He had to admit, he was impressed when the one called Raven had broken the boy's nose. He wanted to see what would happen next, and his scanners just didn't cut it this time. Then again, that's what he got for letting a teenage boy put him together. He would have to be extremely careful when he went up against KITT. While he doubted the Knight 2000 was at prime operating level, he had to be in better condition than KARR was. Which didn't bode well for KARR at all.
He had let the girls think he was tougher than he was. He wondered then if the girls were as tough as they seemed. Maybe they had a weakness he could exploit when KITT showed up.
Then again, didn't he already see it? The same weakness he saw between the Knight 2000 and his annoying driver KARR now saw in these three girls. They cared for each other far too much, and for his foolish twin. The real question was, would Travis be smart enough to see it and use it against them? Holding Raven as bait had been merely luck. There was more he could do with that bond, more ways he could manipulate them to do what he wanted them to do.
Or perhaps that wasn't the real question at all. The real question came back to himself – did KARR even care what Travis did anymore? Not that he and Travis had ever been anything more than partners in the loosest sense of the term. Travis wanted to hurt the girls – most importantly he wanted to hurt Jessica, and Raven and Heather were the fastest way to do that – and KARR wanted to hurt KITT. When KARR realized KITT had taken the girls in as his drivers, their alliance was cemented.
KARR no longer cared.
He had everything he wanted. KITT knew he was still active. Whether he killed the girls now or let them go was irrelevant – KITT wouldn't allow KARR to live for very long. His programming to protect his drivers would demand he end the threat, no matter how small it was. The girls were irrelevant at this point.
Something was happening. He turned his focus back to the cameras.
"I want you to get down there." Travis, motioning towards the gap at the end of the bowling lanes where the pins drop after the ball hits them. KARR noticed with some interest that the boy had abandoned his weapon, not that it had done him any good in intimidating the girls. Without it, on the other hand, Travis didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of getting them to cooperate.
Sure enough, Raven crossed her arms over her chest. "You have got to be kidding me." she spat out angrily. "I am not getting down there."
Travis growled, but it came out sounding nasal. KARR snickered to himself. "You are getting down there because I say you are." the boy snapped.
Heather simply rolled her eyes. "You and what army? I count three of us and one of you."
"You forget – there are two of me, and KARR is a bit more powerful than all of you." Travis growled.
"Yeah, but KARR's not helping you, is he?" Raven pointed out with a smirk. "In fact, I'm willing to bet he doesn't give a rat's hide now that he has KITT's attention."
Accurate, but KARR didn't say anything. Not long now. KITT had to be frantic by now, especially when Heather so thoughtfully threw the comm. link out the window.
But Heather seemed to be a bit smarter than that. KARR wondered, briefly, if there was any other way they could have contacted the Knight 2000. Without proper sensors, he wouldn't have known about it. He almost growled, but held it back. It wouldn't be long now, he knew. The Knight 2000 would come. And he would fight KARR to the death. That was the only way it could be.
Wasn't it?
Travis rolled his eyes. "If you don't cooperate, I will drag you back outside and let KARR take care of you." he snapped. "I'll let him waste you without a thought. How do you like that?"
Jess sighed. "He's got a point, you know." she said simply. "On the other hand, how do you plan on getting us out of the building? We do outnumber you, and you don't have your gun anymore." Her smirk was nothing short of evil. Travis blinked.
"What makes you think that's my only weapon?"
"Well, I can obviously tell you you have no wits." Heather muttered. "So we can't challenge you there." Raven laughed.
Travis wasn't the patient type. KARR knew this. It was only a matter of time before something happened, and the boy did something stupid. That time was now.
He lunged at the closest girl, which happened to be Jess. Unfortunately for him, Jess didn't play fair. She hit him in the already-broken nose, splattering blood across his face. He fell back, cursing, his voice almost a shriek in his pain. KARR mentally applauded her. It was a low blow, but it worked. Travis was staggering, unable to find his balance. Heather came up and kicked him in the stomach, dropping him backwards onto his back. She kicked him a few more times in the ribs, probably for good measure. Raven grinned. "I think he's down, girl."
"Just wanted to make sure." Heather said easily. "Now, the real question is – what do we do about KARR?"
"We should find some way to take him down." Jess said, her voice sounding a bit nervous. She kept looking at Travis's semi-unconscious body, as if waiting for him to wake up and attack. It was well-justified paranoia. Travis was never easy to take out, even if he wasn't all that smart. "I don't know exactly how good he is, but if he knows about the comm. link, then he probably knows about the rest of KITT's capabilities. Why on earth would he challenge KITT if he didn't have the same capabilities?"
"He doesn't." Heather said, sounding confident. "If he did, he would have known about the cell phone. I'm pretty sure he's just an AI in a normal car body."
"Can't be too completely normal." Raven said. "He knew where we would be in the bookstore."
"Ok, a limited car body." Heather corrected herself. "The fact remains – he is no match for KITT."
"So what do we do?" Jess wondered, then she answered her own question. "We could wait here until KITT shows up, and then all four of us ambush him."
"Would we even stand a chance?" Raven wondered.
Heather shrugged. "We stand more of a chance with KITT with us than we do without." she pointed out. "Let's just hope he lets us help."
"I'll second that." Jess muttered.
KARR pulled out of the security system. If he had a face, he would have been smiling. The girls were far more ingenious than he thought. He almost – respected them. He still wanted KITT.
As KITT sensed KARR pulling away from the security system, he contacted the girls. "Just where are you guys?" he demanded. "I'm circling the block, but I can't find you."
Raven took out the cell phone. "Just look for the black Firebird that looks like a Trans-Am." she quipped. "It should be in an abandoned parking lot."
"I see you." KITT said grimly. "What about Travis?"
Heather looked at Travis, who was still slightly out of it. "I don't think he'll be a problem for a while." she said. "I think I broke a few ribs."
"You broke a few ribs?" KITT sounded shocked. "Borden was right. You three are vicious." He sighed. "You guys are asking for trouble if you try and help me take on KARR."
The girls grinned. "Bring it on."