Usual applies. I don't own Knight Rider, or FATF. Thanks to Tempest-Races for allowing me to use her characters, and her FATF sandbox, love you. And thank you for fixing my mistakes. With that said and done, enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 23: White Bird Must Fly, Or She Will Die

24 Hours later

"So, what do you want to do next?" Knight asked as they left the restaurant.

Jade twirled in the car park as they walked over to the black and silver Trans-am. "I dunno. Nothing energetic. I feel full, that was really good food."

"Dom said it was the best Italian restaurant in the city," Knight grinned. "I can believe it."

"It's a beautiful night," Jade told him, looking up at the sky.

Knight looked upwards. "Yeah it is."

"When I was a kid, I used to sit and watch the stars. Can't do that here, not well anyways. Too many bright lights," Jade sighed. "Need a wide open space."

"We could go to the beach, sit and watch the stars for a bit."

Jade laughed. "You're kidding right? It's the middle of the night, it'll be freezing."

"I didn't say we'd stay long," Knight grinned. "I don't relish the idea of freezing to death."

"We can go dancing afterwards to warm up," Jade replied, a hint of suggestiveness in her voice. Now it was Knight's turn to laugh "I can't dance."

"Good, I'll get a good laugh at your expense," Jade teased.

Knight was about to reply, when Karr's voice echoed across the street. "GET DOWN!"

Knight grabbed Jade and yanked her down to the ground, hearing the crack of a rifle over the powerful roar of Karr's engine as the sleek machine darted from its parking space. The first shot hit the ground a few feet away, kicking up gravel and dust. Brakes screeched, as Karr put himself between them and the shooter, Knight covering both his and Jade's faces before glancing up at the sleek obsidian form now shielding them. "Where?"

"On the roof top," Karr replied, this time his voice coming over the in-ear comm. link.

Knight cautiously peered over the top of the car, ducking back down as a gleaming red dot moved across the car's auto roof.

He pulled Jade closer to the car while yanking the Trans-am's door open. "Get in the car!"

Small flashes lit up against the windows and the bodywork as bullets hit the car, Knight hauling himself in behind Jade as she scrambled across to the passenger seat. Once they were both in, Knight slammed the door shut, noticing the change in fire rate. Whoever the shooter was, their weapon acted just as well as an automatic weapon as it did a sniper rifle. He'd have to quiz Mike later. Jade flinched, her arms over her head as she drew herself up into a ball against the passenger seat as the bullets bounced harmlessly off the windscreen. He put a hand on her arm reassuringly as he looked back over his shoulder, reversing the car away from the shooter. "It's alright, relax. The car's bullet-proof, and we're out of range."

Jade moved her arms slightly and gave him a nervous look. "Why do you have a bullet proof car?"

"Perk of the job," Knight shrugged, trying to make it sound like a joke. She gave him a suspicious look, and he raised his open hands in mock surrender. "Knight Industries came up with a chemical, that when it hardens, forms a molecular bonded shell. It's designed to lessen damage in collisions. Impact resistant. Which fortunately includes bullet impacts," Knight told her, ignoring the fact that while he was telling her the truth, he was misleading her and keeping things from her as well.

"So it's just a coincidence that its bullet proof?"

Knight nodded. "That's right."

"So next question…the car moved by itself."

"That's not a question," Knight stalled for time.

"And that's not a denial."

"Say you were a big industrial company working on a prototype automatic pilot for cars. Wouldn't you want to protect the car from damage should it go wrong?"

"So what you want me to believe is that you're a test driver, for a car that can drive itself, and that it just happens to essentially be armoured in case something goes wrong, and you can't stop it from crashing?"

Knight winced mentally. It did sound like a weak cover story. And Jade obviously knew it as she asked her next question. "And you expect me to believe that, when someone's just tried to shoot you?"

"Maybe they were shooting at you."

"While I'm fairly sure there are people that have a problem with me, I don't think any of them would try to kill me. Especially not like that. Do you want to tell me the truth now? Especially when I definitely heard another voice, on an empty street, or do you expect me to believe I imagined it?"

"I think we've been rumbled," Knight admitted ruefully.

"We?" Jade asked.

"Your idea of a cover story was rather weak," a cold, smooth voice emanated within the Trans-am.

"You didn't exactly make it easy, giving yourself away like that."

"Very well. Next time, I'll allow you to be shot, rather than take action to preserve your life."

"Fair point. I'm sorry."

By this point, Jade looked immensely confused. "Who are you talking to?"

"You want to handle this one pal?"

"He's talking to me," the mysterious voice said, greenish-yellow LEDs above the steering column flickering in the time with the voice. "I am the Knight Automated Roving Robot. KARR, if you prefer."

"It talks? The car talks?"

"How observant. I'll bet she even knows how many tyres I have."

"They're over inflated," Knight told him –"Be nice."

"How can a car talk?" Jade asked.

Knight shrugged. "It's all computers, and beyond anything I know about them. All I know is it works, don't ask me how, I don't know, and I don't wanna know."

"You wouldn't understand it anyway," Karr muttered.

"Alright," she regarded him steadily. "So who are you really, and what are you doing here?"

"I am really Ian Knight, and I do work for Knight Industries."

"But not as a test driver."

"We have what you might call a freelance department. We sometimes get asked to help out law enforcement agencies," Knight replied carefully, not willing to tell the truth in its entirety.

"So why are you here?"

"In the last couple of months, there've been a series of truck hijackings. My partner and I got sent undercover to investigate because the vehicles described matched a case from about a year ago, with connections to street racing. I was chosen coz I used to be a street racer, it's why I was hired."

"This is insane... you're crazy."

"I'm not crazy, right Karr?"

"I was under the impression you are," Karr replied. "But if you wish me to try convince her otherwise, I will attempt to do so. However, since I strongly suspect she may be correct, success isn't guaranteed."

"Thanks pal."

"You're welcome."

Jade shook her head slightly. "I think you should take me home. It's been a weird night, just with everything," she gestured vaguely with her hands."

"Fair enough," Knight replied. "It's a lot to take in. We're not far away, I'll drop you off. Give you some space to process it all."

"Thanks."

The cabin fell silent as the car continued on its path.

After taking Jade home, Knight started driving the car aimlessly through LA, not saying a word. Karr ignored this for a while, choosing instead to monitor the police band, and CV band transmissions. The night seemed quiet, and eventually Karr grew bored. "You're quiet."

"I'm thinking. Hey, what are you doing?"

Karr pulled the Trans-am over to the side of the road, and stopped the car, shutting the engine down, deliberately ignoring his driver.

"What are you doing pal?"

"You said you were thinking. I read somewhere that you shouldn't drive in a state of shock, as its potentially dangerous. Should I call you an ambulance, or direct you to the nearest hospital?"

Knight snorted. "Funny guy."

"Who's joking? I'm being serious."

"Karr."

"Alright. I am joking. What are you thinking?"

"Something I'd rather not be."

"Would you care to elaborate?" the AI queried.

Knight was silent for several long moments. "Only a handful of people knew where we were going tonight pal. And only one of them wasn't a Toretto."

"Do you believe Ms Barrett is involved in the heists?"

"Maybe. Or she told someone who is."

"She didn't know we were investigating until tonight."

"No. But Tran may do. If she told her friends where we were going, and he decided to take a shot?"

"Why do you think Tran?"

"After last night, he has motive," Knight fell silent for a moment. "Did you get a fix on the shooter? An image?"

"Not a good one I'm afraid," Karr replied, putting the image up on the HUD.

Knight shook his head. "Too much light blur, obscures anything in the shadows. Can you clean it up any?"

"Unfortunately not. We may be able to at the semi, with the systems there."

"Put a call out to Michael, see if he and Bonnie can get out on the road."

Next Day

The door on the rear of the semi lowered slowly as the black and silver Trans-am approached, forming a ramp as the two vehicles moved along the road. The Trans-am was moving slightly faster, gliding up the ramp and coming to a halt, the door closing behind it as Knight exited the car. "I think I may have stirred up the hornet's nest."

"How's that?" Michael asked.

Knight leaned on the wall of the semi. "Someone took a shot at me last night."

"Sadly not the metaphorical kind of shot," Karr added. Knight glared at the Trans-am. "I think you better be quiet since you didn't get a make on the shooter after they left the roof."

"You never asked," Karr replied coldly. "And I did get an image of the shooter."

Knight shook his head. "I shouldn't have to. And that was not an image. That was a blur, and a useless one at that."

"Let me have it Karr," Bonnie told the Trans-am. "I'll run it through the computers, see if we can clean it up, get a recognisable face from it."

"Very well," the car replied, scanner rippling back and forth once. Michael looked back and forth between Knight and Karr. "Are you two finished?"

Karr didn't reply except for a swish of the scanner mounted on his front, Knight matching the sentiment with a shrug. Michael sighed. "Who do you think is responsible for the shooting?"

"My money's on Ricky Tran," Knight answered. "I think he saw us two nights ago when we went to check out his private garage. Plus I think I provoked him when I asked Jade out."

"You were out with her last night?" Michael asked, suddenly serious.

Knight knew he was in trouble. "Yeah. I was. Had to explain Karr to her as well. One of the few drawbacks to having a bullet proof car."

"It's the distraction she provides that concerns me, not to mention that you're getting far too involved with people in this case."

"Come on Michael," Knight protested.

"She's a distraction, and right now, I think she's putting you at risk. And didn't you tell me that she's connected to Ricky Tran? For all you know she's involved with the heists!"

"She isn't!" Knight answered, raising his voice slightly. Bonnie intervened.

"Michael, trust him. Like Devon trusted you with Stevie."

Michael tensed up. "Just be careful, alright," and headed into the back of the semi. Knight frowned and looked at Bonnie. "What was that about? Who the hell is Stevie?"

"She was Michael Long's fiancée."

"That was Michael's birth name right?"

"It was," Bonnie explained –"When they saved his life, when he became Michael Knight, he had to leave his old life behind, including her."

"So how does she fit in?"

"She was working at a law firm. Her boss represented a Mob boss, and asked her to take a briefcase downstairs to a waiting sedan. The feds arrested her, and tried to use her to get her boss. Michael saw an article about her arrest in the paper and got the foundation involved. You can read about it in the archives, the assignment was codenamed 'White Bird,' file number 57330. There was another case, file 60212, she was involved in two years later, which caused Michael a bit of hurt."

"And this Devon, he was boss at the time? And he trusted Michael to not let his personal involvement interfere?" Knight asked.

Bonnie nodded. "That's the short version."

Knight contemplated that briefly. "Thanks Bonnie. Tell Mike I'm sorry ok? I didn't mean to stir up old memories."

"I will. Now get out of here, and get the job done. Don't make me regret intervening."

"You got it," Knight grinned, sliding into Karr's driver seat as Bonnie spoke. "Be careful."

"I will," Knight answered as Bonnie finished. "And take care of Ian too."

"I will Bonnie," Karr replied, his tone coldly amused as Knight thumped his head on the steering wheel, before backing the sleek Trans-am out of the semi, and spinning it around, heading for DT autos.

The Trans-am pulled to a fast halt outside DT autos, Knight leaping out and heading inside. "Where's Brian?"

"Him and Dom are at Harry's picking up parts, why?" Letty asked, rolling out from under a Focus. Knight quickly explained, "I think Ricky Tran saw us at his warehouse. Someone took a shot at me last night while I was out with Jade."

"It could be that bitch Tempest. Una cosa asquerosa. She's got the skill to do it and she's always been in bed with Ricky. Ella puede ir al infierno," Letty replied.

Knight shrugged. "I suppose it could be, but Jade doesn't think so. I just wanted to warn Brian, let him know."

"I'll tell him when he gets back," Letty promised. "How's Karr?"

"He's fine. Fortunately his shell is virtually indestructible. A few bullets can't damage him."

"Even if they do sting," Karr's voice came over the comm. link.

Knight sighed. "Has Bonnie managed to get a reasonable image of the shooter yet?"

"No," Karr replied shortly, and the link went dead.

Letty raised an eyebrow. "What was all that about?"

"Family feud," Knight wise-cracked.

Letty shook her head. "You shouldn't tease him so much. He may put a brave face on it for you, but he's very insecure. He told me about his past."

"I know. He has as many issues with trust as I do."

"Then maybe you shouldn't tease him so much," Letty pointed out, returning to the car she was working on.

Knight shrugged to himself. "Maybe not."

"Definitely not," Letty told him from under the car before she rolled back out again. "Just out of curiosity, could you have beaten Dom?"

"You mean me and Karr, or just me with an ordinary car?"

"Just you. I know Karr could have beaten him, with or without you driving," Letty smirked. Karr's voice came over the comm. link. "Thank you."

Knight ignored him and shrugged. "I don't know. Me and Brian are fairly evenly matched, and if Brian can't take him…"

"No if about it, Brian can't take Dom in a race," Letty quickly interrupted.

Knight shrugged. "If Brian can't, then there's no way I could. I'm good, but Dom looks to be a lot better. Probably only Kat in his league…maybe Tempest."

Letty sneered slightly. "She wishes."

Knight grinned slightly. "We'll see. Warn Brian for me?"

"Will do. Now get out of here, let me work."

"You got it," Knight grinned, and headed out. "Karr, what did she say before? The Spanish I mean."

"It wasn't very complimentary," Karr offered with his trademark cool steely voice, "However if you wish to know?"

"I'll pass thanks pal," Knight grinned. "Come on, we got things to do."

That night

Knight pulled Karr up with the other racers, Jade with him. Team Toretto weren't racing tonight, so he'd joined her to go sprint racing. Tempest was calling the shots as usual. He was impressed to see an Aston Martin Vanquish S. At one point in time, it was supposed to be the fastest Aston Martin ever made. With 520bhp at 7000rpm he could believe it, especially when it was rumoured to easily exceed speeds of 200mph. The first race was about to get started, Craig facing off with the guy who owned the Vanquish S, the Subaru Impreza Knight had raced previously and a Mustang Cobra SVT. Knight noticed a dark look cross the face of Ricky Tran as Tempest started the race, the four cars tearing away from the line. Knight punched up a visual display from Karr, watching as the cars bolted down the first stretch of road, fortunately clear of traffic as they jostled for position. The lead car changed rapidly, the two Aston Martin's trying hard to out do each other, the Subaru keeping up with them as they rounded the first bend, the Subaru on the inside.

Craig's DB9 pulled ahead slightly, the Vanquish falling behind slightly as it went round the bend too wide. There was a slight scraping of metal as the Impreza slid by the side of the DB9, then swerved suddenly to avoid an oncoming car, letting Craig take the lead again. The Impreza's back end swung out wildly, the car's tyres trying to find purchase on the road as the car swung back in line, the other two cars flashing by in an instant. Its driver hit the nitrous, and caught up with the other two cars. The cars pulled in close together, swerving in and out of each others paths to stop each other getting past. The other two cars hit nitrous, and Craig hit his nitrous, pulling away from them even faster. He swerved to the left, then the far left lane to avoid an oncoming car, diving back across to the right, falling level with the Impreza. The DB9 pulled forward again slightly, the Impreza moving into his slipstream, then pulling ahead as they went into the last bend. Craig yanked on the wheel tightly to avoid slamming into the side of the Vanquish as it came up the inside, clipping the Impreza at over a hundred miles an hour. The results were spectacular, the Impreza smashing into the central reservation of the road, the front end crumpling as it hit the concrete, flipping up and over the barrier into the oncoming traffic. The car hit the tarmac, and rolled over, skidding along on its roof, sparks flaring from the friction. An oncoming car smashed into wreck, and flipped over into the central reservation. Knight watched on Karr's view screen as two more cars collided with the wreckage. "Karr, call an ambulance."

"Already done. The police have doubtless been notified as well, due to the circumstances."

"Great," Knight groaned, watching as with a surge of nitrous, Craig blasted his DB9 past the Vanquish to take first place, the Mustang bringing up the rear of the pack. the cars didn't stop for long, each one roaring away from the scene of the accident, the other racers doing the same, obviously heading for a pre-arranged meeting point in the event of such an accident, every racer knowing that soon the local PD would be crawling around the site looking for those involved. Knight turned the Trans-am after Craig's DB9, following in its wake towards the meeting point, the cars occupants silent.

End of Chapter 23…

NB: The "case numbers" are actually the production numbers for the episodes guest starring David Hasselhoff's then wife Catherine Hickland as "Stephanie Mason"