chapter five

Kitt waited in the driveway while Michael and Lauren went inside the whitewashed one-story house to talk to the missing girl's mother. Michael knocked on the door, and a harried woman in her thirties with soft brown hair and huge blue eyes answered. "Mrs. Adams?" he asked politely.

"Miss." she corrected gently. "Who are you?"

"I'm Michael Knight – I work for the Foundation of Law and Government." he said with a charming smile. "This is Lauren Phillips. We're here to find your daughter."

The door opened a little farther. Now Michael could see a six year old girl standing beside her mother who looked an awful lot like the girl he was looking for. They had the same curly blond hair and their mother's expressive blue eyes. Miss Adams smiled faintly. "This is Ashley, Mandy's twin." she explalined. "The cops did a double-take too when they saw her. Please, come in." She stepped back and allowed the two agents to walk inside.

For a brief moment, Michael felt a twinge of unease. He would have preferred to have this interview outside, where Kitt could keep a better eye on them. It wasn't so much that he expected Lauren to jump him at the first opportunity (in fact, he was almost starting to like her) or Miss Marissa Adams to attack him, things just had a knack for going wrong at the worst possible time. A smile touched his face as he felt Kitt touch him, reassuring him without saying a word. That simple message, that Kitt was always there, was all Michael needed. He sent his own affection back through the link, and he could feel that Kitt was pleased.

It was a good thing they had gotten used to accommodating the needs of the bond to the needs of the outside world. Michael didn't miss a beat as he sat down on the rickety couch beside Lauren. Apparently, Mr. Adams had taken as much as he could when she left him.

"The local police said they believed your husband took Mandy?" he asked gently. Miss Adams nodded.

"He sued for custody of the girls and lost." she admitted sourly. "A few weeks later Mandy vanished. The girls were racing on their way home from school, and Mandy fell behind. When Ashley turned around, she was gone."

Lauren tilted her head to the side, considering. Michael's eyes narrowed. That sounded more like a professional job to him. After all, if it was the father, why didn't he take Ashley with him as well?

Ashley looked up at her mother from the floor where she was coloring. "Daddy didn't take Mandy, Momma." she said quietly.

Lauren leaned forward. "How do you know that, sweetie?"

"Mandy told me." Ashley put a hand to her forehead. "In here. She tells me a lot of things."

Now she had Michael's attention. "Like what?"

"She says they don't let her out of her room, but they bring her food." Ashley said simply. "She told me they're looking for something, but she doesn't know what. There's a woman there who wants to hurt her, but the big man won't let her." She looked up at Michael, tears in her eyes. "The cops don't believe me."

Slowly, Michael nodded. "I do."

Ashley nodded with a small smile. "Thank you."

Lauren gave Michael a look, but Miss Adams was silently crying. "She tried so hard to tell the cops that, and none of them – not one – " She looked at Michael, her eyes saying what she couldn't force out. Michael stood and wrapped his arms around the distraught woman.

"Ashley," he asked quietly, "did Mandy ever tell you where she was being held?"

"She said it was dark." Ashley replied immediately. "She doesn't know, but it's a big place. Like the mall big."

Michael nodded. It wasn't much, but it was a start.

/---/

Back in the Trans-Am, Lauren turned to Michael with a look of utter disbelief. "Don't tell me you believe in that crap." she warned. "It'll ruin my opinion of you."

Michael gave her a look. "How so?"

"It's ridiculous! Telepathy? It doesn't happen. You're the one who works for a technologically advanced company. I figured you'd have some knowledge of the way things work. It's superstition, nothing more." Lauren spat.

"Actually, mental connections between twins is not uncommon." Kitt piped up. "Although something as definite as telepathy is rare, twins have been known to have other connections. For example, there was a case of twins who could tell exactly where the other was and if they were hurt."

"Bull, Kitt." Lauren said breezily. "Stories made up by people who are too stupid to understand the real world." She returned her focus to Michael. "So – do you really believe her?"

Michael didn't answer her. /You're awfully defensive of the twins./ he pointed out to Kitt, amusement thick through the bond. Kitt laughed.

/Honestly, Michael, what do you think we are doing?/ he pointed out. /It's not technology, but the human brain acts much the same way a CPU does. If FLAG can use a few chips to connect us together, when we aren't even the same species, I don't think it's too far-fetched that twins, who shared a womb, can have the same connection. Rare, but not impossible./

/Improbable, then./ Michael said with a smile.

Kitt smiled back. /Exactly./

/So you understand why I believe her./

Kitt seemed to sigh. /Michael, I may not understand you, but I always respect you. Even if I do think you're an idiot./

Michael laughed aloud at that. Lauren gave him an odd look. "What's so funny?"

"Just imagining Devon's reaction when I tell him our best lead is a telepathic six year old girl." he said with a grin. "That'll be a sight to see, believe me."

Lauren smiled. "I would love to sit in on that one."

"You'll get your chance. That's exactly what I'm heading back to tell him now."

"Heaven help us all." Kitt murmured, amusement and affection thick in his voice.