chapter seven

The drive was silent for the most part. Lauren seemed to be involved with something in her own mind, staring blankly out the window, and Michael and Kitt took full advantage of her silence. Michael's few attempts at conversation failed, and he chalked it up to her being indignant that he left her to sleep alone while he stayed with Kitt. He had no reason to think otherwise. Neither of them did.

The sun blazed hot over the desert road. Michael had his window down and for the most part was letting Kitt drive. He was simply enjoying the sun and wind, and Kitt was enjoying his company. Neither of them were particularly thinking about the case. There was no need. Once they reached the city where the father lived, then they would once again focus on the task at hand. At the moment, though, there was only each other through the link.

Lauren sat as still as she could, trying not to look suspicious. She doubted they even suspected anything. Oddly enough, they were able to lose themselves in their own thoughts so completely the outside world no longer existed. Lauren suspected there was something more going on between them. She had heard of neruolink technology, but as far as she was aware the most they had done with it was enable quadriplegics to control computer screens with their minds. She supposed FLAG could have done something to the technology and adapted it for AIs, but she doubted it. After all, that would put Kitt under Michael's control, and he valued his partner's identity far more than that.

Didn't he?

Alarm washed through Michael just before Kitt could get out a warning. "Michael!"

The Passive Laser Restraint System was activated immediately, pinning Michael and Lauren in place. A split second later, something hard and fast slammed into the driver's side of the Trans-Am. Kitt didn't stand a chance. The car rolled over and over as more rockets slammed into it. Someone cried out in pain, and it took Kitt a moment to realize it was him. A few seconds later, his cry was echoed by Michael as the car finally rolled to a stop.

Lauren was already pulling herself free as their attackers approached. On his side, badly dented and cringing in agony as some of his sensors were giving him grim results, there was nothing Kitt could do. He reached out for his partner. /Michael!/

No answer.

/Michael, please! You have to get out – you have to run!/

Slowly, Michael groaned. He didn't move his head, but reached out and placed a hand against Kitt's dash. The gesture was infinitely comforting, and Kitt felt himself relax into Michael's touch. /Not going anywhere, pal./ Michael murmured. /Got some steel cahonas to try and attack us like this./

/Try nothing. They've done it./ Kitt couldn't keep the tremor from his voice. /Michael, please, you have to get to safety. I can't protect you./

/Can't move even if I wanted to./ It wasn't a good sign that Michael wasn't speaking in complete sentences, although in his dazed state, he probably was only clinically aware of his injuries. Kitt had suffered human pain before, but this was different. This wasn't the result of controlled surgery, and he couldn't stop the fear from racing through him. /Be fine, Kitt. Promise./

/You'd better be./

Lauren met the older man just beside the damaged Kitt. "You could have warned me you were using rockets." she muttered, not bothering to brush the dust and filth from her clothes. "I could have braced myself or something."

"No need." the man said with a small smile. "The 2000 protected you very well, although I suspect that was merely a coincidence. It wanted to protect it's driver."

Lauren gave him a dirty look. "Now what?"

"Get Knight out." he said dismissively. "We'll take the 2000. Give us a five minute head start, and call for FLAG. They'll get you to safety." He kissed her on the top of the head, and she almost recoiled from him. "Do it, love."

It was a struggle, getting the now-unconscious Michael out of the driver's seat. Kitt didn't seem to inclined to let him go, but the laser restraint system was damaged beyond his repair. It kept flickering off, and Lauren was patient. She had Michael free from the car in five minutes.

Kitt stayed silent as two young men rolled him back onto his wheels and pushed him up onto a flatbed truck. They pulled a tarp over him, concealing him from sight, but his scanners could still penetrate that flimsy material. He could still see Michael, for all the good he was doing him. He watched as they pulled away, leaving Lauren and Michael to the mercies of the desert. Kitt felt his heart break.

Michael . . .

/---/

Bonnie thanked God above that Michael's injuries were not severe enough to warrant another trip to the hospital. She knew that as soon as he woke up, he was going to be after Kitt. The missing child would wait. As usual, everything took a second place to Kitt when the AI was in danger. She still remembered Michael fighting Devon the entire time when Kitt had lost his memory. Michael had wanted to go looking for Kitt and forget the mission. Devon had insisted Michael complete his task. Bonnie had to play referee between those two until Michael finally located Kitt.

It had been a hard few weeks. And that was only a taste of how things were to run from then on out. Nothing was going to stop him once he was on the warpath.

It was a miracle that Lauren wasn't any more injured than she was, but Bonnie didn't care about that. She was sitting by Michael's bed, waiting for him to wake. Something had gone horribly wrong, and she wanted to be there when it all hit the fan.

Devon entered Michael's room, followed closely by Lauren. "He should be waking up soon." he murmured. "Lauren can't tell me much of what happened – apparently everything was centered on the driver's side of the car. Hopefully Michael can tell us more."

"You do realize that Michael isn't going to let this go?" Bonnie whispered.

Devon nodded, a gleam of approval in his eyes. "I wouldn't expect him to."

"What about that girl?"

"I don't know."

Michael moaned as he shifted in the bed, eyes flickering a little before slowly opening. "Bonnie?"

"I'm here, Michael." She reached out and placed a hand on his forehead. He was burning with the beginnings of a fever, due to the stress on his body. "You need to rest."

Devon sat down on the other side of the bed. "Dear boy, what happened?"

Michael swallowed hard. His eyes flickered from Bonnie to Devon before settling on the ceiling between them. "Attacked. Someone – someone shot rockets at us or something. Hurt . . . Kitt really bad." Suddenly he sat straight up in the bed, his eyes wide with shock. "Kitt! We have to find Kitt!"