chapter eight

"Michael, you can't go anywhere right now." Bonnie protested, following him around the room as Michael hunted for his shirt. She could still see the bruises and lacerations from the attack cris-crossing his back and arms. Lauren hadn't looked half as bad, but Bonnie had chalked that up to her being on the wrong side of the car when he was hit. Michael grunted something, and Bonnie turned to Devon. "Please, talk some sense into him! He's got the beginnings of a fever as it is – if he goes out now, he might not come back!"

Devon eyed Michael thoughtfully. "If I order you to stay, what will you do?" he asked quietly.

"Ignore you and go anyway." Michael replied without hesitation. "No offense, Devon, but I won't leave Kitt behind like that. You know I can't."

"I know." Devon sighed as Michael finally found his shirt and pulled it on. It was still stained with dust and scorched from the rockets. "We don't know where he is. His homing beacon has been damaged, and we can't raise him with the comm. link. He could be anywhere right now. Would you at least wait until we find some sort of lead to go on?"

"No." Michael tied his shoes and straightened back up. He didn't bother trying to find his jacket – there was simply no time. The longer he waited the less chance he had of finding Kitt. There was no time to waste.

"We don't have any way to find him." Lauren said reasonably. "Besides, wouldn't your time be better spent finding Mandy? She's alone and scared right now, Michael – she might even be hurt or dead. Don't you want to find her?"

"I need Kitt." But at least he had stopped pacing, and Lauren held her breath. Was he considering the odds, or simply putting the pieces together? She hoped it was the former. "I need you guys to be quiet now. No matter what happens, don't say a word, understand?" He waited until all three of them nodded before closing his eyes. He reached inside himself, trying to find the link that bonded him with Kitt. The AI's end was blocked. Frowning, he pushed at it.

/Come on, Kitt. You aren't hiding that easily from me./

/Michael!/

Michael dropped to his knees in shock as Kitt's barrier dropped. His partner slammed into him, wrapping his essence around Michael's almost possessively. He could feel everything. Kitt's physical pain was as apparent to him now as Kitt's emotional distress. He had been afraid, so very afraid, that Michael hadn't made it. With his medical scanners down, there was no way to tell how damaged Michael was except through the link, and what Kitt had found wasn't promising. Now relief combated for space among the lingering doubts and anxiety. Michael hugged Kitt as best as he could. /It's okay, pal. I'm fine. Give me some credit, I'm harder to kill than that!/

/I thought they might have tried to finish you off./ Kitt admitted, pulling back just a bit. /You aren't in a hospital?/

/Not that hurt./ Michael reminded him gently. /Kitt – where are you? Can you tell me where you are?/

/25th and 6th in Deland./ Kitt responded promptly. /About a ten hour drive west from Foundation headquarters, if you're using a regular car. It's a very large garage of some sorts, but I believe it used to be an airplane hangar. Michael, they have Mandy here as well. She's being kept in one of the smaller rooms I believe is an office. And, Michael – they've mentioned Lauren./

Michael felt himself go cold. /How so?/

/As an ally./

Devon, Bonnie, and Lauren heard nothing of this. They didn't know the source of the fury in Michael's eyes when he finally got back to his feet. His gaze locked with Lauren's, and suddenly he shoved her against the wall and pinned her there.

Devon gasped in shock. "Michael!"

"Why?" Michael hissed, pushing harder on her shoulders. "Why would you set us up like that?"

"I needed the money." Lauren said, her voice quavering. "My little brother is sick – we needed something to cover the hospital bills."

"You kidnapped a little girl and hurt Kitt!" Michael was on a roll now, fury and disbelief mingling in his voice. "For a few hundred dollars, you tore two families apart. You're supposed to be a cop, Lauren! Cops don't do things like this, no matter how badly they need the money."

"Two families?" Lauren asked in disbelief. "How did I tear apart two families?"

Michael ignored her and turned his focus to Devon. "I know where Kitt is." he bit out. "Can I go get him now?"

Devon nodded. "How long?"

"Five days, tops. Give me enough time to get there, get Kitt and Mandy, and get out. If I'm not back after six days, come get me." He grabbed a slip of paper and scrawled the address down. His eyes locked with Devon's. "Wish me luck."

"Good luck." Devon said quietly.

"Wait!" Michael hesitated, glancing back at Bonnie. Her eyes were wide as comprehension dawned in her mind. "That's why you believed Ashley and Mandy. You can communicate with Kitt through the neruolink!" Michael nodded. Bonnie's jaw dropped. "When were you going to tell us, Michael? You shouldn't be able to do something like that. Something's gone wrong."

"Nothing has gone wrong." Michael said quietly. "We didn't tell anyone so we could prove that we can work together like this. We wanted this." He turned and walked out of the room, presumably to go find some means of transportation. Devon turned his attention to Lauren.

"You asked why two families." he said. Lauren nodded. "Because we are a family. Myself, Bonnie, Michael, and Kitt – we are all family to each other. You just tore away the one person who means the world to Michael, and you hurt my son. You had better hope things go well for them, because if they don't, things won't go well for you."

"Why does your boss want Kitt?" Bonnie demanded, her mind working furiously.

Lauren shrugged. "He said the driver Michael replaced had offered to sell it to him." she said. "When John died, then the deal went bad. He still wants his merchandise. He claims he's already paid for it."

"Wait a minute." Devon interrupted her. "Do you mean John Clay?"

"Yes."

Devon and Bonnie exchanged looks. "We should tell Michael." Bonnie murmured. Devon shook his head.

"We'll tell him when he gets back with Kitt." he decided. "The last thing I want is Michael going back and killing this boss to protect Kitt. The law wouldn't see it the same way we do."