Knight Rider 2008 Alternate Storyline – Episode 13 – Fright Knight

Chapter 3

East Gate Manor

David entered the Men's rooms cautiously. There was a chance that the culprit was hiding out in here, hoping to avoid Security. It wasn't a likely chance; the culprit seemed much smarter than that. Still, he wasn't going to be caught off guard by overestimating his opponent.

It didn't even cross his mind that he could have warned Katherine of the same threat.

Since this was a private home, the bathrooms were far different from public ones. There were no stalls, but rather several water closets which led into a larger room with a few sinks and mirrors. It was extravagant, but he didn't take time to admire the surroundings.

Only one of the water closets was occupied. David checked out the others while he waited for the occupant to leave. He also checked under the sinks and in the garbage bins.

He was starting to become suspicious when after he had finished his inspection, and the occupant still wasn't done.

He walked over to the door, which opened just then, surprising him. He was even more surprised when he saw the occupant. "A woman?"

He didn't have much time for surprise, though, as the occupant moved towards him quickly. She tried to put her face close to his, but he sidestepped neatly and grabbed her wrist. She lashed out then, angrily, kicking him in the leg with one high heel.

She was fast, and surprisingly strong, and pain shot up his leg. David reached into his coat for his gun.

She decided the best course of action was escape, and wrenched her wrist out of his hand. He grabbed at her, but succeeded only in taking her purse. Then she was gone.

David limped over to the door. The pain in his leg was fading, but not quickly. He opened the bathroom door, and headed back to the ballroom.

He had lost the woman in the crowd. "Great." He muttered, punching the wall beside him. He held up the small purse in his hand and frowned at it.

********

Katherine was finishing up her inspection of the Ladies' room. It hadn't been easy, as it was the biggest bathroom she had ever seen, even including the communal bath and shower rooms back at F.L.A.G. She looked in every garbage bin and in every tiny corner and she hadn't found the sapphire.

"Looks like this idea was a bust." She said, feeling irritable, mostly towards David. How much time had she wasted by following his suggestion/order? The culprit was probably long gone by now. She headed over to the door leading to the ballroom.

K.I.T.T spoke up before she could turn the doorknob. "It might be best to stay where you are right now." He cautioned in her ear. "The Police have arrived. They will begin questioning the guests soon and they will discover that you weren't invited."

"I can't hide in here." She told him. "That'll just make me look more suspicious." Before she could turn the knob, the door opened. Kat stepped aside immediately as a woman walked swiftly past her.

Kat turned. "Excuse me." She called to the woman.

The woman turned. "Yes?" She looked like she was in a hurry.

"Have you seen a man in a tuxedo with bandages covering his face and hands?" Might as well get back to her earlier suspicions, since the bathroom idea was a bust.

The woman blinked a couple of times; she looked surprised. Then her expression changed. She looked Kat over. "You know, I do believe I did. And not that long ago."

"Where was he?" Kat asked.

********

David stood in front of one of the sinks in the Men's bathroom. He inspected the contents of the purse carefully. There was no sapphire, only a compact and a tube of lipstick. Still, that woman was highly suspicious. There should be some kind of clue here.

The compact was ordinary, so he put it back. The lipstick was the type that had two colors, one on each end. He uncapped one end. Whatever the substance was inside, it wasn't lipstick. It was clear and not lipstick-shaped, instead it filled up the tube to the rim.

David applied some to the tip of his finger. It solidified within seconds. He peeled the substance off and studied it. He capped the tube and turned it over, uncapping the other end.

He smelled a faint chemical odor. He sniffed the lipstick lightly, then capped it quickly. The lipstick looked normal, but someone had added poison to it.

He put the lipstick and compact back into the tiny purse, then put the purse inside his tuxedo jacket's inside pocket.

Now he had to track down the woman who had attacked him. He was completely certain now that she had stolen the sapphire. And she was not going to get away.

The Police had arrived by the time he returned to the ballroom. They were escorting some of the guests to another room, most likely for questioning. The thief would not be among them, he knew that without a doubt. If possible, she would head to another floor and hide out until the Police left. Or she might even find a way of escaping from the second or third floor.

He also knew that the Police weren't going to let him explore the upper floors. He walked up to an officer as he pulled a wallet from his jacket. It had a fake ID and badge inside. He had had a feeling he might need it before setting out this morning. He hated when these feelings of his were right.

He showed the badge to the officer, who let him pass. He had to do this a couple more times before he finally got upstairs. He began looking through the rooms immediately.

There were a few officers up here as well, but the house was so large that he was able to avoid them. Someone on the Police had also thought that the culprit would be hiding up here. It was nice to see some brains among the Police.

He opened a door and stepped inside. He closed it softly behind him. It was a large bedroom. There were so many small places to look, that he gave that up and just searched around for anyone suspicious. He bent down and looked under the bed, then walked over to a large wardrobe and opened it.

He turned as the door behind him opened, his body tensed, expecting another officer. Katherine peered into the room and he relaxed. "Have you found anything, yet?" He asked her while he inspected the inside of the wardrobe.

She blinked at him a few times, then stepped into the room fully, closing the door behind her. "Nothing yet. What about you?"

David's eyes narrowed. His hands tightened on the doors as he closed them quietly. "Nothing." He opened a door and checked the next room quickly. She walked over to him. When he turned around, she was right next to him. She had been so quiet that he hadn't noticed, and nearly jumped. Thankfully he had caught himself in time.

"Do you really think we'll find him this way?" She smiled at him faintly.

David moved away from her quickly. He began checking the windows. "Finding the sapphire is top priority." He paused. "What makes you think it's a he?"

She knelt down and looked under the bed. "Isn't that what Mrs. Walker said?"

"It was dark, you wouldn't be able to tell gender." David climbed up and checked the locks at the top of the windows. When he was finished, he looked over at her. She was already looking at him, and not looking for the sapphire. He studied her for a long moment.

"You're staring at me." There was humor in her eyes.

"Am I?" David asked, his expression unreadable.

She nodded, walking over to him. "You've been doing that a lot. Is there something wrong with my dress?" She looked up at him, her brows pulling together.

David's dark eyes glittered. "That's not it." He spoke quietly, his voice softer than usual. He stepped down from the windowsill, right in front of her.

Her eyes widened a little. "Then what is it?" Her hands were at her sides, calmly.

David reached a hand out and placed it on her neck, pushing his fingers to the back of her neck. His touch was a soft caress. His thumb settled over her pulse. He leaned his face close to hers. "Katherine, how do you feel about me?" He asked softly.

"Don't you already know?" Her eyes were sultry. She closed them and leaned her head up, her lips parted.

She was taken aback as something hard and metal jabbed her in the ribs. Her eyes flew open. She looked down at the gun in David's hand, which he kept firmly pressed into her side. "What are you-?" She began, looking back at him.

Her words died at the expression on his face. His mouth was a thin line, his dark eyes filled with intense dislike. "Do not move a single inch." He still spoke softly, but in a voice like winter. "Where is Katherine?"

Intense confusion filled her eyes. "What are you talking about? I'm right here." She whispered fearfully.

Anger crossed his face, he dug the gun barrel between her ribs hard enough to hurt. "You can stop playing games this instant." David hissed. "You tell me where she is right now, or you're leaving this house with only one lung."

Her expression turned to disgust so fast it was like watching a blanket fall away. "How did you guess?" She asked, her voice sounding completely different. It was richer, with a faint accent that David couldn't place.

"I knew you were an imposter as soon as you opened the door." David told her, not letting his guard down for a second.

"Yeah, right." She retorted. "I had you going for a bit there."

He kept the gun buried firmly in her ribcage. "You copied her facial features exactly, so you threw me off for a second. But, it's not a perfect disguise. You're a little too 'well-endowed' to be Katherine."

He wasn't telling her all of the other mistakes that had tipped him off. Like how her voice, while copying Katherine's perfectly, was still off. She didn't talk like Katherine. Such as her disinterest in finding the sapphire and her ability to move like a ghost. Katherine was also never completely calm around him. He took a small pleasure in knowing that he constantly agitated her.

"So you were looking." The imposter said slyly.

"I answered your question." David's voice dropped again to a threatening level. "Now answer mine. Where is Katherine?"

The imposter shrugged lightly. "She dead." She said simply.

For a split second David's whole body tensed, his eyes widened. The imposter took her chance during that brief moment. She brought her knee up sharply, taking the cheap shot.

David fell to his knees, grimacing in pain. He still had his gun, however, and pointed it at her face from the floor. The imposter tsked lightly. "Oh well, it would have been fun, if you'd played along." She taunted him. "But now, we must part ways." She wiggled her fingers at him lightly. He narrowed his eyes and fired.

The gun clicked uselessly. The imposter smiled, then turned and ran.

David got to his feet slowly, even though the pain was nearly unbearable. He inspected his gun and found that the safety was on. Her small purse (he knew she was the woman from the bathroom) had also been lifted. How had she...?

He hobbled over to the door. She was long gone. He had no idea which way she had gone after she left the room.

He swore under his breath, and took a moment to recover. Then he walked up the hallway, testing doors. They were all locked. This corridor was on the north side of the house. Tall windows ran down the length of the hall on the left side. One of them was open slightly.

He pushed the window open wide and leaned out, gun pointed ahead of him, safety off. He looked down at the ground two stories below, then up the side of the house. The yard and the house were both illuminated by decorative spotlights. There was no sign of anyone.

His phone vibrated in his pocket, startling him. He tucked his gun away and answered it. "What?" He answered tersely.

"Are you done chasing phantom thieves, or do you you want to continue wasting the precious little time Kat has left?" K.I.T.T's voice was downright icy. It had take him nearly half an hour to find David's phone and call it. The man was so paranoid, that no one at F.L.A.G knew his private number.

"If you listen to me, and follow my instructions exactly, I can lead you right to her. She's been poisoned and time is of the essence."

David's free hand gripped into a fist. Take orders from the car? If Katherine's life wasn't at stake, he would have hung up right then. "Fine, what do I do?"

Author's Note: Okay, I know during that whole David/'Kat' scene some of you wanted to shout at your screens 'It's a trap!'. Want I want to know is who you guys were mentally yelling that to, David or 'Kat'?