Knight Rider 2008 Alternate Storyline – Episode 13 – Fright Knight
Chapter 4
East Gate Manor
David would have never, ever thought he would one day be working together with a car to save his fool subordinate's life. But here he was, running down hallways, unsure
"At the end of this hallway, turn right." K.I.T.T told him.
David jogged down the hallway. "What happened to her?" He asked urgently.
"She was exposed to a topographical poison." K.I.T.T answered. "As she was stepping out of the Ladies' room, another woman stepped in. Kat spoke to her, asking if she had seen the bandaged man. The woman led her out of the ballroom to and when they were alone, the woman turned on Kat, embracing her and introducing the poison into her system. Take the first staircase you see downstairs, then a left at the end of the hallway."
"When you say 'embrace', you mean..." David began, but trailed off.
"The poison was introduced through skin contact on Kat's mouth." K.I.T.T affirmed.
David changed the subject quickly, before his mind could settle on that mental picture for too long. "Did you get a visual of the woman before she disguised herself as Katherine?"
"Of course. I captured a very clear shot of her face, but I am afraid that close analysis reveals she was wearing a disguise before she poisoned Kat." The the car changed subjects, venting irritably. "It took me a while to track down your heat signature. After I saw that the thief was headed for you, I tried to contact you. It was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Nearly every guest had a phone on them. It was a nightmare. I had the Crawler assist me in finding you. Your phone is rather difficult to hack into, by the way."
David felt a little smug about that, but not very much. "Am I close?" He asked. He had reached the Main Hall. It was deserted except for a few Police officers. He slowed down to a walk, appearing calm.
"Go to the room across from the ballroom, then through the next door." K.I.T.T answered. "Kat's in there."
Once David was out of the Main Hall, he jogged over to the next door. He tried the knob. It was locked.
He pulled out his gun and fired once at the lock, destroying it. He pushed the door open. "Katherine?" He called. There was no answer.
He reached for a light switch and flipped it. He found himself in a small study. A large desk across from him. There was no sign of Katherine.
He moved over to the desk slowly, keeping his gun ready. He peered behind it and put his gun away quickly.
Kat lay curled up under the desk. Her eyes were closed. Her lips were blue around the edges. David knelt down and pulled her out from under the desk. She was wearing a red dress now. One that was too tight at her waist and too loose at her chest. Of course, the thief had stolen Kat's dress and replaced it with her own.
He checked her pulse. It was slow and faint, not a good sign. Her face was chalky white and her breathes were small. "What do I do now?" David asked.
"I can't see her." K.I.T.T said. "If I could, I would be able to guess at the type of poison."
David took a picture of Kat with his phone. K.I.T.T examined the photo. "We don't have much time." He reported. "She is being deprived of oxygen."
"What can I do?" David was getting very impatient and frustrated. He was sure it was his imagination, but Kat was feeling colder by the second.
Suddenly the room was bathed in red light. An alarm bell rang throughout the house. "I set off the fire alarm." K.I.T.T said. "Bring her to me."
********
The thief looked down at the valet lying at her feet. He slept soundly, though he would wake up with a killer headache. She walked over his prone form and headed into the garage. She was so close to escaping. She just needed to get to her car...
As she approached her Porsche, she noticed something that made her blood run cold. All four tires were completely flat. It looked like darts had been fired into each wheel. She clenched a hand into fist.
Just then the lights in the garage turned red. An alarm sounded. Uh oh. She needed to get out of here. She looked around the garage quickly. She didn't have much time. She needed a car...
Her eyes fell on a shiny silver Camaro, though it was bathed in red right now. That was the car that Katherine girl had been driving. She remembered because they had arrived around the same time, and she had seen the commotion with the valet.
Her lips pulled into a sly smile. She had already stolen quite a bit today. A priceless gemstone, plus a woman's identity, and possibly her life. What was a silver Camaro compared to that?
She hurried over to the car and opened her purse. She pulled out a slim case and unzipped it, showing an extensive lock picking set. She peered at the door handle, then paused. That was odd, there was no keyhole.
She straightened up and tested the handle surreptitiously. The door opened easily. Suspicious, she inspected the interior closely without leaning inside. She even peered into the back seat. There was no one in the car. She even stepped down and looked underneath. No one.
Aware that she only had minutes at best before the valet awoke and she was finished, she decided to take her chances with the car. She slid into the front seat, her hand moving to the starter.
Which wasn't there.
She frowned deeply. "Just what kind of car is this?" She asked aloud.
The driver's door closed suddenly, on it's own. The dashboard suddenly came to life, lighting up the dark interior. "We meet at last, 'Katherine'." K.I.T.T said coolly.
The thief tried the door at once, but it was locked tight and she could find no way of opening it. She glared at the dashboard. "Whoever you are, let me out right now." She demanded. "Oh yes, and real cowardly not showing yourself." She added cuttingly.
"Oh, but I am showing myself." K.I.T.T replied. "What you see is what you get. And if you want me to let you out, you have to do something for me first."
The thief arched one brow. "Oh? And what would that be?"
"Give me the sapphire and the antidote for the poison you gave to Kat, and I will let you go." K.I.T.T said simply. "If you refuse, then I will hold you here until either the Police or David arrive. If I were you, I would hope the Police show up first."
"You said that what I see is what I get. Which you imply to mean that you are the car." The woman said slyly. "If that is true, then your only concern should be for your owner. I will give you the antidote if you let me leave with the sapphire." She bargained. "You don't have time to negotiate with me as it is. Every passing second saps away at your Driver's life."
"You're right." K.I.T.T said after a brief hesitation. "My only concern is Kat's well-being. I have no personal attachment to the human you robbed. Give me the antidote, and I will release you." The thief smiled triumphantly. "Give me the sapphire as well and I won't tell David or the Police how to find you later on." K.I.T.T added.
The smile dropped from her face. "What are you talking about?" She scoffed. "How would you do something like that?"
"I know your identity." K.I.T.T said. "My interior is fitted with over a hundred biometric sensors. I scanned every inch of your body before you were even in the seat. I know your height, your weight, your B.M.I and approximate age. I have your fingerprints and I know what your real hair color is. I can even make a visual image of what your face truly looks like, under all that makeup."
The thief's expression turned sultry. "Every inch of my body?" She leaned over and peered at the equalizer display on the dashboard. If she looked hard enough, she could just see a tiny camera lens implanted there.
"Your seductive act is useless on me." K.I.T.T said blandly. "In all honesty, seeing you make that expression while wearing a ghastly approximation of Kat's face is horrifying." The woman pouted. "Stop that, you're just making it worse."
The thief straightened up. "That makes twice today I was rejected." She said, sounding hurt. "That's unthinkable for a woman still in her twenties." She checked her reflection in the rear view mirror.
"That might be true, if you were still in your twenties." K.I.T.T replied. The woman's eyes narrowed to a glare. "The time for bantering is over. Hand over the sapphire and the antidote." The glove compartment dropped open. "David will be here soon."
The woman rolled her eyes and sighed. "Fine!" She reached into the front of her dress and pulled out a black tube of lipstick. "It's in here." She placed the tube into the glove compartment.
"The black star sapphire as well." K.I.T.T reminded her.
Grumbling, the thief hiked up the side of Kat's dress, exposing her thigh. Kat's empty holster was strapped her thigh. She reached into the holster removed a cloth-covered bundle. She opened it, revealing the sapphire. She placed that in the glove compartment as well.
The glove compartment snapped closed and locked. The Driver's door opened wide a second after. The thief slid out of the car and hurried away.
She hadn't gone more than twenty feet when she spotted David across the garage. He was carrying a deathly pale Katherine in his arms. Their eyes met at exactly the same time. David's narrowed in intense dislike. It was an impotent glare though, she could tell. "Looks like you have some pretty heavy baggage there, better hurry or it'll become a 'dead weight'." The woman blew him a kiss and hurried out of the garage. "Till we meet again!"
David suppressed the urge to drop Kat and run after the thief. He walked over to K.I.T.T at a swift pace. He was very conscious of how Katherine was getting heavier by the second. The Driver's door was already open and the seat lay back. He laid Kat down in the seat. He straightened up and turned back to the thief, but she had disappeared once again.
K.I.T.T popped open the glove compartment, David ran around to the passenger's side. "We don't have much time." He told David sternly. It was as if the car had known David had considered dropping Kat and running after the thief.
David reached into the glove compartment. He pulled out the sapphire and another lipstick tube. "Is this it?" He asked, inspecting the tube. It was a normal looking one.
"I've analyzed the interior. The antidote is contained inside."
David opened the lipstick. It looked like an ordinary tube of lipstick. He sniffed it lightly. It did have a chemical smell to it. "What do I do with it?"
"The antidote is topographical, like the poison. Apply it the same way."
David shot the dashboard a look. "You're not saying..."
"Just put the lipstick on her mouth." K.I.T.T was sounding highly exasperated.
David rumbled dark threats under his breath as he climbed into the passenger's seat. He leaned over Kat and carefully applied the lipstick to her bottom lip. "I feel like a stalker." He complained.
Kat's color returned almost immediately. Her chest rose as she drew in a deep breath. Then her breath caught and she tried to cough. Her arms curled around her chest instinctively. Her breath kept hitching and she couldn't get a cough out.
David grabbed her wrist and pulled her into a sitting position. He pounded her on the back a few times.
"Ow..." Kat said weakly after she had finished coughing. "What happened-" She was cut off as David grabbed her chin between two fingers and tilted her face up to the ceiling. K.I.T.T helpfully turned on a light for him.
David inspected both sides of her face, then released her. "Look at me." He ordered. Kat was disoriented and complied obediently. "How many fingers am I holding up?" He asked her, holding up two fingers.
Kat squinted at him. "Three." She answered thickly.
David took a paper cup out of the glove compartment and filled it from the tap behind the front seat. He held it to Kat's mouth. "Drink." She reached up a hand to take the cup, but missed. David pushed her hand away roughly, holding the cup for her. "Drink." He ordered.
She drained the cup like she was told. He placed the empty cup on the dashboard and then made her lay down again. Kat curled on her side, gazing into space while her head cleared.
David sat back in the passenger's seat. He covered his eyes with a hand. He looked like he had a very bad headache. "You're always getting into trouble." He scowled. "You're more trouble than you're worth." Kat said nothing. She didn't trust her voice to work right now. "What would you have done if I wasn't here?" David asked harshly.
"I would have saved her, of course." K.I.T.T answered. David snorted.
Kat sat up. "I'm feeling better." She said faintly. Her color was almost back to normal. She looked down at the red dress she was wearing. "Ugh, what is this?" She asked.
"The woman who drugged you stole your clothing and tried to assume your identity." K.I.T.T told her. "You're wearing her dress."
"It doesn't fit." Kat said irritably. The dress was loose around her chest and she felt like her stomach was being cinched.
David exited the car. "Let's get back inside. Mrs. Walker's missing her sapphire."
********
The fire alarm had been disabled. Everyone had gone home. The Police had taken statements and told everyone not to leave town.
Mrs. Walker looked around the empty ballroom sadly. She sighed heavily and turned to the door. She saw David walking up to her, sapphire in hand. Her eyes widened it surprise and she hurried over to him. "Oh, you did it, you dear boy." She exclaimed.
David held the sapphire out to her. She placed her hands on his shoulders and pressed one of her cheeks to his briefly. "Thank you." She said happily and took her sapphire back.
She looked passed him, spotting Kat a few steps back. "Just who are you?" She asked, her eyes narrowing suspiciously.
"I'm not the thief." Kat said at once, holding up both of her hands.
Mrs. Walker stepped past David, walking up to Kat. "How did you get in here? You're not one of my guests. I am not kind to gatecrashers." She said sternly.
Kat tried to think quickly, to come up with something. Anything. "Uh..." Was all that came out of her mouth. She looked over at David, who was looking amused. "I'm with him." She said, pointing at him.
Mrs. Walker and David both wore identical expressions of surprise. David quickly hid his as Mrs. Walker turned to him. "I didn't know you had brought a date." She said, mollified. She turned back to Kat, holding out one slim hand.
David narrowed his eyes at Kat over Mrs. Walker's head. She smiled at him sheepishly. "I'm Katherine Knight." She said to Mrs. Walker, knowing she was digging her own grave. "I'm surprised David hasn't mentioned me, uh, before. I've been wanting to meet the esteemed Mrs. Walker for quite some time."
"The pleasure is mine." Mrs. Walker said. "Such a charming girl, David. I'm starting to think better of you." David scowled, crossing his arms across his chest.
Mrs. Walker clasped the hand holding her sapphire tightly. "I had better put this away." She turned to one of her guards. "I'll send someone down to show you a room, David. Tomorrow, once all this excitement has passed, we can discuss this project of yours that you want me to invest in." She said over her shoulder with a smile. Then she left the two of them alone.
David narrowed his eyes at Kat again. He walked over to her, pointing at her threateningly. Kat backed up a little. She knew what was coming.
But David's anger seemed to be beyond words. "You-" He began, then stopped. "That was-" He struggled again. "If you ever-"
Kat tried playing it cool. She crossed her arms over her chest. "Are you going to rat me out?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "That would certainly look cold-hearted to Mrs. Walker. I bet she revises her opinion of you, again."
David fumed silently. "Don't think for one second that you're not going to pay for this." He said darkly. Mrs. Walker was known as a notorious gossip, in many circles. He dreaded to imagine the smug look on Karen's face if word of this got to her.
But now was not the time to think about it. He was tired. So, so tired. One of the staff walked up to them, waiting to escort David to a room. "Come on." He said to Kat. He turned and followed the servant.
Now it was Kat's turn to be surprised. She had been hoping to sneak away to K.I.T.T, change her clothes, and get on with her next mission. Perhaps David wanted to yell at her somewhere private? She followed him reluctantly.
They walked up to the second floor. The servant stopped outside of one of the bedroom doors and held it open for them. David's heart sank. It was the bedroom where the thief had attacked him for the second time.
He steeled himself. He wasn't going to think about it. He just needed sleep.
Kat stood just inside the door, waiting. The servant had left. She watched David's back as he pulled off his jacket and laid it on the bed. She saw a glint of metal from the pocket. Did he carry that gun around with him everywhere?
"You should stay the night." David said wearily.
Kat blinked. "What do you mean?" She asked.
"Mrs. Walker wants to thank me properly in the morning. Since you helped, you deserve some of the praise as well." He told her. He headed for the bathroom, undoing his bow tie.
"I didn't really help." Kat said. "If anyone, it's K.I.T.T she should thank."
David grimaced. "Take the room next door." He pointed to the door connecting the two rooms.
"She doesn't have to go to any trouble." But Kat kept on. "It's not like I do this job for gratitude. If that were the case, I would have quit long ago." She scowled at David's back, then turned away from him quickly.
David stalked over to the bathroom. He wasn't going to acknowledge that.
Kat peered back over at the bed. Something sticking out of David's jacket pocket caught her eye. She walked over looked at it. "David, are you injured?" She called to the bathroom.
"No." David answered. He turned on the water for the shower, checking the temperature.
Kat was confused, but she didn't inquire further. David was rarely in a talkative mood, and today had been especially rough for the both of them. "Guess I'll just go to sleep." She left the room,through the door her had pointed out.
"Why?" David asked, stepping back into the bedroom. It was deserted. He walked over to the bed and picked up his jacket. He pulled a roll of gauze out of the pocket. He looked at the door Kat had left through and frowned. He tossed the roll of gauze into the waste basket as he headed back to the bathroom.
Author's Note: Only four chapters in this one, but stay tuned for a Halloween extra (which will be posted on Halloween)! Please tell me what you think about this episode, without feedback I run dry pretty quickly. ^_^
Here is a teaser for next episode!
Teaser: Vacation time! Kat and K.I.T.T have been driving themselves ragged with missions nonstop. Thankfully they and the rest of F.L.A.G are given a chance to have a well deserved break. And some time in the sun. Meanwhile, Diana continues to work on the mystery of Sam's 'death'...
Stay tuned!