Michael regained consciousness, careful as always not to let on he was awake. He slowly cracked his eyes, then opened them more and more until they were fully open. He still couldn't see anything. It was pitch black, cold, and damp. Clearly, he had been dumped him in a cave somewhere. He wondered what had happened to the girl, Nicole.

Michael became aware of a noise. It took him a minute to recognize it as sniffling. "Hello, is someone there?"

"I'm sorry, sir," came the soft reply. "I didn't mean to disturb you."

Michael smiled at the folly of a child left in a dark cave apologizing for being scared, until he realized why she was. "You didn't disturb me. I'm Michael Knight." Michael sat up, groggy but not dizzy. "And you are?"

"I'm Nicole Brinley."

"Pleased to meet you, Nicole."

"I'm here because I was a bad girl. I disobeyed Aunt Kylie and didn't stay in the truck, like I was supposed to. What did you do wrong, Mr. Knight, sir?"

"Nothing. And neither did you, Nicole."

The girl paused. "I always do the wrong thing, Mr. Knight, sir. That's why Aunt Kylie and Uncle Eddie have to punish me so often."

"Like when Eddie hit you with his belt earlier?" Michael asked gently.

"Yes. But he only does that when I've been especially bad. Usually they just put me in the root cellar."

Michael had been moving towards Nicole, based on the sound of her voice. "Well, there are three big differences between this cave and the root cellar, Nicole. Do you know what they are?"

"No, Mr. Knight, sir," she answered, sounding scared of giving the wrong answer.

"No door barring the entrance. Your aunt and uncle aren't waiting outside." Michael reached Nicole and put his arm around her, feeling her flinch. "And you aren't alone. Call me Michael."

"I'm not supposed to call adults by their first names, Mr. Knight, sir. It's bad behavior."

"Well, think of me as a very tall kid from school, then, and call me by my first name."

"I don't go to school, Mr. Knight, sir. I'm not smart enough. So Aunt Kylie has to teach me."

"Of course she does," muttered Michael to himself. He spoke into his commlink. "Kitt? Can you read me?"

There was no answer. Not that Michael had been expecting one.

Nicole asked, "Who is Kitt, Mr. . . . Michael, sir?"

"My partner. But he's out of range of my radio. So, Plan B: we walk out of here."

"How?" Nicole sounded interested, and maybe slightly less scared of asking the wrong question.

"We find a wall and follow it."

"I don't understand how we can follow a wall in the dark, Michael, sir."

"We find a wall. I put my left hand on the wall, and then we walk until my left hand runs out of wall. But first . . ." Michael stood up, removed his jacket, and put it on Nicole.

"I'm not cold, sir. You don't need to give me your jacket."

Michael didn't call her out on the lie. He could feel how cold her arm was and sense her shivers. "I am a bit warm, Nicole. You're just holding my jacket for me while I get us out of here. When I need it, I will let you know."

Michael took Nicole's left hand in his right. Holding out his left hand, he walked slowly to avoid falling on the uneven ground. Soon, he felt a cave wall in front of him.

"Bingo. Time to go, Nicole."

After a short time walking slowly in the dark, Michael said, "Your aunt and uncle are not punishing you for misbehaving. They are abusing you. And they have no right to do that."

"I deserve it. If I were better behaved –"

"No, Nicole, you don't." Michael kept his voice gentle, but firm. "You've done nothing to justify your aunt and uncle locking you in a root cellar. Or your uncle taking his belt to you. Ever."

"But –"

Michael stopped walking and knelt down to give Nicole a hug. "Nicole, convicted criminals in prison aren't treated that way. And they're adults. Kids don't even get put in prison. And I'm sure your parents never treated you that way, did they?"

Michael could feel Nicole trembling in his arms, not from cold but from emotion. He hugged her tighter. She cried, and he reassured her until she stopped crying.

"I'm sorry, Michael, sir."

"In the entire time we've been in this cave, Nicole, you haven't done a single thing that you need to apologize for. Now, let's see about getting out of here, okay?"

Michael stood back up and they continued to slowly make their way. He occasionally squeezed Nicole's hand as reassurance. She was quiet, but sometimes squeezed his hand back. He hoped that meant he was getting through to her.

"Michael, sir?"

"Yes, Nicole."

"You could go faster without me."

"Not going to happen, Nicole. I'm not leaving you here alone."

"I'm not scared of being alone, sir. It's only a little darker and a little colder than the root cellar."

"Well, I'm scared, scared I wouldn't be able to find you again if I left you down here. But you're right: it would be nice to get out of here quicker. So . . ."

With that, Michael picked Nicole up and carried her in his right arm, his left hand still on the cave wall. He was walking a bit faster. But it was still pitch black in the cave, and he didn't want to trip and injure himself or Nicole.

The darkness made it seem like they had been walking for days, though Michael was sure it hadn't been more than a couple of hours. Of course, he had no idea how long he had been unconscious. He continued to reassure Nicole that she wasn't a bad kid, and she didn't deserve the abuse she had been subjected to by her aunt and uncle. She didn't argue with him, though he wasn't sure she agreed with him, either. Not yet.

"Michael, sir," said Nicole suddenly, "It doesn't seem as dark."

"You know, I think you're right. In fact, I think there's a patch of sunlight over there."

Michael left the wall and headed for the light. It was a hole leading up, big enough for him to get through.

"Looks like you found us an exit."

Michael put Nicole down. He grabbed the edges of the opening but had to drop down. The rock here was sharp. He explained the problem to Nicole and began figuring a solution.

"Michael, sir. You can use my shirt. It's already ripped up."

Nicole took off Michael's jacket and then removed her shirt. She handed it to him. Michael could see it was ripped from when Eddie had beaten her earlier.

"Put my jacket back on. Right, time to make like a tree and leaf."

Michael put Nicole on his shoulders. She was able to clamber up and out, protected from the sharp rocks by his jacket. He then ripped her shirt in half, wrapped each half around a hand, and hauled himself up. They were on a wide ledge with an easy climb down. Michael saw a road not too far away.

Michael tried the commlink again. "Kitt, are you there?"

"Michael! What happened?"

"Long story. Can you locate me?"

"Yes. There is a road near your position."

"I see it. How long until you can pick us up?"

"Us?"

"I have Nicole Brinley with me."

"I believe I will be at the road before you are."

"We'll see about that."

Michael and Nicole scrambled down from the ledge. As soon as they were on the ground, Michael put Nicole on his back and jogged towards the road. He arrived seconds before Kitt pulled up in front of him. They got in, and Nicole was clearly surprised that the car had no driver.

"Kitt, this is Nicole. Nicole, Kitt."

"Hello, Nicole. It is nice to meet you."

"Hello, Mr. Kitt, sir."

"He's just Kitt. And I'm just Michael. Neither of us needs to be called 'sir'. Kitt, have you heard from the Home Office?"

"Yes. It is not far from our current position. Shall I inform Devon to expect us?"

"Do that, pal. Now, let's go."