Tag for 'Deadly Knightshade'

by elfin

In the parking lot outside the convention centre, Michael stopped dead in his tracks and tried to take in what he was seeing and hearing.

The sight - a woman; slim, blond, wearing a silky black skirt and a skimpy pink strapless top that left nothing to the imagination when she bent forward.  Which is what she was doing, bending forward, through the front driver's side window of his car.

That Kitt had allowed someone but he and Bonnie entry was strange enough.  That she appeared to be chatting up a computer within a car was equally as odd - Michael hadn't met too many others that were as accepting of his partner as he and those who worked with them.  But the weirdest thing, and the thing that touched him, was what Kitt was saying.

He was describing his perfect… mate.  How else was there to put it?  Something very stylish preferably in red.  A smile touched his lips.  Kitt was having her on, he was sure of it.  Sophisticated software, total Artificial Intelligence, seats, removable top….  Michael swallowed back a laugh.  A computer with a sense of humour.  A miracle in so many ways…. 

…system that can interface for hours.

The laugh died in his throat.  The girl had stormed off, kicking a tyre in a useless gesture of frustration.  Michael watched Kitt watching her leave, watched the scanner trace its habitual path, back and forth, and thought about what he'd heard.  He took a step toward the black car and stopped.  This wasn't the time, or the place, in the middle of a parking lot, in the middle of a case.  Weren't they always?

Who was Kitt now after four years of development?  He did know his partner better than anyone else, or didn't he know him at all?  There would be time, he swore to himself.  Swore for both of them.  He - they - needed to make time.

~

"Kitt, are you lonely?"

Above them the night sky twinkled and glinted.  All around them was dark desert sand.  Behind and in front of them, the desert road stretched all the way to the horizon.  Empty.  They were all alone.  Inside the car the only light from the dash was the changing red glow that accompanied Kitt's voice when he answered.

"Of course not, Michael."

"Come on, Kitt.  You can level with me."  Which meant he had to level with Kitt.  "I heard you, talking to that blond airhead in the conference centre parking lot.  I overheard what you said to her."

"I was making a joke."

Had there always been these nuances in Kitt's voice?

"At the start you were, something in red with padded seats and a removable top," he smiled, hoping Kitt was too, then let it fade.  "But the last thing, about wanting to find a system that could interface for hours…?"  Kitt was silent.  "I hadn't thought about it before, not since… Karr was destroyed, but are you alone.  What are the chances of another life like yours?"

"Infinitely small, Michael."  He paused.  "I'm not what you would refer to as lonely.  I have you and Bonnie, I do interface with other computers, although they do lack personality for the most part."  Michael chuckled softly.  "As you pointed out, Michael, I am unique."

"Does that stop you wishing you weren't?"

Kitt felt… thoughtful for a time.  "After Karr was destroyed, I was happy to be one of a kind again, just like I'd believed I was before we discovered him."

"That was some time ago.  You're bound to have changed, developed…."

"Is it wrong for me to want company when you're out wining and dining your lady friends?"

For the first time, Michael found himself feeling… guilty.  "Kitt… no, it's not."

"Is it wrong to want… contact?"

"Contact?"  Reaching out, he brushed his fingers over the dash.  "I'm sorry, I never realised….  And I don't know what to say.  I don't know what to do."

"You don't have to do anything.  I assure you, Michael, the partnership we have is more complete than I ever believed it would be.  And our friendship is more rewarding for me than any amount of interfacing with the most intelligent computer in the world."

"Apart from you being the most intelligent computer in the world, and apart from the fact that the feeling is mutual, you know what I'm talking about and you know what I mean."

"The type of… companionship you're talking about - love - isn't a possibility for me.  I'm a computer, Michael."

"Kitt… you're not just a computer, you're a miracle.  And you are more capable of love than most of the people we meet."  Still, he felt helpless.  He could only offer words when he was certain Kitt needed more right then.

"Please don't think I'm not happy, because I am, more than I think you'll ever understand."

Michael nodded.  "Okay.  But, Kitt, if there's ever anything you need, ever anything I can do… tell me.  Promise me, you'll tell me."

"Thank you, Michael.  And I promise.  In fact… as you've asked…"

~

Cross-legged on the hood, Michael watched the Land Rover exploding in mid-air on the large screen while through the speakers placed throughout the drive-in, the iconic music began.  Why hadn't he thought of this?  Why had Kitt had to ask?  What more obvious thing was there for a guy to do with his car?!

Turning his head to look through the windscreen, he held up the carton, "Popcorn, Kitt?"

"Really, Michael, it would stick up my circuits!"

Laughing, he made himself comfortable, leaning back against the glass to enjoy the latest Bond movie with his partner.