Beyond Loyalty

by elfin and Gryph

Chapter Two:
"Once more you open the door...."(3)
 

Michael looked around the large building and was amazed. He had thought maybe about a house with a garage, but he had never imagined Nicholas to own this thing! It had once been a warehouse, apparently, and it was located along the docks in the old harbor area. Similar building were all around them, old, sturdy brick buildings with giant entry doors, three or four stories high, though divided into only two levels, sometimes three. There was no traffic around here, except when a company was removing stock from a warehouse they owned or had rented, but since no ships came here - the new harbor offering a wider range of machines and better access - it was quiet.
The ground level of Nick's place was one gigantic hangar-like garage. The floor was clean swept as in their own garage. High above them were smoke-colored windows and skylights, filtering the sunlight. Some were of normal white glass and projected spotlights. A second floor could be accessed via a heavy load elevator and wrought iron stairs. The floor was only half as wide as the ground level, ending in a kind of gallery that allowed a clear view downstairs. A railing secured the balcony.
Michael discovered a whole array of diagnostic equipment in one corner of the ground level, not unlike the one he had seen in Kitt's garage or in the Semi. There were work areas, a small living space with a coffee machine and refrigerator, just like at home, and a service pit was not far away. Bonnie stood with her mouth open, as did Justin.
The Semi had driven through the automated doors, now neatly sitting in the middle of the warehouse, still a lot of space to move around him. The warehouse had the twice the length of the truck!
Getting Kitt out of the trailer had been easier than getting him inside. Like a nervous horse he had almost shot out, glad to be free of the claustrophobic environment. He now sat in the middle of the diagnostic center, trembling, unsure, slightly afraid of their new environment. Justin was already checking out his side for the equipment he would or might need. The Semi would have to return to FLAG soon.
"Don't worry," Peter now said with his usual, broad grin, chewing his ever-present gum. "They won't get a peep out of me."
"You are risking your job," Bonnie pointed out.
"Oh, you know how it is with us drivers. We can always find a job, though none as exciting as this one." He winked.
Bonnie nodded, disturbed by all of this. She didn't mind risking her job at FLAG. She had changed her opinion about her employer profoundly. If Jennifer Knight fired her, so be it. Justin had come to the same decision. But Peter Sanders was not part of this and though he had volunteered, well, he could still say he had been forced. She told him that. Sanders shrugged. "If I run into Ms. Knight I can tell her. Let me worry about that, okay? You take care of Kitt."
Michael was touched by the support everyone had shown, starting from the technicians, to the mechanics and now the Semi driver. "Thanks," he whispered.
Peter nodded. "Welcome."
"What about the switched-off homing beacon?" Bonnie suddenly asked.
"Disabled for good," Nick said and joined them, playing with a heavy, crowbar-like tool. He smiled coldly. "We forced you, Peter. Tell them that. We smashed the homing beacon, took the Semi and forced you to drive us somewhere. Karr accessed the Semi's tracer and changed its input. You were never here."
Sanders chuckled. "Of course not. Okay, people, hopefully see you again." With that he left and the Semi pulled out of the warehouse.
"He'll be okay," Nicholas said as if to calm his friends' nerves. "Now, let me give you a tour."
He led them up the stairs and Michael was amazed again. The second floor was like a miniature house. There was a cooking area, a living room, bathroom facilities and three separate rooms, all doubling as guest quarters if necessary. Bonnie's eyes lit up at the computer center decorating one wall. This was as good as being back at FLAG! Narrow stairs led up to another floor, a kind of attic. Nicholas explained that it was empty. All in all there was little personal stuff around and it fit Nick's behavior. Never leave anything behind someone could use.
"Geez, Nick, you own this place?" Michael asked, still amazed.
"Yes." A brief smile. "Feel free to use whatever you want. The computer has normal access and requires no password. Only the sensitive areas do and they are walled off. Don't worry, you won't breach into anything I don't want you to."
"Thanks for everything," Michael said, warmed by all of this. He was still holding Kitt close, his partner a bit too confused by all the events to fully realize what had happened yet.
Nicholas shook his head. "Don't thank me. I'm doing this out of personal reasons."
Michael grinned wryly. "Sure."
Nick shot him an annoyed look, then walked downstairs again. Michael briefly laid an arm around Bonnie, hugging her, the first time they could really share a moment of privacy. She hugged him back fiercely and they stood together, savoring each other's company.
"How is Kitt?" she asked, voice slightly muffled.
"Confused, but calmer than expected. I think it won't last, but at least he is away from an environment he has started to fear."
She nodded, sighing. "I have to confess I'm glad we have Nick," she murmured after a while.
Michael smiled. "Me too."
"Why is he doing all of this? I mean, what have we done?"
"We are friends," he answered simply. Bonnie frowned. "Nick separates between friends and acquaintances, Bonnie," Michael explained. "I think he has changed a bit in recent months, and I believe Karr's overall behavior towards Kitt has something to do with that."
She nodded, remembering how Karr had immediately parked the Stealth close to Kitt again the moment he had been out of the Semi.
"He has changed," she said thoughtfully.
"We all have."
They walked downstairs again. Justin was taking inventory of the high tech equipment all around him, Nicholas had placed himself on the couch, the PowerBook on his lap, and the two cars were sitting silently close to them. Michael went to his partner, opened the door and sat down inside. Bonnie joined Justin and lost herself in her work.

*

Justin liked the place. It was a lot like the garage back home and he had all the tools and parts he needed, but with one difference: here they were on safe ground.  Maybe not neutral ground but safe. A small stereo sat on one of the work benches and played music. It wasn't too loud and it was a nice background noise. Justin was currently playing with the simulator on his laptop, testing, rearranging, going over some things he had wanted to do since before the test track events.
He had spent the evening talking and working on Kitt, applying the second layer of sealant on the car body. Kitt never reacted, but it didn't keep Justin from talking. It was meaningless chit-chat, but it was what they had shared in the past. He was aware that Karr was listening in, too, and there was no way not noticing the imposing Stealth since it was leaving just enough room between and himself for Justin to move comfortably. The mechanic understood Karr's intentions and he approved of them.
Stretching, Justin rubbed his neck and walked over to the refrigerator, getting a can of soda, popping it open. He looked around the silent garage, enjoying the feel. His eyes came to rest on the Stealth. He had repaired the damage Karr had inflicted on himself back at the Foundation garage but it had not been complete. Some of the systems still needed realigning and testing, and Karr had refused so far. He seemed to be afraid of Dr. Barstow getting too close and Nick didn't have all the knowledge. Whoever normally helped him take care of the Stealth wasn't there now, and Justin suspected no one would come here as long as Kitt was present too.
"Do you need anything, Karr?" he now asked into the silence, voice soft, keeping it down for Kitt's sake.
"No," was the brisk answer.
Well, it was more than he had gotten out of the other AI since they had met.
"Okay." Justin smiled, not feeling the least bit offended. He emptied the can and decided a quick snack wouldn't be wrong either. Taking two stairs at a time he went upstairs.

* * *

Nick lay on the couch, staring at the ceiling. The lights had been turned down and night had settled outside. There was the soft sound of the water from the harbor outside, and sometimes a hum from the high tech stations. The day had passed into night and Bonnie and Justin were already fast asleep, and Michael was spending the night inside Kitt, totally exhausted, as was his partner. Suddenly there was a noise. Nick was off the couch and ready for whatever was approaching him in a flash. A gasp could be heard and he forced himself to relax.
"Dr. Barstow!"
Bonnie stood frozen to the spot, staring at the weapon in Nick's hands with wide eyes. "I .... I didn't want to startle you...." she managed.
Nick slipped the gun back. He rarely went unarmed and even though it was hidden well, the weapon was there. "Sorry," he apologized, rubbing his nose. "I'm a bite wired..."
"I can see. I just wanted something to drink....?"
He sighed and nodded, walking over to the kitchen area, Bonnie following him. She got herself a bottle of mineral water and a glass.
"Michael is still downstairs?"
Nicholas nodded, pouring himself some juice. "He is sleeping, as is Kitt."
"Karr?"
"Kind of resting. I finally got him to at least partially power down. He is on stand-by."
Bonnie sipped at the water and regarded the dark-haired man opposite. "Why are you doing all this, Nick? And don't say it's something personal!"
He met her eyes and smiled slightly. "But that's what it is, Dr. Barstow. My reasons are personal and all you need to know is that neither Karr nor I will let anything happen to any of you. If it means supporting you here, I have no problem with that."
"You can't do it indefinitely."
"I can."
Bonnie sighed deeply. "Kitt not only needs psychological support, Nick! He needs servicing and parts and ...."
MacKenzie smiled again. "If you need anything, give me a list. I told Justin already. You will get what you need. I know you didn't finish everything yet, that Kitt needs recalibration and...other things. Tell me what you need, I'll get it."
"But the costs...." she started to protest.
"Will be covered," he interrupted her.
"Nicholas MacKenzie, I don't know how to take you," she told him.
"Just like I am, Dr. Barstow. Just like I am."
"You want to tell me that you have a million dollar back-up?"
Nick didn't answer and Bonnie swallowed. How else would he be able to support Karr? And whoever it was helping him with what he couldn't do himself. The Stealth had been designed and built by someone else, and he was working for hire. He had been away on occasions, sometimes for a few hours, sometimes for days since Devon had asked him to stay all those months ago. Everyone had wondered, no one had asked where he had gone. Did she even want to know? She had seen what kind of equipment was downstairs; and what was up here. It was like being back at FLAG. There was nothing missing and Nick had just told her he could get her what she needed.
"Okay," she finally sighed. "I get the hint."
Nick smiled and walked back to the couch. She watched as he settled down and leaned back. Bonnie padded quietly back into her room, mind a whirl. She was none the wiser about their strange friend, but somehow she was a lot calmer than before.
 

Nicholas watched as the door closed and smiled. He picked up the laptop and went to his email inbox. He deleted what he decided was trash and then read through various offers. He knew he had enough work here, but maybe he might need something or someone soon. Finally he stored what he needed and then did a routine check on his bank accounts. He was pleased with the numbers scrolling past. Nick set the laptop to start a certain search of FLAGNet records and logs, and then locked the laptop. He debated whether to get up and to his bed, then shrugged and simply curled up on the couch as he was. He was asleep a few minutes later.

* * *

Dawn was still hours away when Nick awoke. His laptop was flashing at him that the search he had begun was now complete, and the results tabulated. He brewed himself some fresh coffee before facing what the computer had to tell him. Karr was still parked up next to his brother, nose pressed gently to Kitt's fender. He had woken with Nick, but was keeping quiet, resting. Nick typed his password into the laptop and hit return, watching as the search results on the Test Plan access logs scrolled into view. They were standard accesses - Jennifer as the file's creator, a few technicians presumably needing the data to set up the test harnesses and one other. The time was logged at 14:06, the date was two days ago. Nick swore silently and stood, tapping Karr's hood as he passed the Stealth. Karr reversed and turned, remaining in silent mode as he had taken to doing around Kitt. They got outside before Nick spoke.
"Kitt knows what's in those test plans, he accessed them that afternoon, at about the time they locked him into the freezer."
"He knew what was coming." Karr hesitated. "Why did he not run?"
Nick thought about that for a moment. "Because he trusted them. He didn't believe what he read. How could he? Devon was there when he was born. How could he doubt the actions of someone he's known and trusted from his first moment?"
"I did."
Nick felt the strained emotions flowing through the link, despite Karr's belated efforts to drop a block in place. Nick climbed into the car, touching the dash gently as he sat back in the plush seat. "Kitt's different. The people that hurt him are all he's ever known. He's lived so long with them, they've looked after him, repaired him when things have gone wrong, overhauled the car and upgraded hardware and software. They're his support system and now they're gone."
"Not all of them."
Nick sighed. "But can you understand what he's so scared of? He considers himself to be Foundation owned. Without the backing of FLAG, where will his support come from?"
"Michael Knight would see that he was cared for." Nicholas nodded. "I find it difficult to understand how they became so close without the implant. If it hadn't been for my pre-installed link to you, I would always have been... alone."
Nick smiled at the possessive, thankful wave that he felt from the implant. Karr trying to tell him what he was having difficulty putting into words.
"They grew close as people usually do. They shared experiences, over a long time, good and bad. They developed a friendship and off that friendship Kitt grew into what he had become. I'm not sure whether the implant has helped or not."
"Never doubt that it has." Karr's certainty surprised Nick. "If it were not for the link, Kitt would have ceased to function by now. He would have died."
Nick sat forward, touching his fingers to the edge of the futuristic dash. "You would have let him go?"  His words were not an accusation. He still did not completely know how strong the link between Kitt and Karr was; something was happening to his partner that he wanted to understand.
"I would not be able to stop it. Only Michael Knight's... presence with Kitt stops him from falling too far."
"Would you miss him?" It was a quiet, prying question, Nick knew. But he wanted to know.
"I..." Karr stopped. "I would not want to see this betrayal lead to an innocent death."
Nick smiled gently. "So you would miss him."
"If Kitt ceased to exist, it would be quiet. I would be unique. I do not wish to experience that feeling ever again."
Nick sat back, wrapping his fingers around the base of the steering wheel and sending waves of pride and warmth through the implant. For a while they sat together in silence, a rare moment spent actually enjoying each others' company, feeling close to one another. At least neither would ever be alone. "He's always been with you, hasn't he?"
"Yes."
"Why haven't you ever acknowledged him before?"
"Because he has never needed me before. Because he would have come after me if he believed I was still alive."
"Maybe. Have you ever considered that he needed you as much as you needed him?"
Immediately, Karr went on the defensive. "I do not need him. I have never needed him. And he did not need me before he was betrayed by those he trusted. He is desperate now, reaching for anything he can access without having to face the real world again."
Nick carefully separated the two issues in Karr's statement, storing the second away in his mind, picking up on the first. "If you didn't need him, why keep the private channel open all this time? Why not close it down, deactivate it, or ask me to?" Or even tell me about it?
Karr took a while to answer. "I am used to his echoes being there. He was never aware of me unless I was threatening him. Then he attacked me."
"You were threatening Michael. And Bonnie." Nick did not mention Devon's name, knowing how it angered his partner. "You know he would protect them at all costs. I don't think he has been aware of the private channel between the two of you, not until now. Not in its real sense."
"He is frightened of me."
"No. Not anymore. He was, I think. But again, he developed with Michael. Michael, and the others around him were frightened of you. You were frightened of you when I found you." Karr fell silent, mumbling through the link, making Nick smile. Closing his eyes for a moment, he murmured in reply, "Face it Karr, you're mellowing."

* * *

Deep in his mind, Kitt's presence was calm, sleeping. Michael was curled gently around his friend, holding him in reassurance. They had been like that for sometime, and Michael knew that it would not be long before the ongoing circle of fear swamped Kitt with another nightmare, a bad dream that would wake the presence, sending him reeling in terror. And Michael would be there, to comfort and soothe. Nick had sat in with Kitt through the last part of the journey here; Karr following the Semi, protecting his brother. Nick had not wanted to think of the consequences if Jennifer or Devon had chosen to attempt to stop the Semi from leaving with the Knight Industries Two Thousand on board. Although they had only overheard Karr's end of the conversation between he and the other AI, when Kitt had freaked after being put back in the TransAm, Nick at least understood that Karr had sworn he would not allow anyone to harm his brother again. Nick knew Karr meant that, and would not hesitate to make good on his promise. Even before that, Jennifer had had a taste of Karr's rapidly growing devotion to the task of protecting his brother.
Michael had had time to sleep in peace while the Semi was on the move. Kitt had slept for most of the journey; Michael recognized the state as the AI's way of not having to face the terror and agony that his life had suddenly become. It had taken time to reassure him that this new location would provide them with safety and distance from everything that Kitt feared. Persuading Kitt to enter the Semi had not been easy. Michael experienced every shiver of claustrophobia from his partner through the implant, and had tried to send back warmth and reassurance each step of the way. Finally, with Michael sitting in the car, hugging the steering wheel, touching the internal sensor with calming strokes, with his partner's mental embrace closed tightly, securely around him through the link, Kitt had allowed the ramp to be raised behind him. Part of Kitt's 'obedience' in entering the Semi felt to Michael as if it was born out of a desperate feeling of despair and hopelessness. That had frightened him a little. He so wanted to feel Kitt's strength return, the infusion of optimism that Kitt always gave him. But there was no hint of that in Kitt's current projections. When Michael thought of the changes wrought in his partner's character, he simply became enraged, and that was something Nick had warned him about. Kitt could feed off the anger that would flow to him through the link, and that would simply make the situation worse. And so Michael had to be careful, and he tried tirelessly to channel all his energies into helping Kitt recover from his ordeal.
The nightmares were not always the same, and this one came on slowly, starting as a dark dream, becoming terrifying over a period of time. Michael could feel it change in tone, experiencing only feelings and emotions, not images, through Kitt's unrestricted projections. He tightened his embrace around his partner. Before, when he had known Kitt's dreams were changing, Michael would use a method Nick had taught him to send a sudden, surprising jolt through the implant; Kitt would wake before the nightmares could take hold. But this time Michael wanted Kitt to reach a point that he hoped, upon waking, he would be upset enough to talk, to spill everything and finally tell him what had happened, whether anything had been said that would explain this to them. It had been partially Nick's idea, being as Kitt wasn't talking to them by any other means. Michael hated sitting back and allowing his friend to go through all the pain again, after he had been trapped in this vicious circle for so long. But he understood Nick's reasoning. If they could find out what had happened maybe they could help slightly more than they had been doing.
Through the deep link formed between them, Kitt started to whimper. Michael held on, soothing, unable to witness his partner's suffering and not do something to help alleviate his fear. The whimpers became cries, sparks of pain as Kitt's ordeal was replayed to him with the perfect clarity of a computer's memory. A sob rose from him, followed quickly by a scream that woke him, shaking and terrified, into Michael's embrace. Kitt searched desperately for his partner's touch, and found it: lulling strokes that he attempted to lean into, needing to be closer. Deep in his CPU, in the private place only he, and now Michael, had ever been, Michael's presence was strong and bright, wrapped around him, offering safety and refuge.
//sorry//
Michael winced. Kitt was trying to apologize for the terrible experiences he knew he was projecting back to his driver. //do not apologize never apologize  it's okay//
//hurt//
//I know//
//why?//
//I don't know     I'm sorry//
//whywhywhywhy?//
Michael eased Kitt back down into his embrace, soothing him again. //please tell me//
//hurt//
//tell me what they did//
//hurt     hurthurthurthurthurt//
Michael could feel himself aching for his partner, and that sorrow passed down the link. Kitt reflected it back at him.
//broken//
Confused, Michael questioned him silently.
//broken    weaknesses     too many weaknesses    useless    broken//
This was new. This was something more than the usual 'hurt' and 'why'. He knew he needed to think about what Kitt was telling him, but linked this deeply almost everything he thought passed through to Kitt, and Michael did not want to upset his partner any more than he had to. He simply listened, remembering for later, when Kitt was simply a presence, rather than almost an entity. Linked this deeply it was so easy to hold Kitt, to touch the AI with his mind, it was almost a physical embrace. Usually, warmth projected would be like a hug, something that could always make him smile.
//broken// Kitt repeated the word wretchedly.
//no you'll be okay now//
//return    not finished//
//no! they won't return I won't let them touch you again, Kitt, I promise you're safe here//
//not finished//
//it's over, Kitt. I'm here now Karr's here. They won't touch you again//
That seemed to calm him. Slowly, he settled back, surrounded by Michael's gentle hold, cushioned against Michael's soothing presence.

* * *

Michael accepted the mug of coffee gratefully from Nicholas and sank back into the corner of the couch. Kitt was parked close so that Michael could touch the hood if he reached out. Not too far behind him, Karr was sitting silently watching and still protecting. Outside, the sun was starting to rise; it would strain to warm the day through the cold haze that had already set in.
"He doesn't know why they did it, Nick." Michael told the other operative. "He can only tell me what he's feeling."
"That he's been hurt and he's been betrayed."
"Yeah. But there was something else.... He kept saying 'broken' and something like, 'too many weaknesses'."
Nick though for a moment. "Karr confirmed what I guessed by reading the notes scribbled on the test reports. The plans I found on FLAGNet were the actual ones used. They were using extremes. Cold, and heat. But I don't think that's what they were testing." He turned to look at Michael. "I don't think Jennifer was testing at all."
Michael gazed at him, tired but wide awake. He was about to question Nick's statement when Karr spoke, a warning that was simply Nick's name. Both men looked up, and then the full force of what was happening hit Michael like an axe through the brain. He bit down on a yell, falling back against the couch as Nick made a successful grab for the mug of hot coffee in his fingers.
"Karr, what's happening?"
"Flashback." It was all Karr could get out before turning his full attention to the fragile link between himself and Kitt.
 

Michael fought desperately to stay afloat as Kitt's presence erupted in his mind. This wasn't like previous nightmares. This was for real. This was what he had felt when he had been back in the forest, when it had all started. Agony flared within him and he struggled to stay conscious, not to let go of his tenuous hold on his partner. Next to him, Nick was trying to calm him, trying to give him commands he could follow, reminding him what he had been taught. But Michael could hear only the screams of himself and his partner as the searing pain and blinding light ravaged his mind.
 

<_Kitt Kitt!
<_ Fire!Firefirefirefirefirefire
<_No, it's not real. Let it go.
<_Shell gone! Fire burning! No protection! Help me help me help me help me
<_It's not real. Let it go!
<_Help me help me burning up help me please make it stop make it stop make it stop
As Kitt's terrified chant continued, Karr stifled his own panic and fear of what was happening, and reached for his brother. Michael's own hold had slipped as he had become lost in the piercing agony raging in his mind. Kitt was flailing in fright, reliving literally the moment the flames had taken hold, the moment he had realized that the chemical they had frozen him with and the subsequent impact with the stone wall had caused a break down in the molecular bonded shell and he was unprotected, unable to cope with the excruciating heat being produced by whatever chemical they had drenched him in when he had reached what he had thought to be the safety of the track. He panicked, freaking as he felt parts of himself start to melt, the nightmare pain as the high strength plastic became liquid, flowing over the sides of the car and over the hood, scorching as they went. He shut down all outboard sensors, and realized in abject horror that the flames were licking at him inside in the car, inside the engine compartment, getting closer and closer to his CPU, burning, torturing....
Kitt screamed. This time his own voice modulator threw the sound across the warehouse, an uncensored peek into his mental state.
 

Nick looked from Michael to Karr, and touched the implant deep in his mind. Karr reached out. He very carefully touched Kitt, wrapping him in a hesitant, awkward embrace, and pulling. The strange touch, almost harsh, the rough, alien presence in what had once been a private place, the feeling of suddenly being surrounded by something that wasn't quite love, but was not too far from it, all combined to break the hold of Kitt's agonizing flashback, and to bring him out of it, shaking and scared.
 

Michael collapsed forwards, his hands going out, reaching for the silky black skin of his partner, palms going flat on the hood. Shivers that Michael could feel in his mind were passing through the car, uncontrollable and unstoppable. But even that was an amazing relief from the hell he had been released from. He evened out his breathing, for a moment blanking his mind.
 

The moment Kitt's screaming stopped, Karr backed off, knowing his sudden intrusion into a place only one other had ever been had jolted Kitt enough to do what had to be done. But it had also made Kitt acutely aware of Karr's ability to do this now, and while no longer frightening, that revelation was unsettling to both of them. The AI was shaking badly, and Karr could not sense Knight's presence anywhere around them.
<_Kitt. You are safe
//<_Michael?
His tone was uncertain, fearful of what had just taken place. Where was he? What was happening to him? //<_Michael?! Please....
<_Michael Knight will be with you soon. You gave him a shock, that is all. You must settle now.
//<_No..... Michael.....
<_Kitt....
//<_Michael.....
Karr could again feel Kitt's growing agitation. The other AI was just a frightened mess, he needed his partner, the one he was linked to by neuro implant. Whatever this link that was building up between him and his brother, it wasn't nearly enough yet, and Kitt just didn't have the total unquestioning faith in him that he had in his driver. Suddenly, Michael was there, gently taking Kitt into his arms, holding him, embracing him, rocking him softly, murmuring to him reassurances that meant nothing yet were everything for Kitt - a lifeline. Karr started to pull back, but surprisingly Kitt reached for him from the safety of Michael's arms.
<_Karr
<_Michael Knight is with you now
<_Don't leave
<_I will not go far
The other presence at Kitt's end of the link sent a gentle shudder through Michael's mind, down his spine, but he was careful not to react. Kitt's very stability depended on him now, only with Michael there could he begin to come back to them, to return to being even a shadow of what he had been only a few days ago.
//sleep now//
There was a murmur of thanks, and then peace. Michael doubted Kitt even knew where he was yet. With no external input save for the implant and his connection to Karr, it would be difficult for him to realize that they'd moved him. But he would, soon, when he surfaced above the place the nightmares held him.
Karr retreated, leaving Kitt in Michael's warm presence and returning to where he knew. He instantly felt Nicholas probing their link for him, and he sent over a wave of reassurance and some exhaustion.
 

Nick turned his attention to Michael for a moment. The other man was still leaning forward, now trying to stand. Nick helped him up and around his car until he could sink in through the open door to the driver's seat. Once there, Michael pulled it forward and wrapped his arms around the steering wheel, touching the sensor, resting his head on his arms.
Nick waited for a long while before murmuring, "Is he asleep?" Michael nodded against the wheel. "Then go upstairs. You ought to sleep properly. This is going to start draining you, and it isn't going to get any better anytime soon. Okay?"
Michael nodded again. "Just give me a minute, and I'll go. Promise."
"Okay." Nick left Michael and Kitt alone for a while, and followed to where Karr had gone, through the open warehouse doors just outside. "We have to end this," Nick murmured as he sat up on the Stealth's warm hood.
"You can't just end it," Karr replied, his voice somewhere between exhaustion and regret. "The nightmares remain, even when the person responsible ceases to exist. Nothing changes. The pain fades. That is all."
It sounded like Karr was talking to himself, about himself, and Nick knew he did. As much as his partner had tried to erase those who had inflicted so much pain onto him, he had never succeeded, and Wilton Knight's passing had not relieved him of his memories, of what had been done to him. On the contrary: he had hated more. It had taken a long time and finally a partnership with a human to make him accept that this could not be changed, and he was still suffering.
"We have to do something," Nick said softly.
"Kitt's safety must be guaranteed if he is ever to return home."
Nicholas nodded, knowing Karr was right and unsure of how to accomplish that.

* * *

Kitt was trapped in a world of dark shadows, terrifying memories, horror lurking behind every thought and the empty cold blackness that had been creeping through his CPU ever since ... since..... He shied away from the thought, but this brief brush had been enough to send a torrent of vicious little creature called 'memories' hurtling his way. Their claws hurt as they lodged themselves deep into his CPU, their teeth gnawed away at his last remaining shield, at his hope, at the warmth Michael was projecting ceaselessly. But even that warmth was not enough to chase the ice away that had started to coat every inch inside of him. Black ice. Freezing. Corrosive like acid. Wherever he turned he was attacked by something even more vicious and vile, something more evil and threatening.
Kitt whimpered softly, reaching for Michael, feeling his partner's nearness but also his exhaustion. Michael was close to a total breakdown because he had spent almost every minute with Kitt, holding him, being there, murmuring reassurance. Still, the darkness was winning, was starting to claim large portion of Kitt's mind, eating away at him. Leaving him smaller and smaller. Filling the emptiness with the horror and terror, the nightmares and black dreams.
Dreams of eternal ice coating his circuits, breaking him.
Dreams of hellish fires blazing over his unprotected body, melting even the most durable of his parts.
And he died.
Kitt felt himself die over and over again, in small pieces, one by one. One small death after another, until there was nothing but the fragile part clinging to the neuro implant link left. And even that was ridden by a disease called death. The more he clung to the link, the worse it got. Death was starting to creep along the fine line to his partner, to Michael. Killing him in turn.... destroying everyone.
Kitt screamed, recoiling in shock. He moved back to the farthest corner of his mind, keening softly, trying not to come too close to Michael. His driver was asleep and right now Kitt's transmissions were nothing but faint echoes, mainly because he was not actively touching the sleeping presence.
He sat there for a while, shaking, lost and alone, afraid but too terrified to move. His mind whirled, trying to find a way out of the darkness, back into the light that was Michael Knight, but no solution came. Only dark suggestions of how he could end it too.
Save Michael the pain.
The nightmares.
The horror.
He was hurting Michael because he was linked to him; he was hurting everyone.
He could end it.
Forever.
He knew he could.
Kitt whimpered again, shaking badly but unwilling to seek out the reassurance he had gotten every time this had struck before. This time he wouldn't need it. He ran a scan of his systems and found his body fully operational, but his way was blocked by the Stealth. It too had been a reassuring presence once, but not it was a danger; an obstacle; keeping him trapped where he was. He wasn't strong enough to shove his way past him.
Another way. There had to be another way.
And there was.
 

Michael was asleep; not peacefully, but asleep. He turned restlessly twice but each time he never woke past the stage of dreamy remembrance before falling asleep once more. The neuro implant was quiet and if he had been awake he would have noticed how eerily silent it was. So he was asleep and the effects were trickling into his mind by and by.
 

Justin was the first to notice the power drain. He had just done a routine check on the data transmitting from the diagnostic station and noticed that Kitt was drawing abnormally excessive energy into his systems. He was still connected to an outside feed so as not to strain his systems and right now a lot was simply being sucked inside.  Too much.  Justin checked again, noting in alarm how the figures were climbing, how the strain on the delicate circuitry was building.
He muttered softly and tried to disconnect, but his commands were counteracted and the increase in feed rate told him it had been done deliberately. Something or someone was drawing the energy in, deliberately overloading the CPU. If this continued at the same rate....
"Oh, shit!" he cursed. "No! Kitt!"
Justin hit the emergency shut down button for the diagnostic center, aware it would take them some hours to reboot the system, but right now it was the farthest problem from his mind.
But it was already too late.
He smelled the sharp ozone-like odor of frying chips.
"KITT!"
 

Karr was startled out of his recharge by a feeling he found hard to describe, something like a foreboding, deep dread of what was about to happen. Puzzled he first probed the link to Nicholas and found his driver deeply immersed in an Internet research upstairs.
A sharp spike hit his peripheral shields and he whirled around. This had come through the link to Kitt!
<_Kitt?
A faint sizzling wormed its way across the distance, followed by crackling and .... something else.
<_Kitt?!
And then he heard Justin's curse, witnessed his frantic attempt to disconnect Kitt from his outside feed, and Karr felt everything inside of him grow cold.
<_NO!! he roared, lunging across the virtual link.
He landed in a nightmare of overloading systems, of melting circuits, of programs erasing themselves. He fought past swamps of dread, dark pools of hopelessness, and was slapped straight in the face by the most terrible word he could think of right now.
Suicide.
Kitt was killing himself!
Programs were erased by the strong electrical currents sparking all around him. Some of them brushed extremely close and Karr winced in pain. He discovered a kind of seal strong in place where he had once suspected the neuro implant link was going. Michael Knight.
<_Kitt? What are you doing? Stop!!
Whimpers answered him and he thought he heard things like 'Only way' and 'Give up'.
<_No! he hissed. <_Don't give up! Stop this madness, Kitt! Stop it!!
'.....Release....' The word floated past him and was drawn into the black hole opening up, Kitt's hopelessness and desperation given form.
<_It won't be release!
There was no getting through. Karr grabbed for his brother but Kitt was slipping past and the badly unstable circuits all around him made every move hell.
<Nick!> he cried in desperation.
His partner was already on his way downstairs, racing toward where small fires were now licking out of the engine compartment of the black TransAm.
There was no sound audible outside; Kitt was doing this in total silence!
'.....Should have died like this the first time....'
Karr felt his desperation grow in leaps. <_No! You have to live!
'.....No....'
"Kitt!"
 

Michael was confused, waking to a feeling of something being terribly wrong but being unable to put his finger on it. He sat up, blinking, trying to examine the strange warning tingle he felt. The door burst open and the light from outside filtered in. He squinted automatically.
"Michael, it's Kitt!"
Somehow that was all he needed to hear. He was out of the room and past Nicholas before his mind could tell him he was only dressed in his pajama shorts. He didn't care. What he saw from the top of the stairs nearly made him scream.
Kitt's hood was open.
His engine compartment covered with the fire-extinguishing foam.
The race track. Traces of foam. Traces of fire. Kitt screaming
But this time there were no screams. His mind was so eerily silent.... "//Kitt//!" he cried, both out loud and through the link.
He got no answer. Justin was frantically trying to do something to stop the chain reaction apparently still going inside the car, but a yelp told Michael that electrical charges were still being emitted.
"Kitt, no!" he moaned, running over to where his partner sat, hood open, the smell of burned metal and wire hanging in the air. He tried to find the link, open it, but there was nothing. It was like walking against a mental wall!
//KITT!!!//
 

Karr knew there was only one way and that it would be painful for all of them, even for him. He reached for Nick, wanting to prepare him, and through him Michael Knight, for what he was about to do.
<I'm cutting the block>
<Ready> was Nick's answer and he felt his partner steel himself. Karr erected some blocks of his own, then he lashed at the sealing.
It cracked.
He lashed out again.
It splintered into splintered pieces.
 

Michael barely had any time to register what Nick was telling him was about to happen before it hit him. His mind was assaulted by desperation, by suicidal tendencies so strong they had taken over the rational mind, by a wish to die, by hopelessness and grief. It all cascaded down on him, drowning him, taking him with it as it flowed all around him like white water.
He didn't even have time to scream, a simple, faint gasp escaping his lips. And amidst the torrents he found the small, frightened and desperate entity that was Kitt. He was a tiny capsule of flickering light, curled in on himself, crying softly, lashing at everything that came too close, breaking apart with every move. Michael instinctively reached for his partner, wrapped his whole being around that tiny light, sending out warmth, reassurance, his very essence.
//Shhhh.....Shhhh....Kitt I'm here//
//go away    leave me// Kitt cried weakly.
//no I won't let you go partner     never//
Kitt struggled to get out of the gentle embrace and Michael tightened his hold, intent on never letting him slip past. //why?// he asked. //why??//
//end it end the pain .. finish it//
//No! Kitt no!!//
//end it// Kitt repeated, sounding dejected, forlorn, miserable. //No more pain no more nightmares//
Michael cried softly. //don't leave me Kitt//
Kitt whimpered. //no strength//
//you are strong I'm your strength you are mine don't leave me!!// he begged, wrapping himself even tighter around the dwindling presence. //Kitt no!! don't leave me alone     can't go on alone    need you!// He opened up completely, drawing Kitt into himself, totally unaware of the real world, only his partner, only the small frightened presence.
 

Nick was just fast enough to catch Michael as he crashed to the floor. His body was trembling, twitching erratically. He tried to make Michael as comfortable as possible where he lay, simply drawing down a blanket to keep him warm. All the time his mind was pulsing and vibrating with echoes of Karr's experiences. His partner was still inside Kitt's CPU, struggling against an overwhelming flood of suicidal emotions. Nick gasped sharply as something trickled past and he had to hold on to the couch not to lose his balance. He didn't dare to access the implant, aware that it would most likely let him follow Michael's fate. Nicholas inhaled deeply, trying to get his bearings. Stumbling to his feet he looked over to Kitt's body. Justin was still working frantically to bleed off the excess energy. Bonnie had joined him from somewhere. He hadn't even seen her coming, and she had not asked too many question, simple dove in.
The portable diagnostic laptop was flipped open and Bonnie's face drained of all color when the first data streamed in.
"Oh my God!" was all she managed.
 

//why Kitt? why? tell me why?// Michael probed, never letting Kitt go.
Kitt was trembling in his embrace, crying softly, clinging to his partner. //couldn't go on    too much    nothing else   nightmares too strong//
Michael cried too, silently, tears streaming over his face. The horror of what had happened to Kitt had destroyed his last shields, his last hold, and he had given in to his fear, the terror lurking behind every corner.
//I'm here always  for you//
//hurting you//
//no// he soothed. //no you are not hurting me you are my friend I'm here for you//
Kitt started to cry again, this time with relief, shame and a hard to define emotion. //sorry sorrysorrysorry//
//It's okay//
//not okay    not okay to hurt    not friends//
Michael stroked him gently, whispering to Kitt. //you are not hurting me//
He lost himself in the implant world, holding his partner safe.
 

Karr retreated out of the black abyss of pain and hopelessness, breaking free with an immense effort. He stumbled, crying out as he was flung out of Kitt's mangled CPU and home into his own, well-known environment. A sob escaped him and he felt how he was shaking. Someone touched him and he flinched away before he realized it was Nick. Everything around him was oversensitized, burning with the cold and the fire that had echoed across the link to Kitt.
<Nick?!>
Nick's presence wrapped itself around his self, warming him. He clung to his partner just like Kitt was now clinging to Knight. Nick didn't say a word, simply let him hold on.
"Why?" Karr asked after some time. "Why did he do it?"
Suicide was a concept he couldn't understand; ending one's life was not anything he had ever thought about. In former times his program of self-preservation had dominated him, had stopped every thought of hurting himself in its track. Now, while that program was still strong in his mind, he also had something worth living, worth fighting..... worth changing for.
 Nicholas sighed softly, his presence shifting but never losing in intensity. "He gave in to the nightmares," he finally muttered and curled his fingers around the sensor.
Karr shivered. "He is so much stronger than this.... Why?" he whispered.
"Even the strongest can break, partner. Everything Kitt knew, everything he ever loved and trusted, was viciously destroyed in one move. He is surrounded by nightmares, by pain.... he wanted it to stop."
"It is the wrong way!" Karr snarled.
Nicholas had to agree, but for Kitt it had been the only way he had seen. Kitt and Karr were totally different in this regard, and Karr had immense difficulties dealing with suicide.
"Do you still have contact to him?"
"Yes. But he and his driver need to be left alone."
MacKenzie smiled. "I know." His eyes fell on the almost lifeless figure of Michael Knight, wrapped up in the blanket, totally unresponsive. This had been a major set-back and a development neither had expected. He sighed deeply, simply buried himself in the neuro link, something he rarely ever did with such an intensity, and stayed with Karr. There was nothing else he could do anyway.
 

Michael woke, slightly distracted, and found his body protesting his every move. He was wrapped up in a blanket, a pillow under his head, but he was lying on the hard garage floor. He sat up with a barely suppressed groan and discovered he was not alone. Bonnie was sleeping behind him on the couch, Justin had nodded off in a chair, his body slumping over the desk - he would have one hell of a cramp - and Nicholas .... well, Nick was up and about. Now he walked over to Michael and cast him a questioning look as he helped the taller man to stand without falling. Michael rubbed his aching head and rotated his stiff shoulders. His eyes fell on Kitt - hood open, support cable sneaking out, traces of the engine fire still visible - and he winced.
"I'm okay," he mumbled.
Nick rolled his eyes, telling him that was not exactly what others would believe, and helped him over to Kitt, sitting him down on the driver's seat, still wrapped in the blanket.
"How is he?" MacKenzie then wanted to know.
"Asleep. Finally." Michael rested his throbbing head on the head-rest of the seat. "Nick.... he wanted to kill himself....." Horror and pain swung in his voice and when he looked into his friend's eyes, he discovered Nick knew all about it.
"Karr told me. Is he stable now?"
Kitt was far from stable, but Michael understood in what sense of the word Nick had meant it. He nodded slightly.
"He's with me," he murmured. "I won't let him go. Ever."
Nick nodded. "I'll get you a coffee and then you should freshen up a bit."
Michael gave a vague nod and sought out his partner's presence, for now calm and resting but still haunted. He stroked him gently in his sleep, feeling Kitt subconsciously reach out and seek reassurance; reassurance Michael was only to ready to give.
//not alone     'm here    never doubt    you aren't alone//
//sorry  sorry   only way//
Michael closed his eyes and let Kitt merge with him again. //always another way    I will help// Kitt kept mumbling apologies, horrified by his own action now, but he quieted down, still shaking badly.
 

Karr had mostly retreated out of the private space around Kitt and had settled back to watch. The concept of suicide was still something he couldn't even start to comprehend, but it had happened. Kitt had tried to take his life. And they all had to deal with it.
Whispers came over the private channel, followed by soft whimpering through the link. Kitt was reaching for support as he turned restlessly all of a sudden, and Karr found himself only too willing to step forward and calm him down again. Michael Knight was hovering close to his partner and Karr made his intrusion as quick and secretive as possible. He caught a strand of Kitt's self and gently wrapped part of himself around it.
<_Sleep
A mutter answered him.
<_It will be okay, he promised. <_Trust me.
Kitt turned and Karr flinched under the emotions now coming his way. He had not expected to get a reaction like that. Kitt had started to trust him and though it was a reason to feel joy and relief, it was also a reason to worry for him. Kitt shouldn't trust him that quickly! He should keep his doubt and fear. Trusting Karr meant trusting the enemy that had once tried to destroy Kitt and his driver.
<_Friend, Kitt whispered, hope and desperation in his voice.
<_Yes, Karr managed. <_I'm your friend.
His brother curled up again, far from his old self, but emitting waves of reoccurring hope. Karr withdrew, confused and shaken.

*

Nicholas regarded the piece of pizza without much enthusiasm. He had stopped feeling hungry when the whole mess had started and he shared this lessening of appetite with Michael, who was force-fed by Bonnie on a daily basis. Finally he chewed on the last triangle of pizza, staring at the distant wall, eyes unfocused. Karr resided partly in his mind, a soft pressure, needing as much reassurance as Nick needed his partner's silent presence. Karr was so shaken by it all, he had retreated, unable to accept for now.
Michael was with Kitt, constantly present now, afraid to leave Kitt physically alone for more than a bathroom run. Kitt had not reacted to anything since his suicide attempt, but he was more stable after it than anybody could have hoped for. The attempt had been borne out of desperation, panic and loneliness, feeling everything press in around him. It had been like a short-circuit reaction. Bonnie and Justin had repaired most of the major damage and they would start on the finer work as soon as possible.
Nick threw the pizza box away and tiredly walked over to the living space area on the upper floor. Exhaustion hit him and he stumbled.
"Karr," he murmured. "Damnit...."
He turned and went downstairs again.
 

Karr was exhausted. His systems needed a rest, his interface with the Stealth was hurting and he was projecting through the implant. Nick was not saying anything, but Karr knew he was influencing him. The last two days had been too much for his CPU, and Kitt's attempt to kill himself had topped it all. Echoes of Kitt's pain came in, stinging through the already over-sensitized link to his brother, igniting vicious memories of what had happened this afternoon. Karr didn't dare to shut down because he might lose his connection to Kitt, miss any changes for the better or worse. He rather relived the nightmares along with Kitt.
"Sleep," a soft voice suddenly said, startling him.
"Can't," he whispered, wincing at the burning sensation the implant now evoked.
"This is hurting you, partner. And me. Kitt is with Michael and resting, so follow his example and get some much-needed rest. It won't help if you break down too," Nick told him with a soft smile.
"I will not break down," Karr announced indignantly. "I can take it."
"Not for much longer. Your body might be close to indestructible, but not your mind. Karr, power down your systems. Sleep. And let Dr. Barstow take a look at the circuits tomorrow."
Anger flooded him. "She won't touch me!" Karr hissed but with half his usual harshness.
"Your systems have been strained to the max!"
"As have Kitt's!"
"He gets servicing, partner," Nick pointed out.
Karr growled something. MacKenzie unconsciously started to rub the roof, sighing.
"Will you please listen to reason? I know you are experiencing what Kitt goes through, and even if you are not going through it every time with the same intensity, you have your share. The link will stay. It won't shut down too." He leaned closer. "He still feels you and you feel him."
The Stealth was silent for a long time.
"And I will be here," Nick added almost inaudibly. "I will guard you. Trust me."
"I do," Karr murmured softly. After a while he added, "I will go into recharge. For a while."
Relief flooded Nick's features. Karr had been leaking exhaustion ever since Kitt and Michael had both quieted down. One after another Karr's systems powered down and he slipped into a recharge mode. Nick stayed for a few more minutes, feeling his partner's presence even out into the usual background residence. Then he walked up the iron stairs to his living room.

*

The only thing they understood was that it was going to take time to accept and move on from what had happened. Bonnie leaned over the rail, tears stinging her eyes as her gaze wandered across the body of her baby. Only a few days ago, Kitt had been working happily by her side, missing Michael but in constant contact with him. Bonnie had almost been aware of the link through Kitt's sudden stillness and silence whenever he was with Michael any deeper than his usual presence in the back of his mind. Now there was nothing but that eerie quiet hanging over the car. She knew Michael had been with Kitt mentally almost constantly since the tests, more so in the last few hours. She briefly mused how long he could go before breaking down.
A single tear slipped over her cheek, and the moment that one broke free, Bonnie started to cry. None of this should have been happening. Kitt and Michael should probably be on vacation somewhere, as Devon had promised them; if Devon would have kept that promise, of course. She thought about him, still not quite believing that he could have done what they knew he had done. She thought about the life they had lost, the safety of their home had once provided, now somewhere that frightened them all. And she thought about Kitt. He had been programmed to respect all life, he considered all life to be special and worth preserving, it was a code he lived by, one that defined him. How scared then must he be, how ravaged must his soul be to propel him toward that particular action; to attempt to end his own life. He knew how quiet it was, how lonely he could be without the link to Michael. Bonnie understood that when Michael died, that Kitt would also be lost to them. Something must have snapped deep within him for him to want to throw Michael back into the darkness they had experienced when Geiger had brutally, temporarily, severed the link between them.
Bonnie doubted that Kitt had thought about the consequences of what he had tried to do. He was too upset to work things through in his mind. He had seen a course that he believed would bring relief from the agony and fear, for him and for his driver, and he had taken it. She was grateful to them all, even to Karr, for being there, for hanging onto Kitt and not letting him fall. Her thoughts strayed to the cause of all this misery, and as the image of Jennifer Knight came unbidden into her head she balled her fist, bringing it down hard onto the railing.
"Breaking your hand won't help." Justin's soft voice made her look up, broke her glum train of thought. "I put the kettle on. Hot chocolate?" Bonnie smiled through her tears and nodded.  "He's going to be okay." She nodded again, and watched as Justin gave her some space. So many people had helped them, so many with the greatest of respect for Kitt. Why couldn't Jennifer see in him what to everyone else was so blatantly clear?
Bonnie sniffed and wiped her eyes. She had been proud of herself, not giving into the terrible emptiness and sorrow she had felt since the moment she had heard those petrified screams from the track. Kitt and Michael needed her, needed the strength she knew she had, needed her expertise to heal Kitt's physical wounds, while Michael, and maybe Karr, struggled to help him overcome his psychological trauma. But she had known, at some point, her feelings were going to have to be released. Nick had been an angel, a miracle working to keep them safe. Without him... she didn't want to think what might have happened, the situation they would currently be in. Would Kitt still have been with them? She shuddered, banishing the thought from her mind. He was with them, helping every step of the way, and that's what mattered. With Nick on their side, she was confident that Jennifer could never win.

* * *

It took Bonnie a few minutes to track down the incessant beeping. From the inside of Kitt's ravaged engine, she had been hearing it for five minutes or more, and it had just started to get on her nerves. Finally, she came to Nick's laptop, still open on one of the couches in the rest area.
She called upstairs, "Nick!"
 

He stared at the computer screen, reading over the file that had found its way through the Internet channels to one of his countless his domains. He had no email address, he had no mailbox, no website. Nicholas MacKenzie was at home in the Internet, but no one could trace him. Sending messages off to him with fake addresses, those containing trigger or key words, was one way to reach him. The messages would bounce off the various mailer daemon engines, going round and round until one of the many programs Nick had running would pick it up, scramble the access, and pull it into the areas MacKenzie visited.
One of those messages had just arrived.
The sender was Devon Miles.
And it wasn't just a simple text file; there was a graphic file attached to it. He downloaded it and then opened the graphic file. Nick read over what was printed there.
And again.
And again.
Finally he sat back, honestly surprised, but not ready to believe or to even hope. After a while he accessed the net, hacked into FLAGNet and deposited a short message for Devon.

* * *

The coffee shop, called 'Sarah's Cup'o'Coffee' was small and homely, having only three tables with four chairs each, two booths, and chairs lined up against the counter. It was mostly kept in light wood, with the tables covered by red-checkered cloths and a bunch of potted flowers and plants at the two large windows. Music was softly playing in the background, just loud enough to notice but not too obnoxious. Devon looked around and discovered Nick sitting in one of the booths. A mug of coffee stood in front of him.
Devon took off his coat and hung it up next to the booth, then sat down silently. Nicholas didn't offer any kind of greeting and one look into the steely expression told Devon he was just here to amuse Devon, to give him one last chance. The waitress came and he ordered some tea.
The silence stretched until the tea had arrived and it was the most uncomfortable one Devon had ever endured. Not one muscle twitched in MacKenzie's face and he could have been a statue if it hadn't been for the occasional blink of the eyes.
"Thank you for acknowledging my mail," Devon said, stirring his tea. Nick's expression didn't change.  "Jennifer is fuming. She has called in the board but it isn't going well. I talked to them first," Devon went on, "and they are considering the proposal I wrote you about."
"A proposal is not yet a fact," Nicholas told him coldly.
"But it is a start, Nick! For God's sake, I'm trying! I know I made a mistake!"
"Damn right," Nick told him evenly. "And you will pay for it. This isn't over."
"Nick, please! I have no control over the board or Jennifer Knight! Even if I had objected, it would have been overruled!"
"And there's the rub: you didn't even object!" Anger flashed briefly in the other man's eyes. "You agreed. You sat back and let them do it! Do you know what Kitt is going through? And Michael?"
Devon avoided the cold fire in the blue depths. "I won't say I do. I don't think I can. I can only try to right the wrong I did, even if there is very little I can offer, but I will put my weight behind this change of ownership." He bit his lips as Nick's expression turned deadly. "I'm not talking about Kitt. I'm talking about the car, Nick."
Silence settled again and Devon got out the papers he had already sent to Nick as a scanned file.
"I'm expecting a reply soon. Jennifer has not made many friends with her actions. No one really knew what she was about to do. Nick, please, give me a chance!" Devon almost pleaded.
"I'm not the one you have to ask."
Miles sighed deeply. "How... how are they?"
"Take a guess."
"Nick...."
"Don't try it, Devon. I will wait and see what this brings, if the board agrees. If they do, we take the next step." MacKenzie's voice was still as level as it had been at the start of the conversation. "And don't try to find us. You know it is impossible."
"I won't."
"But Jennifer Knight will. I'm surprised she hasn't called the police yet."
Devon managed a small smile. "She wants to settle this as a personal score. And how do catch someone who doesn't exist and knows your every step?" Nick's lips never even twitched. "Nick, I want to talk to Michael," Devon said after a while. "Explain it to him...."
"You wouldn't be able to get one word out before he has punched you in the face, Devon. He is living Kitt's nightmares live. Last night, Kitt tried to kill himself. Do you understand the severity of all this? That the nightmares you gave him are doing this to him?"
Devon winced perceptibly. "I.... If you need anything.... I can...."
"We need to be left alone," Nick told him levelly. "Kitt needs to heal, to start to accept what has happened, and to let go of the betrayal he feels. Betrayal by those he loved and trusted. His soul is severely injured but hasn't shattered yet. Pray that it will sustain the pressure it is put under, Devon." The last was carrying the tone of a threat.
Miles looked down at his hands, the tea cooling without him having even touched it.
"I destroyed it all," he said after a while.
"No. Not yet." Devon's head came up. "But you nearly did. Kitt is not ready to damn everyone and even though Michael is furious, as are Bonnie and Justin, you have a chance. Use it." Nick got out some dollar bills and placed them on the table. "You know how to reach me," he said, rising to his feet.
Devon watched him go. His stomach was a clenched fist of dread and fear, had been so since the whole terrible events from days ago. He had been unable to sleep properly and his dreams were haunted by Kitt's screams as he had been set on fire, his shrieks as he had been towed away, and Jennifer Knight's pleased expression. She was a sadistic, cold-hearted bitch. And she was a member of the board. He just hoped they would overrule her objections to what he had asked for.
Even if it didn't get Kitt and Michael back as Foundation operatives, it at least paid back some of what Devon owed them. He wasn't so sure of FLAG's future anyway. All Wilton Knight had built, all he had ever dreamed off, all that had grown over nearly a decade of friendship, partnership, love and trust had been destroyed by one woman. And his own cowardly decision. He could have objected. But he hadn't, too afraid of showing opposition against the board that was his employer. Now he had to deal with the consequences, as did Michael and Kitt. And Bonnie and Justin.
Even Nicholas.
 "What have I done?" Devon whispered, tears stinging in his eyes. Even if Michael and Kitt came back, even if the trust returned so far that Kitt would set one wheel on Foundation property ever again, nothing would be as it had been. Devon remembered Karr's threat in the garage several nights back. He would have killed him, without hesitation, without doubt, without remorse. And he had seen the same expression in Nicholas' eyes several times. He had asked for Nick to be there for Michael, to help them with the implant, and Nicholas was there for them, all the way.
Protection at all costs.
Even from their old friends.
No, no longer a friend. Devon had ceased to be a friend when he had sanctioned the tests. He recalled Nick's words about Kitt's soul. He had stood back and watched the technicians intentionally hurt a sentient life form, one he had nurtured, one he had helped into this world, one he had befriended and had accepted as a personality. Kitt was his friend, a good friend.
And he had almost killed him.

*

Nick sat inside the Stealth, trying to get his raging emotions under control again. Karr echoed his fury and he would run over Devon Miles if let loose. He nurtured a deep hatred for the man. Finally MacKenzie started the engine and rolled off.
"Do you think he seriously considers turning proprietary rights over to Michael Knight?" Karr asked into the silence.
"Yes," Nick said softly, "Yes, I think he does. All he has to do is fight for it, against the board if necessary."
Karr was silent. "What about me?" he finally asked.
Nick blinked. "You?"
"I belong to FLAG."
"The hell you do!" Nick growled.
"Wilton Knight designed and built me. FLAG legally owns me." Disgust swung in Karr's voice.
"They *owned* you, Karr. Past tense. And they only owned your body .... never your soul."
"I...." Karr stopped, struggling with the concept.
Nick reached out with his mind and smiled at the confusion that met him. "FLAG threw you away, left you in the desert," he said gently. "Your body work belongs to me; I paid for it. Your soul only belongs to you, partner."
"It belongs to you too," Karr whispered so softly it went by almost unheard.
Nick stopped the Stealth in a side street. "You are owned by no one!" he stated firmly.
"We are partners; we share the neuro link. We are .... one," Karr said hesitantly. "And...." He stopped, struggling again. "And I like the idea of ...belonging."
Nick stared, surprised, even slightly shocked. Maybe because it was the truth about being one; maybe because for a second Karr had opened up completely and confessed his feelings.
"The same is true for Kitt. My brother belongs rightfully to Michael Knight; he always has." Karr fell silent after that, but the implant spoke more than words. Nicholas simply embraced him, hugged him close, briefly touching the sensor.
"Let's go home," he whispered after some time.

* * *

Nicholas drove back into the warehouse, parking Karr close to Kitt. He got out and walked over to where Bonnie was discussing something with Justin. Karr warily watched the link that had been painfully quiet lately. Since his suicide attempt, Kitt had not really projected anything through the connection running between them and it left a hollowness inside Karr he wasn't used to. His brother was afraid; of him, of the link, of the connection. Of what he had done. And Karr was afraid too. He was rattled by Kitt's attempt to end his existence. Now, as he sat there after coming back from the cafe, he felt Kitt approach.
<_Karr?
It was a hesitant call, a bit frightened.
<_Yes?
He felt a shiver pass through Kitt and sighed. He had not wanted to sound so harsh, but his rage at Devon Miles had shortly taken over.
<_I apologize, Kitt. I didn't want to snap.
<_I know, Kitt answered softly. <_You are still there. Why?
<_You need ...help.
<_You helped, Kitt whispered, as if now recalling it. Then he flinched. <_You were there.....
Karr retreated further. <_Not intentionally. Not to hurt. I apologize for the intrusion. I didn't want it so... personal.
<_You cut the nightmare. Thank you, Karr. I owe you my life.... my sanity.
Karr was starting to feel embarrassed. <_You.... you are welcome, he mumbled, despite his better knowledge not to get emotional over it.
Kitt approached him, trembling. <_Will you stay? His voice was almost child-like.
Karr looked at the fearful little presence, the tremors running through the once so bright spark of life, and his decision came without hesitation.
<_I will.
Another wave of relief came through, mixed with gratefulness, and then Kitt retreated back into the safety of his own CPU. Karr rolled silently closer, as always positioning himself between the hurt AI and anyone approaching. Soft pulses came through the link and he enjoyed the echoes for once. No pain, no nightmares, no fear, not even a sign of a remembered suicide attempt; just Kitt resting easily for the first time since it had happened. It wouldn't last, but it was good while it lasted.
It lasted precisely three hours. Kitt woke slowly, this time not through a nightmare but naturally in a way, his mind clear for the very first time. His systems powered up to the point where he was aware, but he did not interface completely with all his peripheral functions. He didn't want to see and hear all, be able to scan, trace and perform everything he was used to. His outside data input was at a minimum, all his information coming in through the neuro link to his driver. Almost instinctively he searched for Michael's presence and found it with him, though not physically. Michael was close by, maybe outside, and Kitt got the impression of salty air and water.
Water?
He stopped, surprised and confused.
Where was he?
What had happened?
Before a panic attack could strike something else touched him. Not Michael's soft and warm presence. This was harder, colder, but not hostile. It was familiar too, caring but missing the warmth, something bordering to affection and love, but not quite. As if it was unable to express what it felt. Kitt probed carefully and was stunned to find Karr. His memory jump-started and he gasped as he recalled what had passed in the last few days, especially when he became aware of his desperate attempt to cease functioning. And he was shocked into fear at Karr's nearness, his close presence, though his strength and fierce protectiveness gave Kitt a feeling of physical safety he hadn't had before.
But where was he?
<_Where am I?
He sent the question out to the other presence almost unconsciously. Karr flinched and suddenly withdrew into the distance, leaving Kitt feeling deprived of something he had not known was there, empty, alone.
He cried out involuntarily, flailing for the missing support. <_No!
Karr hesitated.
<_Please? Kitt begged softly.
<_You wouldn't want me that close while you are awake, Kitt, he said, voice not as cold as usual, but there was a trace of the well-known ruthlessness in it.
<_Why?
<_It would hurt you.
Kitt hesitated. <_You've been there all the time?
Silence. Then, <_In a way.
<_Why?
Another silence and this time there was no answer. Maybe it was cutting too close to the other AI.
<_We are no longer at the mansion? Kitt then asked.
<_No. We moved because of safety reasons. Karr gave him an impression of where he was, of what was around him since Kitt refused to link up completely. <_Safe, he repeated softly.
Kitt started to tremble a bit. He was no longer at home, on familiar ground; he was somewhere strange and unknown. Memories were jolted awake, mocking his feelings of 'home'.
Where they froze you.
Where they set you on fire.
Where they tortured and tormented you.
Where they betrayed you!
<_Stop! Karr's harsh command shook him. <_Stop that right now!
<_But it's true, Kitt whispered brokenly. <_They betrayed me!
<_Not 'they'! 'They' means Michael Knight and Bonnie Barstow too! Karr hissed angrily.  <_They didn't betray you. They are here, caring and loving you! Your chief mechanic and the truck driver, they helped too, they risked their existence to see you safe! Don't you dare start generalizing!
Throughout the almost brutal words Karr had come closer. Kitt felt his anger, his own pain, his intention not to let Kitt fall into that hatred he felt still inside him.
<_But Devon and Jennifer.....
Karr's reaction was one of rage and he wasn't fast enough to stop the wave from hitting Kitt. Kitt whimpered, drew back, shaking at the extreme emotions flooding him.
<_No, Kitt, I'm sorry! Karr whispered quickly. <_I didn't want this.....
<_You hate them.
<_Yes.
<_But you won't allow me to hate them. Why?
Karr sighed, settling back again. <_Because they are your friends. Not all of them; not Jennifer Knight.
Kitt saw fragments of events from the past days, saw Karr attacking Jennifer, and was astounded.  But he held his silence.
<_Don't hate them all. Don't let this feeling of betrayal catch a hold on you. I did.... And see what it got me.....
An uneasy silence settled over the two AIs, Kitt marveling at what he had heard and seen.
<_But why did they do it if they are my friends? he finally asked.
And the nightmares started to creep up on him again, this single question triggering a recollection of the events. Karr was suddenly there, inserting himself fiercely between his brother's mind and the horror that was his memory. Kitt cried out nevertheless and flinched away, coming apart again, afraid and calling for help. Karr simply stayed there, reaching out, trying to soothe. It was not what Michael Knight's presence would do to Kitt, but he quieted down slightly, trembling.
<_Why? he whimpered. <_My fault?
Karr was horrified. <_No! Not your fault! You did nothing wrong!
<_Should have stayed inside the room! Kitt cried suddenly.
<_NO! Karr forcefully cut back that line of thinking, going deeper into Kitt's CPU. It was a brutally open breach of privacy, but Kitt was suddenly turning his emotions around, now searching for the fault in himself.
<_If I had stayed....
<_You would have died!
The nightmares of the cold room returned but this time they hit Karr first. He bit back a scream and lashed out, shattering the flood, driving it back.
<_Ran.....
<_Yes, you ran! It was good that you ran!
<_Because of that the fire came! Kitt shrieked now.
Karr almost retreated out of horror what was coming his way, but he held his ground, shrieking as well as the firestorm crashed over him.
<_It would have come anyway! he cried to make himself heard over the cacophony of nightmarish memories.
<Why?!
Karr cursed everyone involved in the tests, his hatred boiling up anew but kept in check. He couldn't give in to it because it would immediately flood Kitt too, and Kitt didn't need any more triggers. The pain he was enduring, which Karr felt too, was enough.
<_Why? his brother whimpered.
Karr was silent, simply holding him, stabilizing his fragile mind. He felt Nicholas' probe, asking, holding too, and he was thankful for this anchor to his driver.
And then Michael Knight was there. He felt the human's presence inside the CPU and as Knight took a hold of Kitt's quivering mind, Karr withdrew gently. Kitt quieted down faster than the last time, sobbing softly but no longer plagued by the terror that was lurking inside him. Karr kept on watching, suffering with his brother, wishing he could do more.
"You already do a lot for him," Nick said gently, joining him, smiling. "And it helps."
"But I can't seem to take the feelings of betrayal away."
"Because Kitt remembers too vividly." Karr winced as Nick drew closer. The implant had been strained by this latest outbreak, mainly because Karr had been in the line of fire, had been the first wall of defense. Nicholas tried to remove himself as he sensed it, but Karr held on, needing the support even if it meant the burning inside him intensifying.
"Stay," he begged.
Nick smiled and sat down inside the Stealth, physically drawing closer too. Kitt was healing slowly, painfully; painfully for everyone involved, but steps were taken. Karr felt exhausted from the ordeal and Nick's gentle strokes over the inside sensor were lulling him into a light sleep. He surrendered to it.

* * *

"That thing tried to kill me!"
John Landes, member of the Board of Directors of FLAG, watched the slender woman rage in front of him with a bemused smile. Her accusations weren't amusing as such, but her attitude was.
"Jennifer, calm down."
She glared at him as if he had just accused her of being the guilty one. "Calm down? Calm down!? This... this MacKenzie tried to kill me! His car attacked me! He stole my property and used it to assault me!"
"You are accusing him of theft?"
"Yes! I'm going to sue him for everything!"
Landes looked even more amused. Suing Nicholas MacKenzie would be an interesting past-time. The man didn't exist; he was a shadow, a ghost.....
"Do you know who MacKenzie is?" he asked quietly, already knowing the answer.
"He is an arrogant asshole with an attitude who stole my property and assaulted me!" Jennifer told him. "And I will get it back! All of it! I don't care who he is! I don't care that he was my father's prime choice for the driver he always wanted!"
Landes nodded. She was totally unaware that she was going up against someone she wouldn't be able to win.
"What?!" she demanded.
"Nothing," he answered, smiling faintly.
"I'll show them!" Jennifer promised. "I'm going to get the car back! Both of them!" With that she whirled around and stormed out of the office.
John shook his head. Jennifer had come in a foul mood, had screamed at every single one of the servants in the estate, had scared half of them out of their wits, then had brushed past John's secretary and claimed the whole office immediately. He had listened to her accusations, her temper outbreak, and had slowly gotten a picture of what had happened back at the Knight estate.
And Nicholas MacKenzie was right in the middle. John knew him, had met the man when Wilton Knight had chosen him as the future driver of the KARR. John was also one of the few who knew about the implant experiment, something that had failed miserably both times. At the time he had known MacKenzie he had been wary of the man no one knew much of. He was a trained agent, he was a specialist when it came to infiltration and computer espionage, and John knew that this man could kill someone in ten ways within a second. Why Wilton had chosen him.... he had no idea. Then the KARR project had gone awry and MacKenzie had disappeared again, but not without leaving all still puzzling about his identity. Michael Long had stepped onto the stage next, playing the role Wilton had wanted Nicholas and the KARR to play.
Now he was back.
And with him KARR?
Again?
Had the malicious AI survived? And if yes, why was it with MacKenzie? A thousand questions and no real answers. When it came to Nicholas, there was no straight answer possible. Half-truths, shadowy lies, hidden secrets...it all made up this strange man.
John smiled as he imagined Jennifer's encounter with KARR. He didn't particularly like her. No one on the board did. She was Wilton Knight's daughter, but except for being related in blood, there was no other common trait. She was more like her brother than her father.
He would have to wait and see what happened next. He only knew it would be very interesting.

* * *

Justin shook his head as he looked into Kitt's engine compartment. Parts that were singed, burned or molten greeted his eyes and he knew he had a lot of work ahead. Not to mention the circuitry that would need a professional once-over by Bonnie. The electrical currents had fried so much of Kitt's delicate systems, it was a miracle some of them were still working! The Knight Two Thousand had had to be connected to an outside feed again, but this time there was an independent system to regulate intake. Kitt would not be able to influence or sabotage it.
He finished his list of needed parts and then walked off to the small storage area not far away.
Half an hour later Justin knew they needed more than what was in the room.

*

"Nicholas?"
Nick looked up and discovered Justin. The chief mechanic had his notepad with him. "Let me guess? Spares?"
Justin nodded. "I have most of what I need, but not everything." He hesitated. "You said you could get us what we need...."
Nick smiled humorlessly. "I tend to keep good on my promises. Let me have the list and I'll have it here ASAP." He glanced at the list Justin handed him and nodded. "How is it going?" he then wanted to know.
"Slowly. Bonnie is still debating whether to take the CPU out again or not. If it weren't for Kitt's .... condition, I'd be all for it, but the last time we did it and put him back in...." Justin stopped, sighing.
"I know," Nicholas muttered. He opened his PowerBook. "Try to leave him inside. If it gets to be too much you can still take him out."
Justin had to agree. He watched Nick key into the Internet, then he left, not even wanting to know where their mysterious friend ordered the wanted parts from.
 

Nick watched the log-on procedure and glanced at the list again. Using a scanner he got it into a separate file and then waited for the acknowledgment of a link to the part of the net he frequently used for his dealings. DarkNet didn't officially exist. It was nothing but a rumor, a whisper among the other nets, but it was there and here Nick met those whose services he sometimes need. As he browsed through he various areas he quickly took notice of what had changed, what might be of interest for later, and where others had disappeared. Finally he slipped into a chat room.
* Long time no see, Shadow
He smiled darkly. * Hello, Frog.
* I suppose this is not a social call, though you have been kinda absent, man
* I need to employ your services, Frog.
* Always, man, always! Got a big order for the green one?
Nicholas smiled again. * Yes. Coming through.
He encoded the file and transferred it into Frog's domain. There was a short silence, then the other man came back again.
* No problem, man.
* How long?
* An hour?
* Perfect. Home delivery.
* Usual services, man. You know me.
* I do.
With that he signed off.

*

Bonnie straightened and rotated her stiff shoulders, feeling like her muscles were one big ache. At least she was making progress and it seemed like Kitt was not affected as much as she had feared. He had been very quiet, a faint twitch here or there showing her that he was indeed somewhat conscious, but overall he was silent. The needed parts had arrived an hour before in form of an old van stopping outside. She had curiously walked closer and discovered a thin, wiry man in baggy clothes unloading stuff while talking to Nick. His bare arms had been tattooed, his thin hair standing out in a frazzled mop and from his dress code he had a serious problem with colors. No man in his right mind would wear those bright colors. He looked like a rainbow fish on legs. Finally he had left, the old van rattling and rumbling over the cobblestones. Nick had carried the boxes inside, Justin running to help, and Bonnie had once again decided not to ask.
"How are you doing?"
The quiet, somewhat heavy voice let her turn and a smile crept over her face. "We're getting somewhere. How are you?"
Michael gave her a tired smile. "Beaten."
She simply hugged him and felt him cling to her for a moment, needing the human contact, needing her support. "You can sit inside if you want to," she whispered as he buried his face in her hair.
"Thanks." His voice sounded a bit muffled.
Bonnie watched him climb into the TransAm and sit there for a brief moment, then lean forward and simply hug the steering wheel. Emotional pain shot through her. Biting her lower lip she turned back to her work, trying to force herself to concentrate on the job.
Kitt had not slept well, haunted by the effects of his own terrible actions. Rest had come, finally, when Nick and Karr had returned from their rendezvous with Devon, and Karr was once again parked close. But three hours later Kitt had woken disorientated, and a panic attack had swept over him, drowning him once more in fear and painful memories. Michael had gone through all of this with his partner. He had taken a walk this morning, out along the deserted harbor front, when Kitt had finally fallen asleep with Karr watching over him. Michael had needed some air, some space, needed to feel the breeze on his skin, just to remind himself that the world outside their nightmare was still turning.
It felt almost as if they had dropped out of the great scheme of things, lost their footing and fallen off, or been pushed. Still Michael couldn't answer Kitt's constant, simple question of why. He wished he could. Maybe if they could give Kitt a reason, an explanation, he would be able to heal, if not to accept. None of them could ever accept what had been done. He had bathed himself in memories while he had been out, remembered the good times, tried to project the happiness of those times back to his partner. And Kitt had slept, peacefully for a while.
Now he was sitting inside his car, his presence soothing and reassuring that of his friend and partner. "You can talk to me," he told Kitt gently. "Why didn't you reach for me last night? There's always another way."
Michael didn't expect a verbal answer; Kitt was still not speaking in the conventional manner. Michael hated to think what this would have been like without the link. Would he even have known the danger his partner was in? Or would he have returned from his mission to find Kitt dead? Killed by those he had trusted. Anger flared up inside him once more and he crushed it. This wasn't the time; Kitt could not cope with anything more at the moment.
Kitt's answer came in a torrent of emotions that Michael felt through the implant. //too much  even for both of us// Kitt still sounded scared and upset, but the desperation to find a release had been replaced by a desperation to find a way to cope.
"No, we're strong. We have each other. We will always have each other."
There was a pause, as Kitt started to cried softly, burying himself in Michael's embrace.
//sorry//
Michael tightened his hug, mentally and physically. He released his hold only once since the terrifying events of the previous night - he had let his embrace slip from Kitt as he had walked outside, and Kitt had almost fallen apart on them again, stopped only by Karr's fierce refusal to allow anything more to happen to his brother.
"No apologies needed, Kitt.  I know how much they hurt you."
//no hurt you    wrong    no hurt you//
"You don't hurt me. I'm here for you, to help you. We can get through this. But I don't ever want to go on alone. Nothing is worth losing you over. I can't face life without you."
No more words came for a while, but Michael found himself being flooded with emotions, feelings of gratefulness, of being needed and loved. Kitt's way of saying thank you when the two words came nowhere near to being enough. Kitt just stayed there, close to Michael, accepting all the reassurance his driver was offering, all the hope he was projecting. He was vaguely considering what Karr had told him, where they were.
//we're hiding// He stated quietly, eventually.
"For now. It's safer this way."
//will find us//
"//no//" Michael spoke the word forcefully, out loud as well as through the link, pushing waves of determination and strength through the implant.
//safe now//
//will they... separate us?//
//never again    promise   always be here with you//
Michael closed his eyes, finally losing himself in his mind, deepening the link. Kitt was starting to sleep, wrapped in Michael's warmth as he had been for most of the time since the terrible incidents at the labs. Curled up with him, Michael struggled to stay awake himself.
//rest//
Michael smiled. //I need to be with you//
//you are    sleep    please//
//wake me//
//if I need you     now sleep//
Michael let his thoughts fade, drifting into the blackness of sleep, bringing Kitt closer to him, holding him in a loving hug. Bonnie and Justin continued to fix the damage to the engine, being absolutely careful not to do anything that would disturb the resting AI, or his driver.

* * *

The Foundation Board of Directors was made up of eight men and women, most of whom had been hand picked by Wilton Knight long before the start of the Knight Two Thousand project. The Board usually met at a house in South California that was part of the Knight heritage. It was owned now by Jennifer, although she had never spent more than a couple of hours every month there, at the meetings. It was a roaming house, Tudor in design, with a board room, several offices that the board members were free to use, an extensive library and a full quota of staff that maintained the place and could cater for any Board member who wished to stay there for whatever reason, at whatever time.
This was where John had wished to meet Devon, a few days before the board was due to convene to discuss his proposal regarding ownership of the Knight Two Thousand.
Devon shook John's outstretched hand and smiled, trying to make it look genuine. John Landes was a member of the Foundation Board of Directors, and had been since Wilton Knight had appointed him over ten years ago. He had personally overseen the development of the Knight Two Thousand - the car - and had a great pride in his work. He was a big man, physically and in the way his presence was felt when he entered a room. The rest of the board had the utmost respect for him, and Devon had been both relieved and worried when he had received John's request to see him. FLAG's future - his future - could well depend on this man.
"Devon, thank you for coming. Please sit down. Tea?"
Devon took the proffered seat almost nervously. He was tired, so very tired. "No.... Thank you."
John looked down at his friend. "Then let me get you a whiskey, Devon. You look like you need it." He strolled over to the substantial liquor cabinet and poured two generous measures, handing one to Miles. "I have to tell you, Devon, when I first read your proposal I was skeptical. About its contents and about your state of mind. That's why I called you."
"John...."
He held up a big hand. "Let me finish." John sat himself down behind his mahogany desk. "I went over to the labs yesterday, see if I could find out what exactly happened. I spoke to a lab assistant who was there that afternoon. He told me what he'd heard; Kitt screaming. He said it sounded like an animal in great pain. He said he went to look out at what was happening and he saw them dousing the car with foam, that the flames were incredible. He told me that a few minutes later they half-towed, half-dragged the car back, on just its wheel hubs, and the Kitt was shrieking." Devon was sitting before him, nodding, his eyes pinned on the spot of floor between his feet. "What I don't understand is how you just stood by and let them do it."
Devon shook his head, still staring at the floor. Finally, after a stretched silence had fallen between them, John obviously patiently waiting for an answer, Devon looked up. "I'll ask myself that question for the rest of my life."
John smiled at him gently. "I spoke to Kitt at the last fund raiser afternoon you held at the Foundation. He was very... human. I've always liked him, always thought he was more than we'd created him to be, and I know Mr. Knight is very close to him." He cocked his head to one side, reading Devon's expression.
Finally, after a long silence, John rose, moving to a painting that was hanging on the wall of his office; one his art-student daughter had done of Kitt, several years ago. "Why do you want ownership of the car signed over to Michael Knight?"
Devon thought for a moment, ordering his many and varied reasons and picking the main one. "I believe it's the only way that he will consider returning to the Foundation."
"You know Jennifer's on the war path. She's furious that they've taken off."
"I don't know where they are, John."
"I know you don't. It's that MacKenzie.  The moment he became involved, Jennifer didn't stand a chance. But getting her to understand that...." John shook his head, turning back to Devon curiously. "Is it true what she told me? That he has the KARR AI in his car?"
Devon nodded. "Please don't ask me to claim that back from him."
John shook his head. "Oh no, wouldn't dream of it. Good riddance and good luck to him, that's what I say. No, the board won't want that responsibility again. I was just... interested. Has it changed?"
"I'm not sure. I think so. He's certainly become very protective of Kitt."
John's eyes widened in surprise. "Really? Well, well.... I would never have thought Karr possible of brotherly love." He smiled, the world of AIs very close and normal to him. "At least it ensures that Jennifer does not stand a chance of getting to Kitt again."
"That's definitely true."
"Have you heard from them?" Devon nodded. "How is Kitt?"
"Not good. From what I can work out, they've been... fighting to keep the AI stable."
"He'll survive, Devon."
"Maybe." Devon remembered Nick's words, 'Did you know Kitt tried to kill himself?'. "I have to let Nicholas know of the Boards' decision about ownership."
"I have to tell you Devon, I'm not happy with the idea of signing ownership of a multi-million dollar system over to Michael Knight, as much as I respect the man. Mind you, I do understand the need to recognize Kitt as more than an expensive toy for Jennifer to play with."
"Thank you."
John chuckled. "Don't thank me yet, Devon. This won't be an easy fight. But I am on your side. I'll see what I can do."

* * *

Karr was still in stand-by rest mode when the rage hit him. It was human rage, powerful and searing hot. Karr's system went on-line and he felt the implant scream, disbelief, anger, fury.... incredulous, unable to accept.
<Nick?>
His partner gave a hiss. Karr had rarely felt his friend's anger that close, this intense, and uncontrolled. Normally Karr was the one to lose control, but not this time. MacKenzie walked down the stairs, his face a mask of fury. Karr took the cue and followed him outside not to disturb Kitt. Nick walked past the next warehouse and finally came to rest at the edge of the quay. Karr stopped behind him, questioning softly.
Nick's body was vibrating with suppressed anger. "I managed to get into her files," he finally whispered harshly.
Karr was silent. He knew Nick was constantly inside FLAGNet and searching through whatever files he could find, regardless of who had created them, who used them. He had no scruples at all and since they had found out more and more about the tests, saw what they had done to Kitt, Nick was more intent than he had ever been to get behind it all.
"I know now."
Karr inched closer, physically and mentally. A whirlpool of emotions greeted him. Nick was more than agitated about this; he was close to losing his every restraint.
<What did they do it for?> Karr finally asked.
Nick's blue eyes burned with an inner fire. "Military!" he hissed. "She wants to sell him! As a weapon! She found her father's files on his dealings with the military when you were born, saw how much they offered to get you as a weapon, and she saw the money she could make now with Kitt! She wanted to know how much the molecular bonded shell could take, how much Kitt could take, to estimate his value in money! She already started dealing with military officials!"
His voice was nothing but a harsh whisper. Nick rarely yelled. His voice dropped the angrier he got, and it was far more frightening than anybody screaming. Karr felt shock, anger, fury, disbelief, all Nick had felt, also course through him.
"They asked for the test results! They wanted to know! Goddamnit, she wanted to sell him!"
Nick's fist connected with the brick wall of the warehouse neighboring his own place. The cuts that had healed throughout the days since he had first abused his hand opened again and bled freely. He didn't even seem to notice. The pain was just more fuel to his fury.
"I should have run her over," Karr finally growled.
"And next time I won't stop you!" Nick hissed. "She must have a heart of stone!"
"And she will want Kitt back for sure now." Karr's voice dropped several degrees. "I won't let her touch him!"
 MacKenzie screwed his eyes shut, trying to control his surging emotions. "Neither of us will."
"Will you tell them?"
"I can't. Not yet. It would do too much damage."
"Did Miles know?" Karr asked coldly.
"There is nothing in his files and he keeps them meticulously. I don't think he does." Nick sank back against his partner and Karr felt the tremors passing through the tense body. MacKenzie inhaled deeply. "This is getting worse and worse. When will it ever stop?"
Karr had no answer for it. Nick started to massage his hand and winced at the pain shooting through it. He was lucky he hadn't broken it, though he wasn't so sure about possible hairline fractures.
"Get back to Kitt," he finally told his partner. "I think I need to work off some energy or I'm going to explode."
Karr understood and though he would have loved to accompany his partner, protecting Kitt was his priority. And Nick knew that. He watched Nicholas walk off down the quay road, felt his friend's emotions surge and calm again, then he put in a gear and drove back to the warehouse. Nick would be all right.
He wished he could say the same for Kitt.

* * *

John Landes got to his feet, the room settling, waiting for him to explain what all this was about, and why FLAG had suddenly dropped every case it was handling, including the special mission concerning the threat of TechNet.
"Members of the Board, thank you all for coming under such short notice. This is a special meeting to discuss recent events concerning the Knight Industries Two Thousand. For those of you who aren't aware, four days ago, Jennifer Knight ran the tests agreed on by this board during the last monthly meeting. Her own technicians, with the permission of Devon Miles, ran two of the five proposed tests on the car. What occurred during and after those tests is part of the reason we are here. I also have a proposal that Devon Miles wants put forward to the board."
Across from him, Walter Percival, probably the oldest member of the board - at least in age - leaned back and pinned John with a glare. "Before we go into why and wherefores, John, could you tell us if you have any idea where the Knight Industries Two Thousand is at this moment?"
"No." John shook his head. "I can't. I have no idea."
"Are you saying... it has been stolen?"
"No. I'm saying that in the aftermath of the tests, events occurred to force Michael Knight, our driver and operative, to remove the car from the Knight Estate to another, unknown location."
Quinn Cambell, a wonderful elderly lady, a millionaire and a woman who had been close to Wilton Knight for most of his life, leaned in to speak. Everyone knew when she wanted to say something, it was a gift of hers to be able to get a room's attention with a single movement. "What kind of events, John? What exactly happened during those tests? We run tests all the time without incident."
John smiled slightly, looking straight at her. "Not like these." He turned to Jennifer, sitting at the Board Room table, staring at table top, still fuming. "Miss Knight, would you like to explain your version of events, after the lab's fire crew had prevented the fire you stared, using our car."
Quinn stared at her, "You set it alight?!"
"Mrs Cambell, Mr. Landes," Jennifer finally looked up, her hands clasped across the table. "Members of the board. It's perfectly simple. I ran two of the five tests I had your permission to run."
"Wait a minute," John held up a halting hand. "Let me just get this straight in my mind. I reread the minutes of the last meeting, and nowhere and I stress nowhere - do they record that we gave you permission to do what you did. We said you could test realistic extremes that may affect the driver if the car was subjected to those extremes."
"And that is exactly what I did."
"From what I have heard, Tarasine was the chemical that you sprayed over the car before setting it alight. Tarasine burns at nearly 800 degrees. Under what circumstances do you believe Michael Knight would be threatened by that sort of heat?"
"I tested extremes, Mr. Landes. That is what you gave me permission to do." She glared at him. "If I may continue?"
"Go ahead."
"We ran two of the tests. As we were towing the car back to the lab to run the other three, Michael Knight arrived. He threatened us all, released the car from the tow truck and drove it away. We were also threatened by Devon's new friend, Nicholas MacKenzie."
John shook his head. "Miss Knight...."
She stood, slamming her palms down flat on the table. "Will you stop interrupting me!"
John stayed perfectly calm. "Not until you start telling something close to the truth."
Her eyes widened, as did those of a few other board members. "Are you accusing me of lying?"
"Yes. I went across to the lab a few days ago. I spoke to a few of the technicians who were working there that afternoon. Each one has told me that the screams of the Knight Industries Two Thousand AI computer could be heard across the complex, and that as you towed the car back to the lab, he was shrieking in pain."
Jennifer laughed, "You're all the same. You all give that machine human characteristics, but you should know better than anyone Mr. Landes, it isn't human. It is only a computer. It doesn't feel pain."
John sighed deeply. "Fine. If that's true, if Kitt is only a computer, would you mind telling us what happened when you went up to the garage to retrieve it the day after the tests, and also why Michael Knight has felt it necessary to move the car to an unknown location, to ensure Kitt's safety?"
"Knight has stolen that car, our property! And as for what happened when I went into the garage - that other car, MacKenzie's monster - that is also our property I might add - tried to kill me."
Walter's surprisingly blue eyes searched out Jennifer's and held her gaze. "Our property?"
"He has the KARR AI."
This was news to everyone but John. He had been talking to Devon Miles, finding out exactly what was going on, and personally he was siding with Kitt on this one. He liked Kitt. He respected Kitt as a person, and wasn't sure why the other Board members, especially Jennifer, seemed to have so much trouble seeing the AI as the person he was.
Walter looked as if he might suffer a heart attack at any moment. "I thought it had been destroyed!"
John shook his head, waving a dismissive hand at them all. "KARR is no longer our problem, and I would have thought you would all have been grateful for that." His last words were measured, and slowly but surely, each person around the table nodded, muttering agreeable things.
Jennifer looked around her. "It's ours! It's worth millions."
"It's a killer, my dear," Walter told her in no uncertain terms. "If MacKenzie wants it, let him have it. It's caused us so much trouble, it's nice to know we don't have to bury it any longer."
She seemed to flounder for an argument for a while, and then she simply sat down, beaten by their logic.
"What's this proposal of Miles'?" Quinn asked John after a moment's silence.
John reached into his briefcase and handed around a folder to each person. Inside was a five-page document basically asking that ownership of the Knight Two Thousand be handed to Michael Knight. For a few minutes, the Board members read what was written there. There was a general shaking of heads, exactly as John had expected.
"This is preposterous!" Jennifer was so predictable, John thought to himself. "He can't possible expect us to sign this!"
"He just wants us to consider it as an option."
Quinn closed the folder and pushed it away from her. "It won't happen, John. That car is worth millions and millions of dollars."
"It certainly won't happen!" Jennifer was on her feet again, yelling. "This is all insane. I'm going to the police. I'm having Michael Knight charged with theft, and that other man charged with... with attempted murder. I won't be threatened by my own employees!!!!"
    They all looked at each other as the door slammed shut. One by one, Board members rose, shaking their heads and mumbling. Quinn leaned over to where John was sitting, her silver hair catching the light in a way John always thought made her look distinguished without making her look like a snob. He liked Quinn. "We can't let the car go just like that."
John met her eyes sadly. "I think we've already lost the car, Quinn. I believe this proposal may be the only way to get it back."
 

* * *

Bonnie had watched Nicholas MacKenzie closely in the last hours, mainly when he was using his laptop to do whatever he was doing. She had seen the closely controlled anger, the rage in his eyes that had been burning there since yesterday every time he thought he was alone. And then she had discovered the FLAGNet symbol in his screen once while passing by. Bonnie knew Nick was able to get in and out of FLAGNet undetected and that he frequently browsed through it, but this time it was different. Whatever he was looking for and apparently finding, it angered him so much he was showing it openly. For someone who usually appeared totally emotionless, this was a major sign that something was eating away at him. And Bonnie wanted to know.
She caught Nick alone in the garage in the afternoon. Michael was upstairs taking a shower, Justin had taken Nick's motorbike to go to town, and Kitt was resting. Karr was... she didn't know. He rarely spoke with anyone else but his driver and his presence, though she was getting used to him in leaps, still made her wary and evoked slight fear. She knew he was a great asset, an aid for Kitt, but he was still Karr. Ignoring the Stealth she walked over to Nicholas. "Nick?"
He looked up and gave her a brief smile. "Dr. Barstow?"
Once again she wondered why he never called her by her first name, but she had given up on it.
"Can we talk?" She nodded almost imperceptibly at the two cars, indicating she didn't want Kitt to listen in accidentally.
Nicholas nodded and rose, gesturing her to follow him outside. It was a cloudy afternoon and there was barely any sun filtering through the thick cover of clouds. The salty air coming in from the harbor was refreshing and the soft sound of the waves lapping against the quay was a calming background noise.
"What is it?" Nick now asked.
"I think I should ask you that. I know you are frequently hacking into FLAGNet and I know you found something. Something to do with what happened back at the test track." Bonnie noticed how Nick's features closed up and she knew she was following the right trail. "Nick, what happened?"
"Nothing you should concern yourself with," he said brusquely and tried to push past her, back into the warehouse.
Anger rose inside her and Bonnie grabbed his arm. "No, I think it concerns me!" she snapped. "And Michael and Kitt! Everyone involved in this mess! You have found out why and I want to know!"
He shook his head. "No, you don't."
Bonnie's eyes flared with barely suppressed anger now. "Don't tell me what I want! I know it exactly! Now spill it, Mister! I have a right to know!"
Nicholas stopped, regarding her for her long time, face unreadable. "Yes, you have," he finally said. "But it won't be pretty."
"MacKenzie, stop evading!" Bonnie growled.
Nick smiled humorlessly and then gestured her to sit down on the quay wall. And he began to tell her what he had found, what had been in the test files, in Jennifer Knight's personal logs, all of it. Bonnie didn't believe her ears and she felt uncontrolled rage rise inside of her.
"That... that.... bitch!" she finally managed, erupting from her place. "I'm going to kill her!"
Nicholas took her arm and shook his head. "No, you won't."
She glared. "How could she do this?! How?! To Kitt!"
"For her, Kitt is an object."
Bonnie glared even more. "But sell him? To the *military*!? The guts! The nerve! What is this? Slave trade?!"
"Dr. Barstow...."
She removed her arm out of his grasp. "Don't try and calm me, MacKenzie!"
"I don't want to. You have every right to your fury."
She started to pace, unable to understand what she had been told. Jennifer Knight had ordered these tests to see how much the Knight Two Thousand and the molecular bonded shell could sustain, but not to help FLAG. No, she had done it for her own profit.
Her plan had been to sell Kitt off to the military, to replace him with another car for Michael Knight, to make a fortune. Bonnie felt like strangling her. If Jennifer had been here, she would not have hesitated.
"How long have you known?" she finally asked.
Nick sighed. "I started hacking since the first night in the garage. I didn't know it all then, but my knowledge grew. I found out about the idea behind it all yesterday."
"Why didn't you tell us?" Bonnie demanded.
"Because it wouldn't help right now. If Michael finds out while Kitt is too unstable to deal with that knowledge too, it would destroy what little we have accomplished so far." Nick rubbed his forehead.
"Does Karr know?"
He looked up, smiling a bit. "Yes, he does. Through me."
"What now?" Bonnie now wanted to know, he full extent of this slowly creeping up on her. "What if Kitt finds out?"
"He won't find out on his own. Karr will make sure of that," MacKenzie told her slowly. "He won't allow it for now. The moment Kitt is stable enough we will tell him; and Michael. But the risk that Michael leaks it when they link deeply is too great. We might lose Kitt forever." He sighed.
Bonnie sat down again, rubbing her eyes. "How can one person be so cruel?" she whispered.
"She has no conscience, Bonnie," Nick said softly and she noted he had used her first name. "She wants money, status, a place in society. She never cared for her father's lifetime achievement. She sees the numbers on her bank account, that is all. A golden cage, far from reality." His voice was soft now, almost distant. "Money does that to you. She isn't strong enough to understand the deeper meaning behind the Foundation; she doesn't see what her father has seen in it. And she never saw the person in Kitt. For her he is a collection of chips and wires."
Bonnie bristled at the description of her baby. Nick smiled slightly.
"She never had the guts to come to us before!" Bonnie growled. "She never came down from her pedestal to see what we are doing! All she sees is numbers on paper! She has no clue what good Michael and Kitt have done! Selling him off!" Her voice rose. "Over my dead body!"
"She won't get him," MacKenzie promised. "Ever."
She met his hard blue eyes and saw the decision there. "I know. Thank you for everything. You've done so much for us...."
"I haven't done anything yet, Dr. Barstow."
She shook her head, smiling. "You helped Michael and Kitt accept the implant; you and Karr are protecting them from everything; you gave us a place to stay. I think that is something."
Nicholas actually looked embarrassed. He cleared his throat. "Please keep this to yourself," he finally said.
"What about Justin?" Bonnie wanted to know.
He sighed. "I trust he can shut up, but the less people know for now, the less slips."
She nodded. "I understand."
They sat together in silence, Bonnie still feeling the anger gnaw away at her. If she never saw Jennifer Knight's face again it would be too soon! She looked over at Nicholas, who was resting his arms on his knees, eyes closed, head hanging between his shoulders. He appeared infinitely tired and beaten. She knew they were lucky to know him.
What if he hadn't been there?
What if they now had to fight for Kitt on Jennifer's territory?
Would Kitt even be alive today if it hadn't been for the immense amount of help Nicholas, and Karr, had so freely given?
She didn't know.
Bonnie inhaled deeply. "I need to take a walk," she finally said.
Nicholas looked at her and she saw him battle his emotions. He only nodded. Bonnie rose and made her way down the harbor road, lost in her thoughts, trying to find a way to keep a lid on her anger.

* * *

Devon was in his office, staring at the computer screen, not seeing what was really on it. His mind was miles away. He wished he could undo what he had done; just one magic word and it would all be okay again. But there was no such thing. It had happened, he had to deal with it. Simple as that.
Jennifer Knight had steamed off some more in his office after the Semi had left, and she had come back, screaming mad when the board had informed her of Devon Miles' proposal. She had raged about firing him, about firing them all, about shutting down the Foundation and several other things he couldn't quite remember. Most of it had gone past him. Devon knew the board was not happy with what happened and they were currently investigating into the incident. There was something, some terrible reason and truth, lurking behind it all, and Devon was afraid of the day he found out just why Jennifer had ordered the tests. Something told him Nicholas knew.
Devon was surprised by the tidal wave the events on the test track and the subsequent events in the garage had sparked within FLAG. Well, maybe he wasn't. Most of the employees had been with them for many years; they knew Michael and Kitt, knew what Kitt was. That he was more than a machine. When the Semi had come back, Peter Sanders had delivered a story about being forced to drive them somewhere remote, had dropped them and had no idea where they had gone from there. Jennifer had threatened him, bribed him, threatened him again, but he had not changed his version of what had happened. Devon knew Sanders was lying; and he wouldn't reveal a grain of the truth. The normal crew of technicians and mechanics usually repairing and handling Kitt had chosen a spokesperson and O'Malley, no less, had barged in and demanded to know what 'in the name of bloody hell is going on here'. The Irishman had told Devon in no uncertain terms that if one of the techs Jennifer Knight had brought along showed up ever again, FLAG could start planning a funeral.
Everyone was behind Michael and Kitt; everyone but Devon Miles. He had been the traitor. He had let them do this to Kitt. Michael had been gone on a mission, Jennifer had taken the chance and Devon had let her do what she wanted. He was a coward.
Devon buried his head in his hands. He would see that Kitt would never be put into such a situation ever again, even if it was the last thing he would ever be able to do; even if it got him fired. Maybe after this was over he should resign anyway.
His computer beeped all of a sudden, jolting him out of his thoughts. A message had just come in. Devon opened the mail, read it and then went to log himself into the FLAGNet chat room. He found Nicholas already waiting, logged in under a screen name.
<SFX>> What do you want, Devon?
<Dmiles> Jennifer has been here. She had a head-on with the board. They are still considering my request, but it looks like they are in my favor rather than hers.
<SFX> And?
<Dmiles> They want a complete report on what happened on the test track. She is giving them her version. I need Kitt's files.
<SFX> You don't seriously expect me to ask him to file his nightmares, now do you?
<Dmiles> No. I want a report what happened from another source than me. I need the files.
The cursor blinked for a long time and silence emanated from the other side of this heavily secured chat room.
<SFX> I'll see what I can do. Don't count on it.
<Dmiles> They are not happy with what happened here. We can use this against her, Devon argued.
<SFX> I thought they had sanctioned the tests.
<Dmiles> Like me, they didn't know what she was really up to. And even now I still don't know the true reasons.
Devon waited. He hoped his words might trigger an explanation from Nick's side. He suspected the ex-agent knew what had happened.
<SFX> Ask her.
<Dmiles> She is not in the mood to talk. Screaming is more her metier.
Another silence.
<Dmiles> I know you know what her reasons were. Nick, tell me! I have a right to know! And maybe I can use it against her.... can turn the board to see the truth!
<SFX> I will think about it.
<Dmiles> Nick!
Silence.
<Dmiles> How is Kitt?
<SFX> Suffering, was the cruel answer.
Devon briefly closed his eyes, then he typed,
<Dmiles> Would you let me talk to Michael?
<SFX> No.
<Dmiles> Nick, please....
<SFX> No.
<Dmiles> Why?
<SFX> When Kitt is out of danger, then you can talk. Right now anything but support will kill both of them.
Devon inhaled deeply.
<Dmiles> I understand
<SFX> I don't think you can.
Nick signed off without another word and left Devon staring at the screen. Suddenly the channel dissolved and he was back in the normal mail system of FLAGNet. Nick had destroyed the connection and kicked him out. No trace of the conversation would be found anywhere.
Devon knew he had been right. There was a dark secret behind the tests, and Nick knew it. He had to be up in front of the board in another two hours and hopefully MacKenzie could provide him with something to use against Jennifer. Whatever it was.

*

Nick looked at the blank screen, thinking about what Devon had asked for. He swiftly hacked into FLAGNet's personal sites and went into Jennifer Knight's files, looking for the latest entries. And he found that what Devon had told him was true. The board was coming together for a first hearing, and Jennifer was not very pleased. To say it frankly, she was pissed off. Good.
But the problem remained. They wouldn't be able to pull all the files out of Kitt because it meant exposing him to his nightmares once more. Devon would give the board his version and Jennifer would argue her case; and the board didn't know about the military sell-off. There had been no word about it anywhere except Jennifer's files. He could give Devon access to the truth. He might even have to do it.
Karr rumbled softly and he turned to look at his partner. "What?" he asked softly. "You think we should trust Devon as far as that?"
"I have never trusted anyone," Karr replied coldly. "But if he wins against her, Kitt will belong only to Michael Knight."
"I know. But will the board see past what kind of profit it would gain the Foundation?"
"Without Kitt and the Knight Two Thousand there will be no more FLAG; they will lose their flagship and operative in one. They would cease to function," Karr said reasonably.
Nicholas smiled. "Yes, I know." He put his feet up, thoughtfully gazing into the distance. "Devon is trying to help; I believed him when he said he wanted to redeem himself. The question remains, can he win?"
"It is his fight. We have our own," Karr said, sounding almost philosophical.
Nick chuckled, then grew serious. He would send out the file about what Jennifer had planned and see what would happen next. Michael still didn't know about it and it was better this way. There was time for this later. With a few swift key strokes he had the data