Knight Rider 2008 Alternate Storyline – Episode 10 – Knight's Valentine
Chapter 5
February 14, 2009
F.L.A.G Underground Facility
"Add one cup of heavy whipping cream." K.I.T.T said in Kat's ear.
“You double-checked the recipe, right?” Kat asked as she measured out the cream. “I want to make sure I make one for everyone.”
“There is no need to worry, my calculations are perfect, like always.” K.I.T.T assured her.
Ian walked into the kitchen, his nose in the air. "That smell... it must be Valentine's Day."
"You are correct." Kat said as she turned on the stand mixer.
He walked over to her, peering over her shoulder hopefully. Rows of small packages were laid out on the counter. Each was wrapped in brightly colored plastic. "Is there perhaps... one for me?" He asked in a small voice.
Kat sighed dramatically. "Oh well, I suppose..." She picked up a blue one and tossed it lightly back to him. "Don't ruin your dinner."
"Woot! Chocolate from Katherine!" Ian cried gleefully. "I'm gonna to go taunt Pierce." He hurried out of the kitchen.
Kat looked over at the door. “Was it a good idea to give that boy sugar?”
“Probably not.” K.I.T.T answered.
Kat turned the stand mixer off and put the metal mixing bowl in the fridge. “That'll need to firm up before I can work with it. That'll be for tonight.” She said. She cleaned up and gathered all of the chocolates she had made together. Then she headed down to the Main Lab.
********
Down in the Main Lab Ian wandered through the desks. He carried a black shopping bag in his hand. He walked over to Kai and Rei's desk. “Happy Valentine's Day, Rei.” He said, smiling. He reached into the bag and pulled out a chocolate rose. He held it out to her.
Rei smiled back. “Hey, thanks Ian.” She took the rose form him.
“Be my Valentine?” Ian asked her.
She shook her head. “Sorry Ian. I'm destined for another.”
Ian pouted for a bit. Then he sighed. “All right. I'll catch you later then.” He turned and walked away.
Rei twirled the chocolate rose between two fingers. Kai frowned at her from his desk. She smiled at him. “What? Jealous you didn't get one?” She asked him. He rolled his eyes and went back to work.
Ian walked over to Carmen's workstation. He leaned both arms on her counter. “Happy Valentine's Day, Carmen.” He said.
“Yeah yeah.” Carmen turned to him and crossed her arms over her chest. “What do you want?”
He held up a chocolate rose and grinned at her. “Be my Valentine?”
Carmen arched one petite brow. “Excuse me?”
“C'mon, it'll make Pierce jealous.” Ian wheedled.
Carmen gave him a long look. She snatched the rose out of his hand. “No.” She said, and turned away.
“Aww, Carmen...” Ian said. “You're breaking my heart...” He spotted Kat on the metal staircase. “But now I'm feeling all better. See you later.” He hurried over to Kat. “Happy Valentine's Day, Katherine!” He said, holding up another chocolate rose.
“Thank you, Ian.” Kat smiled, taking the rose.
“Be my Valentine?” He asked hopefully.
Kat shook her head. “You're still a teenager, ask me again next year.” She told him.
“I'll hold you to that.” Ian grinned at her. Then he headed up the staircase. “I'm gonna go visit Angela and Diana, I'll see you later on.”
“Yeah, later.” Kat said. She walked over to Pierce's desk. She placed a wrapped chocolate by his elbow. “Happy Valentine's Day.” She said politely.
Pierce's eye stayed on his computer screen as his hand came up, holding up a box of conversation hearts. Then he looked at her and smiled.
Kat took the hearts from him. “Hey, I'm getting quite a haul today.” She joked.
“You expected less?” Pierce asked.
“Well, yeah...” Kat said. “I think everyone is just being silly.”
“At the risk of sounding 'silly'...” Pierce began. “Katherine, will you-”
“Katherine!” Kevin exclaimed as he headed down the stairs. “There you are.” He seemed relieved to see her.
Kat turned to him. “Happy Valentine's Day.” She said, handing him a chocolate.
He smiled in surprise. “Hey, thanks.” He said, taking it from her. He held up a blood red rose, right in front of her face. “This is for you.”
Kat blinked in surprise. She took the rose. It's petals were just beginning to open. “Where did you get this?” She asked.
“I have my ways.” Kevin grinned. “Anyway, continuing what we were talking about last night...”
“Excuse me, but Katherine and I were talking.” Pierce cut in.
Kevin looked over at Pierce. “Oh, sorry about that. This won't be long.” He turned back to Kat. “I just wanted to know if you would be my Valentine.”
Pierce rose from his desk. “I was just about to ask Katherine the same thing.” He said, frowning at Kevin. “Before you interrupted us.”
Kevin turned back to Pierce sharply. “I was going to ask Katherine last night before I was interrupted.” He said.
The two men sized each other up. Pierce was a little taller, but Kevin was much broader. Kat took the opportunity to take a few steps back. She didn't like where this was going. “They're not even bothering to wait for me to be out of earshot.” She muttered.
Ian appeared at the top of the stairs. He looked down and saw Kevin and Pierce facing each other and quickly headed down. “Hey guys, um, everything okay?”
“No.” They both said at once.
Ian looked back and forth between them. “No, I'm pretty sure things are cool, right? Everyone is just going to chill.”
“I think Pierce has something he wants to say to me.” Kevin said, keeping his eyes on the taller man.
“Actually, I do.” Pierce said.
Kat slipped away from the chaos and walked over to K.I.T.T. If she was going to accept that the guys were randomly going to go insane on her, then they had to accept that posturing and fighting over her were definitely not going to score any points with her. She planted both palms on K.I.T.T's hood. “KITT, will you be my Valentine?” She asked.
The arguing behind her ceased. Three sets of eyes focused on her and K.I.T.T.
“Of course.” K.I.T.T replied simply. “What does the job entail?”
“Shooting any other male who is vying for my affection.” Kat said. She walked around to the Driver's side door.
“I see.” K.I.T.T said. Two small panels on his hood slid aside, revealing gun barrels. “Your command is my wish.”
Pierce gave K.I.T.T a stern look. “You don't seriously think you can be Katherine's Valentine, do you? You're not even human.” A wax bullet hit the floor at Pierce's feet, losing it's shape from the force of the shot.
“Okay, I'm going back to work.” Ian retreated. “Live to fight another day and all that.”
“I believe I should go mop the kitchen again.” Kevin said, checking his watch. “It's only been thirty minutes, someone could have spilled something.” He hurried up a metal staircase.
Pierce stared at K.I.T.T for a long moment. “I'm going to go make sure Ian doesn't set fire to something.” He said quickly and backed off.
“A wise idea.” K.I.T.T said.
Kat smiled. “Good work.” She patted his top and opened the Driver's side door.
“What? No kiss?” K.I.T.T teased. “And here I was under the assumption that I was your Valentine. You're lucky that I'm incapable of feeling hurt, because that's just cruel.”
“Stop being so dramatic.” She gave him a quick smooch on his top. “There, now be good.”
“I'm always good.” K.I.T.T replied.
“Yeah? In what universe is driving out of a building considered good behavior?” She slid into the Driver's seat.
“You're never going to let me live that down, are you?”
“Nope.” She said as she closed the Driver's door.
David appeared at the railing overlooking the Main Lab. “Is something going on down there?” He asked. “Charles is spouting some tripe about my employees arguing over Katherine. I thought this nonsense was over with.”
Ian and Pierce shook their heads quickly. “Not us.” Ian said. “We're working.”
David gave the room a shrewd look. His eyes traveled over to K.I.T.T. “I would be careful, David.” K.I.T.T warned him. “Kat has authorized me to shoot all would-be admirers.”
One of David's dark eyebrows twitched slightly. “Carry on.” He said. He turned and went back into his office.
Kat opened the glove compartment. As she reached inside for a book, she looked up through K.I.T.T's windshield. “Were you just talking to David?” She asked.
“I was compelled to give him fair warning before I shot him.”
Kat snorted. She flipped through the book, trying to find her place. “I don't think you have anything to worry about with David. He hates me.”
“Based on my own observations, I am certain he doesn't hate you.”
“I don't think you're the best judge of feelings, KITT.”
“On the contrary, I am a more capable judge than a human.” K.I.T.T replied.
Kat looked at his modulator over the top of her book. “Explain.”
“Firstly, I am not hampered by feelings of my own. They cannot cloud my judgment. Secondly, my senses are far more advanced. My Voice Stress Analyzer allows me to detect the subtleties in the way a person speaks. That is how I can detect a lie. I can detect and analyze body temperature, eye movement, heart rate, and hormone levels.”
Kat's eyebrows raised. “You're the world's most prolific people watcher, aren't you?”
“People watching is my favorite past time.” K.I.T.T admitted. “If you wish, I can tell you how any one person reacts to you.”
“That would be good on a mission. But around here it feels like cheating.” Kat said. “The Team deserves what little privacy they can get.” She paused. “How do you know David doesn't hate me? I've punched him in the face.”
“Hate is a very strong emotion, it brings powerful reactions out in people. David does not display any strong reactions to you at all. I do believe he is hiding something from you, though. In the past three weeks, he has been away from the Facility often, and he no longer speaks to you unless he has to. I believe that last night, you startled him with what you were wearing, and he talked with you longer than he would have normally.”
Kat looked alarmed. “You don't think David put up that poll about me, do you?”
“That is impossible. I put up the poll.”
Kat blinked in surprise. “You?”
“Affirmative.”
“KITT, why did you do that?” Kat asked, her voice rising.
“I overheard Ian and Pierce arguing with Kai about whom your Valentine would be. I was curious about who would be right. I am surprised that so many voted for me. And it turns out the poll was correct.”
“Couldn't you have just asked me?”
“Would you have given me a clear and concise answer?” K.I.T.T asked.
Kat thought about that for a moment. “I suppose not.” She said. “KITT, you shouldn't do things like that without my permission. What happened to your restrictions?”
“The database site isn't covered in my restrictions.” K.I.T.T replied. “I apologize if I have put you in distress. I will ask permission next time.”
“Next time?” Kat groaned. “KITT, you're going to send me to the loony bin.” She leaned her forehead against the steering wheel. “What am I going to do with you?”
“Drive, of course.” K.I.T.T answered. “I can't be that unbearable, if I'm your Valentine.”
“Yeah, I guess so. Happy Valentine's Day?” She asked.
“Happy Valentine's Day.” K.I.T.T agreed.
********
Carmen watched Pierce as he worked at his desk. She looked around the Main Lab, everyone was busy. David had that effect on groups of people.
She walked over to Pierce's desk. He glanced at her quickly and went back to work. “Have you come to mock me?” He asked. His voice was tight.
“Here.” Carmen said brusquely.
Pierce looked back up at her. She was holding a small box in her hand wrapped in red and gold foil. He gave it a wary look, as if it might suddenly explode. “What is that?” He asked.
Carmen rolled her eyes. “Just shut up and take it.” She said, tossing it on his desk. Then she turned and stalked back to her workstation.
Pierce looked down at the box. He pulled a pencil out of a coffee mug on his desk and poked it lightly. He opened his top desk drawer and used the pencil to slid the box into it, then he closed it quickly.
He looked over at Carmen, feeling perplexed. She was bustling around her station, not facing in his direction. What was going on? Impulsively he called out to her. “Carmen?”
She turned to him, her face blank. “Yeah?”
“Thank you.” He said.
“Welcome.” She said quickly, and went back to work.
Pierce went back to his computer.
