Knight Rider 2008 Alternate Storyline – Episode 2
F.L.A.G Underground Compound
Carmen walked into the main lab. She knew immediately that something was wrong. “Where's KITT?” She demanded. “Don't tell me he got called on a mission! I was in the bathroom for five minutes!”
Pierce looked over at her. “Charles took Katherine aside earlier. I think he sent them out.”
Carmen's face was disapproving. “What did he send them out for?” She asked,
Charles leaned over the metal railway of the upper walkway. “I sent those two on a very special mission, Carmen.”
“A special mission?” Carmen's eyebrows pushed together.
Charles nodded sagely. “Oh yes. We've just been through our first mission together, and Katherine has agreed to join us permanently. I think that calls for a celebration of sorts, don't you think?”
Carmen played with her black ponytail in agitation. “I guess so. But what could you have sent them out for?”
Charles smiled down at her.
********
Phoenix, Arizona
“...and one double pepperoni.” Kat finished reciting from the lengthy list in her hand.
The man behind the counter grinned at her. “That's a lot of pies.” He said. “Going to eat all these yourself?”
Kat smiled back at him from behind her black sunglasses. “Of course not, I'm going to a party.” She placed two fifties on the counter while her pizzas were stacked up.
She carried them out to K.I.T.T. The hot sun beat down on her bare neck. Her ponytail and tank top were damp with sweat. It must have hit ninety degrees out while she was inside. Christmas was only two short weeks away. Nothing like winter in Arizona. “Get the door for me, please.” She whispered. “My hands are full.”
K.I.T.T opened the passenger door for her, then folded down the seat. She carefully placed the stack of pizza boxes in the back seat and secured them with the seat belt. The seat belts in K.I.T.T were slightly different than in a normal car. There were two per passenger, that met at the middle of the chest and at the navel. Kat wasn't sure why that was, she would have to ask Carmen, but it did make it easier to secure a stack of pizza boxes.
K.I.T.T replaced the passenger's seat and Kat crawled into the driver's seat. The cool leather against her overheated skin sent a shiver through her. She took a second to rest the back of her neck on the headrest.
K.I.T.T closed the door as she took the wheel. “Okay.” Kat said as she steered out of the parking lot. “Think we can get back to the compound before the pies cool?” She challenged. “I would hate to have to microwave these babies, that would be sacrilege.”
“I'm certain we can make it back in time.” K.I.T.T said, a little smugly.
Once they were out on the highway, Kat pushed the Turbo Boost button. She couldn't help but smile as the scenery outside blurred beyond recognition. But then she felt a little guilty. “Should we really be having fun like this?” She asked K.I.T.T.
“We're having fun now?” K.I.T.T asked. He wasn't being sarcastic, only curious.
Kat had noticed something about his voice. It was always the same volume, even when he spoke in her ear. When people talked, their voices rose and fell in volume depending on what they were saying and what feelings they were expressing. K.I.T.T's A.I was designed to show emotion in it's voice, to make the Driver more comfortable. But since his voice never changed pitch or volume, she found it odd, and a little empty. The emotions displayed were dull. She would have to mention it to Pierce.
“Something like this, it's not a mission.” Kat explained. “Should we really be messing around?”
“We don't have a mission right now.” K.I.T.T reminded.
“Still... using Turbo Boost so frivolously? I would hate to see the gas bill.” Kat said. She thought for a moment. “What do you run on, anyway? Rocket fuel?”
K.I.T.T's voice changed to a flat monotone. “That is classified information. Further inquiry on that subject will result in disciplinary action.”
Kat blinked at the voice modulator. “What was that?” She asked, her eyebrows shooting up in alarm.
K.I.T.T's voice returned to normal. “My apologies, Kat. What did I say?”
Kat frowned. “You don't know what you said?”
“Negative.” K.I.T.T said. “David had Pierce place blocks into my programming. Pierce tried to fight the decision, but David believes that I am a security risk.”
Kat nodded, understanding. “That's probably my fault. I bet David realized that you were the one that told me about Sam. He wasn't happy that I'd found out.” Her frown deepened at the memory. “I'm sorry, KITT.”
“I can handle the restrictions.” K.I.T.T assured her. “Did I say anything rude to you?”
Kat shook her head. “No, it was fine.” She said. She wondered what other unpleasantness David had in store for her. If she didn't have K.I.T.T's help, she wouldn't be able to find out what had happened to Sam.
Charles had told her that it was an accident. But even he didn't know the details. Only David did. Kat was sure that if it had really been an accidental death, David wouldn't be so tight-lipped about it.
If K.I.T.T couldn't help her, she would have to go to Pierce. She was sure that David had already told him not to help her, but she wondered if she could convince him to anyway. Would he risk getting in trouble with David for her? She didn't know him well at all. This was going to be difficult.
********
They made it back to the compound in under thirty minutes. To say everyone was overjoyed was an understatement. The yells of happiness and excitement was nearly deafening. Kat realized that a lot of people here had probably been underground for quite some time. And pizzerias didn't usually deliver to secret underground facilities.
Kat was relieved of the boxes and everyone headed up to the kitchen, which had enough room for everyone to move around in, and there was the added bonus of housing cold drinks.
Kat spotted Pierce still working at his desk. She walked up to him. “Do that later.” She smiled at him. “Pizza.”
Pierce didn't look up at her. He continued to type quickly at his keyboard. “Just a second...” He said slowly,
Kat frowned at him. “I could just pick you up, toss you over my shoulder and carry you upstairs.” She offered.
Pierce snorted, and looked up. He opened his mouth to retort. Kat raised an eyebrow. He eyed the tight, toned muscles of her exposed arms and shut his mouth. He stood up. “Let's go eat pizza.” He said, following the others.
“There's a good boy.” Kat smiled at his back. She looked over at K.I.T.T, who sat alone on his circle.
“You should get going.” He told her. “Before there's nothing left.”
Kat's thin, dark brows pushed together. “One second.” She rummaged around on Pierce's desk.
“What are you doing?” K.I.T.T asked.
Kat found the small, covered vial she was looking for. “Taking you with me.” She answered, uncapping the vial. She took a minute to put on the special contact lenses. She blinked a few times, then looked around the main lab. “How is it?” She asked.
“Perfect.” K.I.T.T answered. “Thank you, Kat.”
Kat ignored his thanks. “You still won't be able to hear anything, but I'll tell you if anyone says something interesting.”
“You don't have to do that.”
Kat shrugged. “It's your party, you should be able to attend. This is the best I can do though.”
“It's your party, Katherine.” K.I.T.T corrected. “You are the one who saved us.”
Kat shook her head. “I only helped. You're the one who did everything.”
“My job is to assist you, Katherine. Not the other way around. There is no point to me without my Driver.”
Kat opened her mouth to argue, but decided against it. There was rapidly disappearing pizza upstairs. “We'll debate this later.” She said. She turned and ran lightly up the metal staircase.
The energy level in the kitchen was set to maximum. The hum of everyone's voices was loud enough that Kat wondered if K.I.T.T could hear a low buzz through the dental implant.
She quickly hurried over to the table with the pies. She opened one box, but it was empty. She slid it off the table and stowed it underneath. The next box had two slices left. She grabbed both and put them on a plate.
She folded one up and was about to take a bite when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to find Angela beaming up at her. Angela was a head shorter than Kat, and petite. “Heya, Katherine. Have a minute?” She asked. Her arms were behind her back.
Kat looked down at her pizza. “One.” She said carefully.
Angela pulled her arms around, revealing two boxes in her hands. One was flat and wide, the other was small. “A bunch of us got you a couple of things, to show our thanks.”
Kat looked around at the people gathered there. Some were turned to her, smiling. “You didn't have to do that.” She said.
“What's going on?” K.I.T.T asked in her ear.
“They got me presents.” Kat answered him. No one seemed fazed by the fact that she seemed to be talking to herself. They must have been used to it with Sam.
Angela shook the boxes lightly. “Come on, open them.”
Kat set her pizza down on the table and took the small gift first. “We all chipped in, but Carmen picked those out.” Angela explained as Kat tore through the silver wrapping.
She opened the white box and pulled out a pair of leather driving gloves. They were black and looked expensive. “Thank you, Carmen.” Kat said, looking over at the Head Mechanic.
Carmen shrugged, indifferent. “It was nothing.” Carmen's attitude towards Kat was no longer blatantly hostile, but there was still a long road ahead of them before they became friends.
“They'll go great with this.” Angela said excitedly. She thrust the larger package into Kat's hands.
Kat unwrapped the clothing box, then lifted the lid. Under some tissue paper was more black leather. Angela pulled the vest out and unfolded it. She smiled at Kat radiantly. “What do you think? I picked it out.”
Kat smiled back. “I thought the tenth anniversary was leather.” She joked.
Angela laughed. “Try it on, I want to see how it fits. I had to guess the size.” Kat sat the empty box on the table. Angela helped her into the vest, then zipped up the front for her. Not all the way, just so it hid her white tank top.
It fit her snugly, molding to the contours of her body. It was a little tight at her chest, but not uncomfortable. Angela nodded to herself. “Good, I got it exactly right.”
“Thank you, Angela. This is really nice of you.” She looked around the room. “Of all of you.” She amended.
“Hey, you saved us big time.” Angela said, shrugging. “We're a tight group here, we're there for each other. We appreciate those that are there for us.” Several people nodded, agreeing.
“You're one of us now, no escaping.” Someone said from the back.
“Dear lord.” Kat said in mock horror. Angela giggled.
After the pizza was devoured, everyone went back to work. Some would have stayed and talked to Kat, but David had entered the kitchen then, a disapproving look on his face. “It is the middle of a work day.” He reminded everyone as they filed out of the kitchen.
Charles walked over to him. David gave him a steady look. As Charles got closer he could see the bruise on David's cheek was finally fading. “Your idea, I suppose.” David said to him.
“Of course.” Charles replied, unconcerned by David's attitude. “The past six months have been rather tense for everyone involved. Samuel's tragedy only made things harder. Some levity was called for.”
“Three Thousand makes no more pizza runs.” David said icily. “That is not it's purpose.”
Charles nodded. “Very well. I knew you would say something like this.”
David looked at him suspiciously. Charles' passive nature had always sparked his paranoia. “I mean it.” He said. “Three Thousand is not a toy.”
Charles chuckled. “I would never dream of treating KITT like a toy. You have nothing to worry about.” He put a hand on the younger man's shoulder. “You should really try relaxing some time. It can be good for you.”
David laughed harshly. “Yes, and watch the whole foundation go down the tubes.” He shook his head. “I'm sorry Charles, but someone needs to keep an eye on things. There is too much at stake here.”
Finally, Charles looked troubled. “So, it's true then? I had heard the rumors...”
David nodded. “Yeah, we're going under. All of our other projects aren't enough to keep us afloat. If we don't get some viable use from Three Thousand, then Knight Industries will file for bankruptcy some time in the new year.” His dark eyes narrowed. “Damn the economy...” He gave Charles a sharp look. “I'll focus on the financial situation. You just keep the project running.”
“We're going to be doing a lot of good, David. You'll see.” Charles assured him.
“You're such a good guy. You only focus on the people we'll be helping.” David made it sound like an insult.
“And you are utterly ruthless, David.” Charles told him.
“We need ruthless.” David answered. “Why do you think the villains get where they are? Because they will do whatever it takes. Anything it takes.”
“You're talking about Katherine.”
David's eyes were hard. “I don't regret lying to her. I don't feel bad either. It worked, that's all that matters.”
Charles shook his head. “The ends don't justify the means, David.”
“You have work to do.” David told him. “I have stockholders to appease.” He shrugged off Charles' hand and walked out of the kitchen.
