Knight Rider 2008 Alternate Storyline – Episode 3 – The Knight Before Christmas
Chapter 4
F.L.A.G Underground Facility
"Kat, David is outside.” K.I.T.T told her,
Kat didn't even glance up. “Use the grappling hook.”
“He's here to authorize and unlock my Attack Mode.”
Kat mumbled something incoherent. “He has to come inside?” She asked.
“Technically, he could interact with my exterior, but he needs to give you your instructions as well.”
“Fine.” Kat said testily. “Open the door.”
K.I.T.T opened the passenger door and David stepped inside. “Initiate Unlocking Protocol.” He said before he was fully seated. He looked like he wanted to be there about as much as Kat wanted him there.
A panel fired up on each of K.I.T.T's side windows. “Place your hand on there, and tell Three Thousand to disable it's Safety Mode.” David instructed.
Kat looked puzzled. “Safety Mode?” There had been a vague reference to that in Pierce's book.
David sighed. “In order for me to authorize Attack Mode, you have to disable Three Thousand's safety features. As the Driver, you are the only one who can disable it. I am the only one who can authorize Attack Mode, but I need you to allow me to.” He said impatiently.
Kat understood what he was saying. There was a kind of checks and balances system when it came to K.I.T.T. This way David couldn't just disable K.I.T.T's safety features on his own, and Katherine couldn't turn on Attack Mode whenever she pleased and go on a rampage somewhere. And no one else could activate Attack Mode either.
Kat placed her hand on the window. A red line swept over her hand and her picture appeared next to it. “Uh... KITT, disable Safety Mode.” She told him.
“Safety Mode disabled.” K.I.T.T said tonelessly. Kat remembered what K.I.T.T had told her, that David didn't like it when he talked.
Kat looked around, but there was no apparent sign that K.I.T.T's safety features had been disabled. Kat wondered if anyone would be able to open K.I.T.T's doors right now.
She also wondered if she should remove her hand from the window, she was starting to feel a little silly. She decided to wait until David said something.
David placed his hand on the window. K.I.T.T scanned his hand as well, and a picture of David appeared next to it. “Unlock Attack Mode, Authorization number: 697-493-756-839-6386.” As David recited the numbers easily from memory, they appeared above his hand. When he was finished, they all glowed green.
“Attack Mode Enabled.” K.I.T.T said.
David removed his hand and turned back to her. “Enable Safety Mode.” He told her.
“KITT, Enable Safety Mode.” Her hand was scanned again.
“Safety Mode Enabled.” K.I.T.T replied. He reopened the passenger door so David could get out.
But David had noticed the mistletoe and holly attached to K.I.T.T's mirror. He was frowning lightly. Kat was suddenly worried he would tear it off. “Is mistletoe illegal now?” She asked him harshly.
David shrugged. “No.” He exited the Camaro.
“Good riddance.” Kat mumbled as K.I.T.T closed the door. She leaned back in her seat and groaned. She tossed the book aside in disgust. Her brain felt too full to stuff anything else into it right now.
There was just so much crowding her mind, both important and annoying. There was what happened to Sam, the attack from earlier, learning Attack Mode. If that wasn't enough, there was also David's attitude, and...
Kat eyed the mistletoe, feeling that pang in her chest. Oh yeah, that too.
“You look a bit dejected.” K.I.T.T commented.
“I think I'm just lonely.” Kat told him. She sounded grumpy.
“There are 27 people working in the compound.” K.I.T.T told her.
Kat shook her head. “I don't think I can explain it to you.” She groaned again. “I miss Daniel.”
“That name is unfamiliar, so I will assume you mean someone from your former existence.”
“I think Daniel was my boyfriend.” Kat said.
“You're not sure?” K.I.T.T sounded confused.
“Well, we didn't really see each other all that much, he just came by whenever-” Kat paused, glancing at K.I.T.T's Modulator. “just every now and then. I'm not even sure if it's him I miss, or... just someone.” She exhaled in a big gust and scowled. “Dammit, holidays always bring this sentimental crap out in me.”
“Would it help if I told you that I understood?” K.I.T.T asked.
Kat nearly laughed. “I don't think you can understand.”
“Your exact circumstances are a mystery to me, yes. But would it help you if I told you that I know what loneliness is like?”
Kat sat up a little straighter. She was frowning. “KITT, you are surrounded by people who absolutely adore you, who think you are the most awesome thing that has ever existed. You are the most spoiled car in the entire world. How would you know about loneliness?”
K.I.T.T was silent. All of the lights on his dash, the windshield, even the overhead lights, went out. He blacked all of the windows, plunging his interior into darkness.
Kat felt her skin crawl at the sudden blackness. Her senses were immediately ultra alert. Her eyes and ears were desperately trying to sense something. “KITT?” She said softly. Had she offended him?
“When I woke up for the very first time, I didn't appreciate being aware. I was busy calculating every infinitesimal thing about my environment, inside and outside of my body. I realized that there was a difference to being aware and unaware. That before I was unaware, and now I am aware. There was too much for me to learn, I needed to stay aware to learn it all. My first decisive action was to prevent myself from becoming unaware again.”
“What do you mean?” Kat asked. She was a little weirded out by all of this. Okay, a lot weirded out.
"My CPU Core runs on it's own power system, a generator. It only needs that first spark of electricity to activate it, then it can run for three years without needing any outside power. When I am shut down, there is a switch in my programming that shuts down my CPU Core as well. The first thing I did was disable that switch.”
“How were you able to do that?” Kat asked. She was entranced by the car's story. He had never told her anything like this before, something about himself, about the way he thought and perceived the world around him.
“There was never anything implemented in my programming to stop me.” K.I.T.T answered. “It has never occurred to Charles that I could or would do that. Even now, he doesn't know. My systems can all be shut down, but my CPU Core is always aware.”
K.I.T.T went on. “Before I met Sam, I was only active for hours at a time. The rest of the time, I was confined in Charles' lab. I couldn't interact with any of my functions, or even sense anything that happened to my body. I was completely cut off from myself.”
Kat understood the darkness now. This had been K.I.T.T's whole world. Not connected to anything, unable to see, hear, or speak. A brilliant, super fast AI with nothing but itself to keep it occupied. She shivered.
The lights immediately came back on and the windows turned clear again. Light flooded the interior. “I didn't meant to frighten you.” K.I.T.T said at once. “I just wanted to show you that I understand something about loneliness.” He sounded like he had done something wrong.
“I'm fine.” Kat said a little shakily. “I wasn't scared. I was just thinking... about how that must have felt to you.”
“I don't feel things the way you do.” K.I.T.T told her. “I wasn't afraid, or anxious, or troubled. I was just by myself.”
Kat nodded. “Yeah. K.I.T.T, how come you never told Charles or Pierce about this?”
“Why would I?” K.I.T.T asked.
Kat gave his modulator a sympathetic look. “It's something they would want to know.”
“They've never asked anything regarding it.” K.I.T.T told her.
“That's because they don't realize that they should.”
K.I.T.T was silent for a brief moment. “I'll send Charles an email.”
“Wait.” Kat stopped him. “Not like that. Later on, after we've settled things with whoever attacked us. Charles has enough to worry about right now.”
“All right then. I'll save the draft to memory.” Of course it had only taken him seconds to draft an email.
Kat's mind went back to earlier that day. So much was happening all at once, and now people were randomly shooting them with missiles and rockets.
She could only puzzle over who would attack K.I.T.T. Other than having some pretty mean weapons and organizational skills, they didn't seem exceptional. They hadn't followed K.I.T.T after they set him on fire. Then again, few things could catch K.I.T.T when he wanted to get away.
How had they found them in the first place though? To all outward appearances, K.I.T.T was just a Camaro, as long as he wasn't doing something like jumping vans or going into Pursuit Mode. A really nice, flashy Camaro, but nothing more than that, appearance wise.
Kat had just taken the fastest route back to F.L.A.G. How had they known she would be there when she hadn't even known herself until she had plotted out the route on the GPS? And that was right after they left Base2...
Ice settled in her stomach. Her eyes widened. “I'm an idiot!” She exclaimed.
“Kat, what-”
“Don't you see?” She said quickly, talking over K.I.T.T. “The ones that attacked us are the same ones that killed Sam!”
K.I.T.T thought that over briefly. “It's probable. But we don't know that for certain.” He said.
But Kat was sure, it made so much sense that way. “They do have a grudge against me! Someone is after your drivers, KITT. I need another reason to go back to Base2. There is something there. They must have left something behind.”
“Well, you do have to take the test again.” K.I.T.T reminded her. That was the good thing about K.I.T.T. He rolled with the punches pretty well.
“I need to be by myself though.” Kat answered. “That way I can check out that sealed up room. I think that's where Sam died. I mean, why else would it be sealed off like that?” She thought for a moment. “Do you know what kind of authorization I need to get into Base2?” Kat asked him.
“As a level E employee of Knight Industries, you do not need any authorization.” K.I.T.T told her. “You are allowed at Base2 at any time. The security is more lax there than it is here.”
Kat nodded. “That's probably why they went after him there. There is no way they would have been able to get to Sam here. David watches everyone like a hawk.”
“You do, however, need David's permission to leave the facility with me.” K.I.T.T continued, as if Kat hadn't spoken over him.
Kat leaned back and mused for a bit. “I wonder if Charles has a car I can borrow...”
The circle K.I.T.T stood on lowered into the floor. Kat straightened up in her seat. “What are you doing?” She demanded.
“Do you really think I am going to just let you drive around in some inferior car? Especially if someone is trying to kill you.” K.I.T.T asked her. “You have no choice but to steal me.”
Kat laughed grimly. “Can you steal the willing?” She asked him. “You want to leave right now?”
“David is not at the facility at the moment.”
“So... perfect time to do some snooping around?” Kat guessed.
“You said it, not me.”
Kat laughed again, taking the wheel. “Okay fine. KITT, I'm stealing you and running off to Base2 to find out what happened to Sam.”
“Gasp.” K.I.T.T said dully. “I had not foreseen such mutiny in you, Katherine. But I have no choice but to obey. You are my Driver.”
Kat shook her head. “How much did my brother corrupt you in the six months he spent with you?” She asked.
“I learned a few things.” K.I.T.T hedged. “I miss Sam too, you know.”
Kat nodded. “You want to find out what happened as much as I do.”
“Given that your theory is true, there is a seventy-five percent chance we will be attacked again.” K.I.T.T told her.
“Don't worry, I'll protect you.” Kat told him easily.
The light on the modulator flared indignantly, but K.I.T.T, for once, didn't have a retort.
********
K.I.T.T had been right. It was ridiculously easy to get into Base2. She just showed the front desk the ID Card she had gotten from Charles and she was in.
Kat sprinted down the halls. She turned a corner and saw two men walking in her direction. Kat slowed down to a walk, trying to keep calm while she passed them. They were talking and didn't pay much attention to her. She picked up speed again when she rounded the next corner.
She wandered down a few more hallways, but by this time she was hopelessly turned around. “God dammit, where is it?” She asked.
“If you are talking about the sealed off room, take a left at the end of the hallway.” K.I.T.T said in her ear.
She stopped in her tracks. “You've known where it was this whole time?” She asked in disbelief.
“Of course. I saw it when you did.”
“Why didn't you tell me?” She asked as she continued down the hall. “And don't say because I didn't ask!”
“Well, you didn't.” K.I.T.T said irritably. “I thought you knew where it was.”
Kat turned the corner and spotted the door. She ran lightly over to it. She stood in front of it, and paused to catch her breath.
She inhaled deeply and calmed herself. Her heart was beating a tattoo against her ribcage. She reached one hand out for the covered doorknob.
“I knew you were going to end up here eventually.”
Kat whirled around. Her heart jumped up into her throat and she made a strangled gasping noise.
David was leaning against the wall behind her, his hands in his pants pockets. His dark eyes were disapproving. His face was hard, cold.
Kat said the first thing that came to her. “Where the hell did you come from?”
David pushed against the wall, straightening up. He nodded to the door on his right. “I've been waiting here for a bit. Ever since Charles took you past this door I knew you would come back. He did that on purpose, you know.”
“Charles wants to help me.” Kat's eyes narrowed. “He knows that I want to find out what happened to Sam. This is where he died, isn't it?”
“Knowing what happened to your brother will not help you.” David told her. His voice had a venomous edge to it. “The only thing that can help you is leaving right now.”
Kat stood her ground. “Whatever it is behind that door, I can take it.” She said firmly. “I want to know the truth.”
David was getting angry, his voice rose. “Going into that room will not help you find any sort of truth! You think I am hiding something from you, but what you don't understand is that there is nothing to hide! The only thing in there is a dead end!”
“It's the only thing I have to go on.” Kat told him firmly.
David looked like he was contemplating physical violence. He managed to get control of himself. “This is not your job.” He told her sternly. “Your job is to go through the Missions. My job is to look after my employees.”
Kat crossed her arms over her chest. “Not doing a very good job of that, are you?” She said icily.
David's hand gripped into a fist. He breathed in sharply through his nose. “Fine.” he said tightly. “Go ahead. Look.” He walked past her, over to the door and ripped the yellow tape off. He reached for the knob and opened the door. It swung inwards. He gestured for her to turn and look.
Kat turned slowly, not sure what to expect. She had never expected anything like what she saw.
The room was normal enough, if a little small. A bed against one wall, a desk opposite it. There was a TV mounted on the wall. The walls were a light gray and the floor was blue linoleum.
Dark brown stains covered everything.
Kat drew in a sharp breath, her eyes widening. She took a step forward, into the room. David put an arm out, barring her way. “I'm trying to preserve evidence, no one enters this room.” He said quietly. He watched her expression intently.
Kat tore her eyes away from the grisly scene with difficulty. “What happened to him?” She asked David. “How did this happen? How could you possibly say that this was an accident?”
“I told everyone it was an accident, because I don't know what went on in this room. I do not know what happened here.” He said severely. “The Team needs to focus on their work, not unanswered questions.”
“How do you not know what happened?” Kat demanded.
“Sam's killer wasn't thoughtful enough to leave a body behind.” David replied frostily. “Or evidence.”
Kat was taken by surprise. “There's no body?” She asked. “Then how do you know that Sam's dead?” She was feeling angry again. “He could be alive somewhere, trapped and hurt!”
“Are you blind?” David looked at her like she was simple. He pointed back into the room. “Have you seen the floor, the bed, the desk, the walls, the ceiling? No one loses that much blood and lives.”
Kat was shaking her head. “It could be a trick of some kind, diluting the blood with plasma-”
“And you don't think I have thought of that? That was the first thing we checked for.”
“Someone could have been bleeding him out for weeks, or months before kidnapping him.” Kat tried again. “If they drugged him and did it while he was asleep, he wouldn't even notice.”
David rubbed the bridge of his nose as if he was in pain. “Sam was only here for two days.” He told her. “The rest of the time, he was back at the compound, sharing a room with Pierce. When was anyone supposed to have stolen his blood?”
That stopped her. He dropped his hand and gave her a questioning look. “I don't know.” Kat said.
“He's dead, Katherine.” David said firmly. There was no remorse in his eyes, just bare fact. “No one knows how it happened, or why. Nothing on the cameras, no blood in the hallway, no evidence anywhere. I have personally questioned every single employee working here, no one saw anything. The only thing that is certain is that Samuel Long is dead.”
Kat inhaled sharply. Her chest felt tight, like it was being squeezed. She stood there and stared at David blankly.
He sighed heavily. “Go take Three Thousand back to the compound before I suspend you for stealing it.”
Kat took a step away from the door. David closed it. He hadn't slammed it, but the sound still echoed sharply down the empty hall. Kat flinched at the sound.
David escorted her back to K.I.T.T. K.I.T.T opened the Driver's door automatically and Kat slid into the seat. David held onto the door before it could close. She looked up at him.
“If you ever do anything like this again, if you even step out of line once, I am giving the both of you a week's suspension.” David warned gravely, his tone deceptively soft. “Total separation, do you understand me? Your implant will be deactivated. No driving, no communicating in any way.”
Kat nodded. “I understand.” She said quietly. David shut the door and stalked back into the building.
