Knight Rider 2008 Alternate Storyline – Episode 6 – Mission de Sauvetage
Chapter 3
“We are three blocks from our destination.” K.I.T.T announced.
“Go into Stealth Mode.” Kat told him while she dug through the glove compartment. “Looks like Carmen and Pierce weren't really sure what I would need.” She commented. She pulled out her plastic handcuff spool, a spare set of contacts, a police badge, her compact tool case, a tazer, her transforming key, a silver tracking pen with receiver, and a pack of bubble gum.
Kat picked up the gum. She turned it over in her hand. “What's this?” She asked.
“Bubble gum.” K.I.T.T answered.
She shot his monitor an exasperated look. “I know that's what it looks like. I am wondering if Pierce is going all 007 on me and giving me explosives or something.”
“It's just bubble gum.” K.I.T.T replied.
Kat contemplated it for a moment, and pocketed the gum. She took everything else as well. She also took a second to harden her shirt.
“We have arrived.” K.I.T.T said, coming to a halt and cutting his engine.
Kat looked outside. They were in front of a derelict building, about nine stories high. “Run a scan on the building. X-ray and FLIR.”
“Forward Looking Infrared scan is picking up five heat signatures inside of the building.” K.I.T.T displayed the scan on the windshield.
Kat studied the display. The 'heat signatures' were five people on the top floor. Four were clustered together, seated around what might be a table. The other was lying on it's side not too far away.
Kat looked over the building itself. The windows and doors were boarded up. “KITT, display all possible entrances into the building and list options.”
“There is one functioning door on the side of the building. It's bolted shut, but I could ram it in quite easily. There is also a fire escape that leads up to the room housing the suspects and the victim.”
Kat thought it over for a bit. “You ram the entrance, I will take the fire escape. Wait until I get up to the top floor, and make sure you make as much noise as possible.” She opened the door and got out.
“You are using me as a distraction.” K.I.T.T concluded.
“You catch on quick.” Kat told him.
“Should I stay invisible when I ram the door?” He asked in her ear.
“Sure, why not? Let them wonder.” She made her way to the side of the building. It was noon, and the sun was shining brightly overhead. That meant that Aimée had been missing for three hours now.
She found the fire escape and began climbing up slowly. Her leg no longer pained her anymore unless she exerted herself, but it was still weaker and got tired more easily.
Once she was eight stories up, she looked up to the ninth floor. There was a window there that was not boarded up. The kidnappers had probably cleared it in case of emergency.
“Okay KITT, ram the door.” Kat whispered.
********
Aimée lay on the closet floor silently. Her arms and legs were starting to cramp from being bound so long. She was scared, and she was hungry. Were her captors going to feed her? Or did they not care?
Papa would get her out of this. She knew it. The kidnappers just wanted money. Papa would pay them. Papa would rescue her.
Dimly, she heard a terrible screech, like from tires. Then a loud crash that made the floor under her vibrate a little.
“What the hell?” One of her captors said. She heard his chair scrape the floor as he got up.
“Check the camera.” Another said.
“The front door's been destroyed.” The first one answered.
“Looks like we've been found out.” Another voice said, taking charge. “B, D, come with me to check it out. A, stay here with the girl.” There was the sound of more chairs scraping the floor and footsteps fading away.
What was going on?
********
Kat peered through the window. Only one of the kidnappers was left. A large man wearing jeans and a black T-Shirt. He was sitting back in his chair lazily. Upon further examination Kat decided that 'large' was too tame a word to use for this man. He was huge, and seemed to be entirely composed of muscle.
Kat prayed that only one tranquilizer needle took him down. There were still three other men in the building and she only had three needles. Which left her one short as it was.
The window was open, so Kat aimed through it at the large man. He must have spotted movement out of the corner of his eye, because he turned to her just as she fired.
One needle was sufficient. He collapsed spectacularly to the floor, destroying the chair he was sitting on.
Kat climbed in through the window. “Where's the victim?” She asked KITT.
“To your left.”
Kat turned and spotted a closet door. She jogged over to it and tried the handle. It was locked, and looked pretty sturdy, despite how old and derelict the building was. A new addition then.
She took the lock out with her laser. She opened the door.
A young girl in her early teens was lying on the floor. Her hands and feet were bound with what looked like bungee cords. Her hair was platinum blond and incredibly long. Her eyes were a brilliant emerald. She blinked up at Kat in confusion and fear.
“It's okay.” Kat said gently. “I'm here to help you.”
Relief was apparent on her face. “Please untie me.” She begged.
Kat looked around for something to cut the girl's bonds with. The man she had knocked out was wearing a knife. “That'll do.” She retrieved the knife and cut the girl's bonds.
“Kat, the three suspects are returning to your location swiftly. They are taking an elevator.” K.I.T.T said in her ear.
“We have to get out of here, quickly.” Kat helped the girl to her feet. She was dressed in designer jeans and a blouse, and she wore heels.
There were two doors in this room, as well as the window. One of the doors opened then, and the other three kidnappers entered. They quickly spotted Kat and Aimée and converged on them. Kat tried to go for the window, but was blocked. She didn't have enough darts for all of them, so she turned and dragged Aimée out the other door.
She slammed it closed behind her and used her laser to just melt the lock, rather than destroy it. They slammed into the door, which rattled. “That's not going to hold them long.” Kat said.
Kat grabbed the girl's hand and pulled her down the hall. Aimée tripped over her heels almost at once. "Un seconde!" She cried, pulling them off. She hooked the straps over her fingers, and she and Kat fled.
"KITT, how do we get out of here?" Kat asked him. “I can't get out through the window. Can you download some schematics?”
"Who is Kit?" Aimée asked worriedly, as Kat appeared to be talking to herself. Kat ignored her. She didn't have time to explain.
"Already done. Look to your right." K.I.T.T told her. Kat complied. There was a large A67 painted on the wall in yellow.
K.I.T.T checked it against the schematics he had downloaded, as well as his X-Ray readings. "Turn left at the end of this hallway. There should be a staircase that will take you to the first floor. Then you can exit to the street."
Kat complied, turning left. She skidded to a halt. “KITT, the hallway here is blocked. I think the ceiling collapsed.”
“Can you climb over the debris?”
Kat surveyed the wreckage. “No. It's impassable.”
Back down the hallway, they heard a door burst open. Kat pulled Aimée into a side room. She closed the door till it was open just a crack and watched the hallway.
Kat turned to Aimée. She handed the girl the silver pen. “Carry this on you.” She whispered. “It's a tracker so KITT knows where you are, though he has our position marked on FLIR. Inside of the cap is a receiver. Place it in your ear to talk to him. Understand?”
Aimée took the pen. She nodded, her wide blue eyes were grim. “I understand.” Though she didn't really. Not all of it. But she understood enough. Her kidnappers were the bad guys. This woman and 'Kit' were the good guys and they would save her if she listened.
"Stay here, and I will distract them." Kat told Aimée.
Aimée clutched Kat's arm. “Don't leave me, you'll be hurt.” She whispered.
“I'll be fine, the priority here is you. You're what they want. They did not appear to be carrying guns, so it'll be a piece of cake.” Kat smiled reassuringly. “I can handle myself.” Then she was gone.
Aimée heard shouts as the kidnappers chased after Kat. She shook all over in fright. The running footsteps faded away. Her legs gave out under her and she sank to the floor.
She was all alone now.
Aimée's hands shook as she fumbled with the silver pen. She took off the cap and the receiver fell to the floor. She felt around in the near darkness. Her fingers brushed against it and she picked it up. It was just a tiny nub of skin-colored plastic. She placed it in her ear. “Kit? Are you there? That woman left me. She is distracting my captors.” Aimée's voice shook as tears rolled down her eyes. “I'm scared... Please... help me.” She folded her arms over her knees and laid her head down on them. She began to sob uncontrollably.
“I'm here.” K.I.T.T answered her. “Can you move?”
Aimée shook her head automatically. “No, I'm scared... Please come and get me.” She said through her tears. “I can't do this by myself.”
"I know it's difficult for you, but if you don't move, then I can't help you." K.I.T.T told her. “If you can move, then I can rescue you.”
Aimée's sniffling subsided a little. "You'll save me?" She asked in a small voice.
"I assure you that I will do whatever I can to get you out of there safely. But you need to move, I can only guide you." K.I.T.T said as gently as he could.
“All right...” Aimée got to her feet shakily. "Where am I?" She asked.
"You're on the ninth floor. This building was once a television station. The layout of the hallways and stairs are designed to be confusing to terrorists and bombers, which also makes it confusing for you. But I have the schematics right here and I can take you through it. All right?"
"All right." Aimée said again slowly. "Where do I go first?"
"Exit the room you are in. Do not go back the way you came. They left someone there to guard the fire escape and elevator. Walk down to the end of the hallway, Kat's led the other kidnappers to another part of this floor, so it's clear. There should be a door there. The stairs are on the other side. You'll have to go only one flight down, because these stairs don't go down past that."
Aimée exited the room and walked down the hallway slowly, holding onto the wall for support. Her knees were shaking so badly she didn't think they could hold her up. She desperately tried some conversation to distract herself.
"Kit? Why are you helping me?" She asked quietly as she wiped away her tears.
"As a favor to your father." K.I.T.T replied.
"You know my Papa?" Aimée asked in surprise.
"My father does. Do you know Charles Graiman?"
"Oncle Charles!" Aimée exclaimed in delight and relief. "I haven't seen him since I was small. He always had the best birthday presents." She thought for a moment. "I didn't realize he had a son."
"I'm not his biological offspring." K.I.T.T said. “It's a joke around here that he is my father. Though, if anyone is, then it would be him.”
"Oh, you're adopted, you poor thing." Aimée said sympathetically. She reached the door and pushed it open, revealing the stairs. She began climbing up.
"Technically, no. I'm not sure how much I should tell you about myself."
Aimée smiled weakly. "You can tell me as much as you wish. I like you, Kit."
"Thank you." K.I.T.T replied.
********
Kat had managed to take out another kidnapper with her needles. She had missed on the first shot though, so that left one still after her. He had cornered her at the end of a hallway.
Kat stood in a crouch, facing him as he walked slowly towards her. “No more fancy tricks?” He asked warily. He had a wicked looking knife in his hand.
Kat didn't try running anymore, the injured muscle in her leg was seizing up. “Sorry, all out. It's just you and me.” She said.
The wary look didn't leave his face. “Like you'd tell me if you had something left up your sleeve.” He said.
“Only one way to find out.” Kat told him.
The man lunged at her with the knife. Kat grabbed his wrist with both hands, expertly disarming him. The knife fell to the floor. She would have followed the maneuver up smoothly with a kick to the gut, but she wasn't sure if her leg was up to that, so she hesitated.
The man took the opportunity to punch her in the stomach. He howled in pain, backing off. He shook his injured hand. “You broke my hand, you bi-” His indignant cry was cut off as Kat chanced a kick. Her boot connected to the side of his head and he crumpled to the floor.
“Whoops, looks like I still had one trick left.” Kat retrieved the knife and limped quickly down the hallway.
