Knight Rider 2008 Alternate Storyline – Episode 7 – Nightmares
Chapter 2
David was startled awake as cold water was doused over him. He gasped sharply, his body jerking in surprise. Not that he could go anywhere, he was still bound to his chair. His limbs had gone numb hours ago.
How long had it been since he had been thrown into the back of that van? Two days? Four? He was so weary. His throat burned with thirst and his stomach ached with hunger. K.A.R.R obviously didn't know that humans needed to be fed regularly. Or it was all part of the torture.
His eyes rolled into the back of his head for a second, then he focused on the laptop across the table from him. “Had enough?” He asked weakly.
“I should be asking you that.” K.A.R.R answered dully. “You are the one being tortured.”
David tried to shrug, but his bonds made that impossible. He gave up after one attempt. “You call this torture? Reminds me of my honeymoon.”
The man standing beside him struck him again. David felt his lip split. He reeled for a second, before turning back to the laptop, ignoring his assailant. “Your minion hits like a girl.” He said as blood dribbled slowly down his chin. “My ex-wife could show him a thing or two about throwing a punch.”
“You seem to be feeling rather sentimental about your wife.” KARR said in his gravelly, blank voice. “Perhaps we should bring her down here so she can watch you suffer. Karen Summers was her name, wasn't it?”
“You want to kidnap Karen too?” David asked. He began to giggle uncontrollably. “Sure, go and get her. She'll have this place shut down in ten minutes.” He threw his head back and laughed loudly.
K.A.R.R's minion punched him again. David's vision blurred. The room spun for a second as he nearly blacked out. Then it slowly slid back into focus. Was it a good thing or a bad thing that he didn't feel the pain anymore?
“You're not going to break me, KARR.” David slurred slightly as he said it. Then his voice picked up, stronger. “You can't beat me into submission. You can't starve me into compliance. The only thing you can do is kill me. But that's the one thing you won't do.”
“You will break.” K.A.R.R told him with complete confidence.
David shook his head. “These methods of yours. They won't work on someone like me. They work on someone who is good, in character and in heart. Someone who doesn't see the evil inherent in people. Someone like that, if you drag them into the darkness... they go mad.” He glanced over at the unknown man. “They just shut down...”
He turned back to the laptop. “But not me, KARR. I am an evil man. I know this and accept it. Hell, I even embrace it. Those dark places... I know more about them than even you do. You can't drive me mad, I already am.” His dark eyes burned with inner fire. “You might as well just kill me.”
“You are still useful. Even if you do not cooperate.” KARR told him.
********
F.L.A.G. Underground Facility
A loud crash echoed through the Main Lab. Pierce rubbed his temples with his fingertips. “Do you mind not making earsplitting noises when I am trying to construct precise coding?” He called to Carmen while he continued to work. “You've been doing that all day.”
“Yeah, sorry.” Carmen said hurriedly, bending down to pick up what she dropped.
Pierce's eyebrows shot up. Carmen apologizing? To him? That was a first. He glanced over at her. She seemed very distracted, and her hands trembled slightly. There were dark circles under her eyes as well.
Pierce just turned back to his work. If he said anything about it to her, she would probably just yell at him.
Kat walked into the Main Lab and headed down the stairs. She opened K.I.T.T's door and slid into the Driver's seat. A few seconds later she stepped out again. She walked around to K.I.T.T's hood, frowning. “KITT?” She asked. K.I.T.T was silent.
“Pierce.” Kat called to him over her shoulder. “I don't want to be unduly alarmed here, but KITT's not responding to anything I say.”
“He's asleep.” Pierce told her.
“KITT sleeps?” Kat asked in disbelief.
“Not like we do.” Pierce said. He looked up at her. “Come over here, I'll show you.”
“I thought he was being way too quiet.” Kat said to herself as she walked over to Pierce's desk. Pierce indicated one of his monitors. “That looks like a defrag display.” She commented.
“That's exactly what it is.” Pierce told her. “I'm defragging his hard drives right now. While I do this, I put his CPU Core into a kind of Sleep Mode, where it uses minimal memory and resources. I actually developed a program for him to run during these times.” He pointed to another monitor. Images flashed quickly on the screen. It was far too fast for Kat to follow, or even see what they were.
“What is that?” She asked.
“While he's in Sleep Mode, this program takes things he's seen and experienced, randomizes them, and plays them back. This way he can learn new things from old experiences by seeing them in new ways.”
Kat looked confused. “But isn't that just like how we, humans I mean,-”
“Dream, yes.” Pierce nodded. “That's where I got the idea. I read an article about how newborns spent most of the day sleeping. They can't fully absorb information as they sense it, so their subconsciousness will replay everything back to them while asleep. That's how a baby does a large part of it's learning in the beginning of it's life. In regards to KITT, it's not exactly like how we dream. The way he processes information is vastly different from the way humans do. But the analogy fits well enough I believe.”
“So... how long till he wakes up?” Kat asked.
“Another hour?” Pierce estimated. “I should have defragged sooner, but things have been pretty hectic lately.”
“Hectic.” Kat nodded. “Not a word I would use. 'Disastrous' is more fitting.”
Pierce inhaled deeply. “Yep.”
Kat stared at the two monitors. “KITT has so much of personality. I forget that it was all programmed in.” She said softly. “I'll let you get back to work.” She moved away from the desk.
Just then, there was another echoing crash. Pierce rolled his eyes to the ceiling. “Work would be nice, if I could just get some relative quiet.” He shot a quick glare at Carmen.
Kat made her way over to Carmen's workstation. The smaller woman was hurriedly putting tools back into a toolbox she had knocked over. “Carmen?” Kat asked. “Are you okay?”
Carmen didn't respond. She finished replacing the tools and stood up. She saw Kat then and started, nearly dropping the toolbox again. “Katherine! Don't sneak up on me! It's dangerous over here.”
Kat arched a brow. “I'll say.” She had never seen Carmen so on edge. She looked positively fearful. “Are you feeling all right?”
Carmen nodded, a little too quickly. “Ah? Muy bueno. Why do you ask?”
“You seem a little... distracted.” Kat said. She noted the dark circles under Carmen's eyes. “Have you been sleeping okay?”
Carmen laughed. “Me? Sleep?” Kat gave her a steady look. “Maybe I haven't been sleeping that great.” Carmen admitted finally in a low murmur.
Kat nodded. “Same here. Last night I had a nightmare. It was about Sam.” Normally, this was not something Kat would have mentioned. But she felt that if she offered something, Carmen might open up a bit about what was bothering her.
“I had a nightmare too.” Carmen said quietly. “It was about Mamá.”
“You dreamed about Abuela?” Enrique asked sharply, appearing at Carmen's side.
Carmen nodded. Enrique grabbed her by the shoulders and sat her down in a nearby chair. Kat was surprised that Enrique was so rough with his aunt. But she was more surprised that Carmen allowed it. “What did you dream about?” He asked urgently.
Carmen's shoulders were slumped. She fidgeted. “What else would bother me like this?” She asked helplessly. “I dreamed that she gave up. She stopped fighting.” Carmen looked incredibly pained.
“Has something happened to your mother?” Kat asked Carmen in concern.
“She's sick.” Enrique said shortly, his eyes still on his aunt. “That's how David got us here.” His voice was bitter. “He manipulated us.”
“That's not exactly how it happened.” Carmen countered. “He gave us a choice.”
“There was no choice.” Enrique said quietly.
Carmen looked over at Kat. “You look confused. Want to hear it from the beginning?”
“Only if it'll help. Talking about it.” Kat told her.
Carmen nodded. She bowed her head as she started to speak.
********
Richmond Hill, Queens, NYC
January, 2008 – One year ago...
“Looks like the carburetor is busted. Gonna need a few days to order a new one. Might set you back a bit...” Antonio Delgado told his customer, a nervous yuppie in a brown business suit. A blue Nissan stood next to them, it's hood popped open.
The man looked horrified. “I don't understand how this happened. How much is it going to cost me?”
Antonio mused for a bit. “Three... four grand...”
“Papá! What do you think you are doing?” Carmen walked over to the pair and the car. She thrust one hand into the car's innards. She pulled something out and tossed it to the yuppie. He caught it reflexively. “You need a new spark plug.” She replaced her hand in the car. “All fixed. Twenty bucks. Get out.”
Carmen pulled her father to the side and began speaking to him in rapid Spanish. Her father held up his hands, talking to her calmly while her voice got louder and louder. “I'm just trying to make a living, Carmen.” He said.
“And I'm trying to keep you making an honest living!” She glared at the taller man. “You want our customers coming back, don't you?”
“Carmen... Just settle down.” Her father said, making placating gestures. “Your Mama isn't getting any better. We need money.”
Carmen's face was grim. “And we'll get it. Honestly.”
Antonio sighed heavily. “Honestly.” He agreed.
“Good.” Carmen said. She stalked off, to the back of the garage. She opened the door there and peered out into the alley. Frigid air hit her face. She shivered immediately. “Enri!” She shouted. “Get back in here!”
Enrique sighed. “In a minute Tia, I'm on break.”
Carmen heard a female giggle. She rubbed her upper arms, which were quickly freezing. “Break does not last an hour.” She said sternly.
A few seconds later, Enrique stood in front of her. Carmen let him pass, closing the door behind him. She held her hand out, palm up, behind him. He turned to her. “Aw, come on, Tia.” He said.
“Give it to me.” Carmen said, the look in her eyes showed she wasn't going to argue.
Enrique reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He put it in her hand. She turned it off and pocketed it. “Now maybe you'll get some work done.” She said.
“Yeah, work.” Enrique agreed sourly. “Can't have too much of that.”
“That's right.” Carmen agreed bitterly.
It was then that the atmosphere in the garage changed. Everyone became still, looking outside. Carmen looked with them.
She watched as a black Aston Martin DB AR1 pulled up in front of the garage. Her mouth fell open. “Who the hell...” She whispered.
A man in a black suit stepped out of the car. He was average height, with pale skin and dark hair. His suit was obviously designer made, probably tailored. His briefcase was made of leather, and his watch could probably pay the garage's rent for two months.
Her father walked up to the man almost eagerly. They exchanged words quietly. Carmen studied the man. She didn't like him, but she wasn't sure why. It was more than the fact that he didn't fit in here. In this neighborhood or even this borough. It was something else...
Antonio's face fell a little. He turned to Carmen. “Carmen! You have a visitor.”
Carmen's eyebrows shot up as she heard low whistles all over the garage. “Did little Carmen get her hooks into a sugar daddy?” Her brother, Diego, whispered over the top of a Chevy.
Carmen shot him a withering look. She walked over to the man in the suit. “What do you want?” She asked gruffly. She really didn't like this guy now.
“You are CarD84?” He asked, studying her face carefully.
Carmen narrowed her chocolate-brown eyes. “That's the name I use online...” She said slowly.
The man placed his briefcase on top of a tool chest. He popped it open, pulling out a piece of paper. He showed it to her. “This is your design?” He asked.
Carmen glanced at the paper. It was a printout of her blog. The design in question was a few sketches she had done of an engine. She had thought of the concept a while back and had been working on it in her spare time. “That's mine.” She said, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Fully yours?” He questioned. “You didn't get the idea from somewhere?” He looked around the garage. “One of your brothers or uncles... maybe something you saw on the Internet?” He focused his dark eyes back on Carmen. He pulled off one black leather glove and placed two fingertips on her neck, checking her pulse.
Carmen gave him a frosty glare. “Yes, it's completely mine.” She said stonily. “Now, who are you?”
He dropped his hand. “You're telling the truth.” He looked a little surprised.
“Who. Are. You.” Carmen's voice was turning deadly. The muscle in her delicate jaw tightened.
“My name is David Marks.” He placed the paper on top of his briefcase and reached into the inside pocket of his long black coat. He pulled out a business card and held it out to her.
Carmen took it from his hand and looked it over. “Knight Industries? What do you want with me?”
“I want your engine, Miss Delgado. Specifically this engine. And I am willing to pay you an exorbitant amount of money to get it.”
Carmen arched a brow. “Are you kidding me?”
“I am always serious.” David said. And it was true that he looked like a man that never smiled.
“Doesn't matter. You can't buy what doesn't exist. That's just a concept, an idea.” She nodded at the paper. “Not a reality.”
“How long would it take to make it a reality? If you were provided with sufficient funds and labor?” He asked.
Carmen shrugged. “No idea. Two years?”
“Have it done in six months and I will pay you the amount on the back of that card.” He told her.
Carmen turned the card over. That was a lot of zeros... “Now I know you're messing with me.” She said, turning away.
“I am deadly serious, Miss Delgado.” David said. “This design is your property right now, and I will do whatever I have to in order to make it my property.”
Carmen didn't bother turning around. “There's something wrong about you. I don't like it. Get lost.” She walked further into the garage.
Enrique studied David carefully. He had a bad feeling in his gut. This was not a man who ever brought good news.
“You have my card, when you change your mind.” David told Carmen calmly. He took his briefcase, turned, and walked back to his car.
