Knight Rider 2008 Alternate Storyline – Episode 8 – Lockdown
Chapter 4
F.L.A.G Underground Facility
“It's best to go in with a good plan.” Charles said to Kat.
“We have no idea what the situation waiting for us will be.” Kat said. “We don't even know if KARR has a form, or if he does, how powerful it is.”
“Failing a good plan,” Charles continued. “it's best to go in with a plan.” Kat sighed.
“I think it's best if we don't reveal KITT.” Pierce said. “That might set him off immediately. I'm under the distinct impression that he doesn't like you.” He looked over at the car.
“I got the same impression when he tried to erase everything in my CPU Core.” K.I.T.T replied.
“So, I'll have KITT go invisible a few blocks from the exchange site.” Kat said. “Then I go and free David.”
“Any idea on how you're going to do that?” Pierce asked.
“Not at all.”
“Someone should go with you.” Pierce said earnestly.
Kat shook her head. “No one here has the proper training. It will be a very dangerous situation, we can't risk anyone else getting hurt or captured.”
“You don't have to worry, Pierce.” K.I.T.T said. “I can protect Kat.”
“I just can't help thinking...” Pierce said slowly. “that something terrible is going to happen.” He looked down at the ground. “I don't think any good will come out of doing exactly what KARR wants us to do.”
“There's nothing else we can do.” Kat said. “We can't abandon David.”
“I know.” He looked up, directly at her. His blue eyes were pained. Kat looked away quickly.
Carmen walked over to the trio. “Knowing how David is, when Katherine gets there, KARR will beg her to take David back.” Pierce smiled weakly. “I've just run a full diagnostics. KITT's functioning perfectly.”
“Time to go retrieve our fearless leader...” Kat said. She walked over to K.I.T.T. He opened the Driver's door for her.
Kat slid into the seat and buckled her seatbelt. K.I.T.T drove back onto his circle. John pressed the manual button and they descended. The Tunnel lights were out, as the facility was still locked down.
K.I.T.T turned on his headlights and sped down the Tunnel. “The exit hatch will be closed.” He told her. “The Lockdown prevents me from opening it. How shall we circumvent it?”
Kat thought about it for a moment. “Well, let's make destroying FLAG property our theme for today. Laser a hole in it.”
K.I.T.T stopped a few feet in front of the exit hatch. He began cutting a hole into it with his laser. “David will certainly not approve of this theme.”
“Well then, he shouldn't have activated the Lockdown.” Kat said innocently.
“It's hard to argue with that logic.” K.I.T.T said. “Though I hope I am excepted from the 'destroying FLAG property' list.” He finished his laser cutting and a large section of the metal hatch fell down into the Tunnel.
“Of course.” Kat said as she stepped on the gas. “You don't belong to FLAG anyway.” She drove over the metal piece and out onto a dirt road.
“I know David will disagree with you there. He holds my deed and title.” K.I.T.T said.
“Doesn't matter.” Kat said, shrugging. “You belong to me. KITT.” She shot the stereo a look. “Going to object?”
“Of course not.”
“Good.” Kat said, turning her focus back to the road as they drove up onto the highway. “You really don't have much choice anyway.” She glanced over at the laptop on the passenger's seat.
“Pierce inputted the GPS coordinates that KARR sent us into David's laptop.” K.I.T.T supplied helpfully. He brought up a screen on the windshield. It displayed an address. “We are heading to Won's Chinese Restaurant, in Phoenix.”
“Hmm.” Kat said. “That's an odd location for a kidnapping exchange. You'd think KARR would pick an abandoned warehouse, or a parking garage.”
“Or a deserted loading dock.” K.I.T.T added.
“Yeah.” Kat agreed. Then her eyes narrowed. “Are you making fun of me?”
“Well, you are being horribly cliché.” K.I.T.T replied.
Kat frowned. She decided that changing the subject would be best. “I wonder who's helping KARR.” She said. “He has to be getting help from someone, someone with money.”
“They must also have access to very sophisticated technology, to allow KARR to travel through the Internet.”
“That guy that attacked us can't be it.” Kat said. “He's more of a grunt, a minion.”
“A henchman?” K.I.T.T suggested playfully.
Kat glared at the stereo. “Stop that.” She went back to her musing. “Well, maybe David knows something.” She said at last.
The highway then connected to an expressway going to Phoenix. Kat noticed that it was becoming increasingly congested with cars. “It's not even rush hour yet.” Kat complained. “What's with the traffic?”
“Scanning radio waves.” K.I.T.T said. After a moment he spoke again. “It appears there has been an accident about half a mile down. One lane is under construction. A car went out of control and drove into a bulldozer. They are saying that the driver was asleep at the wheel.”
“I'm glad that'll never happen to me.” Kat said. “Not with you around, at least.” She pulled to a halt behind a long line of cars. “I'm not really in the mood to sit and wait for traffic.” She told him.
“We still have several hours until KARR's deadline.” K.I.T.T reminded her.
“Yeah, but do you really want to leave David in his clutches for much longer? I doubt he's being treated very kindly.”
********
David hit the floor hard. He lay still for a long moment. The linoleum was cool under his bruised cheek. Finally, he stirred.
“You're not supposed to move.” A rough voice said over him. He looked up just as a rather large man buried a heavy boot into his stomach.
The air rushed out of his lungs. He wrapped his arms around himself protectively and just lay curled up on the floor. He focused on trying to breathe again. The man walked away.
David opened his eyes after a moment and inspected the men that had brought him here. There were three in all. He had assumed that they were all mercenaries, but the one who had just assaulted him was wearing a work uniform under his jacket. David could make out two letters in red on the chest: R.O. The rest was hidden by the jacket.
The three men exited the room, flipping off the light switch. The last one closed the door behind them. David heard a deadbolt slide home.
David lay on the floor in the darkness, too weak and pained to move. Thankfully, he wasn't conscious very long.
********
“Movement appears to have been halted while they let in the ambulance.” K.I.T.T announced.
Kat was slumped against the steering wheel, a bored expression on her face. “Millions and millions of dollars they poured into you...” She muttered. “Defeated by traffic.”
'Defeated?' K.I.T.T thought indignantly. “Hardly.” He said. He would show her that something as mundane as a traffic jam was no match for him. He was, after all, far superior than any of the other tin cans stuck on this highway.
“Up ahead is the site of the accident. Off to the side of the construction area is a narrow gap between the equipment and the barrier on far side.” His windshield zoomed in on the area in question.
Kat raised an eyebrow hopefully. “Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?”
“Well, David would probably have something to say if we didn't even test one piece of technology while on his own rescue mission.” K.I.T.T pointed out.
Kat sat up slowly. “That is so true... He'd really bust my chops about it...” She said. She put her hands back on the wheel and turned out of the line of traffic, towards the construction area. She headed right for the gap. “KITT, Ski Mode.”
K.I.T.T went up on two side wheels. He took over steering, weaving effortlessly through the narrow gap.
Kat sighed wistfully. “I wish I could see the looks on the other driver's faces back there.”
Camera feeds flared up in the windshield, showing the other cars behind and across from them. Kat could see several people leaning out their windows, staring at her car.
“You have cameras on your top?” Kat asked.
“My underside as well.” K.I.T.T informed her. “I have twenty-eight cameras embedded into various spots of my exterior.” Once they were past the obstructions he settled back down to all four wheels. The expressway was clear ahead for miles. Kat stepped on the gas.
“How many do you have inside?” She peered around the interior, but couldn't see anything that looked like a camera. She knew that there had to be at least one though, from watching videos of Sam.
“Fourteen.” K.I.T.T replied.
Kat looked surprised. “I hope you've been getting my good side.” She said.
“Your only 'bad sides' are figurative ones.” K.I.T.T replied.
Kat narrowed her eyes once more at the stereo. “....Thanks. I think.”
“What is the plan for extracting David from his potentially lethal situation?” K.I.T.T asked.
“I was thinking of walking right in there and handing myself over.” Kat said.
“That is a plan?” K.I.T.T asked.
“Yep. KARR apparently wants something from me. While I keep him distracted, it will give the authorities enough time to arrive.”
“The authorities that I will be contacting, you mean.” K.I.T.T said.
“Yep.” Kat said again. “In fact, you should be calling Karen Summers right now. I'm sure she'll muster up some FBI support in Phoenix to save her husband.”
“Ex-husband.” K.I.T.T reminded her as he made the call.
"Yeah, I wonder what he did to make her leave him.” Kat pondered.
“You are assuming it was Agent Summers that ended the marriage?” K.I.T.T queried.
Kat shrugged. “I'm guessing. I suppose David could have been the one to end it. Hopefully Karen is willing to help us out. I think KARR might be expecting us to call in the local authorities. He might not know we have an FBI Liaison.”
“If KARR feels cornered in any way, I don't think David's life will mean anything to him. Speaking from the logical standpoint of another AI.”
“Which is why the authorities will come in after I have a look at the situation.” Kat said.
“You're putting yourself at extreme risk.” K.I.T.T said.
“We don't have much choice, if we want to get David back alive.” Kat said grimly. “Unless you have a better idea?”
“I could always locate David's heat signature on the infrared, drive through the building's wall, retrieve him and then drive away.” K.I.T.T responded promptly.
“And then what?” Kat asked. “Wait for KARR to attack us again? To kill someone next time?” She shook her head. “We have to find a way of stopping KARR for good. If we play this by KARR's rules, then we might be able to get some info on who's funding him.”
“You're right, of course.” K.I.T.T said. His voice was dull.
“You don't like it.” Kat said.
“How can I?” K.I.T.T asked. “You do realize that the unknown man is in league with KARR, don't you? That means that this rogue AI is responsible for Sam's death. And here I am, handing him another Driver...”
“You'll be there, KITT. I'm sure you'll make sure nothing happens to me or David.” Kat assured him.
“I wasn't there for Sam.” K.I.T.T said.
“Why is that?” Kat asked. “You never told me where you were when Sam died. Judging by the way you keep tabs on me all the time, I expect you would have noticed immediately that something was wrong.”
“I wasn't functioning properly at the time.” K.I.T.T answered. “I had to be shut down.”
Kat's expression grew concerned. “What happened?”
“On my last drive with Sam, something went wrong. Multiple errors sprang up in my programming suddenly. I couldn't function. Charles shut me down while he and Pierce attempted to discover what the problem was. They removed my CPU Core, to inspect it directly. I was completely offline for two weeks. When I awoke... Sam was dead, and Charles was telling me that I had a new Driver...”
“No wonder you hated me so much.” Kat said quietly.
“I am incapable of hate, Kat. I was confused. Everything had changed so suddenly, become strange and unfamiliar. My apologies for my behavior at the time.”
Kat shook her head. “You already apologized. And I kind of deserved it. What was it that went wrong? With your programming I mean, of course Charles fixed whatever it was.”
“He didn't.” K.I.T.T said. “He never discovered what caused my errors. He took my entire CPU Core apart, but could find nothing wrong. It hasn't happened since then.”
K.I.T.T fell silent. Kat continued to drive, lost in her own thoughts.
