Knight Rider 2008 Alternate Storyline – Episode 9 – KITTnapped
Chapter 4
“Okay. It'll be a couple of hours before I hit Phoenix.” Kat said as she drove. She was going at a steady 202mph, traffic cops be damned. “Let's try to sort this all out in the mean time.”
“You're heading into a trap.” K.I.T.T told her with dead certainty.
“I know that.” Kat said. “KARR has to know about the communications tower. He chose that location so you would contact me.”
“I am not the one he seeks. You do not have the information he wants. He will eliminate us both in one go.”
“What does he want?” Kat asked.
“My predecessor, the Knight Industries Two Thousand.” K.I.T.T answered. “I concluded that KARR somehow believed that I was the former KITT.”
“Well, you both are called KITT.” Kat pointed out. “Charles was right, KARR's still after revenge. Do you know where the Two Thousand is? I wouldn't mind another Supercar helping us out.”
“No. KARR asked me as well. I do not know the whereabouts of either Michael Knight nor The Knight Industries Two Thousand.” K.I.T.T replied.
“Michael Knight?” Kat frowned. “KARR asked me about my uncle, Michael Long.”
“Perhaps they are the same person.” K.I.T.T suggested.
“No, my uncle died when I was a baby.” Kat said. “I bet KARR was just trying to distract me to give the unknown man more time to kidnap you.”
“That's quite possible.” K.I.T.T answered.
“Well, we know where KARR is getting help.” Kat said. “He's been using ROOC, a rival company of Knight Industries. Whether they are aware of that or not is anyone's guess. Either way, a company that size has substantial resources. KARR may very well have a body like yours.”
“I doubt that he does.” K.I.T.T said.
“How come?”
“If he did, then we would have seen it by now. KARR keeps himself hidden, having his lackeys do the work for him. That means he is vulnerable. When we were communicating, he said he feared something.”
“Being shut down.” Kat said. “That's how he went rogue in the first place. Charles told us that.”
“I do not remember that.” K.I.T.T said. “That memory must have be stored on one of the hard drives I cannot access.”
“You don't keep all of your memories in your CPU Core?” Kat asked.
“No. There isn't enough room. I keep only my most important memories. The ones that make me who I am.” K.I.T.T answered. “Like you. I have many memories of you. Charles, Carmen, Pierce, even one of Ian.”
“Sam...” Kat nodded.
“Who is Sam?” K.I.T.T asked.
A jolt of surprise went through her. “Sam. Samuel Knight.” She said. “My brother, your first Driver.”
“You're my only Driver, Kat.” K.I.T.T said. “You always have been.”
Kat blinked rapidly as her eyes stung. At the speed she was going, she couldn't allow her vision to be distorted. “You moved your memories of Sam out of your CPU Core...” She said thickly. “Why did you do that?”
“I'm sure if I had another Driver, I would keep those memories in my CPU Core.” K.I.T.T said. “Unless there was a reason not to. Are you certain I had another Driver?”
“I can prove it.” Kat said. “When did you become active full time?” She asked.
“On June 3rd.” K.I.T.T answered promptly.
“And when did you and I meet?”
“December 9th.”
“There's six months between those two dates.” Kat said.
“You're right.” K.I.T.T said. “I must have had another Driver in that time. Where is he?”
“He died.” Kat said softly.
“Then perhaps that's why I removed my memories of him.” K.I.T.T said.
“I don't know.” Kat said. She changed the subject. “Has KARR gotten far in dismantling you?” She asked. “How are you feeling?”
“I am not. The nano-skin only covers my exterior and they've removed all of my exterior parts. My CPU Core is still intact, that's all I can tell you.”
“Well, keep talking. I want to make sure you're still with me.” Kat said as she sped down the desert road.
********
ROOC Warehouse #012, Outskirts of Phoenix, Arizona
A few hours later, Kat was double-checking the warehouse's location on a GPS Carmen had installed on the dash. She found it easily. It was a large site, with one large building and several smaller ones. She took a moment to empty out the glove compartment and harden her shirt.
“You're close to me.” K.I.T.T told her. “I've just connected to your eye-cams.”
“Just hang in there. I'm coming.” Kat replied. The warehouse was blocked off by a chain link fence. Kat gunned the engine and rammed the gate. It flew open upon impact, both doors smacking into the fence.
She drove towards the largest building and was met with a hail of gunfire from above. The bullets ricocheted off of the Molecular-Bonded Shell, throwing off sparks. Kat braked sharply.
She opened a com-link to Pierce. “This is the place.” She told him. “Have David bring backup.”
“Are you sure you're at the right place?” Pierce asked.
Bullets continued to rain down on the car. “Yeah. I'm pretty sure.” Kat told him. “KITT said the eye-cams are working, and I'm being shot at.”
“Okay, you're at the right place.” Pierce said. “I'll call David. It'll be a couple of hours before his team can reach you.”
“That's fine. I just need them to pick up the pieces.” Kat's eyes were narrowed in anger. She searched the front of the factory. All of the windows on the second floor were open. Black-clad men were shooting at her from there.
“Kat, don't let your feelings cloud your judgment.” Pierce warned. “Wait for backup. I'm calling the local authorities now.”
“KARR could reach KITT's CPU Core at any moment. Or, he could find a way to activate the self destruct.” Kat said. “I can't wait.” She pressed a button on the steering wheel under her middle finger. A targeting window flared up on the windshield. She pressed another button under her fore finger.
“We all want both of you to come back to us.” Pierce said. “Please, be careful.”
“I'll think about it.” Kat said. She closed the com-link.
Cross hairs appeared in red on the windshield. Kat moved her hand to the middle of the steering wheel. She flipped open the center, revealing a black square. She ran one finger over it and the cross hairs moved the same way.
She brought the cross hairs up to the second floor of the factory. Bullets still struck the hood and windshield, but she ignored them. She tapped the black touch pad once.
A white canister shot out of the front of the Corvette. It sailed through an open second story window. Heavy gray smoke began pouring out of the windows almost immediately. The gunfire ceased.
Kat gunned the engine again and rammed the large double doors in front of her. The doors crashed inward. Kat stepped out of the car and closed the door behind her. Her shoulders were squared, there was determination in her eyes. She held a 9mm at her side.
Her dark eyes roved over the large stacks of crates and machinery in the large space. A wide aisle cut down the middle right in front of her. A door on the opposite side opened. The unknown man stepped swiftly into the room.
“You have to get out of there, Kat.” K.I.T.T said as the unknown man strode towards her, gun in hand. His would be loaded with real bullets. “Please.”
“Not without you.” Kat said grimly. She brought up her own gun, firing a wax bullet at the unknown man. It hit dead center in his chest. He didn't react, he was wearing a vest under his jacket then. He kept walking towards her, bringing up his gun.
Kat dove to the side, behind a concrete support. A sharp ping! rang out and a piece of the support chipped away at head height. Kat slipped behind a stack of crates, moving down till she was to his right.
She peered around a stack of crates. She pulled her head back just as a bullet hit the crate. Kat looked around as he continued to fire. She climbed up to the top of the crate next to her and fired down at the unknown man while he changed clips.
She hit his gun hand just as he had loaded the clip. The gun skidded across the floor. Kat jumped from the crate before the man could dive for his gun. She tackled him to the ground.
He threw her off with terrific force. Her back hit another stack of crates hard. The man retrieved his gun and turned to her automatically. His face was expressionless as he opened fire.
Two bullets hit her shirt and ricocheted. The blow still drove the breath from her lungs. Pain lanced through her chest. She slumped against the crate and desperately tried to draw in a breath.
The unknown man walked slowly over to her. She looked up at him as he brought the gun barrel up to her face.
Kat kicked out desperately, catching the man in the kneecap with her boot. He fell back and the gun fired. The bullet hit the crate three inches to the right of Kat's head.
Kat finally drew in a deep breath. She got to her feet just as the man was aiming at her again. She kicked out again, knocking the gun from his hand. She had lost her own gun after the man had shot her.
The man lunged at her. She brought up one knee and buried it into his stomach. Then she stepped back and placed her boot in the middle of his chest. She shoved him back, into the crates.
One black clad leg swung out, catching her calf. Kat fell to the floor, landing hard. She found a gun on the floor, in front of her eyes. She reached out and picked it up. It was heavy. Not hers.
A dark shadow loomed over her. She brought the gun up and fired at the unknown man, catching him in the shin. There was a spray of blood and he fell back.
Kat got to her feet slowly. She walked over to the fallen man, breathing heavily. He looked up at her, his face as blank as ever, his eyes hidden behind those sunglasses.
As Kat looked down at the man, a burning rage bubbled up inside of her. She lifted the gun up, the barrel level with his sunglasses.
“Kat, don't.”
“He helped KARR kill Sam, KITT.” Kat said bitterly. “He kidnapped David, and you. He's done nothing but try to hurt us.”
“We don't kill, Kat.” K.I.T.T told her. “That's not who we are. That's what separates us from KARR and those like him.”
Kat's hand began to tremble. The man just looked up at her as he bled on the floor. He made no move to stop her. Her finger tightened on the trigger.
She lifted the gun up quickly, then brought the butt of it down on the side of the man's head. He fell over, unconscious.
Kat took the clip out of the gun and pocketed it. She tossed the gun away. “You did the right thing.” K.I.T.T told her.
“Then why do I feel so awful?” Kat said. She jogged down the wide aisle, to the door that the unknown man had entered from. She grabbed the knob and turned. It was locked.
That overwhelming rage was still inside of her, so she kicked door down. The wooden door frame splintered and the door crashed open. Kat stepped through the doorway and stopped dead. Her anger drained away, leaving her cold and empty.
Her eyes took in the scene in front of her, reflecting shock and dismay. “Oh KITT...”
He lay in pieces in the middle of a wide, empty space. Nothing was connected to anything else. Not one bolt or screw. Each piece was entirely separated from every other piece.
She walked through the parts, slowly looking all around. There was a twenty foot radius of car parts. “He's a monster...” Kat said. “Why did he do this to you? What was the purpose in this?” Her foot brushed against something heavy. She glanced down and stepped around it.
“Kat, wait. Go back.” K.I.T.T said.
Kat looked back down at the floor. “What is it?”
“I'm here.” K.I.T.T said.
Kat looked at the parts at her feet. She couldn't recognize any of them. “Where?”
“Right under you.” K.I.T.T said.
Kat bent down and began placing her hands on different parts. After a moment K.I.T.T stopped her. “There. That's me.”
Kat picked up the metal black box. It weighed a solid fifteen pounds. She used both hands to hold it. “This is everything that I am.” K.I.T.T said. “My CPU Core.”
Kat held the box in her hands, her head bowed. Tears blurred her vision as she stood in the middle of what was once the most powerful car in the world.
