KNIGHT
RIDER 2000
ACT
THREE
53 INT. KNIGHT WAREHOUSE – DAY
The
Knight 4000, its neon parking lights shining bright, is parked parallel to
K.I.T.T. in his Volvo body. A moment of silence, then:
K.I.T.T.
I
suppose we should at least be cordial. My name is K.I.T.T., originally designed
with Series 2000 circuitry then boosted with a Westgate memory expander and
additional 64 bit buss.
No
response.
K.I.T.T.
Terrific…the
lights are on but nobody’s home.
(to
himself)
They
spend ten million dollars building the car and forget the voice. Incredible.
With no
warning the Knight 4000 floors it, doing donuts around a motionless K.I.T.T.,
coming within an inch of broadsiding him. It finally skids to a stop
paralleling K.I.T.T. again. When the dust settles…
K.I.T.T.
So it’s
going to be “mine’s bigger than yours,” is it?
KNIGHT
4000
Mine is
bigger than yours.
The car
does speak. And it sounds exactly like Russ Maddock.
K.I.T.T.
So it
talks. And sounds suspiciously familiar…
KNIGHT
4000
I only
speak when it’s absolutely necessary, unlike the antiquated artificial
intelligence of the previous two decades such as yourself.
K.I.T.T.
Maddock’s
voice? I knew the man had an ego, but please.
KNIGHT
4000
We have
nothing further to discuss.
Its parking
lights extinguish into silence.
K.I.T.T.
There’s
nothing worse than a smart-ass automobile.
ANOTHER
ANGLE
as
Michael and Shawn walk down a ramp leading to the cars.
MICHAEL
Did you
have much experience driving police units?
SHAWN
Your
inference is that I’m inadequate, which I resent.
MICHAEL
I only
thought your knowledge might help us if……
SHAWN
(interrupting)
Secondly,
if you’d done your research you’d know the exact nature of my field training
and wouldn’t make such a feeble query.
He
stares at her.
MICHAEL
I just
had a terrific thought – how about a fully paid leave of absence while we
replace that chip in your head with an even newer one, all at the Foundation’s
expense?
SHAWN
(ultra
sarcastic)
Oh, I
truly appreciate your concern for me, Mr. Knight, but the chip is mine now, and
it’s staying under my hood. Got it?
Patience
has run out.
MICHAEL
Lady, I
don’t know if this was the personality
you were born with or what, but you got an attitude that won’t fly around here.
We all work together or not at all.
SHAWN
“Not at
all” seems to be your suit, not mine. Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t you
leave the Foundation in 1990 to isolate yourself on Orcas Island and run an
unprofitable salmon charter? You obviously get along better with fish than with
people.
MICHAEL
You
talk too much too. Just like somebody else I know.
She
marches up to the Knight 4000.
MICHAEL
Wrong
car.
She
eyes the Volvo disdainfully.
SHAWN
This?
Put a couple of baby seats in the back and we’ll be ready to go.
Shawn
heads for the drivers door.
MICHAEL
I
drive.
SHAWN
Not
anymore you don’t.
She
climbs in; Michael’s not upset at all. He casually sits in the passenger side.
Shawn tries the ignition. It won’t start.
K.I.T.T.
Michael,
kindly tell this obnoxious person to remove her hands from my wheel.
SHAWN
The car
talks?
K.I.T.T.
Brilliant
observation, I’ll bet she even knows how many tires I have.
SHAWN
Yes,
and they’re obviously overinflated.
K.I.T.T.
Who is
this repugnant female?
SHAWN
Repugnant?
Try looking in the rearview mirror, whoever you are.
MICHAEL
K.I.T.T.,
say hello to Shawn McCormick. She has your missing chip implanted in her brain.
A
pause.
K.I.T.T.
We’ll
simply have to have it removed.
SHAWN
Fat
chance. Although after meeting the pretentious source of the chip, I may give
it some consideration now.
Shawn
angrily jams the ignition key again. It starts right up. The car screeches
away.
54 INT. K.I.T.T. – SIMULTANEOUS
Picking
up speed. Heading for the now-opening doors…maybe a little too fast.
MICHAEL
Slow
down.
SHAWN
Don’t
tell me – I’m not driving.
The
steering wheel jerks out of her grasp, slaloming back and forth as the
accelerator goes flush with the floor mat.
MICHAEL
K.I.T.T.,
knock it off.
But
they continue to pick up speed, heading for the still-opening doors.
MICHAEL
K.I.T.T.!
ANGLE –
WAREHOUSE DOORS
As they
barely scrape through.
55 EXT. DOWNTOWN STREETS - CONTINUOUS
Normal traffic until the black Volvo
appears, fast and reckless. It nearly sideswipes
a parked car as it flies by, a POLICE UNIT coming into view. The visibar lights instantly flash on, its
siren kicking in.
56 INT. K.I.T.T. - CONTINUOUS
zooming in and out of traffic,
out-of-control. Michael tries to wrestle steering control, but K.I.T.T. won’t let him.
MICHAEL
Enough,
K.I.T.T. -- pull over!
SHAWN
this
arrogant machine is going to kill both of us!
Almost instantaneously, K.I.T.T. begins
speaking backwards.
K.I.T.T.
Sgge
kcus uoy t’nod yhw, ydal.
MICHAEL
His
hard drive has crashed...
She
instinctively punches buttons on K.I.T.T.’s dash, bringing up an electronic schematic
on the monitor.
SHAWN
No way.
A hard drive malfunction is impossible with my circuitry!
MICHAEL
You
mean his circuitry.
SHAWN
Whatever.
He’s faking it.
MICHAEL
No,
K.I.T.T. wouldn’t go this far...
57 EXT. CROSSWALK - CONTINUOUS
BRIAN BOZWORTH is crossing the street,
minding his own business. He sees the
Volvo at the last second, and leaps to the curb, inches from death. A few seconds later, the police unit races by in
pursuit.
58 INT. K.I.T.T - CONTINUOUS
gaining speed, heading straight for the
huge display window of Marshall Fields. Michael
and Shawn both cover their faces as K.I.T.T. locks his brakes, skidding to a halt inches from the glass. A moment
of calmness. Then a slower, somber voice.
K.I.T.T.
I
apologize.
MICHAEL
What
happened?
K.I.T.T.
I lost
my temper.
Shawn gives Michael a disdainful look. I
told you so.
K.I.T.T.
You
have every right to be angry.
MICHAEL
This
isn’t like you K.I.T.T.
K.I.T.T.
What
is? First you take my body away, then my memory...and to top if off you park me
next to an unquestionably superior vehicle every night. You may think I’m just
a machine, but I do have a feelings chip.
Some of
the anger in Shawn’s face dissipates; some of the old Shawn trying to resurface.
She knows just how he feels.
SHAWN
Maybe I
could use one of those chips too.
Michael
gives her a look; maybe there’s a nice person in there after all. The police
unit screams up next to them, bringing them back to reality.
SHAWN
Just
what we need.
MICHAEL
(eying
side mirror)
Could
be. It’s your ex-partner.
She glances in her rearview, seeing Kurt
and Hedges approaching. She gives Michael
a look, nodding. How’d he know?
MICHAEL
I
decided to do my homework too.
SHAWN
What do
I do?
MICHAEL
We need
inside information, remember? I don’t know what you were like before you became
sister of K.I.T.T., but see if you can find any charm buried in there.
Calculations
are easy, but charm? Kurt steps up to the window, Hedges moving to the opposite
side. Kurt takes a long look at her, trying to give her every benefit of the doubt.
KURT
These
foreign jobs are a pain to drive sometimes, huh?
SHAWN
I can
drive them just fine, thank you very much.
Michael
instantly throws dagger-eyes at her. She squints her lids shut, trying harder.
SHAWN
...But
I could drive better if I had a lesson or two. Think you’d be free sometime to
help me out in that department?
Shawn
works hard to produce a humble smile for Kurt. It’s the first one we’ve seen
since her operation. Kurt smiles back, seeing some of the old Shawn he used to
like very much.
KURT
I think
I have some time for that.
Michael
shrugs up at Hedges, on his side of the car...but Hedges has her vision skeptically
focused on Shawn.
59 INT. ATHENS CAFE - NIGHT
A
well-established Greek cafe, with a panoramic view of the Seattle harbor. Shawn
and Kurt sip coffee in a window booth.
SHAWN
I
suppose I should thank you for not arresting me.
KURT
I miss
my old partner, McCormick.
SHAWN
I don’t
miss mine.
(winces)
That
was an abrasive thing to say. What I mean is, I have very little memory of you
to miss. I’m sorry.
KURT
It’s okay,
you were just behing honest.
(beat)
It sure
doesn’t sound like the old McCormick, though.
SHAWN
Things
tend to change after one gets shot in the head.
The guilt plays on him hard. He nods back
with empathy.
SHAWN
Look,
it wasn’t your fault and I don’t mean to make it sound that way. It’s hard to
control my mouth sometimes.
She reaches out, touching his arm,
bringing her WATCH into CLOSE-UP.
60 INT. K.I.T.T. - SAME TIME
Parked somewhere outside the marketplace, Michael
now behind the wheel. They’re
monitoring the restaurant conversation, with the dash FREQUENCY ANALYZER modulating in sync with their
voices.
KURT
(V.O)
So how
do you like working for the freelancers?
SHAWN
(V.O)
So far
so bad. But I can see it getting better.
K.I.T.T.
Michael,
am I that abrasive too?
MICHAEL
You?
Naw.
TIGHT
ON FREQUENCY ANALYZER.
peaking
and falling with Kurt’s voice in fluorescent green.
SHAWN
(FILTERED V.O.)
Has the
department made any progress with the handgun situation?
KURT
(FILTERED V.O.)
No...not
really.
K.I.T.T.
The
analyzer indicates stress in his voice.
61 INT. ATHENS CAFE - CONTINUOUS
SHAWN
What
about the former Mayor, any leads?
He shakes his head, avoiding eye contact.
KURT
I’m
shop-talked out. Mind if we change the subject?
SHAWN
Understand
that I have one priority -- to confront the creep who shot me. I need all the
help I can get.
Kurt looks up and instantly pales.
WATTS
(O.S.)
Kurt,
what a pleasant surprise.
Shawn
turns around, getting her wish. Johnny Watts is standing no more than three
feet from her. She looks at him blankly as he and Kurt shake hands.
WATTS
Mind if
I join you?
62 INT. K.I.T.T. - SAME TIME
KURT
(FILTERED V.O.)
No...not
at all.
K.I.T.T.
His
anxiety just went off the screen.
WATTS
(FILTERED V.O.)
Hello,
I’m John Wilson. You must be Kurt’s former parther -- he’s told me all about
you.
MICHAEL
Capture
a voice print of this guy.
63 INT. ATHENS CAFE - CONTINUOUS
as Watts sits down directly opposite
Shawn.
KURT
(distracted)
Sorry,
I should have introduced you. Mr. Wilson is in the import business.
WATTS
And
export.
He
reveals a one-eighth scale bronze pistol, pointing it directly at her. She
gazes down the barrel, eyes transfixed on
it. Is there some recognition? Tension grips Kurt’s
face as Watts pulls the trigger. Shawn flinches as a little flame pops up.
WATTS
I’m
sending thise little knick-knacks to Hong Kong. They still smoke two packs a
day over there.
SHAWN
It’s a
nasty habit.
He scrutinizes Shawn’s eyes for any
reaction. None. Innocuous conversation has run
out. Shawn stands.
SHAWN
I
really have to go.
(to Kurt)
Thanks
for the coffee.
WATTS
It was
a pleasure, Ms. McCormick.
She
tries to smile back politely as he takes her hand, holding it, studying her one
last time. He finally releases it and she exits. When she’s out of earshot.....
KURT
She
stared you straight in the eye. Are you satisfied?
WATTS
She’s a
very lucky woman.
64 EXT. ATHENS CAFE - CONTINUOUS
as Shawn steps out the door...and is
abruptly jolted by a:
65 MEMORY FLASH
Not
unlike Shawn’s RNA transfer, but with computer short-outs occasionally
crackling thanks to the chip in her brain:
We’re
staring at Shawn’s “Happy Birthday” banner, the voices of fifty people pulling
our view downward.
EVERYONE
Blow
out the candles!
A very
happy Shawn appears with long flowing hair, being gently pushed toward the
table by Hedges and Strand, among others. The cake finally comes into view…but
it’s not a cake at all. It’s a full sized 9mm Sig Sauer automatic held in an
anonymous hand, with a cigarette-lighter flame glowing out the top.
EVERYONE
Make a
wish!
Shawn
leans down with a big smile, briefly closing her eyes for the wish. She opens
them and blows, plunging us into:
BLACKNESS
A dizzy
darkness…like we’re inside a tunnel racing backwards. In fact, we are – light
begins to reflect off the shiny but scored walls as our speed increases.
Ultimately we emerge out the tunnel’s end…finding that we’ve been inside the
barrel of the Sig Sauer. Back, back, back we go…revealing the hand holding it,
the killer’s arm, his neck…
…But
before we see his face, BOOM. The barrel EXPLODES and our vision is instantly
filled with a BRIGHT WHITE LIGHT.
CUT
BACK TO:
66 EXT. MARKETPLACE – SHAWN
reacts,
banging into the wall behind her, the whites of her eyes fully exposed.
Eventually her lids flutter as she regains control.
67 INT. K.I.T.T. – SAME TIME
Michael
waits behind the wheel as K.I.T.T. computes data.
MICHAEL
Any
luck with the voice print?
K.I.T.T.
I have
insufficient bytes to calculate a match.
Shawn
appears at the door, climbing in the passenger side. Really shaken.
SHAWN
I
haven’t lost my memory.
K.I.T.T.
That
makes one of us.
SHAWN
Shut up
for once, K.I.T.T. – this is serious. I just saw myself getting shot. I
actually remembered it.
MICHAEL
Did you
see who it was?
SHAWN
No. But
God, they said I had no recent memory. Something’s in there and I can’t get it
out.
Frustration
seizes her. Then it comes to Michael.
MICHAEL
Maybe
you won’t have to.
68 INT. RNA CONTROL BOOTH – TIGHT ON HDTV
MONITOR – DAY
Some
brief data flashes on the screen: RNA TRANSFER/FACILITY #01156. SUBJECT:
McCormick, Shawn. DATE: March 2, 2000. Then the screen goes dark. For many
seconds.
DR.
GLASSMAN
As I
said, you had no recent memory.
REVERSE
Michael
and Shawn are facing the blank monitor, DR. GLASSMAN standing behind them. He’s
very nervous.
SHAWN
You’re
lying. And I want to know why.
DR.
GLASSMAN
Contrary
to what you’re thinking, I do have ethics. I risked my career to save your
life.
SHAWN
I heard
it boosted your career, Dr. Glassman – a Lenhart Surgical Grant was awarded to
you after successfully performing the procedure, despite odds of failure
topping 44.8 percent…not that I’m ungrateful.
Glassman
studies her like she’s one of his lab rats. Admiring his work.
DR.
GLASSMAN
Has
your muscular coordination developed synonymous with your mental capacity?
SHAWN
I
wouldn’t test it. Look, I remember getting shot, Doctor. I want the rest of it
back too.
MICHAEL
This
disc is blank. Where’s the real one?
DR.
GLASSMAN
You’re
looking at it.
MICHAEL
(realizes)
You
erased it…?
He says
nothing. Shawn is devastated.
DR.
GLASSMAN
I’m
sorry, but I don’t trust you or anybody anymore.
MICHAEL
You
have to tell us what you saw.
DR.
GLASSMAN
I
didn’t see anything.
MICHAEL
This is
her life we’re talking about you son of a…
DR.
GLASSMAN
It’s
mine too. I’m not getting involved.
69 EXT. BLUFF – DAWN
K.I.T.T.
is parked on a knoll overlooking Puget Sound, the sun just beginning to rise.
Shawn and Michael sit quietly inside. After several moments…
MICHAEL
We’ve
been here all night. You’re just gonna have to…
SHAWN
What?
Put it out of my mind? Too late, somebody already did.
MICHAEL
Listen,
I’m on your side.
SHAWN
The
only side you’re on is your own.
MICHAEL
What’s
that supposed to mean?
SHAWN
Devon
told me you’re leaving as soon as the Knight 4000 is ready.
Silence.
K.I.T.T.
Michael…is
that true?
No
comment.
K.I.T.T.
You
never should’ve brought me back.
MICHAEL
We
brought each other back.
SHAWN
So what
do I do in the meantime, huh? Hope for another memory jolt or two?
Several
beats of silence.
K.I.T.T.
There’s
one possibility which I’ve been reluctant to mention. It could be extremely
dangerous.
SHAWN
Just
tell me what it is.
K.I.T.T.
The
human body is run by electric current, much like a computer, but only at a
fraction of the voltage. Because of my chip being in your brain, I might be
able to stimulate your hemispherical memory center and pipe it through my
monitor.
SHAWN
What,
I’m supposed to stick my finger in the cigarette lighter or something?
K.I.T.T.
I could
generate it from my shifting lever.
MICHAEL
You
said it was dangerous.
K.I.T.T.
If I
don’t calculate the precise electrical input, the odds are…just a moment…
SHAWN
…a 33.5
percent chance of permanent brain damage.
K.I.T.T.
Thank
you.
Michael
eyes Shawn, who’s actually considering it.
MICHAEL
Forget
it.
SHAWN
(sarcastic)
I truly
appreciate your concern but…
MICHAEL
You’d
better appreciate it because it’s real.
She
looks at him. He does care about her. Her feelings toward him soften, but not
her determination.
SHAWN
Michael…it’s
my choice. And there’s really no other one I can make.
She
grabs the chrome shifting rod.
MICHAEL
Don’t
do it, K.I.T.T.
K.I.T.T.
I’m
afraid I have to respect her wishes over yours, Michael. Maybe for a long time
to come.
That one
went deep. Michael has no rebuttal.
70 EXT. K.I.T.T. – SECONDS LATER
Peaceful
on the bluff…then bright flashes of light bombard the car’s interior.
71 INT. K.I.T.T. – SIMULTANEOUS
as
Shawn is thrown against her seat, her hands still clutching the shifter.
K.I.T.T.’S monitor is flickering like a strobe over her dilated pupils.
72 TIGHT ON THE MONITOR – MEMORY FLASH SEQUENCE
momentarily
blinding us…then ghostly, surreal images begin to appear inside the tunnel we
now know is a GUN BARREL. They are intermixed with memory chip glitches and
very fragmented:
1) MICHAEL looks straight at us.
MICHAEL
Lady,
you got an attitude that won’t fly around here. We all work together or not at
all.
2) SEVENTEEN YEAR-OLD SHAWN dances past us at
her high school prom.
SHAWN
I love
you.
Her
DATE swivels around as she kisses him…then the original guy from the prom
changes into Michael.
73 INT. K.I.T.T. – TIGHT ON MICHAEL
staring
at K.I.T.T’s monitor, subtly embarrassed. He had no idea she might be attracted
to him.
RETURN
TO MONITOR – MEMORY FLASH SEQUENCE
3) SHAWN’S FATHER place a cake right in front
of us. ADJUST to discover the adult Shawn on the opposite side, continuing a
CIRCULAR PAN to discover her friends at the surprise party, standing where her
father was a moment ago.
SHAWN
I don’t
really have a family anymore…at least not until I joined the P.D. I’m going to repay you guys by being the
very best, that’s all there is to it.
Camera
continues its PAN back to Shawn as she abruptly fires at us, now dodging Watts’
bullets at the skyscraper restaurant.
4) JOHNNY WATTS points his miniature gun
lighter at her, sitting with Shawn and Kurt at the Athens Café.
SHAWN
They
were all supposed to have been melted down.
WATTS
Relax,
Officer. You’re off-duty now.
He
pulls the trigger, the flame popping up, and:
5) SHAWN AND KURT are now in the police locker
room, dressing for their shift. Suddenly the CRAZED DRUGGIE from the
marketplace appears, who we know is Hedges in disguise. The Druggie/Hedges is
wearing a uniform.
DRUGGIE
(HEDGES)
You’ve
got a good partner. Just don’t blow it out there and you’ll be fine, honey.
We
finally PULL COMPLETELY OUT OF THE GUN BARREL which all these bits and pieces
have been flashing in…seeing the hand, the arm, the neck and, at last, THE FACE
OF JOHNNY WATTS.
WATTS
We meet
again.
Our
view spins to the Druggie, a.k.a. Hedges.
HEDGES
You
shouldn’t have picked up that gun, McCormick.
She
pulls off her wig and moustache.
SHAWN’S
VOICE
We can
work this out…
WATTS
Relax,
Officer. You’re off-duty now.
Watts
levels the gun, PULLS THE TRIGGER and BOOM! as a BRIGHT WHITE FLASH hits us…
…then
it clears. We find ourselves on the ground, face up, vision swimming. Watts
steps into view again, looking at us with no remorse. Hedges appears next to
him…followed by Strand and several others we recognize from the locker room and
Shawn’s party. They all stare down at us briefly, then exit.
Footsteps
trample forward…then KURT appears. He glances back at his fellow cops who’ve
just departed, then back at Shawn with tremendous guilt on his face.
The
image swims as Shawn loses consciouseness. Everything goes black.
CUT
BACK TO:
74 INT. K.I.T.T. – ON SHAWN – DAWN
Her
limp hand slips off the shift lever. Tears trickle down.
SHAWN
They
betrayed me…
Michael
reaches out, touching her hand with empathy.
MICHAEL
We’ll
have to do something about that.
He
looks out the windshield, his expression hardening, and:
COMPUTER
FREEZE/BLACK OUT.
END OF
ACT THREE