Knight
Rider 2000
Future
Doesn’t Matter
Written by
Scott Kirkessner
Based upon KNIGHT RIDER
Created by
Glen A. Larson
Original KNIGHT RIDER 2000 Concept by
Rob Hedden
New concept by
Scott Kirkessner
When the Ku Klux Klan
slowly worms its way into the daily lives of the citizens of Naissa, Alabama,
the Knight Foundation is called in by one of the victims of a recent hate
crime. Shawn McCormick, still a
learning rookie for FLAG, soon finds herself back in one of her home towns
reunited with a former lover who seems more nervous than excited to have her
back. Her investigation deepens when
evidence connected to the hate crimes point to her former lover, and it doesn't
take long for FLAG to quickly become the new enemies of the KKK. Now, against all odds, the Knight Foundation
decides to take a final stand in Naissa...
Rated R for strong
violent content, profanity, and suggestive dialogue.
You know how
sometimes there are events in one’s life which test the binds of a friendship? I guess that’s what you can call this. As friends, you and your friend go through
many hard times. A boyfriend dumping
you, calling up your friend at no matter what hour just to have them greet you
by saying ‘what took you so long to call?’
Things like that. Over time,
there are much more intense situations which can test a friendship. Test loyalties, in essence.
They say
that friends have a much stronger emotional bond than lovers. And perhaps that is true, because one of the
major people involved in this case was my ex-boyfriend, Jimmy Hawkins. He and I met in high school when my step-dad
moved the family to Naissa, Alabama.
Jimmy and I hit it off well. I
kinda thought of him to be a little hickish, but he had a charm about him that
I couldn’t explain.
The sad part
is that he and I were forced to break up when I left for college in
Washington. We kept contact, but soon
lost touch, and I wouldn’t hear from him again until I encountered him back in
Alabama.
So before I
go any further, I guess I may as well introduce myself. My name is Shawn McCormick. I am an ex cop from Seattle, now working as
an agent for the Knight Foundation.
Having only
joined less than a month ago, and becoming an agent because of my personal
connection to the car, KITT, it is my job to help fight the criminals who
operate above the law. Now some may
ask, how does racism tie into that?
You’ll find out soon enough.
Racism,
hate. The two words sound completely
different, but mean almost the same thing.
The only thing that really had my mind swimming through this ordeal is
how can human beings, treat other human beings in such a horrible manner?
I know I
sound like a televangelist on TV or something, but if you think of it, that is
a question that will plague humanity for years to come.
Russell
Maddock, our CEO once said that he lost faith in human beings. I don’t blame him, he was a DA. The human garbage which he helped run
through the courts is enough to turn anyone away from hope that humanity will
last much longer.
A good
friend once said that loyalties and trust cannot be dictated, they must be
earned.
All I have
to say, is that this case was a major turning point in my life, and I will
forever remember the time and place where I was when the Foundation got a phone
call from a reverend in Naissa, Alabama...
April 5,
2000
Naissa
Baptist Church
Location:
Naissa, Alabama
My partner,
KITT and I pulled up to the scene of about 14 police cars on the premises of
what used to be a church. Oddly, the
only thing standing in the rubble was what was left of the cross which was on
the small steeple.
I was
totally amazed as to the destruction which could be done, especially in this
time. I got out of KITT and looked for
Reverend Martin Holiday. I didn’t know
who to expect, but when I saw him, I had half the case solved already.
Reverend
Holiday stood 6 feet tall, wore the usual religious attire. He had dark brown hair, brown eyes, and was
black. I knew deep in my heart that
this was a hate crime. Before I could
walk over to him, he walked over to me.
I guess KITT’s appearance does attract a lot of attention.
I walked up
and greeted the reverend and offered my condolences on his loss.
“Thank you,”
was his reply. I saw him looking around
and his eyes focuses on the chasing lights on the front of KITT.
“Reverend,
do you have any idea why a crime like this would happen?” I asked, already
knowing his answer.
“Ms.
McCormick, this is primarily a black church.
You and I both know this was a hate crime.”
Needless to say,
I knew he was right, but I decided to play it right, like a cop, and ask for
all the details. “How can you be so
sure?”
“Follow me.”
The reverend showed me to a side of his house which had a bunch of windows in
it. On them was the word ‘nigger’ written
in blood. KITT analyzed it later and
found it to be sheep’s blood. “Is this
the proof you need?” he said, pointing to the graffiti.
I felt awful
right then and there. Like I was about
to throw up. I knew that this case
could not be solved. “Reverend did you
see anything last night?”
“I saw the
Klan riding away.” he replied.
Shit! Is what I said in my mind. No way I was gonna let that fly in front of
the reverend. I had no idea what to do. So I did what every cop would do in a
situation. Lie. “Reverend, we will do our best to find the
people who did this.”
“Thank you,
Ms. McCormick.” the reverend said, with distraught in his voice. Thank the stars that he didn’t make me swear
to the truth on a bible.
One thing
that went through my mind was why the Foundation was called in on this. Luckily we had nothing to do for about a
month so Maddock sent me and KITT and Kevin Williams, KITT’s mechanic, down
here on the plane. “Reverend, why did
you call the Knight Foundation?”
“Well, a few
years back, a good friend of mine, Devon Miles, worked for you guys, and he
said if there was ever anything I needed, just ask. I was sad to hear that he died a few months back. But I talk to Russell Maddock, and he and I
talked for awhile and he agreed to send you down here.”
I was kind
of angry for Russ’ rush to get us down here.
I was very jet-lagged from the trip from Seattle. “Reverend, we will do everything in our
power to help.” I said, shaking his hand, and walking away, before I
bull-shitted myself into a deeper hole.
I walked
over to KITT, who was patiently sitting there, with a small puppy sleeping on
his hood. Which surprised me too
because I knew he did not have a big fondness for dogs. “What’s up with this, KITT?” I calmly asked,
pointing to the dog.
“She’s a
stray, Shawn, and was tired. I didn’t
ask her to jump up on the hood, but she did, and I just permitted her to sleep
there.” KITT replied.
Now is it
just me, or did an emotionless car show compassion? I didn’t protest and I got inside KITT. “KITT, I need you to run a scan of the area. I want you to scan for anything that could
be traceable to the KKK.”
“Scans only
come up with footprints, Shawn.” KITT replied.
“Okay, scan
all the footprints, but exclude the footprints of the reverend and his family,
police officers, and mine.”
“Right away,
Shawn.” KITT quickly replied. One of
the good things that I liked about him.
He was obedient to the nth degree.
It wasn’t long before he finished his scans. I was impressed at his accuracy, and quickness. “Since most of the compound is grass, these
are the only scanable footprints, which are in ash. They all match, so it came from one person.”
“Good job,
KITT. What can you find about the
footprint?” I asked, only to dread his reply.
“It will
take a few hours to run detailed analysis on the footprint and the shoe it came
from, Shawn.” KITT replied.
“We’ll do it
from the plane then.” I said. I started
up KITT, forgetting about the puppy on the hood. KITT spoke up to remind me, which amazed me all the more. I got out and took the puppy in my arms and
got back in the car.
“Surely you
aren’t taking that dog with us?” KITT said.
Despite what he said, deep down I knew he thought the little dog was
cute. I put the dog on the seat next to
me and drove back to the plane.
Knight Air
Transport
Location:
Crimson Air Force Base (non-active)
Leave it to
Naissa never to get an airport with capability to handle a Boeing 747. The only place for that would be Crimson Air
Force base, which shut down in 1998. We
got permission to land there, thankfully.
When KITT
and I pulled into the cargo bay of the plane, we were greeted by Kevin
Williams, KITT’s mechanic and systems monitor.
“Hey you
two,” Kevin said, with a smile. “did
you have fun out in the hot sun?” Kevin
was right about one thing, it was damn hot!
I got out of
KITT and took the puppy with me. “I
need you and KITT to run an analysis on a footprint we scanned at the fire,
think you two can do that?”
“Sure,”
Kevin said, “what’s with the dog?”
“She was a
stray who found KITT’s hood to be a nice bed.
I’m just gonna take care of her for now.” I said with a smile, and
walked towards the elevator.
The 747 was
a big aircraft, totally customized to serve as an airborne garage for KITT, and
our hotel on wheels. The entire cargo
hold was modified. In the front was a
large galley, and the rest served as the diagnostics center for KITT.
The next
level up was a little more modified.
The floor was sunk, to create more room for 7 large cabins which lined
the left side of the plane, with a small corridor running down the side. Then there was a small lounge area at the
front, with stairs leading up to what used to be the first class level.
Four cabins
occupied this area, which were for the flight crew, which consisted of the
pilot, co-pilot, navigator, and extra pilot.
Whichever
way you look at it, our aircraft was not normal at all. I walked to my cabin, and went inside,
finding the opportunity for myself to stretch.
I set the puppy down who scurried under my bed. I laid down on my bed, still tired from the
rush trip down to Alabama.
I suddenly
remembered about someone who I forgot.
Jimmy Hawkins. Remember how I
mentioned that friends have a better bond than lovers? Well, this is where it comes into play. After Jimmy and I lost touch, I totally
forgot about him. I decided to give him
a call, and see what he was up to, and hope that he still remembered me.
When the
number was dialed, his voice came up over the speakers. “Hello?”
“Jimmy, this
is Shawn... McCormick.”
“Shawn? Is this the same Shawn who went to Naissa
High School?”
“Yeah....” I
replied. Jimmy always liked to be a
smart ass.
“The same
Shawn who has my letter jacket?”
“Yes.”
“And the
same Shawn who said we would never lose touch?” Smart ass.
“Yes, guilty
on all counts.” I replied.
“Well Shawn,
how the hell are you?!” he screamed over the speakers with enthusiasm. I wonder if he was faking it.
“I am great
Jimmy. Listen, I’m in town for the next
couple of days, and I wondered if you wanted to do anything at all?”
“Hey that
sounds like a good idea, Shawn. Of
course I wanna do something with you, we sure got a lot of catching up to
do!” Well duh.
Jimmy and I
talked for a few more minutes on the phone, and he agreed to pick me up at the
plane at 8:00pm. I didn’t have any
intention of rekindling a romance with Jimmy at all, but I decided that while
I’m back in my town I grew up in for five years, I may as well visit my high
school sweetheart.
A little
while later walked back down to the garage and found KITT and Kevin working
hard on the footprint that was found at the fire. “What did you guys find?” I asked.
“Nothing
good, Shawn. It turns out that this
type of boot is worn by about 400,000 people in Alabama.” Nope, that wasn’t good news at all.
“However,
further analysis show fragments of foreign mud and horse manure which were on
the boot. Also fragments of the boot
are missing, in a style which corresponds to placing one’s feet in stirrups on
a saddle of a horse.”
“Then it is
the Ku Klux Klan?” Kevin asked.
“Oh, most
definitely,” I said, “and the problem is these church burnings are random, and
we probably wont be able to find them.
I want you to tap into the sheriff’s office and get all records of KKK
related arsons in the past two months.” I said as I walked towards the door.
“Where are
you going?” Kevin asked.
“I got a
date.” I replied with a smile, and I walked out of the plane.
I walked
down the road a little, keeping a close eye and distance to the well-lit
plane. I heard a car approaching, and I
looked up to see an old blue Corvette coming towards me. It stopped and Jimmy got out. “Hey little lady, need a ride?” he said,
with a smile.
I ran
towards him and gave him a big hug. “It
is so good to see you again.” I said.
Jimmy hugged
back and walked me over to the passenger side.
He opened the door and I got in.
I was surprised he still drove the same Stingray he drove in high
school.
“Wow, Jimmy,
you sure kept this car in good condition.” I said as he got in.
“Yeah, what
can I say? We Southerners like our
cars.” He said, driving off.
Now first,
let me tell some more about Naissa... When I lived there, the only major thing
of the town was the Air Force base. My
step-father got stationed there and we all moved with him. The town basically had, or has nothing. No fancy restaurant, no major shopping
center, nothing that is the simple luxury to you and I which we mainly take for
granted. So where are two people
supposed to eat in the town? Easy, the
diner. That’s what it was called, The
Diner.
Jimmy and I
got our food to go and decided to go back to Raven Rock where we used to hang
out.
We talked
about what we’ve been doing since we lost touch, and I told him about how I
became a cop, but then stumbled on a inside plan to run banned handguns on the
black-market. I told him how I was shot
in the head by their leader, and that I lost some of my recent memory, but then
KITT’s chip was placed in my head and helped me retain my memory. I told how that I was basically hired right
away by the Knight Foundation when they found out about me having KITT’s
chip. When I finished, Jimmy was
speechless.
“So what are
you in town for?” he finally asked. If
I knew Jimmy, I knew that question was burning him to ask all night.
I decided to
be honest, and tell him why I was really here.
“I’m here investigating a church burning by the KKK.”
“Oh really?”
Jimmy asked, with a very odd look on his face, which kind of made me
suspicious. But hey, this is Jimmy, he
is kind of odd in his own little way, so I really thought nothing of it.
“Yes,
Reverend Holiday of the Naissa Baptist Church, called us after the church was
destroyed by arson.”
The weird
look remained on Jimmy’s face, and at that time, I still thought nothing of
it. I figured it was just Jimmy being
his odd, usual self. I also remembered
that his father was extremely racist, so maybe that was it.
We sat on
the rocks we used to sit on for hours before, and hours again. We talked about everything you could think
of. But as Jimmy probed on about my
investigation, something told me that there was more than meets the eye here.
“How is your
investigation of the fire?” he asked me.
“It’s going
slow. But if we have any luck, we’ll
catch the people responsible for this.
We got a footprint which we’re scanning to see if we can match it.” I
said.
It was when
Jimmy dropped his drink on the rock, but caught it in time, that I got
suspicious. I noticed that he subtly
changed the way he was sitting on the rock, which put his boots out of my
view. Now something was up.
“What do you
find by scanning it?” he asked.
I was unsure
what to say now. If I lie like a rug
and say that we can find the owner in a matter of hours, what would he do? If I told the truth and said 400,000 people
match, but it has distinct qualities on it, what would he do? I decided for an altered version of the
truth. “We scanned the footprint and
found that about 400,000 people wear that type of boot.” I looked at the stars,
and heard Jimmy quietly exhale.
“But,” I
said, and his head snapped to me, “we scanned some extra items that came with
the footprint. Traces of manure, small
pieces missing, and with that info, we can narrow it down a little more. To maybe about 9 or 10 people.” I said,
lying.
Jimmy took
awhile to reply. I knew I would ruin
everything if I said, hey Jimmy, let me see your boot, so I played it
cool. I looked at my watch and saw that
it was near midnight.
“It’s
getting late,” I said, “we got work to do in the morning.”
Jimmy nodded
and jumped off the rock and into some dust.
He helped me down. On purpose, I
ignored his boot prints completely, and we walked back to his car. Everything was running through my mind at
once, and at that point, I knew Jimmy was a suspect.
Jimmy pulled
up to the plane, which was lit up like a park, and got out and opened the door
for me. I kissed him and gave him a big
hug and walked back to the plane.
Upon
entering the plane, I immediately went over to KITT and told him the situation.
When we
exited the plane, I had him scan the vicinity.
“There is no
sign of a Corvette in the vicinity, Shawn.” KITT reported. Which was good, because that means Jimmy
left.
We drove to
Raven Rock and I got out and walked over to where Jimmy landed when he jumped
off the rock. Sure enough, the prints
were still there. I got a camera out of
KITT’s trunk and took pictures of the prints.
When I got back in the car, I plugged the camera into the dashboard
interface and drove back to the plane while KITT uploaded the pictures.
When we made
it back to the plane, I told Kevin what I found, and asked what should be
done. He uploaded the pictures from
KITT, and opened one, which was a clear shot of the footprint that I took.
He looked at
it, and the brought up the scan of the footprint that KITT took. He typed on the computer and the two images
disappeared.
“It will be
a few minutes while the computer is closely scanning both of them to see if
they match.” Kevin said. He took out a
file and handed it to me. I opened it
and saw it was a chart, with some papers with it.
“What is
this?” I asked.
“It is
records from the Sheriff’s office of KKK crimes within the last month. Check it out, there were little to no crimes
in January, February, and early March.
But late last month, they’ve been on the rise, and no one really knows
why.” Kevin explained.
I read the
files. “The hate crimes happen at
random times, most during the night.” I said.
The computer
terminal beeped and Kevin turned to it.
He brought up the two images of the foot print as they slowly scanned
onto the screen. When they were done,
the two images moved over each other.
“It’s a
match.” Kevin said.
“Oh my
God....” was all I could say. I could
not believe that Jimmy was involved with the Ku Klux Klan!
Kevin
deserves credit for trying to help me out with the situation. “So you know this guy?” he asked, politely.
“Yes, I
do. His name is Jimmy Hawkins, he was
my boyfriend when I lived here in Naissa.”
I was about
to fill them in more when a wave a nausea came over me. I started to get sick of the fact that I was
associated with this trash. I quickly
walked towards my cabin, and I locked the door once I got in. I went into the bathroom and I threw
up. I was that sick because of what I
learned about Jimmy.
I decided to
call Maddock. It was midnight in
Alabama, which meant that it was 9pm in Seattle. The number dialed and I laid down on my bed. The puppy jumped up and nestled itself
nicely in my arms. Despite the way I
was feeling, that little puppy made me smile.
“Hello?”
Maddock said, sounding a little tired.
“Russ, It’s
Shawn. Listen the fire was a hate crime
from the KKK, and I know one of the people who did it.”
“You
do? How?”
“First off,
at the fire, KITT scanned a footprint which didn’t belong to any of the
investigators on the scene. We scanned
it more and found traces of horse manure, and pieces missing out of the boot,
which meant the person rode horses.
Later tonight, I went out with an old friend of mine named Jimmy
Hawkins. When we were about to leave
where we were, he left a footprint in the dust, which matched the footprint
from the fire. It’s him, Russell.”
There was a
long moment of silence until KITT broke into our phone call. “Sorry to interrupt, Shawn, but police
scanners are reporting a fire at a family’s house down on Em Street.
The news
made me spring up out of bed, scaring the puppy away and across the cabin. “Holy Shit, I used to live on Em
Street. Russ, I’ll keep you posted!” I
yelled as I left the cabin and ran towards the elevator.
KITT was
started and running by the time I got to the cargo bay. Kevin was in his passenger seat. I got in and threw the car in reverse and
sped out of the plane. I turned around
and sped towards Em street, which was not too far from the base.
I noticed
Kevin looking over at me, concerned, but he kept his words to himself. I still wish he hadn’t.
I turned the
corner, barely making the turn at all and we saw a house fully engulfed in
flames... I remembered the house well.
It was my house I used to live in.
“Oh Jesus!”
I screamed as I slammed on the brakes and ran up. A cop stopped me, but I flashed him my ID and he let me through.
I just
watched as the house I lived in for only five years burned. I looked around for the family, and saw them
standing across the street. My heart
sunk to my feet when I saw them. They
were black.
I wanted to
run over to them and do my damnedest to comfort them but I couldn’t. I wasn’t real angry about the house going
up. I was intent on getting Jimmy
Hawkins.
Kevin walked
up to me, and put a comforting arm around me.
“What does this mean?”
“It’s a
sign, Kevin.” I replied.
“A sign for
what?”
“A sign for
me. It’s telling me to back off, and
leave Naissa.”
April 6,
2000
0829 Hrs
I laid in my
bed, under the warm covers, with the puppy beside me, laying on the floor. I didn’t sleep at all last night. I just looked straight at the blank ceiling.
Kevin called
up to my cabin on the comm-lines.
“Shawn? Shawn you there?”
“Yeah, I’m
here, Kevin, what do you need?” The night, I returned to the plane, but asked
Kevin and KITT to return to the scene.
“We scanned
the scene and found a ring in the rubble.
We checked it out with the family and they didn’t claim it, so we brought
it back here.”
I went to
the small refrigerator and took out a bottle of water, while Kevin told me what
him and KITT did.
I opened a
small can of dog food and gave it to the puppy, who stuck her nose up at it at
first, but then started to eat. “What
else did you find?” I asked. My heart
sunk again when I heard what Kevin told me.
“We scanned
for Jimmy’s boot print and found it.”
“I’ll be
right down.”
I walked
into the garage and saw Kevin looking through a microscope. He must have heard me coming because he
looked up. “Hey, this is the ring we
found.” he said, taking it out from under the microscope and handing it to me.
I gasped as
I saw the ring.
“What is
it?” Kevin asked.
“It’s the
duplicate of Jimmy’s high school ring he had made after he gave the other one
to me. He was wearing it last night
when he took me out.”
“Do you
think he planted it there, or someone else did?” Kevin asked. He was always one who was inquisitive, and
asked questions constantly. He would
have made a good detective.
I shook my
head, and tried hard to think what Jimmy did after he left last night...
I see him
walking down Em Street, looking at the class ring on his hand. I see him pulling out a Molotov Cocktail,
lighting the rag, and throwing it at the house. The bottle shatters and explodes and the house goes up. He rips the ring off of his finger and
throws it into the fire...
No. I don’t think it was that. He is not one to act alone in a lot of
things....
I see Jimmy
walking to wherever the Klan meets, and talking to them, making up some kind of
BS lies about the family living on 2010 Em Street.
Down the
street they come, turning the corner on top of their horses, carrying torches,
riding towards the house which used to be mine.
People look
out their windows, wondering what the commotion about, and then they see what’s
coming, and they run to gather their family, and pray to God ten times over
that the Klan isn’t coming for them.
Then the
Klan stops, and turns towards their target house. They slowly walk towards the target, clubs and torches in their
hands, ready to lay waste to a house with an innocent family still in it.
Closer and
closer they approach the house, until one finally throws his torch at it,
igniting the side. They cheer in unison
as they run and throw their torches and Molotov Cocktails at the house.
Inside, the
family, already knowing the Klan is there to get them, runs out the back, and
into a neighbors yard.
As their end
tribute, the Klan hammers a cross into the front lawn and lights it ablaze.
Jimmy walks
up to face the blaze, and removes his mask, looking down at his finger, he rips
the ring off and throws it into the fire.
Everyone
returns to the horses they rode in on, and rides off into the night...
I knew in my
mind that is what happened early this morning.
Now all we had to do was stop them.
“Jimmy was there last night, what we have to do is determine how many
KKK were with him.”
“How do we
do that?” Kevin asked. Another question
from the genius.
“We talk to
everyone we can on Em Street.” I said.
We later
found out that talking to witnesses of hate crimes are easier said than done.
Kevin walked
up to one house, and I walked up to the one next door. We knocked on our respective doors.
“Hi, my name
is Kevin Williams, from the Knight Foundation, we’re investigating the recent
hate crime in this area...”
“...tell me
was there anything you saw or heard early this morning?” I asked.
Both doors
slam in our faces. I look at Kevin from
the neighbors porch.
House after
house after house turned up nothing.
People were so scared of getting hit next, they lied and said they
didn’t see anything, or weren’t home that night.
Kevin and I
finally walked down to the last house on the street. We rang the doorbell and an old lady, who was white, came to the
door. “Hello.” she said.
“Hello,
ma’am,” I said, “I’m Agent Shawn McCormick, this is my partner Kevin Williams,
we’re from the Foundation for Law and Government. We are investigating the fire a few houses down, and would like
to know if you saw anything.”
We both
prepared ourselves for a slamming door, or a lie, but were amazed when the lady
replied, “Yes.”
“Can you
tell us what you saw?” Kevin asked.
The lady
hesitated for awhile. “Yes, I can,” she
said, “please come in.”
We were
sitting inside the living room, in front of the air conditioner which was
running at full blast. She introduced
herself as Victoria Hamilton. “I’ve
lived in this house since 1953, and I never saw a rash of hate crimes as worse
as this. This is the first time one
happened on this block.” She stopped and looked at me for a moment. “Shawn McCormick, that name sounds so
familiar...”
“I lived in
this town for five years, when my step-father was stationed at Crimson Air
Force Base.”
“Robert McCormick?”
she asked.
“Yes,” I
replied, “I lived in the house that was destroyed.”
“Oh my, I’m
so sorry. It was about 1am this
morning, and I heard chanting coming down the street. I looked out my door, and I saw a bunch of men in white sheets on
horses, some carrying clubs, and some carrying flaming torches. They walked down the street and stopped in
front of the Johnson’s house.”
“Then what
happened?” I asked.
“I quickly
went inside then.” Victoria said.
“So you
didn’t see anything at all?” Kevin asked.
“No,”
Victoria replied, but then I saw her expression change, as if she got an
idea. “You can check the security
cameras across the street.”
“Security
cameras?” Kevin asked before I did.
“Yes,”
Victoria replied, “when the Air Force was at Crimson, this entire neighborhood
used to be for the base. You know,
those stationed here and their families.
To maintain security, they installed security cameras across the street
in 1970, on every three light posts.
There was one right across the street from our house. In the other old base neighborhoods, they
installed them too.”
“The Air
Force would have removed them when they closed down Crimson.” I said.
“No, because
they only closed down two years ago, and there were about 20 retired families
living on the street, they left the cameras up, and transferred the signal to a
satellite. Well, that’s what my son
told me, he’s overseas at Ramstien now.”
I looked at
Kevin, and he looked over at me, and we both smiled.
“Mrs.
Hamilton, thank you for your help.” Kevin said.
I wasn’t
ready to let this lady go unprotected, so I offered to have her taken to a safe
house. “Mrs. Hamilton, we are concerned
since everyone else on this street refused to talk to us, so we would like you
to come with us, and we will arrange to have you transferred to a safe house.”
“Is that
really necessary?” Victoria asked, obviously concerned.
I
nodded. “You may be a viable witness at
a possible trial in the future, we need to ensure your safety. I got a car down the street that will take
you to a waiting airplane.”
One good
thing with the way Maddock runs the Foundation is his ability to prepare for
anything. As a DA himself, he saw
witnesses come and go, and sometimes vanish, so we wants to ensure that if we
find a witness in a case, but have to stay in town, we would be able to fly
them out at a moments notice. So that’s
why he has a LearJet fly with us, wherever we go.
Victoria
nodded. “Let me pack a few
things.” She got up and walked into
another room.
Glad that
she was gone, I raised my wrist up to my mouth and spoke into the
wristwatch-communicator link that connects me with KITT. “KITT, I need you down here.”
It’s still
taking me a little getting used to KITT’s ability to drive himself, but if
someone would have been sitting inside KITT down the street, the would have
been treated to quite a show.
Inside KITT,
lights, which signify systems powering up. flash on. The turbine engine whirs to life. The gear shift automatically shifts into drive, and the gas pedal
is depressed, almost as if by magic.
I went
outside of the house to meet KITT, who was driving down the street. I walked over to him and opened the
passenger side door, to be greeted by the puppy sitting in KITT’s seat.
“Hey you,” I
said, petting the puppy, “how’d you get here?”
“She must
have snuck into my backseat, Shawn.” KITT said, almost too innocently.
I took the
puppy in my arms and sat down in KITT’s seat.
“Level with me here, KITT. You
like the dog.”
“Well, I am
very fond of dogs,” KITT said, “when they behave.” he added.
I smiled and
got out of the car, to meet Victoria walking down the steps, with Kevin
carrying her suitcase. I stepped aside
and let her get into the passenger seat.
“Victoria, meet KITT.”
“Who’s
KITT?” she asked, looking around the car.
“I am KITT,
Victoria.”
I watched
Victoria look around the car as KITT spoke up.
“The car talks?” she asked me.
“Yes it
does. Victoria, KITT is the
state-of-the-art of Artificial Intelligence technology. He can drive himself, he talks, he thinks,
and can do almost anything you imagine.” I said, giving the usual spiel about
KITT.
“It is a
pleasure to meet you, KITT.” Victoria said, still unsure about talking to a
car.
“The
pleasure is all mine, Victoria. Are you
ready to go?” KITT asked, with the utmost sincerity.
“Yes I am.”
Victoria replied.
I walked
over to her, before KITT closed the door, and handed the puppy to
Victoria.
“Here,” I
said, “I thought she could keep you company.”
Victoria
smiled and took the puppy. “Thank you,
Shawn. Do me a favor?”
“What?” I
asked.
“Find those
horrible men.” she said.
I gave the
puppy one last pet and smiled. “I
promise.” I stepped back and closed the
door, and KITT took off for the plane.
I turned to
Kevin and we both walked back into Victoria’s house. He took out his laptop and connected to the Internet.
I always was
impressed at Kevin’s skill of computers and his ability to work on the
Internet. I guess that’s why Knight
Industries hired him. But I was amused
as to how he let nothing stop him on the Internet.... and I mean nothing.
“Okay, I’m
in.” Kevin said.
“In to
what?” I asked.
Kevin looked
up at me. “Air Force satellite
networks.”
I told you
so.
“Okay, so
what do you plan to look for?” I asked, my heart starting to beat more rapidly
now that we’ve broken about 15 federal laws.
“I’m gonna
find the frequency of the cameras on this street, and tap into them, hopefully
to get the video feeds from this morning.”
Within a few
minutes, Wonder Boy was typing away on the laptop, and five separate windows
opened up and images from the cameras outside came onto the screen.
“Wow.” I
said, impressed.
Kevin
started to say outloud what he was doing.
I guess it made him feel bigger.
I can’t blame him, he should be proud.
“Now I’m searching for the video from this morning from camera three.”
he said. It didn’t take him long before
he found the video. We started watching
it, and sure enough, it matched Victoria’s descriptions and partly matched my
imagination.
“Well now
what?” he asked when the tape finished.
“Now we talk
to the sheriff, and see how he can help us.” I said.
In the years
since I have been away from Naissa, many things have not changed, as I stated
before, and one thing that didn’t change was the sheriff. Which is a good thing too because I knew him
when we lived here.
We walked
into the sheriff’s office and found Sheriff Andrew Whitfield sitting at the
desk. He had more grey hair now. He looked up. “Shawnie McCormick, I never thought you would set foot in this
town again.”
“It’s great
to see you again, Andy.” I said.
“What brings
you back to Naissa?” Andy asked.
“The recent
hate crimes.” I replied.
“You mean
Reverend Holiday’s church going up?” he asked.
“There was
another one this morning. At 2010 Em Street.”
“2010 Em
Street?” he asked, “that wasn’t confirmed as a hate crime. No witnesses came forward, and the fire
investigator said the fire was so hot that it burned away any evidence.”
“Here’s your
evidence, Andy.” I said, handing him a CD.
He turned to
his computer and put the CD in. I
watched the expression change on his face as the events from this morning
played out in front of him. He looked
up at me. “What is it that you need us
to do?”
“Nothing
yet,” I replied, “but we’ll come to you first when we find out anything.” I
said, nudging Kevin and starting to walk out.
“Shawnie,”
he said, “if there’s anything you need with this, let me know. I want to catch these son’s of bitches as
much as you do.”
“Thanks
Sheriff.” I said.
Kevin and I
had lunch at The Diner and talked about choices on what to do next.
“We could
stake out black-owned property.” Kevin suggested.
“No,” I
said, shooting it down, “we’re in the middle of Alabama, do you have any idea
how much property around here is owned by African Americans?”
Kevin nodded
and took a sip of his drink.
“I know,” I
said, “we follow Jimmy. If we play our
cards right, this guy is a major player in the KKK here in town. He can lead us right to them.”
“And then
what?” Kevin asked another question.
“We figure
out where they hit next and intercept them.” I said.
Kevin paid
for both of our bills, and we were outside waiting on the corner for KITT to
pick us up. We got the confirmation
that Victoria was at the safe house.
KITT whipped
around the corner and stopped. I got in
the driver’s side, Kevin got in the passenger’s side, and we started driving
back towards the plane. I got on the
Satellite Phone with Maddock, to tell him our plan.
“Russ, we
think we have a plan to stop the Klan at their next move.”
“What is
it?”
“We plan to
follow Jimmy Hawkins, and see if he will lead us to the wherever the Klan is
meeting, so we can find out their next target, and see if we can intercept
them.”
“Sounds like
a good plan to me,” Maddock said, “go for it.
I’m on a jet now, I should be out there soon.”
“Great,
we’ll see you then.” I said as I hung up the phone.
“What is the
next move, Shawn?” KITT asked.
“We’re going
to track Jimmy now. I figure if we can
get a good start on him, we will be able to quickly figure out what the next
target is.”
1316 Hrs
We parked
across the street from Jimmy’s house.
He walked out, putting on a jacket, and got in his truck and drove
off. I pulled out, keeping a safe
distance, and his truck on scanners.
Our interest
was perked when Jimmy walked into a gun store, and was in there for two hours
before he came out with two large long boxes, and placed them in the bed of the
pickup. He made eight more trips.
“KITT, we
can’t risk him spotting us, because I think he’s going outside to the city
limits. I want you to tag him.” I
ordered.
“Tag Jimmy,
or tag the truck?” KITT asked, only trying to confirm my wishes.
“Tag Jimmy
himself.” I said.
The Virtual
Reality display came up on the windshield.
Jimmy was walking towards the truck, and I heard a small popping
sound. All of a sudden, on the screen,
Jimmy’s body became yellow, indicating it had been marked.
“Good job,
KITT, now track him.” I said.
“Just a
reminder, Shawn, my scanners only have a radius of 20 miles.” KITT confirmed.
“Okay, KITT,
we’ll sit here and track him. If he
starts to get out of range, let me know okay?”
“Sure thing,
Shawn.” KITT said. There was that
obedience again.
I turned
over to Kevin. “You’re very quiet.” I
said.
“I know
Shawn, I was just... I was thinking, is all.” he said.
“About?” I
asked, wondering why he was so quiet.
You got to know Kevin to know that this guy is hardly ever quiet.
“Why humans
have to do this to other humans.” he said, very distraught.
“I was
pondering that too, Shawn. What makes
African Americans so different from Whites?
It is most difficult to figure out.” KITT said.
I couldn’t
believe what was happening. I was
trying to explain human nature to a machine.
“KITT, I don’t have a straight answer for that. If you look at it one way, the only thing
separating Kevin and I is our gender.
But we’re still a human. It’s
the same with what is going on now.
There is nothing different between a black man or a white man, except
color.”
KITT
interrupted. It was amazing, this car,
which was, in essence, an emotionless computer, was starting to learn right
before my eyes. “If there is no
difference than color, than why do horrible organizations such as the Ku Klux
Klan exist?”
“I don’t
know.” was all I could manage to say.
“KITT, there are some people in this world, no I take that back. There are a lot of people in this world who
don’t understand humans like you or I, or Kevin. They think, that because they are white, they can persecute, and
hurt people of different color. The
think that the white people are supreme race, and believe that no one else is
human at all.”
“They’re
wrong.” KITT said. “Right?”
“Yes, KITT
they are wrong,” I said, trying to think of another example to use. “The Holocaust, KITT, do you know about the
Holocaust?”
“Who
doesn’t?” KITT asked.
“Right. Well, Adolf Hitler persecuted the Jewish
people because of their religion, not because of their skin. He thought that all Germans and other
peoples were pure, and human, and thought otherwise of the Jews. He slaughtered millions of them before he
was stopped.”
“Why wasn’t
he stopped earlier?” KITT asked.
“Well, I
can’t tell you that either. The
Holocaust was just so bad, people didn’t want to believe it was happening.” I
said. “KITT, humans are one of the very
few species on Earth that kill their own kind.
It’s almost like... it’s almost like that it is human nature to destroy
ourselves.”
“What can we
do to prevent that?” KITT said.
“We have to
learn more about each other. If we learn
about each other, and learn not to hate, then maybe we have a chance.” I said.
“Is that
possible?” KITT asked.
“No.” I
said, not wanting to lie to one of the best friends I had. “KITT, it’s not possible to stop hate. There will always be people out there who
will hate other people.”
“It’s
amazing...” Kevin said.
“What is?” I
asked.
“I thought
that the 21st Century would usher in an era of peace. I thought we would get rid of all these problems.” he said.
“Future
doesn’t matter, Kevin.” KITT said.
“What KITT?”
Kevin asked. That statement caught my
interest too.
“Future
doesn’t matter.” KITT repeated. “I know
that the coming of the year 2000 and other years to come were hyped up, but
that doesn’t matter at all. If what
Shawn says is true, that hate cannot be stopped, then that means that it
doesn’t matter what year you are in, or how many zeros are added on to a number
of a year. The future is the future,
and no one knows what lies ahead, but what they make for themselves. The future doesn’t matter.”
Now it may
sound foolish, but from that moment on, I knew KITT was no longer an
un-emotional machine. He wasn’t a
heartless, cruel car, not that he never was, but something told me that he was
different, now. KITT actually learned
and knew the value of human life, and forever on I would respect him for that.
I looked
down at the scanners and saw that Jimmy had stopped. “KITT, put the auditory feed of the tag through.”
“Right away,
Shawn.” KITT said.
In seconds,
we were hearing everything that was going on wherever Jimmy was, and it was to
our luck that we had him just where we wanted him. I listened closely as the Klan chanted ‘white power,’ over and
over again.
“Tonight’s
fire will mark the 50th fire this town has seen in the past month! We have the niggers running scarred, and soon
will run them out of Naissa! We have to
work hard and burn them, and chase them out of this town, forever!!!” The
people in attendance cheered.
If there was
one thing I hated in the world more than anything, it was the word
‘nigger.’ The word itself made my skin
crawl, and just.. generally made me more angry and determined to stop the
monsters that were slowly destroying my town.
“...now,
thanks to Jimmy Hawkins, who has gone out and picked up about 30 rifles, we
plan to go out into the night down to 614 North 12th Street and see if we
can... convince the Kingsley family to move out of town.”
“Why the
Kingsley’s?” a voice asked.
“Isiah
Kingsley, who is on the Town Counsel, has proposed a plan to bring in the FBI
to, and I quote, ‘deal with the monsters known as the Ku Klux Klan.’”
Now is it
just me, or did Isiah Kingsley hit their description right on spot?
I wasted no
time in slamming the accelerator to the floor and driving to 614 North 12th
Street. I heard KITT’s turbine engine
whirring at full power, and saw the odometer reading 169 mph.
I slammed on
the breaks in front of the house and me and Kevin got out of the car and ran to
the door. I knocked on the door and a
child, about 10 years old, opened the door. “Hi.” he said.
I bent down
to get to the little boy’s level. “Hi,
can I talk to your daddy please?”
The boy
smiled and ran back in to get his father.
The father came to the door.
“Hello,” he said, “can I help you?”
“Isiah
Kingsley?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“I’m Shawn
McCormick, from the Foundation for Law and Government, can we talk to you
please?”
“Sure, by
all means, would you like to come in?” he asked.
I was about
to say yes when I noticed the little boy clinging to his father’s leg. “Uh, mind if we take a walk?”
“Yeah,
okay.” he said.
I watched
him bend down and face his son. “Daddy
has to go with these two nice people for a little while, so take care of your
mommy for me, can you do that?”
The boy
nodded and beamed. He hugged his father
and ran inside the house.
Isiah closed
the door and walked down the steps with us.
I was so
unsure how to say to this man that he was a target of a hate crime. “I am going to be blunt with you, Mr.
Kingsley,” I said, “tonight, you and your family are going to be burned out of
your house by the KKK.”
Isiah
stopped in his tracks. “You got to be
kidding.” he said.
“We’re
sorry, Mr. Kingsley,” Kevin said, “we didn’t have any idea how else to tell
you, but we came from wire-tapping a KKK meeting, and they targeted you because
of your proposal to bring in the FBI to help with the hate crimes.”
Isiah looked
like he was about to become physically ill, but handled the news well. I mean it is not everyday you learn that you
are a target for a hate crime. “What is
it that you want me to do?”
I looked up
and saw his boy looking out the window smiling at us. “What’s your boy’s name?”
“His name is
Devon.” Isiah replied.
Upon hearing
that name, my head snapped up, with even more attention than before.
“Listen...
uh, Ms. McCormick. I will do anything
you want me to do, just keep my family safe.”
In about 30
minutes, Kevin and I made the necessary contacts, and Isiah was inside his
house, packing things with his wife and children, and the three of them came
out the door, with one suitcase a piece.
He introduced Kevin and I to his wife, Mildred, and his boy, Devon.
The black
semi truck came down the street, just as they reached the sidewalk. It stopped in front of the house. The rear door that KITT usually uses dropped
down and the family walked up the ramp and into the semi, which was part
diagnostic lab, and part comfort lounge.
I made sure everyone was comfortable, and I walked out of the truck,
with the door retracting up behind me.
I walked
back towards Kevin and KITT, and got inside.
Kevin sat down next to me. The
semi pulled out and drove down the street.
KITT quickly sped ahead of it, and we turn the corner to be met my our
escorts...
KITT, the
semi, and about eight sheriff cars, surrounding the semi, were speeding down
the road way leading to the old Air Force base. We took no chances, and told Sheriff Whitfield what we were going
to do. He was more than happy to
provide the family with safe escort to the waiting plane.
It was only
a few minutes until the convoy sped into the Air Force base and across to the
flight line, where the waiting LearJet was sitting, powered up and ready to go.
KITT
screeched to a halt, and the same went with the sheriff cars, and the semi
stopped with a jerk as well. The door
came down and the family walked out the ramp.
The flight crew took their suitcases, and they walked towards the
LearJet, to be greeted by Maddock, who flew in earlier, and to have a send off
from Kevin and I. Once the plane was
locked and ready to go, we all backed off and let it taxi out to the runway.
Maddock came
up to us. “How is the investigation
going?”
“Good,” I
replied, “I talked to Sheriff Whitfield here and he said that he is ready to
help us in the stake out tonight.”
Maddock
shook Whitfield’s hand. “Nice to meet
you Sheriff. Can you give us some kind
of idea of what the stake out will be like tonight?”
“We
evacuated the two houses on either side of the target house. Snipers will be placed inside of them and
across the street. There are heavy
trees across the street, no one will see your agents and our men there.”
Maddock
nodded in agreement. “It’s a good
plan,” he said, “and I’m willing to go with it.”
Sheriff
Whitfield nodded. “Stake out starts at
sundown. We’ll see you then.” he said,
signaling to his men to get in their cars and return to town.
Kevin,
Maddock, and I, walked to the plane, with KITT following. “What can you tell me about Jimmy Hawkins?”
Maddock asked.
“He’s
tenacious beyond all comprehension. Once
you get him started on something, he wont stop, and he’ll see it through until
it is completed. His father was
extremely racist, and I believe that he might have been in the KKK. Jimmy was close to his father, and the
feelings rubbed off. I pulled his
record.” I said, handing a file to Maddock.
He looked
through the file. “All of these are
minor offenses.” he said, handing the file back to me. “Besides a footprint we need other proof to
go in and get him.”
“You’re
saying if the stakeout doesn’t work.” I said.
Maddock always thought for the worse.
“Yes, and
even if get him at the stakeout, we need further evidence to prove ties to
previous fires.” Maddock said.
We walked
inside the plane, and sat down around Kevin’s computer terminal.
Kevin sat down
and turned to KITT. “KITT, interface
with my computer.”
“Sure thing,
Kevin.” KITT said.
“Upload the
video in your drive.”
The video
that we took from the security camera popped up.
“Where’d you
guys get this?” Maddock asked.
I explained
to Maddock where the tape came from as we watched it.
“So that
still doesn’t prove that Jimmy Hawkins is under one of those sheets.” Maddock
said, but he spoke to soon.
“KITT, snap
to grid.” Kevin said as gridlines appeared on the video. “Zoom in at eight-b, zoom 400 percent.”
The image
zoomed, but was heavily distorted. It
hurt my eyes to look at it.
“Enhance.”
Kevin said. The image cleared up and
became crystal clear. We were looking
at the image of some thug in a KKK mask.
“KITT, I want you to scan the image that we’re looking at, and map out
the facial features.”
On the
image, green lines appeared, marking out the eyes, the nose, cheek bones, the
mouth, everything that a face would have.
KITT then removed the mask, and filled the lines in. We were looking at an image of Jimmy
Hawkins.
“Well, I
believe that’s the proof you need, Russell.” I said.
Kevin turned
to face Maddock. “KITT can do that with
every one of them. In about an hour,
we’ll have faces of all of the people who were at the fire this morning.”
1847 Hrs
The three of
us packed into KITT and drove back towards 614 North 12th Street, and joined
Sheriff Whitfield and his men to stake out the house.
It wasn’t
long before the sun went down, and we were watching the house for hours. It was about 9pm when Maddock came over to
me again, to ask if KITT saw anything, for the fourth time.
“Anything?”
he asked.
I shook my
head. “No, we’re counting on them
coming around midnight.” I said.
“What’s the
plan?” he asked.
I pressed a
few buttons, and a 3D display of the house, and the neighborhood came up on
KITT’s windshield. “The yellow dots are
where the Sheriff Whitfield’s men are hiding.”
The image zoomed in. “This is
our current position. To get more power
to the scanners to pick up people riding towards here on horses, we cut his
radius down to two miles. We’re ready
to go Russ.”
“Good work.”
Maddock said. He walked back to the
Sheriff’s surveillance van. I looked
over as I heard KITT’s door opening and saw Kevin getting in, with two bags of
food in his hand.
“Hiya,” he
said, smiling, and handed a bag to me, “one XL burger, no tomato, with fries
and a strawberry shake. Just what you
asked for.”
I
smiled. “Thanks,” I said, opening the
bag. Trust me, you have no idea how
you’ll get on a stake out. Kevin and I
both started to eat, not saying much to each other, but we both kept glancing
back and forth at the scanners on KITT’s central monitor.
It was about
midnight when KITT spoke up. “Shawn, I
am tracking a large group of people, heading towards this location.”
“How far
away, KITT?” I asked.
“About two
minutes.” KITT said.
I got out of
the car. “They’re coming!” I
screamed. “We got two minutes.”
Everyone who
was in earshot, which was probably the damn town, started scrambling to their
positions. The sheriff got in the van
and contacted everyone on the radio frequency, including us. “All teams, quiet, and wait for McCormick’s
signal.”
Now, what he
meant by that was it was my job to alert the KKK that we were there. KITT and I planned to turn on his headlights
to full power and I would order the KKK to freeze.
KITT turned
off his red scanner light and was sitting in silent mode. We waited in the dark, and listened as we
heard them chanting, and coming down the street.
We waited
and waited and finally they reached their target house. They become louder and the second they
walked onto the lawn, I activated KITT’s headlights. I guess I was so excited about capturing them, I didn’t notice
that they did not have torches or clubs.
“Freeze!” I
yelled over the external microphone.
The lights around the sheriff’s van activated, and about 20 tiny laser
dots appeared on each KKK member. “You
are surrounded and about 40 rifles are trained on you. Get on the ground with your hands on your
head!”
The KKK
slugs followed the directions and got on the ground. That’s when the Sheriff and his men took over and rounded all of
them up.
Before they
were loaded into the van to take them to the jailhouse, they were
unmasked. When they were unmasked, KITT
pointed my attention to something interesting.
“Shawn, none
of the suspects here match the people from yesterday’s fire.” KITT said.
“You mean
there is not one person over there that matches the pictures from yesterday’s
fire?”
“None.” KITT
replied. I then knew something fishy
was up.
April 7,
2000
0234 Hrs
It was about
two hours later until Sheriff Whitfield would let me, Maddock, and Kevin in to
see the suspects, but interrogating them was no help at all. No one would tell us where Jimmy was or
anything else.
We all
walked out of the sheriffs office feeling tired, and angry that we didn’t get
the answers we were looking for. “It’s
a con.” I said, sitting down on KITT’s hood.
“What do you
mean?” Maddock asked.
“I mean that
they knew we were gonna be there. They
knew we were coming, and they set us up for fools.”
“Shawn,”
Maddock said, “we got ‘em. Provided we
didn’t get all of them, but we got some, and in due time, we’ll pull the
answers out of them that we need. But
we’ll leave that up to local law enforcement, okay?”
I nodded,
still uncertain if we completed the task or not.
“Good. Now we’ll go back to the plane, and get some
rest. We’ll leave tomorrow afternoon.”
We all got
in the car and drove back to the plane.
I tried hard
to sleep, but couldn’t. I wondered to
myself how Victoria, and the Kingsley’s were doing back at the safe house.
I guess I
finally fell asleep sometime before 4am, and dreamt about, of all things,
Jimmy. I imagined that he was way out
of town, along with the other KKK and stirring things up in another town.
The alarm
woke me up at 8am, and I showered, got dressed, and walked down to the garage,
to see Kevin, in his clothes from the day before, sleeping inside KITT on the
driver’s seat.
I gently
shook his shoulder. “Wake up,
sunshine.” I said, smiling, hoping to cheer him up. I knew he was taking it hard about the KKK and what they were
doing with this town. I wondered why he
took it the way he did.
Kevin woke
up and looked at me and rubbed his eyes.
“What time is it?
“Eight in
the morning.” I replied, watching Kevin yawn and stretch. I kneeled down and rested my arms on KITT’s
door. “Can I ask you a personal
question?”
“Sure.”
Kevin replied.
“I’ve been
noticing you’re taking this KKK thing worse than all of us. How come?”
Kevin
exhaled and looked at me. “My father
was in the KKK. I used to remember
laying in my bed at night, and he would come home, drunk, bragging about the
person he beat, or burned, or who’s house he helped destroy that night. He tried to get me involved. He failed.
Me and my mom left him. The last
I heard of him was when he was shot and killed by a black man protecting his
house. And you know what? I’m glad.”
As if by
instinct, I placed my arms around Kevin’s neck and attempted to comfort him,
feeling guilty that I brought up such painful memories. “Come on, Kevin, go up to your cabin, grab a
shower, get dressed, and meet be back here.
We’ll grab breakfast.”
Kevin
smiled, got out of KITT and walked to the elevator.
I sat down
inside KITT. “Good morning, KITT.”
“Good
morning, Shawn. Did you sleep well?”
KITT asked.
“Not really,
KITT. I kept thinking about how I don’t
believe this case is over.”
“That sounds
like the topic of conversation between Kevin and I. We talked until about five this morning when he finally fell
asleep.”
“Do you
think this case is over, KITT?” I asked.
“No, Shawn,
I don’t.” KITT replied.
“Me
neither,” I said, stretching, “there is more than what meets the eye here,
KITT.”
“What do you
think we should do?” KITT asked. It was
the first time I actually heard him ask for thoughts on what to be done
next. I knew, that by the end of this
experience, KITT would be much more different than when I first met him. He was so naive, and bitter about being
locked away for ten years, so when Michael Knight first introduced me to him, I
was almost disgusted. But then I got to
know KITT, and when Michael left, KITT and I became partners. It was the best decision I ever made.
“KITT,” I said,
“to be honest with you, I don’t know.”
I just sat
there in KITT for awhile, waiting for Kevin, but mainly thinking about what
could be done next. I knew Maddock was
wrong, and I had to show him the truth.
I knew that KITT was doing everything possible to comfort me, which
wasn’t much but the thought counts.
Kevin got
into the car, looking refreshed and more awake. “Ready to go?” he asked.
I smiled and
nodded and started KITT up. We backed
out of the plane and drove to The Diner.
Kevin and I
were eating inside, talking about whatever came to our mind, but also quietly
talking about what we were working on.
“Has the
sheriff’s department made the suspects talk?” Kevin asked.
“Nope. They’re probably going to be charged with
trespassing, misdemeanors, conspiracy to commit arson. They wont be going anywhere for awhile, but
they aren’t talking.” I said.
A little
while later, we got our bill, and I was about to hand it back to the waitress
when I felt an envelope attached to the bill.
I took it off and opened it up, when I read it, I smiled.
“What is
that?” Kevin asked.
As of that
moment I was grinning from ear to ear about the contents of the letter we had
just got. “This is the proof that we
need.” I said, handing the letter to Kevin.
He read it
outloud. “Dear Investigators, you may
like to know that the reason we were at the Kingsley’s house instead of the KKK
was because we don’t belong to the KKK.
They paid us $2500 each to pose as them, get caught, keep quiet, and
then bail ourselves out. The reason
they knew about the stake out was because the deputy, William Taylor, is a part
of the KKK.” When he finished reading
the letter, he looked over and smiled.
We both
walked out the door and got into KITT, to go find the Sheriff’s deputy. We talked to Sheriff Whitfield, and asked
where he was, and told him what was going on.
He was upset, of course, but let us handle the situation, our own way.
In a few
minutes we were on the road, and found Taylor’s squad car.
“KITT,
MicroJam his engine.” I said.
“With
pleasure, Shawn.” KITT replied.
Ahead of us,
we looked to see his car stopping abruptly.
KITT stopped too and I quickly got out.
Taylor got out, not realizing I was charging up towards him.
I grabbed
him by the collar and slammed him against the car.
“Ack! What the hell?!” he yelled.
“Hey Barney
Fife,” I yelled, still holding him, “tell me why the KKK knew about the stake
out last night, huh? Tell me why those
20 men sitting in jail aren’t even with the KKK and have $2500 in their pockets
now, ready to be paid to bail them out?
Tell me why this letter here points the finger at you as to the leak in
the department.” I let him go and threw him to the side. “Well come on, Deputy, tell me why all these
things are true?”
“Keep it
up,” Taylor said, “and I’ll arrest you for assaulting an officer of the law.”
Kevin came
up out of nowhere and slammed him down on the hood. “Guess what, asshole, your boss sent us here, and gave us
permission to deal with you in our fashion.
So that means, no paperwork, no charges, no rules. This letter is your ticket to jail, and our
ticket to round up the rest of the racist pricks like you.”
I smiled and
opened the back door to the patrol car.
Kevin threw the deputy in and I slammed the door. I got in the driver’s seat, and Kevin walked
back to KITT.
The deputy
leaned against the metal grate separating us.
“Where the hell are you taking me?”
I slammed my
foot on the accelerator, throwing him back.
I didn’t say anything, I wasn’t in the mood for his crap, and felt that
I didn’t need to give him the justification of words. I just drove down the road, doing 150.
“Listen,” he
said, “you don’t have any proof that I am implicated into this. How do I know you didn’t doctor up that
letter?”
I smiled and
slammed on the brakes. Taylor was not
wearing a seat belt and kind of slammed into the metal grate. I heard his nose break.
He fell to
the floor, holding his nose, blood running down his hand. “You... you broke my nose!”
I smiled to
myself but was kind of relieved that I hadn’t killed him. After all he did hit the grate at about 150
miles per hour. But you know what? He deserved it. I floored the accelerator again, throwing him back against the
seat.
After a few
minutes of on the road terror for Barney Fife, I screeched to a halt in front
of the sheriff’s office. Taylor hit the
grate again, but not as hard. I got out
opened the door, and drug him out of the car and into the office.
Sheriff
Whitfield looked up from his desk. “You
got him?” he asked.
I smiled,
“Yes, Sheriff, I do, but we aren’t done with him yet,” I said as Kevin walked
in. “Do you have an interrogation
room?” I asked.
The Sheriff
smiled, and pointed the way. I drug
Taylor down the hall, and slammed him through the doors. He stumbled and landed on the wooden table.
“Have a
seat.” I said, smiling.
Taylor laid
on the table. At first I thought he was
knocked out or dead, but I saw he was breathing too heavily. Kevin walked over and physically placed him
in a chair.
Taylor was
holding his nose again. Kevin threw an
ice pack at him, and he put it on his nose.
“I’m not talking!” he said, loudly, but I laughed because his voice was
about five octaves higher than normal because he was holding his nose.
“You know
what Barney Fife, you will talk,” I said with rage in my voice, “because if
your KKK buddies go out tonight to trash another family, the shit will rain
down on you.”
Taylor sat
straight in the chair, still holding his nose, still sounding like a complete
nerd. “I don’t care what you say, I’m
not talking.”
I was about
to hit him, but stopped myself because I knew that if I hit him, I wouldn’t
stop there. I decided to use my best
skills ever... bullshit. “Kevin, didn’t
the sheriff say that the brakes on his squad car were too tight?”
Kevin
realized what I was doing, and played along.
“Yeah, I think we should go out and test them, maybe Barney Fife would
like to come along.”
I saw
Taylor’s eyebrows rise and he held his nose more. “You aren’t serious.” he said.
He was holding his nose so tight, he started to sound like Barney Fife.
We both
turned to him and smiled.
We talked to
the Sheriff and told him what we were going to do. Within a few minutes, we were speeding down the road, doing about
180.
“Kevin, I’m
not too sure if this speedometer reads right, what does it say?” I asked.
“I think
that reads 180 mph, Shawn.” Kevin replied.
“That’s what
I thought,” I said, smiling, “are you ready to talk Barney Fife?”
“You guys
are pulling my leg. You aren’t
serious.” he said, a few seconds before he slammed into the grate, his head
hitting to the side this time as I lightly tapped the brakes.
“Well, well,
well, the Sheriff was right,” I said, with a big smile, “the brakes were
tight.”
“I think you
should check them again, Shawn.” Kevin said.
“Yes, I
think that is a good idea.” I looked in
the rear-view mirror. “You ready to
talk yet, Barney?”
This time he
didn’t say anything.
“Okay,” I
said, as I moved my foot to the brake pedal.
“Wait!”
Taylor yelled.
Success! I
yelled inside of my mind. I moved my
foot away from the brake pedal, and let the car slow down. The car stopped and I turned around to face
Taylor. “Okay Barney Fife, there’s 40
more miles of road ahead of us, so unless you want your head smashed in by this
grate, I suggest you start talking.
“Okay....
the KKK was started here in 1982 by some guy named Cletus McGinnis. It got my attention in 1995 and I joined
up.”
“Where’s
McGinnis now?” Kevin asked.
“Dead,” was
Taylor’s reply, “he was killed by some nigger-”
On the exact
same second he uttered that word I slammed my foot on the gas pedal and quick
slammed on the brakes. Taylor slammed
into the grate again. I turned around
to him again. “Let me tell you this,
right now, you say that word again, you’ll be hurting somewhere else other than
your head.”
Taylor
continued. “McGinnis was killed by some
black guy with a shot gun. Since I was
the deputy, I arrested the black guy.”
I could tell
that the idiot deputy was having trouble not to say the word ‘nigger,’ but he
knew I would beat the hell out of him if he said it again.
“I became
the source for the KKK about everything the sheriff was doing. That’s how we slid through stings, and
stakeouts and everything. But when it
was heard you guys were in town, our leader kinda got scared, and when he heard
from me that you and Whitfield were working on a bust, he got a bunch of guys
together, and paid them. Then you guys
busted them.”
I looked at
Kevin, and he rolled his eyes, obviously in aggravation that we were tricked.
“I want your
leader’s name, address and phone number.” I said.
“His name is
George Allenby, and he lives at 47 East
9th Street. His phone number is
555-2231.”
“What’s
being planned tonight?” I asked.
Taylor
hesitated, and must have saw my foot near the gas pedal, because he quickly
spoke up. “Tonight at 10pm, we were
going to destroy Eice’s Hardware.”
My mind
clouded with rage as he told me the target for that night. Eice’s Hardware was a store in Naissa that
has been there as long as I could remember.
It stayed in the family, which was black, and I had forgotten that it
was still here in town. I wanted to
slam on the gas pedal and get the car up to top speed, and then slam on the
breaks, throwing the jerk into the grate again, but I decided not to. If he dies now, then we lose everything we
came here to get. I smiled to myself,
thinking of the perfect plan to get the KKK.
Kevin turned
to Taylor. “Is that all?” he
asked. “Is there anything else we
should know?”
“Just that
we have attacks scheduled for the next few weeks and a march through town on
April 20th.” Taylor said.
I slammed my
foot on the gas pedal and turn the wheel, spinning the car around, and throwing
Taylor into the door. I sped back into
town to deliver Barney Fife back to the sheriff.
When we got
back to the sheriff’s office, Whitfield greeted us. “Did you get what you needed?” he asked.
“Yes,” I
replied, smiling, “we got everything we need, and we’ll let you know what is
gonna happen tonight, we’re gonna work on a plan.”
The sheriff
nodded, grabbed Taylor, and walked back into the office with him.
Kevin and I
walked over to KITT and got in. “Are
you thinking what I’m thinking?” Kevin asked.
“Use the
Digital Voice Sampler?” I asked, watching him nod and smile. The Digital Voice Sampler, or what we call
the DVS is a new feature that acts just like a normal telephone, but enables
the user to speak into it with his or her normal voice, but an entirely different
voice comes out on the other end. Tricking
whoever it is on the other end to thinking that one of us is someone we’re
not. Of all the new features on KITT,
this one is my favorite.
“KITT, is
your DVS up and ready?” Kevin asked.
“Yes, Kevin,
I have the voice patterns of Deputy Taylor stored in the system, what number do
you wish to call?”
“Dial
555-2231.” I said.
Kevin picked
up the phone, ready to talk as William Taylor to whoever answered. Someone finally picked up.
“Hello?”
“George? This is Bill Taylor.” Kevin said.
“Bill, how
many times did I tell you not to call me here.
What the hell do you want?”
“I don’t
need your shit, George, this is important.”
“What is
it?” George asked.
“Whitfield
wont let me out tonight, he said there’s too much paperwork to be done about
the fires, so I gotta stay in man, I can’t make it tonight, man.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, man,
this jerkoff sheriff isn’t letting me out till we get this work done. I’ll try to make it to the next meeting.”
“Okay,”
George said, “just don’t blab it out where you were supposed to be
tonight. I thought you were gonna kill
that tub of lard.”
Kevin was
unsure what to say. “I haven’t got a
clear chance yet. Those outsiders keep
nosing around here. I’ll get to it,
don’t worry about it. I’ll be at the
next meeting.” Kevin hung up the phone.
1149 Hrs
I’ll tell
you this, when people think they know for certain that things go one way, and
then when they find out that things actually go a different way, they turn into
a whole other person. I’m talking about
Maddock’s state of mind when we told him about everything this morning.
“This is
amazing,” Maddock said, “I can’t believe we get a second chance at this.”
“You better
believe it, Russ,” I said, sitting on KITT’s hood, smiling, “but tonight is our
last shot. We broke enough laws with
Barney Fife this morning.”
Kevin
laughed. I knew he had as much fun as I
did. “I tell ya what, Russ,” Kevin
said, “I don’t know about you, but I don’t wanna be interrogated by her.” he
said, pointing to me.
“Either way
we had fun with it, and I think we’re all in agreement that the poor bastard
deserved it.” I finished, with everyone, including me, laughing.
Maddock
looked at his watch. “You guys got
about ten hours before they attack, so you probably should get down to their
target and warn them.”
1219 Hrs
KITT
screeched to a halt in front of Eice’s Hardware, and I run out and ran inside.
“Hello, can
I help you?” a man asked me.
“Yes, can I
speak to the owner please?” I asked.
“Yeah,
sure,” the cashier said, “how can I help you?”
“You’re the
owner?” I asked.
“Yes ma’am,
Jackson Eice at your service.” he said, extending his hand.
I shook it
and searched for words to say to the owner.
“Jackson, this is hard for me to say this, but we got a tip saying that
this store is a target for a KKK attack tonight.”
“You’
crazy. This is just bullshit, get out.”
I wasn’t
about to leave. “Jackson, I swear, this
is not bullshit. We have inside
information that the KKK are coming here to burn down this store, and I am not
going to let it happen. Jackson, why
would I lie about such a thing?”
Jackson
stood there for awhile. “I guess you’re
right.”
“I know I’m
right. Come on, we got a plane fueled
up ready to take you to a safe house.
There are other people there from this town too.”
Jackson
nodded, opened the register, and took the money out and put it in his pocket,
and shut off the lights. We walked out
the door, and I opened KITT’s door for him to get in.
When I got
in, I noticed the same reaction on his face just like other people who have
been in KITT for the first time.
“Wow... this is incredible, this thing must make coffee too.”
“I do
nothing of the kind.” KITT spoke up.
“Oh my God!”
Jackson said, with a petrified look on his face. “It’s you again!”
“What?!” I
said.
“We’ve met
before, Shawn, about 18 years ago.
Jackson tried to steal me.” KITT said.
“Don’t worry
Jackson, he doesn’t bite.” I said.
“Yeah,
right, but he throws you out of the car and into the police.” he said.
I looked
over at Jackson with a look of confusion on my face.
“It’s a long
story, can we just go please?” Jackson said.
I started
KITT, and pulled into the street, while Jackson buckled his seatbelt and
tightened it.
2150 Hrs
Maddock
contacted Sheriff Whitfield, and arranged for another stake out.
We were all
outside of the hardware store, ready to pounce on the KKK.
KITT was
parked across the street in a parking lot, facing the hardware store, looking
all too innocent. The Sheriff had his
men almost all over the place, and had more men ready to spring out of
‘undisclosed locations’ and make sure that every person there to destroy the
store was caught.
Kevin was
sitting next to me in KITT, and Maddock was behind us.
“What if
they come over here and start attacking the car?” Kevin asked.
“Well, if
they come over here, and they have torches.... don’t get out.” I said, with the
two of them laughing.
“Shawn, I
hate to interrupt, but I am scanning a large group of people heading this
way. They are on horseback, and thermo
graphs show that they are armed with torches.
“They’re
early.” Kevin said.
“Since when
are racists ever punctual?” Maddock said.
“That’s
them.” I said. I got on the frequency
to the Sheriff and his men. “We got the
Klan coming in, they’ll be here in a few minutes.”
All of us looked
over as we heard chants coming from down the street.
Holding
torches, clubs, and riding on horseback, they came down the empty street, ready
to lay waste to Eice’s Hardware. My
heart started pounding in my chest. I
was filled with rage, and excitement that this would be the real thing.
They finally
came, and I watched the sheriff’s men ready their weapons, and their spot
lights. We were gonna pour all the
light we could on them, hopefully confuse them enough.
Finally,
they were in front of the store.
“Get ready,
KITT. Open the microphone.” I said.
My finger
neared the headlight button on the steering wheel, and I pressed it. In seconds, the sheriff’s men had their
spotlights trained on the KKK.
“Nobody
move!” I yelled over the external speakers.
And did you think they listened?
Nope.
They
scattered, everywhere, and I was amazed to see sheriff cars and men spring out
from almost nowhere and block the KKK in.
One started running towards KITT.
“Stun him.”
I said, as KITT hit him with the built-in ultrasound. The racist fell down.
I looked up
as I heard yelling and saw sheriffs wrestling the KKK men to the ground. Within minutes, all of them were subdued on
the ground.
Inside KITT,
the three of us cheered as we finally knew that we got them. Now the next step was a personal one for
me. Finding Jimmy Hawkins.
I walked up
to the scene in front of us, all members of the KKK were on the ground, with a
sheriff standing over them. I looked
around, and I found Jimmy, laying on the ground, like a helpless giant, stuck
down. I told the sheriff hovering over
him to stand back. I picked Jimmy
up. “Hello, Jimmy.” I said.
“My God,
Shawn, do you have to rub it in? Leave
me alone, you won. Hip hip hooray.” he
said.
At that
moment I punched him. “You are right, I
do have to rub it in. I wanna know how
the man I used to love turned into a sniveling, racist weasel like you.” I pulled his ring out of my pocket and
shoved it in his mouth. “Have a nice
life and go to hell.” I dropped him on the ground and walked away.
I walked
back to KITT, finally glad that it was over, and got inside, and drove off.
In about an
hour, every one of the KKK men were squealing like pigs after they saw what
happened to Deputy Taylor.
We headed
back to the plane, ready to leave the next day. We passed the semi, which was returning our witnesses and targets
back to their houses. Boy, the stories
they could tell.
By the time
we got to the plane, we were very tired, but relieved that this whole ordeal
was finally over, and I was grateful that I could go to my cabin, and finally
get a nice night of sleep.
Little did I
know that we weren’t done yet.
April 8,
2000
1010 Hrs
Knight Air
Transport
Location:
165 Miles from Naissa, AL
The plane
had since taken off after we said our good-byes around the town, and joked that
we would never show up again. I knew in
my mind that I would miss Naissa again, but after what happened in the past
three days, I was really glad to leave.
I was
sitting in my room, typing up a report and listening to music, when KITT had to
interrupt my peace and quiet.
“Shawn, the
number you have given Reverend Holiday has been dialed.” KITT said, over the
comm-link.
I sighed and
stretched. “Put it through KITT.” As I heard what was on the other end, it
sent chills up my spine.
“Shawn!
Help! Please, help us!” yelled the
Reverend with his wife and children screaming in the background. I heard things being thrown around in the
background. “Help! No! No, no, no, no, NO!”
And then
there was silence.
“Reverend? Reverend?!” I yelled, louder and
louder. I heard the phone being picked
up. “Reverend?” I repeated.
“You may
have stopped us before, but now the blood of these innocent people is on your
hands. Good luck finding us next time.”
The phone
went dead.
I called
Maddock in a panic and told him what was happening. He had the plane turned around and we landed back in Naissa in
about an hour.
Before the
plane stopped rolling, KITT, Kevin, and I sped out of the cargo bay and towards
the Reverend’s church.
We pulled up
on the scene to see about the entire sheriff’s department there. My stomach dropped as I saw what they were
looking at. It was the charred rubble
of the Reverend’s house.
I got out of
the car, and walked towards the crime tape and was about to go under when an
officer stopped me. “Sorry ma’am, this
is a murder scene, I can’t let you go through.”
“I got ID
right here- wait, a murder scene?!” I said, not believing my own ears.
“Yes,
ma’am,” he said as he lifted the tape to let me under, “it is a quadruple
homicide, but we are waiting for the coroner to come to collect the bodies.”
Sheriff
Whitfield walked up to me, as I looked at the burnt house. “I know what you’re thinking, Shawnie. God knows I’m thinking the same exact
thing.”
“How did
this happen?” I asked.
“We held the
KKK members here in town for a number of charges, and the judge set their bail
at $250,000 each. This morning, they
were bailed out of jail by the Alabama Brotherhood of the Ku Klux Klan.”
“Dammit,” I
said, “I can’t believe this happened.”
“I can’t
either,” Whitfield said, “I tried to get the judge to hold them without bail,
but he wouldn’t.”
Kevin came
up to me with the crime scene kit and opened it. I put on rubber gloves and rubber shoe-covers that went up to my
knees. “Where did you find the bodies,
Sheriff?” I asked.
He
pointed. “Uh, the bodies were found
about two feet in, under a few slabs of wood.
They haven’t been moved, and we’re waiting for the medical examiner to
come here and move them.”
I carefully
walked through the burnt rubble of the Reverend’s house and I immediately found
where the bodies were, by a badly burned hand sticking out from under the
rubble, as if whoever it belonged to was reaching out from beyond their early
grave. When I got closer, I saw that it
was a child’s hand. I uncovered the
debris that was covering them, and struggled all my might from getting sick.
The bodies
of the reverend, his wife, and his two children lay before me. Looks of terror on their faces. I tried to imagine what they were going
through. It must have been hell, and I
am glad that they are dead now, rather than being tortured. But something was different. I noticed something around their necks. It was rope. Why the hell would rope be around their necks if they were burnt
to death? Then it hit me... they were
hanged before they were burned. Tears
welled up in my eyes and streamed down my face as I again imagined what
happened. These four innocent people
were tortured.
I looked up to
see four coroner vans pull up. They
were in full protective clothing and started walking towards the house. I stopped one of them as he passed me. “The bodies are about two feet in, near the
northwest corner” I didn’t wait for a
reply, I just kept walking towards KITT, with Kevin sitting in the seat.
I took off
the gloves and the boots, and threw them away.
I sat down in KITT, and closed the door. The window’s dimmed and became black, and I totally broke down in
tears.
Kevin put a
comforting hand on my shoulder, and I just cried and cried and cried. He took me in an embrace and just held me,
telling me it would be okay, but deep down I knew it would not be okay at all.
“Shawn, this
is terrible!” KITT said, obviously ripped up in his own way. “How did this happen? Why did it happen?”
I wiped the
tears from my eyes. “KITT, I can’t
answer any of those questions. There
just aren’t any answers to them.”
“Why does
this have to happen, Shawn? Why do
humans do this to each other? What is
there to hate? It’s only a difference
in skin color.”
KITT was
showing more compassion than ever, and I knew that he was changing right before
my eyes. “KITT,” I said, “no one knows
why this happens, or what makes people hate.
But you’re right. KITT, you’re
so right. There is nothing to
hate. It’s only the difference of skin
color which is why this happened, KITT.”
“This is
just terrible, Shawn, how can we stop this?” KITT said.
“KITT, we
have to work hard, and make people understand that whatever is on the outside
is not means to hate a person. We just
have to get people to understand, and I know that seems like an impossible
task, but I was wrong, KITT, I was wrong.
Hate is not impossible to stop.
It takes people like us to help stop it.”
“Let’s go
home.” KITT said.
“Yes, that
is a good idea.” I said, giving Kevin’s hand a squeeze. He reached over and wiped the tears from my
cheek.
I started
KITT up, and backed out of the scene, turned around, and drove down the long
road, towards the Air Force base.
In a few
minutes we were airborne again, heading to Seattle. I sat in my cabin, wishing for the puppy to still be there, and
looking up at the ceiling again. I felt
horrible for what happened. I blamed
myself. Who wouldn’t? It took a long time, but I finally got over
it.
A medical
examiners report showed that Reverend Holiday and his family all died of
suffocation by hanging, before they were burned.
A
psychological report taken from Sheriff Whitfield showed that he took the
burden of guilt hard upon himself for not fighting to withdraw bond from the
KKK. His body was found inside the
sheriff’s office with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
The KKK from
Naissa were scheduled for trial in the Alabama Supreme Court. They never showed up. They were absently-charged with four counts
of murder each, and 25 counts of arson each.
Authorities have not found them yet.
A $5000 reward has been put up by the Foundation on each of them. We will continue our search for them and
will not stop until all of them have been captured and prosecuted.
I celebrated
New Year’s Eve 1999 with enthusiasm for the possibilities for events which
would come in the year 2000. I expected
that peace would come worldwide, and things like what happened in Naissa would
no longer happen. When I found out what
happened in Naissa, it was a wake up call for me.
I thought
the future would be so clear from December 31, and on. But after what happened, it has become more
like a dark tunnel at night, with only a dot of light at the end.
But it is
because of people like the one’s at the Knight Foundation, and other people who
understand that racism must be stopped, around the world that make that speck
of light possible. I feel that the spot
of light is a glimpse of things to come.
The hope
that the light exists was given to me by KITT.
Because a machine, a computer constructed without any emotions
whatsoever, learned the value of a human life.
It makes me wonder how long it will take us humans to learn it too.