Knight Rider 2000

Goliath Forever

S e c o n d E d i t i o n

Written by

Scott Kirkessner

&

Patrick Gaido

Based upon KNIGHT RIDER

Created by

Glen A. Larson

Original KNIGHT RIDER 2000 Concept by

Rob Hedden

New concept by

Scott Kirkessner

Out of the shadows of darkness, a madman returns, impossibly resurrected from the dead. Garthe Knight, returns with a new, advanced, and deadly Goliath, who now bears the form of tank. The Knight Foundation finds themselves helpless against the wrath of Garthe Knight, and they must seek the help of two people who can help them win the final battle...

Rated PG-13 for profanity and mild violence.

April 21, 2000

Numerous men and women, dressed entirely in plain white clothing, walked around a clean room, checking various stations and instruments. At the far end of the room, was a stretcher, with the naked body of a man lying on it. The scientists frequently checked the man, noting his vital signs, writing them down on their clipboards and entering figures into machines.

A man dressed in a black and grey uniform, walked down the middle of the clean room towards the man. Another man, wearing a navy-blue vest, was behind him

“This technology is excellent,” said the second man, “flawless and skilled. No one will ever know the difference.”

The two men looked over the body.

“You do realize he is in his 50’s. He could have a heart-attack once he is bounding around in that tank.”

The second man laughed. “Please, Johnson. These doctors have altered his DNA so he would appear older, but retain the same brute strength as he did before he was killed.”

The man called Johnson was handed a paper and read off the reports. “Memory restoration has been completed. He has every memory up until the original’s death.” He informed.

“Good.”

“Any idea how we are going to explain the sixteen year gap?”

“Easy, Johnson. Lie.” The second man replied, turning around. “Call me when the new Mr. Knight is ready for society.” He said, leaving the clean room.

Johnson nodded and turned back to the body. He looked down at it and was amazed at the doctor’s capability of restoring the man, but also enhancing his age to explain away any continuity problems. The new Garthe Knight would be unstoppable, this time.

May 4, 2000

0633 Hrs

Location: 5 Hrs outside of Las Vegas

A fire engine red sports car quietly glided down the road at 170mph. Inside, the driver, Shawn McCormick, stared out onto the open road, focusing on a black dot on the horizon.

The black dot became bigger, until it formed the recognizable shape of a semi-truck. Shawn slowed down as the rear door of the semi opened and formed a ramp. The car, known to everyone as KITT, glided up the ramp and came to a stop in the safety of the semi.

Kevin Williams, KITT’s chief technician, greeted them as they arrived. He passed Shawn, and hooked KITT up to a diagnostic center. “Russell’s been waiting for you.” He said.

“He’s here?” Shawn asked.

Kevin scoffed. “Of course not, he’s on the SatCom.”

Shawn nodded and sat down in front of a computer terminal. She moved the mouse button and double clicked on an icon. The face of Russell Maddock, CEO of the Knight Foundation, appeared on the screen.

“Hello Shawn. How was the Vegas mission?”

“Not too bad. Blew a roll of quarters at Caesars,” Shawn replied.

“About an hour ago, I spoke with a General Grey at Fort White Rock in Nevada.”

“Okay?” Shawn asked.

“He called us before the media found out about the incident. At about one this morning, there was a break in by what the sentries described as ‘a very elite task force.’ Twelve soldiers were killed before these intruders made off with an M1 Abrams.”

“No way. Someone was able to make off with a tank?”

“Whoever broke in was skilled.”

Shawn heard the semi’s engines start up and felt it pull onto the road.

“The semi is turning around to head back towards Las Vegas where you will head to Fort White Rock to speak with General Grey.”

“Anything else, Master?” Shawn asked, sarcastically.

“Don’t get smart, Jeannie. Report back when you’re done. Maddock out.” The screen went blank.

“Great.” Shawn said. “The forever intelligent US Military gets robbed, and now we have to step in and save their ass.”

“Ever wonder why they say ‘military intelligence’ is an oxymoron?” Kevin asked.

0700 Hrs

Location: Unknown

Twenty-seven men dressed in black and dark grey uniforms were standing outside. Each were armed with a Cold RO639 submachine gune and a Colt M1911A1 handgun side arm. They watched as giant mechanical door opened, revealing a dark underground tunnel.

“Make a hole!” a few of them yelled as a dusty M1 Abrams Tank emerged from the tunnel.

It came to a stop in front of the men. The top hatch opened and a man stood up. That man was Garthe Knight.

Garthe had aged since he was last seen. He knew he was 54 years old, but there was just something that he couldn’t explain about himself. He felt alive, vigorous; like he could do anything he wanted. And he knew exactly what he wanted; revenge.

He remembered the final moments vividly. He was inside Goliath, sitting next to Adrienne Margeaux as they sped towards KITT, who had come to an abrupt stop at the edge of the cliff. He remembered Adrienne reaching over for the wheel, screaming. But it was too late. The three of them sailed over the cliff. Garthe felt the inertial forces pounding him, and watched the sea getting closer and closer. It all went black as the cab hit the water.

And then he woke up, almost two weeks ago, with a sixteen year gap. Obviously the project of a rogue militia force, the unthinkable had been achieved.

Somehow, he was rescued from his impending doom of death! The high officers explained the past sixteen years to him… his lover, killed in the crash… caused by his insult of a brother and the Knight Foundation. His name, ridiculed all over the place by the same corporation he vowed to destroy!

Whoever these people were, he was thankful to them. He now had his chance, to destroy the Knight Foundation once and for all!

But, he learned more information. The chance to destroy Michael Knight, Devon Miles and all of the Foundation, was gone. A new team had taken over. He still had a mind for vengeance, and he was certain he would succeed this time.

Members of the militia force were awarded to him, and along with them, they broke into the Army base and stole the tank, driving it underground for miles and miles, until they reached the same base where his first Goliath was born, seventeen years prior.

Obviously this militia took great strides in assisting him for revenge. In fact, they seemed hell-bent on destroying the Knight Foundation as well. A man they called Larson told him that he was their champion to eliminate the Knight Foundation. Unfortunately one thing stuck in Garthe’s mind. The last time he worked with a partner they drove off a cliff…

He smiled at the small army, and got out of the tank.

“Present ARMS!” a man commanded.

The men saluted and Garthe saluted back. The man who called the group to salute walked up to him. “Greetings, Mr. Knight, I am Larson.”

“Is everything ready to go?” Garthe asked.

“Like you requested. The men are standing by waiting for your orders.”

“Good,” Garthe said, retrieving a cane from the tank, “has your leader given you the Molecular Bonded Shell formula?”

“Yes, Mr. Knight,” Larson replied.

“Excellent. I want the shell applied to the tank… to Goliath, as soon as possible.”

1019 Hrs

The rear door of the semi opened, allowing Shawn and KITT to speed out of the rolling garage towards Fort White Rock.

“You seem awfully quiet.” KITT said.

“Yeah, I was just thinking about the stolen tank and its disappearance.” Shawn said.

“Are you worried?”

“No, I'm confused and worried.”

“Very funny.”

“KITT, a tank can't simply disappear. At least to my knowledge it can't.”

“I wish I could assist you in your line of thinking, Shawn.”

“That's okay. Don't worry about it. We'll get to the bottom of this.” Shawn said. “KITT, bring up information on the M1.”

An outlined schematic of the M1 appeared on KITT’s central monitor.

“The M1 Abrams tank was first commissioned in 1979 by the United States Army. The particular model that was stolen is properly identified as an M1X, due to an experimental engine placed inside of it which can triple its top speed.” KITT reported.

“What was the original top speed?” Shawn asked.

“Forty five miles per hour.” KITT reported.

“One thirty five,” Shawn said, quickly.

“Correct. The tank is also equipped with a one hundred five millimeter rifled gun, a seven point six two millimeter machine gun-”

“Seven six two millimeter. Full metal jacket.” Shawn interrupted.

“I beg your pardon?” KITT asked.

“Never mind,” Shawn said, “go on.”

“And it contains a point five inch double A machine gun.” KITT said.

“Is that all the weapons it has?”

“Yes.”

“How do you stand a chance against it?”

“Ninety percent chance of survival. I’ve faced that kind of artillery before.” KITT said.

“Good. Had some close calls?” Shawn asked.

“Close enough.”

Garthe watched carefully, making sure everything was going as planned and everyone was doing their job. He took careful notes along the way to completion. He put down his clipboard and walked over to Larson who sitting at a computer console. He was working hard on the computer.

Larson saw Garthe walking over and closed the program window on the screen.

“When will Goliath be ready?” Garthe asked.

“He should be ready within the next five hours.” Larson replied.

“Good. Has the MBS been applied to Goliath’s artillery?”

“Yes sir, as you requested.”

“Inform me the second he is finished.”

“Yes sir.” Larson said, watching Garthe carefully. Garthe turned around and walked back over to the tank. Larson reopened his window and began typing again: Replica performing at top efficiency. He believes the stories that you provided to him and is still bent on destroying the Knight Foundation. Believes he is the original…

Fort White Rock

1101 Hrs

KITT pulled up to the main gate at Fort White Rock. Shawn lowered the window as the guard walked up to the car. She took out her wallet and showed him an ID badge. “Agent Shawn McCormick, Foundation for Law and Government.”

The guard nodded and waved her through.

General Grey was sitting at his desk in his office, smoking a cigar while looking at some files. He was heavy set, but was built. He had short, white hair that was, of course, military cut. He took his job very seriously, giving no slack to anyone whatsoever. As he concentrated on reading his files he heard on a knock on his office doors.

“Come in,” the General said.

The door opened and Shawn stepped in. She opened her wallet and showed him her ID. “General, I’m Agent Shawn McCormick with the Foundation for Law and Government.”

Grey stood up as she entered. “Yes, yes, I spoke with Mr. Maddock. Please have seat.” He said, extinguishing his cigar.

“General,” Shawn started, “forgive me sir, but I am having trouble trying to figure out how a tank was stolen from this base.”

“Agent McCormick, this base opened only a year ago, fifteen hundred of our nation’s finest soldiers are stationed right here. We have the highest levels of security operating on this base, so believe me when I say, I’m having the same trouble you are.” Grey said.

“What happened?” Shawn asked.

“At exactly zero one hundred hours this morning, the sentry changing for the main gates was taking place. Three sentries were relieved as three new ones took their place. At this exact moment, men dressed in black, rushed the gates on foot. They were firing madly at the soldiers before they even had a chance to respond with fire. The soldiers were killed immediately before any of them had a chance to alert the base.”

“Wouldn’t the gunfire have alerted some attention?” Shawn asked.

“Yes, and it did,” Grey said, “by the time the first shots were fired, the intruders piled into a van and sped towards the main proving grounds. Soldiers on duty noticed the van and fired upon it, only to find themselves catching bullets themselves.

“When the van reached the proving grounds, the entire base was in lockdown, and MP’s were dispatched. The intruders managed to break the lock on the M1X we were testing, and drove it through the fence with the van following.”

“And you’re telling me that you were unable to track the tank or the van.”

“No, I’m not, Agent McCormick. Five Apaches were dispatched into the area immediately and we activated the tracking beacon on the M1X.”

“And?”

Grey paused. “Our Apaches found the van and its occupants. What was left of them, anyway. The tank had fired upon it.”

“Fired on his own men, holy shit.” Shawn said. “What about the tracking beacon?”

“Whoever was operating that thing knew exactly how to disable the beacon.” Grey said.

“Damn,” Shawn said, “what else do you have?”

“We have this one clip from a short video that was taken.” Grey said, punching it up on the computer screen.

Shawn looked at the picture as Grey zoomed in on a person.

“We believe this man is the leader.”

Shawn stared wide eyed at the image… the man on the screen… was a man who has been dead for sixteen years…

“Agent McCormick? Agent McCormick? You okay?” Grey asked.

“General, I believe we have a serious problem.”

Knight Foundation HQ

Location: Seattle, Washington

“Mr. Maddock.”

“Yes?”

“Agent McCormick on line one for you, sir.”

“Thank you.” Maddock said, pressing a button. “Shawn? What’s happening?”

“We have a serious problem here, Russ. I know who stole the tank.”

“Who?”

“Garthe Knight.” Shawn said, grimly.

Maddock immediately sat up. “Shawn, Garthe Knight is dead. And has been for sixteen years!”

“You wanna argue and scream or do you wanna look at the image that should be coming over on your screen?”

Maddock complied and looked on his computer screen. The impossible was true. “How?”

“I don’t know, how about we figure that out later and nab this asshole okay?”

“Good luck Shawn.” Maddock said.

“I don’t need luck, I need a miracle.”

May 5, 2000

1345 Hrs

The final coating for the Molecular Bonded Shell was just about finished when a door from some distance away was heard closing. Garthe Knight stepped out from the shadows of the warehouse.

Larson was walking with a clipboard and saw Garthe looking around. He tried to make a quick getaway but Garthe cornered him.

“Well?” he asked.

“Mr. Knight,” Larson replied, “it pleases me to tell you that Goliath III is complete.”

Garthe sneered. “Very good. It’s time for me to run a little errand.”

Larson nodded. “The C-130 has been fueled and is waiting on the runway as we speak.”

Garthe nodded and walked past Larson out the door. Larson waited for him to leave before he took out his cell-phone. “Yeah this is Larson. He’s heading for Seattle now.”

Garthe walked over to the new Goliath. He got inside and started the engine, awakening the huge leviathan. It's engine roared like the sound of a hungry lion. Garthe loved that sound. It gave him a sense of hunger. He then drove towards a resting C-130 sitting on a runway. The tank pulled into the plane, followed by a small black car. The rear door closed, the plane taxied to the runway, and shortly took off with the help of the JATO rockets.

Shawn and KITT had been driving around the perimeter of Fort White Rock for almost two hours. They decided to widen the radius area of their search. Right away, KITT noticed something.

“Shawn, about a mile up the road I'm getting a strange reading of something.”

“What?”

“It appears to be a large hole that was dug in the ground.”

Shawn stepped on the accelerator and the speedometer climbed to 160 mph. When they arrived at the spot, Shawn got out and looked around. All she saw was dirt. “KITT, give me a little help here, will ya?”

“Approximately ten paces to your left, you should see a large rectangular hole in the ground.”

Shawn turned and saw the large hole. The hole itself was covered with dirt and grass, but the outlining of it suggested that it was some kind of door or something similar. She could also see tank tracks in the ground that pointed in the direction of the base. “KITT, can you give me a reading on this?”

“It appears to be a large door approximately 12 feet in diameter and 10 feet in width. And it can open automatically like a garage door.” Suddenly, part of the ground started to move and what was originally the outlining of a secret door, was now an underground tunnel lined with dirt and grass. “Shawn, this tunnel runs approximately 50 miles underground and leads to...”

“Leads to where?”

“Shawn, this tunnel leads straight into the Nevada desert.” KITT said.

“Oh my God. But how? It would take years to dig this tunnel.”

“Affirmative. Should I contact Mr. Maddock?”

Shawn paused. “Let’s head back to the semi and get our deck in order.” She said, getting inside and driving down the road, trying to figure out how to make sense of the return of Garthe Knight.

Knight Ground Transport

1428 Hrs

“Shawn,” KITT said, “I am sensing that there’s something you aren’t telling me.”

Kevin looked up at KITT and then to Shawn, shooting her a quizzical look.

Shawn sat down in a chair. “You’re right, KITT, there is.”

“What is it?” KITT asked.

“KITT… we believe that Garthe Knight has returned.”

“What?! That’s impossible!” KITT exclaimed.

“Who?” Kevin asked.

“Shawn, please tell me how this is possible,” KITT said, “he died seventeen years ago!”

“Who?” Kevin repeated.

“I don’t know,” Shawn said, “but we have video proof which confirms it.”

“WHO!?!” Kevin yelled.

“Garthe Knight,” KITT started, “he is virtually an exact twin of Michael Knight. When Michael was shot in 1982, his face was destroyed, leaving Wilton Knight to recreate Michael’s face in Garthe’s image. Garthe at the time imprisoned in Africa, serving three consecutive life sentences. He escaped, somehow, and managed to make it to the states. With the help of his mother, Wilton’s ex wife, he kidnapped Devon Miles, stole the formula for the MBS, and used it to coat a tractor trailer. A mechanical brute he named Goliath.

“After some quick thinking by Michael, the ordeal was over, and Garthe was sent to prison. Of course, he returned once again. Broken out by a new Goliath, Garthe successfully kidnapped Devon and April Curtis, and held them hostage, while toying with Michael. In the end, an end which I was a witness to, Goliath, Garthe, and his lover Adrienne Margeaux, sailed off a cliff and into the sea.” KITT reported.

“Whoa.” Kevin said.

“Kevin, work with KITT and get some research done about that accident.” Shawn said.

Kevin nodded and sat down inside of KITT in the passenger seat.

Knight Foundation HQ

2130 Hrs

All was quiet at the Knight Foundation. The security force were making their rounds, and Russell Maddock was in his darkened office, working on the computer.

“Up late I see.” A voice said.

Maddock’s head jerked up. “Holy shit.”

Garthe Knight laughed. “Why should my resurrection bother you Mr. Maddock? As your predecessor should have told you, I always come back no matter what the odds are. Dead or alive.”

“What the hell do you want?” Maddock asked.

“You. For right now are the bait for my trap,” Garthe said.

“What trap?”

“To bring the Foundation to its knees!” Garthe explained.

Maddock scoffed. “Yeah right. The two times you’ve tried to nail the first team, you've failed, regardless of the circumstances. What makes you think this time you'll succeed?” Maddock asked.

“You should know by now.” Garthe said, as an explosion rocked the building.

The two of them looked out the massive glass window of Maddock’s office, as the new Goliath plowed through the front doors of the building, running over everything in his path.

Garthe raised his hand and pointed out the window. “Meet Goliath III. Covered with the same Molecular Bonded Shell used to protect the first two as well as the Knight 4000.” He produced a handgun. “Let’s go for a ride, shall we?” he said, gesturing with his gun.

Maddock put his hands up and walked out from behind his desk. His foot tapped the security alert button as he walked by.

The two of them walked downstairs into the main lobby. The tank backed up, letting the two of them through the hole. A man opened the hatch and exited the tank.

“Take care of him, men.” Garthe said, getting into Goliath.

The men handcuffed Maddock and led him into the back of the van.

Out of nowhere, twelve security force members came up and opened fire on the armored van and Goliath. The bullets bounced off harmlessly.

Garthe started the tank and began moving forward as the guards continued firing upon the unstoppable Goliath.

Garthe aimed the guns at the guards and opened fire… killing all twelve of them within seconds.

He fired rounds from the nozzle at the Seattle Metro Police cars dispatched to the scene. They were obliterated in no time flat.

Goliath and the van quickly exited the Knight Foundation campus as squad cars, police officers, and security guards lay in ruins.

“Kevin! Shawn! The security alarm at the Foundation has been activated!” KITT’s panicked voice said.