Knight
Rider 2000
Pilot
Written by
Rob Hedden
Novelized by
Scott Kirkessner
Based upon KNIGHT RIDER
Created by
Glen A. Larson
In the 21st
Century, handguns are banned by law from citizens and the city’s own police
force. Police officers, refusing to
subject themselves to defenselessness, band together to from a black market gun
running ring. Shawn McCormick, a
rookie, stumbles onto that ring in a setup by her own colleagues, and finds
herself at the end of an illegal handgun aimed at her head. Shot and left for dead, Shawn gains a memory
chip, and comes to the next step in law enforcement, the Foundation for Law and
Government, where she learns about the chips true source.
Shawn must work with
Michael Knight, recalled from retirement to assist the ailing Foundation, in
order to stop the illegal guns from destroying the city.
Rated PG for profanity,
suggestive dialogue and mild violence.
The date is February 19, 2000.
Yet another day at Quayton State Prison. Things have changed now that the new millennium is here. All prisoners are cryogenically frozen in
small “drawers.” Thomas Watts is being
prepared for parole. He has been frozen
in cell 1433 since 1998. The doctor and
the guard approached Watts’ cell. The
doctor punched in the cell number. The
metallic “drawer” slid out. The doctor
then punched in some more codes. He
checked the medical status of the prisoner.
After everything checks out, the doctor pushes a button and in these
seconds, Thomas Watts opens his eyes and takes his first breath.
At the Metropolitan Police station,
things were busy as usual.
“You’ve kept me here for three
hours,” yelled a bag lady, “I got my rights ya know? You just can’t keep me down here against my will, I got to get home
and feed my poor ol’ cats and my dogs, they’re hungry, quit... quit jerkin’ me
around. Tell me, why I’m bein’ held
down here...” The cop escorting her was
nodding without a real care in the world.
At the desk, a man was being
escorted to a unit waiting to take him to Quayton. Two cops were holding him tightly by the arm. The convict booted the one cop to the side
and punched him, he then turned to the other cop and punched him too. Shawn McCormick, a rookie, saw the commotion
and decided to help. She jumped on the
convict, but he slammed her against the wall.
She recovered and slammed against his side. This, in turn, knocked the wind out of her and she fell. Kurt Miller, Shawn’s friend and partner ran
to help. He whipped out his ultrasound
and slammed the convict in the face.
The convict fell and two more cops ran to pick the convict up and take
him to a holding cell.
Kurt helped Shawn up. “Are you okay?” he asked.
“Nice work.” said Shawn.
“I’ll probably get it for
brutality. That scum’s a cop
killer. I love this system.”
Later in the coed locker room, Kurt
walked in getting ready to roll soon.
Marla Hedges, another officer smacked him on the butt.
“Hey, hey Miller,” said Hedges, “we
got the crisp details today, something even your rookie can handle.”
“Thank you.” said Shawn.
“Were baby-sitting the mayor,” said
Hedges, “some fund-raiser at the Tower.”
“All the chicken wings you can eat.”
said Officer Strand.
Kurt turned around, chicken wings
were his favorite food.
“I had someone warn them I was
coming.” said Hedges. “So McCormick,
how do ya like the street life so far?”
“Haven’t seen much action yet.” said
Shawn.
“You probably won’t. Unless there is a sudden rash of code 17’s at
all the donut shops in your sector.”
“Your full of it aren’t you Hedges?”
asked Kurt.
“Every day.” she responded. She walked over to Shawn. “Look, you got a good partner, just don’t
blow it out there and you’ll be fine, honey, eh?”
Shawn just nodded.
At the Tower Restaurant, the mayor’s
fund-raiser was going very well. Mayor
Frank Cottam was shaking hands and talking to everyone. The officers were pigging out at the food table
and keeping an eye on the mayor as well.
Shawn and Kurt were standing by the elevator. Kurt was rubbing his head.
“What’s the matter?” asked Shawn.
Kurt just moaned.
“I have some anti-inflammatory down
in the unit, let me get it for you.”
“No, I’ll pass. Maybe a chicken wing might help.” Kurt walked over with Hedges and Strand.
Down in the parking lot, Watts was
sitting in his car waiting for the right moment. He pulled out a 9 millimeter Weber from the glove box. He made sure it was loaded and exited the
car. Shawn walked out of the elevator
just as he was stepping in. He pushed
the button and put on a ski mask. He
was ready for the assassination. The
elevator opened on the top floor, the cop guarding the door was pushed aside
and Watts shot an officer. He ran by
and pushed down Kurt, Hedges, and Strand.
Watts ran up and shot the mayor in the stomach. The mayor moaned and collapsed. He put the gun up to Harold Abbey, the vice mayor.
“I’ll do him too so help me God!”
yelled Watts, “Come on!”
“Put them down, please!” said Abbey.
Strand put down his ultrasound and
so did Hedges.
“I’m gonna buzz ‘em both.” said
Kurt.
“You know the code.” said Hedges,
“He might get a shot on first, put down your ultrasound. Put it down!”
Kurt set the weapon down. Watts took the Abbey with him and Kurt
immediately put in the call.
Shawn was rummaging through the
glove box for medicine for Kurt when the call came in.
“Attention all sector five units,
code 17x in progress at the Tower Restaurant.
Proceed with extreme caution.”
Shawn dropped the bottle and
ran. She was just turning the corner
when she saw Watts and Abbey emerge from the elevator. “FREEZE!” she yelled.
“Don’t shoot!” yelled Abbey.
Watts shot at Shawn. Shawn shot back, but accidentally buzzed
Abbey instead. Watts ran off and Shawn
shot at him again. This time he fell,
but the ultrasound hit off center and stunned him for only a second. Watts got up and ran. Shawn ran after but lost him. She started walking back and then she found
it. The gun. She picked it up. It was
still loaded.
At the Knight Foundation, Russell
Maddock and Devon Miles were about to finish a presentation for Mayor Abbey and
Police Commissioner Ruth Daniels. There
was a simulation showing the capabilities for the Foundation’s new project, the
Knight Industries Four Thousand, or K.I.F.T.
The simulation ended and Maddock turned off the projector.
“I don’t know about all of you, but
it impresses the hell out of me. If I
do say so myself” he said.
“It’s a nice simulation,” said
Abbey, “but I doubt even that car coulda saved Mayor Cottam’s life.”
“I’m afraid that’s something we’ll
never know.” said Devon.
“Well true, but once completed, I
guarantee you’ll be quite astonished by what the Knight 4000 can do.” said
Maddock.
“Frank Cottam gave me my career, I
want whoever is responsible for his death stopped.”
“We all do, Mayor Abbey.” said
Devon.
“And we’re your solution,” said
Maddock, “not only that we have a state-of-the-art operations base, but now a vehicle,
which is an entire department on wheels.
I’m talking a communication center with worldwide links, the latest
virtual reality display technology and artificial intelligence superior to the
commissioner and all her cops put together.”
Commissioner Daniels glared at him.
“With all due respect Commissioner
Daniels.” ended Maddock.
“Mr. Maddock’s enthusiasm is shared
by the entire Foundation, course we’re here in the sprit of collaboration.”
said Devon.
Commissioner Daniels just about had
it. This was a waste of time. “We do not need another law-enforcement
department here, period.”
Maddock had it with Daniels as
well. Countless requests have been
denied now that Frank Cottam is dead.
“And I suppose L.A., New York, and Chicago don’t, either. Funny, they all have free-lance department
now.”
“We’re not any of those cities.”
“Oh no? The ‘City of the Future.’
That’s what they said back in the 90’s.
Well I got news for you, the future’s here, and that tower is an antique
now. So is your old way of fighting
crime.”
“Don’t talk to me about
antiques. The Knight Foundation was a
philanthropic dinosaur, until Devon brought you on board.”
“Commissioner, that isn’t quite
accurate. Mayor Cottam had enormous
respect of our company’s accomplishments, or else he would never have
established a relationship with us.” said Devon.
“Keeping the city safe is difficult
enough, without a free-lance department to stumble over. At best you’ll impede due-process and...and
create legal havoc.”
Maddock was tired of Daniels put
downs and her dumb excuses. “I don’t
think I can listen to much more of this.”
“Russ, please!” said Devon.
“No, first you ban capital
punishment and then you ban handguns from everyone. Including your own police!
It may work in other countries, but it sure as hell doesn’t work here!”
“It hasn’t had a chance to work!”
said Daniels. “We are one of the first
cities to activate this ban. We are
setting a precedent for the entire country.”
“I’m sorry, but the wrong people are
getting shot. And what do you do with
these murderers instead of firing back, you buzz them with ultrasound, and then
you freeze them, so they can come back 20 years later and victimize a whole new
generation.”
Daniels’ assistant, Andrew, leaned
over to give some tips to the commissioner to win the argument.
Daniels began. “Cryogenic incarceration saves an estimate
1.2 billion dollars per year, while solving the problem of prison over crowding
and cruel conditions.”
“Whose side are you on anyway?”
asked Maddock.
“What’s your point Mr. Maddock?”
asked Abbey.
“You may be the next one laying dead
in a restaurant Mr. Mayor. Can you
really afford not to have us?”
Still not impressed, Abbey gave the
Knight Foundation a small chance. “I’m
giving you 30 days to complete that car and show me some results or I’m
dropping your free lance contract.”
“Mr. Mayor,” protested Devon, “The
Knight 4000 is still in prototype form.
It won’t be ready for at least two more months.”
“That’s not my problem. Good day gentlemen.”
All the people in the room walked
out. The first one out was Commissioner
Daniels.
“So we’ll get through this, all
right.” said Maddock, “Don’t...don’t worry about them.”
“I’m worried about us.” said
Devon. “We need help, Russ. We need help.”
With two fishing poles in hand and
an empty cooler, Michael Knight emerged from his small boat. He’s been living here since 1990, when he
left the Foundation. He walked across
the bridge and toward his house. That’s
when he saw an old, good friend. He
stopped, put down his stuff and stared.
“Hello Michael.” said Devon.
“Hello Devon.”
Devon got up and the two
hugged. They haven’t seen each other in
10 years.
“How are you?” asked Devon.
“Good. I’m real good.”
The fire was cracking and warm
inside. Michael brought Devon a drink.
“Thank you. I came here for two reasons,” said Devon,
“to see an old friend, and because I need your help.”
“Devon,” began Michael, “I’m not the
same person anymore. I gave up that
life. I guess I’m on my third one now.”
“When we saved your life, it was no
random choice, Michael. Right from the
beginning we saw something in you. I
still see it.”
“I’m happy out here.”
“Are you? I made a promise a very long time ago. A promise to fulfill one man’s dream.”
Michael got up. “Devon, I don’t wanna-”
“Let me finish before you say
no. Wilton Knight created the
Foundation in hopes to find intelligent
solutions to violent problems. Problems
that have changed little in tens of not hundreds of years. That’s what’s kept me going, Michael. I truly share the same dream. I wouldn’t ask this if there were any other
answer. I need you. Come back for the next 30 days until we
cement our contract. Then, after that,
if you decide to go, I won’t say a word.
Do you remember what Wilton always said, ‘One man can make a
difference?’”
“I remember. But that man’s not me anymore. Me is fishing, taking care of my Chevy
outside. Me is taking advantage of life
for a change, instead of life taking advantage of me.”
“No one suggested that what we do is
easy. Nothing worthwhile ever is. Don’t make me beg, Michael. I have nowhere else to turn.”
“Only under one condition.”
Devon knew what Michael was taking about. “He’ll be waiting for us on arrival.”
In the garage, Maddock, Devon and
Michael were standing around a container, filled with parts. Parts of a car, and parts of Michael
Knight’s life. Inside, dismantled, was
the Knight Industries Two Thousand, or K.I.T.T. for short.
“I had to liquidate some items to
make our balance sheet look good, otherwise we would have never landed a
franchise. Frankly, I never saw
K.I.T.T. as an asset to begin with.” said Maddock.
“Oh,” said Devon, “I see.”
“It’s nothing personal, Devon, but
the car didn’t exactly have fresh oil on the dipstick if you know what I
mean. And with the 4000 on the way, it
hardly seemed worth the price of storage.” said Maddock.
“Yes hardly.” said Devon.
“You let this guy actually do this?”
asked Michael.
“This guy happens to be your new
boss Mr. Knight!” yelled Maddock, “And I’d watch that attitude from now on.”
“I assume you can repurchase the
missing components.” said Devon.
“Most of them, I think. I was surprised that I could sell them at
all, but I guess research facilities found them okay. Shows how up to date they are.
Listen, if your really insist on buying them back--”
“Just don’t... bother!” said
Michael. He walked off.
Maddock leaned toward Devon. “He’s not exactly as you led me to believe
he be, Devon.”
“Neither are you Mr. Maddock!”
shouted Devon. “How dare you dismantle
that car without first discussing it with me.”
“I did what I had to do to keep this
operation alive, now I make no excuses for it!”
“No, you wouldn’t! Humility and modesty are hardly in your
makeup! I had just about all arrogance
I can take.”
“Look, you want a nice guy, that’s
not me, but I get results!”
“As long as I’m the controlling
partner we do things my way, is that clear?”
“Yeah.”
Devon walked off leaving Maddock
defeated.
Kurt pulled up to Shawn’s apartment
building.
“Thanks for the ride, Kurt. Goodnight.” said Shawn.
Kurt gently grabbed her arm. “Daniels must have chewed you up and down
‘bout the buzzin’ of the deputy mayor.
C’mon, McCormick, what gives.”
“Do you know why forensics never
recovered that handgun from the Tower?”
Kurt shook his head.
“Because I did.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know, it’s kind of a
hunch. The gun was a 9 millimeter
Weber, Kurt.”
“That doesn’t mean it was a cop’s
gun.”
“But they were all have supposed to
been melted down.”
“There are lots of 9 mills out there
on the black market.”
“Oh, but I have a feeling about
this. Tell me it’s my dumb intuition.”
“It probably is.” said Kurt,
laughing.
Shawn was still concerned. “But why is this particular gun showing up
all of a sudden. This isn’t the first
one, lately.” She pulled the gun from
her purse. “Will you run a ballistics
on this? Just for my own piece of
mind. I stuck it under my mattress
three days ago and haven’t been able to sleep since.”
Kurt took the gun from her. “I’ll do some quiet asking around. In the meantime don’t say nothin’ to
nobody. Who knows where this could go.”
“Did I screw up?”
“No, you did good. Now go get some sleep. All right?”
Shawn walked into her
apartment. She pushed the pad to turn
on the lights. It didn’t work. After two more tries, she decides to check the
lamp itself. Then, the lights turn on.
“SURPRISE!” yelled some officers of
the Metropolitan Police Department.
Shawn stumbled back, still
stunned.
Kurt walked in. “Happy Birthday, Shawn!” he yelled. He gave her a hug and stood to the side.
“By the look on your face, I’d say
your partner keeps a damn good secret.” said Hedges.
The crowd chanted for Shawn to give
a speech.
“Oh, you’re all an obnoxious
bunch. Well, I don’t really have a
family anymore, at least not until I joined the PD. And the last few months have been the greatest in a long time and
that’s thanks to all of you. I know I
have a lot to learn, and you’ve all been really patient. I love all you guys.”
The crowd clapped and Hedges spoke
up. “Enough with the sentiment, now cut
the damn cake, all right?”
The next day at the Knight
Foundation, Michael was working alone in the garage. Devon came in holding a can.
He set it down on the table.
“It’s tri-clycoride-three.”
“Thanks.” said Michael. “You wanna talk about that ass you hired?”
“I did what I had to do to survive.”
said Devon.
“C’mon, Devon, you’re not doing this
for money, you never would.”
“Oh no, money isn’t the
problem. We still have enough grant
funding.”
“Then what is the problem?”
“Research means nothing unless you
can apply it, Michael. Now we can help
this city, but the bureaucracy has stalled us for years. Russ Maddock deserves some credit for
turning that around.”
“You promised me K.I.T.T.’s body.”
said Michael.
“Yes, I did.” said Devon looking at
the can, “I’m afraid he’s been recycled.”
Then a voice spoke up. A voice familiar to Michael and Devon. “Now that’s just wonderful.” said
K.I.T.T. “You stick me in mothballs for
nearly a decade, and then you sell off my parts like I’m inventory for Manny,
Moe, and Jack.”
Devon laughed. “K.I.T.T., it’s wonderful to hear your
voice.”
“I wish I could say the same, Devon,
but one of my auditory units must lave landed in some kid’s walkie-talkie. Is that you, Michael?”
“Yeah.” said Michael, stunned.
“You look like crap.”
“Well so do you, pal.”
“At least I have an excuse. You obviously gone down the toilet since we
split up, Michael. Get a life.”
“I got a life, and a body too, which
is more than I can say for you.”
“Forget my body. Where’s my Random Access, or my Graphics
Board. I can’t even play a round of
PacMan in here.”
“You’re outdating yourself,
buddy-boy. PacMan’s in the Smithsonian,
now.”
“Probably an exhibit or two away
from you.”
“At least some things haven’t
changed.” said Devon.
Kurt and Shawn were working the
night patrol when the call came in from the dispatcher.
“Attention, Adam 2020, code 17x in
progress at Arnold Jewelers.”
Kurt sped up and turned on the
siren.
The unit screeched to a halt in
front of the mall.
“Drop in on the north exit!” yelled
Kurt.
Shawn ran to where her partner
directed her. She saw the robber emerge
from the store. He fired two shots at
her and ran.
“I’ve located suspect on north side of
complex. Appears to be heading toward
canal.” said Shawn. The chase
continued. Shawn found a shortcut to
the canal and hoped to head off the robber.
The robber ran past just as she emerged from the dark alley. “FREEZE!” she yelled.
The robber fired again , but Shawn
buzzed him with the ultrasound. She
walked over to the stunned robber and picked up the gun. It was another 9 millimeter Weber. “Where’d you get this?” she asked. Suddenly, Shawn felt a gun to her neck. She glanced over. It was Watts. He took the
gun and the ultrasound away from her.
“We meet again.” said Watts. “The Tower?”
The robber got up and stood next to
Shawn. The robber took off his hat and
mustache. It was Hedges. “You shouldn’t have picked up that gun
McCormick.”
Shawn looked back over at
Watts. “We can work this out.”
“Relax officer. Your off duty now.” Watts pointed the gun at Shawn’s head and
pulled the trigger.
After Kurt found her, he called for
an ambulance. When they got to the
hospital, there was a big crowd of doctors around her. They wheeled her into a room and told Kurt
he’d have to wait outside. Just then,
Commissioner Daniels, Andrew, Strand, Hedges and other officers came in.
“Is she still alive?” asked Daniels.
“Barely.” replied Kurt.
Daniels walked into the room and
walked up to Dr. Richard Glassman. “As
a city employee, she’s turned her rights over to me.” said Daniels. “I’m authorizing you to read her RNA.”
“RNA is a risky procedure, there’s
still a chance we can save her.” said Dr. Glassman.
“We have to find out who did this to
her, Doctor.” said Daniels. “Believe
me, she would want us to know.”
“Prepare for RNA transfer.” said Dr.
Glassman.
The nurses wheeled Shawn into the
RNA transfer room. They put her on a table
and activated the scanner. Dr. Glassman
sat at a monitor where an image of Shawn’s skull was being projected. The scanner found the trauma spot. “Spot.” said Dr. Glassman. “Insert probe one in Alphic Nerve. Two and three into hemispherical memory
regions.” Dr. Glassman stepped into a
room. Another doctor stepped up to a
monitor. “Position probe.” he said. A robotic arm with a needle at the end
started to move. This was probe
one. It will be inserted through
Shawn’s skull and into her Alphic Nerve, her main memory center. The RNA will be fed through the probe and
onto Dr. Glassman’s monitor in hopes to find the shooter. The arm continued to move until it reached
its final point. “Stand clear.” said
Dr. Glassman. The probe began to move
and it entered Shawn’s skull. “Probe
insertion completed, Doctor.” said the doctor.
The RNA transfer began.
The images on the screen were from
Shawn’s third birthday party. It showed
her as a young girl with all her friends and her dad celebrating. “Happy birthday, Shawn.” her dad said. After that, young Shawn blew out her candles
and Kurt’s image appeared in the cake.
“Happy birthday, Shawn.” said Kurt.
Young Shawn just smiled, a little confused, but went on partying. After that, Shawn, at her normal age, was on
a swing with a man of her dreams. “I
love you.” she said. The image faded
out and back into her birthday party from the previous day. It was at the end of her speech. “I love all you guys.”
Dr. Glassman came out. “Commissioner.” he said. “The injury appears to have destroyed a
cluster patter in her cerebrum, in simple terms, she’s lost her most recent
memory. But there is good news, the RNA
confirmed that we can save her life by performing a fragmentary cerebral
transplant, but of course I’ll need your authorization.”
“Doctor, may I speak to you in
private?” asked Daniels.
Dr. Glassman and Commissioner
Daniels were talking in his office.
“There is certifiable doubt on how
she’ll function after this operation, if at all, isn’t that true?”
“Yes, there is always some
incertitude with a procedure like this, but I’m extremely confident.”
“Have you performed one of these
before?” asked Daniels
“No, but I’ve logged 90 hours on the
surgical simulator. She’s a textbook
case, perfect for me.” said Dr. Glassman.
Daniels paused for a moment. “I’m afraid I have no choice, but to
decline.”
“Commissioner, what you’re saying,
in effect, is to terminate life support.”
“Don’t think I feel the slightest
bit good about this, Doctor. But our
budget deficit is in the high seven figures.
We literally cannot afford it.
Based on the risk.”
“I am urging you to reconsider.”
“Your next career advancement will
have to wait until the next victim rolls in, Doctor Glassman. My decision is final.”
Dr. Glassman walked into the
operation room where the doctors and nurses were waiting for him. “We’re going on with the transplant.”
In an expensive building, Thomas
Watts was having a meeting with members of the Metropolitan Police who were
opposed to the gun ban. Strand, Hedges,
Kurt, and other officers were in the room.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we’re about to expand. I, like you, believe in the constitutional right for all citizens
to bear arms, but do the criminals?
Self protection is a principle that this country was founded on, and I
see nothing wrong with continuing that philosophy, while getting very, very
rich, selling banned handguns on the black market. What about you?” he said as he put his hand on Kurt’s shoulder.
“I don’t remember murder as part of
our forefathers’ philosophy, Mr. Watts.” said Kurt.
“Oh, but an eye for an eye certainly
was.” replied Watts.
“The former mayor was responsible
for getting our handguns banned, Miller.
The bad guys, they still have ‘em.” said Strand.
“Six of us have bought it already
this year, all we can do is buzz ‘em back.” complained an officer.
“They told us the ban would help,
they lied.” said Hedges.
“This is not about self-protection
anymore! He shot one of our own at the
Tower, Strand. How do you justify
that?” said Kurt.
“That was unplanned,” said Watts,
“and quite unfortunate.”
“Just like shootin’ my partner,
right. That was never part of the
deal.” said Kurt.
“Neither was her interference at the
Tower.” said Watts.
“She did it to herself, Miller!”
yelled Hedges.
“I planned on bringing her in
eventually, it was just too soon.” said Kurt.
“I’d say it was too late. She was your responsibility, and still is.”
said Watts.
“Her memory is gone.” said Kurt. “She’s out of the equation.”
“We’ll see.”
“What about the new free-lance
department? Now that can really screw
things up for us.” said Strand.
“There’s way too much tension in
this room.” said Watts. “They won that
franchise based on a flashy car which won’t be finished before their contract
expires. They will be no problem. Trust me.”
In Maddock’s office at the Knight
Foundation, Maddock was yelling into the phone. “I don’t wanna hear excuses.
The 4000 is already two weeks behind.
Now you kick that distributor’s butt or I’ll have to kick yours.”
Just then Devon walked in. “I’m glad to see that company morale is a
priority of yours.”
“Not as much as nailing this
contract, we need results, Devon, now.”
Devon handed a paper over to
Maddock. “I think we have some. It’s an inventory of evidence seized over
the last two years all related to handgun crimes. Notice how the percents of Weber automatics has gone up, since
the mayor was shot.”
“You’re not thinking what I think
your thinking.”
“I’ll admit that police involvement
is an unlikely possibility. But every
prospect should be checked out.”
“Compared to what I said to Daniels,
this is a real slap in her face, I’m gonna press, Devon.”
“I’m not suggesting that we handle
this delicately,” said Devon, “I’d like to put Michael on it. At the moment he’s wrapping up tests on
K.I.T.T.”
In the garage, Michael was
finished. Since most of the model of
the Knight 2000 was dismantled and sold, he placed K.I.T.T. into his ‘57 Chevy.
“Michael, this isn’t gonna work.”
said K.I.T.T.
“Just trust me, buddy. It’s a new body, take a little getting used
to, but you’ll do just fine.” said Michael.
“It’s your body I’m having trouble
adjusting to, you did shower today, didn’t you?”
“Yes, I had a full wash and a wax,
all right? Time to take Mr. Personality
for a spin.”
On the streets of the city, K.I.T.T.
was driving Michael, Devon, and Maddock around, and proving that he was still
an asset to the Foundation.
“Amazing power that you get out of
those rodents under the hood.” said Maddock.
“Not to mention the one in the back
seat.” replied K.I.T.T.
“Oh wonderful. A car with an attitude.” complained Maddock.
“You’d have a disposition too, if
you went from state-of-the-art to this.
I may not catch every criminal, but I’ll sure look good at the
drive-in.”
“K.I.T.T., there are no more
drive-ins.” said Michael.
“In that case, I’m useless.” said
K.I.T.T.
“K.I.T.T. has a terrific sense of
humor, don’t you think?” asked Devon.
“That’s a matter of opinion.” said
Maddock.
“Can we table this for awhile?”
asked Michael.
K.I.T.T.’s bar-code scanner was
activated.
“What’s that?” asked Maddock.
“We’ve been scanning bar-codes.”
Michael replied. “You come up with
something?”
“The blue coupe idling in front of
the ATM is registered to a Todd Mullen, whom you’ll find on my monitor.” said
K.I.T.T.
“I see,” said Michael, “he’s
currently wanted for drug trafficking and murder.”
“He’s withdrawing a large sum of
cash. Approximately $10,600. Would you like me to electronically disable
the man’s vehicle?” said K.I.T.T.
“For starters.” said Michael.
K.I.T.T. did so and the man walked
away from the ATM.
“Now stun him.” said Michael.
The man fell and money spilled
everywhere. Michael, Devon, and Maddock
emerged from the Chevy.
“Okay, pal. You’re under arrest.” said Michael.
The man, who was not Todd Mullen
responded. “They set their Phasers on
stun, Captain. I don’t like the looks
of it.”
“Michael,” said K.I.T.T., “shall I
Mirandize him?”
“K.I.T.T., it’s Scotty.” said
Michael.
“Who?” asked K.I.T.T.”
“Star Trek, you idiot! He’s James Doohan. The actor who played Scotty in The Original Series and all ten
movies.”
“Don’t tell me, you’re a classic Trekkie.”
said Michael.
“The Dilithum Crystals are fading
fast. I don’t think I can hold them,
Mr. Spock.” said ‘Scotty.’
“Maddock, I’m very angry about
this.” said K.I.T.T. “You obviously
substituted a bogus chip in my memory.
I want my old chip back!”
“Please somebody beam me up!” said
‘Scotty.’ Then the old man passed out.
Maddock caught him and tried to wake
him up. “Scotty, Scotty, Scotty.”
At the Metropolitan Police
department, Shawn stormed into Daniels office.
“I’d like a few minutes of your time, Commissioner.”
“It’s all right.” said Daniels to
her other secretary who followed Shawn in.
“We’re happy to see you back, Officer McCormick. You must have plenty of questions. If you’d like, I can ask Andrew to-”
“I heard that you ordered the plug
pulled on me.” said Shawn.
“That isn’t perfectly accurate.”
said Daniels. “There were financial
considerations at work-”
“My memory might be impaired, but I
assure you nothing else is. I want find
the creep who shot me. Re-assign me to
my old unit.”
“I can’t do that. Technically, you shouldn’t even have a desk
job after what happened.”
“Neither should you, considering
your profound lack of judgment.”
“Officer, I-”
“Anti-Capital Punishment, but Pro-Euthanasia
for your own cops. You know,
Commissioner, you might actually benefit by a bullet in the head as well!”
“McCormick you have just guaranteed
yourself-”
“Don’t bother. I quit!”
Shawn walked out of Daniels’ office and stopped, just realizing what she
had done.
At the Foundation, Shawn was having
an interview with Maddock and Devon.
“We’re fully staffed at the time,”
said Maddock as he handed Shawn’s resume back, “but we’ll keep your resume on
our database. Thanks for coming in.”
“I’m more than what’s on that piece
of paper.” persuaded Shawn. “Give me a
chance. I promise I won’t let you
down.”
“May I be blunt?” Maddock
asked. “Good cops don’t get fired. Now if you’ll excuse us-”
“I quit.” said Shawn. “And if you’d done your homework, you’d know
the reason why. I, on the other hand,
know all about you, Mr. Maddock.
Illustrious former D.A. with a 95.4% conviction rate. Never married. With a track record of dating blondes considerably younger. You play singles’ only tennis with a win
percentage of 98.2 because you always select opponents who’ll provide you with
adequate competition, but not enough to beat you. Your recent loss was to a woman incidentally. Shall I go on?”
“I have a feeling that your
knowledge of our operation is equally thorough, Ms. McCormick.” said Devon.
“So is my familiarity with the
handgun cases, which I memorized and correlated in their entirety, prior to my
resignation.” said Shawn.
“You’ve got a chip in your head,
don’t you?” asked Maddock.
“Memory chip transplant is not
uncommon today.” said Shawn.
“Everything may work out fine. Mr. Maddock has one on his shoulder.” said
Devon.
“Let’s cut through the smoke here,”
said Maddock, “why do you want to work for us?”
“That should be obvious.” said
Shawn.
“Humor me.” said Maddock.
“What are my choices?” asked
Shawn. “My field is law enforcement, so
that just leaves you and the PD. And
while it may be wishful thinking, I’d like to believe you’re the better of the
two.”
“I still think you have a hidden
agenda, lady.”
“I was shot point blank in the head
and I want to nail the bastard who did it.
That’s my agenda. What’s yours?”
Just then, Michael walked in. “Good news,” he said, “I’ve located
K.I.T.T.’s missing chip.”
“Where?” asked Devon.
“Well that’s the bad news, it was
sold to RNA Trauma Center and ended up in some policewoman’s head.” said
Michael.
Maddock smiled at Shawn.
“Michael,” said Devon, “meet the
missing chip.”
Michael looked at Shawn. Shawn looked back, with a look in her eyes
saying “Hello.”
In the garage, the Knight 4000 was
resting in a testing center. K.I.T.T.
was on the other side of the garage. “I
suppose, we should at least be cordial.
My name is K.I.T.T., originally designed with series 2000 circuitry.”
K.I.F.T.’s lights turned on.
“Terrific. The lights are on, but nobody’s home,” said K.I.T.T. “They spend ten million dollars building the
car and forget the voice. Incredible.”
K.I.F.T. roared to life and sped toward
K.I.T.T. and slammed on the breaks and spun a total 360o.
“So it’s going to be ‘mine is bigger
than yours’ is it?” asked K.I.T.T.
“Mine is bigger than yours.” said
K.I.F.T.
“So it talks,” said K.I.T.T., “and
sounds suspiciously familiar.”
“I only speak when it’s necessary.”
said K.I.F.T.
“Maddock’s voice.” said
K.I.T.T. “I knew the man had an ego,
but please.”
“We have nothing further to
discuss.” said K.I.F.T. After that,
K.I.F.T. turned his lights off.
“There’s nothing worse than a smart
ass automobile.” said K.I.T.T.
Michael and Shawn walked in. “Did you have much experience driving police
units?” asked Michael.
“If your inference is that I’m
inadequate, I understand.” said Shawn.
“No, no. I only thought your knowledge might help us.”
“Secondly, if you had took the time
to look over my resume, you would known my exact nature of my field training
and you wouldn’t be making such a feeble query.”
“All the chips in the world, and she
had to end up with K.I.T.T.’s.”
“Actually, there are few chips on
the market that are compatible with the human brain, and they’re very
expensive. Under the circumstances, it
made perfect sense for me to get the research chip that came from your car.” said
Shawn. “Your lack of deductive reasoning
amazes me.”
“Lady, I don’t know if this is the
personality you were born with or what.
But you got an attitude that will not fly around here. We all work together or not at all.” said Michael.
“Not at all seems to be your suit,
not mine. Correct me if I’m wrong, but
didn’t you leave the Foundation to run an unprofitable bass-charter? Seems you get along better with the fish
then you do with the people.” Shawn
walked over to K.I.F.T.
“I know some fish with better
personalities that you. Excuse me,
wrong car.” Michael pointed over to his
Chevy.
“That?” asked Shawn. “Hang a pair of fuzzy dice up in there and
we’ll be ready to go.” She walked over
to the driver’s side
“Uh, I drive.”
“Not anymore you don’t”
Michael didn’t protest. He walked over to the other side and got in.
Shawn turned the key, but the car
wouldn’t start. She tried again.
“Michael,” said K.I.T.T., “kindly
tell this obnoxious person to remove her hands from my wheel.”
Shawn sat back, surprised. “The car talks.” she said.
“Brilliant observation,” said
K.I.T.T., “I bet she knows how many tires I have.”
“Yes, and they’re obviously
over-inflated.” said Shawn.
“Who is this repugnant female?”
asked K.I.T.T.
“Repugnant?!” asked Shawn. “Try looking in the rear-view mirror
whoever-you-are.”
“K.I.T.T.,” said Michael, “say hello
to Shawn McCormick. She has your
missing chip implanted in her brain.”
“We’ll simply have to have it
removed.” said K.I.T.T.
“Wrong,” said Shawn, “the chip is mine
now and it’s staying under my hood, got it?
Although, after meeting the potential source of the chip, I may give it
some consideration.” Shawn started the
car.
In the streets, K.I.T.T. sped around
a corner.
“Slow down!” yelled Michael.
“Don’t tell me, I’m not driving!”
said Shawn.
“K.I.T.T., knock it off.”
“This arrogant machine is going to
kill both of us.”
Michael saw a police car waiting a
stop light. “That’s enough, K.I.T.T.,
pull over.”
K.I.T.T. continued to drive out of
control. He said some muffled words.
“Oh no, his hard drive’s crashed.”
said Michael.
“Impossible.” said Shawn. “A hard drive malfunction is impossible for
my circuitry.”
“You mean his circuitry.” Michael corrected.
“Whatever! He’s faking it!”
“No way. K.I.T.T. wouldn’t go that far.”
K.I.T.T. continued to drive wildly
and sped into an alley. Just then, a
sanitation truck turned the corner and K.I.T.T. was headed right towards
it. Shawn saw it and K.I.T.T. permitted
Shawn to slam on the breaks, just in time.
The truck backed up and found another way around.
“I apologize.” said K.I.T.T.
“What happened?” asked Michael.
“I lost my temper.” replied
K.I.T.T. “You may think I’m just a
machine, but I do have a feelings chip.”
Michael turned to Shawn. “Maybe you can use one of those chips, too.”
“Yeah,” said Shawn, “Maybe.”
The police unit pulled up Kurt and Hedges emerged from the car.
“Just what we need.” said Shawn.
“It could be.” said Michael. “That’s your ex-partner, isn’t it?”
“How’d you know that?” asked Shawn.
“Homework chip.” replied
Michael.
“What should I do?”
“We need inside information,
remember? I don’t know what you were
like before you became sister-of-K.I.T.T., but see if there’s any charm buried
in there.”
Kurt and Hedges walked up to the
car. “These old classies look great,
but they’re a pain to drive sometimes, huh?” asked Kurt.
“Oh I can drive them just fine,
thank you very much.” said Shawn.
Michael sighed.
“But I think I can drive them a lot
better if I had a lesson or two. Think
you’d be free some time to help me out in that department?”
“I think I might have some time for
that.” said Kurt smiling.
At a restaurant, Shawn and Kurt were
having coffee. Michael and K.I.T.T.
were monitoring.
“I suppose I should thank you for
not arresting me.” said Shawn.
“Yes, you should,” said Kurt, “I
miss my old partner, McCormick.”
“I don’t miss mine.” said
Shawn. She just realized she had hurt
his feelings. “I’m sorry. That was an abrasive thing to say. What I mean is, I have very little memory of
you in this.”
“That’s okay,” said Kurt, “you just
bein’ honest, but it sure don’t sound like the old McCormick.”
“Things tend to change after you get
your brains blown out, partner.”
K.I.T.T. was monitoring their
conversation. He fed it through the
speakers in the car so Michael could hear.
“Has the department made any
progress with the handgun situation?” asked Shawn.
“Not really.” replied Kurt.
“What about the former mayor, any
leads?”
“Listen, I’m all shop talked out, do
you mind if we change the subject?”
“Michael,” said K.I.T.T., “the
analyzer indicates stress in his voice.”
“Understand that I have one priority,
to confront the creep who shot me. I
need all the help I can get.” said Shawn.
Watts walked up. He and Kurt have arranged a test to see if
Shawn has really lost her memory.
“Kurt? What a pleasant surprise. Mind if I join you.”
“No, not at all.” replied Kurt.
Watts turned to Shawn. “I’m John Wilson. You must be Kurt’s former partner. I’ve heard all about you.”
“Oh sorry, I should’ve introduced
you. Mr. Wilson’s in the import
business.” said Kurt.
“And exports.” said Watts. he pulled out a gun. A small one, gold, and pulled the
trigger. A flame came out. It was a lighter. I send these little knickknacks to Hong Kong. I know it’s illegal to smoke in public
here....”
Michael just noticed the new
voice. “K.I.T.T., capture a voice print
of this guy.”
“It’s a nasty habit,” said Shawn, “I
really have to go. Thanks for the
coffee.”
Watts stood up. “It’s been a pleasure, Ms. McCormick.”
Shawn smiled and walked off.
“She stared you straight in the
eye,” said Kurt, “are you satisfied?”
“She’s a very lucky woman.” said
Watts.
Shawn was walking up the stairs and
stopped at the top. In her mind, she
saw a gun, firing at her. She started
to shake. She saw herself at her
birthday party. “Blow out the candles!”
yelled the crowd at her party. Shawn
saw her cake, then saw herself walking towards it. The cake changed. It was
now in the shape of a 9 millimeter Weber, with a flame coming out the
barrel. “Make a wish!” Her own image in her mind, smiled, looked up
and saw a gun fire again. This ended
her dream. She stopped shaking and
walked toward the car.
“Any luck with the voice print?”
asked Michael.
“I have insufficient bites to
calculate a match.” replied K.I.T.T.
Shawn stepped in. “I haven’t lost my memory.”
“That makes one of us.” said
K.I.T.T.
“K.I.T.T. give it a rest. This is serious.” said Michael.
“I saw myself getting shot. I actually remembered it.” said Shawn.
“Did you see who did it?” asked
Michael.
“No. But, God, they said I had no recent memory. Something is in there and I can’t get it
out.”
“Maybe you won’t have to.”
Michael and Shawn were at the
hospital in the RNA Trauma Center. Dr.
Glassman was at his terminal searching for Shawn’s file. He tried again. The terminal said FILE NOT FOUND. “As I said, you have no recent memory.”
“You’re lying,” said Shawn, “and I
want to know why.”
“Contrary to what you’re thinking, I
do have ethics. I risked my career to
save your life.”
“I heard I boosted your career,
Doctor Glassman. A Lenheart Surgical
Grant was given to you after successfully performing the procedure, despite
odds of failure topping 44.8%. Not that
I’m ungrateful.”
“I see your short term memory
retention is exemplary.” said Dr. Glassman.
“And my long term memory is not far
behind. I remember getting shot,
Doctor. And I want the rest of it
back.” said Shawn.
“Okay, the disk is blank.” said
Michael. “Where’s the real one?”
“You’re looking at it.” said Dr.
Glassman.”
“You erased it?!” asked Michael.
“I’m sorry, I don’t trust you or
anyone anymore.” said Dr. Glassman.
“Then, you’re just going to have to
tell us what you saw.” said Michael.
“I didn’t see anything.”
“This is her life we’re talking
about.”
“It’s mine too! I’m not getting involved!” Dr. Glassman walked out.
With no results at the
hospital. Michael and Shawn were
sitting in K.I.T.T. in a park.
“Hey,” said Michael, “we’ve been
sitting in this park for hours and nothing’s coming back to you. You’re just going to have to-”
“What,” asked Shawn, “put it out of
my mind. Too late, somebody already
did.”
“Hey, I’m on your side.” said
Michael.
“The only side you’re on is your
own.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Devon told me you’re leaving as soon
as the Knight 4000 is finished.”
“Michael is that true?” asked
K.I.T.T. “You never should have brought
me back.”
“We brought each other back, pal.”
said Michael.
“So what am I supposed to do, hope
for another memory jolt or two?” asked Shawn.
“There’s been one possibility that
I’ve been reluctant to mention.” said K.I.T.T.
“It could be extremely dangerous.”
“Just tell me what it is.” said
Shawn.
“The human body is run by electric
current, much like a computer, but only at a fractional voltage. Because of my chip being in your brain, I
might be able to stimulate the hemispherical memory center and pipe it through
my monitor.”
“What, I’m I supposed to stick my
finger in the cigarette lighter, or something?”
“I could generate the energy from my
overdrive shift lever.”
“You said it was dangerous.” said
Michael.
“If I don’t calculate the precise
electrical input, the odds are... just a moment.” said K.I.T.T.
“33 1/2% of permanent brain damage.”
finished Shawn.
“Thank you.” replied K.I.T.T.
“Forget it!” yelled Michael.
“I truly appreciate your concern-”
said Shawn.
“Well you better appreciate my
concern! This is real.”
“Michael, it’s my choice. And it’s only one I can make.”
“Don’t do it K.I.T.T.”
“I’m afraid I’m going to have to
respect her wishes over yours, Michael.
Maybe for a long time to come.” said K.I.T.T.
Shawn put her hand on the shift
lever. Cracks of electricity shot
around the car. On K.I.T.T.’s monitor,
images from Shawn’s memory popped up.
The first image was from a
conversation earlier that day in the garage.
“...but you got an attitude that will not fly around here, we all work
together or not at all...” said Michael.
Next came the image from Shawn’s
third birthday party again. Swinging on
the swing was Shawn, but not the man of her dreams, but Michael Knight. “I love you.” she said.
Michael looked at Shawn with wide
eyes.
Back at her party, Shawn, at her
normal age, was making a speech. “I
don’t really have a family anymore, at least not until I joined the PD. I’m going to repay you all be being the very
best, and that’s all there is to it.”
The image jumped to the coed
locker-room at the Metropolitan Police Department. All the cops were laughing and rolling on the floor. Hedges, in her disguise from that night at
Arnold’s Jewelers came up to Shawn and said, “You got a nice partner, just
don’t blow it out there and you’ll be fine, honey.”
The image jumped again, to that
night Shawn was shot. “Relax,
officer. You’re off duty now.” Again, the gun went off. From an angle from the ground, Shawn saw
Hedges, Watts, Strand, and two other officers looking down at her. They left and Kurt came up, with a worried
look on his face.
The image went white, and the memory
review was over. Shawn let go of the
lever. She turned to Michael, with
tears running down her eyes. “They
betrayed me.”
“I know,” said Michael, “I
know. Let’s do something about that,
huh?”
It took a few days, but Michael and Shawn
came up with a plan. Shawn went back to
where it all started: the Metropolitan Police Station.
Shawn walked into the coed locker
room. She passed Strand on the way in.
“Hi, Shawn.” said Strand,
sarcastically.
Shawn just looked at him and walked
on. The went to her locker. Kurt was putting things away. “Hello, Kurt.”
“This is a pleasant surprise.”
“Yeah, same here. I left a few things in my locker. Guess I’ll see you around.”
Kurt nodded and walked off.
Shawn removed her items when Hedges
came up next to her. Hedges glared at
Shawn, opened her locker with a slam, took her hat out, and slammed it shut.
Shawn looked over at Hedges. Their eyes met for a brief second, but for
Shawn, it was an eternity looking into the eyes of the same person who assisted
in her attempted murder.
Michael parked K.I.T.T. on the
shoulder of a highway. He had opened
K.I.T.T.’s hood and acted like he was working on the engine. He looked up and saw a police car pull up. “Showtime buddy.” he said.
The car pulled up and the cop got
out.
“Who says there’s not a cop around
when you need one?” said Michael.
“Man oh man, I haven’t seen one of
these things in a while, she is a beauty.” said the cop.
“Everywhere but under the hood. I think I got a dead battery. Appreciate a jump.”
“Sure no problem.” said the cop as
he walked back to his car.
“Thanks.” Michael got in K.I.T.T.
“Adam 2525, right on schedule.”
“I’ll say one thing for the police,
their consistent and dependable. Unlike
some people I know.” said K.I.T.T.
“Don’t start on me, K.I.T.T.”
replied Michael.
Shawn walked into the technologies
office. She typed in a password at the
prompt on the monitor. She menu on the
screen next to she listed four options.
Shawn pushed the TELE-LINK button.
The screen then changed to four more options. Shawn selected the GLOBAL TRANSFER button. The screen then read: PREPARE FOR
DOWNLOAD. She screen changed to a black
screen that read DESTINATION? Shawn
typed in: MOBILE UNIT. ADAM 2525. It was all in K.I.T.T.’s and Michael’s hands
now.
Through the battery jump cables,
K.I.T.T., will be able to tap into the police mainframe, and retrieve files on
all employees of the Metropolitan Police Department.
The cop pulled his car up next to
Michael’s and attached the cables. He
made sure everything was set. “Go
‘head, crank her over.”
“Okay!” yelled Michael. He turned to K.I.T.T. “Start the download.”
On K.I.T.T.’s monitors, every active
employee of the Metropolitan Police Department was flashed at a high rate of
speed.
After five tries, the cop walked
over, “Sounds like you got problems, it must be on your battery.”
For fear of the cop might see what
he and K.I.T.T. are up to, Michael jumped out.
“Boy, you’re telling me. Ya
know, she can be a real pain the butt sometimes. Yep, she’s got a mid of her own.
Tell you what, one more time and I’m sure she’ll start.”
“Okey-doke.” replied the cop.
“Thanks.” Michael got back in. “You
enjoyed that didn’t you?” asked K.I.T.T.
“Finish the download.” said Michael.
Shawn got up and walked out of the
office. Strand came around a corner and
stared at her. He had a vague idea at
what she had done.
Back on the highway, K.I.T.T. was almost
done with the download. The cop walked
over to K.I.T.T. “Hey, listen-” He
looked in and saw the download in the progress. “Wow, no wonder you’re battery is drained.” At that moment, the download was completed
and K.I.T.T. switched the display to a football game. “Oh, hey, how’s the game?”
Michael was caught off guard. “Umm...”
Knowing he had to take control,
K.I.T.T. spoke up. “We’re ahead,
fourteen - zip, the beginning of the third.”
The cop looked at Michael. “It’s a... kit, from Radio Shack.” said
Michael.
“Oh.” replied the cop.
Back at the Foundation, Michael,
Shawn, Maddock, and Devon were all in Maddock’s office.
“7-8-9.” said Michael as he put
photos on the table. “Ten per ten, they
were all assigned.”
“Assigned to what?” asked Maddock.
“Melting down police issues.”
Devon was amazed at the reports in
his hands. “There must have been over
8000 handguns.”
“Maybe they did some kind of
swap. Fake ones for the real
thing. We’re talking serious money, here”
suggested Maddock.
“Who was in charge of destroying the
guns?” asked Devon.
“Commissioner Daniels.” replied
Shawn.
“Big surprise.” said Maddock.
“That doesn’t mean she knew anything
about it. They may have acted entirely
on their own.” said Devon.
“You don’t know the system like I
do, Devon, they would’ve needed help higher up.”
Maddock’s secretary walked in. She handed Devon a file.
“Thank you.” said Devon. He looked in. “K.I.T.T. has just completed a workup of Shawn’s memory.” He handed it to Michael.
Michael opened the file and showed
it to Shawn. “Looks like he makes that
face to a file.”
“So who is this guy’s real name?”
asked Maddock.
“Watts. Tommy Watts.” said Shawn.
“Former Homicide Detective, which
explains why he didn’t show up in current personnel files.” said Michael.
Shawn handed the file to
Maddock. “Oh, he served in the
Philippine War in ‘93, before he joined the PD.”
“Yeah, weapons specialist.” said
Michael.
“Says here he worked directly under
Daniels.” said Shawn.
“Not bad,” said Maddock, “at least
K.I.T.T. goes out with a bang. The 4000
will be fully operational tomorrow morning, just ahead of our deadline.”
“I’d say the bang is premature. K.I.T.T. still has plenty left to do.” said
Devon. “Do we have an address for Mr.
Watts?”
The cop who gave Michael a jump
start on the highway walked into the locker room at the Metropolitan Police
Department. “Hey, Charlie,” he said,
“you should’ve seen the car I gave a jump to today. The whole dash, was decked put with TV screens and a computer
console.”
“Must have been that new Vette I was
reading about.” replied Charlie.
“No,” said the cop, “this was a ‘57
Chevy, cherried out all way. The damn
thing had artificial intelligence, too.
It was transferring some kind of data, then it switches over to the ball
game and gives me the score!”
Strand was listening in on the
conversation and he looked at Hedges with a worried look. Hedges grabbed her hat and the two ran to
Watts.
At Watts’ office, he was angry. “You’re telling me they tapped into the
police mainframe?!” he yelled.
“The log shows a global download of
the personnel files. It’s only a matter
of time before they put it together.” said Strand.
“A complete loss of memory, huh??!!”
asked Watts. He walked to his desk,
hunched over, and threw his phone off the desk. “I really enjoy being tense.
I’m sure there’s a solution.”
“Yes, sir.” said Hedges. “There is.”
On a back road in the country,
Maddock was taking Devon for a drive in the Knight 4000.
“Sir, would you like me to engage my
Virtual Reality Mode?” asked K.I.F.T.
“Why not.” replied Maddock.
On K.I.F.T.’s front windshield, a
Virtual Reality simulation of the road in front of them appeared.
“It’s very impressive,” said Devon,
“but I really think we ought to slow down.”
“There is no need for concern,”
began K.I.F.T., “I am programmed to cruse at the optimum speed calibrated by a
risk factor of .28, which on this roadway calculates to a speed of 243
kilometers per hour.”
On the road in front of them was an
elk.
“Look out!” yelled Devon.
Maddock took control and steered
K.I.F.T. around the animal.
“I assume you have an explanation.”
said Devon.
“We would have sustained no damage
whatsoever by striking that animal.” said K.I.F.T.
Alarmed, Devon looked over at
Maddock.
“It’s a small fix.” said Maddock.
Maddock pulled into the Knight
Foundation parking lot. “Overall, what
to you think? I’m not looking for
praise, Devon, I want your honest opinion.
It means a lot to me.”
Still thinking about K.I.F.T.’s
disregard of life, Devon gave Maddock his word. “You’ve done a remarkable job which meets and in most cases
exceeds all our technical criteria.”
“I know we do things very differently,”
said Maddock, “but believe it or not, our goal is the same. K.I.T.T. was an exceptional car for his
time, no questions about it. it’s just
that the time has come to pass the baton.”
“I agree that the Knight 4000 is superior in every way, except one. It lacks K.I.T.T.’s humanity.”
“People make mistakes. After prosecuting scum for so many years,
always fighting defense lawyers and politicians who only care about winning,
I’ve lost faith in human beings.”
“Well maybe it’s time you renewed
it. Loyalty and respect cannot be
dictated, Russ, it has to be earned, and with that being said, you did a damn
good job. I’m proud to have you as a
partner.” Devon smiled and got out of
the car. He waved goodbye to Maddock
and walked over to the front doors.
Just then Hedges walked up and hit him in the head with her ultrasound,
Devon moaned and fell to the ground.
Michael and Shawn drove over to the
latest address for Watts. Quayton State
Prison. Inside, the guard opened cell
1433, the “drawer” Watts was in for two years.
“Don’t tell me,” said Michael, “he
escaped.”
“Nobody escapes.” said the
guard. He flipped through his
book. “Here we go, Watts, Tommy J. Convicted in 1998 for fatally shooting a suspect
with a banned handgun. Early parole on
February 19.”
With no results, Michael and Shawn
walked back outside. “Parole for what,
good behavior?” asked Shawn.
They were walking over to K.I.T.T.
when he noticed something. “Michael, my
sensors indicate we have company.”
“I don’t see anyone.” said Shawn.
Just then, four police cars zoomed
around a corner. “Look again!” yelled
Michael. He got in and sped off out of
the prison’s parking lot. The cops
turned on their sirens. “You’re gonna
have to pull out all the stuff, pal.” said Michael.
“They’ve been told. This is a two tone low-rider, remember?”
replied K.I.T.T. He did all he could to
help Michael and Shawn, and to evade the rogue cops.
“Use you’re A.I.D. on them.” said
Shawn.
“I tried, their ignition systems
must have a scrambler, I can’t penetrate.
Prepare for a collision.”
“What?!”
“K.I.T.T.!” said Michael as he tried
to steer. The car slammed into another
police car that pulled out in front of them.
The car then slammed into crates and other debris on the road. “What the hell are you doing to my car,
K.I.T.T.? That’s original paint!”
“You’ll have to trust me.” said
K.I.T.T. He then pulled onto the dock
and sped up.
“K.I.T.T.!” yelled Michael.
“We have to go off the end of the
dock!” yelled Shawn. She and Michael
screamed as K.I.T.T. flew off the dock and plunged into the water.
“I trust you two are all right.”
said K.I.T.T.
“Oh yeah. Just fine, K.I.T.T. I’d
like to forget the fact that my Chevy is sinking past a school of bass.” said
Michael.
“There was no alternative. They’ll assumed you’ve drowned when you
don’t come up right away.” said K.I.T.T.
“Yeah, and they’ll be correct!”
yelled Shawn.
“Despite this car’s shortcomings the
passenger compartment, happens to be airtight.
You’ll have approximately 25 minutes of oxygen remaining.”
“Forget all the nasty things I ever
said about you K.I.T.T.”
A spark of electricity cracked in
the car. “I’m afraid I already have.”
said K.I.T.T. More cracks of
electricity shot around the car.
“What’s going on, pal?” asked
Michael.
“The rest of the car isn’t as
watertight. I only have about 30
seconds of voice transmission left.” replied K.I.T.T.
“If the water gets in your CPU,
you’re outta here.” said Michael.
“I know,” said K.I.T.T., “I guess
this is goodbye. I’m sure some of my
chips will be salvageable, Shawn. Of
course, you’re welcome to pick and choose.”
“I’ll do that.” said Shawn.
“Michael, take care of yourself.”
The sinking car finally hit the
bottom of the bay. It hit front first and
eased back until it was level. All of
K.I.T.T.’s LED lights went dark, and the car was silent.”
“K.I.T.T.,” began Michael,
“K.I.T.T., you there?”
Hedges and Strand brought Devon to
the hospital. They ordered the nurses
to take him to the RNA Transfer room.
They passed Dr. Glassman, he looked up from a paper and followed them
into the room. “What’s going on here?”
he asked.
Watts came in. “I think you know exactly what’s going on
here. Read the man’s RNA, doctor.”
In the monitoring room, Watts was
watching what was in Devon’s memory. On
the screen, the black Trans-Am that Michael rode in with K.I.T.T. for eight
years was driving down a road. The
image jumped to that fateful night in 1982 where Michael was at the bedside of
the Knight Foundation’s creator, Wilton Knight. Wilton was speaking to Michael.
“One man can make a difference.”
Next came a front view of K.I.T.T., with the famous red scanner
light. The image slowly faded to a
picture of the Knight 4000. The image
jumped inside and Commissioner Daniels appeared on the screen. “We do not need another free-lance
department here. Period.” The image then faded to Maddock. “You don’t know the system like I do,
Devon. They would have needed help
higher up.” The screen faded to white
and the RNA Transfer was over.
Later, Strand and Hedges were still
in the RNA Transfer room with Devon, who was unconscious. “Well?” asked Hedges.
“They have no hard proof. The Knight Foundation knows this is just a
speculation of vague illusions.”
“Do you need the doctor for anything
else?” asked Hedges
“No.” said Watts. “It’s sad he’s going to become a victim of
another senseless handgun shooting, isn’t it?”
Strand and Hedges walked out of the
room.
Watts stared at Devon with a cold, dark
look. He walked over to Devon’s IV He took out a needle, and stuck it in. “Pleasant dreams.”
These were Devon’s last
thoughts. It showed an inside view of
the Knight 4000. The image through the windshield
showed a roadway, and it slowly faded to an image of a cloud-filled sky. He then remembered a conversation between
Michael and him, aboard a private Foundation jet. “Can we drink to what may be the start of something?” asked
Devon.
“Of what?” asked Michael.
“One man’s dream.”
“And to our future. No matter who it may take us up against, or
where.”
And after that last thought. Devon Miles, a man who made a difference,
died.
After the funeral, everyone filed
outside. Mayor Abbey walked up to
Maddock. “I can’t tell you how sorry I
am. I really liked the man.” said
Abbey. “I’ve decided not to renew your
contract, Mr. Maddock, it’s already cost all of us too much.”
“Mayor Abbey, there’s a strong
possibility that your own police force was implicated in this with regard to
the illegal handguns.” said Maddock.
“Can you substantiate this claim?”
“We’re very close. Now if you can just give us some time-”
“Insinuation is not enough justify
reinstatement, Mr. Maddock. I’m sorry.”
Michael was watching everyone leave
the funeral. He had just lost an
important person in his life.
In the garage of the Knight
Foundation, Shawn was walking around Michael’s Chevy, picking off seaweed.
“They still think that you and Michael
are at the bottom of the sea.” said Maddock.
“Now that and the 4000 will be our major assets.”
“We still lost a franchise.” said
Shawn.
“More importantly, we’ve lost
Devon. One of our own has been killed
and I’m not about to let city sanctions keep me from doing something about
it. What about you?”
“Me neither.” said Shawn. She looked up and saw Michael carrying a
duffel bag.
“I promised Devon I’d help out until
your car was done. I filled my end of
the bargain.” said Michael.
“You can’t be serious about leaving
now.” said Shawn.
“I knew you could never hack it if
God only knew what Devon ever saw in you.” said Maddock.
“Get outta my way.” said Michael.
“Oh gladly. You know you’re just as obsolete as that
pile of rust that you wasted my time and money rebuilding, my friend.” said Maddock as Michael walked off. “The only thing worse is the pathetic effort
Devon put in to rebuilding you!”
Michael stopped, turned around and
punched Maddock in the face. Maddock
spun and landed on the 4000. Michael
walked off and Shawn helped Maddock up.
At Michael’s cabin, Michael was
sitting on the porch with a beer bottle in one hand. He was thinking about Devon.
Shawn walked up. “When we first met I had you pegged as a
loser too, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. I had some of the techies look K.I.T.T. over. They said he isn’t a total write off. Maybe you could-”
“Well maybe you can.” said Michael.
“Not alone I can’t. Look, I know Maddock can be a jerk, but he
means well. Still, he isn’t you. This is a little hard for me to admit, but
in some ways you’re superior to me. You
have experience. I don’t. I need you.”
“How about we swing together one
last time in your backyard? You don’t need
me and I don’t need you.” said Michael.
He took his beer, got up and walked closer to the water.
“Oh yes you do. Only someone hurting real badly would turn
their back right now.”
Michael turned around and walked
toward Shawn. “Don’t you think I know
what I’m walking away from?! Nobody
cares about that man more than me. You
understand me? Nobody!”
“Then come back and help us,
Michael. Help Devon.”
“I tried. Look what it got him.”
Michael walked back near the water.
“He was wrong! One man can’t
make a difference!”
Shawn got up and walked toward
Michael. “You know, I’m so good at
research, now. I knew I’d find out the
big reason why you left ten years ago.
But guess what? I couldn’t. I think you just burned out. You lost your purpose. Devon never lost his. If you had died what do you think he’d do
about it?”
Michael didn’t answer. Shawn walked off.
At the Foundation, Maddock was
preparing to leave. As he was walking
through the lobby, Sara, a researcher came up to him. “Mr. Maddock, here’s a list of all police owned warehouses within
county limits.”
“Good work, Sara.”
“Thank you, sir.” she said.
Maddock ran into Shawn. “Shawn, any word from him?” he asked.
“It’s been almost a week, now. I don’t think he’s coming back.” said Shawn.
“I’ll walk you out.”
They walked past Charlie, the
security guard.
“Good night, Charlie.” said Shawn.
“Good night.” Charlie replied.
Maddock stopped. He looked at the screens for the security
cameras in the garage.
“What is it?” asked Shawn.
“His car...”
“She’s a real beauty, isn’t she.”
said Charlie.
“Yeah, not a scratch on her. We’re looking at a recording.” said Maddock.
Shawn and Maddock walked into the
garage. There was Michael’s dilapidated
Chevy, and next to it was the Knight 4000.
Michael was working under the 4000 with some tools.
Maddock walked up to Michael. “What in the hell are you doing?”
Michael got up. The 4000 roared to life, and in front, was
K.I.T.T.’s famous red scanner light.
“Oh my God! You didn’t!”
K.I.T.T. was back. “I’m afraid he did, Mr. Maddock, and I must
say this body fits me like a glove!”
Shawn smiled and she jumped into the
passenger side. Michael got in and they
drove off leaving Maddock in the dust.
At the closest police owned
warehouse, Michael and Shawn were waiting.
“I miss my old partner, Mr.
Knight. I’m glad you’re back.” said
Shawn.
“Well you had something to do with
it. What I mean is that you helped
convinced me.” said Michael.
“Desire.” said K.I.T.T.
“I beg your pardon.” said Shawn.
“Your brand of perfume. I’m equipped with an aroma monitor,
now. The scent is quite alluring. But let’s stick to the work at hand, all
right? The police vehicle has just
arrived.”
Michael and Shawn looked up. A police car pulled into the driveway,
approached the garage door and honked twice.
The door opened and the car entered.
Inside, the car pulled up to where
crate of handguns were being stored.
Kurt and Hedges got out. Kurt
was yelling at Hedges. Kurt opened the
trunk and walked over to it. Hedges
walked up. “C’mon,” she said, “have a
donut.”
“No!” said Kurt. He walked over to the crates and began to
load them.
Hedges walked over and spun him
around. “What’s done is done! She’s dead!
Just like she should have been in the first time.”
“I want out.” said Kurt.
“There is no out, and you know it!”
said Hedges. “The trains rolling,
Miller! You jump off now, and you’ll
get mowed down.”
Kurt glared at Hedges, and then
started loading the car.
One of the features of the Knight
4000 was a voice sampler telephone. No
matter who talks into it, a different voice will come out.
“I’m ready with the voice sampler,
Shawn. It’s ringing now.” said K.I.T.T.
“Go ahead, give it a try. Just speak calm and clear.” said Michael.
Shawn picked up the phone.
In the warehouse, the phone
rang. The warehouse attendant
answered. “Warehouse..... yeah. Miller, Watts”
Kurt picked up the phone. “Yeah?”
Shawn spoke into the phone. On the other side, Watts’ voice came
out. “Meet me at the Big Ben Cafe. Alone, and bring the crates.”
“What about Hedges?” asked Kurt.
“Tell her to wait at the
warehouse. Somebody will pick her up
later.”
“I’m on my way.” Kurt got in the car, and drove off.
Shawn hung up the phone. She turned to Michael. He gave her a high-five. Mission accomplished.
As Kurt drove off, the phone
rang. the attendant answered it. “Warehouse.... yeah the crates are all
loaded. Miller’s on his way to meet
you.”
“What are you talking about?” asked
Watts.
“You just called and told him to
meet you at the Big Ben, didn’t you?”
Watts hung up. He knew the Knight Foundation had something
to do with this.
At the cafe, Kurt was sitting down
and sipping some ice-tea. Shawn walked
in. She looked for Kurt, and walked
over to his table. Kurt looked up. “Oh my God.”
Shawn sat down. “Watts didn’t call you. I did.”
“You’re supposed to be dead.” said
Kurt.
“And you were supposed to be my
friend.” said Shawn.
“I made some big mistakes.”
“You can correct them. I know that shooting me couldn’t have your
idea, Kurt. In fact you were the one
that saved me. Let me return the
favor.”
Michael and K.I.T.T. were monitoring
Shawn’s conversation. “My infared
scanning, is sensing a laser scope rifle, 100 yards from the building.” said
K.I.T.T. Michael got out and ran to the
cafe.
“I thought I got into this for all
the right reasons. Cops are bein’ killed. Killers are gettin’ free.” said Kurt.
“You have enough evidence in your
car, Kurt. With your help we can shut
down this whole operation.” said Shawn.
“Shawn, this goes beyond Watts. He has help on the inside. You can stop this, but maybe I can stop
him.” At that moment, a tiny red dot
appeared on Kurt’s temple. Michael ran
in, he ran towards Shawn. A shot rang
out and glass shattered. The people in
the cafe screamed and Kurt fell over, dead.
Michael jumped over the table, providing cover for Shawn. He looked up and saw Watts running away.
In Commissioner Daniels office, she
was talking to the mayor over the video-phone.
“Officers on the scene found two crates of illegal weapons in the back
of his unit. It all came down to one
bad cop.”
“Is he alive for questioning?” asked
Abbey.
“One of our sniper force
unfortunately shot and killed him as a last resort. But naturally we will conduct a full IA investigation. But I wouldn’t worry. The handgun situation is finally under
control.” What Daniels didn’t know, is
that she had been lied to. The officers
on the scene were all involved with Watts.
The handgun situation is just beginning.
On the streets of the city, K.I.T.T.
was driving Michael and Shawn to the Knight Foundation. They were talking with Maddock on the
video-phone.
“Here’s a laser copy of Watts’
prison release authorization.” said Maddock.
The fax came in. Shawn took it out. “It was signed by the governor.” she said.
“I analyzed the document as it came
in, Shawn. The signature is
mechanical. Commonly used by most
politicians.” said K.I.T.T.
“Then several people could’ve had
access to forgery.”
Michael got and idea. With a mechanical signature, anyone could
sign with their own handwriting, but when it is processed, the signature, be
comes the real signature of the person.
“K.I.T.T., print me a few more copies of that release, will you?”
Shawn handed the fax to
Michael. He took a pen, and signed
Commissioner Ruth Daniels on one. And
Mayor Harold Abbey on the other.
“What’s he doing?” asked Maddock.
“Something K.I.T.T. and I should
have thought of.” said Shawn.
Daniels other secretary walked
in. “It just came through the fax,
Commissioner, it makes no sense to me.”
Daniels took the document. It was Watts’ prison release form. She looked down and saw the governor’s
signature crossed out and he own signature under it. “Who sent this?” she asked.
“The Knight Foundation.”
Watts was taking a tour of a old
neighborhood in his limo. The mayor was
along. Abbey handed the prison release
form, with his signature under the governor’s, to Watts. Watts looked at it and smiled. “I’ll be tearing all this down, soon. Out with the old and in with the new. That’s not such a bad thing sometimes, isn’t
it, Mr. Mayor?”
“Don’t be so cavalier, Watts, they
know I released you.” said Abbey.
“It was a bluff. They probably followed you, hoping to get
something.”
Abbey looked around the car.
“Relax, I had this car completely
de-bugged, we’re quite alone.”
K.I.T.T. was aside the limo, but he
was guarded by rubble. He was
monitoring the whole conversation. On
the windshield, a thermal recording of the conversation was on.
“I am far from relaxed. They’ve already accessed police computers and
now judicial records. It’s only a
matter of time before I’m fully implicated.” said Abbey.
“The limo will reach a clearing in
31 seconds, Michael. They will easily
be able to spot us, then.” said K.I.T.T.
“We got to take that chance,
K.I.T.T., keep recording.” said Michael.
“Who put you behind the mayor’s
desk?” asked Watts.
“I put myself there, and I plan on
remaining. Suspend shipment of all
handguns until the dust settles.” said Abbey.
“You know we can’t do that. I got 2000 of them going out in the morning,
10 million dollars, my friend, our biggest deal, yet. You’re going to be a very wealthy man, Harold.”
“I’m warning you, Watts. Screw this up, and I’ll thaw out somebody
else to take care of you.”
Finally, the Foundation has proof. The mayor is involved in the illegal handgun
situation. “That’s it. We got it.
We’re outta here.” said Michael.
Watts turned to the window just in
time to see K.I.T.T. speeding away. He
knew he had just been uncovered.
Maddock took the tape to
Daniels. They were watching it.
“I’m warning you, Watts, screw this
up, and I’ll thaw out somebody else to take care of you.”
“As much as we loathe working
together. I think we’ll do better if we
combine strikes.” said Maddock.
Daniels nodded.
At the same police warehouse, Watts
and all his rogue police officers were loading the illegal guns. ‘Let’s get these guns loaded, people, the
buyer is waiting.”
Hedges walked up. “You’re going to go through with it?!”
“I’m not about to walk way from 10
million.”
“Yeah, well what if they’ve gone to
Daniels? Then the whole operation is
over!”
“Please calm down. You’re giving me a tension headache. I have it covered.”
Across the street, Daniels, with
Maddock, and the remaining, trustworthy, cops were waiting for Watts to make
his move.
Maddock walked away to call Michael
and Shawn. Before, he could, Daniels
walked over to him. “You act only under
my direct command, understood?” she asked.
“Whatever you say.” replied
Maddock. Maddock began to dial when the
warehouse door opened and a police mini-van came out.
“The guns are on their way, let’s
go!” yelled Daniels. All the cops
scrambled to their cars.
K.I.T.T., Shawn, and Michael, were
waiting in an undisclosed location. Maddock’s
call came through on the video-phone.
“Okay, they should be coming your
way in about one minute!” yelled Maddock.
“We’re ready.”
“Not exactly, Michael. It seems that my scan-check software, isn’t
fully compatible with this car’s circuitry.” said K.I.T.T.
“It was working fine yesterday,
K.I.T.T.” said Shawn.
“My guess it’s just a bad sector on
my disk. There’s probably nothing
wrong.”
“Probably?!” yelled Maddock, “The
Knight 4000 is heading into first-time combat, and you can’t tell me if it’s
functioning properly!?”
“Well, no!” yelled K.I.T.T. “Unfortunately, we may have to rely on some
human judgment!”
The police van passed Daniels stake
out point. Police cars, rushed out and
followed with sirens screaming. The
police van sped up and whipped around a corner. The back door opened and a rogue cop held a missile
launcher. He fired, and the lead police
car exploded.
In Daniels car, she saw the police
car explode and decided to put Maddock’s plan into action. “Show me what that car of yours can do.”
“Yes, ma’am.” said Maddock. He spoke into the phone, “You heard the
lady.”
K.I.T.T. rushed around a corner,
just ahead of the police cars. The
rogue cop reloaded the missile launcher and fired, it hit K.I.T.T., with no
effect.
“Switch to Virtual Reality.” said
Michael. “Thermal time, pal. All four tires.”
On K.I.T.T.’s virtual screen, four
triangles appeared and the flew toward the tires of the van. The tires exploded and the rogue cops got
out and started shooting. K.I.T.T.’s
screen was distorted, and blurred.
“My sonic disabler appears to be on
the fritz.” said K.I.T.T.
Unsure what to do, Shawn leaned
forward and hit K.I.T.T.’s windshield.
“Thank you.” said K.I.T.T.
The screen changed to a black and
white version of the scene in front of them.
Three triangles appeared and they flew toward the rogue cops. They turned orange, to indicate they were
stunned, and fell to the ground.
Michael got out and rushed to the
van. He took a crate and slammed it
against the interior. It opened and the
guns weren’t there. Only metal
pipes. Shawn came up. “No sign of Watts?” she asked.
“He was never here,” said
Michael. He held up a pipe, “or the
guns.”
“I’ve detected a cluster of police
units, which also appear to have weapons.” said K.I.T.T.
“Where, K.I.T.T.?”
“Three miles, due west.”
Daniels turned to an officer. “I need auxiliary backup and chopper units
online, immediately.” All the cops
scrambled to their cars. Daniels began
to go back to her car when Maddock stopped her.
“They think they’ve gotten away, we
need to surprise them.” said Maddock.
“How do you propose we do that!?”
asked Daniels.
After talking with Maddock, Michael
and Shawn decided to intercept Watts. Michael
was speeding towards the coordinates, until he stopped suddenly.
“Dammit!” yelled Michael.
“Morning rush hour, how are we going
to get through all this?” asked Shawn.
May I make a suggestion?” said
K.I.T.T.
K.I.T.T. was headed toward the mall
via the man-made river that ran through the city. He was using his new amphibious mode that came with the Knight
4000.
“It’s either sink or swim with you,
huh, pal?” asked Michael.
“I expect a full simonize, once this
is over.” said K.I.T.T.
Watts had his motorcade composed of
five police cars and his limo. His
motorcade passed over a bridge, just as K.I.T.T. came out from under another
one. Watts’ motorcade came to a stop in
front of the mall. Strand walked over
to Watts. “Tell the other’s to wait in
their units with the merchandise.” said Watts.
Strand did so. Watts turned to
Hedges. “Our adversaries can’t walk on
water, officer. Relax.
Just at that moment, K.I.T.T.
emerged from under the very same bridge Watts was parked on. K.I.T.T. pulled up to the sidewalk where
some bystanders stopped him before he collided with the concrete.
“The police units are right above us
on street level.” said K.I.T.T.
“Scramble their communication and
lock their doors.” said Michael.
“My thoughts exactly.”
Above, inside the police cars, the
radios became muffled and the rogue cops were locked inside their cars. They struggled to get out, but failed.
Inside, Watts, Strand, and Hedges
took the escalator down to the food court level. They found the buyer and Watts signaled for Hedges and Strand to
keep guard.
Watts walked over to the buyer. “I’m not comfortable with the high profile
nature of this transaction, Mr. Watts.” said the buyer.
“I like to hide where they can see me,
it’s the last place they’d look.” said Watts.
They sat down. “I have a plane to catch.”
“Square those lovely funds into my
account, and we’ll both be on our way.”
Shawn and Michael entered. Michael looked over and saw Strand and
Hedges keeping watch. “You take the
girl?” he asked.
“I got her.” replied Shawn. She walked down the middle of the food
court, calmly.
Michael took out an ultrasound and
went behind a row of pots.
Shawn was walking when Strand saw
her. He took out his gun and fired. the bullet hit Shawn square in the
shoulder.
People screamed and ran. “We’ll have to do this another time, Mr.
Watts.” said the buyer as he closed his notebook and ran.
Shawn was on the floor, holding her
shoulder. Michael ran to the end of the
rack of pots and saw Strand coming over.
Strand aimed his gun, but Michael stunned him. He looked up and saw Watts running up an escalator, pushing
people out of his way. Michael looked
over at Shawn, she signaled to him that she was okay. He began to move, when Hedges, who was behind a glass display,
was firing at him. Michael ran for
cover. Shawn got up and threw a plate at the glass display. Hedges ran into an
elevator and fired a shot at Shawn.
Michael ran up the escalator to the
second level and saw Watts running down the left side of the mall. Michael ran down the right, hoping to
intercept Watts half-way.
Hedges got out of the elevator
aiming a gun at a group of people. She
looked over the group, when Shawn, wearing a brown wig, kicked the gun out of
her hands. Hedges punched back, but
Shawn punched her and knocked her unconscious.
Shawn picked up the gun and put it through her belt. She handed the wig back to the lady she took
it from. “It’s not my color,” she said,
“but thanks.”
Watts was running, pushing people
out of his way, when he saw Michael coming toward him. He stopped, looked around, and grabbed a
woman, and aimed his gun at her head.
She screamed and Michael aimed his ultrasound at Watts.
“Put it down and she lives.” said
Watts. “I swear to God I’ll blow her
away and you right along with her.
Now!”
Michael still had his ultrasound
up. He spoke into his comm-link. “Help me out here K.I.T.T.”
“You got three seconds and I’ll
waste her.”
“A little to the left, and
down. A hair to the right. It’s a lock.”
Michael fired and Watts fell, along
with the girl. Michael ran over to she
if the girl was okay. Watts got up and
kicked Michael in the face. Michael
fell. Watts walked over, Michael pulled
Watts’ legs. Watts fell but got
up. Michael kicked him twice. Watts picked up a pot and threw it at
Michael. Michael kicked Watts legs out
from under him. He then picked Watts up
and head-butted him. The two held on to
each other and almost fell over the railing.
Michael punched Watts. Watts
fell in the direction in which his gun was thrown. He crawled over, picked it up and aimed it at Michael.
“Drop it!” yelled Shawn, aiming her
gun at Watts. “I said drop it!”
Watts smiled. He dropped the gun. Michael breathed a sigh of relief. Shawn still held her aim. She armed the gun.
“Don’t do it.” said Michael. “Shawn don’t do it, he’s not worth it. They’ll put you away, just like they did
him.”
“We’ll all be old and gray, just
about the time he gets out of jail, not even a day older.”
“Don’t do it!”
Shawn hesitated for a moment, but
finally disarmed the gun.
Watts smiled. “And the public wonders why so many
criminals walk free.” He held out his
hands. “You better handcuff me,
darling. I’m really a dangerous
individual.” Just then, Watts grabbed a
spare gun, but before he could aim it, Michael dove and grabbed his ultrasound. He fired and Watts fell over the
railing. He landed on an escalator and
was killed instantly.
Michael and Shawn looked down. “Relax, pal. You’re off duty, now.”
At Quayton State Prison, Abbey was
frozen in the same cell Watts was in.
Cell 1433.
“Ironic, huh?” asked Maddock.
“I don’t follow you.” said Daniels.
“They stuck him in the same drawer
Watts was in. And look how effective
that was. Putting him in there solves
nothing. It merely postpones.”
“Speaking of that,” began the guard,
“an old man named Manson, is scheduled for release. We gotta go.”
The others walked to the
elevator. Maddock started out, but
Daniels put her hand on his shoulder to stop him. “The system’s always changing, Mr. Maddock. Some things get better, some don’t. But I’ve sworn to play by the rules. I assume you will too.”
Maddock smiled, and put his hand on
hers. They walked into the elevator.
Outside, Daniels and Andrew waved to
Michael and Shawn, as they were going to their car.
“You’re really not going to leave me
alone with him, are you?” asked Shawn.
“He’s pig-headed, arrogant, chauvinistic...”
“And I thought we were finally
beginning to hit it off.” said K.I.T.T.
“Oh, you two will be fine, believe
me. You were made for each other.”
“You mean of each other, and I still
find it reprehensible.” said K.I.T.T.
“Don’t start on me, K.I.T.T.” said
Shawn.
“Bye, Shawn.”
“Bye, Michael.” They hugged.
“You know where to find me where you
need me, huh?” Michael tapped K.I.T.T.
on the hood. “See you around, pal.” he
said as he walked over to his Chevy, which was restored by a body shop.
K.I.T.T. followed. “Are you sure
about this, Michael?” asked K.I.T.T.
Maddock walked up.
“Look, I’m not going back to wallow
in self pity, okay. I want to live out
there for the same reason I went in the first place.”
“Which is?” asked K.I.T.T.
“To fish. And to fix up this Chevy.
It’s the simple things in life, you know?” He got in, and waved a final goodbye to his friends. He started the car and drove off.
“What are we standing around for?”
asked Maddock. “Let’s get to work. I’m driving.”
“No way,” said Shawn, “I’m driving.”
“You’re both wrong.” said
K.I.T.T. He backed up and sped over to
the other side of the prison, and spun a 360o.
“I don’t have all day.”
Maddock and Shawn shrugged, and
walked over.
The End
Back
to Knight Rider 2000 Fan Fiction