Knight Rider AS

~F.L.A.G Underground Facility~

It was the middle of the night. K.I.T.T sat alone on his circle. People still worked on the compound, but it was in there own quarters. Even Carmen and Pierce had retired. K.I.T.T's area was deserted.

Which was why K.I.T.T was surprised when Katherine ran silently up to him. She opened his door and slid quickly into the seat. She shut the door behind her softly. Her hands were shaking, and her breathing was quick and loud.

“Are you alright?” K.I.T.T asked her in alarm, using only his internal speakers to talk so as not to disturb the quiet outside.

She laid down across both of the front seats, her whole body trembling. When she spoke, her voice was strained. “I just need to be away from people right now," she said. She curled up into the fetal position and shivered uncontrollably. She began to whimper and sob quietly.

K.I.T.T just couldn't understand. What was wrong with her? She hadn't acted this way on the mission. She had been able to push away her pain. She hadn't fallen apart like she was now.

What was he supposed to do? What could he do?

He increased the opacity on all of the windows, even the windshield, until it was completely dark inside of the cab.

Just then, lights flared on all around the main room. Carmen walked in, flanked by two of her workers. They were looking all over the large space, even under the desks. It only took him a fifth of a second to realize that they were looking for Kat.

Charles stepped out of his office and looked down over the rail. “Have you found her yet?” he asked the group below.

Carmen shook her head. “She might have left the Compound.” She shrugged, not really caring. “You know she didn't want to stay here.”

Charles shook his head. “Security would have seen her. No one gets by them.”

“I dunno then. What do you want from me? Go look at the cameras.”

Charles looked over at K.I.T.T. “Have you seen Katherine, KITT? Angela reported her missing from her quarters after lights out.”

K.I.T.T's pause was too short for a human brain to register. “No, I haven't," he answered.

Charles nodded. “Let us know if you see her, she might be in danger.”

“She's not in danger,” K.I.T.T said. “Nor has she left the Compound. She's been through a great deal in a short time. She just needs time to herself.”

Charles stared at K.I.T.T for a long moment, noting the black windshield. He pulled his cellphone from his pocket, pressing a button as he brought it to his ear. “Call off the search,” he said and hung up. He looked down at Carmen. “That means you too.”

“Thank god!” Carmen threw her hands in the air. “Estoy cansado! Let's got to bed!” She muttered under her breath as she and her two workers left. “Don't see why you just didn't look on the cameras...”

“Have a good night, KITT.” Charles turned and walked back into his office. The lights in the main room went out.

K.I.T.T was uneasy. He had just lied to Charles. That was a first. He knew his programming was changing, adjusting as he learned more, and also due to his driver's personality. He didn't feel comfortable lying though. He would try not to do that again unless he had to.

And then there was Kat, who was sobbing all over his leather seats. Even if he couldn't feel it, he could recognize that she was in pain.

She had come to him because she had wanted to be away from people. She didn't see him as a person, just as a car. Well, was there something that he could give her that a person couldn't?

It didn't register to Kat when K.I.T.T's screen flared to life. She was too wrapped up inside of her pain, her eyes tightly closed, her arms around her legs, desperately trying to hold herself together. She didn't even look up till she heard his voice.

Not K.I.T.T's. Sam's.

“So, your name is KITT, huh? My baby sister's called Kat, but just by me. KITT, Kat, KitKat, that's funny.” He chuckled.

She opened her eyes slowly. The bright screen was blurred by her tears. She rubbed the back of her hand over her eyes. Sam's smiling face was on the screen. He was always smiling. He was driving. Kat recognized K.I.T.T's steering wheel under his hands. The scenery outside of the window was just a blur. Sam didn't seem to mind how fast he was going. Then again, knowing him, he probably enjoyed it.

“She's a jet pilot. I guess that means she likes speed even more than I do,” he joked. “I'm a little jealous of her though. Can you believe it? A pilot! At her age!”

She had forgotten just how laid back he always was. A situation that she had found so strange he had taken in stride. Talking cars? Sure, fine. What else you got?

“Man, I wish she could see me now. I bet she would be soo jealous.” His grin was blinding. Kat felt the corner of her mouth lift slightly. “I think she would like you. You two are a lot alike. You both worry about me too much.” He laughed again. Kat grimaced.

She didn't hear any of K.I.T.T's recorded responses. She was entirely focused on her brother's face. She sat up and slid out from under the steering wheel. She leaned her arms on the dash and rested her chin on them. It wasn't comfortable, but she didn't care. She didn't even notice when K.I.T.T adjusted the passenger's seat so she wasn't stretched out across the cab. She focused only on the sound of her dead brother's voice, and the smile on his face.

********

She woke hours later. She guessed it was morning. There was no sunlight in the underground compound, so she couldn't be sure.

She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Her mouth tasted awful. How long had she been in here? Her back and shoulders ached. “Ohhh, sleeping in a car is not good on your back," she muttered. “Didn't I learn anything from High School?” She began to rub the kinks out of her neck.

“I was going to ask how you slept,” K.I.T.T said. “But it seemed that you slept pretty deeply, considering how much you were drooling on my seats.”

She wiped the back of her hand on her cheek. It was dry. She narrowed her eyes at the stereo. “I didn't drool.”

K.I.T.T was silent. It was waiting. She knew that.

Kat leaned back in the seat, wincing as the muscles in the small of her back stretched. She looked at herself in the mirror. “God, I'm a mess.” Her eyes were red-rimmed, the skin under them was puffy. Her hair was beyond help.

She took another moment, delaying what was coming while she organized her thoughts. “My brother liked you a lot," she said finally.

“You could say we were friends,” K.I.T.T answered. “He was easy to get along with. Everyone liked him.”

Kat nodded. She put her hand on the steering wheel hesitantly, tracing the pattern in the leather tooling with her fingertips. “I'm not like my brother," she said. “There is no one else in the world who could be as unbearably happy as he was.”

“He was a good man."

Kat felt her eyes tear. She bit her bottom lip. “Yeah," she whispered. Then she regained control of herself. “I hope that I can be half as useful to you as he was," she said, keeping her eyes on the steering wheel.

“You're staying?”

The disbelieving tone to it's voice made her flinch. “I'll understand if you don't want me to," she said. “I've been pretty unbearable to you. I promise I'll try harder though.”

K.I.T.T hesitated. “No one ever said they didn't want you here," he hedged. “I wouldn't be against it if you stayed with us.”

Kat nodded. “Driving around in a souped-up car, fighting baddies has never really appealed to me.” She swallowed. “But, I do want to find out what happened to my brother. I can do that if I stay here.”

“I thought it might be something like that.”

“I'll still focus on the missions," she assured him. “I'll give everything I have. I'll be the best driver I can for you.” A faint smile appeared in her eyes. “And, in our off time, maybe you can show me some more videos.”

“I can do that,” K.I.T.T said at once. “Welcome aboard, Katherine.”

Kat's smile touched her mouth as well. “Call me Kat.”

“Everyone calls me KITT.”

“Nice to meet you, KITT.”

“The pleasure is mine.”

********

Kat stepped out of the car a few minutes later. Her face was a mask of calm. She walked determinedly up the metal staircase to Charles' office. She knocked on the glass door lightly.

Charles looked up from his work, and gestured for her to enter. “How are you feeling?" he asked as soon as she walked in.

“Better,” she answered cautiously. “And worse. Is David back from Washington yet? I would like to speak with him.”

Charles nodded. “He came back this morning. He should be in his office, just a bit past mine.” He pointed. Then he looked at her sharply, hope in his eyes. “Does this mean that you will stay on with us?"

Kat nodded solemnly. “Yeah.”

“Wonderful!” Charles rose from his chair. He walked over to her, placing his hands on her shoulders. His happy expression faded. There was a deep sadness and sympathy there. “Now that you are part of the team, I must tell you-”

“I know already,” Kat said, giving him a steady look.

Charles face was surprised, but still sympathetic. “I'm so sorry,” he told her. “For your loss, and for hiding it from you.”

There was a hard glint in her eyes. “I don't hold it against you. You and the others had your orders. Highly confidential circumstances.” She turned away. “Now, if you'll excuse me. I have to go see David. There is a contract I have to sign.”

Charles nodded absently. The work on his desk was already calling him back to it. “Of course. Go on then. I'll see you later.” He smiled, happy at the prospect.

Kat walked down to David's office. His door was not clear like Charles' was. And there were blinds covering the large window. Kat took a deep breath and knocked.

“Enter,” was David's reply.

She stepped inside of the office. David sat behind a massive wooden desk. He smiled when he saw her. “Ah, Miss Long. I am pleasantly surprised to find you still here.”

“I want the contract,” Kat told him simply.

His smile turned smug. “I thought that might be the case.” He opened the top drawer of his desk and pulled out a thick sheaf of paper. He slapped it onto the desktop. “Here you go.” He slid the papers and his silver pen across the desk to her.

Kat didn't bother sitting in the chair in front of the desk. She leaned over while she signed all of the documents. When she was finally done, she placed the pen on top and slid the papers back. She rubbed her wrist, she could feel a cramp starting. “Is that it?”

“That's all of them,” David answered. He shuffled the papers together neatly and replaced them back into his desk.

“You can't get rid of me now?” Kat asked.

David laughed. “No. You're going to be with us for quite some time.”

“Good, because I have something to say to you.”

He looked up at her in interest. “Is that so?"

She nodded. “I know about Sam. I know that he's dead.” She was so glad that she had been able to say that firmly. She hadn't been sure she could do this. Now that she was here, she found strength inside of her.

There was a guarded look in his eyes. “Who told you? Everyone had direct orders not to speak of any classified information.” He gestured to his desk drawer. “It's all in their contracts.”

Kat gave him a cool look. “Don't underestimate me. I found out on my own. The information was there.”

David steepled his fingers. “I suppose it was, yes, but you still signed the contract.”

“I started this whole thing because I thought I was helping Sam out. Something you led me to believe. You knew he was dead, yet you deceived me just so you could finish your mission and save your own ass.” Kat's voice was rising as she let the anger inside of her out slowly.

“And yet, knowing this, you still chose to stay on,” David reminded, his dark eyes glittered.

“I'm still not staying for you,” she told him acidly. “I'm staying for me.” She leaned over his desk. “I just have one more thing to say to you.”

He raised his eyebrows. “And what's that?” he asked in amusement.

“This.” Kat swung out her fist quickly, catching David right in his left cheekbone. The blow was strong enough to knock him from his chair.

Down in the Main Lab, a loud crash was heard overhead. Charles exited his office quickly, looking down towards David's office. “What on earth...?”

Carmen looked up at him from her workstation. “I think Kat's telling David that she knows about Sam.”

That made Charles pause. He frowned. “Oh. Should I call Security?” he pondered.

Carmen stood up. “Don't worry, I'll take care of it,” she assured him.

“Oh, thank you Carmen.” Charles returned to his office.

When he was out of sight, Carmen sat back down. She pulled a metal file from the back of her coveralls and began cleaning under her nails.

Another crashing sound came from above them. Pierce looked over at Carmen. “Aren't you going to stop her?”

Carmen looked up at him from her nails. “I'll get to it," she said heatedly. “Can't you see how extremely busy I am right now?”

One of Pierce's eyebrows twitched. “Pardon me," he said, returning to his work.

A few seconds later, David's office door opened and Kat headed down the stairs. She shook out her right arm. “Much better," she said under her breath. Pierce's eyes followed her as she walked over to K.I.T.T.

“Did you get the contracts signed?” K.I.T.T asked her worriedly.

“Yep," she answered, leaning back against his hood. “All done.”

“Good.” He sounded relieved.

Carmen walked over to them. Kat gave her a wary look. “I see you two are finally getting along,” she said stiffly.

Kat smiled weakly. “Mostly.”

Carmen nodded up to the walkway. “I heard you went to go see David.”

“Yeah, we exchanged some words,” Kat said, her smile turned rueful.

Carmen looked down at the floor. “Yeah, listen Katherine, about Sam...”

“It's alright,” Kat told her. “I don't blame anyone else.”

“He was a good man,” Carmen said, still looking at the floor.

Kat's smile was tight. “I know that better than anyone.”

Carmen reached up suddenly, pulling Kat down in a tight hug. Kat's eyes widened in surprise. Carmen released her just as suddenly. “I gotta get back to work," she mumbled. As she walked away, she wiped at her eyes.

Kat regained her balance, steadying herself on K.I.T.T's hood. “That was... unexpected.”

“You'll soon realize that Carmen always does the unexpected,” K.I.T.T told her in amusement.

Kat laughed. It was a shaky one, but real. “I guess I will."