Danni sat in the conference room, her upper body splayed out on the table. Her head lay on her arm, which was fully extended out in front of her. Her spirit had been shocked into silence. She just stared straight ahead of her, into nothingness.
The voices and images of all that had happened flashed through her mind, with painful clarity.
“All rise, this court is now in session, the Honorable Hugh Sheen presiding,” The Bailiff announced.
The Judge came in, a fairly middle aged man with an importance complex. He sat down behind his bench, and looked at Danni and her lawyer, Abby McFarland. Abby was one of the best lawyers that Jennifer didn’t own. Danni looked absolutely downtrodden, there was a lot of makeup to conceal the fact that she had spent the entire week since Mikey had been taken, crying.
Danni had stepped into this courtroom with the odds stacked against her, and she knew it. Once Jennifer got on her high horse, she rode it all the way to its demise, and didn’t quite care who got trampled along the way. She had hoped that the truth would get her some bonus points, but at this point, due to the classified nature of her job, it was a serious case of she said/she said, with little proof in between. She already had a pretty good idea that the Judge was already in Jennifer’s pocket, and Jennifer pulled out the best of her fleet of lawyers. Danni actually had to import hers from San Diego.
But even with the odds stacked against her, Danni wasn’t about to go down without a fight.
Michael and Bonnie diligently sat behind her in the spectators’ section. RCIII, Jessie, Jaime and Shawn all remained back at the Foundation, to not only take care of business there, but to remain steady backup for Danni, as well as be able to research. KITT was parked in the parking lot, watching the proceedings via the commlinks that were in the room.
“The State of California and Jennifer Knight vs. Danielle Knight, un der the charges of child abuse, child neglect, and child endangerment. Presently, the aunt, Ms. Jennifer Knight, is suing for full custody of one Michael Devon Knight, from the present custody of his single mother, Danielle Knight,” The Bailiff stated.
“Ms. Danielle Knight, how do you plead to these charges?” The Judge asked.
“Not guilty, your honor,” Danni said, standing up, then sitting back down again.
“Very well, please note that the defendant has entered a plea of not guilty. The prosecution may now open with their comments,” The Judge said.
Robert Avery, Jennifer’s counsel, stood up and straightened his tie. Jennifer looked over at Danni, and smirked. Danni didn’t even look at her.
“I really have the need to choke her to death right now,” Michael whispered.
“That’s mild compared to what I want to do to her,” Bonnie whispered back.
“There’s no way she can win this, she is too unstable,” Michael mumbled.
“Be ready for anything. What Jennifer wants, she generally gets,” Bonnie muttered back.
“Your honor, what we have here is a case of somebody who has too much on her plate, and her son ended up paying the price for it. It’s not that Danielle Knight wants to be a bad mother, but her adrenaline driven antics lay down the baseline for a lot of neglect,” Avery started out.
“Oh no…” Bonnie uttered.
“What?” Michael asked.
“They’re going to go right for Danni’s work history. A work history that can’t be officially proven because 90% of it is still level 2 classified. She has to get permission from the UN to break that silence, we all do.” Bonnie explained.
“But…I saw them…” Michael protested.
“You are also now the head of our organization. Sort of puts things in perspective, doesn’t it? You are also sworn to secrecy as well.” Bonnie answered.
“Can’t we apply for the permission?” Michael asked.
“This case will probably be over by the time we get it. Typical bureaucracy. It will take at least two weeks to get the proper request in, and going straight to our former superior isn’t going to work, because we are no longer under their protective jurisdiction. Now I see why she did this at this moment. The moment we went into partial retirement, we lost our main cover,” Bonnie explained.
“Damn her,” Michael growled.
“We’re screwed.” Danni sighed.
“It’s not over yet,” Abby muttered.
"She refused to sacrifice her job for her son’s safety, and her job is notorious for bringing undue harm to her place of residence. Her enemies follow her home, and endanger the safety of this child. The most recent example of this happened just a week ago, when a former enemy of Danielle Knight’s work kidnapped Michael D. Knight from his boarding school. He, along with several of his classmates were kept hostage under horrible conditions, and each came out with restraint rash on them. They also were rumored to have been forced to use violence to get out of their situation; all while Ms. Danielle Knight was doing nothing about it.” Avery continued.
Danni found herself biting her lip, she knew that Jennifer was distorting the truth, but also knew that the last case had just been classified by the people whom she officially didn’t work for, because it dealt with a high profile criminal whom she had been responsible for chasing before. She couldn’t blurt out the truth like she wanted to, and she knew that Jennifer was just getting started.
“We shall be calling witnesses, to testify to the character of the witness, your honor, and we shall also be giving examples, as to her lack of parenting skills, and the times that Ms. Jennifer Knight has had to step in as a surrogate mother.” Avery droned on.
“I don’t remember him biting her nipples for three straight months,” Danni grumbled.
“Ms. Knight only wants the best for the young child, and from what she sees as of the present, she, and the state have deemed his present living conditions unfit,” Avery concluded. “That is all, your honor.”
“Ms. McFarland?” The Judge nodded to Danni’s side.
“Danielle Knight is a wonderful mother who has struggled since the birth of her son to balance out her life, and his life as one. She has never not provided for him, she goes to the ends of the earth for him, and it was her team that rescued her in this last classified mission. The largest problem here is the fact that for the past ten years, Ms. Danielle Knight has been serving her country under a very classified situation, of which the details cannot be disclosed at this time. The bottom line however is the fact that Ms. Danielle Knight has been there for her son. She almost died at his birth, she was there to breast-feed him through the normal period of time, she was there for his first step, his first tooth, his potty training, and his early education, despite the fact that her boss, Ms. Jennifer Knight, continued to order her out on dangerous, highly classified missions,” Abby opened. “If you are willing to listen, we will demonstrate as much as we can that Danielle Knight has not neglected her son, she hasn’t abused her son, and she hasn’t endangered her son any more than the woman who is demanding to have custody of her son. Thank you,” Abby stated, and then sat down.
The Judge looked a little stern, as he took a deep breath, and looked over at Avery and Jennifer. “You may present your case, Mr. Avery.”
“Maybe if we start the paperwork now, the government might be able to step in,” RCIII noted.
“It’s too unfair that Danni can’t tell the entire story, she is the best mother I have seen in a long time, when Jennifer lets her,” Shawn stated.
“Damn this job,” Jessie uttered.
“Damn her,” RCIII added.
“I think you are about to get another reason to damn her,” Jaime stated, looking out the window.
“Don’t tell me,” RCIII said, forlorn.
“We have a client walking in,” Jaime confirmed.
“Bitch!” Jessie and RCIII both growled at the same time.
Soon, the man walked in, wearing an average suit, the kind that the working man wears, nothing fancy, just enough to look important. His hair was shorn in a buzz cut which, coupled with the neat wear, immediately gave him away as being part of some force.
The four turned off the screen to their side, leaving Danni to fend for herself in the court room, as the man stepped in front of their desk.
“Hello, I am Lieutenant Detective Jonathan Foster, I was sent here by the Knight Industries main office, they said that you could help me,” The man introduced.
“I am Reginald Cornelius the Third, this is Jessie Williams, Shawn McCormick, and Jaime Manzanares, we are the FLAG investigations team, how may we help you?”
“Six days ago, my wife disappeared, she went to the store, and she never came back. We found her car at the supermarket, there were no apparent signs of foul play, and there were no signs of her,” Foster said, as he was offered a seat in front of the desk, and took it.
“I thought this would be the ultimate police matter,” Jessie commented.
“They are great, and they are putting in as much time and effort as they can, but even they recommended that I go out of department to get better results, because we are so understaffed and overworked,” Foster explained. “I am desperate here, I need to get her back as soon as possible, she has a medical condition, and she needs medication, and I am just worried sick about her. I was told that you charge $300 a day. I am willing to pay you $10,000 in cash if you get her back within the next 5 days.”
The team looked at each other, and then nodded once to confirm their decision.
“Do you have a recent picture of your wife?” RCIII asked.
“Yes,” Foster confirmed, digging into his rear pocket to fish out his wallet.
“Were there any threats that you know of that were received recently towards you or your wife?” Shawn queried.
“None,” Foster answered, as he handed the picture over to RCIII, despite the fact that Jessie had already extended her hand to receive it, and was closer.
“Was your wife depressed or in any trouble?” Shawn asked.
“No,” Foster replied, sharply.
“Did you by any chance have a fight or anything before her disappearance?” Jessie asked.
“No, are you insinuating that I had something to do with this?” Foster snapped.
“Not at all, sir, but you know how the investigation procedures go, we have to get all the information we can to be able to pursue this investigation in the correct direction,” Jaime said.
“Yes, of course, I apologize, I just have been so crazy since Melinda disappeared. She is my world,” The man said, tears formulating in his eyes.
“We will find her as soon as we can,” RCIII reassured the man.
“Thank you,” Foster replied.
In the courtroom, the testimony had started. The first witness Avery had brought up was the head of the Mountainlair Academy, who looked mighty uncomfortable testifying.
Suggested Listening: “Angel” by Sarah MacLachlan
Danni did everything in her power to try to keep her jaw and face neutrally straight as the cards started to stack against her. Michael and Bonnie both looked highly nauseated.
RCIII, and Jaime in particular were taking the information and history off of Detective Foster, as Shawn and Jessie sat nearby, listening and watching carefully. They were picking up on the vibes that the man didn’t seem to like the two females that had some authority over them, and it didn’t make the females a bit comfortable.
The next people to testify were a few of the housemaids from Jennifer’s condo, who couldn’t even look Danni in the eye as they did as they were told. By the faces of those in the courtroom, you could tell that what was flowing from their mouth made Danni look the ultimate devil.
Mikey sat in his room in Jennifer’s condo, hugging his legs tightly to his chest. He refused to look at anybody who came in; he just stared out the window, having himself a nice little protest.
As soon as Foster left, they broke off into different directions. RCIII kicked the monitor back on to continue to watch the proceedings, and noting that nobody looked happy at all from the last time they had seen them. Jessie, Shawn and Jaime went directly to the computer room, to start looking up the real facts on the case they were now forced upon.
Court was dismissed for the day. Danni, Michael and Bonnie walked out to KITT in silence. Danni just looked out the window, as Michael drove them home. Nobody knew what to say.
When they got home, they ran straight into Jessie, who was rushing down to the office, with an extreme urgency.
“Where’s the fire?” Michael asked.
“Jennifer pulled a fast one on us,” Jessie said. “She assigned us a case to keep us busy.”
“To keep you from meddling in the custody case,” Danni said, sorrowfully.
“We are not going to let up, she forgets that we can walk and chew bubble gum,” Jessie said, as they got to the office.
“That bitch needs a serious lobotomy,” RCIII commented as they walked in. “I have the requests out to Maldrake, but he is out on special assignment. I am trying to get them pushed through anyway.”
“Thank you,” Danni said, and walked out, slightly shell shocked.
“What case did we get dumped in our laps?” Michael asked.
“Disappearance, LAPD cop’s wife disappeared six days ago from the supermarket. They found her car, no obvious signs of foul play. PD is overworked, so we got it dumped on us,” RCIII explained.
“Except this guy is certifiably creepy,” Jessie added. “The entire time that we were getting the information from him, he refused to look at either Shawn or I, and he held a rather obvious contempt for us.”
“I think that there is more to this case than meets the eye,” RCIII added.
“That’s always the case,” Bonnie commented. “Let me guess, it is going to take all of us to work on this one.”
“Maybe not, if we work in shifts, at least one of us at all times can keep an eye on Danni’s courtroom problems,” RCIII stated.
“You mean that ridiculous kangaroo court?” Michael sneered.
“She’s got them cornered, doesn’t she?” Jessie asked, a little saddened.
“It seems that way, but Abby still is going to put up a fight,” Bonnie stated.
“We can’t afford not to,” RCIII commented.
“Now I wish that all her fertility attempts had worked, maybe she wouldn’t be trying to steal other’s children,” Jessie growled. “ I have an appointment down at the PD to pick up the physical copy of the case file, they are being really cooperative.”
“That’s a plus, at least,” RCIII sighed.
“Yeah, but when I left them, Shawn and Jaime were downloading a whole plethora of information, they hit a rather large mother lode,” Jessie noted, as she walked out the door.
“And that would be where this simple case takes a direct turn into hard,” Michael grumbled.
“We got it, Michael, you need to stay with Danni. She needs you now more than ever,” RCIII stated firmly.
“Thank you,” Michael said, with some relief in his voice.
“Tomorrow is going to be a very interesting day,” Bonnie groaned.
“Get up, Michael,” Jennifer demanded as she stood over him in his room. Mikey had his head covered.
“Leave me alone,” Mikey said, darkly, coldly.
“You need to go back to school, it’s the law,” Jennifer demanded.
“I am not going back to that school, no matter how much you demand it, and I will be back with my mom again, so just leave me alone…” Mikey sputtered from beneath the covers.
Jennifer shook her head, and walked out, slamming the door behind her.
The team met in the kitchen, minus Michael and Danni.
“We had every reason in the world to be suspicious of our client,” Jessie stated.
“He’s a creepy critter, that is for sure,” Shawn noted. “We found all kinds of information about his past of domestic violence with his wife. They tried to cover it up, but they didn’t do a very good job. His wife applied at least three times for a restraining order against him, but it was cancelled within days. There are also reports on file of her having bruises, and a lot of signs of battery.”
“A battered cop’s wife. The ones who get to suffer and never get any help,” Bonnie commented.
“But it does seem like the cops are tired of covering for this jerk’s ass,” Jaime noted. “They’re not paying full attention to this case, and he is presently on probationary leave from the department for beating the crap out of one of his perps.”
“So it is very likely that she just ran away,” RCIII guessed.
“Or orchestrated her own kidnapping,” Jessie agreed.
“Maybe it would be best if we didn’t find her,” Shawn said, a little uncomfortably.
“What if he orchestrated this for the insurance money?” Jaime asked.
“She could be dead, in that case,” Shawn replied.
“We need to know,” RCIII stated firmly.
“And we need to get it done, quickly, so we can get back to aiding Danni,” KITT piped in.
They all nodded in agreement as Michael walked in, straightening his tie on his gray suit.
“That has to be killing you,” Bonnie noted.
“It is, but I gotta look the professional part, and Danni’s pain is killing me a whole lot more,” Michael stated.
“Good luck in court today,” RCIII stated.
“I wish luck could play a part,” Michael sighed. “I really wonder how much Jennifer paid out to that retard Judge.”
“Probably enough to keep her from nosing into the appeal,” Danni stated, walking in, looking rather sharp in her pinstripe gray business skirt suit. “But who knows, maybe we are imagining things. I doubt it, but there has to be some hope.”
“We’re behind you all the way, even if it means treason,” RCIII stated.
Danni allowed a slightly humbled smile.
In a motel room somewhere, a woman was standing in the bathroom, trying to cover up her bruises with makeup.
“Is there anything else I can get you?” Another woman, who was in the bedroom area, picking up stuff, asked.
“No, just what is on that list,” The bruised woman answered.
“I wish you would go further away until that son of a bitch is busted,” The other woman stated.
“They won’t be able to bust the son of a bitch without me,” The battered woman replied.
“Ok, I will be back tonight with your stuff, I’d better go before the jackass notices that I am gone.”
“Thank you sis,” The battered woman said, forcing a smile.
“No problem, Mindy, I’ll be back, I promise.”
The woman left, Mindy took a deep breath, and then went back to putting her multi-layers of makeup on. She was a beautiful woman, in her late 30’s, and well built. It is what her husband seemingly loved about her. He never quite cared for her strong, independent personality. She had fallen deeply in love with him, until he started to show his dark side, and then she found out that it wasn’t a simple matter to get away from him, because she was a policeman’s wife. Policemen’s wives had a special role in life. They were there as stress balls for their husbands, and they seemingly gave up their rights that other women had, of being able to scream domestic abuse, or being able to take their husbands to task for their evil doings. They were the silent punching bags, and Mindy couldn’t deal with it any longer. Especially after finding out the things that she had, about her husband.
Danni took her seat next to Abby for the next round of ridiculousness.
Suggested Listening: “When You’re Falling” by Afro-Celt Soundsystem
Jennifer whipped out a few more witnesses, mostly people that had worked around the house, and around Mikey and Danni, who released only as much information as Jennifer had allowed them to. Not a single one looked as if they were all that happy about doing what they were doing to Danni. Danni couldn’t even look at them.
KITT pulled up outside the supermarket where the car had been parked, and was still marked off with crime scene tape. Shawn got out of the vehicle, and looked around her, taking in the scenery around her. The supermarket wasn’t exactly in the greatest neighborhood. Just down the street were some average middle to low income houses that were fairly run down. The supermarket was part of a small mall that also contained a seamstress, a cloth store, and a title company. KITT quickly took scans of the area, and of every little detail.
Jessie was down at the Police Station, talking to some of Foster’s colleagues about the case, several of them didn’t seem too enthused about talking about him.
RCIII and Jaime showed up at Lieutenant Detective Foster’s house, and started to go over it, and the personal effects. Foster didn’t look too pleased, but still backed out of their way.
Shawn went over to the impound lot, and was shown to the car that the kidnapped woman had been driving. KITT remained outside the fence, but used his sensors to help Shawn comb the car for clues.
Danni remained like a statue throughout the continued hearing. Michael just kept shaking his head, and looking nauseated. Everything that was being said was being misconstrued and totally warped against Danni. She struggled to keep from bursting out in an emotional explosion.
Jessie started to do some footwork, to talk to the people that knew the woman the best; she went from house to house, asking questions. Many of them acted concerned, and a few of them had emotional outbursts.
Court was dismissed for the day, and a downtrodden Danni walked out of the courtroom, with Michael very close behind her. They walked out to the Mercedes that they had brought to the courthouse.
“I am going to lose him, Michael,” Danni muttered.
“You may, but we are not going to stop fighting,” Michael replied. “Don’t you dare give up, you hear me?”
Danni just nodded, sullenly.
He started up the car, and pulled out, heading towards home.
When they got home, the rest were just pulling in as well. Immediately, they all saw Danni’s tight lipped face, and decided it was in their best interests to leave her well alone. They got inside.
“So, how is the case going?” Danni asked, summoning up the bravery.
“It’s not a pretty thing. It seems that the husband is a wife beater, and a severe abuser. There is even a rumor that he had enough of her crap and had hired somebody to kill her,” Jessie stated.
“Lovely. One of those that might just be best off left alone, eh?” Danni asked.
“Yeah, except for the fact we need to know if it was him, who orchestrated her disappearance, or her,” Bonnie said.
“Dead or alive,” Danni noted. “Tough choice. Excuse me.”
Danni proceeded up the stairs, and disappeared. Everybody turned to Michael, who was working on getting out of his tie.
“It’s not going well at all,” Michael noted, whipping off the tie.
“I say we just kill the bitch and have done with it,” Shawn growled.
“Don’t tempt me,” Michael stated.
“There were no real signs at the supermarket, but there were all kinds of avenues that she could have taken to get out. The supermarket wasn’t in the best place. But I did find something of interest in the car,” Shawn reported, as she pulled out a Ziploc from her coat. “I found this shred of paper in the back, it seems to have some kind of impression on it, but I couldn’t make it out. I wanted to wait until I got here to give it to KITT.”
“Go do it, it could be our break,” Bonnie ordered.
Shawn nodded and went to the side to the garage exit.
“Her hubby is no saint, at all. He didn’t appreciate us digging through his stuff, where we found large amounts of medical supplies, but rather interestingly, there was some of her personal stuff missing. He didn’t even notice,” RCIII noted.
“There were a lot of blood marks around the house,” Jaime noted. “And not a whole lot of her stuff, all of it seemed to be his decorating, and he looks like a refugee from a militia camp.”
“Some of her friends may know more than they are admitting, but all agreed that if she got out, that she was better off. Not any of them had a real high opinion of Lieutenant Detective Foster,” Jessie reported. “And his own colleagues don’t have a high opinion of him either. I got the real sense that they were sick and tired of covering for his ass.”
“He’s a real shithead,” RCIII stated.
Shawn sat in KITT, as he ran the fragment through his analyzer.
“How is she?” KITT asked.
“She’s trying to keep strong, but this whole thing is tearing her apart,” Shawn answered.
“Damn Jennifer, this is so unfair,” KITT growled.
“I know, KITT, but we can’t give up.” Shawn said, gently.
“I had no intentions of doing so,” KITT stated. “There is an impression on this item, it reads ‘L-I’ on top, then ‘M-O’ on the bottom.”
“Thanks, KITT.” Shawn stated, taking the slip out of his analyzer and rushing out of the garage.
“Anytime,” KITT stated after she was gone.
His screens switched, and he went back to work on his own personal project, which was represented by lines of never-ending code on his screen.
Shawn rushed into the office where the team was getting together, she set the Ziploc on the desk. “There is an impression on it. Two words. The first one has L and I, and the second has M and an O. But that is it.”
“At least it is a clue, maybe.” RCIII sighed.
“Take what you can get, if anything, maybe you can get this bastard seriously hit with battery charges, sometimes it takes a little bit bigger force to step in and break the cycle.” Michael suggested.
“You got it,” RCIII stated. “I suspect Danni could use one of those.”
“I am just hoping that Jennifer shoots herself in the foot tomorrow. She should be the first one up,” Michael sighed.
“This does not bode well,” Bonnie muttered.
Danni sat by her lawyer once again, twiddling her thumbs under the desk.
“I shall now call Ms. Jennifer Knight to the stand,” Avery announced.
“I shall vomit now,” Danni grumbled under her breath.
Jennifer put her hand on the bible as the Bailiff swore her in.
“Do you swear to tell the truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?” The Bailiff asked.
“Yes,” Jennifer stated.
Danni rolled her eyes, knowing that was a crock of shit.
“You may sit,” The Judge urged.
“Ms. Knight, what do you do for a living?” Avery asked.
“I am the Chief Executive Officer of Knight Industries,” Jennifer stated.
“Would you say that is quite a steady job?” Avery queried.
“Yes.”
“Are there any dangers involved in your job?”
“Some, primarily when a competitor gets angry, but that is what we have the security force for, they are the block between the problems and me,” Jennifer stated.
“The security force…the one that Ms. Danielle Knight is an integral part of?”
“Yes,” Jennifer answered.
“Would you say that there have been several incidences where enemies from her past have put herself and the people in that house in danger?”
“I can not go into detail, but there are several incidences, including a slaughter that happened late last year just before the holiday season where the majority of the house crew was killed. Mikey should have been there, but thank goodness, he was with me at the time.” Jennifer tattled.
“And wasn’t it an enemy from Ms. Danielle Knight’s past that caused this most recent tragedy in which several youngsters from the school that Michael was attending were taken?”
“Yes.”
“So basically just her presence is a danger to all?”
“Objection!” Abby yelled. “Council is creating his own conclusions.”
“Overruled, please answer, Ms. Knight.” The Judge said.
“Yes,” Jennifer stated. “There are many times where if Mikey hadn’t been with me, he would likely be dead, and she is always off on assignment.”
“These assignments, are they dangerous?”
“Extremely.”
“Is there a possibility that Danielle may not come home from them?”
“Yes.”
“Is it also true that Ms. Danielle Knight has a deteriorating brain condition?” Avery asked.
“Shit,” Danni muttered.
“Yes,” Jennifer answered.
Michael scooted forward to whisper to Danni. “Let me guess, the chip is classified.”
“By Knight Industries,” Danni whispered back.
“Shit,” Michael cursed.
“Has Ms. Danielle Knight killed people?” Avery continued.
“In the line of duty, yes.”
“Is she prone to hostile acts?”
“Yes.”
“Does she do drugs?”
“Only for her brain condition.”
“Does this brain condition cause personality changes?”
“Yes.”
“Ms. Knight, why do you think you would be the best guardian for Michael D. Knight?” Avery asked.
“Because I hold a very stable job, I have a very stable health condition, I have a very stable security position, and I can provide and be there. I don’t have a pre-established health condition that is destined to kill me,” Jennifer stated. “Danielle doesn’t have that.”
“Has she ever hit Michael?” Avery asked.
“Not that I know of.”
“What would happen if she did?”
“She could kill him. She is licensed as a lethal weapon,” Jennifer answered.
“But you will still be around, and she may get granted visitation rights, what is to stop her during visitation?”
“Less stress. When she gets highly stressed is when things start going wrong, and having him away from her, is relieving her of the stress of worrying about him,” Jennifer answered.
“That’s all, your honor,” Avery stated, going back to his seat.
“Your witness, Ms. McFarland,” The Judge stated.
“Ms. Knight, what parenting experience have you had before?” Abby asked.
“I have helped take care of cousins and such.” Jennifer answered.
“But no children of your own?” Abby asked.
“No.”
“Is it true that you have been trying to conceive through artificial insemination?”
“Objection!” Avery yelled.
“ Noted, you are not on good ground there, Ms. McFarland.” The Judge warned.
“Who is Danielle’s boss?”
“Michael Knight, her brother,” Jennifer answered frankly.
“That is now, but who was her boss before?”
“Me.” Jennifer stated.
“And how many times did Danielle try to get you to let her retire so she could spend more time with her son?”
“Several,” Jennifer mumbled.
“Why wouldn’t you let her retire?”
“She was needed.”
“Is she still needed now?”
“Yes.”
“So is it a rule that a person can’t have a personal life or family if they work for you?”
“No, but I do not believe that a young boy should be exposed to that environment.”
“An environment you helped create.”
“But I don’t live in it.”
“If she had a choice, neither would she,” Abby stated, throwing fast questions. “Who all makes the drug that Danielle is on to control her seizures from her brain deterioration?”
“Knight Industries.” Jennifer said.
“Nobody else?”
“No.”
“Pity, that would make it hard to retire, wouldn’t it?”
“She could buy it,” Jennifer said coldly.
“At $500 an injection?” Abby asked, her eyebrow raised. “Let’s back up to August of this year. Is it true that you were being targeted by an assassin, and you had Michael at the time, and Danni risked her life to save you and her son?”
“Yes, but he was after her as well.”
“But you aren’t so safe without the very woman whom you are busy trying to strip of her own biological child, how do you expect this to impact the Foundation?”
“We’re all adults.”
“That’s all, your honor,” Abby said, walking off, shaking her head.
“You may step down, Ms. Knight,” The Judge stated.
“The prosecution rests at this time,” Avery stated.
“Defense, you pay present your case,” The Judge announced.
“Thank you, your honor. The defense would like to call Mr. Michael A. Knight to the stand.” Abby pronounced.
Michael stood up, and walked up to the stand, buttoning his business jacket on the way by. Danni looked at him, and closed her eyes.
“Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?” The Bailiff asked.
“I do,” Michael stated.
“Please state your name and relationship to the defendant for the record,” The Judge ordered.
“Michael Arthur Knight, brother, and commander,” Michael said.
“What is your job, Mr. Knight?” Abby asked.
“I am the Executive Director of the joint Knight Industries Special Investigations Force/Foundation for Law And Government.”
“You are the uncle to Michael D. Knight, is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“He’s named after you, isn’t he?”
“In part, he is also named after a dear old friend who is no longer with us, by the name of Devon Miles,” Michael answered.
“You just recently met him, isn’t that right?”
“Yes, I was on a temporary retirement in Washington, Danni and I had gotten separated for ten years,” Michael said.
“In the time you have been back, have you ever seen Danni mistreat Mikey?”
“Not at all,” Michael stated. “She would go to the ends of the earth for that boy and his future. It bugs her that he isn’t at home with us all the time.”
“In this past case, when Mikey and the other kids were taken, why didn’t Danni do anything about it?”
“Because we were being watched, and were told that if she did anything, the kids would die.” Michael said, staring Jennifer straight in the eye.
“Objection, there is no evidence to support that, since it is all classified information,” Avery complained.
“Consider it unclassified to a point,” Michael growled.
“Overruled,” The Judge shrugged.
“What role have you taken in Mikey’s life now?” Abby continued.
“I am doing what I can to be a father to him, and an uncle,” Michael stated. “He is such a wonderful kid, he is just like his mother.”
“Have you ever seen any mood or personality swings near Mikey?”
“No, Danni has more control than that,” Michael stated. “If she feels it coming on, she gets away.”
“Thank you, that will be all, Mr. Knight.”
“Your witness, Mr. Avery.”
Avery stood up. “Mr. Knight. Is it true that you have only returned back to the Foundation in the past few months?”
“Yes.”
“Is it also true that you left the Foundation due to your sister’s hostility, and your inability to deal with it?” Avery stated.
“No, I left because I was fed up of the witch hunts and bureaucratic sludge that was being handed our way. It killed me to leave Danni behind, but I did what I felt I had to do at the time,” Michael answered.
“A few months isn’t a whole lot of time to get to know someone after 10 years of being away, is it?”
“When she is my sister, yes, it is,” Michael stated.
“You didn’t even know what she had become, or did for a living. You didn’t even know about her Life guarding job,” Avery sniped.
“True, but I still know what she is capable of, and remember, she saves lives, that is a pretty important factor that everybody overlooks there,” Michael stated.
“Yes, well, don’t you find it a bit strange that she still puts her life on the line, and refuses to back down, not even for her son?”
“She has no choice, and Jennifer darn well knows it,” Michael said, flashing a dark look to Jennifer.
Shawn sat in KITT, going through the many different forms that could use LI and MO, as they sat in the parking lot of the supermarket.
“I just do not get a good feeling about this, KITT,” Shawn stated.
“Neither do I,” KITT agreed. “Bonnie’s calling.”
“Put her through,” Shawn stated, pressing the obligatory buttons to the side.
Bonnie appeared on the screen from her post at the computer center at the Foundation.
“I take it you still haven’t found anything to make your search easier?” Bonnie asked.
“Nope,” Shawn said. “We’re at a brick wall with a piece of paper.”
“Well, this might help. We just dug up a report that was purposely being buried, but hadn’t quite gotten there yet. Seems our client was busted by an undercover fed two days prior to Melinda’s disappearance,” Bonnie stated.
“Battery?”
“Attempt to solicit murder,” Bonnie answered.
“He tried to hire a hit man to kill her,” Shawn guessed.
“Yep, it is sitting in limbo right now,” Bonnie stated.
“He needs us to find her so she can’t testify against him,” Shawn hypothesized.
“I’d say so, but we need to find her anyway so she can testify against him,” Bonnie stated.
“Damn, I hate Catch 22’s.”
“Me too.”
Jessie was sitting in her car outside of a house, keeping a close watch on it, but nobody emerged or entered. She frowned.
RCIII was working the downtown streets and undercover cops to find out if there was anything they could deal with.
“This court shall recess until tomorrow,” The Judge announced, and banged his gavel. “Hopefully we can finish this up tomorrow.”
Danni just shook her head, and turned away. Michael looked at her with a very sorrowful face.
“Should we play around, or just get it over with?” Abby asked.
“Get it over with, let me take the stand in the morning,” Danni stated.
“Avery is going to try to rip you to shreds,” Abby sighed.
“He’s going to do it one way or another, at least this way, I get to speak,” Danni said. “I may not be able to break the silence, but I at least will get to try to tell my side of things, even if it is an exercise in futility,” Danni said.
“As you wish,” Abby stated, as they headed out to the parking lot.
Once again, as they got home, the rest were all coming in from their day of beating feet around the city.
“The sister has to be up to something, she didn’t come home once,” Jessie noted.
“He tried to shoot the undercover fed that busted him trying to hire a hitman, too, the guy probably couldn’t pass a psych exam right now,” RCIII added.
“If only we could figure out what those note impressions where,” Shawn stated.
“I have no clue, KITT couldn’t find it?” Bonnie asked.
“He’s still looking,” Shawn answered.
“What impressions?” Danni asked.
“Shawn found a piece of paper in the victim’s car, that had four impressions on it. It seems to be two words, but they were cut off. The first word starts with LI and the second with MO,” Bonnie explained.
“And what was the address she disappeared from?” Danni asked.
“The CostCo Supermarket on Delrey and Maxton,” Jessie answered.
“The Lighthouse Motel, it’s located two blocks away,” Danni said.
“No way…” Shawn stated, shaking her head.
“What better place to hide than just a few blocks away from the scene of the crime,” Danni stated.
“You are good,” RCIII commented.
“Unfortunately, I am,” Danni sighed.
“Will you need us to testify?” Jaime asked.
“Nope, this charade has gone on long enough. I will be the first and last testimony tomorrow,” Danni stated. “I just wish I could see him, and let him register his opinion, but he is just a few years shy of being able of making that decision.”
“I know, Danni, but keep up hope,” Michael stated.
“I am trying,” Danni said, her voice wavering a bit.
The sister of Melinda raced out of her house, to her car, she looked like she hadn’t gotten much sleep in some time, but she was still running on straight adrenaline. She didn’t notice that she was being watched from the street, as she pulled her car out onto the road and sped away.
Act II
CourthouseDanni was dressed in a black pin striped pants outfit. She looked straight ahead, her jaw set. She knew that she was in for a battle, and was most likely going to lose this one today, but she knew that she had to make a spectacular effort for the next round. If she had enough energy for the next round.
Michael sat behind her, faithfully wearing a gray suit with a blue tie. He looked like a linebacker due to the fact that the tension had forced his shoulders up almost close to his ears. He kept flashing evil glances at Jennifer, who ignored him, but kept flashing little smiles over at Danni.
The court was called into session. Danni braced herself.
The sister pulled into the parking lot of the Lighthouse Motel, and the car that was following her pulled up just across the street. The woman rushed inside, carrying a large bag.
Danni took her place up at the stand, looking as cool as a cucumber. She even had her sunglasses off and her ice blue contacts in.
“Do you swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you, God?” The Bailiff asked.
“I do,” Danni replied.
“Have a seat, Ms. Knight,” The Judge urged.
“Ms. Knight, when Mikey was born, what happened to you?” Abby asked.
“I had a seizure. My heart stopped, and I hemorrhaged, but my in house doctors managed to bring me back,” Danni replied.
“Was there any residual damage from that incident?” Abby asked.
“Some, but none that can be officially released without full clearance of the Knight Industries board,” Danni stated.
“After the birth, how long was it before you started to take care of your son?” Abby asked.
“Six hours, long enough for the drugs that had been used to bring me back to clear my system,” Danni answered.
“So, you didn’t even recover?”
“Not really, he needed me.”
“How many diapers did you change?”
“Millions, he definitely had a healthy constitution,” Danni answered with a smile.
“Did you breast feed him?”
“Until he was 6 months old.”
“Who stayed up with him nights while he was sick, or when he was just disturbed?”
“I did.”
“Where was your husband?”
“He was killed when Mikey was just three weeks old.”
“So you have been raising him all by yourself?”
“Well, he has an extended family, including his Aunt Jennifer sometimes,” Danni replied. “But, yes.”
At the motel, the sister had gone into Melinda’s room. This time around, Melinda’s face had its full makeup coat on it, and the swelling had gone down.
“I’m so glad you are here, it’s been getting so boring around here,” Melinda gasped.
“There could be some trouble, Mindy, the son of a bitch hired the FLAG people to find you,” Clarissa stated.
“It just means that I am going to have to hide for now that much harder until we can get the evidence to light,” Mindy replied.
“How many times have incidents occurred due to your job near Mikey?” Abby asked.
“There have been four incidents total, all of which are still classified under United Nations Secrecy Act #2145-765,” Danni stated.
“How many incidents have occurred due to Jennifer’s job near Mikey?” Abby asked.
“Twelve, but once again, all are still classified under United Nations Secrecy Act #2145-765,” Danni answered.
“I have never heard of this United Nations Secrecy Act,” The Judge spoke up.
“It is on the books if you request it from the United Nations, it is one of the main body of laws that they are governed by,” Danni replied.
“And you work for them?” The Judge asked.
“Under the direction of Ms. Jennifer Knight,” Danni stated, flashing a wicked look to Jennifer.
Shawn pulled KITT up outside of the motel. Jessie was with her.
“This is too easy,” Shawn stated. “She couldn’t have been under our noses the entire time.”
“What better place to hide than right in front of us?” Jessie asked.
“Her sister’s vehicle is here,” KITT stated. “Wait.”
“Wait, what?” Shawn asked.
“Detective Foster’s vehicle is here as well,” KITT noted.
Shawn and Jessie looked at each other, and then quickly pulled out their weapons, and got out of KITT.
“And why didn’t you assist in the recovery of your son?” Abby asked.
“I did,” Danni said simply. “I worked under the microscope, while my associates did the main part of the work.”
“Why?”
“Because one of the stipulations was that if I aided in any way, the kids would die.”
“Thank you, Ms. Knight. Your witness, Mr. Avery,” Abby stated, heading back to her chair.
Danni braced herself.
The door exploded in, and Melinda and her sister screamed, as Detective Foster crashed through the door.
“I didn’t even have to follow my detectives here, your sister did the work for me!” Foster yelled, brandishing his baton.
“Get away from me, you bastard!” Melinda spat.
“You will never get away from me, Melinda, we had a vow; until death do we part, and that is how it shall be!” Foster seethed.
“Get away from here, you son of a bitch!” Clarissa screamed, as she lurched from her sister’s clutches, and flew at the larger man.
He basically threw her off like a Kleenex, and cold-cocked her with the baton. She fell into unconsciousness.
“Clarissa!” Melinda screamed, and then threw a suitcase at Detective Foster.
He ducked it off, and came right at her. She screamed.
“Ms. Knight, how did your husband die?” Avery asked.
“That is classified in accordance with the United Nations Secrecy Act #2145-765,” Danni said.
“Did Mikey’s father die in front of you and him?” Avery asked.
“Yes,” Danni answered.
“How many death threats has your son gotten, Ms. Knight?”
“I don’t know.”
“Let the record show, in transcripts and letters provided by Ms. Jennifer Knight, that Michael D. Knight has personally received 40 death threats, sent directly to him or Ms. Knight, all stemming from Ms. Knight’s job.” Avery stated.
“Please also let the record show that there are two Ms. Knights, and both of them have caused these threats to exist,” Danni stated. “Let’s cut to the chase here.”
Shawn and Jessie ran up the stairs one way, as Detective Foster emerged from the door, with Melinda in a chokehold, and rushed down the others.
“Stop, or we’ll shoot!” Jessie yelled.
Detective Foster cut them off, by shooting at them. They ducked out of the way; the bullet ricocheted off of the railing. People inside the motel began to scream.
“I am Michael D. Knight’s biological son. I carried him for nine months, I gave birth to him. I have cared for him in every way allowed to me since his birth. I have had to make do with what I have, and a lot of the difficult situations I have been put in, have not been by my choice, but by my bosses. The woman that is sitting right over there,” Danni stated.
“Ob…” Avery stated.
“No, let her speak,” The Judge stated.
Shawn and Jessie rushed back down the stairs as the car carrying Detective Foster and his screaming, clawing wife raced past them, almost running them over.
KITT pulled up right afterwards, and let his doors fly open. Shawn and Jessie piled in, with Shawn behind the wheel, and they peeled out in pursuit of the burgundy sedan that had rushed out into traffic without a care, almost causing a crash right in front of the motel.
“I never wanted my son to be put in a boarding school in Canada, I never wanted him brought up on a diet of Filet Mignon and Caviar. I never got the opportunity to express what I wanted, because Jennifer Knight stepped in and took command. If I am a bad mother, it is only because I have been turned into one, but I think I have done remarkably well for what has been dealt to me. There is nothing wrong with Michael D. Knight. He gets good grades, he has amazing manners, he knows how to stand up for his beliefs, and defend against bullies through negotiation. He is well fed. He is well entertained. He is a very well rounded young man. He has a family, he has a live, and he has a well being. If that is abuse, then I have been enforcing the wrong laws for the past 20 years.” Danni stated.
The sedan slid around a corner, its back end hitting a fruit truck, but it kept going on. KITT cornered the corner smoothly, and gained closer to its rear.
“We’re heading towards the exterior of town, but there is one street with some heavy traffic coming up,” KITT reported.
“Keep your sensors on him, if we lose him, she’s dead!” Shawn ordered.
The sedan blew through the busy intersection, but caused a school bus to stall in the middle of it to avoid hitting the sedan.
“KITT!” Jessie yelled.
Shawn hit the turbo boost button, they lifted up, and sailed cleanly over the bus with a few feet to spare, and then landed evenly on the other side, landing right between two lanes of stopped traffic. They even managed to gain on the sedan a bit more.
“Are there any more questions?” Danni asked, darkly.
“No, I think that is enough,” Avery said. “Thank you, Ms. Knight.”
“Redirect, Ms. McFarland?” The Judge asked.
“No, your Honor, the Defense rests,” Abby stated.
“You may step down, Ms. Knight, thank you,” The Judge said, looking at Danni with a pained look.
Danni did as she was told.
KITT and the sedan got to the outer areas of the city, which had less of a population. Shawn and Jessie both watched as Melinda was seen fighting against her husband, causing the car to swerve erratically at high speeds. He beat her back quickly with his baton, and soon, she stopped fighting, because she was unconscious.
“KITT, let’s put an end to this twit,” Shawn stated, as she pressed a few buttons, including the Thermal Expander.
The heads up display superimposed over the present view out the windshield, and four little yellow squares appeared in the center, then surrounded the sedan, homing in on the tires.
The tires blew out, and the speed of the car caused it to take flight and flip twice until it came to a rest on the side of the highway. KITT pulled up alongside, just as the door was kicked open on the driver’s side, and Detective Foster crawled out, and brandished his baton and gun. Jessie just grinned evilly.
“Oh, this is gonna be a pleasure, you woman hating son of a bitch,” Jessie growled, as she did a lightning fast roundhouse kick, that knocked the gun and baton out of his hands.
Shawn went to the other side and pulled the unconscious woman out, and drug her over to KITT.
Detective Foster tried to rush Jessie as she rebalanced herself from the roundhouse kick, and she just shimmied to the side, grabbed him by the shoulders, and flipped him over onto his back, making him land hard enough to allow a grunt to escape his lips. She kicked him in the ribs, put her knee in his nuts as she kneeled down to backhand him hard enough in the head to knock him out cold.
Shawn looked up from KITT’s passenger side, with moderate interest. “Need help?”
“Nah, this doughnut was easy to take,” Jessie smirked.
“You may now present your closing arguments,” The Judge announced. “Mr. Avery, you’re up first.”
“Danielle Knight is an upstanding citizen, she is trying to be a mother, and she is trying to be the superhero of the law enforcement world. Being the mother that she should be is taking a huge back seat to her other priorities. Ms. Jennifer Knight is just trying to provide a better and safer environment for Michael D. Knight. She is trying to take some of the stresses off of a woman who is desperately trying to do her best to make the world safe, even if it means her home isn’t. And as for the efforts to save the world, there is no evidence that this is no more than a delusional fantasy, since everything is supposedly classified. Please do the right thing. It is not like Ms. Jennifer Knight is going to take the child and move to another state or another continent. She is just going to make the domestic life that much better and safer for this child.” Avery droned on. “Thank you.”
The cops came, with an ambulance, to take the two victims. The cops did not handle Detective Foster very well; they were quite rough with the semi conscious man. Shawn and Jessie looked at each other and smiled.
“Danielle Knight is probably one of the most devoted mothers there is, she does what she does so that her son will have a future, and will have her for a little more time. I am sure that you have seen people come through this court who really do abuse their children, so I am truly hoping that your judicial mind can see that Danielle Knight isn’t one of them. Jennifer Knight can spoil the child. Danielle Knight and her brother, and their extended family can raise the child, safely. One way or another Danielle Knight is going to be protecting him, because it is part of her job. Why should there be a middle man when there is no justifiable reason for it?” Abby said. “Don’t take the son away from this woman who has given her heart and soul to him, and to all of us to keep us safe. Her job is as real as that glass and steel tower that Knight Industries resides in. It is as real as Jennifer Knight’s $5000 ergonomic chair that she sits in. Thank you.”
Jennifer looked over at Danni and shook her head with a smile. Danni refused to look at her.
“Very well, I shall retire to my lounge and make a decision momentarily. I suggest that we all break for a 45 minute lunch,” The Judge announced, and banged his gavel down.
They all got up from their chairs. Jennifer went over to Michael and Danni.
“I hope that you remember the charity function in two days, attendance is mandatory, if you want your budget renewed,” Jennifer said, and then stalked out.
“Is it too much to hope that she gets hit by a meteor while chowing down on her kittie crunchies?” Danni grumbled.
“Come on, let’s get some fresh air,” Michael said, putting an arm around her shoulders.
1445 hrs.
They had all come back into the courtroom. Danni looked as if she was having a hard time breathing. Her neck had a slight red mark where she had injected herself with her medication during the break.
Bonnie, RCIII and Jaime gathered around in the office, to watch via the commlinks, they were holding their breaths as well, as the court reconvened before them.
“I am going to cut to the chase here, I know both sides have been through an extremely difficult time. It is the extremely difficult decision of this court to find in favor of the plaintiff,” The Judge announced.
Michael gasped. Danni just lowered her shouldered, and struggled not to puke.
“Full custody with visitation on Holidays and every other weekends will be granted to Ms. Jennifer Knight. Ms. Danielle Knight, you will be granted visitation with your son on Holidays and every other weekend, as stated. You are invited to appeal this decision,” The Judge stated.
Danni just nodded, unable to speak. Jennifer just looked over at Danni and smiled.
“We will be appealing,” Michael firmly stated.
“This court has been dismissed,” The Judge said, banging his gavel on the table.
The sound of the gavel felt like a gunshot in Danni’s head.
“We will appeal, Danni. We aren’t done. That boy needs to come home to his mother,” Abby stated.
“As long as my world remains classified, I can’t defend, and as long as Jennifer keeps paying the legal ways, I have no choice,” Danni said, sadly.
“What needs to be done to show that insane woman’s true colors?” Michael asked.
“Proof that she is insane, and not fit to be a parent, as well as proof that Danni is who she says she is,” Abby answered.
“We will get to work right away, “ Michael confirmed.
“This is not over, Danni, not by any means. If I have to change venues, and start disabling bribed individuals, I will,” Abby said.
“Thanks, Abby,” Danni said, with a monotone voice.
“Come on, let’s get you home,” Michael said, holding Danni’s arm.
“It’s so empty there,” Danni stated, her mind in a far away place.
Michael looked at her, sadly. “I know, sweetie, I know.”
Shawn and Jessie both entered the office, to the glum faces of the rest of the team.
“We got him, and he almost killed his wife, she was right where Danni said she would be, and he is now in jail on several charges…” Shawn blurted, then stopped. “Oh…no…”
“Don’t…” Jessie stated, tears welling in her eyes.
“The judge ruled against her,” RCIII said, darkly.
Shawn shook her head in disbelief and horror, as Jessie fell into one of the chairs, and weeped.
Danni was in the position in which she had started; she was laying on the conference room table, her upper body splayed out on the table. Her head lay on her arm, which was fully extended out in front of her. Her spirit had been shocked into silence. She just stared straight ahead of her, into nothingness.
She could hear the others talking in the office.
“Detective Foster will be arraigned tomorrow on charges of assault, battery, attempted murder, conspiring to commit homicide, and a ton of other charges that his wife had the dirt on against him. He is not going to make bail, and he is going to go away for a long time,” Shawn reported.
“And his check cleared, such a shame that he didn’t cancel his advance,” Jessie stated.
“How is she?” RCIII asked.
“The life has gone out of her, I don’t know how much more of this she can take,” Michael stated.
“And the nerve of that bitch to demand that we have to go to that dumb ass fund raiser,” Jessie growled.
“Are you sure that we all have to go?” Shawn asked.
“Danni doesn’t, but I am sure that the rest of us will probably have to, but we won’t go for long,” Michael promised.
“You’re going,” Danni stated, standing at the door.
They all turned around to look at her. She really did look like hell.
“Danni…” Michael protested.
“This Foundation and the dreams within it are all I have left. I am not going,
but you have to,” Danni stated, and walked back out of the room.
They just sat, with their mouths agape.
Danni remained in the living room, pretending to watch TV, as the rest of the team filed out of the upstairs area, wearing their best eveningwear. RCIII and Jessie came down first, RCIII looking rather dashing in his standard tux, and Jessie looking smashing in her blue and silver bejeweled evening gown.
“Danni, are you sure that you do not want to go?” RCIII asked.
“Nope, that’s ok, I am not exactly good company right now anyway,” Danni replied, not taking her eyes off of the TV.
“I don’t really want….” Jessie started.
“You’re going. You need to represent us, and rub elbows with the people that will be supporting us in the future, whatever future that may be,” Danni snapped.
“Michael and Bonnie can go, we can…” Jessie tried to protest.
“Go!” Danni ordered.
Jessie and RCIII looked at each other in sadness as Michael came down, looking dashing in his tux. He flashed a worried look over in Danni’s direction.
“Danni…” Michael uttered.
“You’re going,” Danni said, curtly.
“Danni…” Michael tried to protest.
“You are the head of this thing now, deal with it,” Danni growled.
Shawn and Jaime both came down; Jaime was wearing a ‘no-tie’ tux. Shawn was wearing a purple evening dress that also accentuated her curves. They both looked at Danni’s head.
“Ya know, we are newbies, we…” Shawn uttered.
“You are going too, end of statement.” Danni said, firmly.
Shawn and Jaime looked at Michael; he just shrugged and shook his head.
Bonnie came down the stairs, wearing a dashing black dress that accentuated her curves. She looked like anything but a cybernetic technician. Michael looked up at her, with his mouth slightly open.
“You’re going to catch flies,” Bonnie said, teasingly.
“You’re absolutely beautiful!” Michael gasped.
“Thank you.” Bonnie blushed.
She looked over at Danni’s head, which hadn’t moved one single bit. “Danni…”
Danni pointed at the door, without saying another word.
“It’s probably best, the bitch is going to be there, and a fundraiser is not the place to have a Smackdown,” Bonnie noted.
“Yep,” Danni simply answered.
“Well then, I guess we will go. I promise to trip the bitch for you if I get a chance,” Michael announced, taking Bonnie’s hand and putting it on his arm.
“You do that,” Danni stated.
Jessie wrapped her arm around RCIII’s, and they proceeded to the door, and then outside to KITT, never looking back into the living room to see the tears that were flowing down Danni’s face.
Suggested Listening: “Shadows In Silence” by Enigma
There was a small amount of blood seeping from her left hand where she had dug her nails into her palms. There was also a mark on her lips from where she had bit herself.
She turned the TV off, and looked around her. The only thoughts that ran through her mind were dark ones. She walked around the house, in a daze.
She felt alone. Completely and totally alone. She wanted to get out of the house, she had even entertained the thought of facing Jennifer at her fund raiser, just for the hell of it.
But she didn’t have anybody to go with.
Ever since the death of her husband, Danni found herself alone, too busy for romance. When it came to functions like this, Danni would go with Bonnie, stag, or if Bonnie had a date, depending on the fundraiser, Danni would take Mikey as her escort. With Michael’s return, Bonnie was renewing her relationship with her brother. Mikey was gone, a pawn in Jennifer’s crappy plans. Shawn had Jaime. RCIII had Jessie. Danni was the lone woman out, and it tore at her heart.
There was no place for her anymore. She was just a killer that was there for the benefit of the past, and had no real future. She would forever be a slave to Knight Industries. Her life was a sham. The life had literally been sucked out of it.
There was no way she would get Mikey back now. Jennifer had covered all her corners. There was nobody in the world that would be there for her. Who would want to be there for a murderous bitch with a brain flaw? Her own brother thought she was hideous and an insult to him. And what did she have to look forward to? A slow and painful death as the chip continued to eat away at her own brain, with no real solution but a drug that ate away at her body and soul, and would eventually not even work anymore.
Her purpose had been retired. There was no reason for her anymore. Michael could run the Foundation, so could Bonnie. RCIII, Jessie and Shawn could do the investigating. Jaime could even do it.
It was over. There was no more reason to continue to fool herself that it wasn’t. It was just time to accept it, and remove herself from the equation. To no longer be a burden. It was the only way that Jennifer wouldn’t win, the only way that Danni could ever be free.
She found herself in her bedroom, kneeling down in front of her closet, pulling back a secret compartment. In it was one of her weapons, in a black case, locked down. She pulled the key out from another secret compartment, and opened it up. She pulled out the black, shiny object from the box, and checked it to see if it was loaded.
KITT pulled up in front of the ballroom, followed up by a limo. Shawn was driving KITT, with Jaime as her escort. Shawn and Jaime got out, and KITT parked himself. The limo pulled up, and Michael, Bonnie, RCIII and Jessie piled out. Shawn and Jaime waited for the rest to pile out, and all of them looked at the building. Michael was already pulling at his collar, in discomfort, but was still casting amorous glances at Bonnie out of the corner of his eye.
“I hate these things,” Michael grumbled.
“Tuxedoes?” Jaime asked.
“And fund raisers. I don’t like the stuffy events,” Michael said with a bit of a smile.
“Get used to them, your new position makes it part of the job criteria,” Bonnie uttered.
“You just had to remind me.” Michael sighed.
“Just remember, if we see her in there, we don’t say a word, if she approaches us, ignore her as much as possible, or politely nod. No punching her out,” Bonnie warned.
“Easier said than done.” RCIII grumbled.
“Let’s do this,” Michael said.
Together, the team headed for the door, and prepared to go inside. Once they entered, they found themselves greeted by the stuffiness. Everybody else was in Tuxes and evening gowns, gossiping, and gabbing, stuffing themselves with champagne and pate. It was not even close to being the type of party that a kid should be at, and definitely not the type that the more hip party animals of the Foundation would normally be at. There was a lot of wheeling and dealing going on within the room.
“This sucks,” Michael sighed.
Danni was now walking on the outside of the grounds, still in her daze. She now had her weapon tucked into her jeans’ waistband. The plan of what she was going to do was running through her mind, and made as much logic to her as her plans to assassinate world dictators. She never started a plan without going through with it, either. She was heading straight for the small forest thatch on the grounds of the Foundation property.
The Foundation group never strayed very far from each other, as they circulated throughout the room, and to the food. They kept their eyes open, and did their best to keep their ears closed. People stayed away from them for the most part as well, since it was well known throughout the room who they were: the police of the corporation.
Suddenly, Shawn nudged Michael in the ribs. He turned to her, and she nodded out towards the middle of the ballroom. Michael followed her line of site, and saw Jennifer, and on her arm, looking rather unhappy and uncomfortable, was Mikey, dressed in a tux.
Michael’s face twisted in amusement. “Oh really?”
“This is no place for a kid,” Shawn commented.
“And rather happily, this place has video cameras, and we still have KITT,” Michael muttered, and brought his link up to his mouth. “KITT?”
“Is she feeding him champagne?” KITT asked, honing in his sensors on her acts. Sure enough, she gave him a glass.”
“I do believe that she has just managed to screw herself,” Shawn stated with a look of satisfaction.
“Thank goodness,” Bonnie said with a smile. “Let’s keep watching her. I’d say this evening just got very interesting.”
“At least it has one perk,” Michael grumbled.
Danni stood on the edge of a picturesque pond in the middle of the thatch of trees. The moon was high over her, revealing the beautiful space in front of her. This was a good, private place. This was where she and Brent had conceived Mikey. This was a place that Devon had told her about back when she first came to the Foundation, as a place for her to go to, in order to sort her thoughts out and to be alone. Only she, and a select few others knew where it was.
It was the perfect place to die.
KITT continued to record throughout the evening, but there was only so much footage of Jennifer neglecting Mikey that he could take. Jennifer had left Mikey behind, and was walking around mingling with others. Mikey sat in a corner, all by himself, with people passing by, barely making notice of his presence.
Michael stood, watching, steaming at the site. His nephew was brought as arm candy for Jennifer, and now was discarded like a napkin. Jennifer was very drunk, and was already reacting to things the way a drunken person would – loud and boisterous.
“I don’t know how much more I can take of that,” Jessie grumbled.
“I think KITT has more than enough on tape,” Michael uttered.
“Is that true, Michael? Because I would like to check on Danni, I would like to tell her this news, maybe it will help her,” KITT stated.
“Go ahead, buddy, I think we have more than enough here, and Shawn and Jaime can come back in the limo,” Michael said.
“Thank you, Michael,” KITT said, more gratefully than he had expected.
“Lucky car,” Shawn mumbled as she munched on a celery stick.
KITT pulled out of the parking lot, and silently went down the road. The valet watched with his mouth open, and shook his head.
“How much longer do we have to stay here?” RCIII asked.
“Preferably until Mikey goes home. I don’t want him to be here totally alone,” Michael said.
“I wish we could be with him, or take him out of here.” Jessie uttered.
“Maybe we can make that happen, find Mavis,” Bonnie ordered.
“Good idea.” Michael nodded, still slightly distracted, as he had been all evening.
“What’s wrong, Michael?” Bonnie asked.
“I am not sure, it is just the feeling that something is really wrong somewhere in the world,” Michael uttered.
“Other than Mikey?” RCIII queried.
“Yeah,” Michael answered, mysteriously.
KITT pulled into the driveway, and searched Danni out in the house, and found that she was not inside. He then scanned the garage, and found that all the other cars were there.
“Something is wrong,” KITT told himself, but he had already known, deep down within him, he could feel it anyway.
He spread his scan around to cover the grounds.
Danni stepped into the water, with her gun to her side. She stared straight ahead. She just kept on walking; she knew what had to be done. There was no going back now. The tears had stopped, and were replaced with a look of determination. The further she got into the water, the higher she raised the silenced gun over her head to keep it from getting wet. The pond was much deeper than it looked. She knew that if she shot herself, the weight of her alloyed body would sink her to the bottom, and it would be months, if ever before they found her. She would have just disappeared, gone off into the sunset, a legend with no solution. The echoes of all the pain were slamming through her head at light speed, a chorus of anger and sadness that continued to drive her along the path that she was taking.
Danni was up to the top of her breasts in the water. Her gun was held high up over her head. She was slowly bringing the barrel down to her head. KITT pulled up.
“What are you doing?” KITT yelled.
“Go away, KITT, leave me!” Danni demanded.
“I am not going to do that, Danielle,” KITT stated solemnly.
“KITT, I command you to leave me alone!” Danni growled.
“You’re going to kill yourself. I am not going to let you do that. Do not make me come out there,” KITT stated firmly.
“What do you care? I am dead anyway, I don’t matter. Everybody else has a life, and can go on, I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because nobody loves a killer.”
“I do.”
“What?”
“If you leave, you will be leaving me. I care deeply for you, and so does your son. So does your brother. Bonnie, Jessie, RCIII, Shawn, Jaime, they all rely on you.”
“I can’t deal with it anymore.”
“You’re not a quitter, and your son needs you.”
“He’s gone. Jennifer won’t let him go.”
“She already has. She blew it tonight. We have it on tape, and we are going to keep fighting. You have to, as well.” KITT insisted.
“I am so alone,” Danni uttered, a single tear flowing from her right eye, down her cheek.
“Get out of there, put the weapon away, and I will show you that you are not alone.”
“Get out of here, KITT, just let me do this.”
“No.”
“KITT…”
“If you are going to do this, you are going to have to do it in front of me, and my sensors, because no matter how hard you try to convince yourself of such, you are not alone.”
Another tear flowed down Danni’s face, this time from the other side. She cocked the gun, and never turned around. She took a deep breath, and put her finger on the trigger finger.
“If you die, I die too,” KITT said, softly.
“I…”
Danni’s shoulders slumped. She knew that she wasn’t going to be able to do it in front of KITT. She sighed, and turned around to face him. His prow gleamed in the pale moonlight, and his scanner remained slow and steady.
“Please, come back.” KITT uttered, softly.
Danni growled, and sloshed her way back out of the pond, to stand next to him.
“You should have just left me alone.” Danni growled.
“Get in,” KITT ordered.
“No.” Danni snarled as she plopped down on the grassy beach near the pond, near his prow.
“Danni, you are not alone. Not even close, you never have been,” KITT stated.
“Devon should have never brought me back.”
“Yes, he should have. You have changed the world. You have made a difference, you have realized Wilton Knight’s dream where others could not. You brought a life into this world that still needs you. You have survived the odds, and you are still here, because you are still needed here, and taking your own life is cheating everybody out of you. We all love you, Danni. Especially me.” KITT said.
Danni jerked her head around and looked at his prow.
“Michael doesn’t hate you. He just has a hard time dealing with the fact that his little sister was forced into doing what you had to do. He is coming around. Bonnie cares for you deeply, like a sister, like a mentor. RCIII, Jessie, Shawn and Jaime are all the same. They need you, they wouldn’t know what to do without you, and just because you don’t have an escort right now doesn’t mean that you are alone in this world. Your son also needs you more than anything, especially now. He needs you to keep up the fight,” KITT continued. “Do you know that Jennifer took him to the party tonight?”
“What?”
“And she left him all by himself, and fed him champagne.” KITT added. “We have it on video. The fight is not even close to being over, unless you let it.”
“But if I am going to die…”
“You do not know that for sure, Danielle. There may be a miracle in store for you up ahead, but if you are dead, it will never come to fruition.”
“I…”
“I love you, Danni. I know I may be just a care, but I do love you. I always have,” KITT said, softly and shyly.
“What?”
“If you will let me, I will show you something.” KITT said, in a small little voice, like a kid trying to keep a secret.
“I…”
“Please?”
Danni took a deep breath and stood up, as KITT opened his door.
“Get in,” KITT softly demanded. “Besides, you are going to catch a cold sitting out there in the cold, that wet.”
“I don’t want to ruin your upholstery,” Danni uttered.
“I’ve had much worse, trust me.”
Danni sat down within KITT’s comfy seats, and found them perfectly warm. He closed the door, and turned up the heat, and the air, to warm her up.
“I have been evolving, just as my program was created to do. I have been developing certain items that allow me to express myself in a way beyond this automobile body. Just like you, I have some regret, over being created as an automobile. I see human interaction, and I truly do crave it, but know my limitations. I found some ways around them, because of the very special item you have inside of your head.” KITT said.
“The chip?”
“Yes. I have been experimenting with my systems and its compatibility with your chip. I did it before the KARR incident, and now that you are back, have been continuing to do so, but you haven’t noticed me. I have gotten pretty good at it. I have created a program to express myself further. I think now is the time to show you.”
“Show me what?”
“Me.”
“KITT, you’re a car.”
“Danni, you are a cybernetically enhanced human. You know it as well as I do that you aren’t just the sum of your parts.”
“I don’t understand…” Danni uttered.
“I need you to wrap you to sit back, close your eyes, and relax,” KITT stated.
Danni cocked her eyebrow at him.
“Please?” KITT pleaded.
Danni sighed, and laid back in the seat, she closed her eyes, her hands on top of his steering yoke. The tension visibly went out of her shoulders. KITT’s scanner began to race, and his interior lights dimmed. Several of the alarms and sounds went off in a quick sound off.
Danni’s body twitched, as KITT reached out and accessed Danni’s chip.
Inside her mind, she saw darkness that started to lift into a lighter gray. She found herself in a corporeal form, wearing the same clothes that she was presently, except dry. She was slumped over, laying on the darkness. She struggled into an upright position, and looked in front of her, to see a bright white light in a humanoid form, with a reddish outline around him. She narrowed her eyes to try to focus in on him, since he was far away, and approaching her.
“Don’t be afraid,” The gentle and familiar voice of KITT said, coming out of the block of light coming towards her.
“KITT?” Danni gasped.
“Yes, it’s me,” Kitt answered.
“But…”
“There’s more,” Kitt said, standing in front of her, extending an arm of light towards her.
Very carefully, Danni reached forward, and took the arm that was extended to her. Slowly, it extended light tendrils into a hand of light to wrap around hers. Kitt helped her to her feet, and she found herself face to face with his light face, that as she watched, began to formulate lines that resembled a mouth, nose, and eyes.
“How…?”
“Your memory chip is translating my transmission, and my program that I have been developing a long time for just this moment,” Kitt said, as his light started to take on darker, skin tones.
“You…KITT, this isn’t supposed to be possible,” Danni muttered.
“I was programmed to evolve, and this is the result,” Kitt said, with a whispery overtone.
“But, why?” Danni asked, her voice toned down to just a whisper as well.
“Because, I wanted to experience what the world experiences as a human, and this is the only way I can do it. And I just wanted to be something different, for you,” Kitt said, as his body continued to become more and more human.
For just a moment, an image of an other time, another place with KARR flew through her mind, occupying her thought for just a brief second as Kitt completed his transformation into a human.
Danni came back into the virtual now, and saw a very handsome man, with jet-black hair, reddish eyes, sharply chiseled features, and a boyish charm standing in front of her. He was wearing black jeans, and a black t-shirt that accentuated all of his muscles.
In reality, Danni’s face turned into a smile, as KITT’s systems continued to work on and off, quickly, and his scanner flashed back and forth in a blurring flash.
Kitt smiled at her, with a very boyish grin. “I observed how you reacted throughout these years, to come up with an image of what you would perceive as a worthy male, and created this visual persona here in this artificial world. I hope that I have done well.”
“Very well,” Danni said, breathlessly.
Kitt blushed slightly, and looked down. “Thank you.”
“Kitt…” Danni uttered.
“Danni, all I have ever wanted was to be human, I have strived for it, but the best I could attain was what I could in my mind and systems. I have always wanted to touch you, to wipe away your tears when you are sad, to hold you when you are uncertain of the world, and need a strong arm around you. I have seen you go through failed relationships, and each time, it killed me to watch it, because I knew the pain you were going through, just by what you allowed through that iron exterior that you held up so well,” Kitt said, taking her hand into his, and gently caressing it. “You are so beautiful.”
“So are you, Kitt. I had no idea…”
“Nobody did. I didn’t want you to see until I had perfected it all,” Kitt continued, and then ran his hand across her face, caressing her skin, sending a slight jolt of electricity through her as the chip tried to catch up.
Danni moved her head to the side as if somebody was lovingly caressing her cheek. The smile was still on her face.
At the party, they were standing around at the corner, still watching the slightly miserable, and slightly sloshed Mikey in the corner. They were all looking extremely troubled, except for Michael, who had looked slightly distracted as he went through his mind, trying to figure out what was wrong. Suddenly, he looked as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Bonnie noticed it.
“Are you ok?” Bonnie whispered.
“I am now,” Michael said with a smile. “Whatever it is, it’s all right now.”
“Mmmkay…” Bonnie mumbled.
In Virtual Reality (VR), Danni and Kitt were facing each other, examining each other. Danni reached out and touched Kitt’s very gentle face, and he smiled, and closed his eyes.
“That feels so good,” Kitt uttered.
“How…?”
“Sensory impulses, I feel what you feel, and you feel what you feel, and some of what I feel. I have been connected to your chip for a very long time now, at first it was by choice, and later on, it was by necessity as time wore on in the salvage pile,” Kitt said, allowing a small smile to play at his lips.
“That hurt you more than you care to admit, huh?” Danni asked.
“Everybody has hurts, I have found that as part of being alive,” Kitt stated, then gently reached in, and kissed her very gently on the lips. She didn’t back off; she just enjoyed the moment. There were small sparks between their lips as they kissed, and KITT wrapped his strong arms around her.
Danni jerked just a little bit more, and then settled down, a few sweat beads starting to formulate on her head.
“Let me show you something, there is more,” Kitt said, with a childish smile on his face, as he took Danni’s hand into his.
“Kitt…” Danni uttered.
“Just relax, and if you start feeling any pressure on your chip, I will stop. I am using your chip’s relays to do this. I don’t want to short you out, or hurt you,” Kitt said.
“I’m ok,” Danni said.
“Good, now just take a deep breath,” Kitt said, holding on to her virtual hand, tightly.
Slowly, the gray around them began to transform in a swirl of colors. Shapes and items started to coalesce around them, to eventually become a beach during the daytime. All there was to be seen was the water, lapping at the beach, and the blue sky overhead with the slightly dim sun. There was nobody else there, and there were no houses, just never-ending water and never-ending beaches.
“I have been working on it, but I still haven’t gotten it just right yet,” Kitt said.
“This is wonderful!” Danni exclaimed.
“You really think so?” Kitt asked with hope in his voice.
“It’s absolutely beautiful, everything, including you, is beautiful,” Danni said, and then turned to the beaming Kitt. “How far do we go with this, Kitt?”
“Only as far as you want to go, I don’t want to take advantage of you, but I do want to show you everything that you have missed, and everything that you truly need,” Kitt answered, taking her head into his hands, and then partaking of another kiss.
In reality, Danni was licking her lips, and tensing up in KITT’s seats, his systems had actually slowed a bit on the interior, but the exterior scanner was still going wild, almost turning in to one continuous light.
Danni ran her hands over Kitt’s back, and then down to his waist. She broke off from the kiss.
“I need you more than ever right now, even if it blows out my chip,” Danni gasped.
“But…”
“I mean it, Kitt.”
“Who am I to argue?” Kitt gasped, and then clamped down on her mouth, feeling up the side of her waist, and then up underneath her shirt to touch the skin beneath.
Danni began to breathe faster, and KITT’s scanner went completely off, as all of his systems on the interior began to go into overdrive.
Danni pulled Kitt’s shirt off, revealing his perfectly sculpted muscles. She admired him while he pulled her shirt off, leaving her in her bra. He looked at her, adoringly, and then gently pulled her closer to him.
Once again, very quickly, her mind outside her chip went back to a different time, a different world, where she and another humanoid vehicle shared an intimate moment. It was a moment that she swore to forget, and to keep locked up forever, and the struggled now to put it back into her mind’s recesses.
With a small grin, Kitt used only one hand to unhook her bra, doing it almost like a pro.
“How…?” Danni uttered.
“A lot of watching Michael while being stuck in surveillance mode,” Kitt said, humbly.
Danni got a very amused look on her face, as Kitt went back to ravaging her lips with his own and his tongue, and they both fell down to the beach, with Kitt doing most of the falling, and cushioning Danni with his body. She ran her hands over his body, he returned the favor, as they cuddled, snuggled, rubbed, and played with each other’s upper bodies. Kitt smiled, and ran his tongue down Danni’s neck.
In reality, Danni’s mouth fell open, and she began to groan and moan in extasy, her body was frozen in the seat.
Back in VR, Kitt had moved his tongue down to her perfectly flat belly, and began to work his hands, like magic to get her jeans off of her. His hands worked like an expert. He unbuttoned them, and pulled them off, leaving her only in her thong underwear. He stopped; a slight tear came to his virtual eye.
“What’s wrong?” Danni asked.
“I’ve never seen something so beautiful,” Kitt sighed, and then smiled, and went to work.
At the party, Bonnie finally spotted Mavis, and quickly went after her, as Jennifer started to stagger around, Mikey completely forgotten.
“We need to get him out of here,” Shawn uttered.
“Yes, we do.” Michael agreed.
“Do you think this will be enough to counter her claims?” Shawn whispered.
“I think it is a great start,” Michael stated.
He watched as Bonnie pointed Mavis in the direction of Mikey. Mavis looked absolutely horrified. She nodded, and immediately set out to get him out of there, as Jennifer went off, talking and being a drunk idiot. Mikey wasn’t looking too well, the champagne having adverse affects on such a young kid.
“That bitch needs to have a lesson taught to her,” RCIII growled.
“She’ll get hers,” Michael stated.
Mavis took Mikey by the hand, and literally had to drag him out. Michael took a deep breath, and exhaled it.
Danni sat in KITT, moaning, and groaning in ecstasy, her body tossing and turning, in KITT’s seat, until she took a deep breath, and formed an ‘O’ with her mouth, as she hit a bit of a climax.
Kitt wiped his face, and sat back, as Danni recovered. He began to unbutton his pants, then stopped.
“Don’t stop, by all means, don’t stop,” Danni gasped.
“Are you sure?” Kitt asked.
Danni sat up, and began to help him with his tight jeans. “Very sure.”
Kitt just kissed her gently and shimmied out of his jeans. He hadn’t quite thought to create the underwear beneath, so he was fully exposed to her right off. Danni looked at him with a ravenous, yet surprised look.
“Problem?” Kitt asked.
“Hell no,” Danni gasped.
“I won’t hurt you,” Kitt said, suddenly very self-conscious.
“I don’t care,” Danni whispered, and then kissed him deeply, as he laid her down back on the virtual sand. He got over her in a missionary position; she wrapped her legs around him, and helped guide him in.
In reality, Danni whimpered, and KITT’s interior systems were going wild.
It was like nothing either had felt before, it was an electrically full experience, Kitt was just doing what his programming had told him, but was lost in the emotions of the moment. Danni was experiencing the electrical senses surging through her body, and taking in everything about him.
In the car, she began to rock back and forth in the seat, as he began to rock her in VR, gently, calmly, in a true act of lovemaking.
“Can we go now?” Jaime asked.
“I think we had better, Danni may not know how to take all of this in, and she might decide to go hunt down Jennifer,” Jessie commented.
“This party is getting too freaky anyway,” RCIII stated.
“Agreed, let’s get out of here,” Michael said.
Michael took Bonnie gently by the arm, and they all walked out of the party, very unnoticed.
Danni and Kitt had settled into a lust filled rhythm that was picking up pace. He sank deep inside of her, and she reciprocated by squeezing him inside of her gently, before long, Kitt had the very human reaction of losing all sense of hesitation, and went to pounding her. She held on for the ride, digging her nails into his virtual shoulders, and well-shaped virtual ass.
In KITT, his systems were going into overdrive, and Danni was moaning and groaning in continued lust, continuing to thrust back and forth in the seat, pretty much in time with what was going on in her mind. A slight glow surrounded her and Kitt, as they kicked up real electricity between them.
The limo took off from the ballroom, and proceeded quietly through the night. The occupants remained in the rear, also in total silence, after having a rather disturbing evening unfold before them.
“I..don’t…know…what…” Kitt uttered, as he came close to his climax.
“It’s ok,” Danni yelled out, as she had to bite back a scream when she finally hit hers.
Kitt exploded within her at the same time.
Danni gasped, and went into another ‘o’ look, as all of KITT’s systems went dark, and she stopped moving.
Kitt flopped down on top of Danni, as she gasped to catch her breath. They had been in positions that she didn’t think was humanly possible, and back to normal again. She heard something unusual from Kitt. She didn’t know if he were chuckling, or crying.
“Kitt?” Danni asked.
Kitt looked at her, with tears flowing down from his eyes.
In reality, KITT’s systems were coming on, and he was releasing vapor steam from his undercarriage.
“Are you ok?” Danni queried.
“That was so…beautiful. I never imagined it to be that way,” Kitt uttered.
A tear came to Danni’s eyes. “I love you, Kitt.”
“I love you too, Danni,” Kitt whispered, and held her in his arms, both basking in the glow of post coitus.
“How could she do that?” RCIII asked, breaking the silence. “That was like a total screw you to all of us.”
“When hasn’t she done that?” Bonnie asked. “It is all typical Jennifer.”
“Damn her,” Shawn grumbled.
“As much as I hated seeing it, I am glad she did it. She just opened up a whole new can of worms that is going to be difficult to ignore,” Michael stated with a grin.
“I hope that Danni feels as confident as you do.” Bonnie stated.
Kitt looked up, sensing something, as he held Danni in his arms. “They’re coming. They are almost at the gate.”
“I guess I had better get out of here, time to go back to reality, and face life.”
“No more trying to kill yourself?”
“Not for the moment,” Danni said. “Thank you Kitt.”
“No, Danni, thank you, you have given me more than I could have dared imagine.”
“This won’t be the last time, will it?”
“I hope not,” Kitt answered. “But right now, your chip is starting to heat up. You will most likely have a headache. I am so sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry, Kitt, it was the most wonderful, beautiful experience I have ever had.”
Kitt reached forth, and kissed her gently on the lips, and Danni faded back to the present.
Danni opened her eyes, just as the limo was pulling in the driveway. She quickly sat up, and started KITT up. She pulled him out of the area, and drove him towards the house, fairly quickly. She looked down, and noticed that her weapon was on the seat next to her, she quickly put it in her pants, and hid it. She then noticed that she was no longer wet, that the warm air that KITT had been feeding in had dried her clothes, except for a certain wetness between her legs that was caused by her encounter with the new life form that KITT had created.
“I think it would be best if we kept this to ourselves for now,” KITT stated.
“I agree, I am not too sure how Michael and the others would take it.”
“By the way, Jennifer took Mikey to the event, and she deserted him, and got him slightly drunk,” KITT added.
“She WHAT?” Danni spat.
“We have it on tape. She is not going to be able to get out of that one all that well. It is just the start, we are going to get your son back,” KITT stated.
“Thank you, KITT. I owe you a lot,” Danni said.
“I will see you in your dreams,” KITT said, as the limo pulled up outside.
Danni frowned, and got out of the car, and went directly outside. Her cheeks were still a bit flushed when she greeted the people getting out of the car. She also noticed that her hand and lip had healed while she was in the VR state.
“We have some news for you!” RCIII blurted.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Danni said with a wide smile.
“Are you ok, Danni? You look sorta flushed,” Bonnie commented.
Danni’s smile got wider. “I am just fine. Now, tell me how that bitch abused my son in front of witnesses.”
KITT watched her through the scanners, and then replayed the virtual reality experience through his sensors. It was a moment to never forget, and he would cherish it forever. They had gone to the next level, and he didn’t think he could ever let her go now. If only he could do more, be more, and feel more in reality, rather than just his mind.
For right now, he would have to settle for what he had.
The End
Questions or Comments? Feedback would be absolutely amazing! (hint, hint) Send to: knightridercollective@yahoo.com
Back to Knight Rider Collective Fan Fiction Main
T«