| Part 7 of 'Burn' A CMAU fic By Numnut 20 Jan 2007 //Kitt!// A process froze, shivered and caught. //Kitt! Beauty?// A shiver, the process hung a microsecond longer, and.... Noise. Colour. Light. Michael? Nick! Karr was writhing in his CPU. Pain. "Load him up." Someone grabbed his arm. Kitt reacted. The AI pushed off the ground, sensors registering Nick's unconscious presence and the location of their opponents. There was no immediate sign of the woman. "Goddamnit! He's awake! Move your asses!" One of them grabbed Nick. <_Karr! He whipped around, foot coming up in a move Michael had taught him long ago, his sandshoe hitting flesh and breaking bone. Another opponent moved in, throwing a punch. Kitt caught the man's fist and flipped him onto the grass, a foot coming down on his wrist with a crunch. The helicopter was on the ground, its blades throwing up dust and leaves, but it wasn't enough to mask the bass rumble of an angry Karr destroying a section of brick wall. Kitt ran after the guy who had Nick as the Stealth moved in behind him, projectile launcher armed and ready. They had Nick loaded onto the craft when Kitt reached the man and, grabbing him by the collar, threw him backwards with such force that bones crunched across Karr's front fender. He didn't hesitate, ripping the chopper door off its hinges. The craft tried to lift off. <_Jam it! He half climbed into the helicopter. One of the men aimed at him, but fell back with a bullet in his brain. Kitt didn't spare him a thought as the engine coughed and sputtered. He lifted Nick into his arms and clambered out of the craft, running for the safety of the Stealth. Karr had the passenger door open and his projectile launcher cocked once more, firing several times at the grounded craft. By the time Kitt had Nick secured in the passenger seat, the chopper was well and truly jammed, most likely permanently. Kitt slid over the hood of the car and into the waiting driver's seat, Karr reversing the moment he was clear. <_The hospital. His brother didn't question, his rear wheels churning up turf as he turned and exited through the nearest chunk of fencing. The Stealth landed on the road, its tyres caught asphalt and they tore off, leaving the carnage behind. "Patch me through to Devon." He leant over and did a cursory inspection of Nick. The man had been knocked out cold yet again. "He'll be okay, Karr." "I know." Kitt glanced at the dash. "I can feel him." The younger AI stared a moment. <_The link? <_Yes. His brother's joy was immediate and wonderful to behold. Kitt had to reach out just for a moment and share it. "I have Miles." "Devon, I want Michael ready to leave the hospital in fifteen minutes." "Kitt? May I ask why?" "There is a threat to his life." The emerging dawn sped past them beyond the speed limit. "I need to take him somewhere safe." There was silence at the end of the line. Then..."Very well." The call disconnected. "Karr, I need a doctor. Do you know who to call?" "I do." "Then do so. Would you and Nick mind some lodgers for the weekend?" "Do you need to ask?" He smiled just slightly. "No." He reached up a hand to brush the steering wheel. Then having a few minutes to lie back in the seat, he closed his eyes and reached out to Michael, collapsing the block that was protecting his partner. Michael's response was immediate, the amber flare dashing across the space between them and enveloping the weary AI. //Kitt! Beauty.// A mess of worry, mutual pain and exhaustion, they merged for a moment. Reassurances from both sides, more white lies than truth. Kitt leant into the caress of his partner's presence. //Michael.// A simple name that meant so much. He floated there, suspended in his warmth, but reality was going to intrude sooner rather than later, and he needed to tell him. He swallowed, sitting back slightly in his mind, drawing his lover's attention to what he was about to say. //You have to leave the hospital.// A flash of confusion. //Why?// Kitt could sense the pain and difficulty Michael was still in. He needed hospital facilities to survive. //There is a threat. She is after us.// A frown joined the confusion. //Who?// //Elizabeth Knight.// -o-o-o- Kitt didn't bother with courtesy or to acknowledge any of the reactions he received when he strode in the hospital entrance. He had an idea of what he looked like, but he didn't care. The hat was gone, exposing the remains of his hair and he had a shirt wrapped around his waist, soaked in 'blood'. Due to the lack of the fluid left in his external system, his pallor was closer to that of chalk than that of a human. There were gasps, stares and avoidance. Fortunately. For he had no time for niceties. He wanted his partner out of this vulnerable facility and under his care as soon as possible. Several doctors and nurses approached him, but he excused himself hurriedly, at one point almost running down a corridor to escape them. By the time he made it to Michael's room, he was ready to take on Karr's suggestion of simply mowing the lot of them down with his bumper. Metaphorically speaking, of course. The FLAG agent at the door challenged him, and Kitt flashed his ID in his face. The man immediately backed off and the AI could have sworn it was awe he saw in the man's eyes. He slammed the door behind him. //Beauty?// Michael was struggling to sit up in bed. At the sight of his lover, he couldn't hold back any longer and simply rushed into his arms. He knew he was trembling. Karr sent a tentative enquiry, but he just needed a moment....just a moment. Michael held him both in mind and body and it was the most wonderful thing in the world. But pain and urgency soon intruded. //We have to go.// Michael held on to him reluctant to let go. //I know.// //They may not come. They may be subdued, but I don't want to risk it.// //I know.// Kitt looked up into his partner's eyes. There were tears, either from pain, worry or simple illness. The oxygen mask was gone, replaced by a cannula feeding Michael the oxygen he so desperately needed. Kitt reached up and brushed his lips gently across his lover's, ignoring their parched dryness and the scent of chemicals. Just the softest of touches, deepening slightly as Michael leant in. //Beautiful.// //Love.// //We have to go.// But despite his own words, Michael didn't retreat. //I know.// //You're bleeding all over me.// It was said with wiry humour, but Michael's worry was obvious. //I'll be okay.// //I know. But I would be happier if you were okay and we were safe.// Karr chose that moment to interject. <_Kitt? Kitt slipped from Michael's arms, standing up. "Let's go." Michael smiled at him just a little and shifted in the bed, sitting on the edge. Kitt grabbed the wheelchair and helped his partner into it, Michael struggling to do it by himself and protesting all the way. This was going to be an interesting exercise over the next few days or weeks. Kitt almost sighed as he wrapped a blanket around the man's legs. A young nurse entered carrying an oxygen cylinder and, without a word, Kitt took it from her hands... as she stood staring at his appearance. "Do you mind?" Michael's voice was barely there, but his affront at the woman's conduct was obvious. Kitt placed a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, love. We're leaving." He smiled half-heartedly at the nurse before pushing Michael past her, his scanners combing the corridor before them. -o-o-o- Karr was shivering, but he couldn't keep his eyes off his driver. He counted his heartbeats, his breaths, every movement was registered....and cherished. It most certainly wasn't the first time he'd had to wait for Nick to regain consciousness, but that didn't make it any less painful. He was also tracking Kitt's progress through the building. He was worried about his brother. The android had lost a great deal of fluid and while it wouldn't interrupt the functioning of the human facsimile, the pain was a drain on the AI. Kitt had had to face so much in the last fifty-six hours - the loss of his home, the near death of his partner, his own burn injuries, the backlash from his brother and the loss of Nick. Karr shuddered. Being left as the remaining two legged operative, relied on to make everything right, and on top of that, even more injury. Karr wouldn't be happy until all three members of his family were safe and hidden. Alex came to mind and he considered her safety in relation to her location. This new threat...he wished Nick would wake. Kitt was in the elevator, his partner in a wheelchair with him. Please hurry. He thought it, but didn't pass it on. He would never admit it, but he was proud of his brother, even perhaps a little awed. Karr knew that in a similar situation, he had doubts he would have been able to exert such control. Threat was something that needed to be eliminated no matter the cost. Kitt managed to consider that cost and find a way around paying it. Nick twitched. Karr shook himself and focussed. <Nick?> <...?> Karr steeled himself and reached out, gently touching the icy blue light. Awareness bloomed and Nick smiled. <Partner. Good to have you back.> The AI didn't say anything, simply entwining part of himself with Nick essence. <Situation?> Karr briefed him and Nick's eyes shot open, his body straightening in his seat. "Elizabeth Knight? I thought you said she was dead?" "She was." "But she isn't?" "No." His partner was waiting for an explanation he couldn't provide. Karr shivered, pulling away just a little. Nick grabbed at him, preventing the move. "How's Michael?" Karr shifted to try and pull away again. "Stable, but in need of continued medical care." "Kitt?" "In need of repairs." "Have you contacted Swan?" Nick held on tighter. "She's at the warehouse ready and waiting. I have also arranged medical care for Michael." Nick's gaze pierced him to the core. "And you?" Karr hesitated. "I am functional." The white lie fell flat, Nick moving in closer, inspecting his partner and finding the injury, an ugly gouge in his programming manifesting as a sickly green gash in his darkness. An injury he had so far managed to hide from all. <You're injured.> He backed away from his partner, finally unable to control his shivering. Whoever had programmed the trap he had found beyond that gateway, they had been good. Not quite good enough, but good. <It was necessary.> <I know it was necessary, but why are you hiding it?> <He doesn't have the strength, Nick. He's barely holding it together now.> <What about Swan?> <No!> Karr steadied himself. <She doesn't have the skill and you know it.> A pause. <I will be fine.> "If you don't ask Kitt, I will." "No! Not yet. Let him recover first." "Do you have the time?" "I'm fine!" He growled at his partner. "Don't lie to me, Karr." Nick was quite capable of growling back. "Shut up and leave me alone!" Karr fled into the depths of his CPU throwing up blocks behind him He was fine. He didn't need help. He'd repair it himself. He would. -o-o-o- Michael felt like crap. His head hurt, his chest hurt and half of his body felt like it was still burning. Each bump the wheelchair rolled over jarred him and, apart from his own, he had to continually manage the pain Kitt was exuding. He knew his partner was trying to shield him from the android's injuries, but there was only so much he could do in his state of mind and there was no way Michael was going to let him erect anything beyond the lightest of blocks, if any. At least he had managed to convince the AI to pick up some extra dressings when they gathered his burns supplies and as soon as they were out of the sight of prying eyes, Michael was going to make damn sure that wound was packed properly. //Where's Karr?// //He will meet us at the exit.// And sure enough, the moment they walked through the doors, the Stealth was there waiting. Nick, shirtless, stepped out of the car, a concerned frown on his face. Michael didn't have to force the smile on his face. //Kitt, can you please tell them how happy I am to see them.// He felt his partner smile. //They know.// Nick echoed the smile. And of course, he could just be a little high on whatever cocktail they had squirted into his IV last, but for some reason, the Stealth looked just a touch more welcoming than usual. Karr clicked open a door and Nick managed the chair and its equipment as Kitt lifted Michael into the backseat. Michael bit his lip, annoyed and embarrassed. This was going to seriously suck for some time. Kitt joined him in the backseat, Nick in the driver's seat, and the Stealth took off. Every intention Michael had of berating Kitt into padding that wound correctly was sidestepped by the AI removing what appeared to be Nick's missing shirt and packed it himself. Michael winced, but didn't say anything. Once finished, Kitt turned to Michael. //Come here, love.// The AI reached out and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, drawing him in close, gently nudging Michael to rest his head on the android's shoulder. //You're hurting.// Michael tried to pull away. //We both are.// Kitt's presence flickered with exhaustion. //But it hurts less together.// Michael's throat caught and it had nothing to do with his injuries. //I love you.// Kitt smiled. //I know.// His fingers brushed Michael's hair. //Rest love. You're safe.// And Kitt demonstrated by leaning his head back and closing his eyes. In his mind, Kitt reached for him, enveloping him in his presence. And Michael went willingly, the soft throb of Karr's engine lulling him to sleep. |