INHERITANCE

by elfin


Part Four


"I remember the first time I held you."  Leaning up on his elbow, teasing the hair at Kitt's temple, one arm around his shoulders, Michael gazed with sated adoration into his lover's eyes.  "All� sharp edges and pointy corners."  Strong fingers dug into his ribcage and he yelped, reaching to grab Kitt's hand. 

"Michael� do you think we'd be here, now, like this if I was a female?"

He signed softly to himself.  He'd known the question was coming; he'd been able to feel it at the back of his mind as they'd made love.  "No, I don't.  Come on Kitt, you know my track record with women!  Knowing me, I'd have chatted you up, dated you for a couple of weeks then dumped you for a corvette." 

Kitt's smile was dazzling, but there was a hint of irony in it.  "Seriously�."

"Seriously, Kitt.  It wouldn't have worked, we wouldn't have had the friendship we had and we certainly wouldn't have the relationship we have now." 

"But being a female�."

"Will you quit it?!"  Touching his mouth to Kitt's, he kissed him, sneaking his tongue passed smiling lips to taste him.  "You're a work of art," he murmured, lips still touching.  "I wouldn't change a single thing about you.  You're not a computer, not an android, not a male.  You're my partner, my life.  Didn't I say once, it wasn't what you looked like that was important, it was who you are?  How many times do I have to say it?"

  "I understand your attachment to me," he replied quietly, a little self-consciously.  "I feel the same way about you, you know that.  But I still find it difficult sometimes to understand why you'd sleep with me, with what I am."

"Kitt� I came to terms with you, with my feelings for you, a long time ago�."  He struggled to explain why what, under any other circumstance, would seem unnatural, what - he had to admit - must still seem that way for everyone around him, Nick and Karr included, although they had a better understanding than most.  "Look at it this way.  I loved you almost from the start.  I fell in love with you after the implant activated, after I knew what it was to really know you, to feel you up here," he tapped his head.  "So do you really believe that I could have you around like this, in a form I can finally touch you, hold you, and not do so?  All your life you've proved to me again and again what you feel, how much you care.  Now I can do the same for you." 

"There's a difference between holding me and what we just did."   

Kitt's blush was a figment of Michael's own imagination, he knew, and maybe it was him turning red.  He shrugged, leaning closer in to Kitt where they lay on the bed.  "It's just a small step.  For you and me, it's natural progression.  And, by the way, I don't want to have this conversation every time I put my hand on your dick."

Sometimes it was too easy, making Kitt laugh. 

~

Nick and Karr were back within a matter of hours. 

//Karr's grumbling//

//at least he's still around to grumble// 

Michael jogged down the metal stairs to greet them while Kitt stayed put on the mezzanine.  He could get the information he wanted from his brother in a fraction of the time it would take Nick to explain it in words, which he started to the moment his head was out of the car.

"You know those times you get yourself completely psyched up for something and it turns out to be a dud?" 

"Uhhu."  Michael had a sinking feeling, one which was mirrored by Kitt, who apparently already knew what had happened.

"Doctor Francis Clay is alive and well and working as a consultant for a cybernetics corporation.  She's as sane as you and I� maybe that's not such a great comparison� but she's definitely not linked to any AI.  There's no implant in her head according to Karr, and never has been.  We had a coffee and a chat.  She told me that Garth put her in touch with Quinn Campbell, and that a price of a quarter of a million dollars was agreed."   

Michael whistled.  "That's a lot of cash."

//two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.  is that how much I'm worth?// 

There was some humour in the question, but he definitely didn't want to get in to that age-old argument right now.

//when you were a baby, Kitt.  just imagine how much you're worth now!// 

Nick continued, unaware of the aside from Kitt.  "She worked with the AI for around six months, training it, modifying it for military purposes.  Then about a month before Garth's death she was moved to a different project.  She didn't hear anything more after that, except that everything that survived the� destruction of the King Military facility was moved to a secure data storage unit at a facility just outside Las Vegas."

The spark of a notion ignited in Michael's head, but for now at least it didn't mean anything he could get a grasp of.  "Where outside Las Vegas?" 

"Henderson.  There's something else."  Nick reached inside the Stealth's cabin and grabbed something from the passenger seat. 

When Michael set eyes on it, he couldn't believe what he was looking at.  "Nick, for God's sake�." 

"It's not what you think."  He held the wrist cuff up.  "It's a jammer, like the ones that are online here, now.  It won't block the implant, won't block Kitt's link to Karr, and it can be configured to allow any access points you want open.  It means you and Kitt can leave the building, if you feel the urge, without drawing another attack."  He found Kitt on the mezzanine and beckoned him down.  Michael waited, watched Nick fasten the black cuff around his partner's wrist and pressed what he assumed was the 'on' button - a finger-tip sized black circle now on the inside of Kitt's arm.  The link stood firm and bright, not a moment of change in its quality.

He smiled.  "Thank you." 

"I knew Bear had one around somewhere and I wasn't sure how long I could stop you from going out there, so�."  Nick shrugged.  "If you and Kitt want to check out the facility at Henderson, I want to confirm a couple of details from Doctor Clay's story before we dismiss her as the bad guy here."

Michael nodded.  "Sounds like a plan.  Partner?" 

"Absolutely."  Neither of them liked Nick and Karr going out to save their butts.

~ 

Whatever they were hoping to find at the Henderson facility they quickly realised they weren't going to get lucky.  As Kitt turned the Knight Two-Thousand onto the modern business park they saw the blackened, gutted shell of what had been Bishop Data Storage.  The damage looked at most a day old.  There were fire investigators still working on the site, and finding the least busy of the officers Michael flashed his FLAG ID.

"I think you're wasting your time just as much as we are," he was told in a rather bored tone.  "The owners insisted it was done on purpose, which is why we're still here looking closely at every piece of burnt wiring we can find which, as you can imagine, is a lot.  One of the on-duty technicians is claiming they heard a bang before the fire started.  And one of the guards at the gate is saying they saw a bright flash.  Bomb, they're thinking.  Talk about over-inflated sense of importance.  It's a data warehouse for Christ's sake!  You mark my words.  The most suspicious thing we'll find in this mess is a dodgy plug.  It was an electrical fire and nothing more�." 

"Sir?"  It was a call from someone not far from them.

They both looked up, and Michael saw Kitt crouching down in the debris with one of the investigators who was waving them over.  It amazed him sometimes.  Michael used his FLAG ID, Kitt just talked people into telling him, showing him, whatever he wanted to know or see.  His partner certainly did have some kinda charm. 

He followed the officer he'd been speaking with over.  "What is it?"

"At a guess, Sir, I would say it's the fuse from a large incendiary device." 

Michael stared down into the smoke damage and saw just a glint of copper wire.  "A bomb?"

The investigator nodded.  "Yes, Sir, a bomb." 

 

They dropped into the car, Michael's head back against the headrest, closing his eyes for a moment.  "I feel like I'm losing the plot on this one, Kitt."

"I'm not sure we ever actually had it.  Do you want to tell Karr and Nick or shall I?" 

As he spoke, Michael's cell phone started to vibrate in his inside jacket pocket.  He read Nick's name on the car's LCD navigation screen and touched it to accept the call through the internal speakers.  "Nick?"

"Mike!"  To say he sounded wired was an understatement.  "Clay left something out of her little story!  She wasn't just working for Garth, she was his lover." 

"Oh, God�."  Michael thought he could suddenly see that elusive plot stretching out in front of him, pieces slotting together.

"There's just one huge piece missing," Kitt pointed out. 

And Nick agreed with him, "The link."

Michael nodded.  "Nick, you're sure Clay was never linked?" 

"Karr scanned her.  No implant, no scar to say an implant has been removed."

"Listen, we're here and the Henderson facility was bombed around twenty-four hours ago.  There's nothing left." 

"Well, I think we can guarantee the AI wasn't destroyed in the explosion."

"Yeah�."  Michael rubbed his face with his hands.  All his puzzle pieces were falling out of place again.  "Do you think it's worth talking to Clay again, or is she just going to clam up?" 

"We're on our way to try, but don't hold your breath.  Mike, is there a disaster recovery team on site?"

Michael glanced at Kitt.  Personally he didn't have a clue what one of those would look like.  His experience of disaster recovery was a low-loader, a technician, a mechanic and a cybernetics expert.  But Kitt slipped out of the car, stood up and looked around, leaning back inside to answer,   "Yes.  There are five Semi's here, in the car park of the building opposite.  Rook Recovery.  I'll do a background check."  He dropped back into the car while Michael peered out to see what Kitt had seen.

"Okay, but I think you'll have as much luck with that as we did with Bishop Data Storage.  They have nothing to do with King Military as far as Karr can tell."

"Disaster recovery of this sort isn't right anyway," Kitt continued.  "Karr and I saw the blocked link - not just the executable and the protocols but the physical hardware, covered over by the application of blocks.  The AI's CPU has to have that chip built into it, just like ours do.  This kind of recovery is just programmes and data."

"So� maybe the bomb covered up a burglary." 

Michael felt he was back on familiar ground.  "Seems a bit over the top."

"Maybe," Nick's voice cracked for a moment - a tunnel or just an area of bad reception he and Karr were driving through.  "Or maybe whoever did this wasn't thinking straight.  Maybe they have a blocked implant in their head.  Look, do me a favour?  Go speak to the disaster recovery team and see if there are any of Bishop Data Storage's staff around, ask if they know anything about a break in, or about King or Garth.  It's a long-shot but you never know."

"No problem.  And let us know if Clay gives you anything more."

"Deal." 

~

Kitt sat tucked into the passenger seat, one leg folder under him, as Michael turned the Knight Two-Thousand on to the interstate and pressed his foot gently down on the accelerator.  The speedo jumped from thirty to sixty in a heartbeat, climbing through to ninety.  The local police recognised the car now, never bothered to try to catch them or slow them down.  The only worry they had was other jokers trying it on.  Michael didn't seem to care at that moment.  They'd earned this privilege as far as he was concerned and he enjoyed the speed, he always had done. 

Kitt felt his brother prod him.

<_What's up? 

<_Did you find anything?

<_No.  There were a couple of members of staff around but they didn't know anything about a break-in.  Michael spoke to the investigators who said if someone had stolen something and set the bomb to cover it up, there was very little chance of finding out who or what.  Clay? 

<_Vanished.  According to her manager, she went home sick just after we'd left.  She is not at her home and is not answering her cell

<_We're out of leads 

<_I know.  What do you have in mind?

Kitt smiled to himself.  Karr knew him too well. 

<_We could talk to the AI

<_Kitt, that would be very dangerous 

<_There's no other way

<_I doubt she can tell us anything of worth 

<_She could tell us who she was linked to

There was a distinct pause. 

<_Perhaps.  Have you spoken to Michael Knight about this?

<_No 

<_He would not approve

<_You're telling me? 

<_Yes

Kitt sighed softly. 

<_Get ready

<_Should we at least wait until you return to the warehouse? 

<_Why.  Are you on the road?

<_No. We arrived four minutes and thirty-two seconds ago

<_Michael's driving.  Here or there, there isn't a difference 

<_She could attack you again

<_And why would it make a difference if I was at the warehouse? 

Karr didn't have an answer to that.

<_If she attacks and we're unable to stop it, I'll simply press the button on the jammer and shut her out 

<_Tell your driv- tell Michael Knight what you are about to do

Sometimes the fact that everyone around him seemed to be out to protect and mollycoddle him was something he could put down to them caring for him.  And sometimes it drove him crazy.  He was an AI, more intelligent at least than Michael and Nick put together, able to communicate with any computer system around the globe as long as he could find a way in, with a skeletal structure countless times stronger than human bone and the ability to live without oxygen, food or water.  But all this seemed to have completely passed them by over the years. 

They were turning off the interstate again when Kitt rested his left wrist on his left thigh and laid his fingers over the button.

"What do you think you're doing?!" 

His head shot up and he suddenly felt incredibly guilty.  They were stopped at a set of traffic lights, and Michael was staring at him, mouth set hard, eyes like sapphires, and a command through the link so absolutely adamant that it froze him in place.

"Karr and I�." 

The lights turned green and Michael sped off, only to pull up hard in a lay-by at the side of the two-lane road.  Switching off the engine, he turned in his seat to face Kitt, who hadn't bothered to complete the explanation.  Who was he kidding?  Michael already knew. 

"Think the link's a one-way thing?  You can feel my intentions but I can't feel yours?" 

"Mind-reading isn't supposed�"

"Mind-reading isn't required!  Guilt, sneakery�" 

"Sneakery?"

"Kitt, for fuck's sake�!  She's out to hurt you.  Not Karr, not me.  You.  Have you considered that Clay might have programmed her to do this to you, in revenge for Garth's death?"  Michael's words struck hard.  Kitt's hand dropped from his wrist and he pulled his other leg up, bending the knee, wrapping his arms around his calf.   "I'm sorry, Beauty, but it's a possibility." 

Closing his eyes, he sent a brief message to Karr.  Then he felt a warm hand against his cheek, a rough thumb tracing the shell of his ear.

"Michael� this could be the only way." 

"So we do it under controlled conditions, okay?  She attacks you and you might not have the capability to press that button and lock her back out.  We'll go back to the warehouse, and we'll do this right."

Raising one hand, Kitt covered Michael's against his face.  "Sorry."

"I don't doubt your abilities, Kitt, I never have.  You're much, much stronger than I am in more ways than one.  But you don't have to do this alone.  Try to remember that."