| Part Two Michael felt a little like he'd been run over by a ten-tonne truck then used as a conductor in an electrical substation, but he wasn't about to tell his nurse-maid that. Bonnie handed him a mug of coffee before getting back to work. Many of Kitt's systems were inaccessible to him, she'd said, by way of disconnected wires and loosened cables. The voice modulator was just one of them. The links - those intangible things so much more important than anything Bonnie could fix - had been realigned by Michael and Karr through sheer determination and need. Hardware was her domain and he watched her, admiring as he always had her grace and care. He still loved her. But his love for Kitt had transcended every boundary, blown away every barricade; he was more intimate, more intense� just more than anything Michael had ever known. "Why do you still do this?" he asked her. She looked up from under the hood of the car, eyes wide. "What kind of question is that? He's still my baby, Michael, I still love�." But he shook his head. "No. I didn't mean Kitt, I meant me. Why do you still look after me?" //?// He would never forget the terrible calm in her eyes when he's told her he couldn't go on with their relationship, almost as if she'd known it was coming. She smiled at him. "Because I still love you too." She bent over the prow of the car and as he watched her he sent a stream of reassurance across to his partner. //just asking, gorgeous// "Michael, can I ask you something?" "Sure. Since when have you had to ask� to ask?" She straightened up, moving to lean against the side of the car. "I'm not sure how to put this, and believe me, I'm only curious�. But� when we were together� was Kitt ever� with us?" It was difficult to separate his and Kitt's emotions when the flooding was so sudden, but he understood that most of the panic was coming from his partner; he knew them both well enough to know that. He sent wordless reassurance, hugged Kitt gently, and looked steadily at Bonnie. "Bon� I never cheated on you, even with Kitt." The hint of a smile played across her lips. "Never let the blocks slip?" //Michael�// He sighed. //it's all right// He saw Bonnie glance over her shoulder, "You're scaring him," and watched as she flattened her palm against the jet black surface behind her, stroking gently. He was mentally questioning the surge of protectiveness before he realised it had come from himself. He felt Kitt's projections in turn become proprietary. "The last time. I started to block but� didn't hold them. Kitt's� naturally curious. He was with us all the way." Michael paused. "It's just feelings, emotions," intense sensation "he wouldn't have� spied." But Bonnie was smiling, an almost private smile, and her hand still stroked Kitt's side. "I don't mind," she said quietly, and Michael got the feeling it was meant for both of them. "In a way, it's�" But she didn't finish. Instead, she went back to working under Kitt's hood. //what was that about?// //I have no idea// //she wouldn't have hurt me// Of course she wouldn't. So where had the protective, possessive streak come from all of a sudden? //I know, I just� never mind. later// What Kitt sent in response was an affirmative, a commitment of sorts to 'later', and Michael knew the conversation was far from over. At least now he had time to think about what it was he wanted to say. "How are you feeling?" Nick dropped to the couch beside him. "Like I've been under the tyres of one of our respectives." Kitt's response was predictable. Nick's was a knowing smile. "Have you seen my cigarettes?" Sliding his hand down the back of the sofa, Nick came up with a squashed pack of Camels with maybe four or five cigarettes and a disposable lighter tucked inside. Michael took them, thanking him. "Care to tell me what are you working on?" Michael sat forward, lit his cigarette before cautiously getting to his feet and leading his companion away from where Bonnie was working. "January." This time it was Nick's response that Michael had predicted. "David January? January Corp.? Have you completely lost it? I thought we agreed that he's too big - it's too much for us." "Yeah, we did. But it got personal." They were close to the open mouth of the warehouse now, and Michael glanced back at the sleek form of his partner. Nick followed his eyes and frowned. "Kitt? What does he have to do with January?" "January flew out of town a couple of days ago so I took the opportunity and went for a look-see around his office. With Kitt's help I found a safe he obviously didn't want anyone else to find, got inside it, again obviously with Kitt's help, and I found a disk, a gold disk� with Kitt's name scribbled on it. When we got back here I dropped it into a stand-alone laptop and read it. The only things on it were two text files. One contained a three-digit number, the other one contained a one-hundred-and-sixty-long character string. I showed the files to Bonnie, without giving her any context, and she told me one was a frequency, the other one was probably a code. So I spoke to Devon, asked him if the code meant anything to him." They were outside, against the railing, and Michael leaned against it, back to the warehouse, taking long drags of nicotine that would sooth his aching body and raw nerves. "Devon told me that after Karr malfunctioned, they came up with the idea of building a code into Kitt's neural network, one that if sent on a specific frequency would blow the synapses - would basically terminate the AI�." "It would kill him." "In an instant. No warning, no second chances. Devon went on to say that he was sure the counter-measure hadn't been put in place. But at the same time, he couldn't be absolutely certain." "You have the disk." "I don't know if it's the only copy." He dropped the butt of the cigarette to the ground and pressed his heel over it. "I've had Kitt block that particular frequency, but he does not know about the code and I would really prefer it if it stayed that way." Nick smiled briefly and nodded. "What else do you want from January? Names?" "A name will do. If it is true, if that code would destroy Kitt, someone either gave the information to January or he stole it." "I have all of the Foundation's files, Knight Industries' files and the Government files on Kitt alarmed, if anyone had hacked in, we'd know about it." "So there's a good chance someone gave it to him. But the people who would know the code must be limited. Vorman didn't know it, Bonnie doesn't know about it." "So the question is� who� wrote them?" Nick's voice was unusually soft. "Who wrote Karr's original code before going on to create Kitt?" Michael shook his head. "I don't know. But we must be able to find out." "I'm certain of it. But are you going to ask, or shall I?" Bonnie was dropping the hood when Michael and Nick returned from their private conversation. Michael had dropped the slight blocks he'd put in place to prevent Kitt from overhearing them, and his partner immediately reached a tendril of himself through the link, a gesture Michael responded to in kind. //have a question for you// //okay// //and for Bonnie// "Bon, do you know who wrote the original code for Karr and Kitt?" //?// //it's okay// "You mean the original designer of their neural nets? I'm sorry, I don't. I was brought in to re-programme Kitt, to make him compatible with you. The code, the AI network, was already in place. He was already Kitt, much as he was when you met him." Nick broke off and jogged up the metal steps to the mezzanine. "I'll see what I can find in FLAGNet's files." Michael nodded, mostly to himself, and in his mind wrapped a part of himself around Kitt's 'arm'. //why do you want to know?// //I'll explain soon I promise// //no secrets// Kitt was upset, still unbalanced after what had happened, projecting a need to be close stronger than Michael had felt in a long time. //there's just something I need to know. trust me?// //you know I do// //everything's okay// ~ Michael stretched, yawned, rubbed the back of his neck. He'd swallowed three of the painkillers he'd been given at the hospital and crashed out in Kitt's cabin, deep in the link, cradled by his partner, wrapped in Kitt's warmth. Now he was awake he needed a leak and he needed coffee. Through the tint in the windows he could see the lights on upstairs and knew instinctively that Nick was still working. Hugging Kitt tightly for a moment, he moved away, opened the car door and tested that his legs hadn't gone to sleep before standing on them. Nick was on the couch with his laptop, keys clicking furiously, as Michael walked passed to the bathroom. But as he returned and made a beeline for the coffee pot, he looked up. "I found him. Or more accurately, her." "Really?" There would one day come a point when he wouldn't be impressed by Nick's considerable skills in gaining entry to places he shouldn't have access to. He dropped to the battered couch next to his companion. "So, who�?" Nick turned the laptop so that Michael could see the photograph and read the file displayed. "Doctor Sandra Kennedy. MIT graduate in Computer Software and Hardware, post-graduate in Artificial Intelligence, doctorates in Artificial Intelligence and Neural Networks. Worked for NASA for two years then was recruited to a Government Research lab from which she was headhunted in 1981 by Wilton Knight. Worked for Knight Industries for� three years before� vanishing." He glanced up at Nick. "There's nothing after 1984." "Oh, there is. You just have to look under a different name�." Nick tabbed to another window, another file. "In 1984, she became Sandra January when she married David January's son, Paul." "And she went to work for January Corporation." "There's our connection. Let's go." Michael dropped a hand to his shoulder. "It's just gone three a.m. Let's wait until tomorrow, okay?" He saw the glance at his mug. "Can't sleep without it." "You're a very strange man." "Yeah, and you're the model of normality." ~ To say Kitt had been slightly put out by Michael's opting to ride as a passenger in Karr was an understatement. He was blocking - albeit lightly - in protest. Either that or he was sulking. Michael doubted it; it wasn't his partner's style. "He's going to know you're keeping something big from him," Nick commented as they headed for the home of Paul and Sandra January. "When we get back, I'll enlighten him. I just want to talk to her, Nick, I just want to know if there's a threat here or not." Looking at Nick, Michael couldn't help but wonder what Karr was telling him regarding Kitt. This four-way communication was a weird thing sometimes, but considering what it was up against, it was just something else he'd come to accept. "Let me guess, he's not happy." He caught Nick's smile. "Not entirely. Karr isn't blocking, but neither will he let slip where we're going." "Does Karr recognise the name?" Nick shook his head. "But naturally, he's doing his research. He won't keep it from Kitt longer than twenty-four hours." Michael rubbed his eyes. He definitely needed more than two hours' sleep, he wasn't getting any younger and Kitt took a perverse pride in wearing him out on a regular basis. "Starting to wish I hadn't told you�." "What did you expect?" Michael shrugged. "This. You know, Nick, I'm really not sure I want to meet this woman. I mean� it's gonna be like meeting Kitt's mother." "What's up? Worried she won't think you're suitable for her son?" Michael mirrored his smirk. The house was apart from the others, set back from the road. It wasn't a mansion but it was by no means small. The driveway was open, no gates, and there was only one car parked in front of the garage door. "How many people in the house, Karr?" "Three. One is an adult female, the other two are smaller versions." "Known to most of us as children." Nick pulled the Stealth in behind the featureless Ford. "Eyes open." "Please do not turn into your companion." Michael stared wide-eyed at Karr before getting out. "Turn into me?" "Kitt is always complaining that you still tell him to, and I quote, 'keep his scanners peeled'." "I'd be interested in what else Kitt's always complaining about." Nick shrugged. "You're asking the wrong guy. I only know what Karr tells me." Approaching the solid-looking wooden door, Michael felt in earnest the apprehension he'd been feeling all day. Nick had been partially right; he did feel like he was about to meet his lover's mother. But more than that, if Sandra January confirmed there was a hole in Kitt's system that would allow the killer code through� what did he do then? "This isn't bothering Karr?" "Karr's beyond worrying about his roots. He isn't the same AI I dug out of the Californian sand all those years ago. It's the same for Kitt, he isn't the AI this woman wrote for Wilton Knight." "I know." He did know. He just couldn't shake the feeling. Nick rang the doorbell looking not entirely comfortable himself and they waited. "What's up? Not used to going in the front door?" He threw Michael a smile. "Touch�." The woman who answered it was in her forties, blond hair, blue eyes, beautiful. Michael smiled without thinking. "Mrs January? My name's� Michael Knight." He knew she recognised him, saw it in her eyes, and she didn't try to deny it. "This is my� colleague, Nick. We wondered if we could talk to you about� the Knight Industries Two Thousand." He watched her gaze slide to Karr, saw the uncertainty, but still she was smiling, beaming, and invited them right in, leading them through to a large kitchen with a breakfast bar that she told them to make themselves comfortable at. "Coffee?" "That would be great, thanks. Milk for me, black for him." It wasn't until they both had mugs in their hands that she sat down opposite them and asked, "Is that the car out there?" Nick shook his head. "That's mine." "But�" she glanced at Michael, "you still have it? It's still functioning, with the AI onboard?" He hoped to God that his smile didn't look as utterly sappy as it felt. "Kitt and I are still together, and he's good, better than good." He didn't dare look at Nick. "In fact, that's why I'm here. I need to know something about his neural nets." "Kitt�? The Knight Industries� of course. You call it a 'he'." "He is definitely a 'he'." "He's developed then?" He didn't answer, and she shook her head. "I'm sorry - what was it that you wanted to know?" "We know that the Karr AI had some� problems, and that there were some safety protocols added to Kitt. We need to know if one of them was a failsafe that would� destroy his synapses if a particular code was broadcast on a particular frequency." She nodded, and Michael's heart sank. "It was definitely one of the options talked about, I was at the many meetings where the issues with the Karr AI were discussed and options were brainstormed on how to prevent it happening again. Whether it was ever implemented, I couldn't tell you. Once I'd finished my work I handed the programme over to another team." He was glad when Nick acknowledged that, and pushed a little further. "This may be a strange question, Mrs January -" "Sandra, please." "- but have you ever discussed your work on the project with your husband, or your father-in-law?" She frowned, the wrinkles tainting the previously happy expression on her face. "Not in any detail, I assure you, although it has been a long time since I worked for Wilton Knight." "Neither of them has ever asked you about your work?" "What is this�?" Michael stopped her before she could get hostile. "We just need to be sure, Sandra. Kitt's life would obviously be in danger if a code like that existed." The wrinkles vanished, and that curiosity returned. Michael found himself thinking that maybe she was where Kitt had got his own innate, unfathomable curiosity from. "His life? The way you talk about him�. You see him as a� partner? A person?" "More than that," Michael answered honestly. "He's a friend, the best I've got. And yes, he has developed, beyond anything you can imagine." "Does he exhibit basic emotions?" Glancing at Nick, Michael saw him smile. "Love, hate, joy, fear, pleasure, pain�." And speaking of which� he could feel Kitt on the other side of the block and making a decision, he dropped it. //where are you?// //with your mom// //?// //I'll explain everything when we get back I promise you// //yes you will. then I'll decide whether or not to eject you through the sunroof// "I would love to meet him�." Hadn't he known she'd ask? "I'm sure he'd be fascinated to meet you. Maybe we could arrange something soon." "I could come to the Foundation�." "We no longer work for the Foundation." Her eyes widened, and he could see her working it out - how much history there was, how much time had passed, stories untold. "Is his� future secure?" "Yes. I can promise you. He no longer belongs to the Foundation, he belongs to me. I'll see what I can do about you meeting him. Meanwhile, we'd appreciate it if you didn't say anything to your husband or father-in-law about our visit. As you can imagine, the fewer the people who know about Kitt, the safer he is." It was low, this emotional blackmail, but her nod and her agreement seemed genuine. "Thank you." ~ Kitt was silent until Michael and Nick arrived back at the warehouse. He wasn't blocking and Michael could feel the bright warmth of him in the back of his mind, but he knew he was in trouble. Keeping Christmas presents a secret from his partner was difficult enough - something as big as what he'd been trying to keep to himself regarding January and the disk he'd found was nigh-on impossible. Climbing out of Karr's oppressive cabin, Michael brushed his fingers over Kitt's fender. //let's take a walk// //a walk?// //it's a beautiful day// //we'll see about that// But Kitt started up the turbines, leaving the engine off, the car humming as he reversed and rolled side by side with Michael out of the warehouse and along the smooth road that ran along the waterfront. They travelled in silence until they reached the small park at the end of road. Michael hopped up on to the one and only wooden bench, ass on the back, shoes on the seat, watching as Kitt came up to him nose first until his prow was touching the splintering wood. Leaning forward, Michael touched the warm metal of the car. "Remember the reccy of David January's office that I did last week?" "How could I forget? Five separate alarm systems, two safe combinations and seven locked doors if I recall correctly. Which of course I do." Same prissy words, softer, more affectionate tone. It made Michael smile to realise how far they'd come together, the changes wrought in them both. "I found a disk in one of the safes you so kindly opened for me." "You never said." "I know. And I'm sorry, but it had your name written on it and I� I didn't want to worry you until I knew what was on it." What he felt through the link was a complex mix of frustration, love, fear, concern� and something akin to 'I've told you before not to keep things from me.' "What was on it?" "A code and a frequency." Kitt wasn't slow on the uptake. "The frequency you had me block two days after you broke into January's office." "Yeah." "And the code?" He sighed softly. "Kitt� there may or may not be a failsafe in your neural network. If there is, and the code is broadcast on that frequency, it'll kill you." He felt hesitation, then sadness, upset, and Michael was surprised at the reason for it; not that the code was out there and so was a threat, but that those who'd created him had programmed the protocol in the first place. //because of Karr// Michael tried to explain. //they didn't trust me// //they didn't know you, didn't know what would happen at the beginning, didn't know who you'd turn out to be// //later they might have mentioned it// "Kitt, I don't know for certain if it's even there. All anyone seems to know is that after Karr's initial switch-off and subsequent de-activation, there were possibilities discussed and the code was one of them." "Is that why you visited Sandra January, nee-Kennedy, this afternoon?" Michael smiled slightly. "I'm impressed. Karr told you?" "Not in the way you mean. I tracked him when you left, cross-matched his destination with your reference to my 'Mom' and quickly came up with a name I recognised." "You recognised?" "We have been investigating January Corporation on and off for a couple of years." "Ah. You don't remember her?" He felt Kitt's smile. "I was nothing but code and a collection of simple neural nets, Michael. I'm happy to accept that now I have many, many human characteristics but back then I wasn't so� well-endowed." Michael couldn�t help but chuckle. "She recognised your name. Wanted to know all about you." "You don't think she passed the details on to her father-in-law, do you?" He could understand the upset radiating from his partner. "No, I don't. She was genuine. And very nice, you'd like her." "Can I� meet her?" "If you want. But if it's all the same to you I'd like to wait until we know if this code can hurt you or not." "I've disabled that frequency as well as three frequencies either side of it." "Don't suppose you can go through your own code�" "Can you take a look at your own skeleton?" "X-ray�." "Don't even think about it." Sliding down from the back of the bench, bending his knees and bouncing on his feet on the seat, Michael reached out and rubbed his hand over Kitt's hood, following the line above the scanner with his thumb. //is anything else wrong?// //is there anything else? if I lost you�// //you know the feeling's mutual// //this is all too close. this really scares me// //I'm not going to be destroyed. I'm not going to leave you// "Say that out loud." Another smile into his mind. "I'm not going to leave you." "Have I ever told you how much your voice means to me? How� it's the most familiar thing in the world to me?" "I don't think so." He sounded surprised, sounded like he didn't know what else to say. //sorry. getting heavy on you// It was all right, Kitt sent that to him, more than all right, I love you too. It was the nature of their relationship now, and that in itself was a kind of weird miracle. "Michael� what are we going to do about January?" "I don't know." It was the truth. "With the frequencies disabled, I should be safe even if someone sends the code." "'Should be' isn't good enough. At the moment I feel like every time we go out could be the last time. Every one that comes near to the car I want to ask you to scan." "I'll set up a permanent scan for any equipment broadcasting that kind of code of a broad spectrum of frequencies around the one you gave me, it'll be an on-going sweep and it'll alarm if it detects anything." //please don't worry// //can't help it// He couldn't. Life without Kitt was an unthinkable prospect. The neuro-link meant that there couldn't be one without the other, not anymore. They were too close, too deep, too much of one another. They'd faced worse before, worse odds, worse enemies. He didn't know why this time was so different. He suddenly felt old. Moving forward on the to the midnight black hood, Michael leaned up against the windshield, knees tucked up, one arm over the roof of the car. "Listen, Kitt� I want you to think about something. I don't want an answer now, I don't want an answer anytime soon. I just want you to know that it's a consideration." He felt a momentary flicker of fear, reached through the link and hugged Kitt tight. At the same time he brought to mind the idea of Swan's second-generation android, completed a couple of weeks ago with Kitt's unique insight and invaluable input. Immediately he sensed myriad emotions from his partner; surprise, anticipation, anxiety, hope, panic, and amusingly, a spike of arousal. //I don't know if I understand// //like I said, just an idea, just a thought// //permanent?// //we said one day. we deserve a different future to the one Wilton Knight had in mind// //I don't. this is what I am// //don't do that. if you don't want it that's okay, that's more than okay. but think about it// Michael rubbed his hand over the warm hood. //consider it// The low sound of a specialised engine made him look up. Karr sped up as he came towards them along the road, roaring passed, and for a moment Kitt faded from Michael's mind, returning quickly. //they've had a call about a case they're on// "Should we be worried?" //�no// Definite hesitation, and for a second Michael thought he was being evaded. //Kitt?// //it leaves the warehouse empty// A slow smile spread across his lips and at his mental suggestion, Kitt silently reversed away from the bench and being careful to keep Michael on his hood, took them back into the warehouse, turning on only a couple of the in-floor halogen lights, rolling the doors shut as they went. Drawing the car to a stop in their usual place, neither man nor computer spoke. But safe, Michael stretched out across the hood and staring up into the darkness of the ceiling he deepened the link, opening himself completely to his partner - his lover - letting the touch of Kitt's presence to his mind also be a touch to his body. It was so much more intimate than anything he'd ever known, nerves translating the electrical impulses into a skimming caress of his lips, fingers spreading through his hair, hands on his skin under his coat and shirt. It was more difficult to send touches back, but over the months Michael had found by trial and error what excited Kitt in the way same as Kitt's skilled, exquisite touches excited him. Arousal was the build up of sensation, it was no different for his partner, and Michael had discovered that by mirroring back his own feelings, his own excitement, through the link, he could take Kitt along for the ride. And what a ride. Kitt was a master in this art, knowing how to touch, how to make it physical but at the same time understanding completely how much Michael loved the way the link connected them; that was where the intimacy was, not the illusion of caresses, the manipulation of nerve endings, but the free flow of thoughts and feelings, recognising emotions, both human and� 'alien'? Not artificial, that was for sure. Technically computer generated, but Michael tended to link the term with fake special effects in the movies he and Kitt saw at the drive-in very irregularly. At the start most of the AI's emotions had been alien to Michael, but over the years he'd learned to recognise them, associate them with his own, find answering feelings in himself. Right now he could feel himself, hard in his jeans, hot in his clothes. Stroking Kitt, stretching out alongside him, winding his presence around the bright white one, Michael toed off his shoes, letting them drop to the floor, unbuttoning, unzipping, wriggling his hips until he could take himself in hand. Bringing one socked foot up to rest on the edge of the hood, he relaxed back again, closing his eyes, sinking into the erotic contact, moving his free hand over the black skin of the car, knowing Kitt would have the SensorNet's input cranked all the way up and that the heat of his hand, the teasing of his fingers, would feel as real and as sensual to Kitt as his own hand on his own dick did to him. He went deeper, further into the link, feeling Kitt surrounding him, arousal building as they fed off each other, desire feeding desire, ever nearer to a shared climax. Could have been minutes, could have been hours. Michael barely noticed his own hand, the friction caused by his lazy movements nothing compared to what Kitt was doing to him, ghosting over his thighs, firm presses against sensitive flesh, a sure touch to his balls, another hand matching the work of his own, fingers exploring everywhere, more erotic, more passionate than he'd ever known. Reaching for Kitt, he ran his hands down the bright warmth, pulling him close, closer, weaving them together, every touch, every caress reflected back and forth, until Kitt let loose a long, hard cry and went over the edge, taking Michael with him. Slices of colour cut across the dash, bouncing off the black leather of the car's interior. In his mind Kitt's white presence shone, radiant and beautiful. //you're incredible// Kitt smiled, sank back into Michael's arms as they held on to one another, their lives and sanity and happiness dependant on each other. That's how they remained, at some point Michael tucking himself unceremoniously back into his pants, fastening up untidily, not quite ready to disturb the perfection of them yet but dimly aware that Nick and Karr could be back at any time. Not that Kitt wouldn't alert him, but he wanted just to hold his partner for a while, keep that feeling of him all around him, at the same time locked in his arms. They didn't talk, just touched; lazy circles, gentle patterns for a long, long time. Long enough that when Kitt eased them up a little from the depth they'd sunk to through the link and told him Karr and Nick were on their way back, when Michael reached in his coat pocket for his cigarettes and lighter, sticking one between his lips and lighting it without opening his eyes, he realised his back was aching from lying over the hood. //they okay?// //yes// //you okay?// //you worry too much. and that position isn't good for your back// Michael smiled to himself. It was an amazing thing. //kicking me out of bed?// //you'd be more comfortable inside me// //don't I know it// He added the sly smile at the innuendo and Kitt smirked in response. //set up the scan for the code broadcast// //already done// //when?// //I am capable of multi-tasking, just like all computers and the majority of women// //hey you're supposed to be on the side of the red-bloodied male. you didn't do it while we were-// //I'm not that good!// Kitt interrupted. //When we're� // //�making love�// //�it's all I can do-// //say it// Michael's turn to interrupt. //say what?// //say it// //�when we're making love, it's to keep the basics functioning// //thank you. and I'm glad to hear it// There was a smugness in his tone he knew and didn't care. //why is it important to you that I acknowledge what we do?// Curious as ever, Kitt's question was utterly genuine. But Michael had to think about the answer. It wasn't something he could put easily into words, but he sent what he hoped was some kind of explanation. //did that make sense?// //yes // The doors rolled open and the black prow of the Stealth ate up the floor as it moved to its parking spot. Nick glanced at Michael as he climbed out. "Just discussing the meaning of life." He got a smile and a nod as his friend started up the stairs. "Nick? Anything we should know?" Nick shook his head. "Sure?" "Got my word." It was more than enough. |