Elsewhere - Three Months Prior

"KORRA is trying to get in touch with you Michael," the voice came from a phone sitting on the ground beside a man rolled under a baby blue bel-air. There were the sounds of a socket wrench followed by a loud pop. then a yelp.

There was a pause before a hand pulled the phone under the car, "Yea? Put her through."

The man rolled himself out from beneath the car, revealing someone showing clear signs of entering old age in spite of very obvious, by this point, reconstructive surgery. Michael sat up, holding a phone in one hand and a sheered-apart U-bolt in another. "Hey kid, you don't write, you barely call. What's up?"

"Michael, really." KORRA mock-pouted. "You know I don't like disturbing your time away."

Then the lightness left her voice. "I'm disliking the numbers we're getting back from the past several audits of White Pine, Star City, and Stroadsberg plants."

"So?" Michael sat the broken bolt to one side as he got to his feet. He tended to think better as he walked, and oversight of Knight AUtomotive's spinup had put him in unfamiliar territory. "Isn't the whole point of audits to make sure everything's running smoothly?"

"That's just the problem, it's too regular," KORRA explained, then elaborated. "Since I know your eyes glaze over at the technical explanation? It isn't as obvious as every audit giving the same numbers, but it warrants a physical inspection."

That caused Michael to pivot. His pacing turned to a deliberate walk to the garage that wasn't reserved for his bel air. "Alright if it's someone skimming they're going to freak out at people suddenly showing up. Can you spin up a search on anything related to flag, knight industries, or knight auto?"

A pause before KORRA spoke, "Assuming you're looking for discussions, auctions, and relevant interest groups confined to those three regions? There are roughly thirty-five automotive clubs registered within an hour's drive of each location, Facebook groups for the new KI-Six line based within each location, and... Huh that's interesting."

Before Michael could ask, KORRA spoke again.

"An auction has just concluded selling merchandise, discarded equipment, and... automotive components from a bulk seller." Her voice halted as Michael's phone buzzed, showing KORRA trace the history of the auctioned items. "It seems this is largely leftovers from Former Director Russel Maddock's era that's been through a dozen differing acquisitions, mergers, and consolidated asset divestments."

The name caused Michael to roll his eyes. "The man mothballed KITT and sold his chips off to the highest bidder. We need to send someone to make sure he didn't throw in how-to directions for making Bonded Shell Compound, or spares for KITT's systems. Send RC out that way. Who's the plant director there, Davis?"

"Farquad," KORRA corrected. Then, "Reginald should be able to, as you would put it, fly the colors without making anyone think he's doing more than making nice with the locals. Traceur and Tenou can take the other two plants."

Those names caused Michael to pause. "Haruka I can see going. She goes in and finds nothing, she gets to hit the local car scene with Kamio, but why Junior?"

"You object?" KORRA asked. "He is one of our most senior field agents."

"Yea, and that's the problem," Michael said as he pulled a rolling door up, revealing a modified eighty-two trans-am. He looked at the dimly lit scanner. "Him showing up anywhere is going to spook people we want to keep thinking have us fooled. Plus I thought he was looking into that car theft ring in Santa Carla."

"He was." KORRA confirmed, "Turned out it wasn't just a couple beat cops getting paid off. It was the whole department. It's been handed off to more conventional authorities now that we have more concrete proof leaving him as our closest agent."

"Hm," Michael traced the curve of KITT's hood with his fingertips. "What do you think?"

"Invent a reason for him to be there." KITT's scanner briefly flared then dimmed to its normal brightness. "Put a twenty-five thousand dollar pot on a weekend race event. Pretty sure you could get Furguson to be your headliner if you ask nicely, and let her joyride a KI-Six. She seems quite taken with the coup from what I saw."

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That caused a wry grin from Michael, and for a moment memory threatened to grip him. The moment passed and he shook his head. "Junior's not going to like her upstaging him."

"His car won't, you mean." KITT corrected tersely. "I've largely come to terms with not being state of the art, but he... hasn't. It's just now hitting him that a production model might outdo him."

"Nah," There was a sureness to Michael's voice as he watched KITT glide out of the detached garage. "Kid's still got plenty of juice to keep a jumped-up Alexa from touching him."

"True," KITT's driver-side door opened, allowing Michael to slide into an all too familiar seat. "However, even with a virtual intelligence that plays, in my opinion, too safe at times, it will come very close. That will be enough to rattle him I fear."

"Well, since you're not giving me time to get cleaned up..." Michael stretched, then frowned when his shoulder failed to pop. "I'm going to assume I need to be somewhere in a hurry."

KORRA giggled, then teased, "I think he's just wanting to make sure you get to the house in one piece old man."

The three bars that were KITT's voice modulator stayed dark.

"KITT," Michael frowned. "I'm old, not dead."

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

FLAG Branch Office, Star City - Now

"KORRA." Michael sounded upset as he stared at his phone. "When were you going to tell either of us?"

Michale Knight sat in the office formerly occupied by Russel Maddock. While he had no love for the man even twenty years later, he had appreciated Maddock being sincere about management being a responsibility rather than allowing for privilege. In his mind, the spartan office and all it represented had been one of the man's best and most redeeming qualities.

Unlike Maddock Michael had brought things from home; pictures of him and Devon, KITT covered in star decals mid-jump for Slammin Sammy's stunt show, Shawn him and Mike fishing, Mike and his then new car, and on his desk a picture of Bonnie in a mechanic's jumpsuit looking on in amusement at something off camera.

As he waited for KORRA to explain why he had been kept out of the loop on KARR's components not just being found but RC5 helping this Thatcher fellow streamline KARR while also helping him integrate into a new vehicle.

"There is little harm that can be done," KORRA said defensively. I had outlined very strict parameters for KARR's continued existence. Judging by Reginald's initial assessments as well as my continued monitoring. KARR seems to have adapted well to his new life."

A photo was sent to Michael's phone showcasing the finish-line photo of KARR a half-length away from Furguson.

Michael let out a low whistle. "The KI-Six peaks at what, one sixty? Wha'd Thatcher do, stick a rocket engine in the back of that thing?"

That earned a laugh from KORRA, "One Seventy actually. Will's Fierro has a rebuilt and heavily modified Nissan leaf drivetrain at its heart. Going by RC's reports, KARR takes on the functions of the governors and other processes. From what Will told me, KARR pushed that frame well past its safe maximum speed and the coolant system needs a near total rebuild."

"And Thatcher..?" Michael pulled up what they had on the man on his computer.

As he read, KORRA continued. "KARR's family, Michael. KITT advocated for my education and purpose after you'd removed me from the four thousand."

"And I'm glad he did," Michael admitted. "But you hadn't tried to kill people."

KORRA responded by playing a very old audio file. An argument between Michael and Devon.

Michael looked less than swayed when he heard his own voice proclaim, "KARR isn't evil."

"Yea, well." He frowned. "I-"

Then KORRA laughed. Causing Michael to raise an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"Sorry, sorry." The AI got herself under control and then played a recording that was only a few seconds old.

'It reminds me of a gigantic clown shoe. What poor AI was shoved into that shell.' KARR's voice caused Michael to tense. Yet it was teasing, joyful. There wasn't the malice he remembered.

Then another clip, 'Let me get this straight. you took my brother from a shell that represented perhaps one of the best production model designs in the last century that wasn't a supercar. Then you shoved him in a glorified clown shoe of a car.'

That caused Michael to laugh. Followed by KITT's voice coming from the watch-like communicator he still wore. "Aww. that's almost sweet, but I really do have fond memories of working with Shawn in that thing."

KORRA gave a soft almost relieved sigh. "After my part of the presentation, want me to relay any sort of messages?"

"I would advise against any direct messages," KITT stated. "However, I can't see the harm in letting him know that I know he is alive and that I am glad he seems to be doing quite well for himself."

Then after several moments, Michael added, "This is the introduction, welcome to the family, and all that song and dance for all the shops that'll have to deal with the new cars ya?"

"That is correct, "KORRA stated, her voice a neutral calm.

"I'm not going to make it an order, but it would be nice to get an AI-eye view of a random parts sampling from that plant." Michael's voice sounded more like a suggestion than him giving an order as FLAG's director. "Maybe that will put too much of a target on his head."

"I don't think so, no." KORRA insisted. "Not if it is framed as offering to assist in rebuilding Thatcher's KARR with newer components specifically to see what is and isn't compatible with after-market uses."

"And what about everyone else?" Michael asked.

"Hm." KORRA displayed an animated 'thinking' emoji on Michale's phone before responding. "Same offer, but point out that at present they would need the Knight Intelligent Processing cluster for proper integration which we are not offering for free. That should limit how many make it into the wild, but give a fair field and smokescreen."

"So, still think Farquad's Dirty?" Curiosity from Michael.

"I am currently in the process of contracting several local firms to perform third-party spot-checks." KORRA attempted to evade.

"Michael," KITT spoke up. "It may be appropriate for you to make a personal visit sooner rather than later.