Knight Rider: The Turning Point - Chapter One

Michael Knight, a young man in his thirties of, silently slipped around the corner, gun in hand. Still in the shadows, he estimated that he was under enough stealth to observe the conversation taking place between the suspect and his female accomplice.1

“What do we do about Mark Sedone?” the accomplice asked, sipping her coffee and drumming her fingers smoothly on the counter. She was wearing faded blue jeans and a black T-shirt, her long, dark brown hair pulled back in a high ponytail, though a few wisps were still hanging by the side of her face. Her style was very plain and modest for someone with such an attractive build. “He saw the whole thing.”2

“Rachel, don’t you worry about Mark. I’ll take care of him myself,” the criminal said, lighting a cigarette.3

“David, I trust you and everything, but he’s got guards. You’re going to need help. What do you say I fire up the K.A.R.R. and send him with you?”4

“Kitt, record this,” Michael whispered into his comm. link.5

“I’m a smart car, Michael, there’s no need to ask,” Kitt replied loyally. “And be very careful. McShane has a gun.”6

“What would I do without you?”7

Kitt’s scanner contently purred.8

Michael looked at the man, David McShane, who was cracking his knuckles. He could knock a man out with a single blow, but Michael wasn’t afraid of him. He couldn’t be afraid of him. Not when an entire Foundation and innocent people depended on him to keep order in California.9

“No, no, I can do this alone,” McShane replied after a moment of thought. “Really. I suggest you put the garage on lockdown just in case, though. The Foundation’s after our gold.”10

Rachel nodded and turned to head to the garage. As McShane checked the convex mirror in the corner, Michael’s heart skipped a beat. His glassy gray eyes met McShane’s and he turned to run. He tore down the hall, wishing there was something he could shove into the way. As he turned the corner, he lost his footing on the slippery hardwood flooring and his suspect slammed a boot down on his chest, holding a gun right to his face, but with an eerily calm expression.11

“Where would you like it, sir? In the head –” he set his boot down “- or in the chest?”12

“Officer, help me!” Michael shouted, his voice hoarse as he looked toward the empty hallway behind his aggressor. David turned around and Michael pulled his gun, loaded, and shot the man in what he judged to be about the heart. Unable to realize what he had done, Michael stood and bolted for outside, where eight police cars had already gathered and his Trans Am was fighting against five men holding him back.13

“Michael! Help me!” Kitt cried, trying to pull away.14

An officer came from behind Michael and snapped handcuffs on him. “You’re under arrest, no ifs, ands, or buts.”15

“No, wait, you don’t understand! I’m Michael Knight of the Foundation for Law and Government!”16

“I don’t care if you’re the President of the United States, you’re under arrest.”17

“Kitt!” he shouted, struggling to break free of the officer. “Let him go!”18

“Calm down and cooperate.”19

Michael was shoved into the police car, still fighting to see his Trans Am as it disappeared in the dust the white and blue Ford kicked up.20

Michael stormed into Devon’s office and slammed his hands down on the desk.21

“Michael, you don't look well,” Bonnie remarked from her place by Devon’s side. “Maybe you should go lay down.”22

“Maybe I should do something about this,” Michael sharply replied. "I'm not going to abandon Kitt like you all did Karr.23

Devon and Bonnie were silent. What could they say? Miles was the first to respond. “Michael, it’s regulations.”24

“No it’s not, Devon! I spend four years of my life defending The Cause and what kind of stamp do I get on my paperwork? Justice denied, that’s what!”25

“Michael, don’t…”26

“Bonnie, this is between Devon and me, alright? Trust me, will you?”27

She hesitated before taking a step back and a giving a frustrated sigh.28

Michael turned his attention back to Devon, whose ice-blue eyes had lost their normal shimmer. “I’m innocent, do you understand me?”29

“I do. Whether or not the law does isn’t up to me.”30

“McShane killed six people! Six! And he would have gotten about thirty years! I take him out of the picture in self-defense and in defense to the general public and get expelled from FLAG?”31

“Michael…it isn’t up to me. If it were, you would be rewarded. For all the good it will do, I’m sorry.”32

“Excuse me, you’re sorry? Does that sound reasonable at all to you? I’m unrightfully fired and you’re sorry?”33

Devon looked over to the door. It was more or less of a gesture for Michael to be going. “Michael, please.”34

“I don’t have a car, Devon.”35

Devon tossed him the keys to one of the fleet cars – a 1980 Honda. “Fine. But when you need me and I’m not there, don’t expect me to answer your call.” Michael clenched the key and furiously strode out.36

Michael walked into Kitt’s garage and quietly set the keys on the table, though he knew his partner would wake up anyway. The drivers’ side door opened and the engine fired up. “Where to, Michael?”37

“I’m off to the beach,” Michael replied, his voice carrying an innuendo of disappointment. “I am off to the beach.”38

“Oh.” Kitt’s scanner slowed its pace and Michael could have sworn it dimmed. “Did they suspend you?”39

“Worse.” Michael put his leather jacket on, pulled his Aviators down, and looked straight at the scanner. “They expelled me, Kitt. Be good. It will be a while, but I’m sure I’ll see you again.” He went for the door, but after putting his hand on the doorknob, he couldn’t go on. He stood for a moment, thinking over what was going on.40

“It’s hard letting go, isn’t it?” Bonnie asked from behind him.41

Michael sighed and bowed his head, wishing she would just leave him be. “Oh, great. You here to gloat?”42

“Michael, I was being sincere! You don’t have to antagonize me for it!”43

Without a word more, he stormed out with nothing but his briefcase. As the door slammed behind him and Bonnie also left, Kitt felt a pang of desolation. Michael had been suspended once, but that had turned out to be a setup for a drug runner. This was real; he could tell by the way Michael had been holding back tears. The scanner slowed down, tracking back and forth a few times before halting in the center and shutting off. Losing his partner was a painful experience that had scared him so badly once that he had promised never to even come that close to letting Michael get hurt again. Now he couldn’t help but think this was his fault. There was no logic to it, but as far as Kitt was concerned, it was his entire fault.44

Michael was at the gas station filling up the Honda when a suspiciously familiar black Bentley sedan pulled up right beside his car. Studying the car further, he realized where he had seen it. It was Gil Harper – a famous black market runner. The sedan’s back window rolled down.45

“Michael Knight?” a blonde man in his late thirties asked.46

“Who’s asking?”47

“Joey Rainer, I’m here to give you the scoop on Harper.”48

“I’ve never seen a criminal who’s willing to lead the authorities to himself, Gil.”49

The driver of the sedan got out and tried to pin Michael against his Honda, but the cunning ex-agent tripped the man up with the gas hose. He tried to run, but the driver pulled him down by his ankle.50

“What the hell do you want from me? I just got fired! I’m not after you anymore!” He kicked his attacker in the face and stood up. “Of course, that doesn’t mean I’ll let you mug me.”51

“Michael,” Gil said, getting out of the car. “I came to offer you a new job. A better job working for a generous guy.”52

Michael thought about it. Money leads to fast cars and a good life, but if what got it isn’t kept a secret…53

“No,” he coldly replied, going to finish gassing up the Honda. The driver was already up and ready to tackle Michael again if he tried to get away.54

“Come on. They had no reason to fire you! I won’t kick you off the team for being too damn good. What do you say you show them what they’re missing out on?”55

Michael looked the man in his jade-green eyes. “Revenge, you mean?”56

“It’s not just a little game. It’s a job if you’re with me.”57

The young man put the hose back on its hook and leaned against the pale gold Honda. “What am I getting out of this?”58

“That depends. Are you in?”59

Michael reflected on it. “Yeah.”60

“Alright. Follow my car. I’m warning you, he does some rough driving.”61

“I can keep up.”62

Six red lights, three police cruisers, and four close calls later, Michael pulled the Honda into the driveway of a mansion. Gil stepped out of his Bentley and went to shake hands with Michael.63

“I’m going to start you off with simple mission supervision,” he said.64

When he let go of Michael’s hand, the young man realized Gil had slipped him a small radar detector. They were dealing with cops? “Of who?”65

“Rex Martin. I want you to hang around with him while he’s on a mission. If any cops come near, distract them. Whatever you do, don’t let yourself or Martin get caught, do you understand me?”66

“Understood, sir. But how is it going to work out in this piece of –”67

“Forget the Honda. We’ve got something better.”68

Gil tapped a button on his keychain and the garage beside the mansion opened to reveal a black 1973 Corvette Stingray Split-Window Coupe, complete with red pinstriping. “Mind you this is my home car. If it doesn't come back, you’ll be dealt with execution-style.”69

Michael took a deep breath to repress a shudder. “I’ll be careful.”70

A dark maroon Aston Martin came from behind the mansion and turned out the gates. “Godspeed, Knight,” Gil said, tossing Michael the keys. “Forty thousand an hour if neither of you get caught.”71

Michael ran to the Lagonda and swung himself inside, firing up the engine and speeding out of the garage.