That excursion had re-united Vin Tanner with the man a boy he'd once known had become, and introduced him to the fantastic world of artificially intelligent life he'd had no idea existed outside of science fiction. He'd stayed in contact with Nicholas MacKenzie and his AI partner, Karr, periodically since then. He had learned of the neural link between man and machine, of the second team of FLAG operatives, and of Dr. Alex Christopher.

Coming back to himself, Vin took a quick survey of the situation. Nash was still alive and was holding Nick in the Rocky Mountains, possibly even at the same base as last time though Vin doubted it. The General was far too smart to make such a monumental mistake. Alex was wounded, and Karr could only go so far into the mountains before even his 4X4 option was useless. And even though his teammates were keeping their questions to a minimum, Tanner knew Larabee and the boys wouldn't be put off for long.

Shit, the Texan sighed, he hated it when his life got complicated.

"Fine." Vin finally said, "you stay here with the boys, Lexi. They're armed, and they are some of the best agents around. You'll be safe with them."

"And just where the hell do you think your going, Tanner?" a hard voice interjected.

Casually, Vin raised his eyes to meet the green glare of his leader. He knew Larabee would have a problem with his plan, all of the boys would… but, frankly, Vin didn't care. There was no way they'd be able to handle what they'd be up against if they went with him, and Vin couldn't afford the distraction of having to look after them as well. It was better if they just stayed out of it. They had no idea of the kind of men Tanner would be dealing with. They had no idea what kind of man Vin Tanner would become to do the dealing.

Vin looked at Chris calmly, silently daring the man in black to challenge his decision.

The other five men held their breath as the non-verbal battle of wills went on. Vin Tanner was the only one of the Seven that could argue with the team's tough leader, and expect to survive the confrontation without getting shot. Though that didn't always stop the dapper Ezra Standish from trying his luck against his boss's legendary temper, in what the gambling-inclined undercover agent drolly considered the 'ultimate game of chance'.

After an interminable moment, Chris nodded his acquiesce. Vin's tight expression relaxed, and he nodded back in grateful relief.

The other five breathed again. The decision had been made.

Vin suddenly thought of something he'd wondered, but had forgotten to ask. "Lexi," he called softly, looking at the woman while studiously ignoring the team's internal debate, "how did the General capture Nick?"

Alex opened her mouth to answer, then froze. "I… I really don't know. I'm sorry, Vin. I didn't think about that. I've been so concerned over Nick having been taken and so focused on getting your help. It never occurred to me to ask Karr how the old bastard caught him." She shook her head ruefully, almost unable to believe her own naivete.

"Don't worry about it, Lexi. Ya had other things on yer mind."

Alex huffed, unimpressed.

Vin tossed her an understanding smile, then without another word, he headed for the door.

"Huh?"

"Wha--?"

"Vin?"

"Mr. Tanner, is something remiss…? Mr. Tanner?"

"Hey, where's he goin'?"

Five confused agents watched their teammate stalk purposefully outside, their voices piling on top of one another as they all tried to question him at once. The sixth glowered silently. Alex simply struggled to her feet and followed the exiting tracker.

The six men left standing in the room shared a bewildered glance and unanimously moved toward the door to find out what was going on.

Vin approached the motionless Stealth carefully. While not really afraid of the impassive AI, the Texan did have a healthy respect for Karr's inherent deadliness. Though he would never understand all the technical elements behind the sentient computer's existence, Vin understood all too well the overwhelming desire to live that so strongly influenced Karr's actions. It was a drive he shared.

Standing still before the smooth prow of the high-tech sports car, Vin patiently waited for the AI to acknowledge him. Alex limped up to them, but instead of standing beside him she dropped down to sit on the warm hood. If she'd had the strength, Tanner figured she'd hike herself up to lay against the windshield just like her lover would have.

Though there was no outside evidence, Vin knew Karr was aware of their presence. Vin also knew the AI wouldn't talk until he'd assured himself that his partner's mate, and his temporary responsibility, was all right. The three sat quietly while the AI scanned not only Alex's wound, but her overall condition as well.

"Karr," he drawled at last, "I need to know what happened."

Behind him, Vin didn't need to look to see his friends' baffled expressions. He knew exactly how talking to a car would look to his teammates. They'd learn in a minute that not everything was as it seemed.

"Ah, Mr. Tanner? Not that I mean to cast aspersions on your highly esteemed mental fitness, but I feel I must inquire as to what you believe you will accomplish interrogating an automobile? Even one so obviously superior as this fine example of vehicular craftsmanship?"

"This superior automobile," a new voice intruded, its cold mechanical tone sending shivers down the listeners' backs, "is perfectly capable of responding if I so choose."

Smirking, Vin gestured at the Stealth. "Ezra Standish, meet Karr -- an uppity AI with a personality that makes Peso look down right pleasant."

Karr sneered nastily. "Do not compare me to your flea-bitten mongrel of an equine. I am one of the most advanced artificial intelligences ever created and am capable of hundreds of functions your pea-brained son of a mule couldn't even dream of."

Vin merely raised an eyebrow at the insult to his horse.

"An artificially intelligent life form? Like Data in Star Trek? Awesome!" JD enthused excitedly, bouncing closer, oblivious to the darker undercurrents. "I knew AI technology was making breakthroughs, but I didn't realize it had advanced this far. Are you self-aware? Or do you just have programmed responses? Who created you? When? How do…?"

Buck stepped forward and slapped a hand across his roommate's mouth, cutting off the flow of excited questions midstream. "Goddamn boy! Breathe a little every now and then!"

"Indeed, Mr. Dunne. While no doubt a very advanced technological machine, it is merely a particularly well-developed computer program and not truly capable of independent thought." Ezra commented, his finely cultured ego still smarting from the car's unexpected response. "Do not debase yourself by conversing with it on an anthropomorphic level."

"And what makes you such a qualified judge of sentiency in alternative life forms?" Karr retorted sharply, in no mood to be civil. Or as civil as he ever was…

Surprised by the hint of dangerous annoyance in the reply more so than the words, Ezra actually took a step backwards as his mouth snapped shut on his next verbal volley.

"Hell, we ain't got time fer you two peacocks to ruffle each other's feathers." Vin snapped, his voice all the more threatening for its softness. "I gotta know how the General nabbed Nick. That boy ain't usually so easy to corner. I'm assuming it ain't like last time, since you're still in one piece?"

"No. It was not a direct attack, but a masterfully orchestrated ambush. I failed to adequately analyze the situation. He was captured due to my error," Karr stated emotionlessly, ignoring Alex's instinctive rebuttal. "After establishing camp and with several hours to go until Dr. Christopher's expected arrival, Nick decided a drive around the forest perimeter might be 'nice'. We were returning when my scanners detected an unusual transmission…"

< Hell, Karr > Nick thought, the words transmitting across the neural link to his partner not so much as language as emotions. < Maybe I should have left you at home if all you're going to do is complain. >

< I wish you would have > Karr retorted snidely. < Mud, decomposing vegetation, and other 'natural'…> he added in disgust <… detritus is getting caught under my axles. Not too mention the mess it is making of my molecular-bonded shell. >

As if a little dirt would hurt the impervious MBS. Nick laughed. < Aww, poor thing. You want me to give you a bath? >

Karr grimaced, the icy black presence that was his soul seeming to shudder in his CPU. < You have been spending far too much time with Knight. You're acquiring his ridiculous sense of humor. >

< Maybe > Nick returned. < But if association with Michael is mellowing me, Kitt is having the same affect on you. >

And strangely, the idea sent a wave of indescribable emotion through both man and AI. A feeling almost like peace, though that was as much a foreign concept to both partners as anything. Tactically, they both shied away from exploring the feeling further.

The Stealth bounced over an exposed tree root, jarring Nick and breaking the suddenly somber mood.

< And maybe if you learned how to holiday like a normal person in some nice four star hotel, I wouldn't have to get my tires dirty 'roughing' it through the wilderness. Surely the lovely Dr. Christopher would appreciate it as well. >

Nick, eyebrow raised in indignation, was about to respond to Karr's jeering when he felt the AI's attention suddenly shift. < What is it? > he thought, moving from relaxed to serious in a heartbeat

< I don't know > Karr frowned, the Stealth's scanners ranging up to full power. < Some kind of subsonic blast. >

< Natural? >

< Negative. > Karr stated firmly. < The frequency harmonic is too regulated for any known natural event. >

< Pinpoint the point of origin, > Nick ordered, slowing the Stealth enough to effect a tight U-turn in a spot where the trees temporarily widened along the dirt track they'd been following. They may have come for a vacation, but neither Nick nor Karr ever really relaxed enough to let down their guards. If there was anything in the forest that could provide a potential threat, they would soon know it. It paid to be prepared for any eventuality in their line of business.

Karr triangulated the emission's source.

Nick picked up on the coordinates through the link and immediately redirected the virtually indestructible car up a sidetrack in the right general direction. He was only able to travel another 50 meters before that path narrowed too much for the customized Stealth to pass easily.

< The signal source is located in a clearing 27.4 meters north-northeast. > Karr supplied, carefully blocking the unease he felt at Nick leaving the protection of the Stealth. It was necessary. While the trees weren't so numerous Karr couldn't force his way through if he had to, to do so would require a lot of power and momentum and would be unavoidably noisy.

Instead, the AI was left to wait and monitor his partner's progress both with his array of scanners and through the neural link that bound their minds and souls together. Though usually content with his fast, strong, and highly defended physical form, there were rare occasions when Karr was made all too aware of the limitations of his existence. Occasions when Nick was injured when he entered situations the car could not. Thankfully, those occasions were tempered by the knowledge that the Stealth's defenses had saved his human driver more often than not.

< Any people or equipment in that clearing, Karr? > Nick asked, as he began weaving silently through the dense underbrush in the sparse woods. His area of expertise may have been data espionage, both of the electronic and the physical kind, but his early training had been exceedingly thorough. He was quite capable of accomplishing almost anything under almost any circumstances, though maybe not with the same level of skill as another. Ironically, he owed that training to his worst enemy, and was reluctantly thankful for it as he stealthily worked his way north.

Moving like the invisible phantom he was claimed to be, Nicholas MacKenzie soon emerged at the clearing's edge. He approached cautiously, but steadily. Karr's scanners had not detected anything either mechanical or biological within the clearing, and Nick trusted his partner's readings. But something had produced the unusual sonic blast, and Nick didn't fancy being taken by surprise by whatever it was.

When he was close enough to see, Nick scanned the clearing with his own hardened gaze. As expected, the area was empty of anything except the old half-rotted hunter's shack Karr had warned him of. If danger lurked, it had to be sheltered inside the meager protection afforded by the dilapidated building. Unfortunately, the only way to be certain was to look inside. The trick was not getting seen while doing it. Something that would be difficult given the rotting wood of the walls had left several cracks and holes big enough to see out of. Anything approaching, from either side, would be clearly visible to whoever waited within.

Gauging his surroundings, Nick decided to chance it. It was probably nothing; the strange signal potentially caused by any number of plausible innocent scenarios. There was probably nothing there to find. Likely, it was just his and Karr's personal paranoia that was driving them to investigate.

< You're only paranoid if they're not out to get you > Karr grunted, making Nick smile down the link, though his face remained as hard as always.

Relying on years of training and experience, Nick slunk around to the front of the crumbling shack as covertly as possible. He stayed as low in the grass as he could get, moving carefully and quietly. There was no sign his presence had been detected, but that didn't really reassure him. Karr a silent spectator in his mind, Nick peered through a crevice into the darkened interior of the hunter's shack.

He couldn't see much. The one room wooden building was all but stripped of furniture, passing hikers and campers making use of the ready firewood no doubt. Spider-webs hung from the rafters, the corners of the floor littered with the evidence of animals that had sought shelter. Dirt and dust covered everything. In the center of the floor, a small metal box flashed a bright red diode like a beacon.

Curious, Nick took one last glance around. Assured he was alone, he eased open the decaying front door and cautiously approached the box.

< Guess we found the source of the blast > he thought redundantly.

< Yes > Karr returned. < But who put it there? >

Good question, Nick thought, and why? Nervously, a feeling of deep unease trickling down his spine, he knelt to examine the object.

The diode flashed from red to green.

Nick shot to his feet, leaping back instinctively. < What the…? >

< Nick! > Karr cried, as his scanners were suddenly flooded with the biorhythms of dozens of armed men surrounding the clearing. He shifted the Stealth into gear, engaged the four-wheel drive, and slammed forward down the path. Trees scraped at his MBS as he pushed and forced his way through the narrow track, but his progress was slow going. He had no choice but to watch helplessly as his driver was overwhelmed by numbers.

Finally bursting through the last few trees barring his way, Karr shot into the clearing. He aimed for the nearest group of soldiers, intent on flattening them and evening up the odds for his driver to fight.

< "Karr!" > Nick yelled suddenly, both mentally and out loud. < "Stop!" >

Snarling, Karr nevertheless slammed to a halt. Through the link and on his scanners, he saw Nick on his knees with an armed mercenary guarding him from each side. Karr growled viciously over the sound of his gunning engine, but he didn't dare make a move on his enemies as long as they held his partner's life in their hands.

They might have stayed that way for hours, locked in a deadly standoff. But the unnatural stillness of the tableau was suddenly shattered by an incongruous sound. From out of the shadows a figure stepped, his gnarled hands clapping together in a sharp mockery of applause.

"Brava, brava!" the man mocked. "What stunning control you have over your killer little car, Nicholas. I'm impressed. Last time we met, your homicidal computer couldn't wait to run me down. I'm glad to see its finally learned patience."

On his knees, a gun muzzle pressed into either side of his face, Nick couldn't turn his head enough to see the man. But then, he didn't need to see him to know who he was. The voice, more cold and inhuman than his or even Karr's could ever be, was just as he remembered it.

His voice, in return, was filled with loathing when he breathed the man's name. "Nash."

Anger and fear flooded through him, reverberating back and forth along the neural link with his partner, heightening his own feelings until he seethed with dark primal emotion. His muscles, coiled for action, trembled in fury at his forced helplessness. Nick knew he had to gain control over himself, and to do that he had to cut off his enraged partner's influence. Struggling harder, Nick fought his own emotions for the concentration needed to raise a mental shield.

Observing his captive's reactions indifferently, the man continued unconcerned. Casting a dismissive look on the rumbling Stealth, Nash altered his timbre until he sounded like nothing so much as a disappointed father discussing a difficult child. "Of course, that's not entirely your fault, is it Nicholas? Programming is such a tricky thing. One can never guarantee that all their hard work won't go to waste if a nasty little bug should show up in the system, now can we?"

Controlling his broiling fury, Nick snorted disdainfully. "A programme is only as good as its programmer. The bug wouldn't have had any effect if the programmer weren't incompetent. Or," Nick added, trying to drive the verbal arrow deeper, "perhaps the bug actually improves upon the original programming--"

"And perhaps," Nash interrupted, taking a step forward with well leashed anger, "the hardware is so flawed even the best programming isn't enough to protect it from corruptive viruses. Then its useless!" And they both knew he wasn't talking about a computer anymore.

Glaring fiercely at each other, former superior faced former subordinate. Former teacher faced former student. Former programmer faced former programmee.

"You had such promise, Nicholas." Nash mused, still staring at his lost operative. "You were my finest creation. The most highly trained, the most versatile, the most dispassionate. You were everything my program was supposed to make you: the perfect soldier, unfettered by human emotion or concern."

The elderly figure, no less commanding for his age, stalked closer to his kneeling captive. "But it was a lie, wasn't it Nicholas? Yes, you were flawed from the beginning, weren't you? And that disobedient little bitch just nurtured that flaw, didn't she?"

Ignoring the calculated insult to the friend who'd helped him escape the General's twisted clutches, Nick focused on the other statement. "Four years ago, despite my hatred for you and your ways, I probably would have agreed with you over that. But after three yeas under the subtle tutelage of Michael Knight and Kitt, I've learned better."

An ironic smile crossed his face as he remembered what he and Karr had talked about just before this whole bad mess began. "They taught me emotions aren't always a weakness--and both Karr and I have been good students. We're stronger now than we've ever been, Nash," he proclaimed, pride ringing in his voice. "Whatever it is you're planning, you will fail."

For a moment, Nick thought he might have won this round of verbal jousting. He saw the General's face grow red with rage and knew he'd scored a direct hit. The best part was, every word he'd spoken was truth. He and Karr were better, stronger now.

Nash would fail -- Nick himself would see to that.

Taking a deep breath, General Jackson Nash swallowed his angry retort before it could escape his mouth. Narrowing his eyes, he suddenly realized that his former star pupil was trying to rile him up. Oddly, it pleased him; perhaps not all his hard work and training had gone to waste, after all.

But it would not do to let the student surpass the master.

Re-affecting his nonchalant tone, Nash pondered MacKenzie's last statement. "Ah, yes. Mr. Knight and his partner, the Knight Industries Two Thousand. I wonder how did he like my little gift? I never did hear back from him."

A few months ago, Nash had sent Nick MacKenzie's full file, including a list of all his assassination targets, to Michael Knight via email. It was part of the conniving General's attempts to break Nick, by leading the honorable Knight to doubt the man he called friend. But Michael wasn't as easily led as Nash wished, and after discussing the damning file with a reluctant Nick, had put it behind him without so much as a blink. In fact, it had probably even strengthened their friendship, as Nick realized he no longer had to hide any aspect of his personality from his friend. He could just be, and Michael would always accept him. It was a heady feeling.

Nick scoffed at Nash, unperturbed by the taunt. "That little file you sent him about my 'accomplishments'? He read it, asked me how much of it was true, then offered me Chinese for dinner. Food was good, too," he added, as if it were an after thought.

Nash quietly seethed. MacKenzie may have been his masterpiece, but he was also insufferably impertinent. He glared at his former student. Nick glared back.

Their argument was finally interrupted by the sound of quickly approaching helicopters reverberating through the forest canopy.

Looking skyward, Nash smiled. "Well, Nicholas, it looks like we'll have plenty of time to continue this discussion -- in a more secure locale, of course." Turning to the hostile Stealth, he cocked his head. "It truly is a shame I didn't get a hold of you earlier, Karr. I could have molded you into the perfect killing machine."

Engine growling, Karr hissed at the man who'd been the cause of such torment in his driver's life. "I don't need you to teach me how to kill, human. But I'd be glad to give you a demonstration of my abilities."

Laughing, unconcerned at the threat, the General waved a negligent hand at one of the men guarding MacKenzie. Instantly, the man drew back and slammed the butt of his P-90 into his captive's skull. Nick collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.

“Please tell Mr. Knight I’ll be looking forward to his arrival.” Nash said. “I have not forgotten that I owe him as well.”

Karr raged loudly as he was forced to do nothing as the minions hauled his dazed partner into one small helicopter, two of them watching Nick closely as the other's kept their eyes on the black Stealth. The other soldiers piled into the remaining aircraft. Karr, feeling helpless and hating it, snarled so hard the modified sports car's frame visibly shook.

Furious, with them and with himself for not detecting their presence, Karr watched the helicopters lift off and disappear over the hills. He screamed and launched himself forward, slamming into the trees and flattening the smallest with the force of his impact. Undamaged and unappeased, the virtually indestructible Stealth reversed, spun a tight circle, and charged straight through the wooden structure in his new line of sight.

< Karr! Stop! > Nick mentally implored. < Karr, please! You have to calm down! This isn't helping me! >

Karr snarled, but brought the Stealth under control. < Fat lot of help I've been! > he raged derisively. < I didn't even know they were there! >

< Nash had them blocked from your scanners, Karr. It wasn't your fault, partner. >

< I should have known! >

< How? > Nick asked reasonably, hoping to diffuse his partner's self-flagellation if not his anger. < They were shielded. And if you forget, I didn't see them either. It was a well-orchestrated trap, Karr, and we fell for it. We both screwed up. >

< And you're paying for it. > Karr grumbled, calmer but still pissed off.

Nick nodded, not disputing the fact. He was trapped with General Jackson Nash. He knew exactly what that meant.

< Yes > he allowed. < But there's nothing you can do about it. Besides, Alex is still out there somewhere. You've got to look after her, partner. I don't want anything to happen to her. >

That brought Karr up short. He'd almost forgotten their reason for being out in these godforsaken woods in the first place. Everything had changed in a matter of minutes.

< Let me help you > Karr urged, as close to begging as he was comfortable with.

Nick paused, wavering for a moment until his resolve hardened. He wanted Karr with him; holding him, shielding him. But he couldn't take the chance of Karr getting caught up in his pain. That was exactly what the General wanted.

And no matter what, he would never let Nash win.

< No, Karr > he said gently. < I need you sane. If you're trapped with me in my head, Nash will only bring us down together. It's what he wants. I won't let him get it. > The fierce words were accompanied by a protective wave of equally fierce affection. Nick reached across the link and twined a part of himself around his partner's essence, reaffirming the emotion. Karr slipped his own inky tendril around the cool blue presence, returning the brief mental hug.

< Go to Denver > he ordered, pulling apart. < Get Vin Tanner. He'll know what to do. >

Karr was surprised. < The Hunter? Not Michael Knight? >

The blue presence shimmered as he frowned unhappily. < No. It's not safe. Michael is good, yes. But he's nowhere near good enough to go up against whatever forces Nash has, especially in his own territory. > Which was a shame, because aside from Karr himself and maybe Alex, there was no one else on Earth Nick trusted as much as he did Michael Knight. If Karr was his soulmate and Alex his love, then the other man could only be described as his best friend. And that was too new and too special a thing for Nick to risk losing.

In the mountains, Michael would be on his own. His status as a FLAG operative would mean nothing to the men he would have to fight; his skills learned as a cop useless in the wilderness. And Kitt wouldn't be there to back him up. The Trans Am could follow no further than the Stealth. Without the protection of his own partner, Michael would be just as vulnerable as Nick was now. The thought was sobering.

It was amazing how much he'd come to depend on the artificial intelligence that had once tried to kill him.

Karr sensed the thought, and though a wave a shame passed through him at the remembrance of his own terrible deeds when the link had first activated, it was overshadowed by a feeling of warmth as he returned the compliment. Nick was a mortal human, but he was a part of the immortal AI as well. Karr did not ever want to contemplate living without him again.

< I know, partner > Nick echoed. < But we're going to have to for a while. >

< What would that accomplish, but to leave you vulnerable to the General's not-so-tender mercy? >

< Karr, > Nick pressed. < You know Nash; you know what he'll try to do. >

And the worst of it was, he did know. Through Nick, linked as deeply as they were, he'd seen his partner's memories as vividly as if they were his own. Same as Nick had his. Nick's nightmares were as much his; Nick's pain shared with his own. There were very few recesses left unexplored in their souls. And those that were, neither dared touch.

< What are you proposing? > Karr finally relented, his tone controlled if grudging in its compliance.

< A temporary block. One strong enough to keep you from feeling my pain -- held just long enough to free me from Nash's grip. >

Karr frowned. < That could take days. A block strong enough to hold for that length of time would take a great deal of energy and concentration to maintain. You would have neither. >

Nick smiled sadly. < I know. >

Karr's frown deepened, understanding what was being asked of him. It would take all of Nick's fortitude just to survive, there would be nothing left over to maintain a block. Yet if the mental shield failed at the wrong moment, there would be nothing to stop Karr from being swept up in Nick's agony. And as with the other times that had happened, the AI would lose control of the Stealth as he fell into the link. A fact which their enemies could all too easily use to their advantage. But if there was no block, the effect would be the same.

There was only one choice.

< I'll do it. >

In the real world, the black Stealth sat silently rumbling in the deserted clearing. Likewise, its driver knelt passively on the floor of the helicopter ignoring the guns to his head, expression as hard as stone and just as unreadable, cold blue eyes staring sightlessly. Inside their minds, linked intimately soul-to-soul by matching neural implants, the partners were anything but still. Physically separated, they sought each other mentally. Cool blue and icy black presences surged toward the point of connection and in one flowing motion, wrapped as closely around each other as they could get without becoming one.

Then, simultaneously, they retreated deep into their own minds.

And the connection was sealed.

On To Part 4