[MAINE] After Giza and the virus

[hattie_notqueen]

Hattie couldn't deny that she was worried the entire thirty-eight minutes it took her and Kobie to get from Giza to Maine. She didn't care about the clothes she'd left behind in the hotel room, except that Gideon was going to need a new diaper bag.

She didn't care, though. Someone had planted a virus and hurt Kitt and she was not happy. And, if she was going to be completely honest, the thought of trying to fight him with big (and illegal) guns didn't seem so appealing.

When Kobie came to a stop outside some random house in the middle of nowhere, she was out of the Mustang before he could give her any updates. It wasn't like her to go into an unexpected situation unarmed, but she couldn't even remember the last time she'd held a gun. Still, she approached the house with some caution, and, finding the front door unlocked, she pushed it open slowly.

"Kitt?"

Comments

[knight3000.insanejournal.com]

Outside, the Mustang's scanners are working doubletime. "Hattie," he says, via her earwig, "I would advise taking extreme caution. There is evidence of some sort of altercation having occurred in the driveway. My scans have picked up a bullet hole in the cottage's siding. The gunpowder residue is still fresh." A pause as he switches to infra-red. "However, I am detecting only one life-sign in the house. Vital signs appear to indicate a state of unconsciousness or sleep."

[hattie_notqueen.insanejournal.com]

A gunshot?

She stopped where she was and asked, "Is the person inside the house injured at all?" And then, with a trace of dissatisfaction, "There are times I wish I had my OWN gun."

[knight3000.insanejournal.com]

"I cannot detect any physical abnormality. Blood pressure readings appear within normal tolerances." Another pause. "Whoever was here has left. There are depressions in the gravel that indicate the arrival of a vehicle weighing approximately 2,858 pounds, with a 101-inch wheelbase. Footprints indicate the presence of two individuals, one of which re-entered the house."

[hattie_notqueen.insanejournal.com]

"Okay, I don't know anything about cars. I mean... with the exception of Kitt AS KITT? I've only ever been in your and my mom's Mazda. So that means nothing to me."

She moved again and started peering into doorways. "I don't see anyone yet."

[knight3000.insanejournal.com]

"There are a number of vehicles that sport a 101-inch wheelbase, including the Jeep CJ-6, the Ford F-8, and the Land Rover 101 FC. It is not an uncommon measurement of vehicle chassis. However, the weight class leads me to believe that this was a passenger vehicle, not a truck or SUV." The scanners continue their progression. "I believe you will locate the individual in question lying upon a couch in the main living area."

[hattie_notqueen.insanejournal.com]

"Thanks."

Her mind was still trying to work through the 'passenger vehicle' thing and wondering who would want to come and try and shoot Kitt, when she came around the corner and saw him on the couch.

"Oh, God. Kitt."

Since no one else was around, she went up and shook his shoulder gently. "Kitt?"

[knight3000.insanejournal.com]

After a few moments, Kobie's voice comes through to her once more via the earpiece. "If he does not come around shortly, I can attempt a direct uplink to his neural interface to try determine the cause."

[hattie_notqueen.insanejournal.com]

Hattie shook Kitt again, with a bit more force, and when there was still no response, she shook her head.

"Please? I don't know why he's not responding. If he's just unconscious-" Her mind went to 'coma', but it didn't seem like someone who had shot at him would just up and leave him on the couch... so many things didn't make sense.

[knight3000.insanejournal.com]

"One moment." The A.I.'s attention turns inward, his attention directed to the twisted and complex paths of cyberspace as he seeks the digital signature of his sibling. There is no replying 'handshake,' and a status check confirms his dormancy. "He appears to be in a deeply dormant state. I do not believe he has been poisoned, but I believe the virus attacked him first before spreading to Knight Industries' systems, which would account for his protocol's sluggish reponse."

[hattie_notqueen.insanejournal.com]

"Deeply dormant. Like a coma." Shaking her head again, she knelt on the ground next to him, running her fingers through his hair. "I'm going to go out on a limb and say that whoever planted the virus also came here. No one knew where he was and he made sure of it. Someone tracked that virus here and, for whatever reason, was going to shoot him. TRIED to shoot him."

She was just talking out loud, not even really to Kobie. "We should get him back to the estate. He can't stay here."

[knight3000.insanejournal.com]

"I would not say that the gunshot was an attempt to inflict damage. Given the trajectory of the gunshot, and the position of the individuals as delineated by their track marks in the driveway, I would have to say it was more of a warning. Whatever Kitt stumbled across, someone did not wish for him to know it, or perhaps to share it. If they truly wished harm upon him, they would not have left. I believe the location is secure for now."

[hattie_notqueen.insanejournal.com]

Maybe it was that he'd gone there without her. Maybe it was that someone else had found him when she couldn't. Or maybe it was that SHE didn't feel safe.

"Someone knows that he's here, Kobie. And you can't promise that they won't come back."

[knight3000.insanejournal.com]

"You are right. I cannot. I can make an informed deduction, however." As they have been speaking, Kobie has made repeated attempts to probe Kitt's sluggish uplinks. Finally, he obtains a response, stubborn though it is, and after some careful analysis, what he comes across is surprising.

"Hattie. I believe I may have discovered what happened."

[hattie_notqueen.insanejournal.com]

While he's been doing that, Hattie's been running her hands over Kitt to make sure there are no injuries. She's found scrapes on his hands, but nothing major and when Kobie interrupts, she says, "Okay... what happened?"

[knight3000.insanejournal.com]

"It would probably be easier to understand if I showed you. I have obtained visual footage of the altercation."

[hattie_notqueen.insanejournal.com]

She was hesitant to leave Kitt just laying on the couch, but didn't have a lot of choice.

Pushing herself up, she hurried through the house and went outside, sliding into the driver's side. "How'd you get this?"

[knight3000.insanejournal.com]

"I managed to establish a direct uplink to Kitt's neural network. In his weakened state, I was able to easily bypass most of his security systems and directly access the most recent data logged to his memory core." A pause. "Do not worry. I do not believe anyone else could achieve such a thing as I have done. My digital signature is recognized at the binary level, and verified through a number of different protocols that we have established between ourselves. I deliberately limited my query to that of the past four hours, thereby cutting down on the time it would take to compile the relevant data."

There is a pause. "Hattie. I believe I should ask you to prepare yourself for what you are about to see."

[hattie_notqueen.insanejournal.com]

She listened to him talk about hacking Kitt and her eyes widened. And he's had a problem when she'd bypassed his security just to-

At the warning, she paused and took a deep breath. "Okay. Just... just show me, please."

[knight3000.insanejournal.com]

"Very well."

The headsup display springs to life, and she is given a first-person account of what has just happened. (http://ki2k.insanejournal.com/14831.html)

[hattie_notqueen.insanejournal.com]

Hattie sat there with her hand over her mouth for most of Kitt's encounter and when the gunshot went off, she closed her eyes and moved to cover her eyes, too. "I get it. I don't need to see the rest-" And then Karr was still talking and she continued watching. "God."

Then Karr transformed and her mouth dropped open. "Kobie. What was that? What was THAT? Rewind that." On a second showing, she wasn't any less shocked. "Can you explain that? I can't explain that."

[knight3000.insanejournal.com]

"I cannot explain what I do not understand myself, Hattie. But it appears that the individual identifying himself as KARR has some method of turning himself from one form to the other in a manner entirely unlike that of my brother."

[hattie_notqueen.insanejournal.com]

"KARR."

Hattie sat there with her elbow propped up on door and her head in her hand. "I don't even know what to do next."

[knight3000.insanejournal.com]

"You had previously expressed a desire to return to the estate with Kitt," Kobie replies. "Is this still a course of action you would like to take? I can work on eliminating the remaining traces of the virus from Kitt's subroutines en route, or I can attempt to do it now, here."

[hattie_notqueen.insanejournal.com]

"I'd rather be back at the house." Her response was immediate. "If you can work on him on the way, I'd really-" She wasn't going to cry. She felt her throat tighten up, though. "Please."

It took a minute to compose herself and then she pushed open the door. "Let me know if Gideon wakes up, I'm going to go get Kitt."

[knight3000.insanejournal.com]

"Of course. I understand, Hattie. I will do my best."

[hattie_notqueen.insanejournal.com]

Back inside the house, Hattie looked at Kitt for a minute before she reached down and yanked on him by his shirt. He moved slightly, but not that much and she huffed. "That's not gonna work."

Reaching down, she crouched by the couch again and then pulled his arm around his neck so that she had him in a loose fireman's hold. It wasn't the easiest thing to do, but it worked best when a smaller person had to move a heavier one. While she'd never been able to lift Teal'c, she'd managed to lift her dad on several occasions. She just didn't know if she'd get Kitt down the drive.

"If you could get as close to the door as possible," she breathed as she maneuvered down the hall, "I'd really appreciate it."

[knight3000.insanejournal.com]

"I will try." The Mustang revs its engine, opening the passenger side door as it pulls up near the front step.

[hattie_notqueen.insanejournal.com]

When she finally makes it to the car, she drops him in rather unceremoniously and then stands upright again, pushing her hair off her forehead. "I haven't done that in years."

What she's not saying is that she really should be training more. "Don't tell him I did that." And before Kobie can ask, she says, "We'll figure something out," as she slides into the driver's side again.