Once Katie had taken care of the room situation, she changed into slightly nicer clothes, including a decorative scarf that once belonged to her mother. She had explained that because she lived in the general area, there was a chance she would be recognized, and that might hurt the investigation. Michael made a mental note to keep an eye in her, not necessarily to protect her but to see if anyone was watching her specifically. He would have her back no matter what. Now that they were down at the casino, they decided to split up to cover more ground. Katie walked around eyeing the various games. There was an entire section dedicated to slot machines, but Katie decided to avoid that area as the lights and sounds were a bit overwhelming to her senses. Michael could tackle that section if he wanted. There was also poker, blackjack, roulette, and a few other games she didn't know the names of. She paused at a roulette table to watch. She ended up putting a quarter down on black 15, to which she got a "Money plays" from the attendant. The ball didn't land on her spot, but she just shrugged and headed over to the bar. She ordered a water, sat down, and listened to her surroundings. She tried to pick up on individual conversations, only pulling her scarf down to sip her water. It didn't take long before she picked up on a couple of familiar voices, neither of them Dillon's, though. That would have been too easy.
"I can't believe that stupid son of a bitch was given another chance after all the crap he's pulled! I don't know why the boss didn't put him out of our misery right then and there!" Dakota complained to a woman Katie recognized as his wife Mariah.
"If he bothers you so much, why don't you deal with him yourself, make it look like an accident." Mariah suggested. "You can't be the only one who has problems with him."
"I'm not but I would probably be the first one suspected since I'm complaining the loudest and Johnny ain't stupid." He sighed. "But damn if it isn't tempting to get rid of him after this thing is over, even if somehow it all doesn't go to shit."
Well that was interesting. Could they maybe be talking about Dillon? If so it sounded like he was digging himself a pretty deep hole. What the heck was he up to?
While she watched and listened for more information she hadn't noticed someone else watching her, but Michael noticed. The man kept glancing down at a small picture and then back at her. Michael raised his com to speak with KITT.
"KITT I may have something and so does Katie. There's a man and woman at a blackjack table 50 feet to Katie's left and another man about 25 feet in front of me at the end of a row of slots." He informed his partner.
"I see them Michael." KITT confirmed.
"Good keep an eye on them with your scanner in case we lose sight of them. The way this guy is watching Katie is giving me a bad feeling."
KITT was silent a moment before responding. "I won't take my eyes off of him." The AI assured.
KITT's protective tone didn't escape Michael's notice, not to mention he had used the word him instead of them indicating that thecAI intended to pay special attention to Katie's watcher. Michael wasn't surprised by this. He was the same way with Bonnie. Michael was snapped back to focus when the man watching Katie began moving closer to her but then veered off down another row of slots. He caught a glance of something black in the man's hand. Michael's first thought was that it was a gun and he was prepared to tackle the guy but he quickly realized it was a walkie talkie and stopped himself. He was still watching Katie but he wasn't moving any closer for the moment.
Katie was still listening to Dakota's rant. There wasn't any information of value until the bartender walked over and handed him a slip of paper with a "You have a call sir." Dakota read the message and glanced over the bar in the direction of the pay phones. Their eyes met for a moment, but if he recognized her he made no indication. Trying not to look eager or nervous, Katie stood up and headed in the direction of the phones before Dakota had even moved. It wouldn't look like she was following him because in reality she wasn't and she had the perfect cover for going this direction. Right next to the phones we're the restrooms. She could use the entrance of the lady's room as cover to listen. It was much quieter over here so it was easy to hear when Dakota made his call.
"Yeah it's Dakota, tell Johnny his plan is gonna need to be changed. The target is here. I confirmed ID so do you just want me to bring em to you?"
There was silence.
"Yessir, I will let the boys know." Dakota confirmed before hanging up the phone and walking away.
Well that didn't sound good. Why did she get the ominous feeling that this had something to do with her idiot brother. She needed to tell Michael about this asap! She had heard Dakota's footsteps fade so she didn't think anything of it when she stepped out and someone else was there. As she tried to step around him, he grabbed her. Katie tried to scream out but his arm covered her mouth and neck as she was pulled backwards muffling her cry. She struggled to get free as he began dragging her away from the casino floor.
"Its not nice to eavesdrop little girl. Johnny would like a word with you." He growled as he pulled her through a nearby side door to the back alley.
A single thought of realization screamed in her head. "Oh God I'm the target!"
***
Michael had only looked away for a moment to scan the crowd for anyone else who might have eyes on them. When he looked back, Katie and both men they had been watching had vanished. Worry spiked through his veins as he raised his com.
"KITT I lost sight of Katie and the suspects. Where are they?" He asked trying to hide the panic in his voice.
"Katie and her suspect are both by the pay phones and yours is headed in that direction as well." KITT informed him.
Michael began quickly making his way towards the pay phones. He had only gotten halfway there when he saw Katie's suspect coming out of the hallway but no sign of Katie.
"Michael Katie is being dragged away towards the back alley by your suspect! I'm going to cut them off but you need to hurry!" KITT urged.
Michael picked up the pace and paused by the restrooms where he picked up something. It was Katie's scarf. She must have lost it in the struggle. He quickly tucked it in his jacket and charged towards the door.
As she was dragged into the alley, Katie began thrashing trying to get free and digging her nails into her attacker's arm. He hissed in pain as he released one arm to reach for his side arm.
"Johnny wants you alive but that doesn't mean I'm not allowed to hurt you to get you there." He warned fumbling to get the gun out of its holster.
She needed to think quickly before she had a gun in her back or worse. Katie let herself go limp to disrupt his balance and to take advantage of his loosened grip to slam her elbow into his diaphragm, knocking the wind from him. She pulled free and slammed her elbow into his jaw, knocking him to the ground and making him drop the gun in the process. She quickly grabbed it and pointed it at her attacker as the familiar sound of KITT's familiar engine filled the alley. KITT was glad he didn't have to intervene, and a quick scan told him Katie was unharmed. Aside from her heavy breathing, everything appeared normal. Michael burst through the door a few moments later and hurried to her side.
"Are you alright?" He asked, stopping short when he saw the gun.
"I'm fine." She said through her heavy breathing, not taking her eyes off her attacker.
"You stupid bitch." The man growled as he managed to sit up.
Katie didn't react but Michael found himself moving closer in case he needed to stop her.
"You know that's a pretty stupid thing to say to someone pointing a gun at you." Michael pointed out. "She would absolutely pull the trigger,"
Michael could see that was a true statement. Her finger was on the trigger and the safety was off.
"Though it could be argued it's more stupid to try and kidnap her in the first place. So why?" Michael asked. The man was silent so Katie answered for him.
"Apparently Johnny Gunnison wants to have a word with me" and from what I overheard he's basically put a hit out on me among his boys." Katie growled.
Michael could tell she was getting more agitated. He carefully rested his hand on the top of the gun to get her full attention. Her eyes finally broke away from her attacker and locked on him. Michael could see a lot of fear and rage in her eyes as well as something he had only ever seen in war veterans and abuse victims. A distinct far off look that told him her mind had been triggered by this ordeal. As much as he wanted to know the story there, now wasn't the time to ask.
"It's OK. You're safe." Michael assured.
It took Katie a few moments but she did release the gun to his grip making sure to decock and engage the safety. The attacker took the opportunity to to try and get up and run but Michael snagged the man's shirt and slammed him against the wall.
"I don't recall giving you permission to leave. You didn't answer my question." Michael stated, his voice dipping to a dangerous tone. "Why does he want her?"
This time the man looked scared. "Look man I don't know! All I know is if we see her we are supposed to bring her to Johnny's office at Devil's Rose." He admitted.
Michael narrowed his eyes and decked the man in the face knocking him out cold. Katie sighed and moved away towards KITT as Michael dealt with her unconscious attacker. KITT couldn't help but notice she was still breathing hard so he rolled over to give her something to lean on if she needed it.
"Katie are you alright?" KITT asked.
"Yeah, I just need to calm down." She assured.
KITT knew he was going to upset her with this suggestion but he was too concerned not to make it. "Perhaps we should take you back to the sanctuary or at the very least let Michael deal with this riff raff targeting you." KITT offered. "I don't want to see you hurt."
Katie tried to hide her angry expression from the AI but he caught it just before it disappeared. "KITT I appreciate your concern but they are going to come after me no matter where I am. A direct confrontation with backup is likely the only way to get the message to back off through their thick skulls." She stated in a decisively calm tone.
"I've got to agree with Katie. It's better if she stays with us and helps deal with the situation." Michael affirmed before turning directly to Katie. "Are you sure you can do this?"
Katie locked eyes with Michael so he could see nothing but determination in her eyes. "I'm sure."
***
Johnny sighed angrily as he hung up the receiver. He really hadn't been expecting Katie to be this far ahead of things. The original plan had been to take her from Guffey when she was in town and have that experiment downstairs take out that government agent and his counterpart if need be. He got the feeling there was some kind of beef between them and he had planned to use that to get both cars. Now that was likely out the window. On top of that he was likely about to lose control of this whole situation. He wanted whatever that stupid car was going to do to that girl to be done here where he could keep an eye on things. There were only so many reasons why he would want this girl. Johnny was a lot of things but stupid wasn't one of them. He began making his way down to where Dillon and KARR were going over the plan. He got angrier with each step he took and he had half a mind to shoot Dillon for this complication.
"Change of plans. Seems your sister is once again two steps ahead of you. She's here with that government agent." Johnny informed them not bothering to hide the anger in his tone. "And she's probably headed this way."
For once Dillon looked worried and borderline scared. "So why don't we just do the original plan here. We would have home field advantage." Dillon pointed out.
"No we don't! A conflict here could easily damage my assets as well as draw unwanted attention to my operations you dumbass!" Johnny growled.
"Perhaps not." KARR spoke up.
"I take it you already have a plan lab rat?" Johnny asked directing his attention to the vehicle.
"Indeed. I know my counterpart and his partner quite well. If you can get the girl into my cabin I will have complete control over what happens to her. They will not risk her life and will back off. From there it will be easy to take attention away from your operations here." KARR assured keeping a calm and friendly tone despite his inner turmoil.
Johnny didn't like this option one bit. It was too easy to lose control of the situation if the car went rogue but he didn't see any other options. "Fine, but I swear if you pull anything I will hunt you down myself and make you regret it." He warned.
"Duely noted." KARR said in an even tone as Johnny walked away.
On the outside KARR appeared cool and collected but on the inside he was practically screaming every curse word in the book. How dare this man threaten him. That wasn't just bold, it was idiotic. There was nothing this man could do to him and he had half a mind to kill him painfully when this was all over. On top of that he was a bit surprised that he hadn't picked up KITT this entire time. KARR may have limited the range of his scanner but he still should have been able to detect KITT's radar waves from his scanner, especially from this distance. The damage from going off that cliff must have been greater than he initially thought. It was hard to say given he was having trouble running a proper diagnostic. That would need to be the first thing he made this girl do. As far as his soon to be technician went, he had to give her credit for being this smart, but damn if she wasn't making things more difficult for him. It was fine he supposed. He could be flexible.