Knight Rider (1982) s01e16 Episode Script
The Topaz Connection
I've programmed KITT with everything | imaginable on Royce's publishing empire.
- Including the centerfolds? | - Boy, what I wouldn't give to have one of these.
- They're turning the man's | death into a circus.
- You sure you can handle me? | - I'll do the champagne, and then we'll see what else comes to mind.
I have an unidentified | speeding object on Runway 2.
Be careful, Michael.
Shake him loose.
Knight Rider, a shadowy flight | into the dangerous world of a man who does not exist.
Michael Knight, a young loner on a crusade to champion | the cause of the innocent, the helpless, | the powerless, in a world of criminals | who operate above the law.
¢ÜBaby, don't you hand me a line ¢Ü Hold it.
Yeah? It's me.
| Two seconds, honey.
It's my daughter.
Stay on top | of it, and we'll talk tomorrow.
When a magazine throws a party, guests | expect to see a mingling publisher.
I'm sorry, honey.
Give me | just another 20 more minutes.
Real time or Philip Royce time? Real time for a change.
| Oh.
By the way, | I'm expecting somebody.
Devon Miles.
I think he'll | be coming with a young lady.
So when he arrives, | just send him right up.
It's important, okay? All right.
| Real time my eye.
Hello.
| Please don't hang up.
I know it's been a long time, and I | know there's nothing between us anymore, but I need to talk to you.
I need a picture.
Hi.
I'm glad you could make it.
| It's good to see you.
Excuse me.
Would you call me | tomorrow? I really need to talk to you.
Not even out of diapers, | and she's running the show.
Paul! Hi! | How are you? I thought you couldn't make it.
I | couldn't.
I can't, but I'm here anyway.
I've got terrific news.
| What? Our market research team says | that our adds in Escape are 60 percent more effective | than any other print media.
I told you.
We're changing | our image and our demographics.
You stick with us, and Parkway | Pharmaceuticals will make Fortune 500.
I'm sorry, sir.
I cannot find | your name on the guest list.
If you'll be good enough | to call Mr.
Royce, he'll clear up | this misunderstanding.
- Excuse me.
Is there a problem? | - My guest and I were invited by Philip Royce personally.
Apparently we're not | on the guest list.
I'm sorry.
| Are you Devon Miles? I am.
| And this is Miss Barstow.
Oh, forgive me.
I'm Anne Tyler, | Philip's personal secretary.
He is expecting you.
| Will you please follow me? Thank you.
Lauren, I found him.
| Oh, thank you.
I hardly recognized you | with your clothes on.
What did you say? Didn't I shoot you last year, | Miss June? I think you've got | the wrong young lady.
Or the wrong month.
¢ÜHold me, hold me, hold me ¢Ü Philip, they're here | Mr.
Miles and Miss Barstow.
Philip? As you see, Michael, they're turning | the man's death into a circus.
Given the circumstances, | I can understand why.
What's our tie-in | with this, uh, Philip Royce? Royce called two days ago.
He wanted the | Foundation's help on a story he was researching.
- What kind of help? | - We weren't able to find out.
However, I got the impression from the | telephone call that the story was an expose.
If you're right about that, all we gotta do | is find out who he was trying to expose and we've got our prime suspect.
| Correct.
- Does the story have a title? | - He referred to it by a code name Topaz.
Did you run that through | the computers? Nothing.
The word doesn't seem to connect to anything | in Royce's personal or corporate life.
It is, however, a birthstone.
Mine.
Uh, November 24.
I'm sorry.
| I forgot your birthday, didn't I? Well, you were on assignment.
| Don't worry.
I covered for you.
- Tastefully? | - Of course.
Okay, guys.
| Thanks a lot.
Topaz.
- Where do I start? | - With his daughter, Lauren.
They were very close.
I've programmed KITT with everything | imaginable on Royce's publishing empire along with all the past issues | of Escape magazine.
- Including the centerfolds? | - I anticipated your every need.
Michael.
Uh, yeah? Why are all those young ladies | running around in such skimpy attire? When I find out, | you'll be the first to know.
Okay.
Now over here.
This must be the new car.
Boy, what I wouldn't give | to have one of these.
Very good.
I know some marksmen who'd like to | trade their bull's-eyes for yours.
Wow.
I just might be one of them.
Hi.
I'm Michael Knight.
I believe Devon Miles | called about me.
Miss Royce.
Lauren.
I'm here to see if I can help | find out what happened to your dad.
I'm not a cop.
I'm your friend.
| I'm on your side.
I need some information | about Topaz.
- All right.
What do you wanna know? | - I wanna know about the story your dad was working on.
- The story he called the Foundation and Devon Miles about.
| - Topaz.
Yeah, Topaz.
That's right.
It's all in this computer the story, the research, | documentation, names, times, places.
"Topaz | Enter six-digit access code.
" - Do you know anything about computers? | - A little.
Without the access code, | the story's unreachable.
- It might as well not even exist.
| - You don't have it? Nobody has it.
It died with my father.
It was his way of guaranteeing | security for his story and for his family and his friends.
What no one knows | could never hurt them.
Exactly.
So they hurt him instead.
When you think of Philip Royce, | what do you think of? Don't say it.
| I'll say it for you.
Ah.
Glamour and sex! | Fashion and sex.
Cars and sex.
A glossy, | air-brushed girlie magazine, huh? I feel like I should say, | "Guilty as charged.
" Say whatever you want.
All I care | about is vindicating my father's death.
I didn't know | it needed vindication.
You're just like all the rest.
"Philip Royce, | bon vivant, womanizer "who turned an avocation | into a profession, is found murdered in a hotel suite | with a younger woman.
" Makes perfect sense.
| After all, those who live by the sword | die by the sword.
- Why are you so angry? | - Because that is what everybody believes! That's his epitaph.
He was my dad.
Few people knew the real | Philip Royce, the serious journalist, the man who, when he turned 50, came into my room crying, telling me | that he would rather sell Escape than have it continue | the way it had.
He wanted to turn it | into something different.
Topaz Topaz was to be | the new beginning.
But by killing him | the way they did, they not only took his life, they took his reputation, | his credibility, his dignity.
I'm not gonna let them | get away with it.
And if I have to finish Topaz myself | to get those things back, I will.
Excuse me.
Hello? - Lauren Royce? | - Yes.
Who's this? My name is George Olin.
I was | working with your father on Topaz.
Just a minute, please.
This is a personal call.
Thank you very much for coming by.
If I | need your help, I know where to find you.
Lauren, um, | I'm sorry about your dad.
Do you know who killed my | father? I've got a good idea.
Meet me.
| I'll fill you in on the details.
Thanks, Kent.
| I'll get back by myself.
Michael, there's an armed man | on a rooftop down the street.
Lauren! KITT, get over here! No! Wait here.
| I'll be right back.
He got away.
- I'm sorry, Michael.
| - That's okay, pal.
We can't win 'em all.
Just like I told you, they | believe what they wanna believe.
Come on.
They deal in facts.
We can't | give them facts, just theories.
George Olin is not a theory.
What I'm trying to say | is that's to our advantage.
We're not limited to facts.
| If we put our heads together, there's a good chance we can | figure this out by ourselves, okay? Okay.
Okay, now, work | with me, all right? Let's reconstruct the last | couple days of your dad's life.
Where'd he go? Who'd he see? | "Where" is easy.
Las Vegas.
Business or pleasure? | I'm not sure.
I mean, he went up on Tuesday, | came back on Wednesday.
Did he go alone? I don't know, | but we can find out.
Amazing.
| It's like mission control.
I'm into gadgets.
| Oh, there's Don.
Michael, I'm not a gadget.
I am a state-of-the-art.
I know.
Give me a state-of-the-art | composite on one George Olin.
O- L-I-N.
Hard copy, please.
Thanks.
Don, this is Michael Knight.
| How you doing, Mike? Hi, Don.
Nice to meet | you.
Nice to meet you.
Dad did take someone with him | to Vegas, but he came back alone.
A Mr.
Williams.
| Mr.
Williams, huh? Any chance that's Mr.
Williams? Mm-hmm.
That's him.
Hang on.
| I'll be right back.
- KITT, patch me through to Devon.
| - Good news? Right now any news | is good news.
Michael? Devon, give me all you got | on a man named George Olin.
O- L-I-N.
He's working for Royce | under an assumed name.
I'll call you right back.
I have an unidentified speeding object | on Runway 2.
Did you see it? I saw it, but I don't believe it.
KITT, plot me a route to Las Vegas | off major highways.
Right away, Michael.
¢Ü On a hippie trail | head full of zombie ¢Ü ¢ÜI met a strange lady ¢Ü ¢ÜShe made me nervous ¢Ü ¢ÜShe took me in | and gave me breakfast ¢Ü KITT, get me Devon.
| Hello? Devon, it's Michael.
| Our lady publisher ran out on me.
- You lost her? | - That pretty well sums it up.
- How'd you do with George Olin? | - He was a private investigator, but don't get your hopes up.
Devon, if he was an investigator, | he had files.
What he had was | a photographic memory.
That was his trademark.
| No files.
Wonderful.
| I'll call you from Las Vegas.
I got a plane to catch.
¢ÜHe was six-foot-four | and full of muscles ¢Ü Welcome to Las Vegas, KITT, the land of the pot of gold | at the end of the rainbow.
Michael, would you draw | to an inside straight? I've been doing it all my life, KITT.
¢Ü Where beer does flow | and men chunder ¢Ü ¢Ü Can't you hear | Can't you hear the thunder ¢Ü ¢Ü You better run | You better take cover ¢Ü ¢Ü Yeah ¢Ü¢Ü Don, thank you.
| Appreciate it.
Hi.
Need a lift? No.
How did you get here | ahead of me? You didn't drive all the way? I think we've got more important | things to talk about, like you and me and some ground | rules for working together.
I didn't know | we were working together.
I gathered that when you | took off at the airport.
So that's the first thing | we gotta decide here.
Now, either we are working together, | or we aren't working together.
If we aren't working together, | all you gotta do is say the word, and I'm outta here.
You sure you can handle me? | No.
You sure you can handle me? No.
Uh, use the V.
I.
P.
Parking.
| It goes with the territory.
Terrific.
Thanks, Smitty.
I'll let them know | that we're here.
KITT, I'm gonna be a while.
| Go into surveillance mode.
Michael, my sensors are picking up | some very strange vibrations.
Oh, yeah.
It's probably | the one-armed bandits.
- Shall we pursue them? | - No.
No, that's, uh, | just a figure of speech.
This must be my lucky day.
Mine too.
Welcome to the Escape suite.
It's very nice.
| Thank you.
Is that thing hooked up | to the computer in L.
A.
? Probably.
All right.
Let's see here.
"Topaz.
| Enter six-digit access code.
" Bob.
How sweet.
I can't tell you how bad we all felt | about, uh, you know, what happened.
I know.
Thank you.
Michael, this is Bob Kroiger.
He's head ofhotel security.
| Bob, this is Michael Knight.
Hi.
We're trying to clear up a | few things regarding the estate.
- You have any idea who this guy is? | - Yeah, that's Ed Williams.
- Where you know him from? | - Here.
The hotel.
Your father brought him | into my office last week.
Told me to hire him in Security, | so I did.
The guy disappears on me | after one day.
That's it, huh? That's all I know.
Well, thank you, Bob.
Well, if, uh, | you need anything, um Ed Williams.
| Yeah, I know.
Same name they used | with the pilot.
Mm-hmm.
Why? | What were they trying to hide? Lauren, my guess is your father's investigation | turned up somebody or something here at the hotel, so he brought in this guy Olin | to work undercover.
Then why would he suddenly | leave the next day? Maybe he found | what he was looking for.
Your father keep any files, any letters, papers, | anything like that? We could look.
| All right.
You check the cabinets.
| I'll check the desk.
Maybe something will turn up | that's not locked away under Topaz.
KITT, any progress | on the access code? As Bonnie pointed out, Michael, the possible | numerical combinations are virtually unlimited.
Come on.
Use your imagination.
| How about 00001? - Thank you, Michael.
| - Don't mention it, pal.
All right.
What? | I'm sorry.
It's just that I feel so Come on.
| What is it? Today's my birthday.
Dad always used to forget.
This time he didn't forget.
They're asking questions | about that detective, Olin.
What'd you say? | Nothin'.
That he came and he left.
But | they're not gonna let it go at that.
The next thing you know, they're gonna be trying | to get Topaz out of the old man's computer.
They won't have any better luck | than we did.
How do you know? | They're not here for their health.
If they're on to something, | we could be in some bad trouble.
Look, Royce is dead.
Olin's dead.
| You're not talking about I'm talkin' whatever's necessary | to stay well paid and safe.
As long as those files | are in that computer, and Royce's daughter | and her pal are runnin' around | asking questions, I don't feel safe.
¢ÜLove's been a little bit hard on me ¢Ü ¢ÜIf I shy away, it's only because ¢Ü ¢ÜLove's been a little bit hard on me ¢Ü ¢ÜLove's been a little ¢Ü | ¢Ü Well, love's been a little ¢Ü ¢ÜLove's been a little bit hard on me ¢Ü ¢ÜLove's been a little ¢Ü | ¢Ü You know, it's just been a little ¢Ü ¢ÜLove's been a little bit hard on me ¢Ü Then at the blackjack table, | I was splitting a pair of tens Nobody splits a pair of tens.
Believe | it or not, I have never won before.
You won! | I know.
Oh, Michael.
Now, don't tell me, | "You shouldn't have.
" You shouldn't have.
Why not? | Because.
Lauren, your father loved you.
He wanted nothing | but the best for you.
If he thought you let your birthday | slip by without a cake, or a smile | or a bottle of champagne You're right.
You hardly | know me, but you're right.
How come you're | so right all the time? It's my specialty.
Okay, there's the smile.
Let's see.
What else do | we have? Oh, the cake, champagne.
Anything else? | I'll tell you what.
You do the cake.
I'll do the champagne.
And then we'll see | what else comes to mind.
Deal.
Ready? Make a wish.
Very good.
Terrific.
| Thank you.
Champagne.
A toast to a man I hope | to get to know better.
Um Excuse me.
| Yes.
Bob.
| Lauren, I'm sorry to interrupt, but Anne Tyler called | when you were out.
She said that the police wanna see | you in L.
A.
First thing in the morning.
- Did she say why? | - Something about a witness to connect, uh, George Olin's death | to your father's.
All right.
Call me as soon | as you find out what they got.
I will.
And you call me if you | find out any more on George Olin.
Yeah.
| I'll miss you.
Me too.
Can I take a rain check | on the rest of the champagne? Rain check.
Bye-bye.
Don? | Don couldn't make it.
Michael, my sensors are picking up | screams inside the plane.
KITT, looks like I'm gonna need | a boarding pass.
Does this mean | what I think it means? Yes.
Take over, KITT.
- This is highly unorthodox, Michael.
| - Thanks for reminding me.
Keep her steady, KITT.
| All right.
You got it.
Be careful.
What? | Shake him loose! Michael, what are you doing? | Gonna try to jam his rudder.
Hang on, Michael.
Michael? | Michael, are you all right? Michael? Can you hear me? Michael! - Devon? | - Hello.
Welcome back.
Where am I? What happened? | Whoa! Not so fast.
You're in the semi | just outside Las Vegas.
Fortunately, my friend, Dr.
Carlysle, was on one of his | monthly gambling forays.
I managed to corner him | at a crap table.
My forays, as you call them, | are semiannual, not monthly.
Now breathe.
Deeper.
- Where's Lauren? | - Michael, wait.
- You should rest.
| - What happened? - I'm afraid they got her.
| - Who are "they"? Who? I was hoping you could tell me.
Devon, the plane | was a company plane.
Whoever planned this was very clever and very thorough.
They used a plane identical to Royce's.
| They even filed a fictitious flight plan.
Anything on Topaz? I've got KITT and every available | computer working around the clock.
It's a long shot.
| Michael, please sit down.
Rampaging around like this | is not gonna accomplish anything.
- The phone call.
| - What? The police.
| Do they have a new lead, a witness? Not as of an hour ago.
Why? Michael, you're | in no condition to drive.
Where the devil | do you think you're going? I gotta talk to Anne Tyler.
You know, I just drove 20 miles | just to find a store, and then they had no steaks.
What's happening to this country? I mean, how you gonna | keep a country strong when the people are eatin' fish | and chicken all the time? Vegetables.
Do you think you would ever | see a Russian eat a vegetable? You hungry? This means yes, | and this means no.
Take this down to the art | department and check it, please.
- I thought you were | - Dead? Why would I think that? | I thought you were in Las Vegas.
- Where's Lauren? | - That's what I came here to find out.
I don't know what you mean.
| Yes, you do.
! You called Bob Kroiger at the hotel | with a phony message about the police needing Lauren | back here in L.
A.
I did not.
I don't know what Bob told | you, but I haven't spoken to him in days.
Good-bye, Mr.
Knight.
| Anne, listen to me! It's all coming apart at the seams.
| It's not gonna work.
I don't know exactly how | you're involved in this or why, but I know you're involved.
Now, please, help me find Lauren | before they kill her too.
Get your hands off me | before I call security! She trusted you.
| Get out of here! I don't know what | Philip Royce did to you, real or imagined, | but to let Lauren die for his sins puts you in a whole | different category, babe.
And when your pals go down, | I swear to you I'll make a point of seeing that | you go down right along with them, all the way.
"Real or imagined"? You don't know the half of it.
I was Philip's first centerfold.
I worked day and night | to make Escape a success.
I loved him.
I gave him everything! Don't you see? | I helped create the great Philip Royce.
But instead of marriage, | I got a lifetime contract and a title.
Instead of love, I got a constant series of affairs.
One woman after another, | year after year! Where are they keeping Lauren? | I don't know.
I never thought | it would go this far.
I'm telling you the truth! | I swear I don't know! Wait a minute.
| That's you, isn't it? Your centerfold shot, | what month were you? Miss November.
Why? The birthstone for November | is Topaz.
He thought more of you | than you know.
I'm gonna take off your gag, but before | I do, I'm gonna tell you something.
I've been in | these situations before.
People do crazy things.
| You know what I mean? They start to yell and scream and do dumb things.
Now, take my advice.
| Just relax and go with it.
Whatever's gonna happen | is gonna happen.
Just like I said, | as pretty as ever.
- Hello, Lauren.
| - Paul, Bob, what I'm sorry.
| This isn't what I intended.
- None of this was ever supposed to happen.
| - You're behind all of this? Paul, you murdered my father? | He was your friend! You too, Bob.
! | He trusted you.
! Why? This is insane.
How could | you do that to him? Why? You know, I'm not proud | of what I had to do.
I had to do it.
Believe that.
And let's not suffer under the romantic delusion | that Philip Royce was a saint.
He wasn't even a decent man, | for that matter.
Hold her arm, please.
| No.
No! Topaz.
Watch this.
- Miss November.
| - Miss November? - You've gotta be kidding.
| - Look.
"Accepted.
" - Who's the speed-reader? | - I am.
Good.
Find me a name.
There's | gotta be a name in there.
It has to do with drugs.
| One drug in particular Dialozine.
| Passed by the F.
D.
A.
But later, independent tests | show possible side effects.
The company is | Parkway Pharmaceuticals.
And the owner's name | is Paul DeBrett.
Paul DeBrett.
| Is that name familiar? Yes, he was on the guest list | at Philip Royce's that night.
- A friend? | - It's hard to imagine a man in his position being directly involved.
Unless his own life was at stake, | or that of his company's.
Lauren, tell me about Topaz.
| Topaz? Think ofTopaz as a friend | who's trapped, a friend you want to set free.
Do you know the access code? | No.
Does your friend, Michael Knight? Michael.
Michael.
Does he? No.
Michael, it's Devon.
| Yeah, Devon? - Do you know the expression, "Do a 180"? | - Why? What's up? I made a few calls.
Paul DeBrett | is not at his house in the city.
He's at the house he's building in | the country.
Eagle Lake, to be precise.
All right.
You heard the man, | KITT, let's go.
She doesn't know.
I told you | we didn't need to do this.
- She doesn't know anything, neither does Knight.
| - Don't fall apart on me.
I just wanna | get this thing over with.
I'm gonna get some air.
She don't know nothin'.
| Why don't we just dump her? You're right.
| Let's go.
And after, are we | coming back here or what? Why? Because I got 60 dollars' | worth of groceries in there.
- You amaze me.
| - It's him, the guy in the car! It's Knight! Here, hold this.
Whoa! Let's get him, buddy.
! | Take over.
! I got her.
| Let's get going! Let's go! Hop in, Michael.
| I think we can catch them.
Thanks, buddy.
Hey, he's behind us.
! | Punch it.
! I beg your pardon.
- Nice touch, Michael.
| - Thanks, KITT.
Take it easy.
| Come on.
It's okay.
| I'm all right.
Oop.
You all right? Good.
| What happened? Paul DeBrett, Bob! They Whoop.
There you go.
It's okay.
I got ya.
It's all right.
Michael, I got the point.
| You're okay? I'm fine.
Then what | am I holding you for? Are you all right? | I'm fine.
The phone's been ringing | off the hook.
The F.
D.
A.
's prohibited the sale of | Dialozine pending further investigation.
Your father would've | been proud of you, your story.
You're a worthy heir.
| Well, thank you.
And if I'm not mistaken, you and I have | some unfinished business to take care of.
A rain check on | a half a bottle of champagne.
Two-thirds of a bottle.
Lauren, I love it.
! Yeah, I think it's one of | our best yet.
Here, I'll give you | an expert opinion.
Wow! Look at the lines | on that.
Look at the curves.
Well, KITT, what do you think? Overall, it's a very flattering layout.
However, there is one small detail that | keeps it from being picture-perfect.
No kidding.
| What's that? Please remove the staple | from my fender.
Michael Knight, a lone crusader | in a dangerous world, the world of the Knight Rider.
- Including the centerfolds? | - Boy, what I wouldn't give to have one of these.
- They're turning the man's | death into a circus.
- You sure you can handle me? | - I'll do the champagne, and then we'll see what else comes to mind.
I have an unidentified | speeding object on Runway 2.
Be careful, Michael.
Shake him loose.
Knight Rider, a shadowy flight | into the dangerous world of a man who does not exist.
Michael Knight, a young loner on a crusade to champion | the cause of the innocent, the helpless, | the powerless, in a world of criminals | who operate above the law.
¢ÜBaby, don't you hand me a line ¢Ü Hold it.
Yeah? It's me.
| Two seconds, honey.
It's my daughter.
Stay on top | of it, and we'll talk tomorrow.
When a magazine throws a party, guests | expect to see a mingling publisher.
I'm sorry, honey.
Give me | just another 20 more minutes.
Real time or Philip Royce time? Real time for a change.
| Oh.
By the way, | I'm expecting somebody.
Devon Miles.
I think he'll | be coming with a young lady.
So when he arrives, | just send him right up.
It's important, okay? All right.
| Real time my eye.
Hello.
| Please don't hang up.
I know it's been a long time, and I | know there's nothing between us anymore, but I need to talk to you.
I need a picture.
Hi.
I'm glad you could make it.
| It's good to see you.
Excuse me.
Would you call me | tomorrow? I really need to talk to you.
Not even out of diapers, | and she's running the show.
Paul! Hi! | How are you? I thought you couldn't make it.
I | couldn't.
I can't, but I'm here anyway.
I've got terrific news.
| What? Our market research team says | that our adds in Escape are 60 percent more effective | than any other print media.
I told you.
We're changing | our image and our demographics.
You stick with us, and Parkway | Pharmaceuticals will make Fortune 500.
I'm sorry, sir.
I cannot find | your name on the guest list.
If you'll be good enough | to call Mr.
Royce, he'll clear up | this misunderstanding.
- Excuse me.
Is there a problem? | - My guest and I were invited by Philip Royce personally.
Apparently we're not | on the guest list.
I'm sorry.
| Are you Devon Miles? I am.
| And this is Miss Barstow.
Oh, forgive me.
I'm Anne Tyler, | Philip's personal secretary.
He is expecting you.
| Will you please follow me? Thank you.
Lauren, I found him.
| Oh, thank you.
I hardly recognized you | with your clothes on.
What did you say? Didn't I shoot you last year, | Miss June? I think you've got | the wrong young lady.
Or the wrong month.
¢ÜHold me, hold me, hold me ¢Ü Philip, they're here | Mr.
Miles and Miss Barstow.
Philip? As you see, Michael, they're turning | the man's death into a circus.
Given the circumstances, | I can understand why.
What's our tie-in | with this, uh, Philip Royce? Royce called two days ago.
He wanted the | Foundation's help on a story he was researching.
- What kind of help? | - We weren't able to find out.
However, I got the impression from the | telephone call that the story was an expose.
If you're right about that, all we gotta do | is find out who he was trying to expose and we've got our prime suspect.
| Correct.
- Does the story have a title? | - He referred to it by a code name Topaz.
Did you run that through | the computers? Nothing.
The word doesn't seem to connect to anything | in Royce's personal or corporate life.
It is, however, a birthstone.
Mine.
Uh, November 24.
I'm sorry.
| I forgot your birthday, didn't I? Well, you were on assignment.
| Don't worry.
I covered for you.
- Tastefully? | - Of course.
Okay, guys.
| Thanks a lot.
Topaz.
- Where do I start? | - With his daughter, Lauren.
They were very close.
I've programmed KITT with everything | imaginable on Royce's publishing empire along with all the past issues | of Escape magazine.
- Including the centerfolds? | - I anticipated your every need.
Michael.
Uh, yeah? Why are all those young ladies | running around in such skimpy attire? When I find out, | you'll be the first to know.
Okay.
Now over here.
This must be the new car.
Boy, what I wouldn't give | to have one of these.
Very good.
I know some marksmen who'd like to | trade their bull's-eyes for yours.
Wow.
I just might be one of them.
Hi.
I'm Michael Knight.
I believe Devon Miles | called about me.
Miss Royce.
Lauren.
I'm here to see if I can help | find out what happened to your dad.
I'm not a cop.
I'm your friend.
| I'm on your side.
I need some information | about Topaz.
- All right.
What do you wanna know? | - I wanna know about the story your dad was working on.
- The story he called the Foundation and Devon Miles about.
| - Topaz.
Yeah, Topaz.
That's right.
It's all in this computer the story, the research, | documentation, names, times, places.
"Topaz | Enter six-digit access code.
" - Do you know anything about computers? | - A little.
Without the access code, | the story's unreachable.
- It might as well not even exist.
| - You don't have it? Nobody has it.
It died with my father.
It was his way of guaranteeing | security for his story and for his family and his friends.
What no one knows | could never hurt them.
Exactly.
So they hurt him instead.
When you think of Philip Royce, | what do you think of? Don't say it.
| I'll say it for you.
Ah.
Glamour and sex! | Fashion and sex.
Cars and sex.
A glossy, | air-brushed girlie magazine, huh? I feel like I should say, | "Guilty as charged.
" Say whatever you want.
All I care | about is vindicating my father's death.
I didn't know | it needed vindication.
You're just like all the rest.
"Philip Royce, | bon vivant, womanizer "who turned an avocation | into a profession, is found murdered in a hotel suite | with a younger woman.
" Makes perfect sense.
| After all, those who live by the sword | die by the sword.
- Why are you so angry? | - Because that is what everybody believes! That's his epitaph.
He was my dad.
Few people knew the real | Philip Royce, the serious journalist, the man who, when he turned 50, came into my room crying, telling me | that he would rather sell Escape than have it continue | the way it had.
He wanted to turn it | into something different.
Topaz Topaz was to be | the new beginning.
But by killing him | the way they did, they not only took his life, they took his reputation, | his credibility, his dignity.
I'm not gonna let them | get away with it.
And if I have to finish Topaz myself | to get those things back, I will.
Excuse me.
Hello? - Lauren Royce? | - Yes.
Who's this? My name is George Olin.
I was | working with your father on Topaz.
Just a minute, please.
This is a personal call.
Thank you very much for coming by.
If I | need your help, I know where to find you.
Lauren, um, | I'm sorry about your dad.
Do you know who killed my | father? I've got a good idea.
Meet me.
| I'll fill you in on the details.
Thanks, Kent.
| I'll get back by myself.
Michael, there's an armed man | on a rooftop down the street.
Lauren! KITT, get over here! No! Wait here.
| I'll be right back.
He got away.
- I'm sorry, Michael.
| - That's okay, pal.
We can't win 'em all.
Just like I told you, they | believe what they wanna believe.
Come on.
They deal in facts.
We can't | give them facts, just theories.
George Olin is not a theory.
What I'm trying to say | is that's to our advantage.
We're not limited to facts.
| If we put our heads together, there's a good chance we can | figure this out by ourselves, okay? Okay.
Okay, now, work | with me, all right? Let's reconstruct the last | couple days of your dad's life.
Where'd he go? Who'd he see? | "Where" is easy.
Las Vegas.
Business or pleasure? | I'm not sure.
I mean, he went up on Tuesday, | came back on Wednesday.
Did he go alone? I don't know, | but we can find out.
Amazing.
| It's like mission control.
I'm into gadgets.
| Oh, there's Don.
Michael, I'm not a gadget.
I am a state-of-the-art.
I know.
Give me a state-of-the-art | composite on one George Olin.
O- L-I-N.
Hard copy, please.
Thanks.
Don, this is Michael Knight.
| How you doing, Mike? Hi, Don.
Nice to meet | you.
Nice to meet you.
Dad did take someone with him | to Vegas, but he came back alone.
A Mr.
Williams.
| Mr.
Williams, huh? Any chance that's Mr.
Williams? Mm-hmm.
That's him.
Hang on.
| I'll be right back.
- KITT, patch me through to Devon.
| - Good news? Right now any news | is good news.
Michael? Devon, give me all you got | on a man named George Olin.
O- L-I-N.
He's working for Royce | under an assumed name.
I'll call you right back.
I have an unidentified speeding object | on Runway 2.
Did you see it? I saw it, but I don't believe it.
KITT, plot me a route to Las Vegas | off major highways.
Right away, Michael.
¢Ü On a hippie trail | head full of zombie ¢Ü ¢ÜI met a strange lady ¢Ü ¢ÜShe made me nervous ¢Ü ¢ÜShe took me in | and gave me breakfast ¢Ü KITT, get me Devon.
| Hello? Devon, it's Michael.
| Our lady publisher ran out on me.
- You lost her? | - That pretty well sums it up.
- How'd you do with George Olin? | - He was a private investigator, but don't get your hopes up.
Devon, if he was an investigator, | he had files.
What he had was | a photographic memory.
That was his trademark.
| No files.
Wonderful.
| I'll call you from Las Vegas.
I got a plane to catch.
¢ÜHe was six-foot-four | and full of muscles ¢Ü Welcome to Las Vegas, KITT, the land of the pot of gold | at the end of the rainbow.
Michael, would you draw | to an inside straight? I've been doing it all my life, KITT.
¢Ü Where beer does flow | and men chunder ¢Ü ¢Ü Can't you hear | Can't you hear the thunder ¢Ü ¢Ü You better run | You better take cover ¢Ü ¢Ü Yeah ¢Ü¢Ü Don, thank you.
| Appreciate it.
Hi.
Need a lift? No.
How did you get here | ahead of me? You didn't drive all the way? I think we've got more important | things to talk about, like you and me and some ground | rules for working together.
I didn't know | we were working together.
I gathered that when you | took off at the airport.
So that's the first thing | we gotta decide here.
Now, either we are working together, | or we aren't working together.
If we aren't working together, | all you gotta do is say the word, and I'm outta here.
You sure you can handle me? | No.
You sure you can handle me? No.
Uh, use the V.
I.
P.
Parking.
| It goes with the territory.
Terrific.
Thanks, Smitty.
I'll let them know | that we're here.
KITT, I'm gonna be a while.
| Go into surveillance mode.
Michael, my sensors are picking up | some very strange vibrations.
Oh, yeah.
It's probably | the one-armed bandits.
- Shall we pursue them? | - No.
No, that's, uh, | just a figure of speech.
This must be my lucky day.
Mine too.
Welcome to the Escape suite.
It's very nice.
| Thank you.
Is that thing hooked up | to the computer in L.
A.
? Probably.
All right.
Let's see here.
"Topaz.
| Enter six-digit access code.
" Bob.
How sweet.
I can't tell you how bad we all felt | about, uh, you know, what happened.
I know.
Thank you.
Michael, this is Bob Kroiger.
He's head ofhotel security.
| Bob, this is Michael Knight.
Hi.
We're trying to clear up a | few things regarding the estate.
- You have any idea who this guy is? | - Yeah, that's Ed Williams.
- Where you know him from? | - Here.
The hotel.
Your father brought him | into my office last week.
Told me to hire him in Security, | so I did.
The guy disappears on me | after one day.
That's it, huh? That's all I know.
Well, thank you, Bob.
Well, if, uh, | you need anything, um Ed Williams.
| Yeah, I know.
Same name they used | with the pilot.
Mm-hmm.
Why? | What were they trying to hide? Lauren, my guess is your father's investigation | turned up somebody or something here at the hotel, so he brought in this guy Olin | to work undercover.
Then why would he suddenly | leave the next day? Maybe he found | what he was looking for.
Your father keep any files, any letters, papers, | anything like that? We could look.
| All right.
You check the cabinets.
| I'll check the desk.
Maybe something will turn up | that's not locked away under Topaz.
KITT, any progress | on the access code? As Bonnie pointed out, Michael, the possible | numerical combinations are virtually unlimited.
Come on.
Use your imagination.
| How about 00001? - Thank you, Michael.
| - Don't mention it, pal.
All right.
What? | I'm sorry.
It's just that I feel so Come on.
| What is it? Today's my birthday.
Dad always used to forget.
This time he didn't forget.
They're asking questions | about that detective, Olin.
What'd you say? | Nothin'.
That he came and he left.
But | they're not gonna let it go at that.
The next thing you know, they're gonna be trying | to get Topaz out of the old man's computer.
They won't have any better luck | than we did.
How do you know? | They're not here for their health.
If they're on to something, | we could be in some bad trouble.
Look, Royce is dead.
Olin's dead.
| You're not talking about I'm talkin' whatever's necessary | to stay well paid and safe.
As long as those files | are in that computer, and Royce's daughter | and her pal are runnin' around | asking questions, I don't feel safe.
¢ÜLove's been a little bit hard on me ¢Ü ¢ÜIf I shy away, it's only because ¢Ü ¢ÜLove's been a little bit hard on me ¢Ü ¢ÜLove's been a little ¢Ü | ¢Ü Well, love's been a little ¢Ü ¢ÜLove's been a little bit hard on me ¢Ü ¢ÜLove's been a little ¢Ü | ¢Ü You know, it's just been a little ¢Ü ¢ÜLove's been a little bit hard on me ¢Ü Then at the blackjack table, | I was splitting a pair of tens Nobody splits a pair of tens.
Believe | it or not, I have never won before.
You won! | I know.
Oh, Michael.
Now, don't tell me, | "You shouldn't have.
" You shouldn't have.
Why not? | Because.
Lauren, your father loved you.
He wanted nothing | but the best for you.
If he thought you let your birthday | slip by without a cake, or a smile | or a bottle of champagne You're right.
You hardly | know me, but you're right.
How come you're | so right all the time? It's my specialty.
Okay, there's the smile.
Let's see.
What else do | we have? Oh, the cake, champagne.
Anything else? | I'll tell you what.
You do the cake.
I'll do the champagne.
And then we'll see | what else comes to mind.
Deal.
Ready? Make a wish.
Very good.
Terrific.
| Thank you.
Champagne.
A toast to a man I hope | to get to know better.
Um Excuse me.
| Yes.
Bob.
| Lauren, I'm sorry to interrupt, but Anne Tyler called | when you were out.
She said that the police wanna see | you in L.
A.
First thing in the morning.
- Did she say why? | - Something about a witness to connect, uh, George Olin's death | to your father's.
All right.
Call me as soon | as you find out what they got.
I will.
And you call me if you | find out any more on George Olin.
Yeah.
| I'll miss you.
Me too.
Can I take a rain check | on the rest of the champagne? Rain check.
Bye-bye.
Don? | Don couldn't make it.
Michael, my sensors are picking up | screams inside the plane.
KITT, looks like I'm gonna need | a boarding pass.
Does this mean | what I think it means? Yes.
Take over, KITT.
- This is highly unorthodox, Michael.
| - Thanks for reminding me.
Keep her steady, KITT.
| All right.
You got it.
Be careful.
What? | Shake him loose! Michael, what are you doing? | Gonna try to jam his rudder.
Hang on, Michael.
Michael? | Michael, are you all right? Michael? Can you hear me? Michael! - Devon? | - Hello.
Welcome back.
Where am I? What happened? | Whoa! Not so fast.
You're in the semi | just outside Las Vegas.
Fortunately, my friend, Dr.
Carlysle, was on one of his | monthly gambling forays.
I managed to corner him | at a crap table.
My forays, as you call them, | are semiannual, not monthly.
Now breathe.
Deeper.
- Where's Lauren? | - Michael, wait.
- You should rest.
| - What happened? - I'm afraid they got her.
| - Who are "they"? Who? I was hoping you could tell me.
Devon, the plane | was a company plane.
Whoever planned this was very clever and very thorough.
They used a plane identical to Royce's.
| They even filed a fictitious flight plan.
Anything on Topaz? I've got KITT and every available | computer working around the clock.
It's a long shot.
| Michael, please sit down.
Rampaging around like this | is not gonna accomplish anything.
- The phone call.
| - What? The police.
| Do they have a new lead, a witness? Not as of an hour ago.
Why? Michael, you're | in no condition to drive.
Where the devil | do you think you're going? I gotta talk to Anne Tyler.
You know, I just drove 20 miles | just to find a store, and then they had no steaks.
What's happening to this country? I mean, how you gonna | keep a country strong when the people are eatin' fish | and chicken all the time? Vegetables.
Do you think you would ever | see a Russian eat a vegetable? You hungry? This means yes, | and this means no.
Take this down to the art | department and check it, please.
- I thought you were | - Dead? Why would I think that? | I thought you were in Las Vegas.
- Where's Lauren? | - That's what I came here to find out.
I don't know what you mean.
| Yes, you do.
! You called Bob Kroiger at the hotel | with a phony message about the police needing Lauren | back here in L.
A.
I did not.
I don't know what Bob told | you, but I haven't spoken to him in days.
Good-bye, Mr.
Knight.
| Anne, listen to me! It's all coming apart at the seams.
| It's not gonna work.
I don't know exactly how | you're involved in this or why, but I know you're involved.
Now, please, help me find Lauren | before they kill her too.
Get your hands off me | before I call security! She trusted you.
| Get out of here! I don't know what | Philip Royce did to you, real or imagined, | but to let Lauren die for his sins puts you in a whole | different category, babe.
And when your pals go down, | I swear to you I'll make a point of seeing that | you go down right along with them, all the way.
"Real or imagined"? You don't know the half of it.
I was Philip's first centerfold.
I worked day and night | to make Escape a success.
I loved him.
I gave him everything! Don't you see? | I helped create the great Philip Royce.
But instead of marriage, | I got a lifetime contract and a title.
Instead of love, I got a constant series of affairs.
One woman after another, | year after year! Where are they keeping Lauren? | I don't know.
I never thought | it would go this far.
I'm telling you the truth! | I swear I don't know! Wait a minute.
| That's you, isn't it? Your centerfold shot, | what month were you? Miss November.
Why? The birthstone for November | is Topaz.
He thought more of you | than you know.
I'm gonna take off your gag, but before | I do, I'm gonna tell you something.
I've been in | these situations before.
People do crazy things.
| You know what I mean? They start to yell and scream and do dumb things.
Now, take my advice.
| Just relax and go with it.
Whatever's gonna happen | is gonna happen.
Just like I said, | as pretty as ever.
- Hello, Lauren.
| - Paul, Bob, what I'm sorry.
| This isn't what I intended.
- None of this was ever supposed to happen.
| - You're behind all of this? Paul, you murdered my father? | He was your friend! You too, Bob.
! | He trusted you.
! Why? This is insane.
How could | you do that to him? Why? You know, I'm not proud | of what I had to do.
I had to do it.
Believe that.
And let's not suffer under the romantic delusion | that Philip Royce was a saint.
He wasn't even a decent man, | for that matter.
Hold her arm, please.
| No.
No! Topaz.
Watch this.
- Miss November.
| - Miss November? - You've gotta be kidding.
| - Look.
"Accepted.
" - Who's the speed-reader? | - I am.
Good.
Find me a name.
There's | gotta be a name in there.
It has to do with drugs.
| One drug in particular Dialozine.
| Passed by the F.
D.
A.
But later, independent tests | show possible side effects.
The company is | Parkway Pharmaceuticals.
And the owner's name | is Paul DeBrett.
Paul DeBrett.
| Is that name familiar? Yes, he was on the guest list | at Philip Royce's that night.
- A friend? | - It's hard to imagine a man in his position being directly involved.
Unless his own life was at stake, | or that of his company's.
Lauren, tell me about Topaz.
| Topaz? Think ofTopaz as a friend | who's trapped, a friend you want to set free.
Do you know the access code? | No.
Does your friend, Michael Knight? Michael.
Michael.
Does he? No.
Michael, it's Devon.
| Yeah, Devon? - Do you know the expression, "Do a 180"? | - Why? What's up? I made a few calls.
Paul DeBrett | is not at his house in the city.
He's at the house he's building in | the country.
Eagle Lake, to be precise.
All right.
You heard the man, | KITT, let's go.
She doesn't know.
I told you | we didn't need to do this.
- She doesn't know anything, neither does Knight.
| - Don't fall apart on me.
I just wanna | get this thing over with.
I'm gonna get some air.
She don't know nothin'.
| Why don't we just dump her? You're right.
| Let's go.
And after, are we | coming back here or what? Why? Because I got 60 dollars' | worth of groceries in there.
- You amaze me.
| - It's him, the guy in the car! It's Knight! Here, hold this.
Whoa! Let's get him, buddy.
! | Take over.
! I got her.
| Let's get going! Let's go! Hop in, Michael.
| I think we can catch them.
Thanks, buddy.
Hey, he's behind us.
! | Punch it.
! I beg your pardon.
- Nice touch, Michael.
| - Thanks, KITT.
Take it easy.
| Come on.
It's okay.
| I'm all right.
Oop.
You all right? Good.
| What happened? Paul DeBrett, Bob! They Whoop.
There you go.
It's okay.
I got ya.
It's all right.
Michael, I got the point.
| You're okay? I'm fine.
Then what | am I holding you for? Are you all right? | I'm fine.
The phone's been ringing | off the hook.
The F.
D.
A.
's prohibited the sale of | Dialozine pending further investigation.
Your father would've | been proud of you, your story.
You're a worthy heir.
| Well, thank you.
And if I'm not mistaken, you and I have | some unfinished business to take care of.
A rain check on | a half a bottle of champagne.
Two-thirds of a bottle.
Lauren, I love it.
! Yeah, I think it's one of | our best yet.
Here, I'll give you | an expert opinion.
Wow! Look at the lines | on that.
Look at the curves.
Well, KITT, what do you think? Overall, it's a very flattering layout.
However, there is one small detail that | keeps it from being picture-perfect.
No kidding.
| What's that? Please remove the staple | from my fender.
Michael Knight, a lone crusader | in a dangerous world, the world of the Knight Rider.