(no subject)

[gone_byebye]

A door opens in the side of the old Hook and Ladder No. 8 building, and Ray stepped through. Holding the door open, he gestured for the others to follow him into the alley.

Comments

[prototype-karr.livejournal.com]

"I know," Michelle's KARR said, mollified. "But I'll be happier when we don't need to ride one any more."

The Milliways KARR just chuckled, his scanner flicking slowly. "I mainly just provided commentary, or watched."

[not-a-surgeon.livejournal.com]

"Paperweight," said Bonnie with a smirk.

[gone_byebye]

Michelle sighed. "All right. We'll find some way of contacting Nonesuch without giving ourselves away. If I'm right about what they want..." She looked off into the distance. "I hate giving these guys a leg up on spying on their own people, but given what they'd do if they had half a chance... this might at least slow them down. If it gets them off our tail, we can at least figure out a few countermeasures ahead of time, if need be. Or something. Drone it is."

[prototype-karr.livejournal.com]

"A very good looking paperweight," he shot back, smug.

The other KARR's scanner flashed for a moment. "Should I contact Mr. Miles? The sooner we can give them something to distract them, the sooner we should be able to go back to work."

[gone_byebye]

"Please? No offense-" She glanced apologetically over at Ray. "But this part of the country feels so cramped. There's too much that needs doing out West to run around here with our heads down much longer."

[not-a-surgeon.livejournal.com]

Bonnie lightly thumped Karr's side. "That's beside the point.

"But really, about the drone... Wireless control from a safe hub... But make it impossible for it to gain self-awareness. And, just as a hint, make sure you keep a backdoor into the system, in case bad goes to worse. And you two head out where things are a little less dense, by all means -"

"-But if you hear reports about another black car this way, it may be me instead of your Kitt," said Kitt, barely able to butt in.

Bonnie patted his fender.

[prototype-karr.livejournal.com]

"All right," Michelle's KARR said, and quietly ste to work with contacting Devon and transmitting the idea back. The explanation of how they'd gotten the idea could wait until later. His attention returned to Kitt for a few moments. "We will keep that in mind. But it is still a good diea to be on alert for our Kitt."

[gone_byebye]

Michelle nodded. "He's seemed worse the last time or two we've encountered him," she confided. "Poor guy... You should be careful, too, while you're here. I don't know how he'd react to encountering himself. Especially not a version of himself that had somebody at the wheel."

"I'm not his driver," Ray began, but Michelle shook her head.

"Doesn't matter. He lost it because someone else had his purpose and his driver. Running across a car who not only had his purpose and a driver, but had his actual identity... I don't think that would be good for him at all. Or anyone, really."

[not-a-surgeon.livejournal.com]

"I hate to draw this out, but I've got to ask... what do you mean 'worse'?"

[prototype-karr.livejournal.com]

"He has become...steadily more erractic. He is more hostile as well, and is likely to try to hurt someone if he thinks you are trying to take his freedom." He paused. "I'd suggest you avoid that subject around him."

[gone_byebye]

"what he said," Michelle said, nodding towards KARR.

[not-a-surgeon.livejournal.com]

"And thus a danger to himself as well as everyone else," Bonnie filled in with a sigh. "I see."

And she didn't want anything bad to happen to the Kitt here, either - but in such a situation, what could she do? Have Karr turboboost into him and leave him wreckage to pick a CPU out of? Such things only worked once over, even with more than one reality to choose from.

[prototype-karr.livejournal.com]

"Yes. It is an unfortunate situation, and one that we have yet to solve."

[not-a-surgeon.livejournal.com]

"And one I can't figure out either. But... you have a private line where I can reach you if I get an idea? I can send messages through Kitt... Our Kitt."

[gone_byebye]

Michelle hesitated a moment, then nodded. She fished a worn-looking receipt out of one pocket. "If anybody's got a pencil, I can give you- thank you, Dr. Stantz- the contact information for my mobile unit. Voice, data, and GPS decryption code in case we have to be located personally." Her mouth twitched. "Just because every mobile unit sold in the country for the past three years has to have global positioning tech in it, doesn't mean it has to be easy."

[prototype-karr.livejournal.com]

"I prefer it not being easy. It makes things easier for us, I think."

[gone_byebye]

"Ya think?" Michelle returned, but she was too busy writing out the contact data to look up or put much heart into it.

[not-a-surgeon.livejournal.com]

Bonnie couldn't help but grin a bit at the exchange. "Familiar much?" she murmured to Karr. "Thank you. And if you need to contact us, well... Would you be willing, Ray?"

She looked up with a bit of curiousity. If not, they'd find another way.

[prototype-karr.livejournal.com]

Michelle's KARR chuckled, his scanner brightening a bit.

Bonnie's made a chuckle of his own. "Slightly..."

[gone_byebye]

"Sure, Bonnie," Ray said. "Any time, you know that. I think you know how to get hold of me, Michelle..."

She nodded. "Between your web site and the New York yellow pages, I think we're set, yeah." She took a deep breath. "Thank you, by the way. All of you."

[not-a-surgeon.livejournal.com]

"Hey, we're here to help. I think that's something that's universal," Bonnie nodded and stood, offering her hand to Michelle. "And I'm sorry about that... mishap..."

"So am I," said Kitt. "Terribly. I'm much more used to people knowing that I can do that."

[prototype-karr.livejournal.com]

"I know now, but I would prefer not seeing it again." Michelle's KARR paused. "I like being in working order."

"I hope we haven't traumatized either of you too much," Bonnie's KARR added in.

[gone_byebye]

Michelle leaned over and shook Bonnie's hand firmly. "As long as KARR here's okay, I'm fine with it," she said. "I'm still trying to wrap my mind around this whole multiple-universe thing. I think I should probably watch some Star Trek or something when we get back home."

[not-a-surgeon.livejournal.com]

Bonnie chuckled. "Believe me, it takes a while for most of us to get used to it. By far. Read some Maxwell Planck. It might help."

[prototype-karr.livejournal.com]

"I would prefer it if you avoided 2001, though. Please." He wasn't in the mood for sci fi at the moment.