"Dad." Will sounded tired as he stood on the porch of a two-story ranch house. KARR's backpack was shouldered and Jocelyn stood just behind and to the left. The day was nice, for once. Only moderate winds and scattered clouds.

A middle-aged man who looked much like Will, but older and stockier, looked at the trio blankly for several long moments. Then the glass door opened. "Shoes off before you come in. Saw your race on the local news. Guessing the vultures are thick at your place?"

"They Are." KARR's voice was muffled by the backpack he was in.

Jocelyn gave the man a tight smile. "Thanks, Earl."

"You got a plug for that thing or it running til the battery goes dry?" Earl's eyes flicked from the two humans to KARR's camera.

Jocelyn nodded as Will made his way, barefoot, in the house. "Heard a few of your people took a trailer down to Mississippi for a sale last weekend. How'd that go?"

"Pretty decent," Earl gestured to the living room. The house featured continual pale blue paint on the walls, hardwood floors, and a minimalist take on decorations. Few photos or other wall decorations existed, but what few were there all were very deliberately put in specific places. the rustic-themed sign with whitewash letters and aged wood plank directing between livingroom, kitchen, den, and bedrooms? It was placed at the foot of the stairs where it was visible as soon as people walked into the house proper. Pictures of people and awards? They were in the livingroom.

Earl gestured to the sofa. "You're not company anymore Joe, get what you want."

She nodded and sat beside Will after helping him find a plug to leash KARR's backpack to. "Where's May?"

Earl shrugged as he settled into a well-worn recliner. "Out visiting her sister's then picking medicine up from the vets."

Then KARR spoke up. "Mister thatcher-"

"Earl, please," Earl said reflexively as he popped the footrest to his chair up.

"Earl." KARR corrected, then continued. "Will has said you have networked monitoring equipment for your barn and other parts of your property. May I connect to this network?"

"Uh." Earl sat up and leaned forward. "Will, why does your backpack want to look at the cow cameras?"

"Probably because he was stuck in the dark for forty years and feels more at ease when he's looking at stuff."

"Correct," KARR said. "Also as Will has given me data concerning yourself and this farm, I am curious enough to want ot see it with my own eyes as it were."

"Well not like it can go all master control on us." Earl rattled off the password.

"Connecting," KARR informed. "Connection established and... Oh my. I'm seeing a lot of collected error logs about unresolved issues. Are you aware of these?"

"No?" Earl leaned forward, eyes now fixed on the camera mounted to Will's backpack frame. "I hired Jimmy to handle electrical after Mick left."

"Jimmy," KARR stated. "James. As in James Butterfield?"

"Yea... Why?" Earl's head tilted slightly, curiosity plain in his voice.

"Will confronted him last week when I caught him attempting to steal from a customer's vehicle that was being serviced."

Earl looked to Will, who nodded.

"I would advise an audit of your valuables and equipment," KARR stated. "With your permission, I would be happy to assist in this venture."

As KARR said this Will and Jocelyn got up and got their phones out. Will looked to Earl. "I'm headed to the cattle barn."

"I'm going to the shop." Jocelyn sounded positively happy at the idea of rural inventory.

This caused Earl to raise his voice, "Wait! Both of you don't need to go running around like chickens with your heads cut off."

"Like either of us have anything better to do right now?" Will countered. "KARR's been helping with shop inventory and overwatch the past week. He can help me stay on task. I'll call if anything expensive looks like it's wandered off."

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Earl started to speak. Then threw his hands up. "Go ahead kids, knock yourselves out."

After both Will and Jocelyn left Earl looked from the TV to KARR's camera. "Prototype to the fancy Knight cars they're rolling out huh?"

"Will said you worked in warehousing and storage for the plant that was here." KARR attempted small talk.

"For about six months. Dad got me the job right before the place closed down." Earl explained, then a question came to mind. "Talking to me isn't going to get you off task like it does Will is it? I don't want you and him both to go squirrel chasing on me."

"One does not rebuild an electric motor and replace overtaxed coolant pumps, nor address the dozens of complications from an overtaxed home built electric conversion by veering off task." KARR's tone became less friendly. "Give me a list of high-value purchases that are small enough to have gone missing and I will ensure those are prioritized.

"Hm, touched a nerve. No need to jump to the kid's defense." Earl's voice was quiet, but quite clear in the accusation. Then, "On to Cincinnati, I guess."

"Pardon?" Karr sounded confused.

"Something from an interview I watched. Guy didn't want to answer any questions, real famous for not answering questions. Kept responding with 'We're done here. On to Cincinnati." Earl offered. "So. Yea. things that could walk away that would actually be worth taking."

"Indeed." KARR agreed as he took down the list of what Earl could think of that fit those criteria.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

"Alright buddy, done here." Will walked past rows of cattle-filled stalls, pausing to look over at a particularly large Herford bull. "Hey Shiloh, how's it been?"

The bull stared at him but accepted the hand running over its wide white face.

"Yea good to see you too big guy. I'm not back, back. I'm just here til my house clears out." Will explained.

His phone rang. KARR sounded annoyed. "That animal appears unharmed. As your father has relayed to me. Daylight is wasting. Tick. Tock."

Will sighed theatrically and looked towards the camera, throwing up his hands. "I used to show Shiloh and Braxton when I lived here. Was just taking a minute to catch up."

There was a pause as Will looked about. "I'm not seeing Braxton anywhere. What happened?"

"Broke a leg two years ago." KARR's voice was deadpan, "As per relayed message Will. Tick. Tock."

"Fine, fine KARR." He gave a wave to the camera before continuing on. "Nothing looks out of place here. Any word from Joe?"

"None," KARR stated. "No word at all."

"Well, that's not good." Will trotted to where he parked the ATV he'd ridden to the barn. "Any idea where she's at?"

"Machine shop," KARR stated.

"I know where that is." Will started accelerating, causing gravel to spin as he quickly wound through the gears.

"It is likely nothing untoward," KARR tried reassuring. "She simply hasn't answered her phone."

Will continued accelerating down the gravel road between barns. It was close to a mile, and even though the sun was setting, there was plenty of light and it was an empty stretch.

After a moment KARR spoke. "Looks like a fun place to drive."

"It is," Will confirmed. "Pity the loop had to be scraped clean. Dad's got about a hundred chickens in that field now."

"Approaching last known location," KARR informed as Will pulled up to a large aluminum-clad building the tractor and other associated equipment was kept.

"Going in." As Will spoke he walked to the man door just to the right of the large roll-up doors and frowned as it was left cracked open. the lights inside were on, giving him a good view of the nearly forty-year-old tractor there.

"Your father is not averse to technology, as witnessed by the networked surveillance equipment." KARR then asked, "Why use such an antiquated piece of machinery?"

"KARR," Will stated as he gave the tractor a flat look, as KARR wasn't able to see inside this building. "That tractor is about a decade younger than you."

"Humor me," KARR said.

"Serviceability mainly." Will walked about, looking around. "This thing breaks down in the middle of a field there's no time to get to a goon who's allowed to fix it. Do what needs to be done right then or the window on planting or ploughing or anything else closes and there's a million of those windows in agriculture and livestock."

"I see," KARR stated. "Have you located Jocelyn?"

"Not yet," Will whistled loudly.

There was a response whistle from a storeroom at the other end of the building.

"I hear her."

"S-ry -an't h-ar -u-." KARR's voice skipped as reception worsened.

Instead of pressing forward, Will went to the front of the building. "I think she's in a dead zone. Too much metal in the way for a clear signal to get in or out. I'll go in to make sure but let Dad know alright?"

"Understood." KARR sounded calmer at that point. "Your father says that explanation makes sense, and is glad you're helping as his right foot has been bothering him. He stresses this would not have kept him from checking himself, but he is glad he does not have to."

Will nodded to himself. that sounded about like Earl. Use KARR to send a snippy message earlier. Send a conciliatory one now. Cut the legs out from under him if he complained.

Still, he went back inside the building. "Hey Joe, you in here?"

"Back here Will," Joe called. "raccoon nest up here with a couple of the cattle blankets and a lot of random stuff."

That caused Will to laugh. "C'mon out of there. Don't want a cluster of those fleabags jumping you."

"Cutest mauling Ever." Jocelyn shared the laugh. "Fine fine. None of it looks terribly important anyway. We'll get the actual farm hands to come to collect. Is anything missing from the cattle barn? No painkillers or other drugs walk away?"

"Nope," Will shook his head. "Braxton's dead by the way."

"Aww," Jocelyn walked outside with him. "I liked him. How's Shiloh?"

"Looked good to me." Will saw the ATV Joe got on. "Race you to the house?"

Jocelyn grinned, answering by revving her ATV before slowly pulling up to an arbitrary patch of grass growing in the gravel."

"Your father is moving to observe through the kitchen window," KARR stated.

Both humans waited, adjusting seating and grip positions.

KARR's voice was loud in both their ears as he kicked the race off. "Go!"

the pair swerved in front of and around each other. Neither actually got closer than a double arm's length to the other, laughing the whole way through.

Will lost, by a bumper length. Joe's left fist was raised as both turned to park, then lock the shed both quads were parked in before walking to the house.