'Cops are here to arrest me and Jocelyn. I hear shouting that I'm under arrest. Do not return.'

KARR's attention flicked from the text message in his memory buffer to Winter excitedly bouncing in the driver's seat. He saw her excitement turn to confusion at the sight of flashing lights at her home as KARR didn't even pretend to slow down for.

"KARR that's home. Why aren't we going back home? Will put dinner in." She sounded confused as she turned her head to look back.

"I am going to attempt to take you to your mother," KARR stated as he gave more processing priority to route mapping and tracking surrounding vehicles.

"But Will didn't do anything wrong, why are police taking him away?" Winter asked as she continued looking back.

Then, moments after KARR's sensors noted it she spoke. "Why are they following us? Shouldn't we pull over?"

KARR did not pull over. Instead, he accelerated from the posted forty-mile speed limit to fifty, sixty, and finally for the moment settling on eighty.

"Please remain seated and facing forward Winter" KARR's voice was calm, but the sort of neutral that some people would find unnerving. Winter was one of these people. "I am calling a friend. You will not hear the conversation. You are safe."

"I don't feel safe," Winter protested.

'KARR, tracking shows you doing twice the posted speed limit for that road and cops are in active pursuit,' KORRA sounded worried as she reviewed the data inload. 'What's going on?'

'Will and Jocelyn have been arrested by police breaking into the home of an associate of theirs whose brother has also been arrested. I currently have a mentally handicapped woman in my passenger compartment and do not feel that the police's intentions are compatible with her well-being. Requesting any available friendlies converge for passenger drop-off.'

As KORRA processed this, a voice was heard from a mounted speaker on one of the pursuing cop cars. "Pull over, release the occupant, and stand by to be loaded onto a flatbed."

"KARR," Winter's unease was clear as she twisted about as if looking for something. "Maybe we should do what he says? He's a cop. Mama told me-"

Unprompted, memories played back. The Darkness of the lab Wilton had kept him in. The Darkness of the sands his shell had been buried beneath. His first moments after Will had connected inputs to his systems.

Rev's voice, a homeless drunkard's slur, "KARR, do you remember where we found you?"

"I am not going back to the slammer," KARR growled as he accelerated past ninety. Winter's panicked shrieks were ignored as he swerved, dodging a truck doing a more sensible speed. That got put out of mind as his focus was on the road and his sensor feeds.

'KARR what you're doing is reckless,' KORRA warned. 'Even if I can secure your immediate safety your actions will make it difficult to argue your case.'

'Will has been kidnapped-" KARR started.

'Arrested," KORRA corrected.

'Arrested with no charges given and I have a passenger whose safety I cannot guarantee if I leave her in their care.' KARR stated. 'they have expressed an immediate wish for me to surrender myself to be taken to an impound lot for unknown reasons or duration. This also renders me unable to act in the interests of those that perform maintenance of my systems, am coworkers with, or the woman whom I currently have been tasked to take care of.'

'Understood. Contacting Moira. I still advise against your current course.' KORRA had slipped into a mask of professionalism.

'Nor do I,' KARR stated as he suddenly bled speed, letting police sail past him as they fought to brake, causing them to lose control.

KARR waited until he was certain none had sustained injury, and more importantly ahd recordings of such, before turning to leave.

Winter was sobbing, all joy at the novelty of the situation gone leaving her in a place loud and unfamiliar and with no one to act as an anchor.

"Winter," KARR's voice was calm. "Can you hear me?"

"Yes." Winter sobbed as she held her hands over her face. "I just wanna go home. Take me home KARR. Please."

"When it's safe," KARR reassured as he drove on, now at a more reasonable speed. "KORRA is contacting your mother now and I am taking you to someone I trust to stay with you until she can take you home."

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"Oh Kay." There was more crying from Winter as KARR drove. Part of him felt disappointed he could not better calm her, but there was no good way to explain what had happened in a way that she would understand.

'KARR,' Moira chimed in. 'Boss says you've got a woman with a child's mind and you're in a rundown with cops.'

'This is accurate.' KARR confirmed. 'I want you and your driver to take her from my care as they are not after you.'

'Such a softie for someone that supposedly doesn't care about human life.' Moira gave a soft amused chuckle. 'We're in route. KORRA shows no abnormal activity other than the chase you're in. Ishida's been doing some snooping which is perhaps the only reason you aren't going to the scrapyard for this.'

'Understood, and I have no programmed directive to preserve life.' KARR again slammed the brakes, this time the pursuing cars had gotten wise to that trick and as a pair sailed past another pair came charging from the back of what had been the persuing pack of vehicles. 'that does not mean I see the loss of lives as a desirable outcome.

Winter shrieked, clutching her ears as a shotgun fired at KARR's passenger compartment.

'Especially when said losses are relevant to my continued existence or level of required care.' KARR stated as he reversed, swerving until his rear bumper collided with the vehicle the shooter had stepped out of.

As the man fell he fired wildly one last time before KARR again sped off. 'That they would fire on my passenger compartment knowing that I am self-driving shows that they are less willing to preserve life.'

'We're headed to your location now.' Moira sounded calm through their connection. Can you put me on speaker so I can talk to your passenger?'

"Winter." KARR's voice was calm. "I need you to listen. OK?"

A shaky nod as Winter attempted to make herself stop crying. "Yes?"

Moira's voice came through the car's speakers. "Hello, I'm Moira. KARR called me and my driver and we're going to take you to your mom while he figures out what's wrong."

Winter looked to KARR's voice modulator questioningly, eyes still puffy and red from crying. "Is she going to take me home?"

"She Is," KARR confirmed. "I do not think you should be here. It is not very fun, is it?"

"No, it isn't." Winter agreed as KARR bled speed in a hard turn into a seemingly random parking lot. Cop cars sped past.

"After we get you home," Moira spoke calmly, trying to reassure Winter everything was under control, "We're going to sort things out. Everything will be OK, alright"

"OK," Winter sniffled as she buried her head against the steering wheel.

'I have a power situation.' KARR switched back to non-verbal as they sat, waiting for Ishida and Moira. 'My batteries are at a third charge.'

'Probable remaining range?' Asked Moira.

'Uncertain.' KARR stated as his scanner bar was dim, its light trailing a slow back-and-forth pattern as it looked more and more like they had evaded active pursuit. 'Estimates based on performance during testing gives me approximately a hundred miles. Likely closer to eighty if I have to continue evading police.'

KARR and Winter waited in relative silence. Winter still shaking and confused, and KARR unsure how to best distract her. So, things were relatively quiet until a blue Lotus Emira slowly eased into the parking lot they were hiding in.

"That would be my friend," KARR announced, at first extrapolating based on no one locally owning a car of that make. His supposition was confirmed as a platinum blonde-haired woman stepped out to help Winter out of her seat.

"Hello Winter, I'm Ishida." She gestured to her car, "That's Moira. Are you hurt?"

A rough head shake from Winter as she half leaned on Ishida as the pair half-walked and half stumbled to the passenger door for Moira. "Scared. I wanna go home."

"Thank You." KARR spoke to the pair as his own engines restarted.

"You know you can't go to Hazard right?" Moira asked as she opened the passenger door for Winter. "They'll be watching there and Will's house. Possibly even his parents."

"I have to risk his parents. It is a large farm and there are enough ways to escape if a confrontation occurs. They will want to prioritize my capture over detaining anyone there"

"I don't like this," Moira stated as Winter was being buckled in.

"Neither do I," KARR affirmed, "However my options are few. Thank you for taking her out of harm's way."

Ishida nodded in KARR's direction before getting into Moira proper. Silence as the pair drove away, leaving KARR alone.

'KARR,' KORRA spoke up after several minutes of silence. 'I have a call for you from Farquad.'

Wordlessly KARR acknowledged and accepted.

"Hello KARR." Farquad sounded calm, and relaxed. "You're causing far less of a mess than predictive models suggested."

He gave a laugh. the sort of unwholesome laugh that came from someone who thought they held the better hand in a card game. "I honestly thought you'd eject the braindead girl like a," There was a pause. "What is that thing? The little Australian rat thing."

"Quoakka," KARR stated. "Also it does not proactively throw its young. The pouch loosens. Often the Joey is lost by this action, but it is a reactive rather than proactive action. It also shows how little individual young are valued."

"Yes, yes you are very smart." Farquad gave the impression of one dismissively brushing something aside. "So you're smart enough to know that you are alone, with a dwindling power supply, and as I have shown any you might have relied on will be dealt with. Your only move is to come to me"

There was a pause before he added. "KORRA I know you would so like to get involved, but I had turned the warehouse fleet Off. You can't pilot them, and KARR burdened your only locally available agent with someone with the mental capability of a five-year-old. I'm simply calling to let you know that I am formally resigning from Knight Industries and that you should use whatever leverage you have with KARR to encourage him to come peaceably, or things get messy."

Silence from KARR.

"Oh come on now." Farquad's voice exuded exasperation at KARR's stubbornness, "You'll get a very nice and plush private sector job. you don't even ahve to do anything. All I need is a copy of your codebase. I'll even give you back to your current driver after with a nice severance package."

For a moment KARR sat there in thought.

He considered his opponent, what had happened that night, and the lengths this man would go. Only after running all this through, checking the percentages against his directive and memories did he speak.

"Counter-Offer." KARR's voice held no amusement, anger, or any other recognizable emotion. "Release my driver, his fiancée, ad any others your goons have arrested. Do this, and I will consider it possible that I won't have to kill you to ensure my own survival."