Morning - Five Days til Race Day

For Will, as excited as he was for the coming weekend, there was more mundane work to do. Before he was dropped off there was a conversation. Jocelyne was wearing a suit, which was a rarity for her, and had a briefcase in the back seat of her car beside her usual company-issue laptop-protecting backpack.

At one of the stops he couldn't help but look back, "Major client?"

"Very. I can't talk about it." Jocelyn kept her eyes on the road. "NDA."

That got a nod from Will. "Gotcha. That would explain the suit."

Jocelyn snorted in irritation as they resumed driving.

"It looks good on you." Will tried to lighten the mood.

"Maybe, but it doesn't feel like Me," Jocelyn grumbled. "I'm probably going to be wiped after work, so can you and KARR try keeping it down?"

"Yea." Will sounded concerned as he saw her stiff-backed posture and tensed shoulders. "I'll probably be in the garage with him going over track simulations anyway so you shouldn't hear either of us."

Jocelyn nodded.

"I'll keep an eye on things in case you change your mind and want to not be alone." Will's voice was soft, not wanting to make it sound like a major imposition. Just something he was going to do.

The ride continued like this til it was time to drop Will off. Jocelyn smiled at him. "We'll see how things go. Wish me luck."

"You've got this hon," Will stated before turning to enter Hazard Motor and the start of a very busy work week.

When he crossed the threshold he saw a rail-thin dark-haired man in a too-formal buttondown and a briefcase heading for the door.

When the man left he looked to Luke, "Hey uh...?" He looked from Luke to the briefcase.

There was a headshake from Luke. "Family business."

Yet with the look on the man's face, Will couldn't just let go. "Luke. I know there's not a lot I can do but..."

"Great Uncle Jesse died." Luke took a deep breath. "The man was a hundred and three. He saw a hell of a lot."

"How?" Will reached to put a hand on Luke's shoulder.

"In his bed. Just... didn't wake up." There was a moment before Luke added. "That isn't why the paperwork's here though. They're trying to take Jesse's farm from us."

"Bullshit." Will spat. "What do you need me to do?"

"Nothing you can do man. Me and Bo are going home to Hazard. Funeral. try sorting things out." Bo interjected as he looked to the briefcase and sighed. "Damned nonsense if you ask me. That fat sow's just trying to have one last jab at us from the grave."

"I... Uh." Will rubbed his hands over his face as he took this in. "I can try calling dad see if he knows any lawyers. He's always liked you two and that's your family's land they're stealing."

"Will we can't ask-" Luke began.

Will merely stared at the cousins before Bo wrote down a few names and numbers on a piece of paper.

"We hate bugging out like this but-" Bo began.

"SHop'll be here when you get back," Will stated. His mind was working through what he could do other than just cancel everything.

After a moment Luke glanced to the door, "We are leaving at the end of the day."

The three men exchanged looks then each went about their business. Will manned the phone as he started typing up a notice to hang, print, and then post.

As he was taping the notice, one of the morning's appointments showed up. "Hey, uh..."

He read the taped-up paper. "I don't have anything I can spare if they need legal right now, but keep me up to date ya?"

That got a nod from Will, "I haven't gotten to make the posts on Facebook yet."

Then he elaborated. "They won't want some huge fundraiser thing, but between a week's lost income, and probably a lot of incoming expenses?"

The man nodded, "But you're good to go right now?"

"Bay two. They'll do what they can but today's it unless they let me let a few guys in that know how to work on their own stuff, but that's... I'm going to have to talk with them on that since if anything wanders off or anyone gets hurt that's on me"

The man nodded and went to pull his car in as directed.

Technically it wouldn't be just him. There were three other guys who worked in the bays, but neither Bo nor Luke liked the shop to be open without them there. Something about 'not putting everything on someone else if we're able to do.' Will mentally waved the notion aside. This wasn't them being lazy. This was them having a family emergency. So it fell on everyone else to step up.

Just as he settled behind the desk another person walked up. Will sighed to himself.

Will waved to the customer and then went back to typing. "So long as it's doable within the day you should still be good to go. Bay three."

As he typed he started making calls. He hated asking anyone to come in outside of their shift and none of these three were technically full-time, but this was not a normal situation.

This was going to be a long day.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

KARR called Will an hour after his shift was supposed to end.

"Hello, Hazard Motors." Will sounded tired.

There was a pause, then the AI Spoke. "You were supposed to be home twenty minutes ago."

"Trying to wrap as much up as possible before Bo and Luke have to go." Will was typing. Responding to questions that hit Facebook.

"You're rated at being able to do light-duty work. Bring me so I can work the phone." KARR offered as a solution. "They have others who can come in and do work. That place closes. Your ability to pay bills evaporates. Risk to myself increases."

"That's not a terrible idea KARR, though there isn't a snowball's chance I'll let you on Facebook so I'll have to handle social media on breaks. I'll run it by Bo and Luke before they go." Will still sounded tired, but there was a sense of enthusiasm buried beneath the fatigue.

"The worst case I turn out to be a poor fit for the position and could potentially help within the shop itself," KARR stated. "This weekend is supposed to be my grand reveal to the world, and I do not want anything standing in the way of a positive impression."

"Yea..." Will grumbled as he continued answering posts. "I'm looking forward to the weekend too. Just gotta make it there."

"While we're talking," There was a hesitation before KARR continued. "Is there any talk of my trial run?"

There was a pause as Will leaned back in his seat. "Buddy you're about all they're talking about."

Then he started mimicking differing voices, seemingly at random with each statement, "It's a hoax to try drumming up business. If that's the prototype I absolutely want one of the new Knight cars." Then in his own voice. "It's rare to see the end coming. I hope Tesla enjoys the view. Out of all the fieros that have exploded, it's pretty funny to see one take Tesla out."

KARR laughed, as did Will. Then the AI spoke. "Thank you, Will. I am glad that I am being well received. I will see you when you get home."

After hanging up. He looked at the business card he had been given for Knight Industries. On the back was a sequence of numbers neatly printed along with instructions, 'This will get you past the automated systems and let you contact me if anything happens. - KORRA'

"You want to do what?" KORRA deadpanned after hearing Will's explanation on how he planned on getting around the manpower issue Hazard Auto faced.

"I want to-" Will tried.

There was an exasperated sigh from the AI, "I heard you the first time. From experience, taking phone calls is the most stressful part of my job. I hope you have alternatives for the inevitable point where KARR concludes Skynet Did Nothing Wrong."

"Oh, it can't be that bad." Will tried reassuring her. "We're pretty much appointments only this week and-"

"Will. Listen to the AI that has been handling phone work for a decade." KORRA's voice was stern. "This is a stupid idea."

"OK," This caused Will to relent and change tact. there was a slow exhale. Him trying to re-center his mind. "I could put KARR in the shop to act as a sort of watchdog and someone to bounce off of while they're working. That would help him feel useful while limiting who he's interacting with."

"And none of these people will simply walk off with him?" KORRA asked, skeptical of this proposal.

"Theoretically if we plug him into a router-" Will started.

Then was immediately cut off by KORRA, "Then he finds his way on the internet. No."

"Closed network that has no internet access but has several cameras and speakers throughout the shop." Will countered as he closed Hazard's Facebook account and then looked at the backlog list was down to just one more car.

"So long as none of the other employees can connect their devices to this network," KORRA warned. "He isn't ready for the internet. I'd argue most people aren't, but I can't stop people from being online."

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

"OK," Will sat with KARR in the workshop room of his home. The wall of laptops and other 'to-do' projects was slowly whittling down. At this point, he looked at it thoughtfully. "I'm done with doing shade tree repairman projects. After this weekend I'm pretty sure everyone will understand why I'm having to reprioritize."

"Hm." KARR sounded thoughtful as a movie played. "One would think, but most people are selfish by nature. Most people want things their own way and will do everything possible to ensure the world conforms to this ideal."

"Says the AI built by a man with so much money Knight Industries basically rivals Google in the amount of money they rake in, and it's considered past its peak years." Will shot back. "You were built to solve problems normal means couldn't solve."

"This serves as the primary cause for my thought process. I was built to assist in making the world what Wilton saw it should be at the objection of those who stand in the way of this vision." KARR sounded pleased with himself. "That this vision is an overall positive by people outside of himself, his friends, or socio-economic bracket can be taken in several ways."

"Well," Will patted the casing KARR was housed in, "I choose to see it as him wanting to be remembered for being more than a man with money and factories. Whatever the intent he tried helping people. However, that's beside the point I suppose."

"I feel that people will stop seeing you as positively if they don't think they can gain anything from you," KARR stated in a matter-of-fact tone. "I feel this is a misstep on your part."

"Much as I like volunteering my time and equipment to help folk out, and it has helped me learn a few things," Will leaned back on the loveseat. "Anyone who knows me understands that this was always going to be temporary. at some point, it'd end. It's just ending sooner than that point for now."

KARR processed this explanation for several seconds and asked what seemed like the obvious question. "What would make this temporary? Your everything seems to be in reasonable condition and you are not in any imminent danger of unemployment."

"My retinas are degenerating," Will stated in a too-calm voice. "There have been surgeries and pills, and diet plans and..."

He gave an exasperated sigh. For several moments he stared at the TV screen that had a looped fireplace video playing. Then he looked to KARR. Most would have missed it, but KARR saw the twitch of muscles fighting to force his left eye to focus "All we've been able to do is slow it down. Eventually. One day. the lights go out, and they'll never come back on."

"... Oh ..." KARR's voice was calm as he processed this.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

"Jocelyn and I have talked and in the event, I can't care for you, she'll either take on that task or find someone she trusts." There was a bitterness to Will's voice beneath the matter-of-fact statement of what would be. "It is not ideal, but I unfortunately am on a limited timeframe. Maybe a few months. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe a decade from now, but it's going to happen. So, I plan on enjoying what I've got while I have it."

"Speaking of," He got up and began unclipping KARR from the cradle that held the metal box that his core processor and support components were housed in. "We have some simulated track to burn through."

"Agreed." KARR sounded more enthusiastic about this as he was fitted to the metal framed backpack that had been how he had been transported between vehicle and anywhere else since Knight Industries sent one of their engineers to assess KARR.

"Jocelyn had requested quietly," KARR stated as Will shouldered the pack. With the extra batteries on top of internal backup power, KARR weighed as much as a small child. Yet Will walked with the pack easily through the darkened home.

Everything in the house was in its place, and even the points of apparent haphazard had a sort of order to them. This was Will's home. the home Jocelyn had moved into six months before now. The home KARR had spent close to a month in.

He stopped to check both the front and back doors. Turn the outside lights on. Then, past the kitchen, down three steps into a garage that could have comfortably fit two cars, or three if they were especially small cars. He hated Jocelyn not being able to park in here anymore, but setting up the equipment to plug into KARR and the differing boxes Those plug into meant it would be a tighter fit than any of them found comfortable.

"Still feel like need to get an awning put up for her to park under," Will grumbled as he slid the passenger seat of his Eighty Six Fiero forward, tilting it to reveal a bay just large enough for KARR to slide into.

"While I appreciate the amount of space dedicated to my care and upkeep, it does seem somewhat unfair that the... cute ...sedan she drives is left out in the cold." KARR's voice first came from the black box will slid out of the backpack it had been in, and then from the vehicle's sound system as connectors clicked into place.

"Aaah that feels better." KARR positively crooned as differing needles and lights came to life on the dash. A trio of green LED strips flared with each word from KARR. The outer two lit from the outside in, and the center lit from the center point outward. "Battery charge at ninety percent. diagnostics all turn up well within acceptable parameters. Ready to receive data for the simulation to begin."

Will grinned as he pulled a series of cables from one of the refrigerator-sized boxes along the wall of the garage to plug into KARR's diagnostics ports. Only then did he lower the passenger seat, gently tucking and routing the cables to avoid potential sheering. Then he tossed something that was a mix of a helmet and a VR headset into the passenger seat.

"Confirm that the drivetrain is disengaged please," Will asked as he walked around the car.

"Drivetrain non-operational," KARR confirmed while causing the driver-side door to open.

Once Will sat in the driver's seat and put the helmet on he flexed his fingers around the steering wheel. the headset gave a fair representation of the track KARR had trialed days before. It wasn't photo-realistic, and the weight of the helmet would have been a giveaway anyhow, but for Will, it was good enough. "Wanting to go ahead and try the track out, or just want to buzz around to stretch?"

The helmet rendered the inside of the car as well as Will's own hands on the wheel. Except unlike in the real world where he wore sweats, his avatar wore a canvas jacket, jeans, and black fingerless gloves. A brief glance in the mirror as KARR again ran through diagnostics checks showed his avatar wearing a fair imitation of his usual amber tortoiseshell patterned glasses.

"Huh, these guys really did go all out on this thing." Will gave a soft chuckle before refocusing his attention on the track.

"I'll let the ballast decide." The autopilot indicator just below the LED bars of KARR's voice modulator winked off. "As this is a simulation I want to see how well you drive.

"Be glad this is a simulation," Will muttered as he took to the track.

Music started playing. Right as Will started easing into the first turn.

There was a glance at KARR's voice modulator as they came out of the turn.

"I thought it might help," KARR explained.

"Thanks," Will grumbled as he focused more on the track. At the very best and most charitable it could be said he stayed on the track and hadn't wrecked the car. If one were being less gentle though? They would ay that Will wasn't very good at racing. His sense of timing was off. Either braking too soon or too late, and never flowing, always having to think and concentrate on what he was doing.

"It's OK Will." The autopilot light switched on as KARR took over. "You're doing the thing you're outright handicapped against."

KARR sounded diplomatic even as speed increased and he started the next turn with the kind of ease and grace one might of a seasoned professional driver.

"Forebrain knows that." Will's voice was sour as he sat there watching KARR accelerate through turns he almost came to a dead stop to avoid hitting walls in.

"Hindbrain, that's not taking it so well." He grumbled.

The music changed to something more soothing. Will took in the sight of KARR driving. For a moment he briefly considered throwing a curveball into the simulation. His hand strayed to the remote that was paired with the headset. Then he sighed and let his hand rest on the center console. KARR needed this. Something he was good at, the thing he was literally made for.

"You're Quiet," KARR observed as he finished a second lap.

"Not a lot for me to say." Then Will added. "Plus it never gets easier when the thing that would let me not need to depend on Joe, or Bo, or anyone else for lifts just never clicks."

"Look at it this way-," KARR started.

Which Will snapped at. "If you say 'It could be worse' .... please. Don't."

He let out an exasperated sigh and reached for the door, which refused to open.

"I understand you are upset." KARR's voice was calm as he continued tracing the simulated course. "However that is not what I was going to say, and you attempting to force my door open will risk component damage you cannot afford right now."

Will hit the door with the side of his fist then settled back in the driver's seat. "Fine. Talk."

"Right now you are the reason I have this." KARR's voice was stern. "So many things had to have happened for your bid to end up being the one that won the lot my components were bundled with. Then to have gained help from Knight Industries in making a portable encasement for myself, and ease the integration of that case into a shell."

He paused to let Will process this before continuing. "I could have been bought by someone who wouldn't have realized what I was and literally threw me in the trash, or worse. Someone who did know what i was and I would be a bare bored being probed with my memories and personality coding decompiled. Yet I did not end up in the tender care of someone who would destroy or discard me. I ended up in your care, and I am grateful for that."

Will let out a small sigh. "Yea. Sorry for trying to force the door open."

"And I'm sorry to have had to close the door on you." KARR then let the driver's door open. "You have work in the morning. Though before you go I would like some traffic."

Will nodded slowly before pulling the helmet off. "Alright. I'll pull you when it's time to go."

"Very well." KARR then turned music back on. "May rest give you a clear mind."

"Goodnight KARR." Will left the simulation running as he left the garage.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

Afternoon - One Day til Race Day

"Talk to me, buddy." Will sounded busy as he hit the button that turned on the speaker on his desk KARR had connected to.

"James just pocketed something from the car in Bay One." KARR sounded disappointed. "It was small and rectangular. Potentially a phone or perhaps a wallet. Left cargo pocket."

"Noted." Will hit mute and slowly got up. As he walked the dozen or so steps between his seat and the door to the work area of the shop he took several deep breaths to compose himself.

What he saw were three men barely out of their teens each working on checking a different vehicle. These were the last cars of the day.

"James!" Will yelled, getting the man's attention, and almost causing him to bang his head against the open hood.

"Yea, man?" He looked from Will to the car. Then back.

Instead of answering, will put his hand on James's leg, right over the long pocket of his cargo pants. For a brief moment, James acted like he was going to be weirded out by the sudden contact. Then when he felt Will pull a wallet from that pocket his eyes went wide. "That's mine!"

Will ignored the exclamation. Instead, he held the wallet open to show the ID inside. "James. I might have bad eyesight but even a blind man can tell that isn't you."

"But-" James tried.

"Out." Will stared the man down. "Tools down. You'll get to come by to get your pay stub next week after Bo and Luke get back. Never come here again."

"But...." James whined.

Will wasn't finished. "That's the one chance I'm giving you. Try anything, and I take the footage of the cameras posted there, there, and there." He gestured to the cameras around the shop, "And forward that footage to the cops, and post on Facebook, where anyone else you might try getting work from will avoid you like you've got the rona and it's twenty twenty again."

The two others stared at James, who had looked at them hoping for backup to make it three-on-one.

Instead, it was a three-against-one situation with him as the one.

"You made a mistake. Don't make another one by acting stupid about it." Will pointed to the door.

James left, head held low and his shoulders slumped.

Only once he was gone did Will turn to look at the other two. "Thanks for having my back"

"Hey man. Bo give me a job when I needed money." Manny smiled.

"Kid looked greasy to me. I wanted to give him a chance," The other of the two, Sid, grumbled. "I like it here. Manny's been a good partner this week."

That got a nod from Will before he turned to go back to the desk. Final posts before the day ended, assuming James didn't do anything stupid. He then hit the button on KARR's speaker. "make sure you've got video of that saved. I'll do back up from there."

"Done." KARR sounded disappointed. "I had hoped James would do better."

"Not everyone wants to do better is the problem." Will leaned back in his chair. "You've been a fairly substantial help this week man. Want anything tonight before the big day?"

"Fresh coat of wax?" KARR laughed. "You and Jocelyn to put Big Trouble and Little China on?"

Laughter from Will. "Can do. I'd say you've earned more than just wax and a movie, but danged if I know what it is."

"We'll start with that then see what tomorrow brings." KARR practically purred.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

Morning - Race Day

"That is a lot of people," KARR observed as Jocelyn slowly drove him into the crowd blocking the parking area for the racers. It was just as much a place to show off as a place to park, though for KARR the only thing he cared for was the charging outlet it had.

"Indeed," Will took a deep breath as several people walked alongside them as they slowly inched through the crowd.

"Can't say I'm happy with this," KARR grumbled as they eventually made it to his designated spot.

As Will got out he waved to the crowd before plugging KARR in to top his charge off before the race. Unlike the trial run last week, they had to arrive under their own power. no hauler trialer, or assist. Part of the rules for the local league. Everything had to be street-legal and street capable.

They saw James in the crowd.

More importantly, James saw Will and reached into his jacket. For a moment Will didn't know what it was and was almost convinced it was a gun.

While the snarl on Jame's face spoke of intent, it was no gun and Will was slow to act anyway. It was an egg that hit KARR's passenger door.

Will looked from the door to James and spread his arms wide to gesture theatrically to the freshly waxed door. "Really man? Really?"

"Considering what you did it's the least I could've done." James barked.

Will scowled but said nothing. Here was not the place or time to escalate.

Instead, "You racing?"

"Yea, souped-up leaf. I saw the mods you did to that heap," James gestured to the black Fiero that served as KARR's body, "And got it to do a six-second zero to sixty."

The cluster of people watching nodded to James. The Leaf, depending on the year, one could get close to that stock but to take it down to a six was still noteworthy, it at least had been worked on.

Will merely grinned and patted the roof of his car.

KARR, obligingly, answered. "Five point two seconds, and I top out at one-fifty. Your leaf will do, at best and without further modifications that are beyond a chump like you, caps at roughly a hundred and five. Do you still think you can get a piece of me?"

"Naw." James never stopped staring at Will, even as KARR talked. "Take your garage slapped-together firebomb of a car, your yee yee wannabe Siri, and give me the whole damned thing."

Will stared the man down until James walked off.

Then, only after James had walked off, he leaned back inside the car. "KARR. When I say this I want you to understand the context and everything else revolves around the race, this track, and if that kid really is that stupid."

"So Noted." KARR was calm as Jocelyn handed Will a roll of paper towels and spray cleaner.

After all, even with wax, egg could eat away at a clear coat and damage the paint beneath.

"I want you to destroy him." Will's voice held a hardness to it. "Utterly and Completely. Do you understand?"

"Completely." KARR's voice held a malevolence to it as he spoke. "Neither he nor his car shall at any point be in any physical danger, but I will crush him and scatter the remains to the wind."

"Glad we're on the same page," Will said before cleaning the door off.

Jocelyn stepped out of the driver's seat and filtered through the crowds that were starting towards the stands.

Will clicked the starter button twice and the auto-pilot light below KARR's modulator turned on. "Thirty laps. Sixty miles. You ready?"

"Are you?" KARR asked as they made their way to the track.

Luck, or perhaps officials who had been made aware of the situation, placed James near Will in the lineup.

Furguson's KI-Six was at the front of the lineup, and everyone who was there assumed she was going to stay well out of reach. Pit crews were assembled and more or less serviced whoever parked in their slot. Most of the competitors had similar-sized tires with similar enough specs. These were all and one street cars after all.

As Will sat there waiting. He took a deep breath. For a brief and fleeting moment, he was six again pretending to drive in a big race. This wasn't the indy five hundred, Pensacola, or any other big headliner event, but there were news crews out with cameras, a respected racer was out in the pack, and even if it was KARR doing the driving, KARR wouldn't be here without him.

Flag dropped. James's leaf spun out, losing time and tire as he mashed the accelerator down.

KARR meanwhile glid from his starting position, passing James effortlessly.

Most of the other racers were fairly competent. KARR settled into a pattern with them, observing what was considered polite, and emulating it. The first few laps had him in the middle of the pack. Yet consistently whenever the opportunity presented itself he would get in front of James, and match his speed, staying right in front of him and not letting him pass or advance even at the cost of perhaps advancing through the pack himself.

"Alright KARR we're at the halfway point," Will told the AI. "If tires are looking good I'd say it's time to stop messing with that loser. Point's been made. Let's see how close to Furguson we can get."

"Gladly." KARR sounded enthusiastic as he started climbing the ranks of the pack, eating track, and gliding through gaps other drivers felt were too unsafe or too unorthodox to try.

This strategy continued til lap twenty-five, where KARR found himself in the top three. He and the other car that was nearest Furguson were both skilled, and either Furguson herself was limiting how fast she could go, or there had been some sort of limiter issue capping her speed.

KARR found himself ahead of her. It did not last. It could not last. Yet for a full minute on lap twenty-seven, KARR lead the race.

Furguson tried passing him high on one of the banked turns. Will waved to her. She waved back and then accelerated.

KARR swore. The motor's whine grew more pronounced as he clawed the space between himself and the KI-Six.

On Lap Thirty. He almost had her. Half a car length separated him from first place. The motor was being overstressed and if KARR continued to press the car itself would give out.

Half a car length. Yet for KARR it may as well have been light years.

He placed second.

KARR eased off, letting the car bleed speed and momentum as he drove to the designated places.

"You OK?" Will asked.

"Motors out of spec. I'm surprised tires haven't blown, and there are three miles of power left in my batteries." KARR gave a status report of the car. "Given the raw numbers, I had no business getting that close to her."

Apparently, others shared the sentiment as KARR was swarmed by people looking to get a better look at the home-built car that almost took down the futuristic production car of tomorrow.

Will and KARR both made uneasy noises.

As Will plugged KARR in many voices tried to get his attention. One of them did.

"Is it true you've got a prototype Knight Industries processor running that car?" Short-cropped blonde hair. Jeans. Denim Jacket. She was the reporter that broke news of Knight Industries putting a plant roughly where the old Knight Industries plant had been thirty years ago, though that one had been chemicals for some process or other.

"Miss Stirling." Will swallowed, looking much like a deer caught in headlights. "Yes, I'll give an interview. Sure." He fidgeted in place.

"Brut Memorial food court. Three hours." The reporter managed to look inside the car. "I absolutely need to get an interview in before Sunday edition starts."

"OK..." Will nodded to her as he sat there, waiting on KARR to charge. "Mind if I bring my fiance?"

"Sure sure," The reporter waved a hand dismissively.

"Thanks. See you." Will switched to the passenger seat of the car. Which was where Jocelyn found him, practically shaking.

"Hey, you alright man?" She touched his shoulder after getting in the driver's seat.

"No, he is not," KARR answered for Will. "Nor am I. However, this is where we step into the wider world. We at least can be scared together."