CHAPTER TWO

Lizzy groaned and opened her eyes.

"Ash?" she asked, seeing a figure above her.

"Hey there," said Ashley, leaning over her, "How are you feeling?"

"What happened?" asked Lizzy, sitting up, "Why am I in the hospital wing?"

Suddenly, she remembered. They had knocked her to disable the earpiece.

"Karr," she said urgently.

No response came from the earpiece.

"Karr, speak to me," she said again.

Once more, no response.

"I'm sorry," said Ashley, "But it doesn't work anymore."

"Quick, the phone!" demanded Lizzy, "I must speak with Karr!"

"Karr's gone," said Ashley, "They took him away while you were unconscious."

"What?" asked Lizzy, pausing in the middle of dialing Karr's number. Ashley hadn't seen how she got the phone, though.

"Lizzy," said Ashley, "Kimberly had him towed away."

"That doesn't make sense," said Lizzy, "They told me they had another driver for him. That's the only reason we agreed to disable the earpiece!"

"Oh," said Ashley, turning red with rage, "Kimberly lied to you! That explains why Dad is so mad. He and Devon went off with Kitt to a Board of Directors meeting in a hurry-which is weird, because Dad normally hates going to meetings. They must be going to see if they can get Kimberly fired."

Lizzy turned back to the phone and began practically punching it every time she pressed a button. She then placed the phone to her ear and impatiently waited.

"He won't answer," she said finally, tears threatening to fall down her eyes, "That recorded voice is telling me the number doesn't exist! Maybe he's underwater. He doesn't get great cell service when he's underwater."

"Oh honey, are you all right?" Bonnie asked, running into the room.

"I'm fine, Mom." said Lizzy.

"I see you're awake," said Kimberly, following Bonnie into the room.

Lizzy looked at him angrily.

"I am sorry," said Kimberly, "It was necessary to separate you and Karr. We didn't want to tell you this, but he was getting unstable."

Lizzy didn't believe that for one minute.

"By the way," Kimberly continued, "If you are feeling better, you must come outside."

"What? Why?" asked Bonnie, suspicious.

"The surest way to ensure that Karr won't come back to her is if she has another vehicle," said Kimberly, "I'm going to provide you with your first real car, Lizzy. Think of it: no more missions, and your very own car that you can take wherever you want. Unlike Karr, who I'm told often does not want to bring you where you want to go."

"Wait," said Lizzy, "You think Karr might come back?"

"It is unlikely, but probable." said Kimberly.

"But where did you send him?" asked Lizzy.

"It doesn't matter, considering that he's escaped already," said Kimberly.

"What?" asked Lizzy.

"There, you see? I should never have told you," said Kimberly, "Now you won't appreciate what I managed to wrangle for you. And it is a brand-new car, too."

"I'll have none but Karr." she said defiantly.

"Ah," said Kimberly, "But if you ever want a chance to be a FLAG agent again, when you're old enough, you'll take this car. Follow me."

With seemingly no other choice, and with Bonnie and Ashley right beside her, Lizzy followed Kimberly as he walked them all out the hospital ward, out the hallway and outside.

"Here it is," said Kimberly, "Your new car!"

It was a pink SUV. Nice in its own way maybe, but it was not a color she liked, and it was nothing compared to Karr.

"Um," said Lizzy.

"Don't like the color? We'll have it repainted," said Kimberly, "What would you like?"

"She'd like green," said Ashley, obviously annoyed with the vehicle.

"Actually, I'd prefer to not have any car at all," said Lizzy, "Except Karr."

"Sorry, but it's all filled out in your name," said Kimberly, "Get inside and check it out, or Devon is fired."

"What?" asked Bonnie and Ashley.

"You can't do that," said Lizzy.

"I can," said Kimberly, "Get in."

Mumbling something incoherently, and not sure if Kimberly could fire Devon after all, Lizzy opened the door and got inside the vehicle.

"Now drive around," said Kimberly.

"Wait, I'm coming with you," said Ashley, getting in the car.

Crankily, Lizzy turned on the car-the keys were in the ignition-and drove it away.

"Maybe I can drive to California and throw this thing off a cliff somewhere," she mumbled when she was far enough away from base that she was sure Kimberly wouldn't hear her.

"Probably not the best idea," said Ashley, "Because he'd just buy you a new one."

"What does he have against Karr? Why did he do to him that made him want to escape?" asked Lizzy.

"Um, we are talking about the same Karr, right?" asked Ashley, "Karr would escape if we put him in the garage on a night when he wanted to go bowling."

"Karr can't go bowling," said Lizzy.

"Really? 'Cause Kitt can," said Ashley.

"Huh?" asked Lizzy, confused, "Never mind, focus. If Karr escaped, why hasn't he come back to base yet?"

"Maybe he doesn't want to when Kimberly is around," said Ashley.

"Then where is he hiding?" asked Lizzy.

"Well, knowing Karr, it would be the place we least expect." Ashley pointed out.

"So, he'd be hiding on base," said Lizzy.

"No, we'd expect that," said Ashley, "Why do you want to find him? Won't he contact you?"

"Maybe, and maybe not," said Lizzy, "Security can be compromised. Our only secure line was the earpiece, and now that's disabled."

"Hm," said Ashley, "Maybe you can try calling him again-this time on my cell phone. It is more secure than the phones in the Foundation, and I had Kevin tweek it out so that no one can eavesdrop on any conversations."

"Really? Your boyfriend can do that?" asked Lizzy, "I'll try it! But I'd better pull over first."

She pulled the car over and dialed Karr's number on her sister's cell phone.

This time, the number dialed, and a small click told her that Karr had answered the phone.

"Karr? It's me!" she said.

"Your sister's cell phone is secure. Good. Where are you?" asked Karr.

"In a parking lot off the main road," said Lizzy.

"Good," said Karr, "What do you know?"

"Kimberly tricked us into disabling the earpiece, and he sent you away," said Lizzy, "He also mentioned you escaped."

"Yes," said Karr, "I am in hiding."

"Where are you?"

"I am in the place you least expect," said Karr.

"Just what Ashley said," Lizzy groaned.

"I am confident you can find me, Lizzy, if anyone can," said Karr, "Do not worry about contacting me in the future." With that, he hung up.

"Wait," said Lizzy, "Karr, are you there? … He hung up on me!"

"Hmm," said Ashley, "Maybe the call was being traced."

"What? But you said…"

"I know, but someone might still be able to track it to find out where Karr is," said Ashley, "Let's head back and get some dinner. And maybe you can have time to think and figure out where Karr is."

"Alright," said Lizzy, sighing as she took the car out of park and began driving to the main road, "Where would be the last place you'd expect a supercar? In a skyscraper, or maybe as one of those cars advertised in the mall?"

"Too obvious," said Ashley, "And they'd be the first places Kimberly would check. How about a junkyard?"

"Maybe," said Lizzy, "But he'd kind of stand out too much there. Maybe an impound lot?"

"I don't know, I think he'd stand out more in an impound lot than a junkyard," said Ashley,
"Come to think of it, there are a lot of places he can hide."

"Yeah, I guess so," said Lizzy, turning into the Foundation's driveway.

The two of them both grimaced as Kimberly walked over to them.

"So what do you think of your new car?" asked Kimberly as soon as they got out.

"Um, I prefer Karr," said Lizzy, walking quickly to the house and shielding herself behind her sister.

"That's alright, get used to it!" said Kimberly as he stood there, watching them enter the house. As soon as they were out of earshot, he started talking into his mouthpiece.

"We'll give her a few days," he said, "And then when she's lost interest in Karr, we'll offer her the position."


"So, where is the last place to look for a car?" Lizzy thought to herself as she sat in her bedroom. Unfortunately, no answers came to mind. She had paced for nearly an hour when her mother walked in.

"Hi Mom," she said sadly.

"Thinking about Karr?" her mother asked, "That was wrong of them to take him away like that. Your father went with Devon to see what they could do about it."

"I know," said Lizzy, "But I want to know where he is."

"Well, you know him better than anyone," said Bonnie, "I'm confident that you can figure it out."

Lizzy stopped in her tracks. "That's it!" she said.

"What's it?" asked Bonnie.

"All this time, I've been thinking about the place I'd least expect to find a car," said Lizzy, "But I wasn't thinking about the place I'd least expect to find Karr!"

"What?" asked Bonnie, confused.

"Don't you see?" asked Lizzy, "The place I'd least expect to see Karr is different from the place I'd least expect to find just any old vehicle. I'm going to start thinking of possible locations right this minute!"

As Bonnie left with a smile on her face, Lizzy starting thinking about all the things Karr dislikes: classical music (he prefers techno), museums, kiddie television shows, banana peels and getting touched by anyone who wasn't his driver. He also was never comfortable around children, especially since FLAG would never let him near any due to his violent history. He hates the smell of peanut butter, messy interiors and whitewall tires, but surprisingly doesn't mind Spanish soap operas; Lizzy always assumed that he found them amusing.

Lizzy thought these things over, and suddenly had a brainstorm. Could it be…? She would have to wait until morning to check out her theory. That night, she hardly slept a wink.