chapter seven

Connor left late that night. With Karr in partial shutdown mode, Bonnie, Kitt, and Michael were free to speak. "Michael, what are you doing?" Bonnie demanded. For once she had her back turned on the computers. The codes were shut down for the night. There were no more diagnostic tests to run that couldn't be run during the day. "She's going to hire someone to steal for her. We need to stop her – you need to stop her! She trusts you!"

Michael laughed at that. "Connor doesn't trust me." he said. "She doesn't trust anyone but Karr, and with good reason. She just relates to me well, that's all."

"We should still stop her." Kitt said quietly. "Even if Connor's intentions are good, she will still hurt the owner of the store."

"I can't, buddy." Michael admitted.

"Why not? It should be a simple task, with both of us working on it."

"It's not that." Michael hesitated a moment, his eyes flickering between Kitt and Bonnie. "Listen, Karr is all Connor's got. He's everything to her, and I do mean everything. I'm not even sure if she's capable of loving or trusting another person as much as she does Karr. As extreme as their relationship is, I can understand it. If the roles were reversed, and Kitt and I were in their position, I would do the same thing."

There. He said it. For a long moment, no one spoke. Bonnie was torn between understanding and horror at her friend's confession – she had always believed Michael to be incorruptible. Kitt, on the other hand, seemed to glow with pride. Perhaps he understood that he was the only one Michael would go to such lengths for. Bonnie and Devon Michael would fight for, but Kitt – things went to a whole new level with Kitt. So Michael knew he faced no judgment from Kitt. It was Bonnie he was worried about.

But Bonnie chose not to comment on that. Instead, she switched subjects. "How extreme is their relationship?" she asked. "What are they to each other?"

"It would probably be easier to say what they aren't." Michael admitted. "They aren't lovers. Not even emotionally, although I doubt any human would get close enough to Connor to claim that. She's been burned too many times. As for the rest – I honestly can't say."

"They are friends, and more than friends." Kitt said suddenly. "They are the dark side of myself and Michael."

Michael grinned. "That's as good a way as any to phrase it." he said as he ran his fingers across the hood of the Trans-Am.

Bonnie sighed and plopped down on her cot. "When were you planning on informing Devon of this?" she asked tiredly.

"Never." Michael said immediately. "He would want me to destroy Karr, and I can't do that either."

"Please tell me you have a better reason for that."

"I do. Connor spared me because of Kitt. The least I can do is spare Karr because of her."

/----/

Joyce Myers was a small, young looking woman, a good ten years Connor's senior and yet she only looked in her early twenties. She had fiery red hair she kept cut military style and bright green eyes. She could almost pass for Irish, if it wasn't for the one-piece leotard with gloves and knee-high boots she wore. The entire ensemble was black, and she even had a mask to go over her face. Ironically enough, the mask was shaped like a cat's face.

Connor grinned as she met Joyce just outside of the club where she had hailed Michael almost a week ago. "I see you're channeling Catwoman." she teased.

Joyce grinned. "I love the classics." she said, deliberately making her voice as smooth and seductive as she could. Connor laughed at her, and Joyce dropped the act. "Seriously, though, it throws everyone for a loop. And the responsible Joyce Myers hates cartoons and comics, so why should she know anything about Catwoman?" She tilted her head to the side. "This isn't a social call."

"No." Connor's smile faded away. "We need help."

"Name it. I owe you a few."

Connor rattled off the list of parts she needed. There was no need to write everything down. Joyce had a photographic memory. "The problem is, you can't take them all from the same place."

"I take it the Institute doesn't know about this one?" she asked.

"The Institute is the one who did this to him."

Joyce's eyes went wide with shock. "They tried to turn Karr on you." Connor nodded, and she cursed. "Are you going to go after them? I would love to sink my knives into some of those traitors."

Connor smiled, but it was a bitter one. "Oh, we are. Just not anytime soon. I'm not quite up to par, and Karr has a lot of work that needs to be done, as you can see." Joyce nodded slowly, and Connor could almost see the wheels in her head turning.

Joyce wasn't exactly a safe contact. She had strong ties to the Director as well as several of Karr's old mechanics. In fact, she was more of a contract killer than a thief – a mob boss had ordered her parents killed when she was twelve, and Joyce had dedicated her life to finding mob bosses the law wouldn't touch and taking them out. It was a bit noble for Connor's tastes, but Joyce made for an excellent contact regardless.

Still, Connor was taking a risk. As much as Joyce would love to have a go at her so-called traitors, she would never want to kill the Director. She might even sell Connor out if she thought the younger woman was going to kill the man herself. If Joyce decided to turn on them, they would have to run, and Karr was in no condition to run.

"Where will I bring the merchandize?" Joyce asked finally.

"Back here." Connor said. Here, at least, Connor would be able to tell if Joyce had been followed and Karr would be safe.

Joyce nodded, and if she knew what Connor was thinking, she gave no indication of it. "I can do that. Give me till tomorrow at noon." With that Joyce turned and walked away. Connor sighed and activated the ear wig.

"It went as well as to be expected." she murmured. "What about on your end?"

"We may have an unexpected ally in Knight." Karr said thoughtfully. "If Devon Miles realizes that Knight is hiding valuable information from him, Knight's life may be in danger."

Connor snorted. "I doubt that. Still, we'll keep an eye out on him. Can't go losing good allies, can we?"

"No, we cannot. Get back quickly. I don't like having you out of my sensor range."

"Soon, Karr. I'll be back soon."

One more trip, and then she would be back. She had to do something about those sensors, and she knew the perfect place to pick up the materials to do so. And it wouldn't even require stealing.