{ Chapter 10 - It's a Cold Act }
It was the next morning when Tristan lifted her head, blinking the sleep out of her eyes and yawning hugely before laying her head down on the pillow again. She had dreamt of KARR again but this time, the figure was less than friendly getting further and further away from her before finally turning and disappearing, the yellow glow of his eyes hostile beyond measure. Tristan knew deep down that she had really hurt KARR's feelings but she had been on edge as well. Was this mission going to tear them apart? She sighed and went to roll over, only to have her back collide with something warm, sculpted and hard. Tristan froze and seized up before flipping around half rearing, flashing her nails. There was a yelp as she pinned down the one who dared to try and share her bed. Tristan snarled and went for her enemies' throat before it almost screamed out.
"Tris, stop! It's me, Thowra!"
Tristan froze once again and then scrabbled for the light and switched it on. The room was illuminated dully for a while but the light source spread out and engulfed them and indeed, she had pinned down, a very ashamed and half naked Thowra.
Tristan sighed as he gave her a cheesy grin and his grey eyes sparkled with mirth. She smiled at him and got off him shifting up in her bed a little and laying down again, her eyes locked with Thowras'. Her voice was huskier than she would have liked it too have been.
"You shouldn't be here, Thow. If KARR catches you..."
"He probably already has, but even so, what's he going to do?" he said softly, moving closer to Tristan. Tristan didn't stop him, her feelings for him were too strong and anyway, KARR couldn't give her this type of...loving. Her lips were met by his and gently, Thowra manoeuvred himself on top of her and pulled the covers over their heads. Privacy was never missed.
888
It was a few hours later when KARR detected Tristan walking down the stairs with Bullet at her heels. He was still furious about yesterday and the 'incident' that had just taken place. Even though she had showered, KARR could still detect traces of Thowra on her and he didn't need his bio scanners for that either. Inwardly, KARR shuddered and seethed with jealousy as Tristan walked past him with only a glance. But that glance screamed a thousand words, but those thousand words were not the thousand words that he expected. He stored the look she had given him away into his database for further analysis later. It was almost a shock to his systems when the main sound system. A cover version of the song "We will rock you" by "Queen".
Tristan walked past him again a few seconds later and KARR was slightly bemused by this but kept his silence anyway, it was probably for the best that he continued to feign surveillance mode and indifference. No point in getting all huffed up about everything. But it was when Thowra was around, wasn't it? KARR started at that thought, he was being immature and anyway, there wasn't any point in...KARR growled suddenly as his thoughts went into a continuous loop and he tried to shake himself out of it. For him, a loop was like a nightmare. By nature, he didn't like to go back over things, especially things that caused him discomfort, and this caused him discomfort and for a while, KARR shut himself down...completely and utterly, not caring what the consequences would be when he reactivated or was reactivated.
888
It was when the monitors started bleeping that Tristan pulled herself out of deep thought in the kitchen and stormed out into the main hanger, thinking the technicians had messed with KARR again. She arrived accompanied with the threat:
"If any of you have messed his systems up again, I'll skin you!" she barked but then yelped in alarm as she caught sight of monitors keeping track of KARRs' "vital signs" were flat. Tristans' eyes widened and her scream of fear was heard and felt throughout the hanger.
"KARR!!!"
It had been a long time since Tristan had panicked this badly before and she didn't even want to think back to when that panic attack had been. Sprinting over to KARR, she lay her hands on his bonnet and hunched over him, panting to calm herself down, Ok, who would have wanted to sabotage him? Or more to the question, who could sabotage him? KARR guarded himself so well, that, unless he had a death wish, no-one could approach him. Tristan hissed through her teeth and everyone kept well back to the edges of the hanger, even Bullet who had skittered back at the sight of his owner so upset and angry, plus, that black car had hurt him yesterday, he wasn't going to go near it again.
The silence was complete, absolute and to Tristan, it was suffocating, oppressive and downright scary. There wasn't even the swish of KARR's scanners which to her, at times, sounded like a heartbeat, one of the only sounds that would get her to sleep at some points, after a particularly stressful mission or after a panic attack or nightmare. It was now that Tristan was reminded of how much KARR had become a part of her soul and how much of her torn and broken essence he had knitted back together and held together and now, for some odd reason, he had left her. Tristan felt her body starting to shake and her soul starting to tear. Had she gone too far with Thowra, Bullet and Michael? Was this part of the reason that Thowra sent them on this mission, to break them apart, to make one of them cave first?
Suddenly, Tristans body seized up and went tense and she stopped shaking and her eyes snapped open to the monitors slightly to the side of her, fury welling up in her chest. Absolute and all consuming fury which made her bear her teeth and growl, a sight that had not been seen since her first blood thirsty missions with KARR. Tristan stood up straight, stalked over to the monitors, turned them all off, yanked out the cables and threw them to the floor. KARR was essentially dead at the moment, so he wouldn't feel it, but when he came back to her, which she swore he would, god above would he feel those scrapes.
She stalked over to the passenger side of the Mustang and got in, slamming the door and unlocked his glove compartment and reaching into a panel, opening and grabbing one of his CPU systems and twisted it and pushed in...hard.
If people believed a car couldn't jump out of its body, they would be so wrong.
KARR physically lifted from the ground and surged forward a good few meters with a roar from his engine and yelp that was so feminine than a few technicians couldn't help but snigger under their breaths. She had done the equivalent of grabbing part of a guys anatomy and twisting...hard. Painful.
Tristan got out of the Mustang with a face like thunder and slammed the door and then strode to stand in front of KARR, whose scanners where sweeping pretty fast as he recovered from the spiking pain from his sharp reactivation. He wanted to growl at Tristan but the look of fury and hurt on her face prevented him from making a sound.
Tristan put her hand on his hood and hung her head, her voice echoed around the hanger, directed at the technicians and Thowra.
"Leave us. Thowra, leave the plan for tonight on my desk." she ordered in a low voice.
There was a skittering of feet as the technicians went about their business and then left the hanger and Thowra passed them both, left the plans and blue prints on the main computer desk and walked out if the hanger with a slight backwards glance but no words whatsoever.
Tristan sank down onto KARRs' hood and her eyes followed the yellow light of his sensors and she was soon mesmerised by the sight and sound of them. It was like a heartbeat and for a while the pair said nothing. There was nothing to be said, they had both apologised in their own way. Tristan sighed as her head touched the bonnet and she shook it very gently, rubbing her forehead on his spotless paint job.
"What the hell KARR? Is this whole bloody mission meant to tear us apart? We were never like this before. What's going on?" she whispered, her hands spread out further up his hood. She was leaning on him fully and he felt solid and warm underneath her. Tristan sighed, her breath misting his paint for a while before it dispersed. KARR's engine was not on and it was a difference to hear his voice without the growling undertone of his engine.
"I really don't know this time, Tristan. I honestly don't know. I'm only here because you are and you have been ordered to find the fool who took out money and kill him. Once this is over, we will return to normal." he soothed her. His voice would have sent tremors through anyone else but Tristan had recovered from her fear the other night and she found his presence calming and she relaxed a little more and looked deeper into the tracking golden lights. Hopefully this mission would deepen their relationship.
"Last night, Tristan, you were afraid of me. Did you really feel that fear?"
Tristan froze and then relaxed. No she hadn't, it was the emotions of the day.
"No, KARR. I was not truly afraid of you. It was my emotions from the previous day manifesting themselves as something else. I shocked myself with that fear I'll tell you that now."
"And this morning with Thowra?"
"...stress relief."
"Bloody violent stress relief." snorted the supercar. Tristan laughed and for the first time in a long time it was full and genuine and KARR felt at ease enough to allow himself to chuckle at his drivers emotions. Then Tristan stood and patted his roof before walking to one of the store cupboards and pulling out a bucket and some sort of soap. KARR scanned it and found it was specially designed for leather. Car leather interior to be exact. Tristan pulled out some polish as well and KARR felt happiness well up inside him. He loved these little surprises that Tristan gave him.
A few moments later Tristan was rubbing the polish in gently in a circular motion with the instrumental of "Real Love" by "Mary J Bilge" in the background when she noticed something odd about KARR apart from his scanner sweeps had slowed to almost nothing, showing the amount of bliss he was in. Tristan sometimes forgot he had sensors everywhere. She carried on polishing him, but then stopped realising that he was making a strange noise even though his engine wasn't on.
"KARR...?"
The noise stopped and KARR let out a sleepy sounding hum in confusion. Tristan blinked and wrestled with her feelings. This was so cute if it was what she thought it was. Placing on hand on his roof she leant on him gently.
"You can purr?"
"Of course." came the deep, smooth reply. Tristan raised her eyebrows. This was totally different. His tone of voice could be described as a purr in some cases and the sound his engine made at times could certainly be defined as a purr, but this was different. It came from his vocaliser and the sound was like a tigers purr, deep, throaty and rasping. Tristan looked amused and then carried on polishing KARR's exterior and he continued purring for the whole time, including when his interior was polished. To Tristan, it seemed that he purred even louder when that was taking place and she missed the noise once she had finished.
888
It was around 6pm when Tristan slid into to KARRs' drivers' seat with the plans that Thowra had given her. Her eyes scanned the plans and then she pulled out the sheet with the arrangements on it. Basically, at 7pm, Thowra, John and seven others from the concerned drug ring would storm a warehouse just outside of New York where it was thought there would be men that worked for Curtis Pridmore. Tristan and KARR's job was to be there by 7:30pm at the latest and finish the questioning and see if they could take back some of the technology that was stored in the warehouse. The technology could possibly be used to upgrade their own or to sell on the black market. Tristan opted for selling the technology on the black market, anything used by Pridmore couldn't be trusted...at all. She leant back and sighed, putting the plans on the passenger seat before putting her hands on the steering wheel and kneading the soft material that covered it slightly. She wasn't looking forward to this at all. Well, the killing bit she was, but Tristan just wanted this whole palaver to be over as soon as possible.
She put the key in the ignition and KARR's engine started smoothly and for a while Tristan just sat back and listened to the growl of the Mustang. Finally, she sat forward, got KARR into gear and drove out of the hanger, checking on Bullet who was trembling on the back seat.
"Right, let's ride."
888
They both made it in good time, although it was KARR who was driving, kicking the speeds up to over 250mph to get there as quickly as possible. Despite what Tristan thought, he did try and avoid other drivers, and he did so, with style. He even power slid around about four cars and went around a roundabout sideways before speeding off into the growing darkness.
Tristan just sat back and enjoyed the ride and listened to music as well as having a bottle of Cider mixed with Pepsi. Her favourite mix aside from WKD mixed with Pepsi. There was a difference between Coke and Pepsi and Tristans delicate palate could detect that. She smirked and went to take a sip from her drink when KARR un-expectedly swerved and did 4 full 360's around the same amount of cars before straighten up and streaking off.
Tristan was pinned against the seat in shock and breathing hard. She could sense KARR laughing hysterically at her reaction and eventually, she was able to talk.
"KARR!...Do something like that again...and I'll put Vodka in your gas tank!" she panted, her voice hysterically high.
"I'd like to see you try." came the deep voice.
Tristan relaxed enough so that she could start breathing properly and this time took a large but quick sip from her bottle before KARR wiggled, trying to throw her off. Tristan swallowed and yelped loudly, glaring at the yellow "eye" accusingly before sitting back again.
"KARR! I've just polished your interior. Do you seriously want to get this sort of fluid all over it?" she waved the bottle in a threatening manner. KARR merely snorted and continued to cruise at high speeds. Tristan swore he would have a devious grin on his face if he had the luxury of expressions. She growled and him and sat back, placing the drink in its holder and fiddling with the AC to pass the time, even though they would be there in a few minutes.
The rest of the journey to the warehouse was relatively un eventful and, surprisingly, Tristan still had some of her drink left. Just before they entered, Tristan gave the command KARR had been waiting for.
"KARR, attack mode."
They cruised into the warehouse with KARR looking ferocious and Tristan looking perfectly calm.
There were eleven men chained to the wall with the rest of the gang guarding them. Thowra was already there and Tristan recognised one of the "lesser" members. A black male called Richard. He was about 20 or maybe younger and he was having a rough time in the gang at the moment. He didn't really have anyone he could depend on in the lower ranks and no real friends there. He was also the only other member that KARR would tolerate and actually indulge himself with. It was odd but the lad and the supercar had actually developed a deep friendship, nothing like his and Tristans, but they would take to each other for hours on end if they were allowed. As it was, when KARR entered the warehouse, Richard looked up quickly from where he was sitting with his head bowed and a smile lit up his young features. KARR cruised towards him and spotted inches away from Richards' knee, his red neons lighting up the young mans front and some of his face. Richards grin widened and he placed one hand on KARR's front and the Mustangs engine fell silent. Tristan got out and gave the two and approving look. Richard was from Nigeria and had a good accent and to Tristan who was part Nigerian, it was good to hear it again. She nodded to Richard who smiled back before turning back to KARR whilst Tristan strode up to Thowra with Bullet at her heels.
"KARR. How have you been?"
"Richard, my friend. I've not been too bad, I could be better." he intoned, his deep voice reverberating through the hand placed on his front.
"Ah, trouble comes to each and every one of us though, you of all people should now that." soothed Richard. Tristan walked past.
"HA! Him of all supercars, don't you mean, Rich? The trouble doesn't come to him, he goes looking for it." she laughed, slapping KARR lightly on the three infusers on his bonnet. The supercar snarled lightly.
"Inside Tristan, I'm laughing hysterically." came the cynical reply. Richard chuckled at the banter between the two and Tristan grinned back at him. She shrugged.
"Hey you won't guess what I think every morning when I get up and have to drive this brute?"
"What?"
"TO THE IDIOTMOBILE!"
Tristan doubled over laughing and KARR snorted impatiently. Richard had tears coming from his eyes and Tristan could barely breathe. If KARR could roll his eyes, he would have but instead he turned so his rear was squarely in Tristan face and backed up slowly. Tristan hung onto his spoiler and vaulted onto his roof. She could already she a dent in her hand from hanging onto the sharpened metal. Richard grinned at KARR who made sound very much like someone blowing a raspberry.
Tristan giggled and then looked at Thowra who nodded at her. Tristan sighed and jumped off KARR's roof and patted him.
"Come on, supercar. It's show time." she said softly and strode to the centre of the warehouse and faced the men chained to the warehouse wall with Bullet sitting to attention by her right leg and KARR prowled behind them. Tristan lifted her chin and the whole warehouse went silent.
"Right..."
"WE'LL NEVER TELL YOU ANYTHING!"
Tristan face-palmed motioned to Richard to who hurried over with a Japanese Kris and gave it to her before retreating again. Tristan waved the sword to right and KARR cruised over in that direction, to the end on the line of men and faced around, so that his sharpened spoiler was in line with their necks and started heating up his external shell. The man who was in his direct firing line gulped but stayed silent. Tristan went to the other side of the line and held her sword to it was in line with another mans neck. The man stared defiantly back and her and Tristan gave him a bloodthirsty grin.
"Last chance." growled KARR. There was no other sound. Tristan nodded once and charged forward, KARR shot backwards. Leaping over his spoiler again, Tristan landed on his roof as they met in the middle, jumped off and ran to the end on the line and then veered off. KARR did the same and performed a 360 before meeting Tristan in the centre of the warehouse again. There was silence for a while and the men where motionless and the suddenly, there was a spray of blood from each mans neck and their head fell off one by one. Tristan had her arm crossed and Kris stabbed into the ground. KARR let out a growl of satisfaction, blood dripping from his spoiler and bubbling a little. Thowra walked over to Tristan and nodded.
"Well, that was easy." he growled. Tristan nodded, her face impassive as she turned to him.
"Too easy. I say we get the technology and get the hell out of here. I think we've been distracted."
Thowra nodded and gestured around the warehouse.
"Same, the tech has already gone, the valuable stuff anyway. So now all that's left is for us to get the hell out of here."
"Agreed. Rich! Do you want a lift?"
The Nigerian looked up his eyes shining.
"Yes please!"
KARR opened both his doors and after putting Bullet in the back, Tristan slid into the driver seat and Richard sat down in the passenger seat, KARR closed both the doors. Tristan grabbed her drink, turned on the music "The Fame" by "Lady Gaga" and sat back, taking a swig and sighed contentedly, a grin was on her face. Winding down the window, she reached out, uprooted the sword and put it carefully in the back and KARR rolled the window back up and tinted them. Tristan rolled her shoulders back and leant back in the soft leather.
"Let's ride, KARR."
"You know...I find it strangely exciting when we...ride." KARR hinted with amusement thick in his voice. Tristan raised an eyebrow and snorted.
"Just go...Richards' place." she said. KARR chuckled and executed a neat 180 spin and sped out the warehouse, passing Thowra in his Lamborghini Gallardo and the cargo trucks and speeding back onto the highway.