I Unintentionally Became Her Kitten

Chapter 103: Two Cars

The next shift at Starmaids was standard, though that didn't really mean peaceful. My body hurt and Charlotte called me over to ask why I was limping at some point. She told me not to let my personal life interfere with my work 

I just nodded with an indifferent smile, and went back to wiping down the pastry case. She seemed almost more annoyed by that than anything, though I didn’t understand why.

Alex noticed my limp too but rather than commenting, they just gave me a knowing smirk and moved on to the next latte.

Tye picked me up at the end, and then we joined up with Alisha.

I was quiet, though Alisha simply pulled me a little closer in the back seat. The Hon-yoda was less spacious than the Escapade had been so it let us be next to each other and buckled in if I sat in the middle. Part of me missed the innocence of riding without a seatbelt on. Another part of me knew it had never been safe at all.

It only took a minute for me to notice we weren't headed home.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“The dealer’s,” Alisha told me. “To look at the new Escapade and to get you a car as well.”

“Uh– right,” I agreed. I had went to turn away a car but Alisha had already heard my protests.

She patted my hair again, acknowledging me.

“It doesn't have to be a fancy Mercai or anything, don't worry.”

I nodded.

Tye drove us a ways to the heart of the city and pulled into a shiny car dealers. It was for ‘used cars, all makes and models,’ but I saw quite a mix of rusty old things and shiny like new things. And they were in every make and model.

The Hon-yoda finally stopped at the back of the the shop.

There were overhead garage doors, the really big kind meant for almost any vehicle to be able to pull in and out of. It was a little out of place along all the small sedans and the like.

Alisha unfolded herself before stepping out of the car. A side door opened to the garage area and another man came out, approaching the Hon-yoda. Tye was a little on edge by that behavior, staring him down.

“Good afternoon,” the man greeted. 

Alisha gave him a stern nod and urged me out of the car.

“The Escapade was delivered last night,” the man started to jabber. “I'm assuming you'd like the same treatment as last time?”

“There needs to be a few modifications,” Alisha explained.

“Right,” he agreed. “Come right in.”

We were led back into that side door. The strong odor of mechanic work immediately assaulted me. It was greasy and volatile.

Alisha took a seat on one side of a desk that had been set up inside the garage. The cavernous space next to it contained a very shiny, still partially wrapped Escapade.

“I got you the latest model, Z-trim. What we did last time was…” he clicked on his computer a few times. “Removed the bucket seats and moved the bench seat to the middle, upgraded the suspension to compensate for low grade bullet resistant paneling, added higher grade shatterproof glass, and the window tint. What did you want different?”

“Would adding bulletproofing to the roof be significantly difficult?” Alisha asked.

The man made a head gesture, sizing up the task. “Difficulty isn't really your problem. Adding a roof panel would add a lot of weight and make the already strained suspension even more so. The ride would be rougher and the car would roll easier. And since that has already happened once…” he let Alisha make her own conclusions on the matter. 

I shifted a little restlessly on my chair.

Alisha barely even glanced over at me and then pulled me a little closer. Nothing crazy. She held my hand on her knee, so it was platonic. But still, the PDA was surprising.

“Alright,” Alisha agreed, as if nothing happened. Her thumb ran across the back of my hand soothingly. “So no roof panel. I'd like run-flat tires though.”

The man nodded, typed something. “They'd be expensive.”

“That's fine,” Alisha told him.

“Okay. Do you want any serial numbers removed?”

“No. Only remove any GPS or other wireless connectivity features.”

“Alright, can do… anything else?”

Alisha shook her head. “That should be fine for the Escapade. However I'd like to find another vehicle.”

“I can do that too. Are you thinking another high end Mercai?”

Alisha looked at me. “What kind of car do you want?”

“Something ordinary,” I told her. “Like a Hon-yoda Civil or Ascent or something.”

The man blinked. “Like a sleeper build?” he asked.

“A— huh?” I managed confusedly.

“Tye’s car is a sleeper build,” Alisha explained. “It looks normal on the outside but has been upgraded inside to compete with much more expensive cars.”

“Oh, no. I just need something normal— or.. I don’t really even need a car in the first place–”

Alisha stopped me with a hand squeeze. “I need you to be safe,” she said. “So how about we get a Civic or an Ascent or whatever, but we’ll get an upgraded engine and some extra safety features. Is that a fair compromise?”

I hesitated to agree, but nodded.

“Okay,” the man said. “How about we start with what you want the base car to be.” He typed some things on his computer and then turned the screen so it was visible to me. “These are the most common cars in the area.” He pointed down the list, identifying both a Civil and an Ascent. “The easiest for us to upgrade would be the Ibex or another Cavalier since they have the same frames and similar panel work to the Catalysts. But they’re extremely common.”

I nodded, looking at Alisha for approval.

“Do you want a sedan, Kitten? Or more like the Escapade?”

“A sedan. Nothing flashy.”

“So how about a Cruise? It as the same frame as the Catalyst ZT’s so it’ll be easy to drop a V-8 engine into it and swap out some of the less glamorous parts for better ones.”

He pointed me to the image on the screen. I nodded in agreement. “That's fine,” I agreed. It wasn't the most common car but it was absolutely not a flashy one. Not like a Mercai or the Catalysts. Just… normal. Maybe a little nicer than a Civil or Ascent but still blending in.

Alisha gave my hand a little squeeze again. “Can we get some low grade armoring?” She asked. “Nothing intense just a little extra protection.”

“I'll have to special order it but it won't be a problem. And we can put a larger engine in and upgrade the suspension and do something to protect the undercarriage in case of any chases.”

“And run flat tires,” Alisha added.

“And run flat tires,” the man agreed.

Alisha gave him an approving nod. “Charge what you have to for the labor and parts. I'm guessing a week or two for the work to be completed?”

He looked over his notes. “Nine days if we push it. Well get the cars prepped first while waiting on parts…” he trailed off then looked at me. “What color car do you want?” He asked. “Since we're taking the body panels off anyway we can give you a paint job pretty cheaply.”

I glanced at Alisha but she just gave me another encouraging nod.

“Uhm… maybe cream? Or light grey?”

He clicked a couple times before pulling a long document of color swatches up. “These are the light ones,” he explained as he hovered the mouse over some pastel shades.

“Oh how about that pink,” I said pointing to an almost white pink color.”

“It'll stand out more than just white, is that okay?” He asked.

I found myself hesitating again. “But the car will look normal otherwise?” I asked.

“Of course,” he agreed. “We’ll down badge it too.”

I didn't know what that meant but nodded my agreement. “Okay,” I agreed.

“Alright,” the man finished and pulled out a couple pieces of paper and pushed his notes over to Alisha before offering her a pen. She signed off on all three.

“I request you put Kitten Bauer on the title for the sedan,” she said. “But I'll pay for it up front.”

“Consider it done,” he agreed once again.

Then there was an awkward thanking process as Alisha left. 

I sat in the back of the HonYoda, still processing.

“It's okay, Kitten,” Alisha reassured me.

I still remembered the number of zeros on that transaction total.

“I want you to be free,” she continued. “That car is yours whether you stay with me or not. That's the deal, okay?”

I nodded, silently. “You're spoiling me,” I told her gently.

“I'm preparing you. Freeing you. You have agency, Kitten, like a human being. You deserve that.”

I nodded again. “Okay.”