I Unintentionally Became Her Kitten Chapter 103: Two Cars

The next shift at Starmaids was standard, though that didn't really an peaceful. My body hurt and Charlotte called over to ask why I was limping at so point. She told 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 seed almost more annoyed by that than anything, though I didn’t understand why.

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

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

I was quiet, though Alisha simply pulled 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 missed the innocence of riding without a seatbelt on. Another part of knew it had never been safe at all.

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

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“The dealer’s,” Alisha told . “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 .

“It doesn't have to be a fancy rcai 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 ant 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 ca 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 out of the car.

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

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

“Right,” he agreed. “Co right in.”

We were led back into that side door. The strong odor of chanic work imdiately assaulted . 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 ti was…” he clicked on his computer a few tis. “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 and then pulled 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 sothing. “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 rcai?”

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

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

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 sothing normal— or.. I don’t really even need a car in the first place–”

Alisha stopped 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 so 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 so things on his computer and then turned the screen so it was visible to . “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 sa fras and similar panel work to the Catalysts. But they’re extrely 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 sa fra as the Catalyst ZT’s so it’ll be easy to drop a V-8 engine into it and swap out so of the less glamorous parts for better ones.”

He pointed to the image on the screen. I nodded in agreent. “That's fine,” I agreed. It wasn't the most common car but it was absolutely not a flashy one. Not like a rcai 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 so 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 sothing 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 . “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 another encouraging nod.

“Uhm… maybe cream? Or light grey?”

He clicked a couple tis before pulling a long docunt of color swatches up. “These are the light ones,” he explained as he hovered the mouse over so 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 ant but nodded my agreent. “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 .

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

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

I nodded, silently. “You're spoiling ,” 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.”