"A secret base? Now I'm definitely sold," Karen says, her smile making clear that she's teasing. The truth of the matter is, this wouldn't have been a hard sell for her under any circumstances, and she knows it. Between being asked by John — whom she both cares about and trusts probably more than anyone else in this city — and the idea of what they'll be doing in the first place, even if she only has the vaguest of ideas of how she'll be contributing, it just makes sense. It's who she is and what she does. It's just, now, in a different context and on a different scale than she ever imagined it would be. Just the idea of that, though, of making a real difference in a way that won't prove to be totally futile, is deeply appealing.

And he must know that about her, she thinks, or he wouldn't be telling her what seems to be such a closely guarded secret. After all, she did insist on helping him when he was a stranger injured on the beach, staying with him in the hospital when she had no obligation to, wanting to make sure he was safe. God, he's probably had her pegged since day one. She's not sure if that's a good thing, but at least it can work out for the best now.

"Just tell me where and when, and I'll be there."