A/N: I do not own Cars or Deus Ex, they belong to Disney/Pixar and Edios/Ion Storm
Paris, France. August 26, 2056. 2200 Hours.
"I'll drop both of you here, on this abandoned building, then I got to get out fast, you know how they feel about late night fliers in this city now."
"Of course Siddeley, thank you." Finn said through his radio as Holley watched from one of the jet's windows as the sights of Paris, or what was left of it, came into view. The winged spy approached a large building, long abandoned before its construction was even complete. Ever since the dawn of the 2050's, all of Europe had been involved in a terrible war stemming from terrorism and conspiracies. Unable to contain the mass panic and disorder that revenged Europe, the United Nations called for a continent-wide Martial Law, shutting down the European Union and with it locking boarders down, making travel nearly impossible. All major cities across Europe were now in lockdown, with their inhabitants only allowed into the streets during the daylight. The great city of lights, like so many other places, was dark and quiet, a mere shadow of its former self. Siddeley hovered low, opening his back hatch so both cars could quickly disembark.
"Good luck McMissile, Miss Shiftwell. Radio me as soon as you need to be picked up. The less time you two spend in Paris, the better. Now I got to fly, before the black copters catch my scent!" The sleek private jet nodded towards his two land based partners before quickly flying off, disappearing into a patch of clouds. Holley stretched her axels, enjoying the feel of (mostly) solid ground beneath her tires. She glanced over at Finn who seemed lost in thought, staring at a small screen on one of his side mirrors.
"Something wrong?" She asked startling the elder spy from his thoughts. He turned to face her, his expression grim. "Are our plans not going to work?" she said, her voice becoming stressed.
"No, we just need to think of a different way to execute them. We need to reach our contact at Club La Porte de l'Enfer. The problem is, the roads are being patrolled and as far as I know, there isn't a way to reach the club from the rooftops. It's mostly underground. However, I just thought of someone who can help, provided he is still alive. Rafael Turbo, Leland Turbo's twin brother, runs a small shipping business here. As I do recall, he knows this city like the back of his wheel. If anyone knows an alternate route to the club, it's him." Finn said eyeing a large hole in the roof of the unfinished building they were parked on. "Pity this place has been left to the bums; look at that marble down there. It would have been a beautiful hotel, or something of the like." Holley shook her hood, glancing into Finn's sharp green eyes.
"We should…we should probably get…going." She stuttered, feeling her engine get hot as the Aston Martin hybrid smirked at her.
"What's wrong Miss Shiftwell, got cold tires?" he laughed, causing her to blush slightly.
"No, no. I'm just a bit nervous. This isn't exactly child's play; what we're doing." She muttered, scarping a tire against the ground. Finn frowned.
"We'll be fine; just don't do anything overly stupid. Now come on, we don't have much night left." Finn stated flatly, pointing a tire towards a nearby building. "If we head in that direction, we'll be at Rafael's doorstep in no time, ready to hop some roof tops?" Without waiting for a response, Finn shot out one of his bumperette grappling hooks, wrapping it around a large pipe on the rooftop of the neighboring building before leaping off the edge, safely swinging to the other roof, landing with a light thud as his tires hit the cement. "Coming?" Holley lightly shook her hood, backing up a little before gunning her engine and leaping for the roof Finn was now on, activating her jets in mid leap to get her an extra boost. She landed with a rough bounce a little behind Finn, turning towards him with a small smile.
"Too easy. Alright, which roof next?" she said. Finn pointed a tire to another roof top.
"That one." He said. The two cars continued roof top jumping until they at last came to a small building at the end of the block. "This is it, that's Rafael's place. I do hope he is home." Activating his magnetic tires, Finn drove down the side of the building until he was close enough to leap onto the roof of the smaller one. Cautiously following his lead, Holley spread her small jet wings and gently hovered to the smaller roof top, landing neatly next to an upset looking Finn. "Careful Miss Shiftwell, these are dangerous grounds to be using something as loud as your built-in jets." Holley blushed again, knowing she had made a stupid mistake.
"Sorry, I'll try to remember to be more careful. But, hey…how are we going to get in?" she asked, a confused look gracing her features. She watched wordlessly as Finn carefully tapped his tire against the roof several times before ending it with a soft rev of his engine. Slowly, a door beneath them opened.
"It cannot be…after all these years, come in! Hurry!" A surprised sounding voice very similar to Leland's called out. Quickly the two spies dropped to the ground and raced into the open door. Inside they were greeted with a crammed entry room, the walls and floors covered in all manner of junk, from old newspapers and books, and home furnishings to computers and television, all in various states of disrepair and covered in several layers of dust and cobwebs. In the middle of the junky room sat a small red sports car. "Do forgive me; I am going through my old stuff. I wasn't planning on having company…" the car stopped in surprise as he took in just who was visiting him. "Ah! Finn McMissile! The greatest agent the world will never know! How long has it been huh? I was certain you were dead! Oh…and I see you've got yourself a lady, man is she a keeper!" Finn bristled at the red car's words.
"We're just partners." He said flatly, glancing at a very red Holley. She nodded slightly in agreement. The sports car burst into loud laughter, but quickly regained himself, shifting to a serious expression.
"Ah, have it your way then. Rafael Turbo. At your service. What brings you two to Paris? This isn't exactly the greatest time to be visiting. Now come by a year ago, this city was beautiful, no other place in the world could compare…but alas, those glory days are gone." The red sports car said, glancing sadly at his tires. "So…how is my brother?" At his words, Finn sunk low, his chassis almost touching the ground, his eyes downcast. Rafael saw the car sink and mirrored him, driving a little closer to the old spy. "Is he hurt?" Finn shook his cab.
"I'm sorry Rafael, Leland is…dead." His words stung the red sports car, who reeled away in shock, knocking into several boxes behind him, spilling old dusty papers onto the floor.
"No, you're joking right? Leland cannot be dead! He is far too stubborn to die!" Rafael stuttered looking at Finn with a pleading look, hoping for some comfort in the old spy's eyes, when he found none he backed up slightly, shifting his gaze to the dusty floor. "How… how did he go?" Finn sighed and glanced at Holley.
"I think…its best you do not know." Holley cut in, attempting to aid Finn, who seemed exasperated. "Leland was a brave and loyal agent; he has been given a permanent resting place in the Hall of Memories back at HQ. He will always be remembered." Rafael gave a sad smile.
"I'll have to stop by and pay my respects then. Now with my previous question; what bring you two to Paris?"
"We need to meet a contact at Club La Porte de l'Enfer, but the streets are far too dangerous and the subway is too exposed. We need another way to get there Rafael, I just figured you'd know." The red car nodded knowingly at Finn's question.
"Yes there is another way, as long as you don't mind being down with the dead." He said, watching both Finn and Holley freeze.
"What do you mean?" Holley gasped, wide eyed as Rafael continued.
"The ancient Roman catacombs under this section of Paris connect to a series of sewer tunnels that run through most of the city. It would be rather easy to reach the Champs-Elysees district where La Porte de l'Enfer is located; if you don't mind the sights and smell. Of course getting to the catacombs is a bit difficult these days, they were closed after the revolutionary group called Silhouette were found down there. A lot of gun fight, all dead now I presume. There is an old office building in the Lion's gate district, just down the road and to the right. You cannot miss it. I believe that building is still accessible, if you don't mind breaking a few windows. In the basement should be the old tunnel Leland and I used to take as kids when our father worked there, going into the catacombs and playing tricks on each other, and whoever was unlucky enough to have come along with us. Be careful though, the police have orders to shoot on sight should they catch a car out at this hour. They aren't going to ask any questions." The red sports car stopped, waiting for the two spies to take in all he just said. "Anything else you two need to know?" Finn shook his cab.
"No, I believe not. Thank you Rafael, you have been a big help to us." Rafael nodded.
"Any friend of my brother is a friend of mine. Ah, I remember when I used to park by that large lion statue and stare at the beautifully lit Eiffel Tower. It's such a pity it was destroyed. But you must be off while the night is still young, but please…don't end up like my brother." Rafael put heavy emphasis on his last few words, silently waiting for the two spies to agree. Finn stamped a tire on the old wooden floor and looked the red car firmly in the eyes.
"We will be victorious, thank you Mr. Turbo. I do hope to see you again." Finn said before turning towards the door, Holley hot on his bumper. Quietly they left Rafael's place and carefully made their way to the Lion's gate District, narrowly avoiding several police cars along the way, ducking from shadow to shadow the dark city provided.
"There is the Lion he talked about." Holley said, glancing to her partner before flicking her gaze to the large, crumbling statue. "And I think I see the old office building; the windows appear to be busted out. Looks like someone already did the noisy work for us." Finn smirked at his partner.
"Perfect, let's move in." As Finn approached the building, the full moon suddenly appeared from behind a large cloud, bathing the dark city in its silvery light. Holley stopped dead as the moonlight hit Finn, shinning with an almost unearthly glow against his silvery-blue coat. He turned slightly towards her, emerald eyes fixed on hers. "Something wrong?" He asked, staring at her gaping mouth. Holley quickly tried to gather herself, much to the elder spy's amusement.
"No..no I'm fine, just thinking about uh…the mission." She stuttered, hoping Finn would buy her lie. If the old spy didn't believe her, he simply let it go and continued towards a shattered window, the moon's light quickly fading as another cloud swallowed it. Holley returned her focus on the mission at hand, following behind Finn as he squeezed himself through the broken window. Once inside the old building the two spies switched on their headlights and quickly located the ramp to the basement, coughing as their tires kicked up years of dust and fine dirt.
"It appears this building has seen as much cleaning in the past few years as Rafael's has." Finn remarked, pushing past piles of papers and broken computer parts while Holley continued coughing. "Whoever last owned this place didn't seem to want anyone finding any of their info, these papers are all water damaged and smeared, and the machinery has all been destroyed, along with the rest of the furniture." The old spy snorted, his headlights falling on endless piles of broken desks and chairs. "Well I don't see a door here, odd this is as low as the basement goes, it has to be here somewhere. Search the area." At his words Holley and Finn split up, each going to a different end of the room, fruitlessly searching for an entrance to the catacombs.
"Wait. Finn, I think I got something" Holley called out, her headlights falling on a water damaged wall, peeling wallpaper revealing a shiny metal plate beneath it. Quickly, the Aston Martin hybrid drove to his partner's side, aiming his high beams on the metal.
"That's not just a metal plate, it's the lid of a wall safe, it seems to be slightly open, and no doubt the lock has been long lost. Good work Miss Shiftwell." Finn commented as he deployed one of his bumperettes cables, hooking it to the lid and opening it; revealing an empty container save for a small switch hidden in the back. "Ah, this no doubt is our ticket into the catacombs." Drawing one of his hidden side door machine guns, Finn shot one bullet, hitting the switch dead center, activating it. Both cars froze as they head a deep rumbling sound come from the other end of the room, turning in time to watch a piece of the back wall come loose and roll down into the ground, revealing a dark limestone tunnel. "Ladies first." He smirked as Holley gave him a fierce glare.
"Age before beauty." She countered, pointing a tire down the tunnel. "So, why would an office complex need a secret entrance to the catacombs?" She asked. Finn shook his hood thoughtfully.
"No doubt the cars that ran this place were involved in something illegal, technology trafficking, or drugs, weapons, prostitutes. I doubt this tunnel exists for a wholesome reason, but I suppose we should be thankful they built it. It's serving us quite well." Finn replied, driving slowly down the smooth limestone. "Ugh, smells damp and musty." He snorted, curling his lip up in disgust. Quietly, Holley followed behind Finn, silently praying that no one was down here, waiting for intruders. The tunnel soon expanded out into a small cement room, graffiti adorning the walls and ceiling, old bottles and papers strewn carelessly around. In the corner sat a moldy cardboard box, filled with small vials of a whitish powder. "Meth." Finn growled as his headlight fell upon the contents; a dark smear just below the box catching his attention. "Oil, looks like someone got in a bit of a scuff down here. It looks old though. We should be safe." Holley nodded solemnly, backing up to give Finn room to turn around.
"We need to keep moving, I doubt our contact will wait forever." The purple Jaguar said, flicking a tire towards the box. "No point in bringing this in as evidence, the cars responsible are probably long dead." Finn nodded in agreement.
"Right then, follow me." Cautiously, Finn drove into another dark tunnel which seemed to span on forever before finally leading into another large room, both cars gasping in shock as they took in the sight of the catacombs, the walls made from corpses of long dead vehicles, the limestone ceiling dripping foul smelling water onto the slick ground.
"That's disgusting." Holley gagged, wobbling slightly on her wheels. "Finn, why did we have to take this route?"
"Because it's the safest route. Calm down, it's not the dead we need to be worrying about." Finn retorted. "Besides, it's actually quite interesting when you think about it. These limestone quarries date back to the Roman times, as Rafael previously stated. I read somewhere that all these corpses were exhumed from local grave sites and placed down here, as a health measure back in the 1700s. Almost six million vehicles in total make up this vast complex." The elder spy car smirked, glancing towards his partner. "I thought you loved historical stuff." Holley cringed.
"Not stuff that deals with dead cars being built into walls thank you very much." She hissed, glancing around nervously. "Let's hurry up. The sooner I can get some fresh air, the better." Finn laughed as his partner gagged again.
"Alright, let's keeps going." The two cars drove silently through the catacombs, darting in and out of narrow tunnels, vast rooms and tombs with the occasional gasp as Holley took in another dreadful sight. The purple Jaguar was just about to ask her partner when they would be reaching the exit when the sliver-blue car suddenly slammed on his breaks, motioning with a jerk of his tire for Holley to be silent. "We're here." He whispered. "This is the entrance to the sewer underneath the Champs-Elysees." The young agent went pale at his words.
"You mean we have to drive through sewer sludge?" Finn rolled his eyes as his charge began to panic.
"Did you not listen to Rafael Miss Shiftwell? You'll live; we can take car washes later." He snorted, waiting for her to object. When she said nothing he turned his gaze back to the large cement door, forcing it open with a rough shove, revealing a long tunnel, slick with a greenish smelly goo and dripping the same foul water from the surface. "Follow my lead, and hold your breath, I don't want you throwing up. We're looking for door no. 15, which leads to the basement of Club La Porte de l'Enfer." Finn growled, taking a deep breath before plunging into the tunnel, driving as quickly as he could on the slippery ground; Holley hot on his tail; both looking for the right door.
"There it is!" The purple Jaguar wheezed a few minutes later. True to her words; a rusty old metal door with no. 15 sprayed on in a sloppy white loomed before the two cars, who quickly rushed to it. Holley picked the aging lock with ease and both pushed inside, gasping for breath. The first to recover, Finn regained himself and stood tall on his tires.
"Alright, remember we are looking for a car named Nicolette DuClare. I have no information on what kind of car she is. All I know is that she has valuable information and is willing to meet us tonight; a very risky thing indeed. She is as wanted as we are." Finn said.
"So, we are going to wear disguises right?" The purple jaguar said. "I mean, we can't just walk into there looking like this." She motioned with a tire to herself and Finn. "We are far too exposed like this." Finn shrugged.
"What? You think I didn't think about that?" the elder car snorted, activating his holographic disguise program, changing his silvery-blue paint into a jet black coat with shiny paint flecks. "How do I look? Good enough for some late night clubbing?" he laughed, shooting Holley a snarky grin. The purple Jaguar rolled her eyes, though blushed a little."
"Yes of course." She muttered before activating her program, changing her deep purple coat into a cherry red, the disguise going even further, changing her appearance from a Jaguar to a sleek Corvette. "So how do I look?" she asked, her eyes twinkling with laughter as Finn stared at her with surprise.
"Show off." He growled. Pointing towards a door. "Let's go, just remember to let me do the talking." Holley scoffed at his words.
"Think I'll screw us up?" she pouted. The Aston Martin hybrid simply nodded before going out the door into the club, carefully avoiding the bouncers before driving out onto the brightly lit dance floor, slipping into the crowd, his partner mirroring his moves. "Where do you think she'll be?" Holley asked, raising her voice over the pounding music and chatter of partying cars. "You know, this place is really busy for a city under lockdown. How are they getting here?" Finn shook his hood.
"Paying off the police, that's how. I'm sure she wouldn't be looking for us out on the dance floor, let's check the upstairs lounge." Quickly, the Aston Martin charged towards the ramp that led to the private lounge, Holley nervously following, hoping their disguises would hold. The air was thick with cigarette smoke, the ruckus laughter of drunken cars flooding the entire room. Finn coughed as he pushed through the crowd of cars, spilled drinks causing one of his tires to slip, bumping slightly into a large pickup truck.
"Hey, watch it buddy, this paint job is worth more than you are!" he growled, daring Finn to refute his statement. Finn nodded, straining to contain a rude comment.
"Ah pardon me, my tire slipped." He said, shrugging as though it were no big deal. The large truck growled again before turning his attention back to the bartender, snarling for another drink. Holley drove up beside Finn a concerned look gracing her features.
"Friendly customers here I can see." She muttered, watching two cars roughly shove one another as they fought over something. Finn laughed bitterly.
"I'm sure the club has lowered their entrance standards since the curfew began along with the lockdown. I doubt they get more than the street scum these days, but hey, if they got Euros to spend why not let 'em in?" Finn replied, his eyes falling on a small dark purple and black sports Renaultsport Megane car parked alone in a corner. "Hmm, I think I may have just found Miss. DuClare." He said, pointing with a tire. "What do you think?" Holley glanced at Finn.
"No doubt, I hope she hasn't been waiting too long." Holley said pausing as the car caught sight of them. She motioned slightly with a tire, beckoning them to come to her table. Slowly, Finn and Holley casually drove to her.
"Bonjour comment allez vous?" she spoke in a soft, calm voice. "Finn McMissile and Holley Shiftwell I presume? Your disguises are good, but I am no fool." Finn and Holley nodded respectfully. "I am Miss Nicolette DuClare, and I have some very important information as to who may be behind this whole mess in Europe. This isn't a very safe place to rendezvous, but it is one of the last public places in all of Paris open after dark. For this reason I have decided to place all I know onto this data stick for you to review at a more favorable location, your HQ back in London perhaps?" Nicolette said quickly placing a small USB onto the table. Activating one of her small grabbing arms, Holley took the device and tucked it into a small storage container located just under her wheel well.
"It's safest here." She explained to the French car. "No one will ever search for something in a wheel well." Nicolette nodded.
"Good idea, but I must return to my Chateau, I fear I have been in Paris too long, no doubt someone has picked up on my presence. If you wish to save your skins, I suggest you leave this damned city as well." Nicolette lowered her gaze to the floor. "There is no hope for Paris, but maybe we can help restore other cities across Europe, lift the Martial Law that grips this land and stop the spread of lockdown into other countries." She looked hopefully up at Finn and Holley. "You two are our only hope, Europe's only hope. I have a helicopter friend that can fly you back to the building your plane dropped you off at, meet him just outside this club, after that you'll be on your own. Good luck." Quietly, Nicolette DuClare bid the two spies farewell before disappearing into the shadows.
"We should not make Miss DuClare's risk be in vain, let's go wait for her helicopter friend." Finn said as he turned to head towards the entrance. Holley nodded silently and followed. Outside the club, the two spies found a large SH-187 Black Helicopter waiting for them, hovering just above the ground. The helicopter smirked as he caught sight of them.
"Mr. McMissile and Miss Shiftwell. I've heard quite a bit about you. Name's Jock and yes, not all the back copters are working for the "bad cars". I have specific instructions from Miss DuClare to carry both of you back to the abandoned building your plane dropped you off at." The black copter said, opening his cargo door. "Now get in, I don't want any of the other copters getting suspicious." Quickly the two spy cars deactivated their hologram disguises and boarded the black helicopter, who promptly rose into the air and flew towards the abandoned building. Once there, Jock hovered low and opened his door. "Alright, off with you now, I have to get back to my rounds before someone realizes I'm missing. Good luck!" The black helicopter called as Finn and Holley jumped out the back. As soon as they were off, the copter rose high and flew out of sight. Finn quickly radioed Siddeley, telling the sleek jet to return and pick them up and get out of Paris. Having a few spare minutes, the two cars parked next to one another, silently rethinking over the whole eventful night.
"It's been quite a night hasn't it?" Holley laughed, glancing over at her partner. "Never thought I'd have to crawl through a creepy catacomb to get to a night club." She remarked. Finn nodded his hood in agreement laughing sadly.
"Sometimes I wonder why we even bother." He said, glancing up at a few visible stars. Holley gazed at him, eyebrows raised in surprise.
"Pardon?" she asked. "We do this because we need to help others, that's part of a spy's duty." Finn turned his cold gaze to her.
"Yes, but look around you. Our world is dying. Whole countries, cities, cars are disappearing every day. Just two days ago all of Los Angles was lost in a massive bomb attack and two of the racers from the World Grand Prix have been found dead in a hotel in the middle of nowhere. Add all of this mess in Europe that is slowly spreading into Asia and has already reached alarming levels in the United States and it makes me wonder if this truly is the end." Finn snorted, looking Holley directly in the eyes. "How can we possibly make a difference?" Holley glanced into her partner's worried eyes, sighing softly before lightly brushing up against the Aston Martin hybrid, who didn't fight her comforting gesture.
"We'll make a difference, just you wait and see." Holley said as she watched Siddeley swoop out from a low cloud. "There is still time for the sun to come out."
A/N: This one-shot story is based on the Paris level of the game Deus Ex. Basically it's the end of the world and super agent J C Denton must help find out who is behind all the conspiracies and stop him (yeah I suck at giving a brief synopsis of games.) Here I have replaced him with Finn and Holley and changed up the Paris storyline a little. Nicolette DuClare and Jock are both characters from the game that I modified a little to fit this storyline. The info about the catacombs that Finn says and the club name and the helicopter type are also from Deus Ex. Rafael Turbo is a character I made up and threw in because I wanted Leland to have a brother. Yeah his name doesn't really fit, but it sounds cool. I tried to throw in a little FxH but it pretty much ended up just being a little short piece at the end. A friend told me Holley was a Jaguar of some type, I'm sorry if that isn't true, I'm not so good with identifying car types. Well, hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Cars and Deus Ex forever! Reviews are welcomed and very much appreciated! Thanks!