Dedicated to ruthc93, because, yes, we do need far more Siddeley fics out there.
Lowering his landing gear, Siddeley came down softly on to a rocky outcrop on an island in the middle of the ocean, at the exact coordinates his longtime partner, Finn McMissile, had just sent to him. The flat surface of rock allowed him a view over a large portion of the water, where the waves rolled and crashed against the cliff below him.
Finn hadn't spoken much after transmitting the coordinates of the island. A sharp, "I'll be there shortly" was all that had been said before the connection was cut, leaving Siddeley questioning exactly what had transpired on the oil rig. Perhaps Finn was still in a dicey situation, which would have explained the reticence.
Another crash of waves against the rock was broken by the sound of tires crunching over pebbles. Siddeley rolled to the edge of the precipice and gazed down at the beach that stretched out to his right, spotting the out-of-place object immediately.
The Aston Martin drove up from beneath the surface, saltwater cascading off of his frame and spilling back into the sea behind him. A glance in Siddeley's direction told the plane that McMissile had seen him, but the car turned to stare out at the expansive ocean, the stars up above reflecting off of the water.
Siddeley observed Finn in silence, wondering what was going through his friend's mind. The agency might have his tail for calling Finn a friend, but that was what they were. While potentially dangerous in their line of expertise, the two had been together long enough to consider their partnership more than just mere business acquaintances.
Finn reversed away from the shoreline and drove toward where Siddeley was parked, keeping his eyes on the ground in front of him. Wordlessly, Siddeley opened the hatch to allow Finn inside, detecting the air of despondence around him.
"Where to, Finn?" Siddeley asked, warming up his engines as he opened communication with his cabin.
Silence greeted his words.
Deciding to give Finn some undisturbed peace, Siddeley lifted off and set a course through empty airspace. Settling into a warm jet stream, he let his thoughts wander to various different missions they'd been on.
There was the one several years back, where an international black marketer had been selling poisonous radiator fluid to big businesses throughout the world under the cover of a foreign trademark. The fluid had spread far and wide into all major countries, as cars believed that it truly was healthy for them, and it was only after the bulk of the public had fallen seriously ill that someone started looking into the so-called brand name. The hoax was discovered, and it became a mad dash across Europe to locate both the instigator of the entire plot and the antidote to save the population from being severely decimated. In the end, Finn and Siddeley had tracked the foe to the small town of Belomorsk, Russia and proceeded to put an end to the epidemic.
Siddeley couldn't help but smile. Though the entire assignment had been very fast-paced and stressful at times, there was nothing quite like the rush of chasing after a criminal and solving the mystery.
Another more recent operation was the extensive search to find the missing princess of Denmark. Kidnapped during a round tour of Europe, the Danish Defense Service had called in the assistance of C.H.R.O.M.E. and several other European agencies to locate their stolen princess before time ran out. What had followed was a complex, confusing, and extremely personal situation to several vehicles. The princess was found a month and a half later, slightly worse for the wear, but nonetheless pleased to be back with her people. A long break had been arranged for many of the spies involved in the case, in order to assure their complete recovery.
It had taken Finn a long time to recover from that mission, as was the same with Siddeley. They had spoken often during the following months, about the case and about each other's personal lives, a conversation that did not happen very frequently.
Finn's lasting silence was beginning to worry Siddeley. While Finn was most certainly not a chatty car, he wasn't one to clam up after returning from an expedition, and definitely not one as big as this. If anything, Siddeley would have expected his partner to be bursting with things to say.
Something had transpired on the rig, and it wasn't good.
It was in the early hours of the morning when Finn finally began talking.
Siddeley had kept all channels with his cabin open, waiting for anything to be said by the Aston Martin. When Finn spoke, Siddeley did not interrupt him, and simply let the car have his say.
"Siddeley, old boy…we've lost a very near and dear comrade."
Siddeley didn't reply.
"You saw that transmission we received from Leland. I was pressed to hope that he had only had to desert his video feed, and that he had found a safe place to hunker down and wait for me to arrive. It seems—" and here Finn's voice faltered for a moment, before he cleared his throat and continued, "—that he did not manage to find a place to hide."
Siddeley's fuel tank clenched.
"That's right," Finn said, as if the plane had responded to him. "Crushed. Crushed into a compact cube. All small and red and…and—"
"Finn…stop," Siddeley said weakly, not wanting to hear exactly what had become of another very close friend.
"Sorry."
Finn's tone was flat and emotionless. He was starting to shut down, blocking out all of his thoughts and feelings on the issue. It was what they were taught from Day 1 in C.H.R.O.M.E.'s training program. You had to learn to control your emotions, otherwise you wouldn't make it far in the spy world. They were educated to go on, to not think too much about losses that would accost them during their career. If you paused even a moment too long, you risked losing your life. It was a lonely life they led.
"I hope he goes somewhere better than this." Finn broke into his thoughts.
"Somewhere with a lot of ladies?" It was true that Leland had always been a ladies' car.
"Yeah. Somewhere with a lot of ladies and a trampoline."
"A trampoline?"
"He always said that was the worst thing about being a part of C.H.R.O.M.E. He wasn't allowed to go bounce on the trampoline during the summer, because it might risk blowing his cover."
"Why did he like trampolines so much?"
"He said it was the closest thing to flying that you could have, without a plane, and without fear of your bungee cord snapping as you dropped."
"All right then."
"I should have gotten him a trampoline. Just bought one and put it in his garage and listened to him yell and bounce around on it like some sort of maniac."
Siddeley didn't know quite how to reply to that. He had the strange urge to laugh, because the thought of Leland Turbo, superspy of the agency known internationally as C.H.R.O.M.E., jumping on a trampoline like a young car was rather funny. But at the same time, he knew that he would never see the agent again, much less on a trampoline.
"I bet he'll have a trampoline where he goes," Siddeley answered.
Finn chuckled softly. "He probably will."
The quietness between them stretched.
"Where are you headed?"
"I'm not really sure. We're over Australia right now, and I'm really just cruising, because you never clarified where you wanted to go."
"Set a course for Tokyo. We've got to get there before the World Grand Prix starts."
"Right-o."
Adjusting his flight path accordingly, Siddeley chanced the question he'd wanted to ask. "Are you all right, Finn?"
"No. But I can't park and cry about it. I've got to finish what he started. Make it worth his sacrifice." Finn sighed deeply.
"I think he'd be proud to hear that." Even if Leland was younger than Finn, they had acted more like brothers than associates.
"Thank you, Siddeley." Though quiet, the gratitude was effectively conveyed to the jet.
"That's what friends are for."
It's actually Danish Defence Intelligence Service, but I changed it up slightly.
Can cars bounce on trampolines? I have no idea. For the sake of this story, yes, yes they can.
I owe the phrase "compact cube" to Mighty ANT, who is writing an absolutely fabulous story about Leland Turbo's younger days, and I highly recommend you go and read it.
Thank you for reading!