~Unknown Area of the Atlantic Ocean-1990- 0100 Hours~

"You ready, Del Tyre?"

"As I'll ever be," was the prim answer, and Finn smirked.

"You know, this is our third mission, not our first. Why so…'uptight'?"

"You've been spending too much time with Leland," Giulia deadpanned upon hearing his strange choice of vocabulary.

The Aston Martin chuckled, changing the subject, "How's surveillance?"

"Bene. No activity on the stern or portside bow. Candy apple paint doesn't work well while hiding in darkness, however." Finn could almost see her grimace.

"Just grin and bear it," he advised softly, backing into the shadows, "I'll be there soon."

"Ten-four."

The radio went dead, the sound of static resonating through his interior, and Finn quickly switched his communicator off as well, ducking behind a bunch of crates as two cars drove by laughing. Only five months had gone by, and this was already their third mission. Time sure flew, especially when being shot at and driving for your life.

The Aston Martin slowly drove out of the darkness, glancing from left to right before silently driving down a ramp and onto a lower level of the ship. Salty ocean breeze blew heavily over the vessel, waves lapping loudly at the sides, the dark and overcast sky above him. The craft Finn and his partner were currently on was housing an inane amount of gold, most of it stolen from the Queen's own personal vault, and the robbers were planning on selling it on the black market, most likely exchanging it for weapons and drugs. Last time he checked, the ship was heading towards the Indian Ocean, probably on course to China. And of course, both Finn and Giulia were there to stop them.

The British spy ducked behind a series of crates again, watching another group of cars drive by, before continuing on. But as he drove, his mind began to wander.

The cars they were facing off against today were your run of the mill 'bad guys'. But Giulia did have a perfectly good reason to be a little worried. They were nearly a hundred cars currently on board, against two British/Italian spies. The odds weren't exactly in their favor. But nevertheless, they would try—

"Hey, you!"

Oh Chrysler. Finn swiftly turned, meeting the gaze of a Plymouth Roadrunner before driving around him just as fast. Dodge Ram it all, Finn cursed. He'd gotten distracted, and now he was paying the price. The Aston Martin was nearing the stern of the ship, and he could hear the henchman he encountered shouting for reinforcements. He and Giulia needed to find the gold, call the authorities, and get out of there. But of course, that was the anticlimactic way to go.

Finn quickly zoomed behind a stack of crates once more, thanking the Manufacturer for the fact that these thugs happened to carry around a lot of them. Dropping low, he heard the cars searching for him, the buffoons yelling at one another. He heard a metallic sounding smack, and could safely assume that one of the henchmen had just hit one of his cronies on the hood. Finn smirked. He didn't know why he had been so worried. These blokes were nothing more than muscle-bound idiots. He could easily imagine Leland jumping out and kicking their sorry afts, though. He chuckled at the mental image before quickly reverting his attention to the situation at hand, realizing that the cars around him had stopped talking. All was silent, and the only thing he could hear was the soft lapping of the waves against the ship's hull, and for one terrifying moment, Finn thought that they had gone off and found Giulia.

Slowly driving forward, the Aston Martin prepared to angle his rearview mirrors to see what was going on in front of the crate, only to hear something fly through the air, landing next to his tire with a thunk. Gradually turning back around, Finn was greeted by the unwanted sight of a grenade.

"Oh, Dodge."


Giulia peeked out from behind the dark corner she'd been hiding in, located in a rather desolate part of the ship, a good ways away from the thugs. As well as any action.

The Alfa Romeo huffed, frustrated. Trust Finn to think she couldn't handle the dangerous stuff. Giulia quickly glanced back up however when she heard the sounds of various cars from the level bellow, and cautiously inched forward, out of the shadows. She knew she was putting herself at risk, as she'd said before; candy apple red didn't exactly blend in with the grays and blue of the surrounding walls.

She could see dozens of thugs heading towards one point, an area with several crates, and they dodged and drove around the wooden boxes, apparently searching for something. Or someone, more than likely.

Giulia immediately thought of Finn, down there all alone…once sneaking onto the ship, he had instantly decided on splitting up, and she hadn't heard from him since their last call over the radio several minutes ago. Now though, she could only imagine the worst.

She could hear the thugs yelling, most likely searching for the Aston Martin, and right then and there, Giulia decided she wasn't going to sit on the sidelines and watch her partner get captured. Finn would probably reprimand her for this later, but nevertheless, the Alfa Romeo slowly drove out of her hiding place, keeping to the shadows as she silently cruised down the walkway. The various vehicles bellow her grew louder for a moment, before their voices became nearly nonexistent. Frowning in confusion, the Italian spy continued down the boardwalk, watching the cars underneath with a keen eye. They were now extremely quiet, unnaturally so. And the Alfa Romeo's suspicions only grew.

Her gaze never left the vehicles below her, although she squinted in confusion when they all backed up several hundred feet, only one remaining behind to pitch something behind a stack of crates. Giulia watched in utter bewilderment for a moment, before realization settled.

"Fi—"

Giulia's cry was drowned out by the sound of the explosion. The Alfa Romeo watched in unrestrained horror as the blast shook the very boat, the resulting flare-up of smoke and fire exploding out, beyond thirty feet at least. Wooden crates were sent flying over the edge, others detonating in a burst of wooden chips. The vehicles all came out from their hiding spots, looking over the rumble and twisted lumps of burned machinery, smirking.

"We got 'im," one of the thugs announced, looking over the dark ocean around him," If the explosion didn't kill 'im, these water's will. The current's strong nearly strong enough to drag down a sub. There's no way he'd get outta there alive."

Several others chuckled at the Aston Martin's misfortune, while Giulia struggled to keep from hyperventilating. "Oh Signore, oh Signore, no, per favore no…" she murmured, blue-grey eyes wide as gazed at the remaining smoke in horror. Finn couldn't have…he was the near equivalent of indestructible, he couldn't have been…killed by a simply grenade…could he? Giulia had heard of several agents who's deaths had been flukes, simple accidents in the field. Someone had even been blinding by pepper spray (while helping an old woman) and had fallen off of a bridge, crashing into the frigid water several hundred feet below, and killed instantly.

But Finn surely couldn't have died like those had...he was smart, cunning. He would always heave a backup plan ready for whatever mess he found himself caught in. But looking over the smoking and charred remains; Giulia couldn't help but doubt her logic.

The thug's voices drew her back to reality, and her oil ran cold upon hearing what they were saying.

"Go search the ship," one of them ordered." These agents never come alone."

The vehicles below her all dispersed, and the Alfa Romeo quickly backed into the shadows. She had to get out of there. Driving along the long walkways, the Italian spy refused to let any tears make it past her windshield. It wasn't the time.

Giulia continued her rampart driving, heading for her and Finn's predestined meeting place. She could collect herself there and continue on with the mission. Alone.

The Alfa Romeo reversed into the decided corridor, shrouded by darkness once more. She let out a shaky breath." Signore, ti prego, veglia su quell'imbecille," she murmured quietly, looking up at the night sky, stars hidden from view by dark clouds.

A sudden voice from her left made her jump," Well, that's not very kind of you to say."

Giulia whipped around, both gun barrels coming out of her fog lights, only to come fender to fender with an extremely familiar Aston Martin. The Alfa Romeo's breath hitched, she barely managed to breathe,"F-Finn?"

"The one and only," he smirked, although understanding shone through his eyes. He knew what she had been going through the last few minutes.

"Oh mio Dio," she breathed, looking him over. The British spy was sopping wet from his midnight swim, saltwater pooling under his tires. Before Finn could speak however, the Alfa Romeo locked eyes with him again, and he was shocked at the anger displayed in them. "What in the world…che cosa stavi pensando?" Giulia demanded furiously, voice hushed despite her rage, tears pooling in her eyes.

"I wasn't thinking!" the Aston Martin retorted, although in the same low tones as his partner, "I only knew that I had to get out of there!"

"And you accomplished that by what—leaving me to think you'd died?" the Alfa Romeo's sudden change in mood greatly startled Finn—she was usually a very compassionate car, (generally too much for her own good) never having the heart to even yell at anyone, and yet here he was, being effectively 'chewed out' by one of the kindest cars he knew.

"Well I certainly didn't enjoy it either, you know?" Finn replied angrily, feeling his engine whirr.

"Oh, sí, sono abbastanza sicura."

With each remark, the two cars grew closer, until they were nearly bumper to bumper. The Aston Martin was fully prepared to launch into another ongoing argument, when Giulia suddenly pressed her lips to his own. His mind went into overdrive, but he immediately responded by kissing back.

After several minutes of lip lock, the two cars parted, breathing heavily. The Alfa Romeo was the first to speak, "Wa-was that…a-alright?"

Finn dimly registered the fact that she meant if it had been proper; if they should have kissed. The British spy's answer was clear enough, "Yes, it was fine." He captured her lips with his own, and everything around them seemed to disappear. Sure they still had some hundred pounds of gold to recover, and perhaps there were several dozen goons that needed to be fought, but at that moment, Finn couldn't have cared less in his life.

Those things could wait.


*gasp* Romance! Finally!

And this was the first time Finn pretended to 'die' during a mission. I don't think Giulia likes it very much.

~CARS + characters (c) PIXAR~

~Story plot and (some) character personalities (c) Funkywatermelon~