Chapter Ten – Discovery and Truth

Sky closed her eyes, leaning against Blade's landing gear housing, and she thought for a moment. "'What? What are you all looking at? Oh, do I have something in my teeth? All right, fine. We might as well get this over with. No, I am not seasick. Yes, I've always been green. No, I did not eat grass as a child—'"

"You know you're going to have to speak with more emotion, right?" Blade said.

Sky opened her eyes and gave Blade a look. "Of course I know that. Just say the next lines."

Blade chuckled and looked to the Wicked script on the desk in front of him. A downpour had given Sky the excuse to stay indoors save for walking to class. Mr. Street had a family emergency to attend to over in Albuquerque, so he gave the cast and crew the day off as long as they promised to keep up with their rehearsal on their own time. Blade invited Sky out to his temporary apartment so they could go over her lines. Sky appreciated the help, but she felt it got a little awkward when she had to review her lines that involved dialogue with Fieryo. Blade teased her lightly for this, causing laughter between them.

Blade checked his clock as they finished the scene. "It's getting late. Come on. I'll give you a lift back to the school."

Sky stretched. "Okay." She gathered her things, following Blade outside. "Thanks for your help."

"My pleasure." Blade nodded. "Just don't tell Nick. He'll find a way to poke fun at me for it."

Sky giggled. "Okay." She climbed into Blade's hoist hatch, and he took off into the air. Thankfully, the rainclouds had since passed to give way for a clear, star-filled night. Blade had no trouble finding a clear spot to land, and he got as close as he could to the dorm where Sky stayed without running the risk of waking anyone. He and Sky rolled/walked the rest of the way, enjoying the silence broken only by the crickets and the occasional coyote howl in the distance. November had arrived, and the air became considerably colder. Sky often never left her dorm without her jacket, and she suddenly remembered it would be much more freezing when she returned to Propwash Junction for Thanksgiving.

"Goodnight." Blade said as they reached Sky's dorm.

"Goodnight." Sky nodded, walking up the steps. She paused at the door. "Hey Blade?"

"Yeah?" Blade asked.

"Is there something you and Nick aren't telling me?" Sky asked. "It seems like you two have been tense lately."

Blade should've seen this coming. Sky wasn't blind to his and Nick's attitude changes. "It's nothing you need to worry about." Blade assured.

"So, there is something wrong?" Sky asked, walking back down towards him.

"Nick and I are just anxious to get back home." Blade said.

Sky stared at him, and she sighed through her nose. "Blade, I don't want any secrets between us, especially if it involves our safety. If there's something bothering or worrying you, I want to know so I can help."

"It's great that you want to help." Blade assured. "But this is just something Nick and I are working on."

Sky sighed again. "All right. But don't hesitate to ask if you need my help."

"I appreciate it." Blade said. "It's one of the things I like about you." He gave her a nuzzle, eliciting laughter from the young woman. "Now get to bed. It's late."

"Yes Father Dearest." Sky gave a mock curtsey, laughing as she walked up to the door. Blade chuckled, watching her go before turning to take off again. He didn't like keeping the full truth from Sky, but he and Nick didn't even know all the details yet. Best to not scare her if this entire thing turned out to be nothing.

As Blade rounded the corner, he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. He paused and looked over to see Harley walking away from him, having apparently come out of the dorm through a back door. She dressed differently than how he normally saw her: she wore black cowgirl boots instead of her skates, a blood red jacket instead of her cobalt blue racing jacket, and she buckled a belt with several pockets on it around her hips. She appeared to walk casually, but Blade could see she purposefully tread quietly so to avoid detection. It was almost eleven, and most of the other students already went to bed or were in the library studying for final exams and essays. Blade narrowed his eyes, and he began following Harley.

Time to see what you're really up to. Blade decided.

Harley fingered her utility belt, ready to pull out any of the gadgets she had to use. She never knew what to expect, but she was taught to be prepared for anything. Because anything could happen during a mission. She still walked with a purpose, making it seem like it was perfectly normal to walk into the forest at this hour. She hopped over roots carefully, making sure she didn't create much sound with her steps. She looked back a few times until she couldn't see the school through the trees. Then Harley looked ahead and she closed her eyes. She focused her energy and her powers, and she felt a tug in her heart. She opened her eyes, and she found her Soul Connect Thread touching her heart and stretching out into the trees. She smiled as she followed the Thread, keeping an eye on the length in front of her to see how long she had to go. For several minutes, she only saw trees, moonlight, and the Soul Connect Thread glowing in front of her. Then, she saw a familiar figure a short distance ahead of her: a silvery-blue Aston Martin, currently in a meditative position to keep the Soul Connect Thread strong.

Finn opened his eyes and smiled broadly. "Good evening, Miss Hudson."

Harley mirrored his smile. "Good evening, Mr. James Bond."

Finn rolled his eyes, but gestured for Harley to come forward. Harley didn't waste a second as she hurried forth, and she hugged Finn tightly. Finn nuzzled her, and the two of them stayed in that position for a while.

"Gosh, I missed you." Harley sighed as she finally broke away. "I didn't think undercover work would involve so much time away from my Partner and my family."

"It's not always the easiest work." Finn admitted. "But worth it at the end of the day."

"Yeah." Harley nodded. "How are Holley and Mater?"

"Enjoying their time in Radiator Springs." Finn reported. "They're relationship has flourished over the last several months."

"You think he'll pop the question?" Harley asked.

"You never know with Mater." Finn shrugged. "But we ought to get to business."

"Right." Harley nodded. "Well, I've been following Waller, like you suggested, and it looks like his interest in Sky is growing. He's been stalking her all month."

"Have you been keeping an eye on her?" Finn asked.

"Yep." Harley nodded. "Tried to avoid being stalker-ish, but still kept a close watch. She doesn't suspect anything. I doubt she even notices that Waller or I are watching her."

"Has Waller made any move beyond watching?" Finn asked.

"He's keeping track of her school progress with alarming attention." Harley said. "It's like he's making sure she's doing well or something."

"How peculiar." Finn's eyes narrowed in thought. "Does this seem to be an increase or decrease in comparison to how he has treated past students?"

"Increase. By a lot." Harley said. "Like I said, he's pretty much stalking Sky. Recently, he's started paying attention to Sky's Soul Connect Partner as well."

"Her Partner?" Finn asked in surprise.

"He arrived at the beginning of October to show off his and Sky's Soul Connection to our Connections 101 class." Harley explained. "I thought he'd leave right afterwards, but he's still here. He seems pretty protective over Sky."

"What does he look like?" Finn asked.

"AgustaWestland AW139 helicopter." Harley described. "Red and black on white. Icy blue eyes. Seems pretty nice, but I get the feeling he could turn fierce in seconds."

Finn noticed something. "Does he have a glare that can freeze oil in its lines?"

"Have you been spying on me again?" Harley complained.

"No." Finn said. "I'm looking right at him."

Harley gasped and spun around to see Blade standing behind her, and she got the full impact of his Glare of Doom. Suddenly she understood what Finn meant by "a glare that can freeze oil in its lines." "Chief Ranger." Harley said when she finally found her voice. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question." Blade growled. "Who is this? And what are you talking about, stalking Sky?"

"Okay, I know this looks bad." Harley said, trying to stay calm. "But please listen to me—"

"No, you listen." Blade snarled, starting to roll closer to Harley. "You're going to tell me what's going on and what you want with Sky or else we're going to have a serious problem."

Finn drove forward to stand protectively in front of Harley, glaring at Blade. "Harm my Partner, and you and I are going to have a problem."

"Finn, don't." Harley said quickly. "He just doesn't understand."

"Then enlighten me." Blade ordered.

Harley sighed. "I can't. We can't. But listen—"

"No." Blade snapped. "I don't want you anywhere near Sky ever again. If you go near her, you'll regret it."

Harley put a hand on Finn's hood in an attempt to calm the furious revving of his engine. "How are you going to explain that to Sky?"

"Sky will understand just fine."

Harley, Finn, and Blade turned as two new figures emerged from the trees: Sky and Katherine. Sky's eyes settled into a glare. "Katherine saw you and Blade going into the forest." Sky said. "I had questioned following you, but now I see it was a good call."

This took an interesting turn. Harley mentally groaned. "Sky, this isn't want you think."

"Really?" Sky scoffed. "Because I think Blade was right to be worried. You're hiding something from me, Harley."

"I too have noticed your somewhat secretive nature." Katherine said. "I just never saw a reason to question it until now."

"You two can trust me." Harley insisted. "I promise."

"Then tell us what's going on." Sky demanded. "Why are you really here at APS? Who is that car? At least tell us why you carry a freaking gun on your person!"

Harley opened her mouth, but no words came out. Could she really reveal everything? Right here, right now? If she didn't do something soon, this entire endeavor would descend into hell in a handbasket before she would have time to salvage it. That much she knew for sure.

Sky huffed. "Blade, let's go." She turned and began walking off. Blade and Katherine turned to follow her.

"Wait!" Harley's voice made them stop and look back to her. Harley looked to Finn for his approval.

Finn weighed his options for a moment, and then nodded. "This entire case revolves around Ms. Riley, ergo it involves her Partner. Seeing how the case involves all psyche humans, I will not object this once to Ms. Achebe hearing the details."

Sky, Blade, and Katherine turned to give Harley and Finn their full attention. Unseen to all except Katherine, Nick and Leland materialized off to one side to witness the interaction.

"So who are you really?" Sky asked/demanded.

Harley cracked a grin. "Well, I really am Harley Hudson. That wasn't a pseudonym. But I'm not just a student at the Academy for Psyche Students. This is my Soul Connect Partner, Finn McMissile."

"Harley and I are spies for the C.H.R.O.M.E. Agency." Finn explained. Harley pulled out her MI6 badge to show them. "We have been working on a case investigating Dean Waller."

"For the past five months, I've been working undercover as a student so to observe Waller's movements." Harley added.

"But why?" Katherine asked.

"Because across the country and even throughout the world, there have been slews of psyche humans mysteriously losing their powers." Harley explained.

"What do you mean 'losing their powers'?" Sky asked, suddenly curious.

"C.H.R. . came across several different medical records of psyche humans who went to their physicians because they were unable to use their powers." Finn explained. "At first, it was assumed to just be a random illness or maybe an epidemic. Upon further investigation, I discovered that these were psyche humans who were perfectly healthy and then appeared to lose their powers overnight."

"We started investigating last year." Harley said. "But it was slow going. The psyche humans losing their powers didn't seem to have any connection to one another. They had different financial statuses, none of them seemed to know each other, they were all different age, random genders, no correlation with ethnic background. The only thing they had in common was that they were all losing their powers within a very short span of time. Until recently, the case lost relevance."

"What happened recently?" Blade asked.

"We use the term 'recently' loosely." Finn corrected. "We discovered something just before we sent Harley to the Academy undercover."

Harley pulled out what appeared to be a circular hand mirror from her utility belt. She opened it, and a holographic screen appeared. She used a stylus to press a few things, and the picture of a young man with blonde hair and blue eyes appeared on the screen. "You recognize this guy?"

"Should I?" Sky asked in a somewhat snarky tone.

"This is Kevin Ronald." Harley explained, bringing up a couple different news articles as she talked. "Nice guy. Graduate of the University of Washington. He made an open claim that Dean Waller had stalked him at the Academy for Psyche Students and then later stole his powers. Ronald took the claim to court, apparently wanting Waller to pay him a large sum of money and return his powers. However, the case was dismissed due to lack of evidence. Not to mention the entire premise seemed ridiculous, and nobody could prove how Ronald's powers were taken, if they were at all. After that, it seemed like things went back to normal. But, over a month ago, Finn called me with some bad news."

"Did Ronald make a comeback?" Katherine guessed.

Finn sighed. "Ronald was dead. The incident was ruled as a suicide, but my research showed that he was living a good life. If anything, his 'suicide' was ruled based on circumstantial evidence. We believe he was going to make another try for taking a case against Waller."

"So what does that have to do with why you're here?" Blade asked. "One guy says his powers were taken by Waller, so you launch an investigation against him?"

"Yes and no." Harley corrected. "See, after Ronald made his claim, we took another look at the psyche humans who had lost their powers. Turns out, they did have a connection: they all previously attended the Academy for Psyche Students."

"I agreed to send Harley in as a student to work undercover and gather more information about Waller." Finn said. "We started tracking Waller's movements. Despite Harley's in-depth research, however, we seemed to reach a dead end until a couple months ago."

"What happened a couple months ago?" Sky asked.

"You." Harley said.

"Me?" Sky repeated.

"Sky?" Blade and Katherine asked.

"Waller's activity spiked again when he sent you your invitation to attend the Academy." Harley said. "He even gave you a full scholarship. He's never done that before."

"Ever since you came to the Academy, Waller has tracked your every movement." Finn added. "He keeps track of your school progress, follows you around the grounds, and keeps tabs on you and your Soul Connect Partner."

"But why?" Sky asked.

"Wish we knew." Harley shrugged. "But it might have something to do with your powers."

"She has the same abilities as every other psyche human at the school." Blade protested.

"True, but hers are stronger." Harley corrected. "You ought to know by now, Chief Ranger, that Sky's abilities are much more powerful than other psyche humans. She can do things even I can't do with my powers."

"We believe that, for some reason, Dean Waller's focus for taking psyche human powers rests with Skylar." Finn said. "What that reason is, we can't be sure of at the moment. All we ask right now is your cooperation and trust so we can prevent Waller from taking other psyche humans' powers."

Blade, Sky, and Katherine exchanged looks. All of this information kind of came as a shock, and yet it all somehow made sense. It explained Harley's and even Dean Waller's behavior. It also could explain why Waller sent Sky an invitation at a seemingly random time. A silent understanding passed amongst the trio.

"All right. We're in." Sky said.

Finn and Harley blinked. "What?"

"We're going to help you with this case." Blade said.

"Absolutely not!" Finn retorted. "This is no situation for a civilian."

"If this case centers around me, it centers around Blade." Sky said. "And Katherine is a psyche human too, so she's involved."

"Sky, it will be much too dangerous." Harley said. "Leave this to us."

"We're helping you no matter what, Harley." Sky said firmly.

"You cannot stop us." Katherine agreed.

"The last time we let a civilian onto a case, it almost ended in lives being lost." Finn protested.

"Did anyone die?" Sky asked.

Finn and Harley paused. "No." Finn admitted.

"Was the case still solved?" Katherine asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes….." Finn muttered.

"Technically, it was only solved because of me and Mater." Harley rubbed the back of her head.

"Then it's settled. We're helping." Sky said.

Finn and Harley exchanged a look. Soon, they realized arguing about it would just give them migraines. "Fine." Harley sighed. "But you will follow Finn's orders, got it?" Sky, Katherine, and Blade nodded with some reluctance on Blade's part. "Okay. We'll keep in touch over the next few weeks and get some work done. If we can pull together, we should be able to catch Waller and at least get a warrant before classes end."

"Why the deadline?" Blade asked.

"When finals are over, the school shuts down from Thanksgiving until January when they do winter session classes." Harley said. "That'll give Waller too much time to cover his tracks."

"So how about we rendezvous day after tomorrow and do some research?" Sky suggested.

Harley nodded. "Good idea. For now, let's just get back to the dorms before anyone realizes were gone." Everyone else agreed.

"Forward any information you find to me." Finn said before he left. Harley agreed, and she led everyone else back to the school grounds.

"You know, you still haven't explained the gun." Sky noted. She giggled at Harley's deadpan reaction.

Harley rolled her eyes. "I'm a spy, Skylar. Do you expect me to walk around unarmed?"

Nick and Leland hung back as everyone else dispersed to go to sleep. The two ghosts exchanged looks before grinning.

"All right, I'll go first." Nick sighed. "I'm sorry for pounding on ya."

"Not at all." Leland assured. "My apologies for not explaining everything sooner."

"Now that it's all out there, I can understand why." Nick said. "Harley and Finn seem pretty cool. The three of ya must make quite the team."

Leland's grin faded, and he looked down. "Well, Harley and Finn make a good team. I'm more of a spectator."

Nick stared at him in surprise. "A spectator? Don't they know you watch them?"

"No." Leland said softly.

"But you're going to tell them, right?" Nick asked.

"Someday." Leland said dismissively.

"Someday when?" Nick asked, continuing to pressure Leland.

"Why do you care?" Leland huffed.

"Because I stayed on my best friend's tail for about thirty years before Sky managed to convince me to show myself." Nick said, causing Leland to stare at him in surprise. Nick's gaze went to the ground. "I had spent all those years afraid that I would hurt Blade by showing myself. When, in reality, letting him know that I was there helped him heal from the pain I caused when I died."

"But it's not like you died on purpose." Leland said.

"Of course not." Nick said. "But it still hurt him when he had to watch me die. I'll bet it hurt Finn when he heard you were dead."

Leland sighed. "He saw what remained of my body. At least, that's what I heard. I wasn't there to see his reaction." He swallowed. "I don't want to see his reaction."

"But can you see that he misses you?" Nick asked.

"Of course I can."

"Don't you think he'd be so happy to see you again? To be able to talk to you?"

"And what if seeing me just causes him more pain?" Leland demanded.

Nick smiled softly, remembering the very words Sky told him during a conversation like this. "That's just a risk you're going to have to take."

Leland stared at Nick for a moment. He pondered the idea. Trailing Finn and Harley for three years was nothing compared to the three decades Nick spent watching Blade. Leland fully intended to watch Finn and Harley until they died (of old age, if Fate was so kind). Didn't they deserve to know he watched them? "All right. How did you go about revealing yourself?"

"Mine was a spur of the moment." Nick said. "It'd be best if you did it in a way you think will work. You know Finn and Harley. Use what you know to break your presence to them gently."

Leland nodded in thought. "Very well. I'll think about it." He smiled. "Thank you, Mr. Lopez."

"Eh, just call me 'Nick.'" Nick said as he floated off. "Mr. Lopez was my dad."

Leland chuckled, watching Nick ascend up to Sky's room. His eyes traveled to the window of Harley's room, and he thought for a moment. No doubt Harley and Finn will be awake for another couple hours to work. They always work late. Nick has a point. Harley has helped Finn cope with my death. Maybe I can finally show myself without him slipping into madness or depression. Leland nodded, smiling in determination, and he spirited off towards Alamo. Finn knew me longer. I'll show myself to him first, and then he can tell me when I can tell Harley.

It only took a few seconds to get to Alamo, and Leland hurriedly found the hotel where Finn stayed. He knew at once which room was Finn's because he looked through the window with the blinds drawn and didn't hear a thing. Soundproofing the hotel room. Leland chuckled softly. You never change, ol' chap. Leland easily phased through the wall and watched Finn video chatting with Holley and Mater.

"Finn, you really ought to get to bed." Holley said. "It's so late."

"It's only midnight." Finn shrugged.

"But don' ya usually stay up real late?" Mater noted. "Ya git so tired when ya do that."

"Thank you for your concern, Mater." Finn said. "But I'll be fine."

"Do take care of yourself, Finn." Holley said.

"An' I wanna talk ta Harley next time we chat!" Mater piped up.

Finn chuckled. "Very well. I'll talk to you two soon. Goodnight!"

"Goodnight!" Holley and Mater called before they hung up.

Finn grinned warmly, looking over the reports he recently finished. "Let's see. Daily log finished. Files organized." He scrolled through a few more things. "Maybe I can get a few more things done. That research can be put out of the way."

Soundproof room. Talking to yourself. Overworking. Leland shook with silent laughter. Finn, my friend, you haven't changed a bit.

Finn checked his clock. If I don't go to sleep now, Harley won't let me hear the end of it. He sighed. "Tomorrow. Just do it tomorrow." He nodded to himself and closed the files and programs on his computer. Then Finn reversed towards his bed to turn in for the night. But he took another look at the nightstand and noticed the book he had started last week. He was almost done with it, too. If he tried to finish it now, he'd probably be awake for another half an hour to an hour. "Wait until tomorrow." Finn told himself. "Just wait until tomorrow." He settled down on the mattress pad that served as his bed, switching off the lamp.

Two seconds later, he turned the light back on and started reading.

Leland shook his hood a little. Let's see. How to get his attention. He glanced around the room for a moment before his eyes settled on the laptop still open. Hmm….maybe…

Finn jumped a bit when he heard his laptop beep. He looked up and noticed the screen lit. "I thought I turned that off." He murmured. He moved towards the computer to shut it off, but then froze when a blank document popped up on the screen. He stared at the screen for a moment, and then jumped again when a word typed itself out.

Finn.

The Aston Martin looked around, rather confused. "Yes?" He asked slowly.

More words appeared. Finn, do you believe in ghosts?

Finn stared at the screen for several seconds.

Then, quite suddenly, he unloaded his gun and shot the laptop a few times. The piece of technology sparked and buzzed before powering down.

Leland groaned quietly. Oh Finn, you bloody cabbage! You're barking mad!

Finn glared at what remained of his laptop. "What in Heaven's name?" He murmured, inching closer to the carnage.

Leland's expression morphed to a deadpan look. Yep. That's the same Finn I know. He sighed silently and forced himself to become visible. "Finn, was that really necessary?"

Finn tensed up and spun around, aiming both of his guns this time. But his eyes widened when he saw who parked behind him. His guns folded up again, but his eyes never left the ghost. It took a minute for him to find his voice. "L-Leland?"

Leland swallowed. "A Volkswagen Carmen Ghia has no radiator."

"Because it's air…..cooled….." Finn murmured, the shock fully settling in.

Leland smiled. "Nice to see you remember some of the tricks I taught you."

Finn let out a breath he didn't know he held. "You…..you're…..how….."

"Finn, don't go berserk on me." Leland requested. "I know it's insane. But listen to me. I just want to apologize for what happened. I didn't think about what I would do if I was captured. It was foolish of me to go without backup. I can't imagine what sort of pain I caused when I was killed, and I'm sorry for any distress I caused you. Is it at all possible that you could forgive me?"

Finn listened intently, and he soon came to the conclusion that Leland Turbo actually stood in front of him. "Did you come back just to apologize?" He sounded worried.

"No!" Leland cleared his throat. "I, um, have trailed you since the World Grand Prix. I couldn't just leave you without some kind of backup. I traded whatever heavens are out there to keep an eye on you. And to keep an eye on Harley. She's a good little bird, Finn. You're a lucky chap."

Finn smiled, his eyes becoming glassy. "Chrysler, you're really here."

Leland smiled back, just managing to hold back his own tears. "Well, you got me out of tough scraps before. I couldn't call myself your friend if I didn't treat you in kind."

Finn chuckled softly, sniffling and trying to regain his composure. This proved almost impossible, especially when Leland gave him a brotherly nuzzle. "I do have one question."

"What's that, ol' chap?" Leland asked.

"Why couldn't you have done this before I shot the computer?" Finn asked, causing laughter between them.

Harley woke up the next morning to the James Bond theme playing on her phone. She groaned tiredly, fumbling around for her glasses and cell phone. She ended up putting her glasses to her ear for a second before she corrected herself, and she answered the call.

"Finn? Why are you calling me at this ungodly hour?" Harley asked, putting her glasses on.

"I need you to meet me out in the forest!" Finn said rather excitedly on the other end.

"Right now?" Harley moaned. "It's like four in the morning."

"It's important! Come along now!" Finn urged.

Harley moaned again. "Can't it wait until after breakfast?"

"No! Now hurry up!" Finn said.

Harley sighed. "Fine. I'll see you in a few."

"Make it a few minutes!" Finn said quickly, stomping out any ideas Harley had about stalling this meeting. Harley groaned her agreement, and she pushed herself out of bed. She didn't bother changing out of her long-sleeved pajamas, simply pulling on her red jacket and boots as she grabbed her keys. She walked out the door and towards the forest, shivering slightly. A fog settled over the land, giving Harley the perfect cover as she followed her Soul Connect Thread to find Finn. It took only a few minutes to find him, and that startled Harley somewhat.

"Finn, you really shouldn't be so close to the school." Harley scolded gently. "You said so yourself that we can't risk anyone seeing you. You could be recognized, and I might need some backup in case something goes wrong. At least that's what you told me."

Finn couldn't keep the wide smile off his lips. "I know. But I had to show you something amazing."

"And it couldn't wait until after breakfast?" Harley droned.

"No." Finn chuckled. "It's important. Just trust me."

Harley sighed, crossing her arms. "It better be worth coming out here in my pajamas."

Finn still grinned broadly, and he looked to one side. Before Harley's eyes, a figure materialized next to her Partner. Harley's eyes widened, and she took off her glasses to clean them of any impurities. She put them back on, but couldn't deny what she saw.

"No way." Harley breathed.

"Harley, I would like you to meet my old partner-in-crime." Finn said.

Leland smiled as he nodded to Harley. "Agent Leland Turbo. At your service, Madame."

Harley blinked a few times. "You couldn't have told me that so I could change out of my pajamas?"

A/N: based on my research, calling someone a "cabbage" is British slang for a stupid person.