Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to Pixar. All OCs belong to me.
Chapter 14
Lightning woke up early the next morning. Less than a minute later, a nurse entered his room, and she picked up his chart.
"How are you feeling this morning, Lightning?"
"Hungry!"
The nurse chuckled. "Okay, I'll get you something to eat in a minute. I just need to check your vitals and refill your fuel drip."
Lightning shifted around restlessly while the nurse fiddled with the machines attached to him. He was itching to get onto that racetrack!
When the nurse returned with Lightning's breakfast, he scoffed it down as quickly as he could, and then asked for more. The nurse firmly refused to give him any more until after Dr Spark had come to check him.
By the time Dr Spark arrived to check on Lightning a few hours later, he found the youngster wriggling around restlessly. Not seeing Dr Spark enter the room, Lightning kicked out with his rear wheels.
"Whoa!" Dr Spark exclaimed. "I might have to clamp you down if you continue behaving like that!"
"Sorry," Lightning apologised. "But I just want to get out of here! Now!"
"I know, but you can't. Your engine has been restricted for most of your life, so you can't just go outside and race around at two hundred miles per hour. You'll have to work your way up to that speed slowly so you don't damage your engine."
Lightning kicked out again and he revved his engine loudly. Dr Spark frowned with concern. The kid could have an attack if he didn't settle down. Going over to Lightning's bed, he pressed a button. Four clamps shot out from underneath it, which grabbed Lightning's wheels and secured them into place.
"Ow!" Lightning exclaimed with surprise. "Hey! That's not fair! I can't move!"
"I'm sorry, but sometimes I need to be cruel to be kind. You wouldn't settle down, and I don't want to see you injure yourself."
Lightning scowled. "Can I have something else to eat?" he asked hopefully.
"Not yet. From the looks of it though, I'd say that you've had more than enough to eat."
"But I'm still hungry!"
Dr Spark shook his hood. Then he lifted Lightning's hood and he began to examine his engine. Lightning shifted around restlessly the whole time. Finally, Dr Spark closed his hood with a sigh.
"Okay, okay! I give in. Let's get you down to the racetrack."
"Yay!" Lightning cheered.
Dr Spark disconnected Lightning from the machines and clamps, and he opened the door. Lightning charged out of the room, and he hurried over to the lifts. Dr Spark went after him, and they entered the lift together.
Minutes later, Lightning and Dr Spark entered the basement where the racetrack was. Lightning dashed onto it and he got ready to race.
"Hold on, youngster!" Dr Spark shouted. "You're not to go over a hundred, okay?"
"But-."
"You could blow your engine up if you push yourself too hard too fast."
"Okay," Lightning reluctantly agreed. Then he revved his engine loudly. It growled beautifully. Grinning, he accelerated onto the track. Glancing down at his speedometer, he saw that he saw still only doing seventy. He pushed harder, watching the needle climb. Eighty. Ninety. Ninety-five. A glance up at Dr Spark reminded him of his orders. He stopped accelerating, but he continued to race around at ninety-five miles per hour. He loved the feeling of the wind rushing past him, so he accelerated again, watching the needle rise to ninety-eight. Then it hit a hundred.
"Yes!" Lightning whispered gleefully to himself.
After a few more laps, Dr Spark signalled for Lightning to stop. "That's enough for now, kid," he said as Lightning skidded to a stop in front of him.
"That. Was. AWESOME!" Lightning exclaimed. Dr Spark chuckled. "Can I go faster tomorrow?"
"Sorry, kid, but this track is limited to a hundred miles per hour, because it's so small. And remember what I told you before? You can't just go out and race at your top speed. You need to work your engine up to it slowly over the next few years as you grow. It won't be able to handle those kinds of speeds until you're mature."
Lightning pouted, but he didn't argue. Dr Spark was a specialist in his condition, so he knew what he was doing. Lightning looked up at Dr Spark again. "Do you think I'll ever race in the Piston Cup?"
"There's no reason why you physically can't, so long as you do what I tell you," Dr Spark replied with a wink.
"Great! So, when can I go home?"
"I think you'll be okay to leave tomorrow morning. I just want you to be monitored for one more night."
"Okay."
Lightning was discharged from hospital shortly before noon the next day. His mother and Gracie took him home. He'd had a restless night's sleep, which alarmed the nurses, but not Dr Spark. He knew that, now that Lightning no longer had the speed limiter, he was going to be much more energetic and active. Lightning still needed to learn how to control his powerful engine, but it would be much easier for him to do so now.
Lightning felt exhausted by the time he arrived home. It was just like before he had the speed limiter installed; he'd have bursts of energy and then feel exhausted afterwards. However, this time, Dr Spark had given him some advice on how to deal with that. As Lightning headed to his room to get some sleep, he overheard his father's voice coming from inside his office.
"…no, you can't do that! Look, I've already given you more than you deserve, and I'm yet to see a cent from you! Well, if that's the way you want it… I've had enough of your greed! The answer is no!"
Lightning shrank back as he heard his father slam the phone down. Mr McQueen muttered something under his breath, and then he opened the door. He jumped back in surprise when he saw Lightning.
"Oh! You're home. How are you feeling, son?"
"Tired," Lightning replied.
"Right. Well, I'm giving the staff the night off. You'll be fine without Gracie for a night, won't you?"
"I guess so."
"We'll get take-out for dinner too. Where's your mother?"
"She went into the lounge."
"Okay. Thanks."
Mr McQueen hurried down the hallway, leaving Lightning standing there. Shaking his hood, Lightning headed into his bedroom. It was exactly as he'd left it. He drew the curtains before settling down on his bed to sleep.
The sound of loud arguing woke Lightning many hours later in the early evening. Groaning sleepily, he tried to ignore the voices so he could go back to sleep. But they only grew louder.
"…You owe me a fortune! What makes you think I should help you now?"
"Please! I'm desperate! If I don't pay them back by noon tomorrow…"
Lightning wasn't sure, but he thought he recognised the second voice.
"I have a good mind to cut you out of my will altogether!"
"You mean, so you can give everything to that precious son of yours?" the other car spat.
"Just because you never had any children, there's no need for you to get jealous! Lightning has every right to inherit."
"Well, I'm going to put a stop to that!"
"Put that gun back!"
There was a loud 'BANG!', and then the voices fell silent. Shocked, Lightning shrugged off his blankets, and he hurried out into the hallway. He was just in time to see the rear end of a dark blue car enter the lift. He dashed over to it, but the doors were already closed. He pressed the button numerous times to try and bring the lift back, but he was too late. Lightning finally stopped and, turning, he froze in horror.
Mr McQueen was lying with his wheels spread apart on the lounge room floor. Oil was dripping out of his mouth and more oil was soaking into the carpet beneath him. A bullet hole could clearly be seen just above his mouth.
"Dad!" Lightning screamed, and he raced over to him. He pushed himself into his father's body, desperately, but he didn't respond. Panicked, Lightning went over to the phone, and he dialled the emergency number.
"Emergency services. How can I help you?"
"My dad's just been shot," Lightning panted. He was hyperventilating and he felt very dizzy, but he fought against it.
"Can you give me your address, please?"
"Daimler building penthouse, Manhattan."
"Okay, I'm dispatching the ambulance and police to you now. What's your name?"
"Lightning."
"Okay, Lightning. Is your father conscious at all?"
"No."
"Is anyone else home with you?"
"I don't think so. I thought mum would be home, but I was asleep. I don't know where she is."
"Okay, I need you to calm down and keep talking to me. How old are you?"
'Ten. Please, hurry!"
"The paramedics are almost there. They're entering the Daimler building now."
"I feel sick," Lightning whispered.
"Look, just stay with me, okay? Let me know when the paramedics arrive."
A moment later, the lift doors opened, and three paramedics entered the penthouse. Two went straight over to Mr McQueen, while the third went over to Lightning. He took over the phone.
"Thank you, operator. We've arrived, and we're dealing with the situation now." He hung up the phone and turned to Lightning, who was trembling with shock. "You did a great job, kid. What's your name?"
Lightning was too upset and shaken to answer, so the paramedic took him out of the lounge so he wouldn't have to see the other paramedics working on his father. He gently placed a silver blanket over Lightning.
"There you go now, kid. You'll be okay," the paramedic soothed.
At that moment, four police officers arrived. The female officer, a forklift, came over to Lightning and the paramedic.
"Check the house for anyone else," she instructed one of the other officers before turning to Lightning. "What's your name?"
"L-Lightning."
"And your surname?"
"McQueen."
The officer wrote it down in her notebook. The other officer returned.
"The rest of the house is clear," he said.
"Thank you. Now, Lightning. Can you tell us what happened, please?"
Lightning recounted everything he'd seen and heard as far as he could remember them. "I don't remember anything else," he whispered as he finished. "It all happened so fast."
"Are you sure that the car who entered the lift was dark blue?"
"Yes."
"Do you know model it was?"
"No."
"Okay. Thanks, Lightning." The female officer looked at the paramedic. "Are you going to take him to hospital?"
"I think we'd better. He's in shock. Come with me, please, Lightning."
But Lightning didn't move. He shook his hood. "No! I want my mum!"
"We'll find her, but for now, you need to come with us."
Lightning burst into tears, and he shrank back. The police officer put her arm around Lightning.
"I know you're frightened, but we need to look after you. You're in shook, so the best place for you right now is the hospital."
"But I just got out of there this morning!" Lightning exclaimed. The paramedic and police officer exchanged glances.
"What were you in there for?" the paramedic asked.
"I had an operation," Lightning muttered.
"Oh. Well, I'm afraid you still need to come with us. If you've just had an operation, there's all the more reason why we need to check you out thoroughly."
"I can't leave dad."
"He'll be coming to the hospital too. Now come along. Please." There was an earnestness in the paramedic's voice which made Lightning finally obey him. He tried to get a glimpse of his father on the way out, but the paramedics blocked his view.