Enjoy and remember the game (Refer back to chapter 11)

Chapter 20 Agent Mater

We cruised through air gently. Inside Sid, the agents were getting to work. "That's how I like to start the day." Finn began. "You never feel more alive than when you're almost dead." I thought of that being sarcasm. Finn and Holley were sitting opposite of Mater and I. I just sat on the floor next to Mater.

"Yeah." Holley sighed. "I hope that device didn't fall off." She pressed a button. Mater was spun around and the back of his seat was removed.

"That's the closest I ever been to missin' my flight." Mater said as Holley extended an arm. "That was…" Holley removed the device from Mater's rear at that point. Holley examined the device.

"Still in one piece? Great." Holley said as she moved to the computers behind.

"I've got to go to a doc." Mater said. "I get these sharp pains in my undercarriage." I chuckled as Mater was faced forward again.

"Downloading the photo now." Holley announced.

"Hey, let me introduce you two." Mater began. "This here is Finn McSomethin' or other. He's a first-class VIP airport whatchamacallit." I chuckled.

"It is Finn McMissile." I corrected Mater.

"And, Finn, this here's my date." Mater said; Finn smiled at Holley. "I never did get your name."

"Oh, yes, sorry." Holley began. "It's Shiftwell." I never met Holley any other times then at the bathroom in Tokyo. I never got her in my dream before. Then it hit me. "Holley Shiftwell." Holley introduced her full name.

"Um…" I began as the two agents looked to me. "Holley, did you try and contact me in my dream?" I looked at Holley. She was quite shocked.

"Not that I know of." Holley said then thought. "Actually, I have but I really thought I was contacting you in your car form." She finally said; I looked to Finn.

"Finn, I think I saw you in Radiator Springs a couple times." I said; Finn was also shocked.

"I never visited that location." Finn said. He seemed a bit concerned on how I knew about them without my memories returned. "I think you were only hallucinating." I got mad when he said that but I did nearly pass out every time I tried going after the mysterious car. I relaxed.

"It's Shiftwell. Holley…" Mater began as a device came from the roof and went over in between the agents and Mater. The room went dark only purple at the windows and blue everywhere else was glowing dimly.

"Finally." Finn said get back to serious business. "Time to see who's behind all this." A green screen shown. Then a photo was shown. I had no clue what it was.

"What is it?" Holley questioned.

"Well…" Mater began till slightly to one side. "That's one of the worst engines ever made." The two agents titled in the same direction to see Mater's view. "It's an old aluminum V8 with a Lucas electric system and Whitworth bolts." Holley fixed it so she flipped the picture. Everyone faced normal again. "Shoot, them Whitworth bolts is a pain, tell you what. Them ain't metric, they ain't inches."

"Yes, okay, but whose engine is this, Mater?" Holley stopped Mater from blabbering on.

"Well, it's kinda hard to tell from this picture, ain't it?" Mater said.

"But you're the one that took it." Holley said.

"Holley." Finn said.

"Oh, right!" Holley began. "Yes, of course. A good agent gets what he can, then gets out before he's killed."

"Agent?" Mater questioned. "You mean, like, insurance agent? Like…" then sang. "Like a good neighbor, Mater is there!" Then he realized something. "Wait! You mean secret agents! You guys is spies."

"Holley, in how many makes and models did this type of engine appear?" Finn turned his attention to Holley.

"Welcome to the agency." I whispered with a slight chuckle.

"It was standard in seven models over a 12-year period." Holley concluded as a separate window next to the picture. "At least 35,000 cars were made with this engine." Mater came through the screen.

"You're purty." Mater said.

"Mater," I hissed.

"Yes, thank you." Holley said.

"And so nice." Mater complimented.

"Just pay attention." Holley said as she moved the screen from its original position in front of Mater. Mater tried to see Holley but she kept moving the window in front of him.

"This seems like a dead end." Finn said; Holley had enough of Mater's fooling around so she made the screen bigger. I crossed the screen to the agent's side. "If there was something in the photo that could narrow this down, I'd be lot happier." Finn moved to where he could see Finn.

"You might not be happy, but I bet this feller is." Mater joked. "See how he's had most of this parts replaced?" Finn concentrated on the picture and so did I. "And see all them boxes over there?" Holley highlighted the area then made it grew bigger. "Them's all original parts. They ain't easy to come by."

"Rare parts?" Holley questioned.

"That's something we can track." Finn suggested.

"Exactly." Holley agreed. The screen disappeared.

"Well done, Mater." Finn said. "I would never have seen that. I know of a black-market parts dealer in Paris, a treacherous lowlife, but he's the only car in the world who can tell us whose engine this is." I was now curious who this dealer is. "Mater, Silverwind," He addressed us both. "…what would you say to setting up an informal task on this one?"

"Wait. What?" Mater was now confused.

"You obviously have experience in the field." Finn said.

"Well, yeah, I live right next to one." Mater misunderstood. "I don't know."

"Mater, it will be fun." I insisted. "I am for sure in."

"I ain't exactly been much help to anybody recently." Mater said.

"You're helping me." Finn said trying to cheer Mater up. "Please, Mater." He pleaded.

"Well…" Mater thought; I gave him the pleading eyes.

"I can't do things without you." I said.

"Okay," Mater came to a conclusion.

"Yay!" I screamed for joy. I then felt eyes staring at me. I looked to see Holley shocked with confusion while Finn just smiled. My cheeks turned red.

"But you know I'm just a tow truck, right?" Mater showed his tow cable.

"Right." Finn went into a sarcasm voice. "And I'm just in the import-export business." Finn pressed a button and he moved away. "Siddeley?"

"Yes, Finn?" Siddeley replied.

"Paris." Finn began. "Tout de suite."

"Yeah, two of them sweets for me, too, Sid." Mater said; I silently chuckled. "You know, I always wanted to be a spy."

"Really?" Holley began. "Me, too."

"Afterburners, sir?" Sid asked.

"Is there any other way?" Finn asked.