I wanted to hold off on this story until I finished Ride, but since I've almost finished it and I'm currently rereading Driven to Win, I figured why not?
Enjoy! :)
Chapter 17- Racing is the Reward
"Ow!" Lightning cried. "Hey! Be careful, all right?"
"Oh, stop your moaning!" a forklift retorted. "We're being careful!"
Fudge, Cruz, Luigi and Guido, who had to be tracked down to help, and several forklifts who worked at the training centre had grabbed hold of Lightning and were trying to get him out of the screen. It was a difficult task for a number of reasons. One, it was dark and they were only relying on the vehicles' headlights as a light source. Two, they were still trying to figure out how and where everyone should grab the car. Three, Lightning's complaining wasn't exactly speeding things along.
"Okay!" one of the forklifts boomed out. "One... two..."
"Can we go on two instead of three?" another forklift questioned.
"Why?" Cruz wondered.
"Because it's faster."
Lightning groaned. "You know, you could've counted to three, like, five times without all this two talk!" he snapped.
"Okay!" the first forklift repeated. "One... two..."
"So, we're going on two?" the second forklift asked.
Everyone groaned. "Lift!" they all cried, having had enough.
It took a while, but they finally managed to free Lightning. Still, things were going to go from bad to worse. When he was out, a set of headlights approached the group. Lightning's heart sank when he saw who it was. It was Mr. Sterling. It was hard to see his face in the dark, but given that he'd just destroyed a multi-million dollar machine- the model the Jackson Storm wished he had- the group doubted that he'd be very happy.
The Rust-Eze owner turned to a couple of forklifts. "I need you to get the power fixed right away", he informed them.
"Yes, Mr. Sterling." They hurried off.
"Mr. Sterling", Cruz began, "we-"
"I'd like to speak to all three of you", he interjected, eyeing Lightning, Cruz and Fudge.
"Ooooohhhh!" some of the immature Next Gens taunted.
"Yes, sir", Cruz responded in a melancholy tone.
"Yeah, all right, Mr. Sterling", Lightning added in an identical tone.
Only Fudge remained silent. She feared whatever it was that Sterling had to say. Sure, he seemed calm now, but once they were alone, would he get mad? Would he yell? For a brief moment, she even wondered- and worried- that he'd sue.
By the time they got to Sterling's office, she was ready to faint.
"Lightning, why don't you wait here with..." Sterling looked to Fudge. She knew he didn't know her name and didn't care. "I want to talk to Cruz first."
So, Fudge and Lightning waited.
"Lightning?"
"What?"
"I need some water."
"Then go get some."
"Shouldn't we wait until Mr. Sterling talks to us?"
"Fine. Don't." He didn't even bother to hide his irritation.
So, Fudge went, mostly to get some water, but also to get away from Lightning for a while. He'd been in a bad mood for several days, so it would do some good to the sanity of both of them if he just had some space for a while. When she returned, she sat with Lightning outside the door to Sterling's office, trying to decipher what was being said on the other side. They felt like a couple of naughty little kids waiting outside the principal's office. They were nervous, but the water did make Fudge feel better.
"It's not easy for him!" they heard Cruz argue.
"Cruz, relax!" Sterling tried to calm her down.
"Give him another chance!" she pleaded.
"I will talk to him."
"I can still work with him!" Cruz insisted.
"I know you can handle it," Sterling assured her
At that moment, Fudge heard her own name. She couldn't tell what they were saying about her, but there was no doubt that she'd heard Cruz say Fudge. She tried to get as close to the door as possible without being too obvious, but she was still unable to hear properly. Meanwhile, Lightning was watching Millie the forklift janitor (apart from herself and Cruz, Millie was the only female Fudge had seen at the training centre) clean the floors. All of a sudden, his eyes widened.
"Whoa!" he exclaimed.
"What's wrong?" Fudge wanted to know, backing up in fear of having her head bitten off.
"Floor's all washed up and clean", Millie reported.
"I'm... I'm sorry. What?" Lightning appeared to be out of it.
"Said floor's all washed up and clean", Millie repeated.
"Oh. Right." The race car gave a little laugh.
"What's wrong?" Fudge asked again.
"I could've sworn she said, 'You're all washed up, McQueen.'"
"Well, she didn't", the sixteen-year-old assured him. "I heard her the first time."
At that moment, the door opened and Sterling's voice was much clearer.
"Let me handle this my way", he told Cruz. "Thank you very much."
Cruz looked to Fudge and Lightning. "Uh... Good luck, both of you."
Before they had time to dwell on it, Sterling called out to them, sounding surprisingly calm and friendly.
"Hey, Lightning! Come on in! Bring her in too", he added, gesturing to Fudge. "Got something to show you. You ready?"
"Uh... For what?" Lightning questioned as he and Fudge entered uncertainly. It was the last thing either of them wanted to do.
They saw the answer when they came in. An entire wall was filled with Lightning McQueen merchandise- cleaning products, grills and, of course, mud flaps, you name it.
"Wow!" Lightning whispered in amazement.
"What is all this stuff?" Fudge wondered, eyeing it all, impressed, but also kind of sceptical.
She looked around the room and saw two other things that made her uncomfortable. The first was a photo of Sir Miles Axlerod, the mastermind behind the infamous Allinol scandal, the guy Fudge and Mater exposed, thus saving the world and receiving honourary knighthood (which was awesome, though neither of them would admit it). The second was a photo of Sterling himself with a pale pink 1959 Cadillac El Dorado with pretty deep blue eyes and whitewall tyres. This car looked a lot like the social worker who had tried to take Fudge away from Radiator Springs when she was five. She and Sterling looked happy together. Two photos of two old enemies in the same room was enough to make anybody uncomfortable.
"You are about to become the biggest brand in racing", Sterling began. "We are talking saturation on all continents for every demographic. Movie deals, infomercials, product endorsements."
"Mud flaps?" Lightning had spotted some with his face and the word KA-CHOW on them. He remembered Rusty and Dusty saying that Sterling was in the mud flap business.
"Of course!" the silver car confirmed. "We'll be rich beyond belief! You think you're famous now?!" He laughed.
"I thought you'd be mad about the simulator", Lightning confessed. "I mean, this is all great, Mr. Sterling, I guess, but... I don't know. I never really thought of myself as a... brand."
"Oh, nor do I!" Sterling assured him. "I'm a fan; maybe your most avid. I think of this as your legacy."
Lightning gave a nervous laugh. "That sounds like something that happens after you're... done racing."
Sterling said nothing.
"Mr. Sterling, what is this about?" Lightning wondered, knowing that he had something serious on his mind.
Sterling cut to the chase. "Look, Lightning... I'm not gonna race you."
"What?!" Fudge and Lightning cried in unison.
"What do you mean not race me?" the stock car added.
"Hold on, hold on!" Sterling attempted to calm him down.
"I'm not going to Florida?" McQueen sounded crushed.
"Lightning", Sterling started to explain, "you have no idea how excited I was to get you here because I knew- I knew- you'd be back. It was gonna be the comeback story of the year, but your speed and performance just aren't where they need to be. I'm sorry." He started to drive off.
Fudge felt a little guilty about that. If only she'd talked to Cruz properly like Lightning said; then he could've gotten his speed up. This was all her fault.
"We're talking about speed on a simulator!" Lightning protested, following the silver car. "Listen to how crazy that sounds!"
Fudge knew from experience that he wasn't going to back down. If someone- usually Doc- wanted to do something Lightning didn't, he would try to break them down and get his own way. It worked more often than you might think. However, the human girl wasn't sure if it would work on Sterling.
"Look, I'm trying to help you!" Sterling argued. "As your sponsor, yes, but also as your friend. Your racing days are coming to an end. Every time you lose, you damage yourself."
A scornful Lightning realised what he really meant. "Damage the brand, you mean!"
"Oh, Lightning, come on!" Sterling cried before shifting his attention to Fudge. "As for you, whatever your name is-"
"Fudge", Fudge supplied.
"-I think without Lightning", he went on, ignoring her, "I'm going to need someone with more experience. So, we'll be looking into a new crew chief. If you're still interested in working with race cars, I can offer you an unpaid internship once you graduate high school."
"I don't want to work with race cars", Fudge informed him quietly. "I want to work with Lightning."
"Oh, will you two look at the big picture here? You've done the work. Now, move on to the next phase and reap the reward!"
"The racing is the reward, not the stuff!" Lightning countered. "I don't wanna cash in! I wanna feel the rush of moving two hundred miles an hour, inches from the other guys, pushing myself faster than I thought I could go! That's the reward, Mr. Sterling!"
Despite the situation, Fudge had to smile. Every single word that came out of the race car's mouth just then was drenched in passion. He raced simply because he loved it. He'd always loved it. Growing up, he'd always wanted to be a racer and go fast; he'd never wanted to do anything else. It wasn't about the money at all. It never had been!
"As for Fudge", Lightning went on, "she's my crew chief! She's had the job for three years and has spent many more down by the track! I think she can handle it!"
"Oh, Lightning, come on", Sterling sighed, driving away from him again.
Once again, Lightning followed. "Look, I can do this!" he insisted. "I can! I promise! I'll train like I did with Doc! I'll get my tyres dirty on every dirt track from here to Florida!" He gestured out the window. "I can start right there on Fireball Beach where all the old greats used to race!"
"Get your tyres dirty?" Sterling repeated sceptically. "That's how you're gonna get faster than Storm?"
"Yes! Exactly! I mean, sacred dirt, right?"
Sterling was silent.
"Mr. Sterling, if you care about my legacy- the one that Doc started- you'll let me do this! I promise you! I will win!"
"I don't know", Sterling replied, but both Fudge and Lightning could see that the latter had broken him down. "What you're asking... It's too risky."
"C'mon!" Lightning pushed softly. "You like it, I can tell. It's got that little comeback story of the year feel to it, doesn't it?"
Once again, Sterling looked to Fudge. "What do you think?" he questioned, although from his tone of voice, he simply didn't care.
She shrugged. "I think the simulator wasn't working for us."
The Rust-Eze owner was quiet for a long time. Finally, he let out a deep breath and asked, "One race?"
Lightning smiled and nodded, a combination of excited and hopeful. Fudge felt the same way.
"If you don't win at Florida, you'll retire?"
"Look, if I don't win, I'll sell all the mud flaps you got", Lightning answered. "But if I do win, I decide when I'm done. Deal?"
After a moment of silence, Sterling smirked. "Deal."
"Yes!" Fudge cheered, jumping up and down a little.
"Thank you, Mr. Sterling." Fudge climbed up onto Lightning's roof and he started to drive off. "You won't be sorry. Come on, Fudge. Let's get to work!"
"Just one thing!" Sterling called after him, making an announcement to stop the stock car dead in his tracks. "And this is only because I don't like taking chances! You're taking someone with you!"
I've always kind of shipped Mary Wilcox from Life Could Be a Dream with Sterling (he's, like, her fourth husband), so I referenced it in this chapter. She was originally supposed to appear in the Florida 500 scene, but it just seemed pointless. (Although, you'll be happy to know that she did get fired for what happened in Life Could Be a Dream! Just thought I'd let you know here since it never gets mentioned.)
More on the way soon! Please review!