Fun fact #1: Yula's Gremlin disguise is based on that of a pale blue Gremlin with brown eyes that can be seen during the scene where Rod is interrogated. While I am aware that the Gremlin does appear (and speak) later in the film, it still fits our theory that one of the unnamed Lemons could have been an American agent undercover disguised as one of their henchmen.
Yula was parked in the white waiting room of C.H.R.O.M.E.'s Tokyo station hospital, her brown eyes glancing up at the little round clock on the wall for the umpteenth time. She had yet to hear of Rod's condition and was fearing the worst. She rolled up and down the corridor nervously, wondering how he was holding up. The last she had heard, he was in critical condition and undergoing surgery. He had been barely clinging to life on arrival and the doctors warned that they could lose Rod at any moment. She had spent the past several hours writing her report for the C.I.A., informing them about her findings, which had largely come up short. Once that was done, she closed her laptop and proceeded to roam the corridors like a restless ghost, unable to keep her mind off Rod. She felt a pit in the bottom of her stomach, knowing it was her fault that he was seriously injured, if not already dead. She soon reached the main waiting area again, her eyes glancing upwards at the clock on the sterile white wall. It was a quarter until four in the morning, yet tired as she was, she couldn't get herself to relax and fall asleep, nor return to her hotel. She parked herself against a wall cushion, returning to her laptop and deciding to work on her report some more. Her eyesight started to blur, yet she was determined to stay awake. It wasn't long before the words on her unfinished document started to swim and sway like watery waves as the room grew dim around her….
"Agent Yuliana Adamovich?" came a low male voice from seemingly out of nowhere.
The Talon's eyes shot open, and she glanced up to see a white 2002 Nissan Pathfinder, who was parked in front of her with a serious yet surprised expression, as if he had seen something morbidly disturbing. Yula felt a bit embarrassed that the doctor had seen her passed out in front of her laptop like that, but she quickly pushed it aside, for her main concern was of her colleague.
"Doctor, how is he?" she gasped. She braced herself for the worst, predicting the dreaded words that came to her mind, that he hadn't made it.
The doctor's brown eyes danced between Yula and the room, darting left and right as if he wasn't sure how to phrase what he was about to say. His face was pale despite his white paint and he had a stunned, almost faraway look in his eyes, as if he had recently seen a ghost. Yula felt her entire body grow tense as she waited for his response, her axles tingling as she stared at him with wide, unblinking eyes.
The Nissan took a deep breath, exhaling slowly as he locked eyes with Yula.
"He's still alive, Agent Adamovich." he said quietly.
Yula blinked in surprise. "W-What?" she stammered, having not expected to hear this.
"He's still alive….just barely….his engine is completely destroyed and he's sustained multiple third-degree burns all over his body. His exhaust pipes are completely charred, he has internal burns like nothing we've ever seen….I'm amazed he was still alive when they brought him in." He shuddered slightly. "Of course, being a strong muscle car definitely played into the fact he survived, but still." The doctor shook his front. "I honestly cannot fathom how he's still alive."
The silver Talon let out a sigh of relief, her eyes sparking slightly. "Thank God he's alive!" she sighed, feeling a sense of relief fill her tank.
"For the time being," the doctor cautioned her, "We don't know if he'll pull through. There is a chance, but I would prepare for the worst. There is quite a bit of permanent damage. He might not ever be able to work again. And that's if he lives."
Yula nodded, trying to put on a brave front as she felt her relief fade away and knots of anxiety took its place. She was glad Rod was alive, but she also felt silly for not realising that just because he was alive on arrival didn't mean he was going to make it.
"Agent Adamovich, we're going to everything we can to save him," the Nissan reassured her, "Right now he's undergoing surgery to replace his engine and fix his body. After that I'll need at least 72 hours post-operation to oversee him. I'll keep you posted, alright?" the doctor promised.
"Alright, thank you Doctor," Yula replied as she watched the Nissan leave. She let out a small sigh of relief. She was glad her plan had worked somewhat, but she also felt horrible, knowing her colleague was likely going to die anyway and she hadn't been able to save him.
"Rod, I'm so sorry," she wept quietly, unable to hold back her tears any longer.
The early rays of daylight seeped through the windows. Yula's eyes were heavy as she scanned the scenery outside, the form of Mount Fuji rising from the sea of green and pink foliage meeting her eyes. She hadn't been able to sleep all night and had resorted to burying herself in paperwork, but hadn't been able to concentrate. The horrible events of the previous night played over and over again in her head: the Lemons forcing the Allinol into Rod, making him drive on the treadmill, the Professor's words, the sadistic smiles on the Lemons' faces, Rod's fearful eyes and painful shouts, the explosion, the fire-
The Talon threw herself into reverse, nearly ramming into a nearby vending machine, shutting her eyes tightly as she tried to banish the vivid thoughts from her mind, but they were as relentless as nightmares. She took a minute to compose herself, then fired up her laptop. She tried to concentrate on her paperwork, but she couldn't focus. Perhaps some coffee is in order, she thought. Shutting her laptop lid, she decided to head to the cafeteria for breakfast. Perhaps she would feel better after she ate something and could get some sleep. She silently prayed that Rod would be alright and that she would hear good news later that day.
The day seemed to drag on forever and there was no word of Rod's condition. The day turned into a week before Yula got some vague answers. From what she had heard, Rod was in and out of the operating room, undergoing various surgeries to repair his engine and body as well as patch up his wounds. None of the doctors could believe that Rod was still alive after what he had endured, despite concerns that he would still die anyway. Yula had wanted to see him, but the doctors told her that Rod was still in and out of surgery and they needed to keep a close eye on him without any distraction. Yula spent most of the time in the waiting room, working on her report and occasionally emailing other agents about their progress to combat the Allinol scandal. Fortunately the waiting room was empty and quiet, sans the quiet ticking sound of the hubcap-shaped wall clock, the phone at the desk ringing, the distant bleeping and the occasional voice over the loudspeaker. For Yula, it was a minor annoyance, a reminder that time was ticking by and that time was running out for her colleague. Yet there was something oddly comforting about the sounds, the only thing that saved her from the sound of deafening silence. Although C.H.R.O.M.E. had provided Yula one of their flats for the time being, she hardly ever stayed in it, preferring to work in the living room, often sleeping there whenever she could, as she couldn't bear to be away from where Rod was.
It wasn't long before yet another week had passed, and Rod was still undergoing major repairs. Yula was very surprised when she received a call from Sherman, informing her that C.H.R.O.M.E. had successfully busted the Allinol operation. However, Sherman's news was shocking: for one, the perpetrator happened to be the creator himself, respected oil tycoon Miles Axlerod, who had lied to the public both about converting to an electric vehicle, and about the safety of his alternative fuel. But what surprised her even more was the news that it had been a civilian tow truck from the southern United States who had exposed Miles, apparently due to having a vast knowledge of car parts. It turned out Rod had managed to smuggle a photo of the proprietor's engine, which he must have passed on unknowingly to the tow truck–who had been mistaken for a spy by the British agents much to Sherman's disgust–and identified by him. The whole story was so strange that Yula almost couldn't believe what she was hearing, even Sherman himself sounded like he didn't completely believe it either. He had asked Yula to return to the States now that the mission was over, but Yula had begged him to let her stay in Tokyo so she could look after Rod. Sherman had finally relented, agreeing to let her do so as long as she did her assigned paperwork, but warned her that she would be needed back if another mission popped up.
Another day went by and Yula was once again parked in the waiting room, working on another report. She was suddenly jolted out of her thoughts by the sound of urgent bleeping, followed by a borderline-frantic voice over the loudspeaker.
"Code blue! Code blue!" The tinny, urgent voice of an American accent bellowed through the halls. Yula tensed, knowing what it meant-that Rod (or another patient) was going into cardiac arrest. A few vehicles rushed down the hall, then everything went deathly silent. The ringing in the room became louder to Yula's ears. She was tempted to approach the desk and ask the Honda about Rod's condition, but she didn't want to risk annoying the nurse, nor distracting her from her duties.
A few hours passed, and nightfall came. Yula reluctantly logged out of her email, feeling she had done enough for the night. Just then, the doors opened and the same Nissan Pathfinder emerged, looking visibly tired. As he drove closer, Yula could see dark circles under his eyes.
The Talon couldn't help herself as she drove up to him quickly, hoping to catch him before he left. "Doctor, how is he?" she asked, her heart thudding against her undercarriage.
The Nissan paused, taking a moment to compose himself. "He's finally out of surgery now," he told her, his voice quiet and laced with exhaustion, "We've got him stabilised but he's still unconscious. He's still badly injured and burnt but we've managed to fix most of his body for now. There is still a lot of cosmetic damage but we can't get around to that until he's had a chance to heal as it's too risky to perform right now. We had to completely replace his engine and wiring. We've also put him on dialysis to flush the Allinol out of his bloodstream and system, as we're afraid it will still pose a risk." He let out a sigh, a look of immense relief on his face.
"Do you think he'll survive?" Yula asked, her heart twisting as the Nissan's face changed to a worried look.
"I don't know, Agent Adamovich. I'm afraid it's too early to tell. I would still prepare for the worst though. Just because he's stable doesn't mean he's in the clear yet. We're closely monitoring him and will let you know if anything changes." He stifled a yawn. "I'll have a look at him again tomorrow morning."
"When can I see him?" Yula asked.
"Not tonight, Agent Adamovich. He needs to rest. Let me see how he's doing tomorrow morning, alright?" the doctor offered.
"Alright," said Yula.
"Very well then. Get some rest and I'll see you tomorrow morning," the Nissan said before departing.
Yula let out a sigh before positioning herself against the wall cushion. Her axles ached from sleeping on the hard floor, and she wanted to go back to her flat and rest, but she also couldn't bear to leave, knowing Rod was on the brink of death. It took forever for sleep to finally overcome her, yet her mind was filled with nightmares of the previous night's events and Rod's torture.
After what seemed like forever Yula finally awoke, the sunlight shining through the large glass window behind her. The all-too familiar sound of beeping and buzzing filled her eardrums again, and she groaned inwardly, knowing she had paperwork to finish. Firing up her laptop, she once again tried to focus on her work, but her mind kept wandering to her colleague. Was he holding out? Would he ever recover? When could she see him?
Her answers didn't come until later that evening, when the Pathfinder approached her once again. By now the sun was setting, casting grey shadows over the waiting room as dark clouds rolled in.
"Agent Adamovich, Agent Redline is finally stable now. Do you wish to see him?" he asked, his brown eyes staring deeply into Yula's as if trying to console her.
Yula nearly jumped at the question. "Oh yes please Doctor!" she cried, feeling her heart race at the thought of finally being able to see Rod.
"Very well then. But I just want to warn you he's in critical condition….he's not going to be recognisable," the Nissan SUV cautioned.
Yula nodded as she proceeded to slowly follow the doctor down the white corridor into the intensive care burn unit. The narrow hallways reeked with the overbearing scent of sanitiser and scorched metal, making Yula's nose burn. They came to a halt outside of room A113, and the Nissan lightly tapped on the door with his tyre. Hearing no response, he carefully pushed the door open, allowing the two of them to enter the dark room. The Nissan flipped on the lights, and although the lighting was dim so as not to disturb its sleeping occupant, it was not hard for the rookie agent to make out her colleague. Yula let out a startled gasp as the Nissan quickly reached out to steady her.
Rod was laid on a hospital bed, completely covered in white casting bandages as though he were a mummy, with various tubes running into his body, some of them under his bonnet and into his tank. Various monitors were hooked up to him, reading his vitals. Under the bandages, his metal was still charred black and his eyes were black and sunken. His mouth was covered by a respirator and various IV drips were plugged into different parts of his body. Yula wanted to cry, realising he was only breathing due to the respirator.
"Oh my God! Rod!" she cried, causing the doctor to quietly shush her.
"Not so loud," he scolded gently, "He needs to rest."
Yula wandered over to his side to get a better look at him. The agent looked as though he had been roasted over an inferno, and it hadn't been for his very faint breathing, Yula would have easily mistaken him for dead. The events at the warehouse by the harbour came flooding back to her, as she recalled the torture the Lemons had put him through, how Rod had maintained a tough, snarky facade only for him to be put through more and more pain while Yula helplessly watched, how they continued to build up the Allinol fuel's pressure until his engine exploded-
"Come, Agent Adamovich. We should let him rest now." The doctor's voice jolted Yula out of her thoughts.
"I'm coming," she whispered. She started to turn, then paused to glance back at Rod. She moved closer to his window and began to gently whisper to him. "Rod, it's Yula. I don't know if you can hear me, but I need you to hold on. I'll be back soon. Stay strong for me. You will pull through this. Please, don't forget about me."
The sucking sound of the respirator whooshed past Yula's eardrums as she stared at Rod's form, before finally turning around and following the doctor out of the room. Yula felt sick to her stomach. She had no idea how these cars could be so capable of inflicting such harm onto someone else. It was especially frightening, as Rod was one of the toughest agents in the CIA, and now he was barely clinging onto life, all thanks to a modified fuel and an electromagnetic pulse generator disguised as a camera. She bid the doctor a good night as she returned to the empty and nearly-dark waiting area, once again trying to calm her mind as she waited for sleep to come, before it finally overcame her and dragged her into the darkness.
Time continued to pass. Another week came and went, yet Rod showed no signs of waking up, despite remaining stable. Naturally the medical staff refused to give up on him, however it was becoming more and more unlikely that the agent would ever wake up. Yula visited him every day and always talked to him, telling him about her day, encouraging him to keep fighting and reassuring that she would always be there for him. But sadly, Yula knew she was running out of time, as Sherman had been pressuring her to return to the States, even warning her that there would be consequences if she did not return within a month.
"I have been generous and given you over three weeks, Agent Adamovich. That's more than I've ever offered for anyone else. I understand you're concerned for Agent Redline, but it's looking less and less likely that he'll pull through and he won't be returning to work anytime soon if he does. I need you back in the States, Adamovich, and if you don't return within the next month, I will have no choice but to take drastic measures."
The words of her superior echoed in her head. Yula hated the idea of leaving Japan and thus leaving Rod behind, but she knew she had no real choice in the matter. Sherman had called her once again, saying he would extend her stay if anything changed and she wasn't needed, but otherwise he needed her to come back. Privately, Sherman was very distressed over what a bunch of Lemon cars had done to his greatest agent, but Yula almost felt as though he was taking it out on her for not being able to do anything about it.
Each day the doctors tried to console Yula about Rod's condition. However, they were not sure when he would wake up, or if he ever would. Fortunately, Rod remained stable, and soon the medical team was able to set out repairing him cosmetically, though they would still be limited in what they could repair until his internal burns and injuries healed.
Every day Yula stayed in the waiting area, counting down the days until she would have to inevitably fly back to the States. Her stomach churned at the thought of having to go back without her colleague. She could only hope with all of her heart that Rod would wake up soon.