Author's Note: So how DID Doc get to Thomasville so fast? My money's either on a very expensive last minute plane ticket for a red-eye flight, or calling in a favor from an oil billionaire with whom he's acquainted. As for this chapter, this does borrow some lines from the movie, but I did try & change them up a bit where I thought I could.
"I know why you're here." Smokey said seriously, looking at Doc. "You're thirsty!" With that, Smokey led them to a local hangout called The Cotter Pin Bar & Grill.
Lightning and Cruz followed Smokey inside, and upon seeing who else was there, Doc hung back for the second time that day. They were all there at the back table: Louise 'Barnstormer' Nash, River Scott, and Junior 'Midnight' Moon. For a minute Doc just sat inside the doorway. They hadn't noticed him yet, as they were too busy chatting to Lightning and Cruz. This was turning into a trial by fire. Knowing he couldn't sit there all day, Doc drove over to them, pulling up between Lightning and Lou.
"Well if it isn't the Ghost of Christmas Past!", exclaimed Lou.
"Decided to finally grace us with your presence?", said Junior.
"Come back because your boy lost his mojo?" River chimed in.
Doc relaxed somewhat at their teasing. It meant they weren't angry with him, at least not anymore. He responded in kind. "Well unlike you old timers lounging around here, I've been busy bestowing my wisdom on the next generation." He decided to play the age card. While they all had been contemporaries on the race track, Doc was still the youngest of the group.
"Oh, you're gonna pay for that one!" Lou chided him.
"Maybe we should take this outside!" said Junior.
"So, what was Doc like back then?" Lightning interjected, changing the subject. He'd heard a few stories from Doc himself, but Doc could still be pretty tight lipped about his past. He was eager to hear what they had to say.
"Oh, you should have seen him the first time he came to race," said River. "With his shiny new paint job. Not just the Hudson Hornet. He was already calling himself- "
"The Fabulous Hudson Hornet!" Everyone else chimed in and started to laugh.
Lightning looked at Doc. "Seriously? And you said I was arrogant!"
"Hey, it's not like I had an agent to build up my image like you do," replied Doc. "I had to get my name out there somehow."
"Remember how we rode you about that?" River chuckled.
Doc smirked. "As I recall, you all gave that up real quick."
River continued, "Well you were the fastest one out there!"
"You're darn right I was!" Doc said enthusiastically.
"Until you weren't," said Smokey.
They all stopped and looked at him. "What do you mean?", asked Lightning.
"All that changed once the rookie showed up…" Smokey proceeded to tell them of the time Doc used the wall to flip over a rookie racer who tried slamming him into it. The momentum propelled Doc ahead of the rookie and Doc ended up winning.
"Whoa!" Lightning was impressed.
"Doc did that?!" Cruz asked excitedly.
"Yep, I sure did," Doc had a proud smile on his face as he remembered, "To this day, I bet that rookie still doesn't know exactly what happened."
"Why didn't you ever tell me about that?", asked Lightning.
"A good magician never reveals all his secrets," Doc said with a wink. Truth was, it wasn't in his nature to go boasting about his own accomplishments. "By letting people underestimate me, I can surprise 'em when I show 'em what I can really do. After all, it worked on you the first time we met, didn't it?"
They chatted for a little bit longer, then Smokey excused himself, asking for Lightning & Doc to follow him. After making sure Cruz would be alright staying behind at The Cotter Pin, they followed Smokey out.
"I know you didn't come all the way out here for a drink," Smokey said once they were outside. By this point, Lightning had figured out he was the one Doc wanted him to meet and decided to speak up first.
"Well, I, we, need your help, Smokey."
"Yeah? What kind of help?"
"Maybe Doc has a plan, but I really don't know what to do anymore. What I do know is that if I don't win at the Florida 500, I'll end up…" He trailed off, unsure how to continue, remembering Doc's reaction the last time.
Luckily Doc chimed in. "We don't want history to repeat itself, Smokey. We're both in unfamiliar territory here and I was thinking a different approach might help."
Lightning looked over at Doc. "I know racing was the best part of your life," he looked back at Smokey, "and I don't know what I'd do if the same thing were to happen to me. So, what do you say?"
That sparked something in Smokey. "You really think that was the best part of Hud's life? C'mon, I wanna show you both something." Smokey drove off, with Doc and Lightning close behind.