Sparks Fly – Part One
The sonic boom of gunshots in the air. Bullets whizzing about and ricocheting or piercing the walls, floor, and ceiling. Boots pounding against the ground while tires squealed on the linoleum.
All in all, a typical mission for three master spies.
Emily Largo ducked as another bullet came dangerously close to her head, and she aimed her pistol behind her and fired a few shots. "Nothing like a life-or-death situation to get the blood pumping, huh?"
"Yes, very funny Emily." Holley Shiftwell said with an eye roll.
"This way!" Finn McMissile ordered, leading them into a room and locking the door behind them. Their assailants pounded on the steel door, but it wouldn't budge. Finn began looking for a way out.
What started as stealthy surveillance turned into a shootout much faster than they anticipated. But the trio of spies long since became accustomed to such situations, even given the current team dynamics. After the World Grand Prix case, Emily began working with Finn and Holley more and more, especially with cases in North and South America. This case involved a greedy landscaper in Brazil who hired a doctor to develop a disease that could be transferred into the cattle of a small village and cause the people to die once consuming the meat. Finn, Holley, and Emily arrived to gather evidence, but once they had what they needed one of the workers spotted them. The chase began from there.
"ETA on that backup, Holley?" Finn asked.
"Twenty minutes." Holley reported, clearly not pleased. Their team at C.H.R.O.M.E. knew to already be on the way, but they couldn't attack until they had solid, physical proof. Finn, Holley, and Emily had it now, but they still had to stay alive until help came to capture everyone.
"What's the plan, Finn?" Emily asked.
Finn thought for a moment, looking around the room. It looked to be a storage area, with several crates piled against the walls and in the corners. A large window rested near the ceiling, a good twenty feet above them. The window led right to the outside. Finn directed Holley to the window, and the Jaguar activate her jet mode to hover in front of the window. The scene outside was only the forest behind the building. Meanwhile, their assailants began talking about blowing the door off with dynamite.
"We'll smash out the window and escape into the forest." Finn instructed. "We can hide out there until backup comes."
Holley and Emily nodded. Holley went first, smashing through the window to the outside. Emily hopped onto Finn's roof and Finn used his grappling hooks to pull them out the window. The spies hurried into the forest, looking for a place to hide. They soon found a densely vegetated area and dove behind the greenery, careful to keep quiet as they listened for word from their comrades or the sound of someone coming after them.
Emily looked to Finn, grinning a bit. She knew any plan Finn had would work somehow. She had to admit he certainly did impress her. It came as a surprise, given how much she didn't really like him when they first met. But since she began working with Finn and Holley more often, Emily found she opened up more and could be relaxed like she used to be with her old team. For some reason, she felt drawn to Finn. The master spy was something to behold: brave, smart, strong, witty, and very faithful. No wonder he was C.H.R.O.M.E.'s top agent. Beyond that, he was kind and friendly (to all except his enemies, of course) and rather handsome.
Handsome? Emily stole a glance to Finn before looking back out to the forest for attackers. Well, I suppose Finn is rather good-looking. He's charming and kind. You don't find qualities like that in men nowadays. But what am I thinking? Why on earth am I romanticizing my comrade-in-arms? Why do I feel my face burning when I'm near him? Something snapped in the bushes, and the spies crouched down farther in their hiding spot. Finn's tire touched Emily's knee, and while he didn't notice Emily felt herself blushing of all things. I supposed I have grown rather fond of him.
Luckily for them, the snapping in the bushes turned out to be their backup, and together they stormed the building to arrest everyone. Another mission accomplished.
"Where can we drop you off, Miss Largo?" Finn asked as they departed the scene.
"Oh, you don't need to go to such trouble." Emily said modestly.
"Not at all." Holley assured.
"Yeah, it'll be a short trip anyway!" Siddeley assured as the spies approached him.
"Well I wouldn't mind a ride back to base." Emily said. "If it's not too much trouble."
"Done!" Siddeley nodded. "Climb aboard, everyone!"
Everyone piled in, relaxing in the lounge area inside as the jet plane took off.
A few minutes into the flight, a call came over the video chat on the computer. Holley approached the computer and answered the call. She smiled happily at the sight of Mater's face in the video chat screen, his bucktooth grin a mile wide.
"Heya Holley!" Mater called.
"Hi Holley!" Harley's face popped up next to Mater in the screen. Her blue-streaked brunette hair once again hung only shoulder-length, the seventeen-year-old having since cut it over the summer.
"Mater! Harley!" Holley cried happily.
"Mater and Harley?" Finn repeated, him and Emily hurrying over to the monitor.
"Hey there, you two!" Emily greeted.
"Hey guys!" Harley greeted. "Geez, it's been a few months since we saw each other."
"Been busy with work." Holley said sheepishly. "But it's so good to hear from you two."
"Yeah, we've been busy here too." Mater admitted. "McQueen's racin' an' all that."
"And I guess I've been pretty busy with homeschool stuff." Harley shrugged. "Which is actually why we called you guys! I'm finishing my online homeschooling early, and I'll be graduating with my high school degree next month! A whole year earlier than expected!"
"That's wonderful, Harley!" Finn complimented.
"Well done!" Holley nodded.
"Way to go, kiddo." Emily clapped.
"The town's gunna throw a party fer her!" Mater said. "Kin ya come down fer it?"
"That sounds like a terrific idea." Holley agreed.
"I'm in." Emily nodded.
"We wouldn't miss it for the world." Finn assured. "It'd be nice to have a vacation for a while."
"Great!" Harley cheered. "Thanks so much, guys. I owe you one."
"Not at all." Finn assured. "Just give us some time to file some paperwork from a mission we just finished and we'll let our bosses know what's going on. Can we say 'see you in two weeks'?"
"That'll be perfect!" Harley nodded.
"Can't wait ta see ya guys!" Mater called.
"Can't wait to see you two either!" Holley giggled. "Now shouldn't you two be in bed? It's awfully late over there."
"We wanted to call you before we forgot." Harley shrugged. "And we wanted to give you enough of a heads up so you could take time off work."
"Thank you for the consideration." Finn said gratefully. "Now you two get to bed. We'll see you in two weeks."
In the week after their talk with Mater and Harley, Finn, Holley, and Emily found their jobs rather slow and steady. Not that they complained; it would be a nice prologue to their soon-to-be vacation.
Emily had yet to tell her supervisor about her intended vacation. Today, she wanted to talk to him about something entirely different.
"A transfer?" her supervisor, James Marshall, asked with some surprise. A seasoned agent himself, he still had the buff build and sharp, analytical gaze from his time in the field. Now, with his gray hair and formal black business suit, he watched over his current agents performing their duties as they had pledged when they entered the academy.
"Yes, sir." Emily nodded. "I wish to be transferred to C.H.R.O.M.E. in London."
"What for?" Marshall asked curiously.
"Personal reasons, sir." Emily said, knowing that alone would be enough of a reason. Marshall knew better than to ask about "personal reasons" for agents; more often than not, they seemed to involve protecting their families. "I wish to lend my services to them while being closer to a couple people very dear to me." Emily didn't dare mention Finn or Holley. If she did, it could greatly decrease her chances of Marshall agreeing.
Marshall thought for a moment. He knew Emily didn't have any family in London. Maybe some close friends? Yes, that had to be the reason. Still….. "I'm sorry, Ms. Largo. But I must deny your transfer."
Emily tensed up ever so slightly, and she blinked. "Sir?"
"My apologies." Marshall said sincerely. "I can certainly grant you some vacation time now and then to visit these friends of yours, but a full transfer can't be done. You're our best assassin. We need you here."
Emily looked down, but sighed. "Yes sir. I understand." She saluted her supervisor and left the room. The second she closed the office door, she glowered at the ground and began marching off to her office. She could understand why the agency wouldn't want to give up their best agents, but she hated this interference with her plans. Bad enough she felt like a good card in a poker hand, but now she couldn't accomplish her personal mission.
Unless….
Emily knew if she did this he would kill him. But it would be awfully funny. She grinned craftily as she snuck up on the young man sitting at a desk in an office area full of cubicles. The entire room was empty except for him, everyone else long since gone home for the night. The man had dark brown hair and cocoa brown eyes, those eyes currently glued to the computer he worked at. He wore a navy blue dress shirt and black dress pants, hunched over his keyboard. No doubt he was determined to finish those reports that weren't due until next week.
Eh, he could use a break.
Emily stopped right behind the man and slammed her hands on his shoulders. "Hey Quinn-y!"
The man screamed like a little girl, jumping a couple inches in the air and plopping down on his swivel chair again. He spun around and sighed in relief, putting a hand to his heart. "Emily! What'd you do that for?"
"You need a little excitement in your life, Quinn." Emily said. "You're in diagnostics, for heaven's sake."
"As your younger brother, I'd like to ask for a little respect in my workplace." Quinn said in a professional tone, turning back to his computer.
"You're still the baby of the family." A young woman said as she came to them, leaning on the wall of the cubicle. She was a carbon copy of Emily, but she stood a few inches shorter, kept her hair in a bun, and wore black sweatpants, boots, a black T-shirt, and a black leather jacket.
"Whatever, Lacey." Quinn rolled his eyes.
"Hey guys." Emily piped up, drawing her younger siblings' attention. "As much as I would love to play sibling smack-down, I need to talk to you two."
Quinn and Lacey knew what Emily meant. I need to talk to you two…..out of camera range. Clearly Emily wanted to talk about something personal, and she didn't want the security cameras around them to catch it. "Fine." Quinn sighed, standing and grabbing his jacket. "Let's get a drink."
Half an hour later, they sat in a bar downtown to talk. "So what's this about?" Lacey asked.
"I need to escape the agency for a while without Marshall knowing about it." Emily explained. "I'm going to be gone for a couple weeks. Quinn, you clock in my hours to make it look like I'm checking in and out every day. Don't record me down as on vacation. Lacey, you're one of our best assassins. I'll give you my email, and you take any cases handed to me."
"Em, what's this all about?" Quinn asked, he and Lacey suddenly concerned. "What do you think will happen to you if the agency finds out you went AWOL?"
"Guys, this is something I have to do." Emily said.
"But why?" Lacey asked. "You know we'll support you, but this is something really serious. It's bad enough to go AWOL in the military. As a spy, you could be imprisoned the rest of your life. Maybe even executed."
"I highly doubt I'll be executed." Emily said. "Besides, my record's been spotless since the academy. If I get caught, my punishment won't be that bad."
"Emily, why are you doing this?" Lacey asked.
"Yeah, why can't you do this on vacation?" Quinn asked.
"Because I may not have enough time while on a vacation." Emily said.
"What are you planning, Emily?" Quinn demanded.
Emily took a quick look around, fingering her margarita. "I'm pursuing a romantic affair. I…..uh….I've met someone that I think I love."
"Really?" Lacey nearly squealed.
Emily giggled softly. "He's from another agency. I want to get to know him in a non-work setting."
"That's awesome, Em." Quinn finally admitted.
"So what's he like?" Lacey asked excitedly.
"He's kind, gentlemanly, brave, and very handsome." Emily said, sighing a bit with a warm smile on her lips. "I really just want to know him better. See if he would be interested in me."
Quinn and Lacey exchanged looks. If Emily was found out, she and they could be in serious trouble. But they were a family, and they would do anything for each other. "All right, we'll do it." Quinn nodded.
"But be careful." Lacey said. "We can buy you time, but you only have so long before Marshall starts to get suspicious."
Harley sat on a lawn chair outside the clinic, her glasses on her head and a pair of binoculars practically glued to her eyes. She scanned the skies, like she did for the past hour, for only another moment until she spotted a familiar jet coming towards town. She leaped from the lawn chair, tossing the binoculars onto the chair and pulling her glasses over her eyes again. She skated hurriedly to Flo's café, skidding to a halt before her family. It was nine a.m., still a little too early for tourists but primetime for the Radiator Springs residents to have breakfast. Her vehicular family looked up amusedly, knowing their favorite brunette human girl probably woke up at the crack of dawn this morning.
"They're here!" Harley cried excitedly. "They're here they're here they're here! They're coming towards town now!"
"Can't wait to see 'em again, Harley darlin'." Sheriff said. Everyone became well-acquainted with Finn, Holley, and Emily. They could clearly see a strong bond formed between the spies and their own Harley and Mater. Pretty soon, Finn, Holley, Siddeley, and Emily were practically part of the family.
Soon, Lightning spotted four familiar figures coming towards the town. Siddeley, being a little too big to fit on the main road, stayed just outside of town while Finn, Holley, and Emily came towards them. Mater drove out first, nuzzling Holley lovingly. Holley returned the affectionate gesture. Harley hurriedly skated up and hugged Emily and Finn. She and Finn both felt that same shock they normally felt when they made contact, but they still didn't have any idea what it could be. At the moment, they were too happy to see each other again. Soon, the rest of the townsfolk began coming up and greeting the spies.
"Glad y'all could come up." Mater said happily.
"We already got a couple rooms at the Cozy Cone reserved for you." Sally said.
"Oh, you didn't have to do that." Holley said. "We don't want to be in the way."
"Not at all." Lightning assured. "Our home is your home."
"I'm gonna take some food to that nice jet you got out there. He looks parched." Flo said, joined by Mia and Tia to take a tray of food out to Siddeley.
"You are very kind." Finn said. "Thank you."
"So what have you guys been up to?" Harley asked excitedly, everyone returning to the café to chat. Finn and Harley spent much of the time talking to each other, chatting away about past missions and future schoolwork Harley has to finish for her graduation. Finn agreed to help her with her work, but Harley insisted on giving him, Holley, and Emily a full tour of Radiator Springs, including the Wheel Well and Willie's Butte. Holley and Mater knew at once they wanted to spend as much time together as possible, and Emily agreed she wanted to do a little bit of everything. The spies couldn't deny they rather liked the kind townsfolk of Radiator Springs.
Over the next few days, the spies' vacation came into full swing. Holley and Mater had a date night Mater planned for almost a month. Emily got a look into all of the shops in town and insisted on buying drinks for Sally and Flo so they could chat for a while. Harley gave Finn, Holley, and Emily that tour she promised and even spent an entire afternoon hanging out with Siddeley. One afternoon, Finn joined Harley to help with her final projects and papers for school. They talked and laughed as they worked, their friendship clearly strengthened since the mission of the World Grand Prix. Finn sometimes felt guilty about abandoning Harley in Porto Corsa and causing her would-be death. But Harley made it clear she didn't want Finn to blame himself. At the time, she was only terrified for his life and became so relieved when she helped him escape Big Bentley alive. Sometimes they pondered this strange spark they felt, but normally they chalked it up to static. Right now, Harley had some trouble with finishing a world history paper and Finn gave her a small history lesson he learned from his experience with British culture. In the process, Harley learned Finn had an Irish ancestry, and the two began to talk about their heritage.
Emily watched them talk, unseen by both them and anyone else. She frowned a bit, rather jealous of the warm interaction between Harley and Finn. Finn can't be distracted by these things. Emily thought, walking from her spying place.
The next day, Emily approached Harley as the brunette organized the tires in Luigi and Guido's store. Guido rearranged some whitewalls in the corner while Luigi stood outside talking with customers.
"Hey there, Harley." Emily greeted.
"Hey Emily." Harley greeted, standing up on the top rung of a ladder to count the tires on a shelf and make notes for Luigi's inventory.
"Can I talk to you about something?" Emily asked, arms crossed loosely.
"What about?" Harley asked, still doing her counting.
"I noticed you and Finn have been doing a lot of work with your online schooling." Emily said. "I just wanted to warn you to not bother Finn with trivial matters. He has many other things he needs to think about, even on vacation."
Harley blinked, staring at Emily with confusion and some hurt. A small part of her said she should feel insulted, but she pushed that part of her aside. "I certainly hope I'm not bothering Finn. I want you, Holley, Siddeley, and Finn to enjoy your time here. Besides, I can finish most of my remaining projects myself. I just need to turn in one more paper and then wait for my grades to get back in."
"Good." Emily nodded. "You're a very smart girl, Harley." Harley blushed a bit, giggling a "thanks." Emily chuckled. "On another note, I do want to let you know that I need to go out of town to take care of a work matter."
"Aw, I thought you were on vacation." Harley whined a little.
"It's just a small favor for a friend at work." Emily said. "I'm leaving tonight and I'll be back the day after tomorrow. Plenty of time before the party on Saturday."
Harley sighed. "Okay. Have fun wherever you're going, at least."
"Thank you, Harley." Emily nodded. "I'm sure I will."
To avoid suspicion, Emily decided she could stand to take a regular flight to her destination: Paris, France. Once she arrived, she took a taxi to the closest neighborhood to the black market and hurried to the shady marketplace. She ignored the calls of the vendors, walking briskly and purposefully.
Where could he be? Emily wondered, wandering around the market. Finally, she spotted a familiar three-wheeled car and marched up to him. "Tomber."
The French car jumped a bit and turned to see who approached him so bluntly. He relaxed with a rather bored expression. "Ah. Finn's new blonde friend."
"Indeed." Emily nodded. "I'd like to talk to you about something."
Tomber wasn't in the mood, but he figured if he didn't do what Emily said he'd regret it later when she refused to stop pestering him. So he led her to his garage and shut the door behind them, giving them the privacy they needed to talk. "What do you want to talk about?"
"Finn." Emily said. "What's he like?"
"You ought to know, eh?" Tomber scoffed. "You've worked with him before."
"Yes, but I don't know him personally." Emily shrugged. "What does it take to be his friend?"
Tomber narrowed his eyes. Anyone trying to dig up information about Finn couldn't be doing anything safe…or legal. Beyond that, something in his stomach told him to be careful when talking about the British spy. "Why do you want to know? What is so concerning about Finn that you can't talk to him about it?"
"What I have to talk about is not something I can just ask him." Emily scoffed.
"What do you want to talk about?" Tomber demanded.
Emily sighed, rolling her eyes. "I want to know Finn's choice in women."
Tomber paused, and then burst out laughing. "Women? Are you serious?"
"Absolutely." Emily nodded.
Tomber laughed. "Madame, Finn isn't exactly looking for a relationship at the moment. I can't think of a time when he ever was!"
"I'm sure I can change his mind." Emily said confidently.
Tomber suddenly picked up the distinct feeling that this conversation was going in a different direction than he had in mind. "Change his mind how?"
Emily smirked, a hand on her hip. "I have my ways of turning men into putty in my hands."
If he didn't have the proper willpower to fight it, Tomber would've gagged. He wasn't sure he believed in a vehicle/human relationship. Those things didn't seem to work out in a romantic sense; at least, not in his head they didn't. Plus, Finn and Emily? Together? Not in a million years. They had very little in common, if anything at all. "Do not try and force yourself on him, Blonde." Tomber warned. "Finn can be rather reserved with his friendships. He is often mistrustful of romantic relationships. You would be better off forgetting about it."
Tomber suddenly got the feeling he said the wrong thing, because Emily's eyes developed a darkness he only saw in the shadiest and evilest of black market dealers. Her tone became dangerous as she spoke, her posture straight and tall. "Trust me. I will be able to persuade him to see it my way. Thank you for your help, Tomber. But do me a favor and don't let Finn know I came by. I want my feelings to be a surprise for him." She turned on her heel and marched off, almost slamming the door shut behind her.
For a moment, Tomber seemed frozen. Then nervousness washed over him. Was Finn going to be okay? This woman was a spy; she would have ways of hurting Finn that no normal woman would have. Tomber shook his hood, beginning to rummage through his shelves for a part a client requested of him. Why should he care about Finn's safety? It wasn't his problem.
Was it?
Tomber paused, thinking back to when he first met Finn. Tomber used to be teased for the fact that he had three wheels instead of four. He was too different from his classmates, and they often did what they could to make him trip over his own tires. He hated it. He hated them. He hated himself. Even as a child, he thought about running away and never coming back. Then one day, as he parked behind a dumpster and cried over his pitiful existence, someone had come up to him: a young Aston Martin.
What are you doing back here?
Nothing. What are you doing here? Do you want to torment me too?
Of course not. Why would I?
The fact that the Aston Martin asked him "Why would I?" surprised Tomber. He was different. That's why people always teased him. But not this strange silvery-blue car with the warm smile.
What's your name?
Tomber. What about you?
Finn. Finn McMissile.
Finn and Tomber traveled down different paths of life, but they were still friends. That's why the fact that Finn could be in danger was Tomber's problem. Tomber moved to his phone in the corner and dialed a number only a few cars knew.
After two rings, Finn picked up. "Tomber. This is certainly a surprise." Finn said, sounding sincerely surprised.
"I know, but it is important." Tomber said. "I need to talk to you, Finn. Face to face. Can you come to Paris?"
"Right now?"
"As soon as you can."
A pause. "I'll come by tomorrow on Siddeley. But what's this all about?"
"I'll explain when you get here." Tomber said. "I don't want anyone listening in on this call."
"Well, all right. I trust you." Finn said before hanging up. Tomber nodded in satisfaction and resumed his search for the part his client wanted.
What he didn't know was Emily still stood outside the garage door, and she heard the entire conversation. She glared hard, beginning to walk off and pulling out her cell phone. She dialed a number and pressed the phone to her ear. "Hey. It's me. I am in need of your services."
It seemed like a normal day in Radiator Springs, even with Mater and Harley's spy friends in town. Mater, Finn, and Holley parked at Flo's and talked for a while when Harley suddenly skated up to them.
"There you are!" Harley said excitedly, looking to Finn and Holley. "I've been looking for you guys!"
"Whatever for?" Holley asked with a small giggle.
"I just realized that in all of my excitement, I totally forgot to introduce you to my dad!" Harley laughed.
Finn and Holley jolted a bit. "Your father?" Finn asked. "Doctor Hudson?"
"Yeah, come on!" Harley called excitedly, beginning to skate further into town. Finn and Holley exchanged looks. Didn't Mater tell them Harley's surrogate father died some years ago? But when they looked to Mater, the tow truck only smiled and gave an encouraging nod. So the two spy cars followed Harley further down Main Street and out of town, towards the mesa behind Radiator Springs. When they reached the foot of the mesa, Finn and Holley began to understand. Two headstones rested where Harley stopped, one weathered from age and one much newer.
"Harley?" Holley asked, her voice soft.
Harley pointed to the weathered headstone. "That's Stanley. He founded the town." She knelt down in front of the newer headstone. "This is Doc, my daddy." She patted the dirt in front of the headstone. "Hey Daddy. I want you to meet my new friends: Finn McMissile and Holley Shiftwell. They're the spies I told you about. Totally forgot to introduce you the last time they were here." She looked to Finn and Holley. "Don't be shy. Come and say 'hello.'"
Holley and Finn weren't sure they wanted to. Harley's rather upbeat attitude despite the situation felt rather off-putting. But they obeyed and rolled up to park on either side of Harley. "Hello." Holley greeted the headstone.
"Pleased to meet you." Finn said to the headstone. Harley smiled warmly, and the three of them sat in silence for a long moment.
"Doc took me in right after the fire that killed my parents." Harley said. "My dad tried to blow us all up, but my mom managed to save me. Sheriff got me out of the fire. Doc gave me a new home. I have to admit it was a lot better than my old home. Doc was more of a daddy to me than my real one." She patted the dirt that covered Doc's corpse several feet below. "I know he's always with me."
Holley did her best to hold back her tears. Finn gave Harley a gentle nuzzle, and she leaned into his touch. The three of them sat in silence, in remembrance and mourning, when Finn's phone suddenly rang and nearly ruined the moment. Finn apologized, driving off to one side to answer the call. Holley moved closer to Harley, the two of them continuing to stare at the grave.
"It's nice to see you aren't so upset about this." Holley noted.
"Believe me, I was devastated at first." Harley assured. "But it's getting easier. I always know he's watching over me. Sometimes, I can feel it in my psyche human powers that he's close by."
"Wish I could do the same." Holley said. "What I'd give to be able to speak with my father."
"What happened to him?" Harley asked.
"I'm not sure." Holley admitted. "He was never around. I never did get the chance to meet him, but I certainly hope I do someday."
Harley smiled warmly. "I hope so too." Holley smiled back and gave the girl an affectionate nuzzle. They looked up as Finn returned, a somewhat troubled look in his eyes and a frown on his lips. "What's the matter?"
"That was Tomber." Finn answered. "He wants to see me."
Tomber waited patiently in his garage for Finn to arrive. He busied himself by organizing his shop, making sure everything was in its place and looking somewhat presentable. Not that he cared what Finn thought of the messy organization of his shop.
Tomber heard tires on cobblestone, and he turned to greet Finn at the garage door. But he paused when, instead of Finn, he saw a royal blue and a burnt orange truck and a human man entering the shop. The men seemed to scream "shady," and Tomber couldn't remember ever seeing them before in the black market.
"I am sorry, gentlemen, but my shop is closed." Tomber said, hoping the men would take a hint and leave.
The men said nothing for a moment. "You Tomber?" the human asked.
"Who wants to know?" Tomber demanded.
The men went silent again. The burnt orange truck pressed a button on the ground and shut the garage door, pressing another button to lock it and leave Tomber alone in the shop with the strange men.
Finn intended to go alone to France, but Holley insisted she come for backup. Harley echoed the sentiments, and Mater joined in. So Finn finally agreed for the three of them to accompany him in answering Tomber's calls. After Siddeley dropped them off, they went straight into the black market area and Finn led the way to Tomber's garage.
"What do you think Tomber wants?" Harley asked curiously.
"Not sure." Finn said. "He sounded urgent, though. Must be important."
"Are we sure we can trust him?" Holley asked. "I do still feel guilty over the whole Taser incident, but given where he works….."
"Tomber is still loyal to the agency, or at least to me." Finn assured. "Would you believe I actually met him at the academy?"
"That three-wheeled feller is a spy?" Mater asked, remembering to keep quiet so nobody else heard.
"Not exactly." Finn said. "Tomber had a bit of a kleptomania problem as a child. He was actually kicked out of the school for stealing other students' things and selling them. But I saw much potential in him, so I helped him find the black market here in Paris. In return, he acts as my informant should I ever need help with a case."
"You actually helped him find this place?" Harley looked around at the black market, glaring irately at the men who kept wolf whistling at her and Holley.
Finn chuckled. "It's where he belongs, if you can believe it. He always seemed so happy here. Rest assured, he's still a good ol' chap." He looked around. "His garage should just be right around—" As they rounded a corner, Finn stopped and blinked in surprise. His friends followed suit, staring at the crowd gathered around a garage just ahead of them. Finn drove forward, Harley, Holley, and Mater following him to what they fearfully assumed was Tomber's garage. They politely pushed through the crowd to reach the door, peering inside. Their expressions turned to ones of horror when they saw paramedics surrounding Tomber, the old three-wheeled car very beaten. His metal hide was crumpled and dented in several places and one of his back wheels stuck out at an odd angle, possibly from a broken axle. His eyes remained shut and his breathing shallow, practically nonexistent. The paramedics struggled to revive him, trying to push new oil into his system to replenish what he lost. A pool of oil rested around Tomber's wheels.
"Good Ford in heaven." Holley breathed.
"How could this happen?" Finn whispered.
Harley looked to Finn, then back to Tomber. She glared in determination. "Finn, just how much did he mean to you?"
"What?" Finn asked.
"How much did Tomber mean to you?" Harley repeated urgently.
Finn still seemed confused, but frowned. "Treacherous low-life he may be, he's still my friend."
"That's all I need to know. Now translate for me because I can't speak French." Harley ordered. Finn was confused, but quickly obeyed as Harley pushed her way into the garage and began barking orders at the paramedics. They all stood back at her command, and she began adjusting the oil drip. Finn hurriedly explained Harley's experience in medical practice, watching the brunette work. It seemed all that practice being Doc's volunteer nurse was about to pay off. Harley knelt in front of Tomber's grill, cold oil splashing against her knees. But she put both hands on Tomber's hood and focused.
Her eyes went from crystal blue to snow-white. Come on, Tomber. You're not dying on me now. Several agonizing seconds later, she felt a pull in her psyche human powers and focused fully on it. Harley felt the faintest pulses of life, of Tomber's life, and she pushed more of her power forth. She gritted her teeth a bit at the spots of pain flaring up, some of Tomber's worst wounds healing just enough to take him out of critical condition.
Suddenly, Tomber inhaled deeply and started coughing. Harley's eyes returned to normal and she sighed, willing leftover pain to go away. Tomber's eyes fluttered open, and he first became aware of Finn smiling in relief. Tomber glanced over to see Harley adjusting his oil drip, the fluids running into his system to fix his oil loss. The paramedics began clearing a path to get Tomber to the ambulance. Harley started to stand, but Tomber nudged her and she paused. He murmured something so softly Harley couldn't even hear him. She leaned down closer to Tomber's mouth.
"Finn….danger….protect…him…." Tomber rasped. He slipped away into unconsciousness, and the paramedics hurriedly loaded him into the ambulance. The crowd dispersed, and Finn, Holley, and Mater came to Harley.
"Nice job, Sissy." Mater complimented.
"Very well done." Holley agreed.
"Thanks." Harley nodded aimlessly, standing and not noticing the oil trickling down her legs.
"What's wrong?" Finn asked.
Harley told them what Tomber told her. "Finn, can you think of anyone who would want you dead?"
"I've put quite a few people in jail, Harley." Finn said. "But I can't think of anyone who would hurt Tomber to get to me. Not many people even know about him."
Holley spotted something on the shelves. "I wonder if whoever attacked him knew he was smart enough to keep surveillance." The others followed her gaze to see a camera up on one of the shelves, discretely placed amongst other cameras but with a small red light shining on to show it recorded. Holley quickly made copies of the footage from the past couple days and they all departed for Siddeley to return to Radiator Springs. Holley played the footage over one of the computer monitors.
They all winced in sympathy at the sight of Tomber's beating. "Poor feller." Mater breathed.
Holley rewound the footage and paused, zooming in on a strange logo on the side of the trucks. "I've seen this symbol before. This organization is known in the criminal and spy world as a place to hire ruffians for grunt work."
"So if you need workers or want someone beat up, you call them." Harley guessed.
"Indeed." Holley looked quite disgusted.
"These men respond promptly to requests." Finn said. "Rewind the footage. Let's see who was in contact with Tomber recently." Holley obeyed, but as they watched the rewinding film they only saw humans and cars Finn identified as clients and other black market dealers.
Then, they saw someone else. "That's Emily!" Harley realized.
"How come dere's no sound?" Mater asked.
"The camera only captures video." Holley said. "What could Emily be doing there?"
"She told me the other day she was called in for a work thing." Harley said. They all exchange looks, confused and somewhat suspicious.
When they arrived back in Radiator Springs, they didn't see Emily again until the next morning. Finn and Holley approached their human spy friend and told her about Tomber. They didn't mention Tomber survived, just in case.
"My goodness." Emily seemed shocked. "The poor guy."
"We actually found security footage that showed you talking to him." Holley said. "What was it about?"
"Harley said you had a work issue?" Finn added.
"Yeah, a buddy in my department called asking for a favor." Emily shrugged. "I had to fly to Paris and help him track down a stolen part. Tomber was helping me."
"Oh, I see." Finn nodded. The conversation ended soon after that, but Finn got the distinct feeling something wasn't right about all this. He shook it off. Emily was their friend, and she may be annoyed by Tomber but she would never hurt him or any of them.
Still, the way she stared at him sometimes was starting to get suspicious.
A/N: I know, I know. Okay, everyone, all together now: YUCK! EMILY IS SO CRUSHING ON FINN! Yeah, but would you believe me if I had this in mind since I first introduced Emily's character? Also, I hope you like the little snippet of Tomber's past. I like to think that he and Finn knew each other for a long time, even at the academy (I think a lot of people believe that).
Hope you enjoy it so far! Read and review!