I can't even begin to explain how fun this chapter was to write. I guess this is rated T for referencing a swear word.

"Yeah, there's a leak... We're not going anywhere."

It was three days after the cow tipping incident. The farmer had been absolutely livid, even after Mater and Sheriff brought back his stray cow. Sheriff managed to smooth things over somehow but that didn't make Doc treat the racers any different. He rewrapped their bandages and finally gave them some painkillers, but all four of them were on pins and needles around him. Doc was just fine with that. A little tough love wouldn't kill them.

Weathers arrived three days after the incident. Seeing as the boys were at the Butte, Doc asked him if he wanted to go for a drive up to the Wheel Well. No one in their right mind said no to an offer like that and Strip was quick to accept. But they hadn't even reached halfway when Doc felt the Hudson Hornet pulling to the right. The front right tire had a leak and he didn't have a spare.

"Can anyone in town fix it?" Strip asked, knowing those older tires were hard to find.

"Yeah, I think Guido can," Doc stood up. "He won't like it though... apparently these tires are inferior." The veteran racer rolled his eyes.

"Well, you gotta admit Formula One is something else," Weathers shrugged, leaning back against the Hudson Hornet.

"Yeah... Barbie doll cars that need a hand washed track to race on," Doc muttered, but it was nice to talk racing with someone else while giving Lightning the silent treatment.

"Do we start walking or wait?" Strip asked as Doc reached inside the car for a cigarette pack. He had cut back on smoking since med school showed him what exactly it did to the lungs, but every now and then he indulged.

"Let's wait," Doc offered one to Strip who just shook his head. He took a heave and blew out the smoke. "Apparently Redline and Earnhardt are coming down this road. We'll catch a ride back with them."

"Junior and Bobby's folks, right?"

Doc nodded in response and the two fell into a comfortable silence. All they could hear were birds trying to out-sing each other and the distant rush of water somewhere in the distance.

"It was a cactus patch, right?" Strip finally broke the silence. "And a barbed wire fence?"

"You heard right," was the response.

"But... how?" The veteran racer was just as confused as Doc was angry.

"They thought it would be a good idea to dive through it."

"You're saying that they were thinking to begin with?"

Doc grinned slightly at the very accurate summary.

The silence was interrupted as they heard a car coming down the road.

"That must be them," Doc commented, reaching back into the open window to dispose of the cigarette in the ash tray.

The two stepped into the road but the sound ahead of them faded and they faintly heard the crunch of gravel as if the car was stopping. Confused, the two veteran racers walked a little further up the road and around the corner.

They heard the passenger door slam and a man that looked remarkably similar to Bobby standing next to it. He turned towards them and sized them up.

"You must be Weathers and Hudson," he greeted

"Yeah, you Redline?" Doc reached for the other man's hand instinctively and Rod shook it.

"Yeah, that's me," Rod shook Strip's. "Nice to finally meet the other babysitters."

Doc's mouth twitched. He liked this guy already.

"Mark Earnhardt," a shorter man climbed out of the driver's side. "Nice to make your acquaintance."

"What you doing all the way up here?" Rod asked after Earnhardt had shaken hands with the two veterans.

"We got a flat further down the road," Doc nodded back. "Was hoping to catch a ride with you back into town."

"Oh..." Earnhardt glanced down. "I don't think that's quite possible."

"We ran out of gas," Redline sounded annoyed. "Fuel gauge broke and we didn't stop to fill her up from the airport."

"I'm afraid that one's my fault," Earnhardt said apologetically. "Guess we'll just have to call someone."

"No," Doc said quickly. "Town's not far, we can walk back."

Rod glanced at Doc, suspicion clear on his face.

"The boys got into some trouble earlier this week," Strip explained. "He's giving them the silent treatment."

"What was it this time?" Rod rolled his eyes, remembering the scuffle they got into back in Detroit.

"They got tangled up in a fence or fell into a cactus patch," was the only response Doc was willing to give.

"They are alright, aren't they?" Mark asked worriedly, closing the car door.

"They'll be fine," Doc assured him, before nodding towards a bunch of trees. "There's a trail there that leads down to the road. It's steep but we should be able to make good time if we start now."

"Oh, I'm a mountain ranger," Earnhardt looked quite pleased. "A hike suits me just fine."

Strip and Rod agreed and the four made their way down the trail. Strip glanced at the horizon and estimated that they had about five hours before the sun set. The trail was steeper than Doc remembered. Thankfully they were all wearing practical boots and walked mostly in silence except for an occasional comment.

They stopped when they reached a fence running along a dirt road.

"This is property line of the guy whose cows Mater's always antagonizing," Doc explained. We'll just follow it back towards the main road and that'll lead us straight back into Radiator Springs."

"Won't they notice you're missing by now?" Rod asked.

"We didn't tell them we were going anywhere," Strip responded. He was actually thinking that they should have, but hopefully they'd make it back to town before anyone started worrying.

"Bit of exercise never killed anyone," Earnhardt said optimistically.

Rod shot him an incredulous look, but Mark wasn't paying attention.

"Right, let's go," Doc said, making his way through the small grove of trees outside the fence-line. It wasn't the warmest time of year, but the shade was nice and cool compared to the open sand.

They had only been walking for a few minutes when Earnhardt spoke up.

"You hear that?" he asked. The other three stopped.

"I did," Rod said, reaching into his pocket. Doc and Strip strained their eyes, not having heard anything.

"Animal maybe?" Doc asked.

"I don't think so," Earnhardt turned slightly behind him. "I didn't recognize it."

They stayed quiet for a few seconds longer, suddenly realizing that they were quite alone and that the birds seemed very far away.

"Over there," Strip pointed towards some sort of outline sticking out from a tree.

"I see it," Redline responded.

"Looks like a man," Junior's Dad leaned forward and squinted his eyes. "But what's he holding?"

Doc saw what the shorter man meant. There seemed to be some sort of pointy long thing in the man's hands. Or maybe it was a branch or a small tree... No, it was moving and the sunlight caused it to glisten, making Doc realize that it was some sort of metal.

"Run," Redline said suddenly, an intensity in his voice causing the others to tense.

"What do you mean 'run'?" Earnhardt asked.

"I mean go skipping through the woods like on a teddy bear picnic," sarcasm dripped from Rod's words like honey from a broken bee hive. "RUN!"

Doc saw what the man meant as the 'stick' suddenly lifted itself up and pointed at them. He turned and bolted through the forest next to Strip, Rod and Earnhardt hot on their heels just as a shot fired and a round traveled over their heads.

"What in the blazes?" Doc yelled, glancing behind them as the round embedded itself in a tree. Who was shooting at them?

Rod had reached in his jacket by now and pulled out his switchblade, the only thing he had to defend them if the shooter ran out of bullets. He was behind Doc and suddenly dived to the left as the veteran racer flipped upside down.

"Son of a-" Rod was about to swear but was cut off as Strip's boot made contact with his eye, sending him flying back hard against a tree. The switchblade flew from his grasp and landed somewhere in the deep grass. He saw stars and slumped to the ground, out cold.

At a total loss for words and out of breath anyways, Strip and Doc turned to look at each other, and then at the world around them, which was upside down. It took them a minute to realize they'd stepped into two traps and were hanging by their feet.

Doc swore and tried to reach the ground, but his arms were hanging a good foot above it and he couldn't even get his fingertips to grasp the ground. Strip tried pulling himself up and untie the rope around his left ankle but gave up with a hiss after a few seconds. The only one in their group able to untie himself that way was Rod… And he was out cold.

The two veteran racers turned their heads as they heard struggling sounds beside them. Mark hadn't turned out much better than them. He was stuck in a net beside Strip, also a good foot from the ground. His arms were squished awkwardly above him. Doc thought bitterly that it was maybe a good thing that the older man wasn't the one caught hanging upside down... But it wasn't like he was that young anymore either.

The three men stopped their struggling as the imposing figure that they'd been running from came to a stop in front of them... Or in front of Doc as Strip was turning on the twisted rope.

"What the heck is this, Bill?" Doc demanded, glaring at the farmer who seemed to be towering over them.

"This here is me taking care of my own," the farmed grinned, holding his rifle smugly.

"What are you talking about, we weren't even on your property!" Doc shouted furiously.

"Didn't need to be," was the reply. "I've had just about enough of people comin' into my pasture and messin' with my cows. Decided to do something about it."

There was a moment of silence as the three men who were still conscious digested those words and as Weathers managed to turn himself to look at the man.

"That wasn't even our fault!" Strip exclaimed.

"I haven't even been here before!" Earnhardt protested. "You have the wrong guys!"

"Then why were you sneaking around here for?" the farmer asked suspiciously.

"Our cars broke down!" Doc thundered.

"A likely story," the man scoffed.

"Look," Doc was practically seething in anger. "Mater, Lightning and their friends are the ones who mess with your cows. Let us down this instant!"

"Mater don't cut my wires," the farmer replied. "Someone did a few nights ago."

"Your wires were falling apart!" Doc had completely lost his temper. "Restring them and maybe I don't have to cut them from around kids' ankles and arms!"

"Oh, so you do admit to cutting them," the farmer sounded smug.

"Way to go," Strip muttered. Doc punched him hard, but the angle was awkward and the hit landed on the other man's arm was weak.

"Look here, Mr. Farmer, sir," Earnhardt tried politely. "We really didn't mean to cause any trouble. As you can see, Rod over there is quite unconscious and in need of medical attention. Why don't you just cut us down and let us go on our way."

"I don't think so," the farmer was gloating. "I'm just gonna let you hang here for a while to think about respecting your neighbour's property."

True to his word, and quite to the men's shock, the old farmer turned and walked away.

"You're insane!" Strip shouted.

"I'll have you incarcerated for this!" Doc thundered.

Earnhardt's timid voice followed.

"Why do you even have three different traps?" he called.

"I only had one net," the reply floated back.

The veteran racers looked at the mountain ranger with disbelieving expressions.

"I was curious," he shrugged as much as he could with his arms above his head.

The three men fell silent for a few seconds, just trying to digest what the heck had happened. Doc took charge after he had gained his bearings.

"Right, we need to get out of here," he said, looking at Strip. "We can't let Redline stay unconscious for long. I need to check on him."

"And what about us?" Strip asked.

"You having trouble breathing?"

"A little."

"That's normal. But if the pressure becomes too much, a brain hemorrhage can build up. Try to pull yourself up as much as you can."

Strip nodded, understanding.

"Anyone got a knife?" he asked.

"I got one in my boot," Earnhardt said. "Just a small one though."

"Can you reach it?" Doc asked and watched as Earnhardt tried to shift his arms down.

"No... I don't think so," he said apologetically.

"If you give me a push I'll try to grab hold of him," Strip suggested.

Doc took a moment to try and make sense of that sentence but stopped after realizing how ridiculous they looked. At least both him and Weathers were wearing leather jackets that didn't fall down like t-shirts, and he had enough sense to leave his aviators in the car.

Doc gave Weathers a hard shove and the man swung towards Earnhardt. The ranger tried to swing the net a little bit but it didn't have nearly as much wiggle room as the rope. Doc kept pushing, bracing his other foot against the trunk of the tree he was tied to.

"If we're lucky maybe the branch will break," he muttered, glancing down towards his foot and realizing that both him and Strip were tied to the same one.

"I don't think so, looks pretty solid to me," Earnhardt commented from his net. After probably the fifth shove Strip managed to grab hold of the thick ropes. He pulled himself as close to it as he could and took a moment to just catch his breath.

Earnhardt glanced down as Weathers put his left hand into the net while his right one kept its grip. Doc couldn't see what was going on and impatience built up inside of him.

"Do you have it yet?" he finally asked.

"I can't... find it," Weathers ground out.

"Well, look harder!"

"I don't see you helping!"

"Alright, just calm down..." Earnhardt tried to mediate. A groan caused all three of them to look up.

"Redline!" Doc called. "Can you hear me?"

"Shut up, won't ya..." Was the mumbled reply and Doc was relieved. He couldn't have been out for more than five minutes.

"Can you see anything?" He asked as the retired spy pushed himself onto his elbows, eyes still closed.

"Don't... even want to try," was the muttered response, and Doc grimaced as he saw the man's face. Oh, Strip had gotten him good. His eye was almost swollen shut and the outline of the boot's tracks could be seen on Rod's face.

"You probably have a mild concussion," Doc stated.

"You think?" Rod snapped, but instantly regretted raising his voice as his head pounded.

"Make that a major concussion," Doc muttered. "But we need you to cut us loose."

"Sure..." Rod nodded, and slowly tried to open his eyes. He managed to open the one that wasn't swollen a slit then promptly closed it again.

"Light's too sharp," he reported. "Wait... until it gets darker."

Knowing that there was nothing he could do, Doc left Rod alone. The man knew better than to fall asleep, he wouldn't patronize him by telling him that. Hopefully dusk would settle sooner in the trees so that it would be dark enough for Rod open his eyes... Well, his one functioning eye.

"Watch out!" Earnhardt called and Doc had just enough time to brace himself before Strip crashed into him.

"Sorry," Weathers hissed, shaking his hand to ease the rope burn. His right hand had given out and his left arm had still been in the net.

"It's alright," Doc sighed, temper leaving him. "Guess all we can do now is wait."

"Oh, I don't mind trying again," Earnhardt piped up. "Give it another go."

He was trying to lighten the mode, Doc realized, and it was working.

"Who said I was enjoying it?" Strip responded, which earned a small laugh from Rod. The veteran racer shook his hand, trying to ease the sting of the rope burn.

Giving up on an escape attempt, the group tried to make themselves comfortable. For Rod this was holding his head in his hands to stop the pounding, and for Strip and Doc it was trying to figure out what to do with the leg that didn't have a rope on it. That was probably the most uncomfortable and Doc ended up leaning his against the tree trunk while Strip hooked his onto his other foot.

"Who do you think will find us?" The latter finally broke the silence.

"Sarge or Sheriff," Doc responded absentmindedly. Darn, he hoped it would be Sarge. The veteran would be all business and wouldn't have time to mock them for their ridiculous positions. Maybe Fillmore would be with him as well... The hippie wouldn't laugh either, and would give them the amount of pity they rightly deserved. Needless to say, Doc was feeling pretty sorry for himself in that moment.

"Well," Earnhardt started after a full minute of solid silence. "I can safely say, upon careful reflection, that this is the most embarrassing situation I've ever found myself in. What about you, Rod?"

"That's classified," the spy replied automatically. "Ask them instead."

Doc stayed quiet for a few moments, not really considering the question, but Strip spoke up.

"I walked into a strip club once," he volunteered. "That was pretty embarrassing."

"Your wife know that?" Rod asked, suddenly interested. Doc couldn't help but grin slightly at the curiosity in the man's voice.

"She was with me."

Earnhardt and Rod burst out laughing and even Doc couldn't help but chuckle. Strip stayed quiet, still spinning on the rope.

"What did she do?" Earnhardt finally asked.

"Pretty much what you just did. She thought it was hilarious and told the whole pit crew."

"You ever live that down?" Doc asked.

"Eventually... and only after I bought them drinks and listened to endless puns about my name."

"I got arrested once," Doc found himself confessing. Huh, all this blood rushing to his brain was making his tongue loose.

"On what charge?" That was Rod.

"Got into a fight with some punk on the track," Doc ended up telling him. Might as well if they were going to die here, he thought morbidly. "He gave the first swing."

"What was the fight about?" Rod again.

"Moonshine."

"Oh, right, you're from that part of the country," Strip commented.

"It's not nice to stereotype," Earnhardt admonished them, just cutting off Doc's culturally insenstive jab which Strip hit him for. Again, the angle was awkward and the hit landed was weak.

"No, let them go at each other... It's entertaining," Rod protested from the ground.

Strip and Doc stopped it after that. Breathing had become even more difficult and talking as a result. When the sun slid behind a cloud a few minutes later, Rod crawled around and started looking for his switchblade, but he was still pretty disorientated. He went back to lean against the tree for fear of passing out again or throwing up.

They had been hanging for about fifteen minutes when all four of them heard a sound.

"Is it that farmer again?" Strip asked.

"Don't think so," Rod muttered, having figured out by now who had who'd set the traps.

"His footsteps are quieter," Earnhardt agreed.

As far as the group could tell, it wasn't one set of footsteps coming towards them. It was several sets. Hope for rescue swelled in their chests as the sound was identified as coming behind them. Earnhardt managed to twist the net and Doc used his brace on the tree to turn himself around. Strip used Doc to twist himself.

However, their optimism at being rescued soon turned to dread as their 'rescuers' came closer.

Lightning, Junior, Bobby and Cal stopped a few feet away from their various mentors and didn't say anything. They drank in the scene like men in the desert drink from a fountain. Slowly, their grins turned into the very definition of cats that got the cream. Doc could feel the blood pounding in his head and it had nothing to do with being upside down for the last fifteen minutes.

Lightning spoke first, slowly, deliberately, and in just the right way to absolutely infuriate Doc.

"Well...Well... Well..."

Bobby spoke next.

"Look who we found... just... hanging around."

The lame pun sent the four friends into hysterics as they burst out laughing. Their reaction caused Doc to growl slightly and Strip and Rod to roll their eyes. The boys didn't stop however, and each one pulled out his cellphone and opened the camera apps.

"Aren't you going to get us down?" Earnhardt asked, just a smidgen of impatience in his voice. Lightning pocketed his phone and rested his chin on his hand as if he were deep in thought.

"I'm thinking," He said, causing the other three to giggle like schoolgirls.

It was Doc's turn to roll his eyes as Strip, not getting the 'joke', asked,

"And what about?"

"About which one of you is the most valuable," Lightning said just before he started laughing again along with the others.

"It's your fault we're here in the first place!" Doc snapped, but the stupid hot rods weren't listening.

Strip's patience was slowly slipping, especially when everyone crowded around Cal to decide which picture he had taken was the best.

"Cal, stop goofing around and get us down this instant," he ordered, using the same tone of voice he had when Cal was seven. But Cal wasn't seven anymore.

"Oh, I will Uncle Strip," Cal started typing on his phone. "Just as soon as I send this to Tex..."

"Cal, no-" Strip protested.

"Anddd Auntie Lynda," Cal kept going.

"Cal, I'm warning you..."

"Annndddd my Dad," Cal kept going gleefully as his friends chuckled.

"Don't you dare!" Strip was shouting now, knowing that Cal's father would never let him live this down.

"Annnnnddddddddd your crew chief," Cal was grinning like some sort of evil madman. His friends were laughing around him like stupid minions did whenever their boss came up with some sort of grand plan.

"I swear," Strip's voice lowered, taking on a dangerous edge. "You send that picture to anyone and I will tell everybody what happened in Vegas."

"What happened in Vegas?" Earnhardt wanted to know.

"If Cal sends any of those pictures you'll find out," Strip threatened.

"Go right ahead," Cal grinned, finally glancing up from his phone. "This is sooo much better."

It was clear that he was more than pleased to finally have some... insurance policy against his uncle if the embarrassing Vegas story ever got out in public.

But he wasn't completely cruel and pocketed the phone before giving Junior a boost into the tree that held his Dad.

"Tell you what though," he said as his uncle leered up at him, helpless in his current predicament. "If what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, then what happens in Radiator Springs stays in Radiator Springs."

Of course his friends thought this was remarkably clever and chortled evilly amongst themselves.

"You sure you don't want to stay up here, Dad?" Junior teased as he reached the branch and shuffled slowly forwards, reaching for a knife on his belt. "You look so nice and cozy and I know how much you like camping."

"Alright, Junior, we're even," Earnhardt sighed, not as ticked off as Doc and Strip were by the band of stupidos that had come to rescue them.

Cal and Lightning cut first Strip then Doc loose. The two sat up slowly as the blood rushed back down from their heads, making both of them feel dizzy. Cal and Lightning caught hold of the net holding Earnhardt and gently lowered him down when Junior cut him loose.

"Thank you kindly," the older man said, relieved to finally be free from the uncomfortable position.

"Hey, Roddy," Bobby had in the meanwhile gone over to his brother and helped him up."You get into a fight or something?"

The death glare Redline attempted to send his younger brother was drastically reduced in efficiency by the black eye.

"You know... You could have just called for help," Bobby kept going casually. "You didn't have to trek through the dangerous forest on your own."

The tone was completely patronizing and Rod didn't even grace it with a response. He did mutter a thank you though as Bobby found his switchblade and handed it back to him.

"How did you find us?" Earnhardt asked as he scrambled out of the net, feeling much less humiliated than the others amidst his joy of being rescued.

"We found the cars up the road," Junior explained.

"The Hudson Hornet Mater towed back to town and we filled up the rental," Lightning explained. "It's waiting along with Ramone's car on the road."

Finally feeling well enough to stand up, Doc elected to not speak to Lightning and instead went to check Rod's eyes. The ex-agent let him begrudgingly, and Doc declared that he indeed had a concussion and should take it easy for a few weeks.

"I thought you were supposed to be retired," Bobby commented casually as they started trekking back.

"Yeah, supposed to be... Last time I ever come to pick you up again." Was the annoyed response. Bobby grinned and ran up to catch up with his friends, who were deciding who should take which car.

"Bobby, you and Junior take the rental, alright," Lightning was saying. "Cal and I will take Ramone's."

Despite all of his friend's jabs at the humiliates, Lightning had so far refrained from saying anything to Doc. After having received nothing but cold stares and orders from his mentor the last three days, Lighting couldn't have been more thrilled at the opportunity to turn the tables. He had to go out with a bang, to show his wonderful mentor that no one was above making stupid mistakes... He just had to wait for the right moment.

"Here, Dad, let me get that for you," Junior said as they reached the side of the road. He opened the car's door and Earnhardt climbed in.

"What are you up to?" Rod asked Bobby as he got in behind Junior. He noticed Cal had taken the driver seat of the other car and Lightning was behind the passenger seat. The kids seemed to have planned very specific seating arrangements.

"Nothing," Bobby grinned innocently.

Doc and Strip noticed as well but didn't really care. Strip took the passenger seat beside Cal, leaving Doc to sit in the back with LIghtning.

Junior pulled onto the road and leaned his elbow out of the window as he kept one hand on the wheel.

"You know, I think I'm going to frame that picture," he commented to Bobby.

"What picture?" Earnhardt asked, glancing at Rod whose expression was unreadable.

"The one of you hanging upside down," Junior grinned. "Mum'll love it for Christmas."

"I really think she won't." Mark was unimpressed.

"No, I think that's a great idea," Bobby piped up. Oh, revenge was sweet. The boys couldn't dish out punishments but they could sure be annoying. "Maybe she'll replace that painting above your fireplace with it."

"It'll be a great conversation starter," Junior agreed.

"Like one of those fireplace stories."

Seeing that his father had decided to not react to the boys' nonsense anymore, Junior changed tactics.

"What are you doing to do with yours, Bobby?" He asked casually.

"Oh, there's this girl Rod likes," Bobby leaned back. The switchblade was out and flicked open before Bobby could even finish, but the racer only smirked more. He was well aware that he was Rod's kryptonite and that no harm would come to him from that knife. Other than that, Rod didn't respond. Bobby and Junior dropped the subject. They were still grinning as they got into town though.

"What paper is the best to leak information to?" Cal asked Strip casually as they followed the rental.

"The Times," Strip responded. "But that won't be very effective, Cal."

"And why not?"

"'Cause the Times isn't necessarily in the racing world... Now, if you want to really make a spectacle out of us you should set up an interview with Darrell. He'll be more than happy to spread the news for you."

"Why are you telling us this?" Lightning asked, leaning forward curiously.

"Because I have faster access to Darrell than you do," was the response. "And I'll be right there in the studio to tell your little Vegas escapade."

"And your Radiator Springs escapade," Doc couldn't help but add.

"We'll risk the Times then," Cal decided. "That way we can have a catchy headline."

"The King and the Fabulous Hudson Hornet," Lighting envisioned. "Just... hanging around Radiator Springs."

Doc and Strip decided very wisely to not grace that comment with a response, even as Cal and Lightning started snickering. Seeing they wouldn't get any more reactions out of their elders, the boys cut it out. Cal focused on following Junior while Lightning rehearsed words over in his head. He needed to pick just the right moment. It wouldn't work otherwise.

They rolled into town and Lightning saw the light turning orange in front of them.

"Hey, Doc," he asked casually as Cal braked.

"Hmm," was the only response he got that Doc was acknowledging his existence.

"Weren't you the one who told me," Lightning felt the car come to a complete stopped. "About how incredibly stupid it is to go anywhere without a spare tire?"

"You little..." Doc lunged across the car, patience and self restraint snapped, ready to grab onto Lightning and throttle him. But Lightning was more than ready and already had the seatbelt unbuckled and threw open the door with a whoop.

"Kachow!" He shouted as he ran safely out of harm's way. Doc glared after him. "Another victory for the Fabulous Lightning McQueen!"

He'd done it! He'd proven to Doc that he wasn't above making stupid mistakes and brought him down a notch. And his reaction had been better than a sworn statement of guilt. What a victory for young race car drivers everywhere!

"300 practice laps tomorrow!" Doc thundered, but Lighting didn't hear him. Doc fell back annoyed in his seat as the light turned green.

"He got you good there," Strip commented with a small grin. He glanced at Cal who was wearing a similar one and Doc realized with irritation that they were grinning at him. Lightning was going to pay tomorrow, oh, he was going to pay... But Doc couldn't help but smile at the thought. Yes, Lightning had gotten him really good. And his anger was melting away to be replaced by pride.

Yeah, the kids were stupid sometimes. Not to mention reckless, irresponsible and wild. But they were good kids, and they were turning out alright.

And that, Doc supposed was enough reason not to throttle them.

Thanks for reading! Let me know what your favourite chapter was.