Chapter Two

Lexie swerved around a bush and then turned and drifted to a stop just a few feet outside of Radiator Springs. Mater had dropped the last bale of hay into place along Route Sixty-Six while the others were watching. "Ah, the annual fun race," she said as she drove up.

"Yep," Lightning replied. "Looks like you had one of your own."

"Racin' the wind, Dad. Racin' the wind."

"Did you wind or did the wind?"

"I think the wind did." Lightning chuckled. "So, how're all your racer friends?"

"They're good. Kind of annoyed that the Prix is being put off for another month or so, but we're still doing our annual race here, so I guess that's good news to them."

"Cool. How's Francesco?"

"Weird, as usual."

Lexie nodded. "It's pretty fun to watch you two verbally chew each other up and spit each other out."

"He's an okay car. He's just a little cocky sometimes, and usually it's funny."

"Hope he stays. He's not all bad."

"Never said he was."

"I know." Lexie studied the street that had been converted into a Grand Prix-quality track. "Another two days and this place will be packed with racers and pit crews and then by the next day they'll all have packed up and left. It's really kinda surreal."

"Yeah, it is."

"Wonder if Finn and Holley will show up."

"If they do, Mater's gonna be the happiest tow truck in the world. Speaking of cars showing up, you should call Alex and ask him to come. He hasn't been around lately."

"You know what, I should do that right now." Without waiting for a reply, she drove to the payphone, called the operator, and asked for Alex Pacer. A voice she didn't recognize demanded to know who she was, and she said, "I'm a friend of Alex's."

"Sorry, lady. He just left," he said.

"Where'd he go?"

"Radiation Stinks or something like that."

"Radiator Springs. Thanks anyway." She hung up and drove back out to Radiator Springs. "He's already on his way here."

"That's good news for you, then, isn't it?"

"Yeah." Lexie felt her face burning again, reminding her of the seemingly long ago day when Alex chased down a helicopter and attached himself to an industrial magnet in order to wake up beside her in a cell somewhere in Japan.

She looked down the road as it headed west, and she thought of the drive they'd shared before everything spiralled almost completely out of control. Then, she'd mentioned her hunch that she possibly had an engine similar to hers. Considering what happened in Japan, she had no doubt. The question then became how to keep him safe in case Montgomery ever broke out of jail and came after him.

She closed her eyes and shook her hood in an effort to clear her mind. "You okay?" Lightning asked, looking over at her.

"Yeah. Just thinkin'," she replied.

"About Alex."

"Yeah."

Lightning nodded, his eyes scanning the rest of Radiator Springs. "It's kinda late."

"Y'know, I think I'll go for another drive."

"Okay."

Lexie turned and drove down the road at a reasonable pace, far easier to handle than what she was managing earlier, and it wasn't long before she found herself retracing the route she and Alex took some time prior.

CARS

Lexie closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of the setting sun on her hood. Tires crunch against dirt, and she glanced in her mirror at the familiar scarred, aquamarine Pacer. "When did you leave? I called this afternoon," she said.

"Yeah, I heard. I left a couple days ago from Curby's place," he replied.

"What were you seein' him for?"

"Some Pacer family business."

"Aren't you a little young?"

"Not really, not for negotiations."

"Just negotiating, right? No death and dying?"

"No death and dying."

"Okay, good. I've had plenty of that to last me for the rest of my life."

"The car that ordered the hit on George is behind bars."

"Why do I have a feeling we're still not safe?"

"You do?" She nodded. "Okay, I'm not the car to talk to, but I can get you through to the Professor."

"The Zundapp from the Grand Prix party?"

"Yep. He could probably shed some light on a few things."

"What I really wanna do is make Montgomery talk. The prisoners don't know very much, but he knows almost everything about this whole mess."

"You think you can get to Montgomery?"

"I never said that. I just said that if I were going to talk to anybody, it would be him."

"That's...pretty risky. He's in a high-security prison somewhere in Britain."

"So?"

"Okay, forget the prison part. The Grand Prix is next month. Do you really want to endanger yourself, your dad, or anyone on his team?"

"Alex?"

"Yeah?"

"You worry too much."

"I can't help it. I...I mean, you're my..."

"I'm your what?"

"I...you...I..."

"Tongue-tied, I see." Alex nodded. "You know what, maybe we'll save this topic for later."

"Okay, fine by me."

"So, here for the Radiator Springs Grand Prix?"

"I dunno. Is this the fun one?"

"Oh, yeah, and even better. No press, few tourists, just racers here to race."

"So I'm reasonably safe here for a couple days."

"Maybe even longer. It's a little after the end of the tourist season, and they won't be back around for at least three months."

"Shouldn't you be in school?"

"Technically the racing season's not over yet, and besides, school doesn't even start for another couple of weeks."

"Ah."

Lexie glanced at Alex's profile. The setting sun gave him a nice perriwinkle-blue color and seemed to set his green-hazel eyes on fire. He met her gaze, and she looked down into the valley below, colored scarlet and dotted with black shadows. "I'll talk to Finn, and I'm serious about talking to Montgomery. I'll think of a way to get answers out of him. You leave the work to me and relax. Go shopping, or get a new paint job. At the very least buy your granduncle Tubbs a snowglobe."

"Are you sure about this?"

Lexie turned to Alex and nodded resolutely. "C'mon, it's getting late." She drove off toward Radiator Springs, and with a raised eyelid, Alex followed.