Chapter Two

Alan deCarteran rolled into the office. "Nice of you to join me," the car on the other side of the desk said.

"You called," Alan replied. "Do you have an assignment for me?"

"I do, but first, how did the last go?"

"Easy, but I wasn't expecting quite those results."

"Which results?"

"An attack on a famous racer, for one, and the Delinquents' intervention, for another."

"Would you characterize the mission as a success or a failure?"

"Success. CHROME United States has been destroyed, and you know as well as I that it will be at least a year before it is relocated and rebuilt."

"Good."

"The spies are at large, as are their proteges, however."

"No matter. We'll find them. Which leads me right into your assignment. All you need to do is find their asset."

"What do you want me to do once I find him?"

"Alert me of his location. I'll handle the rest." Alan nodded. "Now, go find yourself an asset." He nodded again and drove out of the office.

CARS

Ice immersed himself in the crowd gathered for a drag race. Crank up against Danny D, who was from somewhere in Oregon and a little new to the circuit. The race wasn't supposed to be above average, but no one knew with newbies and visitors. "Okay, Ice, you can do this," he whispered to himself. "You can enjoy a race without being an over-paranoid freakshow." He took a deep breath and shifted his weight on his tires in an effort to get comfortable. The race wasn't scheduled to begin for another ten minutes, leaving him a little time to be appropriately paranoid.

"Okay, here we go," the announcer said. "Crank, Danny D, start your engines." The two racers revved their engines as if sizing each other up. "On my count. Ready, set...GO!" The racers rushed off down the street.

Almost immediately afterward, word-of-mouth updates, along with announcer commentary, reached Ice's ears. He appreciated this; he had to so as not to draw suspicion to himself. Every so often, he scanned the crowd, unable to shake the feeling that something was wrong.

"Hey, you seen Axle?" the tuner to his left, a hot pink Saturn model (so far as he could judge) asked.

"I heard he went to Radiator Springs," Ice replied. "Need a repair?"

"You could say that."

"Well, Radiator Springs ain't far, a day or so's drive. You need an escort, I'm free."

"Thanks, man. You got a name?"

"Ice. You?"

"Electro." Ice nodded. Electro seemed much too jumpy for a tuner at a race. Guess I'm not the only one who's nervous, Ice thought. "When's this race get over?"

"'Bout ten minutes, tops."

"Good."

"Itchin' to get out?"

"I gotta get to Axle ASAP."

"You can't ride too hard, especially if you need a repair. You don't wanna strain yourself, or you'll probably make it worse."

"Thanks for the tip, man."

"No prob. Just hang tight, and remember, don't strain yourself."

"Got it."

"Good."