Chapter Five

Axle rose before the sun and drove into Ramone's body shop, where Electro slept in the main room. "Hey, man," he said. "Wake up." He shook Electro awake, and when the car finally did wake up, Axle said, "Dude, maybe you should think about a color other than pink."

"Yeah, probably," Electro replied. "Where do I go for that?"

"Nowhere, really. Ramone does paint jobs, too."

"Oh, good. And thank the Manufacturer you're here. Listen to me, Axle. Some really, really bad people want me dead, and I was hoping you could help me hide."

"Talk about a game-changer. Okay, Electro, why the hell would someone want you dead?"

"Why did Axlerod discredit his own race?"

"To promote Big Oil."

"Exactly. Axlerod and his colleagues see me as a threat, so they want me out of the way. Got any ideas where I can hide?"

"Not exactly, but I know who does. Finn McMissile and Holley Shiftwell. Go-to cars for stuff like this."

"Thanks."

Axle glanced around. "And if you need help with anythin', you come talk to me, okay?"

"You betcha."

"Good."

"You're up early," Ramone said as he drove into the shop. "Heck, I'm amazed you're up at all."

"Well, I am. You do some nice work," Electro replied.

"Thanks, man. And I'd consider a color other than pink."

"Yeah, I was told you could hook me up."

"Pick a color scheme, and sit back and let me do the painting."

"Okay, cool."

"Guess I should leave you to your work," Axle said, moving to drive out of the shop.

"Hey, Axle, wait," Electro said.

"Yeah?"

"Where you goin'?"

"Down the street to Flo's for breakfast. Want somethin'?"

"Nah. Just askin'."

Axle nodded. "Okay." He drove out of the shop, and Ramone turned to his color palette.

"Let's start with the basics. Pick a color, any color."

CARS

Holley found herself awake earlier than usual, and when she drove out to Flo's, she found Axle and Mater, both wide awake. Mater rushed over to her with his usual loud greeting, and she laughed. "Good morning, Mater," she replied. "You're up early."

"Never know when someone needs a tow," Mater said.

"That's a good way to look at things. So I take it Electro is in good hands?"

"Yep. Ramone's one of the best, next to Doc, a course." Mater's tone darkened slightly, just enough for Holley to notice. After a moment, however, he recovered his usual cheer. "So, whaddawe do today?"

"You pick."

CARS

Axle drove into Ramone's body shop to find that Electro had gone from hot pink to a basic black design with soft blue flames reaching across the sides to his rear bumper. "Nice look," Axle said. "Lookin' like a real tuner there."

"Think they'll notice?" Electro asked.

"Doubt it. If they're looking for pink, you're far from it."

"Thanks for talkin' to me."

"No problem." Axle glanced around the body shop, but Ramone was nowhere to be seen. "Up for a drive?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Good. We gotta move fast so you're not in too much danger in transit, okay?" Electro nodded, rolling off the platform. Axle looked around again. "C'mon, this way." They drove out of the body shop and out of town. Electro looked around almost constantly, something that almost completely arrested Axle's attention. "You need to relax. Finn and Holley are good cars," he said.

"But the others aren't."

"Will you cool it? Nobody's-" A dust cloud appeared in his mirrors, behind and slightly to the right of Electro. "Keep driving, and don't stop until you see a giant silver plane, and even then, get inside before you think about taking a breather. Tell Siddeley Axle sent you."

"Siddeley's the plane, right?"

"Yes, now go." Axle pulled a U-turn, drifting slightly to the left and pulling out of the turn only once Electro drove past him. He drove back onto the road to face the car approaching. The car drove onto the pavement, and the dust cloud disappeared. "Okay, whoever you are, let's see what you want," Axle muttered, narrowing his eyes. The car seemed slightly surprised to see him and nearly skidded to a stop less than ten feet in front of Axle. The whisps of smoke from the black Aston Martin's braking job drifted up to the sky in tense silence.

"Who are you?" the Aston Martin asked.

"You a buddy of Finn's? You sure look like him," Axle replied.

"Where is that car?"

"What car? The one you're supposed to be on a date with? I'm starting to see why somebody would run away from you."

"Don't get smart with me."

"Or what?" The Aston Martin produced two guns, one out of each of his front hubcaps. Axle gave him a once-over and scanned the desert in his peripheral vision. Okay, Torque, care to help a brother out? he thought, some part of him thinking of how insane he was being for trying to talk to his dead brother. The Aston Martin raised his eyebrows as if testing Axle, waiting for him to respond. "You think a gun's gonna back you up?" Axle asked. "You even know how to fight without one?"

"What do you hope to gain by this?"

"Whadda you hope to gain by shootin' people?"

The Aston Martin paused. "You're afraid, aren't you? You're not armed, so you think you're entering a losing battle."

"What if you're wrong? What if I am armed but too smart to pull my gun?"

"You'd enter a gunfight without pulling a gun?"

"Hell, why not?"

"You'd have to be suicidal to do that."

"Or really, really good."

"You're cocky as hell, you know that?"

Axle shrugged, but he didn't take his eyes off of the Aston Martin. "Runs in the family, I guess," Axle said.

"What family? You live alone and have no life outside of your job as a mechanic for delinquent road hazards."

"Do you really want me to start cussin' you out?"

"That's the only thing you can do right now." Axle's adversary cocked his guns.

Okay, Torque, I'm getting desperate and I'm talking to a ghost, Axle thought. A little help wouldn't hurt.

"Everything alright out here?"