A/N: So here's Part Three, where we see Harley's involvement in Cars 2. Summary: Despite keeping her promise, Harley finds that Doc's death has dampened her usually cheery personality. Then, she and Mater get thrust into the world of international espionage and must work with Agents Finn, Holley, and Emily to save the world. Through these trials and tribulations, Harley will learn to grow, fight her fears, and may just find someone with a wound like hers.
Filling Heart's Hole
Chapter One: Friend Lost, Ally Gained
"This is Agent Leland Turbo. I have a flash transmission for Agent Finn McMissile. Finn, my cover's been compromised. Everything's gone pear-shaped. You won't believe what I've found out here. This is bigger than anything we've ever seen. And no one even knows it exists. Finn, I need backup. But don't call the cavalry, it could blow the operation. And be careful! It's not safe out here. Transmitting my grids now. Good luck!"
The message seemed to play over and over again in Agent Finn McMissile's mind. The panicked tone coming from his friend sounded so foreign. The Aston Martin knew Leland was usually one to laugh in the face of danger, not be downright terrified. If Leland Turbo was serious about something, then whatever he was tracking must be Class A-type dangerous.
Leland, what have you gotten yourself into now? Finn wondered.
"We're here!" the crabbing boat he rode called, pulling Finn from this thoughts. "Right where you paid me to bring you. But why are we way out in the middle of nowhere?"
"I'm looking for a car." Finn replied simply.
"A car?" the boat laughed. "Hey, pal, you can't get any further away from land than out here."
"Precisely where I want to be." Finn assured. If this really were Leland's last coordinates, then no doubt he would find his fellow spy here.
"Well I got news for you, buddy: there's nobody out here but us." The boat said.
Impossible. Finn thought. Then again, we are sort of in the middle of nowhere. Perhaps we're off by a few—
A loud horn caught Finn's attention, and he darted back into the shadows just as the light of a huge armored carrier shined onto the boat. While the armored carrier snapped at the crabbing boat to get lost, Finn managed to snag his grappling hooks onto the back of the carrier and ride it further along into this supposedly restricted area. As he rode the carrier, he glanced out into the darkness and noticed several lights, like ginormous candles. In fact, the carrier was going straight towards another ginormous candle flame, soon revealed to be attached to a large metal structure. A light shined down on the carrier, forcing Finn to lower himself down farther into the shadows. Lights on the metal structure switched on, revealing it to be a large oil derrick. As the carrier moved beneath the derrick to be carried up, Finn unhooked one of his grappling hooks and stealthily shot it up towards the platform of the derrick. The hook and line caught onto the railing, allowing Finn to swing over towards the cylindrical supports. Magnets encircled his wheels, giving him the traction he needed to reel in his hooks, rev up his engine, and simply drive up the side of the derrick. He glanced out to the "candles" in the darkness, but blinked in surprise to see lights flicker on and show the area as far as he could see rife with oil derricks. Curiosity and confusion grew inside him, along with a twinge of fear; what had Leland gotten himself into?
Finn managed to get himself on solid ground, putting the magnets on his wheels away and silently driving over to stacks of crates nearby. He looked out over the edge of the platform he stood on to find the entire area below full of small, old-looking cars and a few forklifts. A few human men rested near some crates, all of them pretty brawny in build. The vehicles were mostly milling about, as though waiting for orders. To Finn's disappointment yet relief, he didn't see Leland anywhere below him. It still didn't give him any insight to Leland's location, but it gave him hope that perhaps his friend was all right.
Finn tensed, getting the distinct feeling someone was watching him. He reversed and spun around, guns drawn, and came grill-to-face with a human woman. She crouched before the silvery-blue spy car, a pistol in each hand and trained straight at him. The woman had tanned skin and bright blonde hair, her dark brown eyes settled in a glare. She wore all black from what Finn could see: pants, mini skirt, sleeveless shirt that showed her midriff, a black belt most likely loaded with gadgets, boots, and fingerless gloves. She looked to be in her late twenties, early thirties tops. Finn could hardly tell whether she was friend or foe; based on her outfit, it was hard to think she could possibly be a spy. The two were tense for a long moment, only staring at each other.
"A Volkswagen Karmann Ghia has no radiator." The woman finally said.
"That's because it's air-cooled." Finn replied. The woman spun her pistols in her hands and tucked them away, one at her hip and the other at her ankle. But Finn glared harder. "Magpies of a feather don't flock together."
"That's because thieves know no bounds." The woman answered without hesitation.
Now Finn put his guns away. "Who are you?"
"Agent Emily Largo. Special unit of the FBI." The woman introduced. "Am I to assume you are Finn McMissile?"
"Indeed." Finn nodded, ignoring the fact that this Emily Largo gave him a rather disdainful look. "How did you know?"
"Ran into your partner, Leland." Emily explained. "We talked for a bit but were forced to split up. He said to find you and make sure you got off this thing alive." Based on her tone, Emily didn't exactly seem thrilled about the idea.
"When was this? And where is he?" Finn demanded.
"No idea." Emily admitted with a shrug. "Haven't seen him in over an hour."
I don't like the sound of that. Finn thought. He and Emily turned to the group of cars below them, and the Aston Martin switched on his radio. "Leland Turbo, this is Finn McMissile. I'm at the rally point. Over." Static greeted him. "Leland, it's Finn. Please respond. Over." Again, more static, and Finn tensed up a bit. He jumped a bit at the sound of voices, and he opened his right headlight to aim his camera at the cars below. Most of them had gathered to unload some crates, but a small, teal microcar caught Finn's attention. The vehicle snapped at the cars around him, his accent thick with German as he ordered them out of his way. Finn's camera finally identified the car, and he narrowed his eyes. "Professor Zündapp?"
"Zun-who?" Emily asked, staring at the strange microcar with quite the large monocle. She had never seen such a car before.
"Zündapp." Finn explained. "Weapons designer, and a dangerous one at that." He and Emily returned their attention to Zündapp as he approached a burnt orange Gremlin and a forklift carrying a large case. The forklift opening the case to reveal what looked like a standard television camera. A logo on the side read "World Grand Prix." Finn snapped several pictures of the camera, knowing something Zündapp was interested in couldn't possibly be so simple.
"A TV camera?" Emily murmured.
"What're you up to now, Professor?" Finn mused, putting the camera away. His grappling hook device activated from his undercarriage, shooting a line across the way and stabbing into a metal beam. Finn shot another line behind him, embedding the point into a wall. "Miss Largo, hop on. We're getting a closer look."
"Excuse me?" Emily blinked.
"Now!" Finn hissed. Emily glared, but rolled her eyes in submission and activated magnets in her gloves and boots as she jumped onto Finn's roof. Finn silently drove out on the line, stop just above the cars below and shooting two more lines. Carefully, the Aston Martin lowered and angled himself downward just enough to get a better look at the camera. At least, better than up where he was before. He took several more photos of the camera, his mind racing with idea on what this could possibly be. Emily pulled out her phone, snapping several pictures herself. What could that thing possibly be? Some sort of machine gun? An x-ray device? But the design of the camera is so specific and detailed. In fact, it looks like a standard TV camera. What the heck is going on here?
"Hey, Professor Z!" another Gremlin called as he and a green Pacer approached. "Guess what we found: one of those British spies we told you about!"
Finn's eyes widened, then narrowed into a glare as he stowed his camera away. Leland. Hang on, I'm getting you out of there. His guns appeared on either side of him, locked and ready to fire. He felt Emily tense up and heard the distinct click of one of her pistols being cocked.
"This one, we caught stickin' his bumper where it didn't belong." The Pacer said as a large crate settled down on the ground.
"Agent Leland Turbo." Zündapp guessed with a sneer.
Finn prepared himself to see Leland as the cover of the box was lifted up. He could only imagine how beaten up Leland would be, and if he wasn't so focused on his plan to help he would've laughed at the thought of how long Leland would be in the hospital this time. Finn and Emily tensed up, guns ready to fire.
The cover pulled away…..to reveal a red, crushed cube with Leland's license plate visible on one side.
Finn gasped at the sight, wanting to scream but finding no use of his voice. Emily gave a high-pitched, sharp inhale, covering her mouth and staring in horror. They were hardly aware of the flames on top of the derrick flaring up, illuminating the platform and casting their shadows across the ground. Zündapp caught sight of the shadow and gasped, spinning around and glaring at Finn and Emily above him.
Finn locked eyes with Zündapp, and his shocked expression melted into a near-murderous glare. You damned little—
"It's Finn McMissile!" Zündapp shouted, spurring everyone into action. Finn fired his guns several times, Emily let loose a few shots herself. "He's seen the camera! Kill him!" Zündapp practically screamed.
"Time to go!" Emily urged. Finn reluctantly put his guns away, casting one last sorrowful look to Leland's corpse, before pulling the lines and turning to the platform. But he paused when he noticed several of the cars, most with flamethrowers, blocking off the platform he was previously on. The humans from before also arrived, eyeing Emily. Finn looked around, trying to find a way out, and noticed a crane moving towards him. He smirked, cutting loose all but one of his lines and swinging towards the crane. Emily yelped a bit, reactivating the magnets on her gloves to cling to Finn.
"Hang on!" Finn warned.
"No duh!" Emily shouted. Finn ignored her, dropping onto the crane's arm and driving up to the platform nearby. His body making contact with the metal made sparks fly, but didn't stop him as he sped off. He noticed a Pacer shooting towards him and made a hard hairpin turn to go up a ramp. The Pacer stayed right behind him. Emily focused mostly on hanging onto Finn, but took her chance to draw her pistol and fire it a few times at the Pacer. The bullets missed, ricocheting off the metal structure of the derrick. Finn noticed the railing at the edge of the platform and let some oil spill from his back lights. The Pacer hit the slippery liquid and instantly lost control. Finn shot one of his grappling hooks and caught it around a metal column, using the momentum to make a hard right turn while the Pacer flew through the railing and down to the ocean below. Emily knew the impact alone would kill him if he didn't drown.
"Where are we going?" Emily called over the wind, thankful her hair was pulled back in a braid.
"Away from them!" Finn replied simply, still driving.
"Well that's certainly specific." Emily muttered, putting her focus in holding onto the Aston Martin's roof.
If Finn heard her, he didn't show. He continued driving up ramps, seeming to aim for the top floor of the derrick. Soon an entire pack of cars were chasing them, only several yards behind the two spies as Finn sped up a spiraled ramp. The silvery-blue Aston Martin spied a pile of oil barrels and aimed his gun for the metal bar keeping them up. In a few shots, he took out the bar and let the barrels roll loose down to the ramp. Finn launched a magnetic explosive from his wheel to a passing barrel, picking up speed. Within seconds, the bomb went off and the fire caught the rest of the oil barrels, creating a spiraled explosion that took out all of Finn and Emily's pursuers. Finn shot off the ramp, catching a little air as the explosion blasted hot air against his and Emily's backs. They couldn't stay relieved for long before what seemed like the rest of the derrick's cars finally caught up to them. Finn shot forward, but suddenly spied a helipad up ahead. He turned his wheels and spun in a half-circle, skidding to a halt to face his pursuers. The cars completely blocked off any and all escape routes. Except for one.
"Emily, don't let go of me." Finn instructed, revving his engine.
"Uh, okay." Emily said, a hint of nervousness in her voice. Should've known when I woke up this morning it would be an interesting day.
The cars before them started advancing on the spies, several of them lighting their flamethrowers. Finn's wheels spun, but he kept his brakes on. The smell of burning rubber from the tires made Emily want to gag, but she simply held her breath. Finn glared at his pursuers, waiting as they advanced towards him and Emily.
He released his brakes…and shot backwards off the platform.
Emily pressed herself close to Finn's roof as the Aston Martin turned to face grill-first towards the ocean water. He tucked his wheels in mere seconds before he and Emily hit the water. They were only under for a few seconds before he burst out again, activating his hydrofoils and speeding off across the water. All the wetness in Emily's hair was promptly blown out by the wind. But when she looked back, she could see two armored carriers coming after them. Finn swerved skillfully through the waves, dodging bullets and beginning to pull ahead. But when Emily looked back again, her eyes widened.
"Torpedo on our six!" She yelped.
BOOM!
Water engulfed the two, and Emily barely had a moment to hold her breath. When the bubbles cleared, she noticed Finn was steadily sinking down into the water. She knocked against his hood, and he opened his eyes to look up at her as though to ask "You okay?" She nodded. Finn's wheels and hydrofoils disappeared underneath him, and what looked like wings appeared from his sides. His back wheels emerged, the rims spinning and pushing him along.
Submarine mode. Emily mused, pulling out a rebreather as Finn did. Not bad. She noticed him open his trunk and release four spare tires, the wheels inflating and floating to the surface.
It took a couple hours before Finn was confident nobody followed them. He glided up to the surface, floating on the waves. Emily took the rebreather out of her mouth, coughing a bit as she smoothed out her wet hair. "Well. That was fun, huh?"
Finn didn't answer, staring off into space. Leland…oh Chrysler this can't be happening.
"McMissile?" Emily asked, eyebrows furrowing a bit in concern. "You didn't get brain damage from that last blow, did you?"
Still, Finn didn't answer her. He sighed before radioing Siddeley. Thankfully, the jet had been circling the area a couple hundred miles from Leland's coordinates, and he was able to reach them in mere minutes.
"Hey, Finny boy!" Siddeley greeted warmly, hovering over the spy car and lowering a ramp to him. "You know, I was expecting you to pick up Leland, not a new girlfriend."
"I am not his girlfriend." Emily growled as she slid off Finn's roof. She followed the Aston Martin further into the spy jet and into a lounge-like area.
Siddeley chuckled. "Just fooling, miss. Hey Finn, where is Leland?"
Finn was quiet, staring off into space. "He's gone, Siddeley."
Siddeley's smile disappeared. "Oh." He stared down sadly as he ascended higher into the air. "So, where to, sir?"
"Tokyo." Finn replied. "It's the closest lab that can analyze the photos I have."
"Afterburners, sir?" Siddeley asked, trying to sound cheery but failing.
Finn couldn't even smile. "Is there any other way?" Siddeley sped up, shooting towards Japan as Finn moved to the computers nearby and began downloading the photos. He suddenly caught sight of Emily, and he mentally kicked himself for forgetting about the female spy. "So sorry, Miss Largo. Is there anywhere we can drop you off?"
"I'm coming with you, McMissile." Emily said firmly. "This is my investigation as much as it is yours."
"That won't be necessary." Finn assured, focusing on the computers.
"It is because I was there long before you were." Emily insisted, sounding almost insulted that Finn refused her help. "That Leland guy trusted me to find you."
Finn turned to her, narrowing his eyes. "How did you end up on that rig, anyway? I only saw so many humans there and none of them were female."
"I've been researching that area for months." Emily explained. "I had been trying to catch something, anything, on the radio waves but came up with nothing. Then I caught a flash transmission, or at least the sound of one, and finally got the clearance to go and investigate. Next thing I know, I'm running into Leland and he's practically begging me to go find you. Now normally, I wouldn't submit myself to babysitting someone who clearly knows what he's doing, but he insisted so much I couldn't just say 'no.'" Her stern gaze softened a degree. "I want to help. My involvement in this case is not negotiable."
Finn stared at Emily for a moment, a bit surprised. He and Leland had been so close; it didn't surprise him that Leland would've done something like this for the sake of Finn's safety, even if it meant he was eventually captured and killed. So, despite only meeting Emily in a short time frame and taking into account her attitude, Leland had decided to trust her to escape alive for Finn's sake. The Aston Martin felt like something was crushing his engine, but he knew he would have to save his mourning for when he had a private moment.
"Very well, Miss Largo." Finn nodded. "Let's send the photos we have and see what we can find out."
Emily nodded in satisfaction, looking almost proud that she had "convinced" Finn to let her come along. She sat back in one of the chairs, leaning into the backrest and propping her legs up onto another chair. She was quiet for a moment. "My condolences for Agent Turbo. The two of you must've been good friends."
Finn didn't answer, staring at the computer screens intently. But he felt a small urging to throw up as the image of Leland being crushed into a cube haunted his vision. Leland….I'm so sorry…