Chapter Seven: Small Town Girl in a Spy World
"Well that was a lovely start to the day." Finn said as everyone relaxed in the main room inside Siddeley. "You never feel more alive than when you're almost dead."
"Oh yeah, sure." Harley bobbed her head, rolling her eyes. "A nice hearty breakfast followed by watching my life flash before my eyes." She had calmed down considerably since taking off from Tokyo, but she still cast irritated glares at Finn now and then.
Holley clearly didn't think so either. "I hope that device didn't fall off." She pressed a button on her chair, spinning Mater's chair around and lowering the back to see a small metal device implanted just above his tailpipe.
Mater chuckled. "That was—oh!" He yelepd at a sharp pain in his undercarriage, where Holley pulled the device off. Harley winced in sympathy.
"Still in one piece. Great." Holley nodded in satisfaction, moving her chair back to the large computer system in the room and inserting the device. "Downloading the photo now."
"Let me introduce you guys." Mater said with a wide smile. "This here is Finn McSomethin' or other and that's Emily Lardo somethin'. And Finn, this here is my date." Mater paused. "I never did git yer name."
"Oh yes, sorry." Holley nodded. "It's Shiftwell. Holley Shiftwell." Finn grinned, managing to hold back his laughter. Emily rolled her eyes, shaking her head with a small smile. Harley stared at the two cars and human before her. Something tells me they're all pretty well-acquainted.
A strange device poppd out from the ceiling, sliding over and creating a holographic screen across the room, Mater and Harley on one side and Finn, Holley, and Emily on the other. The shades lowered over the windows, with only the screen casting a soft green glow around the room.
"Finally." Finn sighed. "Time to see who's behind all this." But when the picture popped up, the three spies in the room were surprised to see not a full picture of a car but rather a photo of an open hood and car engine, surrounded by spare parts.
"What is this?" Holley finally asked.
"Well, that's one of the worst engines ever made." Mater said, turning his front half to one side to better look at the picture. Finn and Holley did the same and Harley and Emily tilted their heads to one side. Holley used her mouspad on her chair to turn the photo around for everone to look at better.
Harley wrinkled her nose. "Yeesh. Talk about a bad engine."
"Why? What kind of engine is it?" Emily asked, confused.
"It's an old aluminum V8 with a Lucas electrical system and Whitworth bolts." Mater explained. "Shoot, them Whitworth bolts is a pain."
"But whose engine is this, Mater?" Holley asked.
"Kinda hard to tell, ain't it?" Mater pointed out.
"But you're the one who took it." Holley countered.
"Holley." Finn scolded gently.
"Oh, right! Yes, of course." Holley nodded in understanding. "A good agent gets what he can, then gets out before he's killed. Sorry."
"Killed?" Harley blinked.
"Agent? You mean, like insurance agent?" Mater asked.
"Insurance agents don't have to worry about getting killed, Mater." Harley pointed out.
"I would argue otherwise." Emily joked wryly.
Mater's face lit up. "Wait! You mean secret agents! You guys is spies!"
Harley blinked in surprise. "Spies? Like, James Bond?"
"Yes." Finn nodded with a smirk. "Like James Bond, only much cooler."
Harley cracked a smile. All right, he gets points for having a sense of humor. "Well that certainly explains a lot. Like this." She reached into her pocket and revealed the bullet casing from Finn's gun. "Found it after the fight in Tokyo."
"And you kept it?" Holley asked incredulously.
"Well, if you're aiming for intersting souvenirs." Finn said, a grin still on his face.
"I can keep it?" Harley asked, a bit surprised.
"I have no personal attachments to it." Finn shrugged.
"Cool. Thanks." Harley said, stuffing the bullet back into her pocket.
Finn went serious again, looking to the photo. "Holley, in how many makes and models did this type of engine appear?"
Holley did a quick search. "It was standard in seven models over a twelve-year period. At least thirty-five thousand cars were made with this engine."
"Very helpful." Emily muttered sarcastically.
Mater found the controls to his chair and moved forward to push through the screen and smile at Holley. "You're purty."
"Just pay attention!" Holley urged, pulling the screen forward to block off Mater. She ended up having to move the picture of the engine all over the screen to block Mater's sight before enlarging the photo to block him off completely.
"I thought the point of getting this photo was to get answers, not more questions." Emily noted sourly.
"Miss Largo's attitude aside, I'm afraid she's right." Finn murmured. "If only there was something in the photo that could narrow this down a bit."
"Well, whoever this feller is, i bet he's heappy." Mater managed to get around the photo to look to Finn. "See all them boxes over there? Them's all original parts. They ain't easy to come by."
"Rare parts?" Holley clarified.
"That's something we can track." Finn realized. "Just how rare are these parts?"
"Well, let's see." Harley skated up to the picture and stared at the boxes of spare parts around the engine. "You've got your oil filters, your wheel bearings, all British made. Whoa, this guy must be well-connected. You don't find parts like these in a general store; you have to know a guy."
"Then it's right up our alley." Emily nodded, impressed. The screen and the picture disappeared and the shades rolled up to let the sunlight in.
Finn looked to Harley and Mater. "Well done, you two. I know of a black market parts dealer in Paris. He may be the only one in the world who can tell us whose engine this is. Mater, Harley, what would you say to setting up an informal task force on this one?"
"Wait. What?" Mater asked.
"You obviously have plenty of experience in the field." Finn reasoned. "And Harley, we could use your brain and brawn for this. I'd hate to be the sorry bloke at the other end of that wrench of yours."
Harley giggled. "Yeah, I guess."
Mater's face fell. "I don't know, Finn. I ain't exactly been much help to anybody recently."
"You're helping me." Finn assured. "Please, Mater."
Harley nudged Mater with her elbow. "It'll be a lot more fun than goin' home early. We'll still get to travel the world like we planned."
"Well...okay." Mater finally agreed, feeling a lot happier now that he was actually doing something good for someone else. Plus, Harley had been ecstatic about traveling the world for the race. Who was he to deny her the chance to continue her travels? Mater looked to Finn. "But you know I'm just a tow truck, right?"
"Right. And I'm just in the import-export business." Finn said with a wink, rolling his chair back to the computers. "Siddeley?"
"Yes, Finn?" Siddeley asked.
"Paris." Finn said. "Tout de suite."
"Yeah, two of them sweets for me too, Sid." Mater said before looking to Holley. "You know, I always wanted to be a spy."
"Really?" Holley asked with a smile. "Me too."
"Afterburners, sir?" Siddeley asked with a smile.
"Is there any other way?" Finn replied, smirking.
"Afterburners?" Harley asked, confused. She yelped a bit when Siddeley suddenly shot off, almost jerking her to the ground.
Arriving in Paris, Finn led the way as the quintet maneuvered through the city. Harley was amazed to discover Emily's boots converted to a pair of rollerblades, allowing her to better keep up with the vehicles of the group as Finn kept a brisk pace. Mater often fell behind and became forced to hurry to catch up with them. Harley didn't blame him; Paris was truly amazing. The brunette teen ended up hanging onto Finn with one hand so she could keep up with him and taking pictures with her camera with the other hand. Harley decided to stow her jacket away in her backpack, not wanting to be recognized right off the bat by anyone. Finn had caught Harley up to speed about the camera, and Harley immediately became worried when she heard it was a World Grand Prix camera. Her thoughts traveled to Lightning, vaguely remembering him talking about how three cars flamed out in the first race.
Please stay safe. Harley prayed.
Finn finally led everyone to a somewhat shadier part of the city, traveling down some back alleyways while giving instructions. Emily deactivated the wheels in her boots to walk alonside Holley.
"Once we're inside, stay close." Finn instructed. "No VIN scans. They're all dodgy around here."
"No VIN scans, got it." Holley nodded.
"Mater, you especially stay close." Harley told the tow truck as he "stealthily" followed them. "It's going to be far too easy for you to get lost in here."
"Miss Largo, Miss Hudson, I want you two either beside me or Miss Shiftwell." Finn told the human females. "I wouldn't call this place exceptionally dangerous, but I also wouldn't put it past anyone here to try and make a grab at a pretty girl."
"Aw, I'm flattered." Emily joked.
Harley scoffed. "I'd like to see someone try and grab me. I'll put my skates in his face."
"That's the ticket." Finn nodded. "Now, don't talk to anyone, don't look at anyone, and absolutely, positively no idling. Are we clear?"
"Yes, right. No idling. Yes sir." Holley nodded.
Finn turned around. "Mater?"
"Yeah Finn?" Mater asked from behind a garbage bin.
"We're not here to go shopping." Finn said as they rounded the corner into the black market.
"Shoppin'?" Mater asked. "What do you mean? Why woul I...?" He paused when he saw the market. "Dad gum!" He hurriedly drove after his friends, but couldn't help staring at everything around him. Various shop owners, with their merchandise laid out on blankets and towels, shouted their wares. Driving into the building nearby, even more vendors sat crammed together with their merchandise strewn about their areas. It was dark, a little dirty, and practically screamed "shady," but Harley had to call for Mater a couple times to make sure he was keeping up. Emily stayed back with the tow truck, making sure he stayed focused. While she still seemed irritated by Mater's child-like behavior, Emily had to admit she rather liked Mater. He reminded her of one of her old teammates.
Harley looked around at everything and suddenly felt a small sense of foreboding. She didn't like the looks of everything around her. Every human man they passed, young and some much older, smirked at her wickedly and began wolf-whistling. Even several of the cars they passed honked their horns. Harley's hand moved to her wrench in her pocket, feeling an almost overwhelming urge to throw it at one of the men whistling at her. She moved closer to Finn, her hand pressing against the corner where his windshield met his hood. Finn blinked in surprise, but smiled kindly when he noticed how tense Harley seemed.
"It's all right, Miss Hudson." Finn said quietly. "Nobody's going to try and grab you."
"If it's all the same to you, Finn, I think I'll just stick by your side." Harley said, pressing herself a little closer to the Aston Martin.
"Very well." Finn nodded, still smiling warmly. Poor girl. This must be her first field assignment like Holley. She looks so young; I'll bet she's fresh out of the academy. Finn rounded the corner, but froze and suddenly reversed again. He parked himself just around the corner, Holley and Harley staring worriedly. Finn angled his mirror to see a small, dark blue Reliant Regal three-wheeler. "There you are." Finn murmured.
"We find him?" Harley whispered, moving up a little to try and peer around the corner.
"Harley, you gotta see some of the stuff I found!" Mater said rather loudly as he came up.
"Mater, get back!" Finn hissed. Mater quickly obeyed, but not fast enough it would seem. Finn heard the squealing of tires, and he shot out from around the corner to give a chase. Harley's fingers involuntarily curled around Finn's mirror, forcing him to pull her along. Emily quickly activated her rollerblades, small rockets propelling her along as she, Holley, and Mater followed Finn. Harley managed to kick a crate away just before it could fall on top of Finn, training her eyes on the car they chased. She kept her knees bent and her balance steady, not loosening her grip on Finn's mirror for one second. Their target rammed into a pole, causing a pile of debris to fall right in their path, but Finn and Harley shot off a sheet of metal like a ramp, flying over the blockage and continuing after the three-wheeled car. Holley, Emily, and Mater took a sharp left turn to go around the debris. Finn sped up, Harley tigthening her grip on his mirror and glaring ahead at their target.
Suddenly, Holley and Emily appeared in the blue car's path. Emily whipped out a grenade-like item and threw it, the device exploding in a puff of smoke and ensnaring the three-wheeled car in a net. The car tried to turn but ended up taking a tumble and flying right over Holley and Emily before crashing into someone's tire stall. Emily whipped out one of her pistols and took aim. Holley rolled over and pulled a taser from her hubcap, shooting the three-wheeled car with it until Finn suddenly shot past and jerked the lines off.
"Have you lost your mind?" Finn growled. "The both of you!" The two female spies stared at him in surprise. "Mater!" Finn called to the tow truck as Harley untangled the three-wheeled car from the netting. "This chap needs a tow. Hook him up."
"Well sure thing!" Mater nodded, hooking his tow cable under the dark blue car's bumper once Harley cleared the netting away. Everyone followed Finn deeper into the marketplace, ignoring the three-wheeled car's indignant shouts.
Finn found a garage nearby and rolled inside, snapping in French at the car already in the garage. The car took off, allowing the spies, Harley, and Mater to enter. Mater waited until Finn shut the door to the garage to give them privacy before letting the three-wheeled car down.
The dark blue vehicle shouted a bit in French and then spun around to Finn. "Electroshock?! Nets?! Are you kidding me?"
"Easy, Tomber." Finn said calmly. "This is Shiftwell's first field assignment and Largo's part of a difference agency. They didn't know you were my informant."
"Informant?" Holley repeated.
"You must be joking." Emily scoffed.
"A rookie, huh?" Tomber turned to sneer at Holley. "I never liked new car smell."
Holley was silent, casting a glare, while Emily crossed her arms. "Better than what you smell like."
Tomber grunted in disgust. "Never was very fond of dumb blondes either."
"Why you little—" Emily growled, her hand going to her pistol.
"Hey, take it easy." Harley barked. "You made a mistake, we're past that, let's move on." Her firm tone made Holley and Emily blink in surprise, almost impressed by the authoritative air Harley's voice carried. But they obeyed.
"Tomber was doing twenty to life in a Moroccan impound the first time I saved him." Finn explained, smiling at the memory. "If I recall correctly."
Tomber smirked. "Speaking of recalls, you're getting up there in mileage, aren't you Finn?"
Holley rolled her eyes. "All right, we get it. You both know each other, you're both old." She activated her holographic computer, pulling up the picture. "So, here you go, informant. Inform us."
Tomber too a look of the photograph. "Beuck! That is the worst motor ever made."
"We know." Harley nodded.
Tomber looked to the rest of the picture and his eyes widened. "Wait. That oil filter. Those wheel bearings."
"I assume those parts look familiar?" Finn asked.
"They should." Tomber nodded. "I sold them."
"To whom?" Holley asked.
"No idea." Tomber admitted. "He's my best customer, but he always does his business over the phone. I was always wondering why he needs so many parts."
"Well, a lemon needs parts." Mater noted, to which Tomber nodded in agreement.
"And what lemon in their right mind would do this kind of business in person?" Harley added. "Especially one who needs so many parts."
"Lemon?" Finn asked, confused.
"Like the fruit?" Emily clarified.
"Not in this case." Harley corrected.
"Those are cars that don't ever work right." Mater explained. "Like 'em Gremlins and Pacers we run into at the party and the race and the airport."
Something suddenly clicked in Finn's head. "Holley, pull up the pictures from the oil platform." He ordered. "What other types of cars were out there?"
Holley obeyed, scanning the pictures Finn's camera took. "Um, there were Hugos and Trunkovs."
"Mater, Harley, are these cars considered lemons?" Finn asked.
"Is the Popemobile Catholic?" Mater asked, confirming it.
"A bunch of cars that don't work right? All in one place?" Emily murmured.
Holley blinked in realization. "Finn, everyone involved in this plot is one of history's biggest loser cars."
"And they're all taking their oders from the car behind this engine." Finn realized, looking to the picture of the engine.
"I'd be willing to bet he's the one with the worst engine out of all of them." Emily mused.
"Ah, of course!" Tomber said suddenly.
"What, Tomber?" Finn asked.
"Gremlin, Pacer, Hugo, and Trunkov never get together, but they are having a secret meeting in two days." Tomber explained. "They're meeting in Porto Corsa, Italy."
"That's where the next race is!" Mater realized.
"Then there's a good chance our mystery engine will be there, too." Finn guessed.
"I can almost guarantee it." Tomber confirmed. "I just sent him a new clutch assembly yesterday. To Porto Corsa."
"Holley, contact Stephenson and have him meet us at Gare de Lyon." Finn ordered with a grin. "Good work." He told Tomber.
"We're finally getting somewhere." Harley nodded in satisfaction.