A/N: So I realized there are some typos in the last chapter and maybe others I missed. Hopefully this one's better. Enjoy!

Chapter Eight: Filling Hearts' Holes

Everyone slept peacefully on the way to Porto Corsa. Well, mostly everyone. Harley found sleep evaded her, and she couldn't figure out why. The bed was comfortable and warm, and the movement of the train didn't bother her. Yet nothing could make her sleep. Nights like this made her wish Doc could still be around; he always knew how to help her sleep.

Rising from the bed, she pulled on her glasses and gently moved to the floor. She picked up her skates and tiptoed to the door, smirking at the sound of Mater snoring. She slipped out of the train car and pulled on her skates, rolling off to explore. Most of the train cars contained things Harley just didn't understand: lots of computers and tech, a sort of training area, and some other areas like a kitchen. Then Harley found a rather empty train car with only a small fire pit and comfy shag carpeting. No lights, but Harley looked up and gawked at the window ceiling that showed the gorgeous night sky. Harley smiled, sitting down and stretching out on the warm carpet. She stared up at the stars, locating the different constellations or just staring happily. Looking at these stars, she thougt back to the nights she'd spend with the Radiator Springs' residents, staring at the beautiful night sky while talking happily at Flo's café. Harley felt her smile waver as a wave of homesickness soaked into her. Wonder what they're doing right now. I bet they're watching Lightning race. Hope they're not too worried about me. Maybe I could call them or something. If they don't see me with Lightning at the races, Sheriff might blow a gasket from worry.

"Something on your mind?"

Harley gasped, bolting upright and spinning around. But she sighed when she saw Finn behind her. "Didn't your momma ever tell you not to sneak up on people?"

Finn chuckled. "I am a spy."

Harley raised an eyebrow, staring at Finn over the rim of her glasses. "Touché."

"What are you doing out here?" Finn asked.

"Couldn't sleep." Harley shrugged, looking back up to the stars.

Finn followed her gaze. "Understandable. I myself enjoy coming out here when I can't sleep."

"I would've thought spies aren't supposed to reveal anything about themselves." Harley noted with a smirk.

Finn chuckled again. "You've watched too many movies. I don't mind talking about some aspects of my personal life. Do you?"

Harley still stared at the stars. "Sorta."

Finn seemed to analyze the girl with his stare. Harley stared at the sky, but she kept blinking as though the action distracted her from Finn's gaze. She gave off the illusion she was relaxed, but Finn could tell her body tensed up now and then. "You're family still around?"

"Yeah." Harley nodded, growing excited at the thought of her wonderful relatives. "Great group of people in a small town. Love 'em to death."

"Good." Finn nodded.

"What about you?" Harley asked.

Finn gave a bit of a shrug. "Not sure. I left home as a child to study at the academy. I once tried to go back to make amends."

Harley sat up, staring at Finn. "Did it not go well?"

Finn smirked. "My mother threw plates at me and my father threatened to take the hatchet to me if I didn't leave and never return."

"That's horrible." Harley looked thoroughly shocked. Then again, her father tried to kill her when she was just a toddler.

"I suppose I should've expected it." Finn said. "They didn't want me to be a spy; they wanted me to take over their family business selling tea. I didn't have anything against tea; in fact, I still buy from their store without them knowing. But I always knew I could do more than what they wanted. Last I heard, they had moved on with my little sister looking to take over the shop."

Harley looked down. "Sorry to hear. Can't imagine being hated by your own parents." She curled up a bit, thinking to her father.

Finn noticed the change in Harley's body language. "Sounds like you can."

Harley pushed her glasses up her nose. She didn't say anything for a moment before standing and skating off. Finn stared after the girl, wondering why he felt a need to go after her. But he only glanced up at the stars one more time before returning to bed.

As Stephenson, a bullet train, sped down the tracks towards Porto Corsa, everyone gathered around the main computers inside to analyze footage Holley was able to get of their targeted lemons.

"That three-wheeled feller had to be right about a big meetin'." Mater noted as they watched a couple well-preserved lemon models drive down the street, surorunded by black painted versions of the cars. "You never see this many lemons in one town."

"These guys must be very rich to stay so preserved." Harley mused.

"That's a familar sight." Mater noted as they turned their attention to the cameras again. "A Hugo bein' towed. But he looks absolutley perfect!"

"Of course." Finn realized. "They must be the heads of the lemon families."

"Makes sense." Mater mused. "If I was rich and broke down every day, I'd hire me to tow me around all the time too."

"So we've got the heads of the lemon families, Professor Zundapp, and a car whose engine is about the worst one ever made." Emily summarized. "All of them traveling to the same place for a big meeting. Something tells me they're going to be talking about something pretty important."

"We've got to infiltrate that meeting and find out who's behind all this." Finn decided.

"But how?" Emily asked. "The closer we try and get to hear or see anything, the greater our chances of getting caught."

Holley looked to Mater and smiled. She suddenly snappd a picture of Mater, the flash nearly blinding him, and she inserted the picture into the computer. With a few quick edits, Holley was able to take Mater's face and put it over the tow truck's in the picture.

Finn grinned. "Good job, Miss Shiftwell."

"Thank you, Finn." Holley said proudly.

"Whoa, hold up." Harley suddenly looked nervous. "You want to send Mater in there?"

"Out of all of us, he's the one who can best play the part." Finn reasoned. "The rest of us will standby in case he needs backup."

"Nuh-uh. Not happening." Harley said firmly. "If he's going in, I'm going in with him."

"Really?" Mater asked, surprised.

"Harley, if we try and put more of us in there it's only going to run the higher risk of our cover being blown." Emily reasoned. "We'll be on headset the entire time."

"Being on headset isn't nearly as good as having someone right there with him." Harley argued. "Either I go with him or he doesn't go at all."

"Aw man." Mater whined. "But Sissy—"

"I'm not going to take the risk that you get hurt in there." Harley protested. "I will be right by your side should anything happen, and I won't let you go in without me."

Emily approached Harley with crossed arms and a stern glare. "Harley. We need him in there. What we don't need in there a rookie who clearly has a conflict of interest."

Harley glared back at Emily, refusing to be deterred. "With all due respect, I'm going to have to insist. Family comes first, and I will do what I can to protect my brother." She turned to Finn. "This isn't negotiable, Finn. I'm going in there with him."

Finn stared at Harley for a moment, analyzing everything from her body language to the fiery look of determination that made her crystal blue eyes seem to glow. He could see Harley wasn't being stubborn for the sake of being stubborn; it wasn't that she felt left out or anything like that. She was simply concerned for Mater's safety. It seemed to just be a part of her nature, and frankly Finn found he could respect that. He looked to Holley. "Miss Shiftwell?"

Holley took another look at the camera images on the screen. "Well, it looks like our Head Hugo has a human mechanic. We could send Harley in as him. That would alleviate suspicions should any arise."

"Done." Harley nodded.

"Boy, I sure wish my friends could see us now!" Mater said excitedly.

I wonder if they're in Italy by now. Harley thought. I just hope Lightning will be okay during the race.

While Holley prepared the disguise program, everyone lounged about the train and did what they could to prepare for infiltrating the meeting. Mater watched Holley work, seeing how she would have to make modifications to the tow truck to create the disguise. Whether or not he understood what Holley did was debatable. Finn analyzed the building where the meeting would take place, talking with Harley often. Emily mostly sat in a corner, looking bored, before she disappeared. After several minutes, Harley decided to go looking for the human spy.

She discovered the blonde woman in another train car, the walls made up of large white tiles. Emily stood in the center of the room, taking a breath. "Activate training program." Emily said. Before Harley's eyes, the tiles changed and Emily seemed to stand in what looked like a Japanese dojo. Several ninjas appeared, taking fighting stances as they surrounded Emily. The blonde smirked, not even flinching when two of the ninjas lunged for her. She jumped and did a perfect split kick to knock them back. Harley watched, amazed, as Emily skillfully knocked aside every warrior that lunged towards her, taking a few out with her pistols. Harley was right; Emily was like a living Laura Croft, especially with her outfit. She moved with fluidity and grace, hardly breaking a sweat as she beat back her opponents. Once she finished, the program deactivated and Emily brushed invisible dirt off her skirt.

Harley clapped slowly. "Not bad. Not bad at all."

Emily turned and smiled. "Thanks. It comes from plenty of training, I assure you."

"I can imagine." Harley said as she entered the room, looking around in awe. This was far much more hi-tech experience than she ever encountered. "You always practice alone?"

"Usually." Emily shrugged. "I work better that way."

"Seems rather lonely, don't you think?" Harley noted.

"Well, I used to be part of a team." Emily admitted. "I sort of...left it behind me for the assasination job."

"And yet you seem to do pretty well working with Finn and Holley." Harley said with a smile.

Emily smiled back. "I suppose so. You know, I really didn't like them at first. But since we started working on this mission together, it's starting to feel like the old days with the team. Finn and Holley...and you and Mater...you're not all that bad."

"Thanks." Harley nodded. "You're pretty cool too. I mean, you're like a living Laura Croft."

Emily still smiled as she shrugged. "I suppose so."

"Where'd you learn to be a spy anyway?" Harley asked.

"My parents and grandmother." Emily replied. "You know, my entire family is made up of spies."

"Really?" Harley asked incredulously. "That must be cool."

"Sort of." Emily laughed softly. "Being in a family of spies kind of means the job is pushed onto you. Of course, I already wanted to be a spy my entire childhood, so I didn't have a problem going to the academy. But it didn't make life necessarily easy for me. I didn't get to see much of my family, especially my parents, because everyone was going on missions. I spent most of my life at the academy."

Harley looked down. "Sounds rough."

Emily shrugged. "It was. Holidays are interesting, though. That's when a lot of the family likes to come together for a few days. My mother cooks Thanksgiving turkey with a flamethrower."

Harley giggled, and even Emily laughed. Harley looked to the blonde and smiled. "You know, my family isn't exactly normal either. My parents died when I was just a little kid, and then I was adopted by someone in the town where I'm from. Well, pretty much everyone in town adopted me. It is by no means a normal, everyday family, especially since I'm a psyche human. But I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world. And that's why I insisted on going with Mater into this meeting."

Emily smiled warmly at the girl. "I admire your devotion, Harley. It's nice to see someone with such pure core values. But I must warn you: love can blind one far to easily. Even love for one's family can be dangerous for a spy. Our line of work doesn't exactly include close relationships. It makes us too vulnerable."

Harley looked down, unable to respond. Emily patted the girl's shoulder before walking off. Harley stared after her, sighing. They still think we're spies. As she soon began to realize, Harley never exactly gave them a clue to show she and Mater weren't spies. There didn't seem to be a need to; after all, they were proving to be an excellent help in solving this case, and they could end up saving quite a few lives should they succeed. Besides, Harley enjoyed her time with Finn, Holley, and Emily. They were rather nice, and quite loyal. Harley almost didn't want to tell them the truth, considering how much fun she was having. How often does a sixteen-year-old get to travel the world and work with espionage? But there was that lingering fear in her mind that reminded her this was real-life spy work. People could get seriously hurt or killed. Then Harley thought back to the conversation in Siddeley, and how Mater had tried to tell Finn he was just a tow truck but the spy car didn't seem to really believe him.

How am I supposed to convince them? Harley sighed.

"That should just about do it." Holley said as she finished her work on Mater.

"Perfect." Finn nodded.

"So, Mater, it's voice-activated." Holley explained. "But, you know, everything's voice-activated these days."

"What? I thought you was supposed to be makin' me a disguise." Mater said.

"Voice recognized." A woman's voice over the computer said. "Diguise program initiated."

A light passed over Mater, making him look like the Hugo's tow truck. He laughed. "Cool! Hey computer, make me a German truck!"

"Request acknowledged." The computer said, changing Mater's disguise.

"Check it out!" Mater smiled broadly. "I'm wearing Materhosen. Make me a monster truck!" But when the disguise set in, Mater found himself looking more like Count Dracula than a giant-wheeled truck. Mater laughed, speaking in an Transylvanian accent. "I vant to siphon your gas!" He laughed again, hardly noticing the looks from his friends. Finn smirked, amused, while Harley was giggling furiously and holding her stomach as she sat on the ground. Emily shook her head and Holley just stared. "Now make me a taco truck!" The disguise changed, a horn playing "La Cucaracha." "A funny car!" Mater revved his engine hard, the sound almost making his friends go deaf until Finn shut off the disguise.

"The idea is to keep a low profile, Mater." Finn said, activating the Hugo's tow truck disguise.

"So I just go in, pretend to be this truck while Harley pretends ta be a mechanic." Mater guessed.

"And leave the rest to us." Finn assured.

"Now, hold still." Holley instructed. "I have to do the final fitting on your disguise." She clicked a couple things into the computer, but the computer began beeping at her. She glanced to Mater, noticing how his dents were messing with the calibration. She clicked something else, deactivating the disguise and bringing down a tool towards Mater.

"Hey, what're you doin'?" Mater asked, shying away from the tool.

"The disguise won't calibrate effectively without a smooth surface to graft onto." Holley explained.

"Oh, for a second there, I thought you was tryin' to fix mah dents." Mater said.

"Yes, I was." Holley said. Realizing Mater's discomfort, she put the tool away.

"Well then no thank you." Mater said firmly. "These dents don't get buffed, pulled, filled, or painted by nobody. They weigh too valuable."

"Your dents are valuable? Really?" Holley asked, a bit amazed.

"I said the same thing when he told me." Harley said with a giggle, leaning against the control panels for the computer.

"I come by each one of 'em with my best friend, Lightning McQueen." Mater explained. "I wanna remember these dents forever."

Holley smiled, still amazed by such dedication. "So, McQueen isn't just part of your cover."

"Friendships can be dangerous in our line of work, Mater." Finn said solemnly. His heart was still heavy at the thought of Leland.

"But my line of work is towin' and salvage." Mater protested.

Harley cast a sideways glance to the spies, waiting for their reaction. Finn smirked. "Right. And Miss Shiftwell's is designing iPhone apps." Mater tried to protest, to reaffirm his occupation, but Holley interrupted him.

"No, it's okay." Holley assured. "Say no more. I'll work around the dent." Mater slumped a bit, but didn't protest anymore.

"In the meantime..." Finn pressed a button on the computer, and the panels on the walls and ceiling flipped to reveal an arsenal of weaponry. "You look a little light on weapons."

"Oh boy." Harley blinked, unable to imagine what Mater might do with such tools at his use.

"Don't worry, you'll get some too." Finn assured Harley. "As powerful as you are with that wrench and paintball gun, we aren't letting you go in there without proper protection."

"I appreciate that." Harley nodded, still amazed by the gadgets and guns. "Thanks."

"Your disguise is much simpler, Harley." Emily said, retrieving a pile of clothing from a table nearby. "It's a jumpsuit identical to the mechanic's. We're also going to modify your skates a bit so the wheels can fold into the shoes and you can walk around. And you can tuck your hair up into the hat to better pass on for a boy. Let's just be thankful you don't have much of a bust."

"Gee, I feel so much better." Harley rolled her eyes.

"Unfortunately, you'll have to keep your glasses in your pocket or something because the mechanic doesn't wear glasses." Finn said. "The jumpsuit will fit over your clothes, but to make sure your movement isn't restricted, you'll have to leave the jacket behind. If I may." Finn moved to take the jacket from Harley, but the second he touched the fabric Harley's mood took a sharp turn. She leaped to her feet and swung a skate around, kicking Finn in the jaw. "OW!" The Aston Martin yelped, hoping the girl didn't leave a dent or knock a tooth loose.

Harley glared with all the fury of a snarling wolf. "If you ever touch this jacket again, I'll put a bullet in your windshield!"

Finn reversed a few feet, staring at Harley in shock. Emily's eyes widened a bit, taking a step back herself. Holley and Mater stared at Harley with wide eyes, looking more concerned than anything else. None of them had ever seen such a look of hatred in Harley's eyes, not even Mater.

"Materialistic much?" Emily muttered.

"Now, Harley..." Mater said soothingly.

Harley whipped around to her surrogate brother. "Nobody touches this jacket, Mater. You know that!"

"Well, I know that, but do they?" Mater pointed out, gesturing to the three spies in the room.

Harley blinked, her anger disappearing as she turned to stare at Finn, Holley, and Emily. The three spies didn't look so shocked anymore, but rather concerned. Harley glared at the ground, her hands clenching into fists. "I need to be alone." She skated off, pushing past the spies as she disappeared into another train car.

"What was that all about?" Holley asked, the question mostly directed to Mater.

"Oh, it's not yer fault." Mater assured. "That there jacket is awful special ta Harley."

"A simple racing jacket?" Emily asked, confused.

"It's not just any racing jacket." Mater shook his hood. "She made it herself. It's all she's got left ta remember Doc."

"Doc?" Finn asked.

"Her daddy." Mater said. "Harley's folks died when she was a baby, so Doc took her in. The jacket's all she's got left of him."

Finn stared in the direction Harley left before excusing himself and following the brunette. He discovered her not in the next car, but the car after that, where the sleeping quarters were located. Harley sat curled in a ball in the corner, glowering at nothing in particular.

Finn approached the girl tentatively, hoping she didn't kick him again. "Harley?"

Harley wouldn't look at Finn. "I'm sorry I kicked you."

Finn's jaw still throbbed a bit, but he managed to ignore it. "It's all right. I'm sorry for not asking before trying to take that jacket from you." He offered a small smile. "Can we talk for a moment?" Harley didn't answer. "Or you could talk and I could listen." Silence. Finn chuckled. "Or I could talk and you could listen."

Harley didn't respond, still glaring. But she seemed angrier at herself than him, so Finn dared himself to stay with her a little longer. The silence hung in the air. After a moment, Harley spoke. "I don't know how to let my guard down around other people. I could only do it around my dad, and he's gone now."

Finn nodded in understanding. "Mater just told us. Sounds like you really loved him."

"He was more of a father to me than my birth father." Harley confirmed, her voice not sounding angry but still bitter. "I promised I wouldn't cry over him when he died. I'm not upset anymore; I've come to terms with what happened. But people still think I'm not over it. I am. I'm still sad, but I'm over it, really." She sighed. "I miss him. That's not going to change; I really do miss him a lot. But I have to show people that I'm strong because I hate it when I see those pathetic looks of pity. I don't need their pity. I'm strong. That's how I was raised."

"I know you're strong, Harley." Finn said in a kind tone. "You don't ever have to show people how strong you are because anyone who doubts that is in for quite the surprise. Everyone here knows how strong you are and how brave you can be."

Harley finally looked up. "Really? Because I feel like I haven't been much help lately."

"You don't have to prove anything to me, Harley." Finn assured. "Anyone who saves my life jumping off a roof and landing on a car is pretty brave in my book." Harley giggled softly, and Finn chuckled. "I'm thankful to have met you and Mater. You're true friends."

"This coming from the guy who said friendships are dangerous." Harley raised an eyebrow.

Finn's face fell, and he sighed softly. "I only speak from experience."

Harley blinked, staring at Finn. She swallowed a bit, deciding to bite the bullet. "What do you mean?"

Finn closed his eyes, images of Leland's crushed corpse flashing before his vision. But he sighed heavily and stared at Harley with a sad gaze. "I used to have a best friend. A good ol' chap by the name of Leland Turbo. He and I knew each other from the academy days." He chuckled softly. "Oh, the trouble we used to get in and out of in our younger years."

Harley could tell this story was about to take a sorrowful turn. But she dared to ask, "What happened to him?"

Finn's face fell. "He was killed. At the beginning of this entire mission. He was the first one on the oil platforms and called me for backup. By the time I arrived, it was too late...I was too late..." He slumped a little on his tires, murmuring, "I didn't get to say goodbye."

Harley stared at Finn, noticing how almost vulnerable the spy car looked. Finally she understood why Finn said friendships were dangerous. She could only imagine how Finn felt when he found out what happened to his best friend. At least Harley was able to say goodbye to her father and see him off, knowing he died without pain. Somehow, she knew Leland wasn't so lucky. The brunette human stood from her spot, moving alongside Finn and placing a hand on his hood. He looked up to her, aqua green eyes locking onto crystal blue, and the two of them briefly felt something like an electric shock. Harley shook it off as static and smiled warmly at Finn. To his surprise, Harley reached her other arm across his roof in the best hug she could give. To his even bigger surprise, Finn leaned into her touch and sighed heavily. Harley's smile grew, rubbing Finn's hood affectionately.

Harley had a hole in her heart...so did Finn.

After a long moment, the two pulled away. Harley slid her jacket off her and slowly set it on Finn's hood. "I trust you."

Finn smiled. "Thank you, Harley. Now come along. We've got a meeting to crash." He turned and began making his way to the others.

"Hey Finn." Harley called, making Finn pause and turn to her. "I know you think friendships are dangeorus, but I'm really glad you're my friend."

Finn stared at Harley for a moment before smiling. "Same to you, Harley."