A/N: Long chapter alert! But it's an important and a climax chapter.
Chapter Nine: Fear Takes Hold
The day of the meeting and the race came. Lightning rolled onto the track, waiting for Harley to call into his radio and check in. But he remembered the girl had left days ago, and he felt his stomach twist into knots. He couldn't even pay attention to Francesco's taunt as he rolled into the second place spot at the starting point of the track. He tried to put on a smile for the crowd, but the silence over his radio made him even more upset. Harley didn't always talk into his headset during races, but it was common enough for Lightning to miss it now that she wasn't there.
"McQueen, is-a everything okay?" Luigi asked.
"If you're worried about your fuel, man, don't." Fillmore assured. "It's perfectly safe."
Lightning couldn't care less about his fuel, even with everyone talking about allinol being the reason three racers flamed out at the last race. "No, guys, I just really wish Harley and Mater were here."
"Francesco understands, McQueen." Francesco said, rolling up beside the stock car.
"Oh, great. Here it comes." Lightning rolled his eyes. "What do you got, Francesco?"
"For framous racecars like Francesco, to be far away from home is-a not easy." Francesco guessed. "When-a Francesco is away from home, he misses his mama, just like-a you miss your tow truck amico and the little fiore."
Lightning blinked in surprise. "Gee, I maybe misjudged you, because that's exactly—"
"Of course, I am at home, and my mama is right here." Francesco gestured to the crowd, where another Formula One-like female car waved.
"And there's the insult we were missing." Lightning rolled his eyes. "Gratzi." He revved his engine, determined to do what he could to win today for his sake if not for Harley and Mater's.
The lights blinked green, and the racers were off!
Harley hooked her glasses onto to collar of her T-shirt before zipping up the jumpsuit. Emily was right; the one-piece suit fit perfect over her shorts and T-shirt. She made sure all of her hair was tucked into the baseball hat she wore before nodding in satisfaction. She joined Mater to watch Holley and Emily approach the vehicle and human they would impresonate, the two female spies doing their best acts of flirtation. By the looks of things, the men were falling for the females' ruse quite easily.
"Get ready, Mater and Harley." Finn said over their radios. "You're on any moment now."
Mater reversed back a bit, looking nervous. "But, Finn, what if I screw things up?"
"Impossible." Finn said confidently. "Just apply the same level of dedication you've been using to play the idiot tow truck, and you'll be fine."
"I just don't like the look of those—" Mater paused. "Wait, did you say 'idiot'? Is that how you see me?"
"That's how everyone sees you." Finn replied, unaware of the impact of his words. "Isn't that the idea? It's really a rather genius idea. No one realizes they're being fooled because they're too busy laughing at the fool. Brilliant!"
Mater stared at his reflection in a pair of glass doors, feeling like a snake was constricting his engine. Then he thought back to what Lightning said to him, and realization hit him like an avalanche of boulders. A fool...is that really all I am?
Harley noticed the look, even with her blurry vision. Oh boy. "Look, Mater, what Finn means is that—" She and Mater jumped at the sound of electricity and a thud, turning to see Holley and Emily knocking out the Hugo's tow truck and human mechanic.
"Why aren't you in disguise?" Holley demanded. "Come on! There's no time! Go!"
"Okay, okay!" Mater nodded, trying to get himself focused again. "Computer, disguise!"
"Request acknowledged." The disguise came on over Mater.
"Good luck, you two." Emily said as she and Holley snuck off.
"Let's go, Mater." Harley urged. She jumped into Mater's flatbed, patting her pockets underneath the jumpsuit and nodding in satisfaction at feeling her paintball gun. Her wrench rested in a pocket on the jumpsuit itself. Strapped to her ankle was a knife and she wore a belt full of gadgets around her hips. Go time. She thought, putting on a stoic face as Mater rolled up beside the Hugo's henchmen. A van pulled up. The back door lowered down, and the front of a Hugo poked out.
"Ivan." The Hugo called. Harley gave Mater a subtle knock on the head with her knuckles, encouraging him forward. Mater hooked up the smaller car, the henchmen gathering around as they drove into the hotel where the meeting would take place. Harley tried to keep her body relaxed as she stood up in Mater's flatbed, leaning against him. But she had to admit: if Mater wasn't there with her, she would've gone running out the door again. She swallowed a bit, trying to focus on anything except the danger she felt.
Mater gawked as they made their way through the casino. "Whoa! This place looks like it's made outta gold!" The computer-like screen Holley installed in his windshield bothered him a bit as it scanned the poker tables and listed odds of winning. "Why is that?" Mater asked, apparently talking to Holley. "What do you mean, 'Don't talk to ya'?"
Mater, shut up! Harley wanted to scream.
"You are acting strange today, Ivan." One of the Hugo henchmen noted suspiciously.
Mater glanced to the black car, his windshield giving him information about the Hugo beside him. "I have no idea what yer talkin' about, Alexander Hugo aka Chop Shop Alex. Hey , you got a lot of aka's, Alex. But I guess that makes sense, seein's how you's wanted in France, Germany, Czech Republic..."
"Okay, okay! Keep your voice down! You gonna make me arrested!" Alexander hissed. He turned to the henchman on the other side of Mater. "Don't mess with Ivan today. He is in a bad mood."
Outisde, Holley gawked at Mater's actions. "He's so good." Finn said with a smirk.
"Good, but risky." Emily said. "Maybe it is a good thing Harley is there with him."
Finn nodded a bit in agreement. But he still couldn't shake that bad feeling he got at the thought of Harley in that meeting and in possible danger.
The Head Hugo suddenly shouted in pain, forcing Mater to stop. "Oh great!" the Hugo groaned. "Albert! My wheel has fallen off again."
"That's you, Harley." Finn said into Harley's hidden earpiece. Harley pulled out her wrench and jumped down from Mater, walking around to pick up the wheel. But as she stuck it on, she noticed why the Hugo had said "again;" the bolt connecting the wheel to the axle was loose, even when she managed to twist the wheel back on. So, despite the Hugo's indignant barks, Harley moved underneath him and began tightening the bolt.
"What are you doing down there you stupid boy?" the Hugo snapped. He yelped when Harley jerked the bolt tight, but then blinked. "Hey, that feels rather nice! Well done, Albert. Remind me to give you raise when we get home."
Harley waved a hand dismissively as she hopped back onto Mater, tucking her wrench away. Evil these cars may be, she knew they just had it rough. It was no wonder they seemed so evil, what with how the majority of the world treated their kind. Harley thought back to constant customer Otis back in Radiator Springs. He seemed like such a nice guy, even when he kept breaking down. Certainly not the type to be so malicious. But these cars...these lemons...they let the harsh words get to them and it turned them bitter. Harley learned about cruelty from Doc's experiences, but it amazed her how much people could be affected and how despicable they could become.
Mater continued on to a set of large double doors, pushed open by two human waiters. Mater and Harley's eyes widened a bit at the sight of all the lemons inside. Mater's windshield identified the other three heads to the lemon families, labeling them as "very dangerous." But Harley's subtle, encouraging pat forced Mater to continue on into the room, dropping off Victor Hugo on one side of the table before backing up several feet. Harley jumped out of the disguised tow truck, standing close beside him.
Loud knocking came from the door. Harley heard Finn's voice say "Here we go." She wondered for a moment what this Big Boss Lemon would look like when the doors swung open and a small, German microcar rolled forward.
"Guten Tag." Zündapp greeted.
"It's just the professor." Pacer sighed, everyone relaxing a bit out of dissapointment.
"Zündapp!" Hugo snapped. "When is he coming?"
"He's already here." Zündapp assured, driving to the head of the table as a television screen lowered from the ceiling. The doors were shut again to give everyone privacy, and the television switched on to reveal the Big Boss. But, like the photo Mater used to carry, it only showed the car's open hood and exposed engine as he was getting an operation done.
"Welcome, everyone." The Boss greeted, his voice deeper than it should sound for any normal car, lemon or otherwise. "I wish I could be with you on this very special day, but my clutch assembly broke. You know how it is." The lemons in the room nodded, voicing their agreement. If Harley had to guess, most of them probably went through the same thing.
But now all we have is an engine and a disguised voice. Harley thought. So much for infiltrating the meeting for the guy's identity. A horrible realization struck her. So what do we do now?
The Boss's speech drew Harley's attention back to him. He began a riveting speech of how the world turned their backs to the lemon every insult the Boss listed, the cars in the room seemed to grow tenser. Harley felt a sense of danger, her fight or flight reflexes urging her to run. She ignored the feeling, staying close to Mater. Three more TV screens lowered down, switching on to show the World Grand Prix race just as Brazilian racecar Carla Veloso flamed out and crashed into the railing of the casino bridge. Mater and Harley gasped softly at the sight.
The lemons cheered for the crash, as though seeing the racer getting hurt was like a good joke. "They laughed at us, but now it's our turn to laugh back." The Boss said, his tone indicating a sneer. On the screens, yet another racecar flamed out and ended up crashing into a wall as well. This car, Nigel Gearsley, desperately tried to stop but couldn't prevent his impact. His psyche human partner seemed to have collapsed on his roof, unconscious.
Finn was quickly growing impatient. "Holley!"
"I'm detecting an extremely strong electromagnetic pulse." Holley finally reported, following the pulse's trajectory to its source. Her eyes widened. "Finn, it's the camera!"
"Where?" Finn demanded.
"On the tower!" Holley said quickly. Emily activated the magnets in her gloves and boots and jumped onto Finn's roof just as the Aston Martin sped off.
Harley couldn't believe what she was seeing. So much destruction, and these cars didn't seem to care.
This is their plan? Harley thought, horrified. They're willing to put the lives of these racers in danger just to make alternative fuel look bad and then they get more money? How could they be so cruel? Don't they realize how much their affecting these lives? Someone's going to get killed!
"Get out of the way!" Finn shouted, snapping at cars in Italian as he drove. He skidded to a halt when he saw the tower, unfortunatley a long way off from where he stood. Not wasting a second, Finn shot down the hill and leaped over the edge, bouncing a bit off the rooftops and ricocheting off the road as he managed to get to the main street below. Emily grunted a bit with every impact, struggling a bit to hold onto the Aston Martin. She and Finn ignored the cars honking at them as the latter kept his speed up, engine revving furiously.
Finally, the tower came into sight, but when Finn rounded the corner he saw his path blocked by a large truck. He quickly made a sharp right turn, almost throwing Emily off in the process, and shot up the hill and through the alleyways towards the camera.
"Come on, Finn!" Emily urged. "Hurry!"
Finn and Emily finally came to the rooftops behind the tower, glaring down at Grem and Acer below them. Emily moved to Finn's side, keeping one hand magnet attached to the Aston Martin while she drew her pistol in her free hand. Finn shot forward, leaping off the rooftop and aiming to practically ram Acer and Grem right off the tower.
Suddenly, Finn and Emily stopped in middair. They barely had time to react before they were pulled to a large magnet just above them, attached to a helicopter.
"We figured you might stop by!" Acer laughed, he and Grem returning their attention to the race. Finn and Emily struggled fiercely, but found they were unable to jerk themselves free of the poweful magnet. Emily couldn't even deactivate the magnets in her gloves and boots.
Before Harley's and Mater's wide eyes, Japanese racer Shu Todoroki flamed out and began skidding across the track. The racer behind him desperately tried to stop, only to crash into Shu and send both of them skidding across the track. The impact of the two cars hitting sent the second racer's psyche human partner flying from his perch, the poor man tumbling to the ground and barely having time to scramble out of the cars' way. A third racer crashed into the two cars. Then two more. Another psyche human rider was thrown off his car and hit the ground hard, crying out that his leg had been hurt. Thankfully, the last two racers skidded to a halt before they could crash into anyone.
Harley stared in shock at the screens. Even with her blurry vision, she could see just how extensive the damaging crash turned out. Lightning...Chrysler, Lightning where the heck are you? But she gave a silent sigh of relief when she saw Lightning and Francesco speed across the finish line, unaware of the major crash that happened behind them. Safe...oh thank Ford in heaven, he's safe. Harley couldn't stop staring at the screens, still horrified by it all. All this...just because they were insulted.
Why? Why did it have to come to this?
Finn and Emily struggled fiercely, but could do nothing as the helicopter continued to fly. "Emily, you've got to get out of here." Finn urged.
"What about you?" Emily demanded.
"Don't worry about me, just go!" Finn ordered.
"Leland didn't trust me to get you off that platform alive if he wanted you to get killed now!" Emily snapped.
"Leland isn't here!" Finn shouted. He glared at Emily, but his eyes held a hint of sorrow. He gave a few more jerks, but he was stuck tight. "For Chrysler's sake, Emily, just go!"
"I'm not going to leave you behind!" Emily said firmly.
"Why not?" Finn demanded.
"Because the last time I left someone behind, they got killed!" Emily almost screamed.
Finn opened his mouth to snap, but suddenly it clicked in his head. The last time Emily left someone behind...or, more importantly, four someones. "Your team..."
Emily sighed. "Our leader told us to run, to leave him behind. We split up. I made it out, they didn't." She glared. "I'm not making that same mistake twice!"
"You don't have to worry about me." Finn assured. "It's not leaving me behind if I order you to go."
"Well you're not the boss of me!" Emily sassed.
"Why can't you just do as your told?" Finn snapped.
"Look, ya damn Brit. I don't know how you do things in London but back in the States, we don't abandon our friends!" Emily finally managed to wiggle a hand free from her glove and hurriedly unzipped her boots. She swung out and up, landing on top of the magnet before pulling her other hand free. Leaving her gloves and boots behind, Emily grabbed the cable attaching the magnet to the helicopter and began to climb. In her head, she thought she could hijack the helicopter's controls and force him to release Finn. But when she finally came only a few feet from the helicopter itself, a door opened on the helicopter's side and a ladder dropped down. Before Emily could react, a human man swung down and stabbed a tranquilizer dart into her arm. She gasped in pain, then immediately fell limp. The man grabbed the female spy and hauled her up again, back into the helicopter.
Soon, all the TVs began to show several reporters approaching Miles Axlerod, who looked mortified at the sight of the race's outcome. When he announced that he would discontinue the use of Allinol in the final race, every lemon in the room cheered loudly, and Harley and Mater froze in fear. They had lost; the lemons won. The old cars just took down any future alternative fuel had and nobody knew about it except Harley, Mater, and their spy friends. Everything they worked for was down the drain. Still, Harley felt a glimmer of hope. If we could just show the world allinol isn't bad, it's just what these guys are doin' to it.
"A toast!" Zündapp called, a couple waiters popping open some champegne bottles. "To the death of allinol and alternative fuel forever!"
"Mater, Harley, abort the mission." Holley said into her radio. "They've got Finn and Emily. Get out of there. Get out of there right now." Holley gasped.
"How is your grandfather?" A cruel, deep voice asked right before the line went dead.
"Mater, let's get out of here." Harley whispered, fighting to keep her voice steady. She and Mater began moving towards the door, but stopped when a black Hugo approached them.
"Isn't this a great party, Ivan, huh?" the Hugo smiled.
"Oh, yeah, it's unbelievable." Mater nodded.
"You two are not leaving, are you?" the black Hugo asked, albeit suspicously. Harley kept her eyes down, the bill of her hat over her face, fighting back the urge to tremble.
"Uh...of course I ain't leavin'." Mater said. He glanced to the TVs and blinked in surprise. "McQueen?" Harley glanced to the TV and saw Lightning talking to the press.
"They're letting you choose your fuel for the final race." Darrell Cartrip said. "Do you have any idea what it's gonna be?"
"Allinol." Lightning said without hesitation.
The entire room gave shouts of astonishment, turning their attention to the screens. Even Harley was surprised. Lightning, what the heck are you doing?
"My friend Fillmore says the fuel's safe." Lightning said. "That's good enough for me. I didn't stand by a couple friends of mine recently. I'm not gonna make the same mistake twice."
Mater and Harley stared as Lightning departed from the reporters. Harley sighed quietly, staring at the ground. Thanks, Speed Racer. You've learned your lesson. But you don't even know you're putting yourself in danger. She exchanged worried glances with Mater.
"Allinol must be finished for good." Zündapp announced, drawing everyone's attention to him. "McQueen cannot win the last race. Lightning McQueen must be killed!"
Mater's and Harley's eyes widened. "No!" Mater gasped, reversing suddenly. His orange light on top of his roof hit the TV screen, jerking the light loose and accidentally messing with his disguise prgram to make him look like a taco truck. His horn started playing La Cucaracha, a side panel snapping open and knocking Harley's hat off her head to reveal her identity. Everyone reversed away from them, watching in shock as Mater's disguise program switched several times before decloaking altogether. He gave a sheepish smile.
"Uh oh." Harley gulped.
"It's the American spy!" Zündapp shouted. Immediately, several of the lemon henchmen pulled out rather large guns, aiming them towards Mater and Harley.
"Dad gum!" Mater gulped a bit.
"Gatling gun." The computer said. "Request acknowledged." Large gatling guns appeared out of Mater's fenders, just behind his headlights.
"Mater?" Harley intoned.
"Shoot, I didn't mean—" Mater didn't even have time to finish before the computer said "Request acknowledged" and his guns began firing. Harley yelped and leaped into Mater's flatbed. She hurriedly pulled on her glasses, staring in shock as Mater began shooting wildly. Zündapp and the lead lemons turned the table on its side to hide from the gunfire.
"Mater, what are you doing?!" Harley cried.
"I dunno!" Mater yelped, suddenly backing out the doors and onto the balcony. "I didn't mean that kind of shoot!" His guns stopped firing.
"Correction acknowledged. Deploying chute." Mater's guns disappeared, but a huge orange parachute appeared out of his back, right behind the coil of his tow cable. The wind caught the chute and carried the tow truck off the balcony and into the air.
"For Chrysler's sake, what did Finn give you?" Harley snapped.
Mater looked around, confused but thankful to be out of the hotel. But he looked ahead and saw McQueen at the winner's circle at the racetrack. "McQueen!" Mater's eyes darted around before he caught sight of a boat down below, and he swung his tow hook around before tossing it down. The hook caught the back railing of the boat, who then began dragging Mater and Harley along through the sky. Mater stayed focused on the red stock car as he directed himself through the air. Suddenly, his tow hook came loose and he began falling out of the air. He hit a sign right before crashing into a booth of souvenirs. Harley grunted from the impact of hitting the ground, but managed to shake it off just as Mater sped off towards the track.
"Whoa, Mater!" Harley called, trying to stand only to fall down again. "Hold up!"
"Let me through!" Mater called, panicked, as he skidded to a halt in front of the gate to the media entrance. "I gotta get through to warn McQueen!"
"We have a lunatic at Gate 9." The second security car said. Harley took a look to see Mater had several strange items attached to him, giving him quite the image of a lunatic.
"No, Listen!" Mater pleaded. "I was disguised as a tow truck to inflitrate this lemonhead meetin' and my weapons system's done misinterperated what I'm sayin'!"
"Mater, do you have any idea how crazy that sounds?" Harley snapped, smacking a palm tree branch away.
"You know I'm tellin' the truth!" Mater protested.
"Yeah, I do but they don't!" Harley countered.
Mater looked past the gates. He spotted McQueen heading down from the winner's circle, suddenly darting around the security cars and speeding towards the press surrounding McQueen, all his decorations dropping off. "McQueen!" Mater shouted, desperately trying to see his friend through the crowd. "They're gonna kill you!"
"Mater, you are going to cause mass panic!" Harley snapped, jumping out of the tow truck. "We've got to get out of here!"
"Harley, you kin git through this crowd." Mater said hurriedly, calling for McQueen in between sentences. "Go warn him! Please!"
"Mater, McQueen's only chance of living through the final race rests in Finn, Holley, and Emily." Harley protested. "We have to go save them!"
"But if McQueen don't use allinol in the last race, he'll live! Ya gotta go tell 'im that!" Mater protested. "McQueen! McQueen!"
"But Mater—" Harley started.
"Harley, please." Mater stared at Harley with pleading eyes, a look so desperate she was shocked he could even wear such an expression. "He's mah best friend, Harley. I don't want 'im ta die."
Harley felt her blood run cold, remembering Finn's talk about Leland. She was scared to think about what might happen to Finn, Holley, and Emily, but she knew Mater was right. If she could warn Lightning ahead of time, she and Mater could go save the others. She sighed. "Fine. But you stay right here, got that? Don't move from this spot!" She popped the wheels out of her shoes, skating through the crowd of reporters and even rolling over some car hoods in the process. "Speed Racer! Lightning!"
Lightning blinked in surprise when he spied a patch of cobalt-streaked brown hair, followed by Harley approaching him. "Harley? You're here?"
"Yeah, I'm here." Harley said hurriedly. "You've gotta listen to me—"
"I thought I heard Mater." Lightning said, looking past Harley and out to the crowd.
"He's back there." Harley waved a hand back to where she left Mater. "But Lightning—" She gasped when Lightning suddenly pushed past her, making his way through the reporters towards Mater. "Wait, Lightning!" She groaned in frustration, rolling her eyes. "Boys." The brunette hurriedly skated after Lightning, keeping right beside him as they traveled through the crowd to get to Mater.
"Mater!" Lightning called, eyeing the rusted tow hook at the back of the crowd.
"McQueen!" Mater called.
Lightning's face broke into smiles, Harley excusing him as they continued on pushing through the reporters. "Mater!" Harley called.
"Mater!" Lightning cried happily. "Mater, I'm so glad to see you. I'm so sorry—"
"Lightning McQueen!" Ivan the tow truck cried excitedly. "I am a huge fan!"
Lightning shrunk down a bit, surprised to see someone other than his friend. Harley gasped and her eyes nearly popped right out of her skull, they were so wide. Ivan cast her a brief glance before returning his attention to McQueen, giving some excuse about him being the one out there instead of Mater. But Harley didn't hear it, slowly skating backwards and away from Ivan. Soon, she lost sight of Ivan and Lightning as the reporters gathered around again. She felt herself hyperventilating a little, looking all around for Mater. But the rusted tow truck was nowhere in sight, only increasing the teenager's fears.
"Mater?" Harley wanted to call out, but found her voice only came as a whispered whimper. Suddenly, an arm wrapped around her stomach, pinning her arms to her sides. Harley let out a startled scream, but it was muffled by a hand slapping over her mouth. She struggled fiercely, but the man who held her kept a tight grip. She continued to scream, desperate to escape. The man forcibly led Harley to a more secluded area, where several black lemons waited.
"Here ya go." The man said, shoving Harley towards the cars. She tripped over her own feet, two of the lemons pressing on either side of the girl and nearly crushing her. The man marched off, the lemons dragging Harley away as the girl thrashed and shouted.
"Let me go!" Harley yelled. "Let me go right now you stupid jackwagons! You big jerks!" The lemons did their best to ignore her as they drove towards a small building behind the bleachers of the race course, where several vans stood by for transport. Harley could see a group of lemons loading an unconcsious Holley and Emily into one of the vans. Mater was no doubt in the second van. The third van was still wide open, and Harley heard the sounds of a struggle. She stopped her thrashing and craned her neck to see several lemons struggling with Finn as the Aston Martin fought back against them. Finn suddenly noticed the brunette girl and their eyes locked.
"Harley!" Finn called.
"Finn!" Harley cried, resuming her struggling. The lemons tightened their grip on her, but Harley noticed a lemon right in front of her. Her legs below the knees were still loose, not being pinched between the two lemons that held her captive. Harley glared hard. "Maybe you didn't hear me the first time, you dolts. I said let go of me!" Harley suddenly kicked one of her skates up, planting her foot into the undercarriage of the car in front of her.
The lemon tensed up, feeling pain radiate through his entire form. He let out a high-pitched scream of pain. Every lemon in the area cringed, moaning in sympathy. Even Finn hissed in pity. Harley felt the two lemons holding her loosen their grip, and she pushed herself out before skating hurriedly to Finn. The Aston Martin broke free from his own captors, his eyes darting around for an escape route. But as they desperately searched for a way out, Harley and Finn discovered the lemons blocked every exit.
"Harley, run for it." Finn urged.
"I don't wanna leave you." Harley said, pressing herself close to Finn's side. She crouched next to his front wheel, a hand on his fender. She felt the muscles in her legs tense up, and she got the feeling that even if she wanted to run, she wouldn't be able to.
Finn noticed some of the lemons getting close and unloaded his gun, firing a few shots at the ground and forcing the lemons to back up. Many of the lemons kept their distance, realizing Finn acted quite protective of Harley. Trying to go closer at this point would be suicidal, but the lemons held their ground to make sure Finn and Harley didn't escape. Finn kept his gun out, glaring at the lemons surrounding them. "Just get out of here, Harley. Run."
"No." Harley said, sounding desperate. "I don't abandon my friends."
"Harley." Finn snapped.
"Finn." Harley snapped back.
"Best listen to him, child." Zündapp said, pushing his way through the lemon henchmen to approach Finn and Harley. Finn tensed up on his axles, glaring at Zündapp. But the German microcar stared at Harley with a somewhat bored expression. "If the two of you don't stand down, I'm afraid you'll be shot and killed. I'm sure we can find someone who isn't afraid to kill a child." Zündapp smirked at the terrified look on Harley's face, and then he noticed Finn's mildly confused look. "What? You did not know, McMissile? The girl beside you is not a spy."
"What are you talking about?" Finn growled.
Zündapp chuckled darkly. "I was at the academy for a while too, McMissile. The girl is far too young. Just ask her."
Finn glared hard. "I don't need to ask her!"
"Then I will." Zündapp turned to Harley. "Girl, how old are you?"
Harley swallowed, shaking a bit. "I-I'm sixteen. Why?"
Finn felt as though the revelation punched him in the jaw, his eyes widening as he stared at Harley. "You're sixteen? I thought you just looked young for your age."
Harley sighed. "I'm not...I'm only sixteen years old..." She hung her head. "I'm not a spy, Finn. I'm sorry."
Finn stared at Harley, shocked by the news. Harley... Could've fooled just about anyone. Her age aside, Harley had all the power, skill, and smarts that made a perfect spy, just without the proper training. Finn glared at Zündapp again. "Zündapp, if I surrender quietly, will you promise not to hurt her?"
Harley's eyes widened. "Finn, no!"
"The good news for you, McMissile, is I would prefer to not soil my tires with the blood of a mere child." Zündapp said with a sneer. "You give yourself up, knowing you will die, and I will let her go free. It's not like she is a threat to us." He and several of the lemons laughed.
Finn's glare deepened, if it were possible at that moment. "Done."
"Not done!" Harley cried, on the verge of tears. "Finn, I'm not leaving you here to die!"
"Harley, you've got to go." Finn ordered, watching the lemons part to create a pathway for the girl. "Don't worry about me."
Harley stayed pressed against Finn's side, glancing nervously at the enemy cars before them. She kept a hand on Finn's hood, turning and staring at him fearfully. "I don't want to lose you." She whispered.
Finn locked eyes with the girl, giving her a soft nuzzle. "Go, Harley." He breathed. "Please."
Harley knew there was no arguing with him. The Aston Martin was going into his death bravely, all because he was just trying to protect her. Harley pressed her forehead against Finn's hood, staying like that for a second before pushing off him and skating away as fast as she could. Finn waited until she rounded a corner and disappeared from sight before putting his gun away. The lemons surrounded him again.
"You truly care for the girl." Zündapp chuckled. "Just as I'm sure you cared very much for Agent Turbo."
If glares could kill, Finn's would send Zündapp to the lowest levels of hell. He said nothing, though, as the lemons herded him towards the van. Harley...be safe. Find a way home.
Harley rounded the corner and entered a building, practically collapsing behind some crates and panting heavily. She found a window above her and climbed up a few crates to peer out. She watched, horrified, as the lemons forced Finn into the last van. The cars departed, taking Harley's friends with them. Harley felt herself shaking so much that, when she climbed down off the crates, she ended up slipping and falling to the ground. She forced herself to stand up, her breathing shallow and labored.
Don't cry. She told herself. Whatever you do, Harley Hudson, do not cry.
She gasped at the sound of voices, and she scrambled around looking for a hiding spot.
Acer and Grem entered the warehouse, guns drawn and ready to fire, but blinked in surprise to find the room void of human girl. "You sure you saw her go in here?" Grem asked.
"Yeah!" Acer nodded, the two of them searching the room. "I know I saw her come in here!"
"Well, she's not here now!" Grem snapped. Sure enough, there were crates piled all around the room and a large trailer dead center of the space, but Harley was nowhere in sight. The two lemons even checked in several of the crates only to find all of them bolted shut. They checked under the trailer but saw nothing, and knew at once that the trailer was too high for Harley to jump up on top.
"Great!" Acer groaned. "She must've slipped out before we got here. She could be halfway to town by now."
"What're we supposed to tell the professor?" Grem demanded. "He said we couldn't leave her alive!"
"Eh, what's some dumb kid gonna do?" Acer scoffed as they drove off. "What the professor doesn't know, won't hurt him."
It was silent in the room for several moments until Harley peered out from over the top of the trailer. She pulled off her jumpsuit disguise and stuffed her wrench in one pocket. She pulled a small but strong grappling hook and line from her belt, hooking it to the edge of the trailer and lowering herself back down to the floor. She pulled the line in and hurriedly hid behind a stack of crates, leaning against the wooden boxes and sliding herself to the floor.
That's when she started crying. She pushed her glasses up and buried her face into her hands, sobbing. Doc...Daddy...I wish you could be here. I knew I could never be afraid as long as you were around. I'm scared now, Daddy. I wish you were here. I need you. Harley continued to sob for several minutes before she heard the sound of tires across the ground. She held her breath, waiting with wide, terrified eyes. Based on the shadow on the ground, a car had stopped just in the doorway of the room she hid in. She covered her mouth with her hands, not daring to breathe nor move.
"Would you come on already?" Acer's voice snapped. "She's not in there; the kid's long gone, and we got a race to get to." The car moved on, and Harley peered out to see Grem and Acer driving off. A forklift drove behind them, carrying a large white case that no doubt held the disguised camera.
Harley felt anger build up in her heart, and she glared. What was she doing? She was crying here like a scared little kid while her friends were in danger. Okay, so she was sixteen and still technically a kid. But she was raised to be strong in the face of danger, not run away from it. If Doc were here now, he'd tell her to get off her butt and do something. Lightning was going to be killed, and no doubt Mater, Finn, Holley, and Emily would soon follow. She didn't want to leave any of them behind, especially not Finn. She knew at once those electric shocks she was feeling before weren't because of static; it was because of her powers. Psyche humans could connect their mind, body, and soul to those of machines. Harley realized her powers had been doing that the entire time, involuntarily making a connection whenever she was close to Finn. She built a strong friendship with the Aston Martin, despite not knowing him for very long. Steeling her nerves, Harley wiped her eyes dry and readjusted her glasses. She nodded in determination, gathering her bravery, and skated off to sneak after the lemons.
I'm coming for you, guys. Just hold on.