I don't own Cars. I don't even own a car.

About an hour after the tractors made their way into the small town, the townscars (along with some help from Holley's tazer when she was sure no one was looking) have successfully gotten the tractors back in their corral in the outskirts of the town. After checking her room to see if whoever her contact is in this small town took the opportunity of the confusion caused by the stampede to leave her a clue, Holley makes her way to the quaint café for a snack.

"Hey Doreen!" Sally calls to her as she pulls in.

Holley pauses for a moment, wondering who the Porsche is talking to. She then quickly remembers her undercover name and smiles at the motel owner. "Hello Sally."

"What would y'like sugar?" Flo, the owner of the café asks as Holley parks herself under one of the awnings.

"Do you have any tea?"

"Sure do, honey! I'll bring it right out for ya," the Motorama car says, with a smile as always.

"Thank you," Holley says, returning the smile. She fights the urge to close her eyes and take a nap- not knowing where her clue may come from. It could be one of the cars, a sign in the town, a bumper-sticker…. Bloody jet lag, she mentally sighs. Maybe if I close my eyes for just a moment...

Suddenly, Holley feels the light touch of someone else's bumper on hers. Adrenaline spiking, she jumps to face the car.

"I… uh…" says the tow truck, his hazel eyes wide and a bewildered look on his face

"Sorry about that," Holley says with a sheepish smile. "I'm a little on edge today. Long trip and all that. Mater, right?"

"Tha's me alright!" he says proudly. "An' you're Miss Doreen."

"Correct. Is there something you wanted sir Mater?" Holley asks, returning the polite gesture.

"I…um…ah… I jist- jist wanted t' welcome you t' Radiator Springs 's all! Yeah, tha's it!"

Holley chuckles lightly to herself. It was quite obvious that the tow truck was crushing hard. "Well, that's very nice of you Mater. Thank you."

"Yer very welcome," Mater says with a grin from door to door. He drives forward a bit and parks himself next to Holley. "So where's you from then?" he asks as Holley turns herself around.

"London," Holley says without thinking. Daimler! she thinks to herself. I'm supposed to be from Cardiff! Ah, well. I suppose I'm not doing too posh a job with the accent anyways.

"Shoot! Tha's where the Queen lives, in't?" the rusted truck asks excitedly. "Have ya ever met 'er?"

"No, I haven't had that honor quite yet. Maybe one day though."

"Dadgum! I've always wanted ta meet da Queen! How cool would tha' be right there?"

"I'm sure it would be quite remarkable," Holley replies having a hard time imagining the very American tow truck meeting the Queen of England. It sure would be a sight!

"So, ya got any fam'ly over 'n London?"

"Just me, my dad, and my mum," Damiler again! What was it about this truck that made Holley so willing to answer his questions honestly? "What about you?" she asks in an attempt to shift the focus off of herself.

"Jist me."

"Oh, I'm- I'm sorry," Holley says, taken aback at his simply stated answer.

"Oh, no it's nothin' like that! Ah still write t' m' ma, but it's jist me livin' here. 'Part from the other folk in town tha' is."

"Oh, of course," Holley says as Flo comes over and sets her tea in front of her. "Thank you, Flo."

"No problem honey," she says with a wide smile and a wink. Obviously Mater's crush was obvious to all.

Perfect. Just what I need- more attention, Holley mentally sighs.

As the day wears on and the sun becomes increasingly lower in the sky, more and more of the small town's residents start to make their way to the small café. Soon, only the moon, overhead lights, and a blinking yellow traffic signal light the gathering. Holley finds herself in conversation more than she would like to be, but apart from the makeup of her family and her hometown she is able to stick to the story of Doreen. Mater never leaves her side.

"So what's London like this time of year?" Sally asks.

"Overcast, as always. Honestly, it's a rare day that there isn't a cloud in the sky."

"I bet it's beautiful, though," Sally says with a sigh. "I'd like to visit there one day. Maybe see a show on the West End. Some shopping."

"What are those things?" Holley asks, following a small pinprick of light with her eyes as it's joined by two more.

"Them's lighting bugs!" Mater says.

"Wow. I've never seen one. We don't get them in the city, I suppose." Or near the Academy for that matter.

The townscars and Holley lapse into silence, simply enjoying the beauty and natural music of the night provided by the crickets.

One of the cars, a green army jeep, clears his throat and speaks. "You know, a Volkswagen Karmann Ghia has no radiator."

"That's because they're air cooled," Holley and Mater say in unison.

"…What?" says another of the town's residents, Filmore, says.

"Well, how'd you know tha' Miss Doreen?" Mater asks, a little surprised.

"Oh, you know… This and that. I had a temporary job helping out at a garage when I was in high school. I guess I picked up a few things." She looks over at the jeep questioningly. He nods once at her.

"Well," Holley says, acting as if she is stifling a yawn, "I really should turn in for the night. Jet lag is such a wonderful thing, you know. Good night everyone." Turning on her headlights, she leaves the café and makes her way to the Cozy Cone. Inside, she finds a note.

"0800 tomorrow. You know who I am by now. Don't be late."

Satisfied that she's had a job well done for the day, Holley tucks the note inside her wheel well, turns off the lights, and closes her eyes. That night, she dreams of meeting the Queen for helping save the world.

A/N- I finally updated! I know, it's been almost three months since I last updated and I'm sorry. You can blame the following things/people:

Writer's block, John Owen-Jones, Killian Donnelly, Gaston Leroux, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Susan Kay, Ramin Karmiloo, Sierra Boggess, BBC, and David Tennant.

Basically, Phantom of the Opera and Doctor Who (of which I've watched 3 ½ seasons of in 3 weeks). I've been writing a ton of Phantom "phics" recently and that led to massive writer's block for my Cars stories (and a Phantom/Doctor Who crossover). I PROMISE that my Cars stories will NOT be abandoned. It just may take a bit longer for them to be updated.

On the Hudson, Hornet, and Karina story: it's still going to happen! I'm going to outline it to (hopefully) avoid long delays in updating it. It should appear sometime after this story is completed (we still have a few chapters to go). I have a plot idea, but I don't want to make it too much like Spy Kids.

Thanks for reading!