'This sucks tailpipe,' groaned Boost. 'Why do we have to pull this crappy thing anyway?'

'I reckon!' moaned Wingo. 'And look – now I've got tar all over my pretty spoiler!'

'Shut up, Ladderbutt,' grumbled DJ. 'It could be a lot worse.'

As these three tuners began arguing yet again, the little orange muscle car on the end of the line said nothing. Snot Rod was hardly ever one to argue, or even talk, for that matter. He was commonly known as the "shy one", which didn't help his reputation as a Delinquent Road Hazard much. Since when were criminals so timid?

Sheriff watched from the side of the road and smiled lazily. 'You kids can never keep your mouths shut… it amuses me so.'

'Can it, Copface,' Boost growled.

'See? There you go again.' The old police car laughed. 'You know, I haven't found so much enjoyment in watching criminals pull Bessie for years and years. I guess I really ought to thank you.'

'Yeah, you should thank us for existing. We're the best car gang in America!' said Wingo indignantly. 'In fact, if it weren't for us pushing that big fat truck around, your rookie hotshot racecar would never have fallen out of his trailer and there would have never been a story about everyone in this friggin' movie!'

DJ blinked. 'What movie?'

'…I dunno,' Wingo said. 'I must be going insane from the heat of the sun.'

'Damn right,' smiled Sheriff. 'It's so much fun to watch.' And without another word, he turned around and rolled in the direction of Flo's, leaving the four cars to glare after him.

'That cop,' hissed Snot Rod, 'is so dead.'

The others were mildly surprised; Snot Rod hardly ever spoke at his own will or even possessed a menacing attitude. Nonetheless, they nodded their hoods in agreement, just before Bessie boiled over and sent a fresh wave of tar splattering over them.

It was the night of Guy Forde's; a popular holiday in the world of Cars that everyone enjoyed. Not only that, but it was also Wheel Well's 41st anniversary, which had brought a lot of attention to Route 66, the mother road. Sally called the residents of Radiator Springs over to Flo's so she could speak to them.

'I had this wonderful idea of what we could do tonight, seeing as it's Guy Forde's,' she announced. 'I think we should throw a big fireworks party over at Wheel Well, so we can celebrate both occasions at once! Everyone is welcome, and we should invite our relatives over too, as a small reunion. How about that, folks?'

'Fantastico!' Luigi exclaimed happily.

'Sounds miiint, man,' Fillmore sang.

'Count me in!' Ramone grinned.

Everyone cheered and started talking excitedly in agreement. Lightning smiled fondly at Sally. 'How do you think up such beautiful places to go and things to do?' he asked. 'Ever since you took me on that drive when I first arrived here… I was enchanted by not only the place, but also by… by you.'

Sally chuckled and gave him a small peck on his bumper. 'And to top it off, you were there too, Stickers.'

Lightning felt like he had just melted on his tyres.

'Wait a minute,' Flo said suddenly, breaking the chatter. 'What about them Delinquent boys? What're we going to do with them?'

Everyone's eyes traveled first to the weary Delinquent Road Hazards, who were still hooked up to Bessie nearby; and then to Sheriff, waiting for the verdict. The police car sighed. 'Well, we have to let their punishment stick, no doubt about that,' he said. 'And we can't risk taking them to the party, in case they wreak yet more havoc.'

'Aw, man!' Boost whispered inaudibly: he was just thinking about lighting fire to a bush or something.

'However,' Sheriff continued, 'they do look pretty darn tired, and I don't think working late at night could be good for them. I think they deserve a break, which could be their way of celebrating Guy Forde's. Boys, I'll unhook you from Bessie tonight and you'll be free to do anything recreational, just so long as you stay within the town boundaries – from the Radiator Springs welcoming sign to the fire station at the other end of the street. And just to make sure you don't do anything, I'll voluntarily stay here to watch over the town. Fireworks were never my thing, anyway. Mater… unhook them.'

As the rusty tow truck obediently drove over to free the Delinquents, DJ gave a sigh of relief and murmured to Wingo, 'I'm so glad Mr Cranky Old Donut Bag is giving us a break, yo.' Wingo snorted with laughter at his reference to Sheriff.

None of the Delinquent Road Hazards thanked Sheriff; they were too worn out and still annoyed at him. "If there's one thing I hate more than anything else," Boost had once remarked, "it's screwy old cops who love to ridicule me."

All of the residents of Radiator Springs (excluding Sheriff) clustered together at the beginning of the road that led to Wheel Well. Doc Hudson emerged from his tool shed with Mater, who was towing a cart full of fireworks behind him. Flo was carrying plates of refreshments and oil with the help of Guido. Sally turned around and beamed at everyone. 'Okay, all set? Let's go!' she cried, and this was followed by cheers from all round.

As everyone set off down the lane, Sally and Doc turned to Sheriff. 'You'll be all right back here looking after the boys, won't you?' Doc asked. 'They won't cause you too much trouble?'

Sheriff smiled. 'Don't you worry, Doc. These troublemakers can't do anything under my control.'