Disclaimer: I don't own this world of Cars or Cars 2.

Credit: Thank you silverwinghost for beta reading!

Blackbox

It was a sad week for all C.H.R.O.M.E agents. In the aftermath of the intelligence clash against Sir Miles Axelrod, the organization had lost two of its very best members. Many agents used their disguise programs to change their usual color to black for the sake of changing paint, but Finn McMissile used a different method of showing respect. He stripped himself of all gadgets and hardware, aside from a desert eagle gun hidden within his glove box. You couldn't be too careful, especially when every agent around the world would be up on their tires.

Turbo.

A group of agents in Ireland had found the oil rig which housed the entire operation, and it was from there they had retrieved that little red sport car which resembled a red metal cube. It had taken a team of experts to extract the unblemished blackbox from the wreckage.

Agent Leland Turbo-a highly decorated agent who specialized in infiltration. Leland had been not only a teacher to Finn, but his first and only close friend since his arrival. A keynote of any spy's funeral was listening to the deceased's blackbox, as it played back the last moments of his or her life. A certain silver-blue Aston Matin DB5 sat parked in the farthest row as the ceremony commenced.

" This is Leland Turbo. I have a important flash transmission for agent Finn McMissile. Finn, my cover may have been compromised. Everything has gone pear-shaped. You won't believe what I've found, here. This is bigger than anything we've ever seen, and no one even knows it exists! Finn, I need backup-but don't call the calvalry-it could blow the entire operation. And be careful! It's not safe out here. I'm transmitting my co-ordinates now." Unable to take much more, Finn quietly exited the funeral home.

This was the designated place of rest for many agents who were killed during an assignment, or died of an unexpected cause. Finn drove away from all the others, finally coming to a stop near the outskirts of London. The agent who kept his cool even in the face of impending death finally allowed tears to form. They were not the first nor the last he had ever cried.

" Leland, why? Couldn't you wait any longer? Why couldn't I get there sooner?" Heart-wrenching pain washed over Finn as he parked beneath a shaded tree. His tires were worn thin just driving from London to here, his fenders sagging so low that they appeared to have broken suspensions. The same question echoed again and again in his mind. Why couldn't I get there sooner? Finn was unsure of just how long he parked there, suffering through the loss of one of his most trusted friends.

Friendships can be dangerous in our line of work...

" Not only do you worry about whether the person next to you might stab you in the back, but also losing that person forever..." Sunset was the most beautiful time, but it also marked the end of the present and the beginning of tomorrow. Finn looked up through tear-filled eyes to gaze at the sun, and he smiled. That shade of red reminded him of a certain Red Lotus Elite.

With one funeral ended, Finn and Holley were invited to another. They were to journey to the United States of America, to pay their respects to the real American spy who they were supposed to have met on their mission. Once again, a retrieval team in Japan had found the smouldering frame of a familiar muscle car.

Along the way, Holley decided to take a small side trip to the town of Radiator Springs, to visit Mater. Both of them arrived just in time to hear Mater's tall tale of his adventures as a spy, and Finn couldn't help but allow a small smile to appear on his stoic expression. The reaction when Shiftwell declared to be Mater's girlfriend was priceless all around, especially coming from a certain forklift. They were treated to the "grand tour" of Radiator Springs, and were able to watch that little town host the "Radiator Springs Grand Prix". Finn had to admit, the people down there really did treat everyone as their own. He understood why Mater had declined to join their ranks of espionage, preferring to remain in the litle town he called home. Maybe, perhaps someday, their paths might cross again.

They drove on to a huge city filled with metal works: the place where most of the American muscle cars resided. Once again the funeral process was repeated, but this time Finn did not know the agent as well. The blackbox was hooked up to the speakers, and Rod 'Torque' Redline's sarcastic voice was soon projected across the room.

" We gotta admit, you had us tricked."

" And we don't like being tricked!" Laughter arose in the background.

" What's so funny?"

" Eh, it's just that I was wearing a disguise, but you guys are stuck lookin' like that. Allinol? Well, thanks fellas, I hear this stuff is good for you."

Then came the all-too-familiar voice of Professor Z.

" Allinol by itself is good for you." There was a slight pause, filled with the sound of a V-8 motor revving up. " But after microscopic examination, I have found that it possesses one small weakness. When hit with an electromagnetic pulse, it becomes extremely dangerous..."

" Smile for the camera!"

" Is that all you want? I got a whole act!"

" You were very interested in this camera on the oil platform. Now you will witness what it really does."

" Whatever you say, Professor."

" You talked up a lot of cars last night. Which one's your associate?"

" Your mother. Oh no, I'm sorry, it was your sister. You know, I can't really tell them apart these days." Finn and Holley smirked for the first time in a long time. From what the elder spy interpreted, Redline wasn't the type to be taken down quietly. What a great chap he would have been to talk to...

" Now, Professor Z?"

" Fifty percent power. This camera is actually an electromagnetic pulse emitter."

" How about her? Did you give it to her?"

" The Allinol is now heating to a boil..." For the next few lines Finn was at a loss for interest-he already knew what it did. " ...causing the engine to block and contract, forcing oil into the combustion chamber."

" How about him, did you give it to him?" The awful sound of backfiring engine exhaust echoed through the speakers.

" Why do I care? I can always replace an engine block!"

" You may be able to, but after the full impact of the pulse, unfortunately there will be nothing left to replace." Labored breathing and painful moans swept all humor from the room like air conditioning rushing out the window on a hot summer's day.

" How about him? Does he have it?" There was no answer, only clanking and the silent shattering of a proud V-8 engine. It was almost heartbreaking, to hear a once-beautiful Detroit engine running like any "lemon" car.

" That's him. He's the one."

" Roger that, Professor."

" No!" Rod shouted desperately, still struggling, running on the spot with a ruined engine. They couldn't hear what Professor Z was talking about, but they had a pretty good idea.

" The project is still on schedule. The second agent will be stopped before any damage is done. Kill him." What was left on the tape was the sound of an overstressed V-8 engine accelerating, but not going anywhere. Just as everyone had predicted, a small but uncontained explosion vibrated the speakers. Silence fell like a blanket as one of the greatest American spies passed on, the victim of a K.I.A."

a/n: Thank you for reading!