Night had fallen in the rural town of Radiator Springs, and its denizens were busy closing up shop. One of the only places where any business could be found was the V8 Café, where a few straggling customers, mostly tourists, remained. Among them sat a silver Aston Martin, a can of oil under his tire and a forlorn, tired look in his eyes.

Finn McMissile had visited the town with his partner Holley Shiftwell, the two of them having just returned from a mission. Holley had wished to visit her boyfriend Mater, a rusty old towtruck whom the two of them has once mistaken for a spy. Finn was drawn from his thoughts by a voice.

"Alright, y'all! It's time to go, so finish your drinks and have a good night!" It called. It was Flo, the owner of the café. The customers took quick heed, sipping what was left of their drinks and began to clear out of the café. Finn was the last to finish, having drank the remnants of his oil, he just sat there, staring into space.

"Honey, you alright?" Asked Flo, rolling up to him. Finn snapped out of his trance and hurriedly responded with a "Yes, I'm fine."

Flo was a bit sceptical. "You sure?" she asked, "You've seemed rather down all evening."

"I'm alright." Finn said, faking a smile. "Just a bit tired, that's all." Flo smiled at him.

"If you say so. I'm closing up now, so y'all best be off."

Finn complied with her advice and began to drive off. As he passed the Cosy Cone Motel, he could hear laughter coming from one of the cones. It was Cone #6, where Holley and Mater were staying. Finn smiled, he figured that Mater must've been telling Holley one of his tall tales. He was glad that Holley had found someone who made her happy, and Mater was a sweet truck with a big heart and was very good to her. However, he knew that there were dangers with such relationships in their line of work. Something he knew all too well.

Finn drove on, heading for an empty field outside of town where Siddeley was located. Inside, he simply drove into a corner and sank down on his wheels. Finn returned to his thoughts, he was thinking about a friend, someone very dear to him whom he had lost. He was thinking about Leland Turbo, a British agent and his former partner, in both senses of the word.

"Oh, Leland" Finn sighed. A tear rolled down his hood as a certain series of events replayed in his mind. Back at headquarters, shortly before being sent to the oil platform, Finn could remember the last time he and Leland spoke to one another.

"It'll be alright! I've been on far more dangerous missions before." Leland said to Finn, who smiled at him.

"Just try to be more careful this time." Finn said, "You wouldn't want a repeat of happened in New Rearendia, would you?"

"Well they were asking for it!" The sports car yelled with a grin. Finn was slightly annoyed.

"Please, just promise me you'll try to come back alive, Okay?"

"Alright, alright!" The red sports car laughed. "I'll try not to die, and if I get into any trouble, I'll call you right away."

Leland inched close to his partner and kissed him on the lips, who gladly returned it. The two broke away just as someone was calling to Leland.

"Alright Leland, it's time to go!" Another agent called. Leland gave Finn a small smile. "I love you, Finn." He said.

"I love you too, Leland." The silver car replied, and laid another small kiss on his partner's hood. Leland turned and drove off as Finn called "Goodbye" while waving his tyre. Little did either one know that it would be the last time they would ever see each other.

Finn then thought of when he first received Leland's distress call. Immediately after hearing it, he and Siddeley sped off to America, where he then took a boat to the location Leland had transmitted.

"Chrysler, Leland!" Finn thought. His mind was racing, Leland was in danger and he knew every second counted. When he reached the oil rig, he contacted Leland on his radio. There was no response. He tried again, still no response. Finn was deeply worried. Below, he saw two lemons enter with a crate and presented it to Professor Zundapp.

"Hey, Professor Z!" called Grem, a rusty orange Gremlin. "This is one of those British spies we told you about!"

Finn readied his guns, a scowl across his face.

"Yeah!" cried Acer, a green Pacer who was also Grem's partner. "This one, we caught sticking his bumper where it didn't belong!"

"Agent Leland Turbo!" said the Professor inquisitively. The crate was lifted, and that instant, the world stood still for Finn. Inside the crate was Leland, or at least what was left of him. The sports car had been killed; mercilessly crushed into a cube like a pile of garbage. Inside, Finn seethed with rage. That was when Professor Zundapp caught sight of Finn's shadow on the ground.

"It's Finn McMissile!" Zundapp cried. Finn fired his guns at the crowd of cars below, trying to hit the ones responsible for the death of his partner. He then made his escape, the image of Leland's remains forever burned into his mind.

He couldn't hold back the tears any longer. Finn began to cry, slumping against the wall, tears streaming down his hood. He continued to cry for a few minutes until he heard a voice calling to him.

"Sir?" it called. It was Siddeley. Finn sniffed, trying to regain composure. "Yes Sid?"

"Are you alright?" Sid asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Finn replied, still sniffing.

"You miss him, don't you?" he asked his friend. "It's alright, Sir. I know you do."

"Yes Sid, I do miss him. I just wish could see him again, just one more time." Said Finn, almost in tears again.

However, Siddeley had something secret that he knew would cheer up Finn. "Sir, please turn to the computer. There is something I want to show you."

Finn did as instructed and turned to the on-board computer nearby. The screen flickered on, and Finn smiled at what he saw: it was a video of Leland!

"Hello? Is this on? It is? Okay, good!" Said Leland in the video. "Okay. Finn, if you are watching this, then I'm afraid that I am either dead or I'm alive and you somehow found this without me knowing. I recorded this message on my way to the oil platform, in case I never came back. I'd knew you'd worry about me while I was away."

Finn chuckled at this. "Oh, Leland. You were always so considerate."

"Anyways," The video continued, "I just wanted to say, I'm sorry. I broke the promise I made to you back at HQ." Tears started to well in Leland's eyes as he spoke. "There were so many things we could've done together, so many things we could have said to one another. But those times are gone, and I'm sorry for that. And I want you to know that I love you. I always have and I always will no matter what. Goodbye, Finn."

At the end of the video, Leland left the camera's view and could be heard weeping offscreen. The monitor switched off. Finn felt saddened, yet relieved at the same time. His tears began to flow again, but this time they were tears of joy, for he had, at least, gotten to see Leland one last time.

"Thank you, Siddeley." Finn said through his tears. Siddeley smiled. "I'm glad I could be able to help, sir."

"Relationships in our line of work are dangerous, aren't they?" Finn said. Siddeley couldn't help but agree. "But what about Miss Shiftwell and Sir Mater?" he asked.

Finn smiled. "I have faith in those two. Mater is an honest, loyal chap and Holley is a strong girl. Those two will protect each other no matter what." He paused. "I know those two will be able to overcome anything that comes their way, so I believe that they can make this work."

"Excellent, sir!" Siddeley applauded Finn. Their pleasant mood was interrupted by a sudden beeping sound. The monitor of the computer lit up again, displaying a light blue car via live feed. The blue car then spoke. "Agent Finn McMissile, this is agent Joseph Swiftride, please come in!"

He answered the call. "This is agent Finn McMissile, what is it Swiftride?" Finn replied.

"We have an immediate situation!" Joseph said. "There has been a breakout at one of our containment facilities and multiple high-profile prisoners have escaped, including Professor Zundapp. We need you and Miss Shiftwell to report to HQ immediately!"

"Alright then, we are on our way!"

The transmission ended, and Finn sped out of Siddeley to Cone #6. He banged on the door. "Quick you two, get up!" he yelled to Holley and Mater, who were both asleep. The door opened.

"What is it Finn? It's almost 2 in the morning." Holley yawned.

"Yeah, what in tarnation is all racket about?" asked Mater, who was just as tired as Holley.

"We have just received an immediate communiqué from HQ, we must go immediately." Finn replied.

"Do ya want me to go as well?" asked Mater.

"We're gonna need all the help we can get for this one."

"Can't I at least tell someone where we're goin'?"

"There's no time! Just write a note, so we can get going! "

"Fine, fine. Whatever." Mater quickly scrawled a note saying "Gone on a mission." and drove with Finn and Holley to Siddeley. Siddeley set off, en route to C.H.R.O.M.E HQ in England. As they were flying, Finn then thought of Leland again. "Don't worry Leland, we'll get that scoundrel. I'm doing this for you."

As Siddeley shot off into the night, the residents of Radiator Springs were blissfully unaware of the events that would soon rock their fair town to its very core.