12:00 PM
The sky we were forced to look at was war green. The trees were dying and the smell of fire surrounded the woods that Tyse and I drove in deeper into. The scenery is giving me shivers, It looks like a war has taken place of some kind and the world is filled with fear and aggression. "Are there zombies in this simulation?" I looked at Tyse. He looks like he really wasn't worried about the training exercise. He's been through this multiple times.
"What? No, there are no zombies in this simulation." He scoffed.
"What? C'mon dude this is like a creepy looking simulation."
"I promise you there aren't any zombies in this simulation."
Still a bit anxious, we drove towards the end of the woods that was straight ahead of us. As we got closer to the ledge, there was a little town with little cars roaming around on the path. It was like your typical southern town. The stench of oil and beer filled the air and made me scrunch up my face. "Alright, so our target is somewhere in this town. We can't split nor can we draw attention to ourselves. My best bet that the target is at the media center." I explained looking at Tyse. He returned a questionable look before staring back at the town.
"Um, Zaylyn, the target was kidnapped. Why would she be in the library?" He asked, raising his lids.
I hummed in amusement and looked over the town. "That's what the kidnapper wants you to think. Think about it through their eyes. Why would they kidnap the mayor's daughter and bring her to the most public place? The kidnapper needs to be able to find a cover spot so they can lead authorities on a decoy path," I noticed a silver male truck making their way inside a building after he looked around. "There are more cars involved in this stick-up than we know." I explained.
"Wow, you got all of that from just looking at the town?" Tyse rolled his eyes looking at the other direction.
"Were you not paying attention when Finn was giving out the information?" Please don't tell me this is the guy that I have to be paired up with throughout the mission. It almost feels like I have to carry him the whole way even if this is just to check my stats.
~FLASH BACK~
"This is your target," said Finn who was by the projector that was in the conference room. The white flash coming from the projector showed an orange car on the screen. She's a very pretty car, her green eyes and her sleek model is to die for. On the left side of her picture, was the basic information like her name and age.
"This is Esme Moss, daughter of Mayor Calvon Moss. The CEO of 'The Spark Connection.' The biggest trade company." He explained.
I lifted my lid slightly staring at Finn. "Something tells me that this isn't just your normal trade company."
"By trading we mean he's kidnapping other cars and selling them on the dark market. Recently one of his buyers was caught in a loop with the mayor and even threatened him to get what he paid for. The only reason why the mayor stopped what he was doing was because his daughter, Esme, found out about his private life."
This is only a simulation mission?! What in the-Who in the-Why is this even a mission?! I locked eyes with Tyse only to see him wink at me. If anything I have to carry the "team" for this mission when Tyse is too busy looking around the room. "Your mission is to rescue the mayor's daughter and get her and her father to safety." Holley demanded.
"Wait where do we take them to?" I asked.
"Make sure you arrive on time to the train station, there will be a train leaving within an hour. So you need to rescue Esme and her father, get them on the train, and protect them for as long as you can." Finn explained
~Flash Back Over~
"Tyse, What was the last thing you remember before we started the mission?"
I asked out of curiosity. Tyse looked around trying to avoid giving eye contact. "Tyse!" I scolded. I knew he wasn't paying the least bit of attention. No offense but Tyse seems like he has the attention of an acorn. One minute he's with you, then he's spacing off during missions.
"What?" He replied.
"How are we supposed to proceed with the mission when you weren't even paying attention?" Tyse rolled his eyes and drove down the path that led to the town. I frantically follow behind him in disbelief. "What are you going to do? You aren't supposed to go wandering off all alone when we haven't even made a plan to rescue them." I explained.
"Not to burst your bubble but, I already know what to do. Now just relax while I carry us through this mission." I can't believe it. Does he think that I'm not able to do this? I was the one who came up with the assumption that Esme was in the library. While he just sat there and stared at the walls. He can't be the one to guide this mission. This mission is for me and me only. I don't need his help.
"Just because you did the same mission doesn't mean you get to play leader. This mission is for me." I retaliated.
"You're taking this a bit too seriously."
"All of our missions have to be taken seriously." Tyse stopped in his tracks to turn around and face a determined me. He slightly scrunched up his face.
"What do you mean by 'our'?" He asked.
"I'm a part of the operation just as much as you are. Now," Driving in front of him I start to lead the way. "Like it or not I suggest you pipe down and at least pretend to listen to me. We have to work together on this Tyse." The only thing that I got from him was a hmph and started his way, catching up with me.
As we drove through the town, other cars were giving us mean looks making me feel a bit uneasy. I was waiting for someone to make the first move, folks around here don't seem too friendly around here. The first place that we went to was the library. The building wasn't too big or too small; it was just the right size to make this a "Get in and Get out" situation. But where would they stash Esme? The first place that we checked was the back of the library but, unfortunately we had no luck. Tyse and I split up in different directions, searching for her. It came to the point where we met up with each other again.
"Did you have any luck?" He asked, defeated. I sighed deeply, shaking my head. She's gotta be this town somewhere. The smallest trace can help us out, we can end this mission and go to my race. Looking behind Tyse, a green car makes her way over to a small desk. She has to be the librarian, if I can get her to talk, I'll find Esme. "Follow along, I think I found our lead." I drove over to the desk lady at the desk. The green car looks up with her pretty yellow eyes shining.
"Well hello, may I help you two with something." She smiled at us both.
"Yes ma'am, we're looking for the fantasy section." I responded.
"That should be in the back-"
"Would you be so kind to show us, Ma'am? We've searched all over yonder for the book but couldn't find it." Tyse cut in using his best southern voice. Show off. The librarian gave a small smile. She drove from behind her desk and drove off between the aisle. Crap! My gadgets are still on lock. I won't be able to cross-examination my way. Hopefully Tyse got the memo.
"You kids from around here?" She asked, making her way to the back.
"Mah friend hare isn't ma'am, shay gist came tuh visit may hare in thuh saowth." Alright now he's just overdoing it. She chuckled as she made a right turn. This is it. As we made a turn, the librarian was no longer alone but instead, was right in front of an army of black cars,pointing their guns at us.
Tyse soon had drawn his both of his guns out of both wheels, ready for whatever is to come first. "Stay behind me." He ordered. How could she have known? We didn't show any signs nor give her a reason.
"So you came back, expecting a welcome? You barely made it out the first time you came to save her. Now you're putting this floozy of a spy's life in danger when this all could be dealt with yourself," The librarian paused for a second and started laughing. "Surrender now, or get shot." She said coldly. Floozy spy?! I'll show her Floozy.
"sUrREnDER Now, Or GET ShOt." I mocked, earning a glare from her.
"Did you just mock me-"
"DiD you juST moCk ME."
"That is rude."
"thAt IS ruDe."
"And this conversation is over."
"And thIs COnveRsAtIoN iS Over." This is actually the most fun I had in ages. Trolling the computer was more fun than I thought it would be. That's when I saw it, an opening inside of the lab. That must be where they are keeping Esme. But how am I supposed to- "Shoot them!" I heard from a distance. Bullets were flying straight toward us while we were in the open. We'll be screwed if this was an actual mission.
"Simulation Terminated. Simulation Terminated. Simulation Terminated." The computer lady voice echoed. We both looked around the room as everything started to fade away until we were faced with the grid room. "Mocking the enemy are we?" Tyse grinned.
"It seemed like the perfect thing to do at the moment...and also I was also insulted." I joked.
"Unfortunately, insulting your opponent will only get you so far, Ms. McQueen." Holley said, appearing into the room with Finn. Nervously laughing, I looked at a confident Tyse, looking back at me. I shrugged my tires slightly looking at the gridded floor.
"Tyse entertained it." I admitted. His eyes got bigger than their usual size. He shot me glare while I laughed at him. "If I'm going down, you're coming down with me." I nudge Tyse making him soften his stare.
"This is a team effort, you guys will be working together. Meaning, Tyse is going to be your manager." He finished, looking at the both of us. My mouth dropped. Tyse? My manager? Granted, he's experienced but someone is really going to find out my secret. "Tyse my manager? Did you guys not see what happened 10 minutes ago? What if they see Tyse and try to kill us both."
"They don't even know who I am doofus."
"Oh... yeah that's right. Okay but why him? Can't you guys get another agent to be my manager?"
"Yes, but you see, Tyse needs to be involved in this mission as much as possible. We need more information than we can get to take Sterling and Mr. Biggzs down." Holley explained. I sighed. Can't work around this one. He's not a bad agent, it's just I don't want this mission to be over quickly. "Alright well, what's the first thing on the list boss?" I drove out the door.
11:00 AM
This is it. The track. The track that I will be moving my tires on at high speed. This has to be the most exciting, intense, scariest thing to ever go through mentally. I'll get to be a racer but I have to also remember I'm on a mission and I'll need to avoid Dad as much as possible and keep Jackson in check the whole time.
I peeped out my head from the pits, looking at all of the racers preparing for the race. The racers look so serious, it's scary to imagine myself actually having a friendship with them. We're only here to keep a low profile until... until...hm... I actually don't know what I'm supposed to do. I guess they'll tell me what to do once the race starts. What I'm really more concerned about is Dad. It's official, I'm going to be grounded until I get old and rusty and I won't be able to drive anymore. I'll have to be towed everywhere!
...No need to be dramatic, It's not going to be that harsh right? I looked around the pits and saw Holley, Finn, and Tyse grouped up in a circle talking quietly amongst each other. Tyse eventually looked up at me and drove up to me. "You look nervous?" he chuckled.
I nervously laughed looking everywhere but Tyse. "Is it that obvious?"
"Yeah, you look like you're to start spazzing out once someone pops out to ask you a question. Are you okay? If it's about the race, Rose is very experienced at this whole crew chief thing-" He started but I quickly interrupted him.
"No, no, no. It's not that at all. It's amazing that they let her be my crew chief as the first woman and I'm honored to have her. But," I sighed and took a long pause before I looked outside of the pits again. "My dad is probably still looking for me. He's going to be freaking all night. I have to go talk to him to let him know I'm alright-" I start to drive out of the pits but before I could make my way down the aisle, Tyse quickly drove in front of me causing me to stop dead in my tracks.
"Woah there cub, you can't see your dad, not like this," Tyse said referring to my new look. I forgot, I'm not the same Zaylyn anymore that I used to be. "Holley already told you that she's got that part covered. We've already got this all covered for you Zay. All you need to do is focus on the race later on tonight."
With a worried look, I sighed. Then why do I still feel uneasy about this? It just sounds like they're only using me as a racer for some type of cover when I can still do so much more than this. "I still won't feel right, Tyse, at least let me go speak to my dad as a racer then." I argued. Tyse softened his look before looking into my sad determined eyes. He moved from in front of me and gestured for me to go.
"Fine, but as your manager, I'm coming with you." He grinned giving me a wink. I softly laughed and thanked him.
I hurried along the aisle, looking in each pit that I drove past to look for my dad. He wasn't that far away from our pit instead, he was five pits down until I saw him right in front of my eyes. I slowed down a bit, hesitant to continue forward. He's right there in front of me...it feels so different that I have to lie to him. I'm not Zaylyn anymore, I'm Skye, from Skalistic. I started to move towards him slowly. As I got closer, I could see that he was talking to Mom and Cherish. She seemed worried, they both did. Seeing as their daughter did run away. Mom's pearl blue eyes met up with mine but she didn't react. Dad soon realized, and turned around to face Tyse and I.
I was completely speechless. Here I was rushing towards my parents, and now that I'm here, it feels like I'm also another person that lost something within me. Dad looks somewhat upset that it wasn't the person he was looking for. What do I say? What can I say? The man just lost his daughter. Don't say anything reckless Zay!
"Hi, are you Mr. McQueen?" Of course he's McQueen! What an obvious question to ask nitwit!
"Yes, yes I am. And you are?" He asked.
"I'm Skye, and this is my manager Tyse." Tyse reveals himself showing a very introductive smile.
"Well as you guys know, I'm Lightning and this is my wife, Sally and our daughter's best friend Cherish." He introduced the two, as they both gave a small smile and a hello. I can only imagine how Cherish feels right now. Confused why I left with a dab of heart in her heart. I feel horrible knowing that I'm doing this to them. Holley is going to have to take up the scolding for me and when this is all over I'll take up for the second part of the scolding.
"It's nice to meet you all. Maybe we can have a day to train together with Mr. McQueen?" I suggested, attempting to brighten up their moods.
Dad nodded his head with a small smile. "Yeah, of course. You seem like the type to up for any challenge."
"You'll find out, Mr. McQueen," I laughed. This feels so cringey to call my Dad, Mr. McQueen. "I came here to wish my role model good luck on the track." I said, slowly making my way to the pit.
"Thanks, You too Rookie." He wished back. With that we drove back to the pits.
"How do you feel?" Tyse asked, driving on the side of me.
I let out a breath of relief. "I feel a little better...it just pains me to see that I can't let them know that I'm safe. The best bet to do is to send Holley in as a decoy to keep them occupied. I almost feel like a fraud. I'm not a real racer, I'm not a real spy, friend,or daughter."
"Hey, don't put yourself down like that, This all takes courage to do especially when you're doing the wrong thing,for the right cause." I gave him a small smile and proceeded to go into our pit. Finn had left by the time we got back so it was only the three of us.
"Alright Holley, you're up but there are a few things that you do have to worry about. You're going to be scolded by parents and possibly my best friend Cherish. You're still playing crew chief for the rest of the tour. Avoid Jackson as much as possible and-"
"Relax Zay, Holley knows how to tackle situations like this, by time this is all over, everything will go back to normal with everyone that you know. Right Holley?" Tyse interrupted.
Holley then transformed into an imprinting disguise resembling me. She has every detail right. From the hood to the back exterior. I'm almost a bit jealous that she gets to play Zaylyn more than I can. "I'll do my best, Zaylyn," She said in my voice. Wow...she's even got the voice packed down too. Is that how I really sound to everyone else?
"Is this how I really sound to you guys?" I scrunched up my face in disgust.Tyse and Holley both shared a laugh with each other.
"You sound just fine, now go meet up with your team while we work everything out." Tyse suggested.
Taking a deep breath, I left the pits once again. I met up with my team outside, who were very friendly. What's great is that I'm the first racer to have a female crew chief which is very inspiring. Her name is Rose Juniper and she's from Japan, Hokkaido. She's a very dead set person, she's a very serious person and it's kind of scary. Like an assassin working out to fight bears in the forest type of serious. It made me feel a little better in having confidence about this mission but how will I know if I won't fall in love with racing? How will I know I won't fall in love with being a spy? It's anyone's dream right?
As I talked to the team, Tyse and Holley-or should I say Zaylyn came right up on the side of me. "Are you ready for this?" I asked her. She nodded her head and drove right in front of us, leading the way to Dad.
Holley's POV
As I drove between the aisle of the pits, I couldn't help but to think why Zaylyn was so paranoid. I mean I got this all handled, she has nothing to be worried about. I've been getting quizzed all morning about her bio by Finn and
"Zaylyn?" a low voice called out behind me. I turned around and a purple corvette. This must be Zaylyn's best friend, Cherish.
"Hey, Cherish," I need to sound a bit guilty.
"Zaylyn! You're back! Guys! Zaylyn is back!" Cherish called out. She drove over to my side and cuddled close to me. It felt a bit weird because I truly wasn't a part of this loving family. If only Zaylyn knew what she really has in front of her is very genuine. With a simple blink, I saw the whole Rust-eze team right by my side, cheering. Cherish soon moved from her original spot and that's when the parents filled in.
"Zaylyn, Sweetie you're back-Where did you go?! You know how worried sick your father and I were?!" Sally rushed over her words with panic and worry. Zaylyn definitely has no idea what she has in front of her.
"I'm sorry Mom and Dad," It even feels really weird to call them "Mom and Dad". "I didn't mean to make you guys worry, I know it was very selfish of me to only think of myself in that predicament and not think of the consequences."
"We're just glad you're safe Lyn. But you are right about one thing, you won't be able to leave my eyesight or anyone's eyesight in that matter. Until the tour is over that is." McQueen explained.
"That's fair enough for me."
Skye's POV
I watched happily as my friends and family surrounded Holley. That's one thing taken care of, now the only thing to do is to locate Jackson and keep him far away from Holley as much as possible. Where is he anyways? It's the only time to really check into the roster and he isn't here. He's probably somewhere around here bragging about his pre-success to take.
"Hey Tyse, I'm gonna go track my speed on the track. Look out for me yeah?" I drove out of the pits and made my way to the track. There were at least five to ten racers on the track waiting for a pre-race to happen. They started to do this new thing where racers can now practice on the track or track their speed before the official race starts.
Of course, I was on the end of the track since this was a last minute thing. Two rows ahead of me I could see a bright yellow car, no doubt about it that has to be Cruz. I thought about calling her name but then I forgot she doesn't know who I am. Observing all of the other racers, I felt a presence drive up on the side of me. If I had to guess, it had to be Jackson.
"I see that they're letting anyone play as a racer." Jackson said, still looking forward. If I stay calm and not give him the reaction that he wants, everything will go just as planned. The racers soon started their engines up and I followed right after them. Looking up at the arena, where the flagman waved around the green flag. The sound of tires screeching on the pavement creating smoke everywhere. I sped off right behind them. With them the wind started to hit me straight in the eyes causing me to shut them for a bit. Pick a line and stick to it. It's only one lap so I really need to make this count.
I felt more concentrated than ever. The whole time, It was Jackson and I competing with each other. He tried to ram me in the wall but with quick thinking, I slowed down and made him hit the wall and sped off. I took my spot as first and crossed the finish line. I took my attention straight up to the tally board and saw my picture. 'Skye #55 Top Speed: 214'
"Whoohoo!" I cheered. That's not bad for a first time rookie. If only Dad could see me now. I went over to the sidelines to be congratulated by the team. Jackson stood dumbfounded, looking at the Tally board. "I guess they're letting anyone be a pit crew. Thanks for the motivation, Jackson."