ârendezvousâ?â he asked Luigi.
âItâsa like a date,â Luigi answered.
âA date!â Mater said, thrilled.
âNon ci credo!â Guido answered.
Luigi translated. âGuido donât believe you.â
âWell, believe it,â Mater said to them proudly. âThere she is right there.â Mater nodded in the direction of the beautiful British sports car across the room. âHey, hey, lady!â he shouted.
Holley glanced at Mater and quickly drove off. She did not want their cover to be blown!
âSee you tomorrow,â Mater called after her.
âNon ci credo,â Guido said again. The little forklift kept shaking his head.
Luigi translated. âGuido still donât believe you.â
Somewhere on an industrial dock in the city of Tokyo, Grem and Acer had Rod suspended from an electromagnet.
âI gotta admit: you tricked us real good,â Grem said to Rod.
âAnd we donât like to be tricked,â Acer snapped.
Rod simply smiled.
âHey, whatâs so funny?â Acer demanded.
âWell,â Rod said, embracing the fact that he was in serious trouble. âYou know, I was just wearing a disguise. You guys are stuck looking like that.â He knew he was about to be roughed up by these two thugs. He figured he could at least insult them first.
Rod steeled himself as he was lowered onto a treadmill. He guessed they would start by making him run until he stalled out. He could handle that, but he wasnât sure what other means they would use to get his secrets. A gas tank filled with Allinol stood next to him.
âAllinol?â Rod said. âThanks, fellas. I hear this stuff is good for you.â
âSo you think!â The mood changed dramatically as Professor Z emerged from the darkness and addressed Rod. âAllinol by itself is good for you. But what poor Miles Axlerod doesnât know is that weâve secretly sabotaged his wonder fuel. When hit with a blast of radiation, it becomes extremely dangerous.â
Rod looked up and spotted the mysterious camera with WGP printed on its sideâthe same one Finn had seen earlier on the oil derrick. But this was no camera. A piercing beam of light suddenly shot from the lens.
âYou were very interested in this camera on the oil platform,â Professor Z said as he turned up the intensity of the beam. âWell, now you will witness what it really does.â
âWhatever you say, Professor.â Rodâs engine, now filled with Allinol, began to heat up. He couldnât figure out why, but he could endure the pain. It was part of his training.
Grem and Acer turned on a video monitor in front of Rod. Footage of the prerace party flashed into view.
âYou talked up a lot of cars last night. Which one is your âassociateâ?â Acer demanded.
But Rod refused to answer.
Grem was beginning to get ticked off. âShould I start it, Professor?â
âDo fifty-percent power,â Professor Z replied mildly. He turned to stare right into Rodâs eyes. âThis camera is actually an electromagnetic radiation emitter. The Allinol is now heating to a boil, dramatically expanding, causing the engine block to crack under stress, forcing oil into the combustion chamber.â
âWhat do I care?â Rod grimaced. He could feel his engine beginning to give way. âI can replace an engine block.â
âYou may be able to,â Professor Z said smugly. âBut after full exposure to the radiation, unfortunately, there will be nothing to replace.â
âHow about him?â Acer asked, flashing some footage of Mater rolling out of the menâs room. Professor Z noticed that it caught Rodâs attentionâhe saw a split second of recognition in Rodâs eyes.
âThatâs him. Heâs the one,â Professor Z said as he stared at Materâs image on the TV monitor.
âNo!â Rod