a tower under the eyes of Agents Finn McMissile and Holley Shiftwell. They were looking for the American agent with the information on Professor Z. It was Holley who spotted him firstâin the Team Lightning McQueen pit.
Holley watched Mater carefully through her high-tech telescopic display.
âWhy is he in the pits?â she asked Finn in dismay. âHeâs so exposed.â
âItâs his cover,â Finn answered. âOne of the best Iâve ever seen, too. Look at the detail on his rust. Must have cost a fortune.â
Holley nodded. âOkay, then why hasnât he contacted us yet?â
âThereâs probably heat on him,â Finn answered calmly. âHeâs clearly a seasoned veteran. Heâll reach out when heâs ready.â
Finn scanned the World Grand Prix cameras, still looking for the fake one he had spotted with Professor Z and his thugs on the oil derrick. Finn had no idea what Professor Z had just done to the real agent, Rod, by using that fake WGP camera. But Finn McMissile did have good instincts.
In the shadows on another rooftop, Grem and Acer were placing Professor Zâs camera in position.
âIt is time,â the Professor told them over a radio. âStart small, please.â
âRoger that,â Grem said as he angled the camera toward Miguel Camino. As soon as the radiation beam hit him, Miguelâs engine began smoking.
âOh!â Darrell Cartrip said into his microphone. âMiguel Camino has blown an engine.â
âThatâs very unusual, Darrell,â one of the announcers said. âHeâs been so consistent all year.â
Grem watched the burned-out car roll into the pits. Then something caught his eye. âYou gotta be kidding me,â Grem said.
âWhat? What is it?â Acer asked him.
âItâs that tow truck from the bathroom,â Grem said, spotting Mater. âThe one the American agent passed the device to. Heâs in the pits!â
âNot for long,â Acer replied as the two took off in Materâs direction.
Holley picked up the movement right away. âI think Iâve got something,â she said to Finn.
âThe camera?â he asked anxiously.
âNo,â Holly replied.
H olly swiftly ran a computer check. Finally, she found the information she wanted: âThe Pacer from the party last evening,â she said to Finn. âIâm cross-referencing with the photos from the oil derrick. His VIN numbers match!â
Holley ran a search for known associates.
âHang on,â she said to Finn as the computer pulled up a long listâtoo long. âHeâs not the only one. Threeâ¦fiveâ¦Gremlins and Pacers. Theyâre everywhere! And theyâre all closing in onâOh, no!â Holley gasped as Materâs smiling face filled her screen. She turned to tell Finn, but he was already gone.
The next time Holley heard Finnâs voice, it was over her radio. He was dashing to intercept Professor Zâs cars before they could get to Mater.
âGet him out of the pits!â Finn radioed Holley. âNow!â The situation was urgent.
Within minutes, Mater heard a voice coming through the radio crackle. âCan you hear me? Over?â
âHuh? What?â Mater answered.
âGet out of the pits now! Do you hear me?â Holley urged Mater, desperately trying to move him away from danger.
Mater grinned. It was the pretty car from last nightâs party! He had no idea who she really was!
Just then, another car suddenly began burning black smoke. It skidded off the track.
âAnother blown engine!â the announcer said. âThis is the second one tonight!â
Meanwhile, Mater had not budged from the Team Lightning McQueen pit.
âGet out now!â Holley repeated to him.
âAll right, then,â Mater replied, and turned to drive into the pitâs access tunnel. âYou know, I usually