If Cars Could Think 7

Chapter 27

CHAPTER 27

"Dad."

Robert shifted his wheels, certain he was dreaming.

"Dad." Something bumped him in the wheel, and he flicked his headlights on.

"Casey?" he hissed. "What are you doing here?" It was just before dawn; there was barely any light in the sky yet.

"It's important," Casey whispered. "We can't wake Mom up."

Robert felt a tremor work its way through him as he rolled out of the garage slowly, tapping the button so the door closed behind him. An odd stillness seemed to hang in the air. Him and Casey were the only cars in the lot this early in the morning; everyone else was still inside.

"What's going on?" he demanded. I hope it was good enough to justify waking me up so early!

"Follow me," she said. "I can't tell you here."

"Did something bad happen?" He drove after her as she headed for the front of the garages.

"Not really," she answered. "Nobody's hurt, or dead."

Then what the hell is going on?

His daughter led him to the dirt lot in front of the golf course, which was surprisingly still and eerie before sunrise. Little scraps of light were appearing over the horizon as streaks of reddish pink, the same color as fresh transmission fluid. This could be beautiful if it wasn't so doomed. Something bad had happened. Of that he was sure.

"Tell me everything, Casey."

Suddenly, he noticed her little wheels trembling, and the glow of her headlights darting from here to there. She's scared.

"What happened?"

"I-I did something I really shouldn't have done. I did something very bad, and it was all my fault."

Oh no. His ten pistons were slamming hard uncontrollably now. "Just tell me what you did!" Were his suspicions correct? Should he never have hired his own daughter?

"Cassie really wants a place here, and you can't open up a new position for her, right?"

"Right." Okay, this is about Cassie. Maybe it's not so bad. Maybe they just got into a fight, and Casey said some things she regrets. It was kind of like Casey to blow things out of proportion.

"Last night, I-I... just a few hours ago actually, I..." Her voice trailed off, and she avoided his gaze.

"Tell me," he growled, fury bubbling up inside him.

Casey backed away a few inches. "It was bad, but I wanted to help Cassie. She wanted this so bad, and I tried to go about it the right way; I really did. I tried asking you if she could be one of us, too, but you said no. So I did something that'll make it so you have to hire her."

"What did you do?" Robert asked dryly, though he already knew. The dread of the realization made his slamming pistons finally slow down. An emptiness seemed to fill him from within, making him choke.

"I-I... I showed her something she shouldn't have seen. And it was all my fault. It wasn't her idea, and she didn't ask me to do it. I wanted to do it, so I did. You can punish me if... if you have to."

"You do realize what the punishment for this is?" he exploded. How could I raise a child to be so stupid? How could I put my trust in someone-