Going, Going, Goners

The servants' passage was abustle with movement as the hard workers retreated to the private space as a means to avoid the chaos of the party.

“Great job, everyone!” Oto exclaimed as he carefully navigated the crowd. “That’ll most likely be it for the evening, so please have a great rest of your night.”

Sporadic replies of “thank you, sir,” and “yes, sir,” returned to his ears as impeccably dressed men and women moved about, shuttling the fine dishware and remaining hors d'oeuvres back to the kitchen.

“And,” Oto continued, announcing to them with an appreciative smile. “Please don’t forget to sign the N-D-As in Giles’s office. You don’t want to miss out on that two-million-dollar severance package. The funds will be wired to your account within seven-to-ten business days. Thank you again, everyone! You’ve been absolutely wonderful!”

“Oto, come on!” Hayami hissed, pressing open one of the side doors to a regularly unpopulated room. “We’ve got to move.”

“I’m coming, I’m coming.”

Pushing open the wooden panel, the pair emerged from the secret passage to Hayami’s least favourite room in the house. Through the dim light shed by the servant halls, she could see the collection of artisan dolls in the room. A chill raced through her body as she stared at their unsettling porcelain faces and the mops of human hair affixed to their heads.

“Yehguh!” She shuttered. “Screw this room. Creepy pieces of—”

“They’re heirlooms!” Oto insisted as he pushed past her.

Using his phone to guide him, the boy moved to the center of the space, directing the light around in search of where the two had stashed their ‘night-of go-bags’. And that was when he spotted it. 

As he searched, he noticed that the faces of the dolls were turned in a similar direction, their attention still fixed on their previous audience. They looked to a corner where a figure huddled out of sight.

“S-Someone’s there,” Oto whispered to his companion. "Behind that curtain.

Hayami, having found their backpacks, approached the boy with her pistol drawn. She followed the gaze of the dolls, lining up their eyesight with the shaking figure that had concealed itself behind the heavy velvet draping before the only window of the room.

She glanced at Oto, who looked back at her expectantly. With a silent nod towards the curtain, she gave him the silent instruction to draw back the barrier. Then, stepping over, the boy did so with a flourish, listening as the figure released a startled yelp.

Behind the thick veil was a young man with the familiar face and build of someone who had antagonized Hayami earlier in the evening.

“Chadwick?” Oto gasped, inspecting the man.

“Oto, you imbecilic oddball!” Chadwick cursed, his eyes fixed on Oto. “Of course you would screw everything up, you idiot! You've revealed my—"

There was a loud pop as the boy’s head snapped back with a spray of mist, painting the window behind him. In the time it took his body to fall limply to the floor, Oto had released his own yelp and turned towards Hayami, whose pistol was extended in his direction.

“Hayami!” Oto cried out. “What the hell?! You shot Chadwick!”

“I warned him to leave,” She replied with a shrug, tucking the pistol away before tossing Oto his bag. “The idiot didn’t believe me, so that’s on him. Now, let’s go.”

Oto glanced from Hayami back to Chadwick as he cleared his throat to speak. Before absconding, the boy had something he wanted to say to his ex-friend.

“Chadwick, you were a bad friend. I didn’t like the things you said to me, and I’d like you to consider our friendship over thus—”

“Come on, Oto!” Hayami cried out, grabbing the boy and ripping him back towards the servant hall. “He’s already dead, you don’t need to say goodbye. It's pretty obvious your friendship is over!”

As they reentered and closed the secret door of the servant’s passageway behind them, there was commotion in the doll room. The police, having heard the gunshot, filtered into the space as the two briefly listened.

“Gah, creepy room.” They could hear one of the officers remarking.

“Do these dolls have real human hair?”

“Why are they looking at me?”

Pulling away, Hayami shot Oto a glance, to which he huffed. Both knew what the other wanted to say, so instead of voicing their opinions and risking the attention of the police, they moved on with purposeful steps. They moved downstairs, towards the northern wing of the villa, where they made their way outside.

While everything had become rushed after the appearance of the rival gang, the plan had gone well. They had entertained the guests, incriminated not one, but two mobsters, and were now preparing to make their getaway. The stage had been well set and, shortly, they planned to give the final performance of the evening.

Hayami tightened her grip on the pack slung over her shoulder as she reached back for Oto’s hand.

“Let’s go. The helicopter—”

Gunfire erupted from the nearby bushes as gunmen wearing paparazzi badges emerged with rifles drawn. They fired wildly, their bullets tearing into the building and stone statues that marked the secondary entrance to the villa.

“Paparazzi!” Hayami cried out, pushing Oto back as she withdrew her pistol and returned fire.

Stumbling to the ground, the boy watched as the Hayami held her ground. The determined and ferocious look that he loved so much crossed her face as she took cover behind a statue. Leaning out, she squeezed the trigger effortlessly before the magazine slid from the bottom of her pistol. With natural grace, she slipped a hand into the pocket of her dress and withdrew another, sliding it into place before emerging once again.

Oto wanted nothing more than to take a picture of her. So, slipping the backup phone from his pocket, he did. A final set of shots to remember the evening, immortalizing the beauty of Hayami as she masterfully took control of the situation.

In the time it took her to dispatch the rogue paparazzi, Oto had snapped a collection of photos and posted them to his social media. No filters. No touch-ups. Just Hayami’s beauty as she stood, protecting him yet again.

“Oto, what are you doing?!” She scolded him, catching a glimpse of him tapping away at the screen. “We’ve got to go!”

“Hayami.” He replied, turning the screen to her and revealing the picture that he had posted. “You’re so beautiful, my love.”

Her expression softened as she released a quiet sigh. Over time, it had become difficult for her to be angry with him. After all, he loved her for her—something that she found bizarre. So, instead of scolding him in the middle of a gunfight, she reached out to him.

“Okay, okay,” Hayami spoke, taking his hand and pulling him to his feet. “Fine, but we have to go now.”

“Yes, dear.”

“Mmm, don’t do that.” Hayami sighed as she scanned the space between them and the distant garage.

Her vision shifted from the glass wall that displayed Oto’s imported cars to the helicopter that sat dormant atop the building. The third stage of their evening plan took advantage of the boy’s ability to fly to make their final escape.

Glancing back at him, Hayami smiled. He stared at her with a loving gaze and soft, trusting smile of his own. She took his hand in hers, gently squeezing before beginning her run towards the garage. Towards their freedom. Or so they hoped.

They had only made it halfway before more mobsters emerged from the surrounding area and began to fire. With that, Hayami forced Oto to the ground, as she knelt over him. With her pistol drawn, she began to fire once more. 

Her shots, as accurate as always, met their marks with relative ease and even more so thanks to the high-quality present that Oto had gifted her. Unfortunately, under the pressure of her relentless accuracy, several of the figures had begun to back away towards the cliff, where they took cover behind a series of statues that marked the edge of the property.

“Oto, get the helicopter started,” Hayami ordered, reloading her pistol. “I need to deal with these guys before we take off.”

“Me? Why me?”

“Because you can fly the helicopter! You knew this was your job!”

“Yes, fly, but I said that take off and landing—”

“Do it!” She shouted, looking down at him quickly before lowering her voice. “Please…”

She brushed a hand against his cheek, leaning in and tenderly kissing him.

“Well, since you asked nicely—”

But before Oto could finish, Hayami was already racing away from him. With her pistol drawn, she fired calculated shots at the statues, keeping the goons pinned down and concealing her approach. Sliding into position behind a fountain, she listened to their bullets chipping away at marble and splashing against the water as she ejected her empty magazine and reloaded.

Popping from her hiding position, she began to fire again, moving even closer until she finally reached the statues. The first goon took a swing at her as she hopped from around the edge, but she dodged him with ease. Then, with a swing of her own hand, she pressed the muzzle of her gun to his temple and fired. His body tumbled to the side as she levelled the firearm at the remaining two who had begun to flee.

All it took to dispatch them was two shots, and their bodies limply fell to the ground. No longer being fired at, Hayami scanned the open space for additional threats. When she was certain that she was alone, her vision shifted back to the garage, where she could see Oto inside the helicopter, intently fiddling with the controls.

“Okay, good.” She breathed a relieved sigh. “That’s going. Now to make sure…”

Pulling the backpack from her shoulder, she unzipped the bag. Resting atop the piles of loose bills that stuffed the interior to capacity were two extra pistol magazines and a single night vision scope.

Withdrawing the objects, she turned her attention towards the dark, endless ocean. Lifting the scope to her eye, Hayami stared out and scanned the horizon. At first, there was nothing, until suddenly a bright flash of green light. Then, thirty seconds later, another.

The yacht had heard the organ playing and was beginning its darkened approach. The only light on was an infrared beacon used to guide the helicopter to its target. Their curtaincall was officially in sight.

Turning to check back on Oto, a fist struck Hayami's face. She stumbled backwards, falling to the ground and nearly rolling off the cliff. Instinctually reaching for her gun, a pair of feet shuffled around, delivering a heavy kick that sent the weapon flying over the edge.

“You’re getting sloppy, kid,” A familiar voice grumbled. “A life of luxury had made you weak. You should have just done the job your pops wanted.”