Flight of the Idi-Oto

“Okay,” Oto muttered to himself as he adjusted his seat and fastened the belt. “Okay. Okay. Okay. I need toooooo…”

He groaned, trying to remember what his instructor had told him. Unfortunately, it had been several years since he had learned, and the lessons were mainly for the sake of flying in the event his then-ancient pilot had complications mid-flight. And since Rigglesby retired, he'd had no reason to keep up with the practice.

Working his way through a quick cockpit setup, Oto began to adjust his frictions to assist with flight. That one he remembered, because both started with the same letter. Then he adjusted himself in the seat, pulling against the constrictive belt as he searched for the rotor break.

“Where in the—ah! There you are.” He talked to himself with a sigh before disengaging the brake and moving onto the fuel valve. “Car breaks are much better than helicopters. And I don’t have to worry about the fuel in cars…it's just there.”

Oto shifted his head up, looking at Hayami as she reached the statues at the edge of the cliff. He admired her from afar, watching as she gracefully leapt from cover and took down the first paparazzi. A moment later, she extended her arm, and two more figures tumbled from their hiding spots. She was doing her part well, just as he was doing his the best he could.

“Oh, damn it! Focus, Oto. Hayami’s hotness isn’t going anywhere.” He cursed, looking back down at the dashboard of switches and buttons. “What was next? Uhhh—buh—batteries? Yes! I sure hope Giles put in some fresh Double-As. Wait, no, what am I saying? Pfft—He always replaces the ones in the remotes before they go bad, so of course he would do the same here! Sorry to doubt you, Giles.”

Flicking the switches, Oto allowed muscle memory to take control as he began to turn on various systems.

“Airplane-onics, lights, radio—no, Hayami doesn’t like when I have the radio on in the car…”

Finally, ensuring the throttle was closed, he checked the mixture and prepared to prime the engine. At that point, Oto pulled his hands away, staring down at everything he had done. He was all but certain he had gotten everything except starting the helicopter.

“Come on, Hayami, enough playing aro—” Oto spoke to himself, glancing back up to see Hayami in the middle of combat with a familiar-looking man. “Hayami!”

From a distance, he could tell that the spar was not going her way. She swung her arm with the usual precision, only to have it deflected with a well-placed parry. The man she combated rolled his shoulder, ducking under a second strike, and jabbing forcefully into her ribs before delivering a powerful upper cut to her jaw.

“No! Not her beautiful face.”

Hayami did a backflip, landing low to the ground, where she kicked outward, sweeping at his legs. But the man jumped over them with ease. He landed firmly, preparing himself as she swung a fist next. Unfazed by her movements, he caught it, twisting with a firm grip that caused her elbow to bow inward as he raised his arm and backhanded her to the ground. Even from Oto’s distance and the cover of night that shrouded them, he could see the man laughing at that moment. Then, reaching down, he hoisted Hayami up by her hair. With another swift strike, he hit her face once more, knocking her back to the ground.

Oto’s heart raced as fear set in. Hayami, his hero, was losing her fight, and there was nothing he could do about it. He wasn’t a fighter, and even if he was, there was no way for him to reach her in time.

“I hate to say it, but if I only had…a horse.”

Then something clicked in Oto’s mind as he thought of the thrilling escape they made on the devil mare from Capitana. Something he knew how to do that would tip the scales in his favour. And as the man lifted Hayami once more for another strike, Oto unbuckled himself and leapt from the helicopter.

Descending the stairs, he entered the garage and looked over his vehicles. Luckily, one was facing the cliffs, where the cherry red paint could be bathed in the light of the grand bay windows. And while Alhambra was still roaming the property, nowhere to be found, he had his own mustang that he now knew how to ride. So, he slipped into the vehicle and ran his hand over the yellow-and-black mustang emblazoned on the steering wheel.

“Come now, Alhambra-Two,” Oto whispered as he reached for the ignition and started the Italian import. “Let us save Hayami…together!”

The vehicle roared to life as he shifted the car into drive and forced his foot to the gas. His head flung back into the seat as the car raced forward, bursting through the glass window and towards the cliff edge.

Meanwhile, the fight had been going poorly for Hayami. Her body ached from the strikes, and blood poured down her face from a cut over her eye.

“Shit, ack!” She spat up as a hand reached down, grabbing her by the throat and lifting her.

Her body, weakened from the beating, hung limply in Takeshi’s grip. Reaching up, she grabbed for his hands, trying to pry them from her neck, but failing. And as she extended her grasp for his face, he only held her farther away with a laugh.

“Oh, kid.” He chuckled. “Ever since you were young, you were weak. I never understood what your old man saw in you. Little girls can't cut it in this line of work. You're too delicate. You’re nothing like us old guards. Kids these days don’t have any finesse. It’s all about using your special guns or cellular phones. Back in my day, there was nothing better than strangling a man with your bare hands.”

He inhaled deeply, looking out over the dark ocean as Hayami’s vision began to blur. Her heart raced as she struggled for a breath. She wanted to break free, but his hold was too strong.

“Once I’m done with you.” Takeshi continued his monologue. “I’ll go handle the little idiot. Collect my fee, and then maybe the missus and I will take that vacation we’ve been wanting. Where do you think we should go? Bali? Amalfi Coast? Maybe the homeland of Japan.”

Oto. Hayami thought to herself as everything began to go dark. I’m sorry. Oto…please—

There was a sudden crash as glass shattered out from the garage and an engine roared to replace it. Hayami’s vision shifted to the side as a pair of bright lights ripped through grass and bushes, barely missing the fountain as it raced forward.

“What the hell?!” Takeshi gasped, his grip weakening slightly as he stepped back, giving Hayami what she needed to catch her breath

The vehicle approached quickly, its brakes activating at the last moment, dipping the nose down as it aimed to make contact with Takeshi. The man’s grip on Hayami lessened as he tried to jump away, dropping her to the ground as he moved back. But as she rolled away, she managed to land a final kick to his Achilles, causing him to stumble. And even with the vehicle braking as it came to the edge, he was still too slow. The man impacted the hood of the vehicle, denting it before bouncing off. With a scream, he disappeared over the edge of the cliff.

“Oh my God!” Oto yelled from inside the vehicle, watching the man vanish from view.

Putting the car into park, he climbed out of the driver’s seat and glanced from Hayami to the cliff.

“Oh my God! Did—Did I just kill him?” He continued to panic. “Did I just—just Cheeseman Sasha’s husband? That wasn't my intention! I swear it!”

But before he could think any more about it, Hayami whimpered from beside the car, drawing his attention away from the panic that had begun to take him.

“Oto…”

“Hayami!” He cried out.

Rushing to her side, Oto knelt and embraced the badly beaten girl. With a careful brush of his suit sleeve against her, he wiped the blood away from her face. And as he stared at the spots which would become bruises and the cuts that would need stitches, he pulled her close.

“Hayami,” He whispered. “You’re—”

“Beaten to a pulp.” She sighed.

“No. Still beautiful. And it's not fair.”

With a deep exhale, she melted into his embrace, where she listened to the racing heart that beat against his chest. Slowly reaching up, she rubbed at his cheek with a weak smile.

“Let’s finish this.” She strained to whisper before sitting herself up. “Is the helicopter ready?”

“Mostly.” He replied as Hayami's stare turned to a frustrated scowl. “I mean, yes. Of course, dear. Totally, one hundred percent, ready. All gooch, as the slang goes.”

“No, Oto,” Hayami groaned weakly, grabbing her backpack from the ground before facing the boy. “No, they don’t. Now, help me over there.”

Picking Hayami up, Oto held her in his arms and carried her back to the garage like the bride she was pretending to be for the evening. She blushed, wrapping her embrace around his neck, allowing him to take her all the way to the helicopter, where he began his final preparations for takeoff.

Running through his shortened checklist once more, the boy primed the engines again before flicking the final switches and pressing the starter.

“Oto,” Hayami suddenly began to panic, watching from her seat as a dozen more goons made their way around the edge of the house. “Take off, now!”

“Hayami, I can’t.” He explained, looking to her as he pointed towards the rotor above. “I have to wait for the spinny bit to get more dangerous.”

Hayami watched as all but one of the figures rushed forward with their weapons drawn. The final one, standing against the edge of the building, took a knee as he pulled a long tube from the bushes and propped it on his shoulder.

“Oto, take off now!”

“Almost there...”

She turned and watched as the distant goon lined up his shot before, in an instant, a figure approached from behind. Hayami witnessed two meaty hands grapple the goon's head, snapping it to the side before tossing the body to the ground.

“Oh shit…” She gasped, watching as the figure stepped out from the shadows with a rifle in hand. They tapped at their temple before readying their rifle and opening fire on the remaining assailants.

Hayami’s pocket buzzed as the phone she had stolen from Oto lit up.

“Hello?” She answered.

“Miss Hayami,” Giles replied, his gunfire matching that of the shadowy figure. “I shall ensure your safe retreat. Please remember that the C-Four meant for your final display is under the back seat. And, do take care of Master Oto in my absence. He's a good boy but needs a little extra attention.”

“Giles—”

But the call disconnected before she could say more. And at that moment, Oto spoke as the Helicopter began to move.