Lap 06
The Samurai's Revenge
My days following the date with Sam weren't as grand as that one but they weren't necessarily bad. Keeping to my word, she and I had gone on a few more dates, that is whenever I wasn't out doing Captain Falcon things that is. I had stopped by Falcon House on a bright sunny afternoon as Captain Falcon when Sam was working. It had been about 7 days since our last date. I was going to ask her if she wanted to be official the next time I saw her outside of being Captain Falcon. Aunt DJ had indeed used the money I forced her to take to begin renovating and expanding the place. She also hired a few more staff members as well as 2 assistant managers to help her out. Falcon House was now busier than ever thanks to me making an appearance at the Sapphire Cup. Thankfully, my bartending hours were cut so I could focus on this whole bounty hunting job. Aunt DJ had told everyone that I was busy taking some more college classes and wouldn't be around as much. I typically worked the slower days like Mondays and Tuesdays. I had trained the new staff of bartenders one day and 2 or 3 of them were big Captain Falcon fans and asked me if he ever frequented the place in the past.
"Not since I started working here, but he did when I was a kid" I told the wide eyed female Zou when she asked me. The Zou yipped happily and went back to mixing a drink. The Zou got her wish within the next few days. As I said, I stopped by Falcon House one day when "business" was slow for me. Aunt Josslyn was the first to see me when I approached the front door. Luckily, there wasn't a line forming outside...yet.
"Hi Auntie," I whispered to her. Her eyes lit up when she realized that it was me and not just some guy in a costume. I gave her the 2 fingered salute and made my way inside. The place was full. Packed, you could say. Every single table was full plus every seat at the bar. No one seemed to notice me at first until, of course, Sam saw me standing there with my arms crossed.
"No way…" she said. Many of the other customers followed her gaze and their eyes rested upon me.
"Greetings," I said in that same deeper voice I always used thanks to my helmet's tech. "Need me a pit stop but I see that the place is full." Immediately Aunt DJ came out of the back and hugged me again, completely ignoring everyone else.
"Ah yes, the young lady from the Sapphire Cup who owns this place. My mentor told me all about you. Your name is...Deborah right?" I said to Aunt DJ. As usual when someone used her real name she flinched.
"DJ" she corrected me. I figured she could tell that I myself was grinning under the holographic disguise. I should have mentioned that I could control whether or not the holographic mouth mimicked my own mouth. Aunt DJ however looked relieved for some reason. As if she hadn't seen me in a few days.
"He also mentioned that the Andrew guy I keep hearing about is your nephew correct? I spoke with him a few weeks ago. Figured he'd be here tonight," I said. This time Sam cut in.
"Andy, he doesn't really like to be called Andrew," she said while Aunt DJ led me to an empty table that I just noticed. Multiple patrons began to snap photos and take videos of me as I walked by. Fal kept me updated about potential threats in the area just in case.
"Everything seems to be under control, Andy. I'll monitor the area and GSF just in case. No word on Jiggity Jigsaw Jack's whereabouts yet since we got that info last night" Yes, the dude that I was tracking at the moment was named Jiggity Jigsaw Jack. He's wanted for tampering with cyborgs and, in some cases, people i.e. chopping them up and using them as spare parts. Not nice. The reward money is 500,000 credits dead and 750,000 alive. He was last seen on Earth over in Europe. The GSF has been looking for this guy too so Fal has been listening in on their comms and relaying the useful info to me. I sat at the table Aunt DJ led me too and turned to Sam who looked ready to take my order.
"I'll take a Falcon Club and some sparkling water with lemon...uh...Sam," I said reading her nametag. She bustled off towards the kitchen. A couple children waved at me while I sat there reading reports on my helmet. I waved back and performed martial arts moves in the air. A few minutes later Sam came back with my order. I motioned for her to sit down with me.
"No, that's alright," she said. Sam caught the eye of Aunt DJ, who was still nearby, and she took the seat. Aunt DJ went to cover Sam's tables.
"So, have you been seeing that Andy guy?" I asked her. Sam flinched. I don't think she expected to be a.) talking to Captain Falcon today and b.) talking to him about her personal life.
"Yes I have. Things have been going great if you must know," she said rather sternly. Oh boy, she must think Captain Falcon is hitting on her. Judging by the reaction from nearby patrons, yes. That is exactly what she thought.
"Ok, bad question…" I said, finishing off half of the sandwich while trying to contain the fact that my high school crush just said things were going great between us. It was true. I'll spare you the details right now.
"You think? What? You think just because you saved my cousin ONCE that you get the ability to have any woman you want?" Sam said still angrily and with tears in her eyes and I think I knew why. Remember how I said we hadn't gone out in a few days? Well, that was because I needed to take down Jiggity Jigsaw Jack (man that name is dumb) and needed to do that without distractions. He was to be my first high profile bounty and I didn't want him to know I've been tracking him.
"You haven't actually seen Andy in a few days have you?" I asked bravely. Sam shook her head.
"He hasn't been answering me either. I don't know where he is when he's not here. His aunt mentioned something about more college classes and his friend Roy hasn't seen him either. Today's my birthday and...and I thought he'd remember," she said shakily. Dammit...I didn't. Freaking Jiggity Jack bitch ass. Aunt DJ glanced over at me with that "how could you" look that she used to give me when I bad-mouthed Captain Falcon when I was a teenager. Oh boy. I've gotten myself into some deep crap at the moment. I pulled up my messages list...that I put on silent like a MORON and saw that I had about 10 messages from Sam, 5 from Aunt DJ and 5 from Roy. All of them contained the same message "Where are you?" Oh this explains why Aunt Josslyn and DJ were so happy to see me tonight. Sam still looked on the verge of tears. She must really care about me...like me Andy not me Captain Falcon.
"Have you seen him around town? Please tell me you have. His little sister is really worried about him too," Sam asked me as I finished the sandwich.
"Uh, no" I began before she began to cry in earnest. Not loudly, but loud enough to make me hate myself for doing this to her.
"Andy, I have word on Jack's location, he's...oh no…" Fal said into my ear before I heard gunfire from behind me followed by maniacal laughter. I turned to see Jiggity Jigsaw Jack standing in the middle of the dining room with an assault rifle and his signature plasma bowie knife.
"Have you been looking for little old me Captain Falcon?! Because I...I have been looking EVERYWHERE for you! How ironic, I get to kill you in the place that worships you!"
I reached over the table and pushed Sam down and under it as bullets flew by over our heads. Sam, as expected, was now panicking. Odd, because last time this place was attacked she had defended herself rather well.
"Stay down," I said to her and got up from the table with my drink in my hand. Jack was wearing exactly what he was wearing in his wanted poster. A mechanic's jumpsuit with a medical lab coat over it and surgical gloves. He even had that head mirror that doctors in the early 21st century used to wear before advances in medicine came about. He was currently brandishing his knife at everyone within his range.
"One of your little fans informed me that you were here! I saw them live streaming it on the internet! My associate over in Old Atlanta told you that I was in Europe did he? FOOL! I have been here in Port Town for DAYS now! AHAHAHAH! I should have figured you'd be here, got a bit of a God complex do you?" Jack taunted in my direction. He ran the blade of his knife dangerously close to a little boy. Ok asshole, now you have pissed me off. I didn't make my anger known, I just stood there staring him down sipping my drink. The lack of a response from me pissed Jack off.
"Trembling in fear are you?! You should be! I will kill just about everyone in this room! The spiky harried woman out front was SO easy to overpower! I give her about 30 minutes before she bleeds out!" Jack said before laughing maniacally again and shot another burst of his rifle into the air. Now you REALLY pissed me off. Aunt Josslyn was apparently bleeding out outside. I am going to beat the absolute shit out of this guy. If I only got 500K credits, fine. NOBODY messes with my surrogate mother figures. The glass cracked a little in my hand as I squeezed it in anger. Good. I finished off the sparkling beverage, smacked my lips and then threw the cracked glass at this bastard's head. It connected and shattered against it. Jack yelled in pain now with shards of glass embedded in his face while slipping on the ice now on the floor. While he was stunned, I made my way over and grabbed him by the neck and lifted him off the ground.
"Jigsaw Jack, you are under arrest for tampering with cyborgs and organ harvesting," I said before he got a lucky kick in and I dropped him. You'd think that would disrupt all the high tech gear in my helmet but this isn't tech from the 21st century. This stuff would still work even if I dropped my helmet from orbit. I stumbled back a few steps and drew my own gun. I kept it set on stun and only had to use it once so far, but it was just target practice in the Falcon Lair. Jack picked up his own rifle and aimed it at me.
"Under arrest am I? What are my rights? Don't you have to read me my rights?"
"Do I look like a police officer? You're gonna be lucky I deliver you to GSF without any bruises," I retorted, still keeping the pistol aimed at Jack's chest level. A message came through on my display...from the terrified blonde girl with glasses. "Andy, where the hell are you! Some maniac is at Falcon House again! I might die! I need to see you to tell you that I really care about you! Please answer me!"
"Fal, answer that one. Tell her I'm on my way and that I called the GSF...call the GSF too" I whispered. Fal complied immediately. Meanwhile Jack turned his attention to a young boy that had bravely run forward and attacked his leg. Jack put his rifle over his back, picked up the boy and held the blade of his knife against his neck.
"One move, and I get some fresh organs from this one! I like when I get the young ones! Plus they always scream for their mommies!" Jack said to me. The boy began to cry for his mother, who was indeed nearby. The woman was looking at me silently begging me to save her son. Shit. What am I gonna do now? I needed to get to him fast and have him release the boy. I could try a bicycle kick? Yeah that might work. I looked up quickly to see how much room I had. Thankfully, enough. I needed to short hop then kick Jack in the face while backflipping at the same time. Dumbass was holding the little boy to the side too. Moron. Gave me a clear shot at his face.
"Show me YOUR moves Falcon!" Jack said. And I did. I was across the distance and short hopping before Jack had even finished saying "Falcon." I did a backflip and my right foot connected with Jack's chin while completely avoiding the little boy. Jack was thrown off his feet a few feet in the air and he dropped the little boy. Before Jack hit the ground, I followed him into the air and delivered an absolutely devastating knee to his chin on his way down. My knee was so powerful that Jack was launched away from me (I think I broke his jaw too) and smashed through the window and right into a GSF squad car. Dude was out cold. I turned to the little boy.
"You gotta be careful little guy. You're much too small to be fighting bad guys right now. What I want you to do is be good to your mommy ok?" I told him.
"Ok Captain Falcon," the boy said and ran over to his mother who embraced him as if he had been missing for a few weeks. I made my way outside to speak with the 2 GSF officers. They had already tied up Jack (who was still out cold) and were busy tending to Aunt Josslyn. Aunt DJ was pretty much frantic at this point as Josslyn was unconscious with a bloody wound on her stomach. I fought the urge to shoot Jack in the face for hurting my Auntie like that.
"IS SHE GOING TO BE ALRIGHT?!" Aunt DJ shouted at an officer. I recognized this officer as Jody's trainer.
"Yes DJ. We stopped the bleeding but we're still going to take her to the hospital. Ah, Captain Falcon. I assume you knocked this guy out? Fantastic. We'll wire the payment to your account as usual. He's still alive so you get the higher payout" the officer said. Aunt DJ turned to see me standing on the sidewalk in front of the broken window.
"I'll pay for that, that was my fault," I said, gesturing towards the window. Sam had followed me out too and was clinging to my arm.
"DJ, Andy called the GSF here, he should be on his way over soon. He must want to know about Josslyn," Sam said. Aunt DJ looked at me fiercely. I could tell what she wanted to say to me. Something about disappearing off the grid for 7 days. Before I could answer Sam, a sword was thrust under my neck.
"What the?"
"YOU SON OF A BITCH FALCON! THAT WAS MY BOUNTY!" a voice I remembered yelled at me. I turned to see Samurai Goroh standing between me and Sam. He currently was holding Sam in a one armed grip while his, I guess, gang of goons were keeping the GSF away from us. A female with light green hair was currently keeping Aunt DJ from her wife's side. How these guys got the drop on the GSF so fast is beyond me but whatever. I turned my head to face Goroh.
"My bad, next time maybe announce your presence beforehand ok? Perhaps do some kind of dance or something?" I said.
"You stole the prize money from me in the Sapphire Cup Falcon. You'll pay for that!" Goroh said, shaking the sword under my neck. His gang of cronies laughed. I myself did not. Sam meanwhile wriggled free of Goroh and kicked him in the face. That staggered him and allowed me to disarm him and punch him in the face too. Goroh recovered quickly but before I could continue my assault someone shouted
"Enough! You punch my husband again Falcon and your little girlfriend gets it!" the green haired woman said while holding a pistol to the back of Sam's head. Ok, now I'm PISSED! First my Auntie gets stabbed by a maniac and now the girl I've been planning to ask to be my girlfriend had a gun to her head. Also, husband? This Goroh dude was married. Alrighty then. This chick sounded and looked like a total bitch anyway.
"Thanks Brill," Goroh said, adjusting his glasses and picking up his sword. He looked Sam up and down before turning to me and grinning. "She'll do. Take her away guys."
"Over my dead body!" I shouted.
"That's the idea!" Brill said...man that name sounded weird.
"No! Get off me! Help! Someone!" Sam shouted as Goroh and Brill shoved her into Goroh's Fire Stingray. I watched as he and his gang drove away with the sounds of Sam yelling for help still ringing in my ears.
"Fal, get me an idea as to where they're headed. NOW!" I shouted as I ran towards the Blue Falcon and jumped in. "Also text Aunt DJ that I will be at the hospital as soon as I can, plus send her some of that bounty payment for Aunt Josslyn's medical costs."
"Affirmative Andy. As to where Goroh and his gang are headed...it looks to be the Red Canyon area," Fal reported. A message from Aunt DJ came through as I fired up the Blue Falcon's engine. It read "Save Sam, Joss is going to be alright. Thank you for saving the bar again sweetie. I love you." I responded with "Love you too. Take that money Fal's wiring to you guys. Auntie's safety means more to me than that bounty." Her following message was just an emoticon of a few hearts.
"What do they intend to do with her?!" I shouted to no one in particular. As usual, Fal answered in her calm voice.
"As a bargaining chip against you maybe?" she said. "Hang on, incoming transmission." A video of Goroh came up on my screen where I could see Sam now tied up and gagged in the back seat. My yell of rage nearly caused me to miss the beginning part of Goroh's message.
"GSF and Captain Falcon, this message is for you. If I do not receive the payment I was robbed of during the Sapphire Cup, a sum of 20 million credits if you forgot, by 5:30pm then this little waitress gets stranded in the desert...or maybe I'll just run her over...yeah, sounds fun. Either way, the clock starts now Falcon! Meet me at Red Canyon by 5:30pm." I glanced at the clock. It was 4:30. Wow. Thanks for giving me time to think asshole.
"DAMMIT!" I yelled. Oh this dude had really pissed me off today. But still, I needed to get to Sam. By any means necessary. She meant a lot to me.
"You really care about Miss Narasu don't you Andy?" Fal asked me. Again, I was reminded of my mom when she spoke.
"Yes Fal...I have since I was like 17," I said, performing a sharp turn around a corner in the direction of Red Canyon. That reminded me of something. I could easily out race Goroh. Perhaps I could challenge him to a race to win Sam's freedom. I relayed this info to Fal who agreed wholeheartedly. She even pulled up some statistics on Goroh's machine. The machine itself could take a lot of damage but it's boosting capabilities were poor and it's grip was above average. All I really had to do was get in front of him while conserving my boosts for whenever I really needed them.
"Fal, how soon will we get to Red Canyon?" I asked.
"In about 45 minutes," she responded.
"Perfect. I'll take on anybody, anytime. Especially you Goroh,"
We arrived at Red Canyon about 45 minutes later. The sun was still out but on it's way towards the horizon. I easily spotted Goroh with Sam at his side. She still looked unhurt but she was rather dirty and disheveled. That pissed me off but Fal reminded me to keep my cool. I needed Goroh to fall for this plan. I pulled up near them and killed the Blue Falcon's engine and jumped out.
"So, you've decided to give me what's rightfully mine?" Goroh asked. Sam made muffled noises that sounded like "No!" I held up my hand to her.
"I have a counter offer. Instead of giving you the 20 million credits, you and I will race for it," I said. Goroh smiled wickedly.
"That is a fine looking machine you drive, Falcon. You know the law here in Red Canyon? If you lose the race you forfeit your machine too!" he said. "I accept your challenge, first one to that check point over there is the winner!" Goroh pointed off in the distance where 2 outcroppings of rock made a makeshift archway. I hadn't expected for him to agree to the deal but hey, his arrogance seemed to have gotten the better of him. He must've thought I was hesitating because he pulled out his sword and thrust the blade under my neck again
"You can't back down now! The mighty Falcon can't back down from a challenge now, can he?" Goroh taunted. I shook my head and moved the blade of his sword away from my face.
"I accept your terms. If you win, you get the Blue Falcon and 20 million credits and you keep the girl. If I win, the girl comes with me. Deal?" I said and held out my hand.
"Deal! The 2 of you will die together in this desert! Ahahahahahah!" he said. Some of his cronies that I didn't realize had just arrived, including Brill, had walked over and took Sam away from the area. The both of us got back into our respective machines and took positions at the starting line which was marked by Brill. Brill held up 3 fingers. Then 2. Then finally 1. Goroh and I both launched forward at breakneck speeds. There were no energy refills on this "track." I had to conserve my boosts wisely. Plus if I went too far to the right, I'd fall into a chasm and probably die. So you know, no pressure. Good. Great. Awesome. As usual, I pulled ahead of Goroh pretty fast but he immediately got in front of me again by boosting. I retaliated as well and pulled ahead of him. About half way through the race was when something ridiculous happened. See, I guess Goroh had assumed that I would challenge him to a race or something and had a couple of his goons positioned along the track to drop effing BOULDERS onto it. Like HUGE ASS ROCKS. Big. None of those wimpy baby ones. Like these things could easily flatten me.
"You son of a-" I said to myself.
"Oh dear!" Fal said into my ear as I quickly maneuvered my way around the boulders. I guess there were multiple people in Goroh's posse because the boulders KEPT COMING. Every time I took a left or right turn? Boulders. Tons of them. This was ridiculous. Who wants to race me in a canyon anyway? Man this guy's a god damn clown. Then again, I am too but whatever. I out maneuvered the boulders while conserving my boost but out of the corner of my eye, I don't think Goroh was doing what I was doing. He was boosting whenever he could to stay ahead of me. Near the final kilometer, I lost sight of him while I boosted my way past the checkpoint for the win. HYES! I did it! I beat Goroh again! I banged a U-turn to face where I had just come from to see Goroh stumbling around out of his now damaged machine. He had run into a boulder and the machine itself was sparking and smoking. I jumped out and made my way towards Brill and Sam.
"FALCON! I'M GONNA GET YOU IN THE NEXT GRAND PRIX!" Goroh shouted at me.
"As if hotshot," I said and discreetly tapped the button on my gauntlet to call the Falcon Flyer to my location. Brill was still holding onto Sam near the edge of the very deep chasm. Brill was looking at me in sheer anger.
"I believe we had a deal, I beat your husband. The girl comes with me. Let her go," I said. The moment I said "let her go" I knew it was a bad idea. Brill's mouth widened in a wicked grin as I pressed the "Get the Falcon Flyer over here now!" button on my gauntlet again as Brill dropped Sam into the chasm. Immediately, I dove over the side to catch the girl I am now literally falling for.
"You said let her go!" I heard Brill shout before I jumped. I snapped my arms to the side in order to catch up with Sam's flailing body. Her mouth gag and arm bindings had come undone because of the rushing air and she was screaming bloody murder. Her eyes found mine and she reached her hand towards mine. I reached my own out and grasped hers. I pulled her close as I heard the engine of the Falcon Flyer below us. I thought I could hear the sound of an inflatable cushion before the both of us crashed into it. It absorbed most of the impact but it still hurt a bit. The good news was that neither of us were seriously injured.
"ANDY! Are you alright! I activated the cushion just in case!" Fal's voice was saying.
"Yeah, thanks Fal." I got off of the deflating cushion to see if Sam was alright. She was curled in the fetal position and shaking with fear. I offered her my hand and she took it again and got to her feet. She clung to me like she was a lost kitten and began to cry again while saying "I thought I'd never see Andy again" over and over. I looked up toward the lip of the chasm. I think we only fell about 1.5km. Jeez, I'm surprised that Sam wasn't a pool of goo on the Falcon Flyer. Then again, I had her land on top of me so she probably didn't feel the impact as much as I did.
"Bring us up Fal, I need to have a little chat with Goroh," I said while Sam continued to cling to me. I folded my arms as Fal brought the Falcon Flyer straight up into the air. As I expected, Goroh's cronies were looking at me in sheer awe as well as terror. Meanwhile, Goroh and Brill were busy examining the Blue Falcon. Goroh turned at the sound of the Falcon Flyers engine and smiled wickedly at me.
"You lose Falcon! The Blue Falcon's mine!" he said and jumped inside along with Brill. I smirked at him.
"May I do the honors Andy?" Fal said in my ear.
"Indeed" I said out loud. Goroh seemed to think I was talking to him before he and Brill were electrocuted and tossed out of the Blue Falcon like crash test dummies. The pair of them hit the dirt in a smoking heap completely unconscious. The Falcon Flyer's cargo hold opened and Fal guided the Blue Falcon into the open hatch.
"I think I'll keep my machine, the money I rightfully won and take this young lady to safety. Deal?" I said before a hatch opened near my feet. No one answered, plus half of them were trying to get Goroh and Brill to wake up.
"Thought so," I said and helped Sam into the open hatch. We blasted off a moment later.
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Sam was saying into my shoulder as she hugged me. Oh boy was she in for a pretty big surprise in about a few minutes. I felt like the time was now to tell her. I had kept her in the dark for the past week and I had been Captain Falcon for about 2 months now.
"Are you alright, that was a pretty eventful hour and a half wasn't it? Especially on your birthday," I responded.
"ETA to Port Town, 20 minutes at this speed. Should I maintain it Cap?" Fal's voice came over the speakers. Thankfully, she didn't call me Andy. That would ruin the surprise. Sam jumped at the sound of Fal's voice. She was really cute when she got startled.
"Don't worry, it's just my digital assistant. Yes Fal, that's fine. I need to see if you're alright Sam," I said while deactivating the voice modulator on my helmet. Sam however, didn't notice. She was busy dialing someone on her phone that Goroh apparently didn't think to take nor did it fall out of her pocket during our free fall. Her glasses miraculously stayed on her face too. Must be that new magnetic technology. I don't know, I don't wear glasses. Who was Sam calling? Me obviously. Thankfully my actual phone was back at the Falcon Lair but I could still see that the call was coming in. I let it go to voicemail.
"ANDREW LEMMING! WHERE IN GOD'S NAME ARE YOU!" Sam shouted loudly. I jumped this time. Goodness me. Note to self: never piss Sam off again. "I WAS JUST CAPTURED, HELD HOSTAGE AND DROPPED INTO A CHASM. MEANWHILE, YOU HAVEN'T ANSWERED ANY OF MY MESSAGES OTHER THAN THE ONE ABOUT YOUR AUNT! HOW HAVE YOU NOT REALIZED THAT I REALLY CARE ABOUT YOU! I'VE HAD SO MUCH FUN SPENDING TIME WITH YOU EVERY SO OFTEN! I'VE BEEN MEANING TO ASK YOU IF YOU WANT TO ACTUALLY BE OFFICIAL AS IT'S MY BIRTHDAY BUT YOU CLEARLY FORGOT ABOUT THAT TOO YOU JERK! YOU WILL BE LUCKY IF I EVER SPEAK WITH YOU AGAIN!" Sam finished yelling, hung up and slumped into a chair while starting to cry again.
"You didn't mean that," I began...which was again, the wrong thing to say while I was Captain Falcon. Sam shot me a look of venom. I held up my hands in surrender. I wonder if she noticed that my voice wasn't as deep as it was earlier. I don't think she did.
"Of course I didn't mean that...I just want to know where he's been. None of us have seen him in a week…" she said shakily. That was indeed true. I know what you're thinking. Your aunts know that you are Captain Falcon, why haven't they been seeing you on the news? Well, remember how I was tracking Jigsaw Jack? Yeah, that needed to be done on the downlow. I even disguised myself as a GSF officer and used that "copy a hand print" thing my gloves can do in order to sneak into the GSF and snag a copy of Jigsaw Jack's file. I'd been spending the last few days out of Port Town and Mute City tracking his whereabouts and shaking down his associates. I typically did this at night and in dark alleyways so Jack didn't catch onto the fact that I was on his trail. The last guy had told me he was in Europe...but he totally lied obviously. Dude showed up at Falcon House earlier. I might need to speak with Aunt Josslyn about hiring more security. Perhaps some of the GSF people that weren't in Dark Million's pockets. Anyway, back to Sam. She was still pretty distraught.
"Call him again," I said in my normal voice. Again Sam failed to notice that it was me standing in front of her (Fal was piloting).
"You think he's going to pick up?" she said while sniffing periodically.
"Just do it, trust me," I said. Sam rolled her eyes, took out her phone and dialed my number again. I let it ring a few times before I reached up and deactivated my holographic disguise. Sam looked up at the sound of it turning off. Sam's eyes widened as she seemed to recognize my chin goatee. The same goatee she usually ran her thumb over when she kissed me. Her phone fell from her hand as her eyes remained glued to my face. I smiled and took off the helmet.
"Happy Birthday Sam," I said. Sam didn't respond. She kept looking at me in sheer admiration. I could almost hear her mind piece together that it was ME that had kneed Jigsaw Jack in the face, talked her cousin Chisato out of suicide, won the Sapphire Cup with her in attendance, saved her from Samurai Goroh and from falling to her death. Me. The man that she apparently really cared about. Sam slowly reached her hand out to my face and touched it.
"An...Andrew?" she asked softly. I pouted.
"Come on now, you know I don't like to be called that," I said before smiling at her again. Sam tackled me at this point and kissed me so fiercely I don't think she ever wanted to let me go for several hours. Fine. Awesome. 10 out of 10. Eventually she let me speak.
"So, is that offer of being your boyfriend still on the table or have I screwed up too much last week?" I asked. Sam grabbed my face and kissed me again .
"I'll take that as a 'yes'." I said as she pulled away from me and she began nodding vigorously. "Following Jigsaw Jack needed to be discreet. I'm sorry. I thought it'd only take a day or 2 at most. As for the Sapphire Cup thing, yeah. There was clearly no bartending class I had to go to. Remember how emotional my aunt was when she saw me during that race? She knows. I'm sorry I lied to your face," I said.
"I don't care," Sam said and embraced me. I ran my hand up her back and through her disheveled hair. She shivered with excitement. That seemed to confirm for her that it was really me in front of her as Captain Falcon.
"I'm dating Captain Falcon. This is the best birthday ever," Sam said and began to cry tears of happiness into my shoulder.
"Yes, you are," I said. I held her close as Fal piloted us towards the Falcon Lair.