The Ghost of Christmas Past
It's odd how weather can heighten or emphasize a mood. For four individuals who sat comfortably in a spacious hotel room this sense was not overlooked. While the eyes were on the man wearing the red coat, most of the attention was not. The eerie fog that lay thick outside had caught the interest of all members of the party. On the windows, as well, a thin layer of frost had begun to form adding to the chilling mood. Inside, while warm and cozy, one could feel the slight tension in the air. It was odd how that same feeling came around the winter holidays.
"Well everyone, as the New Year approaches so does the next job I have lined up. This will be one of the biggest undertakings we'll ever come up against, but it will be well worth it in the end."
"Get to the point, Lupin," remarked the resident samurai who turned his attention from the window to the master thief.
"Right, I finally got in my possession the last directions of Sir Francis Drake."
"So?" Fujiko enquired.
"So, my lovely Fuji-cakes, that means I have the location of his treasure that he hid from Queen Elizabeth. You think a pirate would give up all the treasure he worked for to some Royalty at home?"
"Well, where is it?"
"The actual treasure itself is somewhere on the beach of Nicaragua. The problem is finding the keys for it."
"The keys? As in there is more than one?"
"Correct, in fact there are four – a ruby, a sapphire, an emerald, and a diamond. Each key resides in a different spot in the world. Either it be under the watch of a museum guard or in the safe box of a private collection, we need to retrieve them to get to the final treasure."
"Lupin, this sounds like it'll take forever and I'm not a girl who likes to wait around."
"Would you wait around for 3.2 billion?"
"Alright, I'm interested."
"Of course," a mumble came from the corner, "you're just a money hungry bitch."
"What did you just say!" Fujiko yelled as she stood up.
"You heard me." With that, the man in black walked out of the room and just as swiftly out the door into the ghostly fog.
"I guess we should have expected that considering the time of year," Goemon said as he shook his head in disappointment.
"What is he talking about?"
"It's Christmas time," Lupin responded gravely.
"I know that, but what does that have to do with him being such an ass?" Lupin looked down at the slightly confused woman with an eye of 'you should know.' Upon thinking about it, Fujiko realized the insinuation and lost her angry stance. "That was seven years ago, though."
"Seven years may show its wear on the body, but not on the mind," Goemon chimed in.
"Well, it would explain why he drinks and smokes more."
"Yea, and seeing as it's the day of the accident, I think he'll be doing his usual celebrating at the bar. Don't worry, though, he'll be his usual self in a few days."
"His usual self isn't much better."
It was true; seven years ago that day the only loss to the group occurred via car crash. The name Jess Abraham was never brought up since then since it usually only procured tears or grimaces of pain. A doctor in training and a soon to be permanent member of the Lupin gang, Jess had seemed to find her place among the ragtag team of thieves. She even found love in the usually cold, sarcastic gunman. But, it seemed her time had come when she was taken quickly on that cold December night.
Meanwhile, as the rest of the group prepared to go to bed, the aforesaid gunman made his way down to the bar. He could hear his feet on the cobblestone of the street and the loud echoes they made in the silent German town. There was a time when a walk like that wouldn't seem so lonely, and heaven knows he tried to find someone to fill that hole, but they all ended up like the stereotype Jigen made women out to be – manipulating and deceiving.
Upon entering the small tavern, Jigen made himself as inconspicuous as possible and sat at the far end of the poorly lit room. Indicating to the bartender he wanted a few shots of something strong, he settled into the worn wooden chair with a lit cigarette for a night of forgetting.
Jess had hated it when he smoked and gave him an evil eye when he would drink too much, but when she left they were the only things that'd really comfort him. In the back of his mind there may have been reasoning that if he continued to do it, she'd be there one more time to scold him for it.
With a quick scan of the room, Jigen noticed the usual characters one sees in the bar. There was the drunk who had the coveted spot right next to the bartender. Next to the door was the man who 'couldn't catch a break' and usually had a disheveled appearance. Finally, there was the family man who went to the bar because he wanted to be anything but a family man. Just the normal crowd; normal until the door opened.
"Ah little miss," the bartender said cheerfully in English with a heavy German accent, "I thought you had moved. You never come around anymore."
"Well, what can I say? I was feeling a bit down."
This new girl, Jigen noticed, had swept into the bar like a breath of fresh air…or it could have been the huge gust of wind that blew in as she opened the door. Clutching the trench coat she wore tightly around her face as she entered, she closed the door quickly and made her way to other end of the tavern. The bartender went over to greet her leaving an opening for the gunman to watch without being noticed.
"You have the usual group in here, Gus; I assume it's just a slow night?"
"Ach, it is a bit slow, but we have an addition to our happy family here. Look in the corner."
The young woman arched her neck to see the "addition." The act caused Jigen to pull down his hat at having been caught watching.
"I should know to be more friggin' discrete than that," he mumbled to himself. "She probably thinks I'm some kind of pervert."
His embarrassment didn't last long, though, as he saw the woman suddenly get back up and make her way to the door. For a moment she paused and ran back to the bartender, taking a napkin and writing something down. As she handed it and a Euro over to owner of the establishment, she again popped her collar to cover her face and left just as quickly as she had entered.
"Excuse me sir, this is for you." The bartender walked over to where Jigen sat and laid down a shot of whiskey on a napkin.
"Sorry, but I didn't order it…yet."
"I know, she said to read the napkin."
Jigen looked down at the quickly scratched message on the indicated napkin. It was hard to make out at first, but upon further inspection, he was able to read:
Take it easy on the booze – love, Jess
"Hey, man, do you think this is friggin' funny!" the gunman growled grabbing the bartender by the collar and pointing to the napkin. "Well, you going to explain yourself or do I need to blow another hole in your face to say something?" Jigen began to reach around his back for his gun as the scared man stumbled over his words.
"Nein, I mean no. Sir, this isn't from me, it's from the girl who was in here before. She said you'd know what it meant."
"That bitch." Jigen let loose his grip on the bartender and threw down his payment for the few drinks he had ordered. Pushing the wooden chair out of his way, he ran towards the door and opened it to find a face full of wind. Pulling his jacket closed and using one hand to hold his hat in place, he stood silent to listen.
To the far left he heard the sound of shoes on cobblestone – heels, they belonged to a woman.
The streetlights had turned on and allowed a slim amount of visibility. The sleet which had been present in the beginning of the day had turned into large chunks of snow that blew fierce against the fuming man who headed swiftly in the direction of the woman.
"Who does this bitch think she is? It's probably Fujiko trying to piss me off. Well, I'll show her what it means to mess with something like that."
The footsteps were getting closer and it was becoming obvious that the woman knew she was being followed as the pace went from casual strides to hurried clatter. This was no problem for the angered gunman, though, who ran towards the ever increasing sound finally to find his antagonist.
"Hey, why the hell did you write that? Do you think that it's funny?"
The woman kept trying to walk away but Jigen kept up his stride behind her. He was furious at this point. This chick wasn't even giving him an excuse and continued to ignore him.
"Why not stop and talk awhile?" he yelled sarcastically as he pulled out his gun and cocked it. "You seemed willing enough to write that crap before, why not talk to me in person?"
The mysterious woman stopped cold in her tracks at the sound of the gun. The wind continued to blow hard against the two still bodies. Although being threatened, she tried to stay resolute and didn't turn around. Jigen could see her shiver, though, although he wasn't sure if it was from the cold or the scare at having a gun to her back. He almost felt bad at that point for possibly scaring her, but that thought was quickly swept away at what she wrote on the napkin.
"Who told you to write that? How do you know…?"
But the marksman was cut short as the woman turned around and looked straight up into his eyes. Never in his life had he been caught totally off guard, but at that moment someone could have knocked him over with a feather. It was impossible, he had to be seeing things.
"Jess?"
"You know, no one has called me that in seven years."
