A hand rubbed his shuddering back as the sobs shook him beyond control. "It's okay," the inspector rasped into his ear.
Oscar tried to suck up the snot and saliva. "I failed…" he muttered, his voice choked with sobs. "How can I ever be a real inspector like you?" He looked at the collar of Zenigata's coat with blurred eyes, too afraid to meet the man's eyes.
"It's fine," Zenigata assured him. "We all make mistakes."
"But…" Oscar rubbed violently at his eyes before looking the man in the face. "What if he had gotten away with it? That poor lady…"
Zenigata shook his head. "The old lady would have been fine. She only had five dollars on her anyway."
Oscar clenched a fist in his lap. "It doesn't matter! I didn't catch him. What if she had needed that five dollars to feed her family or something?"
Zenigata sighed. "Things don't always work out. You can't let it eat away at you like that. If you can't do it, then… you might not be cut out for this."
Zenigata had suspected as much for some time, but he had sealed his lips in trying to give the rookie a chance. Though he had nearly given up the last time, when Oscar had insisted he be arrested for accidentally short-changing the convenience store clerk ten cents.
Oscar grabbed Zenigata's hand with eager, misty eyes. "I won't let you down, Inspector. I'll prove myself. Why don't we try a new strategy? We'll weed out the others in Lupin's gang: Daisuke Jigen and Goemon Ishikawa. I promise I'll do it! For you!"
Zenigata stared Oscar down. He knew that look of determination. That look meant business. "Of course you will."
His sidekick grinned in elation. "I know just what to do!"
When Oscar ran off like that, it never seemed like good news, but Zenigata let a pleasantly neutral look settle upon his face as he stood, coat billowing in the wind.
That was something seriously wrong with that kid.
Lupin sighed, scanning the place for any method of distraction. The bar sluts weren't around so early and he would have preferred some motorboats to a serious conversion. "Jigen…" He refilled Jigen's drink, knowing he would never stay otherwise. "Have you noticed Goemon acting a little… weird?"
Jigen choked on his Slippery Titty, the house special and the reason they always stopped by that bar. "Goemon? Weird? What are you talking about?" He dropped the remainder of the drink down his gullet and signaled for more. "Goemon's… you know. He never changes." Jigen bit the inside of his mouth, which tasted delicious. He's gonna kill me.
Lupin shrugged, taking no notice to Jigen's suspicious behavior. "I guess. I don't know, he's been looking at me funny. And Fujiko said she was concerned and…" Lupin was too, but he knew Jigen wouldn't understand. "I guess so." Lupin solemnly stared down the counter as he went over the issue in his head.
His new drink in hand, Jigen took a long sip. "You're no fun when you're all mopey. Why don't you go find a broad or something?"
Lupin looked up hopefully. It was rare that Jigen suggested that. "You understand me so well… Jigen-chan."
Lupin slipped away before the glass could hit him.
From behind tinted lenses, pointed eyes watched the fingers caressing the glass, the reckless way in which the man poured the poison down his throat. Oscar, in the guise of a bored and rich woman, held a glass up to his red-coated lips. As he mentally noted every blemish on the man's face, he wrapped his tongue around an ice cube and bit hard enough to crack it. The man did not look up. Oscar sneered inwardly, letting the cool liquid pour down his throat before he took his glass and downed the rest of it, moving to push himself up. He'd worked on his stride well for his role, his free hand a delicate, feathered bird perched on his waist as he beckoned the bartender over.
His order was caught in his throat as someone else approached the man first. Oscar's eyes went wild with irritation. Had his sunglasses not hid them, his cover might have been blown. Instead, Oscar moved away without explaining himself, pretending to be busy organizing the contents of his clutch as he watched the two at the bar. The other person had their hands resting on Jigen's shoulders, almost as if they were meant to massage. With amusement and likely a comment from the bearded man, they were moved and the person sat down beside Jigen instead. Oscar glanced at the photos in his clutch after ensuring that nobody else could see them.
It was Goemon Ishikawa. Oscar's paste-on manicured fingers dug into his pale skin; he wanted to think of it as luck, but his plans relied on catching them alone. Jigen was the easiest to capture, often separating himself from the others due to his lone wolf nature. If Oscar could leave a lasting impression on the man's mind, then perhaps all was not lost. Oscar began to refresh his coral red lipstick, his eyes straying from the mirror.
Jigen did little to acknowledge the arrival. "I told you not to bother me in public."
Goemon pulled Jigen's cup over to steal a sip. "You are that worried about your image, Jigen?"
Jigen thought on this. If he were to answer honestly whether or not he was embarrassed to be seen with the man, the answer would be yes. At least a little bit. But that wasn't the problem. "I'm worried about your image." He stole back his drink, moving it out of Goemon's reach.
"Hmm..." Goemon sat back, giving Jigen a more subtle glance. "Is something bothering you?"
"We'll talk about it later," Jigen said, swinging his chair around and leaving.
Oscar was stunned. He didn't know what had happened. What surprised him was his own lack of ability. It had been so difficult to concentrate on the gruffy one while the lithe samurai was around. It was the way the Ishikawa man held himself. There was something weirdly interesting about it. It seemed as though the man were taking part in some sort of graceful flirtation without care about how his partner felt about it. Or rather, Oscar worried that something within him had decided that, that nothing of the sort had been going on at all. His mind could only go in circles; the man was far too interesting, and sadly Oscar was in the wrong disguise to attract interest from him. It was for the best, as little as Oscar knew of him. Yet as Oscar turned to make his exit, he caught dark eyes watching him back. Did he know? Oscar thought in repetition during his drive home.