TOKYO MOVIE SHINSHA PRESENTS
LUPIN III PART V
WRITTEN BY KAIJU DIRECTOR OO7
BASED ON THE ORIGINAL COMICS BY KAZUHIKO "MONKEY PUNCH" KATO.
ALL CHARACTERS ASIDE FROM THE ORIGINAL CHARACTERS ARE OWNED BY TOKYO MOVIE SHINSHA.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
ゆれる瞳 神秘の海か (Are my shaking eyes a mysterious sea?)
胸の奥は やけつく砂漠か (Is the inside of my chest a burning desert?)
あざむく言葉に とどろく銃声 セクシー・アドベンチャー (In deceiving words, a roaring gunshot… a sexy adventure…)
EPISODE ONE: TARGET NUMBER ONE
A blue Mercedes-Benz 300SL convertible with the top down streaked across the streets of Monaco on a beautiful summer morning. At the front passenger wheel was a beautiful woman. She wore a white shirt dress, red scarf, black pants. No gashes of lipstick were on her lips, and she let her orange-red hair flutter in the wind. She had brown sunglasses on. From the looks of her face, she was Texan. Beside her was her companion, a Filipino. He stood at about six-foot-three. He had worn a white shirt and a red ascot as well. On his lip was a mustache, and blue-tinted sunglasses on his eyes. He rested his free arm on the car door.
The car stopped near the Hotel de Paris Monte-Carlo. They parked near a yellow Fiat 500C. It was small, ubiquitous, and at first uninteresting, but the man thought it had a certain mystique in its simple design. A few minutes later, the two were in the lobby and inquired for a "Monsieur Loup-Garou." It was a most curious, yet dark name. It was French for "werewolf". Apparently this gentleman was expecting them.
The receptionist told them, rather politely that Monsieur Loup-Garou rarely, if ever, received any visitors, save for a few business partners who came to stay with him for a while. The man nodded with a curt "Merci beaucoup." and left with his companion. They went to the elevator and took it. After a while, they got off and took the private elevator. When they got there, they gave a knock, and the door opened.
A girl a bit shorter than the Texan was waiting for them. She had a green jacket, black undershirt, yellow tie, and khaki pants. Her hair was blonde, but she'd dyed it. "You must be Number One, correct?" she said in an Italian accent.
"That's right. Who wants to know?" asked the Filipino. His accent was distinctively Midwestern. Chicago.
"No-one, Mr. Howe. Just men who need your talents. Yours and Miss Anson's."
The third man let the two in, and now they were facing three more figures, all sitting beside a coffee table with fresh drinks. A man and another lady. The man wore a white suit, and black tie. He had, in Mr. Howe's thoughts, a monkey's face. The other girl too was Japanese, wearing a red jacket, blue undershirt, and yellow tie, to compliment her black pants. Her hair was brown.
"Good morning, Mr. Howe." said the monkey-man. "Or shall I call you Simon?" he said as he extended his hand.
"Simon's gonna do fine." the Filipino said, shaking his hand.
"Tiffany Anson." said the Texan as she took White-Jacket's hand, after he was done with Simon.
"And of course, we assume we know who you are?"
"Naturally." Simon said, sitting on a chair and sipping some coffee.
"You're Arsene Lupin III…" referring to White Jacket,
"Rebecca Lupin…née Rossellini…" to the blonde,
"And Fujiko Mine…" said Tiffany to the other girl. "Your reputations precede all of you."
"As do yours." said Fujiko.
"So tell me, what sort of job would have Arsene Lupin III and 'empire' have for Number One, eh? And of course we all know your little jobs. Cagliostro, that Shot Shell affair, the Tarantulas, we could go on. "
"And we know your exploits. You, Simon, worked your way up for the hitmen squads of the world until you graduated and went freelance. Now not only the Mafia and yakuza use your skills, but anyone - and I mean anyone - willing to pay a million dollars a hit." said Lupin.
"So far, so good."
"And you, Tiffany, are the best smuggler on both sides of the North Atlantic. Bulger and the Winter Hill paid you well, I must say. And you know how to handle cards and beat any casino from here to Vegas."
Tiffany then curtly added, "Right on the mark. But one thing I noticed, you seem to be a bit understaffed. We thought Jigen and Ishikawa would be with you."
"I let them out for a while. Just as lookouts in case anything shows up." said Lupin.
"Ah. In that case, what do you have in mind for us?"
"Simple." said Lupin. "Ever heard of Lake Toplitz?"
Simon nodded. "Well, yes. The Nazi's disposal site for unwanted war booty. Gold, counterfeit printing plates, experimental weaponry… What about it?"
"Take a look." said Fujiko. And then, a pack of watermarked folders slid across the coffee table. Simon recognized the watermarks immediately. They read ICPO – TOP SECRET!
"I presume you went through a lot of trouble too get this?" said Tiffany.
"That's a long story, but yes."
The two flipped through the files. Basically, Lake Toplitz had been salvaged by the ICPO in secret. The General Assembly – that is, INTERPOL's ruling committee – had decided to send them to various vaults in five separate convoys to ship them across Europe for safekeeping. Of particular note was the Operation Bernhardt plates. Hitler's plan to fire 134 million pounds worth of counterfeit bills at Churchill, hitting him were it hurt a lot – the Empire's wallets. But it never got really got off the ground after the first few shipments were caught. So they dumped it down into Toplitz's deep waters, a deadly weapon that was aborted as soon as it had fired.
"I presume you plan on hitting the biggest one?" asked Tiffany.
"That's about right. It's supposed to stopover at Marseille, with the final destination at Biarritz. One armored car and plenty of escort. Two tons of gold, plus a crate of Bernhardt plates." said Fujiko.
"Hmph. So anyways, the question still stands. Why would you need us? You have enough strength already."
Lupin chimed in. "That's indeed true, but I realized that this one might need an extra touch. Besides, I've been looking to return a 'small favor' you did to me by accident. "
"Small accident, you say? That's interesting. After all, I'm 'only merciful by chance or mistake' as SMERSH put it so well."
"I see. Ever heard of a man named Michael Suzuki?"
"The name occurs. Just a routine job."
"Well, let me refresh your memory." said Lupin.
Simon remembered that night as the thief recounted his tale. It was in the killers' moon of Osaka. A mile away, up on the least likely spot to snipe someone. Suzuki was a Japanese-American businessman racketeering his way up on both sides of the Pacific, until someone hired Simon to take care of him. It was then, when Simon held his customized Dragunov, eyed Suzuki, who it seemed was mocking someone. Then, Suzuki moved a bit, revealing the other man. It was Arsene Lupin III. An unexpected variablein the equation to be sure, but deep in himself Simon knew how to respect his peers, and the greatest thief in the world was worth helping out.
Quickly heshot out an exposed generator, and shortly before the lights went back on back-up, Lupin freed himself and was slugging it out, man-to-man with Suzuki. Simon then plugged a single Lapua round in Suzuki's left eye. He made his escape and was out of town with Tiffany by morning.
Simon grinned as it ended. "Oh, now I remember… I always wondered what you were up to." he said as he drank some coffee.
"Let's just say it was quite personal." said Rebecca.
Simon gave himself a small chuckle.
"That's what they all say."
"So, you in?"
"Well, seeing as I have a favor to return, I say why not. But this I'll say right off the bat, it won't be cheap."
"Double?"
He nodded. "And as per Tiffany's rules, ten percent off for her alone."
"D'accord."
"Excellent. I guess we all have something to…"
Suddenly, the roar of sirens began howling. Tires skidded and stopped. And then, a booming voice sounded from the outside. "ARSENE LUPIN III, WE HAVE GOT YOU CORNERED! SHOW YOURSELF AND SURRENDER!"
"Took him long enough."
"Pops." said he, Fujiko, and Rebecca said in unison.
危険な夢と言われても (Even though they say it's a dangerous dream…)
スリルのために すべてを俺は賭けてもいい (For the sake of thrills, I may bet it all…)
It's the time to play the game 熱いときめき (It's the time to play the game, hot heartbeats…)
Peering through the window, Simon tried to scope out the regiment of policemen out to get them. From his count, at least four dozen armed officers stood outside, some of them in riot gear, the rest in their white duty uniforms. And atop the lead squad car was Inspector Koichi Zenigata himself. Interpol's best policeman; the man, for a huge part of his life, who'd been chasing Lupin and the gang all over the world. The seventh heir to the legendary clan of Heiji Zenigata, the Meiji-era okappiki. On this day he wore a yellow fedora and matching trench coat, unbuttoned, and a black undersuit and pants.
Simon blurted out, "So that's the legendary 'Totts-chan', eh?"
"He's a persistent bastard, I'll give him that much. He has been chasing me for years." said Lupin as he tried blocking the entrance with some spare furniture.
"LUPIN, WE KNOW YOU'RE CORNERED! GET YOUR ASS OUT AND SURRENDER! WE'LL GO EASY ON YOU IF YOU DO! THAT GOES FOR YOUR LITTLE FRIENDS AS WELL!"
"And by easy, he means hard." said Fujiko. "And luckily, we know how to play hardball." She then got her phone and punched in some numbers. It was a secure line.
"Ici Loup-Garou."
"Ici Chacal." It was a man's voice at the other end of the line. It was American. Bronx, from the sound of it.
"All right. Jigen, Pops found out that we're here. Get the present ready. And Number One has made contact."
"Got it… We'll give you a three-minute head start."
"Roger. "And then the call ended.
Fujiko turned to Lupin and Rebecca. "They'll give us three minutes."
They nodded. Rebecca then reached under her chair and found a suitcase. And in it was a batch of gas masks, a rappelling rope, and three guns. A silver Walther P38, a Browning M1910, and a Luger P08. She flipped the Walther and Browning to Lupin and Fujiko.
"Didn't come prepared?" said Lupin.
"Iron's in the car." said Tiffany. "But you saw us park?"
"Yes."
"Then we'll have to make this quick. Put these on." Rebecca said, referring to the gas masks, and in quick order, they all followed.
And then, came the roar of a mortar shot. It came in at a sharp angle and exploded. A massive cloud of gas appeared in the Place du Casino. Tear gas. It affected everyone in the large clearing and soon enough, Zenigata and the regiment was blind. Time to roll. Quickly, Rebecca fixed the rope on to the balcony and let it fall. Then came a thumbs up from Lupin and she quickly rappelled down. Then came Fujiko. Before Lupin's turn, he asked Simon, "Think you can handle this?"
"Can you think of any other way?" He grinned and went down. Simon and Tiffany followed suit.
At once they reached the cars. Before scrambling in, Tiffany asked "I assume the Fiat's yours?" Fujiko answered with a yes and added, "Follow us!" The jewel smuggler and hitman nodded and got in. The ignition sounded. Then its smaller companion's engine came to life. The small Fiat roared away into the mist, the Mercedes following it.
Meanwhile, Pops heard the roars of the two engines. Fuming, he went down and groped for his squad car's radio. "Calling all available units. We're immobilized. Target has fled the Place du Casino. May have one companion following it. Get all available units after them. License plate for target is Romeo-dash-thirty-three, color is yellow, make and model Fiat 500C. Couldn't get a fix on the companion. Say again, target has fled and may have companion!" He then switched channels to the French police, with the same orders getting barked.
The hunt, as the veteran inspector knew, was on.
甘いコロンに火薬の匂い (The smell of gunpowder, like sweet cologne…)
It's the time to take a chance派手にキメるぜ (It's the time to take a chance, let's decide loudly…)
デリシャスな勝利が俺を待っている (A delicious victory awaits me…)
Elsewhere, at one of the buildings overlooking the, three figures, with a mortar on the roof, prepped to leave. One man was dressed in all purple, fedora, suit, and all. He had a beard and his hair reaching to the back of his collar. In his vest, he had a holster with a Smith and Wesson Model 19. This was Jigen Daisuke, Lupin's longtime partner-in-crime, confidant, and best friend. He was famous for his quick draw and legendary accuracy. Simon knew that there were better shooters than himself in this world. The ex-Bronx hitman was definitely one of them. This was one thing he found easy to reveal. But then, he could be wrong. Maybe one day they could settle this little thought.
One was a tall man, with a black yukata, and a light gold sash across the waist. He was Goemon Ishikawa XIII, the descendant of the legendary Sengoku-era highwayman. Two swords were slung across his waist. The first was Zantetsuken, meaning 'iron-cutting blade'. It was legendary for being able to cut through almost anything. The other was the Nagareboshi. It meant "falling star". This sword was Zantetsuken's wakizaki, or companion blade. It was a bit shorter, but no less lethal. He wore two dark-grey zori, complemented by matching tabi.
The other one was a young lady, a few years younger than Rebecca. She had a maroon coat and yellow sweater underneath. And she had worn her hair long, and most distinctively, wore a butterfly hairclip. A big one. She was Suminawa Murasaki, heir to the Suminawa ninja clan. She had a kunai in her hands.
"Well that takes care of that. Let's get out of here." said the gunman. They flashed went down with quick speed, to their vehicle: a red-orange Ford Mustang Mach 1. "If everything goes to plan, they should be on the way right about…"
Then came the flash of two cars, one blue, and the other yellow.
"Now." finished Goemon. And then came the blaring of sirens. The trio got in and blazed forward onto the avenue, almost catching up with the two cars, taking a spot in the middle of them. Jigen spoke into the radio and said, "All right, Lupin. What's the plan?"
"Well, seeing as that we've got Simon on hand, we might as well blaze on to the border. Then we swing into the Alps and lose 'em there."
"Got it."
As they zoomed across a flyover, a sedan came to block the way, with police officers near it, firing off M16 rounds into the Fiat. However, much to their surprise, the little vehicle took them in stride. The windows began to shatter, but Lupin put his head down. Then the little car swerved, and left them in the dust. The Ford and Mercedes followed. Simon and Jigen ducked, as the officers kept firing.
The blue 300SL and its companion got a splash of lead in response, but not too much damage. Suddenly more sedans came in. Tiffany quickly opened the glove compartment with her free hand, and brought a gun out. It was her Winchester 92. Keeping her head at the right level, she pumped a few shots of .44-40 into their tires with absolute skill. The cars skidded off and broke off the chase.
"They definitely ain't bulls, I'll give 'em that much!"
"And they're not buffalo either, Tiff. "
Suddenly, an armored car, waiting in ambush, zoomed from a hiding place behind them and tried to run the Fiat off the freeway. Amazingly, it held up. Jigen radioed to Tiffany and ordered "Get the tires!" the two fired a few shots into the car's rear tires, which hit the rubber rims. The tires didn't go flat. Goemon told Jigen, "Speed up! I'll use Zantetsuken!" Jigen nodded and radioed Lupin. "Watch out, something's gonna get sliced!" The Mustang sped close and Goemon drew Zantetsuken out of the window of the Mustang. Blade met steel plate and the top half of the truck came off like sliced cheese. Then he stabbed the two tires. The truck began to skid and slow down. And as if in a state of total ennui, the samurai simply said,
"I've cut another useless object."
Simon swerved the Mercedes as the truck began to skid towards him. He smiled. Perhaps, it seemed, that the little favor was worth taking.
The three cars charged straight on to the border, with three large sedans gaining on them. The Mustang got behind the Mercedes and the racehorse fired a hail of sharp caltrops from the exhaust. The three pursuing cars were caught, collided, and crashed. Then suddenly, the border guards lowered the barrier, with a large white "STOP" on it. By pure luck, chance, or stupidity, the guards had not placed the road spikes. The cars bashed through them and they were in France.
Then came a massive tunnel, leading to a bottlenecked road. As a last resort, the police had laid another barricade. Just in front of the other end of the tunnel, lay a line of spikes. And a few hundred yards out, at the bottleneck's end, a few armored cars and more spikes. The sides of the road had two ridges with a curve on the side. Lupin knew what to do. He picked up his radio and said, "Follow me, and hold on to your butts!"
Filled with adrenalin, the drivers of the three cars sped into the exit, and suddenly, they made sharp turns and the tires hit rock. And as if by magic, they made the curves, sailing them with ease. "Just like Cagliostro!" said Jigen. They skidded on the top of the ridges, and blazed away. Following the ridges, they went until they ground went flat again, a way off the blockade. The cars turned and went on the road. Then their roars ended into the French Alps.
AU: Welcome one and all to the beginning of my Lupin III fanfiction, Lupin III Part V, otherwise known as the "White Jacket Series". This series has been in my head for quite a while, and it's finally been manifested right now! Special thanks to fellow Lupin fans, Inspector Spinda (for initial consulting work, especially with my two OCs) and Si1verEye (for being kind enough to beta for me and providing some snazzy art for this caper). I hope you enjoy the latest adventures of the world's greatest thief and his wily gang!
Any comments or suggestions, and constructive criticism, are very welcome. Feel free to pop in anything in your reviews!
As you can tell probably by tell by the usage of "Sexy Adventure" (the opening theme of the Part III/Pink Jacket series) it will be the "opening theme" for the series (for now at least). To be specific, I choose to use the version from the Lupin the 3rd Perfect Collection album. If you ask me, it's a bit of a critically underrated theme (as Part III is quite underrated as well).
As for the ending theme, I haven't really decided yet. For that, I hereby suggest you drop any suggestions in the reviews!
Also, for those of you who're interested, here's my official voice claim cast:
Japanese Dub
Lupin - Kanichi Kurita
Jigen - Kiyoshi Kobayashi
Fujiko - Miyuki Sawashiro
Goemon - Daisuke Namikawa
Zenigata - Koichi Yamadera
Rebecca – Yukiyo Fujii
Murasaki– Mai Nakahara
Simon – Masanori Ikeda
Tiffany – Kanako Irie
English Dub
Lupin – Either Tony Oliver or Sonny Strait
Jigen – Either Richard Epcar or Chris Sabat
Fujiko – Michelle Ruff
Goemon – Either Lex Lang or Mike McFarland
Rebecca – Meredith McCoy
Murasaki – Colleen Clinkenbeard
Zenigata – Phillip Wilburn
Simon – Sean Schemmel
Tiffany – Cynthia Cranz
Lastly, I am not TMS Entertainment, nor am I Monkey Punch-sensei. Just a fan tryin' to have fun. Lupin and the gang are owned by those two. I ain't Maurice Leblanc either, and it's to him we owe the very existence of the Lupin to begin with!
That'll be all for now. I'll be sure to bring up more stuff next time. See you then!
KDOO7
PS. I won't be able to update this often as I'd like. I do have a life.