-This is a work of fiction based on characters created by Monkey Punch (Kazuhiko Kato). It is drama/angst/action. Rated K+ for mild language. Lupin and Jigen are © Monkey Punch, and used without permission. This work is written purely for entertainment value. Please don't sue me.-
-The poem, 'In What Strange Guise', is © Ethel Jacobson, and the first stanza is used without permission. Special thanks goes to the anonymous writer in a thirty-year old newspaper clipping who brought this poem to my attention. If there's a piece of poetry that more accurately describes Daisuke Jigen, I haven't seen it.-
In what strange guise have you known love before,
That it should slant your smile in scorn like this,
- - -
Shot Through The Heart
- - -
Barcelona. When her dance was over, she took the rose from her hair and threw it to me. I wore it until it wilted. When they came for her, I followed. They tried to shoot me through the door, but my aim was better.
Von Meyer told me not to lose my head over her. With the barrel of my Magnum between his eyes, I said "If I were you, I wouldn't worry about anyone else losing his head over her."
She woke up in the car. She said her aim was deadly. She was right.
At dinner the next night, she told me she didn't deserve me. Von Meyer wanted to meet, but she warned me against it. I told her not to worry about me, and she fell into my arms. I can still hear her voice, her sharp Spanish accent:
"My love."
It was midnight when I arrived. When he shot the coin into my hand, I knew the score. It was easy to fake that shot through the heart. She showed up on Von Meyer's arm, looked down at my body and said, "I never got to rip his heart out and stomp on it." They laughed as they walked off together.
When Lupin asked if I was okay, I just nodded and touched the rose in my lapel. We took off after them. Lupin drove - I held the gun.
Her men were lousy shots.
But I'm not.
And edge your voice? What old, forgotten score
Is evened in your slow, unmeaning kiss?
- - -
Voyage to Danger
- - -
She asked me to teach her how to shoot. In a quiet corner of the sub, I let her hold my revolver, and guided her aim. She relaxed her shoulders when I touched them. Then she turned the gun on me.
I was lucky. But she had me in her sights throughout the whole trip, and it showed. Every chance she got, she came gunning for me. She even made a deal with her kidnapper. Yeah, she wanted me dead. But she wanted to kill me herself.
Ducking missiles, I found the bomb shelter. She was pissed, cheated of her revenge. She thought I'd died. But she was wrong.
When we saw each other for the last time, I just stood there, waiting. I told her that if she really wanted to shoot me, she could go right ahead. I wouldn't stop her. I guess she changed her mind. But that was her last chance.
She was just a kid when she saw me kill her father. How was I to know that I'd run into her so many years later?
Was it self-defence, or reflex? And does it really matter, now that she's dead?
What harshness and what heartbreak lie behind
The easy mockery that screens your eyes
- - -
Dark Charade
- - -
Venice. It was winter, and I was sick as a dog. She stopped and asked if I was all right. And then they showed up with machine guns. I 'borrowed' her Rolls and did a number on their boat. We spent some time together, but I ran. I had to.
Years later, I got the letter. She'd become a nun, though I couldn't imagine why. She needed my help to rescue the leader of the resistance in South Africa. How could I refuse?
I don't make promises very often, but she was worth it. She saw me, called my name, ran into my arms. It was a little slice of heaven in the middle of hell.
The army showed up, and it took some time to convince the good doctor to escape into exile. It didn't matter. His plane fell to a missile, just short of its destination.
She and I searched the hospital ruins for survivors, but she took off on her own. I called after her, tried to warn her, but it was no use. The bomb exploded in her face, tearing off her rosary and bringing her to her knees.
She died in my arms. Her last words will always be with me:
"May you know peace, Jigen... my love."
I carried her with me to the site of the crash. I knew then that the whole thing had been a setup. And she'd paid the ultimate price. Those sons of bitches had killed her over the colour of their skins.
I loved her, and she died. For what? The size of some bastard's wallet? I got my revenge, but it didn't help. All my skills and I couldn't save her.
"I didn't mean to run away from you. Forgive me... Angelica."
The wary cynicism of your mind,
The wearisome politeness of your lies?
- - -
Gettin' Jigen With It
- - -
Moscow. It's not the first time I've been shot, and it won't be the last. I forced Lupin to ditch me, and took off through the snow-covered streets. I ran into her as things started to blur.
I woke up in a room I didn't recognise. The ballerina wouldn't tell me why she'd saved me. I hid in her wardrobe chest, and when we were stopped at a checkpoint, she bluffed her way through. She had balls, and a sharp tongue. I liked that about her.
We had to get out of Russia, and it was a border run for two. She said that we'd make a terrific couple. I got a kick out of that.
Our new passports said we were married, and it didn't seem like such a crazy idea. We took the train as Mr and Mrs Ivanov, but they made us just before the border. The window was the next best option.
She made the grand jetée of her whole career, and we grabbed onto the overpass. I almost didn't make it - my shoulder hurt like hell. But she pulled me up, saved my life a second time. She was my very own guardian angel.
We stayed the night in an old cabin in the mountains. She woke me with a kiss.
She was hot for the States. I told her that it wasn't all wine and roses, that freedom was expensive. I don't think she believed me.
In a small Czech village, we rented a cabin for our last night on the run. My bandage was coming loose, but she stopped me before I could tighten it. Her hands were cold as she bound my shoulder for the final time.
We made it to the border; freedom was just on the other side, but every guard for miles had our number. I didn't hold out much hope for our success, but at least I'd die in the company of a beautiful woman.
We found a motorcycle, but they raised the bridge. I snapped off the sidecar, and it went spinning, taking her over the open bridge to freedom. I heard her call to me:
"Jigen! I'll be waiting!"
Border patrol caught me. I knew that she'd be waiting a long time. When they tied me to the execution post, I told them to stuff their blindfold where the sun don't shine. Of course, Lupin stepped in just as things were getting good.
I saw her for the last time at an amusement park, back in the States. She thanked me, and I asked why. She pulled a gun.
"You smuggled the Teardrop of Aurora all this way, just for me," she said. It had been under my bandage the whole time. She'd planned from the very beginning to use me as a courier. I guess she really did believe me when I told her that freedom wasn't free.
Lupin was there. He pulled his Walther on the girl, but I gave her the diamond anyway. She wasn't bad, for an amateur. Lupin accused me of being a romantic. But Monica got what she wanted. And I got a divorce.