Zenigata had arrived only last night in Washington, D.C., USA from Norway. Years of globe trotting after Lupin had given him reserves of energy to enable him to be back in the trail by 6:00am the next day.

Zenigata had gotten a tip that Lupin was somewhere near the US Capitol, but where? He made his way out of the DC area and across the Potomac to visit a strange building. As he stared at it, Zenigata slowly remembered an Interpol bulletin issued two weeks ago.

A classified dossier on America's Military had been stolen from the files of the old Soviet Union.It had been chiefly concerned with military secrets and the building in front of him: The Pentagon.
In a flash, Zenigata's sixth sense told him this is what he had been looking for.

Quickly looking for an entrance, he saw a group of military officers making their way toward a door. He ran over to them and stopped their procession.
"I need to speak to your superiors!" Zenigata exclaimed, panting. "I have reason to believe that a very dangerous man may be targeting this build for theft!"
The three officers exchanged glances with each other. Finally the senior officer, a major, said slowly,
"Before you can speak to our superiors, you'll need to get clearance, sir."

Zenigata quickly flashed his ICPO identification badge. The Major shook his head.
"You still need to pass security and be verified, sir. If you head through that door," the officer pointed to a nearby door on the right. "They can take care of everything for you. Have a good day, sir."

As Zenigata entered the door pointed out to him, the three officers gave him a smart salute as they passed by, further down the corridor. Zenigata entered the small room and quickly rushed up to the desk, where a secretary filing her nails was seated.

"I need a pass to speak to your chief now!" He shouted.
The secretary merely pointed to a stack of papers. They were forms, 5 pages stapled together and looking very neat and tidy.
"You need to fill out these identification forms first, before we can move on to the request forms, sir."
The ICPO badge was flashed again.

"I'm sorry, sir. Everyone must fill theses out," She looked up from her nails. "In triplicate."
Zenigata angrily grabbed a stack of forms and huffily started filling out the paperwork.

Meanwhile, the officers, having come to a quiet hallway, stepped into an unused room. They were silent in thought, until the three all breathed a sigh of relief.

"Whew! That was close," said a now undisguised Jigen.
"Yes, it was. It was quick thinking to send him into that Visitor's Center." Goemon said this as he was adjusting his hakama and kimono to his degree of perfection. Lupin snickered as he loosened his tie.

"He'll be stuck in that room for the next four hours, if my estimate is correct. That one room holds more papers than most libraries do!" Another chuckle. "He's going to do more writing than a novelist!"

After they had stashed their disguises, Goemon checked the hallway.
"All clear," He said, stepping into the passage. Lupin and Jigen quickly followed suit.
"This building is very efficient," Lupin informed the other two. "You can reach one point from any other in seven minutes or less. It will be 'less', in our case, since we're going into the heart of the Pentagon: the center."

The three men fell silent as they stole along the path. More than likely, each was trying to imagine what they would find at the end of their journey. Another possibility was that they were remembering how they found out about the secret.

It was a little over two weeks ago. Lupin had found out the location of some Soviet Union files, pre-fall of the Berlin Wall. It had actually been an easy job, but they hadn't gleaned much information from it. It was mostly town reports filed by the KGB.

There had been one interesting file, however.

It was filled with aerial photographs of the Pentagon, with enlarged copies of the very center. The written reports were even more intriguing. There seemed to be a building erected in the very center of the Pentagon, in the middle of a forest covered by a tent. The agents who were sent to investigate this structure observed that officers all met with each other in it at the same time everyday. They left at the same time, too.

The conclusion of the report was that the real "war room" of the US was this building. Lupin did a little more research, and found that until the end of the Cold War, there had always been no less than two missiles aimed at this spot at all times. Delving even further, it was found that an entrance to a scientific facility could be found only in this enclosure.

This is what excited Lupin. He always wanted to know the answer to any secret. Especially Top Secrets. Lupin also had a fondness for technology, and always wanted to use it to his advantage at whenever possible.

It was very quiet in the building now. All along the corridors, the offices were empty. As the gang neared the center of the building, they passed a large window looking on to the inner-court yard. They stopped.

"Look at all those people going toward the building!" Lupin excitedly exclaimed.
"We may get something out of this venture yet," said Jigen.They quickened their pace and soon found themselves outside as well.Still going at a fast pace, they slinked up along the path, finally arriving at their destination.
"There doesn't seem to be any kind of security," observed Jigen. "Everyone just seems to walk on in."

Walking cautiously but casually, they stepped through the door.

The first thing that hit them was the smell. It smelled…delicious. "Order 57!" cried a voice. A bag was placed on the counter that ran along one side of the room. A man came up to the counter, grabbed the bag and pushed his way past the three out the door.

Lupin, Jigen and Goemon couldn't help but notice what was printed of the outside of the bag: "Ground Zero Café".
"Café??" exclaimed Lupin. He glanced around. "Maybe it's just a cover story."
"Maybe." said a sarcastic Jigen.
They went outside to think, and were suddenly interrupted by a large group of people. The mass of persons came up the building and stopped.
"And for our next stop on the Pentagon Tour," said the guide. "Is our infamous Ground Zero Café!"
Goemon, Jigen and Lupin quickly edged their way up into the fringe of the tour group.

"It has been called the 'Deadliest Hot Dog stand in the world'! The reason being, legend says, that during the Cold War the Russians saw military personnel coming and going in droves everyday. They concluded that the real center of military affairs is this café here, and the Pentagon was built around it as a fortress!" The guide started to giggle. "Not only that, they always had two missiles aimed at this spot!"

The rest of the tour group joined in their guide's mirth, and went inside the café for lunch.
Lupin, Jigen and Goemon stood outside for a few minutes, thinking. Lupin turned to the others and gave them a crooked smile.
"The food has got to be good, considering how hard it is to get in."

Lupin stared laughing, and so did Jigen. The sheer irony of the situation sinking in. Even Goemon found the fact they had snuck into the U.S. Department for Military Affairs for a hamburger humorous.

"C'mon, Lupin. Let's get out of here." said Jigen, walking away.
Lupin turned to follow, but stopped mid-stride. He smiled mischievously.
"Wait, I've got an idea…"

Zenigata had finally finished his identification, verification, request and family history forms. Now he was waiting for the secretary to return with his security badge.

She returned.

"I need you to fill out some more forms, sir."
Zenigata exploded. "I don't think you understand the importance of my job! I need a security badge right now! Get me your superior!"
The secretary sighed. "One moment, sir."

She stepped into the hallway to get her superior. As she was walking, a hand was placed on her shoulder.
"The Old Man getting hard to handle?" asked a familiar voice to the woman.
"Lupin!""Long time, no see, Fujiko. Why the desk job all of a sudden?"
Fujiko brushed Lupin's hand off her shoulder irritably.
"None of your business. I don't know why you're here," she glanced darkly toward the room that Zenigata occupied.
"But I wish you'd leave and take him with you!"

Lupin flashed her a quick smile.
"Just stopped by for a history lesson. We're leaving now, I just have to say goodbye to Zenigata."
Zenigata, at this point in time, had just about had it with American Bureaucracy and waiting for that secretary to return. He was just about to leave when the officer whom he had met earlier stuck his head in the door. He looked surprised to see Zenigata.

"Oh, I didn't know you'd still be here, sir."
"I bet you didn't…" mumbled Zenigata.
"You look tired," said the Major. "Here, have some lunch on me."
"Thanks."

Zenigata took the proffered bag.
"I must be going now." The officer quickly disappeared.
Zenigata opened the bag and took out a small cardboard container. By it's smell, he could tell it was a hamburger. He opened the lid.
Two seconds later, it could be observed that a very excited foreigner ran out of the Pentagon screaming a name:

"Lupin!!"

Fujiko walked back into her office and picked up the burger container. She opened the lid herself and read this message:

Hiya Pops!
Just stopped by for a quick bite.
The food's great, a really well kept secret.
Thought you'd like to sample some yourself!

Lupin