That morning, Keiichiro and Tsukasa sat in the main office of GPSO headquarters with Commander Hilltop and the unit's robotic assistant Jim Carter. Hilltop sat at his desk while the robot brought up holographic displays and the two detectives now in regular uniform gave a briefing on their findings from the other night.

"We've gone through the list of the city's missing persons reports and we found some interesting patterns," Tsukasa began while pointing to some holographic documents and lists, "There have been a number of men who have gone missing in and around the area of Kasai Rinkai park. It seems like a lot of these men had several things in common. Many of them were young up and coming professionals with lots of money and status. We have a few financial businessmen, a couple lawyers, and one or two with political aspirations."

"Okay… why would they all be going to that park and how does that tie in with Sakuya?" Hilltop asked.

Keiichiro stepped up and changed to display to report his findings, "It seems these men including Sakuya all shared another thing in common. They were all members of the same online dating site which caused them to be lured in by the same Gangler posing as that girl. As we thought, Kasumi Tanaka was a false alias."

"What about her current whereabouts?" Hilltop asked, "Where is she hiding and why is she abducting these men?"

Keiichiro grimaced, "Right now, Jim is triangulating her online activity to narrow down the area she might be hiding. As for the last part…"

"We're guessing she might have plans to ransom those victims back," Tsukasa chimed in, "Meaning if she's holding a number of them in the same large place, it might be easier for us to find them."

Hilltop nodded in satisfaction from the report, "All right… but there are a few more things to consider. We still have this issue of some of the Lupinrangers being captured by this monster. If they and Sakuya have been brainwashed to serve this Gangler, it might make things difficult at best."

The two detectives exchanged an uneasy look before Keiichiro spoke, "Sir, it might help us if Tsukasa and I investigate some of the surrounding areas where these men went missing. We're hoping we can find some kind of residual sample of the Gangler's perfume so that we can develop a counter for it."

"Or even better, a way to help us track her down," Tsukasa added hopefully.

Hilltop rose from his seat, "All right. You two have a go. Jim, I want you to keep working on monitoring for that Gangler online. She'll be more cautious after this recent battle so if there's any activity, we need you to narrow it down for us."

"Yes sir! I won't let you down," the robot answered giving a salute before it began to churn away at its database programs.

"Good luck you two," Hilltop called as the detectives headed out the door. They still had a lot of ground to cover and they were sure they were going to need it.

Throughout the morning, Keiichiro and Tsukasa combed some of the areas of Tokyo where victims were said to have disappeared. As they canvassed the area looking for clues and speaking to locals, they were getting discouraged as their leads hadn't resulted in a lot of progress. Of course, that was often the nature of routine police work, but the two Patrangers were feeling a little more urgency with their younger teammate in possible danger.

After pounding the pavement all morning and coming to another dead end, the two friends sat down to rest on a park bench to eat. Tsukasa waited and gave a discouraged sigh while Keiichiro picked up some cans of juice and a package of sweet onigiri rice cakes to share. "It's kind of amazing I've gone this long on a case and am forgetting to eat. I think you've been rubbing off on me and I'm turning into you."

Keiichiro ignored the gentle teasing and handed her a drink along with some food. As he sat down with her he gave a tired look, "It's too bad we haven't been able to come up with much. We can only hope that Jim has had some luck with his scans."

Before Tsukasa could bring the rice cake to her mouth, she gasped as a whipcord like object seemingly shot out of nowhere and snatched the treat from her hand. "Hey!"

The two Patrangers jumped to their feet and followed the retracting cable back to a nearby treeline. Up in one of the branches, they spotted the familiar clothes of the female Lupin Yellow standing watch. She hadn't transformed but was wearing her dark dress with a yellow mask and hat obscuring her identity. As she recovered the onigiri, she pocketed her grappling hook and gave a wave before jumping down into the cover of some brush.

"After her!" Keiichiro shouted as he began to charge forward in pursuit but Tsukasa caught his arm.

"Hey! Hold on a minute! This could be a setup. Maybe she laid a trap."

"Or maybe she wants to get our attention," the Red Patranger growled to himself, "Maybe she has a lead for us to follow."

"That's a big maybe," Tsukasa warned with a look of uncertainty.

Keiichiro shook his head, "Come on Tsukasa, we don't have anything else to lose. We might as well try. Do you trust me?"

She grimaced before nodding again, "Of course. Let's go!"

The two detectives charged into the brush and kept their hands at their sidearms in case of danger. After clearing the treeline and pushing past a few more shrubs, they finally came upon Lupin Yellow waiting for them in a small clearing. She maintained a neutral posture and kept her hands relaxed at her side. Keiichiro drew his weapon and approached cautiously leveling the pistol at the female thief in yellow, "Hold it right there. Hands up Lupin! Don't try anything funny."

Umika kept her eyes on Keiichiro mustering every ounce of courage to keep her cool in front of the zealous police officer. She raised her hands slowly and looked to Tsukasa hoping she could reason more with a fellow female, "If you think I'm trying to trap you, you're wrong. I just wanted to talk with you two."

"Oh we can talk all you want," Keiichiro said keeping his gun trained on Umika, "Just as soon as we slap some cuffs on you and bring you into a jail cell."

Tsukasa stared down the female thief before she reached out and gently took the end of her partner's gun, "Keiichiro... put it down."

"But Tsukasa..." he protested. She shook her head and softly urged him to lower his weapon again.

"Down boy. We're not going to get anywhere with her by making threats and using our weapons. She's putting some trust in us right now so let's do the same for her. Do you trust me?"

The Red Patranger frowned again before lowering his gun and putting it away. He exhaled and echoed Tsukasa's affirmation in their mutual trust, "Of course."

The Pink Patranger smiled in approval before turning to Umika, "Sorry about that. My partner here can be like a fierce attack dog sometimes."

Umika nodded and lowered her hands before tossing the rice cake she had pilfered back to Tsukasa, "Sorry about the sudden move just now. I needed to get your attention."

"Well you have it now," Tsukasa said with a level gaze, "And I'm sure you didn't come to join us for brunch just now."

Umika shook her head, "No... I came because I wanted to offer you some help against that Gangler... or rather, we can help each other."

"You're suggesting we work together?" Keiichiro said with a look a suspicious incredulity.

Umika nodded slowly, "We have a common enemy. That monster took our friends and we both want to get them back, right? You have the police resources to search and I have some information that can help all of us."

"We're listening," Tsukasa said but Umika shook her head and extended her hand.

"Not until we make it official. We agree to a temporary truce and we don't take any hostile actions against each other until we get our friends back."

Keiichiro frowned, "I don't like this. We have no way to really trust her."

"We don't have much choice... but we do outnumber her," Tsukasa reminded him before shaking Umika's hand, "All right. Let's talk."

Lupin Yellow nodded and turned around as she paced a few steps, "My sources have told me that the name of the Gangler is named Vapora Fume and it seems she's out to abduct and brainwash rich successful men. Most likely she wants to ransom them, or have them help her with committing crimes."

"We figured that much out already," Keiichiro pointed out but Umika raised a finger.

"Ah, but I have information about her source of power and how we can defeat her. My source tells me that the Gangler is using some item from the Lupin Collection called the L'eau de L'amor... the Water of Love. That scented perfume is strong enough to charm men and bend their will to the user."

The two detectives looked at each other before Tsukasa shrugged, "All right. That makes sense she's seducing these men. How does the perfume work and how do we stop it?"

Umika scratched her chin, "Well... that's where it gets a little tricky. We believe there might two ways to resist the perfume but we're not certain. Either the subject has exceptional willpower, or the subject already has a strong love in his heart and can't be turned."

Keiichiro crossed his arms, "This all sounds a little too much like a fairy tale for me. Isn't there something we can use to beat it with science or technology?"

Umika shrugged and reached into her coat pocket. She pulled out a sort of laminated card and handed it to them, "This card has some residue of the perfume. You might be able to use the traces of it to create an antidote."

Tsukasa took the card and pocketed it, "Thank you. You've been a big help, but we'll take it from here."

"Oh no you're not," Umika cut in, "I'm coming with you to stop that Gangler. We need each other right now, isn't that right?"

Tsukasa looked to her partner for his input and Keiichiro wore an unhappy look on his face but he slowly nodded his head, "I hate to admit it... but the Lupinranger has a point. We might need all the help we can get in taking that Gangler down."

"Great. So let's head back downtown and..."

"You're not going anywhere," Tsukasa said as she handed Keiichiro the perfume sample, "Keiichiro, maybe you should bring this back to the station for analysis in the crime lab. Maybe Jim can make sense of it."

"And what about you?"

The Pink Patranger raised a calming hand, "Lupin Yellow and I will keep searching this area for clues. And before you say anything... don't worry. I promise I'll be okay."

Keiichiro gave her a long look before giving a reluctant nod, "All right then. I'll be back as soon as I can. In the mean time, keep in regular radio contact."

"Yes sir," Tsukasa said giving a placating salute before he headed back off down the road. He hoped she knew what she was doing, but right now, all he could do was trust her like he always had.

Later that day, Keiichiro returned to the downtown police station and submitted the perfume sample for analysis in the lab. While he updated Hilltop on his findings, the robotic assistant Jim Carter continued to multi-task and scan the city for activity from the Gangler monster. Meanwhile, Tsukasa and Umika walked together down one of the park's more secluded paths looking for any more clues or leads to track the enemy. Despite being on opposing sides, both girls seemed to relax a little and use the time to probe each other a little more as to who they were as people. As they looked around Umika caught Tsukasa looking at her questioningly.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked with a hint of defensiveness.

Tsukasa just shrugged and shook her head, "Sorry... I just couldn't help but think that you kinda reminded me of someone I know. I guess I could kinda call her a friend."

"Oh? Who's that?" Lupin Yellow asked hesitantly.

"Just some waitress who works at a French cafe that my team frequents. Her name is Umika."

Lupin Yellow just glanced at her and did her best to keep a straight face and lie. Kairi and Tooma had always made it look so cool and easy, "Well I can tell you that's not my name."

"No... probably not," Tsukasa sighed, "She seemed a bit awkward and clumsy at times but she seems like a nice girl. My teammate Sakuya seems to have a huge crush on her. He likes to talk about her a lot."

"Rea... I mean... really? You don't say?" Lupin Yellow answered trying to make her voice indifferent, "I guess he couldn't have cared that much if he got seduced by that Gangler, huh?"

Tsukasa continued to scrutinize the thief before giving a serene smile, "Oh... I don't know. I think Sakuya tends to be a lot of talk most of the time. He might brag and try to go out with other girls, but I think he's in denial about his feelings for that waitress."

"Well... he sounds like an idiot," Umika huffed with a little more emotion than she expected, "Men can be really confusing and difficult, can't they?"

"We would know," Tsukasa sighed calmly, "But it's probably not as complicated as you think. You just have to be mindful of observing people and seeing what makes them tick."

Umika hesitated a little bit. Was Tsukasa being philosophical right now, or was she playing some screwy police mind game with her. "Like your partners?"

Tsukasa nodded and bent down to examine some footprints on the path, "Sure. Take Keiichiro for example. We've been friends for a long time, ever since we started at the Academy. A lot of other people might write him off as kind of stubborn, aggressive, and a little too intense at times, but even if he doesn't always show it outwardly, he can be very thoughtful and good hearted when you get to know him."

"Sounds like an awfully romantic notion of things when you put it that way" Umika teased gently, "Maybe he just listens to you more because he's showing you some special treatment."

"Nice try, but now you're just making things up," Tsukasa said suppressing a slight flush of her own cheeks, "We are always friends and professionals above all else."

The girls' banter was suddenly interrupted as Keiichiro's voice came in over the radio comm, "Tsukasa? Good news! We've tracked the internet signal from the Gangler's hideout and think we've zeroed in on it."

"That's great!" Tsukasa exclaimed happily, "But would about the perfume?"

"Jim's on it right now," Keiichiro answered with an unusually optimistic tone in his voice, "We might need a little more time, but he thinks we should be able to synthesize enough of an antidote to help Sakuya and the other Lupinrangers. I'm sending you new coordinates now and I'll meet you there soon. You're okay?"

"I'm fine," Tsukasa said in her earpiece while waving off the teasing smirk of Umika, "We're on our way."

After ending the call, the Pink Patranger cleared her throat and seemed to become a bit more serious and focused, "All right. Our friends think they found the Gangler's hideout. Let's get going to rescue the others and stop the spree of this serial kidnapper."