Oh my god, awkward dialog. And yay for Lupin being a dick. :D And hopefully this thing makes some bit of sense, as I wrote it in chunks over a long period of time. I do know that some sections do seem incomplete, but I didn't want to put anymore meaningless dialog into this chapter.
Chapter 25
Sunday morning came quicker than Lupin wished. Glancing at the clock with half open eyes he laid his head back down on the pillow and decided to catch a couple more hours of sleep.
He and Ruby had stayed at the hospital until he knew everything with Ichiro was going to be okay.
Only then did he feel it safe to leave Goemon alone.
He left with Ruby, the two going to a small all night eatery and getting a little to eat and a lot to drink, both catching up on lost time.
The conversation got their minds off of their troubles.
For safety reasons Lupin insisted Ruby stay at his place for the night, or at least until they could figure out what to do about the ones who followed her.
Ruby didn't decline, happy to stay in a nice house.
While Lupin crawled to bed Ruby decided to spend the last of her night soaking in a nice hot tub, relaxing her and making sleep an easy task.
––––––––––
Danielle had woken up early and had thought she was the first one up until she stepped out into the hall and heard the faint sounds of a guitar.
Following the noise she found herself in front of Vivien's door.
Inside of his room Vivien sat comfortably on his bed, his back leaning against the headboard as he stared off at the far wall while his fingers plucked at the strings of his guitar.
"Come in," he said in a normal voice when he heard the faint knocking on his door.
Danielle opened the door slowly, hesitating before taking a step inside.
Out of all of Lupin's kids Danielle seemed to be closer to Vivien, if you could call the fact that he actually returned her greetings to be close. Otherwise, the two never really talked.
"Hey," he said. "Oh, I didn't wake you up, did I? I didn't think it was that loud, but-"
"No, it's fine. I just... I had a stupid dream and woke myself up."
"Oh."
Danielle stood still while Vivien continued to sit on his bed, neither making an effort to move as they stared off.
"I... I didn't know you played," Danielle finally said, bringing herself to look at him.
"Yeah, well..." Vivien stared at his bed and shrugged. "I don't really advertise it, so I'm not surprised."
"Why not?" Danielle asked as she began to feel comfortable enough to approach him.
Vivien shrugged again. He glanced up as she stood at the foot of his bed and then motioned for her to take a seat, which she did.
"From what I heard you're pretty good. Spanish guitar, right?"
Vivien forced a half smile and nodded slowly.
"What?" Danielle said with a small laugh. "Why aren't you saying anything?"
"I don't know. It's just that..." He looked at her and sighed. "You say I'm good, but my parents never say anything like that. My mom acts like she couldn't care any less and my dad... I don't know. He just seems annoyed by it."
"Why would he be annoyed? Does he hate the guitar or something?"
"I think it's because I concentrate on it more than I do my thieving skills, which pretty much suck."
"Wouldn't that be your dad's fault, though?"
"He's tried to teach me. I just don't get it. He makes me go out with my brother and he gets equally frustrated with me. Even my sister is a better thief than I am," he scoffed.
"So? People are talented at different things. You're obviously good at music."
"My dad doesn't see it that way, though. It's like he's offended by it. Like I have some grudge against him and decided to want to be a musician instead. He acts as if I'm just a bother to him."
"Oh." Danielle stared down at the bed, not really knowing what to say.
"Did you ever have that problem with your dad?" Vivien wondered.
"No. My dad wanted me to be anything but a thief. Well, among other things."
"You're lucky," he muttered as he stared at his guitar in his lap.
Danielle gave him a quick annoyed stare.
"I'm sorry," Vivien quickly said. "I wasn't thinking about... I'm sorry."
Danielle shrugged and then stared at the guitar. "So, is it very hard to play?"
"I guess for some people it can be, but it isn't too hard once you understand it."
"Can you teach me a couple of notes?"
"Sure," Vivien smiled, happy that someone appreciated something he did and wanted him to teach them.
He sat up and handed Danielle the guitar, teaching her how to hold it and where to place her fingers.
"Just press down on those two strings," he said as he used his hands to guide her hands along. "And then just run these fingers down the strings and..." He watched as she did so. "That's a C cord."
"How many chords are there?"
"Too many," Vivien grinned.
"And you have to memorize them all?"
"If you want to be good, yeah."
"Can you run through all of them quickly?"
Vivien nodded and took the guitar, starting with the highest note and ending with the lowest, his hands moving quickly and without pause.
"How long did it take you to learn all of that?" Danielle wondered.
"Not too long. It was the second thing I taught myself."
"Oh." She sat and watched as he began to play a song she was unfamiliar with. "So, why the guitar? Why not something-"
The door to his room then opened quickly, both looking towards it as an annoyed Lupin stood in the doorway.
"What'd I tell you about playing that thing this early?" he asked. "Put it away before you wake everyone else up."
They both then flinched as the door was slammed shut.
"Slam a few more doors," Danielle said as she rolled her eyes. "I don't think everyone heard that."
"Yeah," Vivien sighed, setting the guitar on the bed next to him.
"So... you want to go make something to eat?" Danielle asked.
"Sure," Vivien shrugged, both getting off the bed and leaving his room.
––––––––––
Ruby groaned as she forced herself to sit up in bed, not wanting to get up but knowing she'd have to some time.
Forcing her eyes open she looked at the clock on the lamp table. "Almost noon?" she said, half her day already wasted, not that she had anything special planned.
Throwing on some clothes she left her room and made her way to the kitchen, where Danielle and Vivien stood at the stove cooking.
"What's for breakfast?" Ruby asked as she sat on a stool at the center island.
Danielle and Vivien turned slowly and gave her a confused look, Danielle's more one of annoyance.
"We already had breakfast," Vivien said. "We're making lunch."
"Oh, then, what's for lunch?" Ruby asked.
"Soup," Vivien answered as he went back to stirring a large pot.
"That's boring. You guys got any booze?"
"It's the middle of the day..."
Ruby just gave him a blank stare. "So, is that a yes or..."
"In the cabinet," Vivien said with a sigh as he pointed to the bar.
"Thanks." Ruby whistled parts of a tune as she wandered to the bar and grabbed herself a bottle of scotch. She looked over the bottle with a smile before taking it with her to the kitchen, where she sat back down.
"So, Ruby, how do you know my dad?" Vivien asked, glancing over his shoulder at her while keeping the soup stirred.
"He got me out of a jam some years back and so I repaid the favor by helping him on a job. He liked my work so he kept in touch with me."
"Oh, that must be fun, working with my dad," he said sarcastically.
"It is fun," she answered with a glare. "He's never taken you out on a job?" Ruby wondered, thinking it was odd.
"He used to, but I usually get stuck going with my brother."
"I bet he's not as great as your dad is."
"No, my brother's an asshole. And I really don't know how great my dad is."
"Well, your dad is great. Although, sometimes he can be a bit of an asshole, but it's not that bad."
"Gee Ruby," Lupin said through a yawn as he walked into the kitchen, "thanks for telling my kid I'm an asshole."
Ruby gave him a nervous grin.
"And it's a bit early for this, don't you think?" he asked as he grabbed the bottle from in front of Ruby.
"Your son said it was okay."
"I did not," Vivien said. "I just-" He stopped, realizing she was partially right.
"Uh huh," Ruby said with a cocky smile.
"Has anybody called?" Lupin asked Viven as he came back from putting the scotch away.
"Lupin called saying he was staying at some girls house and Uncle Goemon called and said he'd call back when you were up."
"What girls house?" Lupin wondered as he walked up behind Danielle and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You okay?" he asked her in a low voice.
She looked back at him and nodded.
"Ariel or Annabelle or someone, I don't know," Vivien answered with a shrug.
"That's really helpful, Vivien," Lupin said with an annoyed sigh. "When you're done slaving over that stuff tell me. I'm hungry."
"Yes dad," Vivien said as his mood darkened some.
"Ignore him," Danielle said, trying to comfort Vivien somewhat. "My dad pulled that shit all the time. Your dad is probably just tired or hung over or both."
"Then he's tired and hung over every time he talks to me," Vivien said as he set the spoon on the counter and walked off.
"Well, I guess I really didn't need to inform him his dad's an asshole, huh?"
Danielle gave Ruby a look of disbelief.
"What?" Ruby wondered.
Danielle rolled her eyes and turned the fire off under the pot before leaving the kitchen.
She found Lupin in the den, leaning over the pool table as he took his shot.
"Wanna play?" he asked as he leaned on his cue stick.
"Sure," Danielle said with a shrug, grabbing a stick as Lupin set up the balls.
"Your break," Lupin said as he gestured to the table.
"Why do you treat Vivien differently?" she asked as she took the shot, watching as the six ball slowly rolled into the corner pocket.
"Treat him differently how?"
"You act as if he can do nothing right."
"So, you're an expert in parenting now?" Lupin said as his aggravation rose.
"You let Lupin do anything he wants. Hell, even Rayne is allowed to do whatever. And then with Vivien you-"
"Danielle, don't fucking lecture me about this, alright?" he barked suddenly. "You know nothing about being a good father, figuring how much your dad fucked up raising you!"
Danielle reacted quickly to his words as she stared at him with an angry and hurt expression.
Lupin also reacted quickly, unable to believe those words came out of his mouth. "Danielle, I'm sorry, I-"
"Fuck you," Danielle muttered as she threw the stick she held tightly in her right hand down to the floor. "Fuck you, Uncle! Yeah, I'm not the perfect daughter, but at least I won't end up being some fucking whore like your daughter!"
"Hey! Don't you dare talk about my kid like that!"
"Well at least your kid is still here to defend herself!" Danielle glared at Lupin for a few seconds before turning and stomping off.
"Damn it," Lupin growled through clenched teeth. He tossed his stick on the table, where he set his hands on the edge and leaned against it, bowing his head as he tried to calm himself.
"Hey, I think that stuff is done," Ruby said as she walked into the den.
"I'm not hungry," Lupin said in a low voice.
"Oh, well, it's pretty good. I had a few bites and-"
"Ruby, I'm not hungry." He looked up and glared at her.
"Yeah..." Ruby looked around uncomfortably. "I heard all the yelling in here. Was there some kind of fight?"
Lupin said nothing as he pushed himself from the table and walked out of the room.
"Hey, where are you going?" Ruby asked as she followed him.
"To the hospital," Lupin answered as he opened the front door, stepping out and slamming it shut.
––––––––––
Lupin had arrived at the hospital and sought out Goemon. He didn't care that Goemon had called him for whatever reason. What he did care about was that Goemon was someone he could talk to.
Lupin sat bent over in a chair, his head down as his eyes stared at the floor between his feet.
Goemon sat straight in his chair, his expression showing a bit of annoyance.
He had problems of his own, ones much worse than Lupin's, and he didn't act as troubled as Lupin was acting at that moment.
"I still can't believe I said that," Lupin said with an expressionless face. "I guess it was just because... because she was right."
Goemon glanced at him, but kept quiet.
"I tried with him. But he just doesn't seem to get even the simplest things. I tell him to cut the red wires and he cuts the white ones. I tell him to enter through the back door and he enters through the side. He can't tie a knot worth garbage and-"
"Lupin," Goemon interrupted, his voice calm but the anger close to bursting from within. "Why can't he be a musician?"
At this Lupin scoffed. "There's no future in that. How will he afford to live on his own playing the guitar?"
"There are some famous and wealthy musicians out there. Maybe he'll become like them."
"I doubt it."
"Sometimes you have to let your children do what they want to do in order for them to figure out how life really is."
Goemon didn't care that he was being a hypocrite with that statement.
"And besides," he said as he stood up, "he will always have his father to help him in hard times. Danielle will never have that."
Lupin raised his head, watching as Goemon left him. "Yeah," he sighed, once again lowering his head and staring at the floor.
––––––––––
Vivien stood outside of Danielle's door, wondering how to approach the situation.
He had heard the tail end of the argument and knew that it all happened because of him.
'What do I say?' he wondered to himself, taking a deep breath before knocking on the door.
"Go away," Danielle yelled, thinking it was Lupin.
"Danielle, it's me," Vivien said as he placed his hand on the door handle, waiting for the okay to turn it.
The handle turned in his hand as Danielle opened the door. "Sorry. I thought you were someone else."
"My dad?"
Danielle nodded slowly.
"Hey," Ruby said as she walked up behind Vivien. "I heard what my da- what Lupin said. That was pretty fucked up."
Danielle looked down and shrugged. "Did you guys want to come in?" she wondered, inviting the two inside and then closing her door.
"At least I know the truth," she then said as she wandered to her bed and sat on it. "At least I know how they really felt about my dad."
Vivien and Ruby became confused, both joining her on the large bed.
"Who's they?" Ruby wondered.
"Lupin and Goemon," Danielle muttered as she stared at her feet, her chin resting on her knees as she pulled them closer to her chest.
Vivien sighed. "I doubt my dad meant what he said."
"Then why did he say it? And why did he look so shocked, like he couldn't believe he actually said it out loud?"
"What'd Goemon say?" Ruby asked.
"He said my dad was worthless," Danielle sighed.
"And you believed him?" Ruby scoffed.
Danielle shrugged. "Goemon knew. He knew everything. And when I found out I called him a murderer. I later apologized and regretted what I said, but I still think that's what he is."
"He knew your dad was going to be killed?" Vivien said. "And he didn't do anything?"
"That doesn't make sense," Ruby said.
"My dad told him," Danielle said. "He said he didn't want Goemon or Lupin involved. Lupin didn't know anything, but Goemon knew everything. And he did nothing."
Ruby stared off. She had a feeling she was right, that the man she saw was Jigen. 'What if I'm wrong? What if I'm wrong and get her hopes up for nothing? But... shouldn't she know? Even if I am wrong...'
She let out a long sigh, opening her eyes when she realized the talking in the room had stopped, both Danielle and Vivien looking at her.
"You okay?" Danielle asked.
"Yeah," she said with a nervous smile. "I was just thinking. It's nothing, really."
"Are you sure?" Vivien wondered. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"I'm fine," Ruby smiled. "Hey, what's the dumbest thing your dad has ever done?" she asked, wanting to lighten the mood.
"Okay, you go first," Vivien said to Ruby, both he and Danielle waiting with smiles on their faces.
––––––––––
Fujiko growled as she quickly put on her bathrobe, forced to get out of the bath early as the phone continued to ring.
"Can't anyone ever answer the phone?" she yelled as she stomped towards it. "What?" she answered.
Lupin sighed. "I've talked to them about getting the phone," he said, not wanting an argument.
"Well, talk to them again," Fujiko demanded.
"I will," Lupin sighed. "Is Danielle there? I need to talk to her."
"Yeah, hold on." Fujiko took the phone with her as she walked up the steps. She got to Danielle's door, lifting her hand to knock on it when she stopped, hearing the voices from inside.
Danielle was telling the others of a story that her dad had told her, a story about how he screwed up on one of their jobs.
Fujiko remembered that night clearly. 'How could I forget?' she thought, her eyes staring off as she relived that night.
––––––––––
"This is all your fault," Fujiko said as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"My fault?" Jigen asked. "How the hell is this my fault when you were the one who stabbed us all in the back?"
Fujiko said nothing.
"I should have known. I should have fucking known there was some other reason you involved yourself in this."
"Then it's your fault we're stuck here because you didn't know any better."
Jigen tensed, finally turning away from her.
Jigen and Fujiko were sent down to the lower levels of a famously rich and very crooked man's mansion to open the main vault. It would have been an easy job had Fujiko not informed the mansions owner beforehand.
In the end the owner revealed to her that he never really trusted her and locked both she and Jigen in the vault.
Jigen had a nice laugh at her expense, but in the end knew they were both fucked, the vault being air tight and the air to have run out before the five hours that they were to meet Lupin and Goemon.
"We need to figure something out," Jigen said, checking his watch to see they had less than two hours of air left.
"What?" Fujiko asked in frustration. "We've already figured out everything is impossible. What else is left?"
"I don't know," Jigen replied, equally frustrated. "I'm not spending the last hours of my life stuck with you, though, so we need to come up with something."
Fujiko scoffed as she crossed her arms tighter.
"Fine, then you can die in here while I figure a way out."
Fujiko rolled her eyes, occasionally glaring at him as he once again looked over every single square inch of the vault.
"You're just wasting what little oxygen we have left, Jigen," Fujiko barked. "Just sit down and wait for Lupin to get us out."
"So he can drag our dead bodies out of here," he muttered, plopping himself down on the other side of the small space, crossing his arms over his chest as he and Fujiko glared at each other.
The minutes ticked by slowly, each breath soon getting a little harder to take.
"I'm sorry," Fujiko whispered, the panic now clearly showing on her face. "I thought he'd come..."
Jigen just stared at her.
"How much time do we have left?"
He glanced down at his watch. "Thirty minutes. Probably."
"Jigen..." She looked up at him as tears filled her eyes. "I'm sorry."
"Sorry for what? That you got us here or that you're going to die?"
She shook her head as she started to cry. "Do you think I don't care? I'm not that selfish, Jigen. I... I..."
"You what?" Jigen asked in disinterest, glancing up as she started to crawl over to him. He watched her cautiously, his body tensing some as she stopped next to him, her right hand gently stroking his face.
"You're not that bad of a guy," she said. "Once you can see past your hard exterior, you're actually kind of sweet."
Jigen laughed, gently taking hold of her wrist and moving it away from his face. "You're wrong, Fujiko."
Fujiko slowly shook her head. "Don't, Jigen."
"Don't? Don't what? Don't tell you you're wrong? What is it I'm not supposed-" His eyes opened wide as she pressed her lips against his.
The kiss was short, Fujiko pulling away and the two staring into each others eyes.
"Don't lie," Fujiko said before moving in for another kiss, this one returned as Jigen wrapped his arms around her.
The moment got more passionate, but before things could go much further they were interrupted by the sounds of metal being sliced apart.
The two quickly separated as a refreshing gust of air rushed into the vault, both taking deep breaths and savoring the oxygen that filled their lungs.
"Thought you guys could use some help," Lupin said with his usual goofy grin.
"Lupin," Fujiko said happily as she ran towards him and held him tightly.
"How'd you guys end up here, anyway?" Lupin wondered, the smile on his face as he looked at Fujiko disappearing when he looked at Jigen.
"I... I screwed up," Jigen said with a deep sigh. "I let my guard down and..."
He looked away as Lupin and Goemon gave him disappointing and angry stares.
Fujiko looked a little shocked, figuring he'd be quick to blame her and to tell the others that she was once again out to get the treasure all for herself.
As she walked off with the others she glanced back at Jigen as he slowly followed behind.
Her expression said 'thank you', Jigen replying with a smile.
––––––––––
'Why would he still blame himself for that?' she wondered. 'Did he still feel the need to protect me?'
Fujiko laughed and shook the memory away. Not even bothering to knock she opened the door, the three looking at her as she held the phone out.
"Danielle, you have a phone call," she said.
Danielle glared at the phone. "Is that my wonderful uncle?" she asked in a raised voice so he could hear her words. "The one I'm still pissed off at?"
She stomped towards Fujiko and grabbed the phone. "If you've called to apologize, no, I don't accept it and yes, you are sorry."
Lupin said nothing, only glared off as he held in the words he wanted to say at that moment. Taking a deep breath he spoke, his words not hiding the fact he was extremely pissed at her.
"Goemon is awake and he asked to see you," he said. "And if Ruby is there let me talk to her."
Danielle didn't reply, holding the phone out for Ruby and then stomping out of the room, Vivien following her.
"Yeah?" Ruby wondered.
"Hey," Lupin said, his voice a little calmer. "Goemon woke up and asked to see you and Danielle, but don't tell her that he mentioned you. God knows we don't need something else that will upset the little drama queen."
"My god, dad, you act as if you're the real victim. She lost her dad, for fucks sake. Stop acting as if she's here to steal all your sympathy."
"I'm not acting that way, Ruby," Lupin yelled. "Look, just get both of your asses over here. You can take the Triumph. Fujiko knows where the keys are."
Ruby perked up that, not even caring that he essentially hung up on her. "Fujiko," she called out nicely as she ran from the room.
––––––––––
Ruby had invited Vivien to the hospital and he accepted the ride, having nothing better to do.
Danielle was reluctant to go, knowing she'd see Lupin there and still not too happy with how Ichiro had treated her.
Ruby had told her she had no choice but to come with and so she went.
At the hospital the three sat in one of the waiting rooms, watching the seconds tick by on the clock as they waited for Goemon or Lupin to show up. They were told by the nurse that both were in visiting Ichiro and none of the three wanted to interrupt whatever it was they were discussing.
Vivien sighed and stood up. "I'm going to the cafeteria. You guys want to come with?"
Danielle and Ruby shook their heads.
"Want me to bring something back?" he asked.
"I'm fine," Ruby said.
"A soda," Danielle muttered.
"Okay," Vivien nodded. "I'll be right back."
The two watched as he left the room and then went back to being silent.
Both had so many things they wanted to say to the other, but kept quiet for their own reasons.
Danielle's reasoning was she didn't want to start a scene inside the hospital.
Ruby's reason was that she was still unsure whether or not Danielle should know her thoughts about the man she saw.
And so the two sat there staring off into opposite directions as they waited to see Ichiro.
"Oh crap," Ruby mumbled, wide eyes staring at the men who stared back at her, their faces holding evil grins.
"Hmm?" Danielle wondered, looking at Ruby and then looking at the men who were now walking towards her.
"It's them," Ruby said as she began to panic.
"Who?" Danielle wondered, hoping to get an answer before Ruby took off.
"Tell Lupin and Goemon that the men who shot Ichiro are here," Ruby said quickly before jumping to her feet and running from the room.
Danielle watched as the men took off after her before jumping up and running as fast as she could down the hall.
"Uncle Lupin! Uncle Goemon!" Danielle shouted as she burst into Ichiro's room, the two quickly turning their heads and staring at her.
"He's sleeping, Danielle," Lupin said in an angered hush.
"Those guys," Danielle said in a loud whisper. "The ones that shot Ichiro. They're here after Ruby."
Lupin said nothing as he rushed from the room, Goemon following, but stopping before leaving and turning towards Danielle.
"Stay here," he ordered her, giving a stern look before he left the room.
Danielle nodded as she watched the door close, then slowly turned towards the bed. She stared down at a sleeping Ichiro, absent mindedly running her fingers over his hand.
Ichiro, feeling someone there, opened his eyes. He stared up at Danielle for a couple of seconds before closing his eyes.
"Hi," Danielle said with a smile.
Ichiro made no effort to respond.
"I'm glad you're okay," Danielle said, her smile fading as she continued to stare down at him.
Ichiro again said nothing.
"Even though you're still being a dick to me," she said as she narrowed her eyes at him.
Ichiro scoffed and shook his head slightly.
"What. You're saying you aren't being a dick? I'd love to hear the argument against that."
"I'm a dick because I'm too tired and drugged up to respond?" he said in a low and weak voice.
"Didn't stop you then."
"Whatever, Danielle."
"I'm sorry, Ichiro. I'm sorry I spent the last day worrying over you. I'm sorry that I felt bad for you, having to spend your birthday in the hospital. And I'm sorry for praying that you'd be okay."
Ichiro opened his eyes and watched as she started towards the door. "Danielle, wait. Can... can we at least talk about this?"
Danielle paused as she reached for the door handle. She was happy that he stopped her, as she didn't want to be yelled at by Goemon for disobeying him. And she really didn't want to have to come up with an excuse to stay, to reveal to him that she was bluffing.
She turned and gave him a blank look, as if waiting for him to begin.
"I'm sorry," he said as he closed his eyes. "When we kissed I thought there was something there. I thought you'd stay and that we'd stand together. And when you left... I felt betrayed."
Danielle was silent, but when she finally thought of something to say she was interrupted as the door was forced open and then slammed shut, Ruby leaning against it and breathing heavily.
"What the fuck are you doing in here?" Danielle asked in anger. "You want to lead them to us so we can die, too?"
Ichiro looked on in confusion. "Lead who to us?"
"I... I think I lost them," Ruby said as she sat down and caught her breath.
"You think. Well, that's fucking wonderful." Danielle crossed her arms over her chest as she stood over Ruby.
"Relax, okay?" Ruby said as she glared up at Danielle.
"What's going on?" Ichiro asked in annoyance.
"Ruby is being chased by the guys who shot you and she picked your room to hide out in," Danielle answered as she continued glaring at Ruby.
"What?" Ichiro asked as he stared at Ruby. "Why would you do that?"
"I just couldn't go into some strangers room," Ruby said as she rolled her eyes. "That would be bizarre."
Danielle and Ichiro only stared at Ruby.
––––––––––
Lupin was busy chasing down one of the men while Goemon chased the other.
The gunmen had split up to look for Ruby, Lupin and Goemon having the same idea and each finding their target quickly.
The men, recognizing Lupin and Goemon, ran for it, both of them aggravated that someone like Ruby would have such contacts.
And also if she did know them, were they the reason she was snooping around? Did Lupin have some sort of interest in their dealings?
The two men ended up meeting in the middle of a hallway, sticking together and running down another hall.
Lupin and Goemon met in the same location and continued giving chase, turning down the hallway the men ran down and finding no trace of them.
"You check the rooms on that side and I'll get this side," Lupin said as each quickly made their way down towards the end of the hall.
"Lupin," Goemon called him from one of the rooms, the two patients inside staring at him and his odd outfit.
Lupin ran inside and stopped when he saw Goemon standing by the window. Approaching him, he stared outside, the two men jumping into a car near the entrance and speeding off.
"Damn it," Lupin sighed in anger, turning and walking out of the room.
Goemon glanced back at him and then took another quick look out the window before leaving the room and catching up with Lupin.
––––––––––
Zenigata drove home after another long and boring day of pushing papers.
His eyes continued to glance at the file that sat on the seat next to him. It was a file he shouldn't have taken, but one he was informed to destroy.
"Twenty thousand to burn some papers," he scoffed. "When did I get to be like this?"
If he wasn't so tired and didn't have so many things on his mind he would have laughed at that question.
He had been that way for much too long.
It was something he used to blame on Lupin, but after so many years he realized it was all his doing. Sometimes he got rewarded, but most of the time he just got screwed.
And this time he was getting both.
He parked his car outside the complex he lived in and forced himself out, shuffling inside and to his door.
Opening the lock took twice as long as it usually did as he kept hesitating.
'I need to fix this,' he thought as he opened his door and stepped inside. 'I need to get this out. Even though I was told not to...'
He lowered his head and let out an exhausted sigh. Turning, he left his place and closed and locked the door, getting into his car and driving towards the airport.
––––––––––
Lupin stared down at the address he had written down right before he hung up the phone.
"Hey, Fujiko," he said, finding her in the bathroom soaking in a bubble bath. "I need to go out somewhere for a while. I'll be back later."
"Something I should know about?" she asked in slight suspicion.
"An old friend called and he wanted to meet me for some drinks," Lupin answered.
"Don't be gone too late," Fujiko said, closing her eyes and relaxing once again.
Lupin nodded and left the room, grabbing his keys and leaving the house.
"An old friend," he laughed as he drove to the location.
He didn't know why he got the call and why he was told to go to a certain location, everything seeming very suspicious.
Pulling up to the building, he gazed up at it and laughed. "Moving up in the world, huh, Zenigata?"
A man came around and waited for Lupin to exit the vehicle so he could park it.
'This doesn't make sense,' Lupin thought as he watched his car drive off.
He kept his cool and entered the hotel, whistling along with the tune that played in the elevator as he watched the small number above the door light up.
With a small ding the door opened and Lupin stepped out, acting cool on the outside but extremely cautious on the inside.
Finding the room, Lupin knocked on the door and looked around.
"It's open," Zenigata said from inside.
Suspicious, Lupin slowly turned the handle with his left hand, his right inside his jacket and grasped lightly around the handle of his gun.
"It's not a trap," Zenigata said.
Lupin walked inside cautiously, his hand still on his gun as he stared at Zenigata, who sat on the edge of the bed, a cigarette hanging from his mouth as he stared down at his feet.
"I have no reason to arrest you, Lupin," Zenigata said angrily, looking up at him for the first time.
"You're retiring soon, right?" Lupin asked.
"Two weeks," Zenigata muttered.
"That's enough of a reason to arrest me."
The two glared at each other in silence for a few seconds before Zenigata looked back at the floor.
"I... I was in on it," Zenigata said, pulling the envelope he had received days before from his jacket and handing it to Lupin.
Lupin took the envelope and opened it, staring at the contents before pulling out the neat pile of cash.
A shocked look on his face, Lupin's eyes slowly moved up from the cash to Zenigata. "You..." Lupin shook his head slowly as he tried to form the words he wanted to say.
Anger suddenly exploding inside, Lupin threw the money down and stepped forward, grabbing Zenigata by his jacket and lifting him from the bed. Spinning him around Lupin shoved him to the wall.
"You son of a bitch!" Lupin yelled as his eyes began to tear up. "I can't believe you! Was the money worth all of this? Huh? What'd you do? Pull the trigger? And then you have the fucking nerve to act all sympathetic to his daughter? When you're the reason Jigen is gone?"
Zenigata glared at Lupin and shoved him back. "You think I killed him?" he growled.
"Why else would you be getting a payoff?"
"Because he wanted me there to identify the body and switch the DNA samples."
"So when he's dead you can say 'Oh look, it's Jigen'? That doesn't even make sense!"
"Because you're not listening! I didn't kill him! Jigen's still alive!"
"I am listening! And I- Wait, what?" Lupin stared at him in confusion.
"Jigen is still alive," Zenigata said, his voice more calm as he felt relieved to finally get it off his chest.
"She was right," Lupin mumbled as he gazed off in happiness.
"He pissed these people off and they wanted him dead, so he called me to help."
"Wait, so then who was shot?"
"Just some guy who was up for parole. I told him I could guarantee he'd get out if he helped me and he agreed."
Lupin shook his head in disbelief. "So you let an innocent man die..."
"He wasn't innocent, Lupin," Zenigata said in annoyance. "He murdered two people. If anything he got what he deserved."
Lupin stared at Zenigata in silence as his mind thought about all that had happened. "How much of a role did you play?"
"Huh? What... what are you talking about?"
"Did you come up with the plan? Were you pulling all the strings?"
"Jigen came up with it. Like I said, I just helped with-"
"You're lying. Jigen would have never put his daughter through all of this."
"I'm not lying to you, Lupin. It was the only way. Jigen had to die in front of her. That was what he agreed to."
"He agreed to?" Lupin asked, his anger growing as he glared at Zenigata. "That's bullshit! He would have never taken that deal and you know it!"
"He had only two choices, Lupin! Him or her! What do you think he would pick?"
"He would have asked for my help!"
"He didn't want you involved! You don't know this group, Lupin!" Zenigata took a deep breath and tried to calm down. "They rose up after you quit. Their boss is in Mexico and he runs one of the biggest drug smuggling operations in the world."
"Wait," Lupin said as he stared off. "The guys after Ruby?"
"Who's Ruby?"
"Shit," Lupin groaned. "She's... she works for me sometimes. They caught her snooping around and now some of their guys are here trying to kill her."
"Maybe she'll have to stage her death, too."
"Where is he?"
"Don't know. He said he was going after them. I haven't seen him since."
Lupin sighed and stared down at the floor. His eyes glanced at the money laying by the bed. "You can keep the money. You'll probably need it."
Zenigata glared at Lupin as he turned and walked towards the door. "Lupin..."
Lupin paused but said nothing more, turning the handle and leaving the room.