Disclaimer: I do not own the copyrights to Gundam Wing, Endless Waltz, Lupin the Third, any movies, books, or any songs that are used in this story. All copyrights belong to their respective owners.

Notice to Readers: To understand certain parts of this story, you'll have to read the other stories before this one. It is recommended by not required.

Gundam Wing and Lupin the Third

The Wizards Glass

Chapter 5: The Good Ship Juliet

*

            Upon the good ship, Juliet, all of the passengers had already boarded and had gone through the regular safety drills.  The kind that they do before even setting one inch of its bow to sea, where they assign each person to a station where they can get on a life boat, if (God forbid) something happened and they needed to abandon ship. 

            After all that, there was someone who was taking a small tour of the map that showed what was on the ship, deck by deck.  Jigen hunched over the touch screen panel, smoking his pipe, and tilting his hat up.

            "Let's see what this boat has."  He murmured as he went through the selection menu at the side of the screen.  He pressed each button one after the other, Pool, Restaurant, Bar, Casino, Dance Halls, Golf Courses, Multiplex Theaters, Arcades, and so on.  He watched with wide eyes as the model ship in the center of the screen had given away, like opening a fortune cookie to find that slip of paper inside.  The model ship had broken away to its respective deck that Jigen wanted to see where the pools, restaurants, casinos, and so on were.  Yet, it wasn't as plain, dull and flat like the floor plans for an architect, as Jigen looked at each deck; it looked like the actual deck of the ship that had its roof ripped off like a doll house for him to look in. 

            "I'll be damned" Jigen said to himself, "This place is freakin' amazing, its Déjà vu all over again."

            It was true, there was something in the past for Jigen, and the rest of the Lupin crew that was very much like that situation.  It was a long time ago, when the group had separated for five years, and then for some reason an invitation by Lupin brought them all together on a luxurious vessel.  A place that Jigen commented as, "This isn't a boat, it's freakin' Las Vegas with Sea Gulls, so I say let the good times roll on".  Yet, it wasn't Lupin that sent that invitation out for that reunion, it was sent by the man who built the boat who had a grudge against Lupin and was determined to settle the score.  Feeling the Déjà vu, Jigen only smiled and said the exact same thing to himself again, "Let the good times roll on" as he left the map and went to search for the crew. 

* * *

            Deep within the good ship, Juliet, there was a man who was overseeing what was going on his ship.  He sat in his chair looking at a wall of monitors that were all black and white showing off what they were seeing from the cameras that they were connected to.  His light blue eyes that were drowned out by the white glare of the monitors were like that of a man trying to keep his eye on a fly, darting back and forth and all around the wall of monitors.  He reached up to scratch an itch upon his scalp under his light blonde hair that was slicked back to show the widows peaks as well as give away the rough shape of his head underneath.  This was the man that Lupin had found on the cover of that magazine…Vincent Ferer. 

            One of his men came up from behind him and called, "Mr. Ferer."

            "Yes?"  Vincent said with a sinister subtlety to his voice, much like how Hannibal Lecter spoke when he stared into the souls of everyone he met. 

            "There's a man from Preventer asking to see you."

            "Who is it?" 

            "He said his name is Officer Zenigata and he says that he must speak with you upon a matter of great urgency." 

            "Very well" Vincent said as he got up from his chair to go meet the man that he was bothered about, but then again staring at those monitors was already beginning to feel a little boring to him.  The only parts that caught his interest were watching the girls in bikini's go to the many swimming pools on the ship. 

            Eventually, Vincent had been brought to one of the many offices that he had where the good officer waited.  To Vincent, the way that the man dressed seemed a little off to him.  Almost as if his clothes were straight from another era, but still had something connected to the present.  He looked up and down at the officer, at his tan trench coat, his brown suit, as well as his brown fedora. 

            "Officer Zenigata?"  Vincent asked as he sat down in his desk in front of him.

            "Yes."  Zenigata said giving him a good salute, "I'm sure that you've been told that I'm here from the Office of Preventer."

            "Yes."  Vincent complied, "What can I do for you, Officer?"

            "I have been sent here because I have it on good authority that there's a thief onboard this ship.  A notorious thief that I've been chasing after most of my career, a man named Lupin the 3rd, I came here to search for him and I've found out that he's a passenger on this ship."

            "If that's the case," Vincent pointed out, "then there's no crime for coming on board my ship, unless pleasure has become illegal in our peaceful lives."

            "I'm not concerned about that."  Zenigata too the defensive, "I've been sent here to keep an eye on him to make sure that he doesn't try anything funny."  He reached into his tan trench coat and took out a small piece of paper and handed it to Vincent, who took the paper and read it.  He then handed it back to Zenigata.

            "So," Vincent stated, "I should give you my full cooperation or your office will not allow us to leave dock."        

            "That's right, Bub."  Zenigata said with the true grit of an old gumshoe in his voice, "I'm gonna catch Lupin red handed if it's the last thing I do."

            Vincent smiled thinly like a man trying to hide his excitement at the poker table with a great set of cards in his hand, "I admire your dedication, Officer.  In that case, all my security and man power is at your disposal whenever you see fit that Lupin should strike." 

            "Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Ferer."  Zenigata gave one last salute as he left the room. 

* * *

            Elsewhere upon the good ship Juliet, there was a small gathering for game of the year.  It was upon the overlook deck that viewed out over the ships bow.  There were tens, if not hundreds of tables, chairs, benches, and lounge chairs set up there for the passengers that just wanted to get a sun tan or just wanted to look out at the ocean as they were leaving New York Harbor. 

Sitting in one small corner of the overlook deck was Fujiko Mine, who was lying there in her very risqué bikini that probably left very little to the imagination.  Next to her was Goemon who sat cross-legged in his lounge chair listening to the radio.  Then there was Lupin the 3rd who had his sunglasses on and admired the view, of course it wasn't the view over the bow of the ship, more like the view that was lying next to him. 

Though Lupin was rather distracted when he spoke with Fujiko before leaving to board the Juliet, she seemed taken aback by something, but Lupin could not figure it out at first.  Then he saw the Ruby Rose upon Fujiko's dress.  He also remembered, very distinctly the look that she gave that man, Quatre Raberba Winner.  It was the kind of look that he had never seen Fujiko give, not even to him, the look that she was in love.  He tried to shake it off by telling himself that he had to get back the Wizards Glass if he and the others were to go home.  ON the other hand, he thought, what's the point in going home if I still can't have Fujiko? 

"Hey everyone" Jigen called out as he approached the rest of the Lupin crew, "Looks like we all got here without any suspicion."

"Yeah" Lupin smiled, "And hopefully everything will go according to plan."      

            One by one, the rest of the team had arrived upon the boat, each of them under a different name.  That was all part of the plan, that the officers of Prevetner use a different name so that they may not be under any suspicion by the Juliet's security as well as to throw off Vincent Ferer. 

            Heero Yuy had chosen an old name that he was given when he was just a little boy, Odin Lowe Jr.  While Duo Maxwell had chosen the name of Han Solo, of course there were several people in Preventer who laughed at his choice of name but he went with it for reasons that escape the logic of all the other Preventer officers.  Then Trowa Barton decided upon the name of Triton Bloom, Quatre took the name of William Thatcher, Wufei used the name of Lei Long, and Johan decided upon the name Armand Banderas, and Haruka took the name of Megumi Hayashi.  They had all assembled upon the overlook deck and reviewed what had to be done next.  And it involved an invitation to all VIP passengers to a private dinner with their host, Vincent Ferer.  

* * *

            Soon night had come over the good ship Juliet, the sun setting into the ocean like a ball of fire sinking into the vast Atlantic.  Sending out its beautiful waves of yellow, orange, red as its desperate pull to hold onto the light while the violet blue and black closed in on it to push it back into the sea.  Pulling behind the violet blue and black were the stars that speckled the sky like diamonds that were thrown up there by some great Titan in a task to prove himself to the Gods. 

            Inside the Juliet, the real task worthy of any Greek hero was about to begin.  The ship buzzed with activity and thumped with the bass of the music that fueled the nightlife.  One such place where the fun of the night had begun was within the private dinning hall called, "The Oak Room".  It wasn't named that purely to distinguish itself from the other rooms onboard the ship.  It truly was a room that had true oak nailed (or whatever construction was used) to the walls.  Even the tables themselves were made out of solid oak and polished to a glossy shine. 

            The room itself was square, with tables strategically placed like carefully played chess pieces, while above them there was the balcony floor.  It was much like the balconies that are put into the old theaters or opera houses to bring in more people for the show.  Upon the Balcony Floor there were some more solid oak tables for people to look down upon the stage set at the head of the square, yet elegant dinning hall.  In the center of this great dining hall was also a great wooden tiled dancing floor waiting for feet to step upon it like a new seat waiting to be sat upon. 

At one of the luxurious tables on the balcony was Lupin the 3rd and his crew along with the others from Preventer who looked out at the stage as the show was about to begin.     

            "Ladies and Gentlemen" a deep voice introduced over the speakers, "The S.S. Juliet is proud to present, your cruise director, the very talented, Mr. Gill Goldwin!"

            "Thank you!"  A new younger sounding voice modestly accepted his introduction and out came Mr. Goldwin in his white tuxedo.  "First of all, let me welcome you all to the maiden voyage of the S.S. Juliet and to introduce to you, the man behind it all.  The man that has been called by Forbes Magazine one of the richest men in the world, please a warm round of applause for the man of the hour, Mr. Vincent Ferer."

            The whole room buzzed with applause as a man dressed in a black tuxedo got up from one of the tables in the front row and approached the stage.  As he climbed up the stage, Lupin and the others all looked at him like how hawks set their sights on their prey.  The sight was set and they knew that the first part of the plan had to be set into motion very soon.  Though some members of Preventer did grow a certain disgust when they saw Vincent smile from the stage. 

            "Thank you, Ladies and Gentlemen."  He humbly took the stage, "Today, I turn 40 years old.  I have lived a life filled with great riches beyond all what men could ever dream to achieve in their entire lives.  This ship is the jewel in my fortunes, it will be an example of how an ocean cruise should always be…enjoyable.  So, I encourage all of you to enjoy everything…within reason." 

            The hall laughed with him.

            "Now, I have the distinct privilege to begin the evening with the singing of our cruise director, Mr. Gill Goldwin."  He passed the microphone to his cruise director like a master conductor passing the baton to his apprentice, "Mr. Goldwin, may the fun begin."

            "Thank you, Mr. Ferer, and now ladies and gentlemen please grab your partner and get ready…to...Rum…ba…" 

            The music began, it was like a soft tango with the guitars as well as an accordion within the band behind Goldwin.  They played and the man sang, his singing may have been enjoyable to some but to those sitting at that special table in the balcony, they had heard better on street corners.  Yet, that wasn't their concern, there was something more important to do. 

            Lupin watched as Vincent took his seat at the table in the front row.  He then leaned over to Fujiko,

            "Alright, Fuji-cakes" He whispered to her, "The stage is yours." 

            Fujiko took the hint and got up from the table, left the company of Lupin, and the others.  She walked down in her silken dress that had thousands if not millions of sequences embroidered into it that shined when ever she moved.  Each one seemed to accent her body as if saying "look here, look here."  She wore her favorite perfume of Chanel no. 5 and as she approached the stairs she looked at herself in her compact to make sure that she was extra seductive for the target.  She came down the steps that connected the balcony floor to the main hall where people have already begun their conversations at their tables, while others had chosen their partners for the dance floor.  In the dim light of the dancing and the thumping of the band playing Fujiko had found her way to the table where sat Vincent Ferer.  She knew exactly what she was doing, it was only something that she had done dozens if not hundreds of times in the past.  A big corporate individual like him shouldn't be that much different, after all most men with power do go after women of all kinds. 

            Closing in upon Vincent and seeing his face Fujiko opened the dialogue, "Excuse me…Mr. Ferer?"

            Fujiko watched in the low light of the dining hall as Vincent Ferer looked up at her, she knew that Vincent must have heard her despite the loud thump of the music.  She looked at him with his slicked back hair shinned with whatever oil that he rubbed into it earlier that evening.  Even with the low light, his eyes looked beady and cold to Fujiko.  He seemed even more sinister when he smiled at her, it wasn't gentle like Quatre's or even a cocky grin like Lupin's.  It was just…sinister.  He stood up from his table and leaned in towards Fujiko bringing his lips closer to her ear. 

            "What can I do for you, Miss?"  He asked, his voice carrying over the thump and smooth rhythm of the tango. 

            "Would you like to dance?"  Fujiko asked returning the whisper into Vincent's ear

            "I'd be delighted to."   

* * *

            Back on the balcony floor of the Oak Room, Lupin and his crew along with the Preventers looked down as Fujiko took Vincent to the dance floor.  Lupin knew for a fact that Fujiko would defiantly do her best to get to that corporate criminal.  As for the Preventers…they had never seen Fujiko at work, or at least the kind of work that she was well known for among Lupin's crew.  It was apparent that they were worried if this part of the plan would go as smoothly as Lupin had boasted. 

            "I am concerned about her."  Quatre voiced

            "Hey, don't worry about it."  Lupin reassured him, "Fujiko's a pro when it comes to this sort of thing."
            "I never thought that a woman would be sent for this kind of job."  Wufei spoke out

            "It is said that the female of the species is more deadly than male."  Goemon spun more of his pearls of wisdom like a Zen Master.

            "Rudyard Kipling."  Johan said

            "Who?" his wife Haruka asked

            "Kipling, the author of the Jungle Book once said that the female of the species is more deadly than male."

            "I find that hard to believe."  Wufei held onto his chauvinistic belief

            This was something that bonded Wufei to Jigen, at least on the level where women are concerned.  Then again Lupin crew had gotten to know as well as come to regard them as friends.  Such as another case with Jigen and the Silencer, Trowa Barton, the two of them were such great sharp shooters as well as experts in guns.  They also had the implied belief that sometimes actions are greater than what words can do.  It seemed like such a great bond between the two of them that it almost seemed like Jigen could regard Trowa Barton as a son, or even a brother. 

            The very same thing could be said about both Wufei and Goemon, during the time that the planning of the mission and boarding the ship those two were like peanut butter and chocolate.  Both such great martial artists as well as swordsmen, the only thing that differed between them were their egos.  Goemon was a little more humble than Wufei, especially when it came to women.  Despite the fact that Goemon had practiced celibacy ever since he started the path of being a great swordsman, all in all Wufei had great respect for Goemon, especially after a small spar that they had.  The two of them had their swords ready and the spar was over within a matter of seconds, of course Goemon was the winner with such a sword as the Zantetsuken.  That sword was what surprised Wufei more than anything else; to see a sword slice through his as if it was a candle. 

            With Lupin, he had come to have a small liking to Duo Maxwell, mostly because he (as well as Johan) could afford to have a sense of humor even in the smallest way.  Lupin did like Johan as well as his wife Haruka.  He had to admire their own happiness within each other, they had the kind of relationship that he wish that he could have with Fujiko.  He even got to see a picture of Johan and Haruka's children…Julia and Leto.  HE found out about the children of all the Preventers, how wonderful they were, as well as what they did during one special time.  Hearing the stories of how the children of the Preventers took up arms and mobile suits in order to take revenge for their parents suffering.  Lupin felt something stir within him in hearing that, how could children take on such a dangerous task, he wondered.  He even found out the truth about how old the original Gundam pilots were during Operation Meteor, like father like sons and daughters.  On the other hand, God only knows how old Lupin was when he committed his first great theft. 

            Within the thump and arousing sounds of the tango, Fujiko worked her great craft of alluring men.  Despite how cold and unfeeling Vincent seemed to her, she had confidence in her lure.  She had danced with Vincent for only a few minutes and she could feel his hands make small advancements down her back and to her ass.  Until she went along with it and allowed him to get a small feel of her curvaceous body, but she took it one step further. 

            She leaned into Vincent and whispered, "Why don't we find someplace more quiet for that sort of thing?"

            Vincent didn't respond…but only reacted.  He took Fujiko by the hand, lead her off the dance floor, and out of the Oak Room. 

            "And there she goes."  Lupin smiled, "I told you that she could do it." 

* * *

            Inside one of the private elevators, Fujiko had her arms wrapped around Vincent while she pressed her lips against his as well as her body, wrapping one leg around him.  Kissing him deeply while Vincent's hands groped Fujiko's body, she felt his tongue pushing into her mouth, and she tried to go along with it, but this man felt a little different than the rest.  She could feel, both on her skin that Vincent was groping and within her how much Vincent wanted her in his bed.  Still, there was that feeling at the back of her mind like someone far away calling her name that something was very wrong about it.  The first strong feeling that she got while "being" with Vincent was how cold he was.  It wasn't just in his beady eyes; it was also his hands that were like a gynecologist…icy from washing too much in cold water.  Then there was his kiss, the way he kissed, it was as if he was eating Fujiko alive, and his tongue was like an ice cube from a cold drink.  But his kiss…it was so rough in that eating sensation…it wasn't gentle or sweet like Lupin's…or even…Quatre's. 

            "No."  Fujiko thought as she continued to go along with Vincent's deviant behavior of his eating like kisses and icy cold groping, "I have a job to do…I will see it through to the end…they're counting on me."

            She looked out of the corner of one eye while Vincent was kissing her hard and looked down to the elevator button panel.  As with all elevators all the decks had their names and numbers next to their respective buttons.  All except one…it was the "Reclusive Deck" or Deck #13, instead of a button next to that name there was a key hole.  Into that very key hole was the key that Vincent had taken out of his coat pocket when Fujiko suggested that they go somewhere more private for what they were about to do. 

            Fujiko knew that it would be there on that deck where Lupin would do a job that could determine the question of if they will ever get home.  She continued to endure Vincent's kissing and groping by reminding herself, "They're counting on me, Goemon…Jigen…and Lupin…they're counting on me to get home…"

To be continued…