DISCLAIMER: I do not own these characters. People really read the disclaimers?…. Huh….
Howdy!
Hey, I've passed the fifty review point! Yay! Sorry, sounded a little too giddy… I'll stop now… Thanks a million to everyone who read this and reviewed it. I really, really appreciate it. Well, I've got a couple of more chapters up my sleeve. And to think, I wanted to do this as a one-shot…. Ha! Oh, well, be sure to keep the reviews coming, and most of all, enjoy the next chapter!
'Now that you know who you are,
What do you want to be?
And have you traveled very far?
As far as the eye can see…'
--The Beatles, 'Baby You're a Rich Man'
Chapter Fourteen: Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)
"Okay, okay… Jigen, calm down! Your plane leaves in another two hours, I promise!" Lupin said shakily. He held the phone away from his ear as Jigen went to speak.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU LEFT ME IN GODDAMNED AMISH COUNTRY! I OUGHTA HANG YOU FOR THIS, YOU INCOMPETENT JERK!!" Jigen shrieked out the other end. Everyone else in the room turned their heads and looked at the phone worriedly.
"Hi, Daddy!" Yukiko called.
"Hi, Yuki…" Jigen muttered, "Lupin, put Yukiko on. I have to tell her something." Lupin nodded, and passed Yukiko the phone.
"Yeah… Okay… Sure thing… I love you too," Yukiko handed Lupin back the phone and then kicked him in the shin, "Sorry. Dad told me to."
"Jigen, you bastard!" Lupin growled as he held onto his pained shin.
"Oh, I'm suddenly the bastard!?" Jigen laughed, "I'm not the one who leaves his best friend halfway across the world!"
"I didn't mean it! I swear, that guy looked like you!" Lupin said.
"How could you confuse me with an Amish guy!?" Jigen demanded.
"It's easier than you think. Just go into one of the villages sometime, and see how long it takes before someone's calling you Elijah!" Lupin answered.
Jigen sighed wearily, "Hey, I'll talk to you later. Boy, you totally screwed up my honeymoon."
"Like it was that much of a wedding? Your daughter pulled a gun on a drunk in a courtroom. That was the highlight," Lupin replied blandly.
"I know. I'm damned proud of her, too," Jigen snapped in response, "I'll talk to you later."
"Bye," Lupin hung up the phone and sat back in his chair, "Jesus. What a little nag. He's acting like it's the first time we've ever abandoned him!"
"It's the first time we've done it without intent," Goemon pointed out.
Amaya turned to him, "We promised to see my father today, remember." Goemon cringed, "I know. But he's probably really lonely there all by himself without anyone to chase!" Amaya protested, "Please, Goemon."
"We must," Goemon nodded, and rose, "Would you like to see the old man now?"
"Yes. Let's go see the 'old man'," Amaya chuckled as she stood next to him, "Lupin, you coming? He's your dad, too."
"What!?" Lupin shrieked.
"Figuratively speaking!" Amaya replied quickly.
"Jeeze, don't scare me like that!" Lupin put a hand on his chest, "It's not funny! If Pops were my—Good God, I'd hang myself! No offense, of course!"
"None taken…." Amaya muttered, "Come on. Ming, Fujiko, Yukiko, you guys want to tag along?"
"No. I need a nap," Fujiko shook her head.
"Yukiko and I are going to stay and see if Jigen calls again," Ming responded, "Poor guy…"
"All right. Try to hold the fort down while we're gone," Lupin smiled as he closed the door behind them. He, Goemon, and Amaya exited out of the home and into one of their numerous cars, and headed towards Zenigata's apartment, which, surprisingly enough, wasn't that far from Lupin's rural hideout.
"Pretty shabby looking place…." Lupin commented as he stopped the car in front of La Ville apartments, an old tan-colored brick complex from the early twenties. The place was yet to have an elevator installed, for many earlier European buildings still lacked them, even after being around for many years.
"It's not that bad…." Amaya answered as she looked down at the address on her palm-pilot and back at the home, "This is it, according to the directions."
"You're marrying a techie. I love it," Lupin said to Goemon as they exited the car and began to walk up the three flights of stairs to the apartment. Amaya knocked on the door, and waited. All three were taken aback as Natasha opened the door of the apartment. Her hair was tied back in a bandanna, and she held a feather duster in one hand.
"Uh… Hi… Is… Is my dad home?" Amaya inquired.
"Uh… Maybe," Natasha looked back, and then at the three, "You guys want to come in. I just wanted to get a little bit of dusting done around here. I don't ever think your father's ever heard of a mop or a broom before…. It looked like a museum in here!"
"Well, Pops is pretty ancient," Lupin shrugged as he looked around the apartment, "Funny, but I've never thought of Zenigata as just a regular person, before…" he said to himself as he looked through the many books weighing down a single bookshelf. He turned his attention to several framed pictures, and was taken aback to see they were high school and college diplomas of renowned schools, "Do you guys see this? My ass could probably get in there only if I threatened to kill the dean!" Lupin laughed as he glanced over the degrees and diplomas.
"If I were a teacher I wouldn't let you into kindergarten," Goemon answered, "You probably disrupt all of the students."
"Jeeze, thanks," Lupin snapped as he turned away from the wall, "I see where you get your intelligence, Amaya…."
"Thanks," Amaya nodded, and turned towards Natasha, "Do you know if Dad's around?"
"I'll look in the back. He could've left while I had my headphones on," Natasha smiled, and exited to the back room of the apartment.
"Goemon, what's up?" Lupin inquired as he noticed the agitated look on his friend's face.
"She lives here," Goemon said quietly.
"What!?" Lupin drew back, "Are—Are you for real!? How do you know that!?"
"Look over there, on the mantle place. A menorah. Now, how long have you known Zenigata to be Jewish, as compared to Natasha?" Goemon inquired.
"It could just be a gift," Lupin shrugged, although he became a bit nervous and disturbed at the thought of Natasha and Zenigata together, "Oh, come on, they couldn't possibly be… Jesus!"
Zenigata presently came out of the back room, and was not pleasantly surprised as he saw Lupin standing in his living room. He did not shout, or even draw his handcuffs, for that matter. He no longer carried a pair on him. He simply and quietly grinded his teeth together as he watched the enemy pace about the room.
"I'm just as happy to see you, Zenigata," Lupin said with a cocky grin, "Come on, let's put that behind us. It's a brand new day! How's the blonde working for you?"
"Why you little—" Zenigata lunged, but Natasha restrained him.
"Let's go sit and get something to drink," Natasha hissed.
"Grand idea!" Lupin smiled and walked over to the couch with Goemon and Amaya, "So, what have you guys been up to? 'Coin collecting', right?"
"Lupin, where's your shadow?" Natasha inquired.
"Right behind me, why?" Lupin responded.
"No, I mean Jigen," Natasha replied, "He's usually following you around."
"He's…" Lupin trailed off, "Preoccupied…."
A Pennsylvania Airport:
"One more hour…. One more hour…." Jigen muttered as he sat in an uncomfortable plastic chair and looked out at the airplanes, "That little son of a bitch! I oughta kill him…."
"Cousin Eli!" Jigen heard a man hovering in front of him shout cheerfully. Jigen looked to his left, and his right, but saw no one. He then realized that the stranger was addressing him, "How goes building the barn, Cousin!?"
"I ain't your cousin, Buddy, and I have no friggin' clue on the first thing about barn-building!" Jigen snapped, rising out of his seat and walking to the other side of the terminal, "I'm never visiting Philadelphia again…. It only brings me trouble…. But women, kids, and idiot savants also bring me trouble…. Go figure… Damn I'd kill for a cigarette…."
Back in France:
"I can't believe you actually framed handcuffs, Pops," Lupin muttered, shaking his head. There, over the mantle place, Lupin had spied several sets of handcuffs against a red background in a shadowbox. Natasha had gone out for a little while, leaving the four to themselves. Luckily, the 'happy-family' had not made any attempts at killing one another yet.
"It's almost like a family tree…." Amaya noted, "You were a cop, Mom was a lawyer…. And I'm an accomplice to larceny and grand theft."
"What about our warrants, Zenigata?" Goemon inquired of the inspector.
"Those things were lost in an earthquake a little while back…. Not that anyone really cares, now. The big fish is in jail," Zenigata answered.
"Sort of," Lupin retorted.
"Don't I know it…." Zenigata grumbled and put a hand over his eyes tiredly, "After all the crap you put me through, here you are, in my apartment, talking like nothing ever happened…."
"After all the—I put you through!? Friggin' come on!" Lupin yelled in defense, "You're the one who jackassed all over the world! You didn't have to do that, you could've quit at any time!"
"I couldn't have done that! I would've looked like a giant failure!" Zenigata rose out of his seat and balled one of his fists.
"Oh, so instead of looking like one giant failure, you made yourself look like only half of an idiot every time I outsmarted you," Lupin by this time had risen out of his chair as well. Goemon and Amaya looked at one another and then at Lupin and Zenigata apprehensively.
"Outsmarted!? Hardly! You're an intellectual, I'll grant, but you have the I.Q. of a turnip!" Zenigata snapped.
"Oh, what's the Goddamned difference!?" Lupin sighed, throwing his hands up over his head briefly, "Intellectual, intelligent—Either way, I still beat you every single time!"
"Would you two please just SHUT UP!?" Amaya demanded in a loud voice that surprised all of the men. Lupin and Zenigata quieted, and both seated themselves back down onto the furniture, "Good…. Jeeze, you two better not get like this at either wedding!"
"Either?" Zenigata inquired.
"Yeah! I was coming to invite you to mine! You've been on my ass enough, you remind me of an over-bearing over-protective parent!" Lupin snapped.
"If we don't quiet down right now…." Amaya started, "we'll all go to family counseling, and you two can duke it out there."
"Sounds great! People have been saying I needed to visit a shrink for years!" Lupin laughed.
"Amaya, don't try. I've tried for nearly twelve years…." Goemon sighed, sitting back in his seat, "It's better to just let them vent. As long as they don't kill one another, there's no real issue…"
"I guess," Amaya sat back in her chair and folded his arms, "Your family isn't like this, is it?"
"Unfortunately," Goemon muttered under his breath as he watch the two finally take their seats once more, each grumbling curses under his breath.
"What was that?" Amaya leaned inward a little.
"Nothing," Goemon shook his head and sat up straight in his chair. The phone began to ring, and Zenigata quickly ran to it; an excellent excuse to leave Lupin. He picked it up, and greeted the caller, only to find no one was on the other end. He shrugged, and hung up the phone. The second he did, however, there was a large blast outside, causing everyone to duck for cover. Lupin peeked out the window first, and saw the remnants of what had once been a car.
"Well, that was pretty damned weird…." Lupin muttered.
"Maybe I should stay here tonight, Dad," Amaya said as she rose, "In case that happens again…"
"No, no, I wouldn't want to impose," Zenigata stuttered.
"You won't be," Amaya smiled sweetly in response, "What, would I be imposing?"
"Um…" Zenigata put a hand on the back of his neck.
"Oh my God, you're right about Natasha, Goemon!" Lupin gasped in shock, "She's living here, isn't she, Pops!?"
"Dad?" Amaya asked innocently, "Oh, wow…" she muttered as her father remained silent.
"Property taxes are high!" Zenigata responded.
"Damn… You and Jigen! I would never let you guys in a third-grade classroom… You might walk out with your next girlfriend…" Lupin muttered.
Zenigata growled, "She's forty, so it's not that much of an age gap!"
"She's…. Forty?…." Lupin gaped.
"Thirty-nine, technically, but," Zenigata shrugged, "It's nothing, Toshiko. She's just a friend."
"Well, that's a shame…." Amaya sighed, much to Zenigata's surprise, "Dad, I don't expect you and Mom to get back together. I could see Lupin and Jigen as a couple before I could see you and her together again…"
"I could see Lupin and Jigen as a couple," Zenigata admitted.
"You shut the hell up!" Lupin snapped, "I would rather have my teeth filed down! He's a terrible kisser!"
"Come on. You two were outlaw couple of the year three times at the office! Hey, how do you know he's a bad kisser?" Zenigata inquired.
"Long story," Lupin muttered, "Let's just say I keep a good distance from the guy when he's talking in his sleep now."
"That still burns an image in my brain," Goemon shuddered.
"Hey, at least it wasn't you!" Lupin snapped, "I had a gin aftertaste in my mouth for a week!"
"Dad, do you want me to stay tonight?" Amaya asked.
"No, I'll be all right. If they think a car bomb is going to scare me, they have another thing coming. After what that little bastard Lupin put me through I could probably walk through Brooklyn at one A.M. alone and feel safe."
"Uh, I'm still here," said Lupin.
"I know," Zenigata answered.
"Well, the wedding's next week, and Lupin's is tomorrow. We'll see you there, Dad," Amaya embraced her father and then the three left the apartment.
"I have the feeling that was meant for our car…." Lupin muttered as he looked down at the wreckage across the street from them.
"No. Perhaps it was just a warning," Goemon responded as they climbed into the car and drove back to the house, where Ming and Yukiko had set up at video game while Fujiko went to fixing her nails for tomorrow.
"How'd you get so good!?" Yukiko inquired as Ming won once again.
"Practice. Whenever my parents went off, they'd sit me and my brother down in front of the television and give us a stack of movies or a video game to play," Ming replied. She looked back as she heard the door open and saw Goemon, Lupin, and Amaya filter in, "Hey, guys. Jigen called about an hour ago, so he's probably over the Atlantic by now as we speak…"
"Well, that's a bit of good news…" Lupin said tiredly.
Somewhere in a Plane over the Atlantic:
Jigen had calmed down by now. He no longer thought of killing Lupin; only perhaps maiming him or kicking him down a flight of stairs. Currently, he sat next to a middle-aged woman who was definitely of an Asian background. She kept looking over at him, like she wanted to speak, but she stopped herself each time, as if intimidated by him.
"So, why are you going to France?" she inquired in Japanese. Apparently she could tell that Jigen had some Japanese background, because he immediately shot his head toward her.
"Huh? Oh, a friend of mine. I'm going to be best man at his wedding," Jigen answered after a pause, "How about you?"
"Oh, I'm going to see my son," she answered with a smile, "I haven't seen him in a long, long time, so I'm rather excited…."
"Have a good one. Hope you guys get along," said Jigen, "When's the last time you saw him?"
"I lost count," she admitted in a sigh, "I know, it sounds awful—But I still love him. Why are you here?"
"My dumb-ass best friend accidentally left me behind, so I'm stuck taking a midnight flight to France so I can wake up at the crack of dawn to go to his stupid wedding," Jigen answered.
"You're married yourself?" she inquired.
"N—I, I mean… Yeah… Just got married a few days ago…" Jigen replied, "To a pretty nice girl. She's not half bad, you know. She can be annoying as hell, but she can also be really sweet… Heck, she saw something in me, so she's either really into me or she's just desperate!"
"You two planning on kids?" she asked.
"I—I have a daughter already, so I guess not… She's a handful," Jigen admitted.
"Do you have any pictures of her?" asked the woman.
Jigen paused a moment, and became suspicious of the Asian woman, "No…. Sorry…."
"That's a shame," sighed the woman, "I don't have pictures of my son, either. He was such a handsome boy, too, but sometimes…. Sometimes I forget exactly what his face looked like, and mothers aren't supposed to do that… They're supposed to know every trivial thing about their child, and I can't even tell you if he has the same name now!" she wept, drawing the attention of everyone on the plane.
"Lady, quiet! You're making a scene!" Jigen hissed, but still had a bit of sympathy in his voice, "How do you know you're going to see him, then, if you don't know what he looks like!?"
"I just know. It has to be him. I'll hang myself if it's not—I swear to God I will," she answered. Jigen raised his eyebrows, sat back in his seat, and ordered two scotches. It was going to be quite a flight.
Later:
Four scotches later, the woman was skill crying over her son while Jigen studied an empty scotch glass in his hand. Everything seemed to blur, but he knew how to handle such things from years of experience. The woman next to him, however, had no idea how to handle her alcohol. After only drink she had become only more emotional. Yes, it was going to be quite a flight….
Back at the House, a Few Hours Later:
Ming was asleep when the door to her and her husband's room opened. She didn't hear anyone lay down a suitcase, begin to slowly and cautiously over towards her, and trip over a chair she had moved earlier that day. The figure grumbled, and rose, and then continued walking towards her. She gasped in surprise as she felt two hands on her shoulders, and she turned over in bed.
"Hey, it's just me," said Jigen, "I had to find you. Tell me when you're going to move furniture around, okay? I just went ass over tea kettle because you moved a chair around in here."
"Sorry. When did you get in?" Ming inquired.
"Four," Jigen replied.
"God—You have to get up in a few hours for Lupin's wedding," Ming muttered.
"Sleep's for when your dead," Jigen answered with a wry laugh as he began to undress, "I wanted to let Yuki know I was in, but it's pretty Goddamned late…. Anyway, she'll see me in the morning. Oh, and remind me to knock Lupin's lights out when I see him… Little bastard…"
"Can do," Ming chuckled. Jigen climbed into the bed and laid his head down on the pillow, and felt Ming put an arm over his chest, "How tired are you?" she asked.
Jigen looked back at Ming, "Not tired enough…." He rolled over, and kissed Ming, and then embraced her.
"So, I guess you didn't meet an Amish girl while you were there," Ming laughed.
"Are you kidding? The closest I got to a girl was some psycho lady sitting next to me on the flight home…" Jigen leaned back a little, "You know… I… I never thought I would actually get married…."
"What you thought and what you know are two different things. Now come on. We don't have to be up for another three hours," Ming replied.
"Well, if you insist," Jigen smiled, and put the sheet over both his and Ming's head. They were disrupted after a few minutes, however, by a knocking at the door. Jigen came to a dead halt, and lifted his head up, "Who is it!?"
"Jigen? You're in? Great… Can I talk to you?" Lupin inquired.
"Damn it," Jigen growled and rose from the bed. He quickly felt around, and was able to find a bathrobe to put on and his cane to guide him around his room. He opened the door, and could see the shadowy figure of Lupin standing in front of him.
"Am I disturbing you?" asked Lupin, looking back at Ming.
"No," Jigen shook his head, "Now what do you need?"
"I have to talk to you," Lupin reiterated. Jigen grumbled and followed Lupin out and downstairs to the kitchen. Lupin turned on a light, and Jigen squinted a few moments before his vision adjusted to the newfound light. Lupin went to the refrigerator, and Jigen sat down at the table and folded his cane. Lupin came back to the table with a bottle of bourbon and a bottle of chivas, as well as two shot glasses, and he seated himself across from Jigen.
"Should you be drinking alcohol this early?" Jigen inquired.
"I would've listened had it come from anyone but you," Lupin replied as he poured himself a drink and sipped from the glass, "I'm really sorry about the airport."
"Well you should be! I swear, sometimes I don't know if your brain and brain stem are connected or not," Jigen sat back in his chair, and his expression softened as he saw the genuinely worried look on his friend's face, "Hey, what's up? You're finally getting to marry the girl of your dreams! It's what you've wanted for a long, long time!"
"I know…. I have Fujiko, kids, and Zenigata's finally out of my hair…. What's left to want?" Lupin shrugged.
"Well, we can still go steal crap! I have to get Yukiko through college somehow, and I'll be damned if I'm going to be a working stiff!" Jigen laughed.
"It won't be the same, though…. Lupin the Third is in jail now…. I'll know I'm the genius behind it, but who else will? And then with the freakin' bomb today…."
"Bomb?" Jigen looked upward from his drink.
"Yeah, across from Zenigata's apartment."
"What the hell were you doing at Zenigata's place?"
"Long story. But, anyway…. I think I know who did it, but I'm afraid to admit it…."
"Who? Oh, crap, it's not Remy, is it!?" Jigen gasped.
"No," Lupin shook his head, "Remy's too stupid to know how to make a car bomb…."
"Who, then?" asked Jigen.
"Oh, if it is who I think it is, we'll see him today…" Lupin muttered, and rose from the table, "Why don't you get back to Ming now? You two seem to have a lot to catch up on…"
"Yeah," Jigen smirked briefly, and then stood, and put a hand on Lupin's shoulder. Lupin turned to him, and Jigen spoke, "Hey, don't worry. If I can pull off family life, you can, too. And so what if people don't know it's you? You do, and we do, and that's all that counts. That and all the money you get from your heists, that is… Get back to bed, man. I'll see you in a few hours."
"Yeah, bye," Lupin nodded, and both went their separate ways back up to their rooms.
