DISCLAIMER: Don't own the Lupin characters in this fanfic, this fanfic owns me…
Hi…
Please don't kill me…. I'm sorry it took such a swift turn… God, you all really like her, huh? Tee hee hee…. I feel bad, though, like I should send flowers or something… But, instead of spending the money, I just hurried with the next chapter, to make it up to you guys… Enjoy the next chapter…
'Yesterday,
all my troubles seemed so far away,
now it looks as though they're nere to
stay,
oh, I believe in yesterday,'
The Beatles—'Yesterday'
Chapter Twenty Three
Monday: Brand New Key
A blonde woman stood among a group of young girls in a gymnasium, all the young children waiting for her next move. The woman made a quick lunge, her one fist out, and the young girls immediately followed. The doors of the gym opened, and a middle-aged Japanese man in a brown suit entered with two cups of coffee, and seated himself on one of the wooden benches.
"And that's all for today!" Natasha yelled to her pupils. The girls immediately lost their austere looks, and turned into regular little girls. Natasha walked over to Zenigata, and seated herself next to him, "Nothing like teaching young girls how to defend themselves…."
"They'd be able to kick my ass with a few more lessons," Zenigata smiled wryly. Natasha nodded in agreement, and took her coffee.
"Nothing like a girl who knows how to hit hard," Natasha chuckled, and sipped the coffee, "You gotta love 'um…"
"You could say that again," Zenigata muttered quietly to himself.
"They're good girls, and they like it. It's a little unorthodox to offer self defense at a Jewish community center but they seem to enjoy it, and— Koichi?" she frowned and turned her attention towards the door as Zenigata rose and began to walk over to it, dumbstruck. There was Lupin, struggling to enter amongst the young girls exiting. He finally got through, and walked towards Zenigata.
"I need your help," Lupin said reluctantly to Zenigata.
Back at the House:
A black car pulled up in the driveway, and the now all too familiar Italian American stepped out, now in a gray suit and carrying an Attachi briefcase. He knocked on the door, and after a few moments Goemon opened the door.
"I believe you have the results by now," he said with a smile.
"Yes," Goemon nodded, and returned the smile. Both stood there silently a few moments, until the man suddenly fell back after Goemon punched him square in the nose. Goemon turned, and Ming and Fujiko came out from behind the stairway.
"Damn! This jerk's heavy!" Ming grunted as both took him by an arm and led into the living room, where Amaya sat readily with ropes in hand.
A Local DNA Testing Facility:
"I can't believe I'm actually going to help you out…" Zenigata muttered as he walked into the facility with Lupin on one side and Natasha on the other.
"Natasha, you go take care of the goons at the front counter," Lupin whispered. Natasha nodded and walked over to the front counter, and leaned against it. This drew the attention of all three men at the receptionist's desk.
"Hi," Natasha said absently as she brushed her hair back and laughed, "I was wondering if you fellas could give me a hand… I seem to be having trouble with my car… It's the American LaFrance out front…"
A beautiful woman with an expensive car drew the attention of all of the men, and they followed her out. Natasha looked back at Zenigata once, and winked. Lupin smirked, and chuckled as he read Zenigata's expression, "You old dog. C'mon, we've got a lot of work to do…"
Back at the House:
"Yukiko, what's up? I want to go into the living room!" Jigen snapped at Yukiko as she stood in front of the doorway of his bedroom.
"No!" Yukiko answered.
"Why the hell not!?" Jigen snapped.
"I… Uh…" Yukiko looked to Toshiro, who stood next to her, nervously.
"Lupin!" Toshiro said suddenly, "He and Fujiko are on the couch!"
"Doing that thing that I caught you and Ming doing in the basement!" Yukiko added.
Jigen's face flushed, but it was quickly replaced by a frown, "I saw Lupin leave this morning!"
"Dammit," Yukiko muttered. She stopped Jigen again as he went to walk past her, "No, Daddy! What's the big deal, anyway?"
"Daddy's gotta go vigilante on someone's ass, Yuki," Jigen answered, "It's for both of our own good. Now please get out of my way. This is the last time I'm going to ask you nicely."
"No," Yukiko shook her head.
"Fine," Jigen tried to walk past her, only to be pushed into his room by Toshiro and Yukiko. Yukiko quickly slammed the door and locked it from outside, and Toshiro jammed the lock for extra insurance, "Yukiko!?" Jigen began to bang on the door, "Yukiko! Goddammit! Open this friggin' door or I'll shoot the friggin' lock off!"
"Quick! Back down!" Yukiko whispered to Toshiro as they ran down the flight of stairs. They came back to the living room, where Goemon was interrogating the hostage while Amaya was on the computer, conversing with Lupin via microphone and camera. Fujiko and Ming sat on either side of the hostage, each with a gun in hand.
"He's gonna shoot that lock off!" Yukiko yelled.
"And then he's going to shoot this guy!" Toshiro added.
"This is no way to treat your father!" the stranger yelled.
"You're not my father!" Yukiko hissed.
"No, your father's upstairs, probably getting ready to shoot off the lock…" Ming muttered.
The hostage seemed stunned suddenly, and turned to Ming, "Jesus, I didn't recognize you without the whore makeup! What the hell happened to you!?"
"You don't even friggin' know me," Ming answered.
"You old man was the leader of the Dragon and Phoenix Clan in Hong Kong. You guys were top assassins," he replied.
"He's playing with our heads again," Goemon said, beginning to draw his sword out.
"No! No! I'm not!" he yelped.
"What is your name, coward?" Goemon demanded.
"My name is Lucky Luciano," he answered in a gulp as he watched light reflect from Goemon's blade, "That thing is, uh, pretty sharp, huh?"
"You bet your ass it is. Now do you want to see how sharp it is, or do you want to start talking?" Goemon asked, leaning inward and pressing the blade against Lucky's throat. Suddenly, all stopped as they heard several bullet shots, and one of the bedroom doors fell down. They heard footsteps, and all looked at one another nervously.
Back at the Testing Facility:
A police officer identified himself to the lab technicians while another man went searching for his target. "That's her, Lupin," Amaya whispered into Lupin's earphone as he came to a Japanese scientist. She turned her head towards Lupin as he stopped in front of her, and he got very close to her before he put a gun to her back.
"Miss, I think we need to have a word…" Lupin whispered to her.
"I…" she started.
"I think it'd be better if you didn't say anything right now. You have a right to remain silent, you know," Lupin whispered in response as he took her by the arm, put his gun away, and led her over to Zenigata, who cuffed her and led her out with Lupin.
Meanwhile, outside, the three receptionists, try as they might, could not find anything wrong with the car.
"So," one rose from the engine, and walked over to Natasha, "What are you doing Friday night, Baby?"
"I," Natasha quickly glanced in the rearview and saw Zenigata, Lupin, and the lab technician walk out of the building, "I'm having dinner with my boyfriend…"
"He that clown in the red jacket?" one asked.
"Nope. He's the one in the brown suit," she answered, "Well, it's been fun, fellas, but I've got to fly!" she turned the car on, and zoomed over to Zenigata, Lupin, and their hostage. Lupin threw the woman in the backseat and climbed in with her, and Zenigata jumped in next to Natasha.
"That bitch!" one of the receptionists yelled, "She ran over my friggin' feet!"
Back at the House:
"Jigen, baby, it's not what it looks like. Now calm down and put the gun away," Ming said nervously.
"Like hell! I'm going to paint the living room with this bastard's brains!" Jigen screamed in response, pointing a gun to Lucky's head. Lucky let out a yelp, and Ming pulled him away.
"Just calm down! We'll get to the bottom of this in no time!" Ming said.
"All I want to do is shoot the jerk where it hurts!" Jigen answered. Goemon began to lead him out, all while Jigen continued yelling like a madman, "I'm going to castrate you with my magnum, you hear me!?"
"He's more psycho than his old man," Lucky muttered.
"And I'm even worse," Yukiko answered, turning to him.
Zenigata's Apartment:
"I give up…. She won't talk…." Zenigata sighed as he walked out of the bathroom, where they kept the hostage tied up.
"Yeah, nothing I do seems to work, either," Lupin added in frustration.
"Let me," Natasha stood, rose, and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.
"You think she'll be able to do it?" Lupin inquired as he and Zenigata stared at the silent bathroom door. There was a shrill scream seconds later, and Natasha walked out with a satisfied smile.
"Not a doubt in my mind," Zenigata answered.
"Well?" Lupin leaned inward, waiting for Natasha's response, "How'd you do it?"
"You don't want to know, but let's just say years in a Middle Eastern military unit teach you a thing or two about unusual torture methods," Natasha answered, "She's in it with the guy. She fixed the results, and she gets half of whatever he does."
"Half of what?" Lupin inquired. But, before Natasha could answer, there was the sound of breaking glass. The three rose from the living room table and walked into the bathroom, where the small window above the toilet had been smashed open.
"How the hell did she do that!?" Lupin wondered out loud in surprise, "Do you know what kind of a drop that is!?"
"My friggin' window…" Zenigata muttered remorsefully.
"Come on. I think I know where she's heading. She won't get far," Natasha replied, running out with the other two men.
Back at the House:
"Now are you going to talk, or are we going to bring my dad in?" Yukiko asked Lucky.
"No! Please don't bring that crazy bastard in!" Lucky yelped.
"Good. So talk!" Yukiko demanded, holding a gun under his chin and frowning at him in great anger.
"All right, all right!" he said, "But get that thing out of my face! What, do you think it's a toy or something?"
"No, I think it's something that's capable of blowing your brains out," Yukiko answered nonchalantly.
"You are more insane than him!" Lucky gulped.
"Thanks. I get it from him," Yukiko smirked. The back door flew open, and Fujiko and Ming turned to one another. The babies started crying from the loud noises, and Fujiko sighed and ran up the stairs while Ming and Toshiro surveyed the situation with the back door, leaving Amaya and Yukiko alone with Lucky, who certainly wasn't living up to his name by now.
"Jigen, you have to calm down!" Goemon snapped as he and Jigen stood in the pantry, the door locked behind them, "You won't get anywhere if you just go and shoot him! We need to find out why he did this!"
"Can you friggin' blame me, though!?" Jigen growled, "What if it were your kid, Goemon, huh!?"
"I understand," Goemon nodded, "But—" A loud scream interrupted the two, and they turned to one another.
"Jesus Christ!" Jigen snapped as he rose and ran out with Goemon.
In the Living Room:
Lupin, Zenigata, and Natasha found the door to the house opened when they pulled up. They quickly ran in, and found Amaya in a corner of the living room, her computer smashed and a bruise ringing around one eye.
"He and that bitch took her!" Amaya wept, "I tried to stop them, but they almost got the baby!" she continued.
"Baby?" Natasha inquired.
Zenigata kneeled downward, and draped his jacket over his daughter's shoulders, and embraced her, "It's all right. We'll get them… Don't worry, Toshiko. Are you all right?"
"I guess," Amaya replied, "But I don't know what happened to Toshiro and Ming. They went into the kitchen…"
"Oh my G-d," Natasha gaped, and ran into the kitchen with Lupin. Both had been knocked out cold, the culprit, a fry pan, next to Toshiro's body. Jigen and Goemon were already in the kitchen, trying to awake the two. Ming was semiconscious, a hand over her forehead. Jigen was still trying to shake Toshiro awake while Goemon ran to see Amaya.
"She just came up behind me," Ming muttered, "Jigen, I know that guy… His name's Lucky Luciano…"
"Lucky…" Jigen trailed off and stopped shaking Toshiro briefly, "Lucky!? Like the mob guy!? That's what this is all about!?"
"Nani?" Toshiro raised his head slowly, and looked around, "W-Where's Yukiko?"
"Jesus!" Jigen yelped, and ran out, "He friggin' took her!"
"What's going on!?" Fujiko yelled as she ran downstairs, a child in each arm.
"Apparently that tech knew Lucky was coming here," Lupin answered, "They took Yukiko, and knocked out Amaya, Toshiro, and Ming."
"I've got to go get them," Jigen muttered as he nervously loaded his gun, "Why the hell is he doing this?"
"That ring," Natasha said suddenly. Everyone in the room came to a dead halt, "It was your grandfather's, wasn't it?"
"What's that got to do with anything?" Jigen inquired.
"It has everything to do with it," Natasha responded, "The original Lucky Luciano had a relic, from Sicily. Supposedly it was an alchemy formula. Luciano planned to use it, but Capone stole it and hid it away. But Capone was jailed before he could. He replaced a jewel in a family ring with the only known key. He tracked you down and found out that Yukiko had it, and decided to use her for it. He thinks she knows where it is, and if she doesn't cooperate, he's going to kill her, Jigen."
"Jesus…. But I don't even friggin' know where it is!" Jigen yelled.
"That's where a master thief comes in," Lupin smirked, "Now, if I were a native Chicago man, where's the first place I would look for a treasure that another Chicagoen stole?"
"Home base," Goemon answered after a pause.
"I want to come, but I don't know if I can leave the babies," Fujiko said.
"I'll take care of them," Zenigata said suddenly.
"Pops?" Lupin turned to Zenigata in surprise.
"I told you I would think about watching over them, didn't I?" Zenigata smirked.
"I— You and Natasha watch over the house, too. I'm sure you know where everything in the place is by now," Lupin answered.
"Are you sure?" Fujiko asked hesitantly.
"I can't cuff a kid who can't even crawl," Zenigata answered, "You just get that jerk who punched my daughter and stole Jigen's kid."
"Can do," Lupin nodded. Fujiko passed Ari to Natasha and Fuji to Zenigata, and looked back at them, nervously.
"I'm coming, too," Toshiro, still somewhat dazed, announced.
"You should stay. This is the mob, Toshiro, not some game," Goemon answered sternly.
"And Yukiko's my friend, not a pawn," Toshiro replied in an equally stern manner that surprised his older brother, "Come on, Goemon. I'm coming with you."
"We can use him, Goemon," Lupin added, "Everyone get packed in twenty minutes. Fujiko, you pack for both of us while I make the calls. This guy will regret ever screwing with us by the time we're all done with him, fellas."
"You can bet on that…" Jigen muttered, and tilted his hat downward. While Lupin looked only to punish Lucky and retrieve Yukiko, Jigen looked to kill Luciano and his accomplice, and then get Yukiko back safely.
"I need to get my other laptop," Amaya said dizzily, and began to climb up the stairs with the help of Goemon, "I ought to strangle that lab tech for breaking the one… You have no idea how much all of that software costs… But I guess software is the least of our worries right now, huh?"
"Are you sure you're all right to go?" Goemon asked.
"Positive," Amaya replied as she opened her bedroom door, "We're a team, and when someone's in trouble, we go in together. I'll pack for us. You help Toshiro."
"Yes," Goemon nodded, and exited. He saw Jigen in the hallway, standing against the wall, with his hat drawn over his eyes. He looked almost the same as when Goemon had first met him. Cold, ruthless, and frightening. This version of Jigen rarely showed itself anymore, but this was one of the rare instances.
"You shoulda let me shoot him when I had the chance," Jigen said coldly to Goemon, and exited into his bedroom. Goemon was stunned—Had he been to blame over this? He shook his head, though, and hobbled down to Toshiro's room, where the young boy had begun packing. He helped Toshiro to pack, all while feeling a deep sense of guilt rise up in the back of his mind while he helped his little brother fold his things quickly.
They all met downstairs, fully packed. Lupin gave his last directions to Zenigata, and they exited the household, bound for Chicago.
