A copyright haiku:
Lupin is not mine,I think he is really cool
Please do not sue me.
Thanks for the C&C, folks. Please enjoy the next chapter.
Chapter 3: The Great Mistake
After Jigen turned off the magnet, and Goemon had retrieved his katana, the three cautiously climbed over the rubble of the wall and dashed down to a base building. After consulting the map Lupin had obtained, the three decided to head right for the heart of the base, as that was where the most security and challenge was. Lupin had to be assured that the soldiers could not fire on him; Jigen explained it would take a while for the effects of the magnet to wear off of the mechanical parts of the guns.
"What about his sword?" Lupin said, pointing at Goemon.
"One part. Not much to break," Goemon said, placing Zantetsuken back into its sheath with a modest click.
Lupin sighed. "Fine, fine." Jigen removed his and Lupin's weapons from the case as the final preparation for the adventure ahead. With no further words, the three began their dash across the base, hiding in shadows and ducking into open doors. Security, however, was not a concern. The base personnel were far more concerned with their non-functioning security and lack of power.
In less than then minutes, the group had crossed Elijay and stood at the door of Building 5-42-Z, their intended target. The door had a complex electronic lock on it, but it was rendered useless by the lack of power. The three cautiously crossed the threshold and stepped into the cool, dark hall.
"Alright," Jigen grunted, lighting up a cigarette. "Here's the deal. Anything you can grab in twenty minutes. We meet back here and head for the car. Any more time than that, and we'll be lucky to get out of this place alive."
Lupin and Goemon both nodded. At the first crossing they came to, Lupin continued straight, Jigen went left, and Goemon right.
Goemon's track took him deep into the facility. It was hard to see, even with the oil lanterns Jigen had given them before they parted ways. Doors appeared less and less frequently the further he went down the passage. At last, he came to the very end of the hall, where a single iron door sat. Goemon turned to try one of the doors further down, but just then, something caught his eye. A sign next to the door...
Specimen Containment Area
Class-Z Clearance
Class-Z. The highest security. Goemon quickly pondered what lay behind the door. On one hand, Class-Z meant it was probably quite valuable to someone. On the other hand, the word "specimen" worried him. The last thing he wanted to do was set some killer virus loose on the world. However, there were no markings for hazardous materials.
Goemon drew a deep breath, and against his better judgment, turned the door handle. It popped open easily, thanks to the lack of power for the electronic locks. He stepped inside, pushing his lantern ahead of him so he could see in the dark corridor.
The hall in front of him was lined with doors. "Labs?" he wondered out loud. No, more like jail cells, he mused, continuing. He stopped at the first door, which had a small slat set at eye level. He peered through, holding the lantern up for light. Nothing.
Nothing with the second door, or the third either. Goemon figured that the place was a prison facility for traitors and spies, and was about to turn and leave when he heard a sound from two cells down. Curiosity got the better of him, and he quietly slid down the hall. He looked into the slat in this door, and caught a glimpse of a small figure on a cot against the opposite wall. It sat, back to the wall, head down, arms wrapped around its legs; it rocked gently back and forth, and emitted a low, pitiful keen.
Goemon frowned. It seemed to be in distress. He pondered the possible danger versus the duty to uphold bushido, and help someone who appeared to be in need. It couldn't hurt to look further, he reasoned. Carefully, he set his lantern down on the floor so it illuminated the door. With his thumb firmly on the handle of his katana, he carefully unlatched the door and pushed it open. Swiftly and silently, he took a step into the cell to get a better look at his quarry.
At the same time, the creature noticed the light; looking up, it caught sight of the samurai and let out a cry. The figure scurried back across the cot to huddle in the corner.
As the light caught the figure, Goemon permitted himself a small gasp. The figure looked almost human at first glance. What's more, it was definitely a female. But there the similarities ended. The alien...girl...had pale green skin with a scaly texture to it. Where she should have had ears, two appendages, almost like fish fins, covered the sides of her head. She had a mane of crimson...hair? No, more like some kind of fine feathers, that hung long and mane-like past her shoulders. And her eyes were a solid aquamarine blue; no pupil, iris, or anything similar in sight. Her petite frame was dressed in a loose cotton tunic, almost like a hospital gown. And she was definitely more scared of him than him of she.
Goemon lowered his sword, and extended his hand in what he hoped was a friendly gesture. "I'm not going to hurt you," he said gently. The girl whimpered, but also cast a curious look at him. "I'm a friend," he said, taking a step forward. The alien sat regarded him quietly. She blinked, and seemed to relax slightly.
"Do you understand me?" Goemon asked, taking a cautious step towards her. She did not respond, vocally or otherwise. He sighed. "I guess that's a no." He stood there, pondering his next move, as the alien girl cautiously moved towards the edge of the cot. Then, she pointed at herself.
"Eshe," she said softly but firmly. It came out as one breath.
"Eshe?" he repeated, confused.
"Eshe," she repeated, pointing again.
"Ah," he said. Eshe must be her name. He pointed at himself. "Goemon."
"Go-ey-mon," she said, rolling her tongue around the unfamiliar syllables.
"Close enough." He was used to foreigners' mangling the pronunciation of his name. He smiled at her in what he hoped was a reassuring way, although had Lupin been around, would have probably declared that the samurai looked even scarier than before.
The lights blared on, suddenly. Slightly afterward, and even less welcome, so did the alarm system.
"Damn!" Goemon said, whirling around in surprise. Eshe let out a cry and slid back against her bed again. "Guess the American military was more competent than Jigen thought," he wondered out loud. He had to get moving or else he would not escape. But, he couldn't just leave Eshe. She certainly didn't look very happy here.
Goemon grabbed the alien by the wrist and pulled her to her feet. "Come on," he yelled over the alarms. He dragged her out of her cell and towards the door at the end of the hall. Just as they reached it, it burst open, and two very confused looking soldiers stumbled through. Eshe let out a shriek of horror, but Goemon remained calm. Without thinking, he grabbed Zantetsuken firmly but loosely by the handle, whipped it out of its wooden sheath, and made two swift, broad slices. Just as quickly, he returned the blade to its resting place with its usual soft click. The guns of the soldiers fell to pieces. Two seconds later, the wounded soldiers followed suit.
Goemon reached back and grabbed Eshe by the arm again. "Let's get out of here!" he said, hoping he hadn't scared her. He lead her down the hall. Luckily, there were no other guards in the section, and the samurai made it back to the meeting place. Even more luckily, Lupin and Jigen were waiting there, guns drawn and watching for the enemy.
"Took you long enough," Lupin said almost casually, without looking at the samurai or noticing the small figure following behind. "Let's clear out." He headed down the hall, followed closely by Jigen, and with Goemon and Eshe bringing up the rear.
Getting out, needless to say, was a lot more difficult than getting in. Luckily, between Lupin's wiles and Jigen's excellent aim, the soldiers that appeared in front of them were vanquished as quickly as they'd appear, leaving Goemon free to keep an eye on Eshe.
Lupin suddenly drew up to a halt as they came to the main entrance of Building 5-42-Z.
"What's going on?" Jigen growled, peering into the darkness and looking for enemies.
"We're going to have to find a new way out," Lupin said, pulling his map of the base out and smoothing it against the wall.
"What about how we came in?" Jigen hissed, turning to Lupin.
"Don't you realize that if they turned all their gear back on, then they know exactly how we came in? Not to mention the ruins of a fifteen foot trebuchet that went through their wall." Lupin consulted his map again. "There's a low security building about two rows down from here. Looks like mostly offices. And..." Lupin's famous smirk suddenly appeared, "Military vehicles."
Jigen shook his head. "Too conspicuous."
"But faster," Goemon pointed out.
"We may be able to find something to smash through the main gate," Lupin said, folding up the map and stowing it in his pocket again. "Let's make a run for it." With that, Lupin and Jigen looked both ways and dashed out into the open. Goemon noted that they were still so into figuring out the next step, that they hadn't even noticed what he had found. He shrugged, glanced at Eshe, and said. "Come on." Taking her firmly by the hand, the two followed Jigen and Lupin down the access road.
The road was much trickier than the halls. There were more directions for enemies to come from. Fortunately, that also meant more hiding places for Lupin's gang, and so they could constantly duck to avoid parties of guards, spotlights, and stray fire. Jigen and Lupin continued their watch from the front, while Goemon kept one eye on the rear and the other on Eshe.
As he and Eshe caught up with Lupin and Jigen, Lupin was trying the door to Building 3-05-W, their intended target. "Locked." Lupin noted grimly.
"Probably some lockdown mechanism," Jigen noted. "Lets people out in an emergency, but not in."
Lupin looked at the mechanism. "It's completely electronic. I can't pick it, and I don't have the code for this building," he groaned, punching buttons at random.
One flash of light later, the door lay in three pieces on the ground.
Jigen shook his head at Goemon, and ducked through the entryway. "Try the doors!" Lupin yelled after him. "I don't know which one leads to the garage!"
Jigen opened the nearest door. "Admin office," he grumbled, shutting it.
Lupin and Goemon's searches proved as futile. "Looks like it's toward the other end," the thief noted, starting forward again. The gang made their way down the hall, pausing now and then to try a door. Almost all were offices and meeting rooms. About halfway through, Lupin threw open a door and found himself face to face with several startled personnel in military uniform. Most of them were nervously gathered around a table in the center of the room, drinking coffee or munching on snacks.
"Oops," said Lupin. They were probably the clerks who ran this building, he figured. Most of them looked fairly meek for a group of people who worked at one of the most secret military instillations in the world, but they each also had a firearm. Fortunately, they were too stunned to react for the moment. "Sorry, we were just looking for the restrooms!" With that, Lupin turned and ran, the rest close behind. He could hear cries and heated discussion from the room and figured he'd better put as much distance between him and the secretaries with guns before they got their act together and came after him. Three seconds later, bullets flew past them as the clerks got their acts together.
"You said the guns wouldn't work!" Lupin said frantically, wincing as a shot just missed his head.
"Slight miscalculation," Jigen yelped. Then, suddenly, "Lupin!"
"Wha?" Lupin asked, slight occupied with dodging bullets.
"There!" The gunman pointed to a door straight ahead clearly labeled, "Garage. Authorized personnel only."
"Ah!" Lupin exclaimed. He dove for the door, yanked on the handle, and pushed his way through, the rest in tow as the bullets came closer and closer to the door. Lupin, Jigen, and Goemon grabbed a large crate nearby, and maneuvered it in front of the door as quickly as they could.
"There," Jigen gasped, tipping his hat back slightly. "That should hold them..."
The door rattled violently, causing the crate to slide back slightly.
"...for about three seconds," he finished weakly.
Lupin was already perusing their selection of vehicles. "Crap. No tanks," he sighed. He spied a jeep, retrofitted with a battering ram and a machine gun in a passenger-side mount. "That'll do." He leapt into the driver's seat and reached for the ignition. Suddenly, he realized he had another problem.
"Key!" he yelled.
"Key?" Jigen repeated keeping a wary eye on the shaking door.
"Key," Goemon said calmly, finding a corkboard covered in keys next to the door. He pulled it off the wall and dashed over to the jeep. Eshe quietly followed behind.
Lupin caught his breath. "Thanks," he said, and began searching for the correct key. "W-8...W-8...ah, here we are!" he exclaimed, finding the key that matched the ID number on the car's hood. He carelessly tossed the rest of the board to the ground.
Meanwhile, Goemon was helping Eshe into back seat of the Jeep. "There you go," he said in what he hoped was an encouraging voice. He found her seat belt and snapped it around her just as Jigen joined them in the Jeep, positioning himself behind the gun mount.
Jigen took careful aim with his Magnum at the control box for the garage doors. One shot later, the box was left sparking and the door was slowly rising.
"What would I do without you?" Lupin beamed as he floored the accelerator on the Jeep.
"Not much," Jigen said, finally looking slightly more at ease. "Just get us out of here alive, and we'll let you do all the planning again."
"Fair enough," Lupin said as they soared out onto the access road. While Jigen fired the machine gun to discourage any soldiers from trying to bar the way, the master thief aimed the jeep at the entrance just ahead. Within seconds, they plowed through the gate, leaving a very confused military base and even bigger mess in their wake.