Lupin does not belong to me. He belongs to Monkey Punch. All hail Monkey Punch!
Chapter 8: Off The Road Again
"Don't move," Hanes said firmly. "Weapons over here, please."
Fujiko frowned, reached into her jumpsuit, and pulled out her Browning by the barrel. She tossed it just past Agent Hanes' feet. Goemon, who had maintained a death grip on his katana through the whole ordeal, reluctantly threw it; it landed just next to Fujiko's gun.
Hanes relaxed slightly, but her face wore the same stern expression. "Now, Ms. Mine, Mr. Ishikawa—where is the alien?"
Eshe's face hardened at the agent's words, but she said nothing. Fujiko looked up innocently at Hanes. "Alien?"
"The alien your gang took from Project Elijay," Hanes said. "Please don't lie, Ms. Mine. We have footage of you...that's right, all four of you at the base in various capacities." Fujiko's look of surprise caused Agent Hanes to smile. "If Lupin and his men hadn't taken the alien, we would have arrested you anyway."
Fujiko slumped into a pout, and Hanes turned her attention to Eshe and Goemon. "Now, I'll repeat...where is the alien?"
"You will not find her," Goemon intoned. Every muscle in his body was tense, looking for an opening to bring down Hanes.
"I beg your pardon, Mr. Ishikawa, but how could we miss her? The green skin, those frightening blue eyes, those fearsome talons. I don't know why you took her, but you must understand. She has fantastic killing capabilities and is property of the United States government."
Eshe stood up. Before Fujiko and Goemon could react, she yelled, "I am not!"
Hanes looked confused. She trained her gun on Eshe. "What did you say?"
"I am not a weapon," Eshe said, calming slightly, but still bristling with rage. "My name is Eshe. I am intelligent. I am not a weapon," she said firmly.
Agent Hanes finally gave the girl a good look. The red hair, the pale face, the hands...webbed fingers and sharp talons.
"You're the alien," she hissed, eyes widening in shock.
"Not just alien. I am Eshe!" Eshe said. Her wig had become slightly dislodged in the crash, and she reached up and it pulled away, revealing her mane and fins.
"Calm down," Agent Hanes said, tightening her grip on the gun.
"Leave me alone." Eshe said taking a step forward. Her voice quieted. "I want to go home."
"We...we can't allow that. You've seen too much."
"Home," Eshe said taking another step, and suddenly her eyes took on a very dangerous look.
Hanes panicked. "Take another step and I'll fire!" she yelped, bracing the gun.
Eshe stared at her, and then took one defiant step.
Hanes pulled the trigger.
"Eshe!" cried Goemon and Fujiko. Goemon sprang forward, knowing he could never push Eshe out of the way before the bullet struck her.
It was much to his amazement then that when he did reach her, she was still standing perfectly upright, a look of concentration on her face. Hanes and Fujiko were staring in shocked silence, and it was only then that Goemon saw why.
The bullet fired from Hanes' gun was sitting perfectly still, floating in the air mere inches away from Eshe's chest. Eshe blinked once, and the bullet fell harmlessly, as if it had simply dropped through the air.
Hanes uttered a squeak of horror. Goemon could see her fingers tense, ready to fire again.
"No more," Eshe said quietly. Suddenly, the gun flew out of Hanes' hands. It landed in the same mud puddle Goemon had moments earlier. At the same time, the Browning and Zantetsuken flew out from behind Hanes and into the hands of their respective owners. Fujiko trained her gun on Hanes while Goemon cautiously put a hand on Eshe's shoulder.
"Eshe?" he asked quietly.
The look of concentration faded from Eshe's face. She glanced at Goemon, and gave him a reassuring smile. "Done," she said quietly.
"A...a telekinetic?" Hanes said, her knees dissolving under her. They hit the ground, her limbs falling limp. Somehow, she remained upright, and her eyes remained fixed on the alien. "All the tests...all this time...why didn't we know?"
"Did you try asking her?" Fujiko asked, feeling rather punchy. The pain from her landing was starting to creep into her limbs as the adrenaline wore off.
"She never talked," Hanes said numbly.
"You never tried," Eshe said, sounding a bit curt.
"Where did you find her?" Goemon asked, carefully approaching the nearly catatonic agent.
Hanes didn't look up. In a flat, monotone, she started, "In the Appalachian Mountains, somewhere near the peak of Mt. Mitchell. The ship crashed there. Several locals saw it in the sky, and our team was dispatched to investigate. We found a damaged alien ship, and...them."
"And what next?" Goemon pushed. Suddenly, Agent Hanes pitched forward, unconscious before she hit the ground.
Fujiko stowed her Browning in its usual place and rushed forward. She took the agent's pulse and frowned. "She's gone into shock, Goemon."
Goemon glided forward, Eshe following close behind. Eshe had a look of concern on her face. "Is she hurt?" she asked.
"She might die if we don't help her," Goemon told her honestly. There was no sense in sugar-coating things.
"My...my fault?" Eshe asked, voice trembling.
Damn, Goemon thought. How do I explain this one? He was not good at being empathetic, especially to women on the verge of tears.
"No, Eshe," Fujiko broke in gently. "Sometimes humans get so afraid or upset, they kind of shut down. You didn't hurt her." Eshe seemed to relax a bit. If Goemon hadn't been so diligent in his samurai training, he would have kissed Fujiko there and then. But his feeling of relief rapidly turned into concern again.
"What should we do now?" he asked. It was getting late, and Lupin and Jigen were probably missing them about now.
Fujiko stood up, giving her motorcycle a slightly sad look. "My bike's dead. We're not going anywhere on it." Her face lit up as she peered around. "Check it out. Our friendly government agent has left her car for us. We can hide what's left of the motorcycle in the woods and meet Jigen and Lupin in that." She looked down at Agent Hanes. "What about her?"
"We should take her with us, and leave her where she'll be easily found. If we leave her here, something might happen to her before help comes." Goemon turned to Eshe. "Is that okay with you?"
Eshe nodded furiously. She picked up her wig and straightened it back on her head as Fujiko and Goemon drug the remains of the motorcycle into a nearby thicket. The three of them then gently carried Hanes over to the car. Fujiko located the keys; everyone quickly got themselves situated in the vehicle and they roared off to meet the rest of the gang.
Lupin nervously checked his watch. "They're late."
Jigen, hat pulled down, grunted and exhaled a puff of smoke.
"You don't think something happened to them?"
"I'm sure the trail was a little rougher than they expected. They'll be here soon."
Lupin glanced behind the car again, hoping to see them come up the road. "If they're not here in five minutes, I'm going back."
The car fell silent again, Lupin looking around every thirty seconds or so, Jigen still smoking. Finally, Jigen said, "For God's sake, Lupin. Cut that out. You'll give yourself whiplash."
"Well, I'm sorry, but I'm...uh-oh."
"Uh-oh, what?"
Lupin looked nervously behind him. "There's a government car right behind us."
Jigen raised his head slightly. "Maybe they'll think we're stranded motorists."
"Ah, that's why they're flashing their lights at us, then."
There was a brief pause. "Damn." Jigen prepared to use his famous quick draw as the car pulled up along side them. The dark tinted windows made it impossible to see who was inside, and the gunman was willing to wager the windows were bulletproof as well.
"On three," Lupin said as the window started to roll down.
"Gotcha."
"One...two..."
"Lupin!"
Lupin and Jigen stopped and stared. "Fujiko?" Jigen said, stunned.
"Why are you in a government vehicle? What happened to your bike? Where's Eshe and Goemon?"
Fujiko leaned back slightly, letting Lupin catch a glimpse of Eshe sitting in the passenger's seat. "And Goemon's in the back," she added. "As well as Agent Hanes."
"That woman agent?" Lupin said, aghast. "What the hell is she doing back there?"
Fujiko quickly explained about the trap and what had happened. "So what now?" she finished.
Lupin did not hesitate. "Let's keep going. My contact is going to have a field day with this one."
"What about Hanes?" Jigen asked.
"We'll have to keep her around. If we take her to a hospital, she can tell her tale to the rest of military intelligence. That is something we do not need following us around." Lupin said, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel.
Goemon piped up from the back. "Perhaps Eshe should ride with you, in case Agent Hanes wakes up and gets any ideas."
"Good plan." At prompting from Fujiko, Eshe hopped out of Hanes' car and leapt into the backseat of Lupin's. "Everyone, comfy?" he said. Eshe nodded and Jigen exhaled a large puff of smoke. "Good. Let's get out of here." With that, the two cars continued on to their next target.
Farther back on the road, General Waker was giving a dressing down to his troops for letting Lupin through the roadblock. "I can't believe it!" he howled. "All the training, all the warnings and you let him slip through your fingers. I should send you pansies to the Boy Scouts to make men out of you."
Zenigata couldn't decide whether to feel chagrined for the poor abused troops or amused at Waker's reaction. They always had to find out the hard way that Lupin didn't simply walk into a trap. He snuck up to it, disarmed it, reassembled it, and made it spring back on the hunter while he gleefully skipped away.
Waker's tirade was interrupted by a deep "harrumph." Waker turned to see Agent Roth and Agent Peters approaching from the woods near the shoulder.
Waker made no effort to hide his annoyance. "What is it?" he growled.
Roth frowned. "I just thought you would like to know that while your men were up here lit up like the Fourth of July, the rest of Lupin's gang was taking a shortcut through the woods nearby."
"We assumed you'd send troops to cover the woods," Peters said condescendingly. "But when we found out otherwise, Agents Roth, Hanes, and myself took the liberty."
"Did you catch anyone?" Waker said. He seemed to have deflated a bit; it was clear he had not thought of that at all.
"Peters and I saw nothing," Roth noted. "But we heard a gunshot. We followed the noise, but by the time we got there, all we found was the remains of a wrecked motorcycle and some muddy footprints."
"Fujiko's cycle," Zenigata interjected, and Roth nodded.
"And what is your point?" Waker snapped.
Peters frowned. "Agent Hanes is missing, as is our transport car. She's been captured, sir."
Waker paled slightly, but finally regained his composure. "Redouble our efforts to locate Lupin's gang. Before they can do something to Agent Hanes." He nodded at Roth and Peters. "I'm giving you gentlemen free reign. I trust you have some ideas of what to do next."
Zenigata flinched slightly as Peters cracked his knuckles. "Don't worry, sir. By the time we're done, Lupin and his gang will regret ever crossing our paths."