DISCLAIMER: I don't own Lupin III, and I don't own any songs from the Beatles…. But I have more Beatles' posters than healthy, I'll admit…

Howdy!

Welcome to another long-in-the-process chapter… Hoping to have artwork up very soon, can't exactly pinpoint a day (depends on how long it take me to learn the program). Until then, please enjoy the next chapter and remember that feedback is always appreciated. Oh, and have a Happy Halloween! I know tormenting Trick or Treaters shall be an entire night's entertainment over here! : )

Fun Fact of Boredom: There's a quote from The Professional in here…. Never seen it? That's okay…. I still like you… Just not as much (Joking… Please don't leave…. I'm really lonely.)

Chapter Thirty Two

A Little while Later: Isn't She Lovely?

'Lovely Rita meter maid,

Nothing can come between us,

When it gets dark I tow your heart away,'

—The Beatles, 'Lovely Rita'

A Chicago Hospital:

"Optometry, please…" said Heiji to the nurse at the front desk. She nodded, and pointed to the right wing of the building, and Heiji smiled with thanks, and walked down the hall, Ryo and Fuji at his tail.

"I'm wondering if she looks anything like Velma, from Scooby Doo!" Fuji chuckled to herself, "Knowing him, she's all brains and no beau—"

"Can it!" Ryo whispered, nudging Fuji in the ribs, "I'm sure she's a sweet girl…"

"Veronica!" Heiji called to the desk in the optometry unit.

"Heiji, what are you doing here!?" they heard in return in a strange foreign accent. A gorgeous young Indian woman appeared from one of the back offices, glasses nearly falling from the bridge of her nose and shoulder-length hair bunched up in a claw, "Who are they?" she inquired, looking towards a stunned Fuji and smug Ryo.

"This is Fujiko Lupin II, and this is Ryoko Jigen II," replied Heiji with a smile, "The boss and the getaway driver, basically…"

"Oh, yes! I've heard a great deal about you both!" she said with a smile, shaking each of their hands.

"You know…. You sort of remind me of… But, no…. He didn't have a daughter named Veronica…" muttered Ryo with a shake of the head.

"Ravi Patel? Yes, well… I am indeed his youngest daughter… My real first name is Puja, but I think Veronica has a better ring to it…" Veronica admitted.

"Ravi!? B-But, he tried to kill Heiji's dad!" a still shell-shocked Fuji sputtered, "He practically skewered him!"

"Yes, this I know, as well… But things are different, now. Heiji and I have spoken about this, and we shall not let it get in the way of any friendship of ours," replied Veronica with a wide smile.

"Friendship? That's it?" Ryo asked with a sly smile.

"Yes, yes it is," Heiji answered quickly.

A startled look came upon Fuji's face as something seemingly clicked in her brain, and she gasped, "That's where you went off to! You guys are doing that 'with benefits' thing, aren't you!?"

Veronica smiled, "And what would the immediate problem of that be?"

Fuji gaped, "Eh… Well, I…."

"Hey, I need you to look up this guy, see if he has any files at this hospital," said Heiji, handing Veronica the file, "That's his name we wrote on top… You think you can do it?"

"Certainly… Anything for a friend…" said Veronica with a smile that made Fuji clench her jaw in order to remain quiet in front of the two. As they went to work on the computer, Fuji seated herself in a chair in the corner and glowered at the couple. They spoke, they laughed… She watched as they talked amongst themselves quietly, and noted their expressions while they did this. Ryo noted how very much like a spoiled child who wasn't getting her way Fuji looked right then, and seated herself next to the thief.

"Someone get bitten by the jealousy bug?" Ryo inquired blandly.

"No…" Fuji snapped, "Whatever would give you that idea?"

"I'm guessing you thought this girl would be homely, and you're pissed because she's gorgeous…" Ryo sighed, "It's like with your mom and dad…. He got extremely jealous whenever she went off with another guy…. Even chased her around the world in order to stop her… As you can see, he did…"

"No, Ari and I stopped her," Fuji snorted, "I wonder if Dad's ever going to come clean and admit Mom was pregnant before they got married…."

"I wouldn't count on it soon," Ryo smirked, "Your Dad hates to look bad…"

"And yet he can do it so well…."

"Agreed," said Ryo with a sigh.

A Brazilian Airport:

"Why am I pretending to be your daughter, again?" Dakota wondered aloud as she held Leo's hand while they walked over to the airport gates.

"Because… It's a long story…" Leo sighed, "Let's just say that your Uncle Max is a big idiot… Ur, he-here you go, Ma'am," Leo added with a blush as he passed his tickets to the female airline attendant.

"Have a nice day, Sir!" she said with a wave.

"Hey, LeBlanc, I got the clearance we needed!" Leo heard with a shout. He turned about, and saw Max running towards the gate, his carryon-bag and ticket in hand. He tripped in the middle of his journey, but quickly recovered, and joined an embarrassed Leo and giggling Dakota.

"Max, I don't know how you do it, sometimes," Leo sighed with a small smile as he shook his head. He sat next to Dakota, and allowed her the window seat, while Max settled on having a seat across the tiny aisle of the plane.

"Hello, little girl, is this your daddy?" asked the attendant with a smile as she approached Leo and Dakota.

"He's not my father…. He's my lover…" replied Dakota very seriously. The flight attendant flinched a smirk, and slowly backed away from the others. Leo watched as she reached for a phone, and quietly removed his knitting kit from his carryon luggage.

"Here, hold this for me…" Leo sighed, handing Dakota a green ball of thin, unused yarn, "Just hold it while I work on this…"

"What are you making?" Dakota inquired.

"A sweater…" replied Leo.

"Another one for your dad?" Max implored.

"No—This one's for you, actually," Leo replied with a wide satisfactory grin, "I hope you like it!"

Max, who detested turtlenecks, and detested the color green even more, which this sweater was, paused, "I'm sure I will… It looks… It looks very nice…"

"Are you two like my uncle?" Dakota inquired.

"Uncles, honey. It's and plural noun, not a singular. There's more than one of us…" Leo chided.

"Since when are you the grammar police?" Max muttered.

"Since I got my linguistics Doctrine!" snapped Leo.

"No, my uncle… He doesn't have a girlfriend…." she said with a shake of the head.

"Well, some of us don't, and that's a personal option," replied Leo, "Like Max and I are usually too busy to date…"

"No!" Dakota sighed with exasperation, "My uncle has a boyfriend!"

There was a long pause between the two, and Max averted his eyes from Leo as LeBlanc returned a questioning glance, "Ur, stewardess—Two vodka shots, please!" Max called.

A Shooting Range, out in an Open Field:

"Okay, shoot!" Ally called. Carmen shot, and fell back, but luckily had Ally there to catch her upon her fall.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea…" she said with a whisper as she removed her headphones and set them upon her lap.

"Nonsense! Hey, I broke my shoulder the first time this happened, don't worry!" Ally reassured her, helping her to stand up again, "Now, try once more… Here, I'll guide you… Now, just aim for your target and… Fire!"

Carmen shot, and barely scraped the straw target that was set in front of them. Ally smiled proudly, and took her gun from her hands, and placed it in its holster in his belt, "Good job! Great goin', today! Hey, maybe soon, you can even give Yukiko a run for her money!"

"You… You really think so?"

"I know… Now, what do you say we go watch a movie?" Ally suggested cheerily.

"Well… We, we could do that… Or something different…" Carmen said with a dry gulp.

"Oh, really? Like what?" Ally inquired airily as he opened the chamber of another magnum and emptied out the blank shells.

"Well…" Carmen approached Ally, and put a hand upon his shoulder, "We could… Well, if you want to, that is…"

"Woah! Are you suggesting we…?"

"If you don't mind! That is, if you aren't nervous, or anything…"

"I'm not, I just never figured I'd hear it coming from you, of all people…" Ally replied with a look of pure confusion, "You're sure you want to?"

Carmen inhaled deeply, and her voice shook, "I just… I just don't know that each time I see you will be the last time!" she wept.

A stunned Ally jumped as she fell into him, and sighed heavily, "Hey, don't worry…. I'll be okay… It's all right, really… Come on, Carmen…. It's starting to rain out…"

"Okay," she nodded, wiped her eyes, and followed him back to their car, "Um… Allen?"

"Yeah?"

"Isn't this weather a little unusual for the fall?"

Ally sighed, "Yeah, but unusual's the usual for us, it seems…."

The Jigen Household:

"Hey, Amaya's red-headed stepchild!" Yukiko called to Toshiro, who was in the kitchen, "Make me some popcorn, okay?"

"Yukiko, I have a riddle…"

"Really? What?"

"What do men, tables and chairs have in common, but only men can move?"

"….Um, what?"

"Legs. Now use them," Toshiro replied.

"I'm not a man…. Is it your time of the month… You could tell me, really…." Yukiko chuckled.

"It's not funny! My Dad's going to hang me if he sees me! Do you have any idea how dead I am!? And I'm stuck like this…."

"Hrm… Red, navy blue, and white… Just like Woody Woodpecker! Hey, can you do the laugh?" Yukiko gasped happily.

"I'm glad you're finding it so humorous…. And for what it's worth, you look a lot like a panda," Toshiro muttered as he ventured out with a bowl of popcorn and two drinks, "This is worse than the time Julie decided to put streaks in my hair!"

"…What?"

"She… She loved dyeing her hair, so she thought I should join in on the fun… Being a young idiot at the time, I agreed… Needless to say, I looked like a black and blue zebra for the next two days…" Toshiro grumbled, "The pictures are still somewhere… I can't find them for the life of me, though!"

"Maybe she sent them somewhere via carrier pigeon… That, or my mom has them…" Yukiko replied, "It's not the worst thing in the world, don't worry…. I still have memories of your dad chopping my ponytail off!"

"I remember fixing that hack job, too…" Toshiro sighed with a roll of the eyes. He looked over at Yukiko, who was watching the TV intently, and shut his eyes a few moments while trying to piece his thoughts. She didn't have a gun, and there was no way she would be able to knee him anywhere vital before he could dodge out of the way…. Plus, almost everyone was out, and that included Ally. He decided to go ahead with the plan of action, and waited for the right moment—A commercial.

"Do you remember the no-yes thing, and you answered with a maybe?" Toshiro started.

"Your timing's so crappy…" Yukiko chuckled.

"Well, what is it?"

"….Thank God Zenigata's related to you… That gives you a viable reason for being so persistent!" snapped Yukiko.

"Hey, guys, we're home!" they heard from the front of the house.

"Thank God…" both sighed in relief at the same time. Toshiro stood, but felt like sitting down again from shock when he laid eyes on Veronica and Heiji together, with Ryo and a still bitter Fuji bringing up the rear.

"Come on, I want to show you some new computer equipment I got!" Heiji said quietly to Veronica.

"I'm betting that's a common pickup line in your book," Veronica chuckled, but followed him up the stairs regardless.

"Wha…. What the hell just happened?" Toshiro wondered aloud, scratching his head in confusion.

"That's Heiji's friend, Veronica…. Her dad tried to murder yours…. So, any good Westerns on TV? I think I missed Gunsmoke," Ryo inquired.

"Hope him and his little 'screw buddy' take enough of a break to get some work done!" Fuji grumbled darkly, falling back onto the couch and sulking darkly as she watched television next to Yukiko, who was feeling increasingly uncomfortable with every passing moment.

"She's eight years older than him," Ryo continued as she flipped through the channels, "Yuki, are you going to finish that popcorn?"

"Wow…. Um…. Yukiko, could you help me out…. I really can't say anything to that…" Toshiro said quietly.

"Um…. Go Heiji?" Yukiko offered.

Meanwhile, upstairs, Heiji had gone to showing Veronica the computer equipment which littered his temporary room, while she exchanged glances between him and the computer screen.

"That's amazing… So, you have files from any police station in the world?" she gasped.

"Yep…" Heiji nodded, "Even Interpol… Pretty cool, eh? You can design the damnedest software with stuff you find on E-Bay…"

"Very cool," Veronica responded, "I have those records for Fuji finished, but perhaps we can give them to her a little later…. What do you say?"

"If you're thinking what I am, sure!" Heiji replied with a sly smile. Veronica leaned forward, and kissed him, making sure to slap the laptop down while she did so.

Meanwhile, downstairs, things had grown deathly silent, mostly due to Fuji's strange attitude. Odori immediately noticed this when she walked in after a long excursion to the local supermarket to find miso, and raised an eyebrow as she viewed everyone tensely in the living room, none speaking to one another. She said nothing as she walked up the stairs to the guest rooms, and stopped by Heiji's door, first. He had requested cheese flavored snacks which she personally found disgusting, but bought them simply for his sake.

She turned the doorknob, and slowly opened his door, and dropped the bag of groceries in surprise and horror as she opened the door fully.

Her face turned bright red, and she bowed deeply, "I'm sorry!" she yelped, slamming the door and running back down to the dead group, "T-Toshiro! There's someone with Heiji!"

"I know…." Toshiro sighed, rubbing his forehead, "What would you have me do about it, Odori?"

"Th-That's my brother! Do we know anything at all about this girl!?" Odori demanded.

"She… Likes computers?" Ryo shrugged.

"Amongst other things…" Odori mumbled, "Where do they keep the liquor here!? I wish to forget this if I cannot stop it!"

"Dori, no… You're the weirdest drunk I've ever met…. You aren't one of those funny drunks, like Fuji…. You're more of a remorseful drunk…." Toshiro sighed, "It'll be okay, Dori…. Just calm down…"

"I can't! I don't know the values or morals of this woman, and I've never even spoken with her! The girlfriend of any man must first pass a test with his family, and most importantly, the eldest sister, which I am! It is an unwritten law!" Odori barked in a samurai-like tone. Toshiro blinked a few times in surprise—For being adopted, she was almost a scary reincarnation of his father. Fujiko had once said this was due to something called an 'Electra Complex', but his listening had trailed off after this.

"Um… Maybe you should give her the booze, Toshiro…. It couldn't hurt…" Yukiko whispered.

"In the pantry, Odori," said Toshiro after a pause. Odori nodded, and stormed into the pantry.

"This day is getting weirder and weirder…. I'd go in the ask him if he had the info, but I'm afraid to…" muttered Fuji, "Wh—What the hell!? I mean, what, the hell!? This is Heiji! Dungeons and Dragons playing Heiji! I haven't seen anything this strange in a long, long time…"

"Hey, guys, I got a pumpkin for Halloween!" the still silent group heard, and all looked in Jigen's direction, "What…. What'd I say?" Jigen inquired as he read the looks on their faces. He then watched as Odori stumbled out, laughing.

"That's better…. Hey… Mr. Jigen, you want some?" Odori laughed, holding the bottle up to Jigen and laughing.

"Um… You realize that that's grape juice, right?" Jigen said, clearing his throat.

The Chicago Hotel:

"Hey, I'm back with lunch!" Leo called, walking into the apartment-like hotel where Dakota had busied herself coloring while Max scanned over numerous files on the computer, "How're you both doing?"

"He's mean!" Dakota snapped.

"She started it!" Max added angrily.

"Huh… What? What's—"

"Please, it's not I would've hurt anyone!"

"I told you no, and no means no! Get it through your head, kid!"

"I hate you!"

"Well, I hated you first!" Max snapped in childish retort. Dakota stuck her tongue out in response.

"Leo, could you tell Mister Stupid that I won't hurt anyone if I look at his handcuffs?" sighed Dakota.

"Well, you can look at mine…." Leo shrugged, removing his handcuffs from his back pocket and passing them to her while Max glowered in the background. She giggled, and slapped one of Leo's wrist, surprising him briefly but amusing him moments later.

"Well, you're almost as good as Max!" Leo chuckled, unhinging his wrist and handing her back the metal restraint. Another handcuff flew, latched onto Leo's wrist with such force it sent his arm flying back behind his waist and latching onto the other arm.

"Woah…" Dakota stared wide-eyed in surprise. She turned to Max, and smiled, "Could you teach me how to do that!? Please, please, please!?"

"One second… I need to get LeBlanc out of these…" Max replied, leaning forward, only to see Leo had already wriggled out of his restraints, "…Were you like a friggin' magician before you joined Interpol!?"

"You could say that…" Leo sighed as he tossed Max back his handcuffs.

"You're just full up surprises, huh, Leo?"

"Max, you have no idea," Leo said with a shake of the head.

"Can I go Trick or Treating?" Dakota inquired, "I want to be a princess…"

"Why be what you already are every other day…?" Max muttered to himself, folding his arms. Leo shot Max a glare, and then turned back to Dakota.

"Sure thing, Sweetie… I'll go help you pick out an outfit…" Leo leaned inward, and whispered, "Don't worry about Max, he just likes to be cranky… I don't know why, really…"

"Maybe we could stop by my daddy's house!" Dakota continued.

"What!?" both shrieked.

"You mean your dad lives here!?" Max yelled.

"Um… Yeah… You guys didn't know that? I thought you two were the detectives!" Dakota snorted.

The Jigen residence:

"So this is the address, huh? I know where this place is, too! I could drive you there right now!" Ryo laughed as she read off the address.

"His wife's in a coma at the hospital," Veronica continued as she and Heiji stood behind the couch, Heiji smiling at her while she spoke, "She has been for two years, now… He's supposedly a thief, too, but who could prove it? He's almost as good as Lupin!"

"Almost," Fuij snapped in response.

"Many speculate he only continues to steal to keep up with his medical bills and put his daughter through private school…" Veronica sighed as she read over her notes, "The daughter disappeared about the same time the King Tut mask did… We're thinking she was kidnapped…."

"And who has her now?" inquired Yukiko.

"We don't know," Veronica shrugged, "If I were you, Fuji, I'd go check out his home… Halloween would be a good time to go…"

"Yeah, but you're not me!" Fuji snapped, stood, and looked around at her group, "We hit his place on Halloween, that's the best time!"

"Couldn't have thought of a better idea myself…" Veronica muttered coldly, turning and walking up the stairs to Heiji's room. Heiji shot Fuji a glare, and followed Veronica up to his room. It was then that Odori noticed Veronica had a slight limp, and decided to investigate this later.

"Try to be a little ruder, next time, Fuj…." Ryo muttered.

"Listen, we can't have everyone and their mother helping us out on this!" Fuji yelled, "It's enough that Ally's got his girlfriend here—Now we have another person to worry about! There's a reason my dad stuck to only a couple of partners, you know!"

"But she was a big help!" Ryo replied.

"Oh, yeah, siding now, huh? Well that's just dandy with me! Doesn't bother me the least!" Fuji added, folding her arms and turning away from Ryo and the others, "Excuse me, I need to go out for a breath of fresh air! Tell Ming not to expect me home for dinner!"

"God…. She's been a brat since we were kids!" Ryo glowered, sinking down into her seat deeper and staring at the old Western drama on the television.

"I hope she knows it's raining out…." Odori sighed.

There was a few moments pause, and there was the sound of someone scaling down the stairs. It was Veronica, with an umbrella.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine!" Veronica called upward to Heiji, "It's your friend I'm worried about! It wouldn't surprise me if she had a metal plate in her head… Considering how very thick her skull is…." She continued to the doorway, and then walked out of the home, and out to the patio, where Fuji was sitting.

"Why don't you like me?" Veronica inquired.

"Why should I answer that?" Fuji grumbled, glaring at Veronica, "Okay… You want to know why I don't like you? It's because I don't trust you…. And because I think you're using one of my best friends!"

Veronica paused, "I had no idea you and Heiji were so close…."

"Yeah, we go back," Fuji sighed, "I used to help him watch after Ryo…. He's a sweet kid, and I don't want to see anything happen to him! He's had a hard life, even from the minute he was born!"

"You won't… I promise…" said Veronica, seating herself next to the still-annoyed Lupin.

"Why should I believe you?" snapped Fuji.

Veronica smirked solemnly, raised her long black skirt from over her shin, and watched as Fuji's eyes widened, and the thief fell silent, "I've had a difficult life, too…" said Veronica quietly, staring down at her leg brace, "I know how highly he regards you…. And I can possibly only come second to the level of respect he has for you… But I hope you realize that I'm not here to win anything, I'm only here because I want to help out my friend and his friends… I'm hoping that if you learn a little more about me, we can be friends, too."

"I… Fine…. We go find the guy tonight…. I ain't making any promises of friendship, though! But I will try to be a little more civil, if that's what you want…."

"Understood," Veronica nodded, "Well, shall we be off, then? It's almost night time, and we still haven't gotten our costumes, yet!"

"Yeah, come on…." Fuji sighed, nodding in her direction and rising, "Boy, this is going to be a long, long night…." She turned back, and saw Ally and Carmen running up from the Alfa Romeo, newspaper serving as makeshift umbrellas for the pair. Fuji signaled for them to hurry in, and they did so, Ally nearly slipping upon the stairs as they rushed up into the house.