Sitting in front of one of the too few windows in the cheap Parisian motel Interpol had set up for him, Inspector Zenigata read his orders for the third time in an hour. Not the worst he'd ever received, but they didn't sit right. Lupin's penthouse flat was directly across the street, Zenigata could even see Lupin from where he was, but his orders mandated that he simply track any and all of Lupin's movements. What didn't sit even worse was that as far as he could see, Lupin hadn't moved an inch in the last hour. With a sigh and a few muttered words of displeasure at his assignment, Zenigata took up the pair of binoculars from the small table next to his chair, and turned his full attention back to watching Lupin.
Meanwhile across the Street at Lupin's Penthouse
Jigen and Goemon paced the living room restlessly. They were both worried about their friend, but neither wanted to give voice and substance to their fears. Every now and again one would begin to suggest they check on Lupin, who had been sequestered in his room for the last three days, then think better of it, and continue to pace. Through the wall they could hear the faint sounds of Lupin's TV, looping a recorded news reel over and over. "Enough. I need a drink. I can't listen to that anymore," Jigen stated as her checked his gun, "I'm going out." he finished as he started towards the door. Goemon stopped his pacing and turned to Jigen. "We must remain here. Lupin may have need of us, we should be ready if he does. And we have liquor here, if you so badly need a drink" came the reply. "Fine. I'll stay. But if he doesn't come out of that room in another hour, I am leaving. And I'm turning on the radio." Jigen closed the door, and moved to the liquor cabinet in the tiny kitchen. After a few moments he had selected a bottle of fine wine and brought it to the couch with him. Jigen leaned forward, fiddled with the radio dials for a moment, until a sweet bluesy sound filled the room, then settled back on the couch, where he promptly fell asleep.
Sunset that same day, Zenigata's motel room
As the sun faded over the horizon, the windows of the penthouse flat took on a sick red cast, making it look as though someone had poured blood down the side of the building, while the people below shut up their shops and prepared to go home for the day. But Zenigata wasn't paying any attention to the colors of the sunset, or the people milling about on the street below. "What the Hell!!!??? Lupin!!!!! What ARE you up to???" Zenigata let loose his frustration, screaming at a man that couldn't hear him. It didn't help in the least bit. Since he had set up in this room, since he had started watching Lupin, the man across the street had only moved a total of six times. A half hour ago his view into the master thief's room had been crystal clear. The room was decorated in tan, everything from the walls to the bed sheets, unslept on, were the color of beach sand. Everything except a single crimson wing chair, in which the gentleman thief was slumped. The man himself was clad in a pair of black pants, and a black shirt with a red jacket and hunter green tie, which he had quite obviously been wearing for at least three days. In his hand was a small piece of paper, most likely cut out from a newspaper, though from his window Zenigata couldn't see what the article was about. The few times Lupin had moved it had been to raise the paper to his eyes, stare at it for a few moments, then lower it back to his lap. All in all it was making Zenigata very nervous. He'd never known Lupin to act so strangely. And now Zenigata couldn't even see into the flat, so bad was the glare of the setting sun on the flats windows. He consoled himself by simply staring at the windows waiting until he could see into the flat once more.
Finally, ten minutes later, the glare on the windows had lessened enough to let Zenigata see into the thief's bedroom. Raising his binoculars back up to his eyes, he set to surveying the room and its single occupant. At first, it appeared to him that Lupin had once more raised the newspaper article, but something about the sight in front of him seemed wrong. Then realization hit like a runaway freight train. Lupin wasn't holding the paper anymore, the object in his hands was of a far more sinister nature. As Zenigata watched, helpless with shock, Lupin looked back to the small pistol in his hand, shook his head and took careful aim. Then Lupin looked up turning his oddly tear-streaked face to Zenigata, smiling faintly in a sad way, as though he could see Zenigata across the street watching him. It became obvious that Lupin could see Zenigata when he raised his free hand to salute the old inspector and mutter a respectful "Pops". Zenigata didn't realize he had stood and moved closer to the window until his binoculars hit the window pane, jarring them painfully into his nose. Discarding them, he struggled to work the window open, never taking his eyes from the terrible scene in front of him. As the master thief's finger tightened around the trigger of his weapon, Zenigata began to scream out to anyone who would listen. "Damn it Lupin!!!!! No way!!! Not like this! I wont let you, Lupin!!!!!" A sharp crack sounded, stopping Zenigata's cries as he fell to his knees. Reaching above himself to the tabletop, the inspector fumbled around for the phone. When he found it, shaking fingers made it near impossible for him to dial the emergency numbers. Finally he got though, and tried to communicate the need for assistance in badly attempted French. Giving up, he reverted to the easier English, screaming into the receiver. Pulling himself to his feet, he stumbled out of the motel room, down the stairs and across the street. Once inside the hotel Lupin's gang occupied, porters tried to keep Zenigata from going farther than the lobby. He brushed them off, adrenaline giving him more strength than he should have. He forced his way to the top most floor, where he found his way blocked by a locked door. With a shout, he rammed the door, not giving up until it caved under the pressure. It took a moment for the Inspector to get his bearings once inside the flat, but it was easy to spot Lupin's bedroom. Goemon and Jigen stood in silhouetted the doorway, identical masks of horror on their faces. Zenigata pushed through them, through the door Jigen had thrown wide-open, into the tan bedroom. Lupin was once again slumped in the red chair, one arm thrown over the arm of chair, the other clutching the news article in his lap. The heavy, coppery stench of blood filled the room, and a deep red stain was spreading on the gentleman thief's shirt. Zenigata moved softly towards Lupin, waiting for the tricky thief to jump up at any moment, laughing at this wonderful trick he pulled. But Lupin merely continued to sit limply in the chair, unmoving. Without a word, Jigen brushed past the inspector, to rescue the paper from the blood flowing down Lupin's shirt. A quick glance at the picture told Jigen all he needed to know. It was a wedding article, announcing the marriage of a one Fujiko Mine to some handsome, young, newly appointed duke she had, according to the article, known since childhood. The marksman handed to scrap of paper to the swordsman, who after reading it, passed it to the inspector. Silently Goemon and Jigen turned and left the room, vowing silent revenge on Fujiko for driving Lupin to this level of madness. They slipped out of the hotel unseen, becoming part of the crowd curious to know just who had been shot.
Zenigata alone remained in the room, waiting for help to arrive. He moved to the bed, and sat down to wait. His world spun in circles inside his head. What could a washed-up has-been like him do now? He wasn't sure. Somewhere in the distance sirens blared to life, moaning their unending song of pain and death. Zenigata paid them no mind until the came to rest below the bedroom window, spewing a small crew of emergency workers inside the hotel. By the time they made it to the fourth floor suite, there was a small but ever growing puddle of blood on the floor by Lupin's foot. It wasn't until the emergency crew had taken the limp doll from the chair, suite, and hotel, that Zenigata came to his senses and shuffled his way out of the building, making slow progress towards the local hospital.