Wolf and Cub

By DJ Clawson

Chapter 5 – The Lousy Thieves

Zenigata was woken not by Lupin returning to consciousness or nurse checking on him, but by the appearance of the rest of the Lupin gang. The inspector, who had been sleeping in the chair next to the bed, picked his head up and looked out the window. It was now day.

"Jesus, Zenigata," Jigen said without a hint of tact. "You're a mess."

He didn't need to look in a mirror to know it was true. He had even fallen asleep with his gun still in his hands. "I didn't see anyone guarding him."

"We were kicked out by that doctor. Had a grey beard."

"Lupin," he said. "It was Lupin the Second in disguise."

"You're kidding, right? Friggin' incredible."

"We are tremendously dishonored," Goemon said with his usual level of severity. "We will repay this debt by guarding Lupin without fail."

"His own father did this to him?" Fujiko said with disbelief.

"I mean, they didn't like each other, sure – but this it outta nowhere," Jigen said, settling into one of the chairs. "So Lupin was awake?"

"Only for a few seconds," Zenigata said. The corner of his eye caught the cigarette case peaking out of Jigen's jacket. Man, he could go for a smoke right now – if the room wasn't pumped with oxygen. "I don't know what would have happened if I hadn't gotten there in time."

"You really think it was him. Lupin's dad."

"I'd know that laugh anywhere." He looked at Lupin, who was resting peacefully. "Now I just have to find him, but Lupin doesn't seem like the kind of guy who carries around an address book."

"Even if he did, I doubt his dad would be in it," Jigen said. "We could just wait it out. If he comes back, we'll nail him. I mean, I don't like waiting around for someone to kill Lupin, but unless we can find his father ..."

"Zenigata, why don't you go get some sleep? You look terrible." Fujiko sounded genuinely concerned. It was indeed a very odd day. "You can use our hotel room if you want, since you obviously already have a card."

He breathed out. "You know if you try to run off with him – "

" – he'll die without the machines. What do you take us for?" Jigen said.

"Lousy thieves," he said, and left.

In his dreams, Zenigata was always strangling Lupin. That was pretty much par for the course at this point. He wasn't trying to choke him – it was more of a desperate, you're-getting-what's-coming-to-you-you-little-punk strangle. That department psychiatrist probably would have had a field day with it if the inspector had not left that out of his evaluation interview.

It just was odd that he was strangling the wrong Lupin. He had only seen Lupin the Second in the police photographs taken before he was sent off to prison – his features more purely French than Lupin, who was half-Asian, and with a black beard. He was sort of a scrubby version of the infamous Lupin the First, whose imagine was in so many photographs and had even had films made based on his life. His voice was older, lacking Lupin's essential vitality, but he was clearly just as clever – and it felt so, so good to get his own arms around him. Now if that damn ringing would just quit, everything would be perfect.

His hand jerked out back in the real world and found the plastic hotel phone. " – H-hello?"

"Zenigata." It was Jigen. "We thought you'd want to know Lupin's awake."

"Is he talking?"

"He's bein' all closed off about it. Maybe you can knock some sense in him." There was some noise on the other end, and Jigen's voice was clearly no longer directed at the phone. "Of course I was joking, idiot. Just eat your jello."

"I'll be right there."

He showered and shaved in record time, even for him. He had no idea how long he'd been sleeping and he didn't bother to check. He only focused on getting back to the hospital, a route he was now close to memorizing.

When he walked in, Lupin was attempting to sit up, and his friends were doing their best to keep him down. "Lupin," Goemon said sternly, "your injuries are very serious. You have to rest."

"Yeah, stay down or Zenigata'll cuff you to the bed again," Jigen threatened.

But their boss had already given up. He was propped up with several pillows. His breathing was uneasy and the look of surprise in his eyes when he saw Zenigata was muted.

Zenigata took off his hat, which unfortunately revealed the welt that was growing on his head.

"Tottsan," Lupin said between wheezes. "You're okay." He seemed relieved.

"Yeah. Don't say I never did anything for you, you ungrateful little bastard. Do you want to tell us what's going on?"

"Hey – hey hey. Am I under arrest?"

"Poor Lupin," Fujiko said, perched on the side of his bed. "He's a little delirious. You should see the morphine drip they have him on."

"In other words," Jigen said, "you're not going to get the straightest answers from him. Not that that's a major difference from his usual antics."

"Lupin," Zenigata said, sitting on the other edge of the bed so Lupin was facing him directly. "Tell me what happened."

"Are you going to put us in the same cell?"

"I know it was your father."

Lupin's wane smile faded. He seemed to crawl into his own mental world for a moment.

"Lupin, you gotta tell us what's going on," Jigen pleaded. "I know there's bad blood between the two of you, but we need to find him."

"I don't know," the thief said at last, between ragged breaths. "I don't know where he is. He – called me." He repositioned himself on the pillow; it looked like a lot of work for him. "I don't want anyone to get hurt."

"And how would you refer to your current condition?" Goemon demanded. "Tell us the whole story."

"I'm tired. And there's a baby going out the window. Is someone going to get that?" he said. "My chest is killing me. I think something's stuck in there."

"Does he know he had surgery?" Zenigata asked.

"We told him, but he's high as a kite, so I don't think it took," Jigen said. "I don't know how much we're gonna get from him today."

"I have my own ideas. Lupin, just tell me if I'm going in the right direction." He made eye contact; Lupin seemed aware enough to look back at him, but he was fading. "Your father contacted you maybe a week or two ago. You didn't want to meet with him, so he decided to bring you out by announcing a heist in your name. If Lupin promised to break into the French National, then Lupin was going to be there, one way or another. Am I right so far?" When Lupin didn't contradict, he continued, "It worked, and you went. You snuck in after him and talked as he broke into the safe. Then the manager came back in the room so you both went out the window and made your escape. But you only got as far as the sewers before you started fighting, and you have bruises on your knuckles and forearms to prove it. He stabbed you with a dagger and left you, taking the diamonds with him."

There was a pause from the spectators.

"Wow, Inspector. I have to say, I'm impressed," Fujiko said.

"Yeah, I didn't know you did actual inspecting," Jigen quipped.

"Shut up!" Zenigata snarled, but softened his expression as he turned back to Lupin. "So – is that most of it?"

"Old man," Lupin said, "you're a regular Heiji Zenigata. But it doesn't matter. He got away. A Lupin ... always ... gets away ..."

"Don't remind me." But he could see he was pushing the limit here. "Do you know how we can find him?"

"You can try ... the Lupin Estate. I think ... there's visiting hours..."

"All right." He put his hat back on. "I have to look into some things. Your partners are going to stay with you."

"That's right, Lupin," Fujiko said, cradling his head in her arms. He had already closed his eyes. "Look, he's already – HEY!" While she had been talking, his hand had slid down her back. She had to physically hold one hand back from slapping him.

"And to think we were worried about him," Jigen said with a smile.