Thief in the Night

A Lupin the Third fan fiction by Lywinis

Chapter Ten: Creative Liberties

Lupin and Zenigata stared at each in hostility over the windshield of Lupin's Mercedes Benz SSK. Zenigata was fingering his handcuffs, and Lupin gunned the Ferrari engine involuntarily. Jigen flopped into the passenger seat and whacked Lupin. "Quit gunning the engine. We're in truce right now."

Lupin sighed and leaned out the window. "Are you coming, tottsan, dear? I can't wait all night. Our prized princess might turn into a pumpkin."

Zenigata growled and threw himself into the backseat of the Benz next to Goemon. "Just get this over with. How are you going to track her?"

Lupin held up a box about the size of a cigarette lighter. "Like my bearded friend here said once, it's all a matter of playing the game, 'What's the Damn Frequency?'" He flipped open the top of the lighter to reveal a dial. As he turned it, the small monitor on the box's side began to glow. A small green dot began to form, beeping steadily.

"Good. The transmitter managed to fix itself to her abdominal wall like it was supposed to." Lupin gunned the engine again and peeled out of the police station. They sped through the streets of Rome, taking narrow winding alleyways like they were straight-aways and scattering everything and anything in their path. Zenigata was clutching to the back of the car seat, having neglected to put on a seat belt. Goemon and Jigen, who were used to Lupin's driving, sat back, amused, as Pops shut his eyes tightly every time Lupin rounded a curve in the back alleys and threatened to tip the car onto two wheels. Finally they came to a stop.

"I don't believe it," Lupin breathed. He stared up at the Palazzo Montecitorio. "The parliament building? Right under the noses of the lawmakers?"

"Obviously taking a leaf from your book," noted Zenigata gruffly. He got out and stared at the huge building. Jigen and Goemon followed him, and Lupin got out last after concealing the Benz behind a handy stone wall. He threw a grey camouflaging tarp over the car's distinctive body and followed Zenigata around to the back.

We're a fine looking group of tourists, Jigen thought sourly as they searched for a back entrance. Lupin put his skills as a thief to the test and finally located a crack in the wall, cleverly hidden behind a series of strategically placed false ivy bushes. His clever fingers found the hidden latch, and the secret door swung open without a sound.

"After you, Inspector." He held a hand out mockingly, inviting Zenigata to step in first. Jigen snorted and stepped into the dark hallway ahead of the others, not waiting for an argument to break out. A bead of sweat dripped down from under the brim of his hat, and his footsteps echoed on the cold walls. He noticed when the floor started to slope downward, and he beckoned to the others.

"Hmm, winding staircase, track lighting…she has been taking tips from my decorator," Lupin mused, trying lamely to lighten the mood.

The hallway continued on for some time, until they came to a sealed door. Lupin tapped on it thoughtfully. "I won't be able to get into this one without my tools. Goemon, if you'd do the honors?"

Goemon stepped up, his face expressionless. Then, before any of them could breathe, he had moved, slicing the door several times and returning Zantetsuken to its sheath. "Once again, I have cut a worthless object," he said solemnly, and pieces of the steel door fell to the ground. The hole was just big enough for them to step through.

"Heh, I never get tired of watching that," Lupin said, smirking. Jigen rolled his eyes. The gunman stepped through the hole and looked around. He didn't see the butt of the pistol come swinging down at the back of his head.


One Hour Earlier That Day…

Cara groaned as someone shook her shoulder roughly. Her head felt as if Mount Fuji had exploded within it, and her shoulder throbbed. She cracked an eye open to see one of the brawny thugs that had dotted the underground chamber of Fujiko's Italian headquarters. He had crudely tied a bandage around her shoulder, which seemed to be wounded. Blood seeped slowly through the gauze and her head spun. Had she gotten Fujiko?

No, she saw. Fujiko stood behind the man; a small, vicious smile spread on her face as the man tightened the bandage and Cara winced. "I see we're feeling better. Good. You have one hell of a lot of nerve, pulling a gun on me in my own bunker. You have guts, I'll grant you that."

"I thought you were going to kill me? If so, get it over with. I don't like silly games." Cara sneered at Fujiko, her whole body rigid as she strained against the bonds that held her to the wooden cot.

"Actually, no, I don't think so. Not yet, anyway." That smile plastered itself over her features again. "I want them to see you, tied to a table and waiting for death. I want them to see the thief they touted as being so damnably clever and resourceful, the wunderkind prodigy of Lupin himself, waiting for her demise instead of getting out of it."

"Damn it, Fujiko, I'm not Lupin, and that's the whole point!" She struggled to sit up, but the wide cloth straps that held her to the bed wouldn't give. "I'm not here for Lupin, and I'm not here for your place as his girlfriend, or whore or whatever you call it. I'm here because you dragged me off the plane with the intention to kill me. I don't like you, but I do respect you."

Fujiko snorted. "And I'm supposed to believe anything you say? You're the one tied to the bed. Besides, I have to pay you back for the wound anyway." She pushed aside the neckline of the tee she was wearing and showed off her own bandage, in the same place. Hers was better cared for, and it made Cara smirk a little. They were equally decent shots, it seemed.

"Actually, you could believe me, or you could kill me. Like I said, I don't care either way, although it would rather disappoint me if you killed me." The grin was wry and it said she was ready for anything Fujiko could throw at her. It was a mad grin, perhaps from the situation she was in.

The gorgeous woman shook off her sense of foreboding and sneered right back at the retired thief. She played her trump card, holding up what looked like a thin plastic disk about the size of a thumbnail. "Do you know what this is?" When Cara didn't answer, she gave an indulgent smile. "It's something I've been keeping for a rainy day. Lupin has tried to track me before, especially when I make off with a lot of his money. He should be frantic to find you, or rather, me, and will activate this little chip."

She pointed to the space behind the cell door. There, in the corner, was what looked like a timer. It was taped to a large box. "That box contains enough C-4 to collapse these tunnels. Once Lupin activates the mechanism for the tracking button, he'll start the timer. When he pulls up to the building, he'll see the parliament building sink about another hundred and twenty feet deeper into the ground." She placed the small transmitter into the space made for it between the digital timer's buttons. "And when that clock comes on, you'll know to pray to whatever you believe in."

Fujiko tapped the goon on the shoulder and turned to leave. "Oh, by the way, the timer is set for an hour, just to make things sporting."

They took the light with them, leaving her in darkness. She snarled slightly, her lip curling, but she knew it was useless to try and bother with petty grievances now. If they came to find her using that transmitter, they would all die. Or she would die, if they didn't get to her in time.

She began flexing her arm, using the concentration technique Goemon taught her. Focusing all her will into the weak joint she had found while she was talking to Fujiko, she worked as patiently as she could, building up a rhythm. She heard a small cracking sound, and she nearly leapt out of her skin when the digital clock in the corner beeped to life. One hour.

She would make good use of the time, she was sure.


Jigen whirled even as Goemon stepped up and grabbed the arm of the thug. The swordsman twisted the man's arm painfully behind his back and made him drop the pistol he was holding. Zenigata even threw in on the man, slamming him up against the wall. He recognized him as the thug that had gotten away, and slapped the handcuffs on him.

"You're going into the station, punk."

"Not if we all die first," laughed the man. He didn't struggle against his captivity, but slumped to the floor, boneless.

Jigen suddenly started to itch. He didn't like this set up one bit. Usually, Fujiko had more than one thug around…unless she had set up a trap. The man's words had definitely made him jumpy. He glanced in all of the rooms, and found no one else. Finally, at the end of the series of rooms, he found a locked and barred door. The keys were still there, so he undid the lock and lifted the bar. He opened the door and came face to face with Cara, who was tied to a cot and wrenched her arm up with a metal ringing sound as the bolt flew free from the wood. Jigen ducked, and the bolt caught Lupin right between the eyes.

"I suppose that's payment enough for what's he's let his girlfriend do," Cara noted dryly. "But we only have a few minutes left until the C-4 goes off, and I'd rather not be around to find out what it'll do to this beautiful Roman architecture."

Lupin was clutching his forehead, but he was lucid enough to understand her meaning. He quickly undid the straps that held her remaining limbs, and she sat up as if she'd been tied there for a few days. She probably had been.

Jigen was far more worried. "C-4? Oh, shit." He grabbed Cara's arm and tugged her out of the room. She winced and clutched her shoulder, and he finally noticed the bloodied gauze that had been roughly wrapped around the wound. "She shot you?"

"No, we had a minor disagreement. I got her in the same place." Cara grinned and hitched up the bandage. Jigen didn't wait for her to argue, but he swept her off her feet as gently as he could manage. He carried her swiftly down the hallway, past Goemon and Zenigata, who were busy lugging the bulky thug down the hallway.

"You might want to pick up the pace," Jigen called. "There's about five minutes left till the C-4 in the other room explodes."

Lupin ran past them both. "Actually, guys, a little more like three minutes."

Zenigata and Goemon exchanged looks and hefted the guy again, who was playing "dead weight". They all ran for their lives, as all of a sudden, small explosions started down the hallway.

Goemon and Pops managed to pass Jigen, who was moving a little slower than he would like. He didn't want to hurt Cara, but he had to run if they were going to get out. He could feel the heat from the rooms behind him as the explosives set into the walls of the bunker began detonating. He struggled along, finally going all out and sprinting up the last few feet of sloping passage, a large fireball following him. He ran as fast as he could and collapsed at the last second, flames licking at the back of his jacket. He didn't bother to put it out though, he just held his body over Cara and made sure she was all right.

She had passed out from the pain in her shoulder. He turned around as the Palazzo Montecitorio began to sink into the ground, fire erupting from its lower windows. Most of the politicians had gone home for the day, and so it had been quite a surprise for the remaining group of people. All of them stood out on the sidewalk, amazed. The building belched fire for a few more minutes before the explosives caused it to collapse inwards.

Fire trucks raced around the corners, converging on the parliament building, followed closely by the police.

"I think it's time to go," said Lupin. Zenigata whirled around, glaring at the thief.

"No way, Lupin, we had a deal!" The inspector held out a pair of handcuffs. "I've got a pair of nice shiny bracelets with your name on them!"

"Well, those bracelets probably don't fit anyway," Lupin called over his shoulder as he trotted over to the car. Goemon had put out the fire on Jigen's back, and they were placing Cara in the back seat, and Jigen slipped into the back seat and rested her head in his lap. "Besides, Cara needs to see a doctor, and I can afford the best."

Zenigata had been backed into a corner again. He nodded helplessly and Lupin got behind the wheel. "Just remember, Lupin, I'll get you eventually."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." He pulled up beside the inspector and stuck his hand out of the open window. "We'll consider it a promise."

Zenigata shook his hand briefly. "Better go, or the Italian police will be chasing your no-good thieving tail."

Lupin gave a crooked grin and sped off, leaving Zenigata to explain to the authorities why he just happened to have caught the man who bombed the Italian parliament.

Business as usual, Zenigata thought as he hailed the chief of police.

He wouldn't have it any other way.


One Month After the Bombing of the Palazzo Montecitorio…

Fujiko walked into the hotel room and tossed her light travel bag on the bed. She unbound her chestnut hair from the conservative bun she usually wore and rubbed her aching scalp. She turned around to flip on the news and relax by having a bath.

The letter got her attention. It was taped to the television, and it bore Lupin's signature elegant handwriting. She ripped open the envelope and a disc fell out. Using the DVD player the hotel so generously provided, she played the disc. Lupin's smirk was plastered across the screen, and she knew she was caught. His digital smile faded, although not quite, and he nodded to her.

"Hi, Fujicakes, it's been a while. I know you figure I'm probably mad as hell that you tried to kill Cara and the rest of us. Normally I would be, but your generous donation to her new family more than makes up for what you did."

Donation? I never made any donation…she thought, and then dug through the envelope to see if there was any clue as to what he was talking about. The only other thing she found was a slip of paper. Turning it over, she read what was on the paper in disbelief.

"I see you found your other little gift included with this disc. Yes indeed, I knew you had a generous heart under that greedy exterior, and so you do. I know you won't mind that I withdrew your entire savings from all thirteen separate accounts dotted all over the world. In fact, I bet the next time you show your face, you'll thank me…"

"Fat chance," she snarled, crumpling the bank statement in anger.

"…Or you'll never do business in our particular market again," Lupin finished, that infuriating smirk still on his face. "I'm sure you understand that this is what it took to convince Goemon and Jigen to allow you back into our particular circle, especially considering what you tried to do to Jigen's wife."

Fujiko shook her head. She just couldn't win against the Gentleman Thief. Picking up her cell phone, she hit her only speed-dial number and waited for the bastard to pick up.

"Why Fujiko, how nice of you to call. Offering congratulations to Jigen?"

"For what? For taking all my money? I doubt it."

Lupin laughed. "Consider it his and Cara's wedding present."

Fujiko shrugged, letting Lupin have his moment. There was always the next heist, and there was always that one time Lupin would let down his guard. And she'd be there, like always.

She wouldn't have it any other way.