Lupin III, Fanseries I, Episode II: The Stalker,

Lupin III Fanseries I Episode II: The Stalker

All characters and situations (c) their respected owners.

He watched her as she left the ricketty old building, clinging to her like a shadow. The virus. If only he could retrieve it. Then he could impress the boss enough to get a rise in rank. Perhaps he might even go from his low status to becoming his boss' right hand man. he could envision it in his mind: him, the man his boss trusted most. His boss' orders echoed in his mind: "Get me that virus, and you'll be generously rewarded. Fail me, and I'll have your body cut into pieces while you're still breathing, and make you watch as I feed them to my dogs, piece by piece." Jeno felt his blood run cold. He had a lot of goals in his life, and being cut into pieces alive was not one of them.
A young female voice shattered his thoughts. It sounded angry; harsh and bitter. "Okay, you can stop following me now," she said, "I know what you're after and you're not going to get it."
"Ah, but honey!" he chuckled darkly, "I'm not your average gangster, now am I? If I could follow you this far and -"
"That's funny," said Yuma sarcastically, "I don't see any difference. I could've heard you a mile away, so you're obviously not good at stalking people."
"Let me put it to ya' straight, brat: you don't give me the virus, and I'll kill you and find some other way to get it!"
"First of all, it's a program. Can you spell that, pal? Not a virus. And secondly, why would I give it to a damned idiot like you? You think that I actually have it on my person? What is it with you? Do you think I'm that stupid? Or even worse, did you think that I was as smart as you? Gimme a break!"
"What did you just say?!" he growled.
"I said, in case you didn't understand the first time, I'm not as dumb as you are!"
"You'd better shut your mouth little lady, before I slap that damned thing off your face!"
"You'll have to catch me first!" she laughed cruelly. She stuck out her tongue Japanese style, and then ran
like crazy.
She sprinted down the street, Jeno now biting at her heels. Running up to a near-by appartment complex, she flew up the stairs. What she didn't know was that the very first door that she'd knocked on was Lupin's.
Lupin, being as tired as he was, groaned and stumbled towards the door. "Open up, whoever you are!" he heard a woman scream, "He's almost here!"
Lupin opened the door immediately and slammed it as a blur ran in. When it finally stopped running, Lupin realized it was Yuma. "What the Hell?" he asked, quite shocked to have seen Yuma come in so fast.
"Lupin!" she panted, "Thank God it was you!"
"What in the world is going on here?!" he demanded an explaination, waiting for Yuma to reply.
After she caught her breath, Yuma looked up at him, replying in a serious, yet controlled, calm voice, "They found me."
"What do you mean, 'They found me'?" he asked, "Who the Hell were those guys?"
"Part of the American mafia," she explained.
"And just why would they come all the way to Japan to come and kill you?"
"Long story," Yuma was breathing normally now, "Please, just don't ask."
"I'm sorry, Yuma, but since you have jepardized my safety, I think I have to!" he said, a little flustered, "I mean, waking up in the morning to the mafia at your door is not a pleasant feeling."
"Damn you!" she yelled, "Jesus! Sorry for not meaning to ruin your fucking life! You talk as if I'm not even important. If it was that bad, Lupin, why didn't you just leave me on your doorstep and let them kill me?"
"Because I didn't want to see you get hurt," he said gently, "but if they're after you, Yuma, they are now after me as well. It's not just my own safety that I'm worried about here. It's yours. Why are they after you?"
She sighed, and began, "A while back, I did a deal with a mafia boss in Tokyo. He employed me as a hired gun for a while."
"Why?"
"I was watching over his wife, so that he knew that she wasn't getting into any trouble that she shouldn't be in. She loved to travel, but on each occasion, she cheated on her husband. He was growing suspicious of her activities, so he called me."
"So what happened to make them come after you like this?"
"The deal went sour. Something went wrong and he refused to pay me the money, so I hacked into his bank account and stole it."
"How much?" Lupin was listening attentively.
"$1.5 million."
"That's a lot of money," Lupin sighed, "Not a very smart move, Yuma, especially for an intelligent lady like yourself. so I guess he wanted his money back in some form or another. However, normally, they don't work on-line, do they?"
"No, they don't," said Yuma, "The cyber area is one thing they are not interested in."
"So," Lupin skipped to a new topic, "Do they know where you live?"
"Unfortunately, yes," replied Yuma.
After a brief silence, Lupin said, "Stay at my place."
"What?" she seemed a little confused.
"Strange," Lupin said, more to himself than to anyone else.
"What's strange?" asked Yuma, curious.
"You don't seem to be surprized about the mafia coming to Japan for you," explained Lupin, "but when I ask you to move in with me, you seem shocked. Why?"
"Well, it's obvious, isn't it?" she asked, "I've been bitter and rude to you, and yet, still you ask me to move in with you! Why's that, hmmm?"
"I want you to be safe, Yuma," he said patiently, "I take care of my partners. The only thing I ask of you is for you to help me in return. Does that sound fair enough to you?"
"Well, yeah," she said, unsure, "I guess ..."
"Then what's your decision?"
Yuma thought for a moment. Then she replied, "Only if I can bring my computer stuff with me. That includes my programs, software, cybergear, diskets, CD ROMs, printer ... all that stuff has to come with me."
"I'm sure we can work something out," agreed Lupin, "Exactly how much stuff have you got in there anyway?"
"Lots," replied Yuma, "and I don't want to ..."
"Lose all your expensive toys to them. I understand."
"It's more than just entertainment, you know!" she said in a huff, "Each thing has it's perpous."
"I know," laughed Lupin, "but you talk about them as if they were real living creatures."
"They may as well be," replied Yuma, "I can't afford a pet, and computers are pretty low matinence if you look at them in the right light."
"I see," said Lupin, "Don't worry, we'll get them for you. But we better get there quick before those goons trash the place. Oh, speaking of which, if they do happen to get there before us, do you have a back-up system? Like a lap-top and back up disks?"
"Yes, actually," said Yuma, "It's hidden in the building under a floor board."
"Good," said Lupin, "That way I know that if you lose anything, you can always get a back-up. Look, I'm going to get dressed. You wait out here, and we'll be there in a couple of minutes."
"Okay," replied Yuma. As Lupin walked out the door, Yuma thought to herself, 'Maybe he isn't such a bad guy after all!' She smiled.
In a few minutes, Lupin was dressed and ready to go. He looked out the peep-hole. "Coast is clear," he said, "Let's go."
In a short while they were at the building. However, much to Yuma's dismay, the door was kicked in. "Damn," she cursed, "Even though I have a back-up lap-top, it's going to be hard to pay for all those accessories!"
They walked in. Sure enough, the place was trashed. Yuma walked over to a certain part of the room.
Pulling up a floor-board, she lifted out a lap-top and several other things associated with a computer.
"I'm going to have to buy a whole new array of computer products," she said.
Lupin was surprized. In the brief time he had known her, he'd never heard her say anything that sophisticated before.
"Where did that come from?" he inquiered.
"What?" she asked, curious.
"What you just said, where'd you learn to talk like that?"
"As a child," she began, "I didn't have very many friends, so I read lots of books. That's where I get my vocabulary."
"Well, it's a good thing," suggested Lupin, "With the right training, I might be able to use you for negotiations! Think that's a good idea?"
"Yeah!" said Yuma, "I like that. What else can you teach me?"
"More than any other master thief, that's for sure," assured Lupin as he picked up a box of stuff that was hidden under another floor-board. After grabbing the objects she'd missed he said, "Alright, let's go. You'll be living with me from here on out."
With these words, Yuma and Lupin stepped outside. Just as they were headed for his car, Jeno appeared from behind the corner. Lupin saw him and he roughly pushed Yuma into the car, slammed the door, got in and did like-wise for himself.
"What the Hell was that for?" said Yuma irritably.
"Quiet!" he said over the squeal of tires, "They're on our tail. We've got no time to lose!"
"Let me guess," said Yuma sarcastically, "Jeno."
"You got it," replied Lupin, "Watch your back. If they start shooting, you may have to take the wheel."
"Got it," said Yuma.
A bullet was fired. Yuma took the wheel as Lupin fired off his gun. Within minutes, they had two flat tires and Lupin and Yuma had lost them.
"God," exclaimed Yuma as she got back in the passenger seat, "I'm already sick of these people! Why can't they just leave me alone? It's over and done with, and unless his boss doesn't have anything better to do, which I highly doubt, I don't see the perpose of this chase!"
"I know, honey," replied Lupin, "It does get tiring, but until we get our money's worth from this next job, I don't think they're gonna stop chasing us."
"Great," said Yuma bitterly, "Just what I wanted to hear!"
"I'm sorry, Yuma," he said, a little exasperated, "But these are the facts of life! It's
kill or be killed!"
"I'm sorry," she appologized, "It's not your fault. I just don't like the idea of the mafia coming to Japan. I thought I was safe here."
"Yuma," he said gently, "No place is ever that safe. You'll find preditors everywhere you go, and you just have to learn to live with them. Learning how to protect yourself from these guys is one of the first things I'm going to teach you. It's one of the most important lessons on the list. If you get caught, or if something were to happen, you gotta know how to defend yourself." He looked at the time. "I think we'd better get back," he said, "I don't want Jigen wondering where I am."
After a brief silence, Yuma spoke up, "Lupin?"
"Yes?"
"Thanks."
"No problem, hon."
The rest of the trip was made in silence. Nobody had anything left to say.

END OF EPISODE II.