What Crooks Love
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the rights to Lupin III or anything remotely noteworthy for that matter.
Author's Notes: Lupin finds solace in people he has helped in the past. But how long will it last? From this point onwards some npc girls will appear and many more will be mentioned because I did not watch over 40 Lupin movies/specials for nothing ok? Enjoy!
Chapter Four: Transient Bliss
"You know Arsène, I have to admit you were probably the last person I was expecting to call me first thing in the morning."
Lupin himself would never have expected to be sitting in a Parisian cafe enjoying some coffee with none other than his former acquaintance, Sandy Fishburne.
The truth is the woman hadn't even crossed Lupin's mind in several years. But he noticed an advertisement for one of her shows after he escaped prison and thought his compatriot would make for a good start. After all, when in Rome…
The thief had little trouble digging up her number and to his surprise he found that she had actually kept her promise of remembering him after she made it big.
Thus, soon enough Lupin found himself sitting across the beautiful dark skinned blonde, just like he used to all those nights he had come to see her perform when she was just starting out.
"Sorry for not seeing you sooner Sandy dearest, but as you can imagine I've been quite busy. Not to mention I haven't been to Paris in years. After all I didn't think a star like you would make time for a two bit thief such as myself," he grinned. She smiled but did not seem convinced.
"I love your dress by the way! With all this stardome surrounding you it's nice to see you like this," he added. Back then she usually wore elegant dresses but that morning she had gone for a casual pink sundress. Lupin loved the thought that she felt comfortable enough to meet him as such, and in such short notice.
"I see you haven't lost your edge when it comes to flirting," she teased, making Lupin smile in return as both of them took a sip out of their cups. But then her smile disappeared as she looked straight into his eyes. "Unfortunately you haven't lost your edge when it comes to lying either. You have become quite the celebrity yourself! I was following that Lupin Game quite closely. Rooting for you throughout of course! Though you did have me worried for a second there."
"Yeah that was quite a pickle wasn't it? But you know me, I love a challenge!" he said nervously as he realized Sandy would have seen him in the French airport when the Lupin Game had first started.
"You know I was hoping we would keep in touch more often, that one day I would spot you in one of my New York shows. Then, when I saw you were in France again I was hoping you would take me out for a drink. I know we are not dating anymore but we are still friends, no?"
Lupin realized that he could have called her at the time while he was in France. 'But then again you weren't trying to keep your ass from falling apart back then were you? You only interact with others when you need them. You selfish fuck.'
"Of course we are! Look, it's just that," Lupin tried to ease the tension but he knew that Sandy was right. And by extension Yata was too. He only cared about others when he had something to gain. Just like he had been taught when he was a child. Just like she used all those innocent women to get to him. Perhaps he was his mother's son after all…
'No,' he thought. 'Stop this self deprecating bullshit already! You're here to prove to the witch that you are NOT what she wanted you to be! Act like it then goddammit!'
A faint smile appeared on his face as he looked straight into Sandy's blue eyes, catching her by surprise and making her brush ever so slightly.
"I've never been great when it comes to keeping in touch with my friends. For years I've been telling myself that I am avoiding them in order to protect them. But recent events made me realize that the only thing I was ever trying to protect was myself. After all, attachments are practically death sentences in my line of work."
To say Sandy was shocked would be an understatement. She had never heard Lupin be nearly as honest as he was being at that moment. She was hanging on his every word.
"But I've come to realize that my friends are the only thing that's keeping me sane. When I called you here I just wanted to see someone I had helped in the past to feel better about myself. But now I…"
Tears threatened to run down her face as she was seeing a side of him she didn't even know existed.
"I want to come see you in New York," he finished with a huge smile. "If you would have me, that is."
His smile proved more than contagious and she gave him a loving gaze, while resting her cheek on her palm.
"I like this side of yours, Arsène," she said. "I'm glad you asked to see me, even if it took you as long as it did. After all, you're not the only one to blame. I could have contacted you as well. You're more than welcome to visit me whenever you want! I could even sing a special song for you!"
Lupin reached his arm towards her and extended his little finger. "If you sing one for me I promise to steal you an even prettier ring than the one before," he winked at her.
Sandy took his finger into hers and smiled at him, lifting her eyebrow. "As long as you actually come through this time round."
"Oh trust me I will, after all I still haven't forgotten how strong your punches can get," he said nervously, remembering how hard that very hand he was holding at the moment had punched his balls years ago.
Lupin's comment on her strength made her laugh. "So, now that all this is behind us, tell me about some of your adventures Arsène! You must have gone through so many of them in all those years! I don't have anywhere to be today anyways so I have more than enough time."
"Well truth be told, I don't. I have a plane to catch. But we've got about an hour or two until I need to bounce."
This caught her by surprise. "Plane? You're leaving Paris already?"
"Well I did break out of jail like… five hours ago," he said as he checked his watch. "Sooner or later someone's gonna recognise me if I stay here. Plus, you're not the only friend I am planning on visiting."
"You sure have many friends don't you Arsène," she teased him. "I wonder how many of them are just friends."
"You know me too well Sandy," he grinned. "Anyways, we have more than enough time for a few stories. So what do you wanna hear mon ami?"
"Hmm," she said, rubbing her temple. "Start with something ridiculous!"
'Where to even begin,' he thought. "Ok, let me tell you about that time a guy sent me five hundred years back in time because my descendant stole his girlfriend in the 29th century."
Sandy soon realized she had made a mistake.
Several kilometers away, the remaining members of the Lupin gang were not in the same high spirits.
"You think he might have gone crazy again or something? But how? What could have triggered it?" The idea of having to relive what she went through a few months ago was less than appealing to Fujiko. Worst of all, she wasn't quite sure for how much longer she would be able to maintain her facade in front of Jigen and Goemon.
"The newspaper didn't mention any casualties during the prison break," came Jigen's cool response as he was feeding the fish that Lupin had left to his care. "If he had gone ape shit again I doubt he would have done so quietly."
"Perhaps he doesn't want to confront us at this moment." Goemon was sitting cross-legged on the couch silently contemplating the situation. "A man sometimes requires some time alone for introspection. If that is the case then disturbing him would be a grave error. He will come back when he has made peace with himself."
Jigen, who had finished his task and was now pulling out a cigarette let out a quiet laugh. "You might get off on introspection and all that while you're in the woods or under some waterfall, but this is Lupin we're talking about here. When has that guy ever needed time alone?"
"For the love of God, Jigen," came Fujiko's irritated response. "He had fake memories implanted on his brain and shot the woman who raised him to death! Do you have any idea how awful it is to carry memories that aren't yours? Speaking from experience, it's not particularly fun!"
The gunman wouldn't have it. "That's not an excuse to just disappear like that! And at the end of the day if he has a problem he can discuss it with us. Who else is going to help him in times like these?"
Fujiko glared at him and let out a disapproving sigh. "Yeah, cause we're all so good at opening up to each other huh? What do you think this is, group therapy?"
Now Jigen was fuming, again. "Well maybe we would be able to talk about things if we didn't have to worry about you selling us out every time you left the damm hideout!"
"Well maybe he would have opened up to you if you ever talked to him instead of deepthroating that stupid gun of yours!"
"You've been doing a lot of deepthroating yourself yet he never opened up to you either did he you stupid sl-"
"This is futile," came Goemon's intervention before Jigen and Fujiko had time to start ripping each other's hair out. "Such foolish bickering won't do us any good. I suggest we wait this out. After all, tracking a man like Lupin is a near impossible task. The only reason we found him last time is because we had help."
Fujiko was already furious with Jigen, now she had to hear Goemon deciding to remain impassive too. "Some friends you are! Just wait everything out and things will just go back to normal, huh?"
"Stop trying to save him," said Jigen, whose temper had gone back to normal. "Lupin always gets by on his own. He'll come back soon enough. He doesn't need any help, and he sure as hell doesn't need your help."
That was the final straw for Fujiko. "Whatever, you guys can stay here and die for all I care. I'll find him on my own!"
And with that the femme fatale stormed out of the room.
Jigen let out a weary sigh. "If I had a woman like that I would have gone insane decades ago."
"Jigen," said Goemon. "If he chose to go away for a while in order to make peace with himself, then we should let him be for the time being. But we must first verify his mental state."
"And how the hell are we gonna do that? If Lupin wants to stay hidden not even God can find him. And even if we do track him down, what if he's gone nuts again and starts shooting left and right? We can't keep fighting like this and expect no one to get hurt every time you know."
Jigen was surprised to see a tiny smirk creep up on the usually stoic samurai's face. "If Lupin was in prison even for a short time, then Zenigata must have been around. And if there's one person who can read him even better than us, it's him."
Jigen raised his eyebrow as he took a drag of his cigarette. "Damm, maybe I should try some of that introspection shit too."