DISCLAIMER: I don't own Lupin the Third, and if I did, I'd probably get the rights stolen, anyway…
You're probably wondering why the hell this is up so early,
Well, call it a spurt of enthusiasm for my craft. I felt really happy about the last chapter—Happier than I've felt in a long time about the quality of my work… For a few chapters, I felt like I was just… Floating… It probably sounds strange, yeah, I know… But that's honestly how I'm describe it! I guess with my anniversary coming up I'm just feeling a bit of a creative high. Well, thank you everyone who reviewed… Thanks again for everyone's reviews and your readership, it's so very appreciated!
Fun Fact of Boredom: If you notice, Fuji and Ari agree on one thing—They hate octopus. This is because if you're really into the obscure facts that no one cares about, you'll find the Lupin the Third has an octopus allergy. I'm going to go feel more like a nerd now and listen to some 1980's pop music…
Chapter Fifteen: Jailhouse Rock
Paris:
Frightened didn't begin to explain how Max felt as he walked through the prison doors, and was led to a room where he would wait for Leo to emerge. He had put away some of these crooks in his time, he recognized him, and by the names they shouted to him, they recognized him, too… He was in a glassed in room, with a small table and chairs, and an overhanging light. He had been on a different side of this table so many times before… And now…
His head shot up as he watched Leo walked out, chained by his hands and feet. He was in a classic orange jumpsuit, slippers, as well as a new pair of glasses. His hair had been cut a little shorter (and it was a little uneven, although Max would say nothing), and he was obviously weary as he sat in front of Zenigata. Max began to reach forward, but was quickly snapped at by the guard, and he seated himself again.
"You look like I feel," Max said with a faux laugh. Leo returned this feigned laughter, and looked down at his handcuffs.
"They don't seem to realize how easy it would be for me to get out of these…" Leo said with a shake of the head.
"Yeah, I'm surprised they didn't lead you out here with a leather mask on, Hannibal," replied Max. "How's everything been?"
"Lonely," Leo smirked a little. "No one talks to me… I may look like a mousy librarian, but I still look like my dad, and that's enough to scare anyone away… They either want to avoid me or fight me… I spend a lot of time knitting, now…"
"Dako made you this," Max removed a sheet of paper from his pocket and slid it across the table. It was a ten-year-old's rendition of himself, Max and herself, as well as something he didn't quite recognize… A much smaller child. Leo looked up at Max questioningly, and Max was quick to fill in the blank.
"She wants a baby brother," Max said with a small roll of the eyes.
"She knows that I'm here, right?" Leo asked.
"Yeah," Max nodded.
"How'd she take it?"
"After the crying, I told her that we had a lot of good people working on your case… The entire Lupin the Third gang, the entire Lupin the Fourth gang, Jake's company is funding it, and my dad's helping research for your case…"
"Jake?" Leo blinked a few times in surprise. "How'd you..?"
"Not any way you want to know," Max sighed, and looked down at his hands. "I want to do something nice when we get you out of here… I told my dad… About us…"
"How'd the old man take it?"
"We're getting married in a month, in California," Max announced.
"A month? Do you know how long it'll be before we go to trial?" Leo yelped.
"Not that long… It's a media frenzy… They have no choice but to push it forward… The first hearing's on Monday… They're going to try to get this done as soon as possible… This case is even blocking traffic… The country's pissed…"
Leo smirked, "If I'm making such a mess then they can get me out of here, if they want…"
"Your time's almost up," said the guard to Max.
Max nodded, and rose from his side of the table, "Is it okay if I…"
"No contact with the prisoner, Sir," said the guard.
"Right," Max nodded, and turned back to Leo. "This'll be over soon, Leo, I promise…"
"I know," Leo nodded. "Thanks, Max…"
"Bye, Leo," Max walked out of the room, and let out a gasp he had held up. Leo looked awful, there wasn't any other word for it… But beyond this, LeBlanc looked strangely at peace with himself.
Max would drive back to Lupin's now; he had been suspended with pay while the case went on. Interpol had nearly hit the roof when they had found out about their marriage, and Max, just like Leo had taught him, denied knowing that he was Lupin the Fourth. This was more for the sake of Dako, who would immediately have been taken away if not for lying.
"Too much lying…" Max said darkly as he exited the prison and hopped into his small car. He drove back to the Lupin estate, where it looked like a regular party with the numerous cars parked out front. Goemon was on the front porch with his granddaughter as well as two of his own children. It was a sad state for him to be meeting Namiko for the first time, but Ishikawa was overjoyed with her. Max was nearly toppled down by several more of the Ishikawa clan as he parked his car, and then he was nearly blown down by the two youngest Jigen children, who were now walking, or more precisely, running.
He managed to worm his way into the household, where Fuji, her father, and Max's father were occupied in the living room, going through more international laws.
"Heh… I didn't know that… I should've been paying taxes all these years!" Fuji said in true interest.
"You should've been behind bars all these years…" Zenigata said underneath his breath, followed by a sip of his Ramen noodles. Max cringed as he saw the noodles, and felt nausea come over him… Peanut butter, Ramen and Michael Keaton movies; they all made him nauseous.
"How's he doing in there?" Lupin inquired as he stood up to greet Max. Much like with his son, Lupin was about four inches taller than Max, and was somewhat intimidating as a result.
"We need to get him out of there," said Max quickly.
"I can tell you right now that they've got the wrong Lupin!" Zenigata screamed, pointing to an innocent-looking Fuji.
"Who? L'il ole me?" Fuji asked angelically.
"Oh, boy…. I don't know where you're going, Kid, but I am, too," said Lupin as he rose and walked into a room where Heiji was making stop motion frames of the infamous Ari-murder tape. Next to Heiji, in a bag, sat the gun and the bullets Victor had given to Ryo.
"Everyone's working on this case, huh?" Max said with surprise.
"Are you kidding? Yukiko's out back with her dad doing ballistics testing right now!" Lupin moved Max to a window, and sure enough, Jigen daughter and father were out back, talking with one another and carrying around guns as they paced about a target.
Outside:
"I hate Walthers…" Yukiko muttered as she and her father continued to change positions about the field. Jigen would play Ari, since the target was much closer and he would be able to fire with more ease, and Yukiko was Victor, who stood on a perch and away on a calculated distance.
"Hey, that was your first gun!" Jigen said with slight amusement in his voice. He lifted up the dummy, who fit the height and weight requirements of the shot man. "Okay, I know this'll help a lot, but what about everything else he's done, huh? He stole stuff, too, you know…"
"Lupin knows, and so does Fuji, and they're taking care of that. We're just doing what comes best to us," Yukiko replied as she made sure her gun was loaded. "You ready?"
"Whenever you are," replied Jigen. There was a countdown, and the two shot in unison. Jigen's bullet grazed the man's shoulder, but Yukiko went straight through at an angle that made it go straight through the man's chest. Jigen set the heavy dummy down and stretched. "Oi that guy weighed a lot! I'm surprised Ari didn't break anything fighting that guy…"
"We got our dummy?" Yukiko asked.
"Heh, yeah, both of 'um!" Jigen laughed as he looked up at Lupin from the window where the thief stood with Max. "You gotta hand it to him… If Ally had told me he had met another guy, I don't know what I would've done…"
"You would've loved him all the same. Don't lie to yourself, old man," Yukiko chuckled as she spun the handgun around and sheathed it back in her holster.
"You're probably right," Jigen sighed as he grabbed a camera and began snapping pictures of the dummy, Yukiko's position, where he had stood, etc. "Although I'm now to the point of wondering when I'm going to be a grandfather."
"Please no," Yukiko said to herself as she placed a hand over her eyes.
"Come on, can you blame me?" Jigen asked with a smile.
"Yes… You've got two little kids of your own! You're busy enough!" said Yukiko. "I'd be a horrible mother!"
"Hm. Just like I thought I'd be a horrible father…"
"Well, I never did get that pony, come to think of it…"
"Brat. At least you have a choice, and you'll get to see all of yours grow up. I didn't get to see you in your critical years, nor did I ever get to see Sachiko. It pretty much kills me inside…" Jigen said with a pang of regret.
"How's Sachiko helping, anyway? I heard it was pretty important," said Yukiko.
"She's Ari's defense lawyer."
"….Dad, you're kidding…"
"Nope."
"And that means she'll actually have to talk to…"
"Yep."
"Oh, boy," Yukiko sighed, and placed a hand over her forehead. "Poor Heiji…"
Late that Night:
"I figured you were nocturnal, Sachiko," Heiji said as Sachiko entered. She looked less than amused by this, and ignored Ishikawa's curt greeting. She seated herself next to Heiji, and the chair creaked back. "Heh, put on a little weight?" Heiji inquired.
"You, too?" Sachiko quickly returned. Now Heiji shot the glare, and Sachiko had the smile of satisfaction.
"Ouch, Sachi… That was mature," Heiji said with a roll of the eyes.
"Are you sure I'm not making your girlfriend jealous?"
"Veronica's getting married," Heiji said flatly in response.
"Not her; Fujiko," Sachiko said while she picked up a parcel of case papers.
"Fuji's mom? Gross!"
"The young Fujiko. Smart ass," Sachiko grumbled.
"She isn't my girlfriend," Heiji stated defensively as he resumed typing upon his computer. "How's your girlfriend, on that note?"
"I'm not a lesbian."
"Men usually aren't."
Sachiko tossed the files down and stared Heiji down from above her glasses, "You know, I'm working at an attorney's right now… They all treat me with respect…"
"Good for them," Heiji said distantly. He didn't notice Sachiko rise, or hear her close and lock his door behind him. He didn't even notice where she hid the key. He did begin to notice, however, when he slammed his laptop down in front of him. He looked up at her questioningly and noticed that she had undone her hair; she never had undone her hair. She was also missing her glasses.
"You're the only bastard who's ever told me how it is," Sachiko said to a speechless Heiji.
"What… Um… Case…" Heiji sputtered as he laid a hand on his laptop. Sachiko's hand followed his, and landed atop his, leaving Heiji stunned once more.
"You know, I even sort of liked you before you lost all of that weight…" Sachiko said quietly.
"Eh, I've gotta get some disks from downstairs," Heiji said with a crack in his voice as he quickly rose and left Sachiko, only to find the door locked. "Great…" he grumbled, "I'm starting to think that it was better when I was a fat and no one really paid attention to me… I sure as hell had more time to play Quake…"
"Just stop there, Ishikawa," said Sachiko sternly.
"What'd you do with the key, Sachiko?" Heiji asked as he turned the doorknob and moaned.
"You'll have to find out," Sachiko pounced upon him, and Heiji let out a yell, and there was a loud thump. Jigen, who was one story below, stopped and looked upward at the ceiling. He had been watching a game show with Goemon, and Ishikawa also noted this disturbance, and raised an eyebrow to this sound.
Upstairs, Heiji finally managed to calm down Sachiko, "Listen, we'll go out after we get this case done… I promise, okay?"
"All right, but no breaking promises," Sachiko smirked, and seated herself back in her chair. Heiji also crawled back into his seat, and resumed typing on his computer, and trying to act as though nothing had just happened.
A Paris Prison:
"Lights out!" barked the guard. Leo grumbled; he had been enjoying his book a great deal until then. It was like home in that respect, though… Max didn't like the lights on at a certain time, either. He reached over and switched off the light, and turned over to sleep. His eyes met with the drawing Dako had drawn, and his heart sank. He could always escape, but then they would be on the run… He couldn't do that to Max or Dako, or anyone. He would be safe in Cagliostro, but he couldn't just relocate them; it would be unfair.
He was drawn out of his thoughts as he heard something, like sobbing. It was indeed sobbing, he realized, and he looked down below at the bunk below him. His roommate was new; he had just come that day.
Leo asked, "Est-ce que vous d'accord?"
"Yo no comprende," the man responded.
"Ah… Tu habla espagnol?" Leo inquired.
"Si. Et tu?"
"Si. Yo habla espagnol. Mi llamo Ari Lupin," said Leo. "Et tu es?"
"Mi llamo Manuel," replied Manuel.
"Tu habla angles?"
"Si," Manuel nodded.
"Bueno… Muey bueno… So why are you here, Manuel?" asked Leo as he jumped off of his bump and seated himself next to Manuel. Manuel jumped back, and scooted away from Leo, and LeBlanc gave a heavy sigh. "I'm not going to hurt you, Manuel. I'm not a monster, as opposed to popular belief. I'm a person."
"They say you are a devil," said Manuel.
"Hmm… Is that what they say, eh?" Leo sighed and stretched, "Well I'm not… I just made a few mistakes along the way… How did you get here? You must've done something bad to end up in a place like this, Manuel."
"I… I do not want to talk about it," Manuel shook his head. Leo looked at the young boy sympathetically; he could not have been more than twenty, at the most. Add in the fact that he was lanky and effeminate, and that equaled fresh meat for many prisoners.
"You need a friend, huh, Manuel?" Leo inquired.
"Well… Yes," Manuel nodded in response after a pause.
"I'll be your friend, all right? No strings attached, promise," said Leo, holding out his hand. Manuel looked at him suspiciously before holding out his hand and shaking it.
"Thank you," Manuel embraced Leo tightly after they let their joined hands break.
Manuel was like a fountain of words once Leo decided that they should be friends, and he pulled out a small worn picture, "Look, I will show you… This is my Mama, and this is my Papa…. This is my brother, Ricardo."
"Who's this?" Leo asked as he pointed to a young girl in the photo.
"Oh," Manuel blushed a little and smiled. "This is my girlfriend, Rosalia…"
"She's gorgeous," said Leo in a mutter. "Where do they live?"
"In a small town, near Havana," replied Manuel.
"Ohhh… So you're a Cubano, huh?" Leo nodded with realization, "Cuba is a nice place…"
"For a foreigner, yes, it is nice," Manuel replied. "You have a family?"
"Yeah—Here, I'll show you a drawing," Leo climbed back atop his bed, and pulled down Dako's drawing. "Here it is… This is my daughter, Dako… She's an American who we adopted… And this little baby in the photo is the little brother she wants…"
"Who is the man?" inquired Manuel as he pointed to Max.
Leo gave a small sigh; he knew this would happen, "That's my husband… We're both…"
"Oh, okay," this registered with Manuel quickly. "My brother is like you. I do not understand it, but whatever you like…"
"Good… I'm glad you're okay with that, Manuel."
"Hey, not my life," Manuel shrugged. He turned to Leo, "Maybe we sleep now?"
"Sounds good…" Leo yawned, and climbed back up to his bunk. "G'night, Manuel…"
"Good night, Ari," Manuel responded. "Thank you…"
The next week:
"I hope she knows what she's doing…" Fujiko said with worry as she prepared for the trial with Lupin.
"Don't worry…. She's a Lupin, we're always crafty!" replied Lupin confidently. "The prosecutor's calling up Max today… Poor kid's in shambles!"
"I would be, too," Fujiko admitted. "Who's staying with the kids?"
"Natasha and Amaya offered… Amaya's the only one who can handle those kids, and Natasha's too nervous for Max to go…" said Lupin as he adjusted his tie and looked in the mirror. "Ally's going to be running late, too. He's bringing a star witness from the airport."
"Well, let's get going," Fujiko gave one last look to Lupin before they walked down the stairs and to the Alfa Romeo. Ryo was in the driver's seat, and Zenigata sat next to her in the front seat. Lupin and Fujiko climbed in the back, and Ryo drove them down to the courthouse, where Zenigata had to fight off more than a few reporters. The old man proved that even in his winter years he could still rough up a person or two when need be.
The courtroom was quickly filled up, the original Lupin gang seated together in the front of the defense side. The Lupin the Fourth gang was nowhere to be seen. At the defense table sat Sachiko Jigen and Puja (Veronica) Patel, and on the prosecutor's side, France's best attorney.
"So, when did you get your degree again?" Veronica whispered.
"I, um… Last year," Sachiko whispered. "I took online courses…"
"What!" Veronica yelped.
"Don't worry—I've got it under control…"
"I certainly hope so," Veronica said as she eased back stiffly into her chair.
The entire court rose as the judge entered, and then Leo LeBlanc was led out, and placed at the defense table. Fujiko had to hold back crying as she saw that he had been handcuffed by his feet and hands. He also wore a black eye from where he had attempted to protect Manuel earlier that morning.
Max was called first. He was eaten alive by the prosecutor, who was named Rostand.
"How long have you known Mr. Lupin?" asked Rostand as he paced back and forth. He was a middle-aged, dark haired Frenchman with a leer and a hate for any sort of injustice whatsoever.
"About four years," Max answered uneasily into the microphone.
"And what is the nature of yours and Mr. Lupin's relationship?"
"Well, we're both inspectors for Interpol."
"And beyond that? What other sort of relationship do you have with Mr. Lupin?"
"Hey, good thing is, the judge is a woman, and she can't accuse you of being a womanizer, like they tried with me," Lupin whispered to his unnerved son.
"We're married," Max cleared his throat, and felt his face redden. He caught glimpse of his father, and immediately averted his eyes back to Rostand.
"So, it's to be assumed then that you two have engaged in that which comes with marriage?"
"No," Max shook his head.
"No?" Rostand snapped his head back around to Max; oh, this was good… He was onto something very good indeed. "Well, why not?"
"Excuse me, is this really relevant?" Leo shrieked as he rose from his seat. "My career's on trial, not my love life!"
"Mr. Lupin, please retain your seat," sighed the judge tiredly. "Counselor, are you going anywhere with this?"
"Simply trying to get a good idea of the character of the criminal, Your Honor," replied Rostand. "Now, Mr. Zenigata, why is that?"
"Well," Max looked at Leo, and gave a small smile. "We just didn't want to… You don't need to sleep with someone to show you love them. Mr. Le—Mr. Lupin proved that…"
"And how'd he do this?" asked Rostand.
"We took care of our daughter together. We'd take her to the park, the zoo…. Ari's parents would watch her when we were away. He's done other things, too. He let me move in when I had nowhere to live. He's saved my life numerous times, and he's done it all out of the kindness of his heart!"
"Are you aware of his relationship with Ms. Cecilia Lockwood?"
"Yeah, of course! She had him wrapped around her finger for years! She always threatened him… She's a manipulator!"
Cecilia, who was sitting at the prosecutor's table, glared at Max. Leo, for the first time, noticed her. She was quite pregnant… He just couldn't believe that it was his…
"Mr. Zenigata, when did you find out the true nature of Mr. LeBlanc?" asked Rostand.
Max gulped hard; he would tell the truth, "Well, from what I understand it was when Mr. Victor Lupin stole a diamond… I had my memory wiped, though, so I couldn't remember… Mr. Lupin the Third told me…"
"And we all know how good Mr. Lupin is at the truth," Rostand muttered. Lupin's grip on the court bench tightened a little at this, although he was more mad about what Rostand was trying to make his son out to be.
"So, since you're married to a man, it's safe to say that you're…"
"Bisexual, yes," Max snapped. He could see the reporters scribbling on their notepads; now they would never let his father live this down… Max felt a great deal of guilt; his father had worked so hard for his reputation, especially when Lupin had made him look like an idiot year after year, and now he had ruined it all.
"And from what I understand you have a criminal past, too…" said Rostand.
The questioning continued for what seemed like forever for Max. The defense did a decent job of turning things around, but damage had already been done. Max felt like he was going to pass out as he walked down the stairs and back into the crowd. There were reporters yelling to him for interviews, but Max's father politely turned around and told them to stick their notepads where the sun's light wouldn't fall upon them.
Cecilia Lockwood was next. She took the stand with an arrogant air. She smiled as she seated herself comfortably in the courtroom chair, and looked at Rostand with a knowing smile.
"And, Miss, what connection do you have to Mr. Lupin?" asked Rostand.
"I'm the mother of his child, as well as his former employer," replied Cecilia.
She went on to twist her story like she were making a pretzel. A few times the passive Leo had felt tempted to throw his chair at her, but he resisted. Sachiko informed him that it wouldn't help his case any.
Sachiko then rose to question Cecilia, and Cecilia's arrogance and shrewdness were nothing compared to Sachiko, who could look truly cold-blooded if need be. Leo switched from rage to a sense of amusement as Sachiko grilled Cecilia.
Sachiko even went as far to show the tape that Leo had taken (Lupin had taped this long ago to prove that his son was indeed straight, but since he no longer had any use, he turned it over to Sachiko). Cecilia slunk back down in her seat while this was played. Before, the prosecutor only had a tape with the video, but no soundtrack. The sound gave the tape its full meaning, and showed Cecilia's true colors.
"What do you make of this? It sounds as though you're… Threatening to tell people that he's Lupin the Fourth…" Sachiko cocked her head to a side and gave a small chuckle. "Funny, isn't it, because you know, if that were so, you'd probably face jail time for allowing one of your most wanted criminals reside in Interpol!"
"Mr. Lupin and I had an understanding… We…" Cecilia sputtered.
"By the way, Miss Lockwood, how'd you find out the DNA of the baby? The only test available for an infant during pregnancy would be extremely dangerous, and would probably result in brain damage, at least… But that's just what Dr. Patel tells me, and she's only got three medical degrees, and only comes from an entire family of doctors…"
"You lousy bitch…" Leo hissed through gritted teeth.
After a little more grilling, the defense brought up its witnesses. Among them were Leo's coworkers, Carmen and Clarisse of Cagliostro, Tanya (from Russia), Leo's mother and father, Max's father, and finally Dako, who was brought over later in the afternoon. The usually sharp Dako spared no wrath or sarcasm on Rostand. Sachiko found it curious that the prosecution had not called up anyone that Leo had stolen from. It was then that Veronica informed her that the people Leo had stolen from would not come forward because he had returned everything he had stolen from them, with interest. Either that or he had stolen from criminals, and they would not come forward.
"Are you aware of your… Fathers'…. Relationship?" asked Rostand.
"I'm an American—We've got them running all over the place!" Dako snorted.
"Did you know that Mr. LeBlanc was indeed Mr. Lupin?" asked Rostand.
Dako shrugged, "I know he's Lupin, but he's not a Lupin to me… I mean, c'mon look at him compared to his dad! Grandpa's got a real straight posture, and Leo's all hunched over… They look alike, but you can just tell that they aren't alike… Plus Leo likes guys, and Lupin was only married to a guy once, and he swore nothing happened…"
The crowd gave a chuckle, and Lupin gave a nervous laugh in return.
"How'd she know about that?" Lupin asked Fujiko through an embarrassed smile.
"She found a picture and was curious," Fujiko shrugged.
"Leo and his sister are really cool… I like Aunt Fuji…" said Dako.
"So you've met Fujiko Lupin?" Rostand spun about and looked at her intently.
"No, but she sends me stuff from all over the world… I just got a real fur coat from Russia…" said Dako. "And yes, she packs in receipts to prove she paid… Would you like to see them?"
The audience gave another howl of laughter, and Max and Leo looked at one another and smiled.
"No… That's quite all right…" Rostand grumbled. He then allowed the defense to have Dako, and she put on her angelic face for Sachiko.
The trial took over two weeks in length… Jigen went over his ballistics results, and Sachiko made use of the presentation Heiji had pieced together. On the last day, there was quite a surprise—Fuji made an appearance. Well, at least partially. When Max jumped over a table to arrest her, he found that she was only a hologram.
"I'm here to answer any questions, Your Honor," said Fuji with a wide smile.
"We'll take her…." Rostand grumbled tiredly, rising. His case had fallen apart in a matter of weeks… And he had the feeling that Fuji Lupin had something to do with it.
Fuji took the stand, and told Rostand and the judge of how she had always forced Leo along on their thieving trips, and he only went most of the time to make sure she didn't get killed. She painted a picture where she had forced Leo along on everything, and Leo never wanted to kiss his sister so much in his life.
The defense had no questions for Fuji; she had done enough on her own. Rostand was mere seconds away from tearing his case files in half and walking out, stating he was bound for Belgium. His case had started to go downhill when Leo showed them just how easily he could escape from prison; Rostand was convinced that Leo wasn't as much a thief, but just a plain idiot.
"I'll make my ruling in my chambers," the judge announced, rising and leaving.
Leo turned back around to face his family, all who were obviously nervous, "I've never been this on edge in my life!" Leo admitted with a faint chuckle.
"Well, if this doesn't work, I'll just have Goemon and Jigen ram a car through the prison and bust you out…" muttered Lupin. "Nothing we haven't done before…"
The judge was gone for a half of an hour, and Leo remained standing as she read her ruling.
"Mr. Lupin… It is clear to me that during the course of your life, you've committed numerous crimes…" the judge started, "And you know that crimes must not go unpunished…"
Leo's heart sank. What had gone wrong? He had thought that Sachiko and Veronica had done so well!
"But among your crimes, you're not guilty for murder," said the judge. "Now, moving on to the numerous counts of breaking and entering…. It seems your friends have been busy over the past few weeks collecting statements from every single person you've ever taken anything from… They're in many different languages, but they all have the same message. You apparently paid them back out of your own wallet, and you also took up a job at a government agency to pay back your debt, from what I understand… So for the crimes of kidnapping, breaking and entering, and petty and felony robbery you are pardoned…"
Lupin, Fujiko and the rest of the Lupin family breathed a sigh of relief.
"Now for impersonating an officer…" the judged continued, "You did go through proper police training, only under a false name. So I am ordering you to choose one name. You may either be known from this day forward as Leonard LeBlanc or Arsène Lupin the Fourth. Due to your superb thieving skills and your ability to make good use of them, I also request that you return to work at Interpol, and continue to work on your case with Inspector Zenigata. You're a valuable asset to this community, Mr. Lupin, and it would be a waste to let you sit in prison."
"I don't have to go to jail, then?" Leo said meekly.
"Not unless you want to," the judge smiled in return. "You've got a lovely daughter, Mr. Lupin… Make sure she stays in school, and don't teach her any thieving skills… Neither you nor her father. And as for you, Miss Lockwood, you're going to be put up for investigation for child endangerment… Mr. Lupin's already set up a petition to get custody of the child…"
"You WHAT?" Max and Cecilia shrieked in Leo's direction.
"Court is adjourned," the 'judge' rose, and smiled as she looked down beneath her desk at the real judge, who was bound and gagged and had Odori next to her holding a sword. At this point Leo noticed the judge had grown a little in height, and the bailiffs looked suspiciously like Ally and Toshiro, but he said nothing, and waited anxiously as they removed his bindings. He embraced Max, and then lifted up Dako, and laughed. He was really free.
"I hope he appreciates us after for this," the judge said in a very Ryo-like voice as she exited back into her chamber.
"How'd it go?" asked Fuji from her seat on the couch in the judge's office. Heiji was fiddling with the hologram machine which had made her appear so real in the courtroom while Yukiko watched after Namiko in one corner of the room. Odori walked out after the court had cleared, leading the judge by her bindings.
"Now, Your Honor, may I just say what a pleasure it is to meet you?" Fuji said as she shook the stunned judge's hand. "And I see you've met Odori Ishikawa… Now, if you breathe one word of what we did today, Odori is my reassurance… Reassurance that you won't have a hand to bang that gavel with when she finishes… And you see that baby over there? That may look like an innocent baby, but that's Odori's daughter, and someday she's going to be just as good a swordswoman as her mother. So this is a friendly reminder to watch your back… Okay?" Fuji smiled brightly, and patted the judge on the shoulder. "C'mon guys, let's go…" She nodded, and the Lupin gang filed out of the court officer. Odori undid the judge's bindings with a few swipes of the sword, and then picked up her daughter, and proceeded to supply Namiko with her favorite chew toy.
"Grandfather's going to be mad that I took you with me, Namiko-chan, but I couldn't just leave you!" said Odori as she cradled the baby in her arms.
"How's she doin', huh?" Ally asked as he removed his guard's hat and tossed it aside. "Hey there, Nami—You wanna meet my girlfriend later? She'll adore you!"
"Yeah, the kid's cute… I kinda wanna keep her," Yukiko admitted.
"Heh, you've got Toshiro—Go get one of your own," Odori replied.
"That'd involve somebody getting an early Christmas present," Yukiko smirked. Toshiro flushed and wordlessly mounted his Vespa, and the two took off for home.
The Lupin gang headed for home, and there was a large celebration already set up. Apparently Lupin had been more than confident of his son's freedom. Ironically, the only ones not present were Leo, Max and Dako. Leo took the rest of his family to meet his friend, whom he had saved more than once in his weeks in prison.
"I heard you were out! Congratulations!" said Manuel as he and Leo sat on opposite sides of a glass wall, Leo with a telephone in his hand.
"Yeah," Leo chuckled, and looked back at Max. "Manuel, this is my husband, and this is my daughter."
"Where's the baby?" asked Manuel.
"Even he knew?" Max asked Leo in an accusatory tone.
"The baby's on its way, Manuel," Leo answered with a nervous smile as he looked up at Max out of the corner of his eye.
"Ari, could I talk to just you for a minute?" asked Manuel, "No offense, but…"
"Not a problem. We'll hit the vending machines," Max waved goodbye, took Dako by the hand, and walked out.
"I want my own weight in Cheetos," Dako announced to Max.
"Yeah, right," Max snorted.
"What's up, Manuel?" asked Leo, leaning inward.
"Rostand… You know how he not lose any cases?" Manuel whispered.
"Yeah," Leo nodded.
"He knew he might lose to you, because you are so well-liked. He hire me to kill you…"
"What!" Leo gasped.
"Si, it's true," Manuel whispered. "I did it to get my family out of Cuba… You were so nice, though! I… I couldn't do it!"
"Manuel, thank you!" Leo sputtered, "But, but what about your family?"
"You kidding—With a lawyer like you had, I'll hire her!" Manuel chuckled. "You think she will take me?"
"Of course! And if you're ever in France, and not, well, here, look me up, okay?" Leo asked intently.
"You got it," Manuel responded, and watched as Leo hung up the phone, and walked out of the room, and out of the prison.
"So, Mr. LeBlanc, no more running from the cops… Or should I call you Mr. Lupin?" Max asked as he drove them home. Dako sat in the passenger seat, several bags of Cheetos surrounding her, while Leo opted for the back seat.
"I haven't decided yet—Dako?" asked Leo.
"I dunno—Ari's a cute name, though. I want my little brother to be named Ari…" said Dako.
"What about Max?" asked Zenigata.
"I had a dog named Max…" Dako sighed. She turned back to Leo, and noted his haircut, "Um… Could you let Max give you a haircut before the wedding, okay?"
"Why?" asked Leo.
"No reason," Dako shrugged, and turned back around in her seat.
Later that Night:
"How do I look?" asked Leo as Max tossed aside his scissors.
"Just like someone who's fresh from prison," Max responded. "So I guess this means I have to break it to Dako that most of that money in that account I set up for her is going back to you, don't I?"
"Well, put half back in mine… Save a good amount for college, and leave some in there for her," said Leo as he brushed his hands through his hair.
"You sure about that?"
"Of course! I want her to have the best… I did, and I do," Leo said as he looked up at Max. Zenigata gave a questioning look, but Leo rose and dusted himself off before Max could get a decent reading of his features. "Hey, where's Dako?"
"Asleep," Max replied. Zenigata made a half-assed effort of cleaning up the bathroom before following Leo out to their room. Leo was undoing his black tie—The matching black jacket lay upon a desk chair. He had switched from his usual flambouent attire to a black suit which the prison had supplied him with, and he had found the suit incredibly uncomfortable during the trial, and he couldn't wait to get out of it.
"You want me to step out for a minute while you change?" Max asked.
"Nah, I'm fine," Leo replied as he unbuttoned his shirt.
'Yeah, I'm the one who's not…' Max gulped dryly, and approached Leo slowly and uncomfortably. "Listen, I, um…"
"Hm, you need some fresh air, Zenigata?" Leo asked with a tilt of the head.
"Yeah… Really bad," Max muttered as he stared at the floor. LeBlanc approached a window, and opened it, and looked back at Max.
"Better?" Leo asked in his usual doe-eyed naiveté.
"Not really," Max admitted as he seated himself on his bed, and switched on his television. He had to get his mind away, far, far away.
"You know, I missed so much stuff… Stuff I thought I'd never miss… Warm showers, my own bed with a comfortable mattress… All of that stuff!" Leo laughed as he pulled open a drawer in search of pajamas. "I missed you and Dako, too, you know… I felt kind of bad about what I did to you that one night… It was the last peaceful night we had together for a month, from what I understand… I took advantage of you, Zenigata, and that's not in my character…"
Max was trying hard to concentrate on the Volvo commercial in front of him, but found it hard. Leo… Just… Kept… Talking…
"I want to make it up to you, in short," Max caught a hold of this, but make up for what?
"LeBlanc, what are you talking about?" asked Max in his usual sternness.
"Call me Ari, please," Ari said as he leaned down and kissed Max. Max fell back, and looked up at Ari, a little too surprised to call him anything, really.
"Okay… Ari… I…"
"You talk too much, Blondie," Ari chuckled. "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, okay?"
"Wha…?" Max sat up in his bed, and was left slack-jawed, "Are you saying…?"
"Yep," Ari nodded, reached over, and turned off the lamp.
That morning:
Dako awoke to the sound of the TV blaring, "Why in the heck are they listening to it so loud? I know that they're both blind, but that doesn't mean that they're both deaf, too!" she grumbled, rose, and stumbled to their door. She banged on their room, and she heard the familiar cursing of her fathers. Leo answered the door after a few moments, wearing a black and white kimono.
"Dako—What can we do for you, Sweetie?" asked Leo nervously.
"Why's the TV so loud?" Dako asked. She looked past Leo, and noted an unusually smug Max still in bed. She then looked up at Leo, and things pieced together, "Ohhhh…. Hey, um, I'm gonna go rot my brains on cartoons…"
"That'd be a good idea, Honey," Leo pulled his kimono closer, and closed the door as the little girl exited.
"She gone?" Max asked.
"Yeah… I think she figured out what was going on, though," Leo sighed and seated himself on the edge of his bed. "I should go out there and start with breakfast…"
"You're just saying that so I get out there… You know I hate your cooking…" Max mumbled to Leo.
"Well, just maybe…" Leo admitted sheepishly.
"Hey, you chose a name yet? Last night it was Ari, now today it sounds like whatever goes," Max inquired.
"No, not yet…" Leo admitted as he laid down on the bed. "You wanna lend a hand?"
"How about Ari Zenigata?" Max suggested.
"Nah…"
"Leo Lupin?"
"Eh…"
"Ari LeBlanc?"
"That one's not so bad…"
"Leo Zenigata?"
"A little much… I don't know…"
"Hey!" Dako began banging on the door once again, "Are you guys making breakfast, or am I foraging!"
"We could let her order a pizza…" Max said with a yawn.
"Nah… Don't be lazy… Let's make her breakfast… Then we'll get to work…"
"…Define 'work'."
"I can't tell if that comment was made to make you sound lazy or even more perverted, but it worked," Leo gave Max a small whack on the shoulder, and then rose. "Come on… I'm lucky I still have my job—I'm actually happy to go to work!"
"How's pancakes for breakfast?"
"Could you make waffles? I missed waffles, too," Leo said intently.
"Well… Okay… But do you know how long it'll be before I find the waffle iron?"
"You'll do it out of love," Leo replied quickly. Max gave a roll of the eyes, and exited the bedroom. Leo could hear Dako from the exterior rooms—He was glad that he could hear the usual sounds of home once again…
He knew that Fuji had had a hand in his being set free, and although he wasn't sure what it was, he was positive that she had done it because in all actuality she wouldn't have it any other way—Her brother and his husband chasing after her, and she running around the world, stealing and occasionally helping those in need.
"Good to be back," he said aloud as he walked out into the kitchen.
Okay… Special author's P.S.: I really don't know what to do about Leo's name! Should it stay Leo LeBlanc, or go back to Ari Lupin? Maybe a combo of the both? Could I please get some honest opinions on this—I know it seems silly, but it really is important to me, and I'm in such a rut right now… Thanks…