DISCLAIMER: I do not own Lupin III, but I own a shiny penny… look at it shine!
Hey there!
I've got a new story… Kinda! If you haven't viewed the Lupin section of recently, here's an announcement: It's called Scrapbook Memories. What is it? Basically a bunch 'o stories that I couldn't fit anywhere the first four times around. Think of them as those delicious leftovers you find the day after you order a bunch of pizza—Those kind of leftovers! And, yes, I am taking requests… Any ideas you'd like to see? Kind of curious about something in a character's past? It doesn't have to be just the Lupin the Fourth gang—Lupin the Third gang counts here, too, and I've got stories for them lined up. I can't promise it will be updated as often, but I'm not going to let it sit stagnant, either!
Fun Fact of Boredom: Jurgis' name comes from the main character in Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, which is a book about meat processing plants. Please don't read this book if you enjoy hamburgers, or food in general…
Chapter Seventeen: Cocaine
On the Cruise Ship:
Leo shook Max awake, and Zenigata turned, and opened a single eye at LeBlanc, "….What?"
"I got a phone call from Dako," Leo whispered quietly.
"And? What'd she do, try to set the house on fire again?" asked Max with a yawn as he sat up in bed.
"The lawyer called my dad, because he couldn't get a hold of me," Leo continued.
"And?"
"We're getting the baby," Leo replied with a happy laugh. He leaned down, and kissed the stunned Max on the cheek. "It's a little boy…."
Max blinked a few times numbly; what in the hell was he going to do with a little kid? He'd never been around them before; he had enough of a time with Dako, and she was eleven. So now he was going to be in charge of a preteen and an infant.
Money wasn't the issue with Max; Leo had amassed a great amount in his savings accounts. Time was the main factor—They already spent a lot of their time hunting down Lupin, and when they weren't doing that, now, they'd be taking care of two children. What time did that leave for them, exactly? Things were stretched as they were with Dako, and now with another huge responsibility… Max began to go into an anxiety attack.
"Max, are… Are you all right?" asked Leo worriedly.
"Yeah," Max said with a heavy breath. "L-Leo, this is nice and all, but how are we going to have another kid, huh?"
"Well," Leo began uncomfortably, "I thought… Well, maybe we could move in… With my parents? Now, Max, don't look at me like that—I already talked to Mom, and she'd be thrilled to help us take care of the baby. She's already having a blast with Dako! So's Dad! And your parents love her, too!"
"Leo, that's not the point… You don't have kids so someone else can raise them…"
"Well it's the best situation I can think of right now," Leo said in a slight snap. "I never planned for any of this, either, you know."
Max sighed, and sat up in bed, "We'll think of something… Right? We'll think of something better…"
"Yeah… We just need to get some sleep right now," Leo yawned, and lied back down. There was a long pause, and Leo spoke again. Max shuddered; he just wanted some damn sleep. "Do… Do you think it'd be okay if we named him Arsène? I mean, it's a name that's been in my family for generations…"
"Fine," Max yawned, and rolled over in bed, "Does that mean you're going to change your name back to Ari?"
"I don't know yet; I'll decide something by the time we get married," replied Leo. "What do you think?"
"Well, who do you feel more like?"
"I don't know… I used to think that Ari and Leo were separate, but they've kinda merged over the years…"
"Don't worry your pretty little head off about it anymore. We'll talk about it more later. For now, let's just try to sleep…"
Another part of the Ship:
Yukiko hung up the phone, and looked back at Toshiro, "I had to let my dad go… He got so happy when I told him I was getting married, I think he started crying, but didn't want to lose his macho image… Well, at least he'll be on Ryoko's ass, now. It's outta my hands."
"You…. You aren't going to pass out at the altar, are you?"
"Why in the hell do you ask that!"
"Just checking," Toshiro replied quickly. "God the guest list's going to be huge…." he said to himself tiredly.
"It doesn't have to be that big; my mom and dad's wedding was shotgun… Hell, someone even pulled out a weapon!" she chuckled, and placed her fedora over her eyes in classic Jigen fashion. She looked up at Toshiro, and noted the strange expression on his face, "What's up?"
"That guy who killed Julia's still out there…" Toshiro said in a mutter.
"Yeah, but your mom ex-communicated him, remember? He ain't even a rat anymore! He's lower!" replied Yukiko.
"Yeah, which would give him a reason to hate me more…" Toshiro turned to Yukiko seriously. "Promise me you'll be careful…"
"What? Hey, this is me!"
"Yukiko…"
"Fine, fine, I promise… Now let's get some rest!" she yawned, and turned on the television. Toshiro complied, and switched off the light, but was kept awake by his thoughts. What if the man who killed Julia ended up going after Yukiko, out of spite?
Meanwhile, on a completely different area of the ship, deep down below, Fuji and Jurgis were catching up in the form of playing darts.
"So, what have you been up to? Other than the usual, that is?" asked Jurgis as he tossed a dart to the board.
"Eh, nothing, really. Spent a year in a nunnery."
"…Why?"
Fuji shrugged, "Looked like a good hiding place…"
"For you, definitely. Who would think of finding you in a place without cigarettes, boys or booze?" said Jurgis with a laugh as he tossed another dart. Fuji threw a dart, and this landed atop Jurgis', causing it to split in several directions. "So, are you seeing anyone?"
"Sort of…"
"That guy on the boat with you, are you involved with him?"
"Hell, no!" Fuji laughed, "He's got a girl…"
"So, what about the 'sort of'? Who's 'sort of'?" asked Jurgis.
"…His name's Heiji, and he's harder to get into than Buckingham Palace…"
"But that was a piece of cake for you!"
"Yeah, but it still took a lot of skill and strategy…"
"So, what's Heiji like?"
"Uber intelligent, real geeky guy… Super hot," replied Fuji. "Hell, he puts up with me… You remember Goemon? Well, he looks like Goemon, only shorter and with a rounder face. He used to be a little bit on the pudgy side, but Hawaii's done good for that boy!"
"Hmm… Sounds like you might have found your Fujiko, Lupin," said Jurgis with a laugh. "I still remember when you had that crush on me!"
"Hey, I was sixteen, you were twenty two… You'd been all over the place, smoked, had a motorcycle… You were like two steps away from friggin' God!" said Fuji with a laugh.
Jurgis turned his head to a side, and smiled, "How serious are you with Harry, or whatever his name is?"
"Heiji," Fuji corrected, and became stern. "Jurgis… I don't know what you're saying, but you know it's not possible. You've always been like a big brother to me, and that's it. And trust me, big brother figures are a rare thing for me to find nowadays."
"It's just amazing how much you've grown, Fuji," said Jurgis with a shake of the head. "You were still losing your weight when we met …"
Fuji smirked, and gave a small chuckle, "Yeah… I wasn't really crazy about my chunky stage… I'm just glad it's over…"
"You wore it well," replied Jurgis, setting aside his darts. He sat down beside Fuji, and looked her dead in the eye, "So, I take it you're here for the coke, neh? And I don't mean the cola, so save me the smart ass retort… Are you planning to sell it?"
"Hell, no!" Fuji snapped, "I'm a lot of things, including a nympho, but I'm no narco!"
"All right, all right... Simply asking," Jurgis held up his hands in defense. "Perhaps you should be getting back to your room; your roommate may wonder where you ran off to…"
"Good idea," Fuji nodded, turned and walked toward the front entrance. But before exiting the sublevel rec room, she turned back to Jurgis. "Jurgis… You… You don't have anything to do with those drugs, either, do you?"
"Of course not!" Jurgis laughed, "Good night, Fujiko."
"Good night, Jurgis," Fuji smiled, and turned away from him, and walked back up into her room, where Ally was lying on the bed, his black Bruce Lee-like shirt unbuttoned, revealing a white shirt underneath. He looked up at Fuji, curious at her enigmatic expression.
"Where've you been?"
"Catching up with an old friend," replied Fuji, sitting down and looking at the television, where an old episode of The Green Hornet was currently residing. "You and martial arts films… You're about as bad as Ryo-san with her Westerns or Yuki-san with mob films…"
"Why do you put a honorary in behind everybody's name, huh? I mean, you know us pretty well…"
"I know, but I still have the feeling that I'm still unfamiliar with you guys," Fuji yawned, and lied down on the bed. "God, I'm beat! It's hard being so damn good sometimes…"
"Heh, I'm so sure…" Ally sighed as he rose from the bed and walked over to the couch, carrying a pillow. Fuji looked up at him, and gave a Cheshire Cat grin.
"Ally-chan, with all due respect, you aren't my time. Come back on over—I'll behave. My dad was a gentleman, and I'm a lady," Fuji said to him, patting the bed.
Ally looked down at the couch, and then back over at Fuji.
Fuji sat up, and walked over to the couch, "Let me take the couch at least. I don't mind it, honestly. I used to fall asleep in trees on our home in France all of the time—That's one thing about me, I can sleep anywhere…. No dirty joke intended."
"Fuji, are you sure?" asked Ally, uncertain.
"Uh-huh," Fuji took the pillow from his hands and laid it on the couch. "Now you get to bed—I've got some work to do here."
"All right," Ally set his long-sleeved black shirt on a desk chair, and also removed his shoes and socks. By the time he turned around, Fuji was back from the bathroom, in a pink nightgown. She gave Ally a small smile before taking an extra blanket and taking to the couch for the night.
Ally switched off the lights, and then also went to bed. This didn't last long, however. There was an air vent over the bed, and it was slowly unscrewed as the two slept on, and a poisonous snake was dropped into the bed. It slithered beneath the covers, and Ally's eyes shot open as he registered something crawling over his chest.
"Fuji… Fuji!" Ally hissed until Fuji opened her eyes slowly and looked up at him, dumbly tired.
"What's wrong?" Fuji yawned.
"Come look under the sheets," Ally whispered.
Fuji sat up in the bed and jerked her head back in shock, "Nah-ah, I know that game."
"No, really!" Ally tossed the covers back a little, and Fuji let out a gasp of horror as she watched the adder glide over Jigen once more.
"Okay… Um… I'm gonna go get Yukiko or Toshiro… They'll know what to do," said Fuji as she rose from the couch and took cover behind it.
"Damn it, no, I need you hear now!" Ally snapped.
"But… Um…. Snakes kind of freak me out…" Fuji admitted with a nervous chuckle.
"Do something before it bites me!" Ally said in a near shout which died when he heard a hiss from the snake.
"Um… Okay… Snakes… What do snakes hate…" Fuji paced back and forth. "Oh, I've got it—I'll shoot it!"
"WHAT?" Ally shrieked. "You'll friggin' shoot me!"
"But you won't be poisoned," Fuji shrugged, and Ally muttered something angrily under his breath in response. "Okay… I've got an idea… I'll try to distract it with something bright!"
"Snakes are friggin' blind, dumbass!"
"No crap, really? Well, I guess you learn something new everyday…"
"Hurry… It's down by my feet!" Ally said. Fuji nodded, and quickly retrieved a coat hanger from the closet, untwisted the wire, and threw back the sheet with it. There was the snake, staring back at her. She gave another yell, and fell back on top of a coffee table, breaking it in the process.
"Owww… I think I broke my coccyx…" she moaned.
"Good for you—Now get this offa me!" Ally snapped.
Fuji nodded, and rose. By this time, the snake had reared its head up, and was flicking its tongue out, taking in its environment. Fuji, out of desperation, grabbed her pillow from the couch, and grabbed her Watlher. She shot, and the pillow stopped some of the sound, but it gave enough of a sound for Yukiko and Toshiro to hear. They had already been awoken by the breaking of the table, however.
The snake went flying as the bullet made impact with its skull, and Ally quickly jumped off of the bed and took a place next to Fuji.
Around this time, Yukiko had finished picking the lock to Fuji and Ally's room, and she and Toshiro ran in, their weapons drawn.
"What the hell's going on here?" Yukiko demanded as she looked at the scene.
"I wish I knew," Ally admitted. "Fuji just saved my life!"
"How in the hell did she manage that on her own?" asked Yukiko.
"I'm self-sufficient!" Fuji snapped in anger.
"What's this snake doing here?" asked Toshiro as he walked over to the dead reptile and poked it with his sword. The corpse of the snake lunged and bit into the metal, and Toshiro raised his sword, and was able to get a good look of the animal. "This wasn't an accident… This snake's from the Caribbean area…"
"How do you know something like that?" asked Yukiko as she put away her gun.
"Well, I'd order birds sometime from that area, and they'd always have to check for these snakes, in case they packed themselves away in the crates….These are super-poisonous. Whoever slipped this in here really wanted one of you dead."
"The Caribbean…. That includes Puerto Rico, doesn't it?" Fuji asked.
"Um… Last time I checked," replied Toshiro as he fetched Ally a glass of water from the bathroom and brought it back to the still-shaken Jigen.
"Heh… Hey, let's try to get to sleep now," Fuji stretched and yawned.
"You want me to stay in here with you guys? I don't mind reptiles that much… I've worked with dozens," said Yukiko.
"Nah, we'll be okay! Thanks, though!" Fuji grabbed the pillow with the bullet hole, and used this to support her head as she lied down on the bed. "Good night, Ally-chan."
"Yeah… g'night…" Ally muttered.
The next morning:
"Breakfast with the captain…. Wow, I wonder what we did!" said Leo as he looked up at the invitation once more. He was adjusting his tie in the mirror, and Max rolled his eyes, and walked over to Leo, pulling off the tie and setting it aside.
"We're trying to fit in… Try to look a little less formal," said Max, who had opted for a navy blue sports jacket and slacks and a light blue shirt.
"Let me try to go find my Hawaiian print button-up and panama shoes, then," said Leo with a smirk and a chuckle. He walked over to his suitcase and pulled out a light purple shirt, and began to exchange this for the black shirt and purple jacket he usually wore.
"You know, even I fell for the stereotype of gay guys having great fashion sense—You've proven me wrong, Leo," sighed Max as he watched Leo add onto this outfit with a pair of khakis.
"Yeah, you talk… You're the one who wears tweed."
"My dad let me borrow the suit, and then I decided the color looked nice on me!"
"That shade of brown would do injustice to anyone," replied Leo.
"Excuse me, could we come in?" Nina's voice could be heard from the other side.
"Come on in!" Max called, and Nina opened the door and smiled. She was wearing a yellow sleeveless sundress and matching shoes and a purse. Myra was behind her in a mint green pantsuit, and her usual sharp expression. Max and Leo walked out, and Max's gaze immediately fell to Myra's feet.
"Do… Do you always have to wear heels?" asked Max as he looked down at her extremely sharp heels. "I mean, you're already taller than me, so…"
"I think we have more to worry about than height, Max," said Myra with her usual small snap. "We were invited by none other than Jurgis Stanislovas… The same man we're suspecting to be involved in all of that drug trafficking going on…"
"I can't believe Fuji would get in the middle of something like this… Drugs! I mean, I know she's always been sparse on standards, but even she's got them!" said Leo to himself.
"It must be really hard chasing after someone you love," said Nina in her usual quiet tone.
"Heh, you have no idea…." said Leo with a laugh.
"I was a bounty hunter before I joined Interpol; I had to track down my brother," said Nina.
"Oh… So you do… I'm really sorry to hear about that, Nina…"
"It's all right… Hans is getting help right now, and that's all that matters…" said Nina quietly.
"Well, shall we be off?" Myra asked, clutching onto her purse.
"Of course," Leo nodded, and they all walked toward the captain's quarters of the ship, where they were more than surprised to see Fuji already there.
"Lupin!" Max shouted, but was held back by a frightened Leo.
"Max, we're undercover; don't blow this! Trust me, you may know martial arts, but this guy could still break you like a friggin' twig!" snapped Leo.
"Lupin," Max forced a smile, and reached out and took Fuji's hand, kissing it and giving another polite smile. "I've heard all about you in the papers…"
"I invited two sets of newlyweds to join us, if you don't find, Fuji," explained Jurgis.
"Newlyweds?... Oh, newlyweds, yeah!" Fuji raised her orange juice glass and smiled, "Congratulations to you all…"
"Thank you very much," Leo smiled, and seated himself next to Nina. Myra sat next to Max, and Fuji and Jurgis sat at opposite sides of the table. Leo quickly held his menu up and prayed that Jurgis wouldn't recognize him, although most of the free world knew who he was by now.
"I heard they found your brother," said Jurgis to Fuji as she sipped her tea. "I was in Brazil at the time, so I didn't hear the details… What happened?"
Fuji ran a finger across her neck, "They friggin' fried him. Poor Ari…"
"That's a shame," Jurgis sighed, and shook his head. "Well, you were always the better thief, anyway… You were better at a lot of things when compared to him… No offense, and God rest his soul, but he was one of the whiniest bitches I'd ever met!"
Max choked on his tea in an attempt to hold back laughter, and Leo tried to look as unphased as possible at these comments.
"So, what are your all's names? I don't think I caught them…" said Fuji to the four 'strangers'.
"Well, I'm Peter Goldstein, and this is my wife Cindy," replied Max.
"And I'm Greg LeRoy, and this is my wife Jan," said Leo, taking hold of Nina's hand.
"Well, Peter and Greg… Cindy and Jan, it's a pleasure to meet you," said Fuji as she poured herself some more orange juice.
'The friggin' Brady Bunch? They could've at least picked a show I liked…' Fuji thought as she sipped her orange juice. "Jurgis, I don't mean to alarm any of our guests, but last night something weird happened… I had a friggin' snake nearly kill my date…"
"Is he okay?" asked Max worriedly with the mindset that her date was Heiji.
"Ally's fine," replied Fuji.
"Ally?" Leo and Max asked in unison. Jurgis gave a look of interest in the inspectors' direction, and Leo quickly turned and smiled.
"It's what Peter and Cindy want to name the baby they've got on the way…" Leo explained.
"Baby?" Myra frowned and paled, and then gave way to a bit of nervous laughter, "Greg… How could you? That's a surprise! Ha ha! Sorry you had to find out this way, Peter!"
"It's all right… I'm used to surprises," Peter said with a longgg sip of his coffee.
"Bacon?" Jurgis offered.
"Yes, please," said Myra quickly.
Jurgis gave another look of confusion, "Aren't you Jewish, though?"
"Hm? Ohhh… Oh, Goldstein—My wife's a Protestant. I married outside," Max whispered. "You know, just between us, my mother still says she's a pagan!"
There was a definitely fake laugh shared by the five at the table, and Myra delivered a very quick kick to Max's right shin. Max gave a yelp, but hid this with a cough.
"That's all quite interesting…" said Jurgis, biting into an apple and setting it back down. Leo was right, Max thought with a twitch of the mouth; Jurgis looked like he could bench press the ship. His eyes shifted toward Fuji, who he knew was thinking something, although he couldn't quite determine what.
Another part of the ship:
It was quite dark in the innermost workings of the ship. Not the same polished white and sand colored decks and rooms which overwhelmed the top part of the ship. It was in these dark innards that Ally, Yukiko and Toshiro found themselves winding through seemingly endless passageways.
"That stool pigeon told me that it's behind this door," Yukiko whispered, stopping in front of a large thick iron door.
"Well, I'll take care of this," Toshiro went to grab his swords, but Yukiko quickly stopped him.
"We need to make it look like we weren't here," she whispered, motioning for Toshiro to put away his swords. "Look, there's an air vent up there—We could get someone to slide up into it."
"But you hate heights, Yuki, and Toshiro's the friggin' jolly red giant," Ally protested. "Who are we… Oh no…"
"Why do you think you came in the first place, Mr. Acrobat?" asked Yukiko. With her signal, Ally was raised up onto Toshiro's shoulders, and after undoing the vent, he wormed his way into the small crawl space, and was soon on the other side, but still reachable by radio transmission. Yukiko and Toshiro wore earpieces and listened to Ally's shocked response.
"It's a really white Christmas in here…." said a stunned Ally, "You should see all of this stuff! There's got to be millions on here! It's all in instrument cases! They've been transporting it that way!"
"Well, take some photos, and climb back through," Yukiko replied.
"Okay," Ally remained silent after this, and Toshiro and Yukiko did not hear more from him until he slid out of the air vent, landing on his hands and tumbling onto the ground, and ending up on his feet.
What the three didn't know, however, was that their frequency had been caught on the radio of the ship's pilot, and Jurgis had been informed.
"What do you want me to do?" asked the pilot to Jurgis as he stood next to the bulky Lithuanian.
"Let them go, for now," Jurgis whispered, and then turned back to his puzzled guests. He raised his tea cup, and smiled, "A toast to good friends… Those which we already have and those which we've yet to meet."
"Here, here," the others muttered.
After a very tense breakfast, Jurgis excused himself and left the five together at the table.
"I've got a set of handcuffs with your name on them, Lupin," said Max in a low growl of a whisper.
"Blondie, I'd watch what you say… This room is bugged," said Fuji through her teeth as she faked another smile.
"What?" Myra and Nina gasped.
"So…. Tell me, Miss LeRoy, however do you get your hair that shade?" asked Fuji, leaning with her elbows on the table.
"Um… Well…" Nina began.
"Why don't you come back to my room and show me?" asked Fuji with a smirk, winking at her.
"Oh… Hrm, we wanted some fresh air, anyway… Let's just go up on board for a cigarette," Max rose, and all five walked out onto the deck of the ship.
"This whole ship's bugged," Fuji said to the four inspectors as they all looked out at the azul ocean. "There's an entire room stuffed with drugs… I just had one of my guys there…"
"If that's true, and there are bugs everywhere, why are you telling us?" asked Myra suspiciously.
"Because they already know we're here," Fuji responded, and looked at Myra with amusement. "You trust me even less than Zenigata!"
"Wait, Fuji, how does he know?" asked Leo, taking hold of one of her arms, "Did you tell him—"
"I'm as surprised as you are. I had no clue you were here!" Fuji admitted with a shrug. "Ally, Toshiro and Yukiko are also here. I think we really need to find them now."
"You guys find them," Leo instructed Max, Myra and Nina. "Max, don't go making any arrests yet; we need their help, as sad as it sounds… I need to talk with Fuji, alone, for a bit."
"Sibling stuff, eh?" Max sighed, and put his hands in his pockets. He walked back into passenger quarters with the two female inspectors, and they went in search of Fuji's accomplices.
"Fuji, Jurgis is behind all of this," Leo said quietly.
"I heard you got the baby," Fuji said, her voice dropping its usual gaiety for a few moments.
"Fuji, look at me," Leo took her by the chin and looked her in the eyes. "I know how much you looked up to him, but he's working for a side that both you and I despise…"
"I know…" Fuji stepped away from Leo, and looked out at the ocean again. "I… I know… I didn't want to admit it… He tried to kill me last night…"
"What?" Leo gasped.
"Yeah…" Fuji nodded, and rubbed her eyes, "We've got to stop this man, Inspector. What he's doing could harm thousands, if not millions. I'll cooperate with the government only because I want him behind bars…."
"All right, Lupin. Tell me your game plan. I know you've got one," said Leo with a clever smile.
Off Shore:
"Are you sure Namiko will be all right?" Odori shouted over the noise of the cigarette boat's engine.
"My grandpa's great with kids!" Heiji shouted in response. Ryo hit a rough wave and the two jerked forward. "Hey, watch out!"
"Yeah, yeah…" Ryo replied under her breath, "If you don't like my driving then you're free to come on up, Heiji," Ryo muttered.
"Is that the ship there?" asked Odori, shielding her eyes from the sun with her right hand while she held Zantetsuken in the left.
"Yep! The Royal Cubana!" Ryo called, "Odori, you ready?"
"You bet," Odori was strapped by the waist to a seat of the boat, and stood upon the front of the cigarette boat. She threw up her sword, and it lodged in. It had had a ladder attached to it, so the three scaled up quickly, and soon tried their best to remain unnoticed while looking about for Fuji or any other friendly face.
They finally found Yukiko and Toshiro, who were outside of their room. Toshiro had brought them doughnuts, and Yukiko had her mouth stuffed with a pastry when Ryo walked up and embraced her. "Thank God you're okay, and—What's this ring?" she gasped as she took Yukiko's hand, "Oh my God, look at this rock! Who in the hell gave you this? Did you steal it!"
"I bought it," Toshiro replied, not liking the fact that Ryo had stomped on his foot with her heel as she ran to her sister.
"Ryo, would you mind getting off my foot?" asked an annoyed Toshiro.
"Oh, whoops, sorry, Big Guy," Ryo patted him on the shoulder and promptly stepped off of his foot.
"Yukiko! Toshiro!" the two turned about at the sound of their names, and saw Max, Myra and Nina running towards them.
"Crap—Run!" Yukiko shouted.
"No, stop!" Max called, "This is about Lupin!"
"Where's Fuji?" asked Odori, drawing her blade and holding it up to Max's face.
"She's with Leo—Where's the one with the pointy nose?" replied Max.
"He's right here!" Max turned about, just in time to meet with Ally's foot. Zenigata stumbled back, and wiped the blood from his nose, and glared at Jigen. He returned the kick with a punch, and the two began to go at it until Odori released her blade and caused a light in between the two to fall at their feet and break. This snapped them out of their fight, and they both looked at Odori, both still full of rage toward one another.
"What's this friggin' about?" snapped Ally.
"Let us explain," said Myra.
"Who in the hell are you!" Yukiko asked.
"Inspectors Gluckman and Tomas," replied Nina, flashing her badge and giving Yukiko a small smile. Myra noticed this, and gave Yukiko an icy glare while she continued.
"Your friend's in great danger… The man who she's spending so much time with is a drug trafficker Inspector Gluckman and I have been hunting down for years," replied Myra sternly.
"That would explain the cocaine," said Toshiro with a nod.
"We're asking for your cooperation," said Myra.
"Or what?" asked Ryo.
"Or we pack all of your asses into a police wagon!" Max yelled.
"You get out of my face, Zenigata—Now," said Ryo, staring down Max with a fire which she had rarely shown.
"The claws are coming out… You might want to take a step back," said Toshiro in a whisper, taking Yukiko by the shoulder and pulling her back with him. Heiji, Ally and Odori soon followed this example, as did Myra and Nina.
"You're a criminal—I don't have to if I don't want to!" Max replied, taking out his handcuffs and waving them under her nose.
"…He's been putting you under a lot of stress, hasn't he, Blondie?" asked Ryo, putting her hands on her hips.
"An immense amount! More so than usual!" replied Max, still in his Zenigata-like shout.
Ryo gave her usual calm smile, and took the handcuffs from Max's hand, and spun them around on her index finger a few times before taking hold of them in her hand, "Well he's in danger right now, and so's my best friend. Let's go get them, what do you say?"
"Sure…" Max snatched the handcuffs away and began to storm down the hall, the Lupin gang following behind. Myra fell back, next to Yukiko, who was leading the tail of the group.
"You touch her and I'll break your damn fingers," Myra whispered to Yukiko, who looked up at her, stunned.
"Wha… What are you talking about?" asked Yukiko, nearly choking on the gum she had been chewing for the past hour.
"You know who," Myra said in a snap, and walked back up to the front with Nina. Yukiko blinked a few times, and walked closer to Toshiro for protection.
The deck had mysteriously cleared itself by the time the Lupin gang and inspectors arrived. It was also probably appropriate that there was a storm brewing on the horizon. About the only ones on deck were Fuji and Leo, who were standing towards the front.
"Inspectors, while you were gone, my brother and I took care of the drug problem," said Fuji with a smile and a salute.
"How in the hell did you manage that, hm?" Max asked both Fuji and Leo accusingly, placing his hands on his hips.
"Bravo… Seems like you all figured it out," they turned their attention to the front of the ship's cabin doors, and saw Jurgis leaning against them, clapping his hands and chuckling. He stopped, and folded his arms, and a look of deep thought came upon the man's face, "I'm quite sad that you weren't here for the prize, Fuji—We could've split it. You've gone soft… I hear you cut your hair for a wig for a cancer patient… You also helped get your brother off of the hook… Out of all of the Lupins, you're probably the most saintly… But also the dumbest… That's all right; it's not your fault you're a woman…."
"Why that—" Yukiko began, but Fuji shook her head, and held Yukiko back. Fuji leaned in to Leo and whispered.
"I need you to get the passengers off of the ship… And I need Heiji, Odori and Ally to get the drugs into the life rafts I've set up down there… Just trust me…"
"What about you, huh!" Leo hissed in a whisper.
"I'll be fine," Fuji smirked, removed her jacket, and tossed it to Leo. She took a few steps forward, and stood akimbo to him while the others followed her orders. Jurgis' lackeys went to stop them, but Jurgis only laughed.
"No, let them pass… Whatever silly scheme they have concocted won't work, anyway… I've planted bombs in every room in this damn ship—Half an hour, and no way will everybody be off! Let them go for it!" he laughed, and allowed the angered Lupin gang and inspectors to pass him.
"Now, Fujiko, where were we?" he turned back to Fuji and smiled.
"I think I was about ready to kick your ass, Jurgis," said Fuji with her usual Lupin charm. "You know, I hate violence, but when it comes to a big gorilla like you, there's only one way to teach you—And that's with a high heel up your rear."
"You talk big… You make your ancestors proud…" said Jurgis with a hearty laugh.
"Yeah, and you've got a big ship… Tell me, is that an extension or something, eh?" asked Fuji. Jurgis glowered, and lunged for her. She quickly ducked out of the way, and was behind him. He was big, strong and could probably pound her face in, but she had one thing that he didn't—Agility.
"Only rodents and cowards run!" Jurgis growled, turning about and grabbing for her again.
Fuji ducked once again, and rolled down beneath a table. Jurgis quickly knocked this out of the way, and looked down at Fuji, who now wore a breathing mask and held a smoke bomb. She set it off, and ran while Jurgis went into a breathing fit. Jurgis did manage to finally grab hold of her, though, by the wrist. There was the sound of a crack, and Fuji let out a loud yell, and fell to the ground.
"Now I'll finish you…" Jurgis bent down to grab onto her neck, but was greeted by a large pole to the back of the head. He looked back, and saw Leo LeBlanc staring back at him, holding onto a metal pole which was generally used to hold flags.
"Ari, you idiot, what are you doing here?" asked Fuji in a shout.
"Like I've ever listened to you before, Fuji," Leo smiled, and dodged Jurgis, spinning the pole once and landing a blow in his stomach. Jurgis doubled over for a moment, but soon recovered.
On another part of the ship, Heiji, Ally and Odori went to hurriedly packing the instrument cases into orange rubber life rafts. While moving away a drum kit, Heiji found something quite interesting; a master control to the bombs.
"All right!" Ally whooped, "Thank God we've got Heiji with us, huh, Dori? He'll know exactly how to disable this!"
"Right. Thank the gods, finally, after twenty years, you're proving useful, Heiji!" said Odori with a relieved smile.
"Um… Yeah…." Heiji chuckled nervously as he looked over the huge control panel, "I actually… Have… Never seen a set up like this before…"
"WHAT?" Odori and Ally shrieked.
"Then start cutting wires, Hacker! I've got a baby to go home and feed!" Odori shouted, holding her sword to Heiji.
"Yeah, yeah, fine… Just let me… Let me think… I think this'll disable all of them…" Heiji reached forward, undid a wire, and there was a blast following this.
Up top, the guests broke out into a panic as they watched a cabin from below explode into flames. Ryo, Toshiro, Yukiko and Inspectors Gluckman, Tomas and Zenigata tried desperately to calm them down, but they still hurried about like scared sheep. It was only when Yukiko fired her gun into the air did they shut up.
"Get into the boats in an orderly fashion—NOW!" Nina shrieked in a surprisingly loud voice.
Fuji, Leo and Jurgis also saw the explosion. Jurgis gave a laugh, and took advantage of Leo's briefly distracted state of mind. He grabbed the pole from LeBlanc, and hit him across the face with it, sending Leo flying back. Leo fell, and Jurgis went to stomp down on the disabled man's chest with his size fourteen military boot, but was shot by Fuji with a flare gun she had found before he could lay the final deadly blow. Fuji stood there, panting, tired and worn, glaring down Jurgis.
As she went to speak, there was another explosion, and she and Jurgis went flying. Leo grabbed onto his sister's hand and shielded her from the blast with his arms, and Jurgis went sailing over both of them. Fuji crawled away from Leo as the blast subsided, and saw Jurgis clinging onto the edge of the ship for dear life.
"Fujiko, please, help me!" Jurgis yelled to her. Fuji stood, and gulped.
"Leo, get me a rope!" said Fuji after a pause.
"What?" Leo shrieked, "He just–"
"Do it!" Fuji ordered. Leo found a hose from an emergency fire kit, and tossed it to her. Jurgis grabbed on, and began to climb on. When he got a good grip, he began to climb up, and Fuji held out one of her hands. Jurgis passed her hand and opted on to grabbing onto her neck—Tightly. He raised Fuji up off of the air, and she began to gasp for air. Leo gave a shout, and ran to Fuji. He threw his entire weight (225 pounds) into Jurgis, and Jurgis lost his grip on both Fuji and the hose, and tumbled down off into the green ocean. Fuji and he both fell to the ground, and Fuji crawled over to Leo, and embraced him.
"It's okay, Fuji—I've got you," said Leo, embracing her. He lifted her up, and walked to the boats, where the last of the passengers were being loaded into the life boats.
"Put her in here!" Yukiko ordered, pointing to the last boat.
"Hey, guys!" Heiji, Odori and Ally ran up to the raft, carrying the bomb, "Odori disabled the frigign' bomb!"
"How in the hell did she manage that?" asked a stunned Toshiro.
Odori blushed, "I picked the wire on the J circuit because that's what Jet Li's name begins with…"
"You're…. You're kidding…" Ryo shook her head, "Never mind, let's get the hell outta here!"
"Well, there goes our case…" Myra sighed as she watched the ship sink from the two holes it had already sustained.
"Don't get your hopes down yet," Fuji smiled, and pointed to the sky. The life rafts were floating upon the air, in large hot-air balloons. "Life raft that also floats… I thought I'd never use those…"
"I guess this means we get out break now, Myra," said Nina quietly, taking Myra's hand.
"And we'll have enough time to look into adopting a baby," replied Myra, leaning in and kissing Nina. Yukiko pushed her fedora over her eyes, and cleared her throat. Ryo began to whistle a tune.
Nina broke away from Myra, and looked at Max and Leo, "You know, one of them could always help us…"
"You're absolutely right, Nina—But which. I mean, the blonde's more attractive, but Mr. LeBlanc's more intelligent, by far…"
"Yeah, it's a tough call…" sighed Nina.
"We're right here!" Max shouted.
"Max, just relax, okay. What's the worst that could happen?" asked Leo with a laugh.
"It could come out looking like my father!" Max responded. There was a group shudder, and Myra turned to her girlfriend.
"I think we'll adopt, Dear."
Later that night, the Zenigatas' house:
"And today, none other than Lupin the Fourth and her gang, along with four Interpol inspectors, found what was perhaps the largest drug shipment ever seen on the West coast," said the reporter over the television. Max and Leo sat on the couch, Dako in between them.
Leo turned to Max, "You still mad they got away?"
"I'm more angry that that Jurgis creep got away…" said Max. "Especially after what he tried to do to you and your sister…"
"Fuji'll be okay…." Leo sighed, "Her ego's still a little shot, though. She hates admitting she was wrong…"
"That's a genetic thing, isn't it?" asked Max, laughing and pushing Leo a little. "So, you decide on your name yet?"
"Not yet," replied Leo with a shake of the head. "Just give me time…"
"All right," Max rested his head on Leo's shoulder, and Dako gave a sigh and an 'Oh, please!' expression.
A San Francisco Hotel:
"So, we agree on October then?" Toshiro asked as he sat across from Yukiko, a planner in between the two.
"Yeah, yeah…. Can we just have something shotgun?" asked Yukiko beggingly.
"Well… How about we figure this out later, then?" Toshiro replied, closing the book and kissing her. "It'll be okay… We'll work all of it out…"
"I'm gonna go grab a drink from the bar—You care to join?"
"No, thanks… I'm going to catch a nap," he yawned, and laid back. Yukiko smiled as she looked down at the sleeping Toshiro, and tilted her hat to a side. She whistled as she exited the hotel room, but this quickly changed as she felt a blade to her throat. She stiffened, and began to reach for her gun, only to have the blade drawn closer.
"Give this to your fiancé, tell him that I haven't forgotten him…" said a man in Japanese, in a thick rural tone.
He slipped a small pendant into her jacket pocket, and was soon gone. Yukiko turned about and drew her gun, but found no one there. She reached into her jacket pocket as she saw the coast was clear, and looked down at the pendant in her hand; the pendant with the Rat Clan insignia.