Jigen opened the bedroom door and a huge stench hit his nose. He grimaced. He smelled of sweat, it reeked like sex.
He wrinkled his nose and looked for that damn lighter. Lupin had snatched it out of his pocket again just the night before, and coffee just didn't taste the same without a nicotine shot. Besides, he had a special affection for that zippo. He had told the thief a thousand times to leave his things alone, but it didn't matter how much he threatened him with getting a bullet up her ass, with filling her mouth with shrapnel. Lupin just smiled. He smiled and shoved that snub nose of his into all his fucking belongings. He hid his hat, he snatched his cigarettes.
The room was a mess, with thongs and panties lying there and lipstick stains elsewhere. Jigen glanced quickly, deliberately avoiding the bed, the people lying there. Lupin's pants were on an old wicker chair and the man carefully approached them. And, as he reached for the fifth pocket, his fingers finally touched the metallic smoothness of the lighter.
"Yes", he murmured.
At that moment, the sheets shifted, giving way to a small, hairy foot. The leg passed dangerously close to Jigen's nose and it grabbed the zippo with his big toe.
"Well, well. I thought I was the thief here, Jigen."
Lupin was grinning from ear to ear, zippo still on his foot. The lighter wave close to his friend's nose and, of course, so did the foot. Jigen flickered.
"Lupin!" He whispered, "Give me the fucking lighter."
There is something funny in seeing a big man in a suit whisper, but he wasn't doing it just for fun. He was whispering because there was another person in the bed, one he didn't want to meet this early in the morning. Or, to be exact, one he didn't want to meet ever.
Lupin chuckled as he followed his partner's gaze. His smile widened when he saw where he was pointing.
"Want to join, Jigen? I'm sure Fujiko doesn't mind."
"Don't fuck with me, Lupin.".
"You sure? I'm very good at it."
Jigen's face said "I'm not in the mood," and the barrel of his Walter's emphasized it divinely.
"Okay, okay," Lupin said. He dropped the lighter. "Damn. You're scary.."
The gunman growled under his breath as he holstered the revolver, as he put the lighter away. Jigen crossed the room and, just before disappearing, he let the door stamp.
Thus, Fujiko woke up, with that din, with that crash. She bounced and reached for Lupin, but it seemed like she was alone in bed.
"What?" She looked around her and saw the thief pulling up his pants and holding the windowpane with his other hand.
"Lupin? Where the hell are you going?"
The man turned and blew her a kiss.
"Me? Oh. Nothing. Nothing, dear." Said the man, with a twisted face. "Let's just say that I… I did something to Jigen's lighter."
He put one leg through the window, then the other.
"And well," he added, "I don't want to be around when he finds out. See you later, Fujicakes"
With that said, he jumped out the window. He jumped at the time the screaming started. It was loud, it was terrible. It so deep that it could well have come from the very depths of the earth:
"LUPIN!"
