Chapter 18

Shinichi had been on the inside of interrogation rooms more times than he could count, but each time was just as frustrating as the last. "Gramps, for the tenth time, I had no idea that my father was going to break out, nor do I know where he or my family are now. I didn't help them escape and was in the presence of Saguru Hakuba for the entire day before you picked me up from his house." He ran a hand over his face, grateful that at least this time he wasn't handcuffed to the table. "We could sit here for the rest of the day, but my answer's still going to be the same."

"So you think it's a coincidence that Lupin broke out on the day of your release?" Zenigata asked, leaning back in his chair, crossing his arms.

"Of course not; Dad probably anticipated that you'd put extra guards on me for the day and that's why they made their move. But it doesn't have anything to do with me!"

Zenigata sighed. "I wish I could believe that, Arsène, I really do. But with your list of crimes, I can't, at least until I know for certain that you'd were cohered and that you'd never willingly do them again."

"List of crimes…?" Shinichi hadn't known that he had a rap sheet. When had that happened? "What's on it?"

"Aiding and abetting a group of known criminals in their efforts of grand larceny, breaking and entering, aiding and abetting grand thief auto, resisting arrest, and conspiracy to commit crimes." Each word seemed to weigh on Zenigata, while each word made Shinichi's eyes grow wider. "The only reason I could get you this kind of plea is that you are still a minor and you were raised under the influence. I had to convince 3 separate judges and the head of the NPA just to keep you out of prison. So please, Arsène… if you know anything, you need to tell me, otherwise I won't be able to protect you anymore."

He had a criminal record. Shinichi barely believed it; he'd been certain that Dad and Papa had successfully deleted any record of his misdemeanors and it wasn't like Gramps would willingly report on him—Gramps had as much a hand in raising him as Auntie did, so he wouldn't… But he would. If Shinichi knowingly went down his family's path now, Zenigata would throw him in prison.

"Gramps… there's a safe house, in Ikebukuro. An old looking building, with brand new shutters," Shinichi said, looking away. "I don't know if they're there or not, but…" That was a lie; while that safe house probably had been used at first, his family would have definitely abandoned it by now. But he couldn't just give Gramps their locations!

Gramps thanked him and sent him back to the Hakubas with a group of officers that were going to patrol around the house. He seemed to think that Lupin and Jigen would try and kidnap him soon, to "get the family back together." Shinichi didn't correct him. The car ride was slow and boring, constantly doubling back to make sure no one was following them. Shinichi was almost relieved when they finally returned.

Baaya let him into the house. In the front parlor sat Superintendent Hakuba, reading a newspaper. The older man looked up at him from over the edge. "So, they let you go." It wasn't a question.

Shinichi responded like it was. "Yes, sir."

The Superintendent scoffed. "I thought Interpol was smarter than that. A shame too; Zenigata seemed smarter than this. I suppose he too can be caught by a criminal's lies."

Shinichi bristled at the insult to both him and Zenigata, but before he could respond with a properly scathing remark, Hakuba entered the room. "Ah! Lupin, you're back!" Hakuba said with a frown. "I have the homework you missed while you were in the hospital. You better do it quick; you only get a week's extension to finish it all."

"Really? But I thought I'd finished it all—"

"—No, no, I only gave you some of it. You were in the hospital, I didn't want to overwork you…" Grabbing Shinichi's arm, Hakuba pulled him up the stairs, out of sight of Superintendent Hakuba and into his own room. Shinichi looked around; he'd never been in his friend's room before. It was painted a plain cream color, with the bed against the far wall and one entire wall dedicated to bookshelves. Hakuba rubbed his forehead. "Finally. Lupin, we need to talk."

"But I thought I had homework?"

"I lied." Shinichi's eyebrows shot up. Hakuba was overly dedicated to his morals. The fact that he lied at all… "However, you seemed like you were about to argue with my father and I needed to talk to you, so I made something up on the spot."

"Alright then… what do you need to talk about?"

"This." Hakuba reached into his pocket and pulled out… Auntie's flashdrive. Shit.

"Look, I can explain—"

"I've already looked through it." Hakuba cut him off. "It's full of missing person's reports, children's at that, all of them reaching back from about a decade or so. Ignoring the fact that it should have been impossible for you to get these files—I can only assume that a member of your family slipped them to you sometime while you were in the hospital—I want to know why."

"Why?" Stall him, stall him, he needed to stall and change the conversation to something, anything!

"Yes. Why do you have this, Lupin?"

"Well, you're the detective," Shinichi shot back. "Why don't you deduce the answer?"

Hakuba sighed. He looked exhausted. "If I must…" Adjusting his tie, Hakuba stared him down. "You're behavior in the past as well as the fact that you almost certainly contacted your family when you visited Kuroba's house means that you are actively staying in police surveillance for a reason. I can only assume that it's because you're looking for something or someone; this flashdrive confirms it was someone. The question is: who?

"Looking at its contents, the children in the flashdrive all have three similarities: they are all male, all younger than 10 years old, and they all went missing the winter of 2005, 11 years ago. At the time of all these reports, you would have been around 6, perfectly fitting into the demographics you're searching through. But my theory needs more substance than mere this, so I looked deeper. Reports on 'Lupin's son' only started showing up 11 years ago, in this country. At the time, it was noted that the boy Lupin claimed was his son didn't look physically like him; appearance wise, he looked closest to Daisuke Jigen, but no connection was ever proved. In addition, there's your nickname: Shinichi. While it does translate directly into 'new one,' I believe it's more than that, especially considering that you respond faster to Shinichi than your given name, Arsène.

"In conclusion, the most likely reason you have this flashdrive… is because you're looking for yourself, Lupin. Biologically, you are not Lupin the Third's son."

A/N: I decided to make this take place in 2016.