At safehouse 38B, the mood had plummeted drastically. When Lupin and Goemon returned without seeing Jigen arrive, they initially assumed the gunman was simply taking longer than expected. They anxiously speculated possible reasons for his delay, but their masks fell the moment the old transistor crackled to life, delivering the conversation between Jigen and Zorin.
Since then, Lupin had been pacing the room, his hand gripping his chin, his eyes dark and tortured by what he had just heard. His usual smile was nowhere to be found.
Goemon sat in seiza, arms crossed, clutching Zantetsuken tightly. His fingers twitched against his tunic—a telling sign of how much more stressed he was than usual. His face was twisted in a restrained grimace.
"Jigen is strong," he said, "but no human can resist a technique like that. We must act quickly, Lupin."
"Yes…" Lupin was distracted. He kept pacing in circles as he responded to Goemon. "They know the safehouse. We can use that."
He locked eyes with Goemon for a few seconds. The samurai involuntarily shivered. He had never seen Lupin so tense, and he didn't like the cold determination radiating from him.
"We're going to set a trap for him. Zorin thinks he holds all the cards, but he's forgotten who he's playing against."
Lupin stopped pacing and began preparing the room. He pulled out mannequins and started arranging them.
"Goemon, you'll head to their hideout and stay out of sight. Wait for my signal, okay?"
"Why not attack immediately? Jigen is in danger, and we know the location of their new base. Waiting will only make things worse."
The mannequins were now dressed in their clothes and arranged as if engaged in conversation. Lupin opened the curtains to ensure the scene was visible from the outside.
"Don't worry, Gogo. We'll get Jigen out of there before Zorin even knows what's happening. But we need to make sure we get to Jigen. Trust me on this."
Goemon nodded, although a bit stiffly. He rose to his feet. "Don't wait too long before calling me, Lupin. This might be Jigen's revenge, but I'd like to have my part in it, too."
"Of course. See you later, Goemon!"
Lupin seemed back to his usual self. Goemon left, his mind a little more at ease.
.
Zorin approached safehouse 38B like a shadow in the night. His boots barely made a sound on the worn cobblestones as he stopped under a dim, flickering light. He eyed the decrepit building with calculated wariness. Through a slightly ajar window, he spotted the familiar silhouettes of Lupin and Goemon deep in conversation.
A satisfied smile crept across Zorin's face as he raised a hand to signal his men forward. They silently moved into the narrow alley, their steps precise as they followed their leader's rhythm. Once in position, Zorin gave a quick nod.
The door gave way with a deafening crack under the force of a heavy boot, almost flying off its hinges. The sound echoed through the alley like a gunshot.
Zorin strode inside with a commanding air. His henchmen rushed toward Lupin and Goemon, weapons drawn—only for their strikes to pass harmlessly through Goemon's stuffed cotton-filled form. The figure collapsed with a faint 'poof', and a flurry of white stuffing floated gently in the air.
The mannequin shaped like Lupin was fixing them with its stitched monkey-like face. It raised a hand in a mocking wave.
Before Zorin could fully process the ruse, a faint click echoed in the air. Outside the apartment, the real Lupin, hidden in the shadows, had pressed a button concealed in his pocket.
The mannequins exploded spectacularly. The shockwave roared through the building, sending a rain of debris in every direction. The walls trembled, and Zorin's henchmen were thrown like ragdolls, some slamming into the walls with cries of pain.
Zorin staggered back from the force of the blast, a deep gash slicing across his cheek.
"Retreat!" he roared to his men.
Across the street, Lupin was laughing, clearly far too pleased with the success of his plan. But his triumph was short-lived. As Zorin emerged from the wreckage, his furious gaze locked onto Lupin, and with a guttural roar, he charged after him.
The gentleman thief leaped into the night, his feet barely skimming the cobblestones as he bolted into a full-speed sprint. The blaring alarm of a nearby shop, awakened by the explosion, wailed in the background, barely masking the cries of startled residents.
Lupin weaved through Milan's narrow streets, his movements sharp and unpredictable as he tried to lose Zorin. But Zorin wasn't about to give up so easily.
"Lupin! Stop right there!" he bellowed into the night.
Lupin glanced back briefly, sticking out his tongue with a cheeky grin.
"Turn yourself in, or I'll have Jigen killed!"
Zorin's threat stopped Lupin in his tracks. He froze abruptly at the sound of those words. One by one, the remaining henchmen regrouped with their leader. A suffocating silence hung in the air, only broken by their labored breaths and the faint metallic clink of weapons. Slowly, Lupin turned around, locking his ice-cold gaze with Zorin.
Zorin approached with the air of a victor, a cruel smile stretching across his lips despite the wounds left by the explosion. Blood trickled down his forehead, tracing dark lines that blended into his skin.
"Good. Turns out you're not as elusive as they say. You and I are going to have a little chat about that treasure… and maybe your subordinate will live."
"Fine, Zorin, you win. Let me see Jigen, and I'll tell you everything you want to know," Lupin replied, his tone eerily calm.
"Oh, but I don't need you to tell me everything. I can make you confess anything with ease."
Zorin brought out his hypnotic shield. With a fluid motion, he swung it in front of Lupin and activated it. The light returned—the same hypnotic glow designed to create a fog in the mind, demanding submission. But Lupin didn't even flinch. He raised an eyebrow, looking unimpressed.
Zorin scowled.
"What the…?"
He smacked the shield, as if trying to fix it with brute force. But despite his efforts, there was no trace of confusion or submission in Lupin's mocking gaze. Zorin couldn't understand why his weapon wasn't working.
He lost his patience. "Why isn't it working?!"
"Don't ask me. You're the expert. I never have malfunctions before the act." Lupin shrugged, feigning innocence and smiling at his own double entendre.
Zorin grabbed Lupin by the collar and slammed him roughly against the wall. "You think you can make fun of me like that?!"
A sharp samurai cry echoed suddenly from somewhere nearby, followed by an alarm and gunfire. Zorin turned briefly to assess the situation.
"Tch… We're moving," he ordered one of his henchmen, who had been waiting in the shadows. "I'll find a way to make you talk, Lupin. Whether you like it or not."
Zorin bound Lupin's wrists tightly behind his back with thick rope, ensuring there was no chance of escape, then seized him by the arm and dragged him out of the alley without ceremony.
Lupin didn't resist. On the contrary, he let out a quiet, muffled laugh. The special lenses he had crafted after Jigen mentioned hypnosis were still protecting his mind from Zorin's manipulations.
"The samurai…" Zorin muttered before barking at his men, "Find him!"
A handful of his henchmen scrambled into the darkness, vanishing into the night in search of their target. Satisfied that the immediate threat was being handled, Zorin led Lupin to one of their safehouses, his focus now solely fixed on extracting the information he wanted.
Lupin's confident smile never faltered for a moment.
.
Despite the failure of the hypnosis, Zorin remained grimly satisfied as he dragged his prisoner through the dark hallways of their small safehouse. After all, he had captured the great Lupin the Third. He was convinced he held the upper hand. With Lupin under close watch and Jigen under hypnosis, Zorin had never felt so close to victory.
Zorin hauled Lupin into a small, cold room. The space was stark and unwelcoming, with just one window overlooking the interior of the hideout. The room was otherwise empty, save for a lone table tucked into a corner. Zorin shoved Lupin into the center of the room.
"I'll make this quick. You made a fool of us back at the ruins, and I'm certain there was more than that medallion you handed over. So I'll only ask once: where is the treasure?"
Lupin, ever the insolent one even in the direst circumstances, flashed Zorin a provocative grin. "The treasure? Hmm… I wouldn't know. Could be in Italy, France, maybe even at the headquarters of the Cercle del Giudizio…"
The mention of their client's name stopped Zorin in his tracks, his expression twisting in shock.
"I knew you stole our files, Lupin. Your fireworks display was proof enough of your guilt. But I didn't know you were stupid enough to actually say our benefactor's name here!" Zorin seized Lupin by the collar and shoved him backward.
"Because of you, the ICPO is breathing down our necks. Do you think you can keep mocking us forever? I've had enough of your games! If you won't help us, fine! But you'll regret crossing the Black Dawn!"
His voice rose, icy fury dripping from every word. "You're going to die, Lupin. But not by my hand."
He snapped his fingers, and a figure stepped into the room.
Only, it wasn't one of his henchmen.
The figure was missing his hat and his trusty magnum, but the sight of him was still painfully recognizable.
"I know someone far better suited to end your miserable existence."