Lupin III Fan Fiction / Monster Fan Fiction ❯ Fallen Angels ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter 2
Room 203
The room was small, but adequate. The brown carpet from the hallway continued inside up the small corridor into the room. To the right just after the door was the bathroom. After that was the main room. A double bed with beige blankets, two bedside tables flanking it with a light on each. A phone on a table in the corner with another of those round shaped arm chairs like the ones in the lobby next to it. Heinrich decided that the table would be the ideal area to sit and do some work.
He glanced around the room again and fixed his eyes on the double bed, then on the chair and back again. He placed the suitcases on the floor and gestured for his partner to take the bed for herself.
“Oh, no. It’s fine. Don’t worry. I can have the floor or something.” Rachel had already begun to dump the covers on the floor in preparation.
“This is not up for discussion.”
“Yes. Yes, you are right. It’s not. I’m having the floor and that is that!” She stuck her nose in the air defiantly and continued with her preparations.
Heinrich was having none of her attitude. With one swoop he made his way over, took the pillow and covers and dumped them onto the arm chair without uttering a single word. After he had finished he shot her a stern look.
“OK, OK!” She held up her hands. That face he was giving her was not really something to argue against. “Thank you.”
Rachel plopped herself down on the bed, the old springs creaking under her weight. She didn’t weigh much, but the bed looked as old as the hotel. She assumed that her night’s sleep would probably be less comfortable than if she’d have taken the floor after all.
It was not long after that Heinrich had pulled out all the paperwork that he’d been given and had his nose deep within the pages. The case so far was truly fascinating to read and he felt that he would, for once, have a challenge on his hands.
The files began with a profile on the main culprit. Arsene Lupin III. It was a very detailed report on who he was and his criminal history. It had to be the thickest profile he had in the pile. Next were the profiles of his accomplices. Jigen, Goemon, Fujiko. Half an hour had already flown by as he leafed through the pages.Rachel had been attempting to set up her own space to work in during the time he had been looking at the profiles and had unpacked the laptop she carried with her from the small satchel at her side. The screen blazed to life and a small beep notified her that she it was all loaded and ready. Her eyes glanced over to her partner again who was hunched over the table, scanning the pages over and over again, his fingers tapping furiously on the table beside them.
“Nice rhythm.” She grinned widely, a tinge of sarcasm tainting her words. She couldn’t resist. She was in a funny mood and had been since her superiors had left.Heinrich stopped what he was doing and stared at his hand for a moment before tilting his head back to shoot her a bland gaze.
“What?” Her grin widened. “I was only saying! Well, I was actually more curious, but… yeah.”His bland stare continued as he placed the papers in his hand down on the table. Rachel suddenly felt incredibly awkward. It was as if his eyes were burning a hole into her face. She lowered her head and focused her attention back on her laptop screen, clearing her throat somewhat loudly.
“Care to impart your knowledge on the suspect, or are you just going to sit there and watch me work?”
His voice was slightly icy and it made her feel even more on edge. She nodded in agreement and scooted over to the far end of the bed so that she was sat in front of him.
“Y-Yeah. Sure. I suppose now is a good a time than any.”
Rachel’s eyes darted around looking for something more useful than her hands to focus on. His face was certainly not the ideal target. If she looked at his unamused and slightly hate-filled expression again she feared she would end up combusting on the spot.
“Where should I start?”
“For one, you can start by explaining your involvement with this Lupin III and his partners in crime.”“Involvement!?” Her head shot up and she ended up catching his gaze and froze on the spot. “What… do you mean by that?”He waved a hand dismissively. “Oh, nothing. I am simply collating information. I simply assumed that you had been involved in,” he smirked a little over her reaction and paused for a moment before continuing, “The case.”
“Oh! R-Right, the case. Well, yes. I have been involved for a while. Ever since Lupin first came here a few years back and stole a piece of artwork from one of the museums. At the time, I didn’t know just how big a deal he was! I mean, woah! The guy is prolific!”
His fingers that had been tapping on his knee suddenly stopped. Raising both hands to his chin, he laced his fingers together and breathed in sharply through his nose. “It sounds like you admire him.”
“What? N-No! I just… I am just…”“Never mind. Who is your main source? I assume that you had an informant, or a partner on the case that you mentioned, am I correct?” His fingers went back to tapping on his knee once again.
“Yeah. Yeah, I had both really. He suddenly showed up out of thin air as if by magic. Inspector Zenigata.” She raised a brow. “I was most confused about the fact that he was a Japanese officer. He was not from around here.”
“Japanese, you say?”
“Yeah. He showed up as soon as Lupin was reported to have appeared. It was odd.” She shrugged. “I’m surprised he isn’t here now, actually.” A laugh left her lips as she imagined the Japanese inspector suddenly poking his head through the doorway.
“And how much help was this Zenigata?”
“A huge help. He’s been tracking Lupin for years now. He’s never been able to catch him and I know he’d be itching to collaborate on this.”
“He can’t be a very good Inspector if he’s never caught him.” Lunge’s left eyebrow twitched a little as he stared at his partner as she spoke. “Years you say?”
“Well…” Rachel stammered for words. “He’s a good man! Great at his job. He just can’t catch him. Lupin is too skilled.”
“No.” Lunge shook his head. “He is obviously not good at his job, or Lupin would be behind bars.” He breathed inwards and let it out, reclining backwards against his seat. “But, I will give him the benefit of the doubt if you genuinely think he will be of use.”
Rachel was gritting her teeth. Zenigata may not have caught him, but she still knew how important it was to him that he kept trying. “I do believe he will be of help, yes.”
“Then, by all means, contact him as soon as you can.”
“I will. Right now.” She stood up, rummaged for her phone in her satchel eagerly and retired to the bathroom so she could call the Inspector.
Lunge had watched her with great interest. He was now curious to hear the conversation between the two and stealthily got up from his chair and made his way over to the door, leaning against the small strip of wall beside it to listen.
“He-Hello? Zenigata?” Rachel’s voice was slightly shaky in it’s tone as she began to speak. “AHHH, ZENIGATA! It’s me Rachel!”
Heinrich’s eyebrow raised again at the sudden switch of mood.
“Yes. Yes, I know…” Her enthusiasm suddenly dispelled and morphed into a quiet nervousness. “It’s been so long. I haven’t, no. Why would I? You know I…”
Heinrich’s eyes narrowed more as he listened. It seemed the pair were more familiar than he had previously thought from the conversation pieces that he was picking up. Friends, perhaps.
“You silly! No, I haven’t! Hahaha! Oh, you…” Her tone became cheery once again. “Anyway, yeah. I’m calling about a case I’m on. And you’re never going to guess who I’m trackiiiing!”
It was at that point Heinrich heard the second voice of the Inspector pipe up over the phone incredibly loudly and he could imagine Rachel having to pull the phone from her ear due to the volume.
“Yes! I know! Look, anyway, I need your help on this. I’m working with another Inspector… What? No, I don’t know him. No, I’ve never seen him before. What? How should I know? He’s pretty tall, yes. Handsome? What’s that got to do with an… Now hold on. He’s pretty cranky, mm-hmm. Yeah.”
Lunge rolled his eyes. Maybe he shouldn’t have listened in after all. It was becoming much like a conversation held by two teenagers.
“Shut up before I punch you in the throat! Haha, you’re mad!”