Lupin III Fan Fiction ❯ Love Potion Fujiko Mine ❯ When The Night Comes Down ( Chapter 16 )

Love Potion Fujiko Mine

By Bekka Mouri-Hibiki

(Lupin belongs to Mr. Monkey Punch. Zenigata explores the temple until well after dark and finds something interesting. Lupin and Jigen have a sing along after hooking up the receiver to the cigarette lighter. 'Turn On Your Receiver' belongs to Nazareth.)

Part Sixteen: When The Night Comes Down

Zenigata moved carefully along the dark passageways of the temple, a penlight clenched in his teeth and his knapsack slung over one shoulder. He was being ignored for the most part at the tent so it was rather easy to slip away. He looked around before crouching down in a corner to take another look at his map. He had just finished checking the catacomb to the west of the main temple and found that there was no way out at the other end.

~Dead end, ~ He muttered around the penlight as he scribbled the words over the passageway on the map. He tucked the map back into his jacket and stood up. He looked around to make sure no one was around and crept quietly to the next passage to the north.

He had a hunch that there was someway into the temple other than through the front where the police were. All he had to do was find it and wait for the culprits to come through. He had even brought along his own gas mask for when they used the knock out gas. He couldn't wait to see Sgt. Martin and Investigator Camilleri Parlato's faces when he cracked the case.

~They've been working on this for nearly two weeks but if I can break it tonight, they'll be eating crow for breakfast. Won't that be something? ~ He smiled at the thought of showing them what a good cop he really was. It wasn't his fault that, even though he could catch Lupin, no jail could hold the little monkey.

He heard a noise and froze, scarcely breathing as he tried to locate the source of the noise. He let out a sigh of relief when he spotted a mouse staring back at him. ~Damn rodents, ~ He thought before continuing more cautiously. He got to the north passage and walked into it but stopped when he thought he heard voices coming from the east.

He quickly ducked into the shadows and switched off the penlight. He tried to be as quiet as possible to hear what was being said. " I can't believe Megumi did that. How could that stupid wench spill his drink? " One of the voices sounded male and like it had a Spanish accent.

" But it still worked so he really won't have much to complain about, " The other voice sounded Italian. " I may still punish her later for being so clumsy. "

" But what do we do if he lives through the night Fabian? " The Spanish man said.

" We'll just have Ricardo and Antonio shoot him, " The Italian made it sound like it was no big deal. " We can't let anyone who's been to the house live. "

" What about the women? " The Spanish man asked.

" I'll probably keep Annalisa because she's such a good girl and Megumi if she shapes up but the others will die, " Fabian said.

" Can I have Katrina? " The Spanish man asked. " She's really cute. "

" Whatever, " Fabian replied.

~Annalisa? Are the talking about Manu and Christophe's Annalisa? ~ Zenigata wondered and tried to recall the names of the kidnapped women. He assumed Megumi was the most recent victim since he didn't remember it being in the file.

The sound of metal containers rattling against one another reached Zenigata's ears. He heard a heard a sound like when a boxful of said containers are set down. " How much more do we have to get before we can buy the excavating ship? " The Spanish man said.

" Don't worry about that, Miguel. We don't have much further to go. Once we have that ship, the treasure will be as good as ours, " The man Zenigata assumed was Fabian said.

~A treasure, huh? So that's what this is all about, ~ Zenigata smiled. ~It's always about a treasure. ~

" What time do I set the timers for tonight, Fabian? " Miguel asked.

" The same as always, " Fabian replied. " I'm used to getting things finished by three a.m. now. "

Zenigata could hear the sound of electronic timers being set then canisters being rolled on the ground towards the front of the temple. He nearly jumped out if his skin when one of the canisters rolled up, stopping short of his hiding place. ~That's probably the knock out gas they've been using. That's rather ingenious using the timers. ~

" That should do it, " Fabian stated. " Now, let's head back and count the money again. "

" I just love counting the money, " Miguel chuckled.

Zenigata waited until he was sure he was alone again before shrugging off his knapsack and pulling out his notepad. He turned the penlight back on and scribbled the two names down. ~You won't be seeing that treasure, gentlemen. The only thing you'll be seeing is the inside of a prison and probably the inside of a gas chamber shortly after that. ~

Zenigata tucked the notepad away then slung his knapsack over his shoulder again. He took a few steps when a thought occurred to him. ~Where in the Hell did they come from anyway? ~

**

" Lupin? " Jigen looked up from the crossword puzzle. " Are you okay? "

" Yeah. Peachy, " Lupin muttered as he watched the computer screen.

" Then why are you grinding your teeth? " Jigen asked.

" I'm anxious. I wish I knew what was going on in there, " Lupin ran a hand through his hair. " I hate it when I don't know what's going on. "

" I think it's something else, " Jigen set the crossword down.

" Zantetsuken hasn't moved an inch in the last three hours, " Lupin shut his eyes.

" So do you think Goemon isn't okay? " Jigen looked a bit concerned.

" There's no way to tell without the audio transmitter, " Lupin eyed the receiver. He looked at the computer next. " I have to check something. "

Jigen watched as Lupin tapped on the keyboard and smiled. " What's up, Lupin? Why are you smiling? "

" The battery has a good enough charge, I can disconnect it from the cigarette lighter, " Lupin pulled the printer out and set it on the dash. " Catch the map when it prints out, okay? "

" We have a map for the Italian guy don't we? " Jigen waited for the map to print.

" We've got a fantastic map for later when we escape. I had a suspicion that the tunnel led right to the temple and now I think I'm right, " Lupin turned the computer to face Jigen. He had super imposed the map that the map generator created over a map of the area they were in.

" That place is crawling with cops though, " Jigen shook his head as the map slowly appeared from the printer. " This is turning into one hell of a train wreck. "

" The cops have never been a problem before, " Lupin smiled. He hit the 'print' button again, " If the writer that wrote the front page is right, these fools will be a piece of cake to escape from. "

The first map fell from the printer, Jigen catching it before it fell into the floorboards. He looked at it as Lupin reached into the back and pulled out a small black box. He glanced over and saw it was filled with different kinds of power adapters. He waited for the second map as Lupin rummaged through the box.

" I didn't want to disconnect the computer until we knew how to escape, " Lupin explained as he connected one end of the cord he had found to the receiver and plugged the other end into the cigarette lighter after the second map had printed.

" I just hope we have enough juice left in the car battery, " Jigen said as he folded up the first map and stuck it inside of his jacket.

" We'll be trading this piece shit in for something a lot nicer soon enough, " Lupin switched on the receiver. He smiled and started to sing under his breath, " Turn on your receiver, I'm going to lay it on the line cause I'm a great believer in hanging onto what is mine, so come over here and listen, I don't want you to be missing what I say and I ain't going to waste my time saying it all again. "

" Jesus, that's an old one. I haven't heard that in years, " Jigen chuckled.

Lupin smirked, " Care to join me in a verse? "

" I only remember the chorus, " Jigen shook his head.

" Then we'll skip to it, " Lupin said. " I feel it's rather appropriate right now. "

" Yeah, " Jigen nodded. " Turn on your receiver, there's a message coming through. "

" Keep your hands off my woman! " Lupin sang. " Keep you hands to yourself! "

" Keep your hands of my woman! " Jigen finished the chorus and Lupin glared at him. " What? "

" That was my part. Fujiko is my woman, " Lupin muttered.

" I hate that song anyway, " Jigen grabbed up his headphones.

" Is there anything going on? " Lupin asked, picking up his headphones.

" Doesn't sound like it, " Jigen turned up the volume. " Wait. Wait. Fujiko is trying to get Goemon to wake up. She sounds worried. "

" Really? " Lupin put his headphones on and listened. " Man, she sounds like she's about to cry. "

" Goemon! Wake up already! Please! " Fujiko nearly shouted. She sobbed loudly, " Goemon! "

" Oh shit. This sucks, " Jigen commented.

" Come on, Goemon. Wake up. I'll never forgive myself if you die, " Lupin muttered. " Besides, I still need to kick your ass for touching Fujiko. "

Jigen glared at Lupin, " It's so nice you care. "

" I'm a nice guy, " Lupin shrugged then clasped his hands in front of him like he was praying. " Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. "

" I can't listen to this, " Jigen pulled off his headphones. " I can't believe we let this happen. We should have broke into the place hours ago. "

" We're going in now, " Lupin pulled off his headset. " Get your woman ready because she's going to have one hell of a time. "

**

Fujiko couldn't fight the tears as they steamed down her face. She felt like she was going to die if Goemon died. She couldn't get him to wake up and was certain he was dying. She had shaken him, slapped him and even tried CPR but nothing brought him around.

~Why did I have to spill that drink on you? Why couldn't it have spilled it on the couch? ~ She thought frantically. " Goemon! Please! "

She checked his pulse and it seemed to be okay if not a bit slow. His breathing hadn't changed from when he had fallen asleep but she had gone to sleep shortly after he did. She wondered if his breathing had changed or done anything weird while she was sleeping. She felt groggy like she had been given a sedative and wondered if there was one in the potion.

~That's it, ~ She thought as she slapped Goemon's cheeks again. ~Why else would we have fell asleep so quickly? ~

" Goemon! Snap out of it! " She shouted as she slapped his face harder. She got an idea and reached underneath him, pinching his ass hard enough she knew it would leave a bruise.

Goemon groaned and his eyes fluttered open slowly. " That hurt, " He murmured. " I thought I told you I'd cut your fingers off if you did that again. "

Fujiko arched an eyebrow and recalled that he had indeed said that to her way back when they had first met. She had almost forgot they had a relationship then, albeit it was rather brief and for selfish reasons. She had been playing around with him and pinched his ass then. ~So that's where that idea came from, ~ She mused.

Goemon struggled with regaining consciousness, " Don't you remember why I hate you so much? "

" I can't believe you are still bitter over that, " Fujiko countered.

" You nearly got me killed, woman. Of course I'm still bitter. I have every right in the world to hate you, " Goemon muttered. " I hate you even more since I haven't been able to get you out of my head. "

Fujiko froze, " What was that? What the hell are you talking about Goemon? "

" I haven't been able to get you out of my head for weeks, " Goemon shook his head. " You tormented my every waking and sleeping moment. "

" Are you really awake? " Fujiko asked. Goemon seemed more like he was talking in his sleep. " You aren't making any sense at all. "

" What did you do to me? " He growled. " I can't wake up all the way. Did you drug me? "

" Think, Goemon! Don't you remember anything? " Fujiko grabbed him by the shoulders and forced him to face her. His unfocused eyes showed his confusion as he scanned her face then lower before he shut them and blushed.

" Put some clothes on, " Goemon muttered, turning away. He opened his eyes and looked at himself. " Where are my clothes? "

Fujiko sat back, " You really don't remember, do you? "

" I have no idea what you are talking about or why we're both like this, " Goemon looked at the wall.

" Try to remember, " Fujiko begged.

" I can't. Every time I do, I draw a blank. All I can remember is arguing with some man and getting something spilled on me. Everything gets fuzzy then goes blank after that, " Goemon shut his eyes.

" Open your eyes. I don't want you falling asleep again, " Fujiko pinched his arm.

Goemon's eyes flew open, " Stop with the pinching, woman! Crabs do not pinch as hard as you do! " He growled as he rubbed his arm.

" I'm afraid I won't get you to wake up again if I let you fall asleep, " Fujiko whispered. " I've practically beaten you up trying to get you to wake up. "

" What happened? Tell me, woman! " Goemon shouted. " Why are we like this and why can't I remember anything? "

" Do you remember what you came here looking for? " Fujiko asked.

Goemon almost shut his eyes again but stopped; aware he would get another vicious pinch if he did. " I came here looking for you, " He muttered.

" Yes but how did I end up here? " Fujiko grabbed his arm but he shook her off.

" You were kidnapped. Look, I remember everything up to the point where you spilled the drink on me, " Goemon gave Fujiko a sideways glance. " I want to know what happened after that and why we are naked. "

Fujiko went cold all over. He didn't remember what they had done after all. She felt new tears come to her eyes, " We slept together. "

Goemon's eyes went wide and he turned to face Fujiko, " What? You're lying! "

" No, I'm not. Goemon, I'm telling you the truth. It was so beautiful, " Fujiko felt a tear slip down her cheek but she didn't bother wiping it away. " Please believe me. "

" Give me a reason why I should? " Goemon narrowed his eyes. " I do not know what to believe from you because it seems everything you say is a lie. "

The sound of gunfire erupted from somewhere, startling Fujiko. She moved to hold onto Goemon but he put his hands on her shoulders, stopping her. He gave her a warning look so she sat back and grabbed a pillow to hold onto instead. She glanced at the door, " What could that be? "

" I believe Lupin and Jigen have made their move, " Goemon climbed out of the bed and tried not to fall over. After a few more gunshots, Goemon gained his footing and tried to find his clothes. " You had better get dressed. "

" Lupin and Jigen? What do you mean? " Fujiko was thoroughly confused.

" Yes. They followed me here, " Goemon said as he put on his loincloth. He kicked Fujiko's panties towards her. " I believe these are yours. "

" Yes they are, " Fujiko snatched them away and swung her legs out of the bed. Goemon turned his back to her as she put it on. She looked around for her bra and realized it was still on her arms. She hooked it quickly; " You never said anything about Lupin and Jigen. "

" They put a tracking device on me shortly before I came here, " Goemon said as he put on his kimono. " I met up with them after I lost Zenigata. "

Fujiko found her gown as more gunfire sounded and the screams of the other women could be heard out in the hall. " I wish you had told me that. I thought you had come here all alone. "

" That had been my plan but they insisted that we work together, " Goemon turned to grab Zantetsuken. " They even had a wire on me to make sure I did not run into any problems. Obviously, it was a good idea. "

" What? " Fujiko screeched and slapped Goemon across the face.

" What in the hell was that for, woman? " Goemon shouted.

" That one was for you. Jigen and Lupin will get one too. If they wired you, then they heard everything! " Fujiko was livid.

" It is not like I could have said anything to you about it, " Goemon cradled his cheek. " I do not think it would have been wise to divulge that kind of information when I am not for certain if this place is bugged or not. "

" You could have passed me a note at least! " Fujiko tied her gown violently. She was about to say something else when there was a knock at the door. " Who is it? " She shouted.

" It's Lupin! Is Goemon okay? "

" Yes, Lupin. I'm fine. I'm still a little groggy but I'm alive, " He gave Fujiko a dirty look.

Lupin opened the door and stuck his head inside the room. He waved at Fujiko and smiled, " How are you, Fuji-baby? "

" Just fucking great! " Fujiko shouted as she picked up a vase and flung it at the door.

" Yikes! " Lupin said and pulled his head back as the vase shattered against the door.

" Where's Jigen? " Fujiko shouted. " I have something for him too! "

Lupin stuck his hand back into the room; a white handkerchief tied to his index finger like a flag. " Can we save the violence for later? " Lupin called from the safety of the hall. " We have a schedule to keep. "

" The guys are all dead, Lupin. There's nothing we can do for them, " Jigen's voice came from behind the door. " I'm going to go get the van now. I explained to the women everything'll be okay and to follow you out of here. "

" Great. Now go! " Lupin said hurriedly. " Fujiko's gone berserker. "

" Ah shit. She must have found out about the wire, " Jigen said then he was gone.

" Damn straight! " Fujiko screamed. " Come back here! I have a good swift kick in the kiwis with your name on it! "

" Oh shut up and let's go! " Goemon grabbed Fujiko by the arm. " Would you have preferred them not knowing the situation? "

" Yes! " Fujiko shouted.

" Actually, we don't know anything. The batteries in the receiver died shortly after you guys came up here, " Lupin smiled. " If anything happened after that, we can discuss it later. "

" Nothing happened, " Goemon growled.

" He was an animal, Lupin! You should kick his ass! " Fujiko countered.

" We'll worry about that later. We have some ladies that are dying to get out of here, " Lupin shoved the door open revealing the others had gathered behind him.

" Oh my God! He lived! " Barbra gasped.

" Yeah, " Lupin turned to smile at the young woman. " He's one tough samurai. Now, come along ladies. It's time for your part of the bargain. "

" We'll do anything for you, Mr. Lupin! " Kat flung her arms around Lupin.

Lupin put his arms around the young lady, " Thank you, madam but we must hurry. We can get to know each other once your part of the deal has been carried out. "

" What the hell? " Fujiko glared at Kat, who shrunk back a little. She then glared at Lupin, " What deal did you make with them? When? "

" A few minutes ago. They'll help us carry the money in exchange for their freedom. It sounds like a fair deal to me. Oh yeah, each of them gets a stack of the highest denomination we find as a thank you. "

" What about the rest? " Fujiko arched an eyebrow.

" We'll split it four ways evenly, " Lupin smirked. " Now, let's get going. "

**

Jigen made it to the garage without any problems. He still couldn't believe that there had only been two armed guards. They had been heavily armed and wore body armor but a couple of well-placed headshots knocked them down. He had just put his hand on the doorknob to go into the garage when someone fired a shot from behind him, missing him by mere inches.

He grabbed the magnum and whipped around, firing all six bullets. The bullets struck and his target screamed, collapsing onto the floor. It took him a moment to realize that he had shot a woman. He put the gun back in the holster and rushed to her.

" Jesus Christ, " He muttered as he got on his knees and held her up. " You're not that girl, are you? "

" You bastard, " She whispered.

" Annalisa, why were you shooting at me? " Jigen asked. " We came here to rescue you. "

" You've ruined it all, " Annalisa grabbed Jigen's jacket. " He was going to get the treasure and take me with him. He said I only had to suffer for a little while. "

" Who's he? " Jigen asked.

" Fabian, " Annalisa whispered then started coughing, splattering blood on Jigen's shirt and tie.

" He was going to make it all better for me, " Annalisa muttered. " I was going to have everything. He promised. "

" He probably would have killed you and the others before you saw any of that treasure. I've been around long enough to know how scum like that operates. You have to believe me, " Jigen brushed her bangs out of her eyes. " I'm sorry, angel. "

" You said you were here to help me, " She gasped, grabbing onto his jacket.

" There's nothing I can do for you now, " Jigen said gravely. " You shouldn't have shot at me. "

Annalisa coughed again, more blood coming from her mouth then she stopped, her body going limp. Jigen eased her down to the floor, fighting back the hint of a lump in his throat. ~It was the girl's fault. She shouldn't have fired at me, ~ He told himself as he stood up.

He walked back to the garage door and opened it. He walked in and found the van. He looked inside, finding the keys were still in the ignition. " That makes it simple, " He muttered as he opened the door.

He familiarized himself quickly with the set-up, finding he wasn't dealing with a standard like the Volkswagen. He found a garage door opener on the visor and pushed the button, the door rolling open slowly. His first stop would be at the Volkswagen to pick up the stuff that was inside of it. Lupin wanted to keep everything in the car but the car could be disposed of in the typical manner.

Jigen pulled the van along side of the Beetle and hopped out of the van. Once he had taken everything out and put it in the van, he got out a bottle of lighter fluid from the glove compartment. He unscrewed the lid, and then dumped the fluid all over the inside and outside of the car. He threw the bottle inside and got out a cigarette, lighting it.

He shook out the match and threw it away from the car, smoking his cigarette until it was two-thirds gone. He took it out of his lips and smiled, " Arrivederci, voi parte di merda. "

He flicked the cigarette into the car and jumped in the van, slamming the pedal down so he would be a good distance away when the car exploded. He smiled when he heard the explosion. ~Next stop, Ggjantia, ~ He thought and got out another cigarette.