Love Potion Fujiko Mine

By Bekka Mouri-Hibiki

(Lupin isn't mine. Goemon returns to Marsalforn with some news about Fabian and Miguel's interrogation.)

Part 22: Frame-Up

Lupin looked at his watch for what seemed like the fiftieth time before letting his eyes dart to the phone then the window and to the door. It had been three days since he and Jigen had rented a house on the outskirts of Marsalforn to keep the ladies in. They were staying there while Fujiko waited back at the hotel room she had reserved before being kidnapped. She planned to wait there so Goemon could find her and she could lead him to the house.

" What the hell? " Jigen muttered as he read the local newspaper. It had just been delivered and Jigen had started to look at it. The house had come fully furnished and had a rather nice black leather couch that Jigen was growing rather fond of.

Lupin knew of he needed to find Jigen or Andrea, it was the first place he had to look since the two of them were hitting it off noticeably well. He was pretty sure they hadn't done much else than talk but she was getting over a traumatic experience and Jigen wasn't the type to push a woman into in anything she didn't want to do. He knew things would spark eventually though.

" Oh shit, " Andrea said, the paper rustling as she leaned in to take a closer look at what Jigen was reading.

" Oh shit what? " Lupin glanced over to where his most trusted friend was sitting.

" Lupin, we've got a problem. Look at this, " Jigen folded the paper over and held it out so he could see the headline.

KIDNAPPERS CONFESS: WE WERE WORKING FOR LUPIN THE THIRD

Lupin stood up, " What the fuck? Give me that! "

Jigen held out the paper as Andrea regarded them both with a wary look. " I couldn't believe it either, " Jigen reached for a cigarette. He got out a second one, offering it to Andrea but she just stared at him silently. " What's wrong, babe? "

Andrea shook her head, " Nothing. It's nothing. "

" It says that the two men taken into custody confessed to pedaling the supposed love potion and kidnapping thirteen women but said they were under the orders of the notorious master thief, Arsene Lupin The Third. Although little was revealed about the plans, it was assumed that the two men were to report to Lupin The Third once they had collected an undisclosed amount of cash and proceed with the next stage of their plan. At this time, the two men have not revealed what that next step was to be but they are expected to be offered a plea bargain if they reveal the amount of money collected and what the master plan was supposed to be, " Lupin read out loud.

" Those little bastards! " Jigen slammed his fist into the arm of the couch then lit his cigarette. He puffed on it angrily, " How could they fucking do that? "

Lupin continued to read the article, " Sadly, one of the kidnapped women was found at the mansion dead. It appears the deceased was shot several times while trying to defend herself. At this time, the whereabouts of the remaining twelve women is unknown but the police assume they are in mortal danger and are probably with the Lupin Gang. The two accomplices said that the Lupin Gang came to collect the women before the police arrived. "

Andrea moved away from Jigen, her eyes wide with disbelief. " Oh no, " She whispered. "Everyone said she went with you when she vanished. "

Jigen went cold all over, knowing exactly what Andrea was thinking. No one had really asked about the girl but he had planned on telling the others she had run off from him before he turned back to go to the mansion. Andrea moved to stand up but Jigen grabbed her arm, " Sit. "

Andrea tried to pull away, " No! "

" It is all bullshit, babe. None of it is true at all; " Jigen pulled her to him, throwing an arm around her shoulders so she couldn't get away. " You can't believe any of that shit. Those guys were lying to save themselves and get back at us. "

Andrea started to thrash in Jigen's grip, " No! You're just saying that! "

Jigen tightened his grip on Andrea, " Would you listen? Do you think we would have picked you all up like we did if we were working with them? "

Andrea started struggling harder, " Let me go! Let me go right now! "

Lupin tossed the paper across the room as he darted to help Jigen. " Andrea! Settle down! Do you think we would have made it look like a rescue if it wasn't? "

Jigen let go of Andrea as Lupin pinned her arms behind her. " Yeah. If we were working with them, don't you think we would have just walked in the door and said for them to give you all over to us? "

A gasp attracted everyone's attention to the doorway that led to the bedrooms. Kat stood there, her eyes wide as she looked at the newspaper on the floor. It had reopened after it had landed and the headline glared up at her. She looked up, her wide eyes darting from Lupin to Jigen.

" Don't believe it, Katrina. It isn't true, " Jigen put his hand up and let go of Andrea's shoulders. A split second later, Andrea landed a right hook on his jaw and brought her foot up, kicking him right between the legs. Jigen shouted in pain and tumbled to the floor, his cigarette firmly clenched in his teeth.

" Andrea! " Lupin yelled as the woman bounded across the room to Kat. " Listen damn it! It isn't true! "

Andrea pulled off one of her shoes and pitched it, hitting Lupin right in the forehead. He cried out and crumpled to the floor, cradling the injury in his hands. The second shoe Andrea pitched hit him on top of the head, causing him to yelp in pain again. He heard the two women run away and start shouting to the others about the paper.

" We're fucked, " Jigen hissed between his teeth from the fetal position he assumed after hitting the floor.

" We are so totally fucked, " Lupin agreed. " Two against eleven aren't odds I like very much… especially when the two are already hurt. "

" What do we do now? " Jigen asked.

" Pray, " Lupin muttered. " Pray and hide. "

**

Fujiko flipped through the television channels inattentively, not wanting to watch anything really but she needed something to keep her mind off of being worried about Goemon. He had been gone for days and she was scared something had happened to him. ~Lupin's damn plan backfired… the ICPO knew that file was a fake, ~ the thought went through her head again but she refused to believe it.

She shut her eyes and tried to go to sleep. She really couldn't think of anything else to do and she didn't want to leave to hotel in case Goemon decided to fall out of the sky or walk through a wall. Her thoughts slipped back to when she checked into the hotel and the desk clerk asked if she had gotten in touch with her husband. She acted a little surprised but told the lady she hadn't seen him yet.

The desk clerk told her that her husband had been there and looking for her. The older woman then proceeded to describe Goemon right down to his sandals. ~I can't believe he said I was his wife, ~ Fujiko thought as she burrowed her head down into the pillow. ~He probably said it just so he could get information out of that lady. ~

Fujiko was about to slip off to sleep when a faint tapping sound caught her attention. She opened her eyes, waiting for the sound again. She heard it and it sounded like someone tapping on glass with something. She scrambled from the bed, going to the sliding glass and throwing the curtains open.

Goemon stood on the fire escape; his kimono, face and hair caked in dust. He looked like he hadn't eaten or slept in a few days. Fujiko quickly threw the door open, catching him when he stumbled forward. " What happened to you? " Fujiko gasped as she tried to support him.

" Sleep, " He muttered. " Sleep then talk. Get me to the bed, woman. "

Fujiko helped him to the bed then started to remove his clothes. He pushed her hands away and collapsed sideways on the bed, falling asleep instantly.

**

Zenigata saluted Vittero Capparelli as he walked into the room. The Italian chief had come all the way to Ggantija because of the events that had occurred and the surprising twist that had taken place. Zenigata was amazed he could hide his nervousness as he tried to think of a way to talk his way out of the trouble he knew he was in. ~I'll just say he had me fooled as well, ~ He decided.

The chief gave Zenigata a disappointed look, " Heiji Zenigata. Where should I start? "

Zenigata reached up and fiddled with the strap of his sling because he could feel it cutting into the side of his neck. " The beginning I guess. "

" Don't get smart with me, " The chief snapped. He took a deep breath to steady his nerves. " Tell me your side of the story, Zenigata. I would like to hear it. "

Zenigata thought for a long moment then spoke. " I slipped off after Sgt. Martin left me alone and explored those catacombs. As I was doing that, I heard voices and it turned out to be those two men talking. They said some pretty suspicious things so I decided to follow them and they led me to this huge vault. "

" I see, " The chief nodded. " Please continue. "

" I made up my mind to take care of them myself because I was afraid they would make an escape if I left them and returned to the temple for reinforcements. We exchanged some gunfire and I was hit by one bullet. They had put the canisters of knock out gas in the temple before I started following them and I had taken one of those just in case. I broke off the valve and threw it at them after I put on my gas mask. "

" And that was when the man that identified himself as Taro Wantanabe found you, " The chief poured himself a glass of water.

Zenigata hesitated then nodded, " I believe so. It's all a little foggy. I was in quite a bit of pain. "

" Did you know Wantanabe was actually one Goemon Ishikawa The Thirteenth? " The chief asked. " After all of your experience with the Lupin Gang, I figured you would recognize him. "

" He was in disguise though and I could see very well between the pain and the gas. He told me he was an undercover ICPO officer that was also working on the kidnapping case. He said he had gotten a good lead on the case before he could get together with me on it. I wasn't in any position to ask questions at that time, sir. I was just happy I wasn't going to bleed to death in that vault, " Zenigata finished quietly.

" So you didn't bother to question him when he drove you back here? " The chief asked then took a drink of water.

" The only thing he had to clean the wound with was vodka and then there were the pain pills he gave me, " Zenigata shook his head. " I was a little woozy and trying not to fall asleep. "

" Investigator Camilleri Parlato said you seemed pretty alert when the two of you arrived, " The chief said flatly.

" He let me sleep off some of the sleepiness before we returned, " Zenigata tried to make it sound believable. He wasn't about to tell the chief he passed out because he thought that Lupin The Third had taken him to heaven when he saw all of the pretty women.

Vittero looked down at the desk and stared at it silently for a long time. " Thank you, Zenigata. I will ignore the numerous inconsistencies in your story since you did manage to capture those men. They are small fish but they were carrying out that foul business for Lupin The Third so it is a start. "

Zenigata bit his tongue. He had heard about the bogus confession that the two men had made but he really couldn't say anything without annulling his account of what happened. He would be in quite a bit of trouble for lying to a superior officer even though he knew what the real truth was.

Vittero looked at Zenigata, " Can you work with that shoulder in that shape? " Vittero motioned to the injury.

" I can work with two broken arms and two broken legs if I had to, " Zenigata replied.

" Good. In the morning, I want you to go and find that scum Lupin The Third, " Vittero stood and so did Zenigata. Zenigata saluted the chief then waited for him to leave. As Vittero walked through the door, he turned to face Zenigata again. " I don't care if you bring him back dead or alive. "

**

Lupin peeked out if the cabinet he had crawled into in an attempt to hide from the women. He kicked the wall of the adjoining cabinet to signal to Jigen that the coast was clear. Jigen rolled out of his hiding place, reaching into his jacket and getting out a cigarette. " I hope I'm not the only one that heard the screeching of tires a few minutes ago, " He muttered around the cigarette as he lit it.

" No. I heard it, " Lupin sighed as he slid out of his cabinet. " They took off with the van I believe. "

Jigen exhaled the first drag slowly. " We got everything out of there though, right? "

Lupin nodded then drew his knees up to his chest. He folded his arms over his knees and rested his chin there, " Well, we got everything except for the money. "

Jigen slapped his hand over his face, " Damn it! "

" Hey! All of the important stuff was in two cases so it was easy to bring it in. The money was in several bags so it made more sense to leave it out there, " Lupin frowned. " Or, it did at the time. "

" Fucking great. Next you'll tell me they have the map to the treasure too, " Jigen growled as he took another long drag off of the cigarette.

" Actually, " Lupin pointed at the computer.

Jigen sat up and looked at the computer. " What are you saying? "

" I was bored yesterday so I cut the map into strips and ran them through the scanner and reassembled them on there so it would be easier to carry the map around. That map was too damn big to be carried around easily, " Lupin pointed to the tube next. " I stuffed some of the money in tube after I destroyed the map because the bag with the gold ripped in the van and I had to use one of the moneybags for it. "

" So we aren't broke? " Jigen turned to face Lupin.

" I'd say we have at least a million in large bills in the tube and the gold is under the couch. I didn't feel like carrying it back out to the van yesterday, " Lupin smiled.

Jigen nodded, " I guess it worked out okay for a little bit then, huh? "

" Yeah. For now, " Lupin shrugged. " I just wonder where Goemon is. "

Jigen sat up slowly before getting to his feet. " I'm going to go look for that paper. "

" You think it might say something about him? " Lupin asked.

" You never know, " Jigen shrugged. He wandered off into another part of the house, returning a few minutes later with the object he was looking for. He scanned the front page, " Nice. "

Lupin stood up and walked over, " What's nice? "

" After the confession of Lupin The Third's henchmen, the investigator in charge recognized Goemon Ishikawa The Thirteenth, a known member of the Lupin Gang. Ishikawa was disguised as an ICPO junior investigator but fled from the scene after setting off a smoke bomb. If you see the man in the picture below, please contact authorities immediately. "

" Damn. That investigator must have one sharp eye. I didn't even recognize Goemon with his hair plastered down and in my glasses, " Lupin got a cigarette out. He lit it and started to smoke but stopped. " Poor Goemon. "

" Poor Goemon why? " Jigen asked.

" That all happened a few days ago, right? " Lupin looked at the date on his watch. " Let me see… we've been here since day before yesterday so that would make it the day before that when we rescued the women. "

" A lot of damn good it did us though, " Jigen muttered.

" Yeah but I'm thinking about Goemon right now. He's been on the run for a while now. If we had a car, I'd go look for him. "

" He could be with Fujiko by now, " Jigen smirked. " He could be with her and the two of them are too busy to give us a call. "

Lupin narrowed his eyes at Jigen, " Give it a rest. That stuff that happened between them was because of the potion. Without it, I don't think they'll do it again. "

" Uh huh, " Jigen shook his head. " You believe what you want. "

" You're just trying to make me feel bad because your piece of ass kicked you in the nuts then left, " Lupin grumbled.

" She wasn't my piece of ass, " Jigen shouted. He stopped and thought for a second then muttered, " Well actually… "

" When? You two? I haven't been out of the house at all! " Lupin's eyes got wide.

" We've done it a few of times, " Jigen looked over at the couch and grinned wistfully. " We waited until you we asleep. That thing folds out, you know. "

" I wish I didn't, " Lupin muttered.

Jigen loosened his tie and unbuttoned his shirt enough so he could look inside. He looked at Lupin, " She was fun but she's got a biting fetish. Do you want to see? "

" Hell no! " Lupin shut his eyes. " I don't want to know any of the kinky shit she did to you. "

" What's the matter? Are you upset because everyone else is getting laid while you're getting screwed? " Jigen said mockingly.

" You know what? " Lupin said, walking to the phone.

" What? " Jigen asked.

" I'm going to call Fujiko right now. I almost forgot I have her number at the hotel. Now, where did I put it? " He asked himself as he went through his pockets.

He found the piece of paper the number was written on and picked up the phone. He dialed and waited as the phone rang… and rang… and rang. He hung up the handset as a message came on the line about trying his call later. " So? " Jigen said as he lit another cigarette.

" She didn't answer. "

**

Fujiko sat on top of the dryer in the hotel laundry room. She had bribed one of the maids to let her in so she could wash Goemon's kimono. She had taken his clothes off while he slept and hoped he wouldn't get mad at her when he woke up naked. She had put the dryer on the lowest setting so the clothes were taking a long time to dry but it was giving her time to think.

He was so mad at her when she saw him last, refusing to look at her as she sprayed his hair into place. He even refused to say goodbye to her before she left with Lupin, Jigen and the women. He acted like he didn't care if he ever saw her again. She had to admit trying to seduce him the last time in the bedroom was uncalled for and was slightly grateful to Jigen for stopping her.

She was scared what Goemon would say to her once he woke up. She was afraid he would not have anything nice to say to her but she figured she deserved it. She had been the clumsy one that spilled the potion on him and she had taken advantage of him in the utility room at the mansion when he wasn't able to resist. ~I can't stay away forever, ~ She sighed as the dryer clicked off.

She hopped off and opened the door. She ran her hand over the fabric and found it was dry finally. Her feet suddenly felt like lead when she headed for the door, dreading the worst once she got back to her in her room. The hallway seemed longer than ever as she made her way back, the sound of a phone ringing reaching her ears.

~Answer already, ~ She thought as she passed the other rooms, wondering which one it was coming from. The sound got louder as she reached her door. ~It's my phone! No wonder… ~ She thought but stopped when the phone was picked up mid-ring.

" Hello? " Goemon's voice sent a bolt of electricity and panic through her. " I am here with her, Lupin… She's not in the room right now… I don't know, I was sleeping… I am just exhausted. "

Fujiko listened through the door as Goemon continued to talk to Lupin. " I could not do anything to stop them… That investigator turned on me as soon as they confessed… The smoke bomb came in handy, yes… They did what? The van is gone? I understand… I hope they find out the truth though. "

~The van is gone? I wonder what happened? ~ Fujiko thought as Goemon was quiet for a long moment.

" Yes… I see. I will tell her… we will leave in the morning and pick you two up. You will be in the forest close to the hideout? Fujiko knows where it is at, right? " Goemon was silent again.

~I wonder what happened? ~Fujiko bit her lip.

" Zenigata is fine… They took him to the hospital right away before making me go back to the mansion… Yes, he probably will be but he said he owed us one. Tomorrow then… Goodbye, " Goemon hung up the phone.

Fujiko put her hand on the doorknob and turned it, the expected click of Zantetsuken reaching her ears as she pushed the door open. Their eyes met when she stepped into the room, making her freeze in her tracks. " Oh. It's only you; " Goemon clicked Zantetsuken back into its sheath.

Fujiko felt hurt by his comment and set his folded clothes down on the table by the door. " Well, that's certain a warm greeting for your wife, " She said scornfully as she fought back the lump that was rising in her throat. " Is the desk clerk the only one you told that to? "

Goemon looked confused for a moment then remembered. " I was trying to find you because I was scared you were in trouble. She would not tell me anything otherwise. "

" I see, " Fujiko crossed her arms over her chest.

" How long have I been sleeping? " Goemon went to lift the blanket but quickly let it fall back down as he narrowed his eyes at Fujiko. His eyes went to the clothes on the table, " I see you took the liberty of washing my clothes again. "

" They reeked, " Fujiko looked away from him. She was trying not to think about the last time she had washed his kimono. " And to answer your question, you've been here for a little over two hours. "

" Only two? " Goemon said. " I barely recall coming here. "

" You were totally wiped out when I let you in. You never even told me what happened. You said you would once you got some sleep, " Fujiko would not look at him. All she could think about was the way he had taken her not only on the dryer but the first time too.

" Two hours is not enough, " Goemon said as he moved to lie back down.

" Goemon, " Fujiko didn't even feel like she was saying his name but she heard her voice as she did.

" Yes? " Goemon arched an eyebrow.

" Was that Lupin on the phone? " She looked at the phone.

" Yes. It seems that the women have taken off from them and taken the van as well. They want us to pick them up in the woods by the hideout, " Goemon eased down to the bed. " I will tell you more once I rest. "

Fujiko looked at him, " The women took off? "

Goemon shut his eyes, " Please let me rest. I haven't slept in a few days. "

Fujiko nodded, " Okay but I want to know everything once you wake up. "

Goemon pulled the covers over his head in response.