Tainted Time

Chapter 14
Truth of the Choice



Lupin woke with a start, head jerking from the pitted wooden surface of had once been, he assumed, a rather nice desk.

Yawning once, the thief ran his fingers over the echoes of said pitted desk pressed into his face, idly picking off a few stray papers that clung to his cheek and forehead. Rubbing his tired eyes, Lupin glanced about the room.

In the dark of night that ringed the cabin and closed it off, he found it hard to see much of anything, let alone what he was looking for.

The old man. He had to sure. Had to be sure the cop was still there, still in the room, in the hideout. He had realized, in a twisted dream involving deer armed with flamethrowers, that he had never asked nor received a promise from the man that he would stay and not go to the cult base, as he had wanted.

In the absence of vision, his mind began painting dark thoughts and ideas, painting the bed empty. Worried out of his mind, but not wanting to turn on the weak light for fear of waking the inspector if he was there indeed, Lupin fumbled with his lighter a few times before getting it to light at last, the bluish flame creating a small orb of illumination circling mostly only its owners hand.

The bed creaked slightly as he crawled up on it, on two knees and one hand. Reaching out, Lupin quickly pulled back as his fingers brushed a very very toned chest. Giving a sigh of relief, he fought the urge to reach back out and trace the well-formed lines.

With mixed thoughts on the choice, he didn’t, not wanting to wake the old cop, but at the same time, he needed to touch him once more.

There was no guarantee he was coming back from this alive… and if he failed, Pops wouldn’t see another day.

Opening the door and shutting it as quietly as he could, Lupin left the room, lighter long since snuffed out.

Pausing only long enough to leave a few whispered commands and requests with the two men that sat watching their female guest as she slept, Lupin gathered his normal kit and slipped out into the dark.

He knew where he was heading, and thankfully, it wasn’t far off. Or at least if he had read the map right. He almost hoped he hadn’t. This wasn’t going to be a stroll in the park or even a dip in the shark tank. Worse without his partners along.

But he couldn’t risk them and leave Zenigata alone if he failed. Someone had to be there for him in the final moments, even if it wasn’t him.

~~~~~

As soon as he heard the soft click of the door, Zenigata opened his eyes, blinking at the dark ceiling. No time to spare getting use to the inky tones of the room, he had things to do and had to do them quickly.

Trying to keep his cursing at a whispered minimum, the cop struggled to pull himself upright without the help of either his favorite thief or the makeshift crutch. Neither of which were here.

He wasn’t going to let Lupin go alone. Once he stumbled the first time, and Lupin knew he was there, following him, the cop hoped to be far enough from this makeshift home that Lupin would be forced to allow him along.

It wasn’t that he wanted the thief to fail, no matter how it sounded, pushing an injured cop off on him while he was trying to work. It wasn’t that at all.

He just wanted to be there, with him. There was less, by his slightly educated guess, then 9 hours left until it was the 3rd day. And even if he had full faith in Lupin, he didn’t in that greasy bastard that had held him captive for so many days.

Call it a cops instinct, call it a gut feeling, call it trauma with a dash of fear and hate, hell even call it bad cheese. The fact was Zenigata had a feeling he couldn’t ignore, that he was going to die. That that man had never planned on fixing him in the least.

Finally sorta dressed in some of Lupin’s clothing, his long gone, save the threadbare pants of the cult, Zenigata hobbled his way to the door, grasping the handle tightly, turning it slowly so as to not make more noise then he had to when opening it.

“Hey there. Hope you weren’t planning on going anywhere, old man.” Jigen, leaning on the doorframe, grinned at the look of shock on the cops face. “Cause, I have very very strong orders not to let you leave that room.” Exhaling a plume of nicotine to one side, he tipped his hat down as if to sleep right there, standing up.

“Get out of my way Jigen.” The throaty growl of the words made the gunman tilt his hat enough to regard the older man. “I’m leaving, and you can’t stop me. I'm going to find him. Don't make me fight you. You know I'm stronger.”

“I’ll give you that, old man. You got me beat on the brute strength. But, I have you beat on back up.” The grin was almost a laugh now, pissing Zenigata off to no end.

Stepping forward, Zenigata reached out, flat hands hitting the dark suit, pushing Jigen off balance and out of the door frame slightly, but no where near enough to clear the way. Another step forward and a harder shove would do it, the cop figured.

The blade almost appeared, right in front of his face, a papers breath from his nose. Dark eyes following the length of it, led him to the conclusion that Goemon was standing to the other side of the door frame, unseen, but sword long enough to make his presence more then known.

He froze, wanting to keep his nose. Froze, even with his hands still outstretched, mere seconds from slamming into Jigen again.

“Like I said, better back up.” Jigen remarked, in a lazy tone, taking a lazy draw off his lazily burning smoke. For being the split second gunman Zenigata knew he was, so much of the man screamed laid back and even, yes, lazy.

“Thanks Love.” The smoke that moved with the two words groped his nose, trying hard to force out a sneeze, which Zenigata fought with all his being. Such an action with the weapon so close to his nose… he didn’t want to think about the results.

Sighing in defeat, the cop looked Jigen in the eyes, or the rim of the hat.
“Call him off, would you? I’ll stay here.” Lupin was too far away now for him to catch up now, and it hurt him more then he could describe.

“Good. Can’t say I was looking forward to babysitting your injured ass all night long. Speaking of, how is the old lack of toe and a half?” Jigen queried, peering down at the wrapped foot.

“Hurts like a bitch.” Zenigata admitted, looking at it as well, more then pleased to hear Zantuksten slide back where it belonged.

“Go sit back down and let me look at it. I'm guessing it’s bleeding again; you couldn’t have been too nice to it while dressing in those clothes.” The gunman ushered the older man backwards, offering an ignored helping hand to the bed.

“So.. Just wondering. Were you planning on playing Hulk when you found him, or where ever you were going?” Jigen asked, commenting on the ill fitting clothing of the smaller man that Zenigata was wearing.

“Shut up.” The cop fumed, still pissed that his escape had been thwarted.

“Shut up yourself.” Jigen grinned, kneeling in front of the seated man, slowly unwinding the floor dirtied bandage. “Hey, why did they chop off the extra half? We only got one in the canon ball post.”

Zenigata winced as the wrap pulled away from his skin, glued in place with blood. “I don't really know. I can’t recall a lot of anything, other then the pain.” he shrugged. “Maybe they wanted to give you guys a full toe and messed up the first time. I don't know.” He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “ICPO is gonna shelf me, I know it. A desk job. I can’t do that. I will be clawing at the walls or just hang myself from a rafter.”

“Have you thought about not going back, at all, old man?” Jigen queried, drawing a fresh bandage from the black bag Goemon had brought him. “I bet it never crossed your mind, did it? Not to go back to the endless toil, low pay and bad food.”

No going back? The thought of it puzzled the cop, his furrowed brow speaking of his inner confusion. If he didn’t go back, what would he do? Like light in a dark room or air in drowned lungs, the answer exploded in him.

“But-but... you guys…are you sure..?” Jigen chuckled at the sound of the disbelief and shock in his voice. “Come on old man, we’ve always said its shame you were a cop. You would be a damn good player for the other side.” The gunman paused, face screwed up in barely contained mirth. “Then again, Lupin already knows how well you play for the other team, doesn’t he?”

“Oh hardy har har.” Zenigata glared at the snickering man, arms crossed over his chest. “Are you done? I don't fancy sitting here all day, listening to your lame jokes.”

“What, you want to stand? That might be a little hard to do.” He teased, feeling the need to take one more jab at the man. “But seriously, me and Goemon talked about it last night, and if you are willing to join us and play nice, we think you would be a great addition to the gang. Besides, since Lupin dropped Fujiko like a radioactive pile of dog crap, we’ve been short one.”

Zenigata sat in silence as Jigen stood, stretching out his lean form before heading towards the door.

“Jigen?”

He paused, hand wrapped around the handle, door slightly ajar, and turned slightly towards his one time nemesis of sorts.

“What is it old man?”

“Is he really done with her? I don't want to be here if he isn’t. I’ve seen them together. Nothing keeps him from going back to her, all it takes is a few glances and a flash of cleavage.”

He looked like a lost little boy, unsure of what direction to take in darkening woods, perched on the edge of the bed, fingers weaving among each other, feet swinging slightly, his eyes watching only the dust on the wooden floor.

Instantly feeling sorry, for him, Jigen slid the door shut the rest of the way. Removing his hat for a moment, he sighed, rubbing his face and drawing the same hand through his tangled mane.

“Listen, Pops, even if she does come around, I doubt Lupin will take her back. I hope not at least. He is a flighty guy at times, it’s a friggin pain in the ass, but he is happy with you. This may sound harsh, but its not.” He leaned against the wall, coaxing one last battered smoke from its crumbled cell. The cop watched closely, waiting for the end to take to the flame, waiting for the glow and the exhale of grey, waiting for Jigen to speak again.

“Both of you are what he wants. He talks in his sleep at times, says thing I doubt he even knows of when he wakes.” Tapping the cigarette a few times, he watched as the sooty snowflakes fell to the floor. “Now, I don't mean he didn’t know he said it, I meant he doesn’t know what he wants, what he really wants, things he only lets himself admit during sleep.”

Him and Fujiko? The same? Part of him rejoiced at the thought Lupin had the same strong level of feelings for him that he had for that woman, but a larger part recoiled at the idea that Lupin held them both on the same plateau, as if they where comparable.

“Don't look so put out old man.” Jigen chided. “See, there is a big difference between you too, other then boobs.” The gunman took a long draw on his addiction, seeming to truly enjoy the flavor. It made Zenigata realize how long it had been since he had a cigarette himself.

“You give him what he can only wish for from Fujiko. You love him. Don't look shocked; even with my hat down, I can see it. Hell, a blind dog could see it. Now, if he has someone he loves, and that person loves him back, why would he go back to the one who only hurt him?”

Zenigata swallowed hard, fighting back the lump of tears that had taken up residence in his throat, burning and clawing its way upward.

“Wha-“ he stopped, taking a deep breath as his voice cracked. “What did she do? What did she do that was that bad?” He had to know; even if was just to steady his uneasy mind.

Stubbing the last of his drug out on the wall, Jigen thought it over, deciding if he should tell him. He doubted Lupin would tell the man, and that alone made him wonder if it was a good idea.

“She was pregnant.”

The silence in the room stretched out like sun-warmed cat, only far less pleasant. Less pleasant indeed.

“..was..?” Zenigata repeated, unable to hide the shock and horror in the single whispered word.

“Was.” Jigen replied, dropping his head. “He couldn’t take it, when he found out. Between me and Goemon, we had one hell of a time keeping him from doing something stupid, something unfixable. She didn’t lose the child, she got rid of it.”

Zenigata felt his stomach churn at the words. Unable to speak, he watched instead the crumbled butt as it smoked lightly, still partly lit, but a shadow of what it once was.

To him, it spoke of how he knew the man he loved must have suffered when he got the news. So close to going out, barely holding on. A mere sliver of what he had been.

“I.. I didn’t know.. I had no idea…”

“None of us did, save Lupin. I don't know how he found out, but its wasn’t hard to figure out Fujiko was the cause. I left Goemon with the monkey to stand guard after he tried to drink himself to death, and went to go find the bitch myself.”

A grim smile traced his face, the twisted joy in what had happened showing through brightly. “I forced her to tell me, forced her to speak. I always hated her, I hated her so friggin much, and it wasn’t hard to do it.”

“Is she…?”

“Dead? Mores the pity, the whore is still out there. She should have got the cast off her arm about a month ago though. God, it felt good. She screamed, but it was nothing compared to the pain she put him through. I wanted to do more, so friggin much more, but I didn’t. I forced myself to step back before I lost control.”

“As much as I detest violence again women, I can’t find any anger or anything of such for what you did. I tried, but its not there. In fact, I’m a little glad. Does that make me a bad person?”

Jigen grunted, pushing himself off the wall. “Naw Pops, it means you care about him. You love him. I would dance a friggin jig over the pain, even death, of anyone that hurt Goemon. Hell, I have. I jig for shit, but it’s the thought that counts I guess.”

He slipped his hand over the door handle again, opening the door fully. “You should sleep, you look pale. Think about our offer of joining us. We could use you and Lupin needs you. Goodnight, old man.” He finished, flipping off the light.

In the dark, Zenigata sat unmoving, thinking over all his choices and all his wants. It was going to be a long night, planning for a future he was unsure was even waiting for him.