CHAPTER THREE: DANGEROUS LIAISONS
8:34 p.m.
Grognard kept his eyes on the road as he maneuvered the Cord steadily down the streets. After a whole day out in the streets of Paris, he was glad that they were headed back to the hotel again.� The night was still young though, and so as such, they were not entirely done for today...
Lupin removed his monocle and placed it into the left drawer. He adjusted the small pull-out mirror that always rested in the compartment where he kept his disguises as he peered into it. " How old do you think young master Blake is Grognard? "� he reached into another drawer and picked out a small fine moustache.
" About twenty-six, twenty seven I guess...judging by the age of the father his son should be nearing thirty."
" A bit old to have birthday party don't you think? "
"There were a lot of ladies on the guest list. And I hear he's still single ..." Grognard chuckled, glancing at the rearview mirror for response.� He suddenly remembered something as he turned to his boss again. " I almost forgot, how did it go between Max and his mother anyway? Kelly didn't look very pleased this morning. Was it bad?"
"Max is fine... but I don't think he's the one we have to worry about."
"Eh?" Grognard looked at Lupin.
"Kelly."
"Oh..." Grognard guessed as much. It was why he never asked Lupin about Max's mother till now.
" Max has been with her for almost seven years..."
"She's just feeling a little left out of Max's life at the moment, that's all.." Lupin replied. " We can't do anything about that, but I think a little extra company is just what she needs."
"Breakfast with the lady I presume?"
Lupin smiled.� How well Grognard understands him. He went though the drawers again, this time fishing out a pair of golden rimmed spectacles.�
Ah..This will do nicely.
He checked himself in his mirror once again as he put on the finishing touches. Hmm, not bad. Lupin turned to his associate." What do you think Grognard?"
Grognard� glanced at Lupin through the rearview mirror again. It was always such delight to watch his boss morph into somebody else within a few minutes. " Perfect as usual Boss.� Mr. Blake won't know the difference, and I'm sure his son would be flattered. "
" Yes. It's a shame that young master Blake could not make it, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind if someone else attends in his place, after all formal parties are such dreary affairs..." he winked at Grognard.
"Yep. You could fall asleep just trying to make a decent conversation. heh heh..� Anyway that telegram I sent to Master Blake telling him to take Friday's flight should have reached him yesterday.. and his actual flight should have landed in Paris right about...." he quickly looked at his watch.� "...say a half hour ago."
" Hmm..we're� just in time for a little family reunion then. " Lupin leaned forward, resting his arms on the front seat as Grognard pulled up in front of the hotel.
Just then, Grognard pointed out at two shadow in the distance. "Look who's here as well?"
Frank Blake was standing by the entrance, chatting up with two familiar characters. Very familiar characters.
"Mayhem and Karst.� Haven't seen those two in a while... " Lupin watched as the two shook hands with Mr. Frank Blake. This can't be a good sign.��
"Well Grognard. From the looks of this Karst and Mayhem will be attending the party..."
"..And that probably spells trouble." Grognard dimmed the car lights to avoid drawing attention.� He saw the two being ushered into a black limousine as it drove off into the distance. "What now?� Do we follow them Boss?"�
Lupin watched Frank Blake as he was escorted back into the hotel by his bodyguards.
"Hmm.. Old dad seems perfectly fine by himself. Looks like family will have to wait then Grognard.�" He settled back into his seat comfortably. " Let's go find out what Mayhem and Karst are up to shall we?" �
"Finally some action!" Grognard laughed as he promptly stepped up on the accelerator.�
11:59pm
Grognard� stepped on the brakes as he parked�the cord into a dark corner well away from sight.�They have trailed Karst's limousine to the pier.
"Well ... they've picked an old abandoned warehouse for their little gathering. Talk about your clich�d bad guy hideouts..." Grognard chuckled as he rolled his eyes backward. "If I didn't know any better, I'd swear we're being� roped into a really lame story plot...next thing you know there's going to be some big fancy explosion and fireworks eh boss?"
Lupin couldn't help but laugh bemusedly.�Grognard always knew how to brighten up a boring stakeout.
Although their� vehicle was a safe distance away, it was still clear enough for both Lupin and Grognard to catch sight of �the two distinct silhouettes of Karst and Mayhem as they made their way into the warehouse.
"Look at that Grognard. Tsk tsk..� the warehouse is crawling with rats.." he pointed at another two shadows who emerged� as Karst and Mayhem disappeared out of sight.� It wasn't too difficult to tell that they belonged to the two cronies Gila and Diesel. The two mismatched pair positioned themselves� in front of the door, obviously to keep people out.
"They just keep getting bigger by the year don't they?"
"uh hmm." Lupin winked back.
"Hang on.. look to the left Boss.� There's someone else there!" Grognard spotted�another shadow.
"Steel?"
"Doesn't look like it..would Steel have needed to do that?"
The shadow climbed in from the side of the warehouse, taking care to avoid Gila and Diesel. And like a skilled acrobat it soon disappeared into a small hole on the roof.
"This is starting to get interesting. Now why would one go to all that trouble just to avoid running into those two at the door?" Lupin smirked as he rubbed his chin.
"Wouldn't you?" Grognard sniggered back.
"True. But I think our friend there just showed me the the perfect way in."
Grognard glanced at the warehouse and did a mental head count. Even excluding the stranger, it would still be one against four. "It's starting to get real 'cozy' in there boss. Maybe I should com..."
"This won't take long Grognard.� Stay here while I check things out.."�
"But Boss! Couldn't I just..." he �heard the door slam. Lupin had already disappeared from sight.
Hrummph. Always in such a rush....
Grognard let out an� irritated sigh as he glanced at his watch.� Stuck in the car again meant having to deal with the hardest part of his job. Waiting.
@-'---
The warehouse was a lot darker than Lupin had anticipated -- The windows have been nailed shut with planks of wood and the whole place smelt of stale air.�The weather was cold outside, but in here, Lupin found himself breaking into a sweat under� under all the trapped heat. Or perhaps it was because he was still in disguise.�
I should have changed... suit's bound to get all dirty after this.
No matter though. He had more important things to be concerned about. Like finding out what the twosome are up to.� Lupin�kept his guard up as he silently felt� his way in the dark, taking care not to trip or alert his nemesis. His keen eyes spotted faint light in the distance.
As he got closer, Lupin saw that it had come from a single bulb that was dangling loosely from the ceiling. It was probably the only thing that worked in this god forsaken place. And it was under the light that Lupin found Mayhem and Karst again. It was only bright enough for Lupin to see� their faint outlines where he stood, but that also meant he could get closer and avoid being detected , since the rest of the warehouse was perpetually� shrouded in darkness. Hiding behind a large crate, Lupin strained his ears as he listened in on their conversation.
" I want no mistakes, we'll get only one chance at the Blake diamond, and I want nothing to go wrong. "
" Mr. Karst I assure you , everything is going according to plan. Once the Vixens get their hands on the diamond, I'll do a little..." Mayhem laughed silently as she drew a circle in mid air with her index finger. "... switch-a-roo with the fake one and then.... the diamond will be all for ourselves.." She smiled seductively as she put her arms around him. "There's nothing more fun than a little double cross.."
"mmm...You sure do know what makes a man happy.." Karst smiled.
" You know I aim to please.."
"Just make sure that your� 'sisters' cannot be traced back to me. My reputation happens to be at stake here.."
"Don't worry, if the situation gets too hot they'll be the ones taking the fall for us...after all..what are sisters for? hahaha.." Mayhem laughed as she playfully fondled with Karst moustache.
"It had better be Countess.. or you'll have to clean up this mess alone..." Karst detached tone was back as he brushed off Mayhem's advances. Mayhem hated it when� her efforts are chided, but� she kept her cool. After all, Karst is always useful to have around....for now.
" I hope I haven't interrupted anything." a shadow emerged out of the darkness. It had to the the one which Grognard and Lupin spotted earlier.
Ahh...our mysterious friend appears...
"Fox!" Mayhem turned around, rather surprised. "You're here early..." She stopped and glanced at her ,� wondering if she had overheard her little conversation with Karst.
"Oh I just came in..."a feminine voice stated quite casually.
"I didn't hear the door open.."
"Then I guess you must have been distracted darling..."
Mayhem looked at Fox dubiously, but decided against saying anything else.
Hmm... so our little friend turns out to be a 'she'....and a pretty good liar at that....
'Fox' must be one of the 'sisters' that Karst and Mayhem were talking about. The pieces of the puzzle were starting to fall into place.
"Ahh...Miss Fox....I can see why you call yourselves the Vixens..." Karst kissed her hand as Mayhem watched on jealously. "You my dear, come highly recommended..."
"As do you Mr. Karst..." Fox answered back with her seductive smile. "I'm sure you were satisfied with the little demonstrations that me and my sisters have put up over the past week. We've even left the card behind as you have wished us to do...everyone now thinks it was Arsene Lupin who stole the diamonds."
" I am pleased indeed, and I'm sure you'll be able to deliver the Blake Diamond as promised...."
" The diamond will be worth every dollar Mr. Karst...and after this deal comes through....maybe you and me could leave business aside for while and concentrate more on the pleasures... " she gave him a little frolicsome nudge, which Karst returned with a low prurient laugh.
Mayhem folded her arms in disgust.� Seeing Karst responding to Fox's flirting clearly repulsed her. Ever since Fox showed her face around, Mayhem was back to being what she used to be in the past...second best.� She could never get the respect she� felt she deserved in the Vixens. It was always Fox said this, Fox said that... Those mindless sheep!� Well, Mayhem sure showed her... But after Fox left, the rest decided to call it quits. It just wasn't the same without her, they said. Fine with her. Who needed them anyway?! Perhaps she ought to thank them even, otherwise she might have never progressed on to bigger things tied down to a bunch� of� weak saps. But now to think, a countess of her statue still threatened by this� nobody!� Fox was only here a week , but to Mayhem,� it was one week too many.� She has been upstaged at her own game, and Karst was like putty in her hands.
You stupid old fool,she's playing you for a patsy! And the nerve of that shameless sl.... Mayhem� narrowed her eyes and muttered to herself. "You had better watch where you step Fox..."
Lupin listened on., intrigued. So Grognard hunch was right after all, Karst has indeed found new help.
CRACK.� The crate which Lupin had rested� his elbow on suddenly gave way.
uh-oh.
"WHO'S THERE?" the three looked around. An intruder in their midst!
Well... So much for staying hidden...
"Miss me Karst?"� Lupin quickly shouted as he shifted behind another crate. He was well concealed in the dark, and� moving around �would keep the enemy guessing on his exact position.
"LUPIN!!!" Karst and Mayhem recognized that cock-sure arrogance anywhere.
"Well well well,� what do we have here? Two beautiful ladies in a dimly lit room?" Lupin chortled. "Really Karst, at your age!"
"SHOOT HIM!!! Don't just stand there!!!" Karst yelled out to Mayhem.
"Shoot WHERE?! I can't see him with this blasted light!"
"JUST SHOOT!!! Lupin had better not escape, or this will be on your head Mayhem!!"
Mayhem quickly fired towards the direction where she had heard Lupin, but it was too dark to see where, or what exactly she was shooting at. Lupin quickly ducked the bullet as he dived behind another crate, swiftly placing himself in a strategic position.
"Yoo Hoo...over here!" Lupin called out again. Mayhem turned around and fired. Suddenly the whole room went black as the high pitched sound of� glass shattered over them.� This was exactly what Lupin had wanted. He was in the dark longer than any of them, and it will take a while for their eyesight to adjust, just enough to bide him the few precious seconds he needs...
"YOU FOOL!! You killed the lights!!" Karst started to feel very exposed in the pitch darkness.� "OPEN THE DOOR!! OPEN THE DOOR!!!"� he screamed, but nobody responded.
Mayhem suddenly felt a sharp pain in her hands and dropped her gun.� It must have been Lupin!
Impacting hard on the floor, the gun misfired and the bullet lodged into a large crate as sparks flew around the room. Unable to locate her gun in the darkness, she was defenseless against Lupin, and to stay on any longer would be to her disadvantage.� At times like this, it's every man, or rather... every woman for herself.
She quickly felt her way around the room and soon found the door. Mayhem kicked it open as a small trace of moonlight shone into the warehouse. Mayhem didn't care to look back as she sprinted away. And where Fox was concerned, she could rot in hell for all she cared.
Karst wasn't going to hang around and wait for Lupin to find him either. He quickly ran towards the door� in a bid to escape when a foot stuck out in his path without warning. Stumbling over it, Karst� fell hard on the concrete ground as�he laid on the floor unconscious.
"Didn't your mother ever teach you not to run around in the dark Karst? You might trip on something." Lupin laughed, but he didn't have time to take a rest.�
Sensing someone was behind him, he grabbed a pair of hands and flung her over. Fox crashed into the floor but her hand made a grip for his legs as she pounced on him. With Mayhem gone and Karst out of the way,� it was now a one to one fight with the wily character as they struggled faceless in the dark.
"Mademoiselle Fox is it?" Lupin taunted as they locked fists with each other. "I do believe we haven't been formally introduced.... "
"Now's a good a time as any Monsieur Lupin..." Fox matched her sarcasm for his almost immediately.� She narrowed her eyes and pushed back hard.� This little vixen� might be small-built, but she certainly was no pushover.
Lupin realized he was dealing with no ordinary adversary. � But by infuriating his enemy, Lupin figured he could tire her out faster and �gain an advantage.��
"It's not very nice to go around impersonating people is it?"
"You should talk Lupin.."� she spitted in his face.��
"Ahh� feisty .. I like that in a lady...." Lupin slyly continued as grappled with Fox."...but surely you can do better than Karst....he's old enough to be your father!"
It was working. Lupin could feel the grip on him loosen slightly as the woman energy channeled towards her anger.
Fox was mad with rage. How dare he even insinuate.....
"Why you sonofa...."
"Uh uh uh! Such language!" Lupin finally gained the upper hand as he managed to pin her down on the floor.
A loud explosion was heard as one of the crates suddenly burst into flames as the whole warehouse shook violently. The sparks created by bullet misfired from Mayhem's gun earlier had apparently lighted a fuse packed in the crate. Lupin and Fox were blinded for a second by the bright light as their eyes squinted to adjust to the abrupt glare. Able to see each other's faces finally as the room was suddenly illuminated, Lupin was taken aback as he saw the opponent he had tackled.
"YOU!"
He didn't get to finish his sentence. Fox , realizing that Lupin had let down his guard, seized the opportunity and threw him a left hook.� Lupin fell to the floor, stunned momentarily.� Running towards the door while he recovered himself, Fox turned back and smirked.
"I'd love to stay and chat Lupin,� but I really must be going..enjoy your little 'candlelight dinner'." She slammed the door as she made her escape. Lupin got� up and quickly tried the knob. It refused to budge.
Blast! She must have jammed it from the outside!� He banged his fists on the door in anger, but quickly calmed himself. Right now there are bigger problems. With the warehouse now well lit Lupin could �see that the entire warehouse was filled with crates with the words 'DANGER! EXPLOSIVES ' stenciled clearly on every box. Just a few moments ago, he and Grognard were still musing over this possible scenario. Of all the times to be correct�...
Well Grognard, when you're right, you're right...
The flames were spreading at a dangerously fast rate. If he doesn't find a way out of there and soon...there may not be an Ars�ne Lupin left to stop that woman. Lupin quickly looked around the room and spotted the hole in the ceiling where he had came in from. Luckily the flames haven't reached there yet. Lupin jumped onto the crates and climbed to the top.
Made it! That was almost too close!� Lupin thought to himself. In a matter of minutes thick smoke was building up inside because all the entrances were sealed shut. He could see Fox running away in the distance, perhaps he could still catch up if he hurried...
"Help me!" Lupin suddenly heard a faint voice coming from the smoke.
Karst!
Lupin looked back.� He had been busy fighting with Fox that he had forgotten that Karst was still trapped inside. Karst was finally conscious but found himself surrounded by the flames. Panicking, he had rushed to the door, only to find it locked. He was now cornered by the fire, with no way out and he was suffocating under all that thick smoke.
BOOM!
The room shook even more violently as yet another crate exploded. Pieces of ceiling started to give way, and the�wooden beams supporting the infrastructure started to cave in as they caught fire and collapsed.
Lupin clenched his fists angrily as he watched the smoke building up.
Karst was the last person in the world he would have wanted to save. He had cost him his father, and almost all the people Lupin had cared about on many occasions, had he not been able to save them in time. Nothing would please him more than to see him finally getting his just desserts, but no. Not like this. Lupin was the one who knocked him unconscious, and he indirectly started the fire. If he leaves Karst to die here, it'll be no different than if he had murdered Karst in cold blood. And that would go against everything Ars�ne Lupin stands for.
I'd� be no better than Karst himself... thought Lupin as he narrowed his eyes.� He knew what he had to do.
This must be your lucky day Karst...
Lupin leaped right back into the smoke field room and called out for him. There was no reply.
He must be unconscious from the smoke...
Lupin pushed away some of the fallen beams that have crashed from the ceiling earlier and made his way towards the door. Karst was lying on the floor.
Dragging him by the shoulders, Lupin pulled Karst slowly away from the�burning fire. The roof was coming apart, he had to work fast. There was no time to turn back to the roof exit. The only way out is through the locked door.� Using all his strength, he rammed the door and could feel it move slightly.� He started to cough as the choking smoke quickly filled his lungs,� but the urgency of the matter forced him to continue . Lupin tried the door again a couple more times.� It finally gave way, and about time too...� Lupin� was also starting to� find it difficult to breathe himself and he was exhausted. He quickly returned to Karst and slung him over his shoulders, heading for the exit with his excess baggage.
�Suddenly, the room trembled again. Lupin heard a loud crack above them.� Acting on instinct, he pushed Karst out of the door, but that split second decision had proved costly.� He was too late to avoid it himself. � The beam that had broken off from the ceiling's framework collapsed right on top, delivering a sharp blow to his head.� Lupin could only manage a weak groan as he slumped onto the floor,� his vision of the burning warehouse slowly turning dark again....
As the fireworks accentuated the night sky, a black car was seen driving off in the distance.� Soon the tranquility of night was shattered by the deafening sirens of police cars . And inside the open doorway of the burning building, a small white card caught fire slowly as its edges start to ashen ... ��
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