Lupin The Third: The Beast of Lykanisches

Chapter 4

The bearded man guided the boat across dark waters. Though it was not his preferred headwear, he kept his 'security' cap low over his eyes as the wind buffeted the patrol boat and whipped across his face. His trademark beard was styled more meticulously than usual. There was so much product on it that it hardly ruffled, in spite of the wind. The lone boater was grateful for the mild weather. Though that blood-orange harvest moon... That seemed somehow foreboding, as did the dark, ominous castle in the distance.

The castle set itself upon the precipice of a rocky, mountainous projection high above the river. On the cliffside, the wet black stone upon which it was set parted in an inverted V. This inlet housed the castle's personal harbor; the bearded man's ultimate destination. As he steered his way to the cove, he spied a single tower out in the middle of the water, unattached to the rest of the castle.

Curious.

But enough time for that later.

Two solitary sentinels stood at the mouth of the cave. As the man steered his boat inside, they followed alongside. The bearded man moored his boat, which had the words Hafen Patrouille, or 'Harbor Patrol' emblazoned upon the side. Casually, he secured it to one of four docks inside the cove. The two security detail did not interfere with the man in his hat and windbreaker, both marked with the German word, 'Polizei.' But when he went to move past them, they both stepped into his path, blocking his way.

"Hey now, c'mon," said the bearded man in flawless German. "We're all working guys here, aren't we? Why don't you let me do my job and I won't tell the big boss man inside that you're slacking."

"Nennen Sie uns faul?" said the one. Are you calling us lazy?

"What else do you call sleeping on the job?" replied the boater.

The two security guards exchanged confused glances, and in that moment, the bearded man struck. Both men took the butt of an M19 .357 Magnum to the head and crumpled to the ground, unconscious. Swiftly, the bearded man holstered his gun and stripped the security guards. Next, he bound and gagged the two men and dragged them, one by one, to an adjoining boat and deposited them in the cabin below. The bearded man proceeded to doff his hat and windbreaker and exchanged it for one of the security uniforms bearing Herzog von Aderlass' personal insignia.

Pressing his finger to the Bluetooth device in his ear, he muttered, "I got us some uniforms."

The voice on the other side greeted him promptly.

"Oh, oui, oui?"

"Keh," the man remarked at his partner's French accent and put-on voice. "Really? I take it the party's already started then?"

"But of course I have arrived safely, Mother! You worry far too much! And what an extraordinary castle it is! C'est magnifique!"

"Great. Just hurry up and meet me in the harbor."

Jigen was having a smoke when the handsome blonde Frenchman joined him. The gunslinger, unperturbed by this stranger's presence, pointed at the security guard uniform on the ground.

"That one's yours," he grunted.

"Ah, excellent," the young man remarked in a very different voice than the one with which he answered the earlier call. Carefully, he stripped out of his fancy black suit jacket. Meanwhile, Jigen directed his gaze out the mouth of the cave and towards the lone black tower in the distance.

"What do you make of that?" he asked.

"Curious isn't is," said Lupin in his usual voice – and in his striped boxers. "I managed to excuse myself to use the facilities and flew my little beetle drone out a window at the west side of the castle hoping to get a closer view."