October, 2018 — Lupin Cliff Hanger owner Paul Walker shocked the world today, announcing his signing of one-time Kawaguchi GM Ron Collins to a deal that will have him replace highly beloved GM Jim Konopka, who tendered a tearful resignation a mere few weeks prior. Collins’s departure from the Transmitter helm was as mysterious as his arrival was rambunctious, having left his office empty one day and never returning. The following weeks resulted in what is thought to be one of the widest man-hunts in Japanese law enforcement history, but that still came up dry.

Walker began the announcement standing alone at the Cliff Hanger press room podium, and only brought Collins to the stage at the moment of his announcement–a theatrical act that caused a round of gasps and then a clamor that erupted into pure chaos that continued for several minutes until Collins finally requested and received calm.

“I’m thrilled to be back in Japan,” Collins said. “And I appreciate Paul’s willingness to work with me. I look forward to doing what I can to bring winning baseball to some of the most loyal fans in the world.”

He refused to respond to questions regarding his whereabouts for the past few seasons. “This is not the time or place for that,” he said. “Today is about Lupin and the Cliff Hangers.” But old rumors were quickly recounted, including suggestions that ranged from Collins falling into a drug-induced coma, to more fanciful ones regarding organized crime and past debts. “I promise there will be a time,” Collins said with steadfast adherence to discussing only the future direction of the franchise.

As far as that direction, the pair of Walker and Colllins was more upbeat. “I like some of the young talent that Jim has brought along,” Collins said. “So we’ll be building on that as much as we can. The first steps will be about looking at our infrastructure, though. I’ll be sitting down with our coaches and scouts and doing an organizational review over the next few days.”

“Financially, I think we’re pretty stable,” Walker added.

“I’ll do my best not to blow the budget,” Collins added, “but I haven’t spent any LRS cash for several years, so I may get a bit over zealous.” The room laughed, and Collins sighed a breath of relief.

There was no comment out of the Kawaguchi camp as of the time of this release.

So, LRS fans, where this will end is anyone’s guess, but it appears that the reliable old Lupin franchise may be entering a new phase of its existence. If nothing else, this should be fun to watch.