Chapter Text
“I don’t see what all the fuss is about. It doesn’t look any bigger than the Mauretania .”
That was a lie. The Titanic was a marvelous ship, even Kit, in an especially sour mood, could recognize that. The ship was huge and grand, and that was just the exterior. Kit could only imagine what the inside was like.
The Titanic represented a new beginning for so many others in the crowd, but for Kit, it felt like nothing but a slaver ship, carting him off to a future where Kit saw nothing but unhappiness waiting for him.
His fiancé, Joseph, looked annoyed, but that didn’t concern Kit in the slightest. It was a common expression on the man’s face. “You can be blasé about some things, Christopher, but not about the Titanic .” Kit turned away from Joseph before he said something else that would get him into trouble, and went back to secretly admiring the ship. “It’s over a hundred feet longer than the Mauretania , and far more luxurious,” his fiancé continued.
Kit heard Joseph whisper something to Kit’s father, Johnny, as he stepped from the car, and Johnny laughed in response, but Kit didn’t bother to spare it a second thought, knowing he was only insulting Kit. His father and his fiancé were constantly muttering things about Kit, and he had learned to ignore it. No matter how hard Kit tried, there would always be something he was doing wrong in their eyes. With Joseph, he usually wasn’t being obedient or polite enough. Kit’s fiancé wasn’t particularly fond of his quick tongue and unimpressed attitude. Johnny was always displeased with Kit’s resistance of the marriage. They would never be satisfied with anything he did, and Kit was used to it.
“So this is the ship they say is unsinkable.” Kit almost jumped when Johnny spoke, not aware of his father standing behind him.
“It is unsinkable!” Joseph defended. “God himself could not sink this ship-what?”
Johnny wandered off as Joseph became preoccupied with a porter, and Kit followed his father, not wanting to get caught up in the crowd alone.
“‘Unsinkable’ my ass,” Johnny remarked to Kit. “No ship is ever unsinkable. I swear that bonehead will believe anything that’s told to him, no matter how ridiculous.”
“If you think he’s such an idiot then why am I being forced to marry him?” Kit knew he should have kept his mouth shut, but he couldn’t help himself. He knew he was in trouble when his father’s hand tightened almost painfully on his upper arm. A warning.
“You know why. I am not having this conversation with you again, Christopher.”
Kit rolled his eyes where his father couldn’t see and shoved aside the anger rising in his chest, not wanting to push his luck. Johnny and Joseph had an… agreement. With Joseph’s steel empire and underhanded dealings combined with Johnny’s connections to important figures in the criminal underworld, they were a perfect team. But despite their partnership, they detested each other, and didn’t do much to hide it. The only thing they agreed on was their desire to control Kit. Johnny hated Joseph so much, yet he was the one forcing Kit to marry the man, all because he wanted the money and power it would provide. Not for the first time, Kit considered making a run for it into the crowd, but something stopped him.
Kit desperately wished he had nothing to lose, but there were so many things keeping him in that situation. Fear, to start off. Where would he go? How would he make money? He knew enough tricks from Johnny’s lessons to earn himself a few coins, but nothing he could survive on. What would his father and Joseph do if they caught him? Just the thought made him sick with dread. The main thing keeping him from running was his mother. Johnny was his last connection to his mother, and if he left, all those connections would disappear.
“Gentlemen,” Joseph said, nodding to Kit and his father. “We must hurry.”
The small group hurried towards the first class gangway, dodging other passengers from the lower classes. Kit’s maid, Trudy Wentworth, trailed behind them, lugging bags of Kit’s more fragile items that were too delicate for the cargo handlers. Kit had tried to help with the bags, but his father cast him a sharp look that told him to knock it off. In a small act of defiance, Kit stayed behind to walk with Trudy, ignoring Joseph and Johnny’s side glances.
Two young boys, steerage passengers, and their father bumped into Joseph, and Johnny bickered at him about his tendency to book things last-minute. Joseph smiled sarcastically.
“All part of my charm, Herondale. At any rate it was my darling fiancé’s beauty rituals which made us late.”
Kit huffed a breath. “ You told me to change.” Kit knew he was being overly moody, but at that point he couldn’t bring himself to care.
“I couldn’t let you wear black on sailing day, sweetpea.” Kit’s insides churned at the pet name. “It’s bad luck.”
Kit raised his chin and shrugged indifferently. “I was feeling black.” His spirits lifted a bit when he heard Trudy giggle beside him. He gave her a quick grin and inconspicuously took a bag from her.
Joseph guided them to the left, out of the path of a wagon. “Here I’ve pulled every string I could to book us on the grandest ship in history, in the most luxurious suites...,” Joseph clamped a hand down on Kit’s arm, “and you act as if you’re going to your execution.”
Not my execution. Something much worse; marriage to you. Kit refrained from saying the words out loud, instead letting Joseph lead him up the gangway and through the door to the ship, the hand on his arm feeling more like a chain, a few more strings of his freedom being pulled from his grasp.
**********
From the window of the small pub they were tucked in at, Ty could see the Titanic in all its glory, sitting in the port. The scent of cigar smoke and alcohol made Ty wrinkle his nose, and when the ship's foghorn bellowed, Ty had to restrain himself from covering his ears. To distract himself, Ty turned his focus back on the card game he was playing.
Ty and his friend Anush Joshi had been in Paris on a case, and were now following a new lead. They had gotten themselves dealt in at a game of poker with two Swedish men, who happened to have two shiny third class tickets for the Titanic , and those were more valuable to Ty than any amount of money.
While the men conversed in their native language, Anush leaned over to Ty.
"Ty, you're paagal ," Anush whispered. "You bet everything you have."
"When you have nothing, you have nothing to lose," Ty replied confidently. "Trust me, Anush, I've got this."
Anush didn't seem to be convinced, but he had seen Ty pull off crazier things, so he sat back. Ty tuned back into the conversation the other two men were engulfed in. He wasn't fluent in Swedish, but he could understand enough to pick up on the gist of what they were saying. The tall, muscular blond man - Olaf - was reprimanding his friend Sven for betting their tickets. Ty didn't bother with trying to work out Sven's reply.
Ty needed those tickets, for two reasons. The first was the most important, at least for the time being: Ty had reason to believe there was a murderer boarding that ship. And since the Titanic was going to be landing in America, Ty thought that he might be able to work up the courage to make his way to Los Angeles and see his family again.
For now though, Ty concentrated on winning those tickets. They had less than ten minutes until the ship left port, and time was ticking.
"Sven?" Ty prompted one of the men. For a few seconds they stared at each other, then Ty spoke up again.
"Okay, moment of truth," he said. "Someone's life is about to change." Ty barely stopped himself from smiling. "Anush?"
Anush laid his cards down with a defeated expression.
" Kuchh nahin ?" Ty said.
Anush repeated the words, sounding miserable.
Ty moved on. "Olaf?" The big man threw his cards on the table. "Nothing," Ty said for him. "Sven?"
Ty hissed between his teeth and faked a disappointed expression when Sven showed his cards. "Two pair," he mumbled looking at his own cards. "I'm sorry, Anush."
As expected, Anush set off in an indecipherable mix of English and Hindi, until Ty rested a hand on his shoulder, cutting him off.
"I'm sorry, you're not gonna see your mom again for a long time ." Ty could see the moment realization dawned on his friend, but Ty could not hide the rising excitement and still yelled out, " 'Cause we're going to America! Full house!" He tossed his cards in the table and slammed his fist down, not caring about the other patrons in the bar that turned to stare.
Anush jumped from his seat with the tickets in hand, shouting for joy. Ty reached forward to scoop up the rest of the winnings, but Olaf grabbed the front of his shirt and raised his fist. Ty braced himself for the punch, but laughed when Olaf turned his fist to Sven instead. Anush pulled him from the table and wrapped his arms around him, and through laughter, Ty yelled, "I'm going home!"
Their celebration was cut short by the bartender pointing at the clock behind him - they had five minutes. Ty cursed and he and Anush quickly pocketed the other winnings and grabbed their bags, rushing out of the bar and tearing through the streets.
As they got closer to the ship, Ty slowed to a stop, awed by the sheer size of the structure. Anush ran back and snatched Ty’s arm, pulling him along.
Almost high with their glee, they continued shouting as they ran, dodging pedestrians, cars and horses. They ran up the gangway to the loading door with seconds to spare.
"We're passengers," Ty said to the officer at the door. He showed him their tickets as proof.
"You've been through the inspection?" the officer asked.
"Of course," Ty lied. "Anyway, we don't have any lice, we're Americans, both of us." He gestured to himself and Anush, willing the officer to believe him.
The man looked uncertain but quickly came to a decision. "Alright." As the boys boarded the ship, the officer passed the tickets to the quartermaster.
“Alright, Gunderson and… Gunderson.” The quartermaster eyed them suspiciously, but still handed back their tickets.
“C’mon, Sven,” Ty said, pulling Anush along by his arm. They didn't waste anymore time, rushing through the hallways, ducking around other passengers.
"We're the luckiest sons of bitches in the world, you know that?" Ty shouted at Anush. His friend just laughed, and they finally made it up onto the open deck. Ty and Anush climbed onto the railing just as the ship started moving and waved to the people on the dock, shouting their goodbyes like a couple of adolescent boys. And all Ty could think about was his case, and his families faces, waiting for him in their home in Los Angeles, and Ty grinned like he hadn't done in a very long time.