Chapter Text
Footsteps pounded against the shattered mosaic as they rounded a corner into the frozen plaza. Two young men ran desperately from the law, their breath creating white trails of steam as they pushed themselves to keep moving. Their faces, red from the freezing air, were twisted into expressions of panic. Behind them, their relentless pursuers rounded the corner, their determined eyes focused in on their targets. They chased them without rest, ever so slowly starting to close the gap between them. One of the suspects craned his head back to look over his shoulder, panic sparking in his gaze as he locked eyes with one of the officers chasing them. He quickly turned to his companion, said something that couldn't be made out against the harsh wind, and suddenly the two were splitting up in completely opposite directions; one taking off towards the harbor, while the other took off towards the water lock that led towards the old fishing village.
Kim and Harry hesitated only for a moment, taking but a split second to weigh their options.
“Go after the one in the harbor,” Kim panted, his voice strained in between breaths. “I’ll go towards the village.”
Without so much as waiting for a response from his partner, Kim took off after his quarry. His lungs ached and his face stung from the cold, but this was not his first time chasing down a suspect, even in this kind of cold, far from it. Following their initial case together here in Martinaise, Kim had joined precinct 41 as Harry’s partner and they had gone on countless cases since. Unfortunately, many of them always seemed to involve a chase. Kim was in excellent shape, but he never could quite keep up with Harry when it came to running; this being why he sent the other detective towards the area with more obstacles. He knew Harry could handle it, in fact, he knew that he relished in the chase.
Wind whipped past the lieutenants ears as he regained his distance; their split had cost them some ground, but not nearly enough. Kim was already gaining on the man, his footsteps thudding heavily on the cold concrete as he crossed the water lock, vaulting over the railing to try and close even more of the gap.
This case had been a simple one— threats of violence against a Martinaise woman, Mrs. Robins. She had called in about it, feeling unsafe as these men had been stalking her, following her on her way to and from work. Kim and Harry had been sent in due to their familiarity with the folk in town, and because they had few other cases to focus on at the moment. It had taken very little time to identify the suspects; apparently the two men were not very popular amongst the residents of Martinaise, so it took very little prying to get information. As they were returning to Mrs. Robins’ residence later that day, they came across the two men in the act of breaking in. A horrifying prospect, but exactly what they needed in order to make the arrest.
Of course, nothing could be easy, because as soon as they heard Harry yell, the two bolted. Kim considered at that moment attempting to shoot them somewhere non vital to stop them, but decided against it for the time being. The two had always tried to make an attempt to resolve their cases without using their guns unless completely necessary, so he pushed the thought aside until he really needed it, taking off alongside Harry to pursue. As they had sped past the Kineema, Kim wondered if it would be worth the risk of losing ground to gain the speed that the motor carriage would provide, but in the end kept running, figuring that the extra maneuverability on foot would be beneficial.
He found himself somewhat regretting that decision now; his lungs were burning from the exertion and cold, and even though he still believed it to have been the right call, he would give anything for the extra speed and, frankly, the heater as well. His orange jacket was an excellent shield against the cold, but there was really only so much it could do after a certain point, and god did Kim hate the cold.
Jumping that railing did give him some extra distance against his target, but as they ran through the decrepit village, the man started to knock things over as he ran past; oil drums, trash cans, etc. Kim grit his teeth as he was forced to dodge past obstacle after obstacle, forcing him to lose precious ground as the suspect pulled further and further ahead. He was getting nowhere like this— he needed to try something else.
It looked like the suspect was running towards the church. It seemed as if he was planning to just cut straight across the ice; it was the dead of winter, so much of the water was still quite frozen over, a far cry from the last time they had been here. That could make it hard to attempt to cut him off, but perhaps if he could use the jetty to his advantage? But how… He scanned the area as they ran through the fishing village, trying to predict the suspects path.
Kim watched as he made his way up onto the dock, and started to run out onto the jetty— yes! That was exactly what he needed. The lieutenant cut to the side, making a beeline towards the jetty, trying to cut him off by running across the ice instead of using the dock. The man was using the jetty as a sort of runway to get onto the ice; meanwhile Kim had already crossed from land to ice, and was just hoping that he didn’t lose his balance as he ran across the smooth surface, snow and grit acting as his only traction. The other man noticed too late, just as Kim was launching himself up onto the jetty. Panicking, he turned and half jumped, half fell off the other side, onto the ice. He scrambled, desperately trying to escape further onto the ice. But it was too late. Kim was almost upon him. He jumped down onto the ice, a smile half forming on his lips in anticipation of his triumph.
Closer, closer, just a few more steps. Kim reached out his hand, so close he could feel the mans body heat.
Yes, okay, NOW!
He readied himself to tackle the man, when suddenly he felt the ground give way beneath him. With a strangled yelp he fell forward, slamming his chin hard into the cracked ice, dazing him before he slipped easily into the frigid water that wait beneath. He felt all the air escape him at once as his body was submerged. The cold enveloped him, sapping his strength by the second. He could barely think straight, but through sheer force of will and instinct, he found himself pushing himself upwards; was this up? Which way was up? Dei, he hoped this was up.
And it was. He pushed himself upwards until he could make out light again. His hands met a solid surface as he pushed on, and his blood, the only warmth left in his body, ran cold.
No. No no. His thoughts began to come back to him through the daze as he pounded feebly at the ice above him, panic beginning to sink its teeth into him. No no no fuck, no!
He moved his hands, barely able to see anything through the dark water and near opaque ice. His lungs were screaming, willing him to inhale, and he could feel himself growing weaker the longer he took to escape. He searched frantically for the opening where he had fallen in from, desperately trying not to think about the times he’d seen this before in cases, how many bodies he’d helped pull from frozen lakes after they couldn’t find the hole in the ice.
It was cold. It was so, so cold. His body felt heavy, numb, but somehow weightless despite this. He couldn’t do it, he was going to die here. He wasn’t ready to give up, but he felt as though he had about ten seconds left of fight in him before he physically could not move anymore. In one final, desperate attempt to save himself, he thrust his hands out one more time, searching. But this time, they met no resistance, instead being met by an icy wind that chilled him to the bone, even through his gloves. Desperately, he gripped the ice, pulling himself half out of the water where he took a deep breath, filling his protesting lungs. For a moment he lay there, sapped completely of all his energy, the upper half of his body resting on the ice as he gasped for air. His legs were freezing. He needed to get out of the water, but… he needed to rest first. That’s all.
Through his cloudy mind and foggy glasses, he didn’t even notice the figure before him until it walked up to him, kneeling down to take a fistful of his drenched hair. He pulled on it roughly, forcing Kim to look up at him. It was the man he had just been chasing, a satisfied gleam now reflecting in his eye. Kim barely had the energy to glare at him, still fighting against the cold, and willing oxygen back into his battered chest.
“Woof… y’almost had me there copper,” He said with a somewhat childish air. “Good thing this city seems to like me more than you, huh?”
“Y- y- y-…” Kim tried to reply through chattering teeth, but the effort seemed to drain him immediately. He tried to wrench himself out of the young mans grip, using his frigid hands to pull himself more onto the ice— he needed to get out of the water.
“Y- y- y-“ he twisted his face up mockingly, mimicking Kim. “What, ‘you’re under arrest’? Is that what you wanted to say?” He pushed Kim backwards towards the water, and a rush of fear shot down his spine as he realized he wasn’t strong enough to fight back. “Well, I’d like to see you try like this.”
Desperation clawed at him as he was forced back towards his own demise. He opened his mouth, trying to will up the energy to plead, his pride be damned.
“N- n- no-, Wa-“ But it didn’t matter, his head was already being pushed back into the water, its dark waves rolling back over his face and obscuring his vision once more.
Kim thrashed as much as his slowing body could, which amounted to very little. His hands were still above the water, trying to pull himself back out, but the mans hands were tangled in his hair, holding him beneath the surface. Kim grabbed at his wrists, hit them, scratched them, anything to get free, to not die like this. But his struggles were getting weaker and weaker, and he knew there was nothing that he could do. He finally stopped struggling; there was no energy left for him to fight against this man. He had won. Just as Kim felt water start to enter his mouth, the terrible, painful feeling of drowning, the hands were gone.
It was horrible. He barely even had to strength left to lift his body back out of the water. But he did, he had no choice. As he lifted his head back above the water, taking deep, deep gulps of the precious, freezing air in between violent coughing, he saw a figure dashing away across the ice. Ah, he must have just assumed Kim was dead and took off, leaving him to the cold. Kim used the absolute last ounce of his strength then to pull his body fully from the water, crawling just a few, shuddering feet away from the hole in the ice, and collapsed.
He was soaked head to toe, a sodden mess in the snow. His breaths were fast and shallow, and he couldn’t even move anymore. He wanted to drag himself off the ice, somewhere warm, but he couldn’t even put one hand in front of the other anymore. He could see the church ahead of him, maybe, maybe someone could help. Maybe they could hear him if he could just…
“H- h- … help…” It was no use. He couldn’t get his voice above even a whisper. “Fuck… H- Harry…”
Kim wasn’t even shivering anymore, a telltale sign that hypothermia was quickly setting in. He curled himself up as best he could in hopes of maintaining any sort of body heat he had left, and thought about Harry; eventually he was going to come looking for him. Maybe about an hour or two might be enough time to clue him in to something being wrong. An hour… Kim knew the statistics, he’d seen frozen bodies before. Already he could feel the water in his hair turning to ice, his sodden clothes becoming stiff around him. His eyes unfocused behind his frosted glasses. In this sort of weather, soaked through to the bones, he knew he wouldn’t last an hour. He likely had half that, perhaps less before the cold took him.
ENDURANCE - Your lungs and legs burn pleasantly as you return to the Whirling-in-Rags, the suspect cuffed and flung over your shoulder with ease. He had tried to outrun you, but there is no one who can get away from you.
PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT - You’re like an animal; a vicious, sweaty animal.
ESPIRIT DE CORPS - This was easy, you’re almost disappointed he didn’t put up more of a fight.
VOLITION - Regardless of this, it feels good to get a job done quickly. Great for the morale.
YOU - You enter the Whirling, your eyes scanning the establishment as you search for your partner.
PERCEPTION [Easy: Success] - You do not see Kim as you set down the unconscious suspect on one of the benches.
LOGIC - He is likely just taking a little longer to return, it’s quite cold out, the fishing village is much further away from the Whirling than the harbor, and Kim is not quite as strong as you.
PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT - He can’t hurl a whole body over his shoulder like you can, you brilliant beast.
ENCYCLOPEDIA [Medium: Success] - Hypothermia is a medical emergency caused by prolonged exposure to very cold temperatures and the body loses heat faster than it can produce it.
LOGIC - …Right, thanks.
YOU - You approach Garte, the cafeteria manager. “Has lieutenant Kitsuragi returned yet?” you ask, your face still red from the cold.
SHIVERS [Medium: Success] - Somewhere across the water, someone shivers against the wind, trying their best to keep warm. It does little for them, as they feel the ice and snow seep into their bones.
GARTE - “Ah, I’m afraid not since this morning when you left,” he says uncertainly as he washes dishes behind the counter.
YOU - You furrow your eyebrows, a little concerned, but shrug it off and make your way back to your suspect, sitting down at the table beside him.
PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT - He is still quite unconscious, something you made absolute sure of before trying to transport him back here.
SHIVERS - You feel uneasy as you think of the world beyond these walls. Somewhere out there, in the cold, someone is fighting for their life.
LOGIC - Can we lighten up a little here? We just solved a case for fucks sake.
YOU - You can’t help but think about your partner, as you so often do, while you wait. You think about being close to him, the way he laughs, and the way he tries not to smile when hes scolding you for something you’ve done. You’ve been partners now since the last time you were in Martinaise, nearly a year ago by this point, and you cannot get him out of your head.
ELECTRO-CHEMISTRY - You want that man more than you’ve ever wanted anything in your entire life.
DRAMA - You need him like the earth needs the sun, like a bird needs the sky… without him, sire, you’re lost. Empty. Nothing but a hollow shell.
EMPATHY - You’re in love with lieutenant Kim Kitsuragi, and that’s really all there is to say about it. You have been for quite some time at this point. He makes you feel alive, just by being around him.
SHIVERS - You feel a trickle of dread roll down your spine.
ENCYCLOPEDIA [Challenging: Success] - How long it takes to die from hypothermia depends on several factors, including whether the cold exposure is in air or water, how cold the temperatures are, and the person’s underlying health and age.
EMPATHY - …What the fuck.
YOU - Wait, I’m getting some very conflicting feelings here, whats going on?
ESPIRIT DE CORPS [Formidable: Success] - Across the water, lieutenant Kim Kitsuragi is held beneath the ice by his quarry, his struggles weakening as the biting cold saps what remains of his strength. As he stills, his aggressor flees, providing an opportunity of escape for the lieutenant. Weak, frightened, and alone in the cold, he pulls himself from beneath the ice. His body has given up on shivering, as the warmth leaves his body and frost begins to form on his ears, his nose, his hair…
ENCYCLOPEDIA [Godly: Success] - A person who is immersed in near-freezing water at temperatures of 32.5°F/0.3°C will have symptoms of mild hypothermia in under 2 minutes and will be unconscious in less than 15 minutes, with an expected survival time of 15 to 45 minutes.
COMPOSURE [Impossible: Failure] - FUCK.
HALF LIGHT - You shoot to your feet immediately, fear making your blood run cold. Your breath becomes shallow as you process this information, your eyes darting frantically around the establishment. Your eyes lock onto Titus Hardie, tucked away in the corner with his boys.
YOU - “Titus! I need a favor!” You call to him with wild eyes.
TITUS HARDIE - He raises an eyebrow, turning away from the conversation he was just having. “The hell you want, copper?”
EMPATHY - He says it good-naturedly. You’re okay in his books, have been ever since the tribunal.
YOU - “There’s an emergency, I need to run. Like right now. Keep an eye on this bastard for me, will you?” You gesture to the man you have leaning on the table.
TITUS HARDIE - He seems a little concerned at the prospect of this emergency, and he inclines his head.
EMPATHY - He can sense the urgency in your voice, and it worries him.
TITUS HARDIE - “’Course, copper. Do what you gotta do, we’ll keep an eye on the rat.” He casts a disdainful glance to the unconscious man.
YOU - You give Titus a rushed word of thanks before hurling yourself out the doors of the Whirling-in-Rags. You glance towards the Kineema; that would be the obvious choice, right?
LOGIC - Taking the Kineema would save you about 10 minutes, for a total of a 5 minute drive. This may be the difference between whether Kim lives or dies.
YOU - You throw open the door to the Kineema, throwing yourself into the drivers seat.
INTERFACING [Easy: Success] - This is simple for you. In the time you’ve been partners, Kim has allowed you to drive multiple times, the ultimate sign of trust. You swiftly start the motor carriage, taking hold of the steering levers as you floor it towards the fishing village.
HALF LIGHT - Your palms sweat as you fumble with the heater, cranking it to max in anticipation of getting Kim into the cabin. Adrenaline sends tremors through your body as you push the Kineema as fast as you possibly can, speeding across the bridge to the old fishing village.
EMPATHY - You can’t lose him, not now, not like this. You haven’t even had the chance to tell him how much you love him.
DRAMA - How much you need him.
VOLITION - It’s okay. You can save him. You will save him. Don’t give up.
LOGIC - …You just hope you aren’t already too late.