A/N: I finally broke my streak of updating once a week, I'm sorry. A cockroach fell out of my towel this morning, so I get it, I gotta update OR ELSE. It was gross, I'm still not ok with it but I kinda am because it was funny too. There's going to be two more chapters after this, so we're wrapping up (YAY I'm going to finish a story for once and it's gonna be great!) Not sure how I feel about this chapter but wow I spent a lot of time on it, so please enjoy but also beware because-
WARNING! There's a panic attack and claustrophobia in this chapter, so if you're easily triggered then don't read it.
The Panic
It was the most stagnant hour of the night. The nocturnal beasts were retiring while the early risers were still nestled away until the break of dawn. The air was unnaturally still as if the atmosphere itself was holding its breath. It was four am, and despite the hour, Kogami was on his toes because his every instinct told him that something hostile crouched quietly in the warehouse before him.
Ginoza and Kogami had answered a summons to investigate a noise complaint after the description of the noises had been deemed suspicious enough to suspect criminal activity. A few bumps in the night wasn't enough to peak the MWPSB's interest, but when the anonymous caller began to describe minor explosions the analysts began digging into the building's history. The new intel revealed that the warehouse belonged to the tycoon of a chemical engineering company, but after his death three years ago the company was liquidated and the warehouse lay forgotten. Its' abandonment and deteriorated security left the building vulnerable to anyone with a pair of bolt cutters. Kogami and Ginoza had both been on call that night, meaning that they were to be prepared to immediately answer a summons to action in the event of late night criminal activity.
This particular case was too ambiguous for the pair of them to handle alone, so they arrived on sight as was protocol to keep an eye on the warehouse while Ginoza used his wrist devise to contact his partner inspector. She would have to be briefed and assigned the task of rounding up of the rest of the team.
"Mr. Ginoza?" a sleepy voice sweetened the air around them.
"Sorry for the late hour," the inspector said as a formality rather than an actual apology. Kogami shifted his gaze to catch sight of a small image of a bed ragged Akane (an image that was becoming oddly familiar) clad in an excessively ruffled yellow night shirt. Now, the human brain has an interesting function where it will fill in gaps of missing information automatically based the patterns it percieves, and the gaps will go unnoticed if they are not examined too closely. Something similar happened when the strap to Akane's shirt slid down a slender white arm, leaving her shoulder bare. Kogami automatically imagined what would happen if the cloth had not stopped slipping down. He was instantly alert after realizing what he had just run through his mind. While Ginoza droned on Kogami slapped himself mentally and attempted to refocus.
It's just a body like billions of others, it's ordinary and irrelevant to the task at hand. An inventory of my surroundings would be relevant and useful. Observation one: it's dark, I'll have to rely more on my other senses. Observation two: the warehouse is likely to have a secondary exit, scout the outside as a precaution. Observation three: given the previous owner, the warehouse is likely to be stocked with dangerous chemicals that the target can use as a weapon, remain vigilant for traps . . .
The rest of the team arrived quickly. Tsunemori exited her own car before a patty wagon rolled up and the four remaining enforcers walked out of the vehicle looking ready for anything.
Ginoza assigned each person to a task. Mazaoka was to circle around the building to find and guard alternative exits, Kagari continuously circled the perimeter to scan the building's layout and search for heat signatures while Kunizuka monitored and reported the input from the mobile tech station. Ginoza coordinated the whole operation by the tech station which left Kogami and Tsunemori the task of infiltration.
The rusted hinges gave a nasty screech when the main doors were eased open. The faint moonlight was devoured by the yawning black hole of the warehouse entrance and with two steps forward, the pair were enveloped.
"We're picking up an unidentified heat signature eighty-six meters to the northwest corner," Ginoza's voice informed them from their earpieces. "However, the place is so full of junk I couldn't begin to give you specific directions. Looks like you're going to have to play a little hide and seek." Kogami gave him a click from his communicator to indicate that they had heard and understood the update. Akane turned on a flashlight to its lowest setting and pointed it downward to minimize detection. She maintained the perfect rigid posture of a trained inspector. The stiff extremity holding her dominator rested atop the wrist of the hand holding her flashlight to keep her aim steady and true. By now Kogami had become confident enough in his aim to brandish his own weapon with one hand regardless of his original training. Truth be told, it was more of a product of his "screw convention" mentality.
They started forward, looking around every corner for signs of movement or danger. There were rows upon rows of tables packed with various dusty tubes, beakers, and other oddly shaped glasses designed for experimenting with chemicals. They wound past towers of boxes and decrepit filing cabinets with drawers hanging open and data sprawled about. The air seemed to have an eerie greenish tinge and the high windows were plastered with moldy blankets that cut off any external light source.
Finally, they reached the north west corner, but the only evidence they found of recent habitation was fresh charring around the floor and walls. Kogami felt a tug on his sleeve and Akane indicated a blackened and crooked rug. It's original placement was marked by a clean sliver of concrete to its immediate right. She pulled back the cloth to reveal an old fashioned trap door and then pulled it open by an iron ring to inspect its contents with her flashlight.
A faint rustling like the careful shuffle of feet grabbed his attention so Kogami whipped his head around to find a pair of eyes gleaming at them in the darkness. He meant to go after them when the target turned tail to run. That was the obvious option, especially given the racket he was making by knocking over everything he ran into and the slamming of a door opening. Kogami paused five paces into the chase sensing that something was off. There was a slight pressure on his shin from a delicate trip wire accompanied by a high pitched artificial squeal almost out of hearing range.
On instinct he changed direction to throw himself and Akane into the open hole in the ground and wrenched the door above them shut. Not a moment later the sound an intense blast echoed through their concrete tube and Kogami could feel the heat from it cook his skin. The tube only extended a few feet underground and didn't lead anywhere. It was obviously constructed to accommodate a single person. The flashlight flickered back on, and trapped as it was between their bodies with Akane's wrist bent at an awkward angle, it was enough light to see just how small of a space they were trapped in. The world flipped upside down for a moment and all the air seemed to leave the atmosphere. Kogami realized his breath was coming in short gasps but there was no oxygen. He quickly grew light headed and all he could hear was the blood roaring in his ears. The edges of his vision was faded, his skin was pricking with cold sweat. Neurochemical hysteria was surging through his body because the concrete walls were contracting around him and his only coherent thought was that he had to get out. A deep undertone of nausea rolled in his gut. He twisted to slam his back against one wall and his arms shook as he pushed against the opposite side with every ounce of strength he had in a desperate attempt to avoid a crushing death. It made no difference. The walls kept shrinking and he had to get out. Kogami strained and grit his teeth, twisted and pushed but he could hardly feel his body beneath a smothering blanket of numbness and he had to get out, he had to get out he had to get out . . .
"We just heard an explosion, are you alright? Answer me inspector!" Tsunemori struggled to get to the wrist devise with her arm pinned behind her and Kogami shifting around so much. "Shifting" didn't do him credit though. He was dead to everything except whatever demons were running around in his head as he strained mightily against the walls without regard to her own position. At first his forearm had been crushing her her throat. The strangling was unintentional, but she still had to bite him to get out of the life threatening hold. He barely seemed to feel it even when she drew blood. Now she had to deal with his knee grinding her ankle into the concrete and his elbow bruising her abdomen, but that was a price she was willing to pay. After all, the desperate noises coming from his throat and the wild look in his eyes were much bigger causes for concern.
Right now she had to focus on freeing her arm because Ginoza's muffled voice kept demanding that she answer. The more she struggled to free her arm the more her frustration built and fueled her efforts. Being unable to use her own body when she needed it for something this important was extremely vexing. Finally, she was able to scrape it free with a cry and the loss of some skin.
"We're fine sir! Kogami managed to pull us into some sort of underground shelter at the last moment." She could hear a faint crackle in the ear piece that could only be a sigh of relief.
"Don't leave your shelter until my signal. We suspect that the explosion may have released some toxic gases into the air. Mazaoka initially apprehended the target, but the shock of the explosion gave him an opening to escape, so-"
"HNN!" She coughed harshly after Kogami's elbow rammed into her stomach, bringing her to the verge of spilling its contents.
"What-" She couldn't hear the rest of what he said through a haze of pain, but when it lifted enough she spoke over him.
"I think Kogami is having a panic attack sir, I'm sorry, but I have to clam him down!" With that, Akane managed to take out her ear piece so she could focus on her next task without distraction. She forcefully wormed her way in front of the enforcer.
Suddenly all he could see was Akane's face, so he fought to get around her. She defied his efforts.
"Wdjesn si . .. . . ix!" She was saying something he could barely comprehend, but it sounded important. The urge to struggle was a strong compulsion, but he forced stillness into his body.
"You can hear me can't you? What is one hundred minus eighty-six?"
He shut his eyes and felt a bead of sweat trickled down between them. Numbers, numbers, what are those again? She wants a quantity. The units between eighty-six and one hundred are- "Fourteen." His response was clipped and his voice was really rough.
"Multiply by four."
"Fifty-six."
"Divide by six."
"Nine."
"Add four-hundred and twenty-two."
"Four-hundred and thirty-one." He felt his brow relax but he didn't open his eyes.
"Listen to me," Akane's voice came to him like soothing cool water. "You're safe here. Just focus on breathing." His chest was still rising and falling rapidly while his heart battered itself against its bony cage. He took a deeper breath but it was forced from his lungs quickly. The task of stretching out the exhale became a challenge to focus on. Slowly the light headedness dissipated and he could feel his body beginning to return to a more normal rhythm.
"Small spaces . . . never liked 'em."
"We're all afraid of something." Her gentle response made him feel more human. He had discovered his claustrophobia early in life, and after each episode he would detach from the experience and reminisce on how being trapped like an animal made him behave like one. It wasn't the small space that he feared, it was the cage.
Relax. After the excessive tension left his muscles he slowly became aware of his body's position. His legs were bent awkwardly to avoid the trapdoor ceiling while one arm was scrunched painfully to the side. The other was pinned between his and Akane's chests and they were close enough that he could feel her breath on his chin. He was also highly aware that one of her knees was pressed against his waist in a half stratal.
She moved against him and the sensation made him open his eyes. Her own enormous doe eyes held a look of discomfort, "Sorry, I'm starting to cramp."
"Do whatever you need to." She shifted and his space suddenly shrank again. His heartbeat picked back up.
"Hey, hey," through a painful push Akane was somehow able to raise her arms above her head, which freed up a surprising amount of space for them both.
She took his face in her hands, "I'm right here." He focused on the details of her face. The concern in her eyebrows, the prominence of her lower lashes, the delicate thinness of her nose, the deep cupid's bow curve in her lip. He closed his eyes again and allowed her after image to burn in his memory- the face of integrity. With nowhere left to put them, Akane was forced to drape her arms around the back of his neck, and it occurred to him that they were trapped in a lover's embrace. He couldn't help but find the humor in it.
"You're laughing?" The confusion in her voice was understandable because it was an odd reaction for the situation. He had to admit, releasing some hysteria through laughter instead of smothering it felt pretty good. Suddenly the appeal of insanity wasn't so hard to grasp.
"Good thing there's no one to take a picture this time."
This time she laughed with him.
"Inspector Tsunemori, do you copy?"
"Ah!" Akane maneuvered her wrist between their faces, "I'm here sir!"
"Good, don't ever toss your earpiece off again. I had to get Kunizuka to tap your communications just to get through to you. We've got the all clear, it's safe to come out."
"We're on our way." Kogami had no trouble finding his way out of that hole. Tsunemori, on the other hand, had to be lifted out before he could break through the back door. The inspector leaned her back against the cold metal exterior and tilted her head back with a soft thunk. Just to spite the weakness in his knees, Kogami made a point to support his own weight.
"I think I might be claustrophobic now." His blood ran cold.
"That never happened," his voice sounded foreign to his own ears.
Akane's face remained impassive but her eyes shined amidst the myriad of bruises and raw sores covering her body, "I don't know what you're talking about."
The night veiled his smirk. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and was put out when they failed to find a familiar cardboard pack.
"Hey Ko-" The enforcer looked up to see Mazaoka walking toward them with their target in a submission hold. "Thanks for flushing him out for me! It took a while to chase this guy down, but I got him."
"Come on Mazaoka, your supposed to shoot the bad guy not give him a warm hug," Kogami said with a wry edge.
"The firebug tried to blow up two of my dear colleagues, I just wanted to see if I could still get things done the old fashioned way. What do you think kid!" He gave the target a hard squeeze and he squawked in response. "Think I still got it?"
"Now you're just playing with your food," Kogami muttered.
"Come on," Akane prompted them. "Let's get him to Mr. Ginoza." She put her hand on the back of Kogami's arm in a comforting gesture with casual ease. He found himself missing the steady anchor when her hand retracted.
