Kent knew from the moment Chandler saw him he was caught. He knew he wouldn't be able to shake the older man off his tail when he was this busted up. He also knew that he shouldn't be running with the gash in his head. One wrong step on a roof and he'd be taking a long drop and a short stop. The lights that marched down the streets he passed through started to dance and swim in his vision.
'Shit... I need to stop...' Kent thought, keeping a steady stride. 'I need to rest...'
Most of the gang were easy to deal with; a couple of good, clean punches and kicks and all but three had gone down. One had somehow managed to sneak up behind him and land a solid hit to the back of his head. Another lashed out, hitting his ribs but not breaking any. He could still feel the dull ache from every hit, kick and punch in his muscles.
Kent tried to think up the map of streets that he had memorized for this sort of occasion. He watched as they assembled themselves in his minds eye before they started to blur into each other and mix themselves up. He shook his head, trying to clear his head enough to put a route together. All that came to him was broken pieces of a route to an alley where he could safely get to the roofs and get away.
He followed the route, filling in the blanks with some difficulty. He could hear his DI keeping up and steadily catching up to him. Kent growled, clenching his fists and feeling the shadows wrap around them.
After five minutes of running and getting lighter and lighter headed, Kent found himself sprinting down the alley he needed. Glancing around, he found what he needed. A broken fire escape. He had passed it a few nights back and committed it to memory for a good back up. He ran for the stairs that hung down, stumbling around some of the holes and rusted steps. He was nearly at the second level when his vision went blurry. Everything became fuzzy as he fumbled around for the railing, something to steady himself on.
Chandler skidded to a stop under the fire escape, staring upwards as the man that he thought was his youngest DC flailed around on the second story landing. He leaned heavily on the railing for just a moment. The rusted metal groaned, whining about the weight before giving out entirely.
Kent hung there for a moment, suspended in the air. His eyes widened as he fell backwards, slipping off the landing. Chandler's expression mimicked Kent's as he darted forward in an attempt to catch the injured male. Kent flailed his arms and legs, trying to grab onto something before hitting a large garbage bin.
He lay there, gasping for breath as he checked for any new pain. None appeared to him as he slowly got his breath back, closing his eyes. No broken or fractured bones or twisted limbs. A ringing silence filled his ears, high in pitch but not enough to be painful. He grimaced. It was beginning to get irritating. All he wanted was for it to stop. He grimaced as another noise began to invade his head.
"Kent?" It called, faint over the ringing. It sounded familiar. "Kent?! Are you alright?!"
Kent frowned, screwing his eyes up. His mind was racing and spinning, making it difficult to even think straight. He knew he recognized the voice. He knew that it was someone he was quite closed to. Heck, he couldn't remember what had even happened in the last few minutes. All he knew was that he had been chased around the area by Chandler.
Chandler.
That's where he knew it from. His boss. His friend. Joseph Chandler was trying to find out if he was okay. Kent held back the small smile that threatened to twist his lips behind his mask and cracked his eyes open a slice. He stared up at very concerned Chandler dazedly, trying to say that yes, he was fine and that he'd fallen further than that before. All that came out of his throat was a slightly pained groan.
