Everything was hazy, how long had she been lying here now? The grout on the tiles seemed to blur together as her eyes struggled to focus, becoming increasingly aware of the fact that someone was calling. Thank god. There was no way her thoughts were clear enough to reach Akira. She moved as fast as she could, which wasn’t exactly considerable at the moment, to draw the phone from her pocket, and tried to sit up, but ultimately forsook the motion, flicking the screen a few times, placing the device on loudspeaker, and laying it on the still-white tile next to her, resting her head down again and drawing another unsteady breath.
She’d answered it without checking the name, so she tried to make herself see the name on the screen. Luckily, a ‘hello’ came through before she had to struggle long. “Hakuba… Sama.." Oh god. That voice had come out of her- what had she gone and done this time? It was as if she was withering into the distance, and only a substance of her former self remained. A red pool at the bottom of her vision indicated why that might be so. Shit. She hadn’t gotten up, had she.
"I- I’m sure that you’re… that.. going somewhere important..
But…. I need…
Help me.. Please.
Home… My apartment..
Haku..ba…”
She turned her forehead against the cold tile, trying to stun some awareness back into herself, but she couldn’t choke anything else out. She moved to grab the phone, scrambling it between her fingers. But she couldn’t get it in herself to pluck out a message. Her senses were slipping again.“I’m sorry.. but plea..se hurry.”
Seat belt buckled. One hand clutching the phone, the other tight grip on the steering wheel. Pain, panic, pleading. He started the car.
“I’m on my way.”
Hakuba stayed on the phone as he backed out of the parking space, calculating the fastest route to the address he had memorized.
“What kind of injury are we dealing with? Shall I call an ambulance?”
This question was a holdover from dealing with Kid. Always ask; it’s an easy question to answer for most and usually comes with additional details that are useful. And while he didn’t want her to use all of her strength in talking to him, he needed to make sure that she stayed conscious, and he desperately needed more information.
He got off of the city roads and onto the motorway, picking up speed with ease. Hakuba was good at many things, and driving very, very quickly was one of them. His car could handle it, and so long as he kept a level head, so could he. Fortunately, anger and the majority of other strong emotions were something he had broken and beaten into submission long ago.
The detective weaved through traffic, speeding calmly through the artificially lit freeway, through the night.