Original FAN-FICTION
Pursuit
Fan Fiction by: S.L. Kotar and J.E. Gessler
“Reprieved by fate to run before the relentless pursuit of the police lieutenant obsessed with his capture.”
For anyone growing up in the mid-1960s, that iconic sentence, narrated by the “voice of God,” rang with its own sort of terror, for it signified the fact Phillip Gerard would never abandon his pursuit of Richard Kimble. Yet, ironically, if the “innocent victim of blind justice” ever hoped to escape his fate, it must be under the eyes and with the sanction of Lieutenant Gerard.
Barry Morse often reflected his wish that the show’s writers delve into Gerard’s character, but we never got any more than a few pieces of the puzzle. That, and Morse’s brilliant portrayal of a stalwart, honorable man, caught in a web of pursuit from which he, like the fugitive, had no alternative but to run until the far-away, inevitable conclusion played itself out.
To honor Barry Morse, to acknowledge Phillip Gerard as one of the most legendary television characters, and to pay homage to The Fugitive which influenced me so greatly, and continues to stir my soul, the following fan fiction is presented. Pursuit tells the story, begun on that fateful night of September 17, 1960 with the murder of Helen Kimble, from the police lieutenant’s perspective. It follows closely, with some literary license (including the spelling of his first name), what was developed on the series, expanding some ideas and omitting others, such as the fact his wife and his son both had two different first names.
The beauty of fan fiction is that if you don’t agree with me, you can write your own turn of events. But if you follow along my path, I hope you find the same inspiration which guided me – and incidentally Lieutenant Gerard – along the way.
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