Brothers II

By

Cynthia

NEW YORK CITY 1955

It’s a hot summer in the city.  A fire hydrant is turned on and several children run the cool water playing.  Just down the street several boys are playing stickball.  A blonde haired boy hits the ball and it soars down the street and lands near a curb.  Two boys with dark hair run after the ball.

The shorter of the two gets to it first and when he leans down to pick it up, he sees a large pocketknife sitting not far from it.  It’s a black knife with silver leave decoration.  He smiles and just as he reaches down to pick it up, he is pushed down.  He looks up to see the large boy pick it up.  The boy stands up and glares at him.

“Hey”, he says.  “I saw it first.”

“We’ll I’ve got it now, Davy!”

“Give it back, Tomey”, Dave yells at him.

“Whatcha gonna do”, Tomey taunts him.

Dave shoves him back and Tomey retaliates by hitting Dave across the face.  Dave falls back and he puts his hand to his nose.  He pulls it back and sees blood on his fingers.  He looks up at Tomey who laughs and walks away.

Another boy helps Dave to his feet. 

“You okay, Davy”, he asks him.

“Yeah”, he replies.  “Tomey’ll get his.”

“He’s too big and too mean.  You’re the only one around here who isn’t afraid of him.”

Dave knew his friend was right.  He knew he’d get in trouble when his pop saw his nose.  He could never lie to his folks and he knew they would be upset over his latest run-in with Tomey.

Dave Starsky still remembered the fight with Tomey and this time for some reason it stuck out in his mind.  It had been so many years ago and he still felt like that same kid in many respects.  He wiped his eyes and looked over the cemetery as people were leaving.  Starsky walked over to the coffin and lightly touched it with his hand.  He felt an arm on his shoulder and he looked over at Hutch.

“You okay, buddy”, Hutch asked.

“I still can’t believe it”, Starsky told him.  “We’re supposed to know this day will come, but you’re never really ready for it.”

“She was proud of you, Starsky.  Your mother was always proud of everything you accomplished.”

“I guess I’d like to think she’s with Pop now.  She never married after he died.  I think she was waitin’ till it was okay to go be with him.”

“Are you ready to go or do you want to stay here for a while”, Hutch asked.

“Where’s Nicky”, Starsky asked.

Hutch and Starsky looked around for him and they finally saw him talking to a gentleman with graying hair.  He had several people at his side.  Starsky had a curious look when he put his arms around a young man who looked at least ten years younger than himself.  Starsky and Hutch headed over in their direction.

When they arrived, Nicky looked at his brother and partner.  He didn’t say much to them, but the gentleman he had been talking with did.

“You must be Nicky’s brother.  I’m Frank Moretti and this is my son Rico.”

Starsky was silent as he shook the man’s hand.  He looked over at Nicky who was suddenly very silent.  He looked at Rico and watched him as he slipped his sunglasses on.  He suddenly felt like everyone knew something except for himself and Hutch.

“I’ve heard of you Mr. Moretti”, Starsky said.  “I didn’t realize you knew my brother.”

“I knew your father”, Frank told him.  “He was a good man which is how I knew Nicky.  Rico and Nicky are friends.”

“Is that why you came to my mother’s funeral”, Starsky asked him.

“You’re mother was a good woman.  God rest her soul”, Frank told him. 

Starsky thought he saw something in his face at the mention of his mother and he looked over at Nicky who had stuck his hands in pockets.

“Surely you understand why I don’t want you around my brother”, Starsky told him.

“Davy”, Nicky scolded. 

Starsky ignored him and he looked evenly at Frank who was giving him a hard look.  Rico turned and walked away leaving the men behind him.  Nicky walked over and followed him towards the cars parked not far away.

“I’m a legitimate business man”, Frank told him. “Those days are long past.  I have two sons to raise and I have no desire to return to a business which can be hazardous on one’s health.”

“You used to work for Joe Durniak”, Starsky told him.  “He was gunned down right in front of me.  So if I don’t take your statement to heart, I’m sure you’d understand.”

“I liked Joe”, Frank told him.  “He thought he was doing some good, but he knew the risks when he made the decision to go to the feds.”

“Just stay away from my brother”, Starsky told him.  “He’s had to work hard to break away from you people and I don’t want to see anything happen to him.”

Starsky walked away from the man and Hutch could see his fists were clenched as he walked towards his brother talking to Rico.  He didn’t even slow down when Rico saw him coming and walked away.  Starsky faced his brother.

“What in the hell are wiseguys doing at Ma’s funeral”, Starsky asked him.

“Davy, you’ve no right to be this way”, Nicky told him.

“No right?  Nicky, I shouldn’t have to tell you what Frank Moretti is all about and they had reason to show up here.  I want to know why.”

“He came here out of respect”, Nicky told his brother.  “You know how it works.”

“I’m well aware how it works, Nicky”, Starsky told him.  “It was people like Frank Moretti that killed Pop.  Are you workin’ for him?”

“You know I’m not, Davy.  I’m through with that.”

“You’d better not be lyin’,” Starsky told him.  “Ma would be sick knowing people like that showed up at her funeral.”

Nicky didn’t say anything to Starsky but instead walked over to the car and got inside.  Starsky looked over at Hutch.

“Starsk, you came down on him kinda hard”, Hutch told him.

“You know how I feel about these guys, Hutch.  Moretti and his clan had no business here.”

“Let’s get you home”, Hutch told him.  “It’s been a long day.”

Starsky took a deep breath and sighed.  Hutch was right.  It had been a horrible day and he was ready for it to be over.  He still had at least a thousand things to deal with and he wasn’t looking forward to doing so.  He and Nick still had a lot of decisions to make.

Starsky sat at his mother’s kitchen table looking through the various bills that needed to be paid.  He was thankful there was still enough money to pay everything.  He stopped what he was doing and rubbed his face.  He could still remember the times his mother had cooked for him and his brother.  After their father had been killed, it had been rough for quite some time.  He remembered thinking he would never get over it and there were times, the thought of his father still made him feel like that defenseless little boy that Tomey had beaten up.

Starsky took a deep breath and started sorting through the various items on the table.  There was still the house to deal with.  He was thinking of just letting Nicky have it since he still lived there, but thought better of it.  It would probably be better to have it put in both of their names for now until a decision could be made while the both of them were so emotional.

He looked to the door as Nicky walked in and poured himself a cup of coffee.

“So Hutch left”, Nicky asked him.

“Yeah, I dropped him off at the airport a couple of hours ago.”

“Do you know where that necklace of Ma’s is that has that pendant on it?  It’s got a picture of us and her inside of it.”

“No”, Starsky told him.  “Why?”

“Well, I wanted to see if it’d be okay if I could have it.”

“Sit down, Nicky”, Starsky told him.

Nicky took a sip of his coffee and pulled a chair out.  He sat down and Starsky faced him.

“I’m sorry I came down on you so hard yesterday”, Starsky told him.  “I don’t have a high tolerance of the mob and you know it.  It threw me off my game seeing Frank Moretti and that clan of his at Ma’s funeral.”

“They’re good people, Davy.  It’s not like it was back in the old days.”

“Joe Durniak told me something before he died, Nicky.  He said that there are names and facts that I wouldn’t like that he’d be testifying to.  Nobody will ever know what he was going to say and I had a lot of fears about what he would say.  One of those names could have very well been Frank Moretti.  I will never trust those people and it’s for the best that you stay away from them.”

“Davy, I wish there was a way to convince you”, Nick told him.

“Listen, Nicky.  I’ve got a few more things to take care of here before I head back to L.A.  Why don’t you come with me?”

“What?”

“We’ll sell the house and you can come and live out by me in L.A.  It’s not such a bad place, you know.”

“No, Davy.  I’m stayin’ here.”

“There’s nothing here for you”, Starsky told him.  “You can start a new life and leave this place behind.”

“I’m not leaving”, Nicky said as he stood up. 

“How many times have you been in trouble here, Nicky”, Starsky asked him.  “How many times have I had to bail you out of trouble?”

“It’s not like that anymore.”

“All I’m sayin’ there isn’t nothing good here for you”, Starsky told him.  “You should come back to California with me and forget this place and these people even exist.”

“You might think it’s easy enough for you, Davy, but not me.  This is my home and there are people here I care about.”

“What people”, Starsky asked.  “Frank Moretti?  This Rico kid of his?”

“You’d like Rico”, Nicky told him.

“I don’t want to know Rico”, Starsky said as he stood up.  “Haven’t you been listening to a word I said?  You can’t be mixin’ with the likes of the Moretti’s!”

 “Last I checked I’m an adult capable of making my own decisions!  I’m stayin’ here and there’s nothing you can do about it.  If you wanna sell the house, go ahead.  I’ll find another place to live.  I won’t change my mind.”

Nicky slammed the cup down on the counter and stormed out of the room.  Starsky took a deep breath and ran his hand over his face.  He couldn’t force Nicky to leave, but he didn’t feel good about leaving his kid brother behind.

SIX MONTHS LATER

It was almost dark outside while Rico followed Nicky through the abandoned building holding the small camera in his hand.  They found a cubby hole and crawled inside of it.  Rico set the camera where it wouldn’t be seen and adjusted the microphone.

“We won’t be seen from here”, Nicky told him.

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this”, Rico told him.  “You’d better not be wrong about it.”

“Have I ever been before”, Nicky told him.

Rico gave him a look and Nicky shook his head.

“About something important?  Like this.”

“If we get caught, Nicky, we’re dead.  It won’t matter who I’m related to.”

“Make sure the camera is focused.  We want their faces on it.”

Rico looked through the eye piece and checked the area.

“We’ve still got a few minutes before they show up”, Nicky told him.

“I hope they’re not late”, Rico told him.  “I’m supposed to go on duty in a couple of hours.”

“I bet you hate those early morning shifts”, Nicky said with a smile.

“Sometimes”, Rico told him as he looked at him.  “So is he still giving you a hard time about coming out west?”

“He hasn’t mentioned for the last couple of months, but I know he’s thinkin’ it.”

“Maybe you should think about it”, Rico told him.

“I won’t leave you”, Nicky told him.  “I won’t leave you like he left me.”

“It’s not the same and you know it”, Rico told him.  “It’s a lot different now.”

“Maybe”, Nicky said with a sigh.  “I guess if he’d had stayed we’d all be wiseguys now.  I’d feel better being close to you just the same.”

“Nicky, I’ll be okay.  I’m a cop now and I do know how to take care of myself.  You should go out there.  You’ve never been close to your brother.”

“He’s your brother, too”, Nicky told him.

“By blood he’s my half-brother, but he’s not really my brother.  I met him one time and that was it.  My brother runs a string of convenience stores and a couple of dry cleaners.  He’s your brother.”

“I don’t know why we’re even talking about this”, Nicky said with a sigh.  “I’ve already made my decision and I’m not goin’ anywhere.”

“Well, you should at least go out there for an extended visit”, Rico said as he stuck the gold chain inside of his shirt.

“Will you shut up about it if I think about it”, Nicky asked him.

“As long as you think about it.”

Nicky was about to answer when the far door opened.  Both men hunched down and Rico was careful to keep the camera focused as three men walked inside the building.  They walked to the center of the room and after only a minute or so another man wearing a beige suit walked in.

As he walked in closer, Rico’s eyes widened when he saw him.  He looked over at Nicky and he could see he had no idea who he was.

“Right on time”, the man said.  “Mr. Zunni, I came as soon as you called.”

“I wanted you to know how much we appreciate your assistance with Councilman Andrews”, Anthony Zunni told him.

“It wasn’t difficult to arrange”, the man told him.  “He was exactly where I said he would be.”

“He was causing too many problems for my organization.  If he had arranged another indictment against me, I don’t think we would have survived it.  Here is the cash we agreed upon.”

The man took the thick envelope and his eyes widened in satisfaction.

“This is more than I thought.”

“There’s a bonus”, Anthony told him.  “For future assistance.”

“I’m glad my department could be of service”, the man said as he put the envelope in the inside pocket of his suit.

“Killing public officials is risky business”, Anthony told him.  “You should be compensated for your assistance.”

“I’ll call you next week.”

Anthony Zunni watched him leave and after he was gone he looked at one of his men.

“Tomey, if Lt. Barrett spends too much and brings attention to himself, take care of him.”

“Yes, Mr. Zunni.”

Rico watches as they were getting ready to leave and he felt something on his leg.  He looked down and saw a large rat scurry over his calf.  He instinctively kicked at it and several boxes near him came crashing down.  He froze and looked at Nicky.

“Check it out”, they heard Zunni say to his men.

Rico grabbed the camera and he and Nicky scrambled out of the hole they were in.  They tore out of the dangerous situation they were in and when Rico looked back he could see Tomey gaining on him.  He looked ahead at Nicky running for the door.

He could hear Tomey on his heels as he headed out the door and he listened to the sounds of bullets firing near Nicky.  They ran through the door and just as Rico reached it, he felt a sharp pain in his right shoulder that radiated through his arm.  He fell on his face and the camera went tumbling into the alleyway.  He pulled his gun out and turned on his side. 

He looked up to see Tomey with a gun aimed at him and Rico shot him several times in the chest.  Rico scrambled away as Tomey fell and he grabbed the camera as he ran after Nicky who was yelling his name.

One of Zunni’s men leaned over Tomey’s dead body and looked over at his boss.

“Do you know who it was, Gino”, Anthony asked him.

“Yeah”, he told him.  “It was Nicky Starsky and Rico Moretti.”

“Find them and get that tape”, Anthony told him.  “Kill them both.”

“Tony, that’s Frank Moretti’s son.”

“I don’t care”, Anthony told him.  “That tape will bury us all.  Rico Moretti is personal.  I get him for killing Tomey.”

They had ran for what seemed to be an eternity and Nicky slowed down when he saw that Rico wasn’t with him.  He looked back and saw Rico leaning against a building with the camera in his hand.  Nicky ran over to him and he could see something was wrong.

“What is it”, Nicky said as he breathed hard.

“My shoulder”, Rico breathed.  “I can’t go any further.”

“You’ve got to, Rico.  They’ll kill you if they find you.”

Nicky walked around and he flinched when he saw the knife sticking out of his shoulder.

“Tomey must’ve got to you.  You’ve got a blade sticking out of your shoulder.”

“I killed him”, Rico said with gritted teeth.  “Take it out, Nicky.”

“Rico…”

“Please”, Rico told him.  “You’ve got to get it out of me.”

“Okay”, Nicky whispered.  “Hold on, little brother.  It’ll hurt like hell.”

Rico grabbed onto the building for support and he felt Nicky’s hand on his back.  When Nicky yanked the knife out, he almost screamed out loud.  He sank to his knees and Nicky grabbed onto him.  Nicky stuck the knife in his pocket as he helped Rico to his feet.

“Come on, Rico.  I know a place where we can go.  It’s not far from here.”

“Take the tape”, Rico told him.  “I can’t make it.”

“Bullshit”, Nicky told him as he picked him up.  “You’re crazy if you think I’m leavin’ you here.”

Nicky put Rico’s arm around his neck and he helped him walked down the dark alley.  They walked another six blocks before Nicky found the place he was looking for.  It was an old apartment building that no one lived in.  It still had electricity and some water.  He kicked open the door to an apartment and set Rico down on an old mattress lying on the floor. 

Rico was put on his stomach and Nicky took his jacket off and used it to stench the blood coming from the large wound.

“Nicky”, Rico whispered.

“Yeah.”

“You’ve got to get Uncle Sal.  He’ll know what to do.  Go get him.”

“I’m not leaving you.”

“Listen to me, Nicky.  Anthony Zunni saw us.  Him and his brother will be after us and we need help.  You know we won’t make it 24 hours if we don’t get some help.  I’ll be okay.  Just get him.”

“I’m turning the light out”, Nicky told him.  “You don’t make a sound just in case.”

“I’m not going anywhere”, Rico said with closed eyes.

Nicky was hesitant to leave his brother, but he was right.  This was over their heads and as he left, he wished his brother was here with them both.

Less than an hour later, Rico’s Uncle Sal was cleaning the wound on Rico’s shoulder.  He sighed at the story he had been told by both Nicky and Rico.  There weren’t too many options for either of them.

“You both have got to lay low for a while”, Sal told them.  “You’ll have to stay separated and make no contact with each other.”

“No way”, Nicky said.  “We’ll hide out together.”

“It’s too dangerous”, Sal told him.  “It won’t be a problem keeping you out of circulation, but Rico sticks out.  The Zunni brother’s won’t stop until they get their hands on the both of you and that tape.”

“He’s right”, Rico said with a sigh.  “Does Pop know about any of this?”

“Not yet”, Sal told him.  “We knew that keeping your existence a secret was important and it’s even more important now.  If the Zunni’s find out the truth it’ll destroy a lot of people you’ll wind up turning that tape over to him and signing your death warrant and that of people you care about.”

“So what do we do”, Nicky asked.

“I know some people in the department.”

“Barrett was there”, Rico told him.  “If he gets wind of this, I won’t have a chance in hell.”

“They won’t talk.  They’ll arrange your transfer to another city and you’ll high tail it out of town.”

“The Zunni’s will still find me.”

“Not if we make a few adjustments”, Sal told him.

“Where are you gonna have him sent”, Nicky asked.

“We’ve got people in L.A. that will help push this through.  Think you can hack working in your brother’s precinct”, Sal asked.

“Are you crazy”, Nicky asked.  “If he finds out about any of this…”

“He doesn’t have to know”, Sal interrupted.  “I think Rico will be safer there than anywhere else.”

“He’ll ask questions if Rico shows up”, Nicky told him.

“We’ll have a convincing cover story to explain his appearance and your disappearance.  I’ll talk to my people and we’ll put Rico in Vice.”

“I’m a beat cop”, Rico told him.  “How are you going to arrange that?”

“Leave the details to me, kid.  You need to be out of uniform and in plainclothes.  It’ll help protect you.”

“How long do you think this will last”, Nicky asked him.

Sal put the finishing touches on Rico’s wound and looked at Nicky.

“I wish I could say.  We’ll just have to bide our time until this blows over.  Right now Zunni and his boys are busting their asses in finding the two of you.  They’ll relax and we’ll be able to move you both.”

“What about the tape”, Rico asked him.

“You take it with you”, Sal told him.  “You hide it and you don’t tell a soul where it is.  I mean it, Rico.  As long as you keep that tape hidden you live.  It’s too dangerous to keep it in the city.”

“There’s got to be another way”, Nicky told Sal.

“I wish there was”, Sal said with a shake of his head.  “The old man will bust a gasket when he finds out about this.  Rico, he would agree with this.  You know what he’ll do to keep you safe.”

“I know”, Rico said with a sigh.

Rico pulled himself up to a sitting position and looked at Nicky.  His brother walked over and sat next to him on the mattress.  He pulled the knife from his pocket and handed it to Rico.

“Call it a souvenir”, Nicky told him.  “Keep it with you.”

“I wish it didn’t have to be like this”, Rico told him.

“Just take care of yourself and don’t try to contact me.  I guess it worked the other way around.”

“Yeah, I know.  I’ll be the one seeing your brother.”

“Your brother, too”, Nicky told him.

Rico didn’t say anything and looked at the knife in his hand.  His life was about to change radically and he was being forced to leave everything he cared about behind. 

Hutch could see the exasperation in his partner’s eyes as he drove.  He looked over at him and he could see him gripping the steering wheel tightly in his hand.

“Starsk, relax”, Hutch told him.  “I don’t see why you have such a problem with this.  It’s been a week since you found out.”

“I can’t”, Starsky answered.  “This isn’t like Nicky and you know it.”

“I’ll admit it came out of the blue, but you said yourself that he needs to grow up and start taking some responsibility.  This isn’t necessarily a bad thing.”

“The army”, Starsky asked.  “I can see Nicky doing a lot of things, but the army isn’t one of them.”

“It hasn’t hurt you any”, Hutch reminded him.

“We’re talking about Nicky, here.  He never showed any interest in the military before this.”

“Starsk, maybe losing your mom gave him some perspective and he realized he needed to do something more with his life.  People sometimes have revelations when they loose someone close to them.”
            “Nicky swore he wouldn’t leave New York, Hutch.  I tried talking about it with him and he said there was no way he was leaving.  A week ago he calls me up and tells me that he decided to go in the army.  He’ll be all over the place.”

“He’s had some time to think about it”, Hutch told him.  “Since when is it wrong for someone to change their mind?”

Starsky pulled the car in the front of the precinct and stepped out of it.  He looked over the hood and looked at Hutch.

“Nicky swore to me he wasn’t about to leave New York.  There were people he cared about there”, Starsky told him.

Starsky walked around the car and followed Hutch inside.

“Starsk, just give it some time.  Let Nicky find out what it’s all about.  I’m sure he’ll call you soon and let you know how he’s doing.”

Starsky shook his head as they walked down the hallway.

“That’s another thing, Hutch.  Nicky told me that he won’t be able to call me too much during basic training.”

“Starsky, will you just give it a rest?  You know how busy he’ll be.  You need to just kick back and see what happens.”

Starsky still wasn’t happy with the idea as he walked into the busy squad room.  He walked past Minnie who was walking out of Captain Dobey’s office.

“He’s looking for you two”, she told them on her way out.

Starsky sighed and walked through the door and he looked up at another person standing in the room.  His eyes were a bit wide and he looked over at Hutch.

“This is Rico Moretti”, Dobey said.  “He just transferred in from New York.”

“I know”, Starsky said.

“You know each other”, Dobey asked.

“We met at Ma’s funeral”, Starsky told him.  “I’m just surprised.”

“He just got into town yesterday and he’s ready to start work.”

“Cap, we didn’t know a transfer was coming in”, Hutch told him.

“It came from the brass a week ago.  You two give him the grand tour.  He’ll be running with you both for the next couple of weeks until I find a partner for him”, Dobey told them.

Starsky looked over at the young man.  He looked awfully young to be a vice cop and his hair was almost as dark as his own.  His dark brown eyes looked a little unsure of himself and Starsky had to tell himself to relax.  He stepped forward and held his hand out.

“Welcome to metro”, Starsky said.

Rico was a little hesitant at first, but he finally reached forward and grasped Starsky’s hand in his.  He looked over at Captain Dobey.

“Captain Dobey”, he said.  “You might as well know right now my father is Frank Moretti.”

“Is that name supposed to mean something to me”, he asked.

“Frank Moretti was at one time allegedly involved in mafia activities”, Hutch said with a look over at Rico. 

“He’s supposedly a retired businessman now”, Starsky said.

“He is retired”, Rico told him.  “He’s been out of it since I was born.”

Starsky kept silent and looked over at Hutch. 

“We’ll start with those liquor store robberies”, Hutch said. 

Dobey waved them off and the three men left the office.  Hutch walked over to his desk and picked up the ringing phone.  Starsky pointed to a nearby desk and Rico sat down.  He looked over at Starsky as he pulled the SOP out of his desk.  He set it down in front of him.  Rico’s eyes were a bit wide at the thick notebook sitting in front of him.

“You need to start with this”, Starsky told him.  “I’m sure the SOP’s are quite a bit different than New York’s.”

Rico leaned forward and opened up the notebook.

“You can study it during your off time.”

“I’m looking for a place right now”, Rico told him.  “It’ll be a few days before I can sit down with it.”

“Where are you staying at, kid”, Starsky asked him.

“There’s a hotel on 21^st street.”

“We’ll get your gear”, Starsky said as he sat down.  “That place is a dive and they don’t need to know a cop is living there.  You’ll stay at my place.”

“That’s not necessary”, Rico told him.

“Yes it is”, Starsky told him.  “For some reason, Nicky thinks you’re a good kid and I don’t want my brother thinking I don’t take care of his friends.”

Rico was silent as he looked at Starsky.  He could see what Nicky was talking about when it came to him.  He could see no reason to turn him down.  He knew it was the last place anyone would think of looking for him.  It was well known in the neighborhood what Dave Starsky thought of people like his father. 

At that moment, Rico would have done just about anything to get home, but he knew how dangerous it was to show his face.  He missed his father and Nicky a lot.  Rico sighed and leafed through the notebook until it was time for them to leave.

He sat in the backseat of the Torino while Starsky drove and Hutch sat in the passenger side.  Hutch turned around and looked at him.

“So tell me”, Hutch asked.  “What made you transfer out here?”

“It’s not easy working as a cop in New York with a father like mine”, Rico told him.  “Like what he used to be.”

“What do you mean”, Hutch asked.

“Well, people will either think my father is in good with the cops or they’ll think I’m on the take.  It just made sense.”

“I can imagine moving out here wasn’t too easy for him”, Hutch told him.

Rico didn’t say anything.  He had last seen his father the morning of his run-in with Anthony Zunni.  He had spoken to him briefly over the phone at the airport a few days ago.  After a winding trip through various cities, Rico had finally made it to LAX.  He had no idea when he’d see his father again.  A question from Starsky brought him back to where he was at.

“I don’t get it”, Starsky asked as he drove.  “How did Frank Moretti’s kid wind up being a cop?  Why didn’t you follow the old man’s footsteps?”

Rico could have almost sworn at Starsky, but he held his tongue.  Now wasn’t the time for him to lose his head.

“It was something I wanted to do since I was a kid”, he told him.  “My father was very pleased with my choice.”

“I can imagine”, Starsky muttered.

“What”, Rico asked.

“We’re here”, Starsky said.

Rico took a deep breath as he watched them get out of the car.  Hutch pulled the seat back and Rico climbed out of the back.  He looked at the small bar and looked over at Starsky and Hutch talking.

“Starsk”, Hutch said.  “Lighten up.  He’s just a kid.  He can’t help what his father is or was.”

“Your right”, Starsky said.  “I guess knowing what his old man is makes me not trust him.”

Hutch gave Starsky a pat on the back and they both walked inside with Rico close behind.  The three of them sat down at a table and Rico watched as a skinny black man walked over to them.

“Well, if it isn’t Butch and Sundance”, Huggy told them.

“Hug, this is Rico.”

“A cop in diapers”, Hug said.  “How nice.”

Rico couldn’t decide if he was offended or not.  He looked around the room and spotted a guy on the phone.  He gave him a once over and he knew immediately what he was.  He looked back over at Huggy who was talking to them.

“These dudes aren’t junkies or in it for a quick buck from what I’ve heard.  They blew in about two weeks ago from Vegas.”

“Names”, Hutch asked.

“Ones a machismo and the other is some dude he hooked up with on his way out of town.  That’s all anybody knows.”

Rico looked over at the short man who hung up the phone.  He watched him as he stuck a couple of small pieces of paper in his pocket.  He didn’t say anything as he slowly stood up and walked over to him.

Starsky watched Rico walking over to the man and sat down to talk to him.  He could see the quiet approach he was taking and the short guy seemed comfortable with him even though he was downing two doubles of scotch.

“Huggy”, Starsky asked.  “Who is that?”

“Oh, that’s Paulie”, Huggie said.  “He comes in here a couple of hours a day.  He has a couple of shots and makes a few calls to his kids.”

Starsky didn’t say anything as he watched Rico give the guy a couple of bucks and stand up.  He walked over to them and sat back down at the table.

“You know him”, Hutch asked.

“He runs numbers for one of the local bookie joints.”

“Are you sure about that”, Huggy asked.

“He said that these guys you’re looking for are into the ponies big time.  They’re using the cash from the liquor store holdups to cover their bets.  They’re taking huge losses right now.”

“Did he say anything else”, Hutch asked.

“Only that some guy by the name of Morton has been taking their bets.  He doesn’t have any names.”

“Morton’s been using a place behind this skin shop on Cline”, Huggy told the guys.

“Thanks”, Hutch asked.

“Rico, how did you know to talk to him”, Starsky asked.

“He’s got this ring on his left hand.  It’s a catholic marker that’s only given when you do a favor for someone important.  My father was given one from Joe Durniak.”

“Let’s go check this lead”, Hutch said as he stood up. 

No one spoke as they headed out.

The three of them arrived at the shop and didn’t slow down as they walked through it amid of the stares.  Hutch ripped the phone out of the owner’s hand and yanked it out of the wall.  He dropped it on the counter and they continued on their trek to the back room.

Starsky didn’t even break a stride as he kicked open the door.  Rico and Hutch filed in behind him.  Starsky and Hutch walked around the room taking the phones off ringers and Rico leaned against the door watching the room.

“Where’s Morton”, Starsky asked.

No one spoke as both officers walked around the room.  Hutch picked up one ringing phone and yelled that the office is under renovation and is suspending operation until further notice.  Rico’s eyes caught the movement of a man about ten feet to his right.  He watched him reach into his coat and before anyone realized it, Rico had his gun pulled and aimed right at the man.

Starsky saw the flash of movement and he stopped for just a minute.  He looked over at the large man who was slowly pulling his hands away.  Hutch walked over to him and checked him.  He pulled a .38 out of the coat.

“Morton, I presume”, Starsky said as he walked over to him.

Hutch put him up against the wall and started putting the handcuffs on him.  Rico eased back as Starsky walked over to the large man who Hutch had cuffed.

“Morton, wasting cops is not a good way to begin or end your day”, Starsky told him.

“What do you expect me to do when I start getting hassled”, Morton argued.

“I expect you to be smarter than a cracker”, Starsky told him.

“Tell us how much these high rollers from Vegas are into you for”, Hutch asked.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about”, Morton told him.

He looked over at the young cop who was walking around the room and looking at the various papers sitting on the desks.  Rico stopped at a large desk and when he tried to open the desk, it was locked.  He stopped and looked at Starsky and Hutch.

Hutch smiled as he searched Morton.  He found the keys in his pocket and tossed them to Rico.  Morton watched with wide eyes as the desk was opened and a large accounting book was pulled out.

“Hey, you can’t do that”, Morton told him.

“It’s a bookie joint”, Hutch told him.  “I think we can do what we want.”

“That is until having them are passed into law”, Starsky told him.

Rico walked over with the book in hand and he looked at Morton.

“No names”, Rico said with a shake of his head.  “But Morton has been doing very well.  You certainly know how to undercut the competition.”

“What is it”, Starsky asked.

“He offers a discount for multiple bets and he skims from the winnings.  I wonder what would happen if word of this got out.”

“Okay”, Morton told them.  “I gave ‘em a week to come up with the cash.  One is Raul Domingo and the other is Wilbur.  That’s all I know.”

“Oh, come on”, Starsky said.  “Where are they hanging at?”

“Last time they called was from a joint in Mandalay Heights.  It’s some club.”

Hutch walked over and picked up the phone.

“What’s he doin’”, Morton asked.

“He’s calling this place in”, Starsky told him.

“You can’t do that.  If they find that book, I won’t make it to the arraignment.”

Rico set the book down in front of him.

“I guess you won’t have much time to get rid of it, will you?”

Starsky smiled a bit and took the cuffs off of Morton and he grabbed the book.  They watched as he began tearing the pages out of it.

The club where Morton had pointed the officers was closed.  Hutch suggested they check it out later in the night.  After dropping Hutch off, Starsky took Rico to the hotel and after checking out, they went to Starsky’s place. 

Rico was hesitant on walking inside at first but he managed to find his courage as he walked through the door.  He set his bag down next to the couch as Starsky pushed the button on the answering machine.  As the messages played, Starsky pulled two beers from the fridge and handed one to Rico.

“Hey, Davy”, a familiar voice said on the machine.  “Just thought I’d let you know I made it here and I’m getting settled in.  I’ll call you when I can.”

“Where”, Starsky yelled at the machine. 

Rico watched the frustration on his face and he could see he was not liking it one single bit.  Starsky took a long drink from his beer and looked over at Rico.

“Did you know anything about this”, Starsky asked him.

“I found out before I left”, Rico told him as he sat down on the couch.

“What made Nicky decide to go in the army of all things”, Starsky asked as he walked over to him.

“I guess since…since your mother died, he thought he should do something with his life.”

It was odd for Rico to say the words and he quickly took a drink of his beer.

“It seems pretty out of character for him”, Starsky told him.

“Nicky’s different than what he used to be”, Rico told him.

“How long have you known my brother”, Starsky asked as he sat down.

“Seems like all my life”, Rico said with a sigh.  “I used to follow him everywhere he went.  Sometimes I thought he hated it, but he denied it every time.”

Starsky could see a bit of a smile at his lips and he felt something familiar.  He wasn’t sure what it was but he felt an odd feeling in the pit of his stomach.

“I would have thought it was from some of the stunts he pulled.”

“I can remember him sneaking me out of the house when I was a kid.  We’d go to this place not far away and we’d play cops and robbers at this old building we had heard used to be a hangout for some wiseguys back in the 40’s.  We were told that a bunch of them got busted and there was a huge shootout.”

“Which one were you”, Starsky asked.

“I was the cop every time”, Rico said.  “Nicky never minded playing the bad guy.  I think he liked playing dead too much.”

Starsky laughed and took a drink from his beer.

“All this stuff from today”, Starsky asked.

“I knew you’d ask”, Rico said with a sigh.  “My Uncle Sal used to tell me stories all the time from the old days and I guess it just took.  He’d tell me about everything.  Just because I know this stuff doesn’t mean…”

“I know”, Starsky said with a sigh.  “My father was shot down by some wiseguys.  It’s hard for me to put away how I feel about those guys.”

“You made it clear”, Rico said as he took a long drink from his beer.

“Rico, I know you didn’t like what I said to your father, but as a cop it puts us on opposite sides.”

“He’s not into it anymore and I know you don’t have a reason to believe me.  It’s up to you whether you do or not.  Just remember one thing.  I’m not a potential snitch for my father or anybody else.”

Starsky sat back on the couch and sighed.  He could see that Rico loved his father and what could he say.  He loved his father just as much.  He finished off the beer and stood up.

“The couch makes into a bed”, Starsky told him.  “You can crash there until you’ve got some time to search for a place.”

“I’ll get out of your hair quick enough.”

“Listen, lets forget this talk of families and wiseguys”, Starsky told him.  “You can stay as long as you want.”

“I know you’re uncomfortable with this.”

“You seem to be a good cop with good instincts”, Starsky told him.  “I won’t let this get in the way.”

Rico watched him walk out of the room.  Maybe this won’t be as bad as he had thought.

It was late when they arrived at the club where Morton had told them the robbers had called from.  It was dark and various girls walked through the room dancing and talking with potential customers.

They scanned the room and saw nothing.  Hutch walked over to the bartender.  He pulled a ten from his pocket and slid it over to the bartender.

“Raul and Wilbur”, he told him.

The bartender gave him and even look and pointed to a table in the back.  He walked over to Starsky and Rico.

“They’ve got a table in the back and there might be a girl or two with them.”

“How’s those lightening fast reflexes of yours”, Starsky asked Rico.

“I’ll stand at twelve o’clock”, Rico told him.

“Starsky and I will flank them.  Keep your eyes open.”

Rico nodded and he walked over to the far side of the room and took his position.  He sent a girl on her way after she attempted some friendly talk with him.  He saw the men sitting at a table and from the looks of them, they were having a very heated discussion.  Rico saw Starsky walk past him and he looked to his right as Hutch moved also.

Rico stayed ready as Starsky and Hutch began to quietly move in.  No one wanted a shootout in the place.  Hutch looked over at Starsky who had moved a bit closer and eased in behind a booth.  Hutch stood to move and suddenly he saw that they were made by Wilbur who pulled a gun out.  Raul flipped the table on its side and pulled his gun out as well.  Rico had his gun out when he saw the flash of a barrel and each man turned their attention to Starsky on one side and Hutch on the other.  They had a well protected position with the table up and a cushioned booth surrounding them.

Rico rolled down to the floor in hopes of getting a better angle and he got up on one knee and fired a shot at Raul.  The angle was off and it hit him in the shoulder.  Raul turned his gun on him.  Rico never heard Starsky yell his name and he was suddenly shoved into the floor.  He gasped at a sudden pain in his shoulder.

Starsky fired a shot at Raul which hit him square in the chest.  Hutch took advantage of the distraction and leveled the .357 at Wilbur.

“Take it and die”, Hutch warned him.

Wilbur held the gun up and Hutch ordered him to slowly lower it.  While Hutch took care of Wilbur, Starsky helped Rico to his feet.  Rico could feel the sharp pain in his shoulder and he knew it was the wound from Tomey.  He hoped no one would see it as he looked at Starsky.

“Thanks”, he told him.

“I should be the one telling you that”, Starsky told him.  “You okay?”

“Let’s call it even.”

Starsky patted Rico on the shoulder and he had to bite back a curse and he was thankful the pain he was in wasn’t noticed.  In a few short hours, concrete evidence was found in the getaway car which connected both men to the robberies. 

Rico walked into Starsky’s place and sat down on the couch.  Starsky looked over and noticed his slow movements.

“Hey”, Starsky said.  “You’re moving pretty slow.  Maybe I hit you down harder than I thought.”

“No”, Rico said with a sigh.  “I got nailed back in New York and I guess it’s not healed like I thought it was.”

“Let me take a look at.”

“It’s okay”, Rico said.  “I probably just need to put something on it.”

“I won’t let it go until I look at it.”

“Alright”, Rico said with a sigh.  “Let me grab a fresh shirt.”

Rico slowly stood up and walked back in the bedroom where he had put his bag.  He opened it up and pulled a t-shirt out of it.  He took the chain around his neck off and stuffed it at the bottom of the bag.  He walked back in and sat down in a chair that Starsky had pulled out for him.

Starsky helped him take his shirt off and when he saw the bandage, blood was seeping through it.  He took the bandage off and sighed when he saw it.

“You should’ve gotten stitches”, Starsky told him.  “Didn’t you go to a hospital or anything?”

“It didn’t seem that bad at the time.”

“Probably wouldn’t hurt to get it checked out.”

“Just put some peroxide on it and butterfly it”, Rico told him.  “It’ll be fine.”

Starsky sighed and began working on the wound. 

“So what happened?”

The memory of that night came flooding back to Rico and he closed his eyes as he felt the peroxide.

“I got jumped by a perp”, Rico told him.  It wasn’t far from the truth, he thought.

“You never saw him coming?”

“We were casing out an old warehouse where a deal had went down”, Rico answered.  “He jumped me.”

“I imagine your commander wasn’t too happy about this.”

“He doesn’t know”, Rico told him.  “I didn’t realize it was bad until I got home.  Nicky helped me doctor it up and we got drunk on tequila that night.”

“Should’ve known Nicky was involved.”

“Why are you so hard on him”, Rico asked.  “He’s not a bad guy.”

“I know he’s not”, Starsky answered him.  “He’s my brother.  He just doesn’t seem to make the right decisions.”

It was on the tip of Rico’s tongue to tell Starsky how wrong he was about his brother and he wanted to, but he knew if he started, he may wind up telling too much.  He hated this.  He wished he could talk to Nicky right now.  Nicky had always seemed to have the answers for everything.  Rico knew about the trouble Nicky had been in some time ago and he knew that Starsky had saved him.  What Starsky didn’t know was that it had changed him.  Nicky was still resentful at times that his older brother had left, but he had decided he was going to stick it out and take care of Rico.  Rico knew that Nicky could have went to California, but he also knew he was the reason why Nicky had stayed behind.

The next evening Rico sat on the couch with a beer in hand and the SOP in front of him.  He hated reading all this crap about procedure, but he needed it.  He looked over at Starsky who was getting ready for a date.  Hutch was on his way over to pick him up and both had made plans to hook up with a couple of girls.

He looked over at the opening of the door and Hutch walked inside. 

“You can come if you want”, Hutch told him.

“No”, Rico told him.  “I’d better stick with this date right here”.

Hutch smiled when he saw him motioning towards the thick notebook in front of him.

“Starsk, we’re going to be late”, Hutch hollered. 

Starsky walked into the room stuffing his shirt into his pants and he looked over at Rico.

“You’ll be okay”, Starsky asked.

“Sure, unless you think I need a babysitter”, Rico told him dryly.

“You can use the Torino if you need to”, Starsky told him.  “I don’t know what time I’ll be in.”

Rico nodded and he sat back pulling the thick notebook in his lap.  He didn’t say anything as Starsky and Hutch left.  They had been gone less than half an hour when the phone rang.  Rico took a drink of his beer as he reached for it.

“Hello”, Rico said.

“Strip joint.  Corner of 5^th and Mason.”

Rico heard the click of the phone and he hung it up.  He shot up off the couch and grabbed his jacket and gun.  He grabbed the keys to the car and headed out the door.

When Rico walked into the small strip joint, he scanned the various tables.  It only took him a minute to find his Uncle Sal sitting at a table in the back talking to a blonde.  He walked over to the bar and bought a beer.  After paying for it, he walked over to them and he watched as Sal put a couple of bucks in her g-string.  He sent her on her way with a pat on the butt.

Rico sat down across from him and gave him a grim smile.

“If I didn’t think it’d draw attention I’d give you a kiss”, Rico told him.

“You’re looking good.  How’s life in the California sun treating you?”

“It’s been okay.  I’m fitting in pretty good around here.”

“Anyone suspect anything?”

“No.  It’s not too much different working here than it is back east.  How’s Nicky?”

“Climbing the walls”, Sal told him.  “We’ve got him stashed down the coast.”

“I can’t believe you’re here”, Rico told him.  “Are we ready to move?”

“No”, Sal said with a sigh.  “The Zunni brothers are still hot to trot over you and Nicky.”

“My father.  How is he?”

“He’s good, Rico.  We’re putting a plan together to get you and Nicky back home where you both belong.  We might have to have the Zunni brothers taken out?”

“You can’t tell me that”, Rico told him.  “Besides it could start a war.”

“We know.  It’ll take some more time.  You need to put that tape on a floating ship for starters.  It will keep you covered for the time being.  Make sure you don’t know where it’s at and keep the instructions clear.”

“I get you”, Rico said as he took a drink of his beer.

“I hear you’re staying with your brother”, Sal asked.

It was on the tip of his tongue to say Starsky wasn’t his brother, but he held it.

“Yeah, he’s okay, I guess.”

“You don’t like him.”

“I don’t like what he says about Nicky”, Rico answered.  “You won’t believe how far off base he is.”

“Set him straight.”

“I thought about it, but I don’t want to raise any suspicions.  If he thinks I’m anything other than a friend, he’ll start asking questions.”

“I’ve heard he’s a pretty righteous cop like his old man was.  Your father thinks a lot of him, Rico.”

“They only met that one time.”

“He still remembers him as a kid and he was just like his old man even back then.”

“They’ve got me working with the guy and his buddy until I get a partner.”

“I don’t mind it”, Sal told him.  “I think he’ll help keep you in one piece.”

“Uncle Sal, it was pretty risky for you to come out here.”

“It was better than a phone call.  When we’re ready to make our move, we’ll come and get you.  Be ready at a moment’s notice, Rico.”

Rico nodded and he watched as Sal left.  He sat there finishing his beer for a few minutes and then he left.  This thing was getting played too tight and Rico was beginning to feel nervous.

Rico made the arrangements as told to him about the tape.  It wasn’t too hard to make an excuse to Starsky and take care of it.  It was a good place, Rico thought to himself and no one would even suspect where it was at. 

Two days after his conversation with his Uncle Sal he was working on some reports at his desk when, Hutch walked over to him.

“Let’s go, kid.  We’ve got a homicide.”

Rico stacked the files in his basket and followed both detectives out of the squad room.  When they arrived at the beach, a hoard of police cars were already at the scene.  Rico followed them out on the sand and he saw the body covered with a sheet.  He looked around at the various people taping the area off and uniformed officers combing the beach for clues.

Starsky and Hutch bent down at the body and Starsky pulled the sheet back.  He grimaced when he saw it.  The man had been obviously tortured before his death.  He heard a noise behind him and he looked up at the ghost white face of Rico who had taken a few steps back.

Hutch walked over to Rico and took him by the arms.

“I know it’s ugly”, Hutch said.

“It’s Uncle Sal”, Rico whispered.

Hutch looked over at Starsky who had heard Rico also.  Starsky walked over to him.

“Are you sure”, Starsky asked him.

Rico nodded and he could feel the tears in the corners of his eyes.

“Hutch, get him back to the station and I’ll finish up here.  I’ll catch a ride back with one of the guys.”

Hutch put his arm around Rico and walked him back to the car.  He could see how visibly upset Rico was by his seeing his dead uncle.  Rico was trying to get his bearings.  It had slipped out and now he knew he had to watch himself.  He knew this meant the Zunni brothers or their henchmen were in town.  Images of his uncle floated before him, and he made Hutch pull the car over.

Rico stepped out of the Torino and threw his lunch up.  Hutch helped him back inside and Rico covered his face with his hand.  He knew Sal had died not saying a word.  Otherwise, he would be already dead and Nicky, too.  There would be questions and Rico tried to answer them as he attempted to put something together over his own grief.

He knew talking to his father was out of the question, but he prayed to hear his voice and to feel his arms around him.  It was now even more dangerous than it was before.  Rico had to come up with a plan and quick.

Starsky paced the office and Hutch sat in a chair across from Captain Dobey.  He looked over at Dobey who had a report sitting in front of him.

“The preliminary report from the medical examiner says that Sal Moretti had been dead approximately twelve hours when he was found.  He was tortured for quite some time before he was shot.  Does Rico know anything?”

“No”, Starsky said.  “He’s taking this thing kinda hard.”

“Rico had no idea he was even in town”, Hutch told him.  “He said that Sal could have been coming to check up on him, but was taken before he ever had a chance to see him.”

“It could be a rival”, Starsky said.  “Someone looking to get the goods on Frank Moretti.”

“Starsky, you knew these people from when you were a kid.  Did you know any of the Moretti’s?”

“No.  I heard of Frank and saw him around the neighborhood from time to time.  Nicky knows him and Rico and maybe even Sal.  Whoever it was, they were looking for information and it’s hard to say if they even got it.”

“I’m sending this report to the NYPD”, Dobey told them.  “They’ll follow up with what they can there.  Talk to Rico and see if how much he knows about the old man’s dealings.”

“A hit like this won’t be ignored on the street”, Hutch said.  “We’ll rattle some cages.”

No one said anything as Starsky and Hutch left the squad room.  Rico sat at his desk and Starsky sat next to him.

“Rico, think back”, Starsky asked him.  “Is there anyone that would have anything to gain by taking out your father’s brother?”

“No”, Rico whispered.  He cleared his throat and sat up a little.  “My father’s not in it anymore.  He doesn’t have any idea who would do this.”

“I’ll take you to the airport so you can get home for the funeral.”

“I talked to my father a little while ago”, Rico told him. “He wants me to stay put until the people responsible are found.”

“You’re not going to the funeral”, Hutch asked.

“He thinks it might be dangerous for me.”

“He’s probably right”, Starsky replied.  “I’ll take you back to my place.  Take a couple of days off.”

Rico nodded and he hated the lie that seemed to spill so easily from his lips.  He was now in this thing alone now and he knew that he had to keep an eye out.  The best Rico could figure the Zunni brothers were probably looking for Nicky.  He had to get out of Starsky’s place and get another place to live.  How was he going to do it without letting on what was going on?

Starsky sat down at his desk after getting Rico home and picked up the file on Sal Minnie had gotten from the NYPD.  It was mostly small time misdemeanors and some investigations which really lead nowhere.  He had asked her to get something on Frank Moretti, but she was having a hard time accessing the records.  The feds had it sealed and it was starting to look like this investigation was leading nowhere.  He looked up at Hutch who had just hung up the phone.

“Huggy wants to see us without Rico.”

“Must be important”, Starsky told him.

“Anything”, Hutch asked about the record Starsky was holding.

“Not really.  Just what we already knew.  I’m glad Nicky’s not around any of this stuff”, Starsky said with a shake of his head.  “Rico’s a good kid, Hutch.  It’s gotta be tough to live this kind of life.”

“From the sounds of it, Rico hasn’t been around it as much as you would think.  He’s pretty insistent his father’s stayed out of it for a long time.”

“He was telling me about how Sal would tell him stories from the old days”, Starsky told him.  “This thing with his Uncle has really hit him hard.”

“I’ll come over tonight after we’ve finished for the day.  He doesn’t need to be alone.”

Starsky nodded and both men stood up to leave.

Neither detective was aware that Rico had met up with his ship and gave him final instructions before sending him on his way.

Huggy walked over to Starsky and Hutch as soon as they arrived at the bar.  They could see a nervous look on his face.  The three men sat at a booth while Huggy talked.

“This hit is all over the street”, Huggy told them.  “Even the scum are running for cover.”

“Who’re the hitters”, Hutch asked.

“If they know, they won’t say.  I do know these boys came from back east and they are known to be pretty heavy handed in their dealings with the general public.”

“Any word on the Moretti family”, Starsky asked.

“The old man is retired and it’s a well known fact he’s a strict legit operator.  This brother of his coming out here was not a planned trip.”

“He may have come out here for something other than visiting his nephew”, Hutch observed.

“People are nervous with the latest rattling from the mob and everyone is out looking for number one.  No one wants to get on their bad side and I can guarantee this is the most you will get out of anyone.”

Starsky sighed and looked over at Paulie who was sitting down at a table with a drink in hand.  Starsky walked over and sat down across from Paulie.  Starsky didn’t speak as Paulie downed the drink and motioned for another one.

“How is business, Paulie”, Starsky asked.

“Day in and day out”, Paulie said nervously.

“Tell me about the ring”, Starsky asked him.

“It was a gift.”

“From who?”

“A grateful friend”, Paulie told him evenly.

Starsky sighed knowing he wasn’t about to talk.  The waitress set another drink down on the table and Starsky leaned forward after she left.

“Hear about the hit that just went down?”

“Everybody knows about it.”

“What do you know about it”, Starsky asked as he slid a twenty over to Paulie.

“I like my life”, Paulie told him.  “Go find another poor idiot to bribe.”

Paulie downed his drink and walked away from him.  Starsky sat for a minute and Hutch walked over to him.

“Hutch, we aren’t getting anywhere with this.”

“Let’s get out of here.  I know a couple of cages to rattle.”

The rest of the day had proved just as frustrating for the both of them.  No one was talking and people were practically running for cover.  Neither man could get anyone to break the silence which had come over the street. 

Hutch dropped Starsky off at his place and when Starsky walked inside, he heard the shower running.  He grabbed a beer from the fridge and he walked into the bedroom where he threw his jacket on the bed.  He turned towards the dresser and something caught his attention.

Starsky walked over and he looked down at the pocketknife sitting among some change and a wallet.  It looked almost the same he thought to himself.  Down to the silver leave wrapped around the black handled knife.  Starsky picked it up and saw the same knick he remembered when he had first seen it.

It had to be a coincidence, he told himself.  But Starsky’s gut told him otherwise.  He still remembered the fight he had with Tomey over it.  He set the knife back down and looked over to the closed bathroom door.  It was instinctive to confront Rico, but Starsky decided against it.  He decided he needed more than just a similar looking pocketknife.

That night, Starsky looked over at Rico while he studied the SOP.  He could see him looking away from time to time.  It was obvious to Starsky, Rico was distracted.  He suddenly had a feeling that he couldn’t define.  It did tell him, Rico knew more than what he was saying. 

Starsky walked over to Hutch who was sitting down at his desk and pulled a chair over to him. 

“Where’s Rico”, Hutch asked.

“I had him stay home today.”

“What’s wrong”, Hutch asked.

Starsky told him the story of his fight with Tomey over the pocketknife when he was a kid and explained how he had found that same one sitting on his dresser.

“Starsk, there’s got to be thousands of similar pocketknives.”

“I thought about that, Hutch, but this is too much of a coincidence.  Somehow I think this might be connected with Sal Moretti’s death.”

“We can run a make on Tomey”, Hutch offered.

“I know how the mob works, Hutch.  I was thinkin’, do you think your father might be able to do the make?  If we start pokin’ around too much it’ll raise some red flags.”

“I don’t see why not.  He could have someone in Washington pull it.  They can fax it to him and him to us.”

“What about running one on Frank Moretti”, Hutch asked.

“No”, Starsky told him.  “It could raise too many suspicions.  Right now I want to find out what we can about Tomey.”

“I just thought of something”, Hutch said.  “When Rico arrived, Dobey said that his transfer came down a week ago before he got here.”

“Yeah”, Starsky said.

“Nicky called you a week before Rico got here telling you he was going in the army.  Starsk, put all this together and what do you have?”

“Either somebody hiding or we’ve been at this too long.”

Starsky got up while Hutch got on the phone and he picked his up to find out exactly where Nicky was.  A few hours later, Starsky slammed the phone down in anger.  Hutch looked up at him just as Minnie handed him a file.

“Starsk”, Hutch asked as he stood up.

Starsky shook his head for a minute and walked over to his desk.  He took a deep breath and Hutch could see that Starsky was livid beyond anything he had ever seen him before.

“Nicky’s not in the army”, Starsky bit out.  “In fact no one’s seen him for almost two weeks now.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course I am”, Starsky said with a raised voice.  “I’m sorry.  What do you have?”

Hutch sat down and opened the file Minnie had given him.  He looked down at it and looked at Starsky.

“Tomey’s dead.  His body was pulled out of the east river two weeks ago.”

Starsky felt his heart freeze up at the statement and after a moment, he walked over to Hutch.

“What happened to him?”

“He was shot three times in the chest.”

“Is there a ballistics report”, Starsky asked.

Hutch handed it to him and Starsky quickly read it over.  He slowly sat down and looked at his partner.

“It’s the same caliber bullet as Rico’s gun”, Starsky told him.

“Jesus”, Hutch whispered.  Hutch looked over the file and looked at Starsky.

“He’s crossed paths with the law several times and he was under investigation for several hits that went down including a Councilman Martin Andrews.  There was nothing concrete.”

“I remember hearing about him”, Starsky told Hutch.  “He was really big on bringing down organized crime in the city.  He had several wiseguys brought before grand juries.  A few of them managed to get out of it.”

“This Tomey was some piece of work”, Hutch said looking through the reports.  “He was really into hurting people for a living.  He was arrested several times for assault and extortion, but no one would testify against him.  I don’t think he ever saw more than a week in the can.”

The telephone rang and Hutch reached for it.  He looked up at Starsky as he listened to Huggy relay the information he had just learned.  Hutch set the phone down after the conversation was over and he looked at Starsky.

“What”, Starsky asked.

“That was Huggy.  Rico was spotted at strip joint on Cline a few nights ago.  His source tells him that he was meeting with Sal Moretti.”

Starsky bit back a curse and yanked his jacket off the back of his chair.  He was on his way out the door with Hutch close on his heels.

Rico hung up the payphone and zipped up his jacket.  It was getting late and it was starting to rain.  His ship was getting nervous and it was taking quite a bit to convince him to take it easy.  He was the only one that knew the location of the tape.  It was taking quite a bit of Rico’s cash to keep the guy happy enough to keep it hidden.  He told him to just stay on the move and watch his back.

He looked at his watch and decided it he had better head back to Starsky’s rather than being out and about.  Rico hailed a cab and as the rain started pouring down, he ran over to the car that had slowed down.

When Starsky opened up the door to his house he froze and looked over at Hutch.  The place had been torn apart and it looked liked they had ripped into everything.  Both men pulled their guns and checked the place out. 

Hutch walked into the living room putting his gun back in its holster.  Starsky picked up his phone and set it next to the answering machine.  He saw the light flashing on the machine and hit the play button.

“Hey, Davy”, Nicky said.  “I guess I just keep missin’ you.  These guys are really kickin’ my ass all over the place.  But you’d say it was good for me.  Well, gotta go.  I’ll try ya’ later.”

After the message ended, Starsky stood there staring at the answering machine for a minute.  He grabbed it and slung it across the room.  Hutch walked over to Starsky.

“Relax, buddy.  We’ll find him.”

“Nicky’s under somewhere and Rico’s in this up to his neck”, Starsky told him trying to maintain a hold of his temper.  “What the hell happened to make ‘im hide like this?”

Both men turned at the sound of the door opening.  They looked over at Rico who was staring at the mess.  Starsky didn’t think as he took long strides over to Rico and grabbed him.  He threw him up against the wall and got in his face.

“You’d better tell me where my brother is or you’re gonna see a side of me you won’t like”, Starsky told him in a lethal voice.

Rico strained under the pressure and he looked over at Hutch who was doing nothing to stop his partner.

“I don’t know”, Rico said through clenched teeth.

“Don’t lie to me”, Starsky yelled.  “Where is he?”

“If I could even ask, they wouldn’t tell me”, Rico answered.

Hutch pulled Starsky back and looked at Rico who walked away getting his breath.

“We know you met with Sal”, Hutch told him.  “We know you and Nicky left New York at the same time.”

Rico didn’t say anything as he looked around the cluttered room.

“I saw the knife”, Starsky told him.  “It’s Tomey’s isn’t it?”

Rico looked over at Starsky and didn’t say anything as Starsky took a step over to him.

“You killed Tomey, didn’t you”, Starsky told him.  “How in the hell did you get Nicky in to this?”

“I didn’t”, Rico said raising his voice.

“Rico”, Hutch said.  “You and Nicky are obviously in hiding.  It’s time you started talking.”

“It’s too dangerous”, Rico told him.  “No one can know.”

“It’s obvious from the looks of this place that someone is on to you”, Starsky told him.  “If you don’t start talking I’m runnin’ you in as an accessory to murder.”

“You don’t have anything to make it stick”, Rico told him angrily.

“Not Sal’s”, Hutch said.  “Tomey’s.”

“You’ve got Tomey’s knife”, Starsky said.  “We’ve got the ballistic reports and the bullets match the gun you carry.  You left New York right after he was killed.  I’d say with your family connections it would give the NYPD more than enough to start their own little investigation.”

“You do that and you’ll get me killed”, Rico told him.

“Start talking”, Hutch ordered him.  “We can’t do a thing if you don’t start spilling your guts.”

Rico sighed and walked around the room for a minute.  He ran his hand through his hair and looked over at Starsky and Hutch.  They could do it very easily follow through with the threat.  The evidence would pile up around him and he wouldn’t live 24 hours to even tell anyone.

“A couple of weeks ago Nicky told me about this deal that was going down.  He said it was major and that we shouldn’t miss it.  I borrowed a camera and we found a place to stash ourselves so we could watch it.”

“Nicky told you about this”, Starsky asked.

“Yeah, he had gotten word about it.  I don’t know who told him.  Neither of us had any idea what kind of deal we were going to see.  It was a payoff.”

“What kind of payoff”, Hutch asked.

“The kind that involved the mob and a high ranking officer in the NYPD.  The Zunni brothers were there along with Tomey.”

“I take it they found the both of you”, Starsky told him.

“They paid off a cop who had set up a hit on Councilman Andrews.”

“You got all this on tape”, Hutch asked in disbelief.

Rico nodded and he looked over at Starsky who was trying to get his head together.

“Where is this tape”, Starsky asked.

“It’s floating.”

“What”, Hutch asked.

“It means that it’s out there somewhere and whoever has it will let it go public if anything happens to Rico.  He has no idea where it’s at.  It protects him and Nicky.”

“Did you kill Tomey”, Hutch asked.

“He tried to kill me”, Rico answered.  “Nicky and I barely got out of there with our skin intact.”

“Jesus”, Starsky said as he ran his hand through his hair.  “You and Nicky sure don’t do anything small.  The Zunni brothers of all people.”

“Starsky, who are these guys?”

“They are the kind of wiseguys that you stay away from all costs.  It’s a good bet they grabbed Sal and killed him.”

“Does your father know about any of this”, Hutch asked him.

“He does.  My father and Uncle Sal set it up for me to come out here.  I was just a beat cop before all this came down.”

“They falsified your record on top of it all”, Starsky said as he raised his voice.

“Why didn’t they send Nicky out here”, Hutch asked.  “It would make sense.”

“The Zunni’s probably think he is here since they’ve already been here to look for the tape”, Rico told them.  “It was Sal’s idea for me to come here.  We were hoping the steam would blow over after a while, but I guess the Zunni’s are pretty intent on getting this tape and taking me and Nicky out.”

Starsky walked around the room for a minute looking at the mess.  He stopped and looked over at Hutch.  He swung his glare over at Rico who was looking right at him.

“This doesn’t make sense”, Starsky told him.  “They could have planted you anywhere.  This would have been the first place they looked when they found out about you and Nicky.  Why did they put you here instead of Nicky?”

“I guess it was a bait and switch tactic”, Rico told him.  It was the only thing he could come up with at the moment.  “My father thought I would be safer here.”

“I don’t buy it”, Starsky said with a shake of his head.  “There’s more.”

“Starsky, what makes you thinks so”, Hutch asked him.

“Don’t you see, Hutch?  The mob can put people under as deep as the feds can.  There’s more to this.  I know it.”

Hutch looked over at Rico who was looking down at the floor.  Starsky was right.  There was more.  He looked over at Starsky who stood there for a minute and then walked into the bedroom where it had been ransacked.  He looked down at Rico’s bag which had been looked through.  The clothes hung from the bag.  Starsky grabbed it up and walked into the living room with it.

Rico started forward and Hutch put his hand on his chest and held him back.  Starsky dumped the bag out on the floor and the last thing to fall was a gold chain.  Starsky bent down and picked it up.  He had disbelief written all over his face and as he stood, Hutch saw that what Starsky was holding something he hadn’t expected.  He looked over at Rico who was slowly shaking his head.

Starsky held the locket tightly in his hand and he had to take several deep breaths to keep his composure and he slowly turned to Rico.

“Starsk”, Hutch whispered.

“Where did you get this”, Starsky asked as he held the locket in his hand.  He saw that Rico wasn’t talking and he took a step over to him.  “This was my mother’s.  I let Nicky have it.”

“Nicky wanted…”

“Don’t lie”, Starsky yelled.  “You could have given me this when you first got here!”

Rico could feel his heart pounding through his chest and he had to take a deep breath in hopes of slowing it down.  He never imagined in his lifetime this day would ever come.  He could see a blind anger in Starsky’s eyes and he licked his dry lips.

“It was my mother’s”, Rico whispered.

When he made the simple statement it hit Starsky like an arctic blast of wind.  Starsky swung his fist and hit Rico has hard as he could.  Rico fell to the floor grabbing his jaw.  He looked up to see Starsky starting towards him and Hutch stepped in front of him.

“Starsk, let’s hear him out.”

“Get him out of here”, Starsky breathed.  “I want him out of my place now!”

Hutch could see there was no arguing with his best friend.  He leaned down and helped Rico to his feet.  Hutch looked over at Rico who didn’t say anything and he headed out the door.  Hutch saw that Starsky was tightly gripping the locket in his hand.

“I’ll call you”, Hutch told him.

Starsky only nodded and when he heard the door closing.  He looked down at the locket in his hand and opened it up.  A picture with his beautiful mother, Nicky and he was inside.  It was the one he had remembered watching her touch with her hand whenever she wore it.  He remembered how she would talk about keeping the men in her life close to her heart.

He didn’t understand why Rico would lie, but when he remembered the statement from Rico’s mouth, he could feel a dark anger grip his very soul.  Starsky headed for the fridge and found a beer in the back.  He opened it up and took a long drink from it.

Hutch opened the door to his apartment and held it open for Rico.  He closed it when Rico walked into the living room.  Hutch took his jacket off and walked into the bedroom where he hung it up and he pulled off his holster.  After hanging it up, he walked into the living room where Rico was now sitting on the couch.

“You can stretch out on the couch”, Hutch told him.  “We’ll meet up with Starsky in the morning and sort this mess out.”

Rico was silent as he stared ahead.  He prayed to feel the touch of his mother’s hand.  Their brief moments they had spent together were precious to him and he knew she would make it all right.  He knew that no matter what he said, Starsky would never believe him.  It was probably just as well, he thought to himself.

Later that night after Hutch had gotten Rico settled in he sat on the bed and picked up the phone.  He dialed Starsky’s number and after several rings, it was finally answered.

“How are you doing, buddy”, Hutch asked.

“I’m just trying to clean up this mess.”

“Lay off of it for tonight”, Hutch told him.  “Get some rest.”

“I don’t get why Rico would come up with this story”, Starsky told him.  “It doesn’t make any sense.”

“You think he’s lying?”

“Hutch, come on.  This is Ma we’re talking about.  The best I can figure is that he wanted her to be his mother.  Him and Nicky were pretty tight growing up from what I gathered.”

“So he’s making it up”, Hutch said as he rubbed his eyes.

“I shouldn’t have went off like I did”, Starsky told him.  “Is Rico saying anything?”

“He’s barely said two words since we got here.”

“I guess when I’ve had a chance to cool off, we’ll hook up in the morning and figure out what we’re going to do.”

“Get some sleep, buddy.  I have a feeling tomorrow won’t be any easier than today was.”

“I’ll pick you up in the morning”, Starsky told him. 

Hutch was silent as he hung up the phone.  It didn’t make any sense, he thought to himself.  Rico didn’t strike him as a kid would lie about something like this.  He didn’t see a reason for him to even make it up.  Hutch remembered Starsky’s violent reaction to Rico’s statement.

He had never even come close to seeing Starsky lose it that badly.  It was something Hutch knew that his partner would have to get a handle on if they were going to get Rico and Nicky out of this hole they had managed to find themselves in.

After a few hours of cleaning, Starsky finally sat down on the ripped up couch and leaned back.  He rubbed his face and he was starting to feel tired.  He had tried to pick apart the complicated mess Rico and Nicky were in, but his thoughts were jumbled.  Starsky decided to just give it up for the night and as he stood, his door was kicked in.  He looked over at his gun still sitting in its holster on the bed and he made a run for it.

Starsky didn’t get far.  He was grabbed by two large men and he felt something on the back of his head.  Sudden darkness over came him and he was dragged out by his arms.

The next morning, Hutch was putting his shirt on when Rico emerged from the bathroom. 

“Help yourself to some coffee”, Hutch told him.

Rico walked into the kitchen and poured himself a cup.  When he turned around, Hutch was looking at his watch.

“Starsky’s late again”, Hutch said with a sigh.  “I guess I’ll join you till he gets here.”

Hutch poured himself a cup and sat at the small table looking at Rico who was leaning against the kitchen counter.

“Is it true”, Hutch asked him.

Rico looked down at his coffee and slowly nodded.

“Since you let the cat out of the bag, tell me what happened.”

“He doesn’t believe me.  Why should you?”

“Starsk was pretty thrown by it.  What do you expect?”

“From what my father has told me, he had known Starsky and Nicky’s dad from the neighborhood.  They were sort of friends back then.  Their dad liked him, but he was careful to keep away from him, too.”

“Starsky’s dad sure did have a lot of people’s respect it seemed.”

“I don’t know.  After he was killed, Joe Durniak asked that my father check up on his widow.  I guess at first she didn’t want nothing to do with him.  My father said he fell in love with her the first time he saw her.  His wife had died five years before that and my brother Marco was just a kid at the time.  I guess after a little while, she started talking to him more.  My father said that she was always real careful about when he came around.  She would make sure Starsky and Nicky were out of the house or they would meet somewhere.  He said she fell in love with him, too.  He asked her to marry him a lot of times, but she was too afraid something would happen to her own kids.”

“What changed everything”, Hutch asked.

“She found out she was pregnant with me.  You’ve got to understand how it was in those days.  Everyone knew that her late husband was a cop and she knew how it would be taken if the truth ever came out about her and my father.  She could be used against him or her kids against him.  She knew that if anyone ever found out the truth about their relationship or me, that it could destroy her and her family.  I guess Starsky was getting to be a handful at the time and she was so scared for him, that she sent him out here to live.  She was supposed to send Nicky, but he was little and from what Nicky had said, he had begged her to let him stay.”

“She was pregnant with you when she sent Starsky out here to live?”

“Yeah, she couldn’t risk anyone finding out about me.  I was told that as she got further along, she managed to hide it and everyone assumed she had just put on some weight.  Nicky said he didn’t know till that day.”

“The day you were born”, Hutch said with a sigh.

“My father knew she was right when he found out she was pregnant.  He arranged for a midwife to come to the house to help with the delivery.”

Rico stopped for a minute and wiped his eyes.  He took a deep breath before he continued.

“When I was born, she told him to take me.  She loved me and she was scared something would happen if people found out my father was Frank Moretti.  My father told me that he could live with her and still raise her kids.  They would do it together, but she refused.  She said she couldn’t risk it.  She knew he would do right by me and she made him promise to let her see me sometimes.  When he told me this, I could see how heartbroken he was over it.  He said seeing her give up her own child was the hardest thing he had ever seen in his life.  He would tell me how strong she was and how much courage it took for her to put me first like that.”

“How many people know”, Hutch asked as he cleared his throat.

“Maybe half a dozen.  My father said if anyone said a word he would make sure they didn’t see the light of day.  It was then she extracted a promise out of him.”

“To go straight.”

“Yeah, he promised her he wouldn’t let her down in raising me.  I guess it took a few years, but he managed to give up his activities and he started a few legitimate businesses.  Marco runs most of them now.”

“Nicky knows?”

“Yeah”, Rico said with a small smile.  “I guess he saw everything that day.  He was there when I was born and he watched his mother give me to my father.  He told me when they left he followed them to my father’s house.  I don’t know how he did it, but he found the house.  He was caught and brought to my father.  From what Nicky said, in his eyes he thought he had just taken me.  My father set him straight on everything and told him he was a big brother now.  He expected him to act like it.  Nicky’s been there ever since I can remember.  The only way I could see my mother was when he was with me.  No one would have thought twice about a couple of kids walking into my mother’s house.  She was like that.”

“Jesus”, Hutch said.  “It must have been hell on her only getting visits from time to time.”

“I guess.  She never let on.  She would tell me how much she loved me and that I understood she did it to protect all of us.  I’ve always understood how it was.”

Rico looked over at Hutch with emotion in his eyes.

“I loved her and she was my mother.  She’s told me that she loved my father.  I’ve never doubted it.  You are the first person that I’ve ever spoken of it to except for Nicky.  Do you understand why I’ve been kept a secret?”

“I do”, Hutch said with a sigh.  “It couldn’t have an easy one to keep for this long.  I could see why it was decided to put you out here.  Starsky’s always made his feelings well known how he feels about the mafia considering the history.  Nicky gave you the locket?”

“Yeah, he brought it to me the day after the funeral.  He wanted to give me more, but he knew it was too dangerous.”

“If anyone gets wind of this, Rico…”

“I know. 

Hutch looked at his watch and stood up to walk to the phone.  He dialed Starsky’s number and after not getting an answer, he grabbed his jacket.

“If Starsky shows up, tell him I’m on my way to his place.  I’ll swing back by here and we’ll figure out where we go from here.”

“If he doesn’t believe me, I’m not going to try and force it”, Rico told him.  “I don’t want you to either.  It’s for the best.”

Hutch looked at Rico for a moment and he knew the incredible story he had just told him was true.  He gave him a short nod and headed out the door.

Hutch had his gun out when he saw the busted open door of Starsky’s.  He nudged it open with the barrel and slowly walked inside.  Hutch didn’t see anyone as he kept it raised.  He looked over at the bedroom and he could see the gun still lying on the bed.

He put his gun away and walked over to the phone and dialed his place. 

“Rico, it’s me.  Starsky’s been snatched.  I want you to lock the door and keep your piece ready…I’m on my way there…Yeah…I’m putting you on ice…Stay put.”

Hutch hung up the phone and headed out the door.

Anthony Zunni looked over at his brother Gino who was eating a roll.  He looked over at the cop who was tied to the chair and hunched over.  It had been a hell of a long night and the cop hadn’t said a word the entire night.  The phone rang and he picked it up.

“Yeah”, Anthony said

“The blonde cop just left his place.”

“Hit his place now and see what you can find.”

“Nicky might be there.”

“If he’s there, grab him and get him here”, Anthony ordered him.

He looked over at Gino and covered the receiver with his hand.

“Rico might be there, too”, Gino told him. 

Anthony nodded and he turned back to the receiver.

“If either of those punks are there, I want ‘em.”

“Want us to strip the place down?”

“No.  It won’t matter if we get one of ‘em.”

Anthony hung up the phone and looked at Gino who was popping the last of his roll in his mouth.

“The cop won’t talk”, Gino said.  “If he knows anything, he ain’t sayin.”

“If those goombah’s fuck this up, I’ll kill ‘em”, Anthony told him.  “We get one of those punks over here, somebody’ll talk before the day is out.”

Gino laughed and both men looked at the unconscious cop in the chair.

Rico had checked his weapon and put it in its holster and he was strapping it on when, the door suddenly crashed open.  He went for it, but two guns were already out and the barrels stared at him.  Rico didn’t say a word as he slowly raised his hands. 

He knew they were Zunni’s boys by the looks of them.  They came over to him and he felt one of them pull the gun from it’s holster.

“Long time no see, Rico”, one of them said.  “Somebody wants to talk to ya’ real bad.”

Rico was silent as he was pushed forward.  He slowly walked out of the apartment and he could see there was no getting out this time.

Hutch’s face was grim when he arrived at his place.  He stood in the middle of the room and cursed loudly.  He knew what had happened.  His partner and his partner’s brother were taken.  Hutch knew who took them, but where?  He knew he had to act quick as he left his place.

Starsky’s head was beginning to clear and he slowly raised his head.  He looked over at the Zunni brothers who were quietly talking amongst themselves.  He only knew them by reputation but the night had proven, he knew all he wanted to know.  He was sore, tired and bloody.  He heard the door open and Starsky moved his head slightly when he heard footsteps.  He could see the cohorts with the Zunni’s were arriving with an extra body.

He didn’t recognize who it was at first, but when he saw the side of his face, he knew it was Rico.  Starsky moved his hands a little and the ropes had no give whatsoever.  He still couldn’t feel his hands too much and he watched as Anthony stood up as Rico was brought over to him.

“Rico”, Anthony said with a shake of his head.  “I figured I’d be getting Nicky, but instead I get you.  So where is the little punk?”

Rico stayed silent.  He knew Starsky was behind him tied to a chair, but he refused to allow it have any power of him.  Once he did, it would be the end for the both of them.

“I ain’t askin’ again”, Anthony said as he pulled his black leather gloves out.  “I want Nicky Starsky and I want the tape.”

Rico didn’t say anything as he felt his arms grabbed by Zunni’s goons.  He steeled himself because he knew what was going to happen.  The images of those he loved floated in his mind and he would do it for them, he told himself.

Anthony stretched his fingers in the gloves as he pulled them on.  He made a show of how the leather tightened around his hands as he flexed them. Rico took a deep breath as he watched Anthony fisting his hands.  Before he felt even ready, Anthony buried a hard fist into his gut.  Then he suddenly felt two more knock the wind from him.  He was almost to a knee, but the goons held him up.  He coughed and he felt nauseous from the assault.  He felt someone grab his hair and yank his head up.

“What makes you think they’d tell me where Nicky is”, Rico told him through gritted teeth.

“That wasn’t for Nicky”, Anthony told him.  “That was for Tomey.  And so is this.”

Anthony gave Rico a hit across the face and another one in the gut.  Rico moaned in pain and he could feel the warm liquid pouring from his nose.  He was counting on the fact that his nose was broken from the feel of it.

“I ain’t even got started with you yet, kid.  You’ve got a hell of a lot of payin’ for takin’ Tomey out”, Anthony told him.  “Hell, you probably don’t know where Nicky is.  But I’m willin’ to bet that before it’s over you’ll be beggin’ for me to kill you.  You’re Uncle Sal was beggin’, Rico.  I never heard a grown man cry so much in my life.”

Rico felt his anger boil over at the mention of his beloved uncle and he strained against the arms that held him.  He looked straight ahead and kept his focus.  He knew he had to keep his focus.  His head was grabbed again only this time Anthony was yanking it up by his gloved hand.

“Where’s the tape”, Anthony ground out.  “I know you got it, kid.”

“I don’t have it”, Rico breathed angrily.

“He might have it on a ship”, Gino told his brother.

“Is that what you did, Rico”, Anthony said as he yanked on his head.  “Did you put it on a ship?”

Rico angrily spit at Anthony and he got a backhand across the face for his effort.  Anthony walked away and motioned for his brother.

“He won’t talk”, Gino told him. 

“If he put it on a ship, it’s only a matter of time before it goes public”, Anthony told him.  “It’ll tear down our entire operation.”

“I’ll have some cages rattled and see what shakes loose.”

“No”, Anthony told him.  “I’ve got another idea.  Just follow my lead.”

Anthony walked back over to Rico who was catching his breath.  Anthony looked at him.  He knew the kid was barely standing as it was and he almost smiled at his next tactic.

“Rico, did you know I used to work for your old man?”

Rico looked up at Anthony Zunni and kept his tongue.

“It was a long time ago.  You were just a squalling little brat.  You’re old man and I parted ways.  He had no problem lettin’ me find my own way even though I didn’t get his blessing.”

He looked over at Gino who was moving to stand over by Starsky.  He motioned for his men to bring Rico over.  They walked Rico over to were Starsky sat in the chair.  He felt a sudden kick in the back of one of his knees and he landed on the hard cement.  A wooden desk separated them.  Rico was tightly held as he looked at Starsky at almost eye level.  Please no, he begged silently.

He looked over at a noise being made and Anthony was picking up an aluminum baseball bat out of the corner.  Rico watched him swing it around like a baseball player warming up for his step up to the plate.  Anthony walked over to Rico and carefully took his time as he approached him.  He kneeled down next to Rico and put the bat on the desk for all to see.

“You see, kid.  I started working for your old man almost two years before you were even born.  He had this thing for this gal back in the neighborhood and at first she didn’t give him the time of day.  It was funny watchin’ him make a fool out of himself over some dame who didn’t give a rat’s ass about some wiseguy.”

Starsky looked over at Anthony Zunni and then over at Rico who was struggling to break the hold he was in.  Anthony scooted in next to Rico and put his arm around him.

“I was there”, Anthony told him.  “I sat downstairs in that old house and listened to your old lady yelling as she spit you out.  I watched your old man coming down those stairs carrying a screaming kid.  You know what, Rico.  That kid was you.  You’re brother was peeking around the banister when your old man walked out of that house with you.”

Rico looked at Starsky and he could see the denial on his face.  Rico looked at him squarely.

“It’s not true”, Rico told him.  “I lied to you.  It’s not true.”

Rico prayed Starsky would believe him, but he wasn’t sure if it was working or not.  Anthony stood up and walked behind Rico and yanked his head by the hair forcing him to look at Starsky. 

“He kinda looks like her, don’t ya’ think”, Anthony asked Starsky.  “Frank told us if we said anything we’d be digging our own graves.  I knew this little piece of information would come into good use so I filed it away.  I never thought I’d need it for something like this.”

“It’s on a ship”, Rico told him.  “My port call is past due and it’ll be docking before you even get a bullet in my head.”

“Rico”, Gino said.  “It ain’t even noon yet.  I’d bet good money your port call ain’t even due yet.”

“You willing to bet your life”, Rico said.  “You know how it works.  If I’m dead, you all are dead.  If the tape goes public you either go down for life or you’re dead for cuttin’ a deal.”

Anthony had a satisfied look on his face and he picked the bat up off the desk.  He used the end of the bat to nudge Starsky’s head just enough to look over at Rico.

“So what do you think of your kid brother”, Anthony asked him.  “Who’d have thought he’d be a cop like his big brother?”

“It’s a lie”, Rico told him.  “Don’t believe it.”

“I don’t”, Starsky said with an even look at Rico.

The bat came crashing down in the middle of the wooden desk leaving an indentation the size of a baseball.

“Rico”, Anthony said as he set the bat on his shoulder.  “I used to watch Nicky leadin’ you around by the nose.  I must’ve seen you and your brother go into the ole lady’s house a thousand times over the years.”

Anthony looked over at Starsky and saw a flash of gold around his neck.  Anthony reached over and yanked it off of his neck breaking the chain.  Starsky gave him a deadly look as he held the locket in his hand. 

“This was in his bag”, Anthony said to Starsky.  “I’d say you found it there and you had a million questions for the kid.”

Anthony tossed the locket on the desk and he grabbed Starsky by the hair and forced him to look at Rico.

“You’re kid brother over there has a ship with something I want”, Anthony ground out.  “He ain’t told anybody who his ship is and I’m willin’ to bet that he’ll sing like a canary if he sees his big brother, the cop, getting busted up.”

Anthony motioned to his men and Gino dragged an empty chair over to the desk.  Rico was thrown into the chair and tied down.  They walked over to Starsky and untied his hands.  Starsky was held by one man while his right hand was forced onto the desk. 

Starsky looked over at Rico whose eyes were wide at what was about to happen.

“Rico”, Starsky said.  “No matter what…”

Starsky felt a hard hit to the back of his head and he heard a shut up from someone.  He concentrated on Rico.  Starsky still didn’t believe it, but what mattered was the fact that Rico believed it.  Rico started to close his eyes and his head was yanked back painfully.

“Don’t close your eyes, kid”, Gino whispered in his ear.

Starsky was taking several deep breaths and he tried to pull his hand away, but to no avail.  He struggled as hard as he could and when he looked over at Rico he was being held tightly as he was forced to watch the ugly scene play out.  Anthony swung the bat up and it crashed down on Starsky’s hand.  Starsky let an involuntary scream escape his throat as the agoniz