Yesterday is Tomorrow
Starsky slowly opened his eyes and tried to focus on his surroundings. His head felt stuffed and heavy, his eyes were blurry and refused to focus on anything. He lifted his hand to his brow to massage the ache and noticed the plastic bracelet attached around his wrist. A hospital admission bracelet. He frowned, trying to remember what had happened to put him in the hospital. Mindful of his aching head, Starsky tried to sit up and was amazed that his body wouldn’t function. Carefully, he moved just his head to check out his surroundings. It was definitely a hospital room. Again, he tried to think, what had happened? Why was he here? And most importantly, where was Hutch?
"Hutch." The shout came out as a whisper that left his throat feeling raw. He tried again to shout, but this time only air came out. Beginning to feel that first stages of panic, Starsky felt around the sides of his bed hunting for the nurse call button. After several long, aching moments, he found it and pushed the button. Even this small action exhausted him and he closed his eyes to wait for the nurse to answer his summons.
"Mr. Starsky? Can you hear me?" Starsky forced his eyes to open and concentrated hard on keeping the nurse in focus. "Can you hear me?" she repeated. Reaching down, she gripped his right hand. "Squeeze my hand if you can understand me."
Putting every ounce of strength he had into it, Starsky gripped the nurse’s hand. He tried once again to speak but she gently put a hand over his mouth.
"Don’t try to talk. You’ve had a nasty shock and you need to build up your strength." The dark haired nurse used her penlight to check out her patient’s pupils followed by checking his pulse, breathing, and reading the display panels of the differing machines around Starsky’s bed. He hadn’t even noticed the machines.
"I’m going to call the doctor to come in and look at you, David. He’ll be able to talk you about your condition. Until he comes in, I want you to rest." She pulled the light cover up snugly under his chin and smoothed his brow with her hand. "Welcome back." With that cryptic message, she left the room.
The second time Starsky awoke, he felt a bit more clear-headed. He found the bed tray table pulled close to him with a pitcher of water handy. He was able to find the button to raise up the head of his bed and grab the plastic cup already filled with water. His arms still felt heavy and sore, but he could move them. When he had quenched his thirst, he looked around the room.
The room was depressingly bare. There was no TV, no gifts or flowers, and the lights were dim. He did notice that most of the machines had been removed. That fact made him realize that he was improving from what must have been a serious injury. He laid back and tried to remember what had happened. He could vaguely remember riding in his car with Huggy.
He concentrated hard to remember other details. He and Huggy were going to pick up ...what was it?...oh yea, a new type of beer that Huggy had ordered for a special party. They had picked up the beer and...another car? It had shot out of a side street, he swerved. into a STOREFRONT! He frantically began to push the nurse call button.
It seemed like an eternity before a nurse came in. It was the same nurse from the previous night.
"You’re awake again. How wonderful. How do you feel today?" She asked brightly as she began to take his pulse.
"I was in a car wreck, right?’" Starsky gripped her hand. "What about Huggy? Where is he? Is he ok? And Hutch, my partner, where’s Hutch? I need him here."
Gently, the nurse eased him back against the pillows. "I shouldn’t say anything but I will tell you this. Your friend ...didn’t survive the crash. He was killed instantly. You almost were. You were hurt so badly, no one was sure you’d survive. Except for your partner. He was a menace around the hospital, making sure you got everything he thought you needed. He..."
Just then the door opened and a tall thin man in a white coat came in. "That will be all Miss Kelly."
"Yes Dr. Branson." With another pat to Starsky’s arm, she quietly left the room.
"You’re Dr. Branson?" Starsky asked.
"Yes. I need to ask you a few questions, just to test out how well your memory is working. Head injuries can play havoc with the memory." He then asked questions about Starsky’s name, where he lived, where he worked, and about his friends.
"You don’t seem to have any lasting effects from the injury. I do have to tell you though that you’ve been unconscious for a very long time."
"How long?" Starsky asked, worry coloring his tone.
"Eight months."
"Eight months?! How...what..." Starsky was appalled. He had lost eight months of his life, lying in a hospital bed. Now he really needed Hutch.
"I’m afraid so. Let’s check out the rest of you now." He carefully tested Starsky’s muscle tone and movement in his arms and noted the slow and careful progress. Starsky became almost panicked when his legs showed no reaction at all.
"What’s wrong with my legs? Why can’t I move them."
"It’s perfectly normal. You haven’t used your legs in quite a while. We’ve been doing therapy so the muscles haven’t atrophied but you will need to work on getting your strength back into your legs. It’ll happen. Now, you get some rest and I’ll send a nurse in here with some food. We’ll start with some very soft stuff for your stomach and see from there."
"Doc, what about Hutch? Can I see him? "
"You’ll need to know sooner or later so I’ll tell you now. A few days after you were admitted, Officer Hutchinson and three other officers were killed during some police raid down by the waterfront. I’m sorry."
Starsky looked at the doctor with horror. "Dead, Hutch is dead?"
"I’m sorry. I don’t remember the exact details. Tomorrow I can have one of the nurses look up the information." Dr. Branson squeezed Starsky’s shoulder. "You have to rest some more. I’m going to have Nurse Kelly come in and give you a sedative after you eat. That should help you sleep. Call me if you need me." With that he was gone, leaving Starsky alone with his grief.
Starsky lay there, crying softly for his friends. "I should have been there, Hutch. I’m sorry, I should of been there."
"Mr. Starsky?" The speaker was a different nurse. The petite black woman held a tray in her hands and came to his side. She set the tray down and reached out to touch Starsky’s forehead.
"What’s wrong? Can I help?" Her dark eyes radiated concern.
"Go away. Just leave me alone." He tried his best to turn over to one side but couldn’t get his legs to cooperate.
"No, I will not go away. You need some food down you. Sit up and let me see you eat. Then I’ll go." Her tone was lightly scolding.
"I’m not hungry."
"Starving yourself won’t bring your friend back." Starsky looked at her in anger. "Yes Dr. Branson told me about your friend. He asked me to contact the police department for you." She said briskly. Ignoring his protests, she raised the head of his bed and took the cover off the tray she had brought in.
"Eat. Or do I have to feed you?" She matched his stare, and finally her patient looked at the food she had brought. "It’s just some broth and a little bread. You haven’t eaten solid food in a very long time. You have to get well if you want to get out of here."
Starsky looked at her with pain filled eyes. "I don’t have any reason to leave. Don’t you see that. I killed my two best friends. I should have died instead of them."
"How did you kill anybody? You’ve been in a coma for eight months. I’ve heard of sleepwalking, but that’s going a little far."
"I was driving the car when we crashed. Huggy died. It was my fault. And Hutch, oh God, Hutch. I wasn’t there to back him up. I could have, should have been there, to help. He’s saved my life more times than I can count. And I let him down! I let him die!" Starsky’s voice broke and the tears began to flow. He covered his eyes and sobbed. He was vaguely aware of the nurse lowering the guard rail and sitting down beside him. She wrapped her arms around him and let him cry.
Finally she broke the tableau and pulled his chin up so she could look into his eyes. "It was not your fault. Accidents happen. You didn’t crash your car on purpose did you? Of course not. And your partner, would you want him to neglect his job just because you couldn’t be there? Would it have made him happy if it had of been you to die? NO! Things happen that we don’t like and we can’t change. But blaming ourselves is not going to change the past." She stood and walked to the tiny bathroom in the corner. Wetting a washrag, she brought it back and gently washed Starsky’s face.
"There. I know you don’t want to believe it but the pain will fade. Now you have to concentrate on getting well. I think that is what your friend would want you to do." Picking up the spoon she coaxed Starsky to take a little of the broth.
"I can feed myself." Starsky’s voice was hollow and low.
"I know you can, but will you if I leave?"
"Sure. Do me a favor will you?"
"What do you need? Call the police department and talk to a Captain Dobey. Tell him I need to see him. Please." Starsky reached out for her hand.
"I already have. There will be an officer here soon. Now please eat." The nurse smoothed his hair down across his forehead.
"Thank you Miss..." His voice faltered.
"Donna. Donna Fairchild. Now you eat. I have to see to a few other patients then I’ll be back. Just push the call button if you need anything." With that and a smile, she was gone.
After she had left, Starsky played with the soup spoon but couldn’t bring himself to eat. He finally just pushed the tray away and closed his eyes. He was almost asleep when he heard his door open again.
"Sergeant David Starsky?"
Starsky turned to see a younger man enter the room.
"Yes."
"I’m Captain Grange. I’m glad to see you awake. When the hospital called and said you were recovering, I couldn’t believe it. You are one very lucky man." The captain came over to the bed and shook Starsky’s hand.
"Where’s Captain Dobey?" Starsky was confused.
"He’s on vacation in Mexico. He sends his best and will back in the States next week. I’m just filling in for him." Grange walked to the window and sat down on the ledge. "I guess you’ve been told about your partner, Hutchinson?"
"Yes. How did it happen?" As much as he didn’t want to know, Starsky had to know. He sat up in the bed and looked at Grange.
"It was an ambush. Do you remember anything about a smuggler named Price?"
"Yea, there was an operation being planned between us, narcotics, and the feds. We were waiting on word for some shipment to come in then the feds were going to try and nab everything in one shot." Starsky frowned as he tried to remember the details. "Hutch and I were going to lead the main team into the warehouse once we got the go-ahead."
"That’s right. About three days after your accident, the feds gave us the go-ahead. Hutchinson insisted on being included since you and he had already done the prelim work. Everything was going good until..." he stopped and turned around to face the window.
"What happened?" Starsky’s voice was filled with urgency.
"It was a setup. Someone in the department leaked out news of the operation. Your partner and two federal agents walked into a bomb blast." Grange came over to stand by the bed. "Hutchinson never had a chance. I’m sorry." He could see the grief and shock on Starsky’s face.
"Look, I need your help. Can you help me to find out what happened and who talked? You’re the only one I can trust. You were here when it happened so I know you aren’t the leak. I need you to help me catch the person responsible for killing your partner."
Starsky looked at Captain Grange. "What can I do? " His eyes began to have a glimmer of hope that maybe he could still do something for Hutch.
"I need to know everything that you and Hutchinson planned for the operation. Maybe something there will give us a lead." Grange took a small notebook and pen out of his jacket pocket.
"My memory is still a little hazy but what I do remember is the agent in charge for the Feds was a man named .....Stiles. Jake Stiles. He came in from Portland, Oregon to head up the operation. It seems that he had made Price his personal hobby for the last two years. He got a man inside of Price's organization just long enough to find out about the shipment. He told us where it was coming in at and Hutch and I scouted it out and planned the raid."
"Do you remember where the raid was to take place?" Grange looked up from his notes. "I need to check your memory. The doc warned me that you may have gaps yet."
Starsky looked up at the ceiling and thought hard for a few seconds. "Down by the waterfront somewhere. Let me think...uh..oh yea. Pier 38, the old furniture warehouse. It was at the end of the row and hadn't been rented out for over a year. We found out that Price had bought the place just the month before. " Starsky ran his hand over his face. The ship was due in at 7:00 in the morning so we were going to be there at 5:00 to get in position without being seen."
"OK, today is October 16th, the operation was planned for, let me check my notes." Grange started to flip through his notebook.
"February 18th." Starsky closed his eyes. "Hutch died on the 18th." He fell silent and squeezed his eyes closed willing the ache in his soul to go away.
He felt a hand on his arm. He opened his eyes and looked into Granges face. "I forgot. For you this is all news. For me it happened a long time ago, but you haven't had time to pull it together. Look, I'll go now and see you tomorrow." Grange stood up and put his notebook back in his pocket. He shook Starsky's hand once and then left.
As he left, Donna came in again. She looked at the tray and back at Starsky. "You didn't even try, did you?"
"I'm not hungry. Just go away. I'm tired." Starsky's tone was curt.
"You need to eat. How are you supposed to get well if you don't eat?" Donna looked at him impatiently.
"I don't care." Starsky looked at her. "Could you do me another favor? Can you get me the newspaper articles on my partner's death? I need to see for myself."
"I'm way ahead of you." She reached into the pocket of her white tunic and pulled out a handful of papers. She gave them to Starsky saying, "I got a friend of mine to go to the library and copy these. I thought they might help you." She picked up the tray and turned. "I'll be back with something to help you sleep." With that, she carried the tray out of the room.
Starsky went through the papers that Donna had given him. The first was a story of his accident. Just a paragraph long stating where and who. It listed Huggy's funeral notice at the bottom of the page. "I'm so sorry, Hug." Starsky whispered as stared at the page. The next page was even harder to look at. There was a picture of Hutch, as well as two uniformed officers. The accompanying article told about the bomb blast that had killed the three men. Starsky let the other papers drop to the floor and held the picture of Hutch in his hand. Once again, the tears began to well up in his eyes. His soul cried out for the friendship that he and Hutch had built. One thing was certain. He would get the man responsible for Hutch's death. After that, well, maybe life could go on. Just maybe.
Starsky was looking out at the darkening sky when Donna came in again. He looked at her then turned to look out the window again.
"Time for some sleep. The doctor left orders for a sedative if you need help sleeping." Donna’s tone made it more of a question than a statement.
"Just go away. I don’t need anything but my partner and you can’t bring him back so just go away." Donna could hear the helplessness in his tone.
"Right, one sedative coming up." She set down the small tray she was carrying and used a hypodermic needle to add a small amount of clear liquid to the IV in his arm.
"Tomorrow you have an appointment with the therapist. He’ll get you up and start trying to get your legs working. Also that, officer that was here said he’d be in to check on you." Donna was putting up the guard rail and rearranging the covers on the bed. "You’ve had a long day. Try to sleep. I’m leaving, but Kelly will be on tonight. Just buzz if you need her." Donna closed the window curtains and left.
Starsky just ignored her as she walked out of the room. He didn’t want to sleep, he just wanted to remember.
The next morning, Starsky was awakened by a shaft of sunlight streaming into his eyes. Kelly was there again, pulling open the curtains and letting the sunlight brighten up the room. Starsky groaned and rolled back over onto his back, and then realized what he had just done. Experimentally, he tried moving his legs. They were heavy and sore but they moved. He looked at the nurse with a smile on his face. "Look! My legs, I can move my legs."
"I see." her smile matched his. "I told you it would just take a little time. Now you need to eat some breakfast. The therapist will be here soon to help get you out of that bed." She walked back over to the tray table and uncovered the tray she had brought. "Oatmeal with a little extra sugar." She handed him the spoon and sat down on the end of the bed.
"What are you doing?" Starsky asked her.
"Making sure you eat. Donna left a note on your chart saying you didn’t eat yesterday. We didn’t tube feed you last night because we want you to eat on your own today. I’m just seeing to it that you eat." Kelly smiled gently at him to take the sting out of her words.
Starsky had to admit, he was hungry. Gently, he lifted the spoon to his lips and tasted the oatmeal. It was definitely hospital fare but he managed to eat most of the bowl before he put the spoon down. He hated to admit it, but he did feel better.
"Very good David. Now let’s get you cleaned up and ready for the day." For the next twenty minutes, Kelly helped him to wash his face and most of his body. She gave him a shave and held a bowl for him to brush his teeth. She also removed the IV saying that he didn’t need it anymore. She listened as he talked about his friendship with Hutch. By the time she left, he had to admit that he did feel better. The pain at losing his friends was settling down to an almost bearable ache that he knew would be with him for the rest of his life.
After Kelly had left, Starsky dozed again until the therapist came in. By this time he could move his legs but they wouldn’t support his weight. He was assured that he would regain full mobility with time. He asked to stay in the wheelchair when the therapist left so he sit by the window. The man readily agreed and left. Captain Grange came in just as the man left.
"Good morning, You look a lot better this morning. How do you feel?" Grange came to sit on the ledge facing the wheelchair.
"Better. I have more use of my legs today. Do you have anything new?" Starsky asked.
"Not really, but Captain Dobey called. Said to give you his best and he’s flying back early. He’ll be here to see you day after tomorrow. I hate to ask, but have you heard about when you’ll be able to leave here and get back to work?" Grange turned around to look at the scenery five floors below.
"It’ll be good to see the Captain. As for coming back to work, I don’t know. It won’t be the same without Hutch and I’m not sure I could work with a different partner." Starsky looked down at his hands. "Maybe this would be a good time to retire."
Grange stood up. "Give it a chance. I have to go. Call me if you need anything." Grange shook Starsky’s hand and left him to his thoughts.
Starsky began to move the wheelchair back and forth. He was getting restless, a sure sign of improvement. He opened the small closet and saw his clothes hanging up waiting for him. The same pair of faded blue jeans, black T-shirt and beat-up brown leather jacket. How many times had Hutch made fun of those clothes, and the worn tennis shoes sitting on the closet floor. He reached out and touched the jacket and stopped. He could smell something odd. He sniffed again and then brought the arm of the jacket to his nose. Strange, it smelled like that imported beer he had taken Huggy to pick up that day. Memories crowded his mind and he shut the door in anger.
He went back to his bed, and propping himself against the bed and the locked down wheelchair, he managed to get himself back into bed. He was tired and wanted nothing more to than to sleep. He hadn’t been in bed long when he heard the door open and rolled over to see Dr. Branson come into the room.
"Well I hear you are making excellent progress today." Dr. Branson greeted him. "Let’s have a look." Quickly but thoroughly, the doctor checked out his reflexes, his eyes, pulse, lungs and memory. " I cannot believe the progress you’re making. At this rate, you’ll be out of here in a week. The nurse will be in shortly with your lunch. I’ll be around tomorrow." With that, the doctor left.
As the door was closing, Starsky could have sworn he heard someone yell, "So I’m late. Happy valentines anyway."
"Valentine’s Day?" Starsky looked toward the door again. His brain was whirling. No, it couldn’t, could it? He sat up in the bed and reached for the phone next to the bed. With trembling hands, he dialed the number for the hospital operator.
"Operator..."
"Could you tell me what today’s date is?" Starsky felt a little foolish but he had to know.
"It’s the 17th, sir."
"What month is it?"
"What month? February of course." Clearly the operator thought the call was a prank.
Starsky hung up the phone without saying another word.
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"Huggy are you sure you don’t remember anything else?" Detective Ken Hutchinson ran his hands through his blond hair and sighed. His face was drawn and showed a two day old growth of beard.
"I’m sorry man but that is all I remember. We were driving along, we got sideswiped, we hit a building, and someone helped me out of the car and blind sided me. When I woke up, the cops were there and Starsk was gone."
Huggy’s black face looked every bit as weary as Hutch’s. "I have worked every angle I can find, and nothing. No one has seen hide nor hair of Starsky. It’s like he just dropped off the map." Huggy refilled the coffee cup in front of Hutch.
"Me either. It’s been two days Hug. Nothing in two days. I don’t know if he’s hurt, if he’s okay. Is he wandering around? Did someone take him? What?" Hutch refused to believe the worst.
"He’ll turn up. We have to believe that. Maybe he’s working something on his own. " "No way, Hug. Not with the operation in the morning. He knows how much is riding on this. This is our chance to put Price out of the picture for good."
Hutch stood up and put a hand on Huggy’s arm. "I’ve got to go. If you hear anything, I’ll be at the station."
"You need to go home man and sleep. Clean up a little. Eat something." Huggy’s concern was evident in his eyes.
"I can’t. If Starsky turns up, he’ll know to call the station looking for me. I have to be there."
"Look, at least go upstairs to my place and take a shower, and shave. At least maybe you won’t look like death warmed over."
"Yea OK. Maybe I do need a shower. You call me though if you hear anything. "Hutch disappeared up the back stairs to Huggy’s apartment. He walked into the living room and shrugged out of his shoulder holster. He went to the fridge and found a few carrots to munch on. He carried the carrots to the bathroom and started the shower. He undressed and let the hot water cascade over his body. In the middle of his shower, he realized the phone was ringing. By the time he had gotten a towel around himself and got out to the living room, the ringing had stopped. He dropped his shoulders and realized that it was probably just a wrong number. He went back to the bathroom to finish his shower.
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Starsky hung up the phone. He had tried Hutch’s phone with no luck. He had called the department and been told that Hutch wasn’t there. His last call had been to Huggy’s. No one had answered. Where could Hutch be?
Starsky knew what his next move had to be. He had to leave, find Hutch, and prevent his best friend’s murder.
Starsky forced himself out of bed and cursed the unreliability of his legs. He wondered what had been done to make his legs so useless. He held on to the bed and forced his legs to walk over to the closet. He struggled with his pants but finally was able to dress himself. His legs seemed to be growing stronger with use. By the time he had dressed, his legs were steady enough to let him walk slowly to the door. He opened it a crack to look down the hall. His room was just across and down the hall from the nurses station. Donna was standing at the counter, talking to Dr. Branson. Starsky listened hard to make out what they were saying.
"I’m telling you that it will all be over tomorrow. Price has all the information he needs to set up the cops. I’ll take care of our patient in the morning. He’ll be discharged and then he’ll disappear forever." Dr. Branson looked around to scan for eavesdroppers. "You and Kelly have been well paid for your part in this. Don’t forget that." With that Branson walked off, leaving Donna to her work.
Starsky closed the door. Now he knew that if he didn’t get out and warn Hutch, he would be responsible for killing his friend. He had given Price the information he needed to avoid the raid and get revenge at the same time.
Starsky leaned against the door and tried to think. It was still early, only about noon. There were still too many nurses around for him to try to sneak out. He would have to wait until that night. Donna or Kelly was sure to come back to check on him. Starsky hobbled back over to the bed. He took off his jacket and shirt and hid them under the mattress. Then he donned the hospital gown and got back in bed, pulling the covers firmly up under his chin.
Not long after he was back in bed, he heard his door open again. He pretended to be asleep so that he wouldn’t have to answer any questions. He could hear the rattle of dishes, so he knew that his lunch had arrived. Once he heard the door close, he opened his eyes just enough to make sure the room was empty. He knew he would need his strength to make a break for it. He sat up and pulled the tray table over the bed. The soup and bread smelled edible and he applied himself to the food. He had just finished the coffee that was on the tray when he felt the room begin to spin. He dropped the coffee cup and tried to get out of bed. His last thought as he fell to the floor was the realization that the food had been drugged.
Starsky never heard Dr. Branson come in the door with Kelly and Donna. Working together, the three of them managed to pick him up and put him back into the bed. Kelly snapped up the guard rails as Donna secured Starsky’s wrists to the rails with the restraints used for violent patients.
"It’s a good thing you saw him looking out of his door." Kelly was saying to Donna. If he gets out now, the game is all over for all of us."
"The drugs will keep him out for at least twelve hours. I want you two to make sure nobody gets in here. When things quiet down tonight, we’ll move him to the basement. Price will send over some men to collect him tomorrow." With that the three conspirators left the room.
************************************************************
When Hutch arrived back at the station, Dobey was waiting for him. "Come into my office Hutch. We may have a lead on Starsky." Dobey led the way into his office and sat behind his desk. He leaned forward on his forearms as Hutch sat down across from him.
"Whatcha got, Cap’t?" Hutch was dying to know what had been learned.
"I’m not sure. It seems that while you were over at The Pits, someone called here looking for you. He wouldn’t talk to anyone else but the officer on duty thinks it may have been your partner." Now Dobey leaned back in his chair. "If it was Starsky, where was he calling from and why wouldn’t he talk to anyone else?"
"He must have been afraid to talk. Cap, Starsky has got to be in trouble. You know someone called Huggy’s apartment while I was there. They hung up though before I could get to the phone. It must have been Starsk. Look, can you have a set up ready to trace any more calls that might come in?"
"It’s already done. You get out there and find that partner of yours. Also, you have a final debriefing at three on your little party in the morning. You’re sure that everything is secure there?"
"Absolutely. Price will have the biggest surprise of his life come seven o’clock." Hutch left Dobey’s office with a somber look on his face. He had to believe that the phone calls had been from his curly-haired partner. That meant that Starsky was alive. Right now he had to hold on to that. He knew that Starsky was tough and had pulled through several tough spots. He also knew that the last thing Starsky would want was for Price to escape. Starsky firmly believed that catching the bad guys was a cop’s job and that had to come before anything else, including his own safety.
Hutch spent the remainder of the day going over the final details of the raid and then hit the streets again. He talked to every snitch and friend he could think of. Still no word on Starsky. Hutch could not believe how completely his friend had vanished. Someone was working very hard to keep the two partners separated.
************************************************************
Much later that night, Starsky slowly started to wake up. He tried to lift himself up off the bed and realized that his hands were tied down. He was startled to hear a voice address him.
"Welcome back, Detective. You figured it out much earlier than I had anticipated. I suppose I shouldn’t have taken you off the drugs in your IV quite so soon." Dr. Branson looked down at Starsky with an grin on his face.
"So, Price needed you to kidnap me and tell you all about the raid planned for the 18th. How’d you do it?"
"It was quite simple really. The car accident was staged of course. You cooperated splendidly when you hit your head and knocked yourself out. One of my men was ready to slug your friend and then we left with you. Who is going to question admitting a car accident victim to the hospital. Your partner was very insistent about checking our records by the way. We had you listed as my nephew so as not to leave a trail." Dr. Branson reached down and checked the restraints on his patient’s wrists.
"How did you do the thing with my legs?"
"What’s that for?" Starsky worked hard to keep his voice steady.
"Just to keep you asleep for a little while longer. By the time you wake up, your partner will be dead, Price will be long gone, and I will be a very rich man." Branson injected the needle’s contents into Starsky’s arm. "Say goodnight, Detective." With that, Branson left.
Starsky struggled to fight the drug and stay awake. He was aware of motion and voices above him. Lights passed in rows above his head and the last thing he felt was a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach.
************************************************************
Hutch fiddled restlessly with a pencil as he considered the plan for the assault that night. He kept seeing his partner’s face instead of the warehouse plans that were in front of him. He knew that he had to remain focused on what he was doing. Getting careless would get him killed. He already knew that Dobey wanted him off the raid. He hadn’t slept much since Starsky’s disappearance and had eaten even less. He knew that Starsky was alive. That fact alone made it easier for him to concentrate on the job at hand. He had considered giving the Price case to another detective, but it was his and Starsky’s case. They had been working on it for the last six months. He wasn’t about to let all of their hard work go to someone else. Hutch rubbed his face and got up to pour himself another cup of coffee. He was really beginning to have a real appreciation for whoever had invented the stuff. He glanced at the clock as he sat back down. Four-thirty. Time to go.
************************************************************
Huggy was just closing the bar for the night when his cousin James walked in. "Hey Huggy how’s it going?"
Huggy poured a beer and sat it in front of the man. "Not so good tonight man. How about you? How’s that new job coming along?"
"Not bad. The pay’s good, but I hate to clean." James took a swallow of the beer. "This getting off work at four in the morning is for the birds."
"What do you expect? You work for the hospital. They can’t have you in there making a mess while the doctors on their rounds." Huggy poured himself a cup of coffee and propped his elbows on the bar.
"By the way, you didn’t tell me that cop friend of yours was in there." James took another swallow of beer.
Huggy stood up straight. "What cop friend?"
"You know, the curly headed one, Starsky."
"You saw Starsky at the hospital? Where, when?" Huggy was wide awake now.
"Just before I left. Some doctor and a pair of nurses were wheeling him down the hall. They got on the elevator. Why?" James was puzzled. He knew that being in the hospital was a regular occurrence for police officers in that city. He listened as Huggy filled him in on Starsky’s disappearance.
Huggy looked at the clock. He knew that Hutch had a big operation starting soon. It had to be important for Hutch not to have been able to talk about it, especially since he was so upset about his missing partner. He made his decision. "Let’s go see if we can find him." He and James hurried to James’ car and headed off for the hospital.
Once there, the two headed for the hospitality desk in the lobby. While James stood watch, Huggy picked the lock on the desk drawer and pulled out a patient information file. Nothing looked suspicious so he replaced it and relocked the drawer. "Where were you when you saw this doctor?"
"Fourth floor. I think he was taking the elevator down." James replied.
"What’s on the lower floors?"
"Maternity, ICU, the emergency room and then just the basement. But the only thing down there is the generator room, and the emergency power systems. There wouldn’t be a reason to take a patient down there."
"Unless he wasn’t a patient." Huggy’s tone was grim. He had James show him the way to the basement. Silently, the two began to go from area to area, looking for any place where a prisoner might have been taken.
"Most of these doors need keys that only the maintenance department head keeps. None of the doctors would have keys to get into these areas." James whispered.
"Is there a room or something down here that a doctor might have a key to?" asked Huggy, glancing at his watch. It was 5:30. He had the ugly feeling that if he didn’t find Starsky soon, he wouldn’t find him at all.
"Yea, there is come to think about it. There’s a room where they keep spare machinery for use in patient rooms. Part of the emergency response plan. Follow me." James led the way down the silent hall until he came to a set of double doors. They were dead bolted shut. Huggy wasted no time setting to work trying to pick the lock.
"Where did you learn how to do that?" James asked. He knew his cousin had a lot of skills that he hadn’t learned in Sunday school but lockpicking on this level wasn’t one of them.
"Believe it or not, I learned it from Starsky and Hutch." Huggy grunted as he worked on the lock. After several long minutes, the deadbolt moved and Huggy eased the door open. The room was dark and filled with lots of dark shapes. The only light was from the small, red emergency light up on the wall. Huggy listened for a few seconds to make sure the room was empty then felt along the wall for the light switch. He found it and flicked on the lights. Silently, he and James split up and began to search the room.
Most of the equipment was covered by white and plastic sheets. Huggy was passing by a covered gurney when he heard a muffled sound. He stopped and listened again. The sound wasn’t repeated and he started to move off. As he did, hid foot hit a stand and made a squeaking noise as the stand rolled over a few inches. This time Huggy heard the groan again, followed by a weak yell for help. He turned to the gurney and pulled the sheet off.
"Starsky!" James turned at his cousin’s yell and ran over to help.
"Huggy? How did you find me?" Starsky’s tone was weak and his face was pale. He was still strapped down to the gurney.
Working quickly, Huggy and James related the story of how they had found him as they freed him. When the last strap was released, Huggy helped his friend to sit up. He was worried when he realized that the detective was too weak to sit up on his own.
"What happened to you?"
"I was drugged. It’s wearing off but boy am I woozy." Memory came flooding back to him. "Huggy, what time is it?"
Huggy looked at his watch, "Six in the morning. Why?"
"You gotta help me, Hug. We gotta get to Hutch before it’s too late." Starsky tried to stand up and would have fallen if Huggy hadn’t caught him.
"It’s all ready too late, Detective."
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Hutch looked out of the broken window and took another sip of cold coffee. He and part of the assault team were on the second floor of the building facing the warehouse where Price was to pick up his shipment of drugs. He had watched the delivery being made a few minutes earlier so all he had to do now was wait. It seemed like he had been doing an awful lot of that lately. Waiting for news of Starsky, waiting on the phone to ring, waiting for Huggy to pull the rabbit out of the hat and tell him where his missing partner was. He looked at his watch, 6:27. He was getting very tired of waiting.
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Starsky looked at Dr. Branson. The doctor was holding a gun on the three men. He struggled to stand on his own. Huggy and James each kept one hand under his arms to steady him.
"It’s over, Branson. Give me the gun. You can’t kill me. If you could, I would’ve been dead before now." Slowly, Starsky took a step toward the man. Huggy stayed close to give him a hand.
"Stay back! I’ll shoot. Believe me." Starsky could see the gun in the man’s hand begin to shake.
"You won’t shoot me. You’re a doctor. Doctor’s don’t take lives. Even greedy ones like you. Price must have offered you a lot of money to do this." Starsky shook off Huggy’s helping hand and advanced on his own. His blue eyes bored into the doctor’s green ones. Slowly, he held out his hand. "Give me the gun."
"Stand back." This time the order came out in a whisper. With one more step, Starsky reached him and gently tugged the gun out of the man’s hand. Instantly, he shoved him to James who bent the doctor over the gurney. Starsky wobbled and would have fallen if not for Huggy’s support.
"Now what, Starsk?" Huggy asked. "We’ve got eighteen minutes till that bomb goes off." Huggy helped Starsky over to the gurney where James was strapping down the doctor.
"We gotta get to Hutch. You gotta take me there fast." Starsky was already leading the way out of the room.
"Let’s just call the station and have them get hold of Hutch." Huggy suggested.
"No good. We know that Price listens in to all of our frequencies. This operation was planned for that. No radio transmissions at all. We’re his only hope of staying alive."
"What are we waiting for? Let’s go." James led the way out of the hospital as fast as Starsky could run. They made it to the parking garage in record time and piled into the car. James started the engine and roared off towards the waterfront.
On the way, Starsky told his rescuers about his ordeal. While he talked, he traded the hospital gown for one of James’ shirts that Huggy found in the backseat. He still had on his jeans and shoes from earlier. His head was clearing rapidly from the fresh air blowing into the car. He looked at Huggy’s watch again. Eight minutes and counting.
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In the warehouse, Hutch and his team watched as two black sedans pulled up to the building they were watching. He counted six men going into the building. He counted to twenty and gave the signal for the full team to take up positions around the suspect warehouse. He and the federal agent would secure the front door and be the first to enter the warehouse. They would have one uniformed officer to help provide support. Drawing their weapons, the three of them took their positions outside the main door.
Hutch looked at his watch, 7:00 time to go. He nodded to the agent to open the door.
************************************************************
James turned the final corner and roared down the pier. He could see Starsky getting ready to open the door. Just up ahead was the building. All three men could see Hutch standing with his gun drawn, ready to enter.
"HUTCH!! Stay out it’s a trap!!" Starsky yelled as loud as he could. He could see Hutch look for the source of the shout "HUTCH!!" James hit the brakes and skidded the car to a stop just feet from where Hutch and the others were. Starsky jumped out of the car and tackled his partner to the ground. Just as he did, the bomb went off, sending wooden debris everywhere. Starsky did his best to shield Hutch from the flying scraps.
The blast had sent both of the federal agents tumbling to the ground. Huggy and James ran to help both of them as the rest of the assault team moved in at a dead run.
"Hutch? Are you okay. Can you hear me?" Starsky rolled off and gently turned Hutch over. Hutch appeared to be stunned. His eyes were closed and a trickle of blood made its way down his cheek from the scrape there.
After a long moment, Hutch opened his eyes and looked up the face of his worried partner. "Starsky? Is that you? Oh God, Starsk!" Hutch grabbed Starsky and pulled him down on the ground in a relieved hug.
Huggy and James came over and helped both men to their feet. They were immediately included in the hug. Finally, Hutch let go of Starsky and just held him out at arms’ length. "How did you get here? Where have you been?"
"I’ve been to the future and you wouldn’t believe the ride," Starsky said with a smile.
************************************************************
That afternoon found Starsky, Hutch, Huggy and Captain Dobey at Huggy’s bar for a private celebration. Starsky had filled them in on all of the details of his kidnapping, and had sent a squad car to pick up Dr. Branson and the two nurses. In return, Huggy had told his story of how James had seen the doctor wheeling Starsky onto the elevator and how he and Huggy had tracked him down. Captain Dobey assured everyone that the bomb had been ineffective and Price and all of his men had been captured.
"You know what the worst part of this whole thing was?" Starsky swirled the beer around in his glass.
"What buddy?" Hutch’s voice was warm and supportive.
"Thinking I had lost you and Huggy here. I felt so guilty at not being there when you needed me. I wasn’t really sure for a while there that I wanted to get out of that hospital." Starsky didn’t look at his friends.
"I felt the same way about not being able to find you. Make you a deal though." Hutch picked up his glass and motioned around the table to include all four of them. "I’ll be there for you and you’ll be there for me. Promise. To friendship, Gentlemen."
"Hear, hear." The chorus rang around the table.