NEWS AT
ELEVEN
Everybody knows how Hutch reacted when Starsky
got shot by Gunther’s men but how did other people who knew Starsky react to
the news?
Author’s Note: Each chapter in this story will
deal with a different person from Starsky’s life and their reactions to the
news when they learn about the shooting.
THE
SHOOTING
Hutch chuckled as he pushed open the glass door
that opened into the parking lot behind Police headquarters. Starsky stepped
through ahead of him, the two of them bantering lightly back and forth about a
bet Starsky had just won. A bet that had earned him a dinner at a restaurant of
his choice paid for by Hutch. It had been one of those rare days when they
didn’t have any pressing on-going investigations, court appearances or
informants to meet with. It was a day they would normally have spent catching
up on their paperwork but they couldn’t even do very much of that because the
detective’s squad room was being painted.
“You owe me a dinner, buddy boy.” Starsky said
smugly as they walked away from the building towards the opposite side of the
lot where Starsky’s red and white Ford Torino was parked. The
“Well, since I’m buying….how about I pick a date?”
Hutch said, as they passed a row of black and white cruisers parked against the
building. “How about
“Yeah? Well, I’m thinking of a three course
dinner.” Starsky said in a cocky tone as they crossed the pavement to the car.
Hutch crossed around to the passenger’s side and waited patiently for Starsky
to unlock the doors.
“Oh, yeah?” Hutch teased him, as he flashed a grin
over the top of the car’s roof at his partner. “What’s that? A burger, fries
and a shake?”
“No way.” Starsky told him, grinning back at him
over the roof of the car. He fumbled with his keys as he continued his conversation
with Hutch. “I’m thinking a broiled lobster….maybe a
Hutch glanced away, distracted by the sound of
metal grinding against metal. He noticed a black and white cruiser pulling away
from the line of cruisers, scrapping the front fender of the cruiser beside it
as it pulled forward. As it continued to move forward without stopping, Hutch
saw the shadow of the gun being raised to the open window on the passenger’s
side. “STARSKY! GET DOWN!” Hutch yelled frantically, as he instinctively threw
himself down to the ground, reaching under his jacket for his magnum even as he
fell to safety beside the car.
He heard the sound of several gunshots, obviously
from an automatic weapon from the sound of it, accompanied by the noise of
breaking glass and the loud thuds of the bullets hitting the body of the
Hutch’s heart pounded frantically in his chest,
his breathing heavy and harsh, as he raced around the front of the
“STARSKY!” Hutch screamed his wounded partner’s
name once more as he threw himself to the ground beside him, ignoring the blood
that soaked through the knees of his jeans. He reached out for his best friend,
his hands shaking, almost afraid to touch him. Afraid that his biggest fear
would be realized. That Starsky would be dead. The brunet’s eyes were closed,
air bubbles seeping out along with the blood that was pouring from the holes in
his chest. Hutch could hear a harsh gurgling sound that he recognized far too
well. Starsky was drowning in his own blood as it slowly filled his lungs.
Without even realizing he was doing it, Hutch carefully eased Starsky onto his
back and pressed his hands down over the wounds in his chest, trying
desperately to stop the blood that was escaping from his body. But the blood
continued to seep relentlessly through his fingers, staining his own skin and
his sleeves of his white jacket. “DON’T YOU DIE ON ME, STARKSY!” Hutch pleaded,
his eyes brimming with unshed tears “DON’T YOU DARE DIE ON ME!”
Hutch was barely aware of the men and women that
were running out of the building and from other parts of the parking lot, both
uniformed officers and undercover ones, ready to render whatever aide they
could to their fallen comrade. His grief stricken mind registered someone’s
else’s hands pressing over his, trying to help slow the steady stream of blood,
even as someone else tilted back Starsky’s head and started giving him mouth to
mouth. Excited voices filled the air. Shouts for someone to call an ambulance
even as other voices yelled out “Officer down! Officer Down!” But Hutch’s
attention was focused solely on his best friend’s face, willing him to hang on
until help arrived, refusing to allow him to die like this, especially here in
the one place he should have been safe.
There was an indescribable pain in Hutch’s chest,
as he tried to remember how to drag air into his own tortured lungs. His mind
refused to accept the terrible truth of what his eyes told him was fact. His
partner, his best friend, the other half of his soul was dying right in front
of him and there wasn’t anything he could do about it. Dimly, he was aware of
the sound of sirens in the distance, growing louder as they got closer. Hutch
had never been more terrified in his life, the sheer horror of the moment
seeping into every pore of his body and every part of his brain. The image of
his dying partner implanting itself in his mind. He was functioning on sheer
adrenaline, his emotions and the rational part of his mind had shut down the
minute he saw his wounded partner lying on the ground covered in his own blood.
CAPTAIN
DOBEY
Captain Harold Dobey grumbled under his breath,
complaining about the painting in the squad room, as he went into his office
and closed his door. Even there, he could still smell the fumes that lingered
in the air. With a groan, he settled down behind his desk intending to read and
sign some of the daily reports from his detectives that had accumulated over
the past few days.
Suddenly, the sound of raised voices and a
commotion in the hallway caught his attention. He started to shove himself to
his feet to see what was going on when the second door to his office, the one
that opened into the hallway, slammed open and one of his detectives, Ray
Anderson, appeared in the doorway. The younger man’s face was deathly pale as
he said breathlessly “There’s been a shooting in the back parking lot. We’ve
got an officer down.”
Dobey immediately rose to his feet his feet and
hurried from his office, moving quickly for such a large man. The news of an
officer down would bring every man and woman in the building to the parking lot
to investigate and to help in any way they could. Commanding officers would be
needed on the scene to control the panic and the chaos. Dobey lumbered down the
steps to the first floor, ignoring the elevator which was already in use.
Breathing heavily, he burst out the back door into a scene straight from the
bowels of hell.
He noticed the large crowd gathered on the
opposite side of the lot and knew that was where the fallen officer must be. He
could hear frantic voices yelling for an ambulance and anyone with advanced
medical training. Dobey knew immediately that the situation was bad, very bad
indeed. It wasn’t until he started pushing his way through the crowd to get
closer to the injured officer, that he caught a glimpse of the candy apple red
car with the distinctive white stripe. He immediately felt as if someone had
punched him in the gut. That was Starsky’s car. That meant the injured officer
had to be either Starsky or Hutch.
As Dobey finally broke through the crowd, he had
to choke back the bile that threatened to spill from his throat at the
heartbreaking sight before him. Hutch was crouched on the ground beside
Starsky, slumped over his body, holding his hands pressed firmly against his
partner’s chest, trying to hold back the blood that was pouring from Starsky’s
wounds, soaking everything and everyone it touched. Another uniformed officer
was tying to help apply pressure to the hideous wounds, wounds that Dobey knew
from painful experience were probably fatal. A young police woman was kneeling
close to Starsky’s head, frantically giving him mouth to mouth.
Dobey took a deep breath to control his own
frantically pounding heart, as he barked orders to the crowd. Someone informed
him that an ambulance was on the way, while someone else gave him a brief
report about two men dressed up like officers who had shot Starsky. Hutch had
been spared from being hit only because he was on the other side of the car and
protected by the vehicle’s heavy steel body. But Starsky had been caught
directly in the line of fire with no place to go. The bogus officers had
escaped and the descriptions of them were hazy at best. It had all the earmarks
of a professional hit.
Dobey felt a deep seated rage and an overwhelming
sorrow. Starsky and Hutch were his two best men. The best team of detectives in
the entire department. They were more than just partners and best friends; they
were two halves of the same soul, a unit that depended on the other half to
function effectively. If Starsky died, it would surely mean Hutch’s eventual
demise too. He would be eaten alive by his own guilt and grief until he either
got himself killed deliberately or ate his own gun to put an end to his pain.
Although Dobey would never admit it to anyone,
least of all to the two men themselves, Starsky and Hutch were his favorite
detectives and he felt almost as close to them as if they were his own sons. He
considered them close friends as well as professional colleagues.
They may be unorthodox, even arrogant at times,
rebellious as hell, and too outspoken for their own good but that was what made
them the best. They knew each other inside and out. They knew each other’s
strengths and their weaknesses and they knew how to compensate for the other
one’s shortcomings. They could even communicate without speaking most of the
time, almost as if they shared a psychic bond that held them together even when
they were separated. That connection had saved their lives more than once when
one of them was in danger. But Dobey doubted if that bond would be able to help
them much now.
Dobey turned his attention to Hutch. The tall
blond was as white as a sheet, sweat beading on his forehead, a dull glaze in
his ice blue eyes. His attention was focused solely on Starsky and he seemed
completely unaware of the activity going on around him. He didn’t even notice
when Dobey gently clasped his shoulder and spoke his name, trying to get his
attention. Dobey could hear Hutch muttering Starsky’s name over and over,
begging him to hang on, not to die, his words echoing in the air almost like a
prayer. Dobey could tell that Hutch was on the verge of hysteria, the shock of
the shooting wrapping around him like a blanket on a chilly morning.
Dobey raised his face towards heaven and offered
up a silent prayer of his own “Please, God, watch over these men and protect
them. Don’t let Starsky die. Don’t take him away from us...not like this.” The
sound of the ambulance pulling into the parking lot claimed his attention as it
screeched to a halt almost bumper to bumper with the Torino. Two paramedics
jumped out of the vehicle, running to Starsky’s side. The young policewoman who
had been giving him mouth to mouth and the other officer who had been helping
care for Starsky quickly stepped aside to give them room to tend to the fallen
officer. Then one of the paramedics made the mistake of trying to get Hutch to
move aside too.
That was all it took for the tall blond to lose
it. He bared his teeth and glared at the two paramedics, his eyes as cold as
two chips of ice and as deadly as a rattlesnake ready to strike. “STAY AWAY
FROM HIM! DON’T TOUCH HIM!” He screamed “HE’S BEEN HURT ENOUGH! I WON’T LET YOU
HURT HIM ANYMORE!”
“Hutch!” Dobey said firmly trying to get the
detective’s attention “Let them take care of Starsky so they get him to the
hospital. They’re not going to hurt him.” When Hutch ignored his Captain’s words,
Dobey solemnly nodded at a small group of officers standing nearby. It was the
last thing he wanted to do under the circumstances but he knew they were going
to have to restrain Hutch to make him leave Starsky’s side long enough for the
paramedics to try and stabilize him so they transport him to the hospital. It
took Captain Dobey and five other officers to pull Hutch to his feet and away
from his fallen partner. He fought them every step of the way, yelling
obscenities and trying to strike out at them with his hands and his feet. Hutch
was a big man and he was strong, his strength fueled even more by the adrenalin
rush and the fear of losing his partner that coursed through his body.
MINNIE
Minnie Kaplan was a dispatch supervisor for the
Bay City Police Department and had been for over ten years. She enjoyed her job
and had no aspirations for promotion. She was content with her life as it was.
When she heard the frantic calls going out over the air about a shooting in the
back parking lot, she immediately left her post to investigate. She knew every
officer in the building and she had to see who was hurt. Officer down was a
call that affected every police officer deeply because they all knew that the
next time it could be one of them.
The stairs and the hallways were full of men and
women rushing towards the back lot to see if there was anything they could do
to help at the scene. By the time she reached the door that opened into the
back parking lot, the ambulance was already pulling into the driveway. She
caught her breath sharply as some of the crowd backed away and she saw the red
and white Torino, and then she saw Hutch, kneeling beside someone lying on the
ground,. Minnie knew instantly that it had to be his partner, Detective First
Class Sergeant David Starsky. Even from that distance, Minnie could see the
blood that was pooled on the ground beneath the injured man as well as the
blood that covered Hutch’s hands and jeans.
“Oh, no… Starsky. Not you, baby….not you.” Minnie
whispered to herself, absently making the sign of the cross as she said a
silent prayer for the wounded man. Everyone in the department knew Starsky and
Hutch, if not by sight or by name, then by reputation. But Minnie was
particularly fond of the tall blonde detective and his curly haired
counterpart.
Starsky was a notorious flirt and charming as
hell. Of course it sure didn’t hurt that he was also a handsome devil. But then
so was Hutch. They were complete opposites, both in temperament and in
appearance. Ken Hutchinson, Hutch to most people, was a tall Nordic looking
blond with ice blue eyes and classic good looks. Starsky was slightly shorter
with an olive complexion, deep blue sapphire eyes, and dark curly hair. Where
Hutch was more standoffish, almost arrogant at times, Starsky was friendly and
outgoing with a ready smile and a wicked sense of humor.
Everyone in the department knew how close the two
men were, closer than brothers. They had been together for almost ten years,
seven as partners. Some officers who were jealous of them and their arrest
record, or just didn’t like them, spread rumors that they were ‘more than just
friends’. It made Minnie’s blood boil whenever she heard anyone badmouthing the
duo and she wasn’t above letting anyone she overhead doing it know that they had
better not let her hear them doing it again. She counted the dynamic duo as her
friends as well as professional colleagues.
She found herself thinking about all the times
she’d baked cookies or other special treats to bring in to the squad room. She
always made plenty because she knew how much Starsky liked the sweet treats. He
always grinned broadly when she presented him with her latest offering, his
smile reminding her so much of a little boy being offered his favorite snack.
Although Hutch’s eating habits were more healthy than his partner’s tendency
towards junk food, Minnie knew that the tall blond would also make sure he got
his own fair share of the treats.
She knew that they both had been seriously injured
before in the line of duty and that they’d had more than their share of close
calls in their careers but this was the first time Minnie actually believed she
was witnessing the death of one of them. It was inconceivable that something
like this could have happened here in the parking garage at police
headquarters. A hit like that had to have been done by professionals. Amateurs
would never have been able to pull it off and get away with it. Minnie knew
that every man and woman in the city would be looking for whoever did this to
one of their own.
Minnie felt the tears falling down her cheeks as
she watched the two ambulance attendants trying to get close enough to Starsky
to prepare him for transport to the hospital. In his grief, Hutch went
ballistic, refusing to let them get close to his fallen partner. It took the
combined efforts of Captain Dobey and five other officers to finally pull Hutch
away from Starsky’s side so the paramedics could tend to him. And even then,
Hutch’s screams could still be heard over the noise of the crowd as he yelled out
Starsky’s name. Hutch’s grief was so tangible that Minnie saw several other men
and women gathered in the crowd with tears falling freely down their cheeks.
A good partnership is hard to come by and in
police circles, it’s considered as sacred and almost as binding as a marriage.
Good partners automatically become tight. They spend more time with each other
than they do their own families and end up sharing everything with each other,
their joy, their pain, their fear, and their vices. In a life or death job
where you depend on your partner to watch your back, the loss of a partner is
often something the remaining partner never gets over. Sometimes they quit the
force entirely, sometimes they become alcoholics and sometimes they move on to
desk jobs. In a really close partnership, the surviving partner refuses to work
with a new partner. All too often, the surviving partner finds a way to end his
own misery and pain, unable to live with the loss of the other half of himself.
Minnie felt her own heart clutching with fear. She knew that if Starsky died,
it would destroy Hutch too.
Minnie watched helplessly as the paramedics worked
frantically over Starsky’s body. They didn’t hesitate too long, he needed
immediate medical attention. They quickly loaded him onto a stretcher and put
him into the back of the ambulance. One of the paramedics climbed in beside him
and slammed the rear door, while the second paramedic climbed under the wheel
and tore out of the parking lot, the siren screaming in the air. Minnie saw
Captain Dobey leading Hutch towards the Captain’s own car to drive him to the
hospital. Minnie immediately rushed towards her own car, as did several other
officers, all of them with just one thing in mind. Going to the hospital too
where they would hold a vigil for Starsky until they knew if he was going to
live or die. In the meantime, they would donate blood, buy each other coffee
and food, make phone calls or do whatever else needed to be done for Starsky,
for Hutch and for each other.
HUGGY
BEAR
Very few people knew Huggy Bear’s real name and
that was the way he liked it. He owned and operated lucrative bar and grill in
downtown Bay City. Huggy was also known as the man to see if you needed
something or if you had some information you needed to pass along. Huggy got
things done and he was fiercely loyal to his friends. Huggy Bear counted
Starsky and Hutch as two of his closest personal friends. He’d known Starsky
since they were teenagers, having grown up just a few blocks apart in vastly
different neighborhoods. He had met Hutch through Starsky while they were still
in the police academy together. Over the years, Huggy had helped the two
detectives solve some of their toughest cases by supplying them with vital
information that had led to some high profile arrests.
The lunch crowd was just starting to thin out when
the phone behind the bar rang demanding Huggy’s attention. “You got the Bear.”
He said with his characteristically cheerful greeting “Talk to me.”
“Hey, Huggy…” said a thin whiney voice in his ear
“This is Skinny Moe.” Huggy nodded impatiently, recognizing the voice as
belonging to a local stoolie who often passed along information to Huggy in
exchange for a free meal now and then. It only took a second for Huggy’s mind
to register the fact that Skinny Moe sounded more anxious and on edge than
usual which meant something bad had to be going down somewhere in the city. “I
just heard that some cop got gunned down in the parking lot at police
headquarters. They don’t think he’s gonna make it.”
“Do you know who it was?” Huggy demanded, his
attention fully focused on his caller’s voice as a sense of dread swept over
the tall thin black man. A sudden chill seemed to settle in the air around him,
fear making his heart pound in his chest.
“Yeah….your buddy, Starsky. Word is he took at
least three slugs point blank in the chest…maybe more…..”
Stunned at the news, Huggy hung up the phone
without bothering to reply. “JIMBO!” He yelled to the cook working back in the
kitchen “CALL RITA AND GET HER IN HERE TO COVER FOR ME!” Without any further
explanation, Huggy ran out of the bar and climbed into his car which was parked
in the alley behind the building. Driving as fast as he possibly could, he
headed for Memorial hospital the nearest hospital to police headquarters. As he
drove, his mind raced with fear for the safety and well being of his long time
friend. He prayed that he wouldn’t be too late. But either way, he knew that
Hutch would need him there, especially if Starsky was dead.
At the hospital, he paused at the front desk long
enough to find out that Starsky was in the Intensive Care Unit on the fourth
floor. That had to be a good sign he thought to himself as he hurried down the
hallway towards the elevators. At least it meant that Starsky was still alive.
As he stepped off the elevator on the fourth floor, the first thing Huggy
noticed was the large number of uniformed police officers milling around in the
waiting room and the halls. Huggy hurried up to the nurse’s station. The young
blonde on duty looked harried and tired. She glanced up at Huggy and before he
could even say a word, she pointed down the hallway to his left, automatically
assuming that he was there because of Starsky. Huggy hurried in that direction.
There were patient’s rooms on either side of the
hallway, each one with a large glass window that looked into the room, where
visitors and family members could still see the patient even if they couldn’t
go into the room. At the far end of the hall, Huggy saw Captain Dobey standing
staring through one of the windows on the left side of the hallway. Hutch was
sitting in a chair beside him, staring into the room, his body language rigid
and tightly controlled. As he joined them, Huggy glanced through the glass and
couldn’t hold back the gasp that escaped from his lips. Starsky was lying on
his back on the bed, his stomach and upper torso covered with bandages.
Machines surrounded the bed, monitoring his vital signs, his heartbeat, and
even breathing for him. There were so many tubes, and wires and medical
equipment surrounding him that Huggy couldn’t even begin to imagine what they
were all for.
He had two IV’s, one in each arm, and the
respirator mouthpiece hid the lower half of his face, a strip of tape across
the bridge of his nose holding the tube that ran down his throat in place.
There was no movement at all from the curly haired detective and his normally
olive colored skin was almost as white as the sheets covering his lower body.
“How is he?” Huggy asked in a hushed voice
“He’s still alive.” Dobey said somberly
“But there’s hope, right? There’s always hope.”
Huggy said
“He’s dying…Starsky’s dying, Hug.” Hutch said,
speaking for the first time. His voice was flat and devoid of any emotion, a
sound that made the hairs on the back of Huggy’s neck stand on end. “He
suffered massive damage…..the body can only withstand so much….” As Hutch’s
words trailed off, Huggy felt his own knees go weak. He knew that he would
remain here at the hospital with the others, part of the death watch for one of
his closest friends.
NICK AND
RACHEL STARSKY
Rachel Starsky had just taken a pie out of the
oven when the telephone rang. She sat the pie down on the counter and grabbed
the phone.
“Hello?” she said brightly
“R..R..Rachel?” a stammering voice said in her
ear, a voice she recognized immediately as being to her son’s partner, Ken
Hutchinson. She immediately felt a cold chill surrounding her and a weakness
swept through her. There was something about the tone of his voice, something
that rang every alarm bell in her head.
“Ken? Is that you?” she asked trying to keep her
voice level and calm, trying to tell herself that she was overreacting. “What’s
the matter? Is David all right?”
“No….” Hutch said, his voice tight and strained
“He….he….” She heard the choked back sob that had crept into Hutch’s voice and
she knew he was calling to tell her the one thing she didn’t want to hear.
“How bad?” she asked, saving him the pain of
telling her the words he was having so much trouble saying.
“You need to come….right away.” Hutch managed to
say. Before Rachel could reply, she heard a muffled voice in the background and
then another deeper voice came on the line.
“Mrs. Starsky?” the voice said “This is Captain
Dobey of the Bay City Police Department. I’m sorry to inform you that David’s
been shot and he’s in the hospital.”
“Is he going to be all right?” Rachel asked,
forcing herself to remain calm even though she felt anything but calm inside.
“The doctor’s don’t think he’s going to make it.
You need to come out here if you can.”
“I’ll be on my next available flight.” She told
him, as she leaned heavily against the kitchen counter to keep from collapsing
to the floor. She had lost David’s father to an assassin’s bullet over twenty
years ago and now she may be losing her son to one too. It was her greatest
fear come true.
“I’ll have someone pick you up at the airport.”
Captain Dobey told her. “You can call me back at Memorial hospital when you
have the flight information.”
“I will…..” Rachel promised “Tell Ken that’ll I’ll
be there soon….and take my son until I get there.” She hung up before he could
answer and finally let the tears fall from her eyes, as she slowly sank to the
floor, giving in to her own grief and fear. She barely heard the screen door
slam as someone came in the front door.
“MA!” her youngest son, Nicky, cried as he stepped
into the kitchen and saw his mother huddled on the floor in tears. Quickly, he
hurried to her side and wrapped his arms around her, gently helping her to her
feet. “What is it? What’s wrong? Who died?” he asked in a worried anxious
voice.
“It’s David…” Rachel managed to tell him, as she
brushed away her tears. “He’s been shot….they don’t think he’s going to make
it. I have to go to California…..”
“Oh….” Nick said. David. Of course it would be
David. His mother wouldn’t be so upset if it was anyone else but David. “You go
pack and I’ll call the Airlines for you.” Nicky said in a soothing voice that
he only used with his mother when she was upset or mad at him for something.
Rachel nodded, regaining her composure as she slowly headed towards the
stairway to go to her room and pack for her trip. Nicky waited until she was
out of sight before he let the scowl cross his face. Even though his mother had
sent David to California to live with Rosie and Al over twenty years ago, she
still dropped everything whenever he needed her and Nicky resented it. She’d
sent David away and kept Nicky but he still felt second place when it came to
his older brother.
David was the one who decided to follow in Pop’s
footsteps and become a cop. He knew how dangerous it was and so did Ma. This
wasn’t the first time he’d been shot. Nicky knew he should feel something
besides the resentment he was feeling right now, especially if David was as bad
off as Ma said he was, but he didn’t. Frankly, he didn’t care if Davy died or
not. He’d turned against Nicky a long time ago. He was closer to that damn
partner of his than he was to his own brother.
He sighed as he called the airlines to get his
mother on the next available plane to California. His mother didn’t know how
Nicky really felt about his brother and he wasn’t about to let her find out. He
would play the role of dutiful son and concerned brother until she was safely
on the plane but there was no way he was going with her. Maybe this could all
work out to his advantage. If David died than Nicky would get everything when
his mother died and wouldn’t have to share anything with Davy. The thought
brought a faint smile to his face.
Within the hour, Rachel Starsky was boarding a
plane for California. She had tried to convince Nick to come with her but he
had begged off telling her that he didn’t want to see David in his present
condition. She wasn’t sure if she believed him or not. She knew that her two
sons weren’t as close as they used to be and she knew that was her fault for
sending David away when he was only thirteen. That was a decision she had
always regretted but she had been forced to live with over the years. But
nothing, especially Nicky’s childish pouting, was going to keep her from her
first born child’s side. She just prayed that she arrived in time to say
goodbye.
SWEET
The petite blonde with the big blue eyes sat at
the bar, slowing slipping her ginger ale. Since it was just barely past noon,
business was slow but she didn’t care. She didn’t much feel like working
anyway. There was a TV mounted on the wall behind the bar, the sound blending
in the background. Sweet Alice wasn’t really paying much attention to what was
on until she heard the name Starsky followed by the name Hutchinson. That was
enough for her to turn her head and focus her attention on the television
screen and the voice of the announcer.
“Oh my sweet Jesus……” She said, her eyes widening
in alarm as she listened to the first reports of the shooting in the parking
lot at police headquarters. The news was sketchy at best, simply stating that
Starsky had been the victim of a shooting, that he had been taken to an
undisclosed location, and that he wasn’t expected to survive his injuries.
Alice blinked back tears as pictures of the scene
flashed on the screen, one showing Starsky lying on the ground beside that
snazzy car of his with Hutch kneeling at his side and another one of him being
loaded into the back of an ambulance. “Oh, handsome Hutch….” Sweet Alice
whispered when she saw the obviously distraught blond next to his fallen
partner.
The two detectives had always been nice to Alice.
They had never treated her like a hooker or looked down on her. And she’d
always had a soft spot for the tall blond half of the duo. She’d helped them
out on some of their cases and never asked for anything either for doing it.
That was one of the reasons for her nickname on streets. She was sweet and
compassionate and a gentle soul who had simply made some bad choices in her
life.
“Hey, Alice….” Said the bartender who had been
watching the report along with her. “You know those two guys, don’t ya?”
“Yeah, Mattie. I sure do.” Alice drawled in her
slow southern accent. “That’s handsome Hutch and Sweet Starsky.”
“Too bad. It don’t sound like the one guy’s gonna
make it.”
“You don’t know Starsky….” Alice said with a faint
smile tugging at her mouth “He just might surprise ya….he’s a fighter that
one.”
“Yeah, well he might be a fighter but sooner or
later everybody’s luck runs out. Even the good guys.”
“He’s gotta make it.” Alice said more to herself
than to the bartender “Cause if he don’t…then handsome Hutch won’t either.”
“They that tight?” the bartender asked, puzzled by
Sweet Alice’s pensive expression.
“Those two are more than tight.” Alice told him
“They share the same soul….they’re connected by god….” She slid off the
barstool and headed for the door.
“Hey, where you going?” Mattie called after her.
It wasn’t like Alice to leave so early in the day unless it was with a trick.
“I gotta go and find me a church. I gotta say
prayer for Starsky.” Alice called back over her shoulder as she walked out of
the bar. Although Alice hadn’t set foot in a church since she was little girl,
she was a good fearing soul in her own way and she felt the need to offer up a
plea to god on behalf of the dark haired man who’d always been so good to her
and one for his blond partner. She didn’t reckon that God would mind if it was
coming from a back sliding Christian that made her living on the streets. He
would know what was in her heart.
SIMONETTI
AND DRYDEN
Among the officers who heard the yelling in the
hallways that day about an officer down were two internal affairs officers,
John Simonetti and his partner, Mike Dryden. Dropping what they were doing,
they joined the other officers running towards the back parking lot. Internal
Affairs officers were not the most popular officers on the force but they were
still cops and the ‘officer down’ call was one they automatically responded to.
As they burst through the doorway into the parking
lot and caught sight of the crowd gathered around the flashy red and white car,
Simonetti looked at his partner and said with a smirk “It looks like one of
Dobey’s golden boys got hit.”
“It must have been Starsky.” Dryden said solemnly.
From his vantage point, he could see Hutch standing off to the side being
restrained by some other officers. “Over there’s Hutch.”
“It figures. That loud mouth Jew is more trouble
than he’s worth. It was only a matter of time before somebody took him out.”
Dryden kept his mouth shut but he shot his partner
a dirty look. It was no secret that Simonetti didn’t like Starsky or Hutch and
that he had made them his private crusade. He had been trying for years to get
them kicked off the force but they were too good at what they did for him to
succeed. It was men like Simonetti that gave Internal Affairs the nickname ‘The
headhunters’. Dryden liked his job even if he didn’t always like his partner.
And even though he would never admit it to anyone, he also liked Starsky and
Hutch. He thought they were good cops even if their methods were a little
unorthodox. They might not play by the book and they might bend the rules but
they got the job done. Their arrest record testified to that.
A professional hit on a highly decorated police
officer, carried out in the parking garage at Police headquarters, would need
to be investigated intensely. Internal Affairs would automatically play a role
in the investigation to make sure it wasn’t a personal vendetta against the
officers involved for any wrong doing on their part. Dryden knew that he would
have to keep a close rein on Simonetti. This would just give him another excuse
to try and take down Starsky and Hutch.
“Well, he ain’t dead yet.” Dryden commented “They’re
loading him in the ambulance.”
“Those bastards came out smelling like a rose when
the Mayor himself asked them to re-join the force a few months ago.” Simonetti
snarled “But I think their luck just ran out.” He looked at Dryden and gave him
a wicked smile “Maybe we’ll get lucky and Starsky will buy it, then Hutchinson
will either quit the force or eat a bullet. Either way, we’ll be rid of both of
those outlaws.”
“Why don’t you face it, Simonetti?” Dryden drawled
“They’re too well respected and well connected……you ain’t gonna find no dirt on
them…unless you put it there yourself.” He turned and walked into the building,
leaving his partner standing there with a stunned expression on his face.
Dryden sighed wearily as he climbed back up the
stairs towards his office. Maybe it was time to ask for another partner. Hell,
maybe it was time to resign. He was getting too old for this shit. He knew that
not many people liked Simonetti and Dryden’s own reputation had suffered from
his partnership with the loudmouth son of a bitch.
KIRA
Detective Sergeant Second Class Kira Rogers was
heading back towards headquarters from a stake out in downtown Bay City when
she heard the first reports of the shooting at the police garage over her car
radio. When she heard Starsky and Hutch’s names over the air, she pulled her
car over to the side of the road and parked so she could listen to the
broadcasts without any interruptions.
It had been almost four months since her
disastrous undercover assignment where she had worked with the two hotshot
detectives. In the course of their investigation, she had gotten sexually
involved with both men. She had actually dated Starsky for almost a month
before getting involved with Hutch behind Starsky’s back. Kira had always
considered herself a sexually liberated woman and she didn’t see anything wrong
with being involved with the two men at the same time. Unfortunately, Starsky
seemed to have had other ideas.
Kira still remembered that morning when Hutch had
shown up at her apartment and asked her if she was in love with Starsky. She
had told him yes and then she had told him that she was in love with him too.
When Hutch hesitated instead of leaving immediately, Kira knew she had the
upper hand. It hadn’t been hard to seduce the tall blond into her bed. Neither
one of them had expected Starsky to show up shortly afterwards and catch Hutch
coming out of her bedroom, half dressed. The two men had gotten into a fight,
which had been pretty one sided since Hutch just stood there and let Starsky
punch him without really trying to fight back. Kira had made them both leave
but she knew the damage had already been done.
She had heard how close the two men were even
before she started dating Starsky. And Kira had always liked a challenge. It
had been a rush to have two of the sexiest and most sought after men in the
department panting after her like a couple of hounds in heat. And they were
both really good in bed. Kira had enjoyed herself and she thought they had too
until Starsky got all bent out of shape. And in the end, they had chosen their
friendship and their partnership over any further involvement with her.
Kira had been angry and bitter when her affair
with the two men ended. She didn’t like to lose. Usually, she was the one who
ended her relationships with men when they got too possessive or demanding. She
knew that most of the other men and women in the department blamed her for the
trouble that had resulted from their ‘three way’ love affair but she didn’t
really give a damn. She knew that most of the woman resented her and were
jealous of her. And most of the men, she could wrap around her little finger
without even trying.
In spite of everything that happened between Kira
and the two men, she had really liked both men and had a good time with each of
them. She would hate to see their partnership end like this. Nobody deserved to
die that way. Especially Starsky. But, he was a cop. He knew the risks that
went with the job just like Kira did. As she sat there listening to the reports
on the radio, Kira was surprised to find herself feeling sad and depressed. A
single tear ran down her cheek but she wasn’t sure who she was crying for,
Starksy, Hutch or maybe herself. She knew she was the last person who would be
welcomed at the hospital. With a shrug of her shoulders, she turned off the
police radio and pulled back out into traffic, heading for home. She had a date
and needed to get ready.
ROSEY
MALONE
Rosey Malone smiled as she watched the Indian
children playing in the schoolyard. She loved working with them but she really
missed L.A. But her father had to leave and he insisted that she come with him
because he was worried about her safety if she stayed behind. But leaving also
meant leaving behind someone who had become very special to her in a short
period of time. He was a cop and since her dad was a gangland figure, their
relationship had been doomed from the start. But she couldn’t just turn off her
feelings for him, no matter how hard she tried.
She was still in touch with some friends in Los
Angeles who kept her update on the current events in the city. They called her
frequently and sent her a daily copy of the LA Times. After finishing with the
children for the day, she went back to her tiny apartment and fixed something
to eat, then sat down to read the week old paper. That was the only problem
with living where they did. By the time she got the daily paper, the news was
already a week old.
The cup she was drinking her tea from fell from
her fingers unnoticed and spilled on the floor as the headlines from a week ago
caught her eye immediately. “DECORATED POLICE DETECTIVE SHOT IN
ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT.”
“David…..” Rosey whispered in a broken voice as
her eyes focused on the front page picture showing the Torino still parked in
the police parking lot with the dark stains of blood still visible on the
pavement beside it. Her tear filled eyes quickly scanned the article which told
her that David had been critically wounded and was not expected to survive. She
let the paper fall to the sofa at her side as she broke down in sobs, crying
for the man she had been forced to leave behind in the states.
Over the next week, she continued to follow the
story closely. She was relieved when she learned that although he was
critically injured from four bullet wounds, David had survived the vicious
attack. He was hospitalized in an undisclosed location under heavy guard. Later
stories, told how Hutch had brought down the powerful Gunther Industries headed
up by James Gunther, who had paid for the hit on David and his partner.
Rosey wanted badly to return to the states to see
David for herself, to tell him that she still loved him, but she knew that she
couldn’t do that. She had made her choice when she chose coming with her father
instead of staying behind with David. That was a choice she would have to live
with. As painful as it might be, they both had to get on with their own lives.
But Rosey knew in her heart that she would always love a certain blue eyed,
curly haired man whose only failing was being a cop. She wished with all her
heart that things could have been different, that they could have met at
another place and another time. Life could be so cruel and unfair at times.
Using her contacts in
EPILOUGE
Hutch smiled as he walked down the hallway to room
610. After almost two months in the hospital, Starsky was finally coming home.
He was still in a lot of pain and faced months of physical therapy before he
could even be close to his previous physical condition. But he was alive. He
had beaten all the odds and had defeated death. He had died and come back. And
Hutch vowed that he would care for him through his long recovery back to
health. After all isn’t that what friends are for.