Using the titles: Season 4
DISCOMANIA had swept the city. It seemed like every dark haired guy in the city was buying a white suit to go shake his stuff in the middle of the dance floor.
Every dark-haired guy except Dave Starsky.
Hutch was quite surprised really. He expected Starsky to really want to play THE GAME and get down there and boogey his butt off; but Starsky didn't seem interested.
"To be honest, Hutch I'd rather be led BLINDFOLD into the lion's den than go to one of those places. The lights would just set off a migraine and….."
Hutch had said nothing at the time but he knew that they were going to have to go to a disco pretty soon to investigate a strange story of a vengeance.
Hutch arrived at Starsky's house and noticed that the light was on in the garage below the apartment. Starsky treated the garage like a basement; the Torino was always parked under the eucalyptus tree in front of the house. Hutch walked to the back of the house and let himself into the garage. There was no sign of Starsky and then Hutch noticed that the light over the door of Starsky's new dark room was on. He knocked on the door.
"It's me, Hutch. Can I come in yet?"
Starsky called back. "No; just a minute; I've just put the PHOTO into the last solution; go get yourself a beer while I just FINISH this."
Hutch strode out of the garage and took the steps two by two. He let himself into the house and headed straight for the kitchen to find a cold beer in the fridge. Starsky appeared a couple of minutes later and popped a can before settling on his favorite chair.
"Are you going to show me the pictures?" Hutch asked.
Starsky sipped. "No, not yet. I have to clean a couple of them up first."
Hutch raised an eyebrow. "What are they, nude shots of Dobey?"
"Funny!"
Starsky settled back in the peacock chair and watched as Hutch started on his second beer of the evening. "You're going a bit fast aren't you?"
Hutch put the can down. It was true, he was drinking two for every one Starsky had….beer, a glass of wine…whatever. He never really got drunk but he knew that most nights he wasn't going to bed stone cold sober either. In contrast he had only really seen Starsky drunk twice. That terrible night after Terri died when they opened their gifts and tried to join a football team in Canada; and the time Starsky sampled a little more MOONSHINE than was safe considering it might have been wood alcohol. Hutch could only console himself that there was some kind of STRANGE JUSTICE that ruled that he never got a hangover and Starsky would be brought down worse than one of his migraines if he got drunk.
"I guess I'm getting into practice for tomorrow night."
Starsky grinned. "Yeah, in those places if it isn't booze it's uppers and I don't see you taking them!"
That evening they were both dressed in disco clothes. Starsky had succumbed to the white suit after all and Hutch had chosen a more casual look. Starsky brushed a little DANDRUFF off his partner's shoulder as they walked towards the entrance to Night Fever, the newest disco in town. They had been tipped off that THE AVENGER was likely to strike there that night.
They stood at the edge of the dance floor and watched as the couples went through their paces, each one hoping to be selected for the dance contest later in the evening. Starsky was dragged onto the dance floor by a pretty girl – he didn't resist, Hutch noticed. Hutch watched with a grin as Starsky through himself with enthusiasm into the latest dance, the Bump. When the music stopped, or slowed down, Starsky returned to Hutch's side and grabbed his glass. His dance partner had already found someone else.
"Jeez, I'm gonna be BLACK AND BLUE tomorrow; she's so skinny I bruised myself on her hip bones!"
They continued to watch the scene and now and then one of them agreed to dance with a willing partner. Starsky nudged Hutch. "Hey catch THE GROUPIE over by the DJ." Hutch followed his gaze. There was something odd about the woman watching the DJ. "She ain't exactly a COVER GIRL is she?" Starsky added. They decided to get closer. The groupie was obviously a man in drag. They moved in to listen. "I'm going to get you; you took my girl." They heard him say. Starsky grabbed the groupie from behind and Hutch snapped on the cuffs. "We'll have to take him outside to Miranda him or he'll claim he didn't hear it."
The 'phone rang on Starsky's desk and Hutch used a pencil to punch the button that would put the call to his extension. He had didn't know where his partner was, but he had a pretty good idea; Lily Starsky was going to turn sixty that week and her son was running around trying to find gifts and treats for his beloved momma.
"Hutchinson."
"Hi, it's Nick is Dave around?"
Hutch sighed; STARSKY'S BROTHER had a knack for irritating Hutch. He made an effort to sound friendly. "He's out shopping Nick. Can I get him to call you back?"
"Yeah." Nick sounded just like his brother, making one word into a three syllable exercise.
"Tell Dave that I got THE GOLDEN ANGEL booked."
"The what?"
"It's the restaurant we're taking mom to for her birthday. Hey Hutch you are coming too aren't you?"
Hutch had no intention of letting Starsky go back to New York alone, not now that Joe Durniak could no longer protect him from the people who thought he knew too much.
"I'll be there, Nick, don't you worry." He put down the 'phone and decided that he had better go shopping too. He was fond of Lily; she had the same spunky attitude to life as her son.
Hutch smiled, Starsky was one of those people who looked just like his dad until you saw him alongside his mom. He got his hair and sparkling blue eyes from his father, but he had his mother's mouth.
The plane touched down and Starsky made for the car hire desk to pick up the keys of the car he'd booked. Soon he was making his way through the familiar streets to the block in Brooklyn where he'd grown up. Hutch watched as the familiar scenes of urban America flashed by. So many things were the same these days it seemed like the whole of the country was turning into the same street.
That evening in the restaurant there was a piano and a jazz band. After dinner was over Starsky stood up and held out his hand to his mother. Lily stood and followed him to the center of the floor. Starsky held his mother in a gentle hug and danced her around the room while the pianist sang one of her favorite songs. BALLAD FOR A BLUE LADY. Nick leaned over to Hutch; "she always liked that one. She says that cop's wife was always some kind of a blue lady when you think about it."
Starsky returned his mother to the table and sat down.
They were joined at the table by a couple of Mike Starsky's colleagues. They had always kept an eye on Lily and tried to keep Nick in line but as Joe Malloy said, "Nick will never really mix with the right people; you know how it is, he's a hustler and he runs with hustlers."
"Yeah" Starsky said raising his glass. "BIRDS OF A FEATHER stick together."
A young woman came to join them. She was petite and pretty and way she was looking at Hutch made the others grin. "You want to watch out for her, Hutch." Joe grinned. "That little lady is NINETY POUNDS OF pure TROUBLE. She's Tony Mancini's little sister."
The two cops were back in Bay City but they didn't have much to do for another twenty four hours. The squad room was being re-painted and they set up a table tennis game in the middle of the room. HUGGY dropped by for a while but he complained that the smell of paint was making him feel sick.
"You CAN'T GO HOME now," Starsky said. 'You'll miss the big game."
"Oh really," Huggy grinned, "what is it, the BCPD cup semi-final?"
"Nope." Starsky flashed his best lopsided smile. "This is the final. STARSKY VS HUTCH and the winner gets a four course dinner. You know last year Hutch managed to sneak a victory from me 'cos I had a sore shoulder; but this time I'm gonna have my SWEET REVENGE!"
He served the first ball and Hutch missed his shot.
