Chapter One

SOMEWHERE IN BAY CITY

"Hey, watch it, will ya?!" Hutch screamed as he threw out his hands, smashing them into the dash.

"I'm trying to get this creep, if you'll let me drive!" Starsky slammed his foot onto the gas pedal, throwing his partner into his seat. He jerked the wheel to the left, executing a nearly perfect j-turn, and bumped up over the curb.

Hutch rubbed his shoulder. "You call this driving?" Starsky mumbled something under his breath. Chuckling, Hutch picked up the CB "This is Zebra Three. We are in pursuit of a brown 1976 Dodge Monaco. License number...TQ dash 424."

"There he is." Starsky smiled. "We got him!" The Dodge in front of them sped up and made a sharp left into an alleyway.

"Well, they're certainly not from around here, are they?" Hutch commented.

"Oh, why's that?" Starsky jerked the wheel.

"This alley leads to a dead-end." Unbuckling his seat belt, Hutch pulled his gun from the holster under his arm. He clicked back the hammer. Once the car came to a stop, the blond threw open his door. "Stop! Police!"

The answer came as a hail of gunfire. A man jumped over the hood of the Dodge and drew his gun. "Watch it, Hutch!"

"I see him! I see him!" Hutch aimed his gun at the man and fired. Clutching his chest, the man fell to the pavement. "You got the other one yet?"

"What oth-?" was all his partner could get out. A bullet ripped the sleeve on his jacket.

"Starsk!"

"I'm all right!" he grabbed his bloody arm. "Get him!"

Hutch took aim. "Wait! Wait!" The man in the car threw his gun out the window. "I give up!" He threw up his hands and pushed the door open. "I'm surrendering!"

"Now you surrender!" Hutch pulled out a pair of cuffs and walked to the prisoner. He smiled at the man, who smiled back, and slammed him onto the hood of the car, cuffing his hands. "Your partner shoulda done the same. Come on."

"Hutch?"

"Get in there." He threw the seat back into position. And slammed the door on the pleading man in the back. "Yeah, Starsk? You okay?"

"Can I borrow your shirt?" Hutch looked taken aback.

"My-my shirt? What for?"

"What for? For my arm. Do you see this?"

"Why can't you use your shirt?"

Starsky threw him a shocked look. "This shirt cost twenty dollars!"

BAY CITY HOSPITAL, ER WAITING ROOM

"This is why you both need to be more careful!" Dobey paced the waiting room floor in front of Hutch. "How many time have I told you that?"

Hutch sat back in his chair and looked toward the examination room, where Starsky had been for the past 30 minutes. He hoped it wasn't too bad. But that bullet sure did cause a lot of blood. He looked down at a patch of blood on his pants and closed his eyes.

"Well, I can tell you this, Hutchinson, one more slip up like this and you're liable to end up dead."

"Captain." Hutch rubbed his forehead. "The guy was hiding in the back. We couldn't have seen him without getting right up close. Then we would have been dead."

"Don't get smart with me, Hutchinson." The door opened and Starsky stepped out, his arm bandaged. "And you!" Dobey turned on him.

"What'd I do?" Starsky stopped in his tracks.

"You got shot! That's what you did!" Dobey pointed accusingly at him.

"Look, it's just a scratch. All I needed was a couple stitches, that's all." Starsky held up his arm, showing off the bandage wrapped around it. "I'm fine. Still in working condition." As proof, he flapped his arm up and down.

"All right, all right. You can put up the bird act, Starsky." Dobey rolled his eyes. "You have a case and I want the both of you ready and at the station in one hour."

"Sure, captain." Hutch motioned for Starsky to follow him and turned and exited the waiting room. Starsky, behind him, turned to face Dobey and mouthed the words "Fine. Just fine."

"Go, on Starsky!" Dobey hollered.

"Starsky?" Hutch popped his head into the doorway, trying to conceal a smile.

"Yup."

"Come on." The blond grabbed his partner's collar and dragged him through the door, slamming it behind him. Dobey stood and massaged the bridge of his nose. What was he ever going to do with those two?

CAPTAIN DOBEY'S OFFICE, METROPOLITAN POLICE STATION

Dobey looked up from his paperwork to see Starsky and Hutch outside his door, smiling at someone. Starsky had a candy bar in his hand. Obviously, neither one was focused on the new case Dobey had found for them. He watched them for a moment, his patience growing thinner and thinner. Finally he had enough and snapped "Get your butts in here, you two! This isn't a social hour, you know!" Whoever was in the hall distracting the detectives took their cue to leave. Reluctantly Hutch entered the room, followed by Starsky, popping the last bit of chocolate into his mouth. "Close the door, Hutchinson."

Hutch did as he was told. After the door had clicked shut and the bustle of the hallway was shut off, Dobey looked Hutch in the eye. Hutch frowned. "What's up?"

Dobey sighed and folded his hands on the desk, leaning forward as he did so. His expression grew grim. "An old acquaintance of yours has just been sprung."

"Oh? And which one would that be?" Starsky chuckled to himself and caught Hutch's eye. Hutch leaned against the door. Silent. Frowning.

Dobey didn't answer. Finally, Hutch broke the tense silence in the room. "Who is it, Captain?"

"Ben Forest." Dobey's eyes drifted up and caught sight of Hutch, who had gone pale. He looked away to Starsky, who was staring, wide-eyed at Hutch. Starsky stood and walked to Hutch.

The blond opened the door, but Starsky put a hand against it before Hutch could make his escape. "Hutch? You okay, buddy?" The expression Hutch threw at his partner made Starsky take an involuntary step backward. He had never seen such a fearful look on Hutch's face. Hutch shook his head.

"I gotta go." Hutch walked through the door, but before he had the chance to close it, Dobey called after him.

"Hutchinson." Dobey stood and walked to the center of the room. "Take a break and come back in when you're ready. We'll talk about the case then. All right?" Dobey received no reply from Hutch other than the too-gentle closing of the office door.

STAFF PARKING LOT, METROPOLITAN POLICE STATION

Out in his car, Hutch leaned on his steering wheel. Ben Forest. He turned the name over and over in his head. Sweat started to bead on his forehead. Then Monk popped into his head. He swore he could fell the needle entering his vein. Hutch grabbed his arm and clamped his eyes shut.

That had been the worst experience of his life. It took two months for the nightmares to go away. To stop waking in cold sweats. Now it was all hitting him straight in the face. The nightmare had come back to take him.

Then he thought of Janine and the pain seemed almost worthwhile for a moment. He wished she had stayed with him, that she was here now to comfort him as she had when he was tied up, out of his mind on that bed.

Hutch leaned back into the headrest, eyes still closed. Suddenly, a knock at his window broke him away from the memory. Starsky smiled at him through the glass and walked over to the passenger side door. Hutch leaned over and opened the door for his partner. Starsky slammed the door as he sat down.

"You really oughta get rid of this piece of shit, you know." He tore off a strip of the ceiling upholstery and handed it to Hutch. Hutch chuckled and threw it into Starsky's face. "You okay?"

Hutch shrugged. "It just seems new again, you know? Fresh. It feels like it just happened this morning."

"But it didn't. It was two years ago."

"Yeah, I know, Starsk!" Hutch snapped. He looked away. "Sorry."

Starsky put a hand on Hutch's shoulder. "Don't be. This is gonna be a rough case, buddy. Can you handle it?"

"I have to." Hutch stared into Starsky's eyes. "For my sake. Closure."

Starsky nodded. "Dobey says he's up to his usual business. And you're back on his watch list. Wants to get even with you."

Hutch laughed. "Oh, I'll show him getting even." He said to himself. He looked to see if Starsky had heard him mumble. If he had, it didn't show. Hutch smiled. Wanna get some lunch?"

"If it's your treat, why not?"

"Who said it was my treat?

"You did."

"Oh, I did?"

"Yeah." Starsky grinned. Laughing, Hutch started the car and pulled out of the station.