World Gone Mad
By
Annie
Written for Dawn's 20minute challenge
They're used to seeing blood. Used to cataloguing the destruction a bullet does to a human body then putting that image aside so they can focus on the case, dig through the clues, track down the perps. This is different though. The bodies at their feet are so small, the damage done so horrendous that Hutch veers off to one side and throws up next to a dumpster, grateful at least that he hasn't contaminated the crime scene.
A hand, warm and comforting, grips the back of his neck lightly then slides down to rub small circles on his back and Hutch straightens, allows himself to lean back into Starsky's reassuring presence. He turns and offers him a nod, a gesture of both thanks and assurance. Starsky looks as pale as Hutch feels but he's apparently made of sterner stuff and he goes back to the crime scene and crouches down next to the body of one of the murdered children. Hutch follows him, steels himself to follow his example, kneels next to him and makes notes as Starsky points out bits of evidence. His hand is shaking so much he wonders if he'll even be able to read the notes later. He's relieved beyond measure when the ambulance attendants move in to take the bodies and they can head back to the Torino, back to the PD, back to where life makes a kind of weird sense.
They do this job the way they do any other – talking to the medical examiner, interviewing witnesses, writing reports. They get a lead on the perp and head out to track him down, finally finding him hiding in a culvert not far from the school. He comes out readily enough, puts the now empty gun on the ground at his feet then falls in a heap and cries as he asks if he's going to go to jail. Hutch swallows down a lump in his throat that threatens to choke him as he pulls him to his feet and hands him over to the uniformed cops that provided backup, telling the perp that what happens to him now is up to the courts.
That night in bed, it's Starsky who falls apart, weeping unashamedly for small lives lost, for the insanity of a world where a twelve year old takes a loaded gun to school. Hutch holds him, rubs his back and gives back what Starsky has always given him. Acceptance. Unconditional love.
End