Not Out Of The Game Yet

by Rescue45

Starsky and Hutch are retired but can they sit on the sidelines while there families are held up in a bank robbery and their friends need their help. Thank you Sandy and Mom, for helping me editing and ideas.

Not Out Of The Game Yet

Chapter 1

Starsky and Hutch had gone on one of their outings. Hutch was trying, again, to get Starsky to enjoying fishing. They had gone to their favorite pier. The women knew that was just an excuse to hang out together. Since their retirement, they had spent a lot of time 'fishing,' but never came home with anything.

Jeanne, Debbie, and the boys had gone to the bank. They were standing in line, when three men holding guns dressed all in black wearing masks over their faces came in. The first man had on a black stocking cap and fired two shots into the air. The second man was wearing a green stocking cap and yelled for everyone to sit by the wall on the far side of the bank. The third man had on a light blue stocking cap and he was holding his gun on one of the cashiers. He told her to open the register and not to hit any alarms.

Jeanne looked at the boys. She knew they wanted to react and was afraid they were going to do something they probably shouldn't. The boys knew they needed to just do what the men with the guns told them too. As they sat down, Kenny, purposely, sat between his mom and his aunt. Davey sat next to Debbie. Kenny whispered for them to hand him their wedding rings and to do it quickly. They knew he was right, and they took them off quickly and handed them to Kenny. Kenny was able to hide them along with his cell phone. He was good at hiding things. Making things disappear and escaping were his specialties.

Davey wanted to jump the men. He is a black belt in karate and he didn't like having a gun held on him or his family. He also knew that someone would be hurt if he tried anything. 'For now, I'll sit' he thought. 'I will get them, when the time's right.'

The four of them sat next to the others that were being held hostage. Davey looked around, seated next to him was a woman with a young girl that looked to be about five years old, sitting next to her was a man who appeared to be in his mid thirties. He noticed, in all, there were ten customers and five employees. The little girl sitting next to him started to cry. He talked to her calmly and told her that she was going to be okay. Her mother looked at him and smiled at his attempt to calm her daughter down. Kenny and Davey were both taking mental notes of everything these men did, said, and everything they were wearing, down to their shoes.

The man with the light blue cap on was still holding a gun on one of the cashiers and she appeared to be frightened as she put the money in the bag. One of the employees started to stand up and the man with the green cap hit him with the butt of the gun and told him to sit back down. He said, "I'm the manager. Please, leave the rest of the employees alone and I will get the money out of the registers."

"No." was his answer along with the gun being aimed at his head. "If anyone else moves or tries anything stupid they'll get more of the same or worse." He looked back at the manager and asked, "What's your name?"

The manager said, "I'm Stan Morgan." He said that with voice of authority and self assurance as he put his hand in the back of his head to see if he was bleeding. His hand came back with nothing on it.

"Well, Stan Morgan, we will get our money and we will leave. Hopefully no one alerted the police or we will have more problems." He looked at everyone as he said, "Now listen up every one of you, we just want the money. We don't want to hurt anyone, but make no mistakes we will if we have to. So, just sit still and be quiet."

The man with the green cap held out a small canvas bag and said, "I'm going to pass this around and I want all jewelry including rings, necklaces, bracelets, and watches in this bag. I also want all wallets and cell phones in here." He handed it to Stan Morgan first. He hesitated to take off his watch. The gun was pointed at him and he put his items into the bag and passed the bag to the woman who sitting next to him. She was an employee of the bank. She cried as she asked if she could just keep her wedding ring as she took off her necklace; 'no' was her answer. She cried harder when she took it off and put it into the bag along with her cell phone and wallet. Kenny was glad he now held his mom's and his aunt's rings. The next person to put his items in the bag was the man that looked to be in his mid thirties. The woman with the little girl was next and she promptly took her wedding ring off and put her wallet and cell phone in the bag. She asked the man to let her daughter go. 'No' was her answer. He also told her to keep the little brat quiet. He said he never liked kids. The man handed the bag to Davey next. Davey looked at the man right in his eyes. He was scared, but wasn't about to show him just how frightened he was. He felt his teeth clench as he fought the urge to kick the man and sweep him off his feet. The man looked at Davey and said, "You're going to become a problem, aren't you?"

Davey gritted his teeth and said, "No, sir. I won't be." He took his eyes off of the man, but not before he noticed that he had dark brown eyes He also noticed the man looked like he might have a scar under his left eye, he was sure of it. Davey put his cell phone and wallet in the bag. He knew Kenny had hid his phone and they probably wouldn't believe that neither of the boys had phones. Debbie put her wallet and cell phone in the bag along with her earrings. Kenny looked at the man and put his wallet in the bag. The man told him to put the cell phone in it too. Kenny said he didn't have one. Davey was always amazed how easily his best friend could lie. He could lie about anything and be believed. A trait that Davey thought would come in handy when they worked undercover when they became detectives. The man stared at Kenny a minute and he passed the bag on.

Davey was watching the man with the black cap. He had been tying everyone up after they placed their possessions in the bag. The man looked familiar somehow, but he couldn't place him. He had tied up everyone else and was looking at the little girl. She was sitting on her mother's lap crying. Her mother was trying to hide her tears as she was being tied up. Davey could tell she was worried about her daughter. Davey looked at the man and said, "Please, sir, leave her alone. She's just a little kid." The man looked at Davey and said, "I knew you were going to be a problem. How old are you, son?"

Davey sounded angry as he said, "I am not your son!" Davey knew who this man was now. He didn't know why he was a part of this holdup, but he knew him.

"You got nerve kid, I'll give you that." He pushed Davey forward as he started to tie him. He whispered fast and so low Davey barely heard him, "Davey, don't react, don't say a word. It's me." Davey barely nodded. "I'm gonna convince the others to let you out, when you get out of here tell Sterling to let us escape, you got it?" Davey nodded just a little. "Then tell him not to pull the plug. Okay? Tell him I don't where Thompson is. I have to find him before we pull out. Tell him I don't know who the leader is, but I think Thompson might." Davey nodded again ever so slightly. "And for God sakes don't do anything stupid. Just sit here, please." He was rougher with Davey than any of others, but he didn't tie up the little girl. Her mother smiled a little smile at Davey. He winked back, trying to tell her that they would all get out of this mess in one piece.

The man asked Debbie as he tied her up, "Is this your kid?"

Davey looked at Debbie and realized how much he has came to think of her as a mother since his dad fell in love with and married her; he smiled at Debbie and said, "Yes, she's my mother."

Debbie looked at Davey had struggled to hide the tears. She was so honored that not just that he said it but there was something in the way he said that told her he meant it.

"You better hope he keeps that temper of his under control." Debbie didn't respond. She was proud of Davey and Kenny both. Kenny looked at the man right in the eyes, just as Davey had done. He too looked at the man determined not to let him see how scared he was. The man looked back at Davey then at Kenny again and asked, "Are you two related?"

At the same time both boys leaned forward and looked at the other and said, "We're cousins."

"Let me tell you both, I don't want any trouble from either of you, got it?

In unison the boys said, "We hear ya."

The man started tying Kenny up and said, "Don't say anything, it's me. I told Davey, please don't do anything stupid. Just sit here and behave. We'll get out of this, okay?" Kenny nodded just enough for the man to see it. Jeanne heard the conversation and, she too, knew the man. Debbie couldn't figure out the voice, but she knew she should know who he was.

The man finished collecting all the cell phones, wallets and jewelry and handed the bag to the man in the green cap. Davey figured the man in the green cap was the one in charge. He knew by the expression on Debbie's face that she hadn't figured out who the man in the black cap was. He leaned towards her and whispered, "He's Seth, don't say anything. Let this play out." Debbie nodded.

The man in the green cap looked at the man with the light blue cap and said, "Are you done yet? We're almost out of time."

The man in the light blue cap said, "Almost." He had the cashier take money from all the registers and they were now at the last register.

Just then they all heard sirens and saw the flashing red lights. The police were there.

"Who called the police? Who hit the panic button?" The man in the green cap yelled. His voice sounded very angry. He walked over to Stan Morgan and told him to stand up. Stan got up slowly. The man said, "You are the manager, correct?"

"Yes, I am."

The man in the green cap didn't say anything else he just shot Stan in the lower leg. Stan yelled out in pain and fell to the ground. Davey started to stand to help him, but Seth said, "Nobody told you to move, boy."

Debbie said, "I'm a nurse. Please let me help him."

The man in the green cap walked over to her and said, "I didn't shoot him for someone else to help him."

He raised his hand to hit her but Seth said, "That's not really necessary is it?" He received an angry look from the first man but put his hand back down and he didn't strike Debbie. Davey gave a sigh of relief. Seth had asked him not to do anything, but he couldn't let this creep hit his stepmother and get by with it either.

Outside, the police had been notified by the silent alarm and they were surrounding the bank. SWAT was there and they were busy making plans as to how they were going to approach the situation.

Johnson and Reynolds pulled up and saw Jeanne's car in the parking lot. They knew that Jeanne, at least, was in the bank. Johnson looked at Reynolds and said, "I guess I should call Starsky."
"I'll call Sterling while you're talking to him, he'll need to know."

Chapter 2

Johnson called Starsky from his cell phone. Starsky and Hutch were on the pier. They weren't really fishing; instead Hutch was giving Starsky a hard time about his choice for lunch. "Really, Starsk, after all these years you're still eating that garbage."

"Yep." He took a bite of his over loaded burrito. "And you know what, Hutch, ol buddy?"

"What?"

"It still tastes as good as it ever did." He smiled as Hutch cringed.

Starsky's phone rang. He looked at Hutch and said, "It's Johnson."

"I wonder what he wants."

"Don't know. Guess I should answer it and see what kind of trouble we got ourselves into this time." He took his phone out of its black case and said, "Hello, Mr. Johnson." Hutch saw the look come across his partner's face. He knew that look and didn't like it. It was a look of real trouble. Starsky spoke into the phone and said, "They're all in there. They went there together a little while ago. Hutch and I will be right there." He paused a minute and added, "When we get there, don't give us any of that we're not cops anymore crap either. I mean it!" He hung up and looked at Hutch and said, "Hutch, there's been a hold up at the bank. Johnson says Jeanne's car is in the lot."

Reynolds had called Chief Sterling at the same time Johnson called Starsky. They both knew if their wives and boys were inside, Starsky and Hutch would not stand idly by. They knew they might need the Chief's help.

About ten minutes later, Johnson and Reynolds looked up as they heard the tires on Starsky's car squeal to a stop. They saw Starsky and Hutch get out of the car and headed towards the poor rookie who was in charge of keeping out the spectators. Johnson could hear Starsky's voice long before they reached him. Reynolds said, "Benson, it's okay. Let them through."

"But..." Starsky and Hutch pushed their way past the poor kid and followed Johnson to the command center.

Reynolds said, "You don't know who they are, do you?"

"No, sir. They just yelled something about their wives and sons being in the bank."

"The loud shorter one is ex-detective David Starsky and the other is…"

Benson cut him off with a look of awe on his face, "That's Starsky and Hutch. Wow. I never thought I'd get to meet them. Are they friends of yours? I've heard a lot about them."

Reynolds let out a chuckle as he realized this rookie idolized his friends, "Yeah, they're good friends of ours. I'll introduce them later if you want. They're really good guys." Benson just nodded.

Meanwhile, Johnson took Starsky and Hutch to the command center. Chief Sterling was just walking up as Starsky started asking Johnson if contact had been made with the suspects. Hutch looked at Johnson and Reynolds and asked Sterling, "Did they call for backup to keep us off their backs."

Chief Sterling said, "Hutch, I'm not even going to dignify that with an answer." The look in his eyes told Hutch that his answer was yes. Hutch thought 'are we really that bad.' Then he heard Starsky's tone and realized that to others, yes, they had that reputation.

He put his hand on his partner's shoulder and said, "Hey, pal."

That's all that was needed. Starsky understood the unspoken message to calm down a little and said, "I'm sorry, Johnson." His voice was calm and relaxed now.

Johnson said, "It's okay, Starsky. I'd be the same way if it was my family in there. I'm going to call the bank now and get this show on the road and see if we can't get them outta there." Johnson picked up the phone and called the bank.

When the phone rang inside the bank the man in the green cap answered it. Jonson asked if anyone needed medical attention. He was told that the bank manager had a minor wound, but if things didn't go his way there would be others injured and their wounds wouldn't be minor. Johnson asked, "Okay, what is it you want? Let's work this out so no one else is hurt. My name is Detective Johnson what's your name?"

The man said, "Never mind what my name is. I want an armored truck outside. I want the back facing the bank with the doors opened."

Johnson answered back, "Show me a sign of good faith. Let the injured man go. Do you have any women and children in there?"

"I'll let the injured man out, no more."

Johnson looked at Reynolds and the Chief and said, "Well that's a start anyway."

Someone had relieved Benson at his post and he joined the others at the command center. He saw Starsky and Hutch standing up and noticed they looked tired. He found a couple of chairs and brought them over to them as kind of a peace offering. He sat the chairs next to them and said, "Here's a couple of chairs, I'm sorry I held you up over there. I didn't know."

Starsky looked at the rookie and said, "Thanks." He sat down.

Hutch said, "Thanks. We didn't mean to snap at you. Our wives and sons are in there."

"I'm Benson, if either of you need anything just let me know." He turned around and walked away to help another officer who was bringing coffee.

Hutch chuckled. Reynolds looked at him and said, "You two have an admirer." Starsky looked at the kid and smiled.

Johnson said, "Can I send someone in to get the injured man out?"

"No! No one comes in. I'll send him out. No one comes in, you got that?"

Johnson nodded as he said, "Yeah, I got it. Send him out."

Inside the bank, the man in the green cap pointed at one of the male customers and said, "You, this is your lucky day, help Stan out."

Seth said, "No." He pointed to Davey, "Send this one. He's gonna be trouble, I want him out of here."

The man in the green cap looked at Davey and said, "Yeah, okay. You get him outta here."

"Untie me." Davey was glad he was going because he needed to get the message to Chief Sterling.

Seth untied Davey without a word being said. Davey looked at Debbie and whispered, "It will be okay. Trust me." He winked at Kenny. He got up and helped Stan to the door. Once the door was opened, a uniformed officer took Stan to a waiting ambulance. Another officer took Davey to the command center. Davey saw his dad, uncle and Chief Sterling. He ran to the Chief and said, "Chief, Seth is one of the holdup men. He said to tell you to let them escape..."

Hutch grabbed his son by the shoulders and said, "Son, slow down. You're talking too fast."

Davey slowly took a deep breath and repeated what he said. He added that Seth told him not to pull the plug and that he didn't know where Thompson was.

Chief Sterling looked at Davey and said, "Are you telling me that Seth Green is in there and said to let them escape?"

"Yes, he said to tell you to let them escape. He doesn't know where Thompson is but he thinks Thompson knows who the leader is. I don't know what that means, but he said to tell you that."

The Chief put his hand on Davey's shoulder and said, "Thank you, Son, I know what he means."

Johnson was listening to this and got on the phone. He ordered the armored car. The Chief told him not to make the escape look too easy.

Davey filled them in on the other hostages, including the little girl and her mother. He told them the men were wearing the same clothes except for their caps and that Seth was wearing the black one. He told them that the man in the green cap had a scar under his left eye.

Johnson said, "They're going to try to take at least one hostage with them."

Davey said, "I'll do it. I'll go."

Hutch said, "No way am I letting you back in there."

"But, Dad…"

Hutch cut him off, "Don't but Dad me. You can't go back in there. Seth would die to save any of you, but you don't know who the others are or what they will do."

Johnson put his hand on Davey's shoulder and said, "Besides, if we let you go back he'll know something's up."

Starsky said, "They're right, Davey. We can't send you back in there."

The armored car pulled up and the driver asked Johnson where he wanted it. Johnson told him to just leave it for now and he would move it into position when the time was right.

The Chief was trying to come up with a plan to let the men inside escape without them leaving with a hostage. Starsky said, "Let me go. I'll be a hostage."

The Chief didn't even look at Starsky. There was no way he was going to let a civilian be taken hostage. Not even the great Dave Starsky.

Johnson said, "Anyone got any ideas?"

Hutch said, "Ask them if they have someone who can drive the armor truck. Tell them it's different than driving a car and we can provide a driver. Starsk or I can drive it."

Chief Sterling said, "That's a good idea, Hutch, but there's no way either of you is going to drive it. Reynolds can do it." Reynolds nodded. He looked at his friends and former number one detectives and said, "I can't let you. You know that."

"Yeah, that's what I thought. I had to try."

Johnson said, "Let's hope Seth gets the message and convinces the leader let Reynolds drive." He picked up the phone and called the bank. He told the man in the green cap that he had the armored truck and he was prepared to back it in and open the doors so he could see that no one was inside. Then he asked if anyone knew how to drive it and he would provide a driver if they wanted.

The man in the green cap said, "You're really going to let us go, just like that?"

Johnson took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "Just like that. We don't care about the money. We don't want anyone else hurt. Oh, by the way, the manager is going to be just fine. We'll provide a driver if you let all the hostages go."

The man in the green cap looked at the other two and asked, "He wants to give us a driver if we let everyone else go."

Seth said, "I'd let them. I don't like the idea of taking hostages. The driver can be our hostage."

The man in the light blue cap said, "How do we know they're not lying?"

The man in green cap said, "He's going to back the truck up and open the back door so we can see no one's in it."

Seth looked at Kenny, Jeanne, and Debbie and said, "I don't think they care about money. They just don't want anyone else to get hurt. You know it will be a cop they give us to drive that thing, we can take him hostage and let him go later. No one will get hurt."

The man in the green cap started pacing. He told Johnson he would call him back. Johnson told him to take his time there was no rush. He was starting to panic. He yelled at Seth and the other man, "What will he do to us? We got caught. Oh man, he's gonna flip. We're all dead men."

Seth said, "If we get outta here he won't be mad, as long as we get the money he wants." He glanced at Kenny. He was hoping Kenny would get the message that this was part of a larger robbery ring and these two with him were minor players. Kenny understood and blinked his eyes twice and let Seth know he knew what was going on.

The man in the light blue cap said, "Yeah. I agree with…" he started to say a name but stopped himself. "I agree. Let's take a cop hostage and let everyone here go."

Seth said, "No. Don't let them all go first."

The man in the green cap said, "I'm not that stupid. I'll keep six and let the others go."

Seth said, "Let the kids go and the women."

"I'll decide who stays and who goes! He put me in charge remember?" The man in the green cap snapped at Seth. Seth lowered his head to let him know that he knew who was in charge. He was starting to push it and he knew it.

The mother of the little girl was crying as she said, "Please, Mister, let her go. Let my baby leave. I'll do anything, let her go."

"Okay, she can go." He looked at the little girl and said, "You, come stand here." He pointed to a spot on the floor. He looked at her mother and said, "You too."

The mother stood up after Seth untied her and moved to the spot on the floor. Her little girl was clinging onto her legs so tightly that she could barely walk. He looked at Kenny and said, "What about this one?" He received a nod and went to untie Kenny but saw that he was already untied. Seth shook his head. He thought 'I shoulda known.' He pointed to Debbie and Jeanne and was allowed to let them go and he was able to let two others go. He knew that was all he would be able to do until they were safely out of the bank.

Chapter 3

The man with the green cap was on the phone with Johnson and told him he would let some hostages leave but if he saw any cops come through the door he was going to start shooting. Johnson promised that no one was coming in. The seven hostages were allowed to leave. They started out with fifteen hostages and now they had let nine of them leave. The man in the green cap thought that having fewer hostages was probably better anyway. It meant less people to have to watch with only the three of them to guard them.

The hostages came out with their hands in the air. Starsky and Hutch were relieved to see their wives and Kenny among them. The other hostages were taken to be debriefed by another team of detectives as Jeanne, Debbie and Kenny were taken to the command center. Kenny told the Chief about what happened after Davey was released. He explained about the man in the green cap acting scared of someone else if they didn't succeed. Jeanne added that he had said the man wanted money and if they got away, he wouldn't be mad.

The Chief got a worried look on his face and said, "Shhh. Don't say anything else. Follow me, all six of you." He walked away from the others with Starsky, Hutch and their family behind him. They sat at a table that had been set up under the command center's tent. The Chief looked around to make sure no one else was listening. "Okay, I'm only telling you six this because I know you can keep it a secret and have probably figured out most of it by now."

Starsky and Hutch, in unison, said, "They're undercover."

The Chief nodded and said, "For about a month now. It's dangerous and just got worse." He sighed and said, "Well you know this much, you may as well know the rest of it. Seth and Thompson went undercover to infiltrate a robbery ring that's been running in the city for about six months now. They got in easy enough and have taken part in a few minor hold ups but we lost contact with both of them. We figured they were making their way up the ranks in the organization."

Starsky said, "And now Seth is in there and Thompson is missing."

Hutch finished Starsky's train of thought, "And Seth doesn't want to pull out before he finds Thompson."

The Chief said, "I don't know how close to the leader Seth and Thompson are. They were supposed to see if they could find out who the leader is."

Kenny said, "Sir, it sounded to me like none of them know. I mean they never said any names. The man in the green cap just said he's going to be mad."

Davey added, "So that's what Seth meant."

"Yes, and I'm afraid Thompson is in serious trouble."

Johnson walked over to them and said, "Chief, we're ready. Reynolds is going to drive the armored truck. He said he would let the rest of the hostages leave as soon they were in the truck."

The Chief nodded and said, "Let's get this show on the road." He walked away with Johnson.

Starsky looked at Jeanne and said, "Dear..."

"Don't dear me; you're not getting into this mess are you?"

Hutch said, "Would I let him do anything like that? We are 'retired' after all."

Debbie and Jeanne just looked at them and shook their heads.

Starsky finished, "Take the boys back home please and wait for us at our house."

Debbie looked at Jeanne and said, "You didn't think they'd stay out of this did you?"

"Not really." Jeanne rolled her eyes at Starsky and Hutch.

Starsky and Hutch walked towards Starsky's car. Debbie and the others watched them, knowing that may have retired but they would never walk away especially when a friend was in trouble.

Starsky said, "So what's the plan, I know you got one?"

"Let's follow them at a distance and see where they go. Reynolds is driving and he won't say anything about being tailed."

"Right. We'll play the rest of it by ear as we go, huh?"

"And hope we don't end up arrested." Hutch said as he got in the car. Starsky moved his car into position to follow the armored truck.

Johnson and the man in the green cap agreed on a plan for freeing the other hostages and getting away in the armored truck. Reynolds strapped a gun to his leg and got in the driver's seat. Seth got in the passenger side and held a gun on him. The plan was, if the cops tried anything Seth would shoot Reynolds. Of course, the other two men had no idea Seth was a cop and would never shoot Reynolds. Once Seth had the gun pointed at Reynolds, half of the other hostages were let go. The man in the green cap got into the back of the armored truck, and then the man in the light blue cap held a hostage at gunpoint and climbed in the armored truck and closed the door. All the hostages were now freed and the armed men had Reynolds as a hostage. It was Johnson's plan and he knew they had to let them escape with his partner as a hostage.

Once they started driving, Seth kept the gun pointed at Reynolds. He knew the two men in the back could see him, so he had to keep up his cover. He also knew they couldn't hear him because he turned the intercom between the front and back off. Seth looked at Reynolds and said, "It's me, Seth."

Reynolds looked relieved and said, "Are you okay? We are worried about you and Thompson. Davey said you didn't know where Thompson is."

"I'm fine, but I am worried about Thompson. I haven't seen him in four days now. He was sent to work with another team. The organization as its called, recruits mostly young men from the streets. A lot of them are unemployed. They promise them a big share of the take. They actually started training the first recruits months ago. You have to be in the organization for at least three weeks before you're even allowed to leave the headquarters. New recruits are called runts. We are told where to eat, sleep and are watched every minute of the day. They haven't taken their eyes off me since I joined. I haven't been able to check in. Thompson and I were together until four days ago. At first you train and then, if you prove yourself to be trustworthy and good enough, you move up in the ranks. The take for the runts is very small.

The men in the green caps are the team leaders, the blue caps are second in command, and those of us in the black caps are the runts. I don't know who is in calling the shots, but I think Thompson does. He tried to tell me something before they took him away. I think he's working jewelry store heists. This operation is bigger than we thought. I know of ten teams of three men each and that's just at our headquarters. When someone becomes a team leader they start off leading a liquor store heist, then move up to jewelry stores; the best team leaders are put on the banks. When they think a runt is ready to go out they are assigned to work in all three to see how loyal they are. The leader of our little threesome is, Jack Springer, the second in command is Dave Hunter." He looked in the side view mirror and saw they were being followed. "Hey, is that Starsky's car behind us?"

Reynolds looked in the mirror and said, "Yeah, he's been behind us since we left the bank."

"I hope Springer doesn't see him. I'm under orders not to hurt you."

"That's comforting."
"But, that could change. It shouldn't be too hard to get Springer to let you go. The rules are no hostages. We're not supposed to get caught. We have to let you go or we'll be in trouble. We're not supposed to hurt anyone either, but we can if we have to. Right now our headquarters is that old abandoned building on Marshall and Third. Tell the Chief to stay away though. Until I find Thompson, I don't want anyone near it. I'm sure there is another headquarters set up somewhere close to ours. I don't know how many men are part of that one and I don't know how many headquarters there are. I think Thompson may be there. I'm working on finding out where it is and who the top dog is."

"Are you sure you're not in too much danger?"

"There's a risk, but I my cover is sound so far. I'm pretty sure I'm safe. I'm trying to move up in ranks."

Just then the leader, Jack Springer, tapped on the window separating the front and back part of the armored car. Seth glanced at Reynolds as Springer told him to stop the truck. They were about 20 miles out of town on a small road that looked like it was in the middle of nowhere. There was a semi truck with the back opened and ramps leading to the back. Starsky stopped a good distance behind them. He was able to hide behind an old store.

Chapter 4

Reynolds looked at Seth and said, "I don't think the Chief will let this go on much longer. I'd say he'll probably give you a couple of more days, and then we'll probably raid the place." Seth nodded. He knew they wouldn't wait much longer. It was dangerous to begin with and with Thompson missing it was getting worse by the minute. Reynolds stayed behind the wheel. Seth got out as did the two men in the back. Springer told Reynolds to get out. He slowly got out. Seth kept his gun on Reynolds. He wanted to be ready in case Springer or Hunter tried to hurt him. Seth and Reynolds looked at the man driving the semi, he was wearing the same black outfit the others wore, except he had on a red cap. Reynolds wondered what that meant. Springer told Reynolds to start walking back down the small road. Springer knew it would take Reynolds a while to walk back to town and by that time they would long gone. He didn't know Starsky had followed them.

Reynolds started walking. He hoped he wouldn't be shot in the back, he trusted Seth to watch him. The man in the red cap quickly drove the armored truck into the semi truck. If anyone was looking for it, they wouldn't find it now. Seth and the others drove off, leaving Reynolds to walk back. Seth knew Reynolds would be okay because he knew Starsky and Hutch were right there.

Reynolds walked past the store where Starsky was parked because he didn't want the others to see him. He walked slowly until he saw the big truck disappear around a bend. Starsky picked Reynolds up and asked if he was okay. He said he was fine.

Back at the command center Chief Sterling knew that Starsky had followed the armored car with Seth and Reynolds in it. He decided not to push the issue and let him follow them. He also decided not to have anyone else follow them. Seth wanted them to escape so he let them. He had Johnson call Hutch's cell phone and let them know that they were the only ones following Seth and Reynolds. Johnson also said he wanted his partner back in one piece. Hutch assured him he could trust them. No APBs were put out and no helicopters were ordered. All the hostages were debriefed and they were allowed to go home.

It was about two hours later when Starsky and Hutch made it back to the station with Reynolds. They went to Sterling's office where Johnson was anxiously waiting for his partner's return. Starsky, Hutch and Reynolds sat down. Sterling glanced at Starsky then cut his eyes at Hutch and said, "You two. I don't even know where to begin."

Starsky said, "Chief, look, I know were not on the department anymore, but Seth and Reynolds are our friends. We couldn't just sit by and not do anything."

Sterling said, "You could have..."
Hutch cut him off and said, "Been what? Hurt or killed? Really, you're not going down that road with us are you? We know what we're doing."

Starsky said, "We just went for a drive when Johnson called us."

Sterling just looked at them. He knew arguing with the two of them was a lost cause. He may as well have been talking to a brick wall. He asked Reynolds what he had learned from Seth. Reynolds told them everything Seth told him. He told them about the robbery ring being bigger than they thought and what the different colors of caps meant. He didn't know about the red cap, but said he thought maybe that was support staff or something behind the scenes. The Chief could have asked Starsky and Hutch to leave, but he decided to let them say. Seth was a good friend and had saved Hutch's life once. He knew they wanted to help in whatever way they could. They at least had an address where one of the headquarters was located and that was more than they had before. Chief Sterling told Reynolds he was right; he would give it two more days then they would raid the place, whether or not they heard anymore from Seth. He wanted to give Seth time to find his partner, but he didn't want him to get killed in the process.

The Chief debated about whether or not to stakeout the old abandoned building Seth had said was their headquarters. In the end he decided not to. Seth had asked for a little more time to look for Thompson and they had let the man in charge believe they got away. It was a tough decision to make but he wanted to give Seth a little more time.

Starsky and Hutch talked to Huggy later that evening, who said he would keep his eyes and ears open for information. He was sure, as usual, he could turn up something. After Starsky and Hutch left Huggy's they went to check out the old abandoned building Seth had said was the headquarters. They both knew that the Chief was not going to have it staked out. They wanted to make sure the semi truck with Seth in it went back there. At least they would know where Seth was. They were not going to be seen and they were not to go in. They watched it from the distance. Their wives were both working the late shift. They were shook up by the events of the robbery, but convinced their husbands that they were able to work. Davey and Kenny were at Starsky's.

The big truck pulled around to the back of the building and the man in the red cap opened the back door. Seth and the other two men got out and went into the old building that was doubling as their headquarters. Once inside, a man wearing the same black clothes and wearing a white cap met them and told them to follow him. Three other men followed behind them. Seth and the other two men were taken to an office Seth had not seen before in the back of the building. This room was much nicer than the rest of the run down building. It was a fairly good size and it had a nice desk with four leather chairs. The walls had nothing on them and were just plain white. They were told to sit down. The three men sat as they were told. The man in the white cap sat behind the desk. Seth wondered what part of the organization this was. He also wondered how much trouble he was in for getting caught. That was the organization's number one rule. Don't get caught. The man just looked at them for several minutes. Finally, he stood up, took the green cap off of Jack Springer and said, "Jack Springer, I'm very disappointed in you. You were caught and barely escaped. Tell me what happened." His voice was very cold and hard.

"Well, sir, someone inside hit the silent alarm before we could get to them. I, that is, we managed to get away."

"You were lucky and you know it. You could have been caught. You were in charge. You asked for this assignment and you blew it." His voice never changed. Seth thought it was scary. He never changed his volume or tone. It was just slow and very cold sounding. The man nodded at one of the men standing behind them and he hit Jack across the face. He hit him so hard Seth thought he had broken the man's nose. Jack yelled out in pain and bent over grabbing his nose. His hand was filling up with blood coming from his nose. The man hit him again, this time on the side of his head, Jack passed out. The man in the white cap looked at the man who hit Jack and said, "Take him to the basement and chain him up. We'll figure out the rest of his punishment later." Two men carried Jack away and three more men came into the office. He looked at Dave Hunter and the man behind him took his cap off of him. "You Mr. Hunter were second in charge. How do you think Springer did?"

"We'll, sir, we went by the book. I went to the teller and saw every move she made, just like you taught us. She never hit the silent alarm. The manager was in the bank and we think maybe he set off the silent alarm."

Seth heard a shot ring out. He knew that Jack had just been killed. Dave Hunter must have known that too because he was acting really scared now. The man behind the desk said, "Well we know that Jack won't be making any more mistakes. Now as for you, Mr. Hunter, what shall I do with you?"

Dave Hunter was too scared to say anything. He just sat there like a statue for several minutes. Then he finally said, "Please, sir, give me another chance. I will make you proud. I promise."

The man that had been standing behind Dave positioned himself in front of him. He punched Dave hard in the face, probably breaking bones. Dave leaned forward and cried out in pain. He was hit a few more times until he too passed out. The man behind the desk said, "Take him to join the others in the main room." Now it was Seth's turn to face the music. He just sat there not knowing quite what to say. The man said, "You're new to our little organization. What would you have done differently?"

Seth thought a minute. One man killed, the other beaten unconsciousness. He wondered what his punishment would be. He was pretty sure he wouldn't be killed, at least not yet. He took a deep breath and said, "We'll for starters I wouldn't have wasted the time to collect the wallets and jewelry from the customers and employees. I think that took too long. I would have just tied them up grabbed the money from the registers, and left."

"I like that idea. How long have you been a part of this little group of ours, runt?"

Seth knew the man had called him runt because he was new and hadn't earned the right to be called by a name just yet. He had to prove himself first. "About a month, sir,"

"Well you know by now that I can't let anyone get by with what happened today. The whole operation could have been in jeopardy."

Seth nodded and one of the men behind him grabbed his arms and put pulled them behind him. Seth struggled as the other man stepped in front of him and punched him in the ribs repeatedly. Seth was sure he broke a rib or two. It knocked the wind out of him. He was hit on the back of the head with the end of a gun and was unconscious. His last thoughts were of his partner.

Seth woke up in the main room sitting next to Dave Hunter who had blood running down his chin from the blows to the face he took. He was just glad he was still alive. He was hurting but realized he probably did not have any broken ribs after all. Dave was just starting to wake up and he started to ask him how he was, but realized that would be considered a sign of weakness and not allowed. Dave had been punished and that should be the end of it. Instead he just looked at him. Seth wasn't sure what his next move was going to be, but he needed to rest tonight. He was totally exhausted physically and mentally.

Chapter 5

Davey stayed with Kenny for a while working on a homework assignment. At about 10 o'clock he went home. He was tired and had school the next day. He drove home and parked the car in the driveway in its usual spot. He unlocked the door and went inside. He went into his room and took a shower and got into his bed. He was tired and fell asleep easily. About an hour later, Davey woke up suddenly when someone put their hand over his mouth. Davey instantly reacted, grabbing the man's hand and twisting it, almost breaking it as he put the man on the floor. The man managed a weak, "Davey, stop. It's me Thompson. Stop."

Davey stopped and looked down at Thompson. The only light was coming from the bathroom but he could see Thompson's shirt was covered in blood and he appeared to be very weak. He helped him to his bed and said, "Thompson, my God, what happened?"

"I thought this was your dad's room until I saw you lying in the bed. I'm sorry to scare you. Help me please."

His voice was very weak. Davey started to turn the light on but Thompson said, "No lights. I can't be seen. I may have been followed. Are all doors and windows locked?"

"Yeah, they are. How'd you get in?"

"I broke the window in the kitchen."

Davey looked at Thompson and chuckled, "Okay, all the doors and windows are locked except that one."

"I'm Sorry. I thought this was your dad's room. I'm not thinking very straight right now."

Davey went to the bathroom and grabbed the first aid kit and some wash cloths. He wet some of the wash cloths and went back to Thompson. He left the bathroom door opened a little wider so he could have a little more light. He took Thompson's shirt saw that he had been cut several times. It looked bad, real bad. Working quickly he used some 5x9 sterile pads on the wounds that were still bleeding and taped them in place. As he was applying pressure on the cut that was bleeding the most he said, "Dad's with Uncle Dave and Debbie's at work." After that cut had stopped bleeding, Davey used the wet wash cloths to clean the dried blood around the other wounds so he could have a better look at the rest of his cuts. "Thompson, I got to call an ambulance. You've lost a lot of blood."

Thompson reached out his hand and said, "No. No ambulance. It's not safe. Get your dad, Davey, please I need to talk to him."

With the bleeding now under control the best Davey could tell in the limited light, was that Thompson had been cut, not really stabbed, several times. Some of the wounds were pretty deep. He also noticed a black eye and he looked at Thompson's back and noticed some bruising. He picked up his cell phone to call his dad.

Thompson said, "Be careful what you say. Just get him here. People may be listening to the phone lines. I was lucky someone helped me get away. I had him drop me off around the corner." Davey nodded and called his dad. He had to think of how to get his Dad home, but let him know something was wrong and to be careful in case Thompson had been followed. He had an idea. Hutch knew it was Davey as soon as the phone rang. He answered it and Davey said, "Uncle Dave, can I talk to Dad?"

"Davey, it's me. What's wrong?

"Huh, Dad, I'm not feeling too well can you come home now, please?"

"Davey, what's wrong?" He held the phone so Starsky could hear too. Starsky leaned in to listen.

"I'd just like you to come home. I'm not feeling well."

Hutch knew something was going on at home. He knew Davey was trying to tell him that. He asked, "Davey, what's my badge number?"

Davey was hoping his dad would ask. That gave him the chance to let him know something was wrong and he needed to be careful. If everything was okay, Davey should say he didn't have a badge anymore or that his number was 12, but he didn't instead he said, "It's 82." That was Starsky's badge number, not Hutch's. That was a system Starsky and Hutch had worked out years ago with each other, Huggy and their families. It was a simple way of letting each other know that something was wrong.

"Son, I'll be there in about ten minutes, okay?"

Davey said, "Oh, and, uh Dad I found that missing sock you were looking for earlier."

That took Hutch a minute to figure out. Starsky looked at Hutch and whispered, "Missing sock? What?"

Hutch got a surprised look on his face and said, "Good. I'll be there in ten minutes." He looked at Starsky and said, "I think Thompson's at our house and for some reason Davey can't talk. I smell trouble."

"Thompson? How'd you figure that out?"

"We were looking for Thompson and he's…"

Starsky finished, "And Thompson and Seth are a pair. Got it. Man that's a good one, a bit of a stretch, but a good one." They left the old building and headed to Hutch's.

Davey hung up the phone and looked at Thompson's wounds again. He told him that his dad and uncle would be there in about ten minutes. He gave him a drink of water. Thompson coughed and started bleeding pretty heavily again from one of the cuts. The others had stopped or at least slowed down. Davey had to apply a lot of pressure to get the bleeding to slow down. It hurt Thompson, but it had to be done or he would bleed to death. As he applied more pressure he said, "I'm sorry, I know this hurts, but I have to stop the bleeding."

Thompson said, "Its okay, Davey, do what you have to."

"We saw Seth today. We know about the two of you being undercover."

"You saw Seth. Is he okay? I've been worried about him."

"He's fine. Thompson, what happened to you?"

Thompson weakly said, "Davey, tell them the big man is Jackson Wheeler."

Thompson passed out before he could say anything else. The bleeding had stopped again and Davey taped another 5x9 on top of the one that he had previously applied.

Finally, all the bleeding had stopped fully. Davey noticed there were about ten cuts on his chest. They were in no particular pattern but he knew some of them were pretty deep. Some of them looked a couple of days old and some were new like they had been made within an hour or so ago. He noticed that some of the older ones also looked infected and Thompson had a fever. With the bleeding stopped, Davey was able to make an ice pack and apply it to Thompson's black eye. He wiped his face with another clean cloth.

He was glad he took that advanced first aid course in school. He knew it would come in handy one day. He checked Thompson's pulse. He had a radial pulse, so he knew his systolic blood pressure was at least 90. His pulse was fast at a rate 120, weak and irregular. Davey knew Thompson could go into shock anytime and put pillows under his feet to raise them. He also covered him with a sheet and light blanket. He had to keep him warm, but not too warm since he had a fever. Davey noticed that his own hands and shirt were covered in blood. He went into the bathroom and washed his hands and took a clean shirt out of the closet and put it on. He was hoping his Dad would hurry.

Hutch dropped Starsky off on the block behind the house. He was going to make his way to the kitchen door and use his key to get in. Hutch cut the lights off as he pulled up a couple of doors down. Neither of them saw anyone watching the house or anything else suspicious.

Davey knew his dad would be home anytime and he also knew he wouldn't just walk in the front door. He took one last look at Thompson and knew there was nothing more he could do for him right now. He went to the living room and looked out of the blinds, carefully so he wouldn't be seen and saw his dad turn off the car lights. He knew his uncle was probably around the side or the back of the house by now. He knew it would be safe now to turn on the porch light. Next, Davey slowly opened the front door. Starsky moved to the side of the house when he saw the porch light had been turned on and saw Davey. He whispered, "Davey."

Davey heard him and said, "Uncle Dave, get Dad and come in quick."

Starsky looked around and saw Hutch in the neighbor's yard. He motioned for him to hurry. Once inside the house, Davey told them about Thompson. He said that Thompson didn't want any lights on that he was scared he had been followed. He also said he had been worried about someone listening in on the phone so he had to be careful what he said. He also told them he had said that Jackson Wheeler was the big man.

Starsky and Hutch went into Davey's room and found Thompson still unconscious. Davey told them Thompson wouldn't let him call an ambulance. Hutch looked at Davey and said, "You did the right thing, Son. Now that Starsky and I are here he's safe. Starsk can ride with him in the ambulance." Hutch took out his cell phone and called an ambulance while Starsky called Chief Sterling from his phone. Davey noticed that Thompson had started bleeding again and got another 5x9 and held pressure on the bleeding wound again. He was worried about his friend. He looked up and said, "Dad, is he gonna be okay?"

"I hope so, Son. I hope so." Hutch wiped Thompson's face with a cool cloth.

"He's lost so much blood some of the cuts are infected and he has a fever too."

Starsky put his hand on Thompson's forehead checking his fever and looked at his wounds. He saw they were covered, but he could see some blood had soaked through the bandages. He asked, "Davey, what did he say about what happened to him?"

"Nothing. He just said what I told you about being scared that someone may have followed him and may be listening to the phones and that Jackson Wheeler was the big man. He passed out before he could say anything else."

"Thompson. Thompson, wake up it's me Hutch." He put his hand on Thompson's shoulder and repeated his name a little louder this time, "Thompson, come on wake up now, buddy."

Thompson stared to wake up a little he said, "Seth. Where's my partner?"

Hutch said, "I think we know where he is. We saw him today he was okay."

Starsky leaned over him, held his hand and said, "We got help coming. You're safe now. What can you tell us? What happened to you?"

Thompson tried to talk but barely managed to said, "My cover, my cover was blown. If you can, get Seth out. He's in danger. I tried but they caught me." He passed out again.

Davey saw the red lights approaching the house and opened the door for them. They stood back and watched as the paramedics gave Thompson an IV and put oxygen on him then carefully placed him on the stretcher. They asked what happened to him. Starsky told him what he knew and said the police had been called and would be at the hospital waiting for them, but for their safety he would ride in with them. He didn't identify himself as an officer, but he didn't deny it either. They needed to leave with Thompson and they needed protection on the way.

Davey looked at his dad. Hutch knew Davey wanted to go with them to the hospital. Hutch figured his night was shot and he would never get back to sleep so he let him go. Davey would miss school again, but it had been a while since the last time he missed a day. Starsky went with Thompson in the ambulance and Hutch drove Davey. Hutch asked Davey to call Chief Sterling back and let him know everything they knew and that they would meet him at the hospital. He then asked him to call Debbie and let her know they found Thompson and were taking him to the hospital and they would see her and Jeanne there. Davey hung up about the time they reached the hospital.

Chapter 6

Chief Sterling was briefing Johnson and Reynolds about what Davey had told him Thompson said about getting Seth out. Chief Sterling had talked to Austin earlier in the day to let him know what was happening with his brother. He knew Seth was undercover, but didn't know what case he was working on. Sterling let him know about Thompson being missing. Tonight he called Austin and let him know Thompson had been found and he needed to come to the hospital. Austin and Martin arrived about the same time Hutch and Davey did. He asked what was going on and Chief Sterling filled him in. He told him that Johnson and Reynolds were going to the headquarters Seth had told them about earlier in the day. Austin started to say something, but the Chief stopped him. He said, "I know you want to find your brother, that's why I called you. You can be part of the team. Johnson is in charge, you'll both take your orders from him, got it?"

"Yes, sir, thank you." He turned towards Johnson, "When do we leave?"

Johnson was on the phone but said, "In a couple of minutes. I'm arranging for some back up to meet us." He spoke back into the phone and said, "Okay. Great, thanks. Remember, tell everyone not to get on the radio. They may have scanners. We'll meet at the rendezvous point in twenty minutes." He looked at his partner, Austin, and Martin and said, "Okay, let's go get Seth." The four men left. Chief Sterling told them to be careful. He didn't know what they may be walking into. He hated sending his men into dangerous situations, but they were cops and that's what they did. These were the best of the best.

The doctor came out and said, "Who's here for Detective Thompson?"

Chief Sterling and Hutch said, "We are."

The doctor looked at them and said, "What is your relationship to him?"

"I am Chief Sterling, and this is a good friend, Ken Hutchinson." They shook hands with the doctor. Davey shook hands with the doctor too. Hutch introduced him as his son.

"Does he have a wife or family?"

Chief Sterling said, "No wife. His family doesn't live in town. His partner has his POA, but he's missing. We're looking for him now."

"Okay, well I guess since you're the Chief I can tell you." He looked at his notes and said, "He was cut pretty bad. I don't know who stopped the bleeding but he was close to bleeding to death. As it is, he's still critical. We're giving him blood now and we've started him on IV fluids, pain medication, and antibiotics. Some of his wounds are infected. There's some man that came in the ambulance with him, a Detective Dave Starsk. He said he needed to guard him."

The Chief looked at Hutch with a look he knew meant they'd better quit telling people they were still detectives and said, "He will be relieved in a few minutes. Another Officer is on the way."

Hutch asked, "Is he awake? Can we talk to him?"

"No, not now, he'll be asleep for quite a while yet. I'd say it will be at least ten hours or so before anyone can talk to him."

A uniformed officer walked in and reported to Chief Sterling. He was told to guard Thompson and send Starsky out. The officer walked with the doctor to Thompson's room.

Starsky joined Hutch, Davey and the Chief in the waiting room. The Chief started to say something but Starsky said, "I know, Chief. I know I'm not on the force, but someone needed to guard Thompson until you got here. It was the only way. I never really said I was an officer. They just assumed it." Hutch was trying not to laugh as Starsky was trying to dig himself out of the hole he'd dug himself into with the Chief. The Chief gave up and just raised one eyebrow at him.

Davey asked, "So what happens now, Dad?"

Starsky shrugged. He knew Hutch wanted to wait at the hospital with the Chief until Johnson had Seth safe and sound, he wanted to wait too.

"Well, Son, we're going to wait here with the Chief, if he lets us, until we hear from Johnson about Seth."

"Good. I want to wait too, okay?"

"School's already shot for tomorrow so I guess there's no harm in it."

Chapter 7

At the corner of Marshall and Fifth Street, Johnson, Reynolds and other officers were getting ready to storm the headquarters of the robbery ring Seth had told them about. Austin was hoping his little brother was in there and that he was alright. Johnson saw the worry on his face and took him aside and asked, "Are you sure you're up to this?"

Austin was obviously shaken, but he said, "He's my brother. I have to go."

Johnson looked at the men and said, "Okay, everyone knows what they're supposed to do, let's go. Seth Green is in there and he's on our side, don't mistake him for one of the suspects."

There were ten police cars and each car had three men in it. There were also another fifteen cars with teams of two on standby around the corner to make sure no one escaped. Seth had said there were thirty men in there that he knew of, so they needed a lot of fire power.

Everyone had synchronized their watches with Johnson's and moved quietly into position. At the same time, all the teams stormed the building. They announced their presence as police officers.

Seth and the others inside were sleeping in the bunk room. The bunk room was a room on the right side of the main room and it had two rows of fifteen bunk beds. Seth was not sleeping well and was awake when he heard the noise of the doors in the main room open and people shouting. Seth got up, quickly grabbed the gun he was given by the leaders of the organization and ran to the main hall. He knew it was the police, but wondered why Chief Sterling didn't give him more time.

Some of the suspects inside the building started firing when it was stormed by the police and some of them gave up easily. The officers shot back and the air quickly filled with smoke and the smell of gunpowder. It reminded Johnson, Austin and some of the others of the shootout during the superbowl game at Johnson's house. Johnson remembered that everyone did their job and no one had died then. He was hoping they would be that lucky again. He saw the men under his command taking cover and shooting back at the suspects that were firing at them and others arresting the ones that were surrendering. He didn't see Seth. He heard Austin yell, "Seth, get down!" That's when he saw Austin get shot and fall to the ground. Seth saw his brother get shot and ran to him along with Johnson. They dragged Austin behind some old crates where he would be safe. As Seth was returning fire, he asked Johnson why they came. He thought the Chief was going to give him a couple of days to find Thompson. Johnson told him about Thompson showing up at Hutch's and being in critical condition in the hospital. Johnson said, "Seth, just before he passed out, Thompson told us to get you out that you were in danger of having your cover blown."

Seth took a shot at a suspect who was firing at them and hit him. After ten minutes, which felt like forever to Seth, the shooting stopped. The rest of the suspects put their hands up and gave up. Seth told Johnson about the office in the back as well as Jack Springer possibility being shot. Johnson left Austin in Seth's care and helped round up the suspects. He had a few officers check out the rest of the building. They found Jack Springer dead. He had been shot once in the head. They found the office but there were no signs of anyone in it. Seth put Austin's head in his lap and talked to his older brother, "Hey, bro, can you hear me. You found me, I'm okay." He tore Austin's bullet proof vest and shirt off of him so he could see the wound and he used the shirt to control the bleeding.

They were couple of ambulance crews on standby a couple of blocks away and they were called in.

After the smoked cleared, Johnson discovered that Austin was the only officer that had been shot, and at least four of the suspects had been hurt. The ambulance crews came and they called for more units. They triaged the injured and took Austin first. He appeared to be in the worst shape. He had been shot in the right side where the vest he wore wasn't protecting him. It looked like he had a hemothorax. Johnson saw Martin and let him know that Austin had been shot and that Seth was with him. He told him take a car to the hospital and he would meet them there later.

At the hospital, Seth was made to wait in the waiting room. He saw Starsky and Hutch along with Davey and the Chief. He was glad to see them. It had been a long month of being undercover and now his brother and partner were both in critical condition. He found the nearest chair and put his head in his hands. Hutch sat next to him and put his hand on Seth's shoulder and said, "They're both going to be okay, Seth."

"I don't know, Hutch. Austin's hurt bad. The medics said he has a hemothorax."

"People recover from those every day." He looked up and asked, "What about Thompson? I heard he was critical too."

Martin walked in and saw Seth talking to Hutch. He sat next to them and asked about Austin. Seth told him what he knew and that he was in surgery.

Hutch told Seth and Martin everything the doctor had said about Thompson. Seth wanted to see his brother and he wanted to see his partner. His brother was in surgery, but he could sneak into his partner's room. Martin told Seth that he would wait in the waiting room for news on Austin and call him as soon as he heard anything. Chief Sterling asked Hutch to take Seth to see Thompson. Hutch told Davey to stay put and he would be back in a few minutes. Starsky went with them.

The nurse wasn't happy about it, but she let Seth in to see Thompson for a few minutes. She said he was still critical but he was stable and his blood pressure was a little better. Starsky and Hutch waited outside while Seth walked into his partner's room. He stood over him and said, "Hey, partner, I'm here. I'm okay. I'm right here. God I was worried when they took you away. I couldn't find you. You got to pull through this." He reached down and squeezed his hand. The nurse came in and told him would have to leave. She reassured him that she would call him if he needed during the night. He wouldn't leave and she asked Hutch to take him out.

Hutch walked over to him and said, "Hey, I know how you feel. You know I do, but I think the nurse is right. You need to let him sleep and you need to get some rest yourself. You my friend look like hell." He put his hand on Seth's shoulder and said, "Stay with us tonight." Seth looked at Hutch and started to protest, but Hutch said, "Look, with them both in the hospital, you need a good night's sleep. You have a long couple of days ahead of you. I know Chief Sterling is going to want to talk to you too."

"Yeah, I guess so. I want to check on Austin before I leave though. I want to wait until he's out of surgery."

Hutch said, "Okay, you got it."

The three of them went back to the waiting room and Jeanne and the doctor came in. He told them that, although he was still critical, Austin should be okay in a few days. He did have a small hemothorax, but he was going to be just fine. He said he wanted to keep him a while in the hospital but would be as good as new in a couple of weeks. Seth and Martin thanked the doctor.

Jeanne kissed Starsky and said, "You two are right in the middle of this aren't you?"

Starsky smiled at her and said, "Who, us?" She looked at Hutch.

Hutch said, "Don't look at me, it was his idea." He pointed at Starsky and grinned.

Jeanne said, "I saw Debbie earlier, she told me about Thompson. Hutch, is Davey okay? I know that probably shook him up, seeing Thompson like that."

"He's fine. He probably saved Thompson's life. You know that kid of mine. He did what needed to be done. I'm glad he took that first aid course and you and Debbie taught him so much."

"Where is he? Hutch, you didn't make him stay home did you?"

"No, I didn't make him stay home. He's downstairs with Sterling waiting for us."

Starsky hugged his wife again and said, "Honey, I'll see you at home. We need to go now."

As they turned to leave, Jeanne said, "Try to stay out of trouble." Starsky and Hutch didn't respond. They knew they were probably not out of trouble yet.

Chapter 8

Johnson couldn't believe how easily a lot of the men had given up. He would be interrogating them over the next few days, but right now he had other work to do. Chief Sterling along with Johnson and Reynolds were making plans to find Wheeler. They didn't know how much proof Thompson had on him. Until they found that out, they had no choice but to locate him and just watch him. When Thompson woke up, they were hoping he would have enough proof to arrest him. Seth said he knew that there was another headquarters located nearby, but he didn't know where it was. He did tell them more details about the operational structure of the organization.

Seth coughed and the Chief noticed that he was holding his ribs. He asked him if he was okay and Seth said he was. Starsky didn't believe him and told him to raise his shirt. Seth just looked at him. Chief Sterling said, "Do it."

Reluctantly Seth pulled his shirt up. They were surprised to see all the bruises he had. The Chief was not happy that he never said he had been hurt. "I saw Austin get shot and heard about Thompson; I guess I forgot about it. Really, it's not that bad. I'm fine, Chief."

"You're fine when the doctor says you're fine. Now I want you checked out and I mean now."

"Yes, sir." Seth knew he didn't have a choice so he let the doctor check him out. He did have a broken rib and was taken out of work for a couple of days then he would be on light duty for a couple more weeks.

It was late and they all had a long day and were tired. Starsky's car was at Hutch's so they all piled in Hutch's car. Seth stayed in the guest room. Hutch reassured him the hospital would call if anything changed with Austin or Thompson.

When Starsky got home he went into Kenny's room and told him everything that had happened with Seth, Thompson and Austin. He knew Davey was not going to school in the morning and wanted him to know why. He also told him, it all had to be kept a secret until the organization had been put out of business. Kenny promised not to tell anyone.

At 0800 the next morning Starsky was awakened by his cell phone. He knew it was Huggy because of the ring tone, You Find Out Who Your Friends Are. It was very late when he got home and he didn't even want to answer the phone but knew if Huggy was calling, especially this early it was important. He reached over, picked up the phone and said, "Hello, Hug, what's up

"Hey, Starsk, my man, I got some info, if you and your other half can meet me at the Pits in about an hour. I wouldn't call you this early, but it's important."

"Yeah, sure, Hug. I'll call Hutch and we'll be there."

Jeanne was tired too and sleepily asked, "What's Huggy want?"

"I'm not sure, but he has some information for me and Hutch. I gotta go." He got up and started getting dressed.

Jeanne shook her head. He noticed and said, "What?"

"Oh, it's nothing. Just be careful please, honey."

He bent down and kissed her and said, "I know. We're retired, but…"

"I know. I understand, I really do. Those men in the bank held a gun on me, our son, our nephew and Debbie. You need to help find the one's responsible."

"I love you, honey. Hutch and I are trying to stay out of things, we really are."

"I know you are. Now call Hutch and go."

He kissed her and said, "We'll be fine. Now, you get some sleep. I'll call you later, when I can."

Starsky called Hutch and told him that Huggy had called and he would be there in about fifteen minutes to pick him and Seth up. Hutch got up, got dressed and told Debbie where he was going and that he would check in later. He knocked on the guest bedroom door. Seth was already wake and getting dressed "Come in."

"Since you're off work a couple of days, you want to hang around with Starsk and me? Huggy just called him and he has some information for us?"

"Sure. The Chief isn't going to let me do anything anyway. I may as well get into trouble with the two of you."

"Who said anything about getting into trouble?"

Seth just looked at him and chuckled and then held his ribs from the pain. "I'd like to call the hospital and check on Austin and Thompson."

"Sure, go ahead. Let me know what you find out."

Davey came out of his room, fully dressed and carrying his book bag. Hutch looked at him and said, "Thought you were going to stay home today."

"I woke up and thought I'd go ahead and go. I'm a little tired, but I'll be fine. Besides Starsky and I have that history assignment we've been working on that's due today."

"Okay, Son. Starsky and I have some things we're looking into, so I don't know what time I'll be home. Debbi's sleeping right now. She's working the late shift again."

"Okay, Dad." He started to leave for school but he turned back around and started to ask, "Dad…"

"It's okay, Davey, you can tell Kenny about last night. Let him know we found Thompson and you can tell him about Austin too, just him though, no one else. Understand? Starsky probably told him everything last night anyway."

"Thanks, Dad, just Starsk, no one else, I promise."

As he was leaving for school Seth said, "Davey, I didn't get the chance to thank you for what you did for Thompson yesterday."

"Hey, I'm just glad I was at the right place at the right time, ya know." Seth smiled. Those are the exact words he had told Davey a few short years ago when he and Austin had found Hutch and brought him home. Davey took his car keys off the counter and left for school.

"You know, Hutch, he sure has grown since the first time I saw him."

"Yeah, he sure has."

"He's a great kid. They both are. You and Starsky are really lucky."

"Believe me, we know." He smiled.

Seth called the hospital and was told that Thomson was doing better and upgraded to serious condition although he was still in intensive care. Austin was also critical and in intensive care. Seth was told that he could come about noon and see them both, but not until then. Hutch promised they would go by the hospital after they met with Huggy. Then Seth called Johnson to see what, if anything, they had found out during the night. Johnson said they had nothing. They had no new leads and the search of the old building turned up nothing. Hutch motioned for Seth to hand him the phone so he could talk to him. Seth handed him the phone and Hutch said, "Johnson, Starsky just called and said Huggy wants to meet with us. I think it's about the case. I'll let you know what we find out."

"That would be nice of you to share the information with the police detectives that are actually assigned to the case."

"We are trying to actually be retired." He chuckled.

"I know you are, Hutch. We appreciate all you are doing. I suppose Seth is going with you."

"Yeah, well, he can't go to work for a couple of days, so we thought he could hang out with us."

"Hutch…"

"Don't worry, we're excellent babysitters. We'll keep an eye on him."

Johnson just looked into his phone and shook his head, "I'll talk to you later then." He hung up.

Reynolds asked, "What are they up to now?"

"I'm not sure, but they're going to Huggy's."

"Good, maybe he's got something."

Starsky picked them up and they went to the Pits to meet Huggy. Once inside, Huggy sat with them. Starsky asked, "Whatya got for us, Hug?"

"Late last night I got a call from someone who is less than happy to be a part of the organization. He's been wanting out, but until the bust last night thought that was an impossibility. Seems there's only one way out and that's in a box, if you get my drift. He'll talk to the two of you, but he's scared of everyone else. He also said he's not alone. There are others who want out too."

Hutch said, "Hug, we're…"

"Retired, I know. I told him that. He said he'll only talk to the two of you. He's scared, Hutch. I think if you talk to him, you can convince him to talk to Johnson and Reynolds. He said to tell you that this whole organization has about four top leaders. He said that a Jackson Wheeler is one of them. He will tell you more when you meet him."

Starsky said, "Okay, let's say we agree to meet this guy. When and where?"

"The end of pier three at 2 o' clock. He said he knows who you are and will approach you."

Seth said, "Are you sure it's not a set up, Hug?"

"That's next on my list. I don't know this guy well enough to tell you to trust him. Watch your backs if you meet."

Starsky and Hutch looked at each other. They were thinking the same thing. If they met on the pier, they would be sitting ducks.

Starsky said, "I know, Hutch."

Seth chuckled and said, "You know what?"

Starsky said, "Hutch and I are thinking we'll be sitting ducks on the pier if we met there."

Seth asked, "So what are we going to do?"

Hutch looked at Seth and said, "Your part of the 'we' is going to the hospital and check on your brother and partner. The Me and Thee of the 'we' are going to the pier at 2 o' clock unless Huggy can convince this contact to meet someplace else." He looked at Huggy.

"No can do, my man. I tried. He said the pier was the only place he felt safe."

Seth said, "Why can't I go?"

Starsky said, "Because we need you to talk to Thompson as soon as you can to see what he knows."

Hutch added, "And Johnson and Chief Sterling would have us up on charges if anything happened to you."

"We'll I'm off duty for a couple of days and maybe I want to relax and go fishing."

Starsky and Hutch in unison said, "No."

"Come on guys. I wanna help catch the people responsible for putting my brother and partner in the hospital!" He raised his voice.

Hutch looked at him and with a soft understanding voice said, "I know you do but we need you to talk to Thompson. He said he'd talk to us and only us. We can't risk his seeing you."

Starsky added, "Besides, you were part of the organization and if he sees you…"

"Okay, I get it. I'll go to the hospital and wait for you there."

Huggy got up from booth and the others scooted out. Starsky said, "Thanks, Hug. We owe ya."

"Yeah, you've been owing me for years now. One day I'm gonna collect, my friend."

Hutch patted his shoulder and said, "You do that, Hug." They left The Pits.

Chapter 9

Seth called Johnson on the way to the hospital and asked him to meet the three of them there. He told him he had some news for him but didn't want to tell him over the phone. When they arrived at the hospital, Seth went to check on Austin first while Starsky and Hutch went to Thompson's room.

Seth opened the door slowly to his brother's room. He didn't want to wake him if he was still sleeping. Martin was already in the room sitting in a chair next to his bed. Austin heard the door open and weakly said, "I'm awake. Is that you, Seth?"

"Yeah, it's me." He walked over to his brother's bed and said, "How you feeling?" He nodded at Martin.

"Oh, I'm okay, you should see the other guy." He tried to laugh but it hurt too much and his face grimaced from the pain.

"Hey, take it easy."

"It's not like I have a lot of choice is it?"

"I know it hurts. I remember when I was shot it hurt like hell." Seth sat down. He put his hand on his brother's and just looked at him for a minute.

"I'll be okay, Seth. You're not gonna get rid of me this easy. How's Thompson?"

"Starsky and Hutch are checking on him. The nurse told me this morning that he was upgraded to serious condition. I wanted to check on you first." He took a deep breath, let it out and said, "I swear the two of you are going to give me ulcers."

Starsky and Hutch walked in and Starsky said, "We just checked on Thompson and he is doing a little better. He told us a little more about Wheeler and the organization."

Hutch asked, "How are you, Austin?"

"I'm hurting, but I guess I'll live."

Hutch said, "Your brother and partner are pretty worried about you. Do you remember when Martin and Seth were in the hospital after the shooting at Johnson's?"

"How could I forget?"

"Do you remember what you told me to tell them if they were ever worried about you?"

"Oh, yeah, I do. I said for you to tell them it's my way of paying them back for making me worry about them so much then." They all laughed a little laugh.

Seth said, "So this is payback, huh? Payback doesn't feel too good does it, big brother."

"Not really."

Martin said, "Well the way I see it, we're even now so let's not do this again." They all nodded in agreement.

Austin's nurse came in and said, "Okay, everyone needs to leave now. Mr. Green needs his rest. You can come back later."

They said their goodbyes to Austin. Martin said he had to go to work but he'd be back later.

Just as they were leaving Austin's room, Johnson and Reynolds walked up to them. They told him Austin was hurting and still critical but they thought he would make it. Starsky and Hutch suggested that Seth go to see Thompson while they filled in Johnson and Reynolds about their meeting earlier with Huggy. Seth left for Thompson's room and Starsky and Hutch led Johnson and Reynolds to the waiting room. They found an empty area they could talk.

Hutch told them that Thompson said the second headquarters is an abandoned warehouse downtown at 1655 Eighth Street. He was moved there and somehow his cover had been blown. He said they cut him like they did because they knew another cop was on the inside and they wanted to know who it was. He said he never told them Seth's name. When he passed out they moved to another area. He didn't know who it was, but someone helped him escape. He wouldn't let the man take him to the hospital; he wasn't sure it would be safe. Instead he had the man drop him off around the corner from Hutch's. He also told them that he knew he couldn't call for help. He thought there were five teams of three each at the second headquarters. He also thought that all the newest recruits were at the first site.

Starsky told them about the meeting, including the fact that the whole thing could be a set up. Johnson voiced his opinion about them meeting this contact of Huggy's. He didn't like it. He did not want his two friends to take the chance. Starsky and Hutch said they didn't see where they had much of a choice if anyone was going to find out about this group. He would only talk to the two of them and only on the pier.

Hutch said, "What if you put some undercover men on the pier and along the beach?"

Starsky said, "There's a bait shop on that pier, you could put someone in there too."

Hutch smiled and said, "See, it's easy."

Johnson said, "You said the meeting's at 1400."

Reynolds said, "That gives us a couple of hours to get some of our people in place. I'll get working on it. We'll see you on the pier at 1400. You know Chief Sterling is not going to be happy about this. You know I have to call him to get our people in place." Starsky and Hutch both nodded. Reynolds took his phone out of its case that was clipped to his belt. He called the Chief and told him of the plans. Reynolds held the phone away from his ear as he yelled, "Absolutely not!"

Hutch reached for the phone and Reynolds was glad to hand it to him. "Chief, this is Hutch. Starsk and I know you don't like this. Frankly, we're not too keen on the idea ourselves, but he'll only talk to us. This may be the same guy who helped Thompson. You can't send in anyone else."

"Then we'll find another way, Hutch."

"Okay, find another way. Starsky and I are going fishing on pier three at 1400 and I think we may be the bait."

Chief Sterling bowed his head took a deep breath and let it out. He knew Starsky and Hutch well enough to know that they were going to meet this contact of Huggy's and unless he had them arrested, there was nothing he could do or say to stop them. They were civilians now and he couldn't order them to stay away. He surrendered, "Okay, you'll have your backup."

"Thank you, Chief."

"Hutchinson, be careful"

"Chief, I'm cute, Starsky's careful."

"Put Reynolds back on the phone." He wasn't happy about any of this, but he knew Hutch was right; they didn't have a choice if they wanted to stop this organization and catch the leaders.

Johnson and Chief Sterling insisted that Starsky and Hutch both wear wires and they set up a code word to use to signal that they needed help. The code word was Ken or Dave. They thought they would keep it simple.

At 1400, Starsky and Hutch walked onto pier three. To anyone they would appear to be going fishing. They had fishing poles, a small Styrofoam cooler, fishing nets, even small folding chairs, and were dressed for the occasion. As they were walking down the pier they saw other officers they knew including Benson, the rookie they met yesterday. Although they walked like they didn't have a care in the world, they were both nervous. They had no idea what they were walking into. When they reached the end of the pier they saw a man who appeared to be in his mid to late twenties. He was watching them. Starsky and Hutch acted like they didn't see him. They didn't want to draw attention to him or themselves if anyone else was watching. The man nodded at them and motioned for them to go inside the bait shop. He went in first then a couple of minutes later Starsky and Hutch slowly walked in. They knew Johnson had put a couple of men in there. Once inside the bait shop the man said, "I wasn't sure if you'd come."

Hutch looked around and whispered back, "We almost didn't."

Starsky said, "Let's get down to business. A mutual friend said you have some information for us and you may need our help."

"You gotta understand, I didn't intend to get caught up in all of this. I didn't know what I was getting into until it was too late. I'll tell you everything, I just want out. How much do you know?"

Starsky and Hutch didn't want to tell him quite everything they knew about the organization. They didn't want to tip their hand. They weren't sure if they could trust him or not. They told him just enough to hopefully gain his trust. The man said his name was Phillip Easton and he had lost his job a few months ago and was living on the streets. He proceeded to tell them a lot about the organization. He told them that the runts were all in the first headquarters. He told them that he helped someone escape they were going to kill. He said the leader thought the man was an undercover cop and tried to get information about another cop who may be undercover. He said they had cut this man to get him to talk. Phillip said that he was able to help him escape out a back way and drove him a few blocks away before he had to get back. He asked Starsky and Hutch if they found the man. He never knew his name, but hoped he found help. Hutch said, "He's in the hospital now. He's still critical, but he's hanging in there."

Phillip said, "I wanted to take him the hospital but he wouldn't let me. He told me to drop him off where I did and get back to headquarters before they found out I was missing." He took a sip of the drink he had been given and asked, "What about the other undercover cop, is he safe now?"

Starsky and Hutch nodded at each other. Starsky said, "Yeah, he's safe."

Phillip looked relieved. He knew the new location of the three remaining headquarters and each of them had different number of teams. Each team had three men. The biggest was the ten Seth knew about. That one was already shut down. The others were teams of 4, 6 and 8. He had made it to level two, which were the men who wore the light blue caps. Easton had explained that once you joined, you were guarded constantly unless you were on a heist and they were timed. If you were late you had to explain why. On the heists, you were with the other members of the team. People who tried to quit or left without permission were killed or beaten. Punishments were given out for everything and were often brutal.

Starsky and Hutch had heard enough and told him they could help. They could hide him and it would be better if they finished talking at the station.

They were pretty sure this was the man who saved Austin, but they still were not about to totally trust him. He said he would go, but only with them. He only trusted them. Starsky asked him why and he said, "I've heard about the two of you. I know you're retired, but you have a reputation on the streets to be good, honest cops. I trust you."

Hutch said, "Are you willing to trust a couple of other detectives that we trust? We need you to tell them everything you told us."

Phillip looked at Hutch then Starsky and said, "Does Huggy know them too?" They both nodded. "What are their names?"

Hutch said, "James Reynolds and Ray Johnson."

"Yeah, I've heard of them. You trust 'em? I mean really trust 'em?"

Starsky and Hutch both shook their heads and in unison said, "Yes, we do." Phillip nodded.

Starsky stuck his out of the bait shop and looked around. He didn't see anyone that looked suspicious. The three of them were about ten feet outside the shop when they heard the rookie, Benson, yell at Starsky to get down. He jumped between the shooter and Starsky. Starsky pulled out his gun as he ducked. Hutch pulled Phillip down and reached for his gun. The three were able to run to the back of the building. When Hutch peeked around the corner, he saw that Benson had been shot and was lying on the ground. He also noticed that another man had been shot. Some of the cops on the pier had rushed to help Benson, a couple of others checked on the man who shot him. He was dead. Reynolds and Johnson took Starsky, Hutch, and Phillip to their car and rushed them away.

Starsky looked out of the back windshield and said, "He jumped between me and the shooter. Hutch, that kid saved my life. God, I hope he's okay."

Johnson said, "I didn't see it close up, but it didn't look too bad, Starsk." "I wanna see him as soon as I can. I owe him a big thanks."

Hutch stared at Starsky with a look of relief and said, "We both do, partner."

Chapter 10

Johnson, and Reynolds along with a couple of other detectives followed them to the station. They saw no other signs of trouble. Phillip was taken to an interrogation room. Starsky and Hutch assured him that he would be safe there. Johnson and Reynolds came in and sat down. They had completed a background check on Easton and so far he had never been convicted of anything other than a petty theft charge when he was 18. Phillip looked at the four of them and told them the location of all the hideouts and he told them the names of all the leaders. He even told them about the robberies he had been involved in. He said he had never hurt anyone during the robberies and he was willing to pay the price for his part in them. He understood that he would be arrested and waived his right to a lawyer. He didn't know how they knew Thompson was a cop, or knew about a second one being undercover.

When Phillip was finished telling them everything he knew, Johnson took him to booking. He was told he would be put in a private room for his own safety.

When the detectives and Starsky and Hutch went to the Chief's office, Sterling told him that Benson was shot in the left leg but he was doing fine and would probably be out of the hospital tomorrow. Starsky let out a sigh of relief. He made a mental note to go by the hospital later and thank him. They still had not obtained an ID on the man that Benson had shot. He had no identification on him, and his fingerprints were not in the system. They filled the Chief in on everything Phillip Easton had told them. According to Seth, Thompson and Easton, the leaders were usually at the headquarters. The leaders could come and go as they pleased but they were the only ones who could.

They believed that Phillip was the one who helped Austin. No one else would have known that Austin told him to drop him off by Hutch's and not go to the hospital. Johnson told the Chief that he wanted to raid the three remaining headquarters at the same time, and he wanted to do it tonight. The Chief gave his go ahead and the phone calls were made to set it all up.

After the raids were set up, Chief Sterling said, "Starsky, Hutch I have a special assignment for the two of you."

Starsky looked at Hutch and said, "I bet it has nothing to do with us being at any of the three locations."

Hutch grinned and said, "Ya think?"

"No, it doesn't," came the reply along with a raised eyebrow.

Starsky said, "Okay, Chief, what is it?"

"I'd like the two of you to stay at the hospital and keep an eye on Seth. He's going through a rough time right now, and I think he could use a friend."

Hutch asked, "How are Austin and Thompson?"

"They're both still in pretty serious condition."

Starsky looked at the Chief then he looked at Hutch, shrugged and said, "You know, Chief, we really are trying to actually be retired."

Hutch added, "I swear, stuff just happens. I think Jeanne's right, were trouble magnets."

Sterling looked at both of them and said, "I think when trouble finds you, you invite it to stay and play awhile. Now, both of you get out of here, so we can do our jobs." He smiled as they got up.

Reynolds said, "I can take you to your car, but we gotta hurry."

Starsky mumbled, "Guess that would help."

Starsky and Hutch went to the hospital after Reynolds took them to pick up Starsky's car. They checked and found out that Benson was still in surgery so they decided to find Seth. They found him sitting in Austin's room. Austin was asleep and Seth stepped outside so he could talk to them. He explained that Austin was still real weak and tired. He was a little better but not totally out of the woods yet. They could tell he was really worried about him. They asked about Thompson and he said he was a little better but he was still critical. Seth asked about the case, so they filled Seth in on everything that happened. Seth told them that everything Phillip Easton had told them seemed believable. He had only been to one place, but knew Austin had been to another one. Seth looked so tired and worn out, physically and mentally. Hutch saw some empty chairs and started walking towards them. Starsky left to get them all some coffee, he knew it was going to be a long day. Seth sat down and put his head in his hands and took a deep breath.

Hutch put his hand on his shoulder and said, "It'll be okay, Seth. They're young and strong. They'll pull through." Seth just nodded. "Do you want to stay at our place again tonight? You're more than welcome, you know?"

"I think I could use the company. Thanks, Hutch."

Starsky came back with the coffee. Just then Hutch's name was called over the loud speaker. He had asked the nurse to let him know when Benson was out of surgery. He answered the page and told Starsky that it was about Benson and they could see him, but only for a couple of minutes. Seth went with them as he didn't want to be alone right now.

The three of them walked into Benson's room and saw that his leg was bandaged. He was awake and tried to sit up. Starsky told him to lie back down. Benson was smiling and said, "You, you came to see me?"

Starsky said, "Of course we did, you save our lives out there today and…"

Hutch finished Starsky's sentence saying, "And we'd like to thank you for that."

Benson smiled and said, "You really do finish each other's sentences. I thought that was a joke."

In unison they said, "What's he talking about?"

Seth just smiled and shook his head then he realized that Benson didn't know him and he put his out and said, "Hi, my name is Detective First Class Seth Green."

Benson shook his hand and said, "I'm Chris Benson. Glad to meet you."

Starsky asked, "So, Benson, how do you know me and Hutch?"

"From the academy."

"The academy?"

"Yeah, they talked about the two of you. The way you work so well together, your interview techniques, the way you back each other up. I even know that your sons have already been accepted when they're old enough."

Starsky and Hutch looked at each other and laughed. Hutch said, "They won't let us speak at graduation any more, but they teach them about us?"

"Remember we have been invited back. It only took ten years, but Director Jamerson said we could speak at another graduation if we wanted to."

The nurse came in and ran the visitors out, but not before they had a chance to thank him again for stepping in and saving them. They promised they would see him again.

Chapter 11

Johnson had assembled teams to raid the three remaining headquarters. All the plans had been put into place and it was time. The raids were to take place at the same time. Johnson, Reynolds and Martin were at the Sunset Place location along with other members of the team. Other teams were at the other two locations. The raids went down easier than they all thought they would. Everyone except the leaders and their bodyguards gave up as soon as the buildings were entered. The leaders put up a fight at all three locations but were taken into custody. In all, sixty-five men were arrested on various charges including, but not limited to: Possession of stolen goods, armed robbery, resisting arrest, illegal weapons, attempted murder, murder, assault, battery and more.

Interrogations took several days with several teams working on them. Johnson had discovered that, like Easton had said, most of the men involved had been recruited off the streets and many were unemployed and they did not know what they were getting into. Once they were part of the organization, they couldn't get out. Most of them wanted to leave, but were afraid to. Some of them needed medical attention and were taken to the hospital. A lot of them had seen someone beaten to death for trying to leave. They had been subjected to beatings and two of them had been cut similar to Thompson, but not nearly as bad, for making mistakes. Most of the men were eager to talk and were glad it was over.

They were also able to find out that Thompson's cover was blown by one of the men who had seen him in uniform during a court hearing he had one day. The leaders were sure that Thompson had a partner and tried to find who it was.

A few days later, Reynolds and Johnson found out that Jackson Wheeler had tried to set up similar organizations like this in other big cities but had failed. Wheeler had always managed to escape until now. This time he would be doing real time behind bars, along with the rest of the top men. Most of the men in lower positions gave up so much information and had agreed to testify against Wheeler and the rest of the leaders, that they were not going to have to pull much time. Phillip Easton was given full immunity by the DA. He not only gave them a lot of information that led to the organization's fall, but he saved Thompson and Seth's life at the risk of his own. He was given a second chance and was grateful for it. He found a job working as a mechanic and discovered that he had a real aptitude for it.

Seth had found out why Thompson was cut like he was and felt awful about it. He was sitting at Thompson's bedside. Thompson could tell something was unsetting him and asked, "What's wrong, Seth?"

"Nothin."

"Seth, you can't lie to me. We've been partner's a while now, I know you better than that. What's up?" Seth didn't say anything he didn't even look at his partner. "Seth, come on, talk to me, buddy."

"I guess I just feel a little guilty."

"Look, we kinda went through the guilt trip thing last time one of us was hurt didn't we."

"That was different."

"No, it wasn't. Look, it was a choice I made and I'd do it again if I had too." He took a deep breath and added, "What would you have done?"

"That's not a fair question."

"Why?"

"I don't know what I would have done."

"Yes, you do. You would have done the same thing and you and I both know it."

Seth looked down and mumbled, "Maybe."

Thompson shook his head and said, "Okay, partner, let's make a deal right now."

"What kind of deal?"

"Let's agree not to feel guilty about things like this. I'm sure things like this are going to happen in the future and I don't want you to feel guilty about them."

"You promise not to feel guilty either?"

"Yes, I promise. No guilty feelings, no matter what, deal?"

"I can live with that. I guess."

"Shake on it?"

"Okay, I'll shake on it." The two shook hands and grinned at each other. They each wondered if Starsky and Hutch had ever had this talk, but somehow they knew they had.

Austin and Thompson were making excellent progress and were going to be released in a couple more days. Benson only had to spend one night in the hospital. He was out and put on light desk duty for a couple of weeks then he would return to full duty.

Starsky and Hutch were at the station to write up a report on what happened on the pier and what Easton had told them. They turned their reports into Sterling. As he took their reports he said, "Starsky, Hutch, I hope this is the last report I take from the two of you."

In unison, they said, "We do too, Chief."

The Chief shook his head and said, "Get outta here, both of you."

They laughed, got up and turned to leave. As Starsky put his hand on the door to open he looked back at the Chief and asked, "You are going to be at the monthly barbeque next weekend?"

"I wouldn't miss it. Oh, and thanks for the help on this one."

In unison, they said, "Anytime, Chief." They left the chief's office.

Hutch asked Starsky as they were walking down the hall, "Do you think we will ever actually get to be retired?"

"I hope not, buddy."

"Me either."

They walk out of the station with their arms on each other's shoulders.