Disclaimer: S&H do not belong to me. Story is for entertainment purposes only and no profit is being made.

WARNINGS: Violence and possibly some bad language. Deals with bigotry.

In case you think I write a lot, most of the stories appearing now were written many years ago. I am currently revising them and posting them again.

Enemy

By Milford

CHAPTER 1

The death of a police officer was always an enormous tragedy for fellow officers and when it was a friend, then it hit close to home. For both Starsky and Hutch, the death of Peter Williams was a devastating blow for he and his surviving partner, Ben Steiner, had been good friends and they'd had many drinks together. As they sat in Ben's house, they were all trying to come to terms with the events of the tragic shootout.

Both Starsky and Hutch were uneasily aware that the loss of a partner was not something that could be easily dealt with and both were uncomfortable with the knowledge of how inconsolable they would be in the same situation. They had not spoken to each other about it, but the knowledge was there. Their main aim at that moment was to try to help Ben.

As Hutch watched his partner trying to comfort Ben, he realized again just how lucky he had been when Starsky had been shot by Gunther's assassins. It was a day forever etched in Hutch's heart. It remained almost unbelievable to him that Starsky had been shot down in front of him, and the memory of the too still body losing so much blood chilled him to the bone. The shootout today that had claimed Pete's life was bringing back memories he'd prefer to lose. It was a painful reminder of how fragile life really was. Nightmares still plagued him at times, the vision of Starsky bleeding on the ground and the memory of the

cardiac arrest which had so nearly claimed him. Seeing Pete on the ground brought it all back, and he was more shaken than he wanted to admit by the unpleasant images of Starsky nearly dying. The grief of losing a good friend was bad enough, but the fear of losing his best friend and partner was another matter. He'd indeed been lucky on that dreadful day. As he watched Starsky's innate gentleness with Ben, he counted his blessings yet again. Although he'd been friends with both Peter and Ben, it was Starsky and Ben who were the closest, both sharing a similar background, both originating from New York and being Jewish. They were both also the more volatile halves of their partnerships, with Hutch and Pete being their calming influence. As Hutch thought about Pete, the grief welled up in him again. Pete had been a good friend, a good cop, and he didn't know how Ben would adjust. The loss of a long term partner and friend was not something he could contemplate with any form of equanimity and he didn't want to dwell on it. Shaking himself mentally, he brought himself back to the present.

As Starsky was talking quietly to Ben, his thoughts were not dissimilar to those of Hutch. He was certainly counting his blessings. There had been a moment during the shootout when Hutch had been vulnerable and as much as he liked Pete, he couldn't help but feel grateful that they weren't burying Hutch in a few days. He'd certainly had to face the prospect of losing him during their many years of friendship but it was something he preferred not to think about. It wasn't something he could easily deal with.

Did Hutch know that? Did he understand? Starsky was uneasily aware he took his partner for granted most of the time and he decided they'd have to talk later. First things first, he needed to help Ben.

Anna, Ben's tearstained wife came in with some drinks. She'd loved Pete too,and his fate had brought the reality of the danger in her husband's job home to her. It was a constant fear that she lived with, but she also understood how much he loved his job and she wouldn't even consider asking him to change. She couldn't help but wonder though, what effect the death of his closest friend would have on him.