A MATTER OF SURVIVAL
When Starsky is taken prisoner by Simon Marcus and his cult, he must find the will to survive against unimaginable odds. This is a very dark story. Scenes of graphic violence and abuse. PLEASE DO NOT READ ANY FARTHER IF THIS TOPIC OFFENDS YOU!
A/N: This story is being written with the kind permission of TLR who wrote the original Times and Seasons series. The original idea for this story came from the first story in the Time and Seasons series, and was further inspired by the story Times and Seasons Journel—Missing Time. I hope that I can do justice to TLR'S original concept. If you have not read this series, I strongly recommend that you do. It is fantastic! This series was also the indirect inspiration for Starsky's multiple personality disorder in my story On The Dark Side. This is a pre-sequel of sorts to TLR's original series. Some of the longer scenes in this story are taken directly from her story and are credited as such. This is strictly a Starsky story, very little Hutch except in the beginning and briefly at the end.
CHAPTER 1
David Starsky and his partner, Ken Hutchinson, cautiously climbed out of Starsky's Candy Apple Red Torino with the broad white racing stripe and looked around. They were in the Warehouse district of Bay City. At this time of night, the area was dark and deserted. Acting on a phone call from a reliable source, they were here to meet with a nervous snitch who claimed to have some information about a recent string of murders that had been occurring on their beat.
"What time is it?" Starsky asked, his voice sounding unnaturally loud in the stillness around them. He pulled his lightweight cloth jacket tighter around him against the chill in the night air.
"Almost midnight." Hutch replied. He squinted his eyes as he peered into the darkness around them. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end and he tried to ignore a sudden urge to climb back into the Torino and get the hell out of there.
"They said to meet 'em on the other side of the building." Starsky reminded his partner unnecessarily.
"Starsky, I'm not too sure about this," Hutch said, voicing his concerns. "It's too quiet…too dark. They could be setting us up."
"Only one way to find out." Starsky said, as he reached beneath his jacket and drew his Beretta from his shoulder harness. He flipped off the safety and held the gun in both hands with the barrel pointed upward. Hutch copied his partner's actions and drew his Magnum, holding it in the ready position, as the two men began to cautiously walk towards the empty warehouse where they were supposed to meet their informant.
When they reached the opposite side of the building, they paused and listened for any unusual sounds. Everything was quiet. Too quiet. The only sounds they heard was the skittering of the rats rummaging in the trash piled beside the building.
"Is anybody here?" Hutch said, raising his voice slightly. "It's Detective Hutchinson and Detective Starsky!" No Answer. He glanced at his partner and shrugged his shoulders. "Looks like he decided not to show."
Starsky nodded as he slowly lowered his gun. "Let's get out of here. This place gives me the creeps." He flipped the safety back on and slipped his gun back into his holster. Hutch did the same.
"Come on, buddy." Hutch said "I'll buy you a beer at The Pits." Smiling, the men turned to walk back to the car. As they began to cross the distance between the car and the building, there was a sudden shifting of the shadows to Hutch's left and four men appeared out of the darkness. They were all dressed in black, including black ski masks, so they blended into the night. Two of them held guns aimed directly at both detectives.
"Drop your guns to the ground and kick them to me." One of the men ordered in a husky whisper.
Realizing that they were outnumbered, Starsky and Hutch carefully pulled their weapons from their holsters and dropped them to the ground, kicking them in the general direction of the group of men. Once they were unarmed, two more men stepped out of the darkness. These men were also dressed in black, long black robes with an inverted red cross embossed on the front of the garment.
Starsky drew in a quick, sharp breath at the sight of the two additional men. He recognized the robes they were wearing immediately. Simon Marcus and his cult of brainwashed followers had terrorized Bay City for months before Starsky and Hutch had finally captured Marcus. He had been convicted over nine counts of first degree murder but was suspected of having committed many more than that.
In an attempt to free Marcus from jail before his sentencing, some of his men had kidnapped Starsky from the Federal Courthouse in downtown Bay City and threatened to kill him if Marcus wasn't set free. They had held Starsky prisoner for twenty-four hours before Hutch rescued him. During that time, they had tortured the brunet relentlessly, beating him, poisoning him, and intimidating him. Even Hutch didn't know all the details about the things they had done to him. It had taken Starsky months to fully recover from his ordeal at their hands. Months before he could sleep without reoccurring nightmares.
Hutch recognized the significance of the robes too and instinctively moved closer to his partner. Even from his prison cell, Marcus had vowed that Starsky belonged to him and that someday he would return to claim what was his. Hutch had vowed never to let that happen.
"Polaris has been called by the master. The dark knight must come with us." One of the robed figures said in a flat monotone.
"He's not going anywhere with you!" Hutch growled in a menacing voice, as he stepped in front of Starsky to protect him. Marcus and his followers were less then human, they were evil incarnate. He would die if that was what it took to keep Starsky from falling into these monster's hands again.
The six men spread out, surrounding the two detectives. The two with guns kept their weapons trained on Starsky and Hutch. At such close range, they couldn't miss and a shot would more than likely be fatal. Suddenly, three of the unarmed men reached out and grabbed Hutch. The big blond began to struggle with them, simultaneously yelling at his partner, "STARSKY! GO!"
Starsky immediately darted around one of the other men and broke into a run, trying to get to one of their guns. If he could just get his hands on one of their weapons, they would at least have a fighting change. A shot rang out and Hutch watched in horror as Starsky went down.
With a bellow of rage, Hutch pulled away from the men who were holding him and began to run towards Starsky. Another shot rang out. The bullet hit Hutch high in the back, his left shoulder. He stumbled but kept going. Starsky was hurt. Starsky needed him. A second shot rang out. Hutch felt the bullet hit his left calf, almost knocking his legs out from under him. He struggled to stay on his feet, limping and stumbling as he continued towards his fallen partner.
Hutch fell heavily to his knees and slowly crawled the rest of the distance that separated him from Starsky. He could see the blood that was rapidly soaking through the back of Starsky's cloth jacket. Too much blood. Hutch went down but not before his trembling hand reached out to clutch desperately at Starsky's arm.
The six men slowly advanced on the two fallen detectives. They were in no hurry. They knew that the two men weren't going anywhere. One of the men stood over Hutch and grinned in satisfaction and triumph as he fired one final shot at the blond half of the dynamic duo. One of the robed figures knelt down and pried Hutch's fingers loose from his partner's arm.
"Get him in the van." The second robed figure ordered. Two of the other men picked up Starsky while a third man slid open the door on a black panel van parked a short distance away from the Torino. The two men carried Starsky's body to the van and carelessly threw him inside. Without a word, the six men climbed into the van and it disappeared into the darkness.