CHAPTER 2
Starsky exited the Captain's office in time to see Hutch disappearing through the squad room doors into the hallway. He hurried to catch up with his rapidly retreating partner. He grabbed Hutch's arm to slow him down.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Starsky asked
"You know what's wrong!" Hutch said in the cold, aloof tone that Starsky hated.
"You don't have to do this!"
"Somebody has to stop these creeps from killing any more kids."
"It doesn't have to be you!"
"Look, why don't we go back to my place and we can talk about it. Okay?" Starsky said, trying to pacify his obviously upset and angry partner.
"We should have talked about this before you even suggested it to Dobey." Hutch pointed out, his tone still angry.
"You're right. We should have and I'm sorry. We can talk about it now. Okay?"
Truthfully, Starsky wasn't sure of his own motivations for wanting to do this. His previous experiences with Simon Marcus had left him leery of any kind of involvement with a cult.
Hutch continued his walk down the hallway heading towards the elevator. Taking his silence as a temporary truce, Starsky walked by his side. They left the building and climbed into the Torino, driving in continued silence towards Starsky's apartment. The silence between them was no longer strained but comfortable and familiar as Hutch's anger cooled.
Starsky lived on a narrow cannon road in an area that appeared secluded and remote but was actually well within the city limits and only a short distance from all of his favorite conveniences. He parked in front of the attached garage and the two friends walked up the wide wooden steps to the deck. Starsky used his house key to unlock the door and they stepped inside.
Starsky's apartment was large and spacious, built on an open floor plan with the living room at one end of the main room and the kitchen area at the other end. The bedroom was in a separate room along with the adjoining bathroom. Starsky shrugged out of his favorite black leather jacket and hung it neatly in the closet, along with his shoulder harness with his Smith and Wesson nestled in the holster. Hutch likewise shed his own tan leather jacket and shoulder harness with his own holstered 350 magnum. He casually tossed them at the end of the sofa. Starsky immediately picked them up and hung them in the closet with his own.
"Why don't you grab us a couple of beers," he suggested "While I call for a pizza? I'm starving."
"You're always starving." Hutch chided him, his good humor restored. "Just make my half vegetarian, not all that other crap you usually get."
"I'll just order two. One for you and one for me." Starsky said "And you can pay for it. I sprang for it the last time."
"In that case, get some breadsticks and a salad too with low fat ranch dressing on the side." Hutch said, as he wandered into the kitchen to grab a six pack of cold beer from the refrigerator.
"Yes, Mom." Starsky said with a grin, familiar after so many years with his partner's addiction to health food. Unlike Starsky who kept his trim, muscular build with very little effort, Hutch had to work at keeping the pounds off. Besides his health food diet, he also jogged five miles every morning and drank a disgusting shake for breakfast that he made himself. Hutch had tricked Starsky into drinking one once and even his cast iron stomach had felt nauseated for the rest of the day.
Hutch waited until after their food had arrived and they had eaten before bringing up the subject of Starsky going undercover to try and infiltrate the cult again.
"I still don't like the idea." he stated flatly.
"I know you don't. Do you have a better idea on how we can get close to them?"
Starsky said calmly.
"No." Hutch reluctantly admitted. "But you're going to need a good cover to get you in and we need a way to keep in touch in case something goes wrong."
"I figured I could say that I lost my job and that the cops keep hassling me because I don't have any place to go. Drop hints that I'm looking for a place to crash for awhile where I feel like I fit in."
"That could work. But, how are we going to stay in touch while you're out there on your own?"
"How about Huggy? I could get a message to him without raising any suspicions. Everyone on the streets knows that Huggy is a soft touch for anybody with a hard luck story." Starsky suggested, using the name of a friend and a valuable source of information for the two detectives.
"Okay…we'll use Huggy but if neither Huggy or me hears from you for forty-eight hours, then I'm storming the place with full reinforcements and I still want you to call me with updates whenever you can."
"Jeeze, Hutch…you sound like my mother." Starsky complained with a chuckle. He was well aware of how worried the big blond got whenever Starsky worked a case alone without Hutch by his side for backup, even though they were both competent detectives who could get the job done independently when need be. "Okay. Deal. And I promise to brush my teeth and say my prayers before I go to bed."
"Very funny, Gordo." Hutch replied with an answering chuckle. "Just promise me you won't do anything stupid without calling for backup first."
"Who, me?" Starsky said with an innocent expression on his face.
"Yes, you." Hutch said, well aware of his partner's impetuous and sometimes reckless behavior. He pointed what Starsky jokingly referred to as the Hutchinson finger at his laughing partner. "Promise me."
"Okay, I promise." Starsky agreed with his trademark grin. "Are we good now?"
"I still don't like it." Hutch said, determined to get in the last word and to voice his continued objections. "Are you sure you're not doing this because of what happened with Marcus?" He chose his words carefully. Starsky's volatile temper was legendary, especially when his professional judgment was questioned.
Starsky's eyes narrowed slightly as he gazed at Hutch but he held his temper in check. He knew that Hutch was only concerned about his safety and well being. After all, the big blond had suffered right along with him in the aftermath of his ordeal at the hands of the Marcus cult. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
"Okay, so maybe part of this has to do with what happened with Marcus." he admitted "Maybe I need to prove to myself that I won and he didn't. But that still doesn't change anything."
"Just as long as you remember and don't forget for a second how dangerous these guys can be." Hutch warned him unnecessarily.
"Don't worry. I'm not going to forget that." The two friends exchanged a glance that spoke volumes without either one of them saying a word. "Hey, why don't you crash here tonight? I don't feel like driving you all the way back to your place."
"Sounds good to me." Hutch readily agreed.
It wasn't unusual for one of them to spend the night at the other one's apartment, especially if they were too tired or had had too much to drink to drive home but Starsky sensed that Hutch needed that additional closeness, at least for tonight.
"Good. Then we can lay out our plan for Dobey in the morning and I can go under tomorrow night." Starsky told him.
"That soon?" Hutch said trying to keep the concern from creeping into his voice.
"Yeah, I figure I'll just hang around that neighborhood downtown where the cult's been seen the last couple of weeks and let them get used to seeing me being around before I start acting interested in what they're all about." Starsky explained
"Yeah…right. That makes sense." Hutch conceded.
"I get first dibs on the shower. It might be awhile before I get another one."
The two friends cleaned up the empty pizza boxes and beer cans, then proceeded to do their nightly rituals before turning in for a well deserved rest.
