Part II

Cooperation to protect his partner was one thing - staying still while they were talking of using him against his partner was another. The man seemed to still be in front of him from his voice so Hutch lunged upward and forward as hard as he was able. There was a momentary satisfaction of his shoulder meeting the man's solar plexus area and driving the air out of him.

That was unfortunately as far he got before someone else grabbed him and wrestled him to the ground. Then he heard the voice he'd heard on the phone in person. At least that meant the man no longer had a rifle trained on Starsky.

"Put your gun back away. Your own damn fault for talking about his partner like he wasn't even here. Idiot. Angel - get over here. If he'd had you do your job, this wouldn't have happened."

Feeling his sleeve being pushed up gave Hutch a sickening feeling of what was coming next, but the phone caller literally sat on him while using both of his hands to keep Hutch's arm still as the needle slipped in.

"How long is this going to take, Angel?"

"His size and the way he's fighting it? I'd guess ten to fifteen minutes. But once it takes effect, you should be good for at least six hours. Possibly twelve - but I'd bet more on the low end for a guy in his condition."

The man he'd hit started grousing.

"Ten to fifteen minutes? Geeze - couldn't you have gotten something that worked faster?"

"Sure - if you'd wanted me to establish an IV here in the alley and start him on a drip, I could have had him sedated in three minutes, but I was told you wanted something simple that would last awhile."

"Carl, quit your bellyaching and get the picture. Then help me load him in the car. We've already been out here longer than I'm comfortable with."

Despite his current predicament, Hutch was a bit startled at the way this Angel woman was reeling off her facts. Apparently she wasn't the vapid headed woman that Carl had been treating her as. But most likely, she was someone new to dealing with criminal situations. Like kidnapping a cop.

Someone grabbed a handful of his hair to force his head up, then Hutch heard the distinctive sound of a Polaroid camera ejecting a picture.

"That'll do. Load him up. We need to make sure his partner knows that contacting their precinct would be bad for Hutchinson's life expectancy."

Back at the table, Starsky's eyes kept straying back to the direction Hutch had disappeared in. Phone call shouldn't have taken that long, but the rest rooms were that direction as well. If Tabby had gotten on Hutch's nerves, he might have gone in to wash his face and cool down.

For her part, Tabby seemed to get a little more pleased with herself with every passing moment. Finally, just before Starsky was about to get up to check on him, she smiled and picked up her drink.

"I guess he's not as stupid as he sounds. He took the hint."

The dark blue eyes narrowed as they came back to focus on her.

"What is your problem with Hutch? Have you guys met before?"

"Ugh. Of course not."

The way her nose crinkled in a look of distaste was starting to really piss him off. The memories of the last four weeks were starting to crash and burn.

"So? What have you got against my partner?"

She just gave him an incredulous look like it should have been obvious.

"Have you been around him so long you don't even listen to him anymore?"

Now Starsky was looking at her as if she was speaking another language.

"Excuse me?"

"The man stutters."

That made him blink as he thought back to Hutch's remark when they'd come in the door together. 'I feel a little uncomfortable, buddy - couldn't we have just met somewhere for coffee?' And when he ran the introductions through his mind, yes - Hutch had stammered, but only a little. She had been wrong about him not hearing how Hutch spoke. Starsky wasn't only fully aware of Hutch's stammer, but had even learned to use it as a gauge of how Hutch was doing. The stammer really only came up on when Hutch was excited, tired or anxious.

Then what Tabby had just said replayed in his head - 'he's not as stupid as he sounds'.

"You are seriously telling me that you think Hutch is stupid because of a speech impediment? He's the smartest guy I know."

"Maybe you should expand your social circles."

That last hung in the air and even she seemed to realize that she'd taken a step too far. Starsky looked away and called over the waiter.

"I'll take the check. And call a cab for Miss Thompson."

"You aren't even going to drive me home?"

"After the way you insulted me and my best friend? You're lucky I'm not leaving you with the check."

Without another word, Starsky left the table and went to look for Hutch.