Thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter, am very glad you are enjoying. Hopefully stuff will move much …well, quicker? After this chapter.
Has anyone read Crime & Punishment? School reading (for me), and highly recommended. Just a shameless plug, all right…here's the next installment.
Chapter 3
Findings
Baker and Parez were quietly chatting with one another as the car came to a stop. Baker unbuckled his seatbelt quickly, and gave Parez a smile and a grin of thanks, commenting on how he hoped they could talk later.
"Sure." Parez responded sweetly and gave the eager detective a wink, "Better hurry, I see Hutch is already here."
"Damn. Thanks again! See you!" Baker hoped out of the car and into the building, which room was a Mr. Walters in? He questioned the receptionist, who kindly pointed him in the right direction.
"343, Mr. Hutchinson has been waiting for you."
"Thanks!" Baker cried happily, and just as he was about to turn around, he stopped dead in his tracks as he came face to face with the purple-eyed kids from before, sitting in the waiting area. They didn't seem to notice him; the woman was busy yelling at the man, who had some sort of object in his hands.
"I can do it Dewy! Stop it!" John quickly brought the object to his mouth and started to report.
"Tistani, Greetings!"
"You're speaking in English you dolt! He will not understand that!" John looked flushed, and was about to say something when he caught sight of Baker.
"Oh hello! We were waiting for you!"
"How did you…know I was coming here? And how did you get here so fast?" These kids were getting creepier and creepier by the second, he decided to just ignore them, and continued walking towards his destination.
"We followed you! Well, not really, you guys were going so slow…"
"Told you!" Dewy shouted proudly "Inferior machines."
"So we decided to just check your possible destinations…apparently you had an 82 percent chance of coming into this building, than anywhere else in this…what is it? City?"
Baker kept on walking, this was just too weird. Too odd. Get to Hutch, and say you ran into some trouble, don't tell him what…ignore them…
"Wait a minute." Baker paused, and turned around to face them. "How did you figure that out?"
"We have our ways." John nodded mysteriously, and Dewy rolled her eyes.
"We asked another earthling who was at the scene, said there was a…mur..mur…"
"Murder!" John admitted, a bit upset his fun was gone. "Said most likely you would come here, or back to your headquarters. And since you turned this way…" John motioned with his left. "You couldn't be going back to you headquarters."
"Ah right, makes sense." And Baker quickly opened the door numbered '343' and quickly shut it with a sigh of relief. Baker laughed happily and then was silenced as he caught Hutch's icy glare. Oh God…he was in trouble…again.
"Er…sorry about being late. Ran into some…" Baker coughed into his fist "Trouble, trouble…ran into some trouble. Aha, how's Starsky by the way?"
"He's fine…" Hutch lost some of his annoyance, and was growing slightly suspicious. However, they were at work, and he would ask Baker what was going on later. "Find anything on Walters?"
"Not really…" Baker responded in relief. "Only that he had no family, and that he was constantly at work…arrived early, left late."
"Got the same thing from his employer, wasn't working on anything special, just figures, numbers…" Hutch trailed off and looked at the shell that once held life before him. "Wonder why he was killed…he was singled out, late at night, when no one else was around."
Suddenly there was a pounding at the door. A loud voice penetrated.
"Hutch! Hutch! May we speak with you? It is quite urgent you see and…Dewy! Stop it! I said I would call! No! Give it back-" the voice trailed off and wild whistles followed.
"That is odd." Baker's neck turning a bright shade of red. "Maybe an ex-lover? Knew his schedule?"
"Baker" Hutch's voice lowered "Mind telling me what's going on?"
"With what?" Baker winced at the abnormal pitch the whistles managed to reach. Hutch was wincing as well, and he raised an eyebrow.
"With that."
"That? Oh I have no clue." Baker nodded, gladly telling him the truth. Hutch always found out when he was lying, always. His heart skipped a few beats as he noticed Hutch moving towards the door.
Baker hadn't noticed the pathologist off to the side, until he started opening at the wound, about to remove the bullet.
"Hutch! I wouldn't…" Turning back to his partner and closing his eyes in despair. He had opened the door.
"Huh, must've left…" Hutch had stepped out into the hallway, looked both ways, and Baker sighed with relief. Good, the kids had gotten scared and left. His heart was beating easier, that is until he saw his partner being plowed down into the ground.
"Hutch!" The woman was on top of Hutch, and object pointing at his head.
"Now earthling, tell me where is the Star's Key…or your earthling parts shall be splat…splut…"
"splattered." John offered, crawling towards the scene, bruises and blue cuts on his face.
"Right. Like he said. All over these filthy colorless walls…"
"Dewy." John sighed desperately "That's no way to treat the holder of the Star's Key. We don't want war yet." Hutch was desperately trying to struggle out of this woman's grasp, but found in disbelief that he couldn't move one bit.
"Ha! Did not know earthlings were so weak!"
"Ok, h-hold it you two!" Baker had gotten out his weapon and was pointing it at Dewy's head. "Let him go."
"Now look at what you've done! Mr. Authority man, just shoot her! Let her learn her lesson."
"Thanks for that partner."
"Shoot her!" John insisted, imitating the figure of Baker's gun and the noise he heard on some of the videos. "Pts-sheeww…easy!"
Poor Hutch was just watching the woman give him taunting faces, her tongue going over her lips slowly, and her purple-eyes holding that insanity often held in criminals. And what did they want with Starsky?
"Baker!" Hutch cried "Do something!" At that Dewy looked to Baker, and found John already looking at him with affection.
"Oh! You are also one who makes earthly foods? How delicious! Dewy, let Hutch go! Let's eat!"
"John, I was chosen for this assignment for my military capabilities, not my eating habits."
"Come on, I-"
"I'm warning you two, I don't want to shoot…" And was surprised when both of them answered.
"Shoot!" He looked to Hutch for help, but he was to busy searching for away to escape. So Baker shrugged his shoulders, and well, shot a warning shot. Both winced at the noise, though only one felt the pain, and Dewy snorted as she noted it to be her partner.
"You missed me," She taunted, but got off Hutch to check on her partner. "You ok, John?"
"No! Look! Just missed my gager." Blue was spewing all over his red sweatshirt. "Your fault." He pouted with a wince, and placed his hand over the wound. Hutch scrambled up, and quickly got his gun out.
"You two are under arrest…" Baker was left wondering how in the world did the kid get hurt? He wasn't aiming anywhere near him.
"Ah, you are crazy." Dewy waved them off. "We were just having some fun, see? No weapon." Dewy laid out the 'weapon' before them, it turned out to be the object they were speaking into earlier "We were not going to kill you…how could we? You are the only ones that have information on the Star's Key" now, here was a moment of revelation for Baker. When Dewy said the word…it wasn't 'Starsky' anymore…it made sense once he thought about it.
"And what do you want with my partner?" Hutch questioned hotly, his gun still trained on his former captor. John spoke up in confusion.
"I thought the food maker was your partner? We don't want anything to do with him! We want the Star's Key." John let his hand free of where the wound once was and held up the bullet. "Ah! I see! Element, lead. I always attracted this element. Comes in handy back home."
Hutch's hold on his gun slightly loosened as he witnessed the kid get the bullet out. This had to be a dream, a nightmare…noting Baker was here with him. Though, he noticed the pathologist had just lost all of his color and was sinking to the floor.
That never happened in any of his nightmares, the only role the pathologist every played was uncovering a lifeless Starsky.
"What...what are you two…?"
"Well…" John stood up, and Dewy supported him as he did so. He was almost completely healed, but it still took some time. "Seeing as you are the current keeper of the Star's Key…" John let out a bark of laughter "I am quite in awe of you sir! We have many questions, one being how you got past the Nirvanis, and two…" Dewy broke him off and continued.
"We are from the planet Tristialliax; we have come in search for the Star's Key, as our planet is dying. If you refuse to 'lend' it to us, we shall have to use force and invade your planet." Dewy grinned "And then I can kill you."
"What?" Hutch noticed that Baker was to his right, looking just as lost as he was. "There are no such things as aliens…" Maybe it was a dream, hadn't he watched the late show with Starsky last night?
Now this was a shock. A great shock to the Tristians. How could Earth not know of other life forms in the universe? They visited almost every couple of years!
"No such thing! Aliens?" John knew that was a phrase meant for outer-earth beings…and then some. "We Tristians have helped so much here! What about…." John racked his mind. "The pyramids! We helped you there! And Atlantis? What else? There is more! How about the sloth! An outer earth species! From Tristialliax! You cannot say you did not know of this! We may have ignored you for the last couple of centuries, but that gives you no right to ignore galactic species!"
John was pacing throughout his entire speech, and Dewy was watching with admiration, she had never seen John filled with such anger. Hutch had put his gun back into his holster and was no moving towards John, his palms facing downwards to the ground.
"Ok, kid…settle down, my friend and I here are going to take you somewhere where they can help you. All right?" John was so disheartened; the earthling was speaking to him with a tone that was reserved for Tristian children when they told stories of the Gold Monged.
A tone of disbelief and amusement.
"No." John kept trying to insist. "You are the only one, sir. You have knowledge of the Star's Key, whether or not you do not know its use…or its purpose in the universe."
"Listen..." Hutch began but was interrupted by Baker.
"Aliens huh? Well that's neat and a key for the stars, which you believe is here?" Baker nodded at Hutch, hoping he would lose this misunderstanding as well. You know, after briefly questioning his sanity, Baker was starting to really believe these kids…
"We know it is here." Dewy commented. "In California, at least."
"Wait a minute, are you trying to say that you are looking for a key?"
"Have not we been saying that? I swear, you earthlings….are so…"
"Idiotic." John provided harshly, still upset over their lack of belief in life in the universe. Did they really think they were that special as to be the only beings in existence?
"Well, I'm sorry, but we don't have the key. Now if you excuse us, we are investigating a murder here. And if you don't want to end up in a mental hospital I suggest you go back to your parents, and leave us the hell alone." Hutch snapped back, and turned sharply and slammed the door to 343.
Baker was left outside, outside with the two aliens. Oh he believed them, how couldn't he? He shot one of them! He mused over Hutch's reaction…he didn't even follow through on the arrest….then again Hutch did have a soft spot for kids. No matter how odd they were, so long as they weren't murderers.
"Uh, sorry for the um…" Baker started nervously, the air dreary and uncomfortable, like whenever he was around Hutch and Starsky when they were together.
"It's all right. We are hungry though. Would you have some food?" John questioned, his anger already subsiding.
"Sure, I know a great place, The Pits." Baker glanced at his watch; ten minutes till…he doubted Hutch would mind. Besides, he'll just say he was looking for some information.
"The Pits? How exciting! Come Dewy! Let us try the food here!"
"Hutch?" Baker tapped on the door. "Hutch? Well, I'm going to be at Huggy's if you need me. All right? Going to ask for some information on the Walters case!" No answer. Baker shrugged and led the way. Dewy kept glancing over her shoulder, wondering if all earthlings were so odd.
"So, you guys wouldn't happen to have a nice speedster outside, would you? A spaceship….?" The voice trailed off and Hutch leaned away from the door, the crease on his forehead getting deeper.
Hutch began pacing inside the room, muttering under his breath, casting glances to the fainted pathologist in the corner. Aliens? How? Impossible! He just knew he had to get away from that hallway, as if these past few months were stressful enough! Now his mind was conjuring up aliens? Nah they were just kids…just slightly obsessed kids who managed to convince Baker (which wasn't so hard, that kid was willing to believe anything…)
Just kids…orange kids, that when shot bled blue, that when shot faltered only momentarily.
Sadly Hutch glanced to the still form of Daniel Walters.
"So what Mr. Walters…aliens? I wish Starsky were here…he'd get a kick out of it."
To be continued…
Disclaimer: The Tristians did not help with the building of the pyramids; rather it was the Fralagian race, much more helpful when it came to Earth. Sorry for the confusion.