HI! Chapter 3
If was hard work, but here is chapter 3! Many thanks to provencepuss for her fantastic beta work, I know it was a hard job, but she was gorgeous and helped me so much. Without you I never made it, thank you!
"For God's sake, my friend needs help, damn it! If it isn't enough to have us as hostages; do you also want a dead policeman?"
Starsky's voice somersaulted because of worry over his injured friend, his eyes full of anger and hate. Cole squatted in front of Starsky and seized his chin with thumb and forefinger.He studied the outraged man like an interesting work of art; he was like a wounded lion, hard to figure and dangerous; he would watch him exactly and keep him on a short cord. By no he means was allowed to underestimate him. "You listen, pig. Take care of what you say. You saw what happened to your partner. Do you really want someone else to get hurt?"
He said with an icy-cold voice the gun still aimed at the young woman and the other hostages who still crouched completely shocked on the ground and trying to process what had just happened.
Starsky's voice was only a menacing whisper as he looked in Cole's cold grey eyes. "You can have me, but let my friend go."
"Nice try, but Ineed you both to get out of here again and preferably alive!"
"He needs help! I only want to help my friend, so whatever you want, leave him alone! If he dies, you have a dead policeman on your hands, and then no hostages in the world can help you!"
"We will see... Come on, brings him over here, I need to concentrate, so I do without moaning and groaning." Cole looked round searching.
"There, in the office, everybody moves! Hurry up!" Two kidnappers herded the group in the rear part of the bank. Cole got up and stared down at Starsky. "What's with you, do you need a special invitation? Get rid of this pretty couple here. And you Sam, check whether there is a phone in the office and pull it out."
Starsky breathed deeply, he had won this round. He nodded to the young woman.
'He is my partner! I care about him!' The look seemed to say. Starsky carefully put Hutch's arm around his neck, one arm under his shoulders and his knees and raised him slowly, like a father lifting his sick child. Because Hutch was several inches taller and few pounds heavier, this was not easy for him. . "Hutch, I thought your health diet would make you a little lighter! Heavens, you are as heavy as an elephant ...!" Starsky panted and gave in as a Hutch's complete weight pressed on him. Hutch could not suppress a scream as Starsky had to get a firmer grip a little bit.
"I'm sorry, buddy, I didn't want to hurt you; it will soon be over. Only a few steps."
Starsky swayed by the room, staggered through the door and looked for a comfortable place, where he could lay his friend down. The young woman had run ahead and had a sofa moved and put the cushions so that Starsky could put his friend down comfortably.
"Ok, partner, here we are. Just a moment, I'll take off your jacket before you completely ruin it."
The real reason was to have a better look at the shot wound and to use Hutch's jacket as a blanket. With the help of the young woman they pulled Hutch jacket first over the head and then helped him out of the sleeves.
The procedure was painful and Hutch dropped completely exhausted onto the pillows.
"Starsk... w-what... Oh God, it hurts....." Hutch gritted his teeth and breathed hard. Sweat trickled in streams down his forehead and cheeks. His face was ashen, his teeth chattered and his right hand felt searching for Starsky's. The young woman crouched at the head of the sofa and tried to calm Hutch down. "Sssht, everything is okay, just breathe nice and easy... easy... Ken," softly she stroked the wet hair from his forehead. "He's in shock, we need blankets! Press on the wound, he's losing too much, he's losing too much blood and cover him up with the jacket!" She got up and searched the cupboards in the small office.
Hutch's eyelids twitched and cracked open. His eyes wandered around in the room, his look cloudy and full of agony. Starsky was not sure whether his friend could see him clearly. Hutch's breath was spasmodic, he ached with pain. Starsky did what he could to calm his friend, he reached for his hand and clasped it while he exercised pressure on Hutch's wound.
"Sssht Hutch, easy... easy, look at me, everything is okay. We made it, mh? You know Hutch, I need to look at this wound immediately, this will hurt like hell."
He heard the young woman opening cupboard doors and rummaging through the stuff, and then he heard a yell. "Thank God, a first aid kit! Sergeant, here, this will help us," she knelt beside Starsky on the ground. Starsky looked at her surprised. "Lady, I don't want to annoy you, it was great of you to look after Hutch and I can really use every help, but you think, you can manage this? Shot wounds didn't look too good, particularly not, if they are from close up..."
"Stop talking! I'm a nurse and I have probably seen more blood and shot wounds in my life than you have."
"I wish...," murmured Starsky in a flat voice and stroked Hutch's cheek absent-mindedly.
He knew that he could trust Reeba. Of course he was familiar with shot wounds, more than once he already had to look after the victims who had been injured after a criminal offence. But this time it wasn't stranger here; this time his best friend lay bleeding on the ground and he himself was in no better shape. Starsky had never been so afraid in his life, he had never felt so helpless. The young woman seemed to know exactly, what she had to do and she stayed with it completely, besides she remained absolutely quiet.
"David, your partner needs help, fast." Reeba touched him softly at the arm. She noticed that he was briefly losing his control. To see his partner full of pain, his own injury and the shock had brought him to the edge.
Starsky pulled himself together and looked into her hazel eyes. "Please... Help him!" He whispered with a husky voice. "I don't want to lose him!"
"Of course I help him... "She took a deep breath, the detective controlled himself again. "I need water and towels, if possible blankets. "There is a basin over there…..and we must remove his shirt and t-shirt."
"Water, covers, towels... you got it." Reeba turned round to Hutch. The wounded officer still seemed to be in shock, his whole body trembled, but his gaze was a little clearer. His sky-blue eyes looked confusedly at Reeba. Reeba smiled and reassuringly wiped the bangs from his forehead. "Hello! Officer! You have given to us quite a fright! How do you feel?"
Hutch closed his eyes against the pain and dug the teeth in his lower lip, he trembled again.
"'M so...c-cold"
"It will get better better, Ken. But first I need to look at this wound." Hutch nodded slowly.
"S-Starks... where..."
"I'm here, Hutch." Starsky knelt again beside him and put a jug of full waters, a mug and some towels on the table. He had pressed a towel against his aching temple to stop the constantly flowing blood. He swayed a little, but he took Hutch's hand in his.
"You gonna be fine, Hutch, just me and thee, right?"
"Mmmh..." Hutch murmured and laboriously tried to keep his eyes open. Starsky sat down on the head of the sofa and laid Hutch's head carefully in his lap. Besides, he ran his hands repeatedly over Hutch's forehead. Silently he nodded to Reeba.
"What's with your head, you look awful, everything all right or you need a break?" she asked carefully. "Hutch doesn't get a break... I can handle this." Starsky growled without letting Hutch out of sight.
'Stubborn guy!' Reeba thought. 'But well, he's running on pure adrenalin, we will see how far he goes.'
Reeba had washed her hands and had tied together her shoulder-length curled hair in a ponytail. She sat down beside Hutch on the sofa and breathed deeply. Her hands trembled as she opened the belt buckle of Hutch's trousers and carefully shoved up his shirt and T-shirt. Reeba gritted her teeth and held her breath. The wound looked awful. The bullet had penetrated below the ribs and had left a black hole which was ugly and bleeding steadily. Reeba took a towel and wiped the blood off, after that she cleaned the wound as carefully as possible with water. She heard how Hutch ground his teeth and a deep groaning came from his throat. She touched the wound warily. Hutch dug his fingernails into Starsky's forearm and tried to suppress the pain. The blood had drained from his face his respiration was level and irregular. Reeba laid an ear on his left breast half and listened carefully.
"Easy Hutch, it's nearly over now.... you're doing good... " Starsky kept on and on calming his friend; he wiped the sweat from his forehead. Four thick notches of Hutch's fingernails were decorating his forearm now, showing him how much agony his friend was in. Starsky turned Hutch's face in his direction. "Look at me, Blondie, it's over, do you hear me?" Hutch closed exhausted his eyes, the unbearable pain and his partners' gentle voice lulled him, it brought him to a better place without pain and blood. "Hey, stay with me partner,look at me, and don't fall asleep." Starsky hit him easily against the cheeks. Hutch blinked, his look cloudy and full of pain.
A new painwave took over him and his fingers enclosed Starsky's forearms once more. He had the feeling, as if his left breast was aflame, pain crept up his back to his shoulders. Hutch screamed with pain and doubled over.
"God, Starsk... I ….do it any more... just hold me ...., please... hurts too much..." His voice was only a quiet whimpering. Starsky pressed Hutch's head to his chest and stroked reassuringly over the back.
"I'm holding you, partner... I'm holding you. "
Hutch's shouts and begging cut Starsky to the quick and made his blood run cold.
'God Hutch, I'm sorry... I don't want to hurt you ... I'm so sorry.' Reeba looked up and looked in Starsky's desperate face.
"I must turn him over onto his side, "she whispered in a flat voice; she knew exactly that this movement would cause more tortures for the young man. "I must be sure that the bullet has really come out." Starsky clasped his friend even more firmly and turned him carefully on his uninjured side. He could feel how Hutch's eyes tense and open with fear stared at him. However, he grew tired and his head fell forwards on the chest, a single tear escaped from his eye and rolled to his cheek.
"Awww, Hutch...." Starsky patted his forehead pushed back the sweaty bangs and rested his forehead against Hutch's. "I'm sorry, partner, I'm so sorry." "Don't worry, David, he's sleeping now. I still need to dress the wound and this will hurt him frightfully." Reeba sighed and searched the kit for dressing material. "How bad is it?" Starsky asked quietly, his voice full of fear. Reeba looked up, uncertainly whether she should tell the full truth or not. However, Starsky's begging look gave her the certainty that he wanted to hear exactly this.
"The bullet has smashed one or two ribs, a bit of bone must have injured his left lung. I fear his lung has collapsed. So he is having difficulty with breathing. I hope the bullet has caused no additional internal bleeding; I haven't seen an escape wound, so the bullet is still somewhere. We must try to stop the bleeding and he must not move. Raise him a little, so that I can better bandage him up." Reeba laid several packs and gauze bandages as an additional compression on the wound, then she wrapped several bandages firmly around Hutch's chest. "If we lay him on the side, he can breathe easier."
Starsky laid some pillows behind Hutch's backs and tried to make it as comfortable as possible for him. In the end he took off his own leather jacket and covered him with it. "Will he make it?" He asked quietly, his fingers stroked Hutch's sweat soaked hair.
"I hope so, at the moment we can't do any more for him than to keep him warm. He's still in shock." Starsky nodded slowly, when he looked up, the old lady, Granny, was standing in front of him and she passed him her thin summer coat.
"Here, it's not a lot, but I have seen how much he was shivering. I feel so sorry for your friend; he's such a nice boy." Granny shook her head sadly and wiped away a tear.
"Yes Ma'am he is." Starsky swallowed. "Thank you Ma'am."
"You pay attention to your friend. It looked as if he wanted to protect you."
'Yes, as he always does. Watching my back.'
"I'll do that Ma'am, thank you!" Starsky took the coat and covered Hutch carefully with it.
"You damned idiot, why did you do this?"
He suddenly felt his legs got soft like rubber and everything turned in front of his eyes. "Hey, officer, everything's OK? You look like a ghost, sit down." Reeba's gentle quiet voice let him look up.
'Maybe not a bad idea,' Starsky thought tiredly and allowed Reeba to guide him softly to the ground with his back to the sofa.
"Let me examine your head... Feeling of sickness... Dizziness... headaches?"
"Sometimes…, yes…, constantly…, doctor!"
"No doctor, only nurse, my name is Reeba, Reeba Hunter. May I call you David or you prefer 'Officer Starsky'?" she smiled.
"David is fine. - Now sister Reeba, which is you the Reeba on the left or the one on the right?"
"The one sitting directly in front of you, you fool! Let me see!" She touched carefully the deep gash on Starsky's temple.
"Wow! You can be glad that your skull is so hard. The bullet only touched you; you probably have a bad concussion. You are lucky, you could have been killed!" Starsky sighed and looked at his hands; they were still covered with blood. Hutch's blood.
"Well I likely would be, if this idiot of a partner... "He fell silent, and could not suppress his quiet sobbing. "God, it was my fault... if he dies...then..." Starsky stared again at his bloody hands and tried frantically to wipe the dry blood away. A cold shudder grasped him and then he suddenly broke down completely. The adrenalin rush was over. He buried his head in his hands and began to cry uncontrollably.
For a long moment Reeba was absolutely stunned when she saw the outwardly tough detective crying, however, then she took him in her arms and rocked him carefully like a small child.
"Hey, everything is ok... was not your fault... Ken won't die... sssht." In her job she often saw people weeping. But never a man who desperately weeping over his best friend like Starsky just did. Reassuringly she rubbed his back and consoled him, until eventually the sobbing and shivering stopped.
"I'm sorry about this... I'm behaving like a kid." Starsky energetically wiped away the last tears from the face. "You have suffered a serious head injury and shock; there's nothing for you to be ashamed of. You can be scared, too! "
She smiled now and cleaned his wound. "Anyway, I am used to men having a good cry with me!"
Starsky stared at her in confusion. "Especially one man who always makes use of it...if he comes home with bad marks from school again!" She laughed briefly but suddenly her eyes widened.
"Oh God, Nat... he'll be scared to death... He's waiting outside the kiosk; I told him I'd be right back... we wanted..."
"To go to the movies, I know! I have met him outside. Blond hair, brown eyes, 12 years old?" Reeba nodded and Starsky told her about the agreement with her son. "With a little bit of luck the cavalry would be just around the corner and the whole hubbub has ended. Nat is a great boy... like his mother!" He looked in her deep-brown eyes and pressed her shoulder.
"You are very strong; anyone else would go to pieces, but not you." "I am used to it, this is a part of my job, my life... people are always cracking up – you two are no exception," Reeba tried to grin. For the moment her son was safe, this was the most important thing. One thing at a time, one step after the other.
"You and your friend... you have known him for a long time?" Starsky nodded and got up. He took his old place at the head of the sofa again. "We met at the academy, nearly ten years ago. He is the best friend I ever had. He watches my back and so do I. We are like The Musketeers, all for one and one for all! Only this time this mad guy has taken it too literally."
Tenderly he stroked some blond strands of hair of Hutch's too pale face.
"He is like a big brother. He is my other half, my soul, my other me. If he dies... then something … of me dies, too." Helplessly he looked in Reeba eyes and saw a lot of understanding and love there. "David... don't say things like that. He will make it, but now he needs you." Her slender fingers ran through his thick curly head. "We made this together! Like The Musketeers!" Starsky gave Reeba a weak smile and thanked God for the fact that he had provided this strong woman.
Somebody was watching over them.
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A storm was brewing over the police headquarters of Bay City. It was not however a cleansing thunderstorm that let the heavy sultry air disappear, but rather a stormy hurricane which unloaded itself directly in the office of Captain Harold Dobey. The weighty swarthy man sat at his desk and roared so loud in the phone so that all present officers could understand every word in the neighboring squad room.
"Why am I the last person who knew anything about it?" The dispatcher at the other end of the telephone line just experienced his personal Waterloo. "Excuse me, sir, but I worked exactly according to regulation..."
"Oh Gosh!!! Shut up, will you? Since exactly when did you know something about regulations? If everybody here worked according to regulations, I could close my office immediately!" Dobey took a deep breath and then continued in a quieter tone. "When did Detectives Starsky and Hutchinson last check in?"
"This was about 2p.m. Sir, I have tried ..."
"You should not only try it, you should do it! Why didn't you inform me directly, instead of...? Oh forget it!"
With anger he banged the receiver on the innocent phone and ran his fingers through the hair. Two of his detectives were missing for more than four hours and he was the last person who heard about it. It didn't even make things easier, that the missing detectives were his favored duo Starsky and Hutchinson. He often criticized their mode of operation and sometimes they could irritate him to the blood; but they succeeded and only that counted. What he particularly admired at them was their deep friendship, without ifs and buts. They trusted each other blindly and kept each others back free.
It couldn't be good if they both simply disappeared in such a way without checking in or were not reachable. He was sure: One day they would be the death of him. Finally, he found out from dispatcher where their last call was. He was going to put up the receiver and send a patrol car when the phone rang.
"Dobey here... what, bank robbery? This is the homicide department; turn to Lieutenant Robbins... like what? You're… oh, yes, of course Lieutenant, what can I do for you?" Dobey listened in silence a long time, he wrinkled his forehead.
"Detective Starsky? Of course I know him; he's one of my men... Let me speak to the boy."
"Hello? Whom am I speaking to?" asked a youthful voice.
"I'm Captain Dobey Metropolitan Police, son. Tell me everything you know about Detective Starsky."
And now Dobey found out everything about the meeting with Starsky, the agreement immediately to call the police and the doubtful assault. "And you are sure that he said 'Starsky'?"
"Of course sir, he drives a red Ford Torino and he became really cross when I insulted his car."
"Oh yes, that's Starsky... OK what about his partner, Detective Hutchinson, was he with him?"
"No sir, he said, his partner was in the bank getting some money. Exactly like my mother, she's still in the bank. But, nothing happened to her, or?"
Dobey could hear the fear in the boy voice. "Nat remain where you are, I'll be there in fifteen minutes, you understand?"
"Yes sir." Dobey hung up and breathed deeply. Then he called his wife Edith, explained to her that he would too late for dinner again and was five minutes later he was on the way to the First National Bank.
"Anything new from the bank, Lieutenant Robbins?" Short of breath Dobey stood in front of the leader of the SWAT squad and wiped away the sweat of the forehead with a handkerchief. It was still around 95F and the air was muggy waiting for a storm.
"No sir, absolute silence. We have tried it by telephone and also with the megaphone; no answer. They are playing cat and mouse with us."
"Yes... and Starsky and Hutchinson are the cheese." grunted Dobey and looked with binoculars at the front of the bank. Nothing to see yet, the curtains did not move. "Here this is Nathaniel Hunter, he called us." Robbins pointed to the blond-haired boy sitting on the kerbside by a black and white and nervously played with his necklace.
"Hello Nathaniel, I'm Captain Dobey, Starsky's superior." Dobey passed a hand to the distraught boy. "Tell me, are you sure that you have heard two shots, it wasn't a car door or a backfire?" Nat energetically shook his head.
"No Sir, I'm sure, not two times one after the other. And afterwards all lights went out in the bank and nobody comes out. Did I make a mistake? David told me, I needed to get help to use the radio..."
Nat looked at him with big brown eyes.
"You did everything right, and have paid attention. We don't want to endanger your mother needlessly, do you understand?" Dobey knelt before the boy and pressed his arm.
"Everything's ok, we'll get your mother out there, promised!" He looked to Robbins. "Take him to the department, someone will look after him."
"No I'll stay here! Please, Sir, don't send me away... I promised to wait for my mother... and for David... he wanted to drive with me in this mad car!" Dobey sighted, reluctantly he nodded his head. "But you stay put, no extra tours, understood?" Nat smiled at him him.
"Yes, sir, of course!"
"OK! - Robbins, listen I don't want to interfere with your matters, but two of my men are in this bank, if the guys find out that Starsky and Hutch are policemen, they won't live to see another day. Block off everything and hold back the men, I want no rash actions. We need to try to get in contact with them."
Robbins nodded. "I will distribute my people on the opposite roofs. Two are there on the house and watching the door. I have also requested to the security for a police psychologist and ahm... an ambulance." Dobey nodded silently. He could only hope that this attack wouldn't end in a bloodbath with many innocent victims and Starsky and Hutch too.
TBC
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