Chapter 4

Starsky braced himself as he walked, or rather limped into the office. Ball sat behind his desk like a toad, fat and formless and gloating at the obvious discomfort of the cadet. The brunet pulled himself upright and marched smartly into the room and stood to attention in front of the desk, his face an impassive mask as he awaited his fate. His body hurt and he could feel every punch of the Sergeant's fists as if he were beating him afresh this morning. He kept his mouth shut and vowed he would do nothing to give the man any added fuel to kick him out with.

Starsky was sure this was it. He was going to be dismissed. He deserved it, after all. He'd had sex with the man's wife and after Carly's performance when Ball had walked in on them, he didn't think the woman would have explained to her husband that she's seduced the young cadet. No, it was Starsky's mistake through and through and he realised with grim certainty that he'd blown any chance of being a cop. He stared straight ahead as Ball appraised the cuts and bruises on his face and the slight hitch when he breathed too deeply.

'You made a big mistake last night Cadet. At the time I was too angry to say anything, but fortunately for you, my temper has cooled this morning. What do you have to say for yourself?'

'Sir, sorry sir' the brunet responded immediately, and he meant it. He'd never wanted to hurt the man, even though Ball had seemed to have it in for him from the word go.

'We aint in the Army now Cadet. A simple "sorry" would have done' Ball snapped.

Starsky stared straight ahead. Shit, he couldn't even apologise correctly! 'Sorry Sir' he said again, a little less forcefully.

'So, what do you think I should do with a police cadet who can't keep his dick to himself?'

The brunet remained quiet. It was one thing to be dismissed; it was something else entirely to suggest it himself and so he said nothing.

'What's up Cadet? Cat got your tongue? I asked you a question.'

'I don't know Sir.'

'Ordinarily, it would mean instant dismissal. It's a disciplinary offence of course. But I like ya. I like that true grit spirit ya got there, so I'm gonna give you a choice. You can either see if ya can stick it out here, or ya can sign that' Ball pushed a piece of paper and a pen towards the curly haired cadet. Starsky's eyes lowered and he read, with surprise, the words on the printed form

Application for release from Police Academy

I David Michael Starsky do hereby tender my resignation from Bay City Police Department Academy……

He looked up sharply. 'No Sir!'

'Believe me boy, I'm giving you the easy option here. All ya have to do is sign the goddamned paper and you can walk out. Your dirty little secret will be safe with me. Or ya can stay, but I aint gonna make it easy for ya. I can be a nasty little bugger when the spirit moves me an' if ya stay, I promise I'm gonna make your life a livin' hell. So what's it to be?'

Starsky stood tall and came smartly to attention ignoring the pull of the bruises in his stomach and chest. 'Permission to talk freely Sir?'

'Granted'

'I had no idea she was your wife, Sir, an' I aint gonna walk away from the only job I've ever truly wanted to do just coz of one mistake. I'm gonna make plenty of 'em, I know I am, but….'

Ball grinned coldly at him. 'You just made your first one already son. Now get outa my office. You missed breakfast already, let's see if ya can miss lunch and dinner too huh?'

Starsky turned smartly and walked out of the office. He felt dizzy with relief that he still had his cadetship and at the same time he wondered just what Ball had in mind for him. Just what mischief could the Sergeant get up to on a small campus like this?

As he got outside the office, he could see his friends all making for the classroom on the far side of the square. This brunet's stomach rumbled. He'd not had time to eat anything and neither had he had a drink, but he ignored his thirst and trotted over to join Hutch as they filed into the classroom.

'What did Ball want?' the blond hissed as they took their seats arranged in a horseshoe around a central empty area.

'Um, nuthin' Starsky said, his eyes refusing to meet Hutch's. In the few weeks he'd know the blond, Starsky found that Hutch's eyes, the windows to the blond's soul were so piercing they seemed to drill into him. They were the sort of eyes he could hide nothing from and now he was worried that he would give something away. He'd got the measure of Ball and thought he understood the Sergeant's dilemma – either dismiss Starsky and have to face the ignominy of explaining that his own wife had been unfaithful, or keep the brunet around and make his life hell, and just to be fair, he'd given Starsky the choice. Well, he'd made his choice and now he was in for the long haul. He sat quietly next to Hutch and Colby as Ball and the other drill instructor Hammond walked into the room. All the cadets stood and saluted and then sat down again as the two Sergeants scanned the room.

'Today's first class is on first aid' Hammond began. 'In the line of your business, you're going to come into contact with a lot of injuries, some minor, some more serious. Remember, this is a dangerous profession and you or your partner's life may depend on your knowledge of simple first aid.'

'We're gonna have a practical session first and then after that a little pop quiz to end with' Ball continued. '…and just to make it interesting, for each wrong answer you'll drop and give me 10 push ups. Got that?' There was a general nodding of heads around the room and the quiz began. They went through recovery positions, and what to do for shock and how to reduce bleeding and for a while everyone concentrated on the lessons. At the end of the practical, Ball called for them all to take their seats for the quiz.

Starsky was at the end of the horseshoe and he listened to the questions and answers mentally ticking off those he knew. They were simple questions to begin with – what's the average resting pulse rate? What colour is venous blood? If an artery is cut, what happens? He knew the answers to them all and he felt reasonably confident as Ball turned to him.

'Cadet Starsky, how many bones are there in the human body?'

The brunet stared at him, his mind a blank. The only answer he could think of was "a lot" and he knew that wouldn't cut it. His mouth dried and he shook his head. 'Dunno Sir' he said quietly. Ball grinned

'Oh dear! The cadet doesn't know! Anyone got the answer to help him along?'

At his side, Hutch put up his hand reluctantly. '206 Sir' he said apologetically. As an ex medical student, the answer came to him easily

'Correct. Cadet Starsky, drop and give me 10' Ball said with obvious relish. He watched as the curly haired cadet got off his chair and onto the floor. As he stretched his legs out behind him and placed his hands at shoulder height, the pull on his cracked rib was enormous and the first effort to raise his body off the floor failed as the knife like pain ran from his chest through to his back. Biting down on his bottom lip, he tried again and this time managed to accomplish all ten push ups without a break, although he'd broken out into a sweat and was panting as he got to his feet and retook his seat. Sergeant Hammond watched the brunet's efforts curiously. Starsky had always been one of the fittest of the cadets and this wasn't like him. He noticed the cuts and bruises on his Cadet's face and vowed to ask the young man about it when he got a moment.

Ball however seemed to be enjoying the brunet's discomfort and had started a second round of questions. Again, each of the cadets got a relatively easy question which they managed to answer. Until it was once again Starsky's turn.

'Cadet, explain the mechanisms of a bruise'

Again, the brunet looked blank. 'Um, ya get hit an' they turn black?' he offered.

'Ohh, and wrong again! And another ten from ya please' Ball grinned with relish.

Starsky got off the chair and got down onto the floor again, feeling small; a failure; belittled in front of the entire class. He lay on the floor and positioned his hands and as he started to push himself up, he felt something heavy on his back. While he'd been preparing himself, Ball had walked over and now the Sergeant's big foot was pressing down into the middle of his back. He grunted as he tried to raise himself up against the added weight and then screamed once as the ends of his cracked rib grated together and his arms gave out.

Immediately, Hammond crossed the room and knelt by the side of the sweating cadet as Ball walked away unconcerned.

'Starsky, are you ok?' Hammond asked

''M'fine' the brunet grunted.

'Son, you're far from fine. Let me look at you. Are you sick?'

'No, I'm fine Sir, honest' Starsky said, trying to get up. He winced again and breathed deeply as his hand went automatically to wrap around his chest. Hammond looked worried and stood up.

'Ok cadets. Lunchtime. Dismissed. Um…Cadet Starsky can you hang back?'

As the rest of his classmates filed out to the canteen, Starsky, Ball and Hammond remained behind and as Hammond started to question the brunet, Ball stood a little behind his colleague, looking daggers at Starsky.

'You gonna tell me what's happened?' Hammond asked.

'It's been brought to my attention that there was some fighting last night' Ball said calmly. 'Cadet Starsky was at the centre of it.'

Hammond looked curiously at his cadet. 'Is that right?' he asked.

Starsky stared straight ahead, refusing to look at either Sergeant as Ball stepped up to him and with his night stick poked Starsky in the stomach, targeting the bruise he'd inflicted the previous night. The curly haired cadet grunted, bent over slightly, and then pulled himself upright again. Hammond laid a hand on his shoulder.

'I asked a question Cadet, were you in a fight last night?'

Again, Starsky stared straight ahead and Hammond sighed. 'Take off your shirt, let me take a look'

Without looking at either man, Starsky did as he was told and reluctantly pulled his shirt and tee shirt off over his head, standing naked from the waist up as Hammond whistled softly at the bruises and swellings that marred the olive toned stomach and chest. 'David, why didn't you tell us? Or at least why didn't you report yourself sick this morning?'

'I said I'm fine Sir' the young cadet grunted. 'I didn't want to make a fuss.'

'How do you feel? Can you go on today?'

'Yeah, I'm good.'

Hammond sighed. 'OK, get yourself dressed, and then go and get some lunch. And Cadet…. See me this evening. I have no alternative but to put you on report.'

As the Sergeant walked out of the classroom, Ball grinned at Starsky. 'Nice. Very nice. Let's see how long you can keep this up huh? This is just the start. That piece of paper is always ready for you to sign. Any time. Just let me know when you've had enough.'

Starsky glared at the Sergeant, biting back the words he so desperately wanted to spit out at the fat man. 'Won't happen….Sir.'

'No? Well maybe we should just let hunger and thirst argue with ya for a while. While your friends are having lunch, I want you to run twice round the perimeter of the compound. That's two miles. Its 12:30 now. You have half an hour before you need to be back for afternoon classes. I wouldn't hang around if I were you. Bein' late for class is an automatic demerit.'

As Starsky set off at an easy lope through the heat of the midday sun, Ball snickered to himself. He'd break the cocky young guy soon, he was sure of that.