Chapter 7

With his ribs taped and with the pain meds kicking in, Starsky started to feel better and a little more confident about himself. As he walked from the MO's office, he felt absurdly proud of himself that he hadn't disclosed his secret of how he got his injuries, and he hoped that it may go some way to showing Ball that he could be trusted. The remnants of his migraine disappeared as the morning wore on and once the nagging pain in his temples had dissipated, Starsky was better able to concentrate on the lessons of the morning.

The first lecture of the day was on hostage negotiation and was more a case of what not to do rather than a list of pre requisites. For the most part, the lecturer went through various scenarios each of which culminated on "and then wait for the professionals to come". There was very little interaction during the talk with the cadets and Starsky found it restful just to sit and listen rather than have to prove himself every step of the way.

After coffee came another couple of hours on the shooting range and even there, Ball had the good sense to leave the brunet alone. There was nothing the Sergeant could teach the ex soldier about firing weapons and Ball didn't want to give the curly haired cadet another chance to shine. So Starsky stayed in the background and took his turn on the range quietly, determined not to bring attention to himself but at the same time, unwilling to do anything other than his best, his target returning with all six shots in the gold again. Ball said nothing, skirting around the brunet's success and concentrating instead on what the other cadets were doing. Hutch and Colby were also excellent marksmen. The blond professed to never having held a gun in his life, but still managed to make a neat grouping of four holes near the centre of the target and Colby also shot as though he was born to it. By the end of the morning all three were pretty happy with their performance and went off to lunch laughing and joking.

As they sat down at the lunch table, Hutch and Colby once again tried to convince the brunet to tell them what had gone on to make Ball so mean towards him, but the curly haired cop remained tight lipped, turning the conversation back towards his two friends.

'Why so interested in me anyway?' he asked as he took another bite of the hamburger drenched in chilli sauce.

'Coz no-one else has the same effect on Ball as you do.' Hutch mumbled through his salad.

'That's coz I'm an annoyin' bastard' the brunet grinned

'Well yeah, but it still don't explain why he's so hell bent on makin' your life a misery. What did ya do, shoot his pet dog or somethin' Colby asked.

'Yeah, that's me. Pet murderer extraordinaire. Anyhow, how come you're so useful with a Colt? Done much shootin' before?' Starsky asked, diverting the questioning from himself to the dark haired recruit opposite.

Colby's eyes slid sideways 'Just lucky I guess' he mumbled evasively.

Hutch watched the two friends and snorted. 'Great! The two of you ought to get a chat show on TV. It'd be the most boring show on the box. What is it with you guys? Ya both got gruesome pasts or somethin' to hide? We all have skeletons in our closets ya know.'

Both Colby and Starsky ignored the question. The one thing the brunet wanted to talk about less than Ball was his tour of Vietnam. Having only recently come to terms with his memories himself, he knew damn well he didn't want to share them with anyone else. To do so would first put any would-be friends off for life and second would make them pity him. And pity for David Starsky was like a death sentence – not something he would invite under any circumstances.

Across from their table, Sergeant Ball looked up from his lunch and frowned at the three older cadets. What were they talking about? Was it him? Was the curly haired one laughing at him behind his back? Well, he'd had a morning's reprieve. This afternoon, Ball resolved to get back with the plan. He felt he was getting close – getting under the brunet's skin. The small Sergeant felt that if he could only push home his advantage, he'd force Starsky to resign and have the annoying brunet out of his hair for good. He just needed to keep up the pressure, but at the same time, he needed to keep it as subtle as possible. It wouldn't do to call attention to what he was doing. Slow and easy, that's' how he needed to play it. Keep on upping the ante, and sooner or later, even the strongest guy would crack, even that one curly haired cadet. With a wry smile, Ball finished his plate of stew, put the dirty plate on the trolley by the side of the room and left, Hutch's laugh ringing in his ears as he left the canteen.

After lunch, the three made their way back to the classroom. Starsky had made no mention of his injuries to the other cadets, not even to Colby. Only Hutch and Ball knew the full extent of them and while Hutch was sworn to secrecy, Ball had other reasons for keeping them quiet. Although the brunet's face was cut and bruised, the others had only been told that he'd been fighting. In a perverse sort of way, it added to his kudos with the group – he was a rebel figure and some of the younger guys looked up to him. They did it not just because of his rebellious nature, but also because he seemed to have a way with him; a way of not looking down at them – of treating the younger guys as equals. And they reciprocated by following him. Sergeant Hammond had noted that all three of the older recruits had leadership qualities, but both Hutch and Starsky seemed to have a natural ability to engender trust in others – a fine quality in a good cop and one to be fostered.

As the twelve recruits sat back in their horseshoe round the central space chatting quietly, Ball walked into the room and immediately there was quiet.

'This afternoon we'll be looking at how to deal with suspects who are combative. Many times, you'll be out on patrol and will come to arrest someone who is drunk, or high on drugs or is just as ornery as hell and won't come quietly. In those circumstances, although BCPD does not condone acts of cruelty, you may need to exert some force to arrest your collar, for his, or more importantly your own safety.'

There was a general ripple of comment around the room and Ball took in all the cadets with a sweep around the horseshoe of attentive faces.

'Chemical agents might not be effective on mentally disturbed individuals or those under the influence of drugs or alcohol' Ball continued 'Some individuals become more combative when sprayed with Mace, individuals with preexisting respiratory conditions may suffer serious medical problems and sprays may cause discomfort or harm to innocent bystanders. You may have heard of Tazers or non lethal projectiles. BCPD doesn't use these deterrants as they are both proved to be either ineffective to certain indiviuals or can, in fact, cause life threatening injuries of their own. So, what are your suggestions for how to deal with a suspect who's fighting back?' the Sergeant looked around the room.

'Hit 'em' one of the younger recruits shouted out.

'And immediately face a law suit for assault' Ball grinned.

'Shoot into the air?' Hutch offered.

'That might stop them for a second or two, but it wastes bullets and it won't subdue them for ever' Ball responded. 'I'm thinking about something that's gonna give you control over your suspect for as long as you need. Anyone any other suggestions? Cadet Starsky, what about you?'

The brunet looked up. He thought he knew the answer. They used similar techniques in the Army to subdue fighters or as punishments, but he didn't feel he wanted to answer, feeling that it would probably lead somewhere painful, Ball wouldn't single him out unless he could make an example of him. But stil…

'Subversary holds Sir' he said quietly.

'Joint locks, yeah. Good, and as you came up with the answer, perhaps you'd like to come up here and help me demonstrate?' Ball asked with undisguised glee.

'Wouldn't be my first choice, no' the curly haired cadet muttered under his breath as he got up slowly and made his way to the centre of the horseshoe. The Sergeant stood beside him, looking up slightly at the tall brunet.

'The good think about these holds is that they're just as effective, no matter how big your opponent is' he explained. 'The theory holds that by using the stimulus of pain in just the right amount, law enforcement officers can alter resistive behavior without causing injury to subjects. The most common forms of joint locks are armlocks. An armlock is a single or double joint lock that hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint, that is, takes it outside it's normal range of movement' Ball continued as Starsky watched him warily.

Suddenly, the small Sergeant grabbed a hold of the brunet's left arm at the wrist, with surprising speed, he rotated the arm, his other hand in the crook of Starsky's elbow and as the cadet grunted in pain, Ball folded Starsky's arm almost double so that his wrist landed between his shoulder blades and forced the brunet to lean forwards, sweat beading on his forehead. The added pressure to his chest set off his ribs aching again and Starsky's vision turned red as he fought for breath. Ball put his mouth close to Starsky's ear.

'Plead with me to let you up an' I will boy.'

'Never' Starsky grunted from tightly closed teeth. He felt his arm forced a little further up his back, his shoulder joint screaming for release.

'Make it easy on yourself an' just ask me to stop. Tell the others how you're a coward an' ya can't take it.'

'Go fuck yourself Sir' the cadet managed to grunt.

'You're hurtin' him Sir. We get the picture' Hutch said from the sidelines. 'It's effective, we get that' the blond added desperately.

The powerplay between Sergeant and cadet lasted a moment longer before Ball gave a final joint creaking push and let go, looking satisfied as Starsky sank to his knees on the floor, massaging his shoulder.

'Even with the toughest flakes, that will work every time. 'But to keep a subject down we have a couple more tricks up our sleeves. The first is pressure points. Like any device or physical maneuver, pressure points - the controlled application of pressure to a specific area - should not be considered the final word on subject control. But pressure points have been used for thousands of years in the martial arts and are again a great way to subdue a larger opponent. Pressure points are very common and located all over the body but the one I've found most useful is the one that causes the gag reflex.' Ball grabbed Starsky by his arm and helped him to his feet. The brunet wondered if he should just fight back and have done with it, but decided against that, and waited for the next maneuver.

'Okay, the gag reflex point is located on the middle of the lower, anterior neck, just above the sternal notch – the dip below the Adam's apple in a man. Now I know some of you will be hesitant, thinking that this area is weak and that you are going to damage the throat by pushing here, but let me assure you that while pressing here will feel uncomfortable, you are not going to damage the neck at this location. That is because underneath the point are rings of thick cartilage. In order for this to work, though, you have to press quickly. If you press slowly, then the person can resist because the gag reflex, which is part of the breathing system.' Ball made a jabbing motion with his middle finger straight at Starsky's neck. The brunet felt immediately as though he were going to throw up onto the Sergeant's shoes and the small man grinned, continuing his explanation.

'If you have done this correctly you will see the person back up quickly. How far he backs up is in direct proportion to how hard and how fast you push. It is possible to have him launch himself into the wall behind him with all his muscles, but we wouldn't want to do that to cadet Starsky, would we? In order to get even more effect, this time I'm going to run my fingers on the bone edge of the top part of his sternal notch hard so that I'm rubbing bone as I press the gag reflex. The bone part is the level 1 pressure point stimulation and the sharp pain will take away any resistance he may have had from your finger or thumb entering this area. Done correctly you should see an enhanced effect.'

Ball completed the maneuver again and despite preparing himself, Starsky shot back, falling against the wall as the back of his head hit the brickwork. He fell to the floor, clutching at his neck as he tried to suck in air. He felt like his throat had collapsed in on itself and stars appeared in the periphery of his vision as he heard himself making gurgling attempts at breath. Meanwhile, Ball had turned back to the class.

'Of course, these are advanced techniques and I wouldn't want you to be using them just yet. This was just an example of what we can do when we have to. Ok gentlemen, I think that's enough for the afternoon. Have some coffee, relax and I'll see you in class first thing in the morning.'

Ball walked slowly to the door pausing to bend down by the brunet as he made to leave. The Sergeant put his finger under the cadet's chin and raised it up so that he cold see the watering indigo blue eyes.

'Wanna sign the paper yet?' he asked softly.

Starsky's throat didn't work properly to allow him a verbal answer, but his shook his head violently as his defiant eyes fixed on his Sergeant's. The look said it all. "I won't sign until hell freezes over and there aint nothing you can do to make me."