CHAPTER NINE
Hutch followed the directions and found the abandoned fire road without any problem. The broken down gate was standingopen, so he carefully pulled off the highway and onto a rutted dirt road that was overgrown with weeds. He had to slow down to a crawl as the car bounced along a treacherous path that led deep into the woods. He had driven for almost twenty minutes when two men suddenly stepped out in front of him, both cradling a twelve gauge shotgun in their hands. Hutch pulled to a stop and slowly climbed out of the car, carefully keeping his hands where they could see them.
"Detective Hutchinson, I presume." The shorter, heavyset man said. "How nice of you to join us." His eyes were cold and unfeeling; he had the face of a career criminal who had nothing to lose and no remorse. "Throw your weapon over here to me and don't try anything stupid. I'd hate to blow your brains out right here."
"Where's my partner?" Hutch demanded, as he used two fingers to pull his gun out of his holster. He knelt down and slid it across the ground to the other man. As he straightened up, the man's companion, a large black man, slowly walked towards him, carefully keeping his gun aimed at Hutch's chest.
"Your partner is waiting for you." The white man, who appeared to be in charge, said. "Give my friend your cuffs and put your hands behind your back."
Reluctantly, Hutch did as he was ordered. The black man took the metal bracelets and snapped them securely around Hutch's wrists, more tightly than was necessary, the cold steel pinching Hutch's skin. Now that he was rendered powerless, the two men lowered their rifles cautiously.
Suddenly, the black man stepped forward and without any warning slammed the butt of his rifle into the small of Hutch's back, sending the big blond to his knees with a startled gasp and a hiss of pain.
"Take it easy," Roy ordered his partner with an slow smile. "We don't want to damage him too much yet or he won't be able to enjoy the show."
Ike grabbed Hutch's arm and roughly pulled him to his feet. Pressing the barrel of his rifle against Hutch's back, he hissed, "Move it, cop." Forced to comply by the rifle nudging him in the back, Hutch stumbled forward. His back ached from the vicious blow he had received, aggravating an existing back condition that Hutch had suffered with periodically over the years. A sharp pain shot through his right hip and down his leg, making his gait unsteady and threatening to send him tumbling back to his knees with each step.
Ro led the way, veering off the path into the woods. Hutch stumbled over the uneven terrain, the tangled vines and weeds threatening to trip him and several low hanging branches slapping him in the face before he could step aside in time to avoid them. Finally, the thick foliage gave way to a small clearing with a weather-beaten barn that looked ready to fall down sitting in the middle of it. The remains of a burned out house, barely more than some blackened boards and a foundation, was off to the left.
The two men shoved Hutch towards the barn. Roy threw open the doors and they stepped inside. It took a moment for Hutch's eyes to adjust to the dimness inside the structure. His eyes widened in fear and alarm when he saw Starsky's nude, badly battered body hanging by his hands from a rafter in the middle of the barn. The burnet's head was bowed forward, so Hutch couldn't tell if his partner was dead or simply unconscious.
Roy shoved Hutch down onto a wooden chair a few feet away while Ike kept his gun centered on Hutch. Roy unlocked the handcuffs and jerked Hutch's arms around to the back of the chair, tying his wrists tightly with a piece of rope. He used a second piece of rope to tie the blond's ankles together. Satisfied that Hutch wasn't going anywhere, Ike lowered his weapon and then set both rifles in a corner of the barn, well out of reach.
"Your friend is taking a little nap." Roy smirked, jerking his head at the bound brunet. "But, he'll be rejoining us soon."
"You've got me, so why don't you let him go?" Hutch demanded his voice low and dangerous. "I assume that I'm the one you really want."
"Actually, we need both of you for what we have in mind." Roy told him with an evil smile.
"And what's that?" Hutch asked, glaring at his two captors maliciously. If he could have gotten to them, he would have gladly killed them with his bare hands for what they had done to Starsky.
"You'll find out soon enough." Ike said, with an obscene giggle, as his gaze swept over the blond's lean body and long runner's legs, settling for a moment on his crotch. With a suggestive leer, he imagined what he could do to the big blond if the opportunity presented itself. A true sexual predator in every sense of the word, Ike had been raping and killing his victims since adolescence. He showed no favoritism; having killed men, women and children over the years. In prison, he had taken advantage of the smaller, weaker inmates to fulfill his twisted desires. The terror in their eyes and the sound of their screams aroused him into a sexual frenzy of violence.
Hutch watched as Roy walked over to Starsky and took something out of his pocket, waving it under Starsky's nose. "Wake up, pig…we brought you a little playmate." He said loudly.
Starsky's scream of pain cut through Hutch's soul as Roy picked up a bottle from the ground, pouring alcohol over Starsky's bowed head when he didn't immediately respond. Starsky's head jerked up, blinking his eyes repeatedly as the alcohol burned the sensitive corneas.
"Hut..ch…" Starsky managed to gasp, as he locked eyes with his partner. A silent message quickly passed between them.
What are you doing here?
Rescuing you.
Looks to me like you fucked up, pal. Now we're both in a world of hurt.
Sorry. I didn't see Uglyhere waiting to get the drop on me.
Looks like they already used you for a punching bag.
You don't look so good yourself, buddy.
I'm better now that you're here. Let's figure out a way to take these suckers out.
"Now that you're both awake, we can continue." Roy snorted, looking from one prisoner to another with pleasure. He picked up the whip with the tiny studs of metal on the tips and walked around behind Starsky. Hutch watched helplessly as he was he was forced to witness his best friend being tortured further. Roy drew back his arm and swung the whip. It made a whistling sound, following by a sharp crack as it sliced across Starsky's exposed back, the tip wrapping around to his chest. The tiny bits of metal cut deeply into his skin, tearing out tiny pieces of flesh and making the blood flow freely over the muscular torso.
Starsky's face turned white but he clenched his teeth tightly, refusing to cry out and add to Hutch's emotional torment. The cruel lash fell again and again, cutting Starsky's back to ribbons, along with portions of his chest and stomach. Finally, the pain became too much and he threw back his head, a tortured scream ripping from his throat. Still, the ruthless beating continued until Starsky's head fell forward as he tumbled back into the darkness.
"YOU FUCKING BASTARDS!" Hutch screamed, struggling with his ropes, outraged beyond reason at the senseless cruelty directed towards his partner. "I'LL KILL YOU BOTH!"
"Brave words from a man in your position, Detective Hutchinson." Roy mocked him scornfully.
"If you wanna kill me, then kill me…but for god's sake, leave him alone." Hutch pleaded. He was a proud man but he was not beneath begging if it meant saving Starsky's life.
"What would you do to us from hurting him, Detective?" Mort questioned with a thin smile. "Would you die for him?"
"Yes!" Hutch said without hesitation, his eyes focusing once more on the body of his battered friend. He would gladly die for the brunet and he knew in his heart that the brunet would do the same thing for him. "Just don't hurt him anymore…"
"What a heartfelt sentiment. I wonder if he would do the same for you?" Mort said with a evil laugh. "Because we're about to put that theory to the test."
"NOOOOO…" Hutch screamed as Mort took a threatening step towards Starsky.
