Chapter 23

The young girl heard the scream as she walked quietly up the steps of the deserted department store. Since she'd been left outside the bar on the other side of town she'd thought about nothing else other than the handsome curly haired man she's been paid to target. He wasn't her usual mark and despite the fact that he was a little drunk and seemed to be hurting somehow, she'd taken a liking to him. He was young and handsome and virile and had treated her like a proper human being rather than just some fuck-of-the-night woman he'd picked up…

When Marco's men had come to target him, she'd had to look away. Outnumbered as he had been, the man had gone down fighting and the sounds of fists and feet driving into his body had stayed with her on her journey back through the streets.

Now she made her way through to the small room they usually used at the back of the store and pushed the door open quietly, stifling a cry as she saw the man had been damaged even more and was now apparently insensate on the floor. She looked over her shoulder, not wanting to draw attention to herself or to the man and finding that she was alone, she walked softly into the room. There was a lot of blood staining the old dusty floorboards and as she looked she realised most of it was from him. Her heart beat a little faster and she closed the gap, her high platform shoes clicking on the bare boards. It wasn't until she got a little closer to him that she realised he was mumbling…or was it singing under his breath? She knelt on the floor next to him and tremulously put her hand out to rest lightly on his shoulder. The man's eyes flashed open and he tried to shy away from the touch, but the movement caused him more pain and he moaned and went back to the low, almost inaudible crooning.

'Daddy, Daddy cool….Daddy…..Daddy cool'

His voice cracked over the words and the song was almost unintelligible, but something in the halting tune and the pained husky voice brought a tear to the girl's eyes.

'Hey mister, can ya hear me?' she asked softly, risking putting her hand back onto his shoulder. 'Hey, are you ok?' She stopped herself. What sort of a damned fool question was that? Course he wasn't ok!

Starsky heard the voice as if from a distance. He didn't know how long he'd been on his own, but the second voice made him jump and mentally he prepared himself for even more pain. He didn't think he'd last much longer and he was fast disappearing into his own world where the same thoughts rolled over and over in his mind. Pain, Dad, Durniak, pain. His world was brought down to those four distinct subjects and as he lay in his self imposed darkness, his eyes closed against the world, his unthinking mind took over and brought up the first thing it grabbed onto. A song. A stupid song that refused to go away. But somehow, hearing his own voice, no matter how weak and thready and despite the stupidity of the words comforted him and helped him remember that he was still, for the moment, a human being. And so he continued to croon the words to himself over and again.

'Daddy, Daddy cool…..Daddy, Daddy cool….'

The voice was there again and now there was a pressure on his arm, pushing, insistent, and for the time being it didn't hurt. He forced his eyes open, staring at the dusty floorboards and then managed to roll his head slightly to look at the girl. The same girl he'd had in the alleyway and he giggled to himself. Not tonight Josephine! He didn't think he could raise a smile, let alone Little Davey's interest right at the moment and he wondered why she was there.

'Hey, are you ok?' she asked again and was rewarded with a flash of brilliant blue eyes sheltered beneath sweat spiked, thick, dark lashes.

'Urts' Starsky managed to mumble, wanting her to understand that he didn't require her particular brand of services right then. She smiled sadly at him

'I know. I couldn't stop them, I'm sorry. Let me get you a drink or something'.

Starsky closed his eyes and waited. Yeah, a drink. He could handle a drink. A nice cold beer…. The girl returned and he groaned again as she put her hand under his head and lifted it slightly so that she could position the glass by his lips. He managed to sip a little of the cold water, then sank back exhausted and panting with the exertion of the tiny activity. The drink was nice and he wanted some more, but it was too tiring. He needed to sleep. He needed to find Hutch. Hutch would take care of him now, he knew that.

Tandy continued to sit by his side as he lapsed into his shadowy world again. Daddy cool…..Daddy cool….. Moving hurt, breathing hurt, but something made his mind focus once again on his injured leg and he forced his eyes open once more, struggling to keep his gaze on the pretty face. His lips moved and finally he forced a word out. 'Leg…'

She looked down his body at the blood caked leather around his upper thigh and the glass sticking out of his flesh and her breath caught in her throat. 'I can't do anything. I'm sorry, I don't know what to do' she muttered.

'Belt……loosen it' he gasped, his hand moving weakly to the buckle. She brushed it gently out of the way and took hold of the end of the belt uncertainly.

'You're still bleeding. This is gonna hurt you so much. You should leave it. You should just….'

'No…..needs t'be loose…..just fer a minute…..then tighten it 'gain' he managed to mutter softly.

She took a deep breath. 'OK, but I don't want to hurt' she said.

'Already….'urts. Just….do it?'

She nodded silently and fumbled with the blood slick buckle, struggling to get the metal prong loose from it's hole and finally slackening the makeshift tourniquet. The sudden rush of blood back to the injured limb sent fire pains coursing through the brunet's body and he screamed, his body spasming, the sound ending in a sob as she ran her fingers through his hair, shushing him. She stayed by his side for a moment or so, but the blood was still coursing from the wound and biting her bottom lip, she set about tightening the leather again. As the murderous band tightened once more the cop's body arched back against the pain and he groaned low in his throat, shuddered once and finally sagged back, unconscious just as Marco Sanna and two of his heavies walked into the room.

'Tandy, get away from him' Sanna snapped as the girl hurriedly stood and backed away. The gangster looked at his men and nodded. 'Bring him, it's time'.

The two men surged forward and took a hold of the injured cop under his arms. Even in his unconscious state, a moan was wrung from him at the uncaring treatment and as they dragged him away, his toes leaving marks in the dust on the ground, Tandy shrank back and closed her eyes.

OOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Hutch sat in the back of the car with Durniak as the driver whisked them through the still dark streets towards Dyker Park. The north side gatehouse had been stipulated as the meeting ground, being on the edge of each gang's territories and therefore as close as they could come to neutral ground and as they drove the blond cop could feel the nervous tension in the vehicle, the air being so thick he felt he could cut it with a knife.

Once Durniak had turned off the sickening video, there had been a moments silence in the small room as both he and Hutch regrouped and got some control of their emotions. The flaxen haired man's first instinct had been to run out of the room, find Sanna and ring his neck. But he knew batter than to try and had sat with his fists balled as Durniak had shaken himself out of his shock.

'So?' Hutch demanded.

'So we meet with him at 5:00am'.

'And what then? Are ya gonna give him what he wants?'

'I don't know. That's a lot of land' Durniak said quietly.

'What the hell has land got to do with it? What price are you gonna put on my partner's head? The cop yelled, slamming his fist down on Durniak's desk. The man at the back of the room made a move as though to restrain Hutch in someway, but the old gangster waved him away.

'Your partner and my……son? I'll do whatever it takes, but we don't go in empty handed' he explained and for the next hour he, Hutch and three of his goons sat around the desk and planned their moves. Now, with Durniak and Hutch in a plain dark coloured car sandwiched between two others the convoy moved through the streets inexorably towards the park.

Five minutes later, they arrived and parked up and the blond looked out of the rear window looking for the backup they'd discussed. He was sure it would be there, he just didn't see it and the absence made his skin crawl. In front of him, he saw tall park gates and just beyond was a large wooden pavilion-like structure. At the side of it, another car had parked, it's metal carcass looking out of the early morning mist like some prehistoric creature.

The driver of their car got out, looking around him and keeping his right hand firmly under his coat on the handle of his gun. He checked the perimeters of the park and behind them, Hutch could see the driver of the second car doing exactly the same. He was reminded of the TV shots he saw of the presidential car and realised grimly that these were Durniak's bullet catchers. Comforting, and at the same time immensely creepy.

When they'd been planning the meeting, Hutch had asked for a weapon. He felt naked without his big Colt Python hanging in its holster beneath his left arm. But Durniak had been adamant. This was an issue between gangs. He was a cop and as such, it would be better for all concerned if he didn't take a full part in whatever went down. At first, the gangster hadn't wanted the blond anywhere near, but Hutch had been firm on that topic. This was Starsky, his best friend and partner, and if he was in trouble, Hutch was going to be there. And so he'd persuaded Joe to take him along, but he was defenceless and felt the absence of firepower keenly.

At a nod from the driver, Durniak and Hutch got out of their car and stood with their backs to the metal. The early morning had that cold, damp tang in the air coming from the water and the mist rolled over the treetops of the park, making ghostly shapes in the gloom. The blond shivered involuntarily and followed as Durniak and his minder walked slowly towards the park gates and the building beyond. At his back, the second driver and two more men followed and the cortège made its way slowly down the uneven concrete path and came to a stop ant the foot of the steps leading up to the pavilion.

Here, two of Sanna's men waited for them, grim and forbidding in the dim early morning light. No one smiled and the air was electric with tension. Slowly Durniak and Hutch walked up the steps and the blond saw that the door to the pavilion had been opened, a tall dark haired man and two others standing inside. As Hutch gained the top of the steps and walked into the wooden building, Durniak put a hand on his arm

'Remember. Whatever happens, don't react and don't show any emotion. It's important. Got it?' Hutch nodded imperceptibly and looked around. He realised that Sanna and his men were standing in a semi circle around a pile of rags on the ground. As he came to stand by them however, his heart dove into his boots as the pile moved and Starsky's bloodied features looked up at the men surrounding him.