Chapter 10

Hutch watched in sick fascination as Starsky whirled and punched one of the guards square in the nose. Despite the bruises and cuts, at least his partner still had some fight left in him. But it wasn't enough and the second man – the man with the gun pointed squarely at Starsky's head – stood back and calmly forced the brunet down onto the table. As both antagonists started to secure the straps around Starsky's body Hutch struggled all the harder against the man pinning his arms behind his back.

'Ryan I'm givin' you one last chance. Don't do this. Don't do somethin' you'll regret. Didn't 9 years in that jail teach you anythin'? There's ways you can still finish your work. I'll help. Hell, I'll do the damned stuff for ya. Just don't do this. Not to me...not to him.'

Ryan shook his head. 'The time for deals is over Ken. You've changed. I can see now that the fire has gone out of your eyes. We used to be good together but now? Now I think you'd do anything for the man in that room. Anything at all rather than watch him go through what De La Vigo did.'

'You bastard! You let him go now or else...' Hutch's voice silenced as he looked down into the room as the door opened and a woman walked in. The blond looked questioningly at Ryan.

'What the fuck?'

'I see you recognise the doctor. Another one of us that's motivated by money.'

'And all the time she was dating Starsky...?'

Ryan nodded 'She's been my girl since I met her in jail. She was the prison doctor for a while. At first I thought I was just coming down with a severe case of Stockholm Syndrome, but as the weeks and months progressed, Tania and I became lovers. When I was released we'd already talked about our plans. I wanted to finish my work, but neither she nor I could do it alone. We needed you and we needed a reason for you to finish your work. There was an opening at BCPD and Tania walked into the job and into Starsky's life. She got some great intel. on the both of you. It helped a lot.'

Hutch could hardly believe what he was hearing. His body shook from shock and indignation and from the tension building up in his muscles. Despite wanting to tear Tania limb from limb he couldn't tear his eyes away from the scene unfolding in the room below. Tania had a tray with her and Hutch had a sick feeling her knew what was on it.

Ryan flicked another switch on the wall. 'I always hated silent movies. Let's put some sound to the picture huh?'

There was a crackle and then Starsky's voice came over the microphone from the speakers set up in the room.

'Tan, don't do this. Think about what you're doin' honey. This is me, Davey. You don't want to do this. Listen to me.'

The voice was low and steady, achingly familiar and Hutch once again struggled all the harder against the guard.

'Don't you just love that edge of strain in a voice that knows something bad is going to happen?' Ryan asked conversationally.

'Stop her. Stop her now you mad bastard. Ryan, please, don't do this' Hutch said softly.

Ryan closed his eyes as though savouring a favourite taste. 'There it goes again. That same edge of tension and pain. God it tastes good.' The balding man opened his eyes and glared at Hutch. 'You had your chance Ken. You had a chance to be a willing participant in this, but like always, you blew it. It's too late for reasoning and pleading now. From now on buddy, you're working on borrowed time.'

Hutch looked back down into the room and saw the needle, the puncture wound in Starsky's arm and heard that one anguished word.
'Why?'

The blond sagged back against the body of the guard at his back, knowing it was too late. He was silent for a moment, getting his emotions and his voice under control. Finally he fixed Ryan with a piercing glare from ice cold crystal blue eyes.

'I want to talk to my partner. Right now.'

Ryan smiled and nodded. 'I was counting on it. Mr Martin? If you would?'

As Ryan pointed Hutch's own Colt at the cop, the guard at the blond's back let go of Hutch's arms and went to a drawer in one of the desks in the lab. Hutch glared at his old friend, trying to assimilate what had just happened to Starsky.

Massive trauma to the frontal lobe... high fever... The litany of symptoms De La Vigo had suffered ran through Hutch's head like a sick chant and the blond almost missed the metallic jingle as the guard approached him again.

Hutch turned and saw a length of chain attached to ankle and wrist cuffs in Martin's hand. They were the sort used by jails to secure prisoners as they were moved between locations – the sort that fastened around the waist and attached wrists and ankles so that the wearer could do nothing more than shuffle along, their hands secured behind them. Hutch flicked a look at Ryan.

The balding man shrugged. 'One thing I did learn in jail. Never mess with a prisoner coz for some reason they always want to escape. Not that I think for one minute you'd leave Starsky here, but if I let you in to talk to him and you aren't restrained, who knows what crazy thing you might try?'

As Ryan was talking, Martin was already securing the belt around Hutch's waist. It was useless for the blond to struggle as Martin pulled the cop's hands behind his back and locked them there. A moment later, with his ankles also secured together by a 12 inch length of chain, Hutch was ready to go.

'You really did have this all planned out didn't ya?' Hutch asked.

'What else am I supposed to do in a stinkin' jail cell for nine long years? You didn't think I'd give up on the dream did ya?'

Hutch shook his head. 'Always the entrepreneur. Always the madman huh? Don't you ever count the cost in human life?'

Ryan made no comment. Instead, he flicked the Colt at the door and the three men made their way out of the lab and into an elevator opposite. There was silence in the confined space. The elevator hummed as Hutch felt the car descend slowly and then with a quiet whoosh the doors opened once again revealing another blue carpeted hallway. Martin pushed the barrel of the gun into Hutch's ribs and the three men started out along the corridor in front of them. The pace was slow to accommodate the hobbles around Hutch's ankles and as they started up the hallway, a door on the right opened and Tania walked out. She stopped as she saw Hutch, caught like a rabbit in the headlights of a car and with a roar of rage, the blond cop lunged at her. Despite having his wrists shackled behind his back, Hutch pinned Tania's body to the wall with his shoulder leaning into her with all his weight.

'You bitch! What the fuck have you done to him? After all you said, after all the time you spent with him. Didn't it mean anythin'?'

Tania pushed at Hutch's chest as Martin and Ryan hauled the angry cop away from her. She looked up into the angry crystal blue eyes but said nothing.

'You made love to him and it was just a means to an end huh?' Hutch yelled.

'I never meant for it to go as far as it did.'

'Oh that's rich! You were just gonna date him so that you could fill his veins with Choryzine huh? Just so that you and Ryan could... No! Thats it aint it? You never did love him. You never even liked him. All this was a master plan to get at me?'

'Dave was...'

'Tania, go get on with your work huh?' Ryan interrupted the woman and flicked a look at the woman that left Tania in no doubt that explanations weren't needed.

The woman opened her mouth as though to answer back, thought better of it and pushed herself against the wall as she passed by Hutch, giving herself as much room as possible between her body and Hutch's. The cop watched her go wishing he could put his hands around her neck and strangle that look from her face. The iron grip of Martin's hands around his arms was the only thing that kept Hutch from trying to get at her and it was with difficulty that the blond pulled his attention back to the present.

The three men walked a little further up the hallway and stopped outside a door marked "Medical lab". The door swung open to reveal a small, white painted ante room and as Hutch was pushed inside, Ryan opened the second door through which Hutch could see Starsky on the table in the middle of the observation room. Ignoring the two armed man, Hutch shuffled forwards and stood just inside the doorway.

Even from that distance, he blond cop could see the shudders running through his partner's body and could also see the bloom of angry red across Starsky's cheeks and forehead. Even in that short time since he'd had he shot, the drug Choryzine had started it's insidious work.

Hutch approached the table, aware that Martin and Ryan were standing by the door. As he moved forwards, Starsky rolled his head on the table so that he could see who had walked in.

'Hutch?' The one word held so much emotion – hope, relief... and fear.

Hutch shuffled closer and perched himself on the edge of the table. 'Hey buddy, how're ya doin'?'

'T'riffic. What's goin' down huh? What's with this long lost buddy of yours?' the familiar voice was rasping, husky.

'He's no friend of mine Starsk, an' I'm sorry you're involved in this.'

Starsky squeezed his eyes tight closed as another shudder wracked his body. 'And what exactly is this?'

Hutch stared at the ground, unsure how to start. 'Starsk there are some things that I never told ya. Stuff that happened a long time ago... that made me come west to California.'

'You told me you had a change of career plans and you needed a break.'

'Well yeah, that part's true, but there was another reason behind the change of direction. Somethin' I never told anyone here.'

Starsky closed his eyes. He felt worse by the second, as though he was coming down with the most severe case of flu he'd ever known. His body and especially his joints ached, his head felt ready to explode and the bright lights on the ceiling above him stabbed at his eyes like daggers. A raw, hacking cough made him lose his breath for a moment until he could control it. 'Seems like now's a good time.'

'I um. Well me and Ryan were at medical school together. We were tight – almost as ight as me and you. And we were good at research. We um... we had free use of the lab at medical school and we were well on the way to finding a cure for the common cold. It would have made us a fortune but...'

'I don't like "buts" buddy. They're usually bad news.'

'This one's a doozy. The stuff was there but we just needed final tests. The animals we'd tested on had all um... well, they didn't make it and we needed more work, but Ryan took the experiment a stage further and... Shit! The guy died Starsk and the cops were involved. It was a murder enquiry and for a while I was chief suspect. There was a trial, months of questioning and... When it was all over Ryan got 9 years and I took off.

'And this involves me how?' Starsky asked quietly.

'I didn't see Ryan for 10 years. Hadn't even thought about him till a few nights ago at The Pits. After you went home we got to talkin'. He said he was working on the Choryzine again and he wanted me to help him. It's not a cure for colds any more buddy. He's marketin' it as germ warfare, sellin' to the highest bidder and he needed me to help him come up with the antidote. I refused.'

'And? I don't like where...'Starsky was stopped by a bout of coughing that left him breathless. 'this is goin'. Tell me he didn't...'

'I got a message tellin' me that he had you. That you were helping him with his research and that I should come help.'

The brunet closed his eyes. 'Tania's here.'

'I know buddy. They met when she worked at Folsom and Ryan was an inmate. She's been in on this all along.'

'And the stuff she injected me with?'

'Choryzine. Ryan thinks this'll make me formulate a serum all the quicker.'

'So do I buddy' Starsky fixed Hutch with dulled indigo eyes. 'How's this gonna go down huh? You said a guy died? What's happening to me?'

Hutch looked away. He knew Starsky would want the truth, but goddammit the truth was as bad as it could get. The blond let out a breath.

'It's gonna be bad Starsk, real bad.'

'Just tell me huh? You know how I hate it when ya keep surprises from me.'

Hutch shook his head, trying to find the words. 'First there will be the symptoms of flu. You've already got the start of the fever and cough. You're gonna ache and your fever will increase. Eventually as it peaks you're gonna start hallucinating. You'll become disorientated. The drug works on the frontal lobe, so you'll experience anger, fear. You may have delusions. Your strongest memories will become reality... you want me to go on?'

Starsky rolled his head. 'I get the picture. Thanks. So what? Can you do this? Can you make a serum? You're a cop, not a doctor.'

'I know buddy, I know. But whatever happens, remember I'm workin' on it. There may come a time when you're...' Hutch's voice broke and he looked away, trying hard not to think about what had happened to De La Vigo.

'Hey, Hutch. Just go huh? Go and get workin'. Looks like neither of us are goin' anywhere for a while. Just cook up the good stuff, huh?' Starsky's voice held the first hints of pain and he too looked away knowing Hutch had enough pressure heaped on him without seeing how much Starsky was starting to hurt.

Hutch got up and glared at Ryan. He shuffled towards the door and stopped. 'He needs a proper bed. Sheets, blankets...a pillow. It's the least you can do.'

The balding man nodded. 'I'll show you back to the lab.'

As Hutch got to the open door he looked back. Starsky was watching him go.

'Hutch? How long did it take to other guy to... ya know?'

The blond closed his eyes. 'Six days buddy.'

'Can you do this in five?' Starsky asked before another bout of coughing too his breath away.