Sorry it's taken so long to get this next chapter up but life is kinda full on at the moment. There are just not enough hours in a day. Thankyou for your patience and the reviews. I promise Rescue45 that I always finish any story I start.

Chapter Eleven

"I thought you might be hungry."

Nikki screwed up her face and tried again to push the thought aside. A nagging sense of doubt kept gnawing at her insides as she pushed herself further towards the city. Jess trudged along silently beside her and seemed lost in her own thoughts.

"I thought you might be hungry."

"Oh just stop it!"

Jess stopped walking and turned to look at her sister. "Stop what?"

Nikki tried to avoid making eye contact as she desperately tried to squash her discomfort. "Nothing!"

"Nik … I … um …stop what? What did you mean?"

Jess stood on the sidewalk and watched as her sister continued to squirm.

"That guy back there. He … um… just something that he said to me."

"Huh? He didn't say much at all."

"No!" Nikki shook her head before looking away again. "Not today," she whispered.

"Nik? What are you talking about?"

"We have to tell somebody."

Jess just waited as her sister shuffled from one foot to the other.

"We have to tell somebody that he's there. We can't just leave him there. He doesn't deserve that."

Jess smiled up at her sister and nodded her head. The stranger had frightened her but as they put more distance between them and their former camp she began to wonder what was happening to him. The guilt of leaving him lying on the ground was chewing up her insides as well and she was relieved that Nikki had finally said something.

"So we're going back?"

Nikki refused to look at her. Jess waited and watched as a range of things flitted over her sister's face.

"We can't go back!" Nikki clenched her fists in frustration but tried to stop herself from raising her voice any further. "I'm sorry. But we can't go back."

"Why? It's not like we have any place else we have to be."

"It's not that. He's a cop, remember? Where there's one there are usually more."

Jess just nodded but couldn't think what else they could do.

Starsky sat hunched in the booth and fiddled with the coaster in front of him. It had only been a few moments since he arrived but he had already caught Huggy's eye and his friend hurried over to the booth. He had barely slid into the opposite seat before the information came tumbling out. Starsky knew Huggy was just as concerned as he was about Hutch.

"His name is Jackson Forbes. Small time drug runner and information merchant. Somehow he got tied up with your two fine police officers."

Starsky snorted in disgust. "They aren't mine and they sure ain't fine!"

"Well whatever, apparently he was supposed to call into the precinct and speak to one of them about finding Hutch's car. It was supposed to give them a legit reason to head out to the docks."

"But he never called. That's why they were so angry when I saw them earlier?"

"Seems so. He hooked up with a certain lady last night and overslept this morning."

Huggy just watched and waited as the news sunk in.

"You tell him from me that he better not get any ideas about disappearing off the radar! Because, so help me, I will hunt him to the ends of the Earth!"

"I believe you would. Right now he's on the scope for too many cops. Whatever you have to deal with has to be more than what those two have to offer him."

"I know that Hug. You tell him there's an immunity deal but he has to be here to claim it. And I need him to bring them down."

Starsky slid across the seat and began to climb out of the booth. "And if he gets so much as a whiff of where Hutch is he better make you his first phone call."

"Got it."

Less than half an hour later the detective sat in Dobey's office and relayed the information he had picked up.

"So they were supposed to receive a call from a member of the public about an abandoned car and that would be their reason to get out there. Pretty simple really."

"Except their contact dropped the ball. And that's why they looked ready to kill him when I saw them in the alley."

Dobey just nodded. "Just make sure they don't do that for real. He's your proof."

"Well aside from Hutch's testimony."

The seasoned captain looked across the desk and sighed. While he had great faith in his people he also knew that anybody protecting their drug turf wasn't afraid to do whatever they had to. He wasn't sure that it was ever going to be possible for his detective to testify but he managed to stop himself from speaking that aloud to his agitated partner.

Before he could respond there was a loud knock at the door. It was only a moment before the door swung open and his two favourite IA officers strode through the door.

"Come in, won't you?" Dobey nodded at them with just a hint of sarcasm in his comment.

Starksy began to head for the open door when Dryden motioned him back. "We need to talk with you Detective."

"About what? How corrupt you think my partner is? Where he's stashing all his ill-gotten gains? How much he shared with me to keep me quiet?"

"Starsky!" Dobey growled at him.

"Captain, these two goons tried to take Hutch down once before and they sure as hell ain't interested in helping him now."

Simonetti glared at him but Starsky bluntly ignored him.

"So where exactly are you heading off to Detective Starsky?"

"To keep looking for my missing partner! If that's alright with you boys. And if it's not, well I guess that's just bad luck! I'll keep you posted, Captain."

As he moved towards the door Simonetti stepped in front of him. Starsky pulled up short and deliberately placed his hands on each hip. "You wanna go for Round Two? Cos Round One was so much fun."

"Believe it or not Detective we want to get to the bottom of this as much as you do. If we have dirty cops in this precinct we want to bring them down."

"See that's where we have a different agenda, Simonetti. My goal is to find my partner. Then I'll worry about the rest of it."

"Oh believe me, we want to find your partner too."

The torrent of words running through his head needed to be reigned in so Starsky bit his lip and pushed past the man as he made his way out the door. He could hear Dobey speaking but he kept going towards the lift.

Back in the Captain's office the two IA officers were fuming. "Captain Dobey, I don't know what kind of station you are running here but your detectives seem to make up the rules as they go!"

Dobey stood up from behind his desk and straightened his vest. "All right! I may not have a choice about you two being here but this is my house and you don't get to come in here and start insulting me or my detectives. Now, I want to know why you are back chasing Hutchinson."

Dryden sat down in the nearest chair and Simonetti quickly followed suit. Dobey stifled a sigh as he reluctantly sat back down too.

"We have reliable information that somebody from your house is supporting the flow of drugs into the city. Three of your officers were at the dock last night when we know a shipment came in. One of those officers ditched his partner before going. I'm not entirely convinced yet if Starsky is clean but we have more than enough evidence to throw the book at the other three."

Dobey visibly bristled as he heard his best team lumped in with a couple of scum, masquerading as police officers. He had more than enough evidence too but only for two of them.

"Before you start that book-throwing you might like to wait until we actually find Hutchinson. Last I checked, he's still missing!"

"Yeah that's pretty convenient for him don't you think?"

"What the hell are you implying Dryden?"

"Just as the net is closing in he manages to go missing. Wouldn't be too hard to set up his own disappearance and live off the proceeds of his drug trade."

"That's it! Get out of my office! Hutch is the last officer to support the drug trade! He's missing and possibly already dead, not that either of you two care!"

The two men slowly rose to their feet and moved towards the door. "Captain, loyalty is an admirable quality but this time you need to check the object of your loyalty actually deserves it. He's dirty and it's just a matter of time before we bring down all three of them and anybody else they are tied in with."

Dobey watched as the two of them headed out the door. As it clicked closed behind them he furiously swiped at the stack of papers on his desk.

"Hutchinson! Where the hell are you?"