To Brook, whithout whom I'd have great dificulty writing and to Nelleke, Angie and Jan. Love ya ladies!

Chapter 13

Starsky lead the way down from the apartment to the car he'd parked outside Gemma's apartment before this whole sorry business started. Just the sight of the familiar Torino acted like a tonic to the tired cop and he eased himself behind the driver's wheel, biting back the groan as his bruised back and butt hit the leather upholstery sending shooting pains throughout his exhausted body. He could hardly bear to lean back against the seat and as he tried hard to ignore the pains, he felt wet, knowing his back was still bleeding and glad he had his jacket on to hide the fact. Svenson got into the back of the car and Wheeler sat at Starsky's side as he felt the cold hard metal of a gun barrel pressed against his neck.

'What's with the gun Wheeler. Ya got me so wired up I can't blink without ya knowin' about it' he said angrily, his temper just about at its limit now. He'd been beaten, electrocuted and humiliated and if he could get the chance he was going to make sure these suckers paid. He knew he'd seen too much and that the odds of the diamond merchant letting him go were slim to zero, but if he played it right, at least his partner would get out in one piece, and that thought gave the brunette a measure of comfort.

'Call it insurance against any fancy driving' Wheeler smiled. 'I've heard about the famous Starsky driving style. I just don't want to experience it first hand'.

Starsky grinned despite himself. 'I'm honoured my fame is so wide spread' he muttered as he set the key in the ignition. The engine roared to life and with a satisfying squeal of tyres he set the big powerful car in motion, eliciting a jab in the neck with the gun. He was beyond angry now and recklessly he reached up and batted it out of the way.

'Didn't your Momma ever tell you not to play with those things? he ground out as Svenson looked at his boss, unsure how to take the question. Wheeler smiled and shook his head, indicating Svenson should relax. He knew he had the brunette over a barrel now. If Starsky put a foot wrong, Hutch would suffer, it was so simple.

With Svenson's eyes boring into the back of his head, Starsky drove quickly down to the Metro, parking his car in its around the corner from the front door so that it didn't attract attention. He turned off the engine and waited, staring through the windshield and refusing to look at Wheeler, his hands balled into fists on his lap.

'So, what now?' he asked, still looking ahead.

The old man looked at his watch. 'Its 05:35. You will go into the building, retrieve the gem and return to the car by 06:00. Any question of you alerting anyone, or being unreasonably slow will result it…' he nodded at the white haired hit man who grinned and licked hungry lips. Eagerly he flipped the switch on the battery pack and Starsky's body jumped off the seat, his hands flying between his legs, to try to alleviate the shocks coursing through the centre of his body. He yelped and squeezed his eyes closed, his muscles clenched throughout his body as he rode the red crest of the added pain. The shock had caused his back to arch and he felt new trickles of blood as he panted and groaned. The shock finally dissipated and he stared behind him at his tormentor.

'I'm gonna fuckin' kill the both of ya' he ground out as he tried to relax his spasming muscles.

'Somehow, I don't think you'll get the chance' Wheeler answered with a satisfied smile on his face. 'That was just a small reminder, set on the lowest level. Svenson will hike it up to level two and if I hear anything untoward, like the sound of you trying to remove the device….'

Starsky grunted. 'Yeah, I know. Toasted nuts'. He heaved himself out of the car and straightened painfully. As he headed into the building he hoped no-one would be around to see him. The news of his suspension must have gotten around the metro by now and this would not be a good time to start explanations. He pushed the door open and was enveloped in the familiar smell of the place. It was a mixture of floor polish, disinfectant and school dinners and it always had something of a calming effect on the curly haired detective. The bright lights and the heat of the place wrapped themselves around him in a safe cocoon of the achingly familiar. He took a brief look up the corridor. At this early morning hour there were few people around. The drunks from the night before would all be locked up in the cells sleeping off their hangovers and any worse offenders would be sweating in the interview rooms with the arresting officers. Any of the cops who'd had an easy night would probably be in the canteen now waiting out the wee small hours until the change of shifts. The quiet suited him perfectly and he trotted down the corridor, checking left and right as he went.

At the stairs, he went up two floors, taking the steps two at a time, although bending his legs aggravated the stripes Svenson had layered across them and as he looked down he saw a few blood spots seeping through the denim material. Fortunately the jeans were one of his darker pairs and the ruby droplets weren't quite so obvious as if he'd worn his favourite pale, threadbare ones.

He paused at the door to the exhibit store room, knowing there would be an officer on duty and he'd have to have some plausible explanation or way of getting the man out of the vicinity so that he could search the room and get his hands on the diamond. His hand went out to the door handle, but then paussed he had a quick thought.

He snook a quick look around the edge of the door, seeing who was on duty that night. The big familiar bulk of Williams was leaning on the small counter top in the anteroom and fortunately, at that time of morning, he was not at his most alert and didn't notice the door cracking open. Quietly, the brunette closed the door again and went into an adjoining, open office, picking up the phone. Desperately he looked around for an internal telephone list, trying to remember the number of the storeroom. A crackle in his ear stopped him in his tracks and a voice said '15 minutes left, Detective. I suggest you hurry'.

'Well shut the fuck up and let me do the job huh?' he hissed at the microphone taped to his chest.

There was a second's silence then 'Ungh….Ok I get the message' he panted as another surge of electricity shot through the most sensitive portions of his anatomy. He stood unsteadily, the hours of torture and the repeated shocks taking their toll on him. He got his breath back under control and saw the list he needed. Urgently he ran his finger down the numbers finally finding the one he wanted. He punched the numbers into the telephone, drumming his fingers as the ring tome sounded.

'C'mon, c'mon…..Hey, Williams. Hi buddy, this is Gee on the front desk. Yeah, great, just great. Ah….can ya come down here pal, there's a guy says he needs to speak to ya…..No, didn't give his name…..just come down and see him will ya?'

Williams sounded put out, but said he was on his way and the brunette heard the phone go down. Edging to the door, he watched as Williams lumbered off down the corridor and out of sight. Quickly Starsky darted into the now abandoned room and through the small door into the store room proper, wondering where to start looking. He knew Williams needed to have some sort of system, but what it was he could only guess at. He prowled up and down the rows of racking, pulling at plastic bags and thumbing through labels to no avail. As he got to the end of the last row with no success at finding the gem, he saw in the corner a heavy gauge safe, realising that with a diamond of such value, it was going to be in there if anywhere.

Now he was out of options. He had no idea what the combination to the safe was and complacent as Williams was, he was hardly likely to have written it down somewhere. Shrugging his shoulders, he backed out of the room and retraced his steps back down the stairs and out into the street, getting onto the car as Wheeler looked at him expectantly.

'Do you have it?' the old man asked

Starsky winced as he sat down. 'It's locked in the safe and I can't get it' he said, looking Wheeler in the eyes. From the corner of his eye, he saw Svenson reach for the battery pack again and braced himself, but Wheeler held up his hand, obviously believing the curly haired cop.

'So how do we get it?' he asked calmly. Wheeler knew that if the blond detective's life was at stake, Starsky would come up a solution. The diamond merchant could see the wheels of the exhausted cops mind working over time as he tried to come up with a scenario. Eventually Starsky shrugged his shoulders.

'Its gonna get dirty from here on in. You're gonna have to let me have a gun' he said trying to get the details straight in his head as he was speaking.

Wheeler looks sceptical. 'Do you take me for a fool, detective? I'm hardly going to arm you so that you can shoot me' he said carefully.

Starsky sighed. 'D'ya want the diamond?'

'Of course I do. What do you have in mind?' Wheeler asked.

'Well, I'm already suspended, and I'm guessing you're not gonna let me go at the end of this, so the best I can achieve is to save my partner. I've got a deal for ya. Give me a weapon and I'll get the gem for ya, no questions asked. In return, I want your promise that you let Hutch go as soon as you have the diamond'.

'And if I refuse?' the diamond merchant asked, amused at the detective's impudence.

'I know I'm a dead man. I'm already suspended from the force so I've nothing to loose. I'll get you the diamond. If you don't agree to the deal, you don't get the diamond. It's as simple as that'.

Wheeler looked at the steely resolve in the man's eyes, admiring the courage of the curly haired detective. He spat on the flat of his hand and held it out for Starsky to shake. As the wary cop took it, he looked into the stormy blue eyes.

'We've dealt' he said, in the time honoured way of gem merchants. The deal was binding and Wheeler took it seriously. He nodded to Svenson, who'd remained silent throughout the proceedings, and the white haired man reluctantly offered his weapon to the detective.

Starsky took it, checking the chambers of the police issue Colt and unhappily, got out of the car.