BREAKING NEWS
Everyone knows how Hutch reacted when Starsky was shot but how did the rest of his friends and family react to the news?
AN: Some chapters may be longer while some may be very short. It all depends on the character being referred to.
CHAPTER ONE: HUTCH
It was a beautiful sunny day in southern California. The temperature was in the high eighties even though it was still early in the day and the sky was relatively free from smog. Despite the attraction of other activities, for Starsky and Hutch the job came first.
The squad room was in disarray because it was being painted. The long tables that were normally used as desks had been folded and leaned up against the walls and tarps were spread everywhere. One painter stood on a ladder covering a wall with the same obnoxious green that most institutional facilities seemed to favor. A second painter was sitting in a corner eating an early lunch. Someone had pulled the ping-pong table from the break room into the squad room. To pass time until they got a call, Starsky and Hutch were indulging in a game of "Trivia" Ping-Pong. The loser had to buy the winner a three-course meal at a restaurant of their choice. It had been a close game but Starsky had managed to score the winning point.
The two detectives left the squad room arguing good naturedly about Starsky winning the bet. As they left the building through the rear door that opened into the parking lot behind the station, Starsky said with a smirk,
"You owe me a dinner, buddy boy."
"Well, a bet's a bet," Hutch agreed, as the two men walked past a row of black and white cruisers parked along the side of the building and started to cross the lot to the Torino.
"All right!" Starsky gloated gleefully. He had expected Hutch to put up more of an argument.
"Hey, look….as long as I'm buying, why don't we pick a date? How about tomorrow?" Hutch suggested
"Tomorrow? Sounds great."
"How about five in the morning?" Hutch said with a grin as he stepped around to the passenger's side of the car and waited patiently for Starsky to dig his keys out of his skin-tight jeans.
"No way," Starsky told him. "You owe me a three-course dinner."
"What? Hamburger, fries and a chocolate shake, huh?" Hutch teased him affectionately.
"No way," Starsky told him defensively. "I'm talking about a broiled lobster maybe or a New York Steak."
"Come on. Hurry up," Hutch said as he impatiently waited for Starsky to unlock the car doors.
"What's your hurry?" Starsky asked as he fumbled with his keys. "It's not every day you can buy your best friend a three course meal." He flashed a grin at Hutch over the roof of the Torino.
Hutch's attention was drawn to the sound of metal scraping against metal. He glanced over towards the building in time to see a black and white cruiser pull forward, the rear quarter panel hitting the front fender of the cruiser parked beside it. The blond watched as the barrel of a gun suddenly appeared in the window on the passenger's side of the cruiser.
"STARSKY!" Hutch screamed frantically, reaching for his own weapon and automatically dropping to his knees beside the body of the Torino. "GET DOWN!"
Gunshots filled the air, followed by the sound of shattering glass and bullets slamming into the metal body of the Torino. Tires squealed shrilly as the cruiser accelerated and roared out of the parking lot. Hutch fired three shots after the retreating vehicle but it was moving too fast for his aim to be accurate. Bouncing to his feet, it suddenly registered in his mind that he hadn't heard any answering gunfire from Starsky's weapon.
"STARSKY!" he yelled desperately as he fired another round at the fleeing cruiser. "STARSK!" he shouted again, his voice even more frantic when he didn't get an answer from his partner. His heart pounded with fear, slamming against his chest like a sledge hammer. Dropping his weapon to his side, he ran around the front of the Torino and stopped dead.
Hutch felt like he'd been hit in the stomach with a wreaking ball. His partner and best friend lay crumbled on the ground beside the car, his body curled in a fetal position with his head resting in the rear wheel well. Blood was rapidly pooling on the ground beneath him, pouring from wounds in his chest and abdomen. Starsky had been caught in the direct line of fire, trapped on the driver's side of the car with no place to take cover.
The parking lot broke into chaos as officers came running out of the building attracted by the sound of gunfire. Hutch didn't even notice the shouts and curses that filled the air as he slumped down to the ground beside his fallen partner. He was afraid to touch Starsky, afraid of what he would find. Then instinct took over and his trembling fingers reached out to press against the side of Starsky's neck, searching frantically for a pulse. He found one but it was weak and erratic.
Gently, Hutch eased Starsky's head and shoulders into his lap, using his hands to press down against the terrible wounds in his chest, trying to stop the blood pouring out of his body. Other officers had arrived at the scene and were frantically trying to help, pressing jackets and bare hands against the wounds to slow the loss of blood. Hutch heard someone yelling that an ambulance was on the way but his attention was focused solely on his partner who could be dying right in front of his eyes.
Starsky's face was pale, his eyes were closed and his breathing was shallow and labored. Blood ran from the corner of his mouth in a frothy foam that indicated a direct hit to his lung. Hutch could hear the gurgling sound deep in Starsky's chest as he struggled to draw in each breath. He'd heard that sound too many times in his career. It meant that Starsky was drowning in his own blood as it filled his lungs.
"Please God…." Hutch whispered, the tears that burned his eyes beginning to fall down his cheeks. "Not now….not like this. Don't die on me, Starsk. Please don't die…" Hutch knew his prayers were futile. It was out of his hands. Starsky's fate rested in the hands of a much higher power now.