Through the Years
Chapter Nineteen
We Are Family
Part Two
Starsky and Hutch joined Babcock and Simmons in Dobey's office. A sniper rifle sat very prominently on his desk.
Dobey looked up, "Before we get started, how are the boys?"
Hutch spoke first. "Bobby's leg is broken. It is serious, but at least it is a clean break. He should heal well. Lenny's arm is a worse break, but he should also heal well. Did you know he never told us he was hurt because he didn't want to scare Bobby any more? I am so proud of how he, Dylan, and Justin, handled this whole thing."
Starsky took over, "Terry and Abby are staying at the hospital. The doctor wants to keep them at least overnight, possibly longer. He is worried about the condition of the water they were in. Bobby has finally settled down. Lenny is the only reason he has settled; he is staying in Bobby's bed with him." He glanced at Hutch. "I am proud of our boys too. That begs the question, exactly what is it that they were handling? Am I safe in guessing it has something to do with that rifle?"
Dobey told Babcock to go get a couple of chairs so they could all sit. As grave as the situation was, he nearly laughed when Hutch and Simmons both sat, and Starsky and Babcock both perched on the arms of the chairs their partners were sitting in.
"Now, one of the uniforms found this on the roof of the building you told them to check out. Serial numbers have been filed off, so we can't trace it."
His voice trailed off and he would not meet their eyes.
Hutch spoke, "Captain, what are you not telling us?"
Dobey heaved a heavy sigh, then looked up at his men. "There was a note left with it. This was not random. Your kids were deliberately targeted to get to you."
The expected explosion did not disappoint. All four men were on their feet. Starsky and Hutch enraged. Babcock and Simmons preparing to try to contain them.
Starsky was able to make a coherent sentence first. "You mean to tell us that someone set out to hurt our boys, our babies, to get revenge on us?!"
Hutch just said one word, "Who?"
Dobey had expected this, and he didn't have an answer. "No clue, yet. Collins and Kaplan are on their way up with some files. There is not enough room in here, so I told them to go to the conference room. I have cleared everything the four of you have been working on. You can also have Collins and Kaplan to help. I will be in and out as much as I can. Anything you need, you have. I don't need to tell you to keep it clean and professional, do I? I want whoever is responsible for this, and I want them so it sticks!"
Hutch put his hand out. Dobey knew why and handed over the note inside an evidence bag. Hutch read it with Starsky looking over his shoulder.
"You are going to lose everything that means anything to you. Those brats are just the beginning. You took everything from me. Now it is my turn."
They looked at each other with all the color drained from their faces. Hutch sat back down and put his head in his hands. Starsky resumed his perch on the arm of the chair. He put one hand on Hutch's shoulder and scrubbed his face with the other.
Starsky finally looked at Dobey, "Cap'n, who could hate us so much to go after kids? If I am reading this right, no one we care about is safe. You said all the kids are with Huggy?"
Hutch's head shot up at that and he jumped up grabbing the phone.
It took Dobey just a second to catch up.
"Simmons, I want three units headed to Huggy Bear's house before the echo dies! Babcock, get the hospital on the phone and have them put a guard on the kids' room until we get some officers there. I want at least two uniforms on that door every minute!"
While Dobey was giving instructions, Huggy's phone was ringing. After six rings with no answer Hutch slammed down the phone and followed his partner who was already headed out the door.
They arrived at Huggy's to find no one there but cops. There were cars out front with the lights still turning on top. They ran inside and knew real fear. The house was destroyed, but there was no sign of Mama Starsky, any of the kids, Huggy's family, or Dobey's family. At first, they thought the worst. Whoever was after them had their family. Then Starsky spotted something.
"Hutch, look over there, on the wall."
On the wall was what could only be a message for them. It was written with green crayon. All it said was "B and C the usual."
Hutch grabbed the closest uniform, "Tell Dobey we think we know where they are, and they are safe. If we are right, we will call him at the station in an hour."
The partners started to wonder if they were being paranoid. Starsky was taking a very round-a-bout way to the meeting spot. Hutch was constantly looking behind them to be sure they weren't being tailed.
Starsky actually chuckled, "You know, just cause we're paranoid, that doesn't mean no one is after us. I don't think we can be too careful right now. It isn't just us."
Hutch nodded, "I agree. As soon as the family is safe, this guy is going down, hard."
Once they arrived Starsky drove through the storm drain very slowly with Hutch walking beside the car. They were carefully looking in all the channels. Hutch spotted something and knocked on the top of the car. Starsky got out of the car, and they made their way to the channel. They could see three cars and the van parked in there.
Hutch called out, "Huggy, come on out."
They could hear Huggy telling the others to stay put, then he stepped out.
"I am glad to see you guys. I don't know who is after you. All I heard was anyone important to you was a target. I knew my family would be on that list, and since most of your family was at my place…well, I thought discretion was the better part of valor, and we came here. Edith and Rosie are here too. We thought it was best to all stay together. Are Lenny and Bobby alright?"
Starsky went in the channel to check on the families while Hutch kept watch and talked to Huggy.
"Couple of broken bones, but they will be fine. Good thinking bringing Dobey's ladies too. Now we have to figure out how to keep everyone safe until we find this joker."
Huggy put his hand on his friend's shoulder, "I have been pondering just that dilemma mon amie. We have to get them to a safe place, that is not connected to any of us."
"Well, have you come up with something?"
Huggy grinned, "I did. I called Sweet Alice. She called a cousin of hers. That cousin has a hotel with a few vacancies. Not in the best of neighborhoods, but safer than home right now."
Hutch shook his head, "You will stay with them, right? We will get a few guys we trust to go with you. You can't take the cars or van. They are recognizable. Leave them here. I will get Dobey to provide transportation."
"Of course I will be with them. You guys are going to be busy. The wives have to stick with the injured kids. I think I can handle this with Diane, Edith, Rosie, and Mama Starsky. Right now, I am going to move those vehicles further into the channel so there is less chance of them being spotted.
Dobey did provide transportation. Not what they expected at all. He had a prison bus pick the group up and take them to another precinct. He also set it up so there would be several moving vans, from different companies, to move them to the hotel. The logistics of thirteen kids and five adults in four hotel rooms was interesting, to say the least. Once Lenny and Bobby were released that would add two kids and two adults to the mix. Dobey had arranged for Sweet Alice's cousin to be compensated for the rooms. There were six rooms on each floor of this four-story hotel. He got the remaining two rooms on the top floor and put four teams in them. Four men in each room. Two teams could be in the rooms resting, while the other two teams stayed in the hall. It was an old building, so no elevator. One stairwell allowed them to be sure no one got near the people they were protecting. Starsky and Hutch were well liked and respected. The last thing any of them wanted to do was fail to protect their loved ones. Add to that the Captain's wife and daughter and failure was not an option. Dobey asked the Captain of the local precinct to provide someone known in the neighborhood to get anything needed by the families. Once they were in the hotel, they would not leave until the danger had passed. Dobey was glad his girls were with Huggy, he thought Cal would be safe staying at school. He just started working on his Master of Education degree and Dobey did not want this to get in the way. There were enough targets in state, he didn't expect this guy to go after his son all the way on the east coast. He did let Cal know to be extra vigilant. He had also contacted the dean of students to be sure Cal would stay safe.
Once the families were safe, Starsky and Hutch, along with their four helpers, commandeered a conference room. Charlie kept a steady stream of information flowing in and Minnie used her organizational magic to keep it making sense. The volume of information was daunting. Once he took it all in, Babcock headed for the door.
"I will be right back folks. I am going to find a coffee pot. This looks like we will need a gallon of it just to get started."
Hutch barely looked up, "Good idea, this is a mountain."
Starsky chuckled, "That's what we get for being so good at our jobs, a mountain to look through."
That broke the tension. With the people they cared about safe, they were more at ease than they thought they would be. The sense of urgency was still there, but the fear for their families wasn't. They just needed to find this joker fast to get their families home.