Through the Years

Chapter Twenty - One

We Are Family

Part Four

Dobey started to get nervous. He had been waiting for a little over an hour and had not seen the janitors yet. Just as he was about to go looking, he saw the two men push the laundry carts right to the edge of the service dock. He got out of the car.

"You men! Do you have something for me?"

The two men exchanged a glance. Joyce had not told them who would meet them. They did remember this guy as Starsky and Hutch's boss.

One of them addressed the captain, "Yes sir. We have something for you. We will help them to your car."

Just a few minutes later, Dobey was driving towards the station with his passengers. He was carefully watching to be sure he wasn't being followed. Once he was sure they were safe, he changed directions and headed towards the hotel the families were hidden in.

Dobey knew how many people were occupying the fourth floor. He thought he was ready for it. Not to say it was chaotic, it was not. It was very busy though. Once again, he was impressed with his boys and their wives. All these kids, and they were as well behaved as any kids he had ever seen. As soon as the kids realized who was there, they crowded around.

Abby had gotten down on one knee, "Come here kids, we have missed you all. Be careful of Bobby and Lenny."

With that, she was practically buried in children. Dobey took over holding Bobby so Terry could greet the children also. He kept Lenny beside him too so he could protect his arm. Edith and Rosie came to stand beside him. Edith linked her arm with her husband.

"I am glad they are here. This has been so hard on the children. Two days without either parent is already hard. Add to that they can't even go home. I am happy we have such a good relationship with the children, at least they weren't with strangers. Huggy and Diane are great with them, even with their two little ones."

Just as she spoke, Huggy came over carrying three-year-old Harmony. The little girl reached her arms out to the captain as soon as they were close.

"Poppy, Poppy."

Edith took Bobby from her husband so he could greet the little girl. Dobey took the little one from her father, "And what have you been up to, little bit?"

The girl squealed in delight when he started to tickle her.

Huggy spoke above the squeals, "Are they any closer to ending this Captain?"

Dobey nodded, "We are fairly sure we know who it is. All we have to do now is catch him."

He gave Harmony back to her father after kissing the toddler on the cheek. He then kissed his wife and daughter and ruffled the hair on Lenny and Bobby before heading towards the group of six men standing at the end of the hallway.

"You men stay alert. We think we know who it is, and his actions at the hospital indicate he may be acting in desperation now. I believe this location is still secure, but nothing is guaranteed. These people, including my family, are depending on you. Starsky and Hutch are depending on you. I am depending on you. Don't let us down!"

One of the men stepped forward. "Don't worry sir. We have changed our schedules so there are six of us on duty and only two sleeping at any time. We are on six-hour rotations. We won't let anything happen to anyone here."

"Good, I knew you were the right men for this assignment. I will be in touch as soon as I have an update."

Dobey then waded into the crowd of children around Terry and Abby. "Alright kids, Poppy is going back to work. How about some hugs?"

Dobey spent about half an hour making sure all twelve children got a little attention from him. He left then to make his way back to the station where he knew Starsky and Hutch were anxiously waiting.

He found them where he expected to. All six of them were back in the conference room trying to get a lead on Craig Sumter. This one kid had turned their worlds upside down.

Starsky looked up when he walked in, "Hey Cap'n, Darby just stopped by. Thanks for having someone going to our house and taking care of the dogs. How are the kids doing?"

Dobey nodded, "The kids are happy to have Abby and Terry back. I know they are anxious to get home. What do you have on Sumter? Any idea where he is?"

Hutch was frustrated, "This guy is like a ghost, Captain. No one seems to know where he is. He has not had a permanent address since he left the Army. There is no family for him to turn to. His whole focus is us."

Starsky's head popped up, "Hutch, that's it! That is what we are missing. This guy wants us. We need to get out there. He needs to find us, that is the only way we will find him."

Dobey shook his head, "No good. I won't have you making yourselves bait for this guy. He is an expert sniper. He can get you without you ever seeing him. It's Alex Drew all over again. I didn't like it then; I like it less now."

Hutch stood and walked over to his boss, "Captain, Starsky is right. I can't see of any way else to find him. Our families are safe, but I want them home."

Dobey knew he wasn't going to win this one. "I still don't like it, but I see your point. I want to see a plan on this. You aren't to make a move without my approval. I want our families home too, but I want you home with them."

Babcock stood up, "Don't worry Captain. Me and Simmons are going to be with them every step of the way. We will do our best to keep them safe."

Starsky snorted, "We don't need babysitters."

Hutch hid his smile behind his hand because he could see how mad Dobey was. He just stood there waiting for the explosion. He didn't have to wait long.

Dobey pointed his finger at Starsky and bellowed, "You need what I say you need. We aren't going to take any chances with this. Is any part of that unclear to you Detective Starsky?"

Starsky had the decency to look contrite, at least a little, "It's clear Cap'n. I know you all are only trying to help. This thing has got me on edge."

The captain put his hand on Starsky's shoulder, "I know son, I know. We are all on edge. All the more reason to have people watching your backs. I will be in my office when you guys are ready with a plan."

The six officers continued hashing out a plan for the next hour and a half. Minnie and Charlie had great perspectives, not being active working the streets. Minnie was so adept at compiling information and Charlie could see holes in the plan. When they thought they had a solid plan to present to Dobey, Starsky and Hutch hugged Minnie and shook Charlie's hand. They knew this would have been harder and taken longer without them.

Dobey looked up at the knock on his door to see his four detectives coming in. Hutch laid a file on his desk. The four men took their customary seats while they waited for Dobey to digest what they gave him.

Dobey looked up after about ten minutes, "I have already said I don't like this." He held his hand up to quell the objection from Starsky. "I don't have any better ideas so we will have to go with it. You stick to this plan! I will have a dozen uniforms close by until this is over." He looked at each man intently. "I do not intend to tell any of your wives or children that you are hurt, or worse. Get it done but be careful."

They all nodded. Hutch spoke, "We will Captain. We have had about enough of this guy. I could have felt sorry for him, the way he lost his family. When he went after our kids, that put an end to any sympathy I could have had."

With that, the four men left to put their plan into motion. Simmons and Babcock left first. They thought it was unlikely they would be targeted or followed. They would go to the Compound, as the Starsky/Hutchinson houses had come to be known and wait. Starsky and Hutch went out in the Torino. They wanted to be seen. They were hoping Sumter would see them and follow them home. Since the people they cared about were out of his reach, they were expecting him to make a mistake out of frustration.

They drove around their beat for about two hours. They had decided if Sumter had not latched onto them by then, they may need another plan. They were staying off the radio just in case this guy had somehow gotten access. Babcock and Simmons were waiting for them in Hutch's house. They were going to Starsky's. It was time to head home.

Starsky kept glancing in the rear-view mirror. "Hey Ollie."

"You got something?"

Starsky nodded, "I can't be certain, yet. I am going to take a couple of switch back turns. If it is a tail, I won't lose him, but I want to make sure."

Hutch carefully looked in the side mirror to try to see the tail. They didn't want the guy to know they knew he was following them. After a few turns the car was still back there.

Starsky glanced at Hutch, "Well Partner, are you ready for this? I am about to head straight home."

Hutch looked grim, "Let's do this. I am ready for this to be over. This guy has had us running around his maze long enough."

It took another ten minutes for Starsky to pull into the driveway. They got out of the car and headed for the house. They were not surprised to have lost the tail a few minutes back. They did not expect him to follow them all the way to the house. They figured once he was sure they were headed home he would break off and set up for what ever he had planned.

As soon as they got in the house, they were overrun by dogs. It took them twenty minutes to get them calmed down. This was the first time the dogs had been without any of their people for more than a few hours. Hutch finally pulled away from the happy dogs and made his way to Starsky's phone. He called his house, let the phone ring twice, hung up, then called back.

"Hey Babcock, we are here. I am sure the dogs let you know that. Have you seen anything yet?"

"No Hutch, all clear here. We will keep watch though. Do you think he will try something? Do you think he even knows you are here?"

"Oh, he knows we are here. He followed us most of the way home. Don't forget. If he tries something, you lay low unless you have a clear avenue to either grab him or stop him. We don't want to lose the advantage of him not knowing you are there if he should happen to get away."

"I know. Don't worry Hutch, we know our part. You two be careful."

With that they hung up. While Hutch was talking on the phone, Starsky had been in the kitchen making sandwiches. He had just opened the fridge when Hutch saw a glint in a window across the street. He yelled and they both hit the floor and scrambled for cover. At the same moment Hutch yelled the gallon of milk in the fridge exploded. He carefully looked over the counter, trying to spot Sumter in the window across the street. He ducked quickly as the top of the counter splintered right next to his head.

Starsky looked at his partner, "You good?"

Hutch looked back, "Good? No, but I am not hurt."

Starsky looked grim, "My turn."

He very slowly peaked around the edge of the fridge and backed up quickly.

He looked at the damage ruefully. "Terry wanted a new refrigerator anyway."

They both heard a staccato of shots coming from Hutch's house. A few minutes later Simmons slowly came in the back door.

"Starsky? Hutch? Are you hurt?"

Starsky stood up, "We are not hurt. Did you get him?"

"Babcock got him. He went to see if he is still alive. I wanted to check on you two."

Simmons then went to the phone. He called Dobey and got an earful because he did not know the condition of the suspect. Babcock came in to see Simmons holding the phone away from his ear. He could hear Dobey across the room. He chuckled and took the phone from his partner.

"Captain! Captain, Sumter is dead. I was able to get a bead on him because he kept shooting at Starsky and Hutch. No sir, they are fine."

It did not take long for sirens to be heard approaching. They were not surprised to see their captain get out of the first car on scene.

"I am glad this is over. I am sorry it had to end the way it did, but he was far to dangerous to let get away. Good work men. Starsky, Hutchinson, let's go get our families."

It took some maneuvering to get the vehicles that had been left in the storm drain. Once they had them it was on to the hotel. When Starsky and Hutch entered the hallway they were immediately buried in children. Teddy and Harmony had even joined the fray. They got down on the floor and wrestled with the kids while Dobey went to talk to the adults.

"It is over. We can all go home."

Huggy let out a whoop and hugged Diane. The rest of them laughed at his exuberance. They laughed even harder when he joined the wrestling match with his friends. The women then turned to start packing up. They were surprised when more women showed up. Seems the four married officers that had been guarding them called their wives to come help with the relocation. It didn't hurt that they had not seen them for several days and were anxious for their own reunion. It was a very happy group that left the hotel.

A couple of months had gone by since the incident in the park. Bobby and Lenny had healed nicely and were out of their casts. Things had gotten back to normal at the Compound. The adults had discussed having a celebration. They were going to have one of their huge cookouts and invite everyone who had taken part in getting things back to normal.

Several weeks later there were dozens of people milling around the big yard. The partners had rented chairs and tables. They had two big grills going with hamburgers, hot dogs, and chicken. Most of the wives had shown up with sides and salads to help. There was plenty of food to go around, including a nice selection of meatless options for the two couples that were vegetarian. Once again, the partners stood on the porch with their wives surveying their friends and families.

Hutch cuddled Abby closer to him, "You know, we should make this a regular thing. Not just when something major happens. I enjoy having so many of our friends here like this. What we just went through reminded me that we cannot take any of these relationships for granted."

Starsky was also cuddling Terry, "I agree. I cannot think of a better way to tell folks how important they are to us. Now, let's get out there and mingle." With that, he kissed Terry on the nose and they went into the yard to join their friends.