The Next Years

Chapter Three

Growing Fast

Part Three

The last thing Shelly saw before being put in the car were her brother and cousin on the ground. She knew these guys were dangerous and wondered why they grabbed her. She saw them shoot Gabe, and really hoped he was not hurt bad. This made her decide to fight. Knowing they were willing to hurt or kill kids left her with little to lose. She figured she would wait until they stopped somewhere. It would not do her any good to fight them off in a moving car. She was paying close attention to the route they were traveling. If she got away, she needed to know where she was.

Starsky and Hutch went back to the squad room. Minnie and Charley were waiting for them. Simmons and Babcock were right behind them.

Minnie gave both detectives a hug. "I am sorry about what is happening to your kids. Captain told us to put everything else on the back burner until the suspects are found and Shelly is safe. Every off duty detective is here. We are running the plates Simmons gave us now. We will find your girl!"

They looked around to see two dozen of their co-workers waiting for instructions. They were both a little choked up by the support, but did not let that last. Charley had been on the phone and just completed the call.

"The car is registered to Thomas Clearwater of Tucson. He has a long record for small time stuff. The most interesting of them are six different arrests as the wheel man for several illegal jobs."

Starsky sighed, "That is not encouraging. If this guy is stupid enough to use his own car for a chase across state lines, I am very worried about what other bad decisions they will make."

Hutch put his hand on his partner's shoulder, "The biggest mistake they made is hurting our boys and taking Shelly."

Dobey walked in on the tail end of that. "We have a BOLO out on that car. Every unit in the area is looking for it. I also have Dooley and Sanchez on the way to Tucson with a warrant and the safe deposit key. Priority is getting my granddaughter back, but we still need to know why the Fountains were running, and why they were attacked."

Abby and Terry were waiting for word on their sons. Gabe was in surgery to remove the bullet and Mikey was in surgery to repair his badly broken arm. Abby was trying to comfort Terry as much as she could. At least she knew where all her kids were.

If Abby had known what Lenny and Justin were planning she would have been much more worried. They called Uncle Huggy like they were told, but had no intention of staying home. They roped Dylan into their plan.

Lenny put his hand on Dylan's shoulder, "Our dad and your dad have to follow proper procedure. We know that. We also think we know where they took Shelly. Every minute she is gone is dangerous. We need you to run interference for us with Uncle Huggy. Just give us some time."

Dylan started shaking his head almost right off, "Are you both crazy? These are real, adult, criminals. They shot Gabe, hurt Mikey, and kidnapped Shelly. What makes you think you can do better than the police?"

Now Justin spoke, "They won't be expecting us, and I saw where they were headed. We are going. Will you help us?"

Lenny, Justin, and Dylan spent some time planning. Justin was fairly certain of the area they took Shelly to, but they had to figure out how to narrow it down. They decided to use their bikes.

Dylan had doubts, "If you do find her, how will three of you get away on two bikes?"

Lenny and Justin clearly had not thought that through. Dylan crossed his arms and waited. He was not at all happy with what his cousins were planning. At the same time, he was worried about his sister and wished he could look for her too.

Justin snapped his fingers and went under the back porch. The area under the back porch of his house was for the dogs. The area under the back porch of the Starsky house is where all the bikes and sporting equipment were kept. He came back with a skateboard and bungee cord.

"I will carry this on my back, if we find Shelly, she can ride the bike and I can use the skateboard. If we have to move fast, I can hitch onto the back of Lenny's bike."

Dylan shook his head, "I still think you guys are making a huge mistake. Our dads don't need your help to find Shelly. They know what they are doing."

Captain Dobey hung up the phone. The actions of his grandsons should have surprised him, but they didn't. Those boys had picked the worst time to disobey their father. Now, he had to tell his already worried men that two more of their kids were missing.

"Starsky, Hutchinson, my office!"

He did not bother to sit or tell them to. "I just got off the phone with Dooley and Huggy Bear. Huggy finally got the truth from Dylan. Lenny and Justin decided to go off and look for Shelly themselves."

Hutch's head snapped up from the file he was reading. "They did what?"

Starsky put his hand on his partner's shoulder. "I told those boys to go home and stay there."

Hutch ran his hand down his face. "I heard you tell them that. What is with these kids? Now we have two more to worry about."

The Captain cleared his throat, "We keep looking for Shelly. Unless Justin and Lenny actually find her, they are not in danger. I also heard from Dooley. It seems Jacob Fountain is an accountant. The safe deposit box contains proof that his employer was involved in organized crime. The letter he included makes it clear that he wasn't involved. He planned to come forward, but wanted his family safe first."

As Dobey finished speaking Babcock crashed through the door. "The car has been spotted!"

Lenny and Justin had been riding around for at least thirty minutes. They were beginning to wonder if they were right about them being in this area.

"I don't know Justin. Are you sure they were headed this way?"

Justin was looking a little unsure, "I know they came this way. We just haven't found them yet. Just keep looking."

Lenny saw a car pulling up to a stop light, he couldn't believe it. It was the car they put Shelly in. He hit Justin's shoulder and pointed.

Shelly was surprised they had done nothing to secure her. Maybe it was good they thought of her as a kid. They had stopped at a nearby market. Two of them stayed in the car with her while the other one went into the store. When he came out a little while later, she was surprised at the amount of groceries he had gotten. This made her think they were planning to travel. She didn't know why they would take her, and then leave the state, but she was determined not to go with them. She decided she would run the next time the car stopped.

They were rolling up to a red light when she saw them. Her cousins coming from the opposite direction on their bikes. She couldn't believe those kids found her before her father. The car stopped and it seemed like a dozen things happened all at once. The car stopped just as Justin got close to the back door. That was when she saw the skateboard on his back. He opened the door and dragged her out before her captures even realized he had stopped. He got off the bike so she could get on and had dropped his skateboard to the ground at the same time. He grabbed the back of Lenny's bike and started yelling "Go, go!"

She was certain they would be shot at any second. Suddenly, the street was full of police cars. The kids were quick to get behind one. The cops grabbed them and put them in the back seat with the order to stay down. Lenny and Justin were not sure yet if Shelly was hurt. They put her on the floor and covered her.

They all heard the unmistakable sound of the Torino. They started to get up to get out of the car.

The cop beside the door saw them moving and yelled at them. "I told you kids to stay down. Now, stay down! Don't move until I tell you to."

The three men in the car thought about fighting their way out, but not for long. They figured out quick that taking that kid was not the best idea they ever had. They threw their guns out and gave up right away.

Just as the Torino pulled up, the partners saw the men in the car being taken into custody. They started toward the car when they heard the cop in the car beside them telling someone to stay down. They headed that way.

Starsky opened the back door and saw the three kids.

"Are any of you hurt?"

Lenny looked up at his uncle and shook his head.

"Good, get out here."

The two boys got out and looked decidedly contrite. Shelly wrapped her arms around Starsky's waist. Hutch crossed his arms and looked down at his fifteen year old sons.

"You boys were told to stay home. What you did was defiant and dangerous. What do you have to say for yourselves?"

The boys looked at each other and Lenny cleared his throat.

"We saved Shelly."

Starsky had to look away. The boys were not wrong. If the kidnappers had seen the cop cars while they still had Shelly, things could have gone very differently.

Hutch held his arms open to his sons and they went to him.

"We are going to discuss this. Right now I am just happy you are all safe. We are heading to the hospital to check on Gabe and Mikey. You three will go home. Stay there this time."

Shelly looked at her father, "Can I come with you to the hospital? Gabe and Mikey got hurt trying to protect me and I want to see them."

Starsky thought a minute, then nodded. "You can come, it will do your Mom good to see you safe and in one piece. I kind of want you checked out anyway."

The boys had been brought into the same hospital room after surgery. Both with their arm in a sling, and tightly wrapped. Dr. Franklin had explained that Mikey would get a cast in a few days, once the swelling went down. They were just waking up. Mikey was awake first.

He looked at his mom and asked, "Is Shelly okay?"

Terry took his hand. "Your father and uncle are looking for her. I am sure she will be found soon."

Gabe heard what Terry said, "It's all my fault. I should have been faster. "

Mikey looked at his cousin, "You're right. It is your fault. If you hadn't been putting me down again, she would not have been there for them to grab."

Terry and Abby looked at each other. The boys were so much like their fathers. Gabe with his guilt complex and Mikey with his passionate reflexes.

Terry spoke, "Boys, it is not Gabe's fault. We don't know what is going on, or why Shelly was taken, but it wasn't your fault." She looked each boy in the eye.

The partners and Shelly got to the door of the room just to hear the boys arguing with each other and the women trying to stop them. Mikey was asking to be moved to a different room as they walked in.

Shelly knocked on the wall, "Excuse me. What is your problem? When are you going to learn how to get along?"

Everyone in the room froze for just a second. Terry and Abby went straight to Shelly. The partners went to keep the boys from getting out of their beds.

Hutch spoke, "Enough, this all happened because a father was trying to keep his family safe. We have the men in custody here, and have sent information to Tucson to allow them to make arrests there. Oscar and Emily have an aunt in Utah who is on the way to get them. I will have no more of this talk of one of you being to blame."

Starsky, Terry, and Abby all tried unsuccessfully to stifle laughs. Hutch glared at them.

Starsky chuckled, "Face it Blondie, our boys are just like us."