Author's note: I found these 'explaination chapters' as I call them, very hard to write. Feedback is therefore highly appreciated.

Wuemsel, thank you for your supporting comments on these chapters you gave me a while ago. Also, thank you Strut for doing the same, and for introducing me to the world of quotes.

Enjoy.


Chapter 14

Pacing the floor, Starsky was angrily looking at the door, yelling at the dead piece of wood for the tenth time that day.

"Will you please sit down, they're not going to hear you," Hutch begged, also for the tenth time.

"What good does it do them to kidnap us, and then leave us alone for hours on end? I'm hungry! HEY, YOU HEAR THAT? I'M HUNGRY!"

"Starsk!"

With a dull thud Starsky sat down on the cot next to his partner, finally relenting to the situation. The room was a medium sized one. Square, with no windows. All it contained was the small cot they both currently occupied, an old hole riddled woven blanket covering the dirty mattress.

For the hundredth time that day, Starsky berated himself for not turning back the moment he realized Donalds and Michaels were all the backup they were going to get, for not having pulled the plug on the whole operation when Hutch had shown him that note, for not listening to his feelings, to his partner's feelings. Dammit, in hindsight, they'd both known something was wrong but sometimes they were just too much a cop to let go. "Dirty Feds, Hutch… they were playing us along."

Lilly's warning now seemed frighteningly close, frighteningly real. Something's going to get to him. He looked over at his partner, who appeared far too calm considering the circumstances. Hutch was still in cop mode.

"Starsky, you knew way before me that something like this was going to happen, I think it's time to confess, buddy."

Uh, oh, now he's in interrogation mode. Throwing a hand in the air in resignation, Starsky sighed. "I got a warning the other night at Huggy's. I met this women right after you left."

His partner's silence didn't make his confession any easier. Taking a deep breath he continued. "She had this … premonition, I think. She told me something was going to get to you." He purposefully left out the 'his future feels very lonely' bit, the part that worried him the most. The part that Starsky vowed would never come true.

Hutch stood up, and walked over to the door. He turned. "That's why you've been acting all weird lately, huh?"

Starsky didn't answer.

"You could've told me, partner."

"It wasn't something Huggy hadn't already told us, besides I know you. You don't believe in that mumbo jumbo. Remember that vampire guy? You were laughing at me so loud; you almost choked on your garlic."

"I also remember Collandra," Hutch whispered.

The soft, serious voice that was Hutch, not the cop, surprised the brunet. Collandra had been a psychic who'd helped them locate a missing girl. They'd found her exactly where he told him she was, making Lilly's story all the more plausible. Starsky looked up to find his partner looking at him silently. Without ever having to think about it, he knew the blond was scared. "Hutch, its not gonna happen."

Hutch looked away, avoiding eye contact. "They got to me the first time, Starsk."

With a sinking feeling Starsky suddenly realized what his partner was talking about. "They're not gonna fix you up."

"What if they do?"

"Listen to me, Hutch! Hey!"

Unable to resist the urgency in Starsky's voice, Hutch irritably snapped his eyes onto his partner again.

"Answer me this. When you were kicking it, back in Huggy's room, you would've given anything for just a sniff of the stuff, right?"

A curt nod was all the brunet got out of him. "You'd even given up your life for it, right?"

"What's your point, Starsk?" Hutch snapped.

Not being deterred by the anger in the blond's voice, Starsky continued. "Would you've given up my life for it?"

No answer.

"Hutch!"

"What!"

"Would you've sold me out, huh? When you'd gotten the chance?"

"No… yes… I don't know!"

He wanted to look away, but Starsky was determined to hold his gaze. "You don't know?"

"No! No, I wouldn't have, Starsk! Not even for that. I couldn't. You know that!"

"Hutch, that's crazy, we've seen addicts selling out their husbands, their wives, children, friends. All for the benefit of that one glorious moment the funny little white stuff will give them! So why didn't you, huh? What makes you so all mighty resistant?"

Hutch stared at him as if he were the enemy. "I didn't, Starsky! Isn't that enough? I wanted to knock your lights out, back in that room, dammit, and I didn't! Again, what's your point?"

Starsky gave a soft smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

As Hutch was kicking the dope, he had all but destroyed the room. He'd even gone for the door once or twice. Starsky knew that realistically speaking, Hutch could have waltzed right over him, could have floored him in order to easily cross that threshold into a world from which the brunet would not have been able to get him out again. But his partner had never resorted to such measures. Every time Starsky jumped between him and that door, Hutch had turned back. "That's exactly the point Hutch, nothing can get to you, as long as this connection we're seem to be havin' is there. It stopped you, didn't it?"

"Yes."

Silence descended for a few seconds.

"Lilly had a word for it; she said we were 'soul bonded'."

Hutch sighed. "I know that." The statement came as casual as the similar one Starsky had given Delilah. "It doesn't mean I can read minds, you should have told me about Lilly, partner."

The brunet smiled again, sensing some of the tension seeping away from the blond. Strangely enough it made him calm down some what too. "Yeah, well… You could've told me about that note, buddy. Guess that makes us even."

"Some good that's gonna do us. We better start concentrating on finding a way out here."

"Yeah," Starsky knew Dobey was probably looking for them. But he doubted they'd be found any time soon. The truck had taken quite some time to reach its destination, and when it finally had, they'd been blindfolded. Apart from the notion that they were in a basement, he didn't have a clue as to where they were.

For the thousandth time that day his mind focussed on just one thought. He had to get Hutch out of here… Fast.


Chapter 15

The sound of enclosing footsteps drew his attention. Hutch warned the brunet to stay quiet, before turning away from the door as it was being unlocked.

As many as four men stepped inside. Starsky stood up to stand next to his partner. "Well, if it ain't the duck boys and their uncle Karl," he mocked.

Hutch recognized Donalds, Michaels, Karl, and one of the Sumos as they tactically positioned themselves around him and his partner.

"Can the smart mouth, Detective, or we'll shut it up for you," Michaels threatened.

Hutch could tell Starsky was about to retort in a nasty way, and managed to stop him with a slight shake of his head.

Karl made his way over to the blond, ignoring Starsky completely. The resemblance to Ben Forest was uncanny. Karl however, was slightly taller, thinner, and obviously quite a bit older. His grey eyes were sparkling with intelligence. Slightly greying hair and harsh facial features told Hutch he was not to be underestimated.

Stepping in close to him, Karl looked the blond up and down. Hutch stood his ground, facing the man, who now wore a smirk on his face. "Detective Hutchinson, I presume? You might have heard of me? Ben's brother?"

"What do you want, Karl," Starsky rudely interrupted him.

The man's eyes never left the blond's. "I'm looking at it."

When Starsky's fist shot out, Michaels instantly raised his gun. Starsky's wrist, however, got caught in Hutch's hand.

Their eyes met briefly, the silent conversation that ensued only taking a split second as the brunet turned his anger onto his partner. What the hell are you doing?

Starsk, don't... They'll take you out.

Hutch.

I need you with me… Please.

A nearly imperceptible nod followed, and Starsky backed off.

Karl frowned, turning towards the brunet. "Detective Starsky, you're a hard man to separate from your partner, though we've tried."

As Starsky wisely kept his silence, the older Forest looked back at Hutch again, who awarded him with an icy stare.

"Want to tell us what's going on, exactly?" Hutch could sound very cold if he wanted to.

Karl's smug answer almost made him want to puke. "Did you like my little trail of bodies? The trouble we had to go through to get you here."

Starsky retorted angrily, "Don't give us that crap, Karl. We know you used them for your sick little drug experiments."

Donalds, standing behind Starsky, smiled. "The boy is clever, boss."

Karl gave the brunet a sly smile. "Well, we killed two birds with one stone, really. First off, I needed this drug tested. And secondly, I knew our little experiments resulting in the unfortunate deaths of the subjects, would lead you straight to me. If you hadn't come we would have… kept the trail fresh, off course."

Karl pulled a vial from his inside pocket. "This is the only sample of the finished version we were able to make." He held the small bottle up against the lonely light bulb. "Beautiful, isn't it? It contains just enough of the stuff to do what it's supposed to do, without killing."

"Without killing?" Starsky asked incredulously.

Karl looked down, focussing his attention entirely on the brunet this time. "Detective Starsky, The killings were a necessary step in the development of this drug. However, this final version is meant to be far more sophisticated, leaving you perfectly alive."

Hutch couldn't help but shiver slightly. He knew very well what the drug was capable of. Dobey had told him. However, before he could speak up, his partner was already uttering a threat of his own. The anger in his voice betrayed the fact that he had instantly understood the horrific implications of the drug.

"Dead or alive, it doesn't matter, 'cos we're on to you, and you're little experiments. Vice will close down this entire operation of yours in no time."

"That's where you're wrong." Karl smiled, sounding far too self confident for Hutch's liking.

"After we've tested a drop of this stuff, Donalds and Michaels over here will take the rest of it home with them. The Feds will take over. They have no official knowledge of the … say, sacrifices which were necessary to create the drug. They will order the cops to drop the investigation to protect their investment and voila… I'm a free man."

"T'riffic." Starsky murmured, obviously realizing their chances for survival had just dropped dead.

"So," Karl's smile died on his lips. "That leaves us all set up, except for one thing."

"What's that?" Starsky asked warily.

His eyes filling with hate, the older Forest turned to Hutch again.

Hutch knew what was to come. Inwardly he swallowed, hard.

"We just need one last test subject."


Tbc.