Hi All,

Thanks so much for the reviews emails, all are greatly treasured.

Robbin – thanks so much for the encouragement, I hope you continue to enjoy the story.

Kreek - , . ? (G)

Hugs to the Usual Suspects!

Chapter 15

Sierra Nevadas Mountain range

Paco wandered in the forest, instinct and fear driving him on. He hadn't heard a whinny from his horse friends in a long time and he had stopped wasting his breath braying for them. He was alone now. Really alone. He kept moving deeper into the forest, away from the fire and the fear it made him feel.

He sniffed the breeze, trying to get a whiff of his equine friends, but he could not detect them in the air. He caught the faint scent of humans in the air. His large ears twisted this way and that, trying to locate them by sound as well. But all he could detect was the tension in the air. The forest animals were as nervous as he was. He sniffed the air once more and headed in the direction of the human scent, for that scent meant safety to him.

XXXX

Bay City Memorial Hospital, Burn Ward

Captain Dobey entered the hospital room, which now contained the Black Baron. The last and only time that he had met the man was when his boys had tried to help out Terry Nash, who had murdered Joe Durniak. He had turned a blind eye to all the violations this man and his boys had committed. He hadn't liked it, but he had done it. He released a heavy sigh as he stood in the doorway. None of that mattered now. What mattered was finding out what the hell had happened to Starsky.

The FBI's search for the missing plane containing Hutch, the FBI agent Hank Ruth, the decoy and the pilot was at a standstill. There had been no sightings of the plane since it had disappeared off of the radar. The Feds were coming up empty.

Dobey noticed Huggy sitting in a chair next to the Baron's bed. He barely tolerated Huggy Bear, for he represented everything bad that Dobey had been working so hard to change over his twenty-five year career as a police officer. But, Huggy was Starsky and Hutch's informant. Worse, he was their friend. Even worse than that, he just might be the only person who could give him any information on the whereabouts of Starsky. Dobey gritted his teeth "How's he doing?" he motioned at the still figure in the bed.

"He still has a tube in his throat to keep his airway open, the Doc said that he inhaled some hot gases from the copter fire and that caused the tissues to swell. He can't talk yet; he's pretty medicated right now… he hasn't told me anythin'" Huggy shook his head sadly "Sorry Cap'n"

"I don't suppose Starsky said anything to you about where he was going?" The big man leaned against the wall and stared at the informant.

"No, the last time I talked to him, he wanted me to get a hold of the Baron here an' I did that. Why're you ridin' my tail anyhow? Huh? I'm just as worried about them as you are" the thin man looked up at the Captain; he just never understood the man's animosity towards him.

"Just where did he have his accident?" Dobey kept his tone business like.

"You hear about the big fire over in Fullerton, near the California-Nevada boarder?"

"Yes, I heard something about it on the news" The Captain's voice was sarcastic this time.

"The copter he was flying was the cause of that fire" Huggy looked up at Dobey.

"Oh that figures! Why am I not surprised by this? The Baron is even a bigger menace then you are!" the big man blustered. "Why didn't you say some thing about this earlier?"

Huggy rolled his eyes. He was aware that Dobey tended to gnaw on his hindquarters when he was worried about his men. "I left you a message, it's not my fault you didn't get that part of it. I'm tellin' you what I know, okay?" He stood up and walked to the door.

"Where are you going?" Dobey snapped.

"Same place you are." Huggy moved grab the door handle.

The big man blocked the door. "No, you stay here and wait for him to wake up. When he does, ask him what the hell happened to Starsky."

"Where are you going Cap'n?"

"Fullerton."

XXXX

Sierra Nevadas Mountain range

Starsky was panting with exertion as they neared the crest of the latest hill they were climbing. The terrain they had just crossed was a series of gullies and crests. They had had to cross several open spaces made up of rockslides. Each moment in the open revved up his heartbeat as he waited for Colby to strike. He hadn't heard any Vietnamese words for a while and finally figured that he had imagined them. This was by far the worst time he had spent in the woods since Nam. He vowed silently to never, ever go camping again, no matter how much Hutch might beg him.

"Starsk?"

"Yeah?"

"I've been wantin' to ask this… how is it that you can find your way around the woods?"

"Ummm, I just uh… remember what you taught me." The brunet hedged.

"Starsk… you're a pitiful liar" the blond's legs wobbled. He fought to stay upright and leaned heavily on Woody.

"You don't look so good" Starsky reached out and steadied his partner.

"Oh Starsky, you say the sweetest things" Hutch's sightless eyes rolled as a wave of dizziness hit him.

Starsky didn't comment as he tightened his grip on his friend's arms.

Hutch hissed with pain and dropped his stick.

"Sorry" Starsky eased his hold on Hutch's right arm and slung the blond's uninjured left arm over his shoulder again "C'mon partner, gotta get ya outta open and get to some cover and then I'm havin' me another look at that arm." He lifted Woody up with his foot and caught it in his free hand, then heused it to steady himself as they proceeded to climb up out of yet another gully.

"You're gonna tell me about it… Starsk… you've been actin' odd since-"

Starsky interrupted his friend "Actin' odd? Me? I'm not actin' odd, you just think that cause I've been thinkin' of all the time I'm wasting here with you when I could be spending my time workin' on my new idea on how to get some extra money." Starsky knew he had to stop Hutch from asking too many questions. The memories were just too painful. He had more important things to think about, like getting Hutch out of these woods and in to a hospital.

They continued their arduous trek to the meadow and when they crested the lip of the last little hill, Starsky looked at the meadow in disbelief. It was black. The trees were still standing; the trunks were a little scorched near the base, but for the most part, retained their leaves or needles. But where there had been grass and brush was nearly all black. There were a few places where the fire had not burned, leaving fingers of green grass amongst the burned areas. In the distance, smoke rose from where the fire now burned, a small flame of four to six inches high. And not another human in sight.

"W-what is it Starsk?" The blond lifted his weary head and fought to keep his legs from buckling, only sheer determination kept him on his feet now.

"The smoke wasn't from a signal fire." dread gnawed at Starsky's belly. They had wasted a lot of time and Hutch's meager energy reserves coming here. There was no help here and it didn't look like any would be coming anytime soon.

He looked up at the cloudless sky and sighed heavily. What should he do now? He didn't know where else to go. He had no map, no supplies, and a blinded, injured partner. He dropped his chin to his chest. He had counted on help being here in this meadow. Now he knew that there was not going to be any help. What am I gonna do? What the hell am I gonna do now?

XXXX

Colby watched the pair through binoculars from some rocks not too far away from the duo. He smiled as he watched Starsky drop his head and a look of utter defeat crossed the brunet's face. This was going to be really fun. He felt the smile on his face broaden and something burst in his chest. He tilted his head to the side, puzzled at the strange feeling. It was some emotions he hadn't felt before. He decided it was joy.

He ducked his head back down and began to move closer to them. He would have to be careful. Starsky was going to be very protective of his injured friend; rather like that bear had been of her cub. Starsky was a deadly marksman as well. He had heard through the prison grapevine that Starsky had exploded the gas tank on a car, with a single shot. He had done this after the pair of kidnappers had shot the blond as he attempted to deliver the ransom money. The brunet had turned them into crispy critters.

Colby eased his way around the pair and made his way closer to them. Starsky's Beretta held 15 rounds, provided he had one in the chamber, otherwise it was 14 bullets, unless he had another clip on him… Colby bit his lip as he pondered that notion. He had confiscated their supplies and three clips of ammunition for the Beretta, which he had gotten rid of; he didn't need them and sure as hell didn't want Starsky to get them. It was unlikely that Curly had any clips on him. Still, he would exercise caution until he was sure that Starsky was out of ammo.

He slipped behind a large tree trunk and rifled though one of the backpacks he had found in the cave where his former friends had hidden the night before. He didn't know where the hell the brunet had gotten them, but the hand grenades he found in that pack were going to come in handy.

XXXX

Fullerton fire

IC Johnston put in a call for some heavy tankers to make water drops on the fire to try to 'windproof' the fire line as best as they could before the front moved in. He also contacted the hotshot supervisors and had them pull their people away from the east side of the fire. With the strong westerly winds due to in under an hour, there was precious little time move them out of the way.

He leaned on the map, staring at it. So little time and so much to do… he raised his head and looked off to the mountain in the distance. He could see a wispy plume of smoke rise off of it. He checked his topographical maps and looked at the mountain again. If he were reading his maps correctly, anyone above that fire particular fire would have been in serious trouble. Thank God he hadn't sent anyone to fight it. There wasn't a thing on that mountain worth dying over. The fire would have to be fought at some point, but it was a lower priority since there were no people or property in its path.

Sweat trickled down his forehead. Johnston didn't notice it; he had to worry about his people on the fire line and how to keep them safe. God, if he had just a little more time and a few more people to fight this fire… the mountain fire was of lower priority since there were no homes or lives in danger, yet. That fire would have to be fought some time, but that time wasn't now. He shook his head; he would worry about it later.

He checked the skies, looking for the air tankers. They should be on their way by now, hell; they should be here by now. He grabbed the radio.

XXXX

Elk Meadow

Starsky tried to hide his anguish from Hutch. It rolled off of him in waves. It was like when the tide rolls in, each wave just a little higher then the one before. He gritted his teeth, he had to maintain control. He had to find a way to get Hutch to safety.

"Starsk?" Hutch gently shook his friend's shoulder "Starsky? Talk to me… what's going on?" He hated being so dependant. He couldn't see, but that wasn't going to stop him from trying to help anyway he could.

"There's no one here. I thought this was a signal fire… it's not."

"Just wait a second, how big is this fire?"

"A few acres,have burned that is... it's kinda hard ta tell, I can't see too much due to the smoke. Trees are fine though." A shiver racked Starsky's body.

"What?" Hutch's concern for his partner overrode his self-pity.

"Nothings wrong." In his minds eye, Starsky could see the burned out villages, the bodies lying in the blackened streets, bloating in the tropical heat, the stench of death hanging in the air.

"Bullshit, partner… talk to me."

"Fine, I'll tell ya, help ain't comin'… no one's comin.'" the brunet's voice was tired, he had placed so much hope on there being someone here to fly them out. Now that hope was dashed.

"It's a forest fire Starsk… they'll send someone to check it out. They don't just let these things burn."

The brunet nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right. We'll just stay here until the rangers come to put out the fire. There are some rocks over there. I'll keep an eye out for Colby and you will take a nap."

Hutch smiled at him "What am I? Five? I don't wanna nap!" he stomped one foot petulantly, his smile never faded.

Starsky's fingers brushed back a wet bangs "Tough, it's naptime for you, ya big lug." he guided Hutch to the small formation of rocks.

"So, you started to tell me about this new scheme for making a quick buck… what is it?"

"Shhh!" Starsky felt his body tense at a familiar sound, a dreaded sound… planes, big ones, like the ones that flew bombing missions in Nam.

"Planes Starsk! Planes!" Hutch raised his good arm and waved at the sky, trying to draw the attention of one of the pilots, even though they were a few thousand feet above them and unlikely to see anyone on the ground.

Starsky grabbed the blond and hustled him towards the nearest trees and shoved him behind them.

"Starsky! What-"

He didn't hear Hutch as he was engulfed in an intense flashback, the droning engines, the smell of smoke and the sight of the scorched earth… Starsky clamped a hand over his friend's mouth "Shhh! Quiet… don't draw attention to us, Jake, they'll bomb anything that moves" he pulled his friend into his arms and dragged him further into the wooded area. Friendly fire killed many a soldier in Vietnam. He kept his hand over his friend's mouth; the FNG didn't know the ropes yet.

TBC