Hey, it's me… I'm back! Ahem… Okay, I know that for some of you, waiting for me to update this story has just been nothing but torture. Not to mention Starsky, who I'd left on that altar for months on end! He's never going to forgive me.

Thank you all, who pushed me into continuing Liquids, who send me emails, who nudged this story back to life. A big hug to all of you. All I can say is … my muse is alive and kicking again!

From here on out all the beta work is done by Starsky's Strut. Proofreading is done by Wuemsel. Also be warned: things will be getting more intense.

I recommend you reread the story, because I have revised chapters 1 to 10. (Changed and added a few extra scenes, mainly concerning Stef.)

For those of you still sticking with me on this story (warm hug), here we go…

Chapter 11

Carefully Hutch touched the barren rock. It felt cold and smooth beneath his fingers. Forged out of the earth itself, the stone surface enveloped a dark gaping hole. A cold wind rose from deep inside its bowels, touching him with its icy fingers.

Hutch shivered. It was late in the evening and the sun had already begun to set. To his surprise, the cave, situated halfway up a cliff, wasn't too far from where they found the Torino earlier this day. The beach beneath him was abandoned, the sand, rock and chilling wind, only added to the image of a hostile environment.

Taking a deep breath, Hutch kept wondering if he hadn't made a mistake by not informing Dobey of his whereabouts. He shook his head. Quite frankly he didn't care. Solely focussed on getting his partner out, Hutch had thrown caution to the wind, but he wasn't stupid. Unbeknown to the kid, he'd told Huggy. And although the man was viciously protective over Stef, the bartender had made it clear that if he wouldn't hear from the blond in twenty four hours he would alert the entire Bay City Police Department.

He tore his eyes away from the cave to look at Stef

"Why are you doing this?" He spoke in an attempt to quell his inner demons.

"I told you," the young thief answered, while rummaging through a small backpack. "I owe it to someone."

"You owe it to someone to bring in the cops?

Instead of answering, Stef said. "I've seen you two. I saw how you work together, run together. You're closer than brothers."

"You didn't answer my question."

Stef threw him a flashlight, then put on his backpack and without answering proceeded to walk into the cave. "Follow me."

The way Stef acted reminded him of something. Suddenly he knew what the boy was trying to hide. Staring at the light in his hand, Hutch said, "Don't you need a flashlight?"

The hollow answer came from deep within the cave, "No, I can find my way in the dark without it. Are you coming or not?"

Taking a deep breath, Hutch followed him in. He found the boy standing at the back of the cave, near a crack in the wall, barely big enough to fit a grown person. Stef disappeared inside it. Squeezing himself through the narrow opening, Hutch was surprised to find a wide corridor behind it. The shadows dancing beyond the range of the light seemed to go on forever. It wasn't difficult to imagine that all kinds of nightmarish creatures were hiding in the dark. Don't be stupid Hutchinson, he reprimanded himself. Get a grip or you'll never find your partner.

The tunnel looked old and obviously wasn't handmade for its stone walls looked far too rough for that, and its course was far too erratic. As they went deeper into the narrowing tunnel, Hutch kept one hand on the wall, mainly because the solid mass bought him some comfort in this new world, in which he felt naked and totally out of place. The dark wall felt clammy to the touch, the air smelled moist and stale.

The deeper they went in, the more nervous Hutch became. This place was huge. How could anything this big, exist so close to the city, without anyone knowing about it? His steps suddenly faltered as the comforting wall gave way beneath his hand.

The young thief noticed and took a few steps back. "These are old tunnels, used for smuggling in the old days." he explained. "Some of the side passages lead to one of the older houses in the area, some disappear into the depths of the earth. I would stay close if I were you. If you get lost down here, you're a goner."

Hutch nodded timidly, having already decided that he should keep a close eye on the boy. Because I also wouldn't be able to find my way out, if you decide to leave me stranded in this maze.

Reluctantly he followed the kid past the gaping hole to his right. The emptiness beneath his hand was unsettling, and he couldn't help but peer nervously into the darkness of the tunnel. For a moment he thought he saw movement there. His heart suddenly did a quickstep in his throat. Dammit, stop imagining things, Detective! Good thing Starsky wasn't here, with the anxiety attacks his partner had suffered lately, Hutch was sure a trip through a creepy underground tunnel system, wouldn't be the brunet's idea of fun. There's no such things as ghosts, Hutchinson. Now keep your head together! Cop mode kicked in, and he felt some of the anxiety drain as the cold, bitter side of him took over. Without a further glance sideways, Hutch followed Stef deeper into the tunnel.

A couple of feet into the right hand tunnel, hidden deep within the shadows, two figures took a step forwards. The Guild's guards had been instructed to let the cop pass… for now.
"Did you get clearance?" The priest kept his voice down, so Starsky wouldn't be able to hear him.

Marcel nodded, grimly, "Although I'm pretty sure Fifth won't agree on killing the cop, the Guild won't stand in the way. Our fearless leader thinks I'm gonna lead Hutchinson away from him, to buy him enough time to pack up and relocate headquarters. He'll be furious when he finds out."

"Right, that's exactly what we want. Are your people ready?"

Marcel nodded again, "As ready as they'll ever be. We've been waiting a long time for this."

"Then get a move on. By the way, there's one slight change of plan." He glanced back at Starsky, and then leaned in to whisper into the assassin's ear.

"What? But-?"

"Don't question my orders, Marcel!"

The assassin bowed his head. "It shall be done."

A panel slid back, and Marcel disappeared behind it. The priest stood in silence for a while, before moving back to the altar.

Starsky looked positively tired, and he couldn't understand why the detective hadn't fallen asleep by now. He's far too restless. The brunet's eyes followed him like a hawk. To the priest's surprise they showed an unexpected anger behind them. Marcel was right. He is strong. Taking care not to stand to close to the altar, he said, "You'll be happy to know that your partner is on his way. My associate is taking care of him right now."

That made the cop's efforts to pull free halt for a while. The priest could see the strength ebbing away like water through a drainpipe, and then it was replaced by something far more deadly. The hoarse voice spit at him, "You kill Hutch, and I'll hunt you down to the ends of this earth."

The change was unexpected and for a moment, actually frightened him. He thought back to the first sip he'd taken from this man's blood. It almost seemed to burn his insides; he needed to soothe it, needed to soothe this man. "You're far too worked up… far too angry. Get some sleep."

The brunet stared at him as if he'd lost his marbles. "Forget it," he finally said.

The priest sighed. He hated to resort to these measures, but sometimes events left him no choice. Picking up a small instrument, his lyre, he began to pull gently on the strings attached between a horseshoe-shaped frame.

"What are you…?"

"Shhh, sleep…"

"N…n… no."

But the priest could see the man was beginning to feel drowsy. He felt the brunet's blood singing within him, and channelled it through his fingers, transforming it into soft lyrical sounds.

"S…stop …it."

"Give in, detective. You can't win."

Starsky shook his head in a futile attempt to stay awake. The priest knew it wouldn't be long now. The detective was already dazed. Just a few more seconds and his body would fall asleep; the mind would follow.

Suddenly the brunet started to seizure… violently.

It caught the priest completely off guard, creating a false tune because of it. Damn, he's fighting it! Starsky's mind was fighting him for control over his body!No one had ever done that! The priest concentrated, intensifying the tune… the hypnotic effect.

Starsky lost. With a painful whimper he slipped into unconsciousness, and his body movements soon quieted down.

With a sigh the priest stopped playing. The sweat was dripping from his brow. He couldn't remember the last time anyone had given him this much trouble. But you're worth it, Detective. A rumble in his stomach made him put the instrument down.

He was feeling hungry again.

"So," Hutch asked, after having walked for what must have been half an hour in silence, "who did you loose?"

The reaction was instant. Stef stopped dead in his tracks, "What?"

"It wasn't all that hard to guess, Stef. Especially for someone who knows what it feels like to loose someone close."

The silence that followed almost felt unnatural. Then a soft voice broke the still air, "My brother… Will."

"Want to tell me about it?" Hutch asked softly.

In the dim light of the torch the blond could see the thief shrug off the demons from the past. "What's to tell," he said. "Our luck ran out, he got killed."

"Who killed him?"

Stef stared at him, then turned and moved away. Hastily the blond followed. "Stef?"

"Does it matter?"

"He was older than you?" Hutch asked, trying a different approach.

Stef nodded, "About five years older, we were orphaned quite young, and he made a promise to take care of me. We went into the thieving trade, hoping to be accepted into the Guild once we were older."

"Into the what?"

Stef gave him a slight smile. "Since I'm taking you in, I might as well tell you. The Guild of Thieves is the most carefully guarded secret among modern day criminals. Will used to talk very highly of them. It's an organisation that has been around for hundreds of years, with a moral code, also dating back for hundreds of years. He said that once we would join them, all our troubles would be over. They take care of you, providing you hand them the loot."

"And you're saying every bad guy knows of its existence and have never spilled the beans once?" They walked onwards. It had been quite a while since they'd left the cave and moved into the tunnel system. Ever since then, the passageways had been declining, but now Hutch had the feeling they were going up again.

"Most don't know about it, those that do keep their mouth shut… Even a crime syndicate like the mob are hesitant to mess with the Guild."

The wall gave way to his left this time. This opening was huge, far larger than any of the previous branches they'd past. Intimidated, he quietly walked past it. "The mob? I find that hard to believe."

Stef stopped. "The Guild is honest, but ruthless when it has to be, Detective. It has influence everywhere; its members are trained specialists in stealth and weaponry. And they use it, when they have to."

The tranquillising dart we found near the Torino. "So, they used it against my partner, because we got too close?"

"Yep."

"So, are these the ones who killed Will?"

"No." Stef snapped. "The Guild abides by ancient codes. They do not kill."

"Oh, come on kid. Do you really believe that?"

Stef sighed. "I used to, but now I'm not sure anymore."

Hutch looked away for a second.

"There's one thing I do know though."

"What's that?"

Stef had stepped back, hovering on the edge of the flashlight's white beam.

A warning shiver suddenly ran up the back of Hutch's spine. He moved forwards, just as Stef took another step back… and disappeared from view, his voice echoing through the empty passage ways.

"The Guild didn't kill Will… the cops did."

"Stef!" Hutch ran towards the spot where he'd last seen him, but the boy seemed to have evaporated into thin air. Fear rushed through him, its fingers as cold as the wind surging through the tunnels. The dark was everywhere… as was the silence. "STEF!"

Hutch frantically looked around, cursing at his stupidity for putting his trust in the boy. He froze, abruptly.

The shadows were moving, all of them.

Taking a fearful step back, he bumped into the wall behind him. The weird shapes were closing in on him. They seemed to glide swiftly, unworldly, unreal. Suddenly the flashlight was knocked out his hand. It hit the floor, flickered once, and then went out.

The dark was all encompassing. There was nothing to see. Not even a softer shade of dark. The frightening pitch-blackness was only broken by a soft rustling sound, as if something, or a herd of somethings, were creeping up on him.

He felt the hot air from their lungs fluttering past him, and then heard their breathing in his neck, so close that he was sure they were only two feet away from him, waiting for the command to attack like a pride of lionesses, ambushing their prey.

He took on a fighting stance, despite the fact that he knew he was vastly outnumbered.

God, Starsk…I'm so sorry…

Then they jumped.

Stef had been right. The Guild's retribution was quick.

Hutch didn't stand a chance.

tbc