CHAPTER 2

The crowd of people in the private lounge grew larger as more family members and friends arrived to wait for news on the fate of flight 219. The sound of voices throughout the room was strangely muted and hushed as the anxious relatives and friends talked quietly among themselves. Hutch and Captain Dobey stood in the far corner of the room eyeing the subdued activity around them. Hutch was drinking a cup of coffee barely noticing the foul bitter taste.

"Maybe Starsky took a later flight." Dobey suggested lightly, trying to provide Hutch with a ray of hope about the safety of his partner and friend.

"He called me last night and said he'd be on this flight." Hutch said in a voice that was void of any emotion. "He would have let me know if he changed his plans. He knew I was picking him up." To outsiders, Hutch appeared calm in control but Captain Dobey knew the tall blond well enough to know that it was a façade; Hutch was barely holding it together.

"Have you called his mother?" Dobey asked, knowing that Rachel Starsky needed to be notified but dreading the idea of having to be the one to make that call. Even though she had sent her eldest son to California when he was twelve years old to live with her sister, she had remained in close contact through the years. A visit to his mother had been the reason for Starsky's trip to New York in the first place.

"No." Hutch said in a grave voice, the line between his eyes deepening as it did when he was under a lot of stress "Not until we know for sure that the plane is down."

"If the news is bad, she needs to hear it from you and not on the six o'clock news." Dobey said pointedly.

"I know that, Captain!" Hutch snapped in an irritated voice that was sharp with anger and frustration. Dobey ignored the outburst. He knew how close the two detectives were and how worried Hutch was about his partner. Hutch took a deep breath and exhaled slowly "I'm sorry, Cap." He said, "I didn't mean to snap at you. I just don't want to upset Rachel until we know for sure."

"I know." Dobey said putting a comforting hand on the taller man's shoulder. Dobey cared about all the men under his command, but Hutch and his partner were his best team and close personal friends of the Dobey family.

Hutch glanced up as the door to the lounge opened and a tall thin black man dressed in an outrageous ensemble consisting of a bright yellow shirt, a multicolored vest and shiny black pants entered the room. The man's soft brown eyes swept across the room until he spotted Hutch and Dobey standing in the corner. With a confident stride, Huggy Bear joined them. Huggy was a close friend and sometime informant of the two detectives. He had left the restaurant/bar he owned and managed as soon as Hutch called him and came directly to the airport to wait for news about Starsky.

"Any news yet?" the thin black man asked anxiously as he joined them.

"Not yet." Hutch told him. He finished the coffee and threw his cup into a nearby

Trash can. He had stopped smoking years ago while he was still in College but the sudden urge for a cigarette to help soothe his ragged nerves was almost overwhelming.

"He's got nine lives….you wait and see, he's gonna be okay."

"I wish I could believe that, Hug." Hutch said dryly "But this time Starsky's luck might have just ran out."

The three men fell into an uneasy silence, each of them lost in their own thoughts.

Starsky had a significant impact on each of their lives. Huggy Bear had been friends with the dark haired detective since he came back from Viet Nam and he knew some of his darkest secrets.

Captain Dobey had been his superior officer for almost seven years and even though he got frustrated and annoyed with the dark half of his best team of detectives, he sincerely liked the man.

And Hutch was his partner and his best friend but that friendship went far beyond any friendship either of them had ever known. They were true soul mates in every sense of the word and had been ever since the day they met at the police academy over ten years ago.

They had become even closer than ever after Starsky was gunned down in the police impound lot eighteen months ago and almost died from his injuries. Four direct hits to his torso had caused massive damage. His heart had stopped three times. Once in the ambulance on the way to the hospital, once in the operating room during the emergency surgery to save his life, and then for the third time later that evening. He was a medical miracle, a man who shouldn't have survived his injuries but did. He was in a coma for almost a week and in the hospital for two months.

When he got out of the hospital, Hutch had moved in with Starsky to care for him and nurse him back to health during an intensive recovery period that took almost a year to complete. He had fought long and hard to re-qualify to go back on the streets as Hutch's partner. He had been back at Hutch's side for just over eight months and was in the best shape of his life. Hutch had hunted down the man responsible for ordering the hit on Starsky and had seen him brought to justice. He was currently serving a life sentence for his crimes.

The other voices in the room fell silent as the doors opened to admit four men, all dressed in the official uniforms of the airline. One of them was the head of security who had talked to Hutch earlier. Everyone's attention focused on the four men as they walked over to a long table at one end of the room. Standing shoulder to shoulder in front of the table, the tallest of the four men, stepped forward and said,

"My name is Peter Madison and I am Vice President of International Airlines. These gentlemen with me are William Scott, head of airport security, James Peterson, his assistant, and my assistant, John Livingston." He paused briefly after the introductions were made and let his eyes sweep across the anxious faces gathered around the room. "I regret to inform you that at 1:25 P.M. today, International Airlines flight 219 crashed approximately 25 miles outside of Provo, Utah. There are no reported survivors."

The room immediately burst into chaos at the announcement that none of the friends and relatives gathered there wanted to hear. Several people started shouting questions at the four men representing the airlines and LAX. Several other people broke down into tears, the sound of their sobbing filling the air.

Dobey and Huggy both immediately turned their attention to the tall blond standing between them. Hutch's face had drained off color, every muscle in his body tightening noticeably. He would keep his own pain and grief tightly under control until they were alone. He would not break down in front of anyone, not even his friends.

The spokesperson for the group of representatives facing the crowd raised his hand for silence. When the room was relatively quiet, he said, "We'll try to answer any questions you might have but remember that at this time, our information is very limited concerning the crash of flight 219."

"Are you sure there were no survivors?" several people called out at the same time, voicing the most important question to most of the people in the room.

"At this time, there are no reports of any known survivors." Mr. Madison replied solemnly. "Passenger lists are being faxed so we can compare the lists of who was actually on the plane and any passengers that may have missed the flight or rescheduled." His eyes scanned the room again, "Representatives from the airlines will be available to assist friends and family members with further details as they become available."

"What caused the crash?" someone else yelled out from the back of the room

"At this time there are unconfirmed reports that suggest there may have been a bomb on board the flight." Mr. Madison nodded at the other men beside him and continued, "I'm afraid that's all the information we have available for you at this time. Please remain here and representatives from the airlines will let you know more information as soon as it becomes available."

As the four men started to leave the room, Hutch shoved his way through the crowd, followed closely by Huggy and Captain Dobey. As the men reached the doorway, Hutch caught up with them and said sharply "Hold up a minute. I have some more questions I need answered!"

The four men paused and turned to look at the other three men cautiously. Mr. Scott recognized Hutch from their earlier encounter and said "Oh, yes….Detective Hutchinson, isn't it?"

"Yes. My partner was that plane."

"Please gentlemen," Mr. Madison said cordially, "Why don't we go to one of the conference rooms where we can talk in private?"

The men all walked down a long hallway to a large conference room and went inside. Mr. Scott shut the door behind them and said "I'm afraid we really don't have any additional information for you gentlemen at this time."

"I'm Captain Harold Dobey from the Bay City Police Department" Captain Dobey said, stepping forward and taking control of the situation. "An officer from my department was supposed to be on that plane and it is imperative that I know as soon as possible if Detective David Starsky was one of the passengers on board that flight or not."

"Captain, I understand your concern and I sympathize with you. I assure you that we will let you know about your man as soon as we possibly can" Mr. Madison told him in a calm reasonable voice. "Now may I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"In view of the fact that one of the passengers on that flight may have been your detective…do you think there is any possibility that he could have been the reason someone would plant a bomb on one of my planes?"

"He was in New York on vacation visiting his family!" Hutch growled, his eyes flashing coldly at the man's words. "If someone wanted to take him out, I don't think they'd plant a bomb on one of your planes to do it!"

"Hutchinson!" Dobey said firmly, trying to defuse the big blond before he lost control. He turned to give the other men an icy glare of his own. "Before you make any accusations involving one of my men, you'd better make sure you have evidence to back that up!"

"Captain Dobey, Detective Hutchinson…" Mr. Madison said politely "No one is making any accusations…we are just considering all the possible theories behind the crash. Obviously the fact that one of the passengers just happened to be a police detective from our fair city has to be considered as a possible motive for someone to plant a bomb on that plane."

"Like the Captain said, you'd better make sure you have plenty evidence to support that theory before you go making any accusations about my partner!" Hutch growled in a cold, deadly voice.

"Gentlemen, please…." Mr. Madison said realizing that the situation was reaching the critical point. "No one is making any accusations at this time. A complete investigation will be conducted to determine the exact circumstances surrounding the crash." He looked at the other three men coolly "Now, if you will excuse us….we have other pressing matters to attend to."

As the other four men representing the airlines left the room, Hutch began pacing the office, muttering obscenities under his breath as he fought to control his anger. Dobey and Huggy sat down on the lush leather sofa sitting against one wall to wait for the big detective to vent his anger and frustration. None of them could bring themselves to say the words out loud, but they all knew that it didn't look good as far as Starsky was concerned.