"Slow down, Starsky. I can't make out what you are saying."

"Captain, Hutch and Mickey have been kidnapped!"

"I'll talk to Ian," Dobey said.

"No! Mickey didn't trust Ian! Captain, you have to put pressure on Williams to find out where they are!"

"How?"

"Call him in for questioning and say you find a notebook incriminating him in the deaths of Jeb Bolton and Jerry Banks. Squeeze him until he gives up his contact in Duluth!"

Dobey inhaled sharply. "Okay. Starsky, be careful. There have already been two attempts at your life as well."

Starsky hung up, not caring about the attempts on his life. He paced back and forth in the parking lot and decided to go back to see Big Ben.

Ben was still groaning, but his eyes were sharp as Starsky described what happened.

"Time for action. The alarm was false, just like the one where Mickey was. A diversion. Help me finishing dressing. I'm checking out. We're going to see Red."

"I'll kill him if he has anything to do with hurting Hutch."

"What?" Joshua stood in the doorway, bewildered, looking from one to another.

Starsky groaned but explained what happened. Joshua sat down, shakily. "Oh, no, oh no, Ken and Mickey." Shaking his head to clear it, he said firmly, "I'm coming, too."

"Joshua, you can't, this is going to get ugly and you can't be there," Ben said firmly.

"But," Joshua began.

"Joshua, you have a life. I don't. I'm dying of cancer." His voice raised. "I promised Mickey. I promised her I would do my best to keep her family safe."

Josiah looked stricken and his eyes turned to his brother's partner.

"And I don't care what happens to me if my partner dies," Starsky added. "You have others to think of. I'll beat it out of someone if I have to."

"Truth serum," Joshua slumped in the chair.

Ben and Starsky's eyes met.

Red was not at Duluth PD. Big Ben had been told he had taken a few days off. Ben had said he wanted to see if Red knew anything further about Mickey. The other officer replied she was still the same.

Starsky had called Huggy on a different phone at the same time, updating him and Huggy had been worried about his "blond brother". Huggy promised to update Starsky with any news.

Big Ben's face was now stoic. He had refused any more pain medicine so he could keep mentally sharp. Starsky's admiration for the big cop was growing. Ben located Red's home and the two drove there.

Red answered the door and was surprised to see Starsky and Big Ben. "What are you doing out of the hospital, Ben?"

"This isn't a social call," Starsky said brusquely. "We want to know where Mickey and Hutch are."

Red looked from one to the other. "Mickey is still in the Mental Hospital and I haven't seen Ken."

"Don't lie, Red, we don't have the time or patience for lies. We found a notebook from Jed Mickey had hid and it fingers both you and Russell Williams." Starsky loomed menacingly over Red. "Williams gave you up."

Red's eyes flickered briefly. "I don't understand what is going on."

"What is going on, as you know very well, is that Mickey and Ken were kidnapped, Ken just a few minutes ago from my hospital room!" Big Ben bellowed. "And you are going to tell us where they were taken!" Big Ben looked like a giant as he loomed over Red. "I'll beat it out of you blow by blow if you don't tell us now!"

"And I grew up on the streets of New York City and I learned some things there you don't want me to do to you," Starsky added, his blue eyes cold with hate. "Make it easier on yourself. WHERE ARE THEY?"

Red stayed silent though his eyes widened.

Starsky pulled open a case with syringes and liquid. "Truth serum. Ben, hold him down and I'll inject it."

Red snapped, "No!" and tried to pull away.

Ben said, "Why don't we just use some of those popular street drugs?"

"You couldn't do that – you're cops, too!"

"I'm dying, Red. I wouldn't live long enough to be tried and convicted. Believe me, there's nothing as dangerous as a man with nothing to lose."

"And I will do anything I have to do to get Hutch back," Starsky added staring at Red.

"She'll kill me."

"We'll not only kill you but make it the most drawn out and painful death!" Ben retorted. "How could you betray your own partner?"

"Betray her? Betray her? She's still alive only because of me! Francine was going to kill her when Mickey was caught going through her files, and I persuaded Francine not to kill her!"

"Francine? Francine York?" Big Ben's voice held shock.

"You didn't know, did you? You both were bluffing!" Red blurted.

"Not about what we would do to you, Red. Mickey found out about the black widow's role in the drug running. But why kidnap Hutch?" Starsky queried.

"What do the two of them have in common? Their last name and their mother! This isn't business anymore to Francine, it's personal! Ever since Francine learned her son that she gave up when she was a teenager was Jed!"

Starsky and Ben still looked bewildered. "What does that have to do with Ken and Mickey?"

"Look, if you want to have a chance of saving them, let me make a call. It's their only chance. I never wanted this to happen. Carlton gave up information because of the pressure of his gambling debts. When Francine found out that Lena, who she has always hated, had two children, Francine wanted them dead. She is determined to kill them both. It's not about business anymore. It's personal." Red's eyes were pleading.

"If you are lying . . ."

Starsky walked over to the phone. "Make that call."

TBC