Part 2 – Chapter 33

All that night, Starsky and Juanita kissed and cuddled and snuggled into each other. Twice more they made love and each time was as tender as the first, the woman answering Starsky's body with shyness at first and then, as she became familiar with him, more exuberance until they had relaxed completely into each other's company. Eventually, satiated, warm and relaxed, they slept entwined in each other's arms, the brunet's chin resting atop Juanita's head which nestled on his shoulder.

It was the first sunbeams of the morning that finally woke them and Starsky stretched luxuriously and managed to shuffle out from below the woman without waking her to go and stand at the window of the small bedroom. He looked out at the small dusty backyard and the three chickens scratching a living from the rough grass sprouting around the perimeter. The sun shone down steadily although at this early hour it was still cool and had that fresh quality that comes only from the early morning.

People were just beginning to start the day. Across the village square, the baker was stoking up his oven ready for the day's batch of bread and the next door neighbours children were already outside playing in a small puddle of mud. Life seemed good here. Not easy, but there was good honest toil and Starsky thought that given the chance maybe he could have settled down with Juanita to make a new life for himself. But the pictures he'd seen in the magazine had unsettled him. For some reason the notion of the big city held an appeal for him and although he had no direct memories of it, New York meant something to him. Did he have family there? Did he live and work there? And if he did, why was he on the other side of the country and so far south? What did he know of himself and what secrets did his past withhold from him?

Padding back to the bed, the curly haired man sat down on the small chair and looked fondly at the woman. In sleep she looked innocent and younger than her years – almost childlike and he wondered if he had someone like her in his life previously. Bracing himself for the pain that would surely follow, Starsky tried to consciously think back to his life before San Carlos. There had to have been one, he knew that for certain, but what had that life been and what had he forgotten?

Closing his eyes, the brunet concentrated on the big black impenetrable barrier that had closed off his mind. In his head, he tiptoed up to the blackness and tried to sweep it away with his hand. There was a warning shot of pain behind his eyes, but he ignored it and pushed on regardless. The not knowing was worse than the pain and he steeled himself for more of the same as he let his mind wander.

Another flash of pain took him and shook him and he grasped at his head, pressing his knuckles into his temples but at the same time he got a clear vision of a man with flaxen blond hair and piercing crystal blue eyes. The man smiled at him and raised his hand and he heard words from a velvety voice that was oh so familiar.

'Hey buddy, how're ya doin'?'

Breathing past the pain that pebbled his forehead with perspiration, Starsky tried to fix on that one face and put a name to it. 'Who are you?' he whispered to himself. 'What's your name buddy? Your name…..your name is…..is….. HUTCH!' the name was ripped from Starsky's throat as the pain in his head overwhelmed him and he fell from the chair onto his knees, his forehead almost touching the ground as he panted and writhed on the floor. Within seconds Juanita was awake and on her knees beside him, her arm round his shoulders.

'What? What is it my love? Are you hurting? Is it your neck…. your arm…. tell me.'

'Head…. Hurts…. oh God it hurts Hutch' the words were out of his mouth before he consciously thought about them and the woman sat back in surprise.

'Who? Who or what is Hutch?' she asked

'I dunno' Starsky moaned. 'I was tryin' to think about my past – who I was an' I got this picture in my head and that name popped into my memory. Hutch. I think that's the guy's name an' I know he means somethin' to me. I can feel it. He's important.' Slowly, Starsky pushed himself up from the ground and stood panting by the side of the open window. Juanita stood by his side, rubbing comforting circles on his back and somehow that action too seemed to fit with the golden man and his name.

'Might he be your brother?' the woman asked.

Starsky's eyebrows knitted together in concentration. 'No, don't think so, but we're close. I feel it, but I dunno why. Shit! Why can't I remember?'

'But it seems to be coming back' Juanita ventured.

'Not fast enough. You've no idea what it's like to have no memories…. no past. It scares me. I don't know whether I'm a good guy or….. somethin' else. I don't know if I have a family, a wife…. kids. There's nuthin there, nuthin at all' he spat out bitterly.

'But now you have "Hutch"' the woman said gently. 'And once one memory comes back, others will follow. You must have patience Dave.'

Slowly, a small smile appeared over his face as he saw the look of compassion on Juanita's face. 'Somehow honey, I don't think I was ever a patient man.'

She smiled back. 'Even without your memories, I think you're right.'

Breakfast over, Starsky and Miguel helped Juanita with the dishes. Her brother knew something was going on between Juanita and the handsome dark haired stranger, but much as he liked Dave, eventually he drew his sister away to a quiet corner.

'What are you doing Chica?' he asked.

She regarded him levelly. 'Doing? Nothing.'

'Yes, you are. You're flirting with a man we know nothing about.'

Latin temperament flared and Juanita's eyes flashed amber fire. 'I know what I'm doing. I don't need my little brother to lecture me.'

'Don't you?' Miguel snapped before his voice softened. 'I'm sorry Chica. I'm just trying to be the voice of reason. I'm happy that you are happy with Dave, truly I am, but we know nothing about him and he knows nothing about himself'.

'He's a good man, I know he is' the woman said defensively.

'I'm sure he is. But Juanita, please, be careful. I could not bear it if you were hurt.'

The young woman smiled and enfolded her brother in a hug. 'What would I do without my big baby brother huh? I love you Miguel and I won't allow myself to be hurt.'

'I love you too, 'Nita, but I can't breathe if you squish me like that' her brother laughed as he extricated himself from her embrace.

Miguel kissed his sister lightly on the cheek and waved as she made her way down the dusty street to the small schoolhouse at the end of the village. Turning, he made his way out to the garage where Starsky was already at work on the rusty old pick up. The Mexican picked up a wrench and joined the curly haired man under the hood of the car. For a little while they worked in companionable silence.

'You like her, don't you?' Miguel finally asked.

Starsky looked up, surprised. 'Your sister? What's not to like? Of course I like her.'

'I think she more than likes you, Senior Dave. I think she may be falling in love with you.'

The brunet straightened up and rested his spanner on the rim of the engine block. 'And you don't like that?'

'If you are genuine in your affection for her, I have no problem. But if you are going to, how you say play fast and loose, that would not be good.'

Starsky saw the genuine compassion and care in the young man's eyes. 'I won't hurt her. Not if it's in my power to stop it. I think that maybe I love her too' he said softly.

'You do?' Miguel asked with a smile. 'Then that is good, isn't it?'

'Yeah, I guess so' Starsky said, bending again to huddle under the hood of the car. There was silence again for a while as both men became engrossed in fixing the old truck. It was almost ready for consigning to the scrap heap, but Starsky enjoyed the challenge and was once again oiled up to his elbows when a familiar loud engine sounded outside the village. Both men looked up from the truck and watched as the bounty hunter's truck swept into the village and drew to a halt in the square. The hunter switched off the engine, got out of the truck and looked around. He had a couple of sheets of paper in his hand and he took a look at them before stowing them away in his pocket.

As with the last time, the villagers seemed to melt away, leaving the man in solitary state in the middle of the village, but the hunter didn't seem to mind. Instead, he headed for the bar and appeared a few minutes later with a bottle of beer. He perched on the fender of his truck and took a deep chug of the bottle just as Starsky walked from the garage back towards the house.

The bounty hunter's eyes followed the curly haired man and he grabbed the papers from his pocket again and held them up, looking carefully. Starsky was oblivious to the man's actions and went into the house, emerging a few minutes later with two glasses of lemonade for himself and for Miguel. As he came out of the house Miguel stood at the garage door, watching and the hunter, stowed the papers away again, pushed himself almost lazily off the fender and walked towards the garage.

Something in the bounty hunter's demeanour told Miguel that things were not quite right and as the huge man approached he turned to Starsky and something made him turn to his new friend.

'DAVE RUN' he yelled

Galvanised into action and with the young Mexican's voice ringing in his ears, Starsky dropped the glasses to shatter in the dirt, turned on his heel and ran full tilt up the hill and away from the village. He didn't know why he was running and had no concept of why the bounty hunter would want him, but on the other hand, he had no past and no memories and nothing to base any innocence on. Miguel's voice was insistent and his fight or flight instincts took over, measuring fight against flight and plumping for the latter. Pure adrenaline pushed him on as he heard the truck started up again and come driving up the hill towards him.

Ducking off the road, the curly haired man ran a zigzag path though the scrub hoping that the driver would be unable to keep up with his defensive tactics, but the hunter was used to his quarry not wanting to be caught and he eased the big truck through turn after turn as he got closer and closer to the running prisoner. Breath whistled in Starsky's throat as his heart pumped wildly in his chest and twice he cast a look over his shoulder to see the gap between him and the truck narrowing quickly. With Starsky close in his sights, the hunter braked suddenly leapt from his car and levelled his gun at the brunet. A shot rang out and kicked up dust a yard from Starsky's shoe and at the same time a shout followed it.

'David Starsky. I'm arresting you for bail offences in the state of California. Get down on the ground and put your hands behind your head.' As though to reinforce the command another shot rang out, this time only a foot away from the fleeing man and Starsky came to a ragged halt, the sweat of fear prickling on his forehead and tricking down his back as he dropped first to his knees and then to his belly in the dirt. He laced his hands behind his head and led panting and fearful as large dusty boots appeared in front of his face.

'Get up, punk' the bounty hunter snarled, fishing for a pair of handcuffs from his belt.

Starsky got slowly to his knees, the big man looming in front of him and as the hunter took a step forward, the brunet suddenly had a clear and terrifying flashback to another time and another huge man with handcuffs whose zip was open and whose cock was ready to be forced into his open mouth.

'Noo' he yelled and staggered to his feet to make a run for it. The brunet took off like a cork from a champagne bottle but the hunter was faster and ready for the flight and in a couple of steps had tackled the fleeing brunet onto the ground, his arms around Starsky's waist as he brought them both to the round with a tooth rattling crash. The brunet snarled, spinning in his captors grasp, fear lending him strength as he fought with his attacker, his fists and feet flying, but he was no match for the huge man despite an almost panther-like grace and the hunter's fist connected solidly with Starsky's jaw, knocking his head sideways. Stunned for a moment, the bounty hunter took his opportunity to grab Starsky by the collar and haul him back to his knees, pulling the brunet's arms harshly behind him to snap on the cuffs tightly.

As Starsky knelt swaying and unsteady in the dirt, Juanita ran up the hill and fell to her knees by her man, flinging her arms around his neck, her brother having run to the school to tell her what was going on.

'Keep away from him' she cried. 'He has done nothing. He's is not yours, he's mine.'

Softly, Starsky tried to calm her. 'S'ok honey. Sssh, s'ok. We can deal with this. It'll be alright' he mumbled, licking at his split lip and the blood trickling down the side of his mouth.

'Ok huh? I don't think so punk. I'm taking back to Bay City. There's a 50000 dollar reward on your head.'

Starsky squinted up at the man, his silhouette black against the bright sunlight stunned. 'On mine? Why? What did I do?'

'He's done nothing. This is all a mistake' Juanita persisted still holding the brunet round the neck.

The hunter prised her hands away and pulled Starsky to his feet. 'Nothing huh? I don't call attempted murder "nothing". Say goodbye honey. Your man aint ever gonna see the light of day again.'

As Starsky stared stunned at the bounty hunter and then walked docilely down the hill in front of him, Juanita fell to her knees in the dirt, sobbing, unable to believe what had just happened.