Chapter 12

Gina walked into the quiet office and sat down at her desk. From her purse she produced the envelope Ramsey had given to her the previous night and, looking round to check there was no-one else around, she took the glossy pictures from their white envelope and stared at them. He hand trembled as she looked at the grainy, but still clearly recognisable images of her and her boss having sex. Ramsey had been careful to avoid showing his face on the video, but hers was clear for all to see, her head either thrown back in excitement, or wedged against the man's groin as she gave head.

Gina stared at each of the seven images in turn, growing more restless with each one which showed their bedroom antics in ever increasing degrees of clarity until the final one, where Ramsey had released her head and she was sitting up between his legs, a white string of viscous fluid stringing from her moth. At that point the woman gave a low moan, stuffed the photographs into her desk drawer and locked it and made a made dash for the bathroom.

Locking herself into a cubicle, she held back her hair and lost her cup of coffee down the pan. The images swam before her eyes, all of them nauseating; all of them showing her in some lewd position; all of them damning and all of them photographs she wouldn't want her man to ever see. She knew it would destroy Dave if he ever found out she's had the one night stand with Ramsey. It would crucify him if he also found out that the sordid little affair had been taped for posterity.

Wiping her mouth with some tissue, Gina staggered out of the cubicle and washed her face, the cool water like balm against her flushed skin. What a mess! How had she gotten herself into this mess? And what could she do to get out of it? One thing she knew for certain. She could never again see David Starsky, for his own protection as much as hers. What would happen if Ramsey were to release the tape to the Metro as well as to Starsky himself. Not only would Dave be the laughing stock of the squad room, but the pain it would cause the brunet would be more than she could possibly bear. No, she knew she couldn't see him any more and she thanked her lucky stars that she'd had the foresight the previous evening to tell him she'd call him, rather than him calling her. Maybe if she didn't phone him he'd get the message after a week or so. She knew it was the coward's way out, but she loved him so much that if she saw him, face to face, she'd never have the courage to tell him that she wasn't going to see him again. The pain in those incredibly deep blue eyes would be unbearable. No, better to take the coward's way out and remain silent.

She checked her hair in the mirror and pinched her cheeks to get a little colour into the pale complexion of the face staring back at her. Her eyes looked big as soup plates, dark and haunted and there were dark rings beneath them. She took a deep sigh, straightened her blouse and headed back out into the office. She still had to work for Ramsey, he'd seen to that, but she wouldn't play his nasty little games any more.

She'd no sooner sat down at her desk when the man himself walked out of his own office and stood by her desk looking down at her.

'Enjoy the evening darling?' he asked as if he'd wined and dined her himself.

She ignored him and placed a clean sheet of paper into her typewriter, commencing to banging away at the keys as she hammered out the first letter of the day. Ramsey grinned and tried again.

'Come into my office Gina. We have things to discuss.'

With a sense of foreboding, the woman picked up her shorthand pad and a pencil and followed the tall man into his inner sanctum. She sat demurely on the chair in front o his desk as he walked round and sat down behind it. He sat back, steepled his fingers and put his feet up on their desk top as he smiled wolfishly at her.

'When are you seeing him again?' Ramsey asked.

'Who?'

'Don't play the innocent darling. That handsome hunk of a cop you were with last night.'

'I'm not seeing Dave again. We broke up.'

Ramsey narrowed his eyes. 'Nothing to do with what happened last night, I hope. That would be so….. unfortunate.'

'No, nothing to do with that' she lied. 'We just decided not to see each other again.'

'Well undecide. I want you to do a little job for me, tonight' the tall man sat, swinging his legs from the desk and sitting forward. He pierced the girl with a gaze so intense she physically flinched.

'No.' Gina said the word before she'd had chance to consider and Ramsey's face turned to thunder.

'I don't think you have an option darling. That video is so entertaining you know. I'm sure Dave would love to see the whole thing. How you called my name. That cute little gagging sound when your mouth is too full. Shall I send it to him now? And maybe a copy for his colleagues too?'

'What? No. You wouldn't' she spluttered.

'Oh but I would. Only you can stop me darling. And it's so simple. Just that one little date with your honeybun and then this will all be over.'

'That's blackmail' she spluttered, her face even paler. She swayed on the chair, almost toppling off it in shock. With her heart hammering a staccato rhythm and her mouth dry as the Mojave she stared at him, a rabbit caught in a car's headlights.

'That's such a harsh word. Let's call it persuasion, shall we. And after all, what could be simpler that me asking you to have another date with him. You love him don't you? I mean, what's not to love? He has it all. Tall, good looking in a rough and ready sort of way. Bet he has a good body too. I know cops are supposed to work out. He looks fit.' Beneath the table Ramsey's own body rose up in interest at his explanation and he surreptitiously brushed his hand over his groin, sending electric shocks through his lower body.

'Why? Why are you doing this?' Gina asked fighting to keep the tears of frustration out of her eyes.

'Because I can darling. And because if you won't fuck me any more, I'm gonna watch while you fuck him. Good enough? Tonight I'm gonna watch while you bring him to my apartment and make love to him. And just to be fair, let's put a time limit on. I wouldn't want you to short change me. Let's say two hours. You can make love to him for two hours and I want to see him release himself twice. I'll give you specific instructions later.'

Gina felt the bile rising in her throat again. 'You're a monster' she whispered, knowing she was trapped. What was the expression? Between a rock and a hard place? Well she was the bit in the middle and she hated the feeling. But she had no way out.

Ramsey enjoyed her discomfort for a moment longer then sat up straight. 'Good. I'm glad we got that cleared up. Now, the Atkins case. Take a letter to Farley and Farley Attorneys huh?'

She stared at him in disbelief. He'd turned from telling her that he wanted to watch her making love to her boyfriend to telling her to take dictation in one easy, slimy move! For a moment her hands refused to move and Ramsey rapped his pen on his desk impatiently.

'Today darling, today' he said. 'And afterwards I want you to remain in here while you make that call to Dave. And Gina darling….. don't take no for an answer huh?'

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Starsky Sat the driver's seat of the car and watched as Hutch plodded his way across the parking lot. The blond glowed in the early morning sunshine, his hair forming a golden halo round his head, although his face seemed troubled. As he got into the car the brunet cast a glance sideways.

'You ok Blondie?'

'Huh?'

'I said, are you ok? You look troubled. Wanna share?'

Alice's words were still ringing in Hutch's head and for a moment he was back in the hospital room. The description the woman had given of her treatment at the hands of the perverts had left him feeling cold and dirty as though the words themselves somehow sullied him. He looked up.

'No' he said tiredly.

'Hey, s'ok. Alice is fine. She's tough an' she's in the right place. They'll look after her.'

Hutch smiled. 'Yeah, I know. I hate that this happened to her though.'

'I know. Ya got a real soft spot for her don't ya?'

'Yeah. She might be a hooker, but she's witty an' bright an' beautiful' Hutch snorted softly. 'Maybe I should've been a pimp. I seem to have a thing for hookers. It just don't turn out real well for them.' He said sadly.

Starsky sighed. Gillian's death, although well over four years ago still plagued his partner and the gap left by the beautiful woman's death was still raw. 'She'll be fine. We can't do nuthin about that, but we can find the flake behind this an' nail 'em. Besides, you'd never make a pimp.'

'No?'

'Nah. Couldn't see you with a stable of workers. You're a one woman guy. That, an' the poor girls'd be tired out from servicin' their boss' Starsky ended with a grin. 'C'mon get it together.'

Hutch hitched a breath. 'So, where first?'

'The studio. Janos might not have been involved in this film, but he rented out his place. He must know sumthin.'

'Fine, lead the way Sherlock' Hutch grunted and sat back with his thoughts as Starsky drove. They were quiet for a while, so quiet that when the radio mike clicked on, both men jumped at the unexpected noise. Hutch reached out and grabbed it as the familiar voice sounded over the air.

'Zebra three, zebra three, come in please.'

'This is zebra three.'

'Hutch, is that you? There's a patch through from a landline for Starsky. Sounds like his hot date wants a repeat performance' Mildred's voice sounded amused.

The brunet grabbed the mic. 'Does everyone know about my love life?' he growled into it, not really in the mood for jokes.

'I'm just jealous honey. Ya never ask me out on a hot date' she replied smoothly and there was a click on the line and another voice.

'Dave? Is that you?'

Although her voice sounded a little tense, a flood of relief rushed through the brunet's body and he smiled.

'Hey hon. You um……you aint supposed to call me at work but um….. it's good to hear ya.'

'Dave can we meet tonight? It's important. I'm um…… I want to apologise.' There was something slightly odd about her voice, some quality Starsky couldn't define, but he let it slide, happy instead that she wanted to see him again despite his earlier reservations.

'Sure. Shall I meet ya at your around eight?'

'Um no. Um….. I'm having the decorators in. But I've been loaned the office apartment for a while. We can meet there. It's at…. 'She gave the address which was in a plush tower block in the city centre.

Starsky gave a low appreciative whistle. 'Wow, talk about fringe benefits! Sure, I'll see ya then' he said and put down the mic. 'She wants to see me again' he said happily.

'See. Told ya buddy' Hutch said lightly although his heart had given a little lurch. It didn't seem fair that Starsky and Gina and he and Sarah could have such normal lives when Alice was in hospital for reasons to do with sex. Life was perverted in its dealings with the blond woman and Hutch had an uncontrollable urge to run back to the quiet hospital room and remain there, consoling his friend. But then again, his feelings didn't seem fair either and he snorted angrily to himself. Get a life Hutchinson. And get a woman. Well ya had a woman – but this time get one that can share huh?

At the other end of the line Gina heard the line go dead although she still held on to the telephone. Delicately Ramsey removed it from her hand and replaced the receiver.

'Well done darling. So, here's what I want to see…… '