The two detectives glanced at each other and back at the heavy manacles surrounding their wrists and linked by the large sturdy iron links of a chain about a foot long. The wrist pieces left no play and both men had difficulty closing their hands into fists because of the pressure of the metal. They hurt already and left the two cops in no doubt about the intent of McKay and his men. They wanted the two detectives at their mercy and incapacitated and didn't really care how they achieved their objective. They knew they were in trouble and Starsky cast around looking for Jimmy Shepherd, suddenly wondering what had happened to the little man. Their attackers were ranged around the reception hall of the hotel, all standing with their weapons at the ready and all alert. As the brunette glanced upwards, he saw him, still frozen at the top of the stairs, his arm gripped tightly by one of McKay's men as he waited pale and visibly trembling.
Hutch jerked experimentally at the chain linking him to his partner as Starsky glared at McKay.
'Like the jewellery, but grey really isn't my colour. Now, if ya got anything in….ungh' Starsky's wisecrack was cut short by a fist ploughing into his stomach and bending him over, the breath whistling from between his teeth. The blow was hard enough to take the cop off his feet and he fought desperately to keep a hold of his supper. As his clutched his arms protectively around his middle and staggered, Hutch was forced to bend forward by the short length of chain connecting the two men. Starsky started to stand upright again, defiance shining in his eyes as his blond partner locked eyes with him.
'Nice one, buddy. Gonna go for another Starskyism any time soon?' Hutch murmured trying to keep his partner's temper under control. Then seeing the pain in those eyes, his voice softened. 'You ok pal?' he said gently, seeing his partner's desperate attempts to get his breath back.
'What, from that little tickle?' Starsky panted, seeing the fist coming back and trying to duck away from the next blow. The fist landed like a hammer again in the same place and the brunette crumpled on his knees to the floor taking his partner with him, feeling more and more like a punchbag. As he contemplated the marble tile on the floor through watering eyes, he mentally chastised himself and told himself to remember to keep his mouth shut in future. As he fought to get some air back into his body, Hutch put a protective arm around his shoulder, rubbing his back.
'Aw, isn't that sweet?' McKay crowed, looking at the two men on the floor in front of him. 'Ain't friendship great?'
Hutch stared up at him, but said nothing, biting back the retort on his lips. He knew he had to be careful. One of them at least needed to be in decent enough shape to contemplate getting out of there in one piece and preferably with their charge in tow. He checked on his dark haired friend again and together they managed to stand upright, the curly haired cop still gasping for breath and coughing.
McKay was speaking again as the two stood, Starsky swaying slightly as he tried to recover from the blows, his face pale and sweat beading on his brow.
'I had intended to waste the both of you. It's only that piece of shit that Mr Ford wanted' he pointed at the terrified man at the top of the steps. 'But it seems to me that we have a unique chance here to show Bay City Police Department what it means to mess with a business man like Ford'. He motioned for Richardson to come forward.
'Harry, take our two guests down to the basement and show them what a good time we can all have together' he said smoothly, grinning wolfishly at the bound cops. 'I'll be down later to make sure you're all playing nicely together'.
Richardson walked up to the two and ground the barrel of his AK47 into Hutch's back, just above his kidney. The metal was cold and sharp and the blond winced as the gun bored into the muscle next to his spine, letting out an involuntary gasp as the gun felt like it was making its way through to his front. Raising his hand in understanding he started walking, his partner at his side. Very slowly they made their way down the hall looking for any means of escape. There were doors off to each side, but neither detective knew the hotel well enough to know where any of them led. It would be no use risking injury by bolting through one only to find it was a dead end, or broom cupboard. They walked as slowly as they could, biding their time and silently communicating to each other to be ready if the occasion presented itself. Their escort was a professional. He followed neither too close nor too far behind, his weapon levelled at their backs, finger lying against the trigger for a quick shot.
Hutch realised they were getting too close now to the steps down to the basement. The one place they didn't want to be was beneath ground level. Once down there, there would be very little chance for escape. They needed to run, and run now, or not at all. Neither man doubted that the 'playtime' Richardson had in store for them would be painful and with Starsky still recovering from the two crippling blows to his midriff, their chances for winning a fight were diminished.
As the procession reached the doorway down to the lower floor, the two detectives stopped, not wanting to make this any easier for their captors. Slowly and carefully Richardson halted and with one hand still holding his weapon unwaveringly on his two targets, he reached over and turned the handle on the door. With only a small period of time to make their move, and watching as Richardson's eyes flitted for the briefest second to the handle, Hutch kicked out his long leg, connecting with the barrel of the gun, turning it sideways. As he grunted in effort, he and Starsky made a joint bid for freedom, running as fast as they could to the end of the hallway and ducking around the corner. They were brought up short by two closed doors and a blank wall. With not a second to spare, the brunette tugged at the door closest to him. It was locked and in desperation he watched as Hutch also tugged at the door on his side of the narrow space. Again that was locked also. The two men turned in unison, looking over their shoulders as Richardson's shadow fell across the corridor and his bulk appeared, cutting off their means of escape.
As the two detectives stared down the barrel of the gun, seeing above it the wolfish eyes of their captor, they heard a shout from the main hallway. At the same time, they felt a slight tremor under their feet and Hutch made a grab for the wall trying to keep his balance. At the sudden move the trigger happy Richardson flicked his finger against the trigger of his gun, and let loose a single bullet.
The next few minutes were a chaotic jumble of noise, sensation and smell. Starsky thought he heard his partner scream once and felt a pull on the manacle on his left wrist. In a fleeting moment he thought the bullet had hit home, but before he could turn to check on the blond and see what damage had been inflicted, the earth seemed to fall away from under his feet.
The whole hotel quivered before him, seeming to turn almost sideways and he looked at Richardson who was drunkenly trying to make his way back into the main reception. As the tall thin man turned, the wall at the side of him seemed to collapse in on itself and the bricks fell slowly to the ground. There was an horrendous sound of twisted and tortured metal and a loud rumble as masonry and wood fell around them. Both detectives dropped to their knees, unable to stand now that the earthquake was taking hold and shielded their heads with their arms as parts of the fabric of the building rained down around them. The sound and the movement sent reverberations up through their bodies so that they could feel the noises in their very being. The whole world appeared to have gone crazy and they saw everything as though through a fog as dust and debris fell from the ceiling and walls. Screams filled their ears and they cowered back against the corner of the corridor trying desperately to keep out of the way of the larger pieces of rubble that fell around them. Their small shelter seemed to keep them pretty much out of the way of the more devastating masonry pieces, but the dust caused by the collapse of the fabric of the building was choking, threatening to cut off their air supply.
Suddenly there was an even more deafening noise and the whole of one part of the wall they were sheltering against started to fall. Desperately, Starsky threw himself over the body of his partner and put his free right hand over the back of his head, waiting for the impact of whatever fell on him. That impact never came and neither did the bone-crushing blow he'd anticipated. Instead, he felt a weight fall across his legs, pinning them to the ground. Beneath him he felt his partner's body convulsively trying to get air into his lungs and his final thought as he passed out was that he hoped at least one of them would survive.
How long later he didn't know, but Hutch came back to wakefulness. There was a sharp pain in his side when he moved although the area directly around the bullet wound seemed numb. He could feel warm and wet down his hip and knew he was bleeding, but couldn't reach either hand down to see what damage had been caused. There was a deathly quiet around him now that the quake had finally stopped. There was no noise at all from anywhere else in the building that he could hear. Not event he groaning of wood and brick marked the passing of the event. Hutch raised his eyes and was surprised to see straight up into a milky dawn sky. The devastation had brought down part of the roof and upper storey of the building and by a freakish twist of fate, he could see directly up to the sky from here he was sat. Tall walls towered above him and directly in front of him was a tunnel of sorts made by tumbled masonry.
Hutch tried to move again and felt his legs pinned down. He realised his partner was laid across him and tried to work his right hand free to nudge the brunette to see if he was awake. His hand wouldn't move and belatedly he remembered the manacles. He worked at loosening his left hand from under a small pile of bricks, bringing it up to his eyes, noting the blood from bruised and cut knuckles mingling freely with the dust and dirt.
Gently he reached forward, biting back a gasp as the pain lanced through his side and tapped his unconscious partner's back. There was no response and worriedly, he tried again, harder. Thankfully he heard a low moan and the body pinning him to the floor shook convulsively. Slowly, Starsky managed to pull himself free of the rubble and push himself up until he was kneeling next to his friend.
Hutch saw the absent look on his partner's face and gathering his strength he muttered
'Hello San Andreas'.
Starsky shook his head. He looked terrible, his usual mahogany coloured hair encrusted with dust, giving him a grey appearance. There was a steady stream of blood trickling down the right side of his face and Hutch watched as his partner put his hand up and wiped it away. Starsky's eyes were closed and gradually he opened them a crack, turning his head from side to side.
'Hutch? You ok buddy?' Starsky mumbled.
Hutch grimaced and wondered if he looked in as bad shape as the curly haired cop.
'Fantastic' he whispered, 'You?'
'Will be once its light an' I can see where we are' Starsky said, his voice a little stronger.
The statement took Hutch by surprise. 'It is light buddy' he said softly, realising the inevitable. He reached for his partner's hand to lend a little comfort and support as he saw the brunette swallow painfully.
As Starsky took it and squeezed it, seeking the comfort of the touch, he looked in the blonde's general direction and said.
'Well this is just terrific. Hutch, I can't see'.