'Hey buddy, how ya doin?' Starsky whispered, seeing the closed eyes, the pallor and the beads of sweat trickling down his partner's face. He took a cloth from the stand by the bed and gently wiped the furrowed brow.
Hutch's eyes fluttered open. 'N not one of the b better days' he stammered, trying to keep his body's involuntary shudders under control. The pain McKay had inflicted was still reverberating around his stomach and he felt as though his guts were on fire, but he wanted to keep as much as he could from his partner. Starsky had too many other things to be concerned about at that moment.
'It'll be fine, partner. Ssh. What's one more psychotic crazy man between friends huh? We'll be outa here in no time?' the brunette lied, stroking his thumb slowly over the back of his friends hand.
'S Starsk? M'sorry'.
'What? What ya sorry for?'
'Shoulda shut him up an' stopped him callin' for ya' the voice was getting weaker, but the ice blue eyes were still locked onto the indigo ones above him.
Starsky chuckled 'What ya gonna do partner? How ya gonna stop him? Hit him with your drip bottle huh? No big deal, just rest, we'll be outa here before ya can say "Dobey"'.
The ghost of a smile passed over the pale featured. 'Yeah? Just walk on out right? M might need a hand up though'.
'You hang in there Blondie. Just sleep a while huh?' Starsky said desperately, seeing the pain in the flaxen haired cops eyes. He looked over at McKay who'd kept his gun trained on the duo the whole time.
'Let the nurses give him somethin' for the pain... please?' he implored, but McKay shook his head.
'He don't get nothin' till I get my ride outa here' he grinned, obviously enjoying seeing the blond in so much agony.
'You're a real big man, aren't ya, McKay. Think ya can take on the world with your big gun, beatin' up on wounded cops. That the only sort ya can take on is it?' Starsky yelled, loosing the little temper he had left. He was about to go on when he heard a faint whisper at his side.
'Easy t tiger' Hutch murmured. 'Don't antagonise the guy w with the gun huh? Not the b brightest thing Gordo'. He reached out his hand and patted the brunette's softly.
'That's right, listen to your sickly friend there, wiseguy. Any more of your wisecracks and I take him out, right here in front of ya. Got that?' McKay said coldly
Starsky stopped himself, refusing to look at McKay any more, not trusting himself to say anything further without bringing more retributions. For the rest of the hour, he stayed at his partner's side, wiping his brow and brushing away the damp golden bangs as Hutch tried to doze. There was silence in the small room.
Starsky was frantically trying to plan an escape. He knew it would have to happen as he went downstairs with McKay and Shepherd. There was no way he could compromise Hutch's safety any further. He just hoped that McKay wouldn't try anything else on the semi-conscious cop in the meantime. Hutch had drifted into a troubled sleep and moaned occasionally as another wave of pain took him and shook his body.
The brunette was getting desperate. The hour was almost up and he could see McKay becoming more and more agitated, pacing the room and twitching, drumming his fingers against the butt of the weapon. Just as the kidnapper came away from the window again, muttering darkly, Starsky heard a loudhailer from the parking lot below telling them that the money and the chopper were ready and standing by. McKay waved his gun at the brunette and took hold of Shepherd by the collar eliciting a small whimper from the little man as he was forced to his feet.
'OK Starsky, move ahead, nice steady pace, and no fancy moves' McKay commanded.
Starsky gazed at him levelly then bent over his partner.
'Hutch, gotta go now buddy. Rest easy. I'll be back soon ok?'
Hutch forced his hot feverish eyes open and stared at his partner. 'T take care. Don't' d do anythin' stupid, ya hear?' he mumbled before closing them again.
The curly haired cop got up slowly from the bed and once again raised his hands into the air, setting off at an even slow pace from the room and down the corridor. He looked left and right for an escape route but he realised that if he made a bolt for it here, on the third floor, McKay would just race back to the room and damage Hutch some more. So he bided his time, punching the elevator button again and again as it made its annoyingly slow way up to their floor. The doors opened with a quiet whoosh and the party of three stepped inside. In the confines of the small elevator car, the muzzle of the gun was pushed into the brunettes back and McKay realised the cop was wearing a vest.
'Take your vest off' he commanded as Starsky stared back over his shoulder at him. To reinforce the command, he drove his gun a little more firmly into the brunette's back. Swallowing down the yelp slowly Starsky shouldered out of his jacket and undid the velcro tabs of the Kevlar vest, letting it fall to the floor. Without putting his jacket back on, and clearly showing his now empty holster, the brunette stepped out of the elevator as it stopped on the ground floor.
McKay directed him through the assembled people, now standing with their backs pressed against the walls, by grinding the gun into either the left or right side of his back, each time leaving a circular black bruise on the detectives skin. They gained the outside and Starsky blinked at the bright early morning sunlight. Another push with the muzzle of the gun and he started to walk forward, past the downcast eyes of his Captain and towards a car, waiting with its engine running and the doors open.
As he walked towards it his mind was working overtime. If he got into the car, there'd be little chance of making a break for it and he'd be trapped. At least if he made a run for it here, McKay would be distracted and maybe one of the other cops on the periphery of the crowd might be able to pick him off.
The car was getting closer and as he walked past another small group of people someone caught his eye. He couldn't believe it and did a double take to make sure his eyes weren't deceiving him. But no it was him. What the hell was he doing there? No matter. Starsky realised that it was now or never and he had to do something before he got to the waiting car.
Suddenly he bent over double with a resounding groan. McKay had been following so close behind him that he stumbled into the brunette, caught off balance. Starsky shuffled backwards and made a grab for the gun in McKay's hand but missed it. Realising he had to get out of there quickly he started to make a run for the relative safety of the other side of the car and seemed to be making a good attempt when he heard McKay icy cool voice.
'Nice try Starsky, but I'd stop now if I were you'.
The brunette stopped in his tracks and turned slowly, seeing the terrified look on Shepherd's face as McKay stuck the muzzle of the gun under the ginger haired man's chin.
'One more step and the weasel gets it' McKay finished, pushing the gun a little higher and eliciting a terrified whimper from the little criminal.
Starsky looked around him frantically, realising his one chance at escape had just passed him by. Slowly he put his hands up again, but the sprint he'd started had taken its toll on his injured leg and this time he really did double over in pain. He remembered looking one last time at McKay and he remembered the look on the kidnappers' face as he raised the gun to fire at the brunette. He heard the gun fire and he thought he should have felt the bullet enter his chest, where McKay was targeting, so close that he just couldn't miss.
Starsky braced himself to take his last breath on this earth, but the pain instead of lancing through his heart hit his left arm high up on his biceps and instead of the brunette falling to the ground dead, he looked on in amazement as, instead, it was McKay who slumped forward, a red bloom appearing on his shirt front.
Starsky fell to his knees, clutching at his arm and trying hard to comprehend what had just happened. He knew he should be dead but he wasn't and he looked up in disbelief as the tall lanky frame of McKay's sidekick, Richardson came forward from the crowd, his hand extended to help the cop to his feet.
'What just happened?' Starsky panted as he got unsteadily to his feet, waves of relief and nausea washing over him in turn. He felt relief, but at the same time a surreal feeling as though time had stopped. He couldn't understand it.
'I decided I liked you' Richardson said, straight faced.
Starsky stared back at him and then to the dead body lying yards from him. 'Ya do that for all your friends?' he asked, grimacing as he tried to move his arm. 'Ya couldn't have done it just a second earlier?'
'Hey, quit complaining. You're alive aren't you?' Richardson's face finally split into a grin. He reached out and caught the detective as his knees buckled for the second time in 24 hours and once again, blackness descended.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
'He only does it for attention' he heard the familiar voice say as gentle hands once more wiped his brow.
Starsky opened his eyes and looked up again at the pretty French nurse he'd seen earlier. She smiled down at him.
'We meet again, Detective' she said, sitting on the side of his bed. 'Your friend tells me you do zis sort of sing all ze time'.
Starsky turned his head sideways on the pillow and looked at his partner. Hutch looked a little better and his voice was certainly stronger than he'd last remembered it.
'Someone tell me what happened?' he asked to no-one in particular. His arm felt heavy and strange and as he looked down he realised it was strapped across his chest, held there by loops of white gauze.
'Our new best friend shot McKay' Hutch explained. 'Richardson had apparently followed McKay and Shepherd and had an idea what was on his mind. So he came back here, hid in the crowd and when he saw McKay threaten you, he took him out. Shepherds in protective custody an' Dobeys back at the precinct'.
'Wow! An' you? Are you OK?' the brunette asked.
'Better now I don't have that goon's hands grinding at my insides' he said with feeling. 'You?'
Starsky looked up at the pretty nurse and wiggled his eyebrows. 'I think I'm having a relapse' he moaned as she stroked his cheek.
'Seem to recall askin' if I could have one of those buddy. Care to share?' the blond asked with some amusement in his voice as he eyed the French nurse. There was one thing about his partner. If he was in great pain, there was no one more brave and stoical. Anything less and he whined like a girl. God could that brunette ham it up! Starsky was nestling closer to the Mademoiselle, smiling up at her, playing his "Camille" card to the hilt.
He took a moment to cast a sideways glimpse at his partner, happy now that everything was finally resolved and growled 'Go get one of your own. I earned this, she's taken' he growled happily.
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