The Major Incident
And this is where the darkness starts!
Chapter 7
Starsky opened his eyes. Or he thought he opened his eyes, but there was just blackness and for a moment he was completely disorientated. Where exactly was he? Where's Hutch? Oh wait. Remember now. Army. Guatemala. Oh shit!
OK, assess the situation. He realised he was sitting down, on a hard chair. His hands were secured behind his back, pulled uncomfortably over the back of the chair. His legs didn't seem to want to move either, and he assumed they were secured to the chair some way as well. His heart was beating rapidly, and he tried to take deep breaths to calm himself, but the air felt close and stuffy, like he was breathing fog.
What the hell's goin' on?
He felt a cold waft of air on his bare arms, and realised that now he wasn't alone. He could sense someone else had come into the room. Room? Did he really know where the hell he was?
Suddenly the dark blue bag was yanked from his head, and a bright light shone into his eyes. He squinted, tried to take a minute to look around and establish just what was happening here, when a pair of hands took hold of the front of his shirt and shook him vigorously. It didn't hurt, but it caught the groggy man unawares and made him jump.
A voice, off to his right was saying something. Starsky shook his head to try to clear it, and was rewarded with an open handed slap to his face, knocking him off balance. Hands caught the chair before it fell to the ground, and stabilised it.
Voice. Better listen to the voice.
'Welcome back to the world of the living, Major. So glad that you finally decided to join us. I've had to wait a very long time for this'.
Starsky recognised the voice straight away.
'Fuck you, General, Sir' he spat out with as much contempt as he could muster. 'Just what the hell is playing out here?'
Another slap to his face, this time from the other direction. With the bright light shining directly into his eyes, he couldn't see the blows, and so couldn't prepare for them. Although none were exceptionally painful, they took him by surprise and set his nerves jingling. But at least they cleared his head a little.
'I think for the moment, Major, I do the talking and you do the listening. You are, after all, our guest, and it's rude to take over some one else's party.' The voice was soft, almost conversational.
'I've waited a long time for this. Too long. I've always enjoyed command.' The General continued, as if starting a bed time story. 'Been a Brigadiere General now for twenty years. By now, I should have made four star General, but you put paid to that, didn't you? After your last disastrous little tour of 'Nam, you filed that damning report citing me as the main reason your team weren't extracted. It cost me dearly. Too dearly. One by one, I saw colleagues, friends, promoted, then retire on vast pensions. Some were happily married, all left the service on higher ranks than me. Do you know how much that rankled? How much it cost me to call 'em Sir and pussy foot around 'em, when it should have been me in their shoes? You took all that away from me when you filed that report'.
The General gave a small nod, and Starsky felt another blow to the left hand side of his face, followed immediately by another to the right. Again he never saw them coming, and again they took him completely by surprise, setting his heart racing once again.
He stared straight ahead, trying to control his breathing which was rapid and shallow. 'You knew we were in that stinking shit hole, and you knew what we were going through every single day for five goddamn months, and you never lifted a finger to get us out. What was I supposed to put in my report?'
Another blow, this time with a fist to his stomach. It was the first blow that really hurt and it doubled the curly haired man over as far as his bonds would allow. He felt bile rising in his throat and fought hard to swallow it down again, his breath now low and ragged, the air whistling through his clenched teeth.
The General's voice was shouting now, at the owner of the fist. 'By the book. I told you, by the book. One more blow like that and you'll get the same treatment. Understand?'
What's that supposed to mean – by the book?
The General was talking again and Starsky realised the new tirade was directed at him once more.
'So, after you had departed your little war, all heroic and decorated with your petty little medals, I kept tabs on your career. I celebrated with you when you graduated the police academy. I read news reports mentioning a brave new policeman called David Starsky and I celebrated once again, when you made Detective and were partnered with a man called Kenneth Hutchinson. And all the while, I bided my time, waiting for just the right moment to come along, when I could give you as much pain as you've given me. But it's here now. You can't begin to understand how happy I am at this very moment. It's all worked out so beautifully.
You see, there have been five deaths in the unit, but they weren't really suspicious. The five soldiers were all addicts, who found they could bribe their way into the medical wing and get what they want. I was willing to let that go, they were, after all, decent soldiers. But when Senator Pitt's son became involved, something had to be done. And then it came to me. I could get some credit for straightening out the unit, and pay you back all in one go – it's perfect.
So I contacted your Captain Dobey. Stupid, trusting idiot that he is, and said I wanted only the best to investigate this. And as you had the military background, and Officer Hutchinson had the medical, you would be perfect'.
Starsky had sat quiet throughout the tirade, but the mention of Hutch's name sent a shiver down his spine, and made his blood boil. 'You leave Hutch out of this. This is between you an' me Sharpe. You lay one finger on him, and so help me, I'll kill you, ya hear?'
'Oh, but Major, I couldn't possibly have the responsibility of hurting him. Assaulting a police officer is a federal offence and that would certainly cost me my job'. The General walked towards the bound man.
Starsky squinted as the General's body was placed between him and the light source, and for the first time since this all started, he could see. The General was holding something which made Starsky's blood run cold.
'Ah, I see you recognise this, but I suppose it's been a while since you've seen it. Never been on the best seller list, has it?' He held up a slim book in a plain black cover, the legend on the front reading "An investigation of Interrogation and Mind Altering Techniques" The name of the author was picked out in red beneath – Major DM Starsky.
'You see, David. I may call you David? I'm not going to lay a finger on Officer Hutchinson'. He laughed. 'I'll leave that to an expert!'