Chapter 13
Time seemed to stand still as the two men waited with the unconscious brunette. Traff had managed to find some Tylenol amongst the stuff in his jeans pocket and he dry swallowed two to ease the pain from his arm. He leant back against one of the chairs in the big room trying to make himself comfortable.
'So what are we gonna do with him now?' he asked as he watched Hutch gently stroking the mahogany curls. 'There's no way I'm gonna report this' he indicated his arm. 'Its nothin' much and I'll get some antibiotics from one of my buddies back at base. He's been through way too much already to add anything else. But what about you? What're you gonna do huh?'
The blond sighed deeply. 'God knows! But one thing's for sure, I'm not letting him go back to Cabrillo. You should have seen him when I got to him. He was trussed up in a straight jacket and he looked so lost in the white room. They'd left him nothing, none of his own clothes! They'd even taken his ring away. God! They'd even taken his sight away by taping his eyes closed – it was barbaric. You wouldn't do that to an animal, let alone someone who's been through as much as he has'.
Traff nodded. 'I know you know some of it, but he only told that bitch of a cop half of it ya know' he said quietly.
Hutch swallowed. 'I'd guessed as much. He never does like talking about anything like that. He didn't tell me about 'Nam till we'd known each other a long time. I knew he'd been a soldier, but it wasn't till he was sick and delirious one time and ranting about it that I found out he'd been a POW. He'd never mentioned it till then. D'ya wanna fill me in on everything that they did to him this time?'
The soldier chuckled grimly. 'Have ya got the stomach for it? It got real bad towards the end. I'm amazed he survived. I honestly thought I'd lose him, he was so bad'.
'I need to know if I'm gonna help him' Hutch said tightly.
Traff settled himself back. 'Ok you asked for it'. He muttered.
Over the next hour he told Hutch everything that had gone on in the church, in as much detail as he could remember although Traff had also been sick and some parts towards the end were shaky at best. When he'd finally finished, Hutch was white with anger and he looked sadly down at his partner.
'Hell, Gordo. No wonder you're crazy! I never knew all of it. Those bastards! If I could, I'd kill 'em myself' he said softly. He continued stroking the head on his lap, trying to remember the good times they'd had together when Starsky had been a whole different kind of crazy. There was the saga of the guinea pig, Louise, of course. And then the other pet, the one that didn't do a damned thing - the stone he bought from Huggy for $20. Well really it did do one thing. It saved the curly haired detective's life, so maybe it wasn't so crazy after all. But Hutch remembered the ESP conversation and the clairvoyance fad. They all added up to make his partner who he was – goofy, loveable, crazy, smart and caring. The blond tried not to think how it would be if he never got that man back. He continued to idly run his fingers through the hair and finally after what seemed like hours, the eyes beneath the closed eyelids started to move and the eyelids fluttered.
Within minutes, Starsky let out a low groan and opened his eyes a fraction, looking straight up into his partner's face. It took a moment for the indigo eyes to focus, but finally they looked around and settled again on Hutch's familiar ice blues. Starsky smiled wanly, licking his dry lips.
'Utch?' he said feebly.
'Yeah?' the blond answered, seeing the once cloudy eyes clearer now.
Starsky looked around him weakly and tried to sit up. 'Ungh…..side hurts!' He tried to put his hand to it, but it was still cuffed behind his back. He made no comment.
'Where am I?' he gazed at his surroundings with a growing sense of panic. 'How did we get here?' he asked.
Hutch put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. 'S'ok buddy. S'ok. What do ya remember?'
The curly head rested back on his partner's lap and he closed his eyes, if he was with Huth, he could relax. What did he remember? Hutch was undercover. Yeah that was right and he got shot. His eyes flew open. 'You were shot!' he looked at the well healed but still livid red scar and dinge on Hutch's left brow.
Hutch looked over at Traff and saw the brief shake of the head that said "let it go". He smiled gently. 'Yeah, I got shot and you saved me, remember?' he saw the dark eyebrows tent in concentration.
'Remember the hospital and you were sick, then Traff came by and we…..Quinn! I remember Quinn and Ryan and they…..' he swallowed hard. 'They….well we were here and they…..Where's Traff?'
'Right here pal' the soldier confirmed. Starsky raised his head weakly. 'Hey buddy. Oh shit, you're hurt. Was it Quinn? I kill him. And…..hey! I can't move my…..Hutch my hands are cuffed'. There was a bried pause. 'Why?' he asked carefully, feeling the metal cutting into the skin of his wrists.
The blond took a deep breath. 'Starsk, you've been sick. D'ya remember that?'
A look of panic flew across the handsome face. 'Sick? I remember this place and Quinn waling on me with a damned Tazer gun and beating me to a pulp and trying to drown me. He kept asking questions about…..'
Hutch braced himself. Was this it? Was this going to bring the madness back? Please God no!
'….lights and asking me how many. Drove me crazy coz there were three and he said four'. There were three lights….three the voice in his head was there but faint, as though shouting from a great distance. The brunette looked at his partner intently.
'What aren't you telling me?' he asked quietly.
'What do you hear? Traff asked cautiously.
Starsky looked at him in surprise and paused. 'Thunder, rain and the two of you asking dumb questions and not telling me what's going on' he said decisively.
Traff persisted. 'Listen carefully and tell me what do you hear?'
Starsky stared back 'Just the voice of my friend scaring me witless' he said levelly.
'No…erm….no voices?'
The brunette looked at him as though he'd turned seven shades of green. 'Voices? What're ya tryin' to say pal? That I'm crazy or somethin'?'
There was silence and it finally penetrated the brunette's mind. 'Oh my God, you are saying that. I am crazy, that's it isn't it. That's why my hands are cuffed and…..shit!, did I do that?' Starsky nodded at the wound on Traff's shoulder.
The soldier nodded. 'It's no big deal. You're a lousy shot! But seriously, you don't hear any voices?'
'No, no voices' the curly haired cop ground out. 'Now will ya please tell me what's goin' on and get me outa these damned cuffs?'
Hutch took the key from his pocket and undid the metal bracelets, letting them fall to the floor as Starsky wiggled his shoulders in relief and gently rubbed at his sore wrists.
'I'm sorry buddy, but….' He looked away disgusted at himself for having tied his best friend, but Starsky caught the big shoulder and pulled him back.
'If I was as crazy as you guys are making out, then you did what ya had to do. Don't beat yourself up over it Blondie. Now. Tell me. What the hell is going on?'
'You're sure you don't hear voices?' Hutch started
'Blondie, if you don't tell me what's been happening, so help me you'll be hearing the voices' the brunette ground out, now thoroughly shaken by the whole affair.
'OK. Well. The potted version is that after I got out of the hospital. You and Traff were still sick. He recovered before you did and everything seemed to be going well till Joan Meredith came to take your statement. She pushed a bit too hard and suddenly you started acting …erm….weird'
'How weird?' the brunette asked carefully, memories starting to flood back now that Hutch had started the description.
'You were counting. All the time and you couldn't stop. It got so as you couldn't have a conversation without you counting stuff. And then Traff was discharged from the hospital and went back to the army base and you were left on your own for a while and..'
'I hit the nurse' Starsky said in a small voice. 'She startled me. I was sleeping and dreaming about all this and she was shining those light things they have in my eyes and I thought she was Quinn. I hit her! Is she ok?' he asked, searching the blonde's face. He nodded.
'It's all coming back now' Starsky said in a low voice. 'I remember Cabrillo, though I don't know how I got there and for a while it was black - literally. And then you were there' he smiled at his partner. 'I've never felt so alone in all my life. And I….we argued and….' He reached out and gently touched the blue/black bruise on Hutch's chin. 'Sorry Blintz'.
'There were voices in my head and I couldn't stop 'em from shouting at me and telling me what to do. I just needed some silence to think, but they wouldn't shut up'. He looked from one friend to the other. 'Is that madness? Coz if it is, I was whacko!'
'And then I knew I needed to come back here, to face Quinn and Ryan. I kinda knew deep down that they weren't really here but I still needed to come back again and I guess when you guys showed up, I got confused' he looked at his bare feet and twiddled his toes. 'Confused! I shot my friend coz I was confused! God I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt either of ya'.
Traff leaned forward. 'Hey. Its done Curly. What they did to you would make anyone crazy. But, I'll ask again. Do you hear any voices?'
The brunette closed his eyes, listening. Very far off, as though shouting from the other side of a canyon he heard it – three lights….
Calmly he got up and picked up the gun that had skittered away to the side of the aisle. As Traff and Hutch watched, Starsky walked to the front of the church and stopped by the altar table. Carefully he looked up, raised the gun and aimed.
'Three' he squeezed the trigger and the report echoed round the church.
'Fucking' and a second shot was loosed, shattering the next bulb far above.
'Lights'. A final shot rang out and the three lights high above splintered into fragments.
He lowered the weapon. Equally calmly, he walked back to his two friends and handed the gun back to Hutch. He walked slowly back up the aisle as they watched and as he reached the door he turned.
'Don't hear 'em any more' he said and walked outside.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Epilogue
'Aidan Ryan, Padraig Ryan and Liam Quinn, the charges against you range from the petty to some of the most serious I have ever dealt with in my 23 years as a Judge. If I could I would lock you all up in some dark cell at the end of a very long corridor and throw away the key. Unfortunately the state of California does not allow me to do that. Because that avenue is denied me I sentence each and every one of you to fifteen years in San Quentin. I have no hope that you will merge as reformed characters. The crimes you have committed have been so brutal as to make reformation out of the question. Bailiff, take them down'.
As Judge Duckworth finished his sentencing remarks, Quinn turned to the crowded courtroom and stared directly at the curly haired detective.
'How is it Starsky? Still squealing like a stuck pig? How many lights are there now huh?' Quinn leered as the bailiff took him roughly by the arm.
Throughout the morning's hearing the brunette had sat bolt upright, staring ahead, refusing to make any eye contact with the three men in the dock. The six weeks since the episode in the church where Traff and Hutch had finally found him were long and sometimes painful. Only on very rare occasions, when he was tired did he hear those voices asking over and over again for him to count, and he had managed to deal with them, concentrating instead on his friendship with the two men who had so far not left his side. Even the Thorazine the hospital had prescribed had not been touched, but Hutch had been worried at how Starsky would take the hearing, giving evidence and having to be in the same room again as those creeps.
Now the dark haired cop came waited until the three men had been lead away, then came to his feet.
'I've gotta go see 'em in the cells' he said roughly as he shouldered through the crowd. With worried looks, Hutch and Traff followed and trotted down the steps to the cells complex. They waited either side of Starsky but he put his hand up.
'Hey….if ya don't mind, I need to this on my own?'
'You sure pal? We can come in with ya if that's what ya wanna do?' Hutch said.
Starsky smiled. 'I know, but it's just something I need to do alone' he tented his eyebrows and smiled as the custody officer let him in. Slowly he walked down the length of the complex, interview rooms and cells to either side, stopping finally at the end one. The prison officer opened the door and stood back to let the brunette in. Quinn and the two Ryans were still shackled from their trip up to the courtroom and they looked up as he stood in the doorway.
'Well, if it isn't the squealing detective' Quinn taunted as the other two men sniggered.
Starsky balled his hands into fists but took a deep breath. 'I just wanted to tell ya. There were three lights, three fuckin' flakes and one sun. And ya won't see it again for fifteen long years. How's that for a numbers game Quinn?'
Quinn leered. 'Maybe I won't. Oh but I'm so happy, detective. Do you want to know why? Because I broke you. I broke you big style. You were well and truly screwed when we left you'.
The brunette laughed, a natural, relaxed laugh. 'I did two months as the guest of the Viet Cong. Now they did know a thing or two about pain. They didn't break me and neither did you. You might have fucked with my head for a while but it'll take more 'n' that to break me. So. Just to let you know Quinn, there's one light in your cell now and this is me, backing out and turning it off'.
He stepped back, turned on his heel and walked calmly up the corridor and back to his friends.
Traff saw the confident strut back in the brunette's step and knew he'd finally made it back. As he got to the door he heaved a big sigh and looked at his two closest friends.
He put his arms around their shoulders and Hutch braced himself for some good home grown sentimentalism. He smiled good naturedly at his partner who smiled back.
'Do you know what I want most in the world right now?' he asked.
Hutch chuckled. 'Us?' he said quietly.
The indigo eyes fixed on him. 'Jeez, Hutch! Lets not get soapy here!. Nah. A beef burrito with everything. Its been a while'. As he watched his partner turn away, smiling. and he added under his breath 'and the two of you'.
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Watch out for "Roses are Red" - tomorow on FFN