SOP Disclaimer: I do not own Starsky and Hutch, nor do I intend to infringe on the rights of those who do. This is for entertainment purposes only.

Blood, Sweat, and Tears

by dnjlwilson

Chapter 2

Mason and two of his goons were caught. Hutch had gotten to the scene quickly but not before Starsky had to run. Hutch assumed the two missing men were after Starsky and with all the shots he had heard over Kimbrough's wire, he feared Starsky might be wounded.

Hutch looked down at Kimbrough, who was face down on the concrete. It was apparent he had died instantly. Hutch tried hard to work up sympathy for the man. His own arrogance had killed him and it had also gotten Starsky into trouble. Just how much, Hutch didn't know.

"There's no sign of him." Dobey said as he walked up. "He said there were five. You think the other two took him?"

Hutch felt his stomach knot up as he considered the idea. What if they did have him? "Let's look some more and see what we can come up with."

"Okay." Dobey replied. "If he ran, he would have to run that way." he concluded, pointing back down the dock.

Hutch began walking that way. He saw no sign of Starsky, but continued on. The darkness hampered his efforts to find evidence, but he relentlessly continued. Looking toward the bay, he knew that was the last place Starsky would have gone, if he had a choice. Not wanting to leave anything out, Hutch walked to the edge of the dock and looked down into the water. It was too dark to make anything out, so he decided to make better use of his time and look where he could see the best.

As consciousness slowly returned to him, the first thing Starsky realized was pain. The next thing was the man standing over him. He was the biggest black man he had ever seen. The dim light in the alley didn't allow him to see much, but what he could see wasn't good. The man was huge, but there was something in his eyes that took Starsky's fear away.

The man meet Starsky's gaze and smiled. "You gonna be okay. Mama Jade will take care of you."

Starsky responded weakly, "Who's Mama Jade?"

"I am." a woman's voice to his opposite side startled him. "Moses was scrounging around in the trash when he found you."

"I gotta get back. They'll be looking for me." Starsky said, barely audible. Blood loss had weakened him and he felt the blackness closing in again. He made a valiant effort to get up, but his mind was stronger than his body and he faded out once more.

Mama Jade gently patted his face. "Don't worry, Son, nobody's gonna bother you." Turning to Moses, she said, "Pick him up and let's take him home."

Moses was very careful with the injured man. He was worried the man might die. He had never seen so much blood before. He effortlessly picked him up and followed Mama Jade. When the man moaned, Moses comforted him, saying, "Don't worry. Mama Jade will know what to do."

Moses followed Mama Jade to a small, three room house near the railroad tracks. He gently laid Starsky on the bed. "Is he dead?" he asked her.

"No, but he may not be far from it." Mama Jade answered him. "Now don't you worry, Moses. I've seen worse. Go get my bag and we'll see what we can do for him."

Moses instantly obeyed. He felt an odd sense of urgency. Finding her bag, he returned to the bedroom.

Mama Jade took the scissors from her bag and cut the bloody shirt away. The young man's wounds were still bleeding, although the wound above his hip had nearly stopped. The shoulder wound looked as though a bullet had gone through from front to back, the exit wound far worse that the entry wound.

"Moses, bring me a bowl of water and those towels under the sink." she asked.

Again, the large man instantly obeyed. He returned quickly with the water and towels. His eyes widened when he saw the damage the bullets had done.

Giving him a chore to keep his simple mind busy, she said, "Tear those towels into three pieces for me." She then dipped one of the pieces into the water and began cleaning the blood from the man's body. She noticed he was a handsome young man with a very pleasant face.

When she got close to the lower wound, he stirred. "Sorry, Honey. I don't mean to hurt you."

"Hutch. Get Hutch." he murmured.

"Who's Hutch?" Moses asked.

There was no response. The man was struggling to evade Mama Jade's touch.

"Moses, hold him still for me." she said in a gentle voice.

Moses did as he was told, holding the man still as he struggled. The injured man finally relaxed, sinking into unconsciousness.

Mama Jade examined his wounds and concluded the shoulder wound just needed to be cleaned and wrapped. The lower wound, however, still held the bullet. The young man was getting feverish and began showing signs of infection. She would have to work quickly. She needed to remove the bullet while he still had enough strength to survive the ordeal.

She left her patient with Moses while she gathered all the instruments necessary for the procedure. When she returned, she found Moses gently wiping the man's brow with a damp cloth.

"He's gonna be fine, Honey." she told him. "He's got a long road ahead of him, but he'll be okay. He must be awful tough or he wouldn't have made it this far."

"Can I help?" he asked her, innocently.

"You sure?" she questioned. "It will be messy."

"He's a nice man, Mama Jade."

"He sure seems to be." she replied. "Let's get started."

"Okay." he answered. "What can I do?"

"I need you to make sure he don't move." she said. "This is gonna hurt him and I don't know how deep that bullet is."

Moses pulled the man's arms over his head and firmly held them. "I'm ready."

"Hold tight, now." she replied, as she began.

Hutch continued his search, leaving the dock and walking down the narrow street that led to the warehouse. There were at least a half dozen side streets and alleys that turned off the street and he was determined to look at each one if he had to.

Dawn was beginning to break, giving him better light to work with. Going through several alleys and streets, searching carefully, he found nothing.

Turning into the next alley, he began sorting through the litter, using his feet to move the debris around. Catching a glimpse of something, he dropped to the ground. Blood, and lots of it.

Something told him it was Starsky's blood. They would type it to be sure, but somehow he knew it was Starsky's. Searching further, his heart froze when he found the Beretta. Starsky's Beretta.

Dropping on to a crate, he put his head in his hands. "God, Starsk. Where are you?"

TBC