Feedback: I want all I can get…(I think?)

Disclaimer: I make no money from this. Starsky and Hutch do not belong to me, I just borrow them, and promise to return them in the same condition I found them in. My characters do belong to me, and I can use them as I see fit, until they start fighting back.

Author's Note: Here is more requested h/c. More hurt than comfort at this point.

Warning: More torture will ensue, and I think it will get worse before it gets better. But most all of you like that, right? Also, there is some bad language in this chapter, but I feel it was appropriate at the moment it is used.

Chapter Seven

"I want every available unit looking for that van!" Dobey shouted into the phone, than slammed the receiver down, hanging it up with such force, Hutch wasn't sure it would ever work again.

Sitting across from the Captain's desk were Hutch in one chair and Huggy in the other.

"Can you think of anything else Sandy may have said or done that may help?" Hutch asked Huggy.

"Nah man, I've been racking my brain, there's gotta be somthin' I'm missin'." Huggy replied.

Dobey looked up from the file on his desk. "Looks like we got a positive ID on that body from this morning. Her name was Lisa Raleigh. She was a 21 year old runaway from Long Beach, reported missing two years ago. Coroner's report reads like the other two, with some minor differences." He said as he closed and handed the folder to Hutch.

Hutch quickly glanced through the papers. "Looks like we found Sandy's friend." He looked over at Huggy, who was shaking his head in disgust.

"Now those creeps got Starsky and Sandy." Huggy pointed out the obvious. "Hutch? They're gonna kill them, aren't they?" The black man was unable to hide the pain in his voice, he felt responsible for putting Starsky in this situation. He had worked along side the detectives before, but never had he been, single handedly, responsible for causing either one of them this level of danger.

"Don't even think like that Hug. You know Starsky, he ain't gonna go down easy…We'll find them." He tried to reassure his friend.

Hutch and Huggy decided it would be best to hit the streets, putting the word out. Huggy could possibly call in a few favors of his own, from some of his shadier acquaintances. They said their good-byes and left Dobey's office.

XXXX

The three men returned from the kitchen. Ricky was carrying a sharp, gleaming butcher knife in his hands. By this time Starsky had managed to sit himself up, hands and feet still bound together, knees brought up towards his chest. He had propped himself slightly against Sandy for balance. As soon as she had seen the knife in Ricky's hand, he could feel her body start to shake.

He kept a close eye on the goon with the knife, praying silently that he wasn't going to go after Sandy. He was watching him so intently that he didn't even notice Tommy retrieving the iron poker from the fireplace.

"Nooooo!" Sandy screamed out, causing Starsky to turn his head in time to see Tommy holding the iron bar above his shoulder, swinging it downward, striking Starsky across the right ankle. He wasn't immediately sure if he had actually heard or felt the crack of his bone.

The brunet let out a loud, long grunt as he fell on his side onto the floor. He laid there moaning, deeply in his throat, the pain taking his breath away. He concentrated on his breathing, blowing deep puffs of air through his mouth, groaning with each exhale. He clenched his teeth together, cursing as he rode the cresting wave of pain. The detective could hear Sandy sobbing, begging them to stop.

"He ain't goin' nowhere anytime soon." Ricky stated as he bent down beside the writhing man, bringing the knife up in front of him.

"Don't hurt him." Sandy pled. "Please stop, don't hurt him."

Ricky used the knife to cut away the duct tape that bound Starsky's ankles together. He then moved upwards, cutting away the tape from around his wrists.

Starsky was still curled up in a fetal position, he brought his right hand down to his ankle. The sharp pain shooting through his entire body. His breathing started to regulate as the blinding pain ebbed its way back inside him.

"I'm okay, I'm okay." He tried to calm Sandy's fears.

It struck him odd that she cried out so forcefully for his pain, but held it in so courageously, when it came to her own.

He felt himself being grabbed by a fistful of hair and yanked back into a sitting position.

"Hurts like hell, don't it?" He found himself looking into Joey's face. Starsky swallowed hard, trying to swallow his pride, as well as his insides that found themselves lodged in his throat.

He knew that if he angered these men, they would, most likely, take it out on him and Sandy.

"Why are you doing this?" Starsky asked, not that it mattered.

Joey smiled, bringing his face closer to Starsky's. "When I'm finished with the two of you, people are gonna think twice 'bout stickin' their nose in my business!"

"Yeah, but you see, you got one problem. My partner's not gonna let you get away with this."

"Then I'm afraid your partner's gonna suffer the same fate as the two of you." He said grinning ear to ear. The look on his face, was that of pure joy.

Joey rose and moved around Starsky. He knelt next to Sandy, grabbing her chin and snapping her head towards him, forcing her to look at him. Starsky turned his head, watching helplessly.

She stared at him, her glare unwavering. "You know," he started, "we've been together for four long years. I've taken care of you, fed you, clothed you, and watched you grow up." Her face remained stoic. No fear, no anger. He sat next to her on the floor.

"When I heard of your disloyalty to me, I was hurt Sandy, deeply hurt…And I thought about it for a long time…I had to come up with the perfect way to make you feel my pain." Starsky looked at Tommy and Ricky, they were both smiling eagerly. He returned his attention back to Joey.

Joey shook his finger in Sandy's face. "Then it hit me…The only way to make you hurt, was to take away something you loved…Lisa's dead Sandy…She's dead because of you, what you did…My boys killed her…It took them several days, but she finally gave up."

Sandy still showed no emotion, at least not outwardly.

"You're a sick man, Martins." Starsky grimaced.

He should have predicted his comment was going to bring with it pain, but Starsky was not known for thinking before he spoke. Ricky approached the injured man, stomping his foot on Starsky's right ankle.

"Jesus Christ! You bastard!" Starsky spat, again experiencing the labored breathing, once again, finding himself riding the wave. Sandy attempted to turn to look at Starsky, but Joey snapped her head back towards him.

"For three days, Lisa called your name, begging for you to help her. I told her you were ignoring her, you were scared and didn't care about her anymore." Sandy swallowed hard, Joey could tell that he was finally getting to her. "I don't know if she died because my guys beat the shit outta her, or if it was because you broke her heart."

In pure reflex, and without thinking, Sandy reached out and slapped Joey across his cheek, with all her might. He jerked his head back towards her, his eyes gleaming as the corners of his mouth turned upward in a sadistic smile.

Tommy and Ricky immediately moved to Starsky's side, making sure he stayed put. Sandy's dark brown eyes locked on the detectives. She showed no fear, just sadness. Starsky closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. She was going to pay for that, and pay dearly…

XXXX

Hutch and Huggy had spent hours, combing the streets, spreading the word to every prostitute and every drug runner they could find. They wanted information. They needed information.

It had been dark for several hours. They had completely lost all track of time. Both men decided that it was time to call it a night, they were going to be no good to Starsky or Sandy if they weren't at 100. They returned to The Pits where both of them had a hamburger with fries, and an ice cold beer.

"They're out there, Huggy." Hutch tried to both encourage, and console his friend at the same time. "Someone knows where they are, we just have to find that someone."

"Yeah? Well you sure make it sound easy, Hutch." Huggy said between bites. "But I guess if it were that easy, we'd of found them by now, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Listen, why don't you crash here tonight? I gotta couple of spare rooms upstairs, that way we could get an early start." He offered.

Hutch put down his hamburger and looked at his friend, wiping his hands on the napkin. "You know you don't have to this, Hug. This isn't your fault." Hutch was very good at reading people, and reading between the lines. He felt the anguish and guilt his friend was feeling.

"Isn't it? If I hadn't called Starsky, then he'd still be with you. Here eating this burger, with you, where he belongs." Huggy said as he dropped his half eaten hamburger on his plate and pushed it away.

"Don't do this to yourself. Do you know how pissed off Starsk would be if he heard you talkin' like this? Come on man, you know how he gets when he's mad. I hate it when he's like that." Hutch joked.

"Well right now, I'd give anything to see that man's mad face of his turn redder. I'd be happy to entertain his temper at this point!"

"Me too, buddy. Me too!" Hutch replied. Neither one of them could help but be worried about the two.

They heard the phone ring, Huggy's bartender, Debbie, answered it quickly. After minimal conversation, she approached the two at the bar counter.

"Huggy, there's a call for you." She informed him.

The lanky man excused himself and went behind the bar to accept the phone call. He placed the receiver to his ear.

"Huggy, speak to me…Who is this?…" He looked at Hutch. "Where?…When?…We'll be there." He hung up the phone.

He returned to the counter beside Hutch who was finishing off the last of his beer. He leaned over towards him, whispering.

"We have a bite. Some chick, works for Martins, says she has some info on the cop an' girl Martins is holding. Wants us to meet her in an hour, downtown, Fifth an' Main."

Both men rose from the stools quickly, Hutch grabbed his jacket off the back of the seat, and both men headed outside to Hutch's car…

XXXX

Joey grabbed Sandy by the wrist, jerking her to her feet. He then placed his hand painfully around the back of her neck, squeezing hard, pulling her body closer to his.

"Let her go, Joey!" Starsky warned through clenched teeth, but his threat went unacknowledged.

Joey shifted his hold on her, grasping her shirt collar in his right fist. Raising his left hand over his right shoulder, he brought the back of his hand down forcefully across her left cheek. The impact of the strike throwing her into the brick of the fireplace. Sandy let out a completely involuntary whine. The large ring Joey wore had split her cheek open, right under her eye. She lifted her fingers to the cut on her face, touching the open wound, then examining her blood soaked finger tips.

Starsky attempted to rise to his knees, but was quickly pushed back to the ground.

Joey again approached Sandy, placing his hand around her throat, increasing the pressure with every passing second. She began gasping for air.

"Stop it!" Starsky yelled out reactively, not intentionally.

Joey continued to tighten his grip around her throat, listening to her struggle for air, until the fear of death showed in her eyes. Only then, did he release her and throw her to the ground, coughing and fighting to breathe. As he neared her again, Starsky could not hold back any longer. This time Ricky and Tommy could not react fast enough as Starsky raised to his knees and lunged forward at Joey, spitting and cursing.

"You're a fucking coward!" He shouted as he made contact with Joey's ankles, taking him to the ground in front of him. Joey grunted as the wind was knocked out of him when he fell on top of Sandy.

Starsky couldn't feel any pain in his ankle, perhaps it was the adrenalin or perhaps it was shear determination. Starsky tried to pull Joey closer to him. Ricky and Tommy were on him in seconds.

They ripped the brunet off of their boss, who was yelling and spitting his own venom. Starsky rolled on his back to see Ricky with his hand raised high. He barely caught the shine of the brass knuckles he wore on his right hand, before they came crashing into the side of his head. Starsky thought he heard Sandy scream as he succumbed to the quiet and darkness that was closing in on him.

To Be Continued