Chapter 2

Hutch plodded his way back to the car through the streets. Behind him, Starsky tried to keep up although he felt dizzy and sick and twice he stumbled so that he had to keep a hold of the wall to keep himself upright. It was as though he'd drunk too much tequila at Huggy's and his eyes seemed unfocussed and blurry. But it was the constant whistling in his left ear that annoyed the brunet more than anything else. The sensation was as though someone had stuck a wax earplug into his ear and was then trying to play music through it. Starsky heard the world through a blur of white noise as though he'd been to a rock concert and the music had been too loud. Something deep down inside him told him he may have done something serious to his hearing. Something else argued that once the medics had you, they never let go. It was the lesser of two evils and the whistling won out fair and square.

Eventually back at the car, the brunet eased himself into the passenger seat, thankful for once that they were in Hutch's car and not his own. After the drunken progress back down West Central, he didn't think he was in any shape to drive back to the Metro.

'Own own?' Hutch seemed to mumble.

'Huh?'

Hutch turned to his buddy and was about to ask some sarcastic question when he spotted a small smear of blood by Starsky's left earlobe. He turned in his seat and took a proper look at his partner for the first time. Starsky had a cut across his left cheek bone and his left eye was swelling shut and blossoming into a pale shade of bruise. The rightt cheek was swollen down most of the side of the brunet's face and although not cut, it too showed a blue bruise appearing. A split lip completed the mess that was Starsky's face.

'I said do we go down town?' Hutch said a little louder.

'Oh, yeah. I guess so.'

'Starsk, are you sure you're ok?'

Starsky nodded a little too vigorously and grabbed for the dashboard to stop the world from spinning. 'Yeah' he mumbled.

'You look like shit and you're whiter than a blizzard. Maybe you should get checked out at the hospital.'

'I said I'm fine. Stop doin' the mother hen thing huh? I got knocked about that's all.'

'There's no sense in taking chances.'

'Huh?' Starsky wrinkled his brow, concentrating on Hutch's lips as they moved.

'You can't hear me, can ya?'

'Can too.'

Hutch covered his mouth with his hand. 'Then tell me what I'm sayin'.'

Starsky frowned. 'Oh hah di hah. Fine! So my hearin's a little off. Ok? Satisfied?'

'It's not a competition Starsk, I'm worried. He worked some number on ya back there.'

'He took me by surprise, that's all. I could've taken him' Starsky said loudly. The sound of his own voice in his ears sounded odd and the feeling of nausea seemed to be intensifying, but it was the anger that some young whippersnapper had beaten the shit out of him that had Starsky all bent over. 'I don't need no hospital and I don't need you worrying for me ok? I'm fine, and before you make me, I promise that I'll tell you if it gets worse.'

Hutch nodded, knowing that was as good as it was likely to get. He put the key in the ignition and was about to turn on the engine when the brunet put his hand out and rested it on Hutch's arm.

'Hutch?'

'Yeah?'

'Don't tell Dobey.'

The blond smiled. The tone in his partner's voice was like that of a little boy asking that his friend didn't tell him Mom he'd done something wrong. Hutch sighed. 'If you can stand upright and lip read Dobey, I promise I won't breathe a word. Deal?'

'Heal? Course it'll heal.'

The blond shook his head and put the car in motion. 'I rest my case' he muttered as he drove downtown to the Metro.

By the time Hutch had parked up Starsky had gathered his anger around him like a protective cloak. No tiny Asian guy was going to get the better of him and he was about to say that to Hutch whilst he opened the door and got out of the car. That movement however proved a little too problematic and it took all the brunet's self control to keep upright and to keep the contents of his stomach safely where they belonged. Starsky took a deep breath and followed Hutch inside the large grey stone building, defying the blond to utter those immortal words "I told you so".

The two men took the stairs as usual to the first floor of the Metro. At the top of the stairs, Caplan, one of the newer detectives to the team was talking with his partner Martin. Both men looked up and Caplan whistled low.

'Wow Starsk. Who did the number on ya?'

Starsky touched his hand to his face and slapped a smile on his lips. 'This? This is nuthin. You should've seen the other guy' he grinned.

'I bet! Was he in the hospital when you left?' Caplan asked seriously.

'Huh? Oh well…..'

'We gotta dash. Date with Dobey' Hutch cut in and pulled his partner past the two men. 'Ya should've seen the other guy' he mimicked angrily. 'Starsk, there wasn't a mark on the other guy! He was just…..'

'If you say younger I'm not gonna be happy' Starsky mumbled, grabbed at his stomach and rushed for the bathroom. Hutch thought of following, but decided his partner would prefer privacy for his assignation with the john. He walked off up the corridor and into the squad room.

Most of the team were out working the streets at that time of day. Only two other detectives were in, working on mountains of paperwork as Hutch pushed open the swing doors and headed for the coffee machine in the corner. He poured two cups, expecting Starsky to arrive at any moment but when, after five minutes there was still no sign of the brunet, he put his mug down on his desk and meandered down the hallway, pushing open the door to the bathroom.

Starsky was bending over the wash basin splashing cold water onto his face. As he looked up Hutch gave an involuntary gasp. Starsky's left eye had now swollen closed and a blue bruise coloured the whole of the side of his face. Starsky's eyes held a far away look in them and he was white as a sheet beneath the bruising. All feelings of anger at the smaller man fled as Hutch took Starsky's face in his hands and looked into the indigo eyes.

Carefully he pulled Starsky up straight and held a hand up in front of the curly haired cop's eyes. 'How many fingers do you see?'

Starsky concentrated and decided Hutch had just asked him how many fingers, although the words were mumbled and indistinct. 'Sixteen' he muttered and swayed against the porcelain.

'Funny! I'm serious Starsk. If you can't get your act together you need help. Dobey wants us so you'd better make it look good, unless you want a trip to Memorial.'

The brunet turned back to the mirror above the basin. He was still pale but with a few more splashes of water and a brisk towelling he thought he could pass for normal and the sickly feeling had gone from the pit of his stomach. He took some deep breaths, ran his fingers through his curls and indicated the door. 'I told ya, I don't need no Doc stickin' me with needles. I'm good to go. Lead on.'

Hutch shrugged his shoulders, realising it was no use arguing any more. Once Starsky's mind was made up, it was pointless to argue further. The two men walked back up the hallway, paused outside the door to Dobey's office and then opened it without knocking. They walked in as the big black man looked up and were just in time to see the frown glide into place across Dobey's countenance.

'What the hell?' Dobey took in the wreckage of Starsky's face with one glance.

'It's a long story Cap'n' Hutch started until Dobey shouted him down.

'And there had better be a damned good explanation Hutchinson. I just got off of the phone with Wei Ling Mu. He's the hot shot Chinese lawyer hired by Kim and his cronies in the Red Dragons. He says you were harassing his client and that he wants it to stop. He says Kim is seriously injured after your fight and he's had a tough time persuading him that in the interests of keeping the peace, he shouldn't sue your ass off for personal injuries.'

Starsky stared open mouthed and for once was lost for words. He hadn't caught all that Dobey had said, but he'd heard sufficient to allow the anger to bubble back up to the surface. Half of him – the part that was self protection- wanted to tell Dobey that the Chinese guy had walked away without a scratch on him. And yet the other half –the one that was tough LA cop- wanted to tell Dobey that Kim had got what he deserved. In the end, for once Starsky erred on the side of caution and merely kept his mouth closed.

'Is that it? No fancy excuse? No tall story?' Dobey yelled.

'Nope.' At least Dobey shouting meant that Starsky could hear every word.

'Then you agree you chased after Kim?'

'Yup.'

'Why? Doesn't three months work mean anything to ya? Three solid months of getting information together, getting in extra men, laying low and waiting for the right moment? What the fuck are you doing chasing after our prime suspect without just cause, or at least a warrant? And why? What's had he done today of all days? Jay walked?'

'We thought we could take him Cap'n, obviously we were wrong.'

'Is that wrong with a capital W Hutchinson? What is it about you two? You think you can take on the world single handed? Well let me tell you, if we lose this thread, if this operation goes belly up, you're gonna be busted back to patrol men and you're gonna be on traffic for the rest of your naturals. Have ya got that?'

'Loud and clear Cap'n, but if we could just…..' Hutch started to try to explain but Dobey gave him one of his special looks.

'I don't want to hear it Hutchinson. Just get out and stay out.'

'But….' The blond ducked as a file came flying through the air at him. He closed his mouth quickly.

'And get him checked over at the hospital. If Kim is as bad as Starsky, then Wei Lin Mu has more than a case against us.'

Starsky started to say something and the look in the indigo eyes told Hutch is wasn't going to be a compliment. He took a hold of his partner by the arm and pulled him towards the door and for once Starsky didn't object. He allowed himself to be steered out of Dobey's office and onto his chair in the corner. Hutch slammed his partner's ass down onto the hard plastic, thumped a mug of coffee in front of the brunet and walked around to his side of the desk. As he sat down he heard a low whistle from the other side of the room.

'Sergeant, are you ok?' Boone, a younger and eager detective who was fairly new to the department got out of his seat and walked across the office. His partner, an older man called Patterdale made a noise low down in his throat. 'Leave it Joe. Starsky likes to speak with his fists.'

'Shuddup Pat' Starsky snarled. There was no love lost between the two men but usually they were content to ignore each other.

Joe Boone came to stand in front of the curly haired cop. 'What happened?' he asked quietly. 'Can I get you anything? You should get an ice pack for those bruises.'

'Hey Hutch, we got a regular Dr Kildare here' Starsky grinned. 'It's ok Joe. Hutch can do all the cluckin' I need right now.'

'Yeah, but….. hey you should go to the hospital. Those cuts look really bad.'

'We've done the hospital routine. I'm fine. I don't need a hospital. I need a drink….and some food.'

'Can I get ya….'

Starsky held up his hand. 'Boone, no offence, but I have Hutch to coddle me and he don't need a back up. It's kind and all that, but just back off huh?'

The younger man nodded quickly. 'Sure thing Starsky. I was only trying to…. Well, I just wanted to help. But like ya say, you've got Hutch. You just need to be careful. I mean, you get past a certain time of life and you don't heal as fast, you know?'

Starsky looked up just as Hutch spluttered, turned it into a passable cough and buried his nose into his coffee cup. 'What's that s'posed to mean?' Starsky growled.

Boone's innocent looking face gazed back, unawares of what he'd just said. 'I mean after your….. well after the shooting I heard about last year…. And you're um…. Well….'

Hutch interrupted. 'I'd quit while the going's good kid. Starsk will be fine, I'll see to that. But thanks for your concern.'

Boone nodded and walked back to his desk.

'He got what he deserved' Patterdale muttered. 'And don't even try to help. They're a closed shop, them two.'

'You mean they're……together?' Boone asked, his eyes wide.

'As in gay?' Patterdale's voice became lower. 'There's rumours. You just watch 'em kid. If they aint gay, then there's somethin' not natural about how they behave.'

Fortunately Starsky's hearing was still not up to picking up on Boone and Patterdale's conversation. He was busy trying to ignore the whistling in his ear and the pains down the side of his face. They niggled at him, as did the fact that for the second time that day someone had mentioned that maybe he wasn't in the first flush of youth any more. Maybe a few hours in the gym with Hutch might not be a bad thing. He'd never worked out in his life. He'd abused his body with junk food and drinking binges at Huggy's. He'd partied hard and had fought hard and he could still get in the jeans he'd had when he was 24, and yet….. he'd lost the fight today.

The anger bubbled under the surface again. Anger at Kim for making him feel such a fool. Powerless. That was how he'd felt coming up against the martial arts expert. Powerless and defenceless and he was unaccustomed to it.

As was usual with Starsky when he met a problem that scared him, he decided there and then to face it head on. Without further ado, the brunet got up from his desk and slung his jacket over his shoulder. Hutch looked up from his report.

'Are ya calling it a day?'

'Uh huh.'

'Want a ride home?'

'Nope. Not goin' home.'

Feeling that he wasn't going to like the answer too much Hutch put down his pencil and sat back in his chair. 'Where are you going?'

'I'm hungry.'

'Oh, great. Where do you want to eat? There's a great new vege….'

Starsky grinned as he started to walk out of the office. 'No vegetarian Blondie. I have a taste for Chinese.'

'Oh now Starsk….Starsky, wait up' Hutch muttered as he grabbed his jacket and followed his partner out of the squad room. Behind him Boone looked up.

'Are they always like that?' the younger man asked.

'Oh yeah' Patterdale grunted. 'Fuckin' saints them two.'