Chapter 3

The Royal Pheonix Restaurant stood at the corner of Central and Wilshire. It was an imposing building made of grey stone although the sombre effect of the building material was heightened by the tasteful neon sign outside proclaiming the name in red, the scarlet awnings over the windows and the huge red and gold phoenix emblazoned over the front doors. Those doors were glazed with that frosted glass which means that those inside can look out, but curious passers by cannot see the diners enjoying their dinners. The front door was also decorated by two large doormen wearing black silk loose tops with a high mandarin collars and matching loose black silk pants. They looked like a cross between martial artists and men coming home from a fancy dress parade. They also looked muscle bound and well able to take care of themselves.

There was valet parking in that area of town. It was the very centre of the city and busy even at 9.30 in the evening and yet Starsky hated valet parking. Not only did he hate the fact he would have to pay someone to take his car to the lot, he also hated the thoughts of someone else driving his new, shiny, black car –his pride and joy since the Torino had been shot to death. Driving past the valet station, the brunet swung down a side street, pulled into a "no parking" zone and slapped his mars light on top of the car.

'You'll get a ticket' Hutch said evenly.

'I'd like to see 'em try. This is police business.'

'What happened to "I'm hungry and I have a taste for Chinese?'

Starsky shrugged his shoulders. 'It was true! When did you ever know me not to be hungry?'

Hutch snorted. 'When you put it that way, never.'

'So, we go in, enjoy a meal and do some undercover police work. A nice twofer. Neat huh?'

The blond got out of the car and slammed the door closed. 'It's neat so long as all we do is eat and observe. You saw the state Dobey was in. If he even suspects you've been snooping around Kim he's gonna bust you down to patrolman. You heard him, and this time I believe him.'

Starsky grinned. 'He loves us. He wouldn't do that. And besides. I don't "snoop". I have never "snooped". I may poke around occasionally. I've been known to spy once or twice, but I never snoop.' The brunet watched for a gap in traffic, darted across the road and stood waiting for his partner to catch up.

'Doesn't snoop' Hutch muttered. 'Doesn't snoop my ass. Hutch, what're ya doin' following the crazy curly guy again? You're gonna regret it.'

'Regret what?' Starsky asked as Hutch joined him on the sidewalk.

Hutch looked up innocently. 'I see your hearing is improving. I said I'll regret not trying the wontons. I hear they're to die for' he smiled as he followed Starsky around the corner.

It was an effort getting onto the Royal Pheonix. The first hurdle was the two doormen who looked even larger up close. It took a little time to convince them that Starsky meant no trouble because anyone who wanted into the restaurant and sported a black eye, cuts on his face and a swollen cheek seemed unlikely to want to enjoy a meal. It was Hutch who finally persuaded them that all they wanted was a number 24 and fried rice.

The two cops walked into the cool air conditioned interior of the restaurant. It was tastefully decorated in black lacquer with white walls and golden Chinese symbols on the walls. The tables and chairs were made out of some sort of black wood and the table linen was plain, sparkling white with red napkins. Above, and suspended from the ceiling, a huge electric fan spun slowly making the peacock feather arrangement by the door waft lazily in the breeze. The air was redolent with the smells of the food and Starsky's stomach rumbled loudly.

Just inside the front door, and a little to one side stood a maitre table and behind it stood a big black guy wearing a traditional European style lounge suit in black, accompanied by a white shirt and scarlet tie. He looked incongruous amongst the overtly Asian décor and he seemed bored, until one looked carefully and saw that his eyes darted around the room ceaselessly before resting back at his station and on his companion. There was also a girl, flicking through the pages of a diary as she checked out the bookings for the night. She looked up as the two new customers walked in and did a double take of Starsky's face. She regained her composure quickly.

'Good evening. Welcome to the Royal Pheonix. Is it a table for two, gentlemen?' she asked and there was hardly a hint of an accent to her voice.

'Um….yeah…..yeah, table for two' Hutch said, his eyes never leaving the girl's. She smiled, picked up two menus and walked away. As if drawn by magnets, the two detectives followed.

The girl was slim. No, strike that, she was waiflike thin and tiny, standing no more than five feet tall. Her long black hair was held high in a tight pony tail which cascaded down her back and accentuated her high cheekbones and almond shaped deep green eyes. She'd been marked at birth as special by her parents because of those eyes and the name they chose for her reflected that. The name on her badge, attached to the front of her very tight traditional white and gold Chinese dress read "Jade".

Starsky tore his eyes away from the girl for just long enough to look around the rest of the large room. It was lit by candles and dim electric lights. There were tables arranged around the centre of the room and booths around the outside and in one of those booths, across the other side of the room by the doors to the kitchen, a small group of four Chinese men huddled across the table, intent on some conversation.

Starsky stopped by a vacant booth opposite that occupied by the group. 'Um….Miss? Could we take this booth please?'

Jade turned. 'Of course' she said, waiting until both men were seated before handing them their menus. 'The special tonight is duck in a plum sauce and I'll send the waiter along shortly to take your order.'

'Couldn't you come back yourself?' Starsky asked, turning the full force of his eyes onto the girl. She had the grace to blush and giggled, her hand up to her mouth in a mannerism that some could have called coy. For Starsky, the move caused something to flip low down in his belly and he rested his chin on his hand as he held her gaze.

'Please?' he asked quietly.

'I um…..I'll see what I can do' Jade said quickly and walked away, feeling the pressure of those indigo eyes on her back. Starsky gazed after her until a clicking sound brought him back from his dreams.

Hutch flicked his fingers under his partner's nose. 'Is that what you call undercover police work?' the blond asked innocently. 'I don't recall flirting 101 at the Academy.'

'101? I graduated with honours!' The curly haired cop picked up the menu and pretended to look at it. His eyes, however hovered somewhere above the edge of the print, seeming to gaze into mid space. Hutch watched him closely.

'Not hungry?' he asked.

'Distracted.'

The blond man started to turn and Starsky shook his head. Hutch raised a questioning eyebrow. 'Company?'

'Uh huh. Booth near the kitchen. Don't turn around.'

Hutch sighed. 'How many?'

'Four.'

'Including Kim?'

A nod.

'Have they seen us?'

'If they have, then they aren't lettin' it show.' Starsky went back to his menu as Jade walked back over to the table, a pad of paper in her hand.

'Would you like to order?' she asked.

Starsky put the menu down. 'What's good?'

'The special? Duck in plum sauce with rice.'

'Sounds great. Can I get that with a beer? And maybe a kiss later?'

Jade giggled again, wrote on her pad and turned to Hutch. 'And for you?'

The blond man seemed to be lost in his own thoughts although his eyes never left the girl. Jade tried again. 'Sir?'

Hutch shook himself. He too was feeling wobbly things low down in his belly at the sight of such a petite body clad in skin tight satin. Jade seemed unaware of her effect on the men and that made her even more alluring. 'Huh? Oh um, yeah. Sorry. What was the question?'

Starsky snickered. 'Excuse him sweetheart. They only let him out on special occasions. He'll have the special too, and um….' He reached out and took her hand, bringing it to his lips and breathing a kiss over his knuckles. 'When do you get off work?'

'I don't. I'm kind of live in' she replied, extracting her hand carefully from Starsky's grasp. Jade walked away but paused just long enough to look over her shoulders at the two handsome men. Across the room the four Chinese men stopped their conversation and watched the detectives. Starsky pointedly ignored them whilst still keeping a watch from the corner of his eye. He went back to his conversation with Hutch although if asked, he'd have been able to tell the blond everything that was going on in that corner booth.

Five minutes later a waiter dressed in the ubiquitous black silk pyjama type suit walked over with a huge platter covered by one of those silver dome effects that covers a meal and keeps it warm. He stopped by Starsky and Hutch's table.

'Compliments of the management' he said and laid the platter down on the white table cloth. Starsky raised his eyebrows, waited until the waiter had gone and lifted the silver dome. There, on the platter was a large raw steak and a piece of paper, carefully folded in two. The brunet reached for it and opened it. He read it and tossed it over to Hutch.

Put this on your eye and eat quickly. Today was a warning. Don't mess with us.

'Friendly little note.'

Starsky nodded. 'And so cute that they're concerned for my wellbeing' he muttered wryly.

'You wanna go now?' Hutch asked.

'No, I want duck in plum sauce and maybe Jade's number.'

'Jeez, you're such a Romeo. Do they look like they're gonna make a move?'

The brunet's eyes casually flicked over to the corner again. The four Chinese men seemed deep in conversation. 'No. they're talkin'.'

'Does it look like they're gonna stay that way?'

Starsky grinned. 'Who knows? Dinner's here. Eat up, we might need our strength for later.'

'I thought you said they didn't look like they were gonna make a move.' Hutch asked.

'They don't. I was talkin' about getting' Jade's number!'

The two detectives ate quietly. The food was excellent, the duck meltingly soft and succulent and the sauce perfectly sweet and sour. By the end of it, Hutch had almost forgotten why they were in the restaurant and Starsky had relaxed enough to keep up his flirting with the tiny waitress. As she brought the menu for desert he tried once again to engage her in conversation, keeping his voice low so that she had to stoop closer to hear him above the gentle hubbub of the other diners. He flirted, she giggled, took their desert order and walked away, but as she got level with the booth close to the kitchen, Kim shot out his hand and pulled Jade towards him. The girl flinched and tried to pull away angrily but Kim held on, his face ugly with anger as he rattled heated Chinese at her. She shook her head, replied hotly and stalked off to the kitchen as Starsky watched. Kim looked over at the brunet and smiled once, his hand coming up to swipe one finger over his throat –a universal signal transcended the language barrier. The move implied that if Starsky talked to the girl again, he would regret it.

The brunet rose to the challenge.

Jade did not serve them their desert. In fact Jade did not appear again before they left although both men watched for her. Silently they paid the bill and pushed through the double glass doors back into the hot Californian night. At the doors, Hutch paused, causing Starsky to walk into him.

'What?' the smaller man asked.

'Nothing.'

'Sumthin. What?'

Hutch shrugged his shoulders. 'I thought I saw a familiar car pull away.'

'From the restaurant? Who's?'

'I can't be sure, but I thought I saw Patterdale.'

'Patterdale as in Clay Patterdale from our office?'

'Uh huh.'

'Well even he needs some down time. Was Emily with him?'

Hutch shook his head. 'Didn't see anyone else in the car, he drove off too fast. It was as if he saw us and went.'

Starsky grinned. 'Well you know how much he loves us' he said and set off walking down the block towards the place he'd parked the car. As Hutch started to follow, he looked back over his shoulder and picked up his pace to catch up with his partner.

'Don't look around, but we've got company.'

Starsky slowed a little, but kept walking. 'Big company?'

'Built like a brick outhouse company.'

'Aww shit. Why can't we just have a nice evening out on the town, snooping and eating.'

Hutch snorted. 'You said you never snooped.'

'You got me there. How many?'

'Two that I saw.'

Starsky dropped his voice. 'Are they armed?'

'When you're that size, who needs a gun?'

The brunet stopped. 'You know I'm tired of this already.' He whirled and faced the two doormen from the Royal Pheonix. 'Guys, no offence, but me an' my partner don't want any trouble so just back off and we'll get outa your hair.'

The two mountains of muscle smiled and kept on coming.

Starsky sighed dramatically and by his side Hutch watched the brunet's left shoulder tense. He knew automatically that Starsky was going for his gun and he also knew it was a bad thing to do. As Starsky's left hand started to bring out the Smith and Wesson, Hutch launched himself at Starsky's hand, trying to keep the brunet from drawing completely. Starsky gave a small yip of surprise as Hutch's hand got in the way and as the blond's arm started it's downwards arc to knock the gun away there was a loud report from the weapon and Hutch gave a guttural yell, clutching at his forearm.

The guards from the door melted away as passers by stood back from the two detectives, unsure what was going on.

Starsky's eyes were wide as soup plates as he lowered Hutch to the ground and knelt by his side. 'What the fuck were you doing?' he hissed, trying to prize Hutch's hand away from his forearm.

'Gettin' shot by my best friend' the blond managed to grind out through clenched teeth.'

'Here, let me look' Starsky said gently and took his first look at the damage. His bullet had cut a neat channel through the fleshy part of Hutch's forearm. The heat of the slug had charred the edges of the wound and helped to stem the bleeding, but Hutch looked white as a sheet and was obviously in shock. 'It's just a scratch' Starsky said, folding his partner's arm in against Hutch's chest.

'Easy for you to say' Hutch replied. His voice was breathy and held an edge of pain to it but he held out his right arm for Starsky to help him to his feet. He swayed a little as he achieved the vertical and leaned against the wall until he recovered his equilibrium.

'What the hell were you doing?' Starsky hissed.

'Stopping you from making a huge mistake' Hutch growled.

'And you couldn't have just yelled at me to stop?'

'You're fuckin' deaf! And besides, has that stopped you before?'

The brunet didn't answer. Instead, he put a steadying arm around Hutch's shoulder and guided his partner to the car around the corner. As Starsky unlocked it, Hutch leaned against the passenger door and as he eased himself into the passenger seat he handed Starsky a small packet wrapped in plastic.

'Here' he said with a frown 'Your evening is complete. You got a parking ticket.'