Chapter 23

True to his word, Dobey phoned Huggy Bear the moment he got off of the phone with Hutch. To say the lanky barman was over the moon was an understatement and there was no hiding the "I told you so" in his voice as he spoke with the Captain.

'Are they ok?' Huggy asked.

'I guess so. Hutchinson didn't have a lot of time, but he said they were both waiting, so I suggest you get your skinny little ass down to Rock Ridge and pick 'em up.'

'But Cap'n, what's the rush? According to you they're dead anyway, or at least they were last time we spoke. I think that was the time you told me to get out of your office?'

Dobey sighed. Yes, he had given up on his men and yes, Huggy was right, although he'd never give the bartender the satisfaction of knowing that the time had come for him to retire. Maybe he and Edith needed a nice rest on some remote Caribbean island. Maybe he should just get his ass back into gear! 'Huggy do you want the job or not?'

There was a snicker down the line. 'I'm gone Cap'n. You're talking to a ghost. See you in a few hours huh?' the line went dead and Dobey was left holding the receiver to his ear and trying to get over the fact that he had been so ready to write off his two finest detectives. He took a deep breath, knowing he had things to do and the first one was to make phone calls. For the next hour he spoke with Rachel Starsky and Richard Hutchinson, explaining that their sons had been found and that no, it was no use flying back to LA until they knew what shape those same sons were in.

Omission is a great thing. It saves honest cops from telling lies or at least not telling the full truth. It would have been too cruel to tell both sets of parents that their offspring had been saved only to be arrested by the FBI on suspicion of one of the biggest murders the country had seen since JFK.

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By the time Huggy Bear had found the small one horse town called Rock Ridge and had pulled up outside the sheriff's office, Hutchinson and Starsky had been processed, released and were waiting quietly out by the front desk for their ride to arrive.

Not once during the past hour and a half had Starsky asked about arrangements for their transfer. Neither had he asked where they were going, although at the same time, he'd put up no argument about being kept out of the loop and Hutch decided that this was most definitely a step forwards. The brunet sat on one of the hard chairs in the sheriff's front office with his head in his hands staring morosely at the floor in between his bare feet.

For the most part, Starsky's head was pleasantly blank. Too much had happened in too short a time for the curly haired cop to process it all at once. He had woken up in that hospital bed only a few weeks earlier to be told that he was Ethan Quade, a bomb disposal expert with the Army and also a vigilante out for revenge on the man who killed his baby brother. He had been handed that murderer on a plate but try as he might, Starsky had not been able to deliver the final coup de grace. Whenever he'd got close enough; whenever he'd had his hands tightening around Hutch's throat, something hidden deep inside his mind would stop him from the final act. And every time he failed to kill Hutch/Hunt, a little piece of Starsky died inside. When Hutch started to try to explain that he was Dave Starsky and not Ethan Hunt the brunet had rebelled. It wasn't right! This murderer; this drug runner was telling him who he was? Starsky didn't think so and for a while he'd refuelled his hate of the blond, waiting for the right moment to exact his revenge. But with every passing act of kindness; with every time that a fist connected with Hutch's body rather than his own, Starsky's attitude was changing. He was still not convinced that he was a cop called Starsky from Bay City, or that his own brother was called Nicky and was alive and well in New York, but he was more inclined to believe that Hutch was no murderer and that somehow he knew Starsky. What hurt the most was that this blond guy with the crystal blue eyes that gazed so earnestly at the brunet seemed to know Starsky better than Starsky knew himself.

So it was that with the final arrest and ill treatment from Freiberger and son the brunet's mind had decided that enough was enough and had shut down to just the basics of keeping his lungs and heart working and his limbs moving when commanded.

Hutch paced the small office nursing the skinned and bleeding knuckles of his right hand. For the most part he too remained quiet. There were so many things he wanted to say to the sheriff and his son and yet what was the point? He was on the man's turf and no amount of yelling or sarcasm would shake Freiberger from believing that no-one should disturb his empire, and so Hutch paced, Starsky sat quietly and Freiberger senior glared balefully at both men. Eventually the door opened and Huggy walked in making Starsky jump slightly. Freiberger looked up and winced.

'I should've known you'd have a goddamned nigger somewhere' the old timer muttered.

Huggy ignored the remark and cast a worried eye over Hutch and then Starsky who was still sitting head down on the chair furthest away. Seeing that at least Hutch was on his feet, even if he was bruised and battered and walking with a pronounced limp, Huggy's attention turned to Starsky.

'Hey Starsk my man. Good to see you alive.' He waited for the retort that should have followed the remark but none came. Instead Starsky hardly moved other than to nod slightly. Huggy cast a questioning look at Hutch as though to ask what the hell was going on. The blond was about to answer when Freiberger interrupted.

'I don't suppose you can write, nigger? I need someone to sign release papers.'

Huggy ignored the man and concentrated on Hutch. 'Is he ok?' he asked.

'Starsk isn't feeling too good right now. Come to thing of it, neither am I. We need to get outa here Hug. Will you do the honours?' Hutch indicated the form and the pen Freiberger was holding.

Huggy grinned and touched his woolly forelock suddenly bending over slightly and cringing. 'Sure ting boss. Please don't send me back to no plantation boss. I'll do anyting.' The black man pantomimed in a passable impersonation of a black slave worker.

Hutch grinned. 'Just sign the fuckin' papers Kunta Kinte' he muttered as Huggy took the pen and signed their release with a flourish.

The ride back to Bay City wasn't long. Starsky had followed Huggy and Hutch into the car without question and whilst Hutch sat up front with Huggy, the brunet sat in the back of the Oldsmobile and stared out of the window at the passing scenery in the hope that something would jog his memories into life again. It seemed to say something to the curly haired man that he allowed himself to get into a strange car with Hutch and an unfamiliar man without any question when no more than a day ago he'd been planning to kill the blond. What hold did Hutch have over him? And what were the blond man's intentions once they got to their destination? Come to think about it – what was their destination?

In the front of the car the two men kept their voices low as they discussed what had happened. Hutch made no secrets of their experiences and as Hutch had been honest with him, Huggy filled the blond in with as much detail as he could about what had been going on back in Bay City.

'My God! You mean we've been gone over 6 weeks?' Hutch asked, scrubbing hands down his face.

'Yup. Dobey was planning your memorial services.'

'Shit!'

'Uh huh. We um…..we had an argument about you guys.'

Hutch looked sideways at the driver, seeing that Huggy's face held no humour. 'Wanna tell me?' he asked.

Huggy cleared his throat. 'Seems like your cap'n was about to throw in the towel. There'd been no news about the two of you and the Feds were sniffin' around. I told Dobey that I knew you were still alive and that it was too early to be planning posthumous medals.'

Hutch snickered. 'I bet that went down well.'

Huggy grinned briefly. 'You'll never know. What's the story with Curly? He don't seem up to his usual self.'

The blond's face fell and he sighed, his voice lowered to barely a whisper. 'They did him over real well Hug, to the point where he wanted to kill me and damned near succeeded. The sad thing is that for a while there, I wanted to kill him too.'

'You mean you were brainwashed? I thought you said you were in a hospital.'

'Both, and I think you know where I'm heading with this.'

Huggy swallowed hard. 'You think Nash has something to do with this?'

'Not Nash, but the guys who worked Nash over. When we get back I need to tell Dobey, we need to speak to Terry again and we need to get a team together.'

Huggy cast a look into the rear view mirror. Starsky was slumped on the back seat, his head back and his eyes staring fixedly at the cream coloured ceiling of the car. The black man shook his head. 'I think you can count Starsky out.'

'I think I need to get Starsk some help – some real help. He's lost, he's scared and I hate to admit it, but he's still dangerous.'

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The homecoming at the Metro was a low key affair, in fact Dobey met the two detectives at the back door to the parking lot and led them directly down to the small subterranean area used by the police surgeon when he was on duty. On this particular afternoon the police captain had called Doctor Herman in so that he could give Dobey his professional opinion about his two men.

Quietly Hutch allowed the doctor to examine him, give him arnica cream for his bruises and an antibiotic shot for his cuts. Finally, after half an hour with Herman and with his knuckles taped, Hutch emerged from the small consulting room to see Starsky sat in the far corner of the waiting room, back in his usual posture of head in hands and eyes closed. Hutch cast a questioning look at Dobey who shook his head and whispered 'He hasn't said a word. He doesn't know me, or Huggy or the building. Hug got so uptight I sent him upstairs for coffee.'

Hutch nodded. 'It's ok Cap. If anyone can help Doc Herman can.' The blond walked over to Starsky and stopped a couple of paces away, careful not to crowd the brunet.

'Starsk the doc wants to see you.'

'I don't need no Doctor. I just need to get outa here.'

'Like hell. Starsk you're in even worse shape than me and I hurt like hell. C'mon buddy, at least get yourself checked over huh?'

Uncertainly, Starsky heaved himself to his feet. Hutch was right, he felt like shit and hurt more than he wanted anyone to know. He had expected to feel trapped by the imposing Metro station and yet although he didn't recognise the building or the men and women who worked there, there was a feeling of comfort to the place. It was at once familiar and yet disconcerting to feel that way about somewhere Starsky thought he'd never been before.

Too many feelings. Too much to take in all at once and as Doctor Herman came to the door of the small treatment room, Starsky made his decision and docilely followed the doctor inside but as the medic started to close the door, panic set in and Starsky whirled suddenly.

'Don't' he almost yelled, his eyes wild.

Herman held up his hands. 'Ok Sergeant. We can do this with the door open. That's not a problem. Now, do you want to tell me what hurts the most, or um….maybe I don't need to guess' the doctor said with a small smile as his eyes were drawn to Starsky's blood encrusted shorts.

For the next hour the brunet allowed the doctor to see to his wounds. Some of the coral cuts on his back were septic and needed antibiotic powders, his ankle had swollen to twice its normal size and needed strapping, but the most damage was to the centre of Starsky's body which was blackened with bruising and rusty red with dried blood. As Doc Herman carefully tended to his wounds, Starsky lay back passively and tried to relax. Outside he heard Hutch and the man Hutch called Dobey talking.

'So, from the top, tell me what happened.'

Hutch's voice sighed. 'We were in the car going to Durniak's funeral. Somehow the brake lines were cut, I'm sure of it coz Starsk lost control. The next part is kinda fuzzy, but I remember being dragged out of the wreckage and waking up in a hospital. So far as I can recall they healed me and brainwashed me all at the same time. They must have done the same thing to Starsk too. They fed me a line about him being a rapist who'd raped and killed my little sister and it was so damned real that for a while I um….. I tried to kill him Cap'n. I tried to kill Starsky and he sure s hell tried to kill me.'

Dobeys' voice. 'So what now?'

'So now we find the bastards and we bring 'em to trial.'

'Fine except you have no idea who they are.'

'Then we start working the streets. Someone's gotta know something. We're cops for Christ's sake.'

Dobey's voice sounded doubtful. 'You mean the both of you working together?'

Another heavier sigh. 'I dunno. Whatever they did to us, for some reason Starsk can't shake it like I could. He's lost Cap'n. He's still locked in the world they fed him.'

'What do you want me to do? Do we lock him up? Do we….'

Starsky had had enough of being discussed as though he were a common criminal. Doc Herman had just put the finishing touches to the anaesthetic he'd injected into Starsky's groin and almost angrily the brunet pushed the medic away, lurched off the bed and headed for the door. As he appeared at the entrance Hutch and Dobey stopped their conversation and turned.

'How're ya feelin'?' Hutch asked quietly.

'Fine' Starsky snapped. 'So you tell me I'm a cop. What do we do now?'

Hutch looked quickly at Dobey. 'Right now I take you home and we get some rest. Maybe once you're back at your place you'll start to remember.'

Starsky plastered a smile on his face. 'Sounds like a plan.'

'And then tomorrow we start looking for a guy called Terry Nash' Hutch finished.

It was at that point that Dobey drew Hutch to one side and lowered his voice once more. 'I wasn't gonna tell you this right now but……'

Hutch stared. 'What? What weren't you gonna tell me?'

Dobey looked at the ground, unable to meet Hutch's eyes. 'Terry Nash was pulled out of the docks this morning. He's been dead maybe a day and um….. whatever you and Starsky are gonna do, make it quick and make it silent coz the Feds want to arrest the two of you for murder.'

'Well that's just peachy!'

'Aint it so. I'll keep 'em off of your tails as long as I can, but Hutchinson, you're gonna have to work fast and you're gonna have to work on your own. If ever there was a time for you and Starsky to work together……'

Hutch looked at the distrust in his buddy's eyes and his heart sank. 'We'll be just fine Cap. Thanks for what you've done so far.'