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Thanks to everyone reading it! Thanks for any and all reviews! I appreciate all the feedback I have received. You know who you are! Okay in case you aren't sure: Rebel, Wuemsel, Elivalero, SilentTrainConductor, Jan, Brook, Nash, Strut, blackwingedbird and now TeacherTam. I thank you all.

Chapter Fourteen

"I'm sorry. I didn't know they were gonna do this."

Jenny reached out for Starsky just was she was violently jerked away from him, her nails scratching his upper arm in desperation. Starsky swung around to face the business end of his own Beretta, being held by Jace.

"Don't move!" Jace warned.

Starsky looked to his left, he saw Moose roughly holding Jenny. She had her arms crossed over her chest with her fists tucked under her chin, protecting her space futilely.

Hutch tried to step up to help Starsky only to find himself shoved back into the wall with a semi-automatic weapon shoved under his chin.

"Move, and I find another hostage, one that's still breathing." One of the hired goons threatened. Hutch knew it wasn't the time to get tough. He couldn't pull his gun when he was out numbered by fire power 11 to 1.

Moose had Jenny by the scruff of the neck, including a handful of her long blond hair. She looked scared and pale. Starsky couldn't help but feel like he was letting her down, again!

"Jenny, it's okay. I'm right here. Don't worry." Starsky tried to convince her. He was glad she was holding together, she didn't loose it completely. She wasn't hysterical, she was visibly shaken, but not panic stricken. At least, if she did feel that way she wasn't showing it.

She looked at Starsky closing her eyes, taking a deep breath, and then opening them slowly. "It's okay." She said in almost a whisper.

"It's not okay." He argued, looking at Rebecca. Deep down, he knew there was nothing she could do to help him.

Mike walked up to Hutch, pointing at him. "You're with me. Rebecca, you go with Jace and Moose, make sure they behave themselves. The rest of you are in van three." He instructed. Mike did not want Moose and Jace distracted from their main objective. They were to concentrate on getting the loot to Mexico, not on the girl.

Rebecca looked at Starsky. "I'll watch out for her." She promised.

The group of eleven terrorists and three hostages made their way to the back of the kitchen. There were huge double doors that led to the loading dock where the vans were waiting. They split up into three groups. Starsky had made his way closer to Jenny.

Hutch, Mike and three felonious individuals made up group one. Starsky, Carlos and three more criminals completed group two. The final unit was comprised of Jenny, Moose, Jace and Rebecca.

Starsky was standing next to Rebecca and Jenny, who was still being held by asshole himself. He only hoped that if something did happen, Rebecca was going to be able to stop it. He looked at Jenny, who had been extremely quiet, no cries of protest, no whimpers of fear, nothing. That had him a little worried. She still had her arms against her chest.

"Stay next to her if you can." He said to Jenny, pointing to Rebecca. "Don't do anything to start any trouble. If somethin' goes down, hit the floor and stay there." He coached her. "You're gonna be fine." Starsky tried his best to sound reassuring.

Hutch kept looking out of the corner of his eye at the pair, keeping tabs on their positions.

The three groups flowed from the kitchen onto the loading docks. All had their weapons drawn. The ones in front kept waiving the weapons, moving them from the front to either side. The individuals in the back, covered the sides and behind them. The three vans were lined up in a row about one-hundred feet from the kitchen doors.

As soon as they hit the sunlight, both Starsky and Hutch scoured the roof tops of the surrounding buildings. They new SWAT, FBI and HRT were going to be nearby. They spotted, not one, not two, but three separate snipers amongst the roof tops. From what they could tell, their captors had not noticed the hidden gunmen. The two detectives looked at each other in wordless communication. Hutch, at this point, was closer to Jenny than Starsky was. If all hell broke loose, it would be Hutch's responsibility to get Jenny to safety.

Carlos had his gun jammed into Starsky's back; Mike's weapon was concentrated on Hutch. Moose still had a hold of Jenny, but his weapon, if he had one, wasn't pulled.

They were about three-quarters of the way to the van when the first shot rang out. Hutch felt the bullet whiz by his head. Instinctively, Hutch reached out and grabbed Jenny, throwing her to the ground, and covering her with his body. He heard her muffled scream and felt her body tense.

Multiple shots were being fired in rapid succession by both parties. Starsky went for cover behind one of the van doors, lying close to the ground, assuming the fetal position, covering his head.

Several of the felons became instant victims. There was screaming and shouting. It was hard to decipher who was saying what. People were yelling, 'Stay down.' 'Don't move.' 'Get in then vans.' 'Run.' 'Freeze.' There was just a mêlée of confusion.

Jenny was struggling under Hutch's weight. She tried to use her arms to push him off of her; she kicked with her legs, striking him in the shin. She was crying.

"Please, get off of me! Don't do this." She begged. The gunfire didn't seem to be bothering her at all, Hutch's present location did.

"Stay still, Jenny. Don't move." He argued with her as he fought to control her outburst. Than he realized that he was holding down a girl that three hours before, had been held down and raped by several men. "Oh, my God, I'm sorry Jenny. It's me. I'm not gonna hurt ya'" He rose up so the full weight of his body wasn't pinning her down. "Just lay still." He said freeing his weapon from its holster.

She still had the palms of her hands pressed against his chest to keep him from lying on top of her again. Jenny turned her head to the side to look away from him; she saw multiple pairs of feet running in all different directions. Hutch fired a couple of rounds. The sound of gunfire so close to her was startling. It was louder than she thought it would be, hurting her ears, a couple people fell to the ground a distance away. She saw Starsky by the van, taking cover. His eyes met hers, she was glad. He was okay.

Suddenly, with a heavy, sickening sound a body hit the ground, a mere twelve inches from her face. She was instantly staring into Jace's lifeless eyes. When his head hit the pavement she heard the sickening, undeniable sound of his skull splitting. Jenny just continued to stare at him, at first she didn't know he was dead. He had a hole in his forehead about the size of a dime, and a stream of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. She heard the raspy rattle as he exhaled his last breath. By the time she realized that he was no longer among the living, Hutch was trying to shield her eyes with his hand. She moved his palm out of her line of vision with her bandaged hand and continued to stare deeply into his vacant eyes.

He was dead. He wasn't going to hurt anyone again. She smiled.

"Jenny, don't." Hutch said as he turned her head away from the gruesome sight. Another outlaw stumbled backwards over Hutch's back, tripping and falling hard on his back on top of Jace's body. Hutch knew there was going to be multiple casualties with this skirmish.

Hutch picked Jenny up by the shoulders and pulled her into him, covering her body the whole time. He pulled her up into a sitting position, keeping his arms over her head, and rotating her to his right side. His head was tucked down to his chest and both his arms were around her. He felt her pull away and tried to hold her back. She was jerking heavily, trying to tear away from his grasp.

"Jenny, stop it! You have ta' stay put, you'll get killed." Hutch yelled keeping his head tucked low. Next thing he knew she was free of his hold. He looked up grasping wildly at air, trying to grip her arm or clothes, anything. He was surprised to see Moose pulling her away by the arm. She was reaching her arm back for Hutch.

Bringing himself to his feet, he started after them, giving a sideways look to Starsky. His partner had company. Carlos had his gun at the back of Starsky's head and he was being shoved into the back of the van. The vans were not passenger vans; they were more like utility vehicles.

He'd have to deal with saving Starsky later; right now he had to get Jenny back. He took about two and a half steps forward before he felt the cold steel of a gun pressed forcefully into the nape of his neck. Hutch froze obediently, fanning his hands out at his sides. Mike took the Magnum from his right hand. He was quickly herded into the van with his friend. Hutch turned to see Moose dragging Jenny by the right forearm into the vehicle.

The gunfire had ceased. Starsky and Hutch were scanning the loading dock. There were bodies covering the once gray cement, puddles of blood from the wounded spread over the ground. With a hefty shove, Jenny was propelled through the doors. Hutch caught her to keep her from falling to the ground. Carlos was already in the driver seat, starting it up, as Moose and Rebecca jumped in.

"We're in, go!" Moose ordered.

Jenny was on the floor of the van. As soon as it accelerated away from the hotel, everyone in the back joined her, either by choice or because the acceleration forced them there. Starsky once again, was next to Jenny on her right; Hutch was on the other side.

"You okay? You're not hurt are you?" He asked her.

"I'm 'kay." She answered. He looked down at her arms. The cuts on the right one were bleeding again. Probably thanks to Moose for dragging her around using that particular appendage. He took her hand and checked the dressing, which was also bleeding again.

"Dammit." He uttered, reaching in his pocket to retrieve a fresh cloth. He quickly, but carefully, changed the bandages. "Well, what's our plan?" He quietly asked Hutch.

"Why you askin' me? I came up with the last one, I think it's your turn." Hutch teased.

Rebecca scooted towards them. "She gonna be alright?" She inquired about Jenny.

Starsky looked at Rebecca. "Why don't you tell me? You think Moose really plans on letting her go, once we're across the boarder?"

"That's been our plan all along. Yeah, well it doesn't look like your plans have worked out so well thus far." Hutch interjected.

"You can say that again." Starsky conferred. "What do you think the chances are of them pulling over now and letting her go? You still have Hutch and me to get ya' to Mexico."

"I don't think Mike'll go for that. He wants her for the pity factor. 'A young kid with her whole life ahead of her', sorta thing."

"Kid? You don't need to talk like I'm not even here!" Jenny gave Rebecca a look holding pure hatred.

Rebecca looked back at Starsky. "I'll see what they say."

Mike was up front in the passenger seat. Rebecca crawled up to the front. Starsky could see they were whispering, but couldn't make out the words.

"You know, she really is bitch!" Jenny stated as a matter of fact, to both Starsky and Hutch. They shot a crooked smile at each other. Starsky heard them starting to argue.

"Whose side are you on?" Carlos' voice was raised. "Look bitch…"

"See I told you." Jenny said to Starsky proudly.

"If you wanna join 'em, it can be arranged." Carlos finished.

Mike shot a look back at the trio. "Pull over, Carlos." He commanded.

"You can't be serious." He objected. "You're not really gonna do this are you?"

"Don't question me! I said pull over." He shouted.

They were on a small access road. There was hardly any traffic on the road at all. As far as they could tell the police were not in pursuit at this point. There were no cars following them. Mike rolled down the window; he heard the helicopter in the air. They were watching from the sky. Not wanting to follow too closely, in fear they'd shoot one of the hostages. Mike figured.

Pull over now!" His patience was wearing thin and Carlos could tell.

Carlos finally obeyed. Starsky and Hutch were excited they were going to let her go. There was some humanity left in him after all. The van came to a slow stop. Mike rose from his seat and motioned for Rebecca to follow him. He stepped over the legs of the passengers on the floor. Getting close to Jenny, he gestured for her to get up. She looked at Starsky then over at Hutch, and back to Starsky.

"What about you two?" She asked hesitantly.

"We'll be fine, don't worry 'bout us. We've been in tougher spots many times, right Hutch?" Starsky stated, looking at Hutch for back up.

'Oh, yeah. Hundreds of times." He concurred.

"Go on, get outta here." Starsky encouraged her.

Her eyes welled up with tears. "Thank you!" Was all she could bring herself to say to him.

"Anytime." He replied with a wink.

She rose and joined Mike and Rebecca making the way to the rear door.

"Open it." Mike instructed Rebecca.

She reached out and jerked the handle until it opened. With her left hand she lent forward, swinging the door out to the side. She felt a push as she lost her balance, feeling her body in mid-air before hitting the dirt on the ground, knocking the wind out of her. Rebecca turned back to see Mike in the van holding Jenny by the upper arm, laughing as he raised his gun pointing it at Rebecca's head.

"I'll make sure to tell your brother, what a big help you were!" Mike said to her as he pulled the trigger.

One quick fast pop of the gun and Rebecca's listless dead body hit the ground with small puff of dirt rising around her.

"No!" Hutch screamed in protest, but it was too late.

Chapter Fifteen

Mike reached out and grabbed the open door pulling it shut behind him. Jenny stood motionless, staring at the body. The cruel man shoved Jenny into the side wall of the van. She hit it with a thud and let out what air was left in her lungs.

"Down!" He directed her, and she complied, taking her seat on the floor, next to Moose. She avoided eye contact with the creep. Starsky could see her face lose its color once again, her eyes wide with fear. This time he wasn't sure if it was because of Moose or the horrific scene she had just witnessed. Probably a combination of both, he surmised. Moose even seemed shocked at what he had just seen Mike do.

Mike looked at Starsky and Hutch, waiving his gun around carelessly. "She's next." He said, pointing at Jenny, who let out a gasp. The van continued on its way. They were headed southbound on Interstate 805, approximately 20-25 minutes away from the Mexico Border.

After handing Moose his revolver, and instructing him to keep an eye on the hostages, Mike reclaimed his seat up front with Carlos. As he sat in the passenger seat, Carlos gave him a pat on the back, obviously approving of his actions.

Moose decided to take this time to have some fun with his three charges. He took the weapon entrusted to him and shifted it back and forth between his hands, making the trio very nervous. Hutch glanced over at Starsky and back at Moose, trying to figure out what he was planning. Starsky kept his eyes on Jenny. Her bottom lip was quivering, she looked like the heavy weight of what she'd just seen, was starting to set in.

"So who wants to play a little game?" Moose asked, not really caring if anyone answered. He reached up and swung his left arm around the back of Jenny's neck, pulling her into a headlock. He applied enough pressure to extract a squeal from her. He placed the barrel of the gun firmly against the top of her skull.

"Nooo!" She cried. Both Starsky and Hutch felt their hearts jump into their throats simultaneously. Starsky found himself swallowing harshly to push it back down.

"Don't do it." Hutch begged and ordered at the same time. He noted the look in Moose's eyes, he seemed to actually be getting pleasure in torturing her. Moose also enjoyed seeing the distress it was causing the other two.

Starsky had brought himself up to his knees. Hutch was waiting for his partners signal, his body tense. He knew starting something when they were unarmed, in this confined space was not a good idea. But if Starsky went after them, Hutch would be right behind him.

"You'd better plant yourself pig!" Moose commanded Starsky. "Or I'll waste her right here!" Starsky slowly returned to a sitting position.

Jenny was weeping, thrilling Moose to no end. He kept her in the headlock, but bent her face up to meet his, with his hand clutching her chin tightly. "Tell me slut, what ya' thinking 'bout right now?" Switching the guns' location to her right temple, pressing so hard that she was sure she'd be bruised.

"N…N…othing." She stammered.

"You mean ta tell me that you could be takin' your last breath an' you aint thinkin' nothin'? Not thinkin' 'bout your best friend? Your ma? Nothin'?... Now you're lyin' to me." He moved his grip and tightened it around her dainty neck. He could feel her neck pulsing against the palm of his hand. The realization that he could easily snap her neck excited the man.

"Don't do this to her. Come on, ain't she been through enough?" Starsky implored him. Jenny gasped and coughed from the pressure to her neck.

"You're choking her, ease up a little, huh?" Hutch noted.

"You gotta be kiddin' me? You shoulda seen what I did to this one kid in Arizona last year, took her days to die." He boasted.

Starsky snapped his head around and found him staring directly into Hutch's eyes. They both knew exactly what he was referring to. About six months ago, a nineteen year old girl was reported missing in Yuma, Arizona. Her body was found about two weeks later. The coroners report found that she had been savagely beaten, raped and tortured. Over two-thirds of the bones in her body had been broken. She had five teeth knocked out, and she had burns that looked like they were from a branding iron over several parts of her body. They had concluded that she had been alive when she had sustained most of the injuries. The two detectives had no idea, until now, the sick demented person they were in the presence of.

"So Moose, you musta had a pretty lonely childhood, huh? Did you have any friends at all?" Hutch asked. Starsky picked up on what he was doing right away. He was trying to draw Moose's attention and anger to him and his partner, away from Jenny.

He released his hold on the girl, pushing her to the side, as he concentrated on the men in front of him.

"'Course he didn't have any friends, who'd wanna hang 'round a creep like him!" Starsky answered.

Moose glared at the two.

Ya' know somethin' Starsk? I think you're right. I also think that the reason this creep rapes and beats women, is because he can't get them any other way. No girls gonna give him a second look." Starsky winced, he knew that comment hurt.

Moose sprang forward, swinging the gun in his right hand, backhanding Hutch across the temple with a wicked crack. Jenny buried her head in her arms, afraid to watch. Starsky let out a loud groan in sympathy as his friend slumped to the floor, unconscious. Starsky felt for his partner. He wished he could have taken that for him.

The van swerved suddenly and Moose lost his balance, falling back into Jenny's legs, startling her. As he rolled to face her, she kicked out, acting on pure reflex, and caught him right in the groin. He roared in pain, grabbing himself with one hand.

"Oh God, I'm sorry." She begged for forgiveness.

He thrust the gun into her stomach with his other hand, knocking the wind completely out of her. Starsky got back onto his knees, leaning towards them, preparing to attack.

"Don't!" Starsky pled holding out one shaking hand in front of him. Julie was still gasping for the breath he had taken away.

"You bitch!" Moose growled, as he brought his face close to hers. She could feel his hot stale breath on her face.

"Moose, control yourself!" Mike commanded. "You'll get your turn soon enough. Just behave a little longer."

At that moment Starsky knew they had no plans of releasing the three of them alive. Moose let go of Jenny for the time being, shoving her back into the side of the van, but he was far from finished with her. She was still trying to catch her breath, and felt like she couldn't inhale fast enough to fill her lungs.

"Jenny, take a deep, slow breath." Starsky instructed her, having had the wind knocked out of him countless times before.

Jenny pushed herself up against the wall of the van, drawing her knees up to her chest, once again, wrapping her arms around them. Her space.

Starsky heard his partner let out a moan; he looked over to see him starting to move. He placed his hand on the side of the blonds' head, to let Hutch know he was there. Another moan, louder this time. He could feel Hutch try to lift his head off the cold metal floor. Starsky rubbed his hand through Hutch's hair reassuringly.

"Stay down, buddy. It's okay, I'm here. Shhh." He wanted to ease him back into the conscious world, knowing that his head was going to hurt like hell, he thought it would be less painful if he accepted it slowly.

Hutch blinked quickly a couple of times, than squeezed his eyes shut and held them closed for a brief period. There it was. Starsky could almost feel the flash of pain that must have shot through Hutch's head.

"Oh, Jeez." Hutch uttered.

"Welcome back. Did ya' have a nice nap?" Starsky said in jest. It only took Hutch a moment to recall what had happened and why he had a blinding headache.

"Did ya' miss me?" He responded. He opened his eyes and could make out Moose across from him, still with the gun in one hand and his family jewels in the other. Hutch started to lift himself up from the cold steel. "What happened to him?"

Starsky placed one hand under Hutch's armpit and the other on the side of his head to help him into the upright position. Starsky looked at Jenny's feet, "I'd say about a size 6 or 7 happened to him." He replied, trying to estimate Jenny's shoe size.

"Huh?" Was the only thing Hutch could get out. Suddenly his head was painfully aware of every dip, pothole, and lane reflector that the southbound freeway had to offer. Once he was returned to the upright position, he found himself fighting to keep the contents of his stomach, in his stomach. He raised his hand and touched the tender temple, only to cause more unnecessary pain. He winced, pulling his hand away, and sucking air in through his teeth quickly. The tips of his fingers were moist with blood.

"Let me take a look." Starsky could see a small patch of Hutch's hair that was matted and moistened red. He gingerly separated the matted hair around the wound and retrieved the last clean cloth from his pocket, dabbing it around the wound, causing Hutch to instinctively pull back away from the pain. Starsky finished cleaning the area the best he could with what he had to work with.

"I think you'll live." Starsky gave Hutch his invaluable professional opinion. "And the scar it's gonna leave should add to what little character you have, kinda like the dents in your car." Hutch grimaced. Starsky realized he had to address the more serious issue at hand. "Hey, you do realize that they plan on burnin' us after we leave this country, don't ya'?"

"Yeah, it's beginning to look that way." Hutch looked over to check on Jenny. She had her head up and was staring directly if front of her. "Looks like you'd better think of something quick." He knew Starsky would think he was joking, but the truth was, his head hurt so badly, he didn't know if he could rationally think at all.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

"What the hell?" Carlos declared.

"Slow down." Mike directed the driver, who let of the accelerator.

Starsky and Hutch both looked out the front window to see the Interstate completely blocked off, and an impressive road block set up. All exits were closed by barriers made up of police cars and concrete blocks. The lanes ahead had emergency vehicles and a barrage of SWAT and uniformed police officers crouched behind anything that would provide them with adequate protection. All of them with weapons drawn out in front of them, being held with both hands, elbows locked.

Carlos swung the steering wheel of the van hard, throwing the van into a 180° spin. The passengers in the back rolled around uncontrollably. The spinning stopped roughly, tipping the van up on two wheels momentarily, and then slammed back onto all four. Starsky wound up on top of Hutch.

Looking down at his partner he apologized. "Sorry!" He said sheepishly as he tried to remove himself without causing Hutch too much discomfort.

Once the two were disentangled they scanned the van. Both Carlos and Mike had ducked down below the view of the windshield. They crawled, to the back of the van. Carlos had drawn his semi-automatic weapon, and Mike had retrieved another weapon from the back of his pants. Moose had already taken Jenny into his clutches, claiming his hostage.

Both the detectives looked at each other, speaking without words. Get ready! They knew, one way or the other, this was the beginning of the end…

To Be Continued