Chapter 11

'He's in surgery now' O'Rourke said wearily as Captain Dobey walked into the small green painted waiting room and sat down by the side of the big Irishman.

'You did well to find him so quickly' the Captain said.

'Jiminez spotted the tire tracks. He's the one you should by thanking. If it hadn't been for him, I think we'd still be searching and Dave would be de…… he wouldn't be here now' Pat said, refusing to use the word in case it came true and Starsky dies on the operating table.

'How was he when you found him? Did he say anything?'

'Nothing really. He was in and out, in a lot of pain. He kept tellin' me "not Hutch, not his fault" and then he tried to tell me about the heist. I think it's goin' down soon, but he never got chance to finish'.

'What's that supposed to mean, "not Hutch's fault"?' Dobey asked, running his hand wearily over his eyes.

'Just what I was afraid of Cap'n' Jiminez interjected. 'I told ya this was way too much for them. They're both wild cards. Looks like the blond dickhead put his partner in danger. Now look where it's got him'.

Dobey moved surprisingly quickly considering his bulk and covered the space between the sofa and the big Puerto Rican in two steps. He grabbed a hold of Jiminez' collar, a bunch of material in each hand and pulled the tall man down to his level, glaring into the brown eyes above him.

'Don't you ever….EVER badmouth one of my men to me. Those two guys are the best I got, the best in this here state, and you could learn a helluva lot from them. I know ya helped find Starsky, an' for that I'm grateful, but you say one more word against either of them, and so help me I'll knock you into the middle of next week, got that? Whatever went down, ya can bet your bottom dollar Hutch would have given his life if he could have stopped his partner from going through this. So shudup, just shudup ok?'

Dobey let the big cop go and turned back to O'Rourke, panting slightly with exertion. 'Did they say anything?'

'No, just that it was touch and go. They worked a real number on him. He was pretty damaged Cap'n. Whoever shot him, they did a real job. A couple of inches lower and we wouldn't be here now'.

'How long's he been in there?' Dobey asked.

Jiminez looked at his watch. 'Couple've hours. No-ones been out yet. I guess no news is good news'.

Dobey sat down again, casting glaring looks at Jiminez, who leaned on the wall opposite, his face a stony mask. The hospital was not the one the cops usually used. It, like everything else in Operation Wildfire had been chosen specifically. The small facility was a private hospital used predominantly by Army, police and FBI agents and was used to giving full security cover to it's patients, but even so, Lilly Matteu had such a reputation that once he was stable – if that time came – Starsky would be moved to a safe house who's location was known only to the immediate members of the operation.

There was silence in the little room for some time, all the men alone with their own thoughts as the clock on the wall ticked off the interminable minutes. Finally Dobey shook himself from his reverie.

'You say Starsky tried to tell you about the delivery?'

'Yeah. He was very weak an' I couldn't really make out what he was talking about, but he mentioned heist and…..he might have been trying to say Friday, but hell Cap'n he was so out of it, I'm not sure what he was sayin'.

'Well it's pretty obvious his cover was blown' Dobey looked down at his hands, formulating the plan in his head. 'I don't think we have a lot of option here gentlemen. Lilly must have ordered him killed so she knows that he knows something. It also occurs to me that whoever did this to him was disturbed. Her guys are thorough. They'd never have left him alive if they'd had the time. So if they can't prove he's dead, they're gonna come after him'.

At that moment a voice shouted down the small corridor. 'Starsky……relatives for David Starsky?'

They jumped up and Dobey took charge. 'I'm his Captain, he doesn't have family around here. how is he?'

The doctor looked exhausted, his operating greens still showing blood from his fight to save Starsky's life, and his mask hanging forlornly round his neck.

'I think he'll make it. It was touch and go for a while, but we have him stabilised. He's lost a lot of blood, but we're replacing that and the surgery to repair the bullet wound and the ruptured spleen have gone well. If there are no complications you can move him maybe tomorrow'.

'Can we see him?' Dobey asked.

'No, we've induced a coma, to give his body some time to start to heal. He's gonna be out of it for a while. You can stay, but there's really no point. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to my patient'. The doctor turned and left and the three men in the room let out a collective breath.

'Thank God' O'Rourke muttered, sitting down heavily on the chair. 'I really thought he was a gonner for a while. Jeez, he's a tough one!'

'Uh huh. that he is. So now we need to protect him all the more'.

'Well we have the safe house. No-one knows about that' Jiminez said slowly.

'He did. What if they pumped him for information first?' Dobey grunted.

'So what are ya saying Cap'n?'

'We take him out of the equation. We give her what she wants to hear'.

'You mean?...'

Dobey sighed. 'Yeah, set up the interview and leak the information to the press. Starsky is now officially dead'.

O'Rourke cleared his throat. 'Just one thing Cap'n. What about Hutch? He's gonna find out his partner's dead through some TV broadcast?'

The captain ran his hand down the sides of his face. 'Can't be helped. At least this way, when Starsky comes out of the OR we have a chance to keep him safe'.

'And if he doesn't make it, Hutch'll know anyway' Jiminez said coldly.

'I'm gonna forget ya said that' Dobey yelled at him. 'Starsky's gonna be fine. He's young and strong and he's gonna be just fine!'

oOoOoOoOoO

Hutch walked out into the restaurant to find BO, Mel and Ramp already sitting at a table in one of the booths at the back of the establishment. They all had glasses of beer and as the blond sat down the bartender brought one for him too. It was early and the place had no customers as yet and so they could talk in relative ease, the only distraction being the television in the corner of the bar.

In the eight hours since the morning on the sands, Hutch had felt like a little piece of him was dying with each tick of the clock. He couldn't concentrate on anything or anyone and the only vision in his head was his partner's body being blown backwards by his own bullet and the huge red bloom spreading swiftly across the beautiful white linen jacket.

Starsky had looked so sharp outside the disco, the white suit and black shirt fitting him perfectly. No wonder women found him attractive and irresistible. With the shock of slightly unruly curls, the slight five o'clock shadow of bristles that had a habit of appearing by 2 in the afternoon and the deep blue within blue indigo eyes, he was a knock out. And his almost feline grace leant a predatory, slightly dangerous air to him that was guaranteed to melt any woman's heart. Shame the same qualities hadn't worked on Bo and his cronies. Hutch sighed and sat quietly while the other three men talked about the ball game due to take place that night and other inconsequential stuff. Above their conversation the newscaster on the television started a new topic.

And breaking news this hour. Detective Sergeant David Starsky of the Metropolitan police was today found dead on the beach south of Mariner's Point. Detective Starsky was unmarried and leaves a mother living in New York State and a younger brother who's whereabouts is currently unknown. All day, colleagues have been paying tribute to the brave cop who had been taking part in a covert operation. The funeral will take place after the inquest.

And in other news…….

Hutch's heart stopped, his worst fears now put into words. Starsky was dead. He'd been found, but Hutch hadn't been able to save him. He was dead and it was Hutch's fault. The room spun around him as he made a mad grab for the table. Why not just shoot all these bastards now and have done with it? What was the point of going on? Was it the beating or his own bullet that had killed him?

Starsky! Oh my God, Starsk, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I should'a stopped them, should'a put a bullet through Bo instead. Should'a……

Hutch looked up, suddenly aware of a figure at the side of him. Lilly smiled down at him and rested her hand on his arm. His skin crawled from her touch and he fought with the urge to knock her away, put his hands round her throat and throttle her. Starsky was dead. What did it matter if they killed him now? Nothing mattered any more, nothing at all. He'd killed his partner and now he needed to make contact with Dobey and turn himself in. he was no better than Bo and the others. He was a fucking murderer and deserved to die himself. And if the Judge wouldn't order it, Hutch knew deep down he'd die from sadness anyway.

'You did good Cal' Lilly said softly. 'Bo said you took him out with one bullet. Neat. I like neat work'.

Hutch pushed himself up from the table bile rising in his throat. 'Goin' for a shower' he said indistinctly. Any excuse to get himself away from the others. He wanted…..no, he needed to be alone. He needed to be able to use a phone to get to Dobey, but all the phones at the restaurant were tapped, he knew that.

'Use mine' the woman said and pointed to her door.

'M'fine. I got my stuff in….'

'I'm not used to taking no for an answer' she said, her voice hard and slightly shrill. Lilly still hadn't got over Shapiro/Starsky's treatment of her the previous night and now that she saw the handsome blond, she felt in the need for celebration. Hutch looked at her, weighing up the possibility of refusing her and walking out. Out of the room; out of the restaurant; out of the assignment. He lavender eyes held an invitation that he so wanted to refuse and then at the back of his mind he heard his partner's voice from way back at the start of all this when he'd expressed his doubts about the organisation of the operation.

We nail this bitch and think of all the teenagers lives we save Hutch. All the countless lives that won't be ruined by years on coke and weed and shit. She's the biggest name we have here, an' we got the opportunity to take her down. Don't that count for sumthin?

'I um….I think I might be coming down with somethin'. The flu maybe' he stammered.

Lilly looked at him carefully. Cal always looked so tanned and muscular and healthy, but this evening he did look a little green around the gills, his usually clear sparkling crystal blue eyes dull and listless. She put a hand on his forehead, feeling residual tremors running through his body. 'You need someone to take care of you' she said huskily as she took his hand and pulled him to his feet.

No, what I need is to turn myself in, lady. I just killed my partner.

Lilly lead Hutch into her room and closed the door behind her. She walked over to Hutch and put her hands on his shoulders, reaching for the buttons on his shirt. Hutch braced himself. It was like he had the hands of death on his body, prying and pulling at him. He felt sick, sweat beading on his brow and running down the ridge of his spine. He found it hard to breathe and tried to make a conscious effort to slow his heart rate, but the more he tried, the more he felt as though he were suffocating and as she reached up to caress his face, he batted her had away and stood back.

'I'm..I'm sorry. F feel bad. Um…I need to go get some meds from the pharmacy. Maybe tomorrow I'll feel better' he mumbled, running his hand over his brow. He really did feel sick, although it was guilt rather than flu symptoms that threatened to lay him low. As he looked around desperately, his eye fell on the gold Rolex, still laying on the bed where Bo had thrown it earlier in the day. His world collapsed in on itself and with a low moan, Hutch ran from the room, leaving a surprised and shocked Lilly in his wake. She ran to the door and caught a hold of his arm and without thinking, Hutch took hold of her shoulder and slammed her into the wall, leaning his body into hers.

Far from being intimidated by the action, Lilly seemed excited and her lips parted slightly as she looked up at the big blond. Hutch's eyes were ice fire as his fingers crushed her shoulder bruisingly.

'I said I had to go out' he grunted, wrestling himself from her grip.

'I know I….I just wanted to see if there was anything I could get for you' she said in a small voice.

'Yeah, space. Now lemme go' Hutch said, feeling her hands drop from his body. Without a backwards look, he ran from the room and out into the corridor, using the back door to escape into the cool night air.

It felt almost cleansing to be out of the restaurants and Hutch got into the blue car and switched on the ignition without really knowing what he was going to do, or how he was going to do it. It was a mark of the shock Lilly felt at his behaviour that this was the first time in over 4 months that he'd been allowed out without one of the others with him and the freedom felt strange. All he knew was he needed to get to a phone to talk to Dobey and to do that, he needed to be somewhere that Lilly didn't have spies.

He set the car in motion and drove, his mind calmer now that he was away from Bo, Mel and Ramp and as he drove he felt something wet land on his chest, he wiped at it with his hand and realised belatedly that it was a tear. Raising his fingers to his cheeks, he felt more of them and realised he'd been crying without ever noticing. Angrily he pounded at the steering wheel, all his feelings of powerlessness, guilt and pain taken out on that one dumb object as huge wracking sobs filled the interior of the car. Starsky was dead. He'd killed his best friend and now all he wanted to do was to die himself.