ROAD WORK AHEAD: EXPECT DELAYS
CHAPTER 2
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It was early morning but the sun was already hot. There was a slight breeze which didn't offer any hope of cooling the day. The haze settled over the city, creating shimmers on the road ahead. Combined with the obstruction in front of him, the mood was not as bright as the sun for the driver of the brown LTD.
The line of traffic inched along, making slow progress, one tire length at a time. A construction worker dressed in his orange fluorescent vest listlessly waved the red flag, in a fruitless attempt to encourage the cars to continue down the road. This only served to irritate Starsky further. He pushed his sunglasses further up his nose and hunkered over the steering wheel, glaring at the construction worker. He desperately wanted to raise his middle finger and in fact, he raised his hand and with a scowl on his face, was ready to do just that. He let out an irritated grunt as Hutch pushed his arm down, waving the Hutchinson index finger at Starsky instead.
"Starsk, don't do it! It's not that guy's fault that we haven't moved in 20 minutes. Blame the bureaucrats who authorized this never ending, year round nightmare!" Hutch dragged his hand through his hair. He gripped his friends' shoulder tighter in an attempt to avert Starsky's attention.
"Just once, can't they leave the roads alone? Why do they have to do so many projects at one time? Ya can't get anywhere without these damn construction cones!" Starsky rubbed his face just as the car in front of them moved forward.
He let out a distracted sigh, wishing in silence that this time, they'd actually make it to their exit without stopping again.
"That's what I've been trying to point out to you. We need a break. Just think of the woods as a construction free, clear pass to peace! Doesn't this make you crave quiet and serenity?" Hutch waved his hand to include the view outside the front windshield. Once again, the cars stopped, this time beside a port-a- john.
Starsky watched as the door to the construction facility outhouse opened. Through it lumbered a big guy with a beer belly. He finished zipping his pants and casually walked back up the road to join his crew. The men crowded around, clutching their Styrofoam cups as they stood, doing nothing more than kicking the dirt at their feet.
Shaking his head in amazement, Starsky let out a snort of disbelief. He drummed his fingers on the dash.
"All I wanna do at this moment is get through this damn traffic. Whose idea was it anyway to spend Saturday morning meeting up with a snitch for information? At this rate, Harry Hawkins ain't even gonna be there, plus we don't even know what he wants to tell us. I say, let's just turn around and forget this whole wild goose chase!" Just then, the line of cars moved again.
"It's pretty damn weird that Harry wants us to come in your car and worse yet, I gotta be the one drivin'. " Starsky smacked the steering wheel in frustration as the cars ahead stopped again. He felt, rather than saw, the exasperated look on Hutch's face. Starsky winced but turned his attention back to the view out the front of the car.
Starsky took advantage of the break and stepped on the gas. This was part of Harry's odd instructions. Hutch shook his head before he spoke.
"It was Dobey's orders to meet up with Harry. You know that. Besides, if Harry says he's got information, he'll wait all day just so he gets the 20 bucks and 2 beers we always offer him."
In the time it took Hutch to explain all this to Starsky, the cars stopped again and the LTD rocked to a sudden halt. In order to stop his forward movement, Hutch braced his arm against the dash. It was such an abrupt stop, it caused his sunglasses to slide off his face and land on the floor at his feet.
Groaning as he bent to pick up the glasses, Hutch retrieved them and stuck them in his shirt pocket. Rather than risk another shaky stop, he decided against wearing them. Instead, he rubbed the crevice between his eyes. He already had a headache and would also have liked to turn around. But considering the tongue lashing they'd endure from Captain Dobey for not meeting up with Harry, he'd rather put up with inept road work and Starsky's whining. At least it was more entertaining than listening to Dobey's bad temper.
"I'm not too thrilled myself that you're driving my car, buddy. I just had your friend Merle fix it up and now you're abusing it." Hutch shook his head as Starsky slammed on the brakes again. He tried to think of something to distract his partner's mistreatment of the car.
"You think Harry really has spies along the road? Maybe he's the one!" Hutch snickered as he pointed to the big guy who'd come from the out house.
Starsky drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, absorbing the reality of their situation. As much as he wanted to follow some other path, he knew Harry was serious and odd enough to deliberately send them on this route and have someone, anyone, along the way passing information about the detectives. It could very well be the big guy over there drinking coffee. Or it could be that blue sports car he could see in the rear view mirror. With Harry, you just never knew what to expect. They'd learned that Harry's information was reliable but they had to do things his way, or they'd never get another chance when they needed his help.
"I just hope my Uncle Al can help Huggy. When I called and told him about Huggy, Al thought he knew a way around the driver's strike. He has a couple of friends who have a couple of friends…" Starsky looked over at Hutch, and winked to emphasize Al's ability to help. His uncle always seemed to know the right people for any situation. Sometimes it was best if Starsky didn't know the details. Through the years Al had established a lot of contacts with a lot of different people who always seemed willing to help the energetic and friendly older man.
Hutch snorted with amusement at Starsky's unspoken meaning. He had met the older gentleman and liked both Al and his wife Rose. In Hutch's opinion, he saw a lot of Uncle Al in Starsky. Both men had the ability to strike up a conversation with anyone about anything and usually ended up with a new friend who was always willing to share his special talent or help out if called upon to do so. But it wasn't just a one way friendship. It wasn't unusual for either man to return a favor willingly. Hutch marveled at the wide range of personalities and careers of the people the two family members seemed to attract.
"I really want to stop by and visit with Al and Rose for a bit after we're done with Harry. I only hope we're too late for dinner!" Starsky made a face as he thought of his aunt's cooking. He rubbed his stomach at the memory of Aunt Rose's chicken soup and the food poisoning he'd suffered from a few years ago. He never told her how sick he'd gotten. But since then, he always tried to avoid her cooking which wasn't easy in his Aunt's home. She always had something on the stove and insisted that her nephew was too skinny and needed to eat more.
Thinking about his relatives and his friend, gave the detective something pleasant to distract him from the annoying delay caused by the road work.
Starsky decided to just sit back, enjoy Hutch's company and maybe get in a good bull session as well.