ROAD WORK AHEAD: EXPECT DELAYS
Chapter 4
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The two men stood beside the LTD and watched as the traffic began to finally move. A few passengers glanced their way, not surprised to see such an old car disabled after a long delay caused by the construction. But not curious enough to stop, they continued on their way, relieved that they hadn't suffered the same fate as the beat up clunker on the side of the road.
Hutch scratched occasionally, but not as aggressively as before. The welts were still raised and red. He realized he needed something to relieve the itch and possible infection as soon as possible.
"You know, with all these construction workers, there has to be a first aid trailer close by. Why don't I walk up the road a little and see if there is one. Maybe they'd have some antibiotic ointment I could use." Hutch pushed his sunglasses up his nose. He squinted not because of the glare but his eyes were watering and itchy.
He reached into the back seat, moved a few things around until he found what he was looking for.
As he shrugged into the blue jogging shirt, Starsky watched his friend.
"Don't ya think the ants are still hanging around? How do you know there aren't any on that shirt?" He brushed at Hutch's shoulders, wincing with the thought of more pesky critters attacking his friend.
"It's okay. This shirt was on top of everything else." He put his arms through and zipped up the front. "See? All is well. I just need something to put on these itchy spots." Hutch reached in through the open window, snagged his gun and holster and slid them into the glove compartment. He straightened up, waved and walked away from Starsky. A muted whistling came back to his friend as Hutch amused himself with a favorite tune.
Starsky watched until the blond came to a group of men standing on the side of the road. Obviously they were part of the work crew so Hutch stopped to talk to them.
"Hiya! You guys have an emergency trailer close by?" As Hutch spoke, he pulled his police badge out of his back pocket. He figured that would get him easier access than if he were an ordinary citizen. Not in the habit of using his work status to get special favors, Hutch felt awkward pulling the wallet out. He explained his situation, needlessly pointing out the large, red hives.
"God, man.. how'd that happen?" The guy backed away slightly. "Yeah, Billie's up the road and will be able to help." The speaker was the burly man Hutch had seen earlier coming out of the port-o- john. Hutch nodded his thanks as he walked past the group. He realized that there was a break in the traffic. No cars were stopped along the road and ahead, the traffic was moving freely.
'Must've finally opened the road completely.' Hutch thought to himself. He turned back toward the direction he had come but could no longer see his car. He kept walking until he saw the dirty white trailer ahead of him. He took a moment to scratch again at his neck and face, knowing without seeing that his skin was blotchy and red.
The trailer sat in a grassy median that ran along the road. Various pieces of equipment littered the area around the trailer.
The blond climbed the rusted metal steps and stopped as he reached the landing. He knocked and once he heard a muted voice answer, he entered.
The surroundings looked nothing like a first aid station, given the cluttered, dusty and generally run down appearance of the interior of the trailer. At first, his attention focused on the dingy atmosphere. The carpet under his feet was stained by mud, concrete dust, coffee and other stains Hutch couldn't identify. One window was half covered by a blind that hung from a hook on one end, exposing an equally dusty, cruddy window. The other window was bare and let in filtered light through the smeared glass. He supposed the length of wood that hung between two saw horses passed for a desk. It was strewn with maps, sketches and a few books.
Stepping further into the room, he had as yet to meet the owner of the voice that he'd heard in answer to his knock. As his eyes got accustomed to the room, he noticed a big wing back chair in the corner. To his left, a step which led to a kitchen or Hutch guessed, the clinic. He grimaced at the thought of anything being sterile enough in such surroundings. He was just about to go back outside, when he finally saw who had spoken earlier.
He turned to his right and for the first time, noticed a narrow hallway that ran the length of the structure. A woman rummaged through a bookcase on one wall which overflowed with books and papers. She turned to greet Hutch who enjoyed his first glimpse. Even though she was dressed in faded green work pants, a short sleeve yellow shirt and heavy boots, she certainly filled out the normally masculine attire nicely.
The woman moved to the other wall as she continued looking through stacks of papers on another table. Muttering to herself, she picked up a bound notebook and carried it to the desk. Finally, she stopped to appraise her visitor.
"If you're the state inspector, you're early. Come back tomorrow. If you're the attorney for the weasel who called himself my husband, you can tell him to go to hell. If you're here about a job"-- , she turned away long enough to pull out an application from the clutter on her desk. As messy as it was, she knew exactly where the paper was and had no trouble finding it among the mess in front of her. She handed it to Hutch as she finished her instructions.
"If you're here about a job, fill this out and you can start tonight."
Hutch waved his hand in front of him, indicating she had no idea why he was there. She let the paper fall to the floor and for the first time, took a good look at the blond in front of her.
"My Lord, what happened to you? Did a swarm of bees attack you?" She moved to the kitchen area as she talked so Hutch followed her the short distance.
"My name is Hutch and the guys outside said Billie could help me. My friend and I were stuck in the traffic jam when I got bit by ants that had taken up residence in my car."
"I'm Billie." When Hutch looked surprised, she explained further as she motioned for Hutch to sit at the table. "It's really Willamena but… I just hate that name so now everyone just calls me Billie." She scanned the room as she gathered up supplies. She stared at Hutch again. "I don't usually treat ordinary people but you look pretty uncomfortable."
Despite the red blotches and itchy appearance, she liked what she saw. Unfortunately, she always found herself attracted to blond, blue eyed men. That's what got her into trouble with her husband. He turned out to be a lazy son of a bitch who'd rather let her work while he sat around spending money they didn't have. So as she tried to concentrate on the task at hand, she couldn't pull herself completely away from those clear blue eyes.
Not sure what to expect, Hutch sat at the table watching appreciatively as Billie moved around the room. Her dark hair was tucked behind one ear, and he noticed her dark green eyes narrow as she thought about what she needed. He watched as she pulled a small silver key out of her shirt pocket and went to unlock a metal cabinet above the counter. In fact, there was a whole row of them, each locked. She took out several items and locked it all back up, but not before Hutch noticed pills, boxes of syringes and a few clear packets of a white substance. But he quickly forgot about all that once he saw a needle in her hand. Then he realized she was serious about treating him.
Swallowing thickly, he tried to calm the irrational fear of needles he had in order to receive help. Between his terrifying experience at the hands of Ben Forrest and his goons who strung him out on heroin in order to find Ben's girlfriend and the crazy nurse Diana he met in the emergency room, who'd stalked him, he always had a hard time with any needle, no matter the purpose. But determined not to appear wimpy in front of this fascinating woman, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"You having trouble breathing Hutch? Maybe you need to go to the emergency room?" She went to pick up the phone when Hutch stopped her with a slight laugh.
"Would you believe me if I told you I'm just blown away by your beauty?" Hutch winked at her but at the doubtful look that crossed her face, he continued.
"The only trouble I'm having is trying to admit my fear of needles. You sure I need that? What is it?" He scratched at his face only to have his hand swatted.
"Quit messing with that, you'll get them infected then you'll need more than a skinny little needle to deal with it all." She smiled at him though and held open his shirt to get a closer look at the welts that still dotted his chest. Not only did she get a good view of the skin reaction, but she definitely appreciated the ripple of muscles under her hand.
"Don't ya just have some cream or some sort of ointment you can give me?" Hutch leaned back in the chair, never taking his eyes off the needle that now rested on a piece of gauze bandage.
"Well, sure, but it won't work as quickly. Take your shirt off so I can treat those areas too." Getting up, she went to an unlocked cupboard over the counter, moved a few things around and came back to the table with a silver tube of ointment. In the process of taking his shirt off, they were interrupted by a voice from outside and he soon had a pretty strong idea about a side business the pretty girl in front of him was engaged in.
"Hey Billie, we just got a new contact and they want to talk about a deal!"
A loud voice from outside got closer and as the door to the trailer opened from the outside, the one sided conversation continued which Hutch was obviously not meant to hear.
"C'mon sister, Give me the word and I'll…." As the door banged closed, the crew member stopped just inside when he realized Billie wasn't alone.
"Thanks Jack, tell them I'll catch up with them later. Now get the hell out of here!" The tone of Billie's voice left no room for argument. Jack glared at Hutch. He was about to say something else but at the dark, angry look he received from Billie, he thought better of speaking and instead, turned around and left.
Billie slammed her hand on the table as she swore under her breath. She couldn't afford to lose control of this situation and needed to distract her visitor. She wasn't sure what he may have already seen or if he'd understand the conversation she'd just had with Jack, but… she knew what she had to do.
"Sorry. I usually lock that door if somebody's here. Business never ends!" She smiled at Hutch. She realized she needed to distract this handsome man from what he'd just witnessed. She couldn't take any chances that Hutch would just forget what just happened.
It was a good thing she already felt attracted to Hutch because it would just make the rest of the exchange more enjoyable.
Hutch was fascinated by what he'd just witnessed but realized he needed to act clueless if he wanted to know more and be trusted. He hadn't told Billie that he was a cop and the man who'd just left was not one of the guys he'd talked to earlier. So if he could just finish up here and leave quickly, he would be safe until he could get back to Starsky.
But that idea faded quickly as he got a glimpse of the hollow at the base of her neck that was exposed by the open shirt she wore. Something there caught his attention and he couldn't help thinking about what it would be like to kiss that exact spot. He realized they were about to play a game and that she definitely had something to hide. It might be fun hunting for that small key that she'd slipped back into her shirt pocket.
Billie reached across the table and laid her hand over Hutch's. She smiled as she began to stroke across his hand and up his arm. Understanding that he was not meant to have seen what just happened and that Billie now planned on distracting him, Hutch decided to play along. With his other hand, he reached over to stroke Billie's jaw line. Their eyes met and held. The sparks were real and the attraction mutual.
As he leaned across the table to kiss her, Hutch marveled at her smooth skin and the light scent of her perfume.
'Ah-- the sacrifices I make for this job', Hutch thought as his mustache brushed over her full, sensual lips.
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While Billie slept, Hutch slowly sat up to get a better look at his surroundings. He smiled appreciatively as he looked at his sleeping partner. She had beautiful skin and the back that was turned toward him didn't have any tan lines. As a matter of fact--- as if to refresh his memory, he lifted the sheet to gaze again at her slim hips and round buttocks. No tan lines anywhere. He brushed a kiss along her shoulder. She never moved so he got up, picked up his scattered clothes as he slipped into the bathroom. Two hours had gone by since he entered the trailer and now he knew that Starsky must be worried. But once he returned with the evidence, the trip and subsequent difficulties would be forgotten. Quickly, he went back to the kitchen and used the silver key to open the cabinet. There were several bottles along with small bags of a white substance, certainly not your standard first aid supplies. He was confident that by the time she figured out that anything was missing, he and Starsky would be long gone. Stuffing a bag into his shirt pocket, he walked out the door and guided the door to minimize the noise as it closed.
He never noticed the face at the window watching as he walked down the road. Inside, Billie was angry at herself for getting so lost in her game. Hutch was definitely a handsome and talented lover. But she suspected that he was a lot more than he appeared. He was a threat and he needed to be dealt with.