ROAD WORK AHEAD: EXPECT DELAYS

CHAPTER 5

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Starsky watched as Hutch stopped to talk to a group of men, started walking again and was soon out of sight. In order to pass the time, Starsky decided to clean out Hutch's car. The stuff piled in the back seat couldn't be very important. He leaned into the back seat, taking stock of the contents. He found a whole outfit of clothes: another shirt besides the one Hutch had already put on, a pair of grey sweat pants, the mate to the sock Starsky had found earlier and a pair of running shoes. The dark haired man sighed heavily as he backed out and went around, opening the trunk. There he found 2 garbage bags which he pulled out as he shut the lid.

Putting the clothes in one bag, he began sifting through the remaining items in the back of the LTD. He found several weeks of old newspapers and a few magazines, mostly the kind with nude girls in them. He thumbed through one of them, ogling at the beautiful bodies. Quickly though he tossed the newspapers and magazines into the other garbage bag. Grocery bags, empty soft drink cans and one or two empty containers of yogurt also went into the garbage bag. Something else caught his eye as he was about to close it up. He reached down to the floorboard to retrieve something that was half under the passenger seat. He pulled out another piece of clothing, only this time, he knew it didn't belong to Hutch, nor was it anything of his. He picked it up between his thumb and index finger, holding it out in front of him. It wasn't boxers or briefs but a silky, lacy pair of panties. Starsky wondered which one of Hutch's dates had left that behind?!

Finally satisfied that the back of the car was now free of garbage and insects, Starsky dumped the bag of clothes on the back seat and tied up the bag to throw away. He stopped to watch the traffic moving evenly past him. He stood still, anticipating seeing Hutch any minute. When his friend didn't appear, he grew concerned and decided that he better go in search of his blond friend.

"What sort of trouble did he get into now?" Starsky felt himself begin to panic. It wasn't like Hutch to linger over much of anything, particularly medical treatment; unless of course the medical person happened to be a beautiful woman, then maybe…

But Starsky grew more worried as he studied his watch. It had now been over an hour since Hutch walked up the road. Mentally kicking himself for not going with him, Starsky finally threw the bag of trash into the back seat of the tan LTD, deciding that at least the garbage was now a lot neater than before, even if the bag never got properly disposed of.

Before he could go around to the driver's side of the car, he heard a female voice, obviously trying to get his attention. He turned to see what was going on and before he knew it, the girl had closed the distance between them and grabbed Starsky in a death grip of a hug. Hysterical hiccups accompanied by cries for help was his first impression of the damsel in distress. He pushed her away from him long enough to get a look at the female.

She sniffed a few times and rubbed her eyes and offered an embarrassed smile in apology. Before Starsky could ask any questions, she reached for him again but this time she started to shake until he feared that she was in shock so he wrapped his arms around her to provide some warmth. Her skin felt warm, not cold considering she wore a very short pair of shorts and a midriff-bearing top. He managed to notice that she had silky brunet hair that flowed down her back. He gently pulled her back from him again and noticed that despite the red rimmed eyes, their color was a deep green.

He decided he needed a bit of information like, where she'd come from and what the hell was wrong?

"Miss? Hey, it's okay now. Tell me what happened? Were you in an accident? What's your name?"

Digging through her purse she came up with a hanky and loudly blew her nose and then pushed her hair into a neater style and eventually straightened up.

In one long, deep breath she informed Starsky:

"Sorry to be such a baby, but my car broke down while in that stupid line of traffic, I didn't know what to do, no one did anything but blow their horns at me, I started walking hoping to find somebody but not even those lazy road workers were around, I suppose they were all huddled in a camper some where feeding their faces and playing cards…." – taking another breath, she finished up with---- " and my name is Beth and I sure hope you can help me!"

During this long winded statement, Starsky stared at Beth in amazement that anyone could say so much in one breath and still be understood. He scratched his head in annoyance. He really needed to go after Hutch but this woman had a problem too. Well, at the very least, she could come with him while he picked up his partner and then they could drive her to the nearest phone to call a tow truck.

"Beth, honey, calm down. You probably just ran out of gas. I need to go pick up my friend so why don't you come with me?" Beth's face lit up with a most appreciative smile that reached into her lovely green eyes. The dark haired man found his own eyes traveling down to her well endowed, tight fitting tee shirt which left nothing to the imagination as to what was underneath. His blue eyes traveled further down to enjoy her slender hips and long legs. His attention was broken when he felt a slap to his right cheek. Beth stood, fuming in front of him.

"You're just like the rest of them… all you see is this!" She swept her hand over her body and stamped her foot in a childish tantrum.

"If you're not gonna do anything but stand there and.. and.. undress me with your dirty mind, then go to hell!"

She turned her back to Starsky and crossed her arms. She didn't move but seemed to be waiting for an apology.

Answering Beth under his breath, Starsky muttered, "I think I'm already in hell!" He pulled his hand through his hair in frustration.

Gathering his nerves, he decided he needed to get a better grip on this situation if he was ever gonna get to Hutch.

'Beth I'm sorry. Look, let's just get in the car so I can pick up my buddy and we'll get you to a phone. I'll keep my eyes on the road and my mind on my friend. Okay?" Starsky touched the back of her shoulder to get her to face him. She did so with such an innocent smile on her face, he wondered if this girl was the same one who just a minute ago had verbally attacked him?

She moved to the passenger side of the car, opened the door and sat sideways on the seat, with her feet on the ground.

"You've been so nice, I'm really sorry to yell at you. But you see there's another problem and well, it would be better for both of us if we'd get out of here as quickly as possible." She stopped to look in the direction she'd come from and groaned as she hung her head.

Starsky didn't seem to hear the sound but responded to her dejected appearance. He huddled in front of her, lifted her head with his hand and wiped away a fresh line of tears.

"Why don't we just start over? Whatever it is, we'll figure it out." He pulled her up with him and stood with his arms around her, offering her comfort. She lifted her head and was about to thank him when she stared over his shoulder and really let out a deep moan.

Thinking she was still frustrated and angry, he held her tighter and stroked her back, wanting only to offer support.

By the time he heard heavy footsteps behind him, it was too late to defend himself. He felt a strong grip on the back of his neck and tried to shrug off the unknown attacker. He kicked backwards but did nothing more than scuff the dirt with the heel of his shoe.

"Jimmy, don't! He was only trying to help!" Beth pleaded but it wasn't enough to stop the jealous rage of her boyfriend.

Now held in a meaty grip, Starsky couldn't move so he let his body sag, hoping to have a second to think about what to do.

"Uhhh, Jimmy? Hey, I didn't mean nothing. Your girl just showed up looking scared and needed help." He tried to reason with this unseen person but by the pressure on his neck and shoulders, obviously, Jimmy was a big guy.

"Just shut up while I think." Jimmy finally spoke but twisted Starsky around so the two of them faced each other.

Jimmy was big. He was muscle bound and weighed at least 50 lbs more than Starsky. He held Starsky by one arm while the other arm held him across his neck.

"Jimmy, please, I only wanted to sort out my thoughts. You didn't have to come after me. I was just goin' to mama's until you cooled off." Beth rested her hand on Starsky's back, trying to offer some confidence to the man who had tried to help her.

Starsky choked and tried to gain his footing but every time he moved, Jimmy's arm got tighter around his neck. At the moment, there was nothing he could do; his strength was slowly ebbing away as the pressure around his neck grew stronger.

"Just tell me, is this the guy you've been sleeping with behind my back? Were the two of you running off together? Because I'll kill ya both if you were cheating on me. You know I love you." Jimmy seemed more upset now than angry. Starsky tried to plead silently for release. Beth stepped closer to Jimmy, rubbing the arm that held fast around Starsky.

"Pumpkin, I'd never cheat on you! Hey would I run out on the father of our baby?" At this piece of news, Jimmy let go of Starsky who slumped to the ground, breathing hard as his head spun and his vision blurred.

"That's why I was going' to mama's… I didn't know how to tell you. I thought you'd be mad about the baby!"

"Baby? I'm gonna be a father?" Jimmy staggered back in shock. But he remembered about Starsky who was still huddled on the ground. For some reason, Jimmy got angry again and kicked at Starsky.

"That's for takin' advantage of a pregnant woman!" Again Jimmy kicked at Starsky, this time in the back. The dark haired man rolled away from the pain, crawling toward the guard rail. By this time he was breathless and weak.

Jimmy quickly moved toward Starsky and lifted him off the ground. He picked him up by the back of his shirt and set him back on his feet. Starsky weaved, trying to gain his balance. He still wasn't quite sure what was going on, just that he had to defend himself. So he swung with his fist, intending to connect with Jimmy's face. The punch hit nothing but the air between them.

"She just told you I didn't do anything." Starsky sucked in his breath at the pain in his side. The effort to speak accompanied by pain, felt like he had a broken rib.

"Let's get out of here, pumpkin! C'mon we got a lot to plan for now." Beth tried to divert Jimmy's attention. She felt sorry for Starsky and knew that once Jimmy got in a jealous rage, he was hard to deal with. She'd hoped that by telling him about the baby, he'd forget about this man and just leave with her. But she didn't think he'd believed her when she said she wasn't cheating. It would be hard for her to figure out who was the baby's father, it might be Jimmy, she just couldn't be sure.

Jimmy gave that statement some thought but wasn't quite ready to believe that Starsky had nothing to do with any of this. So he reached down again and landed a punch square to Starsky's jaw and another quick one to the side of his head. Jimmy released him and let him slip to the ground. But he shoved him with his boot and landed another hard stomp to Starsky's back. Jimmy just loved to fight.

He was helpless as he watched Jimmy and Beth get in Hutch's LTD. Too late he realized he'd left the keys on the front seat after putting all the bags in the back. He tried to get up but the pain in his back and side prevented him from doing anything but trying to suppress a cry of pain and frustration.

The last thing Starsky remembered thinking before his world collapsed was,

"Hutch is gonna kill me". Then all went black as he sagged against the ground and felt the uneven sharp points of dirt and stone dig into his back and face as he rolled to the pavement.