All my gratitude to all who are following this fic, thanks for reviews and a special thanks to my wonderful beta-reader, ece23!

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3

When they arrived at the precinct, Hutch and Starsky only wished for one thing... well actually three things. To get rid of their jackets, head straight for the coffee pot and enjoy a warm cup of coffee. It had been pouring all night and when Starsky picked Hutch up at Venice Place, the skies were still crying heavy tears and the blonde had to rush into his partner's car to avoid being soaked to the bone. The month of September had never seemed so gray and sad. Everyone at the police station had started to be contaminated by a deep feeling of seasonal blues, if not a depression for some of them. Almost everyone, except the two detectives who were famous for their everlasting good humor - well, most of the time - and readiness to lift the local ambiance with silly jokes.

Only this time, nothing seemed to work and when they entered the squad room, the other members of the team did not even raise their heads to salute them, as they usually did. Without a word, both detectives headed for their seats, got rid of their soaked jackets on the backs of their chairs and joined around the coffee pot. Hutch lifted it but found it almost empty already. He granted a sorry look to his partner who let out a deep sigh and went back to his desk.

"Help yourself, Blondie." Starsky said, after he guessed there was only enough left in the pot for one more cup.

"Nah! You could not survive without your dosage of caffeine. Go ahead. I'll pass for now... Here, take this one." the blonde replied while pouring what was left in a cup and putting it in front of Starsky, before going around the desk and sitting at his place.

"Yeah, figures. I bet you had enough of that mixture of yours this morning. What was in there this time? Same powders as usual?"

"Vitamins and food supplements... Starsk, if only you had a decent breakfast every morning, you wouldn't need to rush on the caffeine so often."

"Hey!" Starsky replied with some indignation, "I had a complete breakfast. I just need some more juice."

"Oh yeah? What did you have?" Hutch asked, out of curiosity, although he knew what he was gonna hear and he also knew he would make a face just hearing it.

"Orange juice, just ONE cup of coffee and a sandwich."

"A sandwich? For breakfast? I don't even wanna know what you put in there?"

However, Starsky wanted to have a bit more fun with his partner, knowing what face he would make, having to listen to his morning menu.

"Huh... salami."

Hutch swallowed hard and gave his partner a disgusted look.

"I knew it! How can you swallow this in the morning? Salami? Geez, Starsk! I wonder how your stomach has not yet declared forfeit with all the junk food you swallow each day!"

"Must be my natural genetic constitution." Starsky giggled, knowing that his partner was attentively taking care of his diet every single day of the year and only ate natural and balanced meals.

Hutch heaved and gave up - just this time - aware that he would not manage to have any influence whatsoever on his friend's alimentary habits.

He was heading for the water fountain when Dobey's office door suddenly banged open and the big black man irrupted in the squad room.

"Hey, the Leisure Twins, glad you cared to join us. In my office!" he simply said. No one reacted except his two favorite detectives who had just arrived. All the officers who had spent at least a couple of years at the precinct knew that Dobey was calling them a series of names which he never used for anyone else. He even sometimes sounded more aggressive with them than with any other members of the squad, but then again, everyone also understood and acknowledged that notorious particular bond of trust and connivance if not complicity between the young detectives and the big boss.

Hutch entered first, and sat on the left chair facing Dobey's desk. Starsky quickly poured the rest of the coffee into his cup, added two lumps of sugar and entered in his turn, closing the door with his foot while stirring his coffee with a plastic spoon. Dobey opened his mouth, on the verge of shouting some angry comment about this nasty habit of the dark haired detective, but he refrained and instead emitted a very deep and heavy sigh.

Starsky sat in the right chair in front of their captain's desk, and took a long gulp from his cup.

"What's up, Captain?" Starsky asked in a happy voice, determined to brighten the moody day one way or another.

Dobey did not react and his face remained cold and focused on the file in front of him. He opened it, had a quick glance at the first page and raised his eyes to his men.

"I got a call from Captain Cardoso from the Vice Department in Miami. Seems we have a new drug lord in town. His name is Alejandro Fuentes. Apparently, he did not stay in Florida long enough for them to be able to nab him. Also seems he has managed to find himself sufficient protection to get away from being arrested. Nobody knows why he decided to come to BC. According to the data I received last night, he settled down here only about three months ago. The Vice guys in Florida never managed to catch him in the act. Although they have good men down there. This Fuentes must have pretty good connections or be particularly smart."

Starsky had given a quick side glance to his partner, for each time the case was involving drugs, he remembered the day his friend had been reported missing and then found staggering in a deserted alley, after he had been shot with heroin and had managed to escape in a state of complete shock. It had taken Hutch many days to overcome the need of the snow and some more long and painful weeks to try to free his mind of the guilt of wanting some more and the fear he could fail to resist. His partner had been the best ally he could have ever found, of course. They both knew and accepted when signing in it was part of their daily duty to go after any villain operating on the streets, but the brunette cop somehow was relieved when drugs were not involved.

Hutch did not seem to have reacted in any disturbed way to Dobey's announcement. The latter went on with his morning speech.

"You will find in there all the data available regarding Fuentes." he said while closing the file. "His current location, his whereabouts. I don't have to tell you about your job, but what we need is some kind of evidence that this flower business he has set up hides another type of fragrance. I want you two on the case." Dobey said extending his arm and giving the file to Starsky.

"Sure, Chief!" the brunette replied.

Dobey looked at Hutch, looking for some kind of silent confirmation from him too. The blonde just nodded in silence. Dobey felt relieved in a way. Losing one of his "sons" - as he sometimes called them - had always been his worst fear, considering the detectives were ready for any fight any time and did not seem to be afraid of the danger they had to face each day. They had put their lives on the line for each other, for their chief, for Huggy more than once and it could happen that the bulky man felt the need to congratulate them on a difficult mission, but somehow he never let too much of his feelings show. Maybe because he was their superior officer. He felt he needed to preserve the feeling of respect everyone had for him at the precinct. Nevertheless he was sometimes so close to openly showing the high appreciation and gratitude he had for both the men sitting in front of him right now. After all, they had saved his life and the ones of his family too. Okay, they know, he thought. I don't have to tell them. The best thing to do is treat them as usual, right? Right.

"He also owns a night club, called The Rose." Dobey went on, scrutinizing his men, in case one of them would have a brilliant idea. Starsky frowned for a brief instant and suddenly raised an eyebrow.

"Hey! What about playing his game and pretending to be new intermediaries? We could fool him into some big fake operation and catch the whole gang... Huh, how many guys are with him anyway?" he asked while going through the file.

"Him. His nephew. A couple of hitmen for sure. Do you think you can handle that? Why don't you follow the regular procedure this time and stick to a usual investigation?" Dobey told them, fearing that another undercover story could turn bad.

"The Captain's right." Hutch replied in a vivid tone. "I'm not sure it's such a good idea. Last time we tried to nail a top dope boss, we did not last long as Rafferty and O'Brien."

"Don't worry, Blondie, this time, we'll choose other names. We need to get close to this guy, I feel it." Starsky said with a lot of enthusiasm, rubbing the palms of his hands as if he were already in the character's role.

"Oh yeah? Don't tell me you have been reading your horoscope again this morning? And what would the name be, this time? Please, surprise me."

"Huh... let's see... "

"And do me a favor, forget about Ed Day and Fred Knight!"

"Please, Hutch, just gimme a minute, will ya?"

"Take your time. I can be patient."

Dobey's face suddenly went red and he started fidgeting on his chair.

"Not me! Why don't you get out of my office, both of you, and decide about this cover of yours SOMEWHERE ELSE? It may not look like it, but I GOT WORK TO DO! When you have a plan that holds together, come back here and we'll set everything in motion. And don't you try to get involved in anything you can't handle. If you need more help, just yell. So get down to business, and I mean NOW!"

Both detectives jumped from their chairs and headed for the door, Hutch first, Starsky behind him.

"And would you mind closing that door?" they heard the strong baritone voice of the black man echoing through the whole squad room.

"Yes, Sir!" Starsky obediently closed the door with his hand, which was totally unusual from him.

During their briefing with the Captain, the coffee pot had been filled again to Starsky's pleasure and he poured himself another large mug in which he added two lumps of sugar. Hutch gave a disgusted look at the cup but refrained from making any comment.

"What about Tyrone and Marlene?" Starsky said amusingly, resuming his idea of an undercover scenario.

"You're kidding, right?"

"Of course... Sounds too dumb. Okay, your turn. You decide."

"Why me?" Hutch said, with a bit of indignation in his voice.

"Because I'm already busy." Starsky replied, while he sat on the back of his chair and started to read with a lot of attention the file that Dobey had given him. Without raising his head, he went on in a low voice, "Maybe before searching for names, we should talk to Huggy and see whether he's heard anything interesting about this Fuentes."

"Yeah. But I'm sure he has. You know Hug. He should think about writing a novel with all the good stories he's heard and told us about over the years. Then we'll think of a way to propose a new collaboration to that Fuentes guy. How would you plan this?"

"First, we need names. Then we talk to Huggy. We dress up and pay this Fuentes a visit, just to go on reconnaissance and get a first taste of the field."

"Starsk, this is not the army!"

"I know, but I feel we are engaging on some new battlefield, so we'd better be prepared for anything unexpected."

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