AN UNEASY ALLIANCE
CHAPTER 5
The detectives finally left the building after Starsky had stopped to talk to the women who were knitting. He found out that Isobel had a granddaughter who she thought Starsky should meet. He thanked her for the invitation but explained that he'd be pretty busy while they were looking into their problem and wouldn't have time until after to meet the girl.
Eventually, they got to the Torino and gladly took their places, relaxing against the vinyl seats.
Hutch put his head back, closing his eyes for a minute. Starsky smiled to himself, wondering about the granddaughter Isobel had mentioned. He recalled another older woman who wanted him to meet Abigail Crabtree. He frowned suddenly remembering the beautiful young girl who Hutch had stolen from him. He wouldn't be so quick to judge by the name or let Hutch get anywhere near her.
As if reading Starsky's mind, Hutch began to chuckle.
"Well, sounds like you've got a date waiting. You never did find out her name." Hutch tried to suppress his laugh as Starsky glared at him.
Before Starsky had a chance to respond, the radio crackled to life, interrupting further discussion.
"Any unit in the vicinity of Seaside and Waverly, respond to a 10-103."
The men looked at each other, agreeing wordlessly to take the call regarding a disturbance due to a fight.
Starsky turned the key in the ignition while Hutch called in their intention.
"Zebra Three in the area and responding." He clicked off the radio, reached for the Mars light and attached it to the roof. The car sped off as the light contacted with the roof. The magnetized pull of the light connecting always gave Hutch a sense of control. He realized that it would be the last until they had investigated what ever they were about to encounter, but it was always enough to center his thoughts and prepare for the unknown.
Starsky stared straight ahead, effortlessly weaving between the cars. He voiced his thoughts which he was pretty sure, were the same for Hutch.
"Huggy was tellin' us about a gang that wore red bandanas. He said they had claimed a few blocks surrounding Waverly Street." Starsky braked quickly in order to avoid a pedestrian. He glared at the young man, and sped past a group of cars which had stopped upon hearing the siren.
Hutch picked up where Starsky had left off.
"They call themselves The Blades. According to Huggy, they all carry knives but no guns." Hutch shook his head and rubbed the crevice between his eyes, wondering which was worse?
"I'll bet the other gang involved is the Jaggers. They've been trying to expand their turf to include the same area." Hutch carded his hand through his hair in frustration. "It's gonna be a long hot summer if we've gotta deal with this shit."
Pulling up to a run down group of buildings, Starsky shut the engine off and they sat, getting their bearings.
Off to their right was an abandoned school building. Next to it was a playground that surprisingly was still in tact. It was always popular with the local kids but today it was empty. Not a good sign on a hot, summer afternoon.
Looking out Starsky's window, the detectives noticed a convenience store and a gas station. Both seemed to be going on with business as usual.
Suddenly, Hutch jabbed Starsky in the shoulder, directing their attention to the playground. A group of young men, dressed in black, seemed to be lurking, as if they were waiting to pounce. The partners watched as they moved forward into the playground and then chaos broke out as another group appeared, dressed also in black but had red bandanas tied around their faces.
"Seems the party started without us." Starsky spoke without humor as he checked his gun. Hutch checked his and pointed to his right, meaning that he would circle around to the right of the group while Starsky would advance from behind.
Giving a quick update to dispatch, Hutch picked up the mike and in a clear but clipped voice, gave their location and requested one black and white unit to respond, Hutch clicked off and silently followed the plans they had laid out.
By this time, the two groups had mingled and seemed just to be sizing each other up. Knives glinted in the sun and raised voices and taunts could be heard. As Starsky went around behind the playground, he briefly lost visual contact with Hutch. He came out from behind a large shed and used it for cover until he located his partner again.
Hutch had gotten to a structure that looked as if it used to sell snacks but had been abandoned and left to rot in the weather. The lettering had once been red and now was faded into the warped, sun bleached wood. It gave Hutch enough cover in order to see what they were getting into. There were already a couple bodies on the ground, one near where Hutch waited. He leaned down and crawled, grateful in a way that the group was more interested in each other than in the appearance of two uninvited guests to their activity. He snaked his way a few feet from the building, his belly scraping against the hard stones. He reached out to the man lying face up, felt for a pulse which wasn't there. Dark, clotted blood covered the man's shirt.
By now, he saw that Starsky was in position. He counted eight participants with three other's on the ground with various injuries. No guns had been fired but the knives were doing enough damage. Hutch got back up, his gun sweeping in front of him.
One of the gang members seemed to be backing his way toward Hutch. He could tell that the knife the young man held was red with blood. He wasn't sure if this person was trying to retreat or just regrouping but Hutch took advantage. With the gun digging into his back, the young man dropped his weapon and raised his hands, almost as if he were glad that his involvement was now over. Hutch reached for his hand cuffs, circled one end around a wrist and dragged the man over to the slide. He attached the other end to the upper rung of the ladder, leaving the man dangling by his toes.
"You gonna die sucker! We'll get you!" The black clothed youth spit toward Hutch who easily sidestepped the wet projectile.
By this time, the group was aware that their fight had been discovered. Some took advantage and ran quickly from the area, obviously not wanting to risk being arrested or identified.
Another young man approached Hutch, waving his knife back and forth in front of him. Even though Hutch had his gun pointed at his attacker, he took the threat seriously and cautiously.
'I'll cut that pretty face of yours." The man taunted Hutch, smiling an ugly, toothless grin.
Hutch didn't respond but tried to back the man up against the fence. The knife swung in an arc, giving Hutch time to kick the hand and arm, dislodging the knife which sent it flying out of reach. He kicked out again, this time to the man's stomach which caused him to double over, his breath leaving him in a grunt of pain. The perpetrator on knees now, Hutch shoved him to the ground, belly first. Just then, he heard sirens and sighed with relief when a squad car screeched to a stop outside the fence. Quickly, he saw Officer Bradley approach, his gun pointed at the man on the ground.
"Just in time, thanks man." Hutch puffed out his breath, grateful for the help. He stood up as Bradley got the man secured and walked him over to the car.
Hutch called out after him, giving orders as he scanned the distance, looking for Starsky.
"Call for more units, an ambulance and a coroner's van. We need help cleaning up this trash."
"Sure thing detective, Jerome's calling it in now."
Hutch continued to scan the horizon, anxious for a glimpse of his partner.
