An Unexpected Cache
Starsky nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt the tap on his shoulder. A whispered, "Steady," calmed his nerves as his partner slid into the space diagonally to the side of him.
"Good to see ya," Starsky said softly.
Hutch nudged his shoulder into his partner's by way of an answer.
"How do you think we're doing?" Hutch asked.
"'Bout same as usual."
They exchanged grimaces.
The investigation into alleged smuggling on the docks had brought them here to this warehouse. When they'd arrived two hours earlier, the warehouse had been quiet. They'd decided to make a thorough search: both to see if there was any evidence of wrongdoing; and also to take note of the layout in case such knowledge might prove useful at a later date. Although the main door and a side entrance were locked, they had found a window and had been able to take advantage of a broken latch. In a matter of seconds, they were inside, allowing their eyes to adjust to the dingy interior. To cover the whole warehouse as quickly as possible, they had split up. Hutch had taken the upper floor, Starsky the ground level.
From out of nowhere, they both suddenly heard the sound of multiple engines as a mixture of vehicles arrived outside. They both headed for cover, hoping the other was safe and that neither of them would be discovered. Hutch was glad they'd made the decision to park his car some way away from the building. Starsky had joked that it would like it had been abandoned, given its state. Now, he hoped that was true.
The warehouse doors rattled as the large padlock was unlocked and removed. From their different hiding places, the two detectives watched as around ten men poured into the warehouse and then began passing crates to each other, forming a human chain. Soon, there was a growing pile of slatted wooden, rectangular boxes.
The informant had been vague about what was being smuggled. Starsky and Hutch had been expecting it to be illegal luxury goods or possibly drugs. Now, from his viewpoint, Starsky thought the crates looked the size and shape that would easily house weapons of some sort. The last of the boxes was placed on top of the pile and half the men headed out. A tall man, who appeared to be in charge spoke to the remaining four men.
"The Island Wanderer is due in around nine. Keep guard till then. We'll be back to help with the loading."
Starsky could see each man was carrying an automatic rifle and looked like they knew how to use them. Two men took up station just outside the warehouse door. Two grabbed a crate each and sat down on either side of the waiting goods.
Starsky wondered what to do. Should he try to make his way to the back of the warehouse and hope Hutch could join him? Or stay where he was and keep an eye on proceedings? He decided to work his way towards the broken window and hope Hutch could find a way down to join him there.
Meanwhile, Hutch had decided that he needed to make his way to his partner so that they could get out of the building and call for back-up. He slipped out from his hiding place and quietly moved along the raised walkway. When the old planks creaked, he froze. After a moment, when there was no new movement below, he carried on. A narrow ladder came into view and he let go of the breath he had been holding. Slipping his gun back into his holster, he carefully descended the ladder and landed on his toes on the floor. Another creak. Another held breath and a wait. He gently eased his gun from his shoulder holster. Silence. After a moment, he crept his way over to the collection of drums and cartons piled near the window. It was the ideal place to hole up awaiting the chance to escape. He knew that was where he would find his partner and he was right.
"We gotta get out of here and call for back-up," Starsky whispered, as he shifted his weight, ready to move. "You head out, I'll watch your back."
Hutch put his head on one side and considered disagreeing but he was nearest to the window and knew Starsky's plan made sense. The two of them wriggled their way free of their hiding place and checked both directions visually and then listened. When they were both ready, Hutch nodded to his partner and then moved towards the window while Starsky took up a protective stance, with his back to his partner but slowly moving in the same direction. He heard Hutch slip through the window and land outside.
He held his breath.
When no-one appeared, Starsky quickly turned, scrambled up the conveniently placed work surface and crawled through the window. He dropped lightly to the ground and looked around quickly. As he expected, Hutch was standing tautly against the building, gun facing the direction of the front of the warehouse, keeping watch.
They exchanged a look and this time Starsky nodded and set off at a quick jog towards the paasageway between warehouses that would lead to the broken-down wreck that was his partner's car. He sensed rather than heard Hutch following a few steps behind. As soon as they reached the gap between buildings, they both broke into a run. When they reached Hutch's car, they hurried inside and slid down in the seats in case any of the guards should decide to take a walk. Starsky lifted the mic and called Dispatch, asking to be put through to Dobey. Soon, he was filling the Captain in on what they had seen and heard. Dobey told them to stay put and that he would get back to them as soon as he had got back-up rolling and put a call into ATF.
The two of them settled down to wait. Starsky's stomach rumbled.
"You got anything to eat? I'm starving."
Hutch rolled his eyes but gestured with his thumb towards the back of the car.
"I packed some chicken sandwiches for later. You can have one."
Starsky checked no-one was in sight and then scrambled over into the back seat.
"Hey, there's a pizza box back here!"
"Well, it isn't mine! Must be from that pizza you had...when was it? Monday?"
Starsky opened the box and sniffed.
"Smells okay."
Hutch pulled a face.
"Starsky, you can't possibly be thinking of..."
The sound of chewing met his ears. A look of amazement crossed Hutch's face. Was there nothing his partner wouldn't eat? A moment later, a brown bag was dangled in front of his eyes.
"You'd better eat something, partner. You can't go on a raid on an empty stomach. Unless, you want a slice of pizza? It's still good."
Hutch groaned and turned a slight shade of green.
"I just lost my appetite."
A few moments later, Starsky went to climb back over to the front seat but Hutch pointed his finger at him.
"You stay put! When you feel like throwing up in a few minutes, you can do it out of the back door where hopefully you won't be seen!"
Starsky expressed his view of Hutch's suggestion with a snort.
The radio came to life and Hutch answered it. Dobey quickly filled them in on the details of the plan and then signed off. The two of them waited in silence, too keyed up to talk.
Five minutes before the teams were due to arrive, the two of them slipped into place, ready to rendezvous with their Captain. Soon, they were giving him the details of the layout before the rest of the team arrived. He informed them that the boat that was due should already be be under surveillance and the coastguard would be ready to help assist with its capture.
Once everything was set, Hutch turned to look at his partner, who was looking a little peaky.
"You okay?"
"Fine."
Hutch could tell that was a lie and couldn't resist smirking.
"Just wait till after we catch them to throw up, okay?"
Starsky nodded.
The raid was over in a matter of minutes. All the men were arrested, the boat crew were detained and ATF began examining the crates with gusto.
"Good work, men," Dobey said.
Starsky got as far as saying, "Thanks Cap," and then he was running to the side of the building.
Dobey nodded after his fleeing detective.
"Is he okay?"
"Just something he ate disagreed with him. He'll be fine," Hutch assured him.
"I hope so but, just in case, you can leave the paperwork until the morning."
"Thanks, Captain."
Hutch went after his partner to tell him the good news.
"We can call it a night. Do the paperwork tomorrow. How about we go get some beers and food at Huggy's?"
Starsky was looking a bit better and nodded. They headed towards Hutch's car.
"Tell you what Gordo. I'll treat you to pizza."
"Sometimes, I really hate you," Starsky growled.
Hutch just chuckled and was still chuckling as they walked into Huggy's place.