By
Cap
They HATED calls like this. Just hated them. Starsky and Hutch were dispatched to go to a scene to assist with talking a distraught young woman out of suicide. They were instructed that as they got closer to the scene, to make it a non-code R because the young woman had a rifle in her hand and was threatening to kill herself and anyone else that made one wrong move.
As the Torino sped closer to the scene, Starsky silenced the siren and slowed down and rolled on the scene nice and easy. He and Hutch and their 2 K-9's, Afterburner and General, got out of the Torino very slowly and carefully as not to disturb the team that was trying to talk to her. They saw the young lady standing on the porch of her house with a rifle, and walked over to the leader of the team, Troy Hartman, who had a look of fear and relief at the same time when he seen Starsky and Hutch.
Starsky asked, "What do you have Troy?"
"She's 16 and wants to die. She tells me if any of us makes one wrong move, she'll open fire on all of us. So we've kept pretty
still for that reason. Dave, you want try to talk some sense into her?"
Starsky nodded, "Has she given you any ideas, reasons, motives for wanting to end her life?"
"Not really. Just that she hates her parents and she hates school and wants to die."
"OK,” Starsky replied, “I'll see what I can do."
"Be careful, Buddy, whatever you do,” Hutch cautioned his partner.
"I've got everything under good control. Relax." Starsky then looked at Afterburner. "You stay but stay alert. I might need to call for you." The dog did what he is told. Hutch rolled his eyes, because underneath the playful comment he could see the concern and uncertainty in Starsky's eyes.
Starsky started to walk very slowly towards the young lady. She spotted him and turned towards him, cocking her rifle. Starsky stopped dead in his tracks and said to her loud enough for her to hear, "I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to talk to you OK? You don't have to be afraid. No one's going to hurt you. We just want to help you"
"Why?? Because I'm part of your job and part of yours is to PRETEND you care?!?" she replied.
"No,” Starsky answered, “that's not it at all. You see, you can't be in this job and NOT care. There's no way that can happen. You can't do this job and NOT care. Because if you DO NOT care, you DO NOT belong in this job. I hate calls like this; I have to be honest with you. I don't like to see young people such as yourself feeling like this. This should be a happy time in your life. And it makes me sad to see that it isn't."
The young lady, whose name was Krystal, looked at Starsky and said, "Do you have a gun on you?"
Starsky hesitated for a minute and debated on whether or not to tell her. Finally he said, "Yeah I do. I have to. Part of my job. But I don't like using it that's for sure."
"Take it out and lay it on the ground where I can see it."
Hutch, who had been observing, felt his heart go to his throat.
Starsky slowly went after his gun, took it out, showed it to her, and slowly laid it down on the ground in front of him. As he put it down, he said a silent prayer. Then he asked Krystal, "You OK with that?"
"Don't get smart with me, I'll end your life right here and now," she answered.
“I am sorry you took it that way. It was a statement; didn't mean for it to sound like a smart alleck remark. Just calm down. Nobody is going hurt anybody. Because I know in your heart, you don't want to hurt me or yourself."
"Bullshit!” Krystal yelled. “You don't know jack shit about what I feel or don't feel you stupid assed cop!"
"Easy. Take it easy. Can you do that? Please?" Starsky tried to keep the tension out of his voice as Krystal cocked the rifle again. "Can you tell me what's hurting you so much? All I want to do is listen and help. That's it. OK? The rest is up to you."
"No you DON'T want to help me. You're a cop. Everyone KNOWS cops hate kids."
"Not this cop that you are talking to. No way. I have dealt with kids on my job. It hurts me deeply when they get in trouble, get hurt or even die. That is the worst part of my job besides having to use my gun to kill someone. When kids are involved and unpleasant things happen to them. What I want you to allow me to do is to come sit by you. I want to talk to you and help you. Like I said that is it. Do you think you can let me do that?"
Krystal paused for a moment. "No funny stuff or you'll die where you stand."
"Can't do any funny stuff,” Starsky replied. “My gun lays on the ground in front of me. My gun stays on the ground. So that
means I can't do anything but trust that you won't hurt yourself or me. So what do you say?"
Krystal thought about it for a few minutes and then replied, "Whatever. But you walk slowly and I want your hands up where I can see them."
Starsky complied with her. About 5 minutes later, he reached the porch steps. "I'm going to sit down on the step. Why don't you sit down with me? Sit next to me if you want to. I don't bite," he winked at her.
Krystal very slowly sat down next to Starsky, who let out the breath he was holding. "Good. See it's not so bad is it?"
"Why do you care about what happens to me?" she asked.
"Why wouldn't I?"
She looked at him. "You have any kids?"
"Not yet. I have a dog that I like to call my son. He's a police dog. He can do the neatest things."
"Is he here now?"
"Yes he is. You see that German Shepherd over there? That's my dog. His name is Afterburner."
Krystal looked suspiciously at the dog and then back at Starsky. "You were going to have him attack me, weren't you?"
"No,” Starsky replied. “No, that's not correct. I take him with me. I can call him over here now and he can be as docile as a lamb with you because I will command him to do so. He won't hurt you unless I tell him to. And as long as you don't do anything to try to hurt me, he won't hurt you. Do you want to meet him?"
She thought about it for a few seconds. "OK. But if he does anything, I'll kill him too."
"Afterburner will not do anything I don't tell him to do. He is very strictly trained,” he reassures her. “I have a walkie in my pocket here and I am going to take it out and call for the dog, OK?" Krystal nodded and Starsky took his walkie out of his pocket slowly and spoke into it, "Here boy. Come on. Over here, now." As the dog came trotting towards them, Krystal stood up in fear.
"It's OK. Afterburner won't hurt you," Starsky said calmly. The dog walked up by the stairs on the porch. "Down it on the grass," Starsky commanded, and Afterburner laid down. "Soft and easy, boy."
Krystal asked, "What does that mean?"
"It's to tell him that you want to pet him and play with him. Let him sniff you first to get to know you then you can pet him OK? He will not hurt you."
As Krystal slowly walked over to the dog, gun in her hand, Afterburner stood up.
"I said down it on the grass and stay," Starsky repeated his command. Afterburner immediately downed but watched Krystal like a hawk.
"Why did he do that?"
"Because he's trained that way. When he sees a gun in someone's hands, he thinks that I might be in danger. But since I told him to lay down again, he knows that for the time being I'm not in danger. Go ahead. Let him sniff you and get to know you. Then you can pet him."
Krystal slowly let the dog examine her and he nuzzled her on the hand.
"You're OK with him,” Starsky explained. “He just told you that."
Krystal sits down next to him and started to pet him. Starsky noticed her hand shaking and he remained still and allowed her time with the dog, but he kept an ever-watchful eye on the rifle. Krystal broke the silence about 10 minutes later. "He's actually a nice dog."
"One of the best dogs I know,” Starsky said proudly. “I love him dearly."
Krystal continued to pet the dog. Starsky watched as she slowly put the rifle down.
"Isn't he pretty?” he asked. “I have to say that; he's my boy."
"How long have you had him?"
"He's 8 years old. I think he was about a year old when he wondered into my life. I was out back at the police station and Hutch, who is my partner and I were working on a few different things and this painfully thin, mangy looking flea-bitten dog approached us with a look of help me in his eyes. Hutch said he didn't want a dog. Well I did and ended up having to put close
to 500 dollars in this dog to get him back to health. I don't know it just seems like he and I connected the first minute we met each other. So I decided to give him a try at being a police dog. He learned quick and efficiently and became a very big success story for the department. Matter of fact, a couple of years ago, in trials and stuff like that for police dogs, he took first place and put Metro Division on the map. Good old boy. I love him dearly."
"Wow!" Krystal responded. Then, suddenly, she stood and picked the gun back up and cocked it again.
"What's wrong?" Starsky asked, surprised.
"You are going to have him hurt me!"
"No I am not. You have to trust him and me. He cannot do ANYTHING to you unless I tell him to. The last thing I told him to do was to lie down and stay there and that is what he is doing, being ever watchful of you and that rifle. That's it, that's all there is to it. Trust us. PLEASE. Can you tell me why you are hurting so much, why you want to hurt other people? That's all I want to know."
Krystal started to get agitated. "It's none of your dam business!!"
"Whoa. Whoa. Slow down. Slow down please," Starsky said, trying to calm the young woman.
But it was no use. Krystal took the rifle and pointed it toward Starsky. Afterburner leapt up and took hold of her wrist, causing her to drop the rifle. The dog brought her down and Starsky yelled, "Out!'" Afterburner let go and Starsky put his hand on the dog's head.
Hutch came running and quickly put Krystal in cuffs.
"Easy on her Hutch. I promised her we wouldn't hurt her."
"You're kidding, right?" Hutch asked.
Starsky, with tears in his eyes, said, "No I'm not."
Krystal screamed obscenities at Starsky as Hutch took her away to a waiting cruiser. Hutch returned to Starsky, who is sitting on the porch, staring at the rifle. Afterburner was sitting next to him, giving him affection. "Thanks Boy. You know you saved my life AGAIN. Man."
"Let's go Buddy,” Hutch said quietly. “Sitting here isn't going to make it any better."
“I thought I was breaking her down. I thought she was going to open up to me. Especially when she was being so calm with AB. Man. I read that wrong. I hope they can get her the help she needs. Maybe I'll go check on her in a couple of days..............." Starsky, Afterburner, Hutch and General head back to the Torino and they leave the scene together and as they leave, Hutch silently thanks God for Afterburner and for Starsky being alive and safe.
The End