*************
 
Lt. Evans sighed as he rubbed both hands over his tired features.  The check on the cars outside of the restaurant had turned up nothing.  One of the SWAT team sharpshooters reported seeing three hostages, one of them apparently bound, but couldn’t see the face well enough to make an identification.  If the gunman was telling the truth, one of those people inside was a fellow cop, a cop who right now, no one knew was missing.  He decided to try to talk to the leader again.
 
“In the cafe!  I’m going to call you on the phone.  I want you to pick up and talk to me.  We really need to get things resolved here.”  His answer was a single shot that shattered the glass of the squad car Evans was standing beside.  “So much for the easy approach.” he muttered as he walked back to the rest of his team to plan a rescue attempt.
 
Inside the cafe, Lyn sat huddled on the floor between Sid and Starsky.  She was trying to hide the trembling in her hands by twisting the bloody edge of her apron.  She looked at the corner, stained with Starsky’s blood, and dropped the piece of cloth.  She tried to watch the clock on the wall, concentrating on the sweep second hand as it made it’s leisurely way around the clock.  God, had it only been 2 hours since this nightmare had begun?  She shivered and tried to scoot even closer to
the wall at her back.  She looked up when she felt eyes on her.
 
Matt licked his lips as he stared at the girl on the floor.   He made up his mind and moved to stand in front of Lyn.   “Hey sweetheart.  How about you and me go make some sandwiches in the kitchen.  A fellow could get really hungry standing here.”  The leer in his eyes told everyone that eating was the last thing on his mind.
 
“You want some food, I’ll go make it.”  Sid spoke up, beginning to stand.
 
Matt shoved the bigger man back down on the cold floor.  “Stay down old man.  This is between the girl and me.”
 
“Like hell it is.” Sid’s breath was becoming ragged with anger.
 
Matt reached down and hauled Lyn to her feet with one hand.  “Let’s go darling.”
 
“NO!!” Sid used his feet to topple the young man, then fell on top of him, wresting him for the gun.  Starsky moved to help, but felt the top of his head grabbed and yanked back.  He moved his eyes up into Luke’s angry face.
 
Silence reigned as the two men fought for the gun.  Len had come over and was holding onto Lyn’s elbow, while Luke kept a firm grip on Starsky’s hair, yanking his head up and back.  The fight ended with the sound of a gunshot and Lyn’s scream of terror.

**************
 
Evans was talking to the Captain of the SWAT team when both heard the twin sounds of the shot and the scream echo from the building.    Fingers tightened on triggers as all of the men surrounding the cafe waited for more shots to ring out.
 
Now, the SWAT Captain raised his walkie-talkie.  “Team leader to position one.  You see anything?”
 
“Negative Team Leader.”
 
“Pass the word, hold your fire.  Let’s see what happens before we make our next move.”  The Captain looked at the diner, feeling fingers of tension snaking their way through his neck and shoulders.  He picked up the radio, and placed another call into the diner.

*************
 
“Sid!!!” Lyn’s scream tore out of her throat as she fell to her knees beside her dead friend.  “You killed him!  You killed him, you bastard!!  He was just protecting me!!!”  Lyn buried her face in Sid’s shirt, sobbing loudly.
 
Luke let go of Starsky’s hair and pulled Lyn up from the body.  He gave her a shove toward the wall where Starsky was sitting.  Lyn fell into Starsky’s lap and clutched onto his shirt, needing to feel the security there.  Starsky rubbed his chin on her hair as he murmured soft words of comfort.
 
Len had helped Matt up off the floor and now stood, looking scornfully at his younger brother.  “What the hell did you do that for?  Are you just trying to get us killed over some tramp waitress?”
 
Matt studied the tops of his shoes rather than face his brother.  “I was just gonna have a little fun.  That old man should’ve stayed out of my way.”
 
“That old man damn near killed you!!”  There was no mistaking the fury in Len’s voice.  “Now I have to figure out what to do with him.”
 
“I told you this wasn’t gonna work.”  Starsky’s voice cut in.  “Why don’t you let the girl go now?  You’ve made your point.  Now, let her go and just keep me.  You don’t need her anymore, and you can keep control of your little brother that much easier.”  Starsky’s blue eyes were chips of ice in his pale face.
 
The ringing of the telephone cut off whatever Len was going to say.  He picked it up gingerly, keeping a close eye on Matt as he did.  “What?”

“I’ve got a dead hostage in here.  I told you cops to get me a car and an escort out or else!! .....”No, you can’t.......let me think about it.”  Len slammed the phone down and pointed his gun at Starsky.
 
“Ok pig, here’s how it’s gonna go.  You take the dead man out and leave him.  Then you come back in here and I’ll let the girl go.  Maybe seeing a dead hostage will convince your friends out there that I mean business.”
 
Matt grabbed Len’s elbow, jerking him around.  “Leave the girl here.”
 
Len gripped his brother’s wrist hard, squeezing it until beads of pain induced sweat broke out on Matt’s face.  “I said, the girl goes.  I want you thinking with your brain, not your gonads.”  Len dropped Matt’s wrist and walked over to his hostages.  “Get up, cop.”
 
Starsky levered his way up from the floor, almost grateful for Luke’s hand pulling him up by his elbow.  He fought to keep his anger in check as Luke frisked him for the handcuff keys.  Luke found the keys and unlocked the cuffs.  Starsky glared at him as he massaged his aching wrists, trying to restore some feeling to them.  He slowly made his way to Sid’s body and knelt down beside it.

Feeling old and tired, Starsky picked up his friend and settled him into a fireman’s carry over his shoulder.
 
Len stood behind Lyn, pointing his gun at her head.  His eyes told Starsky exactly what would happen if Starsky failed to return.  Starsky looked him in the eyes for a full minute before turning to the front door.  Matt opened the door, careful to stay out of sight.
 
Lt. Evans, Captain Joshua, and Officer Malloy watched as the front door of the cafe opened slowly.  All three men trained their weapons on the door as Starsky made his way out.  In the middle of the street, Starsky stopped and gently laid his burden down.  Not a word was exchanged as Starsky noted the abundance of officers at the scene.  His shoulders sagged as he turned and re-entered the cafe.
 
Evans let out the breath he had been holding and turned to the tall, dark- haired uniformed officer behind him.  “Reed, get on the horn and call Metro.  Tell them Sgt. David Starsky is the officer involved here.”

*******************

Hutch put down the report he was signing and answered the ringing telephone, hoping that it was his errant partner.  “Hutchinson.”  The blond head sank, his hand coming up to cover his eyes as he listened.  “I’ll be right there.”    He hung up slowly, fighting to still his shaking hands.  Grabbing his coat off the back of his chair, Hutch walked quickly to Captain Dobey’s office, pushing open the door without bothering to knock.
 
“I found Starsky.  He’s being held in that diner over on Wyman.  I need a car from the motor pool.”  Hutch explained breathlessly, the nervousness disappearing, as the adrenaline started surging through his body.
 
“I’ll go with you  You can fill me in on the way over.”  Dobey could move fast when he needed to, despite his bulk.  Hutch found himself half jogging to keep up with his superior officer.  “Hold on Starsk.  I’m coming.” he chanted to himself, “Just hold on buddy.”

******************
Inside the diner, Starsky was recuffed by Luke and pushed down on the floor behind the serving bar.  From this position, he was only able to see the shelves of glasses in front of him.  He heard Len talking to Lyn.
 
“Ok girl.  You go out real slow.  Any moves on the cop’s part, and I blow  your head off, got it?”
 
“I got it.  What about Dave?”  Lyn’s voice answered.  Starsky was pleased to hear the note of defiance in her tone.
 
A slap, followed by Lyn’s cry.  “Don’t worry about him.  Just get out of here.” Starsky heard the door open, followed by Len shouting that the girl was leaving and for the officers around to stay still.  Seconds later, the door was slammed shut again.  Starsky closed his eyes and put his head down on his chest, giving in to the weariness he was feeling. “Come on Hutch.  I need a hand here buddy.”  Starsky vowed to never fight with Hutch again about being overprotective.
 
Hutch forced himself to be calm as Dobey pulled up to the scene.  He followed the bigger man up to the front of the crowd, never taking his eyes off the diner.   He was vaguely aware of Lt. Evans giving a quick sketch of what had been happening.  A hand on his arm brought him back to awareness.
 
“What?”  Hutch looked up to see Dobey’s brown eyes locked on him.
 
“I said, why don’t you go and question the girl.  See what she can tell us about the men inside.”  Dobey pointed to the red headed waitress sitting in the back of a patrol car down the block.
 
Giving himself a quick mental shake, Hutch forced a wan smile onto his face.  “Sure Cap.”   Hutch made his over to the car where Lyn was sitting.  He could tell she was crying and twisting the corner of her apron.  His heart nearly stopped as he saw the blood stain on the corner, blood that he knew was Starsky’s.
 
“Hey Lyn.  How’re ya holding up?”  Hutch squatted down next to the open door.
 
“Hutch!  I tried to stop him but they killed him!  They killed him!”  Sobbing openly now, the petite woman flung herself into Hutch’s arms.  “He’s dead and it’s all my fault!”
 
Hutch stroked her hair, unable to ask the question.  He noticed a young, dark haired officer approach and squatted down next to them.
 
“Sgt. Hutchinson?”
 
“Yes.  I’m Hutchinson.  Who...???”
 
“The cook, a man named Sid Greenfield.  One of the perps was trying to assault the girl here and Greenfield attacked him.  He was shot trying to wrestle with the perp.  Your partner, Sgt. Starsky, carried him out of the diner.  After he went back in, they let the girl go.”  The young officer took off his hat, wiped the inside brim, and put it back on.  “My name’s Jim Reed.  I met your partner a few months ago.  He seems like a really good guy.”
 
“Thanks Reed, he is.  Would you mind getting the lady some water?”  Hutch disentangled Lyn’s death grip on him as Reed left.  “Come on Lyn, I need your help, Dave needs your help.”  Hutch helped the young woman sit back in the seat.
 
Lyn wiped her eyes with her apron as she tried to even out her breathing.  She took several deep breaths before trusting herself to speak again.  Reed returned with the water and she drank it all before letting out a final sigh.  “How can I help, Hutch?”
 
“That’s a girl.  I need you to tell me exactly what happened in there.  Who are these guys, how are they armed, how is Dave?”  Hutch pulled one of his better grins out and pasted it onto his face.
 
Lyn swallowed hard before she began.  “There are three of them......”

***************

 

Inside the diner, Starsky strained to hear what was going on outside.  He had seen the impressive number of squad cars outside and knew that help was on its way.  Right now though, he wasn’t sure that he would live to receive that help.  An angry snarl brought him out of his reverie.

“Dammit Len!  I’m not a kid anymore!  I say we march right out of here with that pig and make him drive us to Mexico.  Those cops won’t dare fire on us as long as we have him.”  Matt shouted in his brother’s face.

“Look Matt, I’ll say what we do and don’t do.  Right now, we just need to sit here.  I need to think.”  Len’s voice was tinged with weariness.

“Fine!  You think of a way out of this!  I don’t give a damn!”  Matt marched over to stare down at Starsky.  “What do say, cop?”

“I say your brother’s the one with the brains here.”  Starsky glared up at the young man from his seat on the floor.  “You know it’s only a matter of time before those cops out there come in here.  Holding me ain’t gonna make no difference to them.  We all know that we’re expendable.  I expect them to take you out, and maybe me too.”  Starsky tried not to let the pain and weariness he felt into his voice.  His head was throbbing from the earlier beating and it was becoming harder to stay focused on what was going on.

Matt knelt down and grabbed Starsky by the hair, forcing the detective to look up at him.  “Just remember pig, you die first!”

“As long as I see your sorry ass go down with me.” was Starsky’s low reply.  He let out a groan as Matt threw his head down against his chest before walking off.  Starsky rolled his head around, trying to relieve the stiffness in his neck.  His wished he knew whether or not Hutch was even aware that his hot headed partner was in trouble.

***************

Outside the cafe, Hutch had finished interviewing Lyn and now felt he had a good idea of the mental state of the men trapped inside the diner.  He wanted to be able to tell Starsky that he was around and knew he only had one shot.  Quickly, he told his idea to Evans who gave his go-ahead.

“In the cafe!  This is Det. Sgt. Hutchinson.  Things will go a lot easier on you if you give yourselves up now.  I think I can even talk the old man’s death down to an accident if you come out now.  The longer this goes on, the more nervous these cops out here get.  I’m not sure how much longer I can hold these SWAT guys back.”  Hutch dropped the mic and turned to Dobey.

“Now that Starsky knows I’m here, I can get to work.  I think I can get in the back door without being spotted.  Lyn gave me a key.”  Hutch bounced the key up and down in his hand while he thought.

“I don’t like it.  There are three of them in there.  What if they spot you first?  Starsky could get caught in the middle and then where would we be?”  Dobey argued.

“And if I don’t try?  Where will Starsky be?  He’s counting on me, Cap.”  Hutch knew that he had played his trump card and now he waited for an answer.

“Do it.  Take Reed and Malloy as backup.  I’ll get Evans to call them on the phone again to draw their attention.”  Dobey said gruffly.

“Thanks, Cap!” Hutch hurried off before Dobey could change his mind.

Hutch led the way as he and the two uniformed officers made their way around to the back of the restaurant.  With their guns drawn, Reed and Malloy flattened themselves on either side of the back door as Hutch tried the key Lyn had given him.  Feeling the key turn, Hutch grasped the knob and turned it carefully.  He traded glances with the two officers before easing the door open.  Hutch had pulled the door halfway open when a shrill ringing sounded.  “Alarm! Damn!  Get back!”  Hutch yelled
as shots came from inside the cafe.

Hutch and the uniforms ran for the safety of a large metal garbage dumpster before returning fire.  Hutch emptied his clip at the door, stopping only when he was out of ammo.  He looked behind him at his backup and swore under his breath.

Reed was lying on the ground with his partner straddling his back, laying down a cover fire for Hutch.  Both men holstered their guns when they realized the shooter from inside had stopped firing as well.  Malloy turned his attention back to his partner.  “How ya doing, Jim?”

Jim Reed sat up shakily.  “Just a leg wound.  Give me a hand, will ya?”   Reed reached up and took the proffered hands, wobbling a bit until Hutch and Malloy put his arms around their necks for the trip back to the squad car.  There, Hutch left the two men and went to report his failure to Dobey.

Inside the diner, Matt stood over Luke’s lifeless body and seethed.  “Now what, Len!!  How much longer till we die too!”

“Shut up!  Just shut up, Matt!  Now that they know the back door is rigged, we don’t have to worry about them trying that again.”  Len reached down and pulled Starsky to his feet by the front of his shirt.  “Come here hero!  Let’s go talk to your pals.”

Hutch walked back to Dobey with his head down and worry written on his handsome features.  He felt responsible for Reed being wounded and wondered if Starsky was still alive after the failed rescue attempt.   He never looked up as Dobey grabbed his shoulder and held on, giving the detective the support he needed to pull himself together.  The tableau held for a few seconds, till Lt. Evans made his way to Hutch’s side.

“What happened, Hutchinson?  I thought the girl said the alarm was turned off.”

“She did.   One of our bright boys in there must have rigged it to prevent any surprises.  We can’t risk trying the back way again.  Sooner or later, they will kill Starsky just out of frustration.”  Hutch rubbed his eyes, pulling his hand down the length of his face.

“Well, the SWAT captain is ready to use tear gas.  The longer this goes on, the worse it gets.  He isn’t willing to risk losing another officer.”  Evans stated bluntly, giving Hutch the impression that Starsky was considered a casualty.

“Maybe he’s right.  If we can get them disabled, I can get in and pull Starsky out.”  Hutch said, looking at Dobey for permission.

“Let’s go talk to Captain Joshua and see what he is planning.” was Dobey’s only comment.

*****************

Matt held Starsky firmly by his hair as the two men approached the front door.  Len slowly pushed the door open, allowing Matt to shove Starsky into the open doorway where he would be clearly visible to the officers surrounding the diner.  Leveling his gun at Starsky’s head, Len called out to the assembly.

“You cops think you are so smart don’t ya!?  You tried to rescue your little pal here, but you killed one of my men instead.  Just for that, I thought I’d show you what your “heroism” cost you.”  Without waiting for a reply, Len lowered his gun and pulled the trigger, sending a bullet into the side of Starsky’s left thigh.

Starsky felt the shock and pain in his leg almost before he registered the sound of the gun going off. He was only vaguely aware of Matt’s hands on his bound arms, holding him up and dragging him backward into the hot diner.  His head reeled as he was thrown back against the serving bar.  Looking up, Matt’s smile of satisfaction was the last thing he saw as the blackness overtook him.

Len turned to the officers in front of him, laughing out loud at their looks of shock and anger.  “He’s got thirty minutes.  If I don’t see some cooperation out of you pigs, the next bullet goes through his brain!!!!”  Len slammed the door shut, making sure to stamp his foot in the pool of blood left on the hot cement.

***************

It took the combined efforts of Dobey, Evans, and Joshua to hold Hutch back.   A cold rage had settled over his features and anger contorted his face.   “Let go of me!!  I’ll kill that sonofabitch!!  There was no call to do that!!”  Hutch hissed between clenched teeth.

“Hutch!!!  Hutchinson!!  Ken!!!”  Dobey grabbed his friend by his upper arms and shook him soundly.   “Listen to me.  Dave needs you in control, not out of your head.”  Dobey squeezed Hutch’s arms tightly, knowing that he was cutting off the circulation, but knowing that Hutch needed something to reconnect him with reality.

Hutch fixed his ice cold hands on his captain’s shoulders and forced himself to take a deep breathe, then another.  “I’m okay Cap.  I’m okay now.  Thanks.”  Hutch relaxed and felt the three men slowly release their holds on him and step back to give him time to compose himself.  As the adrenaline surge ebbed, Hutch found himself staring at the dark pool in the diner’s doorway and felt tears replace the rage.  “I’m coming Starsky, just hold on.   I’m coming.”  The litany replayed itself in his
mind, giving the detective an anchor to hold onto and pull strength from.

Minutes later, Hutch felt strong enough to join Dobey, Evans and Joshua at the rear of the lead squad car.  Without saying a word, he studied the map stretched across the trunk.  Recognizing the map as an outline of the neighborhood, Hutch forced himself to listen to the plan Captain Joshua was outlining.

“I have men positioned here, here, and here.”   Joshua stabbed at the map with his stout forefinger.  “We are going to launch the tear gas from the front.  As they come out, we will attempt to capture them alive, we are prepared to take any necessary action to contain them.  As soon as they are apprehended, you will go in and get your partner out of there, Hutchinson.”  Joshua ended, looking pointedly at the blond detective.  “Until then, you stay back, out of the way.”

Hutch’s only answer was a curt nod and a mumble that might have been an agreement.  His thoughts were on his dark-haired partner.

*******************
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