Chapter Twenty-Four
Miller had agreed to pay Sloane and Pardee for their time and help once he had the two detectives.
"Thank you for your help in bringing my guests to me. Your payment is
all here as arranged. Mr Harris has arranged for your
transportation as agreed upon" Sloane and Pardee happily took their
briefcases, each one containing $50,000. Harris led the
two men outside to the waiting van.
It was the two gunshots which brought Starsky back to full consciousness.
He was slowly coming too and trying to focus his
vision when he heard the shots from down below. Harris had very happily,
arranged to have the two men taken care of after all,
with the two men gone he was now going to get a bigger share of the
payoff for himself. He had arranged for the bodies to be
dumped far away from the ranch and had even told the driver to take
the van out of state if he wished, as long as the van was
destroyed with the bodies inside disposed of.
Starsky saw his partner's feet a few inches off the floor and could
see Hutch hanging from the rafters. As much as he tried he
could not move off the mattress, his head still hurt like hell, a side
effect from the injection given to him the previous day -- or
was it the day before -- from Matwick. He had now lost all sense of
time, not knowing how long he had been unconscious for
or how long his partner had been hanging there. At least he could see
that Hutch was still breathing with no trouble as he
watched his partner's chest rise and fall with each breath. His own
breathing had eased considerably since Hutch had managed
to move him onto his side, although his broken rib was still causing
pain if he breathed too deeply, he found it easier just to take
small shallow breaths to ease the pain. Starsky just wished he could
move and more so, wished he could shout out to his
partner, the damn gag in his mouth was irritating him. All he could
do now was watch helplessly as the door opened and Miller,
Matwick and Harris re-entered the room.
"Glad to see you awake Detective" Miller looked down at Starsky "You
can now watch your partner here get the same
treatment you received"
Matwick walked over to his supplies and took the large hypodermic needle
and drained the contents out of the same small
bottle Starsky had seen used earlier in his captivity. Starsky wished
he could stop what was about to happen and tried
desperately to get up from the mattress but he could not move. All
he could do was muffle protests to Miller and watch on as
Matwick walked over to his partner.
Hutch was only semi conscious and could hear movement around him. His
shoulder felt as though it had been ripped apart, in
his foggy state he could hear a muffled sound. Hutch felt the piercing
pain in his lower back as the needle was inserted. Starsky
could only lay there and watch helplessly as he saw Matwick inject
Hutch the same as he had been injected during the long
journey in the cattle truck.
It was a weird sensation that he now felt. He had lost all feeling from the waist down, he could not move his legs at all, not even
wiggle his toes. Hutch looked down at his partner, relieved to see Starsky
was still lying on his side. Stay that way buddy, just
don't move and we might survive this ordeal together. Starsky looked
up at his partner and he read his partner's thoughts by the
look they gave each other. Starsky was not about to try and move again,
all he concentrated on now was each breath and to
keep his breathing at ease as much as possible. Hutch was concentrating
hard on trying to get the communication through with
his partner that he did not see the first blow come from Miller. The
blow sent him swinging backwards -- it felt as though a
sledgehammer had hit him in the stomach.
"That's great news" Harbottle quickly finished his call and informed Dobey of his office inquiries.
"That private charter was organized by Harris. Now we know that he has been associating with Miller since his release, the two
of them flew out of LA together about a week ago. Through all the air
traffic control areas they flew through the plane has been
tracked down to landing at Taos. Miller has a ranch near there."
"I just hope you're right Harbottle" Dobey wished he could find his boys and bring them back safely
"How soon can we get there?"
"I've arranged for Agents to search the ranch now, they should be reaching
there in about an hour or so from our base in
Albuquerque."
Chapter Twenty-Five
The agents arrived at the Miller ranch shortly after darkness had set
in and the ranch hands had gone home for the day. They
had a warrant to search the premises and when no reply came to their
knock on the door, they forced the front doors to the
house open. Upstairs in the attic Miller had used Hutch like a boxing
bag, delivering blow after blow to the detective. Starsky
unable to help his partner closed his eyes -- the sight of his partner
being severely beaten was too much for him to watch. He'd
even tried to turn his head away but that almost sent him turning onto
his back and he knew he could not risk lying on his back.
Harris and Matwick had watched on. Both men had got tired of watching
the blows after Hutch had lost consciousness for the
second time and they had left Miller in the attic while they retreated
downstairs.
Hearing the front doors burst open; Matwick and Harris tried to make
it up the stairs. They only made it as far as the first
landing before they were shot dead, after the FBI agents had warned
them to stop.
Miller heard the gun shots and quickly locked the door. He knew he was
trapped and he had no way out. He thought perhaps
whoever was down below would not come up this far, there was only the
first level of rooms and then the attic. Patiently he
waited. Starsky had also heard the shots and hoped that help had finally
arrived. Looking around he saw the glass IV bottle a
few inches away on the floor from him. If he could just reach that
in time and create some noise.
Miller listened closely to the door waiting to hear any movement coming
towards the attic. He could hear the faint sound of
footsteps below and heard doors being opened one at a time and then
heard the sound coming closer and closer to the door.
Starsky knew it was their only chance if he could just create enough
noise to be heard. Taking a breath, he knew would cause
him more harm, he took the risk -- this was his final chance. He moved
quickly and hoped he didn't pass out until the task had
been finished. He rolled over onto his stomach and then onto his side,
quickly took hold of the glass IV bottle as best he could
and with his last breath threw the bottle. The last noise he heard
as he lost consciousness was the sound of breaking glass and
the pounding on the door.
Sonya arrived back in LA early evening. She made her way to the precinct
to see Captain Dobey to hopefully hear where her
fiancé had disappeared to. As she arrived at the precinct by
taxi she saw Edith Dobey arrive with Allison and little Sarah. All
the women walked in together and invaded Dobey's office. Agent Harbottle
was on the phone, having a very hard time trying to
hear what was being said to him with all the noise in the office.
"Edith, what do you think you're doing bringing everyone in here like
this" Dobey was not at all happy with the situation of
letting the FBI locate his boys and was not happy either with having
his wife bring in all the partners of his boys, he really had
had enough.
"Calm down Harold" Edith looked around trying to find a chair for them
to all sit down. Allison smiled at Dobey hearing Edith
calmly speak to her agitated husband by his first name. Dobey looked
at Allison and then looked at little Sarah asleep in her
mother's arms. He couldn't continue in his agitated mood when he looked
down at the little bundle, which had bought so much
happiness to everyone.
"Could you repeat that please" Agent Harbottle flew his hand around
the air trying to get everyone to stop talking so he could
hear the phone conversation more clearly. "Okay, now could you repeat
that for me again please, ah okay thank you" A big
grin was spread over the agents face "Well folks we have found them"
Chapter Twenty-Six
Miller had no where to hide and was quickly arrested by the agents as
they broke down the door to the attic. The paramedic
teams moved in next as the all clear was given. Starsky was unconscious
and his breathing shallow as he lay on the floor only a
few feet away from his partner; bright red blood was flowing freely
into the catheter bag. Quickly the paramedics worked on
Starsky to stabilize him before he was hurriedly placed on the stretcher
and rushed to the first of the waiting ambulances.
The glass from the shattered IV bottle covered the floor under Hutch
and the agents took care in releasing Hutch from his
bounds and carrying him to a clear area of the floor for the paramedics
to treat him. Hutch briefly regained consciousness for a
few seconds as the oxygen mask was placed on him -- only a brief glimpse
of his partner being attended to by the paramedic
teams -- Hutch thought he heard through the haze a mention of large
loss of blood -- and then he slipped into the darkness
again.
Back in Captain Dobey's office everyone was overjoyed with the news
of the rescue. Their joyment was quickly taken over by
anxiety when the details came that the partners were being taken to
the nearest hospital - one in serious condition.
"They're being taken to the hospital in Albuquerque" Agent Harbottle advised the group.
Everyone knew the next step they must take. Quickly Sonya called the
airlines to book them all on the first available flight,
which wasn't going to be until early the next morning.
"Can't we get there any sooner" Allison asked -- all she wanted was to be by her husband's side as quickly as possible.
"Sorry all the evening flights have gone, the earliest one is 7am tomorrow
morning. We have to wait until then" Sonya advised
the group.
"It wouldn't be any good going now even if we could" suggested Dobey.
"They're being looked after in good hands, we would
only be waiting in the hospital waiting area instead of here"
"I think we should all go home and try and get some rest. Best not to
have you two looking fresh and awake when you see the
boys in the morning" Edith smiled at both Allison and Sonya.
Starsky's condition was worsening and causing concern to the ambulance crew that they may not make it to the hospital. It was
still another 15 minute drive to the outskirts of Albuquerque and his
pulse rate was dropping further and his lips had turned
purple and his skin a ghostly white. The oxygen continued to flow into
him, however with one lung collapsed his breathing was
deteriorating.
"I hope he is a hard fighter" the driver yelled back to the crew working
in the back "We're still got about another 10 minutes to
go" The ambulance was already travelling at a record speed in the mercy
dash to the hospital.
Hutch had been moved into the second waiting ambulance and semi conscious
felt he was being carried but was now unsure of
his surroundings. The cold night air breeze was on his face soon followed
by the warmth of the interior of the ambulance. As the
ambulance started to move away a wave of nausea came over him and he started to vomit.
Quickly the oxygen mask was removed and his head gently moved to the
side so he would not choke. Once again he slipped
into the peaceful darkness.
No one was getting any sleep in the Dobey household. Allison lay awake
thinking back to the last time she had spoken to her
husband and how happy they had both been. Still vowing not to return
to the house without Dave she realized it may be a few
weeks before they were together as a family again. Sarah slept soundly
in the bassinet beside her mother's bed.
In the room next door, Dobey was tossing and turning keeping Edith awake.
"Harold, Harold, wake up" Edith decided that enough was enough and tried to wake her husband. Without any success she got
out of bed herself, grabbing a few pillows and the spare blanket she
moved downstairs and made herself as comfortable as
possible on the sofa.
Sonya was also awake, annoyed now at the delay in the plans she had
made -- those plans would have to wait now for a
couple of weeks.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Starsky was rushed into surgery. The medical team working quickly to
stop the blood loss and reinflate the collapsed lung.
After many hours he was finally moved into the Intensive Care Ward
and was surrounded by monitors, the respirator doing the
breathing for him as he lay there black and blue bruises covering him
from his shoulders down to his waist and in amongst those
bruises, the stitches holding him together from the surgery to stop the internal bleeding.
Hutch had been moved into a general ward after having surgery to remove
the bullet in his shoulder and had the broken ribs
taped. He had regained consciousness and looked around to find his
partner nowhere in sight. A dread of fear engulfed him as
he remembered the brief glimpse he had of Starsky back at the ranch
being worked on by the paramedics. Trying desperately
to reach the switch for the nurse he cussed as his ribs ached with
any movement he made. Finally he reached the switch and
tried to relax his aching muscles, the pain was obvious on his face
as the nurse entered his room.
"Could you please tell me where my partner is? I need to know where my partner is, I have to know if he is okay."
Hutch was getting quite worked up regarding his missing partner.
"Calm down now" Nurse Judy tried to reassure him everything would be
okay. Hutch was not calming down instead he was
getting more frantic.
"Please, I need to know where Dave Starsky is" Hutch pleaded with her to find out.
"Okay, if you will just relax, I'll go and see what I can find out about your partner. I'll be right back"
"Thank you" Hutch tried to relax again, the memory of the last glimpse
he had of his partner was engulfing him in fear as were
the words he heard the paramedics speak during those brief few seconds.
The flight to Albuquerque had gone smoothly and soon a taxi was making
its way to the hospital with 5 anxious passengers
aboard. Upon arriving at the hospital they made their inquiries as
to were both men were.
"Mr. David Starsky is in the Intensive Care Unit."
"Intensive Care" asked Allison "Why?"
"I'll call his doctor and have him speak to you."
Allison felt the room start to spin and felt herself falling, Edith
quickly grabbed Sarah as Dobey and Sonya tried to stop Allison
collapsing to the floor. Two nurses' came to the group's assistance
and helped Allison to a spare room to lay down. Edith
stayed with Allison and Sarah while Dobey and Sonya found out which
room Hutch was in. Sonya left the group to visit Hutch
while Dobey waited with the group to hear from Starsky's doctor.
A brief smile returned to Hutch's face when Sonya entered the room.
"Hi, how you feeling" asked Sonya as she approached her fiancé and gave him a kiss.
"Sore. Do you know where Starsky is?"
"We've heard he is in Intensive Care" at those last two words Hutch knew his worst nightmare was coming true.
"Intensive Care? How is he?"
"I don't know, the others are waiting to hear from his doctor."
"Who else is here apart from you and Allison?" Hutch asked and was then also trying to remember where here might be.
"We all flew in together..."
"Flew in, where am I?" Hutch was trying to figure out where they were,
thinking back he did remember being taken from the
airport in LA and being in a plane, the memories were a little blurred
and mixed up.
"Albuquerque" Sonya began to explain about the previous night in Dobey's
office, hearing that the FBI had found the partners
and making the travel arrangements to be with them as quickly as possible.
Allison was feeling better laying down, the shock of hearing that her
husband was in Intensive Care had almost been too much
for her after what had been happening during the past few days. It
had been comforting to hear from Starsky's doctor that the
worst was over, now she just had to prepare herself to visit her husband's
bedside.
Dobey and Edith walked with Allison to the Intensive Care Unit. Edith
offered to wait outside with Sarah while Allison entered
the room with Dobey. It was a great comfort to have the Dobey family
with her, helping to give moral support. Seeing her
husband laying there peacefully still watching the respirator breath
for him and his chest raising and falling in perfect rhythm was
almost too much for Allison. Dobey quickly reached for a chair and
Allison made herself comfortable next to her husband's
bed.
"He'll be fine Allison" Dobey reassured her, his hand on her shoulder. "He has been through worst than this, remember just after
you too met up again, the shooting put him in hospital for weeks."
"I know, I just can't get used to seeing him hurt like this" Allison
wept quietly. Starsky could hear them both talking and tried to
speak, something was stopping him. Slowly he opened his eyes.
"Oh Dave, you're awake" Allison was delighted to see her husband's blue eyes looking over at her.
"See Allison" Dobey smiling from ear to ear "He's going to be just fine"
Chapter Twenty-Eight (the end)
Dobey and Edith left Allison alone with her husband to have their time
together. Starsky was getting frustrated at not being able
to talk with the respirator in him, but was happy to see his wife and
daughter again. Sarah was wide awake, her blue eyes
looking at her father lying there with all the tubes and wires surrounding
him.
"We've been so worried about you. Now its all over, we'll be home soon
as a family again the way we planned" smiled Allison
-- picturing in her mind their return home with the nursery ready for
Sarah -- although the return home would be a few weeks
away while her husband recovered.
All that Starsky could do was to hold onto her hand and he stayed that way while he drifted off to sleep again.
Dobey and Edith made their way to Hutch's room to tell him the good news about Starsky.
"Hi Ken" Dobey smiled at his detective laying there none too peacefully with his fiancée beside him.
"Cap, have you seen Starsk? The nurse has not told me anything and Sonya has said he is in ICU."
"Starsky's fine, he's doing just fine. He awoke while I was there with
Allison and the doctor says he is over the worst of it now.
They hope to move him out of ICU tomorrow."
"That's great news Capt. Now can someone help me out of here so I can
see him" Hutch tried his best to get out of bed but
was finding his movement restricted with his ribs taped and his arm
secured over his chest to aid the healing of his shoulder
wound.
"Now Ken, stay right where you are" Sonya moved the bed rails up both
sides stopping any attempt by her fiancé to get out of
his bed.
"Damn you, I need to get to see Starsky" Hutch yelled at her.
"Hutch, I think it may be best for you to stay where you are" suggested Dobey trying to calm his detective down.
"You're in no condition to be moving around and besides all going well
Starsky will be your room companion later on
tomorrow."
The words Dobey spoke certainly calmed Hutch down, especially the last
part that Starsky would share the same room if he
were moved out of ICU the next day.
"I don't like being stuck here so helpless Capt. Can you at least go down and tell Starsk I tried to see him, please."
"Don't worry Hutch, I'm sure he knows. I'll go down to see him again then make arrangements for accommodation."
Dobey and Edith left Sonya and Hutch and after checking in on Starsky
again made their way to the hotel to check in. Dobey
knew he could not stay more than another day in Albuquerque and Edith
had made arrangements to have their friends look
after the children so she could stay and keep Allison company. Sonya
was due to fly out again the next morning and was trying
to rearrange her flight roster so she could try and come back into
Albuquerque for the evenings.
The next evening, Starsky's doctor was happy enough with his progress
to remove the respirator and move him to the general
ward to be next to his partner. Hutch was more than delighted to have
Starsky with him again.
"Welcome to the rest and relaxation club Starsk" smiled Hutch as his partner's bed was wheeled in.
"Hutch" was all that Starsky managed to croak out, his throat sore from the respirator.
Allison, Sarah and Edith followed the orderlies in and soon had the room suitably filled with cards and flowers from their friends
back home.
The few weeks in the hospital had been hell on the nurses as the partners soon became bored with laying around and being told
to rest and take life easy.
One nurse had even been overheard saying to another "They are just like two grumpy old men, especially the blond haired one"
Hutch was fuming, he hated being told to stay put and not to move about to let his ribs mend.
"I heard that" he yelled out.
"Come on Hutch, it won't be long now until we're out of here" Starsky
reassured him, his blue eyes twinkling as the thought
crossed his mind of walking out of the hospital and flying home with
his wife and daughter.
Finally the day came when they were allowed to leave. All the staff
bid them farewell and both men were delighted to step
outside and breath in the fresh morning air as they climbed into the
taxis and headed to the airport.
Edith had left the previous night and had arranged a special welcome
back party at the Dobey residence while also organizing
Hutch's apartment to be decorated as well as Starsky's house.
Everyone from the precinct who were not on duty were at the Dobey residence
to welcome the two partners back to LA. The
party was still in full swing when Starsky left with Allison and Sarah.
Starsky was delighted to have his car back and was very
grateful for Dobey having the car delivered to his house so he could
drive his family home as had been the previous plan before
the events of the past month.
"It's lovely to be back home again, and as we planned, the three of us" Allison commented as she placed Sarah in her bassinet.
"No one else around" smiled Starsky as he kissed his wife and led her back to their bedroom.
Sonya and Hutch had left the party soon after and arrived home to Venice Place.
"Honey, I just have a phone call to make. You go on ahead I'll be there in a minute."
Hutch was wondering who Sonya was calling so late in the evening.' Probably
just the airline to check on her schedule for the
next few days' he thought.
"Hi, George, yea it's Sonya. Just to let you know we have arrived back and we'll be seeing you sometime soon."
THE END