Inmates

Cynatnite

Hutch hummed to himself as he dried himself off with a towel. He was looking forward to the double date with Starsky and the two stewardess friends. It had been a horrendous week at work and he just wanted to unwind and relax. He did so little of that as it was. Starsky getting damn near killed had put both of their lives on hold for too damn long.

When Starsky had finally gotten the all clear to go back on full duty, both were relieved but wound up spending more and more time working at their desks. Neither had the same drive and passion as before and both were content sitting opposite of each other trading banter back and forth.

He grabbed the robe from the hook and slipped it on cinching the knot tightly at his waist. Hutch grabbed his blow dryer and plugged it into the socket near the sink. He whistled an old Bob Dylan tune as he began drying his hair. Hutch thought he heard a noise, but the noise of the dryer drowned it out. He ignored it and finished up.

Hutch switched off the dryer and unplugged it. He heard the noise again. This time it was the sound of book dropping to the floor. Hutch shook his head and with the blow dryer in his hand stepped out expecting to see Starsky searching through his reading materiel.

What he found instead were two men searching through his things. They swung around towards him and before Hutch could move a thunderous sound echoed through his head reverberating in his ears. He felt a sharp bite in his shoulder sending him back against the wall. Hutch felt a flash of blinding pain as he fell to the floor.

The tall dark haired man walked over to the unconscious police officer and knelt down. “Jesus.” The word was barely a whisper. He reached down and pulled the blow dryer from the unconscious man’s hand. He looked over at his counterpart with thinning grey hair. “He had a fucking blow dryer.”

“Andy, are you sure?”

Andy stood up and held it up for his friend to see whose eyes widened at the sight. “Gib, what are we going to do?”

“We’ll do what we came here to do. Start looking and we’ll fix this up before calling it in.”

Andy Woods nodded and set the dryer down. He stepped over the prone body lying on the floor and his eye caught the magnum in the holster hanging up. “Gib, get a load of this.”

Gibson Pride looked over from across the room and smiled. “How convenient.” He turned his attention back to searching through a stack of mail and stopped in his tracks. “Andy,” Gibson called out. He heard the footsteps behind him and kept his focus on the mail. “Didn’t you say 1027 half Ocean Drive?”

“No, I said 1027 half Ocean Avenue.” Andy looked over at his partner who swung around to look at him. He took the bill being held out in front of him and looked down at it. “Shit. How are we going to explain this?”

“I don’t know, but get a load of the name.” Gibson nervously crossed his arms staring across at his friend.

Andy looked down and read the name. “Ken Hutchinson. Yeah, so?”

“So, I think this guy is a cop. If he’s the one I’m thinking, we fucked up royally.”

“Who is he?”

“He’s the man that brought Gunther down. Don’t you read the papers?”

“Are you sure about this? There’s no way in hell anyone would believe this was a screw up!”

“Even if they believed it was, our hides won’t be worth a damn.”

Andy shook his head and looked over at Gibson who walked over to the body lying on the floor. He could see the wheels turning in his partner’s head as he swung back around and looked at him. “If I thought we could get away with killing him, I’d do it. However, I’ve got a better idea.”

“What’s that?”

“Get down to the car and get our stash.”

“Gib, do you have any idea how much money you’re talking about here?”

“It’s a hell of a lot better than the alternative. We’ll come out of this smelling like a rose, buddy.” The smile on Gibson’s face gave Andy a dose of confidence and he left the apartment to do his partner’s bidding.

The darkness was comforting but when he moved his head, the pain hit him with a horrendous vengeance. Hutch slowly opened his eyes mindful of the pain which was radiating through his entire body. The light hurt his eyes and he closed them wishing the pain away. He slowly opened them and looked up. Hutch looked up and saw that he was in a hospital. He remembered someone in his apartment, but he couldn’t put a face on them.

Hutch tried to bring his hand up and was stopped by the handcuff at the railing. He looked at his right hand in disbelief seeing the cuff on it. He looked over and saw the same on the other. He yanked at the cuffs in frustration not understanding why they were there. He laid his head back. “Somebody!” Hutch yelled.

The door swung open suddenly and Hutch sagged against the pillow in relief upon seeing Starsky. He watched his best friend come to his side and relaxed at the gentle warmth of his hand on his head. “Hey, buddy,” Starsky said warmly. “How ya’ doin’?”

“What the hell is going on, Starsk? Why am I cuffed?”

“How much do you remember?”

Hutch shook his head briefly not liking the fact that Starsky hadn’t answered his question directly. “I remember thinking you had arrived early and when I walked into the living room someone was there. I don’t know who.”

“You don’t remember anything else, Hutch?”

Hutch had a confused look on his face looking at the eyes of Starsky. “Starsky, what the hell is going on?”

Hutch could see the range of emotions running across his partner’s face. He watched Starsky take a hard swallow and at that moment fear began to take control of his heart. “Hutch, you’ve been taken into police custody.”

“What?” Hutch was in disbelief. “Why?”

“There were two undercover officers in your apartment. They had a tip from an informant about a drug buy.”

“I don’t believe this. I was shot, wasn’t I?”

“They said you aimed your gun at them.”

Hutch shook his head vigorously and stared straight back at Starsky. “No, that’s a lie!”

Starsky reached over and put his hand on Hutch’s arm. “I know, buddy. We’re still trying to put the full story together. That’s why you need to try and remember everything that happened.”

“There’s more. I can see it in your eyes.” Hutch saw Starsky lower his head a bit.

Starsky took a deep breath and looked down at Hutch. “They found two kilos of cocaine and $25,000 in your apartment.”

“They set me up,” Hutch whispered.

“Hutch, these cops don’t even know us. It’s got to be someone else.”

Hutch licked his dry lips and looked up at Starsky. “Gunther.”

Starsky shook his head. “Dobey doesn’t think so since most of Gunther’s organization is in shambles. He’s got Minnie running our past cases.”

“Starsk, that informant? These guys can give him up at least enough for you to talk to him.”

“I tried, Hutch. They won’t budge an inch. They feel that given their findings, it’ll be putting their informant at risk.”

Hutch relaxed against the pillow and closed his eyes barely believing what was happening. In a matter of minutes, his whole life was turned upside down. He opened his eyes and looked over at Starsky. “So, what now?”

Starsky’s look was somber as he looked across at Hutch. “When you’re well enough, you’ll be booked. The D.A. is going to press for a high bail, Hutch. I’ve called Bill McCaughey who’s going to represent you.”

“Jesus.” It was barely a whisper but enough for it to be heard. “I guess heading to South America is out.”

“Not as far as I’m concerned.” Starsky smiled and squeezed Hutch’s hand. “Soon as you get out, we’re hitting the streets and we’ll find who set you up, partner.”

“If I get bail.”

“You will.” Starsky’s face was confident and Hutch wished he felt it. “I’ve already got Huggy on it and I’m going to get a hold of the reports from the arresting officers. It’s not over, buddy. We’ll find who’s responsible.”

Hutch felt Starsky squeeze his hand and he hoped some of the faith his partner had would flow into his own body. Hutch felt cold inside as the reality of the situation settled over him like an icy blanket.

Three days later, Hutch was released from the hospital. He was taken to the jail and booked. It was a humiliating experience for him even though it wasn’t the very Metro precinct he worked at. He was processed through as he would have booked any other suspect. Hutch was achingly aware of the process and wondered how people dealt with the degrading experience.

He was brought before a judge and listened as the list of charges were read. Hutch felt outside of himself and wondered how anyone would think him not guilty given the evidence stacked against him. Bail was set high, but he managed to pay it with a bit of help from Starsky.

They left the courthouse and Starsky drove to his place. Hutch didn’t fight him on it. He wasn’t ready to go to Venice Place and when he walked inside Starsky’s place, he collapsed down on the couch. Hutch leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He ignored the sounds coming from Starsky and a few minutes later when he opened his eyes, Starsky stood over him holding a beer out to him. “You know, drinking is a violation of my bail conditions.”

“I won’t tell, if you won’t.” Starsky had a soft smile on his face and Hutch returned it with one his own as he took the bottle from him. Hutch opened the bottle and felt the cold liquid trace a cooling path down his throat to his insides. He sighed heavily and looked over at Starsky. “You can’t go with me to Huggy’s, Hutch.”

“I know.” Hutch hated it, but he knew one violation could put him in jail for the duration. He wasn’t quite ready to face the possibility of prison, but he wasn’t going to voice his concerns to Starsky. “You’re going with me to see Bill, aren’t you?”

Starsky took a drink of his beer and sat down next to Hutch. “You know I am. We’ll get you cleared, Hutch. Dobey’s giving me plenty of leeway to find out who did this to you and why.”

“Well, I’m not sure how much time will be allowable, Starsky. I’m not even a cop right now.”

“You’re only on suspension, Hutch. You’re still a cop.”

Hutch looked down at the bottle in his hand and gripped it tightly. “It sure didn’t feel that way today, partner. God, how in the hell do people who are really innocent deal with the humiliation of being arrested and standing in front of a judge like that?”

Starsky put a comforting hand on Hutch’s shoulder. “They just do just like you will. I’m here, Hutch. This isn’t over yet.”

Hutch raised his head and met Starsky’s confident smile. “I know.” Hutch took a drink of his beer and looked back at his partner. “You’d better get to Huggy’s before it gets too late.”

Starsky stood up and took another drink of his beer. He walked back in the kitchen and poured the remainder down the sink. He walked back into the living room where Hutch remained on the couch. “Hey, are you going to be okay?”

“I’ll be fine. I don’t need a babysitter at this point.” Hutch smiled at Starsky who took a deep breath before reaching for the door.

“I’ll call you as soon as I know anything,” Starsky promised.

Hutch watched the door close behind him and he turned his attention back to his beer. He felt his confidence slip away as soon as Starsky had walked out the door.

Huggy picked up the mug and headed to the other side of the bar where Starsky sat waiting for him. He set it down in front of him and slid in the chair on the other side. He didn’t say anything as Starsky took a large drink. “How’s Hutch?”

Starsky brought the glass down and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He looked down into the mug and back up at Huggy. “He’s holding his own, Hug. I think the both of us could use some good news about now.”

Huggy shook his head a bit. “I wish I had some for you, Starsky. There’s nothing on the street about anyone looking to take either of you down.”

Starsky leaned forward in his chair intently staring into Huggy’s eyes. “Someone’s got to know something!” The whisper was filled with anger and Starsky caught himself. He exhaled the deep breath he had been holding and relaxed. “Sorry, Hug.”

“Hey, man. Don’t sweat it.” Huggy gave Starsky an understanding smile.

“Okay, what about this informant?”

“No one knows.”

“What do you mean no one knows?”

“Starsky, I can tell you damn near any cop’s snitch you’d want to know. But whoever the dude is, I couldn’t tell you a thing.”

“These cops…uh…Woods and Pride. What do you know about them?”

Huggy shook his head briefly and looked over at Starsky. “Solid cops for the most part is what’s said. They do have a tendency once in a while to go for a few high dollar toys, but nothing to say they’re on the take.”

“Hutch and I’ve never even met these guys before this went down. They work out of the 34^th and Hutch’s place is in that district. This whole thing just doesn’t add up.”

“Starsky, all I can do at this point is to keep rattling the grape vine to see what falls out.”

“We’ve got to find this snitch, Huggy. Make that your priority.”

Starsky finished off his beer and tossed a couple of bills on the table before leaving. Huggy sat there watching the moody cop. He had never seen Starsky like this before. In fact, it only seemed like Starsky was a walking reproduction of the state Hutch had been in not that long ago.

Hutch sat in the leather chair attempting to casually play with the zipper on his jacket. He looked over at Starsky who was tense in the way he held his hands together. Hutch sighed a bit and looked to the desk where his attorney Bill McCaughey was sorting through the case file. Hutch’s breath caught as Bill closed the file and leaned back in his chair.

“Well”, Hutch asked. “Tell me how bad it is.”

“Ken, I wish I could offer you some good news here.”

Starsky’s hand dropped down in his lap and he looked squarely at the older lawyer. “Don’t tell me you’re giving up.”

“Far from it, Dave. We can put up a hell of a fight and drag this thing out. Maybe something will give.”

Hutch looked down at his hand not wanting to meet the eyes of his attorney. “What are our options?”

“Given the evidence, the D.A. is pushing for the maximum should this go to trial. Every case in your career will be gone through with a fine tooth comb and given what you’ve told me so far, you won’t be painted in the best light, Ken.”

“Oh, come on,” Starsky said raising his voice. “You can’t sit there and tell me they’re going to hold him responsible for the shit he’s gone through!”

“Maybe not, Dave. But you have to realize how it will appear. The deaths of Vanessa Hutchinson and Gillian Ingram will be used in the worst possible way.”

“How much time could I get if I go to trial and I’m found guilty?”

“You won’t be”, Starsky assured Hutch.

Hutch raised his eyes and fixed them on Bill’s face. “Tell me, Bill.”

“Ten to twenty.” The answer was soft and plain spoken.

Hutch felt the wind leave him and he brought his head down. He felt Starsky’s hand on his arm. “Hutch, we’ll find out who did this. It won’t make trial.” Hutch swallowed the huge lump in his throat and he rubbed his eyes before bringing his head back up.

“I am obligated to present you with an offer from the D.A.’s office.”

“It’ll be turned down,” Starsky blurted out.

Hutch looked over at Starsky. “Starsky.” He looked back at Bill. “What’s the offer?”

“Plead guilty to drug possession with intent to distribute. You’ll get three to five. You could be paroled as early as 32 months.”

Hutch could see the adamant shake of his partner’s head. “Hutch can’t go to prison. You know as well as I do he’ll be dead inside of a month.”

“Ken, should you go to prison, you won’t be put in with the general population unless you request it.”

Hutch ignored the look on Starsky’s face and kept his firm eyes on Bill. “How long does this offer stay on the table?”

“Till trial. After that, any and all offers will be rescinded and if found guilty, more than likely you’ll get the maximum allowed by law. The public has little tolerance for bad cops.”

Hutch was thoughtful for a moment and he suddenly stood much to Starsky’s surprise. He shook Bill’s hand. “Thanks, Bill. I appreciate your work on this. I’ll be in touch.”

Starsky’s eyes were filled with shock as Hutch walked out of the office. After a moment of sitting he finally pushed himself out of the chair and followed his partner. Not a word was passed between them during the drive back to Starsky’s.

As soon as they walked through the door, Starsky closed it behind him and watched Hutch pull a beer from the fridge. “Want to tell me what happened back there, Hutch?”

Hutch took a long drink and leaned against the counter. “If I was just another perp and you took a good look at the evidence sitting at my feet, you’d say I was guilty, wouldn’t you?”

Starsky pushed himself up off the door and walked towards Hutch. “You’re not. I want to know what you’re thinking.”

“Come on, Starsk. You know what we’re looking at here.”

“Yeah, we’re looking at finding who was responsible for setting you up.”

“It’s been damn near two weeks now. We’re nowhere and you know it.”

“I don’t know it! The only thing we haven’t looked at is those two cops.”

Hutch took a long drink of his beer and set the bottle down on the cabinet. “Well, I have looked at those two cops. They’ve got the top arrest records in their precinct with the commendations to back them up. They’ve made some impressive busts that have stuck. Who did this and why is probably something we’ll never know.”

Starsky’s eyes widened a bit as he studied Hutch. “You’ve given up, haven’t you?”

“Far from it.” Hutch’s smile was bitter. He shoved his hands in his pockets and sighed. “I’m facing reality here, buddy. Maybe you should, too.”

“If you think I’m going to just stand by and let you get sent up…”

“It’s my choice!” Hutch yelled. Hutch pulled a hand out and ran it through his blonde hair. He took a deep breath trying to get a handle on his emotions. “Listen, we’ve got to look at this objectively no matter how tough it may be. If this thing goes to trial, not only will they drag out Gillian and Vanessa, if they dig deep enough, they could find out about Forrest and what he did. You know as well as I do, that’ll be the nail in my coffin and yours, too.”

“Taking a deal means that any hope of beating this thing is out of the question, Hutch. You’re career as a cop will be over and you’ll spend the rest of your life as an ex-con.”

“Starsky, I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but we’ve got to be realistic. There’s no way in hell I can beat this thing.”

“No! I’m not giving up and neither should you. We’ll find this snitch and…”

“And then what,” Hutch said holding his hands out. “The snitch said he got word about a dirty cop selling coke out of his apartment? What are you going to do to make him own up to it? Play your bad cop routine? He’ll scream police brutality at the top of his lungs to anyone that will listen and it’ll be your career they’ll be playing taps to.”

“I don’t give a damn about my career!”

“I do! Jesus Christ, Starsky! If this goes to trial, your career right along with mine will be stretched out for the world to see. You could find yourself in a cell right next to mine and I won’t have it!”

Starsky could feel his temper taking control and he tightly clenched his fists. “Don’t you dare play the fucking martyr with me! I’m not letting you do this, Hutch, so you can forget it!”

“Is that what you think I’m doing? Martyrdom as appealing as it may sound is not what this is about. I’m just trying to feel my away around the dark here and 32 months in prison sounds a hell of a lot better than ten years.”

Starsky blinked back the tears that were trying to overwhelm him. He rubbed his eyes furiously and let his arms drop down to his sides. “Trial is set 22 days from now, Hutch. Don’t make this decision just yet. Let’s just keep at it at least until then.”

Starsky could see that Hutch was thinking hard. He could see the muscles working back and forth in Hutch’s jaw. Starsky walked over to him and gently set his hands on Hutch’s arms. “I know you want to do what you think is the best for the both of us, Hutch. God, I’d probably want the same thing if I were in your shoes. Please wait. If you don’t do anything else for me, please do this.”

Hutch swallowed the hard lump in his throat and looked up at Starsky. He could feel the cry inside his chest threatening to break loose. “I’m scared, Starsk.” It was a whispering plea and the fear was as real as Starsky’s hands on his arms. “I’ve never been more scared than I am right now.”

Starsky suddenly pulled Hutch close and held him tightly. He felt as if he’d never touch him again and never see him again. Letting go of Hutch was not an option right now nor ever if he had his way about it.

14 DAYS BEFORE TRIAL

Starsky had his arms crossed tightly against his chest as he looked through the two way mirror. Watching the officers who had arrested Hutch he felt almost a sense of looking at himself and his partner briefly.

Andy Woods was the handsome of the two. His dark brown hair was neatly combed and the dark brown eyes glanced at him briefly knowing someone was observing them. Everything about the guy was perfect right down to the perfectly matching shoes which blended so well with the casual clothes he wore.

Starsky slowly moved his gaze over to Gibson Pride. The somewhat older man had spent most of his career on the street. Starsky didn’t have to look at his record to know the man had seen the worst the city had to offer. It was all in his grey eyes. He wore a loosely fitted tie which looked as tired as Gibson Pride looked.

Starsky turned and headed out and when he arrived at the door he was met by Captain Dobey who leaned in close. “Starsky, I know you’re going to press these men hard about their actions that night. Remember, these are highly decorated officers who are considered as credible as you.”

“So’s Hutch, Cap. They’d better remember that, too.” Starsky opened the door and walked inside the interrogation room. He sat down at the table and set the records he had brought inside down. “I’m sure you both remember me.”

Andy crossed the room and sat down at the table across from Starsky. “Hey, we were only doing our jobs, you know. Sorry it turned out to be your partner.”

Starsky shot his head up at the detective who was looking back at him. He saw neither remorse nor even regret in those eyes. “I just want to make sure I’m covering all my bases. If you guys have a problem with me talking to you about this, I’m sure your Captain can come down here or even IA can sit in to make sure everything’s on the up and up.”

“Just what are you implying, Detective Starsky?” Gibson asked roughly.

“Surely if you were in my position and it was your partner, you’d want to make sure every possible thing was done to insure there’s no mistake.”

Gibson pushed himself away from the wall and planted his hands on the table. He loomed over Starsky and forced him to look up at him. “There’s no mistake about finding enough coke to supply a small country and 25 grand.”

Starsky knew the tactic Gibson was using well. He had used it enough during many interrogations in the past. He wasn’t about to let either one of these guys take over this questioning. “Let’s talk about your informant first.” Starsky lowered his gaze down to the record in front of him. “Any idea on where he gets his Intel?”

Andy looked down at his fingernails looking for dirt that wasn’t there. “Detective, you know as well as I do, if he talks too much it’s his life.”

“Being that a police officer was being fingered, I would think you’d want to make sure he was reliable.” Starsky observed the officer closely watching for anything that might give him an opening.

Gibson stuck his hands in his pockets and shook his head. “How would a snitch set up that much coke and cash in a cop’s apartment?”

“It’s not hard. Some of us have got a lot of enemies. I’m sure the two of you have your share given the remarkable arrests you’ve made in the last few years. Someone could have pushed your snitch enough to drop the info in your laps after making sure the damaging evidence against my partner was stashed at his place.”

“You’re grabbing at straws, detective.” Andy set his forearms down on the table and gave him a condescending look which Starsky hated. “You’ve used everything you’ve got to get your hands on our snitch with no luck. We’re not giving him up to you or to anybody. The evidence against your partner is rock solid and there’s not a damn thing you can do to change it.”

Gibson smiled a bit at Starsky and straightened his crooked tie just a bit. “Face it, Starsky. Your partner’s a dirty cop who got caught. You just hate the fact he buffaloed you. Best chance you’ve got is to cut the scum loose to keep your own career intact.”

Starsky shot up out of the chair and grabbed Gibson Pride. He slammed him hard against the wall and when he turned his head Andy Woods was coming towards him. Starsky brought his leg up and a blue tennis shoe landed square in the chest of Woods. Andy fell back against the hard floor with a loud thud. He was dazed from what Starsky could see and he turned his attention back to Pride. “Let me tell you something, you sack of shit! Hutch is innocent and I’ll prove it! The only way that dope got in his place was by someone planting it! You and your buddy over there are at the top of a list with only two names! You might as well plan on seeing a lot of me because I’ll be your shadow 24/7.”

Starsky pushed himself away from Gibson and as Woods was pushing himself up, he stepped on his back pushing him back down to the floor. Starsky headed out the door and met his captain who was leaning against the wall. He walked past Captain Dobey knowing nothing would be said about his behavior.

5 DAYS BEFORE TRIAL

Starsky pulled the Torino in behind Hutch’s beat up LTD wondering why he had been called to Venice Place. He shut off the ignition and stepped out of the car. Starsky hurried inside and took the stairs two at a time. He swung the door open and froze at the sight.

Scattered around the apartment were several boxes and Hutch was hunched over one putting some items inside. Starsky quietly closed the door behind him and made his way to Hutch sidestepping the boxes sitting on the floor. He took note that several had already been filled and taped up. “What do you think you’re doing, Hutch?” Starsky asked in a low voice.

Hutch picked up a stack of books and started setting them inside a box. “I’ve marked the ones that need to get sent to my parents and the rest can go to storage.”

Starsky took a hold of Hutch’s arm stopping him in his movements. “I thought we made an agreement.”

“We did, Starsk.” Hutch licked his dry lips and refused to meet Starsky’s eyes. “Everything needs to be taken care of just in case…” Hutch closed his eyes momentarily. He took a deep breath and continued setting the books inside the box.

Starsky refused to go along with it. He reached back into the box and pulled out the books Hutch had just set inside. “No, we’ve still got time and I’m not going to let you go to prison.”

Hutch sighed heavily and leaned against the back of the couch. He watched Starsky set the books down on a nearby table. “Starsky, I don’t want this any more than you do.”

“I’m not letting you give up.” Starsky gave Hutch a firm look and walked back over to the box.

“Stop it, Starsky.” Hutch walked over to Starsky who was pulling items from the box. Starsky ignored Hutch. “Starsky!” Hutch took a thick book from Starsky’s hands and set it down. He grasped onto Starsky’s arm and held it tightly. “You know the odds, partner. If we haven’t come up with anything by now, we’re not going to.”

Starsky tried to swallow the hard lump in his throat and he couldn’t. He wanted to beg Hutch not to let go of his arm. He couldn’t take it if he had to. Starsky stared down at the box still not wanting to face the grim reality. “You’re asking me to do something that I can’t accept, Hutch. I can’t go along with this.”

Hutch took a step closer to Starsky. He put his hand on his best friend’s cheek and brought his face to look up at him. “I have to be ready, Starsk.” Hutch whispered it gently knowing how much pain this separation would hurt them both. “I can’t do it without you. I need you more than ever in my life.”

The tears suddenly fell uncontrollably on Starsky’s cheeks and Hutch instinctively pulled him close. He wrapped his arms tightly around his partner and felt the pain in Starsky’s body. “Stay strong for me, buddy. I need you to hold on for a little while longer.”

Starsky took a deep cleansing breath and stepped away from Hutch. “I’ve still got a few leads to check out later tonight.” Starsky wiped the tears on his face away with the back of his hand.

“You know I have to do this, Starsky. I don’t want you to have to deal with it alone.”

Starsky nodded not trusting himself to speak. He took a deep breath and picked up the thick book. “We’ll pack everything. But it all stays here for the time being.”

Hutch wanted to tell Starsky that sending it now would be better, but he knew Starsky wasn’t quite ready to hear it. He knew his partner very well. Well enough to know that Starsky would fight until his last dying breath and probably even them some. Hutch had witnessed it first hand. He wished he had his partner’s strength. Hutch knew he would need all he could get.

ONE DAY BEFORE TRIAL

Starsky eased down on Hutch’s kitchen floor. He handed the beer off to him and ignored the stacks of boxes piled around him. An unfinished game of monopoly had been pushed aside and a half empty pizza box sat between them.

Hutch snickered and took a drink of his beer. “There is a bright side to this.”

Starsky took a drink of his beer and looked at his partner. “Only you would find the bright side to going to the pen.”

“I’ll get a chance to catch up on all that reading I’ve never gotten around to.”

“Yeah, maybe do all that meditating, too. You’ll be the only bohemian con there.” Starsky giggled a little and looked over at Hutch who was laughing hysterically

“Call it new age rehabilitation, Starsky.” Hutch took a drink of his beer to keep the fear he was feeling at bay.

Starsky pushed the pizza box away with his foot and leaned back against the cabinet. “I’ll come every week, Hutch. You’ll get tired of seeing my ugly mug.”

“I’m counting on it, Starsk. Just make sure you call my parents every week. They’ll have a tough time with this.”

“I won’t quit,” Starsky promised solemnly. “No matter what, your name will be cleared.”

Hutch reached across and gave Starsky’s knee an affectionate squeeze. “Just be there for me, buddy. That’s what’ll get me through this.”

“You know, Hutch. Nobody’s ever stood by me like you have. In all the years we’ve been together you’ve been the only one that’s really been there went it counted.”

“Where else would I be? You’ve been through a hell of a lot, Starsk. If I haven’t learned anything else from you, I’ve learned what it takes to survive even when things are at their worst.”

“I tried, Hutch.” Starsky’s eyes began suddenly watering and the tears were now impossible to stop. “I tracked every lead I could find to stop this from happening.”

Hutch scooted over next to Starsky and put his arm around him. “I know that, Starsky. You’ve spent everything you’ve got and I don’t want you thinking you didn’t do enough.”

Starsky didn’t move to wipe the tears on his face. “I’ll wonder if I did. We have never been apart like this.”

Hutch reached over and gently wiped a tear from Starsky’s face. “We won’t be apart. Even when you’re not with me, you’re with me. I’ve always believed that even when I thought you were going to die.”

Starsky took a deep breath and grappled with his emotions. “You’ve never told me that before.”

“Well, you had a hell of a recovery, partner. I wasn’t going to burden you with the demons I was fighting at the time.”

Starsky swung his gaze over at Hutch and looked into his soft eyes. “Tell me about them.”

“I did tell you.”

“You told me about seeing the shrink after the shooting, but you never really talked about it.”

Hutch reached for his beer and took a drink from it. “Post traumatic stress syndrome, Starsky. I told you that’s what kept me off the street for a while.”

“You never told me what it was really like for you, Hutch. I want to know.”

Hutch leaned his head back against the cabinet and closed his eyes briefly. He saw the flash of memory and he opened his eyes. “Right after it happened I quit closing my eyes for any length of time. I didn’t sleep much. It would play over and over in my head. I felt like I was reliving it again and again.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I was right back there at that very moment, Starsk. We were at the Torino. Every sound and movement was as real as you are right now. I can tell you exactly how that car sounded grinding against the police car next to it. I know exactly how the tires sounded running across the pavement. I can count every single bullet fired by those hitmen. I can feel the glass raining down on me and I still remember how it dug into my hands when I was pushing myself up from the ground. I know every shot I fired and where it landed.” Hutch turned his head and looked at Starsky. “From the time it started to when I found you on the ground it took 23 seconds. Those 23 seconds changed your life and mine.”

Starsky cleared his throat hating how deeply it had affected Hutch. “Do you still have these flashbacks?”

Hutch shook his head. “Every once in a while, one will hit me when I least expect it. When they first started, they came at me like gangbusters. Now, when they come, I let it happen. Once I started accepting them, it became easier to deal with.”

“I want a promise from you, Hutch. You’re not to keep anything from me again. No matter what, you tell me everything.”

Hutch put his arm around Starsky and pulled him close. “You’ve got it. Since we’re on the subject of promises, I expect one from you.”

“What’s that?”

“Dobey’s going to assign you a new partner before long, Starsky.”

“I’ve already got one,” Starsky said firmly.

“Starsky, be reasonable about this.”

Starsky pushed himself up from the floor and dropped the empty beer bottle in the trash. “I don’t want another partner, Hutch. I’ll stick it out behind a desk.”

Hutch stood up and looked at Starsky squarely. “There may come a time you’ll have to go out on the street. I don’t want you out there alone.”

“You’ll be with me like you said, Hutch.”

“God damn it, Starsk! It’s not the same and you know it!”

“Don’t you think I know that”, Starsky yelled. “Taking on a partner is out of the question and I’m asking you to respect that.”

“Just don’t give me anything to worry about while I’m locked up.”

Starsky could see the fear in Hutch’s eyes and the anger quickly escaped him. “You worry? Hutch, you’ve damn near cornered the market on worrying along with guilt.”

Hutch smiled a bit. “I’m selfish that way.”

Starsky slowly sat back down on the floor and leaned back against the cabinet. “God, listen to me. I’m bitching about not wanting a new partner and you’re worried about me. I think you’ve got it backwards, partner.”

Hutch eased down next to Starsky and smiled at him. “It’s just my roundabout way of saying if anything happens to you, I’ll escape and come back here to kick your ass.”

“Maybe my getting my ass kicked isn’t such a bad idea after all.” Starsky’s smile was sad. He leaned his head on Hutch’s shoulder. “I could make a burrito and stash a file in it should the need ever arise.”

“I think any burrito you make would be more than adequate to saw through the bars, Starsk.” Hutch chuckled a little at the thought. He liked the idea and he was looking forward to the countless jokes and crazy ideas Starsky would think up in the way of escaping.

Hutch refused to let the idea of what he was facing tomorrow be known. The fear was almost overwhelming and the power of it threatened to explode from him. He wasn’t about to let Starsky know how much the terror of being in prison was paralyzing him.

Instead they focused on the good times and remembering all the times they had been there for each other. Both knew they wouldn’t sleep that night and they spent the remainder of the night sitting on the kitchen floor next to each other.

It was almost 9am the next morning. The sun shining brightly over the city was almost offensive in the grim task which lay ahead. Hutch was dressed in his suit and he had his hands crammed in his pockets. He looked over at Starsky who stood close by. They took the steps slowly and met Dobey and Huggy at the top.

Starsky saw Bill and left Hutch to speak to him briefly. Hutch took the opportunity to quietly talk to Captain Dobey and Huggy Bear. “This is going to be rough on him,” Hutch said glancing over at Starsky.

“Not to worry, Hutch.” Huggy put a hand on Hutch’s shoulder. “I’ll keep a close eye on him.”

“We both will, Ken. You just make sure you let us know if you need anything”, Dobey assured Hutch. “I expect you to remember that just because you’re not a cop; it doesn’t mean you’re not my boy.”

Hutch nodded. “Thanks, Cap. Just let me know if Starsky has any problems. I will be able to help on that end if nothing else.”

When Starsky walked over to them, Dobey and Huggy wisely stepped away for the last time the two friends would be alone together. Hutch swallowed the lump in his throat and pulled out his wallet. He pulled the keys out of his pocket and handed them over to Starsky. “Is there anything I’m forgetting?”

Starsky shook his head not trusting himself to speak. He gently rubbed Hutch’s wallet and held to it tightly. “Starsky.” Starsky brought his wet eyes back up to Hutch. “I’ll be fine. The time will fly and before you know it, you’ll be force feeding me all that rotten food you like.”

“I guess I wasn’t as prepared for this as I kept telling myself.” The admission was tough for Starsky and he shoved Hutch’s keys in his pocket. Starsky gripped the wallet tightly in his hands. “It should be me, Hutch.”

Hutch put his hands on Starsky’s arms. “Don’t say that! Don’t ever say that to me again, Starsky. I’m leaving right after my sentencing and I need you to be strong for me. I won’t make it if you let this take you over.”

They pulled each other close and held tightly. Starsky squeezed his eyes closed. “I love you, Hutch. I don’t care who hears me say it. I love you with all my heart.”

A tear rolled down Hutch’s cheek and he buried a hand in Starsky’s curly soft hair. “I know, Starsk. I love you, too.”

They held tightly afraid of letting go. “Ken, it’s time.” Hutch heard Bill and he was reluctant to let Starsky go, but he did nonetheless. He touched a soft finger to Starsky’s face and stared at him. Hutch leaned down and gave Starsky a soft kiss on the cheek before quickly walking away.

Starsky stood there not moving. He was afraid to. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up at Huggy who stood next to him. Starsky gave him a nod. He looked over at Dobey who was stoic, but the emotion in his eyes gave him away. The three men walked inside the courthouse.

Starsky stood behind Hutch who was standing next to Bill in front of the judge. He barely heard the words spoken by the judge and the attorneys in the courtroom. The world was out of kilter for him and Starsky didn’t know how he was keeping his balance. The best friend he had ever known in his life would soon be taken away from him. This was a man who was closer to him than his own brother and closer to him than any other human being had ever been. Starsky knew no one would ever even come close to what Hutch meant to him.

He didn’t even notice Woods and Pride in the back of the courtroom and he never heard the comment Dobey had made to Huggy questioning their presence. It wasn’t until Starsky saw Hutch move, that he finally started to hear. He looked up to see an officer putting the handcuffs on Hutch. Starsky stepped forward and Hutch swung his head back to him.

Their eyes locked and nothing would break the silent words passing between them. Hutch was pulled away and Starsky’s eyes remained locked with his. He took a step towards Hutch and he felt a soft hand on his shoulder. Starsky and Hutch’s eyes remained locked on each other and the contact wasn’t broken until the door was closed behind the best friend of his life.

Once out of his site, Starsky leaned forward grabbing onto the railing which had kept him away from Hutch. He closed his eyes and he froze at the sound of a familiar chuckle. Starsky swung around to see Woods and Pride with smiles on their faces leaving the courtroom.

Starsky started towards them and he was grabbed by Huggy and Dobey. “You sons of bitches!” Starsky yelled not caring who heard him. He struggled against the tight hands holding him back. The officers who had arrested Hutch stood staring at him. “You lied and I’ll prove it, you fucking bastards! If it’s the last thing I do, you’ll go down for what you did!”

The detectives left the courtroom not letting Starsky’s outburst get to them. Starsky shook himself loose from Huggy and Dobey. He slumped down in the chair burying his head in his hands.

Starsky stood in the middle of Hutch’s empty apartment. The last of his things had been put in storage and Starsky kept a few to take back to his own place. Hutch didn’t die, Starsky thought. It sure as hell felt like he did.

Seeing Hutch taken away had been the toughest thing he had ever witnessed in his life. Before that, it had always been when Forrest had gotten Hutch addicted. That had always stayed with him. Even with it being the worst thing for him, Starsky was there to help Hutch through it every step of the way. This time, Starsky had to stand by helplessly while Hutch served time for a crime he didn’t commit.

It made perfect sense now. For some reason or another, those cops had set Hutch up. But the reasons behind it remained unclear. If it was the last thing he ever did, Starsky would prove Hutch’s innocence. There was no way in hell he was going to let them get away with it.

Starsky walked out the door of the apartment. He checked to make sure it was locked and closed the door. Starsky moved the doorknob making sure the door was secured. He clutched the key tightly in his hand as he headed down the stairs. Starsky was quick to turn the key into the landlord and quickly drove away seeking seclusion away from the world just for the time being.

Hutch secretly scanned the inmates scattered through the prison as he was being lead towards his cell. He had been told he would be confined away from the general population, but when he arrived the warden explained that would be next to impossible given the horrendous overcrowding in the old prison.

He was showered and subjected to a body cavity search. Hutch mentally closed himself off from the processing and when he had dressed, he almost smiled at the number printed on the denim shirt. Hutch’s mind quickly leapt back to a discussion he had with Starsky over the insensitivity numbers represented. Now that’s just what he was.

Hutch carried his bundle of sheets and toilet items through the open area where the inmates gathered. He kept his eyes on the back of the guard in front of him and ignored the hoots and whistles.

A million questions filter through Hutch’s mind as he started for the stairs leading to the upper levels of the prison. How many guys he had arrested resided here? How many knew he was a cop? How long till someone tried to kill him?

The last question hung in his mind as Hutch was shown where he would spend the next two and a half years. Thirty-two months, he corrected. Nine hundred and forty-nine days. Hutch opened up the bedding and started making his upper bunk. 56,940 hours and then 1,366,560 minutes. If Hutch wanted he could calculate how many seconds he had to spend in this place. He hoped he wasn’t already starting to get to the point of counting the seconds down. Do my time and get out, Hutch said in his mind. He repeated it over and over in his head as he quickly made his bunk.

Starsky leaned his head against his fist as he sorted through the paperwork on his desk. His hangover was horrendous from the previous night’s binge. Starsky wanted to punish himself over his inability to keep Hutch out of prison. Huggy had come to his place and immediately sobered him up. Starsky felt a bit sheepish at having Huggy shove him into a cold shower.

He almost smiled at the riot act Huggy had read him. Starsky was thankful for Huggy’s presence and he was glad he had pulled him out of the brief moment of self pity. This wasn’t over by a long shot as far as Starsky was concerned. He was going to get Hutch out of that place. His partner wasn’t going to stay in prison a minute longer than he had to.

Starsky finally had enough of the headache and he yanked the drawer open on his desk. He searched through it until he found the bottle of aspirin. Starsky usually avoided pills if he could help it. God knows he had enough of them shoved down his throat after he had been shot.

He spilled two out onto the palm of his hand and popped them in his mouth. Starsky swallowed them down with the warm soda sitting on the desk. When he set the can down, he looked at the empty desk across from him. He heard the door to the squad room open and expected to see Hutch taking long strides to his desk. Starsky felt his heart sink at the sight of a uniformed officer heading into Captain Dobey’s office.

Convicts of different shape and size were lazing around outside their cells. Hutch kept his focus as he worked his way through them aiming to get back to his cell. His cellmate was a guy that stayed gone which was just fine with Hutch. He kept to himself as much as possible. He was put in the laundry room to work during his time. Hutch hoped it would keep him busy enough to force the time to pass quickly.

He was almost to the stairs when a large foot came down on the first step. Hutch looked up at the large man who was moving to stand in his way. He kept an even handle on his heart to still the quickening he was feeling. He was met at eye level with almost black looking eyes. The black hair was slicked back and the thick neck was half covered by a tattoo of a web with a spider creeping along the side of it.

Hutch had seen his type before out on the street. These men had no heart and cruelty was a means to a pleasure. His thick body spoke of time in prison spent lifting weights and bullying. Hutch couldn’t help but be intimidated by him. He just couldn’t let it show.

The man’s smile was cold and dark even with the bright white teeth glaring back at him. “Well, cherry. Looks like you’ve got ole Nacho’s interest.”

Hutch remained silent and unmoving as Nacho brought his foot down to the floor. He was slow as he walked around Hutch appraising him as he would a side of beef. Nacho brought his hands down and stood behind Hutch. “What a nice piece of cherry you’ll make.” Nacho’s laugh was more like a growl.

Hutch heard the laughter from Nacho’s buddies and he glanced around at them. He still stayed in place readying himself if he needed to. “Cherry, I hear you’re a cop.”

Hutch almost closed his eyes and he felt his heart fall into the pit of his stomach. “I was.”

Nacho walked back around till he stood face to face with Hutch. He crossed his thick arms across his chest. “When the word came out about you, I had to check you out myself, fish. I like what I see.” Nacho gave Hutch his dark smile. “Be ready, fish. That ass of yours will be a fine addition to my stable.”

Hutch could barely breathe as they left him. He grabbed a hold of the railing and pulled himself up the metal stairs. When he reached his cell, he leaned his head on the bunk. Four days, Hutch thought. I just need four days till Starsky comes.

Starsky paced back in forth in front of Captain Dobey’s desk feeling impatient. He felt frayed and on edge. Starsky slept little these days and his attention were focused on bringing down the cops he believed with his heart and soul who had set up his partner. “Cap, I can’t back down and you know it.”

Dobey stood up and planted his hands on his desk. “You’re too damn close to getting a complaint filed by Woods and Pride, Starsky. You were given plenty of leeway with their case files. You have to back off.”

“Like hell!” Starsky yelled. “Those two assholes set Hutch up! I know it, Cap!”

“Knowing it and proving it are two different things!”

Starsky took a strong step towards Captain Dobey and the look in his eyes was unmistakable. “I’m not quitting, Cap. They will go down for what they did to Hutch.”

“Dave.” Dobey calmed down considerably and looked into Starsky intense eyes. “I don’t doubt you. But you have to let this go for now. You can’t afford to have any complaints filed against you. You won’t be any good to anybody if you’re sitting at home on suspension.”

“I have to do this, Cap.” Starsky’s level gaze told Dobey he had to do it.

Dobey sighed and sat back down in his chair. “If there was any more I could do at this point, I’d do it. I’ve pulled every string I’ve got and called in more favors than I had to begin with. Right now there is nothing to overturn Hutchinson’s conviction. Until there is, Dave, I have to order you to stop for the time being.”

Starsky pulled his badge out of his pocket and was ready to toss it on Dobey’s desk. Dobey stopped him with a raised hand. “Before you quit, Starsky, remember one thing. You do more good for Hutch as a cop than an ex-cop. This is only temporary. When this has blown over, you’ve got my full support to begin a new investigation against these men.”

Starsky gripped the badge tightly in his hand. “How much time do you think Hutch has in that place, Cap? Think he can survive a week? A day?”

“What would Hutch tell you to do, Starsky?”

Starsky swung around angrily and brought his gaze back to Dobey. “God damn it, Cap! That’s low even for you!”

“The biggest mistake you’d ever make is resigning, Starsky, and you know it! We’re undergoing a serious shortage out on the street and I need you. This department needs you!”

Starsky shook his head and crossed his arms. “I already don’t like where you’re taking this conversation.”

“I’ve assigned you a partner, Starsky.”

Starsky didn’t move a muscle, but the glare was deadly. “You can forget it, Cap. I’m not taking on a partner. I’ve got one.”

“Right now you don’t. I need you back out on the streets.”

“Will I get another low blow to make it happen?” Starsky saw Dobey lean back in his chair. He sighed and shook his head. “Hutch said he’d deal with me if there were problems, didn’t he?”

“You said it, not me.”

“This is just great!” Starsky was angry about the position he was being forced into. He heard a knock at the door and he swung around. He opened it and looked into the face of a young light brown skinned man. “We’re in a meeting. Come back later.”

Starsky closed the door on him and turned back around. He saw the grin Dobey was attempting to hide with his hand. “Starsky, let your new partner in.” Starsky sighed and walked back to the door. He opened it up and let the young well dressed man into the office. “Detective Armando Dominguez this is Detective Dave Starsky your new partner.”

Armando Dominguez stepped forward and held his hand out to his new unhappy partner. Starsky ignored the outstretched hand and slumped down in the chair in front of Dobey. “Cap, this is not a good idea.”

“It’s an order, Starsky.” Dobey was firm in his order and Starsky knew by the tone it brokered no arguments. “Show him the ropes.”

Starsky pushed himself up out of the chair and headed for the door. He swung it open not caring whether it closed or not. Dobey looked over at Armando who stood there silently. “He’ll be fine. Just give him some time.”

The young detective gave his Captain a nod and closed the door behind him as he left the office. He saw Starsky leaning over his desk gathering records scattered in a half hazard manner. Armando walked around to the empty desk across from Starsky. “Is this desk okay?”

Starsky glanced up at Armando and then at the desk which was Hutch’s. Used to be Hutch’s, Starsky corrected silently. It took Starsky a moment to give him a nod. He went back to the clutter on his desk and ignored Armando Dominguez who sat down at the once empty desk.

It was a bit of a windy day as Hutch walked across the yard of the prison. He looked over at the man walking next to him. The guy had befriended him during lunch and after introducing himself as Rico, he began telling him all the ins and outs of survival in a large prison such as this.

Hutch let him talk knowing the guy wouldn’t shut up even if he had told him so. Some of what he was telling Hutch had already figured out in the short time he had been incarcerated. There were the Aryans who ran like a pack of wild dogs together. Then there were the Brothers who kept themselves apart from the rest. Hutch had seen how they took care of their stables. It was nauseating for him to see young inmates subjected to dress like whores and it was even worse for him to see more often than not, they seemed to enjoy it.

Finally, Hutch just had to stop. He looked over at Rico who looked up at him. “What?”

“You’re just full of information, Rico. I find it hard to believe you’re just doing this to help out a new fish such as myself.”

Rico started to open his mouth and his eye caught the attention of an inmate who was motioning at him. “Hold that thought. I’ve got some business.”

Hutch stuck his hands in his pockets as he watched Rico cross the yard. He observed the friendly interaction between the two of them and all he could think of was seeing Starsky tomorrow. Hutch was feeling desperate at seeing his best friend. He had almost called him partner, but Hutch had to keep reminding himself that those days were now over.

He was almost ready to head back to his cell when he heard a loud yell. Hutch swung around and he watched as a large inmate stuck a sharp object in Rico’s neck. Bright red blood poured from the man’s body changing the color of the white t-shirt he wore. Hutch started towards him as various inmates quickly walked away from Rico who had fallen to his knees. Hutch was ignorant of the gunshots fired and the commands to get down to the ground.

He was still several feet from Rico when he was shoved to the ground. He looked over at convict who looked to be ten years his senior. He had an angry look on his face as he looked at Hutch. “You take a step near him and you’ll be taken out!”

“He’s dying!” Hutch bit out angrily.

The man’s eyes were hard looking back at Hutch. “He’s already dead. You go near him and you won’t be taken out because you were a cop. It’ll be because you don’t pick your friends too well.”

Hutch moved his head and looked back over at Rico’s body. The lifeless eyes stared back at him and Hutch could barely breathe. He kept staring even as the man next to him spoke. “Rico was shanked for ripping two cartons of smokes during his last stretch. Cons have a long memory. Don’t forget it.”

Hutch wasn’t sure how long they stayed down on the ground. Only when they were allowed back up to there feet, the man who had given him the dire warning and perhaps even saved his life was now gone. He looked over at the gurney carrying Rico and Hutch knew his cop instincts had no place in prison.

Starsky slammed on the breaks of the Torino in front of an abandoned apartment building. Starsky and Armando jumped from the car and split up. Starsky headed around to one side of the building and Armando ran down the nearby alley. Armando saw their suspect halfway down the alley and he sprinted to catch up to him.

They had arrived on the heels of a liquor store holdup and when the gunman darted out the door, Starsky gave chase speeding the bright red car after him. Armando wanted more than to just catch the bad guy. He wanted to prove to Starsky he was a more than capable cop.

He quickened his pace as the suspect jumped a fence not far from him. Armando stuffed his gun in his holster and went after him. Armando was on the fence when he saw the robber running across the empty lot. He jumped down and had only taken a few steps when he slipped in a large muddy puddle of water. Armando fell chest first into the thick mud and his hands almost slid out from underneath him as he pushed himself up to his feet.

Armando finally got to his feet and by the time he was ready to run he saw Starsky taking the guy down to the ground. By the time Armando got to Starsky, the man was already in cuffs. He stood by while Starsky pulled the suspect to his feet. Armando felt like a rookie as Starsky gave him the once over before walking away.

By the time they reached the Torino, Armando had taken off his shirt, tie and jacket. He bundled them up before getting inside. He looked over at Starsky who hadn’t spoken a word. As Starsky drove the car, not a word passed between them. Armando looked out the window not really paying attention to what he was seeing.

All he could think of was how this guy seemed to run everything by himself. He knew it would take time for a top cop like Starsky to accept him after what had happened with his partner. Armando had no idea it would be this tough.

Starsky pulled the car up into the police garage. Armando stepped out of the car and saw that Starsky wasn’t getting out. “I’ll do the paperwork when I get back.”

Armando looked down at the bundle of muddy clothes in his hands. “I’ll take care of it.” He looked back up at Starsky.

He watched Starsky’s nod and then put the car into drive. Armando didn’t move as he watched the Torino speed out of the garage. “You’re welcome.”

Armando sighed as he turned around and headed for the locker room to clean up. He was more than ready for the next two days off and he hoped Starsky’s attitude towards him was better than this short time they had been partnered up.

When Hutch sat down in the chair and saw Starsky he smiled in relief. They each grabbed a phone at the same time staring at each other through the thick glass. He looked good, Hutch thought. “You are a sight for sore eyes, buddy.”

Starsky grinned slightly. “Yeah, you too. You holding up okay?”

“I’m good. I think there’s something to be said about an ex-cop surviving their first week of incarceration.”

“You know I was thinking about that…”

“Starsk,” Hutch interrupted. “Are you still a cop?”

Starsky stopped and looked at Hutch. He knew why his best friend was asking the question. Starsky looked down at his left hand. “Right now, I am.”

“How close are you to quitting?”

Starsky brought his dark blue eyes back up to Hutch. “Oh, come on, Hutch. I can’t just pretend like none of this happened.”

“No one expects you to, Starsky. But you are a cop through and through. If getting back into the swing of things is what you have to do to keep your job, I want you to do it.”

“I don’t give a damn about my job and you know it.”

“You may be able to look me in the eye and convince me of that, but you’re lying to yourself, Starsk.” Hutch looked intently at Starsky desperate to keep him from making a mistake.

Starsky rubbed his eyes and sighed heavily. “I almost quit, Hutch. But I know now I can do more for you where I’m at. If I’ve gotta do the job like always it don’t mean I haven’t given up on you.”

Hutch smiled. “I know, buddy.”

“Well, Dobey made me take a partner.”

Hutch could see Starsky was pissed being forced to take on a partner he didn’t want. “How is he?”

Starsky didn’t want to admit anything to Hutch, but lying to him wasn’t an option. “He’s a kid, Hutch. He probably couldn’t tie his shoes without help. You wouldn’t believe how damn green his is.”

Hutch smiled a bit knowing how this partner must be feeling. In fact he could sympathize given how green he was feeling at that very moment. “You’ll show him the ropes, Starsk. He’s got a lot to learn from you.”

Hutch could see Starsky wasn’t sure if he believed him or not. He was starting to wonder if Starsky was too hard on him. “Well, I guess starting Monday, Dobey wants to put us on some night duty for a while. I may not get here as much as I planned on.”

“The job comes first, Starsk. What kind of case?”

“Dirty coke. It’s coming through some local discos and we’ve got to get a line on it.”

“Don’t feel guilty about it, Starsky. You know I’m counting on you, don’t you?”

“I’m all out of the makings for burritos,” Starsky joked. His grin was small, but refreshing for Hutch.

“I’ll remind you next time I call. How’s my folks?”

“Missing you,” Starsky sighed. “They want to fly down to see you.”

Hutch shook his head firmly. “No. I couldn’t take them seeing me here, Starsky. You know that.”

“I know it, but I promised them I’d bug you about it till you relented.”

Hutch smiled a little trying to keep his mood upbeat. He pushed out the thoughts of Nacho and Rico’s dead body staring back at him. “If you can’t make it next week, think you could ask Huggy to bring me a few things?”

“You’re guitar?”

“No, I don’t want it here. Too risky. I’d rather have a sketch pad and some drawing pencils.”

“Yeah, if not me it’ll be him. Dobey’s wife wants to send some of her fine cake over.”

“The only thing you and I would agree about this place is how bad the food is. Tell her thanks for me.”

“Yeah, Hutch. I will.”

A loud bell went off and Hutch looked back at the guard who was motioning towards him. “I have to go now.”

Starsky nodded slowly not trusting himself to look at Hutch. He looked up finally. Hutch had his fingertips on the glass. Starsky slowly reached up and touched his to Hutch’s fingers. He could almost feel the warmth from Hutch through the cold glass. Starsky watched Hutch stand not removing his hand from the glass. Finally, Hutch turned to leave and Starsky felt only the cold glass on his hand.

Hutch raised his arms as he was searched before being allowed to enter the welding shop. As he felt the guard patting him down, he scanned the various inmates working and the guards watching their every move. He had gotten word that an individual by the name of Malcolm wanted to talk to him. The reason why was beyond his understanding. Hutch could only hope this guy wasn’t looking to off him or even coming after him.

He questioned a prisoner who pointed to the far side of the shop where a lone man stood welding with a mask covering his face. Hutch was almost to him when the man shut the torch off and lifted the helmet. He stopped in his tracks seeing that it was the same man who had tackled him to the ground when Rico had been killed.

Hutch got a better look at Malcolm as he carefully made his way over to him. He now noticed a small thin scar which ran from his right ear close to the corner of his mouth. It had an arch to it which reminded Hutch of a partially covered moon when the man moved his face. His graying hair was cut short and when Malcolm turned to face him, the hard years of living behind bars was apparent in Hutch’s eyes.

Hutch stuffed his hands in his pockets careful to watch the distant between them. “I got word you wanted to talk to me.”

“It’s all over about Nacho making you his mark.” Malcolm set the torch down and grabbed a dirty rag.

Hutch looked a bit to his left at a passing guard and then back over to Malcolm. “I’m sure I’m the topic of a hell of a lot of conversations.”

“No one will touch you even though you were a cop. Nacho’s determined to make you his kid and if not, he’ll make damn sure you’re not anyone else’s out of spite.”

“You wanted to see me for this? Why don’t you give me a piece of news I don’t know.” Hutch was feeling frustrated over the entire situation with Nacho and the fact most everyone knew his business.

“The best alternative you have at this point is to take him out before he makes his move on you. You can guarantee Nacho won’t wait too much longer.” Hutch turned to leave. “Convict!”

Hutch stopped in his tracks at the name Malcolm called him knowing why he said it. His normally bright blue eyes glittered with dark anger as he turned around. “I called you down here to do you a solid. You’re not a cop anymore and those laws you value so goddamn much don’t mean shit in a place like this. The only law that matters here is the convict law which says you take them out before they take you out.”

“Ever since I got here, people have been just full of advice.” Hutch pointed his finger at him as he spoke the words with vehemence. “I heard you. What do you care?”

Malcolm tossed the rag on the shelf littered with tools and planted his hands on his hips. “I don’t. Nobody in the place fucks with me because if they do, it’s their life. I know about those cops who burned you.”

Hutch shrugged his shoulders. “Yeah, so?”

“How many convicts ever get a chance at some real justice? When you’re ready to deal with Nacho, come see me. My price for it comes after the fact.” Malcolm turned around and picked up the torch. After lighting it, he let the helmet fall to cover his face.

Hutch watched him turn back to his work and as he left, Malcolm’s words echoed in his head. They were loud and clear even as he held his arms out during the pat down by the guard. Hutch knew he wouldn’t soon forget them as he strolled out the door.

It had been almost two weeks since Starsky last saw Hutch at the prison. He hadn’t been able to make his next visit because of this case and Huggy had taken care of the matter. Starsky hated it, but he knew Hutch would be more than understanding. What worried him the most was that as time painfully moved on; he would miss more scheduled visits with Hutch.

The call came over the radio about the men who were supplying the bad cocaine on the street. Starsky started racing the bright red Torino down the street as Armando answered the call. In a matter of minutes, they were at the warehouse before the black and whites arrived.

They went inside together with guns drawn and separated to hunt down their suspects. Starsky moved in between the empty shelves carefully searching. He got a beeline on one and started making a careful move towards him. Starsky found the skinny guy crouched down behind a crate holding a .38 tightly to his chest.

Starsky scanned the room in search for the guy’s partner in crime. He saw nothing and crept closer. Starsky moved in behind him and just as he was on his back, the guy turned and Starsky swung his fist. The hard punch connected and sent the guy back. Starsky took advantage and got the gun away from him. He turned the suspect on his belly and pulled his cuffs out.

Starsky was in the process of cuffing him when he heard a click. He looked up to see the man’s accomplice staring back at him with a lethal glare. A gun was held out and Starsky knew from the look in the man’s eyes, he was dead. There were no doubts in Starsky’s mind as the man began to pull the trigger.

He felt his heart catch when Armando appeared with his gun to the guy’s head. “Put it down.” The whisper was firm and lethal. The gunman slowly lowered his gun and Armando pulled it from his hand. He pulled the man to a nearby wall and put him against it. Armando stole a quick glance at Starsky before turning his attention back to his prisoner.

That afternoon, Starsky found Armando at his locker changing clothes. He felt a bit awkward and opened up his locker which was three down. “Thanks, for today.”

Starsky heard the hard slam of Armando’s locker and he shot his eyes directly at him. He could see the angry look in the young detective’s eyes. “Listen, I think tomorrow morning, I’ll talk to Dobey about getting a new partner. This isn’t going to work out.”

“Suit yourself.” Starsky pulled his jacket off and hung it inside the locker.

“It’s more like you suit yourself,” Armando fired back crossly.

Starsky turned he head and looked at him squarely. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“It means that nobody can be your partner. There’s not a cop in the country that can ever be your partner especially where it counts and that’s out on the street.”

Starsky took a deep breath. “If you knew…”

“Yeah, I know about what happened to your partner, Starsky. The thing is he’s here. Maybe not physically, but he’s here which means I can’t be your partner. It’s because of that fact, you’ll be put six feet under and you may just take me with you in the process.”

Armando grabbed his jacket and left the locker room. Starsky sat down on the bench and rubbed his eyes. Hutch would say the kid was right. Starsky sure as hell couldn’t say he was wrong.

When Armando emerged from his house, Starsky was surprised to see him not sporting the coat and tie he had become used to seeing. He wore a dark blue shirt with a denim jacket. Instead of slacks, a faded pair of blue jeans fit comfortably on him.

Starsky leaned against his car as Armando approached him. He stood up and opened the passenger door of the Torino. “I thought we could grab some breakfast before you talked to Dobey.”

Armando gave Starsky a nod and got in the car. Half an hour later both men sat in a café with their breakfasts in front of them. Starsky took a large drink of his orange juice before beginning. “Hutch and me have been partners for a hell of a long time. Fact of the matter is, sometimes it feels like we’ve always been partners and I never counted on the fact that it would ever change. Trying to remember he’s not here with me isn’t easy.”

Armando understood what Starsky was saying and he hoped he could make his point equally clear. “I can’t fill his shoes and I won’t even attempt it. I busted my ass to make detective and I think I’m a good cop. I do the job because it’s the only thing I can see doing with my life. All I’ve wanted is for you to give me a chance to show you that not only I’m a good cop, but I can be a good partner.”

Starsky looked down and pushed the food around on the plate with his fork. “I’ll admit I didn’t give you a chance. Hell, I wasn’t going to let you, Dominguez.”

“Has any of that changed?”

Starsky stopped and looked up at Armando. “I think we owe it to ourselves and each other to make a go of it.”

“Yeah, I can do that. Just don’t set yourself up expecting me to be anything like your old partner.”

“Okay.” Starsky didn’t like the idea thinking of Hutch as his old partner, but this guy was right. “There’s a few things I’ve got to get out in the open between us. Hutch is innocent. That’s something I know and if I get the chance, I’ll prove it. You might as well figure, I’ll talk about him. I’m not going to compare you to him or how he did his job. Just sometimes, I’ll talk about him until you’re sick of hearing it. During stakeouts, I get bored and I’ll talk about the stupidest things you’ve ever heard. You’re more than welcome to argue with me or to tell me I think too much. I expect you to be honest with me about everything like you were yesterday in the locker room.”

Armando wiped his mouth with a napkin and leaned forward. “Fine, I’m married and have been for seven years. I’ve got two daughters and I’ll brag about my family until you’re sick of it. I’m Cuban American and Theresa, my wife, is Italian. During stakeouts, I always bring food from home. It’s in your best interest to not touch the food because if you do, you’ll be sweating jalapeños for a week. If you’ve got a problem with me or how I do my job, I expect you to let me know. Plus the fact, I don’t know everything.”

Starsky smiled a bit curious about the kind of food Dominguez’s wife made for him. He reached across the table and held his hand out towards Armando. He was glad to see the smile grow on his new partner’s face. Armando reached over and grasped Starsky’s hand. It felt nice to both men knowing they had made their peace.

Hutch on the other hand, was starting to see the war which always seemed to be brewing underneath almost every convict. He could hear it in their voices and in their mannerisms. He avoided most whenever possible with only one thing on his mind. Doing his time and getting out was the theme.

He headed out the back to the loading dock where several trash cans were waiting for him. Hutch lifted one up and began dumping the contents in the large bin. Between the hard manual labor and the limited time he spent on the weights, he was getting back into shape. He had let so much go before and this was the only good thing Hutch could see coming out of this nightmare.

Hutch reached for another trashcan and he froze seeing Nacho and three of his buddies ambling their way over to him. Nacho crossed his thick muscular arms across his chest and smiled at Hutch. “This is how it starts, cherry. I get your cash from here on out. What’s yours is now mine.”

Hutch set the trashcan down on the cement and looked evenly at Nacho. “You’re not getting shit out of me.”

Nacho laughed. The growl sent chills of fear down Hutch’s spine and he clenched his fists tightly getting a handle on his fear. “Boy, you have some lessons to learn about being inside.”

Nacho set his large hand on Hutch’s shoulder. Hutch threw it off. “You fuckin’ fish! You don’t touch me!” Nacho screamed.

Hutch started to swing and he was grabbed from behind. Nacho head butted him and Hutch’s vision began blurring. He felt a hard punch to the side of the face. His knees gave out and then he was thrown to the unforgiving cement. He started feeling the stiff kicks in his gut and he rolled up only to feel several in his back. Hutch lost consciousness unsure of when they stopped.

The next day, Hutch lay in the infirmary healing from the painful beating. He had two cracked ribs and his face was bloody and bruised. He looked up at the guard Captain who was pulling the curtain closed behind him. “Damn, Hutchinson. You look like hell.”

Hutch kept still and didn’t reply to the man. He watched him pull up a chair near the bed. He sat down on it and leaned forward. “Who did it?”

“I may be new, but I know how some things work around here.” The sentence alone was painful for Hutch’s sore face.

Captain Peterson shook his head and looked at Hutch. “You tell me who did it and I can make sure it never happens again.”

Hutch wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all. “The way I see it, I’ve got two choices. I tell and I’m dead. I was a cop and more than likely some con will try to make a name for themselves by taking me out. I’ll take my chances, Captain.”

Captain Peterson sighed and rubbed his chin with his finger. “I’ll have one of my men in today to take your statement.”

Hutch turned his head slightly to make sure Peterson was looking into his eyes. “I fell. That’s my statement.”

Peterson’s mouth tightened up and he stood pushing the chair away. “You want to be known as a standup guy? Well, you’ve got it. Being a standup guy’ll cost you, Hutchinson. Two weeks in the hole.”

Hutch closed his eyes after Peterson was gone. He could do this. Hutch had no doubts about it. Three days later he was shackled and led out across the yard carrying a pillow case with a bar of soap and a towel. He looked at where he would spend the next two weeks and sighed. It looked to be a cramped cell built halfway into the ground. He could have sworn it was a hundred years old from the look of it.

Starsky paced in front of the prison warden who sat casually behind his desk. He glanced over at Armando who had his arms crossed and leaned casually against the wall near the door. Starsky swung his gaze back to the warden. “This is bullshit. He has no business in there and you know it.”

“Detective Starsky, your friend was involved in an incident and his refusal to give up the names of the other inmates involved gives us more than ample reason to isolate him in solitary for it.”

“You know as well as I do if Hutch talks, it’s his life. That’s usually how it works.”

“Of course, I know it. It also sends a message to rest of the inmates. He didn’t open his mouth which tells them he won’t.”

Starsky stopped pacing and crossed his arms. “Don’t patronize me, Warden. He’s being punished for trying to keep his own skin intact.”

The warden stood up and met Starsky at eye level. “Detective, there is a certain balance that has to be maintained in a place like this. If I don’t find that balance and keep it from toppling over all hell would break loose.”

“Don’t give me that, Warden. Punishing Hutch doesn’t mean a damn thing in the big picture.”

The Warden walked over to the large window overlooking the yard. He pulled the curtain aside where convicts were scattered about. “Come and look at this, Detective.”

Starsky reluctantly walked to the window and stared out. His eyes scanned through the inmates. “Yeah.”

“There are over 5000 inmates in this prison, Detective. I have 230 guards currently on duty right now. If a full riot broke out, I could get another 500 men. If I treated just one inmate differently than the rest, I could have an uprising on my hands which will cost a hell of a lot of lives. Your friend will get the same treatment as any other convict. Nothing more and nothing less.”

Starsky stared down at the prisoners looking at the situation a bit differently than he had before. He turned around and left the Warden’s office feeling even more helpless than he had since this whole ordeal began. He reached his car and slid in behind the steering wheel. He looked over at Armando who got inside just after him. “You think I’m wrong.”

Armando shook his head. “You were right, Starsky.” He paused for a moment and gave Starsky an understanding look. “So was he.”

Starsky nodded a bit and started his car. He quickly sped out of the parking lot of the prison unhappy with the fact he had missed another visit with Hutch.

Hutch had been released from the hole for three weeks now. He had expected Nacho to make his move, but all remained quiet. He didn’t know whether to be thankful or not. He spent much of his free time drawing and lifting weights when he wasn’t working. Malcolm’s words were something Hutch thought about a great deal more so now than ever. The convict’s talk about premeditated killing turned Hutch’s stomach. This was not an alternative in Hutch’s mind.

Hutch began drawing Starsky. He would close his eyes and remember a look which Starsky would have. Hutch normally drew the more abstract, but he wanted to capture the realism of his best friend. Hutch remembered how much he loved the soft grin on Starsky’s face two weeks after Terry had died. It seemed rather easy enough to draw Starsky. Then there was the drunken smile on Starsky’s face when they were chasing after moon shiners. Hutch had a hard time capturing the mischievousness in Starsky’s eyes.

After almost a month of silence, Hutch was at the weights when he was cornered by two of Nacho’s friends. His mouth tightened together when Nacho walked over and stood in front of him. “Easy, cherry. Just come a long quietly.”

Hutch was pulled forward and he looked around at a guard who was on the other side of the yard. He knew fighting them would only serve to anger Nacho and his goons. Hutch was taken inside to a locker room and when he saw the large gang of convicts wrestling with a young man, he started moving away. Hutch was grabbed and brought down to his knees.

Nacho grabbed him by the blonde hair and his head was viciously yanked back. “Look at him, cherry!” Hutch opened his eyes and watched the struggling young man as he was picked up by several men. “That bitch was sold to us by the Aryans for five cartons of smokes and some dope! He didn’t want to give it up to us, so now he’s gonna know not to ever say no again! Remember, cherry! Remember that when I come for you!”

Hutch was forced to watch as the gang of men began sodomizing the smaller man. A dirty towel had been shoved in his mouth, but the screams kept coming from him. Hutch was let go after seeing four men take their turns with the victim. He stumbled away knowing he could do nothing to help the man being horrifically raped. Hutch couldn’t escape the image and Nacho’s words pounded in his ears.

Hutch found a quiet bathroom and vomited in a toilet. He closed his eyes and relived the violent scene. He couldn’t let it happen to him. The more Hutch thought about it, the more he swore, he would never let something like that happen to him and no one would ever touch him. He slowly stood and walked to the sink. Hutch turned the cold water on and ran his hands under the faucet. He rinsed his face a few times. By the time Hutch dried his face, he knew exactly what his next move was.

After a few questions, Hutch was directed to the cell he needed. He didn’t slow down a bit when he walked inside and leaned against the wall. Malcolm sat on his bunk playing cards with a friend. Hutch looked at Malcolm with renewed determination. “I’m ready to deal with my problem.”

Hutch knew exactly what he was saying and he knew exactly what the ramifications were. For him there was no other alternative.

Over the next week Starsky and Hutch fell into their perspective routines. Starsky patrolled the streets with Dominguez and Hutch was learning from Malcolm how to take care of Nacho. Each was a way of life in the environments they were a part of.

Hutch’s mind was accepting the grim realities of prison life and he quickly discovered just surviving wasn’t enough anymore. Taking full control was the way of not only surviving, but the way to ensure Hutch would not become a victim of a system designed to hold him down.

He stood next to Malcolm outside the showers as they began to quickly empty. Word had spread in a matter of seconds once Malcolm allowed it out. The convicts knew only one man would leave the showers as Nacho continued leisurely to wash the soap from his body.

Malcolm leaned in close to Hutch and spoke in a low voice. “Remember, this is not about wounding. You kill him and don’t let your cop gut tell you what to do.”

Hutch closed his eyes readying himself for the unpleasant task ahead of him. He opened them and looked at Malcolm. “I know.”

“Break the handle off when you’re done,” Malcolm ordered. He gave Hutch a pat on the back before sending him on his way. Malcolm knew this would be a life changing event for the ex-cop convict but dirty work like this usually was for most.

When Hutch walked into the shower room, only he could see Nacho rinsing the water from his thick muscled body. He was covered in tattoos and Hutch felt intimidated by the graphic and violent nature of them. He crept quietly to the radiator on the far wall seeing that Nacho hadn’t noticed his presence. Hutch moved the loose mortar and pulled out the sharpened knife made out of a thick plastic. The handle was wrapped in thick white tape and his grip on it whitened Hutch’s knuckles. He started towards Nacho who was now drying off with a towel.

He stopped when Nacho turned around. Nacho’s dark eyes narrowed at seeing Hutch with the weapon in his right hand. He then grinned and chuckled. “Cherry, I’m gonna take that shank and shove it up your ass. After that, I’m knockin’ your teeth out and I’m gonna skull fuck you.” Nacho wrapped the towel around his waist and came at Hutch.

Hutch was ready for him. Nacho swung a large fist and Hutch ducked out of the way. He almost fell back and caught himself in time to keep from falling. Nacho took advantage and grabbed Hutch’s wrist. Hutch kneed him in the gut which loosened the tight grip. Hutch brought the shank up and plunged it deeply in Nacho’s gut. He could feel the warm blood running around his hand.

Hutch looked into Nacho’s face and saw the surprised look coming from it. He felt Nacho’s free hand try to push him off. Hutch then broke the handle off leaving the remainder impaled inside of Nacho’s body. He stepped back as Nacho stumbled around holding his gut. The blood poured from the lethal wound and Hutch knelt down. He pulled the drain cover away and dropped the handle inside. After closing it, Hutch looked over at Nacho who was sitting on the floor. The life was almost out of him.

He stumbled out of the shower where Malcolm and his friend Tyner stood waiting for him. Hutch was grabbed and helped down a hallway. He put his hands on his thighs and bent his head over.

Tyner was a big guy with long light brown hair. His thick goatee covered most of his chin. “I thought cops had some fortitude.”

Hutch raised his head looking at Tyner and then at Malcolm. “Taking someone out with a gun’s a hell of a lot easier than sticking a knife in the gut of a half naked man.”

Malcolm gave Hutch a pat on the shoulder. “Come on. They’ll be raising the alarm soon. We’ve got to make ourselves scarce.”

Hutch nodded and when he finally got back to his cell he pulled himself up to the top bunk. He pulled the sketchbook out from underneath his pillow. Hutch opened it up at the sketch of Starsky and sighed heavily. “God, Starsk, what’s happening to me.” It was a whispered plea. Hutch had killed a man in the worst way he had never dreamed possible and he felt no remorse and no guilt in the action.

Two days later, Hutch was brought before Captain Peterson. He stood stiffly in front of him looking straight ahead well aware of the reasons and the probable actions which would be aimed directly at him.

Peterson nursed the cigar in between his fingers before looking up at Hutch. “Nacho had you staked out as his property, Hutchinson. It stands to reason; you took him out before he made his move on you.”

Hutch lowered his eyes and bored them at the man sitting at his desk. “You can turn this any way you want, Peterson. You don’t have a thing. You’ll have dream up evidence if you want it to stick.”

Peterson leaned back in his chair. He brought the cigar to his lips and then blew out a large ring of smoke. “Never thought I’d see the day a cop would take to cons like you have.” Peterson grabbed the phone on his desk and asked for one of his guards.

When the door opened, Hutch knew the routine. He put his hands on his head as the guard approached him. “Two cops took their shot at me and then it was the court’s turn. Now, you’ve got yours. Take your best fucking shot! I don’t give a damn!”

Hutch’s eyes moved straight ahead as he felt the chain fastened around his waist. In less than a minute his hands and feet were shackled as they had been the last time he was sent to the hole. As he was being lead out, Peterson called his name. Hutch stopped and looked at the Captain. A slow grin spread across his face. “Six weeks in the hole.”

Starsky was anxious as he sat in the chair waiting for Hutch. It had seemed like forever since he had seen him last. When he found out about the six weeks in solitary, Starsky had almost busted a screw loose over it. He was thankful Dom had been there to talk him out of coming down to the prison to find out what the hell was going on with Hutch.

He straightened up in the chair when he saw the door open. Starsky breathed a visible sigh of relief when Hutch walked over and sat down in the chair. Starsky could scarcely believe the sight of Hutch. He looked a bit leaner, but what had his attention was the goatee which was apparent under his mouth and around his chin. Hutch’s hair was a little bit longer lying in gentle waves below his collar. His look was dangerous from the way his long fingers ran through the tousled golden locks. Hutch had a much harsher look. Starsky could see in Hutch’s eyes, the Minnesota farm boy was now gone. He felt a bit sad and he wondered what had gone on since he had seen him last.

They each grabbed a phone and Starsky could see Hutch’s smile in an attempt to get a good mood going on between them. “Hey, buddy. You’re looking good.”

“What the hell’s going on, Hutch? I find out you got put in solitary for six weeks!” Starsky couldn’t help the worry edging his voice.

“It’s nothing, Starsk. This place inspires the worst in some people.” Hutch wanted to say it certainly was inspiring the worst in him.

“Don’t bullshit me, partner.”

“I’m not your partner any more!” Hutch sighed heavily not meaning to snap at Starsky. “I’m sorry, Starsky. It’s just that what happened had nothing to do with you. In here, you’ve got to play the game or let it run you over.”

“And which are you, Hutch?”

Hutch looked down at the small table in front of him. He smoothed his hand over the surface not knowing how to answer the question. Hutch looked back up at Starsky. “I want to know how you’re doing, Starsky. I don’t want to talk about this place.”

Starsky knew Hutch was hiding something from him and this wasn’t the time or the place to drag it out of him. He had no idea when or where it would be. “I’m fine. We’ve been pretty busy and Dobey threw two new cases on us yesterday morning.”

“How’s this new partner of yours?”

“Good.” Starsky nodded and looked into Hutch’s eyes. He felt uneasy because of the ice blue stones staring back at him. “He’s working out better than I thought. I guess I wasn’t giving him much of a chance at first.”

“Knowing you, you probably held out the Hutchinson shoes for him to put on.” Hutch attempted a grin.

Starsky relaxed a little more and tried to smile back. “I never even held them out for him. He’s a good cop, Hutch. You’d like him.”

“It’s more important for you to like him, Starsky. Before you know it, you’ll…”

Starsky’s head snapped up. “No, I won’t.” Starsky never gave Hutch the chance to finish his statement. “As far as I’m concerned, this is only temporary. You’ll be back out on the street wearing a badge before you know it.”

Hutch sighed and shook his head. “Starsky, what’s done is done. Please don’t hold on to something that may never happen.”

“What the hell do you expect me to do, Hutch? I can’t forget that you’re stuck in this place because of a couple of dirty cops!”

“I expect you to go on with your life.” Hutch leaned in closer to the glass separating them. “Listen, you and me will always be me and thee. I don’t want you to stop living your life because of where I am.”

“You’ve forced me to accept a hell of a lot, Hutch. There’s been times I’ve wanted to kick your ass for it, but don’t expect me to move on like none of this happened. I can’t.”

“Just promise me you won’t hold yourself back because I’m in here.” Hutch looked into his eyes waiting for an answer.

Starsky licked his dry lips and gripped the receiver in his hand tightly. “I can’t.” It was a whisper and the plea in Starsky’s eyes gripped Hutch’s heart. “I can’t promise you something that I can’t even give myself.”

Hutch was on the verge of telling Starsky to fuck off for his own good. But the ringing of the bell cut any chances of him saying the words. Hutch didn’t know whether to be angry for it or thankful. He quickly left leaving Starsky rattled to the core.

It was close to 1am when Dom arrived at Huggy’s. He met Huggy in the middle of the bar and stuck his hands in his pockets. “What happened, Hug?”

“He came in about three hours ago already well on his way and ordered my girl to keep the booze comin’. He’s so far gone and I’ve still got another hour before I close up. He damn near started a fight with about four other guys playin’ pool.”

Dom scanned the barroom and found Starsky playing with an empty shot glass with half a glass of beer close by. “Any idea what set him off?”

“He said something about seeing Hutch today. I don’t know what the hell happened, but it couldn’t have been good given how Starsky looks right now. He drinks a beer or two from time to time, but he hasn’t touched the hard stuff since before he got shot.”

Dom looked over at Starsky sitting at the table and sighed. “Damn.”

He started over towards him and Huggy put a firm hand on Dom’s chest. “Listen, man, I know you think the world of Starsky, but you are treading on dangerous ground if you think about getting between him and Hutch.”

Dom was well aware of how Starsky felt about Hutch. He had listened to story after story and he even wished at times he had been with them. But he knew something had changed during this visit. Dom hoped Starsky trusted him enough to open up to him. “Thanks, Huggy.”

Dom strolled over to the table where Starsky was and looked down at him. When Starsky looked up, he gave his partner his best smile. “Hey, Dom. Join me for a drink?”

“Not tonight, Starsky. In fact, you’ve had enough for the both us from what I can see.” Dom walked over and helped Starsky to his feet. He wrapped Starsky’s arm around his neck and walked him towards the bar. Dom steadied Starsky and looked over at Huggy. “Where’s his keys?”

Huggy walked over and helped hold Starsky up. “Check the pockets.”

Dom reached inside Starsky’s pockets feeling for the keys. His drunken partner giggled and tried slapping his hands away. “Dom, your wife is a very jealous woman.”

“I wont’ tell if you won’t, Starsky.” Dom finally found the keys and handed them off to Huggy. “Will you make sure his car gets home?”

“You’re not taking him there?” Huggy looked over at Starsky.

Dom brought Starsky up to his feet and glanced over at Huggy. “I’m taking him to my house. We’ve got a spare bedroom.”

Starsky grinned and patted Dom on the chest. “You takin’ me home, Dom? Thas nice of you, buddy.”

Dom dragged Starsky out of the bar with Huggy’s help. They got to the car and leaned Starsky against it. Huggy shook his head and looked over at Dom who was opening up the passenger side. “Maybe seeing his tab for the night would sober him up.”

Dom put Starsky in the car and closed the door. He looked back at Huggy. “I know Starsky and Hutch are pretty tight. I wouldn’t do anything to damage that, Huggy. But I really care about this guy.”

Huggy gave Dom and easy smile. “I know you do, man. I guess Hutch’s unfortunate incarceration is having bad side effects on the both of them.”

Dom almost blurted out more on Starsky than Hutch, but he held his tongue. He kept his own observations to himself as he walked around to the driver’s side of the car.

Starsky’s eyes flickered open and he found himself in unfamiliar surroundings. He didn’t remember how he got here and for a moment he wondered if he had somehow managed to seduce a woman during his inebriated state. Starsky looked around at the small bedroom once more and sighed deeply. He was at Dom’s house.

He managed to pull himself to a sitting position. Starsky held his raging head with both hands before finally standing up. He grabbed his shirt on the dresser and slipped it on as he headed out the door.

When he walked into the kitchen, Dom had his back to him at the sink. Starsky cleared his throat a little and watched as Dom swung around. “Hey, you’re up.” Dom walked to the table and pulled a chair out for Starsky.

Starsky slid into the chair slowly mindful of his hangover. “What time is it?”

“Almost eleven.” Dom poured Starsky a cup of coffee and pushed it in front of him. He walked back to the counter and put the toast on a small plate. He brought it to Starsky and set it down. He opened the aspirin sitting on the table and held two of them out for Starsky.

Starsky took the aspirin. “Thanks.” Starsky popped the aspirin in his mouth and swallowed them down with the coffee. He looked over at Dom who was sitting across from him. “How bad was I?”

Dom smiled a bit before taking a sip of his coffee. He set the cup down on the saucer. “Well, my wife is extremely flattered. She never realized you observed her assets in such a manner.”

“Oh, Jesus.” Starsky grimaced.

“Were it not for your condition, I might have been jealous.” Dom smirked as he played with the cup.

“I can’t believe she didn’t kick me out.” Starsky sipped at his coffee and glanced over at the dry toast.

“You don’t have to worry about facing her till you feel better. She took the kids to school on her way to work.”

Starsky felt relieved at least for the time being. He played with the toast debating on whether or not to take a bite of it. He looked at Dom who was studying him. “What happened yesterday, Starsky?”

He took another sip of his coffee and straightened up in the chair. Starsky grabbed the spoon from the sugar and added to his coffee. He thought for a moment before answering. “When Hutch and me first partnered up, it didn’t take long for us to realize that we fit. It was like two pieces of a puzzle and we always knew what each other was thinking?”

“You saw him and he was different?”

Starsky shook his head still not believing what he had seen the day before. “I could look at him and tell you that was Hutch. But then it wasn’t Hutch. I could take the physical differences. I knew that would probably happen.”

Dom leaned forward in his chair and rested his arms on the table. “Starsky, he’s in prison. Surely you realized that he would more than likely undergo more than a physical change. His whole psyche would have to adjust to be able to survive.”

“It’s not the same, Dom.” Starsky shook his head firmly. “It’s more than that. Hutch and me could always read each other. We’ve had more than our fair share of ups and downs over the years. Some of those we both wondered if we’d make it with our friendship intact. We made it.”

“You don’t think so now?”

Starsky looked down at his cup and sighed heavily. “I looked at him yesterday and I couldn’t tell you the first thing that was going through that blonde head of his. When something bothers Hutch, he won’t always tell you. But I always know, Dom. I’ve always known and yesterday, I had no idea if something was wrong with him or if he was just being himself. He was different, but the same. Whatever it was, it scared the hell out of me.”

“So what now?”

Starsky looked up at Dom with more confidence. “I’m going to prove Hutch is innocent and get him out of there. Once I do that, everything will be fine. He’ll get his badge back and we’ll…” Starsky trailed off when he realized what he was saying.

“You’ll be partners again like before,” Dom finished.

“Dom, I wasn’t trying to…”

“Starsky, don’t apologize. I can understand why you’d want something back that means so much to you. It’s a part of you for Christ’s sake. Just remember one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“Even if you can prove Hutch’s innocence, he won’t be the same guy you knew before he went to prison. Whatever’s gone on there will be with him for the rest of his life. There’s no getting around it.”

Starsky took a drink of his coffee not wanting to totally accept this different kind of Hutch. He was still scared, but he was more determined than ever to get his partner back.

Hutch was lead through the doors in shackles. He had been told a cop was here to see him on police business. He knew it wasn’t Starsky since he only came on scheduled visits. The only person he could see coming to see him that was a cop was Dobey. Hutch wasn’t sure if he was ready to face the man who was a father figure in his own life.

When the door opened, Hutch walked in and he was surprised to see a young man with dark neatly combed brown hair with just as dark eyes staring back at him. Hutch stood in the center of the room staring at him. “You can remove the shackles,” the young man ordered the guard.

Hutch’s intense gaze didn’t waver as the shackles were removed. He studied the young man intently as he ordered the guard to leave. When they were alone, Hutch reached into his pocket and pulled out the cigarettes. He lit one and walked over to the window.

“My name is Detective Sergeant Armando Dominguez.”

Hutch took a drag and blew the smoke from his mouth. “Not many cops come and see me these days, Detective Dominguez. What business could you have with me?”

Dom carefully looked at Hutch not seeing the picture of the man Starsky had shown him. The twinkling blue eyes were replaced with ones of cold ice. “I came to see you about one particular cop.”

Hutch moved his head sharply at the young detective. His breath held tightly in his chest. “Starsky?”

“Yeah he’s at home right now.”

Hutch toyed with the cigarette in his hand relaxing a bit knowing Starsky was fine. He wasn’t about to betray anything to this guy. “You’re his partner?” He looked over at Dom for the answer. After the nod, Hutch took another drag from his smoke. “This is kind of like paying the ex a visit. Looking to see if I measure up to the tall tales I’m sure Starsky’s told you about me?”

Dom debated on going to the window to force Hutch to look at him in the eye and decided against it. He knew his next words would more than likely anger the man and frankly, Dom didn’t trust him much. “I want you to cut him loose.”

Hutch heard the firm soft spoken words and he clenched his teeth. He slowly put his hand his pocket. “He doesn’t know you’re here, does he?”

“No, I didn’t tell him I was coming.”

Hutch laughed bitterly and took a long drag from the cigarette. “So you want me to break off my relationship with Starsky to improve on the one you’ve got with him.”

Dom felt a flash of anger and finally walked over to Hutch. “Let’s just cut to the chase, Hutchinson.”

“About goddamn time,” Hutch shot back angrily. He dropped the cigarette onto the floor and pressed his foot down hard on it.

“More than likely, you’ll serve your time here. I don’t give damn whether you’re guilty or not right now. What I do care about is my partner and he’s at his place thinking that if he gets you out of here, all will be right with the world. You and I both know that won’t be the case.”

Hutch kept his hand in his pocket and turned away from Dom. He swung back around to look at him not giving any emotion he was feeling inside away. “Are you going to tell him that you came down here for his own good?”

“I’ll leave that up to you.”

“Keeping secrets from your partner sure as hell isn’t the way to go about proving your loyalty.”

“You’d know all about those, Hutchinson. I would imagine you’ve acquired quite a few in the short time you’ve been here. Some you’d never want anyone to know about.” Dom saw the stiff stance Hutch was taking in the middle of the room and he knew he was right. “Dobey is going to hand us over to the feds for a lengthy assignment. I found out this morning when I talked to him. We’ll be gone a month.”

“So you thought the timing couldn’t be better.”

Dom sighed and ran his hand through his thick hair. “I have a pretty good idea what you guys mean to each other and Starsky holding on like this isn’t doing him a damn bit of good. In fact, it’s harder than hell on him. When you do get out, you’ll be subjected to living under the restrictions the state places on you. As long as this is hanging over your head, you and Starsky…” Dom stopped not wanting to say the words. He looked at Hutch wondering if he was even making sense.

Hutch still had his hand in his pocket. “You said your peace, Detective Dominguez.”

Dom knew he had. He just didn’t know what would happen from this point on. “Guard.” The call out echoed in the room. Dom’s eyes didn’t move from Hutch’s.

He was almost ready to leave when Hutch called his name. Dom looked back at him as the guard came in. “He’ll need you.”

Hutch watched Dom leave the room and when he pulled his hand out of his pocket, he looked down at the palm of his hand. His fingernails had dug in so deeply into the palm of his hand; it had actually caused a small bit of bleeding. He could see the deep indentations from the other nails. Hutch swallowed the hard lump in his throat as he put his hands on his head so the shackles could be placed on him not letting him forget where Starsky was and where he was not.

Even a month after Dom’s visit, Hutch still thought about his words a more often than not. He couldn’t argue them at all. Every way he looked at it, cutting Starsky loose was for the best. His heart waged with his mind every step of the way. Ultimately, Hutch had to concede his true feelings for Starsky. They were every part of him. They were in his every step, his every breath and in his every heartbeat.

Dom was right. Starsky was only hurting more over his imprisonment and even with 26 months and 18 days left, Hutch knew that his status on the outside world would only hurt them both in the long run.

Hutch tried to put the thoughts out of his head at least for the time being. He looked down at the cards in his hands and set them down in front of Malcolm. “You owe me $560,000, 12 cases of scotch and 3 lap dancers.” Hutch picked up the small notepad and scribbled the score down.

“Wait till next time, Champ. I’ve still got my Porsches sitting back in Beverly Hills to wager.” Malcolm gathered the cards up and looked up when an inmate walked in with a stack of mail.

He tossed one which landed in Hutch’s lap. Hutch picked it up and looked at the return address. He sighed and tossed it on the small table near the sink. Hutch looked over at Malcolm who had a raised eyebrow. “Yes, I got another one if you must know.”

“You’re not even sending them back.”

Hutch pulled out a cigarette and lit it. “I get the feeling you’re trying to make a point here.”

“And you’re too goddamn smart for your own good. Sometimes I think I taught you too much.” Malcolm flashed Hutch a quick smile.

Hutch chuckled without a smile and blew the smoke out of his mouth. He opened his mouth to fire off a retort and looked up when Tyner leaned in through the cell door. “New fish coming through.”

Malcolm stood up and Hutch followed him out. They leaned over the railing looking down at the new convicts coming through. “Wasn’t that long ago, you were hearing quite a few catcalls yourself, Champ.”

“A lifetime ago.” Hutch put the cigarette to his lips and watched the four new inmates being lead through the gathering convicts to check out the newbies as well. “Well, Tyner. We’re waiting for the report.”

Tyner chuckled and pointed to the short redheaded guy at the front of the line. “Maurice Wendell. He’s in for molesting two twelve year old girls.”

“Jesus,” Malcolm muttered.

“He’ll be dead inside a week.” Hutch glanced over at Tyner who nodded. He could see in his fellow inmate’s eyes someone had already made the guy for a hit.

Tyner leaned on the railing and glanced over at Hutch. “Next one is Johnny Gaskins. Doing double life.”

Hutch saw the dark haired young man and shook his head. “He can’t be more that 25. He’ll spend the rest of his life in this meat grinder.”

“Given the miracles of modern medicine these days, he’ll be carted out in a wooden box in about 50 or 60 years, Champ.”

Hutch studied the young man closely. There was something about him. He took a drag from his smoke. “A young piece like that will wind up getting calluses on his knees if he’s too stupid.”

Malcolm looked over at Hutch noticing the interest in the normally cool blue eyes. “He’ll be raw. What are you thinking?”

Hutch just shrugged his shoulders and headed back inside his cell. He picked up the envelope with his name written on it with Starsky’s familiar handwriting. Hutch knew if he opened it up and read Starsky’s words, he wouldn’t make it. He would feel and no matter the feelings, it was too big of a risk. Hutch opened the small wooden drawer and tossed it on top of several other unopened letters.

Starsky arrived home expecting several letters from Hutch. When he picked up his mail from a neighbor, Starsky was confused as to why there were no letters from Hutch. He tossed the mail on the coffee table and reached for the phone. Starsky called the prison questioning them to find out if Hutch was okay. They assured him he was fine and when Starsky pressed to talk to him, they explained he was working and inmates were allowed to only call during their scheduled time.

During the next week, Starsky patiently waited by the phone expecting a call from Hutch, but none came. When his weekly scheduled visit arrived, Starsky showed up at the prison expecting to see Hutch. His heart sank in rejection when he was told Hutch had removed him from the visitors list. The only thing Starsky could think of was that something was wrong with him.

He showed up again the following week hoping to see his name added back as it used to be. Again, Starsky was told, Hutch would not see him. The third week, Starsky was more determined. He stood there waiting while a guard passed a message to Hutch. When the guard returned, Starsky was hurt and angry by Hutch’s refusal.

That evening he called Hutch’s parents and he was surprised to find that Hutch continued his weekly calls to them. Starsky’s name barely came up in conversation with them these days which they found surprising. Starsky then took a new tactic by talking with Captain Dobey.

He sat in the chair across from Dobey’s desk hoping this idea would work. Dobey picked up the phone and called the prison warden. The warden then called his secretary who called the clerk who scheduled the private visits between inmates and important visitors. Detective Dave Starsky’s name was written down and scheduled a private visit with Ken Hutchinson for the following morning at 9am.

It didn’t take long for Hutch to find out about the scheduled visit. A prisoner had said something to Tyner who had passed it on to Hutch. He was very thoughtful about the impending visit from Starsky.

Starsky stood near the window looking out over the yard at the various inmates milling around. He watched them wondering how Hutch was managing. The violence and the meanness in many of them were apparent in the way they walked and in their mannerisms.

He swung his head over at the door as Hutch was brought inside by a guard. Starsky was taken aback at the sight of him. Hutch’s hair was cut much shorter and slicked back tight against his head. He still sported the goatee, but the look was severe and gave his face a hard edge which was more pronounced than he had ever seen before. The baby blue eyes Starsky had looked into so much were now icy blue which glittered with a callous intensity he didn’t recognize.

The guard started to leave and Hutch turned towards him. “Are you going to take these things off?” The words spoken to the guard were harsh and unforgiving.

The guard looked towards Starsky who stood unmoved from his spot. Starsky gave him a nod and he carefully studied Hutch as the shackles came off. He licked his dry lips suddenly feeling very nervous. When the guard left them alone, he looked over at Hutch unsure of what to expect. He didn’t speak as Hutch pulled out his cigarettes and lit one.

Hutch ambled to the table and sat down in the chair. He took a long drag off of his cigarette and looked up at Starsky who was still standing. “So do you want to tell me why you pulled me out of my work assignment?”

Starsky looked at the closed door and then brought his gaze back down to Hutch. This was something he wasn’t expecting and he wasn’t quite sure how to act. “I wanted to find out why you didn’t want to see me.”

“So you used your badge and pulled a few strings to arrange this little meeting.”

Starsky didn’t like how the statement sounded coming from Hutch. It was more of an accusation than a fact. He moved to the table and pulled the chair. Starsky sat down and took a moment to get comfortable. “I wouldn’t have had to if you had talked to me first.”

Hutch blew the smoke out of his mouth and leaned forward looking Starsky in the eye. “You didn’t get the message when you saw your name pulled from the visitor lists?”

“Hutch…”

“Hutch is dead!” Hutch yelled suddenly.

Starsky’s eyes were wide at the furious words coming from Hutch. “What?”

“Don’t you get it? The Hutch you knew before coming to this place is gone. He’s never coming back. The naïve farm boy you remember has been gone a hell of a long time now.”

“Bullshit.” Starsky spoke the word evenly and intensely never letting his gaze leave Hutch’s severe blue eyes. “I don’t buy it and neither should you. You may think that the guy you used to be is gone, but I know differently. He’s still there inside of you. You just got damn good at locking him up yourself.”

Hutch shook his head as he put the cigarette to his lips. Starsky could see the denial in Hutch’s eyes. He saw a piece of dirt on Hutch’s neck just under the blue denim collar. Starsky resisted the urge to reach over and brush it away. “I’m not going to let you push me away, Hutch.”

Starsky watched Hutch stand up and walk over to the window with the cigarette still dangling from his lips. “Come here.” Starsky didn’t move for a moment and slowly stood to follow the command from Hutch.

He leaned against the window and his eyes followed Hutch’s which were looking out at the yard scattered with inmates. Hutch brought his hand up and pointed one out. “See that kid over there? He’s near the courts about 50 feet from the guard tower.”

Starsky saw the young man Hutch had pointed out. The guy looked a bit younger than Dom. “I see him.”

“I’d tell you his name, but it doesn’t really matter. He just got in less than a month ago doing double life. He’ll never see the outside.”

Starsky’s dark blue eyes followed the young man as he walked around the basketball court evading the passing convicts. He heard Hutch’s low voice speaking as he looked at the curious looking young man. “You see, I marked him. He’s mine. I staked him out the first week he was here.”

“What are you telling me?” Starsky looked over at Hutch whose eyes had turned into empty blue pools.

“There’s several names for it actually.”

Starsky felt his chest grow cold inside and the heaviness of it made it difficult to breathe. He looked away from Hutch back out searching for the guy who had been pointed out to him. He couldn’t block out Hutch’s words. “Kid, cherry, fish…bitch.”

Starsky shook his head adamantly. “No. I don’t believe you.”

“I took him almost three weeks ago and he surprisingly seems to have come around much quicker than I thought he would.”

Starsky stepped back from Hutch. “Shut up, Hutch.”

“I’m not Hutch. I haven’t been Hutch in over six months now. The name’s Champ and it sure as hell isn’t for the white knight habit I used to have.”

Starsky felt the room tilting a bit as he stood in the middle of the room. He almost felt like he did in that courtroom a lifetime ago it seemed. He could feel the tears threatening to overwhelm him. “Why are you doing this? This isn’t you!”

Hutch finished off the cigarette and tossed it to the floor ignoring the smoking butte. “It’s over. You might as well face the fact that everything we were is dead and gone. There’s no going back to it no matter how badly you want it.”

Starsky stormed over to Hutch and grasped his arm. Hutch felt Starsky’s electrifying touch and reacted instantly. He shoved Starsky against the unforgiving wall and brought his arm up behind his back. Hutch pinned Starsky face first into the wall and held his body tightly against his own. “You want to know what I am now. I am an animal which takes what he wants when he wants. If you were a convict here right now, I would bend you over the first damn table I found and fuck the shit out of you.” Hutch shoved his knee between Starsky’s cheeks for emphasis. “I don’t give a damn about your pleasure. Just mine and my own survival. When I got tired of you, I’d sell you for a few cartons of smokes and maybe some weed. I’d let them fuck you and not think twice about it.”

Starsky’s heart was pounding so loudly the noise reverberated in his ears. He felt Hutch step away from him. Starsky had to grab onto the wall to get his hard breathing back under control. He finally pushed himself away from the cold wall to a standing position. When Starsky stared back at Hutch, he saw cold empty eyes glaring back at him. “Guard,” Starsky called out.

Neither man moved from their spots nor neither broke the eye contact from the other. When the guard arrived, Starsky took a deep breath. “Take the prisoner back to his cell.”

Starsky watched the guard put the shackles on Hutch for a moment. He couldn’t even stay to look at Hutch anymore. Starsky escaped the prison as quickly as he could unsure of anything and everything than he ever had been in his life.

All the kitchen cabinet doors were open from Starsky’s searching. When looked into the last one, he saw the half empty bottle of scotch sitting in the back. Starsky pulled it down and held it in his hand. It was still pretty early and instead of going to the precinct, he had sought seclusion in his empty apartment.

Starsky heard the knocking on his door and looked up. He set the bottle down on the counter as Dom walked inside. Starsky crossed his arms and leaned back against the kitchen counter. “You’re timing is pretty damn good, Dom.”

Dom took casual steps into the kitchen and stood next to Starsky. He looked over at the bottle. “Well, I heard you went to the prison today. I thought I should see how you were since you didn’t come to the precinct.”

Starsky didn’t reply. Instead he grabbed the bottle from the cabinet and stared down at it. Dom watched him curious to know what had happened. “Are you going to drink that, Dave?”

Starsky had a bitter smile on his face when he looked up at Dom. “It’s not worth it.” He put the bottle back in the cabinet and began closing the doors.

“Want to talk about it?”

Starsky didn’t chance looking at Dom with the way he was feeling at that moment. “Not really. If you don’t mind, Dom, this one time I’d like to keep it to myself.”

“Sure Dave. What ever you want.” Dom watched Starsky for a minute and looked down at the floor. “I was thinking about something.”

Starsky stopped at the fridge. “Does your wife know?”

Dom chuckled a little and turned to look at Starsky. “You’ve been working pretty damn hard lately and when you aren’t working, you’ve been holed up here. Why not hole up at my place for a while?”

“Dom, I appreciate the thought…”

“Hey,” Dom said holding his hand up. “This does come with an ulterior motive, my friend. Theresa and I are looking to spend some time by ourselves and the thought crossed my mind that Olivia and Anna wouldn’t mind spending some extra time with Uncle Dave.”

Starsky grinned a bit and leaned one hip against the counter. “The levels you will sink to, Dom. Using your kids to get on my good side.”

“Is it working?”

“Does Theresa have any idea about this?”

“She just knows about the holing up at the house part.” Dom beamed at Starsky when he heard the low laugh coming from Starsky’s throat.

He followed Starsky around to the bedroom and helped him pack some things for the extended stay.

When Hutch was taken back to his cell, he immediately grabbed a change of clothing and headed to the showers. He scrubbed his skin almost raw under the hot steaming water to rid himself of the filth he was feeling inside at his actions towards Starsky.

He stuck his head under the shower feeling the gel slowly break loose from his hair. Hutch closed his eyes and he knew he would never escape the look coming from Starsky, a man that he loved with every fiber of his being.

Hutch was thankful for the hot water running over his face. It was the only private place he could mourn his loss. His tears ran with the hot rivulets of water hitting his face and running down his body. Hutch inhaled deeply to control the sobs which threatened to break from his chest.

When he finally finished the long shower, Hutch dried off and dressed. He grabbed a carton of smokes and hooked up with a trusty who changed his work assignment to the boiler room. It wasn’t difficult considering it was isolated and most convicts avoided working in the poor conditions.

Hutch continued to keep to himself for the better part of a week thankful the friends he had made since his incarceration understood him enough to leave him a lone.

Dom looked through the park and found Starsky sitting off by himself at a picnic table. He began strolling towards Starsky stopping long enough to grab a beer from the ice chest. When Dom stood in front of him, he held the beer out.

Starsky gave Dom a small smile and took the beer from him. Dom got comfortable next to Starsky and stared out at the office picnic his wife’s company was throwing for their employees. “You’re missing out on all the fun.”

“I shouldn’t be here, Dom. I don’t even know these people.” Starsky took a drink of his beer and looked out at the volleyball game being played not far from him.

“It’s better than you sitting at home by yourself, you know. I think I’ve seen you on a total of one date since we met. That’s just pathetic, Dave.”

Starsky chuckled and looked over at Dom out of the corner of his eye. “Another ulterior motive, Dom?”

Dom stood up and pulled Starsky to his feet. “Yes, my friend. I’ll admit it freely without your constant badgering.” Dom guided Starsky across the grass knowing where he was taking his very lonely friend. “Now, I don’t normally get involved in matters of the heart, but in your case I will make an exception.”

“Great.” Starsky rolled his eyes. “He’s setting me up.”

“No, I’m introducing you.” Dom pointed his finger at a young woman talking with Theresa. “She may be an accountant, but she’s bright, witty, she likes the same cornball movies you do, not to mention that she is extremely attractive.”

Starsky looked over at Dom. “Does Theresa know about this?”

“Pal, why do you think I brought you here? You’ve got enough charm to capsize a large ship. You’re making me look bad.”

Starsky chuckled as Dom pulled him along to meet the beautiful redhead. Starsky normally didn’t go for redheads, but he found himself intrigued by the sharp green eyes. “Melinda Carlisle,” Dom said with a large smile. “I’d like you to meet my very charming and very available partner, Detective Dave Starsky.”

Dom saw the soft blush on Melinda’s face and when he glanced over at Starsky, the shy grin lit up his face. He watched the exchange between them and sighed contently. Dom was even more pleased to see them continue to talk and as he walked away, he looked back at the couple. He was sure this was what Starsky really needed.

Hutch sat at his usual spot with Malcolm and Tyner. Their half eaten trays of food were in front of them. Malcolm had just paid off Hutch on a basketball game which had been played earlier in the day. Hutch took the three packs of cigarettes and stashed them in his shirt.

“When are you going to invest your vast wealth in some of my other sports action?” Malcolm picked up his fork and pushed the horrid looking food around on the plate.

“I bet only on a sure thing. You know that, Malcolm.” Hutch felt a bit more relaxed than he had in a while.

“Only because you played,” Tyner observed.

Hutch picked up his carton of milk and looked over at Malcolm. “Like I said. A sure thing.”

Malcolm chuckled and Tyner gave Hutch a small nudge. Hutch turned his head and saw the young Johnny Gaskins carrying a tray of food headed in his directions. “Took him long enough.” Hutch ignored Malcolm’s remark as he observed the tough saunter of the youthful convict.

When he stood in front of him, Hutch gave Malcolm a glance who scooted over to make room. “Why don’t you have a seat?”

Johnny dropped the tray down loudly on the table and sat down. He picked up his fork and looked at Hutch. “I want to know why you had me in the yard that day.”

Hutch almost smirked at the thick Brooklyn accent coming off the kid. He glanced over at Malcolm who gave Hutch a flash of white teeth. “You did a job for me and I appreciate it.”

Hutch reached inside of his shirt and pulled out two of the three packs of smokes. He set them down in front of Johnny. “I don’t smoke.”

“You don’t have to. Just hold onto them. You never know when they might come in handy.”

Johnny leaned forward giving Hutch an irritated look. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“Yes, he did,” Malcolm told the kid. “That’s all you need to know.”

Johnny took a stab at his food with his fork and pushed the food into his mouth. “I don’t like doin’ somethin’ when I don’t know why I’m doin’ it.”

Hutch stole a glance over at Tyner who was shaking his head. He watched the young man eat a few more bites. Johnny dropped the fork down in disgust and opened his carton of milk. “This shit is disgusting. Someone pee in the food or what?”

“Do you really want to know, kid?” Hutch saw the outrageous look on his face and almost laughed. He kept his gaze on him but was interrupted by one of the cons who leaned over and grabbed the small bowl of chocolate pudding sitting on Johnny’s tray.

“Hey, what do you think you’re doin’,” Johnny blurted out.

“I’m takin’ this. You got a problem with that?”

“Hell, yeah I do! That’s mine!”

“I’m takin’ it and if you open your mouth…”

Hutch reached over and picked up his bowl of uneaten pudding. He held it up. “Here, Smokey. Take mine.”

“This don’t have nothin’ to do with you, Champ.”

“I know. Just thought you’d want it. I know how much you like pudding.”

“You startin’ somethin’ with me?” Smokey was starting to get riled.

Hutch kept the pudding held up for him. “Nope, I just don’t want it.”

Smokey dropped the pudding down to the tray and grabbed Hutch’s. After he stalked off, Hutch leaned in closer to Johnny. “First rule. You don’t fight over something as asinine as pudding which holds no value.”

Hutch stood up and picked up his tray. Malcolm and Tyner grabbed theirs and followed him. “Someone should write a book on prison etiquette,” Hutch replied.

He listened to the remarks being made by Malcolm and Tyner, but when he glanced back he saw Johnny staring back at them with confusion. Hutch dropped his tray off and he knew this wouldn’t be the last time he talked Johnny.

Three weeks later Hutch was sitting back on his top bunk propped up on the pillow. He was flipping through the small calendar counting the days. He still had just under two years left on his sentence. Rather than counting those days as he had been doing, one remained clear. It was now 23 days.

Hutch tossed the calendar aside and leaned back against the pillow. How ironic it was, he thought. Twenty three days since he had given Starsky the scare of his life and twenty three seconds for him to almost loose his life. Did it take twenty three seconds for him to drive Starsky away? Hutch couldn’t count each and every movement and moment as he could Starsky’s shooting. When he closed his eyes now it wasn’t that horrific shooting he saw. It was the look on Starsky’s face he saw. The fear, the anger and the disbelief all rolled into one look.

He opened his eyes at the sound of a slight movement at the door of his cell. Hutch watched as Johnny Gaskins stepped into view. He could see the green convict had already encountered someone from the dark bruise around his left eye and the small cut above the lip. Rather than to question it, Hutch waited.

“The big guy you were with the other day said I should talk to you.”

Hutch could see an admission coming from him and he still waited. He could see the awkwardness in Johnny’s fidgety moves. “I need to know what I gotta do.”

“About what?” Hutch reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette. He lit it while he waited for the answer to his question.

Johnny sighed and glanced around as if expecting someone to jump out at him. “Listen, I gotta know some stuff about how to make it in here and I ain’t plannin’ on getin’ my ass kicked every time I turn around.”

Hutch sat up and put the cigarette in his mouth. He grabbed the calendar and hopped down from the bunk. Hutch opened the drawer of the small desk and dropped the calendar down on the small stack of unopened letters. He turned around and gave Johnny a harsh look. “Fine, if you want me to lay it all out for you, I will. But there’s one thing you’d better know before I do this.”

“What’s that?”

Hutch took a long drag from his cigarette inhaling the smoke deeply. He took step closer to Johnny and towered over him. “You fuck me in any way, I’ll fuck you right back and I can promise you will not walk away. Got me?”

Johnny nodded feeling intimidated by the powerful blue eyes which held his attention. He breathed a bit easier as Hutch stepped away from him. “First things first. You are to start keeping your mouth shut.”

“Now wait a sec…”

“No, you wait.” Hutch pointed at him with the cigarette between his fingers giving him a firm look. “The worst thing a con can do is shoot off his damn mouth. Wasn’t Smokey taking that pudding enough of an indication?”

“What the hell was I supposed to do? Let these guys run me over!”

“You look him straight in the eye and say ‘you’re welcome’.”

Johnny laughed in disbelief. “You’re kidding?”

“Did you hear what I said?”

“Yeah, you said I should tell him ‘you’re welcome’.”

“You didn’t listen. You look at him straight in the eye first. Show no fear, show no anger and show no retaliation. You show nothing. The first second you do, you show weakness which has no place here.”

“Okay, I can do that.”

“Easier said than done,” Hutch whispered under his breath. He finished off the cigarette and dropped into the large coffee can on the floor. “When you close your mouth and keep it closed, that’s when you learn. You observe.”

Hutch brushed by him and went out to the railing overlooking the inmates milling about below him and Johnny walked to stand next to him. “You listen and you watch. You’ll learn to interpret every move and every sound. How the movement moves and how the sound sounds will tell you more than just asking a question which can get you killed or give you calluses on those boney knees of yours.”

Johnny shook his head and looked over at Hutch who was watching. “I don’t understand.”

“You will.” Hutch turned to face Johnny. “Where’s your work assignment?”

“Cleanup.”

“Great.” Hutch’s sigh was heavy. He walked back into his cell and knelt down under the small desk. He pulled out the small crate and grabbed a carton of cigarettes. “Those hours won’t work. You’ll need to go someplace like the laundry. Come on.”

“Where are we goin’?”

“Watch and learn,” Hutch ordered. “No questions.”

Johnny followed Hutch out the cell door curious about what he was going to do and why.

The next two months passed with relative ease for both Starsky and Hutch. Starsky became comfortable with his growing relationship with Melinda. He liked her a lot. They had the same likes, dislikes and their relationship was quickly growing. Much to Dom’s surprise, Starsky asked Melinda to move in with him in less than three months of meeting. He wondered if Starsky was moving too fast into this relationship.

Hutch was also spending much of his time tutoring Johnny in the ways of survival in a maximum security prison. He would never admit it to a living soul, but he liked Johnny. The physical similarities to Starsky were there. Hutch knew it the first time he laid eyes on him. But what drew him, was the subtle similarities both shared in attitudes and demeanors. Hutch sometimes questioned his own motives of this odd relationship, but he continued on as he saw fit.

He began to take a deeper interest in Johnny when Hutch was paid an unexpected visit down in the boiler room. Johnny appeared while Hutch was working on an old generator.

“Hey, Champ.” Johnny sauntered in carrying a thinly rolled sheet of paper. “I got something to show you.”

Hutch grabbed a rag and followed Johnny to a large table. He watched as the guy rolled it out on the flat surface and used a few items to hold it in place. “I got this from one of the trusties.”

“You have a map of the prison.” Hutch pulled out a cigarette and lit it as his eyes scanned the plans.

“Well, yeah. I hear you’re one of the smartest guys in this joint and I got a plan.”

Hutch gave Johnny a cynical look before looking back down at the plans. “Are you sure you want to be telling me this?”

“You’re the only one in this place I’d tell. I want you to tell me what you think about it.”

Hutch took a drag from his cigarette. “Your escape plan.”

“Of course, my escape plan.”

Hutch resisted the urge to shake his head at the young man’s stupidity. “Okay, tell me your plan.”

Johnny grinned happily and laid it all out for Hutch to see. He showed him how he would get into the boiler room after lockdown. He explained how he would shimmy across one of the pipes and get into the sewer to make his escape to the outside world. When he finally finished, Johnny looked to Hutch like he had planned the greatest escape ever thought of. “So? What do you think?”

Hutch blew the smoke out of his mouth and looked at Johnny. “You sure you want to know what I think.”

“I wouldn’t have told you if I didn’t want to know.”

“Okay.” Hutch put the cigarette in his mouth and leaned over the plans. “Head counts are every two hours and if by some chance you managed to fool the guards you might make it to the boiler room. This pipe you plan on shimmying across comes directly from the water tank. It’s also heated which means this pipe will be no less than 250 degrees which will burn your hands to a crisp. If by the off chance the system shuts down and you make it to the sewer system, you won’t survive the escape.”

Johnny looked up at Hutch in surprise and back down at the plans. “That sewer leads directly to the outside. It empties out quite a ways from the outer wire.”

“That sewer is the where you will find yourself totally immersed in excrement supplied by every con in this place. You won’t even have an air pocket and you’re looking at close to 300 yards of shit to swim through. It empties out on a time release from what it says here.”

Hutch could see the irritation on Johnny’s face after shooting down his crazy idea. He wanted to smile just then, but instead took a long drag from his cigarette. “Did you even bother reading the fine print? It says exactly what the specs are for this place.”

Johnny didn’t speak as he reached forward and began removing the items holding the plans down. Hutch saw something in his eyes and he leaned forward. “Did you read them?”

“Yeah, I read ‘em.” Hutch could see the lie in his eyes.

“Read them to me now.”

Johnny ignored him and started rolling up the map. Hutch instinctively stepped forward and grasped his arm. He froze when he realized what he had done. Hutch had to force himself to step away and release Johnny. He took a deep breath before speaking. “Can you read, Johnny?”

Johnny stopped and looked down at the tightly rolled paper. “I can read. Just not very good.”

“How much schooling have you had?”

“I’m not a fuckin’ charity case!”

“I know that. No one is.”

Johnny hesitated before answering and he gripped the plans tightly. “The old man kicked me out at 13.”

Hutch gave himself a minute before soaking in the newest piece of information. He finished off the cigarette and turned back to the generator. “Meet me in the prison library at 4pm.”

“What the hell are you talking about, Champ?”

Hutch kept his back to Johnny. “You should read better before you plan another escape. Your chances at making it will improve significantly, Torino.”

“What’d you call me?”

Hutch grabbed the wrench and leaned over. “Torino. You’re loud, flashy and at times don’t use the brain you’ve got.”

“Gee, thanks,” Johnny retorted.

Hutch glanced behind him at Johnny. “I didn’t say it was a bad thing.”

He turned back to finish his work. Hutch could still feel Johnny’s eyes boring into his back. He was well aware what was happening and Hutch knew how dangerous it was not only for himself, but for Johnny as well. Hutch had no idea how to stop it and he knew he didn’t want to.

Starsky stood over the stove working on dinner looking forward to a nice quiet evening with Melinda. Other than his odd working hours, they had settled into a nice comfortable routine with each other. Starsky had no complaints and he found Melinda to be a good friend as well as a more than compatible lover.

He smiled a bit when he heard a noise coming from the bedroom. Starsky knew she was intent on organizing the closet better to accommodate for both of their things. He liked sharing his space and he loved having someone to come home to.

Starsky turned his attention back to the cooking at hand not noticing how quiet it had become back in his bedroom. He heard Melinda’s footsteps in the kitchen and reached over to raise the heat slightly on the stove.

“Dave?”

Starsky stirred the pot and kept his attention focused on the task. “Hmm?”

“Who is this?”

Starsky turned around and halted in his movements when he saw her holding a photo album. He didn’t have to see the pictures to know who she was asking about. Starsky acted nonchalant as he stepped over and looked down. It was a photo of him and Hutch early on in their partnership together. “It’s nobody.”

He started to reach for the album, but Melinda turned away still leafing through the photographs. “I don’t understand. There are so many pictures of you and this man. He must’ve been important to you.”

Starsky followed her into the living room. “Just someone I used to know is all.”

Melinda sat down and flipped through a few more pages. “Dave, you two look fairly close.”

Starsky leaned down and took the photo album from her hands. He closed it up without allowing himself to look at the pictures. “It was before you and me. It doesn’t matter anymore.”

He headed back to the bedroom to put the album away. Starsky put it up at the top of the closet and turned around to see Melinda standing in the doorway. “I think it does matter. If he was such an important part of your life, I don’t understand why you’ve never told me about him.”

“It’s in the past and it has nothing to do with us, Mel. Now leave it alone, please.”

Starsky brushed past her not allowing her to see how seeing the brief picture of Hutch made him feel inside. He had worked hard these past months to put Hutch and the memories of his last visit with him out of his mind. Starsky had made a point of not even bringing Hutch’s name up. Even when Dobey and Huggy tried to discuss the subject of Hutch, Starsky let them know, it was not a matter he would talk about. It didn’t take long for those closest to him to see it was an off limits subject.

Hutch caught up with Johnny in back of the laundry where he was moving several carts around. He stuck his hands in his pockets and leaned against a metal counter. “So? Tell me.”

Johnny shook his head in frustration and shoved the empty cart against the wall. “I don’t get it. I tried reading it, but it don’t make sense to me.”

“Are you using the dictionary like I told you?”

“Yeah, but it’s taking me forever to get through it. I have to start over so I can understand the whole sentence.”

Hutch pulled a cigarette out and lit it. “Just keep doing it.”

“I’m sick of this shit, Champ. I don’t get why you want me to read that book.”

Hutch resisted the urge to grin knowing what Johnny still hadn’t learned yet. “It’s a great prison escape, Torino. You’ll get it.”

“This guy seems like he figured it all out and I can’t even get to first base.” The aggravation was written all over Johnny’s face.

Hutch blew the smoke out of his mouth. “The Count of Monte Christo is about a man who listens and observes. He takes what he has learned to accomplish his objective. You’ll find out when you get further into the book.”

“Has this Alexander Dumbass ever been inside?”

Hutch turned his head slightly to keep the pulling of the corners of his mouth hidden. He took a drag from the smoke and looked back at Johnny. “Alexander Dumas has never been in prison as far as I know.”

Johnny looked back at Hutch to say something but stopped in his tracks when he saw a tall man approaching them. Hutch turned his head and toyed with the cigarette in his hand as if he was just passing time. He knew who it was.

Boone was a guy who was still attempting to make a name for himself ever since Nacho had departed the physical world. There was only one way of doing that which Hutch was extremely aware of. Boone’s arms were covered in tattoos with various artworks from crosses to swastikas. When he smiled, a gap from a lost tooth appeared in the unfeeling smile which would appear on his face.

He crossed his arms and looked from Johnny to Hutch who hadn’t moved from his spot. “Well, Champ, how’s the kid?”

“I hear you’ve got your hands full with the nice little harem you’ve managed to pull together, Boone.” Hutch pushed himself away from the counter and maneuvered himself casually in front of Boone.

“Champ, I got no beef with you. I’ll give you eight cartons and a dime of coke.”

Hutch took a final drag from his cigarette and dropped the butte onto the floor. When he stepped down to put it out, he looked Boone squarely in the eye not even flinching at the deadly look aimed at him. “You know my stake. I don’t peddle flesh.”

“The bitch is ripe for the taking and you know it. He’s past time to be broken in.”

“Boone, you should know…”

“You can both fuck yourselves!” Johnny yelled stepping forward. “I ain’t for sale to nobody for nothin’!”

Hutch swung around and punched Johnny squarely on the face sending the rebellious young man down to the hard cement floor. He glared down at him and pointed his finger at him. “Don’t interrupt me ever again when I’m talking!”

He turned back and looked at Boone. “I don’t barter what I don’t own, Boone. If you ever want my action, step up to the plate and see where it takes you.”

It was more of a deadly promise and Hutch knew what Boone knew. Boone was testing him to see where he stood. Hutch also knew Boone didn’t have what he needed to make the move on him at this point.

He felt the air slowly expel from his lungs when Boone turned and carefully walked away. Hutch reached for another cigarette and glanced over at Johnny who was pushing himself to his feet. “What the hell was that for?”

“What I told you it was for.” Hutch changed his mind about the cigarette and put it back in his shirt pocket.

Johnny was to his feet and the furious look was written all over his face. “You two were talkin’ about me like I was a fuckin’ piece of meat!”

“Boone was talking to me, Torino. Not you.”

“It was about me!”

“But not at you. Remember that. You pick and choose your fights. If someone is talking about you, let them talk. They’ll do it whether you like it or not. When it’s directed at you, then you interpret their actions and their words. If you go off every time someone says something you don’t like, you’ll be put six feet under by a low level junkie you don’t even know.”

“I’m still tryin’ to figure out when I do fight.”

“Exactly. Come on. It’s time to hit the books. Your test is still over a month away and there’s a lot of ground to cover.”

Johnny shook his head still not fully understanding. Hutch followed him out of the laundry room. Johnny was learning even though he didn’t see it that way and he was in a rush to take it all in at once. He was more action and there were times Hutch could see Starsky in him during their best of times. It was becoming addicting for him, but he also enjoyed seeing Johnny’s eagerness for learning. Hutch liked what he was doing in taking Johnny under his wing. He knew if he taught Johnny the right things, he would survive and possibly even thrive in this hellhole rather than let it drag him down to hell.

Hutch had been at the cantina when he got word about Johnny. He dropped what he was doing and broke into a run. He sprinted past inmates and guards alike not caring what they thought or did.

When he arrived at the laundry room, he stopped long enough to flip a table over. Linens went flying and Hutch violently kicked at a leg which gave easily. He gave it a hard yank and pulled the leg from the table. Hutch headed to the back and he could hear the loud noises not far from him.

He broke through the crowd and what he saw brought his blood boiling. Johnny was face first and spread eagled on a table with Boone directly behind him. Three of Boone’s helpers were holding him down. The innocent convict was on the verge of being gang raped.

Hutch held the table leg like a baseball bat and surged forward. He hit the first one he came to directly on the back taking him down on his knees. Hutch was a wild man as he swung at the remainder holding Johnny down. The lethal violence was in his eyes and in the ferocious attack on Johnny’s attackers. He wasn’t seeing Johnny. He was seeing Starsky. The image was clear in his mind as Hutch attacked without prejudice.

He saw Boone coming after him, and Hutch swung the table leg at his knee bringing the man down to his knees. Hutch got in behind him and brought the table leg up to Boone’s neck. He jerked it cruelly against Boone’s neck and moved his head down to give the message. “You go near him again, you piece of inhuman shit, and I swear you will be buried with a Columbian necktie!”

Hutch shoved Boone down to the hard cement and stood up. He looked around at the gathering crowd of convicts. He walked over to Johnny and grabbed him by the shirt helping him to his feet. Hutch pushed him ahead of him. He dropped the table leg to the floor and followed Johnny.

When they arrived at their cell block, Hutch turned on Johnny. “Get to your cell and stay there till I send for you.”

Johnny started to argue and when he saw the heated look in Hutch’s eyes, he closed his mouth. After he was on his way, Hutch headed to his cell. He knelt down and pulled the small crate out from underneath the bottom bunk. Hutch looked up at Malcolm who stood in the doorway. “Have you totally lost your mind, Champ?”

Hutch began sorting through his stash and pulled out several items. “Is Stanley still for sale?”

Malcolm sighed knowing what Hutch was going to do. “Yeah, although if he hears this latest news before you approach him, it could drive the price up.”

“It’ll cost me a hell of a lot.” Hutch sorted through the cartons of smokes and some marijuana he kept for occasions when bribery was needed. “If you do it, it might keep the asking price somewhat reasonable.”

“Champ, you do know what you did, didn’t you?”

Hutch stood up and glanced over at Malcolm. “Will you do it?”

“By making the move you did, you not only put yourself at risk, you put that kid in serious jeopardy.”

“Don’t you think I know that, Malcolm? I made the move and now I’ve got to back it up. You know it as well as I do.”

“I also know if you walk away right now, you’ll come out of this more than likely without a scratch.”

Hutch pulled a cigarette out and lit it. “It’ll be throwing him to the wolves and there is no way in hell I’ll do that. I’ve got a choice this time.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Hutch shook his head and ran his hand through his blonde hair. “Nothing.”

“I seem to remember a certain cop damn near running me over after a visit with you some time ago, Champ. Would he have anything to do with this?”

Hutch’s eyes glittered with rage at Malcolm. “Back off, Malcolm.”

Malcolm sighed and looked down at Hutch’s large stash on the cot. “Fine, Champ. Have it your way. I’ll take care of it. The kid can move in an hour.”

Hutch grabbed an empty pillow case off his bunk and put the items he had sorted separately inside. He handed it over to Malcolm who quickly left. Hutch sat down on the edge of the bottom bunk. He had showed weakness with his actions and he knew the entire situation had grown tenuous at best. Hutch began second guessing the decision leaving Boone still capable of making a move on him.

An hour later, Johnny showed up with his meager belongings and tossed them on the bottom bunk. He turned on Hutch who stood in the corner of the small cell taking a leak into the dirty toilet. “I want to know why, Champ.” Johnny demanded. “You got me moved in here and now it’ll look like you’re doin’ me to every con on this entire block.”

Hutch was silent as he finished and zipped his jeans up. He turned around and washed his hands not speaking to Johnny. Hutch was precise in his movement as he dried his hands and then grabbed a cigarette. After lighting it, he studied Johnny for a few minutes before speaking. “I had a choice and I made one, Torino. Either I could have just looked the other way and let Boone and his peaches take their turns with you or I could have done what I did wind up doing. You’ll survive in this place longer by letting the cons think I am doing you.”

Johnny was thoughtful which Hutch was finally glad to see. “By doing what you did, it made you look weak, didn’t it?”

“Boone’s been looking for a way to get at me for a while and he may have just found it. He took a calculated risk by coming after you not knowing how I would react to it.”

Johnny sat down on the edge of the bottom bunk contemplating the new change in circumstances. “So what happens when you get out? I’ll be here for a long time.”

Hutch took a long drag from the smoke and slowly blew the smoke out. “Hopefully, buy that time, you’ll be on your own and more than capable of handling yourself. You know as well as I do, you’re not ready to deal with Boone on your own right now.”

“Yeah.” Johnny looked up at Hutch with a flash of resentment in his eyes. “I still don’t like them thinkin’ you’re doin’ me.”

“Get used to it, Torino. It won’t be changing anytime soon.” Hutch grabbed a book from the small desk and climbed to the top bunk. “Put your things away. Your test is still a week away and you still have some work ahead of you before your ready.”

Hutch opened up the book and listened to Johnny’s movements. He listened attentively as Johnny started talking to himself aloud. “Get used to it, Torino. You’re moving in here, Torino. Start studying, Torino. You know, I’m getting’ real sick of being treated like a little kid, Champ. Always telling me what to do and how to do it.” Hutch could hear Johnny making his bed and after a few seconds of silence, the youthful convict spoke again. “You know, I heard one of the guys talkin’ that we might get a couple of video games in the dayroom. I heard there was this one game called Pac Man. I heard it’s a great game and I’d love to check that out.”

As Hutch listened to Johnny talk about the new game, a warm feeling filled his chest. Not only was he now understanding how this climate worked in all it’s nuances, Hutch for a moment felt like he was in the same room with Starsky. He allowed a smile to escape knowing no one would see it.

The night before the big test, Hutch could hear Johnny tossing and turning in his bunk. He knew the kid was nervous about it and he had rambled on about it endlessly. The truth be told, Hutch was nervous as well. He wanted it probably more so than Johnny.

“Champ?”

Hutch looked up into the darkness. “Yeah.”

“I heard you used to be a cop.”

“That was a long time ago.”

Hutch heard some shifting in the bunk below him knowing more questions were sure to come.

“How’d you wind up in here?”

Hutch hadn’t expected the question. He hadn’t thought about the reasons or the how in a very long time. He intentionally didn’t allow his mind to wander to it or even consider it. “I don’t know.”

He hoped it was the end of the questions. Any more and he knew he would have to think about all of it.

“Champ, were you a good cop?”

Hutch rolled to his side and closed his eyes. “Hutch was a good cop. That’s over now.”

“Champ…”

“Go to sleep, Torino. You’ve got a big day tomorrow.”

Hutch didn’t think he would go to sleep after the last question, but he drifted off. The night was filled with dreams. It was dreams of the past which Hutch enjoyed and had missed desperately. He dreamed of the wonderful times he and Starsky had shared over the years. It was pleasant and beautiful.

If anyone had asked Starsky how long it had been since the last time he had laid eyes on Hutch, he would say he didn’t know. There was no reason to keep track. Internally, Starsky knew how long it had been. It was now 5 months and 16 days. Hutch had a little over 18 months left on his sentence.

It was easy for Starsky to track the days since he had last seen Hutch. It was the day he intentionally and purposely cut Hutch out of his life. It was the day he swore it didn’t matter any more and it was also the day he decided he would put all of it in the past never allowing himself to look back.

When Starsky walked into his apartment, he heard movements back in his bedroom. He slipped off his jacket and set it on back of the chair. As Starsky removed the holster with its gun in place, he headed back to the bedroom. He was holding the holster in his hand when he stopped in the doorway.

A suitcase was lying open on the bed and Melinda had the closet almost emptied of her things. “What’s going on?”

“I wanted to be packed before you got here.”

Starsky set the holster down on the dresser and walked up to the bed. “You were just going to leave and not even talk to me about it?”

“No, I didn’t want to give you a chance to talk me out of it.”

Starsky was flabbergasted and he watched as she pulled several things from the closet and folded them putting the items into the suitcase. “I don’t understand, Mel. Why are you leaving?”

She stopped what she was doing and looked into his dark blue eyes. “Dave, it’s not going to work out between us. I had thought my moving in here would change things.”

“Why don’t you start there? Apparently you must have thought there was a problem then that you didn’t bother discussing with me.”

Melinda sighed and picked up a shirt off the bed. “Dave, I want something from you. I realized not long ago that you could never give it to me.”

“Will you quit talking in riddles and lay it out for me?” Starsky was starting to feel his patience leave him as he watched her put the clothes in the suitcase.

“I guess I’m selfish, Dave. Where you’re concerned, I’m greedy. I love you so much and I know you can’t love me the way I want you to.”

“Well, you certainly cleared that up.” Starsky folded his arms and gave Melinda an expectant look hoping she would tell him the problem.

Melinda walked over to Starsky and ran her fingers on the side of his face. “I want to be first in your life, Dave. I want to be the one you think of when you wake up in the morning and I want you to be so eager to come home just because I’m here.”

Starsky grabbed her hand and held it tightly. “Mel, I love you.”

“I know you do, Dave. But you don’t love me enough and I don’t think you ever will. There’s a part of you, you have locked away from the entire world and it’s such an integral part of who you are that I’ll never really know.”

Starsky smiled sadly. “You’re not making a lot of sense.”

“Who is Hutch?”

Starsky’s heart stopped at the simple question and he pursed his lips briefly. “How did you hear about him?”

“I found out his name. He’s the man with you in those photographs, Dave. I asked other people and I get the same answer every time. Ask you.”

“He’s a part of my past, Mel.”

Melinda pulled her hand away and walked back to her suitcase. “You may think he is, but I don’t. You’ve kept him locked away from me and yourself since I’ve known you.”

“This shouldn’t matter. We’re supposed to be building a life together.”

“We can’t until you let this go.”

“I did,” Starsky answered raising his voice. “I let it go over five months ago before you and I even met.”

“No, you didn’t. You’ve just done a hell of a job of keeping it to yourself. Maybe you did it to fool yourself. I don’t know.” Melinda closed the suitcase snapping it shut. “All I know is that I’m not first in your life and I honestly don’t believe I ever will be.”

“You know my job…”

“This isn’t about your damn job or Dom. I know how important they are to you. I can’t compete with a ghost or where ever this man is. He’s got that part of you that no one will ever have and I honestly don’t believe you want anyone else to have it either.” Melinda picked up her suitcase and walked into the living room. She set it down near a smaller bag Starsky hadn’t seen before.

Starsky watched her slip her jacket on and put her purse on her shoulder. “I’ll come back for the rest of my things later.”

He stood there watching her and suddenly Starsky realized he didn’t want to fight her on this. Starsky had a million other arguments ready and lined up in his head which he knew would probably convince her to stay. He was letting her go and he wasn’t going to stop her.

Starsky watched Melinda open the door. She picked up her suitcase and the smaller bag. Melinda looked at him and gave him a sad smile. She turned and walked through the door and out of Starsky’s life.

He stood there for a moment and walked to the door closing it firmly behind her. Starsky took his time walking to the couch. He sat down on it feeling the apartment grow bigger and feeling emptier with each passing second. He grabbed a pillow and laid down pulling his knees close. Starsky closed his eyes but sleep refused to come.

Hutch didn’t question who was coming to see him or why. He wore the shackles as if they were a part of his every day routine. His mind was on Johnny’s test results which were due in any day. It had been over three weeks since he had taken the test. Hutch was anxious to know the results.

The door was opened in front of him and Hutch stepped through it. He stopped at the sight of Dom wondering why the man was even back. Hutch remained silent as the shackles were removed. He looked over at Dom who was pulling a chair out.

“Would you sit with me?”

Hutch watched him make himself comfortable and took his time walking over to the other side of the table. He sat down and pulled his cigarettes out. Hutch lit one and set the pack on the table. He took a drag and blew the smoke out of the corner of his mouth. “I’d say this was a pleasant surprise Detective Dominguez, but it’s not.”

“Call me Dom. Most everyone does.”

Hutch took another drag from the smoke and looked at Dom out of the corner of his eye. “Why don’t you tell me why you wanted to see me, Detective Dominguez?”

The emphasis on the last name hung in the air between them and Dom looked uncomfortably down at his hands. “I came to talk to you about Starsky.”

Hutch’s fingers tightened a bit on the cigarette and he forced himself to sit stiffly in the chair. “Are you here to tell me he’s dead?”

“I need your help.”

Hutch brought his gaze up sharply looking at Dom. He brought the cigarette to his lips and waited. If Starsky was dead, the young detective would have said so. He felt relieved at the thought.

“About six months ago, I introduced Dave to a young woman and they hit it off pretty good. She moved in with him not long afterwards. Here about a month ago, she left him. I’m not sure why, he won’t tell me.”

“Is there a point to this?” Hutch’s voice was sharp and firm.

“Ever since she left, he’s been closed off. No one can get to him. He just goes through the motions of the job. He goes home and broods. I’d almost say he was like he was when I first met him.” Dom looked down at the table remembering how Starsky was at that time. He looked back up at Hutch. “But it’s different. It’s like he doesn’t care about anything or anyone anymore. I’m worried he’ll take this out on the street at some point and it’ll get him killed.”

Hutch nursed the cigarette visualizing the images. He didn’t want to look at the reasons behind Starsky’s change in behavior. All that crossed his mind was that Starsky must have loved this woman very much. He wished she was here so he could retaliate for hurting Starsky.

“I don’t know what else to do. You know him better than anyone else and I thought maybe you could help me.”

Hutch finished the cigarette off and slowly stabbed it into the small metal ashtray on the table. “If I do this, you are never to come back here again. I don’t want to see you after this.”

“About what happened last time…?”

“Do you understand me, Detective Dominguez?”

Dom nodded realizing Hutch didn’t want to discuss it. Hutch leaned forward a bit and began telling Dom the one sure way he knew would reach Starsky. He left nothing out in the words or the actions Dom would need to take. Hutch explained to Dom he needed to do this exactly as he told him or any chance of reaching Starsky would be lost.

Johnny’s test results arrived in the late afternoon much to everyone’s surprise. Hutch was thankful for the distraction from Dom’s troubling visit over Starsky. He needed something else to keep him focused.

He played with the envelope in his hand fidgeting nervously. “What if I failed? I mean there was a lot of stuff I didn’t know.”

Hutch took a drag from his cigarette and stuck a free hand in his pocket. “You’ll take it again. It won’t be over if you failed. It just means you need to try harder.”

“Well, I don’t know if I want to take it again.”

Malcolm smiled a bit. “We’re not getting any younger here, kid. Open it up and see.”

Johnny looked expectantly at Hutch who hadn’t budged an inch or gave an expression of even hopefulness. He stared back down at the envelope and flipped it over. He nervously tore it open and pulled out the letter. Johnny reluctantly opened it up and slowly read the letter. His eyebrows rose up and his eyes widened. “I don’t believe it. I passed.”

“Hey, that’s great.” Malcolm smiled and folded his arms.

“I got an 86. I guess that’s good.” Johnny looked over at Hutch who hadn’t spoken. “I actually made it. I got a high school diploma.”

“So what now?” Hutch looked over at Johnny holding the cigarette between his fingers.

“I guess when somebody does high school they go to college.” Johnny shrugged his shoulders unsure of himself.

“You could be a hell of a jailhouse lawyer, kid,” Malcolm replied.

Johnny looked over at Hutch expecting something from him, but he wasn’t sure what. Hutch finished off his cigarette and dropped it in the coffee can. “There are courses offered through the prison library. They’re tough, but with enough work and effort on your part, you could take a few.”

Johnny’s exhilaration dropped seeing the lack of enthusiasm on Hutch’s face. “I suppose I could check them out.”

An inmate stuck his head inside the cell and looked over at Hutch. “Champ, the generator’s going kaput and Charlie’s about ready to tear into it again.”

Hutch sighed and grabbed his cigarettes from the small desk. “I’d better get down there before he does. He couldn’t tell the difference between a wrench and a screwdriver. I’ll meet you both in the yard.”

Hutch left Malcolm and Johnny alone in the cell. Johnny stared at the cell door Hutch had just exited and looked over at Malcolm. “I don’t get him. I would’ve thought he’d be happy for me.”

“Are you kidding? He was doing back flips.”

“Wouldn’t know the way he acts,” Johnny mumbled still looking down at his letter.

“Did it ever occur to you, kid that Champ’s not doing this just for his health? Look at everything he’s ever done for you since you set foot in this place. Face it, kid. He’s the best friend you got or ever will have in your life.” Malcolm walked over to the opening of the cell and looked back at Johnny. “I’ll meet you down in the yard. I expect you to win that game today.”

Johnny nodded and stared down at the letter in his hand. He smiled feeling proud of himself. It was the only thing he had ever completed in his life. He would never have made it if it weren’t for Champ.

He stood up to leave and stopped short at Boone making an appearance in the opening of the cell. His large frame filled the doorway and Johnny backed up feeling his heart fill with dread.

An hour later, Hutch headed back to his cell needing to change his shirt. He had spent most of that time getting the generator back up and running. He had to admit he was thrilled seeing Johnny getting his diploma. It was giving him more confidence and Hutch was beginning to feel comfortable about leaving him here when he was released from prison.

Most of the inmates had already left for their time out in the yard and the cell block was strangely quiet. There had been times Hutch had forfeited his time outside just to get a few moments of peace and privacy which was highly valued.

He was almost to his cell and saw a shadow on the floor from the small light inside. Hutch slowed down staring down at it. He brought his head up from the floor to the bars and saw what the shadow was telling him. His heartbeat and his breath stopped.

Johnny hung inside the bars with his feet dangling a foot from the floor. Hutch rushed in grabbing his body and pulling him up. He could feel the coldness seeping from Johnny’s body through his clothes, but wouldn’t accept the horrific truth. Hutch yelled loudly taking notice of the thick wire biting into Johnny’s neck.

Two guards showed up and frantically got the wire removed. Hutch lowered Johnny’s body to the floor and the guards knelt down next to him. His breaths came in short gasps scarcely believing it when he heard the simple statement. “He’s dead, Champ.”

Hutch brought himself upright feeling the rage of emotions flowing through him like a wild river. He wanted to scream and cry. Instead, Hutch turned and marched out of the cell as a man on a mission. With every step he took, the fury seemed to double within him. With every step, the despair was replaced with an animalistic need for revenge.

He threw the door open and scanned the yard. Hutch’s vision leveled on Boone who was near the weights. Hutch took the steps down and as soon as his foot hit the hard ground, he broke into a deadly sprint aimed directly at Boone.

Hutch’s speed was noticed by many, but before anyone could give warning to Boone, he drove the murderer’s body down to the ground. Hutch ruthlessly hit him with his fist several times. He yanked him to his feet and flung him towards the bench press. Boone crashed into it knocking it over and several weights fell to the ground.

He was relentless. Hutch picked up Boone by the shirt and kicked him several times in the ribs with his foot feeling the rage take over. Boone collapsed to the ground when Hutch let him go. Hutch kicked him to his back and knelt down. He grabbed a dumbbell and raised it up. Hutch was ready to drive the heavy object into Boone’s head.

Just when he was ready to bring it down, he felt a firm warm grasp on his wrist. Hutch turned his head and his eyes widened. Starsky stood there holding his wrist to keep Hutch from murdering a man. The understanding and warmth was in his eyes. Hutch blinked his eyes and the image disappeared.

He took a breath and looked back down at the unconscious Boone. Suddenly Hutch felt like his old self. He stared intently at the man who had killed someone Hutch had deeply cared about. For a brief moment, he was the man he was before this whole nightmare had begun. Hutch licked his dry lips and let his hand fall to his side. The dumbbell slipped from his fingers and rolled away.

Hutch pushed himself to his feet and staggered back. He looked around at the convicts watching him. Hutch’s passing gaze locked with Malcolm’s briefly. He then moved away from Boone and pushed his way through the crowd. Hutch didn’t look back as he headed back inside the prison.

Starsky was sitting on the couch nursing a beer bottle when Dom walked inside. He slipped his jacket off and laid it on the back of a nearby chair. Dom walked around the couch to a chair and sat down across from Starsky. “It’s usually customary to knock, Dom.”

“I wasn’t sure if you’d answer. You did give me a key to your place.”

Starsky lifted the bottle to his lips and felt the cool liquid trailing down his throat. He brought the bottle down and swung his eyes to Dom. “Listen, I know you want to give me a nice pick me up speech, but not tonight. I’m just not in the mood for it.”

“Dave, if you’ll just listen for a sec.”

Starsky stood up and walked away from Dom while he was in mid sentence. Dom quickly stood and followed Starsky into the kitchen. Starsky was at the fridge opening the door and Dom came up behind him. He closed the door not allowing Starsky access to another beer. “I’m telling you to back off, Dom.”

Dom knew this was his chance and Hutch’s words echoed in his ears. He grabbed Starsky by the arm and pulled him around. “I want you to listen to me, Dave, and I’m not leaving till you do.”

Starsky started to walk away and Dom blocked his way. He put his hands on Starsky’s face and forced him to look into his eyes. “You are a top rated cop who got kicked in the gut more times than anyone should ever get. You’ve gotten to the point you don’t care about anything or anyone. You’ve got to pick yourself back up not only for you, but for the people who care about you. If you don’t, what’s eating away at you will go out on the street with you and that scares the hell out of me, Starsky.”

Dom wasn’t sure if it worked when he looked into Starsky’s eyes. Suddenly Starsky’s eyes grew wide and he violently flung Dom back away from him. Starsky practically ran from the kitchen knocking a chair over in the process. Dom didn’t expect this reaction from Starsky and he had no idea what had just happened.

He walked out of the kitchen and found Starsky back in his bedroom pacing back and forth. Starsky looked up at Dom in the doorway. He reached over and grabbed Dom by the shirt and threw him against the wall. Starsky’s eyes glittered with rage as he held Dom tightly. “Who told you to say that?

“What?”

“What you did, Dom! Who told you to do that?”

Dom realized that he had reached Starsky. He just didn’t count on this reaction from him. “Hutch told you, didn’t he?” Starsky gripped Dom’s shirt tighter and leaned in closer. “Answer me!”

“I went and saw him today,” Dom whispered. “Jesus, Dave. I didn’t know what else to do.”

Starsky slowly released Dom and sat down on the bed. He rubbed his eyes and looked up at Dom. “He told you what to say and what to do.”

“Yeah, I wasn’t sure if he would do it or not.”

Starsky swallowed the hard lump in his throat and wondered how Hutch looked. It was on the tip of his tongue to ask Dom, but he was scared to know. It had been months since Starsky laid eyes on him and their confrontation still weighed heavily on his mind. “I don’t get it. Why would he do it? He didn’t give a damn one way or the other the last time…”

Dom took the moment and stepped forward. “You have to know the truth, Dave.”

Starsky raised his head. “The truth about what?”

Dom looked away from Starsky trying to figure out how he was going to say the words. “I paid a visit to Hutch right before we went on that long assignment for the feds.”

Starsky stood slowly the glowing anger coming back into his eyes. “You what?”

“I told him to let you go.”

Starsky lost it right there. He grabbed Dom and flung him up against the wall knocking the wind from the young detective’s lungs. He had his fist raised and Dom caught his wrist with his hand. “At least give me a chance to explain before you kick my ass.” Dom was breathing hard barely able to catch his breath. “You were so intent on proving his innocence and by doing so you thought everything would be back to the way it was before, Dave.”

“I know that,” Starsky bit out through gritted teeth.

“What you don’t know is he said you wouldn’t let him go. We both knew the longer you held on like that the worse it would hurt the more time passed. Dave, I don’t know what Hutch did to push you away and he must’ve really done the job.” Dom saw something in Starsky’s eyes and he kept on. “Don’t you see, Dave? It was an act. Whatever it was he did to you, it was all a show so you would leave and go back to your life.”

Starsky slowly lowered his fist and released Dom. He stepped back breathing hard and suddenly it all came back to him. He remembered the talk they had when Hutch was trying to explain to Starsky about going on with his life. It all made sense. Everything was falling into place.

“He had to have somehow found out you were coming, Dave. Given what kind of place he’s in, he’s probably learned enough to get inside information about his visitors.”

Starsky turned around still trying to get his bearings. He swung back around and looked at Dom. “I had to go through Dobey to get that visit with Hutch. How did you get in there?”

“I’ve got a friend who works in the clerk’s office. He’ll schedule