Chapter 4 ~ The Discovery Of Oz The Terrible

"You want to do what?"

"Change tactics, Captain. What if we're really a threat?" Starsky put his feet up on Captain Dobey's desk. "What if we start doin' more than nibbling at his territory?"

"What if you get your feet off my desk?" Dobey growled.

"Captain, we know he recruits the kids coming into the city – runaways mostly." Hutch sipped a cup of coffee. They'd had little sleep in the past few nights and he needed a jolt. "He offers them a place to stay, a friendly shoulder, and then he works them into his business."

"Is there a point here?"

"The point is, what if we start getting these kids first?" Reaching out, Starsky snagged Hutch's cup and took a drink. "No sugar?"

"I don't like sugar in my coffee."

"Let's say I agree to this." Dobey rubbed his hands together thoughtfully. "You get these kids – then what do we do with them?"

"Ah..." Starsky looked to his partner. He hadn't thought it through to that part.

"We'll get them to Juvie and they can send the kids home."  Hutch took his cup back.

"What if they can't go home?"

Starsky and Hutch turned to look at Summers. "You can always go home." Starsky said.

"No." Summers looked down at his hands as if they held great interest to him. "Sometimes it’s worse at home."

"For a lot of these kids, working the street is no different than what they've had to do at home." Anne had seen too many runaways who were better off locked up in Juvie than they were at home. "Only this way they get paid for it – and they get to choose who touches them."

"Oh."

Hutch looked at Starsky's wide eyes. His streetwise partner could be incredibly naive at times. "We'll figure something out."

"You've got my okay on this. But – " Dobey tapped the desktop. "As far as I know, all the kids are to go to Juvenile Hall.

"But Captain – "

"No buts, Starsky! As far as I know – do you understand?"

Hutch put a hand on his partner's arm. "We got it, Captain. As far as you know – all the runaways we pick up will have gone right to Juvie."

"Exactly." Dobey could only bend the rules so far. But what he didn't know, he didn't have to worry about.

"Thanks, Captain." Hutch got up.

"What about Dorothy?" Starsky stopped with his hand on the doorknob.

"Dorothy?" Captain Dobey looked puzzled. "Is that one of your girlfriends?"

Hutch laughed. "Dorothy is the name we gave to the girl we found."

"You know – yellow brick road, Emerald City?" The sapphire eyes were sad. "Dorothy just wants to go home, remember?"

"She's still in a coma." Dobey said softly.

"Keep an eye on her for us, would you, Captain?" Starsky opened the door. "I'd kinda like a happy ending."

"Thanks, Captain." Patting his partner on the shoulder, Hutch followed him out the door.

After they left Dobey's office, Anne stopped Hutch. "So what do we do with them? The ones who can't go home?"

"Let me call someone." Hutch dug in his pockets for change.

"Huggy?" Starsky held up a dime.

"If anybody can help." He took the change from Starsky. "He can."

"Yeah, I know a place." Huggy stuck an order ticket on the rack and turned it to where the cook could see it.

"Some place where they'll be safe? Where they won't end up working the streets?"

"Safe as in their – well, safe anyway."  Frowning at the slip, Huggy moved to the far end of the bar. "I got a friend – we grew up in the old neighborhood together – she runs a shelter for kids."

"A shelter?" That didn't sound promising. "Like the one on Tenth Street?"

"No man, not that kind. She don't kick 'em out when the sun comes up. They go to school and get jobs. They get off the streets."

"That's what we need." Hutch gave the others a thumbs up. "I don't want to have to bust these kids a year from now."

"Hey, they don't all stick to the straight and narrow." Huggy told him. "But enough do to make it worthwhile."

"Some days that's what keeps us going."

"I hate to be crass and crude, but money is always tight with all those mouths to feed."

"We'll see what we can do, Huggy, and thanks." Hanging up the phone, Hutch turned to the others. Starsky had wandered off to get a candy bar from the machine down the hall, but the others had waited. "Huggy says there's a shelter for runaways. The woman who runs it gets them to school and gets them jobs."

"East Hills?" Anne asked.

"I didn't ask, actually." If Huggy said the place was cool, that was all he needed to know.

"I'll bet it is." She smiled. "The city is trying to shut her down. Unofficially, however, we try to get the kids to her that we know would be worse off back home."

"Everything copasetic?" Starsky peeled the wrapper open and took a bite of his candy bar as he walked back to the group.

"Huggy’s going to help."

"The Bear always comes through." Starsky slipped an arm around Julie's waist. "What say we go to my place for a quick breakfast?"

"We'll meet back here at noon and head back to the hotel." Hutch stretched until his bones creaked. "If we're gone too long, our cover of a private party will wear thin."

"Noon. Gotcha." He waved over his shoulder as he steered Julie out the door.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do." Watching the doors close, Hutch sighed. "It’s been so long since I've done anything I can't remember what I would do."

The bus station proved easy pickings. Both Starsky and Hutch knew what to look for: kids with the look of hopelessness and desperation. Kids looking for someone to connect with.

Starsky's boyishness made him irresistible to most of the young girls they talked to, while Hutch's old fashioned gallantry made them feel comfortable enough to leave the bus station with them. It was frightening to the both of them at how easy it was to snare the vulnerable kids.

At the hotel, Huggy had hot food and a sympathetic ear. Anne sat and talked with them about what living on the street would really mean, showing them surveillance photos and a picture of the girl in the hospital.

Most of the girls agreed to go to Juvenile Hall and go back home, but there were some that Huggy took downtown to his friend's shelter.

"This ought to rattle Marroquin’s cage."

"Let's hope it rattles it enough he falls out." Starsky stretched out on Hutch's bed. Julie was asleep in his bed, and he'd walked through their 'suite' to talk with his partner.

"Do you mind?" He jerked his pillow out from under Starsky's head. "Bad enough you keep me awake half the night with all the noise you two make –  "

"Hey, she's noisy – "

"Yeah, yeah, and you're not."  Hutch sat up and leaned against the headboard. "You think Marroquin will make a personal appearance?"

"I'm hopin' – " A yawn interrupted him. "Hopin' he does."

"I think we need to keep the girls close. Forget the whole pimp show we've been running." They had to have pissed the man off by refusing to pay protection money and sending his boys back with their tails tucked between their legs. Now they were cutting hard into his action. "It's going to get hot."

"Mmm hmm... gotta keep a sharp eye."

"What would I do?" Hutch mused. "Upstarts move in and they won't pay to play. They rough my boys up. Then they start stealing my ponies. Send more boys in? Or go myself? Got to keep the respect factor up or my own boys will turn on me. What do you think, Starsk? Sound about right? Starsk?"

Not getting an answer, he looked down to see that Starsky was asleep. Smiling, Hutch pulled the bedspread up over him. "Some help you are."

"It sounded good to me." Julie said from the doorway. “Marroquin’s got to be pretty worked up by now.”

"That's what worries me." He laid a hand on Starsky's shoulder to shake him awake.

"Let him sleep." She smiled. “He’s so cute when he’s asleep.”

Starsky was such a bundle of energy, always in motion, that curled up and sleeping so quietly, he reminded Hutch of a puppy who’d played himself out. "I want you and the other girls to start carrying your weapons."

"Hard to fit a gun in one of those little outfits." She pulled her robe up to mid thigh to demonstrate. "Not too many places to hide a holster."

"I once hid mine in a leopard skin muff." He chuckled. "Of course, I couldn't get it out to use it."

"You could have shot through it, though I suppose that would have ruined it."

"Exactly." Rubbing his hand on Starsky's shoulder, he looked down at his sleeping partner. "You want me to wake him up?"

"No, you keep him tonight. He hogs the covers." She turned and walked back to Starsky's room.

"Don't I know it."

"Watch it!"

Hutch ducked as a punch was thrown his way. "Get him!"

Starsky jumped on the man's back. "Hit him!"

"Hold him still!" He cocked his fist and waited until he had a clear shot. Starsky pulled the guy's head back and Hutch unloaded a punch to the chin.

"What took you so long?" Starsky dropped off the falling body.

"Me? Why didn't you hit him?" His knuckles ached. The goon had a chin like concrete.

"You're running the show." Panting, Starsky leaned on his partner and watched as Ayala and Summers cleaned up the other two goons who'd jumped them. "I'm just here to look pretty."

"What do you want us to do with them?" Ayala had his guy pinned to the sidewalk with a knee in his back.

"Send them home." Hutch grinned. "Everybody wants to go home, right?"

Popping the Lincoln’s trunk open, Starsky motioned for Ayala and Summers to put Marroquin men inside. "We'll send them home to the wizard with a message."

"The Wizard was the good guy, Starsky." Hutch picked up his hat from the sidewalk and brushed it off. "Marroquin would have to be the Wicked Witch."

"Yeah, but she was a woman."

"Don't judge a man until you've walked a mile in his high heels."

After the men were locked in the trunk, Starsky and Hutch climbed into the back of the Lincoln while Ayala and Summers took the front.

Marroquin’s headquarters was in a hotel just a few miles from their own base of operations. Taking his men there and dropping them off would need to be handled quickly.

"I'll get them out of the trunk." Summers told them. "Ay, you stay put and keep the engine going. You two cover me – stay in the car."

Starsky nodded, taking the loaded shotgun Summers handed over the seat. This was exactly the type of operation the SWAT officer was trained for, and he wasn't going to question the plan.

Well, maybe not exactly this type of operation. He grinned at his partner.

"What?" Hutch pushed his hat back on his head, wondering how John Wayne had managed to keep his on in all those shootouts.

"Nothin', Tex." The car slowed and Starsky pumped a shotgun shell up into the chamber. "You ready?"

"I'm a ready Teddy." Hutch thumbed off the Magnum's safety. "Window."

"Roof." He looked to Summers in the front seat. "'Sallright?"

"'Sallright." The other man nodded. "Stay inside – don't open the door."

"Got it." Sitting on the window frame wouldn't be comfy but it was safer than getting out of the car.

"Show time, ladies." Summers opened the car door even before Ayala had brought the Lincoln to a sliding stop in front of Marroquin's headquarters.

Starsky slid up and out the open passenger side window, sitting on the window frame and leaning on the roof. The shotgun got the immediate respect of the two goons standing outside the hotel doorway.

"Hands where I can see them!" Hutch barked. Resting his elbows on the window frame, he trained the Magnum on the goon standing to the left of the doorway. "I've got left!"

"Here I thought I was the lefty." Starsky muttered even as he heard Ayala confirm he was covering the goon on the right. Not that he didn't trust Ayala completely, but he swung the shotgun slightly to the right. He knew Hutch's skill with a gun, but he could only assume the SWAT man was equally talented.

Summers had the trunk open quickly and yanked the men out, letting them fall to the pavement. He shoved them to the curb, not wanting them to get run over if Ayala had to back up unexpectedly. As Summers sprinted around the end of the car, three more men came out of the hotel.

"Stop right there, boys." Starsky warned. "I haven't bagged my limit today."

The men stopped but raised their guns.

"Drop 'em!" Hutch drew the hammer back slowly. "Where I come from, a man points a gun – means we can use him for target practice."

Their guns dropped to the pavement. One of the men stepped forward and Starsky recognized him from the surveillance photos as Marroquin’s right hand man. "Mr. Marroquin is through playing with you jokers. Go back to pimping and pay your cut – or get out."

"You tell your boss we're not going anywhere." Hutch tipped his hat as the car started to pull away. "And tell him not to send any more errand boys to do his dirty work."

"Where you come from?" Starsky dropped back into the seat next to Hutch as the Lincoln sped down the street. "You come from Minnesota."

"Minnesota was wild and untamed at one time."

"When? A hundred years ago?" Popping the cartridges out of the shotgun, he laid it on the seat between them.

"We have – there's wild animals."

"In Duluth?" Ignoring his partner's glare, Starsky turned to face him. "If it's any consolation, I think you did a good job back there. John Wayne woulda been proud."

"Really?" A smile lit up the baby blue eyes.

"Really. I mean, you had them quaking in their shoes." He patted Hutch's shoulder. "Of course, they don't know you're from Minnesota."

They were in a jubilant mood as they entered the hotel and went upstairs to their 'office'. Anne and Gloria were waiting, their guns within easy reach.

"How'd it go?" Anne stood up on tiptoe to kiss Summers.

"Pretty good." Starsky dropped onto the couch. "We dropped off the trash, they made some threats, we had snappy comebacks – I'd say we deserve high marks."

"If this doesn't get Marroquin to get personally involved –  " Hutch sat down on the other end of the sofa. "I don't know what will."

"Hey, where's Julie?" Starsky asked. The redhead wasn't at his side like she normally was.

"She went to get some take out." Gloria told Starsky. "She should be back any minute."

The phone rang, and Ayala answered it. After a moment, he turned and covered the receiver. "It's Marroquin."

"Well, well." Starsky held his hand out. "Let’s see what the man has to say."

"Tell him I said hi." Hutch scooted closer so he could hear.

"Hello there, how nice of you to call." Tipping the receiver away from his ear, Starsky waited for the typical gangster explosion on the other end.

"I'm going to give you another chance." The man said quietly. "You bring me the money you've stolen from me – on the way out of town – and you don't end up in the trash."

"Tell you what, Marroquin, you want our money, you come and get it. And no more sending your minions."

Minions? Hutch mouthed.

"If you want to deal with us, you better come do it yourself." Starsky winked at Hutch as he covered the phone's mouthpiece. "Minions. Didn't you ever watch Captain Proton when you were a kid?"

Hutch rolled his eyes. "Red Ryder."

There was a laugh from Marroquin. "No more talking, Swede. I've got your favorite little chickie, and I'm going to make an example of her. Nobody will turn a trick for you after I'm done with her."

It took a moment to register. Starsky took another look around the room. "Where's Julie?"

"Julie? Was that her name?" There was another laugh. "I’ll be sure and put her name in the title. It'll be a real hit with the S&M crowd."

"Marroquin – you hurt her –  " A click and the phone went dead.

"Where's Julie?" Starsky bolted up from the couch. "How long has she been gone?"

"About an hour I guess." Anne told him. "She left right before –  “

"Before those goons jumped us on the street." Hutch snapped his fingers. "They weren't here to rough us up – they were a diversion."

"So they could grab one of the girls." The sapphire eyes showed a hint of fear. "If he's got Julie – "

"We'll get her back, buddy." He put a hand on the back of Starsky's neck and pulled him close. "We'll get her back."

“Go left when we get inside.” Ayala said as he eased the window open. “Let us get into position before engaging.”

“Got it.” Hutch laid a hand on Starsky’s shoulder and found the muscles taut. “She’ll be okay, buddy.”

“Yeah.”

They’d made a return trip to the hotel that Marroquin used for his headquarters to find Marroquin was gone. A few choice words with the goons guarding the entrance gave them the address to the warehouse he used to film his skin flicks in.

The expertise of the two SWAT officers came into play in getting them onto the roof of the warehouse and in through a window. Moving quickly, they entered the window, with Starsky and Hutch splitting off to the left while Ayala and Summers went to the right.

Moving quickly, they made their way along a catwalk and down to a loft. Hutch paused, cocking his head to one side. “What was that?”

“What?” Starsky whispered back.

“That funny sound – “ He frowned. “Listen – there – a whap kind of sound.”

“Dunno.” Shrugging, he pushed the blonde toward the stairs. “Come on.”

They crept quietly down the stairs to another level, edging past lights and garish backdrops, until they could peer down to the ground level.

Hutch had to clamp an arm around his partner to keep him from bolting down the stairs. His free hand went over Starsky’s mouth, muffling the anguished moan, and he pulled him close, resting his cheek against the dark curls. “Shh…”

Below them, Julie’s arms were pulled up over her head, her wrists chained to a metal bar. Her ankles were chained to a similar metal bar that was bolted to the floor. She was naked, her body covered with welts and cuts, and blood had trickled down her legs to puddle on the floor. Her head lolled forward lifelessly.

The source of the odd sound became clear as a man wearing a leather costume and mask cocked his arm back, then snapped it forward. A long black whip snaked out and wrapped around Julie’s body. She jerked but didn’t make a sound.

“Damn it! Wake this bitch up!” He threw the whip down. “They’re not gonna pay if she’s not screaming!”

There were five men, not counting the two men who manned cameras, clearly filming the spectacle for Marroquin, and the man in leather.

“You good?” Hutch whispered. After Starsky’s nod, he let him go and led the way down the stairs. They stayed low, practically crawling, using the sides of the stairwell as cover.

“Where’s Ayala and Summers?” Starsky whispered.

Scanning the other stairway that came down from the upper level, Hutch spotted the other two men as they neared the bottom. “There. Give them a second.”

Ayala risked a glance over the top of the stairwell to catch Hutch’s eye. He motioned for a three count. Hutch nodded and tapped Starsky’s shoulder. “On three… two… one… go!”

“Freeze! Police!” Starsky burst out from the cover of the stairwell, firing a warning shot into the air.

“You’re under arrest!” Hutch dove to the side as Marroquin’s men turned and fired. Bullets gouged the floor beside him and he brought the Magnum to bear on the man closest to him.

The gun’s roar was echoed by the sharper bark of Starsky’s Berretta to his left. “Starsk!”

“I’m good!” He kicked the gun away from the man he’d shot.

“I’ve got one!” Ayala shouted over the crack of gunfire.

“Two!” Summers replied.

This wasn’t the procedure he and Hutch were used to, but Starsky quickly fell into the pattern. “I got three – Hutch?”

“Make it four! And – “ The fifth gunman was using a large rack of whips and things that Hutch didn’t want to identify for cover as he fired at Ayala’s position. The magnum roared again. “There’s five!”

The two cameramen were both on the floor, hands over their heads; clearly, this wasn’t in their job description. Ayala and Summers scooped up the fallen guns from the dead and wounded men before securing the cameramen.

Only the man in leather was still on his feet. He stepped behind Julie’s limp form and pulled her head back. “Back off or I’ll kill her!” He held a knife to her throat.

“Put it down!” Starsky moved toward him. “Just put it down – it’s over – “

“So you can shoot me?” Leather Face laughed, the sound muffled by the mask. “Drop your guns, and back off, pigs!”

“That’s not happening.” Hutch moved into a position alongside Starsky, close enough to show a united front but far enough to allow them to duck for cover in case Leather Face had a trick up his sleeve. “It’s too far gone for that. Drop it and we’ll take you in.”

“I should have known you were cops.” He sneered. “Too stupid to be players!”

“Drop it!” Moving a step closer, Starsky brought his gun into line with where Leather Face’s head was barely visible behind Julie’s. It would be a tight shot – too tight to risk.

“I’ll slit her throat!” He pressed the blade against her throat, starting a fresh rivulet of blood. “Back off!”

“Starsk – come on – “ Hutch lowered his gun. “Come on man, we could wait here for summer.”

“I’m not – “ He glanced at his partner, reading the message in the baby blue eyes. “Fine.” He let the Berretta dangle from his fingers. “Your move, Leather Face.”

“Now – put it on the floor!” Leather Face took a step toward Starsky. “Put it – “

The sharp report made both partners flinch. Leather Face staggered back and collapsed, the knife clattering to the floor. Summers stood up from where he’d knelt on the floor waiting for the shot.

“Julie!” Starsky holstered his gun and ran to her. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he lifted her up, trying to take the strain of her weight off her arms. “Get her down!”

“Keys! I need keys!” Hutch tugged at the cuffs on her wrists. “Where’s the damn keys?”

“In the drawer – by the bed!” One of the cameramen told him. “Just don’t shoot me, man! I only take the pictures – I ain’t into this shit!”

“Shut up!” Running to the flimsy night table next to the round bed, Hutch jerked the drawer open to find a set of keys. “You take pictures of women being beaten to death – I’d say that puts you in pretty deep!”

He unlocked the cuffs and helped lower Julie down to where Starsky could hold her comfortably before he knelt to unlock the cuffs around her ankles. “Get her to the bed.”

Carrying her to the bed, Starsky wrapped her in the garish orange bedspread. “Julie, baby, wake up.” He patted her face, looking up at Hutch helplessly when she didn’t respond. “Where the hell is the backup?”

“They’re on their way. Just hang on.” Gripping his partner’s shoulder for a moment, Hutch went back to the body on the floor. Pulling off the leather mask, he found Andrew Marroquin staring lifelessly up at him, the movie star looks marred by the bullet hole between his eyes.

Sirens could be heard wailing in the distance as he went back to where Starsky sat on the bed with Julie. “Sounds like the lollypop gang is on its way.”

“She’s alive – but she’s hurt pretty bad, Hutch.”

“She’ll be fine.” He tucked the bedspread tighter around her. Julie looked to be in bad shape, but there was no way he could betray the need in Starsky’s eyes for reassurance. “Anne called in an officer down – the paramedics will fix her right up.”

“What about Marroquin?”

“Ding dong, the witch is dead.”

“Guess that only leaves the wicked witch of the south.” A grin crooked the corner of his mouth.

“Starsky – “ He shook his head. “Remind me to buy you a map.”

The Tag