Title: Choices
Author: hardboiledbaby
Fandom: Starsky and Hutch
Pairing/Characters: Bates, Gunther
Rating: PG
Length: 100 words
Content notes: none
Author notes: Written for the fan_flashworks "Do-Over" challenge. Crossposting to me_and_thee_100 after the round closes.
Summary: A Sweet Revenge drabble, based on this exchange between James Gunther and his assistant Bates:

Gunther: Did it ever occur to you, Bates, that eventually life doesn't provide an alternative?
Bates: There's always an alternative, sir. We can always make a choice.

---

James Gunther once offered me everything I ever dreamed of: money, power, influence. I took his offer, but the reality was never as good as the dream. Bad choice.

Now his empire—the one I helped build—is falling apart. The old man is getting more erratic by the hour. That damned cop Hutchinson is going to ruin us all.

It's time to cut my losses and make a fresh start, far away from this madman who doesn't realize the game is over. Maybe he doesn't have an alternative, but I do. A better choice, this time.

"Your coffee, Bates."

---

[For any who are unfamiliar with the canon: Bates doesn't get his do-over. Gunther poisons his coffee.]