Chapter Six
The next morning, the FBI found
it's way to Hazzard. A Federal agent walked into the booking room,
taking no notice of the prisoner in the holding cell. "I'm here
to see Sheriff Coltrane," the agent announced to Enos.
Enos stood up from the booking desk and nodded. "Yes sir." He walked down from the holding area and over to Rosco's office door. He knocked and then opened the door, announcing to Rosco that there was someone there. After a moment, the deputy looked at the visitor and held the door open a little wider. "You can go on in."
"Thank you."
Rosco shook the man's hand.
"Glad your here...um...can I see your ID?" Although weary,
Rosco still had some of his guard up and he could take no chances.
This could very well be a very cleverly disguised axe man to break
Brian out of jail.
Rosco nodded. "Thanks."
He looked over the ID and wallet and was satisfied that this was the
real deal. He then gestured to one of the chairs in front of his desk.
"Have a seat, there's a lot I need to brief you on."
Agent
Mayson pulled up a chair. "Go on."
Rosco
explained the fairly obvious first. Brian's return to Hazzard, MaryAnne's
death at the hospital at the hands of Deuce, Brian's attempt to get
the Dukes and then his subsequent arrest. Rosco then laid out the ground
work of Luke's plan, reminding the agent that there was the possibility
that more hitmen were coming to Hazzard, which they were counting on
for their audience.
"If possible, I figure to let it look like they're gonna get clean away until you and your boys end up catching them just at the county line. As long as the Syndicate thinks the boys are dead, they won't care about Hazzard anymore. If me and my deputy were to nail these guys, the Syndicate would come to return the favor. I don't have the manpower or the resources to fight them. That's where you come in."
"Do I understand you correctly,
Sheriff? You want to use a suspect in custody for this scheme?"
Rosco nodded. "I know
it sounds...strange. But there's no other way we can do this, not without
putting Bo and Luke in real danger."
The agent's expression was
as flat as his thinning hair. "I find it odd for you to place
your trust in a criminal."
Rosco sighed. "There's
something you gotta understand. Believe it or not...Brian's kin. He's
a cousin of mine. That in itself is pretty odd to begin with. He agreed
to help...only because he feels guilty over what happened to MaryAnne,
who was also his relative." Rosco shook his head, not sure he
was making any sense. "I don't know how to explain it. I've been
trying to figure it out myself for days. But the main thing is...he
will help. And I believe he'll stick with it."
Agent Mayson folded his hands
together. "You have a suspect in custody," he stated factually.
"A suspect who shot an officer at point-blank range, who later
died while hospitalized." Mayson leaned forward in his chair,
making close eye contact with Rosco. "This same suspect became
cooperative once he was incarcerated. I'm not surprised by that, Sheriff.
The charge of capital murder carries a severe sentence."
Rosco nodded. "There's
just one thing tho'...I don't think he's gonna be charged with capital
murder. See it wasn't him that actually killed MaryAnne...it was his
partner, Deuce. He snuck into the hospital and injected her with penicillin."
Rosco's voice became soft. "She was lethally allergic to it."
Agent Mayson tapped the desk
with his forefinger. "I've reviewed the medical file on Deputy
Coltrane. Her allergies to penicillin were not lethal in themselves.
I find it more plausible that she died of complications from her injuries."
A subtle accusation grew in the agent's tone. "I hope your judgment
in this case hasn't been clouded, Sheriff."
Aw shit...Rosco felt his mouth go dry and he looked at the agent in fear. Why the heck did the FBI have to go poking through MaryAnne's medical file? He averted his eyes for a moment and then cleared his throat and stood up, slowly pacing around the end of his desk. "Agent Mayson, if I tell you something, I need a guarantee from you and the FBI that what I tell you will not be repeated."
Mayson rose from his chair
and stood rigid. "Sheriff, if you have information pertinent to
this case, your duty as an officer requires you to disclose it. And
my duty as a Federal agent would require me to use it."
Rosco kept his gaze steady
with Mayson's. Rosco's trust in the FBI just went right down the toilet.
"I have no further information pertinent to the case, and my duty
as an officer and Sheriff of this county requires me to protect those
that I serve. And I will do that in whatever way and capacity I have
to. If the FBI's not interested in helping me with that, that's fine.
As long as you get Deuce and Brian and any of their other buddies OUT
of my county, that's all I need from you."
Agent Mayson scowled. "My
department has been following the Syndicate's actions for months, Sheriff.
We're not about to pass up a sting operation as it presents itself.
Even one as risky and half-baked as this one." Mason's attitude
became one of reconciliation. "We'll do our job, Sheriff, and
I trust you'll do yours. And I'm sorry about your cousins. Both of
them."
"Yeah, I'm sorry too..."
Rosco frowned a bit, "But lemme tell ya, Bo and Luke Duke have
helped the FBI and the Federal government before. Their ‘risky and
half-baked ideas’, have helped nail some of the biggest name criminals
in the South. I think you'll find that when this is over with, everyone
will get what they want." Rosco paused. "I'll let you know
when Brian's loose, so you can mobilize."
Rosco nodded. "I'm aware
of that."
"Good." Mayson made
his exit on that note. The booking room doors had just swung shut when
Brian stirred in his cell. "Who was that?" he asked as Rosco
came from his office.
"An officer from Atlanta,"
Rosco said, without missing a beat. "Expressing condolences on
behalf of the Atlanta Police Department for MaryAnne."
Brian accepted the explanation.
"Nice of 'em..."
"Yeah, I thought so..."
Rosco stepped up to the holding area and looked at Brian for a moment.
It seemed as though Rosco was going to continue to talk about MaryAnne,
but then changed the subject instead. "So, ready for your big
performance?"
"Anything to get out of
this goddamn jail."
Rosco chuckled. "Sorry
to hear you don't like it here." Rosco then glanced at Enos. "I'll
be back in a little bit."
"Yes, sir."
Rosco turned and walked out
of the booking room. There was a lot to do and little time to do it.
He went out to the impound yard and opened the Chevy, and made
his preparations. He took Brian’s gun out from the glove
box, having placed it there earlier. Now he opened the bullet chamber,
dumped the live rounds out and then pulled the blanks from his pocket.
He loaded the gun and put it back in the car, putting the live rounds
in his shirt pocket. He then pulled the Chevy’s keys from his pocket
and stuck them in the ignition. That being done, he returned to the
courthouse and used the phone in the filing room to call out to the
Duke farm.
Jesse got to the ringing phone
first. "Jesse Duke, here."
"Jesse, this is Rosco.
I'm gonna let him out. Are the boys ready?"
"They're ready, Rosco."
"Alright. The FBI's been
briefed on what's going down. I'm gonna follow Brian out to the farm,
a few minutes behind him." Rosco paused. "Tell the boys good
luck."
"Okay, Rosco...and you
be careful yourself."
"I will, Jesse. I'll
see y'all soon." Rosco hung up the phone and walked back to the
booking room. He came in with authority and strolled up to the holding
area. He glanced at Brian and then grabbed the key off the wall and
started to unlock the door. "To
keep things consistent," Rosco said, "The story for the Syndicate
is that you faked being sick, got Enos here to open the door and then
ya decked him and took off." Rosco finished unlocking the door
but didn't open it yet. "Can you handle that?"
"One-handed," Brian
answered sarcastically.
"That's what I figured,"
Rosco said. He opened the door. "I changed the ammo in your gun
and your car's in the impound. Now get the hell outta here."
"My pleasure." Brian
wasted no time taking his exit, and spared Rosco no farewell. He fled
the courthouse with due speed, hitting the impound yard at a dead run.
The black Chevy bolted from the impound yard a moment later.
As soon as the booking room
doors stopped swinging, Rosco stepped over to his office and made his
call to Agent Mayson. As Brian was tearing out of town and the FBI
was taking their positions, Rosco sat in silence for a couple of minutes
in his office. He touched his hand to his shirt pocket, feeling the
note he had written a couple of days ago still there. If something
went wrong, he hoped it would explain things to folks. After another
moment, he stood up and emerged from his office.
"Keep your ears tuned
to that radio, Enos. You're gonna be communication central here."
"Yes sir." Enos watched
Rosco start for the door. He stood up suddenly from the booking desk.
"Sheriff?"
Rosco turned to the deputy.
“What?”
"Be careful."
"I will, Enos. I'll see
ya later..."
Enos nodded, even though Rosco
had already stepped through the swinging doors.
***** *****
***** *****
Special Agent Frank Mayson put his radio mike down after the last unit reported they were in position. The earlier discussion with the Sheriff still didn't sit well. The death of Deputy Coltrane...something was odd there. A lethal dose of penicillin? She wasn't even lethally allergic to it. Why would he say that?
Frank
shook his head. He wondered if the Sheriff was flat out lying, not
that the agent could blame him. As long as the Syndicate thought she
was dead, they wouldn't continue looking for her.
"Sir?"
Agent
Mayson snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the man that had come
up to him. "Yes?"
"We
just got a call from Atlanta. It appears that Don Mancini's sent a
few more of his hitmen here to Hazzard."
"How
many?"
"Three, maybe four. Information's kinda fuzzy. Our contact says he issued a contract on the Sheriff here as well."
Frank
sighed. "How fuzzy is that piece of information?"
"It's
not. Our contact knows that last part for certain."
"Great,"
Frank muttered. "So they're gonna try to take out the Dukes, the
Sheriff and then take Brian Coltrane with them back to Atlanta."
The agent sighed and looked towards the countryside. "See if you
can contact the Sheriff in town. Tell him they Syndicate's looking
for him now as well and that he should be very careful."
"Yes,
sir."
***** ***** ***** *****
It was eighteen miles from
the town of Hazzard to the Duke farm. Rosco was approximately four
minutes behind Brian, and the white Plymouth patrol car cruised along
Old Mill Road at a brisk pace, it's gumballs flashing with no siren.
He drove through the intersection with Route 16, paying no attention
to the indiscreet black Ford sedan that was coming towards Old Mill
Road. Bad luck was about to slap Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane in the face.
The driver of the black sedan,
Dirk, saw the neon invitation and he took it. He stepped on the accelerator
and swung on to Old Mill Road catching up to the patrol car in no time.
The orders were clear. Take out the Sheriff.
Rosco looked in his mirrors
at the sound of a screaming engine behind him. The black car cut to
the side of the cruiser and leapt ahead of it. Rosco swerved to avoid
bumping it but Dirk turned the Ford to the side, blocking the road
and forcing Rosco to slam the breaks.
The hitman jumped out of his
car and ran around the front of the patrol car, just as Rosco was stepping
out. Rosco caught a glimpse of the open switchblade knife in Dirk's
grip and he shoved the driver’s door open hard, right into Dirk.
The door caught the big man in the ribs and gut, slowing him up only
for a second. Rosco wasted no time and started running but soon had
Dirk after him. The Sheriff's adrenaline wasn't going to be enough
and Rosco's weariness from the previous days events didn't improve
his chances of getting away. Dirk lunged towards Rosco like a football
player and brought him down in a cloud of dust. Rosco squirmed and
managed to turn on his back but the hand that had the switchblade in
it was now underneath him. Rosco tried to fight the big man off, and
grab his gun but the pistol was still strapped into the holster. He
gave a futile yank on the gun but stopped suddenly when his lower back
felt like it was burning. He looked at Dirk in shock and with the
realization of what just happened. The killer just smiled sinisterly
and said, "So long, Sheriff...."
Out of the corner of his eye,
Rosco saw Dirk's hand come out from underneath his body, holding the
gleaming silver blade, which was half-covered in fresh blood.
***** *****
***** *****
Brian made only one stop in
his haste. He screeched the Chevy to a smoking halt in front of one
of county's rare pay phones. After dialing the phone with a nervous
hand, Brian counted the rings and waited. Deuce answered and got a
fast earful. "Deuce! Yeah, man, I'm out. I'm on my way to the
hit now. Get out to the old farm on Mill Pond Road if you wanna see
the show." Brian slammed the phone down and dove back into the
Chevy.
Deuce put down the receiver
and snapped orders to his subordinates. "Brian's on the move.
Dirk's handling the Sheriff but I'm taking no chances. If anything
with lights and a siren moves in this county, nail it. I'll take care
of Brian." The hitmen disbursed in an organized
frenzy, their stealth-built cars taking to the road.
Agent Mayson walked over to
where the agent who told him of the contract on Sheriff Coltrane was
just getting off a car phone. The agent looked at his superior and
shook his head. "The deputy said that Sheriff Coltrane is following
after Brian, a good distance behind. He said he would relay the message
on the radio though."
Frank nodded. "He said
he was going to follow. I'm afraid that one of Mancini's men may find
him and we'll never know..."
***** *****
***** *****
Dirk drew his switchblade through the front tire of Rosco's patrol
car, laughing as he did so. He then heard a voice on the radio inside
the car. "Sheriff? This is Enos, are you there?" Dirk looked
in the car at the CB set. "Sheriff, please respond this is urgent!"
Dirk snorted and got into
the car. He grabbed a handful of wires underneath the CB set and cut
them with his switchblade. The radio fell silent. Before closing the
switchblade, he wiped both sides off on the material of the driver's
seat, leaving a streak of red on the soft tan colored fabric. He stepped
back out of the car and looked down the road, where the Sheriff lay.
He chuckled, finding it amusing that the law could be so inept. Dirk
then walked back to his car, not knowing that Rosco still watched him.
The Sheriff’s blue eyes were clouded, weakening, yet smoldering
with anger and determination.