by: RebelYank

 

Anna found herself tugging nervously at her uniform jacket as she stood just outside the door of Rosco’s room. She adjusted her sleeves, straightened her shoulders and made sure her badge was in it’s proper place. She looked up at her mother who was grinning at her.

“Getting ready for inspection?” Laura teased.

Anna smiled. “I’m being silly, ain’t I? But I’m nervous!”

“That’s okay. I’ll admit I’m nervous too.”

Anna chuckled and then the door of Rosco’s room opened. Dr. Bedford stepped out and smiled at the two women.

“Good morning,” he said. “I’ve finished poking and prodding Rosco for now, you can see him.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” Laura said and she and Anna stepped inside the room.

Rosco was already watching the door. He smiled when they entered and Anna peered around her mother to look at him. She grinned at him.

“How are you feeling?” Laura asked.

“Much better, now that both of you are here,” he said, still smiling. Anna stepped closer to him and gave him a hug. As father and daughter were united at last, Laura couldn’t help the tears that came with her ear to ear grin. The emotional reunion lasted a moment and then Rosco spoke softly to Anna.

“Let me look at ya…”

Anna stood up straight and wiped the tears off her cheeks. Rosco then took a hold of her hands and looked at her, like he was seeing her for the first time. He smiled and then shook his head, almost unbelieving that the beautiful woman before him was his own flesh and blood daughter.

Anna smiled and gave a nervous chuckle. “Hi, Daddy,” she said.

Rosco’s grin went wider. “Yer beautiful…good thing you got your momma’s looks and not mine.”

Anna and Laura both laughed loudly.

“Hey now,” Laura said. “I’d kill for those blue eyes. Those are yours.”

Rosco giggled.

“And that police uniform is yours too,” Laura said with a smile.

Rosco beamed. “Which you wear well,” he said to Anna. “I almost can’t believe it. A Lieutenant with the State Police.” He squeezed her hand. “I’m proud of you, Anna. Very proud.”

Now Anna was beaming.

Laura moved two chairs closer to the bed. “We have a lot of catching up to do,” she said. Father and daughter nodded and Anna sat down.
Thursday Septemeber 5, 1985

It had been the boys idea to not use their real names. They picked their ancestors in fitting tribute, seeing as the 19th century Dukes had taken on the James brothers without realizing just WHO exactly the James boys were. With nothing more than six irons and horses, Joe and Hank Duke had outsmarted Jesse James and his brother Frank. Now, with nothing more than a set of bows and arrows, a fast car and Duke determination, Bo and Luke Duke were going to try to outsmart a dangerous gang of moonshiners.

The dark blue General Lee, with grey pin stripe added that morning as a tribute to Rosco and reminder of why they were doing this, wound it’s way down the dirt road that led to the gang’s still site. Bo slowed the General to a creep when he saw the guard standing with a rifle.

“It’s just like Rosco told Enos,” Luke said. “That guard will call John and he’ll come and inspect the car.”

Bo nodded and the General continued along the road. The guard adjusted his grip on the rifle as the Charger slowed to a stop infront of him.

Bo smiled. “Howdy.”

“Outta the car,” the guard drawled. His face lacked any expression as he looked at the Dodge from front to back, casually lifting the barrell of the rifle towards Bo. The boys slid out of the windows and Luke walked around to stand with his cousin.

“I’m Joe, this is my cousin, Hank,” Bo said and put his hand out to the guard. The guard just looked at him and pulled his hand held radio out of his back pocket. He never took his eyes away from Bo as he pushed the talk button.

“Our runners are here.”

Bo awkwardly put his hand back at his side and gave Luke a glance. Luke shrugged. The silence would prevail in the woods, until the sound of an approaching engine was heard.

The old Jeep came to a stop and John stepped out of it. “Joe and Hank?” he said coming towards them.

“Yep,” Luke said. “I’m Hank, this is Joe.”

John nodded. He was all business, however. He dropped his cigarette to the ground and crushed it out. He looked at the car.

“Dodge Charger,” he said, semi-impressed. “440 Magnum?”

Luke grinned. “We got a little bit more punch than a 440. Show him, Joe.”

Bo smiled and stepped to the front of the General. He opened the hood and then looked at John to see the reaction once the engine came into view.

The gang leader’s eyebrows went up a notch. He then looked at the boys. “You fellas ain’t no amatures that’s for sure.”

“Hell no,” Luke said. “Me and Joe built this engine ourselves.”

John nodded. “What’s your load limit?”

“About fifty,” Luke replied. “Trunk’s not that big.”

John chuckled. “It’s a hazard in this business.” He started to walk towards the back of the car. “Let’s see the trunk.”

Bo and Luke followed and Bo promptly opened the trunk. Unlike Rosco, who had carried two spares, the boys two tire insurance policy had to be spilt in half. They carried one spare, their jack and a tool kit as normal, and also a small med kit, road flares and an emergancy radio which had been tucked below the trunk mat with the spare tire.

John nodded. He closed the trunk lid and then walked to the driver door. He yanked on the handle and when the door wouldn’t open he looked at the boys.

“They’re welded,” Luke explained.

“Yeah, see, coupla rednecks used to use this as race car,” Bo said. “Guess they thought they were Richard Petty or something.”

John smirked. “There’s a lot of them around here.” He then held his hand out to Luke, an acceptence of their being there.

“Alright,” Bo said when he shook John’s hand. “Hey, maybe you can teach him to shake hands too.” He pointed to the guard. “Let him know that it’s okay.”

John smirked. He then turned towards his Jeep. “I’ll show ya where the shine is.”

The boys slid in to the General. Bo looked at the guard. “Keep smiling,” he said and then chuckled. The General roared to life and followed the Jeep down the path.

“You think they’ll pull the same kind of initation like they did with Rosco?” Bo asked.

Luke nodded. “Yeah…and with two of us, they may double it. Just be on your toes.”

“Yeah…” Bo nodded. “Can you imagine Rosco in a fight?”

“According to Enos, that’s a story for later. One for Rosco’s grandkids if he ever has any.”

The dark blue General followed the Jeep into the clearing and Bo and Luke saw exactly what Rosco had seen. All of the men in the gang stopped what they were doing and looked at the boys as they drove in. Several men were armed with rifles and they adjusted their grips as the two vehicles came to a stop.

The boys exchanged glances and carefully climbed out of the windows of the General. They walked to the front of the car and waited for John. The gang leader got out of his Jeep and approached the boys.

“Atlanta says you two are their best drivers,” he said.

Luke smiled. “We get the job done.”

“That’s what I like to hear. Now tell me, are you two aware that Hazzard County is quite a hot spot right now for this kind of operation?”

“Our boss said something about some trouble you had,” Bo said.

John nodded. “That’s right. My operation has been infiltrated twice. Once by the ATF, the second by the local county sheriff. The ATF agent was taken care of. The sheriff, however, was not taken care of in a manner I would have liked.” John took a step to the side and the other men in the camp started to move closer towards the boys.

“I’ll be honest with you,” John continued. “I’m not all that completely comfortable with you two. Nothing personal, but after what’s happened, I trust nobody. Now there’s two shipments of shine that have to get to Atlanta. I expect you boys to get the shine there and to never come back. If you two are some how in cahoots with the State Police, or the ATF or the local law, I guarantee that you will be taken care of.” John paused, letting the silence of the clearing reinforce his statement. “Do I make myself clear?”

The boys nodded casually. “We ain’t gonna be the cause of any trouble for ya,” Luke said.

“I hope you’re right,” John said. “Because my patience has run out.” The gang leader paused a moment to light a fresh cigarette. “Now, if you two were to find yourself face to face with ATF agents, or perhaps local county mounties, what would you do?”

“Depends on the situation,” Luke replied.

John nodded. “Okay. How about you got three of them behind you with guns drawn?” John’s gaze shifted to what was behind the boys. Bo and Luke glanced at each other and then turned to look.

“Yer under arrest for transportin’ illegal booze. Whatchu got to say for yourself?” Butch seemed to enjoy playing this part. He poked his gun towards the boys. Luke realized that all three guns were fully loaded and that possibly the penatly for failing this test was permanent scars or a one way trip to the pearly gates.

Bo came to the same conclusion and the two cousins exchanged a plan with a quick glance. Two swift kicks and two of the three were disarmed. Bo then lunged towards Butch and pushed the moonshiner back against the last armed man, causing his gun to fall from his grip.

The fight first started on the ground, with the five of them rolling around in the dirt. The three gang members, however, quickly worked to get back to their feet and try to get back on the offensive.

In Pier 56 fashion, Bo and Luke were swinging punches and blocking hits as best they could. Two of the moonshiners ganged up on Luke, while Bo had to contend with Butch. Luke soon found himself backed up to one of the trucks, taking the assault from the two moonshiners. He vainly tried to fight back, managing a connecting punch here and there. But he was quickly loosing ground.

Bo, meanwhile, was just trying to get Butch down and keep him down long enough to help his cousin. The big burly moonshiner apparently had had pleanty of practice in fighting. There wasn’t a move of Bo’s that Butch didn’t counter.

Bo decided to dupe him. He stopped swinging for a moment and held his hands up. “Hold it, hold it…just hold it a minute…” The blonde Duke was breathing heavily, trying to catch his breath. And maybe catch Butch off guard for just a moment.

“You do this a lot?” Bo asked.

Butch grinned, revealing a few missing teeth.

Bo nodded to himself. “Yep, I guess you do.” In a quick motion, Bo extended one long leg and managed to knock Butch’s feet out from under him. The moonshiner went down.

“Yeehaa!” Bo turned now to help Luke. “Mind if I cut in??” he asked, grabbing one of the moonshiners off his cousin.

“Gladly cousin!” Luke replied, gaining his second wind. He fought off the other moonshiner, landing a few good punches that knocked the man down to the dirt.

Bo’s opponent fell a moment after that. Confident they had won, the two cousins shook hands and then turned to John to see him laughing.

“Man, I ain’t seen nothin’ that entertainin’ in a long time! How ‘bout it fellas?”

The essembled gang cheered. Even the three that had been whupped smiled for the victors.

“You boys got yourself a job. Chet, Donnie! Let’s show these boys where the shine is….”

After loading up the General with the shine, the boys drove away still a little shaken from their initiation. Both boys had the same thought going through their heads: If they messed up, they were going to end up dead. Their minds became more boggled as they wondered how Rosco had managed to survive as long as he had. The gang didn’t fool around, and if the boys weren’t careful…

The General swung out onto Route 35 and pointed towards the direction of Atlanta. The sun was half way through it’s afternoon decent.
Jesse led his neice by the hand down the hospital hallway and pointed to a room number. “Here it is,” he said. They paused at the open door way and looked in. The Sheriff of Hazzard County sat up in the bed, alone in the room, looking out the window. Daisy couldn’t help but note that Rosco looked sad.

Jesse cleared his throat and Rosco slowly turned his head to look. In an instant, a small flicker came back to his eyes. “Jesse? Daisy?”

Both Jesse and Daisy smiled and approached. “Hey Rosco,” Jesse greeted.

“Hi sugar,” Daisy said, coming to Rosco’s side and placing a kiss on his cheek.

“Oooh, jit…” was Rosco’s only reply to that.

Daisy giggled. Jesse pulled the two chairs that were in the room closer to the bed side.

“How ya feelin’?” Jesse asked.

Rosco shrugged. “Ok.” He looked down at himself. “Physically anyway. I got a lot on my mind otherwise.”

“I thought you looked kinda sad lookin’ out the window,” Daisy said.

“Everything’s gonna be okay, Rosco.”

Rosco’s smile was sad in itself. “Daisy, I’m afraid it ain’t that easy. It ain’t so much that things will be okay…it’s that they won’t be the same again.” He paused. “I ain’t gonna be the same again.”

“I think we can all identify with that,” Jesse said. “I don’t think much of anything is going to be the same in Hazzard again.”

Rosco nodded. He paused and then looked at Jesse and Daisy, realizing that there were two other faces that usually should have been with them. “Did the boys not wanna come with ya?”

Daisy glanced at her uncle. The Duke patriach spoke for both of them.

“They couldn’t come,” he said. “They’ve been asked by the government and the State Police to finish what you started.”

Rosco’s eyes were so wide with surprise there was no mistaking the intense blue hue that made up the color. “They’re what?” he hissed.

“They’re undercover,” Daisy said. “They left this morning.”

“Jesse, you let them go?”

“I let them go because they felt it was their fault that you ended up here!” Jesse replied sternly. “They thought they may have been responsible for blowing your cover and nearly getting yourself killed!”

“So they’re gonna go in there and try to get themselves killed?? Jesse, these moonshiners ain’t like the ones you and I once knew. These dudes are killers! They play for keeps. Once they figure out that Bo and Luke are working for the law, you and Daisy will be–”

“Stop it,” Daisy hissed. “Rosco…Bo and Luke can take care of themselves and you gotta agree that these dudes need to be stopped.”

“Yes, Daisy, but–”

“Rosco, don’t you understand? They’re doing this for you. They’re doing this because of what happened to you. We don’t want to see it happen to anybody else here in Hazzard.”

“But Daisy, it’s dangerous. If I was yer uncle Jesse here, I’d be gettin’ my posterior to the courthouse and talkin’ to Enos and gettin’ them boys the hell outta that camp.”

“Rosco, being Sheriff’s dangerous, ain’t it?” Jesse said.

Rosco was about to fire back a retort when he stopped himself. He couldn’t necessarily argue with Jesse now. The boys were doing this for their reasons, he had tried to do it for his. Was it wrong for them to be taking part in the undercover operation? No.

Just as it hadn’t been wrong for him to do it either.

“Awright, Jesse…I get your point. I’m sorry. But to be honest, Jesse, I wouldn’t want to see anything happen to those boys.”

Jesse and Daisy smiled. “Well, you’ll be glad to know Rosco that they didn’t want to see anything happen to you either,” the elder Duke said.

* * * *

Friday September 6, 1985

Bo and Luke had twenty-four hours before they were to return to pick up the last shipment of shine. When they had been sure they weren’t followed, they had changed direction from Atlanta and took the back road into Hazzard. They left the shine with Enos and Anna at the old steam plant on the other side of the county. They made no comments to the state trooper other than to answer Enos’s direct questions and were gone in a cloud of dust.

Their twenty-four hours were spent camped out in the woods. Things seemed to move slowly, the passage of time punctuated only by the change in the sun light and the sound of the forest and animals. They had planned to do no more than pick up the last shipment and get the hell out of Dodge. Seemed simple enough.

The day after the boys made contact with the gang, Rosco was given permission to leave the hospital. His orders from Doctor Bedford were strict. He was to do absolutely nothing for atleast two weeks. His wounds and stitches needed this time to heal properly. He also had to keep the sutures clean and covered for about four or five more days. Loose clothing, no showers only baths and if the coverings became sweaty or dirty they were to be changed immediately.

While Lulu and Laura were getting things ready at the house, Boss picked Rosco up at the hospital. He received the instructions from the doctor and said he would make sure that everything was followed to the T. And Boss meant it too. More or less because he knew Lulu would have expected it.

What Rosco never got to express to Jesse and Daisy, in regards to his comment that he would never be the same again, was the fact that he had a grown daughter who he never had the chance to watch grow up. Didn’t get to hold her as newborn, didn’t get to play with her as a toddler, didn’t get to watch her grow up and graduate from highschool, go off to college, become a police officer. None of it. He hadn’t been given the chance to be a part of any of it. He was so happy to have found her, but incredibly sad because he had not been the one she had called ‘dad’ in all those years she was growning up.

Thirty years might seem like an eternity to some people. But for Rosco it seemed no more distant than yesterday. He’d give anything for the chance at having a family. While in the hospital he had even formulated a little speech for Laura to ask her to stay in Hazzard with him. He suddenly didn’t want to be alone anymore.

Not that he was lonely. Certainly he had Boss, who was driving him home at that moment. And he had his sister Lulu. And he had his little Velvet Ears. He did miss Flash and couldn’t wait to see the pup again. But he was alone in the intimate sense. He had buried it for years after Laura left, dove head long into his work, forced the memories away. But now, with having found Anna and with Laura back in Hazzard….Rosco was
filled with a sense of both longing and heartache. After all the years, he was still in love with her.

Boss pulled the car into the drive of Rosco’s house and gave two beeps of the horn. Rosco looked up to the porch to see Lulu in the door way. As she came out, Flash poked out and came barreling down the stairs. Behind Lulu, was Laura.

“Woof! Woof!”

“AHH! Just a minute you mutt, lemme open the door,” Boss exclaimed and opened the door for Rosco. The Basset hound’s tail was wagging like mad and just as soon as Rosco was able to stand up he had his sister giving him a gentle hug.

“My baby brother’s ok! Oh I’m so glad you home.”

“Me too,” Rosco replied.

He then got a hug from Laura. “Thank God,” she said. She then gave him a quick kiss on the lips, causing his heart to skip a beat and for all the words of his little speech to come bubbling up and nearly spill from his lips. But he held it all in, as she helped escort him into the house.

Once inside and settled into a chair, Flash was eagerly deposited onto his lap and happily reunited with her daddy.
Saturday September 7, 1985

Rosco sat on a wooden high back chair, the back of the chair infront of him and his arms resting on the top. He had no shirt on and Laura was standing behind him, changing the dressing on the wound on his back. He squirmed a bit.

“Hold still,” Laura said.

“Sorry,” Rosco said and sighed. “I’m cold, dang it. I wanna put my shirt on.” He turned looked back over his shoulder to watch Laura prepare the new covering.

“I know. Just a little bit longer.” Laura carefully cleaned around the wound with sterile alcohol and then gently patted the area dry with a clean towel. She then handed the towel to Lulu.

“I’d have to say it’s healing nicely,” Lulu said.

Laura nodded.

“I’ll be glad when it completely heals,” Rosco said. “Then I’ll be able to sit against a chair again, instead of sitting straight up, or like this.”

“Atleast you can sit, period,” Lulu reminded him.

Rosco glanced at his sister. He nodded, his look apologetic. “You’re right,” he said. “Atleast I can do that.”
Laura finished applying the dressing and smoothed the paper tape with her fingers.

“There,” she said. “All set.”

“Thank ya,” Rosco said.

Laura smiled. “You’re welcome.” As she and Lulu packed up the medical supplies and towels, Rosco stood up and grabbed his long sleeved red plaid shirt. He carefully put it on, so as not to disturb the dressings. He left the shirt untucked and buttoned it up. He then rolled up his sleeves and followed Laura and Lulu out of his room and down the hall towards the stairs.

As Laura and Lulu put the gauze packs, tape, cotton balls and towels away or in the wash, Rosco headed down to the kitchen to fix a cup of coffee. In the time it took him to prepare the java, Lulu and Laura returned in time to join him. And to hear the sound of a car pulling up outside.

Rosco turned towards the window and then walked over to look out. Who could mistake the white Plymouth Fury of the Hazzard County Sheriff’s office? He figured it was Enos, but once he saw the uniform of the person who exited, he grinned.

“It’s Anna,” he announced.

The women both smiled and Lulu hurried down the hall to meet Anna at the door. She welcomed the young State Police officer, now her neice, and ushered Anna back to the kitchen.

“G’morning, everybody,” Anna greeted with a smile.

“Morning,” Rosco returned and took a sip of his coffee. He watched his daughter as she took a seat at the kitchen table. “You keepin’ my county runnin’ right?”

Anna nodded. “Doing everything I can,” she replied with a smile. “Enos is handling most of the county business, I’m merely the liasion for the State Police.” She paused. “Um…I want to ask you something…”

Rosco sat down at the table now. “About what?”

Anna was all business. Her expression was serious and inquiring. “Bo and Luke Duke.”

Rosco raised an eyebrow. “What about ‘em?”

“Are you aware that they are now working undercover, doing the exact same thing you did?”

“I’m aware. Their uncle told me.”

Anna nodded. “Yeah, they’ve had quite a peculiar interest in what’s happened to you. I think they’re just going to blow this whole thing for us, make a bigger mess than we can handle. And that they’re gonna do it just to spite you.”

“Spite me?”

“Well, you nailed them for running moonshine. But they got probabtion because their uncle made a nice little goodie two-shoes promise to the government to never make moonshine again. And ever since then they’ve been nothing but a headache for you.”

“Well…I s’pose..”

“They have! I’ve read their file. My god, it’s a mile thick! They’ve broken just about every vehicular law in the book, along with being charged other interesting things. But they never get nailed because the charges get dropped for some reason. Probably has something to do with some of the heroics they’ve pulled, nailing big time criminals like J.J. Carver and the “Snake” Harmon gang. And even if they do manage to not muck this up and help us nail John Yeaton’s gang, they’ll be praised to the heavens for what they’ve done. All you got is two bullets in ya. They’ll still spite you.”

“Hush!” Rosco said suddenly and looked at her. Immediate tension crept into the room. Father and daughter eyed each other for a moment and then Anna looked away. “I’m lucky I survived as long as I did,” he continued softly. “I’m lucky two bullets is all I got!” He pushed his coffee mug away and stood up, pacing around to the middle of the kitchen. Lulu and Laura had been standing, watching the conversation. Lulu remained standing by the table, Laura now sat down next to Anna and gently touched her shoulder.

“I’m sorry…” Anna said.

“There’s a lot of thing here in Hazzard that you just don’t know about,” Rosco said. “Things are…different.” He turned to her. “You’re wrong about them boys. They’re not going to mess it up. And yes, they’ve been a thorn in my side for a long time, but they have their reasons. Having been busted running shine is not…necessarily the reason.”

“Well, then what is the reason??”

Rosco sighed. “Someday I’ll explain it to you. But for now, you and Enos are helping them boys as much as you can, right?”

Anna nodded. “Yes.”

“Good. Because they’re gonna need it.”

* * * *

Early that afternoon, Bo and Luke were getting ready to go for their last run.

“You ready to go?” Luke asked. Their camp fire was smoldering as Bo threw more dirt on to it. He pushed the ambers around with a stick, threw more dirt when appropriate and looked up at his cousin.

“Yeah.”

Luke picked up the remainder of their gear and carried it to the open trunk of the General. Bo watched the fire pit, making sure the fire was completely out before turning his back on it.

“Lost Sheep, there’s a lady in town that would like to speak to you. Response to this broadcast not required.”

It was Enos. Luke closed the trunk and the boys looked at each other, wondering who wanted to talk to them.

“You figure it’s Anna?” Bo asked.

“Could be.” Luke made a face. “What ever could she want to say to us?”

Bo shrugged. They then climbed into the General and were gone.
Anna stood outside the county building, watching the traffic in the square. She made no sudden moves when the dark blue Charger came through the square and pulled up to the curb.

“No need to get out of the car,” Anna said. “New drop off spot. Route 14 and Silk Creek Road. Enos will be there, as usual.” She paused. “Be careful, fellas.”

Luke nodded and the General drove away. Anna didn’t turn her head, but watched out of the corner of her eye. When she could no longer see it, she turned and headed back into the county building.

The gang displayed their usual cheerfulness as the boys came rolling in to the clearing. John waved at the car, telling them to bring the car right over to where the shine was stored.

The load up was quick and quiet. This was the last one John was committed to. He was already thinking of packing up his operation and moving on before they all got caught. Things were hot, and John was sure what little luck they still had was being borrowed at a high interest rate.

He, nor any of the other gang members watched the car as it drove away.

“Boy, I’m glad to be outta there!” Bo exclaimed as the General hit the pavement and opened up.

“Yeah, I know what you mean…” Luke replied. His voice sounded distant. Bo knew he was thinking of something.

“Uh oh…what are you thinking of?”

Luke paused. They made it through the second pick up, they were free and clear, all they had to do was deliver the load to Enos and let the State Police do their thing. But….

“I was thinking of that tent,” Luke said. “John’s tent. You know there’s gotta be a whole bunch of evidence in there.”

“Yeah. The State Police will get that when they raid,” Bo said.

“What if John burns the tent just before the raid? I mean, there goes a good chunk of their evidence. He’s gotta have stuff written down, contacts, phone numbers. It could turn into a whole major bust.”

“I’d be happy just seein’ these guys nail for what they did to Rosco,” Bo said. “Besides, we can’t get back inside that camp. Not without being spotted and getting shot!”

“His tent was kinda secluded away from the rest of the camp. You saw it.”

“Yeah…”

“What we do is, stash the General somewhere, sneak back the back way, grab some stuff from the tent and get the heck out of there.”

“I dunno, Luke…”

“Think of it this way, Bo. All the State Police have right now is survelience evidence. They’ve got what that ATF agent got, they got Rosco’s testimony and they’ll have ours. But there could be even harder, more concrete evidence in that tent. Stuff that’ll all but lock the jail doors for these guys. And besides…we can prove to that lady trooper that we want these guys nailed.”

The reminder of Anna’s treatment of the himself and Luke suddenly made Bo more open to the idea of going back. Luke watched his blond cousin as the younger Duke’s blue eyes turned from doubtful to determined.

“Alright,” Bo said. “Where do we hide the General?”

* * * *

Bo followed Luke through the woods and quietly they came to the perimeter of John’s camp. Ducked behind some bushes, they watched for a moment, until they were sure that they could slip in without being spotted. Guards didn’t seem to be patroling out this far. The tent was about 20 feet away.

Luke waved his hand at his cousin, and they moved up their position. They were now looking at the back side of the tent. “Keep an eye out. Whistle if there’s trouble.” Luke stepped out towards the back
of the tent. Bo had no choice but to watch.

Luke slipped his knife out of its pouch and quietly cut a hole into the back of the tent. He put the knife away and then disappeared through the small opening. Bo looked around him.

The tent was small. A sleeping bag on the ground and a few boxes that acted as tables. A CB radio set, along with a hand held radio was on one box. A mobile telephone unit was set up on the other box. A small metal strong box was on the ground near the sleeping bag. Luke kneeled down to it and found it wasn’t locked. He opened it.

Bo was so busy watching towards the clearing that he didn’t hear anybody come up behind him. He managed a small yelp when the rifle barrell poked into his back. He froze.

“Where’s yer buddy?” the man asked.

Bo hesitated and slightly turned his head. Was there only one back there? He had to take the chance.

“POLE CAT!!” Bo swung around to the man and knocked the rifle barrell out of the way just as it went off.

Luke dropped the papers he had been sifting through. He quickly shoved them back into the metal box and put the box back near the sleeping bag. He went to the back of the tent and looked out to see Bo fighting with one of the gang members. There was shouting at the other side of the tent. More were coming.

Luke bolted through the opening he had cut to help his cousin. Bo was swinging punches and holding his own pretty good, but more men were coming from the camp. One would go down but another would be right there to jump on one of the Duke boy’s backs.

There was too many. Bo and Luke were good fighters, but when you’re out numbered, you’re out numbered. Both Dukes went down, face first. The gang members stood around them, with rifles pointed at the two until John came out of his tent. He announced that one of them had been snooping and order the men to take the two into the clearing. Like burlap bags of seed, Bo and Luke were rough handled and dragged to their feet and marched into the clearing.

John watched as Chet and one of the other men tied the two traitors hands up above their heads and to the tree. Bo and Luke were seated on the ground and were wide open to any more blows or kicks. Their feet were bound as well and they were left like slabs of meat hanging on a hook.

John was not at all pleased. He was through playing games with the ATF and the State Police, and decided it was time to fight back. These two cowboys along with one other player would make his ultimatum complete.

The boys were still breathing heavy and recovering from the beating Chet and the other men had given them. John had his men stop their assualt sooner than he normally would have. Under regular circumstances the two hot shots would have suffered the same fate as the ATF agent. A fate the local Sheriff should have suffered as well.

As soon as Chet and the other man were finished tying up Bo and Luke, Donnie walked up to John, with Chet following behind him.

“What do we do with them?” Donnie asked.

John paused, still glaring at the two cousins. “Nothing at the moment. Didn’t one of them men say they saw these two talking to a lady trooper in town?”

“Yeah,” Chet said.

“Go get her and bring her here. I’m through mucking around with the State Police, so I’m going to send them a message. And if they don’t receive and understand it, then the female trooper and these two yahoos are gonna end up in a ditch somewhere.”

“Shouldn’t we be trying to find that Sheriff too?” Chet said.

“I’d love to,” John replied. “Tell you what? If you spot him at any time…” John looked at Chet. “Kill him.”

Chet nodded.

“Alright, get going. Bring back that trooper.”

“Right. Come on, Donnie,” Chet said.

As Chet called out to a few of the other men. John looked at Bo and Luke again.

“They’ll see what they’ve done by crossing me. They’ll see soon enough.”
* * * *

Anna came out of the courthouse and walked to the spare Hazzard County patrol car. Her father’s Hazzard County patrol car. She smiled, recalling his words, how he was so proud of her. She played it over in mind constantly. It meant so much coming from him, from her father. She realized she had been waiting a long time to hear those words.

Laura was just coming into town when she spotted her daughter in her State Police uniform about to step into the white patrol car. Suddenly a beat up looking car squealed out of the square and came to a sliding stop by the patrol car.

Anna turned as three men jumped out of the car. Without a word they grabbed a hold of her and before she could scream, one of the men put his hand over her mouth.

“Shut up,” Chet growled. He grabbed the gun from her holster and poked it into her ribs. “Get in the car and keep quiet or I’ll shoot you full of holes just like I did the Sheriff.”

Anna froze and didn’t resist. The men pushed her into the back of the car and after the two men were in, Chet slammed the back door. He then jumped into the driver seat and the beat up car took off.

Laura witnessed the whole thing in horror. After the car disappeared out of the square, Laura sped up to the courthouse. She hopped out of her car and ran inside.

Enos looked up when she came in. He recognized Anna’s mother and stood up when he saw the distress on her face.

“Mrs. Ferren? What’s wrong?”

“Anna. She was just kidnapped! These men in some old car just grabbed her!”

“Possmun-on-a-gum-bush!” Enos bolted down from the booking desk. “Didja see which way they went?”

“Umm…” Laura stepped over to the window and looked. “Out that way, past the garage.”

“I’m going after them.”

“Enos, no! Wait! They pulled her gun on her! If you go after her they may try to hurt her.”

Enos stopped. “Argh, dang it! You’re right. Did you get a good look at the car?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright. If you can give me a good description I’ll put a call in to the State Police Headquarters.”

“Okay.”

“We’ll get her back Mrs. Ferren. Don’t you worry.”

Laura nodded as Enos walked up to the booking desk and picked up the phone.

* * * *

Luke opened his eyes when he heard a car drive by. He and Bo were still tied up to a tree in the clearing and Luke watched as the car came to a stop. Chet and his two partners emerged, dragging Anna out with them. Her tropper hat went tumbling to the ground and they yanked on her jacket, until she fell out of it and hit the ground.

They laughed. It had been a long time since some of the men had a seen a woman. And a pretty woman like Anna certainly got their attention.

“Hey, Bo,” Luke said quietly.

“I see it,” Bo replied. “That’s Anna.”

“Hey, hey is John letting us have a present?” one of the men called as he approached where Anna was still on her knees.

More laughter. Another man came up behind her and put his arms around her.

“Need some help, sweetheart?”

Anna responded by elbowing the man in the ribs. He let go and Anna got to her feet and spun around. She planted her boot square in the man’s chest sending him flying back on to his tail.

The man looked at her surprised. He was about to get up and charge at her when John stepped in.

“Cool it, Jake.”

Jake stumbled to his feet, still looking at the female trooper who was in a fighter’s stance ready to take on anybody. He snarled at her and then walked away.

John turned to Anna. “Just relax, honey.”

“What do you want with me?”

“Free passage out of the state of Georgia. You and them two traitors over there are gonna be my ticket.”

Anna turned and saw the boys tied up, their arms above their heads.

“If you behave, you and the two robin hoods will be left at the state line unharmed. But if you or them, or the State Police or ANYBODY try to pull any tricks, you’re gone!”

Anna narrowed her eyes. “If you think you’re gonna get away with killing an ATF agent and trying to kill the local Sheriff, you can forget it.”

John smirked. “Darling, I’ve already gotten away with it.” He turned to Chet. “Tie her up over there by the still. Donnie, Jake, tell the men to start packing up. We’re getting the hell outta here as soon as I make a phone call.”

* * * *

After Enos called Commander Thomas he got a description of the car from Laura. She then told him she was going to go tell Rosco what had happened but before she could leave, Enos stopped her to ask her a question.

“Mrs. Ferren?”

Laura turned to him. “Yes, Enos?”

“Ma’am it may be none of my business, but in what capacity do Anna and Sheriff Rosco know each other?”

Laura paused, a tiny smile spreading to her lips. “I’m surprised you haven’t figured it out yet, Enos. Seems everyone else in Hazzard has.”

Enos suddenly looked embarassed. “Ma’am, I…”

Laura smiled. “It’s okay, Enos. My little girl’s father is the Sheriff of Hazzard County.”

Enos’s eyes looked down as his eyebrows went up, making the expression that now he understood. “Possum-on-a-gum-bush,” he said softly. “I had no idea.”

Laura chuckled. “Neither did Rosco, for awhile.”

* * * *

Anna’s own handcuffs held her cuffed to the underside of the bumper of the old Dodge pick up truck. Bo and Luke were about ten feet away and the young blonde Duke boy had asked without speaking aloud if she was okay. Anna nodded and looked at Bo to ask the same question. Bo shrugged and rolled his eyes a bit, thinking it was no worse thus far than any other situation he and Luke had been in before.

The men were busy dismantling the still and packing it into a van. John had disappeared, apparently to make his phone call. Anna looked around carefully at the different vehilces, all the guns that were gathered by a tent, the crates, boxes and jugs spread about. She then looked at the boys again and saw the bruise on the side of Bo’s face. She couldn’t see Luke, who was obscured by Bo, but Anna figured he too had a few
bruises.

She wondered if they realized that they probably wouldn’t all be left at the state line, certainly not alive anyway. John knew what he was doing and the value of human life meant nothing to him in his desperate measure to save his operation and himself. Some of his own men may even find themselves being sacraficed if it came to that.

She then thought of Rosco. Now that she had found her father, it broke her heart to think she would never see him again.

Rosco, I’m sorry. I guess some things are just not meant to be…

Anna closed her eyes.

* * * *

Rosco saw Laura’s car through the window as it pulled into the drive. He hurried to the front door and stepped out on the porch just as Laura got out of her car. But she was the only one. Anna wasn’t with her.
Rosco tried to keep his expression neutral as Laura walked to him. But he saw the clouded look on her face and he knew something wasn’t right.

“Where’s Anna?” he asked.

Laura stopped in front of him and hesitated a moment. “She couldn’t come.” She paused again and then gave a troubled sighed. “Rosco….she was kidnapped.”

Rosco almost thought his heart stopped. “What?!?”

“Enos says it might be them mooshining men, from what the car looked like.”

“Did Enos see it?”

“No. I saw it! Rosco, do you have any idea what it’s like to watch your own daughter be kindapped?!”

Rosco drew Laura close to him as she buried her face in her hands. She leaned against him, crying.
“Laura, I’m sorry. I’m sorry…” He held her tight for a moment or two then started to turn her towards her car.

“Come on,” he said.

“Where are we going?”

“To town. I’m gonna help Enos figure out how to get her back.”

“But, Rosco,” Laura put her hands on his chest to stop him. “The doctor said you’re to be resting and letting those stitches heal. You shouldn’t be doing anything that could make them tear.”

“I don’t care. Laura, I’m still the Sheriff and I ain’t gonna sit around here when Anna’s been kidnapped.” He looked Laura in her eyes and put his hands on her shoulders.

“She’s my daughter. She’s OUR daughter. I’ve already told you how much I’ve always wanted a family and I’m not gonna let the opportunity slip by. I can’t let it slip away, not now. I’m gonna get her back.”

Laura looked at Rosco but couldn’t say anything with the tears, so she just put her arms around his shoulders.

“I promise you,” he said. “Laura, I promise you I’ll get her back.”

* * * *

When the special phone line rang in Rosco’s office, Enos stood in the doorway and looked at it for a long time. He knew what the phone call probably was and he knew he had to take it. Because John would probably be giving him a special message with special instructions and three lives would hang in the balance.

After another moment, and few deep breaths, Enos stepped towards it and lifted the receiver.

“Casey’s Distributing.”

“You’ve been jiving me. I don’t know who the hell you are but you’re obviously in cahoots with the local law and the state police so I want you to give them a message for me.”

“Wait a minute–”

“Shut up. I caught them two hot shot drivers of yours snooping around my camp. So I’m not playing tricks any more. Them two and the lady trooper are gonna be my ticket out of the state. If they or the state police try to pull any tricks, it’s all over for them. If everything goes well, I MAY leave them unharmed at the state line. Now you make sure the state police get that message, or they’re gonna be short one pretty trooper!”

The phone clicked loudly in Enos’s ear and he pulled the reciever away. He then
slammed it down angrily.

* * * *

Rosco and Laura sat next to one another in the chairs that were just below the booking desk. Enos told them of John’s call and that he had contacted the State Police. Now they were waiting.

Wearing jeans, denim jacket and a green and white plaid shirt, Rosco didn’t look like the Sheriff that he was. But his mind was completely set in law enforcement mode, scenarios spinning threw his mind of where Anna and now the Duke boys could be, and what they were gonna have to do to get them back. Alive.

Rosco shuddered and shifted position in his seat so as to hide it from Laura. The sickening pit feeling in his stomach wasn’t from worry alone. Underneath everything that he could think of with his law enforcement training was the fear. A terrible fear that he would lose his daughter, that he would lose his dream of a family. Laura had many of the same worries and fears, and instead of hiding it she softly took a hold of Rosco’s hand.

“It’s alright, Laura,” Rosco said.

“I’m scared. Rosco, I’m terrified right now. I mean, she’s been in some dangerous situations before, but never kidnapped. Never anything like this.”

“I know…”

“I always thought that when she started getting up in the ranks, she wouldn’t be doing so much in the field. Now the one case where she’s not actually in the field she’s in more danger than ever before.”

Rosco gave Laura’s hand a gentle squeeze. “She’s a good officer, Laura. Not everybody becomes a State Police Lieutenant by the age of 30. Moving up so fast in the ranks only shows she’s one of the best. I ain’t gonna sit here and tell ya I ain’t scared either, cuz I am. But I’m trusting her abilities as a law officer.”

Laura nodded.

After a few moments the sound of cars pulling up infront of the courthouse floated through the partiallly opened windows. Rosco glanced up and saw the line of State Police cruisers and not before too long officers were filing into the booking room. Laura and Rosco stood up as Enos came down from behind the booking desk to greet Commander Thomas.

“Alright, Enos,” the Commander said as soon as greetings were exchanged. He then suddenly looked at Rosco, noticing the man for the first time. “Sheriff? What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to help.”

The Commander paused. “Um…I think we have everything under control here. Besides you’ve been through enough yourself in past week or so. I can’t allow you to put yourself in any kind of danger.”

“I didn’t offer it for debate, Commander,” Rosco said sternly.

“If you don’t mind, Sheriff, this is involves one of my officers. If the situation were reversed then I would understand you wanting to help–”

“This involves two citizens of Hazzard County, namely Bo and Luke Duke and the involvement of your officer is also my concern.”

“Sheriff–!”

“That’s my daughter they’ve got, Commander!”

The booking room fell into silence. “Your what?”

“My daughter…”

Commander Thomas looked at Laura. He knew she was Anna’s mother and when she nodded, he understood.

“If it’s all the same to you, Sheriff,” the Commander said carefully. “I don’t want your help in this. Just let my people do their thing.”

Rosco drew himself up to his full height now. “Commander…”

Laura touched his arm. “Rosco, please…”

“Laura, I’m not about to loose the daugher I just gained!”

“I know, Rosco. I know. But we’re not doing Anna or those two young men any good by arguing here.”

Rosco exhaled slowly. “Alright,” he agreed, grudgingly. “I’ll stay here.”

The Commander nodded. “Okay people, here’s what we’re gonna do….”

 

Meanwhile, the gang was pushing Anna and the boys into seperate cars. Chet and Donnie drove off with Anna, while the boys were in the same car as John and Willie. The Dodge truck, the Jeep and another car followed out of the clearing.

The CB radio in the car the boys were in was busy. The broadcasts were deceiving, however. Commander Thomas repeatedly said for troopers to “maintain positions” until further notice. “We don’t want to upset anything here, there are lives at stake. Let’s all be careful.” In actuality, troopers were already out and about in the county, looking for any suspicious activity, vehicles and the like, and for the boys and Anna. It
would take the gang anywhere from 45 to 60 minutes to get to the state line, depending what route they took and whether or not they ventured on to the main highways.

After a slow and dread filled 20 minutes, Rosco couldn’t stand it anymore. Laura had left the booking room a few minutes before to go to the ladies room. Rosco came to a decision and stood up suddenly looking at Enos.

“Where are the keys to the Trans Am?”

“Huh?”

“The Trans Am, Enos. Where are the keys?”

“Sheriff, the Commander said–”

“I don’t care what the Commander said. Give me the keys to the car, Enos.”

Enos hesitated but decided not to argue with Rosco. It would have been fruitless to anyway. He opened the drawer to his left and pulled out the key set, handing them without a word to Rosco.

The Sheriff didn’t bother with goodbye or even thanks. He took the keys and ran out of the booking room.
Laura came back from the ladies room to find Rosco gone.

“He what?!” she exclaimed when Enos told her that he took the keys to the Trans Am. Laura ran out of the booking room and down the hall towards the impound.

“Rosco, where are you going?” Laura called to him after she came out of the door. He didn’t turn to her and she picked up her pace. “Rosco!”

He had his hand on the door handle when Laura was beside him. “Rosco, what are you doing??”

“I’m goin’ to get Anna,” he answered and pulled the door open.

“What? Rosco, wait a minute–”

“I ain’t waitin’ for nothin’! I’ve been waitin’ here long enough. I’m goin’ to get her myself.” He got into the car and started the engine. He then looked at Laura. “I”m sorry,” he said. “But I don’t need some stuffed shirt trooper tellin’ me what to do. I’m still the Sheriff and this is my county. I’m gonna git her back.”

Laura knew she had no chance to argue with him. “Rosco…be careful. For god’s sake, please be careful.”

Rosco nodded. He then put the car in gear and drove out of the impound. Laura watched the grey Trans Am disappear out of the sqaure, her hands held in a pyramid to her lips as she fought tears and said a prayer.

 

John cursed when the driver of the truck with the still reported that several state police cars were coming up behind them. He had no time to carry out his original threat, that of knocking off Bo, Luke and Anna, so he grabbed up his radio mike and started barking orders to his other drivers.

Bo and Luke just watched from the back seat as the Hazzard country side went wizzing by them. More trooper cars were coming along the road that ran parallel with the one the chase was already on. The boys exchanged glances. Bo figured they were just going to have to hang on for the ride. Luke had something different in mind…

The truck and car with Anna in it, veered off on the other fork when they reached the intersection. The troopers split up accordingly.

Chet wasn’t going to follow the truck, nor was he going to try to help save it. At the first side road that came up, he swung the sedan on to it and hit the gas. Two cruisers followed after him, the other three going after the truck.

“Get rid of ‘em Donnie!”

Donnie was already leaning out the window and started firing at the patrol cars. He squeezed off several shots and Anna tried to stop him, hitting him in the back with her tied hands but her effort made no difference. Donnie kept shooting, and Anna looked in time to see the lead patrol car suddenly swerve across the road way, it’s blown out front tire useless. The second patrol car couldn’t stop quick enough and plowed into the back passenger side fender of the first one. The two cars crumpled to a stop and the sedan
made it’s get away.

“Nice shootin’, Donnie,” Chet congratulated. He hit the pedal and the car tore it’s way down Ridge Road.

Rosco spotted the sedan through the trees. He gunned the engine of the Trans Am and swung out on to Ridge Road, directly behind the light brown sedan. He saw Anna was seated in back with one of the men, who turned his head to look at the Trans Am. He then quickly turned to the driver.

The Trans Am growled like a tiger about to pounce on it’s prey. Rosco brought the car to the side and started to come up along side of the sedan. The man in back poked a gun out the window and tried to take aim, but Anna hit him in the back with her two hands that were tied together in front of her. The gun man turned to fight her off and Rosco slammed the front fender of the Trans Am into the sedan, pushing against it. Chet
tried to fight back, but the Trans Am’s engine had more power, giving the car more push.

Rosco brought the car back and then slammed into the sedan again pushing it off the road and into a field. The sedan hit some rocks, hard, and busted it’s own front wheel. Rosco swung the Trans Am off the road and into the field. Chet and Donnie were getting out of the car, dragging Anna with them. Rosco already had his hand on his pearl handled pistol and he pointed it out the window at the two as he brought the car to a stop.

“Hold it right there!”
Chet responded by pulling his gun out and pointing it directly at Anna’s head. “Not so fast, Sheriff. By the time you decide which one of us to shoot, the lady trooper here will be dead.”

Rosco held his aim even though he could feel Anna’s eyes on him, pleading.

“Drop the gun, Sheriff,” Chet said. “It’s all over.”

Rosco hesitated and then met Anna’s gaze.

“Daddy…please…” she whispered.

Chet and Donnie sneered at Rosco. “Daddy?” Chet said, amused. “Well now, come on dad, you don’t want us to spread your daughter’s brains all over this field do ya?”

Rosco paled. The mere thought felt like Chet had taken a knife and just cut Rosco’s soul out. After a moment, the gun dropped from his hand to the ground.

Chet chuckled. “Now get outta the car.”

Slowly, Rosco opened the door and stepped out of the grey car.

Chet was still chuckling. “Now I can finally finish you off, like I should have the first time.” Chet motioned for Donnie to take a hold of the Sheriff. “We’ll finish them off over there. They can die together, like father like daughter. Isn’t that nice of me?”

“Charitable,” Anna muttered.

“Shut up! Git over there!” He pushed Anna’s shoulder and she nearly collided with Rosco. Rosco put a steadying hand on his daughter’s arm and together they walked into the clearing.

* * * *

Bo and Luke sat in silence in the backseat. Bo was oblivious to what his older cousin was doing. Behind the older Duke boy’s back, his hands bound by rope, Luke had managed to squirm his small swiss army knife from his back pocket, opened the blade and was carefully cutting at the ropes on his wrists. It was going to take a while, but if he could give Bo the right signal it would pay off in the end.

The car sped over a bump on the road, and Luke made a point to nudge Bo’s shoulder more than what the shifting of the car created. Bo looked at his cousin and Luke turned his eyes down towards the back of the seat and gave a small nod of his head. Bo looked and saw the shiny knife working at the ropes. He nodded.

The car swung suddenly to the left, nearly sending Bo and Luke falling over like bowling pins. The knife dropped from Luke’s fingers and the boys heard the ‘pop’ of the blade stabbing into the seat. Luckily it was only the seat!

When the car settled, Luke found the knife and resumed sawing at the ropes. It wasn’t long before they started to loosen. He moved his wrists, all while trying to minimize the movement of his arms. After a moment, he was free from the ropes.

John and his driver weren’t paying any attention to the boys. The State Police had their full attention. Assured of this, Luke handed the knife to Bo and the younger Duke boy began to cut himself free.
Amidst bullets whizzing and sirens blaring, Bo freed his wrists. He followed Luke’s lead and kept his hands behind his back, waiting for the cue as to what to do next.

Slowly, Luke brought one hand out to his lap and in it was a piece of rope. He nodded for Bo to do the same thing. Bo now knew what was going on. He nodded and adjusted the length of rope in both of his hands. With neither John, nor Willie aware that their prisoners were loose, they suddenly felt the rough rope as it slipped around their necks.

* * * *

Anna was clinging to Rosco desperately, feeling like her entire State Police training had gone out the window. She had finally found her father…and now they were going to die together. The emotions of the situation only helped to make things seem hopeless. It seemed as though there was no way out. She noticed that Rosco was holding on to her as well, perhaps thinking the same thing.

“Anna, I’m sorry,” he managed to whisper before Chet demanded silence from them.

“I won’t make you endure a long good-bye,” he said as he checked the ammo in his gun. “The trouble is I don’t know which one of you I should take and which one Donnie should have.”

“Why don’t you finish me?” Rosco said, challenging the moonshiner and hoping to buy some time. “Isn’t that what you’ve wanted to do anyway?”

Chet’s eyes gleamed. “That’s true…but…” He looked at Anna. “I’d enjoy finishing off the lady here more.”

Rosco felt Anna stiffen at the suggestion. He gently squeezed her arm, hoping to let her know that he wasn’t going to let anything happen to her. Period.

“You don’t have a choice. You get to have me.”

“What makes you think Donnie here won’t decide to have some fun first?”

Rosco glanced at the other moonshiner. Donnie didn’t appear to be as into all of this as Chet was. His look was apprehensive and he seemed uneasy about the impending job.

“He ain’t got it in him,” Rosco said. “I mean, look at him. I don’t even think he’s got the guts to just plain pull the trigger.”

“Shut up. Donnie, finish her off!”

“Wait a minute!” Rosco exclaimed. “I want the ropes off her hands.”

“What fer?”

“Just take ‘em off. You could atleast afford her some dignity, you know. She is a State Trooper after all.”

Chet snorted but paused in thought. He motioned to Donnie to take the ropes off.

Rosco kept his eye on Chet, who kept his gun aimed at the Sheriff and Trooper. Donnie removed the ropes and then stepped away.

“Any other last requests?”

“May I have a moment with my daughter? Alone?”

Chet made a face. “Yeah, alright. But make it snappy. You only got one minute.”

He nodded to Donnie and then the two moonshiners stepped back a couple of feet, but kept an eye on the two law officers.

Rosco turned to Anna, who looked at him with sorrow.

“Daddy–”

“Shh, it’s alright, Anna,” he said softly and soothingly. “Listen to me, I think we still have a chance to get outta this…”

* * * *

Willie lashed out wildly, taking both hands off the steering wheel. He grabbed at the rope and then realized it wasn’t tight. The sedan swerved.

“Put your hands back on the wheel!!” Bo exclaimed.

“What the hell?” John said. He didn’t move much though, only to grab on to the dash board with one hand and bring the other to his throat.

“Stop the car or Bo and I take you out right now,” Luke said.

John laughed. “You gotta be kidding. You strangle us this car goes out of control and you end up getting killed as well.”

“That’s a chance we’re willing to take,” Bo said.

“You ever strangled anybody?” John asked. “It’s really not the most finesse way of killing. It’s actually kinda messy…”

“SHUT UP AND STOP THE CAR!!” Luke yelled, tightening his grip on the rope.

Bo gave Willie a little more incentive, but rubbing the rope back and forth a little on his neck, creating enough of a bad sensation for Willie to slam the brakes.

“Willie!!”

“To hell with ya!! I ain’t getting myself strangled.”

Once the sedan was stopped, state police cars surrounded it. Troopers ran to the car, pulling doors open and taking command of the situation. Grabbing John and Willie and pulling them out of the car, just as Bo and Luke let go of the ropes.

“You boys okay?” one of the officers asked.

“Yeah, we’re fine,” Luke said. He and Bo climbed out of the car, happy to be out of it. “That other car had Anna….”

“We know. They knocked out to two units that were after them. We got another one on the way but…”

“Do you remember which road they went off, Bo?” Luke asked.

“Yeah.”

“Come on then!” The boys bolted to an empty patrol car.

“Wait! You can’t take that car!!”

The boys didn’t acknowledge and jumped in. Bo slammed the accelerator and turned the patrol car around in a J turn. With lights flashing they tore off in the other direction.

“We’re nuts ain’t we?” Bo said suddenly.

“Probably. Just go, we gotta find her.”

“Yeah.”

* * * *

“Okay, you’ve had long enough,” Chet announced. He and Donnie walked towards Anna and Rosco. Anna gave Rosco a hug and they both stood, ready to meet their fate.

“Go on, Donnie.”

Donnie walked over to Anna. He cocked the gun and raised it to Anna hesitantly.

“You’re gonna have a hard time pullin’ that trigger ain’t ya?” Rosco said.

“Shut up,” Chet said. “Do it, Donnie, finish her off so we can get outta here.”

Donnie’s gun hand shook a little as he raised the weapon to Anna’s head. Anna herself wasn’t exactly standing still either, but she waited like Rosco had told her.

“He can’t do it, Chet,” Rosco said. “You may end up having to try to finish both of us yourself.”

“I said shut up! Donnie, pull the damn trigger!”

Donnie was a wreck now. He’d never killed anyone in his life. He had only been an accomplice, either driving the get away car or being a look out. He couldn’t handle the job himself and he wasn’t really interested in learning how to.

“Donnie…”

“Time’s up, Chet!”

Anna slugged her elbow into Donnie as Rosco ducked out of the way of Chet’s line of fire. Donnie stumbled to the ground. Anna looked to Chet and then started to run to take cover behind the Trans Am. Chet swung towards her and opened fire but the trooper disappeared behind the car.

With the moonshiner’s back to him, Rosco seized the moment. Knowing he was risking injury to himself, Rosco lunged to bring Chet down.

Anna heard another gun shot and then carefully peered over the tail of the Trans Am. Donnie was still on the ground, the gun a few feet away from him. She saw Rosco struggling with Chet so she quickly darted towards the gun on the ground.

Donnie got to his feet quick and went after Anna. The woman trooper seemed like an easy task to stop, but that in itself was misleading. Anna didn’t get to the gun for the moonshiner had grabbed a hold of her but she fought back, hard. Donnie got her pinned to the back of the Trans Am but Anna punched and elbowed in resistence.

Rosco fought as much as he could, but his previously wounded side was burning in warning. He ignored it and stayed on offensive, landing a couple of punches on Chet, dazing the killer for a moment. But Chet fought back and he knew right where to hit. Rosco left himself wide open long enough for Chet to land a hard punch into Rosco’s still healing wound.

Rosco cried out and staggered a bit before dropping to his knees and wrapping his arm around his side. Chet made a beeline for the gun that had fallen earlier.

Anna gave Donnie two more hits to the face, finally sending the man down. She looked up in time to see Chet pick up his gun and start to take aim at Rosco who was on the ground, holding his side, his face grimaced in pain. The Sheriff looked up, his eyes wide with fear and realization of what was about to happen.

Anna moved without thinking. She had Donnie’s gun in her hand, before she realized she had even moved to pick it up. She saw Chet, focused on his grip on the gun and she raised her arm and the weapon.

“Dad!!”

Rosco closed his eyes when the shot was fired and flinched. He drewn in a sharp breath, expecting it to be his last. But it wasn’t. A second shot was fired and then heavy silence came to the clearing and Rosco forced his eyes open.

Chet was on the ground, the side of his brown T-shirt darkened with blood. Rosco reeled at the sight, the nauseua from the pain in his side mixing with it. He closed his eyes but soon heard Anna’s voice and had his daughter beside him.

“Dad? Daddy, are you alright? Oh my Lord….” Anna put her arm around Rosco and then leaned to look at him. He opened his eyes and looked at her.

“He got ya right in the wound didn’t he?” she asked.

All Rosco could manage was a nod.

“Do you think you can get to the car?”

“I’ll try….”

“Alright, come on.”

“You two ain’t goin’ nowhere.”

Anna looked up to see Donnie, on his knees a few feet away, pointing his gun directly at her and Rosco. She shook her head.

“This is futile, Donnie,” Anna said. “Put the gun down, don’t make this worse than it already is.”

Donnie was shaking. “I never killed nobody in my life,” he said softly. “But you guys are gonna send me to jail. I don’t wanna go to jail…”

“Donnie, listen to me,” Anna said, trying to think quick to get him to the put the weapon down. “Put the gun down. Please. You don’t have to do this. You’re not going to have to go down for something you didn’t do.”

“All I was supposed to do was help make the shine, keep the camp running smooth and make a run if I had to,” Donnie continued, as if Anna hadn’t even spoken. He wasn’t even looking at her as he spoke, but to the ground. “Chet’s the one that did all the dirty work. I just went along because John told me too…”

Anna nodded. “Yeah, I know, Donnie. Chet seemed to enjoy what he did a little too much didn’t he?”

“I never wanted to hurt nobody.” He looked at her now. “But I ain’t goin’ to jail neither!”

“Okay..okay,” Anna said soothingly. “Now you know I’m a Lieutenant with the State Police. If you’ll put that gun down, I promise I’ll try to do what I can for you to see that you don’t have to serve any jail time, or maybe you’ll only have to serve a little bit, okay?”

Donnie hesitated, the gun still firmly in his grip and pointed at Anna and Rosco. He seemed to be contemplating his options and trying to figure if Anna’s offer was real. Rosco on the other hand, was finding himself hurting more and wishing Donnie would make up his mind, because the Sheriff wanted to go to the hospital. Now.

“Listen to her,” Rosco said, horsely. “Don’t do something foolish.”

Donnie thought a moment longer. “Do you really think you can get me less jail time, or none?”

“I can try. Would you be willing to testify against what Chet and John have done?”

That sobered Donnie a little. If he testified, would they go after him?

“What if they…try to get revenge or something?”

“That’d be hard for them to do in jail wouldn’t it? If we have to get you protection, we will.”

“You’d do that?” Donnie asked.

Anna nodded. Anything to get you to put that damn gun down!

The sound of sirens wailing in the distance could be heard, but Donnie was already putting the gun down. Anna took the gun and let out the breath she had been holding and looked up to see a lone state police patrol car coming down the road.

“There they are, Bo,” Luke said. He then squinted, seeing the Trans Am. “How the hell did that thing get there?”

Bo swung the patrol car off the road and down in to the field. As they got closer to the scene they could see Anna, Donnie, Chet on the ground and….

“That’s Rosco!” Luke exclaimed.

Bo brought the cruiser to a dust kicking stop and the two boys jumped out of the car.

“You alright, Anna?” Luke asked.

“I’m okay, but Rosco here needs to get to the hospital.”

More sirens were coming in.

“Rosco, what in tarnation pocessed you to get in on this?” Bo asked. “I thought you were supposed to be resting after getting shot!”

“Look, fellas, it’s a long story,” Anna said. “I really think my dad would like to go to the hospital now.”

Both boys did a double take. “Your WHAT?”

“My–” Anna stopped and then smiled. “My..father.”

“Rosco…?” Bo looked at the Sheriff, surprised. Rosco nodded.

“Anna’s my daughter.”

Bo looked at Luke, who had the same surprised look on his face but it melted into a chuckle. “Well, shoot that explains a lot. No wonder you were suspicious of us!” Luke laughed.

Bo was laughing too. “Well this is great! Come on, Rosco we’ll get ya to the hospital.”