by: Kristy Duke

“So, that’s it?” I slowly speak up to break the silence that had began to build up in the small muggy room. Anger quickly washes through me as I glare across the room at the muscular sandy brown haired man whose creamy blue eyes throw daggers through me. “You think Luke is your killer, so you won’t even consider looking for another suspect?”

Sergeant FBI Agent Frank Mills lets out a long audible sigh of frustration as he glares down at the wooden flooring of the small room, of where they have been located at for the past few weeks. “I don’t know what else you expect us to do, Bo,” he slowly speaks up before glancing back up at me, his hardened eyes seem to soften a bit, “we got your statement, Luke’s knife in my agent’s chest, his wallet in his car he had been runnin’ shine in, and his pocket watch. Whether you want to admit it or not, Luke is a trained killer and has killed several times before at war. Once you killed someone, it becomes easier to kill, especially when anger has the better part of you.”

Silence slowly rebuilds in the small room as he slowly turns around to glare out the small window that displays the towns square a block away as well as a few neighboring buildings. “Bo,” a thickly southern accented voice slices through the thick silence to avert my attention to the head of the room, where Atlanta’s district attorney stands, “of all the information we have gathered around here, we understand how close you were. . .I mean are with Luke, how you look up to him. But this is murder we are talking about, cold blooded murder. Murder of an FBI agent…a damn good agent and a damn good man.”

“So he was a good man…a good agent! But my cousin didn’t kill him!” I yell glaring angrily at the district attorney who stands four inches shorter than I with thinly cut brown hair and inch long side burns.

Anger radiates in the attorney’s light brown eyes as he takes a couple of threatening steps closer to me and I quickly step back, trapping myself in a corner. “Fine! Believe what you want, but once a jury hears your testimony of what you saw and heard, of the knife and the pocket watch you identified as Luke’s, and the description that fits Luke…they’ll find him guilty!” The district attorney is now less than two inches in front of me, melting me with his fiery anger that dances in his light brown eyes. I gasp in surprise as he abruptly grabs onto my denim coat and thrashes me into the hollow walls before lowering his booming voice before continuing, “Because he is guilty.”

“Ryan!” William quickly rushes to my side from where he had been sitting on the edge of a beaten wooden desk, studying some papers within a manila folder, “You let him go…and cool it! You have what you want from him!”

“Ryan,” Frank says from the window, prodding him to let go of my coat. Reluctantly, Ryan slowly lets go of my coat and slowly takes a couple of steady steps away from me while he takes a couple of deep breathes.

For a short moment I glare angrily at the young district attorney who stands in front of me as my chest tightens painfully within me, sending fiery pain through my chest as well as in my lungs with each breath I take. A wave of dizziness is soon to wash through me as I slowly glance around the room, from Ryan to Frank and then to William, whose eyes all seem to be glued on me. “You OK Bo?” William finally speaks up, breaking the silence that had began to fill the room, “Bo?”

I slowly nod my head as I fight back the dizziness that continues to wash through me with the harsh pain that escalates within my chest and in my lungs. “I’ll be fine,” I slowly gasp through forceful breathes as I attempt to glance up at the small wall clock to find it to be two in the afternoon. I sigh in frustration at seeing that I have two hours left until my next dosage of pain killers before I hesitantly reach into my jean pocket to pull out my inhaler. Silence continues to build within the small room that the sheriff had designated to Frank Mills as they all silently watch me as I breath in three puffs from my inhaler. Feeling some relief from the pain in my lungs, I slowly re-pocket the inhaler before taking a small step forward to get out of the corner I had trapped myself in.

“I think he’s had enough of this meeting,” William slowly speaks up for me, “and I think he has told you all of what he has to tell you. He is cooperating with you as much as he can cooperate with you with the given circumstances he is in…give him some credit, Ryan.” He pauses for a brief moment to put a caring hand upon my tense shoulder, “Let’s go Bo.”

“Well,” District Attorney Ryan Rains speaks over our shoulder as I slowly open the old wooden door, “don’t forget to mention our deal with your client Thortan…it is now or never.”

“I’ll try to remember,” William responds as I step out into the wide hall way to glance down the hall at the familiar door that lies open to the sheriff’s station, “though I will have to recommend he denies your deal.”

“It’s his funeral,” Ryan shouts through the door as William quickly closes the door, the thick foggy glass window that hangs in the middle of door rattles a bit with his force.

“Don’t give Ryan no attention back there,” he motions back towards the closed door before taking a couple of steps to the side door, “Ryan is one of the best prosecutors I know around these here parts, perhaps in the south…a great district attorney. He has experience under his belt and tons of victories to go with his experience accompanied by only a few losses. He loves his job and he knows he’s good at it…not many prosecutors make it to be district attorneys not alone as how young he is. On a personal level, he is a great guy, modest and honest…something that is very rare in the position he holds,” he pauses for a long moment, “but the one thing he has, is a temper. What you saw in there was just the tip of his temper, something to awaken you with hopes of getting what he wants.”

I sigh warily as we reach the side door that leads back out into the chilly late winter’s afternoon before I ask, “What you’re sayin’ is, is that we don’t stand much chance of winning against him?”

William bites his lower lip as he shoves open the door and allows me to walk out first where we follow the side walk down past some of the shrubbery. “I’m not saying that,” William finally speaks up as he comes to a halt as we reach the end of the shrubbery, “I have won a few cases that look as bad as this one…one of them against Rains. What I am saying is that we have a long rough road ahead of us is all,” he pauses for a thoughtful second, “and at the end, the answer to this puzzle will be solved of who killed Lurns. Whether it is Luke or someone else.”

“It wasn’t Luke,” I answer stubbornly before I glance over his shoulder to find Brodie and Dobro sitting on one of the concrete steps that lead up the court house.

“We’ll find out,” William only nods while he offers me an understanding smile, the kind of smile Jesse gives me when he wants to believe what I am saying. After a short moment he glances at his expensive watch before looking back up at me, “Thank-you for attending the meeting…Ryan needed to hear your testimony and he wanted to share his deal with me; the only reason why he allowed me to come in with you all after you finished telling him your testimony.” He sighs as he glances around for a short moment, “I am afraid I need to go get some paper work done before I head back to Atlanta to tell Luke of Rains’ deal. Hang tough, Bo.”

I slowly nod in understanding as he silently shakes my hand with a firm grip before he slowly turns and begins to make his own path through the wet grass towards his late model black Dodge Intrepid is parked. After a short moment he reaches his fancy car and slowly climbs into the driver’s seat before the engine gives a soft powerful purr of the ignition. Absently I grip at my chest through my jacket as I admire the expensive car while he drives past, waving at me. I keep a tight grip at my chest as harsh pain filters thickly through my chest and lungs as I fight to control the pain while I silently take in the small town I have grown up in.

“Bo!” Brodie’s thick voice alerts me and I slowly turn to find Brodie and Dobro running to catch up with me, only a few feet away from me. Quickly I yank my hand away from my chest to shove it deeply into my jacket’s side pocket as I silently take in my two closest friends, excluding Luke and Cooter. “Uncle Jesse tol’ us you were here at some meeting,” Brodie slowly starts to explain as he nervously tugs at the bill of his bright blue hat with his right hand while his left hand remains hidden in the side pocket of his thin brown coat.

“So we figured we’d come and see how it went,” Dobro shrugs, finishing up explaining for Brodie before he spits a wad of tobacco out on the court’s neat kept grass. Silence soon creeps up between us as Dobro glances back up at me with his greenish brown eyes that shine with craziness and worry. “So? How did it go?” he finally speaks up to break the silence.

“As well as any of the other meetings I guess,” I shrug as I fight back the emotions that rush through me, “I got to meet the district attorney of Atlanta. I guess he will be the prosecutor of Luke’s case…Ryan Rains. He has the same concept as all the others that are stacked against Luke…as long as they got Luke, they ain’t searchin’ for any more suspects. According to Ryan there is no other suspect, cause Luke’s the one that did it.”

“I hate to say it,” Brodie shrugs as he places a caring hand on my shoulder as we walk to the side walk that leads parallel to the road, “but perhaps he did do it.”

“So you gonna join them too?” I snap as anger rushes through me at hearing my own friend’s doubt of my cousin, “Luke wouldn’t and didn’t kill him. Which means someone else did do it,” I pause as my mind runs wildly within me, “and if they aren’t gonna look for the killer, I will.”

This brings both Dobro and Brodie to a complete halt and I slowly stop to look back at them. “Have you lost your mind?” Brodie finally asks, his voice drips with surprise and sarcasm, “OK, perhaps Luke didn’t kill that agent and true, if Luke didn’t kill him, then it was someone else that did kill that agent. Have you even thought about what would happen to you if you were to even think about looking around? If you found something leading to someone else? If they killed an FBI agent, they wouldn’t think twice about killing you…they’d probably welcome the idea of killing you, since you are their key witness!”

“Not to mention,” Dobro has to put his word in as we slowly begin to walk once again, “of how worried Jesse is already about you. He’d definitely wouldn’t enjoy the idea of you out searching for the killer.”

I quickly send him an angered look only to find a hunter green old farm truck parked along side the curb a half block away, across the street; a large dark figure of a person engulfs the driver’s seat. Fear slowly begins to grow within me at seeing the truck that had followed me here at a miles length distance and had parked there only moments after I had parked at the local garage across the street. The man remains planted in the driver’s seat while attempting to remain unnoticed while watching me.

Attempting to look and remain calm, I slowly avert my attention to across the street where Cooter’s small garage lays, finding Kristy’s truck and Brodie’s car parked next to my car. “Well,” I slowly glance up at Brodie and Dobro, “you can either help me try to clear Luke’s name, or I will do it by myself. It is up to you.”

Once again, silence falls upon us as we slowly cross the empty road to Cooter’s cracked drive way that holds a couple of old gas pumps. “You are really serious about this, aren’t you?” Brodie slowly asks as he readjusts his hat for a brief moment and I slowly nod, “Well I ain’t about to let you go out and do this by yourself…I will do anything I can to do to help.”

“You can count me in,” Dobro slowly answers through a half grin besides me.

I nod slowly as I glance over my shoulder at the suspicious vehicle that is parked a half block away before I slowly follow Brodie and Dobro into the small garage. “Well howdy y’all. Hi Bo,” LB grins from the old scarred desk that rests against the wall that separates the walk in door and the garage door.

“Hi,” I silently shrug as I slowly glance around the small room to find Cooter working on an old rusty car while Garrett and Kristy talk in the back corner.

“How the meeting go with the DA?” Kristy slowly turns away from Garrett and slowly walks over to where I stand next to LB and Dobro.

Fighting back the harsh pain, I lend her a small shrug before I slowly rest upon the edge of the desk, away from LB’s paper work. “It went as expected…they only hearin’ what they want to hear,” I slowly speak up, “as long as they got Luke, they aren’t even thinkin’ bout looking to see if there is any other suspects. ”

Silence slowly ushers it’s way through the room as everyone’s eyes seems to be attached to me, even Cooter stops working under the hood to look at me. “That is what William had expected would happen,” Kristy slowly gives me a soft hug as her soft thick reddish blond hair falls over her soft clear skin. Standing up she gently pushes her hair back behind her before saying, “If Luke didn’t do what they have charged him with, William will get to the clear Luke.”

“There’s no if,” I slowly speak up, attempting to fight back the anger to continues to flow through me, “he didn’t do it…he wouldn’t do it.”

“I know how you feel about him Bo…how you look up to him,” I sigh as Cooter begins on the mantra I have been hearing all afternoon so far, “but even you have to step back and think that the evidence and your description all points to him. And at war -”

“Damn it Cooter! I thought you of all people would be on my side…that you would be on his side!” I abruptly yell to receive startled looks by everyone around me, “Luke didn’t kill Travis!” I slowly pause to take a deep breath as I fight to control my emotions that wash thickly over me, “Which means someone else did,” I continue with a calmed voice, “and if that person were to become aware to Frank and his crowd, then Luke would have to be set free.”

“I hope you ain’t suggesting what I think you’re suggesting,” Cooter slowly speaks up after a long moment of silence.

“He is,” Brodie is quick to speak up, giving me a disapproving look, “I agreed to help so has Dobro. He is set on it…alone or with help.”

“That’s crazy!” LB is the first to speak up as he abruptly rises from his chair, “Given the fact that there may be someone else that killed that there agent, they’d have little to no problem killing again. Especially the state’s key witness!”

“I pointed out the same point myself,” Brodie answers as he steps away from the crowd that has gathered around me, “but he won’t listen.”

My mind rushes wildly within me of all that has happened and of what I had heard this morning from the meeting to talking to William, of all the possibilities. “Well if the FBI won’t look for the right suspect, then I will. I may cooperate with them with my testimony…which will nail Luke to his cross, but I ain’t about to sit and do nothing about it,” I slowly speak up as I force a long moment of silence to come across us as pain becomes unbearable within me, “the way I see it, is that the FBI is after someone for something serious.”

“Yeah after Luke for killing one of their own,” Cooter quickly responds and I shoot him an angered glare.

“The FBI didn’t come to Hazzard for no vacation,” I quickly snap back at Cooter who gives me a quizzical look, “Well the FBI were here in Hazzard for at least a week before Travis had gotten killed…and they weren’t after Luke then. We all seen Travis with Daisy at the Boar’s Nest that night,” I go silent for a moment as I am reminded of that horrid night, “and he was an FBI agent. Seeing how many other FBI agents were down here when I called it in to Rosco…only means they were down here for some other reason. The only other reason I can think of is, is that they were chasing someone or are after someone that had somehow led them to Hazzard.”

A thick air of silence is quick to evolve amongst us as everyone gives me a stunned and surprised look as the tension in the room seems to have leaked out some how. “I never thought of that,” Cooter is the first to speak up, “but who could it be that they’ve been after? I haven’t seen any thing -” he stops himself as he glances over to Kristy and Garrett, “hey didn’t you say that, that car that the Jaguar was chasing was a red Mustang, Kristy?”

“Yeah,” Kristy replies warily, “I think it was a Mustang with tinted windows. I wasn’t sure at the time…with all that had happened.”

“Daisy tol’ me that Travis owned a new Mustang,” Cooter slowly responds.

“And it was red,” I am soon to follow where he is taking us to.

“Last I knew,” LB speaks up from where he stands next to Kristy a few feet away, “there were no Jaguars in Hazzard.”

“That’s cause,” Dobro grins up at him, “there ain’t no one owning no expensive car such as a Jaguar that lives in Hazzard. Well I guess,” Dobro smiles at Kristy, “Kristy’s truck has to be the most expensive and new vehicle in Hazzard.”

Once again a thick air of silence is spread through the room as we all glance at one another in amazement and in shock of what has evolved within only a matter of minutes. “Wait a moment,” Kristy breaks the silence as she lays a comforting hand upon my shoulder before she edges her way between us to the door. After a short moment she escapes out the walk through door, leaving us all to glance questionably at one another. Through the thin wooden walls of the garage a car door slamming shut near by is audible from where we are gathered, silently waiting for Kristy’s return. “Got it,” Kristy slowly speaks up as she slowly walks back into the chilly garage, carrying a black video tape in a white video tape sleeve.

“What’s you got?” LB questions as he takes a couple of steps to stand next to Kristy who confidently walks over to me, handing me the tape.

“A video tape of some sort,” Kristy shrugs, “I picked it up after the accident,” she slowly turns over to LB before glancing over her shoulder at Garrett who lingers back in the shadows, “you were the LB. After we all had convinced the men that was piled up in that expensive Jaguar that they were at fault, that we would bring in the law if they didn’t plan on paying, the man in charge had directed one of his men to get the money. LB had given them a figure that he thought would take to fix my truck. Well when the man got into the back seat and got the money out, something had fallen out without any of them noticing. I had picked it up after they had left and out of site while LB attached my truck to his tow truck. I had shoved the tape into one of the many compartments of my truck and had forgotten about it…until now.”

“I didn’t even notice you goin’ and pickin’ it up,” LB finally speaks up to break the silence that had began to grow within the room as everyone’s eyes become planted upon the tape in my hands. I glance up at LB to find him glancing up at Kristy in awe, in amazement, and I let out a sigh of frustration as I glance back at the tape. “Well why don’t we find a TV and a VCR and see what it has on it?” LB speaks up after a long moment of silence.

“If you all think it is them men in that Jaguar that had killed Travis,” Garrett speaks up from his corner before he takes a step to join in the circle around me and the desk, “it would be best to hand it over to the FBI for evidence. Kristy and Bo both have their finger prints all over it.”

For a long moment I glare over Dobro’s shoulder at Garrett who lends me a hardened look before he looks over at Kristy. Glancing back down at the tape, I fight for the ability to reach a decision of what to do, what should be done. I fight for air as I weakly stand to slowly make my way through an opening between Brodie and Cooter to slowly walk over to the small TV and VCR that Cooter has sitting on an old metal stand. Thick layers of dust has collected upon the small screen as well as on top of the old VCR displaying the neglect of use in a long while. Searching through the dust covered buttons I slowly insert the tape into the VCR before turning on the TV and placing the sleeve on top of the dusty TV.

“Too bad we don’t have nothing to drink,” LB speaks up as black and white snow washes over the screen before a clear image slowly falls into place, “and some pop corn.”

LB’s small smirk is quick to disappear into seriousness as he grows quiet when he glances back at the TV to see the image displayed upon the screen. The screen so far shows a large concrete floor that is heavily stained with oil and grease, tools are spread along side each brick wall, two white garage doors sit in front of the room next to one another, while a door lies shut on the back wall. On the left wall stands a gray heavy door with clear windows along both sides of the door to display what looks to be an office with a large metal desk and a large man sitting behind the desk. A garage. For a long moment the only action of the film is of the broad shoulder man that sits behind the desk that swivels in his chair every so often or reaches to pick up the cord phone while the garage part remains empty.

Of what seems to last a long moment of emptiness the right garage door opens and a black Jaguar slowly pulls up and the door closes behind them. “That’s the car that ran into me,” Kristy silently says from behind me. A man dressed in a black suit slowly steps out of the driver’s seat and casually walks around to open the passenger door and a tall man with chiseled features steps out. “That there guy acted as the guy in charge of everything,” Kristy nods as the handsome mans runs a hand through his black greased hair. A couple more men pile out from the back seat, a burly man with thick reddish brown hair that is long and ratty, thrown in a pony tail, while a wiry muscular man with a dark olive complexion follows the big man. The man that represents power and authority glances at an expensive looking gold watch that lies hidden under the sleeve of his black sports coat and yells something at the men behind him.

“There was another man that was at the accident that day,” Garrett speaks up behind me, standing besides Kristy to break the silence that had caved in Cooter’s garage, “perhaps the guy in the office?”

Brodie sends a small shrug besides me as his eyes are glued to the TV with intense interest as well as Dobro and Cooter. LB’s fiery green eyes shine with fear and disbelief as he continues to watch the tape. “Perhaps,” Dobro speaks up, “but what garage around these here parts, has a security camera?”

“Perhaps somewhere in Atlanta,” Brodie offers up as the man from the office slowly stands up and walks through the door. From the view on the tape the man that had sat behind the desk stands tall and muscular with a self confidence that radiates from his thin body. Dark brown hair filters under an Atlanta Braves baseball hat while thick dark brown hair covers most of his face with a thin beard and mustache.

A few more moments pass by as the five men stand next to the black expensive car, looking to be talking while the man in charge continues to glance at his watch every few minutes. After awhile the back door is thrown open to shine a ray of sun light into the garage and two more tall muscular figures walk in. As they close the door behind themselves their features become clear through the video, the younger and shorter of the two men wears a tan cowboy hat with handsome features that hides within the shadows of the hat while the other man shows great resemblance to the man in the cowboy hat. The taller of the two has light brown hair that is cut short and thinly while a five o’clock shadow of a beard softly displays upon the screen, attentive dark eyes dart around his surroundings.

“Never seen any of them three,” Kristy informs us, meaning that there is at least one other guy that isn’t shown the screen. A few long moments of silent chatter is spread through the tape as the tape shows the men standing in front of the car talking before the leader presses a button of some controller that had been sitting on the black hood. A moment later the garage door slowly opens and more sunlight is shone into the dark garage as a black Suburban truck with tinted windows slowly drives into the garage and the garage door quickly follows. Slowly the driver’s door is thrown open and another muscular man stands up with thin black hair that is pulled back into a greasy pony tail. The man wears knee long khaki baggy shorts and a tight white tank top that displays several tattoos on his upper arms.

The man in charge seems to yell something at the new comer who yells back as he slowly reaches the crowd of men, giving his key ring with only one key on it to the tall man with a thin beard and mustache. They seem to talk for along moment before the man in charge hands the new comer another pair of keys while he fishes in his baggy pockets. After a long moment the new comer brings out a large bundle of money that is wrapped in a thick rubber band and hands it to the man in charge. A broad grin reaches his face as he thumbs through the money before looking back up at his customer and says a few more things before a garage door opens and the new comer walks back out into the sun lit afternoon. A moment later the door closes again, entrapping the darkness within the room.

Soon after the men pile back into the Jaguar where they slowly back out of the open garage door before closing it after them, leaving three men standing in the room with the Suburban. A moment passes of small talk before all three of them step into the office. “Fast forward it,” Dobro suggests motioning towards the VCR and Brodie nods in agreement. I slowly step forward and begin to fast forward it, watching lines float across the screen. “OK stop,” Dobro yells out as the Jaguar returns onto the screen. Pushing play the garage door closes and blackness is shone from the outside world while the time on the tape displays midnight. “I didn’t know any garages that work at midnight.”

“Me either,” Brodie agrees only to be shushed by Cooter. Methodically, the men pile out of the expensive car while the three men slowly exit the office area to greet their company. After a short moment of more talk, the chauffeur opens the trunk of the car and soon after a couple men walk out from under the truck with their hands filled with what looks to be weapons of all size and shape. They slowly move towards the parked Suburban while couple more of the men exit from behind the open hood carrying several bags of needles and of something that looks to be white powder. “Weapons and guns!” Brodie exclaims in surprise as the men climb methodically in the Suburban while we watch with shock as we are left to glare through the darkness of the open Suburban. A couple of men work at the front seat while a couple of the others work in the back seat, pulling apart the counsel in the front seat and the cushions of the back seat. After a long moment the men have separated several openings within the interior of the expensive truck and they begin to stuff the sack loads of drugs and the weapons within the openings they have created.

“Creative,” Cooter whispers, describing what he sees on TV as the men slowly work at putting the inside of the truck back together as they had found it. A brief moment passes before they exit the Suburban and closes the door behind them to gather back at their car once again. We watch for a short moment before the garage door is slowly opened and the man with baggy shorts slowly returns before they close the door behind him. Once again they all stand and talk before three of them exit by the back door, the man with the five o’clock shadow with the bearded man and with the younger man with a cowboy hat.

“The tape needs sound,” Dobro speaks up once again, unable to handle the silence that creeps thickly through Cooter’s garage. Abruptly, with no warning, the man in charge harshly punches the man in baggy pants who doubles over in surprise and pain only to be kneed in the face, to throw him harshly to the cement ground. For a short moment the men gather around him, watching the man lying on the ground in pain before the powered man begins to kick him harshly and repeatedly. The baggy shorts man curls up for as much protection as he can get as the powered man continues to kick him harshly while yelling at him about something before he grabs a wallet out of his inner pocket. Angrily the leader of the pack throws the wallet onto the ground a foot away from the beaten man to land open, showing a brightly shiny gold badge.

“An under cover FBI agent,” I silently utter, speaking for the first time since playing the tape, “that’s the same badge that Mills and Mueller have.”

The man on the floor continues to take a harsh beating from the leader with little struggle for support before he slowly reaches into his pants, bringing out a black hand gun. Instantly the large burly man rushes in to kick the cop’s hand with steel tipped boots to send the gun sliding across the floor, before he stands upon the cop’s hand and wrist. Standing full weight upon the agent’s hand, the leader continues to beat him with harsh kicks while everyone else stands around watching. By now the cop’s eyes are tightly closed as blood pours from harsh cuts on his face while blood gushes out from under the large man’s boot.

Despite it being on video tape, fear crawls vividly through me as I am instantly reminded of the horrid night a few weeks ago, of watching Travis being beaten, before being stabbed to death. Continuing to kick the cop, the man of power slowly brings out a large black hand gun of his own before slowly aiming it at the still cop. A broad smile covers the man’s face as he yanks a couple of times at the black trigger which sends two bullets speeding out of the barrel of the gun, ushering deep bloody holes within the cops muscular chest. His white tank top is instantly drenched is his blood as the man of power places a boot upon the dead cop, nudging him as the killer did to Travis.

Silence of shock and terror sweeps through the garage as the man of authority turns and walks to the corner to dial upon his silver cell phone while his men slowly lift the dead body to disappear out the back door. After a short moment the men return without any trace of the cop other than for the blood on their clothes. “I bet they put the body in a trash bin in the alley,” Brodie speaks up, “I also bet the rest of the tape is filled with other customers buying their drugs and guns…their way of inventory…the video tape.”

“Turn it off,” Cooter speaks up as he stands up from the empty crate he had been sitting on, “that is enough for me.”

Numbly, I slowly step up to the VCR where I push stop before pressing rewind and turning the TV off. Silence soon flows around the room as we all silently look from one another in shock and terror at all that we had witnessed. “That’s horrible,” Kristy is the first to put words to her reaction as she hugs onto Garrett’s muscular arm while Garrett displays little to no reaction of what he had just seen.

“There’s the reason why the FBI’s in town,” Garrett slowly speaks up after giving Kristy a comforting hug and steps closer to where I stand, “they must have came to Hazzard for some reason…the FBI followed them here. You turn that there in to Sergeant Mills and I bet he’ll start thinkin’ else wise of who is guilty of Travis’ murder.”

Abruptly the VCR sends off a loud clicking noise to indicate that it is done rewinding and I slowly move to retrieve it and place it back into the sleeve. “I’ll need to go in with you,” Kristy speaks up, “they’ll want to know how you got the tape and perhaps even Garrett. When should we give it to them?”

“Sooner the better,” Cooter speaks up as he moves away from the TV and back to the desk and we are soon to follow him there.

“Perhaps not,” LB finally speaks up for the first time since we had started the video and everyone looks questionably at him, “that there tape won’t fix nothing nor will it get Luke out of jail.”

“Why not?” I abruptly glare around at him as the pain intensifies within my chest and breathing becomes a painful chore, “It shows them killing one of their other agents who’s to say they didn’t -”

“Not me…I follow you a hundred percent Bo, this here tape gives me enough evidence to say that Luke ain’t apart of this here gang nor killed an FBI agent by himself,” LB says defensively as he glances around the room for support, “but the FBI isn’t about to see that. You said it yourself, as long as they got a suspect in jail, they’re satisfied…it wouldn’t look good on their record nor the DA’s record to show that they arrested the wrong man for the wrong crime.”

It goes silent for a long moment as the tape slowly gnaws within me, forcing me to relive the horrid night of watching Travis being beaten to death, his yells great pain echoes within me. “The FBI came to Hazzard knowing that those men had killed their other agent,” Garrett slowly answers as he glares off into space, thoughtfully, as he slowly sits upon the edge of an old table, a few feet away, “therefore the tape wouldn’t do anyone much good, not alone Luke.”

“Damn it,” I silently mutter as I force myself to rest upon the old chair that sits in front of the old desk before glancing up at the small clock that Cooter has on his wooden walls to show me that I am past due for my medication by fifteen minutes. Looking back up at them I slowly ask, “What y’all want to do? I need to be getting home for the moment.”

“I say keep it for now,” LB speaks up, giving me a slow shrug, “until we find more evidence that will direct the cops in the right direction. Giving it to them now won’t do no good, especially since they won’t listen.”

I nod before I weakly stand up as I slowly tuck the tape into the inside pocket of my jacket as my mind races wildly within me of all that has happened this afternoon, of the past few weeks since this all had started. “So y’all in?” I finally ask as I reach the door.

“It’s crazy,” Cooter speaks up as he glances around, “but I think I speak for everyone, when I say yeah. We can meet tomorrow mornin’ to try to get something started…most of us knows Hazzard and hidin’ a big ol’ Jaguar like that won’t be easy for them to hide.”

“Not me,” Kristy shrugs leaning against a post, “I start work for Hogg tomorrow morning. I’ll keep you posted if I learn anything more.”

I nod as I force them all a painful smile before I step out into the windy afternoon and say, “Bye.” I sigh warily as fear rushes through me as the tape replays itself within me as well as the vivid scenes of watching Travis being killed. Fear not only for the agents that had lost their lives, but for what the future may hold for us as well as for Luke. My heart tightens painfully tight within me as my fear continues to escalates within me as I spot the driver still in the hunter green old truck sitting at the curb. “Damn it,” I mutter as I attempt to remain calm as I cross the street towards my own car.

 

***LUKE DUKE***

 

Pain is quickly ushered through my throbbing body as the two large men continues to shove harsh and painful kicks. “Damn plowboy don’t know how to listen, does he?!” the tall man in his orange jumper hisses at me through clenched teeth, “I tol’ you to leave me alone…if you leave us all alone, we’d have no problem.”

“I didn’t – ” I struggle for air before I am thrown into a harsh coughing fit and I am left to wonder if this is how Bo feels. Fear runs through me as blood slowly drips from a cut upon my cheek and lower lip as I feel several bruises continue to build with each kick. “I didn’t mean to.”

The tall man itches his muscular brown neck before sending me another kick to my chest while the man that has tattoos climbing up his muscular arm kicks me in the back several times. “Enough,” Erick stands up from his cot as well as the man they call Scar, who shares a wall with the quiet older man.

“He won’t do it again, will ya Luke?” Scar asks running a small hand through his bright blond hair and I slowly and painfully shake my head no.

“Better not,” the tall muscular man says as he sends me one more powerful kick to my chest before stepping back, “wouldn’t want to see you bein’ wheeled off to the morgue…now would we?”

I glare up at him in fear and shock at his threat before reminding myself that he’s killed before and is facing the death penalty, killing me would be nothing to him. Perhaps one last pleasure to him. Satisfied that they are through with the beating, I slowly force myself to my feet while feeling everyone’s eyes on me, including the guards. I had fought to defend myself against the dark skinned man only to be blind sided by the tattooed man. I slowly accept the towel the guard holds through the bars for me before I slowly walk over to my cot where Erick helps me sit back down on the edge of his cot.

“You OK?” he slowly asks as I apply the thick towel up to my face as I feel the pain spread through my body, “I’ve never seen anyone have the guts to turn back and attack him like that … to stand up to him like that.”

“I see why,” I slowly answer as I glare angrily at the man’s back as him and his tattooed friend begins to play cards, “but I wasn’t about to sit and allow him to tear apart the only thing I had left and do nothing about it.”

“I don’t blame you,” Erick slowly answers. I had been looking at a picture of an old family picture, thinking of the past and of the future for my family, when the tall man had stolen it away from me and tore it to small pieces. Silence slowly evolves in our cell while other people yell out down the hall and I close my eyes, fighting to recall living back at the farm, with my family. “How your hearing go yesterday?” Erick speaks up, talking about the preliminary hearing I had yesterday; which allowed for William to view the evidence and witnesses that the DA has.

“Horrible. I don’t see how they can have so much evidence pointing towards me or my cousin’s testimony, when I wasn’t there…when I didn’t do it,” I sigh in discouragement, “I’ll admit to running shine, but I didn’t kill that agent. Worse yet…the judge denied bail last week. Looks like I’m stuck here for the long haul.”

“Well…good luck with it all,” he finally says, “trials aren’t any fun. Mine wasn’t at least…of course I knew I was guilty before hand and knew what the verdict would be. I made a deal and went for life instead of the death penalty.” I look at him disbelief that he would have it in him to kill anyone in cold blood. “I am not proud that I did what I did…owned a gun for safety purposes and that is the first thing I thought of when I got home that night,” he pauses, “I went out drinking with my guy friends…had too much to even drive, but I drove. Got home and found my wife…my whole life, in bed with my brother. I killed my baby brother.” He pauses once again to fight back the wetness in his eyes, his emotions, “But if you really didn’t kill that cop, then that is rough. Once the cops have a suspect, they don’t usually change their minds upon the suspect.”

I nod warily as I glare down at my shoes, at the floor as I am once again filled with disbelief at finding myself in jail for murder. Who would ever think I could do such a thing? Anger flushes through me at thinking of my family’s reaction, at Jesse’s scepticism of my innocence to Bo’s faith in me. I sigh tiredly as my thoughts turn to Bo of all that he has went through since I have returned home from war, from his illnesses returning to witnessing his first death being killed. My heart tightens in sadness at the thought of all that is happening to my family.

 

***BO DUKE***

 

Deep worry and concern shines brightly in his wise crystal blue eyes as he tiredly glares down into his dark coffee that sits on the table, besides his open newspaper. Within the pages of the days’ edition lies a large picture of Luke, above the picture lies in big black bold letters reads: LOCAL DUKE BOY FACES TRIAL. A decent sized article surrounds the picture of Luke while beneath Luke’s article lies an article on Daisy who remains deeply in her coma with a nice picture of her. Jesse allows a deep sigh to escape him as he slowly shifts his attention from the two articles about my cousin to the bottom article that is about the FBI, about Travis Lurns. For a long moment I slowly watch my uncle glaring down at the pictures, taking in the information that has tore our family apart while silence engulfs the kitchen.

“Damn it,” Jesse finally says, his voice quivers in tears as he slams the paper shut upon the old family kitchen table. His head remains bowed as he slowly brings his shaky hands up to his forehead as his emotions grab a tight hold of him, squeezing salty tears from his normally bright eyes, now clouded over with deep pain, fear, and sadness. My heart tightens with sadness within me at seeing my uncle losing control of his emotions, never before had I seen him cry. He had often times shown his fear and worry for me while I had grown up with my disease, but he never allowed me to see him shed a tear, always remaining strong, for me. And yet, not only one tear falls from his eyes now, but a few, tears chase tears down his weathered cheeks to soak up into his thick beard and mustache.

After a short moment of weakness, Jesse slowly leans back in his chair and as his wet eyes meet mine, surprise quickly enters his blue eyes at seeing me here, as if he didn’t know I was here. Quickly, he wipes at his eyes and cheeks as embarrassment spreads across his face at allowing himself been seen crying by me. “Things will work out,” I slowly shrug helplessly, not knowing what else to say or to do.

For a brief moment a small smile reaches his face as he slowly raises to his feet, for the first time since I seen him, looking old and weathered. “Sure they will,” he gives me a small smile as his eyes take me in with worried eyes, “so tell me what you and LB, Cooter, Brodie, and Dobro been doin’ the past couple of days? And what are you doing today?”

Abruptly I glare up at him from staring at his crinkled newspaper as I grasp for a reasonable idea to tell him, knowing if I’d to tell him the truth, he’d only worry more. “Just hangin’ around,” I shrug, “talking I guess. Garrett has been there too.”

He gives me a surprised look at hearing me speak of Garrett. “Really? I am glad to hear that,” he smiles with understanding before looking up at the clock, “I hope you all are out creating trouble or something that will get you all hurt. You know how I feel.”

“Yes sir,” I nod obediently as I glance up at the clock and slowly move to the door, “I need to g meet LB at the garage. I’ll be back later this morning.”

“I will see you then,” Jesse offers me a small smile before slowly sitting back down in his chair, taking a drink of his coffee.

*****

“I think we should go to the FBI…visit your ol’ friend, Sergeant Mills,” LB drawls as he glances once again in his rear view mirror. Out of habit, I glance through the passenger’s side mirror to send my heart racing quickly within me at seeing the old green truck a mile behind us. “That same truck has made every turn we’ve made, every move we’ve made…and he’s showing no signs of going away either.”

I silently shrug as I fight with the idea of telling him that I’ve seen the truck through the past four days or so while I continue to glare back at the truck, the dark figure looks the same. “He hasn’t done anything yet,” I slowly comment, “and he hasn’t been too careful at the fact that he’s following me …us either.”

He glances questionably at me for a short moment before returning to glare out the front window of Cooter’s 1970 Oldsmobile. “What you mean following you? How long?”

I glance down at my feet as I silently predict the questions that are to follow. “The past couple of days or so,” I shrug silently while I glance back in the window to watch the old truck, “always a mile or so back.”

“And you haven’t gone to the police yet?” he asks in exasperated surprise as he sends me a hard stern look, “You haven’t said one word to the FBI? How about Jesse?”

“Are you crazy?” I look over at him for a long moment and he takes his greasy red hat off for a moment to run the palm of his hand through his thick brown curly hair before readjusting the hat, “Jesse is already worried to death about Daisy…about this whole situation. If he were to know…he’d never allow me to leave the house!”

“The wise choice,” LB snaps back at me, “What if he is one of the gang that has been killing FBI agents? He surely won’t think twice of killing you…torturing you. What you think that would do to Jesse? Ever thought about that?”

“Well. . .no,” I slowly admit as my fear quickly spreads across my chilled body.

“I didn’t think so,” LB abruptly snaps as he quickly turns the old car onto another dirt road, open pastures and trees surrounds the right side of the road while on the left hangs a deep rocky ledge of a cliff. “Well, if you won’t go alone for help, I will take you. We’ll have to search later for your so called other man while we go have a word with Sergeant -”

“No!” I abruptly snap and he glares at me in surprise, “I can’t.”

“Why can’t you? These guys are dangerous, Bo,” he questions, his voice suddenly lose the sharp clip of anger it had a second ago to be filled with worry and concern.

I allow silence to filter through the fancy car as I glare through my passenger side window, glancing warily into the mirror. My fear rises within me as I watch him growing closer to LB’s vehicle while my thoughts slowly drift away from the strange man within the truck to the events of earlier this morning. “I just can’t,” I take a deep breath before proceeding, “I was going to talk to Jesse about it this morning…but when I went to say it, I couldn’t say it. I couldn’t stand to bring any more burden upon Jesse. If you saw him this morning, you’d do the same thing.”

LB shakes his head in disagreement as he watches the old truck behind us for a short moment as the dark shadow within the cab brings something to his ear, while his other hand holds tightly onto the steering wheel. “Then don’t go to Jesse…bring it the FBI,” LB slowly responds thoughtfully, “never mind, it is too late now to worry about what you didn’t do. But not too late to do what you should have done.”

Pain erupts within me as I remain silent while watching the stalker out the side window, my mind racing wildly with horrid thoughts. Fear gently gnaws within me as my imagination plays tricks within me, of all that the man wants from me, from my family. “I wonder how everyone is -” I cut myself off as I slowly glare ahead to find an expensive black car with dark tinted windows speeding down a steep hill that adjoins with the road we are traveling. Pain throbs within my chest as fear escalates within me at the site of the speeding bullet heading straight towards us from the hill, glancing behind, I find ourselves trapped between the car and the truck. “LB!”

“Damn it,” he utters glaring helplessly at the black car that speeds closer to us as we drive ahead, fighting to get away from the rusted green truck. A short second passes for an eternity as we quickly approach the adjoining road and I yell out in pain as the black expensive car harshly runs into my door, spreading pain through my shoulder and down my arm. Momentarily, I glance over at LB who fights at the wheel, fights for power to escape the powerful hold the car has upon our car as he shoves us closer to the cliff. I let out a breathless yell as the truck rams us in the back to help the car to shove us over the edge.

Panic sears through me with the pain and fear that vividly burns within me. “Jump!” LB suddenly yells out besides me, throwing his car door open before I am able to grip a hold upon the door handle. Out of the corner of my eye I spot him jumping out his open door and as I throw open my door, I warily glare down for a short moment to find the car several feet above any landing or ground. Looking ahead through the dust splattered, cracked windshield fear washes over me at seeing it edging closer to a deathly halt at the end of the hill. I choke back fear as my lungs fill up with fiery sharp pain, disabling me to breath as I force myself out through the open door.

A soft moan of pain escapes me as I attempt to yell out in harsh pain as I am harshly thrown onto the sharp, hard rocky carpet of the steep hill that leads down to a small creek. Blackness attempts to wash through me as my attempt to breath sends a short wheezing sound from within me, sending even more pain through me. Fighting off the blackness that fights to capture me, a loud thunderous explosion roar from the foot of the hill as the car lands angrily upon the lower side of the hill. The warm embers of the explosion heat my face as my vision becomes thickly blurred and I become aware of blood trickling down the side of my face as well as the harsh throbbing that not only throbs in my chest and lungs, but all through my body.

Somewhere from ahead cars squeal to an abrupt stop and I attempt to yell out in fear and pain only for a short wheezy sound to escape and my painful breathing becomes impossible. Blackness continues to seep within me as my mind escapes from the pain for a brief moment to think of Jesse, of how this will effect him and of Luke. Saying a silent prayer I slowly surrender to the harsh pain that throbs through my body and to the thick evil darkness that swallows me whole.

 

***GARRETT DUKE***

 

Fear quickly pulsates within me as I stare tiredly through my mud splattered windshield at the winding hills that drift peacefully in the distance. Despite the peacefulness that the bright afternoon displays across the country side, fear and anger explodes within the silent interior of my older model Mustang. Glaring through the near distance, my mind races within me like a speeding bullet, from the events that had led us to Hazzard to meeting my brother and through the nightmarish events that has controlled my families lives since our arrival.

“Damn it,” Cooter hisses in frustration besides me as he violently slams the handle of the old CB back into it’s cradle. A brief moment of silence rebuilds within the car as he glares down at his scratched silver pocket watch before pocketing it again to glare out his passenger side window. “They were suppose to report two hours ago,” he runs a thick hand through his shaggy brown hair before placing his grease stained hat back onto his head, “I knew we should have called them in when they failed to call.”

I slowly glance over at him to find intense worry and fear prancing in his brown eyes before he glares around our surroundings, as if he expects them to appear out of no where. “Perhaps they are still away from the CB,” I shrug, “I mean if they caught trail of something and -”

“We all agreed,”he reminds me once again, “that if they find anything to call it in. . .no matter what. Going in with out any help is not only foolish, but stupid. Good way to get their own heads blown off…they’d look worse than either of them two agents that got it from them.”

He exhales a ragged breath besides me as silence filled with worry and fear is spread through the car, rushing deeply within me. For a short moment I glance over at him, silently studying him, as my mind slowly rushes through the first couple of days in Hazzard, everyone’s reactions towards me. Bo’s reactions. “Well we surely ain’t getting no where the road we’re taking…I really don’t know what we are looking for. It isn’t like the killers are going to come to us wearing a red flag to distinguish them as the killers,” I slowly shrug as I shove back the past couple of months to the future that lays ahead, “We could always head back and head on the road they took to search this morning…retrace their steps.”

For a short moment he silently nods before saying, “Let’s do it.”

 

 

Moments pass for an eternity as I force my car to an abrupt right turn onto another mud filled dirt road that LB had informed us he’d be taking with Bo this morning. Over a couple of hours ago. Cooter’s deep worry and concern for his cousin seems to increase with each passing second, forcing my own worry to gnaw deeply within me. Not concern for my brother, but for Kristy, on how she would deal with it if something had happened. “LB nor Bo would forget to call in,” Cooter speaks up to break the silence, almost as if he is talking to himself or to no one in particular, “especially if they found something.”

Finding nothing to say, I silently shrug as my attention remains ahead of us while I grip steadily upon my steering wheel. Turning the sharp corner the steep grassy hill turns into a rocky cliff on the ride side of my car while off to my left side is open grass land, a pasture, along with trees scattered around. The strong smell of smoke eases through the closed windows before the dark black evil smoke billowing deep into the bright blue sky off to a near distance as we slowly inch closer to the smoke by the second. Besides me, Cooter straightens up in his black leather seat as he gasps in anticipated fear, dark clouds of horrid imaginations rumble within his fixed _expression. My own thoughts of Luke in jail and of the dead agents quickly turn to the thick black smoke that we grow closer to, fighting for a reasonable explanation of the source of the smoke. My mind instantly settles on the image of LB’s borrowed car up in flames with LB and Bo entrapped in the front seat, being burnt a live. The image remains clear in my head as my thoughts turn to Daisy, Jesse, then to Kristy if it happened to be Bo within a burning car, how they all would take it.

Silence escalates within the car as we are left to our own silent fears and imagination as I slowly follow the road around another sharp corner and large wicked reddish orange flames dances amongst the tall trees at the end of the steep cliff. “Oh please no,” Cooter lets out a groan as the roar of the fire echos off of the sharp rocky ledge of the cliff and the sharp crisp burning smell becomes the strong order of something strongly burnt. An awful taste soon accompanies the awful smell as I fearfully force a heavy foot upon the accelerator, fearing where the flames will lead us to; to what is being burnt.

A long moment passes as the burnt smell teases our imaginations before the full fire comes into clear dreadful view, of something set wickedly afire at the end of the cliff, several feet ahead of the small creek. Another moment passes of eery silence as our attention remains on the thick fire that engulfs something dark before we follow the road around a smaller curve in the road. “No…no,” Cooter stutters as his midnight blue 1970 Oldsmobile becomes partially recognizable by the back bumper and a small shadow through the thick flames that has swallowed most of the vehicle. “That’s…that’s my car. LB and Bo -”

He abruptly interrupts himself as he stares half in shock and half in fear at the flames eating away his car as well as anyone or anything that currently resides within the interior of the vehicle. My mind once again shoots to my sister who will be tore by the fact of Bo being withheld in the vehicle, not necessarily at the fact of losing someone she loves, but at the horror of what happened, and at the loss of family. Kristy deeply cares for family and Bo is no different other than for the fact that he has shielded himself from us, withdrew from us any chance he got, shutting us out completely.

Cooter abruptly gathers my attention from the fire as I park along side the curb of the cliff as he reaches down and changes the channel upon my CB and picks up the handle. “There’s been an accident on Kissin’ Cliff Road,” he dryly responds as he finishes reading the location, “there’s need of an ambulance…and fire truck.”

A thick hiss of static rushes at him through the CB before an unfamiliar voice responds,

“10-4.”