by: Sarah Stodola

 

“Hey, Bo.”

He jumped, hitting his head on the underside of the General’s open hood, and winced. “Ow!” He moved back carefully before standing up, rubbing his head gingerly. “What? Oh… hi.”

Jennifer Garret stood by the orange racer’s passenger side door, smiling slightly. “You okay? I didn’t mean for you to get hurt.”

Bo couldn’t help a smile. “Aw, naw, I’m fine.” He fingered the sore spot, then decided it wasn’t worth worrying about and brushed his hair away from his eyes. “What’re you over here for? I thought you’d be out practicin’ or somethin’.”

She shrugged, slightly. “I’ve already done my fair share today. I decided to come see what you were doing, since you disappeared after lunch.”

“Oh.” Somehow, he wasn’t quite sure how to take this girl. He’d never met anyone like her… and he wasn’t quite sure he meant that in a real nice way, either. Then again, he wasn’t sure he didn’t. She was pretty, yes, very much so, and he couldn’t help being attracted both to that and to the spunk that kept her holding her own against her male teammates. But she seemed to have a hardened bent about her too, one that made him a little uncomfortable at times. Of course, maybe that was just because she was such a city girl. Or maybe even from being on the track permanently at such a young age. Jennifer was only five months older than himself, just enough older to be actually nineteen. “I’m tunin’ up the General.”

“I can see that. What for, since it isn’t the car you’re racing?”

He shrugged. “Well, we just always keep him in shape. Old habit, I guess. Besides, the mechanics take care of the team cars; we asked.”

She leaned on the right fender, looking into the engine. “That’s true. You know, that’s quite a rig you’ve got there.” A pause, indicating a change in subject. “Why isn’t your cousin helping you? I thought he was the mechanic of the Duke team.” She smiled slightly again, and Bo found himself smiling back.

“Well, officially, yeah,” he admitted. “But to tell the truth, we normally take turns. Or do it together. Luke went off somewhere with Frank.”

“Again?” Green eyes widened, and Jennifer shook her head. “Man, he’s getting in awful friendly with the upper drivers, isn’t he?”

Bo shrugged, leaning back down and resting on his elbows to fiddle with the clamp on the fuel hose. He decided that it could use just a little more tightening, and reached for a screwdriver. He was a little surprised to have one put in his hand but only said, “Thanks.” Then he answered her question. “I don’t really think it’s a matter of trying to seem more important than anyone else or anything. That just ain’t Luke. He ain’t like that. I think it’s more that since Frank is from such a similar background as us, he and Luke understand each other better than any of the others.”

“Yeah, you told me you guys did smuggle moonshine.”

Bo grinned, though not looking up. “Nope. Not did. Do.”

“Why?”

He did glance up now, still grinning. He was proud of his heritage and profession, and not one bit ashamed to admit it as long as it wasn’t to somebody who’d call the cops. “Well, for one thing, shine has been a family business for two hundred years.”

“Oh.”

“Though Luke and I don’t actually make it; we don’t have any stills up anymore. We just run it for other people. We get paid pretty well. It’s good practice for racin’, too. Actually, it’s harder than racin’, cause you have to dodge and jump and hide as well as outrun everybody else. And there’s no rules except to survive and try to get your cargo to its destination.”

“Sounds dangerous.”

He shrugged, glancing back down into the General’s engine as he fitted the screwdriver to the head of the screw and turned it with a deft move of his wrist, then looking back up. “Yeah. But fun, if you like thrills.”

Jennifer frowned just a little, then her face slowly widened into an amused grin. “In other words, racing is practice for running.”

Bo shrugged again, laughing. “Kinda, I guess. It’s also real interestin’, being on the circuit. So different than anything we’ve ever done before.”

She shook her head. “You are funny, Bo.”

He smiled widely, then twisted the clamp bolt one more time to make sure it was good and tight. “I try.”

“I noticed.”

He looked over at his impromptu helper and handed the screwdriver back, relaxing with forearms still braced on the radiator and his weight shifted to one hip. “So, what’s your dream in life? I told you all about our farm earlier.”

Jennifer leaned against the car and looked at the ceiling. “Oh… I guess my dreams aren’t all that realistic. You see, someday I want to own a racing team of my own. I don’t want to always be just a nobody on the circuit.” She looked over at him. “Sound silly?” she asked with a sheepish smile.

Bo shook his head, smiling back. “Naw. Not at all. You never know, things might turn out for you.”

“I sure hope so,” she said almost shyly. Then she suddenly met his eyes again. “Hey, Bo?”

He finally straightened from his casual pose and stepped back, reaching for a rag to wipe grease off his hands. “Yeah? What?”

“Someday… when I have a team… would you be on it? As my senior driver?”

It took a moment for that to register. Then he blew out a half-whistled breath, closing the General’s hood and sitting down on the nose of the car. “Oh boy.” He ran a hand through his hair, then shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know. Gee, I’ve never had an offer like that before.”

“You’ve never been on the real circuit before, either,” Jennifer pointed out. “I’ve been watching you. You’re good.”

“That good, you think?”

She nodded firmly. “That good.”

“Wow. Um, I didn’t know that.”

She smiled, laughing quietly, and came over to stand in front of him, unwittingly making him have to look up to meet her gaze. “You are, though. You’re a great driver. What do you say?”

He shrugged again. “I honestly don’t know. I mean, it sounds great, but… what about Luke and the farm?”

Jennifer smiled, not unkindly. “You’d be the leader of my team, my second in command, so to speak. And Luke could maybe come too; he’s a good mechanic. Think about it. Though, I guess there’s no rush, huh?”

Finally he smiled back. “Guess not. We’re still talkin’ about dreams here.”

“And who knows? In the future, you might feel different about it all.”

Bo shrugged, still smiling. “Maybe.”

She looked away for a moment, then back at him. “I guess I’d better leave now, huh? I’ve got places to go this afternoon. See you later, Bo.” And before he had a chance to react, she bent down and kissed him swiftly, lightly, on the lips. His jaw dropped as he watched her stride away, and he looked down and away, feeling surprised and unusually shy. But then a slow smile spread across his face, turning into a grin however much he fought it, and he slid down the General’s bumper to a seat on the floor, closing his eyes and sighing happily.

**

He left the garage a few hours later. In order to have some time to think, he’d done quite a bit of work on the General Lee, washing out the engine as well as he could and re-checking every piece he’d already re-checked. With a smile, he thought to himself that the powerful racer’s engine probably hadn’t been this clean and perfect since it had been built, even with the Dukes’ constant tinkering.

Bo stuffed his hands in his pockets and wandered aimlessly across the garage area. Once in a while, he saw someone working on a car, and exchanged friendly waves, but for the most part everybody had headed indoors to escape the noonday sun. Only a few, like himself, had chosen to brave the heat.

His mind kept wandering from point to point of this unexpectedly complicated trip. Some vacation; they’d ended up just chasing crooks again. Well, maybe that was one of the things they did best, huh? And he had to admit that sometimes it could be fun. Especially home, in Hazzard, with all the stunts they could pull. He loved seeing the looks on people’s faces when they discovered just how crazy Hazzard County could be.

Oh, yeah, he liked to tease. It was one of the things he was best at. But right now, he wasn’t really in much of a playful mood. He was feeling unusually quiet and thoughtful. They’d come to Texas for an easy time off, and instead, everything was happening all at once. First, the news of disappearing people. Then people disappearing right out from under their own noses. It made Bo nervous, to say the least. Who would be next? Not Luke, please, he prayed fervently. He didn’t want himself to be next, either. Or Candy…

Poor little Candy, caught in the middle of all this, so scared for her dad. She was trying to be so strong, act like she wasn’t worried about anything. But he could see the quickly-hidden tears in her eyes when someone mentioned her father’s name. Sometimes he thought he was the only one that saw them. Maybe he was just the most sensitive to her emotions, seeing as he was the closest to her age. He liked her, really he did. She was a lot of fun, even if her attitude got on his nerves sometimes. She was a great kid. She didn’t have any friends, because the team was always on the move, so maybe that was why she was always following him around. He didn’t really mind, usually. Except for when he was trying to talk to Jennifer.

Jennifer. His jaw tightening, he kicked fiercely at an empty beer can that was lying on the ground. It went spinning and clattering away into the shadows, his eyes following its path. What did Jennifer want with him? Somehow, he suspected it was more than his driving ability. And that, quite honestly, despite his attraction to her, scared him to death. It made him feel like forgetting he was eighteen years old, made him feel like running to climb into Luke’s arms to be protected. With Luke, he felt safe, completely relaxed and free. It was the only place that he really did. Being around Jennifer made him feel uncertain, a bit frightened, like he was out in deep water and didn’t know how to swim. She wasn’t the half-wild yet gentle country girl that he was used to being around back in Hazzard. She was wild, tough, smart, yes, but in a different way. Not as playful or lighthearted, that was for sure. And it wasn’t just a fun time and a kiss she was after; although, he wasn’t quite sure what it was she was after.

Yet, she also made him feel kinda funny inside, sort of warm and nervous and excited all at once. Just being around her was a lot of fun, and back in the General’s garage, when she’d surprised him with that kiss… wow. He smiled a little just thinking about it.

He liked her, liked her a lot… but she scared him. Maybe the reason behind it all was that she was just plain a city girl, and he was anything but city. Their ways, their whole cultures, were completely different. Like two separate worlds that couldn’t quite communicate.

Sighing again, Bo pulled his hands out of his pockets to run his fingers through his hair. He climbed up the bleachers to the top, the long sets of steps no big deal for a boy used to climbing mountains. He wandered across the empty area at the top until he came to a place where he could look out at the city. He leaned against the safety rail, eyes scanning the skyline. Suddenly a wave of homesickness rose up in him, and he wished he could see green hills and trees instead of all these buildings, gray on gray with patches of tidily-mown grass to break the monotony. His eyes were drawn down then, to the few cars below in the parking lot, their drivers going to the office area to buy tickets for that night’s race. It would be their last in Houston. Tomorrow, they’d be on the road to San Antonio. He sure hoped, no, prayed, that Brandon came back before they left. He didn’t know about Luke, but he was starting to get really worried, more so the longer that the team owner was gone. It didn’t help a whole lot to know that he’d taken off on his own, instead of being kidnapped. Who knew what could happen to one lone man out there?

Bo sighed, leaning over, crossing his arms on the railing, and propping his chin on them moodily. He wasn’t so sure that this trip to Texas was so much fun any more. He and Luke could maybe do something to help, and that would be important… but it wouldn’t be fun. And that dream he’d had, the one he couldn’t forget no matter how hard he tried, made everything worse. He knew Luke didn’t believe him, but every time he thought about it, he felt like he was looking through an imperfect, wavery mirror, into another world… or time. It downright terrified him, until he felt literally sick. It was a fear that made other problems seem like nothing at all. He had never been this scared before, not ever in his whole life. He shivered now, thinking briefly about it, then shoving the memories away. No! Luke was right, Luke was always right! It wouldn’t happen! It had only been his imagination!

Then why did it still feel so real?

He stood there for a while longer, just thinking, until finally he straightened, preparing to leave his post. He wanted to go find Luke, to just tell him how he felt about everything. His older cousin would have some good advice. He always did. But as Bo started to move away, suddenly something caught his attention, a quick flash of shadowy movement out of the corner of his eye. Turning back toward the outside, he gripped the railing in both hands and frowned in that direction, narrowing his eyes against the sun for a better view. All he saw was, again, a flash of shadow, a human being making his way to one of the small personnel entrances.

Bo tensed for a split second, his mind snapping at lightspeed from one thought to another. Could that be one of the bad guys? Good chance. What should he do? He should tell the others. Maybe they could catch him. Maybe all this could be stopped right here and now! He had to go find Luke!

Spinning away, the lean teenager sprinted over to the nearest stairway, and gripping the handrail so he wouldn’t fall, bounded down to the bottom level as quick as possible. He ran across part of the vacant track to the drivers’ club, feeling more excited with every step. He burst in through the doors and almost literally ran into a table surrounded by most of what was left of the Brandon team, stumbling back just in time. Caleb snapped his head around, his eyes flashing then melting into patience.

“What is it, Bo?” he sighed.

The young Duke didn’t answer, just scanned the room for Luke, and finally found him over by the bar, eating lunch and talking to Frank and another man, a stranger. He made his way over to the older men, and grabbed Luke’s arm. His older cousin jumped in surprise, almost spilling his paper plate of Mexican rice and beans, and spun around. “Bo! What’re you doing? What’s the matter?”

Trying to ignore the delicious blend of smells that made his stomach growl, Bo caught his older cousin’s light blue eyes, making sure that he’d listen. “I saw somebody. Out sneaking into the track. Real careful-like. I bet he’s one of the crooks!”

Luke was suddenly all business. He set his plate down on the countertop with its plastic fork and glanced at Frank. The senior driver nodded, and the three ran across the room to tell the other drivers. Having their team taken apart piece by piece and not being able to do anything about it had made the men eager for action, so it wasn’t long before a small army shoved their way out the doors, almost knocking over a pair of drivers from another team in the process, and ran across the track. They paused in the pits long enough to figure out how they were going to split up, and then took off in different directions, in groups of two.

The Duke cousins of course went together. They were a good team, well-accustomed to working together and each always aware of the other in a way that none of the other men had. They also had their own methods and ways of doing things, ways taught by a life in Hazzard County first as the nephews of a moonshiner, then as shine-runners themselves. Moving quickly, but quietly and unobtrusively, they made their way toward where Bo had seen the figure. As they traveled around through the garages, neither needing to say a word, the blond teenager found himself relaxing, in a funny still-on-edge way. He was here, finally doing something, and that made him feel better inside than just sitting around thinking about things he didn’t want to think about. Also, he was here, beside Luke, and that made him feel more safe, though he knew it didn’t make sense, ‘wasn’t logical’ as his older cousin would say. But, heck, since when had Bo Duke managed to be completely logical? That was one part of his mental differences he hadn’t been able to find a way to hide. And… he really didn’t care, either. He was himself. He liked who he was inside, personally. And so did Luke, Cooter, Anna, all his closest friends back home. Candy seemed to, too. So, so there.

He quickly turned his mind to less childish thoughts and attitudes, however, as they came through a darkened area near the small entrance that he had seen the crook heading for. Luke paused just to one side, eyes quickly searching Bo’s, and he nodded wordlessly. Smiling slightly in response, the older cousin squeezed his shoulder, then motioned for him to stay back and slipped silently around the corner. Bo waited, holding his breath, for a sound, a shout, anything to let him know that Luke had been attacked or vice-versa. But there was only silence, and he finally gave into the urge to peer around the corner himself. He didn’t see anything at first, but then his eye was caught by a flash of movement, just like he’d seen before. He almost called out to Luke, but then realized that it was Luke, moving with the silence and agility of a trained woodsman. Then he saw others, the other members of the team, moving not quite as well but still determinedly through the shadows to encircle one small area.

Bo just had to help too. Slipping out of his hiding place, he started to move to join the group. But then he saw somebody heading his way. Eyes widening, he suddenly realized that this figure wasn’t one of the team. He was moving away from them, toward Bo himself. The young farmer tensed for a moment, then set his jaw and crouched down in a corner, waiting. The figure came closer, closer…

Bo sprang out with all the wiry strength in his body, catching the crook around the waist and knocking him to the ground. Yelling for help, he ducked a sharp punch and grabbed for the stronger man’s wrists to try to hold him down. The stranger twisted desperately, but Bo was Duke-stubborn, and held on with all he had. After what seemed like forever, but really wasn’t long at all, he heard Luke’s voice at his shoulder saying, “Let him up, Bo.”

Panting in relief, the eighteen-year-old jumped away, stumbling over a loose box and landing on his backside on the cement. Wincing, he climbed to his feet in time to see Luke and Jake Maren each grab one of the man’s arms. Frank stalked up and yanked off the man’s low-lying hat… to reveal David Brandon.

There was a second of stunned silence, then everyone was suddenly talking at once, in surprise and glad yet scolding shouts. Brandon shook his captors’ loosened hands off and held up both hands, yelling, “Quiet!”

There was instant silence. Bo came up beside Luke to frown at the team owner. “Why’d you disappear?” he asked bluntly. “Everybody was really scared, ’specially Candy.”

Brandon sighed, straightening his blazer. “Men, I felt I had to. I wasn’t planning on your catching me, either.”

“That’s obvious,” Caleb said dryly from the side.

“We thought you were a crook,” Bo spoke up again.

A startled smile was the response. “Really? Oh, my.” Then he sobered. “I was following someone myself. You made me lose him.”

Frank hesitated for a moment, then visibly set his jaw stubbornly. “Sorry about that. But we ain’t gonna let you go off again. Bo’s right; we’ve all been worryin’ something terrible.”

Brandon looked around, seeing all the men there, determined to stand in his way, and finally sighed, his shoulders dropping slightly. “All right. I promise I won’t leave again right now. But there’s one thing I need to know –- with all of you chasing me, where isCandy?”

Bo shrugged, but Luke knew the answer. “She went with the Raftan cousins to get ice cream for root beer floats for a party the team was plannin’ tonight. I think Jennifer went too. They oughta be back by now.”

“A party?” Bo frowned. “With all that’s been happening?”

His cousin met his gaze, a quick flash of gentleness, quickly hidden again, in his eyes. “That was the point. To try to get everyone thinking about something else, for a little while at least.” He looked back at Brandon. “Anyway, they ought to be back at the club. Let’s go.”

The team surrounding their leader, they all made their way to the prescribed meeting place. When Candy saw her father, she ran across the room and leaped on him, shouting happily, “Daddy! Daddy!” Brandon scooped his twelve-year-old daughter up briefly, then set her back on her feet and held her close. There were for-once unashamed tears in the young girl’s eyes, and she buried her face in his shirt. “Where have you been?” she whispered shakily. “Where did you go? Did you find the person who’s been hurting us?” Then she stepped back. “Don’t you dare do that again!”

Brandon chuckled, and pulled his youngest child close again. “Don’t worry about it, sweetheart,” he obviously, to Bo’s eyes at least, tried to avoid the questions. “I’m here now. And everything’s going to be all right. You’ll see.”

“You promise?” Candy demanded fiercely, her fists clenched into her father’s jacket. Brandon met Luke’s eyes, then Bo’s, looking almost helpless. The blond teenager knew that the older man wanted to say yes… but in all honesty none of them could. So he just shrugged helplessly. He had no advice.

The team leader looked back down and unpried his daughter’s fingers from his clothing, wrapping her hands in his and kneeling down. “Everything’s going to be all right,” he repeated with confidence in his voice.

Bo looked over at Luke, and maneuvered around a couple of the other drivers to stand close to him. While no one was paying attention, he put his arms around his older cousin and gave him a quick hug, unable to express the mix-up of joy and worry that he felt any other way. But then he purposefully decided to ignore the worry for now, just wanting to let himself be carefree and happy for a little while at least. He looked back over at the Brandons, and couldn’t keep a downright silly grin from spreading across his face. “Now we really have a reason to have a party!” he called out. Some of the drivers laughed, though not at him but with him, and some just smiled and nodded. Luke just looked at him and grinned back, then slung an arm around the younger Duke’s shoulders.

“Yep. We sure do.”

But Bo found himself wondering, down deep, how much more this team would have to take before they caught the real bad guys. This was just a brief respite. Trouble would be back soon, he knew that from his Hazzard upbringing. And he felt, deep inside, that it would be worse than before.

 

*     *     *     *     *

The next day, the Duke boys were on the road again. Only, this time they were part of a convoy. Trucks carrying the team racecars and all their equipment rumbled along in a long line, stopping for gas and food at the same rest stops, taking up most of the parking spaces when they pulled in.

The General Lee, along with a couple of sedans, was in the lead. There hadn’t been room to put the big racer in one of the trucks, even if they had wanted to. Which they hadn’t; Bo was visibly uneasy at having anyone else but himself and Luke drive him around. And it just felt right to be free, in their own car. So, here they were with the warm desert wind ruffling their hair, talking, quite at ease with just being with each other.

Behind the simple chit-chat Luke was keeping up with his younger cousin, though, he was thinking. And, admittedly, worrying. David Brandon had been brought back, to everyone’s great relief… but how long would he stay? Luke suspected he would disappear again as soon as they pulled into San Antonio. He hadn’t gotten a chance, though not for lack of much trying, to really talk to the man about his problems. He wished he could. Brandon really could use some help, the older Duke reflected.

Bo was driving at the moment, as usual casual and relaxed, and seemingly unaware of the trouble brewing in the air. But Luke could feel it, as he had been for the past several days. He wasn’t sure what it was… but it centered around this racing team. No one he had talked to had seen or heard of anything out of the ordinary, and more and more he was privately becoming convinced that whoever was behind this was somehow connected to the team itself. It was a horrible thought, that someone Brandon trusted might be doublecrossing him, but the evidence, or rather lack of it, seemed to be pointing more and more that way. And as for who… he hated to admit that he had at least one suspect, although it was sort of hard to believe that Caleb Haroldson would betray his boss. He seemed a very loyal type… but then, he was always disappearing to parts unknown. What other reason would he have for doing that?

He jumped when his cousin’s teasing voice came out of seemingly nowhere. “Hey, Luke? Wake up. We can get out and walk around a bit here, it is a rest stop, you know.”

“Huh? Oh.” He shook his head sharply, then slid out through the General’s window. He met Bo on the other side, and they walked together across a grassy stretch. “I was just thinking.”

“Obviously. What about?”

“What else?”

“Oh…” Bo’s eyes lost a little of their sparkle for a moment as he sighed, but then he shrugged and glanced off to the side, and grinned. “Hey, Candy!”

Luke followed his gaze to see the blonde twelve-year-old walking toward them with a soda can in each hand. She returned the cheery greeting, then handed each of the boys one of the cans. “These are for you. Whew, it’s hot out today, huh?”

Bo nodded. “Yeah. It sure is. You’re lucky you’ve got an air conditioner in that truck.”

Her eyes widened. “You don’t?”

He shook his head, popping open the tab on his can. “Nope. Open windows, remember?”

“Oh…” She made a face. “Why don’t you put the General Lee in one of the trucks and get in the cab?”

“Cause there’s no room,” Luke interjected. “We’re okay, don’t worry about us.”

“Yeah.” Bo found a dry log to sit on, in the shade, and stretched out his legs. “We’re used to it. The wind we make helps a lot.”

Candy hesitated for a moment, then settled herself beside Bo. “Oh.”

Luke tuned out the conversation at that point, just leaning against a wall a short distance away and watching them. The two blonds, one tall and male, one a little girl, got along incredibly well. He wasn’t sure he was imagining that Candy was starting to follow Bo around more and more, either. Starting to really look up to him, in almost a hero-worship. Luke wasn’t quite sure how to take that. He didn’t think his younger cousin even noticed how much Candy was starting to pay attention to him, especially since he seemed to be paying more and more attention himself to that girl Jennifer, but Luke noticed.

Jennifer. Huh, now there was an unexpected ingredient in this pie. Bo seemed to be dividing his time rather equally between Luke, Candy, and the other young driver. Sometimes the older cousin, catching the half-dreamy, half-scared look in Bo’s eyes after he’d been around her, wondered if his younger cousin might actually be falling for her. Luke didn’t really mind, of course, though he worried a bit about when they would have to leave the team to go home. He personally thought Bo was a bit young emotionally to really know what he was feeling, but he was eighteen, after all, and Luke did have to let go a little. Besides, the blond teenager’s flirtatious nature would have had to be surprised by someone actually catching his heart sooner or later. No, Luke didn’t really mind… but Candy did. Friction between the twelve-year-old and Jennifer was rising quickly, though Bo seemed oblivious.

The older Duke finally shook his head, deciding he might as well just leave that particular muddle well enough alone, and turned his thoughts to more important matters. He still wanted to talk to David Brandon. Trouble was brewing, and he thought his employer, if no one else, should know of his suspicions. Luke also didn’t want him taking off again. It had scared Candy and put most of the team on edge, even before they’d known about the mysterious disappearances. Hiding out undercover wouldn’t help a thing if this enemy was someone within the team. The people Brandon was hunting would know exactly who he was, and might take it badly too. They might take it out on him if he didn’t lay off… or on Candy.

Luke looked over at his cousin and Brandon’s daughter again, laughing together as Brandon himself came over to them. Candy was quite a character. She definitely had a wild streak in her; she should have been born in Hazzard. She could even be a bit annoying at times. But he sure as shootin’ didn’t want anything bad to happen to her. She was a cute kid. Always energetic, and usually cheerful, even if she did have a tendency to be a bit sardonic or even haughty at times. But it was never in a stuck-up way. He could sort of understand her attitude; it was much like the one he and all the other Hazzard kids had developed toward outsiders, especially those from the city. Somewhat of a ‘poor little you; you don’t know anything’ stance. And Bo got along with her just fine, as the two seemed to be much on the same emotional level at times. It was like watching two kids rather than a child and a near-adult, each absolutely thrilled to have discovered the other. Each had found a friend who would accept them just for who they were.

No, he didn’t want anything to happen to Candy. Beyond all the reasons above, there was one even deeper, one that applied to her father as well. She was an innocent human being. And his Uncle Jesse had instilled inside him a very strong sense of respect for human life and freedom.

Luke sighed and looked down at the can in his hand. He had to corner David Brandon. He had to talk to him, had to warn him of the possibility of a traitor on the team. Or he didn’t know what the consequences might be.

A low hiss suddenly snapped his thoughts back to the real world. He frowned for a moment, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from, then froze in a split-second of terror before dropping his drink and sprinting for the group of people standing around one of the trucks in the parking lot. “Move!! Now!!!” he screamed, hitting one of the men, Frank, in the shoulder and giving him a good start toward the lawn. Without checking to see who the others were, he grabbed several arms and took them with him as he ran. He’d barely dived behind a stone wall when a terrible explosion shook the ground and threatened to blow out his eardrums with the shockwaves.

There was not a sound for several seconds, then Luke squinted his eyes open, looked around to make sure everyone in his group was okay, then closed them again and sank onto the cement, limp with relief.

Shouts and cries suddenly sounded from the parking lot, and a thought suddenly snapped through Luke’s mind, jolting him to his feet and out into the open. Where was Bo?!

Ah, there, climbing out from behind a big oak with Candy and her father. Luke ran across the grass toward them, giving the burning truck and the crew trying valiantly to put it out a cursory glance. It didn’t look like anybody else had been hurt either. Good, very good. When he joined the Brandons and his cousin, Bo simply looked at him, still except for the fear and relief in his dark blue eyes, then closed his eyes and melted unashamedly into his older cousin’s embrace, shivering. Luke tightened his arms around him in wordless comfort.

“What happened?” David Brandon asked quietly. Luke looked at him and shook his head, swallowing to try and get his voice back.

“I heard a hissing noise… like fuel escaping under pressure. I knew that whenever fuel is anywhere near a running engine, like the trucks’ all were, sooner or later there would be an explosion. So I grabbed everybody and ran.”

“You saved the lives of half my team,” the team owner said seriously.

“Life…” Luke shrugged helplessly, unable to word what he felt through the shock of reaction that he was fighting against. “It’s too precious…”

“So you would risk your own?” Brandon’s eyes bored into his for a few seconds, then the man slowly smiled, holding Candy close much the same way that Luke was holding onto Bo. “Thank you, Luke.”

He slowly smiled and nodded. “Sure thing.”

“I was scared for you,” Bo whispered into his shoulder, not even trying to seem mature. Of course, nobody would care right now anyway. Everyone else was panicking too.

“I know, cousin, I know. But everything’s okay now.”

Candy finally lifted tearstained eyes from her father’s shirt to look at the two Dukes. Slowly, her eyes filled with a strange mix of emotions, one of which was awe. “You saved them,” she said quietly.

Luke tried not to flush, a bit embarrassed by the attention, and nudged for Bo to step away from him a little. “Nothing any good Hazzard citizen wouldn’t have done. Or anyone anywhere, for that matter.” But Candy didn’t look convinced. Luke had a feeling that from now on, he was a hero. Great. Just what he needed.

Brandon finally cleared his throat and straightened, businesslike. “I suppose we’d better go see what the damage is,” he stated. Holding Candy’s hand protectively, he started off toward the fire scene.

Luke glanced at his blond cousin, and their eyes met. As one, they turned to jog after their employer. “Brandon!” Luke called.

He turned, frowning slightly. “Yes?”

Luke met his gaze squarely. “I doubt this was an accident.”

Brandon closed his eyes briefly. “I know.”

“If this doesn’t stop, someone could get hurt… even killed.”

“They would have been if not for you.”

Luke waved off any more praise. He’d heard enough of that already. He shifted his stance so that both feet were solidly planted. He wasn’t letting Brandon get away without talking to him first. “Sir, you can’t handle this alone. Let us help.”

Dark eyes snapped to meet his. “No. It’s my problem, my team, and I’ll solve it.”

“Even if you get killed doin’ it?” Bo cut in, anger starting to tint his voice. He gestured toward Candy, who was still looking scared. “What about her? She needs a daddy, Brandon.”

“Nothing is going to happen to me!” the race team owner insisted. “I go undercover, not telling anyone who I am. They couldn’t know!”

Luke cleared his throat, then sighed heavily. “I think whoever it is does.”

“Huh?”

He drew a deep breath, hooking his thumbs through his belt and looking at the ground for a moment before bringing his eyes back up seriously. “I know you wouldn’t want to admit it or even hear it… but I suspect that whoever is bothering you is involved in some way with this team.”

“That couldn’t be! I trust all my men-“

“With your life?” Bo interrupted. Brandon slowly shut his mouth and looked at the pavement, then at Candy.

“Maybe you ought to tell us what’s going on,” Luke said softly. “We heard some from Frank, but probably not everything.”

The older man finally sighed and nodded. “Okay. Okay.” He gave his men, who were hauling a damaged but probably repairable car out of the trailer, an assessing look, then gestured toward a bench a short distance away. “Let’s sit down over there.”

The boys and Candy followed him, the Brandons sitting down on the short bench and the Dukes settling themselves on the ground. They made sure there were no rocks where they were trying to sit, then looked up, waiting for him to begin.

Brandon cleared his throat. “I’m still not sure about you boys getting involved…” he started. Luke gave him a stern look, and he finally nodded. “All right. I have a feeling I couldn’t stop you anyway. It started about two months ago. I got a letter, well, more of a note, really, that was… well, I guess a threat. Whoever wrote it said that if I won a certain race, something would happen.” He sighed. “I didn’t listen, and after we’d won the next day, one of my best mechanics disappeared. I got another note, telling me I’d been stupid and that now the order was to sell off the team, I guess to him, or more people would ‘mysteriously vanish’.” Brandon made a face and shook his head. “The guy’s flamboyant, I’ll tell you that. Well, I told Caleb and Frank about it that time, and we doubled our private security, but we didn’t pay much heed otherwise. And then another man disappeared. Then a driver, Greg Kenley, after the race the night before you joined. And now two more. I honestly don’t know what to do or how to handle this. I finally brought in the police in Houston the night that Greg was taken to try to track down what happened, but they couldn’t find a thing. Nothing! Not a mark on the car, no signs of a struggle. No fingerprints except for Greg’s. Just no sign of one of my best men.”

Luke and Bo’s gazes met. Bo’s dark blue eyes showed worry, but also a spark of anger that someone would be doing such a thing. “We were talking to Frank a few nights back, when we were looking for you. We figured out that this fellow’s doin’ it because he wants the team. The power and money it can get him.”

Brandon nodded. “That’s what I figured. I’ve been looking for whoever it might be, checking around all the clubs and the track. I haven’t come up with a thing.”

Luke glanced back over at the men running around, picking over the now-extinguished truck and the damaged racecar. His eyes narrowed. “Well, I have a theory. But you don’t like it.”

“I trust all my people!” The team owner stood abruptly, taking Candy with him, eyes flashing anger yet uncertainty as he looked at the men. “At least,” he slowly amended, “I think I do.” His eyes met Luke’s. “Who do you suspect?”

The older Duke shook his head, rising as well. “I don’t want to say yet. I really don’t have any evidence. I don’t like thinking that one of your men is involved, but that’s where my gut instincts are leadin’ me. And I trust my instincts.”

“So do I,” Bo spoke up supportively. He scrambled to his feet, the last up, and stood close to his older cousin. “Sir, please listen to us.”

Candy, who had been silent up until now, looked up at her father. “Do you think they’re tellin’ the truth?”

“I… don’t know.” Brandon’s eyes dropped. “If it is one of my men… who?”

“That’s what we have to find out. Where we have to start.” Luke met his cousin’s eyes, then each of the Brandons’. “I’m sorry,” he offered.

The older man shook his head, waving a dismissive hand at him, even though Luke could still see a sadness in his eyes. “It’s all right. I know you’re just trying to help. Thank you.” He visibly forced a smile, then sighed. “We still have to figure it all out.”

“Yep.” Luke tucked his fingers partway into his pockets and half-closed his eyes, his mind shifting into overdrive. He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to be in charge here, but he felt like he was. “Okay. We can’t let whoever this guy is know that we’re on to him. But we still have to figure out, first, what’s happening to the men who disappear.”

“I don’t believe that they die,” Brandon put in. “I don’t know why, but I have one of those… gut instincts you talk about.” He said it with a slight smile, one that Luke returned.

“Okay. Then the best course would simply be to put someone on the inside.”

Candy’s eyes widened. “Would that work? Would they trust the guy?”

“Probably not. Someone would have to be captured, I think.”

There was a moment of stunned silence, then protests erupted on three sides. “No!” Bo finally managed to get over the noise angrily. His eyes showed he knew what his cousin had in mind, full of sudden shock and fear. “I’m not gonna let you do that!”

Brandon looked at him in disbelief. “You? You’ll put yourself in that position?”

Luke shrugged, trying to quell the feeling of dread that crept up from deep inside at the thought. “There’s no other way. I’m not going to let somebody else do it. You’ve been involved enough, and besides, you need to keep on ‘investigating’ so our quarry don’t get wise to us. Frank has to help run the team with you gone. And Bo… no.” There might be little danger, but there was no guarantee of that, and he wasn’t going to place his little cousin in any sort of position where he could be harmed.

“You ain’t goin’ either,” Bo said stubbornly, fists on his hips and head held high defiantly. “You’re the only cousin I’ve got.”

Luke sighed. Reaching out to put his hands around the other’s shoulders, he looked deep into dark blue pools of fear and anger. “Bo. Quiet. I’ll be okay.”

“What if you ain’t?” He was visibly fighting tears, fighting to stay strong. Luke wanted to pull him into his arms, into a firm protective hug, and tell him everything would be all right. But he couldn’t. He chuckled slightly, inwardly. He had as much of a problem letting Bo be a self-sufficient adult as Bo did being one.

Finally he found words. “I can’t promise anything. But I have to do this. Look, we’ll talk about it later, okay?”

The blond teenager dropped his head, and gave a slight nod in response. “Okay,” he whispered.

Luke stepped away and met Brandon’s eyes again. “What do you say?”

The man tightened his lips, obviously unsure. But finally he nodded. “We’ll see. If there is really no other way. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to check on my crew.” He spun on his heel and strode off toward the parking lot. Candy hesitated for a second, looking fearfully at the two boys.

“Don’t get hurt, Luke,” was all she said, then she ran after her dad.

“Yeah,” Bo’s voice echoed from near his ear. “Whatever you do, don’t you dare get hurt.” Then he hesitated. “Who do you suspect, Luke?” he asked very softly.

The older Duke didn’t take his eyes from the retreating Brandons. “Who disappears all the time and nobody knows where he goes? Who ‘found’ that note after Hank disappeared, all alone? Who’s the only other one besides Frank who has his own car, and can go anywhere he wants, any time he wants?”

A moment of silence, then a single, startled name. “Caleb?”

He shrugged. “Just a theory.”

“Yeah… but it would make sense. As awful as it sounds. What should we do?”

Luke finally looked over at his blond cousin. He took a deep breath, then let it out. “Nothing right now. We just keep an eye on him, and on everybody else, too. Just because I suspect Caleb don’t mean that someone else might not be the real kidnapper, and just better at hidin’ it.”

“Yeah. You’re right.”

Luke smiled and squeezed Bo’s shoulder briefly, reassuringly. “Come on. Let’s go back to the team; I wanna see what damage was done to that racecar.”

“Okay.”

They walked toward the parking lot together, Luke’s mind still searching for a reasonable answer to this whole mess.

 

*     *     *     *     *

 

Brandon looked out at the San Antonio Retima Raceway, at the track where an orange Charger and a small green sedan were taking turns leaping over a large homemade barricade in midtrack. Seemingly leaving all his worries behind for a least a little while, Bo Duke was finally keeping his promise to teach Frank how to jump his car.

He was quite a kid, that one. So was his older cousin, Luke. Luke was brave, too, and more loyal than Brandon ever would have expected anyone to be. He had offered to — no, had insisted on — risking his very life, possibly, to help him, a man he hardly even knew. Yes… a very special pair, these farm boys from Georgia.

Brandon sighed and hefted his small carryall, and turned away from the track, heading for the road leading from this suburb area to the city. He was going out to draw any suspicion away from Luke, to make things seem like they had always been. He hated the idea that one of his own trusted men, or more than one, could be involved, but it did seem to make sense. And he couldn’t let whoever it was know that they were on to him. Or them, as the case might be.

And, though he hadn’t told the Dukes this, as long as he was out pretending to scout around, he might as well do some real investigating. Why waste the time spent away from his team? Brandon smiled, slightly, to himself, and walked out of the track grounds without a backwards glance.

**

Candy watched her father go from her perch on a low bleacher, and frowned to herself. She didn’t like it when her dad was in danger, and he was in danger right now. Of course, she knew that being out there wasn’t much more hazardous than being here with the threatened team, but still, she didn’t like losing track of where he was. With her mom gone, he was the only parent she had left.

The twelve-year-old glanced back at her adult friends. Frank and Bo were whooping it up, having a ball as they raced the General Lee and Frank’s personal car around the track, leaping over and skidding around various obstacles, large and small, that they had placed in the way, including the big gate Luke and Bo had built out of two-by-fours. Luke was standing off to the side chatting with someone who worked at the raceway, and keeping an eye on the high-speed games his younger cousin was leading.

Candy smiled. She liked the Dukes. Luke was strict about the rules he put down, but fair; she and Bo got the same treatment, and there weren’t that many rules, to be honest. And Bo was a lot of fun. He’d just play around with her, accept her as she was, except for the exasperating times when he’d take off with Jennifer instead. He was a really special guy… funny, cute, and maybe the best and most flamboyant driver she’d ever seen in a life of growing up on the NASCAR circuit. And they both got along well with her dad and Frank. She wished that they wouldn’t leave the team at the close of the summer season. She’d miss them both.

Sobering, she returned her gaze to her father’s retreating form. He was so determined to protect her and the team that he was risking his own life. He wouldn’t even take anyone with him to watch his back. She had to admit it; she was worried about him. Especially since that truck had blown up. Her dad needed somebody to go with him — didn’t he? And who was the best candidate? Small, quick, and someone nobody would suspect. Herself.

Besides… maybe if she could prove she was smart and brave and a great detective, maybe Bo might see something more in her than just a little kid.

Candy looked back at the track, grinning despite herself at Bo’s triumphant yell and half-leap as the General Lee shot across the finish line two lengths ahead of Frank’s car. She glanced at Luke, who wasn’t looking her way. Then she set her jaw determinedly, and brushing her blonde hair back and quickly fastening it into a ponytail with a rubber band she’d had in her pocket, she jumped down from the tires. She skirted around the back of the pile, where the others couldn’t see, then once near the gate, broke out into a run. She heard no shouts to stop, so she hadn’t been spotted. Good.

She scanned the road ahead of her, finally spotting her dad climbing into a cab at a turnout obviously designed for that purpose. She ran down the dirt shoulder and grabbed the next taxi. “Follow that cab!” she ordered, just like in the movies. The driver chuckled, but shrugged and hit the meter, and she was on her way.

**

Luke didn’t notice that Candy was gone until nearly lunchtime. Frank and Bo had finally squealed into the pits for gas and a break, and the older Duke pulled out his watch. It was just after noon. “Hey, fellas!” he called. “Anybody want lunch?”

“Me!” Bo scrambled over a short fence toward him, Frank close behind but moving slower and with a bit more coordination. The teenager pulled up just short of running into his cousin and brushed his damp blond bangs out of his eyes, looking around. “Hey, Candy, let’s go eat!”

There was silence from the surrounding area, but for the roars of a few other racecars whose drivers had decided that now that the crazy stunt drivers were off the track, it was safe to practice. Luke frowned, turning slowly and scanning the area, looking for a small blonde-haired girl. The only people he saw within sight were a couple of men who worked at the track, and those few in the pits. “Candy!” he called loudly. “Candy!”

Frank frowned deeply, worry flickering in his eyes. “Maybe she was-” He cut himself off, unwilling to complete his thought.

Luke’s jaw tightened unconsciously. No, Candy couldn’t have been kidnapped! Not while she had been running around with them! But then again, a niggling voice in the back of his head said, she hadn’t stayed with them, either.

“No!” Bo said determinedly, as though trying to convince himself. “She ain’t been taken! How would they get her with everybody around?”

“How did they get Greg Kenley?” Frank mumbled unhappily. “He was in the middle of everybody.”

Luke saw where this was going, and headed it off at the pass, heading his own thoughts off in the same motion. “Hold it, y’all! Settle down! Nobody panic until we ask around; she might have just run off with somebody else on the team. Like her friends Ted and Jerry, for example.”

Bo’s eyes met his, and he visibly saw relief and calm fill the dark blue. “Okay. Let’s spread out and talk to everybody we can.”

“Right. C’mon, Frank, you go that way, Bo, you go that way. I’ll head over here. We’ll meet back here in ten minutes at the outside. Got it? Let’s go.”

It only took five minutes for Luke to get back to the pits. He looked at Frank, who was already there, trying to hide a growing sense of dread.

“Anything?” he broke the silence.

The driver shook his head. “No. I couldn’t find her. I couldn’t find Caleb, either, to ask if he knew anything.”

Again. The team leader was still disappearing, taking off without telling a soul where he might be going. Luke was becoming more and more certain of his suspect, and he knew that soon, he would have to bring the subject up to David Brandon. Now wasn’t the time, though; they had to look for Candy.

But just then, Bo sprang down from the bleachers onto the General’s roof, and from there slid to the ground. The two older men turned toward him almost as one, hoping for good news. Instead they saw brightly-glowing fear in his eyes.

“What is it?” Luke pressed quickly.

Bo walked over to them, and looked straight into his older cousin’s face. “Luke, a mechanic saw her about an hour ago. She was following her father out of the raceway.”

**

Behind a stack of tires, narrowed eyes watched the three drivers. Their owner knew about the Brandon girl’s stubbornness. Her father was endangering his life; she must have a screw loose to endanger hers as well. It would serve her right if she was captured, like her father would be when he stopped to rest.

But then a slight pang of guilt hit the watcher, who frowned thoughtfully. The men would have to catch her too, if they could find her. They couldn’t very well let her be harmed by some gang or something. A sigh floated through the still summer air. Brandon was being enough of a problem; did his daughter have to get in the way too?

Then the eyes were drawn back to the worried threesome standing in the pits. There was another unexpected problem. Those Dukes were obviously helping Brandon try to discover who the people behind the kidnappings were. They had come to join the team as just a pair of country boys out for a good time. But they were too quick to get involved for that. They weren’t cops, no… but maybe friends? And that blond kid, Bo, having grown up as a moonshine runner, was a good enough driver to pull the role of racer off, too. Yep, Brandon had been pretty smart, actually, in choosing those who would work with him. But the watcher was smarter. They would soon have Brandon, and the team. And then, if the Dukes got in the way… well, hopefully they wouldn’t. It would honestly be a real pity to have to harm either one of them.

 

*     *     *     *     *

 

“Are you sure you gotta do this?”

Luke sighed and turned around, meeting his younger cousin’s eyes. “I don’t have any other choice. I can’t let Candy get hurt, and she could be out there in the city like that. I mean, she can only follow her father so long before she loses him and gets lost herself.”

Bo frowned, unhappiness painted across his features. “At least let me come with you.”

“Oh, Bo.” Luke left where he was quickly packing a small duffel bag, in their room in the motel just across the street from the track, and went over to the bed his cousin was sitting on. He sat down beside him and put his hands on Bo’s shoulders. “Look at me.”

The blond teenager complied only after a long several seconds, hurt and a very deep worry in his eyes. Luke sighed and pulled him closer to hug him.

“I can’t let you come. Bo, I’m gonna have to travel quick and fast and light. And alone. It’s the only way I can be pretty sure I won’t be noticed. I’ll just be another tourist passing through, alone, maybe a bit lost. With you with me… well, it’ll increase the chances of bein’ noticed with two of us. It ain’t nothin’ personal. Besides, somebody’s gotta keep an eye on the people here.”

“I know,” Bo admitted after a short pause. He looked down and away. “But… I guess I’m scared.”

“Scared? Of what?”

Dark blue eyes came back up to meet his candidly, the teenager’s voice pleading. “That you might not come back. I’ve just got a really bad feeling about this, Lukas. I keep remembering my dream, about you being taken, and I’m afraid I’ll never see you again. Luke, I don’t think I could live without you!”

“No!” Luke grabbed his shoulders and shook him, hard, his voice rough. “Don’t you dare start thinking along those lines, Beauregard Duke!” Bo made a face at the use of his full first name, but the older cousin plowed ahead. “Nothing’s going to happen to me! Look, I’ve survived through war, revenuers, and Boss Hogg. You think I can’t handle running through the city? This will be a piece of cake compared to tryin’ to hide from Rosco!”

“But in Hazzard we know the terrain,” Bo pointed out. “We can hide because we have all our secret places and stuff. You’ll be in unfamiliar territory.”

“Well, it ain’t familiar to these crooks, either, if they’ve been followin’ the team. We’ll be on equal footing.” His voice softened, slightly. “Look, little cousin, I promise I’ll be okay, all right? I can’t let anything happen to Candy. I promised her dad we’d take care of her, and that includes saving her from herself if necessary. Uncle Jesse taught us that nothin’s more important than keeping a promise, remember? Remember?”

Bo just looked at him for a long time, searching his gaze and face, then finally his eyes dropped. “Okay,” he whispered. He leaned into his older cousin’s embrace and wrapped his arms fiercely around him. “I guess I gotta respect that. Just promise me you’ll call. Let me help if you get in trouble.”

Luke thought about that, then nodded. Bo had proved capable of taking care of himself numerous times, no matter how protective the older Duke might still feel toward him. “All right. If I run into any sort of trouble, or can’t find Candy, I’ll call. I’ll also call if I do find her. Just stay near the phone. That means no running off with the team, okay?” He attempted a smile. Bo didn’t return it.

“And if you don’t call?”

He hesitated before answering. He hoped it wouldn’t come to that. Because that would mean he himself was in trouble… “I will. I’ll be okay, cousin. I promise. I’m making a promise, Bo. Okay? Got me?” He pulled back so that his eyes bored into the younger boy’s, light blue meeting dark blue, determined to get a courage he really didn’t feel himself across.

Bo’s eyes glimmered with the tears he was fighting valiantly not to shed. But to his credit, he blinked them back, swallowed, and nodded. “I got you.”

“I promise,” Luke repeated. His younger cousin nodded again.

“Okay. Okay.” The young blond made a half-playful face, swiping at his eyes with the back of his hand. “I heard ya the first time, you know.”

The dark-haired Duke had to smile. Bo was determined to prove that he could be mature about this. And he was being rather mature, though he didn’t think he was. Maturity didn’t mean you had to hide all your emotions, especially when you were afraid for someone you loved. Luke was actually pretty proud of his younger cousin for how he was taking all this. He squeezed the other’s shoulders briefly, then stood up and walked back to the other bed to toss one more pair of socks into the duffel bag and zip it up. He turned to Bo and put his fists on his hips. “Well, how do I look?”

His cousin’s eyes flicked appraisingly over his white t-shirt and black jeans. “Like any other tourist. But…” He pursed his lips, eyes twinkling slightly as a touch of his usual good humor came through. “Here. The perfect touch.” He bounced up from the bed and bent over to pick something up off the floor by the bedstand. He tossed a red baseball cap across the room. Luke caught it one-handed.

He chuckled, but adjusted the band and tugged it on over his dark curls, adding a pair of dark sunglasses for good measure. “Now how do I look?”

Bo held up his hands in a picture frame, squinting through them, then grinned. “Uh-huh. Perfect.”

Luke grinned back, then picked up the duffel bag and a camera, the last piece of his costume, and went over to give his cousin another hug. Then he slung the camera around his neck and the bag over his shoulder, and opened the door. Halfway out, he looked back over his shoulder into still-worried eyes, seriously. Despite the promise he’d just made to Bo, he was only too aware of his own mortality. “If I don’t call in by dark, send out the dogs,” he attempted a wry joke. Then he turned and left without another word, refusing to let himself worry too much about this venture. He had to protect Candy, and her father, from themselves. That was all there was to it. There wasn’t any plan any more; he didn’t want to get caught. He only wanted to keep his new friends safe. And he wasn’t even going to think about any danger involved or any silly dreams.

He wandered down the road to the nearby taxi stop. He leaned on the open door of a yellow cab and snapped his fingers to get the driver’s attention. The man looked up from his newspaper, and suddenly became very attentive. He stuffed the paper under his seat, getting a glint in his eye. “Yeah? Where you wanna go?”

Luke pulled his glasses off so they could look eye-to-eye. “Might you have taken a man named David Brandon somewhere?”

The cabby frowned. “Nope.”

“Have you heard anything about anybody driving Mr. Brandon?”

“Nope.”

“What about a little girl? About… oh, yay-high.” He held his hand out in the air. “Blonde?”

“Nope.”

Luke sighed, a little annoyed. Not at the lack of information, so much, as at the cabby’s attitude. “Well, could you ask around?”

“Sorry. Don’t have the time.” The guy popped his gum loudly. “Look, fella, if you ain’t gonna take a ride, get out of here so’s I can get a real fare, okay?”

Inwardly, Luke was hard-pressed to hold his temper in check, but on the outside, his eyes barely flickered. Without a further word, he straightened, fingering the sunglasses in his hand, and started to walk away, wondering what to do now.

“Hey, mister!”

He turned, puzzled, to see another cabby running up behind him, waving one arm. He paused to let the man, a young blond that reminded him a bit of Bo, only older, catch up with him. The man panted for breath, then repeated his words.

“Hey, mister, you lookin’ for a little blonde girl?”

“Yeah. Have you seen her?” Luke asked quickly, attention sharpened.

“Sure thing. We took quite a ride together.” The cabby grinned. “Followed another cab halfway across the city, just like in the movies. Kid’s name was… Candy?”

The older Duke let a held breath out in relief. “Yeah, that’s her. Where did you take her?”

The blond started off, beckoning. “C’mon, I’ll take ya there. Man, this is a day to go down in the journal!”

Chuckling, Luke jogged after him. He climbed in the front seat of another yellow cab, seeing the first driver watching him from behind his newspaper, and felt a surprisingly strong urge to flippantly wave as they pulled out and drove by. But he restrained it. Now was no time to start acting like Bo!

They chatted as the taxi wound through the streets of San Antonio, moving from the outskirts, to the middle of the city, and back to the outskirts. As he listened to the young cabby’s cheerful, friendly monologue that reminded him even more of his younger cousin than physical resemblance, Luke watched old warehouses start to roll by. He could see open land through the spaces between buildings.

“What’s that?” he pointed off to the side at the open area.

The cabby, whose name was Rick, he had discovered, craned his neck in the direction Luke was pointing. “Aw, that. That’s the Kelly Air Force Base. Nothin’ much out there. Nobody can get out there anyway; it’s restricted. Aha!”

Luke turned to face front again just in time for the taxi to pull to a careful stop in front of one warehouse. The place was abandoned, its windows broken by teenagers’ rocks. “What is this place?”

“I dunno. It was where that first cab stopped, though, and a guy got out. Candy got out here too, tailin’ the guy down the street just like in some mystery show.”

Luke sat still for a couple of seconds, thinking. Then he opened the door, still sitting in his seat. “What do I owe you?”

Rick waved a hand in the air. “Naw. Nothin’. The fun I’m havin’ is enough pay. Just get on with ya,” he grinned.

He smiled back, raising both eyebrows as he stepped out. “Thanks. You’ll never know how much this means.”

“Prob’ly not,” the cabby agreed. As Luke stepped back and slammed the door, he started the engine and pulled away. One arm waved out the window as he left. The farmer sighed and smiled wryly, then tucked one arm of his sunglasses into the neck of his t-shirt and struck out. The Brandons couldn’t have gone too far.

**

About the time he was starting to wonder if there was anything actually inhabited out here and if he should pick up one of these pay phones to call another cab, Luke saw a welcome sign in the distance. FOOD, BEER, ROOMS. He picked up his pace, and walked into the lobby of a third-rate motel, which also seemed to double as a tiny diner. Three little tables lined up along one window-wall, one of which was occupied by an old man with a newspaper. “Hey!” he called out to the otherwise empty room. “Anybody here?” He ran a hand through his damp curls, thankful for the breeze created by an old fan.

After a few seconds, the man at the table looked up. “I am.” He chuckled upon seeing Luke. “Whatcha doin’ all the way out here? You’re a long way from Sea World, young man.”

“I ain’t goin’ to Sea World.” Luke dropped his duffel bag on the floor and the by-now heavy camera on top of that, leaning tiredly on the counter. “I’m lookin’ for somebody.”

The man raised both eyebrows and chuckled again, pointing the stem of a corn-cob pipe at the young Duke. “Around here? About all I ever get’s truckers, and them not too often. Who’re you looking for?”

Luke hesitated, then caged the answer in an uncertain tone. “A Mr. David Brandon?”

Dark eyes narrowed sharply, and the older man straightened in his seat. “Who are ya? Some kind of cop? What’s he wanted for?”

“I’m a friend,” Luke hurriedly reassured him. So Brandon was here. “Just a friend, I swear. And have you seen a little blonde girl?”

The man scowled deeply, obviously not liking giving out information. Finally he nodded. “I saw a kid like that go by. She ain’t come in. Brandon took a room here.” He stood up and crossed the room toward the phone on the front counter. He was obviously the owner. “Who should I say is callin’?”

“No, no!” Luke hurriedly stopped him. “Don’t call him! Let’s say I’m looking out for his well-being, but he don’t want me here. I’ll just keep an eye out for him to go by. Do you think I could get a drink?” he changed the subject. “It’s one hot day out there.”

The older man studied him for a few more moments, then suddenly nodded. “Sure thing.” He turned and went into a back room, leaving the door open. “Where you from?” he asked as he dug around in an old upright refrigerator.

“Georgia.” Luke wondered why this man even cared. But for some reason, he felt like he trusted him. He smiled to himself as he watched the proprietor hunt through a stack of cans. Bo was rubbing off on him, that was for sure; that open, trusting, attitude that was sensitive to nuances in others’ personalities as well. His younger cousin, even though he was friendly to about everybody, could always tell when someone was no good. Luke wasn’t quite sure how he did it, but he knew that children often had the same ability to assess strangers in seconds, so he figured it was part of Bo’s emotional youth and innocence.

“Georgia? A good place. I grew up on a farm there till I was about twenty and came west to seek my fame and fortune.” As he came back out with a can in his hand, he snorted. “I woulda done better to stay on the farm. Sorry I don’t have nothing else but soda pop.”

Luke accepted the Coke and opened the tab thankfully, taking a long drink. “This is fine. I grew up on a farm myself. It’s my land now.” He savored yet again how darn good that felt to say. It was his land. There was something strangely special about that.

The gray eyebrows went up again. “Well, well!” He smiled. “What’re you doing out here in Texas?”

“Me and my cousin joined a NASCAR racing team for the summer. We’re stopped here in San Antone right now.”

“Ah.” The man looked for a moment like he was about to say more, but then smiled and shrugged, standing up. “Well, I ain’t gonna pry into your personal affairs.” He walked back to his booth and sat down, sticking his pipe back in his mouth and picking his newspaper up again. Luke smiled to himself. He could tell that the guy was bursting with curiosity, but for now anyway he was respecting Luke’s privacy. He wondered if his being a Southern farmer had something to do with that, as the man had been downright nosy a few minutes before.

Sighing, Luke turned and leaned back against the counter, glancing out the front windows over the flat, dry area that was apparently a military base. He pondered over why Brandon might come out here. This was practically nowhere. He wasn’t even sure if he was still within city limits. His mind wandered then to Bo. He hoped he was doing okay… he was surprised when he yawned.

The proprietor looked up, and smiled. “Look, I’ll let ya have a room, what’d’ya say? You look like you could use some rest.”

“Um,” Luke said reluctantly. He did need some sleep. But now wasn’t the time to get it. “No, but thanks.”

Dark eyes studied him critically. “I’ll keep an eye on this Brandon fella. Here.” He dug into a pocket, still sitting there, and tossed something across the room. Luke reached out and caught it. He opened his fist to discover a key. He opened his mouth to protest, but then closed it slowly. The old man’s expression reminded him of one of Uncle Jesse’s when he or Bo or Daisy was being difficult. The face was completely different, but the stubbornness in his eyes was the same. He sighed, deeply, trying not to smile.

“Keep an eye out for the girl, too, okay? She’s Brandon’s daughter. And don’t let either one of ’em know I’m here.”

“Right. I’ll wake you up if this Brandon leaves. Now, git.” The order was tempered by a very slight smile.

Luke had no choice in this matter, obviously. And for some reason, it didn’t much bother him right now. Finally allowing a returned small smile to twitch the corners of his mouth up, he simply turned and picked up his bag and camera, and walked out of the lobby toward the row of doors on the side of the far wing of the building.

He found the room the key belonged to with relative ease, opening the door and looking around inside. It wasn’t all that nice, nothing more than he would expect in this sort of area, but it was clean, at least. With his place of residence verified and his Duke curiosity satisfied, he set his stuff down on the bed and went back out to use the phone booth he’d seen just outside the lobby. He dialed in the number of the hotel room he and Bo shared back at the track. There was no answer for several rings, but just as he was about to hang up, starting to get a little bit angry at his cousin’s disobedience, the receiver was lifted. “Hello?” a familiar voice, somewhat breathless, asked.

He smiled. “Hey, cousin. It’s just me.”

“Luke!” He could hear the relieved grin in Bo’s voice. “I was startin’ to wonder if you were gonna call.”

“I was startin’ to wonder if you were gonna pick up the phone,” he returned admonishingly. “I was starting to think you’d gone somewhere. Like with Jennifer or something.”

“Of course not!” Bo defended, sudden earnesty in his voice. “Luke, I’d never let you down! ’Specially not just for a girl!”

“Well, I didn’t really think you would. I was just starting to wonder where you were.”

“Well, the reason I didn’t answer right away was cause I was in the shower.”

“Oh.” Sighing and rubbing his eyes tiredly with one hand, Luke leaned back against the wall so he could be in the shade. “I found Brandon.”

“You did?!” Excitement pitched Bo’s voice higher. “Where? What about Candy?”

“Whoa, whoa there, cuz!” Luke had to smile. “He’s fine. So’s Candy. She’s sneaking around trying to keep an eye on her dad and not let him know she’s here. I haven’t personally seen her yet, but seeing as I’m standing out in the open, she probably knows I’m here.” He had to quirk a smile again at a thought he’d just had. “You know, that kid ought to have grown up with moonshiners, she hides so well.”

Bo’s chuckle echoed his own. “Yeah. Hey, where are you, anyway?”

“Umm…” Deprived of the compass he’d left back in Hazzard County, he squinted up at the sun for direction. But it was too bright to catch the exact position. He dropped his eyes to the ground and blinked hard, trying to get rid of the spots in his vision. “Um, I ain’t sure exactly. Someplace near a Kelly Air Force Base.”

“Okay… Hold on. I’ll get the map.”

The phone was put down, and Luke could hear a rustling of papers. He stretched, and yawned. Man, he really was tired. He didn’t have much choice but to take a nap, he supposed, no matter how much he’d rather keep his eyes on the Brandons. What the heck did David Brandon want to be out here in the middle of nowhere for, anyway?

“I got it,” Bo’s voice came back on the line. “Kelly Air Force Base… okay, that’s outside the southwest section of the city.” He paused. “You doin’ okay, Lukas?”

“Yeah. Sure.” He fought back another yawn. “Just kinda tired. Brandon’s checked himself in at an old motel, and so have I. I think I’m gonna catch a few Z’s before I do anything else.”

His younger cousin chuckled again. The sound wasn’t really amused this time, just gentle in a way. “Just be careful. Whatever you do, be careful. I’ve only got one cousin.”

Luke smiled at that. “Sure thing. I’m not really in a hurry to say goodbye to you, either. Except for temporary. Like now.”

“You gotta hang up now? You just got on!” His voice was surprised, and a bit betrayed.

“Bo, I’m on a pay phone. This is costing money.”

“Oh.” There was a pause. “Well, take care. Love you.”

“You too. Talk to ya later. Oh, and Bo?” he suddenly thought of something else.

“Yeah?”

He took a deep breath, shifting his weight as though they were standing face to face and he could make what he was about to say more firm by his stance. Most of dealing with Bo was eye contact and body language, unfortunately; in situations like this, where he could use only words, he worried sometimes that his younger cousin wouldn’t listen. But, he could try. “Bo, don’t come after me. You got that? Just stay put until I call again. When I get ahold of Candy, I’ll have her go back to the raceway, and I want you there. Understand?” He hated having to be so sternly voiced, but he knew his younger cousin.

Sure enough, the just barely too long pause let him know that Bo had indeed been thinking of joining him. “Okay.”

“Promise me, now.” He softened his voice as he said the last, letting his worry show through.

He could hear the smile in his cousin’s voice. “I promise, on Duke’s honor. You take care, now, Lukas.”

He relaxed a bit at that. Family honor wasn’t something that would be violated lightly. It was a pretty good promise. He sighed to himself; he almost didn’t want to end this call. But then he glanced at the phone timer, watching it count down, and knew he had no choice. “I really have to hang up now.”

“I know. Love ya. Bye.”

“Bye.” Luke waited until the dial tone from the other end sounded before hanging up his own receiver, slowly. He could tell that Bo was still worried. That was part of what made him a bit reluctant to let the conversation end. His protective streak toward his teenage cousin ran very deep, and he doubted he’d ever be able to completely let go. It wasn’t a problem, normally, because Bo was just as unwilling to be on his own… but he wondered if it someday would be.

Sighing again, he left the booth and headed back for his room. He shut the door, but left it unlocked, just in case Candy decided to come visiting. She probably knew where his room was. And if she didn’t, she could find out. Luke knew that it would sound silly to most people, like he was giving this kid more credit than she was due. Maybe he was. But he knew one thing — he was never going to underestimate her again. She was too stubborn and amazingly resourceful.

The moment he lay down on the bed, he found his awareness slipping away. Yawning, he forced himself to relax for a short nap at least, and let his mind wander. He’d already met quite a few interesting characters, in just a few hours of travel. Rick, that other cabby, and now this motel manager… He worried about Candy, a little, out on her own, but knew she was okay for now… Brandon was really determined to get himself into trouble, wasn’t he… And Bo… his little cousin was really something special; he just hoped he wouldn’t try to do something to help against orders. Of course, he had promised on Duke’s honor, so…

His thoughts trailed off into oblivion as he fell asleep.

**

Bo brought the telephone receiver away from his ear and looked at it for a moment, sighing, before setting it into its cradle. He frowned to himself, pulling his lower lip between his teeth in a thoughtful gesture he was only half-aware of. So Candy had found her father. And Luke had found them both.

He longed to go after him, to join Luke in following Candy and Mr. Brandon. He couldn’t keep from seeing nighttime images of danger, even though he knew his older cousin was more than capable of taking care of himself. But, he had promised to stay put, for now at least. He had promised on family honor, which was an oath second only to one of blood. He was bound to it now.

The blond eighteen-year-old sighed again and turned to head back to the bathroom, pulling the towel from around his waist to scrub the drips out of his hair. As he dressed, he found himself listening to the sounds of the plumbing next door, the maid going by with a creaky cart outside the room, the person walking the floor in the room above. And he found himself suddenly feeling very lonely. Normally, even if Luke wasn’t saying anything, just reading or something, Bo never felt alone. He was there… that was all that mattered.

He hated that Luke was in possible danger. He hated it with all his being. Yet, he knew honor dictated that the older Duke try to keep the Brandons safe. Honor also dictated that Bo keep his oath and stay where he was, much as he would rather not.

But honor didn’t keep him from feeling terribly alone, empty, and young.

Coming out of the bathroom, he dumped his laundry in the canvas bag in the corner meant for just that, and wandered slowly over to his bed, lying down on his back and putting his hands behind his head to stare at the ceiling. He was not only lonely and worried, he was bored. Bored, bored, bored. He had to sit here and wait for phone calls. Man, he wished they’d brought the portable CB sets. At least then Luke could have taken one and he the other, and then he could go places, be with people… maybe even Jennifer…

He shook his head, sighing. Sometimes he felt a little mixed-up and confused when it came to that subject. Jennifer really liked him, and he really liked her. He was even getting over being a little scared of her; after all, she was just a girl. He thought he might be even starting to fall in love with her, which was a thought kind of scary and exciting all in one. But Luke… he never actually said or did anything, yet Bo know anyway that his older cousin didn’t like the blonde female driver. He wasn’t sure why not, but it was still so. And that put Bo between a rock and a hard place. He would do anything to please Luke… but he cared about Jenny too. So, what to do?

He was startled out of his thoughts by a knock on the door. He lifted his head, glad for the interruption, then sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. “Come in, it ain’t locked.”

The knob turned, and Frank’s salt-and-pepper head poked in, smiling. “Hey, Bo. Heard from Luke yet?”

“Yeah. He called just a few minutes ago.” He waved a hand toward the phone. “He found Brandon and Candy, but they don’t know he’s there… at least, they’re not supposed to. Candy might, he says. Anyway, he’s gonna try to talk to her and send her back here. We’re supposed to wait for further word from him.” Bo frowned slightly, but then realized that maybe here was an answer to at least one of his problems. “Hey, why don’t you come on in instead of standing in the doorway letting all the cool air out?”

Frank chuckled and obeyed, shutting the door behind him. Bo stood and walked over to the low table, opening a drawer. He turned around and held up a pack of cards that he’d found earlier, a courtesy gift from the hotel.

“We gotta wait. So, wanna play?”