by: MacSas
(Just a little note. This story is ALL fiction; even the Atlanta police force QRT is fiction…um…as far as I know!)
Lieutenant Martin Kent hung up the phone and thought for just a moment before springing into action. Turning to his partner, Clark Jannetty, he quickly briefed him on the disturbing call with Daisy. The two Canadian officers had originally set off for Hazzard County with only a hunch that Lex would be dumb enough to try to confront Daisy on her home turf. As they got closer to Hazzard, that hunch got stronger. It was Clark who had suggested they stop off in Atlanta to enlist the help of the local FBI. Martin was still hoping that the instincts he was famous for in the field were proving to be off track this time. The conversation, or lack of it, that he’d just had with Daisy had changed that. The instincts were still 100%; problem was, this time those instincts were telling him something bad was about to hit Hazzard County, and in particular, Daisy. He made his way across the room to talk to a select group of officers known as the Quick Response Team. Made up of men who had military experience as well as years of police training, the QRT was Atlanta’s answer to the kind of SWAT teams one would expect to see in downtown Los Angeles. They were men who were hardened by battle and who had no qualms shooting to kill if needed. But they were also men who were highly experienced in day-to-day police work. It was both these attributes that now made them indispensable to there city’s police force, and made them just the group Martin needed to save Daisy. He just hoped that she could bluff her way through Lex’s presence for just a couple hours more.
* * * *
Having been partnered with Lt Kent for the better part of 5 years, Sergeant Clark Jannetty knew the man well. He knew how to read the Lt’s moods like they were a newspaper with bold headlines. He knew this case was important to Martin. He also knew of the undercurrent of emotions flowing between his seasoned partner and the pretty country girl. It amused him somewhat. The mighty had fallen! Martin was a confirmed bachelor. He never stuck with one woman for too long. Despite being a bit of a heart breaker, he had standards; even if it meant that the only commitment a woman would get from him would be his fidelity during their relationship. He despised the thought of needlessly breaking a girls heart. And there had been times when Jannetty had heard Kent telling a younger officer off for locker room talk about that man’s current/ex girlfriend. Now, however, in the space of less than 6 months, the rough and rugged bachelor had fallen for a girl with a soft voice, sweet smile and venerable eyes. She seemed to have had him right from “Hello”
Yet, Clark had noticed that it seemed a little while longer before Daisy showed any mirror feelings. It would be only natural that she wouldn’t want to let her defences down too soon. Look what she was dealing with, a life in turmoil due to being involved with a guy who saw her as an easy mark. That was the problem, Clark thought. Many people had questioned how Daisy could have been so blind. Yet, what they neglected to take into account was the fact that Daisy was depressed after her split with Jeff. The depression made her vunerable, and that vunerability made her an ideal target for a hunter like Lex. Clark sighed as he thought of all the other women that he and Martin had seen fall to the same sweet talking type of monsters. Daisy was making a come back though. She seemed to be really taken with the Lt. It showed in the way she laughed at his terrible jokes, how she shyly smiled when she caught him looking her way, and it especially showed in the way she just came alive when he entered the room. It reminded Clark of a line in his favourite Alan Jackson song “Livin’on Love” – “She don’t care bout what’s in style, she just likes the way he smiles” Yes, he now laughed to himself as he watched his partner and friend set about putting together a team that would help catch Lex. How the mighty have fallen indeed!