by MacSas

 

The glint that had caught the eye of Lex turned out to be the remains of an old moonshine still, lying just outside the entrance to a small cave.

“Perfect,” he thought. “No one will think to look here.”

As he walked inside though, he failed to notice a tiny trip wire that ran from one side of the caves entrance to the other. He sure noticed when his foot struck it though. “Damn,” he muttered, bending to inspect the small box the wire was attached to. “Must be some kind of old alarm system.”

Sure that it meant nothing, due to the destroyed still outside, he decided to use the cave as a hideout for the time being. Until the heat died down, he would have time to plan his next move. He knew that his next move would have to be very smart. Too many people were now aware of him. He would only have one chance at getting Miss Daisy. He was determined to make that chance count.

*   *   *   *

At the Hazzard County Courthouse, J.D. Hogg was holding court with his most trusted – if not most intelligent – co-hort.

“Roscoe, how many times are you going to let a Duke get the better of you?”

“I’m telling you Boss, Daisy sounded genuine.”

“She always does.” Boss shook his head and sat at his desk. “There’s no way that story she spun could be true. Some big time drug dealer being after her, a couple of Canadian cops heading into Hazzard with some kind of Rambo team. I’m telling you, it’s just another ruse.”

“But Boss, it could be true. You know Daisy’s been in Texas for a while now and she has worked with different law type people. It could be possible that she has made some enemies…”

“Roscoe,” Boss interrupted. “How many times did that girl and her cousins catch you out with a shuck and jive when they were growing up?”

Roscoe looked uneasy for a moment. “Well…”

“Plenty” Boss answered for him.

“Yeah, but…”

“Look,” Boss slammed a beefy hand on top of his desk. “There ain’t no way no how that Daisy is being above board on this one.”

Roscoe sighed. He knew Daisy well. Heck, she was his favourite Duke, though he’d never tell anyone. Sure she had once distracted him while Bo and Luke broke into the records office by spinning a yarn about a missing boy. She had him believing every word, until he noticed that the description she was giving him resembled a cocker spaniel! She’d even taken a joy ride in his police car more than once. Yet, she’d grown up. She was a well-respected member of the CSI community. She knew her work well and was an excellent investigator. Most importantly, she had no reason to lie.

“Boss, what if this is true?”

Boss sighed. “Roscoe, I would bet a weeks bar takings that this is just another chapter in the long and seemingly never-ending story of Duke versus Coltraine…”

“But…”

“Just drop it Roscoe! I’ve heard enough. If you bring this up one more time…”

Boss was interrupted by a beeping noise from a nearby black box.

“Well, that’s unusual,” he muttered.

“What is it?” Roscoe asked.

“It’s the old trip wire from still site number 2, out there by Eagle Point.”

“In the cave at the foot of the Point?” Roscoe asked.

“Yeah.” Boss looked at the box. “I haven’t used that still since Bo Duke destroyed it with one of them fancy arrows of his.”

“Yeah,” Roscoe laughed as he recalled the incident. “ It wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t tried to convince him that he was your son when he lost his memory. He was so mad at you when he remembered he was a Duke!”

“Yeah, well, no one else has been out at that site since then either. This alarm hasn’t been activated in years.”

“Well,” Roscoe noted. “Someone sure is out there now.”

Boss thought for a moment. “Daisy reckons some drug dealer is after her and that he was at the farm?”

“Yep,” Roscoe replied. “That’s what she said. He had them at gunpoint, got into a mess with Luke, and then left the house.”

Boss paced the room, thinking.

“Hey, Boss,” Roscoe said. “You don’t think that that dude is hiding out at your old still site do you?”

Boss smiled. “Roscoe, sometimes your actually quick.”

“Why thank you” Roscoe beamed.

“But most often you are slower than slow.”

Roscoe just shrugged. “Um, which am I this time Boss?”

“This time is one of those extremely, amazingly rare times when you actually hit the nail instead of your thumb.”

Roscoe winced. “I sure do hate it when that happens.”

“What?” Boss asked.

“Hitting my thumb instead of the nail. You know it really smarts. I’m telling you, that whole thing just throbs like it’s plum about to blast off the rest of your hand…”

“ROSCOE!”

“What?”

Boss sighed. The battle of Roscoe’s intelligence would never be won.

“We need to get out to that still site and find out what’s going on.”

“But Boss,” Roscoe worried “That guy’s got a gun. Daisy said he was dangerous. We can’t go out there by ourselves.”

Boss thought for a moment. “Your right.”

“Again?”

“Amazing, ain’t it? What we’ll do instead is go out to the Duke farm and meet up with this Rambo group…”

“Boss they are Mounties from Canada.”

“Whatever,” Boss waved a dismissing hand. “I don’t take kindly to foreign law people waltzing around my county and causing problems for me.”

“Ah, Boss, how are they causing problems for you?”

“They’re looking for a desperate criminal right? Well, there’s bound to be a reward for his capture. And if anyone is going to get a reward for this guy…”

“It’s going to be you.” Roscoe finished.

“It’s going to be me.” Boss announced theatrically, one arm raised in the air.

“What percentage do I get?” Roscoe asked.

“Why, 50% of 50% of 50%, of course.”

“The usual, huh?”

“Yep. Split down the middle, just like always.”

“Down the middle and hang a left.” Roscoe mumbled.

“Huh?”

“Didn’t hear a thing,” Roscoe smiled.

“Let’s get going,” Boss frowned. He grabbed his hat and headed for the door. Roscoe followed, shaking his head.

“I have a feeling this is going to get awful messy.”

*   *   *   *

“Well, you did the right thing,” Luke told Daisy after she had recounted her call to Roscoe.

“Yeah, but I think we’ve hoodwinked him a time too many Luke. I just don’t see him or Boss taking this seriously. He sure didn’t sound convincing.”

“Can you blame him?” Bo laughed. “The things we put him through I our younger years…”

“No wonder he’s always grumpy,” Daisy laughed.

“Well,” Luke sighed. “At least he’s been told.”

“What do we do now?” Bo asked.

“We wait for Martin and Clark. They can’t be too far away now. If Roscoe decides to join the party, I’m sure that will prove to be interesting for the Canadian boys.”

Bo laughed. “Can you imagine what will be going through their minds?”

Daisy smiled at her cousins’ banter. “If Roscoe does show up, you know he’s liable to be more of a hindrance than anything.”

“True” Luke agreed. “But, like you said Daisy, he is the law here.”

“Goodness gracious,” Bo mumbled at the sound of a knock at the door. “I’m guessing that’s not Lex.”

“No,” Luke smiled at Daisy as he got up to answer the door. “But it could be a certain Superman.”

“LUKE!” Daisy blushed wildly as both boys laughed good-naturedly.

When Luke opened the door, he knew the man in front of him was the infamous Martin Kent. This was what Luke expected when hearing Daisy describe the lawman. While Lex had been thin and wild looking with evil written all over him, Martin was a complete opposite! Tall, muscular ad well groomed to boot, the man in front of him filled the farmhouse doorway. He exuded confidence and power, but Luke also saw gentleness in his dark eyes. The slight smile on his face told him that Martin’s appraisal of him had been equally exacting.

“Admiral Lukas. K. Duke I presume,” Martin said in a slight Canadian accent.

“Lt. Martin Kent?” Luke asked, accepting the younger mans handshake.

“Yes sir,” Martin offered his badge adding, “I have definite proof.”

Luke laughed while taking a look at the official identification. There was no way this guy wasn’t the real thing. Luke waved him into the kitchen.

“I think someone is going to be very happy to see you.” He smiled.

The look on the Mounties face said it all. This guy’s got it bad, Luke thought.

‘Oh,” Martin said, turning to the door. “This is my partner, Sergeant Clark Jannetty.”

“Pleased to meet you, Admiral.” Clark shook Luke’s hand.

“Ah, just Luke will do. My cousins already think that I stand on ceremony too much. Course, that’s usually when neither of them will do what I want them too.”

The three men laughed as they walked to the cosy lounge.

“This is my cousin Bo,” Luke introduced Bo, who shook both men’s hands.

“And, of course,” Luke grinned at Martin, “You already know this annoying little imp”

“Hey Doll” Martin greeted Daisy with a hug, oblivious to her cousin’s amusement.

“Hi yourself” she whispered, staying in his embrace just a little longer than a friend would.

Clark decided to remind them they were not alone.

“Ahem!”

As the two moved apart, Martin took Daisy’s hands in his.

“Hey Clark” Daisy smiled over Martins shoulder.

“Hi. Hear you’ve had a rough day.”

Bo laughed. “Like you wouldn’t believe.”

“Care to fill us in?” Clark asked, moving over to join Bo and Luke in the kitchen. While the three discussed the day’s events, while Luke prepared a light meal for them, Martin and Daisy stayed in the lounge.

“Are you okay?” he asked her.

“Yeah” she smiled.

“Really?”

“Truly”

“I promise, we will get this sorted out. You’ll be free of Lex before you know it”

“I know you’ll do your best, Red”

“Honey, I swear, it will be over for good this time”

“Will it really?” she asked.

“He won’t escape this time. We have a small team of men from Atlanta searching the area as we speak.”

Daisy sighed. “Is it okay if I save the flutter of excitement until later?”

Martin laughed softly. “I know you find it hard to believe, but justice will be done.”

“I believe you” Daisy smiled up at him.

“Good” Martin said, kissing her on the forehead.

“Ahem”

Martin and daisy smiled as they turned. “Yes Clark?” they said in unison.

“Are we going to eat, or are you guys just going to stand there whispering and staring at each other all night?”

The two laughed as they walked to the kitchen to join the others. Luke watched as Martin attentively sat Daisy at her place and handed her a plate of food. Her eyes never left him. She seemed to have come alive since his arrival.

“I have never seen Daisy this far gone over a fellow,” Luke told Martin.

Clark laughed. “Well, I’ve never seen Martin quite so taken by a woman, either.”

Martin turned to Luke. “I am very serious when I tell you that I love your cousin, and that I plan on doing my utmost to ensure that she never has reason to fear again.”

Luke looked at the younger man for a moment. “I thank you for that,” he told him. “And I know that you have done much for Daisy up until now. I have no reason to believe you will do anything but your best for her.” He waited until Martin was seated, then added, “Of course, you know that if you hurt her in anyway, I’ll have to break every bone in your body.”

Martin smiled. “I wouldn’t expect anything less, Sir.”

Beneath the table, he squeezed Daisy’s hand. And, for just a while, all was right in her world again.