Lazy Hazy Days of Summer

(A Dukes of Hazzard Round Robin Story)

Written: Summer 2000 by the following contributing authors: BlackJackPeril, CuzBonita, DukesFann1, Margaret, MaryAnne, Meadowmufn, and Officerdjc.

Edited by: MaryAnne

The last rays of the setting sun danced upon the surface of the pond. The low hum of insects betrayed a sense of calm, providing nature's own version of white noise. A red and white bobber landed with a soft, barely audible "plop" and sent gently rolling ripples in all directions. Satisfied with his cast, the solitary fisherman secured his pole between the forking branch of a fallen tree, lazily patted the hound dog beside him, and leaned back against the sandy embankment.
He had just closed his eyes when off in the distance he heard the distinct sound of a racing engine. It was headed his direction. He listened intently for a moment. When the whine of the engine grew so loud it could no longer be ignored, he opened his eyes and slowly stood.
He turned towards the embankment, grabbed the long grass at the top, and tried to pull himself up enough to get a look at the road. No sooner had his head poked over the dirt wall than a large dark streak of mechanical fury came screaming straight for it. Blinded by the piercing high beams, he released his grip on the grass and ducked, landing at the bottom of the embankment like a sack of wet cement. He lay flat on his back staring up into the dark night sky as the phantom car soared gracefully overhead. An explosion of water sprayed in every direction as the car's momentum was halted by the pond.
The fisherman took his hat off and droplets flew everywhere as he shook it. As he placed it back on his head, he heard voices coming from the woods at the top of the embankment.
The hound worked her way towards her master, avoiding the large puddles now dotting the shore. When the dog finally got to her destination, she let out a low whimper asking for her master's attention. The fisherman hushed the dog and scooped her up.
He leaned against the embankment and listened intently to the voices as they drew nearer.
"That's the end of that," said a low, menacing voice. "We'll need another pair of wheels. You stay here, check the area out. Make sure there's no trace of the car left. Make sure no one saw us. Got it? I'm gunna go get us a ride."
"Yeah, yeah I got it. Just make sure you get a car that ain't got crappy brakes on it this time."
The other man didn't answer as he walked away. The man left behind didn't expect him to. Afterall, he wasn't in charge of things here, even though he liked to act like he was.
The man looked at the pond and the last remaining waves from where the car had disappeared below the surface. Dark car, dark water. The likelyhood of anyone seeing the vehicle from the road atleast seemed remote. The only thing that concerned the man was getting out of this backwater county and back to Atlanta. Their job had been completed, there had been no witnesses and they would soon be reaping some very generous benefits for their efforts.
Assuming Rudy finds a set of wheels that ain't gonna crap out on us, the man, Leon, thought. He shook his head and dug out a cigarette.

Still leaning flat against the embankment, the fisherman had only one thought. I gotta git outta here before I get spotted! Jit jit! Damp dirt was smearing all over his uniform, eerily recalling the cold snowy trenches of Korea.
This is what I get for goofin' off on patrol, Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane thought as he stroked Flash, keeping her quiet while he figured when he could make a break for it.
The smell of cigarette smoke drifted down and Rosco realized the other man was still close. He then heard the sound of feet dragging against grass and dirt as the man walked away from the spot and investigated the embankment.
Slowly, Rosco raised his head and peered up past the edge of the embankment. With what little light the dusk of the evening gave, he could make out a shadowy figure moving down towards the other end of the pond.
My patrol car's over there. Dang it all! Rosco figured he was going to have to flee on foot. He held on to Flash and quietly got to his feet. He glanced over the bank again and cautiously pulled himself and Flash over the edge. With Flash bundled in his arms, he ran quietly to his cruiser parked near the far side of Hazzard pond. Rosco was a little upset at himself for parking so far away, but he didn't want anyone to know his secret fishing spot, and now he was paying for his sneakiness. But just who, exactly, was being sneaky, Rosco wondered. Me? Or them two that just sent their car into the pond?
Rosco kept his patrol car in his line of sight. He briefly looked back at the other end of the pond to see the person still standing there. Their back was to him and the patrol car. Rosco kept walking.
"SNAP!!"
"Doh!" Rosco hissed. He froze when he realized he'd just stepped on a twig. He didn't bother with seeing if he'd been spotted. He started running.
"Hey! HEY!!"
The distinct sound of gun fire echoed over the pond and Rosco ducked. A bullet hit the gumballs of his patrol car just as he reached the door. He pushed Flash in through the open window and then yanked the door open. A couple more shots pinged into the fenders and door.
Rosco hit the gas and threw the transmission in gear. The Plymouth sunk in the soft sand near the shore and struggled to make the turn. Just as the car was coming onto firmer ground and picking up speed the front tire blew out under the assault of bullets. Rosco couldn't control the patrol car's destintation and the steering pulled out from under him. The car hit the embankment and hit the pond with a splash. Rosco grabbed Flash and leaned over the front seat to get out of view of the two men shooting at him!
The two men ran to the edge of the pond and watched the patrol car as it sank. Rosco held on to Flash as the water started pouring in through the open window. The water poured over his legs and hurt a lot more than Rosco expected. Rosco let go of Flash and let her swim out of the passenger window. He then pulled himself across the seat and out of the car. He stayed with the car until it came to a rest with the roof and gumballs just below the waterline.
Leon and Rudy watched the car for a moment more. Satisfied that the officer they saw was taken care of, Leon holstered his gun and turned to Rudy.
"That better be the only one we see," he said. "Let's get goin'..." Rudy looked at the patrol car and then followed his partner.
When Rosco saw the two shadowy figures start to walk away, he managed to swim to the edge of the pond and quietly pulled himself out of the water. He sat for a moment, his right leg hurting in an odd manner. He had no idea where Flash was and the only other thought in his mind was to get away from here. These guys are BAD NEWS, BAD NEWS!! Rosco drew in a deep sigh and then moved to stand up.
"Whoa..." Rosco reached out for something to steady himself and couldn't find anything. He went back down to the ground. Now his leg was really hurting.
"What in the world..." Rosco couldn't see in the dark twilight with dark pants on, but something was very wrong. He took a moment to feel where the pain eminated from and came to the sickening realization just what was wrong. Even though his hands and pant leg were cold and wet...the spot near the pain was warm. And that only meant one thing. Rosco swallowed. I've been shot... He quickly pulled his necktie off and wrapped the soaking wet material around his wounded leg.

"I don't believe this," Rudy said. "The one place we dump that car and there's a dang cop right here! Good thing I hadn't gotten very far from here."
"There WAS a cop," Leon man said. "By the time anyone figures out what happened here, we'll be in Mexico. Come on let's get outta here."
The two men headed for the road walking away from the pond and the police officer...who they thought was dead...

Back in town, Boss Hogg let out a frustrated sigh. It was just past eight o'clock. "That pea brain! He shoulda been back here over half an hour ago!"
"I've tried raisin' the Sheriff on the CB, Mr. Hogg," Enos said. "But he ain't got his ears on."
"Alright, alright. Enos, go out and see if you can find him okay? We got two murderers on the loose from Lampton County and he should be here! So we can catch them two...and I--uh--we can get the nice reward."
"Yes, sir." Enos said. The deputy left the booking room.

Out at the Duke farm, Jesse Duke was checking on Maudine the Mule and the other barn animals to make sure they were set for the night. Hazzard Pond was only about two miles away from the farm and Jesse had heard several distant 'pops' in the warm night air. Something wasn't right and he came out of the barn, looking towards the horizon and the direction of the pond. Silence was all that answered.

"Woof...woof..." The sound of a dog collar jingling made Rosco open his eyes.
"Flash," he whispered. "Flash, honey where are you..?" After a moment, a cold nose was nuzzling against his hand.
"Flash..." Rosco found her in the dark and cuddled her close to him. "Oh Flash, yer daddy's in trouble this time." He held the dog for another moment and then realized he had to try to get as far back to town as he could. Slowly, and with some difficulty Rosco stood up. Flash stayed by his feet and followed him.

At the Boar's Nest, MaryAnne Coltrane was behind the bar cleaning glasses and listening to the lone deputy on the Hazzard Net.
"Sheriff Rosco, if you can hear me, please come back."
MaryAnne didn't like that Rosco wasn't responding. Something was wrong. She grabbed up the mike. "Enos, this is MaryAnne. I don't like that Rosco ain't responding. Something's gotta be wrong."
"I'm afraid to admit it, MaryAnne, but I think you're right. The Sheriff was supposed to be at the courthouse over half an hour ago. And we gotta situation now that requires we have a Sheriff."
"What's the situation, Enos?"
"There's two escaped criminals from Lampton County. I can't go into details over the air, MaryAnne, but they're dangerous. Very dangerous."
MaryAnne looked around the half empty Boar's Nest. The Hazzard County Sunset League was playing a game over at the ballfield, which was why business was so slow. She figured she could slip out for about an hour and help Enos look for Rosco, before the games ended and everyone headed to the Boar's Nest for beer.
"Listen, Enos, I'm gonna head out and give ya a hand."
"Ten-four, MaryAnne. Thanks."
A few minutes later, with Daisy watching from the door, Maverick's tail lights disappeared into the evening.

"Where are you going?" Bo called out to his uncle from the front porch.
Jesse laid his shotgun on the seat and then pulled himself into the truck cab. "Up to the pond for a minute. I want to check something out. I got a bad feeling," Jesse responded.
"Is that why you're taking the shotgun?"
"Yeah, I think I heard gunshots over there. Better safe than sorry," Jesse replied.
"Here.. I'll come with you," Bo offered as he jogged up to the passenger side of the truck. As they pulled away from the farm, Bo turned to his uncle and stated, "You know, it's probably just someone huntin' that old boar. Nobody's got 'im yet."
Jesse shook off the idea with a quick nod. "No. Whoever it was wasn't huntin' boar. Not with a handgun. Could be those two fellas Enos mentioned on the CB earlier."
Bo's expression turned sour. "You don't think..."
Jesse interrupted his nephew before he had a chance to finish the horrific thought. "I don't know, but I think someone might need our help."

Rosco stumbled and struggled to get up to the small deserted road above the pond. Flash followed behind whimpering, sensing the danger her daddy was in. Rosco's leg was growing numb, yet still screamed in pain with each movement. He leaned against a tree with his hands on his knees, keeping as much weight as he could on his good leg and waiting for a wave of dizziness to pass. He fought the temptation to slide down to a sitting position because he knew he wouldn't get up again.
In the distance he heard a vehicle approaching. Suddenly aware that he had no idea where his two attackers had gone, he assumed that a vehicle on this lonely road this late at night could only be the two thugs coming back to make sure he was finished.
They'd definitely find him if he stayed where he was. He stood up slowly, took a deep breath, and braced himself for the pain he was about to feel. He checked the road quickly and staggered across it as fast as he could and fell into the high brush on the other side. Flash sat on the other side of the road and barked.
"Hush! Flash, get over here!" Rosco commanded in the loudest whisper he dared. He could hear the engine getting louder. The vehicle was almost here. He put his head down on his arms and closed his eyes, waiting for another wave of dizziness to pass.
Flash started to cross the road. Jesse caught a brief glimpse of her in his headlights and slammed on the brakes. Frightened, Flash jumped sideways then ran off into the bushes. She found Rosco and started to lick his face. Rosco lifted his head for a brief second, but couldn't make out what he was seeing. Everything was so dark. His vision was starting to dim and the pain starting to fade. He managed to call to his beloved dog one last time before he faded into darkness. "Flash?"
Jesse set the parking brake and got out of the truck.
"Was that Flash?" Bo asked.
Both men wandered over to where they had seen the bassett disappear. "Flash? Where are you, honey? What are you doing out here?" Bo called.
They heard her whimper and followed the sound. She was hunkered down in the brush, growling as the two men got closer. She stood up and barked when she recognized the taller of the two men, Bo.
"It IS Flash," Bo stated as he bent down to the hound. He pulled her out of the brush and picked her up. "What are you doing here?" he said as he patted her head. She started to squirm in Bo's arms, trying to get loose. She bayed loudly as Jesse bent down to examine the spot where she had been.
"Put her down, Bo," he commanded.
Bo placed the hound gingerly on the ground and she bolted into the brush again. Jesse shined his flashlight back to where she had disappeared. The light revealed a dark figure laying in the grass, the hound laying quietly with her head on her paws beside it.
Jesse turned back to Bo and held out the shotgun. "It's Rosco. I don't know how bad he's hurt, but I'm gonna check. You keep a look out. If it was those two escaped criminals, they might still be around here."
Bo stared at his uncle for a minute, in shock. He reluctantly accepted the gun from his uncle as the situation slowly sunk in.
Jesse worked his way back to Rosco, reassuring Flash as he went that he was there to help. He felt Rosco's neck for a pulse. "Thank God," Jesse whispered under his breath as he felt the weak, but noticeable rhythm against his finger.
"How is he?" Bo called out.
"Don't know yet," came the reply.
Jesse cautiously checked Rosco's back for wounds then gingerly turned him over. No wounds to the chest, stomach or head. Hmmm.. He started to pull Rosco out of the brush so he could examine him better when Rosco opened his eyes.
"Jesse?" he said weakly as he stared up into the kind, bearded face above him.
"Rosco? What happened?"
"I--I'm not sure," he said, trying to recall the details. "I was shot... in the leg."
"This might hurt a little then," Jesse said as he pulled Rosco out of the brush and up on to the shoulder of the road.
Rosco gritted his teeth hard to the searing pain, stifling a scream.
"Sorry," Jesse apologized. "Hold on. I'll be right back." Jesse got up and went back to the truck.
"Uncle Jesse?" Bo questioned as the older man passed him.
"He's alive. I think he'll be ok," Jesse assured his nephew. He grabbed a small medical kit from the bed of the pickup and carried it back to Rosco. He withdrew a small bottle of his finest shine he kept for "medicinal purposes". He poured some into a small collapsible cup that was also in the kit. He supported Rosco's head and put the cup to his lips. "Drink this. It'll help with the pain."
The strong smell of the alcohol made Rosco turn his head. Before he could protest further, Jesse had forcefully turned his head back and poured the liquid in his mouth.
Rosco coughed violently as the shine went down. "One more," Jesse urged as he filled the cup back up and held it to Rosco again.
Rosco looked at Jesse as if to say, "I thought you were here to help me, not kill me!" But he relented under the older man's piercing gaze and voluntarily took a swig of the shine he was offered.
"Now, start counting and stop when it starts to kick in. Then I'll clean up that leg a bit," Jesse said.
"Huh? Wha'd you say?" Rosco said.
"Count to 100."
"Oh.. uh.. Ooone... twooo... threeee.... ff-.."
Jesse smiled as Rosco closed his eyes. "Rosco never could hold his liquor." Jesse removed a small knife from his back pocket and carefully cut away the damaged cloth around the wound. He washed his hands with some of the shine and poured the rest over the wound as he gingerly cleaned it with a wad of gauze. He then took a clean pad of gauze and pressed it to the wound. He wrapped a bandage tightly around the gauze and tied it in place.
"Bo, come over here. Help me get him into the back of the truck."
The two men lifted the unconscious sheriff and placed him in the truck bed. Jesse picked up Flash, placed her next to her daddy, and then climbed up and sat next to them. "Bo, take us home."
"Shouldn't we take him to a hospital?" Bo questioned.
"Whoever did this might come back to finish the job. He'd be safer at the farm. Besides, I don't think his wound is serious enough that he's in any danger."
"Alright," Bo replied and climbed in the cab. The white Ford truck roared to life and then turned around back the way it came.

MaryAnne headed straight for the most likely place she'd find her cousin this time of night, his favorite fishing spot. He liked to pretend it was a secret, but MaryAnne had caught him there more than once after he was done with his patrol.
"Enos, this is MaryAnne. You got your ears on?"
A few seconds later the CB crackled to life. "Enos here. What's your twenty, MaryAnne?"
"I'm heading towards Hazzard Pond. I have a feeling the sheriff might be there. Maybe the antenna to his CB got busted or something." I hope.
"Ok, meet you there. I'm gone," Enos replied.
The CB gave a final crackle of static and then sat silent. MaryAnne sighed. Silence was depressing. She flipped on her radio full blast and floored the accelerator. That's better. So help me, if you're just ignorin' us, Rosco...

Min and her cousin Luke pulled up to the farmhouse in Li’l Darlin’ at the same time as Bo and Jesse parked the pickup.
"Hey what's going on?" Min said as she watched her brother and Uncle pull the unconscious body of the Sheriff out of the bed of the truck.
"We found Rosco, by Hazzard Pond, someone shot him in the leg." Bo looked at his cousin Luke who quickly helped the two men carry Rosco into the house.
"He’s a lot heavier than he looks,” Luke grunted as the three men carried Rosco into the spare room and set him down on the double bed. Min followed them and saw the blood-stained gauze wrapped around Rosco’s right thigh. “Should we call a doctor for that leg Uncle Jesse?”
“No…” Her Uncle replied as he took out his pocket knife once more and cut the right pant leg off of Rosco's pants. Min watched and cringed her nose as her Uncle's patch job became more and more red with the Sheriff's blood.
“I’ll get the big first-aid kit from the kitchen.”
“Yeah, good idea Cousin, and maybe you better give MaryAnne a call. I’m sure she’ll be interested in knowing what happened to Rosco," Luke said.
Min nodded. Luke was right, MaryAnne had to be told, but if the people that shot Rosco heard that he was alive, they might try again.
“Good idea Luke, but I think I’ll use the codes, you never know who might be out there listening in." Min left the room and went into the kitchen, she found the first-aid kit under the sink and slipped it into the waiting hands of her cousin. “Here you go Luke, I’m going to call MaryAnne now.”
Luke took the large orange first-aid kit, it resembled an overgrown tackle box but was twice as heavy.
“And here I thought we would never find a use for this thing,”
“Well for Rosco’s sake I’m glad we have it.”
“You can say that again Min, just be sure and break it gently to MaryAnne, you know how she feels about her cousin.”
“Yeah I know…” Min picked up the CB mike and flipped it to channel one, she knew that was the channel MaryAnne always had her CB tuned to.
"Li’l Darlin’ calling Songbird….got your ears on, MaryAnne?”

The two men walked along the dirt road in the darkness. The sound of crickets and bullfrogs accompanied their shuffling walk, as the half-moon glowed faintly above them. One of the men looked over his shoulder frequently, but saw nothing but the pale shadows cast from the evening sky.
"Quit worrying. The job's done and there's no witnesses," Leon said to his partner, who was glancing at the road behind them.
"Can't help it. It's bad luck to snuff a cop. I won't feel safe 'till we're outta here." The man looked around some more. "Ever see the movie 'Deliverance'? That's what this reminds me of," he grumbled.
"You got an active imagination, boy." Leon got out a cigarette and lit it up, never breaking stride. "I figure a car's gotta come along sooner or later, and then we'll have wheels to take us to Atlanta."
"We've been walkin' for an hour, and all I've seen is a hoot owl and three possums. Dammit Leon, you said this job was gonna be easy! Now we got a stolen getaway car in the drink, and it's topped nicely with a dead cop and a dunked partol car! What the hell were you thinkin'!?"
Leon stopped and confronted his partner. "If it wasn't for me, you'd still be in the Lampton County jail! And if I didn't take out that cop, we would of ended up back there - or someplace worse. Now shut up and watch for a car. You see one, flag it down. I'll take care of the rest." Leon gave his partner a final glare then turned back to the road.
The other man returned the scowl, then fell into step again. The further away they got from the pond, the better.

MaryAnne flew down the backroads of Hazzard, hugging the curves at high speed. When she noticed the two men walking along the side of the road in the beams of the car's headlights, she slammed on the brakes and pulled up beside them. She studied them carefully.
"Hey," she called out, "what you two doin' out here this time of evenin'? Car trouble?"
"You could say that," Leon answered. "You think you could give us a ride to town so we can get a tow truck out here to give us a hand?"
"Well now, I'm sort of in a hurry. Got places to be, ya know. I could raise the local mechanic on the CB and he'd be out here in a jiffy," MaryAnne replied.
Rudy walked around to the driver's side door. "That's gonna be awfully hard to do without this," he said as he showed MaryAnne the bent, twisted CB antenna he had ripped off of Maverick.
"What the--" MaryAnne turned to look back at Leon. He was now holding a gun pointed straight at her.
"Out of the car, little lady," Leon ordered.
She sighed heavily as she slowly got out of the car with her hands raised. Rudy pushed her into the middle of the road as he got in the driver's seat. "Man, these wheels are great!" he said to Leon as he revved the engine.
"Just shut up and drive," Leon commanded. "See ya later, honey," he called out MaryAnne.
"Blecch!" MaryAnne voiced her opinion of the criminal loudly. "I sincerely hope you're behind bars at the time." She watched Maverick's tail lights disappear down the road. Well, I guess if I'm gonna go anywhere, I better start walkin'. MaryAnne headed down toward the pond, even more concerned for her cousin's safety after her run in with the two escaped cons.
When she neared the pond, she noticed tire tracks all over Rosco's usual turn off. This area had been rather busy lately. She called out as she approached the fishing spot. "Roscoooooo!" She listened intently in the following silence. "Roscooo!? You here?!"
In the moonlight, she could see the signs of some sort of scuffle or chase. She made her way down to the small sandy beach at which Rosco usually napped.
He WAS here. His pole's here, his tackle's here. MaryAnne folded her arms and rubbed them to keep warm as she looked across the pond in thought. Rosco, where are you?
Something was breaking the surface of the pond. She edged as close as she could to the pond without getting her feet wet. Oh Lord... She could make out the faint outline of a light colored car.
She dove into the frigid pond. Her body shivered violently with the shock of the ice cold water against her skin. She checked the driver's side first. Door's open. No Rosco. She slid her hand along the body of the car as she waded toward shore. The smooth line of the fender was broken by a large round hole. MaryAnne stopped. Please let that not be what I think it is...

Enos Strait picked up the CB handle in his patrol car, and called MaryAnne for the tenth time. When static was the only reply he could get, the deputy went from worried to down and outright scared.
"Possum on a gumbush!" he whispered to himself. "Where the heck have all the Coltranes gone off to?"
He pulled his car off to the side of the road in frustration. He wasn't getting anywhere driving around the Hazzard County backroads. He was running around in a proverbial circle, like a cliched hound chasing his own tail. It had been an hour since he hit the road, and he still didn't have a clue where his commanding officer could possibly be!
He needed to change his tactic. He needed a plan and course of action. He needed help. But from who? And then, as if to answer his silent request, a timid voice came over his CB and floored him.
"Calling Deputy Enos! Calling Deputy Cletus! Dadgummit, is anyone out there?"
The sound of Min Duke's voice was a shaken one, and Enos knew right away that there was trouble. He quickly snatched the microphone.
"I hear ya, Min! It's me, Enos! What's up?"
"Enos! Thank goodness I got a hold of ya! I've been trying to get in touch with MaryAnne but it's as if she's dropped off the face of the earth!"
Enos swallowed hard. It WAS like she dropped off the face of the earth. He quickly shook the thought away. "Oh, she's just out looking for Rosco. I'm sure she's fine. What's bothering you, honey?"
"Well, I'm calling about Rosco, Enos! He's here at the farm, and he's been shot!"
Enos's jaw dropped wide open at the blunt statement. He felt a chill race down his spine, and for a few seconds, his head spun. Did he hear right? "Min?...Come...come again?"
"I said, Rosco's here at the house, and he's been shot!" the young female voice sternly reiterated again.
Enos's hands shook as he brought the microphone towards his lips. "Oh!...Oh jeez!...Oh Lord!...Oh jeez...I'm coming right...Is he alright?"
"Enos, he took a bullet in the leg, not the heart! So, calm down!"
"Okay. Okay. Okay, I'm calming down, and I'm coming over!" Enos threw the CB onto the floor, started the car, and tore down the road in a cloud of dust. He gripped the steering wheel hard as he drove and headed like an arrow to the Duke farm.

Leon and Rudy pulled Maverick off to the side of the road in a stunned and silent stupor. Both men stared in disbelief at the CB radio nestled to the underneath of the dashboard.
Although Rudy had ripped the microphone off of the radio, the CB itself was still in working order, and every last detail that came over Enos's airwaves also came through Maverick's.
Both men stared at each other in silence, and then Rudy suddenly reached over and smacked his partner on the side of the head.
"Leon, you idiot! You let the copper get away!"
Leon shoved his partner back, refusing to accept the abuse being dished out at him. "Back off, Rudy! You thought the pond did him in too!" Leon grumbled inaudibly under his breath and sank low in his seat. "We're leaving too many loose ends hanging around. First the cop, then the lady we stole this car from...I don't like it!"
Rudy gripped his steering wheel nervously. "So what do we do now?"
"We find this 'Duke farm'," Leon replied, "and we finish what we started!"
Rudy silently nodded. And with that, he started Maverick and drove down the road with urgency.

Min sighed in relief that she had gotten in touch with someone and replaced the CB mike. She went back into the guest room, playing with her fingers in that special way that she always did when she was anxious or upset. Uncle Jesse, Bo and Luke had been working on Rosco's leg, it was now heavily bandaged and Luke was studying a small piece of metal.
"Funny isn't it?"
"What's funny about a bullet Luke?"
Luke looked at his cousin and shrugged. "Nothing really Bo, it just seems funny to me that a little piece of metal could cause so much trouble."
"Not if it's in the right place. Rosco is lucky that it was just in his leg." Jesse took his pocket watch from his overall pocket and looked at the time. He replaced it and watched the way his neice was playing with her fingers. "Something wrong little girl?"
Min put her hands behind her back and swallowed hard. "Well..maybe, but I can't say for certain."
Bo looked at his little sister and crossed his arms over his chest. "Oh I bet you can...what did you do?"
Min felt her cheeks grow warm as 3 pairs of eyes focused on her. "I couldn't get a hold of MaryAnne but I did reach Enos."
Luke saw his cousin's hesitance and he sighed heavily. "You told Enos about Rosco, didn't you?"
The young woman nodded and saw her cousin's fae blossom into a look of disappointment. "I didn't mean to! I just got worried when I couldn't get a hold of MaryAnne. You know how she monitors her CB and when she didn't answer...I guess I panicked."
Luke creased his brow in thought. "That isn't like MaryAnne at all, she always keeps tabs on channel one, especially if Rosco is out on patrol."
Min looked at the still unconscious Sheriff and sat down on the edge of the double bed. His face was a little pale looking and she reached out and touched his forehead. It was cool.
"You don't think she's in trouble, do you Cousin?"
"I don't know..MaryAnne can take care of herself pretty well."
"Enos should be here any minute, I better go keep an eye out for him."
Min sighed and got up from the bed and left the room. She went into the kitchen and out the backdoor. The porch had a perfect view of the main road and she stood there waiting for Enos' car.
"Come on Enos..." She whispered to herself.
Min took a couple of steps towards the screendoor, hoping that any moment a white patrol car would come tearing down the road. What she got instead was a large hairy hand over her mouth and another around her waist.

MaryAnne studied the bullet hole in the fender solemnly then looked back and forth across the pond, panic starting to grow. She was shivering uncontrollably in the icy water. Get ahold of yourself, MaryAnne. You're not going to do ANYBODY any good if you freeze to death here.
She made her way back to shore and sat shivering and thinking on the sandy beach. The Duke farm's not too far from here. That would be my best bet. They'll help me look. Plus, it's warm and drier than here! She stood up, brushed herself off as best she could, and started her long trek to the Duke homestead.

When Min came to a few minutes later, her head was pounding. Her hands were tied behind her back, her legs were bound, and she was gagged and blindfolded. What happened?
She could hear farm animals. I must be in the barn. She remembered the large, hairy hands grabbing her just before she blacked out. They're here. Oh god, they're here already! I've gotta warn the others.. they're here for Rosco.
Min struggled with the ropes, but it was no use. They were tied too tight.

Enos skidded into the Duke's yard, flipping on the siren just long enough to alert them that he was there. He bolted from the car and ran to the front door, which opened just as he got there. He burst into the room. "Where's the sheriff? Where's Rosco?"
Uncle Jesse rose and walked over to the distressed deputy. "Calm yourself, Enos. Rosco's okay. Come on, he's in here," he said as he showed Enos the way. Enos took long deep breaths, trying to calm his nerves.
Enos walked beside the bed and sat down on the chair next to it. "Uncle Jesse, you sure he'll be ok? He doesn't look so good. He looks so.. pale."
"He's been through a lot, Enos. He's lost a lot of blood. His body just needs a little time to recover." He patted the worried deputy on the back. "I'll be in the other room if you need me. Would you like some coffee or something? I have a pot brewing."
"Uh, no thanks, Uncle Jesse," Enos said absent-mindedly, still concentrating his gaze on his commanding officer lying before him.
Jesse left the room and closed the door behind him silently.

"When are we gonna get him, Leon?" Rudy asked as the two criminals crouched belowed the window to the room Rosco and Enos were occupying.
"Well, not now. There's another cop in there. Jeezus, it just keeps gettin' worse. Look, Rudy. We're gonna have to take out the two witnesses WITHOUT gettin' seen and havin' more witnesses. Think you can manage that, Einstein?"
"I don't like this. I don't like bumpin' off cops, Leon."
"We don't have much of a choice, Rudy. We gotta do it before he wakes up and starts talkin' 'bout just what he seen out at that pond. There'll be cops swarmin' all over that pond.. a full scale investigation. They're sure to find that car we ditched and they're sure to discover what's in the trunk. And that, my friend, will get us 20 years to life... IF we're lucky."

"Dagnabbit! Why didn't anybody tell me what was goin' on!?" Boss Hogg fumed as he drove his Caddy over the dark dirt roads of Hazzard, heading towards the Duke farm. "I'm the Boss! I'm s'posed to KNOW these things!" He shook his head. "And Rosco...good Lord." Boss pushed his foot to the floor, the Cadillac's engine whining a pitch higher as the car picked up speed. The ridgerunner's sixth sense for trouble was nagging at Boss. And from what had happened to Rosco, this was big trouble. Really big.

Enos sighed and sat down on the foot of the bed where Rosco lay. He placed his hat on his lap an looked at his superior officer.
His friend...
"Sheriff..." he said softly. "I'm awfully sorry this happened..."
Rosco remained still on the bed. Enos could see the steady movement of Rosco's chest as he breathed, which gave the deputy a little comfort. But Enos was still upset about Rosco having been shot. He glanced at the bandaging Jesse had done and made a silent vow to find whoever had done this and see to it that they paid fo it.

"Did you see the look on Enos's face?" Bo asked.
Luke and Jesse nodded. "It's a wonder he didn't bowl over Min coming in the door the way he did---" Luke stopped suddenly. "Wait a minute...where is Min?" He looked at his uncle and cousin and saw they all had the same look he did. The three of them marched through the kitchen and out the door.

MaryAnne rubbed her hands over her bare arms, trying to warm up. Wearing only her waitress outfit, she was cold, period. She kept on walking, and wrung her cold hangs together, realizing and sensation in her fingers was becoming less and less.
But she didn't care about any of that. Her cousin was missing and two idiots stole her car. Hell hath no fury like a riled Deputy.... and she was riled. Mad enough to spit nails. SOMEBODY was gonna be payin' a big price...

Min struggled with the ropes for a few moments and then stopped, breathing hard through the gag.
I gotta git the boys and Jesse's attention that something's wrong. For pete's sake ain't they noticed I haven't come in yet? Sheesh! Min started rocking herself back and forth and aimed for the milk bucket. If she could knock that over....
"She was just out on the porch last I saw her," Luke said.
"Well, she couldn't have gone too far. She wouldn't just wander off, not at a time like this," Jesse replied. His two nephews looked at his face and saw the worry and the possibilities he refused to voice.
Each of the three went in a different direction to search for her. They all called out in turn "Min!? Where are you?!"
Leon and Rudy heard the voices calling out around the front of the house. "Dammit, Leon. They know she's gone. We gotta get outta here before they spot us!"
"Calm down, Rudy. We can make this work to our advantage. Think about it. What happens if everyone else is out lookin' for that girl?" Leon replied.
He waited impatiently as Rudy thought about it. Leon rolled his eyes in disgust, "They leave the sheriff all alone in there. Meanwhile, I think we'd better find some cover til the deputy leaves the house." The two criminals slunk back into some bushes to the side of the house where they could stay out of sight, keep an eye on the search, and still see into the sheriff's room.
About five minutes later after a fruitless search, the boys and their uncle all returned to the porch.
"I don't like it, Uncle Jesse," Bo said. "Something's wrong."
Jesse nodded. "Let's go get Enos, have him help us." The three Dukes walked into the house and to the guest room.
"Enos?" Luke asked as he walked in. "Enos, we can't find Min. You wanna give us a hand?"
"Min's missing now? Possumonagumbush!" Enos stood up.
"She can't be too far," Bo said. "But there's something definitely weird going on."
Enos nodded and followed the boys and Jesse out of the room.
Leon slapped Rudy on the arm. "He's leaving, he's leaving!" he hissed.
Rudy peered into the window. He looked at Rosco laying on the bed.
"What the hell we waitin' for?"
"Ain't waitin' for nothin'. You stay here, keep watch. Yell if there's trouble." Leon grabbed the window sill and pulled himself into the room. He stepped quietly, like a cat stalking prey. He slowly moved towards the bed, watching the doorway infront of him and turning back to see Rudy at the window.
Thankfully, his partner was looking around outside and not watching him. Leon stood next to the bed and looked down at the Sheriff. The criminal had no remorse, no feelings whatsoever as he picked up the spare pillow...

Boss found himself chomping nervously on his cigar. He swung the Cadillac around the corner and hit the gas. The Duke farm was within sight and he saw the porch light at the side of the house was on, and a light in a room at the back of the house. The Caddy's highbeams washed over the side of the house and Boss saw the figure lurking near the window.
"Holy Hannah!! Who the devil is that??"

The boys, Jesse and Enos were out looking for Min.
"Min?" Enos called. The deputy strolled towards the barn. "Min!"
Clang!
Enos stopped at the sound. Like a milk bucket being knocked over. He quickly grabbed his flash light off his belt and clicked it on, and slowly stepped towards the barn. With his other hand, he withdrew his weapon.
"Min is that you??"
A muffled affirmative replied. Enos stepped into the barn and flashed the light across the floor. There was Min, tied up and gagged.
"Good lord!" Enos quickly put his weapon away and went to help Min from her restraints.
"Enos, there's two dudes wanderin' around here," Min said after Enos pulled the gag down. "I think it's the two that tried to get Rosco. They may be trying again!"
"Possumonagumbush! And the Sheriff's all alone in the house!"
"Come on, Enos!!" Min grabbed his arm and they ran out of the barn, just as they heard the sound of a roaring car engine.
Leon heard it too. He had the pillow in his hand and held it just inches from Rosco's face. Suffocation would take to long. Leon pulled out his gun and decided on the quick method. He hurriedly pushed the gun into the pillow and aimed at Rosco. He pulled the trigger.
Boss aimed his Caddy straight for the figure near the window.
"LEON! We've been spotted!! Let's get the hell outta here!!!"
Leon didn't bother to check to see if he had hit Rosco. There was no time. The farmers would be coming back into the house now, if they had heard the shot. He threw the pillow aside and shoved the gun in his jacket. He turned to the window and literally dove out into the bushes.
Rudy grabbed his partner up by the arm and they started running. Boss swung his Caddy to the left, missed Leon but managed to nudge Rudy, sending the criminal rolling over the hood of the Caddy and on to the ground, barely missing the steer horns on the end. Boss jerked the Caddy to a stop and started to get out when Rudy got up off the ground and kept running.
The two disappeared into the shadows of the night and Boss gave no chase. But he saw their faces pretty clearly. He took a moment to commit the faces to memory and then turned to the more pressing issue. He wanted to know what the heck was going on! He jumped back in the Caddy and pulled the car around to the back of the farm house, where Jesse, the boys, Enos and Min were gathered.
"Jesse!!" Boss exclaimed and jumped from his car. "Jesse, I just shooed off two varmints from the back of your house! What in holy hannah is going on?!?"
"Oh my God!" Min exclaimed "Rosco!!"
"Where's Rosco??" Boss asked.
"He's in the house J.D. In the guestroom!" Jesse started for the porch as the boys realized the back window WAS the guestroom.
"Holy smokes!" Luke exclaimed. Everyone started running into the house, Boss was right behind Jesse. He made a beeline around the Duke patriach and got to the open guestroom door first. He paused and looked in at Rosco laying there.
Everyone gathered around behind, hesitantly peering in. Boss stepped in first. He saw the pillow on the floor and he bent down to pick up.
"Oh lord..." he whispered, seeing the blackened bullet hole in it. He looked at Rosco and then at Jesse, showing the elder Duke the pillow.
Min covered her face with her hands and turned away. Bo and Luke stepped back to console their cousin as Enos looked down to the floor.
Together, both Boss and Jesse approached the bed. They were looking for new wounds, but neither saw any, that were visible at least.
"Oh Rosco," Boss said. He gently touched his fingers to the Sheriff's shoulders and then felt on Rosco's neck for a pulse. Then they would know...
There was still a pulse!!
Boss gasped. "Jesse! He's still alive!!"
Jesse's expression brightened. He looked at Rosco and then noticed the hole in the comforter that was mere inches from Rosco. He lifted it up to show Boss.
"Just barely..." Jesse said.
Boss took a deep breath.
"If you hadn't shown up when you did, Rosco'd be on his way to the pearly gates." Boss sat down on the edge of the bed as Jesse turned to tell the boys, Min and Enos that Rosco was okay.

MaryAnne had to fight the urge to stop. She was cold and numb, a perfect candidate for pnuemonia. But she kept on, the Duke farm was only just around the next corner....

There were voices in the tunnel. The rushing sound of hearing returned and although his eyes were still closed, Rosco could see light. Slowly he opened them to see Boss Hogg sitting on one side of him and the Dukes and Enos gathered around him.
"What....what the heck happened?" he asked hoarsely.
"You were shot, Rosco," Jesse explained. "And if it weren't fer J.D. here you'd have been shot again!"
Rosco looked at Boss and then glanced around the room in a distant stare. "The pond...I was at the pond...." He looked at the faces that were surrounding him. It seemed one was missing....
"Where's MaryAnne...?" If he had been in all that trouble, she'd be around to help. Right?
Enos hesitated. Rosco caught the look. "Enos..."
"We don't know," the deputy replied. "She was out lookin' for ya, like I was. I lost contact with her on the CB a little while ago. Last I knew she was heading to Hazzard Pond, but that's when the Dukes called and said you were here."
Suddenly Rosco was hit with more memories of what had happended. He grabbed Enos's neck tie, nearly sitting up. "Enos, you gotta find her. Them two dudes at the pond...there were looking for a car....if they got hers...they may have gotten her!"
"Just take 'er easy there, Rosco," Jesse said, grabbing Rosco's shoulder and got the Sheriff to relax. "Just take it easy. The boys and Min here will go over to the pond and check it out."
"Jesse, them dudes are bad news!"
"We know. They tied up Min here and nearly finished you off. In my own house! I'm so mad at them I could spit barb wire! No you just simmer down." Jesse turned to the boys and Min, who were already nodding and on their way to the door.
"We'll find her, Rosco, don't you worry," Luke said.
Rosco leaned his head back and closed his eyes. If they found her...
Bo, Luke and Min ran out to the General. They quickly climbed into the car and Bo turned the engine. The Dodge's headlight covers went up and they started to drive out of the yard. When they went around the corner, they spotted someone walking along the road.
"That's her!" Min exclaimed. Bo hit the gas and sped the General up to MaryAnne. The young Coltrane stopped and looked at them.
"Have you seen Rosco?" she asked in a shivering voice.
Luke scrambled out of the General. "Yeah, he's at the house. He was shot in the leg, MaryAnne but he's gonna be alright. Come on, he's asking about ya."
"Shot??" her voice wavered. She was sopping wet to the touch and she fumbled a little as she got into the General. Bo then swung the car around and drove the few feet back to the farm.
"Yeah, but he's alright. He's alive," Luke explained.
"We better be making up some tea and drawing a hot bath for her," Min said to the boys. "MaryAnne, how'd you get so wet?"
"I was at the pond. I saw Rosco's car in the water and I dove in. What else was I supposed to do? I thought he was in there..."
"He's gonna be alright, MaryAnne," Bo said. "But he ain't gonna be safe at the farm, that's for sure."
They pulled into the yard and climbed out of the car. Bo and Luke helped MaryAnne out and walked with her into the house.
"We found her, Uncle Jesse! She's a little cold tho'," Luke said.
As the boys explained to Jesse about MaryAnne being cold and wet, Min went to get some towels from the bathroom. She came back out and wrapped them around MaryAnne.
"I'll draw a hot bath for ya MaryAnne," she said.
"Okay." MaryAnne then walked into the guestroom.
"Luke, go make some tea for her," Jesse said.
"Yes sir."
MaryAnne made a beeline for the guestroom.
After the Coltrane cousins were reunited, everyone told what they knew. They all knew it was two guys. MaryAnne told how two men stole Maverick, and Rosco told them how the two had left a car, other than his patrol car, in Hazzard Pond.
"They dumped it for some reason. And when they found me there, they did not want me to get outta there alive to tell anyone else about it either."
"Yeah, we can see that," Boss replied. "First thing's first. We gotta get you outta here, Rosco. They sure as heck will be back and I don't think you want to be around here when they are. You're welcome to stay with me n' Lulu. You too, MaryAnne. You've seen them two and they don't seem too particular about leavin' witnesses around."
Boss turned to Enos, "I got a good look at them two fellas. Enos, you get Amos into the sheriff's office first thing tomorrow mornin' and we'll have him make up some sketches from mine and MaryAnne's descriptions. Put an APB out on them two, make sure you mention they've got MaryAnne's Firebird."
Luke chimed in, "Bo and I'll get Cooter out to the pond and we'll have a look at that car they dumped."
"Luke, I don't think that's such a good idea," Rosco replied weakly. "I'd feel much better if we contacted the proper authorities and have them check it out." Rosco paused. "Besides, these fellas play for keeps."
The look on the sheriff's tired, worn face emphasized his point. After an awkward silence, Jesse suggested they lose no time in switching locations. "They might still be out there watching the farm. Someone needs to run interference while J.D. and I get Rosco and MaryAnne to town."
"We'll do it," the boys replied in unison.
"Count me in, too," Min added.
"Enos, think you could stay close to J.D.'s place tonight and keep an eye out?" Jesse asked.
"Sure thing, Uncle Jesse," Enos said, casting a concerned glance to his superior officer.
Jesse turned to Rosco, "You think you can make it out to the truck?"
"Uhh... I don't see as I have much choice. I'll do my best," Rosco smiled weakly.
"Enos, come over here and help me," Jesse said as he offered Rosco a hand.
Rosco slid his wounded leg cautiously over the side of the bed. He cringed as his leg pounded in pain. Jesse and Enos both offered their hands which Rosco gratefully accepted. He eased himself up to a standing position, keeping most of his weight on his good leg. Jesse and Enos wrapped the sheriff's arms around their shoulders and supported him as he took his first few cautious steps.
Pain shot through his leg as he eased some of his weight onto it. The sheriff suddenly grew paler. "Jesse, I don't think I should put any weight on this leg."
"Ok, Rosco," just hold on." Jesse put his arm around Rosco's waist and supported more of the ailing sheriff's weight. Enos did the same. "Don't put any weight on it. Just use your good leg."
Rosco nodded. The three men started towards the front door. Min held it open as Bo checked around outside, then brought the pickup around near the door.
Luke put the tailgate of the pickup down as Jesse and Enos turned around and unburdened themselves of their load. Rosco sat on the tailgate with his eyes closed for a moment, putting pressure on the blood soaked bandage.
"You ok, Rosco?" Jessed asked.
"Yeah, just give me a minute," he replied faintly.
The sheriff took a few deep breaths and then pushed himself back into the bed of the pickup. He laid back and closed his eyes. Jesse closed the tailgate and checked on his cargo. "Just relax, Rosco. We'll be in town in no time." He patted the sheriff's arm.
Rosco replied to the Duke patriarch without opening his eyes. "Jesse?"
The older man stopped. "Yeah?"
"Will you take care of Flash out here at the farm?"
He smiled. "Sure thing, Rosco." Jesse climbed into the cab and started the truck. He waited for Enos' patrol car and Li'l Darlin' to lead the way, then fell into line followed by J.D.'s Caddy and the boys in the General.
Leon and Rudy watched from the woods the parade of cars as they rumbled away from the farm and down the road.
"Now we're really in deep dog doo," Rudy muttered. "The sheriff's seen us, that chick we got that car from has seen us and now that fat guy in the white suit has seen us! The whole damn town's gonna know our name, dates of birth and social security numbers before this is over with."
"Shut up," Leon growled. He was quiet in thought.
"Why don't we just get outta here?? Nobody will know where we've gone. We dump that car, swipe another one and just go!"
"I said, 'shut up!' I'm thinking for crying out loud..."
Rudy rolled his eyes and sighed. "We're dead....we are so dead..."
"No." Leon's voice was even, cold and calculated. "They're dead..." He grabbed his partner by the arm. "Let's go."
"Where?"
"We're going to find something that resembles a town in this backwater place."

Enos drove his patrol car past the Hogg residence, around the square, and pulled up in front of the Sheriff's Office. He watched as the caravan pulled up to Boss' house. He then turned and headed towards the office to file his report and put out an APB on the two criminals.
Li'l Darlin and the General had fallen back to make sure they hadn't been followed while the Caddy and the pickup pulled up to the house. Boss pulled the Caddy around the corner, out of immediate sight of anyone who might be looking for it. He realized that he might be in just as much danger as his brother-in-law and MaryAnne and didn't want to make them all easy targets.
Jesse pulled up right in front of the house and quickly moved to the back of the truck. He put down the tailgate as Boss rushed around the corner to help. Boss shook the shoulder of the unconscious sheriff. The sheriff slowly came around, unaware of his surroundings and a bit confused.
"Rosco? Rosco, we're here...at my house," Boss said as Rosco looked at him with weary eyes.
Rosco slowly pulled himself up to a sitting position, wincing at the dull pain in his leg. MaryAnne climbed up into the truck bed beside him and helped move him to the edge of the tailgate. Boss and Jesse put Rosco's arms around their shoulders and steadied him as he stood cautiously.
They slowly made their way up the walkway to the front door. When they reached it, Jesse and MaryAnne supported Rosco's weight as Boss fished around for his keys and opened the door.
"Let's put him over on the couch for now. We can move him upstairs to one of the bedrooms in a little bit. I'm going to go call Doc Appleby. MaryAnne, Jesse, make yourselves at home," Boss said as he disappeared into the back of the house.
MaryAnne and Jesse each sat in a chair near the couch. They watched Rosco shift his weight, his eyes closed tightly in discomfort and then opened when it passed. MaryAnne looked over at the stairs and then at Jesse.
"Well, atleast we're not moving a horse," she said, trying to make things light.
Jesse chuckled. "We'll get him up there. He's gonna be alright, MaryAnne, don't you worry."
"I know, Jesse." She paused. "I'd sure like to know what them two have done to go so far as to try to wipe out Rosco here."
"Maybe we don't want to know..." Rosco said.
"Yeah, maybe we don't. But the answer lies in that car that's sitting at the bottom of Hazzard Pond." She shook her head. "Now whatever gave them the idea that by dumping a car in there was gonna solve everything, I'll never know."
"They obviously didn't figure on anyone every finding it," Rosco said. "Let alone a Sheriff right there to watch them dump it." He sighed. "That's the last time I goof off on patrol..."
A moment later, Boss returned to the living room.
"Doc's on his way over," he said as he stopped to look at Rosco for a moment and then turned his attention to MaryAnne. "MaryAnne, you okay?"
She nodded. Before they had all left the farm, MaryAnne had managed to warm up with a hot bath and warm tea. "I'm alright, Boss. I just wanna make sure Rosco here's gonna be okay."
"Aw heck," Rosco said. "Dumb little bullet ain't gonna stop me."
"You got that right," Boss said. "I promised Lulu I'd keep you from getting yer fool head shot off. That includes arms, legs and everything else ya got too!" He shook his head, just as Bo, Luke and Min came into the house.
"Everything appears clear," Luke said. "Nobody followed us."
"Nobody in a blue Firebird followed you atleast," MaryAnne said with a smile. "If they harm one fender on that car..."
"You know, we might be able to use to our advantage," Bo said. "They don't know necessarily that MaryAnne's a local. They may have thought she was just passing through."
"Yeah," Min said. "They drive into town with that car, that puts up a red flag. We'll know it's them, but they won't know we know that."
"That's assuming they don't dump the car," Luke said. "If they don't, we might be able to bait them a bit."
Boss looked at Luke, the young Duke's blue eyes brewing a plan. "Now, Luke," he said. "If you come up with something, I'm gonna be right in the middle of this one."
Luke grinned. "We wouldn't be able to do it without ya.

***
"Well, Rosco," Doc Appleby said as he put away his spare gauze packs. "I swear you have the strangest luck. Whatever it is that protects you from your car wrecks has protected you from this being any more serious than it could be."
Rosco glanced up at the Doc and grinned. "Khee..."
Doc stood up off the foot stool and looked at Boss.
"Once you move him upstairs, I suggest you keep him there for a couple of days. That leg has to stay elevated and stable."
Boss nodded. "Oh we will. He ain't goin' nowhere. And thank you."
The Doc nodded and turned to MaryAnne.
"Thanks, Doc," she said.
He patted her on the arm. "He's gonna be just fine, MaryAnne."
She nodded and the Doc made his way to the door.

The light of the early dawn began to creep across the horizon and the town of Hazzard was soon illuminated in a light haze. One car crept through the streets, it's dual square headlights still albaze, it's taillights permanently lit. The blue sports car sputtered a little, it's driver not completely used to standard shift. Either that the car just didn't like the driver and his passenger and was merely voicing it's opinion.
"This damn thing," Rudy muttered as he fiddled with the gear shift. "I wish it would make up it's mind what gear it wants to be in."
Leon said nothing, too engrossed in looking at every driveway they passed. White Cadillac with steer horns on it. Big car, white wall tires, shiny hub caps, convertible. Couldn't miss it from a mile. So why was it so hard to find now?
"Maybe that car don't live here in town," Rudy suggested.
"No country hick is gonna have a car like that out in the sticks. The guy had on a white suit, white Stetson hat. He's money, so he's gotta be here in town somewhere."
Rudy sighed. "If you say so..."
Inside the house, Boss Hogg was making his way downstairs to the kitchen to get an early morning snack. It was only him, Rosco, MaryAnne and Lulu in the house now, the Dukes having gone back to their farm a few hours ago. He had missed his midnight snack with all the commotion, but he didn't mind so much. Heck, breakfast was only a couple hours away.
He paused in the living room when he saw two headlights briefly shine through the curtains as the car moved. He noticed the car was moving slowly...seemed peculiar for that hour of the morning. Cautiously, Boss stepped to the window and opened the curtain enough to peek out.
Maverick! Good grief, he'd recognize that car anywhere. Unfortunately it wasn't MaryAnne driving. It was them two criminals!
Boss let the curtain back and watched the car continue to move along. It passed without incident and headed towards the square. He let out the breath he had been holding, confident they hadn't seen his Caddy. Atleast, not this time...
Boss turned suddenly and went to the phone.

"I'm comin', I'm comin'..." Jesse mumbled as he walked out of his bedroom to the ringing telephone in the living room. He grabbed up the receiver. "Jesse Duke."
"Jesse," Boss said quietly. "Jesse, I just saw Maverick. Them two are here in town, they just passed the house!"
"Have they spotted ya?"
"I don't think so...but if they make another swing through, they might spot my convertible."
"Sit tight, J.D., I'm on my way."
Min was startled out of a sound sleep by the sound of her uncle throwing open the door to the room she and Daisy shared.
"Daisy! Min! I'm sorry to do this but we got trouble!"
"What kinda trouble Uncle Jesse?" Daisy mumbled as she sat up and rubbed her eyes.
"Those two that shot Rosco are back! JD called and said he spotted them driving through Hazzard Square, right by his house!"
"Oh no,if they spot Boss' Caddy..." Min shook her head and got up fast, grabbing some clean clothes from their closet, handing a pair of jeans to Daisy.
The older man had left the room and was standing by the closed door while the girls got up.
"Are the boys awake Uncle Jesse?" Min said as she changed her clothes.
"Yeah I woke them first, they went to the barn to get some dynamite arrows."
Daisy was the first one dressed and she left the room. "Should I give Enos a call Uncle Jesse?"
"That might be a good idea, we're gonna need his help too."
Min came out of the bedroom, putting her hair up in a ponytail as she joined her cousin and Uncle in the kitchen. "What are we going to do? Have a show down with those guys in the middle of town?"
Uncle Jesse looked up from the kitchen table at his niece. "We can't do that, someone could get hurt."
The back door suddenly opened up and the two Duke boys came in, half a dozen dynamite arrows in their hands. Min watched as they placed them on the kitchen table and she walked over and picked one up.
"And what exactly where you fellas planning on doing with these?"
"You never know when a dynamite arrow might come in handy Sis," Bo said as he gently removed it from her hand and replaced it on the table.
"That's true Bo, but is Hazzard Square the right place for these? I was just asking Uncle Jesse if we were going to have a show down."
"You know we can't do that Min, too many people."
Min turned to look at her older cousin. "Then what are we going to do? They mean business!"
Luke ran his hand through his hair and sighed. "Yeah they sure do." He paused for a moment, their current situation rolling around in his head like a marble. He was looking down at the kitchen floor, his face serious and deep in thought. After a few moments, Luke raised his head and looked at his family, his cool blue eyes sparkling. His face bloomed into a sunny grin as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"I think I know what we're gonna do but it's going to require a few things." Luke looked out the back door window to see that it was still pretty dark, that was a big part of his plan.
"All right here is what we need." He pulled a chair out from under the table and sat down. "Daisy have you called Enos yet?"
The young woman shook her head. "No not yet, why?"
"Good, when you do ask him if he has a spare uniform we can use."
"All right Luke, I'll go do that now." Daisy left the kitchen to use the phone in the living room.
"Now what we are going to do is simple, we are going to lure those two out of town."
"Lure them? How? Rosco is in no condition to do anything!"
Luke nodded his head. "I know that Bo, that's why I asked for that spare uniform."
Jesse looked at his nephew and it all became clear. "Wait a second now, who are we going to get to dress up as Rosco?"
Min's eyes got bigger when she saw her cousin grin widely. "Oh no you don't mean..."
Luke nodded. "That's right Cousin, me."
The three Dukes sitting at the table beside Luke all burst into random chatter, all of them disagreeing with Luke's choice of decoys.
"Now just calm down, this is going to work! I'm about the same build as Rosco. I mean I ain't an exact match but because it's dark they won't know the difference."
"I don't know about this Luke, you'll be putting yourself in harm's way." Uncle Jesse looked at his nephew and saw the stubborness and determination etched in his face. It reminded Jesse of himself many years ago. "But if you think this is the only way to get those guys...just be careful."
Luke nodded his head slowly. "Yes sir I will."

Boss hurriedly dressed himself and went to the guest bedrooms to alert the others.
"MaryAnne, sweetheart?" Boss gently nudged her awake.
"Huh? Something wrong, Boss?" MaryAnne mumbled as she wiped the sleep from her eyes.
"I'm afraid so, honey. Big trouble. I just seen them two fellas ridin' through town in Maverick. If they come back this way, they'll spot the Caddy and know we're here."
"What are we gunna do?" MaryAnne asked, still a bit drowsy from sleep.
Boss fidgeted for a moment, then seemed to reach some sort of decision in his mind. "I'm gunna draw 'em away from town. You call Enos and tell him I'm gunna need some help. Try to raise the Dukes and let 'em know what's goin' on. You take care of Rosco. If they don't take the bait, there're some old shotguns and ammunition down in the cellar. I hope you don't need it."
"But Boss... wait! That's dangerous," MaryAnne shouted as he started to leave.
"I know. But all three of us will be in danger if I don't do it. And we can't move Rosco," Boss reminded her. He put his hat on his head and turned to the door.
"Boss?"
He turned back to look at the young deputy.
"Take care of yourself," MaryAnne offered.
"You too," he replied. They held their gaze for a few more moments and then Boss left down the stairs and out the back door.
MaryAnne quickly got up and grabbed the house coat she borrowed from Lulu. The robe could have fit three MaryAnne's in it, but she wrapped it around her as best she could and headed downstairs to the CB set. As she picked up the mike, she caught a glimpse of the Cadillac as it passed the house.
"Enos? Enos, this is MaryAnne, you got yer ears on?"

Boss brought the Cadillac to a stop just before the square. He spotted the Firebird through the fence of the sqaure in the center of town. Slowly it moved around, and Boss waited, his brown eyes never leaving the car. The front end of Maverick became visible around the corner and Boss turned the Caddy towards them.
Leon and Rudy were bugged eyed.
"HOLY---!!"
Rudy hit the gas, momentarily forgetting to release the clutch completely. Maverick sputtered and Boss saw his opportunity. The Cadillac's tires spun and left marks as Boss tore past them.
"Git after 'em!!" Leon yelled.
Rudy corrected Maverick and spun the Firebird around, leaping after the white Cadillac.
Boss looked in his rearview mirror to make sure he had them. He did and grinned.

Enos was just about to pick up the CB mic on the sheriff's desk to respond to MaryAnne when he heard squealing tires outside. He rushed to the window and peered through the blinds. He saw the white blur of Boss' Cadillac as it screamed around the square. His heart nearly stopped when he saw what was following it. "It's Maverick!" Enos nearly stumbled over himself as he rushed back to the CB. "MaryAnne! This is Enos. I just spotted those two guys that took Maverick and they're after Boss!"
"I know, Enos. That's what I was calling you about. Boss wants you to follow 'em. You're his insurance, ok? Please, Enos. Be careful. And make sure they don't catch Boss."
"You can count on me, MaryAnne! I'm gone!" Enos slammed down the CB mic and bolted out the front doors to his patrol car. MaryAnne watched out the front window as the patrol car tore out of town after the two cars.
"Lost Sheep, Shepherd you got yer ears on? This is Songbird. We got trouble. Chief's leading the rat pack outta town with his white chariot. Little Boy Blue's following, but I think he's gonna need some help. You copy?"
Bo and Luke were already in the General Lee, still parked in their yard. Bo picked up the mike. "That's a big ten-four, Songbird. Are you and...uh..." Bo couldn't remember what MaryAnne used for Rosco's CB handle.
"Me and Bear are fine," MaryAnne replied with a smile. "Listen, help Chief, don't let them two catch him!"
"Ten-four, we're gone!"
"So much for your plan, Luke," Daisy called from Dixie as Min shook her head.
Luke made a face. "We may still be able to use it if we need it," he replied. "Let's get out there and help Boss and Enos. Maybe we can catch these guys."
The General, Dixie and Jesse's truck were soon rumbling out of the yard.

"Come on Rudy, it's a Cadillac for crying out loud!" Leon exclaimed. The distance between Maverick and Boss was more than Leon wanted.
"Yeah? Cadillac's have really big engines you know. 8 cylinders, lots a power. The guy can cook, pretty well."
"I don't need a lesson in auto mechanics, Rudy! Just catch 'em so we can finish 'em off---" Leon stopped when he saw a glimpse of white in the side mirror. He looked and saw the patrol car and nearly had a coniption fit.
"We got company," Leon growled.
Rudy saw it too. "We ain't takin' out another cop, Leon!"
Leon pulled his gun from inside his jacket. "No we ain't. We're just gonna get this guy off our tail." He leaned out the window and aimed.
Enos's eyes went wide. "AAH!" He flinched at the gunshot, and swerved the patrol car, trying to keep it out of the line of fire.
"Hold still, copper," Leon mumbled. The barrell of the gun followed the swerving car. This hick deputy was too predictable. Once Leon figured out the ryhthm, he waited for the right time and then popped off two shots, and ripped the front right tire apart. Enos had no choice but to hang on for the ride. He hit the breaks and turned the steering wheel the opposite way, but the patrol car slide sideways and aimed for the side of the road....and straight for a tree.
"AAAHHHAAA!!!" CRUNCH! Another Hazzard patrol car bites the dust.
"Ding dang it," Enos muttered after the car settled. He shook his head and picked up the CB mike. "This is Enos Strate callin' Bo and Luke Duke. You boys out there?"
"Right here, Enos," Bo replied as Luke swung the General around a corner. "What's going on?"
"Them two are after Mr. Hogg in MaryAnne's Maverick. They just took out the tire on Hazzard Two here."
"What's your twenty, Enos?"
"Cotton Mill Road. About five miles outside of town."
"We're on our way!"
Boss's Cadillac leap frogged over a bump in the road and Boss gripped the steering wheel. This was not his old shine runner, The Grey Ghost, he reminded himself. But the Caddy was doing pretty good nonetheless.
Leon turned his sights on Boss now. He took careful aim at the back tire of the Caddy. "Dammit, Rudy! Can't you keep this thing steady?!" Leon spat as he lost his aim on the back tire.
"Hey! I'm doin' the best I can here on these dirt roads," Rudy spat back.
"This guy's a lot better than that deputy back there. That's for sure." Leon aimed again then took a shot. The small lead projectile glanced the back bumper as Boss ducked and swerved.
Boss fought the urge to pick up the CB and call for help. He knew it would break his concentration and he needed all of it he could spare. He didn't dare glance back or at his mirrors to see just how close his pursuers were. He concentrated on the road in front of him, devising his moves in his head long before he planned to use them.
Leon took aim again, this time aiming higher. He concentrated his vision on the shaking gunsight before him. For a second, it skimmed across the white stetson of the driver ahead of them and Leon squeezed the trigger.
Boss flinched as the bullet flew overhead and lodged into the front windshield. The force of the bullet had blown his hat off... or so he thought. His Stetson had come to rest on the dashboard. He picked it up to put it back on his head when he saw the neat, round bullet hole through the center. That was close. TOO close.
A little unnerved, Boss put the Stetson back on and decided it was time for more evasive maneuvers.
He planted his foot to the floor and swung the Caddy off the road and down into the field. Maverick followed.
Leon was grinning. "Now we're gonna git him..." He aimed at the Cadillac again, landing a bullet into the cover of the convertible top. Boss suddenly swung the big white car off to the left, leaving Rudy to have to swing the Firebird around, the tires ripping up grass and dirt.
"Don't lose him!!" Leon yelled.
"You wanna drive?!?" Rudy shouted back. He grinded gears, Maverick protested and finally the car corrected and took off after the Caddy.
Boss kept on truckin'. He glanced in the mirror and saw the two had fallen back a bit. Time for a little fun.
Leon and Rudy watched as the big boat of a car swung around with grace and the chrome front end was now facing them.
"What the hell is he doing???" Rudy wondered.
Leon tried to take advantage of the situation and aim out the window at the car, but Rudy was in no mood to play chicken. The nose of the Firebird pulled off to the right and two cars passed each other.
"RUDY!! DAMMIT!"
"Oh shut up!" Rudy swung the Firebird around and took off after the Cadillac once again.
Boss chuckled as he heard Leon swearing at his partner. He swung the Cadillac back up onto the road then cut sharply left to pick up the road to the Duke Farm. The Caddy fishtailed as it flew through the corner, then straightened under Boss' expert hands.
When Rudy had navigated his way back to the road, he gunned it and followed in the direction of the dust clouds. Leon continued to berate his partner for ruining his clean shot, but Rudy ignored him.
As the blue Firebird exited the heavy dust the Caddy had thrown up, the jaws of the two criminals dropped. The Caddy was gone. They both searched frantically for it everywhere.
"STOP!! STOP!" Leon screamed. Rudy slammed on the brakes. Leon scanned the horizon, thinking desperately. He turned around and looked back down the way they came just in time to see the Caddy barrel back up onto the road and roar out of sight.
"Turn it round! There he goes!" Leon ordered.
"What the--oh man," Rudy muttered. He turned the Firebird around and sped down the road after the white car again. Boss ran them around in circles. He swung the car right, back onto the road that he had just come from. He baited the Firebird and then sent the Caddy off to the right into a field.
Leon and Rudy bounced in their seats as the Firebird threw dirt in it's pursuit across the field.
"We shoulda swiped a Jeep I guess..." Leon muttered.
The Cadillac came roaring out of the field and back onto the road that Boss had lost Leon and Rudy on momentarily. They were now heading towards the Duke Farm.
"Okay...this guy's nuts," Rudy said. "Why don't we just give up and wait to try to get him by surprise?"
"No! We're gonna git him now! Git after 'em!!"
Rudy punched the accelerator and shifted gears. The Firebird started to close the gap to the Caddy.
The big boat gave Boss all it had, but it couldn't put any distance between him and the Firebird. It was quite a few miles to the Duke Farm down that lonely stretch of road and the Caddy couldn't take much more abuse. Boss offered up a silent prayer as he flew over the dips and ruts in the old dirt road. As he came around the blind turn near the old sawmill, he looked toward the horizon. There he saw his salvation, a caravan of Dukes.
Bo pointed to his cousin. "Look Luke, there he is!" Bo grabbed the bow and a handful of arrows from the back seat and pulled himself to a sitting position on the door of the car. "Let's give Boss a little diversion."
"Be careful, Bo. That ain't their car. That's Maverick!" Luke shouted, keeping his eyes glued to the road.
Boss saw what Luke was planning and went through the physics in his head. "Doh! They're too close," he muttered. "It ain't gunna work." Boss shook his head.
Bo motioned his arrow back and forth several times, cutting a path across the bow of the General. Boss caught his meaning just in time and turned the Caddy hard right, nearly clipping the front end of the old Charger. As soon as Boss was out of the way, Bo let the arrow go a few feet in front of the Firebird. The explosion threw up dirt and smoke in front of the two criminals and Rudy struggled to maintain control of the car.
"What the hell was that?!" Leon screamed.
The Firebird swerved to the left and passed the General, Dixie and Jesse's truck. Rudy silently said to hell with the Cadillac and pushed the Firebird for everything it had. They had to get away now.
Three Duke vehicles all swung around and started after the Firebird. Boss joined them.
Min looked behind her in Daisy's Jeep. She grabbed up the CB mike. "You okay, Boss?"
"I'm fine! Never mind me, let's get them two!!"
In the General, Luke glanced at Bo who was getting another arrow ready. "Luke, if we're gonna stop them, I can't guarantee that Maverick ain't gonna get some damage," Bo said.
"I think MaryAnne'd rather have a damaged car than to have what happened to Rosco, happen to her or Boss or to Rosco again. Just do what ya gotta, Bo."
The blonde Duke nodded and slid back out the window again. He readied the arrow and took aim.
"Hold it still, Luke."
"I'm trying, cuz."
"Hey," Rudy said, "Why ain't ya shootin'?"
"Too many targets," Leon replied. "Look, let's get outta here, fast! We got too many to bump off now. We gotta git that stuff out of that car and move it somewhere else."
Rudy shuddered. "Alright."
The air and ground to the right side of the Firebird suddenly shook violently.
"Holy Jeee---" Leon started and glanced in his mirror. "These hicks don't fool around..."
"And I ain't hangin' around so we can get the next one of those up our rears," Rudy said. Up ahead, the road split into three forks. Rudy kept the Firebird in the middle up to the last possible second and then swung to the right. Maverick's tires barely hung on, as dirt and grass were thrown from the back of the car as it fishtailed down the road.
"LUKE!" Bo quickly slid back into the car as Luke swung the General to a sliding sideways stop. Dixie, the pick up truck and Boss's Caddy slid to stops as well. The Firebird disappeared down the road.
"Dang it!" Luke muttered. He and Bo climbed out of the General and met up with Boss, Daisy, Min and Jesse in the middle of the mess of cars.
"That was a risky thing you did, J.D," Jesse said.
"I had to do it, Jesse. I didn't want them two gettin' close to the house and finding' Rosco and MaryAnne. The only thing is, now them two know you've all seen them."
"They've got too many targets now," Luke said. "They know they can't get all of us."
"Maybe they'll just leave," Daisy hoped.
"Uh uh," Boss said, shaking his head. "My guess is they'll try to get rid of their own evidence now. With Rosco okay...and knowing that car is there, they know they can't leave whatever's in it, in the pond."
Leon checked the mirrors. "Alright! They bottle-necked themselves! Head for the pond before they sort it all out!"
"You sure that's such a good idea?"
"You got a better one? Look man, the whole point of ditchin' evidence is to keep it from being found! Since we can't wipe out the whole damn county, we're gonna have to move the stuff in that trunk!"
"I can't swim, Leon. And getting that trunk empty while it's underwater is gonna be hell."
Leon thought about it, then snapped his fingers. "We'll snag a tow chain from that Duke farm, I saw one in their barn when we were in there. We'll drag the car out and then empty the trunk into this one! That'll throw 'em off!"
Rudy grimaced. "We leave that car sitting out in the open, it's gonna give us more problems than just the cops. You know what kind of attention our job attracted! State senate---"
"Just drive!" Leon snapped. Rudy clammed up and kept the rest of his misgivings to himself. He swung the Firebird down the road and screeched it into the Duke farm, keeping the engine running as Leon retrieved the tow chain. A few minutes and some reckless driving later, Rudy backed Maverick down to the pond's edge.
Leon got out of the car and hooked the tow chain to the frame underneath. Then he waded into the pond, hanging onto the chain and holding his breath as water closed over his head. He managed to hook the other end of the chain to the sunken car, then pulled himself back above the surface. "ALRIGHT!" he yelled back to Rudy. "PUT IT IN LOW AND HIT IT!"
A deep growl sounded from the Firebird and the chain went taut. Rudy watched the RPM gauge on the dash lick towards red as the rear wheels shrieked and flung up a massive cloud of dirt. A slow foot of progress, then another, as Maverick's torque was put to the test. Rudy kept a white-knuckled grip on the gearshift, panicking once as the Firebird lost traction and began to slide. "TURN THE WHEEL!" Leon shouted. "DON'T LET UP!"
Rudy shifted again and turned the wheel. Maverick bit down and strained like a draft horse in a pulling contest, and gradually regained the lost ground. Then the back of the sunken car breached the surface, looking like a shipwreck in reverse as it slowly came from the water. "You got it!" Leon yelled as both axles cleared the shore. "Put the emergency brake on and help me unload!"
Rudy paused to thank the patron saint of criminals, sighing in relief. But there was no time to rest. He jumped out and helped Leon move the contents of the stolen car's trunk to Maverick. Mission accomplished, Leon unhooked the chain and was considering re-sinking the stolen car when distant engines were heard coming in their direction. "Let's get outta here!" he shouted to Rudy, and the two men dove back into the Firebird, gunning it for the state line.

MaryAnne had dressed and was puttering around in the kitchen, figuring to fix some breakfast to keep her mind off what Boss was doing. The CB was quiet, which didn't make her feel any better. She prayed for Boss's old Ridge Runner traits to get him through.
Before finishing the breakfast preperation, MaryAnne decided to go up stairs to check on Rosco. She figured he should know what's going on. She walked up the stairs and peered into the room. Rosco was sleeping soundly and MaryAnne quietly stepped into the room.
"Rosco?"
She walked to the side of the bed and gently sat on the side. He always was a heavy sleeper. Then again, those painkillers Doc gave him probably put him out pretty good. She shook him gently, "Rosco?"
"Huh?" The groggy sheriff's eyes fluttered open. He studied her worried face for a moment, "MaryAnne? What is it, sweetheart?"
"Them two fellas were prowlin' around town earlier." She paused. "To keep you and me safe, Boss took the Caddy and led 'em outta town."
Rosco bolted upright in bed. "He what?! He's gunna get himself killed! MaryAnne, we gotta stop him."
MaryAnne grabbed a hold of her cousin. "Whoa, whoa, take it easy, Rosco, take it easy." She got him to lay back down. "We ain't goin' nowhere for two reasons. One, you ain't supposed to move, and two, we ain't got no car. Now I'll admit I'm a little worried about him, but don't forget he used to run shine. He's gonna be alright."
Rosco sighed heavily. "I sure hope you're right. He may have run shine, but he ain't no spring chicken, ya know. He shouldn't be takin' risks like that." Rosco's gaze was serious and his tone concerned. "Please, let me know if you hear anything, ok?"
MaryAnne nodded and patted Rosco's shoulder. "I will. I'm gonna be downstairs making some breakfast. If ya need anything, let me know."
Rosco nodded and hesitantly closed his eyes as he put his head onto the pillow. He quickly fell back to sleep.

The parade of Duke vehicles and Boss's Caddy kicked up dust as they tore towards the pond. Everyone saw the car sticking out of the water, a hulking dark figure that held a secret. All the cars came to a stop and everyone gathered around the car.
"You were right Boss," Min said. "They took their evidence."
"And they're probably heading towards the state line," Jesse declared. He turned to Bo and Luke who were already heading back to the General. As the boys climbed into the car, Boss started back for his Caddy. "You boys wait for me!"
"Uncle Jesse, are we going to join them?" Daisy asked.
"I think it'd be better if we stay here," Jesse replied looking at Min and Daisy. "We'll check this car over, maybe them two hoodlums left something behind."
The General Lee was kicking dirt and had a white Cadillac nipping at it's tail as the two cars tore off down the road. Jesse then turned to the car and looked in the trunk.
The boys, meanwhile, were laying out a plan over the CB.
"Okay Boss," Luke said, "If they're headin' towards the state line, we might be able to cut 'em off. Do you think you can get over to Red River Road. You might be able to give 'em a little friendly persusasion."
"I hear ya, Luke," Boss replied. After a moment, the Caddy disappeared from behind the General.
At Boss's house, MaryAnne ran into the living room from the kitchen and grabbed the CB mike.
"Boss?? You alright out there??"
"I'm fine, MaryAnne. Me and the Duke boys are after them two now. It looks like the took their evidence from their car...." Boss paused. "And now they got it in yours."
"DOH!! First they shoot my cousin, then steal my car, now they're gonna land Maverick in the State Police impound for a year!!" MaryAnne paused and then calmly said into the CB, "Scuse me for a minute, Boss." She was wound tight from the stress of the last few nights and needed to let off some steam. She placed the CB mike on the counter, rested her elbows on the counter, and put her hands over her face. She let out a loud scream of frustration then took a deep breath and picked up the mike again.
"Okay," she said into the mike.
"MaryAnne, don't you worry," Luke said over the CB. "Things...will be alright." How ridiculous that sounded.
MaryAnne didn't hear Rosco call down at first. Rosco had heard her scream and opened his eyes, his heart jumping. "MaryAnne?!"
"Luke, I sure wanna believe ya, but a lot has happened in the last 24 hours. I'm ready to snap!"
"MARYANNE!"
MaryAnne looked up to the ceiling and then pushed the talk button. "Listen, you catch them varmints ya hear me!! You catch 'em!! I'm gone!" She dropped the mike and ran up the stairs.
"Rosco??" she slowed her run and came into the room. "What's wrong?? What is it??"
"It's not me, it's you. What's all that racket down there?"
"That was me, getting ready to for a padded cell!" She took a deep breath. "Boss and the Dukes are after them two and they moved whatever was in their car into Maverick!!"
"DOHHO! That's bad news, bad news! No wonder you were screaming like a banshee down there."
"Ugh..." MaryAnne sighed. "I don't know how this can get any worse." She paused. "No, I do know how it could get worse, but I ain't sayin' nothing. What bugs me is that you and I should be out there tryin' to nail these varmints!"
"I know," Rosco said. "But if Boss catches them, hell hath no fury like when he's riled."
MaryAnne grinned.
Hell was about to meet that fury. While the boys were keeping up with the blue Firebird as best they could, Boss was pushing his Caddy for all it had down Red River Road. The big white car tore down the dirt road and after a few minutes Boss swung the car out on to Route 44, the same road Rudy and Leon were travelling trying to lose the General Lee.
It wasn't long before Boss could see the parade of two cars coming towards him. He turned the wheel hard and the car kicked up a blinding cloud of dust as it slid sideways to a stop, effectively blocking the roadway and determining the fleeing suspect's course for them.
"AAAAAHHHH!!" Now who put that big ol' white boat in the middle of the road.
"Hit him!" Leon yelled.
"What!?!?"
"Just do it!"
Rudy rolled his eyes and floored the accelerator. He cut the wheel at the last second and side swiped the Caddy leaving a royal blue strip on the side of the car. Boss held on to the steering wheel as the convertible moved a couple of inches and metal scraped as Maverick slipped down the other road.
"Leon, that was stupid!"
"No it wasn't." Leon looked out the back window in time to see the orange Charger just barely miss the Caddy and slide down the road after them.
"Okay...maybe it was. Dang, them two can drive," Leon muttered as he turned back in his seat. He looked around at the scenery. "You have any idea where we're going?"
Rudy shook his head. "No. You wanna stop and ask for directions??"
"Just drive!"
With it's newly acquired pin stripe, Boss swung his Caddy around and tore off down the road after the General and Maverick.
"Did you see that, Luke?!" Bo yelled at his cousin.
"Yeah, be careful, Bo." Luke picked up the CB mike. "Boss, you ok back there?"
"Yeah, Luke. You just concentrate on gettin' them guys. Don't worry 'bout me."
"Ok," Luke put the mike down. "You heard the man, Bo. Get them guys."
"Yessir!" Bo responded emphatically as he floored the pedal. The General inched up on the back bumper of the blue Firebird.
"Don't they ever give up?!" Rudy shouted as he spied the big orange car in the rear view mirror.
Leon turned to look over his shoulder and then cursed. "Tap the brakes."
"What?!"
"I said tap the brakes," Leon repeated.
"Are you crazy?! He'll end up in our back seat!"
"I'm not as crazy as these hicks are. Do it," Leon commanded.
Rudy tapped the brakes. Bo stood on the General's brakes and swerved, but not before slamming into Maverick's trunk. The force of the collision popped the trunk open. The twisted metal bounced up and down as the Firebird bounced and skid over the dirt road.
Rudy fought to keep the Firebird going straight. He glanced in the mirror and saw the trunk lid was blocking his view.
"LEON!!"
"Step on it!"
The General had slipped back a few feet but Bo and Luke could see the trunk wide open.
"Holy smokes..." Luke said.
All the boys could see was a earth stained burlap bag, but whatever was in there, Rudy and Leon were ready to kill over.
"Stay after 'em Bo."
Bo nodded.
Rudy punched the accelerator and the Firebird swung around the turn. The bag slid and bounced in the trunk and when Rudy leap frogged Maverick over the dip in the road, the bag went flying out.
"Look out!" Luke exclaimed as Bo turned the steering wheel hard to avoid running over the bag. The General swerved around it and kept after the Maverick.
"Luke..."
"Stay after 'em, Bo." Luke picked up the CB mike. "Boss, this is Luke. I think the evidence them boys are willing to kill over just fell out of the car. Me and Bo are still after 'em, but there's a burlap bag in the middle of the road infront of ya."
"I hear you, Luke," Boss replied. A few moments later, he saw the the bag lying in the road ahead of him. Boss brought his Caddy to a stop and got out of the car. Slowly, he walked towards the bag but stopped when he got half way there.
"Hmm...maybe I should call Enos." He turned back to the Caddy.

Meanwhile, MaryAnne was back downstairs at Boss's house. She stopped what she was doing when she heard Luke broadcast about the bag flying out of the trunk. Her first thought, Well, atleast it's out of my car. Her second thought was that Boss shouldn't go opening the bag on his own. She was about to grab the mike to tell him that when she heard him calling for Enos.
"Don't go near it, Mr. Hogg! I'll be right there!" Enos replied. MaryAnne nodded and then went upstairs to tell Rosco the latest.

Jesse, Daisy and Min over heard Luke's call on the CB too.
"That tears it," Jesse said. "Come on, let's give the boys a hand." After the girls climbed into Jesse's truck they took off down the road.

"Ohmagod, ohmagod, ohmagod..." Rudy kept repeating as he drove the Firebird. Leon was stone silent.
Behind them, Luke was quickly formulating a plan. "You might be able to cut them off at the bridge."
Bo nodded. The General disappeared from behind the Firebird, with Rudy and Leon none the wiser.
Leon slapped Rudy's shoulder, "Turn it 'round. We gotta go back and get that bag or we're dead meat."
"But those two guys in the orange car!" Rudy glanced into the rear view and didn't see his pursuers. He did a quick check over his shoulder. "Where'd they go?"
"I dunno, but we gotta get back there fast before someone else spots that bag."
Rudy turned the wheel hard. Maverick responded by kicking up a cloud of dust and reversing direction.
The boys cut back onto the road just before the bridge. They saw Maverick emerge from the cloud of dust, running in the other direction.
"Dang it!" Bo muttered.
A look of dread fell over Luke's face. "The bag!"
The two cousins looked at each other. "They're going back to get it. We gotta warn Boss," Luke replied as he picked up the CB mic.
"Boss! Those two guys are headed back your direction. I don't think you have time to wait for Enos. You'd best get that bag and get the heck outta there! We're on our way."
"Dang it!" Boss spat. He tossed the CB mike he had in his hand into the Caddy and ran to the bag. He grabbed at it with both hands and lifted it up. It had weight to it, but it wasn't too heavy. He ran back to his Caddy and placed the bag in the back seat. After a moment the white car was speeding down the road in the opposite direction. A moment later Maverick screamed past the spot where the bag had been and Rudy and Leon could see the Cadillac up ahead.
"If he picked up the bag..." Rudy started.
"Just get after him. We're gonna git that bag back and get these hicks off our tail once and for all."
Boss saw the Firebird coming up behind him in the rearview mirror. He picked up the CB mike. "Enos! You cowchip! Where are you??"
"I'm coming, Mr. Hogg!"
Boss was barrelling along the road with Maverick and the General Lee behind him. Coming to the intersection with High Ridge Trail Boss saw Enos's patrol car coming on one fork, while Jesse, Daisy and Min in Jesse's truck were coming on the other fork.
"Uncle Jesse!" Min exclaimed.
"Hang on kids!" Jesse said and pushed down on the accelerator.
Bo and Luke saw the two vehicles heading towards the intersection. Luke grabbed up the CB mike.
"Enos!! Try to stop Maverick!!"
Enos was too busy watching all the other traffic, Boss's Caddy and Jesse's truck. When he realized how close to the intersection he was...
"AHHHH!!!"
"Luke, I can't watch!" Bo said and slammed the General's brakes.
Leon was bug eyed at the pick up and patrol car. "RUDY!!!!"
Rudy slammed Maverick's brakes but it was too late. The patrol car and pick up and crashed into the front end of the Firebird, twisting it into a blue and white sandwich.
Boss heard the tremendous crash behind him and turned around to see what had happened. He could see Jesse's pickup, Enos' patrol car, and a hint of what used to be Maverick in a heap in the middle of the intersection.
Bo slowly opened his eyes to see the two criminals slowly sliding out of the smoking, twisted wreck. "Luke?" Bo warned his cousin.
"Yeah, I see 'em. Let's go get 'em," he replied.
Leon saw the two cousins moving quickly towards him on the other side of the wrecked Firebird. He pulled his gun out of his waistband and jogged towards the oncoming Cadillac. He pointed it at Boss as he hopped in the backseat and told him to drive.
"Leon!" Rudy screamed as the Duke boys overtook him. "Leon! What about me?!"
Luke slammed Rudy against the crumpled trunk of the car as they pulled his arms behind his back. "What about you? You're going to jail. Enos, take care of him will ya. The other one's got Boss."
Luke and Bo ran back to the General as Enos cuffed Rudy and put him in the back of his wrecked, but still driveable patrol car.

"Now listen here, I'm the County Commissioner--"
"Just shut up and drive!" Leon climbed from the backseat to the front passenger seat keeping his gun trained on Boss. "State line, you know how to get there?"
"Well of course I know how to get there!" Boss gruffed.
"Then drive and keep them two hicks in the orange car as far back as possible." Leon looked back and saw the General coming up in the distance. He poked the gun into Boss's ribs.
"Ah!"
"Drive..."
"Alright, alright..."

"You got an idea how were gonna stop 'em?" Bo asked. "That dude pulled a gun on Boss and we already know he's not afraid to use it."
"I know...I know.." Luke replied, already in thought.
"Maybe--maybe Boss has an idea...?" Bo wondered.
"I hope so, cuz. Look, let's just keep after him."
"Yeah."

"Hey now," Boss said, wondering if some small talk would distract Leon a bit. "Uh..I don't suppose you'd tell me what's in that bag?"
Leon laughed. "You think I'm gonna tell you?"
"Well...uh..no, I suppose not. But you can't blame me fer my curiousity."
Leon continued to chuckle. He turned and watched the country side go by as Boss turned down another road.

"Hey..?" Bo said. "Boss is headin' towards town."
Luke watched the Caddy travel down the road. He suddenly picked up the CB mike then stopped.
"Dang, Boss has his CB on...uhh..I hope MaryAnne picks up on this." He pushed the talk button. "Lost Sheep calling Songbird."
MaryAnne was half way down the stairs when Luke's voice came over the CB. She hurried down the rest of the stairs and grabbed the CB mike.
"Go ahead."
"Listen...uh..." Luke paused. "Chief's headin' back to the homestead. You may have some dinner guests."
MaryAnne paused. Dinner guests?
"That's Boss!" Rosco called down from upstairs. "Jesse used to use Chief as Boss's CB handle."
"I know that much!" MaryAnne replied. "But what could Luke mean by dinner guests?"
There was a pause and then Rosco said, "Maybe Boss is in trouble. Maybe them two dudes have got him or something."
"You think they hijacked him? If they did...that means Maverick is God knows where..." MaryAnne raised the mike. "Ten-four, Lost Sheep. Guess I'll be setting an extra plate at the table." MaryAnne put the mike down and headed upstairs.

"Uncle Jesse?" Daisy and Min walked over to where Jesse was standing, watching Cooter hook the mangled Maverick up to his tow truck. Enos was already on his way back to town with Rudy.
"We just heard Luke on the CB," Min said. "It sounded like Boss was headin' back to towards town."
"He called MaryAnne and told her, cryptically," Daisy added.
"Well we better try to get back to town to help." Jesse looked at his truck. "I think we'll make it."
The old pick up started reluctantly. Cooter followed in the towtruck, pulling the battered Maverick behind.
The short drive to town seemed like hours, each minute of awkward silence making each occupant of the pickup more anxious.
Finally, Daisy broke the silence by voicing her concern. "Uncle Jesse, what if that guy figures out Boss is going into town?"
"I don't know, Daisy. But we gotta believe everything's gunna be ok. The boys and boss have got a plan and we gotta trust they'll pull it off."
Seemingly satisfied by her uncle's answer, Daisy smiled slightly and answered, "You're right." Once again, the cab of the pickup fell silent as they drove the last few miles into town.
Meanwhile, the boys had taken every shortcut they could think of to make it to town before Boss and MaryAnne had started up Rosco's old brown Pontiac LeMans, waiting for the parade to begin.

Leon suddenly took notice when the town of Hazzard came into view. "What are you trying to pull?"
"I'm trying to get ya to the state line!" Boss pointed to the street sign, indicating the major road way that would take them to the state line...albeit a somewhat round about way of doing it.
"If this is a trick..." Leon growled.
"Ain't no trick! On my momma's grave!" Ol' Boss can get away with that...his momma was cremated.

From the upstairs window, Rosco could see the Caddy coming into town. He raised the hand held CB radio. "He's coming, MaryAnne. Just about to pass the bank."
"Ten-four," MaryAnne replied into her own hand held CB. The LeMans moved towards the square. MaryAnne then picked up the other CB mike.
"Lost Sheep can I get a hand here? Switch over to the Velvet Ears network will ya?"
The General was just about to reach the edge of town. Bo slowed down as Luke changed the CB channel.
"Okay, MaryAnne."
"Boss is in town, he just passed the bank. Rosco's watching from the upstairs of Boss's house, I'm sitting in Rosco's car. If we can box 'em in by Boss's house, Rosco's got a little soooprise waitin'. Khee!"
Luke grinned. "Ten-four, MaryAnne."
The General sped up and entered the town.

Boss was just about to pass the emporium when he spotted the General up ahead, coming towards him. Leon cursed and Boss quickly cut the Caddy around the town square. He couldn't continue on the street where his house was located, because MaryAnne had Rosco's car there. So around the square he went, not being able to go past Cooter's garage, because the tow truck just pulled up with the battered Maverick in back. Somebody yelled over the CB, "Rally around the Square!!" Boss figured the boys and MaryAnne had some kind of plan...but Leon was still pointing the gun at him.
"Get us out of here!" Leon exclaimed.
"I'm tryin', I'm tryin'!"
The fleeing Cadillac jumped the curb and cut through the deserted square. It landed back on the pavement in front of the courthouse with a bounce. Enos' patrol car came out of nowhere to block the Caddy's path. Tires squealing, the Caddy cut back up over the curb onto the grass. The General gave chase and followed them past the gazebo and back to the pavement on the other side of the square.
Boss turned sharp right, only to be blocked by Jesse's pickup. He backed up and turned left, boxed in by Cooter's tow truck.
Boss smiled slightly as he realized the trap was sprung and this was where it all ended, good or bad. MaryAnne about thirty feet in front of him and the General just behind him completed the trap and he had nowhere to go.
Leon glanced hurriedly in all directions, trying to think his way out. Leon jabbed the gun hard into Boss' ribs and pointed straight ahead. "Ram her!" he yelled.
"Are you crazy?! This old bucket of bolts can't take much more punishment," Boss protested.
"Either you ram her, fat man, or I will," Leon replied as he cocked the trigger on the gun.
"Ok, ok," Boss conceded. He stepped on the accelerator and aimed the Caddy for the brown Pontiac.
MaryAnne watched the front of the big white car coming closer. She had no choice but to hang on for the ride. She glanced up at the window where Rosco was watching and prayed.
This is two wrecked Pontiacs... She gripped the steering wheel and stiffened her arms awaiting impact. When it came, the Caddy rammed the LeMans, pushing it for a few feet. But the force killed the Caddy too, blowing the radiator.
team blew out from under the hood and through the grill as the white car came to an agonizing stop.
Enos and the boys were running on foot now. Leon saw them and grabbed Boss, holding the gun at him and making sure it was in view of everybody else.
"Don't nobody move!" Leon said. "Or the fat man's white suit...turns red."
Everybody stopped, watching the scene closely. MaryAnne sat stunned in the LeMans from the crash. She looked at the scene out the window and wondered if Rosco could get a shot off, somehow.
Jesse, Daisy, Min and Cooter watched further back behind the boys and Enos. Up in the window of Boss's house, Rosco sat with one of Boss's shotguns, pointed at Leon. Luckily for him, the hitman hadn't looked up.
Leon opened the passenger door and pulled Boss out of the car with him. "You just stay right like that..." Leon told everyone. "Just like that..." He pushed Boss around the back end of the Cadillac to the driver's side. He then quickly opened the driver door and grabbed the burlap bag.
Dang it...I don't wanna hit Boss.. Rosco thought as he kept the crosshairs on Leon as best he could. With Boss so close, there was no way Rosco could get a shot off without risking hitting Boss.
Luckily for Rosco, Boss had looked up and the two made eye contact. Boss could see what Rosco had planned and quickly looked away, not wanting to draw Leon's attention in that direction. He'd had just enough time, however, to see the concerned and frustrated look on his brother-in-law's face.
Leon set the bag on the hood of the Caddy. He kept his gun trained on Boss even though that made it harder for him to rummage through the contents of the burlap sack.
"Don't do anything stupid," Luke called to Leon.
"That goes for you too, hillbilly," Leon yelled back, his attention still focused mainly on the contents of the bag.
Boss tried to get out of Leon's direct line of fire while the criminal was somewhat distracted. He risked a glance back up to Rosco. He motioned towards the back tire of the Caddy. Rosco nodded back.
Rosco took aim at the back tire of the Caddy. He looked outside the crosshair at Boss and Leon. The criminal was quickly settling the bag and pulling the draw stings on it. It was now or never. Rosco opened fire.
The back tire of the Caddy exploded, sending the hubcap skipping across the pavement to the curb. Everyone jumped and Leon swung around wildly in the direction the shot had come from. The bag dropped from the hood and he let go of Boss momentarily, enough for Boss to push the criminal against the fender of the car. Boss reached for the gun in Leon's hand but Leon fought back. Boss lost his grip on Leon's gun hand and Leon aimed up at the window.
"Rosco look out!!" Luke yelled. The Sheriff fired another shot and ducked away from the window. One bullet shattered the glass at the top of the window and then everything was quiet...
Rosco listened for a moment. He heard the Dukes and Enos and then Boss.
"Rosco? You alright up there?" Bo called.
There was some more talking as Jesse, Daisy, Min and Cooter approached. Slowly, Rosco leaned back towards the window to look.
"Yeah, I'm alright." Then he saw it. Leon was on his knees clutching his wounded left arm. Boss had the gun aimed at the man as Enos hurried around the Caddy to make everything official.
Not wanting to be left out of anything involving official Hazzard County Sheriff's duties, Rosco hobbled down the stairs and out the front door.
"Rosco. What are you doing down here? You shouldn't be on that leg," MaryAnne rushed over to offer a shoulder to lean on.
"I'm the sheriff. I should be down here for this," he replied.
MaryAnne was so happy everyone was still in one piece, for the most part, she just couldn't argue with that. She helped Rosco over to the battered Caddy.
Enos and Boss were busy tending to Leon. They had called an ambulance and Daisy had gone to get Doc Appleby. Everyone else had gathered around the burlap bag.
"Exactly what's in that bag that's so important that that feller felt he hadda take out half of Hazzard to get back?" Cooter wondered.
"Well, let's just see," Luke said as he started to undo the drawstring on the bag.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa.. just a minute there, Luke. That there's evidence in a crime... several crimes in fact." Rosco grimaced as he limped forward to take the bag from the older Duke cousin.
"That's right, Rosco. Which means, we can't really go poking in there either," MaryAnne said.
"Well, I think we deserve to know what we were all nearly killed over," Bo stated.
"Agreed. What we do is take this over to the courthouse and open it under proper conditions," MaryAnne said, looking at Rosco.
Rosco smiled, "Agreed."

Everyone headed towards the courthouse, Rosco aided by MaryAnne and Boss. Enos carried the burlap bag and escorted Rudy, who had been in the back of Enos' cruiser during the entire ordeal. Inside the sheriff's office, Enos put the sack on the booking room desk and escorted both criminals to the nearby jail cell. MaryAnne helped Rosco to a chair and went about preparing to view the evidence in the bag while everyone else gathered around.
"Alright," MaryAnne said as she pulled on a pair of latex gloves. Enos stood with a clipboard that contained a sheet to list everything in the bag. MaryAnne undid the draw strings and carefully opened the bag, not sure she wanted to see what was in it. She tipped the open end to the desk and heard the sound of plastic clattering, and papers rustling. She held her hand to the bag's opening to keep things from tumbling out too quick. Slowly, items came into view.
Cassette tapes, small black and white Kodak photographs which had fallen out of a file folder that had several typed and hand written documents. And then the real cincher...a gun.
"Oh my Lord," Daisy and Min both chorused. Bo let out a whistle while everone else just stared in shock.
"What in tarnation is all that?" Jesse asked.
Rosco pulled out his handkerchief and picked up one of the documents. He studied it, put it down, then picked up another along with a few photographs. Everyone stood silently waiting for a response.
"I can see why they didn't want anyone else to get their hands on this," Rosco finally said.
"What does it all mean?" Daisy asked.
"It means," Rosco started solemnly, "we have a case of bribery, extortion, blackmail, conspiracy," he paused, "... and murder."
A collective gasp sounded from the group.
"Holy smokes..." Luke breathed.
"We can add another charge to that list as well, Rosco," MaryAnne said. "The attempted murder of a law enforcement officer."
"That too," Rosco said.
"Who was blackmailin' who?" Cooter asked.
"I dunno, but I think we should be puttin' a call into the State Police," MaryAnne said.
Rosco nodded. He then reached and picked up the phone.

"So what we're lookin' at here," the senior trooper said, "is that State Senator Maguire was allegedly taking bribes and committing extortion. Somebody found out and collected the evidence we have here."
"Well, it couldn't have been the two fellas who've been trying to kill us," Luke said. "Unless...."
"Unless they were hired by the Senator to get this stuff back from whoever had it," Bo said.
The trooper nodded. "We have reason to believe that a homicide victim in Lampton County is the individual who had collected this information on the Senator. We found some evidence at that crime scene as well."
A thoughtful, somewhat stunned pause came to the group.
"And those two nearly added Rosco and all of us to that list," MaryAnne said.
The trooper nodded. "What you folks did was very brave and not to mention very helpful to us."
"Those guys were in trouble when they came to Hazzard to begin with," Min said.
"You got that right," Luke said.
MaryAnne smiled mischieviously. Rosco was leaning on her shoulder for support, his leg still sore. She reached up, took his hat off, and placed it on her own head.
"Should've known better than to mess with Sheriff Roscoooooooooo P. Coltrane! Khee! Khee!" she exclaimed, mimicking her cousin to a T.
Rosco scowled briefly, but then hugged his younger cousin with the arm that was resting on her shoulders. He stole his hat back and returned it to his head. "That's right! Khee! Khee! Khee!"
Flash barked in agreement and everyone laughed.

~The End~