Wanted: Good ideas for bad deeds

[Valerie Strate]

The Game Warden curiously came up to Daney's side as the Duke held the peice of paper in her hands. She had no clue as to who's name was on the sheet. She had a carefree smile on her face as she came up and put her arm around Daney to see what the note read. Daney was still as the Strate came up but didn't say a word. Val looked down to Daney's hands and see her own name scribbled across the paper. The Strate's eye's widened, her pluse raced, and her stomach did flip flops.

"CRICKETS AND CROCS!" Val shrieked, her stomach felt faint. She turned from Daney and ran to the bushes. That's when everything she had for lunch just left her, "Blah!"

Enos watched his twin's reaction to the note. He came up to see what the note had said. He too was shocked and looked at Daney who was still staring at the note.

"Possum on a gumbush" he breathed sloftly. He swallowed hard. He knew in his bones this was a setup. His sister would never do such a thing. Especially to someone who was so loved by his sister's best friend. He turned from Daney and slowly went to the direction of where Val was at. He realized she that the naseua of such an acusation got to her. He helped his little twin calm down and reagain her composure. Then he wrapped his arms scurely in a big brother embrace and stroked the back of her head as she cried on his shoulder.

"Sssshhhh, sssshhhh, Val just calm down, sis. Just calm down." he whispered softly to his sister.

"Lies, lies, and more lies." Val weeped into his shoulder, "I hate lies Enos."

"I know you do Val. Sssshhhh... just calm down." He told her, "I know Val. Just calm down. I know how much this hurt you sis. It hurts me too."

Valerie just sobbed into his shirt shoulder. Enos slowly let go of her a bit to help walk her back to the crowd. The Hazzard Deputy Sheriff was filled with lots emotions. A few weeks before this all started he knew his sister had problems with her friendship with Daney. He knew it left Daney with a distrusting feeling about his sister. This hurt Val deeply because everything a Strate stands for is based on love and trust. Now seeing this note probably made Val so upset that it made her sick.

The twins then walked back to the crowd. Enos stood by his sister to offer support. He also wanted to be the officer to take his sister in, if needed. He knew however, whoever put the cuffs on Val, that his sister wouldn't run from them. She had enough faith in the system to let justice clear her. The twins stood still. Val leaned on her brothers shoulder with tears stained eyes, "Enos you know I didn't do it."

"I know. Just let us see what happens." Enos replied, "I'll get your name cleared tho' Val. Don't worry about that."

The twins waited for the crowd's reaction. They hopped justice would prove Val's innocence.

[Brian Coltrane]

The sight of the Mac and Gillian grabbing Daney and moving her to the cliff had froze everything in Brian's heart, silencing the beat for a long moment when it looked like the assassin team would be taking Daney with them on their final, desperate move.

The fact they had spared her, shocked him. Perhaps there had been an understanding between captor and captive after all...but it was no more. Mac and Gillian wouldn't have the opportunity that Brian himself had, for a different life. They had come to the kind of end that all criminals expected for themselves; a choice between prison and death. Brian understood Mac's choice...and somewhere inside, he regretted it, despite everything.

These thoughts were interrupted by the note Mac had dropped before his death; the clue to the employer behind it all. The note contained one name, and it damned the person it accused.

Worse, it was halfway believable.

With a hard sigh, Brian looked at Val. The Game Warden would never have wanted anyone's blood, he knew, but Brian had a knack for getting on people's nerves, hers included. And if Val had thought she was doing the right thing to protect Daney, or the Dukes, or to keep Hazzard County beautiful....

Brian turned away and walked a few steps alone, knowing MaryAnne's day wasn't getting any easier.

(character's note: I'll be elsewhere until Monday night - MaryAnne has authority to speak for me till I'm back. See ya then!)

[MacGyver]

"I can't believe this cousins... I really can't." Daisy walked down the Courthouse steps between Bo and Luke.

The posse had returned to Hazzard and Val had been taken into custody and locked up by her own twin brother.

It was a sad state of affairs, that had left its mark on all that were involved with the chasing down and ultimately the death of the two hired thugs, MacGyver and Gillian.

"Yeah I know Daisy, I can't believe it either. I can't believe that Val would sink that low." Bo sighed, his thumbs hooked in his belt loops.

"We don't know for sure it was her, all we have is a note." Luke pointed out as they made it to the bottom of the steps and started around the corner. Daney's hunter green Duster was parked on the other side of the Gazebo and when Daisy saw it she tugged on Luke's sleeve.

"Hey cousins...Hunter is there, we should bring it to the farm for Daney."

"Got the spare key?"

Daisy nodded. "Yeah Luke, I have a spare. I'll drive him over."

The three cousins started across the street, mindful of a few cars as they

finally made it over to Hunter.

Daisy opened the driver's side door and slid behind the wheel. She stuck the key in the ignition and was about to turn it when a black wrapped box with a big black bow caught her eye. It sat on the passenger seat and what almost happened to Diablo crossed her mind.

"Bo! Luke!" She shouted as she carefully opened the car door and stood up, her eyes wide.

"What is it?" Luke asked, he and Bo were about to cross the street again when they heard her shout and saw her concern.

"A package..." She muttered.

"Daisy step away from the car." Luke said as he went over to Hunter.

"Bo you and Daisy get back, MacGyver might have left one last surprise."

Luke carefully opened the passenger side door and picked up the package, bending his head towards it. He heard no ticking, no beeping or any other clue that it was dangerous.

"Luke? Is it a bomb?" Bo asked, swallowing hard.

"I dont think so cousin." He walked around to the hood and set the package down, taking off the lid. What he saw there only creased his brow.

A white envelope marked Daney sat right on top and he picked it up and opened it, pulling out a piece of paper.

Just in case things don't go exactly as planned, use this for what you will.

M-

"It is from MacGyver, he says this is just in case things dont work out."

"What does that mean?" Bo and Daisy wandered back over to stand beside their cousin.

Luke pulled out an audio tape, another bigger envelope, and a wad of bills; the band across them read 5000 dollars.

Luke opened the second envelope and pulled out color photographs.

"Oh Lord." He whispered as he looked at them.

They were pictures of MacGyver and Valerie Strate, the Game Warden handing him the wad of bills.

"Where would Val get that kind of money?" Bo picked up the stack and flipped through it.

"I dont know Bo, but we better go take this to Rosco."

Luke gathered everything up and the three Dukes started around the corner towards the Courthouse.

[MacGyver]

"If you're sure that's what you want to do, I can do it."

"Yes, I don't want him harmed, I couldn't live with that and the consequences could be disastrous"

"Don't worry Miss Strate, he won't be harmed."

Rosco and the Dukes listened to the audio tape that was in the black box, all of them stunned beyond belief.

"Well that tears it." Rosco said as he shook his head. "I guess she really is guilty."

"So what do we do now?" Bo asked, sitting on the edge of Rosco's desk.

"Search Val's place, that's standard SOP in something like this."

Luke nodded, his arms crossed over his chest. "All right, but we'd like to help out with this, if you don't mind."

Rosco stood up from, picking his black hat up and slipping it on his head.

"No Luke, I don't mind. We're all involved in this."

"We'll meet you at the boarding house."

Rosco took the spare key to Val's room, courtesy of Enos, and stuck it in the lock. He gave it a couple of turns and finally the lock clicked.

The door swung open and Rosco put his hand out, stopping everyone else from just barging into the room.

He craned his neck around the door frame and his blue eyes suddenly rounded.

"Judas Priest on a pony!"

He lowered his arm and everyone went into the room, stopping when they got the bed, the reason for Rosco's exclamation right in front of them.

A blond man was tied to the bed, his head lolled to one side against his shoulder; a large bloody gash in his temple.

"But I thought he was dead!" Daisy gasped as she looked at her cousins.

Bo and Luke went over to the bed and untied him, touching his neck.

"He's alive."

Luke noticed the white plaster marks around his neck. "Looks like someone took a mold of his face."

"But for what?"

MacGyver groaned, his head moving a little as he opened his eyes, looking at everyone gathered around him.

"Val...she grabbed me and brought me here." He touched his bloody head, hissing through his teeth as his fingers brushed the cut there.

"They're going after Brian and he looks just like me."

Bo nodded. "You dont know the half of it, Mac. Come on we'll fill you in."

They helped him off the bed, he was a little unsteady on his feet.

"You guys taking him to Doc Appleby's, I'll finish searching this place." Rosco said as he took off his hat and set it on the bed.

"I had just finished posting on the bulletin board and decided to go to the Busy Bee when I ran into Val. She said she had to talk to me and we went behind one of the buildings. The next thing I know I'm in her room."

MacGyver touched the gauze on his head, wincing at the pain it caused. Luke, Daisy and Bo all stood around the table.

"Well there's way to much to tell you but the sum up is your evil twin is dead and so is his accomplice and Val has been arrested."

Mac nodded at Luke. "What about Brian?"

"He's okay, he's with MaryAnne and Cully."

Luke sighed. "Yeah we're glad he's okay too. Rosco wants us to take you to the Courthouse. He's going to need to take your statement."

Mac slowly climbed off the table and thanked Doc Appleby for patching up his head. With that the group left, heading back to town. They parked the General Lee beside Maverick and headed up the steps.

"Hey Enos, hey Cletus." Bo smiled at his friends as they walked into the booking room.

The pair of deputies looked wide eyed at Mac.

"I thought he was dead!"

Mac only grinned at them. "Yeah I get that a lot."

Rosco came out of his office and tapped Mac on the shoulder. "See the person that kidnapped you?"

The blond man nodded as he turned and looked to the booking room cell.

"That's her, she's the one."

He turned back, seeing a brunette woman.

[MaryAnne]

That brunette woman was none other than MaryAnne Coltrane who walked into the booking room with Cully and Brian behind her.

She stared at Mac. "I thought he was dead??"

"It's a long story, MaryAnne," Rosco said with a sigh. "A very long and complicated story..."

"Well ain't nothin' simple in Hazzard anyway," MaryAnne said. "Awright, what do we have here?"

Rosco did a quick run through of what they knew, the tape recording and money found in Hunter and finding the real MacGyver tied up in Val's boarding house room.

MaryAnne blinked. "This is all a joke right? I mean... Val?! And them two gun mauls threw themselves off a cliff because they didn't want to get jail time for scare tactics?" MaryAnne was thouroughly confused. Something wasn't clicking. The pieces didn't all quite fit. She looked at Mac.

"First question. Who ARE you??"

[MacGyver]

MacGyver could understand the Deputy's question, with all that had been happening with the other one it was no wonder she had asked.

"Deputy, I'm the guy that got bonked in the head, tied to a bed, got plaster smeared all over my face so my evil twin could run around and cause havoc and destruction." He held out his hands. "Look if you don't believe that I'm Mac then by all means feel free to take my fingerprints."

He stood there with his hands out towards the dark haired Coltrane, waiting for her to either check his prints or maybe slap the cuffs on him.

[MaryAnne]

MaryAnne was half contemplating slapping the cuffs on the blonde haired stranger but Bo spoke up.

"We did find 'em tied up, MaryAnne. Luke and I, Daisy. Rosco was there too."

MaryAnne nodded. "Awright." She looked at Mac. "Just keep yer fingers clean if I decide to print 'em. Now...second question. What are you doing here in Hazzard?"

[MacGyver]

Mac pulled a letter out of his backpocket and handed it to MaryAnne.

"I came here by invitation to see my friend."

MaryAnne saw the return address on the envelope was from Hazzard, with the name Min Duke above it.

"Min invited me out here to show me what Georgia was like and the little town she always mentioned in her letters. I thought I'd come out here to see for myself and it's been an adventure so far to say the least."

He saw the skeptical gleam in MaryAnne's blue eyes and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Look if you dont think I'm telling the truth give Min a call."

[MaryAnne]

Brian came up beside MaryAnne and looked at the letter and envlope over her shoulder. He refrained from comment for the moment, letting Rosco and MaryAnne handle the questions of the investigation. But he certainly had questions of his own that would be asked in due time.

"Hmm..." MaryAnne walked over to the telephone on the desk near Boss's office and made a phone call to her old friend, Min. A few minutes later she hung up the phone.

"Awright yer story checks there. Looks like you an' Cully there had bad timin' comin' to Hazzard. This isn't the usual reception we give for visitors...." She walked back to the group gathered in the middle of the booking room.

"Lessee....so you came to Hazzard and saw our lil' postin' game on the bulletin board. You joined in. You offered a challenge to Brian and our two gun mauls, allegedly hired by Val, see an opportunity. Val, allegedly, grabs you, one of the two gun mauls assumes yer identity and kidnaps Brian and his partner grabs Daney. We have some Hazzard chasin' and stuff, loose a patrol car off Kissin' Cliff and end up loosin' the two gun mauls off Kissin' Cliff. But they leave a note, implicating Valerie Strate. Incriminating evidence is left in Daney's car, cash and a tape recording of Val, allegedly making a deal with the two gun mauls."

MaryAnne paused and sighed. "And I can't make heads or tails of it."

Rosco looked at Mac. "Did anybody know you were comin' to Hazzard?"

"More to the point," Brian said. "Did them two gun mauls know you were comin' to Hazzard?"

[MacGyver]

MacGyver ran his fingers through his hair and sighed.

"My boss knew it because I asked for the time off." He thought about it, shaking his head slowly. "I didnt tell anyone else I was leaving LA for a while."

He raised his eyes to look at the three Coltranes that surrounded him.

"But that doesnt mean that Min didnt tell people." He glanced at Brian. "I dont know if those two knew I was coming, I didnt even see that other guy's true face. The one time I woke up I saw him looking like me and thats when he cracked me one in the head."

[MaryAnne]

MaryAnne nodded. "Hmmm...."

"What are you thinkin'?" Rosco asked.

"I'm thinkin' that them two knew what they were doin' at every step. Try this on..." She walked up to the booking area and looked at the group that was gathered in the booking room. "Them two get their orders to come to Hazzard, not necessarily hired by Val here." MaryAnne looked at the Game Warden, sitting in the holding cell, looking back at her sadly. "'cause I don't believe that."

"But that tape recording...?" Bo said.

"Tape recordings can be altered..." MaryAnne looked at Mac, "And somebody could have dressed up to look like Val, to nab you. If your evil twin had the know how to look like you convincingly, his lady partner could've pulled the same trick." MaryAnne paused. "I'm thinkin' these two did their homework before they got here."

"But why make it look like Val hired 'em?" Daisy asked.

"Well, I said they did their homework, I didn't say they finished it. Their orders were not to kill Brian, but to employ scare tactics. Somebody hired these two and these two not only took that information with them when they jumped off Kissin' Cliff, they left a wild goose chase for us here."

"Then they're protectin' their boss," Brian said. "At a very high price."

"Extremely high."

"So when they saw MacGyver postin' to the board a challenge to Brian, they took the opportunity to make Mac here look like the one after Brian," Luke said. "Thus covering their own tracks. And implicating Val, covered their tracks more if everything were to blow up on 'em, which is did."

"Leavin' us with a fine mess," MaryAnne said.

[DaneyDuke]

“Yeah.â€

Everyone turned in the direction of the quiet voice that commented.

They saw a familiar brunette Duke clad in a black leather jacket, black tank top, black jeans and black high heel sandals. Sunglasses covered her eyes. She began to stroll casually toward them with a smile.

The group collectively rubbed their eyes, blinked or let out a gasp seeing Alex aka Bad Mac and Gillian by the booking room doors.

Daney walked a straight and narrow path to the cell and let Val out, not saying anything. Daisy had called her from Doc Appleby’s and told her of the latest happenings.

Then she hurried over to the jacket’s owner. Daney stood in front of Brian. She smiled at the Deputy uniformed city Coltrane. "Wanna play cops and robbers, sweet cheeks?†She flipped the sunglasses down and winked at him.

(Next post reserved for MaryAnne Coltrane, thank you)

[MaryAnne]

Brian looked at Daney, incredulous. "Sweet cheeks?" he said. "Ha!" His dark eyes scanned over at Alex and Gillian. "I'm more apt to wanna play cowboys and outlaws..." He strolled over to the two assassins. "...and swing these two from a rope..."

"How many freakin' lives do these people have?" Cully blurted out, staring at the two.

"Awright, I'm gonna git to the bottom of this," Rosco said and marched over the two gun mauls. "WHO HIRED YOU?"

[MacGyver]

The pair of criminals looked at one another and shrugged their shoulders.

"Let's show them Gillian."

Alex said to his partner as the two of them peeled off their face masks to reveal Cooter Davenport and his cousin Hilery.

Bo, Luke and Daisy groaned and Mac wiped his hand down his face.

"Okay like THAT makes sense."

Enos smiled as he looked at his sister. She had been let out of the cell and now stood beside her brother.

Mac glared at Rosco, raising an eyebrow.

"Have you had enough of this or WHAT?"

[countrygirl1986]

"What's wrong?" Hilery said innocently, then broke out laughing. It was an odd laugh, one no one recalled her having.

"Hil, calm down, we might as well give up and spill the beans," Cooter hissed at her, trying to hush her. This just made her laugh even harder. She suddenly stopped and shoved Cooter into Daney, then grabbed Rosco's gun, quite quickly.

"Since when have you known me to give up cousin?" she asked hims eriously, the gun pointing at everyone as she hearded them into Rosco's office. "Until later," she laughed again and ran out the door, after blocking bosses using a chair, then ran to her car. With tires smoking, Jumper pealed off around the corner, on her way out of town. Hilery was out of site before anyone could get out the booking room. No body had tried to stop her out of sheer shock.

[MaryAnne]

With everyone crowded into Rosco's office, Cooter jerked his thumb at the Dukes. "It was actually their idea," he said.

"Their idea?!" Brian, MaryAnne, Cully, Mac and Rosco all exclaimed in unison.

Luke smirked. "Yeah, Rosco, our idea..."

"Yeah, Rosco, our idea..."

"Rosco.....Rosco......Rosco...."

.......

***

"Rosco?"

Cully sighed and finally pushed the sleeping Sheriff enough to nearly knock him out of his chair.

"WOOJIT!!" Rosco exclaimed, becoming fully awake and grabbing on to the chair and the desk. He looked up at Cully.

"Oh, Cully...it's you. Lord 'o mercy I just had the craziest dream."

"That's what you get for eatin' them chilidogs and then fallin' asleep. MaryAnne warned you at lunch."

"Yeah, well I think next time I'll listen." He paused. "What are you doing here?"

"MaryAnne wanted me to fetch ya. She and Brian are waitin' outside. The lil' tour of Hazzard y'all were gonna give me?"

"Oh yeah. You know, you were in my dream. You got yerself one heck of a tour of Hazzard."

Cully grinned. "C'mon, Sheriff, you can tell us all about it...."

~The End!~ =)