A/N: This story refers to a couple of characters in "Back Home Again," but they're not major players. Just pondering on how the Dukes came by the General Lee. Hope you enjoy this one shot. Please R&R. Thanks!
Disclaimer: I do not own or operate "The Dukes of Hazzard."
The General Comes to Town
Jesse Duke handed J.D. Hogg the mortgage check personally. "I'll be needing a receipt for that, J.D.," he said.
"Of course, Jesse." Boss Hogg looked at the clock. Ten minutes early. How inconvenient. He took out a receipt book and filled out the paper proving Jesse Duke had paid the mortgage on time.
"Thank you, J.D. Have a good day, now," he said.
"You too, Jesse," Hogg said without a trace of sincerity.
"Come on boys," Jesse said to Bo and Luke, who had followed him inside. Both men shot Hogg looks that made even his mercenary heart turn cold. They walked outside with their uncle.
"One of these days," Luke said. "One of these days, that fat little thief is going to get his."
"The good Lord will take care of him," Jesse said. "Don't you worry about that. One day, J.D. Hogg is going to have to stand before the Almighty and account for everything he's done."
"Good thing it's eternity," Bo snickered. "'Cause that's gonna take a while." All three laughed at that. "Uncle Jesse, once me and Luke get this car up and running, we're gonna win races and pay off that mortgage for you. And Boss Hogg can't do a thing about it."
"I appreciate that, son," Jesse answered. "But you just worry about keeping your nose clean and being a good man. That'll make me happier than anything else."
Bo grinned at his uncle as they walked across the square to Cooter's garage. He hailed them. "Hey boys! I've been wondering what's under this tarp all day. You gonna ever let me see?"
"Let's show him, Bo," Luke said. He pulled the tarp off the car to reveal a 1969 Dodge Charger. The car was a mess. It sagged at the front axle and any original paint was long since gone, replaced by red primer, in spots.
"What is this?" Cooter said.
"This is our new race car," Bo proudly said.
Cooter looked doubtfully at the vehicle. "You boys believe in miracles, don'tcha?"
"Now Cooter," Luke said, "don't judge a Charger by the paint job. Fire it up, Bo."
"It'll crank?" Cooter said, in rank disbelief.
"You bet your sweet life it will. Let 'er go." Bo pumped the accelerator and turned the key. What roared to life under that hood made Cooter's jaw drop. Bo goosed the gas a time or two, making the engine growl.
"Well, I'll be…" Cooter said. "Where in the world did you two get this thing?"
"Choctaw County," said Bo. "Old man wanted to get rid of it, said his son was going to get killed in it. So we bought it."
Cooter popped the hood and motioned to Bo to cut the engine. He looked at the engine. "Boys, it's been a long time since I've seen an engine like this. It's a monster! " He rubbed the air filter cover, almost lovingly. "Body's plenty rough, but this engine runs like a sewing machine."
"That's what we thought, Cooter," Luke said. "You up to the challenge?"
The mechanic looked sidelong at Luke from under the hood. "I wouldn't miss it," he said. "Let's make this baby roll!"
Bo let loose a Rebel yell of the type that made Sherman's soldiers nervous when they rolled through Hazzard over 100 years before.
Uncle Jesse shook his head. "I hope you boys know what you're doing."
For the next several months, the Duke boys could hardly stay out of Cooter's garage. On the weekends, they were prowling junkyards all over the northern part of the state, scrounging for parts. Bo was unloading trucks and stocking shelves at the Hazzard market and Luke was helping out at the Marine Corps recruiting office in Sweetwater for extra money to pay for turning "that pile of junk" as Jesse termed it (out of their hearing) into a race car. They replaced rotted brake lines, master cylinders, brake pads and rotors, idler arms and other steering gears, the starter, the alternator, and completely reworked the suspension to race car specs.
Cooter wouldn't allow either of them to touch the engine, though. That was his particular domain and, as Luke put it, did everything for that motor except feed it from a bottle.
Finally, the day came when they were ready to start it up and test drive it around the square. Luke had bought a tag for it and had it registered so Rosco couldn't immediately jump on them for driving a car with no tag. Bo eased it out of the garage bay and did two slow turns in the car around the square.
"Seems like everything works," he said when he returned. About that time, a familiar white Mercury pulled into the garage. It was Bill Turney, with Rose, his daughter, and as Bill often said, his shadow. She was 11.
"Afternoon, Cooter. I need a front end alignment on this thing. I hit a pothole the size of a swimming pool out on the highway a few days ago. Can you help me out?"
"Sure, Mr. Turney. Be glad to." He grinned at Rose. "Hey, Rosie," he said, ruffling her hair.
"Hey, Cooter," she replied, but her eyes were on the two men tinkering with that rusty-looking car. How nice that Daddy should come in while Luke Duke was here! She eased over to the edge and said, "Hey Luke. Hey Bo. What ya'll doing?"
Luke looked up and grinned. "Howdy Rosiebelle! Me and Bo are fixing up this car to race."
"Really? Wow!" she said. "Where you gonna race it?"
"Wherever they'll let us," Bo said.
"Cool. What color are you going to paint it?"
Bo and Luke stared at each other. The thought hadn't even crossed their minds.
"Well, Rosie, we haven't thought that far ahead yet. What do you think would be a good color?" Luke asked.
She thought about it. "Well, you want it to look like it's fast. So to me, that's red or yellow or orange."
Bo looked over at her. "Pretty good thinking! Yeah, red, orange or yellow would be good."
"Not yellow. I'm not driving a school bus," Luke said.
Bo snickered. "Red or orange would work, though. We'll have to think about it," he said.
Bill walked up and spoke to the boys, who returned his greeting. "Fire it up. Let me hear the engine," he said. Bill loved cars, even though, as a schoolteacher, he didn't have the money to indulge his interest much, except for a subscription to "Cars and Parts" magazine."
Luke reached in and turned the key. The engine sprang to life again and Rose covered her ears. "It's loud, Daddy!" she said.
He nodded and when Luke cut the engine, said, "Boys, that's a fine vehicle you're putting together. When you get it ready to go, give me a call. I'd love to ride down the Tumlin Gap road in that thing."
Bo's eyes lit up. "Hadn't even thought of taking it through there. That's a good idea, and we will call you, Mr. Turney."
"Thanks, Bo. Come on, Rosie. Let's go to the hardware store and when we come back, Cooter should have the car ready."
"O.K. Bye Bo. Bye Luke," she said, giving the latter a dreamy smile.
"I'd have thought she'd have found someone else to have a crush on by now," Luke said. He didn't really mind. He'd always thought Rose Turney was a cute kid.
"Yeah, seems like her taste would improve over the years," Bo said. Even though he lived to pick at Rose, it always nettled him that she didn't seem to feel about him the way she did about Luke. Women. Even when they were 11. Women.
The Charger was seen more often on the Hazzard byways, and one trip to Cooter's garage netted an unexpected gift. "Hey ya'll. Got some potential good news."
"Lay it on us," Luke said.
"Well, you know, we've been talking about a paint job for this car, and no one in this state does that kind of detailed work. But they do it in Charlotte."
"North Carolina? We can't leave the state because of our probation and how we gonna afford it?" Luke said.
"That's what I want to tell you about," Cooter replied. "I've got a friend who's worked for a company that specializes in painting race cars. That's all they do. And my buddy wants to get his own business together. And he's willing to paint the Charger for just the cost of the paint, sort of as an advertisement. And he'll come and get the car and bring it back."
"Sounds like a sweetheart of a deal to me," Luke said. "Is this guy good?"
"Yeah he's good. But he needs an answer, soon."
"I say do it," Bo said.
Luke thought a moment. "Yeah, go for it," he agreed.
"Hot dang!" Cooter said. "I'll just go give him a call."
Coley Sivley arrived in Hazzard two days later and talked over design ideas with Cooter and the Dukes. They agreed on an idea and Coley drafted out the art, complete with color chips for the paint. "That is going to be one bad mamajama looking car," he said.
"We can't wait to see the finished product," Luke said, shaking his hand.
The days seemed to drag as the Dukes' pet project was away for its paint job. They still worked feverishly to pay for the paint and for the last of the parts. When Cooter called them to tell them Coley had arrived with the car, the boys bundled Jesse and Daisy into Luke's Nova and they headed to town.
A car carrier sat outside Cooter's garage, and a crowd had gathered for the event, including Bill and Rose Turney. The Dukes arrived and stared at the crowd. Well, this was a small town, after all.
"C'mon, ya'll!" Cooter hailed them. "Wait'll you see this thing!" He was all but dancing with excitement. He opened the back of the trailer and let down the ramp. He handed the keys to Bo. "Roll 'er out, Bo." Bo and Luke both ran up the ramp into the trailer and the crowd could hear whoops of delight. A roar shook the trailer and the car rolled down the ramp and on to the street. A collective "Ooooh" rippled through the spectators.
Sitting on the street, shining in the bright autumn sun, was a race car. It was a red-based orange. A large "01" in navy outlined in white covered each door. The Stars and Bars graced the top. "General Lee" was painted on the side of the top in blue, also outlined in white. Four new gleaming black racing tires with deluxe rims finished the picture.
"Blow the horn, Bo," Cooter said, and Bo's face broke into utter delight when the first few notes of "Dixie" sounded.
They got out of the car and shook hands with Cooter and Coley, thanking them for all their hard work.
"Listen at that engine," Cooter said. "Sounds like a satisfied woman." Daisy rolled her eyes at this, but thanked the mechanic anyway.
Bill was talking to Jesse and Luke put his arm around Rose's shoulders. He said, "Do you like the paint job?" She nodded. "Does it make it look like it's fast?"
"Oh yeah," she said.
"That's because it is. And I promise I'll take you for a ride in it. Would you like that?"
"Oh yeah!" she exclaimed.
"It's a date then," Luke said with a grin.
Rose blushed crimson and nodded.
Ten years later
Bo Duke eased the General Lee up to the Hazzard Bank's curb. He shimmied out the window and Luke got out the other side. Jesse and Daisy had followed in his truck. The whole family entered the bank. One of the tellers said, "Good to see you, Bo and Luke! Glad you boys are home!"
"Thanks, Della Raye," Luke said. "Good to see you, too."
They walked to J.D. Hogg's desk. "Howdy, Boss," Bo said. "We've come to pay the mortgage."
Hogg looked at the clock. For once, why couldn't they be late? "Sure thing, Bo. Let me see. You owe exactly…"
"Seven thousand, two hundred forty-six dollars and twenty-eight cents," Bo interrupted. "That's the payoff amount. I called right before we left. So don't try to tack on any fees, or interest, or extra penalties, or anything like that. You're not entitled to it and you're not getting it," Bo said.
J.D. Hogg just stared in astonishment.
Bo took out a checkbook, for an account labeled "Duke Motorsports, Inc." and wrote the check. "I'll be needing a receipt for that," he said.
J.D. wrote the receipt and handed it over with as much disgust as he could muster. He hated it when he lost an ace in the hole. "Always nice when people pay off their debts with the bank," he said sarcastically.
"Isn't it though?" Luke answered. "And now, please have Della Raye get the deed for us and we'll be on our way."
"Oh, well, late as it is, I don't know that I can," Boss spluttered.
"Oh yes you can, Boss. And you will. Now get that deed," Luke said.
"Della Raye!" he yelled. "Please go get the deed for Jesse Duke's farm. They've just paid off the mortgage."
"Have it right here, Boss," Della Raye said, coming over with the paper. "Bo called and told me they were coming in. Congratulations, Uncle Jesse," she said, giving the older man a hug and presenting him with the deed. J.D. was nearly overcome with frustration, but managed to keep from completely losing his composure.
The family walked out of the bank and as they stood, looking at the General Lee, Bo said, "Uncle Jesse, I told you the General would pay that mortgage for you, and he did!"
Jesse smiled as he made his way down the steps and patted the General's top. "It's been a good car, boys," he said, and patted each on the back. "But more important, both of you are fine men." He tucked away the deed to his property in his pocket and took out his handkerchief to wipe his tears.