Disclaimer: don't own, except for Brooklyn Calloway!
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In a New York Minute
Chapter 1: Brooklyn Calloway
It was another ordinary day in Hazzard County. The weather was beautiful, the birds were singing, and Bo and Luke Duke were driving like madmen trying to shake Sheriff Rosco P. Coltraine from their tail. Bo Duke was in the driver's seat of their Dodge Charger (which was fondly referred to by Hazzard-ites as the General Lee) while Luke rode shotgun, keeping an eye on Rosco behind them.
"Come on, Bo!" he yelled in exasperation. "Since when can you drive any speed other than too fast?"
His cousin glared back at him through gorgeous baby blue eyes.
"I'm pushin' the General as fast as I can here, Luke. Something's wrong with him again. If I push him much faster, he's gonna fall apart right here! Is that what ya want?"
Luke was spared having to answer by Rosco's voice interrupting over the CB.
"All right, you Duke boys! Pull it over now, I'm serious this time!"
Luke laughed as he grabbed the CB.
"Rosco, when ain't ya serious when ya tell us to pull over? Look, whatever it is ya think we done, we both know me and Bo ain't done it."
"Oh yeah?" Rosco asked in what he apparently believed was a threatening manner. "Well, I got news for ya, Luke, you're in trouble this time! Khee khee! So, uh, you just tell your cousin to pull over now or I'll add 'evadin' arrest' to the charges!"
Bo took a hand off the wheel to grab the CB away from Luke.
"Rosco!" he yelled into it angrily, "me and Luke ain't got time for this! We got errands to run for Uncle Jesse and we're already runnin' late! You know he ain't gonna take kindly to ya for tryin' to slow us down! Now lay off, will ya?"
His request was answered by an angry burst of indignation from Rosco, followed by a long narrative of what the sheriff thought of low-down, no-account Dukes. Bo grinned and looked at his cousin, but sobered when he saw the look on Luke's face.
"What?" he asked defensively. "Figured it couldn't hurt to ask!"
"You just pay attention to drivin'!" Luke answered, glancing behind them. "Last thing we's needin' is to wreck and let ol' Rosco pin whatever stupid charge he's got on us this time."
"10-4, cuz," Bo said, still grinning. "Hazzard Pond is just down that road. Reckon we can lose him there." Speeding down the turnoff, Bo couldn't help but chuckle with heady adrenaline as he floored the accelerator and went barreling down the road and ramping the General up and over the small lake.
"YEEEEEEE-HAAAAAAAAAW!" Bo yelled as the General sounded "Dixie". They crashed down on the other side of the water, General Lee skidding around and fishtailing until he found his wheels again. Slowing to a stop, both cousins turned around to make sure that Rosco was alright. There was no way he had successfully made the jump – he never did – but the Duke boys always stopped to make sure that he hadn't injured himself.
"Shoot, he's fine," Luke said, smiling as he reached for the CB again. He called their friend Cooter, who also happened to own the only garage in Hazzard, to let him know that Rosco would be needing a tow. Again. Cooter was only too happy to oblige. It paid to have friends like the Dukes… as long as they stayed on the wrong side of Rosco, Cooter would never be hurting for customers.
By the time the Dukes pulled back into their farm, it was already almost noon. Jesse had been waiting for nearly an hour for the boys to get back. They had been running late due to their impromptu stop at the Boar's Nest to see their cousin Daisy, followed by Luke impatiently trying to drag Bo away from some cute girl who couldn't stop giggling and wouldn't let them leave until Bo promised to take her out on Friday night.
"Where you boys been?" Jesse asked in annoyance as soon as they came in through the kitchen. "I've been waitin' a half hour for ya so's we can start fixin' that fence in the back forty!"
"Sorry, Uncle Jesse," Bo said, pouring a glass of water. "We ran into Rosco on the way back."
Luke shook his head at his cousin's complete failure to mention that they had lost more time over Bo chasing girls than they had over being chased by Rosco. Fortunately, Jesse seemed to accept this and let the matter drop.
"What'd he say ya done this time?" he asked in disgust. Rosco was always picking on his boys, and it was getting old.
"Didn't stop to find out," Luke answered, shrugging. "Probably wanted to give us a parkin' ticket for stoppin' to let Miz Tizdale cross the road or somethin' like that."
Jesse shook his head. Sad as that was, he wouldn't put it past Rosco to do exactly that.
"Well, we ain't got time to be messin' with him today," he said standing up. "Come on boys, we got work to be doin'. Let's go."
Obediently, the boys jumped to their feet and headed out the door. Just as they were walking past the General to get to the back border of their property, however, the CB crackled to life.
"Breaker one, breaker one. Might be crazy, but I ain't dumb! Craaaaaaaazy Cooter comin' at ya! Any of you Dukes got your ears on? Come back."
Luke grabbed the CB. "Yeah, this here's Luke. What's goin' on, Cooter?"
"Hey there, Lukas Dukas! Listen, figured I'd go ahead and warn y'all, y'all got some company headed up to see ya."
"Who? Rosco? Dang, he really does wanna get us for somethin'."
Bo grabbed the CB from Luke again as Jesse shifted impatiently. The last thing they needed was Rosco trying to stir up trouble again.
"Cooter, is Rosco-"
"It ain't Rosco, fellas." Cooter's voice interrupted Bo. The three Dukes stared at each other in confusion.
"Well then… if it's not the sheriff, who is it?" Bo asked, trying to think who else would be on their way to the farm that Cooter would call ahead and warn them about.
They could practically hear Cooter's grin through the CB as he answered. "It's a girl."
"Chrys?" Bo guessed, thinking of the pretty girl he'd met at the Boar's Nest earlier. Luke rolled his eyes and punched his cousin's arm.
"Nope, guess again," Cooter said gleefully. This time it was Jesse's turn to grab the mike away from Bo. His patience was wearing thin and they were still nowhere nearer fixing the fence. It didn't look like they were going to get any closer any time soon, either.
"Cooter, we ain't got time for games! What's goin' on here?"
"New deputy, Uncle Jesse. Rosco just swore her in this morning, apparently. Seems like Boss Hogg and Rosco have already told her all about you folks. She stopped by the garage this mornin' to ask about you. I tried to set her straight of course, but I ain't sure how much good it did. Anyways, I told Rosco it'd be a couple hours to fix his patrol car, so he just up an' sent this new deputy of his after y'all instead. I tried to call y'all earlier, but I only just now got Rosco to wait somewhere's else. She's probably nearly there by now, she took off outta here like a bat outta hell when Rosco told her where to go."
Great, Luke thought. Just what they needed. Another deputy who, by the sound of things, had already decided to be against them.
"Cooter, any idea what Rosco wants us for this time?" Luke asked, back in possession of the CB mike.
"That's a negative, buddyro. If it's anythin' bad though, ya might wanna get a move on. She's got a good head start on ya."
"Alright, much obliged, Cooter. We're gone."
"10-4 buddyro, I'm gone too."
Luke tossed the mike back into the General and looked to Uncle Jesse. The older man sighed, knowing that his fence wouldn't be fixed that day.
"Hey, uh, Luke?" Bo said impatiently. "How about us just findin' somewhere else to be for a while?"
"Too late," Luke groaned, looking over Bo's shoulder at the drive where a patrol car was already pulling up. "That sure didn't take long. Whatever it is that Rosco thinks he's got on us, he sure is in a hurry to get us arrested."
The Dukes stood together and watched as the patrol car made its way towards the General. Jesse instinctively stepped in front of the boys. If they had to make a run for it, at least he could try to give them a little time to get away. Any deputy that Rosco and Boss were happy to get could only mean trouble for anyone with the name of Duke. He tensed slightly as the car stopped and the new Hazzard County deputy stepped out.
Had the circumstances been different, Bo would have been more than pleased to meet this girl. She was very attractive, with her dark hair and grey eyes. What struck him, however, was her charisma. She couldn't have been much older than himself, and was certainly younger than Luke, but she carried herself with a kind of mysterious aura. After getting out of the car, she merely stood without speaking, observing each of the Duke family in turn. When her gaze fell on him, Bo found himself to be, inexplicably, blushing. It wasn't an uncomfortable stare that she was giving him, but she seemed to be looking through him instead of at him and he wasn't at all sure that he liked it. He stared back defiantly, but her face was unreadable, her eyes guarded.
After a short pause, the new deputy seemed to come to a conclusion. Her masked expression suddenly dropped and she smiled. The effect was amazing. Her face seemed to warm up immediately, giving her a much friendlier appearance. She stepped towards Uncle Jesse.
"Mr. Duke?" she asked politely. Jesse stared at her with a slight frown. Her accent was that of a city dweller, and decidedly northern. Perfect, he thought. Not just a new deputy, a new Yankee deputy.
"That's right," he answered her suspiciously.
"Would you do me a favor and hand me the keys to your car there?" she asked politely. "I need to talk to you all and I'd rather you boys not take off on me."
Jesse nodded at Bo, who grudgingly leaned into the General and pulled the keys out of the ignition. He tossed them to the deputy, who caught them deftly and stuck them in her jacket pocket. She turned back to Jesse and extended her hand.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," she said. "Deputy Brooklyn Calloway."
Well, friends, I just don't know what to make of this. What do y'all reckon a pretty little Yankee like that is doing working for Boss and Rosco?
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A/N: Hey guys, how am I doing so far? It's my first try here, so reviews are welcome and helpful. Please review, it would really make my day! Thanks!