A/N: Hey everybody! Thanks for all your reviews guys, I appreciate it! This is by far the longest chapter I've done yet, but that just means there's more Bo and Luke for you... More whumping, nothing graphic. A huge 'thank you' goes out to the ever-fabulous Hazzard Husker for agreeing to be my beta!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Dukes.


Chapter 7 – Appomattox

"That's it," Haynes muttered. "Closer, closer…" He was pleased. Now he would finally get those meddling Duke boys out of his hair. The obnoxious orange car was cruising cautiously down the road, as if they thought that by driving slower, everyone would somehow miss a bright orange car with a rebel flag painted on top. It didn't matter. A few meters more and they'd be in shooting range.

"Almost," Haynes started to say when the shots suddenly rang out, reverberating oddly through the still evening air. "No!" the sheriff yelled in frustration and anger as the orange car screeched off, leaving rubber behind on the road. Those damn deputies!

"You shot too soon!" he barked into the CB, enraged. "You idiots! Get after them!"

Hasty apologies and jumbled attributions of blame were the only response Haynes got as he took off after the Duke boys, the deputies falling in behind him.

"Drive, Bo!" Luke urged as he turned around to watch the chase. "They was waitin' for us!"

"I'm gone," Bo answered, pushing the General as fast as he dared through town. At this point the sun had all but disappeared over the horizon, leaving the road covered in shadow. He didn't want to hit a careless pedestrian by mistake. Once he'd left the town limits behind, however, he pushed the pedal down to the floor and flew down the road at top speed.

"That Haynes sure is a determined little cuss," Luke noted, still watching behind them. "He's stickin' with ya, cuz. Can't you go no faster?"

"You wanna try an' do better?" Bo demanded without looking at Luke. He knew the roads better than anyone in Hazzard, but he still had to be careful in the dark. "Maybe I oughtta pull over and let you take over, huh?"

Before Luke got a chance to respond, Haynes saved him the trouble. "Give it up, Duke boys. You ain't gettin' away this time."

Bo grabbed the CB mike before Luke could get to it. "Oh yeah?" he challenged. "Watch us."

"I just wanna thank you boys in advance," Haynes continued mockingly as if he hadn't heard. "Once y'all are outta the way, ain't gonna be no problem at all gettin' the old man and your purty little cousin."

"You stay away from them!" Bo snarled. "They don't know nothin' about any of this. Just leave 'em out of it!"

"Little late for that, boys. Maybe I'll have me some fun with little Daisy first. Whaddya think about that?" Haynes snickered to himself. His orders were to bring them all in alive, but the Dukes didn't know that. They were just too easy to toy with… the rage in the Duke boy's voice as he shouted back a few inventive expletives filled the crooked sheriff with a giddy sense of sardonic amusement.

In the General, Luke grabbed the mike away from his cousin, glaring at him. "Bo, you just watch the road. Can't ya see he's just tryin' to get you all riled up?"

"Luke, if anythin' happens to Daisy or Uncle Jesse-"

"Ain't nothin' gonna happen if we get to 'em first. But we can't even get to the farm unless you lose these jokers." The words were barely out of his mouth when the first bullet shot through the rear window and out the front, coming right in between the boys.

"Watch out!" Bo yelled to Luke, rather needlessly. He swung the wheel left, then immediately ducked back to the right again. "I'd really like a moment alone with that creep," he said angrily. "I'd teach him a lesson or two!"

"He'd drop you like a bug," Luke retorted. "Even providin' you got past them other three first."

"Cute."

"Havin' fun yet, Duke boys?" Haynes voice filled the air. "Now I ain't gonna tell y'all again. I want you to-"

But what exactly Haynes wanted, the boys never found out. The voice was suddenly cut off as two more bullets ripped uncomfortably close to the cousins' heads. Luke turned around in his seat.

"Aw, great," he muttered as he spotted the reason behind the sudden radio silence. "He'd never be able to make that shot again if he tried."

"What just happened?" Bo asked, trying to keep the General on the road while zig-zagging crazily to avoid more bullet holes in his beloved car. Or in his cousin.

"He just shot off our antenna." Luke pounded the dashboard. "Dang it, now we gotta get outta here. We need to warn Jesse an' Daisy that Hughie's after the whole family now. They'd best be layin' low somewhere."

"No problem," Bo replied, turning to look at Luke. "I can lose 'em. There's a place in the road right after this bridge-"

"Bo!" Luke yelled, sitting up straight in his seat as the road suddenly ended. The General Lee could fly over just about any creek, gully, or ditch in Hazzard County. Unfortunately for the Dukes, it didn't look like 'just about' was going to cover Henderson's Gap, which Bo had just driven off.

Luke had always heard that time seemed to slow down during a car accident. It seemed to be true… at any rate, he had plenty of time to wonder why, of all days, the bridge had to choose this one to be broken down. There were two bridges over the gap, for crying out loud. Why couldn't it have been the other one? Bridges were always out for one reason or another in Hazzard County, but in the pace of the moment, both Dukes had forgotten to be wary of this fact.

This entire thought process flashed through Luke's mind as the ground on the other side of the gap came rushing up to meet them.. He was braced for impact, his eyes squeezed tightly shut. After what seemed like an eternity of being airborne, the General finally collided with the ground with a shattering force.

Thanks to Bo's lightning fast reflexes, the younger Duke had been able to slam the gas pedal down only nanoseconds before leaving solid earth, which had provided them with just enough impetus to reach the other side instead of the instantaneous death that would have resulted had they taken the drop all the way down to the bottom of the gap. Unfortunately, there was no way to land the General safely after such a rocky flight. Even with his eyes closed, Luke could feel from the movement of the car as it skidded sideways, flipped over, and rolled down a small incline before smashing to a standstill. Then all was quiet.

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Behind the General, Haynes had gained far too much speed and momentum following the Dukes to come to a straight stop. As soon as he saw the taillights in the General Lee disappear over the edge, he slammed on his own brakes and swung the patrol car to the side, spinning out and coming to a halt right on the edge of the gully.

Haynes sat in his seat for a moment, shaking slightly, fully aware of just how close to death he had come. The deputies had been able to stop without a problem, being much further behind, but if he had waited just one extra second… Peering out of the drivers side window, he could just make out the bottom of the gap far below. He frowned suddenly. Where was the damned orange car? Haynes squinted downwards into the darkness, his eyes examining every inch of the gully. Slowly, his gaze roamed upwards until it hit the other side of Henderson's Gap.

"There's no way," he muttered to himself. How was that even possible? For there, on the other side with the taillights glaring patronizingly back at him, was the General Lee. Somehow, the Duke boy must have found enough lift at the edge of the road to make it to the other side, which was much lower than where he was sitting. The landing must have gone horribly wrong, however. As his eyes readjusted on the other car, he saw that it wasn't moving. The roof was smashed in and the back end was extremely low to the ground, and the entire body was dented and scraped as though it had rolled over more than once.

"Damn it!" Haynes yelled. He grabbed the CB. "They made it across. There's another bridge not too far from here," he called to his deputies. "It looks like they flipped the car… it ain't goin' nowhere, and they can't get far on foot. Let's go!"

Flooring the gas pedal with malicious determination, Haynes and his three deputies shot down the road heading for the second bridge. The Dukes wouldn't be escaping him this time.

Bo bit his lip in pain as he slowly pulled himself out of the General. By some miracle, he wasn't seriously injured. A few bumps and bruises, but by and large he felt alright.

"Thank God for seatbelts," he muttered to himself, collapsing down to the ground. "Luke, you ok?"

"Just swell," he heard his cousin answer from inside the General. Bo groaned and pulled himself back up to his feet to look in the car. Luke was sitting motionless, not trying to get out, and he looked paler than Bo would have liked to see.

"Whatsa matter?" Bo asked worried. "We gotta go. It ain't that far to that other bridge. Haynes an' his boys'll be here any minute."

"I know," Luke said pensively. "My leg's stuck. You're gonna have to come help me out."

Bo nodded and hurried to the other side of the car. Looking in, he could see that the front part of the car had completely buckled in when the General had flipped and was pinning Luke's leg to the floor.

"What do I do, Luke?" Bo asked, managing to hold back panic. "What… how do I…"

"It's ok, Bo," Luke said calmly. "It's not too bad. Just give me your hand an' pull."

Grasping hands, Bo and Luke both pulled for all they were worth. Luke tried not to yell as he felt his leg slowly coming free of the wreckage, twisting at unnatural angles. With his other hand, he grabbed on to the door jamb and used brute muscle mass to help lever himself out from under the car's mangled front.

"Come on, Luke!" Bo yelled as he gritted his teeth and yanked hard. Luke gasped as he was suddenly pulled free and fell out of the General on top of Bo.

"Ow!"

"Sorry, Bo," Luke wheezed, laughing painfully. "But thanks. I gotta sit here a minute." He leaned back against the car, running a hand over the damaged side ruefully. "Poor General… looks like he finally met his Appomattox."

"Luke…. Luke I'm so sorry."

"Sorry? For what?" Luke demanded.

"For that," Bo answered, pointing at the General. "I should've been able to land that."

"Land that?" Luke laughed again, though it still hurt. "Bo, if anyone else in the world had been drivin', we'd be dead right now. You did great, cuz. Ya got us outta that little mess alive."

Bo shrugged and nodded, but then froze as the sound of sirens filled his ears. They were coming.

"We're outta time, Luke!" Bo yelled fearfully. "Come on, we gotta get outta here!" He grabbed his cousin's arm and pulled him to his feet. "Luke, come on!"

Luke bit back a cry of pain as he tried to put weight on his ankle. His leg buckled underneath him. "Never mind that, Bo, stand me up by the General." He grabbed onto the faithful car's damaged hood and leaned heavily on it to stay upright. The headlights which were rapidly approaching told them that the deputies' car was speeding towards them.

"Luke!" Bo said, wavering. "What…whaddya think you're doin'?"

"Run, cousin," Luke answered quietly. There was no way he was going anywhere, hardly able to stand, let alone run. "Ya gotta go. I'll hold 'em off as long as I can."

"Forget it," Bo said stubbornly, planting himself next to Luke. "Ain't no way I'm leavin' ya here alone."

"Bo, run!" Luke yelled angrily, shoving his little cousin away from him. Bo shook his head, staring wide eyed at Luke. "Bo," Luke tried again, pleading. "they're gonna be after Uncle Jesse and Daisy next! You're the only one who can get away, ya gotta warn them! Hazzard's lost if Hughie gets both of us. It's up to you, now. Please, cousin, ain't no time left. Run!"

Bo swallowed the lump in his throat. He knew Luke was right, but he just couldn't abandon him. Still shaking his head, he backed away, with Luke's encouraging nod. Then, trying to keep the tears from spilling out of his eyes, he took off towards the treeline.

Luke heaved a sigh of relief and turned his attention back to the approaching car with a lighter heart. He wasn't sure how far Hughie was willing to go this time. He didn't know what had happened to Rosco and Cooter – could only hope that they were still alive somewhere – but at least it was him, not Bo, who was about to find out. He stood his ground as firmly as he could, still leaning heavily on the General and testing his foot as the patrol car came to a halt four feet away. A second car pulled in behind them.

"Stay where you are, Duke!" a nasty voice called out. Luke had to squint against the glare of the headlights blinding him. "Spread out, men! Find the other one!"

"You're too late, Haynes!" Luke called back contemptuously, determined not to show his own fear. "Y'all's car cain't get to the woods, and ain't none of you man enough to catch Bo on foot!"

The sheriff swore angrily, knowing the Duke was right. If Bo had indeed reached the woods, he was as good as gone. He'd have to settle for just the one Duke, at least for now. Little did he know, he was close enough that he could have reached out and simply grabbed Bo, who had doubled back and crouched down in the shrubbery by the roadside.

Bo wasn't stupid… he knew he wouldn't stand a chance if he tried to take on all four of them, but he was at least going to make sure that Luke didn't get himself killed. If they just wanted to arrest his cousin, Bo would sneak back off to the farm to collect Daisy and Jesse. If they decided to go a step further, however…. Bo's hands curled into fists. No matter how much he loved the rest of his family, he would neverlet Lukedie alone. Not without a fight.

"Alright boys, let's get this one back to Hughie then," Haynes commanded, reaching into his car. Bo exhaled slowly, thanking the Lord that the corrupt policemen apparently had orders to bring in the family alive. Bad as Hughie was becoming, he hadn't yet crossed that particular line.

Satisfied that Luke was in no immediate danger, Bo turned and started crawling as quietly and carefully as he could, his heart breaking at the knowledge of what he was doing. Haynes was angry…very angry. There was going to be a fight, and Bo couldn't be there. He and Luke always had each others backs in a fight, but not this time. This time it would be four against one, and Luke was already hurt.

"I'm sorry, Luke," he whispered, cursing Hughie for putting him in the position where he had to choose between turning his back on Luke or abandoning Daisy and Jesse. He knew his cousin would never forgive him for getting himself caught as well, but for what he was doing, he wasn't sure how he'd be able to forgive himself.

---------------------------------------------------

Brooke heaved a sigh of relief as she pulled up to the curb outside the jail, thankful to be back in somewhat familiar territory. She sat in her car a minute, collecting her thoughts from the week's events, then she slowly got out and headed up the steps towards the jail. She was worried sick about Rosco, Cooter, and the boys. If only the CBs weren't so darn temperamental…she had lost radio contact with them quite a while back and had no way of knowing where they were or what had happened in the hours since she had last spoken to them.

Anxious as she was to get to the Dukes' hiding place, she knew she couldn't act like she knew anything was amiss. With this in mind, Brooke decided to grab a cup of coffee from the breakroom before checking out with Haynes for the night, as she would have done under normal circumstances. She had just barely poured the coffee, however, when she heard the front door slam open with a bang down the hall, and a rowdy commotion filled the air.

"Boss! We got another one of 'em, Cousin Boss!"

"Boss Hughie! Boss, we got him!"

"Just one? Which one? Which one didja get?"

Frowning, Brooke stood and headed back towards the source of the ruckus. She nearly gasped out loud at the sight that met her eyes. Only years upon years of training herself to keep a completely blank expression no matter what trouble she was facing kept her from crying out in anger.

Sheriff Haynes and the three deputies were dragging Luke in as Hughie watched on gleefully. Luke's face looked like a bloody mess and he seemed to be having trouble walking. He looked slightly dazed and Brooke was sure he'd probably been hit in the head more than once. As the deputies shoved him forward, Luke stumbled and fell heavily to his knees.

"Well, well, well. Luke Duke!" Hughie snickered ecstatically while the other men pulled him to his feet. "Get 'im downstairs with the others. Hot dog! Just three more to go now!"

Brooke watched on, the horror masked behind her unrevealing gray eyes as Luke struggled to keep his footing while the deputies pulled him down the stairs to the jail cells below. Adopting a face of vague curiosity, Brooke followed them nonchalantly, not even earning a glance from Hughie or the sheriff heading into the office as she passed them by.

"Luke!" Brooke heard someone cry out the Duke's name in obvious concern, followed by the sound of a harsh slap and a grunt of pain. She reached the top of the stairs to watch what was going on. Cooter was reeling back from the bars of one cell door, falling to the ground after apparently having just been knocked back by one of the deputies. The former Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane was sitting inside the cell next to him, looking utterly lost and watching with a face that suggested he was only barely aware of what was going on.

"Stay back!" the deputy snarled at Cooter as he unlocked the cell door. "Marv, watch him while I get this one in there." The door was opened and one of the other men swept into the cell, standing over Cooter with the gun pointed at his chest while Jack heaved Luke in. With his hands cuffed behind him, Luke had no way of keeping his balance and he fell heavily to the hard ground next to Cooter. The deputy standing guard backed out slowly and the barred door swung shut.

"Hey, wait a second!" Cooter yelled, jumping back to his feet. "You ain't taken the cuffs off 'im! Get back here!"

"He'll live," Jack sneered. "Now y'all just sit down an' shut up."

Turning, the three deputies laughed malevolently and headed up the stairs. Brooke smiled vaguely and followed them after winking swiftly at Cooter and Luke. She couldn't be seen talking alone to them, and had no desire to arouse Hughie's suspicions about her.

The four deputies reached the top of the stairs as Hughie and Haynes emerged from the office. Hughie quickly signaled them over, and was about to say something when Haynes cleared his throat quietly and raised an eyebrow in Brooke's direction.

"Right," Hughie said quickly. Brooke put on her best innocent face and pretended not to notice Haynes' actions. "Brooklyn, darlin', you can go on home now. I just gotta have me a few words with these folks here."

"Alright, Hughie," Brooke said with a perky smile. "I'll see you tomorrow morning then."

There was no point trying to sneak back in for a listen. In the tiny room with all five men standing in a circle, there was nowhere for Brooke to hide that they wouldn't see her. Even the door had been propped open so all four men could bring Luke in, so she couldn't stand outside the room and listen either. Trying not to show her impatience, Brooke headed outside and got in her patrol car. It was too risky to radio the Duke farm, even assuming her darn CB would decide to be working. Starting the car, Brooke drove across the street and pulled into the alley behind Cooter's garage, where the Dukes liked to park when they wanted to avoid being seen.

"Go on, then," Brooke muttered to herself as she watched the front doors of the jailhouse from the dark. "Whatever you guys are going to do, just get out of my way already."

She couldn't lie to herself…she was worried. Things were looking bad for Hazzard. Rosco, Cooter, and Luke were all in jail – out of the game, for the most part. She had no idea what had happened to Bo, or why they hadn't caught him with Luke, and she couldn't help but assume the worst. Daisy and Jesse might be alright for the moment, but Brooke's quick mind had come to the same conclusion that Hughie's had, and she knew they wouldn't be safe for long.

Brooke rubbed her forehead, sighing. She hated to think that he would be in so much trouble. Everyone in Hazzard was in trouble, of course, but it broke her heart especially when she thought of him. She had to do something.

She didn't have long to sit and brood, however. Brooke watched from the alley as the doors burst open and two of the deputies plus Haynes hurried out, driving off in their separate cars. A few minutes later, Hughie followed. The other deputy, Brooke assumed, must have been relegated to guard over the jail for the night.

"About time," she said crossly to the open air around her. Glancing around cautiously, Brooke jogged swiftly across the street, back to the jail.

Boy, I tell you what. I sure hope that little gal and the Dukes come up with some kind of plan, and fast. I ain't sure how much more of Hughie I can take. Don't y'all go away now, hear?


A/N: Reviews are great... please and thank you!!