Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Dukes of Hazzard Characters or any of the Magnificent Seven characters.
Warning: Again, this hasn't been beta-ed. I apologise in advance for all the grammatical and spelling errors.
In town
The men plus one woman found themselves sitting in the Saloon once again. Dieter was trying to sooth Dixie while the others were fuming that a good man has been taken from their town. Eight men were standing around a table, looking at a map of Four Corners. Vin was the expert when it came to the land, so he took charge of laying out what they have to their advantage.
"Well, the good news is they've chosen a bad place to meet."
"How's that?" Chris asked him.
"My guess is they think they have the upper hand because there are so many rocks they can hide to plan an ambush." Vin told them.
"Sounds smart to me." Hank said.
"It would to anyone who didn't know the land." Vin pointed to a place on the map that was just after Hangman's rocks. "This is a steep, rocky slope. At the top of the slop is a perfect view of the whole area. We can sneak up behind them, if we make our way along White River, past Devil's Plain, we can come up behind them. They'll have maybe a couple of men there, but it's nothing we can't handle." Vin smirked.
"We can plan an ambush of our own." Hank said, liking the plan.
"That's the plan." Chris agreed, "The only problem is you'll be facing them straight on, while we ride around. You need to keep their eyes on you."
Hank nodded, "That's not a problem."
Dixie gasped, "No," she grabbed Hank and turned him around. "No, it's too dangerous."
Hank wiped away her tears and smiled. "I'm a Duke, Dixie. We have more than nine lives. Remember?"
"Then I'm coming with you." Dixie said.
Hank shook his head. He was afraid of this. Dixie always had her way in his family. She was a strong woman who could take care of herself, but Hank had to put is foot down. "Dixie…"
"I'm coming with you, Hank. I love Joe as much as you and Michael, I'm not…"
"AND I'M NOT LOSING YOU TOO!" Hank bellowed. The room went silent and only Dixie's sobs were heard. Hank sighed, "Aw Dixie." Hank pulled her into a hug, rubbing circles on her back to sooth her. "You've been like a sister to me and Joe since you met Michael. I know you can handle yourself, but when I'm out there, I don't want to have to worry about you too, because you know I will be. I can't do what I have to do to get Joe back, if you're in danger as well." Hank pulled back and looked her in the eye. "I need you here, Dixie." He waited for her answer and was relieved when Dixie nodded. She hated to have to stay behind but she knew Hank was right.
"Bring him back." Dixie ordered. Dieter walked up to them and put his arm around Dixie.
"I'll take care of her while you're gone. She'll be safe." Dieter promised.
"Thanks, Dieter." Hank was glad to have met Dieter. He's proven to be a valuable friend to their family.
Once Chris saw that Hank had sorted his side of things, Chris took charge. "Josiah, we can't leave the town unprotected. You and J.D stay in town."
Josiah knew it to be true but he was worried. "They'll have reinforcements. Six enough?"
Chris nodded, "We'll have to bring along the dynamite. Four or five sticks should be enough."
"You have dynamite?" Hank was surprised. These men didn't look like they would use dynamite.
Buck nodded, "Confiscated it from a gang we caught a couple of weeks ago."
Hank smiled, "You boys have bow and arrows?"
Vin frowned, but nodded. "I was taught to use them by the commanche."
"Ever tie dynamite to an arrow and let it fly?" Hank asked. The others looked at him, thinking he was mad. "More accurate than throwing it. Can get farther as well."
"Sounds like fun!" Buck crowed.
"Damn it, you guys get all the fun." J.D complained.
"Alright, that's enough. Buck, go get the dynamite. Vin, how many bows and arrows, do you have?" Chris got them back on track.
"Just the one bow, Chris. Plenty of arrows."
"I have a bow at the church. Present from Chanu when I visited him last." Josiah said, "I'll go get it." Vin, J.D and Josiah were about to leave when Hank spoke up.
"I just wanted y'all to know, I appreciate this. I know I haven't been the easiest person to be around and y'all don't have to help me, but ya are, so…Thank you." Hank spoke from the heart and they all heard it. Standing with them was no longer the stubborn and hot tempered man they met a couple of days ago, but the man his family know him to be; compassionate, protective, smart and not too proud.
"We'll get Joe back." Chris said simply. The others who were close to Hank gave him a slap on the shoulder, others tipped their hat and gave a smile.
Sunrise
Five out of seven peacekeepers were getting ready for the showdown with the Audron Gang. Dynamites were tied to arrows and packed securely on their horses. J.D was saddling Peso while Vin started looking for tracks. It didn't take him long to find them. Vin head back to the livery when he got the general direction. "Thanks, J.D!" Vin jumped on his horse. "They headed east! If we can find their camp, there could be more clues. If we're lucky, we can turn the tables."
The others mounted their horse. "Let's ride!" Chris called. The sound of the horse hooves, in the quiet morning, was like a thunderstorm and that storm was headed to rain down on the men who dared to hurt a Duke.
Dixie stared after them, visibly shaking for her cousin. Josiah stepped up beside her. "Do you have faith in your cousin?" He deep voice was a comfort. Dixie nodded. "I have faith in my brothers. Seems to me we have the advantage." Dixie turned to him and smiled, nodding she wiped away her tears.
Outskirts of Four Corners.
Frank Audrey and his gang were breaking up camp. Four more men have joined them just before sunrise. Joe was barely conscious. The gang were almost relentless in their torture, each finding new ways of causing him pain, but in the end it was Frank who caused the most excruciating pain Joe had ever felt. For every cut Frank made with his knife, it was followed by cauterising it. "Don't want you dying from infection before the real fun begins, now do we?" He had said. Joe had cuts, broken bones, and burns all over his chest and arms. The knife wound in the leg had stopped bleeding but infection was starting to set in. Alone, these wounds were not life threatening, but together, they were more than any man should have to endure.
Joe was woken up again, with cold water in the face. Joe lifted his head and groaned. Opening his eyes, he saw that Frank was in front of him again. He didn't care now. They could do whatever they want; he just took comfort in the thought that they won't be alive much longer when Hank got to them. Frank pulled the gag out of his mouth. "You're going on a one way trip." Frank told him. "And by the time someone finds what's left of your body, the vultures would've digested most of it already."
There was no fear in Joe's eyes, which angered Frank. He wanted this man to beg for his life, but he did no such thing throughout the torture and now, in the face of death, he still wouldn't give Frank the satisfaction. "I'll see you in hell." Joe whispered, his throat wouldn't allow a higher volume.
Angry Frank pulled the bandana back up, getting up, he yelled out. "Jeremy! Take him half a mile West and stake him to the ground, then join us. I want him to watch as the vultures start feeding on him."
Joe bit back another groan as his arms were release and the pain in his shoulders flared up. George helped his brother get Joe on the back of his horse. He was thrown over the horse on his front. The position was causing more damage to his ribs and chest. Jeremy rode out, glad to be the one to carry out this sentence. It was payback for his knee.
Frank turned to the others. "Y'all know the plan. When we get to Hangman's Rocks, spread out and stay hidden. I don't want this guy to get away. He will pay for Jake's life! Then after that, we'll take the town."
Three hours later…
The ride out was slow. Vin was trying his hardest to not miss any clues. They already had to double back twice because the tracks were getting harder to follow, but Vin could tell now that he was on the right track. As he tracked, he learnt exactly what he was looking for and the track was now getting easier to follow. Half an hour later they came to what looked at be an abandoned camp. Vin got off his horse. "This was their camp." The men waited on their horses, patiently, for Vin to do his magic. Kneeling on the ground, he carefully looked at all the tracks around him. "There's eight of them. Four only joined them this morning." Hank marvelled at the information Vin was getting from the marks on the ground. He followed a track to a tree. He closed his eyes when he saw the blood soaked into the ground. "Nathan, get over here." Nathan dismounted and headed over. Hank followed, knowing that there was only one reason Vin would call on Nathan. "That's lot of blood." Hank froze at the sight of it. His cousin's blood. He clenched his fist, trying to keep his emotions in check.
Nathan knelt down and felt the ground with the blood. "It's dry." Getting a knife, he dug into the ground. "It hasn't soaked far into the dirt. The blood loss isn't life threatening." Hank unclenched his fist. For now, he can still assume Joe's alive. Vin nodded and got up. Looking around he frowned and walked to the west of the camp. Looking at the tracks there, he turned to Chris. "Change of plans, Cowboy. We need to split up."
"What you find?" Chris asked.
"One horse went this way and by the looks of the tracks, the horse is carrying two people." Vin revealed. He walked to the other side of the camp. "Seven went this way."
"That way's Hangman's Rocks." Chris nodded, "Only one reason I can think of why one of the men went that way."
Vin nodded, "They've taken Joe that way." Hank looked at him, afraid to ask, but Vin was quick to relieve him of the thought. "They wouldn't bother taking him anywhere if he were dead. There's another reason why they took him that way." He turned to Chris. "We know fer sure, where the seven are headed. Me and Nathan will follow these tracks. Y'all get to the meeting point." Hank looked between each man, torn between which way to go. He wanted to get the men who took his cousin, but he also wanted to be there when they found him.
Vin walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "I know you don't know me, but trust me. I'll find your cousin, but on the off chance that I'm wrong, and I'm rarely wrong with tracks, you need to be at the meeting place on time." Hank still wasn't sure. "Hangman's Rocks are not far from here. When I find Joe, I'll fire a shot in the air. Once for if he's gone." Hank took in a sharp breath at the thought, "Twice for if he's alive." Vin gripped his shoulder and looked him in the eye. "Whichever way, you rain hell on those men." Hank looked into those sky blue eyes and suddenly recognised him, but he didn't care because at the same time he realised he could trust this man.
"Thank you, Vin Tanner." Vin raised an eyebrow at him and then smiled. "Let's go, Nathan!" They mounted their horse and headed west while the others and Hank left to implement their plan. They had enough time to ride around Hangman's Rock and come up behind the gang.
Nathan and Vin rode for another half an hour, carefully following the tracks Vin found. A sound in the sky caught Vin's attention. Looking up and shielding his eyes from the harsh sun, Vin saw them. "Vultures." Vin and Nathan nudged their horses into a run. Only one reason vultures would be flying overhead. Something or someone was dead or dying. Five minute later, Vin saw him. "There!" Vin jumped off Peso before he even came to a full stop. "Joe!" He skidded to a stop next to the man, staked, spread-eagle on the hot desert ground. He was furious at what he saw. There wasn't a spot on Joe's torso that weren't cut, bruised, burnt or torn and the sun has been beating down on his battered body for far too long. He tapped, Joe's face, "Joe!" Nathan came up to them with his medical kit and water. "He ain't answerin', Nate. Tell me I'm firing two bullets and not one." He pleaded with the healer.
Nathan place two fingers on his Joe's pulse. He waited then looked up at Vin. His expression was unreadable.
Chris, Ezra, Buck and Hank were waiting just out of range of a spy glass, from Hangman's Rocks. They were early. They only needed another hour to ride around the rocks. Hank took a drink from his water skin. Ezra could see that his hands were shaking. Up until a year ago, Ezra wouldn't have understood how this man felt, but today, he did. If the one captured were one of the seven peacekeepers…it was an unbearable thought. "You must have faith in our tracker, Mr Duke. He has yet to fail his comrades."
For once, Hank understood him. "Y'all seem to have a lot of faith in him. Why is that?"
"Mr…Vin," Ezra amended, although he would place money on this man being an honourable man, he will not stake Vin's life on it. "has proven himself more than once during our acquaintance and I would place my life on the gambling table on Vin's acquisition of your cousin." All heads snapped up when a gun shot was heard. Ezra placed a hand on Hank's shoulder as they waited for another sound. Hank's heart was beating at double the speed, waiting. He had never heard a more beautiful sound than that second shot. Buck whooped. Chris came over and slapped him on the back. Ezra grinned, giving his shoulder a squeeze, "As I was stating, I would stake my life on Vin's tracking skills."
"Now for some fun. Hank, you don't need to do what these say anymore. What do you want to do?" Chris asked him, he'll let Hank make the call this time.
Hank sneered at him. "I want to blow those bastards up!"
