A/N: Yay! Thanks for all the reviews everyone, it made me feel great! I bet y'all can do just as good for this chapter too. Thanks again to HazzardHusker the fantastic beta, everyone give her a round of applause :)
Disclaimer: No profit, just a cure for boredom and unused creative energy.
Chapter 8 – Repair and Regroup
After Hughie's men and Brooke made their way back up the stairs, Cooter wasted no time getting back to Luke and making sure he was ok.
"Luke," he said softly, turning his friend over onto his back. "Luke, can ya hear me?" Luke's eyes were closed, but he seemed to still be conscious. His nose was still bleeding and his lip had been split from a well placed punch. "Come on, buddyro, talk to me," Cooter pleaded, slapping Luke's cheek lightly.
"Cooter," Luke whispered. He groaned in agony as he tried to sit himself up. Cooter pushed him gently back down.
"Don' try sittin' up just yet. I'm sorry, I ain't got nothin' to get them cuffs off. You hurt?"
"Ankle," Luke said painfully, motioning to his foot. Cooter nodded and gently pried off Luke's boot, trying to ignore the gasps of pain from his friend. As the boot finally came free, Cooter could see how badly swollen Luke's ankle was. Grabbing a sheet off of the bunk, Cooter tore off a strip and wrapped Luke's ankle as best as he could, figuring if they could at least immobilize it for now, maybe he could persuade Hughie to let them have some ice in the morning to bring the swelling down.
As he was working on the makeshift bandage, Cooter kept talking to Luke, trying both to keep his friend's mind off the pain and to relieve his own anxiety. "Whatcha done to yourself this time, Lucas?"
"General... you're gonna have to fix the General," Luke whispered, his eyes staring unfocusedly back.
"Luke… stay with me. What happened? Where's Bo?"
"Told him to run," Luke muttered, wincing at the pressure of the bandage. "I held 'em off so he could run."
"And Jesse an' Daisy?"
"Bo'll take care of 'em." Luke said. He opened his eyes and looked around. He'd been pretty out of it for the trip back, and was still struggling to connect the fuzzy pieces in his mind. "What's goin' on here, Cooter?"
Finishing his work, the mechanic sat back and shrugged. "From what I been able to hear, they's just wantin' anyone who'd be able to figure out what's goin' on outta the way. That pretty much means all you Dukes, me, and ol' Rosco."
"Rosco?" Luke repeated in confusion, suddenly catching sight of the former sheriff, still sitting in the other cell forlornly. At the sight of him, Luke's brain snapped back in to efficiency mode. The events of the past few hours came rushing back with full clarity. "Rosco, you alright?"
Rosco didn't answer. He was still staring at a single spot on the floor without moving.
"He's been like that," Cooter said quietly. "Rosco was here before I was. He ain't said a word, just sits there lookin' at the floor."
"They killed Flash," Luke explained. "I'm bettin' that's all they had to do to make him shut down."
"They what?" Cooter yelped, his eyes flashing in anger. "Those dirty polecats! No wonder poor ol' Rosco ain't in the mood for conversation," he added in a softer voice. Neither of the boys were ever likely to be best friends with Rosco, but they couldn't help but feel a swell of pity for the man, looking so lost in the other jail cell without his beloved dog.
Luke leaned back against the bars with a sigh, still feeling slightly dizzy. He really wanted to lay down and go to sleep, but he knew they weren't likely to be left in peace tomorrow and he wanted to have some sort of plan ready. Unfortunately, the pounding in his head was incredibly distracting and he was getting nowhere.
"Psst! Luke! Cooter!" The two men looked up as the voice hissed in from outside the window. Motioning for Cooter to help him to his feet, Luke limped over to the bunk and somehow managed to stand up on it. Unable to use his hands to steady himself, Luke had to lean heavily against the wall to see out the barred window.
"Cooter, keep an eye out for that deputy," he whispered to his friend, who nodded and took up a position in the corner where he could see the top of the stairs. Luke turned back to the window and strained to see through the darkness.
"You there?" he called, not seeing anyone. Brooke's face pulled out of the shadows where she was kneeling to examine him in concern.
"Are you okay?" she asked quietly. "You look horrible."
"Great to see you, too," Luke grinned. "What're ya doin' here?"
"Trying to figure out what's going on. First things first… where's the rest of your family?"
Luke shrugged as best as he could. "Last I saw Bo, he was headin' for the farm. Pretty sure I got him enough time to make it 'fore Haynes and them other creeps get out there."
Brooke nodded, heaving a sigh of relief and thanking God that the other Dukes were somewhat safe. The next order of business was to make sure none of the prisoners were seriously injured.
Surveying the three men carefully, Brooke was none too happy about what she saw. Luke still looked pale and drawn. He was still placing all his weight on only one foot, and his shoulders were probably aching by now from the handcuffs. Cooter looked uninjured for the most part, just a little disheveled. Rosco was the main concern, though he didn't appear to have any physical injury. Brooke cared as much about the ex-sheriff as the Dukes or Cooter, and she didn't like the look of his empty expression any more than they did.
"Ok," Brooke whispered, her analytical mind focusing on the issues at hand. One problem at a time. "Cooter," she called softly, beckoning the other man away from watching the stairs. "You're a mechanic…can you pick a lock?"
"Can I pick a lock?" Cooter repeated incredulously. "What kinda question is that? Course I can pick a lock."
"Good," Brooke said with a smile, tossing her keys through the barred window at him. "That's what you can tell those deputies tomorrow when they ask how Luke got the cuffs off."
Cooter nodded. Taking the keys, he released his friend from the handcuffs. Luke smiled gratefully and stretched out his arms, rolling his shoulders until the discomfort faded somewhat.
"Now Luke, sit down," Brooke ordered. "Is your ankle broken or just sprained?"
"It's fine," Luke answered, though he still settled himself down on the bunk where he could still see Brooke. "We need to figure out what-"
"No," Brooke interrupted. "It's not fine. If you keep walking on it, you're going to damage it more. Now is it broken or sprained?"
"Just twisted a little," Luke answered grudgingly, wishing his friend would focus more on getting help to his cousins and his uncle.
"Well, there's no way to get you any ice," Brooke said, almost to herself as she thought out loud. "You should probably wrap that up in something though."
Too tired to argue, Luke simply tugged the bottom of his jeans up to show her that Cooter had already seen to it.
"We may be country boys," Cooter said with a teasing grin, "but even we know how patch up a bum ankle."
Brooke grinned back, glad to see that Luke was already being taken care of, and moved down her mental checklist. She didn't really need to do anything for Cooter, who wasn't seriously hurt. This left Rosco as the focus of her attention. She tried to hide her confusion. Coltrane was the only one of the three who had not been physically subdued, yet he somehow seemed far more damaged than the other two.
"What's his story?" she asked quietly, nodding at the ex-sheriff.
"They shot his dog," Cooter answered, barely containing the rage from his voice. "Killed her, most likely right in front of 'im. He ain't takin' it well at all. It was bad enough the time someone accidentally kidnapped Flash, but now that she's actually gone…"
"Accidentally kidnapped his dog?" Brooke repeated, sensing that the story would probably have sounded much stranger if she was anywhere else in the world. "Never mind, I don't have much more time. Cooter, toss my keys back up here."
"Brooke, can't ya come talk to him or somethin'?" Luke asked her from the bunk as Cooter reached over him to pass Brooke's key ring back through the barred window.
Brooke stared at him. "Luke, I really don't think there's anything I can say that's going to snap him out of this."
"You're a psychologist!" Luke argued. "If anyone could…"
"I'm a criminal profiler, not a grief counselor," Brooke retorted. Nevertheless, her face softened as she looked back at Rosco's sad little form. "Ah, the hell with it," she whispered so softly that Luke almost missed it. Her face suddenly disappeared from view. Cooter jumped up on the bunk and pressed his face against the bars, but Brooke was nowhere in sight.
Less than a minute later, the boys heard soft footsteps descending the stairs to their room. Brooke came tiptoeing around the corner, glancing over her shoulder as she came.
"That other deputy was snoozing in the break room. With any luck he'll stay like that," she whispered softly as she came in.
"Why don't we just bust outta here now then?" Cooter suggested quietly. Luke shook his head.
"Hughie's content to let us sit in jail right now. We escape, he ain't gonna be so lenient next time. We're stuck here 'til the others do somethin' about him." He stretched himself out on the bunk, wincing. "'Sides, I ain't gonna get very far like this."
Ignoring both men, Brooke instead headed straight for Rosco. Unlocking the door as silently as she could, she stepped inside and sat down next to Rosco.
"Rosco?" she prodded gently. There was no response. "Rosco, I know you're missing Flash." Still no answer.
"I don' think he knows anyone's there," Luke said quietly. Impulsively, Brooke suddenly wrapped both arms around Rosco, holding him close to her.
"We're still here, Rosco," she whispered, holding him tight. "Come back here. Come back to us. Flash sends you her love. She loves you and she's proud of you, but we still need you to help us get rid of the men who killed her."
She pulled out of the hug and knelt down on the floor in front of him, trying to meet his eyes. "Please, Rosco. Won't you do that for Flash? Can you hear me?"
Luke and Cooter watched wide-eyed, waiting to see if Rosco was able to respond yet. If he didn't make some kind of move soon, Luke was afraid that he might never recover at all. Brooke was also holding her breath, watching him carefully to detect any sign that he had heard a word that she had said. To their joy, Rosco suddenly blinked and lifted his head to look at the deputy sitting in front of him.
"There you are," Brooke whispered. "Let it out, Sheriff. I know it hurts, but you need to let it out."
Slowly, Rosco shook his head, looking down at the floor again. Brooke grabbed his shoulder. "Oh no you don't, Rosco. Don't you retreat on me. Look, I can't bring Flash back to you. But I promise you, I'm going to do whatever it takes to get Haynes behind bars. Got it? You have to stay with us at least that long. You owe it to Flash to see her killer take the fall. Can you do that?"
Again, there was a slight pause as the Brooke and the two other boys watched Rosco with bated breath. They needn't have worried however. The mention of Haynes seemed to light some sort of spark. He looked up at Brooke again, and nodded. Brooke was satisfied to see a slight flicker return to his eyes. She stood up and, taking the sheriff gently by the shoulders, pushed him down onto the bunk.
"I have to go now, Rosco. Remember, stay with us. Luke and Cooter are going to be here for you. Why don't you just try and get some sleep, ok?"
"Thank you," Luke said quietly as Brooke closed and locked the cell door behind her. Brooke turned back to look at the sheriff, who was already passed out, and shook her head.
"Don't thank me yet," she advised him, keeping her voice low. "He still has a long way to go before he's his old self again. He's got a chance though. Look," she said suddenly, leaning in close and lowering her voice even more. "I've got to go. I'm going to go find Bo and the others, and we're going to think up some kind of plan. I'll be back tomorrow morning."
Suddenly realizing how cold it was down in the room, Brooke headed over to the cabinets with the idea of grabbing some extra blankets for the three men.
"Calloway?"
Brooke barely managed to hold back a yelp of surprise as someone was suddenly standing behind her. Her self-training kicked in again and by the time she'd turned around to face the deputy who had been left behind, she was already cool and collected, her face betraying nothing of her shock or panic.
"What're you doin' here?" Billy demanded, looking suspiciously between her hand, which still held the key ring, and the two occupied cells.
"I lost my house key," Brooke grumbled without missing a beat. "I got all the way back home, and now I can't get in. I thought maybe I dropped it in here this morning, but I guess not. I'll have to get another one made."
"Why were you down here this mornin'?" the deputy pressed, still looking horribly suspicious and his hand straying dangerously close to his holster.
"Checking the jail cells, of course," Brooke answered, adopting a tone of slight surprise. "It's supposed to be done every morning, but since no one else ever does it, I usually take care of it myself. I don't want any of you guys getting in trouble." She mirrored his suspicious look. "You're a deputy…didn't you know they were supposed to be checked?"
"'Course I did!" Billy lied hurriedly. He'd heard of no such rule, of course, but to admit that would be to admit that he wasn't really a law enforcement officer. His face quickly turned to one of relief and he took his hand off his pistol. "Thanks for handlin' that for us though. Haynes'd be madder than a wet hen if he found out we weren't… checkin' jail cells. Like we're supposed to."
"He's a tough old guy, isn't he?" Brooke continued conversationally. As long as she had his attention, she might as well fish for information. "Did he ever used to be in the army or anything?"
"Nah, ol' Haynes was FBI," Billy answered, forgetting his suspicions at the chance to have a conversation with the pretty young deputy who had apparently saved him some trouble. He leaned up against the table by where Brooke was standing and smiled a toothy grin at her.
"How interesting," Brooke said coolly. "Good night." With that she stalked past Billy without giving the three men in the jail cells a backwards glance as she headed up the steps, her heart pounding furiously at the close call.
Whoo, I don't know 'bout y'all, but I thought the game was up for a second there. Friends, I sure am glad Brooke's on the Dukes' side. She's a good friend to have. And from the way ol' Billy's watchin' her walk up them stairs, I reckon he's thinkin' she'd be a purty good friend to have too.
"Forget it," Cooter couldn't help needling the deputy, noticing the wistful expression on his face as he watched Brooke leave. "You ain't in her league, not by a long shot."
Scowling back at the prisoners but not interested in messing with them without his friends to back him up, Billy stalked off to get a cup of coffee. Snickering, Cooter turned back to Luke, who was still stretched out on the bunk, his eyes closed and a poorly hidden grimace of pain on his face.
"You ok there, buddyro?"
"Yeah," Luke whispered, still feeling lightheaded. He'd given the three deputies and Sheriff Haynes as good of a fight as he could with his limited range of motion, but they had gotten in more blows to the head then he would have preferred. He shivered slightly, feeling suddenly exhausted. Noticing this, Cooter took off his jacket and tossed it over him.
"You oughtta follow Rosco's example," he said. "Get some rest. I'll keep an eye out."
Too tired to argue, Luke nodded and was immediately pulled into blissful unconsciousness.
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By the time Brooke found her way back to the old still site where the Dukes were hiding, they already had a campfire going and were sitting around it talking quietly amongst themselves. As she approached, her foot caught a twig lying on the ground and she snapped it with a loud pop, causing Jesse to spin around aiming the long barreled gun at her.
"Woah, woah," she said hurriedly. "It's just me, guys. It's Brooke."
"Oh, Brooke," Daisy said with a sigh of relief as Jesse set his gun back down, allowing Brooke to come forward into the twinkling firelight. "We were startin' to wonder if you were comin' at all."
"Yeah, I had to stop at the jail first," Brooke said, sitting down between Jesse and Bo by the fire.
"How's Luke?" Bo demanded immediately. "He's ok, ain't he? Tell me they ain't hurt him too bad. What about Cooter, is he there?"
"They're both there," Brooke reassured him. "So's Rosco. I won't lie to you, Luke was roughed up pretty badly. But he'll be ok, and he was asking about you all. Are the three of you alright?" she asked, scanning them cautiously.
"We're all fine here," Jesse assured her gently. "An' Hughie don' know Hazzard County like Boss Hogg does. He ain't gonna find us in here."
"Hughie," Bo repeated angrily, pounding his fist into his hand. "He's the one we gotta take care of. When I get a hold of him-"
"Hughie isn't the main problem anymore," Brooke interrupted. The Dukes looked at her in curiosity and waited for her to explain. She sighed. "Hughie might be the brains behind the plan, but he can wait. Right now the most important thing is to get Haynes out of Hazzard before someone gets really hurt. I knew I'd heard his name before. I just didn't know where."
"Well, who is it?" Bo asked her impatiently. Brooke hesitated before answering.
"He used to be FBI. I didn't know that until one of the other deputies told me just now, but that's where I'd heard of him. The bureau suspects, only suspects mind you, that he killed a witness to keep him from talking, but nobody could get any hard evidence on him. They fired him for professional misconduct, but all that did was set him loose on the streets."
On the outside, Brooke was still calm and collected. Inside, however, she was furious with herself. If only she could have recalled that to her memory earlier, maybe they wouldn't all be in this mess now. She could have saved him so much trouble…she could have saved everyone so much trouble.
Suspecting what his friend was thinking, Bo wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "We wouldn've ever known that if you hadn' been here. Now we can figure somethin' out. Any ideas?"
"I do have an idea," Brooke answered, glancing around at the other three. "But it's going to be extremely dangerous. But it's the best chance we've got, and I think it might work…" Leaning in, Brooke began explaining her plan to the Dukes, hoping the following day wouldn't be ending in bloodshed.
I'm hopin' the same thing over here. Y'all, I ain't sure what kinda plan them Dukes got goin' now, but I tell you what…it's gonna have to be twice as sneaky as usual, cause Hughie ain't no dummy. He'd smell a scheme a mile away. I just hope the Dukes know that. Don't head for the kitchen now, folks!
A/N: Please review! How do y'all think the story's going so far? Let me know, thanks guys!
