Chapter 21: Helpless

This chapter comes with a warning for implied violence and language. It's why I put Pauline in during the last section, to give levity. So, love me, hate me. Send me reviews. Now go get your kleenex.

Kira had just put her key into the door as she heard the phone ring inside her apartment. Pushing the door opened, she tossed her bag onto the sofa as she picked up the phone just as her machine kicked in. Well, she'll just have to delete the message later.

"Hello?"

"Kira? Didn't think you were home. I was going to just leave a message to ask how your week's gone so far. Anything interesting happen?"

"Real cute, Luke. You know damned well that Pauline came to see me last night."

"Hey, it was Bo's idea. Not mine."

"And you just went right on ahead and helped him with it too, didn't you?"

"Bo figured that you might as well go ahead and get your initiation into the Duke clan in to make it official. All of us have had to fend off Pauline's meddlin' at one time or another. It was just your turn."

"Luke isn't the oldest suppose to help PROTECT the younger ones. Not feed them to the wolves! You could have at least of given me a little warning."

Kira grabbed the phone cradle so she could walk around. She wasn't really as mad as she sounded. Probably since she already had her revenge planned out but Luke didn't know that. With a smile on her face, she figured she'd see if she could make Luke squirm.

Kira went over to the map that she had placed on the wall to stare at it as she had develop a tendency to do since putting it up. She had several points to add to it after she got off the phone, but for now, she might as well give her cousin what for. He had it coming and he knew it.

"It would have served ya'll right if'n I had driven Pauline all the way to Hazzard and dropped her off on ya'll's doorstep."

Luke was busy laughing at Kira's ranting as she looked at the map and saw a message in red marker written across it.

TURN AROUND

"What the Hell?" Kira turned her head just in time to see her lamp being wielded and was headed straight for her head.

Luke came up short as he heard his cousin holler out. "Kira?"

Then he heard a crash on the other end of the line.

"Kira! Are you there? What's going on?"

Luke could do nothing but listen as she was being attacked in her own home. From the other end of the line, Luke could hear an obvious struggle; to which he hoped that Kira was winning. He felt completely helpless as he listened from hundreds of miles away.

"Get OFF of me!"

Luke heard Kira scream from what sounded like pain as he heard more shoving and breaking of unknown items. Then his blood ran cold as the screams took on a different pitch. He had to get help but if he hung up to call the police she'd truly be alone to face the horror that she was currently going through. As long as he was on the line, she wasn't alone.

"Hang on, darlin'." Luke looked around the room and his eyes fell on the CB. He couldn't reach Atlanta on it, but it will have to do. "Breaker, Breaker! Is there anyone home on the Hazzard Net? This here is Luke Duke. I have an emergency. Come Back."

"This is Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane. This had better be a real emergency or I'm gonna arrest ya for making a false claim. Now what do you want?"

"Rosco, shut up and listen. You've got to call the Atlanta Police Department and get them over to Kira's apartment right away! I was talking to her on the phone and she's being attacked right now! Tell 'em to go to..." Luke looked at the pad near the phone that had Kira's number and address on it. "To five-one-eight Rolling Hill Road. Apartment five c. Come back."

"Hang on; you say you are on the line? Come Back?"

"That's right. And you better hurry; it doesn't sound good at all."

"Well whatever you do, don't hang up!"

"I wasn't plannin' on it!" Luke shouted back in the CB. He could still hear movement but Kira had gone silent. He did hear the sound of what had to be paper being shredded and then after some more ransacking, the door slammed shut.

"This is Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane calling one, Luke Duke. Are you still there? Come Back."

"This is Luke."

"Luke, the police are on their way. They're gonna want to talk to you when they get there; you being considered a witness and all, so hold the line. I'll be out just as soon as I get Boss to sign some paperwork so ya'll can head out to Atlanta. So just hold on!"

"Understood. Thanks, Rosco."

Luke listened real hard to see if he could hear anything else. Was Kira even still there? What if who ever had attacked her had decided to take Kira with them? If only he could at least hear her breathing.

"Kira, darlin'. I don't know if you can hear me but help's on the way, you just hang on. You hear me? Just hang on."

The minutes ticked by in excruciating agony. Luke heard the door to Kira's apartment get busted in. He hoped that help had finally arrived, and not too late for Kira. Just as Luke heard movement on the other end of the line, Bo and Daisy had came in from outside.

"Bo Duke! I mean it! You go up to bed right now!"

"Daisy, it really is just a headache. I'm fine."

"Bo, a headache wouldn't have made your knees buckle the way they did. That was plum dangerous. What with you choppin' wood and all. Now Get!"

"Clear."

"Clear."

"This room's clear too. There she is." Silence. "Call to see where that bus is at. Get it here now."

"Yes sir."

"This is Officer Lyons. I was informed that you heard the assault over the phone. Could I have your name?"

"Hey, Luke, tell Daisy that a little headache ain't no cause to get all up in arms about." Bo hollered over his shoulder as he headed over to the refrigerator to get something cold to drink after getting all sweaty chopping that firewood.

Luke found his voice and finally answered the officer on the phone. "Luke... Lukas Duke, sir. Yes sir. Is she...?" He couldn't finish the question; afraid to hear the answer.

Only after hearing his shaky voice did Bo and Daisy notice that Luke was on the phone and his jaw was working overtime. Concerned, they walked over to find out what was going on.

"The paramedics are on their way here. The call that came in from the Hazzard Police Department said that Miss Kyle is a relative of yours. The doctors are going to need to know if she's allergic to anything. Is she?"

"Yes sir, she's my cousin. Allergic? I don't know." Luke turned to Bo. "Is Kira allergic to anything?"

"Luke, what's going on?"

"Just answer damned the question! Is she allergic to anything?"

"Um.. Yeh. Codeine. She's allergic to codeine. Now will you-"

"Sir, she's allergic to codeine."

"Alright, I'll tell them. The Sheriff said that ya'll will be coming in tonight. I'll have an officer standing by to get your statement when you get here. Alright?"

"Yes sir. But could you just tell me how she is?"

Luke heard silence on the other end as the officer tried to decide just how much to tell him about Kira's condition.

"I'm not a doctor, son. I couldn't tell ya. You just head on to the hospital and I'll have someone waiting to talk to you then."

The line went dead and Luke stood staring at the phone in his hand for a moment before he hung it up.

"Daisy, Kira left some clothes here, didn't she?"

"Yeh. Just some sweats and some jeans and stuff like that. Called them her comfort clothes. Why?"

"Go and pack some up in a bag. Bo and I need to go pack, too. We'll be heading out just as soon as Rosco gets here with the paperwork to let us out of the county."

"Luke, would you tell us just what the Hell is going on?" Something had happened to Kira and Luke knew what. Now he'd better tell him. She was his sister after all. He had the right to know.

"Bo," Luke let out a breath trying to figure out just how to tell his cousin what had happened. "I called Kira. Ya know, to kid her about Pauline and all. She sounded like she was ready to nail our hides to the wall for sickin' Pauline on her."

"What's that have to do with you asking me if Kira is allergic to anything?"

"I'm getting to that. While we were talking-" Luke swallowed hard on the lump in his throat before continuing, "Someone attacked her. I used the CB and got Rosco to call up to Atlanta and send for help. I stayed on the line and the police had just gotten there when the two of you came in from outside. That was when they asked about her allergies. They didn't want to give her anything she was allergic to.

Now you go get your stuff together. We'll leave just as soon a Rosco gets here with that paperwork. Daisy, you stay and tell Uncle Jesse what happened just as soon as he gets back from Capital City. Now get. We got to hurry up and get ready."

"Well, is she alright?" Bo asked worriedly.

Luke paused on his way up the stairs. He really didn't have anything to help alleviate his cousin's concern. "They wouldn't tell me."

With that Luke headed off to pack his own bag. He knew Bo was trying to get him to tell him more of what had happened, but he had a hard time hearing him over the echoes of Kira's screams that were stuck in his head.