Here's chapter 2! Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I'm glad you're interested so far.

- Flynne :)

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- Chapter Two -

"Lost Sheep"

Bo coughed painfully in the settling dust—the impact of the crash had knocked the wind out of him. He slowly uncurled his fingers from around the wheel, feeling his arms shake from the effort of the wild chase. He blinked dizzily. His head was buzzing and his vision had grayed out when the car hit the tree, but as far as he could tell, he wasn't hurt. The right rear tire of his car was crushed against the thick tree trunk, and from the way the car was sitting, Bo knew he'd blown at least one tire to kingdom come.

The gray sedan had stopped about thirty feet away, next to the second car. Breathing hard, Bo watched both vehicles warily. He knew they had been working together…it had been a rough chase, but if it hadn't been for that second car, they never would have caught him. There was no sign of movement from either of them. He had no earthly idea why they had been after him, but he knew he needed help. He ducked down to grope for the CB mike once again.

"Hold it," someone said suddenly.

Bo jerked around, startled, and saw that two men in business suits had emerged from the gray car. Both of them were holding sleek-looking handguns. One of the men stepped forward. "Get your hands where I can see them," he called out. "I know you've got a CB in that car. If you touch it, you die."

Bo couldn't suppress a shiver at the cold, dispassionate tone of the other man's voice. He slowly put his hands on the wheel and stared straight ahead, willing his racing heart to slow down.

Long grass rustled underfoot as the two men approached. Their eyes were shielded by dark glasses and their suits were identical. One was younger than the other, with short dark hair. The other man was older, somewhere in his forties. His scalp was shaved smooth. Both were tall and tough-looking. It was the bald man who had spoken, and as he and his companion stopped beside the General, he gestured with his gun and said, "Out of the car."

Bo hauled himself through the open window and hopped to the ground, stepping away so his back pressed against the car behind him. He was scared, but being scared never shut him up. "What'd you run me off the road for?" he demanded angrily. "I ain't done nothin' to you!"

"Mr. Duke, you're coming with us."

"I'm what?" Bo swallowed hard, feeling a cold spike of fear slice through the anger burning in his chest.

"You're coming with us."

"Wait just a dang minute, here—"

"Right now, Mr. Duke." The bald man removed his sunglasses and pierced Bo's wide blue eyes with his cold gray stare. "You are going to come with us. It's up to you whether you come alive or dead. It makes no difference to me."

"Okay," Bo forced out, trying to speak calmly but hearing his voice shake in spite of himself. "Okay, I'll come." The two men took hold of his arms and marched him back to their car as the second car drove off in a cloud of dust. The bald man holstered his handgun and moved to the driver's side while the dark-haired man pushed Bo into the back seat and slid in next to him. The bright sunlight disappeared as the door with the black-tinted windows slammed shut, and the cold muzzle of the pistol nestled against Bo's side as the car rolled away.

xxxxxx

Luke lay flat on his back and scooted just a little farther underneath Daisy's Jeep, snaking his hand up into the metal innards of the vehicle to wrap his fingers around the oil filter. He braced himself and twisted hard as he tried to remove it, but it was stuck tighter than a tick on a coonhound.

"Aw, for Pete's sake," he muttered through gritted teeth. "Why the heck did I put this on so tight last time?" He paused and let go of the filter just long enough to shake out his stiff fingers before gripping the stubborn part and trying again. This time, it finally budged. "Ha! Got it!" He quickly unscrewed the filter and pulled it off. Warm oil dripped from the end and ran down his arm.

"Breaker One, Breaker One—might be crazy, but I ain't dumb! Hazzard Net, this is Crazy Cooter comin' at ya, callin' Lost Sheep #2—Bo Duke, you got your ears on out there?"

Luke perked up when he heard the familiar voice over the CB in the Jeep, but he figured Bo had been on his way out of town and Cooter was trying to call him back. When he heard Cooter call Bo a second time, though, he slid out from underneath the vehicle and reached up to grab the mike, pulling it down to where he sat on the floor.

"Hey, Cooter, this here's Luke. Did I just hear you call for Bo?"

"Sure did, Luke. That bum cousin of yours was s'posed to meet me over four hours ago. He ain't here yet."

Luke frowned and grabbed onto the side of the Jeep, pulling himself to his feet. "He didn't call or nothin'?"

"Nope. I had to step out for a while to get some supplies and by the time I came back I had a job—Rosco's done busted up his car again—so I got busy and plumb forgot Bo was comin'. Looks like he forgot, too."

"Nah, Bo left here this mornin' and he said he was gonna meet you." Luke reached for a rag to wipe the oil off his hands. "Maybe he didn't show 'cause he was the reason Rosco wrecked his car."

Cooter chuckled. "I thought about that, but Rosco just said somethin' about Flash drivin' and a bunch of chickens in the road. He didn't say nothin' 'bout Bo, and you know if he'd been chasin' the General he woulda been stompin' and yellin' all over the place."

"You're right about that." Luke felt the first faint stirrings of uneasiness.

"I tried raisin' him on all the other frequencies," Cooter went on, "but he ain't answering. That's when I decided to call over the Net."

"That ain't like him, Cooter."

"Looks like one of you Lost Sheep really did get yourself lost this time, don't it?"

"Yeah." Luke didn't find the irony amusing.

"Don't sound so glum, Lucas! I'm sure he's okay. It ain't like you to be a mother hen."

Luke shook his head and smiled reluctantly. "I know, but—"

"Breaker, breaker, this is Amos Pickett cuttin' in," came a new voice. "'Scuse me, Luke, but I got somethin' you might wanna hear."

"I hear ya, Amos. You got somethin' on Bo?"

"Well, I don't rightly know…but I heard y'all talkin' over the Net here at my place, and…well, I coulda swore I heard Bo on the Net earlier today."

"You did? Well, what'd he say?"

"I guess I don't know that either. I was drivin' that wife of mine into town and she was yappin' at me like always, and I thought I heard Bo start to broadcast, but then it cut off and I didn't hear no more. He didn't try again."

Now Luke was officially worried. "Okay, thanks Amos."

"You're welcome, Luke. I'll let ya know if I hear from him again. Over and out."

There was a long pause. Luke wet his lips nervously and scuffed his boot against the dusty garage floor. Cooter was right—sure, he tended to look out for Bo through force of habit, but he certainly wasn't what you'd call a mother hen. But now…he had a gut feeling that something wasn't quite right.

Finally Cooter sighed. "Okay, Luke. I know exactly what you're gettin' ready to say. So lemme gas up my truck and I'll get out on the road to help you look for him."

Luke smiled gratefully, even though Cooter couldn't see him. "Thanks, Coot. Give me a shout when you're ready to go. I'm gone."

"Look for who?"

The sudden voice behind him startled him, and he nearly dropped the CB mike as he jumped. Daisy stood in the entrance to the garage holding a crate full of storm windows, head tipped to the side as she studied her cousin's face.

"Oh—Daisy…" Luke stammered. "Um…here, lemme get that for you." He strode forward and took the heavy crate from her arms, lifting it to its shelf in the garage. He turned around to see her watching him carefully.

"Don't you keep anything from me, Luke," she warned, folding her arms across her chest. "I can tell somethin's wrong, so spit it out."

Luke didn't want to worry her, but he'd learned long ago not to argue with Daisy. "Bo didn't show up at Cooter's this morning and we can't raise him on the CB," he replied.

"And you're goin' to look for him."

"Yeah."

Daisy nodded once. "Well then, you'd better finish up with my car. I'm goin' too."

Luke hurried to finish changing the oil on the Jeep while Daisy ran back to the house to get their uncle. Between the three of them, they decided that Luke should take the truck while Daisy and Jesse rode together. As soon as they heard from Cooter they left the farm in opposite directions, taking the back roads in an ever-widening sweep of the county.

xxxxx

Dusk was rapidly falling. Luke's hands tightened on the wheel and he took a deep breath to try and ease the tightness in his chest. Anybody in the county who had a CB knew that Bo had gone missing. Enos had had his eyes peeled as he made his rounds. Even Rosco had started looking, taking his own car on the back roads since his patrol car was still in the shop. He had joined the search saying that Bo owed him money for speeding tickets, but everyone knew the cantankerous sheriff was just as concerned as they were.

But nobody had seen Bo or the General Lee; and now with night coming on, Luke was moving well past worry and starting to get scared. He was miles from Hazzard on a road that Bo couldn't possibly have taken if he were headed into town, but he couldn't think of anywhere closer that he hadn't already searched.

"Come on, Bo…where the heck did you get to?" he mumbled under his breath.

Suddenly, as if in answer to his question, something caught his eye. He abruptly straightened in his seat, fumbling for the mike. "Hey y'all out there, this is Luke Duke. I just found a lot of off-road tire tracks just off of North County Road. I'm gonna check it out."

"Luke, I'm pretty close to ya," Cooter replied. "I'll meet you over there."

"Ten-four." Luke swerved off the road and followed the tracks. He grew increasingly alarmed and confused as he realized there had been more than one car that had passed that way. The path was erratic and from the depth of the ruts carved in the earth, Luke could tell that it had been at high speed. If this was Bo, then either he was chasin' somebody—or someone was chasin' him.

Luke abruptly had to slam on the brakes as he suddenly realized he was approaching a deep ravine up ahead. He let out a growl of annoyance, knowing that Jesse's battered old truck wouldn't be able to jump it. He was more worried than ever now, because he knew for sure that Bo had been the one being chased; nobody but a Duke would have attempted the jump over the wide ravine.

He picked up the mike again. "Lost Sheep One to Shepherd—I'm gonna have to get out of the truck and go on foot."

"Ten-four, Luke. Do you want us to come?"

"No, I'll keep you informed." Luke hopped out of the truck and slid down the side of the ravine, bringing a cascade of leaves and loose dirt down with him. He jumped over the narrow creek and scrambled up the steep side, grabbing onto tree roots to haul himself to the top. When he crested the ridge, he took a short look around and froze. He'd found the General Lee.

Tire tracks spiraled crazily over the open ground, showing where the car had spun in circles. The right rear panel of the car was smashed up against a tree that had obviously stopped the General's out-of-control spin. Luke shook off the astonishment that had stunned him and sprinted across the field, calling his cousin's name. He skidded to a stop next to the car, heart pounding, terrified of what he might find.

The car was empty. For a moment, Luke hesitated, unsure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Then he turned and looked around, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Bo, you out there? Hey, Bo!" No answer.

The sound of an engine reached his ears and he saw Cooter's yellow tow truck moving towards him from the opposite direction he had come. The sturdy vehicle lurched to a stop and Cooter was out the door before the engine cut off.

"Is he hurt bad?" he asked breathlessly as he hurried over.

"I don't know. He ain't in there."

"Huh?" Cooter peered past him into the front seat. "Well, how d'you like that?" Then he looked up hopefully. "Well…that means he's okay, don't it? Maybe he couldn't hitch a ride and started walkin'."

"It's been hours. He woulda made it back by now. Anyway, why didn't he call to let us know he'd been in an accident?"

"Maybe the CB's busted. Did you check to see if it works?"

"No," Luke admitted. He reached in through the open window and picked the mike up from where it lay on the floor. "Uncle Jesse, this is Luke. You hear me?"

The answer was immediate. "Loud and clear, Luke. What's up?"

Luke sighed. There went that theory. "We found the car, Uncle Jesse. Bo ain't here."

"He's not? Well, where could he be?"

"I don't know." Luke cringed and closed his eyes, not wanting to say what was on his mind. "Uncle Jesse…you might try callin' the hospital to see if he's been brought there. The car's been wrecked." There was a long pause. "There are other tire tracks here," he continued. "Maybe someone saw what happened and took Bo to get help."

"Yeah…yeah, maybe." Jesse's voice was troubled. "Me and Daisy ain't too far from Tri-County. We'll—we'll check there and have them call Capital City."

"Ten-four, Uncle Jesse." Luke slowly lowered his hand and dropped the mike into the car. He looked back at Cooter. "Come on, I wanna follow these other wheel tracks. Two cars drove away from here and I'm gonna see where they went." He slid into the cab of Cooter's tow truck, and the two men started over the open field once more. They could tell that once the cars had reached the road again they had turned south, but beyond that it was impossible to tell where they might have gone.

Luke thumped his fist against the door in frustration. "Didn't expect to find anything, but I couldn't help hopin'."

Cooter turned his truck around and started back the way they had come. "We can't do nothin' else out here," he said sensibly. "So lemme tow the General back to my garage while you check in with everyone else. Hazzard County's not that big. Someone had to see what happened."

Luke simply nodded distractedly in reply. The Dukes had a sixth sense about each other when something was wrong, and right now his Bo Alarm was pinging like crazy—but all he could do was wait and pray that his cousin was safe.