Author's Notes: Thank you to everyone who is reading and reviewing! I am indeed working on another story as I speak - with any luck I'll have it done by the time I finish posting this one. :-D Happy V-Day, if that's your thing. Enjoy!

Chapter 6: Hot On The Trail

"They're…here?"

"Yeah – well, they're off in town somewheres, why?"

Luke gave him the short version of the week's events. "They're the ones behind all these robberies. They framed me and Bo, and nearly killed him, with that car."

B.B.'s eyes grew wide. "Whoa."

Luke looked around. "Where's their car?"

"Over that way," B.B. pointed towards the front.

"I need you to open it up for me. If the money's in there, we'll call the police and get them here and now." There was venom in Luke's voice.

"Yeah…yeah, come on," the mechanic agreed.

Anna and Luke followed him to the brown sedan at the front of the shop, and he was glad the garage doors were closed against the cool spring breeze. The search would have looked quite suspicious to casual observers walking by outside. Ten minutes later, though, the trio came up empty. There was nothing in the trunk, under or inside the seats, or any other space big enough to carry the amount of cash that had been stolen. Luke slammed the trunk shut, frustrated. Without evidence, it was Luke's word against theirs, and the witnesses were already pointing to Luke and Bo.

"Any ideas?" he asked in general, sighing. Anna rubbed his shoulder consolingly.

"Yeah, actually," B.B. brightened. Luke looked up attentively. "Come on, I'll show ya," the mechanic gestured towards his office.

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

"B.B., you're a genius," Luke declared with a smile, clapping him on the back and surveying their work.

There wasn't much to see, and that was the point. B.B. had removed the General's and the Flanagans' C.B. units and brought them into his office for a few modifications. The eldest Davenport had a tinkering interest in modern electronics, so after some searching, he found a couple of the wire-tap bugs Cooter had gotten ahold of for him, plus some other bits and bobs. With a little work, he fixed the bugs into the Flanagans' unit and wired them into the output signal, so Luke's C.B. would pick up the broadcast. Add a voice-activated recorder in Luke's C.B., and a borrowed high-power police scanner, and Luke was set up to not only hear the thieving brothers' plans and whereabouts and record their own words as evidence, but also to better track the police on his tail. B.B. smiled proudly.

"Anything for a friend. You just make sure this scanner makes it back here, y'hear? Jerry will kill me if I lose it."

"You got it."

Just then, the door near the office opened. Luke scooted back into the shadows, tense. If it was the Flanagans returning early, B.B. would have trouble explaining the C.B. that he hadn't replaced yet.

"Hello? B.B.?" a familiar voice called.

Luke looked out in disbelief, stepping out from hiding. "Cooter? What are you doin' here?"

Cooter pointed over his shoulder towards his truck. "Well, I'm delivering a new windshield for a certain '69 Dodge Charger that disappeared from my farm yesterday morning," he explained in a reproving tone.

Luke grinned. Of course - who else nearby would keep one in stock? "Sorry about that, Cooter," he apologized, abashed. Then, with a sudden thought, he looked around. "Anna!" he called to the young woman who'd also slipped into the shadows. She stepped forward shyly, and Luke put an arm around her shoulders in an embrace more protective and brotherly than Chet had even given. She was growing self-conscious about the bruise on her face – she'd never gone out in public before until her bruises were healed, and the unaccustomed concern from Luke and his friend was unsettling.

"Cooter, this is Anna. Anna, Cooter Davenport."

The two shook hands – Luke had told her about him earlier. Cooter was disturbed by the dark purple mark, but he had the sense to see her discomfort, so he didn't make her even more uncomfortable by asking.

"Anna, I was thinking…" Luke began, "…maybe you'd like to stay in Hazzard for a couple of days. Daisy's got a friend in town who runs a boarding house, I'm sure she can set something up for you. I just…" he sighed. He didn't want to force her to do anything – then he'd be no better than Chet. "What I'm doing might get dangerous, and I just don't want to see you go home yet. Cooter could give you a ride, and give Daisy a call at the hospital…" Luke trailed off, seeing refusal in her eyes. Cooter nodded encouragingly, guessing at enough of the situation.

Anna wasn't so sure, but she hated to disappoint him. "I'll think about it, Luke."

He smiled for a moment before B.B. spoke up from the small window in the office. "Y'all better hide, looks like the Flanagans are coming up the street. I'll get this C.B. back in, here's yours, Luke…"

"What?.! The Flanagans…!" Cooter began, confused, but with a spark of anger.

"Cooter, come on, I'll explain outside…" Luke insisted, and Cooter, Luke, and Anna all swiftly slipped out the back.

It was hardly ten minutes later, just after Luke finished replacing the C.B. unit in the General, that they heard the door open inside the garage. A moment later, B.B. and the Flanagan brothers were within range of the bugged car, and their voices came over loud and clear. Cooter and Anna leaned on either door of the General to listen. While he worked, Luke had explained the situation to Cooter, but he was surprised at the restraint it took to keep himself from going in there and…well, beating the pulp out of them. Luke saw Cooter gripping the doorframe tightly, while his own hands curled into fists at the sound of David Flanagan's voice.

"Hey there, B.B.! Got that radiator done yet?"

"It's all set, Dave! Man, it was great to see you guys – you gonna be in town long?"

"Naw, we're heading out, I'm afraid. Places to go, y'know?" That was Joel's voice. "Hey, was that Cooter's truck parked out front?"

"Yeah, he just dropped it off, something wrong with the rig. He borrowed my old one instead."

"Oh, okay." David sounded slightly relieved. Was he wondering how much Cooter had told his older brother? "Too bad we missed him. Well, we're gonna hit the road. How much does it come to?"

"That'll be one-fifty, on the nose."

There was a sound of bills being counted out, then: "There ya go. Thanks, B.B.! We'll catch ya next time we come through!"

The car doors opened and slammed shut, and the engine started. B.B. called a goodbye, and the car was off and out of the garage. The C.B. feed didn't stop there, though.

"Think he knows?" Joel asked his brother.

"No, I doubt it. If he was gonna do something, he'd have done it already. Besides, there's no evidence on us, and the cops are all after Luke Duke."

"Morons. Worked out good though, huh?"

"Better than I hoped, with that stupid plan of yours. Putting Bo in the hospital was a nice bonus, too. Stupid cocky sonofabitch, that'll teach him."

"Tell me about it – ugh, him and that damned car. I just can't believe that fall didn't kill him."

"Yeah, well, I tried. Don't worry about it. Even if he lives, no one's gonna believe anything he says – the papers are convicting him for us."

"What about Daisy and Cooter?"

"I said don't worry about it!" David snarled angrily.

"Okay okay! Hey, where we hitting tomorrow, anyhow?"

"Cedar City. The cops will be so busy in Sweetwater, they won't expect anything three counties over."

The banter went on, but Luke stopped listening. He was trying very, very hard to control his anger, and his nails bit bright red crescents into his palms. He might have taken off after the thieving brothers right then and there, were it not for the windshield and the danger to his two friends leaning in the windows. Luke wasn't a man given to fits of rage, and he wasn't as hot-tempered as Bo, but he didn't know what he might have done if Joel and David had been within arm's reach speaking about his cousin like that.

"Luke?" That was Anna, on his left.

"Come on, buddy, let's get this windshield done so you can get out of here." That was Cooter, on his right.

Breathing a carefully measured deep breath, Luke unclenched his fists and wiped his hands on his jeans, leaving more red stains. Then he reached for the doorframe, and Anna stepped back so he could climb out. She was more than a little troubled – when Luke said Bo was a brother to him, it hardly meant anything to her, because she had so little connection with her own brother. But she'd seen him turn pale and tremble with anger at the two men's cruel words, and if he'd been protective with her – a complete stranger – she could only begin to guess at his devotion to his family. Somehow, her decision had suddenly just become easier.

"Luke?" she asked again. With another heavy breath, he looked at her. "I'll go with Cooter, back to Hazzard. Do you want me to bring any messages to your family?"

Luke shook his head, looking a bit calmer and more controlled with a third deep breath. "Just tell them I love them," he said quietly.

Cooter waited until his friend seemed collected, and then he went to help B.B. fetch the new windshield from his truck. He was angry himself – after all, he had been there and seen Bo thrown from the thieves' car – but watching Luke's reaction was terrible. Cooter wanted to be right out there with him, but he couldn't. He'd already lost too much time at the garage with the two days he'd spent with the Dukes at the hospital, and his mortgage payment was due in another week. Even this trip to Hatchapee was a loss, but he couldn't refuse when B.B. told him Luke needed help.

While B.B. worked at removing the old windshield, Luke stood back against the garage building, rubbing the bridge of his nose between two fingers. Anna made herself comfortable on the ground nearby, and Cooter walked over to join Luke, hands in his back pockets.

"Uncle Jesse called the shop this morning," the younger Davenport said, and Luke looked up. "The operation on Bo's leg yesterday went good, and they're gonna start taking him off some of the medications, see if he wakes up a little. Jesse said, he loves you, and whatever you do, ah…" Cooter smiled and imitated Jesse's gruff voice, "…you're not too old to turn over his knee, so be careful, 'cause he'll tan yer hide if you're not."

Luke smiled a little and shook his head at the threat. "Do you mind taking Anna into town? I guess I should have asked first."

"S'alright with me. In fact, I thought I'd stop at the hospital on the way back, see how things are goin'. We can talk to Daisy about Sally Jo's place right then."

"Thanks, Cooter." Luke didn't just refer to the one favor, but every little bit that his friend had been doing for him and the family in the last few days. Cooter understood.

It took some time to set the new windshield into place, all the while hearing the steady stream of idle conversation and road noise through the Flanagans' C.B. While mechanics and friends waited for the seal to harden and dry, B.B. fetched lunch from a joint down the road, and they ate in the back of the garage. More than one pair of eyes kept track of how much Luke ate, knowing or guessing that a few missed meals were in his recent past and near future. But when the meal was done, it was time to part.

B.B. checked the windshield seal and declared it good. Luke turned to Anna.

"Will you be alright?"

She nodded, looking down at the ground awkwardly. Then she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "Take care of yourself."

Luke held her, and then stepped back. "You too."

Cooter walked up and held out a hand. Luke grasped his arm in a firm grip. "Luke, I already had to make one bad call to Uncle Jesse this week. Don't make me make another one."

Luke nodded. "Thanks again, Cooter." He shook B.B.'s hand and thanked him as well. Then he climbed into the General and turned the ignition with a spare key from Cooter's set, pausing to listen to the purr of the engine. With a final wave of his bandaged arm out the window, he shifted into gear, and was back on the hunt.

Y'know, I just don't know who to worry about more. We've got Bo in the hospital, Luke on the run and chasing after a couple of turncoat bandits, poor little Anna running from her tyrant of a brother, and Jesse, Daisy, and Cooter left picking up the pieces! I tell ya, friends, one of these days I'm gonna nail those boys' shoes to the ground, and then see if they can get into trouble!