– Chapter Nine –

"A Matter of Leverage"

Well, ol' Bo and Luke had a rough start to their night, but it ended up all right. Bo didn't mind stayin' in the clinic too bad…it was just a little bit of a place, but there was still a real pretty nurse that came to check on 'em. Ever notice things always seem to work out that way?

They spent the night in Osage County, and Jesse and Daisy came to pick 'em up before lunch. Detective Miles came over a few hours later—he didn't get a chance to question the boys last night, and you know he's gotta hear the whole story. Right now they're sittin' in the living room, talkin'. We'd better listen in, 'cause I don't think we wanna miss this conversation.

"…and then he went to the back of the building, started the fire, and left us," Luke finished. He was sitting on the couch between Bo and Daisy. Bo had a bit of a lingering cough and both their voices were still rough from the smoke, but other than that, the boys had bounced back hardly the worse for wear from their close call the night before.

Miles' face darkened in anger. "I wish I could say this shocks me—but Claibourne's been building a nasty reputation for so long, I don't have any trouble believing he tried to kill you like that. And as for those solitary confinement sheds, the state has been trying to get him to get rid of those for years. Those are what get him accused of abusing his prisoners."

"I don't like knowin' Cassius caged my boys like that," Jesse growled.

Daisy looked a bit puzzled. "But I didn't see any sheds when we got there."

"He destroyed them when he was done with them," Miles said. "We found them smashed up and piled against the side of the building. I guess he hoped they'd be burned up with the rest of the building, but the fire department got there before it happened." He turned back to Bo and Luke. "You boys really are lucky we found you in time. If it weren't for Daisy, I don't think we would have found you until it was too late."

"Well, it ain't for nothin' we started callin' this little lady 'Bo Peep'," Jesse said with a smile. "She's been lookin' after those two Lost Sheep cousins of hers ever since she first laid eyes on 'em." Bo and Luke both smiled at that, and Luke reached out to squeeze Daisy's hand.

Nobody saw the fleeting troubled look that crossed the young woman's face. Yeah, and if it weren't for me, Bo and Luke wouldn't have gotten into that mess in the first place.

"What I wanna know is how Brock's goons got caught up in all this," Bo said, reaching down to scratch Fender's ears. The dog had greeted Miles enthusiastically, happy to see a face he was beginning to know, but now that everyone was getting serious he had sat down on the floor at Bo's feet, resting his head on the young man's knees.

Miles looked at him in astonishment. "What did you say?"

"I guess we forgot to tell you that part," Bo said. "The guys that nabbed Luke an' me…we'd seen 'em before. Leastways, I had. We ran into some trouble with Bulldog Brock last year, and some of the same guys were helpin' Claibourne. I think one was called Rod and the other one was Max, but I don't know more'n that. There was another fella there, too. I don't know his name, but I could pick him out of a crowd if I saw him."

Miles whistled and shook his head. "Boy, when you guys put your foot in it, you really put your foot in it, don't you? Do you remember the first day I met you I told you Claibourne had been up to the usual dabbling in crime that we've come to expect from him?"

The two cousins exchanged a look. "Yeah," Luke replied slowly.

"Do you remember I said gambling was one of those criminal activities?"

"I don't remember that part, but I got a feeling I should have."

"We've been monitoring Claibourne's contact with A.J. Brock's gambling ring for a couple years. We knew he'd been mixed up with him somehow, but it wasn't until Brock was arrested—here in Hazzard, in fact—that we got any solid evidence of their connection. A lot of the major gambling cells over Georgia, Alabama, Florida, and Tennessee have been dismantled, thanks to the arrest—" He broke off as the last piece of the puzzle finally fell into place. "The attempted murder charge that got Brock his jail time," he said in disbelief. "It was you two, wasn't it?"

"Sure was," Bo replied. "That was a close one…he woulda gone to jail for murder instead of just attempted murder if Fender here hadn't stopped him."

"So when Claibourne decides he wants to take us out, he calls on the nastiest characters he knows to help him out…because they both wouldn't mind a bit if they saw me and Bo dead," Luke finished.

"What happens now?" Daisy asked, slipping her arm through Luke's to lean close against his side.

"Now…we try to find them," Miles said. "We've got an APB out on Claibourne and Slater, and I'll make sure we get one out for Rod Young and Max Granger. I have a feeling the third man you saw might be Greg Snyder, Bo. He's known to associate pretty closely with Young. We'll do our best to find them, but we don't have much to go on, here. There's a lot of places Claibourne could be hiding…he and his men could be out of Osage County by now."

Luke paused briefly before asking, "Well…they'll still be after me and Bo, right?"

"They're not the kind of men who give up easily," Miles replied.

"And we don't know where they are…"

"No."

"Well, then…" Luke took a deep breath. "'Round here, if we want the coons to come out of the trees, we gotta leave the lid off the trash can."

"Uh…Luke?" Bo raised his eyebrows. "Are you thinkin' what I think you're thinkin'?"

"I think so."

Miles looked from one cousin to the other and back again. "Either of you think you might clue me in?"

"It's me and Bo they want…so give 'em a chance to get us. Set a trap for 'em, and we'll be the bait."

"Luke, no!" Daisy protested. "You can't do that! Honey, those guys tried to kill you!"

"I know—which is why we know they'll try again. But we'll be ready for 'em this time."

"I don't like this idea, either," Jesse broke in. "I don't wanna see you boys puttin' yourselves in danger."

"We're already in danger, Uncle Jesse," Bo pointed out. "This way, we're just…" He groped for the word. "…in controlled danger," he finished finally. Luke rolled his eyes and Bo gave him a sheepish smile, knowing how lame his words sounded.

Jesse snorted. "'Control' never had nothin' to do with you two," he groused.

Miles, on the other hand, had been thoughtfully silent. "It might be worth a try," he said slowly. "I hate to see you two putting your lives on the line—again—but if it works…"

"…We'll all sleep a lot better at night," Bo said with a nod. "We'll do it."

"I still don't like it," Daisy said unhappily.

"Don't worry, darlin'! Luke and me will be okay."

"Yeah, that's what you said before those guys hauled you off and tried to kill you!" she countered.

"Daisy…" Luke shifted on the couch to put a reassuring arm around her shoulders. "Really, it'll be fine. We'll know to watch for 'em now…trust us, we'll get 'em this time."

"I'll make sure they've got a bodyguard with them at all times," Miles said, giving Daisy and Jesse an earnest look, trying to ease their anxiety. "I've got a good friend that I'll recommend. He's done this kind of work before. Bo and Luke will be in good hands."

Jesse spent a long moment gazing at his nephews before he sighed heavily and gave in. "All right. We'll try it."

Miles smiled determinedly. "Good. Now, let's get a map of the county and I'll tell you how this is going to work."

Miles decided that he'd have Bo and Luke hole up in an old hunting cabin on the edge of Hazzard County with one of his friends stayin' with 'em as a bodyguard. Then he'd let their location slip out, hopin' that Claibourne would hear about it and be lured into givin' away his position—which would hopefully give the state police a chance to catch him before he could make a move on the boys again.

It was a pretty long shot at the start, but anything was better'n waiting for Claibourne and the gamblers to strike again. Even if the ol' bait-and-switch plan didn't work, at least Bo and Luke would be safe for the time being. In case y'all forgot, Miles is still tryin' to bring Claibourne to trial…and you can't have a trial if you ain't got witnesses. One thing's for sure, though: Claibourne ain't forgotten about that.

xxxxx

Five days had gone by since Claibourne's storage building had been burned to the ground, and the white-haired commissioner was getting angrier with every day that passed with no news on the Duke boys' whereabouts.

"You'd better not be coming here to tell me you came up empty again, Slater," Claibourne threatened as his deputy walked in the door. "I know those boys didn't vanish of the face of the planet. You've had five days to look for them. Now, where are they?"

"They're still in Hazzard County," Rod broke in, sauntering in with his thumbs hooked in his belt. "We found them."

Claibourne looked up with fierce interest. "Good! At least someone around here is worth what I pay them," he said cuttingly, giving a significant glance at Slater.

The deputy frowned angrily. "Well, I ain't seen you out there lookin', Claibourne!"

"Shut up, Slater," Rod said, shooting him an impatient look. "That doesn't matter. What matters is we know where they are."

"Let's go get 'em, then," Claibourne said, rising to his feet.

Rod's face darkened in a scowl. "You know, Claibourne, for someone who's been in power as long as you have, you sure are stupid! You idiot, can't you see that's exactly what they want us to do? Detective Miles is too good at what he does to let an information leak like this slip out. We were meant to find them."

Despite his anger at being insulted, Claibourne wasn't so dumb that he wasn't going to listen. "So what do you suggest, since you seem to have all the bright ideas today?" He spoke softly, but there was a dangerous undertone in his voice that promised retribution if his arrogant hired gun didn't have a plan to match his insolent words.

"They tried to trap us…so we're going to trap them," Rod replied. "I've got an idea."

I ain't so sure about this one, y'all. I'd feel a whole lot better if it was Luke comin' up with the plan instead of this nasty fella.

xxxxx

"Daisy Duke, how many times have I told you to keep my office door closed?" Boss scolded. "You're gonna be the death of me!"

Daisy rolled her pretty blue eyes as she loaded empty beer glasses onto her tray. "Oh, for heaven's sake, Boss! We're closed, the doors are all locked, and you got the entire Hazzard County police department here in the Boar's Nest! I don't think you got anything to worry about."

"Easy for you to say!" Rosco countered. "That mean ol' snake, Cassius Claibourne, ain't got you in his sights! Why, poor ol' Boss only ate half his hog jowl pizza, and the quiver in my liver has been jostlin' my stomach so much I ain't been able to eat hardly nothin' either. Besides, how would you feel if your life was in danger and all you had was Enos to look out for you?"

"I think I'd feel pretty good," Daisy said, giving the deputy a wink and a smile where he stood by the door.

"That's right nice of you, Daisy," Enos said with a grin.

The bartender waited until Daisy had moved behind the counter with him on her way to the kitchen to wash out the beer mugs. "Remind me what the situation is here?" he asked, looking in amusement at the three fidgety officials.

Daisy smirked and stifled a laugh. "Oh, Boss is being ridiculous. He thinks Cassius Claibourne is gonna come after him after what happened three months ago, so he's got Rosco guarding him. But Rosco was there, too, so he's got Enos guarding him."

Jerry rolled his eyes. "Well, at least I won't have to worry about a speeding ticket on the way home tonight." He glanced at the full tray in her arms. "Look, why don't you just leave those by the sink? I'll finish up. You go on home…it's almost two-thirty, and I know you had a rough week."

Daisy smiled gratefully up at him. "Aw, thanks, hon! You let me know when I can return the favor for you, okay?" She pushed through the swinging doors into the kitchen and deposited the tray on the cluttered counter before making her way into the closet where she and the other employees left their things while they were working. Five minutes later, short shorts exchanged for jeans, she picked up her purse and headed for the door.

"Night, Daisy!" Jerry called after her.

"Night! Sleep tight, Boss!" she said over her shoulder. She didn't stay to listen to the muffled ranting from behind his office door as the pudgy commissioner moaned about how he'd never be able to sleep with a madman after him.

Enos stepped aside and opened the door for her as she left. She smiled up at him in thanks. "Enos, honey, will you lock the door behind me?"

"Sure thing, Daisy. Drive safe, now!"

Daisy slipped her jacket on and reached into her purse to dig out her keys as the door to the Boar's Nest swung shut behind her, the firm click of the dead bolt sliding into place the only sound in the quiet night outside. She took three steps toward her Jeep…

It was as far as she got.

The moment she moved away from the building, a thick arm snaked around her throat and a huge hand clamped over her mouth. She gasped and tried to scream, but her voice was muffled and the man behind her tightened his arm threateningly around her windpipe.

"Not a sound, girlie!" a harsh voice hissed in her ear.

Daisy shook her head stubbornly and fought back, tugging at the man's arm and thrashing against the crushing grip. Her heart raced with fear as he began dragging her toward a car. She brought her spike-heeled shoe down hard on his foot and he cursed angrily, stumbling in pain. For a moment, Daisy thought she might be able to break free—but she stilled immediately as her captor lost patience and pulled out his pistol to press it behind her ear.

"Now, are you going to hold still the easy way or the hard way?" he threatened.

Daisy nodded her head in defeat, looking desperately back toward the Boar's Nest in the vain hope that Enos would hear something and come to investigate. A second man emerged from the car and stepped forward to tie her arms firmly behind her back. They pushed her roughly into the back seat of the car. The man who had grabbed her slid into the back seat beside her while the other man started the car and drove away.

"Whatever you're tryin' to do, it won't work!" she said angrily, forcing confidence she didn't feel into her voice. "As soon as they realize I'm gone, they'll—"

"I'm gonna tell you this once, and only once," the shadowy figure beside her said, speaking over her protests. "Shut up and stay quiet. You're alive now, but we don't need you to stay that way, so don't do anything to make us angry and you won't get hurt."

Daisy had no choice but to do as he said. She turned her face away and rested her forehead against the cool window. Hot tears stung her eyes and blurred the view of the sleeping countryside as the car picked up speed. She couldn't see her kidnappers' faces, but she had a pretty good idea of who they were—and she knew they were going to use her against Bo and Luke. She wasn't afraid about what would happen to her…but her cousins loved her every bit as much as she loved them, and she knew they'd do anything to keep her safe.

That thought was enough to terrify her.

xxxxx

The phone jarred Bo out of a sound sleep at 3:00 AM. He rolled out of bed and hurried down the hall in his pajama pants. He picked up the phone, holding the receiver to his ear with one hand while he pawed at his mussed blond curls with the other. "Hello?" He blinked and squinted in the sudden glare as Luke entered the room and turned on the lights.

"Duke?"

His forehead furrowed slightly and a chill ran through him as he heard the low voice on the other end. He didn't recognize the voice, but he could recognize the sound of trouble when he heard it. "Yeah, you got Bo, here."

"We know where you are, boy…and we know what you're trying to do. It won't work." Bo took a breath, trying to think of some way to answer, but he didn't have an opportunity to speak before the man on the other end of the line continued, saying: "We've got your pretty little cousin."

"What?" The word burst out before Bo could stop it. His heart was pounding inside his chest, and he darted a frantic look at Luke.

"You heard me. So in two hours, you and Luke are going to walk to the Wedgewood crossroads. You'll be on foot and you'll be alone. If you do as I say, the girl will live. If you don't, she dies."

Bo swallowed through a suddenly dry throat. "How do I know you'll keep your word?"he forced out.

"You don't."

-click-

Bo slowly lowered the phone from his ear, staring at the receiver as if it had bitten him.

Luke had stood by with an increasingly growing knot in his chest. He had seen Bo's face go from confused to shocked to alarmed in a matter of seconds, and he knew he wasn't going to like what he was about to hear. "Was that who I think it was?" he asked slowly.

"Yeah." Bo looked up, tight-lipped with anger and worry. "They've got Daisy."

Well, shoot. As if this whole mess weren't bad enough, now Daisy's in trouble! I sure do hate that. You know Bo and Luke are gonna try to save her, but it seems as if that troublesome ol' Duke luck has raised it's head again…and we all know that makes those boys about as lucky as a two-footed rabbit.