---7---
Luke walked towards the blonde head, dodging between the groups of cons, keeping his eyes on Bo all the time. His young cousin was staring off into space, looking lost and nervous. Luke could only see him in profile.
"Bo?"
His cousin turned, brilliant grin blossoming on his face. Luke felt a jolt as he saw fresh scrapes, along with the older bruises from the crash, on the other side of Bo's face. He wanted to grab Bo and hug the living daylights out of him, but he didn't dare, not in this place.
Luke stepped away from Bo's automatically raised arms and just clutched his cousin's hand in a shake and clapped him on the shoulder. Bo's eyes betrayed his confusion at his cousin's actions. For a moment, neither knew what to say.
Bo broke the awkward silence. "I'm sorry, Luke."
That was the last thing he expected to hear. "Whatcha apologisin' for?"
"For crashin' the Traveller. For landin' us in this place."
Luke's eyes flickered to the other cons, who were beginning to look their way, interested in the young newcomers. "Let's walk, all right?" He said and snagged Bo's arm to propel him forward.
"It ain't ya fault, Bo." He said as they walked. "An' blamin' yaself ain't gonna help any."
Luke noticed one of the cons staring at Bo, looking the young man up and down. He switched sides, putting himself between them. It didn't help that Bo was a good few inches taller than Luke.
Luke increased their pace, but not by much. Just enough speed to get them away from the men quickly but not so fast as to draw attention to them. It was a delicate balance. Luke now knew what a rabbit felt like, always on the alert for danger. The tension didn't help that ache in his head, which was slowly increasing as the day wore on.
Bo frowned. "Ya all right?"
Luke suddenly realised he must have tuned his cousin out. He offered him a smile. "I'm fine." He gestured to the scrapes on Bo's cheek. "Fact, I oughta be askin' you that."
Bo felt a sudden wash of shame. "It ain't nothin'"
Luke wasn't convinced but his attention was suddenly on a bulky man some way ahead, staring in their direction.
Gator.
His cellmate said something to another man standing at his side and they both laughed. Gator kept his eyes locked with Luke's the whole time.
"Who's that?" Bo asked.
"My cell mate." Luke told him. "He ain't worth worrin' over."
He only wished that were true. They walked on, talking about little things before lapsing into a companionable silence.
After a while, Bo stopped and looked at his cousin. "You think we're ever gonna get outta here?"
Luke sighed. "Prob'ly in about 5 to 10."
"Years?"
Luke nodded and carried on walking. Bo followed.
"Luke?" He asked eventually.
"Yeah?"
"Ain't there nothin' we can do?"
Of course there wasn't. "Bo…" He began, but he couldn't destroy the hope on the boy's face. "Now don't ya remember what Jesse always says?" He asked, in a lighter tone than he felt inside. "Where there's a will…"
Bo grinned. "…There's a Duke." He finished.
"'xactly."
They turned a corner. There was a row of bleachers along the wall, where groups of hardened men sat. They looked the new meat up and down. Luke saw that a few eyes were focused only on Bo and those gazes were enough to freeze the blood.
Luke steered Bo back the way they came. His cousin didn't seem to notice the change.
Luke looked back. The men were still watching, some of them were even laughing at the reaction they'd provoked.
"I wantcha to promise me somethin', Bo."
"Anythin'."
"Don't go anywhere alone in here, all right?" He told him. "Not to the showers, or kitchens or in yer cell. Don't get trapped."
"Why?"
"Never mind why, just promise me, OK?"
"Sure."
---
"Time passes real slow in prison, 'cept when ya don't want it too. Pretty soon, Bo an' Luke were herded back to their cells like cattle at a market an' when ya'll have been livin' as free as those two boys, let me tell ya, that is hard to take."
Luke was aware of Gator following him back to his cell. He never looked back to see him but Luke knew he was there all the same. Inside his cell, Luke went to his bunk and lay down. His head was pounding like someone was trying to hammer nails into his brain. He threw his arm across his eyes to keep out the light. It was very little comfort
Gator walked in and kicked the bunks. The noise and vibrations jarred Luke's aching head.
"That boy yer kin?" He asked.
Luke didn't move. "Ain't none of ya business if it is."
"Pretty boy." He sneered, "know me some who'd look after him real good."
Luke sat up. "Leave Bo alone."
Gator laughed nastily, "or what, kid? You gone run to ya mumma?" Gator leaned over Luke and stuck his face right into his. "Think ya'd better be lookin' after yaself, boy." He chuckled. "Them that's be takin' a like him, may just like ya too."
"I can take care of myself." He put enough edge on it to make it sound a threat.
Gator laughed again. "Boy, you ain't got no idea."
"I don't know 'bout ya'll, but I really don't like that guy."
---
Bo looked up as Ricky came into their cell. His cell mate didn't speak, only got onto his bunk with a sigh. He took up a battered prison library book and began reading.
Bo lay back on his own bed and waited out time. He had a feeling he was going to get really good at that before long.
The sounds of the prison echoed into the cell, yelling, banging, fighting, and finally he sighed.
Ricky jumped down off his bed. He put his book back on the table. Then he turned to Bo. "Gotcha in the halls, huh?"
Bo sat up. "What?"
Ricky tapped his own cheek then pointed at Bo's. "Who was it?"
Bo looked down, ashamed. "Don't know."
Ricky chuckled. "Yeah, ya learnin' kid."
Bo lay back again. He didn't bother explaining that was the truth. "Why are ya here?"
"Ain't polite ta ask that."
"But you ain't like…" He trailed off, not wanting to offend.
"Like ya expected? Like the con who gave ya that shiner?"
Bo was reluctant to answer.
Ricky snorted. "Look, kid, I ain't much different ta you, 'cepting a few years in here. I trusted the wrong people." Ricky looked at the bars. "Ain't gonna make me that mistake again."
---
"Back at the Duke farm, Jesse an' Daisy were tryin' ta keep up their spirits, by cookin' up a batch of Jesse's famous chitlins an' corn bread. Now ol' Andy was a mite partial to Jesse's chitlins and got himself an invite when he dropped by to see if there was anythin' he could do about the farm. An' Jesse invited Sammy too so she could go over her plans fer the trial. But without the boys, that was one quiet table."
Daisy made coffee after dinner and they all retired into the living area. Sammy had finished explaining the judicial procedures and the conversation had turned to the farm and the forthcoming harvest. Andy promised his help, but they all knew that without Bo and Luke a fair portion of the crops would spoil and rot still in the ground.
Andy finally stood up. "Thanks for the meal, Jesse."
Jesse got up too. "You're always welcome, ya know that."
Andy nodded. "I appreciate that."
Sammy also stood. "I'd best be leaving too." She said and began packing her files back into her briefcase. "Thank you."
They said their goodnights and Andy walked her out to their cars. He apologised to Sammy as he took out his tobacco. He had been desperate for a cigarette for several hours, needing the calming heat in his lungs to soothe the regret in his heart.
He caught her looking as he lit up. "I know, I oughta quit." He breathed out a line of smoke. "Now ain't the time though."
She smiled gently. "Jesse doesn't blame you."
Andy sucked in a long draw of smoke. Then let it out slowly. "Perhaps he should."
"He knows it's your job." She told him. "The Dukes are good people."
"I knowed there was somethin' I liked her."
They reached his car and he leant back against it, looking back at the house. The sun was going down, bathing the farm in an ethereal golden reddish glow. There was a simple beauty in his ramshackle farmhouse that Andy had never found anywhere else.
"That's where those boys belong." He murmured. "Not in no city jail."
"I agree."
"Ya know, first day I came here, Luke was ridin' his bike just about here, an' Bo was a-chasin' after him." He chuckled. "Those boys ain't stopped since." He sucked again on his cigarette. "More'n ten years of chasin' the Dukes…an' I got 'em." He chucked down the butt and stamped on it. "I wish it coulda been different."
---
"Bo an' Luke made it through meal time by watchin' each others back an' keepin' their heads down. But neither felt like eatin'."
Luke got ready for bed quickly, remembering the drill from his days in the Marine barracks. Gator had already washed, leaving Luke with a dirty basin and cold water. He'd seen the reason why his mean cell mate was called Gator. On his back was a huge and detailed tattoo of an alligator. It must have taken weeks to complete and had probably hurt like hell.
Luke did his best to ignore him and bent to wash his face in the small basin they shared. Hands shoved him forward and Luke's head thudded against the basin, sending it clattering to the floor. Water splashed over them, flooding the floor.
Gator grabbed him and pulled him up, throwing him against the wall. The air whuffed out of Luke's lungs on impact and his head swam. Gator put his face right into Luke's.
"I tol' ya, plowboy," he snarled, "ya do ya bed, ya do mine."
---
Bo pulled the covers around him as the lights went out across the prison with an audible click. He rolled onto his side, closed his eyes and thought about Jesse's words.
Put your faith in the Good Lord.
Bo's lips began to move, silently whispering the Lord's Prayer over and over until he fell asleep.
---
Luke lay in the darkness. His head ached from the blows and his lip felt swollen where he'd hit the basin. So much for being the experienced one. So much for using his training and time in the Marines to get them both through this.
A silent tear slipped free.
"Friends, things is gettin' serious."
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Thanks to Tish, who during proof reading pointed out that saying Andy was desperate for a fag would give American readers entirely the wrong impression about revenuers!