Hope and a Prayer

Chapter 3

Bo sat quietly in the back seat of the car wincing as he felt the gun push harder into his ribs due the road being bumpy and uneven. He was glad that they took him instead of Sue Ann but he really wished there had been someway of letting Luke, Uncle Jesse, and Daisy know what was going on. Bo figured Luke would be able to come up with some kind of a plan to get him away from these guys, but with the way Luke was acting towards him this morning, he wasn't too sure if his cousin would even care what happened to him. The one thing that really made Bo nervous was that the three armed robbers had all taken their beards off, which meant only one thing to Bo, that they weren't going to leave any witnesses. He swallowed hard before he tried to say anything.

"Uh look fellas, ya got the money and ya got away, so how's about lettin' me off here so's that you can continue on without me."

"Very funny, Blondie," Frank laughed as he turned to face the young man. "You're the one that wanted to come along for the ride, so we're just makin' sure that you're enjoyin' it."

Bo chuckled weakly along with other three men. "Listen, I'm not tryin' ta be no hero here, I just didn't want ta see Sue Ann hurt by ya guys. That's the only reason I told ya ta take me instead."

"Now you done told us that you knew these back roads better than anybody else. Don't tell me you lied to us?" Frank asked, a look of anger crossing his face.

"No, no, I didn't lie ta ya."

"That's good to hear."

A cold nervous feeling twisted Bo's stomach. "Uh, which way is it that ya want ta go?"

"Out of the county, what else?" Frank growled back. "Which way?"

Bo took a quick look at the scenery before speaking again. "Okay, about five miles down this road, you'll come ta a crossroad. Take a left there."

"What's up there?" Larry asked as he pushed the gun harder into Bo's side causing him to wince. "Not tryin' to double cross us are you?"

"No sir. That junction will take ya ta the county line."

Frank studied their prisoner for a moment and decided that he was telling the truth. They were a couple of miles away from junction when the four of them heard the sound of a siren heading towards them.

"It's the fuzz," Larry yelled out, pushing the gun further into Bo's side.

"Lose him Jake," Frank ordered as Bo watched Enos' patrol car spin around to start chasing them. "Okay kid, if you wanna live, you'll tell us where to go to get rid of him."

Bo figured that no matter what, he wasn't coming out of this alive, so the best thing he could come up with is a way to stop the crooks from getting away and hope that his family would be able to get over his loss. "Take that next right instead," he finally yelled out.

Enos watched as the car he was chasing suddenly turned off and he did his best to keep up. Once he was behind them again, he picked up the C.B. handset. "Sheriff, this is Enos. That blue Chevy just turned onto Mason Road. I'm right behind them."

"Keep with 'em, Enos," Rosco ordered. "I'll be there in just a few."

Back in Dixie, Daisy's eyes grew wide. "Uncle Jesse, isn't the bridge out on Mason Road?"

"I think you're right, Daisy," Jesse answered as he grabbed the C.B. "Rosco, ya need ta hurry. The bridge is out on Mason Road."

"Holy jumpin' gehosaphat," Rosco yelled back. "I plumb forgot about that."

"Why do ya think they would take that road?" Luke asked in confusion.

"Maybe they don't know that the bridge is out," Jesse replied.

"Or maybe that's the road Bo told 'em ta take," Rosco answered.

"What are ya getting at, Rosco?" Jesse asked the sheriff.

"Bo told those crooks that he knew the roads around here real well."

"Why did he tell 'em that?"

"So that they would take him and not Sue Ann," Rosco answered.

Luke slammed his hand on the General's steering wheel in anger. "Well then, we better get there real quick or Bo's gonna be in big trouble."

"Seems ta me that Bo's in trouble no matter what happens," Rosco responded cryptically. Jesse and Daisy looked at each other, each with a look of horror on their faces while Luke took a deep breath, hoping against hope that they would make it in time.

The bank robber's vehicle tore down Mason Road with Enos right behind them. They had just come over a small rise when Jake noticed the sign on the side of the road. "The bridge is out!"

"Get us off this road then," Frank ordered.

"There ain't no place to turn around," Jake hollered back looking at all the greenery that surrounded both sides of the narrow, dirt road.

Frank turned around in his seat, his gun pointed directly at Bo. "You made a big mistake boy," Frank growled out, but Bo just sat there with a smug look on his face.

"Ya better punch it if ya want ta get ta the other side," Bo smiled back.

"What do I do?" Jake yelled out, getting nervous the closer he got to the missing bridge. He knew they only had two options, give themselves up to the cop riding on his tail or jump the fast flowing river.

"Hit it. We ain't about ta let this plowboy get us caught," Frank ordered as he turned around to the front.

Enos looked on in horror as the blue car sped up knowing that there was no way a car could make it across that open river, not even the General Lee. "Sheriff, Sheriff, they're going for it," Enos shouted into the CB. He watched the car hit the ramp and fly into the air, it continued to travel forward before coming down hard in the middle of the swollen river. Enos hit his breaks and stopped just before his front end went over the edge. "They're in, Sheriff. We're gonna need help and lots of it."

Rosco cringed as he answered. "I'm callin' for help, Enos. Just hang on." He quickly sent an emergency call out for anyone who could help and also for an ambulance and paramedics.

Luke growled in frustration at the news he just heard. "Enos, anyone getting out of the car?"

Knowing exactly who he meant, Enos swallowed hard. "I'm not seein' any sign of Bo or the robbers, Luke. The car is already sinkin' and bein' pushed over onto its side at the same time."

Luke pounded his fist into the General's dash. "Take it easy, Luke," Jessed called out, knowing how his nephew could be when it came to his family. "I'm not givin' up on him yet and neither should you." Luke didn't answer, too upset to talk at the moment.