Beauty is Only Skin Deep
Chapter 10
Within a half an hour, the rest of the Duke family, Cooter, and Enos were in Doc Appleby's waiting area, staring back at the young couple as they told the rest what had happened and Maddie's real story.
"I've heard of this Gionelli fella and he's a bad one," Enos said, worry showing on his face. "Are ya sure that he was the one shootin' at y'all?"
"We didn't get a chance ta see who was really doin' the shootin' but that Agent Watson was pretty sure that it was Gionelli and that he now knows Maddie is here. That's why the agent came ta see her sos that he could move her ta another safe house," Bo explained.
"And from what Bill has told me before about the man, that's one of the ways he gets rid of someone…sniper style," Maddie filled in, still clinging to Bo's arm.
"Well if the Fed's knew that Gionelli was down here after ya, why didn't they try and find him?" Cooter asked.
"They were trying but he found me first."
"The question is what do we do now?" Bo asked as he looked directly at Luke.
Luke sighed and shook his head at the confidence that his cousin placed in him. "Looks like the first thing we gotta do is hide Maddie somewhere safe."
"How about the Indian caves," Daisy suggested.
Luke thought about it for a moment and smiled. "That's not a bad idea."
"Now wait just a minute, I am not going to stay in no caves!" Maddie protested.
"But there's nothing in there that can hurt ya, Maddie," Bo said, trying to calm her down.
"Bo, I am not worried about no snakes, bugs, or spiders," Maddie turned to him, anger in her eyes. "You forget I grew up with four brothers. I had to learn real quick to like those things otherwise I would have been tortured by them. It's just that I am not going to let the rest of you risk your lives for me while I'm stuck in some old, damp cave."
"But Maddie…" Bo pleaded.
"No Bo. It's me that he's after and the only way to get him to come out is if I'm the bait."
"We understand what you're sayin', Maddie," Luke started, "but it would be better if ya went inta hidin'."
"No! Listen, I am not happy about the fact that I've gotten all of you involved in this, in fact I'm downright scared about this whole situation. I appreciate what you're doing but I don't want any of you to get hurt on account of me. If you're all fired up to go through with this to weed this Gionelli guy out, then I'm going to help."
"Ya sure ya ain't got no Duke blood in ya?" Jesse asked with a chuckle.
"She sure does sound like a Duke, don't she," Cooter agreed.
"Just as stubborn as all the Duke women are," Jesse nodded.
Maddie couldn't help but blush at the compliment. "Please, let me do this."
Luke shook his head and smiled. "Well, seein' how we're not gonna change your mind, I guess we got no choice."
"No you don't," Maddie answered with a nod.
"I still wish that ya would reconsider though," Bo said as he squeezed her tightly.
"Bo, it's not fair to ask all of you to fight my battles for me."
"Ya didn't ask," Bo smiled back. "But a Duke's never let a friend down before."
"Or a Davenport," Cooter grinned.
"Or a Strate," Enos chuckled.
"Thank you," Maddie said as tears flooded her eyes. "All I ask is that you please be careful."
"We're always careful, ain't we Luke?" Bo asked his cousin.
"That's right," Luke smiled back. "Now, why don't ya start off by tellin' us what ya know about this guy and we'll start from there." The small group huddled closer as Maddie, with a little help from Enos, told them what she knew.
01 01 01 01
A few hours later, Cooter dropped off Bo and Maddie back in front of her place, sitting there while they both got into the General. "Okay, ya two know what ta do?"
"We got it, Cooter," Bo grinned back.
"Just be careful. We already know what this Gionelli fella is capable of doin'. I don't want him hurtin' y'all either," Cooter said as he looked around at the surrounding trees and fields. The consensus of the small group had been that Gionelli would most likely be watching Maddie's place, waiting for her return, since he probably did not know where she had been hiding for the last few hours.
"Well if all goes ta plan, he won't get the chance."
"All right then, keep it 'tween the ditches, y'all," Cooter yelled as he pulled away, waving when he heard the sound of Dixie.
Bo and Maddie quickly took off in the General heading the opposite direction. Bo looked over at his passenger and grabbed her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. When Maddie looked up, he could see the fear on her face. "Everythin' is gonna be okay, Maddie."
"I'm just afraid that someone is going to get hurt on account of me."
Bo gripped her hand a little tighter and smiled. "Like I told ya before, Gionelli is on our turf now. He's not gonna know what hit him." Bo saw the trembling smile that she gave him.
As they headed down the road, Bo looked in the rearview mirror and spotted a strange car following them. He did a quick series of turns only to find that the other car was still on his tail. He let go of Maddie's hand and picked up the CB handset. "This is Lost Sheep Two callin' the flock. We've seemed ta have a hunter on our tail, over."
"Bo, this is Luke. Ya know what ta do. Lead him on in."
"That's a big ten-four, cousin. Be there in a few," Bo answered before hanging up the CB. "Well Darlin', this is where the big, bad, hit man discovers that he is out of his league."
Maddie, who was looking out the back window turned to Bo and took a deep breath. "Let's do this. I want my life back." Crying his rebel yell, Bo floored the General and sped off, watching as the car behind them did the same.
Knowing that he had to take it easy so as not to lose Gionelli, he made his way along the back roads, making sure that the hit man knew where they were at all times. Basically driving around in circles, Bo finally turned off a small side road before bringing the General to a sliding stop. Getting out of the car, Bo and Maddie quickly ran into the surrounding woods and down a small foot path. They both heard Gionelli's car skid to a stop behind the General and the slamming of a door as the man began chasing them on foot.
Gionelli followed the fresh tracks, smiling to himself at how easy it was to follow them. His smile quickly faded a few minutes later when all signs of his prey suddenly disappeared. Turning in place, he looked for anything that would tell him which way his targets went, stopping when he saw the small broken branch indicating which direction they were headed in.
Moving slowly and silently, the man came upon a small, weathered shack that looked like it had been standing there for many, many years. Stealthily making his way closer to the building, he tried peeking in through the windows only to discover that they were caked with several layers of dirt. At the sound of something being knocked over inside the building, he moved over to the door, and with his gun drawn, burst through the opening. It took a few moments for his eyes to adjust to the dimness of the interior, but as soon as they did, he realized that it wasn't the two people he was after that was standing there. A loud growl confirmed his suspicions as he high tailed it back outside, closely followed by a large black bear.
As Gionelli ran for his life, the bear amble his way behind the man, growling and yelling as it went. The hit man quickly made his way down a path that he hoped would lead him back to his car, but soon found himself floating in midair before he dropped heavily down into a six foot deep hole. He lay there stunned for a moment until he heard the sound of the bear growling above him. Realizing he still had his gun in his hand, he rolled over and took careful aim at the creature but stopped short of pulling the trigger.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you!" a voice commanded from above. Turning, Gionelli saw the barrel of a police issued revolver pointing directly at him. "Harvey here wouldn't appreciate it if ya shot him…and neither would I," Enos said as he continued to point his gun at the hit man. "Now just throw that gun of yours over yonder there and slowly stand up." Seeing that he had no other choice, Gionelli did as he was told. "Boys, ya mind givin' this man a lift?" Enos asked. Gionelli felt two pairs of hands pulling him up from the deep hole and before he could even try to break free, he felt a pair of handcuffs being slipped over his wrists behind his back.
Looking around, Gionelli saw the smiling faces of an old man holding a shot gun, the tow truck driver that he had seen earlier, the deputy sheriff, and a girl standing right next to the bear, hugging its neck as if it were her pet. "Good boy, Harvey. Ya come by the house later on tonight and I'll give ya a special treat," Daisy smiled as she scratched the bear's chin. Harvey returned a growl of pleasure as he snuggled into her hand.
"Enos, ya might want ta search him," Luke said while still holding onto the hit man's arm. Gionelli turned and saw a dark haired man standing on one side of him and the blonde haired man that had ruined his earlier attempt, standing on his other side glaring back at the man.
Enos, knowing that the man was good and captured, put his gun away and did a thorough search, finding and removing the many concealed weapons the man had hidden on himself. As Enos stood back, Maddie finally came into view and moved closer to the man that had been plaguing her for the past year and a half. Looking directly into his eyes, she gave a snarl that closely resembled Harvey's growl. "That's him, Enos. That's Nick Gionelli."
Enos nodded at her, grabbed the man's arm, and started pulling him through the woods towards his patrol car with Cooter following close behind to make sure that the man didn't try anything. As Enos led the man away, the rest of them could hear the young deputy reading Gionelli his rights.
Before she had a chance to move, Maddie felt Bo's arms wrapping around her and she felt herself give in to her fright and worry, leaning heavily into him. "Hey now, it over," Bo said soothingly as he gently rocked her. "Everything is gonna be just fine." Bo felt Maddie nod against his shoulder feeling his shirt soaking up her tears.
"I…I can't believe it," she finally whispered. "It really is over."
"I'm afraid it's not quite over yet," Luke spoke up and saw the look of fear come over her again. "You'll have ta face him again at his trial…but that's the easy part." Maddie smiled when she saw the grin grow on Luke's face.
"Yeah, after what I've just been through, you're right, that will be the easy part."
"And with him locked away, ya can get your old life back," Uncle Jesse grinned, happy that everything turned out as well as it did.
Maddie stared at Jesse for a moment as the realization hit her. "Yeah, my old life back," she finally answered, not really sure if she was happy or sad about that thought.
01 01 01 01
Once he arrived back at the Sheriff's office and had Gionelli safely locked up, Enos phoned the FBI of the capture of the wanted hit man. Poor Rosco stood by in confusion as the Atlanta Bureau swarmed the small town of Hazard, locking down the small Sheriff's office until Gionelli was officially taken into their custody.
Boss returned from the Boars Nest to the flurry of activity only to find out that the man he knew as Evans wasn't an FBI agent after all. When he also found out that he wasn't going to collect the ten thousand dollar reward on Maddie, he took his frustrations out on Rosco for not having recognized the trained killer in the first place. It didn't matter to Boss that Rosco had never seen the man until he had been captured and hadn't a clue that the man was even trying to kill Maddie. What really made Boss angry was the fact that Maddie and the Dukes would be collecting the sizable reward that was being offered for Gionelli, a reward that they were willing to share with Cooter and Enos for helping them.
Agent Bill Watson woke up later that evening at Doc Appleby's to a flurry of questions by his supervisors as to why he didn't notify the department about the situation. When the Dukes and Maddie told them what had happened to the man and that it had been their decision not to call, they carefully explained the events of the last few hours and informed the department that Agent Watson went far and above his duty to protect his witness. The agent was grateful for everything that the family had done for him, getting him to a doctor, and also talking to his supervisors, but he was especially happy that Maddie's life could begin to return to normal after being on the run for over a year.
After a long night of questions and answers with all of them relating to what had just taken place, the following morning, Bo pushed a exhausted Maddie into her living room and made her sit down on the couch. He picked up the phone and handed the receiver to her, giving her a warm smile before turning and heading back to the kitchen. With trembling fingers, she dialed the number she knew by heart and nervously waited for the person on the other end to answer. "Hello, Mom?" she said as tears started forming in her eyes. "It...it's me, Leslie." Maddie and her mother stayed on the phone for over two hours as she explained why she had suddenly disappeared and how she ended up in Georgia. Tears were shed on both sides of the phone conversation with Maddie making a promise to come home soon to see her and the rest of her family.
Once Maddie was off of the phone, she went to the kitchen where Bo stood and held her as she cried in relief at the notion of being able to see her family once again. Once her tears slowed, she looked up at the man holding her and smiled. "So, does this mean you're gonna move back home?" Bo asked with a hint of apprehension in his voice.
Maddie shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not really sure what I'm doing yet. I do kind of like it down here though." The sly smile on her face told Bo that she was willing to stay if there was a good reason to.
"I'd like it if ya did stay," Bo smiled back.
"Just like?" she asked.
Bo could see the mischievous look in her eyes and grinned wider. "Okay, I would love it if ya stayed. Better?" he asked as he kissed her.
"Much," Maddie answered as she hugged him tighter. "Bo, can I ask a favor of you?"
"Sure. What is it?" Bo questioned while looking down at her.
"I know that we haven't known each other all that long, but...I was wondering if you would be willing to go to Pennsylvania with me, you know, to meet my family?"
Bo could see how scared she was that he was going to say no so he gave her one of his biggest smiles. "Darlin', I would love ta go ta Pennsylvania with ya and meet your family. Ya know, I've never been that far north before."
"One thing you got to remember since it's only early March, you'll need to bring some warm clothes with you and some good boots."
Bo's eyes widened half with fear and half with excitement. "Ya mean that there still could be snow up there?"
"Maddie nodded. "Most likely. Where I come from, it's not all that unusual to have snow up until May. It may only be a couple of inches, but it is possible."
"Are ya sure that ya didn't live in the Artic somewhere?" Bo asked as he shook his head in wonderment.
"It could feel that way sometimes," Maddie giggled. "Oh, and we'll probably have to make a stop on the way home to see my one brother and his family since he lives in South Carolina, but the rest of the family is in Pennsylvania."
"At least it'll be warmer there," Bo joked. "Guess I better tune up your car sos that I can leave the General for Luke. It should only take us a couple of days of drivin' ta get ya home."
"Driving? We're not driving."
"We're not?"
"Nope, we're flying, complements of the US government."
"The government? How'd ya wrangle that deal?"
"Just a small thank you for helping them catch Gionelli and for having, and I quote, inconvenienced me for the last year."
"All right then," Bo grinned. "When do ya want ta leave?"
"As soon..." Maddie didn't get to finish her thought when the phone rang. Looking at Bo, she got a grin on her face. "How much do you want to bet that that's one of my brothers or my sister calling?"
"Go on and get it. Ya got a lot of catchin' up ta do. I'll finish up on some of these little projects that got pushed ta the side."
Maddie nodded and smiled at him again and then quickly ran to answer the phone, screaming in delight when her sister started yelling at her, just like old times.