Spittin' Image

Chapter 10

Expertly avoiding Rosco and Enos, Bo and Luke quickly made their way back to the still sight where Jesse, Cooter, and Jonathan were patiently waiting for their return. After filling in the others as to what they had found in the files, the two cousins saw their uncle smiling at the news. "What are ya grinnin' about, Uncle Jesse," Bo asked in surprise. "Ya do realize how many abandoned farms are on that road, don't ya?"

Jesse grinned even harder. "Sure I do and all because of Boss Hogg buyin' up that land when he thought that that big oil company was gonna come in ta drill for oil. He paid a pretty price for each of those farms but he figured that he was gonna be rich from the profits he was gonna make from the rental of that land. Turns out that there was no oil, only lots and lots of underground water wells."

"But what are ya grinnin' about?" Luke asked this time.

"Well what ya boys are forgettin' is that since JD owns all those farms, nobody's been takin' care of them proper, and since he won't spend a dime on them ta keep them in shape, there's about only three farms left that have a barn standin' at all."

"Only three?" Jonathan questioned, shocked at what he just heard.

"Yep three," Jesse smiled. "Some of them have been destroyed because of neglect, some by the storms we've had in the past, and some by these three crashin' their cars through 'em ta get away from Rosco and Enos." Jesse saw Jonathan pale slightly at the thought of the others purposely crashing through a barn wall.

Cooter, however, couldn't control the chuckle that escaped from him. "That's right, there are only three barns standin'."

"Well that sure narrows the search down some," Luke smiled back.

"Let's see," Jesse said as he sat back thinking about which ones were still around. "That would be the old Miller place, the Fitzgerald's barn, and the Porter's old place."

"They're spread out some but we should be able ta check them all out before nightfall," Bo chipped in.

"Well, let's get a move on then," Cooter announced as he stood up.

Before the others had a chance to move, Luke grabbed onto his uncle's arm. "Uncle Jesse, why don't ya give your old friend, Sam Mitchell, a call and invite him down for some of your crawdad bisque."

"Sam Mitchell?" Jesse questioned not quite sure why Luke was asking about his friend.

"Sure. It's been a while since ya had him down ta the farm. In fact, we could meet him on the way into town, especially since he's gonna go past where we're searchin'."

Jesse's eyes lit up with amusement when he saw the smile on his nephew's face. "Sam Mitchell. Ya know it has been a while since we've seen him. I'll head on over ta the farm whiles you four see if ya can find where JD is storin' that electronic equipment."

"All right, Uncle Jesse," Luke grinned. "Just stay close ta the CB in case we run into any trouble."

"Ya got it, Luke. Ya boys be careful, ya hear?"

"We're always careful, Uncle Jesse," Bo beamed back.

"That's what I'm worried about," Jesse chuckled as he watched the four men climb into their respective vehicles and drive off.

01 01 01 01

As Bo and Luke headed towards the Fitzgerald place, Cooter and Jonathan stopped at the Miller's barn to give it a quick search. Upon opening the barn doors, the two men could tell right away that there was no electronic equipment stored in there and that, in fact, the old structure was about ready to fall over. Carefully closing the doors, the two men made their way back over to Cooter's truck and got in. As they took off down the road, Cooter grabbed the CB to call Bo and Luke.

"Breaker one, breaker one, I maybe crazy but I ain't dumb. Crazy Cooter callin' the Duke cousins, come back."

"We're here, Cooter. What'd ya find?" Luke answered back.

"Well, me and Jon here found a big negatory at the Miller place."

"I copy that, Crazy C. Why don't the two of yas start headin' over ta the Porter place while Bo and me search the Fitzgerald's barn. We're almost there and if we find anythin', we'll holler."

"Ya got it, Lukas Dukas. We're gone," Cooter answered back. Turning, he smiled over at Jonathan who was staring at the mechanic. "Hang on, son, we're haulin' rubber, blubber."

Jonathan's eyes widened in fear as Cooter pressed down on the accelerator. "Uh, you're not planning on jumping this truck, are you?"

Cooter saw the scared look pass over the blonde man's face and chuckled. "The only thing this thing might jump over is a mud puddle. Let me guess, ya got ta experience the General in flight?"

"Uh yeah, unfortunately," Jonathan grimaced as he place his arm protectively over his midsection. "Let's just say that my stomach hasn't been the same since." Cooter couldn't help but laugh again at his friend's distraught look.

01 01 01 01

Rosco quickly sat up in his patrol car as he listened to the conversation between Luke and Cooter. His face lit up in excitement at the thought of recapturing Bo Duke along with his cousin Luke, and once again getting in Boss' good graces. The sheriff turned his CB back to the official police channel and grabbed the handle.

"This is Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane callin' his Little, Fat buddy, come back?"

"Rosco, I already done told you that I am not your Little, Fat buddy, you got that?" Boss angrily answered causing Rosco to wince. "Now you better be callin' me with the good news that you found Bo Duke and have him cuffed and stuffed in the back of your vehicle."

"Well, not exactly," Rosco answered but continued before Boss could yell at him some more, "but I did overhear that the Duke boys are headin' ta the old Fitzgerald place."

"Fitzgerald place?" Boss screamed back. "Rosco, you got to get them Dukes before they go inside that barn."

"What's the big deal, Boss? The only thing that barn holds is a lot of dust."

"You nitwit, that's the barn where I have my elec…uh shipment stored while I wait to meet with the buyer," Boss explained.

"Shipment?" a confused Rosco asked before the light bulb went on. "Oooh, the shipment, uh yeah, now I get ya, kew kew."

"And you better get those Duke boys or I'll divorce your fat sister, my wife Lulu, and send her back home to live with you!"

"Ijit, ya wouldn't do that, would you?"

"Oh wouldn't I?" Boss answered in a singsong voice.

"Uh yeah, ya would," Rosco grimaced at the thought.

"Now go arrest them Dukes!" Boss ordered as he put on his white coat and grabbed his hat intent on seeing that Rosco didn't mess things up for him. "I don't want nothing to happened to that shipment, you understand?"

"Uh I understand. I'm gone." Rosco threw the handset down and with his gumballs a glowing, headed towards the old Fitzgerald place in search of the Duke boys.

01 01 01 01

Bo and Luke pulled up to the old Fitzgerald place and quickly climbed out of the car. The two made their way over to the barn only to find a shiny new lock on the old battered door. "Somehow that lock just doesn't fit in with the rest of the decor," Luke chucked as he fingered the heavy-duty security device. "I think we may have found Boss' stash."

"It sure looks that way," Bo smiled back. "But I think that we should check this out just to be sure."

"I think you're right," nodded Luke. "I'll go back to the General and let Cooter and Jon know that we might be onto something here and I'll see if we got something that'll take that lock off."

"Right."

"In the meantime, why don't ya take a look around and see if ya can find another way in."

"I'm on it, Cuz," Bo grinned as he slapped Luke's shoulder and the two split up.

As Luke made his way back to the car, Bo headed around the side of the old barn, tapping on the ancient timbers in hopes of finding a loose or broken board. He found that the old planks were still in fairly decent condition and that the old window that was there had been boarded up as well. As he turned the corner to check out the back of the building, he stopped in his tracks at the sight of a gun pointed directly at him. Without even thinking, he put his hands up in the air in surrender.

"You again," the man growled, anger clearly written on his face.

"Me?"

"Don't play games with me, kid. I know you saw Hogg payin' me off at that dump he calls a bar.

Bo shifted on his feet and gave the man a scared smile. "Honest mister, that wasn't me," he answered truthfully. "Ya got me confused with someone else."

"I don't think so, otherwise you wouldn't be here. I knew that I couldn't trust Hogg to take care of you properly," the man menacingly growled. "He's too soft when it comes to takin' care of business. Guess I'll just have to do it myself." Bo swallowed hard and nodded as the man indicated that he should quietly start walking towards the open door that was located in the back of the barn.