A/N – Hi Everyone! Sorry this update took a little longer. If it's not a headache or my ISP – it's work! Yikes! I guess that's life:) Anyway, thanks for the feedback and reviews! Really appreciate it!
Disclaimer: I don't own the Dukes, and no infringements intended.
BALANCING THE BOOKS
CHAPTER 12
A LEAD IN THE CASE
Setting down the peas, Jackie stood up from her chair. Walking over to the railing, she watched the men as they approached. "Good morning," she called to them with a wave, hoping that they were there to tell her that they had apprehended the men who robbed the bank and shot her.
Briefly acknowledging the Duke males, who were also converging upon the house, the men in suits turned their focus toward Jackie. "Morning Special Agent Johnson," the older of the two men replied back.
Jackie grinned, thinking about the fact that her title was virtually useless on a farm.
"How are you feeling?" he continued.
"Much better, thank you. What can I do for you?" she inquired.
"We need to speak to you Special Agent," the younger man informed her, speaking for the first time.
Jackie hated to tell the junior agent that he was stating the obvious. She doubted that they had driven there just to take a drive in the country and to say hello. She also wanted to tell them to call her by her first name, having grown lax in the area of government formalities. Jackie knew, however, that protocol would never allow it. Dismissing the notion, she switched gears. "Would you like to come in?" she offered, hoping that she wasn't being too bold by inviting them into a house that wasn't hers.
"Thank you," they replied, following her inside, with Bo and Luke on their heels.
"Have a seat," Jackie invited. "Would you like some coffee?"
"Yes, thank you," the older man again answered for both of them.
Daisy was standing at the sink, already getting the cups down, and Jackie began filling them. Uncle Jesse sat down at the table next to the agents. Luke moved next to Daisy, and Bo moved next to Jackie. When Jackie was done filling the mugs, Bo set them down on the table, then returned to her side, sliding an arm around her in a protective manner. Considering the visitors were also colleagues, Jackie understood that she should have acted professionally and moved away from Bo and his embrace. After everything she'd already endured, though, she found that she wasn't concerned with image and remained right where she was.
"Special Agent Johnson, this might be best done in private," Special Agent Matthews told her. With graying hair and at least twenty years older than the younger man, he was clearly the one in charge.
"Is this classified?" she asked, slipping back into agent mode.
Looking at each other, the men from the FBI shook their heads. "Not exactly," Matthews replied, sounding vague.
"Then, anything you've got to say to me, you can say in front of them," Jackie stated, referring to the family that had adopted her over the past few weeks. "I'm living in their home right now, so there's a possibility that what you've got to tell me just might affect them, anyway."
"It doesn't, and this isn't proper procedure," the younger man snapped. "This information should be classified. It's just an oversight."
Special Agent Jackie Johnson's initial reaction was to snap right back at the young agent. Biting her tongue, momentarily, she quickly sized him up. Dressed in the normal, drab attire of a federal agent, his fire engine red hair and freckles gave him a youthful, Howdy Doody look. Guessing him to be in his late twenties or early thirties, he appeared to be inexperienced. While he came off as arrogant and cocky, Jackie assumed there was probably some amount of truth in what he was saying. Still, it didn't change the fact that she neither liked him nor trusted him. However, there was nothing to be gained from having an argument with the agent, so Jackie composed herself and decided to act like the professional she considered herself to be. "You could very well be right, but as long as it isn't classified, you're not violating any policies. Besides, I can personally assure you that you can trust the Dukes not to share anything that's said here with anyone else."
Clearly not persuaded, Agent Connors was about to continue his argument when his superior nixed his plan. Giving him a warning look, Matthews agreed, "okay. We've got some a lead and some information in the case."
"Well that's great, sugar," Daisy exclaimed. "Now ya'll can go arrest the men who hurt Jackie."
"I wish it were that simple," Special Agent Connors rebuked sarcastically.
"What's going on?" Luke asked, picking having watched the dog and pony show long enough.
Jeff Matthews glanced at his partner, then looked directly at his colleague. "Our office in New York has been working with an informant there on an unrelated case. This source recently revealed to his contact that he had information pertaining to this one."
"What does someone in New York have to do with a bank robbery in Hazzard, Georgia?" Jackie asked, not understanding how the two were related.
"Well, that's the same thing we thought, until we listened to what he had to say. Unfortunately, it appears that the two cases are related, and it has nothing to do with robbing a bank," Agent Matthews replied.
"That was just a front, to throw us off their trail," Agent Connors added.
"Well then, what does it have to do with?" Jackie asked, feeling Bo's hold tighten on her.
"It was a murder for hire," Agent Matthews stated, pausing to let the words soak in. "On you," he concluded.
The Dukes looked at each other, concern showing on their faces, but Jackie didn't seem to be taking the news too seriously.
"That doesn't make any sense," Jackie scoffed. "Why would anyone want to kill me? I'm just an auditor."
"Do you know where your next assignment was going to be?" Agent Connors asked.
Jackie shrugged. "Sure. New York," she said, suddenly realizing that this probably was a little more than just a coincidence.
"Yes, a very large financial institution in New York," Agent Matthews expanded.
"One run by the Mafia, and guilty of laundering millions of dollars each year of illegal drug money," the junior agent continued.
"So, what does that have to do with me?" Jackie asked again. "Even if they kill me, they're just going to get another auditor. It won't stop the review from taking place," Jackie reasoned.
"Well it seems that the men involved in running this little show are fairly convinced that they've covered their tracks well enough to fool most of our auditors, but they weren't sure they could get past you, and they didn't want to take the chance. Obviously, there's a leak somewhere in the department because they were not only tipped off that they were going to be audited, but they knew that you'd be the Agent in Charge. You've got a reputation as one of the best in Treasury. Bottom line - they didn't want you showing up," Agent Matthews summarized.
Flabbergasted by what she considered to be the wildest story she'd ever heard, Jackie paused for a minute. "I guess I should be flattered," she said as lightly as she could, trying to lighten the mood. It didn't work as she got received a reaction she wasn't expecting.
"Jackie, that's not funny," Bo reprimanded her, not sharing in her amusement.
"So what happens now?" Luke asked. He was trying to diffuse a situation that he knew could get ugly by his cousin's tone of voice. Besides, there was a very real situation that they were dealing with, and while they knew the details, they didn't know the plan.
"You need to let us take you into protective custody," Agent Matthews said, once again addressing his colleague.
"No way!" Jackie spat, not even considering it. "I'm not going into hiding!"
"Special Agent Johnson, be reasonable," Connors told her. "They expected one of two things to happen: you to be killed or another auditor. You're alive and the review has only been postponed until you come back to work. Our source tells us that they'll try again. You're in danger."
"He's right," Agent Matthews stated, finally finding something that he agreed with his partner on. "As long as they think that you'll be back, you're obviously a threat to them. If they were willing to go to these lengths once, our source says they'll be willing to try again."
"I don't believe this," Jackie exclaimed, running her fingers through her hair in exasperation. "I'm not hiding from these goons," she repeated, then paused. "But I can't stay here, either," she said, looking around the room. "I'd be putting all of you in danger. Maybe it's time I just went home."
"Jackie, please," Bo pleaded, fearing for her safety and angry at her stubbornness. "They almost killed you once. If they're telling you they'll try again, then you need to take this seriously." Softening his tone, he continued, "I don't want to lose you."
"If I go into protective custody, that's exactly what will happen. People in hiding don't exactly lead normal lives, Bo."
"Yeah, but they're alive," he reminded her.
"Special Agent Johnson, hear us out on this." Jeff Matthews intervened. "Our source is deep in the organization, and the New York office says that his information has always been reliable. Therefore, we think we're very close to being able to wrap this up. We've got a good trail already. We just need a little time to bring them all down, and when that happens, this entire crime family will crumble, because they'll be looking at a lot more serious charges than bank fraud and money laundering. Just give us a little time! We don't think this will take long."
"Besides," Connors added, "we've got an internal leak that we need to plug, too."
Looking at the older agent, Jackie asked, "how long is not long?"
"Well, you know we can't possibly say for sure, but we're thinking a couple of weeks," he replied.
Nodding her head slowly, Jackie looked around the room. She could see the fear in everyone's eyes, especially Bo's, and she hated knowing that she was the reason for it. Sighing, she asked another question, reluctantly, "what would I have to do?"
"Nothing, really. Just be out of commission for those couple weeks. Of course, we'll put you up in a safe place until this is resolved," Agent Connors told her.
"I don't know," she said, thinking that she still didn't like the idea at all. The thought of running just wasn't in her nature. If she'd had her way, she would have preferred charging.
"I'll go with you," Bo volunteered, willing to do anything in order to keep her safe.
"No way!" she exclaimed. If she didn't like the idea before, she really didn't like it now.
"I'm not just going to let you walk out of here, alone. Even if you go home, I'm going with you," Bo announced.
"No you're not, Bo. There's no way I'm letting you put yourself in danger," she shot back, the sparks flying between them.
"She'll go," Bo said, speaking to the agents sitting at their kitchen table, "but I'm going, too." When she opened her mouth to speak, Bo took her by the arm. "Excuse us a minute," he said, guiding her out of the room.
"Bo," she said, but he didn't let her finish.
"No arguments. You're going, and I'm going with you. Jackie, I love ya. There's no way I'm letting you walk out of here without me. Besides, you heard 'em, they've got a leak. You don't know for a fact that you can trust them, and I'm not just gonna hand you over. Now, hopefully, everything will be over in those two weeks, and we can just have a little get away, but I am going and that's final!"
In all the time Jackie had known Bo, she had never realized that he could sound that forceful. The only real debate they'd ever had hadn't been that heated, and Jackie had won. She might not have ever seen Bo extremely forceful, but he had never really seen her when she was totally determined, either. He was about to. "Bo, I'm not going to let you do this!"
"I'm not asking!" he replied, not even phased by her aggression. "I love ya. I almost lost you once, I have no intentions of losing you, again." To silence anymore forceful protests before she could form them, Bo pulled her close and covered her mouth with his. In their short time together, it was the only sure-fire way he knew of getting her to be quiet, and so far, it had worked every time. He hoped it wouldn't let him down now.
"Okay?" he whispered when they were finished, no longer believing that loud or firm words would be needed. Her silent nod confirmed his beliefs. Bo grinned, hoping that he never lost his touch with her in that regard. Someday, he thought he might share with her his full-proof way to quiet a forceful female and win an argument with a modern woman, but then he decided that it might be best if she never caught on.
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The agents gave the couple a few minutes to throw their things together. Jackie was surprised by Daisy's offer to help her, fearing that Bo's family would now hate her for putting them at risk and letting Bo follow her into a dangerous situation.
"I'm sorry," she just kept saying while the female Duke helped her pack.
"Oh hey, sugar, this ain't your fault," Daisy told her, as she handed her some of her clothes.
"Yeah it is," Jackie muttered. "It's my job that created this mess, and I can't believe I let Bo talk me into letting him go along," though she knew it really wasn't his words that had convinced her.
"Bo's the most stubborn person in all the south. Once he made up his mind, there wasn't nothing you were going to do to change it. He loves ya, honey. He just wants to make sure you're all right."
"If anything happens to him, I won't be," Jackie cried, sitting down for a moment, feeling overwhelmed.
"Hey, don't let those cousins of mine fool ya. They really can take care of themselves. They've been in more scrapes than you could shake a stick at. They're not new to trouble, and most of the time, trouble is sorry that it messed with them. Bo will be okay, and so will you."
"Thanks Daisy," Jackie said, wrapping her arms around her friend's neck.
Daisy's eyes grew wide when she saw Jackie pull something out of her purse. She'd been busy assuring the girl that her youngest cousin would take care of her, but Jackie had her own protection. Daisy Duke was reminded that the blonde haired girl who had been imitating a farmer the last couple of weeks, wasn't. She'd asked the agent once before if she carried a gun, but had never received a definitive reply. Seeing the small handgun, Daisy now knew beyond a shadow of a doubt.
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At the same time, Luke was helping Bo get his things ready.
"You be careful," Luke said, grabbing his baby cousin and pulling him into a fierce hug.
"I will," Bo assured him. "Keep an eye on Uncle Jesse and Daisy. You never know if these guys might not show up here thinking that she's still staying at the farm."
"Will do," Luke assured him.
"And take care of yourself, too. I love you, Luke."
"I love you, too, Bo."
Having said their goodbyes, Bo and Jackie were put in the backseat of the dark sedan and whisked away.