Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Inside his office, Boss Hogg settled behind a plate of raw liver. "It sure is good to have outwitted Hughie. All those times he tried to pull Hazzard out from under my feet and now he's sitting in a cell."

"We should put him below the jail, Boss! I'll never forgive that weasel!" Rosco said, looking demented.

"Actually Rosco, I plan to let him go."

"But-But Boss… do you have vapor lock? You just caught Hughie and you're going to let him go?"

"Yes, but only if he does us a favor. He has to get Xavier out of town for good. With him out of the way, I think we'll finally be able to put those Dukes in the state pen. Let's not forget he stopped us last time and now he's allied with Brooklyn Calloway."

"But Boss, Brooklyn is my best deputy. Enos is gone and Cletus couldn't catch a cold in Antarca.

"It's Antarctica, Rosco."

"Yeah, there to. What I'm trying to say is we need Brooklyn."

"Rosco, you dipstick! I didn't say get rid of Brooklyn! You're right, we need her to catch Hughie once he's gotten Xavier locked up, or else, as you should know, he'll try to take over Hazzard. I suggest you alert Brooke that Hughie is back and that she should try to arrest him on sight. Even she'll have to struggle to catch him, hopefully not until Xavier's gone. Meet me downstairs after you've done that."

Hughie sat glowering in his cell. He felt funny, strange thoughts rushed through him. A headache was building in him. Something felt wrong. Of course something is wrong! Rosco caught me! He thought to himself. All the same he was sick of it. He'd come so close to taking over Hazzard so many times, the Dukes always stopped him, occasionally with help. It felt like something was growing in his head.

Boss Hogg walked in. The pressure grew larger in Hughie's head. "Well, Hughie this is the best way to meet you, behind bars. I can't decide if I should let you rot here or put your henchmen in prison to. By the way, Cletus is watching them, so don't expect a rescue anytime soon." The pressure doubled, Hughie felt like his head was about to explode. "Anyway Hughie, I'm here to strike a deal with you. If you get Xavier Nathaniel, the Duke's friend, out of town for good. I'll let you go."

"Xavier, the guy with Daisy and the little girl?"

"That's the one."

The pressure was too great, and suddenly, it felt like something snapped inside him. An idea presented itself to Hughie, a great idea, why hadn't he thought of it before? "All right Uncle. You have a deal."

The Duke's where gathered at the race track. Xavier's Nellie had raced the General Lee many times there, the General usually winning, but Xavier had a couple of wins. This time it would be the bike against the General. "All right Xavier." Cooter said in an undertone. "I didn't tell Daisy this bike's secret weapon."

"Why not?"

"Because I want you to win on your anniversary. Bo and Luke won't go easy in the race."

"But why not tell Daisy?"

"She's telling them everything about the bike right now. You think she'd leave that out? Anyway, the left brake handle, don't use it to brake. You pull that and you'll get a speed burst. I modified the bike. That handle activates a turbo burst. I doubt event he General could match the burst."

"Wait, if I just use the front brake, it'll flip the bike."

"No it won't, both brakes activate with that handle."

"How long have you been working on this?" Xavier asked, amazed.

With a sly grin, Cooter said, "Just go out there and give Bo and Luke a shock."

Bo and Luke walked over. "All right Xavier, three laps. You want a head start, seeing as I doubt this is tricked out like the General?"

"Nope. I think I can beat you fair."

"Daddy will beat you easy!" Alicia yelled from her mother's arms.

"Now Bo, be careful, that is a motorcycle you're racing against, not another car." Uncle Jesse called as they moved to the start line.

"Drinks on the loser!" Xavier said over the roar of the engines.

"Hold up a second." A voice called. Brooke rushed over. "Can I join in?" she asked.

The two Dukes looked at Xavier. "It's you race." They said together.

"Only if you're ready to buy us all drinks." Xavier said.

Brooke gave Xavier an evil grin. "I guess we'll see about that."

A minute later the General Lee, Xavier's motorcycle, and Brooke's patrol car we're lined up Daisy set down Alicia, pulled a red cloth out of her back pocket and went to stand just off the track and held it up. After a pause she dropped it and the cars zoomed off. "Go, daddy, go! Alicia yelled, jumping up and down. Brooke took an early lead, but was easily passed by the General. Xavier stayed a little behind Brooke, he knew on a motorcycle he was disadvantaged. He decided to try out his weapon. He pulled to the side a little and as soon as they finished the first turn, he pulled the left brake handle. Xavier was almost thrown backward off the motorcycle it accelerated so fast. He passed Brooke and the General in a matter of seconds, then let off the handle so he could make the turn without going off the road. The General passed him on the turn, but, another turbo burst later Xavier retook the lead and managed to hold throughout the rest of the laps.

Xavier climbed off and caught Alicia as she jumped into his arms. "Okay, Daisy, what did you not tell us about that motorcycle." Bo said with a frown, as Daisy also hugged Xavier.

"I told you everything Cooter told me." The all turned to look at Cooter who managed to hold a straight face for a few seconds then burst out laughing.

"Did you actually think I'd let you win against Xavier on his anniversary?" he choked, through his laughs. "What I didn't tell Daisy is the left brake handle activates a turbo boost that's twice as powerful as the General's turbocharger."

"Xavier! You bet drinks on this race that you knew you couldn't lose!" Luke yelled as everyone burst out laughing, even Brooke.

"At least Brooke lost. Not us." Bo said grumpily.

"Yes, but I wasn't trying to beat Xavier," Brooke said with a smile. "I already knew he was going to win, it's the General I'm going to beat eventually."

"Ain't gonna happen," Bo grinned confidently. Brooke squinted up at him.

"Some day," she said in a mock threatening tone. "But in the meantime, it looks like I owe a lot of people some drinks. Let's head over to the Boar's Nest."

All of a sudden, the CB came on. "Brooklyn, this is your superior officer Rosco. Do you read me?"

Brooke rolled her eyes as she picked up the CB. "Rosco, I got off duty early today, I'm not coming back on to help you at a speed trap."

"Don't back talk me. I want you to be on the lookout for Hughie Hogg. And…and I want you to meet me at my speed trap. Before you protest, I want you to know I'm doing this without Boss Hogg's knowledge or consent."

"Rosco, you already told me that Hughie's back."

"Just get to my speed trap!"

What's Rosco up to? Do ya'll think Boss Hogg really doesn't know about this? Don't go nowhere.