FACE THE COUNTERFEITERS ALONE

Your fear cannot get in the way right now, so working more by a feeling of have-to rather than bravery, you turn and take another full sprint back into the cave, directly toward the counterfeiters!

When they see you coming, the one with the gun raises it toward you and orders you to stop.

"Boss sent me!" You call out, hoping they buy into it and don't panic with a nervous trigger finger. Never even slowing down, you run past them and urge them along. "Hurry, they're coming!" You call out.

The counterfeiters have no idea who you, or 'they', are, but going on your word that you were sent by Boss and the fact that you seem to know who they are, they put the gun away and run after you.

When you arrive at the dead end, you commence to blowing out flames in several of the oil lamps. Following your lead, the counterfeiters do the same. Once the last flame has been snuffed, the gunman pulls out a small flashlight and turns it on. Going over to him and his partner, you push down on their shoulders until all three of you are in a squatting position.

"Turn that thing off, you want them to see us?" You whisper, thankful that the counterfeiters seem to be buying in to what you are saying as the flashlight flicks off again.

"Who are y…."

"Shhhh!" You interrupt as you hear Bo and Luke enter the cave, their voices echoing off the walls.

"Yeah, you wanna get us caught Wayne?" The gunman whispers.

"You're the one that's still talkin', Roger!" The other counterfeiter whispers back.

You can't see a thing and as you crouch silently, listening, you can only assume the counterfeiters are doing the same. You can't understand a thing the boys are saying until they go so far into the cave and, encountering that same inky blackness, you hear Luke advise that they turn around and leave.

A few moments later when you are confident the boys have left, you managed a slight sigh of relief as the gunman turns on the flashlight again and points it to you. "Alright then." He begins as the three of you stand up. "Who exactly are you? And who were they?"

"Like I said, Boss sent me. I'm John." You say, offering the first name that comes to mind and immediately wonder why you don't just add 'Doe' at the end. "Um, Fester ran into some trouble with the fuzz at the county line, so Boss arranged a new meeting place, wanted me to come out and tell you where it was moved to."

"And who was them guys that was just in here?" Roger then asks.

"Revenuers, looking for moonshine." You lie. "I saw them wandering around on my way over. Good thing I did or you two would have been on your way to jail for sure."

"Guess we owe you one." Roger offers warily. "So where's the new meeting place?"

"There's an abandoned cabin just past the cornfield to the right of the cave opening." You reply, hoping that once they make their way to your bar-less prison of the last few weeks that Frank and Loreli will have returned. "If I were you, I'd bring all the goods with me, in case those revenuers show up again."

"That's a good idea, Roger." Wayne points out as they turn the flashlight toward the money , ink, and plates and begin to load everything into the open suitcase.

As they are packing up you try to sneak out of the cave when Roger stops you. "Wait, where do you think you're going?" He asks, shining the flashlight in your face.

"Boss told me to deliver a message, and I did. Now I gotta get back to town and see to those other errands before he really comes down on me."

"You can't leave yet. If them revenuers are still wanderin' around out there we're gonna need all the help we can to get rid of 'em. Besides, it's in your best interest to help, 'cause if we were to get caught everybody in the whole operation, including you, would end up in jail too cause we ain't goin' down by ourselves!"

"Fine." You say, having no choice but to cooperate if you want your front to remain convincing. "But if Boss comes down on me for being late, it's all gonna come back to you!"

"I'll take my chances." Roger replies. "Now help us pick up all the money."

With no other option, you do as you are told and soon the cave is cleared of all convicting evidence. "Now show us how to get to that cabin." Roger demands.

Leading Roger and Wayne to the cave opening, you stop and peer out. After a few moments of gazing around, you are satisfied that they boys are no longer around and motion for the counterfeiters to follow you into the cornfield.

A short while later, Roger stops you at the edge of the cornfield that is just within site of the cabin. Disheartened that Frank and Loreli's car isn't there, you are at least glad that the General Lee seems to have disappeared.

"You sure this place is abandoned? Looks like an awful lot of firewood got chopped up for somebody to just up and leave the place." Wayne points out.

"All I know is what Boss told me." You argue. "I don't see anybody around. Why don't we go check it out?"

"Alright, but leave the suitcase here, Wayne." Roger instructs his assistant. "We can always come back after it 'long as everything turns out legit."

Pushing you ahead, Roger places his hand on the gun that is in his coat pocket. Once you near the cabin, he commences to peering in the windows.

"Well it don't look lived in, but don't look like it's been abandoned long, either." Roger comments. "Just a couple of cots and a few things in the pantry. Wonder if the door's open?"

The three of you walk to the front door and Roger turns the knob. You are not surprised that it opens because you're the one who left it unlocked.

"Hey, ravioli!" You hear Wayne exclaim, spotting a can of pasta in the pantry. Running over to the kitchen area, he grabs up the can and begins his search for an opener.

Looking around, Roger spots the door in the kitchen that leads out to the back yard. "Well, guess we can hang around a minute 'nd see if Fester shows up, since we got a back way out if we need it." He comments, ordering Wayne to find something for him to eat too.

"Um, I'm just ….." You begin, pointing toward the only other door in the one room cabin. Entering the bathroom, you lock the door and immediately begin searching for anything you can use as an emergency weapon should the need arise.

You almost jump out of your skin when you feel a hand on your shoulder. Startled, you turn and find Luke pressing a finger to his lips to quiet you. Bo is climbing out from behind the shower curtain that had been closed over the bathtub.

"What are you guys doing here?" You whisper.

"We could ask you the same thing, you's supposed to be back in Savannah days ago." Luke whispers back.

"Who are them two guys you're with? They the bank robbers?" Bo asks.

"No, it's kind of a long story." You begin. ""But how is it you're here? General's gone."

"We moved him down on the road. Didn't wanna scare you off again. Now you mind telling us what's goin' on? We've had the state patrol combing the highways lookin' for you ever since you failed to make it home. Daisy and Jesse have even been out themselves."

Figuring things are going to end fairly quickly one way or the other, you feel there's no longer a reason to keep things from your cousins. "The two guys out there are counterfeiters, working for Boss Hogg."

"Counterfeiters?" Luke asks.

"Shhh." You reply in response to his unintentionally elevated voice. Just after, you hear the door being beat on.

"What's goin' on in there?" Roger calls out.

"Um, nothing. Just not feeling so good. I'll be out in a minute." You reply.

After a few moments of not receiving a response, you turn back to the boys. "The two robbers you saw wasn't after money, well not legal tender anyway. They were secret service agents, trying to extract the counterfeit bills from Boss's bank."

"Kinda an extreme way of goin' about it, ain't it?" Bo asks.

You are about to reply again when the bathroom door is kicked open and Roger is standing there with his gun!

"Well, looks like you're feelin' better. These the 'revenuers' you's talkin' about? " He sneers.

In an instant, Bo goes over and kicks against the door himself. As it closes, Rogers arm is caught between the door and the frame, causing the gun to go off with an ear ringing shot. As the bathroom mirror shatters and Roger releases the gun in pain, you and your cousins ignore the temptation to rub at your ears as Bo opens the door again.

Roger is still standing nursing his arm when Bo plows into him, sending the pair to the floor on the opposite end of the room.

Spying Wayne over near the gas stove, Luke rushes toward him. But seconds later you hear him crying out in pain as he finds himself covered in the hot ravioli sauce that Wayne flung toward him.

Rushing toward Wayne yourself, your duck the now empty hot pan that he sends flying in your direction. After it sails past you and bounces off the wall, you find yourself ducking a wild punch Wayne sends your way. Standing back up, you deliver a firm punch to his stomach and push him back toward the stove.

You almost manage a grin when you hear Wayne cry out at having come in contact with the hot stove eye, but it's a grin that is quickly erased from your face when Roger whirls you around and delivers a right punch. Caught by surprise, you watch the room spin around before you land stomach down on the floor, not far from Bo who is trying to sit up against the wall as he holds his ribs and grits his teeth.

"Alright bumpkins." Roger begins, having retrieved the gun from the bathroom as you and your cousins recover somewhat from the assaults. "I don't know who you all are but thanks to the time you spent reconnecting in the bathroom, I managed to use the CB over there and get a call in to Boss, who don't know anything about who 'John' is or changing the meeting place with Fester. Now why don't you all get together against the wall so I can get a real good look at you 'fore I decide which one I wanna kill first."

"I vote for pretty boy here." Wayne announces as you and Luke sit next to Bo, looking at you especially as he commences to tying your hands with a roll of twine that he found in a drawer, grimacing in pain all the while from the burn he received earlier.

"That don't help none. They're all pretty boys, the lot of 'em. A bunch of pretty boys who fight like girls." Roger mocks.

"Yeah, we'll if that's true it's only 'cause our Uncle Jesse taught us to fight people on their own level" Bo mocks right back.

Roger grins. "Well thanks for helping me make my decision there, blondie." He replies, motioning toward Wayne. His henchmen goes over and roughly pulls Bo to his feet before he leads him toward the back door.

"Bo ain't goin' nowhere without us." Luke says insistently as you nod in agreement.

"Well don't worry hayseed. I wouldn't dream of lettin' you miss out on the show." Roger grins going over to Luke and kicking first him, then you, to your feet. As you are lead outside, you cast nervous glances at Luke, who seems just as lost as you are on how you're going to get out of this one.

And you are no more enlightened a few minutes later when Roger demands that Bo get on his knees, keeping a gun trained on Luke's head to make the younger cousin follow through with his instructions.

"Say goodnight, pretty boy." Roger says as soon as Bo is down, quickly moving the gun from Luke's head and pointing it toward Bo.

"Noooooooooo!" You and Luke yell simultaneously as a shot is fired. When the echos of the gunshot finally die away, you and Luke look toward Bo, horrified.

But instead of seeing him crumple to the ground, you are surprised to find Bo looking right back toward you with a similar expression on his face!

You then flinch involuntarily as Roger crumples to the ground beside Luke. As Wayne takes off on foot unnoticed, you and Luke turn and stare in the same direction as Bo, and are surprised to see J.D. Hogg standing there, a smoking gun in his hand!

Before anyone has a chance to respond or ask any questions, you hear the sound of Frank and Loreli's car screech to a halt. Seeing Wayne running off in the distance, Frank takes off in pursuit.

Rushing up to all of you, Loreli looks around. "Everybody alright?" She asks.

"Yeah, well maybe with the exception of….." You trail off, looking down at Roger.

Loreli bends down and presses her hand against the side of Roger's neck. "He still has a pulse. Ambulance is on its way. We figured we'd be needing one when Mr. Hogg informed us of the CB call he got from these guys. Just glad it didn't turn out to be one of you boys."

Cutting Luke's twine, she lays his knife in his hand before she turns back to Boss, laying a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Meanwhile, Luke cut's both you and Bo free, allowing you all the chance to hug one another, with Luke holding onto Bo a bit longer considering he almost lost him. Meanwhile, Frank comes walking out of the cornfield with a handcuffed Wayne in tow.

"How'd you find those guys anyway?" Loreli asks you a few minutes later after the ambulance has both arrived and left with Roger while Wayne is locked securely in the back of Frank's car.

You explain the events that led you to the cave and how you ended up back at the cabin with the counterfeiters. Frank and Loreli then explain how it had been discovered that Boss had nothing to do with the counterfeit operation and they had recruited him to get on the 'inside' with Roger and Wayne in order to bring about their arrests. Of course, you Bo and Luke have no idea if Boss is truly innocent or if he somehow managed to cover up his guilt once again, but either way, he won't be seeing any jail time soon.

"How'd you end up out here anyway, Boss?" Luke asks.

"Well, when Roger called and explained what was goin' on, I figured there'd be trouble so I called Frank and Loreli here but they were clear on the other end of the county. And when that no-account sheriff of mine ended up in the Hazzard car wash on the way over here, it left it up to me. I didn't wanna come out, mind you. But they wadn't nobody else around, and I couldn't just let them go."

"I….I guess I owe ya one, Boss." Bo says to Boss, not believing that the person who was always doing his best to have them sent to the state pen was the very one who saved his life.

"More like Boss owed Bo one." Luke whispers to you, not wanting to cause too much upset as even he realizes Bo would have been dead had it not been for the commissioner.

"Well you boys are more trouble than yer worth, if ya ask me." Boss replies sternly as he tries to dismiss the smile that appeared on his face. "But Jesse Duke's a good man, and I couldn't let nothin' happen to his kin, not if I could help it."

Relieved that everything is over at last, you, Luke, and Bo become caught up in the moment and do something none of you ever thought you would do: You all gather around Boss and give him a group hug, thankful that the counterfeiters are caught, you can return to the farm, and most importantly, everyone turned out okay.

THE END

Boss firing a gun to save one of the boys' lives? Then you all hug him? If that's true, now might be a good time to peddle some ice skates down in Hades!