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A part of Bo had always wondered what Luke was like as a marine. Bo was fairly young when Luke left, being around fourteen years old. Back then he had just wanted to be angry at Luke for leaving, but as time passed he only missed Luke and wanted him back. It wasn’t until after Luke was home for good that Bo started to wonder what kind of Soldier Luke made. Luke didn’t talk about it much. It wasn’t that it was necessarily bad memories too Luke because when he did talk about it, he sounded rather fond. He usually only talked about the marines when other people brought it up and that was only sparingly. Bo had figured it was just a part of Luke’s life that he would never understand.
Then Phil Ackley dropped into their lives. From the moment Phil and Luke addressed each other by their first names and hugged, Bo knew they were equal in the marines, friends who were probably of the same rank. Bo hadn’t heard about him before, but Uncle Jesse had apparently, having commented that Phil had saved Luke’s life once. It kinda hurt, knowing that Luke had not only had people in that life that he was close to, but that Luke had shared part of that life with Uncle Jesse and not Bo. There was a great opportunity with Phil though, especially when he volunteered to ride with Bo in the General. Bo could ask him whatever he thought of about Luke’s time in the military. The only problem was, he didn’t even know where to start.
“Shep…los…eep.” Bo frowned at the CB, glancing over to see Phil giving him the same confused look.
“What was that all about?” Phil asked. Bo turned back to the CB.
“I don’t know. Sounded like Uncle Jesse, I can’t tell though.” he admitted. The static was so loud that he could barley make out the voice. It sure sounded like Uncle Jesse and it was on the emergency channel too, meaning something was wrong. Bo grabbed the mike from the CB, wondering if maybe Luke heard more than he did.
“Phil…dan…ot to…ust.” Bo frowned, none of that made sense. They were far enough away that nothing was going to make it through. “Be…car…in dang…” Bo was about to turn to Phil, ask if that made any sense to him or even call Luke on the CB but a loud ‘click’ made him pause. Slowly he glanced over at Phil, seeing that the man had shifted in his seat enough so that he was turned toward Bo, a gun in his hand aimed at Bo’s chest. Bo turned forward again, looking out the window.
“I don’t suppose we can talk about this at all can we?” Bo asked, his voice shaking a little as he said it.
“Sorry but no.” Phil said. Bo gave a small nod, figuring that was the answer he was going to get. So apparently Phil was the bad guy. Bo felt a cold feeling sweep over him. Phil was a bad guy, clearly willing to pull a gun on Bo while he was sitting in a car with all the doors welded shut and Daisy was home with Phil’s sister and friend! From the sounds of it, Uncle Jesse probably figured it out himself and was now headed right into danger!
“Bo did you make any of that out?” Luke asked over the CB. Bo looked at the mike still held in his hand before glancing over at Phil. Phil shook his head, a gesture Bo took to mean that he wanted Bo to put the mike down. He did slowly, glancing over at Phil again. “Bo?” Bo glanced at the mike before focusing on the road again, knowing Luke would start to get upset if Bo didn’t respond.
“He’s going to get worried.” Bo said.
“He has no idea what your Uncle tried to tell you.” Phil said.
“Bo, answer me.” Luke hissed. Bo tensed. Luke didn’t sound confused anymore, rather he sounded a mix of concerned and angry. “Phil, Phil I swear if you hurt him…” Luke now sounded furious. Phil reached out and grabbed the mike from the radio.
“I didn’t think you’d figure it out so soon Luke.” he said.
“Phil, I don’t know what this is about or what is going on, but Bo had nothing to do with it.” Luke said. Phil sighed.
“See that is where you’re wrong.” Phil said, glancing over at Bo again. Bo felt a shiver go up his spine.
“So what’s your plan here Phil? To take the money from the hijacking? Let me guess, it was all an inside job after all and now you’re back for the prize.” Luke hissed.
“Good job Luke, you got it all figured out.” Phil said. Bo tightened his grip on the steering wheel, shaking. This wasn’t the first time Bo had a gun pulled on him, but this was one of the rare times where he had no escape from it. “Now I’m gonna tell you how this is going to go. You’re going to stop where you are and you’re not going to follow me.” Phil said.
“Phil if you think I’m going to leave my little cousin…” Luke started, furious.
“If you don’t stop I’ll shoot him where he’s sitting.” Phil cut him off. Bo’s head snapped to the side to look at him. Phil was looking right at Bo, almost smirking, and adjusted the gun in his hand, pushing it more towards Bo’s hip. Bo honestly wasn’t sure what he would prefer more right now, for Luke to keep following or for him to stop. “One…Two…” Phil started counting into the mike.
“I’m stopping.” Luke snapped. Phil’s car slammed on its breaks, screeching to a stop in the center of the road. Bo glanced into the mirror, watching Luke disappear around a bend. It was a little scarry and alarming, knowing that he was alone and without Luke by his side.
“Don’t worry Luke, as long as Bo cooperates with me he won’t be hurt.” Phil said. Bo chanced another glance at him to see Phil was still staring at him. Phil put the mike back. “Keep driving, I don’t want anymore delays.” he said. Bo gave a small nod.
“I gotta ask you, is Kate even interested in Luke at all or was that just to play him?” Bo asked. He was furious at the idea. Luke went out with most girls in the county as Bo had, but none of the girls truly thought it was anything more than a bit of fun. It was rare for Luke to actually fall for someone, and Bo had seen the signs that Luke was falling for this one.
“Her name is Sandra Rhodes and she’s my girlfriend.” Phil said. Bo wanted to hit him, to hit him and the so-called Kate. Even Tommy. At this point it didn’t even matter who it was, he just wanted to hit any of the people who harmed Luke.
“So it was just a game to you? I thought Luke was your friend.” Bo hissed. Phil sighed and poked Bo in the side with the gun. It was probably a warning to be quiet.
“He was, one I thought might be wiling to join us after all this. But I’m not going to let him or anyone else ruin all our work.” Phil said. Bo scoffed at that. Sure, work. As if it took him a lot of honest work to steal one million dollars. However, Bo was fairly certain that saying that right now would not bode well in his favor.
They drove for a while when they saw the bridge collapsed. Bo stopped the General, staring straight ahead. “So what now?” he asked. Phil looked over at him, jamming him in the side again with the gun.
“Is there another way?” he asked. Bo shrugged.
“Sure, it’ll take about a half hour to get to.” he said, channeling Luke as much as he could to try and sound like it didn’t bother him. That would also mean they would have to go back the way Luke was. Phil was trapped.
“Or you can jump it.” Phil said. Bo shifted in his seat, wondering how insane Phil really was.
“Jump it? This is flat, there’s no way we can get any lift off this.” Bo said. Even if there was some kind of ramp there was no way they would get up enough speed to jump across with the number of pot holes in the road. Phil rolled his eyes.
“We’re going to back up and build a ramp.” Phil said. Bo slammed the transmission into reverse twisting around to watch as he drives backwards. He went to the end of the road before stopping, shoving the General into park before shutting down the engine and pulling out the keys. Bo turned to look at Phil.
“Can I get out or are you going to shot me?” Bo asked. Phil gestured with the gun and Bo rolled his eyes before climbing out of the car. He went to the back, opening the trunk and pulling out a shovel. Bo cursed internally as he set about to work, glancing over enough to see Phil sit up on the door frame of the General, his pistol pointing in Bo’s general direction.
It didn’t take too long, and Bo finished up with the ramp before moving over to fill in the potholes while ignoring Phil. Bo wondered just how Phil could do this to Luke. They were supposed to be good friends, Phil had even saved Luke’s life. They were supposed to care about each other, but apparently somewhere along the way something was lost in translation. Friends don’t hold relatives of their friend’s hostage while trying to use them to regain a million dollars they hijacked only a few years ago.
“That’s good enough Bo, get back here.” Phil yelled over. Bo glared at him and thought about throwing the shovel in protest, but shovels weren’t cheep and Bo wasn’t going to come all the way out here later to find it in order to throw a tantrum now. If there even was a later. After al,l Bo knew the whole story now. He wondered what they would do to Daisy since she was alone with two of them, but he was fairly sure Uncle Jesse was going to her and that Luke wouldn’t be too far behind. With Phil not allowing Luke to follow him and Bo, Luke was bound to go back to the house in order to save Daisy and grab their Uncle before taking the long way around.
“Yeah, yeah.” Bo hissed before walking over and putting the shovel in the truck. He thought about taking off, after all he had the keys and Phil couldn’t get to the money without Bo. The only concern was how good of a marksman Phil was. If Bo took off Phil would shoot at him, Bo wasn’t sure about his chances. Annoyed Bo climbed into the General, fishing out his keys as he did. He kept his eyes on the road ahead, figuring he could ignore Phil until he absolutely couldn’t anymore. “Hang on.” He hissed, not really caring if Phil got banged around or not but more worried about the gun accidentally going off. Bo turned over the engine before shifting in his seat and gunning it. Phil let out a noise of protest as Bo went off the ramp and into the air.
“That wasn’t so hard was it?” Phil asked a few moments after landing hard on the other side. Bo didn’t bother glancing over. “Just a little further and this will all be over.” Phil said.
“And then what? You’re going to kill me?” Bo asked. Phil didn’t answer and that was probably worse than him saying yes. It told Bo he hadn’t made up his mind yet and that was terrifying. It gave hope that he would come out the other end of this. Bo kept his focus on the road instead. He didn’t know how long he was driving before the gun poked into his side again.
“Stop here.” Phil said. Bo did. As he shut down the engine, he pulled out the keys. If Phil was going to kill him he’d have to check over Bo’s dead body for them. “Get out.” Phil ordered. Bo did before shoving the keys deep into his pocket. Phil kept the gun trained on Bo as he climbed out as well. “Let’s go this way.” he said, gesturing with the gun and Bo only scowled but obeyed.
They started walking through the brush and Bo was forced to lead the way, trying to ignore the gun pointed at him. The sooner they found the money the sooner all of this would be over. A snap of a branch made Bo look behind him where Phil was walking and a glint of metal caught his eye. A bear trap. Right in the path Phil was walking. Without thinking Bo rushed forward, barreling directly into Phil’s side. A loud bang sounded and suddenly all Bo felt was pain. He screamed, unable to do anything but lay in the brush. He couldn’t pinpoint where the pain was coming from, only that it felt like his whole body was hurting.
“What the hell where you thinking?” Phil hissed, hovering over him, glaring at him with his gun jammed under Bo’s chin. A clear warning, the next shot would kill him. Bo took a few breaths, trying to calm and focus, trying to figure out exactly where the pain was coming from. He looked down at his arm and realized a moment later that Phil was pulling back. Phil grabbed him by his shirt, yanking him up to his feet.
“Me? What were you thinking? You shot me!” Bo shouted at him. Because that was what had happened he realized. He had been shot. He looked at his arm again. It wasn’t too bad, looked more like the bullet grazed him instead of actually going through him.
“I shot you because you tackled me.” Phil hissed. Bo was furious now.
“I just saved your life!” he yelled, furious. Phil gave him a disbelieving look and Bo knew he never saw the trap. Bo quickly glanced around, relocating trap was nearby and picked up a stick. He heard the click of the gun cocking, Phil probably thinking he was about to attack him. “Hold on.” Bo hissed before tossing the stick into the trap. A moment later the trap slammed shut with a loud ‘snap’ and sprung into the air, swinging so close to them it nearly hit Phil. Phil stood in shock for a moment, watching the trap as it swung by the force of its own weight. “If you had stepped in that it would have killed you.” Bo hissed, still gripping his arm and hoping the pressure would alleviate some of the pain. It wasn’t.
“Let go.” Phil told him, putting the gun in the back of his belt and tugging Bo’s hand free of his arm. Bo wanted to yell at him, but Phil seemed to know what he was doing. He looked over the injury before reaching over and grabbing his own sleeve, ripping it off his shoulder. He pulled the sleeve off his arm before looking at Bo again, then wrapping the sleeve around the injury and tying it. He put the knot right over the wound, using the pressure to help stop the blood flow. “You’ll be fine.” Phil said. He then grabbed Bo by the same arm, over the makeshift bandage, and started steering him forward again. Bo let himself be manhandled, still mostly in pain and more importantly furious at what happened.
“Why’d you do it?” Phil asked. Bo glanced at him. “Why did you save me? You could have just let me walk into that bear trap, then you’d be free to go.” he remarked. Bo felt disgust at that.
“I’d never do that.” Bo hissed. Phil gave him a confused look. “This money isn’t worth dying or killing over.” Bo said. Not to mention his Uncle raised him better than that. Bo wasn’t going to stand by and let someone die before his eyes. Not even if it’s someone who’s holding a gun on him. They walked for a bit before Phil stopped, pulling Bo to a stop with him. Bo looked around in confusion. Without the gun being trained on him he probably could make a run for it. Yet his arm throbbed with a warning that it would be a terrible idea to even try. Phil would have captured him in seconds and the next shot wouldn’t just graze him. Phil suddenly pulled him around and they headed in another direction. Bo assumed he recognized the area he was in. “Look around.” he ordered, letting Bo’s arm go and pulling out the gun again. Bo figured whatever little trust he had earned for saving Phil’s life didn’t allow Phil to just let him wonder around without any type of assurance.
As Bo walked by a log, a spot of white caught his eye. He looked again and almost cursed his luck. He found the bags of money. Phil was going to find the money so Bo figured it was best to go ahead and pull them out. The money needed to be pulled out no matter how this went down, either for Phil to kill him and flee or for Bo to be able to properly turn it over to the authorities.
“You found it.” Phil said, suddenly significantly closer than Bo remembered him being. Bo pulled back a step, looking at him in alarm. Phil held up a hand, almost like he was trying to assure Bo he wouldn’t hurt him. Bo’s throbbing arm disagreed. “Give it to me.” he ordered. Bo shook his head. He couldn’t just give it to Phil. Just like with the General’s car keys, if Phil wanted it he’d have to take it. “Bo…” he started, a tone so similar to the one Luke or Uncle Jesse used when they were saying he was being unreasonable.
The sound of an engine cut him off and Bo felt a moment of relief. Luke finally caught up. As the vehicle got closer Bo recognized the engine. It wasn’t Phil’s car or Uncle Jesse’s pick up; but Daisy’s jeep. So Daisy was the one coming to the rescue. When the jeep came into view however, Bo felt horrified and sick. It wasn’t Daisy in the vehicle but rather Tommy and Kate, or Sandra, or whatever her name was. Then rage took over. There was no way Daisy just handed over the keys to her jeep to them. That jeep meant as much to Daisy as the General had to the boys. She earned that jeep, nearly died in the process. She’d never just hand it to anyone but especially anyone who was a threat to her family. The two parked the jeep and came running up, skittering to a halt when they saw Bo and Phil.
“We need to go, they all know now. The old man showed up at the farm with the newspaper articles.” Tommy said. Phil just nodded. So now Uncle Jesse was in danger too!
“What did you do to them?” Bo asked. When the three looked at him he figured he would have to elaborate. “There’s no way Daisy just handed her keys over to a bunch of crooks.” he added. Tommy smirked.
“Let’s just say she wasn’t in a position to argue.” he said. Bo felt fury rush through him. He didn’t care if Phil shot him as he moved to rush Tommy. “They’re fine, her and the old man are just tied up. What happened to you?” Tommy asked, nodding toward Bo’s arm.
“Accident.” Phil dismissed. He lowered the gun, probably his attempt to put Bo a little more at ease. “Now Bo, just hand over the bags and we can go our separate directions. I don’t want to hurt you.” Phil said. Bo figured it was just the fact that Bo wasn’t the only witness, so there was no point in killing Bo unless he had to. Armed robbery and kidnapping was better than armed robbery and murder after all.
“No.” Bo said. The three looked exasperated with him. Bo was starting to think that was the typical reaction of people seeing him anymore.
“Bo come on, this is ridiculous.” Sandra said. Another engine sounded and Bo felt confident that this time the cavalry was coming. It seemed like the others realized that too. Phil moved toward Bo and Bo threw caution to the wind. He tackled Phil and the two fell to the ground, rolling in the dead vegetation. Phil somehow got his foot between himself and Bo’s chest before kicking Bo back as hard as he could. Bo stumbled a few feet before falling on his back on the ground. He let out an unintentional scream of pain as his arm hit a rock. Phil stood up, reaching down to grab the money bags Bo had dropped only to be blindsided by Luke. Bo felt relieved, safe, and flopped back to the ground.
“Bo!” Uncle Jesse was by his side moments later, eyes finding the out-of-place bandage immediately. “What….” He started, helping Bo sit up but Bo’s attention was more focused on Luke who was currently beating Phil into the ground. He glanced over to see Tommy and Sandra were standing nearby, hands up in surrender while Daisy had them covered with a shotgun.
“Luke!” Bo called, hoping to calm his cousin. Luke glanced over and quickly looked Bo over, his eyes being drawn to Phil’s sleeve. Luke’s eyes narrowed and Bo looked at it to see blood that had ran down his arm before the bandage was tied. Things just got a whole lot worse. Luke turned back to Phil.
“I told you! I told you what would happen if you hurt him!” Luke said.
“Hold it! Hold everything!” Bo hadn’t even heard the others arrive, but Boss, Rosco, and Alex had made an appearance. There was also the guy who had been snooping around the house. Bo didn’t really pay them any mind. His focus was trained fully on Luke.
“Luke.” he called again. Rosco carefully approached Luke, who had frozen in place at Bo’s plea.
“Come on Luke, let him up.” Rosco said softly. Luke looked up at him.
“He hurt Bo.” Luke hissed. Rosco looked over at Bo, as if to confirm the statement, and seeing the blood on the young man’s arm he paled a bit. He put a hand on Luke’s shoulder.
“I see that, but how much help are you going to be to Bo in a jail for assault and battery?” Rosco asked. Bo was surprised, Rosco typically looks for any reason to lock him up but then again Rosco didn’t like the idea of them hurt. “I’m gonna arrest him and his friends. You should get Bo to Doc Petticord’s to get that arm looked at.” Rosco said. Bo winced. Doctor Henry Petticord was the County Health officer and held his own office in town. Bo hated having to go see him. Luke gave a small nod before glaring down at Phil one last time and standing up.
“I hope you all rot in jail.” Luke hissed. He stormed over to Bo, kneeling down beside him. “Let me see you’re arm.” It was an order, Bo knew that, but with how angry Luke seemed Bo really didn’t want to give him any reason to hurt Phil right now.
“It’s fine Luke, the bullet just grazed me.” Bo said. He felt his uncle’s hands tighten on his shoulder, heard Daisy’s gasp and saw how Luke’s face hardened. Bo realized his mistake to late.
“He shot you!?” Luke went to stand up, probably to actually go after Phil again and in a panic, Bo seized his arm.
“I said it grazed me Luke.” Bo clarified. Luke was still glaring, and Bo was honestly too tired to be dealing with his overprotective big brother mode right now. “I just want to go home.” Bo said. Luke looked at him for a moment before sighing heavily.
“Where’s the General?” he finally asked. Bo pointed back the way he came. “Alright. Go with Uncle Jesse or Daisy into town and I’ll meet you there.” Luke said. He went to stand up when Bo remembered the keys.
“Luke.” he called, making his cousin pause. Bo dug into his pocket to pull the keys free. Luke gave him a confused look. “Didn’t want Phil to get the General.” Bo admitted. Luke gave him a grim nod before taking the few steps back to swipe the keys from Bo’s outstretched palm. Uncle Jesse didn’t give him much longer before hauling him up to his feet and leading him back toward the cars. Bo tried to glance back to see what happened to Phil and the rest, but Uncle Jesse didn’t give him a chance. Once again, Bo resigned to being manhandled and let Uncle Jesse steer him back to the pickup.
They road in mostly silence, Bo sandwiched between Jesse and Daisy. Daisy was fussing over him, checking him for other injuries and not taking his word that he was fine. It was a pain to be the youngest sometimes. Finally they arrived in Town and Bo had never recalled being so happy to see Petticord's office before. Uncle Jesse parked the pickup and Daisy climbed out the passenger door, pulling Bo out behind her while being mindful of his arm. Bo huffed. "It's just a scratch Daisy." he said. Bo knew it wasn't, but he just wanted his family to be less cautious about it.
"I'll believe that when the Doc says so." Jesse dismissed. The three filed into the office and Bo was relieved to see it was empty. Hazzard was a small town and a very tight knit community. It wouldn't be long until the story got all over Hazzard. Bo or Luke getting shot at wasn't news but a shot actually hitting someone was. Despite the amount of crime that happened in the county, nothing violent outside of the occasional bar fight really happened. The doctor heard them enter and came out his backroom. His eyes narrowed in on Bo's arm and the old doctor barley reacted, just waved for Bo to follow him. Daisy and Uncle Jesse followed and they made their way into the patient room.
"I see you got yourself into some real trouble this time Bo." the old doctor said as he untied the sleeve. Bo felt a little offended at that.
"I had nothing to do with this." Bo protested. The doctor glanced at him with a disbelieving look before removing the makeshift bandage.
"He's actually telling the truth on that." Daisy defended. Bo shot her a grateful smile. The doctor just nodded before starting to clean the wound. Bo let out a low hiss of pain when the disinfectant touched his skin. As the doctor began to stitch his arm, Luke and Rosco made their way in. Bo frowned, starting to feel claustrophobic.
"How are you doing?" Luke asked, looking a little guilty and nervous. Bo tried not to scoff, knowing Luke was already blaming himself for this.
"I'm fine." Luke didn't look like her believed him.
"Bo, I'm really sorry but..." Rosco started and Bo nodded, getting a sharp look from Petticord for moving.
"You need a statement." Bo said. Rosco nodded before pulling out a small notebook and sitting on a nearby stool. It was a stark reminder to Bo that Rosco had not always been a crooked cop. Rosco had once been one of the best officers in the state of Georgia, had been an honest and hardworking officer who obeyed the law and ensured justice was given to any who broke it. It was only just before Bo graduated high school that it changed, that his pension got voted out and he changed. Bo took a deep breath, explaining the story. His family and Rosco said nothing until he got to the point of the bear trap. Rosco had paused when Bo got to saving Phil's life from the bear trap, but he didn't say anything and for that Bo was glad. Rosco finished writing down Bo's statement before standing up.
"Doc, will I be able to get a report from you when you're done?" Rosco asked. Petticord gave a small nod as he finished wrapping Bo's arm. Rosco then nodded and offered Bo a small smile before tipping his hat and departing. Bo was stunned by the change, but knew it wouldn't last long. As soon as Phil and his group was behind bars and out of his county, Rosco would go back to the same crooked sheriff they all knew and loved. Bo turned his attention back to Luke. Luke was currently hanging on every word the Doctor was giving to him, Jesse, and Daisy about how to care for Bo's wound. Bo scoffed. It wasn't like he was an adult who could care for himself.
"We'll take care of it Doc." Luke promised as he seized Bo by his uninjured arm. Bo rolled his eyes but allowed Luke to pull him from the Doctor's office and outside where the General was. "Are you good to ride with me or do you want to go with Uncle Jesse and Daisy?" Luke asked. Bo opened his mouth to answer but his Uncle jumped in.
"We still need to go back for Daisy's jeep, so either you and Daisy go in the General and get it while I take Bo home in the pickup, or you take Bo back to the house in the General while Daisy and I go get her jeep." Bo was drained, and he was almost glad his uncle wasn't giving him a choice in going home. Besides, he really wanted to talk to Luke at the moment.
"I'll take him in the General." Luke said before Bo could even speak. He'd be a little annoyed if it wasn't what he wanted. Jesse nodded and he held out an arm to Daisy before the two of them left. Bo made his way toward the General before Luke could decide he needed assistance. He climbed through the window and settled in the passenger seat as Luke got in as well. Yet Luke didn't turn over the engine, just sat in silence.
"It wasn't your fault you know." Bo decided to say. Luke actually let out a humorless laugh at that. "It wasn't. You had no way of knowing." Bo protested. Luke shook his head.
"I shouldn't have left you alone with him." Luke said. Bo shook his head this time.
"So what, you're saying you shouldn't have allowed me in a car with a person who you knew and trusted? Luke, you had no way of knowing. The only thing you did was trust an old friend." Bo said. Luke chuckled.
"I should be the one trying to help you, seeing as how you got shot by a friend of mine." Luke said, his voice heavy.
"It was a scratch." Bo insisted. Because saying he got shot makes it much more real. Luke looked at his arm, almost like he wanted to disagree. "And you came back for me." Bo reminded him. Luke gave him a small smile at that.
"I'll always come back for you." Luke promised. Bo nodded, he knew that well.