Kennedy Hoss of Musket

Chapter 22: Run

Song: Tell Mama by The Civil Wars

From my pack I take out my clothes and slip them on, including a pair of shorts and the same slightly damp white cotton pullover. When I turn the knob of the guest room door, I find that it's locked. Then there's a horrible realization, that Leon was not looking through documents, but actually contacting Viper to turn us in.

I scratch my nails across the door, wishing that I could bang or call to Crow. But if I did, I would also tip off Leon. So silently, I locate a bobby pin in the bathroom and began to work it in the keyhole of the doorknob. This was a lock I hadn't seen before, one that could lock from either sides of the door and required a key, whereas the only locks I knew consisted of a single button on the inside of the room and a tiny hole on the outside that could be picked with any straight instrument that would fit.

As I am working the pin in the hole, I come to the horrible realization that I've jammed it. Instead I take my Swiss army knife from my bag and begin to work the screws from the doorknob. I'm working on the last one when footsteps grow louder from outside. The knob turns and the door opens. There stands Phillipa with a detached doorknob in her hand, looking very confused. I sling my oak over my shoulder and bolt past her, running to Crow's door. I slap my hand hard against it. Phillipa pulls me back.

"Get off of me!" I whisper harshly, writhing in her grasp, "Let go! Let go of me!"

"Please, just listen to me!" She cries. I bend back her fingers and twist the door's knob furiously.

Behind me, Phillipa collapses, and a quick sob escapes. I turn to her, pressing against the door.

"What?" I ask sharply.

She looks up at me, with reddened eyes. "I think you might know where my daughter is. Have you seen her? Her name is Özgecan. Please, you're my last hope!"

I stand there, staring at the desperate woman. She was on her knees, looking for answers. Could she be stalling?

"I don't know anyone by that name," I reply. The woman's eyes glisten with tears.

"She's small, thirteen years old. Shoulder length brown hair and brown eyes. Her full name is Özgecan Bel, and she wears a silver gauntlet on her arm. Is she your friend? The one you said was hurt? Please, I need your help."

"That... that sounds like her. But... She doesn't go by that name. If you unlock my friend I can take you to her."

Phillipa nods. "Thank you," she takes two pistols out from behind her back and hands them to me. "I got these back for you."

I take them from her, and holster my own. This woman was going a great length to get to her daughter, which included betraying her husband. It didn't seem fair to question that, and I didn't have any time to, anyway.

Phillipa plugs a small key into the keyhole and turns it. I turn the cool knob in my hand and open the door to Crow's room.

"Crow," I whisperer, stepping further into his room. There's no sign of him, except for a swaying curtain shut in a window. That's typical Crow for you, always finding a way to make me feel stupid and insecure. I also feel a hard punch to my chest, and my lower lip quivers.

Phillipa opens the window and steps out onto the roof of a porch, and offers her hand to me. I take it and step down onto the steep slant. We climb down and quickly realize that it's still raining, but less than before. Through the rain we run, down the hill to the structures. But where was Crow?

I lead Phillipa down to the structure Ana was taken into, and she reaches up to the entrance slab and knocks a five-beat tune. A moment later the entrance opens and she follows me inside.