No Country For Young Women

3- Questioning

Kennedy didn't get more than a few hours of sleep. Last night's events kept her awake.But then there was a noise she hoped she'd never hear. The sound was loud. Three harsh knocks.

"It's the police, open up." Hopefully Kennedy was a good actor. She shot out of bed, pajamas and all. Scrambling for the door, the woman was quick to answer. Two cops held up their badges, before pushing past an anxious Kennedy Greene.

"What's going on?" She asked with fear in her voice.

The cops were looking over her living room when she spoke. Pausing, one turned in her direction.

"There's a man hunt going on ma'am. We're going door to door." The other approached a her, holding up a decent police sketch. Her heart was racing and her face went pale, but thankfully the officers just figured that she was afraid of the man, and didn't know of his whereabouts.

"Who is he?" Luckily for her, Kennedy just seemed so naturally trustworthy, the cops didn't suspect her at all.

"His name isn't currently unknown, but he's wanted for murder."

"Oh my god.." Kennedy channeled her hidden fear of the man.

The cop nodded at the other officer, who then cleared his throat and proceeded to speak.

"Well, we're sorry to bother you. We'll be on our way. See anything, please let us know. Thank you for your time." Kennedy gave her classic smile before letting the pair out. "It was no trouble, have a good day."

"You too." One of them returned.

Once the door closed, she rushed to the bathroom, closing the door and vomiting into the toilet.

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The sound of his walkie going off caught Anton's attention.

"Hello? There were cops here today." His whole body tensed up. His next words were harsh and threatening as he rose from his cot.

"Cops? What did you tell them?"

There was heavy breathing coming from the other end. "Nothing. They didn't think I had anything to do with this. They left quickly. But cops are going door to door now."

He clenched his fist tight around the walkie. "Door to door. If you told them nothing then why do you sound so panicked?" He sounded enraged.

Kennedy was quick to tackle his words.

"Because they are fucking cops. Because I was woken up to the sound of police at my door..."

This relieved some of his tension. She was trustworthy, and he knew at that moment that he'd chosen the right person for this.

"Good. You're keeping your word."

There was a brief pause. "We need to discuss a few things in person tonight. I'm coming there at one PM again."

"Alright."  

And with that, the pair dropped their walkies in unison. Chigurh sat on his cot, staring at the door in front of him, leaning against the wall behind him. 

He thought about how he would kill Kennedy if she got him caught.

  -------------___---------------- 

The time came, and the killer sat on his cot, staring through a small crack in the door, waiting for Kennedy's return. Fortunately he didn't have to wait long, because her car pulled up just in time. Leaving the headlights on, she exited the car holding a few large grocery bags, but there was something different about her. She dyed her hair a blonde color, and had it pulled up into a loose bun. Opening the door, Chigurh was quick to move, allowing the woman some space to enter the safe house.

"I got you some clothes, guessed your sizes, and I bought you some candles and lighters. In the car is your oxygen tank thing, It seems a few kids got to it before you could."

"What did you tell or ask them?" He replied.

"I asked if they knew anything about some guy who went missing after a wreck, and they said no."

Anton seemed a tad confused for a moment.

"And then what?"

The girl smirked before responding.

"I bribed them."

He thought on this a moment. 'She's smart.' 

"And why did you dye your hair?"

In all honesty she was surprised that he noticed.

"Um.. Well I'm planning on moving a tad bit closer and changing my identity maybe. I think that this is serious, and I may need to stay here sometimes in order to plan everything out. Besides, you probably know a thing or two about running away and hiding."

He cocked his head to the side and squinted.

"Why would you assume I know so much?"

"Oh please, you know exactly what to do in this situation. Threaten me. Not give out personal information. Check in and ask a series of questions. And you don't even seem nervous or scared of getting caught, just uncomfortable. It feels... um, y'know, rehearsed." Kennedy felt awkward for having noticed as much as she did, but it seemed well worth it when it came to this guy.

'She really is smart, maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all.'

He looked at her closely, something he didn't get many opportunities to do considering that he was a fast killer. Kennedy had something interesting about her appearance, she was intelligent but not nerdy looking. And even though he hated to admit it she had a beauty that only Kennedy could wear. Maybe he was interested in her mind, or maybe it was just physical, but either way it was something almost magnetic. Something he just never experienced before. Anton was emotionally cut off, and almost inhuman. Emotionless. But this was less emotion and pure fascination, pure interest. He wanted to know what she had to say and how she thought. Wanted to know how she could be so kind and yet smuggle a killer to a hiding place. She never questioned why he does what he does. 

And that was something he liked.