Hanna had been doing her best to keep her head down, to focus on her work, but the commotion in the office had gotten so loud that she couldn't ignore it any more. She got up and wandering over to where her coworkers were standing around. She picked up bits and pieces of conversation, too jumbled to figure out what was happening.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡydGSvInTIR
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Hanna spotted Rachel and went to try to get some answers. "What's going on?"51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqkVkixPPAU
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"You didn't hear? Ethan and Jerry were attacked." Rachel's tone had a gleeful edge, like she was more entertained by the excitement than concerned.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSn4iDw2epx
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Hanna felt her stomach plunge to new depths. She hadn't been paranoid. She had been right all along. Her legs suddenly felt like jelly, barely able to hold her upright.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0BZYn1M8Jn
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"No..." Hanna said softly.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5FDNhuPY5x
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Rachel, completely oblivious to what was happening to her coworker, continued to gossip. "It's true! How crazy is that? Jerry's in the hospital right now."51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh7PGHGNZM2
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Hanna swallowed hard. "And Ethan?"51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJHLHibR2ZJ
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"I don't know... I don't think they've found him yet," Rachel answered briefly before turning back to the group's conversation.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0GbzTFqUCc
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Hanna's insides churned in terror. Her mouth felt impossibly dry. She felt like dread had frozen her entire body and she was stuck on another world , disconnected from the people and conversation going on around her. No one else appeared to notice the state she was in as they continued to talk amongst themselves.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqogjGQtg45
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A piece of information broke into her mind. "I hear Steve had to give the police an interview," Rachel gossiped to another woman.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHGY4f5q2Xm
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Nobody noticed Hanna slipped away from the group. She found herself walking towards the door, her legs moving almost robotically . She wasn't quite sure why she was moving or where she was going.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmeJvpMa41s
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As she passed the threshold of their shared office, she realized that her brain had somehow already made the decision for her, she was going to help him. Her mind raced to find a plan to catch up with this decision.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqsSLGPIbcG
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All she knew at the moment was that she needed to talk to Steve before she left, anything he knew, she needed to know as well . Hanna speed walked the short distance down the hall and barged into Steve's office, startling the short middle manager.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwPRLYpF2EH
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"What happened?" Hanna demanded loudly.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWjqkd4iz7A
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"I know the rumour mill is—" Steve's protest was quickly cut off by Hanna.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvC47gpXvJ1
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"Cut it out. You were interviewed. What do you know?" Hanna pressed firmly, trying and failing to keep her voice level.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY7ON66dACa
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If Steve was shocked by Hanna's behaviour , he didn't show it. "I really don't know what happened," Steve admitted.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMv3XMAFfaW
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"Then what did the police want to know?" Hanna insisted.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBS5cis3XkJ
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Steve sighed. "They just wanted to know how the kidnappers knew he was there."51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ77WR6oTM1M
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"Why did they think the kidnappers had that information in advance?" Hanna asked, not to be deterred from any relevant information.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVqL2t0bVNg
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"They said it seemed planned, professional—" Steve stopped talking abruptly as Hanna started walking quickly out the door and out into the empty office. He followed her after a moment's hesitation. "Where are you running off to?!"51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOAloktBaXE
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"I'm not going to leave him there!" Hanna wasn't slowing down.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSFvzQD55Zl
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Steve continued following her. "Let the police handle this. There's nothing else you can do."51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCJpLD44TwZ
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"That's where you're wrong." Hanna smirked.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMmkQa4xN2K
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"What are you talking about?" Steve raised his voice.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTJSkVES4If
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"I'm going to be gone the rest of the day. Cover with Sarah for me." Hanna stopped, grabbing a black marker off someone's desk and stuffing it in her pocket.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcqSb12cYyx
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Steve stopped himself before he slammed into her. "Why?"51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPNWNn6jXqU
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"I know who took him. I've got to talk to the police. It'll probably take a while." The half-truth came out of her mouth easily, almost instinctively. She continued her beeline for the exit.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjs1DoduueG
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"Oh." Steve replied, standing there. "Sure, I'll let Sarah know."51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbaf7UySVkV
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"No, don't tell her. Just make up something," Hanna called back.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvJAVtG767e
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"Uh, okay?" Steve answered as Hanna pushed open the door to the stairwell.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFdPziyXWpo
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Hanna rushed down the stairs two at a time. She could only hope to arrive before they dissected him and not afterwards. She already knew where they'd likely taken him and she had a plan. More like a fifth of a plan, she admitted to herself, but it’s a start.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6laNBSfypR
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She'd told him not to go, but it hadn't been enough. They knew he was Charax from the start, it was so obviously a setup. But he was just so confident in his cover, ignoring all her warnings. That man severely lacked self preservation instincts.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj46uGllklS
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As she raced towards her car, she cursed herself for not acting sooner. I can't believe I let this happen, she thought regretfully. No, I won't let it happen. There's still time.
Hanna knew Ethan might not be held at the laundromat, it might be just an old hideout now. What she did suspect, if they suddenly found another helpless Charax on their hands then they'd take her to the same place he was being held. So here she was, parking a block away from the laundromat. Preparing to do the one thing she always avoided, getting caught.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgNY9jFeREX
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Hanna knew she'd have limited tools at her disposal. Any weapons or drugs found on her could wreck her whole plan. She needed to look like the perfect, vulnerable, nonthreatening little target. If they were suspicious of her then they'd be on their guard and move the operation or stop her from implementing the second step of her plan... whatever that would be. At the moment, she really only had the 'find Ethan' part down.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs590OygJ2T
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For the first part of that plan, she took out the marker she'd swiped from the office and took the top off with her teeth. She marked a small Charax symbol on the inside of her wrist, where she knew it would be found. It was a rush job and wouldn't fool anyone who knew what they were looking for but she had a feeling these weren't particularly bright criminals.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG8QTPNpzKp
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Hanna knew she should be thinking about what to do once she found him, but there were simply too many unknown variables to start planning ahead. She suspected Ethan was not going to be in good condition when she found him, but specifically what he'd be like and what they'd have done to him was a mystery to her. Even if they'd just thrown him in a room, she couldn't be sure how helpful he'd be in an escape attempt.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9y33l4FSMq
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She checked the time. The Trazinol will have worn off by now, if that what the only thing suppressing his symptoms then he'd be feeling the full force of the heat right now. Based on that, she wasn't sure how... sane he'd be. She was sure most of the stories about Charax heats were exaggerations. Or rather, she hoped they were exaggerations at least.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvuNbf39ZcE
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She had to consider the stories might be true. If it turned out he was less than... coherent and if it came down to *that*... well, she was thankful she was already on birth control. She wouldn't be scared off by a bit of rough sex. So when she found him, she'd just have to improvise.51Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBK8lneNDWy
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Hanna waited until nightfall and got ready for her mission. She left anything that might make them suspicious in her car and set up her phone to send a message to Kayla in a day if she didn't turn it off. Then she took a deep breath and headed off towards the laundromat, ready to be captured by the Crimson Keys as a Charax ready to be processed.
