Hanna stood next to the cold bare metal table in the middle of the small room. It wasn't going to be empty for long and her cousin Kayla would be pissed if everything wasn't ready when she came back. Hanna took another quick look around the room, searching for anything out of place while she waited.
The room itself was rather empty, containing only a second table, a lamp and a couple plastic chairs that clashed with the raw brickwork walls. She'd set up the tray of instruments on the wooden table earlier. Scalpels and saws and other things that she didn't know the names of. All cleaned and ready for use.
She shivered, the cold seeping through her thin clothing. That part of the setup was intentional. The cooler the better.
The terrible lighting was not intentional. She repositioned the standing light, knowing Kayla would likely move it anyways. They'd brought in a lamp because the room's ceiling lights were horrible. Two of the bulbs were burnt out. The small window only let in the faint glow of the streetlights.
Hanna glanced around and noted how most of the small room was still shrouded in darkness. She shrugged off her irritation, it didn't matter as long as the work area was bright enough. She would have considered replacing the bulbs, but it would be pointless, this was a temporary location. They'd never be back here after tonight.
Kayla walked through the door and over to the opposite side of the table. Kayla had a talent for looking good in everything. She somehow seemed to make the apron, safety glasses, gloves and surgical mask look fashionable.
"You got everything prepped?" Kayla asked, clearly eager to get started.
"Yep," Hanna grumbled, this being far from her favourite part of her work.
"Go get dressed then," Kayla told her, examining the setup herself.
Hanna stepped into another room to don a similar getup to what Kayla was wearing. However, Hanna was sure she likely looked like some sort of crazed mad scientist instead of a safety fashion model. She was glad there wasn't a mirror there to confirm it.
Hanna hadn't inherited her cousin's stylish genes, even though they shared many other traits. People often confused them for sisters. They both had the same brown eyes, dark hair and bronze skin. Their hair type was the exception, Hanna's was wavy while Kayla's was more on the curly side.
Hanna came back to find a long bloody streak on the ancient tile floor leading back to the room. She opened the door casually to find that Kayla had already brought in their package. The table was no longer empty.
"Hard part's over. This thing weighs a ton. Time for the fun bit now." Kayla commented while examining their most recent catch, and mission objective, critically. She marked lines over the skin with a practiced hand.
Hanna thought Kayla liked opening up things that used to be alive way too much. Hanna herself, preferred for living things to be left living, when possible. Right now, she just tried to keep her eyes on her cousin, rather than on the table in front of her.
Kayla made her first incision into the rough, pink flesh. "Long time no see, cuz. How have you been?"
"Good, didn't you hear that we got close to six figures on the Nolan job?" Hanna bragged, it wasn't something she got to do often. "I know politicians had some crazy tastes but that was a whole new level of creepy."
"Mmhmm," Kayla replied, "I did hear. My dad was pretty impressed you managed to figure out how they were hiding the money in three tax havens."
Hanna smiled slightly beneath her mask. Her uncle Jay could be scary sometimes but he was never shy with praise when he felt it was deserved. He'd probably told Kayla himself. "I just hope we get another potential political scandal soon. Hopefully, one that doesn't involve guinea pigs or toupees."
"You're so weird," Kayla teased.
"Because I happen to like digging up dirty secrets on powerful people that we can use to blackmail them for lots of money?" Hanna asked sarcastically. "It's satisfying and doesn't involve lots of blood, unlike this," she countered.
"It's not like dissection is my only hobby," Kayla shot back. "I was talking about how it's always about work with you."
Hanna's shoulders slumped slightly. "It's not like I have anything else to do."
"You should start dating again," Kayla suggested.
Hanna resisted the urge to groan. Kayla always knew which buttons to press. "I can't." Hanna fiddled with the elastic of her surgical mask. "Besides this isn't the time for small talk."
"This is the best time for small talk." Kayla wasn't going to drop the topic so easily. "So, who is he?"
Hanna could tell Kayla was smiling under her mask. Kayla always found her love life to be a source of unending amusement. Hanna wasn't eager to give her cousin more ammunition with which to torment her.
"What makes you think there even is someone?" Hanna mumbled, dodging the question.
"Because I know that look." Kayla lengthened her main incision carefully. "And I know you."
Hanna shot her a glare that Kayla missed entirely.
"You should ask him out," Kayla suggested, as if it was a simple task. "Take this, I need the bigger one."
"I can't," Hanna protested as she took the bloody instrument from her cousin and handed her the larger scalpel.
"Thanks." Kayla went right back to work. "He's never going to know unless you tell him you're interested."
"Look, I just don't think he'd approve of my part time job." Hanna looked down at her slightly bloody gloves.
"First of all, this is your real job, not the other one. Remember where your loyalties lie." Kayla carefully pulled the skin back to reveal the inner organs. "Second, don't tell them, sis. I never do."
Hanna gagged silently. "And that's why your relationships always turn out so well."
"At least I have relationships, now pass me that scalpel. The smallest one," Kayla requested.
"This part is always so gross." Hanna pressed her surgical mask to her face, as if that would help with the smell.
"Oh, grow up. We need this data drive." Kayla reminded her, even though Hanna was experienced enough to never forget their goal. "This won't take long, you'll have plenty of time to take a nap before you have to go to fake work tomorrow morning."
Hanna Kilion sat at her desk at Midas Financial, staring blankly at the spreadsheets displayed on the monitor, in a fairly generic office. On the third floor, they had a good view, although she couldn't see much from her cubicle in the corner. She ignored her coworkers walking and chatting around her as she continued to stare at the screen.
She let out a small frustrated sigh. It wasn't even lunch and she was already starting to feel bored, already missing the excitement from the previous night. It's not that she didn't like her job as an accountant, but it didn't have the same energy.
Midas Financial was a legitimate company and she was a registered accountant. It was a boring company and a boring job, most of the time. Her Uncle Jay hadn't sent her to work there for no reason. The Kilion family wouldn't have wasted her talents like that.
Uncle Jay hadn't told her why when he gave her the assignment, but she'd figured it out on her own. Midas Financial was well known for it's dedication to the privacy of it's customers and this tended to attract a rich, but less than honest clientele. The exact kind of people the Kilion family was interested in.
Hanna always kept her eyes peeled for any information useful to the family while she worked. She looked for suspicious transactions, possible money laundering and other possible less than legitimate operations. She kept tabs on key players, how they moved their money and where. Hidden in this flow of money, there were secrets and opportunities they could exploit for their own gain. She did her normal work and she did it well, while reporting interesting tidbits back to her family.
Hanna stretched her arms, still sore from the job last night. She knew Kayla was right, her job here wasn't even to be an accountant, but to work for the family. Maybe she'd been here for too long, gotten too comfortable, or maybe it had just been too long since her last mission.
Hanna never went missions alone and she was rarely called to help anyone else. Kayla always asked her to come anyways, even when Kayla knew she could do it on her own, just to have some company along. Kayla wasn't always in the city though, she got assignments that took her all over the country, and her last trip had been particularly long.
Now that Kayla was here, it would mean they'd go on more missions together. Hanna was looking forward to it and that anticipation wasn't helping her focus on the secret-lacking spreadsheet she needed to finish.
Hanna glanced back at the screen, there was nothing suspicious there. Nothing interesting. She felt like her brain was going to go numb. To her, that was a good sign that it was time for a coffee break. She made her way there leisurely, politely greeting the couple coworkers who crossed her path.
Hanna saw Rachel and Steve through the break room window. Rachel was one of her coworkers, they were on good terms. Steve was a manager in sales, on the other side of the floor, but he was often in their break room.
Hanna suspected they were secretly dating, despite a lack of evidence. Their flirting had been running on a couple years now, an open secret to the rest of the office. Hanna noticed how he was more dressed up than usual, even wearing a tie today.
Hanna smiled politely at them as she entered. "Good morning."
"Hi Hanna, we were just talking about the merger." Rachel was wearing her signature gray cardigan that reminded Hanna of an old schoolteacher.
"Right, the merger." Hanna nodded instinctively while getting a cup of coffee, emptying the pot. The big important merger that everyone except Hanna was talking about. It was entirely too straightforward and honest a transaction to peak her interest.
"I'm surprised everyone up here isn't more excited." Steve commented.
"Just wait until the cake comes out, then they'll get excited," Rachel joked with a wink.
"There's cake?" Hanna asked instantly as she started a new pot brewing.
Rachel laughed at her reaction. "See, I told you."
"I guess everything is relative. I think I even saw Sarah crack a smile this morning." Steve took a bite of his doughnut.
Rachel raised an eyebrow at him in disbelief. "Now, that I will believe when I see it."
Steve shrugged. "Maybe you'll see it at the celebration tonight."
"I'll keep my eyes peeled." Rachel took a sip of her coffee. "Hanna, did you want to come for drinks after work? A bunch of us are going to the bar down the street."
"I can't, I have a..." Hanna's mind suddenly went blank as she struggled to remember her made up excuse. "...thing later." She couldn't tell them she had a mission with Kayla. Her cousin was finally in town and she was looking forward to spending some time together.
"A family thing," Hanna corrected herself quickly. "Thanks for the invitation."
"Anything interesting?" Rachel asked politely.
Hanna thought planting a bug in the back room of a gang-run nightclub would probably qualify as interesting to Rachel but it was just another night to her. "Not really. My cousin's visiting so we're going to hang out," Hanna replied, twisting the truth a bit.
"Oh, have fun." Rachel turned to continue her conversation with Steve.
"Thanks, you too." Hanna nodded at Steve as she headed out to get back to her desk.
After Hanna stepped out of the room, she stopped just in view of the window. She was suddenly curious about where the conversation was going. She watched them out of the corner of her eye while pretending to check her phone.
Hanna saw Steve talking through the window and read his lips. "I don't think she's ever come out for drinks."
"I'm just trying to be nice, she's obviously an introvert." Rachel appeared to reply.
Hanna resumed the trek back to her desk, convinced there wasn't going to be anything of interest in that conversation. She knew she should not be using her lip reading skills to eavesdrop on her coworkers but she couldn't help it. This work got so boring sometimes.
Hanna sat down, opened a new file and started working away at it. She typed away until it was completed then glanced up at the clock on the wall. It had taken her just under an hour, that might be a record for her.
Hanna closed the file and sensed the office was oddly quiet. The volume was usually low but this was more than that. She couldn't even hear the sounds of keys being hit or a single mouse being clicked.
Hanna peeked above her cubicle wall and saw the office was deserted. None of her coworkers were at their desks. She wandered into the break room, wondering what was going on. Maybe everyone had gone for celebratory cake after all.
Hanna found Rachel by all by herself, tensely stirring her coffee. "Hi Rachel, what's-"
Rachel almost jumped out of her skin, droplets of dark coffee splattered on the countertop as she jerked her hand. "Oh, it's you." She exhaled loudly in relief.
Hanna thought that was a bit dramatic, even for Rachel. She hadn't even been trying to walk silently. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. Where did everyone go?"
"Sarah's on a warpath," Rachel whispered. "Something about the merger."
That certainly explained the group disappearance act. Sarah could be very unpredictable when she got angry. Anyone running into their boss in a bad mood could be facing anything from being stuck with the worst accounts to getting fired on the spot.
"Thanks for the warning," Hanna whispered back, before heading off to make herself scarce. She had no desire to be the only one in the office when Sarah came back. She suspected there might be a spot or two in sales that she could lay low in until Sarah found someone else to take her anger out on.
Hanna hadn't even made it to sales before before she heard the click clack of Sarah's heels echoing on the hard shiny flooring. There was no mistaking those shoes. She'd be coming around the corner any second now. Hanna saw she'd stopped right next to the supply room. She took her chance and ducked inside rapidly.
Hanna's mind barely registered that the light in the room was already on. She was completely focused on shutting the door quickly and quietly, carefully making it didn't make more noise to reveal her emergency hiding spot. The room was about ten feet long with shelves on either side filled up with various office supplies. There were boxes of pens, elastics, thumbtacks, paper and... Ethan?
Hanna saw Ethan sitting in the back of the supply room and froze at the sight of her crush. Her mind went completely blank. She forgot all about Sarah's impeding rampage.
Hanna couldn't believe she hadn't noticed him instantly, given the way his black hair stuck out against the plain white wall behind him. Her eyes darted to meet his. She tried not to focus on how his light blue shirt almost matched his eyes perfectly.
He's cuter up close, she thought. She could feel her cheeks getting pinker. Her mind raced. This is not the time for that sort of thing. This is a terrible time for that.
Hanna tried to calm herself. He has a girlfriend already, she reminded herself. She knew he'd been dating Alice in HR for the last six months. That fact hadn't made it feelings go away before and it didn't start working now.
I can act normal, I can do this, she told herself internally. She fiddled with the button on the end of her shirt sleeve unconsciously. Don't be weird, don't be weird, don't be weird, Hanna repeated the words in her mind like a mantra as she tried to keep her expression neutral.
"Hi," Ethan said, standing up. With Hanna wearing heels, they were about the same height.
"Hi," Hanna said, trying to sound as normal as possible. "I'm Hanna, from finances." She kept her gaze low, avoiding his blue eyes. Why is it always the ones with blue eyes? she wondered in frustration.
"Ethan, sales," Ethan replied.
I know, Hanna thought, Ethan Laurence Harrow.
"In a rush?" Ethan asked, his glance shifting to the door behind her for an instant.
"Ah, no." Hanna fumbled about her mind for an excuse about why she'd have rushed into the supply room so quickly. It was like her brain was running in slow mode. "I just needed to grab... something." She wanted to slap herself in the forehead.
Ethan smiled, clearly unconvinced. "So, are you trying to avoid Sarah too?"
"I'm not hiding," Hanna snapped out the lie. That's exactly what she was doing. The smile stayed stuck to his face, irritating her further.
"I didn't say you were," Ethan stated, watching her with amusement.
Hanna could have sworn all the blood in her body was rushing to her face. "I just needed some more..." She searched around for a believable excuse. "...printer paper." She grabbed a stack off the shelf. "Got it."
"Four packs?" Ethan commented skeptically.
So much for acting normal, Hanna thought, not my best work. "Yep. Don't want to run out again. Bye!" Hanna was out the door in a flash. Without checking to see if there was anyone in the hallway.
Hanna took two steps and nearly ran right into Sarah, who was in the middle of berating a gaggle of junior lawyers. Six foot tall without her stilettos, she towered over most people, including Hanna, in her usual crisp, black dress. Sarah never had a hair out of place and she expected the same from everyone who worked for her.
Hanna flinched at the sound of the door shutting loudly behind her. The corridor fell silent as the whole group instantly turned in unison to stare at her. Hanna froze for the second time that day.
Hanna couldn't believe her ridiculously bad luck, taking in the situation in front of her. Sarah stared at Hanna with her usual unreadable expression. From the looks on the juniors' faces, Hanna guessed she had burst out at exactly the worst time.
Hanna saw the top stack of paper start to slide. She shifted, awkwardly adjusting herself so it was resting against her chest. It felt like the weight of the stack had suddenly doubled on her. She glanced back at Sarah, who'd been watching her closely.
Hanna gulped, praying someone else would speak first.
"Here's a perfect example." Sarah spoke calmly, the corner of her mouth only slightly twitching upwards.
Hanna's stomach dropped. I'm so fired, she thought, Uncle Jay is going to be so mad I blew this assignment. She was not looking forward to having to explain this little mishap. Kayla would be teasing her about this for years.
Sarah turned back to address the juniors. "A perfect example of the attitude we need around here."
Hanna blinked blankly as her head spun circles in confusion. She didn't have a clue in hell what was happening here. She hoped she didn't look as utterly confused as she felt.
Hanna stayed silent. Silent but hopeful. She wasn't going to push her luck now. This could still turn around on her any moment.
"This is the type of energy we need." Sarah patted Hanna on the back firmly, causing Hanna to readjust her grip on her inconvenient package.
Sarah gestured at Hanna, who had decided to continue keeping her mouth shut. "I want you all to give one hundred and ten percent. Just like this." Sarah glared at the confused employees, just as bewildered as Hanna.
The juniors started muttered in agreement as Sara's rant turned into a pep talk. Hanna nodded along nervously with the group as Sara continued. She tried her best to blend in until she could sneak away but Sara kept using her an example and pointing at her energetically.
Hanna silently thanked her weightlifting practice. The paper wasn't light and she had no clue how long Sarah's rant would go on for. She couldn't exactly slip away, given she was at the center of everyone's attention.
It felt like an eternity before Sarah lost steam. The rest of the group was still agreeing adamantly but Hanna sensed this talk was coming to a close.
Sarah nodded firmly at Hanna. "Carry on."
"Yes, ma'am," Hanna said meekly, wasting no time exiting the conversation. She hurried back to her desk, where she dropped the heavy paper with a thud before crashing down into the chair. Hanna let out a sigh of relief and hoped the rest of the day would be less crazy.
Somehow that ordeal had been more stressful for her than than getting stabbed. At least when that happened, she could stab someone back. Now she just had a large stack of paper that she didn't know what to do with.
