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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcuWSvOw9rv
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Hanna spotted Rachel and went to try to get some answers. "What's going on?"50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsbusauhkPI
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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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOj8G30AGDE
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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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0PL2Y9azZN
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"No..." Hanna said softly.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ04Nvy9g3cJ
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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."50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPtSAsbEhNr
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Hanna swallowed hard. "And Ethan?"50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnN1FTKxGdI
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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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgVxtWRcy5P
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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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPlKw4V2n1X
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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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjjFJQE7DxB
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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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPqPETbKXXu
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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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhPvIvjLYhc
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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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8e0zu4guMW
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"What happened?" Hanna demanded loudly.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6fyn1gDRm4
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"I know the rumour mill is—" Steve's protest was quickly cut off by Hanna.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ64hM3cPLaM
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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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyUGvFBcz6o
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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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGAoWKFdUsS
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"Then what did the police want to know?" Hanna insisted.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBqVT6SmO2F
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Steve sighed. "They just wanted to know how the kidnappers knew he was there."50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRwXDJNZLNy
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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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJQ5teGP96i
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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?!"50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS5ZIuI5eHL
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"I'm not going to leave him there!" Hanna wasn't slowing down.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD8lYLFvDhf
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Steve continued following her. "Let the police handle this. There's nothing else you can do."50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsnBJVywoDd
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"That's where you're wrong." Hanna smirked.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9IFLyBk7Al
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"What are you talking about?" Steve raised his voice.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLjob4oUMPP
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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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi8cxvvMCne
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Steve stopped himself before he slammed into her. "Why?"50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPdcY06sVjn
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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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ZfjdV1cvh
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"Oh." Steve replied, standing there. "Sure, I'll let Sarah know."50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMlsoatFpla
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"No, don't tell her. Just make up something," Hanna called back.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpk1Ozxy2mb
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"Uh, okay?" Steve answered as Hanna pushed open the door to the stairwell.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqbTTliQqd9
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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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZaG3qzfw9R
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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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXIf6p3siCj
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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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdS4eqwO5Wn
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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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZDT0Ptrxb8
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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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXcvjS1WHvB
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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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡacbUxjy7vQ
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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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCFtT9VUQup
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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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDXim1cgC0X
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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.
