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.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡakZsOhd6oL
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Hanna spotted Rachel and went to try to get some answers. "What's going on?"90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEjND7hlzkZ
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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.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYnDF1Rqfl9
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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.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlVuO1lQKmC
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"No..." Hanna said softly.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMpz5weWTwU
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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."90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ04t2YinRG3
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Hanna swallowed hard. "And Ethan?"90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPLXdu4Ygs8
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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.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrzkeXDx4Pr
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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.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM3WxIhrjwT
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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.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSzRMyLgb1W
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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.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjSe95ZcTv9
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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.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnbvGENftYP
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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.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ83JzOTNiBw
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"What happened?" Hanna demanded loudly.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUWt4Tg00Vu
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"I know the rumour mill is—" Steve's protest was quickly cut off by Hanna.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡduvo5EtJLS
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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.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHa3g6t7CPd
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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.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPJxQek9RW5
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"Then what did the police want to know?" Hanna insisted.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtNBY2JPXxf
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Steve sighed. "They just wanted to know how the kidnappers knew he was there."90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt85spfz7ni
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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.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ12lShxBXwi
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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?!"90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR7NVLngkWk
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"I'm not going to leave him there!" Hanna wasn't slowing down.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWrKUUnT3G2
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Steve continued following her. "Let the police handle this. There's nothing else you can do."90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9GIXpOpPKJ
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"That's where you're wrong." Hanna smirked.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqlQQDhNHgn
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"What are you talking about?" Steve raised his voice.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeQbqWS10v8
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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.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxWaOPnURjg
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Steve stopped himself before he slammed into her. "Why?"90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHybxg5gCDw
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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.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAtUD0vn7uR
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"Oh." Steve replied, standing there. "Sure, I'll let Sarah know."90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZWnkWOZjHa
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"No, don't tell her. Just make up something," Hanna called back.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf9jAOYrrCe
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"Uh, okay?" Steve answered as Hanna pushed open the door to the stairwell.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPck3scyCzB
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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.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJApInnckQK
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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.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq2CRooSpjk
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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.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ZSraiWuDd
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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.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZZHGirUFmD
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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.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡel1NJJ8Ily
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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.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtmLYiXwn0B
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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.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKTblwwskn7
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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.90Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwSQ8E9OqMa
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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.
