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.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnNmWg1XO5T
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Hanna spotted Rachel and went to try to get some answers. "What's going on?"172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYWEmzaa3B7
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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.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRe38O9XYK7
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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.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjO7XRxzh1V
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"No..." Hanna said softly.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡspCSAGtk6F
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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."172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaPu6z8X3Ii
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Hanna swallowed hard. "And Ethan?"172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoZQ9UY7tmv
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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.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm9nDaPCtSM
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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.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeCskEvF1iz
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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.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs2v68PWmwT
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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.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNE8oDHqPVq
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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.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡljU3DGB8cV
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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.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4immTsPob8
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"What happened?" Hanna demanded loudly.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCW8mdV5jxf
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"I know the rumour mill is—" Steve's protest was quickly cut off by Hanna.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7D7r8zF4e7
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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.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKB4yf48EQZ
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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.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrLNxFF0BnD
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"Then what did the police want to know?" Hanna insisted.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzeXSg3BRcq
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Steve sighed. "They just wanted to know how the kidnappers knew he was there."172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOmKNtnScM3
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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.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYpVvjNTwIX
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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?!"172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHfPC9bDRkU
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"I'm not going to leave him there!" Hanna wasn't slowing down.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCRqgxWn6tq
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Steve continued following her. "Let the police handle this. There's nothing else you can do."172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWpm7Yqq5IU
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"That's where you're wrong." Hanna smirked.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSe42XYO5zf
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"What are you talking about?" Steve raised his voice.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Pv8XXnJpj
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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.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpQxKLNzjYl
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Steve stopped himself before he slammed into her. "Why?"172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUaiZIzhAND
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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.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVjWBbKtLWB
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"Oh." Steve replied, standing there. "Sure, I'll let Sarah know."172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdgnUQftSZc
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"No, don't tell her. Just make up something," Hanna called back.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJiSUkhjwtf
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"Uh, okay?" Steve answered as Hanna pushed open the door to the stairwell.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi7wD90cmTY
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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.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm8Ui3Ug9EM
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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.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfmbIMLQN0b
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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.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHhS6scY5om
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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.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXGwq1vIHof
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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.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxQ8yWASLgO
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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.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfC7X7tEwYW
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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.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCa45TuH3Al
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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.172Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjSntPf4Wuz
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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.
