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.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡofbutBgV3F
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Hanna spotted Rachel and went to try to get some answers. "What's going on?"91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHyn5szcwQO
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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.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd1OBfLGAei
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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.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa4Alzzq6to
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"No..." Hanna said softly.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRjgpfyFrBU
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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."91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCG7VGYinBH
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Hanna swallowed hard. "And Ethan?"91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWxbM5ugiK6
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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.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAS9YtRCArq
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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.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5vAzWPqXup
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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.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtoKVYQjsr0
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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.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoGZyDKiBvr
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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.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN3R5j6ll8k
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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.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdueAKda4Cf
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"What happened?" Hanna demanded loudly.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmV7hN6AU3w
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"I know the rumour mill is—" Steve's protest was quickly cut off by Hanna.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6huaS0ZRqA
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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.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmb3T9alAfo
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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.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡugO1rMJPhM
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"Then what did the police want to know?" Hanna insisted.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFTVUiplgbb
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Steve sighed. "They just wanted to know how the kidnappers knew he was there."91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMTQ75yqmQ2
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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.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlappBSv8Zu
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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?!"91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8BulHOwLKB
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"I'm not going to leave him there!" Hanna wasn't slowing down.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡORLodLz4pJ
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Steve continued following her. "Let the police handle this. There's nothing else you can do."91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNYfNuRrUTN
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"That's where you're wrong." Hanna smirked.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb5CPdp7bYk
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"What are you talking about?" Steve raised his voice.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKBdxZGpKA3
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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.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqW6p2EipTJ
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Steve stopped himself before he slammed into her. "Why?"91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVB3AP2SHu8
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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.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI2aKbxxtEE
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"Oh." Steve replied, standing there. "Sure, I'll let Sarah know."91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYjEq7KCdJC
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"No, don't tell her. Just make up something," Hanna called back.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZksoZUCNTY
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"Uh, okay?" Steve answered as Hanna pushed open the door to the stairwell.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZh3A4sy6Gr
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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.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX3AbOWd4fv
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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.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ21j82NGQre
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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.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1wOwNOGuqS
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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.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9pSypNfUWN
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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.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqCIu0vcO5C
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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.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKWaeQ9pENX
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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.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf7Xtt1l2Zi
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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.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbtJ1PLnzGW
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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.
