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.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ46YekZFNin
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Hanna spotted Rachel and went to try to get some answers. "What's going on?"161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNVX5QqOOHK
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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.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRGbvkP2JGB
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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.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcu1dZpd87k
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"No..." Hanna said softly.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡauh58eEaWZ
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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."161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡph1pkKowJc
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Hanna swallowed hard. "And Ethan?"161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEcTeABCtiV
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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.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyaRzAxp03U
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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.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlfk9UIuaGl
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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.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHpJTpofMO4
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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.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb9C8i3cWyG
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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.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzFh7vx5uZz
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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.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5SmbpnBLX4
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"What happened?" Hanna demanded loudly.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1imyUFrMrV
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"I know the rumour mill is—" Steve's protest was quickly cut off by Hanna.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq5lKx0raHw
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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.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU2f40t4wzT
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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.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMyhbBN62ud
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"Then what did the police want to know?" Hanna insisted.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡECwygUjPTP
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Steve sighed. "They just wanted to know how the kidnappers knew he was there."161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpdC3KWaMM6
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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.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYgpip97aAy
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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?!"161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoYDALMa6uJ
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"I'm not going to leave him there!" Hanna wasn't slowing down.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Xy6Ie8oR8
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Steve continued following her. "Let the police handle this. There's nothing else you can do."161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmdyBQhCtKW
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"That's where you're wrong." Hanna smirked.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYL1YmtWJi8
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"What are you talking about?" Steve raised his voice.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLoAFmjbs9V
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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.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs5Mv334ofX
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Steve stopped himself before he slammed into her. "Why?"161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZukesvaUj1
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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.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdTyluMk0aK
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"Oh." Steve replied, standing there. "Sure, I'll let Sarah know."161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5vEfVGvbD5
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"No, don't tell her. Just make up something," Hanna called back.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5vFdKptvjk
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"Uh, okay?" Steve answered as Hanna pushed open the door to the stairwell.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ01Yzfzjpy7
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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.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡirYMydcfzl
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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.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyXIkYH3bOe
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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.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcZqXindsLC
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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.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAcAi5kzLhn
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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.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyfhuwhoN9S
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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.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5VtqRCIXhI
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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.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTycCXcYZep
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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.161Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd2Z6sqZCf5
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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.
