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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVbmBMCNl8Y
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Hanna spotted Rachel and went to try to get some answers. "What's going on?"145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqn2lJe2PCF
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKoSROXmUwk
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYly6QdYVqT
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"No..." Hanna said softly.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqQNOGEPzDw
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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."145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP50PtKvjTd
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Hanna swallowed hard. "And Ethan?"145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYcyy6CYsNQ
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5u6c03XsKq
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIrhLbMGu8m
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl8qITXtvAV
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJyTu0E65ia
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAan8tSESDy
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGu9rBJyvH6
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"What happened?" Hanna demanded loudly.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQYa2f19G1B
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"I know the rumour mill is—" Steve's protest was quickly cut off by Hanna.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ7jwYVuizp
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDWPIbwPe2E
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD1aLgcy5V0
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"Then what did the police want to know?" Hanna insisted.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuCGl8PS2I6
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Steve sighed. "They just wanted to know how the kidnappers knew he was there."145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkxS99nEegJ
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz2gvRfwDtV
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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?!"145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuSJQKFemjT
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"I'm not going to leave him there!" Hanna wasn't slowing down.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFPlWJYMfJR
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Steve continued following her. "Let the police handle this. There's nothing else you can do."145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡih6bmSg71p
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"That's where you're wrong." Hanna smirked.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1tPBrKQeQc
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"What are you talking about?" Steve raised his voice.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡklfTTLDIFW
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXLz1599bJw
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Steve stopped himself before he slammed into her. "Why?"145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpNaV3FnuBC
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqdek1SKfrc
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"Oh." Steve replied, standing there. "Sure, I'll let Sarah know."145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6cTpQIrRw4
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"No, don't tell her. Just make up something," Hanna called back.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuedQ8lG49x
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"Uh, okay?" Steve answered as Hanna pushed open the door to the stairwell.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH8Fe7qT6yi
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHeUIJHpOgW
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmtY90oyXSW
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡORoovF67kG
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu8vxFLKXfi
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuGGPQ1duUm
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtHlbz0Y0mZ
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfPyeSdP3Dz
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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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAeyqQqh2Yz
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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.
