The next day, Hanna only glanced at the folder on her desk before deciding to ignore it. She logged into the computer and started her usual work. She spent hours muddling through spreadsheets, her pace much slower than usual.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVba7hIRp62
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When she came back from lunch, she stared at the thing that had been bugging her all morning. She tapped her fingers against the desk anxiously. She couldn't take it anymore, she didn't have to make a decision right now but she needed to get this done. She grabbed the folder and dug right into it.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡadZS2fhz6E
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It was a standard package, containing information about the client, their interests and what the company was preparing to offer. It was a basic outline of possible deal that would be renegotiated later. She skipped right to the client details and began her work. The client was Acamas International, a holding company that claimed to deal in transportation and real estate.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUuEKpBwUl5
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It didn't take her long to discover Acamas International was an empty front. Several of the companies it owned were ghost companies. It's value only looked high because it had been clearly oversold, probably as a cover for some other transaction. What confused her was that even though it was a front, it didn't look like it was being used for anything at the moment.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ6aAh5bsZI
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She kept digging, check things off the screening checklist as she went. Next, she looked up the owner's information. The name listed was Allen Edbert, which she recognized as an alias used by the Crimson Keys, one of the major gangs in the city. The Crimson Keys' involvement made this even more of a mystery.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtAp2FoKW9l
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She flipped to the section that described what the client was looking for. It didn't look like this was needed to maintain their cover, someone had done a good job setting this up already. Nor did it make any sense that the Crimson Keys would set up this meeting.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAUesbjVNDp
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Hanna had a bad feeling about this whole thing. She looked at the office's address again, wanting to double check something. She opened up a map on the computer and looked up the address, paying closer attention to what was nearby. This seems like the perfect spot for an ambush, she thought, and it's in the middle of Crimson Keys territory.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNtWy3sbleN
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She glanced back at the map, letting her eyes drift. She recognized another address nearby as a Crimson Keys hideout. That old, closed up laundromat was a spot they'd been using for years as a multipurpose site for a whole host of illegal activity, including Charax processing.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9zmXXL56BP
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This feels like a trap, she concluded. Her face paled as the reality of who their target was hit her. Ethan had given her the folder, this was probably his client and he was likely going to go meet them there. He was going to get caught by the Crimson Keys.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡehr8fYrTuP
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Hanna felt her heart rate rising. The Crimson Keys dealt in anything and everything, including Charax. They'd know exactly how to get the most profit out of him. In fact, they probably set the whole thing up just to get him.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuJFPUMTwGM
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Hanna shuddered. If he was Charax, they would kill him. Not only would they kill him, they'd chop him up and sell off the pieces one by one. If he was very lucky, they'd do it in that order.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvoNyse91ZL
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Hanna felt a pang of disgust in her stomach. Too many people believed the rumours that Charax had healing powers and that eating a liver or a heart could pass that on that power to them. There were lots of buyers with deep pockets willing to shell out for what they thought was a miracle cure and the Crimson Keys would be happy to supply them with it.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeT830fVEIB
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On the other hand, if she'd been fooled into thinking Ethan was Charax, maybe they'd made the same mistake. If they caught him and his DNA test came back negative, then they'd just drop him off somewhere. He'd probably end up a little beaten and bruised, but the Crimson Keys usually didn’t murder random people, that was bad for business.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ2DXm5zrQc
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Either way, she didn't want him to get hurt. She had to talk him out of doing this now. Somehow. Without revealing that she knew any of this. She couldn't forget she had her own cover to protect, that was her first priority.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ52OPNupvXH
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She needed to get this meeting cancelled but whoever had set up this company knew what they were doing. The company had passed Midas Financial's screening checklist with flying colours, making it difficult for her to justify a cancellation. Maybe she couldn't official flag the file, but Ethan could simply cancel the meeting on his own, if she could convince him.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIGHGPKtCxl
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I can be convincing, Hanna reassured herself. I'll just tell him they aren't serious about making the deal. He'll see the meeting will be a big waste of time and cancel it himself. She smiled and wrung her hands nervously as she went off to find Ethan, still working out exactly what to say to him.
Hanna found Ethan sitting at his desk, looking as tired as he did yesterday. Hanna quickly observed that he didn't appear to be sweating, but still decided to watch him closely for any possible symptoms. He looked up at her as she slowly approached.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuW7EFEnbyf
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"Hi Hanna, did Sarah sign off yet?" Ethan got straight to the point.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF2cNdsZCcj
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"Um, no, I wanted to talk to whoever was going to handle the company you asked me to look into." Hanna bit her lower lip nervously. "Uh, I mean, whoever is going to meet them tomorrow."179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsP7REMqfVj
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"I am," Ethan replied dryly. "Oh, and Jerry," he added as an afterthought. "Why? Did they get flagged?"179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm89889DXDc
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Hanna cursed internally. She couldn't lie straight out about that. "Well... no, but... um..." Hanna fumbled, trying to come up with a believable as Ethan waited for her response. Her task was only made more difficult due to her observational multitasking. "...but don't you think it's strange that they only opened up an office a month ago?"179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx80FYusmdN
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"We knew that already. It's temporary, they're in the process of moving locations," Ethan answered dismissively.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg7tHNFKduZ
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"Then don't you think it's weird that they're suddenly looking to do business with us?" Hanna pushed again.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjjmrGWnf5G
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Ethan shrugged. "Business changes all the time. They might be looking to expand. I'll probably find out at the meeting."179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKGEsfM4gIN
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No tremors so far, Hanna thought. "But..." Hanna trailed off, running out of excuses. "What if they're not serious, it's all a waste of time?"179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUaMFuZMyVw
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"Then the deal doesn't go through. Happens all the time. The meeting tomorrow is to find out how serious they are." Ethan studied her, trying to figure out what she was doing. "Look, this is a potential client and we want this to go smoothly."179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKhLpdmAAGV
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Hanna kept her expression neutral, even though she was feeling anything but neutral at the moment. It was so obvious to her what was going on. He was taking their bait. Hook, line and sinker.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ18r0xNpkf
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"Still..." Hanna racked her brain, trying to find some excuse for him not to go.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlccJNfbIne
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"Everything's planned out. What's the problem?" Ethan pressed.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyqGmDgowmo
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Hanna managed to put on a smile. "Nothing. There's no problem. It was just... some things I noticed that were strange. I thought you should know."179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYPm54tRCAj
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"Okay, thanks for telling me but that's all fine. Let me know when Sarah signs off." Ethan turned his attention back to his screen.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXk0aQYA5fu
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Hanna sensed the conversation was over and started to walk back to her desk. He seemed more normal today, no tremors, less sweat, maybe he was Terran after all. If he doesn't want to listen to me, she thought angrily, it's not my fault if he gets himself a light beating.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvYKV3cv84d
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Hanna picked the papers off her desk to drop off with Sarah's secretary, like she should have done hours ago. She waited at her desk for the call she knew would come. She already knew Sarah would approve it and no one in the whole office could make Sarah change her mind once she'd made a decision.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWWABNebh0S
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A couple hours later got a call from Sarah's secretary that it was approved. She sighed and went to go print off a copy of her report to give Ethan before he left for the day. Or maybe she'd wait until he left and put it in on his desk. She didn't feel like seeing him again right now.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2hoybiuFLx
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Improbably, her day got even worse. The printer decided right now was the perfect moment to run out of ink. She swore this thing hated her. She resisted the urge to kick the printer. Instead, she took a deep breath and headed for the supply room.
Hanna opened the door to the supply room to find Ethan inside, to her surprise, and she stopped in the doorway, momentarily forgetting about the toner she needed. She saw him quickly put something back in the box as she came in, like he was trying to hide something. This could be her chance to find out what he'd been doing in here.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOu9llGow8u
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"Are you feeling alright?" Hanna asked sincerely.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQDxLASacXu
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"It's a cold. I'll live," Ethan answered nonchalantly.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU0AOoZ967u
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Hanna raised an eyebrow at him, not even trying to hide her skepticism. "You should go home if you're sick."179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqUaNBJ5qdd
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"A cold never killed anyone," Ethan replied dismissively.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYisoHSPJ0e
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"Yes, it has." Hanna saw her chance. "And maybe someone else should go to the meeting tomorrow. Wouldn't want to get your new client sick."179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡprVqSG8lUb
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"I'll be fine by tomorrow." Ethan brushed off her concerns. "Did you need something? More printer paper?" Ethan teased.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvQKouobpZz
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Hanna frowned slightly, noticing his deflection. "Very funny. It's toner this time," she replied, trying to fake a smile. "You?"179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡArjc1q7tx9
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"Pens. I gave away all the old ones," Ethan replied as he quickly grabbed a box of branded company pens from the other shelf. "Do you mind?" Ethan gestured at the doorway that Hanna was blocking.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdejSSb1hzY
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"Oh, sorry," Hanna said as she stepped back, holding the door open for him as he hurried out.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3sQX1xR0y2
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"By the way, Sarah signed off," Hanna called out to him as he walked away. "I'll get you the report later."179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdENeSTOkYe
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"Great. Don't worry about it," Ethan replied without looking back at her as he sped off.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRFDJJJ629L
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Hanna went into the supply room but instead of grabbing the toner, she decided to do some snooping. She took her chance to grab the first box he'd put back, wondering what he'd hidden in there so hastily. It was high up, on the top shelf, so she put it on the floor to get a better look. She rifled through the box and quickly found the bottle of pills that certainly didn't belong with the staplers.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEd2AckofDm
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The bottle was labelled Tarzinol, a medication she recognized as a common hormone blocker. She looked at the date and number of pills, the bottle was nearly empty. He must be taking a ton of these every day, she realized, that's why he's in here so often. She checked if there was anything else in the box and found another out-of-place item, prescription antiperspirant.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPH136Xk4Zn
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All her doubts that Ethan was Charax vanished with this evidence. Her mouth went dry all of a sudden. He was Charax and she just told him he was good to walk into a trap. A trap that would kill him. She swore under her breath and put the box back the way she found it.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2CL21pZIHZ
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If she told him she knew, he'd disappear and she'd never see him again. On the other hand, he'd be safe. Her frustration rose as she was faced with her previous dilemma again. What she needed was some way to warn him without giving away what she knew. Some way to keep him from getting to that meeting...179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ptcJpEDoe
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She couldn't think of anything right now, but he'd be leaving the office now anyways and wouldn't be in until tomorrow morning. It was too late to put any plan into action today. She'd have all night to think up something. Which was good news, because she had absolutely no idea what to do.179Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFo3DUSQxCx
