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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwJ0EyGslMF
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Hanna spotted Rachel and went to try to get some answers. "What's going on?"144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeSNcw3pxFm
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaKt7MBYAGm
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpa8XRhblgK
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"No..." Hanna said softly.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEhGf4lzYIQ
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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."144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7pDSR2lbra
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Hanna swallowed hard. "And Ethan?"144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd719arkltk
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ptvs7ricG
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFtQfg0wfpT
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeYeoAbGYYn
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3dadrHpaCB
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAAGJTgqf0A
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgq2I7ut9la
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"What happened?" Hanna demanded loudly.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJSZ7X3ddBm
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"I know the rumour mill is—" Steve's protest was quickly cut off by Hanna.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjqtI9IGjN8
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVewd48cPMd
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5fjp1Zpiyq
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"Then what did the police want to know?" Hanna insisted.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCxN3GkWKIs
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Steve sighed. "They just wanted to know how the kidnappers knew he was there."144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVvWiQBTDN1
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5FQDNRpHVq
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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?!"144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡntvDPH9hfn
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"I'm not going to leave him there!" Hanna wasn't slowing down.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZskJS5eMrZ
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Steve continued following her. "Let the police handle this. There's nothing else you can do."144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqVTHlrg325
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"That's where you're wrong." Hanna smirked.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZeARMOrQ1y
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"What are you talking about?" Steve raised his voice.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLvQ6hDA9Jq
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpBzKLkHRW1
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Steve stopped himself before he slammed into her. "Why?"144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjPrRUSGUHV
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5nGbDyKmKY
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"Oh." Steve replied, standing there. "Sure, I'll let Sarah know."144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSpRZkir0Mp
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"No, don't tell her. Just make up something," Hanna called back.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7l31p3gVOX
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"Uh, okay?" Steve answered as Hanna pushed open the door to the stairwell.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIB0vfSnBJM
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ukQvEhCqg
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0o7LXDH8Qr
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIJvhK3Lz8n
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzKDEeXdSIe
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC2AG9KTrWo
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2e1E68IHG1
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhTJ1zDlztW
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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.144Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVgTY9HWjWS
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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.
