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.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEsBYy6Fmne
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Hanna spotted Rachel and went to try to get some answers. "What's going on?"100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeg7qSMjIP5
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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.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMaHzLZwPxs
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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.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZjaY2fIT3x
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"No..." Hanna said softly.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZOwHI7TBdc
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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."100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡESk0DRisep
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Hanna swallowed hard. "And Ethan?"100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOlZUUqu9mB
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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.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfBS08Mp4fu
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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.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1lYplbM8FM
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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.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ421CnqAdaU
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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.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2VBJb1aZLx
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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.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ80zysyciVp
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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.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXlFb1YrSno
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"What happened?" Hanna demanded loudly.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw0npfhICEM
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"I know the rumour mill is—" Steve's protest was quickly cut off by Hanna.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvTzunHJvqH
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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.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkk9MAUEugJ
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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.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡis0PhwVbeO
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"Then what did the police want to know?" Hanna insisted.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs1UeBQDRvC
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Steve sighed. "They just wanted to know how the kidnappers knew he was there."100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGYurMDxp1p
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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.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP2M5vtvzeu
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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?!"100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz96iPyrpBy
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"I'm not going to leave him there!" Hanna wasn't slowing down.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwgxBqO2d6J
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Steve continued following her. "Let the police handle this. There's nothing else you can do."100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwZk3GknikD
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"That's where you're wrong." Hanna smirked.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL3q10QYObz
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"What are you talking about?" Steve raised his voice.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxgUCVMdnYA
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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.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkD6T1txiNo
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Steve stopped himself before he slammed into her. "Why?"100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡddmsXPgY24
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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.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1zW3wNwNSS
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"Oh." Steve replied, standing there. "Sure, I'll let Sarah know."100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡceUVk9RKeK
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"No, don't tell her. Just make up something," Hanna called back.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡawA5OtJL9k
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"Uh, okay?" Steve answered as Hanna pushed open the door to the stairwell.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP233JKM67Z
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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.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLhwqw4l2bR
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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.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhh37O8D3Eg
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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.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNzcsIIyV6P
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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.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKKSBMlrAs0
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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.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqRVxQXCgjs
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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.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡknk3fvqzOv
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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.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWkulJ494xk
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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.100Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt8QVq49EhK
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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.
