Chapter 53

A/N: Fair warning, this chapter might be a little difficult to follow along with because of all the time leaps and perspective changes. Also, remember when these notes were funny?

6:30 AM

Anna wakes up from the feeling of someone tapping her arm. It's gentle but firm, she groaned and rolled over. "Wha…?" She said coherently.

It's Elsa, of course it is. Thank goodness it is, after the events of last night she's relieved that they've put that fight behind them. Elsa was even there to comfort her as she bared her soul about her greatest insecurity of their relationship. Or at least she semi-bared it.

She gives her girlfriend a tired smile, "Hey you. What time is it?"

"It's 6:30." Elsa said with the sweetest voice, but also with a sense of...urgency?

"Oh nooooo, I gotta get to work." Anna mumbled. "Where's my pants?"

"No Anna, you're not going into work. At least not for another day." She's dressed again, jeans and a hoodie. The fact that Elsa could be awake and alive this early in the morning is a superpower.

There's a smile on her face like she's hiding something, like a gift.

"What's going on, Elsa?" Anna asked as she rubbed her eyes and rolled over completely. She placed Elsa's hand on her head, one of their old signals they'd give to say that they wanted head scratches.

"We found him." Elsa replied as she scratched her head in the way only she could.

"Found who?"

"Hans."

8:30 AM

"I still don't understand why we need to wear pants if we're not even leaving your office," Anna said as she begrudgingly slipped on her jeans.

"We went over this yesterday," Elsa replied, settling into her office chair and booting up her computer. "Do you want the entire city to see us in our underwear?"

"Not the whole city."

"What?"

"Okay, but that only matters if we stay near the window." Anna reasoned, refusing to elaborate on the joke to make Elsa squirm.

She smirked as she saw the visible confusion on the blonde's face.

"Uh huh...anyway, I have to stay near the window. Also, why are we even arguing about this?"

"Because I- ugh! I don't know, I'm just excited I guess. We found him, we finally actually found him." Anna ran over to Elsa and gave her a hug that almost knocked her out of her chair.

Elsa steadied herself and kissed the top of Anna's head, making her feel warm and fluttery in her stomach. "Flynn compiled all the streetlight footage into one file, he sent it over to the APD a few minutes ago."

In the two hours that it took for Anna to actually wake up, Elsa had slipped back into her CEO clothes. Which wasn't a complaint, she still looked stunning in a button-up and a skirt.

"How long do you think it'll take for them to actually do anything about it?" Anna asked.

"Well, this is a pretty high profile case. He threatened a CEO after all, and there's some pretty damning evidence of him abusing clients. It would surprise me if they didn't move on him today."

"So...it's almost over?"

Elsa nodded, "It's almost over."

10:30 AM

Anna looked over the books on Elsa's bookshelf. All the titles had business and finance jargon that went way over her head. Knowing her girlfriend, she must have read through these dozens of times. "Shouldn't Hannah be here by now?"

"She messaged me before I woke you up and asked for a couple of days off. For obvious reasons, I approved them."

Anna frowned. She didn't want to lose Hannah as a friend, but after their talk yesterday it was best to not see each other yet. It would help disperse the awkwardness, but that meant Elsa wouldn't have an assistant for the next couple of days.

"I wish my boss was that understanding." She joked, clearing out any of their own awkwardness in the air.

"Hey!"

Anna turned around and winked at her. "I feel bad though, that means you have more work that you gotta do."

"I survived just fine before I hired her, retaking her responsibilities will be easy."

Anna walked back to the desk with a playful pout on her face, "Ooooor I can be your assistant for the day."

Elsa laughed, "That depends, have you gotten any better at writing schedules and answering the phone?"

"I make my own doctor's appointments now. Does that count?"

Elsa kissed her hand and looked at her fondly, "Well if you want to help, I won't say no." Before they could get rolling on this pseudo-hiring process, Elsa's phone began to vibrate. When she read the text, her posture straightened and there was a sense determination in her voice.

"It's Flynn, he said the APD is moving in on Hans now."

11:00 AM

"Are you kidding? Oh my gosh that's amazing, Anna!"

"I know, right?! We can finally get things back to normal and do our actual jobs"

Rapunzel laughed, "That's gonna be weird for you, isn't it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well think about it: Ever since we opened up Warm Hearts Bakery, you've been extorted by your supervisor, harassed at a festival, got caught up in some blackmail scheme, became a secret agent for like a day, had your heart broken by your ex-girlfriend, and then got back with your ex-girlfriend. You think you'll handle things finally being 'normal'?"

Anna rocked back and forth on the office chair, messing with Hannah's piggy bank until she almost dropped it. She left all her poise and grace on the lacrosse field. "Eh, I'm sure I'll get used to it."

The silly thought of being Elsa's assistant for the next few hours went away as soon as she got the text from Flynn. As Elsa continued to get updates she became increasingly serious. When she decided to call Flynn, Anna excused herself to give Elsa some space.

Besides, it had been two days since she'd talked to her best friend.

"I miss you so much, 'Zel."

"I miss you too, Anna. The Neighborhood's beautiful, and it has been nice not having to pay for my own food, but I feel like I'll be overstaying my welcome soon. Plus, Robin has no idea how to treat a pregnant woman and it's kind of funny."

"Hey, I don't know how to treat a pregnant lady either."

"Haven't you been reading that book I got you?"

"...I skimmed it."

"Anna!"

"Look I'll start reading it after we deal with Hans. Deal?"

She could feel Rapunzel rolling her eyes through the phone, "Deal."

11:15 AM

"Binoculars? Isn't that a bit low-tech for you?"

"It's a housing development, there aren't any streetlights to hack and discrete places to put up a camera."

"And you also don't want to get in the way of the police," Elsa added.

"That too."

"How thoughtful of you, Flynn." She said sarcastically.

She could feel him roll his eyes through the phone, "Whatever. Three police cruisers just pulled up, they're surrounding the house right now."

Anna peered in and gave her a look that asked if she could come in. She waved her in, and Anna was by her side in an instant as she put Flynn on speaker.

"I should have sent in the footage sooner, it's almost noon and they're too visible."

"All that matters is that they're there now and that there hasn't been any movement all day." Elsa felt a pang of unease in her stomach. Even if all signs pointed to Hans being there, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. That this felt...too easy.

She wanted so hard to believe that the nightmare would end today, but…

Anna put a hand on her shoulder and mouthed "Are you okay?"

Elsa squeezed her hand and nodded, she knew that Anna didn't believe her but they had to focus on this first.

"Two cops at the front door, two beside the cars, and two at the back in case they run. Textbook stuff." There's another noise coming from the phone, it sounds like...lip-smacking? Chewing?

"Are you eating right now?"

"I didn't have breakfast, sue me." There's more gross noises, loud chewing and swallowing. "They're knocking on the front door right now...no answer. That's about right."

Elsa wrung her hands together, "And you're sure that no one's gone in and out of the place?"

"I've been here for almost three hours now. No one's left and no one's come in, but I saw movement reflecting off some of the windows. Someone's definitely gotta be there."

It's Hans, it has to be. It needs to be.

"Cops in the back just signaled that they see someone inside. Or at least something."

Anna looks just as anxious, but it might be an anxiousness to finally get this over with. The redhead bit her lip and asked, "Can you see what it is from where you are?"

"Not really, the curtains might have moved but that could also just be my imagination."

"Not helpful, but okay," Anna mumbled.

Elsa looked at her and whispered, "He's doing his best." She only tasked him to look through any cameras he could to find Hans, right now he was going above and beyond his mission. When this was all over, she would hold up her end of the deal and help him get back on his feet.

"Team leader's signaled them to breach, it's about to get interesting. You ready?"

That wasn't a question she felt like she could answer. "Let us know when it happens."

"Gotcha."

This was it, it was about to end. It had to end. It needed to end. She smiled at Anna, and Anna smiled back; brighter than hers. In her girlfriend's eyes she could see where her hope lay, her future. A life where they could be together without any asterisks, any loose ends.

When Hans was finally behind bars and rotting inside the worst prison cell they could throw him in, the first thing she was doing was getting down on one knee and finishing what she started. The best part was that Anna had already given her the yes.

When this was over, their future could finally begin.

"Alright, it's happening. He's positioned in front of the door and- wow, nice kick! They're going in."

"Yes!" Anna exclaimed.

"Wait, something's wrong."

"What? What is it?"

"They're running back out, they-"

Flynn's interrupted by a loud boom, one that makes even Anna and Elsa jump. When the shock wears off, Elsa hears something else through the phone. It's distant, but unmistakable:

Screaming.

The unease in her stomach has imploded and she feels her insides twisting and wrenching, she's finding it harder to breathe. No, this can't be happening. This can't still be happening.

Anna holds her hand and squeezes it tight- not letting go even when Elsa's grip starts to hurt her- and speaks for both of them.

"Flynn, talk to us! What's going on over there?!"

"Oh...my god."

"What is it?!"

"There's…"

"There's what?"

"...so much blood. I need to..."

"Flynn?"

Their voices begin to drown out until all she hears is a loud ringing in her ears.

12:17 PM

"Tragedy strikes Arendelle today as a failed raid to bring down the fugitive known as Hans Westerguard ends with an explosion at the Lyons Estates. The house that the police suspected him to be in was rigged with explosives that were set off when the front door opened. The blast has left two officers with bone fractures and severe concussions, one officer gravely injured, and has lead to the death of a Sergeant Bjorgman."

"At this time, neither the APD nor ArenCorp have come forward with any statements. Hans Westerguard remains at large."

12:29 PM

Elsa is hunched forward on her chair, arms resting on her knees. She's fixed her eyes on the carpet below her, hoping it will suck her in and take her back in time so she can call the raid off.

She wants to cry or scream or say that this is her fault, but she can't form the words.

Anna's hand is on her back, she's vaguely aware of that, but it barely helps in soothing her. Once again, her own stupid decisions have caused other people pain.

It's caused the death of an innocent man.

"This isn't your fault," Anna said like she's reading her mind. "You couldn't have known that this would happen, and you wouldn't have forgiven yourself if you didn't tip them off."

Elsa wants to believe her, she really does.

"I promise, Elsa, we're going to find him and he's going to get what he deserves."

Elsa wants to believe her…

She tries snapping out of it, but before she can even begin to process these emotions and somehow get on with her day, her phone begins to vibrate.

Maybe it's Flynn telling her that he got out of there safe, maybe it's the chief saying that they were going to call off the investigation because of this stupid stunt, maybe it's Hannah changing her mind and coming into work because she's incapable of even lifting her hands up to the keyboard.

She opens her phone and puts it up to her ear, not even trying to ask who it is.

Because she doesn't have to.

"Did you like my surprise?"

It's him. Of course it is. She's too numb to react, and he's too self-obsessed to wait for a response.

"I told you, if you keep interfering in my plans then the blood I spill will be your hands. And when you finally stop hiding in your ivory tower, I'll make sure more to spill more of it. Just for you! It started with those officers, and it ends with your precious Anna."

More scraping, and the faint sound of something else. What is that?

"I look forward to seeing you soon."