Chapter 55

A/N: It has been a very rough couple of weeks, but writing helps get my mind off things. Plus, I've still got a story to finish right?

Even though it's only been a few days, it feels like forever.

Anna burst through the doors of the bakery- her bakery- and stretched her arms out wide. "No need to panic, your fearless co-leader is back!"

She was greeted with the overwhelming sound of silence, completely forgetting that she wanted to get here early to set up for the first time in forever...and also that she had the keys. Which meant she just opened up.

"Right, I guess I'll just...prep for the day."

Before entering her domain, she took a second to admire the quality of cleanliness that her employees left the bakery. She should take some credit for teaching them how, but considering that she hadn't stepped foot in the bakery in almost a week, she didn't want to.

She flipped on the light switch, smiling when the Christmas lights overhead glowed. Each bulb was still intact and illuminating the murals, tables, and empty display cases with a calming aura. It was good to be back.

It sucked that she couldn't spend more time with Elsa, but they were both adults with jobs and she did agree to let Elsa do her thing about this Hans situation. She still didn't feel right about sitting back, but with her girlfriend's reassurance that staying here was the right play, she would stay here.

And work.

And pretend that the love of her life was going to meet up with a man that wanted to murder her.

Anna shook her head, it wasn't healthy to be dwelling on that. She walked over to the kitchen doors, opened them up, and almost had a heart attack when a mountain of a man with a prominent scar on his face stepped through.

"Marshall!" She shouted while clutching her chest. "You can't do that!"

"Ms. Andersen's orders were for you to never go anywhere without my supervision," He stated as he scanned the front of the bakery. As if the empty cupcake drawer was going to attack her at any second.

Just because she consented to have Marshall guard her, it didn't mean she appreciated it. As reliable as he was, Anna hadn't gotten over the whole "pulling a gun on her" thing yet.

"Well if that's true then why did you leave me alone here?" Anna argued, putting her hands on her hips.

"I scouted the storefront well before you exited the car," Marshall explained. "I went around to check the kitchen as you were opening up."

"Hmmph, well you're just full of answers, aren't you?"

"Yes."

Anna rolled her eyes, "I'm gonna go prep my kitchen."

Under normal circumstances, Elsa Andersen would never take on an appointment without at least two week's notice. Right now, they weren't under normal circumstances.

The frail brunette sitting in front of her had every right to this meeting. Her legs were crossed and her hands were folded in her lap to feign civility, but the crease of her brow and her lip quivering gave way to what she was really feeling:

Hatred. Pure, unadulterated hate zeroed in on Elsa.

And she had every reason to hate her. After all, she was responsible for her fiancé's murder yesterday.

"I cannot even begin to tell you how sorry I am that this happened, Belle."

"It's Ms. Delphine," She snapped back. "It would have been Mrs. Bjorgman but you…"

"I know," Elsa nodded. "I know."

"He dedicated ten years of his life to the APD, every day I had to worry about whether or not he was coming home." Ms. Delphine spoke every word with a venomous sting. "Do you know what it feels like to not know whether the love of your life is going to walk through your front door every night?"

Of course she didn't, this was a level of heartbreak Elsa couldn't even begin to understand.

Ms. Delphine shook her head, smiling as if talking to her was a joke. "43 days: That's how long we had to wait until we finally moved out of our shitty apartment. And the house, my god the house was beautiful. He and I worked so hard to afford that place. We were gonna put hardwood flooring in the kitchen and living room, that was the only thing we wanted to change."

Elsa wanted to look away but knew that Ms. Delphine deserved her undivided attention. She may blame Hans for what happened, but Ms. Delphine didn't. And that was understandable.

"Do you want to know what his last words were to me?"

She did and said nothing.

"He told me to dethaw the chicken because once he got back from the raid he'd want to celebrate." Ms. Delphine laughed, but it devolved into sobbing in just seconds.

Elsa knew that she wouldn't want her comfort or to be anywhere near her, but she had to help this poor woman somehow. When the crying didn't stop, she spoke up for the first time since the meeting started. "Ms. Delphine, I'm sure he loved you very much."

"Fuck you!" She wailed. "You don't get to talk about Kristoff like you knew him! You killed him! He died because you were too selfish and stupid to deal with this motherfucker sooner."

Her words were knives twisting and turning in her gut, and they were well-deserved. They played into and reassured her doubts; if she never told the APD about the house, then Sergeant Bjorgman would still be alive. Hans wasn't the only one that pulled the trigger, she would have to take the same amount of blame if she didn't want this guilt to eat at her forever.

That was all Ms. Delphine could say after that. She didn't expect any apologies, any compensations for her fiancé's death, she just wanted him back. And because that couldn't happen, tearing into Elsa was the next best thing.

Still, Elsa couldn't leave her like this.

She stood up and took a bold step towards the grieving woman. She knelt down beside her and tried to put a hand on her shoulder, but she was greeted with a hard slap across the face.

And then another.

It hurt of course, but it was nothing compared to the pain Ms. Delphine felt. Elsa tried again, holding her sigh of relief when her hand made contact with shaking shoulders and stayed there.

The words she said wouldn't take the pain away, but she hoped that it would help to chip away at her sorrow. And if they didn't do that, then the item in her breast pocket might. "We found this in his locker."

It was a metallic rose pendant, small enough to fit in someone's palm. On the back, there was a certain date and "K + B" embossed into it. Ms. Delphine took it, studied it in her hands, and clutched it close to her chest. The tears didn't stop, but there were fewer than before.

"He loved you, Ms. Delphine. Very much." She let go of her shoulder and stood up to give her some space. "And I'm going to make this right."

Knead the dough, roll the dough, cut the dough, pretend that an annoying, scary man isn't watching your every move while you bake the dough, reassure your employees that he won't kill them…

Today was going by way too slow.

Anna tried to pretend that Marshall wasn't around, but it was hard to do so when he followed her everywhere she went (besides the bathroom), and kept forcing everyone to sidestep him so they could do their jobs. To say that he was an inconvenience would be an understatement.

After almost dropping a tray of chocolate due to Marshall standing right in front of the door, Anna decided to do something about it.

"Agh! That's it! Marshall, out of the kitchen!"

The brick wall shook his head.

"I mean it! We have a job to do, and you're getting in the way of it." She stormed away from the freezer and set the tray on a table. "If Elsa said that you were supposed to watch me, then that means I'm your boss. So that means you have to do whatever I say."

"Incorrect, Ms. Andersen is my boss."

"Well, she's not here, which means I am." Anna crossed her arms and craned her neck to glare at him. "You are going to stay out of here, or else."

Marshall stood his ground and crossed his arms as well, testing the strength of his long-sleeve shirt's fabric. He said nothing.

Now they were both in everyone's way.

From behind her, Anna saw a pair of unsure hands grab the tray of chocolates. "Uh...boss? Is everything alright?"

"Everything's fine, Riley," She replied without turning around. But it wasn't. This was hindering their work, and even though this was a "needed" inconvenience, Marshall should have been professional enough to respect that she also had a job to do. She wanted to say all this to him but didn't want to air out personal grievances while everyone else was working.

So, with a strength and volume to her voice that she hadn't used in years, Anna ordered: "Everybody out!"

"But boss, it's only 11 o' clock," Owen said.

"Out. Now."

Five seconds later, it was just her and Marshall. She hadn't looked away the whole time, and neither did he. After taking a deep breath, she began to speak.

"Let me start by saying this: You pulled a gun on me, therefore I don't like you."

Marshall nodded.

"Great, now that that's out of the way…" Anna walked over to a corner of the kitchen unoccupied by any kitchenware or tables, followed closely behind by Marshall of course. "I know you have a job to do but you also need to respect that so do I. Do you follow Elsa this closely when you're guarding her?"

"Yes."

"Of course you do," Anna mumbled. "Well, I can't just have you following me around like this big bulldog making everyone scared and getting in the way. And I know I can't make you leave the kitchen either…"

She ran her hands through her hair, resisting the urge to pull out chunks of it. "So can you just like...stay in this corner here. You can see the whole kitchen from here, you won't get in the way, and you can follow me if I ever leave. Outside this kitchen, you can go wherever your heart desires; but inside the kitchen, you stay right here. Got it?"

He doesn't answer at first, and his ability to keep a straight face makes her believe that he was born like that. It's natural and unsettling, but also impressive in a way. Finally, after the most uncomfortable thirty seconds of her life, Marshall moved towards the corner and turned around. His arms stayed crossed, his face stayed neutral, but his eyes scanned the entire room.

"I'll take that a yes," Anna stepped away to call her employees back and celebrated her small victory with a much-needed sigh.

As far as Elsa was concerned, her day was over. No more appointments, no more pestering calls, no more visits she had to make. Because of that, she changed out of her work clothes and back into jeans and a hoodie. She was getting way too used to these clothes, but right now they were definitely needed.

Elsa checked her phone one more time and groaned, burying her head back into her arms. "Where the hell is he?"

As soon as she said that, the doors opened. She looked up from her desk and saw Flynn pacing towards her. "Sorry I'm late, I was checking on Rapunzel."

She scowled, "checking on Rapunzel" could have meant anything. "Do I need to remind you how important it is that we find Hans."

"No. You don't," Flynn bit back. "But do I need to remind you that I'm not the only one that wants to know she's safe? Besides, you get to spend time with your girlfriend while someone's trying to murder you, and I can't?"

"Is she even your girlfriend?"

"...bitch."

Elsa rolled her eyes, they didn't have time for this. "Did you find him?"

Flynn sat down- on the very chair Ms. Delphine was in just a few hours ago- and nodded, "You were right, he's at the docks. Streetlights weren't much help, but I got access to the camera of a nearby ATM that shows him going into an abandoned warehouse. The only times he's left were to use a payphone and to speak to some guy. Probably the same one we picked up going to the housing complex."

She winced, the gravity of their mistake intensified every time it was mentioned.

"So he's been there this whole time," she growled. "Right under my fucking nose."

Flynn leaned forward and frowned, "How were we ever supposed to know that? How were we supposed to know that he never left the city? Now's not the time to dwell on this, Elsa. We found him, so what are we gonna do?"

She took a deep breath. When Ms. Delphine left, she spent the rest of the day figuring this out. Hans was always going to be a few steps ahead of her because she kept playing right into his hands. If she was going to catch him, she was going to need backup plans. She planned to make good on her promise to Ms. Delphine, to herself, to her city...to Anna.

Her plan depended on knowing Hans' location. And now that she had it, she could finally get to work.

"...Elsa? I said what are we gonna do?"

One more deep breath and Elsa was up on her feet. "Give me the address," she demanded.

Flynn pulled out his phone, "Texting it to you right now."

"Good." She went to her bed and knelt down. "I'm going to send you some instructions, and I'm going to need you to follow them exactly. Can you do that?"

"We wouldn't be talking if I couldn't."

"Fair point." Underneath her bed was a small, black case. She only pulled this out when the situation called for it, and right now the situation definitely called for it. This was only the second time she'd use it.

"Well, what are you gonna do?"

Elsa opened the case and checked the pistol over before putting on the holster. "I'm going to finish what I started."

Anna never felt so happy to sit down on a metal chair in her entire life.

She made the mistake of dismissing her employees too early. It was supposed to be a thank you to them for keeping the bakery afloat this whole time, but it also meant cleaning the entire storefront by herself.

She found donuts in places donuts shouldn't reach.

Of course, even in this final moment of reprieve, she wasn't alone. She wanted to chuck the cleaning rag over at Marshall, who didn't lift a finger at all to help her. Then again, she was too stubborn to ask for his help.

Still, he was here and no one else was. And right now, she was desperate to talk to anyone about her day. Even if he was a rude, insensitive jerk.

"Well, that was...stressful." She said, hoping that would be enough to get a conversation going.

It didn't.

"Do you ever get a break from being a brick wall with legs? Or is this just who you are like all the time?" A bit rude, but maybe if she pressed his buttons he would give her something to work with.

He didn't.

He stood in front of the counter, stoic as always, not looking at her but not looking at anything else in particular. If it wasn't for the subtle rise and fall of his chest as he breathed, Anna could mistake him for a cardboard cutout.

"Thanks for your help by the way," Anna frowned. "Instead of taking half an hour to clean, it only took me...almost an hour."

He did help in some strange way. His annoying presence helped her focus on work rather than not hearing from Elsa. She promised to call her when they found Hans and were putting the cuffs on him, but so far? Nothing.

Now that her day was over, all she could do was worry.

Where was she? Was she okay? Did they find him? Maybe they were arresting him right now. Maybe she got hurt. Maybe…

All these thoughts, all these worries, made her stomach churn and left her with a heavy weight in her heart.

"Do...do you know how Elsa is doing?" Anna asked with desperation in her voice. This was the first time today that she looked at him with something other than annoyance or frustration. She put aside all those juvenile emotions, she just wanted to know that the love of her life was okay.

Marshall shook his head.

"...oh." Anna stood up and placed the rag on the table, she had been squeezing it so hard her hand had almost gone numb. She leaned on the counter next to him and toyed anxiously with her braid. He may not be much of a conversationalist, but right now he was all she had. "I just can't stand the idea of not knowing whether she's okay or not. I haven't heard from her all day, and I'm so worried. And scared out of my mind."

The weight in her heart threatened to get heavier and heavier. Thoughts flashed in her mind of Elsa in trouble, or worse. And whatever was going on, she was powerless to stop it.

She didn't expect much of a response, so what she got surprised her. Marshall let out a breath, almost a sigh, as if he was debating on whether or not to speak his mind.

"I've worked for Ms. Andersen for a long time. Enough to know whether she's in any imminent danger. She entrusted me to protect you, which means she's confident of her own safety. Are you confident about that too?"

Anna looked at him with wide eyes. "U-um...yes, of course I am. I know she can protect herself."

He nodded, and maybe it was the light playing tricks on her but Anna swore she saw the corner of his lip twitch. "Thank you…" She whispered. Before anything else could be said, the front doorbell rattled.

And time slowed down.

There's a man at the front door, roughly the same size as Marshall with thick sideburns, murder in his eyes, and a pistol being raised.

Anna feels herself being tackled to the ground. There's a loud pop as she and Marshall fall to the floor.

It hurts, especially with the weight of Marshall landing right on top of her.

Things are bad. He's not moving, and she feels something warm seeping onto her shirt.

As she tries to push him off, she hears footsteps.

The other man looms above her.

It goes from bad to worse.

He aims the pistol right between her eyes.