Frozen 1. Chapter 1 - Prologue

**A/N: **End of the chapter.

* * *

It was 7:53AM according to the old digital clock. The ancient thing's dull red numbers were one of the few sources of illumination in the dimly lit room. Light attempted to force its way in from the outside, but the tightly drawn blinds and thick curtains would be having none of it. For now, the apartment would stay shrouded in darkness.

The room itself was rather cluttered. Clothes lay in piles strewn all about, computer parts and tools littered every available surface, and a young redheaded woman sat at her desk on the far side of the room. Well, slumped over her desk was probably a more accurate description of the girl - She was still dead to the world, not unusual for her at this hour.

Anna shifted and grumbled several curses under her breath, unwilling to let the day start just yet. She knew she couldn't have gotten more than a few hours of sleep, she'd drifted off at probably around three AM and it felt like it was still early morning. Groggy, she fought to continue sleeping despite that incessant beeping. The redhead adjusted herself in her chair and prepared to drift back off into dreamland, wishing her alarm would yield in its battle to keep her awake.

_Wait, alarm? I never set an alarm._

Anna spasmed, sending her computer mouse flying and nearly falling out of her chair. She attempted to regain her composure as her monitor hummed to life, displaying the movie she'd fallen asleep to and the rather obnoxious pop-up that obscured her view of it. The notification read: "Attention, external intrusion detected. Employment of countermeasures advised." The report was timestamped nearly ten minutes prior.

_Shit._

Anna worked fast, recovering her mouse quickly from behind her waste basket and settling back into her chair. She was still drowsy, but she couldn't let that stop her. Someone had breached her network and determining what damage they had done was paramount - If they'd gotten into her secure files, she was in serious trouble.

Navigating her computer and hammering out command after command with enough speed that her keyboard sounded as if it was trying to imitate gunfire, Anna quickly discovered that her files remained virtually untouched, it seemed the intruder had quickly glanced through her documents and pictures but left the rest of her computer untouched.

_If not my files, then what were they after?_ Anna took a moment to think, staring intently at the screen before her, as if it held the answers she sought.

A grimace splayed across her face as she came to an unfortunate conclusion. _My bank account._

Anna quickly pulled up the web application she used for online banking and was both relieved and confused when she found her way to the page meant to record transaction history.

_One hundred dollars?_ Her face contorted from frustrated to baffled in a matter of moments, one eyebrow perched high on her forehead. _Who the hell hacks someone's bank account and only steals one hundred dollars?_

Not that Anna was complaining, of course - It was just the principle of the thing. Someone had managed to breach her security and hack into her financials, draining money from her account. The absurdity of the small amount wasn't important, all that mattered was that someone had hacked her in the first place.

Anna felt defeated, she'd never been bested like this before.

_Someone hacked me - Me! I wrote my security software myself, no one has ever been able to get past it. And this asshole just cut through it like butter!_

The redhead sat slumped back in her chair, mouth curled into a frown and brow furrowed as she stared off into space, pondering what she should do next.

_No - I will _not_ let them get away with this. _

Anna cracked her knuckles and her mouth set into a fine line, eyes boring intensely into her screen. Determination coursed through her veins as she pulled up a small black window and several programs she used for tracking digital attacks just such as this.

_I don't know who this asshole is, but he messed with the wrong girl._

Sounds of machine gun fire keystrokes once again filled the air as she began typing furiously away.

_Whatever scum you are, no one hacks Anna Yngvilde and gets away with it._

* * *

**A/N:** Hello! Thank you so much for reading this - It's just a preview of what's to come. Whether you stumbled upon this or found your way here via tumblr or some other source, I appreciate you taking the time out of your day for the sake of my writing. I have big plans for this story, with much more to come. It's been a while since I've written, especially something on this scale. It may take me a while to get into the swing of things, but hopefully I can produce work that's worth reading. I wholeheartedly welcome any criticism and input that can be offered - Please, leave reviews and send me any thoughts you may have on the story. I want to know what you guys think.

Huge shout out to appletopfp on Tumblr for her characters 3154!Elsa and 4774!Anna which directly inspired me to write this. She's been a huge help in putting this whole thing together and has been absolutely fantastic in supporting this work. I hope I can make it worth it.

Also, if you want to you can also find me on tumblr under vananon, because I enjoy consistency.

Next chapter!

Chapter EDITED 11-5-2014


	2. Chapter 2 - Pursuit

**A/N**: Chapter Two, let's go!

More A/N at the end, just like the first chapter. I hate prefacing with lots of non-story related text, so this will probably happen a lot.

* * *

Anna stood just outside the coffee shop, frozen stiff from her apprehensions about entering.

It hadn't taken her long to discover the hacker's approximate location, she'd designed her security systems well. In the event of a breach, Anna's failsafes were designed to feed the offending hacker's computer the information it searched for, as well as a little extra. A nasty little bug, one designed to discreetly disclose to Anna the hacker's IP address. If the device had WiFi access, the virus would every so often bounce signals off of anything nearby capable of receiving the connection. All of this was for the sole purpose of pinpointing the location of the hacker.

Anna was surprised to see that the hacker wasn't in some other part of the country, or even somewhere else in the world. On the contrary, they were in the same city as Anna, within a few blocks of her apartment building. It had taken her all of five seconds to process this information and resolve to go confront them. She'd jumped up and shot straight to her closet, nearly tripping over the open chassis of an old desktop computer.

Anna hurriedly yanked out a simple grey hoodie and pair of jeans, hopping across her floor to the bathroom while trying to pull them both on simultaneously. Once she'd freshened up and ensured she looked at least somewhat presentable, she made for the door. After making sure she had her keys, wallet, and phone, Anna stared at the door the door for a good few seconds, doubt suddenly flickering through her mind.

It had been a while since she'd gone out into the world for anything other than the bare essentials for living, was this such a good idea?

_No._ Anna shook her head slowly back and forth, hoping to shake the doubts out of her mind with the motion. _No, I have to do this. This person violated my security and they're gonna pay. When I find them I'm gonna…_

It was at this point she realized she didn't really know what she was going to do when she found the hacker, but that didn't stop her from ripping open her door and tearing down her stairs at an alarming speed. With one final push Anna stepped out of her apartment building and out into the cool autumn breeze that blew through the city streets.

Only when she reached her destination did lingering doubts surface in her mind. Her phone was receiving information from her computer at home, actively tracking the hacker's location. It would need a bit longer to return an exact location, but the tracking program had narrowed down the search to this block, a small assortment of boutiques and a single coffee shop lining the street.

Doubt once more latched onto Anna's conscious, she hadn't been to a place like this in so long. Anna had barely been out in public, hadn't frequented social hotspots, hadn't talked to people beyond the necessary cursory interaction for buying food or basic living essentials, not since -

_No, _Anna chided herself once more. Quickly she quashed that thought before it could take form. She sucked in a deep breath, her cheeks puffing out a little in response. _No, I can't think about that right now. I'm… On a mission. I'm going to find this hacker, and give them what for!_

With that final bit of inward encouragement, she thrust open the door to the small cafe with quite a bit more force than necessary. The audible slam of metal against metal as the door smacked against its frame was enough to turn a few heads in her direction, but most seemed content to ignore the disturbance.

Anna mentally kicked herself for a moment before regathering her composure and letting out the breath she'd forgot she'd been holding. After a moment of collecting her wits, she strode purposefully to the counter, deciding getting a drink while waiting for her search to finish would do her some good.

Anna stood before the counter for several seconds before she caught the man standing behind it staring at her expectantly.

"Miss…" He began gently, his tone only slightly suggesting judgement on his part. "Can I get you something?"

Anna kicked herself once more before responding. "Yes, uh… What do you have?" She knew her nerves were showing, anyone with eyes could see she was out of her element right now.

The man simply pointed up, clearly indicating the large menu hanging above his head.

Anna could only cringe, which prompted the man to raise a brow and continue his expectant stare, his judgement more than obvious now.

She scanned the menu, surprised by just how many options lay before her. Once she'd decided, Anna returned her gaze to the barista. "You have hot chocolate, right?" _What? Why did that come out as a question? Of course they have hot chocolate you just saw it on the freaking menu -_

"Yes," the man replied, skepticism not even trying to hide itself in his voice. "Would you like one?"

"Yes please." Anna managed, willing her lips to curl upwards, hoping it at least resembled a smile.

If the barista noticed or cared for her attempts at being pleasant, he gave no indication. "Name?" His voice had lost any extra inflection by this point.

"Anna." She forced past her lips, still curled into her awkward attempt at a smile.

The man only nodded. "Five minutes." he stated, before turning to prepare her order.

Anna backed away from the counter, smile slowly fading. She tried taking a deep breath to calm herself, before turning to take in the cafe.

What she saw was standard fare for an establishment such as this, mostly a younger crowd, people in their late teens and early twenties. They were all busy either idly chatting or lost in the contents of their respective books or computers.

_Wait, computers!_

Just now noticing the abundance of mobile devices, Anna immediately took to analyzing their make and model in an attempt to distract herself from her social anxiety. She noticed that the majority of them were lacking in any real power, likely purchased for schooling or work. She knew most people didn't have needs for powerful computers like she did, but it was somehow refreshing to be reminded of it.

She had just finished scanning the cafe's denizens when something caught Anna's eye in the far back of the small coffee shop. Sitting on a table in the corner was an unusual specimen, matte black finish and small green symbol a stark contrast to the other computers around it. Once she realized what she was looking at, it took her only a few strides to reach the table and stare intently at the laptop in front of her.

"Whoa…" she breathed, lost in the piece of technology. She leaned in and examined it closely, appropriate behavior and etiquette cast aside in the face of the marvel in front of her.

"That's…" Normal words had failed her, so what spilled out instead was what she could manage, accompanied by animated hand gestures. "i7 Quad Core CPU, eight gigabytes of DDR3L, GTX Eight-Seventy M with three gigabytes of dedicated VRAM, Fourteen-inch QHD plus display…" Anna paused, needing a moment to bask in the awe that had struck her. It didn't take long for Anna's rambling to resume, though. "I mean, I know these things are horribly overpriced, but I've heard they're built like tanks to make up for it. The specs alone are awesome, but if what they say is true about the production quality I'd kill for one of these things…"

Anna had been for the most part staring at the laptop for the majority of her tirade, her gaze bordering on longing. Finished however, she started to look up at the person actually using the computer. "Where did you get -"

Twice in the span of less than a minute, Anna was floored.

Staring back at her over the edge of the laptop's screen was the most striking woman Anna had ever seen - It wasn't that she was over-the-top attractive, she simply just exuded this sort of natural beauty the likes of which Anna had never seen before. She wore an odd brown jacket perhaps a size too large, faded blue jeans, and a small black beanie rested atop her head. Her attire was questionable, but inconsequential. What mattered was _her_. Platinum blonde hair framed a gentle face, a cute nose centered between cheeks lightly dusted with the faintest freckles, lips curled into the most adorable little frown…

But what really drew Anna in, were the eyes.

Even hidden behind the rectangular-rimmed glasses settled onto the girl's face, Anna could see the two icy-blue orbs with startling clarity. She tried to find a color to properly describe them. _Cerulean, maybe?_ It didn't matter. They were amazing, she felt like those eyes could bore a hole through her and see all the way to the deepest reaches of her heart. It was then she realized they were almost doing exactly that, right now.

Snapped out of her stupor she realized she had been staring at this incredibly stunning stranger for what could only be described as a wholly inappropriate amount of time.

_Oh god, you were just leering at this girl. Leering. How long were you doing that? Oh, and the computer! You just approached some random person in a coffee shop and talked their ear off about _their _computer and then _leered_ at them. Apologize! Gather your wits and apologize right now dammit!_

"Oh my god I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to talk your ear off like that - I saw the computer and just-"

The girl across from Anna was staring back at her with a look of incredulity splayed across her face. Anna grimaced, but tried to continue.

"Oh god, This is awkward. Not you're awkward, but just 'cause we're - I'm awkward. You're gorgeous. Wait, what?"

Anna realized what had escaped her mouth and felt like curling into a ball and rolling right out the door of the coffee shop.

It was then that three things happened at once. The blonde girl opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by the barista shouting Anna's name, letting her know that her order was ready. Anna turned to look, mortified expression still plain on her face, but was stopped when her phone vigorously vibrated in the front pocket of her hoodie. Figuring the drink could wait a moment and looking for any distraction from her complete social failure, she pulled out her phone and checked to see what it wanted.

The notification text declared "Search complete! Displaying location."

A map of the block she was on appeared on the screen and quickly zoomed in on the coffee shop, indicating the hacker was inside. In response to the new information Anna quickly whipped her head around, scanning the interior for any possible suspects. It was only when the phone vibrated and drew her attention once more did everything click into place.

The hacker was within a few feet of her.

Slowly Anna returned her gaze to the blonde girl across the table, looking right into those icy-blue eyes.

"Y-you…"

Anna's voice failed her, but only for a second. Courage welled up in her chest.

"You're the hacker!"

What happened next was fast - Almost too fast. The blonde girl pressed a single key on the laptop in front of her and the thing started smoking, the acrid smell of burning silicon filling the air. Anna narrowly dodged taking a foot to the face as the blonde tossed the computer to the floor and vaulted the table in one quick motion. The other girl connected with the ground once more and sprinted for the door.

Anna was reeling from the sudden action, but still had enough of her wits about her to realize what was happening.

_She's getting away!_

The redhead recovered quickly as she scrambled up from the table and bolted after the blonde, having no intentions of letting her escape.

Anna burst through the door out into the street only a few seconds after the other girl, head snapping left and right trying to ascertain which direction she had gone. Spotting a brown coated figure fleeing far up the sidewalk to her right, Anna took off.

She realized rather quickly that the blonde was quick - She ran like her life depended on it. With some of the ideas popping into Anna's head, it just might.

The other girl occasionally threw a glance over her shoulder, checking to see if Anna was still pursuing her. When she saw that the redhead hadn't given up chase yet, she gained a small burst of speed and kept running.

They'd been running for a couple of blocks now, shouldering past pedestrians and either jumping over or narrowly avoiding any obstacles in their path - Anna perhaps slightly less gracefully than the blonde. It was at the edge of the third block that the blonde girl turned right at the street corner and Anna lost sight of her.

_No! I have to keep her in sight - I can't lose her!_

Anna barrelled around the corner but didn't immediately spot the blond. She saw it though - just a flash of movement as a shoe disappeared into an alley in between the buildings to her right.

Upon entering the alley she saw that it went about the length of the building and curved left at the end, a turn she could see the blonde taking now. Anna sprinted down the alley and took the corner herself, incredibly satisfied when she saw what laid before her.

The blonde girl was standing in front of a wall that looked almost ten feet tall, her back turned to Anna.

_Yes!_ She couldn't contain herself - the ecstasy of victory flowed through her veins.

Anna was about to give in to the urge to gloat when suddenly the other girl spun to face her, breaking into another run - straight at Anna.

Anna put her hands up defensively and braced for impact, but was surprised to see the girl skid to a stop in her tracks, then angle in a quick reverse back towards the wall.

It was all Anna could do to fumble with her words in confusion.

"What…"

The blonde girl leapt from the ground and angled her feet towards the wall to her right, coiling up like a spring and then pushing off to grasp at the top of the tall wall blocking the end of the alley. Sitting atop the wall, she gave one look back at Anna before dropping to the other side.

Suddenly robbed of her victory, Anna dropped her hands to her side in defeat.

_Well, shit.  
_

* * *

**A/N**: Well, there you go. I'm trying something a little different with both of these characters, some of which can probably already be seen. Trust me - there's a reason for this. Once all is said and done I'll probably explain my reasoning, if it's welcomed. Other than that, there's not much else to say regarding our two favorite girls.

The story as a whole however, is another matter entirely.

I would've put this in the description, but I couldn't get it to fit without compacting the description itself to a degree I wasn't comfortable with. I could've put this in the first chapter's A/Ns, but I didn't want to distract from the content. Anyway, you probably noticed the 'M' rating on this story and I feel like this warrants explaining. I don't know _exactly_ what all I'm going to do, because I like my writing to evolve as I write, but I do know I'm going to explore some darker themes in this fan fiction. (As I've already stated on Tumblr, I do have a middle and end already planned in a general sense) There's going to be violence, vulgar language, possibly explicit content, and some emotional turmoil that I hope I can convey well enough that it generates some feels. Anyway, enough necessary spoilers.

One last note: I'm a pretty big computer buff, with a heavy focus on hardware. I feel like I should put a disclaimer stating I'm not a hacker, but I do have some ideas about the practice. If anyone notices any errors I make in regards to this, please feel free to notify me in a review or by personal message. If it doesn't break the story, I'll probably make changes accordingly.

I'm sorry - That was a really long A/N. I just wanted to get all of that out of the way before going any further. Thanks for reading, have a great day!


	3. Chapter 3 - Processing

**A/N:** Two chapter update! I told you, I told you I'd have something! Comprehensive **A/N** coming later.

* * *

Blonde locks disappeared under a purple hood as the girl set off at a brisk pace down the street.

_Stupid, Stupid!_

She couldn't help but berate herself, she'd had quite a morning.

_I never should have risked it, now look what's happened!_

She was tempted to smack herself on the forehead, but thought better of it and instead buried her hands in her coat pockets.

_Great job, Elsa. You let your curiosity get the better of you and now you lost _another _laptop. Not to mention the wasted time…_

She'd been… 'working', when it had happened. Elsa had just finished for the day actually, when she'd noticed something odd on her system. It was a virus she'd soon realized, one designed to calculate the location of the computer it was hacking and transmit it back to wherever it came from.

She couldn't help but be curious, right? It was rare that other hackers got the better of her and she had wanted to know who'd been clever enough to pull it off. Elsa wasn't sure what she had been expecting, but it hadn't been, well… _that._

_No, stop thinking about it. Think about what you did wrong, don't do it again._

Not exactly useful, Elsa knew what she'd done wrong. She'd let her curiosity get the better of her and now she was paying the price.

_A fucking two thousand and change price tag…_

And with that sad thought still fresh on her mind, Elsa set about making her way back home.

* * *

A loud thud resounded throughout the apartment as Anna's door slammed against the wall. A frustrated huff blew out of the girl as she trudged across the threshold hefting two handfuls of groceries.

She'd decided it would make sense to visit the store since she was already out, regardless of how wise a decision it actually was with her current mood. Due to her unmanaged temper, her trip had resulted in food for the week, a bag full of chocolate bars, and a mildly emotionally scarred cashier.

She hadn't meant to yell him - He was just asking _so many _questions_._

_See - Crap like this? This is why I don't go outside._

Anna laid out the groceries on the floor and set about putting them away. Once done, she flopped down onto her couch in the middle of her small living room, bag of chocolate clutched tight to her chest. She flicked the TV on and selected a movie to play from her media PC.

Full of chocolate and for the moment distracted from the stresses of the day by the movie, Anna was beginning to feel the grip of sleep on the edges of her consciousness. She was just about to drift off to dreamland when her phone rang, her slumber once again being rudely interrupted.

_Oh, what now?_

With a frustrated sigh, Anna wrenched her eyes back open and felt around for her phone, finding it had fallen out of her hoodie and ended up somewhere between the couch cushions. With several grunts of frustration and a few moments of fishing amongst the depths of her large couch, she had recovered the offending device and was half tempted to ignore the call - Until she saw the caller ID.

_Kristoff._

Panic and anger settled onto her face, feeling right at home.

_Oh crap, I was supposed to go see him today - I completely forgot!_

Scrambling up and regathering her things, she once again flew out the door and into the world.

* * *

Exhausted, Elsa collapsed in a heap into her chair. She was both mentally and physically spent, having just escaped the crazy redheaded girl and then crossed the entire city on foot to make her way home.

She heaved a deep sigh and powered on her system, contented at the sight of glowing LEDs.

_That was… A day. I can't be that reckless again._

Elsa grimaced at the thought of the girl from the coffee shop, still unsure exactly what to think about the whole ordeal. She shook her head, trying to simultaneously shake herself of the thoughts.

_No, can't think about it. Can't be distracted.  
_

She pulled up several programs on her computer, looking over the information being displayed.

_Work - I need to work tonight. Get my mind off of this._

Scanning the screen, she settled on a single grouping of information and expanded it, surveying the displayed texts and graphs.

_Yes… Yes, this'll do._

Satisfied, Elsa transferred the associated documents to her mobile and powered off the computer, getting up to prepare for the night and take a short nap before leaving.

* * *

Anna let out a breath as she set the last two desktops in the back of the her old truck, turning to look at Kristoff as he did the same.

"How is it that so many people have broken computers these days?" She asked him with a huff.

Kristoff gave her a small grin and shut closed the hatch of the trunk. "Are you complaining? More broken computers means more money for you." Anna laughed a little at that and Kristoff jacked a thumb over his shoulder. "You wanna hang out for a bit?"

She took a moment to mull it over in her mind and nodded. "Yeah, sure. I could use a distraction." Anna made sure her car was locked and they both proceeded to walk back towards his shop. She turned to him, taking on a more serious tone. "Kristoff… Seriously, thanks."

The blonde boy turned his head and displayed a look of confusion, but then he gave her a small smile. "Anna, you don't have to thank me. You're helping _me _out."

She grinned, a little warmed by his response. "Yeah well, you're paying me."

He furrowed his brows and pushed open the door to the shop. "You're doing work - good work. Paying you is only fair." With that, they both entered the shop and Kristoff proceeded to the back, not bothering to let her respond.

Kristoff's shop wasn't exactly a pristine environment, but it was homey enough. Anything someone might need could be found amongst the rows of shelves, from electronics to foodstuffs, even personal hygiene supplies. The store was a local favorite of the neighborhood, but it wasn't exactly peak business hours at the moment.

Anna took a moment to bask in the kind words she'd been given and then snatched a couple of snacks for the two before hurrying after Kristoff to the back rooms. There she found the burly blonde already splayed out on the couch, flipping through the channels on the television set.

"_\- new strain of Ebola -_"

"_\- aches and pains? Try E-Med!_"

"_\- recent rise in vigilante -"_

"_But Tom, I love you!_" A man on the TV stared wistfully at the distraught woman who spoke.

"_I know baby, I know._"

Kristoff couldn't help but snort and quickly changed the channel, Anna supplying a small grin and flopping onto one of the nearby bean bags. It was a ratty old thing, but still comfortable enough to relax into when in need of somewhere to sit. The blonde boy continued changing the channel until he finally found something that piqued his interest. "Ooooh, Die Hard. You wanna watch Die Hard?" He turned to look at his redheaded friend, hopeful expression evident on his face.

Anna grimaced without looking at him, faking her best enthusiastic voice. "Yeah, sure Kristoff."

Kristoff let out a small whoop and settled into the couch, oblivious to her discomfort. Anna chucked a bag of cheesy snacks at the boy and curled a bit deeper into her seat, preparing to watch Bruce Willis kick the snot out of some terrorists.

Anna did her best to be distracted by the film despite her discomfort, but unfortunately her thoughts were elsewhere. She was busy thinking about the strange blonde hacker from the cafe, her regrettable social awkwardness, and the unexpected chase that came to an even more unexpected end.

_That blonde - What the heck was that, anyway?_

Anna had thought about talking to Kristoff about the encounter, but had decided against it. It's not like there was much he could do to help, even if it would be nice to get it off her chest. It's true, he was probably her best friend - more like her only friend, really - but how do you explain something so… strange, even to someone close to you?

_I mean, I was expecting some generic nerd, not some pretty girl who can move like Ezio Auditore…_

She was suddenly jarred out of her thoughts by a cacophony of loud snoring from the couch behind her. It seemed Kristoff had fallen asleep, the movie now forgotten on the TV. Anna sighed and got up, flipping the television off as she walked past. Stopping just beyond, she took a second to take in the room.

The back rooms of Kristoff's shop weren't exactly in much better shape than the store up front, it was apparent they'd been lived in. Kristoff's things were strewn about all over the place, the cement floors covered by old rugs and a multitude of personal possessions. Anna's gaze swept past the boy's meager bed and eventually settled on a punching bag dangling in the far corner of the room.

Anna looked over at Kristoff and decided he wouldn't be waking up anytime soon, then debated inwardly for a moment before deciding she could probably use some stress relief right now.

_Eh, I could probably go a few rounds, I've got time._

Anna searched for a short period for some tape to wrap her hands and strode over to the bag stopping just in front of it. She raised her hands in a guarding position and bounced a little between both feet before snapping her fists out in a quick one-two, making contact with the bag. Two satisfying and resounding smacks resonated from the leather surface, at which Anna couldn't help but grin.

She stayed there for a good while, taking her anger out on the inanimate object. Occasionally she found herself wanting to substitute the image of the blonde girl's face in place of the bag, but somehow she just couldn't bring herself to do so.


	4. Chapter 4 - Work

**A/N: **Second part of the two chapter update! Comprehensive A/N at the end.

* * *

It was dark, the whole of the industrial park draped in shadows. A single street lamp flickered in front of the warehouse, a lone man standing underneath it. He stood vigilant, regularly scanning up and down the street so as to make sure no one came near the warehouse from this side. Where he wasn't checking though, was directly behind himself.

A single crack resounded throughout the eerily quiet night and suddenly the man collapsed forwards. Just as soon as his inert form was sprawled out underneath the quickly failing light, he was quickly dragged out of sight. A muffled thump and the flickering was brought to an abrupt end.

Elsa dragged the unconscious guard into the alley adjacent to the warehouse, lifting him up by his shoulders and shoving him into the dumpster with his two friends. Satisfied with the unconscious tangle of limbs inside the metal container, Elsa shut the hatch as quietly as she could and crept over to the door she'd just cleared along the back street. Finding it unlocked, Elsa slowly turned the knob and slipped inside.

The inside of the building was much brighter than the exterior. She had entered into some sort of office area and could see through a set of windows several mostly empty rooms. Four more guards sat in the center of one of the empty offices, playing some sort of card game huddled around an old wooden crate that currently served as a makeshift table. Elsa decided it was probably best to slip past them rather than try direct confrontation, so she stuck to the shadows and made her way along the wall, avoiding the windows as best she could. Finally arriving at a door leading out of the small office space, she turned the knob and stepped through.

Only to arrive face-to-face with one of the guards.

The man made to shout, hoping to draw the attention of his compatriots, but Elsa was too quick. Her right hand shot up and covered his mouth while her left settled at his mid-section and she pushed him down onto the floor. His surprise caused him only to be able to flail helplessly until a sharp blow to the head from her elbow caused his panicking to cease. A quick glance around revealed a storage closet, in which the guard was unceremoniously stuffed inside before she continued on.

The end of the hall opened up into the building's main floor, a large open room with crates and containers scattered all about. The boxes likely contained all sorts of stolen goods and contraband, but none of it was of any consequence to Elsa. Not at the moment, anyway. In the direct center of all the stacks of boxes was a small gathering of computer equipment, a single desktop and a rack with a couple of servers mounted on it. A single light on the desk illuminated the small area around the tech, the rest of the room remaining shrouded in darkness.

Her goal in sight, Elsa made her way to the center of the room, closing the door quietly behind her. As she crept closer she noticed there was a strange lack of guards for this rather important area, but she didn't let it distract her for now. Upon reaching the desktop computer, she removed her portable storage drive from a pocket inside her coat and set it on the desk, plugging it into the computer. The screen flickered as the system was quickly breached, several windows popping up before a file transfer notification appeared with a small progress bar displayed. The percentage next to the bar quickly climbed, slowing only for some of the larger files.

Rather suddenly a loud klaxon-like noise blared from a pair of speakers on the desk, startling Elsa for a moment. She quickly recovered and grimaced, cursing under her breath that she'd not expected this.

_Well, guess that explains the lack of guards._

As if on cue, the sound of the footsteps of four hurried men thudded down the hall, coming to an abrupt halt as they crashed through the door behind her. She whipped around to face the foursome just as they all finished piling into the room. Spotting the girl in front of the computer, a hushed whispering between the men could barely be heard - Elsa thought she heard them speaking Russian. The biggest of the four stepped in her direction, displaying his hands in front of himself as if to show he meant no harm. "Alright girly," he began with a thick Russian accent, "Step away from computer, and you will not be hurt."

Elsa merely shrugged and cracked her knuckles, then raised her gloved hands in a loose guard. "Make me," she simply stated, motioning with one hand for the men to come and try and remove her.

The big man chuckled and started forward, reaching out one of his absurdly large hands as if to grasp her shoulder, clearly not seeing her as a threat. His mistake. Elsa deftly grabbed his arm and wrapped her own around it. From her right sleeve out slid a baton which she quickly grasped and snapped to its full telescoped length, bringing the pommel down on the man's hand.

A loud gasp of pain escaped from his mouth, quickly followed by "Son of bi-"

He was cut off as Elsa's foot knocked his legs out from under him and he fell to his knees. She brought her right arm back, then snapped it forward until a loud smack sounded from his skull as her baton made contact. The man went limp in her grasp and she let him fall to the floor, unconscious.

_One down._

His companions watched in bewilderment as she dropped their friend with little to no effort and it took them a moment to recompose themselves and come after her themselves. The first came forward swinging a heavy right hook aimed for her jaw. She grabbed his arm and twisted, using his momentum to fling him back at the second man. They collided and fell into a stack of crates, which toppled onto their struggling forms.

The third swung what looked to be some kind of lead pipe at the side of her head, a blow she easily dodged. Coming back up and under his swing, she brought the palm of her hand into the man's stomach, clearly winding him. Out of breath he staggered back, still clutching the pipe. Elsa snapped her leg high into the air, her boot catching him in the temple, spinning him and knocking him to the floor. Another swift kick to the head and he was out like a light.

_Two down._

Her second attacker finally managed to crawl out from under the mass of boxes and attempted to get to his feet, but stumbled and looked up just in time to see Elsa grabbing him by the collar with one hand and delivering a hard blow to his forehead with the other. He too went limp in her grasp.

_Three._

A loud bang echoed throughout the warehouse as a gunshot rang out behind the blonde girl. Elsa turned to see the fourth man still struggling with his crate covered form but shakily waving a pistol in her direction. She then looked down to make sure she was whole and was relieved to find herself unwounded. Just as the man was about to fire again, Elsa dove behind one of the crates and flinched as another gunshot punched a hole in her flimsy wooden cover.

She looked around for something, anything she could use to defend herself from her suddenly infinitely more capable attacker and spotted a small red ball rolling across the floor to her left. She looked over and saw that one of the crates had been containing a shipment of toys, for whatever reason. She snatched up the ball and brought her arm back, coming over the crate just as the man was sighting in on her. Elsa put all her might into the throw and chucked the little red ball right at the man's eye.

The toy hit home and the man staggered backwards, the gun no longer trained on Elsa. Just then the muffled screech of tires coming to a halt could be heard from outside and the slamming of car doors quickly followed. The man looked around, confused and dazed. Elsa took the opportunity of this small distraction to dart out from behind her wooden sanctuary and grabbed at the man's arm, gripping both his wrist and the hand holding the gun.

Suddenly the large main doors to the warehouse were slid open and a whole slew of angry men poured into the room. Elsa saw the men flood into the warehouse and quickly wrenched the man's grip to the side and squeezed against his trigger finger, causing him to fire the gun one more time.

The shot went no where near the new group of men, obviously surprising many of them as they moved to jump into cover. Instead the light on the desk suddenly fizzled out and a loud smack of metal against flesh could be heard, followed by a quick shuffling of fabric.

"Get the emergency lights on!" One man with a thick Russian accent shouted, hoping someone would know how to do so.

Apparently somebody did, because the warehouse was suddenly bathed in light, revealing the prone unmoving form of the fourth man and a sudden lack of blonde-haired girl. The computer monitor in the center of the room was suddenly flickering again, displaying a progress bar filled to one hundred percent. The screen flickered a few more times and the image dissolved to nothing but a strange static, the equipment in the room all suddenly powering down. The same Russian loudly cursed in his native tongue, kicking one of the boxes next to him and yelping in pain as his foot collided with the wood.

Elsa didn't see any of this, however. She was already long gone.

* * *

**A/N:** Alright so... Um. Yeah, sorry about the delay on this. Real life got... Complicated. Sorry. I'm not going to bore you with details, I'm just going to promise to from now on try to update weekly. Both of these two chapters probably could have been longer, I'll admit that. They also probably could have been one chapter, but they seemed separate so I kept them that. If you guys don't prefer that, please let me know and I'll adjust in the future, okay? Anyway thanks so much for reading! I really hope you guys are liking this so far, I've got so many things planned for this fic...

Please leave a review if you have the time, I live for criticism!


	5. Chapter 5 - Appointments

**A/N: **Yes, I know I'm terrible - Yes, I know this is late. Please don't hate me.

* * *

The clock tick-tocked endlessly, a rhythm that encaptured Anna's attention in its entirety. She stared at the old wood-crafted piece of furniture, deeply considering everything about it. It was an old grandfather clock, standing tall against the wall it was situated against. The thing provided a stark contrast to most of the other things in the room, devices and gadgets common to the modern age, all befitting the office setting she found herself in.

A noise came from across the small space in the center of the room she sat on one side of. Anna mentally shrugged it off, trying to ignore it for now. She took in the intricate designs of the wallpaper, the old oak desk covered in paper and writing utensils, and the patterned rug covering a majority of the floor. She took stock of a computer, shredder, printer, and a small stereo. She'd seen all this before, of course - But Anna couldn't help but appreciate the coming together of old and new in such a confined space.

The voice came again, louder this time. The rest of the world seemed to click back into place as she heard her name. "Anna?"

Everything fell back into focus as the redheaded girl sighed and turned her head back towards the woman sitting in her comfortable arm chair on the other side of the room. "Yes, Dr. Williams?"

Williams replied with a small frown, but kept judgement out of her tone when she spoke. "I asked you a question, Anna."

The girl blinked and shook her head, indicating she hadn't heard. "Sorry."

Her doctor looked unphased and glanced down to scribble something on a pad on her lap. Her gaze returned to her patient and she tried her query again, hoping Anna was paying attention this time. "You look tired, Anna. Even more worn than usual. Can you tell me why?"

Anna shrugged, then curled a bit more into herself. The sofa she sat on was more than comfortable, but she never _felt_ comfortable here. "I was out late."

Dr. Williams nodded and started writing again, taking a few moments to do so. The look she next gave to Anna was meant to convey understanding and sympathy, meant to comfort the girl. But Anna doubted that she could understand. She doubted anyone could. "Do you want to tell me where you were?"

Anna thought for a moment, debating on elaborating on her night's activities. She decided she could afford to at least reveal where she had been. "I was at Kristoff's."

Williams gave her a small smile and looked genuinely happy in response to her news. "That's great, Anna. Social interaction and activity is beyond important - May I ask what you two did?"

Anna looked away and shrugged once more. "I picked up some computers he wanted me to fix, then we watched a movie. He fell asleep, then I worked out -" Anna stopped mid-sentence, realizing the possible connotations of her admission. She snapped her gaze back to her doctor, opening her mouth to speak, but the older woman beat her to it.

"Anna… You aren't -"

"No, I'm not," she replied quickly, suddenly feeling even more uncomfortable. She hugged her knees a bit more tightly and she spoke again, a bit more quietly. "I'm not."

Williams grimaced, then sighed. She looked at Anna, _really_ looked at her. The doctor pursed her lips and moved to take her glasses off, setting them down on the pad still nestled on her lap. "Anna, why do you keep coming to see me?"

Anna's gaze snapped back to the woman, surprise and confusion splayed across her face. "What?"

"Anna, we've been seeing each other for a few years now. Every week you come here and I try to connect with you, try to help you with your life, but you seem content to shut me out at every turn. So I ask you, why do you keep coming to see me?"

Anna didn't respond, choosing instead to look down and resume evaluating the patterns of the rug.

Williams barreled on, undeterred. "Anna, it's been years. I know it's hard, but maybe if you opened up, maybe if you talked about it -"

"No."

The daggers that were being suddenly sent Williams' way did not befit the teal irises they shot from. The doctor knew such emotions didn't suit the girl and it saddened her that the memory she'd brought up still brought out so much hostility in her.

Anna thought for a moment, then she simply got up and headed for the door. Her doctor thought about trying to stop her, but resigned herself to saying nothing. Anna turned the knob and opened the door, but halted just before crossing the threshold. Without meeting Williams' gaze she spoke quietly, in almost a whisper.

"I don't come here for me."

The door closed softly behind her, the room once more drenched in a still silence only broken by the ticking of a clock.

* * *

The small bell gave a light jingle as the door to shop was pushed open, a figure garbed in a long brown coat over a purple hoodie stepping through.

Elsa avoided eye contact with any of the customers as she made her way to the counter, only then choosing to look up from the floor. The man on the other side returned her gaze for a brief moment, then turned to call over his shoulder.

"Carl, mind the register!"

He looked back in her direction, then tilted his head toward the rear of the shop, indicating she should follow. Elsa made her way around the counter, then fell into step behind him as he made for a doorway leading to the back. The two travelled the length of a dimly lit hallway that ended in a single thick steel door. The man retrieved a small key from his pocket, then undid several locks, each resulting in an audible 'click' in the silence of the corridor. Finally, he pushed the door open and stepped through.

The room was a stark contrast to the hallway, sharply illuminated with fluorescent bulbs hanging overhead. Multiple heavy wooden tables were placed about the room, covered in bits of metal and plastic and circuitry, all belonging to some device or another that had been taken apart to be worked on. Some pieces likely belonged to something that hadn't even been built yet.

What really set the mood though, were what lined the walls.

Whether sitting on shelves or hanging from the multiple racks lining the four sides of the room, firearms of every size, caliber, and purpose. If one wanted, they could probably stock a small army with merely the contents of this room.

It made Elsa uneasy.

It always did, whenever she came here. Unfortunately, such things were necessary in her line of work, dealing with people and situations she didn't particularly like, and she knew this. So she didn't let it get to her, and braved the sight of the arsenal surrounding her. She had to, to meet with -

"James."

"Snow," he curtly responded.

There it was, the nickname. She wouldn't dare give anyone her real name, lest she risk her own safety by revealing her identity. No, best she hide behind a false identity, fitting as it was for certainly more than one reason.

Unsettled by his stock as she was, Elsa found nothing to fear in James himself. A man of just above average height and normal build, well-kept brown hair sitting atop his head, he was a rather glaring opposite of the men she found herself encountering these days. Elsa had known James for years, over the course of which he had always been polite and helpful when she'd come seeking his services.

"So," he began, leaning against the table closest to himself. "What can I do for you?"

"Ive got a job coming up." Elsa spoke as she walked, surveying a selection of stunguns and tasers she assumed he'd just received, as she hadn't seen them before. "I'm going to need a vehicle - Preferrably a van."

James nodded thoughtfully. "Simple enough. Anything else?"

Elsa thought for a moment, making sure there was nothing else she needed. "Some rope, maybe? I've got everything else covered." She reached up and plucked one of the stunguns off the rack it sat upon, twisting it around in her grip to see how it felt. "And throw this in?"

He nodded once more and pushed off the table he rested against. "I'll send you a bill." He extended his hand to her, ready to shake. "Always a pleasure, Snow."

Elsa took it. "Likewise." She gave one quick pump of her arm before letting go and turning to leave.

* * *

Anna wasn't exactly in the best of moods after her appointment with Doctor Williams, but that wasn't surprising, she couldn't ever recall a time she had left that office feeling anything besides worse than when she had gone in.

She decided she needed a pick-me-up. There was a small convenience store on her route back to her apartment that could probably provide a snack of some sort, so she figured she could stop there.

Rounding the corner Anna arrived at the shop - the grungy old building seemed like it had seen better days. Pushing the door open, a small bell atop the door signaled her entrance. She shuffled up to the counter and snagged a couple chocolate bars from a shelf next to the register, placing them in front of the store attendant at the counter.

Normally, her social awkwardness would be getting the best of her right about now, but she was far too deep in brooding thought to pay her anxieties any mind.

_Maybe I should actually try talking with Dr. Williams - I've been seeing her for years… Maybe finally opening up to someone will do me some good?_

"That'll be four twenty-five, miss."

Anna nodded and retrieved the required amount from her wallet, proceeding to slide it across the counter to the clerk. Having paid, she took her candy and was about to leave when something caught her attention.

There was a small older model television hanging from the ceiling just behind the counter. Displayed on the screen was a woman in a dark purple pantsuit gripping a microphone, standing in front of a large warehouse. "- Stephanie Hale reporting live from the scene of one of the largest major crime busts in our city's recent history."

She proceeded to gesture behind her at the building where men in various uniforms marched in and out continuously. "Late last night police received an anonymous tip about a shooting in progress, where shots could be heard in the background of the call. Officers were quickly dispatched to the scene, but what they found was drastically different than what was suspected."

The camera panned over to a group of police vans, multiple police officers escorting various handcuffed individuals inside. "Upon arrival, city police discovered multiple armed men in the process of cleaning up what seemed to be some sort of violent confrontation. With further inspection of the premises, officers discovered crates full of narcotics, firearms, and explosives."

Anna took a moment to unwrap one of her candy bars, and began nibbling on the end of it.

"After some investigation, the police have revealed that it's highly likely that these men have associations with Russian organized crime." The camera view slid back over to the reporter and the warehouse and she took a moment's pause before continuing to speak. "One mystery still remains, however. All the men who seemed to have been involved in the altercation have been directly affiliated with the Russian mafia either now or in the past. So the question is: Who attacked them - who called the police? This is Stephanie Hale, signing off."

* * *

Elsa tucked her new stun gun inside her coat and was about to leave the store when she spotted something she wasn't expecting - and felt all the color drain from her face. She quickly spun back around the corner and plastered herself to the wall.

_The redhead - but how did she find me?_

She didn't hear any noise, so against her better judgement Elsa stuck her head out far enough just to peek around the corner. The redhead was standing there, eating a chocolate bar. She appeared completely oblivious to Elsa's presence.

Elsa let out a sigh of relief, but then she noticed something - She really noticed the redhead. There was something about her, something about the way she looked. The girl was pretty to be sure, but she seemed worn out - tired.

But most of all, she seemed sad.

It was the way she carried herself. It was the way her eyes were beautiful, but weary beyond her years. Bright pools of teal, dulled by something she couldn't know. This wasn't just physical exhaustion, though. Elsa could tell that whatever it was that troubled the redhead ran deeper than what could have just been a late night. She'd seen that look before. The redhead seemed distracted by something, so Elsa risked a glance up and saw a television - It was broadcasting a report on blonde's antics late last night.

Once more Elsa snapped back against the wall. _Wait, why did I just do that? There's no way she could know that was me._

Elsa was somehow surprised to find James standing in front of her, quirking an eyebrow skeptically. He peered around the corner, then drew back and returned his gaze to Elsa. "Someone you don't want to see?"

"No, not particularly," she answered honestly.

He jacked a thumb over his shoulder. "Head out the back - The door's down that hall."

Elsa nodded once and slid off the wall. "Thanks, James." She gave the redheaded girl one last glance before heading past him and towards the exit. Thoughts clouded her head as she walked - mostly centering around those sad, tired eyes.

* * *

**A/N:** Weekly updates was a bad promise - It just was. I'll try really hard to update as much as possible, but like a lot of writers my offline life is a little overwhelming at times. I don't want to abandon this story though, and I definitely want to keep it going. I'll try the best I can to update more frequently than this, but I'm not gonna make promises and then have to break them, that's not fair to anyone.

Edit: I saw some errors and went ahead and fixed them - Also, thanks so much for the reviews! I'm really glad people like this story, it warms my heart as a writer that people are enjoying it!


	6. Chapter 6 - Preparation

**A/N: **Please bear with me, this chapter is an experiment/ test! Full explanation at the end.

* * *

It was about two hours later that Elsa received a text message consisting of nothing but an address and a number figure. A few minutes' walk and she arrived at the listed location to find a plain gray van with tinted black windows sitting nestled between two non-descript buildings adjacent to the waterfront.

After a quick glance around to make sure no one was watching, she carefully opened the nearby dumpster and tucked a black duffel bag filled with a few thousand dollars inside. Having dropped off the payment, she checked the vehicle to make sure it was unlocked. The driver's side door swung open easily, so she quickly climbed in and settled into the seat. With the keys already in the ignition, a quick twist resulted in the satisfying hum of the engine. Elsa leaned back in the seat and raised her purple hood, then shifted the van into gear.

It was only a short drive to her destination, a garage she'd retrofitted months ago to work on vehicles she'd use for jobs. The garage was conveniently located in one of the less reputable sections of the city, helpful in the way that cameras and prying eyes were mostly a null issue. Elsa pulled around the side of the small white building, then guided the van around to the rear garage door. A few quick taps on her phone resulted in the door raising up to receive her.

It required a bit of finesse, but Elsa managed to park the van atop one of the two lifts in the main room. She shifted it into park, removed the keys, and hopped out.

A quick survey of her purchase revealed nothing special about the vehicle, it was basically just a generic gray van with a fake license plate and a filed off VIN number. Such measures would ensure that the vehicle couldn't be traced back to the original owner, the person who'd stolen it, James, or herself.

Elsa whipped around and set about retrieving various tools and components from the large assortment of tool boxes and cabinets scattered about the room. She had work to do.

* * *

Anna hummed quietly to herself as she lazily stirred with her right hand. After the session she'd had earlier that day… She'd decided a halfway decent dinner was in order. While microwaveable meals tended to be convenient, an actual cooked meal every now and again was a pleasant change of pace.

The smell of tomato sauce had permeated her kitchen-slash-living area and was certainly fueling her growing appetite. It would still be a few minutes before the noodles were done boiling, and she only had to stir the sauce to keep it from burning. Without much to focus on her mind began to wander, reflecting on the events of the past couple of days.

Yesterday morning had been a rather unpleasant surprise. Anna still didn't know what she was going to do about the blonde girl who'd stolen her money and run. She knew she wanted to track her down, but hadn't the faintest clue about how to go about doing so. At first she had simply wanted revenge, but now something else was driving her to locate the hacker. Something more akin to… Curiosity?

Anna sighed. As usual, her emotions were a tangled jumble that she couldn't begin to understand. A quick glance into the pot to her left revealed the noodles to be done, so she proceeded to drain them over the sink. A few minutes later and she was seated at the counter with a plate full of spaghetti and a plastic container filled with parmesan cheese.

With a fork in one hand and the TV remote in the other, she began to dig into the plate of food while flipping through the channels on the television. It hadn't taken Anna long to notice a pattern in the media - Everyone was talking about the Russian mobsters that had gotten arrested early that morning. More than the Russians themselves though, people were talking about what the criminals had been storing in their warehouse.

Guns, ammunition, drugs, explosives - Just a few of the many things that the authorities had recovered from the building. According to several news channels she passed by, the current theory was that the warehouse was being used to store smuggled contraband. Whether the items were being smuggled into or out of the country, the reports didn't say. Apparently no files or documents had been found, and the only computer system on the premises had been scrubbed completely clean.

Anna frowned as she pondered her meal, which while tasting especially delicious, was inherently frustrating. She loved to cook, but often ended up with more food than she could eat by herself. This was one of those times where she wished her social anxiety wasn't so crippling, that maybe she could actually share a meal with someone. Anna supposed Kristoff counted for something, but while the blonde boy was undoubtedly her best friend, she was wishing for something significantly less platonic.

It didn't take her long to finish her dinner, completely demolishing two plates of the pasta with ease. Having no desire to deal with clean-up later, Anna quickly set about storing the remaining food and rinsing the dishes before stuffing them in the dishwasher.

With the kitchen sorted, she moved into the living room and unceremoniously flopped down onto the couch, remote in hand once more. Anna flicked through a few more channels, but was disappointed to still find nothing to watch. Resigning to find entertainment elsewhere, a quick press of a button and her media computer's interface appeared on screen. She'd been meaning to catch up on the massive amount of shows she'd queued up over time, and now was as good a time as any.

She selected a show and settled back into the couch, trying to get cozy. Melodic theme music began pouring from the television's speakers just as she found the most comfortable way to sit.

Anna let out a small breath, finding herself somewhat content in this moment, an unusual but certainly not unwelcome feeling. Too often the world seemed to press down on her, causing unwanted stresses and anxieties that just didn't seem to go away. At least for right now she had some modicum of peace.

Her mind drifted, only somewhat focused on the show she was only half watching. Not that the plot wasn't interesting or anything, what with the pair of heroes travelling across the galaxy and saving the day, it's just her mind was elsewhere.

Anna wished that could be her, sometimes. She wished she could be a hero, save the day, fall in love, all of that stuff you see in the movies. A small sigh escaped her lips as she frowned slightly, remembering how you actually had to put effort forth into having a life beyond your own apartment for things like that to happen.

She suddenly felt rather drowsy, which was unusual for her this early in the evening. Anna stretched and let out a small yawn, then looked once more to the television. She was quickly fading, but was still just conscious enough to note the blonde protagonist and her accomplice share a romantic glance at one another, their words of affection unspoken.

Finally giving in, Anna turned her back to the television and fell fast asleep.

* * *

_Just one more twist there…_

Elsa inspected the circuitry she'd just attached to the expanse of plastic, giving it a small tug. When the piece stayed securely in place, she nodded in satisfaction and looked for the next piece.

_Now just tighten this wire…_

An obnoxiously loud chime sounded virtually right next to her ear and Elsa jerked forward. Pain spread across her forehead as she slammed right into the underside of the dashboard.

_Ow… _

She rubbed the now aching spot and grimaced. The chime sounded once more, eliciting a frustrated groan from the blonde girl. She felt around on the driver's seat for her phone, clasping it in her hand when she finally found it.

Elsa lowered her hand from her face so as to see the device's display, which showed a date, a time, and an address. This was what she had been waiting for. She had less than forty-eight hours to get ready, and she'd likely be done in two.

She crawled back under the van's console and resumed her work, but now her concentration had been broken. Her thoughts began to wander.

The most prominent thing in her mind was an image of sad teal eyes.

Elsa grimaced. She'd been avoiding thinking about the redhead, but she knew deep down that trying to avoid thinking about the girl entirely was simply futile.

Something was off about her, Elsa had been able to tell that the moment she'd first laid eyes on the redhead. She'd thought of the other girl as tired, but on further reflection that wasn't quite the right word for it. Perhaps drained was a more appropriate label for the expression etched across the redhead's face.

Elsa knew that look well, she'd worn it herself once upon a time, back when she was less motivated than she was now. It was a look you bore when the world seemed to be crashing down around you, and hope seemed to be absent from the world.

The young hacker would never wish that on anyone, she'd been too closely acquainted with such feelings for far too long. She knew how hard even the most basic functionality was when dealing with such pressures on a daily basis. Elsa sincerely hoped she'd never have to experience anything like that time in her life ever again.

She could only guess as to what had caused the other girl to sustain such a deep emotional scarring, but regardless of the origins Elsa felt nothing but sympathy for the redheaded girl. If circumstances were less complicated, if the world were a simpler place - She might even find a kindred spirit in her.

Unfortunately that was not the case, as she was all too well aware. The world was often a harsh and cruel place, lacking any degree of care for its denizens. Whatever the cause may be, the redhead's emotional state was evidence enough of that by itself.

Elsa finished securing plastic coverings over the electronic components she'd just installed, then carefully slid out of the vehicle. She took special care not to bump her head this time, not wanting to further injure herself.

Satisfied with her work, she wiped her hands against her baggy work jeans, attempting to clean them of the light coating of grease and powdered plastic that had come from working on the vehicle. She was dissatisfied to find it had little effect, if any at all.

A small twinge of guilt shot through her all of a sudden, as Elsa remembered the cause for her first chance encounter with the redhead. The other girl had been just another random victim of one of Elsa's more questionable activities, a fact that she'd tried to forget. She was usually able to justify such actions to herself by acknowledging that her work was worth the wrongdoings, but oddly enough that reasoning wasn't helping her just now.

Elsa let out a frustrated breath and began picking up her tools, gingerly laying them on the rolling trolley she'd pushed up against the side of the van. Once all of her equipment had been collected, she pushed the small cart back over to her workbench, where she would need to start on the second half of her preparation.

Having settled the trolley flush against the wooden side of the bench, she climbed onto the rotating stool sitting just in front of the workstation. This next part would be a bit trickier, Elsa knew. She quickly located her soldering tool and then reached over to pull closer the box of electronic parts that was previously pressed up against the wall.

As she warmed up the tool she had grasped firmly in her left hand, Elsa gave one last thought to the redhead. A part of her wanted to make what she had done right, but she didn't know exactly how to do so without directly interacting with the girl, something that couldn't happen.

Elsa bit down lightly on her lip as she began to think, trying to think of some way she could right her wrongs in this case. The tool finally ready, she began to work as her mind churned out possible solutions to fix perhaps just one of the many mistakes she'd made.

* * *

**A/N: **Okay so a few things: First of all, I wanna give a huge shoutout to appletopfp (you can find her via that on Tumblr!) who drew an _amazing_ piece of artwork for Chapter 5. I felt like I'd died and gone to heaven, she captured it so well. I was smiling for a whole day! Links to the artwork can be found on my profile page.

Second, this chapter had to go without any beta-reading - Nobody was around to proof-read it and I'd already failed my promise to myself and others that I'd upload it yesterday, so I had to just get it done and published. Please note: I'm actually looking for a dedicated beta - If anyone's interested in helping me out, please shoot me an IM to let me know!

Thirdly, I mentioned this was an experiment - It really was. I wanted to try a few different things, which consequently may have harmed the quality of this chapter. If it did, please say so in the reviews! I want to know what I'm doing wrong, y'know?

Finally, I just wanted to thank each and every one of you - It blows me away every time I look at my follower count on this story! I never thought my story would get much attention, to be honest. I'm so glad it did... It makes me really happy okay?

Thank you all so much, have a great weekend!


	7. Chapter 7 - Correspondence

From: qharrison

To: masthead

Subject: Shipment Misplaced

M, Ivan's pretty upset about that business a couple days ago. He expected his fireworks to arrive all in one piece, no complications. Really breathing down my neck here, thinks we took them.

How do you want me to proceed?

-H

* * *

From: masthead

To: qharrison

Subject: Re:Shipment Misplaced

Tell Ivan to bring in another shipment of fireworks, he can keep the payment for the last one. It won't matter soon, anyway. I heard the third party wiped the system. Have you confirmed if they got anything off it?

-M

* * *

From: qharrison

To: masthead

Subject: Re:Re:Shipment Misplaced

I placed the order. Unfortunately, the third party seems to have gotten several account numbers from Ivan's computer on-site. The accounts had already been cleaned after payment was made... But it's possible that they could be traced back to us.

-H

* * *

From: masthead

To: qharrison

Subject: Re:Re:Re:Shipment Misplaced

You've been sloppy. I expect better of you, H. Clean this up, or your entire department gets burned.

-M

* * *

From: qharrison

To: masthead

Subject: Re:Re:Re:Re:Shipment Misplaced

Yes sir.

-H

* * *

**A/N:** Well I said I'd write something, and here it is!

No I'm totally kidding, this isn't all of it xD

More's on the way, probably later tonight - I hope everyone enjoys this, though... Sorry for the delay, really I am. :(

I can never say it enough, thank you all so much for reading! I love each and every one of you frickin awesome people for it, hugs all around!


	8. Chapter 8 - Exercise

The clattering of dishes and silverware could be heard throughout the restaurant, metal against metal, ceramic against ceramic. There are a few people loitering in the main room, but the majority of the business's occupants are currently staff running about preparing for the lunch-hour rush.

Two men in a pair of black suits sit at a table towards the rear of the establishment, each nursing a cup of coffee. One holds a television remote in his other hand, regularly switching through the channels on the small set hanging above the lunch counter to the one side of the room. He lets out an exasperated breath as he lets the hunk of plastic clatter to the table, finally giving up on finding something decent to watch.

The screen displays a fancy graphic, a slanted "AT" with a line that shoots out of the "T" and loops back around, forming an incomplete circle. A soft feminine voice is barely heard over the sounds of the staff moving about in the kitchen.

"_The newest smartphone from A-Tech is here - Finally, one place to unify all your all your devices…"_

The man who hadn't been searching the channels gestures towards the television with his mug, his other hand resting on the table lazily. Coffee miraculously doesn't spill out onto his friend. "You know, I've heard about those - They're supposed to be 'the shit'," he says while adding air quotes around his descriptor with his free hand.

"Careful," his companion chastises, flinching as if he was about to get hot coffee sloshed all over himself. He settles back into his chair and nods. "Yeah. I heard that too. Supposed to be able to link up your computers and your smart TV's and whatever right out of the box."

The other man nods thoughtfully and directs his attention over towards the kitchen. "Hey Jim?"

"Yeah Frank?" A voice yells back from the kitchen, before a younger man also clad in a black suit sticks his head through the door.

"What time did the boss say he was getting in?"

"Dunno - Around lunch, probably? Doesn't he usually get here just in time to grab a cannoli for lunch?

The other suited man at the table chimed in. "How more stereotypical can you get," he said while suppressing a snicker of amusement.

The sounds of the city outside could be briefly heard as the front door to the shop opened up and a young blonde girl stepped in. She carried a package under one arm and held a clipboard in the other hand, wearing the cargo pants and brown shirt of a generic delivery service.

"Delivery," she announced, wiggling the package under her arm.

"Over here, sweetheart." Jim stepped into the main room and motioned to the girl, walking to meet her halfway right next to the lunch counter.

The two men at the table smile and chuckle bemusedly, turning back to their respective coffees.

The blonde girl lays the brown box she was holding onto the polished white surface of the counter and holds out the clipboard and a pen to the young man. "Can you sign for this?"

Jim gives her a small smile and takes both from her, quickly signing his name. "Sure can, sweetheart." He hands the two objects back to her.

"Thank you very much, sir." She takes the clipboard and clips the pen to it, but is stopped by a hand on her shoulder as she turns to leave.

"Hey, it's about lunchtime - Why don't you stay and grab a little something with me?"

The girl turns, displaying an honest smile all the while peeling his hand off of her shoulder finger by finger. "Thanks, but no thanks. I've got places to be." Giving him no chance to respond, she turns once more and walks to the door, not even hesitating for a moment before pushing through and leaving him in her dust.

The young man watches her go and scratches his chin as he speaks to no one in particular. "Jeez, what was her problem?"

"Never touch a woman without her permission." The thoughtful response comes from the table behind him.

"Shut up, Harry."

Out from the street, the scream of an engine and screeching tires can be heard as a vehicle comes to an abrupt halt.

"What the - ?" Frank begins as all three men turn towards the large glass window pane lining the front of the restaurant. A gray van with darkened windows can be seen sitting in the center of the street, blocking traffic.

The engine revs and the wheels wildly spin as the vehicle speeds towards the window.

"Oh shit!" Frank shouts as the men whip pistols out from under their jackets, pointing them at the advancing gray form.

The muffled sound of "Dixie" can be heard through the glass right before the van crashes through the window, sending shards of shattered glass all across the floor. It doesn't stop moving until it slams into the back wall, resulting in a solid 'crunch' as it makes contact with the construction of wood and plaster.

Surprisingly, none of the men were hurt. All of them had jumped out of the way however, resulting in one of them sprawled out over the lunch counter. All three recovered, simultaneously pointing their guns at the gray metal heap smashed into the back of their place of business.

"Somebody check it."

"I'm not checking it, you check it!"

"Well _somebody_ has to check it," came Frank's voice, more imposing and loud than the other two.

They all three exchanged a glance and moved in on the vehicle, pistols at the ready.

All three of them were surprised when the van suddenly exploded, a shock wave followed by small plumes of flame erupting from the windows on either side of the vehicle.

Each of the men was knocked flat on their ass, summarily losing their breath and their balance.

The van was now a burning wreck of a vehicle, smoke billowing out of the sides and pooling against the ceiling. This was more than enough to trigger the sprinkler system, which instantly drenched everything in the room.

Shouting could be heard from the kitchen as the three men in the main room each tried and failed to get up, finding little available traction on the soaking wet floor.

The sounds of gunfire suddenly ripped through the restaurant, a few plates and glasses abruptly shattering. With renewed vigor, the trio flopping about in the water-soaked mess shot to cover, one hopping over the counter and two pressed up against an overturned table.

"Harry, call the boss!" Jim had to shout to be heard from behind the counter and over the continuous rattle of gunfire.

"Yeah I'm on it," he shouted back as he whipped out his phone and dialed.

The phone rang a few times, then connected. _"Yes?" _The voice was raspy, tired, and annoyed.

"Boss, it's Harry - We're at Benny's -" He had to shout and stuff his finger in his other ear to hear and be heard.

Harry was cut off before he could continue. _"Why are you calling... And what the hell is that ruckus?"_

"Boss, it's the restaurant -" His coffee mug rolled up next to him and with a loud crack from nearby it suddenly shattered. He hugged the back of the table closer. "We're under attack!"

* * *

Elsa gave a small smile when she heard the telltale sounds of a firefight from behind her, things playing out exactly as she had hoped. She retreated further into the alley she had taken cover in, proceeding towards the shiny blue motorcycle leaned up against the wall of one of the buildings.

She found her coat and hoodie exactly where she had left them, draped over the shiny leather seat of the bike. After quickly tugging them both on, she righted the vehicle and threw her leg across it. With a firm twist of the throttle, the bike's engine roared and she smoothly coasted out the other side of the alley.

Traffic had come to a halt in the area, a combination of the upcoming lunch-hour rush and the nearby commotion. Elsa had anticipated this, and she was more than prepared. Pulling out into the street, she glided into the nearest opening between the cars. Deftly, she navigated the spaces in between the vehicles, her smaller form providing a distinct advantage over the other motorists.

It didn't take long to get out of the downtown area, just a few minutes later she was riding down the significantly less populated streets of the city's residential district. She came to the next turn and slowed as a convoy of black SUVs rolled past, just barely keeping under the speed limit. Right on time.

Elsa came to a stop, flicking her kickstand out with her foot and quickly hopping off the bike. She hit the sidewalk in a run, sprinting straight for a space between the two closest buildings. She looked to her left and spotted a drainpipe. Gripping it with both hands and using her knees, she shimmied up until she could look behind her and see the second floor window of the adjacent townhouse. Squaring herself against the wall, she pushed off hard and leapt towards the other building, reaching out and grasping the edge of the window sill with her fingers.

Pulling herself up and digging her heels into the brick, she peered inside. Elsa quickly ducked just as a man clad in yet another black suit passed by the window. _Shit, that was close_.

She took in a deep breath and hoisted herself up, teetering just on the edge of the thin piece of wood. Gripping the bottom of the window, she tugged hard. Thankfully, it wasn't locked. Sliding it open with ease, she knelt down and slipped through.

Elsa landed on her feet, quiet as a cat. The man was just turning around when she slunk down the short hall and around the corner. She counted the rooms in her head, coming to a stop at the third door on the right. Unremarkable, it was a plain white door just like any of the others. What hid behind it was more important than anything else in the house, however. She twisted the knob and looked around before sliding inside.

The room was cluttered, a few folding tables were scattered carelessly about, some half-eaten sandwiches and used ashtrays littered their surfaces. The security team that had been occupying them clearly had left in a hurry. Elsa strode over to the one desk in the room, a single computer settled atop it. She sat down and began furiously typing, her face scrunched in determination as she began breaking through its simple security system. Once she was past that, she jammed a small thumb drive into the front of the machine and watched as it began dumping its important files onto the device.

The hard part over, she stood and walked over to the nearby file cabinet, quietly pulling open the drawers. Elsa searched each in turn, a satisfied grin spreading across her face when she found what she was looking for. A simple tan-colored folder, it was unassuming in nature. The knowledge it held inside was invaluable, however.

The computer behind her made a noise, indicating the files had finished transferring. Elsa's grin grew wider as she settled herself back in the seat, preparing to clean up after herself. She pulled the small flash drive out, typing a few commands and making it as though she had never even been here. Checking the time, she pulled a phone from her pocket and sent the already typed text message before wiping it down and placing it on the desk.

Her job done, she prepared to get up and make her way out of the house. That was when she heard the door swing open behind her.

* * *

"What the hell is going on here?!"

Heavy footsteps sloshed through the small pools of water that had gathered on the floor of the restaurant. A big man with a rounded belly had entered the establishment, he sported a light gray suit and blood red tie, his head was topped with hair clearly graying from age. Despite this, he carried an air of authority and his bellowing voice certainly backed it up.

He stared intently at the hunk of metal that served as a centerpiece to the chaos, embedded in the back wall. The burning wreck of a van had long since been extinguished and the sprinklers had been shut off a while ago, but the evidence of the event remained. Frank stuck his head out from behind his small source of cover and shouted in the direction of the group of men flowing into the restaurant. "Boss, get _down_!"

The older man glanced in his direction, his expression clearly show unamused he was. The crack of a gunshot resounded throughout the room and every man except the 'boss' flinched or ducked behind something. Narrowing his gaze on the lunch counter, he walked with purpose until he was standing before the brown package resting atop it. The brown cardboard had been soaked by the torrential downpour of the sprinklers, but was just barely intact enough to conceal its contents.

Unceremoniously he ripped open the ruined box and revealed what was inside for all to see. It was a small collection of circuits and wires, a single antenna sticking out of the top. A green light lit up on the device and it rattled while the sound of another gunshot rang out. Outside, the front windshield of nearest SUV cracked.

They were all to say the least, somewhat surprised - and their faces showed it. He dropped the device to the floor and crushed it underfoot. A final burst of gunfire was cut in half by a loud screech of static, the sound of an announcer commenting on a sports game suddenly filled everyone's ears. A few of the men present looked to the television hanging above the counter, and one of them looked up at the speaker hanging over his head.

No one had any words to fill the stunned silence, and they were offered a reprieve by the sounds of sirens wailing down the street. The congested traffic around the block having been cleared, several police cars came to a stop just outside the building. A few men in uniform stepped cautiously through the broken window, careful to avoid the shattered glass. The men behind cover tucked away their guns before the officers could see them and stood displaying their hands to show they held no ill intent. A single man with slicked back black hair and a long overcoat made his way past the policemen and didn't stop until he was standing just before the 'boss'.

"Mister Savignano," he stated, the look on his face none-too-pleased.

"Detective Bellwood," the older man acknowledged, his own expression reflecting how little desire he held to be speaking with the detective.

"Well… This is a new one even for you," the man gestured generally to the destruction of the restaurant, as if what he referred to needed clarifying.

A low chuckle rumbled up from Savignano's belly. "Are you suggesting that I'd destroy my own place of business, detective?" He quirked his brow, clearly amused at the assertion.

Bellwood didn't look as though he found any humor in the situation. "I don't really know what in the hell lengths criminals will go to these days. This city's falling apart - in no small part due to _your_ organization." He jabbed a finger at the crime boss's chest.

"Are you here to charge me with something, detective? Or can we discuss instead the destruction of my restaurant and assault on my employees?" Savignano's face betrayed his declining interest in the conversation.

"I just might -" The detective paused as his phone made an unusually loud noise from his pocket. He held up a single index finger and pulled it out, glancing at the text message he had received. Next to him, Savignano crossed his arms and frowned. Bellwood narrowed his eyes and re-read the text, just making sure it said what he thought.

"Walk with me," he simply stated, sliding the phone back into his pocket. Motioning for two officers to follow him and with Savignano in tow, he headed into the kitchen.

The place was clearly abandoned, the staff probably having no desire to get in the middle of a firefight. Food was still cooking on the stoves and several kitchen utensils had been left scattered about. Paying no mind to any of this, the detective approached the large freezer left with its thick metal door hanging wide open and stepped inside. Behind him, Savignano's face went white.

Sitting flush against the back wall, was an open crate containing several plastic covered bricks of a powdery white substance. Bellwood couldn't help but grin as he turned around, seeing the pure rage spreading across the crime boss's face.

"I'm being set up, this isn't -"

"Donald Savignano," Bellwood began, speaking over the disgruntled man. "You're under arrest for possession of a controlled substance. Anything you say can and will be held against you. You have the right to an attorney…"

* * *

**A/N: **I got sick! ;-; And then I had real life to worry about and stuff… I'm really sorry about the delay… I'm totally writing the next chapter while this uploads, though!


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