As Danny trotted up the two flights of stairs that separated Alpha Company from the Guardian’s offices, he wondered what sort of mood Hannah would be in.
Last night she’d been particularly quiet, only speaking when spoken to, which was completely unlike his loud and rambunctious wife.
Even the kids had noticed, with their oldest daughter, Lilly, asking him if mummy was Ok, when he’d gone up to read them their bedtime story the night before.
By the time he’d gotten the kids settled down, he’d gone to find Hannah to see what was going on, but she was already in bed and fast asleep. It was barely eight o’clock.
Danny hadn’t been in the mood to sit by himself watching TV, so he’d stripped off and climbed into bed, pulling Hannah into his arms as she slept.
For the first time in years, something had bothered his wife so badly that she was mumbling to herself all night, and it had left Danny equal parts angry and upset.
Angry because she’d kept muttering things like ‘I’m nobody’ and ‘I’m nothing’, and upset, mostly because she hadn’t been awake for him to reassure her.
Who or what had got into Hannah’s head so badly that she thought she wasn’t important?
In their family, Hannah was like a shining star, casting a shimmering light on everyone around her. As far as he was aware, Hannah was viewed the same way at work. So, why was she feeling so worthless?
As he got to the Guardian’s floor, he punched the code into the security lock and stepped inside.
The first thing that Danny noticed was how quiet it was, compared to the Alpha Company offices, which were always bustling with activity.
This was so eerily still and quiet it was almost spooky.
Danny made his way along the corridor, pausing at the room Hannah liked to call her classroom. Not that it had desks and a chalkboard, mind you.
No, this was the room where Hannah sat down with her Guardians and passed on her pearls of wisdom.
Danny glanced through the door to find the Guardians were present, sitting quietly studying something on their tablets, but their teacher was conspicuous by her absence.
“Hey, Danny.” Kellen glanced up first. “Something we can help you with?”
“Hey Kellen. I don’t suppose you’d know where Hannah is?” Danny looked around the new guys and noticed all but one of them staring at him.
Hollywood stood up and stretched.
“I think I know where she is.” He picked up his mug. “I was about to head to the kitchen anyway. I’ll show you.”
Danny noticed the rest of the guys glance at each other, well, all except the Scottish guy, Logan, who kept his head down.
He followed Hollywood down the corridor and past Hannah’s empty office, where a large flower arrangement sat on the side table next to her desk.
When they reached the conference room, the door was closed, and the blinds were fully tilted shut, blocking any view of the room.
“She’s in here?” He looked at Hollywood, wondering what the fuck was going on. “Is she Ok?”
“I think she’s having a bit of ‘quiet time’.” Hollywood seemed to wince, even as he said it.
“And why does she need ‘quiet time’?” Danny frowned. “Hannah’s not known for her need for peace and quiet. She thrives in the middle of chaos.”
Hollywood stared at Danny, obviously undecided as to whether or not he should say anything.
“Look, Danny…” Hollywood finally sighed. “I think you need to speak to Hannah. There was an issue within the team yesterday, which I don’t think she was able to resolve to her satisfaction. It’s left her a bit out of sorts by the looks of things. She said hello to us this morning, gave us some up to date intel to read through, and then disappeared.”
“An issue within the team?” Danny repeated, trying to guess what that meant. “Is someone giving her a hard time?”
Hollywood shook his head.
“Nothing like that.” He confirmed. “Look Danny, Hannah is fucking awesome, man. I can only speak for Kellen and myself, but we think she’s incredible. But we’ve had more contact with her over the last couple of years, so we’re best able to appreciate her skills. Let me tell you, the Guardians are damn lucky to have someone with her talents watching our backs.”
“So, it’s one of the others that’s stirring shit up?” Danny scowled.
“Speak to Hannah.” Hollywood repeated quietly. “She may have already resolved whatever the issue was.”
Danny glanced at the door of the conference room.
“Ok, thanks, Hollywood. I appreciate your help.”
As the big American continued on towards the kitchen, Danny pulled out his phone and dialled Hannah’s number. A few seconds later he could hear her ringtone through the big conference room door.
“Hey, honey.” Hannah’s voice sounded tired. “What can I do for you?”
“Hi, baby.” Danny said quietly. “Do you think you could open the door and let me in? We need to talk.”
Hannah didn’t answer him. The call was ended abruptly, but a few seconds later he heard the door lock being turned, and finally his little pixie was staring at him through a crack in the door.
“I’m busy.” She said quietly. “Is it urgent?”
“Anything that upsets you qualifies as urgent in my book, Hannah.” He smiled at her. “But can we do this on the same side of the door? It would be a little more private, don’t you think?”
Hannah stepped back and opened the door a little, allowing Danny just enough room to step inside.
Before he had a chance to turn around, the lock was turned again, and she was stepping away from him.
“Baby?” Danny reached for her hand and tugged her back towards him. “What’s upsetting you, Hannah? You know I’m not leaving until you talk to me, so you might as well get it all off your chest.”
When Hannah stared up at him, Danny was shocked by how tired she looked. Tired and something else. Sad, maybe?
Tears welled up in her eyes, and she shook her head, probably trying to communicate that she had nothing to say.
“Honey, you have to use your words if you’re trying to tell me something.” He scolded. “I might be able to interpret your body language in bed, but this is not the same thing at all.”
Hannah snorted a laugh without being able to stop herself, but it turned into a sob, and before he knew what was going on, Danny was picking her up and carrying her to the big sofa, Hannah’s tears quickly leaving a damp patch on his shirt.
When she was all cried out, and the sobs had faded to irregularly spaced shudders, Danny leaned back so he could look down into Hannah’s face.
“Why do you think you’re not important anymore?” He asked quietly. “You were talking in your sleep, saying that you were ‘nobody’. Why would you even think that? Has one of the new team said something to you?”
Hannah shook her head.
“It’s not like that.” She sniffed. “I had an issue with one of the team yesterday. Something that gave me serious cause for concern that they weren’t suitable for this mission. The things they were saying, and their attitude were just completely wrong for this job. Anyway, I tried to raise the issue with JT, and, well, let’s just say I didn’t get the response I was looking for.”
“How do you mean?” Danny frowned. “You have to give me more detail Hannah, not half a story.”
“Ok, well, I raised the problem with JT and he shut me out.” Hannah frowned. “He said he knew the guy had an issue, but he refused to discuss it with me. ‘Staff confidentiality’ was the reason he gave, which obviously means he doesn’t consider me important enough to know what’s going on with the Guardians team members.”
Danny was stunned.
“Are you sure that was what he meant, honey? You’re the heart and soul of this operation. Are you sure he was shutting you out? Couldn’t he have just been trying to save you from worrying?” Danny didn’t believe it himself, but he had to ask.
“Danny, JT told me that staff members were entitled to confidentiality, and that he had a duty to make sure their information was only shared with the appropriate people.” Hannah sniffed again. “Seeing as he suggested bringing Drew in to talk to the guy, it seems obvious that he meant he considers the directors to be ‘appropriate people’, but not employees. Apparently, in JT’s eyes, I’m just another employee.”
“I can’t believe that, honey.” Danny protested. “Everyone in this company knows that without you, Alpha Company would be just another security company. You’ve elevated us to a position way beyond our imagination when we set up the business.”
“Yeah, but if you look at my employment contract, I’m still JT’s assistant.” Hannah argued. “So, JT’s right. I am just another employee.”
“Hannah, that is not the way people see you around here, no matter what your contract says.” Danny gave Hannah a little shake. “You are the most respected person in the company. Everyone knows what a genius you are, and they all adore you.”
“Honey, d’you think you might be a little biased? I mean, you are the one person I grant sexual favours to, so you’re obligated to say shit like that.” Hannah’s lips were twitching for the first time, and Danny was relieved to see she hadn’t completely lost her sense of humour.
“Honey, those sexual favours might be why I adore you, but they have nothing to do with why everyone else loves you.” He kissed the top of her head. “Just because JT decided to act like a first-class prick yesterday, doesn’t make you any less valuable to the company.”
“I guess.” Hannah didn’t sound completely convinced.
“Do you feel well enough to get back to work now, or d’you wanna play hooky and take off for the rest of the day?” Danny smiled suggestively. “You could treat me by granting me a few of those sexual favours you were talking about.”
Hannah wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tight.
“As much as I’d love to take you home and abuse your body all afternoon, I really do have work to get finished.” She did at least sound regretful. “The guys are shipping out on Monday, and I have to make sure they all know every bit as much as I do about the operation, before we send them in.”
“Ok, but I want you to promise me that if anyone else upsets you, you’ll pick up the phone and call me.” Danny stood up and carefully set Hannah on her feet. “Don’t make me come chasing after you again. You know that’s not how we work best.”
“I won’t. I’ll phone you immediately the next time someone acts like a total asshole around here.” She smiled up at him. “There’s a distinct possibility you may get sick of taking my calls.”
“Never gonna happen.” He guided her into the corridor and back to her office, where the smell from the flowers was almost overwhelming. “You have an admirer I need to know about?”
“Hardly!” Hannah chuckled. “I haven’t checked, but my money would be on JT realising that he pissed me off.”
Danny nodded.
“Well, ignore him, baby.” He leaned down for a goodbye kiss. “You just carry on being a genius and let the asshole wallow in his own shit. He’ll soon realise his mistake.”
As Hannah kissed him back with more passion than was probably decent for the workplace environment, Danny could feel the usual stirring in his groin.
He pulled back and groaned.
“And once again, I’m gonna have to try and work with a hard-on.” He mock-complained. “Thanks, honey.”
He stepped back, closing the door to the sound of his wife’s giggles, relieved that she seemed in a lot better frame of mind than she’d been in when he found her.
There was just one more visit to make before he returned to his Alpha Company office.
Danny walked around the corner and down the corridor until he came to JT’s office, relieved to find his former commanding officer alone.
He didn’t knock or wait for an invitation to enter, just walked straight in, and shut the door behind him.
JT glanced up from his screen, and Danny was convinced he saw the man pale slightly.
“Something I can do for you, Danny?” JT said calmly, and Danny had to give him points for smoothness.
“You know, if you’d asked me that ten years ago, and I’d been in this exact frame of mind, I’d have suggested you stand up, so I could punch you fucking unconscious.” He growled. “Luckily for you, I’m ten years older and wiser, and I appreciate that we have to present a united front for the sake of the business, our customers and our staff. It wouldn’t do to have you walking around with a couple of unexplained black eyes.”
JT frowned, but otherwise showed very little by way of emotion.
“I find it incredible that after all these years, and everything Hannah’s done for our company, that you could treat my wife with such careless disdain.” Danny continued. “But, I have no doubt that the version of events that I just dragged out of Hannah probably, if anything, downplayed how thoughtless and cruel your actions were.”
JT sat silently, not even trying to defend himself.
“So, I’ll just leave you with this thought, JT. If you ever treat Hannah with less respect than she deserves… in fact, if you ever upset her in any way, or you cause her another sleepless night or a flood of tears, it will be the last day she works for this company.” Danny growled. “And I don’t need to remind you how many of the security systems we offer our customers were designed by, patented by, and are still owned by Hannah. When she walks away, she’ll take everything with her, and won’t be coming back. And when I say everything, I include myself in that statement. Are we clear?”
“Crystal.” JT nodded solemnly. “For what it’s worth, I’ve been trying to apologise to Hannah since last evening. She’s not taking my calls, and she’s not in her office.”
“Try harder!”
Danny turned and walked out of JT’s office, extremely proud of himself that he hadn’t resorted to violence.
He prayed that JT would take his words seriously, as he really didn’t want to walk away from their family. But if he didn’t, and Danny discovered Hannah had been upset again, for no good reason, he hadn’t been kidding.
They’d be gone!