The militia woman's eyes seemed to have a personal mission to bore holes into Jane's skull. Jane, however, merely stared back, unflinching, even as that dark gaze burned intensely, bubbling with rage in one instant and growing cold in the next, disregarding Jane completely in favor of Connor. Jane's arms remained crossed over her chest. She was content with letting the woman bark her insults; she'd taken enough lip from Connor that it had grown tiresome long ago. Nothing she said was new. Of<i>course</i>they didn't have much power over the militia, not enough to barge in and take anyone out, let alone Lavonne. Of<i>course</i>he could hunt them all down and pick them apart. That wasn't the scary part; the scary part was not knowing<i>how</i>he knew so much ... or when he would come.<br/><br/>She wouldn't be intimidated by the officer, regardless of how her stature overshadowed Jane's own or how harshly she looked down upon her. It was hard to respect anything she said when every word was dedicated to reinforcing Victor's sadism and rubbing salt in open wounds, especially when Jane knew that deep down, the officer feared him all the same. Lips set in a straight line, eyes narrowed, Jane's expression reflected the icy detachment in the officer's voice as it became increasingly clear that she only had one setting: condescending bitch.<br/><br/>Connor, on the other hand, looked like his veins were ready to burst right out of his forehead. "You have a lot to say, don't you?" he snapped, stepping towards the officer. Jane could practically feel his reluctance to agree with the woman. He reached for the officer's collar, grabbing a fistful of fabric and yanking her close. Once again, commotion rolled through the pub.<br/><br/>Jane made no protest, this time; from where she stood, Connor may as well have been talking to a carbon copy of himself, manhandling his own reflection.<br/><br/>"Let's make something clear. We'd love nothing more than to see Lavonne dead." He scoffed at her, then lowered his voice, almost to a growl. "And personally, I'd love to see every last one of you rabid dogs put down. Consider yourself lucky that your 'friend' Lavonne bailed you out last time." Connor took the opportunity to shoot a dirty glance over his shoulder at Jane, his heated anger at the officer bringing the grudge between him and Jane to the surface. It had all stemmed from that moment, after all; had any other enforcer walked through that door, the story would've been different, but the fact that it was<i>her</i>gave Connor a new set of excuses to pin the blame on Jane.<br/><br/>"Clearly, you<i>need</i>us-," He gave her another yank, hulking over her. "-and I don't even trust you as far as I can throw you, so if you want our help, you better be prepared to follow orders. You want to make plans? We make plans on<i>our</i>terms. You don't come to us, we come to you." They would be changing the way they conducted meetings, that was for sure. Truthfully, they needed her as much as she needed them, although her desperation seemed a little stronger than theirs, given that she actively sought them out.<br/><br/>Finally, he released her and stepped back. "Jane here will be our middleman," he turned and nodded at Jane, and she was certain she saw him fighting off a smile as he delivered his taunts, "since she seems so keen on protecting you from harm. Sound good to you, J?"<br/><br/>"Oh-,"<i>fuck you, Connor</i>, Jane had started to say, but refrained as she thought for a moment. Who else in the room would willingly agree, anyway? Jane was already the black sheep. What the hell would this even change? She rubbed her temple before uttering her terse agreement. "Fine."<br/><br/>"You'll go through<i>her </i>if you want to reach us," Connor continued. "Otherwise ... if I see you at another gathering like this, I don't care what she says, you won't be breathing this dirty air anymore ... whatever you said your name was, sweetheart."