It was close to midnight when Jane returned home. She trudged upstairs without turning on a single light, her legs aching for rest with every step. After another battle with the old lock and a few absent-minded swears, she was in her apartment. The young rebel inhaled, filling her nostrils with the familiar air, then yawned, the only sound to fill the vacant space. Her apartment was quiet and humble, but comfortable - she didn't need much, especially since it was only her. Rarely did she bring anyone home, and on the occasion that she did, they weren't there to stay for very long.<br/><br/>She walked with heavy, tired footsteps into the little living room and threw off her coat, tossing it over the back of the couch. If she were honest with herself, she was drained enough to pass out right on the couch, draped over the seat just like the abandoned article of clothing, but she refused to let herself give in to the temptation - after all of the day's fear, sweat, and struggle, she was in desperate need of a shower.<br/><br/>As Jane worked her way to the bathroom, she left a trail of damp clothing behind, dropping each piece carelessly to the floor. "I'll get you later," she told them, as if fabric could listen and needed to be reassured. Once she reached the shower, she turned the knob as far left as it could go; the water that ran this far down in Dome seldom rose above lukewarm, but that night, Jane was determined to milk every possible bit of warmth from the old pipes.<br/><br/>She let the water hit her face first. "Ahhhh," she sighed in relief. For once, luck was on her side; the water was actually hot. Jane slicked the water through her short, dark locks of hair. The warmth brought life back to her skin, soothing her tired body as streams of water poured over her and washed away the sweat and the dirt of the day. They flowed down her face, over her shoulders, down her chest and her back, and for the first time, she felt relaxed.<br/><br/>The relaxation was short-lived, however, as nagging thoughts of the past hours' events began to swarm. She had so many questions, many of which were really directed at herself. Was the plan to save Connor really worth all of the chaos and pain? Why did that officer seem so afraid of Victor in one second, then defend his actions in the next? Why did Jane feel so guilty about the fight earlier? Most importantly, why did everything feel so<i>wrong</i>? It was so easy to hate the militia when she thought of them as wild animals...and she still did see them that way, but...they still bled the same as anyone, and their bones still broke the same way. Jane shivered as the image of Connor driving his knee into the officer's nose crept back into her head.<br/><br/>She had been tense with the man after the incident. Not just with him, with all of them. It was the first time Jane had left a meeting with her kin feeling so...defeated.<br/><br/><br/>--<br/><br/><i>"What was your deal earlier?"<br/>
<br/>
Connor wasted no time; his question came as quickly as the large garage door slammed shut. At the rendezvous point, the rest of the group was waiting for the four of them. At least, most of them were there. She noticed that a few were missing. There were eight of them there, but eleven of them had been involved in the rescue mission, not counting Connor. All of them stood, still and quiet, and trained their eyes on the two of them.<br/>
<br/>
"What?" Jane turned to face him.<br/>
<br/>
"Why'd you interfere?" His arms were crossed over his chest.<br/>
<br/>
"I just didn't think it was necessary to waste any more time on a fight that was finished before it was started," Jane replied, surprised that Connor was confronting her so suddenly.<br/>
<br/>
"What do you mean 'waste time'? Do you not realize how important it is that we stop the militia at every turn?" The taller man's voice, though still hoarse, grew harsher.<br/>
<br/>
"And we </i>did<i> stop them, today, Connor. That's why you're still breathing."<br/>
<br/>
"I said at every turn. At </i>every<i> turn. One militia dog roaming the streets is a danger to us all."<br/>
<br/>
Jane scoffed at him. "So, what? Are you suggesting that we start murdering officers?"<br/>
<br/>
"No, Jane, it's not 'murder', it's justice. All I'm saying is that if the opportunity arises to get rid of one of them, it shouldn't be wasted."<br/>
<br/>
"You can't be serious."<br/>
<br/>
Connor scowled back at her. "Does it look like I'm joking?"<br/>
<br/>
"Who gave you the power to call the shots?"<br/>
<br/>
"The militia did, when they captured me, when they tortured me for days and days on end. They did, when they beat me, dragged my body through the streets, and tied a rope around my fucking neck!"<br/>
<br/>
"Look around you, Connor! Ari is gone. Sawyer is gone. James is gone. Civilians are dead. They forfeit their lives to save your neck. Don't disgrace them by suggesting that we lower ourselves to the level of the people we swore to fight."<br/>
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Connor threw his hands up in exasperation. "And how do you expect us to do that? Having a tea party?"<br/>
<br/>
"Don't be fucking ridiculous, I'm just saying that there are better, more dignified ways to go about this. We do have dignity, remember? Murder isn't justice. You, of all people, should understand that."<br/>
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"No, after what I've been through, I, of all people, should understand exactly why we need to get rid of those bastards as quickly as possible. I'm a part of this team, Jane - I thought you'd have my back. Clearly, you'd rather defend the enemy."<br/>
<br/>
Jane sighed, knitting her eyebrows together. Connor was impossible, but it upset her deeply that he would question her motives. "I </i>do<i> have your back, Connor. You saw me in the crowd earlier, you know I have your back. I just-,"<br/>
<br/>
"Do you? Look around you, Jane. You're the only one with a problem." <br/>
<br/>
He was right. None of the other rebels had any objections to Connor's ideas. Jane glanced over to Thomas. She was the closest to him; they were often paired together, and she could count on him for anything. He only looked away. There was a lump in Jane's throat. This was a painful encounter. She would have taken several more of the officer's punches before reliving this conversation. <br/>
<br/>
"Maybe you </i>should<i> have a problem. Maybe all of you should have a problem with this. We're supposed to be righteous."<br/>
<br/>
"Righteous? Don't be naive. In Dome, we make our own righteousness. That's how this works, sweetheart." <br/>
<br/>
Something snapped in Jane, and she gritted her teeth together. "Fuck you, Connor," she spat. "Fuck you." Jane started to turn and leave.<br/>
<br/>
"Jane, wait." Thomas called after her, reaching for her arm, but Connor placed a hand in front of him, stopping him in his tracks. <br/>
<br/>
"Let her go," Jane heard him say, but by that point, she had already reached the door. <br/>
</i><br/><br/>--<br/><br/>"Dammit!" Jane shouted, slamming her fist into the shower wall. She winced at the pain of hard tile against her knuckles, but she struck the wall again in spite of it. "Dammit," she repeated, leaning her head against the slippery tile, resting her hands on her temples. Part of her was angry, part of her wanted to cry, but in the end, she was too worn to do anything but stare at the dark wall as the water continued to pour over her head.<br/><br/><br/>--<br/><br/>\\One Month Later\\<br/><br/>Jane descended the ladder and stood back, eyeing the line of shelves from several feet away. "Looks good to me," she said, knocking the bits of dust off of her hands. "That's the last of them," she called.<br/><br/>"Is it?" Vincent called back, his deep voice booming from the other side of the shop. "I've got one more box over here to sort out, and then it's hellooo, lunch."<br/><br/>Organizing the shop had always been Jane's least favorite part. It was strange, selling odd objects - she never quite knew how to arrange everything. She tried not to dwell on it too much, though; her shop was a godsend. At first, she only sold trinkets (many of which she had admittedly "borrowed" without permission), but that was a different time, and her entire business had evolved greatly once she realized how wasteful the people were on the higher levels of Dome. Vincent did it regularly, scavenging through their trash. It was crazy what some of them threw away. All she did was sell it to the less fortunate.<br/><br/>"You can head out, Vince, I'll take it off your hands." She walked over to the man, who was crouched over a bin full of miscellaneous clothing items, and chuckled before crouching next to him. "Besides, I know you can only think about food. Get out of here," she teased, nudging him on the shoulder.<br/><br/>"Hey, hey, don't judge me. You sure you don't wanna join me? I'm going up," he offered.<br/><br/>"Nah, I better stay behind. I never really feel right going anywhere off the ground, anyway." As much as Jane knew that there were better things that Dome had to offer when one ascended, Jane felt uncomfortable whenever she had to leave the lower level, despite its rather uninviting challenges.<br/><br/>"Suit yourself," he said, shrugging as he stood to leave. "I'll see ya' around, Jane."<br/><br/>After her friend had gone and Jane had finished rearranging the last of the items, she approached the front window to swap the "CLOSED" sign to "OPEN". Right as her hand reached it, she paused. There, on the other side of the glass, was Thomas, standing and looking straight at her. She raised an eyebrow at him; ever since that night, the tension between Jane and the others hadn't quite dissipated. That wasn't the only argument she had with Connor, either, and she could tell he was wary of her. He didn't completely trust her, and she wondered how much of his suspicion was shared by the rest of the group, and how much had seeped into the rest of the rebels, those who hadn't been involved in the rescue mission.<br/><br/>She opened the door. "Coming in to take a look around?" she asked, fully aware that that wasn't the case.<br/><br/>"Yeah, I'll come in. Is anyone else inside?"<br/><br/>"No, it's clear."<br/><br/>Jane stood aside as he stepped in and led Thomas to the counter. She stood behind it, leaning on it as they spoke. To anyone looking in, it'd look like a normal exchange between owner and customer. Jane didn't like to take chances, especially not so close to her house.<br/><br/>"So what's up, Tom?" Things had cleared up between her and Thomas, for the most part. They had their disagreements, but he had started to take her side recently.<br/><br/>"Connor's got a meeting planned for tonight - the basement of the old pub, same time as last time. He says he's got a job for you, specifically."<br/><br/>"Oh, give me a break - is he my boss, now?"<br/><br/>Thomas chuckled. "It wouldn't surprise me if that's what he thought. But no, he just got tipped off to something, and I think he needs your professional snooping skills."<br/><br/>"Do you have the details?"<br/><br/>"Nope. I'm sure he'll divulge them later. He just sent me to let you know."<br/><br/>Jane ran her fingers through her hair. "I hope this isn't a waste of time."<br/><br/>"I'm sure it will be. But hey, at least - even though Connor can be a bit radical - he knows his stuff."<br/><br/>"You're right, Tom, but I wished he wouldn't treat me like such a pariah."<br/><br/>"Hey, tell you what, we can make the most of it. Why don't we head down there early, grab a few drinks at the bar before the others show up? For old times' sake?" he offered, his blue eyes lighting up as he waggled his eyebrows.<br/><br/>Jane hated feeling so defensive all the time, but she was feeling less and less at home with the rebels. She could tell that Thomas was just trying to get her to relax. She sighed.<i>I should really ease up, huh?</i>"Alright, Tom, you're on. I'll meet you there in a few hours."<br/><br/>"Great. I'll see you then," he said, snapping his fingers.