Jane sits alone in her safe house feeling extremely agitated as she tries to convince herself that pacing won't help, that there's nothing she can do other than wait with everyone else. What really bothers her is the fact that she's stuck there even if something happens and everyone else gets activated. But she had promised Weller that she wouldn't leave the safe house no matter what; it was the deal she had struck to at least be on comms with them, get to know what's happening.
At the moment it's all quiet, the evening dragging on agonizingly slowly. Weller had gone home from the office at his regular late hour and then Patterson had talked him through setting up an invisible trip wire alarm on his front door. So now that he was inside his apartment the alarm would trigger if anything went through the door, immediately setting off the protocol to stop Roman, get Weller back.
Jane hates all of it, knows it won't be enough. Roman is unpredictable and resourceful, will probably try and flush Weller out of the building instead of going in himself. She had said as much while they'd been planning but of course Kurt hadn't considered it enough for her liking.
So here she is, grinding her teeth painfully, sure that something is going to go wrong with the plan. Unable to do anything but sit and stare blankly at the wall while listening to Patterson tabs on the rest of the team.
Jane pulls out her phone to distract herself and finds herself staring at her favourite photo again, the one that had screwed up all her plans to take out Roman before he got to Weller. She still half regrets not having gone through with it, even though she knows that Patterson was right, that it would have been a horrendous thing to do to Kurt. Also counterproductive for everyone, preventing them from dealing with more important things.
Still, right now it feels like the better option. One with some action at least, where she has a measure of control over the outcome. Instead of just twiddling her thumbs, relying on everyone else to keep Weller safe.
Though she has to admit, there's a lot more appeal to living since things had shifted between her and Kurt. Not that she had ever wanted to die. But she'd been willing to, had been so desperate to prove her loyalty to them, to him. She had just never considered Weller being equally willing to show his commitment to her.
Jane stews in her anxious thoughts, fixates on her phone as she watches the minutes tick by excruciatingly slowly. Midnight comes and goes, Weller reports in that he's going to bed. Jane tries not to think about that too much, blushes to herself about the direction her mind is going. Cringes and tells herself to cool off, that Kurt's sleeping with someone else, has barely just started being kind to her again. Then reminds herself that there are much more important matters at hand than what happens in Weller's bed; mainly keeping him alive, out of Roman's hands.
With that her mind switches back to overwhelming worry, flashing back to the memory of Roman ranting angrily, waving his knife around. Jane shudders at the mental image, hugs herself tightly as she tries to push the picture out of her head. Briefly she considers going to bed as well but knows she will just lie there awake. So she sticks with huddling on the couch, trying unsuccessfully to avoid all Kurt-related thoughts.
It's just past two am and Jane is starting to yawn when her comms unit crackles with Weller's voice. He reports that there's a fire in his building, that he just heard the alarms go off and was already smelling smoke. Patterson's voice comes on right after that to confirm that the fire department had been dispatched just a minute ago.
"I'm leaving my place," Kurt declares. "I'm going to have to trip the sensor."
"That's not a good idea Weller," Patterson says. "How close is that fire to you?"
"Stay in your apartment, Weller," Reade chimes in. "He doesn't want you to burn to death, he'll have to come get you before it gets life-threatening."
Shit, Jane thinks. Of course he won't stay in his place. This is exactly what she had said would happen. So absurdly easy she wants to scream in frustration. Put Weller in an emergency and he's not going to remain vigilant about his own safety. He'll be rescuing children and old ladies, will never notice Roman sneak up in the midst of it all.
"It doesn't matter, I can't just stay here, I have to go see if anyone needs help," Kurt replies.
Jane finally finds her voice, sputters out her disapproval.
"Weller, that is exactly what Roman wants you to do," she argues. "They've researched you, remember. He knows you'll get so caught up in helping everyone else that he can grab you while you're distracted. But you still have a chance to slip away, before this goes any further. Just leave the rescuing to the firemen and get out of there now."
"I can't do that Jane," Weller answers. "There are little kids that live in this building, I have to make sure everyone makes it out of here first. And I have to ditch my comms in case I run into Roman while I'm out there."
"Fire trucks are on their way, Weller," Patterson tries. "I think Jane is right, you can probably get by Roman if you're careful and on the look out for him. Just don't get involved in running around the scene, he could be anywhere."
"Yeah, don't be stupid, Weller," Zapata adds. "Just get out of there and keep the comms on until you need to get rid of them."
"Kurt, please!" Jane pleads. "Please don't do this. It's exactly what Roman wants."
"Jane, remember you promised me you'd stay at your safe house," Weller states firmly. "Please don't leave, no matter what. I'm trusting you to keep your word."
"No, that's not fair," Jane retorts. "You promised to stay in your place too."
"I have to go," Kurt shouts. "I hear screaming."
"Kurt!" Jane yells. "Please just get out of there."
When there's no answer it's clear that he's gone, especially when Patterson sighs and reports that the alarm at Weller's front door has been triggered from the inside.
Jane groans, holds her head in frustration. He is so goddamned stubborn. And still she can't help but admire him for his bullheadedness, his selflessness.
"Jane? Are you there?" Patterson asks, her voice frantic. "Jane, I know what you're probably planning but please stay at your safe house. We will send agents to the scene to maintain eyes on Weller and at the first sign of Roman we will close down the entire area like we planned. We're not going to let him take Weller. But we definitely can't risk Roman getting to both of you."
"Patterson, I have to go," Jane replies.
"Jane, think about it," Reade tries. "You being there can only make things worse for Weller."
The thing is, she's not thinking rationally and she knows it. She'd been rational earlier when they came up with the plan, when the risk to Kurt wasn't imminent. Had even sworn to stay at her safe house no matter what happened, to let everyone else take care of the situation. Not that she had liked the idea, but it had made sense to her at the time. If Roman saw her involved at all it would confirm his suspicions about her, likely lead to her imminent death.
But now, in the heat of the moment, there's no way she's staying home when Kurt is in danger. If there's any chance she can save him, it's worth the risk to herself.
"I can't just sit here," she declares. "And I'm leaving my comms behind too."
Jane hears the team voicing their dismay as she pulls the unit from her ear and leaves it on the coffee table. Then she arms herself quickly and calls a cab, stands there holding herself anxiously while waiting for it to arrive.
There's a small chance Patterson will have dispatched agents to stop her from getting to Kurt's but she doesn't think the lab tech would risk pitting other agents against Jane's will to protect Weller. In fact, Jane's pretty sure even Reade and Zapata would be afraid to get in her way right then.
By the time the taxi arrives Jane is completely jacked up with nervous adrenaline, blinding fear. She tries to tell herself that it's been less than ten minutes since Kurt went off comms, that she still has time to get there before Roman makes a move. But it does little to lower her heart rate, just makes her more impatient to be there already.
Because she's going to be shattered if anything happens to Kurt, is barely holding it together as it is. So losing him is not an option, not if she has any say in the matter.