Jessica stared blankly at her computer screen for nearly an hour now. She couldn’t focus on work since Taeyeon talked to her. Everything Taeyeon told her, echoed in her head, she wondered if all of it was real. Also, why did Taeyeon tell her all that? It was surely something that Taeyeon should’ve kept to herself.

Tapping her pencil, Jessica looked down at the report she was supposed to be writing, but did this report about taxing changes in the Party really matter? There was a war that was about to start and Jessica didn’t know what to do about it. Taeyeon tried to reassure her that there is nothing to worry about just yet, but when it does happen, will Jessica be ready? She doesn’t feel ready.

“Slow day huh?”

Jessica broke from her thoughts, “Huh? Oh yea.”

Jessica’s desk-mate scooted over to see what report Jessica needed to write, “That is a boring report. Why do we need to know that in the Resistance?”

Jessica shrugged, “Maybe some products we get from there will go up here as well. I don’t know but I was told to report it.”

The man leaned back in his chair, “when was the last time you went up to do a report?”

Jessica remembered clearly the last time was when she went up and Taeyeon got hurt, and then she went up a few times after that, “A few months ago.”

“Same. I wonder if they are restricting who goes up after a few incidences.”

“There is always danger when we go up, that is why we are trained.”

To be honest, Jessica didn’t like the man that worked next to her. He was always trying to find excuses to not work, but maybe today, Jessica welcomed his intrusion to get her mind out of the hole Taeyeon created, “I want to go back up so bad.”

Jessica leaned forward onto her elbows, “I miss it too.”

“Really?” The man was excited to find some commonality with the woman, “I like the fresh air, what about you?”

“It does feel contained down here right? Sometimes going up there feels like home.”

“Oh…so you were from above. I was raised down here as long as I remember. I like the thrill of that being a new and exciting place.”

Jessica raised her brow. There were a group of men and women born down here but she never really met them, “So your parents entered early?”

The man nodded, “Yep. They got out when they could. I was told our village was turned into Sector 6…we had other family that chose to stay and well…we never heard from them since.”

“That is horrible.”

“What about your family?”

Jessica reached forward to her pen to play with, “They are all dead.”

“The Party killed them too huh?”

“I-I actually don’t know. All I know is that there was an explosion and our building collapsed.”

“…that is crazy.” The man was genuinely sad about Jessica’s story, “I know a lot of people like you here. Those who lost everything in the Party and came here alone. I always had my family with me…I am not sure how I could live down here without them.”

“I may not have family, but I have people that are like family to me here,” Jessica smiled thinking of Taeyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung and her other friends, “I trust all of them with my life.”

“That’s cool. We all need that. Someone to watch our back. Even in the Resistance, we can’t be too safe. They say the Party is everywhere so they could be here too, right?”

Jessica bit her lip knowing how right he was, “Yea…could be…”

“Yah you two!” Seohyun came up from behind slamming a notebook on their desk, “get your work done, if you forgot, we have deadlines to make.”

“Yes mam.” The two said in unison.

Seohyun was satisfied when Jessica and the man returned their attention to the computer, but Jessica lingered her eyes even longer on Seohyun as she walked away, “The Party is closer than you think.”

--------------------------

“Light training Taeyeon. I will emphasis I am giving you permission for very light training.” The grin on Taeyeon’s face was brighter than the sun with her therapist giving her approval to get out of the walking cast and back to building up muscle.

“I promise doc!”

“I don’t believe you so I am putting you and Junho down as training partners. You can’t train without him and he can’t train without you. Remember he has a recent head injury so be careful of that area.”

Taeyeon groaned in disappointment, “You are putting the two injured people together?”

“Of course. He will be mindful of your leg and you will be mindful of his head. I want reports from both of you every other day on your training routines and progress.” The doctor put down her chart, “I am glad to see your progress, but remember you are not 100%.”

Taeyeon nodded as she took her jacket, “I will. Thank you.” Taeyeon bowed as she took her leave from the doctor. She was really excited to be walking somewhat normally without any cast but a little disappointed that she couldn’t return to the full training routine. Field missions were also a no-go until she was fully healed.

“Taeyeon!”

Turning around, Taeyeon smiled when she saw Yuri running up to her, “hey Yul.”

“I am glad I found you.”

Taeyeon noticed Yuri seemed uneasy, “Is there something wrong?”

“Not wrong, but…” Yuri stopped to catch her breath, “but come with me.”

Taeyeon followed Yuri down the corridor and through the maze of hallways until she entered the level only accessible to higher-ups, “Yuri are you allowed here?”

Yuri shrugged, “It doesn’t matter, you have to come and see.”

Taeyeon continued to follow Yuri into the debriefing room and sat down with the others that were watching interrogations behind the glass, “Resistance members are coming back and look who I saw coming through the door.”

Taeyeon drew a huge grin on her face upon seeing who was sitting below, “Sunny! She is back?”

Yuri nodded happily, “Yes! I thought you should know right away.”

Taeyeon was really happy to see a former pupil of hers, “I do…I mean yes I wanted to know if she came back…so she was one of the operatives pulled? Do you know why?”

Yuri shook her head, “No. I have no idea but most of the people that were pulled are being taken out of the Ministry of Defense and Security.”

“That isn’t good. We need contacts there.”

“We do…most of the higher-ups are there but the low-level techs are being taken out and brought back here.”

Taeyeon watched Sunny get debriefed before coming back into the Resistance, “Can you keep me updated? I am guessing she will be done with all of this tomorrow. I need to go and meet Junho for training.”

“Of course. See you later Taeng.” Yuri sat in the seat watching the interrogations continue.

Taeyeon knew she had to make her way to the training room but on her way, she was too tempted to make a certain detour. Looking around her desired location, Taeyeon saw many people at work, distracted by their computers or on the phone. Sneaking in, Taeyeon made her way around to the back of the department and slipped into the back office.

Taeyeon shuffled around the desk filled with stacks of papers, but she didn’t see anything of interest. Looking around, Taeyeon saw no one entering the office so she went back and tried to pull open the drawers. They were filled with mostly office supplies, but the last one was locked. Taeyeon cursed because she didn’t have the right tools to open it and would have to come back another time.

Peering out from behind the desk, Taeyeon crawled out and was ready to leave the office but just then, “Oh Taeyeon you are here.”

Taeyeon cursed internally before putting on a huge smile, “There you are. I came into your office and you weren’t here.”

The man passed Taeyeon into his office, “Come in and take a seat.”

Taeyeon turned around still smiling, “I actually can’t stay long.”

The man crossed his legs and sat comfortably in the chair, “That’s alright. What did you come here for?”

“I ah um…did you see Yunho since he came back?”

“No. I have been busy around here or busy at home with the little one.” Won Bin smiled, “Which reminds me, did you want to look after the little guy later this week?”

“Oh? Hot date?” Taeyeon gave the man a sly grin.

Won Bin laughed, “Something like that. So what do you say?”

“I am chained to the Resistance Bunker at the moment so I won’t be out on a mission if that is what you are asking.”

“Great!” Won Bin clapped and stood back up, “I will pass on the details later. I need to talk to the misses first.”

“Okay. I can’t wait to spoil him rotten.” Taeyeon and Won Bin laughed, “Anyway, I have training to get to. Catch you around boss.”

Won Bin waved her off, “Don’t go around calling me boss! I am not anymore.”

Taeyeon left the office finally able to get a breath of fresh air, “wow…”

“What a surprise,” a slender hand made it’s way around Taeyeon’s waist, “come here for me or flirting with my boss?”

Taeyeon laughed, “who knows…”

Jessica found Taeyeon’s hand and weaved their fingers, “got 5 minutes?”

Taeyeon grinned, “for you, any day.”

“Come with me,” Jessica dragged Taeyeon out of the office to an empty hallway and kissed her hard, “missed you.”

Taeyeon held her girlfriend by the waist before pushing her back against the wall, “I always miss you.”

Jessica kept her arms around Taeyeon’s neck, playing with her hair, “I know you didn’t come here for me.”

Taeyeon laughed, “he was a side job, but I did come here to see you at work.”

Jessica pulled Taeyeon closer and kissed the woman softly loving the way Taeyeon tasted and the warmth she created throughout her body, “I don’t want you to go.”

“I will see you later.”

Jessica buried herself into a hug, “I need to get back to a tyrant.”

“I know. What excuse did you use to escape from Seohyun?” Taeyeon inhaled the beautiful smell of her girlfriend.

“I said nothing actually…just snuck out with you but I am sure she notices I am not by my computer.”

Taeyeon chuckled, “I like you being rebellious like this.”

“Yea well I wasn’t like this before I met you.”

Taeyeon let out a loud laugh before turning her head and kissing the side of Jessica’s temple, “I did well then.”

Jessica shook her head, “You better find me later.”

Taeyeon held onto Jessica’s fingers for a little longer, “I promise to at least give you a kiss goodnight.”

“Deal, but I expect to see you before that.”

Taeyeon laughed before leaning in to steal one last kiss, “Be good and get back to work.”

Jessica gave Taeyeon a gorgeous smile, “You be good and I meant to tell you earlier that you look y without a walking cast on.”

Taeyeon looked down and shook her leg around, “It feels light and new. I want to test it out but the doctor won’t let me.”

“Listen to the doctor or you will feel my wrath too.” Jessica gave Taeyeon one last kiss, “I really have to get going. See you later.”

Taeyeon waved Jessica off before turning around and going to the training wing.

Junho was stretching on the floor when Taeyeon arrived, “You are late.”

Taeyeon scratched her head and laughed, “I made like 3 detours on the way here.”

“Good I thought you forgot about me. Although you are injured, I still think I have the best teacher in the whole Resistance.”

Taeyeon started to stretch, “I strongly doubt that. I can think of a few that are better than me.”

“Bah. That is rubbish. Did you want to spar or work on fundamentals? My balance is out of whack and yours might be with the bum leg.”

Taeyeon nodded, “that is a good idea. It seems like you are leading this training session and not me.”

-----------------------

Kicking the metal door away, the man coughed violently from all the dust. His body was battered in cuts and bruises and his white skin looked blackened with debris and dust. Wiping away dirt from his eyes, the man slowly made his way out of the corner he was in, “…”

His whole body felt like it was on fire or hit by a truck. Trying to see around, the man couldn’t make out anything with the smog. Feeling his way around, he finally found a light stick in his pocket and cracked it open to see. Looking up, Taecyeon saw the exit above him but the ladder was no longer there, “how to get out now…”

Taecyeon knew he was screwed. His only exit was blown away.

Looking around, Taecyeon thought there might be another exit, “there has to be another way out.” Taecyeon tried to remember the layout of the cavern wondering where another way out could be. Going back to the area where the cells were, Taecyeon entered each cell examining the room carefully. Every room seemed to be normal with no secret passage but the last one on the right, Taecyeon saw a thin crease around back wall that wasn’t present on the other cells.

Using all his strength, Taecyeon pushed the wall and it moved. Surprised, Taecyeon stopped for a second to take out his knife. He knew danger could be behind the walls so he took one last breath before pushing again. Eventually the wall moved back enough that he could sneak through. Taecyeon took a look around and quickly went back to throw away his light stick. There was no question to where he was and if discovered, his life may be over.

-----------------------

Taeyeon just finished exercising with Junho when the alarm system went off, “Code yellow, repeat code yellow.”

Junho stopped drinking his water to look at Taeyeon, “Code yellow? That is new.”

Taeyeon put on her jacket, “It is a first for me too. Come on, we need to get to the assembly hall.”

Junho picked up his belongings and followed behind Taeyeon. Everyone in the Resistance was heading the same direction, crowding the hallways, “I see Yunho.”

Being shorter, Taeyeon couldn’t see the man, “lead the way.”

Junho helped Taeyeon through the crowd until they were with their group, “Oh Junho and Taeyeon there you are. You were in training right?”

Junho nodded, “You were about to go on a mission I thought.”

“Change of plans. We were pulled into a meeting and then the alarm went off. The exits were put under lockdown earlier.” Siwon appeared giving Taeyeon and Junho an update.

Finally making it into the assembly hall, the group found their seats, but across the way, Taeyeon spotted Jessica with Yuri and Sooyoung, “Hey, I will find you later.”

Junho was about to ask where Taeyeon was going, but it was clear what her destination was.

Fighting the crowd, Taeyeon made her way to Jessica and the other girls, “Hey.”

Jessica was very happy to see Taeyeon and Yuri moved over to make room for her friend, “you came from training…did you do well?”

Taeyeon nodded, “we worked on fundamentals.”

“Good,” Jessica reached over to squeeze Taeyeon’s hand, “I’m glad you listened to the doctor for once.”

“I have to once in a while.”

“What do you think the Code Yellow is for?” Jessica finally asked.

Taeyeon shrugged but turned to Yuri, “Siwon told me that the exits were sealed. Do we have a breach?”

Yuri looked down, “I don’t know. Almost all of level 4 are scanning the hallways right now.”

Taeyeon held Jessica’s hand a little tighter, “We should wait and see. Someone from level 1 or 2 will make an announcement.”

Waiting for everyone to arrive, the girls chatted a little more, but were silent most of the time wondering what this gathering was for. Eventually, the stage lit up and to everyone’s surprise, a familiar face graced the stage.

“Hello. Can everyone hear me?”

“Yes.” The crowd cheered.

“Great. As most of you know, I am Changsung…I may have gotten a little famous up in the Party as the most wanted criminal. No worries though, I am not as dangerous as I seem.”

The crowd erupted into laughter forgetting for a second that this was a serious matter.

“Code yellow. Not often do we need to use one of our codes period. I want don’t want to brush this off as a not so serious matter, but there is no immediate danger at the moment. Level 1 convened today and decided to give everyone in the Resistance an important update. Seeing as I am the figurehead of our cause, I was voted to do so. In the upcoming days, you will see some old faces returning. We had some operatives working in the Party but for safety reasons, we are returning them here to the Resistance. I know this sounds alarming and it is a matter we didn’t take lightly, but we have reason to believe that the Party is making movement to start a possible war.”

The crowd grew loud with everyone talking.

“Please calm down. We brought the Resistance members back to train you all. Starting immediately, we will be training everyone to shoot firearms.”

Again the crowd burst into a mush of hushed talking.

“Please be silent as I explain. We all know what date is coming. It draws closer everyday. The 30^th anniversary of the Party is coming and there is reason to believe the Party will make a move and we must be ready. We must know how to defend ourselves or make a move to end this evil regime! I know violence was once restricted to the Party, but there is no way we can take a step back and not learn how to defend ourselves against their weaponry. We need to be ready for a Code Red.”

Changsung took a step back and grabbed a weapon from his assistant, “For a long time we kept these in locked containers, but starting tomorrow, you will learn how to use one of these. In addition, each unit will be given specific tasks if war breaks out. Your unit leaders will discuss that with you on your own time. What I want you to know today is that we will be prepared. Even if we don’t every have to use this trigger, we will come to the Party prepared to use any weapon at our disposal. Thank you. Please go to your required unit stations and meet with your leaders.”

Changsung left and Jessica was left in utter shock, “Tae…”

Taeyeon squeezed Jessica’s hand, “He is right. We may never have to use those guns.”

“Are you sure?”

Taeyeon didn’t know anymore. Too many suspicious actions were happening and there were spies roaming around the Party, “We need to be smart about all of our moves right now. If the Party has a plan to start a war, it is our job to stop it. Nothing is gained from wasting a life, even if that life is a Party member.”

Jessica nodded, “I trust you Tae…I trust you to not only protect me, but all of us.”

“That is a lot of pressure,” Taeyeon let out a nervous laugh, “Yuri might know more than me right now honestly.”

“That isn’t true.” Jessica turned Taeyeon’s head to face hers, “you know the right people Taeyeon. You know how to navigate the Party and you know everything about the Resistance. If anyone can save us it is you.” Jessica leaned in for a quick kiss, “now go. We have to get to our units and mine is all the way across in the other hallway. I will meet you in your room after okay?”

Taeyeon reluctantly let go of Jessica, “yea okay. See you soon.”

Jessica ran off just like everyone else in the assembly hall. Taeyeon stood still for a while. She knew she had to go to her unit but her feet took her into another direction. There was someone more important to talk to right now.