Hide from 'Falling' || H.S

Chapter 36 - Ashley | No time

So Evans always sends a few of us out to find more leads and maybe potential witnesses to help in the Falling case. Which always leads to nowhere.

Shit I really need to think about how to proceed with this secret...after all, I'm constantly lying to the girls about the boys' true identities. But they would never understand why I kept it a secret from them.

I just want to protect them. Evans would never agree with the way I handled this. So the easiest way is to get the flash drives and then get the boys out of the way with the help of five simple shots. The USBs are my path to the solution.

But what is the way to solve the USBs? Just as I'm going through the contacts on my phone the door to the common room was yanked open and Claire was standing in the doorway. She is one of the few, from the units here, who stayed like me and didn't have to go on a mission.

"Hey Ash!" she called with a big smile. I wondered about her happy mood because after all, there is nothing to be happy about right now.
"Hey C." I replied a bit confused, because she didn't stop grinning the whole time either.

Then she closed the door and sat down across from me at the table. I intertwined my fingers and waited for her to explain what was going on. "I found a solution." she then proudly announced, which is certainly the reason of her good mood.

My jaw dropped. "How? What? Huh?" Completely perplexed, I stared at her, impatient to hear what exactly she meant. Had my prayers been answered and everything would still be cleared up?

"Earlier when I had a meeting with Emily and Evans about a case we were both stuck on, Evans suggested to ask Nick for help since we have this deal with him. Well, can't we just ask him to unlock the USBs without explaining to him exactly what it is he has to do for us?" Claire then shared her idea.

"Nick? The Nick?" I asked, puzzled. Did she really mean him?
"Yes! Nick, the guy we've been following and chasing for months, who is now an informant for the CIA." she replied naturally, explaining again who he is, as if I didn't know for sure, which of course is bullshit. I know exactly who Nick is.

He is a nationally wanted hacker and computer genius. We managed to catch him in a raid a few months ago and in exchange for him not going to jail forever, he helps us out from time to time when needed. But he is anything but trustworthy.
He stole data from the Pentagon and tapped into the FBI's line as well as in many other intelligence agencies.

"Hmm I don't know about that" I said hesitantly, because after all there is a lot at stake here and giving our only evidence against Falling to a sleazy hacker might not be the best idea.
"Do we have a better option?" asked Claire the question I've always hated. Because most of the time, we didn't have a better one.

The question of better options and choices is one I had always despised. Hadn't changed, I guess.

"Is Nick going to be there today?" I inquired, sighing, without confirming that's what we were doing. Because I still have to think about it and weigh the possibilities.
Claire started to smile, after a warning look from me saying she shouldn't get too excited, she cleared her throat and then said, "Yeah, I saw him earlier. He should be in room Z8."

"Okay, I'll go see him," I then decided and got up from my seat. "It looks like he's our best horse in this race, unfortunately..." I then muttered annoyed, because I'm still not convinced of that idea.
"Better than asking Zayn." commented Claire purring and I snorted in amusement because I have to agree with her. It was definitely a better option. I don't want to see Falling again for now and going to them voluntarily is thus very low on my list of things to do.
Pigs have to learn to fly for that.