Claws and code

Files and Suspicions

Hello, welcome back :) Cloe suspects criminal activities and decides she needs more information, Sasha isn't the best at making excuses. Something has to give...
Another double update today, for my birthday.
Enjoy

After my beatdown with Mark, they started taking me to the gym with them, in the mornings. It was actually great fun. It didn't take long for the regulars to get used to seeing my small frame sparring with my big friends. David and Sasha weren't hard to beat but Mark had taken my advice and was now harder to fight. Another holiday was coming up and Sasha was excited to go home. The school year almost finished. It had been almost three years since 'the incident' that we decided to exclude the boys when she wanted to go present shopping for her family. She always told me stories about her family and it sounded like her family was huge. This was a special event and they were coming from all over the country to celebrate. She was a bit vague about what the actual event was but it sounded like a humongous party.

I'd been working at Dom's internet café, doing my own thing while keeping an eye on the systems was easy money, I enjoyed it. Sasha arrived with a big smile, puppy dog eyes and a large caramel frappe. She wanted to go shopping and I couldn't resist the bribe combined with the joys of late night shopping with my strange and very loyal room-mate.

This time the strange happened when we were walking out of one of my favourite shops. She dragged me into a lingerie shop even as she was dialling Mark's number. I could tell the moment he answered, she looked so relieved. Without explaining anything she told him where we were and asked if they could pick us up. No please or thank you. She didn't even wait for a reply before tucking her phone away like nothing was happening. When I asked why she rang them she glanced outside and shrugged, trying to look innocent. 'Didn't want to carry everything back myself.'

Deciding to see if I could get her to tell me what was going on, I told her. 'I'm going to get a feed before the boys come to carry our bags, what anything?'

'NO! STAY HERE!' She exclaimed in a panic, even dropping her bag and grabbing my arm to keep me from leaving. The shop assistant that was in the next isle looked somewhat worried at Sasha's outburst. I winked the woman and said. 'She has social and separation anxiety. I'm sorry.' The woman nodded solemnly, giving Sasha a pitying look and walked off.

Hands on hips Sasha tried to glare at me but I raised one eyebrow in return. Before we could discuss it she looked to the entrance and relaxed. Seconds later Mark and David stalked in, looking totally out of place and absolutely divine. They had obviously been at some fancy place, maybe dinner, I didn't ask. The only thing I did when David offered to take my bags was give Sasha a look. This was going to be a discussion when we were alone.

Walking out they were all quite tense, they didn't relax until Mark opened the doors to a luxurious black SUV, guiding Sasha and myself in. They stayed at our dorm, fancy outfits be damned, and watched a movie with Sasha. When I saw that they were going to pretend it hadn't happened I grabbed my laptop and added the new event to the file, including their licence plate number. This one was different from the one Louis had. I'd hack the department of transport and check it out later. The file I had of strange events, other big, dangerous looking men and fancy cars was quite big. I'd been working on this file for two years by then.

I suspected that they were some sort of crime business. Too many strange things happened, all the times she told me something and hesitated as if she wanted to say something else. I didn't care if they were a crime family, my records were squeaky clean but my history certainly wasn't. Just after I had been allowed to remain in Sasha's dorm I'd gotten a notification that my records had been hacked. I had flagged my own files..., after all, I had made the files. There was no way they would find anything that I didn't want them to have on me, anywhere. I'd been manipulating my digital footprint since Dominique started teaching me about the art fine of hacking. It was one of the first things he taught me. Dom was a legend of epic proportions in hacking circles and he was my mentor. I really didn't need the degree in computer science, I knew more than they could ever teach, but I needed to be legit.
I needed a piece of paper proving that I was a, only slightly above average, student in computer science. It was only a challenge because I couldn't shine in computer related assignments. Psychology, my other major, was the degree I actually had to work for. I'd never be a practising psychologist but I needed the skills.

Looking at them now, I finished my observations and bid them goodnight. I turned on my music, softly and went to bed. Didn't need to be a genius to understand that their murmurs were about what had happened today.

The next morning I came out to find Louis was already on our couch, holding a coffee for me while telling me Sasha had just gone out for the day and did I want to go to the gym with him.

I did. It was just the two of us and sparring with Louis was as exhausting as sparring with Mark. These guys were really good but I was too unpredictable for them to get the drop on me consistently. Not too bad for a little girl. There were always a few people who would stop what they were doing when I walked in. There were a few regulars who had stopped watching my every move but anyone who hadn't seen me there before would watch me work out and then spar with whomever was working with me. Usually Mark or Louis.
I had asked each of them separately why I was always the one people watched. Mark told me it was because I had dropped him and he was actually a really good fighter. Louis told me it was because I was so tiny compared to everyone. David told me it was because I was so pretty and proceeded to change the subject while Sasha told me it was because I wasn't a member of the club. It wasn't common for a non-member to be invited to work out there. I asked how I could become a member and she had burst out laughing, telling me the cost was too high.

Today there was a group of men who were new. Again. I groaned when I spotted them and Louis raised an eyebrow in question. I groaned again and complained. 'Another group of newbies. For such a selective club this place regularly has a lot of new faces.'

'So? What's the problem?'

'Come ooon, Lou!' I whined while pulling off my baggy sweater. 'Newbies! They're usually male and always big, ripped, brutes like you and they have the same attitude that you and Mark had when I met you. Then we get to sparring and they get to staring and then they start commenting just loud enough for us to hear then I get annoyed and distracted... and then you win.'

'Not always, Shorty.' He grinned. I glared at him and he continued with a smirk. 'Sometimes the newbies see you and comment on your tight little ass and how they wouldn't mind to tap that and then you get totally pissed and that makes you mean... and then you win. So really, it's a fifty-fifty chance that you win.'

I laughed. 'Fuck you, Lou!'

'Anytime sweetheart, just say the word.'

He'd never flirted so blatantly with me before. Only the occasional heated look, fighting especially seemed to be a huge turn on for him. I grinned. 'I would have taken you up on that Big Boy, but your sister would have your balls and I just like you too much to let that happen.'

He laughed this time. 'Go warm up, Short Stuff, we might just work on your technique with the sticks today.'

This time I groaned for a different reason. 'I don't see why you keep torturing me with them, why do I need to be able to fight with those giant chopsticks?'

'You wanted to learn, you asked.'

'I changed my mind!'

'Nope, I can't let you quit now. Mark will be able to beat you and then you would hate me for not making you work at it.'

I huffed with a grin. 'Bully!'

'Just you be thankful that Mr D doesn't mind that I'm spending so much time teaching you.'

'And you just be thankful that I am willing to spend time with you at all.' I winked in reply.

I started my stretches, finally noticing that a lot of people seemed to be looking at our corner, grinning as if they could hear from that far away. Training with Louis wore me out and I had a shower and a quick nap before I got dressed to go visit Dominique at his place above his internet cafe.

The sound of Sasha closing her door reached me when I returned home but when I knocked, she pretended to be asleep. I didn't worry about it, sooner or later she would let her guard down without the boys around and I would get some answers out of her. After three days I changed my strategy when it became clear that she wouldn't budge. The problem for her was that I wasn't willing to drop it this time. I had a right to know if I was in danger and should know what to look out for.