Page 3 of Just Right

It surely wasn't wrong to go in and see the file. Especially since she'd never been able to work out why the case had been so neglected, almost as if it had been hushed up. Combined with the malware, Cami was wondering if there were criminal forces at work within the FBI itself. This wasn't regular policy, that was for sure. This was highly irregular.

If she did this—and was able to find out who'd tampered with the file—she might actually be helping the FBI.

But she'd also be putting herself in danger. She had no illusions about that at all. This was not going to go well for her if whoever had taken all these precautions to hide the information caught up with her.

"I'm scared,"she typed.

"Fears must be faced,"Amo-1 typed.

"Do or die?"Cami retorted with a skull emoji.

"If you don't do it now, I got to go."

"I'm doing it."

Her fingers were trembling. She could feel her breath coming fast and shallow. Her heart was pounding. But she was not leaving this alone. They were not doing this to her. Whoever this person was, she was not going to let them win.

Taking a deep breath, her fingers flew over the keys. Speed was of the essence here, and it could save her skin.

“You are accessing classified information. To continue, please enter your password.”

That was the same warning she'd gotten last time.

Cami typed in her password. It wasn't one she had needed to hack. It was a standard access password that she'd used on the first case she'd handled. The archives were not as highly classified as the main FBI database, and it seemed that these passwords weren't changed as often.

She was ready with a work-around if she needed it, but the password got her in. And then, she delved deeply into the history, looking for the file she needed.

There it was. Jenna Lark, followed by a number. The same file, with the same malware loaded that had made it unreadable. But this time, she had an ally on her side. A clever program, written by some anonymous hacker with a stratospheric IQ. Shared on open source, it had been found by her friend and then sent to Cami, who had looked at the code and added her own adjustments to the program based on what she knew of the damaged file.

Now, it was do or die time.

She watched as the file downloaded.

It didn't seem to take long. Cami stared at it on her screen, her heart pounding in her chest. There were no warnings now. This was good. This was progress.

For approximately the thousandth time that night, she wondered if she was doing the right thing. That was a question she couldn't answer. Because she might not know until trouble landed.

"Well, are you doing it?"Amo-1 messaged impatiently.

"Yes," Cami said out loud, to herself. "Yes, I'm doing it."

She felt sick with nerves. Her stomach felt like it was full of lead.

"Done it?"Amo-1 messaged.

"I'm busy with it."Cami gritted her teeth. She felt exposed here. She felt as if, somewhere, alarm bells were sounding and unfriendly eyes were turning her way, observing what she was doing, already working to track her presence there.

She thought if she had been a real spy, it would be a lot easier. It might be exciting, not terrifying. But then, she wasn't a real spy. She wasn't even a real FBI agent. She was a student hacker who'd been roped in when she'd been arrested. It had been a choice between a clean slate, if she accepted the FBI's offer, or to go to prison for twenty years, if she didn’t accept their offer.

"I really have to get going,"Amo-1 typed."Did it work?"

Cami's fingers flew, her nerves singing like violin strings. She was aware of how quickly time was passing. Outside her window, it was getting lighter.

She downloaded the file. It looked identical to the one before.

"It's accessed,"she typed.

Amo-1 responded with a fist pump and a fingers crossed.

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