A day passed since the Bagley attack. Corrupt leaders were exposed, more people rally for Dedsec, and the city is working to recover.

Gray clouds gloom over the city, the atmosphere quiet. Aiden observes the destroyed buildings from Jackson's apartment window lost in thought. His nephew filled him in on what he understood about Impulse and is only now getting into his run in with Clara. Aiden is still trying to wrap his head around the possibility of Clara being alive.

"So that's all she told you?" Aiden asks while making his way to the couch where Jacks is sitting.

"Yeah. She said you two had a rough falling out. She never told me why," Jacks explains. He raises his brows, expecting an explanation from him.

"And you're sure her name was Clara?"

"Yeah. Do you know her or not?" Jacks crosses his arms, growing impatient.

"What did she look like?" Aiden presses on, trying to imagine what Clara would look like now compared to years ago.

Jackson thinks back to what he can remember.

"She had piercings on her face and her hair was half shaved. I remember she was wearing a leather jacket too. She looked kind of punk rockish."

Aiden rests his hand on the back of the couch. A familiar image of Clara pops up in his mind judging from Jackson's description.

Could it have really been her?

"Did she have an accent?" Aiden asks. He can never forget her voice.

"Yeah. She sounded...I don't know. French?"

Aiden removes his cap and rummages his fingers through his hair. He starts to doubt that this woman could be anyone else. Jackson's descriptions sound too familiar. They suit the Clara he knew perfectly.

Jackson watches Aiden pace around the room. He studies his uncle and tries to search for any cracks or clues as to what went down between them. Aiden's stiff shoulders told more than enough to him that it must have been something terrible.

"There's no way," Aiden mutters loud enough for Jacks to hear.

Jacks furrows his brows. "What do you mean there's no way?"

Aiden stops moving with his back facing Jacks.

"There's...there's no way she can be alive."

Jacks is taken aback.

"What?"

Aiden doesn't face Jacks. He looks absentmindedly at the row of boardgames in his nephew's shelf while stroking his beard. He hesitates for a second before reaching into his pocket and retrieving Clara's phone. He holds it in front of himself and inspects it.

After he took it at the cemetary, he never let anything happen to it. He always kept it with him along with a few of his other prized possessions such as some old photos he has with Nicky and Jacks. There are no cracks or any signs of damage to it. The phone looks as good as new. Seeing such an old phone makes Aiden feel way older than he already is. It's a fossil compared to phones in the modern day.

He finally turns to Jacks.

"I'm going to play you a recording," he says while making his way over to the couch. "And I want you to tell me if this sounds like her."

Aiden sits down and turns on the phone. He made sure he charged it before bringing it with him. Her phone comes to life with its light glowing on Aiden's face. He pulls up the recording and sets the phone down between them on the couch. His finger hovers over the play button. He doesn't know if he's ready to hear it again. He only listened to it once and it was at the sight of Clara's corpse. He shivers.

Jacks notices his reluctance to push play. "Are you okay? Do you need me to do it?"

"No, no." He licks his lips. "No, I got it."

He prepares himself before pressing play.

A beep is heard.

"Hello, Aiden."

Aiden's heart stops from the first sentence alone.

She takes a deep breath and pauses. "I can't decide where to begin."

Her greeting makes him believe for a split second that Clara is in the same room with him. It's as if things haven't changed, like he's back in time.

"The first time I saw you, you were playing chess with Jackson in the park. Both of you still very sad from...the um...funeral."

Jacks leans forward and shoots a look at Aiden. Questions form in his mind, but he remains silent. He wants to hear the whole thing.

"I can see how you made him feel safe."

Aiden recalls the day of the funeral. He'd never forget it. The heavy rain hitting his shoulders. The sight of Nicky and Jackson's tears. The silence. The God awful silence. He never would have noticed that Clara would have been there.

There's a pause. "In our world, we hide in the dark behind monitors. That's the only place we feel safe. It isn't enough to say that I didn't know..." Clara's voice cracks. "That lives would be lost or that it was only a job."

Jacks absorbs what she's saying, trying to figure out what she means.

"I thought...if I could help you heal...help you find answers...maybe I could heal myself." There's a long pause.

Aiden's entire body goes cold, the hairs on his arms stick up with goosebumps forming. A knot forms in his throat as he attempts to compose himself.

"But I can't." She is silent again. "When this is all over, I hope we can at least talk, or if not...at least I can disappear. That's something I'm good at."

The recording ends. Tears prick the corner of Aiden's eyes. Once he realizes they're threatening to fall, he suppresses them. He doesn't move. Clara's words paralyzed him. It's been too long since he's heard her voice and if what Jackson says is true, he doesn't know if he'll keep himself together.

"Aiden?" Jacks notices Aiden's trembling lips. "You alright?"

Aiden shuts his eyes briefly and takes a deep breath. He swallows, his throat swelling.

"Did that sound like her?" Aiden asked with an edge to his voice.

Jackson studies Aiden as he thinks back to how Clara sounded.

"Yeah. Yeah that sounded just like her. Look, obviously there's some rough history between you two, but I need you to fill me in here. What was she doing at Lena's funeral? Who even is she?"

Aiden rubs his hands together and leans forward from the couch. He always knew Clara was a heavy subject for him, but he wasn't prepared for how severe his reopened scars would be. He contemplates telling Jacks about her involvement in his sister's death, but given the situation, there's no point in hiding it.

"She was a Dedsec member who was a close friend of mine. She was the only person I could trust at the time, really. If it wasn't for her, I don't know if I ever would have found Nicky."

He thinks back to her doing everything she could to help him. He remembers her staying up on nights where he needed assistance despite her baggy eyes. She always put on her best smile and her flirty eyes. Thinking about it makes his heart skip a beat.

"She helped me track down Lena's attackers and Nicky. She...was one of the best hackers I knew. She could track anyone."

Jacks listens intently, being sure to never miss a word. Despite what Clara told him about them not having any feelings for each other, Aiden's body language says otherwise.

"Okay, but that doesn't answer my first question. What was she doing at Lena's funeral?" He repeats the question.

Aiden shifts his eyes away from Jacks, his nephew's stare penetrating him. He sighs.

"Her job was to dig up information on people. If anyone hired her to find someone who was hard to track down, she would get paid more. Before she met me, she was hired to track me down. After I stole money from the Merlaut, I caught the attention of some higher ups, specifically, the Chicago South Club, and they hired Clara for the job." Aiden explains.

He can tell Jacks is starting to put the pieces together.

"That's how those men found us," Jackson says with the realization setting in.

Aiden only nods in response. Jacks falls silent, feeling conflicted. There's no way she only got information on Aiden. She had to have found info on him, Lena, and his mom.

A part of him wants to be bitter and wonder how she could work for such terrible people. On the other hand, should he be quick to judge? He doesn't know her that well and judging from how she was acting last night, she seemed determined to get him to safety. He clenches his fists, his mind clouded.

"Don't hate her, Jacks. She didn't know what they'd do. She was only doing her job and she made her amends by helping me."

Jacks unclenches his hands and rests them in his lap. "I'm guessing you didn't know at first."

Aiden shakes his head.

"No, but when I finally found out, I pushed her away." He clenches his teeth. "I should have tried to understand her and maybe talk with her, but the Club found her and...they shot her. I watched her die."

Jackson can only imagine what Aiden saw.

"I'll never forget the way she looked at me. I..." Aiden can't bring himself to talk about it anymore as he falls silent.

Is it really the same Clara? It has to be if Jackson is confirming it. This is too much of a coincidence. Still, a part of him wants to stay in denial. It unsettles him to think that Clara could be alive, but he wants answers regardless.

"You sure you didn't see where she went?" Aiden asks.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I don't know why she left, unless she wasn't ready to talk to you."

Aiden pulls out his phone. "If she's alive, then I have to find her. I'll call Connie and see if she knows anything."

He dials Connie. It doesn't take long for her to pick up.

"Aiden?"

"Hey, Connie."

He tries to think of how to start his next sentence. If Clara's still with Dedsec, what if they're hiding her? Would she tell Dedsec to hide her from him? He doubts it, but the speculation is there. Would Connie really hide something like that? He'd have to take the gamble.

"There's someone I'm looking for. I'm wondering if you can help me find them."

"Depends on who it is."

He scratches his beard. "They are...well they were part of Dedsec a long time ago."

"How long ago are we talkin'?"

He thinks back. "Around the time Dedsec first started."

"You mean back in the ctOS 1.0 days?"

"Yeah."

She's silent for a moment.

"Oh, dear. That was a long time ago. I don't have that many contacts from Chicago's Dedsec besides a few. The person you're looking for must be special if you're going back that far."

"We knew each other a long time ago. We worked closely."

"Well I'm stumped. Who is it then?"

He pauses, wondering if he should use Clara's real name or fake one, but what would be the point? He recalls Ray informing him about Dedsec already knowing about him working with Clara. Did London's Dedsec know about them? He'd like to think Connie would have said something if they did. He'd stick with her fake name.

"Her name was Badboy17."

The name feels alien leaving his mouth. Never in a million years would he ever hear himself saying that nickname again. He mentally cringes at the memory of walking up to some random stranger and calling them 'BadBoy.' He almost wants to laugh at it.

"Badboy...17..." Connie ponders for a moment. "Why does that sound familiar?"

Aiden presses his ear more closely to the phone.

"Is there anyone with that name in the Dedsec database?"

"Hold on, let me check." He hears her type for a few seconds. "No. I'm not seeing anyone with that name. It still sounds familiar though."

Aiden is left in thought. Would she change her name? Is she even part of Dedsec anymore? Connie seems to recognize the name. No way could they have know each other. Could they?

"Do you know her real name?" She asks.

Aiden contemplates if he should tell her, but he has already made it this far.

"Clara. Clara Lille."

A shiver runs through him. He doesn't know of he'll ever get used to saying her name without feeling strange. Connie is silent again, leaving Aiden in suspense. He waits for her to speak, but there is nothing. He starts to suspect she hung up on him.

"You there?"

"Give me a second," she finally answers. "I've definitely heard that name before."

Aiden's heart races. As Connie types away at her computer, an onslaught of questions, thoughts, and fears overtake him. He tries to keep them under control as his eyes scan the room. Jackson watches him quizzically.

"Oh, I know who you're talking about now," she says while having a picture of Clara pulled up. "I heard she was gunned down. What the hell happened?"

His lips crease. "The Chicago South Club went after her. They thought she knew too much about them."

He recalls seeing the emails Quinn's men had sent to their boss when he was at the Merlaut. He was so caught up in his hatred for Quinn. If he could go back and do it all over again, he would have warned Clara, but the reality is that he didn't.

"I...couldn't get to her quick enough."

The atmosphere goes quiet between them. Aiden already feels the guilt weighing in on him.

"I'm sorry to hear that, love, but why are you asking me to track someone who's...gone?"

"That's the thing, Connie. She might not be dead. Jacks says he met her yesterday." He glances over at Jacks who is still sitting on the couch and looking out the window. "I know it's a long shot, but have you seen anyone who might look like her?"

Connie takes a look at the picture and hums. "No, she's not ringing any bells for me."

He sighs in disappointment, but he isn't surprised. "Alright. Thanks anyway, Connie."

"Wait a second."

Aiden halts his finger moving towards the end call button. "What is it?"

Connie stares long and hard at the photo again. Something about her features are familiar to her. Another face appears in her mind.

"She looks like someone I saw not too long ago, but I'm not sure if it's worth mentioning."

"Who was it?" He asks, becoming more interested.

"I never got her name and she didn't look a thing like how she does in this photo besides the piercings. One night I was runnin' the pub until this woman barges in. She told me she was trying to get out of the rain, but the poor girl looked terrified. She kept looking out the window as if she was hidin' from someone. I offered to help her, but she took off."

He furrows his brows. "What did she sound like?"

"I know she had a french accent, but it was more on the canadian side."

First Jacks, now Connie. He almost doesn't want to believe it.

He clenches his fists softly before asking, "Do you have cameras at the pub?"

"We do. I'm guessing you want to see the footage?"

"Please," he says, hoping that Connie would follow through.

Jackson gets up and heads over to Aiden, becoming invested in the conversation.

"Alright, let me look back." It takes a minute for her to recover the footage. "I've just found it. I'll send it to ya."

Less than a second later, a video file appears on his phone. He hits play. Jacks leans forward to watch too.

The video starts with the pub running like normal with people at the bar drinking away. He catches sight of someone bursting open the door to the bar. The person slams the door shut with their chest heaving as if they've run a marathon.

Aiden looks closer at the person who appears to be a woman. Strands of her short wet hair branch out and her clothes are drenched in rain water. He searches for any familiar features that could resemble Clara, but he doesn't notice anything aside from her piercings. Her shoulders are more broad, her tattoos are absent, and her makeup is much lighter than her traditional smokey eye makeup. She almost looks nothing like Clara, but he continues watching anyway.

"You alright there, love?" He faintly hears Connie say.

The woman shivers and clutches both of her arms. "Yeah...yeah...trying to get out of the rain."

Aiden turns up the volume as loud as it can go and listens to the woman's voice carefully. Connie introduces herself to the woman.

"I apologize, Connie, if I look like a train wreck."

Aiden can hear her better this time. Her voice is soft and sounds slightly familiar to him. He'd have to hear talk more to be certain.

"You don't look too bad." Connie continues. "I mean no offense by this, but you look old enough to be in here, so just stay out of trouble, yeah?"

"Not sure if that is a good or bad thing, but thanks."

His heart drops once he detects and accent. It's familiar. Too familiar.

"That could be her," Jackson interjects.

"You think so?"

"I'm not a hundred percent on it, but it kind of sounds like her. She just looks so different here."

The woman now has his full attention. He watches her make her way towards a leather chair and sit down. Her eyes scan the room as if she's on the lookout for something. Was she running from someone? He watches her shoulders stiffen and her eyes go wide. He leans down to get a closer look, trying to see what she could be so afraid of. Connie walks into view and approaches Clara.

"Right here, I was trying to get her to tell me who she may be running from," Connie talks over the footage.

The video continues with Connie asking Clara if she needs help. She stares at the pub owner with raised brows.

"Is it Albion? Clan Kelley?" Connie continues in the video.

Aiden observes Clara's face. He can get a better look at her now that she's closer to the camera. He takes notice of her eyes. He has to squint to see them clearly, but once he does, he freezes.

The accent, the piercings, and those bright blue eyes. His heart pounds in his ears. Everything in his mind screams at him to not believe what he's seeing. How can she be alive? Too many questions race through his mind.

Clara paces out of the pub, making Aiden all the more curious.

"Did you see where she went?" Aiden asks once the video ends.

"No."

"Do you have any other cameras around there?"

"I'm sorry, Aiden, but there aren't any other cameras near the pub."

He sighs in frustration and his lips flatten. Jackson heads over to his computer.

"Damn it," he curses to himself.

He keeps it together.

"Thank you, Connie."

"Not a problem. If it helps, I can ask around if any of my close colleagues have seen her. She seemed like she needed help."

A sense of worry stirs inside of him. If this is his Clara, he prays she's okay.

"I hope so too. I'll talk to you later. Let me know if you hear anything."

The call ends. Aiden hears Jacks tapping away at his keyboard and turns to see him searching something.

"No, that's not it," Jacks murmurs to himself as he continues searching.

"What are you looking for?"

Jacks doesn't reply at first. He sighs and after a few more clicks, he gives up. He leans back in his chair and taps his fingers on the table.

"I don't see anything about this 'Impulse' group. No records. No footage from what I'm seeing." He combs his fingers through his hair. "She had to be running from them. I remember she told me that they forced her to work for them. I'll see what leads I can turn up and maybe we can find her."

"You shouldn't get involved with this one. This is too dangerous." Aiden crosses his arms.

"Aiden, I'm already involved anyway, so I'm going to help."

Aiden's forehead creases. "You were almost kidnapped yesterday."

Jacks rolls his eyes.

"As if I haven't been kidnapped before," he says while turning his chair to Aiden. Upon seeing his uncle's disapproving look, he sighs. "Look, I'll be careful, alright? I learned from last time. I'll lay low."

Aiden still eyes him. Admittedly, Jacks is a huge help. Whether he wants him to get involved or not, Jacks has always been smart about digging up information.

"Okay?" Jacks asks.

"Fine," Aiden answers eventually.

"Alright." He glances back over at his computer. "I'll see what I can dig up about the group and maybe she'll turn up somewhere. I mean for all we know, she could contact us. She said she wanted to talk to you at some point."

Something about the thought of him talking to Clara again makes his stomach turn. Imagining it feels surreal.

Jackson's buzzing phone snaps Aiden out of his thoughts. Jacks reaches for it and reads a text from his mom.

"Shit, that's right." He rises from his chair and goes to put his shoes on. "I gotta get to mom's. I promised after yesterday that I'd go see her. She's worried out of her mind. She's actually trying to get me to move back in with her."

Nicky's harsh words still linger in his mind. She never talked to him after yesterday, leaving him wondering if she'd ever contact him again. He brushes those worries off as he is now anxious about Jackson's safety.

"Be careful on the way there," he warns.

"I know. I know. I'll make sure to keep my head down," he says while heading over to the door. He grabs the doorknob, but stops with something nagging at him. "I want you to be honest with me. Were you telling the truth when you said you didn't know those guys and that you're done with all of this?"

Jackson's question burns into him. He can't blame his nephew for doubting him, but it still stings none the less.

"I was," he can only say.

Despite his answer, Aiden still spots doubt in Jackson's face as he continues to stare at him. Jacks doesn't have as much doubt as the day prior, but this is the second time his life has been put in danger because of his uncle, and he doesn't want to have to leave London. He's grown attached to it despite its flaws.

He grips the doorknob tighter. "Okay." He opens the door. "Let me know if you find anything. I should be back later."

Aiden nods. "Drive safe."

Aiden watches him go. He plans to track Jacks to make sure he's safe. He shakes his head.

"Stubborn kid."

His mind turns to Clara once again. The image of her inside the bar is glued to his mind. He's left with even more questions than he had before. He is tempted to prob Jacks for more answers, but he had asked enough earlier. The whole situation boggles his mind. So many different things are being thrown at him at once. He never could have suspected Clara was one of those things. The more he thinks about her, the more impatient he gets.

"I need to find her."

With that, he makes his way out of Jackson's apartment, hoping to find answers.