Niska knows that if she were to lie, she might buy herself about five to ten minutes before Jake realizes that she's not telling the truth. He's clever enough to put the pieces together, but he's also clever enough that he's one of the ones who worries her.

Someone who knows that much about tech is either a friend or an enemy and she doesn't know him well enough to decide.

So she's going to try and push him off. "I'm fine," she says sharply. "It must have stained when I was pressed against the rock, maybe it got on me, mixed with my blood."