The truth About cypher ✓

Persona

"You're right. He shouldn't indulge himself in my mess. It's MY MESS. So you will answer to me, right now."

Dimitri was seated on the cot beside Brutus, still as a rock. This wasn't how the confrontation was planned. This was nothing that Laila had in her mind. She was supposed to get out of this mess and not dive in deeper.

"You know what you're doing is assault right?" Dimitri murmured, eyeing Laila up and down. Brutus scoffed at this statement.

"I was wondering just how hypocritical you could be. Looks like there's no limit." The comment hit the elder man like a bullet, piercing straight through his heart. The silence that followed was maddening for everyone. Brutus kept poking Dimitri every opportunity he got, expressing his betrayal loud and clear. Laila was least bothered.

"Enough of your bickering. Keep your dysfunctional family troubles to yourself. I need answers. Right now." Laila's expressions were blunt. She was demanding. She always got what she demanded, at least till now.

The sun disappeared from its ether. The golden filter dissolving into darkness. Kazan was silently listening to everything. The coding club was shining under nature's moonlight, embarked by the open windowsill. Dimitri was pursued into co-operation. Brutus took charge first, inquiring about the worms on Haidar's computer and the club's designer mark.

"They're specialized viruses, scoopers to be precise. Scoopers are programmed to get past security networks and collect information."

Brutus had learned about security breaches and the kinds of punishments served in the law of torts. They had an external lecturer briefing them over the use of scoopers.

"So these can infiltrate systems anywhere?" Laila asked, digging in her pockets in search of something.

"Not really," Brutus answered instead. "They can be used only once, for a particular system. These kinds of scoopers are usually tailor-made...and the creator is right beside me." Dimitri gritted his teeth listening to Brutus pass comments. The kid was smart but fucking annoying. He amazed Dimitri since their first class together, but with wide knowledge also comes a hell of pride. In a normal scenario, the club teacher would smack Brutus behind his head, lecturing him over how he shouldn't always use that smart mouth.

In a normal scenario. However, this was far from normal.

"Alright enough geek stuff. Why did you design them?" Laila asked Dimitri, pulling out a single stick of menthol from her pocket. She gestured Brutus to pass her a lighter, to which the boy got up from his place. They stood beside her, helping her light the cigarette. Dimitri casually observed the interaction between the two. It seemed personal but more importantly, none of his business.

"He paid me to."

"That's it? He paid you and you designed a fucking virus. Doesn't seem so easy to me."

Laila scoffed, waiting to hear from the teacher. She hadn't known him as much as Brutus did. But Laila knew Dimitri. He wasn't the kind of person who would just do shit for money. He pretended. Every time he worked in the club room, he pretended like he did not care. He pretended to give the girls extra work so that the perverted boys won't bother them. He pretended to take a coffee break so that the student who hadn't slept last night could take a nap. Dimitri pretended a lot. And that is exactly what he was doing now. Pretending to be greedy in order to keep Brutus at the edges. Laila could see through his bullshit.

"Fine. You got paid. What is cypher?" Brutus asked.

A cold gush of wind sent shivers down their spine. Sucking the last hit from her menthol, Laila let its taste sit on her tongue for a while. She swallowed the menthol burning her throat as she stomached it. She exhaled slowly, the ashy texture mixing with the atmosphere.

"I-it's a gang. A mafia Haidar works for. At least that's what he claims. Heard about it way back. Seems like a big deal in here." Laila arched her eyebrow over this statement. She wasn't completely convinced, but the information was something. She heaved a sigh and then nodded in response, asking him to continue.

"It's really huge, the cypher is. Tis got the big names, all strong players. Their headquarters in the heart of Kazan, downtown."

"How many areas do they cover?" Brutus asked.

"A lot. Kazan and Moscow are just starters including the eastern side of Europe. It's still expanding, like an inflating hot air balloon. That's all I can say for now." Dimitri said, stealing a look at Brutus. The boy looked stunned, every shade of confusion out there. Laila could sense the wheels in his brain turning but it was different now. There were emotions involved.

A part of him was hurt. He trusted Dimitri, hell! The boy looked up to the elder for inspiration. As shady and enveloped the man was with others, he was the only one with whom Brutus felt safe with. His parents resided in the Novo Savinovskiy Rayon, a river separating his University and home. He visited only during winter and summer breaks. October and November were filled with National holidays but the parents couldn't manage to get him home. Dimitri was like his elder brother, someone who stuck with him since the moment Brutus stepped on the grounds of Kazan University. But it seemed like all those years meant nothing. He had a different persona, someone Brutus hadn't met until now. His thoughts trailed off when Dimitri introduced him to his wife.

The woman had a petite structure. A soft face and blonde hair. She had the blood of a pure Russian, with a high level of tolerance towards vodka. She was extremely gentle and caring towards the boy, always making him his favorite horse soup. He adored the couple, maybe even more than his own parents. So when he found out that Dimitri worked for a mafia, his heart shattered.

He asked a question whose answer he was afraid to hear.

"I trusted you. I-I looked up to you...and you choose to protect that banshee." Brutus sucked a breath, his voice shaking as if his sadness was choking him. The moonshine made his eyes glisten softly before his eyes turned hooded.

"One last question and you can leave. What is Haidar gonna use these for? You know what security network these are made for, so where is he using them?" Laila asked. Dimitri swallowed harshly. He took a moment to think. He loved Brutus. He wanted to protect him. But losing his trust wasn't an option. He got up from the cot before speaking.

"He is using them to take over Kazan."

The words echoed in their ears. It felt like the temperature suddenly raised a couple of degrees.

"Not completely though...I mean he's got them for others too. Just keeps saying he's 'gonna own this place."

Fucking great. The school's PA wants to take over the college where Laila's godfather is a trustee. She's so fucking deep in this bullshit. It's not her business. She'll graduate in six months, ask her godfather to leave Kazan and practice medicine in Boston. Yeah, this sounds perfect.

"You know all this and you're still helping him?" Brutus asked in a hoarse voice.

Brilliant, more emotions.

This was not how the interrogation was supposed to end.