The truth About cypher ✓

Fresh start

"Listen to me-"

"No!" Dimitri shouted.

It had been three hours since Laila and Brutus had discovered the identity behind Haidar Zakirov.

The man worked for Cypher, not as a local member, but he was in fact the head. He wasn't just working for the higher-ups, he WAS the higher up. After a heated and highly emotional confrontation between Dimitri and Brutus, the teacher decided it wasn't wise to protect his students from the truth. As long as Dimitri told them everything they asked, they wouldn't go searching for answers on their own. As long as Dimitri accompanied them, they wouldn't look for trouble.

As long as Dimitri spoke the truth, Brutus was safe.

1 hour ago:

" You know all this and you still decided to protect that Banshee."

Brutus choked on his words, barely being able to say anything. Dimitri had never seen a boy like that before. He wasn't this broken even when his parents were about to take a divorce. He wasn't so sad when he failed a year or when he had to quit the coding club.

Brutus was never so hurt. Dimitri hurt him.

It took, what seemed like ages for him to calm down and just listen to what Dimitri had to say.

" I was 25. Freshly out of college, in love with my wife. Thought I was smart, a degree makes you think you're the best one out there and that there's no one like you. Bullshit. I tried everywhere, I just couldn't make it... getting a job was easy. Keeping it, that's the hard part. Kaila and I were so young when we decided to get married. People say it was a hasty decision. We would've married each other even after years but she wanted it to be the be earliest. I couldn't manage, I was desperate." Dimitri swallowed hard, before continuing.

"Then he found me. I don't know how or why. He just approached me one day, asked if I wanted a job. It seemed shady but I was trying to look stupid. He promised me if I served him obediently, he'd give me a job. A proper one, with colleagues and an office. Helped em' fuck up a group's security network, plant bugs, bypass systems. And just like that, I was hired. I came here to Kazan for a fresh start. Then I met you boy; My first student. Everything changed." Brutus remained hurt, listening to his teacher, being so vulnerable. It hurt.

"But then suddenly, one day, he wanted more. I thought it was over, that I was done with his group, but that wasn't the case. It's a dirty road, the pathway to the underworld. No amount of body wash can detoxify you completely. The scent will always linger.

Maybe you can forget about Cypher, but cypher will never forget you."

It was getting colder and colder by the minute. Laila was shaking underneath her coat, blowing air to keep her knuckles from contracting hard. So far the girl just observed what was happening in front of her. She was a listener here, an outsider intruding on an intimate conversation she did not want to be a part of in the first place. Her phone pinged with a text from her Abu, a photo attached with it.

Abu💜

*attachment photo* wish you were here with me ☹️

8:30pm

She smiled softly. The elder was sitting in the backyard of Laila's grandparents. He was seated on a chair placed beside a fish pond. She had a faint memory of her grandparent's house. Laila last visited that place ten years ago, back when her father was alive. The fish pond had carps of different colors. Some orange and black with white spots. The older ones had whiskers. Laila liked those the most.

Laila liked her grandparents' house. They were always so nice to her; when they smiled at her funny wrinkles would appear at the corner of their eyes and mouth. They gifted her gifts every time they visited, not that they visited quite often. The last time she met them was at her father's funeral.

"Look at you, all grown up. Such a pretty young woman you've become."

Laila liked her grandparents a lot.

"I want to help you get out of this mess," Brutus spoke up after a long interval. Laila looked up from her phone regaining her composure after a long session of daydreaming. "Laila, think about it." He continued.

"You think Ali Raza will be able to leave Kazan so easily? I'm sure that Banshee has his ways to fuck with people who leave him, don't you wish to protect him?" he arched his brows, hoping he hit a nerve. And that is in fact what he did. Laila could take a toll, walk out of here. She could leave and pretend she doesn't know anything. But she was trapped. The boy had used his guile to convince her that Ali Raza was in danger, and the only way to protect him was by helping Brutus.

"That's bullshit," Dimitri spoke, hitting the boy at the back of his head. "Laila, Ali Raza has been nothing but kind to me. I assure you I haven't seen anything which might damage him. He's safe." He glanced at the girl, searching for any sort of rationality in her eyes. But it was all gone. It was gone the moment Brutus mentioned the godfather along with Banshee.

"How do you know that?" Laila muttered under her breath.

"What?"

"How do you know Haidar doesn't have other people working for him? Maybe Abu is safe now. But what about when he is not? You can't protect him...you can't even protect yourself." She raised her voice in the end.

Laila was fidgeting again. Ali Raza hated when she did that.

"I am the one who found those drugs. I'm the one who was punished and because of whom Abu had to bear insults. Even you Brutus, you came here with me. Haidar is pissed off because he made a mistake that almost took him out. And it was me, just some random brat who did that. Kazan calls me the liar. This city has issues with me."

"Kazan can kiss my ass. Ungrateful fucking bitch of a city." Dimitri murmured. Brutus scoffed before approaching the girl again. He stood beside her, both facing their teacher, their one-way ticket to the underworld. He held her hand gently, not even batting an eye.

"We want to do this. And you said you'd let us do what we want. We've decided our group Mr. Dimitri Ivanov and we choose you."

Laila recalled feeding those carps at her grandfather's house. The way those fishes rushed to get food, under her shadow. She broke the bread into smaller pieces before throwing them.

Laila felt those carps are probably more free in that pond than she ever will be with Cypher.

GLOSSARY:

carp: fishes

Kaila: Dimitri's wife