MIND IS SOFTWARE

james' apartment is quiet save for the hum of the air conditioner that's almost omnipresent from june through september. amr curls his hands around a coffee despite the hour slowly creeping past midnight; but it's a friday, and they're in no rush to sleep. the conversation drifts slowly to and from the week's work, interesting things they had read, shared excitement about a new game, never deviating more than two steps from technology. they live and breathe it, and they have for years.

but a persistent scowl has settled on his friend's lips, and there's a tension in his shoulders usually only found before the culmination of a large project. and inevitably, the subject ends on defalt.

"what's your problem with him?" he asks, attempting to keep his tone casual--- and obviously failing, given how james immediately closes himself off and glares at him in a way that voicelessly threatens him should he continue with this line of questioning.

"are we really doing this?"

"I'm curious, is all."

( it's going to take more than a glare to scare him off. )

james' eyes trace his features, scanning for any signs of duplicity-- the intense gaze that makes him feel utterly transparent, stripped down to his most basic thoughts and desire. and after coming to his conclusion, he hums a small note of annoyance into the drink between his hands.

"four of the fourteen major attacks on dedsec in the last year have come from defalt alone," he says. "he's made a point of being anti-dedsec since before we were dedsec. and in case you haven't noticed, he hasn't exactly been cordial when he comes around, either."

"cordial?" he pauses mid-sip. "have you met us?"

"that's not the point."

amr's silence is retreating, but not a surrender. his consideration of the next step is punctuated by the clank of his mug against the countertop.

"what is the point, then?"

james bristles. and in the words that follow, he begins to offer more information than amr had requested of him; a creeping agitation sets in on his features, and amr hears his words sharpen to a dagger point.

"he's dangerous, is the point. he has a plan, and I don't know what is is, and I need to protect us from whatever it ends up being. because this is what defalt does. he worms his way into your systems, he makes you feel safe, and then he burns your house down. he's a better social engineer than I'll ever be, and that doesn't scare you? he's trying to coax you into familiarity so he can use you. he's done it before. and jay—"

"jay?"

james stops.

"what?"

right here. this is the moment where amr knows he's won. and in this moment, this ceases to be about dedsec at all. this ceases to be about defalt the hacker, about the safety of the team amr knows james will defend with his life. realization dawns on amr in a way that's painfully obvious in retrospect, like of course this was something outside the scope of his usual paranoia. of course this is a james thing, not a dedsec thing. why else would james be so evasive?

"you called him jay."

"no, I didn't—"

"oh my god, you know him," he continues in spite of james' protests. "this is personal."

"no, it's not."

"you're a shitty liar, james."

he flinches, and for an instant amr almost feels bad. insight is in this moment far more important to him than james' comfort, because now he needs to know if this is a james and defalt thing or a defalt thing or both. james' eyes sink to the cup between his hands like a child that's just been scolded for staying out past dark, all that fight drained the moment amr makes it clear he's not going to relent.

( and in this moment, the line between mentor and mentee is entirely irrelevant. james is his friend. this is his friend's hang ups. this is his friend's concern. )

"it's both," he begins, voice soft. "defalt and I used to work together. in chicago. before..."

clara.

"all of this?" james won't offer it, so amr fills in the gaps. some memories are best not dredged up.

he nods. "he's different now. he's a threat to us. is it so hard to believe I'd try to keep that away from you?"

you're keeping way more than that away from us, his mind goes, but the words stay unspoken behind closed lips.

"and you're sure that's it?"

"I gave up on saving defalt a long time ago."

amr heaves a long sigh, watching the steam curl and twist around his breath.

"okay. I'll talk to them. tighten up security in the hackerspace. kill the wifi."