[ Sitting back in his chair a little, Kon eyes the case in Hiro's hands - and then follows it, as he sets it down - before he looks back up at him. He's prepared to bolt still, but now that it doesn't seem like he could potentially be bludgeoned... well, he's a little less spooked. He's always ready for a fight, it comes with being a smart kid that has a metric ton of sass for every IQ point, but it's a little different when the person you're up against is a whole damn foot taller than you.
The silence stretches on, because he's not about to say more than that if Hiro's not, and part of him kind of wants to get up and close out of the program and the coding. A smaller, more ridiculous part of him wants to bodily put himself between his eyes and the monitors he'd been working on, but he remains stationary as he just. Watches him watch his work.
Slowly, he sticks his sucker back into his mouth and wipes his hands off on the sides of the armrests. He's not sure what's about to happen, but he's going to try and salvage some of his young dignity now that he's not, you know, going to die immediately of a heart attack or getting a heavy looking case dropped onto his head.
The "advice" makes him scrunch his nose up, but Kon just rolls a shoulder and looks away from him, gaze sliding to the side so that he can look at his screens out of the corner of his eyes. ] Not like you don't know what I'm doing.
[ With a swivel of his chair, not enough to turn away from him but enough to reach things, he moves the mouse to pull up the files he'd been about to add to the queue before Hiro had scared the shit out of him. ] I picked the ones with the easiest encryptions and the smallest sizes to do first, to see how you'd react.
[ He shoots him a pointed look, because this wasn't how he expected him to react. ]
[Surprisingly, Hiro recognizes the look on his face. It's one he wore a lot in his childhood in the middle of a classroom and on the outskirts of a botfighting ring. He was always prepared to fight and sure, okay, once or twice he really got his ass handed to him but he got better. That look never changed though.
He continues quietly examining the boy's work, partially to decipher it and partially just to make Kon nervous. It's a dick move, maybe, but it's the same trick Tadashi used to use on him all the time. (And sometimes he swears he can hear the wayward "knucklehead" being whispered in his ear when he does something totally stupid.
There's a sound of agreement. True, he knew what Kon was doing after a time and he allows the boy the chance to check his work.] It's not really about if I know what you're doing or not. [He even lets him get as far as touching his mouse just to see what he'll do. Those files are safe. He's sure of that much.] It's more about the why, y'know?
[And after a moment, he sighs, plopping his butt right on top of Baymax's case and bringing a hand up to rub at his eyes tiredly. This is ridiculous. He's so off his game that he's been outsmarted by a kid? Is he getting old? Why is this happening?] So. Wanna tell me why you're digging through my shit?
[…maybe he shouldn't swear around a kid, but whatever. He's not that young and Hiro's patience has always been a little thin.]
[ Making no move to close or stop anything, nor to resume his active work of decrypting and sorting through code, Kon slumps into his chair again, arms draped over the armrests and eyes locked on his new company. Hiro Hamada is talked about constantly as an example of success for most students in this school, so he figures most of his peers would be awestruck to be in his presence.
Him, he's just smug about having forced Hiro's hand more than once after having broken into his files in the first place. Is he still concerned he might get dumped in the bay? Yes, absolutely. But he's going to feign that he isn't.
Not very effectively, not completely, but he's still poised for a fight even if there's a decent chance that he'd lose. Scrappy as he is, and as well-known around his classmates as he is for getting into and winning fights with people bigger than him, this is still something different. It's not like he ever gets in fights with college-aged kids, at least not any that he expects to win when he's a pretty small preteen. Being wiry and rough around the edges his sharp mouth doesn't cover isn't necessarily going to help him here.
Not even batting an eye as Hiro swears, he rolls his sucker from one cheek to the other before he answers. It winds up being very blunt and simple, but he doesn't see a point in lying about it. So. Honesty it is. ]
I didn't target you 'cause of contents, or who you were - I hadn't even read anything 'til I dumped that file, so I didn't know anyways. I picked you 'cause your shit was the most protected shit in SFIT's databanks. Meant it'd be the hardest to get into. [ I did it for the challenge. ]
[The fact that the kid was putting on a pretty good show also didn't slip past Hiro, but he chooses not to call him on it. He's keeping his face buried in his hand for the time it takes for Kon to debate and then answer. He's tired. He's tired and he's frustrated but overall he's also mildly impressed on top of all of that.
He should be yelling. He should be scolding the kid for doing this but instead he settles on shaking his head.]
My shit's the most protected in SFIT's databanks because I make an effort to keep it on lock-down. It's important to me. [He can sort of see where Kon's coming from though.] Do you know how much trouble you'd be in if I turned you in for breeching security on our servers?
[ If he wasn't so worried about that very thing, he'd probably be laughing at Hiro right now. It's the exhausted defeat he's seen more than once because of him, though he has a feeling there's a lot of personal reasons behind it too. Guy looks like he forgot to shower before coming to the academy to heckle his personal hacker.
Plucking his sucker from his mouth, he gestures it at him vaguely like most adults would with a cigarette while they talk. ]
But not because you're worried about people stealing it. I know how many patents you have to your name. [ He eyes him thoughtfully, ignoring two more subsequent notifications - another successful decryption, and one failing because his program couldn't cut it on its own. If only Hiro wasn't there, he would love to see what modifications he'd have to make.
Except he is, and there's no hiding the fact that Kon flinches a little at his question. But he tries to play it off, sticking his sucker back into his mouth and petulantly letting his feet sway where they dangle just above the floor. ] Wouldn't be the first time.
[His hand moves to join the other at the back of his neck, linking them together and rubbing at the tense muscles as his knuckles occasionally bash against the bill of the baseball cap. The nice thing, Hiro thinks, is that he didn't have to really try to look impressive to someone like Kon. He could get away with sort of looking battered and beat up...
...though it feels weird and like he's the one being lectured instead of the other way around, especially when he waves that sucker around.]
Just how much do you know about who I am anyway? [He's sending a similar look right back. It's true he has a bunch of patents and it's true that's not what he's worried about, but he hasn't really said that in this conversation. He can see what's on Kon's screen and it doesn't take him long to pinpoint what went wrong, a small smirk flickering across his features.
It's also a little amusing to see how tiny Kon is, blissfully ignoring the fact that he used to look the same. Actually, that's probably the look he had on his face when he was arrested the first time.] And what exactly happened the first time? [Since it clearly wasn't enough to really stop him.]
People use you as an example of what anyone that applies themselves can do, no matter how young they are. [ Not that Hiro looks particularly impressive, but neither does he. Neither do a lot of the people he has classes with, ranging from younger than him to teenagers much like the boy in front of him. They're an underestimated group, and it's probably a good thing they can spring back easily from the unexpected. And all-nighters.
Case in point: tonight. But at least Hiro's not asking him about his program or his hacking, even if he feels a tick of annoyance at the smirk. Screw this guy. ] The professors all pretend they're disappointed you went to public school instead of the academy, but they talk about how you sweep every expo you participate in.
[ And that's... it's impressive, but he's not sure if it's something he wants to strive for personally. Programming and coding is a backstage thing usually anyways, but considering his specialty he doesn't want any limelight. It'd make it harder for him to work.
Which would lead to a lot more arrests, himself. At least the last one didn't get him actually charged or taken in, even if it flagged him. ] I hacked into Krei Tech to prove they had shitty defenses in place and got flagged as a black hat. They wanted to put me in juvie but we bargained out of it so I was put on probation.
[As Kon elaborates, Hiro can't help it when he makes a face. Right. Applying himself. The thing that so many people don't know about him is that he wasn't always one to apply himself. As a child when he was bored he often went the opposite route to causing trouble instead of trying to do good. Obviously things changed, but it's not a story he shares with just anybody. Sizing Kon up, he wonders if the boy would even know who Robert Callaghan is and all he's done for the robotics community, if he was old enough to remember the newscasts about the Big Hero 6 and the way they'd stopped the masked professor from destroying the new Krei structure.
But that's not important. He shakes his head slowly, a huff of laughter following.]
That's probably the dumbest thing I've ever heard, even if it's true. [He doesn't want to be an example for anybody. It's not that he doesn't believe kids need good role models. It's that he doesn't believe he can ever be one. He can save the world twelve times over, but he knows and believes he will never be as good of a role model as Tadashi was. To hear that people are touting his intelligence and using it as a bar to set for future generations...it's sort of weird.] Some of us couldn't afford private schooling when we were your age.
[But there's a flicker of pride in his features then.] But that just makes wiping the floor with the competition even sweeter. [...wait a minute though. There's a look on his face that seems sort of like recognition but he's shaking his head again.] That was you, huh? Krei was busy trying to grill me and make sure it wasn't my work until they magically caught the guy. Must've been embarrassed that it was the work of a kid. [And Hiro...actually finds it sort of hysterical, even though he really shouldn't. Alistair Krei's a decent guy and Hiro has grown to like working with him. That doesn't mean that Kon's wrong though.] I guess I should be thanking you for that then. They've bumped up security since then.
[ Eying him as he catches the face he makes, Kon wobbles his sucker in his mouth a little thoughtfully. He's always about 50% sure that the adults are blowing smoke, regardless of what they're talking about, but he's always figured that none of them have ever actually talked to any of the people that they tell their students to aspire to be like. Hiro Hamada just looks like another kid that doesn't sleep properly and works more than he eats - the old man drilled the opposite of the former out of Kon himself, at least - and has the weight of expectations resting on his shoulders.
His hard candy clacks against his teeth as he rolls it again to actually answer him, scoffing soft disdain not fitting of an eleven year old. (Or maybe far too fitting, given your understanding of children.) But he shrugs, shoulders up near his ears before flopping down again. ] I got in on a scholarship, anyways, so it's not like I'm paying for what they say.
[ And insurance money, plus some less than legal means of acquiring more, but it's not like Hiro needs to know that. Scamming adults is apparently a child prodigy rite of passage, and he's certainly not someone that skimps on it. At least he's not going down to bot fighting rings, even if he understands the appeal of it and would, absolutely, do it if it was not a risk he'd like to calculate for.
Besides, he's not going to resort to more than what he's doing now until the insurance money is gone. ] I'd pay for the looks on their faces when everybody else gets their asses kicked, though.
[ But, finally, one of his earlier grins when they'd been going toe-to-toe rears its head in response to the recognition. Cheeky and smug, a little dangerous for someone that's not even five foot even yet. ] Unless somebody else hacked them last year, then yeah. Part of the bargain we made was that I had to walk them through what I did so that they could fix all the flaws in the security, but the people Krei sent to my door looked like they wanted to drag me out by the ear and stick me in the back of a cop car instead.
[If Hiro Hamada looks just like another kid who overworks himself, then that means he's playing his part perfectly. He doesn't need the world to know what he's really doing, how he patrols the city at night and takes precaution to keep everyone safe, how sometimes he suddenly remembers at 3am that he has an essay due and has to rush through it and that's where some of his sleepless nights come from. Yeah. Hiro Hamada's a hard-working, brilliant prodigy, but there are more levels to it than that. To know people are telling kids to be like him is almost a little bit of an insult.
Still, he seems pretty impressed with the fact that the kid's on a scholarship, but he can't help but reward him with a similar look right back.] Yeah, okay, fair enough. Never really had to worry about scholarships until I got into SFIT but sounds about right.
[Growing up, he just had to worry about Cass keeping the cafe busy and the occasional hospital bill whenever he and Tadashi did something stupid. Bot fighting profits sometimes found their way into Cass's wallet, but usually he stored it for himself to take care of himself so she wouldn't have to. Looking back at it now it was a dumb way to think, but it got them by.]
You're the only one, but you kinda forced them to dump the project on me after they learned exactly what you did to mess with their system. [He rolls his eyes.] Krei's a little overboard sometimes...but I guess I can't really blame him that much. [Considering what went down four years ago.] Probably for the better though. Cop cars aren't that comfortable.
[ There were a lot of hoops to jump through, a lot of recommendations and contests, a little bit of cheating, but here he is anyways. Their beginnings aren't too different, at least as far as Kon knows, but he's not about to compare himself to Hiro when he only knows the basics, the superficial stuff that the professors feed them from the media and his academic highlights. He's honestly learned more about him in the past hour than he has from what anyone else might say, seeing how he acts now in Kon's space but also when he was defending his work from a hacker.
He shrugs again, not really that bothered by this particular conversation. There's more to it but he's not sharing the rest. ] I couldn't afford the academy without it, so it was either that or be another statistic. Juvie would've definitely happened then.
[ And despite all the trouble he'd gotten in, the old man would've had an ulcer if he didn't make something of himself. Or at least, if he didn't stay the hell out of juvie or just straight up jail. Even now, he's trying to make that something to strive for, which... could go very ass up if Hiro Hamada decides to actually turn him in for what he's done. ]
I was mostly worried about the zip ties, 'cause my wrists are too small for handcuffs. [ He rotates them where they dangle over the armrests as if emphasizing it. ] But there was a lot of complaints out of the staff when I was around, something about needing bonuses for all the stuff they'd been dealing with since Krei Tech was established. [ He was six when Big Hero 6 first showed up and saved the day - an easy thing to remember. ]
[Hiro Hamada likes to be a private person when he can, but that's a lot harder when you're constantly in the news both as yourself and your persona. Still, he finds something weirdly relaxing about talking to Kon and making mental comparisons. It's nice to just be sort of brainless and without filters up.] Being thrown into academics to save you from the system. Yeah, I think I get it.
[Through it all, he can't get the fact that Kon's work is good out of his head. He's proven himself and he's definitely not something to ignore, and Hiro's already wondering what else there is to him. He's hiding things. Is it possible Kon is, too? He's not about to outright ask it but it's also a large part of why he's still sitting here trying to get to know this boy and figure out his game. It's both brainless and stimulating and it's enough to keep him hooked.]
You're like what, nine? [He's teasing here. He knows Kon's older, but he's genuinely not sure by how much.] Don't worry, your wrists will be big enough for handcuffs someday. [He has to bite back a grin at the remark about bonuses for Krei Tech though.] The company's gone through some pretty big things in the last couple of years. Alistair told me about it when I started signing over some of my products to him. [A beat.] I've known the guy since I was fourteen when he wanted to buy one of my first bots. I turned him down the first time but turns out he's not that bad to work with.
But that's not something you want when you grow up, is it?
[ It's interesting to have the log of their exchange open in the corner of his eye, while sitting there looking at and talking to Hiro like everything is completely normal. Whoever he is, Kon's not really going to complain too much, given this is the most engaging interaction he's had with just about anyone recently. ] Something like that.
[ Both systems, really, but that's definitely his secret to keep and not to share. Maybe they're getting along now, but who knows how long that'll last and if there will be any payout of sharing secrets right now. He's already stuck his grubby hands in something that Hiro doesn't want the world to see, anyways. Interested as he is, he knows that he's toeing a line and he's just waiting to see what side of it he winds up on.
Although, Hiro keeps teetering on his. Kon waves his sucker at him again, riled. ] Eleven, thanks. [ He's pretty small, he knows it. But unlike Hiro, he hasn't actually gone through puberty yet, so he's just waiting for that day to come. In the meantime, he'll make do with what he has and what he can successfully do.
The backstory and question, though - they take his attention away from his ire, and he sticks the lollipop into his mouth and crunches it between his back teeth to consider his answer. Then: ] Hackers don't have anywhere to go in this industry, unless you're a white hat on a leash.
[Hiro's good at toeing lines even when he doesn't known what those lines are. At the boy's indignant response about his age, Hiro ends up laughing because he totally gets it. He used to argue with people about his age pre-puberty, too. ...and post...and okay, he kinda looks his age now but whatever. He listens to Kon's explanation before he hums under his breath, leaning back on his hands then still on Baymax's case.]
Lemme ask you something, kid. Why a hacker? Why do you want to be one?
Kon crunches on the hard candy quietly, until he's chewing on the stick itself, just sort of regarding Hiro before he gives him much of an answer. Why a hacker? Why not just a progammer? Why not devote himself to legal coding, because he obviously knows his way around it? His program's stop running now, the rest of the queue having failed, and he itches to just... fix it. Get it up to snuff. It's the proof of what he can do, but only the beginning of it. ]
I can write code, and it's always evolving, so it's not totally boring. But there's a real challenge in figuring out how to get through the defenses other people put up, to find what they're hiding. [ He looks at the sucker stick's remains, twisting it back and forth between thumb and forefinger. ] And there's some secrets that people're keeping that're dangerous to the rest of the world.
[ Some secrets that get people killed. Death is easy, except for the people who are left behind. ]
[He stops breathing then, staring at Kon for a long, hard minute. Secrets that're dangerous to the rest of the world, huh? He doesn't know what to say to that and he's not sure how to hide that Kon's getting a little too close for comfort to his own secrets.]
And if those secrets aren't meant to be found out by the rest of the world for that reason? What makes you think it's okay to break through those defenses?
[ Watching him with a far too keen of a gaze, Kon flicks the stick off into a nearby wastebin and sits up properly in his chair. It leaves his feet a lot higher off the ground now, putting further emphasis on his size, but it doesn't do a lot to change the fact that he's locked onto something now. It reminds him immediately of what led to this exchange, but he doesn't look at his monitors. ]
If it's not a risk to people, or it's something that's helping them, then I just lock it back up so nobody else can get to it. [ He moves to put his chin on his fist. ] But what makes it okay for people to hurt others while hiding behind those defenses?
[He's so small...it's sort of baffling that he's so young and so little and yet he's doing big things. It's sort of reminiscent of something else that Hiro doesn't quite put a finger on. Still, those words needle at him and he scowls suddenly.]
Yeah, okay, but you're missing the point that they shouldn't be seen by people no matter what even if you're just going to lock it back up and keep that secret. And I never said it was okay for people to hurt people while hiding behind defenses of any kind, are you crazy? Is that really what you think all of this is about? [Hiro, he's a kid. Calm down.] This isn't a game. You get that, don't you?
[ The reaction doesn't necessarily surprise him, because it's something that is just... typical, he thinks. Kon knows that his thoughts and methods don't really jive with a lot of people, and it's an awareness that not many kids his age have, but his intelligence and circumstances forced him along even if his maturity hasn't caught up with it. ]
It's a challenge, but it's never a game. [ That gets snapped out, but it's not animated agitation. Boredom is what he says his main motivator is, and it's a little true, just not completely. ] Not everything can be done by superheroes - sometimes they come too late, and sometimes they never even know.
[ For a second, he looks like he's going to say more, but then he snaps his mouth shut and reins it back in. ]
What did you say? [It's the tone tied in with the words that suddenly makes Hiro sound a little more dangerous, face clouding over almost instantly. It's childish, and he knows it's childish, to think that everything can be fixed by superheroes but it comes from being one himself. He does his best to fix everything but Kon's right. Sometimes they come too late. Sometimes they never even know.
There's something about that reminder that's like a swift kick to the gut and Hiro's trying not to explode on the kid. First of all, Kon's younger and doesn't deserve that. Secondly, blowing their cover's a bad idea.]
Maybe you should look for a new challenge. [Not a suggestion. It's definitely a warning.]
[ Luckily for Hiro, Kon's just pegging him as a big fan of the six - the familiar red, armored fist had initially just made him think that the guy was uncreative, but now that he knows it's Hiro Hamada he figured it was just someone admiring another person's work. But he doesn't answer his question, mostly because it feels rhetorical, considering the way he reacts to him. There's that feeling that maybe he's in danger once more, and his entire body tenses up, poised all over again.
Instead of backing down, though, he swivels his chair with a nudge against the desk and goes back to his program, the files he's got queued up and the ones that he managed to get into alike, and the code that he'd modified to kill the power in Hiro's lab. ]
If you're gonna try and intimidate me, you'd be better off reporting me now. [ But he goes through a series of keystrokes, until he can return full power to the lab so that he won't be relying on the generator when he gets back. It also means he can send the files back, and restore the ones trapped in limbo with the outage. ]
[Hiro's young age is enough to let most people think he's just a fan of the six and it works to his advantage. He knows if anybody tried to turn him in for copyright issues or anything he could work his way around it but he does his best to try and keep himself as distanced from the six as possible.
He doesn't stop him from coding out his program and he remains silent even when Kon fixes everything. He's not sure what that means.]
...I'm not gonna report you. [There's a slightly narrowed gaze.] I've got something else in mind to deal with you.
[ Pausing for a moment as Hiro tells him there's no report in his future, Kon doesn't look away from his primary monitor but does take a moment before he goes back to typing. He saves and minimizes his program to assess later, removing Hiro's files from his systems and sending them back over as he chews his bottom lip.
It probably isn't much as an olive branch, but it's something at least. He doesn't beef up the defenses behind him, though. Just locks the door rather than arming the alarm system, basically. ]
Deal with me. [ Kon gives him a bit of a sideeye. ] What's that?
I don't think telling you right away is gonna help. [Give him a taste of his own medicine, basically. The moment he sees what Kon's done though he sits up taller, stretching his arms over his head and preparing himself to stand so he can leave.]
But you don't know when to quit even when being threatened with punishment. That right?
[ Letting out a soft tch, annoyance laced with disapproval not fit for an eleven year old, Kon pushes his chair back from his desk so that he can slide out of it and to his feet. He figures it'd be a good idea to start gathering his things up, since he's got so much spread out across his workspace, before Hiro departs.
Who knows if he set off alarms coming in, or if security will be doing any patrols. It'll take him a while to get to the hotel he's been camping in, anyways. ]
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The silence stretches on, because he's not about to say more than that if Hiro's not, and part of him kind of wants to get up and close out of the program and the coding. A smaller, more ridiculous part of him wants to bodily put himself between his eyes and the monitors he'd been working on, but he remains stationary as he just. Watches him watch his work.
Slowly, he sticks his sucker back into his mouth and wipes his hands off on the sides of the armrests. He's not sure what's about to happen, but he's going to try and salvage some of his young dignity now that he's not, you know, going to die immediately of a heart attack or getting a heavy looking case dropped onto his head.
The "advice" makes him scrunch his nose up, but Kon just rolls a shoulder and looks away from him, gaze sliding to the side so that he can look at his screens out of the corner of his eyes. ] Not like you don't know what I'm doing.
[ With a swivel of his chair, not enough to turn away from him but enough to reach things, he moves the mouse to pull up the files he'd been about to add to the queue before Hiro had scared the shit out of him. ] I picked the ones with the easiest encryptions and the smallest sizes to do first, to see how you'd react.
[ He shoots him a pointed look, because this wasn't how he expected him to react. ]
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He continues quietly examining the boy's work, partially to decipher it and partially just to make Kon nervous. It's a dick move, maybe, but it's the same trick Tadashi used to use on him all the time. (And sometimes he swears he can hear the wayward "knucklehead" being whispered in his ear when he does something totally stupid.
There's a sound of agreement. True, he knew what Kon was doing after a time and he allows the boy the chance to check his work.] It's not really about if I know what you're doing or not. [He even lets him get as far as touching his mouse just to see what he'll do. Those files are safe. He's sure of that much.] It's more about the why, y'know?
[And after a moment, he sighs, plopping his butt right on top of Baymax's case and bringing a hand up to rub at his eyes tiredly. This is ridiculous. He's so off his game that he's been outsmarted by a kid? Is he getting old? Why is this happening?] So. Wanna tell me why you're digging through my shit?
[…maybe he shouldn't swear around a kid, but whatever. He's not that young and Hiro's patience has always been a little thin.]
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Him, he's just smug about having forced Hiro's hand more than once after having broken into his files in the first place. Is he still concerned he might get dumped in the bay? Yes, absolutely. But he's going to feign that he isn't.
Not very effectively, not completely, but he's still poised for a fight even if there's a decent chance that he'd lose. Scrappy as he is, and as well-known around his classmates as he is for getting into and winning fights with people bigger than him, this is still something different. It's not like he ever gets in fights with college-aged kids, at least not any that he expects to win when he's a pretty small preteen. Being wiry and rough around the edges his sharp mouth doesn't cover isn't necessarily going to help him here.
Not even batting an eye as Hiro swears, he rolls his sucker from one cheek to the other before he answers. It winds up being very blunt and simple, but he doesn't see a point in lying about it. So. Honesty it is. ]
I didn't target you 'cause of contents, or who you were - I hadn't even read anything 'til I dumped that file, so I didn't know anyways. I picked you 'cause your shit was the most protected shit in SFIT's databanks. Meant it'd be the hardest to get into. [ I did it for the challenge. ]
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He should be yelling. He should be scolding the kid for doing this but instead he settles on shaking his head.]
My shit's the most protected in SFIT's databanks because I make an effort to keep it on lock-down. It's important to me. [He can sort of see where Kon's coming from though.] Do you know how much trouble you'd be in if I turned you in for breeching security on our servers?
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Plucking his sucker from his mouth, he gestures it at him vaguely like most adults would with a cigarette while they talk. ]
But not because you're worried about people stealing it. I know how many patents you have to your name. [ He eyes him thoughtfully, ignoring two more subsequent notifications - another successful decryption, and one failing because his program couldn't cut it on its own. If only Hiro wasn't there, he would love to see what modifications he'd have to make.
Except he is, and there's no hiding the fact that Kon flinches a little at his question. But he tries to play it off, sticking his sucker back into his mouth and petulantly letting his feet sway where they dangle just above the floor. ] Wouldn't be the first time.
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...though it feels weird and like he's the one being lectured instead of the other way around, especially when he waves that sucker around.]
Just how much do you know about who I am anyway? [He's sending a similar look right back. It's true he has a bunch of patents and it's true that's not what he's worried about, but he hasn't really said that in this conversation. He can see what's on Kon's screen and it doesn't take him long to pinpoint what went wrong, a small smirk flickering across his features.
It's also a little amusing to see how tiny Kon is, blissfully ignoring the fact that he used to look the same. Actually, that's probably the look he had on his face when he was arrested the first time.] And what exactly happened the first time? [Since it clearly wasn't enough to really stop him.]
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Case in point: tonight. But at least Hiro's not asking him about his program or his hacking, even if he feels a tick of annoyance at the smirk. Screw this guy. ] The professors all pretend they're disappointed you went to public school instead of the academy, but they talk about how you sweep every expo you participate in.
[ And that's... it's impressive, but he's not sure if it's something he wants to strive for personally. Programming and coding is a backstage thing usually anyways, but considering his specialty he doesn't want any limelight. It'd make it harder for him to work.
Which would lead to a lot more arrests, himself. At least the last one didn't get him actually charged or taken in, even if it flagged him. ] I hacked into Krei Tech to prove they had shitty defenses in place and got flagged as a black hat. They wanted to put me in juvie but we bargained out of it so I was put on probation.
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But that's not important. He shakes his head slowly, a huff of laughter following.]
That's probably the dumbest thing I've ever heard, even if it's true. [He doesn't want to be an example for anybody. It's not that he doesn't believe kids need good role models. It's that he doesn't believe he can ever be one. He can save the world twelve times over, but he knows and believes he will never be as good of a role model as Tadashi was. To hear that people are touting his intelligence and using it as a bar to set for future generations...it's sort of weird.] Some of us couldn't afford private schooling when we were your age.
[But there's a flicker of pride in his features then.] But that just makes wiping the floor with the competition even sweeter. [...wait a minute though. There's a look on his face that seems sort of like recognition but he's shaking his head again.] That was you, huh? Krei was busy trying to grill me and make sure it wasn't my work until they magically caught the guy. Must've been embarrassed that it was the work of a kid. [And Hiro...actually finds it sort of hysterical, even though he really shouldn't. Alistair Krei's a decent guy and Hiro has grown to like working with him. That doesn't mean that Kon's wrong though.] I guess I should be thanking you for that then. They've bumped up security since then.
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His hard candy clacks against his teeth as he rolls it again to actually answer him, scoffing soft disdain not fitting of an eleven year old. (Or maybe far too fitting, given your understanding of children.) But he shrugs, shoulders up near his ears before flopping down again. ] I got in on a scholarship, anyways, so it's not like I'm paying for what they say.
[ And insurance money, plus some less than legal means of acquiring more, but it's not like Hiro needs to know that. Scamming adults is apparently a child prodigy rite of passage, and he's certainly not someone that skimps on it. At least he's not going down to bot fighting rings, even if he understands the appeal of it and would, absolutely, do it if it was not a risk he'd like to calculate for.
Besides, he's not going to resort to more than what he's doing now until the insurance money is gone. ] I'd pay for the looks on their faces when everybody else gets their asses kicked, though.
[ But, finally, one of his earlier grins when they'd been going toe-to-toe rears its head in response to the recognition. Cheeky and smug, a little dangerous for someone that's not even five foot even yet. ] Unless somebody else hacked them last year, then yeah. Part of the bargain we made was that I had to walk them through what I did so that they could fix all the flaws in the security, but the people Krei sent to my door looked like they wanted to drag me out by the ear and stick me in the back of a cop car instead.
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Still, he seems pretty impressed with the fact that the kid's on a scholarship, but he can't help but reward him with a similar look right back.] Yeah, okay, fair enough. Never really had to worry about scholarships until I got into SFIT but sounds about right.
[Growing up, he just had to worry about Cass keeping the cafe busy and the occasional hospital bill whenever he and Tadashi did something stupid. Bot fighting profits sometimes found their way into Cass's wallet, but usually he stored it for himself to take care of himself so she wouldn't have to. Looking back at it now it was a dumb way to think, but it got them by.]
You're the only one, but you kinda forced them to dump the project on me after they learned exactly what you did to mess with their system. [He rolls his eyes.] Krei's a little overboard sometimes...but I guess I can't really blame him that much. [Considering what went down four years ago.] Probably for the better though. Cop cars aren't that comfortable.
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He shrugs again, not really that bothered by this particular conversation. There's more to it but he's not sharing the rest. ] I couldn't afford the academy without it, so it was either that or be another statistic. Juvie would've definitely happened then.
[ And despite all the trouble he'd gotten in, the old man would've had an ulcer if he didn't make something of himself. Or at least, if he didn't stay the hell out of juvie or just straight up jail. Even now, he's trying to make that something to strive for, which... could go very ass up if Hiro Hamada decides to actually turn him in for what he's done. ]
I was mostly worried about the zip ties, 'cause my wrists are too small for handcuffs. [ He rotates them where they dangle over the armrests as if emphasizing it. ] But there was a lot of complaints out of the staff when I was around, something about needing bonuses for all the stuff they'd been dealing with since Krei Tech was established. [ He was six when Big Hero 6 first showed up and saved the day - an easy thing to remember. ]
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[Through it all, he can't get the fact that Kon's work is good out of his head. He's proven himself and he's definitely not something to ignore, and Hiro's already wondering what else there is to him. He's hiding things. Is it possible Kon is, too? He's not about to outright ask it but it's also a large part of why he's still sitting here trying to get to know this boy and figure out his game. It's both brainless and stimulating and it's enough to keep him hooked.]
You're like what, nine? [He's teasing here. He knows Kon's older, but he's genuinely not sure by how much.] Don't worry, your wrists will be big enough for handcuffs someday. [He has to bite back a grin at the remark about bonuses for Krei Tech though.] The company's gone through some pretty big things in the last couple of years. Alistair told me about it when I started signing over some of my products to him. [A beat.] I've known the guy since I was fourteen when he wanted to buy one of my first bots. I turned him down the first time but turns out he's not that bad to work with.
But that's not something you want when you grow up, is it?
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[ Both systems, really, but that's definitely his secret to keep and not to share. Maybe they're getting along now, but who knows how long that'll last and if there will be any payout of sharing secrets right now. He's already stuck his grubby hands in something that Hiro doesn't want the world to see, anyways. Interested as he is, he knows that he's toeing a line and he's just waiting to see what side of it he winds up on.
Although, Hiro keeps teetering on his. Kon waves his sucker at him again, riled. ] Eleven, thanks. [ He's pretty small, he knows it. But unlike Hiro, he hasn't actually gone through puberty yet, so he's just waiting for that day to come. In the meantime, he'll make do with what he has and what he can successfully do.
The backstory and question, though - they take his attention away from his ire, and he sticks the lollipop into his mouth and crunches it between his back teeth to consider his answer. Then: ] Hackers don't have anywhere to go in this industry, unless you're a white hat on a leash.
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Lemme ask you something, kid. Why a hacker? Why do you want to be one?
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Kon crunches on the hard candy quietly, until he's chewing on the stick itself, just sort of regarding Hiro before he gives him much of an answer. Why a hacker? Why not just a progammer? Why not devote himself to legal coding, because he obviously knows his way around it? His program's stop running now, the rest of the queue having failed, and he itches to just... fix it. Get it up to snuff. It's the proof of what he can do, but only the beginning of it. ]
I can write code, and it's always evolving, so it's not totally boring. But there's a real challenge in figuring out how to get through the defenses other people put up, to find what they're hiding. [ He looks at the sucker stick's remains, twisting it back and forth between thumb and forefinger. ] And there's some secrets that people're keeping that're dangerous to the rest of the world.
[ Some secrets that get people killed. Death is easy, except for the people who are left behind. ]
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And if those secrets aren't meant to be found out by the rest of the world for that reason? What makes you think it's okay to break through those defenses?
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If it's not a risk to people, or it's something that's helping them, then I just lock it back up so nobody else can get to it. [ He moves to put his chin on his fist. ] But what makes it okay for people to hurt others while hiding behind those defenses?
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Yeah, okay, but you're missing the point that they shouldn't be seen by people no matter what even if you're just going to lock it back up and keep that secret. And I never said it was okay for people to hurt people while hiding behind defenses of any kind, are you crazy? Is that really what you think all of this is about? [Hiro, he's a kid. Calm down.] This isn't a game. You get that, don't you?
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It's a challenge, but it's never a game. [ That gets snapped out, but it's not animated agitation. Boredom is what he says his main motivator is, and it's a little true, just not completely. ] Not everything can be done by superheroes - sometimes they come too late, and sometimes they never even know.
[ For a second, he looks like he's going to say more, but then he snaps his mouth shut and reins it back in. ]
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What did you say? [It's the tone tied in with the words that suddenly makes Hiro sound a little more dangerous, face clouding over almost instantly. It's childish, and he knows it's childish, to think that everything can be fixed by superheroes but it comes from being one himself. He does his best to fix everything but Kon's right. Sometimes they come too late. Sometimes they never even know.
There's something about that reminder that's like a swift kick to the gut and Hiro's trying not to explode on the kid. First of all, Kon's younger and doesn't deserve that. Secondly, blowing their cover's a bad idea.]
Maybe you should look for a new challenge. [Not a suggestion. It's definitely a warning.]
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Instead of backing down, though, he swivels his chair with a nudge against the desk and goes back to his program, the files he's got queued up and the ones that he managed to get into alike, and the code that he'd modified to kill the power in Hiro's lab. ]
If you're gonna try and intimidate me, you'd be better off reporting me now. [ But he goes through a series of keystrokes, until he can return full power to the lab so that he won't be relying on the generator when he gets back. It also means he can send the files back, and restore the ones trapped in limbo with the outage. ]
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He doesn't stop him from coding out his program and he remains silent even when Kon fixes everything. He's not sure what that means.]
...I'm not gonna report you. [There's a slightly narrowed gaze.] I've got something else in mind to deal with you.
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It probably isn't much as an olive branch, but it's something at least. He doesn't beef up the defenses behind him, though. Just locks the door rather than arming the alarm system, basically. ]
Deal with me. [ Kon gives him a bit of a sideeye. ] What's that?
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I don't think telling you right away is gonna help. [Give him a taste of his own medicine, basically. The moment he sees what Kon's done though he sits up taller, stretching his arms over his head and preparing himself to stand so he can leave.]
But you don't know when to quit even when being threatened with punishment. That right?
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Who knows if he set off alarms coming in, or if security will be doing any patrols. It'll take him a while to get to the hotel he's been camping in, anyways. ]
S'one way of putting it, at least.
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