Ludo proves to be a man of his word right away. My day starts with three of his people at the door. They’re all looking for pretty simple augments. One visual and two auditory. Standing in a club all night with the music blasting doesn’t bode well for your hearing. 

The one thing they all have in common is an augment for retractable memory, regardless of what else they’ve come in for. It makes sorting through memories a lot easier, relying less on the client to take you there. Instead, it lets the person doing the digging take control. 

It’s clear Ludo likes to keep control of whomever works for him. Always watching, even when he can’t actually watch. For a technophobe, it’s a very autocratic way to run his business. The boss isn’t looming over your shoulder at all times, he’s in your head and watching through your own eyes. 

I don’t ask any questions, since they’ll get right back to him anyway. Not that the people he’s sending me are very chatty. They seem to be happy enough with the work I’m doing. At least happy enough to say thanks with a handshake, usually containing a generous cash tip.  

When the next guy comes in, I feel my heart pick up pace, but I’m not entirely sure why. He looks extremely familiar. 

“Well look at this. It’s rare I get to see my work after the fact. They’re usually dead. You’re a lucky one, Rhys.” 

It’s the dump truck looking guy that jumped me the other night. He makes himself comfortable in the chair, even though I’m frozen solid. He seems to know what he’s doing, pulling the halo down and getting comfortable. He doesn’t even look at me, which is good, because I’m trying to hide that I’m shaking. 

“Name’s Tito, by the way. No hard feelings about the other night, eh? Just doing business. You know how it is.”

My words finally come back to me. I feel my eyes welling up with anger, which brings me back to grade school when I’d get so angry with bullies that I’d start crying, which would lead to even more bullying. I don’t let him get a good look at me. 

“What the hell are you doing here?”

“Ludo sent me. Told me you’re the man to go to for this stuff. I don’t see so well at night. Sometimes, guys run and hide in the dark alley when I’m trying to work out a business deal. You know what I mean?”

Did he know I was hiding? He left me behind to send a message or something? I know this is getting back to Ludo one way or another, but I have to get answers. 

“Did Ludo send you after me that night?” 

Tito smiles, looking towards me without moving his head. 

“Maybe he did. Maybe I was just looking to make some extra cash on the side. Maybe you just looked like a good mark. It’s water under the bridge. You seem to be doing okay, so why fuss about it?”

I am seething. The idea that this guy can just walk in here like he owns the place is killing me. No fear. No concern. Just going about his business. I almost envy it. 

“How do you know I won’t kill you or make you forget how to speak as some sort of revenge?”

Tito laughs. 

“Because you’re good at your job. If you’re going to make me into a vegetable, I don’t imagine that’s going to look so good with your other clients,” He turns his head to look at me. He punctuates his sentence with a wink. “It especially won’t look good with Ludo. You don’t want that, right?”

He’s looking at me, but I’m not the only audience he’s speaking to. A loyal soldier reporting to his boss. An insurance policy that if I do anything to him, they’ll know who did it. Unless I wipe him clean, but that won’t take long to get back to me either. He’s right. 

“Put your head back, Tito. Close your eyes. We’ll be done in a few minutes.” 

“Yes, boss.”

He does as I say, all with a smirk on his face. It makes me want to kill him. 

I try to calm myself down and jump into the work. I tell myself to stop thinking about it. Just do what needs to be done. 

I’ve done this kind of procedure dozens of times before. It barely takes me 10 minutes, but Tito is still knocked out. I’m about to wake him when I have a thought. It’s all recorded and extractable. 

Before I do anything, I make sure there’s no one watching me. I walk out to the front door to see a couple more of Ludo’s people waiting for me. 

“It'll be a little while before Tito is done. If you want to grab a coffee or something and come back, I’ll be ready for you.”

They don’t say anything back. One of them gives me a nod. 

I head back up and prep to extract the past two days. It’ll take a while, but I have the time now. 

Just me and Tito.