Hacker's Memory

I found a vidcomm as soon as I got away and called the suit. A man, thirties, educated, slick as fuck answered. He didn't look surprised either.

"I'd been expecting you to call," he said to me. "I think we should meet. Central Park, west entrance in ten minutes." And he hung up.

I was messed up enough to go there. When I got there, there stood the suit as clean and alone as you please. He handed me a printout and waited patiently as I read it. It was a contract to work at Sigma as an "Electronic Counter-Insurgency Specialist."

"What's this?" I asked him.

"A contract. You demonstrated tenacity when you hacked into our systems last night. The research company is a recruiter for us, and we occasionally find one like you. Sign it and you can get to work."

I held my finger over the paper for an instant before I put it together. Johannes had set me up with the job, faked the message to make sure I got selected. Except now I knew something about Sigma than no one else did, which made me a commodity.

I tossed the paper at the suit. "Go fuck your contract," I said to him and walked away. I heard him behind me calling for some kind of backup. I was into the subways and fifty kilometers away by the time they could respond.

I didn't go home. Instead I found another vidcomm and looked up the number for Tetra's head of security. I took the chance that he'd believe my story, but here I am. Sigma's contract didn't last long after that. I hear they're still trying to break Tetra's security, but so far with no luck. Old habits die hard I guess.