How One Finds the North Star prt. 2

The kid frowned in thought. "How secret are we talking here?"
Chapter 23.717 states that prolonged communication with the target is unwise for this type of mission because the target may remember you, and therefore notice you in the future when... "As secret as you got. I need to keep this away from the corporate executives."
"Do you use audio or Thoughtwave?
Press 1098 to contact mission... "It's Thoughtwave"
"How often to you have to reply?"
This information has been brought to you by Northern Cybernetics..."Just when my boss talks. The CPU streams some unwanted data back to the big guy too."
"I can do it but it's going to cost you, this is going to take a special program I don't normally use and DoubleU."
"Is that an acronym? Connecting you to success©!
"No it's program for managing and creating information to fool bosses and overprotective women."
"Women?"
"Yeah, that's where a lot of my business comes from. Don't you watch the news? Private citizens are tapping borgs like you all over the place." This kid was clearly full of that liberal protection junk. Or maybe he was just pitching his business deal.
"Will this work on a real business? I'm being bothered by people with a little bit more at their disposal than a housewife."
"Not a problem I stole my version from the P.I.S." Jerald was a little surprised. This kid was only 16 and he was already cracking govt. files. He'd have to pay more attention on this job. "So how much?"
"35 grand."
Thirty-five grand wasn't actually too bad. Jerald had paid more for clothes than that.

Jerald and this kid, he later learned Art, discussed the details of the software. Jerald would first have to read aloud 30 pages of syllables with different inflections so the program could speak on his behalf back to his boss, Boss. Another program would convert all of Boss's transmissions to audio for when he was not in autopilot. And the cherry on the cake was a silenced Lucy. She would get her own words returned back to her by his thought generator as if she actually put the words in his head like usual. Her own transmissions to Boss would be halted and given to Jerald and he would decide if they should be sent to Boss.
He and Art would have to meet in the men's room for programming and payment. If it happened wirelessly it would be detected and besides payment methods were closely regulated too. Currency was all digital unless you were using black money, which was gold foil wrapped in plastic and harder to trace.
Jerald was only 45 but he had seen old men's rooms before the cybernetic revolution. All over the walls there were plugs and various maintenance devices for cyborgs including generic motor oil dispensers and polishing wipes. The human outlets were a little grimy, like no one had cleaned them for a while. Jerald walked into a stall and sat down. There was an older man with a robotic lower body dispensing at an outlet to the far left. When he left he gave Art the signal by tapping his feet.
Art walked in and stopped, looking at where the old man had been. Then he pulled out his cell and started texting for several seconds before entering the stall next to Jerald. Jerald saw a plain cord slide out from under the divider, which he then plugged into his forehead. Art began typing and Jerald could see the words appear in his mind via Thoughtwave. This wasn't the first time he had software installed in a restroom, so Jerald was quite used to seeing and hearing command prompts drift in his head. On Art's laptop the conscious thoughts of Jerald were translated onto the the screen. Generally communication and incoming stimuli were easiest to see but some semiconscious thoughts drifted in the background.
"You're pretty used to to this blackmarket software business."
"I used to go to Manolio's before he was busted to get songs stuck in my head."
"Lol. I can't say I miss him, business has been good since he got busted."
"How long is this going to take? "
"About five minutes."
"That's a long time for software."
"Like I said, this bootlegged. I have to cover my tracks while I'm doing this."
Jerald what is this? Lucy was inquiring about the thoughts in his head.
"It's just a new piece of software don't worry about it." Lucy wasn't as stupid as Art had apparently hoped.
Chapter 1.003 says not to accept such proposals from...
"Be quiet Lucy." Jerald was getting worried, Lucy was prone to tattling.
"Don't worry I can fix this. I'll just need to rewrite her memory for today."
" I will not allow that I must..."
Lucy had become silent. "Hey you did it."
"This is going to take longer than I had expected. Will it be a problem if we're in here another 15 minutes?"
"Yeah it will be. My boss will definitely get suspicious if he doesn't hear from Lucy, that CPU. Whats the hold up anyway?"
"Just some minor technicalities. Actually, I need a password to access your hard drive. It seems Lucy had managed to block me before I cut her off."
"She didn't send a signal though. That's second in her programmed response." Jerald was getting worried, this was just software installation and it was already taking too long.
"Stop worrying, I know what I'm doing. >: ("
"Who said I was worrying?"
"You did."
Jerald's expression turned sour. "You're in my private thoughts aren't you?" Jerald knew he was in deep shit now, this kid was clearly doing more than installing a program.
"Oops. : )"
"Get out now of there and I might not kill you." He reached for his pistol.
"I already took your password, it registered in your mind when I typed it. You won't be doing anything for a couple hours."
Immediately Jerald felt his eyes shut down along with his hearing and his artificial lung was respirating more slowly. The pistol fell to the cement floor. "You're making me take a nap. Great. You better not sleep tonight boy, unless you plan to kill me."
"I know who I'm dealing with. I've seen you following me for days. Please understand, I'm not doing this to hurt anyone, I just want to help my mom."
"WhT? M s slpP thay" Jerald thought to himself. He was quickly loosing consciousness.
"I've prepared you so that you sit upright in the stall and I've provided you with a recording explaining why I had to do this. I'm sorry."

Jerald fell into a strange dream. He was sitting in a small dark room on a couch. To his right was a computer completely duct-taped over. The wires were severed from the computer and duct taped at the ends too. It had a pink scarf tied around the monitor. It was all very surreal. On top of the tower there was a remote with only one button. It looked like this |>. He pressed it and a tv lit up in front of him. Jerald was sucked in.

Jerald was now in front of a laptop playing some video game. A message popped up on his screen.
Callisto: Are you alone?
He typed back.
Captain Awesome: Who the ---- are you?
Callisto: At one o'clock I am coming to meet you at the 56th floor repair shop on Broadway. I'll appear as an automated junk robot. Just assume it's regular biz and take the chip from the left shoulder compartment.
Callisto has logged off.

Jerald now found himself in the shop on Broadway. A big sign hung above the door. The phrase "We have Controlled Climate!" was emblazoned below the name of the store. As expected there was a terrible looking electronic monstrosity there. Art took his laptop and plugged in to the beastly pile of junk.
"Hello, are you Callisto?"
"Yes. Is your name Michael Benois?"
"What if it is?"
"Just making sure I have the right person. Take the chip."
"What's your password?"
"You don't need that to take a chip."
Several seconds pass before the conversation resumes.
"Hurry and take the chip, we don't have all day."
"Are you mafia?"
"No, I'm not. We don't have time for Q & A, the chip will explain everything."
"You're going to be the one to do the explaining. I've already hacked into your system. You're going to tell me everything starting with how you found me. Otherwise I'm going to erase all your data right here."
Jerald thought about the dramatic change in this kid. He was clearly used to life on the run. On the screen images from the cybernetic monster began popping up. They were of Art in several places, one in a grocery store aisle, another texting from below. The shot zoomed in to see his cell and his username. Nowadays instant messaging and texting were synced, to ease communication.
"I've been following you for a week now. Please trust me, take the chip, I can't afford to be delayed."
"And who are you exactly?"
"Your mother."
"Ha. Good one. Who are you really?"
"I'm not lying to you."
"My mother's dead. Goodbye."

Wow, you noticed this little black space? You're pretty smart, you that? If you found this then perhaps you noticed the symbolism of Callisto and therefore the origin of my story. Thanks for reading!