Mateo Thiago

WATSON / KABUKI / LIZZIE'S BAR / MATEO THIAGO

MATEO THIAGO

BARTENDER · LIZZIE'S BAR

KABUKI · WATSON · NIGHT CITY

• AT THE BAR
• BIO
• OLD DAYS
• OFF CLOCK
• GALLERY

FIRST ROUND

LIZZIE'S BAR · SOMEWHERE AFTER DARK

Corpo. Caucasian. Mid-forties. Expensive clothes trying not to look expensive.

No wedding band.

The dent is still there.

"Hey, yeah. Hi... Um. Something strong. Do you have Westend Cask Strength?"

Mateo's eyes flick to the pale groove around the man's finger, then back to his face.

No comment.

He reaches beneath the bar.

"Westend? Yeah. Got it."

He sets down a heavy glass and pours two fingers.

"First time here?"

The man's hesitation answers for him.

Mateo slides the drink across.

"Little friendly advice. Don't stare. Don't touch anybody you haven't been invited to touch. Don't ask what somebody does for a living unless they ask you first."

A faint smile.

"And don't worry so much. Nobody here gives a shit what you do for a living either."

He taps the glass once with a fingertip.

"Drink that slow. You'll have a better night."

MATEO THIAGO

BARTENDER · LIZZIE'S BAR · KABUKI

Tending bar at Lizzie's requires more than knowing how to pour a drink. Mateo has the character, patience, nerves and social instinct necessary to manage one of Kabuki's busiest rooms without becoming part of its chaos.

Warm without becoming familiar and observant without appearing intrusive, Mateo remembers faces, names, drinks and enough of his patrons' business to know when not to ask questions.

He sees nearly everything that crosses his bar. Very little of it crosses back.

Patrons and Mox alike trust him not to gossip. Attempts to buy information generally end with the same result: Mateo will gladly accept a generous tip, but the only thing it purchases is another drink.

When tempers rise, he rarely needs to raise his voice. Mateo knows where he works, who controls the room, and how little explanation is normally required to remind someone else of those facts.

He remains on a first-name basis with regulars and keeps himself aware of the social and business currents moving through Lizzie's without demanding their details.

WARM · OBSERVANT · DISCREET · IMMOVABLE

OLD DAYS

Mateo remembers Lizzie's from before the Tyger Claws, back when Lizzie herself still owned the place.

He does not romanticize Night City easily, but conversation about those years leaves a trace of nostalgia in his voice. He particularly remembers a time when things were better for the women who worked here.

He does not openly criticize the present arrangement. Mateo simply chooses his words carefully enough that the comparison makes itself.

Some things were better then.

Lizzie's remains profitable, crowded and firmly associated with the Mox, but the shadow of the Tyger Claws has never disappeared completely.

Mateo remembers why.

OFF CLOCK

Outside working hours, Mateo becomes considerably less accommodating toward strangers digging into Lizzie's business.

He dismisses rumors that might put staff in danger and volunteers almost nothing about his own life.

He is trusted by the Mox, works alongside them and understands their world intimately, but Mateo is not himself a Mox.

The distinction matters less inside Lizzie's than outsiders generally assume.

Ask how he ended up behind the bar and Mateo may tell you that knowing how to make drinks helps.

Ask what his other qualifications were and the conversation usually ends there.

GALLERY

BEHIND THE BAR · LIZZIE'S BAR