Based off of what we know about steve and who he works for, I'd assume some sort of organized crime element is who he is working for. If we actually get that vibe later on the road, it shouldn't be too hard to track down with the contacts people have.
I also assume that no one is telling us the whole story, or even their side of it. So it doesn't surprise me that info doesn't match up.
The designer probably isn't a bad idea, but I think we need to check out Rat's place, drop him off, meet with the Iron Legion.... and sleep.