The second thing was the huge armoured figure standing next to her wardrobe going through her evening wear. “Excuse me, Charm. What are you doing?” She sat up and was relieved to see that she was wearing the same grubby clothing she had crawled out of the cave in. “I was taking an inventory of your possessions. Despite the outward appearance of affluence, you have little to no funds and are living one shopping day away from disaster. I have heard of your portraits on every portion of this world. Where is your money going?” She blinked at his very direct question. “You asked me a straight question, so here is the straight answer. Bribes.” “What?” “I am a legal alien here as long as the government decides that I am. There have been a few that have needed persuading to allow me to remain on Yacaro. Jemyalli deals with that and tells me how much they are demanding. I only live on the fine edge of what I can afford to and save the rest so I can stay.” He cocked the featureless faceplate.
