When Weiken heard the Red-Haired Man, he turned to look at him and said slowly, "I don't have any money."
"Good answer."
The Red-Haired Man took a drag on his cigarette, drew a Gauss Pistol from his waist, and pressed it against Weiken's chest, pinning him to the alley wall. "Goodbye, old man. I love the feeling of doing the public a favor."
Weiken froze. He hadn't expected Boric to move so quickly, without even giving him a chance to react. Before Boric could pull the trigger, Weiken shouted, "Wait, wait! Don't be hasty. I have a much bigger deal to discuss with you."
"Oh? What else do we have to discuss?"
Boric rested his finger on the trigger. A flicker of disappointment seemed to cross his eyes. "I went ahead and saved you, and now you're telling me you have no money. In business, trust is everything. Do you think I still trust you, Mr. Weiken?"
"I don't think our transaction is over yet,"
Weiken said, raising both hands and meeting Boric's gaze calmly. "We should complete the bigger deal that comes next before payment is due."
Then he glanced down at his thin pajamas, which had no pockets at all. "Besides, do I look like someone who can pay you right now?"
"Spare me the nonsense."
Boric raised an eyebrow. "Don't you have an anonymous account? A cryptocurrency account? You don't need a physical card for those. All you need is the account details and password."
"Those account details, passwords, and keys are dozens or even hundreds of letters and numbers long. Who could remember them?"
Weiken hurried on. "But I have hardware wallets. Several accounts, with plenty of money in them."
"Let me guess. You want me to escort you back to the two conglomerates to get