"Honestly, I still don't believe you weren't looking out for your own interests, Lier. Those people already have it bad enough. Don't screw them over."
On the way back, V kept pressing Lier.
Lier's face darkened. "Just what kind of person do you think I am?"
"Let me think." V went over everything she had seen of Lier so far and gathered her words. "The kind where, even if you were handing me money, I'd still think you could con me out of my underwear."
Jackie didn't quite understand. "Really? I think Lier's pretty good. Sure, we made a lot less on the Red Ochre job, but I feel good about it. Better than any job I've ever done."
"Are you stupid, Jackie? If this guy really wanted to help, couldn't he have just given them the stuff for free?"
Lier's face darkened further. "Yes, yes, I just wanted to use the Nomads' smuggling routes and make them work for me. Happy now?"
"That's more like it... but you definitely have something else planned."
"Come on, V, I think you've got Lier wrong..."
Lier fell silent for a moment, though V hadn't actually misjudged him.
"Actually... I do want to influence their next decisions this way. I want them to stop working with Biotechnica."
Jackie immediately shut his mouth. V wore an "I told you so" expression as she listened to Lier explain.
He had to charge them money. If Lier's guess was right, that money came from Biotechnica's subsidies.
Nomads were poor because their chosen way of life meant they were never going to make much money.
Red Ochre might have had over a hundred people, but 200,000 in cash was an enormous sum, especially since they had already been sick for some time.
If he supplied them for