Typing sounds typing sounds. "Friends of yours?"

"A good employee. Passionate. Big-picture thinker. They had medical debt, couldn't save enough for kids and were running out of years to have them in, so he switched to the private sector. If you get a good yellow, pay them well, darling."

"He was - in your budget office?" she asks, scrolling through the case notes.

"Yep. It's where I'd advise any ambitious yellow to find themselves - we set the big picture, of course, but there's a great deal to be achieved for our country by being the person who attends to the details. We fund your office, we fund the universities, we fund the infrastructure -"

"Like the decontamination subsidies?" she says idly over typing noises.

"Those the reds are supposed to pay themselves, you should know."

"I think it'll pay for itself sooner than later."

"Do you."

"I think so."

"Fine. Not even a misdemeanor, then, do you hear me?"

"Loud and clear."

Click.

She can find the damage accidental and amortize the fines and send a note to the bankers' credentialing board without having to find him guilty of anything.

Aleva Neli comes in to talk with him. 

        "You arranged that."

" - I'm sorry? The border deal with Tapa was Samai, I've been shifting my focus more domestic -"

       "I called a judge in yellow criminal today and she wants the decontamination subsidies."

"The ex-red judge? What were you calling yellow criminal for?"

       "I absolutely refuse to believe you don't know."

"It has been an eventful year, if it's one of your yellows I probably know them but not what they ended up in court for - I don't call the judges, personally, I'm too softhearted and would end up trading all my power to spare miscellaneous undeserving -"

      "Stop deflecting me."

"Aleva, I am only reputed to read minds, I really don't know what you are on about."

      "This happened to Milan too I'm not stupid -"

"Milan also asked the ex-red judge for a favor and the judge wanted something for ex-reds? If you've found a judge who'll be bought and stay bought and wants tax-deductible favors I should think you've struck gold."

      "Not if someone is reporting crimes and making sure they end up on her docket."

"I swear to you that I had no part in that, and would never."

      He huffs with disgruntlement. 

Aitim is chewing on his lip. "Is this Evesel Salasi? Did he give his wife another traumatic brain injury?"

     Aleva Neli scowls at him.

"Oh, I saw that one in the news," he says brightly from the door. "Some kind of pyramid scheme - they going to hang him?"

       "Apparently not," says Aitim. "Those things so rarely go to trial, you know."

"I've heard it said that if you're a corrupt financier you get a blue client early and you make sure they make out good. Then if there were a full investigation they'd have to return the money and they'll quash it for you."

      "Having blue sympathies because you used to work here probably works nearly as well," Aitim says cheerfully.

      Aleva Neli scowls harder at them. He leaves.

They kiss. They get back to work.

Miolee has something resembling a real city. They have birth control available in time for reseasoning and a plausibly sufficient number of international trade arrangements to entitle them to exist. They underbid Anitam for a batch of Tapai reds.

Anitam thinks that since the only reason anyone believes them that their decontamination procedure is adequate is Anitami yellows supervising they should pay for the yellows, thank you.

Miolee is on a shoestring budget. They will pay for a few yellows.

Miolee got their decontamination facility for free. They could revise their bid if they can't actually afford to bid that low and pay an appropriate team of yellows.

Exactly how many decontaminations does Miolee have to perform before Anitam will agree they know what they're doing.

They could cut it down to like two yellows if the Tapa batch goes uneventfully.

The ambassador to Miolee suggests that maybe they don't actually want to make it look like Miolee is some kind of protectorate of theirs if the long term upside is a couple yellow salaries.

...yeah, fine.

Miolee will take video of the process and put sample footage next to the specs for the procedure online. Tapa considers this acceptable. They decontaminate some Tapai reds, mostly purple, some grey or orange or yellow or green.

The Anitami price point drops. It's midwinter and there's serious debate over whether to do any red child credits if there are pretty soon not going to be reds anyway.