She made a bored face. "Mister, I don't know you from Adam's off ox. All I know about you is the little green stripe on your arm."
"So I'm a Free Agent."
"That's all I need. A Free Agent. Any Free Agent will do."
He shook his head. "No dice. I don't get mixed up in any shady deals."
Quite suddenly the bitterness and contempt were gone from the girl's face, and only the fear remained, a craven, hopeless kind of fear. "There's nothing shady about it, Mister. Nothing bad, nothing you can't do, I swear it. Just going aboard a rocket ship for an inspection tour. Is there anything wrong with that? So you take a friend aboard with you. Then you walk off again. Is there anything wrong with that?"
Griffin blinked at her. There was no denying the desperation in her voice, the fear in her eyes. Griffin's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "What rocket are you talking about?"
"The Venus Rocket. It leaves tonight. I want on board it."
"Why?"
"Maybe I like Venus. Maybe I don't like it here. Maybe I've got to get away. Take your choice."
"What about the Colonization Board?"