That doesn't concern you. I need your professional services, and I have a proposition to make.
"Go ahead," Kiley said, mystified.
You're a jewel-thief—and a good one. I can aid you in such a way that you'll be a perfect one.
"What do you mean?"
How would you like the power of instant hypnosis? the alien asked. You could go anywhere you liked—simply by convincing people you belonged there. My mind, projected out through the focus of yours, could do this thing. We could work as partners, and divide fifty-fifty.
"Hold on," said Kiley suspiciously. "What do you need me for, then? If you've got this power, why not just rob whatever you want yourself?"
There was the voiceless equivalent of a chuckle. I do not like to leave my home world. You will act as my travelling—ah—agent.
"Sounds good to me," Kiley said. "I've got nothing to lose, anyway. But how do I get out of here?"
A simple matter. Just be patient.
Kiley waited. A few minutes later, the Alpherazian jailer showed up—but the look of scorn was gone from his eyes.