But he had never anticipated that the once infallible "counterfeit-proof mark" would actually hit the wall this time.
Winters tossed the purse in front of the pimp and asked coldly, "You don't want your hands anymore?"
The young man knelt down in panic, pleading continuously, speaking incoherently, "Sir! This license is truly genuine, I was momentarily confused..."
"Wait here." Winters, observing that his manner did not appear deceitful, took Gerard with him to the peacekeeping department.
He did not understand Paratu's laws, so such matters required consultation with a legal expert.
...
The old mendicant monk, Reed, having heard Gerard's account, placed the license on the table and chuckled, "Paratu does indeed allow brothels to operate legally, this time he really does have the advantage."
"It's a corrupting influence!" Gerard was furiously indignant, "And there's the risk of spreading venereal diseases! Thirty years ago, who knows how many Dusacks were afflicted."