"So you think," Bill grinned. "You ought to hear my side of the difference. How about lunch any one of these years?"
The girl's penciled brows knitted. "With a freebooter? No!" Her lips parted with a vague smile. "But if you were ... ah ... for example, a monopoly commissioner like Tubby—"
"Tubby?" asked Bill.
"Yes, Castlebottom, my fiancé."
"You'd give me a buzz?"
"Perhaps."
Castlebottom returned to the room, puffing with bureaucratic vigor. "Here are your credentials, Petrie," he said, handing Bill a metallic IWG diplomatic pass. "There's a Patrol cruiser waiting."
Bill took one look at Kitty Carlton and tossed the pass back upon the desk. "I'm not going!" he said.
"Not going!" Castlebottom exploded. "But the fuel crisis, man!"
"Get someone else. I said I'm staying. I'm working my way up to head a monopoly."