"Sure. He useta come around to the club."
"I take it he was in the army under the old regime?"
"Yeah—but he didn't like the way they run it. Nothing but band playing and fancy marching. There wasn't nobody to fight."
"Just between us, Jake—where did the former Planetary Manager General go?" Retief watched Jake's heavy face in the mirror. Jake jumped, clamped his mouth shut.
"I don't know nothing."
Half an hour later, after a tour of the commercial center, Retief headed towards the city's outskirts. The avenue curved, leading up along the flank of a low hill.
"I must admit I'm surprised, Jake," Retief said. "Everything seems orderly. No signs of riots or panic. Power, water, communications normal—just as the general said. Remarkable, isn't it, considering that the entire managerial class has packed up and left?"
"You wanta see the Power Plant?" Retief could see perspiration beaded on the man's forehead under the uniform cap.
"Sure. Which way?" With Jake directing, Retief ascended to the ridge top, cruised past the blank white facade of the station.
"Quiet, isn't it?" Retief pulled the car in to the curb. "Let's go inside."