The streets were lined with silent people when the procession came into view around the slight curve. Then there was a tentative cheer from someone. It was taken up by someone else, and soon the crowd was roaring its synthetic appreciation of Administrator Mayne Landing. Wolf breathed easier.
Craning his neck in the crowd, Wolf spotted the other five, standing dispersed in the crowd, but all near the spot on the street opposite the tailor's shop. They made no acknowledgement except meeting his eyes, then turning away to watch the procession near.
As they came closer, Wolf noted with satisfaction that several of the guards occasionally glanced at the street behind them.
Good. They had seen the knot of men outside town, then. If they expected anything, they were expecting it from behind them.
He could see the tall, straight figure of Mayne Landing in the ground car. He took in the familiar face almost hungrily, the great shock of white hair moving gently in the slight breeze, the characteristic gesture, a half-salute, the slight smile, the kindly eyes of the old man—
He tore his eyes away from the dignified figure and glanced behind him, down the street. He saw a figure move on a roof-top, and wondered if the guards saw it, too.
Then the ground car was opposite, and Wolf had a wrenching sensation that the diversionary squad was not going to go through with it....
An explosion rocked the street a block away, shaking the ground underfoot, shattering windows in the adjacent stores. A billow of dirty black smoke began to drift toward the sky. There was a scattering of small, explosive fire.
The tone of the crowd's roar changed. It deepened and became a mass cry of confusion and fright.
Quietly, Wolf edged forward to the street, automatically noting that his men were doing the same. Several of the guards had turned, were runni............