Randall Garrett

“ The blaster prodded and he headed down the hall to another door.
"Mr. Henderson?"
"Yeah?" said a voice from within.
"It's me. Leswick. I caught a prowler wandering around up here."
"Right out," Henderson said.
The guard named Leswick prodded the blaster harder into Thornwald's back. "Mr. Henderson'll take care of you," he said ominously.
The door opened and Henderson stood there. He was a short, pudgy man with thick jowls and a soft, fleshy pink throat. He was wearing a black dressing-gown, flaked whitely with dandruff.
"Who are you?" Henderson asked coldly. ”

“ I mean that Henderson runs this world, and there's nothing you or I or anybody else can do but knuckle under."
Thornwald sprang to his feet. "How is it the outside world doesn't know about this? How'd it happen? Who is this Henderson, anyway?"
"One question at a time," Miller said. "Why doesn't the outside world know? Simple. No one leaves Bleekman's Planet, and so nobody finds out. Not even a space liner lands here; it's too unimportant for that. A shuttle comes down. ”

“ He had picked Bleekman's Planet. It was well out of the more civilized areas of the Galaxy, a frontier planet out on the Rim. Bleekman's Planet had, as yet, only one city—Velliston.
The setup had looked good. There was money to be made on a frontier planet, away from the main stream of Galactic civilization. Mac Thornwald had wanted to settle down in a small, sparsely-populated area and just take it easy the rest of his life. And Bleekman's Planet had looked like just the place. ”

“ It's made from the narkos tree, which is found on Bleekman's Planet and a couple of other places. The leaves of the plant are rich in it. All you have to do is gather them and process them, and the drug can be made in quantity. Henderson's got the monopoly on narkos-growing here. He was a big farmer originally, who just bought everyone else out. Now he's the governor, and the thylomine trade is in his back pocket, along with the rest of the planet."
Thornwald kicked his foot against the wall angrily. "Of all the lousy worlds I had to pick to come to live on—" He turned to his cellmate. ”

“ Eventually, the numbing pain began to leave his foot. The stun beam had hit the nerves near the ankle, but the effect wore off after several minutes of walking. Okay, he thought. I'm back in business again. ”