Disclaimer: C'mon, I'm just a fan, I respect TP. The Discworld and the watch are his…but I guess I betta keep hold of the DeLancey's. Not that anyone'd want them. You'd be more twisted than me if you did…okay, stopping now.
Rating – PG-13 for mixture of violence/lingo.
Setting: Let's say a coupla months after Fifth Elephant
Note: Sorry for the delay. Can't be avoided. See my bio.
Vimes didn't know what was harder to ignore on entering the Watch house; everyone's nervous looks, with Fred's in particular searching his face for any sign of hangover or more homicidal tendencies, or the nagging urge to try and stand as far away from Angua as possible lest anyone suspect….well, nothing. Just a general suspicion.
Either way he couldn't stop a very unmanly squeak of gratitude when Igor pulled him aside.
"Igor! How can I help?"
The face before him stared back as blankly as anything that scarred and mottled could.
"Captain Carrot thur?"
"Oh." Vimes' high came plummeting down, and found himself glancing automatically at Angua. After a quick dashing of her own eyes, she managed to maintain the type of cool that should have come naturally to Commander of the watch.
"How is he?" he found himself asking.
"oh he's, I mean he'th a tough one marthter….and he seemth to be theeing things a little clearer now…he wath athking after you thir."
Vimes shared another look with Angua and they prepared to hurry down, but she was stopped by Igor's hand on her shoulder*.
He leaned in with what he probably thought was a conspiratorial wink.
"I think he'd apprethiate a visit from hith girl too Theargeant – jutht remember he'th meant to be taking things easy, mith."
Angua eyes darted towards Vimes guiltily, and he looked away just as quickly. This was not going to be a pleasant meeting, but he had to know about the attack..
Carrot looks weak, but Vimes still saw his face light up at the sight of them…at the sight of Angua. The amount of guilt Vimes had felt over the last twelve hours should have been enough to last anyone else a lifetime. Well, maybe not any one else. Vetinari was a cold emotionless bastard, but then there was Throat, who couldn't possibly have a conscience considering what he put, or rather what he didn't put into those sausages….
Still, he wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible. Preferably without Carrot thanking him for stopping Angua getting beat into a bloody pulp. He couldn't help but pale at the thought of how close he'd come to striking her…how he'd been filled with so much anger he could hardly control himself. He'd turned into the very thing he hated…
Angua was looking at him with concern. Too much concern. She quickly tried to blank her face, and turned back to Carrot with a faint smile. She didn't bother asking how he was. There was only so many times you can hear "can't complain" before you started complaining yourself.
"Mr.Vimes" Carrot began, "I want to thank-"
"-Captain, we need you to tell us exactly what you saw." Carrot looked up at Vimes as if admiring his humility. God, could he feel any lower…
"Yes sir. I remember seeing DeLancey sir. Unfortunately.'
Poor lad's out of it…wonder what Igor's got him on. Wonder if I could have some of it…"Unfortunately?"
" Yes sir. Because I remember seeing him in front of me, just before I spun around to face the attacker creeping up behind me sir."
"Are you telling me DeLancey didn't stab you?" Oh gods.
"Yes sir. I remember it distinctly because he…was smirking at me sir."
Angua felt a growl coming. She hated that man. She hated him for messing up so many lives. She hated him for the line he'd made Vimes cross…
Vimes, who was just standing there staring off blankly with dull eyes. Oh no…
It was back to the same old reasoning in his head. He'd killed DeLancey. But Angua had said it was alright because he was evil...it hadn't just been the girls, he'd left Carrot for dead…and he'd hoped so badly that he was part of something else, something greater and more calculating. But now, it seemed he hadn't even attacked Carrot…
"Mr Vimes are you alright?" The injured man asked weakly.
Gods, even Carrot, in this state, has noticed, Angua thought panicking..
"Uh, Carrot – are you sure you didn't get a good look at the other attacker?" She didn't want to say 'actual' attacker. She didn't want to drive the stake home here.
Carrot shook his head embarrassed.
"I'm sorry, I…it was all so quick.."
"Well then, we better leave you to rest."
"Thank you" carrot said.
Didn't even ask me stay.
She coughed politely.
"We'd better get back to the case then sir?"
Vimes seemed to shake himself out of his despairing daze.
"Oh right, er, Sergeant.."
She practically dragged him up to his office by the elbow. The parallels with the night before were not lost on her.
As soon as the door was closed she turned to see him leaning against his desk with that damn pensive look on his darkened face…
"It wasn't DeLancey..." he muttered eventually.
Angua approached him and resisted the urge to give him a good slap.
"To be quite frank sir, you need to get a grip…this is exactly why I didn't want you to keep going on this case..."
Vimes seemed to come back.
"I was right though wasn't I…there's something else?"
She sighed. Maybe. There was an accomplice now…but an accomplice in what? Dammit. Now he had her thinking..
" I need this Angua." Vimes found himself saying. "I need something to distract me."
She looked up at him, staring down at the floor with a mixture of vulnerability and brooding. She gave him a light amused smile.
"You couldn't have found some other conspiracy?" There was twinkle of wickedness in her eye. "It could have clues in it."
He couldn't resist grinning back. And Sam Vimes was not a natural-born grinner by any means.
He let the smile go from his face, but couldn't quite get rid of all the friendliness form his voice as he said;
"Better get Cheery down to where we found Carrot. See if she can pick up anything. I'm guessing that er, you missed…"
She sighed.
"I know, I missed the other attacker...there was too much blood and-" –the hunt, she had been going to say. All I could see was the blood, and your rage...your need for the hunt….
-there was just too much blood." She finished off, somewhat lamely.
Vimes gave her a curious look, but let her leave.
*always an unnerving experience…you half expect it to stay there even when he's pulled his arm away agin.
TBC
R/R