FORESHADOWING

REVIEWS

Ozodrac – Cheers, Ben. Now you mention it, that was Leonard's phrase… Oops. Oh well, I'm just glad I updated at all, and I'm glad you like it still.

Lunatic – You still don't know who anybody is, do you… Hehe. Have you read any more Discworld yet? If not, why not?

Mike: Yes, your name. And again, look. I'll keep writing if you keep reviewing, ok? And how's your own writing going?

Jess: Does anyone actually like Rust? He makes such a convenient villain when everyone hates him… Any more artwork for me to worship?

Artemis: Yeah… Considering they're my favourite Discworld group, I do tend to bash them a bit…

Ned: I didn't really jilt you… Well, maybe I did, but oh well. And that constable can be Edward if you want.

Not Your Average: Plushies stuffed animals. Also, that was the old Carrot. Werewolf-Carrot is a bit more interesting.

CHAPTER FOUR

Our story so far:

Carrot was hurt badly when a building fell on him out on patrol – the Alchemist's Guild's monthly explosion. He would have died but Angua bit him and turned him into a werewolf. There was a lot of angst and pain and stuff before they sorted things out; much fluff ensued, and everyone was happy. Time passed, as it generally does.

Then Vimes did a very stupid thing and let Lady Sybil talk him into a holiday, and for reasons of his own Vetinari put Rust in charge of the Watch temporarily. His Lordship was addressing his 'men' (and other things) when there was an explosion that for once WASN'T the Alchemists, or at least not the Guild, although an alchemist was involved. Leonard of Quirm, to be precise. A flying machine, one that he'd actually managed to complete, had crashed and wiped out a row of houses.

Astonishingly, given the devastation, nobody was killed. There weren't even all that many injuries, and Igor tended to those who needed it. The Lady had been smiling on the city, it seemed, because the houses belonged mainly to single men who were out at work all day.

Even so, some sort of punishment was necessary to maintain the complicated web of illusion that passed for justice in a place like Ankh-Morpork, and so many of the senior nobility of the city were circling like crows over a wolf kill. Or possibly ravens. To give them credit, most of them were attempting to get Rust back into the calm waters of sanity, but his Lordship had never forgiven Vetinari for humiliating him over the war with Klatch or for putting Vimes in charge in Borogravia. He'd taken charge now and it was proving to be harder than it was worth to dislodge him.

Most of the Watch were either patrolling or digging through the rubble, but Angua and Carrot had collared a few of the old-timers such as Fred and Nobby and followed their 'commander' to find out what was going on. Now they were watching in varying attitudes of disbelief as Rust proceeded to actually gain some support amongst the other city leaders. Finally Nobby broke the silence amongst them.

"He did jus' say the words prosecute an' Vetinari in the same sentence, didn't he."

The others nodded.

"And he was bein' serious, wasn't he."

More nods.

"We're in trouble, aren't we."

More nods, and Fred's own personal dread: "Vimesy'll go mad."

"What, again?" Angua asked somewhat cynically, still listening to Rust ranting on. "Anyway, legally it's solid. Slant's backing Rust, and if Slant's there then he thinks he'll win. The zombie's never on the losing side, and he hates Vetinari nearly as much as Rust does."

"Why?"

"Vetinari keeps costing him money."

Carrot wasn't paying attention to the commentary from the others but was watching the scene silently. Finally he said quietly, "We've been ordered to arrest the Patrician before, and nothing ever came of that."

Angua glanced at him. Fred and Nobby were arguing about lawyers now, but she kept her voice down as she replied, "Yes, but then Leshp had sunk and there were no charges. We've got a streetful of evidence of criminal damage, and word's spread that Leonard managed it from the roof spaces of the Palace."

They listened some more. The other nobles had given up; Venturi summed it up best finally by turning and saying flatly, "If you can make the charges stick, then fine, play your little games."

"And if you can't," someone added sotto voce; both werewolves recognised Gaspode's voice, "then Vetinari'll have your liver on a stick."

"Nice thought," Angua said quietly, "but this is looking bad." She paused, head on one side. "What?"

The others looked at her, puzzled. She looked back at them, grimly. "I really, really hope I didn't just hear that…" She started walking across the square towards the gathering, the others hastily following. Rust turned and smiled unpleasantly, calling for the Watch to do their duty.

Notice how nothing good ever comes of that phrase?

There followed a short period of time in which a lot happened. Most of it consisted of arguments in a variety of languages, including a heated exchange in canine about losing your job through stubbornness. At the end of it, the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork had been charged with… well, quite a lot, really. Criminal damage, albeit indirectly, causing a danger to the general public, aiding and abetting creation of a weapon and so on and so forth. Also various kidnap charges after Leonard had innocently revealed that he'd been living in Vetinari's attic for years.

Extremely reluctantly, the Watch arrested Vetinari. Under Rust's orders he was taken to the old city jail rather than the Watch House cells, and the palace guard were set around it rather than watchmen.

The four senior watchmen were despondently heading back to the Yard to tell everyone else what had happened. None of them were happy. Fred and Nobby both looked terrified, mostly wondering what would happen when Vimes got back or if Vetinari got out; Carrot was currently as close to angry as he ever got since Angua had bluntly threatened to break his arm if he even tried to refuse orders and get himself fired again. Only when he'd given in had she reminded him that he was needed to try and counterbalance Rust's insanity and ego; he wasn't happy but he'd accepted it.

Suddenly Angua lifted her head, looking thoughtful. "I may have an idea…" she said softly. Carrot glanced at her questioningly, and then looked at the other two.

Taking the hint, Fred and Nobby scurried off towards the Yard alone, and their captain looked thoughtfully at his mate. "What?"

She grinned infuriatingly. "Come on. We've got maybe two hours until moonrise."