The Fifth Elephant (Discworld 24)

"There is one, I believe - "

"Then we shall happily make do as best we can. Won"t we Sam?"

"Certainly, dear."

It was seriously snowing by the time they left, in great feather lumps which fell with a faint damp hiss, muffling all other sound. Vimes wouldn"t have known that they"d reached the pass if the coaches hadn"t stopped.

"The coach with your... men on it should go in front," said Inigo, as they stood in the snow beside the steaming horses. "We should follow close behind. I"ll ride with our driver, just in case."

"So that if we"re attacked by anyone you can give them a potted summary of the political situation?" said Vimes. "No, you will ride inside with the Lady Sybil, and I"ll ride on the box. Got to protect the civilians, eh?"

"Your Grace, I - "

"However, your suggestion is appreciated," Vimes went on. "You get inside, Mister Skimmer."

The man opened his mouth. Vimes raised an eyebrow.

"Very well, Your Grace, but it is extremely - "

"Good man"

"I should like my leather case down from the roof, though."

"Certainly. A bit of fact-finding will take your mind off things."

Vimes walked forward to the other carriage, poked his head inside and said, "we"re going to be ambushed, lads."

"Dat"s interestin"," said Detritus. He grunted slightly as he wound the windlass of his crossbow.

"Oh," said Cheery.

"I don"t think they"ll try to kill us," Vimes went on.

"Does dat mean we don"t try to kill dem?"

"Use you own judgment."

Detritus sighted alond a thick bundle of arrows. They were his idea. Since his giant crossbow was capable of sending an iron bolt through the gates of a city under siege, he had felt it rather a waste to use it on just on person, so he had adapted it to fire a sheaf of serveral dozen arrows all at once. The threads holding them together were supposed to snap under acceleration. They did so. Quite often the arrows also shattered in midair as they failed to withstand the enormous pressure.

He called it the Piecemaker. He"d only tried it once, down at the butts; Vimes had seen a target vanish. So had the targets on either side of it, the earth bank behind it, and a spiraling cloud of feathers floating down had been all that remained of a couple of seagulls who had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. In this instance, the wrong place had been vertically above Detritus.

Now no other watchmen would go on patrol with the troll unless they could stay at least a hundred yards directly behind him. But the test had the desired effect, because some saw everything in Ankh-Morpork and news about the targets had got around. No just the knowledge that Detritus was on his way cleared a street much faster than any weapon.

"I got lots of judgment," he said.

"You be careful with that thing," said Vimes. "You could hurt someone."

The party started out again, through the swirls of snow. Vimes made himself comfortable among the luggage, lit a cigar, and then, when he was sure that the rattling of the coach would mask the sounds, rummaged farther under the tarpaulin and drew out Inigo"s cheap, scarred leather case.

From his pocket he took a small roll of black cloth, and unrolled it on his knee. Intricate little lockpicks glinted for a moment in the light of the coach lamps.

A good copper has to be able to think like a criminal. Vimes was a very good copper.

He was also a very alive copper and intended to remain that way. That was why, when the case"s lock went click, he laid it down on the chaking roof with its lide opening away from him, and, leaning back, carefully lifted the lid with his boot.

A long blade flicked out. It would have terminally ruined the digestion of a casual thief. Someone obviously expected very bad hotel security on this journey.

Vimes carefully eased it back into its spring-loaded sheath, smiled in a not very happy way, and carefully lifted out something that gleamed with the silvery light of carefully designed, beautifully engineered and very compact evil.