Jingo by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: epub

“…A crucial factor, I have always found, is NOT the size of the forces. It is the positioning and commitment of reserves, the bringing of power to a point…”

Vimes tried to concentrate on Tacticus. But there were two distractions. One was that the grinning face of 71-hour Ahmed looked out at him from every line. The other was his watch, which he had propped up against the Dis-organizer. It was powered by actual clockwork and was much more reliable. And it never needed feeding. It ticked quietly. As far as it was concerned, he could forget his appointments. He liked it.

The second hand was just curving toward the top of the minute when he heard someone coming up the stairs.

“Come in, captain,” said Vimes. There was a snigger from the box.

Carrot’s face was pinker than normal.

“Something’s happened to Angua,” said Vimes.

The high color drained from Carrot’s face. “How did you know that?”

Vimes firmly closed the lid on the sniggering demon. “Let’s call it intuition, shall we? I’m right, am I?”

“Yes, sir! She went aboard a Klatchian boat and now it’s sailing! She hasn’t come off!”

“What the hell did she go on board for?”

“We were after Ahmed! And he looked as if he was taking someone with him, sir. Someone ill, sir!”

“He’s left? But the diplomats are still—”

Vimes stopped. There was, if you didn’t know Carrot, something wrong with the situation. There were people who, when their girlfriend was spirited away on a foreign ship, would have dived into the Ankh, or at least run briskly along the crust, leapt aboard and dealt out merry hell on a democratic basis. Of course, at a time like this that would be a dumb thing to do. The sensible approach would be to let people know, but even so—

But Carrot really did believe that personal wasn’t the same as important. Of course, Vimes believed the same thing. You had to hope that when push came to shove you’d act the right way. But there was something slightly creepy about someone who didn’t just believe it, but lived their life by it. It was as unnerving as meeting a really poor priest.

Obviously, it was a consideration that if someone had captured Angua you knew that the rescue you were going to probably wouldn’t be hers.

But…

The gods alone knew what would happen if he left now. The city had gone war mad. Big things were happening. At a time like this, every cell in his body was telling him that the Commander of the Watch had Responsibilities…

He drummed his fingers on the desk. In times like this, it was vital to make the right decision. That was what he was paid for. Responsibility…

He ought to stay here, and do the best he could.

But…history was full of the bones of good men who’d followed bad orders in the hope that they could soften the blow. Oh, yes, there were worse things they could do, but most of them began right where they started following bad orders.

His

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