Night Watch

part of life in the big city.”
    “But they were armed men! Swords, helmets—”
    “Valuable loot, Clive.”
    “But I thought the City Watch took care of the gangs—”
    Tom looked at his friend over the top of his paperwork.
    “Are you suggesting that we ask for police protection? Anyway, there isn’t any, not anymore. Some of the watchmen are with us, for what good they are, and the rest either got beaten up or ran away—”
    “More deserters?”
    “Frankly, Clive, everyone’s drifting away so fast that by tomorrow we’ll be feeling pretty lonely.”
    The men paused as a corporal brought in some more messages. They thumbed through them gloomily.
    “Well, it’s gone quiet, anyway,” said the major.
    “Suppertime,” said the captain.
    The major threw up his hands. “This isn’t war! A man throws a rock, walks around the corner, and he’s an upstanding citizen again! There’s no rules! ”
    The captain nodded. Their training hadn’t covered this sort of thing. They’d studied maps of campaigns, with broad sweeping plains and the occasional patch of high ground that had to be taken. Cities were to be laid siege to, or defended. They weren’t for fighting in. You couldn’t see, you couldn’t group, you couldn’t maneuver and you were always going to be up against people who knew the place like their own kitchen. And you definitely didn’t want to fight an enemy that had no uniform.
    “Where’s your lordship?” said the captain.
    “Gone to the ball, the same as yours.”
    “And what were your orders, may I ask?”
    “He told me to do whatever I considered necessary to carry out our original objectives.”
    “Did he write that down?”
    “No,” said the major.
    “Pity. Neither did mine.”
    They looked at one another. And then Wrangle said, “Well…there’s no actual unrest at the moment. As such. My father said all this happened in his time. He said it’s best just to keep the lid on it. There’s only a limited number of cobblestones, he said.”
    “It’s almost ten,” said the major. “People will be going to bed soon, surely?”
    Their joint expression radiated the fervent hope that it had all calmed down. No one in their right mind wanted to be in a position where he was expected to do what he thought best.
    “Well, Clive, provided there’s no—” the captain began.
    There was a commotion outside the tent, and then a man stepped inside. He was bloodstained and smoke-blackened, his face lined with pink where sweat had trickled through the dreadful grime. A crossbow was slung across his back, and he’d acquired a bandolier of knives.
    And he was mad. The major recognized the look. The eyes were too bright, the grin too fixed.
    “Ah, right,” he said and removed a large brass knuckle-duster from his right hand. “Sorry about your sentry, gen’elmen, but he didn’t want to let me in even though I gave him the password. Are you in charge?”
    “Who the hell are you?” said the major, standing up.
    The man seemed unimpressed.
    “Carcer. Sergeant Carcer,” he said.
    “A sergeant? In that case, you can—”
    “From Cable Street,” Carcer added.
    Now the major hesitated. Both the soldiers knew about the Unmentionables, although, if asked, they probably wouldn’t have been able to articulate exactly what it was that they knew. Unmentionables worked in secret, behind the scenes. They were a lot more than just watchmen. They reported directly to the Patrician; they had a lot of pull. You didn’t mess with them. They were not people to cross. It didn’t matter that this man was only a sergeant. He was an Unmentionable.
    And, what was worse, the major realized that the creature could see what he was thinking and was enjoying the view.
    “Yeah,” said Carcer. “That’s right. And it’s lucky for you that I’m here, soldier boy.”
    Soldier boy, thought the major. And there were men listening, who’d remember that. Soldier boy.
    “How so?” he said.
    “While you and your shiny soldiers have been prancing around chasing washerwomen,” said Carcer, pulling up the tent’s only vacant chair and sitting down, “the real trouble’s been happening down in Treacle Mine Road. You know it?”
    “What are you talking about? We haven’t had any reports about any disturbances down there, man!”
    “Yeah, right. Don’t you think that’s strange?”
    The major hesitated. A vague memory bobbed at the back of his mind…and there was a grunt from the captain, who