He nodded to Otto and went inside, where Sergeant Cheery Littlebottom was standing - on a box - at the too high duty officer's desk, her chevrons all shiny and new on her sleeve. Vimes made a mental note to do something about the box. Some of the dwarf officers were getting sensitive about having to use it.

`I think we could do with a couple of lads standing outside, Cheery,' he said. `Nothing provocative, just a little reminder to people that we keep the peace.'

`I don't think we'll need that, Mister Vimes,' said the dwarf.

`I'm not interested in seeing a picture in the Times showing the Watch's first vampire recruit being mobbed by protesters, corpsergeant,' said Vimes severely.

`I thought you wouldn't be, sir,' said Cheery. `So I asked Sergeant Angua to fetch her. They came in the back way half an hour ago. She's showing her the building. I think they're down in the locker

room.'

`You asked Angua to do it?' said Vimes, his heart sinking. 'Yessir?' said Cheery, suddenly looking worried. `Er ... is there a problem?'

Vimes stared at her. She's a good orderly officer, he thought. I wish I had two more like her. And she deserved the promotion, heavens know, but, he reminded himself, she's from Uberwald, isn't she? She should have remembered about the ... thing between them and werewolves. Maybe it's my fault. I tell 'em that all coppers are just coppers.

`What? Oh, no,' he said. `Probably not.'

A vampire and a werewolf in one room, he thought, as he headed on up the stairs to his office. Well, they'll just have to deal with it. And that'll be only the first of our problems.

`And I took Mr Pessimal up to the interview room,' Cheery called after him.