'Twas the night before Hogswatch, when all through the Watch House, not a creature was stirring...except Carrot. A strange noise had been keeping him awake for about a week now. Every night was the same, a loud hammering sound, then scratching noises. He'd also not been getting on too well with the rest of the Watch and, nice as he is, even Carrot ends up in foul moods after a bad night's rest. He was absolutely fed up and so that night decided to investigate..............
Carrot walked along the corridor and found that the noise was coming from Angua's room - he knocked lightly on the door and entered there he saw her.... Angua had fallen out of bed and was maniacally scratching herself. OH NO .... Angua'd got fleas!!!!!
"Erm, Angua...are you....alright?" stammered Carrot tactfully.
"WHAT?! Of course I'm not!!!"
"Well...what should I do? Should I call you a vet?"
"NO...no. I'm going back to live with the wolfpack...I should never have left."
Carrot watched as Angua disappeared into the night. "But... But... But... Angua - I love you" he whispered after her. He went back to his room in a daze, sat on his bed and cried.
Vimes - who had been avoiding his mountain of paperwork, heard and came in.
"Carrot whatever is the matter why are you crying?"
"Nothing, important sir."
"It sounds important to me Carrot, now out with it man."
Carrot sighed, "Angua... has gone back to her family... sir, I don't think she's coming back. She's...erm, well...she's left me sir...," he whimpered.
"Carrot...you said it wasn't important, she is... er was your girlfriend. And one of our best officers." exclaimed Vimes.
"What should I do sir?"
"Well, I don't think we have any choice but to go and find her.....erm, why did she leave Captain... if you... er... don't mind me asking that is..?"
Carrot turned bright red. "Well sir, she... she... had... she had fleas sir..."
"Fleas!!! You mean to tell me that she left her job and her boyfriend because of fleas?! I think that there might be more to this than we first thought....I want everyone in my office in 5 minutes!"
"Your office, sir? I'm not sure we'll all fit."
"Good point, well, just assemble everyone somewhere and come and find me."

*****

3.00 am in the streets of Ankh-Morpork was rush hour for the thieves, assassins and other such guilds. It was also busy for the unlicensed trades.
"Are you sure you got the right one?"
"Of course I did you silly sod! How many bloody werewolves are there in the Watch?"
"Quiet you fool, I was just making sure. You know as well as I do what He's like when upset. If we got it wrong we won't have a leg to stand on...or arms, or a head for that matter!"
the two of them soon disappeared into the night, after all, it wasn't safe to hang around the streets of Ankh-Morpork at any time of the night...or day.

*****

The outline of a wolf tore through the night, its glazed eyes cut through the air like it was soft butter, the vacancy of expression suggested that it did not know where it was coming from, or even going to; but somewhere inside where a set of co-ordinates leading it to its destination.

*****

Back at the Watch house everyone was assembled. Nobby pushed his way to the front, "Get out the way you bastard! I wanna see what's happening...hey, don't do that! I am a higher ranking officer!!"
Commander Vimes was beginning to get angry, no one seemed to be listening to a word he was saying. Soon he was at the end of his tether,
"SHUT UP! THE LOT OF YOU!!! Now that I have your undivided attention, maybe I can continue. Sergeant Angua seems to have left with no signs of coming back. The reason she left doesn't make sense though, and that is why I've had you assembled here. I...think there may be....some sort of plot against her.....I don't know how or why, but I want this case top priority, starting now...WHAT ARE YOU ALL WAITING THERE FOR? I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU NOW?!!......."

*****

"Bursar!" roared Ridcully "Bursar!!". He readjusted his crossbow aim and fired. The arrow catapulted forward with a satisfying "fwang" sound and thudded into the absolute centre of the target above the Bursar's head. "Lunchtime on the Orient Express" commented the Bursar as he flinched and dived under the desk, "Silver-lined clouds". He wandered out of his office and turned left. Ridcully watched as the mildly deranged wizard pottered down the corridor. He was not seen again all week.
"Dammit." exclaimed Ridcully; he stood up and, with one well-practised arm movement, swept his snooker table desk clear. "Chair!" he thundered; the figure of the Chair of Indefinite Studies which was passing the door paused and looked as though it was about to bolt. The chance was lost, however, when Ridcully placed a hand on his shoulder; "Ah, Chair." he said jovially "Be a good chap and go fetch the Librarian will you?" The Chair bolted and Ridcully wandered back into his office to start setting up the table for a game of snooker.

*****

Down in the Library, the Librarian was ooking softly to himself as he tidied the grimoires of the "Jocular Occult" section. Behind him, a book of the "Sinister Occult" strained at it's chain and then went strangely silent. "Ooook?" running a leathery hand over an equally leathery forehead, the Librarian waddled over to the lifeless tome and poked at it. The other books shook knowingly.

*****

Vimes eyed the gathering around the room. The gathering eyed back with the occasional stunned blink. "Well," crickets, had been any up this time in the morning, would have chirped breaking the oppressive silence, "get cracking."