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I wasn't going to try to arrest or detain either Garrick or Madderfy. Not here, not now. Too many risks. There was absolutely no prospect of any reinforcements in this remote place. Besides, I couldn't trust the cops even if they were nearby. Madderfy's father seemed to have his hooks into the police organisation, and Junior might have his own connections. And I could not attempt to escort them as prisoners through the night. They were bound to try to escape or attempt to jump me, and I didn't want to be forced to shoot either of them, despite my bravado earlier. Instead, I elected simply to tie them up and leave them here, using what you might think of as magical hand-cuffs. Maybe self-knotting rope would be a better description, although the processes involved are rather more complex than either description would suggest. I took what a human would regard as a length of stout rope about two or three feet long from one of my deep coat pockets. I spoke a few words - words I had long ago memorised and were in any case unintelligible to anybody far or near. There was a sudden faint glow as the glamour activated. I approached the Professor with extreme caution. He was looking at me coolly, his eyes cold and distant. "Put your hands out in front of you, with your wrists together," I instructed, carefully keeping the gun out of reach of the other Goblin's long arms. Garrick was apparently familiar with the restraints, at least from a theoretical point of view. He looked entirely resigned as he held out his hands as I had instructed. He obviously knew that trying to jerk away while I applied the cuffs might cause them to over-tighten on his wrist, or tighten around another part of his anatomy - like his neck. I flicked one end of the rope, which immediately wound itself around one of his wrists. I released my grip timed precisely as the rope's bond sealed itself - this is another skill I have practiced - and the loose end fastened itself around his other wrist, leaving him tightly bound. Garrick just sat there, inhumanly patiently, like a toad under a rock waiting for an interloper to depart. I pulled a second length of enchanted rope from my pocket and activated it. I stepped towards Madderfy, who was still cowering on the floor, squeaking. As I took the third step, Madderfy tried to jump me. I was half-expecting it. The strength of madness was in him. I side-stepped deftly, then coshed him with the butt of my revolver leaving him sprawled semi-conscious. I waved the rope over his left wrist and the leg of the desk, which effectively tethered him outside of my range. "Thanks for everything," I said sardonically, stooping to collect the folder from the floor, "No hard feelings, guys." Fat chance. The look that Madderfy gave me would have stunned rats at fifty paces, despite his own dazed state. The Professor's expression was more opaque, inscrutable, but I guessed he would not be welcoming me with open arms and his finest whiskey any time in the near future. I backed away up the short stairs that led to the front door, not taking my eyes or my aim from either of them. They would be able to get free in four or five hours, probably, as the glamour wore off: not a long time, but enough for me to get below and make a report to my client, as well as put in train a few measures which might deflect any retaliation. I opened the door quietly, flicking my eyes to either side briefly to check that all was clear. Rigg, or even another human might have heard the gunshot - after all, we were not so very far from the gentrified residences closer to the station. Any of them might have taken it into their head to investigate, despite the lateness of the hour, or perhaps call the cops of the upper world. I wanted to avoid any such entanglements, of course - night-time encounters between human and Goblin inevitably result in bad news for all concerned. I had no option but to return on foot - there would be no trains from the station for several hours - but I decided to take the quick route and follow the railway lines back to the entrance I had used on my first visit. This sounds dangerous, although moving trains are easy enough to spot and avoid, and dark tunnels hold no particular fear for a Goblin. Besides, there are usually fewer humans around on the tracks than on the roads. As it happened, I walked for a couple of hours in the darkness until I reached the point where the minor branch line joined the tracks of more mainstream rail services. I hid myself just at the end of the platform until a train with the correct destination came into view, then scuttled onto the platform and into the last carriage secure in the view that any humans about early enough to catch the first train would be too sleepy to pay any attention to a short figure with a turned-up collar and an oversized hat. The rest of the trip was a breeze, slipping out of the nearly unoccupied carriage as soon as it arrived at the terminus and casually avoiding the ticket inspectors. The portal in the damp archway whisked me below in an instant, a couple of minutes to show by credentials to the border guards and then the transit tube to my office cavern.
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Part 57