Inspector Andress self-consciously adjusted his tie. After his blunders in what was now known as the Grimalkin Incident, he took his censure poorly and let defeatism get the better of him. He fell far and it was no small blessing that a man who understood discretion like Inspector Coriolis was the only one from the precinct to see him at his worst.

After so many days of binging himself into a stupor, his body did not take to sobriety well. Once he was off duty, he could imbibe a little to take the edge off, but for now, he had to remember his discipline. His conduct had to be beyond any reproach, spotless as a priestly garment. He would not let any weakness stand in the way of his redemption.

His new orders were a dream come true. Indeed, he had been waiting for this day ever since he became a Witch-hunter. He knew it would eventually come to this, should the League not waver, which was why men like him were needed. Every mage, everyone with the potential to be a mage, was to be placed under arrest. It would be a mammoth undertaking, but it was the only way to ensure the citizenry would be safe from the menace of magic.

Operation Nitpick sounded innocuous, more so than the failed Operation Wasp's Sting, but it made clear the sort of thoroughness the Inspector would apply to seeking out every single offender in his jurisdiction. There would not be a single louse left when he was done, not if he had his way.

He had to be careful, though. Their numbers were sorely limited and if the mages sensed danger, they might band together to pose more of a threat than the Municipal Police alone could handle. They had the old guild records and the ARCANUM registries. They had to go after the leaders first, isolate and apprehend them before they could assemble manpower and resources to resist the Witch-hunters.

At the time the Mage Ban was enacted, there were 547 mages on the Phoenix Guild's rolls, 383 residing in Vigau. Of those, 262 were still recorded as having a residence in town, 43 holding some degree of master rank. Four of those former masters held faculty positions at the Collège Avram Zucker, easy pickings.

Inspector Andress had ordinary patrolmen on the perimeter of the school in case anyone attempted to run. That was the last line of defense. He had two of his Witch-hunters and two deputies at the main gate and two two-man teams patrolling the grounds while he, Inspector Coriolis and two others went to the principal to see if they could be taken the easy way.

Fortune appeared to smile on him for a change, as the four men stepped into the principal's office without the slightest sign of awareness of what was happening. Inspector Andress knew what a mage on his guard looked like and unless all four of them were supreme actors worthy of the Royal Theatre Company, they were as defenseless as an oyster without its shell.

The highest ranked among them, Hrunting Unferth, a former master of the fourth degree, was the first to show any caution as he looked at Inspectors Andress and Coriolis and asked the principal, "What is this about, Mr. Principal?"

Inspector Andress noted that he did not look behind him where Constables Andretti and Renoir were flanking them. Either he did not notice them when he came in or he was restraining himself so as not to appear suspicious.

The Principal replied, "Inspector Andress here would like to speak to you gentlemen."

Inspector Andress tipped his hat and said, "Wadley Andress, ARCANUM, Chief of Magecrime Investigation here in Vigau. A pleasure, I'm sure, Hrunting Unferth, Laurent Baccano, Otto Septimus, and Claus Nicopher."

It looked like Unferth was squaring off against the Inspector. Did he dare to try anything? If he knew what was coming, he might. Four master mages against four Witch-hunters. The odds were not in the Witch-hunters' favor unless they took the initiative.

The Inspector reached into his jacket pocket and whipped out his slapjack, striking Unferth on the collarbone. He cried out from the pain, dropping to his knee. Before he could recover, Inspector Andress used the binders he had at the ready in his other hand to secure Unferth's wrists. While he was doing that, his fellow Witch-hunters swept in to secure the other three mages while they were still caught off guard.

Normally you would not strike a suspect with no clear evidence of threatening behavior. An otherwise sure conviction could get thrown out due to a procedural complaint such as the use of excessive force during apprehension, but the situation was different now. Any accusations of police brutality would fall on deaf ears, so Inspector Andress could afford to take more expedient means to make his arrests with less risk to himself and his men. If Unferth had indeed meant to try something, it became the last thing on his mind after a solid hit with the slapjack.

In fact, Unferth was still too preoccupied with the pain of a most likely broken collarbone to raise any complaint, so it was another one of the suspects, Septimus, who spoke up while struggling with Constable Andretti.

Strictly speaking, designated Witch-hunters were only provisionally under the authority of the Municipal Police's chain of command. ARCANUM answered to the Ministry of Magic Affairs and unless the Inspector's superiors deferred to the local authority, as they did after the Grimalkin Incident, lodging a complaint with the Superintendent would accomplish nothing, not that they were going to be afforded the opportunity to do so.

A silence fell over the four mages as they seemed to appreciate the gravity of their situation.

Through gritted teeth, Unferth said, "You've done it now, you damned fools. You go after law-abiding mages like this and no one will bother to heed the Mage Ban. All that will remain are the desperate... and the true monsters."

A toothless dog certainly knows how to bark, the Inspector thought.