  We study the instability of the discrete vortex with topological charge S=2
in a prototypical lattice model and observe its mediation through the central
lattice site. Motivated by this finding, we analyze the model with the central
site being inert. We identify analytically and observe numerically the
existence of a range of linearly stable discrete vortices with S=2 in the
latter model. The range of stability is comparable to that of the recently
observed experimentally S=1 discrete vortex, suggesting the potential for
observation of such higher charge discrete vortices.
