Authors: Robert Muchamore
‘What about us wearing Trinity uniforms though?’
Shak
asked.
Ewart shrugged. ‘Maybe you picked them up at a local jumble sale or something … Actually, I think we did buy them in a charity shop in town. Besides, a couple of kids breaking into a school are hardly headline news. The cops might dust for fingerprints and show a few mug-shots of the local yobbos to the people who saw you, but unless the school kicks up a huge stink they probably won’t even bother with that.’
‘So the mission was basically a success?’
Shak
asked.
James caught
Ewart’s
wry smile in the driver’s mirror. ‘Despite the misjudgement with the fire door, I guess you boys did OK.’
James was greatly relieved that
Ewart
wasn’t going to go psycho at them. He lifted his bum off the seat and pushed his bloody trousers down as far as his knees.
‘Is there a first-aid kit around?’ he asked.
Ewart nodded. ‘Under the front passenger seat.’
‘Does it hurt?’
Shak
asked, as James grabbed the green plastic box from between his feet.
‘Course,’ James said, as he ripped open an antiseptic wipe and cleaned away the blood, revealing a small puncture wound that was already showing signs of scabbing over.
‘It’s minute,’
Shak
said, looking at the injury with contempt.
‘Yeah, but it’s deep,’ James said defensively. ‘I think it almost went through to the bone.’
‘Oh
give
over,’
Shak
giggled. ‘I’ve seen paper cuts worse than that.’
‘Yeah, well,’ James moaned. ‘With an injury like this, I still don’t think I’ll be up to going out on training tonight.
Ewart
, can you write me an excuse note?’
Ewart shook his head. ‘James, you know the rules. If you think your injury is serious, go and see the nurse on campus and she’ll write one for you.’
‘Come on,
Ewart
,’ James begged. ‘I bailed you out this morning when you found out
Callum
was glued to the toilet.’
‘Give over,’
Ewart
grinned. ‘You practically begged me to let you come. Didn’t this job already get you out of some physics test? As far as I’m concerned, you’re scheduled for a training exercise tonight, and unless you have a legitimate excuse, you’re going to do it.’
James kicked the back of the passenger seat. ‘Bloody hell,’ he muttered, making sure it wasn’t loud enough for
Ewart
to hear.
James got back to campus shortly before seven o’clock, giving him an hour to clean up, change into uniform and down some food. He was already knackered from the mission, and while he knew the adrenalin rush would keep him alert through the overnight training exercise, the loss of a night’s sleep would leave his body out of sync over the upcoming weekend.
Kerry was taking her tray across to scrape when James arrived in the canteen. She’d eaten with Gabrielle and the rest of her team, and they’d clearly been discussing their strategy for the exercise. She gave James a peck on the cheek as she passed by.
‘Good luck tonight, sweetie,’ she said, grinning sarcastically. ‘It’d be so sad if your team ended up finishing with no eggs and getting that punishment run.’
‘What punishment run?’ James asked.
‘Ten kilometres with heavy packs. Sounds like fun, eh?’
‘Really?’ James gasped. ‘Oh man, I don’t know any of this stuff. I tried to get hold of Lauren, but she’s not in her room and her mobile’s off.’
‘You mean to say …’ Kerry giggled, shaking her head. ‘James, have you even met up with all the members of your team yet?’
Kerry looked back at Gabrielle and the three other kids on her team, who were lined up behind her, holding their dinner trays. They exchanged knowing glances and shook their heads.
‘I wouldn’t get too cocky,’ James said, trying to sound like he wasn’t ruffled. ‘
Ewart
told me some stuff about the egg battle on the drive back and he gave me a few pointers.’
As Kerry’s team filed away, James realised he had to find Lauren fast. If they arrived at the combat training area without having studied the maps and made a plan, they’d get wiped out. He grabbed a burger and fries, sat at the nearest table and started wolfing them down.
‘
Yo
, bro.’
James was relieved to look over his shoulder and find Lauren, Bethany and Jake heading towards him; but the training exercise went clean out of his mind.
‘Oh my
god
. What have you done to your head?’
Lauren grinned. ‘Like it?’
‘It’s um … black. I bet Mum’s spinning in her grave.’
Lauren was wounded by James’ remark. ‘Do you really think she’d be upset?’
James sensed he’d hit a nerve and changed tack. ‘Nah, don’t sweat it. Mum would probably be surprised you waited as long as you did. You must have asked her fifty billion times. Just don’t get that nose ring you were after as well.’
Lauren shook her head. ‘We’re not allowed to pierce anything except our ears before we’re sixteen – so does it look OK, or what?’
‘It’s not terrible,’ James shrugged. ‘But most boys
prefer
blondes
you know.’
Lauren looked at Bethany. ‘That’s the best reason I’ve heard yet for dying it black.’
James grinned. ‘I can’t wait until you get your first boyfriend. I’m gonna have so much fun teasing you.’
‘Don’t hold your breath,’ Lauren sneered.
‘So what’s happened to Dana?’ James asked.
Bethany shrugged. ‘Cheesy went back to her room.’
‘Why do they call her Cheesy?’ Jake asked.
‘ ’Cos she doesn’t wash,’ Bethany grinned.
James smiled. ‘She’s not a girly girl and she’s a loner, so some of the others take the
mickey
. I know she wears scruffy uniform and that, but I’ve sparred with her in the dojo and she smells as fresh as anyone else.’
‘James fancies her,’ Bethany giggled.
Bethany severely got on James’ nerves at times and this was one of them. He shot her a furious look. ‘God Bethany, I really wish you’d grow up.’
‘Did you beat her?’ Jake asked.
Lauren laughed, ‘James couldn’t beat Dana. He got nailed by Bethany and she’s ten.’
Jake nodded. ‘Yeah, James. You’re strong, but you’re really slow.’
‘Bethany didn’t pin me, I slipped,’ James huffed. He was anxious to steer the conversation away from humiliating reminders of losing a fight to a ten-year-old girl. ‘Anyhow, we’ve got less than fifteen minutes to plan our strategy.’
Bethany unrolled a map of the combat training area. Lauren and Jake held down the corners to stop it curling up. James swallowed his last couple of chips and rubbed his salty fingertips on his trousers as he tried to sound like leadership material.
‘OK, here’s what we’ll do …’ James said, walking his fingers across the map. ‘Um … there’s our drop point, so as soon as the mission starts we’ll head for this high ground here. We can station scouts here and here and pick off anyone who tries to come near us.’
‘Good plan,’ Lauren said. ‘Just one
teensy
problem.’
‘What?’
‘That particular piece of high ground is in the middle of a lake.’
‘Is it?’ James gasped.
Lauren nodded slowly. ‘As a rule, the blue bits on a map indicate water.’
‘Good point,’ James grinned weakly. ‘You passed my test.’
Jake thumped his palm against his forehead. ‘Why do I
always
get
put on the rubbish team?’
*
The cherubs all gathered on the stretch of road outside the main building to find that twenty sets of appropriately sized kit had been laid out behind an army truck: body armour, weapons and a backpack for each trainee. The sun was starting to drop, but it was still warm.
‘The truck leaves in eight minutes,’ Mr Large shouted. ‘Let’s move it, muffins.’
James sat on the tarmac and pulled off his boots, before stepping into a chunky, Kevlar-lined overall. By the time he’d pulled on the heavy gloves, strapped on the helmet and pushed down the visor, he was boiling hot.
Jake was struggling to load his gun with his gloved hands, so James walked over to help him out.
‘Five minutes,’ Large shouted. ‘Fifty punishment laps for any kid who holds up the truck.’
James clipped the ammunition on to his gun, then looked at Jake. ‘Are you OK? You look like a ghost.’
Jake grinned uneasily. ‘How bad do you think it hurts when those bullets hit you?’
‘Pretty bad, but don’t worry, there’s four of us looking out for you.’
James held the loaded weapon out for Jake, but Jake backed away and scowled at the ground. ‘I don’t
wanna
go,’ he said anxiously, tugging at the chinstrap of his helmet to unbuckle it. ‘I changed my mind.’
James groaned with frustration. Until Jake turned ten and committed himself to becoming a CHERUB agent, he didn’t have to go on any training exercises if he didn’t want to; but James knew he’d catch hell from Mr Large if a member of his team dropped out minutes before the exercise was due to start.
James desperately tried to think up a way to talk Jake around. ‘You’re lucky you know, coming to CHERUB before you’re ten. I only got three weeks before they put me into basic training. I was unfit and I could barely even swim.’
‘I’m sorry, James,’ Jake sniffled. ‘I’m tired. I
wanna
go to bed.’
‘Don’t back out now. You’re a tough little guy.’
‘What’s the hold-up?’ Dana asked. ‘We need to get on that truck.’
James shrugged hopelessly. ‘Jake doesn’t want to go.’
‘Doesn’t he?’ Dana grinned. She flipped up her visor and pressed her beefy hands down on Jake’s shoulders. ‘What’s your dysfunction, brat? Are you chicken?’
‘No,’ Jake said defiantly.
‘Do you know how bad your mates are gonna flame you when they find out that you bottled it?’
Jake couldn’t think of an answer.
‘Do you really want to go back to the junior block?’ Dana asked. ‘They’ll laugh their socks off when you walk around that corner into the
rec
room.’
‘I just …’ Jake said meekly.
‘Don’t give me
I just
, brat,’ Dana said. ‘Take your gun from James and put your helmet back on. You’re gonna go out there and show everyone what you’re made of. I’ll cover your back, OK?’
Jake was a little scared of Dana, but the idea of this imposing girl looking out for him was reassuring. He nodded obediently at her, before taking his gun from James.
‘OK, soldier,’ Dana grinned, giving Jake a friendly pat on the back. ‘Grab your pack and go climb into the truck.’
James smiled at Dana as Jake headed towards the truck. ‘Thanks.’
Dana returned a look of contempt as she pushed her visor back down over her face. ‘You should study the tricks the instructors use to motivate us,’ she said harshly. ‘What little boy wants to get teased by his mates?’
James nodded. ‘Look, Dana. I know it’s awkward me being in charge when you’re older and more experienced than me.’
‘It’s not awkward, James, it’s idiotic. So spare me your stupid pep talk and let’s get this over with.’
The urban warfare compound was a rectangle one kilometre by one and a half. It was designed for soldiers training in attacking or defending built-up areas. Teams A–C had already been dropped at their starting points. Mr Large pulled the canvas-covered truck up sharply and Mr Pike – who’d ridden in the back alongside the kids – slid a bolt, allowing the rear flap of the truck to slam down.
‘Team D,’ Pike shouted. ‘What are you waiting for?’
Pike handed each kid a box containing six unbroken eggs before they jumped down. James was first out, followed by Jake, Lauren, Bethany and Dana.
James glanced around as the truck pulled away and Bethany unfurled the map. The artificial town had a surreal air. Rusted cars lined the streets, with all their windows removed to avoid any danger from flying glass. The buildings were finished in bare concrete and were designed to simulate different kinds of environments: shops, homes, offices and warehouses. Some were as much as four storeys tall.
The legacy of thousands of mock battles lay everywhere: black scorch marks on the walls, metal shell casings in the gutters and everything spattered in brightly coloured paint. With no moving vehicles and a population of twenty kids, the compound was eerily quiet. All James could hear were the footsteps of his team-mates and the passage of each nervous breath around the inside of his helmet.
‘Any bright ideas?’ James asked.
Lauren pointed at a building a few hundred metres into the distance. ‘I like that one,’ she said. ‘It backs on to the corner of the compound, meaning we only have to defend it from two sides. It’s also nice and high, so we can station a lookout on the roof.’