‘Beg if you have to,’ Lauren added.
*
The steakhouse was busy for a Monday night, but James was underwhelmed by the crushed velvet seating and carpet dotted with shiny black patches. He was even less impressed when he found out that the £6.99 buffet didn’t include drinks. It might have been Kyle and Lauren’s plan, but he doubted they’d be queuing up to refund his twenty quid.
Bruce wore chinos and a smart black shirt, while Kerry had made a quick change into a denim micro-skirt and a figure-hugging top. James could hardly stand being in the same room with Kerry these days, but she was still sexy and he couldn’t help feeling jealous when Bruce felt up her bum while they waited for Hayley, Dean and Rosie to arrive.
Rosie was cute, with rows of straight teeth and big red hair. Dean was older, maybe seventeen, and he held a carrier bag containing a McDonald’s uniform. He said that he’d have to leave early because his shift started at nine and he had to get two buses across town to reach work.
Hayley herself looked surprisingly good. Not eyes-out-on-stalks beautiful, but she wore a green flower-print dress that suited her curvy figure and white pumps. She was too bulky for James to fancy her, but he reckoned she was only a couple of hours a week on the Stairmaster away from being quite attractive.
Everyone exchanged hellos while the waitress found a table for six and the three girls commented on how much they liked each other’s outfits. They all headed off to the buffet and Bruce sneaked a tiny low-light camera out of his trousers and snapped a couple of pictures as James and Hayley bantered in the queue.
Kerry, Bruce, Dean and Rosie were all relaxed as they ate their roast meat, shrimp and salads. But James felt awkward facing Hayley across the table. Her plate was stacked with slices of roast lamb and she’d built a dam out of batter pudding and rice to hold up the teetering mound of veg and pickles in the middle.
‘You’re not eating much,’ Hayley noted gruffly, as she crunched on a large pickled onion.
‘It was all a bit last-minute,’ James explained. ‘I ate already.’
Hayley burst out laughing. ‘So did I, but that doesn’t stop me.’
As everyone around the table laughed, James reached across the table and slid his fingers over Hayley’s chunky wrist. ‘I’m really glad we got together and I completely dig the way you look.’
‘That’s nice, James,’ Hayley smiled. ‘I always say that I’m fat and proud of it. And you know what? I never have any problem getting boys.’
James nodded and smiled. He remembered that when his mum was alive she was always on diets and got depressed about her weight. He was glad that Hayley was confident about herself, but it didn’t alter the fact that she wasn’t his type.
Rosie nodded as she bit on a slice of garlic bread. ‘You’ve been out with way more boys than me, haven’t you Hayley?’
Hayley wagged her fork at her friend. ‘Don’t say that, Rosie. You’re making me sound like a slapper.’
Kerry spoke when the laughter calmed down. ‘I’m just so glad that James has met you, Hayley. He’s always a disaster around girls …’
Hayley nodded. ‘You know James, getting your little sister to ask me out was dead creepy. I thought she was on a wind-up. I almost battered her.’
As Hayley said this, James felt her foot sliding up his calf. He leaned across the table and smiled to show that he liked it.
‘Kerry’s right though,’ James said. ‘There’s only one girl I’ve gone out with for a long time and she was dead boring. It was like, take the rod out of your arse and have some fun, girl! I just had to dump her in the end.’
James was delighted by the scowl on Kerry’s face as everyone else laughed.
The conversation ticked over as food disappeared from plates. Hayley and James kept playing footsie until eventually she had her painted toenails resting in his lap and he had a socked foot up her long skirt and resting against her thigh. He couldn’t help being flattered by the fact that she obviously fancied him, and like most teenage boys, it only took a foot on his leg to get his hormones racing.
‘I’m going to the lav,’ Hayley said, as she swabbed the last traces of mayonnaise off her plate with a chunk of bread and crammed it into her mouth. As she stood up, she made a gesture with her thumb, indicating that James should come with her.
James glanced at Bruce as he stood up, desperate to convey that something was about to happen and that he wanted Bruce close by with the camera. This part of the operation would have been much easier at the bowling alley, where couples just snogged in the open while they were waiting to take their shot.
It was a large restaurant and Hayley and James had to cut between a dozen tables and pass a kids’ play area before they came to a corridor with a couple of payphones and a cash machine that led towards the toilets.
‘Where are we going?’ James asked, as Hayley grabbed his hand and led him past the doors of the ladies, gents and disabled toilets. He turned back briefly and was reassured to see Bruce walking behind them, doing his best to look innocent.
‘You’ll see where,’ Hayley said, as she leaned on the bar of a fire door.
It opened with a shudder on to a deserted stretch of tarmac behind the restaurant.
‘I want you, James,’ Hayley said, as she grabbed his bum and shoved him against the wall.
It was dark, cold and James only had a polo shirt on, but this wasn’t a problem because Hayley engulfed him. The foot play and the sexual tension had been slightly exciting, but now James faced the reality of being kissed by someone he didn’t fancy.
Even worse, James hated the taste and smell of mayonnaise. As he opened his mouth to kiss, he could smell it on her breath.
‘You’re really fit, James,’ Hayley said, taking a deep breath as she slid a sticky hand up the back of his shirt. ‘I can feel all your big strong muscles.’
James’ head was pinned to the wall as Hayley thrust her vinegary tongue into his mouth. He moved his eyes around. He hoped Bruce had sneaked out through another exit to take some pictures, but there was no sign of him.
James didn’t want to make out with Hayley for any longer than he had to, but after all the effort they’d put in, he couldn’t stop until he knew Bruce had a picture.
‘You’ve got the best arse,’ James lied, as he gave Hayley a squeeze. ‘Can I touch your tits?’
‘Course you can,’ she slathered, as she kissed his neck. ‘Nobody ever comes back here, you know. We can do anything.’
James was consumed with guilt for leading Hayley on and hairs-standing-on-the-back-of-his-neck revulsion at the thought of a second snog.
‘Hadn’t we better go inside?’ he gasped. ‘The others will wonder where we’ve got to.’
‘So?’ Hayley said. ‘Who gives a shit?’
‘I guess,’ James said weakly, as her hand went down the back of his trousers.
Mercifully, as Hayley sank her fingernails into his bum James spotted Bruce moving in the shadows. He tried to see what his friend was up to without making Hayley suspicious, and after about twenty seconds, Bruce gave a thumbs-up sign and scurried back into the darkness.
As soon as Bruce was out of sight, James tried to gently prise Hayley’s shoulders away, but her beefy arms were locked around his back and her tongue moved in for another attack.
‘Stop it …’ James begged, when he finally managed to push her head away.
Hayley stumbled as she stepped backwards, clearly not happy. ‘What’s your sodding problem?’
‘Nothing … Just, I’m not in the mood.’
Hayley put one hand on her hip and shook her head. ‘You asked me out, James. I got all tarted up, I arranged for Dean and Rosie to come along and now you tell me you’re not in the mood.’
‘Look …’ James muttered, ‘I tell you what, I saw you looking at the dessert menu. Why don’t we go back inside and I’ll buy you some of those Belgian waffles you said you fancied.’
‘Waffles,’ Hayley spat, as she smacked James
hard across the face. ‘What is this? I’m a fat bird, so you think you can push me away and then buy me off with waffles?’
The slap really stung. ‘Jesus,’ James moaned, as he backed up towards the fire door. ‘I haven’t said one word about you being fat. The only person who’s even mentioned it is you.’
‘I put off my science coursework for this,’ Hayley said. ‘I had to beg Rosie to come out at short notice. So next time you call me up and ask for a date, you’d better be in the mood.’
James found the combination of a slap followed by the offer of another date confusing.
‘I’m really sorry,’ James said. ‘I’m just—’
‘I never thought I’d meet a boy who wasn’t in the mood,’ Hayley said, shaking her head as she straightened her dress and walked back inside.
‘Are you leaving?’ James asked, as he followed her back down the corridor towards the restaurant.
‘Yeah, I’m leaving, as soon as you’ve bought me some waffles.’
18.SHOOTING
The team for the Luton mission was due on campus for a Tuesday-morning meeting, but the police investigating the street fight and the murder of Owen Campbell-Moore had picked Michael up for questioning the previous afternoon. They kept him in overnight, hoping the fifteen-year-old would be easier to crack than the older members of Major Dee’s gang. But like everyone else the cops interrogated, Michael kept his mouth shut.
Gabrielle was discharged from hospital at 5:30 in the morning. Assistant mission controller Maureen Evans collected her in a big Mercedes. With a five-day-old wound in her back, Gabrielle found it difficult to sit still for any length of time. The big car and pre-rush-hour start were designed to make her journey as short and comfortable as possible.
Gabrielle could walk a few steps, but she found breathing painful and Maureen used a wheelchair to push her through reception to a rapturous breakfast-time welcome in the dining-room. Kerry and some of Gabrielle’s other close friends gave her kisses and the gentlest of hugs, after which a crowd lined up to exchange high fives.
Touched by waves of positive feeling, Gabrielle began to sob. She was surprised by how many others had tears on their faces: boys, and girls, many of them people she hardly knew. Every cherub knows that missions are dangerous, and Gabrielle’s breathless presence in the wheelchair was a powerful symbol of survival, but also a reminder of those dangers.
The crowd drifted away once the pips went for first lesson and Maureen immediately pulled a sterile wipe from her handbag and told Gabrielle to wipe her face and hands. She’d been desperate to see all of her friends, but Gabrielle was weak and even catching a cold would affect her recovery.
*
Michael caught a train as soon as the cops let him go. He arrived at the station nearest campus shortly after eleven and took a cab the rest of the way. The police work under strict rules about questioning suspects – especially suspects aged under eighteen – but they also know a million tricks, and one way to intimidate a suspect is to make them wait in a dirty cell for as long as possible.
Michael had spent eight hours in a tiny space with a blocked toilet and a rubber mattress that a drunk had peed on. As soon as he arrived on campus, Michael raced up to his room, knotted his filthy clothes in a bin liner because he couldn’t even stand the thought of washing them and scrubbed himself under a scalding hot shower.
This made him late for the 11:30 mission briefing and everyone stared as he raced into the conference room. Zara sat at the head of a long table, with mission controller Chloe and her assistant Maureen next to her. James and Bruce were there, along with a man called Terry from the technical department. But Michael only had eyes for Gabrielle, and he crossed the room before leaning forward and giving her a kiss.
‘You’re looking stronger every time I see you,’ Michael smiled at Gabrielle, before turning to Chloe. ‘Sorry I’m late, but I didn’t get a wink of sleep and CHERUB owes me one Nike tracksuit and a pair of trainers.’
Chloe looked surprised. ‘Can’t they be washed?’
Michael wasn’t in a good mood. ‘Those cops were animals. They pushed me around, called me every racist name under the sun and then threw me in a cell with piss everywhere and the smell …’
James and Bruce eyed each other across the table and started to giggle.
‘Yeah it’s really funny, boys,’ Michael snarled, but his look turned to a smile when Gabrielle started laughing too, wincing with the effort.
‘OK,’ Zara said impatiently. ‘We’re already late and I’m sure everyone in this room has seen enough police cells in their time not to need too graphic a description. Chloe, under the circumstances, I’m sure we can stretch the mission budget to providing Michael with some replacement clothing. Michael, have you had a chance to see the mission update that Chloe prepared overnight?’
‘I’ve only just got here,’ Michael said, shaking his head as Maureen slid a document across the table.
**CLASSIFIED**
MISSION UPDATE FOR: JAMES ADAMS,
MICHAEL HENDRY, BRUCE NORRIS
& GABRIELLE O’BRIEN
THIS DOCUMENT IS PROTECTED WITH A RADIO
FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION TAG
DO NOT PHOTOCOPY OR MAKE NOTES
THE FIRST PHASE
In January 2007 CHERUB agents Gabrielle O’Brien and Michael Hendry (under the names Gabrielle Smith and Michael Conroy) were sent to live in the Bedfordshire Halfway House, known locally as the Zoo.
Their Mission Objectives Were:
(1) To infiltrate the gang known as the Slasher Boys and collect information on their criminal activities. In particular, to try and uncover the methods they use for smuggling cocaine and other illegal drugs into the country.
(2) To gather information about rival gangs, with the aim of giving the police a better understanding of the rivalries between them.
Progress was slow but Michael and Gabrielle successfully infiltrated the Slasher Boys and began associating with known members, gaining knowledge and slowly winning the trust of the group’s leader DeShawn Andrews, more commonly known as Major Dee.
Unfortunately, the mission suffered a major setback on 15 March, when the two agents became entangled in a violent robbery that led to two members of a rival gang known as the Runts being shot, another Runt suffering a fractured skull, the stabbing of Gabrielle O’Brien and the murder of Owen Campbell-Moore.
While it first appeared that the Runts had attacked the Slasher Boys, it has now become clear that the attack was orchestrated by a third gang known as the Mad Dogs. Agents should note that the Slasher Boys are not yet aware that the Mad Dogs set up the robbery.
THE REVISED MISSION
Following a meeting of the ethics committee and the news that Gabrielle’s injuries were not as serious as first feared, a decision was made to press ahead with the mission using two separate teams.
Team one will consist of Michael Hendry working with assistant mission controller Maureen Evans. Michael will continue with his existing mission to infiltrate the Slasher Boys. Gabrielle O’Brien has stated that she would also like to return to the mission. It is unlikely she will recover sufficiently before the mission ends, but a cover story involving her recuperating at an aunt’s house in London will be put in place to allow for her return.
Team two will consist of James Adams and Bruce Norris. James will reprise his role as James Beckett from his 2004 anti-drugs mission. Bruce will take on the identity of James Beckett’s cousin. They will work with mission controller Chloe Blake.
Their task will be to infiltrate the Mad Dogs, initially by rekindling James’ past relationship with Junior Moore. They will live in the Bedfordshire Halfway House along with Michael, but for the purposes of the mission they must pretend not to know one another.
Due to the high risk of this mission, overall control for the operation will be handled directly by chairwoman Zara Asker, with Chloe Blake in charge of day-to-day operations.
TRAINING AND PRECAUTIONS
br /> When the ethics committee approved the expansion of this mission they imposed strict conditions:
(1) Before being redeployed, all agents will be issued with protective equipment including body armour, easy-to-conceal knives, miniature stun guns and a small handgun for use in situations of extreme danger.
(2) The ethics committee has placed the mission on seven-day review status. This means that three members of the committee will review the progress of the mission every week. If they feel the situation has become too dangerous they will cancel the operation and order the agents back to campus.
(3) All agents are reminded of their right to refuse this mission or to withdraw at any time.
‘Here’s what I don’t get,’ James said, as he waggled his copy of the briefing in the air. ‘How can we go around with guns and body armour? We’re hardly going to blend in, are we?’
‘Actually, there’s been that many stabbings and assaults going down that most gang members are wearing protection,’ Michael said. ‘I’m not so sure about kids our age packing guns though.’
Terry Campbell cleared his throat. He was an old bloke with a bristly white beard. His job with the technical department mainly involved communications equipment, such as adapting the mobile phones CHERUB agents used to work on any network, or manufacturing listening devices that looked like personal items belonging to a target. He also dealt with weapons, physical protection and all the other equipment agents used on their missions.
‘I’m looking at issuing all three of you with sub-compact handguns that will fit under your clothing,’ Terry began. ‘I’ll get three new weapons, each one a slightly different model, then I’ll rough up the exteriors to make it look like they’re the kind of piece that you might have picked up on the street. But internally, they’ll be in excellent shape. As you’re using them primarily for deterrence, I’d suggest that you load a blank into the chamber then fill the rest of the clip with real ammunition.’