CHERUB: The Fall (18 page)

James didn’t know what to feel as Kevin crawled pathetically through the puddle and planted his lips on the end of James’ boot. He knew exactly how miserable being bullied like this made you feel, but on the other hand, James never would have made it as a cherub if he hadn’t been through it himself.

‘Thank you,’ Kevin said, after kissing Bruce’s boots.

‘Mr Wolfman, sir,’ Bruce shouted.

‘Thank you Mr Wolfman, sir,’ Kevin said weakly. He was soaked in near freezing water and his teeth were chattering as James grabbed the back of his vest and hitched him out of the mud.

‘You need warming up,’ James barked. ‘Start running towards the basic training compound,
quickly
.’

Kevin tried to control his sobbing as he started running into the darkness, with James and Bruce a few paces behind him.

‘There’s only one way to get away from us, Sumner,’ Bruce said, as they ran. ‘We’re gonna be on your case until you make it across the obstacle without me or James giving you one finger of help.’

James looked angrily at Bruce. ‘Don’t use my name. I’m wolfman number one.’

Kevin looked back over his shoulder. ‘I know who you are,’ he said defiantly. ‘James Adams and Bruce Norris. I’m ten years old, I’m not a complete moron.’

Bruce ripped off his mask and scowled at James. ‘I
told
you the wolfman thing was stupid.’

‘I really
hate
red-shirts,’ James moaned as he tried to peel off his mask. ‘They’re all lippy little smart arses.’

James’ mask was stuck half on and half off. He couldn’t see where he was running and had to stop. ‘Give us a hand, Bruce.’

‘I guess that proves you’ve got a big head,’ Bruce grinned as he eased James’ mask off, but his mood changed when he realised that Kevin had cut into the trees and was out of sight.

‘Come back here you little git, or I’ll break every bone in your body,’ Bruce snarled.

They could hear Kevin’s feet splattering in the mud less than twenty metres way. Then the noise stopped.

‘He must be hiding in the trees,’ James whispered.

They fitted their lamps back on their heads before throwing the masks away; then switched off the beams before creeping into the trees.

‘I’m giving you until ten, Kevin,’ Bruce shouted. ‘We’re working for Mr Pike, so you’re gonna have to face us sooner or later. But if you come out before I reach ten, you won’t have to spend two hours hanging upside down from a tree.’

‘Get stuffed, gonad breath,’ Kevin shouted, as Bruce started to count.

Unfortunately for Kevin, James was less than three metres from where he’d shouted and made a lunge at him. Unfortunately for
James
, Kevin had found a thick branch, and he swung it at James as he approached. The piece of wood hit James’ knee with such force that it cracked in two.

‘You little pecker,’ James yelled, clutching his leg as Kevin sprang out of his position huddled against a tree trunk.

James managed to grab Kevin’s muddy foot as he tried to escape. The pain in James’ leg made him angry and he mercilessly crushed the small foot and twisted his ankle. As Kevin wailed in pain and crumpled on to the ground, James let go of his foot and knelt over him.

‘I could splat you like a bug, you little freak,’ James shouted.

‘Let’s tie the little bugger up,’ Bruce said enthusiastically. ‘I reckon he’ll show us more respect after a few hours dangling in the freezing cold.’

‘Please,’ Kevin sobbed, as James watched the boy’s desperate expression and fresh tears welling up in his eyes.

James realised that he absolutely hated doing this. ‘Do you
want
to pass basic training?’ he said, eyeballing Kevin.

‘Yes,’ Kevin sniffled.

‘And you’re not going to do it until you get over your fear of heights, are you?’

‘No.’

‘I’m here to help you get over that fear,’ James said. ‘I know this works, because I’ve been on your end of it myself. OK?’

Kevin nodded.

‘So get your arse out of the dirt and we’re gonna get you through this.’

As James hauled himself off the ground using a hanging branch for leverage, Bruce grabbed Kevin out of the dirt. ‘You’re lucky he got to you before I did,’ Bruce growled. ‘If you’d whacked me with that stick, it’d be half-way up your arse by now.’

*

Lauren was having a slightly quieter evening in Brighton. After coming in from school and changing out of uniform, Anna sat quietly and did her homework, which mostly comprised English comprehension exercises set by her special needs teacher.

After an evening meal cooked in Aldrington Care Centre’s main kitchen, the two girls went back to their room and gossiped while they watched TV and played cards. The conversation ranged from lightweight stuff about pop music and boys they fancied through to deeper stuff about their past lives.

Anna freely told anecdotes about funny things she’d seen in Russian schools and stories she’d read in newspapers, but she clammed up when it came to specific details about her past. All she’d confirm was that the people in the picture stuck to her bed post were her mother and little brother Georgy.

Attempts to find details of where Anna had lived in Russia and how she’d come to Britain were either ignored or brushed aside with a swift change of subject and queries about Anna’s mother produced a pained expression that suggested she was close to tears.

Lauren wasn’t sure if Anna’s reluctance to talk was because she was genuinely traumatised, or part of a carefully contrived shield that would stop her from being sent back to Russia. Either way, a few hours with Anna were enough for Lauren to realise that her young companion was extremely intelligent.

The two girls went to bed after staying up late to watch a movie on Channel Five. About half an hour after the lights had gone out, Anna stepped out of bed on to her ladder and whispered to Lauren.

‘Are you awake?’

Lauren opened one eye and thought about answering, but didn’t because there was something suspicious in Anna’s tone. She closed her eye as she heard Anna creeping down the ladder and walking across to Lauren’s side of the room.

Anna grabbed something from Lauren’s desk and Lauren recognised the sound of her mobile phone flipping open as Anna stepped gingerly towards the bathroom. Lauren panicked: the mission had been planned in a rush and while she’d fitted a new SIM card inside her phone, she hadn’t cleared all her text messages and the phone’s memory card was stuffed with pictures and video clips from James’ birthday weekend. If Anna saw any of them, her cover would be shot.

‘Ahem,’ Lauren said, clearing her throat as she switched on the spot lamp clipped to the metal frame of her bed.

Anna froze like a bunny caught in headlights.

‘Do you need my phone?’ Lauren asked.

‘No, no,’ Anna said, smiling uncomfortably, as Lauren rolled over the side of her bed and dropped barefoot on to the carpet.

It was a shame in a way: Lauren realised that Anna’s call might have provided a major clue about her identity. But Lauren couldn’t risk her finding the pictures and clips.

‘I don’t mind you using it,’ Lauren said, holding the phone out to Anna. ‘Provided you don’t yak on for hours and use up all my credit.’

But Anna shook her head, sheepishly refusing the offer. ‘Who would I call? I just wanted to look. Please don’t be angry at me.’

Lauren shrugged. ‘Forget it.’

‘I’ve never had a mobile,’ Anna said, shaking her head frantically. ‘You’re lucky.’

‘Just ask next time,’ Lauren said, as she climbed back up to her bed with the phone in her hand. She tucked her phone between her mattress and the wall for safe keeping and turned out the light.

*

‘Climb on there,’ James ordered, pointing at a wooden barrel that went up as high as his nipples.

‘Quickly,’ Bruce shouted.

The barrel was weighted down with sand and didn’t budge as Kevin hauled himself on to the lid and sat down.

‘Stand
up
,’ James yelled.

It was the kind of instruction you’d expect a ten-year-old to follow easily, but Kevin’s hands were shaking as he got to his feet.

‘Don’t look down, just jump into the mud.’

‘I can’t,’ Kevin quaked as he tried to squat back down.

‘You bend those legs one more millimetre and I’ll stand on your balls,’ Bruce shouted. ‘Now jump.’

‘I’ve seen four-year-olds jump from higher up than that,’ James yelled.

A tear ran down Kevin’s cheek as he sat down.

‘I’m giving you until three to stand up and jump off that barrel,’ Bruce said fiercely. ‘One … two …’

‘I can’t,’ Kevin whined.

‘Three,’ Bruce roared.

Bruce furiously hauled Kevin off the barrel. He splattered him face first into the mud and rested his boot against the side of his head.

‘What do you reckon, James?’ Bruce asked. ‘Time for something radical?’

‘The little wimp’s left us with no choice.’

‘You see that building over there?’ Bruce pointed at a flat-roofed shed used to store gardening equipment. ‘We’re gonna take you up there and throw you off the roof.’

‘No,’ Kevin sobbed desperately, as he curled up in a ball. ‘Don’t make me go up there.’

James grabbed him out of the dirt. ‘You’d better start putting some effort into this, sissy. We’re not going anywhere. You can cry and whine and fight with us all night long, but it doesn’t hurt us one little bit. We’re going to keep doing this, night after night until you show us some guts.’

Kevin tried to bargain as Bruce dragged him towards an aluminium ladder. ‘Let me try the barrel again.’

‘Nope,’ Bruce said, as Kevin tried to wriggle free. ‘We gave you three tries with the barrel. Now we’re throwing you off the roof.’

‘Please,’ Kevin howled.

He was kicking and screaming way too much to be forced into climbing the ladder, so Bruce climbed on to the roof and leaned over the side, then James held Kevin up so that Bruce could grab him. As Bruce dragged Kevin across the flat roof, James ran around the building to an area on the opposite side that had a crash mat beneath it.

‘Jump,’ Bruce shouted as he pushed Kevin up to the edge of the roof.

James stood on the edge of the crash mat with his arms spread out wide. ‘Come on, you little chicken. What the
hell
are you scared of?’

Bruce gave Kevin a shove that left him dangling over the edge. ‘Please,’ Kevin sobbed. ‘I think I’m gonna be sick.’

‘Oh give over, you little pussy,’ Bruce sneered. ‘
Jump
.’

But Kevin retched and violently spewed the contents of his stomach on to the crash mat. James stepped back, but didn’t get clear before some of the puke hit his outstretched arm. Bruce was so shocked that he let Kevin go.

The ten-year-old screamed as he flopped on to the crash mat, landing in a mixture of rainwater and his own vomit.

‘Nice landing, pansy,’ Bruce said.

Kevin rolled over, his vest and pyjama bottoms covered in his own sick. James felt really sorry for him, but he knew that this technique would only work if he showed no mercy.

‘I hope you’re proud of yourself, loser,’ James said. ‘Maybe next time we’ll throw you off where there’s no crash mat.’

‘Get stuffed,’ Kevin shouted. ‘I hate you both.’

‘Now all we need is for the baby to piss his pants,’ Bruce grinned, as he dangled his legs off the side of the roof and jumped down, carefully avoiding the crash mat.

‘Right,’ Kevin snarled, as he jumped to his feet. ‘I’ll show you two pricks.’

Kevin steamed away from the mat. For a second, James thought he was going to try running off again. But he headed for the ladder and started climbing up.

‘I’ll jump,’ Kevin screamed madly, as he ran across the roof and leapt off with such force that he almost cleared the landing mat.

‘Blimey,’ James said, resisting the temptation to say
well done
as he gave Kevin a hand up.

‘Not bad for a pansy boy,’ Bruce added.

‘You want me to do it again?’ Kevin snarled. ‘You want me to jump off the roof again?’

‘Once more,’ James said, trying not to show that he was delighted.

James and Bruce smiled and gave each other a high five as Kevin scaled the ladder.

‘Poor little sod,’ Bruce whispered.

Kevin took his second jump more cautiously, curling his toes over the edge of the roof and landing on his feet.

Bruce hitched Kevin up by his muddy vest and James eyeballed him.

‘Not bad,’ James sneered. ‘Wash yourself up and go back to bed. We’ll see you tomorrow after lessons, by the main obstacle.’

‘And don’t be late,’ Bruce added with a snarl.

It was past midnight by the time James had showered and climbed into bed. Unless he had to get up early for combat training, James always lay in for a few minutes after his alarm. And every so often he’d drift back to sleep …

‘AAARGHHH!’ James gasped, when he looked up and saw that it was twenty to nine.

He vaulted out of bed and scrambled into a clean uniform before taking the lift down to the dining-hall. He was delighted to see Bruce, Kyle, Shak, Gabrielle and particularly Kerry sitting at their usual table, finishing up their breakfasts.

‘I need to copy your geography, Kerry,’ James said.

Kerry calmly sipped her grapefruit juice. ‘Good morning to you too, James.’

‘Seriously,’ James said, glaring at his watch. ‘You know what a hard ass Mr Norwood is.’

‘Haven’t you heard?’ Kyle said gravely.

James looked confused. ‘Heard what?’

‘Mr Norwood was in a car accident last night. He’s dead.’

‘Oh my god,’ James gasped. ‘That’s terrible.’

But he was actually relieved about the homework, until he saw Kyle breaking into a smile.

‘Had you for a minute,’ Kyle grinned.

James scowled at Kerry as all his mates started laughing. ‘So can I
please
copy your homework?’

‘There,’ Kerry said, as she ripped the question sheet out of her backpack and slammed it on the table. ‘Would you like a pen and paper too?’

James felt around inside his trouser pockets. ‘Um, I would actually, yeah.’

Kerry shook her head as she produced the pen and paper. ‘And don’t copy it word for word, it’s too obvious.’