CHERUB: The Recruit (27 page)

‘I don’t want to hurt you,’ James said. ‘Just say you quit.’

Clark scrambled up, gasping for air. He was hurt, but a smile came on to his face.

‘I’ve battered kids heaps bigger than you,’ Clark said. ‘Where’d you learn to fight?’

James found a tissue in his pocket. He gave it to Clark to wipe the blood off his split lip.

‘Self defence classes,’ James said. ‘Back in London.’

Clark turned to his brother.

‘They were serious punches, Sebastian.’

‘You have to put your whole body into it,’ James said. ‘Starts at the hips. If you get the technique right it’s eight times harder than a normal punch.’

‘Let him hit you in the guts, Sebastian,’ Clark said. ‘I bet you double over.’

‘I don’t want to hit him,’ James said.

‘We hit each other to keep tough,’ Clark said. ‘If I hit him in the guts he doesn’t even flinch.’

Sebastian stood with his hands behind his back ready to take a hit.

‘I’ll hit his shoulder,’ James said.

‘You can hit my guts,’ Sebastian said. ‘I can take it.’

‘In the arm first,’ James said. ‘Then I’ll do it in your guts if you still want me to.’

Sebastian turned so his side was facing James. James didn’t want to have to hit him in the stomach, he knew it could do serious damage, so he gave Sebastian his hardest shot in the arm. Sebastian stumbled sideways and screamed out in pain, clenching his upper arm with his hand. Clark was wetting himself laughing.

‘I told you it was hard,’ Clark said.

Sebastian tried not to show the pain. James felt bad for hitting him so hard.

All this time the pigeon was still thrashing about in the mud. James looked at it.

‘What happened to it?’

‘Shot it with the air pistol,’ Clark said.

‘Wasn’t dead,’ Sebastian said. ‘So I cut one of its wings off with my pen knife.’

‘You guys are lunatics,’ James said, grimacing.

‘Better hope the shot kills you,’ Clark grinned. ‘If it doesn’t it’s torture time.’

‘Can’t you put the poor thing out of its misery?’ James said.

‘If you want me to,’ Sebastian said.

Sebastian walked towards the bird. It didn’t have much life in it. Sebastian pressed his heel into the bird. It let out a final desperate noise as its bones were crushed. Sebastian had a big smile on his face.

James realised he’d made friends with a couple of seriously twisted kids.

Sebastian, Clark and James went to the main hut to feed. Guests had brought meat to barbecue, as well as the cold dishes laid out on a long table. Joshua Dunn was serving vegetable curry. James wasn’t mad on curry, but it was good stuff after being out in the cold. They took the food outside to the bonfire. A few dozen people sat on waterproof sheets around the fire. Sebastian and Clark found Fire and World and sat beside them.

‘Hey, little psychos,’ Fire said.

‘Hey, jailbirds,’ Clark said, referring to his cousins’ spell in prison.

Fire and World were non-identical twins, with plaited hair and pierced eyebrows.

World looked at James. He sounded drunk. ‘Care to tell me what your sexy sister sees in our baby brother?’

James shrugged. ‘She’s not fussy. Snogs anything with a pulse.’

‘What was that?’ Amy said.

James hadn’t noticed her sitting a few metres away. All the Dunns laughed. Amy faced James off with her hands on her hips. James couldn’t decide if she was angry or just messing.

‘Nothing,’ James squirmed. ‘I was just saying what a nice couple you and Scargill make.’

Amy crushed James with a hug that took his feet off the ground.

‘That’s really sweet of you, Ross,’ Amy said. ‘Because after what I thought you said, I was going to kick all your teeth out.’

*

James finished his curry and wandered off on his own. He noticed a girl leaning against a tree smoking. Long hair, baggy jeans. She was about James’ age, nice looking. He didn’t remember her from any of the intelligence files.

‘Hey, can I have a drag?’ James said, trying to sound cool.

‘Sure,’ the girl said.

She passed James the cigarette. James had never tried one before and hoped he wasn’t about to make an idiot of himself. He gave it a little suck. It burned his throat, but he managed not to cough.

‘Not seen you here before,’ the girl said.

‘I’m Ross,’ James said. ‘Staying here with my aunt for a bit.’

‘Joanna,’ the girl said. ‘I live in Craddogh.’

‘Haven’t been there yet,’ James said.

‘It’s a dump, two shops and a Post Office. Where you from?’

‘London.’

‘I wish I was,’ Joanna said. ‘You like it here?’

‘I’m always covered in mud. I want to go to bed, but there’s a guy playing a guitar three metres from where I sleep. I wish I could go home, have a warm shower, and see my mates.’

Joanna smiled.

‘So why are you staying with your aunt?’

‘Long story: parents getting divorced. Mum freaking out. Got expelled from school.’

‘So you’re good looking
and
you’re a rebel,’ Joanna said.

James was glad it was quite dark because he felt himself blush.

‘You want the last puff, Ross?’

‘No, I’m cool,’ James said.

Joanna flicked the cigarette butt into the night.

‘So, I paid you a compliment,’ Joanna said.

‘Yeah.’

Joanna laughed. ‘So do I get one back?’ she asked.

‘Oh, sure,’ James said. ‘You’re really like … nice.’

‘Can’t I get any better than nice?’

‘Beautiful,’ James said. ‘You’re beautiful.’

‘That’s more like it,’ Joanna said. ‘Want to kiss me?’

‘Um, OK,’ James said.

James was nervous. He’d never had the courage to ask a girl out. Now he was about to kiss someone he’d known for three minutes. He pecked her on the cheek. Joanna shoved James against the tree and started kissing his face and neck. Her hand went in the back pocket of James’ jeans, then she jumped backwards.

‘What did I do?’ James asked. He’d just started enjoying himself.

‘Police car,’ Joanna said. ‘Hide me somewhere.’

James saw a flashing blue light and a couple of cops getting out of a car a few hundred metres down the hill.

‘Are you a runaway or something?’ James asked.

‘Hide me first, questions later.’

James led Joanna up the hill. The policemen were heading in the same direction. They seemed friendly and stopped to chat with a couple of people. James undid the padlock on Cathy’s hut and clambered inside. Joanna slammed the door behind her.

‘What’s going on?’ James asked.

‘Peek outside,’ Joanna said. ‘Tell me what the police are doing.’

James stepped up to the window. ‘I can only see one of them,’ he said. ‘He’s talking to some guy.’

‘What’s he saying?’

‘He’s standing twenty metres away and it’s dark. You expect me to read his lips? … Wait … The guy he’s talking to is pointing at this hut.’

Joanna sounded hysterical. ‘I’m in so much trouble.’

‘Why?’

‘I’m supposed to be sleeping over at my friend’s house, but we came up here instead.’

‘Where’s your friend?’ James asked.

‘She met up with her boyfriend and abandoned me.’

‘But why are the police out searching for
you
?’

The door of the hut came open and a policeman shone his torch in Joanna’s face.

‘Hello, Daddy,’ Joanna said.

‘You’d better get out here, young lady. I’m driving you home. And as for you …’

The policeman moved the beam of his torch so James’ face lit up.

‘… I don’t know what you and my daughter have been up to, but you’ll stay away from her if you know what’s good for you.’

James watched Joanna’s dad take her to the police car. He didn’t feel like going back outside. He lit the gas lamp, found his packet of Mars bars and poured a glass of unrefrigerated milk.

*

‘I hear you tried to jump Sergeant Ribble’s daughter,’ Cathy said.

She looked smashed.

‘I met her five minutes before her dad turned up,’ James said. ‘We had one little kiss.’

‘So you claim, stud,’ Cathy said.

She pinched James’ cheek and laughed. Nobody had done that to James since he was about five.

‘It’s nice having you kids here,’ Cathy said. ‘Livens the place up.’

‘I thought you didn’t want us,’ James said.

‘It was a shock. But it gets dull here after thirty years.’

‘Why don’t you move on?’

‘I might after you two go,’ Cathy said. ‘Cash in that monster car, travel for a bit. Don’t know what after that. Maybe I’ll try getting a flat and a job. I’m getting too old to keep scratching for a living round here.’

‘What kind of job?’ James asked.

Cathy laughed. ‘God knows. I don’t suppose there’s anyone queuing up to employ fifty-year-old women who last had a job in 1971.’

‘What doing?’ James asked.

‘I worked in the Student Union shop at my university. Met Michael Dunn there. Married him a few years later. Came here. Had a little boy. Got divorced.’

‘You have a son?’ James asked.

‘Had a son,’ Cathy said. ‘He died when he was three months old.’

‘I’m sorry,’ James said.

Cathy looked upset. She dragged out a wicker hamper and found a photo album. She flicked to a picture of a newborn in a white crochet hat.

‘Harmony Dunn,’ Cathy said. ‘That’s my only picture of him. Michael took it the day he was born.’

Seeing Cathy upset about her baby made James think about his mum. He felt a tear well up. He wanted to tell Cathy about his mum dying, but it would be breaking the rules of the mission. Cathy noticed James looked upset and put her arm around him.

‘There’s no need to get upset, Ross. It happened a long time ago.’

‘Your whole life might have been different if he’d lived,’ James said.

‘Maybe,’ Cathy said. ‘You’re a nice boy, Ross, or whatever your real name is.’

‘Thanks,’ James said.

‘I don’t think it’s right the government using kids. You two could get hurt.’

‘It’s our choice,’ James said. ‘Nobody forces us to do it.’

‘Courtney is using Scargill to get to Fire and World, isn’t she?’

James was impressed Cathy had worked it out. It seemed pointless to deny it.

‘Yeah,’ he said.

‘All the Dunn family have been good to me, even after I divorced Michael,’ Cathy said. ‘But those two have always been different. They’re definitely up to something.’

‘What makes you sure?’ James asked.

‘I’ve known Fire and World since they were born. There’s something not right about them. A shiver goes up me when they walk into a room.’

7 a.m. Monday, James’ travel alarm went off to wake him for school. Amy threw a pillow at him when he didn’t turn it off. He stumbled out of bed, rubbing his face, and unpinned a corner of the sheet over the window to let in some light.

‘Can’t you leave it dark?’ Amy moaned from under her covers.

‘I’ve got to go to school.’

James started putting on a sweatshirt and tracksuit bottoms.

‘It’s freezing,’ James said.

‘It’s warm under here,’ Amy said smugly. ‘I don’t have to get up for three hours.’

‘I can’t believe you got out of school, it’s not bloody fair.’

Amy giggled under her covers. ‘It’s toasty at Green Brooke. The water in the Jacuzzi is beautiful, and I get a hot shower before and after my shift.’

‘I’m filthy,’ James said. ‘I’m gonna get so much stick from the other kids going to school looking like this.’

‘Put clean clothes on and use some of my deodorant.’

‘I’m wearing clean stuff. I’ll still be covered in mud three steps out the door. Where’s your deodorant?’

‘Down the end of my bed.’

Amy’s deodorant was in a pink can with pictures of butterflies on it. James figured it was better smelling girly than stinking of BO so he gave himself a good blast.

‘I’m glad I don’t have to get up,’ Amy giggled. ‘This bed is really comfortable.’

James noticed Amy’s leg poking out and tickled the sole of her foot. She pulled her leg in and squealed.

‘Serves you right for teasing,’ James said.

Amy flew out of bed, grabbed James around the waist and started tickling under his ribs.

‘No, please,’ James giggled.

James’ legs buckled from laughing. His face was red and spit dribbled down his chin.