New Guard (CHERUB) - Robert Muchamore Page 0,3

so we couldn’t track them. Almost as if you didn’t want us to know where you were.’

‘I …’ Leon stuttered.

‘We …’ Daniel added.

‘You two are in a lot of trouble,’ Briggs said, as his hand beckoned the pair towards the back seat of the Land-Rover. ‘The sooner you start telling the truth about what you’ve been up to, the better the chance that you don’t get kicked out of CHERUB.’

3. TRAUMA

After stepping aside from the stressful post of CHERUB chairman, Zara Asker now had a part-time role dealing with serious disciplinary measures. She yawned as she walked into the security post just inside campus’ main gate and got caught off guard by two faces she’d not seen in years.

‘Older no wiser,’ Kyle Blueman said, as the former CHERUB agent gave Zara a hug. Gabrielle O’Brien was right behind, but Zara did a double-take.

The practicalities of campus life and training make it hard for girls to dress up for anything but special occasions. Gabrielle appeared to be making up for lost time, with elaborate extensions to her plaited hair, heavy make-up and mad heels.

‘You look like a model,’ Zara said. ‘Wow!’

‘It’s weird you’re not chairman any more,’ Kyle noted.

‘My husband is welcome to it,’ Zara said. ‘It’s a twenty-four-seven job. And I’d love to stay and chat, but I have a pair of idiots to crucify.’

Zara dropped the friendly tone as she stepped past the X-ray machines used to examine baggage and down a short hallway to the waiting area where Leon and Daniel had spent the last two hours, nervously awaiting their fate.

‘Office, now,’ Zara snapped, clicking her fingers.

The twins had been allowed to shower and dress in their CHERUB uniforms, complete with navy shirts. Leon felt a shudder as Zara joined Briggs’ brooding presence across a desk top laid out with evidence. Computer printouts of phone messages, three hundred pounds, train tickets to places the boys weren’t supposed to have been …

‘Sit down.’

The twins eyed one another uneasily as they sat on hard plastic chairs. The gloomily lit room had bare concrete walls, a pair of CCTV cameras and a metal door so that it could be used as a cell if necessary.

‘We know what you did,’ Zara began. ‘Every lie you tell will just get you deeper into trouble. What I don’t understand is why you did this. What significance does Nigel Kinney have for you?’

Daniel looked a bit surly. ‘He’s a paedophile. He’s getting what he deserves.’

‘We knew there was a good chance we’d get in trouble,’ Leon added. ‘We’ll take our punishment.’

Briggs thumped on the desk top. ‘We didn’t ask you for a moral justification. You were asked a specific question.’

Zara looked more startled by Briggs’ reaction than the two boys, and gave him a thin-lipped I can handle this look.

‘Kinney?’ Zara said firmly.

Leon looked at Daniel, and got a nod before beginning to explain. ‘We did a mission in Sheffield last year. There was a kid there, Brent Johnson. Nice guy, year younger than us. But he was messed up. Cutting himself, nightmares. He’d been abused by Nigel Kinney and some other guy since he was about ten. Cops didn’t press charges because Brent was too messed up to go through a trial.’

‘Kinney had previous convictions, but you’re not allowed to mention that to a jury,’ Daniel added.

Zara shook her head slowly. ‘So you contacted the Paedophile Hunting Network?’

‘Sure,’ Leon agreed. ‘At first we just got hold of a copy of Kinney’s criminal record and sent it to the paedo hunters, hoping they’d make him a target. But they get a lot of tip-offs and they’re a tiny organisation.’

‘So you agreed to help?’ Briggs asked.

Leon nodded. ‘We hacked Kinney’s office computer and found a site he was using to speak to young boys. So I joined up and started sending him fake messages. Said I was short of cash and would like to meet up.’

‘Then we got the paedo hunters to set up the final sting,’ Daniel added.

‘I’ll take whatever punishment,’ Leon said. ‘But I’m not ashamed of what we did.’

‘You can’t be vigilantes,’ Briggs growled. ‘CHERUB has bigger fish to fry and you risked organisational security by making unauthorised access to police records.’

Zara gave Briggs another calm down look. ‘Guys,’ she began. ‘I have four children and the idea that anyone who wants to harm them is out there makes me sick. Online grooming is a serious and growing problem and everyone should be more aware of it. But you are CHERUB agents. Our