CHERUB: The Fall - Robert Muchamore Page 0,33

class, so I’ll copy off her.’

‘Cool,’ Shak nodded, as the three boys started up towards their rooms on the sixth floor. ‘I’ve got Norwood in another set, can I copy Kerry’s off you?’

When he reached his room on the sixth floor, James noticed that his answering machine was flashing at him. He tapped the play button and listened to the messages as he stripped off for a shower.

‘You have two new messages, first message left today at nine seventeen a.m.’

James recognised Ewart’s voice. ‘Hi James. Listen, I know it’s Saturday, but I got another call from MI5. They’d like you to come down to London to answer some more questions. If it’s OK, I’ll try setting it all up for Thursday.’

James threw his T-shirt down and groaned to himself. ‘What’s the point of more questions, you penis? I’ve been down there and gone through everything twice already.’

James could refuse to cooperate with the investigation if he wanted, but it wouldn’t look good on his record. On the upside, a Thursday in London would mean he’d get away without handing in his GCSE History coursework for a few more days.

‘Second new message left today at eleven thirty-seven a.m.’

‘James, it’s Meryl,’ the voice barked angrily. ‘I want your sorry little hide down here in the second-floor conference room as soon as you’ve finished your run and taken a shower. And don’t bother putting your good clothes on.’

‘No more messages. To listen again, press one, to repeat messages press two …’

James shut off the answering machine and shook his head as he hooked his muddy shorts over his big toe and flicked them up in the air, narrowly missing his dirty clothes basket. As he headed for the shower he racked his brains trying to work out why Meryl sounded so angry.

Mr Norwood couldn’t have complained in the time it took him to walk up the stairs, and Meryl’s message had been left more than an hour earlier anyway. Whatever he’d done, the request to put on old clothes was a bad sign. It could only mean oven cleaning, ditch digging or some other thoroughly unpleasant way of spending your Saturday afternoon.

*

Two floors up, Lauren Adams had just finished Saturday morning lessons and was in a much better mood. She had a wheeled suitcase and a mass of clothes spread over her bed, and System Of A Down blasting from her mini hi-fi.

She jumped out of her skin when a man’s voice sounded in her ear. ‘Sorry,’ he shouted. ‘But I knocked three times.’

It was John Jones, a dome-headed mission controller who’d worked with Lauren and James on several previous missions. He wore a smart brown suit and shoes, with a waistcoat that made him look like a country gent.

Lauren rushed across the room and switched off her music. ‘Sorry, John. You frightened the life out of me.’

‘Give me Elvis Presley any day,’ John smiled. ‘Where are you off to? I was hoping you’d be able to help out on a mission.’

‘Oh,’ Lauren said. ‘Well, I’m only away for one night, with a few friends. Some fancy spa-hotel type deal.’

‘Very swish,’ John said. ‘I’d like to have someone in place as soon as possible, but it can wait for a day or so. I need a young agent who speaks decent Russian and is capable of working solo. To be honest, you’re the only candidate I feel I can totally rely on.’

‘Right.’ Lauren was slightly embarrassed by the compliment. ‘I haven’t got any other missions lined up. Do you want me to come to your office on Monday morning or something?’

‘No,’ John said, as he pulled some stapled sheets of A4 from his jacket pocket. ‘I’ve got a photocopy of the briefing here. The mission isn’t hugely complicated, but I have a young daughter myself and it’s an issue I’m particularly passionate about.’

‘So what are we talking about?’ Lauren asked.

‘Human trafficking.’

*

**CLASSIFIED MISSION BRIEFING FOR

LAUREN ADAMS**

THIS DOCUMENT IS PROTECTED WITH A RADIO

FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION TAG. ANY ATTEMPT

TO REMOVE IT FROM THE MISSION

PREPARATION BUILDING WILL SET OFF AN

ALARM

DO NOT PHOTOCOPY OR MAKE NOTES

HUMAN TRAFFICKING & SLAVERY

Talk of slavery often brings forth images of Africans being shipped to colonies in the Americas during the nineteenth century. Few people realise that it is still a problem in both rich and poor countries. In 2004 a United Nations report stated that slavery was the world’s third largest source of criminal income after drugs and the illegal weapons trade. Furthermore, the growth in slavery has been so rapid that it