CHERUB: The Fall - Robert Muchamore Page 0,50

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