Black Friday (CHERUB) - Robert Muchamore Page 0,65

Natalka screamed and slid down the wall as Ryan booted Vlad in the guts, making him crumple forward.

Despite the head shot, Vlad remained conscious and he grabbed Ryan’s ankle and pulled him down. He swung a huge punch, skimming Ryan’s head and smashing his fist through the plasterboard wall. As Vlad tried pulling it out, Ryan scrambled forward and knocked his opponent out with an elbow to the head.

As Ryan rolled off he realised he was spattered with blood, and chunks of puke off Vlad’s shirt. Natalka leaned forward and started retching as Ryan stood up. When she finished she gave Ryan a weird look. Gratitude? Hate? Ryan couldn’t read it and her head went limp before she could speak.

‘Natalka?’ Ryan said, gently pinching her cheek to see if she was conscious.

He tucked hands under Natalka’s armpits and groaned as he lifted her floppy body off the floor and threw her on to his shoulder.

‘Christ you’re a lump,’ Ryan told himself, as he tried not to heave from the smell of her boozy sweat. ‘Let’s put you to bed.’

30. AIR

James was beat after ten days working with Andre, so his sister Lauren offered to help out and take the early drive to the airport in her Challenger.

They met up with Tamara and the MI6 officer who’d led her training at a Pret A Manger in terminal five. Andre was pleased to see his mum, but then got sad when it was time to go. He sneaked off to a gift shop to buy James a fancy box of mints, then welled up as he hugged James before passing through the security barriers for his flight to Dubai.

‘Sweet kid,’ Lauren said, once Andre, Tamara and their MI6 escort had disappeared. ‘But I never felt like buying any of my training instructors presents. You must be too soft.’

‘Andre’s smart, but real CHERUB training would break him in about two hours,’ James said. ‘Sweetie?’

James tipped some mints into Lauren’s palm.

‘So when’s the love of your life flying in?’ Lauren asked, as they started strolling back towards her car.

‘Kerry’s staying in the States,’ James said. ‘We’ve not been getting on too well.’

Lauren smiled. ‘Who’d she catch you in bed with this time?’

‘Nobody,’ James said indignantly. ‘And why does everyone think I’m some kind of sex maniac? I’m a normal bloke with normal appetites.’

Lauren tutted. ‘You’re a good-looking bloke. Women flirt and you tend to say yes if you think you can get away with it.’

‘Half the kids on campus seem to think I had sex in the campus fountain.’

Lauren smirked. ‘Cool! That was my rumour.’

‘What?’ James gasped. ‘Why’d you do that?’

‘I was bored,’ Lauren said airily. ‘You know when you’re a bit drunk and you just make some gossip up to keep the conversation going?’

James laughed so hard he had to rub a tear from his eye. ‘I miss having you around.’

‘My uni’s only an hour from campus,’ Lauren said. ‘If you do stay in the UK you’ll see a lot more of me.’

‘That’d be cool.’

‘So are you and Kerry fighting, or is it worse than that?’

James shrugged. ‘Can’t say for sure. We’ve been together so long there’s not the same spark. I don’t know if that’s a problem, or if it’s just what happens to a relationship after a few years.’

‘Surely she’s not spending Christmas on her own?’

‘She hasn’t told me anything, but there’s this guy Mark who she’s been meeting for coffee and stuff,’ James said. ‘I half suspect she’ll be Christmasing with him.’

‘Heavy,’ Lauren said.

‘I threw my breakfast at the wall when I first found out she wasn’t coming for Christmas,’ James said. ‘But the more I’ve thought about it, the more chilled I’ve got. Me and Kerry have grown apart. Zara’s offered me a job on campus and I think I’m gonna take it.’

By this time, they’d gone down an escalator and reached the platform for the monorail out to the short stay parking.

‘And what about you?’ James asked. ‘Rat, uni, other stuff?’

‘First term at uni’s been good. Rat’s happy, though some of the guys he hangs out with are annoying. I miss being a cherub, but who doesn’t?’

Amy had given Ryan the login for the fast Internet connection on the fifth floor and he felt down as he used his iPhone to look at a picture on his Ryan Sharma Facebook page. His best mates, Max and Alfie, had posted a pic of themselves dressed in Scream masks and Santa hats, with Alfie’s yucca plant draped in tinsel between