but then he realised four other lads were moving in to surround them. As he stepped forward to walk back to his lane, a clumsy punch glanced across the side of his head.
James instinctively swung back with his elbow to take out his assailant, catching him full in the face and deftly sweeping away his opponente legs as he stumbled backwards. The other three lads didnt like this one bit. Two lunged at James, while the guy in the Tottenham shirt tried to take down Gabrielle by jumping on her back.
CHERUB had trained James to handle himself in a fight, but theree a limit to what you can do against three significantly larger opponents at close range. Luckily, the other cherubs were rushing to his defence.
Kyle, Connor and Callum all piled over or around the seats and launched themselves at the thugs. James caught a second punch and his bowling shoe squealed as he lost his balance on the polished wooden floor.
He tried to get back on his feet, but found himself trapped on the ground, while a tangle of limbs waged war overhead. He caught sight of Kylee knee hitting someone in the guts and Tottenham-shirt guy getting pulled into a painful arm-lock by the twins.
By the time a group of adults ?including the two CHERUB supervisors looking after the younger kids in the bumper lane ?charged in to break up the fight, there was no doubt about the result. The five yobs were crawling around on the floor in varying degrees of pain, with a ring of steely-faced CHERUB agents surrounding them, defying them to make another move.
James rolled on to his back and took a big gasp of air. He got a little rush from being on the winning side, even though his main contribution had been getting thumped in the head and falling over. He reckoned the older kids deserved what theyt got; the way theyt started on Gabrielle was totally out of order.
But James?mood darkened as he levered himself up on to the plastic seats. His head hurt, his clothes were filthy and there were going to be consequences when they got back to campus.
*
Dr Terence McAfferty, usually known as Mac, stared at the five kids lined up in front of his big oak desk, wondering exactly how many times het faced similar line-ups of worried faces in the thirteen years since het been appointed chairman of CHERUB. He was sure the number ran into thousands.
To,?Mac said wearily, Lhat caused the fight at the bowling alley earlier this evening??
This guy on the next rink had a go at Gabrielle,?Kyle explained, stepping forward and taking the lead role because he was the oldest. They were chucking their drinks around and acting like idiots. We all kind of lost our temper and piled into them.?
Hou all simultaneously decided to pile in,?Mac said, clearly not finding this explanation likely. Ind I suppose none of you is any more to blame than anyone else??
Thate right,?Kyle lied.
The rest of the line-up nodded. Theyt huddled together and sorted out their cover story on the mini-bus ride back to campus. Gabrielle had started the punch-up, of course, but shet been racially abused and none of the other kids thought she deserved to cop all the blame.
i understand,?Mac said reluctantly. if thate the way you want me to deal with this, so be it. But I spoke to the staff members who were at the scene and I think I have a pretty accurate idea of what really happened.?
As he said this, Mac cast deliberate glances at Gabrielle and James.
i shouldnt have to tell you how serious this incident could have been,?Mac continued. ite been drilled into you all time and again. What is the number one priority for groups of CHERUB agents when theyte off campus??
The line-up droned the answer, at different speeds and with varying degrees of gusto: 慘eep a low profile.?
I low profile,?Mac nodded. CHERUB is a secret organisation. The safety of your colleagues who are currently away on undercover missions depends upon the fact that nobody knows we exist. When youte off campus, I expect you to behave in a manner that doesnt attract undue attention. I expect you to avoid trouble at all costs, even under extreme provocation. Is that clearly understood??
Hes sir,?everyone nodded sombrely.
I whole bunch of people saw your little display of fighting skills at the bowling alley this evening. Dont you think theyte going to be extremely curious about who you are and how a