Secret Army - Robert Muchamore Page 0,22

free when Takada came over and told him to stop. Paul looked pleadingly at the Japanese instructor, but he showed no mercy.

‘Don’t lie there,’ Takada ordered. ‘Get up and fight!’

Luc was a typical bully. He enjoyed the pain he’d inflicted when he bent back Paul’s knees and predictably he tried the same move. Knowing what was coming, Paul rolled on to his back and kicked up with both feet as Luc lunged forwards to grab his ankles.

Paul’s feet sank into Luc’s belly. Unfortunately Luc’s stomach was as strong as the rest of his body and even the two-footed kick was only enough to knock Luc off balance. Paul sat up as Luc thumped down on the mat beside him.

Paul had spent so much time getting mauled that he’d forgotten how to make an attacking move and he wasted a valuable second as Luc’s ankle flailed in the air. When Paul did spring forwards he grabbed Luc’s foot, twisted it with all his might then landed hard with both knees on the back of Luc’s thigh, making him moan with pain. It wasn’t much of a moan but this small triumph gave Paul a surge of confidence.

He lunged again, trying to lock his hands around Luc’s neck. But Luc rolled on to his back, then bucked violently, flipping Paul’s entire body into the air. Normal service had resumed and Luc had Paul’s shoulders pinned beneath his knees and a hand squishing his head against the mat.

‘At last, something I want to see!’ Takada said triumphantly. ‘Paul uses brain and achieves small victory. You’ve had enough for today, Paul. Take early shower.’

Paul smiled with relief as he hobbled away from the mat. His knees killed and he felt like he could roll in a ball and sleep for about fifty hours, but he’d got through his punishment without any serious injuries and the desperate struggle against a massively superior opponent probably had improved his combat skills.

‘Paul will do better when he fights Luc again tomorrow,’ Takada said.

Paul felt like a bullet had passed through his heart. ‘You said my punishment was for one day,’ he protested, raising a single finger into the air.

‘Are you small and weak, or big and strong?’ Takada asked.

‘Small and weak,’ Paul admitted, as beads of sweat dripped from his head on to the polished floor around his feet.

‘So most people you fight will be bigger and stronger than you,’ Takada said. ‘You must learn how to fight them. With regular practice against a stronger opponent, your techniques will improve much.’

Paul looked crushed, but he couldn’t think what to say and ended up resorting to, ‘It’s not fair!’

‘Luc will also learn to deal with stronger opponents,’ Takada continued.

‘Ha!’ Luc spluttered. ‘None of the others is as tough as me.’

Takada smiled before spinning dramatically on the ball of his left foot. He took a short run, grabbed Luc’s upper arm and then swept his feet away. Luc landed on the mat with the loudest body slam in Espionage Research Unit B’s short history.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

‘Bloody hell.’ Rosie gasped when she saw Marc’s singed eyebrows and peeling forehead. ‘What happened to you?’

They were in the hallway on the first floor of the school building. Marc held his pigskin bag and the Harrods package he’d received that morning.

‘Oh, just the usual,’ Marc explained. ‘I rescued a man from a burning building and inadvertently helped save the entire unit from getting canned.’

Rosie smiled. ‘What’s in there? Presents for us?’

‘All for me,’ Marc said, as he theatrically clutched the package to his chest. ‘Though if you ask nicely I might give you a piece of Harrods banana fudge.’

‘I love fudge,’ Rosie said, clapping her hands. ‘So how come your voice is so rough? I thought you were having that broken bit of tooth cut out.’

‘Smoke inhalation,’ Marc explained. ‘They tested my lungs at the hospital. The doctor says it’s just minor burns and I’ll be OK to resume training in a week or so.’

Rosie looked confused. ‘Why did you inhale smoke at the dentist?’

Marc shook his head and sounded slightly irritated. ‘Not at the dentist, I just told you. We got bombed last night! We were staying at Henderson’s gentlemen’s club and it got burned down. I dragged an old guy out through the smoke.’

‘Oh,’ Rosie said, putting her hand over her mouth. ‘I’m so sorry! The way you said it I thought you were joking.’

‘I’ve got bandages on my hand,’ Marc said, aghast, as he held it up in the air. ‘I know