CHERUB: People's Republic (39 page)

Carlos led the way, holding out a leather cushion with a carefully folded blue CHERUB training T-shirt resting on it. He was followed by Ryan and Amy and Connor.

‘Welcome to CHERUB,’ Zara said. ‘You did really,
really
well today. I was especially impressed with the rabbit, and the way you didn’t let me bully you into seriously hurting Carlos in the dojo.’

Ning smiled, but didn’t fully understand. Had Carlos also been accepted? Then she realised he was wearing a grey CHERUB T-shirt which meant …

‘You’re not a recruit,’ Ning blurted.

‘Carlos is small for his age,’ Zara explained, as Carlos, Amy and Ryan all laughed. ‘He qualified as a CHERUB agent last year. I asked him to find every possible way to irritate you: taking the Mickey out of your accent, taking credit when he didn’t deserve it, puking on you, humming during the exam, dropping your pencil from his eighth-floor balcony so that the lead inside kept breaking.’

Ning shrieked and put her hands over her face. ‘AAARGH!’ she yelled. ‘You have
no
idea how much I wanted to beat the crap out of you.’

‘I got a silver in the last campus kickboxing tournament,’ Carlos said, as he held out the blue training shirt. ‘You might have a harder time if we ever do fight again. So are you expecting me to hold this thing up all day, or what?’

Ning didn’t want to strip in front of everyone, so she pulled the blue shirt over her orange one.

‘Don’t give Carlos all the credit though,’ Amy said. ‘The zip wire was Ryan’s idea.’

Ning looked confused again. ‘What did you do?’

‘There’s two different kinds of handles,’ Connor explained. ‘Some have special gears so that you go down more slowly. We usually use slow handles for little kids so that they get used to the jump. But today we all used the slow ones, and you had a normal one. We figured there was at least an eighty per cent chance you’d get the timing wrong and end up in the shit.’

‘You’re evil,’ Ning screamed, then burst out laughing. ‘I can’t believe you all knew about this. I hate all of you!’

‘The good news is you’re not gonna catch E. coli or something from the crap either,’ Ryan said. ‘It’s actually mud and clay, mixed with fruit peel and a few chemicals to give it that authentic farmyard pong. But don’t tell any red-shirts that, we like to throw them in once in a while.’

‘The puke was fake too,’ Carlos explained. ‘Mashed potato, sour milk, carrot and apple juice. I had it in a little squeezy bag and squirted it over your back.’

‘Damn, I feel stupid now,’ Ning said, but she was grinning and had tears of happiness streaking down her face.

‘It’s Saturday night,’ Ryan said, as he patted Ning on the back. ‘I’ll introduce you to everyone, and we’ll have a laugh, yeah?’

Ning bounced on her toes as she went around hugging everyone in turn, leaving Zara until last.

‘Thank you so much for letting me join,’ Ning said. ‘I was starting to hate my life.’

‘Can you give Ning and me a few moments?’ Zara said.

Ryan was last out and spoke to Ning as he stood in the doorway. ‘When you’re done, come up to my room and I’ll introduce you to a couple of the girls.’

Ning nodded. ‘Great, but I don’t know how long I’ll be.’

‘Only a few minutes,’ Zara said, before telling Ning to sit back down.

‘I was sitting upstairs, worried sick,’ Ning confessed.

‘I’ve got a few things to explain,’ Zara said. ‘Basic training lasts a hundred days and the next session begins in just under a month. I’ll set up a meeting with a handler, who’ll sort out your education program and run you through the rules for life on campus. The athletics department will give you a training program, so that you’re close to peak fitness when basic training begins.

‘I’ll also arrange for a dental check-up, some money and a shopping trip to buy new clothes and personal items. Amy’s going to be doing your Kyrgyzstan debriefings and finally I’ll arrange some sessions with a speech therapist, because
that
accent will stick out a mile on undercover missions.’

‘Thank God,’ Ning said. ‘Ever since I got to Britain I feel like everyone’s sniggering every time I open my gob.’

‘We’ve corrected strong accents before,’ Zara said. ‘There’s absolutely nothing to worry about. Any questions?’

‘Not that I can think of right now.’

‘Well, you know where I am if you think of any. You’re going to be a busy girl over the next few weeks, but there’s usually corridor parties and things around here on Saturday nights. So let your hair down and have fun. It’s what you need after all you’ve been through.’

49. CHESS

The beds on CHERUB campus were really comfy and Ning didn’t wake up until half ten, when Amy knocked on her door.

‘You have fun last night?’

Ning rubbed her eyes and smiled slightly, as Amy eyed a white mini dress on the floor.

‘We didn’t really do much,’ Ning said. ‘Hanging around, playing music and stuff. I met some nice people. I’m not exactly sure about that dress.’

‘Did someone lend it to you?’

Ning nodded. ‘People said I looked nice, but it’s so not me.’

‘It’s good to doll yourself up once in a while,’ Amy said. ‘I’ve been working on the information you gave under hypnosis and I’ve got some pictures I’d like you to look at.’

Amy pulled them from a plastic wallet. Ning instantly recognised the logo in the first one.

‘Nantong Bakery,’ Ning read. ‘That’s
definitely
the logo I saw on those football shirts.’

‘Hoped you’d recognise it,’ Amy said, as she tucked it back in the file wallet and handed over three pictures printed from Google Street View. ‘Now take a look at these. These premises are all owned or rented by Nantong Bakery, and are within an hour’s drive of the spot where you escaped from Leo.’

The first picture was of a modern aluminium-sided building, surrounded by car parking with a giant Nantong logo on the side.

‘That’s nothing like it,’ Ning said, but her eyes lit up as she flipped to the second image. It was taken from the road and slightly blurry, but she instantly recognised the grubby brickwork and boarded windows on the upper floor. ‘That’s it.’

‘You’re sure?’

Ning nodded. ‘Hundred per cent. I even recognise the battered van parked in the courtyard. How did you find it?’

‘Me, Ryan, Max and Alfie did some detective work yesterday, while you were doing your recruitment tests.’

Ning had a sudden thought and felt anxious. ‘Does this mean you’ll send the cops in to raid the factory and deport all the women? My friend Mei already got sent home once, but if you owe the gangsters money they force you to go back.’

‘CHERUB and TFU don’t mount operations just to send a few illegal immigrants home,’ Amy said. ‘Our goal is to bring down major criminal networks like the Aramov Clan and the people smugglers. I’ve already spoken to a senior police officer with SOCA and they’ll take the people smuggling investigation forward.’

‘SOCA?’ Ning asked.

Amy smiled. ‘That’s the Serious Organised Crime Agency. Their first step will be to mount a surveillance operation on the factory. It shouldn’t be too hard to trace the vans going backwards and forward to the houses. Hopefully they’ll track down people like Leo and Ben. And who knows where the investigation will take us after that?’

‘How long will it take?’ Ning asked.

‘Months,’ Amy said.

‘Will CHERUB be involved?’

‘Possibly.’

‘And what about the bastards who killed Ingrid?’

‘Leonid Aramov sits at the top of the tree,’ Amy explained. ‘His family are rich and powerful, and nobody has touched them in two decades. I can’t promise we’ll get them, but I can promise TFU will do everything we possibly can.’

‘Cool,’ Ning said, smiling slightly. ‘So will you start debriefing me today on what happened in Kyrgyzstan?’

‘It’s a Sunday,’ Amy said. ‘Go hang out with your new friends. We’ll start on that tomorrow.’

*

Ning found her own way to the campus dining-room. She got cereal and yoghurt and was pleased when Ryan came up behind and started dishing himself a full English.

‘So, how you doing?’ Ryan asked. ‘Sleep well?’

‘Beautifully,’ Ning said.

‘Enjoy yourself last night?’

‘Sure,’ Ning said, as she grabbed a glass of fruit juice and followed Ryan to a table by the window. ‘Everyone kept trying to wind me up about basic training. It
can’t
be as bad as everyone’s making out.’

Ryan laughed. ‘We’ll see if you agree with that statement in a hundred and twenty-six days’ time. I think you’ll be doing basic with my twin brothers, Leon and Daniel. They turn ten next week.’

‘Is that good or bad?’ Ning asked.

‘Let’s just say rather you than me.’

‘Don’t you get on with your brothers?’

‘Theo, the little guy, is OK,’ Ryan said. ‘He sleeps over in my room sometimes and stuff. I’ve got nothing against the twins, they’re just a pain like most brothers.’

‘Theo’s cute,’ Ning said. ‘I always wanted a brother or sister.’

‘I don’t reckon you should worry about basic training,’ Ryan said, as a fork load of scrambled egg tumbled down his sweatshirt. ‘You’ve got the physique for it. The only thing that could floor you is some random injury and there’s not much you can do to prevent that.’

Chloe and Grace came towards the table as Ryan shook the egg off his sweatshirt.

‘Mucky pup,’ Grace said, as she gave Ryan’s ear a gentle flick. ‘So, Ning, the shops in town open at noon today. You want to come with us and spend some of that fat clothing grant Zara’s giving you? We know
all
the best places.’

Ning wasn’t massively into clothes, but the limited selection she’d taken out of China reminded her of unhappy times and she could have happily burned the lot.

‘I’d like to,’ Ning said, as she looked at Ryan. ‘But aren’t we paintballing, or something?’

‘That’s this evening,’ Ryan said. ‘You can do both.’

‘In which case I’d love to come shopping,’ Ning said.

‘Oooh, paintballing rocks,’ Chloe said. ‘What time’s that?’

Ryan shook his head. ‘That’s with me, Max and Alfie. And it has to be an even number.’

‘No problem,’ Grace said. ‘Three against three.’

‘You’ll have to ask Max,’ Ryan said. ‘He’s trying out his new guns.’

Grace laughed and spoke quite loudly. ‘Do you mean the guns he bought with money he’s not supposed to have? The ones he’d be in lots and lots of trouble for if any senior staff happened to find out that he had them?’

Chloe smiled and spoke in the same kind of voice. ‘Not that we’d ever dream of blackmailing him.’

‘OK, I’m sure Max would
love
you to come,’ Ryan said, as the girls sat at the table on either side of him.

‘So do you want to come shopping with us?’ Ning asked him.

Ryan laughed. ‘Girls’ clothes shops do sound enticing, but I’m afraid it’s homework and then a session in the recycling centre.’

‘That’ll teach you to batter old ladies,’ Grace said.

Before Ryan could reply, he heard the distinctive ring of his Ethan phone. As he pulled it out of his sweatshirt, he stood up and jogged through a glass door on to a patio outside.

‘Hiya, mate,’ Ryan said. ‘How’s tricks? How’s the arm doing?’

‘Arm still hurts like shit,’ Ethan said. ‘I’m in Dubai, man.’

‘What?’

‘Dubai,’ Ethan repeated. ‘All my Kyrgyz documentation came through, so they shipped me out. Fourteen-hour flight, at least it was first class.’

‘Where you at now?’ Ryan asked.

‘Some hotel,’ Ethan said. ‘I don’t know how much this call is costing, Ryan. Are you sure your dad won’t mind?’

‘My dad’s company has like a billion cellphones. Don’t sweat it, they’ll never notice your bill. So who’s with you?’

‘Just this dude who met me at the airport. He works for my grandma Irena.’

‘Did you get my latest chess move on Facebook?’

‘Yeah,’ Ethan said. ‘But you didn’t get that good that fast. You’re getting help from a web forum or something.’

‘I may have asked a friend for some advice,’ Ryan said guiltily.

‘I’ll play you in a live game online,’ Ethan said. ‘That’s when we’ll see how good you’ve really got. So I’m just mooching around and there’s Internet on my TV. Can you get online?’

Ethan still thought Ryan was in California and Ryan quickly calculated the time difference.

‘It’s three in the morning,’ Ryan said. ‘I need my beauty sleep.’

‘Aww, shit!’ Ethan said. ‘Sorry to wake you. I’m
so
jet-lagged.’

‘What time is it in Dubai?’

‘Early evening. We’re driving to Sharaj Airport tomorrow morning – that’s one of the other Emirates. I’ll be flying off to Kyrgyzstan in one of my family’s shit box Russian planes. Then I’ve got to meet my grandma and all my cousins and stuff.’