CHERUB: The Fall (12 page)

The daytime was worst. James watched TV, played on his PSP and read motorbike magazines, but it did his head in having nobody around, so he was pretty grateful when Ewart and Zara Asker turned up just after he’d eaten lunch.

Zara had smartened up since becoming chairwoman and sported a grey pinstripe business suit, but Ewart looked the same as ever. Ten years younger than his wife, he wore ripped jeans and a T-shirt with the poster from the 1960s
Planet Of The Apes
film on it.

‘So what’s this in aid of?’ James smiled, as the couple sank into the green armchairs alongside his bed.

Ewart spoke first. ‘I’ve been going through the recordings I made when I interviewed you about the mission yesterday. And – there’s no way to sugar-coat this, James – we’re really not sure how much of your testimony we can believe.’

James was shocked. ‘Are you saying I’m a liar?’

Zara shook her head. ‘Not so much lying, James, as confused. You took a severe beating, you spent a night out in the cold, and you were under a huge amount of stress.’

Ewart took over. ‘The thing is James, two well respected undercover operatives are dead. I’ve discussed the situation with senior MI5 officials and they’re not buying your story that Boris and Isla were killed after murdering Denis Obidin.’

‘Ewart, I told you yesterday. The CIA guy took me back to the safe house, he put the laptop in front of me and I watched the whole thing on video.’

‘Are you
completely
sure it was Boris and Isla?’

James tutted. ‘Absolutely sure. I saw them getting dressed before they went out. They were wearing the right clothes and everything.’

Ewart wagged his finger. ‘But in the testimony I recorded yesterday, you said that you had a pulsing headache, your eyes were swollen and the video footage was blurry. Can you
really
be sure?’

‘I felt rough,’ James nodded, ‘but I wasn’t
blind
. It was CCTV footage. It was black and white and a bit blurry, like every other bit of CCTV footage I’ve ever seen.’

‘So you could positively identify Boris and Isla on the clip?’ Zara said.

Ewart interrupted before James got to answer. ‘The thing is James, MI5 are saying that this video clip is what the CIA, or whoever this Partridge dude really works for, wanted you to see. It could have been staged with actors, or real footage could have been manipulated by computers.’

‘I guess,’ James said. ‘All I know is that it looked real to me when I saw it and we’ve since confirmed that Boris, Isla and Denis are all dead.’

Ewart nodded. ‘Point taken.’

‘Can’t you contact the CIA and see if you can get hold of the footage?’ James asked.

Zara smiled. ‘James, we’re certainly going to try, but it’s a delicate business. You can’t just ring up CIA headquarters and say,
Hey we’re a bunch of British spies who don’t officially exist, you know that top secret undercover mission you’ve got going on in Northern Russia
…’

‘Well
obviously
,’ James nodded. ‘But, the Americans are our friends, right? I mean, I worked with the CIA and the FBI in Arizona two years ago. That’s how they knew who I was.’

‘Espionage isn’t a world of black and white, James,’ Ewart said. ‘In some instances, such as the Arizona situation, British and American interests are the same and we work together. In Aero City, things are more complex. Denis Obidin was a massive presence in the Russian aerospace industry. His contract with Hilton Aerospace to fit British jet engines and maintain Russian airliners is worth
billions
. Even though it’s a declining market, the big American aero-engine companies would still love to get hold of that contract and gain a foothold in the Russian aerospace market.’

‘In fact,’ Zara said, ‘if two British agents
did
charge into Denis Obidin’s office and kill him, it might very well push several lucrative defence contracts into the hands of the Americans. It could be exactly what the CIA wants the Russians to believe.’

‘Well I guess …’ James wasn’t entirely convinced by Zara’s argument. ‘I mean, what you’re saying isn’t impossible, but what if the version the CIA man told me is true and it turns out that MI5 are covering their backs and refusing to accept the blame?’

Zara nodded. ‘At this stage we’re just gathering evidence. We’re ruling nothing in and nothing out.’

‘Anyway,’ James said, ‘why are us Brits so keen to do business with the Obidins? I thought the whole point of my mission was to gather evidence and put Obidin behind bars for selling illegal weapons.’

‘We certainly wanted the evidence,’ Ewart smiled. ‘But MI5 might have achieved a better outcome by using it to blackmail Obidin. That way, he stops selling weapons to people our government don’t like
and
three thousand British jobs are guaranteed.’

James shook his head. ‘Sounds pretty shady.’

Zara nodded. ‘It is shady, but the Russian courts can be as corrupt as their police force. Even if we’d gathered cast iron evidence against Obidin, there’s no guarantee that a crooked judge or a bribed jury wouldn’t have acquitted him.’

Ewart spoke again. ‘Another aspect of your testimony is causing me some concern …’

‘Hang on,’ James said angrily. ‘How come it’s
testimony
all of a sudden? Yesterday afternoon, you came in here acting all casual and asked if I felt well enough to answer some questions. You said you’d record the conversation so you didn’t have to write it all down. I thought it was just a debriefing, but now you’re asking me all this extra stuff, sounding like a lawyer and picking apart what I said.’

‘James, there has to be a comprehensive investigation into what went wrong,’ Zara explained. ‘Two agents are dead, you were lucky to get out alive. We’re not saying that you’re a liar, but we can’t just carry on as if nothing has happened. Ewart is going to conduct a thorough investigation into every aspect of the Aero City mission. He’ll obviously be on the lookout for evidence that confirms your version of events, but he has to be impartial. That means he’ll have to investigate your conduct during the mission and ask you some difficult questions about it.’

James shrugged wearily. ‘Well, whether you believe me or not, everything I told you yesterday is what I honestly believe is true.’

Zara sat up in her chair and adopted a grave tone. ‘The thing is, James – and I came along with Ewart today because I wanted to tell you in person – CHERUB has to appear whiter than white. As well as Ewart’s investigation, MI5 will be conducting a separate inquiry into the events in Aero City and both organisations have been asked to report back to the intelligence minister as soon as possible. In the meantime I’ll have to suspend your status as an active CHERUB agent.’

‘Eh?’ James gasped furiously. ‘After everything I went through out there? Are you taking the piss?’

‘None of us likes it, James, but until the inquiry is complete and you’re cleared of any responsibility, I have no option but to suspend you.’

‘But I haven’t done
anything
.’

‘It’s not a punishment, James,’ Zara said softly.

‘What a crock of
shit
,’ James yelled.

‘Hey, watch your mouth,’ Ewart shouted.

‘Ewart, don’t start,’ Zara said. ‘James, I know this is really rotten for you, but we have to obey certain rules. One of those rules is that we can’t send agents on a mission while their conduct on a previous mission is under investigation.’

‘I nearly died,’ James screamed. ‘Those two MI5 traitors stitched me up. Now
you’re
stitching me up.’

‘James, I’m sorry,’ Zara said. ‘I know you’re upset, but we’re not stitching anybody up.’

‘You know what? Screw it. Why should I risk my life on another mission for people who don’t trust me or stick up for me? I
quit
– send me off to live with a set of foster parents or whatever.’

‘Come off it, James,’ Zara said. ‘I can see how this might seem like we’re kicking you when you’re down, but try to keep things in perspective. The investigation will probably take one or two months. You wouldn’t have been sent on another long mission until you were feeling better and you’d caught up on your schoolwork. The difference to your CHERUB career will probably be minimal.’

James thought for a second. ‘Maybe that’s true, but everyone on campus is gonna know I’m under investigation and I know how these things drag out. You say one or two months now, but it’s just as likely to be four or five.’

Ewart rolled his eyes. ‘James, you’re not the first agent ever to be suspended pending an investigation and I’d bet that you won’t be the last.’

‘Besides,’ Zara said, ‘if you leave, you’ll end up at some other school with no friends and about half of the facilities you’ve got on campus.’

‘I guess,’ James sighed. ‘And I didn’t mean to swear at you. It’s just, I could do without this after everything I’ve been through in the last week …’

Zara reached into a carrier bag she’d brought in with her and pulled out a big box of fancy chocolates.

‘Continental selection,’ Zara smiled. ‘Kerry said you liked them. They’re a personal gift from Ewart and me. And this second one is a get well present from CHERUB itself.’

As James grabbed the box of chocolates, Zara reached back into the carrier bag and pulled out a box with an Apple logo on it.

‘I’m not really up on these things,’ Zara explained, ‘but Kerry said you were on about getting an iPod for when you go running. I gave it to Kyle last night and he said he’s loaded on some music and a couple of audio books.’

James was pleased with the gifts, but they left a bitter taste. It felt like they were buying him off.

Two weeks later

James broke off the cross-country trail and sprinted across a football pitch, heading towards the rear entrance of the main building on CHERUB campus. It had been raining for most of the last three days and mud spattered up his legs as he ran.

When James reached the double doors, he looked at his running watch and pressed the stop button before flipping through the settings: time 22 minutes 17 seconds, distance 5.03 kilometres, heart rate 139 beats per minute. It was only half a minute outside his personal best and he’d set that when the ground was hard.

As he leaned against the wall and pulled off his soggy trainers, James spotted his mates, Kyle and Shak, running across the field behind him. He thought about waiting, but his T-shirt was wringing with sweat and he didn’t want to get cold.

The back hallway on the ground floor smelled of the muggy air that wafted out of the laundry. The lift always took ages and James felt sprightly, so he jogged towards the staircase.

‘Mr Adams,’ a man called sternly.

James’ heart sank as he turned around and saw his geography teacher Mr Norwood. Norwood was an ex-cherub in his mid-thirties. Like many CHERUB staff that didn’t have families, he lived in an apartment on the fourth floor of the main building. He approached James holding a plastic laundry basket filled with folded shirts and jeans.

‘Been for a run I see.’ Mr Norwood smiled, as he glared at the muddy trainers hooked over James’ middle fingers.

‘Yes, sir.’

Mr Norwood tapped his chin thoughtfully. ‘And yet, I seem to recall you telling me that you were still recovering. You said you’d been told to take things easy for a while and not overtire yourself with homework.’

James tried to sound sincere. ‘It’s true, sir. I nearly
died
.’

Kyle and Shakeel staggered through the doors. ‘You came out of nowhere, James,’ Kyle grinned as he slapped James on the back.

Mr Norwood looked at Kyle. ‘So, you’d say James is in good health now?’

Kyle and Shak both nodded.

‘He’s got strong legs,’ Kyle explained. ‘He’s not fast, but he blasted past us when we were coming up the last hill.’

James’ friends kept on walking and James turned to follow them. ‘Nice talking, Mr N,’ he said hurriedly. ‘I’d better take a shower before I stink the joint up.’

‘Goodbye, James,’ Mr Norwood said. ‘I’ll see you on Tuesday morning, with the homework on rainforest ecosystems.’

‘I still get headaches, sir.’

Mr Norwood shrugged. ‘I’ll give you a choice, James. Either bring your homework, or an excuse note written by your handler.’

James realised he’d been rumbled. ‘All right, I’ll do it,’ he said miserably.

‘And James, I don’t appreciate you trying to con me.’

James walked towards the staircase and found Shak and Kyle cracking up on the first landing.

‘Bus
ted
,’ Shak grinned.

‘Shut your face,’ James tutted. ‘I don’t care anyway. It’s only some piddling question-and-answer sheet and Kerry’s in my class, so I’ll copy off her.’

‘Cool,’ Shak nodded, as the three boys started up towards their rooms on the sixth floor. ‘I’ve got Norwood in another set, can I copy Kerry’s off you?’

When he reached his room on the sixth floor, James noticed that his answering machine was flashing at him. He tapped the play button and listened to the messages as he stripped off for a shower.

‘
You have two new messages, first message left today at nine seventeen a.m
.’

James recognised Ewart’s voice. ‘Hi James. Listen, I know it’s Saturday, but I got another call from MI5. They’d like you to come down to London to answer some more questions. If it’s OK, I’ll try setting it all up for Thursday.’

James threw his T-shirt down and groaned to himself. ‘What’s the point of more questions, you penis? I’ve been down there and gone through everything twice already.’

James could refuse to cooperate with the investigation if he wanted, but it wouldn’t look good on his record. On the upside, a Thursday in London would mean he’d get away without handing in his GCSE History coursework for a few more days.

‘
Second new message left today at eleven thirty-seven a.m
.’

‘James, it’s Meryl,’ the voice barked angrily. ‘I want your sorry little hide down here in the second-floor conference room as soon as you’ve finished your run and taken a shower. And don’t bother putting your good clothes on.’

‘
No more messages. To listen again, press one, to repeat messages press two
…’