Free CHERUB: Mad Dogs by Robert Muchamore

he?’
    ‘Yeah,’ Lauren nodded.
    ‘You seem especially fond of him.’
    ‘He’s really cool; I just wish I’d been able to keep him in my room on campus.’
    ‘Mmm,’ Large said. ‘But he’s tiny. I mean, very fragile. And I was thinking, if you tell that inquiry that I was drunk, they’ll never reinstate me as an instructor. I could be pottering around this house all day with little Meatball right next door and it would be so easy for an accident to occur.’
    ‘ What? ’ Lauren choked.
    ‘Oh, you know. Maybe I could step on his little spine and crush him. Or he could get tangled under my lawnmower, or Saddam and Thatcher could accidentally get over the garden fence and maul him …’
    Lauren was stunned. ‘You’re blackmailing me? How can you? He’s an innocent little dog!’
    Mr Large nodded. ‘And if I get my job back, he’ll stay an innocent little dog.’
    ‘You … you bastard ,’ Lauren shouted. ‘Only a scumbag like you could come out with a scheme as low as this.’
    Mr Large broke into one of his most satanic grins. ‘Temper, temper, little lady.’
    ‘Zara won’t stand for it if you kill Meatball. She’s the chairwoman; she’s connected to some of the most powerful people in the country.’
    Large shrugged. ‘I’ll say it was an accident and nobody will ever prove that it wasn’t.’
    ‘I can’t believe you,’ Lauren said, as she stepped backwards. ‘You’re barely even human, do you know that?’
    ‘I’m only asking for one little favour,’ Mr Large coaxed. ‘And you know, Meatball’s pelt would be just the right size for a nice winter hat.’
    ‘Come on, Meatball,’ Lauren said, tugging on the lead as she started walking towards the road.
    She tried not to let the fear show in her voice, but she was shaking all over.

10. CANDLES
    The chapel was one of the few buildings on campus that had existed before CHERUB was founded. The humble stone church had served a rural parish from the 1780s until the entire area was commandeered by the government during World War Two.
    With pews for fewer than eighty, it was too small for major occasions like Christmas carol services, and the various faith groups on campus preferred using more comfortable meeting rooms in the main building. But the drafty chapel remained the spiritual heart of campus and when lit by candles the uneven walls and cobwebbed roof beams were as emotive as the grandest cathedral.
    More than a hundred candles had been placed around the framed photograph of Gabrielle on a long table. James’ best mate Kyle Blueman and his ex-girlfriend Kerry Chang stood at the entrance, handing candles to the procession of cherubs and staff. They each took a turn, stepping up to the table and lighting their candle before standing it with the others.
    Kyle stood in the chapel entrance facing CHERUB’s death-in-service memorial. The names of four agents were carved on its stone surface:
Johan Urminsk
1940–1954
Jason Lennox
1944–1954
Katherine Field
1951–1968
Thomas Webb
1967–1982

    There was space for more names and everyone hoped Gabrielle O’Brien wouldn’t be the next.
    ‘We’ll need more candles in a minute,’ Kerry whispered, as she looked under the fold-out table in front of them and realised that she was on the last box.
    Kyle nodded. ‘There’s a load more in the vestry. I’ll go and fetch them.’
    But as Kyle turned away, his mobile phone chimed into life. Evil eyes came at him from all directions.
    ‘Turn that thing off,’ Dennis King – one of the senior mission controllers – said stiffly, as several kids tutted.
    ‘Sorry,’ Kyle grimaced, but as he pulled the phone out of his top he saw the name Michael Hendry on the display. He dived around the table and into the graveyard outside as he flipped the phone open.
    ‘Michael, how’s it going?’
    ‘I can think of better days,’ Michael said, as Kyle realised he’d sounded too flippant. ‘Just wanted to call someone for a chat, you