Free CHERUB: The Recruit by Robert Muchamore Page B

adventure in the off-licence. Ten out of ten for being a dumbass.’
    James gave his nose a blast of some pain relief spray CHERUB had given him and started undressing.
    ‘Can’t say you didn’t warn me,’ James said.
    ‘Vince is crapping himself,’ Kyle said. ‘He reckons you grassed him up and they’ve moved you to another home for protection.’
    ‘I never grassed,’ James said. ‘I’ve got to get him back though.’
    ‘Don’t mess, James. He’ll cut you up if you give him an excuse.’
    *
     
    Rachel shook James awake.
    ‘What are you still doing here, James? It’s ten-thirty. You should be in school.’
    James sat up and rubbed his face. His nose was tender. At least the headache was gone.
    ‘I didn’t get in until gone three this morning.’
    ‘Bit young to be out clubbing, aren’t you?’
    ‘I just um…’
    James still couldn’t think of a decent excuse for turning up at 3 a.m.
    ‘I want you in school uniform and out of the door in twenty minutes.’
    ‘I’m tired.’
    ‘Whose fault is that?’
    ‘I’m sick,’ James said, pointing at his nose.
    ‘Fighting, I suppose?’
    ‘No.’
    ‘How then?’
    ‘I think I must have slept in a funny position.’
    Rachel started laughing.
    ‘James, I’ve heard some excuses in my time, but a swollen nose and a black eye from sleeping in a funny position is the worst ever.’
    ‘I’ve got a black eye?’
    ‘A shiner.’
    James explored the tender area under his eye with his fingers. He’d always wanted a black eye, they looked cool.
    ‘Can I see the nurse?’ James asked hopefully.
    ‘We don’t have a nurse here. There’s one at West Road School, though.’
    ‘Please let me off school, Rachel. I’m dying.’
    ‘You’ve been here for three weeks, James. You’ve been cautioned by the police, arrested for stealing beer, we’ve had a complaint from school about your behaviour in class and now you disappear for a day and a half. We’re pretty lax here, but we have to draw a line somewhere. Get your uniform on. If you want to complain, go and see the superintendent.’
    *
     
    James was putting his schoolbooks in his backpack when Jennifer Mitchum came in.
    ‘Aren’t you too tired for school, James?’
    ‘Rachel’s making me go.’
    Jennifer locked the door and sat on Kyle’s bed.
    ‘Those tests are exhausting, aren’t they?’
    ‘What?’
    ‘I know where you were, James. I was one of the people who recommended you.’
    ‘The last thing I remember is being in your office upstairs. Was it you that gave me the injection to make me sleep?’
    Jennifer smiled. ‘Guilty as charged … So have you thought about joining CHERUB?’
    ‘It’s so much better than here. I can’t see any reason not to go.’
    ‘It is a fantastic opportunity. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there.’
    ‘You were in CHERUB?’ James asked.
    ‘Back in the Stone Age. My mother and father died in a gas explosion. I was recruited from a children’s home, just like you.’
    ‘You went spying and everything?’
    ‘Twenty-four missions. Enough to earn my black shirt.’
    ‘What’s that?’ James asked.
    ‘Did you notice everyone at CHERUB was wearing different colour T-shirts?’
    ‘Yeah. Nobody would talk to me because I was wearing orange.’
    ‘An orange shirt is for guests. You need clearance from Mac to talk to a guest. The red shirt is for younger kids being educated on the CHERUB campus. When they reach ten years old they can do basic training and become agents if they choose to. The pale blue shirt is for trainees. When you qualify you get the grey shirt. After that, you can go dark , which means you get awarded the navy T-shirt after an outstanding performance on a mission or missions. The real high flyers get awarded the black shirt, which is for outstanding performance over a large number of missions.’
    ‘How many?’
    ‘It could be three or four really outstanding missions, it might take ten. The Chairman decides. The last shirt is the white