I’m Zara Asker, one of the senior mission controllers.’
‘Is my brother here?’ Lauren asked, as they stepped out on the ground floor. They were in the main entrance hall. There was a reception desk, and a worried looking boy in a red CHERUB T-shirt sat on a bench outside an office.
‘Yes, James is here,’ Zara said. ‘One second.’
Zara walked towards the boy, who looked about seven. She spoke with an authoritative tone. ‘Jake Parker sitting outside the chairman’s office, what a surprise.’
The red-shirt boy stood up. ‘It wasn’t my fault, Mrs. I didn’t even start it. I was just …’
Zara interrupted. ‘Jake, it’s your lucky day. The chairman is sick, so go back to your lesson and try behaving for once.’
Jake nodded sheepishly. ‘I thought you’d left until after your baby was born.’
Zara smiled and rested both hands on her belly. ‘He’s in no rush to come out. I’m in for a couple of hours to show these two orange shirts around. Now scram.’
She turned back to Lauren and Dante as Jake ran off. ‘He’s a terror, that one,’ Zara said, smiling through gritted teeth. ‘Now I expect you’re wondering exactly where you are.’
‘Can I see my brother?’ Lauren asked.
‘Now that’s slightly complicated,’ Zara said. ‘He’s in basic training. You can go and watch him, but you won’t be able to speak to him at the moment.’
‘What’s basic training?’ Dante asked.
‘I tell you what,’ Zara said. ‘Rather than answer odd questions here and there, how about I take you on a tour of CHERUB campus and explain exactly who we are and what we do?’
Lauren and Dante nodded. Zara led them out of the main entrance and down five steps. In the gravel outside was a fountain. The sculpture inside it had a three dimensional version of the baby on a globe depicted on their T-shirts. Three small electric carts were parked alongside.
‘I can’t fit behind the steering wheel,’ Zara said. ‘Would one of you mind driving? It’s not hard.’
Dante got excited as he sat behind the steering wheel. The controls were simple: a lever switched between forward and reverse and two foot pedals for accelerating and braking.
‘They can go quite fast, but keep it below ten miles an hour because there are lots of kids running around,’ Zara said as she squeezed into the front passenger seat. Lauren hopped into the back seat and Dante jabbed the accelerator pedal.
‘We’ve just left the main building,’ Zara explained, as the little buggy drove slowly around the fountain and on to a gravel path. ‘It’s where all CHERUB agents eat; it’s also where many of our staff live, along with the older agents. There are administrative offices, an archive in the basement and our mission control centre up on the top floor.’
Lauren looked curiously towards the roof. ‘Mission control,’ she repeated. ‘That sounds like NASA or something.’
Zara laughed, but then they went quite hard over a bump and she told Dante to drive more slowly and take the next left on to the main path that led through the centre of campus.
‘We don’t launch rockets,’ she explained. ‘Our missions are the undercover variety. CHERUB agents are trained spies aged between ten and seventeen.’
Dante glanced at Zara’s face to see if she was being serious. Apparently she was.
‘Why?’ Lauren asked. ‘What’s the point of using kids as spies?’
‘Turn right again,’ Zara said. As she continued, the buggy passed around the side of the main building. After a dense copse of trees they broke out into a clear December day. There were tennis courts alongside and a view over most of CHERUB campus, including rugby and football pitches, a dozen or so buildings ranging from storage sheds to a medieval chapel. In the far distance was a lake, beyond which lay dense woodland.
‘We use kids as spies because nobody suspects them,’ Zara explained. ‘The example Mac always uses is of a grown man knocking on an
‘Is my brother here?’ Lauren asked, as they stepped out on the ground floor. They were in the main entrance hall. There was a reception desk, and a worried looking boy in a red CHERUB T-shirt sat on a bench outside an office.
‘Yes, James is here,’ Zara said. ‘One second.’
Zara walked towards the boy, who looked about seven. She spoke with an authoritative tone. ‘Jake Parker sitting outside the chairman’s office, what a surprise.’
The red-shirt boy stood up. ‘It wasn’t my fault, Mrs. I didn’t even start it. I was just …’
Zara interrupted. ‘Jake, it’s your lucky day. The chairman is sick, so go back to your lesson and try behaving for once.’
Jake nodded sheepishly. ‘I thought you’d left until after your baby was born.’
Zara smiled and rested both hands on her belly. ‘He’s in no rush to come out. I’m in for a couple of hours to show these two orange shirts around. Now scram.’
She turned back to Lauren and Dante as Jake ran off. ‘He’s a terror, that one,’ Zara said, smiling through gritted teeth. ‘Now I expect you’re wondering exactly where you are.’
‘Can I see my brother?’ Lauren asked.
‘Now that’s slightly complicated,’ Zara said. ‘He’s in basic training. You can go and watch him, but you won’t be able to speak to him at the moment.’
‘What’s basic training?’ Dante asked.
‘I tell you what,’ Zara said. ‘Rather than answer odd questions here and there, how about I take you on a tour of CHERUB campus and explain exactly who we are and what we do?’
Lauren and Dante nodded. Zara led them out of the main entrance and down five steps. In the gravel outside was a fountain. The sculpture inside it had a three dimensional version of the baby on a globe depicted on their T-shirts. Three small electric carts were parked alongside.
‘I can’t fit behind the steering wheel,’ Zara said. ‘Would one of you mind driving? It’s not hard.’
Dante got excited as he sat behind the steering wheel. The controls were simple: a lever switched between forward and reverse and two foot pedals for accelerating and braking.
‘They can go quite fast, but keep it below ten miles an hour because there are lots of kids running around,’ Zara said as she squeezed into the front passenger seat. Lauren hopped into the back seat and Dante jabbed the accelerator pedal.
‘We’ve just left the main building,’ Zara explained, as the little buggy drove slowly around the fountain and on to a gravel path. ‘It’s where all CHERUB agents eat; it’s also where many of our staff live, along with the older agents. There are administrative offices, an archive in the basement and our mission control centre up on the top floor.’
Lauren looked curiously towards the roof. ‘Mission control,’ she repeated. ‘That sounds like NASA or something.’
Zara laughed, but then they went quite hard over a bump and she told Dante to drive more slowly and take the next left on to the main path that led through the centre of campus.
‘We don’t launch rockets,’ she explained. ‘Our missions are the undercover variety. CHERUB agents are trained spies aged between ten and seventeen.’
Dante glanced at Zara’s face to see if she was being serious. Apparently she was.
‘Why?’ Lauren asked. ‘What’s the point of using kids as spies?’
‘Turn right again,’ Zara said. As she continued, the buggy passed around the side of the main building. After a dense copse of trees they broke out into a clear December day. There were tennis courts alongside and a view over most of CHERUB campus, including rugby and football pitches, a dozen or so buildings ranging from storage sheds to a medieval chapel. In the far distance was a lake, beyond which lay dense woodland.
‘We use kids as spies because nobody suspects them,’ Zara explained. ‘The example Mac always uses is of a grown man knocking on an
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