running, but after less than three steps he looked over his shoulder and saw the huge Alsatian charging across the concrete. It pounced and knocked Ronan forward, but before the dog could bring its whole weight on top of him it crumpled to the ground with a pitiful yelp.
Ronan was mystified until he’d made it a couple of steps and glimpsed Kevin aiming his slingshot at the second dog.
But Kevin only had shadows to aim at and his second shot vanished harmlessly into the darkness.
Jake screamed in terror and tried to crawl as the Alsatian’s narrow snout closed in on his arm. He managed to wriggle clear, but only for the dog’s sharp teeth to pierce Jake’s tracksuit bottoms and sink deep into his buttock as a pair of dog handlers charged forward to save him.
‘Oh god,’ Kevin trembled, as he looked at Ronan. ‘Maybe we should surrender.’
Ronan shook his head. ‘Surrender is weak. With two sets of cutters we’ll be through that fence in no time.’
The pair ran off desperately, knowing the military police and their dogs wouldn’t be far behind. Jake sobbed with pain as dog handlers ordered their Alsatians to heel, while a burly military policeman hauled him up with one hand and shoved him up against the wall.
‘You’re in a lot of trouble, young man,’ he barked, before laughing as he shone his torch beam at Jake’s torn and bloody tracksuit bottoms. ‘And I bet you won’t forget Fluff the Alsatian in a hurry either.’
*
There were footsteps and torch beams in the vandalised lobby by the time Lauren and Rat emerged from the security office, cutting off their route to the car park.
‘Dammit,’ Lauren said.
As she tried remembering the building plans she’d seen back in her room on campus, Rat moved confidently in the opposite direction. Lauren followed, sticking close to the wall to minimise the chance of being spotted by a torch beam.
‘There’s stairs at the end,’ Rat explained. ‘We can go up to the first floor, double back, run the entire length of the building, then go down the fire stairs into the car park.’
Rat was intelligent even by the high standards of CHERUB agents. He had one of the highest IQs on campus and a superb memory, but he also had a planet-sized ego so Lauren made a point of not offering a compliment.
As they neared the top of the stairs, they stepped through water trickling down the steps. It ran from a bathroom flooded by Ronan The first-floor hallway had also been completely trashed. Two vending machines were toppled, dozens of polystyrene ceiling tiles were poked through with the end of a broom and light fittings and glass panes inside several doors were shattered.
‘Ronan’s a destructive little bugger,’ Lauren smiled, as she shone her torch around.
Rat climbed over the first vending machine blocking the hallway, before peeking out of a window. There was enough light coming from car headlights, flashing blue lamps and torch beams for him to get a good idea of what was occurring. More police were arriving, along with backup teams from the RAF base and even a local TV news van with a satellite dish on top.
‘Crap,’ Lauren said. ‘That’s something we could do without.’
‘Somebody must have tipped the press off,’ Rat nodded. ‘And we can say goodbye to missions for a couple of years if we land a starring role on the evening news …’
They moved down the corridor as fast as darkness and the need to keep quiet would allow. After passing above the reception area they opened a set of doors and found themselves on a gallery overlooking the huge control room where they’d crashed the engineers’ carts a few minutes earlier.
The emergency lights had been turned back on and a mixture of regular and military police officers swarmed around between the consoles on the floor below them.
‘Kids,’ a peak-capped RAF officer said, as her civilian counterpart took flash photographs of the destruction. ‘Planned it all out, tied up the guards …
Ronan was mystified until he’d made it a couple of steps and glimpsed Kevin aiming his slingshot at the second dog.
But Kevin only had shadows to aim at and his second shot vanished harmlessly into the darkness.
Jake screamed in terror and tried to crawl as the Alsatian’s narrow snout closed in on his arm. He managed to wriggle clear, but only for the dog’s sharp teeth to pierce Jake’s tracksuit bottoms and sink deep into his buttock as a pair of dog handlers charged forward to save him.
‘Oh god,’ Kevin trembled, as he looked at Ronan. ‘Maybe we should surrender.’
Ronan shook his head. ‘Surrender is weak. With two sets of cutters we’ll be through that fence in no time.’
The pair ran off desperately, knowing the military police and their dogs wouldn’t be far behind. Jake sobbed with pain as dog handlers ordered their Alsatians to heel, while a burly military policeman hauled him up with one hand and shoved him up against the wall.
‘You’re in a lot of trouble, young man,’ he barked, before laughing as he shone his torch beam at Jake’s torn and bloody tracksuit bottoms. ‘And I bet you won’t forget Fluff the Alsatian in a hurry either.’
*
There were footsteps and torch beams in the vandalised lobby by the time Lauren and Rat emerged from the security office, cutting off their route to the car park.
‘Dammit,’ Lauren said.
As she tried remembering the building plans she’d seen back in her room on campus, Rat moved confidently in the opposite direction. Lauren followed, sticking close to the wall to minimise the chance of being spotted by a torch beam.
‘There’s stairs at the end,’ Rat explained. ‘We can go up to the first floor, double back, run the entire length of the building, then go down the fire stairs into the car park.’
Rat was intelligent even by the high standards of CHERUB agents. He had one of the highest IQs on campus and a superb memory, but he also had a planet-sized ego so Lauren made a point of not offering a compliment.
As they neared the top of the stairs, they stepped through water trickling down the steps. It ran from a bathroom flooded by Ronan The first-floor hallway had also been completely trashed. Two vending machines were toppled, dozens of polystyrene ceiling tiles were poked through with the end of a broom and light fittings and glass panes inside several doors were shattered.
‘Ronan’s a destructive little bugger,’ Lauren smiled, as she shone her torch around.
Rat climbed over the first vending machine blocking the hallway, before peeking out of a window. There was enough light coming from car headlights, flashing blue lamps and torch beams for him to get a good idea of what was occurring. More police were arriving, along with backup teams from the RAF base and even a local TV news van with a satellite dish on top.
‘Crap,’ Lauren said. ‘That’s something we could do without.’
‘Somebody must have tipped the press off,’ Rat nodded. ‘And we can say goodbye to missions for a couple of years if we land a starring role on the evening news …’
They moved down the corridor as fast as darkness and the need to keep quiet would allow. After passing above the reception area they opened a set of doors and found themselves on a gallery overlooking the huge control room where they’d crashed the engineers’ carts a few minutes earlier.
The emergency lights had been turned back on and a mixture of regular and military police officers swarmed around between the consoles on the floor below them.
‘Kids,’ a peak-capped RAF officer said, as her civilian counterpart took flash photographs of the destruction. ‘Planned it all out, tied up the guards …
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