Part 15 (1/2)

James looked surprised. 'You must have heard about missions where cherubs have done a good job.'

John shook his head. 'I'd been an MI5 agent for eighteen years without ever hearing of CHERUB.'

Zara explained. 'Thousands of people work for MI5, but only the most senior ones know about CHERUB. People like John only find out if they have to work with us.'

'Even then,' John said, 'there are forty-three MI5 agents working on Operation Snort and I'm the only one who knows about you kids.'

'So what's happened?' Kyle croaked, his throat raw from the smoke at the party.

'Come and look at the pictures James and Kerry took,' Zara said.

Kyle leaned over the laptop screen while John Jones explained what had been photographed.

'KMG smuggles in cocaine at a very high purity, ninety per cent or more. The stuff that gets sold on the street is between thirty and fifty per cent pure. What you see in these pictures is a production plant. The pure cocaine gets mixed with borax and some other stuff in those aluminium vats. Then ...'

John Jones clicked on the mouse, changing to a different picture.

'The machine in this picture is a real beauty. It must have cost over fifty thousand pounds. It's designed to package seasonings, like soy sauce or pepper. You turn it on, load up a roll of polyurethane bags and tip your powder or liquid in the top. This one has been set up to package one gram bags of cocaine.'

'So did you find much c.o.ke?' Kyle asked.

'None at all,' Kerry said.

'There could be drugs hidden in the warehouse,' John said. 'Or somewhere else on the Thunderfoods site, but I doubt it. Most probably, a couple of guys turn up with a few kilos of cocaine, spend a few hours mixing and bagging it and then take it away with them when they leave.'

'So,' Kyle asked, 'are you gonna bust this place up?'

'No,' John said. 'We're going to put it under surveillance. We'll get an undercover team to rig the loft up with video cameras and microphones. We'll watch who comes and goes and where they're coming from and going to. Hopefully, we can track the drugs that are processed at Thunderfoods back to wherever they're being smuggled in.'

'So it's really only the beginning,' James said.

'You kids have got our foot in the door,' John said. 'That's not the same as bringing down KMG, but it's going to be a lot easier now we know where their cocaine is being processed.'

John shook everyone's hand before he left. The sun was on its way up and Lauren was the only one who'd managed any sleep.

It was three in the afternoon when James surfaced from under his duvet. He was busting for a pee, but Kerry was in the shower, merrily singing her head off. Lauren had left a note on the kitchen table.

James U looked peaceful! Didn't want 2 wake U up.

CU soon.

Lauren.

x.x.x.

James was miffed. He'd wanted to say a proper goodbye and wish Lauren luck in training. He sprinted back upstairs as soon as he heard Kerry unlock the bathroom.

'What took you so long?' James gasped, lifting the toilet seat and starting to pee without bothering to close the door behind him.

'Sorry,' Kerry said, towelling her hair. 'Have you seen Ewart or Zara?'

'Not yet. They're at the supermarket.'

'They want a word with us later on,' Kerry said.

'You think we're in trouble for not asking before we broke in?' James asked.

'Lauren got a blasting from Ewart before she left.'

'Was she upset or anything?'

Kerry shook her head. 'She seemed to handle it OK.'

'So, what do you reckon they'll do to us?'

'Kyle overheard Ewart and Zara talking,' Kerry said. 'Apparently we've landed ourselves was.h.i.+ng-up duty for the rest of the mission.'

James shrugged. 'We could have got worse, I suppose.'

15. CONTENDER.

Not much happened in the three weeks after they broke into Thunderfoods. That's how undercover missions usually work: you find a few things out quickly, then it starts getting tougher. You have to be patient, slowly winning the confidence of your targets and working your way deeper in to an organisation.

Meryl Spencer sent James an e-mail to say Lauren had completed her first week of training and was coping well.

Nicole had put listening devices and miniature cameras around Keith Moore's house. James still liked Nicole, but he hadn't kissed her after the first time because he was more interested in Kerry.

Kerry had wired Mr Singh's house with microphones and was spending a lot of time with Dinesh, trying to squeeze out more information. James still hadn't found the right moment to tell Kerry how he felt about her. At least, that's what he told Kyle. There had been loads of opportunities, but James always chickened out.

Kyle had given up targeting Ringo Moore and was helping a couple of Year Ten kids make deliveries for KMG on weekends. James still couldn't get his head around Kyle being gay, but it hadn't changed anything in their day-to-day lives.

Some days, James almost forgot he was on a mission. It was like being a normal kid: getting up and playing with Joshua, going to school, sitting through boring lessons or bunking off, coming home and eating whatever frozen delight Zara had warmed in the oven, then going out making deliveries.

It wasn't a bad life. There was a hundred a week in drug money to spend. James had got new jeans and tracksuit tops, video games and the dearest Nike trainers he could find. School was a doss and Junior and James always messed around and had a laugh. The two boys had loads in common: they both supported a.r.s.enal, hated school, liked Playstation and had similar tastes in music and girls.

James hadn't been in a proper three-round fight yet, but he'd done some sparring and loved the buzz you got in the boxing ring. As soon as you get punched, the chemicals in your body rise up and make you mad, like somebody plugged you into the electricity. Your bad side takes over and you're not scared of anything.

James couldn't manage Ken's target of a hundred and fifty skips a minute, but he'd got well past the stage where the other boys p.i.s.sed themselves laughing every time he picked up a rope. He stopped skipping and mopped the sweat off his face when Kelvin called him to ringside.

'One round sparring with Del,' Kelvin said.

Del had a longer reach and seven fights under his belt, but James wasn't worried as he stepped through the ropes wearing gloves and a head guard. James was built for boxing: solid arms, big shoulders and strong enough to take a punch.

'Touch gloves,' Kelvin said, stepping back from the two fighters.

James charged forward on the bell. Del landed the first hit, a glancing blow on the side of James' head guard. James. .h.i.t Del's head harder, sunk another punch in Del's guts and then covered his face, blocking Del's jabs while spying for an opening through the crack between his gloves. When it came, James pounced forward and landed his glove in Del's face. The next punch caught Del off balance, sprawling him out over the canvas.