CHERUB: The Syndicate

CHERUB: Big Smoke Preview Chapter

July 2012

Saturday morning lessons were over and the weekend awaited, so CHERUB campus was in a good mood. The weather played its part, providing an unbroken blue sky which was reflected in the surface of the lake, the usual place that Cherubs headed when the weather was good. George was held back at the end of his history lesson for not turning in the homework on time, but he made an excuse and by the time he got to the lake, most of his friends were waiting and had saved him a space. Now he was lying on his back with his eyes shut and his grey CHERUB t-shirt tucked under his head as a pillow.

Adding to the excitement for most of the agents who were on campus was the fact that in a few weeks, they'd be heading to CHERUB's summer hostel in the Mediterranean, which was always a highlight of the year. George was especially looking forward to it because, by a co-incidence, nearly all of his friends were still on campus. His best friend, Rex, and his basic training partner, Jemima, were still away on a mission in Scotland, but the last he'd heard they'd be back before the start of August. The only other one of his friends who was absent was Harry, who'd recently departed for a mission, but it was still shaping up to be the best hostel trip to date.

The final thing which had put George into the best mood ever, apart from getting to improve the awesome tan he'd got while in Australia over the winter, was the mission he was going on that evening. Everyone at CHERUB loved the missions which involved smashing a place up and then running for it, but they were rarer than orange polar bears and even harder to get onto. The good news was that once in a blue moon, the senior mission controller Denis King organised a coach trip somewhere and let thirty Cherubs loose, and George had managed to get himself selected for it. A group of black-shirts were going to break into an industrial unit and try to copy some important papers, while younger agents were going to be armed with bats and paint and instructions to create chaos.

There was nothing like the prospect of some breaking stuff to put George into a good mood, and not even the complaints of Letty, the girl who lived opposite him in the accommodation block and his best friend who was a girl, dampened it.

"Can't believe you got onto the mission and I didn't," she said for the hundredth time that day, looking over at him from behind her sunglasses. "I've been stuck on campus for months!"

George sighed. "Go and ask Denis then."

"He said the mission was full," Letty complained, rolling onto her front. "Practically everyone else is going, too."

This was an exaggeration. "It's only me, Beatrice and Ralph" George replied.

"Well, since Rex and Jemima are away, the only people left here will be me and Ed," Letty pouted.

George was fed up of listening to her whining, but he refused to let anything take the edge off his mood, so he closed his eyes again and pretended she'd gone away.

"It's not even like you record as an agent is as good as mine," Letty continued. "I'm a navy-shirt, so surely I should be first pick?"

George just ignored her, but when something cast a shadow over his face, he opened one eye, ready to give Letty an earful for not leaving him alone. Instead, he looked up at the imposing physique of his friend Michael, a black-shirt who he'd been friends with ever since Michael had helped to recruit him to CHERUB. Stocky and black with cropped hair, Michael was the type who looked as if he went around breaking people's heads for fun, but he was actually just a funny guy and George got on well with him.

"I hear you're with us tonight," Michael said, nudging George's head with his foot. "Excited yet?"

"Can't bloody wait," George said, moving to a sitting position so he didn't have to look up at Michael's crotch. "Going to be the best thing ever."