CHERUB: Maximum Security Read Online Free PDF Page B

the banter riding back and forth about James and Kyle fancying each other didn’t do much to lighten the mood.
    Kyle, James and Gabrielle shared the first appointment with Zara. They strolled through the drizzle without speaking, their bloated stomachs deadening their progress.
    The brand new mission preparation building was a kilometre away from the main building, where they’d eaten lunch. The banana-shaped construction looked impressive as you approached: a hundred metres of reflective glass, bristling with satellite dishes and aerials. Impressions took a turn for the worse when you got close and realised that the paths up to the building comprised wooden boards laid over mud. There were still wheelbarrows, cement mixers and building materials everywhere and the high-tech entry system that was supposed to identify you by scanning the lattice of blood vessels in the back of your eye had a soggy Out Of Order notice drooped over it.
    The three kids passed along a corridor that smelled of new carpet tiles. The offices all had the names of CHERUB mission controllers printed on the locked doors.
    Zara Asker was one of the most senior mission controllers. She had a big office at the end of the corridor, with a semicircle of floor-to-ceiling windows and some rather swish-looking furniture with lots of curving wood and flashy chrome trim. She struggled out of her seat as the kids walked through her open door, revealing a set of baggy dungarees stretched over an almost nine-month-pregnant belly.
    ‘Well, well, well,’ Zara grinned, nodding at James and Kyle. ‘Dr McAfferty told me it wouldn’t take long to find a few bodies to send on recruitment missions. I can’t say I’m surprised to see you two hooligans here … And you must be Gabrielle, I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure.’
    As Gabrielle and Zara shook hands, James couldn’t help smiling guiltily. Zara had been one of the controllers on his last mission and he’d got on well with her.
    ‘How’s Joshua these days?’ James asked.
    Zara broke into a smile. ‘He’s grown a lot since you last saw him. His back teeth are pushing through and he’s driving me and Ewart crazy. As a matter of fact, any time you fancy coming over to the staff quarters to baby-sit …’
    James laughed. ‘I’ll give that offer a miss, thanks.’
    ‘OK,’ Zara said, returning to business. ‘I take it you all know what a recruitment mission entails? We’ve put together a background scenario and false identity for each of you and you can expect to be sent off to a children’s home within the next week. As with any other CHERUB mission, you have an absolute right to refuse to undertake it. However, if you refuse in this instance, I expect Dr McAfferty will issue you with an alternative punishment, which you can expect to be a lot less pleasant than a few weeks in local authority care.
    ‘When you arrive at the children’s home, your job is to check everyone out. You’re looking for a potential CHERUB recruit, which means a smart, physically fit kid. Family ties are a big no-no. Foreign language skills and identical twins will be looked upon very favourably. It’s all in the mission briefing.’
    Zara leaned across her desk and handed James, Kyle and Gabrielle a photocopy of the standard briefing for recruitment missions.
    ‘Good candidates can get shipped off to foster homes in no time,’ Zara continued. ‘So if you spot someone who looks the business, get on to me or one of the assistant mission controllers straight away and we’ll arrange to have the kid drugged and brought here to undertake the recruitment tests …’
    There was a gentle knock on Zara’s open door.
    ‘John,’ Zara said, breaking into a smile. ‘Good to see I’m not the only mission controller who comes in on Sunday afternoons.’
    James turned around and instantly recognised the silver-rimmed glasses and pale, bald head of John Jones. John had only just taken a job as a CHERUB mission