CHERUB: The Recruit by Robert Muchamore Read Free Book Online

back.
    ‘Hey, James, we’re going out tonight. Wanna come?’
    ‘Cool,’ James said.
    *
     
    After dinner James went back to his room to change out of school uniform. Kyle had finished his homework and was lying on his bed reading a skateboarding magazine.
    ‘You want to play Playstation?’ Kyle asked. ‘I’m sorry about earlier, James. It was mean to trick you on your first day.’
    ‘You play it,’ James said. ‘I’m going out.’
    ‘Who with?’
    ‘Some guy called Rob.’
    ‘You mean Robert Vaughn? The guy who wears a heavy metal shirt under his blazer?’
    ‘Yeah, him and some mates.’
    ‘Seriously,’ Kyle said, ‘don’t hang out with those guys. They’re mental. They go out stealing cars and shoplifting and stuff.’
    ‘I’m not sitting in here watching you doing your homework every night. Get a life, man.’
    James put his trainers on and walked to the door. Kyle looked offended. ‘Hey, I warned you, James. Don’t whinge to me when you land up in deep shit.’
    ‘Use the Playstation whenever you want,’ James said.
    *
     
    James sat on a brick wall at the back of an industrial estate. The gang were all older. Rob and Big Paul were fifteen. Vince was fourteen. He was the meanest looking, with bleached hair and a busted-up nose. Little Paul was twelve, Vince’s younger brother.
    They passed cigarettes around. James told them he didn’t smoke. This didn’t look cool but he thought it was better than pretending he smoked and coughing his guts up.
    ‘I’m bored,’ Little Paul said. ‘Let’s do something.’
    They walked to a car park full of Fiesta vans and climbed through a gap in the fence. Vince and Rob walked along the row of vans trying the back doors to see if any were unlocked.
    ‘Bingo,’ Rob said.
    A door swung open in his hand. Rob leaned in and took out a bag of tools. He put the bag down and unzipped it.
    ‘Feel like causing damage, James?’ Rob asked.
    James reached in the bag and pulled out a hammer. The others all grabbed something.
    James was nervous, but it was cool walking down the street in a gang carrying hammers and wrenches. A woman nearly got herself run over crossing the street to avoid them. James didn’t know what they were looking for. Vince stopped when they found a flash Mercedes. The two Pauls walked into the road.
    ‘Go,’ Rob shouted.
    Rob smashed his hammer through the back window of the Merc. The alarm started screeching. The others all joined in. James hesitated, then took out a side window, knocked off the wing mirror and made two big dents in the door with his hammer. In twenty seconds every panel was dented, the lights and windows all smashed. Vince led off, running up the road and taking a couple more car windows out along the way.
    They ran on to a council estate, down a narrow alley and into a concrete square surrounded by flats. James was out of breath but fear kept him moving. A few more turns, over a fence and they were in a playing field. James’ trainers slid in the mud. They all stopped, plumes of breath rising into the freezing air. James started laughing, even though he had a stitch burning down his side. Rob put his hand on James’ shoulder.
    ‘You’re OK, James,’ Rob said.
    ‘That was so cool.’ James laughed. The mix of fear, tiredness and excitement made his head spin. He couldn’t believe what they’d just done.

8. BIRTHDAY
     
    James felt like he was floating through his life. Every day was the same. Get up, go to school, come back, play football or hang out with Rob Vaughn and his gang. James never got into bed before midnight: he knew if he was exhausted he wouldn’t lie awake feeling miserable about Lauren and his mum.
    The only time he’d seen Lauren in the three weeks since his mum died had been at the funeral. The telephone number on the bit of paper Ron had given him didn’t work. Ron had told Jennifer Mitchum that James was a bad influence. He didn’t want him near his daughter.
    *
     
    ‘You stink,’