CHERUB: People's Republic (32 page)

Amy had a list of over two hundred questions for Ning, covering everything from whether the Aramov Clan’s pilots had seemed happy with their lot, to whether Leonid Aramov favoured his left or right hand. But she decided to leave a tough and potentially upsetting questioning until she’d had more time to gain Ning’s trust.

As the scenery whizzed by, Ning sprawled over her seat as Amy told her life story:

Her parents died in an accident when she was a baby, she’d joined CHERUB at five with her older brother John. She’d become a successful agent, gone to university in Australia, run a diving school, lived with an older guy who’d been a jerk, worked as a bodyguard, and then six months earlier accepted an offer to work for TFU in the United States.

In return, Ning took Amy through her story, from being one of thousands of female babies abandoned in the Chinese countryside every year, into orphanages, getting adopted by Chaoxiang and Ingrid, joining the National Academy for Sport, getting kicked out of the National Academy for Sport …

Amy didn’t want Ning to get sad and changed the subject when they got to Chaoxiang’s arrest. She reduced Ning to laughter as she tried speaking Chinese phrases learned during a language course many years earlier.

‘You’re asking to ride on a cup of coffee,’ Ning explained, as they rolled into a platform.

Amy panicked when she saw the sign. ‘This is us,’ she said, jumping up and grabbing Ning’s pack from the overhead rack.

*

Because CHERUB campus is a secret facility, new agents only discover its location after they’ve been recruited. The standard procedure for potential recruits aged nine or over is to be drugged and brought to campus with no prior knowledge.

The recruit then wakes up in a bed on campus, naked and with a set of CHERUB uniform laid out for them. The way that the candidate reacts to this bewildering and frightening experience forms part of their recruitment process: kids who stay composed and try to understand the situation stand a better chance than kids who start screaming for their mummy at the first sign of stress.

But Ning had been burned and tortured. Waking up groggy and naked might freak her out, so she’d receive the gentler introduction usually reserved for the under-nines.

A van and driver waited in the station car park. The rear compartment had four comfortable chairs, along with a selection of magazines and books, a fridge containing bottles of juice and water and a flip-down TV. The driver’s cab was blocked off and there were no side windows, but it wasn’t dark when the doors closed because there was a smoked glass panel in the roof.

The station was only twenty minutes’ drive from campus, but the driver took a tortuous route through nearby towns and villages designed to give Ning the impression that they’d travelled much further than they really had. When he opened the back doors, they were in a gravel parking lot with the entrance to a small reception building off to one side and helipads behind it.

‘I’ll be right back,’ Amy told Ning as she jumped out of the van and broke into a sprint. ‘I’m
absolutely
busting.’

Ning smiled as she watched Amy charge through a set of doors. She looked across lawns and trees at a large white building.

‘That’s the swimming and diving complex,’ a boy said, startling Ning as he stopped behind her.

He was decent looking, with scruffy black hair and a silver stud earring. He wore combat trousers and a grey T-shirt that gave Ning her first glimpse of the CHERUB logo.

‘Ryan Sharma,’ he said. ‘They’ve asked me to show you around.’

Although Ning was the one on strange turf, it was Ryan who felt awkward as they shook hands. He’d read Ning’s file so that he could help with the recruitment process, but it felt weird meeting someone for the first time when he’d already read her school records and seen pictures of her injuries.

‘That’s the pool complex up there,’ Ryan explained, then he turned and pointed back towards the eight-storey building behind them. ‘That’s the main building. Archives in the basement, admin and canteen on the ground floor. More admin on the second and third, staff quarters fourth and fifth and the kids live on the sixth through eighth.’

‘How many?’ Ning asked.

‘Three hundred-ish,’ Ryan said. ‘But about seventy of those are red-shirts, which means they’re too young to go on missions. And at any given time you’ve got maybe half the qualified agents away on missions or training exercises, which means there’s never more than about two hundred kids actually on campus.’

‘The lawns look beautiful,’ Ning said.

Ryan laughed. ‘If you misbehave, you’ll get plenty of chances to mow them. We’d better step inside reception and get you kitted out.’

The reception area was built underneath a helipad. Ryan led Ning down metal steps into a slightly gloomy windowless space. There were X-ray machines and airport-style security barriers, but these were only used when adults arrived, or when there was a big event such as a campus reunion.

As Amy came out of the toilet, Ryan was going through a metal-doored cabinet, trying to find an orange CHERUB T-shirt, combat trousers and boots in Ning’s size.

‘Can’t I have a black T-shirt?’ Ning asked, as Ryan handed Ning a pile of stuff.

Amy and Ryan both laughed.

‘The orange T-shirt is for new arrivals on campus,’ Amy explained, as she went into a cabinet and grabbed a white T-shirt for herself. ‘It’s like a warning signal, so that people don’t discuss secret stuff in your presence, and agents can only talk to you if the chairwoman authorises it. The other T-shirts are based upon your rank and black is the highest. Ryan’s grey, which is for newly qualified agents, and I’m putting on white, which is for staff and retired agents.’

Ryan looked away as Ning and Amy changed.

‘I’ve got some work to prepare on your debriefing,’ Amy said, as she stood up. ‘Ryan will take you to meet the chairwoman, then he’ll give you a tour of campus.’

‘When do I start the recruitment tests?’ Ning asked.

‘It’s nearly two already,’ Ryan said. ‘There won’t be time today, so tomorrow most likely.’

41. AUTOMATIC

Ning had been awake since 4 a.m., but she felt reinvigorated and was well up for the campus tour. Zara let Ryan use one of the electric buggies that were usually reserved for staff and he drove Ning on a grand circuit, taking in all the main campus features, from the mission control building, through the basic training area, past the lake, the martial arts training dojo and the athletics track.

They stopped a few times along the way. Ning didn’t like the look of the height obstacle. She petted the guinea pigs and beagles in the junior block, got introduced to Ryan’s youngest brother Theo, talked Ryan into letting her drive the buggy and watched a couple of overs of cricket while he tried to explain the rules.

Their final stop was the pool and a tear streaked down Ning’s cheek as they stood by the huge windows watching campus’ youngest residents splashing about in a kiddie pool, accompanied by a platoon of bright yellow ducks.

‘You OK?’ Ryan said, reaching across to put an arm around Ning’s back but then deciding that she might not like it.

‘It’s cool here,’ Ning said, as she looked Ryan right in the eyes. ‘This is a chance of a new life, but what if I fail the recruitment tests?’

Ryan shrugged. ‘There’s no point stressing over it. All you can do is try your best.’

‘But where would I end up?’

‘CHERUB won’t abandon you,’ Ryan said. ‘Zara would find you foster-parents or something. But I don’t think you’ve got much to worry about. You look like a tough nut to me.’

‘I’ve been in better shape,’ Ning said nervously. ‘Apart from a couple of basketball games at Kirkcaldy I’ve not exercised in weeks.’

‘They take factors like that into account,’ Ryan said, but he didn’t want Ning getting depressed and changed the subject. ‘So, are you hungry?’

Ning drove the buggy for the final few hundred metres from the pool to the main building. Once Ryan had plugged the buggy into its recharging socket he led Ning to the dining-room. It was almost five, and there were about forty kids either queuing at food stations or eating at the tables. Being a Friday, most of them were happy and many were rushing because they were heading out for the cinema or bowling in the nearest town.

‘Food smells all right,’ Ning said.

Ryan nodded. ‘It doesn’t look much different to a regular school canteen, but the cooks have mostly worked here for years and they’re decent. If you like steak they do
great
steak on Fridays. It’s organic, from one of the local farms. The only thing is it’s cooked to order so you have to wait a few minutes. Or do you only like Chinese food?’

Ning didn’t reply, but Ryan caught a look that made him realise he’d said something stupid.

‘Steak medium, with mushroom, chips and pepper sauce,’ Ryan said, when they reached the service counter.

‘I’ll call in about ten minutes,’ the chef said, as he passed Ryan a numbered ticket. ‘What about your orange friend?’

‘I’ll try the steak,’ Ning said. ‘It can’t be any worse than the filth I’ve been eating at Kirkcaldy.’

They grabbed drinks and cutlery and headed for a table.

‘Yo-yo, Rybo!’ Max shouted, then more quietly. ‘Oh, you’ve got your orange-shirt with you.’

‘Come meet my mates,’ Ryan told Ning.

‘Is Rybo your nickname?’ Ning asked.

‘No it isn’t,’ Ryan said irritably, as he led Ning to a table where Max sat next to Alfie. A couple of Ryan’s other mates sat nearby, while Grace, Chloe and a few younger girls were at the next table.

‘This is Ning,’ Ryan said, loud enough for the whole group to hear. ‘She’s in an orange shirt, but Zara says people can talk to her. Just use common sense and don’t give all our secrets away.’

Most people said hello, but Max always had to be a smart arse and greeted her in a dreary sing-song voice. ‘Hello, Ning, it’s lovely to meet you and welcome to CHERUB campus.’

‘All right, Black, stop stalling,’ a black boy called Aaron said as he sat opposite Max and banged his elbow on the table. ‘Time to put your money where your very large mouth is.’

As Ryan and Ning found empty seats, they saw a little mound of pound coins on the table between Aaron and Max.

‘Do you have arm-wrestling in China?’ Ryan said, as Max and Aaron eyed each other up and gripped hands.

‘I think I’ve seen it,’ Ning said.

Alfie was acting as referee, and knelt at the end of the table as Max and Aaron gripped each other’s hands.

‘Ready?’ Alfie asked. ‘Three, two, one, wrestle.’

Max and Aaron’s faces contorted as they tried pinning the other’s hand to the table. Aaron got the early advantage, but Max had stamina. It took half a minute, but Max shot up and yelled to celebrate his victory.

‘You suck,’ Max shouted. ‘It’s my money.’

Ning looked at Max. ‘Can I try your game?’

Max looked at Ning and scoffed. ‘No offence, but we’re all highly trained. I don’t think you’d be much competition.’

‘I’m not in the best shape,’ Ning said politely, as she curled her arm to show off a rather impressive bicep. ‘I’d just like to try it.’

Max seemed slightly mystified. ‘Maybe you should ask one of the girls?’

Ryan knew Ning had some boxing experience and was pretty strong, but Max was in top shape and did a line in explosive one-armed push-ups that he couldn’t match.

‘No, with you,’ Ning said. ‘I know I won’t win. But can’t you just show me?’

‘Well, if you insist,’ Max said awkwardly.

Aaron gave his chair to Ning as Max sat back down.

Ryan compared the two arms as they lined up across the table. Max was about the same height as Ning, but her arm was much longer, giving her a reach that would be a huge advantage in the boxing ring.

He didn’t notice an even more important difference until Max and Ning grasped each other’s hands. Max’s arm was bulkier, and had more muscle, but the tendons in Ning’s arm were different to any others Ryan had ever seen.

With her wrists clenched, the lower half of Ning’s arm formed a thick triangle that looked like the sail of a boat. You can build muscles with fitness training, but the position of the tendons that transmit the power of your muscles is purely down to genetics. As soon as Ryan saw it, he understood why sports scientists had picked Ning as an elite boxer out of the twenty million kids born in China each year.

Nobody else knew Ning’s background, but a dozen kids jumped up when they realised Max was in trouble. For the first ten seconds of the bout, Max gritted his teeth and used all of his strength, but Ning’s arm stayed upright, like it was bedded in concrete.

Max was turning bright red and grunting like a pig, while Ning smiled sweetly and didn’t even break a sweat.

‘You’re getting caned, Max!’ Chloe shouted. ‘Come on, thingy whatever your name is.’

‘Ning,’ Ryan said.

‘Well, I’m getting bored now,’ Ning said casually.

She cheekily raised one eyebrow, took a breath and started to push. Max made a superhuman effort to resist, but within three seconds Ning had his hand pinned to the table. The crowd erupted and, as Max was always a bighead, everyone took great joy rubbing it in.