CHERUB: The Recruit
Read CHERUB: The Recruit Online
Authors: Robert Muchamore
Robert Muchamore
was born in 1972 and spent thirteen years working as a private investigator.
CHERUB: The Recruit
is his first novel in the series.
The CHERUB series has won numerous awards, including the Red House Children’s Book Award. For more information on Robert and his work, visit
www.muchamore.com
Praise for the CHERUB series:
‘If you can’t bear to read another story about elves, princesses or spoiled rich kids who never go to the toilet, try this. You won’t regret it.’
The Ultimate Teen Book Guide
‘My sixteen-year-old son read
The Recruit
in one sitting, then went out the next day and got the sequel.’ Sophie Smiley, teacher and children’s author
‘So good I forced my friends to read it, and they’re glad I did!’ Helen, age 14
‘CHERUB is the first book I ever read cover to cover. It was amazing.’ Scott, age 13
‘The best book ever.’ Madeline, age 12
‘CHERUB is a must for Alex Rider lovers.’ Travis, age 14
The Henderson’s Boys series:
1.
The Escape
2.
Eagle Day
3.
Secret Army
4.
Grey Wolves
5.
The Prisoner
Coming soon
The CHERUB series:
1.
The Recruit
2.
Class A
3.
Maximum Security
4.
The Killing
5.
Divine Madness
6.
Man vs Beast
7.
The Fall
8.
Mad Dogs
9.
The Sleepwalker
10.
The General
11.
Brigands M.C.
12.
Shadow Wave
CHERUB series 2:
1.
People’s Republic
2.
Guardian Angel
Coming soon
Copyright © 2004 Robert Muchamore
First published in Great Britain in 2004
by Hodder Children’s Books
This eBook edition published in 2011
The right of Robert Muchamore to be identified as the Author
of the Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form, or by any means with prior permission in writing from the publishers or in the case of reprographic production in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency and may not be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
A Catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 1 444 91044 5
Hodder Children’s Books
A Division of Hachette Children’s Books
338 Euston Road
London NW1 3BH
An Hachette UK company
During World War Two, French civilians set up a resistance movement to fight against the German forces occupying their country. Many of their most useful operatives were children and teenagers. Some worked as Scouts and messengers. Others befriended homesick German soldiers, gathering information that enabled the resistance to sabotage German military operations.
A British spy named Charles Henderson worked among these French children for nearly three years. After returning to Britain, he used what he’d learned in France to train twenty British boys for work on undercover operations. The codename for his unit was CHERUB.
Henderson died in 1946, but the organisation he created has thrived. CHERUB now has more than two hundred and fifty agents, all aged seventeen or under. Although there have been many technical advances in intelligence operations since CHERUB was founded, the reason for its existence remains the same: adults never suspect that children are spying on them.
James Choke hated Combined Science. It should have been test tubes, jets of gas and sparks flying all over the place, like he’d imagined when he was still at primary school. What he got was an hour propped on a stool watching Miss Voolt write on a blackboard. You had to write everything down even though the photocopier got invented forty years earlier.
It was last lesson but one, raining outside and turning dark. James was sleepy because the lab was hot and he’d been up late playing Grand Theft Auto the night before.
Samantha Jennings sat next to him. Teachers thought Samantha was fantastic: always volunteering for stuff, neat uniform, glossed nails. She did all her diagrams with three different coloured pens and covered her exercise books in wrapping paper so they looked extra smart. But when the teachers weren’t looking Samantha was a total cow. James hated her. She was always winding him up about his mum being fat:
‘James’ mum is so fat, they have to grease the bath tub or she gets stuck in it.’
Samantha’s cronies laughed, same as always.
James’ mum
was
huge. She had to order her clothes out of a special catalogue for fat people. It was a nightmare being seen with her. People pointed, stared. Little kids mimicked the way she walked. James loved his mum, but he tried to find excuses when she wanted to go somewhere with him.
‘I went for a five-mile jog yesterday,’ Samantha said. ‘Two laps around James’ mum.’
James looked up from his exercise book.
‘That’s so funny, Samantha. Even funnier than the first three times you said it.’
James was one of the toughest kids in Year Seven. Any boy cussing his mum would get a punch. But what could you do when it was a girl? Next lesson he’d sit as far from Samantha as he could.
‘Your mum is so fat—’
James was sick of it. He jumped up. His stool tipped over backwards.
‘What is it with you, Samantha?’ James shouted.
The lab went quiet. Every eye turned to the action.
‘What’s the matter, James?’ Samantha grinned. ‘Can’t take a joke?’
‘Mr Choke, pick up your seat and get on with your work,’ Miss Voolt shouted.
‘You say one more word, Samantha, I’ll …’
James was never any good at comebacks.
‘I’ll bloody …’
Samantha giggled. ‘What will you do, James? Go home and cuddle big fat Mommy?’
James wanted to see something other than a stupid grin on Samantha’s face. He grabbed Samantha off her stool, bundled her up against the wall, then spun her around to face him. He froze in shock. Blood was running down Samantha’s face. Her cheek had a long cut where it had caught on a nail sticking out of the wall.
