CHERUB: Man vs Beast

by Robert Muchamore

  ‘Just before you got in the door,’ Lauren said. ‘I’ve left her loads of voicemails.’

  ‘Did you try speaking to someone on the switchboard in mission preparation?’

  ‘Yes,’ Lauren sighed. ‘They said Zara couldn’t be disturbed unless we had an emergency. I asked if there was anyone other than Zara who knew about our mission. The dude asked around, but nobody knew a thing.’

  ‘Well it’s down to us then,’ James said. ‘What does Kyle say?’

  ‘He’s not here,’ Lauren said. ‘Tom came over in his MG after school and they’ve gone into town for a curry.’

  ‘Great,’ James tutted, realising that he couldn’t ring Kyle to discuss the mission while he was with Tom. ‘The decision’s down to us then. And if you ask me, Ryan, we want you as involved in the Alliance as possible.’

  ‘That’s what I said,’ Lauren nodded, as she grabbed three dinner plates out of the cupboard.

  Meanwhile, Ryan was pulling a nut roast out of the oven.

  ‘But one of us should go with you,’ James said. ‘You might meet some interesting activists.’

  Ryan and Lauren both looked surprised at this suggestion. ‘I can’t just turn up with a kid in tow,’ he said.

  ‘Suppose you’re right,’ James said, feeling a little stupid. ‘Just thinking out loud.’

  ‘It would be good though,’ Lauren said. ‘Anna’s a really nice person and she’s got four daughters. Maybe you could say that Zara’s away and I’m too young to be left on my own. Then I could sleep in the car or something.’

  Ryan thought for a second as he split the nut roast between three plates. ‘Or,’ he said, waggling his finger excitedly, ‘do you like dogs, Lauren?’

  Lauren smiled. ‘I love dogs. I always wanted one when I was little but you weren’t allowed them round our flats.’

  ‘Not that it stopped all the local villains from owning Rottweilers and pit bulls,’ James added.

  ‘Right,’ Ryan grinned. ‘Then I’ve got a way for Lauren to come along and help out. Are you both sure this is going to be OK with Zara?’

  ‘I’ll take responsibility,’ James said. ‘It’s bloody ridiculous Zara disappearing like this in the middle of a mission. What’s she playing it?’

  ‘Don’t knock her until you know why,’ Lauren said sharply. ‘For all we know there’s an emergency on another mission or something.’

  Meanwhile, Ryan had grabbed his mobile. ‘Anna, I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is that I’m in for tonight if you still want me. The bad news is that Zara’s not around and I’ve got a little childcare problem. How would you feel about having young Lauren as an extra pair of hands at the stables?’

  *

  Zara had the only car, so Ryan called a mini-cab which took them on the fifteen-kilometre trip to a multi-storey car park in the centre of Bristol.

  They headed up to the fifth floor, using a concrete staircase that reeked of urine, then along a corridor where Ryan knocked on a door with SANITATION written on it. It was opened by a dreadlocked man called Lou and they joined him in a gloomy room, with mops standing in metal buckets along one wall and shelves stacked with cleaning solutions.

  ‘You know the rules,’ Lou said. ‘Everyone has to be checked for bugs.’

  ‘I made the rules,’ Ryan grinned, as he was padded down. Next, he pulled his T-shirt off, stepped out of his trainers and dropped his trousers down to his ankles. Once Lou finished inspecting Ryan’s trainers, he looked uneasily at Lauren.

  ‘I have to do the same for the little lady,’ he said, clearly uncomfortable at the idea of asking an eleven-year-old to strip off in front of him.

  ‘It’s OK,’ Lauren smiled, as she pulled her T-shirt over her head. Ryan had told her not to bring her mobile phone and all she had in her pockets were door keys and a few pounds in change.

  Once the formalities were over, Ryan and Lou pulled each other into a hug.

  ‘Long time no see,’ Lou grinned. ‘Sorry I didn’t visit you inside, but I’ve never been one for showing my face.’

  ‘Don’t worry about that,’ Ryan said. ‘I appreciated people making the effort, but to be honest the company only made me feel worse.’

  Lauren was intrigued by Lou as she slid her trainers back on. She thought she’d seen surveillance pictures of all Ryan’s close associates, but this distinctive black man would have stuck out and she’d definitely never seen a picture of him.

  They headed back out into the car park and found a shabby Vauxhall Astra. Ryan joined Lou in the front and Lauren slid in the back.

  ‘Cars are a problem nowadays,’ Lou explained, as he backed out of the parking spot. ‘There’s speed cameras everywhere that can read your number plate. We never go anywhere near a raid in our own cars. I pick up cheap, nondescript motors at auctions and put false plates on them.’

  Ryan nodded. ‘Sounds expensive.’

  ‘It is that. I know you’re no fan of Madeline Laing, but we’re never left wanting for money. And as the police get their hands on better surveillance technology, our operations get more expensive.’

  ‘We’re slowly turning into a police state,’ Ryan said.

  ‘You said it,’ Lou nodded, as the car pulled out of the multi-storey and into daylight.

  ‘So, you and Anna keep it tight?’

  ‘Very tight,’ Lou said. ‘It’s basically us two and a few others from the old days. We’re part of the Alliance, but we keep out of anything that takes place within five clicks of Malarek and stick to special operations. The only people we use regularly who you might not know are Anna’s eldest two daughters.’

  ‘I’m their godfather, as a matter of fact,’ Ryan grinned. ‘If I had two pennies to rub together, I’d have bought them an eighteenth birthday present.’

  ‘I’m told you’ve got a nice cottage back at Corbyn Copse.’

  ‘That’s Zara’s money talking: her husband was something in the oil industry and she got a juicy divorce settlement.’

  ‘Funny,’ Lou smiled, ‘I never saw you settling into a house with kids and that.’

  ‘Me neither,’ Ryan said, as Lauren caught a glimpse of his face in the mirror. She could see how uncomfortable Ryan felt lying to his friend.

  19. GIRLS

  It was turning dark when the Astra pulled into a lay-by close to the junction of two busy A-roads. Lauren stepped out of the car as Lou gave her directions.

  ‘I’d take you up there, but we’re running late. Just walk straight for about a kilometre. It’s safe, there’s a grass verge all the way. The first building you’ll come to is a modern house: red brick, plastic windows and a stable block out back. They know you’re coming.’

  ‘What time should you be back?’

  ‘Hard to say,’ Lou shrugged. ‘Depending on the breaks it could be any time between midnight and three in the morning.’

  ‘Or not at all if we get nicked,’ Ryan added.

  ‘Right,’ Lauren said, as she leaned into the car and gave Ryan a kiss on the cheek. ‘Good luck, guys. I hope everything goes to plan.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Ryan grinned, startled by Lauren’s apparently genuine burst of affection.

  Once the car set off, Lauren began a slow trek towards the house. As she walked, she realised that she wanted Ryan, Lou and Anna to succeed in rescuing the dogs. She wished she’d been able to go with them, because her espionage training might have come in useful.

  ‘You must be Lauren,’ a young woman dressed in wellies and jeans said a few minutes later, as Lauren stepped through the front gate. The woman moved awkwardly because she had a large drum of disinfectant hanging off each arm.

  ‘You must be Anna’s daughter,’ Lauren smiled. ‘You look just like her.’

  The twenty-year-old nodded. ‘I’m Miranda. My sister Adelaide is in the house, putting the two little ones to bed.’

  ‘Little ones?’ Lauren asked.

  ‘Our half sisters, Polly and Cat. They’re three and five.’

 
‘You don’t live here, do you?’ Lauren asked.

  Miranda shook her head. ‘The house belongs to a supporter. It’s usually let out, but the location is perfect for tonight. Do you want to come around to the stables and see what we’re setting up?’

  ‘Sure,’ Lauren said. ‘Do you want a hand with one of those drums?’

  ‘I can just about manage,’ Miranda said as she waddled awkwardly around the side of the house.

  The stable block had berths for ten horses and was in pristine condition. It came complete with a grass paddock, enclosed by a neat wooden fence, but there were no horses to be seen anywhere. Most of the stable doors had been swung open and inside each one was a trestle table with several plastic bowls lined up on it.

  ‘What’s all this in aid of?’ Lauren asked. ‘I thought the dogs were already kept in isolation.’

  ‘None of our people has been inside the isolation unit, but our source reckons the dogs are kept in filthy conditions. Young dogs are extremely playful and if you separate them from their siblings and put them in a tiny cage without any toys, the only thing they’re left to play with is their own filth.’

  ‘You mean wee and poo,’ Lauren gawped, screwing up her nose at the thought.

  ‘Afraid so. Our tip-off claimed that the cages are hosed out a couple of times a week, but the dogs themselves only get disinfected immediately before they’re shipped off to Malarek.’

  ‘That’s so disgusting,’ Lauren said. ‘How can anyone let an animal live like that?’

  ‘I know – it’s beyond belief, isn’t it? I’d really appreciate it if you could help out. I’ve dealt with similar situations before and cleaning the animals takes a strong stomach, but you can make yourself useful even if you just run back and forth with the hot water.’

  ‘I’ll do whatever I can to help,’ Lauren said. ‘What will happen to the puppies afterwards?’

  ‘We can’t keep them here for long. But over the years we’ve built up a network of unofficial sanctuaries for animals we’ve rescued, so they’ll all go to good homes.’

  *

  By the time everything was set up inside the stables, Anna’s youngest daughters were asleep. The house wasn’t huge, but seemed so to Lauren after the pokey cottage in Corbyn Copse. She ended up in the living-room, sandwiched between Adelaide and Miranda, with her socked feet resting on a coffee table and communal bowls of tortilla chips and salsa in her lap.

  The TV was going, but they weren’t really watching. Mostly, Lauren listened to stories told by the two sisters. It sounded like they’d had an amazing childhood. Their dad had left home when they were toddlers and Anna’s full-time commitment to animal liberation meant that she survived on donations and state benefits. The sisters had even spent eighteen months in foster care while their mother was in prison.

  But the girls didn’t seem to resent any of the hardships. They clearly adored their mother, even if they weren’t so keen on their stepfather, and they told fantastic adventure stories. As ten-year-olds, they’d run into the woods in the middle of the night in their dressing gowns, holding rabbit cages while the police searched their home. As teenagers they’d been smuggled out of Romania in the boot of a car after taking part in a protest against blood sports and they’d each spent three months in a young offenders’ institution following an arson attack on a meat market.

  Lauren was a natural born cynic, but she was impressed by these two resourceful and intelligent young women. As interesting as their stories were, however, she’d been up past midnight the evening before and eventually lost the battle with her eyelids.

  *

  Lauren woke with a start from a dream she instantly forgot. The TV was off, Miranda and Adelaide had left the room, but she could hear conversation down the hallway.

  She hoped she hadn’t slept through all the excitement as she slipped her trainers on and rushed through to the kitchen. There were six people sat or standing around the dining table, keeping themselves awake with mugs of coffee.

  The new arrivals were a middle-aged couple called Phyllis and Ken, a student called Jay who was Adelaide’s boyfriend, and an elderly man whose leather bag made him instantly recognisable as a medic, in this case a vet.

  ‘Ahh, here she is,’ Miranda said.

  ‘What did I miss?’ Lauren asked anxiously. ‘You didn’t let me sleep through anything did you?’

  ‘Don’t worry,’ Miranda smiled. ‘Lou made a call about half an hour ago. Security was featherweight; they managed to get in and out of the kennels without any trouble. They should be here in ten to fifteen minutes. The only thing is, we’ve got seventy-three beagle pups to deal with.’

  ‘How many were we expecting?’ Lauren asked.

  ‘Thirty or forty,’ Miranda replied. ‘It’s a good job you came. We’re really going to have our work cut out getting that number of dogs cleaned up and shipped off to the sanctuaries by sun-up.’

  ‘Lou’s wife and sister are coming over to lend a hand,’ Adelaide added. ‘But they won’t get here for at least another hour.’

  20. DOGS

  All hell broke loose when the two vehicles arrived – Ryan and Anna in a seven-ton truck and Lou in the Vauxhall Astra. It was pitch black, so Lou pointed his car towards the truck and left the headlamps burning so that they had light to work in.

  Lauren and the others donned breathing masks and thick rubber gloves, as Anna pushed up the steel shutter at the rear of the truck. The wave of putrid air was beyond anything Lauren imagined possible. She ripped off her mask and staggered forwards to vomit at the edge of the driveway. Phyllis had exactly the same reaction, and several others were gagging.

  ‘Are you OK?’ Miranda asked gently, as she rubbed Lauren’s back. ‘Do you want me to get you some water?’

  ‘Help the dogs,’ Lauren gasped as she staggered towards the house. ‘I’ll be OK.’

  She ran into the kitchen and quickly swished her mouth out with water. She felt queasy, but was determined to get back out there and show that she could be of some use.

  The puppies had been placed on the floor of the truck in cardboard pet carriers. Each was designed for one small dog, but the haul of pups had been beyond expectations and the rescuers had resorted to putting two dogs into some of them.

  Braving the appalling smell, Lauren grabbed two boxes that Anna handed down from inside the truck. As she ran around to the stables behind the house, one box was alive with the sound of two frightened pups scratching at their enclosure, while a single pup cowered at the rear of the other.

  Each stable had a tap rigged up with its own supply of cold water. The only source of hot ran down a long hose from the kitchen and Adelaide had asked everyone to use it sparingly because the tank wouldn’t last for ever.

  Lauren walked into an empty stable. She put the two dog carriers on the stone floor and flipped on the light, revealing a trestle table with three bowls on it. She’d been concerned about the quiet pup and wanted to deal with it first, but as soon as she put the boxes down a riot broke out between the other two and Lauren could see the dogs scrapping through the air holes.

  She wasn’t used to dealing with animals, so her heart raced as she popped the cardboard box open and – taking pains not to inhale the smell in case it made her sick again – pulled out a skinny, wriggling object no bigger than a guinea pig. The little dog twisted and yapped as her gloves tightened around its waist.

  Lauren wanted to cry when she saw the state of the little thing. Its eyes were bright, but its brown and white coat was stained yellow and its fur was matted with dried out smears of excrement.

  ‘Poor baby,’ Lauren choked, but then she almost dropped the frightened dog as it blasted a warm jet of pee down her arm. She hurried forwards and plonked it in the first empty bowl, as Phyllis came into the room holding the hot-water hose.

  ‘Do you need a squirt?’

  ‘I guess I do,’ Lauren said, smiling uneasily.

  Phyllis had vomited at the same time as Lauren, but apparen
tly didn’t possess the same determination to get over it and still looked green. She held her breath as she ran warm water into the second and third bowls.

  Meanwhile, Lauren grabbed the cold hose off the floor and turned on the tap. She felt really mean as she began dribbling the cold water into the first bowl and the little dog yipped as it lapped against its paws.

  It reared up on the side of the bowl and tried scrambling over the side, forcing Lauren to pin the animal gently in the middle of the bowl before spraying its coat with the cold water. The little dog squealed miserably as Lauren hosed the filth out of its coat.

  ‘I know it’s not nice,’ she said soothingly. ‘But you’ll feel better when we’ve finished and we’ll find you a nice new home.’

  ‘Brilliant, you’ve started already,’ Ryan said, pulling on his gloves as he stepped inside behind her. ‘I tell you what, I’ll take over at the dirty end and you can deal with the disinfectant and the final rinse.’

  Lauren handed Ryan the hose and watched as he demonstrated a technique based upon years of rescuing laboratory animals.

  ‘Start at the head and move your hands down the body in smooth strokes,’ he explained. ‘Always move from head to tail; that way you’re less likely to get something unpleasant in its eyes or mouth.’

  While Ryan expertly massaged out the filth and snipped out clumps of hopelessly matted fur with a pair of scissors, Lauren poured a mixture of disinfectant and dog shampoo into the second bowl.

  ‘Little dogs always drink the bath-water and go potty when they get the taste on their tongue,’ Ryan said. ‘So prepare to get wet.’

  Sure enough, as soon as Lauren plopped the shivering dog into the warm, foamy water it started going berserk. She squirted shampoo directly on to the dog’s coat and worked it into a lather. After a minute or so, the poor thing had yapped itself into a state of complete exhaustion and by the time she lifted it into the third bowl to rinse the shampoo out of its coat, the panting dog had resigned itself to being washed.

  After a squirt of deodorant, a blast of flea powder and a quick towelling off, Lauren held the bundle out for Ryan, who was already hosing the next pup in line.