CHERUB: Maximum Security

by Robert Muchamore

‘Curtis, don’t,’ James shouted.

  James heard the gun click.

  A white light and a deafening blast flashed as a stun grenade exploded in the wheel hub of the front police car, ripping apart the tyre. Four more grenades exploded along the roadside, followed by a final blast that took out a tyre on the cop car at the rear.

  James, Curtis and the two cops were temporarily deafened and blinded by the pulses. A few passing drivers had wobbly moments, but the traffic was mercifully light and the only harm done was a couple of tyre squeals and a car almost swerving off into the desert.

  Lauren had buried her face in the sand after laying the last grenade. She counted the explosions with her fingers plugged tightly in her ears. After the sixth blast, she jumped up and ran towards the male cop. Before he regained his sight, Lauren gave him a 90,000-volt nip with Scott’s electric stun gun.

  He collapsed in a shuddering heap, where he would remain paralysed for the next couple of minutes. Lauren snatched the gun from the cop’s limp hand and fired it harmlessly into the air above the Ford. The lady cop had regained enough hearing to duck, as Lauren closed her down and zapped her with the stun gun.

  Lauren dropped the ammunition clips out of the police pistols and hurled the guns into the desert, then opened the driver’s door next to her brother.

  ‘James,’ Lauren shouted.

  James could barely hear Lauren’s voice over the high-pitched whistling in his ears, but the white smears in front of his eyes were starting to clear.

  ‘How many stun grenades was that?’ James asked.

  ‘All of them,’ Lauren grinned, as she clambered over her brother’s legs and back into the passenger seat. ‘Can you see to drive?’

  ‘It’s getting better,’ James said, as he reached forward and turned the key in the steering column to restart the engine.

  James rubbed his eyes, while Lauren looked back at Curtis. He was lying across the back seat with a tear running down his face.

  ‘What the hell just happened?’ Curtis asked, staring at the end of the gun.

  ‘I’m not keen on guns,’ Lauren explained. ‘I didn’t load the magnum because I didn’t want anyone getting shot. It’s for fright value only.’

  ‘You’re nuts,’ Curtis screamed. ‘The cops keep bullets in their guns you know, little girl.’

  ‘Only so idiots like you can shoot themselves,’ Lauren screamed back.

  ‘I wish I was dead,’ Curtis whined.

  ‘Will you two shut up,’ James said anxiously. ‘I’m trying to concentrate.’

  He waited for a gap in the traffic, before manoeuvring out between the two disabled police cars and pulling through the gap in the metal barrier, on to the side of the road that headed towards California.

  As James put his foot on the gas, the steering wheel shuddered violently out of his hands. He nudged the pedal more gently and the car picked up a little speed.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ Lauren asked.

  ‘No idea,’ James said, as he fought to keep the car going straight. ‘But I did hear something go crunch the last time we passed over the barrier.’

  They were doing less than thirty miles an hour and a truck was closing up behind at double that speed. The driver blasted his horn as he swung into the middle lane to overtake. James tried giving the accelerator another dab. The steering wheel almost ripped his arm off as the car veered dangerously towards the side of the passing truck.

  ‘It’s OK when it’s slow, but I can’t put any power down.’

  ‘What are we gonna do?’ Lauren asked.

  ‘God knows,’ James said, shaking his head. ‘We’re certainly not gonna get anywhere near Los Angeles in this box of bolts.’

  24. TRUNK

  The interstate ran through open desert where their abandoned car would rapidly be spotted, but every few miles there was a cluster of outlets: drug stores, diners, fast-food joints; and at this time of the morning they were all closed. James pulled off at the first batch he came to, arms aching from his battle with the steering wheel.

  He flipped off the headlamps, put the car in neutral and coasted into the empty parking lot of an ice-cream store, navigating by the light from a giant pink sundae dangling over the highway. He pulled around to the back of the store, stopped beside a row of dumpsters and flipped on the vanity light above his head.

  James glanced back at Curtis. He kept pulling the trigger of the empty revolver and laughing, but at the same time he had tears pouring down his face.

  ‘You think one day I might get a gun that works when I try and blow my brains out?’

  James was shocked by the way Curtis had turned into an emotional wreck. It looked pathetic, but was actually scary. For the first time, James truly felt the presence of a personality that could murder three complete strangers after a minor bust-up with a teacher.

  ‘So where are we exactly?’ James asked, leaning over Lauren’s lap.

  ‘If I’ve followed the map right, the interstate goes on for a couple more miles before it passes by a small town called Nix.’

  ‘So, that’s where we’ll go,’ James said. ‘The cops don’t know we’ve had car trouble. As long as nobody discovers this car, we should have an hour or two before anybody comes looking.’

  ‘What’s the plan when we get there?’ Lauren asked.

  James shrugged. ‘Either we find some place where we can hole up until they take down the roadblocks, or we steal a car and try to make it through. We’ll have to play it by ear based on what we find.’

  Lauren folded the map, while James walked around to the trunk and took out the backpack containing their money and essentials. Curtis was still slumped over the rear seat. James opened up the door beside him.

  ‘Come on,’ James said stiffly.

  ‘What’s the point?’ Curtis sobbed. ‘I never should have listened to you. I was being looked after inside.’

  James had to get Curtis in shape and there wasn’t time for persuasion. He reached in and grabbed Curtis out of the car by the scruff of his jacket. Although the two boys were about the same size, James was fitter and much stronger.

  ‘You listen,’ James snarled, as he thumped Curtis’ back against the outside of a car. ‘You asked to come with me and you knew it would be dangerous. It’s too late to change your mind now.’

  Curtis stared into space as though James wasn’t even there.

  ‘We’re gonna walk into town and get our hands on another car. Then we’re gonna get to LA and you’re going to contact your mum, exactly like we planned.’

  Curtis didn’t reply until James bunched a fist. ‘OK,’ Curtis sniffed reluctantly.

  ‘We got this far,’ James said, changing his voice from mean to friendly. ‘We all need each other and we can still pull this off if we keep our heads.’

  Curtis looked like he wanted to believe James but didn’t. It was the look you get off a scared kid when you’re trying to convince them that there aren’t monsters under the bed.

  Lauren had the pack with the weapons over her back, ready to move off. She caught a glimpse of herself in the window of the car and was surprised by the tangled hair and sandy clothes looking back. She could hardly believe she’d just taken out two cops. It had been the wildest night of her life, but she felt oddly calm, as though her brain couldn’t believe that all this was for real.

  She got a shock as she snapped back to reality and looked up at the boys. ‘You better lose the clothes,’ she said sharply.

  James realised he was still wearing Amanda Voss’ black prison-issue shirt. As he unbuttoned it, he was relieved to see Curtis removing his jacket without any prompting. Hopefully he was settling down.

  James hooked the backpack of clothes and stuff over his shoulder and started walking briskly towards the interstate, with Lauren at his side.

  ‘Do you think we’ve still got a chance?’ Lauren whispered quickly, before Curtis overheard.

  James shrugged. ‘The plan was based on us being in California before the alert
went up. We’re probably screwed, but I’m not giving up until we’re forced to … Whatever you do, don’t let suicide boy get his hands on another gun.’

  Curtis jogged up beside them. ‘What are you two whispering about?’

  ‘You,’ James said bluntly. ‘Are you back in the human race now?’

  ‘I’m really sorry,’ Curtis said. ‘But there’s no way I’m going back to prison.’

  ‘Think positive,’ James said. ‘This time tomorrow, you could be back with your mum.’

  A police car flashed by as they walked. A minute later they dived into the scrub when a whole row sped past. The three kids had done less than a third of the walk to Nix when they reached a line of broken wire and wooden posts that might have been considered a fence about a decade earlier.

  ‘Trailer trash,’ Curtis spat, as they stared into a gloomy field of the outsized aluminium caravans Americans call trailer homes.

  Lauren looked at James. ‘Reckon we can pinch a car from here?’

  ‘Do you know how to steal cars?’ Curtis asked.

  ‘I can hotwire the old ones,’ James explained. ‘But every recent car has a security chip in the ignition key. You need special tools to get those going.’

  ‘You don’t find many rich people in trailer homes,’ Curtis said. ‘So this is where it’s at if you’re looking for scrap metal.’

  ‘We want something that’ll make it to Los Angles, though,’ Lauren reminded them.

  They cut along the wire fence, heading away from the interstate, and ducked through one of the gaps. There were a few trailers in a cluster near the entrance, but there was too much risk of being spotted around there. Lauren took the lead, crunching her way towards a lonely trailer at the rear of the park, with only a burned-out shell a couple of berths along for company.

  There was a lamp on inside the trailer and a hum from the air conditioning unit on the roof. James crept up to a Dodge sedan parked alongside and peered through the driver’s side window. Although the car was shabby, it had an airbag in the steering wheel and a CD player: both indications that it was too modern to be started by short-circuiting the ignition.

  ‘No chance,’ James whispered, as he looked back over his shoulder. ‘They’re probably asleep in there. I suppose I could try sneaking inside and grabbing the key.’

  As James said this, he heard the aluminium door of the trailer crash open, followed by the unmistakable sound of a double-barrelled shotgun being pumped. He spun around in time to find the end waving under his nose.

  ‘So you’re the brats that keep messing with my car,’ the woman shouted. ‘Where you from? I’ve never seen you round here.’

  She only looked about twenty, with long brown hair, wearing mules and a nightshirt.

  ‘I don’t want trouble,’ James shouted, raising his hands in the air. ‘We’re out of here, don’t worry.’

  ‘Oh, you think you’re just walking away, do you?’ the woman asked. ‘It cost me two hundred bucks when you slashed my tyres. You’re coming inside and I’m callin’ the cops.’

  ‘We’ve never been here before,’ James said. ‘We’re—’

  The woman tutted. ‘Don’t feed me your lies, kid … You’re lucky it’s me that caught you. Some of the guys in the trailers down the front are so sick of you kids busting up our cars, they’d have busted you up rather than calling the law.’

  Lauren crept forward and sobbed theatrically. ‘Please don’t shoot my brother.’

  The woman looked confused as Lauren moved another step closer. She backed up to the door of the trailer.

  ‘Don’t you come no closer, girl.’

  ‘Pleeeeeease,’ Lauren sobbed.

  ‘Listen,’ the woman said, anxiously shifting her gun towards Lauren.

  James could tell from the woman’s expression that she didn’t have the heart to shoot anyone, least of all a ten-year-old girl. He ducked under the gun and grabbed the muzzle, while Lauren scrambled to safety behind the car. James forced the gun around so that it was parallel with the woman’s chest and used it to pin her back against the side of the trailer.

  ‘Let it go,’ James said, grabbing the woman’s skinny wrist and peeling her hand off the stock.

  The woman sobbed as James took control of the gun. ‘Please don’t hurt my baby.’

  ‘Get inside,’ James snarled.

  The woman walked up two metal steps and into the trailer.

  ‘Is there anyone else in here?’ James asked, as he flipped a light switch.

  ‘Just my daughter.’

  Lauren and Curtis followed them inside and quickly pulled up the door.

  ‘Lauren,’ James said. ‘Find a radio and tune it to that station: we need to know what the cops are doing.’

  The inside of the trailer was well worn, but clean, with little kids’ toys scattered everywhere. There was a sofa on one side, a row of kitchen cabinets opposite and a three-year-old asleep on a small mattress by the window.

  ‘Sit on the sofa,’ James ordered.

  Lauren found a radio and switched it on. James realised that the gun was terrifying the poor woman. He broke the barrel open and tipped the cartridges out on to the carpet.

  ‘I’m not gonna hurt you, but we do need your help,’ James said. ‘What’s your name?’

  ‘Paula.’

  ‘Paula,’ James said, ‘the three of us are in a spot. We’re on the run and our car died on us.’

  ‘On the run?’

  ‘From the cops. Me and Curtis here just busted out of Arizona Max.’

  Paula buried her head in her hands and took a deep breath as the radio confirmed James’ story:

  ‘… Two police officers were seriously assaulted at a roadblock six miles outside the town of Nix. Police say the two teenage killers are now heading for California along Route Sixty-three. They are believed to be travelling in a blue Ford Explorer SUV and armed with guns and explosives.

  ‘One of the escapees, James Rose, has at least one previous escape attempt under his belt and the police are warning everyone to be ultra-cautious around these individuals … I sure hope we don’t lose any more law-enforcement officers out there tonight, folks. Remember to keep them in your prayers and stay tuned to Western Arizona’s number one station for news and talk …’

  Lauren went to the fridge and passed out cans of soft drinks.

  ‘Are we staying or going?’ Curtis asked, as he sat on a kitchen chair drinking from his can.

  ‘Give me a minute to think,’ James said.

  He was feeling the pressure. On James’ previous missions, he’d always had mission controllers or older agents close by. This time it was down to him to outsmart the entire Arizona police department.

  James had an idea. He looked at Paula. ‘How big’s the trunk of your car?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Paula said. ‘It’s a normal trunk …’

  ‘Could you fit someone in it?’

  ‘I guess. It’s pretty roomy when you take all my junk out.’

  ‘What are you thinking?’ Lauren asked.

  ‘I don’t think we can stick around here,’ James said.

  Lauren nodded. ‘When the cops find that car, this trailer park is the first place they’ll come knocking, but there are bound to be roadblocks in our way somewhere between here and California.’

  ‘That’s why either me or Curtis has to go in the trunk,’ James said. ‘Paula can drive, with one of us in the front and one in the back next to the baby.’

  ‘That’s not a bad plan, bro’,’ Lauren nodded, as she realised it made sense. ‘We’d look like a family outing. The cops might just fall for it.’

  ‘Or they might look in the trunk and bust us,’ Curtis said.

  Paula looked completely stressed out. ‘You want me to drive you past the police roadblocks?’

  ‘And on to Los Angeles.’

  Paula rubbed her eye. ‘Assisting an escape, you know that’s serious jail time?’

  ‘Please, Paula,’ Lauren grovelled. ‘If my bro
ther gets caught, he’ll go back to prison for the rest of his life.’

  ‘And what if the cops start shooting at us? What if my daughter gets hurt?’

  ‘Why are we asking her permission?’ Curtis said. ‘Stick the bloody shotgun in her back and make her do what she’s told.’

  ‘Because …’ James said, wrestling with the uncomfortable fact that Curtis had suggested the course of action that most desperate fugitives really would have taken.

  ‘What else can we do?’ Curtis asked. ‘If we leave her here we’ve got to tie her and the brat up so they don’t snitch.’

  James hadn’t planned for any strangers to get tangled up in the escape, especially not taken hostage. He had three options and none of them were nice: tie Paula up and steal her car, make Paula drive them, or restrain Curtis and call John Jones to say that he’d decided to abandon the mission.

  ‘Listen,’ James said, looking at Paula. ‘I don’t want to go sticking a gun in your back, but if the cops get hold of Curtis and me, we’re dead meat. Once we get to LA, you can go to the cops and say we forced you to drive us. You won’t get punished … Hell, you’ll probably make few bucks selling your story to the newspapers.’

  ‘Either that or you tie us up?’ Paula said, nervously rocking her legs up and down.

  James noticed a gaudy pink and white dress hanging on the door by the toilet.

  ‘You work in that ice-cream place down the road?’ James asked, deliberately ignoring Paula’s question. ‘How much does that pay?’

  ‘Six bucks an hour.’

  ‘Lauren,’ James said. ‘You grabbed John’s savings, didn’t you? What have we got?’

  Lauren nodded. ‘There’s about four thousand bucks in the large backpack.’

  ‘I’ll give you half our money if you drive us,’ James said. ‘Think of all the ice cream you’d have to shovel to earn two thousand buckaroos. A thousand stays here in the trailer. You’ll get the other half in LA.’

  Curtis was shaking his head. ‘Why are we doing this?’ he sneered. ‘Elwood kept saying you were a pussy.’

  James angrily stepped up to Curtis and faced him off. ‘What use is Paula if she freaks out the second a cop shines a flashlight in her face? If I’d listened to you, we’d have already ended up getting shot to pieces after some stupid car chase.’