right ahead. Tell her you’ve been using her computer when she ordered you not to, but don’t be surprised if one of her security guards gives you a lot worse than three strokes on the arse.’
Ethan wasn’t sure if Leonid was bluffing as he meekly pulled his trousers back over his stinging arse, but he’d heard that Irena could be ruthless with family members who pissed her off and he’d already pushed Leonid as far as he dared.
Leonid smiled. ‘Right, Boris, go introduce our little California girl to the stable hands. And tell ’em that if I catch Ethan slacking, I’ll blame them and dock them half a day’s pay.’
8. RYAN
CHERUB campus always looked immaculate, not least because there were plenty of kids on punishment duty sweeping paths, pulling weeds and mowing several hundred acres of lawn. On this sunny March day it looked especially picturesque because the sun had come out and the Japanese cherry trees lining the central path from the education block to the training compound were in full blossom.
‘Spring pisses me off,’ Amy Collins said, rubbing her nose before exploding into a sneezing fit. ‘Stupid pollen.’
The stunning twenty-four-year-old was strolling alongside Ryan Sharma. She was a former CHERUB agent who now worked for TFU (Transnational Facilitator Unit), a branch of the American intelligence service that was targeting the Aramov Clan. She’d also played the role of Ryan’s older sister on his mission in California.
‘So you were chatting on MSN with Ethan last night?’ Amy asked.
Ryan nodded. ‘I’ve uploaded a hijack program and some other hacking tools to an FTP site.’
‘Will Ethan have the guts to install it?’
Ryan shrugged. ‘Fifty-fifty, I’d guess. He asked about you. Or more specifically, I told him I’d hacked my sister’s computer and he asked if I’d found any naked pictures of you.’
‘Dirty boy,’ Amy laughed. ‘It’ll be a pity if he does get sent to school in Dubai. There’s a much better chance that he’ll feed us accurate information while he’s inside the Kremlin.’
Ryan nodded thoughtfully. ‘Can you stop him getting admitted to a school in Dubai?’
‘There are ways of manipulating things so that a kid gets put in a certain class, or doesn’t get into one particular school, but even if we could get Ethan locked out of every English language boarding school in the Middle East it would seem highly suspicious.’
‘I don’t mind really,’ Ryan said. ‘After all Ethan’s been through in the last year the poor bastard deserves a break.’
‘And how about you?’ Amy asked. ‘Still feeling frustrated?’
‘A bit,’ Ryan confessed. ‘I know being Ethan’s virtual friend means I’m technically on a mission, but I’d really like to get stuck into something meatier.’
Amy nodded. ‘Kicking some arse off campus.’
‘Exactly,’ Ryan said. ‘Although they’ve sent me on a couple of one-day things which have been fun. I shouldn’t really tell you but this is hilarious. Last month me and Alfie got sent to this estate in Liverpool—’
‘No,’ Amy said firmly, raising her hands. ‘I don’t want to hear it, no matter how funny it is. There are good security reasons why agents shouldn’t talk about their missions.’
Ryan looked hurt.
‘You’re lucky I work for TFU. A CHERUB staff member would be dishing out punishment laps for breaching security.’
‘All right, sorry I spoke,’ Ryan said, then cheekily, ‘So have you got any naked pictures I can send Ethan to prove that the hacking program works?’
Before Amy could answer, the pair jumped out of their skins as a high-pitched shout of ‘Banzai!’ came from the branches above Ryan’s head.
The shouter leapt from a tree fork and clamped himself to Ryan’s back. Ryan staggered forwards, but his assailant was too little to knock him completely off balance.
‘Bloody hell, Theo!’ Ryan yelled, clutching his chest as his seven-year-old brother let go and hit
Ethan wasn’t sure if Leonid was bluffing as he meekly pulled his trousers back over his stinging arse, but he’d heard that Irena could be ruthless with family members who pissed her off and he’d already pushed Leonid as far as he dared.
Leonid smiled. ‘Right, Boris, go introduce our little California girl to the stable hands. And tell ’em that if I catch Ethan slacking, I’ll blame them and dock them half a day’s pay.’
8. RYAN
CHERUB campus always looked immaculate, not least because there were plenty of kids on punishment duty sweeping paths, pulling weeds and mowing several hundred acres of lawn. On this sunny March day it looked especially picturesque because the sun had come out and the Japanese cherry trees lining the central path from the education block to the training compound were in full blossom.
‘Spring pisses me off,’ Amy Collins said, rubbing her nose before exploding into a sneezing fit. ‘Stupid pollen.’
The stunning twenty-four-year-old was strolling alongside Ryan Sharma. She was a former CHERUB agent who now worked for TFU (Transnational Facilitator Unit), a branch of the American intelligence service that was targeting the Aramov Clan. She’d also played the role of Ryan’s older sister on his mission in California.
‘So you were chatting on MSN with Ethan last night?’ Amy asked.
Ryan nodded. ‘I’ve uploaded a hijack program and some other hacking tools to an FTP site.’
‘Will Ethan have the guts to install it?’
Ryan shrugged. ‘Fifty-fifty, I’d guess. He asked about you. Or more specifically, I told him I’d hacked my sister’s computer and he asked if I’d found any naked pictures of you.’
‘Dirty boy,’ Amy laughed. ‘It’ll be a pity if he does get sent to school in Dubai. There’s a much better chance that he’ll feed us accurate information while he’s inside the Kremlin.’
Ryan nodded thoughtfully. ‘Can you stop him getting admitted to a school in Dubai?’
‘There are ways of manipulating things so that a kid gets put in a certain class, or doesn’t get into one particular school, but even if we could get Ethan locked out of every English language boarding school in the Middle East it would seem highly suspicious.’
‘I don’t mind really,’ Ryan said. ‘After all Ethan’s been through in the last year the poor bastard deserves a break.’
‘And how about you?’ Amy asked. ‘Still feeling frustrated?’
‘A bit,’ Ryan confessed. ‘I know being Ethan’s virtual friend means I’m technically on a mission, but I’d really like to get stuck into something meatier.’
Amy nodded. ‘Kicking some arse off campus.’
‘Exactly,’ Ryan said. ‘Although they’ve sent me on a couple of one-day things which have been fun. I shouldn’t really tell you but this is hilarious. Last month me and Alfie got sent to this estate in Liverpool—’
‘No,’ Amy said firmly, raising her hands. ‘I don’t want to hear it, no matter how funny it is. There are good security reasons why agents shouldn’t talk about their missions.’
Ryan looked hurt.
‘You’re lucky I work for TFU. A CHERUB staff member would be dishing out punishment laps for breaching security.’
‘All right, sorry I spoke,’ Ryan said, then cheekily, ‘So have you got any naked pictures I can send Ethan to prove that the hacking program works?’
Before Amy could answer, the pair jumped out of their skins as a high-pitched shout of ‘Banzai!’ came from the branches above Ryan’s head.
The shouter leapt from a tree fork and clamped himself to Ryan’s back. Ryan staggered forwards, but his assailant was too little to knock him completely off balance.
‘Bloody hell, Theo!’ Ryan yelled, clutching his chest as his seven-year-old brother let go and hit
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