Authors: Robert Muchamore
20. CUT
Ryan had earned twenty quid for his Saturday afternoon phone-buying spree. More importantly he’d been noticed by Craig Willow, a goon who Youssef reckoned was Hagar’s chief enforcer.
For the next three nights Ryan mooched around The Hangout, but nobody came over to give him any kind of work. He was almost desperate enough to make a direct approach to one of Hagar’s people when Craig arrived and came right towards him.
‘Shoo,’ Craig said, as he waved off Abdi and Youssef. ‘Ryan innit?’
Ryan nodded.
‘I’m told you’re tasty in a dust-up.’
Ryan shrugged like it was nothing and said, ‘I don’t take shit from anyone.’
‘That’s a good motto,’ Craig said, as Ryan noticed the big Spurs cockerel tattooed on his forearm. ‘You up for a run into enemy territory?’
‘How much?’ Ryan asked.
‘Twenty-five quid.’
Ryan made a wary nod. ‘What am I doing?’
‘There’s tension between our boys and Eli’s crew over on the Elthorne estate, so I need an unfamiliar face to bring in the resupply.’
‘Drugs?’
Craig smiled. ‘What else? Go and wait outside house seventy-two. Someone will give you a package. You take it straight up to Elthorne, block seven apartment F3.’
There was a warm summer sunset as Ryan headed out of The Hangout. He waited twenty minutes before a guy he’d not seen before passed over a backpack with a slightly doom-laden, ‘Good luck.’
The pack was full, but not particularly heavy. As Ryan started to walk he guessed that there had to be at least a couple of hundred packets of drugs, and with a gram of cocaine costing at least £25, that meant he was packing five grand’s worth of merchandise.
The Elthorne estate was in Highgate, twenty minutes’ walk north. The sky was a dark purple colour as Ryan approached a graffitied map showing the layout of the dilapidated housing blocks. The first part of Ryan’s route was down a lawned expanse between blocks, then he had to turn into an alleyway with houses backing on to both sides.
A cat shot out from behind a mound of boxes, giving Ryan a fright before he made a final turn, ignoring the lift and starting up concrete stairs to the third floor. As he rounded the first-floor landing he passed two solid-looking guys, one of whom was smoking a cigarette. When he reached the second floor, he heard the two men moving quickly up the staircase behind him.
Ryan sped up, but as he tried getting up to the third floor he found a body blocking his path.
‘Excuse me, mate,’ Ryan said.
The man didn’t move. He was a monster, with sunken black eyes and arms like railway sleepers. The other two were coming up from behind, which left Ryan’s only option as a run along the balcony in front of the second-floor apartments.
He ran seventy metres, passing reinforced front doors and windows fitted with bars. At the end he found a blue door with a fire exit sign. Ryan pushed the metal bar to unlock the door, but was horrified to discover that it was jammed.
With the three men less than twenty metres away, Ryan leaned out over the balcony. He was too high up to jump, but he reckoned he could stand on the railing and reach out to pull himself up to the next floor.
His legs swung precariously as he pulled himself up and rolled over a railing on to the third-floor balcony. He reckoned that his opponents would only take half a minute to double back and reach the third floor, so Ryan looked around desperately for apartment F3.
The heavily reinforced front door was only a few metres away. The apartment’s front window was boarded up and there was a CCTV camera pointing along the balcony.
‘Hello!’ Ryan shouted, as he pressed the doorbell and banged on the door. Then more desperately, ‘Can you open the door?’
But there was no sign of life inside the apartment. The man with enormous arms was coming around the balcony, and the other two had somehow got through the fire door Ryan hadn’t been able to move and were closing in from the other side.
‘Give us the bag,’ Giant Arms said.
‘Come and get it,’ Ryan said, feeling fairly confident that he was speedy enough to dodge the fat man’s blows. But a clicking noise came from behind and Ryan jolted when he saw a handgun out the corner of his eye.
‘Give us the bag, kid.’
The sight of the gun pushed Ryan into shock and he backed up to the apartment. One guy put a hand on the backpack and Ryan didn’t resist as he ran the strap down his arm. As soon as his opponent had the pack, the big dude swooped with a fist in the guts.
As Ryan doubled over, another guy punched him twice, and with the gun pointing at him he didn’t dare fight back. Next came a blow to the mouth, and a kick in the back of the legs that left Ryan sprawled across the ground in a daze.
As Ryan covered himself, fearing more blows, a hand went down the pocket of his shorts and extracted his mobile phone. Finally Ryan felt a kick to the head that knocked him cold.
*
Fay had sneaked back to her foster-home in Elstree to pick up more of her stuff, but she’d yet to attend her school there and spent most of her time in the Kentish Town area, finding out as much as she could about Hagar’s operations.
‘You wanna sneak into Nebraska House tonight?’ Ning asked, as she sat alongside Fay on a park bench, watching the dramatic sunset.
Fay nodded. ‘Nobody’s noticed me so far, and that airbed you found is quite comfy.’
But as Ning stood up, Fay felt her mobile vibrate in her pocket. The voice on the other end was familiar, but took her a few seconds to place.
‘Warren?’ Fay said.
‘You know what you said about information?’ Warren said. ‘What’s my cut?’
‘I can give you fifty quid for any decent info.’
Warren laughed. ‘I’m not gonna sell my crew out for fifty quid. I want a cut, a percentage.’
Fay paused for a minute. ‘A cut of what?’
Warren spoke softly, like he was afraid of being overheard. ‘Hagar’s got a house off Tufnell Park Road. It’s like a secret backup. Even if Hagar’s entire supply gets stolen, he can use what’s in the house to stay in business.’
Fay looked intrigued. ‘How come you know about this place?’
‘My cousin’s a carpenter, who does odd jobs for Hagar. He spent three days working in the house, putting in CCTV. I only know because it’s near my nan’s place and he kept coming round blagging sandwiches and cups of tea while he was on the job.’
‘So there’s a lot of security?’ Fay asked.
‘I guess there’s some. But there’s no guards. Just Hagar’s brother, Clay.’
Fay perked up when she sensed the opportunity to get at someone close to Hagar. ‘So where is it?’ she asked.
Warren laughed. ‘I want a third of whatever money you make.’
Fay tutted. ‘What risks are you taking? Finder’s fee is never more than ten per cent.’
‘Twenty-five,’ Warren said.
‘Twenty.’
Warren paused for a second. ‘All right, I’ll text you the address.’
Once Warren hung up, Fay explained the deal to Ning.
‘What if Warren didn’t like us invading his crib and this is his plan to get back at us?’
‘I suppose that’s possible,’ Fay said.
‘And surely anything valuable will be kept in a safe?’
‘Probably,’ Fay agreed. ‘Jobs like this always take planning, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.’
21. LIPS
‘Are you all right, son?’
Ryan opened one eye and saw a blurry female figure standing over him. His mouth was full of blood and his abs exploded with pain when he tried to get off the concrete. His instinct was to call James, but he found an empty pocket where his phone should have been.
The middle-aged woman offered Ryan an arm. He took it, and used it along with the balcony railing to haul himself up. His mouth was uncomfortably full of blood and he had no option but to spit it out. He felt around with his tongue, fearing he’d lost a tooth, but he actually just had a nasty cut on his bottom lip.
‘I’ve called the police,’ the woman said.
Ryan wasn’t keen on having to explain what had happened to the cops. ‘I’ve got to get going,’ he said.
But Ryan’s knee buckled as soon as he tried to walk and when the woman’s husband appeared holding a plastic garden chair, he settled into it gratefully.
Ryan was worried that losing the drugs would be the end of his association with Hagar’s crew and wondered what he’d say to the cops. But as he sat on the lightweight chair his biggest concern was the amount of blood pouring into his mouth.
Two policemen arrived a few minutes later.
‘Two guys jumped me, stole my pack, my phone and ran off.’
‘Can you describe ’em?’
Ryan invented two fairly nondescript muggers.
‘There’s CCTV in the lobby,’ one cop said. ‘We’ll try and get the tape.’
Ryan doubted that the cops would put too much effort into tracking down a case of a kid getting mugged. They asked where he lived, but Ryan couldn’t speak without blood running out the corner of his mouth and the cops decided to take him to hospital.
The larger of the two officers let Ryan put an arm around his back as they walked towards the lift.
*
James was in the kitchen in the flat when Ning rapped on the frosted-glass front door.
‘Come in, come in,’ James said warmly.
Ning took a seat at the kitchen table and sighed. ‘Working with Fay is intense. She’s focused on Hagar twenty-four/seven.’
‘Tea?’ James asked. ‘Or a cold drink?’
‘Can of Coke, or something like that would be great,’ Ning said.
‘So what’s she been finding out?’ James asked.
‘Tons of stuff about Hagar’s people. Where they’re working from, what they’re selling, who’s important.’
‘Is she discreet?’
Ning shook her head. ‘Fay’s clever, but she’s been going around asking lots of questions about Hagar’s operations. Sooner or later someone who matters will notice.’
James nodded as he placed two cans of Diet Coke on the table and sat opposite Ning. ‘You’d think she’d be
ultra
-cautious after her mother and aunt were both murdered.’
‘She’s got that thrill seeker mentality,’ Ning said, as she pulled the tab on her can.
James looked thoughtful. ‘So I’ve got a vengeful thrill seeker, walking around with a loaded Glock in her pocket. We’re gonna have to play this carefully.’
‘How do you mean?’ Ning asked.
‘Let’s just say that my new career as a mission controller will be short-lived if you and Fay get involved in a bloody shoot-out.’
‘I’ll try my best to avoid that scenario,’ Ning said, smiling but also aware that it wasn’t a totally unrealistic prospect. ‘I need to bring something to the party to keep close to Fay.’
‘Like what?’ James asked.
‘Fay has been doing a lot of stuff on her own, while I’m at school. She’s also getting information out of Warren. The only thing I’m offering Fay right now is a bunk on the floor of my room at Nebraska House.’
James shook his head. ‘I don’t think that’s true. I thought you were friends.’
‘We get on fine, but Fay’s focused like a laser beam. If you want me to stay close to her and all the information she’s gathering on Hagar’s crew, I need to bring something to the table.’
‘What have you got in mind?’ James asked.
‘Fay thinks she’s got a better chance of getting at Hagar if she forms an alliance with Eli’s crew. Trouble is, she’s spoken to a few street dealers and can’t get anywhere when it comes to finding out who’s who.’
James nodded. ‘So if I can get you a name and location for one of Eli’s lieutenants, you’ll seem a much more worthwhile friend to Fay.’
‘Exactly,’ Ning said.
‘I’ll speak to the local drugs squad,’ James said. ‘How will you say you got the information?’
‘Tell her I found out from a kid at school, or something.’
James picked up his Coke to drink, but downed it when he felt his phone vibrating inside his pocket. He didn’t recognise the number.
‘It’s me,’ Ryan said, with a slurred voice. ‘I’m in accident and emergency.’
*
Ryan lay shirtless on a hospital bed, with his head tipped back to stop the bleeding.
‘I’m really sorry,’ he said, when he saw James.
‘What have you got to be sorry for?’
‘I screwed up the mission,’ Ryan said. ‘I’ll never get back in Craig’s good books.’
‘You can’t be certain,’ James said.
‘They’ll probably kick my arse if I show my face at The Hangout.’
‘They must have known the risks.’
As James said this a youthful doctor stepped into the cubicle.
‘Will he live, doc?’ James asked cheerfully.
‘He’ll live, but he’s taken a battering. Two or three days in bed resting those swollen ribs.’
‘Nothing broken?’
The doctor shook her head, then craned forward and tapped Ryan’s cheek. ‘Is it numb yet?’
‘Yeah,’ Ryan agreed.
The doctor placed a sterile pack on the table beside the bed. After telling Ryan to sit up straight she ripped the pack open and took out a needle, pre-threaded with sterile cord.
‘Unfortunately your lip is going to need five or six stitches.’
Ryan flinched and felt queasy as the doctor moved the needle towards him.
‘The more you fidget, the longer it’ll take,’ the doctor warned.
And while his face was numb, Ryan still felt like he was going to puke as the needle speared his bloody lip.
22. GATES
Two days later
Fitting in at a new school is one of the trickiest jobs for a CHERUB agent. Ning hadn’t formed a close bond with anyone and felt lonely as she joined the flow of kids streaming out of the school gates.
‘Ning!’
Ning recognised Fay’s voice coming from across the street.
‘Nice day at the office?’ Fay teased.
‘Why make me start a new school three weeks before summer holidays?’ Ning moaned.
‘Bunk it,’ Fay said. ‘I do.’
‘I just might,’ Ning said. ‘Although I’d get grounded if they found out at Nebraska House.’
‘So, ask me what I’ve been up to.’
‘What?’ Ning asked.
‘I tracked down that Shawn guy who works for Eli. The one you told me about.’
‘What for?’
‘I needed to know if Eli was up for buying some cheap product.’
‘And?’
‘He’s keen.’
‘And where’s this cheap product coming from?’ Ning asked.
‘I’ve been watching Hagar’s backup safe-house. Warren was right, it’s ripe for taking down.’
‘How can you be sure?’
‘There’s one guy living there,’ Fay explained. ‘Every so often his girlfriend comes over. Once or twice a week, he comes in or out with a big bag. And since there’s never anyone else there, he must have access to the safe, or wherever it is the drugs are being stored.’
‘So what’s the plan?’ Ning asked.
‘Nothing sophisticated,’ Fay said. ‘Masks and balaclavas, wait until about eleven p.m., then we knock on the front door and point a gun in the dude’s face.’
‘What about security?’
‘We know there’s CCTV, but I peeked through the window when the house was empty and there’s no sign of any gates.’
‘And when are we doing this?’
Fay cracked a smile. ‘No reason to wait. If you’re up to it we’ll go in as soon as it gets dark.’
*
Ryan had an egg on his forehead, stitched lower lip and a purple splotch under his right eye. He’d not gone back to school since the mugging, so he sat at the dining-table in cargo shorts and a Jack Wills polo.
‘You sure you’re OK with this?’ James asked, as he stood at the kitchen worktop setting up a radio which would give him a link to a minuscule transmitter that had been tweezered into Ryan’s ear.
Ryan sounded a touch irritated. ‘I’ll be right.’
‘I’m just playing it by the book,’ James said. ‘You took a beating. All CHERUB agents have the right to drop out of missions at any time.’
‘Blah, blah,’ Ryan said, as he cracked a smile.
‘OK,’ James said, as he flipped a switch on the little radio transceiver on the countertop. ‘Testing audio, one, two, three.’
Ryan heard James’ voice repeated inside his ear, then double-tapped his earlobe to activate the com unit and heard his own phrase repeated through the receiver unit.
‘I’ll be on the bench outside. If it gets hairy say
bulldog
and I’ll pile in and rescue you,’ James said.
Ryan’s chair grated as he stood up. Bright sunlight made him squint as he cut across the dirt patch between his apartment and The Hangout. As Ryan sidestepped dog turds and broken glass, James followed him out, sat on a wooden bench overlooking the bunker-like youth club and opened a copy of
Motorcycle News
.
There were a dozen kids milling about inside The Hangout. Nobody noticed Ryan because there was some kind of ruckus going on around the pool table and a Mediterranean-looking kid was getting headlocked by an overweight thug almost twice his size.
‘Let him go,’ Youssef shouted, joining a chorus singing a similar theme. ‘You lost the game, fair and square.’
The victim’s face kept getting redder as Youssef approached Ryan.
Youssef smiled, but sounded alarmed. ‘You’ve got some balls showing your face here,’ he said, as he glanced furtively around.
‘You got my text about what happened?’ Ryan asked.
Youssef looked shifty. ‘No offence, but it’s not good to associate with you right now. I’m out on a limb because I like you, but you’d better get out of here before one of Hagar’s crew eyes you.’
Over at the pool table, the bully had finally released the headlock and his victim slumped against the pool table, gasping for breath.
‘He moved the black,’ the bully squawked angrily. Disapproving glances came at him from all sides as he grabbed his school bag and blazer off the floor.
Meantime, Youssef’s expression had turned deadly serious. ‘Craig’s here, Ryan. He breaks limbs with a baseball bat.’
Ryan had waited to make his move until he knew Craig was in the building, but he acted surprised.
‘My house is two hundred metres away,’ Ryan said. ‘They know where I’m at if they want to get me. I know I’m not gonna be in anyone’s good books, but they might at least respect me if I have the class to face up and apologise.’
Youssef didn’t agree. ‘Give it another week and talk to one of the younger lads. Going in when Craig’s here is
not
sensible.’
Ryan tried to sound all confident. ‘I’m not a pussy. I’m gonna stick my head in the lion’s mouth. Wish me luck?’
‘I’ve known these people longer than you,’ Youssef said.
But Ryan was determined. There were two offices out back. One belonged to Barry the centre manager. The other was primarily used by members of Hagar’s crew. Ryan caught the outlines of two bulky men behind frosted glass as he rapped on the office door.
The voices stopped. Craig stuck his head out into the hallway and put his pointing finger in Ryan’s face.
‘Wait,’ he ordered, pointing at a plastic chair before going back inside and closing the door.
The conversation between Craig and a spindly Asian guy kept going long enough for Ryan’s gut to turn somersaults. The guy sprinted off on some errand, leaving the office door open.
‘Let’s hear it then,’ Craig said, inviting Ryan in.
The office was small. The little desk was covered in tangerine peel. There was a fan running and a window open, but Craig’s aftershave dominated.
‘Got some balls showing up here,’ Craig said.
‘You deserve an explanation.’
‘Why wait three days?’
‘I only got out of hospital yesterday evening.’
‘You could have called.’
‘I don’t have your number.’
Craig snorted. ‘The likes of you don’t get my number. But you could have called one of your pals. Abdi, Youssef or whoever.’
‘They nabbed my phone,’ Ryan explained. ‘It had all my numbers on it.’
‘So, what’s your cock-and-bull story?’
Ryan shook his head as Craig took an ominous step closer. ‘I’m not lying, I swear. Someone must have tipped them off. They were in the stairwell, like they knew I was coming or something.’
‘It’s funny,’ Craig said, before a dramatic pause.
‘What?’ Ryan asked.
‘I’ve been sending lads up to that place on deliveries for ten years. Some lads have made the trek a hundred times and not one of ’em has lost gear.’
‘I don’t know what to say,’ Ryan blurted. ‘They were waiting on the stairs, and there was nobody inside apartment F3.’
‘I run a tight ship,’ Craig said, as he thumped his chest and moved so that he was almost touching Ryan. ‘If they were waiting for you, it must have been you blabbing your mouth off to someone.’
‘No way,’ Ryan said. ‘I never spoke to anyone. Face to face, or on my phone.’
‘So have you got my money? I reckon about three-six should cover it.’
‘How could I get that?’ Ryan asked.
‘You live with your big brother?’
Ryan nodded warily.
‘He’s been seen on a motorbike,’ Craig said. ‘If he sold that he could pay us back.’
‘This has got
nothing
to do with my brother.’
Craig cracked a slow smile. ‘In my book, it’s got everything to do with anyone who doesn’t want to see you get your legs smashed.’
‘Look,’ Ryan said, putting on his most pleading expression. ‘I’m smart. I’m good in a fight and I swear I didn’t rip you off. You must have jobs I can do to earn my way back. Anything you like. I can carry stuff around, run errands. I’ll scrub toilets if that’s what you want.’
Craig looked thoughtful before he spoke. ‘Can you clean cars?’
Ryan smiled. ‘Sure . . . I mean, I’ve never actually washed a car, but I’m a fast learner.’
‘There’s an industrial estate near King’s Cross Station. You can’t miss the yellow sign for the Kalifornia car-wash. I want you there on the weekend and every day after school. If you work hard, I might eventually find it in my heart to forgive you.’
‘How long?’ Ryan asked, but went further when he saw the baffled look on Craig’s face. ‘I mean, how many hours before I pay off my debt.’
Craig turned his lips into a sneer. ‘You’ll work there until I say so.’