CHERUB: Guardian Angel by Robert Muchamore Page A

junk from skis to cigar boxes piled in every available space.
    ‘What you looking at?’ Andre asked Natalka, as the Wii gobbled a silver disk.
    ‘Just seeing how your mum’s getting along with the hot chocolate,’ she lied. ‘She might need a hand carrying the mugs.’
    ‘She’ll be fine,’ Andre said.
    Ethan cut into Leonid Aramov’s office, which was actually a dead section of hallway created when some walls got knocked down. If anyone saw him, he’d claim to have got confused and gone the wrong way.
    The computer was a chunky old Toshiba laptop, but it had a printer and stuff wired up and the build-up of dust on the desk around it indicated that the machine never moved off its spot. Ethan reached quickly around the back of the machine, where he was relieved to find a pair of empty USB ports.
    He jolted at a flash of light, but he’d only nudged the mouse, making a screensaver pop up.
    ‘Done,’ he whispered to Natalka, when he got back into Andre’s room. ‘So what game are we gonna play?’
    *
    It was a Saturday, so the recycling depot was busy with cars dropping off junk. Getting on to the street involved a brisk walk past a couple of council workers in orange high-vis jackets and a young mum unloading the rear of a people carrier while two brats squawked in the back.
    Ryan and Grace jogged until they were certain the soggy cop had given up. But there were sure to be other cops looking for them, so Ryan was delighted by the orange for-hire light of a black London taxi and put his arm out to hail it.
    The driver pulled over but looked wary. ‘Where are you kids going?’
    ‘I’ve got dosh,’ Ryan said, pulling a twenty out of his pocket and waving it.
    ‘We’ve been out, but we’ve forgotten our keys,’ Grace explained. ‘We’ve got to go to my mum’s office.’
    ‘And where’s that?’ the driver asked.
    ‘The one that’s shaped like a gherkin,’ Grace said, coming out with the only London office block she could think of. ‘It’s dead famous, do you know it?’
    ‘Thirty St Mary Axe,’ the driver said. ‘In you hop.’
    Ryan and Grace took a few seconds catching their breath in the back seat as the taxi pulled away, then exchanged relieved smiles.
    ‘That was kinda cool with the chilli sauce,’ Ryan said. ‘I’m glad you stood up to those dicks.’
    ‘Cheers,’ Grace said. ‘But I’m not sure that’s how the campus staff will see things if they find out.’
    Ryan nodded warily. ‘If any of us get busted, it’ll take Meryl about four seconds to work out who else was involved. You try calling Chloe. I’ll get Max.’
    Ryan pulled his phone out, but instead of doing the same, Grace kept smiling at him.
    ‘What?’ Ryan asked. ‘Did I say something stupid?’
    ‘I shredded the sole of my shoe on the glass on top of that wall,’ Grace said, as she lifted her leg off the floor of the taxi.
    But as Ryan leaned forwards to look, Grace gave him a peck on the cheek.
    ‘You’re all red and sweaty, but you’re cute,’ she said, machine-gunning the words like she was scared to say them.
    Ryan looked stunned, but before he could respond his phone rang and the screen flashed Ning Calling .
    ‘Are you guys OK?’ Ning asked.
    ‘Bit of a close shave but we’ve grabbed a taxi,’ Ryan explained. ‘How about you?’
    ‘Back in the market, blending into a crowd. We saw Max and Alfie too, but we split cos there’s less chance of being recognised.’
    Chloe spoke in the background. ‘We should probably stay apart for the rest of the day, just to be on the safe side.’
    ‘Chloe says—’
    Ryan interrupted. ‘I heard her. I guess I’ll stay with Grace then. See you back at the bus this evening. And I’d try putting some more distance between yourselves and the canal.’
    ‘That’s what we’re doing,’ Ning said. ‘We decided that Camden Town tube’s too obvious, but once we’re away from the market we’re getting on the first bus we can find.’
    Ryan gasped with