CHERUB: Mad Dogs by Robert Muchamore Page B

Gabrielle’s room.
    Michael led the way and recoiled at what he saw. With stab wounds front and back and a badly swollen face, Gabrielle lay awkwardly on her side. Blood had seeped into the dressings and an oxygen tube ran under her nose. Electrodes stuck to her skin monitored blood pressure and heart rate.
    Gabrielle found it hard to express emotion with pillows piled around her head, but she managed to smile and brought her arm forward for Michael to hold her hand.
    ‘We can’t touch,’ Michael said, shaking his head as a tear streaked down behind his mask. ‘But the doc says you’re doing great.’
    Gabrielle rocked her head. ‘Doesn’t feel great,’ she said. Her voice was weak and slightly nasal because of the oxygen tube. ‘What’s the time?’
    ‘Just after three.’
    Chloe spoke next. ‘Gabrielle, it’s me. I don’t know if you feel like talking, or even how much you can remember, but I’d like to ask you some questions.’
    ‘Are you recording?’
    ‘Yes,’ Chloe said. ‘If that’s OK?’
    ‘Who else?’ Gabrielle asked, as she struggled to recognise masked people with blurry eyes.
    ‘It’s me, Zara.’
    ‘The boys who killed Owen, we’re …’ Gabrielle’s throat was raw and she gagged every time she attempted more than half a sentence.
    ‘Take your time,’ Zara said.
    ‘We know you were chased from the football pitches,’ Michael said. ‘The police got witness statements from people in the street. They’ve identified some of the Runts and made arrests in connection with the murder of Owen Campbell-Moore.’
    ‘Listen,’ Gabrielle croaked impatiently, sensing that she might pass out at any second. ‘I was in the shed with Owen’s body. They didn’t know I was there.’
    Gab seemed helpless as she paused to catch her breath. Michael badly wanted to hug her.
    ‘All talking, the Runts – and one goes: Sasha’s boy said … there’d be a lot more than f … than four kilos .’
    ‘What does that mean?’ Zara asked.
    Chloe raised her palm to silence her boss and leaned in close to Gabrielle. ‘Are you completely sure?’
    ‘Sure,’ Gabrielle said, rocking her head on the pillow to nod.
    ‘What about the man who stabbed you?’ Chloe asked. ‘The police have a description from the lady who had her car stolen and a CCTV image from a car park where he abandoned it, but did you recognise him?’
    ‘Not seen before … Just one of the Runts.’
    As Gabrielle said this, an alarm sounded from the monitoring unit beside her bed. By the time Michael had turned around to look at the display, Dr Shah was coming through the door.
    ‘Low oxygen,’ Shah explained. ‘Her lungs are fine, but she gets pain when she inhales and as a result she’s not breathing deeply enough. We’re going to have to increase her pain medication, but that will knock her out for another few hours.’
    ‘We’d better go,’ Chloe said, as she stepped away from the bed.
    ‘I love you Gabrielle,’ Michael said. ‘Everyone’s praying for you.’
    As they backed out of the room, Dr Shah stripped the cellophane away from a needle pack and prepared to give Gabrielle her shot.
    ‘Love you,’ Gabrielle said, her voice weaker than before.
    Zara put her arm around Michael’s back once they’d returned to the changing area and stripped off their masks.
    ‘You did great,’ Zara said. ‘But I didn’t understand what was so significant about what she said. Who’s Sasha?’
    Chloe explained as she dropped her latex gloves into a medical waste unit. ‘It never made sense that a teenage gang like the Runts would take on a hardcore crew like the Slasher Boys. But the Slasher Boys’ biggest rival is a group known as the Mad Dogs. Sasha Thompson is their main man.
    ‘The Mad Dogs are led by old-timers; people who worked for or had close ties to KMG. Armed robbers and big-time dealers. Rather than smuggling drugs themselves, they let other gangs take the risks, and then they steal their money, drugs or