‘Roger that,’ John said. ‘It’s a pity this is an off-theradar mission you know, James. This could have done your career a lot of good.’

James cracked a wry smile. ‘I’ll still have your job in two years, boss,’ he joked. ‘Chairman of CHERUB before I turn thirty-five.’

‘You can have my job,’ John grunted. ‘Ning’s here with me in the control room, she’s got a call to patch through.’

There was a bit of fiddling at the other end, before James reached behind and handed his phone to Kam Yuen.

‘It’s for you, buddy.’

‘Hello?’ Kam said curiously, then burst into tears when he heard his daughter’s voice. ‘I’m so happy, baby,’ he blubbed. ‘I thought I was never going to speak to you again.’

40. BROMANCE

Six weeks later

Zahra pulled a plastic chair up to a desk, bruised and slightly breathless. The twelve-year-old wore muddy boots, combat trousers and an orange CHERUB T-shirt splattered with chicken blood. CHERUB’s chairman Ewart Asker sat across the desk, half smiling.

‘You did very well on the recruitment tests,’ Ewart began. ‘Your English is improving, but we’ll need to work some more on that, along with your upper body strength and swimming before you’d be able to commence basic training.’

Zahra smiled at the news. ‘How far to then?’ she asked.

‘Basic training lasts one hundred days. If you progress well, I would like to think that you’ll be more than capable of joining the trainee group that commences at the beginning of April.’

‘OK,’ Zahra said. ‘I will try. And to work very hard.’

‘But I must ask one more thing,’ Ewart said. ‘Your father died fighting to free Syria from the Assad regime. Your brother died fighting for Islamic State, and was killed by a former CHERUB agent. How does that make you feel?’

Zahra’s face was a puzzle, as she struggled to answer in a language she’d been learning for less than two months.

‘I like to learn,’ Zahra said. ‘Learn science and math. Police stop all girls learning my home. Brother make me boy. He stop me from being forced to marry or get raped. He was not a real Islamic fighter. But no jobs. He only make money as fighter.’

Ewart nodded and smiled. ‘I understand.’

‘I like campus very much and not frightened of work hard,’ Zahra continued. ‘Theo, who showed me around, was very nice. I might make world better if I am live here.’

‘I think that’s exactly what you’re going to do,’ Ewart said, as he reached across the desk to shake hands. ‘Congratulations and welcome to CHERUB.’

CHERUB campus was January cold as Ryan Sharma waited outside the mission control building. The entry system was having a hissy fit until James Adams came and let him in.

‘Good to see you, buddy,’ James said. ‘Come on through. How’s the arm?’