‘Nooo,’ Oli begged, tears streaming down his face. ‘There’s a pawnbroker’s.’

‘Where?’

‘Booth Street, near the station.’

Trey turned towards his driver. ‘Look it up. See if we can get there before it closes.’

‘How dare you rip me off?’ Trey roared, his attention back on Oli.

Trey fired a second staple into the back of Oli’s hand. As the twelve-year-old screamed, Leon saw that the driver was focused entirely on Googling with his phone. He glanced at Daniel, who made a slight nod towards Trey.

‘Gotcha,’ Leon murmured.

Leon launched himself at the driver, using a pivoting high kick that caught him in the temple and knocked him cold. As the big man crashed, Daniel grabbed a length of wood resting against a wall and made a lance, driving it hard into Trey’s stomach.

As Trey gasped, Daniel felled him with a kick behind the knee and ripped the stapler out of his hands. CHERUB agents are trained to use minimum force, but Daniel didn’t have much time for people who fire staples into twelve-year-olds. Even if the twelve-year-old in question was a horrible lying shit …

‘See how you like it,’ Daniel roared, as he put the stapler against Trey’s butt and fired three staples through his jeans.

‘Dude!’ Leon said, jangling the keys to the VW as he gave Daniel a shove. ‘We’re in enough trouble already.’

Daniel knew his brother was right, so instead of shooting another staple, he swung a punch with the tool, catching Trey in the head and knocking him cold. Then he crouched down and took the pocket revolver, instinctively checking inside the barrel before dropping it into his front tracksuit pocket.

‘One measly bullet,’ Daniel noted, showing his brother.

Oli had been bawling his head off the whole time and as the twins closed in, they realised that while one staple hadn’t done much damage, the second was lodged deep in the bony part of his index finger.

‘Gruesome,’ Leon said.

On some level, both twins felt sorry for Oli. For all his faults, Oli was a mixed-up kid who’d had tough breaks. But they had to stay in character for the sake of the mission, and Oli had lied and cheated them.

‘Where’s the money you made today?’ Leon demanded.

Oli had tears streaming down his face. ‘In my shorts,’ he sobbed.

It took Leon a couple of seconds to work this out, but when he lifted Oli’s jacket, he realised that Oli wore shorts with pockets under his jeans.

‘Money’s ours,’ Leon said, as he ripped open a Velcro pocket and pulled out several hundred pounds in twenties.

‘All of it,’ Daniel added.

‘Please,’ Oli sniffled.

‘There’s six hundred quid here,’ Leon said brightly. ‘Any complaints?’

Oli flickered with anger, then sighed. ‘It’s yours. I’m sorry. OK?’

Across the room, Trey’s driver was coming around and making a move towards the door.