‘Evening boys,’ a burly campus security guard announced grandly, as the pair stopped running and sensed doom. ‘I’m Briggs and you two are way past your curfew time.’

Since campus appeared on maps as a military facility, the guards on its perimeter drove army-style vehicles and wore military police uniforms.

‘We went swimming in town,’ Daniel said hopefully. ‘There were some girls from that boarding school, and we lost track of time.’

‘Really,’ Briggs said, unconvinced. ‘You could have texted to say you were late. But for some reason your phones were off, so we couldn’t track them. Almost as if you didn’t want us to know where you were.’

‘I …’ Leon stuttered.

‘We …’ Daniel added.

‘You two are in a lot of trouble,’ Briggs said, as his hand beckoned the pair towards the back seat of the Land-Rover. ‘The sooner you start telling the truth about what you’ve been up to, the better the chance that you don’t get kicked out of CHERUB.’

3. TRAUMA

After stepping aside from the stressful post of CHERUB chairman, Zara Asker now had a part-time role dealing with serious disciplinary measures. She yawned as she walked into the security post just inside campus’ main gate and got caught off guard by two faces she’d not seen in years.

‘Older no wiser,’ Kyle Blueman said, as the former CHERUB agent gave Zara a hug. Gabrielle O’Brien was right behind, but Zara did a double-take.

The practicalities of campus life and training make it hard for girls to dress up for anything but special occasions. Gabrielle appeared to be making up for lost time, with elaborate extensions to her plaited hair, heavy make-up and mad heels.

‘You look like a model,’ Zara said. ‘Wow!’

‘It’s weird you’re not chairman any more,’ Kyle noted.

‘My husband is welcome to it,’ Zara said. ‘It’s a twenty-four-seven job. And I’d love to stay and chat, but I have a pair of idiots to crucify.’

Zara dropped the friendly tone as she stepped past the X-ray machines used to examine baggage and down a short hallway to the waiting area where Leon and Daniel had spent the last two hours, nervously awaiting their fate.

‘Office, now,’ Zara snapped, clicking her fingers.

The twins had been allowed to shower and dress in their CHERUB uniforms, complete with navy shirts. Leon felt a shudder as Zara joined Briggs’ brooding presence across a desk top laid out with evidence. Computer printouts of phone messages, three hundred pounds, train tickets to places the boys weren’t supposed to have been …

‘Sit down.’

The twins eyed one another uneasily as they sat on hard plastic chairs. The gloomily lit room had bare concrete walls, a pair of CCTV cameras and a metal door so that it could be used as a cell if necessary.