‘We know what you did,’ Zara began. ‘Every lie you tell will just get you deeper into trouble. What I don’t understand is why you did this. What significance does Nigel Kinney have for you?’

Daniel looked a bit surly. ‘He’s a paedophile. He’s getting what he deserves.’

‘We knew there was a good chance we’d get in trouble,’ Leon added. ‘We’ll take our punishment.’

Briggs thumped on the desk top. ‘We didn’t ask you for a moral justification. You were asked a specific question.’

Zara looked more startled by Briggs’ reaction than the two boys, and gave him a thin-lipped I can handle this look.

‘Kinney?’ Zara said firmly.

Leon looked at Daniel, and got a nod before beginning to explain. ‘We did a mission in Sheffield last year. There was a kid there, Brent Johnson. Nice guy, year younger than us. But he was messed up. Cutting himself, nightmares. He’d been abused by Nigel Kinney and some other guy since he was about ten. Cops didn’t press charges because Brent was too messed up to go through a trial.’

‘Kinney had previous convictions, but you’re not allowed to mention that to a jury,’ Daniel added.

Zara shook her head slowly. ‘So you contacted the Paedophile Hunting Network?’

‘Sure,’ Leon agreed. ‘At first we just got hold of a copy of Kinney’s criminal record and sent it to the paedo hunters, hoping they’d make him a target. But they get a lot of tip-offs and they’re a tiny organisation.’

‘So you agreed to help?’ Briggs asked.

Leon nodded. ‘We hacked Kinney’s office computer and found a site he was using to speak to young boys. So I joined up and started sending him fake messages. Said I was short of cash and would like to meet up.’

‘Then we got the paedo hunters to set up the final sting,’ Daniel added.

‘I’ll take whatever punishment,’ Leon said. ‘But I’m not ashamed of what we did.’

‘You can’t be vigilantes,’ Briggs growled. ‘CHERUB has bigger fish to fry and you risked organisational security by making unauthorised access to police records.’

Zara gave Briggs another calm down look. ‘Guys,’ she began. ‘I have four children and the idea that anyone who wants to harm them is out there makes me sick. Online grooming is a serious and growing problem and everyone should be more aware of it. But you are CHERUB agents. Our targets are major terror groups, drug cartels, people smugglers, weapons dealers. We’re not in the business of getting revenge for one wronged child. You’ve broken dozens of rules.’

‘When news about this gets out on campus, you’ll probably be regarded as some kind of heroes by your fellow agents,’ Briggs added. ‘If we don’t hit you hard, who knows where it’ll lead?’

Leon and Daniel allowed slight smirks at the thought that they’d be considered heroes.