Ages: James –14
Kyle –17
Lauren –12
Kerry –14Chapter 1: The mission.
Normal POV.
The warm soft hole in which James Adams had wrapped himself in was a lot more appealing than facing the screaming lunatic outside his door, more commonly known as his sister. He snuggled further down in amongst his blankets and pulled his pillow down over his ear, effectively blocking out the shrill shout of his sister's voice, and pressing his other ear against the springy mattress preventing any noise getting in that ear either.
Through his sleepy haze he grinned and sighed very proud at his achievement.
BANG!
The door leading to James' bedroom was thrown open. It hit the wall and bounced back towards the frame. The person in the doorway rammed a black boot in the doorway, blocking the door from slamming shut again. The heavy thud of the boots hitting the carpet made James frown and wrap the blankets tighter round himself.
Suddenly, the blankets were ripped down from his upper body, revealing a bar muscled chest and a very annoyed James.
"Lauren!" James groaned, tugging at the blankets. "Let go. Leave me alone. Go bother some other poor sod." He aimed a half-hearted kick at thin air.
Lauren was fuming. Her blonde hair was tied up in a ponytail and her cherub uniform was immaculate. She was disgusted to see her lazy brother half naked in bed at half seven this morning. He was half hour late for his mission briefing.
"James Adams." Lauren said in a dangerously low voice that promised trouble with a capital T. "Get your sorry ass out of bed and dressed now."
James growled and sat up straight, causing his pillows to fall to the floor. "What? What do you want?" he snapped, scowling at his sister.
Lauren spluttered in disbelief. How could he forget the mission? It was the biggest mission to come to C.H.E.R.U.B's attention since Lauren had earned her black shirt when they were trying to bust the ark up. She gave James a punch in the shoulder and said with exaggerated impatience, "You are holding up the biggest mission briefing in the history of C.H.E.R.U.B all because you can't be bothered to get out of bed on time. If you can't wake up, set an alarm. Now move!"
James stared at Lauren for a moment, uncomprehending to what she was saying, but then, as if a light bulb clicked on in his head, his eyes widened and he gasped. "Oh my god!" he threw a hand up to his mouth and swung his feet out of bed. "Crap. I'll be there soon. Go tell everyone I'm on my way." When Lauren refused to move James flapped his hands wildly and said, "Shoo!"
Lauren smirked as she walked towards the door, happy at her accomplishment of making her brother rush round the room like a demented chicken. "Be there in five minutes or Zara said she'll chuck you off the mission." Lauren tossed over her shoulder.
"Whatever. That women loves me, she could never to that!" James retorted while rummaging in his closet for clean clothes.
Lauren rolled her eyes at her brother's arrogance shining through in that one sentence and left the room, glad to be rid of the strong guy smell that emanated from James' lair.
*Zara Asker's office ten minutes later*
As James pushed open the door leading to Zara's office he was welcomed with cheers and claps and a very sarcastic, "Bravo! I'm glad you could make it!" That was Zara.
James had the good grace to be ashamed as he ducked into the room and took a seat beside Kyle. "And here he is, the boy who cannot keep a schedule even when his life depends on it." Kyle greeted him with a grin and a playful pat on the back.
"I forgot." James retorted huffily, sinking down in the chair until he was slouching, glaring at the floor.
"My point in a nut shell." Kyle replied, unfazed by James' grouchiness.
"Can we just get on with the briefing please?" Kerry asked sullenly from the back of the room. "We've had to wait long enough already thanks to Mr. Ego down the front, and I don't want to wait any longer."
"Ditto!" Lauren piped up from her seat on the floor next to Kyle's feet.
James turned his head slightly so that he could see Kerry. She was looking incredibly annoyed and incredibly deadly as she glared back at James.
Obviously she hadn't forgiven him for laughing at that sexist joke about women that Shakeel cracked yesterday at lunch. 'Girls were petty when it came to things like that' James stated in the corridor yesterday after the whole argument, and that only earned him a clip round the head from Kerry. Evidently, Kerry had decided to not grow up and hold the grudge against James.
"Read these carefully now." Zara was saying. James jumped slightly as a small booklet landed in his lap. He hurriedly picked it up and started flipping through the pages, wondering what he had missed when he was busy thinking about Kerry and her complications.
"This mission is high risk, in fact, it's the highest risked mission in the history of C.H.E.R.U.B, or at least so far, so of course, if you want to leave now, feel free to do so. No one will hold it against you." Zara swept her kind gaze over each and every kid in the room, checking their decision before continuing, "You are really going to be tested in this mission. You'll have to work very hard to avoid any errors with your cover story and you will be under a lot of pressure to avoid any manipulation and blackmail while fraternizing with the targets. There will also be a lot of angst and competition between rival gangs so you'll have to be careful of how you conduct yourself around the danger."
***Classified Mission Briefing***
For James Adams, Kyle Blueman, Kerry Chang and Lauren Adams.
This document is protected with a radio frequency identification tag
ANY attempt to remove it from the mission preparation building will set off an alarm
Do NOT photocopy or make notes.
Mission Background –The founder
Rambo 2010 is an illegal racing gang that started February 2010. It was founded by a man called Derek Smith, with only a small group of close friends but it soon expanded to cover a wider range of people from ages eleven to seventeen. The main area that the illegal racing occurs in is Miami. The rich and the working class all take part in the events launched by Rambo 2010 and now the group has over 1000 people taking part in Rambo 2010 alone. Derek Smith is a man aged 32, with a daytime job as a mechanic. He had three garages in Miami, all of which are very popular. He lives with his wife and four kids in a mansion central Miami. His wife works in a café and his four kids all participate in Rambo 2010. Smith decided to launch the Rambo 2010 gang when his eldest son turned seventeen. The son now plays a big part of the races, and earns big bucks for the dad.
The family.
Jack Smith is a seventeen-year-old boy who is also the eldest sibling in the Smith family. He is a very loud and aggressive boy who has a nose for trouble and enjoys being a nuisance round the town and in school when he turned up. He is currently a drop out from high school and is perusing an apprenticeship in his dad's garage. He was the first recruit into the organisation Rambo 2010 and is now a well know racer who usually races for any big races that will rake in the big bucks. He has been in jail three times for overnight sentences due to stealing cars and also the occasional night for fighting and rioting. He also has a tendency for joy riding. He has a criminal record of drug dealing and looting in other garages around Miami.
Lisa Smith is a fourteen-year-old girl who is currently doing her ninth year in high school. She is a very flirtatious and lively girl who loves attention and also has a nose for trouble. She is studying math, physics and mechanics as extra curricular subjects, and she has a weekend job at her dad's garage. She has done three races so far since she has been recruited to Rambo 2010 and only been questioned by the police once. She has a reputation for drug dealing and hot wiring cars. She always makes appearances on other rival gang's turf, which causes riot to occur and trouble to brew.
Tom Smith is a fourteen-year-old boy who is also in year nine. He is a quiet boy that normally stays out of trouble apart from when he needs a car. He works hard at school and keeps to his small group of friends. He has a keen interest in the physics behind building the engines and how the car is built. He is doing an advanced course at his dad's garage to learn more about the manufacturing of the cars and how the car works etc. He has a strong reputation of stealing cars and their body parts but hasn't actually been in jail. He has had some minor dealings with drugs but usually he sticks to getting the car parts and fixing cars.
Kate Smith is a twelve-year-old girl who is the youngest of the Smith family and was the last to be recruited into Rambo 2010. She has a tendency to go looking for trouble and often creates it if she cannot find it. She doesn't have any involvement with the cars or races, she specialises with drug dealings and keeping tabs on rival gangs who deal drugs too. She is in year eight in high school and has a reputation for getting into trouble like riots and theft with the police. She has done two nights in prison with the offence of vandalising a rival's car and stealing the drugs from the boot. The drugs stolen remain unknown with their whereabouts.
Liz Smith, the wife of Derek Smith stays out of the spotlight and deals with any injuries that occur during races or fights. She has a qualification in nursing and used to work in a hospital until she became addicted to heroin and cocaine, forcing her to loose her job and almost her kids. Her husband helped her break her addiction and earned her a job in the local café. Liz avoids any riots unless she has to help the injured afterwards. She used to be a key drug dealer in Rambo 2010 and spent three months in prison for harbouring cannabis in the house.
Rambo 2010 –Drug Dealing
Rambo 2010 also has their drug-dealing organisation within Rambo 2010 itself. This particular organisation involves thirty people; most of them aged twelve to fourteen. It started April 2011, the first recruit being Kate Smith, the youngest Smith daughter. The drug dealing meetings are held in classified places, and are only to be entered through passwords being entered into the security alarms positioned at each drug dealing station. The stations have high security gadgets watching every possible inch within the perimeter of the meeting. Derek Smith is the main man who supplies most of Miami's smaller drug dealer their goods. This is another way in which he earns more money. Rival gangs have tried to make the Smith's go bust but it appears physically impossible for them to be touched. The drugs that are dealt are: cannabis, heroin, weed, magic mushroom, meow meow and cocaine. The places that the drugs are stashed at remain unknown.
Rival Gangs
A.L.R also known as the Anti-Loose-racers have a reputation for being very aggressive towards rival gangs and they have a tendency to trash cars. They try and stay out of the lime light since a previous arrest of a girl called Elena Jones drew a lot of unwanted attention to their business resulting in one of their illegal drug warehouses being destroyed.
W.W.W also known as Win-Win-Win have a reputation for drug dealing and a guy named Dan Veronique has a criminal record for shooting and murdering a cop. He just got out of prison after a three years sentence, since the jury saw it as self-defence. His younger brother Nathan Veronique is a master racer and is known for stealing opponents car before a race and tampering with them, usually resulting in the opponent loosing or getting injured.
Trouble
Riots are the main cause of trouble in Miami since the rival gangs get very competitive and tend to assault anyone who is doing better than them. There have been reports of fifty riots over the previous year and a half, resulting in ten deaths and many serious injuries.
C.H.E.R.U.B instructions
You will be posing as a family of five, with the ages of twelve, fourteen, fourteen and seventeen. You will be living near the Smith residence since these are the main people you want to target. Your job is to infiltrate the gang Rambo 2010 and find out where their drug stash is and how they get their racecars. You also have to infiltrate the other rival gangs so that you can find out information about their drug dealing and whom they deal to etc. The seventeen-year-old agent will be required to drive and race and so will the two fourteen year olds. The twelve-year-old agent will be expected to do drug deals and errands such as stealing car parks etc. the two fourteen year old agents will also be expected to prepare themselves for any drug dealing. All agents will be expected to befriend one of the Smith kids who are within their own age range, and mimic their actions. Try and find out as much information as you can from the kids about rival gangs, future plans that Rambo 2010 are going to launch and where they stash their drugs.
All C.H.E.R.U.B agents will be reminded now that this mission is VERY HIGH RISK and that they can quit now. It will be required from you that you drive illegally and extremely fast, you also have to have close relation with illegal drugs and it is true that Rambo 2010 and other rival gangs may be very malicious and manipulative towards you. It is critical that you remain alert AT ALL TIMES when you are on this mission.
Please be careful and good luck,
Yours sincerely,
Zara Asker, John Jones and Meryl Spencer.
There was a deafening silence in the room while everyone stared down at their mission briefing laying in their laps.
Kyle whistled and said, "Well, at least there'll be plenty of action on this mission."
"Hell yeah!" Lauren yelled excitedly, pumping a fist in the air. "This is going to be so cool."
James smiled down affectionately at his little sister. "It looks pretty big Lau, you sure you can handle the risk?" he teased.
Lauren smacked James on the thigh. "Of course I can!" she replied indignantly. "What about you Mister I-hate-drains? Can you handle the risk of it all? After all, you did want to quit C.H.E.R.U.B after you had to stand in the sewage_"
Kyle let out a whoop of laughter. "Seriously? I haven't heard this story before. Lauren, you'll have to enlighten me sometime."
"You'll do no such thing!" James snapped at Lauren, raising a warning finger. "Besides I didn't mean it. I was stressed and tired from the mission so it wasn't_"
"Excuses, excuses," Kyle tutted while shaking his head in mock disappointment.
"If they want us to be friends with Rambo 2010 and the rival gangs the mission isn't going to work. I mean, how is that possible? They're rival gangs. As in they hate each other. As soon one gang sees us with another they won't trust us." Kerry stated, practical as ever.
Zara sighed and rubbed her slender fingers against her temples. "Its going to be tricky that's for sure. You're going to have to work something out. We have another two hours to finalise plans of action but for now you have to get some practice racing under your belt."
James turned to face Kerry and laughed. "God Kerry, we're C.H.E.R.U.B agents, we can do anything."
Kerry scowled. "James, some of us are being realistic. It's a high-risk mission. You can't just swan your way through this and rely on some fluke to save your ass!"
"I never rely on a fluke. I'm gifted." James snapped back, folding his arms defensively over his chest.
Lauren and Kyle both snorted.
James twisted away from Kerry's if-you-say-so smirk and glared at the pair sitting beside him.
Lauren couldn't help herself; she doubled over and started laughing so hard her sides ached. Kyle on the other hand coughed to cover his laugh and said smoothly, "James baby, don't get yourself in a state over nothing, I'm sure you'll really pull through on this mission and show us your true colours."
"Some friend you are." James sulked, slumping down lower in his chair.
Kyle grinned cheekily at his best friend…his best friend who was currently annoyed at him.
"Children, grow up, and follow me. Good God, I have no idea how I'm supposed to survive this mission with you all if all you're going to do is fight." Zara said loudly so that her voice would be heard over the ruckus. "Now lets have some maturity please, and FOLLOW ME!"
Lauren dived for the door and squeezed through before James. "I can't believe we get to drive!" she squealed, as she skipped excitedly down the corridor.
James couldn't resist busting her bubble. "Well some of us get to drive." He said, with a pointed look at himself and then Lauren.
"James, that's harsh man, leave her have her moment of happiness." Kyle said from beside James, elbowing him gently in the side.
"Softie." James drawled. "She's a black shirt, as she loves to remind me all the time, so why doesn't she act like one?"
"Stop being so touchy just because you fail at missions." Kerry interjected from beside Lauren.
"I do not fail at_" James began furiously, clenching his hands into fists at his side.
"Enough!" Zara yelled. "James, you're an arrogant ass who is very good at what you do but you love to broadcast it. Get over it."
James rocked back on his heels and stared at Zara. He could not believe she just said that. Zara was like his second mum. She couldn't mean that. Kyle caught onto James' crestfallen look and felt a twang of sympathy for him. He gently slapped Lauren on the back of the head to stop her form cawing, "Ooooooooo!"
"Oh dear Zara, you might just make him cry."
"I am not crying!" James growled, and was horrified to hear a small catch in his voice.
Zara spun round and stared at James who indeed did look rather upset. "Oh James." She cooed rushing forward to capture the teen in a hug. "I didn't mean it. I'm just worried about the mission. Its really is dangerous for you guys and_"
James ducked out of Zara's searching arms and said with a shrug, "Yeah, I get it. Whatever, no worries." He was aiming for an air of nonchalance but he didn't quite pull it off.
There was an awkward moment of silence until Kyle cleared his throat and said brightly, "So, lets get a look at these cars then Zara. Practice is awaiting us." He swept his arm gracefully in front of him, creating a delicate arch indicating Zara to move forward and take the lead.
When things returned to normal- and by that I mean the gawking and awkwardness disappearing- Kyle moves closer to James, so close that their shoulders knocked together while they walked. "I've got your back mate." Kyle reassured James.
He was shocked at James' reaction. He expected him to grin and laugh not lash his body round so that he could look Kyle in the eye and snarl, "I don't need you to watch my back, I got everything under control." And then march off towards the others.
Kyle followed behind slowly dragging his white tattered trainers along the gravel floor. He kept his head lowered to the ground as he thought of reasons why James would've bit his head off.
James stormed ahead, moodily scuffing his feet along the floor. He was surprised at the way he retaliated to Kyle's friendly banter. His temper had just sailed straight off the handle. He tilted his head back to stare at the vibrant blue blanket coating the sky above him. He closed his eyes briefly as if he was fighting a headache, and then tilted his head back further, so that he could see Kyle.
A piercing stab of guilt burned his innards as he saw his best friends looking confused and concerned walking slowly behind him.
Maybe I should apologise James thought, halting and waiting for Kyle to catch up to him.
An exclamation of "That is so cool!" dragged James' attention towards the trio that were still marching ahead. Lauren's blonde head was bobbing enthusiastically in the air while Kerry's black one was nodding solemnly. James couldn't help but feel a pang of concern towards Kerry, regardless of her bitchiness towards him recently. He was really beginning to worry that Kerry wasn't going to be able to cope with the mission. She seemed obsessed with the risk.
"C'mon Kyle!" he called over his shoulder, before hurrying over to the girls who seemed to be talking about something interesting.
"Oh James! I'm so glad you got here!" Zara said, clapping her hands together.
James smiled wryly; she really was laying on the whole your-so-totally-my-favourite-person-ever thing a bit thick. "Yeah, whatever. So what are we talking about?"
"NOS." Kerry said, casting a weary look between Zara and James.
Yep, definitely not prepared for this mission James thought, but then something caught his attention. "Did you just say NOS?" He asked excitedly.
Kerry nodded, raising her eyebrows at James' excitement.
"That is so cool! Do we get to race with the stuff?" James looked at Zara expectantly.
"How do you know about NOS?" Lauren asked, eyeing her brother in surprise.
James blinked. "Uh…"
"Lucky guess right James?" Kyle chirped up from behind James, once again saving James' ass.
"Right." He nodded, looking relieved as he turned to look at Kyle.
Kyle moved up beside James so that they were shoulder to shoulder. "Thanks." James whispered.
"No problem sunshine." Kyle winked, clearly indicating that he was over their argument form before.
James felt a hot blush burning his cheeks. He cast his eyes downwards in order to avoid meeting anyone's gaze, he didn't need more embarrassment, but he decided to let it go. Besides, he can of liked the way it sounded.
Wow, back up James boy, its Kyle. As in guy! As in bad! James felt like slapping himself in the face. It's only because I'm tired. The tiredness is getting to me.
"Yeah, yeah." He said, shooting a weak smile at Kyle.
Kyle smirked, not missing James' embarrassment. He leaned forward so that he could nudge James' shoulder with his own.
"How much do you know about NOS James?" Zara asked, placing her hands on her hips.
"Everything." James grinned. "I know the lot."
"But how?" Kerry gasped.
"NOS is a highly flammable oxidiser that is extremely popular in any real racing," James said in a matter-of-fact voice.
"So, is it some kind of fuel?" Lauren asked.
James smirked became more pronounced. "Oh, it's the best kind of fuel; NOS is an angel sent by the car gods themselves. NOS is a substance formed from Nitrous and Oxygen which forms nitrous oxide. Nitrous creates large amounts of horsepower by creating more oxygen in the engines combustion chamber while simultaneously introducing additional fuel. The added oxygen allows the additional fuel to burn which creates increased horsepower for short bursts of torque and speed." James sucked in a deep breath at the end of his explanation and stared in amusement at the blank looks Kerry, Kyle and Lauren gave him.
Zara seemed to be struggling to keep a smile off her face at the comical caricature-taking place in front of her.
"So what does that mean?" Lauren finally asked.
James smirked. "Basically NOS is a highly flammable substance that makes the car go faster."
Kyle nodded. "Right, I can remember that."
James saw a golden opportunity to get revenge. "Of course you can honey, its hardly rocket science."
Kyle shot him a surprised look at the affectionate pet name.
Looks like all the NOS is going to his brain…Kyle thought, smirking slightly.
"That's very impressive James, but how do you know all of that?" Zara enquired, looking very surprised at James' knowledge.
"Just do, like I said, its not rocket science." He eyed everyone in turn before snorting and saying, "Well, at least I didn't think is was. That opinions slowly changing as we speak."
"Pig." Kerry muttered furiously under her breath.
"Love you to babe." James grinned.
"Anyway, we have three hours to practice your racing skills before you have to go pack and meet me in my office by five sharp. You hear that James, five sharp at my office packed and ready to go."
"Yes ma'am." James saluted.
Sighing, Zara swiped her fringe off her face and ordered, "Right you lot. Make your way over to the main entrance. I want you all to jog. Be there by the time I am."
"What time will that be?" James asked, frowning.
"When I get there, obviously." Zara retorted, tossing a grin over her shoulder. "Chop, chop. Off you go."
The three agents all groaned but obediently started sprinting towards the main gate.
The boiling hot sun grinned maliciously down on them, making sweat bead on their foreheads and on the backs of their necks. The slight breeze that was gently caressing their faces while they stood still moments ago had vanished without a trace. Their feet pounded heavily on the ground as they raced across campus towards the main gate.
"Why do we have to run?" James moaned almost inaudibly over the pounding feeling in everyone's ears as they hammered their way across campus.
"Stop being lazy!" Kyle shouted in reply, picking up his pace and speeding off, leaving James groaning to himself.
*At the main gate *
"Ha! We made it before_" James began joyfully.
"Nicely done. You all made it in fifteen minutes."
Everyone twisted round but with their lack of energy they all became disoriented and staggered in all directions bumping into each other and causing each other to hit the ground.
"Hey Zara. Way to see us crash and burn." Kyle said, pushing himself up off the ground and dusting himself off.
Zara tinkled with laughter. "Get your cheeky butt into that minibus Kyle Blueman."
"Oooo you like my butt, eh Zara?" Kyle teased.
"How would I live without it?" Zara asked dramatically.
By this point James had managed to boost himself up off the floor and was now glaring at Zara and Kyle.
What the hell was Kyle doing? He couldn't flirt with Zara. He's min…I mean gay! James thought, horrified at the scenario.
He ran at Kyle and pushed him into the minibus and onto an empty seat. Plonking himself down beside him, James folded his arms and sulked.
"What's your problem?" Kyle asked, knocking his knee against the younger kids.
James refused to reply. He was too busy battling with some freaky, weird yet wonderful emotions in his head.
*Arrival at Racing Course*
"Wow." James whistled appraisingly at the cars in front of him. He peeled himself odd the window of the minibus stepped out into the glorious sunshine and walked slowly towards the three cars that were lined up in a slanting line on the tarmac hard stand.
There was a sleek orange convertible with a black bumper and silver steel alloy on the wheels. The back windows were tinted and a black intricate pattern of flames was lapping round the body of the car. The rear view mirror was also tinted and the roof of the car of was a black canvas like material that flipped back at the push of a button to make the roof open up.
James instantly loved this car. His fingers were slowly tensing and un-tensing in anticipation of getting behind the wheel and just letting go of everything except his love for cars.
A similar red convertible with yellow patterns tattooed along the shiny cars body was parked next to the orange racecar. The only difference was that it wasn't tinted windows. Through the windows you could easily see a huge built in stereo system with two huge speakers on the back ledge of the car.
Kyle grinned as he stared at the car in delight.
The last car was a pink and white checked roof racecar that had the back window tinted and the steel alloys were painted pink.
Kerry gasped in surprised and stared at the car.
This is totally surreal…and in a bad way too, Kerry thought, gulping down a lungful of air to calm herself.
"I totally bags the orange car!" James whooped, rushing forward to prop up the bonnet of the car. "Oh my God. The engine is immense!"
Kyle glanced at James and then at Kerry and then shrugged. "Well in that case I bags the red car!"
"Kyle you're driving first. Get in and buckle up." Zara instructed, moving forward to give the immobile Kerry a shove towards her car. "Kyle! Get in the car and buckle up. That should be the first thing you do. Repeat after me: always buckle up first."
Kyle slid into the car and ran his hands along the wheel. The leather felt smooth under his fingertips.
"Seatbelt!" Zara shrieked, finally breaking through to the guy's attention.
He nodded apologetically and ran his hands along the seat searching for the belt, of which there was none. "What the hell?" Kyle muttered.
"Look for a harness dude." James called helpfully from the sidelines. "You only get harnesses in race cars; it's for safety and all that crap."
Kyle shot him a surprised look but easily complied. "How the hell do I do this thing up?"
James snorted and sauntered over to the car. "God dude, you seriously suck a this. You just push your arms through the holes like this," James took hold of Kyle's arm ignoring the little electric shock he got form the contact and weaved Kyle's arms into the correct holes. "Now you just clip the buckle bit together like this," James clicked the buckle parts together to form one big buckle. "And now you tighten it if it's too slack." James tugged the leash expertly until it shrunk to fit Kyle's skinny frame.
"Uh thanks man." Kyle said slowly.
James looked up and leapt backwards when he saw how close their faces were. "Jeez man," James muttered. "Warn me next time."
Kyle recovered from the shock too and smirked. "But James, baby, I thought you knew we had an audience, there's no need to be ashamed."
James stood still a moment, frowning slightly as he thought that through. Lauren burst out laughing and that's when James clicked onto the meaning in Kyle's words.
"Shut up Kyle, I'm not gay!" James shouted with such indignation that even Zara burst out laughing.
"Whatever you say James, whatever you say." Kyle said in a knowing voice.
"I'm not!" James snapped stubbornly.
"Anyway Kyle, there is a head set on the passenger seat beside you. Put it on and keep it on. We will have a walkie talkie here so I know what's going on in there when you're off racing. There is a NOS button_" Zara was interrupted by a wild yell from Kerry.
"You aren't coming in the car with us?"
Zara blinked. "It won't benefit you Kerry. When you're off on this mission I'm not going to be showing up with the races with you to watch over you."
Kerry gulped.
"Are you okay Kerry?" Lauren asked worriedly from her position behind them.
Kerry shrugged, trying to appear at ease. "'Course."
Zara eyed Kerry through narrowed concerned eyes but continued. "Well then. Kyle, there is red button on the steering wheel, keep your hands away from it until you're going to use it because as soon as you click it_"
"_Your going to be going faster than a monkey on a rocket ship!" James finished, jumping up and down letting out a whoop at the end.
Kyle grinned, looking at James and flexing his muscles. "Sounds good."
James smirked. "Try it out tough guy."
Kyle took a deep breath and slowly turned the key to start the engine. The engine gunned to life with a delicious purr and Kyle slowly placed his hand on the gear stick. Taking a deep breath to prepare himself for what he was about to do, he quickly jammed the gear stick forward and hit the accelerator. He went shooting down the tarmac road at a ridiculously fast speed that he had only ever imagined attempting in his dreams.
He let out a shocked yell as he approached a corner, and instantly had Zara yelling frantically in his ear, "Kyle?" When there was no reply her voice became even more frantic. "Kyle! Are you okay?"
He yanked the gear stick down a gear and gripped the wheel in both hands in order to turn it sharply round the corner. He managed to drift round the corner without bashing the car too badly and then he replied to Zara. "I'm okay. Just trying to balance speed and turning all at the same time."
He could hear James laughing and he scowled at nothing…stupid, arrogant ass.
He didn't have much time to fret over it though, because he was rapidly approaching another corner. He braked before he hit the corner, feeling a sudden irrational worry about not being able to clear the corner he edged his way round it, smashing the back end of the car into the wall before speeding up and seeing a stretch of free road.
He took a deep breath and hit his NOS. He let out a whoop as he went flying forward allowing himself to take one hand off the wheel and place it casually on the gear stick. "So cool!" Kyle grinned.
"I know man, just try to not trash the car anymore." James said threw his air piece. Kyle could hear the smirk in James' voice and he wanted to hit a couple of his teeth in.
"When you pass this track with flying colours you can then take the piss out of me James." Kyle fumed. "Oops, got to go, I have some cones to dodge."
James laughed and Kyle shivered at the sound. "Its called weaving."
Kyle huffed again at his knowledge, before altering the gears and gripping the wheel tightly and twisting sharply round a bright orange cone he sighed in relief as he cleared the cone and sped his way towards the second one. He cleared that one but the third cone was closer than the last and he had to spin sharply to try and get round it.
He held his breath and slowed down to ten MPH as he listened for the cone hitting the ground or the sound of sweet nothingness if he managed to clear the cone.
The cone hit the ground with a thud that rang in Kyle's ears, and with the foul taste of disappointment hanging in the air, he managed to weave his way through the last two cones without knocking them over and then he had another stretch of ground to just drive straight on. He hit the gas again, sending him shooting down the track and reaching the last corner in ten seconds flat. He managed to get round the corner without hitting the car and he sighed in relief when he saw that he only had one corner left.
He slowed his pace down so that he had chance to relax and get his head back together before he had to do the final corner.
Even though he didn't want to admit it the driving was kind of freaky. You basically speed extremely fast, fly round corners at reckless speeds and weave in and out of things with minimum control of your car. This was a death trap. But it was still very exhilarating, regardless of the risk.
He sped up when he approached the corner and jerked the car into a tight spin so that he could swing round the corner without hitting anything. He sailed round the corner without even grazing the car and he let out a victory cheer as he floored it to clear the distance between him and the others.
Kerry and Lauren clapped him in saying, "Well done Kyle!" While James was busy doubled over laughing.
Kyle threw the car door open and snapped, "When you clear the course perfectly then you can laugh your arse off like so hooligan. Until then, shut the hell up!"
My God Kyle," Zara gasped, putting a hand to her heart. "Are you okay?"
Kyle managed a grin. "Sure, sure. I'm alive aren't I?"
"Good. Kerry you're up next." Zara jerked her thumb at Kerry who looked extremely shaken by the command.
"Why am I up next? Why isn't James next?" Kerry uncharacteristically complained.
"Because the best goes last!" James shouted gleefully.
"Pig." Kerry snapped, shooting a weary glance at her car.
James seemed to notice Kerry's weariness so he smiled and called out, "Don't worry Kerry, you'll be fine." He meant it to be reassuring but Kerry took immediate offence.
"Don't treat me like I'm five." She snapped.
"Actually Kerry, I think he was actually trying to be nice." Kyle interjected quickly.
There was a short silence in which Kerry did not apologise in but she did sigh and reluctantly shoot an I-take-it-back look at James.
Swallowing her nerves, Kerry edged her way towards her car, easing the door open gently, as if it might break.
"Jeez Kerry, you're meant be one with it not afraid of it." James jested.
Kerry shot a murderous glare at James before sliding slowly into her car.
Kyle sighed. "And you only just made up with her…" he grumbled.
"Okay Kerry…" Zara began, reciting the same instructions to Kerry as she did to Kyle.
Kyle staggered his way over to James and leant his car bonnet. The adrenaline was slowly leaving the older boy's body and he needed the extra bit of support. "So, how did you know all about the car techniques?"
James grinned up at his best mate. "I know everything."
Kyle rolled his eyes but let it go because Kerry was off, creeping slowly down the track.
"Speed it up a notch Kerry." Zara said gently into the walkie talkie.
Kerry clenched her foot but did press it down onto the accelerator. She lurched forward, quickly took her foot of the gas so the engine stalled.
James struggled to hold in a laugh. In stead, he settled for leaning closer to Kyle and muttering, "She's only been on the road a minute."
"Its okay Kerry." Zara soothed, just restart the car and don't be afraid to hit the gas. Just make sure you remain in control of the vehicle."
Kerry let go of the steering wheel and ran her hands roughly threw her dark glossy hair.
Breath, she reminded herself mentally. You can do this…
She clutched the steering wheel in both hands and set the car to neutral and pressed her foot against the accelerator pedal. She pushed down gently with her foot and the car rolled forward until she slowly picked up pace.
She fought the urge to jerk to a complete halt as she reached the first corner and down shifted so that she could skid round the corner. She slammed on the break to stop herself from skidding and ended up with the car almost horizontal between both walls.
She was stuck.
"Uh, Zara?" she asked attentively.
"Yes?" came Zara's immediate reply.
"I'm kind of wedged in between both walls."
There was a pause and then finally, "Okay, just try your best to manoeuvre your way out and keep going."
Kerry took a deep breath and bumped the car backwards and forwards until she finally manage to get the car's arse end to face out of the corner. All she had to do now was revers out and turn round.
Easy, right? She could do this. This was just simple driving. No NOS, no speed, no deaths.
Simple.
But how the hell had she managed a 180-degree turn in a corner when she couldn't seem to drive in a straight line?
She put the car in reverse but as she moved back a foot to turn the car she found herself backed into another corner.
Groaning, she jerked the gear stick into second gear and pulled forward a bit so that she had room to swing her arse end round the second corner.
She backed her way slowly round the bend until she came to open road, where she jerked her gear stick into reverse and drove the car back until it was well away from any corners and then she spun it round so that she was facing the correct way again.
"God alive." Kerry cursed in annoyance.
"What's the matter?" Zara instantly asked.
"Nothing!" Kerry rushed to reassure her.
She started driving again, deciding it was safe to hit the gas now. She bombed her way down the road and gracefully came to a manageable pace when she saw the vibrant orange cone she had to dodge her way in and out of.
She swerved her way round the first one, her tyres squealing under the amount of sharp braking and accelerating she was doing. She cleared the first two cones with out a problem but the next two cones tripped her up and she ended up knocking them over but she regained composure on the last cone and she managed to jerk the car smoothly round the cone.
She drove at forty MPH down the last free stretch of road before picking up pace and skidding her way round the last corner, only gazing the back bumper on her car.
When she jarred the car to a stop she was clinging to the steering for dear life and she couldn't remember how to open a car door for a moment.
When she finally fell out of the car Zara said, "Uh, you didn't use your NOS at all Kerry?"
James chuckled. "You crazy girl. NOS is the best thing since Halo 360."
Kerry shook her head, ignoring James' comment. "I didn't quite feel up to it yet."
Zara nodded. "Understandable. But Kerry, you really are going to need to go a lot faster in these races. Maybe you should get some extra practice in before we go. If you want I could pack for you_"
"I'll be fine." Kerry said shortly.
"Okay. James you're up." Zara indicated his orange car.
"Watch and learn guys." James shoved Kyle off the car and pulled open the car door. He ran his hands over the leather interior before sliding into the seat.
"Oh whatever." Kerry snapped, placing her hands aggressively at her hips. "Like you can clear that course without bumping into anything. I bet you knock over at least two cones and smash your car on the first corner."
James smirked. "Ten pound says I can clear the course."
Kerry narrowed her eyes. "Perfectly." She said.
"Obviously." James replied.
"Fine." Kerry snapped.
James grinned triumphantly. "Oh, I love this bet."
Kerry looked at him sharply and realised that betting ten pounds on something that she didn't even now if he could do or not was a very bad idea. She opened her mouth to try and cancel the bet but James was flooring the gas, making his front tyres squeal before he went whizzing down the tarmac road.
"You really shouldn't have done that." Kyle said slowly to Kerry.
"I know that now!" she shouted. "Why didn't you open your trap and intervene before I did it?"
Kyle grinned. "Well, that wouldn't have been any fun would it?"
Kerry turned slowly to face the older boy who was grinning mischievously at her. "Why you little twerp! I am not her for your private entertainment you know_"
"James! Watch out for the_" Zara cut the squabbling pair off with her shriek.
But James was at ease as he approached the corner at ninety MPH.
He grinned as he jerked the emergency break forward then used that hand to shift the gear stick into second gear as he used the hand that was calmly holding the wheel to twist the car harshly round the corner. Her drifted fro a moment before he quickly twisted the wheel the other way to drift round the second corner.
"And that my dear friends," he said matter-of-factly into the headset as he let his one hand rest on the gear stick and the other rest on the wheel, "Is how you drift."
There was a moment of shocked silence until Zara's voice came breathlessly over the speaker. "How did you do that?" she asked, bewildered.
Zara, Kerry, Kyle and Lauren had all been staring transfixed at James' car as he approached the first corner, anticipating him crashing into the side at least once.
They were all extremely shocked to see that he had cleared the two corners at a ridiculous speed without even breaking abruptly.
He seemed totally unfazed.
James' hit his NOS as he saw the stretch of clear road in front of him. He held the wheel expertly with one hand as he held it steady so that the shiny orange racecar went sailing down the road at one hundred and sixty MPH.
He smirked as he saw the cones Kyle was talking about.
Easy, James thought, as he confidently kept his foot on the accelerator.
He easily shifted down a gear and twitched his hand to make the steering wheel turn slightly so that he could glide effortlessly in between the first and second cone. He let out a whoop as he completed the task without even getting a foot near either cone.
The third cone was harder to dodge but he jerked the wheel sharply so that he went flying round the cone, granted he only had about two inches between the arse end of the car and the cone but he didn't let it faze him as he sped up to swing the car round the last cone and then he had a small amount of road to clear before he could make the last corner.
He shifted slightly in his seat to get comfortable again and he couldn't resist flooring the gas and then slamming the break on suddenly, simultaneously twisting the wheel sharply so that he swerved, causing his tyres to squeal and leave black skid marks on the tarmac.
He didn't pull out of the turn until he had spun the car three times.
Jamming the gear stick forward, the car easily ate up the last bit of the road and then he was shifting down a gear and pulled the emergency break to make him go flying effortlessly round the corner.
He smirked as he rounded the corner, his thumb twitching in anticipation of hitting his second NOS button.
"This is how you do it Kerry."
"What? What are you doing?" Kerry asked over the speaker. "Stop being an arrogant jerk!"
James laughed loudly at her reply.
He glanced casually in the rear view mirror to check that he had rounded the corner before slamming his thumb down on the NOS button. He gripped the wheel in both hands as he shot forward, speeding his way at one hundred and eighty MPH until he wasn't that far from the guys watching him.
He twisted the wheel abruptly, making the car veer left. He went flying horizontally forwards, still sailing towards the group.
"Stop!" Kerry screamed.
He eased his foot of the accelerator but realised that that wasn't the problem. The problem was that he had too much NOS power to stop.
"James! Stop!" Lauren shrieked.
He slammed on the brakes, the tyres screeched on the tarmac as the car shuddered, trying to stop but unable to.
Zara, Kerry and Lauren had all ran backwards away from James.
Kyle stood still though, not moving a muscle.
James got a bit worried when he saw Kyle standing still. He was going to suggest moving when Zara cried, "Kyle, move!"
Luckily the James shoved his foot on the break pedal and he swerved to a stop a foot away from Kyle.
The passenger door was facing Kyle and the boy smirked slightly at how cliché the move was. All that need to happen now was for the door to fly open so that Kyle could climb in and then they would be off and away.
James was sighing in relief from not running over his best friend as he flung open the car door and eased his way out, grinning triumphantly.
His eyes searched for Kerry's and once he found them, he smirked at her. "And that's how you do it." He said simply, with a small shrug.
"Kyle, why didn't you move? You could have been killed! What on earth is wrong with you?" Zara railed, rushing forward and gripping Kyle by the shoulders.
Kyle grinned, obviously proud at something. "Zara, look at his car."
Zara glanced at the car and then back at Kyle. "What about it?"
Kyle rolled his eyes. "Its immaculate. There is no scratches or bumps. He cleared the course."
When Zara only blinked in response he groaned and yelled, "Which means he knows what he's doing! He knew when to stop, so he wouldn't have run me over. I was perfectly safe."
"You didn't hit anything?" Kerry asked suspiciously, rushing forward to inspect the car.
James smirked. "Not a damn thing."
Lauren exploded. "How do you know what you're doing?" she yelled in confusion.
James glanced at her. "Just do. Like I said before, its not rocket science."
"Well done James. You did very well. You need to work on your NOS control though." Zara said, smiling at James.
"I do not" James retorted indignantly. "I had perfect control the first time. I just lost it a bit on the second."
"You hit the NOS twice?" Zara asked.
"How?" Lauren added, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion.
"My God," James groaned, tipping his back to face the sky in exasperation. "I'm driving with a bunch of idiots."
"Hey!" Kyle interjected, sounding hurt.
"It all depends on how many NOS cans you have in the car." He faced Kerry. "By the way, you owe me ten pounds." He grinned.
Kerry glared furiously at him.
Zara intervened before they went at each other's throats again. "Okay, guys. James, you obviously have a knack for this. Well done. But you pair have to work on it. Off you go now. Kyle, you go first. Be careful."
Two hours later, Kyle had managed to master weaving through the five cones and his drifting was okay. At least, he wasn't smashing his car up every time he hit a corner. Kerry had a go at her NOS and screamed all the way down the last stretch of road while James circled the track effortlessly.
Zara finally dismissed them, complaining about her nerves being fried already and she hadn't even left for the mission yet.
*James' bedroom on campus*
He was scooping things up off the floor in his room and flinging them messily into his suitcase when a knock came at his door.
"Yeah?" he grunted, as he bent down to grab his PSP from under his bed.
The door swung open and before he could stand up and turn to face the person her found himself falling and ending up sprawled on the floor.
"W-w-what?" James spluttered in shock. "Lauren!" he snapped, as he saw his sister standing over him with her hands on her hips.
"Something you aren't telling me James?" she asked, her voice quiet and deadly.
James gulped. "Look Lauren, that was ages ago. It was a joke. Are you_?"
"What are you on about you nut?" Lauren asked, dropping her imposing stance and staring at her brother in confusion.
James' eyes widened. "Oh man," he said slowly, licking his lips. "You aren't talking about the fake puke I hid on your pillow are you?"
Lauren turned red with rage as she scowled at her brother. "No, I'm not. But since you just mentioned it, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HIDING FAKE PUKE IN MY BEDROOM?" she shouted.
James cringed. "Uh…I was getting revenge for the time you replaced my waster with TCP."
"But you called me stupid!" Lauren gasped.
"You called me gay in front of your mates!" James retorted, getting angry as he thought of the memory.
Lauren sighed, flicking her blonde hair over he shoulder. "Whatever. What I actually came her to ask was, how the hell do you know so much about cars and how the hell do you know how to drive them so good, and how the hell do you know about NOS?"
James blinked, absorbing all the questions Lauren was hurling at him. "Right. Which one would you like me to answer first?" he asked.
Lauren choked in annoyance. "All of them idiot."
James shook his head, reaching out and patting his sister on the head. "Sorry sis, its one question or none of them. I'm a busy, I have things to pack, people to say bye to."
Lauren furiously batted James' hand away from her and growled, "Fine, how do you know how to drive cars?"
James grinned, showing his teeth. "I told you before. Its not rocket science." And then he captured Lauren in his arms and walked her backwards towards the door.
"But that doesn't answer the question_" Lauren was rudely interrupted by the door slamming in her face.
Phew, James sighed and leant back against the door. For a moment there I really thought she was onto me.
*Boarding the plane*
"Whoop, whoop!" James and Lauren both yelled in unison.
"Miami here we come!" Kyle added, slinging an arm round James and Lauren's shoulders. "Its gonna be great, right guys?"
"Of course it is!" James and Lauren replied confidently.
"Think of all the hot Miami babes out there!" James pumped a fist in the air energetically.
"I was thinking more of the beaches and sun but that just goes to show how much of a chauvinistic pig you are, and how open minded I am." Lauren said, shaking her head fondly at her brother's antics.
"Right," Zara said, striding her way down the line until she reached the four youngsters. "These are your tickets." She handed them out according to the person's name. "Do not loose them."
"Yeah James." Kerry said, elbowing James playfully in the side. She had coughed up the ten quid for James and decided to get over their previous argument.
James smiled. "It won't be that difficult to keep track of a plane ticket."
"Yeah, but you're you." Kyle reminded him.
"Yeah, but you wouldn't like me any other way." James shot back teasingly.
"I could." Zara interrupted. "I could do with you talking less and listening more." But she was grinning as she said it so James faked sadness. "Now lets get our butts onto that plane so that we can leave. It's a public flight so we can't be late."
They all jumped to it, lugging their suitcases behind them, they all traipsed their way up the ramp and into the plane, handing their bags to the luggage guy to put below the plane.
"I can't believe we are flying to Miami!" Lauren squealed. "How long will the flight take?"
Kerry answered, "About eight and a half from London."
They all flopped into their seats; Kerry and Lauren, Kyle and James and then Zara had one of the single seats that ran down the side of the aircraft.
Zara was busy texting while Lauren and Kerry passed the boys their profiles through the gaps in their seats.
***Classified Mission Profile***
For James TURNER, Kyle TURNER, Kerry TURNER and Lauren TURNER.
This document is protected with a censored alarm.
Any attempt to remove it from a meter and a half of the designated briefcase
Will cause immediate identification for the Mission controller.
Please do not copy or take notes.
Lauren Turner:
You are a twelve-year-old girl who is in year eight in high school. You have to attend MIAMI GOLD which is the high school named after the first ever principle of the school. You will be in a class with Kate and you have to try and become involved with her as soon as possible to ensure yourself plenty of time to infiltrate the drug system she works for.
You have to behave very aggressively and you are allowed to fall behind with your studies and mess around in order to attract Kate Smith's attention. Once you have her attention it is only then save to try and infiltrate her job in Rambo 2010.
You will most likely have a lot of involvement with drugs but it is VERY IMPORTANT that you do not consume any drugs. If you disobey this order then the punishment will entail IMMIDIATE action of you being BANNED from C.H.E.R.U.B for the REST OF YOUR LIFE.
You are pretending to have experience in selling drugs. You also have a reputation for harbouring drugs for people who haven't got anywhere to sell them and then you have the skill of manipulating them into giving you half their profit. This will benefit you in proving that you work well with people.
Please be careful on this mission.
"So," Lauren said after she skimmed her profile for the second time. "Basically we are going to a family called the Turners and I have to befriend Kate Smith and get in with all the druggies. Oh, and I get to act like a proper bad ass. Score! "
There was no reply since everyone else was still studying his or her profiles.
Kerry Turner:
You are a fourteen-year-old girl who is in year ten in High School. You are attending MIAMI GOLD which is the high school named after the first ever principle of the school. You will be in Lisa Smith's classes and you have to try and become involved with her as soon as possible to ensure yourself plenty of time to infiltrate the race and drug systems she is involved in.
You have to behave very flirtatious and lively in order to attract Lisa's attention. Make sure you stay on top of PHYSICS and MATH work, as these are the subjects that Lisa likes best. You also have to try and become involved with Lisa's extra circular mechanics course.
There is a chance that you can be involved with drugs so we warn you now NOT to take ANY DRUGS because it will involve IMMIDIATE action of you being BANNED from C.H.E.R.U.B for the REST OF YOUR LIFE.
You are pretending to have experience with stealing two cars for joy riding and getting into street fights. You have spent an over night in jail for offensive behaviour. You have vandalised rival gang's cars but been successful in evading the police. You have had some previous missions where you had to steal cars so this will help you when explaining your behaviour to the Smith's.
Please be careful on this mission.
Kerry scowled. "Flirtatious? Flirtatious? Seriously?"
Kyle Turner:
You are a seventeen-year-old boy who is in year twelve of high school. You are not expected to attend MIAMI GOLD high school since your target is a drop out. You will be expected to hang round the garages he works at to try and befriend him. Please try and do this as soon as possible to ensure yourself plenty of time to infiltrate the race and drug systems he is involved with.
You have to behave very recklessly and you are allowed to act very aggressive. This will help you get noticed by Jack Smith.
There is a chance that you can be involved with drugs so we warn you now NOT to take ANY DRUGS because it will involve IMMIDIATE action of you being BANNED from C.H.E.R.U.B for the REST OF YOUR LIFE.
You are pretending to have experience in stealing cars, joyriding repeatedly even when you were cautioned by the police to stop so you got an overnight in prison, harbouring drugs but being successful in evading the police and trashing private property but being successful in escaping the scene without any suspicion.
Please be careful on this mission.
Kyle grinned slowly. "Reckless, eh?"
"You are such a guy, Kyle." Kerry sighed.
James Turner:
You are a fourteen-year-old boy who is in year ten of high school. You are expected to attend MIAMI GOLD high school since your target is in year ten. You will be expected to attend ALL of your classes and you have to work hard to achieve Tom Smith's level of intelligence. You are expected to behave well in class since Tom is a quiet introverted lad in school but he behaves more friendly and lively around his close friends when he is at the races and the garages. Please try and involve yourself with him as soon as possible.
There is a chance that you can be involved with drugs so we warn you now NOT to take ANY DRUGS because it will involve IMMIDIATE action of you being BANNED from C.H.E.R.U.B for the REST OF YOUR LIFE.
You are pretending to have experience with stealing, hot wiring, mending and racing cars. You also have a reputation for joyriding and vandalising cars. You have had experience with harbouring drugs and selling them. You have a reputation for being known for selling various car parts, and you also know how to hold your own in a fight. You have been involved in three riots and many street fights. You have a criminal record of stealing and spent one night in jail.
Please be careful on this mission.
James smirked. "I am so cool." He said, turning to face Kyle.
"I have experience with selling drugs and harbouring them." Lauren exclaimed proudly, grinning through the gap between the seats at her brother.
"Well, I have to flirt. I don't flirt." Kerry said indignantly.
James laughed, causing Kerry to flick her gaze towards him.
"What?" She snapped.
"You didn't have any problem flirting with me." He grinned.
Kerry gasped. "I did not…" she trailed off as she realised that she did flirt with him so she couldn't deny it.
James nodded knowingly. "Its okay, I know I'm irresistible."
Lauren snorted. "Can we please talk about something that isn't about James?" she begged.
"Oh, I don't know, its kind of fun." Kyle purred, leaning in close to James' ear.
James stared at Kyle a moment, knowing he should pull away but not exactly wanting to.
"James." Kerry hissed.
James reared his head back, realising that he had come awfully close to Kyle's lips.
"Ah." He yelped. "Uh…I have to pretend to have experience with stealing, hot wiring, mending and racing cars. I also have a reputation for joyriding and vandalising cars. I also have experience with harbouring drugs and selling them. I have a reputation for being known for selling various car parts, and I also know how to hold my own in a fight. I have been involved in three riots and many street fights. And I have a criminal record of stealing and spent one night in jail. Wow. I've been busy."
"What?" Kerry said through gritted teeth.
James glanced at her, surprised at the venom in her voice. What the hell had he done now? "It says so right here…look_" James tried to slot the piece of paper through the seats but Kerry shoved it back.
"Zara!" Kerry called angrily, just as Lauren snatched the paper off James and began reading. "Why does James get to do more stuff than us?"
Zara glanced across at them and shot them a warning look. "Don't talk so loudly." She whispered as she scooted along the small gap towards the kids.
"But why? Its not fair." Kerry whispered back.
"James can handle it." Zara said, giving James a steady look.
He looked at her, surprised and confused at her look.
"How'd you mean?" Kerry persisted.
"He just can, can't you James?" Zara kept her steady calm knowing gaze trained on James' face.
James nodded slowly, "Sure."
"I thought so." Zara said, nodding her own head.
And then everything clicked.
James tried to remain composed as he realised that Zara knew something, if not everything.
The frightening thing was…how did she know?
Zara scooted back to her seat as Kerry groaned.
"Jammy sod." Lauren huffed, folding her arms and falling back against her seat.
James wasn't in the mood to tease them all now. He was too busy wondering how on earth Zara knew anything. He ran his hands through his hair and sighed.
Kyle noticed that his mate was looking troubled so he decided to lighten the mood. "I can't wait to get to Miami, eh James?"
James jerked out of his inner thoughts with a start and turned to face Kyle. "I know right," he grinned. "All those half naked babes in every direction you look."
"And guys." Kyle added, having a very graphic image of James walking round topless.
James rolled his eyes. "Whatever."
The journey was a peaceful one. The kids all tested each other on their profiles to make sure they got used to staying in character. Zara made a few phone calls to make sure their house was still booked and their cars were all on track to arrive on time.
The girls fell asleep shortly after the guys started talking about cars, and it wasn't long until Kyle and James found themselves asleep too.
It was a cute sight. James and Kyle were both leaning back in their seats but then James turned his head and started cowering into Kyle's muscled chest. The sudden movement and warmth seeping into his chest shocked Kyle into waking up into a hazy alertness.
He rubbed his eyes and then glanced down at the surprisingly vulnerable looking boy snuggled against his chest.
I should really wake him up…Kyle thought. He'll hate me if I let him sleep like this…
He cocked his rosy red face –flushed from sleep- to the side as he stared down at the boy again.
Smiling serenely to himself as he gently placed his arm round the boy's shoulder, he fell happily back into sleep.
Today had been good.
Very good.
The four kids all slept calmly. The two girls curled up with their feet on the seat tucked neatly under them while the boys snuggled up together in the seats in front of them.
The orange sun slowly sank down till it reached the horizon, where it faded to a beautiful red before disappearing under the line of land that was illuminated by the fading light of the day.