Zara smiled. "Excellent," she said. "Now, John. Do you accept the mission?"
"Definately."
"Does anyone know where Natasha and Ella are?" Zara asked, her forehead creasing into a frown. "They're already half an hour late."
Amy and John shook their heads. Amy didn't know either of them very well. Ella was 17, a black-shirt with long black hair and freckles who seemed nice from the little Amy had heard about her. Natasha was 13, only two years older than Amy, but she had her own group of friends, and anyway, the 'cool kids' on CHERUB campus kept well away from the 'little ones'. She had short brown hair and a mouth permanently twisted into either a scowl or a smirk. Amy wasn't quite sure if the mean girl attitude she put on usually was just a front or the way she actually was.
Just then, Ella Mckinnon opened the door. She looked worried.
"Zara, I'm so sorry I'm late, but I've got some pretty bad news. Natasha was training on the obstacle course this afternoon, and, well, you know it was raining earlier? Well, she slipped on a rope and fell. She hit the safety net, but the doctors think she's got a broken ankle and a possible concussion." Ella was biting her lip. They all knew that being an agent down could be very serious for the mission.
Zara broke the silence. "Can I go and see her now?" she asked, sounding concerned.
"I think so. They said they would operate this evening. When I left the medical unit they were just giving her painkillers."
Zara nodded. "OK. I'll go now. Ella, you stay here with John and read your mission briefing. Amy, come with me. Natasha's accident means your role in the mission could be completely different. I need to talk to her about it."
When they got to the medical unit, Natasha was lying on a hospital bed, looking upset.
"Natasha, honey," Zara said gently. "Are you feeling alright? Do you mind if we talk about the mission?"
Natasha shook her head. "I won't be able to go on it, will I?" she asked, looking devastated. Amy knew that Natasha was still a grey-shirt, like herself, and was desperate for a big mission. She felt sorry for her, but at the same time slightly relieved that she wouldn't have to work with the usually bossy, petulant girl.
"No, sweetie, I don't think so. I'm sorry, but we need someone in peak fitness. With a broken ankle......." Zara trailed off.
Amy asked the question that had been nagging her all the way to the medical unit. "Is there anyone else who could take Natasha's place?"
Zara thought for a while. "Possibly. How about Nicola Danforth?"
"She's away on a mission in Hawaii."
"Caroline Pierce? She might work."
"Scotland, last I heard."
"Oh dear. That's even worse than I thought. There's no-one else here, though, is there, who could pass as Amy, John and Ella's brother?" Zara looked even more worried now. The mission could be ruined before it had even started.
"Wait, Zara. Why can't Amy do it on her own? The mission for us was to get inside Jenny Lambert's house, yeah? So maybe Amy might not be able to make friends with Laura Lambert, who was going to be my target, but she can easily buddy up with Emily and Jess. I'm sure she could manage that." Natasha suggested. Amy tried to look confident and capable.
"Hmm. Yes. Yes, that might work, actually. I'll have to think about it, maybe have a talk with Mac. Would you be okay with being the only young agent on the mission, Amy?" Zara asked her.
Amy nodded, not trusting herself to speak.
"Good." Zara made to go.
"I'm sorry about your leg, Natasha," Amy said tentatively. To her surprise, Natasha gave her a weak smile. "Not as sorry as I am."
Melbourne, Australia
"Dana Lawson!"
The shrill voice of Dana's carer echoed up the stairs. Dana sighed. What did the so-called 'carer' want now?
"Dana Lawson! Get down here now! I've got the Greendale Park headteacher here, and I want to know why!"
Dana slowly made her way down the stairs. Her parents had had a lot of money, and in their will they had specified that she go to Greendale Park School. However, she hated it. She hated the green blazers and itchy dresses that made up the uniform. She hated the teachers who looked down their noses at the 'poor little orphans from the children's home'. Most of all, she hated the headteacher, Mr Newman. On the very first day she had been at Greendale Park, he had summoned her to his office and told her, "You are very priveliged to be here. I don't want any trouble from you, do you understand, Anna Dawson? I've had to deal with your sort before." She had wanted to scream, "Do you think I want my parents to be dead? Do you think I chose this horrible, stuck-up school?"
"Ah! There you are! Now, why is Mr Newman here, Dana?" her carer, a thin-lipped woman named Marie Farlington, looked down at Dana sharply.
"I...." Dana was too tired to remember, too depressed to care.
"If you'll allow me to explain, Mrs Farlington..." Mr Newman was at his smarmiest, trying to impress the carers. "This girl was found stealing books from the library to take home." He spoke like reading was a capital offence. "This is a very serious matter, I'm sure you understand. Stealing school property is a grave offence."
Marie looked puzzled. She knew there was something slightly odd about the Dana girl - those big brown eyes that looked much older than seven, the thin scrawny body, the voracious appetite for reading, reading, reading. But still, she had never marked her down as a thief.
"Mr Newman, are you sure she didn't mean to bring the books back?" she enquired politely. This was a bad move - the headteacher's red cheeks swelled visibly.
"Mrs Farlington, I adore children. But every so often, a child comes along who is pure evil. This child is one of them. She has been caught several times sneaking out of class to visit the library. I am a patient, kind man, but still! Stealing and truancy! We do not accept stealing at Greendale Park. Why, the child was taking books far too advanced for a five-year-old! I ask you - 'Pride and Prejudice' and 'Macbeth'? The very idea is completely absurd! Our school has a reputation to uphold! The child must be expelled at once."
Dana felt her heart lift. Being expelled would be the most wonderful thing that had ever happened to her. She resisted the temptation to point out that not only was she seven, not five, she was perfectly capable of reading the books she had taken out of the library and she was not actually an evil child.
Marie looked at Mr Newman. "Well, I'm sure she can return the books straight away, and no harm will have been done. Wouldn't you think that would a far better idea than expelling her?"
"Well.........only if she promises never to commit any crimes again, or I'll be down on her like a ton of bricks!" He turned round and stormed out of the care home, adding as a parting shot, "I'll be watching you, Hannah Fawcett!"
Marie turned around to glare at Dana. "You naughty child! How many times do I have to tell you? You can go to bed for the rest of the day, and no puddings for a week."
Dana slowly trailed back upstairs. She couldn't stop herself reading. It was her only escape from her life. When she read, she travelled into whichever book she was reading. She climbed into her bed sadly and fished about under the pillow for her latest book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. When she had read the first page in the library, she had been intrigued by the story of a boy who was very much like herself. She opened the book and began to read........
Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense......
Review and I'll write more........Please?