Decisions which have to be made
Chapter 6: Fergal Tulley
A/N: I know that he had already been introduced in an earlier chapter, but in this one Harry will get to know him better.
"Fergal, whatever is the matter?" Eileen yelled, running after Fergal along the corridor leading to the bedrooms in the junior block.
"I do think that you know," Fergal sneered, pushing his glasses backwards furiously.
"I don't."
"Well, maybe you should use your brain for once."
"Eh, excuse me," Eileen said, grabbing his shoulder, forcing him to stop moving. "I am using my brain, Mr. Supersmart."
"Wow. Well done," Fergal said sarcastically.
"Stop playing around! Just frigging tell me what the matter is!"
"You and Harry," Fergal answered through gritted teeth. He pulled free and stormed down the corridor, slamming the door to his room shut.
"Oh no," Eileen groaned. "He saw the kiss."
"So, you overcame your fear?" Carl asked as he, followed by his little sister, stepped onto the flat roof of the junior block, walking over to Harry who sat on the edge of it, staring across Campus.
"At least the first step," Harry grunted.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Carl asked, sitting down next to Harry. He knew that something wasn't right. "Is someone bullying you?"
"No, of course not." Harry stood up and walked around, thoughtfully. After a pause he asked, "You know Eileen McFurrin?"
"I heard Fergal saw you two kissing," Caroline giggled. she'd made herself comfortable in her brother's lap.
"You kissed Eileen McFurrin, the Eileen McFurrin that Fergal Tulley has fancied since he first saw her?" Carl gasped. "They even talk 'bout them two over in the other building. I cannot believe you did that. I mean, it's like Eileen and Fergal are practically married, only that neither of 'em knows it."
"I know. But she said to me here on the roof that she thinks her love for me is stronger than her love to Fergal," Harry said, his hands in his trouser pockets, rocking back and forth on his heels. "Now Fergal is furious at both of us, and Eileen is upset cause he doesn't speak with her anymore. I just wish I'd never come here."
"Harry, cheer up," Carl complained. "Your birthday will be in two months. CHERUB isn't called CHERUB for nothing*."
Harry walked off the roof. "I'll go talk to Mac," he said.
"You want to know about Fergal's past?" Mac asked with raised eyebrows, looking at Harry who stood in front of his desk.
"Yeah. Something happened between me and Eileen, and now he doesn't talk with either of us. I thought that if I'd know something more about him I might figure out a way to solve this problem."
"Sit down," Doctor McAfferty said. "I'll try to help you as much as I can."
Harry sat down and Mac began the story.
"A year before Fergal was born, both his parents, who happened to be scientists by the way, were captured by Help Earth, a terrorist organization. His parents were researching nuclear atom bombs, working for the Russian government, finishing off their parents work who'd worked on the atom bomb since shortly after World War II. Russia wanted to be ready in case there should be another war, a nuclear war., even if it should take another fifty years. You have to know that Help Earth is a terrorist organization that fights for the environment. They try to get their target by blowing up things, though there has only been two reports which could have been organized by Help Earth."
"How do you know?" Harry asked, not actually wanting to interrupt.
"A member of Help Earth once was a CHERUB agent," Mac answered, standing up. He walked over to the window and looked out, his back facing Harry. "A brave man. Very brave. He warned me. He'd tried to tell me when they'll attack for the first time, but they found out that he's been giving me informations before HE could. They shot him." Mac turned around abruptly. "If you tell anyone only a syllabus about what I told you so far, things could go horribly wrong. People could die if these informations would get into the wrong hands.
"About Fergal's parents. Help Earth didn't manage to kill them. My informant had been able to get an MI5 agent into the organization. He helped rescue them. However, Help Earth had tortured them because they wouldn't give away any information about the nuclear atom bombs. They were crazy when they came free. They were excluded from the world of scientists for being mas. From then on they worked in their own laboratories. Soon after soon after they were blessed with Fergal, though their luck did not hold very long. Mad scientists often die in their experiments. And so did they. Fergal went to an orphanage. Then, a few years later, he was recruited."
"By the way, what do the initials CHERUB stand for?" Harry questioned after a few moments of silence.
"That, Harry, I do not know." Mac shook his head. "But it is quite an embarrassing question if you ask me. I mean, I often get asked, but sadly no one has been able to tell me."
"Who grounded CHERUB?"
"Why, Charles Henderson."
Harry bit his lip, thinking hard. Then he smiled. "What about Charles Henderson Espionage Research Brigade**?"
* If you wonder what I mean with that, say CHER - UB loud. It'll sound like CHEER UP.
** I do not really know what CHERUB stands for, but I imagine that it's something like that.
