Short, random chapter before I get too side-tracked. Thanks for reviews!

As it turned out the leader of the helicopter rescue team was an ex-cherub who had been sent by some of his old friends to assist the group of youngsters. They had been confused at first as to who would've known about their struggle in basic training but soon passed over this point in favour of the warmth and comfort of the copters.

They had discovered his name was Colin Hunter and he was twenty six years old having left CHERUB about ten years ago. He was now part of the army.

"You know, I could probably get done for this detour," he informed the four children present in his helicopter. The other four were in the other vehicle. "Hopefully we can get this baby back before the Chief finds out."

"So who sent you?" Lily questioned for the umpteenth time.

"Just some old mates back at CHERUB who I helped train to use a helicopter for a couple of weeks of training," Colin shrugged.

"But who?"

"Geez, Lil, leave the poor guy alone," Robin grinned and hit his sister gently on the shoulder.

"Sorry. Anyway, what's life now like you've left CHERUB?" Lily was a fountain of queries. She wanted to talk to this man, find out how he'd experienced being a child agent and how it had affected his future life.

"It's great. I don't think I should really talk about it though in front of Rick," Colin gestured to the pilot who looked concentrated on the controls with headphones covering his ears but was still capable of hearing, "I told my team you were a group on Duke of Edinburgh that had got into a spot of bother and needed a lift back to the starting point."

"Oh, thanks," Frodo acknowledged the lie that had helped them get this much needed lift.

"So, do you have the coordinates of where you're headed?" the man asked.

"Ahuh, Large has made a checkpoint here," Ralf pulled out a map and pointed to the place on the map.

"Man and you had to cover all that distance. Large is a bastard, I'm glad you're getting one up on him and that I can help you to do it. He made my life hell when I was on campus."

"What did he do?" Lily asked curiously.

"The usual back breaking punishment. Though one time he was in a particularly nasty mood and made us swim through this swamp full of mosquitoes and the like completely nude. It was disgusting; I was itching for weeks afterward."

Lily watched the man completely smitten. He was gorgeous and her hormones were in full gear. With lightly curled short brown hair and greenish eyes dabbled with golden specks of colour; as strong chin and easy dimpled smile the man was enough to set any girl on an emotional whirlwind. Especially when he crossed his arms a flexed his well toned arms in the motion.

Frodo couldn't help but notice the girl's rapture with their saviour on the journey. She was practically dribbling after all, her eyes fixed on his face at any given moment. Jealousy spouted in the pit of his stomach – a nasty green monster rearing to get lose – but he fought the feeling down. It wasn't like Colin would have any interest in a love-struck ten year old. Still, it hurt him to see Lily look at someone else like that.

"Hey, look down there! It's a cabin, I reckon that's where the checkpoint is," Robin pointed out of the window. He had been scanning the countryside very carefully and the smoking chimney of the little hut was all he'd seen for signs of life anywhere.

"Ok, do you want us to drop you all little way off behind those trees so it looks like you walked the whole way?" Colin suggested, a sneaky smirk on his face.

"Oh yeah! Large won't believe it when we stroll in half an hour early."

"I wish I could see his face," the adult sighed wistfully.

"I would take a picture for you," Lily smiled, "Unfortunately I don't have a camera considering I needed to carry a bunch of other crap and didn't think I would have time to take photos of the scenery."

"Too bad," Colin offered her a grin and she practically swooned.

The two beetle black copters landed on the far side of a big copse of trees and dropped the kids off. They were told by their rescuers that if they ran pretty much the rest of the way they would get there on time, maybe even with time to spare. After bidding the team goodbye and giving their thanks the group of youngsters disappeared into the trees.

Colin waved them farewell and then, when he'd seen them go, turned to his colleagues. They were all giving him strange looks.

"What?"

"Who the hell were those kids?" one woman asked, her name was Susie.

"Just some children doing Duke of Edinburgh."

"Yeah right, they were too young and too experienced," Susie snorted, "Come on; tell the truth just this once, Col."

"Okay, they were just little cherubs."

"Huh?"

Norman Large gulped down several more biscuits that were sitting on the wooden table in front of him. They were custard creams, his favourite. He savoured the sweet taste of the cream in his mouth and smiled with satisfaction as he saw that by the watch on his wrist those damn cherubs only had fifteen minutes left to complete this mission. They had no chance.

His eyes glanced over to the two instructors on the other side of the room. They were deeply involved in a game of Slam. Cards were flying everywhere and their hands were pretty much a blur as they raced to deal out their piles the fastest. Mr Pike chucked his last card on the pile, a Queen and slapped his hand down on the smaller pile. "SLAM!"

The man whooped like a child and Large pitied him for having such small delights in life. What kind of instructors who trained agents played cards? It was ridiculous.

BANG. The huge man nearly fell out of his chair when he heard the sudden knock on the wooden door of the hut. Who the hell could that be? They were in the middle of nowhere. The only people who knew they were here were the cherubs and they couldn't have arrived yet, could they? BANG. The noise came again and Mr Pike climbed cautiously from his chair and shuffled slowly to the door.

Tentatively he turned the handle and pulled open the door to reveal….eight severely shivering, exhausted cherubs.

"Hiya," the smallest of them, a girl, managed to chirp, a huge grin plastered across her grubby, wind-chapped face.

Hehe! They did it! With thanks to Colin a random creation of my own who I know doesnt exist in the books! He rocks!