26: Wanted
The safe house was sparsely furnished and didn't even have a fridge, just a few beds and a TV and sofa. Ashton handed George over to Jules, who'd led George straight inside without saying anything.
"Don't look out through the windows or go outside for any reason, unless there's a fire," Jules instructed him. "It's doubtful anyone will see you, but your face is all over the TV news and we could do without some old woman with nothing better to do calling the cops."
"I'm on TV?" George asked, grinning. "Can I see?"
There was no sign of Letty, and to sate his curiosity, Jules let him find the rolling 24-hour news.
TERRORIST PLOT STOPPED - THREE SUSPECTS ARRESTED, ONE ON THE RUN - OKLAHOMA, MISSOURI AND KANSAS ON HIGH ALERT - POLICE APPEALING FOR WITNESSES
"Who's the third guy?" George asked.
"Joey. Cops picked him up trying to cross the border into Mexico with a fake passport," Jules told him.
It took a few minutes, but George saw his picture flash up at last. For Farley, Luke and Joey, they used old mugshots, but the FBI had tampered with George's school ID and it looked nothing like him, as well as being pixelated from being blown up large on the screen. It was ringed in red, and had WANTED: GEORGE FERGUSON written underneath.
"I wish I had my phone to take a picture," George said. "This is so cool."
Jules shook his head. "Please take this seriously, George," he said, but he was smiling.
"Where's Letty?" George asked eagerly. "Has she seen this?"
Jules flicked volume up on the TV and led George into the kitchen, keeping his voice down.
"Letty's in the bedroom. Unfortunately, during her trip she discovered that Dawn Lovett was sexually grooming Andrea and she spent this morning giving statements to the police," he explained.
"Oh my God, is she OK?" George asked, feeling his blood run cold.
"Understandably, she's a bit of a state," Jules said gently. "She said she was happy to talk to you when you got here, but please be sensitive."
"Wow…" George said, looking down at his shoes. "That's sick. Will Ms. Lovett go to prison?"
Jules shrugged. "I haven't seen any evidence myself, but if what Letty says is true and Andrea is happy to testify, then, yes."
"Jesus," George said. "Okay, let me grab a shower and get the stench of the prison cell off me and I'll go and talk to her."
After a shower, he felt fresher, although they hadn't brought any of his things from their house in Routledge yet so he didn't have soap or deodorant. He did what he could, then gave himself a blast with air freshener, figuring it was better than the way his clothes smelt.
He knocked gently on the door of the bedroom, and heard Letty tell him to come in in a quiet voice.
"Hey Letty," he said softly, seeing her sitting on the bed, dressed in a loose t-shirt and tracksuit bottoms. He planted himself on the bottom corner of the bed, and immediately noticed that Letty's eyes and nose were red and raw from crying.
"I'm so sorry about what happened," George said, immediately feeling a pang of pity for her.
"It's okay," Letty replied. "Well, it's not okay, but it's happened," she added, looking even more miserable.
"I can't believe that Ms. Lovett… I mean, if I'd known anything, I would've said something straight away," George said, reaching out and squeezing Letty's hand.
Letty smiled thinly. "I know you would. I don't think anyone could have known or guessed."
"How are you doing?" George asked, but it was a pointless question. The look on her face said it all.
"Not good," she said simply. "I've spoken on the phone to one of the counsellors on campus, but only time can really help."
"Let me know if you need anything at all," George told her. "Seriously, even if it's a karaoke partner."
Letty managed a slightly bigger smile. "Hearing you sing karaoke is even more traumatic, so I'll give that a miss."
George shuffled up the bed and pulled her in for a hug. "I'm really sorry," he said again, feeling her sniff back tears as she hugged him back.
"George, why do you stink of air freshener?" she asked, pulling back and wafting her hand in front of her nose.
"It was either that, or fourteen-hours-in-a-prison-cell, your choice," George grinned.
"Jules told me about what happened. I can't believe the twins were planning a massive terrorist attack out of the blue like that," Letty said, grabbing a tissue from the nightstand and blowing her nose.
George shrugged. "It didn't feel that massive," he admitted. "Just a couple of idiots who thought they could get their own back."
"Still, it took a lot of guts to stop them and get the trailer away," Letty told him. "I'm impressed at your stupidity this time, instead of being appalled as usual."
George laughed. "I'm definitely going to hear the word 'reckless' from Rose when I get back to campus," he said. "Probably also 'stupid' and 'idiot'."
"I'll call you a stupid idiot now and save her the job," Letty said. She laughed a little, but George could see how much she was hurting and he squeezed her hand again.
"Are you ready to go back to campus?" he asked. "Have you told anyone there?"
Letty shook her head. "Not yet. I wanted to see what happened with the police first. I…" she seemed nervous and needed two goes at getting the sentence out. "I'm not sure I definitely want to go back to campus."
She caught George's eye and he looked shocked.
"You mean, leave CHERUB?" he asked, his mouth hanging open.
Letty nodded once. "I don't know for sure. But I don't know whether I want to go on any more missions, after this. Not to mention that all my missions seem to go down the toilet."
George wanted to tell her how she'd feel better soon, and how talking about leaving CHERUB was just crazy. But she'd obviously suffered a lot and he didn't feel like he could really tell her how to feel.
"If you need to talk about it, please let me know," was all he said in the end. "I'd really miss you if you left."
Letty gave him another hug. "I know. Thank you." The hug only lasted a few seconds before she sprang back again. "Okay, that air freshener is disgusting."
"As soon as my other clothes arrive from Routledge, I'll change, I promise," George said. "This is just a temporary fragrance."
CHERUB and the FBI concluded that it would be best to get George out of the USA sooner rather than later, and as soon as the contents of their house in Routledge had arrived in the back of a van, Jules told George and Letty to pack hand luggage.
"I'll get someone to fly the rest of our bags over tomorrow, but I don't want to be held up by tons of extra stuff," he said firmly. "Only take what you need to get you back to campus, and if you need anything else in a hurry, we'll use the mission budget to buy it."
"I definitely need a new pair of wireless headphones urgently," George said cheekily, but Jules just cuffed him around the head.
"Pack," he said firmly. "I want to leave in fifteen minutes. Make sure you've used the toilet, too."
George needed to get changed, too, and then Letty took ages in the bathroom so it was more like twenty minutes before they were throwing their bags into a battered-looking car parked outside, in front of the garage.
"Letty, put the house key under that plant pot round the side," Jules said, handing it to her. "I would ask George but he needs to stay out of sight."
They drove straight to Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport in Wichita, Kansas, where Ashton gave Jules directions over the phone about where to leave the car. They were supposed to go to a specific check-in desk, but a bald man in a dark suit who was obviously FBI met them as soon as they got to the terminal building.
"Come with me, please," he said. George had put on a baseball cap and was keeping his head down, so he followed Jules's feet as they were waved through security and skirted around some empty airport corridors.
"Straight across, have a good flight," the man said, letting them out through a side door, which led to the runways. George risked a glance up and saw a jet painted with US Air Force insignia.
"Don't speak to the pilots," Jules warned them as they jogged over to the stairs. "They know this is top secret but they don't have security clearance to hear about CHERUB."
The interior of the plane wasn't designed with entertainment in mind, and George didn't have his phone, but Jules wasn't sympathetic.
"Sleep, or read something," he said, severely. "It's a non-stop flight to the UK so it won't be too long. I don't want to hear whining."
George spent his first half an hour sulking, but Jules took pity on him and spent the rest of the flight teaching him to play two-person Bridge while Letty slept or listened to her headphones.
By the time they touched down at the military airfield near campus, George barely knew what day it was, let alone what time it was, but it was light outside and the weather was grey. He blinked in the light as they walked straight from the jet to one of the campus pool cars which was waiting. George expected a black shirt behind the wheel, but he was surprised to see Instructor Capstick sitting with his legs hanging out of the driver's door, stretching.
"Good morning," he said cheerily as Jules opened the boot and everyone put their bags in. "All looking fresh-faced, I must say. Sleep well?"
Jules shook his hand and clambered into the passenger seat, leaving the back for Letty and George.
"Good to see you," Jules said warmly. "I'm knackered, if that's what you mean."
Capstick laughed at his own joke. "Two to drop on campus and then you're coming home with me, Letty?"
Letty nodded at him as he pulled away from the airfield.
"You're staying with Capstick?" George asked her. "First I've heard."
"Instructor Capstick, George," Capstick said. "Don't forget your discipline."
Letty looked at him. "I just want a few days away from all the pressure of campus to clear my head."
"I've got two girls at home, the eldest is training to be a nurse, she's nineteen, youngest is fifteen," Capstick told the car. "They'll take care of you, and you'll probably like 'em, too."
Letty managed a smile, and George left the topic alone. Letty seemed a little embarrassed about it and he didn't want her to feel uncomfortable.
Capstick drove off with Letty after dropping them at the front gate, leaving George to walk back with Jules. They hadn't really discussed the mission or anything, and although George was pleased to be back in familiar surroundings, he was tired enough to jump straight into bed and sleep. He didn't get his wish, because when they passed the chairwoman's office, Jules clamped his hand on George's shoulder and steered him down the corridor, past the benches where Cherubs in trouble waited. This time, they went straight in: Jules knocked once but pushed the door straight open.
"Jules, George, good to see you," Ewart said, putting a massive book with a leather cover down on the corner of Zara's desk and shuffling notes out of the way. "Capstick phoned to say you'd landed."
"Am I in trouble?" George asked, settling into one of the chairs opposite Zara's desk as Jules shut the door.
Ewart gave him what passed for a friendly smile. "No, not in trouble. Sorry Zara can't see you, she's got a Monday morning briefing with the Prime Minister and he's anxious not to miss it this week."
When Jules had sat down too, Ewart looked at Jules, then at George.
"I want to talk about the mission, and Letty," he said gravely, and George could feel himself getting nervous. Ewart's serious expression suggested that this wasn't going to be the moment George got his black shirt awarded.