Author's note: I don't own any of the characters in this, except those who don't appear in the actual books, such as Tim. All other characters I don't own. Also, I appolagise for the pun in the name of the story, however, I find it rather "funny"... If you think about it, you might get why...[I know most people won't think about it, so I'll tell you :) it's "funny" as "compound interest" is what you get from a savings account, and the training compound is in it, and SCORPIA show an interest in Lauren...

Lauren had no idea what the training mission her, and nine other people from her floor were going on. However, no one liked each other in the ten-strong group, so it wasn't going to be something nice. The only thing they knew, was that they had been given body armour, and simulated rounds, for the rifles they'd been told they would receive at the location.

In actual fact, the ten cherub agents, would be going up against some of the strongest, best trained SAS men in Britain, in the SAS' specialised Urban Warfare compound, a few miles away from cherub campus. Of course, the agents didn't know this.

*

At the SAS compound, the ten SAS men had already been told that they were going to be fighting children, however, to reveal as little as possible about cherub, the SAS men were told that it was an Army Cadet training exercise. They had already formulated a plan, which meant that five would be close together, surrounding the location the agents had to reach. A small fake-fast-food hut, which was supposed to serve fatty food to the masses, or atleast, it would if the compound was a real city. The other five, would head towards where they had been told the agents would be dropped off at, in hope of catching them off their guard.

*

Once the mini-bus had dropped the ten cherubs off at the compound, they were given their rifles, and told to wait for the go-code, which was, quite oddly, "Penguin." The word came out of a small, very old, radio in the corner of the room after about ten minutes.

All the agents had been to the compound before, but they had no idea where they had been dropped off, all they knew, was that they had to reach the fast-food hut. After they had been walking for a while, Lauren turned around and addressed the whole group.

"You know, I get the feeling we're going the wrong way…" she trailed off, as she turned back, and continued walking.

"Why the fuck would you think that?" Ronan said, shortly before walking into a ten-metre high wire fence.

"That's what, idiot." Lauren giggled.

"So, which way do we go?" Jake, Lauren's best friend's little brother, asked.

"Well, if we're not near the hut, and that we only went a short way after entering the compound, I would guess that we're at the West side…"

"So, we just walked for five minutes, going the wrong way?" Ronan said, as if it was Lauren's fault.

"Don't blame me, dick-head," Lauren yelled, "I didn't suggest walking this way, you did, actually. Anyway, if we're going to succeed in this exercise," she said this to the whole group, "We have to get along, so why don't we all just atleast pretend we like each other, and work as a team, eh?" Lauren had no authority over the cherubs off campus, but none of them would want to accept the blame if they failed, and knew that the punishment for failing would be worse than the actual exercise.

"So, which way, Lauren?" Tim, a newly qualified agent, asked.

"Well, considering that the location we need to reach is on the other side of the compound, I would suggest that way." She replied, pointing back the way they had come from.

"Right, so, we're gonna follow Lauren's orders like sheep, then?" Ronan asked, still disliking Lauren being in charge.

"No one has to," Lauren said, "But, personally, I think we stand a better chance if we stick together, and I'm not following anyone else's orders."

"Fine then," Ronan shouted, "I'm gonna continue along the fence." As he said this, he turned and walked off along the fence. Turning around after about five minutes of walking, he was shocked to see none of his friends had followed him, and also, he was scared, because if their opponent found him, he'd be easy to shoot.

*

At the same time, the SAS men were checking their weapons, and five of them moved off towards the west, in a sort of running-jog, which is the best the could do with all their guns and body armour on. After three minutes, they heard the agents talking, and, after a farther minute, could see them approaching. The agents had no idea what was about to happen.

*

James had run straight to john's room, with his pepper spray, and the letter. Throwing care to the wind, he almost knocked an elderly couple flying as the raced down the corridor, and himself was almost knocked over by the fattest man James had ever seen, he wasn't sure if he was in fact even a man, or alive, as he appeared to be laying on the floor near the stairs, and didn't move when James stepped on him, which he hadn't meant to do, of course. Upon reaching John's room, James didn't bother waiting for him to get up and come to the door, so he just picked the lock, and ran in, shocking John, who was sitting watching BBC News 24 on the tiny TV in his room.

After explaining what had happened, which wasn't much, as far as James could tell, John had called campus, and spoken to Zara, the chairwoman, who had decided that the mission was too dangerous, and told John that an agent from MI5 would put the bugs in the hotel, instead of the cherubs, and ordered him, and the kids, back to campus, where she was certain they would all be safe.

John had read the letter to her, after he opened it;

We know what you are here to do, and, unless you leave immediately, the person in this photograph may end up seriously hurt, or worse. We make no guarantees; even if you do leave, but it is most likely they will live if you do.

You have twelve hours to pack your bugs away, and leave, or we will kill her, and all of you too.

*

After being told what the letter said, Zara had called an emergency meeting with the ethics committee, to decide how safe it would be if they brought Lauren back to campus. Zara had called the SAS commander at the urban warfare compound, and ordered him to end the training, which hadn't gone down well, and he refused to end the training, claiming that "too many people worked too hard for it to happen" and, "he would loose his job if he did."

The ethics committee decided it would be best if a vehicle from off campus picked Lauren, and the other cherubs, up, as there is little chance that SCORPIA would have planned for them to move Lauren away from the compound, and, even if they had, there was a very, very, slim chance they would have prepared every possibility, but, no changes were to be taken.