Cherub Black Friday (32 page)

‘Who you talking to, squirt?’ a tired-sounding Boris shouted from up on the first-floor balcony.

‘Collecting for the blind,’ Andre shouted, shutting the door in James’ face.

‘Tell the prick I’ll blind
him
if he comes here again,’ Boris shouted, as James hurried down the hallway with the black missile pod weighing on his shoulder.

When he got back out front, James fed the missile through the side window of a VW Beetle that was even tattier than the camper he and Lucinda had abandoned in town the night before.

He worried as he drove, because he’d seen police checkpoints all over town and the sinister black pod was exactly the kind of thing that would arouse suspicion. But he made it to his dingy room without any hassle and sent a mouse scurrying between floorboards as he thumped the missile on to a wobbly dining table.

After sliding three catches and opening the clamshell pod, James found the missile and launcher in factory-fresh condition, wrapped in a Styrofoam bag printed with multilingual warnings.
Can cause serious burns. Read instructions before use
.

The PGSLM was 16cm in diameter and 120cm long, with a bullet-shaped nose and a sophisticated vectoring rocket nozzle at the other end. The shoulder launching tube and numeric control pad were disposable, so their construction had more in common with a cheap toy than something you’d expect to find on a quarter million dollars’ worth of military hardware.

James had updated TFU headquarters in Dallas before meeting Andre and had a message on his phone to
Call Hao-Jing at Sonic Aviation Consortium (SAC)
as soon as he got hold of the missile.

SAC had taken over design work on PGSLM after Lisson Communications lost their contract. Hao-Jing had been the chief software engineer on the project at both companies.

‘I doubt Galenka Aramov altered any of the software code she downloaded from the six stolen missiles,’ Hao-Jing explained.

‘Why not?’ James asked.

‘It worked, so why change it?’ Hao-Jing asked. ‘If the software is the same, you should be able to access the missile’s logs. I’ve e-mailed you a program. Install it on your laptop, then enter #406 on the missile control panel. Provided the Wi-Fi on your laptop is turned on, you should see a network called PGSLM in the Windows communication settings.’

James smiled. ‘Are your missiles Mac friendly?’

‘No,’ Hao-Jing said humourlessly. ‘But we are working on an Android app.’

James took a few minutes to boot his laptop and install the PGSLM control software. He jolted with shock when he tapped #406 and four stabilising fins shot out the back of the missile.

‘I can’t fire this thing accidentally, can I?’ James asked.

‘Not without a six-digit firing code,’ Hao-Jing said. ‘In the right-hand side of the PGSLM program window, you should see a menu item called
Programming
. Click on that, and type
TLL
followed by the
F9
key.’

When James hit
F9
, a selection of hidden engineering menus popped up in a row below the main toolbar.

‘Click where it says
Log
, and then tick the
On-screen mapping
button.’

James did what he was told and got rewarded by an on-screen map marked with location pins going alphabetically from A to S. On the right-hand side was a list of times and dates, along with details of where the missile had been at various stages of its life. James immediately saw that the first four entries, which were called
Test 1
,
Test 2
,
Orientation
, and
1st Power
had all taken place twenty months earlier.

‘Can you see what I’m seeing on your screen?’ James asked. ‘Judging by the map pins, the missile was first switched on inside an industrial unit I visited last night.’

‘That’s exactly what it means,’ Hao-Jing said. ‘The US Army demands that all smart weapons are traceable. A PGSLM logs its own location every time it’s switched on or off. If you programme in the right settings, it’ll automatically download software updates and send you an SMS if the on-board diagnostics discovers a fault.’

‘Cool,’ James said, still unnerved by the fact that he had a solid rocket booster and forty kilos of high explosive on his dining table.

Before he could say any more, James heard a click and a much higher voice on the line. ‘James?’

‘Hello?’ James said curiously. ‘Hao-Jing?’

‘Your call was being patched through TFU headquarters,’ Dr D explained. ‘I’ve cut Hao-Jing off. You’re now speaking with Dr D.’

James had only spoken to Dr D once before, and that was barely long enough to establish that she had weird mannerisms and a voice like a violin lesson.

‘You’ve been doing a fine job down there,’ Dr D began. ‘Picking up a working missile makes winding the mission up way simpler.’

‘How so?’ James asked.

‘Get Andre and Tamara out of Leonid’s house,’ Dr D said. ‘Then I’ll get Hao-Jing to programme the coordinates of that industrial site into your missile. Drive to within four kilometres and press the launch button. If they’re handling explosives in there, one shot should be enough to wipe out the whole factory.’

James was shocked. ‘But I thought they wanted to strip the missile down, to check out Galenka’s design and see who’s been supplying her with components.’

‘I’d love the luxury of doing that,’ Dr D said. ‘But your mission is in a grey area, somewhere between barely authorised and completely illegal. If I explain to my bosses that I’ve run this anti-Leonid operation there will be a major shit storm. I don’t much care about myself, but I’m trying to find future employment for Amy and a lot of other people at TFU. It’s best for them if my bosses aren’t running a big investigation into who knew what about an unauthorised operation.’

James realised the sense in this, and also that an inquiry might reach across the Atlantic and lead to trouble for Zara Asker, or even himself.

‘Right,’ James said. ‘That’ll destroy the production line, but are we sure the seventy-four missiles Leonid is selling are being stored there?’

‘It’s not ideal if they’re not,’ Dr D said. ‘But I’d rather have seventy missiles in the wild than a factory capable of producing thousands of them.’

‘And if I blow up the factory, won’t Leonid just walk away?’

‘Your job will be to get Tamara and Andre safely out of Mexico and blow up the factory,’ Dr D explained. ‘Lucinda will deal with Leonid. She knows everyone who matters in Ciudad Juárez. She can get a rumour circulating that the missiles are dangerously defective, or that Leonid is planning to rip the Talavera Brothers off. If he makes it out of Mexico alive we’ll make sure they know where he’s moving to.’

James laughed. ‘Let the bad guys do our dirty work, eh?’

‘Exactly,’ Dr D said.

Andre didn’t like being home with his brothers and spent the rest of the afternoon hiding in his room. Boris was too hung over to torment him and his only problem was being stuck in his room, bored off his head and anxious about making a safe getaway with his mum.

It was half six when Leonid and Tamara rolled up. The building concierge carried in beer and champagne for the New Year celebrations, while Tamara stood at the kitchen counter, pulling takeaway burritos and rice out of a carrier bag and plating it all up.

‘No cooking tonight,’ Tamara shouted. ‘Get it while it’s hot.’

Andre was starving and sat on a stool at the kitchen counter, stuffing his face as the rest of his family gathered around.

‘Got a little announcement to make,’ Leonid said, as he took Tamara by the wrist. He raised her hand, showing off a large diamond engagement ring. ‘We’ll be getting married in a few weeks, when we hit the Caribbean.’

Andre offered congrats, secure in the knowledge that it would never happen. Alex didn’t seem to care, but Boris looked furious.

‘Why buy a cow when you’re milking it already?’ Boris asked.

Alex smirked. Leonid faced Boris off, but had to finish a mouthful before he could speak.

‘While you’re under my roof you respect Tamara like you’d respect your own mother,’ Leonid blasted.

Boris laughed so hard he spat rice over the floor. ‘You beat
my
mum and threatened to kill her if she ever tried to contact us.’

‘Don’t you
ever
mention that bitch,’ Leonid growled.

Andre was less than a metre from the standoff. Leonid had age and authority, but Boris was physically stronger and neither wanted to back down.

‘Eat your food before it gets cold,’ Tamara said.

Leonid shot his burrito into the bin and stormed upstairs, slamming the bedroom door and yelling, ‘Why do I even try with this family?’

Boris gave Tamara a mocking grin as he took a second burrito and scooped more rice on to his plate. As he bit into it, Leonid stormed back to the top of the stairs and flung a wodge of pesos over the railing.

‘Money,’ Leonid shouted to Boris. ‘That’s all I am to you. I tried making a happy night for us, but you can’t say one nice thing. So take my money. Go and party, or do drugs or whatever it is you want. I don’t give a shit any more.’

‘Dad, stop being so dramatic,’ Boris said, as he nonchalantly bit his burrito. ‘At your age you’ll have a heart attack.’

Leonid pulled a silenced pistol from the back of his trousers and sent Boris diving for cover as he shot a beanbag a couple of metres behind him.

‘Out,’ Leonid screamed. ‘Show me respect when you come back, or don’t come back at all.’

Boris crashed his plate on the countertop and raised his hands. ‘I’m outta here.’ Then he looked at Alex. ‘You coming?’

Boris had a magnetic pull on Alex. After running back and forth to pick up the scattered pesos and grab clothes and keys, the two young thugs headed out with a slam of the main door.

‘When we get to Trinidad they’re getting their own place,’ Leonid said, as he came downstairs. ‘They’re spoiled brats.’

He gave Tamara a kiss, then put his arm around Andre’s back and gave him a gentle squeeze.

‘I’ve been hard on you because you’re not tough,’ Leonid told Andre. ‘But you show respect, and you’ve got more brains than those two screw-ups combined.’

Andre hated his dad, but on some basic level he still craved his affection and his smile was at least fifty per cent for real.

Tamara did what she always did and soothed Leonid’s temper. After pecking him on the cheek, she spoke in her calmest voice as she poured whisky into a tumbler.

‘Forget the boys and this takeaway shit,’ she said. ‘Take this drink and go have a nice relaxing bath. I’ll clean this up and cook you a nice bloody steak.’

Leonid smiled, and made a gesture like he was blocking Andre’s ears.

‘Why don’t you come join me in the bath?’

‘Eww!’ Andre said.

‘Run the bath and you might get lucky,’ Tamara answered.

Leonid looked a much happier man as he tucked bits of cooked pepper in his mouth, before heading back upstairs.

Andre was still vaguely disgusted at how vigorously his mum had thrown herself into her new relationship with Leonid. ‘Engaged?’ he said irritably, once his father had disappeared behind the double doors.

Tamara raised her ringed finger and spoke in a much more abrupt tone than she’d just used on Leonid. ‘This cost forty thousand dollars. That’s two years of college for you.’

Andre smiled as his mum touched his shoulder. ‘Have you spoken to anyone on com?’

Tamara nodded. ‘I spoke to Lucinda briefly when I went to the toilet.’

‘I think we should leave after the New Year fireworks,’ Andre said. ‘Dad will probably go straight to sleep, and I doubt Alex and Boris will be back much before three a.m.’

Tamara’s eyes narrowed. ‘But this isn’t what we agreed with Amy Collins.’

‘We’ve found Dad and they’ve worked out where the missiles are.’

‘I don’t give a damn about missiles,’ Tamara said. ‘I agreed to do this because I wanted your father out of our lives for good.’

‘But they’ll get him after,’ Andre said.

‘Leonid’s clever and I want to be
sure
,’ Tamara said, shaking her head. ‘Turn on your com. Tell James to be ready to pick us up in fifteen minutes, but
don’t
say anything else. Then go to your room and pack up. One bag, only the important stuff.’

‘What are you going to do?’

‘What I should have done a long time ago. Now do as you’re told and get upstairs.’

Andre felt shaky as he headed to his room. It came through in his voice when he spoke to James on the com.

‘What’s up?’ James asked.

‘Nothing,’ Andre lied. He’d considered telling James the truth, but loyalty to his mum outweighed his friendship with James. ‘Just be ready to meet us in fifteen minutes. Alex and Boris are out, my dad’s about to have a bath. He’s always in there for at least half an hour, so we’ll make our move.’

‘If you’re certain,’ James said warily.

Andre switched his com off, then grabbed his only backpack. He stuffed in as many of the new clothes and trainers Leonid had bought for him as he could, plus a couple of Xbox games and the Omega watch and gold chain he’d been given for Christmas.

When Andre stepped back into the hallway, Tamara was walking into the master bedroom. Andre crept up to the double doors and watched as his mum picked Leonid’s pistol off the bed and expertly opened the chamber to make sure it was still loaded.

‘Are you in the bath?’ Tamara asked, using her sweetest tone.

‘Come and join me,’ Leonid said. ‘I’ll make it worth your while.’

‘Close your eyes,’ Tamara said. ‘I’ve got a surprise for you.’

‘What is it?’

Tamara kept the gun poised and gave a girlish laugh as she approached the bathroom. ‘If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise.’

Andre opened the bedroom door a few centimetres to get a better view.

‘Get that lovely arse in here,’ Leonid said, laughing.

‘Keep ’em closed or you’ll get zip,’ Tamara teased, as she stepped into a luxurious bathroom with a sunken oval bath set in its centre.

Leonid’s eyes shot open when he heard Tamara clicking the safety off. The bulky silencer was over a metre from his face: near enough that you can’t miss, but too far to make a grab.