CHERUB: Shadow Wave Read Free

towards James and screamed, as Rhino, Dirty Dave and the Führer laughed appreciatively. James didn’t want to hurt Alison, so he intercepted her painted nails as she tried to claw his cheek and gave her a shove. She stumbled backwards into a table, tipping it up and sending condiments and a serviette dispenser crashing to the floor.
    As Kerry rushed over to calm Alison down, James put on a show of menace, spitting on the floor in front of Kam’s face and pounding his fist into his palm.
    ‘I’d stay down if I was you,’ James warned. ‘And next time I see you, you’d better have our money or I’ll be sticking your hand in the deep fryer.’

2. STRIFE
    Kam sat on an upturned bucket in the Surf Club kitchen. He held a pack of ice cubes against his injured shoulder, while tears streamed out of his eyes. Dirty Dave was outside by the bar, while the other Brigands had gone upstairs.
    ‘It’s just dislocated,’ Kerry whispered in Kam’s ear. ‘After the Brigands meeting we’ll take you straight to hospital.’
    Alison didn’t like having Brigands in her restaurant, and was no fan of the attractive sixteen-year-old fussing over her husband either.
    ‘What do you know about his arm?’ Alison asked Kerry furiously. ‘You don’t look like any doctor I’ve ever met.’
    Kerry quelled a mix of nerves and anger. ‘I know first aid,’ she said soothingly. ‘I’m not an expert, but I think it’s a dislocated shoulder.’
    Alison turned towards her husband and pointed an accusing finger at Kerry. ‘Where do you know her from, anyway?’
    ‘You’ll understand when this is over,’ Kam said, as he winced with pain. ‘Stay calm and trust me.’
    ‘Trust you?’ Alison hissed. ‘You’ve been shaken down and beaten up. You’re in debt to the Brigands and now those lunatics are holding meetings upstairs in our restaurant. How can you expect me to stay calm? I told you to go to the police months ago.’
    ‘Keep your voice down,’ Kerry warned, as she pointed up at the ceiling. ‘If they hear you making threats about the police they’ll kill us.’
    ‘Trust me, Alison,’ Kam repeated firmly. ‘On our daughters’ lives, if this goes wrong I’ll divorce you. You can have everything.’
    ‘That’s a bloody laugh,’ Alison snorted. ‘What do I get? The mortgage on the house? The debts on the restaurant? You’re so stupid I can’t even look at you.’
    Alison stormed out of the kitchen into the dining area. Dirty Dave stood at the small bar, where he’d been helping himself to Wild Turkey.
    ‘Looking nice,’ Dave said, as he raised a shot glass. ‘Sexy in that blue dress.’
    Alison turned her nose up and gave Dave the finger before crashing at a table and burying her head.
    ‘Must be on your period,’ Dave sneered, then laughed at his own joke.
    Back in the kitchen, Kerry looked accusingly at Kam.
    ‘You should have told your wife what’s going on,’ she whispered.
    Kam sighed. ‘Alison wasn’t supposed to be working today, but my waitress called in sick.’
    ‘We’ve got to keep Alison calm,’ Kerry said.
    ‘I can’t believe what that punk James did to my arm,’ Kam groaned. ‘I hope they lock the little prick up for a long time.’
    Kerry smiled inwardly. Kam had agreed to cooperate with the police to stop the Brigands extorting money from his business. He’d been told that Kerry was a young looking nineteen-year-old police cadet, rather than a sixteen-year-old CHERUB agent, but he had no clue that James was also working undercover, or that it had been James’ idea to set up a sting operation inside his restaurant.
    Outside, two Chinese men stepped out of a big Lexus. The older of the two moved slowly towards the Surf Club entrance, in a stooped posture. As he rapped on the frosted glass above a sign that read restaurant closed due to electrical fault, his son opened the trunk of the limousine and lifted out two Louis Vuitton bags.
    ‘Mr Xu,’ the Führer said warmly, as he opened