Read Online Cherub Black Friday by Robert Muchamore - Free Book Online Page A

‘Rescued me from foster home when my mom went AWOL. I don’t want her near any shops tomorrow morning.’
    ‘What about her car?’
    ‘Gave the guy a key. He’s gonna drive it a few blocks. If nobody finds it before I get home, I’ll tell her I spotted it on my way to visit her.’
    Ryan picked up a ton of information about the two cousins, but the thing about the car was crucial: it confirmed that IDoJ would be attacking shops tomorrow morning, that at least one target was in Houston and that at least one bomber planned to be alive after the attack.
    As Ryan turned to leave, Elbaz touched his shoulder from behind. He carried a foil tray stacked with barbecued meat, plus salad, rice, serviettes and plastic cutlery. However, his voice had become firm.
    ‘It’s not appropriate you being in here,’ Elbaz said. ‘Grab a carton of orange juice and take this tray back to share with your father. I must ask you not to leave the mobile home again.’
    Ryan acted grovelly. ‘Sorry, boss,’ he said. ‘I came out of the shitter and the smell of food drew me in.’
    ‘Eat then sleep,’ Elbaz advised. ‘Enjoy the meat and tell your father that I’m grateful for his help.’

11. HOUSTON
    Kazakov had taken a shower to give credence to Ryan’s story. He was sitting by the bay window staring at the ball of his foot when the teenager got back.
    ‘You OK?’ Ryan asked.
    ‘Splinter off the floor,’ Kazakov said, his face lighting up when he saw the foil tray. ‘That smells decent.’
    Ryan put the kettle on to muffle sounds in case they were being bugged, and switched to speaking in Russian, a language skill that he doubted any of Elbaz’s team possessed.
    ‘Trucks are radio controlled,’ Ryan explained. ‘Ten altogether. I guess they’ll drive them to the target, hop out and use the control unit for the last few hundred metres.’
    ‘Makes sense.’
    ‘Targets are shops,’ Ryan said, pouring orange juice into two glasses as Kazakov bit a greasy chicken wing. ‘Looks like tomorrow. The logos painted on the trucks must be a clue about what shops they’re targeting. There were also these two cousins who mentioned Black Friday. I saw it on the newspapers Tracy was reading as well. I wish we could Google to find out what it is.’
    Kazakov smirked. ‘Before the Internet, people had this thing called general knowledge . The third Thursday in November – today – is Thanksgiving. A lot of people here in the US take the Friday after Thanksgiving off work to give themselves a four-day holiday. Shops close on Thanksgiving, but open early on Black Friday and put on special deals.’
    Ryan nodded. ‘Like in the pull-outs Tracy had in her USA Today . I guess if she’d made it to Atlanta, she’d have been home in time to catch the bargains.’
    ‘Black Friday is the busiest shopping day of the year over here,’ Kazakov said. ‘The malls are gonna be packed and I think it’s a safe bet that’s what IDoJ is targeting.’
    ‘We’ve got to get a warning out,’ Ryan said. ‘There’s a tonne of high explosive for each truck.’
    ‘Enough to vaporise a superstore,’ Kazakov agreed. ‘If it’s packed out, you’re talking thousands of people in each store.’
    Ryan nodded solemnly. ‘That’s like the World Trade Center times ten.’
    ‘And we’ve got a guard watching us now,’ Kazakov said.
    Ryan knew better than to turn and look out of the window. ‘Where?’
    ‘Just caught sight of him moving in the trees.’
    ‘Elbaz acted cool,’ Ryan said. ‘Gave me the barbecue, but it was clear he didn’t like me wandering around.’
    ‘Any clue on the targets?’ Kazakov asked.
    ‘Houston,’ Ryan said. ‘This guy was saying that he’d had his aunt’s car nabbed so that she couldn’t drive to the shops in Houston.’
    Kazakov looked surprised. ‘In that case the trucks will be leaving soon. Houston’s five or six hundred miles from here.’
    Ryan calculated out loud. ‘Ten to twelve hours’ drive at