CHERUB: The Syndicate

23: Close

Nothing was filed in Zach's office, although some of it seemed to be in a rough date order. Katie knew what the receipt she was looking for looked like, but it didn't do anything to alleviate the fact that she had to sort through thousands of mind-numbingly boring sheets. It took over an hour to do the whole cabinet and she was frustrated when she couldn't find it anywhere. George's message only made her feel slightly better. It was the climax of the mission, the moment when the difference between finding a single piece of paper and not finding it made a real difference. Next she checked Zach's desk drawers and in-tray, but there was nothing and the rest of the office was bare except for a few economics textbooks which had nothing tucked between the pages.

Next she checked the master bedroom, but the wardrobe was bursting with women's clothes and there didn't seem to be anywhere else to keep things. Katie didn't have the time or the means to search thoroughly and she knew that the moment Maria got back she'd destroy every piece of incriminating evidence. Getting desperate, she tried the sitting room without success and finally the kitchen, which seemed to contain nothing but food and utensils until she spotted the door to a utility room with a washing machine and dryer.

On the top of the cupboards in there she found a locked cash box but no sign of the key, so she pulled out her lock gun. It had a sophisticated lock and took three tries with different picks, but eventually it opened and she pulled out the contents, praying it would be in there. On top were share certificates and a couple of legitimate-looking company ownership documents, but no receipt, and the rest was all paper money. Katie scanned them anyway before putting them back, but she was running out of time. When she looked out of the kitchen window she spotted a small crowd gathered around the unconscious security guard and two policewomen advancing towards the house, looking purposeful. Katie ducked down instinctively and headed for the back door, trying desperately to remember where George had said it was. She accidentally went into the garage again, which gave her an idea. She stayed deadly still and listened for the sound of the policewomen trying the front door, then flicked the breaker back on and set off the alarm.

She found the back door at the second attempt, but it was a side door and let her out in direct view of everyone gathered at the bottom of the drive. Going back into the kitchen to find a window she could jump out of, she spotted a policewoman jogging around to the back of the house to cut off the intruder's escape. It was good policing and Katie cursed her luck. Heading back, she decided to take her chances with the side door. Unlocking it with her lock gun, she realised that her hair was probably distinctive and would give her away to Zach. Panicking, she looked around for something she could use to cover up, but the only thing nearby was a tatty mop with no bucket. She didn't want to go any further in case it attracted attention, so she crawled flat on her stomach into the utility room. There was nothing in the washer or dryer, but on the counter was what looked like a pair of Riley's shorts, so she grabbed them and tried not to think about it as she wrapped them around her head before crawling back to the door.

She took a few deep breaths and tried to get into a sprinter's mentality, ignoring her nerves and focusing on the plan, before springing up, throwing the door open and setting off as fast as possible down the driveway. People pointed and gasped as she moved, deliberately keeping the edge off her speed so nobody would guess she was a sprinter. One policewoman tried to chase, but Katie took a detour through an overgrown garden and lost her, trying desperately to keep the shorts on her head.

As soon as she had put some distance between her and the house, she threw the shorts into a bush and put her gloves into her bag, then set off as if there was nothing wrong while sending the bad news through to ASIS. She was bitterly disappointed and the fact that she'd got away didn't help improve her mood very much. It was only a short walk to the station and she caught the first train back to St Albans, feeling her tiredness catching up with her.