Part 10 (1/2)

'You coming back?' Ken asked.

'I'd like to,' James nodded, still out of breath. 'If that's OK.'

'You've done some kind of martial arts training, haven't you?'

'Yeah, Karate and judo. How could you tell?'

'You're in good shape and you can punch,' Ken said, 'but a boxer needs fast feet as well. You want to be able to skip a hundred and fifty times a minute. Take this home and practise half an hour a day.'

James took hold of a frayed skipping rope. He stuck it in his carrier bag, on top of his damp kit.

Junior slapped him on the back as they went down the staircase.

'He must think you've got talent, James. I kept coming here for three weeks before he said a word and my dad practically owns the joint.'

James couldn't help smiling, though it was hardly surprising he showed promise after all the combat training he'd done at CHERUB.

'You coming down the youth club with me and Del?' Junior asked. 'It's packed out with girls, Friday night.'

The youth club was on the ground floor, under the gym. It was supposed to be a disco, but the music wasn't very loud and n.o.body was dancing. James sat with Junior and Del on some slashed-up seats in a dark corner. There were plenty of boys and plenty of girls, but everyone sat in single-s.e.x groups.

'So,' Junior said, 'which babes are us three studs gonna snap up tonight?'

Del looked at his watch. 'Not me. I'm off to work once I've drunk this.'

Del always had money and James thought it probably came from delivering drugs. He straightened up in his seat, sensing an opportunity to get information, but trying not to make it obvious he was prying.

'Work?' he asked. 'At this time of night?'

Junior burst out laughing. 'Ah ... The voice of innocence.'

'I work for KMG,' Del said.

'KM what?' James said.

'Keith Moore's Gang,' Del explained. 'I deliver c.o.ke for Junior's daddy.'

'Who wants c.o.ke at this time on a Friday?'

'Not Coca-Cola, you wazzock,' Junior said. 'Cocaine.'

James acted like he was surprised. 'Cocaine? Isn't that seriously illegal? You told me your dad was in import export.'

'He is,' Junior said. 'Imports drugs, exports cash.'

'h.e.l.l,' James grinned. 'No wonder he's loaded.'

Del went into his backpack. He pulled out a small polythene bag filled with white powder.

'Cocaine,' he explained.

James grinned as he took the packet and inspected it.

'Don't let everyone see it, you moron,' Del gasped, knocking James' hand out of the air.

'Sorry,' James said. 'So how much is this?'

'One gram in every bag. They give me ten grams at a time, then they ring me on my mobile and tell me where and when to deliver it.'

'How much do you make?'

'Fifteen per cent,' Del said. 'This is sixty a gram, so I get nine quid. If I work Friday and Sat.u.r.day evenings, I can easily make a hundred quid. Sometimes though, like at Christmas, you get people loading up for office parties and stuff. I had this one guy who lived two streets away from me. He was buying ten grams at a time. Ninety quid for a ten-minute bike ride. It was beautiful.'

'Do you blow all the money?'

Del shook his head. 'I used to, but you end up wasting it all on junk. Now I only spend twenty pounds a week. I stick the rest in my savings account and when I'm eighteen, I'm gonna buy a ticket and go off backpacking.'

James looked at Junior. 'So how come you're always broke?'

Del burst out laughing. 'This baby's not allowed to go anywhere near drugs.'

Junior explained miserably. 'My dad's paranoid that he'll get arrested. If I get caught with drugs, it gives the police an excuse to question Dad and search our house.'

'That's a shame,' James said.

'Tell me about it,' Junior said bitterly. 'My dad's a millionaire and half my mates are making a packet selling c.o.ke. What have I got? Holes in my jeans and supermarket-brand football boots.'

'Can't you do it on the sly?' James asked.

'Won't happen,' Junior said. 'The word is out. Anyone who gets me or Ringo involved in the drug business will be in serious trouble if my dad cops them.'

'So you're stuffed,' James laughed. 'You reckon there's any chance I can get in on this delivery lark?'

Del shrugged. 'I'll go upstairs and have a word with Kelvin if you like. I don't know if he needs anyone right now, but I can try and get him to set you up with a few bags of c.o.ke and your own phone.'

'I've already got a mobile,' James said.

Del shook his head. 'You have to use the phone they give you, so the police can't trace it.'

'But there's definitely a chance?'

'I haven't got a clue,' Del said. 'All I can do is put a word in.'

'Thanks,' James said.

Del stood up. 'Anyway, I've got a nine o'clock delivery, so I better dive home and pick up my bike. I'll see you two hard-up losers at school on Monday.'

James smiled. 'Yeah, see you.'

'I'll be thinking about you sweating away on your bike in a couple of hours,' Junior said. 'When I've got my hand up some girl's s.h.i.+rt.'