Brigands M.C.
Robert Muchamore
 The book begins in 2003 with the death of Dante Scott's mother, father, older sister and brother at the hands of the Brigands M.C. South Devon President, The Führer, after Dante's father refuses to go through with the plans to redevelop the Brigands' clubhouse, turning it into shops and flats. After saving his eighteen-month-old sister Holly from the burning house (the Führer attempted to burn all evidence), nine-year-old Dante escapes, is put under the wing of child psychologist Ross Johnson, and is questioned by police in an attempt to convict the Führer. On the night of the murders he was forced into a boxing fight with Martin, the Führer's eldest son, and got blood on his shirt; he lies to the police telling them that it was a 'nosebleed'. The defence solicitors could use the unreliability of his statement to clear the Führer. Much to Dante's fury, the courts decide that there is insufficient evidence to convict the Führer, and he is released. After moving in with a foster family, a member of another Brigands chapter attempts to murder him with a bomb inside a toy car on his birthday. Shaken, Dante moves in under the care of Ross again. Dante is drugged by Jennifer Mitchum (the same person that drugged James Adams in "The Recruit") and is sent to CHERUB where he befriends Lauren Onions (soon to be changed to Lauren Adams). 4½ years later Neil Gauche, an undercover policeman who is a part of a mission to infiltrate the Brigands M.C., tries to join them. Unfortunately, the Führer realises he is a policeman and knocks him out. Ross and Neil visit CHERUB Campus and James Adams, Dante and Lauren are assigned to a mission to infiltrate the Brigands M.C. with their last names changed to Raven. To avoid Dante’s old friends recognizing him, Dante also changes his first name to John. Dante and Lauren make friends with Joe Donnington (the Führer's younger son). Meanwhile James purchases a new bike, and is invited on a run with the Brigands. He ends up being ‘hero worshipped’ by Dirty Dave after James saves his life when a member of the Vengefuls tries to stab him with a sharpened hammer. At the same time Jake McEwen and Neil attempt to uncover a weapons deal orchestrated by the Brigands, worth £600,000 by following two friends of James: Julian and Nigel. When James gets to The Rebel Tea Party, a biker war breaks out between the Brigands and three other gangs (The Vengeful Bastards, Satan's Prodigy and the Bitch Slappers), but James manages to escape. Meanwhile Dante and Lauren end up at Joe’s house party which is invaded by sixth formers ending in police being called after windows get broken and a fight breaks out between Joe, Dante, Lauren and the party-crashers. Unfortunately, Julian later gets scared and confesses to his father, who is a judge. This leads to riot police arresting McEwen and Neil, blowing the operation and McEwen ‘nutting’ a riot officer who insulted his intelligence, resulting in McEwen being forced to six months file sorting in the basement of CHERUB’s mission building. Since the mission is ending, the agents are sent back to campus. Before Dante leaves, he sneaks into the Führer's house, intent on killing him, but can't bring himself to do it. Instead he carves a message into the Fürher's table, implying he is a member of the Vengeful Bastards, to give the Führer something to think about. Dante takes an old photograph from the Führer's study of his and the Führer's family together. James also gets invited to become a stripper at "Dirty Dave's" Devon Strip Joint but refuses and leaves. Lauren, Chloe Blake (the mission controller and posing as the mother of the family) and Dante get a good laugh out of this.