Black Friday (Muchamore Novel)

''Black Friday'' is the fifteenth novel in the CHERUB series by Robert Muchamore, and the third book of the Aramov series, the sequel series to the best-selling original CHERUB series, which was published between 2004 and 2010. This carries on from the series featuring long-standing central character James Adams. The series has a new central character called Ryan Sharma. The original CHERUB series was centered on James Choke, or James Adams (his CHERUB name), a child secret agent, and it follows his recruitment to his retirement. As the series progresses, it also involves his younger sister and his friends as they carry out missions worldwide. The Aramov series is centered on Ryan Sharma, a new agent. The book was released in September 2013.

Plot

Six months after the events of the previous novel, the American intelligence community has effectively seized control of the Aramov Clan and its smuggling operations, and plans to wind down the clan's activities while gathering intelligence on their clients. Ryan Sharma and Yosyp Kazakov have infiltrated the Aramov Clan and act as the clan's liaison with the Islamic Department of Justice (IDoJ), an Islamic terrorist organisation. The IDoJ use the clan to smuggle explosives into the United States, but evade a joint TFU-FBI operation to arrest the IDoJ militants upon arrival. Ryan and Kazakov accompany the IDoJ to a safehouse, and learn of the IDoJ's plot to drive trucks loaded with the explosives into crowded malls on Black Friday. Ryan manages to escape and raise the alarm, but Kazakov is captured and subsequently killed when the IDoJ blow up the safehouse with him inside. The IDoJ plot is thwarted, but several civilians are killed when two of the trucks detonate. The American intelligence community, worried about the political implications of their control of the Aramov Clan being revealed, order that the clan's smuggling operations be stopped within the coming months, rather than the years-long timeframe initially hoped for. Ryan is also told that he is being pulled from the mission. He successfully argues for six weeks to continue gathering intelligence at the clan's compound the Kremlin, ostensibly to finish the mission, but in truth Ryan has fallen in love with Kremlin resident Natalka.

Amy Collins has also infiltrated the clan, posing as the girlfriend of Josef Aramov, who is now effectively leader of the clan but is being directed by Amy. Amy sets up a sting operation to have clan aircraft caught smuggling weapons, giving a pretext for the clan to stop further smuggling operations; to Ryan's horror, Natalka's mother is one of the pilots arrested in the sting. Amy is approached by Leonid Aramov's ex-wife Tamara, who has deduced that Amy is working for the intelligence services. Fearing that Leonid will track her down after the clan ceases operations, Tamara offers to help the authorities bring Leonid to justice. To this end, Tamara and her young son Andre flee the Kremlin to Dubai, while Ryan gives their location to Leonid's spy within the Kremlin, who passes this on Leonid. Ex-CHERUB James Adams, who is going through a rough patch with his girlfriend Kerry Chang, begins working at CHERUB and is approached by chairwoman Zara Asker to give self-defense training to Andre during a layover in England. Leonid arranges for Tamara and Andre to be flown to his new home in Mexico.

James is recruited to work on the operation to bring Leonid to justice. James learns that Leonid is planning to sell a cache of shoulder launched missiles (PGSLMs) to a local cartel and then use the proceeds to retire to Trinidad. Ted Brasker and Ethan Kitsell (now going by his birth surname Aramov) confront Leonid's lawyer, who explains that Leonid and Gillian Kitsell/Galenka Aramov bought out a weapons manufacturer who had lost a contract to produce PGSLMs. Whereas Leonid planned to sell the missile designs on immediately, Galenka had paid Jane Oxford to steal PGSLMs from a rival contractor and recreated the technology used, allowing her mass-produce the missiles. Leonid had killed Galenka both to avoid ceding control of the clan to her after Irena Aramov's death and to take possession of the PGSLMs. Tamara kills Leonid and flees with Andre, while James steals a PGSLM Leonid had stored in his apartment and uses it to destroy the factory containing the PGSLMs and their production line. James returns to his apartment en route back to campus, and discovers that Kerry has left him for a new boyfriend. Back in Kyrgyzstan, the clan ceases operations and the Kremlin and its airstrips are destroyed. Ryan is forced to bid farewell to Natalka and returns to campus, where he commiserates with James.

In the epilogue, clan matriarch Irena succumbs to her cancer, while Josef and clan enforcer-turned informant Dan begin new lives in America. Tamara and Andre return to Russia, and Ethan is taken in by Ted. Natalka is taken in by her aunt in Russia, but is kicked out for shoplifting and sent to a reform school. Despite the overall success of the TFU's operation, the unit is disbanded and Dr D and Brasker are forced to retire. Zara Asker announces her plans to retire as chairwoman in 2016, with her husband Ewart the favorite to succeed her. James and Amy begin working for CHERUB and the FBI respectively. Kerry splits with her new boyfriend and makes plans to visit James at CHERUB after graduating university.

CHERUB novels
2013 British novels
Hodder & Stoughton books

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