White Tiger

‘What’s happening, Daddy?’ Simone said from Leo’s arms.

‘Bad people, Simone, we have to move.’

‘Where?’ I said, but he ignored me. I looked around. Everything seemed perfectly normal. A couple of families with children wandered around the statues. A Taiwanese tour group piled off a bus nearby, talking loudly to each other in Putonghua.

‘Where, sir?’ Leo said. ‘Which direction?’

‘Hold.’ Mr Chen was still looking around.

‘My Lord, we should move,’ Leo said quietly.

‘I’m not sure which direction. Hold, Leo.’

I silently watched them both. This was way weirder than any spy stuff.

‘You should see Ms Kwan, my Lord,’ Leo hissed under his breath. ‘You’re leaving it very late. You’re very weak. You can’t even tell where they’re coming from.’

‘Wait, Leo. They are a good distance away. I will be able to pick the direction soon…There.’ Mr Chen turned to look up the beach, away from the tourists. ‘The young couple halfway up the beach. Let’s go.’

The young couple looked perfectly normal to me.

‘I was having fun, Daddy,’ Simone said.

‘You know we have to go, sweetheart,’ Mr Chen said sadly. ‘There are bad people here.’

Simone kicked her legs into Leo with frustration.

‘Chen See Mun!’ Mr Chen barked softly. ‘Discipline.’

Simone subsided and made a face.

‘Let’s go, Leo.’ Mr Chen was unruffled. ‘Walk right past them. Ignore them. They will not go for us, this place is too public. They were probably hoping to catch us in the shelter of the statues.’

‘My Lord.’ Leo turned and walked up the beach. Mr Chen gestured for me to follow.

‘What’s going on, Mr Chen?’

‘I’ll tell you later, Emma. Right now we need to go home.’

As we approached, the young couple saw us and moved to intercept us. Leo and Mr Chen both tried to walk around them, but they stopped in front of us, blocking our way.

Leo took my arm and pulled me behind him. He lowered Simone and pushed her behind him as well. ‘Hold Simone there, Emma.’

I took Simone’s hand and held her next to me. I wasn’t afraid of the two people; whoever they were, they were probably no match for the men in front of me.

Leo readied himself in front of Simone and me.

Mr Chen stood quietly, apparently relaxed. ‘What do you want?’

The couple were an ordinary-looking pair of Chinese in their early twenties, wearing jeans and plain T-shirts.

‘We’re not here to hurt anybody,’ the young man said.

Mr Chen didn’t say anything, he just waited.

‘What’s the little girl’s name?’ the young woman said. ‘She’s very pretty.’

Leo hissed under his breath and shifted slightly.

‘Hold, Leo,’ Mr Chen said without moving. ‘Is there a point to this?’

‘There is a price on your head,’ the young man said. ‘A very rich prize.’

Mr Chen went completely still. He even seemed to stop breathing. ‘I know they are after me. What is the prize?’

‘To be Number One.’

‘Why are you telling me this?’

The young man saluted Mr Chen Chinese-style, holding his closed fist in his open palm and shaking his hands in front of his chest. ‘Protect us.’

The woman saluted as well.

‘Leo,’ Mr Chen said without moving, ‘take Simone and Miss Donahoe back to the car.’

‘No more than these, sir?’ Leo said.

Mr Chen concentrated. ‘No others. Just these. Go back to the car.’

‘Come on, Emma,’ Leo said, hoisting Simone into his arms again. ‘Let’s go.’

I glanced back to see Mr Chen as we walked to the car. The young couple had knelt in front of him. When I reached the car, I looked back again. They were gone. The entire beach was deserted, except for Mr Chen’s lone dark figure walking back to us.

No way could the couple have walked off the beach in the time between my glances. But I couldn’t see them anywhere. They’d disappeared completely.

I didn’t ask about them in the car on the way home; I didn’t want to frighten Simone. Leo and Mr Chen were quiet and subdued; Simone was wide-eyed and silent.

• • •

Later that evening, after I’d bathed Simone and put her to bed, I went to Mr Chen’s office to ask him what was going on. He and Leo were talking inside his office, and Leo’s voice was so loud it made the door rattle.

‘They know exactly how weak you are!’ he shouted.

I had to strain to hear Mr Chen’s voice. ‘Those have been tamed. They won’t be back.’

‘You need to see Ms Kwan now!’

Mr Chen said something, but I didn’t hear it.