Tangshan Tigers

by Dan Lee

  Matt thought quickly. He stooped and picked up a stone. He tossed it up on the roof. It landed with a sharp clatter near the Scorpion, who spun round.

  Catarina appeared on the opposite roof. The three Tigers on the ground frantically gestured at her. Catarina saw, and dodged behind a chimney stack, just before the Scorpion turned round again. For a long moment, he stood as if in thought.

  Then he set off running again and leapt on to the next roof.

  Catarina followed.

  The Tigers kept up as best they could. It was hard going – they had to run twice as far as Catarina, running the whole length of streets when she only had to jump from one block to another.

  They rounded another corner and saw something that made Matt’s blood run cold. The Scorpion leapt across the whole width of the street – a huge leap, it had to be at least five metres.

  Don’t do it! Matt tried to send a telepathic message to Catarina. It’s better to let the Scorpion escape than kill yourself…

  Catarina came to the edge of the roof and without a pause hurled herself into the void.

  Matt saw her, outlined against the sky.

  He saw her lose height, saw her fling her arms out desperately –

  saw her fingertips grasp the roof edge –

  felt the shock as her knees thudded into the wall –

  saw her legs scrabble until they found a ledge where she could rest her weight –

  and sighed with relief as she pulled herself up to safety.

  ‘Phew!’ said Shawn shakily.

  ‘Go, Catarina,’ said Olivier.

  They ran in the direction the Scorpion had been heading.

  But there was no sign of him. The rooftops were empty. A couple of evening strollers, seeing Matt and the Tigers desperately scanning the sky, looked up too. But there was nothing to see.

  ‘We’ve lost him,’ said Matt heavily. ‘I don’t know what to do next. You don’t think he could have seen her…?’

  Matt jumped as his mobile went off.

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘It’s Catarina. He is climbing down – Endicott Street, you know it?’

  ‘Yeah, I know it. Near the Embankment,’ replied Matt.

  ‘Meet you down on the ground then!’ Catarina’s voice was faint.

  ‘Hey, Catarina?’

  ‘Yeah?’

  ‘You were awesome!’

  The Scorpion marched briskly towards the river. They saw him pull off his mask, stuff it in his pocket and put on a baseball cap.

  ‘Bit less conspicuous,’ said Olivier. ‘He must be going where there’ll be people around.’

  ‘Keep close,’ said Matt softly. ‘Be ready to make a move.’

  The Scorpion went through a small gap in the wall and descended a flight of steps carved into the embankment, leading down to the river.

  ‘This is it,’ said Matt. ‘Let’s go!’

  They ran to the wall and peered down. The Scorpion was just jumping into a speedboat – a big, beautiful, blue and silver speedboat. There was a pile of boxes in the back, and at the front a small wheelhouse.

  The Scorpion untied the rope that moored it to the wall, and sat down at the wheel.

  He gunned the engine into life.

  ‘Now!’ said Matt.

  He leapt over the wall, ran down the first few steps and jumped into the back of the speedboat. The other Tigers landed almost simultaneously. The boat rocked, but the water was choppy anyway with the waves created by passing craft, and the noise was covered by the roar of the engine. The Scorpion didn’t turn round.

  They crouched behind the boxes as the boat powered out into the middle of the river and set off.

  ‘Now what?’ asked Olivier.

  ‘We watch,’ said Matt. ‘And we see what he does with the diamonds.’

  ∗

  The boat did not travel very far. After five minutes, it passed under Westminster Bridge, with the Houses of Parliament glowing yellow against the evening sky, and crossed the river to dock on the south side.

  The Scorpion tied up the boat and leapt nimbly up the steps.

  ‘Leave it a minute, just in case he looks round,’ said Matt, holding up a restraining hand. ‘OK, that should do it.’

  Cautiously, they emerged on to the South Bank. The Scorpion was striding along, dodging through the crowds of tourists who were on their way to concerts and restaurants, or simply taking an evening stroll to admire the view. The backpack swung on his shoulder.

  Matt stepped up the pace; it wouldn’t matter if the Scorpion saw them now – he would think they were part of the crowd. Matt hoped to get a glimpse of his face, but the baseball cap kept it in shadow.

  ‘Looks like he’s heading for the London Eye,’ said Matt.

  The colossal white wheel towered above them, each spoke the length of a giant redwood. As he neared the queue that snaked away from the Eye, the Scorpion slowed down. He greeted two men in dark suits. They exchanged a few words, but the Tigers weren’t near enough to catch what they said. The Scorpion patted his backpack.

  ‘Those guys must be his buyers,’ said Shawn. ‘They’re going to take the diamonds off his hands.’

  ‘Yes,’ breathed Matt, ‘on the London Eye. You can book a pod to yourself – you couldn’t get a much more private place for selling stolen diamonds. They’ll be over a hundred metres in the air – who’s going to see anything?’

  ‘I am!’ said Catarina.

  ‘What? How are you going to get in the pod without being noticed?’ asked Matt.

  ‘I’m not gonna get in the pod! I’m gonna climb up outside – take a picture of that Scorpion through the glass with my mobile when they hand over the diamonds! Then we can give the evidence to the cops and the cops can bust them good!’

  ‘If you’re taking pictures,’ said Shawn, ‘use this.’ He handed her a miniature digital camera. ‘Better than a mobile – sharper definition.’

  ‘But it’s too dangerous!’ protested Matt. ‘I mean, look at the size of it – look how high it is!’

  ‘Doesn’t matter how high it is, if you don’t fall!’ said Catarina. ‘And I ain’t gonna fall!’

  ‘If anyone can do it, Catarina can,’ said Olivier.

  ‘Anyway, there’s not much time!’ said Catarina. ‘Look, they’re getting into their pod now.’

  ‘OK, Catarina, do it,’ said Matt. ‘But be careful!’

  Matt didn’t expect a reply. Catarina was already running through the crowds towards the London Eye.

  Chapter 9

  SKY HIGH

  Catarina stopped by the side of the South Bank wall, only a few metres from the barrier, gazing up at the huge, slowly turning wheel. Two uniformed security staff, a man and a woman, were taking people’s tickets and letting them on, filling one pod at a time. Matt saw the dilemma: if she climbed over the barrier in plain view, the guards would stop her.

  ‘We’d better help,’ said Olivier. ‘We have to create a diversion.’

  ‘Like what?’ said Matt.

  ‘We’ll think of something. Come on!’

  The Tigers ran to the foot of the Eye, where the slow-moving queue ascended a ramp that led to the pods. They threaded their way through the queue, ignoring the angry looks of those waiting in line. The guards stopped them.

  ‘Tickets, please!’

  ‘Oh, wait a minute!’ said Olivier. ‘I’m sure I had the tickets somewhere, or did I leave them in my other jacket? I’m so sorry!’

  A family with three children at the front of the line began to protest.

  ‘No, we’re definitely next,’ Olivier assured them. ‘ We were before you, you just didn’t see us.’

  The man turned to his wife and said something in German. Olivier, who was fluent in German, quickly addressed him in the same language, smiling politely. The man looked bewildered.

  ‘What’s going on?’ said the male guard. ‘What’s all this about?’

  ‘We’re getting on, that’s what,’ said Shawn, and ran towards the n
earest pod.

  ‘Oh no, you don’t!’ said the guard.

  ‘Oh yes, we do!’ said Oliver, dodging round him. The other guard quickly blocked his way.

  ‘Come on, you’ve got to let us on – all these people have pushed in front of us!’ said Matt.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Catarina nimbly vault over the barrier and run towards the base of the wheel.

  She leapt on to one of the slowly revolving spokes and began to shimmy her way up it.

  The crowd behind the Tigers were getting restless.

  ‘You’re not getting on without tickets!’ said the female guard.

  ‘Oh, sorry!’ said Olivier. ‘My mistake, I’ve just remembered our tickets are for tomorrow! I’m so sorry, what a foolish mistake, I must apologize if we’ve caused any delay.’ He apologized handsomely in German to the family.

  ‘Clear off out of it then!’ said the male guard irritably.

  A gasp went up from the crowd. People pointed up at what the Tigers already knew was happening – high above, Catarina was swinging her way from bar to bar, as agile as a gibbon. Already she was a third of the way up.

  The two guards looked at one another in panic. ‘What do we do? Can we get it stopped?’ said the woman guard.

  ‘But then everyone will be stuck up there in the pods!’

  ‘Better report it –’

  ‘Don’t let anyone else on –’

  Matt and the Tigers retreated to the walkway and watched as Catarina climbed higher and higher. A crowd was gathering on the South Bank.

  ‘Must be some kind of stunt!’ he heard someone say.

  ‘But where are the TV cameras?’ asked someone else.

  Matt froze as he saw Catarina grab for a strut and miss.

  As she fell, she twisted in mid-air and grabbed another. She resumed her climb as if nothing had happened.

  ‘I can’t bear to watch,’ said Olivier.

  ‘If she falls from there, she’s a goner!’ said Shawn. Catarina was now almost at the very top of the Eye. She appeared no larger than a speck.

  ‘She’d be all right if she fell in the water,’ said Matt hopefully.

  ‘She wouldn’t,’ said Shawn. ‘From that height, it’d be like hitting concrete.’

  Catarina was directly above the Scorpion’s pod now. Matt saw her hang on with one hand while she snapped photos with the other.

  She started to climb down fast, taking the most direct route via the centre of the wheel.

  Matt breathed out. It looked like she’d made it. Every stage in the descent brought her closer to safety.

  The Scorpion’s pod was swinging downwards too. Matt had the odd sense that it was pursuing Catarina. And in a way, it was. Matt saw the Scorpion and the two dark-suited men pointing at her. As the pod swung nearer he saw their faces were tense and angry.

  Catarina had been rumbled.

  She reached the bottom and somersaulted over the barrier. Eluding the security staff who tried to grab her, she ran down the ramp and joined the Tigers.

  ‘Catarina!’ said Matt, clutching her shoulders. ‘You nearly gave me a heart attack – but you did it!’

  ‘Yup,’ said Catarina, grinning. She held up the digital camera. ‘Got the goods!’

  ‘And someone’s going to get us if we don’t watch out!’ said Shawn. ‘Look!’

  The Scorpion and his two buyers were striding purposefully towards them, cutting their way through the crowd.

  ‘Let’s just get out of here and find the nearest police station,’ said Olivier. ‘We’ve got what we came for.’

  ‘Wait,’ said Matt. ‘ We need to see what this Scorpion guy looks like.’

  If his face didn’t come out clearly in Catarina’s picture, they had no description to give the police. The whole evening’s work would have been wasted.

  It was risky. The Scorpion was on his way and he was dangerous – Matt knew he was fast and agile enough to attack and still get away, even in this crowd.

  But he had to see the man who’d attacked and robbed his mother.

  His heart beat fast as he stopped, turned and faced the three men.

  The Scorpion’s baseball cap was tilted back.

  At last, Matt got a clear view of his face.

  It was Frank Bates.

  Frank Bates? Matt’s mind was in a whirl. Why would Bates be stealing his own diamonds?

  But there was no doubt about it. The man had the same broad shoulders, square jaw and extended eyebrows Matt had seen in the picture on Adam’s mobile. Now he understood why Bates needed a private gym with a climbing wall – the man had to be super-fit to do what he did.

  Bates held out his hand. ‘Give me that camera,’ he said to Catarina.

  ‘I don’t think so,’ said Catarina.

  ‘Then let me see if I can make you think differently,’ said Bates. His voice was cold, hard and confident – the voice of a man accustomed to getting his own way.

  He moved purposefully towards Catarina. She held up the camera tantalizingly, then lightly tossed it over Bates’s head to Matt. Matt was taken by surprise but caught it neatly.

  Bates took a step towards Matt. Matt threw the camera to Olivier, who plucked it out of the air one-handed.

  ‘I’m not playing games!’ said Bates through gritted teeth.

  ‘Aren’t you?’ said Olivier, tossing the camera to Shawn.

  A crowd had formed in a loose ring around them, as passers-by stepped aside to give them room, then stopped to see what was going on. That section of the South Bank walkway was full of street performers – every few metres there were jugglers, living statues, stilt-walkers and musicians. The crowd obviously assumed that the Tangshan Tigers were another act. They stood and applauded at the deft display of catching.

  Bates’s buyers had melted away. They’d got what they came for. Bates, on the other hand, was trapped, Matt realized. He would probably have loved to melt away too, instead of being gawped at by tourists, but he couldn’t afford to leave the incriminating evidence on the camera behind.

  ‘I don’t want to hurt you kids,’ he hissed. ‘But I will if you don’t hand that over. Don’t mess me with me – I’m a ju-jitsu expert!’

  ‘Come and get it!’ said Shawn, and as Bates rushed at him he threw the camera back to Catarina.

  But this time Bates changed his tactics. He went straight for Shawn and knocked him off his feet. He pushed Shawn face-down on the ground and got him in an armlock. Matt saw by the practised way he moved that Bates was skilled as well as strong and fit.

  ‘Now hand over the camera! Or I’ll snap his arm like a twig!’

  The crowd of tourists gasped in mock-horror.

  Catarina came towards Bates, holding out the camera. As Bates reached for it, Shawn rolled over, releasing the pressure of Bates’s hold; at the same time, Catarina pulled the camera back so that Bates’s fingers closed on empty air.

  Too bad for him he doesn’t know Chi Sao! thought Matt.

  Shawn jumped to his feet. The crowd clapped and cheered.

  ‘Right,’ said Bates. ‘You kids have asked for it!’

  He ran at Catarina. She kicked out, but Bates brushed the kick aside, grabbed her, and got her in a choke-hold. But Catarina had anticipated and got her arm through to prevent the hold squeezing her neck. Olivier came in and dealt Bates a kung-fu kick in the ribs that made him grunt. Catarina danced free.

  Again the crowd applauded.

  Bates turned like a baited bear and went for Olivier. Matt stepped in between them and hit Bates with a combination of two spear-hand strikes, right down the centre line. Bates growled and backed off; Matt went in for another strike, but Bates read this one and grabbed Matt’s hand. Before he could turn and twist in the classic ju-jitsu move, however, Shawn wrestled his arm away and turned to throw him – but Bates saw that one coming and yanked Shawn backwards. Before he could strike or get Shawn in a hold, Catarina came in and forced him off with a flurry of high kicks.

  Massive app
lause from the crowd!

  ‘They’re good, aren’t they?’ said someone.

  Bates was a skilled fighter and immensely strong. He could easily have dealt with any one of the Tangshan Tigers, no doubt – but all four of them were too much for him to handle. Each time the Tigers fought him off, the crowd roared its approval. This seemed to madden Bates. His attacks became desperate.

  Matt blocked a punch aimed at his face; Shawn caught Bates’s arm and wrenched it downwards; Olivier caught the other arm and did the same, as Catarina swept Bates’s legs from under him.

  Bates slowly collapsed like a detonated tower block.

  Matt, Olivier and Shawn held him face-down on the ground.

  Catarina ironically bowed to the crowd.

  A tinkling shower of coins landed around the Tangshan Tigers.

  ‘Stand aside, please!’

  Four police officers pushed through the crowd. The leader, a sergeant in a peaked cap, stood before the Tangshan Tigers with his hands on his hips.

  ‘What’s all this then?’

  ‘We caught the Scorpion for you – there he is!’ said Catarina, pointing to the struggling figure on the ground. She held out Shawn’s digital camera. ‘And all the evidence you need’s in here!’

  ‘That’s another successful case for the Tangshan Tigers,’ said Matt, as he watched the police lead the glowering Bates away.

  ‘Tigers rule!’ said Catarina.

  ‘But what I don’t get,’ said Matt, ‘is why he was stealing his own diamonds.’

  ‘That’s easy,’ said Olivier. ‘They were insured. Every time they got stolen, he claimed on the insurance – probably for more than their value. Not only that, he could sell them on the black market too, and get paid twice over!’

  ‘Clever,’ admitted Matt.

  ‘Not as clever as the Tangshan Tigers, though!’ said Shawn.

  Matt felt more than the usual satisfaction at solving a case. This one had been personal. The Scorpion had attacked and frightened his mother. Now the Scorpion was behind bars, and it was Matt and the Tigers who’d put him there.