Tangshan Tigers

by Dan Lee

  He hit the Enter key. Matt saw the screen fill with details of news reports of the Scorpion’s activities. Matt, Olivier and Catarina leaned over the monitor. Shawn clicked on the first report that came up. Then another, and another… The Scorpion had certainly been busy: there had been diamond thefts at the rate of two or three a month; and in all of them he’d got clean away.

  ‘Hadn’t someone better write all this down?’ asked Olivier. ‘There’s a lot of information here.’

  ‘That’s OK,’ said Matt. He tapped his forehead. ‘I’ve got it all here.’

  ‘Oh yes,’ said Olivier. ‘Your photographic memory – I forgot!’

  The librarian looked up. ‘Ssshh!’

  ‘Sorry,’ said Olivier, giving her his most charming smile.

  ‘You have to keep quiet in here, you know. What’s all the noise about?’

  ‘We were just trying to find something on the computer,’ said Olivier politely. ‘They’re so complicated, aren’t they?’

  ‘Let me help you,’ said the librarian with a sigh. She got up from her desk.

  ‘Quick,’ said Matt in a low voice. ‘Olivier, stall her – Shawn, log out!’

  Shawn had downloaded a search programme on to a school computer, which was probably against the rules. Plus, their crime-fighting activities were supposed to be a secret. If the librarian found out they were researching diamond thefts on the Internet, Matt was prepared to bet there’d be trouble.

  Olivier intercepted the librarian and stood between her and the monitor. ‘We went to the Tower of London today – such a fascinating place – and we wanted to find out more about it. You wouldn’t know how old it is, would you?’

  ‘It was built by William the Conqueror,’ said the librarian. She seemed pleased to be able to show off her knowledge. ‘The oldest parts are over nine hundred years old.’

  ‘Really?’ marvelled Olivier. ‘That old?’

  Shawn had logged out by now. Matt breathed a sigh of relief. The librarian moved past Olivier.

  ‘But you haven’t logged in!’ she said.

  ‘We couldn’t work out how,’ said Shawn. ‘I don’t really understand computers.’

  Catarina stifled a giggle.

  ‘It’s perfectly simple,’ said the librarian. ‘Here, let me show you…’

  She gave them a short tutorial on how to search the Internet. Then she returned to her desk. Shawn swivelled in his chair to face the others. ‘So,’ he said quietly. ‘What have we got?’

  ‘We’re looking at fifteen separate thefts here,’ said Matt, ‘but they all have plenty in common. First, they always take place in public. He doesn’t sneak into people’s houses when they’re not there – he strikes at parties, receptions, film premieres and so on. Targets the victim, snatches the loot, and away. Another thing – did anyone else notice this? – every time, it’s people wearing diamonds from the Bates Diamond Company that get targeted.’

  ‘I noticed that!’ said Catarina. ‘You reckon he’s got some sort of grudge against Bates?’

  ‘It’s possible,’ said Matt thoughtfully. ‘I don’t enjoy talking to Adam, but maybe I should speak to him and find out if his dad has any enemies.’

  ‘If he’s anything like his son, he’s bound to!’ said Shawn.

  Their voices had risen again. The librarian looked up.

  ‘Sorry!’ mouthed Olivier.

  ‘Let’s go somewhere we can talk,’ said Matt in a low voice.

  They found a reading space with comfy chairs and a low table with the day’s newspapers near the door. One of the papers had a headline about the latest theft, Matt saw: Stung Again, above a picture of the embassy building with its broken window.

  ‘Here’s another funny thing,’ said Matt. ‘Each time, he seems to disappear into thin air.’

  ‘I don’t understand that,’ said Olivier. ‘I mean there are so many people in this city, and he’s done it so often – you’d think at some point someone would spot where he goes.’

  ‘People do spot him,’ said Shawn. ‘There are plenty of eyewitness descriptions – tall, fit, acrobatic guy dressed like a ninja – but no one can ever keep track of him. When they follow, he vanishes!’

  ‘Like he did when we were chasing him,’ said Matt. ‘Here’s something else – pretty obvious, but all the thefts have happened in London. I wonder whether, if we plotted where they all took place, and where he disappeared each time – marked them on a map, right? – we might start to see some sort of pattern.’

  ‘That’s a good idea,’ said Shawn. ‘It wouldn’t take long. If I pulled up a street map of London and printed it off –’

  At that moment, the library door opened and Chang Sifu stood there, wearing his white martial arts suit.

  ‘Dojo is now at our disposal,’ he said. ‘It is time to start training.’

  Chapter 6

  A CLUE?

  ‘Enjoy your time in the library?’ said Carl with a sneer. ‘Learn a lot, did you?’

  ‘Yes, thanks,’ said Matt mildly. He wasn’t in the mood for an argument with Carl.

  The Beijing team had gathered outside the dojo and were waiting for the Kensington team to leave. The facilities were impressive, Matt saw – the dojo was spacious, modern, air-conditioned, and even larger than the kwoon at the Beijing Academy. There were two tatami mats instead of the usual one.

  The door opened and the Kensington team came out, carrying their gear, hair wet from the shower. They all looked fit and strong and walked with a bold confidence. A team that was used to winning.

  Harry broke away from his team-mates and came to greet Matt. ‘Hey, how’s it going? You’ll love our dojo – it’s a great place to train.’

  ‘I’ve told you about this before!’ came Adam’s harsh voice. He strode over and pulled Harry’s shoulder. ‘ We don’t talk to the enemy, right? We let our fists and feet do the talking!’

  Matt noticed that Adam was carrying a training pad of the most expensive kind – a body protector used in full-contact training. It was brand new and the best make on the market – the sort that normally only a professional martial artist would use.

  ‘That’s a pretty good body protector you’ve got there,’ he said. ‘Did your dad buy it?’

  ‘No, it was my fairy godmother,’ said Adam sarcastically. Matt counted to ten and waited to calm down. Chang Sifu had always taught him not to waste energy on useless emotions – like feeling irritated by bullies and showoffs.

  ‘Well, I better get going,’ said Adam. ‘No time to talk to losers!’

  Adam pulled back his sleeve with a flourish and looked at his watch. It was quite a watch – gold face, gold strap, multiple dials on the face. Matt heard Shawn catch his breath.

  ‘Hey, I know that watch. That’s the one that keeps time to a radio signal from Greenwich, isn’t it? Accurate to within a second every million years?’

  ‘That’s right,’ said Adam. ‘What about it?’

  ‘My dad designed that watch! There are only ten of them in the world – and each one has ten diamonds in it, right?’

  ‘That’s it. My dad picked it up for me – he’s made some important new contacts in the diamond trade, and this was a little something to sweeten a deal.’ He smirked. ‘Bet you wish you could afford one!’

  He swaggered away and his team followed. As he passed, Harry threw Matt an apologetic glance.

  Matt was thinking hard. So Bates had made new contacts in the diamond trade? Could the diamond thefts be the work of a disappointed rival?

  ‘Come,’ said Chang, gesturing at the open door. ‘Let us begin.’

  Matt was captain of the squad; he had to lead his team. He put aside his preoccupations and stepped into the dojo. It was time for the final training session.

  ‘To prepare for close-quarters tactics of Kensington squad,’ said Chang, ‘let us match specialists in take-down styles – judo, ju-jitsu – against stand-ups, such as karate, tae kwon-do, kung fu.’

  Chang went round the dojo, li
ghtly touching students on the shoulder to put them in pairs, and one group of three. Matt was partnered with Wolfgang, the stocky, red-headed German boy who was a judo specialist.

  ‘Stand-up fighters – your opponent will try to come in and get to grips. Strike with long-range blows if you can, using centre line – this picks up points – but be prepared to fight at close quarters also. Use Chi Sao to feel and counter opponent’s moves.’ Chang clapped his hands. ‘Go.’

  Matt knew from the word go that today he wasn’t in the zone. He tried to focus on the Chi Sao principles but he kept thinking about the Scorpion, and how the Tangshan Tigers could trace him. Side by side with this, his thoughts kept returning to Adam Bates – how he hoped to be matched against him in the tournament tomorrow and wipe the smirk off his face. But what if he fought him and didn’t win? What if Adam wins and laughs at me? Matt wondered.

  His footwork was clumsy, his reactions were slow. Wolfgang was not the sort of fighter you could afford to ease up against. He threw Matt once, then sent him crashing down on his back a second time.

  Wolfgang helped him up. ‘Come on, Matt – you’re not trying today!’

  Chang Sifu came across.

  ‘Matt,’ he said gently. ‘You are captain and must set example. You are not focusing. Your mind is too busy. You must empty mind. Think through your body. You understand?’

  Matt nodded.

  ‘Breathe deeply. Calm yourself. All the things that trouble you, imagine them getting smaller and smaller… Then begin again.’

  Matt took several deep breaths. He pictured the Scorpion and Adam becoming tiny, like insects, like microbes, like atoms. He focused on his body, muscles relaxed and ready for action.

  ‘Ready?’ said Wolfgang.

  ‘Ready.’

  This time, when Wolfgang came in to attack, Matt was fully focused. As they grappled together, Matt felt Wolfgang’s movement against him and his body knew what to expect – and how to respond. When Wolfgang attempted a throw, Matt felt it coming, went with it, and shifted his balance at the last moment, so that it was Wolfgang who crashed to the mat.

  ‘Better,’ said Chang quietly. ‘And Wolfgang, remember counter-move Matt used – you might need tomorrow.’

  Wolfgang nodded. ‘Ja, I will remember.’

  Thank goodness for training, Matt thought. In training there were always second chances. If you got something wrong, you could work at it until it came right.

  In the tournament, though, he’d have to get it right first time.

  After the session was over and they had showered and changed, the Tigers went back to the library. This time they chose a computer terminal well away from the helpful librarian. Shawn downloaded and printed a street map of London. He spread it on a desk under a lamp and they all gathered round. With the aid of Matt’s photographic memory, Olivier marked in all the sites where the Scorpion had struck, and where he’d last been spotted before disappearing.

  The result was a scattergun array of red dots all over London, from east to west, stretching across the centre to the suburbs.

  ‘This isn’t helping,’ said Matt. ‘I was hoping there’d be a centre to all this – maybe a hideout he always makes his way to – but these dots are too far apart for that!’

  ‘Maybe he’s got hideouts all over town?’ suggested Catarina.

  ‘Maybe…’ said Matt doubtfully. ‘But – nearly twenty hideouts? It doesn’t seem likely. Olivier’s right, it doesn’t make sense the way he’s always able to disappear no matter where he is – where does he disappear to?’

  ‘There’s no pattern to it,’ complained Olivier.

  ‘Wait!’ said Shawn. He clicked his fingers excitedly. ‘There is a pattern; look – all these dots are close to the River Thames. See? Just a few streets away, every time!’

  Matt exhaled a long slow breath. ‘Shawn, you’ve got it! Somehow he gets down to the river – that’s how he escapes…’ He remembered the speedboat he’d seen roaring down the Thames yesterday. ‘He might be working with someone, an accomplice who’s waiting in a speedboat. He jumps in and they’re away!’

  ‘Yes,’ said Shawn. ‘I bet that’s it!’

  ‘The problem is, how’s this gonna help us catch him?’ said Catarina. ‘ We can’t patrol up and down the river all day – they’re not gonna let us off the school grounds unsupervised, and even if they did –’

  ‘No, that’s right,’ said Matt regretfully. They were not as close to catching the Scorpion as he’d thought. ‘Unless we can find out where he’s going to strike next…’

  ‘And how we gonna do that?’ asked Catarina.

  ‘We’re only in London another five days,’ added Shawn. ‘If we don’t get a clue by then, that’s it.’

  ‘We’ll have to think!’ said Matt. ‘And keep our eyes and ears open. At least we’ve made some progress.’

  ‘That’s true,’ said Olivier. ‘And, all this thinking has made me hungry – we’ve got the welcome dinner with Kensington tonight. Better go to our rooms and get changed.’

  The dinner was held in a great hall with stained-glass windows, which gave it a cathedral-like air. A number of students were already seated when the Tangshan Tigers came in.

  ‘Look, there are place settings,’ said Olivier. ‘They’ve split us up.’

  Matt saw that the settings alternated between Beijing and Kensington students. ‘That’s OK,’ he said. ‘It’ll be good to get to know some of the Kensington guys better.’

  He felt a little less upbeat when he saw that his own name was placed next to that of Adam Bates. As he took his seat, he vowed that he wouldn’t let Adam wind him up.

  The hall filled up quickly. It was a huge, high-ceilinged, wood-panelled room, with long tables down the centre and plaques with gold writing on the walls, commemorating the achievements of pupils.

  The teachers filed in – Chang Sifu and Mr Figgis were sitting with the Kensington Academy staff on the top table, on a dais at the end. Chang was next to Kawada-san, and Matt was pleased to see the grave yet friendly way they conversed together; it was obvious they held each other in high respect. It was so different from the constant one-upmanship of people like –

  ‘Oh no, I’m stuck next to James!’ said the loud harsh voice of Adam Bates. ‘What a pain!’

  ‘Don’t worry,’ said Matt, keeping his cool. ‘We’ll get through it somehow.’ After all, he reminded himself, this was his chance to get some useful information out of Adam.

  Kawada-san stood and tapped on the side of a glass with a spoon. The tinkling sound echoed throughout the hall. Conversation died.

  ‘I should like to say a few words before we eat,’ said Kawada-san. He had a low, distinct voice that carried to the end of the hall. ‘We are here for a tournament, which is of course a competitive occasion – but competitive in, I hope, the right spirit.’

  ‘Yeah,’ muttered Adam to Matt, ‘the spirit to smash you guys!’

  Matt did not respond.

  ‘In martial arts,’ said Kawada-san, ‘the aim is to perfect one’s own skills. We all share this goal. Martial arts teach us discipline. Respect. Skill in combat, but also peace and stillness of mind. We all share these values, I am sure. We each fight to win, pitting our skills against the very best; but at the same time, martial arts bring us closer together, teaching us respect for ourselves and for each other. I hope this tournament will bring out these values, whichever team wins.’

  Matt saw Chang nodding in agreement.

  Spontaneously, Matt started clapping, and in a moment the whole hall resounded to the applause. But Adam, Matt saw, gave only two or three bored, half-hearted claps.

  ‘Chang Sifu and I are old friends and rivals,’ Kawada-san resumed, ‘and know something of the mutual honour and respect that performing martial arts at the highest levels can bring. And so the tournament will begin with an exhibition bout between Chang Sifu and myself.’

  Wow, thought Matt. That’ll be something to see!

  ‘Our sen
sei will wipe the floor with yours!’ said Adam in Matt’s ear. Matt wondered if he’d understood a single word of Kawada-san’s speech.

  Serving staff came round with the first course of smoked salmon. Looking round the table, Matt was glad to see that most of the students were chatting away good-naturedly. He turned to the student on his other side, a slim dark-skinned boy with green eyes.

  ‘Hi, I’m Matt.’

  ‘Good to meet you, Matt. I’m Saeed. You’re the captain, aren’t you?’

  ‘That’s right. What’s your martial art?’

  ‘Judo. You?’

  ‘Tae kwon-do.’

  ‘Oh, a stand-up fighter? We don’t have so many of those in our team. There’s your friend Harry. And Shushmita, she’s karate.’

  Matt looked at the pretty Indian girl opposite – small and dainty but with a determined look that warned she’d be no pushover. She was talking to Carl and they seemed to be getting on very well.

  ‘You’re not related to Dan Warrick, are you?’ Matt heard her say.

  ‘Er, yeah, he’s my dad.’

  ‘I saw him in the Olympics. He is one of my heroes!’

  ‘Yeah, well, he’s pretty good at what he does.’

  ‘And you take after him? I shall be worried if you say you do!’

  ‘Well, y’know, I try my best,’ said Carl, blushing and grinning. Who’d have thought Carl had a softer side? Matt thought, smiling.

  He turned back to Adam. He’d better get on with his task of trying to find out something about Adam’s dad.

  ‘That watch your dad gave you – it’s awesome,’ he said. ‘He must be doing well.’

  ‘That’s right, James!’ said Adam. ‘Wanna see something good?’

  ‘Sure, what?’

  ‘See this?’ Adam held up his mobile and showed Matt a picture of a luxury gym, with weights machines, gymnastic apparatus, a climbing wall, a huge open mat area and a swimming pool in the background. A fit-looking man in a martial arts suit stood in the centre of the mat. He had broad shoulders, a square jaw and eyebrows that almost met in the middle.