Free White Tiger by Kylie Chan

know, Leo. Hurry ,’ she said, desperate. ‘It’s the same ones !’ ‘Where? Where ?’
    ‘I don’t know!’ she wailed.
    We raced out of the underpass, into the Star Ferry car park, and stopped at the Shroff Office to pay the parking ticket. Leo gently lowered Simone and she clung to his massive leg.
    ‘You know how far away?’ he said as he pushed the ticket to the cashier.
    Simone’s eyes were still unfocused. ‘Close, Leo, hurry.’
    I looked around. Three teenagers were approaching us from the Star Ferry terminal.
    ‘If it’s the same guys as in the restaurant, they’re over there,’ I said, pointing.
    ‘For God’s sake don’t point at them!’ Leo hissed. He grabbed the parking ticket and the change, hoisted Simone into his arms, and took off towards the stairs. ‘Quick, Emma!’
    He raced up the stairs to the car and I trailed behind him.
    I looked back. The teenagers were running towards us. One of them held out his hand and a Chinese cooking chopper appeared in it. No, not possible. I turned and ran after Leo.
    Simone squealed. Leo had reached the top of the stairs and pelted towards the car. I sprinted to keep up with him, my handbag flapping.
    He unlocked the car with the remote and gently dropped Simone into the back seat. ‘Buckle her up, Emma. We need to get out of here.’ He pulled himself into the driver’s seat and started the engine before I had my door closed. I slammed it shut as he took off.
    Leo drove out of the car park dangerously fast, the tyres of the Mercedes squealing as he took the corners. He had to slow to ease the car down the ramp, then put the paid ticket into the machine and charged straight out of the car park lane into the street, ignoring theother furious drivers who sounded their horns and yelled at him. He ran an amber light and turned into Connaught Road, five lanes wide with concrete dividers on both sides. The traffic flowed smoothly and he raced up the hill towards the Peak.
    ‘Okay, Leo, you can slow down now,’ Simone said.
    Leo slowed the car and relaxed, breathing a sigh of relief.
    ‘What the hell was all that about?’ I demanded loudly. ‘Bad people,’ Simone said. ‘I need to go home and tell Daddy. He’ll be really sad.’ ‘What’s going on, Leo?’
    ‘I recognised one of them. They’ve tried to kidnap her before. Good thing I saw them.’
    ‘ I saw them, silly Leo,’ Simone said. ‘You can’t even tell the difference most of the time.’
    ‘What difference?’ I said.
    ‘Between normal people and bad people,’ Simone said patiently. ‘Only Daddy and me, and special people like Jade and Gold, can tell the difference.’
    ‘Who are Jade and Gold?’
    ‘We’ll be home soon, sweetheart, and then you can tell Daddy all about it,’ Leo said gently. ‘Until we get there it’s not a good idea to talk about it.’
    ‘You have to explain for Emma,’ Simone said.
    ‘Yeah, explain for me,’ I echoed.
    ‘Not right now. Maybe later.’
    ‘Tell me!’
    ‘No.’
    I crossed my arms over my chest and glowered at him. I shouldn’t be kept in the dark like this. I could handle any spy business they threw at me.
    Leo and Simone went into Mr Chen’s office and spoke to him for a long time. They all emerged grim-faced, even Simone. I waited for them in the hallway.
    ‘Are you people going to tell me what’s going on?’ I demanded.
    ‘Come into my office, Emma,’ Mr Chen said.
    I sat down across from him. He pulled up his chair and leaned on the papers strewn all over his desk.
    ‘You know that Simone is a kidnapping target?’
    ‘I know,’ I said impatiently. ‘But what was all that about in Central?’
    ‘Leo spotted some criminals who would be interested in her—’
    ‘No, he didn’t,’ I said quickly. ‘Simone saw them. Leo didn’t see anything.’
    He remained silent, carefully studying my face. ‘Tell me!’ I snapped.
    He took a deep breath, still calm. ‘Simone had seen one of those people before. They have tried to