Blue Dragon

said.
    ‘He should be able to hide his nature and appear as an ordinary human,’ John said. ‘He’ll probably take the form of a woman.’
    Leo snorted with amusement.
    I nodded, studying the card. Wong had four offices: one in Central, one in Sham Shui Po, one in Tsim Sha Tsui, and one in Kowloon City. I glanced up at John. ‘The Tiger doesn’t need to go. I know where Wong is.’
    There was a tap on the door and Michael entered. He saluted John and me, then sat next to Leo.
    ‘How do you know?’ Leo said. ‘You don’t have that look.’
    ‘It’s on the card,’ I said, flipping it around. ‘It says he has an office on the top floor of Kowloon City Plaza. The top floor’s the car park. There are no offices there, that’s all shops.’
    Michael’s face filled with comprehension. ‘That’s what he did with the girls in Kowloon City.’
    ‘What?’ I said.
    ‘Kowloon City?’ John said.
    ‘Yeah,’ Michael said. ‘He has some sort of office in Kowloon City. That’s where they took the girls. He’s had that place for a long time. Like, nearly forty years or something. The guys used to joke that he’d been around for so long he had to be a demon.’
    The Tiger came in and sat next to me. ‘What did I miss?’
    ‘Is Simone okay?’ I said.
    ‘Your demon has her. She’s okay.’
    ‘He’s in Kowloon City,’ I said. ‘The pizza delivery guy.’
    ‘What?’ Michael said.
    ‘We were attacked by a demon posing as a pizza delivery boy,’ John said. ‘A couple of years ago, when Emma had just started here. The real delivery boy was found later, cut into small pieces, in a dumpster in Kowloon City.’
    ‘The copy of me too,’ I said. ‘It all fits together. He’s somewhere in Kowloon City. Top of Kowloon City Plaza.’
    ‘Too exposed,’ John said. ‘Too much in the open.’
    ‘Kowloon City, Kowloon City.’ I had it. ‘Kowloon Walled City!’
    ‘That’s gone now,’ Michael said. ‘They tore it down and put a park there.’
    ‘It would have been the perfect place for him to have his headquarters though,’ I said. ‘Narrow, twisting alleys between rotting ten-storey tenements. A part of Mainland China, but neither side would take responsibility and police it. Completely lawless. It would have been perfect.’
    ‘But it’s a park now,’ Michael said, insistent. ‘They tore it all down.’
    ‘And Kowloon City Plaza is right next to the park. What if he’s underneath? He’s had forty years, John. Could he be underneath?’
    ‘On my way,’ the Tiger said, and disappeared.
    We waited silently for him to return.
    The Tiger reappeared. ‘For some reason I can’t see underneath,’ he said. ‘You’ll have to send a stone. Do you have any handy?’
    John concentrated. There was a tap on the door and Gold came in.
    ‘Oh no you don’t,’ I said loudly. ‘This new parent is not going anywhere.’
    Gold pulled his baby from his chest and put it on the table.
    ‘The stone in my ring can go,’ I said to Gold. ‘Don’t you go anywhere.’
    ‘She’s right, Gold, I hadn’t thought of that,’ John said. ‘Go back and rest.’
    I tapped the stone in my ring.
    ‘Yes, Emma?’ it said.
    ‘Stone,’ John said, ‘you are ordered to Kowloon City Park. Scout. We suspect that the demon may have tunnels underneath the park.’
    ‘My Lord,’ the stone said, and disappeared out of my ring.
    ‘Go back and rest, Gold,’ I said.
    ‘Can I wait and see my parent safely back?’ Gold said, picking up his child and returning it to his chest.‘Quite a few weird things have been happening lately. I want to be sure.’
    ‘There’s nothing there that will hurt it,’ the Tiger said. ‘It’ll be okay.’
    I gestured towards the chair next to me. ‘Wait with us if you want.’
    We sat silently at the table and waited for the stone to return. It took quite a while and I began to become concerned. I could see from Gold’s face that he was worried as well.
    The stone appeared in its human form between me and Gold. It sagged to lean on the table with one hand; its face was pale and it was trembling. I had never seen it so emotional.
    ‘Are you okay, Dad?’ Gold said, quickly rising to help his parent.
    The stone appeared unable to speak, and Gold gently guided it to sit next to me, then sat beside it, holding its hand.
    ‘There is a large network of tunnels under Kowloon City Park,’ the stone said, its voice hoarse. ‘I am probably the only one able to see inside. Nobody else