Chapter 35
Get a Good Lawyer
‘Sit,’ ordered Riki.
‘Hold on,’ said Nat. ‘First I have to –’
‘No,’ said Riki. ‘You’ve done more than enough. Sit.’ She put her hands on her hips. ‘Now.’
Nat obeyed. Riki wiped Nat’s tears away and placed a steaming mug of milo into her shivering hands. Then she settled beside her.
‘We got so worried,’ said Riki. ‘We could see the water rising. You should have heard the crazy schemes we came up with to save you!’
Riki’s fussing soon made Nat feel better. Riki examined the bruise where Wylie’s bullet had grazed her, and pronounced Nat extremely lucky.
‘If he’d been a better shot, you’d be in trouble,’ she said.
Beside them, Elijah and Barnaby were in extreme survival mode. They’d slit Jack’s wetsuit up to his shin, revealing his mangled foot in full. Despite the fact Jack was in serious pain, Barnaby was lecturing him.
‘That’s why you wear steel caps. Safety first mate. Now we’re going to have to bind this. It’s going to hurt.’
Elijah wound the bandage around Jack’s foot. Nat watched her brother grimace, but he didn’t complain. When Elijah had tucked in the bandage end, he sat back.
‘So,’ he said. ‘Let’s take stock. We got the treasure. Wylie and his cronies are gone. You guys got to see a Harpagornis, and for all that we got dealt one serious injury.’ He paused for a moment. ‘Nice work you two.’
‘If I could have fitted in the tunnel I would have got the treasure right away,’ joked Barnaby.
‘No you wouldn’t,’ said Jack. He wasn’t being argumentative; his voice was calm and quiet. ‘Nat was the perfect person to do it. She outwitted Wylie, and then she saved me, despite the fact that getting the treasure would have set her up forever. Then she went back and grabbed the last gems. I saw the whole thing.’
Nat was gob smacked. Jack had never said anything like this to her – ever.
Elijah nodded. ‘Does everyone have a milo? I’d like to propose a toast.’ Riki distributed more cups and filled them to the brim. ‘A toast,’ said Elijah. ‘To Natnat Splattercat and her gang.’
‘To Natnat and her gang!’ everyone chorused.
The echo drifted around the cave. As all the gear was packed away, Nat hung close to Jack. When the other three were occupied and the moment was right, she hugged him.
‘Thanks heaps for what you said.’
‘Thanks for saving my life,’ he replied. ‘I owe you big time.’
‘Dad never would have forgiven me if I had come home with treasure and no brother.’
Jack chuckled. ‘We’re going to be in so much trouble when he finds out what happened.’
When it was time to go, Nat and Riki slipped into the water first. Barnaby and Elijah stuck with Jack to make sure he was okay. When Nat saw the light of the lagoon, her heart leapt. She clambered out into the pouring rain and let it fall on her uplifted face. A noise startled her and she dropped to a crouch, but then a familiar voice set her at ease.
‘You’re safe Nat,’ called Abraham. He smiled down at her from the rocks around the lagoon. ‘Well done.’ Sitting on his shoulder was Pi. He leapt and sang as he watched everyone climb out of the water.
Nat lifted the greenstone out from under her wetsuit and passed it to Abraham. ‘It worked,’ she said. ‘It was amazing.’
‘You did it,’ said Abraham. ‘I knew you could.’ He re-fastened the pounamu around his neck.
Suddenly two more people clambered over the rocks – one in a single stride, the other in a unique nine-and-a-half year old manner. Mike didn’t say a word, but scooped Nat into a massive bear hug. He lifted her off the ground and held her tight for a long moment. Then he set her down and stepped towards Jack. Elijah and Barnaby shuffled aside as Mike lifted his son into his arms. Jack didn’t utter a word of protest.
As Mike stepped back onto the path with him, Nat saw two more men. One was a police officer taking notes, and the other man Nat recognised as a friend of her father. He had a great bristly beard with white streaks in it and eyebrows that looked like they might be alive.
‘So this is the trouble-making, illness-inventing gang who refuses to stay grounded,’ he said, looking amused.
‘This is Steve Forrest, from the Department of Conservation,’ said Abraham. ‘We’ve had a nice afternoon together.’
Steve chuckled. ‘A nice afternoon? With you two? That’ll be the day.’ Nat watched as his frame shook with merriment. ‘It’s the story of the year,’ he said. ‘We’ve got men swarming through the Flower Grotto, and their reports are hard to believe. Someone’s smuggled an incredible amount of drilling equipment in there and made a right mess.’
Nat nodded, unsure of how much to say. All of a sudden she was hugged tight around the waist.
‘Was it amazing?’ whispered Kathleen. ‘Did you get the treasure?’
Nat smiled. ‘Yes,’ she replied. ‘Definitely yes.’
‘That means I get to keep Sundance, right?’ asked Kathleen.
‘Without a doubt,’ said Nat.
Kathleen grinned up at her sister. ‘We did it,’ she said, skipping about on the rock. ‘We did it!’
‘Dad,’ said Nat. ‘We get to keep the farm.’ She reached into her bag and passed him a ruby. Mike’s eyes looked as though they might fall out of his head.
Kathleen grabbed the gem. 'How much is this worth?'
‘More than you,’ replied Jack.
Everyone laughed.
Jack turned to Mike. ‘What are you going to do now Dad?’
Mike shook his head. ‘Beats me,’ he said. ‘What do you suggest?’
‘Get a good lawyer,’ said Jack. ‘Negotiate the sale of the gems one at a time, pay off the debt, and relax a bit.’
Mike’s head fell to his chest and Nat saw tears in his eyes.
‘Relax?’ he said. ‘I don’t know if I know how to do that.’
‘I’ll teach you,’ said Jack.
‘Either way,’ said Abraham, ‘a lot of the pressure you were feeling is gone now.’
Mike looked at Abraham, and held his hand out. They shook. ‘Thank you mate,’ said Mike. ‘Thank you for all you’ve done.’
Abraham smiled and shook his head. ‘Don’t mention it.’
‘All right,’ said Mike. ‘Time to go home. We’ve got to get you all cleaned up, bandaged and packed. Tomorrow is the cave talk, then you’re all going back to your Mum and I’m going to take the whole next term to recover from everything you’ve put me through these holidays.’
‘But at least –’ started Kathleen.
‘But nothing,’ said Mike. ‘We’re going home.’