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Although he was autistic, Lance was highly intelligent. He thought differently from other people. Sometimes he could see clearly what others could not. When he could not communicate his views to them he became very angry and frustrated. This was usually the case, pushing him further into his lonely self.
Lance and Tricksy had been walking and watching.
Tricksy knew that the bridge was not far from the house, just a few kilometres. It should have taken an hour to walk back from the ATV. She was a little confused. She knew they should be going to the village at Te Kouka, but Lance had crossed the river to take her home to Te Kouka Flats Farm.
Then he had made her silent and on guard as Zinsli and the girl-woman Jo took the ATV farm bike out of the swamp where it had stuck. Instead of calling out, Lance had remained hidden. Tricksy respected Lance's intelligence. She knew he was different from other people but he had a fast brain and often acted out of instinct just as animals do. They watched as Zinsli extracted the ATV, put Jo on the back, then rode off to Gresham Downs Farm or Te Kouka Flats Farm.
Lance and Tricksy set off again. They followed the farm bike's path back to the fork ion the road, where Sally walked three times a week to get the mail. Tricksy indicated that the farm bike had turned into Te Kouka Flats farm. The boy plodded on, not tired, not hot, not cold and not hungry. Now they sat on the hill above the house, the same hill Jo and her parents had walked down to get to the farm. They watched the house.
First the big truck from Gresham Downs Farm arrived. Then it went away, up the valley to the trees beside the river where the big eels lived.
Next Zinsli arrived on Greg's ATV. Then he left in Greg's pick-up truck and went upriver. He came back in the big truck. Lance tried to count how many people were in his house but he could not keep track of them all. .Her nose told Tricksy that all of the people were now in the house, including Sally, whose scent she had never forgotten. For once she was unable to communicate her knowledge to Lance.
Lance began to doze. It was early in the morning, when young boys should be sleeping in their beds but Lance had always lived by different biorhythms. Tricksy curled up with him as a bitch does to her offspring. Greg was her alpha male. Lance was his pup. Her job was to keep him safe.
Bill Paki Paki, the ex Minister of Police, was having a difficult time hiring a helicopter. "I need to get to Nelson," Bill said to one charter company. "We are a group of four. Can I charter something to fly us there?
"Nelson Airport is closed for the night," said the booking clerk. "It won't open until six in the morning. I'm not sure we can take five in our biggest plane."
Four and the pilot. Should Syd and Jeanne stay behind? He wondered. "What about a direct chopper flight from here to Grantville and bit further?" Bill asked next.
"We could do a helicopter flight at five fifteen," said the woman. "I would have to arrange a refuel in Kaikoura. But it will take only three passengers."
"Hold on," said Bill. He turned to Syd his wife and to Richard's mother, Jeanne. "They can only take three. We would leave at five fifteen."
"I hate helicopters," said Syd. "Count me out."
"Me too," said Jeanne. "And five fifteen is quite uncivilised. I'll stay and keep Syd company."
Bill turned his attention back to the telephone. "Okay, there will be three passengers. Two quite large men and a policewoman."
Bill was six four, and large with it. A South Island Maori, he was sometimes mistaken for a Pacifica, but his body was pure muscle. Robert was also large, just under six foot like his son Richard. He was the same weight he had been for twenty years but his shape had changed with age as his muscles wasted to be replaced by fat tissue as part of the ageing process. He was still fit but was no longer fast enough to play cricket well. Barbara van Buren was not small.
Over the years, Bill had made a fortune investing in the commercial endeavours of an immigrant to New Zealand, Ken Kovic. Kovic had been an importer and exporter. Bill gave him money and supported his endeavours. The company flourished. Ken Kovic insisted that Bill was in partnership, something Bill kept quiet because he was not sure if Kovic's actions were entirely legal. When Bill wanted to leave the business because he felt Kovic had become involved in drugs, his settlement was in the millions. Bill could well afford to charter a helicopter. He could afford to buy one outright if necessary.
Bill and Robert had to be at the airport hangar at five to five. It would still be dark then, although it was mid-summer and full daylight was scheduled for five fifteen, their take-off time. Although they were tired they were also suffering from time zone adjustments. Their wives were similarly affected. After a restless night, Robert's husband Jeanne got up at four and made Robert a cup of tea. Robert and Jeanne were English and drinking tea was essential for every crisis in their lives.
The Wests had immigrated to New Zealand before Richard was born. Richard was a primary school teacher who quickly adapted to the Kiwi way of life. Jeanne did not. She missed her homeland terribly, making unpopular comparisons between the two cultures, but always favouring the English practice.
"They are flip flops, not jandals," she would declare. "Why can't New Zealand people speak English properly?"
As soon as Robert turned sixty five he took her back to England in the hopes she would find the happiness that had eluded her in the 'Colonies'.
The Paki Pakis were also awake. Bill got dressed in warm clothes on the basis that one can always take clothes off if one became too hot. He did not know what the day would bring, although the weather forecast assured him that the day would be fine with a temperature of twenty six, chilled somewhat by a ten knot southerly wind. That meant the helicopter would take a little longer to reach Blenheim for refuelling, and even longer to fly south to Grantville.
Barbara van Buren was waiting for them at the helicopter base. The pilot was ready. Previously a policeman, Trevor Simonson introduced himself to Bill. Trevor now worked in Helicopter Rescue. The hefty fee Bill was paying would help the Rescue Service with extra funds. It was unlikely that the service would be needed at that hour of the morning but by refuelling in Blenheim, across Cook Strait, he could ensure a fast return in an emergency that the other craft could not cope with.
Bill explained where they were going, and why. He said they needed to find the drain pipe and check the far end for evidence someone had used it as a tunnel. They might have to crawl through the pipe to ensure nobody was still in it. The pilot understood Bill's urgency. He decided not to refuel in Blenheim, which would give Bill and Robert a little more time at the site. The helicopter had to be back by nine.
There was little wind. The air was calm. It was going to be a good flight.