Seeing the two bodyguards beating the mine owners, Li Du led his men and watched the scene with relish. From time to time he commented, "Wow, what a straight punch! This is called an eye s.h.i.+mmer in China! This is so cool, Brother Wolf, can you do this? Hey, Ulysses, don"t cover your head. Your *ss is going to be kicked, haha!"

Aubrey lamented, "It"s a great scene. Unfortunately, we don"t have any wine."

With a sly smile, Holiday drew a small, flat wine bottle from his trouser pocket and said, "Says who? Come, lads. One sip for each!"

Seeing the two bodyguards beating them up, Elson walked over with a sullen face and asked, "Guys, can anyone tell me what"s going on?"

Li Du nodded, and Lu Guan told him what he had seen along with some extra description.

Lennon, clutching his stomach and cowering on the floor, screamed, "You guys are trespa.s.sing! Trespa.s.sing! F**k, wait! I"ll call the police!"

Elson was livid. He tore Lennon"s collar from his s.h.i.+rt as he pulled him up off the floor. He said through clenched teeth, "How dare you do such a thing! It"s attempted murder!"

Lennon pushed him, shouting, "Get out of here, old b*stard…"

A bodyguard came up and kicked him so hard that he bent over and fell to his knees, screaming.

Elson pointed at him and shouted, "Does that hurt? Good, there are more painful things waiting for you! How dare you do that! How dare you!"

Lennon screeched, "What did we do? We can do whatever we want in our mines... "

Elson sneered. "It won"t be your mine for long."

Lennon glared at him. "Who are you? Get out of here. It"s trespa.s.sing, you know, trespa.s.sing!"

He pointed at the fallen ranchers and said in a tone firmer than steel, "The mine will not be yours anymore. It will be your turn to leave. Look, kid, I"m going to make you pay the price. You, all of you, will pay the price!" Elson said coldly.

"I"ll wait. Just you try to make us pay! Come again tomorrow if you have the guts. Let"s see who will pay the price!" Blanchett was more stubborn than Lennon.

"I"ll bring the shotgun tonight. Come back if you dare," cried Ulysses.

With a cold smile, Elson took out his phone and walked back, dialing as he went.

The matter had been put to rest for the time being. Li Du took photos for evidence and left with his men.

What Lennon said was indeed true. They were trespa.s.sers, and there was a lot of emphasis on private land owners.h.i.+p in Australia.

Steve was taken to the town"s community hospital for observation. Once Steve was stable enough, the two bodyguards helped him board the helicopter to go to Sydney for a more thorough examination.

"I don"t know what to say, man. This time it"s my responsibility," Li Du said with a bitter smile as Steve boarded the helicopter.

Steve, who was good natured, laughed. "It"s okay, I"m fine. I know I"m healthy, but I have to go back to make sure everything is fine. I"ll be back soon."

Li Du could not help saying, "I really don"t understand why you are so obsessed with mining."

Steve said slowly, "It was my childhood dream to be a geologist. Seeing the original gemstones you had at the showcase made me excited. They were beautiful, weren"t they?"

Li Du said, "Yes, they were very beautiful. If you like them, I can give them to you."

Steve shook his head. "It wouldn"t be the same. It"s the process. I like the process. You don"t know me, Li, you don"t know my past." He kept shaking his head. He didn"t elaborate. The helicopter started. It was loud, and Li Du could not listen clearly.

The helicopter flew away, but Elson stayed. He kept talking on the phone, and as Steve left, a few people arrived. Elson had asked them to come.

And then, the next few days were interesting.

The Australian tax office first investigated several mine owners, including York, Lennon, Blanchett, Wright, and Ulysses. There was evidence of tax evasion in their mines and businesses, and they were told they would be taken to court to be prosecuted. York and Lennon and the others were blindsided. Wasn"t Elson finding fault on purpose?

Elson and Li Du went with the tax officials, and when they entered Ulysses" mine, Elson asked, "Here I am, where is your shotgun?"

Where could Ulysses go to fight him? He was in the thick of it now, trying to solve his tax problems.

None of the mine owners in Lightning Ridge were completely clean. Australian tax laws were not as strict as those in the United States. "Tax evasion" would be better called, "finding loopholes." The miners were playing with the tax code, and in fact, everybody was doing it. It was not just mine owners, but businessmen in other industries as well. The truth was, the tax office didn"t really care. However, just because they didn"t care, it didn"t mean it was completely okay to break the law. If tax officers checked into these matters, the mine owners would be in trouble.

Elson first contacted an accounting firm and the tax bureau to team up against the owners of the mine. He then proceeded to accuse the owners of mine number 122 of illegally seizing Li Du"s land. Then he went on looking for trouble with the mine owners, almost all the way back to the 18th generation of their ancestors.

Elson"s move was like a thunderbolt as a storm of lawsuits swept over Lightning Ridge. Within a week, all the mine owners around the number 122 mine, together with Blanchett, were arrested and sentenced to prison.

It happened quickly and quietly, and then it was over.

Blanchett was sent to prison for life, not only for attempted murder but because of his vast record of criminal activity. The rest of the mine owners lost both their freedom and their wealth. Elson helped the tax office, while the bank hired first-rate financial lawyers who took advantage of the miners" mistakes and seized all their mines. However, at Elson"s behest, the lawyers were careful to steer clear of any other savings and property belonging to the mine owners.