‘Oh, right.’ Topaz sneezed again, and sighed. ‘Okay, I’ll help you out of there and then you can kill me – although I have to say, it hardly seems fair that I have to do my killer a favour. But then again, there isn’t much justice on this planet, is there? Oh, no, not unless your name is Enrico. Of course, then it’s a different story – then you get plenty of justice, and plenty of gold coins in your treasure account too, while the rest of us have zero treasure account balances – achoo! – but that’s no problem, we don’t mind living in poverty, and why try and change things, because that’s just the way it is, and anyway, if Enrico catches you complaining he’ll just arrange for your tongue to be burned so you can never speak again. Oh, but we all pretend that sort of thing doesn’t happen, don’t we? Let’s all keep drilling and mining while the hairities get richer and we get poorer!’

All the time she was talking Topaz was rummaging through her pockets, pulling out and discarding an array of different objects: crumpled-up leaflets, tissues, a half-eaten ShobbleChoc bar, a hair band, a paperclip, a transistor radio and – finally – a pin.

‘This ought to do the trick,’ she said, and jabbed the pin into the rubber ball encasing Nicola.

There was a loud bang like a balloon bursting and a hiss of air.

Nicola found herself standing on firm ground, covered in shredded plastic.

‘I’ve never understood why they don’t just supply a pin with every bubble-jacket,’ said Topaz. ‘I bet it was designed by some stupid hairity. Okay, now are you ready to kill me? Hurry up, because I’m actually starting to change my mind. I might fight back. You don’t look that scary.’

Nicola stepped away from the side of the cliff and back under the ledge. The rain was becoming softer and the wind had stopped howling. It seemed like the hurricane had just about blown itself out.

Desperate for Topaz to see that they were friends, not enemies, Nicola began to speak in a rush. ‘We’re not here to hurt you, Topaz. We’re sympathetic to your cause! Enrico is holding our friend hostage. His plan was to get us to “eliminate” you and then keep all of us prisoners in a glass cage, so everybody will think he’s the good guy. Enrico’s butler, Joy, told us to find you and maybe we could help you overthrow Enrico.’

Topaz didn’t say anything for a few seconds. Then she sighed and looked away. ‘Well, I can’t help you. I can’t do anything. I’m giving up the cause. I don’t care anymore. Enrico can do what he wants. I’m sorry about your friend, but there’s nothing I can do.’