Carlos raised one hand.
“This is where we need an actual agreement.”
Howard looked at Michael.
Michael looked back.
He expected the developer to claim everything.
Instead Howard said:
“Your cat found it.”
Michael blinked.
“That doesn’t mean…”
“I know.”
Howard smiled.
“I’m not giving away a million dollars if there’s a million dollars in the dirt.”
“Fair.”
“But I’m also not going to pretend I knew this existed yesterday.”
He looked toward the site.
“How about we have lawyers write something sensible?”
The eventual agreement was simpler than Michael feared.
Howard retained ownership of any fragments still on the property.
Michael retained the pieces Bruno had already brought home, subject to documentation that they were likely from the same meteorite and had been removed before Howard knew of the discovery.
Future authorized recovery from the parcel would be divided after research needs and recovery costs.
The university would receive representative samples for scientific study.
Nobody would excavate without permission.
Nobody would sell anything until classification was complete.
Michael read the agreement twice.
Then had an inexpensive attorney review it.
The attorney charged him $300.
Michael almost refused.
Carlos said:
“Pay it.”
Michael did.
For once, spending money to protect future money seemed reasonable.
The classification process took nearly two months.
The university lab documented dozens of fragments.
Carlos involved a meteoritics specialist from another institution.
The samples were confirmed as pieces from the same iron meteorite.
The chemical signature was distinctive enough that researchers believed it came from a previously undocumented fall.
Age on the ground remained uncertain.
Probably decades.
Maybe longer.
The recent site disturbance had exposed material buried beneath compacted soil.
Bruno had apparently discovered the fragments before humans did.
Why Bruno carried them remained impossible to prove.
Carlos refused every magical explanation.
“No.”
He told reporters later.
“Cats do not have known meteorite-detection organs.”
Michael laughed.
Carlos offered practical possibilities.
The pieces smelled different after exposure.
Metallic surfaces may have interested Bruno.
Small rodents or insects could have been active around recently disturbed stones.
Bruno may simply have liked their weight, smell, or texture.
Once Michael began keeping them, the behavior may have become reinforced.
Michael preferred his own explanation.
“Bruno is weird.”
Scientists accepted that.
The first official estimate of value disappointed Michael.
Not because it was low.
Because it was complicated.
Collectors paid based on weight and aesthetic quality.
Some fragments were ordinary.
Some beautifully shaped.
A few displayed excellent surface features after professional cleaning.
Larger specimens had higher value.
Scientific significance increased interest because the meteorite was newly classified.
Carlos introduced Michael to a reputable meteorite dealer rather than a random online buyer.
The dealer, Stephanie Cole, arrived with a scale and more caution than excitement.
She inspected the documented collection.
“Do not clean these yourself.”
She said.
Michael looked guilty.
“I rinsed one.”
“That one survived.”
“Stop.”
She selected several fragments.
Explained pricing.
Explained commissions.
Explained that selling the entire collection immediately might bring less than selling curated specimens over time.
Michael asked:
“How much?”
Stephanie looked at the inventory.
“The pieces legally assigned to you, excluding the university samples?”
“Yes.”
“Assuming authentication paperwork remains complete.”
“Yes.”
“If sold carefully, perhaps forty to sixty thousand gross.”
Michael stared.
Danny, standing behind him, whispered:
“Holy…”
Carlos interrupted.
“Language.”
Danny looked offended.
“We’re all adults.”
Michael barely heard them.
Forty thousand.
Maybe sixty.
Not millions.
Not retirement.
But enough to change the shape of his life.
Enough to breathe.
Enough to stop choosing between his father’s medication and his own groceries.
He sat.
Stephanie immediately said:
“Do not make financial decisions from the high estimate.”
Michael laughed shakily.
“Everyone keeps telling me not to spend imaginary money.”
“Because imaginary money is expensive.”
The final amount did not arrive overnight.