Adventures of Devon Carlton - 2. ADC Chapter 2

The secretary handed the Dean her pencil, and the Dean began to lightly run the pencil on the spot as indicated, and there it was, the imprint, showing the family crest.

Without hesitation the Chancellor walked around the desk and picked up the phone, “yes, this is Chancellor Adamson, find the number for the Federal Police and put me through please,” he said into the phone after about a minute’s pause he was connected.

“This is Chancellor Adamson of the University, we wish to report a serious issue that has national importance, can you please send some people over right away… no, I can’t go into detail over the telephone, just get over here now,” he said slamming the phone down.

Looking towards the secretary, “Thank you, Mrs Shea, that will be all in here, for now, can you go to admin and escort the Federal Agents to this office when they arrive please”, the lady nodded her head and left the room.

“I better go and round up the mob to make sure the word doesn’t spread,” Dr Carter said referring to Devon’s classmates, and he left the room quickly. Twenty minutes later, Dr Carter had all 48 students in a lecture hall, giving them a lecture on keeping their mouths shut about the article in today’s paper and the link with Devon Carlton. He said, “If anyone leaked out any information to anyone at all, especially the media, then they would find themselves not allowed to sit for their final exams.”

Returning to his office, he had just sat down when the door opened and four Federal agents walked in, Mrs Shea closed the door as she left, and sat in the outer office to ensure they were not disturbed.

Firstly, the agents were shown the front page of the newspaper, then the Dean of Law rolled open the plans and it was the younger of the four agents who spotted that they were identical.

The Dean explained that these prints are copies of the ones stolen from this office two years ago, he showed the pencil sketching which revealed Devon’s family crest, and Devon took off his necklace to show the same crest, he then took out his driver’s license, while the Chancellor lit his pipe once again, and revealed the hidden details of a copyright mark, both signatures matched.

The senior of the agents got out his mobile phone and made a call, and within five minutes another man entered the office and was introduced as Deputy Commissioner of the Federal Police for this district, and he was shown all the details, then suddenly the door opened again and two men walked in, one was the State Premier, the other was the Federal Deputy Prime Minister, by now the office was getting a little too overcrowded, and the Chancellor suggested adjourning to the Executive Board Room.

Ten minutes later with everyone seated, the Chancellor explained the whole set of events once again for the two newer arrivals, showing the proof of ownership with the impression mark, and the hidden copyright mark, and signature.

“Sir, as a Barrister and the Dean of law of this University, I can guarantee that this is proof beyond doubt, furthermore we have 48 architecture students who have also seen these prints two years ago, and they have all recognised the photos in today’s paper as Mr Carlton’s property, to put it bluntly, Mr Deputy Prime Minister, the Federal Government is screwed.

Not only is there a breach of copyright, but there is also the matter of receiving stolen property” the Dean said, which made the Deputy Prime Minister go quite pale, and he sat heavily in his chair.

The Dean took Devon out of the room, as he wanted to have a private chat, “young man I would be honoured if you would accept my offer of services as a Barrister of law, to represent you with this matter, at no cost to you what so ever” the Dean said, which was totally unexpected.

“Sir, thank you for the offer, yes I will accept, as I need some help to get this mess sorted” Devon said, “Good follow me, we have some work to do, and do it fast” the Dean said and they raced down a number of passageways, before entering the Dean’s own office, he looked through his filing cabinet and found what he wanted, and quickly wrote down what he needed, dashed over to the fax machine and sent the document, before dashing to his phone to make 2 phone calls.

Finally he sat down totally exhausted, Devon was too just sitting there watching the man run around his office, and after a long pause to catch his breath he looked at Devon, “Ok Mr Carlton, um, its Devon isn’t it, yes of course, anyway what I just did was send a court document to the Federal Court of Australia, requesting a hearing to determine the legal ownership of the blueprint plans for the prison that was planned to be built in Western Australia, as the ownership of the plans were in dispute.

I have also requested that the said original plans not be given to any contractor and that they are delivered to the Deputy Commissioner of the Federal Police to determine the legal ownership of the plans. I have also contacted my good friend who is a Federal Court Judge, and he will look at the application and make a decision straight away”.

“Wow, sir you do know some people high up, I’m glad that you’re on my side” Devon said with a cheeky smile, the Dean just laughed and they sat there and chatted for about ten minutes, when a return fax arrived, which the Dean glanced at and dashed out of the door.

Devon followed but decided to go at a slower pace, guessing that they were returning to the conference room, and he arrived in time to see the Dean hand the Deputy Prime Minister the legal document he had just received.

“This meeting is now over gentlemen” the deputy PM said and he walked out, with the document still in hand, the Dean told Devon that he showed it to the Deputy Commissioner first, so he knew what to expect will happen, and he said he was now having to go so he can try and track down this original stolen set of plans, and the other agents followed.

I went back to the Dean’s office where we spoke for about two hours before there was a knock on the door, and Dr Carter walked in.

“Well young man, you have caused quite a stir, some-how the media have found out about our high powered visit today, and it will be in tonight’s news, I think you need to go home and rest, don’t worry about lectures, I will provide you with all the study material you need, I will send it via registered courier, off you go now”, Devon stood up and left the building, not bothering to collect his books from the locker, he just walked straight home.

When his housemates Gary and Mitch, arrived home, they asked Devon if he knew anything about what happened at the university today, as there are lots of rumours going around that he was involved somehow, Devon said he can’t talk about it, as it’s all a big legal matter now and not to harass him about it.

A few minutes later the nightly news came on the television, “Tonight we have a report that could rock the nation with a scandal that leads all the way to the top, this morning Federal Police agents were called to the local university to investigate major corruption, but no details have come out yet, all that is known is that it was so serious, that the Deputy Commissioner of Federal Police and the Deputy Prime Minister both attended the university today to hear and investigate these allegations of corruption…”.

“Holy shit dude, that is massive, and our own housemate is in the middle of it,” Mitch said to Devon, who just stood up and went to his room and slammed the door behind him.

About an hour later there was a knock, on Devon’s bedroom door, “Dev, there is a man here who says he’s your barrister, also your dinner is ready” came a voice through the door. Devon got up off his bed and walked out into the lounge, where the Dean of Law was seated.

“Mr Carlton, you look like shit, are you ok”, Devon nodded his head yes slightly then stared at his housemates, “I just need support not more harassment”, both housemates were shocked at what Devon had just said, The Dean looked at the two young men.

“I may be Devon’s Barrister, but I am also the Dean of Law at the University, so I suggest you start supporting your housemate and no more bullshit,” he said bluntly to them. “Yes sir, we will do as you ask, and Dev, we are sorry,” they both said almost at the same time, and they grabbed their meal plates and retreated to their separate rooms.

Devon smiled, “I think they have gone to change their underwear after that,” he said to the Dean, who laughed out loud, “Good to see you haven’t lost your sense of humour, young Devon” the Dean replied, and they chatted for about an hour, with Devon picking at his dinner every now and then, giving up after only a ¼ of it was consumed.

Just as the Dean was about to leave, his mobile rang, after a few moments, he said thank you and ended the call. “That was our friend, the Deputy Commissioner of Federal Police, the original Prints have been located and the same imprint and hidden copyright note and signature were found on them as on the copy, so they now have absolute proof that they are yours.

In the morning I will be seeing my old friend the Federal Judge and making an application for the return of both the copy and originals of the plans back to you, I also will be asking for the proposed project using those plans be terminated, and a judgement of compensation be made” the Dean said, Devon didn’t know what to say, he just sat there stunned.

“I have your contact details, which I asked for from administration, so I will be in touch, I suggest you stay at home for the rest of the week, or get out of town if you can, I will talk to you soon,” the Dean said and he let himself out.

The next morning, Gary went down the road to get the morning paper, and he raced back home when he saw what was on the front page, knocking on the door and opening it before Devon had a chance to answer, the paper was put in front of him to look at. “Good morning to you too mate,” Devon said still half asleep, “Oops sorry dude, I thought you might like to see this ASAP,” Gary said, dashing out the door to get a coffee of himself and a cup of tea for Devon.

“Local University reveals Federal Government Corruption” were the headlines and Devon read on, “Yesterday the University Chancellor, Vice Chancellor, the Dean of Architecture and the Dean of Law met with Federal Authorities as well as the Deputy Prime Minister and the State Premier yesterday, to determine if the said corruption was real.

A representative from the Federal Police unofficially reported that it was determined that the report is real, and that representatives from various Federal and State agencies where to meet today to decide what to do, but this reporter has learnt that an un-named Federal Judge has already determined that the Law has been broken and proved without a doubt and that those guilty should be brought to justice”.

“Oh boy, this is getting worse by the day”, Devon said as he dropped the newspaper onto his lap and accepted the cup of tea from Gary.

A few minutes later the house phone rang, and Mitch answered it, “Nope sorry don’t know anyone by that name, bye” Devon and Gary heard Mitch say, and soon after the phone rang again.

“Hello, no sorry you have the wrong number,” Mitch said again, and after hanging up, he took the phone off the hook and left it off. “Bloody reporters, wish they mind their own beeswax” Mitch grumbled as he made himself a cup of tea and joined the other two in Devon’s bedroom.

Devon’s mobile rang, which made all three of them jump, looking at the caller ID, it said “University” so Devon answered it, “Good morning sir, yes we have had a few reporters call, so we have taken it off the hook for now… yes, sir, I think I might have to do that, thank-you, goodbye” Devon said as he hung up, and he stared out the window for a moment thinking.

“I have to get out of here, I might go back home for a while, do you guys mind if I do that? Devon asked. “No Problems Dude, we will handle it, but how are we going to get you out of town unnoticed,” Gary asked, Devon thought about it for a while then replied.

“I can sneak out tonight after dark, and I will catch the night train out to the country, and I will call my folks to get them to come to pick me up. Don’t worry about having to pay extra rent to cover my absence, I will sort that out. Now get out of my room so I can get dressed” Devon said with a bit of a giggle.

Devon stayed hidden in the townhouse all day, watching DVD movies as he was sick of seeing the news reports on television, as it was getting dark, Gary and Mitch cooked a hearty dinner for Devon, while he was packing his small suitcase and backpack. Gary was given the keys to Devon’s little car, and he dashed off in a hurry, in the opposite direction to where Devon was going, and a number of cars presumably reporters, dashed off after him.

Mitch walked with Devon, the eight blocks to the train station, to catch the suburban train into the city, then the overnight train into the country, which leaves at 8 pm, once Devon was safely on the train, Mitch called Gary who came and picked him up from the fuel station about three blocks in another direction from the train station, and they went to the movies for a few hours, before returning home, with no strange cars parked on the side of the street.

At 8.05pm, Devon called Mitch’s phone to let him know he was on the country train, and no one had recognised him. Devon laughed, “How would they after what you two did to my hair this evening” Devon said feeling the side of his head which had been shaved close, while the top was spiked up in a Mohawk, and coloured bright blue, he felt very uncomfortable in Mitch’s old clothes, from when he was a punk skinhead, in his early university days, the leather jacket made him sweat, and the leather pants were way too tight and showed a bit too much to his liking.

Thankfully the colouring was temporary, and when the hair gel is washed out, that would cover most of the lower shaved section, also the ear and nose rings were all just clip on, that are easily removed.

Devon’s next phone call was to his parents, they were glad that he was alright, but not happy about having to drive so far to collect him from the train station. It was a 2 ½ hour train ride to his destination, the closest train station to his home town, which is another 45-minute drive, followed by a 15-minute drive out to the farm. A passenger had left behind his copy of the evening paper which had headlines about the university, so Devon grabbed it and hid it in his backpack, so no one else would read it.

When finally at home, as it was approaching midnight, Devon went to his room and collapsed on his bed, falling asleep almost straight away, his mother – Grace came in soon after, took off his shoes and covered him with a blanket, and it was 10.30am when Devon woke up, it took a few moments to remember that he was in his own bed at home on the farm, the back door slammed and he heard some discussions happening as the kettle whistles as it came to the boil.

Devon staggered out of bed and into the kitchen, where Grace handed him a cup of tea, before sitting down at the table, staring at his cup for a while, Devon cleared his throat, “Do you remember when I did that big plan assignment two years ago, and the originals where stolen, when the Dean’s office was broken into, well that big announcement from the Federal government about building a new style and more secure prison, the design of the prison is mine, it’s the original plans that were stolen two years ago” Devon said quietly.

Devon’s parents sat at the table stunned at the news, so Devon continued.

“The Dean of Architecture called the Dean of Law and the Universities Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor, and I showed them my secret method of identifying my work, to prove that they were mine, the Chancellor called in the Federal Police, and this was followed by the State Premier and the Deputy Prime Minister, who happened to be in town.

When they arrived at the Dean of Law took me to his office and offered his services for free as my legal representative, and he quickly did some law stuff, including calling a friend of his who is a Federal Court Judge, who gave a ruling on the matter, which was faxed back to the Dean of Law, who served the ruling on the Deputy PM, who was not happy and stormed out of the room” Devon finished, taking a big breath to replenish his oxygen supply.