NB Drama - 1. NBD Chapter 1

It’s been a month since our wedding, which took place 3 months after that letter, Sebastian wrote to me, and the wedding was held in a beautiful old church in Liechtenstein, with the twins sharing the honour of best man, and Sebastian’s cousin – Xander being his ring bearer. For me, I had Kylie as my Best Women, and my nephew – Mitchell as my ring bearer.

Sebastian’s three house staff, and his two friends, Reverend Annette Davies and her son – Kyle, were his only other wedding guests, while I had Kylie’s husband – Marcus, and son – Emmanuel, my brother – Jeremy and his family, plus my sister Margaret, and my half-sisters – Susan and Amanda, as part of my wedding guests.

After the wedding, we announced to all of our guests, that they were receiving a week’s holiday with all expenses included, onboard our yacht the Southern Explorer, cruising the Mediterranean. Meanwhile Sebastian and I spent two weeks on the Falkland Islands, were we visited the gravesite of his dear cousin, who had died unexpectantly a few years ago, and explored the islands natural beauty, and the farm that Sebastian still owns.

It is still hard to believe that I am married to an extremely wealthy man, as I was just as happy with simple things in life, and I had insisted on a honeymoon that didn’t involve a lot of luxury, and that is exactly what I received. Unfortunately, I had to return to work as Administrator of the Indian Ocean Territories of Australia, and Sebastian announced that he was working on a more permanent home for us to live in, but he wouldn’t tell me exactly what it is and where.

Thanks to all of Sebastian’s work, all three island groups were thriving, there are now a number of new, environmentally friendly hotels that have been built, and the number of bed & breakfast and holiday homes has tripled. The flights from Darwin and Broome had increased to four flights a week, and the local councils were very happy with the increase of tourism on the islands.

I had reluctantly agreed to live onboard the yacht with Sebastian, and travel the short distance by boat to the island, to go to work, with the work load in the house greatly reduced, for my housekeeper. My two administration staff however, were always very busy, especially with me making trips to the Cocos Keeling Islands and the Chagos Archipelago every month, to deal with magistrate duties, for four days at each location, and Sebastian providing an executive jet, to get me and my one assistant there and back.

Thankfully the issue of the illegal Indonesian residents was resolved, with them agreeing to return to Indonesia, after we agreed to allow those illegal residents, permission to visit Christmas Island, a maximum of twice a year, on a two-week tourist visa. Once they had returned to Indonesia, the Australian government lifted the trade embargo, and everyone seemed to be happy once more.

The council had elected to keep the village at South Point, but the mosque was demolished, and the rubble was used to fill in parts of the mine that is no longer in use. The council also decided to make the houses at South point, council property, and they would be made available for rent to permanent residents to the island, but are not to be use for tourist purposes.

Three days after returning to work from my honeymoon, Captain Watts entered my office and placed a copy of the local newspaper on my desk. “Thought you would like to see this as soon as possible sir” the captain said, before heading back to the administration office.

“IOA Administrator marries Millionaire - Sebastian Wagner”

“The Indian Ocean Administrator, His Excellency, Baron Sir Lewis Shaw, married Mr Sebastian Wagner, in a small wedding in Lichtenstein recently, and honeymooned on the Falkland Islands, while his wedding guests enjoyed a holiday cruise in the Mediterranean.

The baron and his new husband currently reside onboard their luxury yacht, the MV Huon, which is anchored just in the bay, below the Administrators work place. The Christmas Island Shire President stated, that he and the council, wished the couple a happy life together”.

I buzzed the Captain, “Yes sir?” the Captain said when he walked back into my office, “Can you get the yacht on the phone for me please” I asked and the Captain walked back to the office to make the call. “Sir, they say that your husband has flown to Darwin, do you wish to speak to one of the twins?” the captain said on the phone. “No, that is fine thanks” I responded.

At the end of the day, Captain Watts drove me down to the jetty, where a boat was waiting to take me back to the yacht, and the twins were waiting for me when I arrived. “We can’t tell you why he has gone, he just said that he will be home in 4 days” Louis said to me, “Ok, not happy about it, but there isn’t much I can do about it now” I replied in an annoyed tone, and I headed to our suite to have a short rest before dinner.

The following morning, before breakfast, I packed a small bag, and asked to be taken to the island early, and with me expected in over an hour, I enjoyed the walk up the hill to the Administration building, surprising Mrs Masters with my early arrival. “Sebastian is away for a few days, so I will be staying here till he returns” I announced after walking through the back door to the kitchen.

Mrs Masters made a cooked breakfast for me, before taking my luggage up to my room, and tidying up a bit upstairs. After breakfast, I headed to my office, to start a new day, and half an hour later Captain Watts and Staff Sergeant Lister arrived in the office, and got to work, without asking me why I was so early.

At lunch time, I asked Captain Watts to bring forward my next trip to the other islands, a week early, and to leave tomorrow, and by the end of the day, he had everything arranged, including bringing forward all court cases to be heard in Chagos and the Cocos Keeling Islands. I was about to head to the library, to relax a while till dinner is ready, when Staff Sergeant Lister informed me that I had a call from the yacht.

“Joachim here, how come you left the yacht so early, and why have you taken some clothes with you?” came a concerned voice of my brother in law. “Some of us do have to work you know, and I am heading off to Chagos and Cocos Keeling in the morning, so I will be back in two weeks” I responded, “Oh ok. Sebastian called at lunch time, to say he will be home tomorrow afternoon” Joachim responded.

“Well, he can call me when he likes, I have work to do, so I will see him in two weeks, and tell him not to follow, as I have a large case load to get through, and I can’t have any distractions, even if he is my husband” I said and I ended the call abruptly.

The next morning, as arranged, Staff Sergeant Lister and I flew out of Christmas Island, for the 45-minute journey to Cocos Keeling Islands, and we landed at 8.30 am, giving me an hour to get organised before the first court session begins, with the Staff Sergeant acting as my court clerk.

During the lunch break, while I was relaxing in the bungalow that we use for our stay each time, the staff sergeant brought me my lunch and shortly after my mobile phone, which he hangs onto when I am at work, and he whispered Sebastian, as he handed the phone over.

“Hello handsome, how are things over your way?” Sebastian said to me, “Ok I guess, just a typical day at work, nothing exciting” I replied, “I am sorry that I took off like I did, I had some important business to deal with in Darwin, and I am a bit disappointed that you are not home, when I arrived back just now” Sebastian said to me.

“Well you know that my work is important to me, and when I have to travel, there is not much I can do about it” I said, “You could always resign, and spend more time with me” Sebastian suggested, “No Sebastian, we have talked about this before, I enjoy my work, and I will continue it no matter what” I said sounding annoyed, “Yes I hear you, but I wish we could spend more time together” Sebastian replied.

“We both have work, so we just have to settle with what time we can get, there is no way that I am giving up my job, and you agreed to that, when you proposed to me” I reminded Sebastian. “Yes I did, but I was hoping that I could convince you to give up your work, so we can travel together, when I need to be somewhere” Sebastian said, “No Sebastian, that is not going to happen, I don’t like being taken care off, I am my own person, and I will not change for anyone, including you” I replied.

“Ok. I miss you, see you when you get home, bye” Sebastian said sounding disappointed and he ended the call. I battled through the rest of the day, finding it very difficult to concentrate, after the telephone call from Sebastian, and as the day came to a close, I turned to Staff Sergeant Lister, “From now on, if Sebastian calls me when I am doing court work, I am not available” I said to my court clerk. “Yes sir, I understand, and will do just that” my clerk replied, and we packed up and left the courthouse, and headed to the bungalow to relax.

A few days later, as we were getting close to closing the last of the court cases in Chagos, Staff Sergeant Lister placed an email in front of me. “His Excellency, Baron Sir Lewis Shaw. Sir, can you please represent me at the APEC planning Committee in Singapore? Kind Regards, your humble servant, Federal Minister for Trade”. Below the short message was the dates and a summary of the planning meeting, plus information on where I would be staying.

“That is the day after tomorrow! Ok, send a reply to say I will be attending, with you as my assistant, notify the flight crew of the changes of plans, and organise accommodation for them in Singapore, then let the yacht know that I am travelling to Singapore for the APEC planning meeting, and will be away for a further week at the most” I said to the Staff Sergeant, “Yes sir, right away” my assistant responded, and headed off to the office at the back of the court room.

As I brought the last case to a close, Staff Sergeant Lister re-entered the court room, and placed a note in front of me, “Flight Crew and I did not bring Passports with us” the note read, and I groaned in annoyance. “Ok, let the flight crew know, we will be leaving in an hour, and we will be heading back to base. Tomorrow, when everyone has their passports, we will fly north to Singapore” I informed the Staff Sergeant.

When we arrived in Singapore, two days later, after a one-day delay, due to Sebastian demanding that I take a day off, before flying off to another meeting, we went directly to the Australian High Commission, which is located right next door to the USA Embassy.

After a short formal meeting with the High Commissioner, we were shown to our quarters, which are within the grounds of the High Commission, and for the next few days, I was kept quite busy with meetings. During one of these meetings, we were interrupted by one of the High Commissioner’s staff, who was handed a piece of paper, and when he read it, he didn’t look to happy.

“Sir, Lewis, I need to speak to you privately” the High Commissioner said as he stood up and left the conference room, and I hurriedly joined him, as we went to his Private office, where he handed over the note to me. “Singaporean Police have a Mr Adam Lister under arrest, under section 377A of the Penal Code”.

I was shocked when I read this note, as I had no idea that Adam was gay or bi. “Can you have one of your staff take me to where he is being held please?” I asked the High Commissioner, and he soon had one of his staff direct me to a car, and we drove to the police station.

When we arrived at the Police station, the High Commission Officer – Liana, and I showed our ID cards, and we were led to an interrogation room, where we were shocked to see that Adam had slight bruising on his face, and he was bent over, with his head resting on the table.
“Are you ok?” I asked concerned, “Yes sir, just a few punches and slaps, are all I have received so far” Adam responded, as he sat up, and I saw that he was very pail. Shocked at seeing this, I went to the door and banged on it to get a guard’s attention.

“This man needs urgent medical assistance, I wasn’t to speak to one of your superiors” I demanded, when the guard arrived. A few minutes later another man arrived and demanded to know what I want. “Officer, this man had been physically assaulted and he needs medical attention now” I stated calmly. “We are waiting for him to be charged, then we will look at getting him some medical attention” the officer responded, “When will that be?” I asked.

“Tomorrow” the officer replied, “Tomorrow is not soon enough, I want to speak to your superiors” I replied, “They go home, wait till tomorrow” the officer replied. “Excuse me officer, but that is not good enough, my name is Sir Lewis Shaw, a representative of the Australian Government, this man is my assistant” I said, and I produced Adam and mine diplomatic passports.

“Under International law, persons holding diplomatic passports have immunity, so I demand for this man to be released” I said to the police officer. “Why did you not say that before?” the officer asked, “Because you bloody well didn’t let me” Adam growled and he winced in pain. “I will have to check on this, you wait here” the officer said as he started to exit the room.

“We will not, we are going to leave here right now, so I can take this man to hospital” I insisted, and the officer looked at me, then to Liana. “I suggest that you do as he asks Mr Rani, he knows people in high places, from all over the world” the High Commission officer said to the police officer.

Five minutes later, we were in the limo, and heading for the Raffles Private Hospital, and Liana called the hospital, to let them know that we were on our way. A long wait and many tests later, I was informed that Adam was resting comfortably, and that he had received bruised kidneys, a cracked rib, and a few cuts and bruises.

While Liana headed back to the High Commission, to report back on what has happened, I elected to stay at Adam’s bed side, until he wakes up, and I dozed in the chair for a few hours, until I heard some coughing, and stood up right away, to see that Adam was awake.

“Hello Soldier, how are you feeling?” I asked, “Like an Army tank has run me over, sir” Adam replied with a half-smile, “So tell me, what happened that led to you getting arrested, and bashed up?” I asked, and it took Adam a while to respond to my question.

“It all happened so fast sir, I don’t know why it happened, one minute I was sitting in a park bench enjoying the wonderful surroundings, then all of a sudden a young man sat next to me, and he looked around the park for a few moments, before he unexpectantly leaned over and kissed me.

Some blokes shouted, and the young man dashed off, and a group of men came up to me and started to get stuck into me, until some police officers turned up and the group of men disappeared, after stating that I was a poofter” Adam explained, “Well that is quite an unfortunate event” I stated.

“I am Bi, but I have been careful not to do anything while we are here in Singapore, as it is illegal here” Adam admitted to me, “Well, your sexuality is not an issue with me, as you well know, and it appears to me that you are the victim of a set up by a group of unknown people” I said. “The doctor wants me to be in here for at least three days, but I have work to do for you sir” Adam said to me.

“You just worry about getting better, and I will worry about the work, I am sure that I can handle things till you get out of here” I said to Adam, and seeing that he was getting sleepy, I let him sleep and I headed back to the High Commission, with a Limo left to take me back.

Back at the High Commission, I found Liana, and I asked her, “why is there was a police guard outside of Adam Lister’s hospital room, don’t they know he had diplomatic immunity?” I said to her. “Well sir, they are disputing that he has immunity, as they are very strict with how foreigners behave in Singapore” Liana replied.

“Well I suggest that you speak to your boss right away, because, as soon is Adam is well enough to travel, he is coming home with me” I demanded in a raised voice.

“What is going on in here” a man demanded when he walked into the foyer area of the High Commission, “Oh, you must be Baron Sir Lewis Shaw, I am Oliver Crompton, deputy High Commissioner, do we have a problem?’ the man said as he introduced himself to me. “Yes, why are the local police disputing Adam Lister as not having diplomatic immunity?” I asked in a calm manner.

“I am not sure sir, but I will speak to the police right away and try and solve this issue for you” Mr Crompton said, and he dashed off to an inner office somewhere, while I headed to my guest quarters. Less than half an hour later, there was a knock on the door, and I called out enter.

“Sir Lewis, it appears that there is no Adam Lister registered at the private hospital, are you sure that he was admitted to that hospital?’ Mr Crompton announced to me, “What… I don’t believe this, Miss Liana and I just saw him less than an hour ago, I spoke to the doctor, who told me he had a cracked rib, bruised kidney’s and some cuts and bruises.

This is an outrage, I suggest that you demand to know where he is this very moment, I will not have my loyal staff member detained illegally in this country” I demanded loudly.

As the hours passed, there was still no news on where Adam Lister was, no matter how hard I tried to demand action, and in the end, I decided to take some direct action, after the deputy High Commissioner came to me with no news of his whereabouts. “Who are you calling Sir Lewis” Mr Crompton asked nervously, “Someone I should have called ages ago, your boss and mine” I responded.

“Hello Ma’am, it is Lewis Shaw speaking, we have a situation here in Singapore, that needs to be dealt with on a higher level… yes ma’am, that is correct, he has been missing for about five hours now, and I am getting very worried… yes ma’am, thank you, bye for now” I said and ended the call with a smile on my face, as I noticed Mr Crompton looking very scared.

“That was Her Excellency, the Governor General, she is not too happy about the lack of action on your part to locate an Australian citizen, she is dealing with it at her end of the office” I stated and Mr Crompton gulped nervously. “Please Sir Lewis, I have been trying my very best to try and locate your Mr Lister, but the Singaporean officials are not being very helpful” Mr Crompton pleaded.

I ignored him and walked back to my quarters, and hoped that soon I would have Adam safe again, and that we can get out of Singapore. Once in my suite, I called the pilot, and asked him and the flight crew to be ready to leave as soon as Mr Lister has been located and is safely in our care.

Twenty minutes later my mobile rang, and it was a blocked number, “Mr Lewis, your man is being transported to the High Commission as we speak, you should take greater care with your personnel, when visiting our country” the caller said before he hung up, and I raced downstairs to the reception foyer.

“Call the security gate, let them know that Mr Lister is being brought to the front gate right now” I said as I passed through the front door security area, and down the drive towards the front gate. Just before reaching the gate, I saw a white van screech to a halt, and a body was flung out the side door, before racing off again. Security let me through the gate and followed me down the driveway, to where Adam lay on the side walk.

“Adam, are you ok, speak to me please” I said concerned that he was very badly hurt. Adam moaned, and tried to open his eyes, but he had cuts and bruises all over his face, a lot more than what I saw at the hospital. A vehicle arrived at the gate, from inside the High Commission, and we very carefully lifted him in and I stayed with him as we were driven back up to the main building, where a duty nurse came rushing out to check on Adam.

Inside the building, Adam was taken to the medical clinic within the building, where a doctor soon arrived and began to examine Adam’s injuries, and I refused to leave. “I am his employer, so I am staying right here” I said in protest, to the Doctor demanding for me to leave, “I don’t care if you are his lawyer, I suggest you leave right now, before I call security” the Doctor answered back.

“Maybe I should introduce myself first Doctor, I am Baron Sir Lewis Shaw, Administrator of the Indian Ocean Territories of Australia, and retired Commander in the Australian Navy, KCB, CVO, VC, SC, DSC. I have served in wars overseas, and probably seen far worse than you have in surgery theatres, so now maybe you will re-think your decision about demanding that I leave” I said with a smirk on my face. “I am sorry Sir Lewis. Yes, I have heard of you, and I apologise, you may stay if you wish” the doctor answered.

When the examination was completed, I was informed that Adam was missing two teeth, he had two broken ribs, bruised kidneys, and a dislocated ring finger on the left hand. I told the doctor, what the hospital had told me of his injuries, and we surmised that he had been badly beaten, since I last saw him in the hospital.

While Adam was resting, having been given an injection to have him sleep, I went to our quarters and packed all of our belongings, I then called the pilot, and asked him to be ready in fifteen minutes to fly back to Christmas Island. Once packed, I returned to the clinic, and told the nurse that I was taking Adam back to Australia right away, and that I needed assistance to get Adam into the Limo, to get to the airport.

Thirty minutes later, we arrived at the Seletar Airport terminal, and I presented the medical certificate that the doctor at the High Commission gave me, just before we left, to assist, saying it is an emergency medical evac back to Australia, which would allow us out of Singapore, and once we had cleared customs, and quarantine, and using a borrowed wheelchair, our flight attendant came to assist with the luggage, while I wheeled Adam to the waiting aircraft, near one of the aircraft hangers, about 200 metres from the terminal gate.

I had to physically carry Adam over my shoulder, to get him inside the aircraft and into a seat.

Once we were both onboard, the luggage had been stowed, and the door secured, I called the flight captain to get us out of here as soon as possible, but we had to wait for a few minutes, to allow international commercial flights to land and take off, before we could take off. Once we were in the air, I let out my breath, which I was not sure how long I had been holding in, as we started to climb and turn to the right towards the Java Sea.

A few moments later the co-pilot appeared, “Sir Lewis, Singapore Air Traffic Control is demanding that we return to Seletar, as we were not permitted to leave the country” the co-pilot said to me, “How far out are we from Singapore” I asked the pilot, “Just passing over Bintan Island, Indonesia, Sir” the pilot replied.

“Well we are no longer in their airspace, so just ignore them, and inform the Captain that we need to get Adam to emergency medical care, so we should head directly for Darwin” I answered. “Very good sir, Darwin it is” the co-pilot said with a big smile, before returning to the cockpit.

Just over 4 ½ hours later, we landed at Darwin airport, where an ambulance was waiting for us, and they rushed Adam to the hospital, while I sorted out the Customs and quarantine side of things. “Sir Lewis, we have a request that you go to Government house once you are cleared here, as the Administrator wishes to speak to you urgently, there is a car outside waiting for you” one of the Federal Police officers said to me, as he stamped my passport.

Once I was cleared, a chauffeur arrived and helped carry the luggage to the limo, and twenty minutes later the car arrived at Government House, and I was greeted by the Administrators Personal Assistant, who I had met before. “Sir Lewis, good to see you again, come in and please sit, this is not a formal meeting, just a casual chat” the NT Administrator said as I entered his office, which was quite grand, compared to mine in Christmas Island.

“Nice office you have here, Sir Michael” I commented, as I shook his hand and sat down. “Now Lewis, what is this matter about Singapore, that we are getting a lot of political flack about” Sir Michael asked me, “Well sir, firstly my administration assistant was framed in an inappropriate act, while seated on a bench seat in a park, and once I had him transferred to hospital, he was being treated by a medical team and all seemed to be going ok, except that there was an armed police officer outside his hospital room.

Next thing I know, Adam has been ambushed by an unknown person or persons, physically assaulted and injured a lot worst than when he entered the hospital, then dumped on the side of the road outside the High Commission, by an unmarked van, which just sped off.

The High Commission doctor and nurse treated Adam, for his new injuries, and I arranged for him to get an emergency medical evac out of Singapore, so we can get him proper hospital care in Australia. We had the proper medical papers, which we presented to the Customs officers at the private aircraft terminal at Seletar Airport, and the private jet that we use for business was on standby when we arrived there.

After a short wait to allow commercial air traffic to land and take off, we ourselves took off from Seletar, and we headed South East for Darwin. We had only been in the air for about four minutes, when the co-pilot informed me that Singapore Air Traffic Control was demanding that we return to Seletar, and that is when I asked the co-pilot our location, and he informed me that we were over Bintan Island, Indonesia.

I informed the co-pilot that we are no longer in their airspace, and to ignore their demands and to head for Darwin” I explained to my senior Administrator. “I see, well you are correct in assuming that you were no longer in their jurisdiction, but it now causes an issue of leaving Singapore in such a hurried manner, which they deem suspicious” Sir Michael said to me.

“That may be so, sir, but we arrived by private jet, at Seletar Airport, and that is exactly how we left, not from the main international airport of Changi” I responded. “Whose’ private jet is it?” Sir Michael asked me, “That would be my husband, Mr Sebastian Wagner, who allows me to use it for work and private use, when ever I need to travel” I responded, “Oh yes, that is right, I remember reading about it, you had a wedding in Liechtenstein, if I recall” the NT Administrator said.

“That is correct” I replied as I noticed the Administrator screw up his face in distaste, “Do you have a problem with my marriage sir?” I asked in an annoyed manner, which caused the NT Administrators assistant to step forward, in a protective manner.

“Down boy, I am not going to do anything” I said to the assistant, before facing the Administrator again, “I will say this last comment to you, I am very disappointed in you sir, it is not what I expected of an Australian Territory Administrator.

This meeting is over” I said, as I stood and made my way to the front door of Government House, and ignoring the car that I arrived in, I walked out the front gate, and down the street, to the centre of the city.

When I spotted a taxi, I hailed it, and asked to be taken to Darwin Private Hospital, which was a twenty-minute drive away, and luckily for me, I had my wallet with me to pay for the fare, even if it was the Sebastian’s company credit card, that I have access to.

Just as I was about to step into the private hospital foyer, my phone rang, and the caller ID said it was Sebastian. “Hello handsome, what is happening in your part of the world, where ever that is” I answered, and I heard Seb chuckle, “Maybe I should ask that about you, are you back at home, as I am currently in Darwin on business” Sebastian replied.

“Funny you should say that, I am in Darwin too, just stepped into the Private hospital, where my assistant is being better looked after” I said.

“Excellent, I am at the Casuarina shopping centre, I will be there shortly” Sebastian said and he ended the call, before I could respond. “Hello, I am Sir Lewis Shaw, here to see a patient, Staff Sergeant Adam Lister” I said to the young receptionist, when I arrived at the desk. “Yeah right! I am the Queen of Sheba” the receptionist replied while she was chewing gum.

“Thankyou Sharon, you can go back to your normal duties, I am sorry Sir Lewis, she is new to here, I was informed that you would be coming. Mr Lister is currently in surgery, apparently they have to remove his spleen, so it will be an hour or two before he gets out of surgery” the second lady said to me.

“Thank you, I will come back a little later, and I suggest you keep that young lady well away from public duties, as she does not have the appropriate clothing or manners to do such a job” I replied, “Yes, I agree, and I am sorry for that mistake, it won’t happen again” the lady said and I turned and left the foyer, just as a limo arrived out the front, and the rear window came down, to reveal Sebastian’s smiling face.

“Do you have a suite booked, I need a place to relax and unwind, these past few days have been exhausting” I commented as I climbed into the limo, and gave Sebastian a quick kiss on the lips. “Is that all I get?” Sebastian complained, “Yes for now, till we are in the privacy of our suite” I responded smiling.

“Fair enough, so I presume the Administrator Jet is also here in Darwin?” Sebastian asked me, as the Limo began the trip back into the city, “Yes, we only landed about two hours ago, I had a meeting with the NT Administrator, which ended in a bad way, he doesn’t approve of our marriage, and I made a point of letting him know I didn’t like his backward views” I said.

After a few hours of pampering by Sebastian, I was feeling a lot more relaxed, and I was wanting to get back home to Christmas Island as soon as possible, but I had to make sure Adam was doing ok, before I did. Sebastian told me that he still had two days of business in Darwin, before he was ready to head back to the MV Huon, at Christmas Island.

Two days later, Sebastian and I were preparing to leave Darwin, when there was a phone call, and the Call ID was GG – Canberra, and I groaned when I saw this, “I have to take this call, it is Canberra” I said to Sebastian, as I answered the call. “Lewis Speaking” I said into the phone, “Sir, please hold for the Governor General” came a response.

“Lewis, you have put us in some very hot water politically, and there are many within Federal Parliament, who want your head for what you caused in Singapore” the GG said when he took the call. “Sir, I am sorry for that, but he is my personal assistant, and they had him held on a trumped-up charge, which was a setup in the first place” I responded.

“I don’t care about that, you have put our Government in a very difficult situation, the Singapore Government has demanded that you deliver your man back to Singapore to face the charges, and you too, for illegally smuggling out a wanted man” the Governor General said.

“I am sorry sir, but the Singapore Authorities were using their strict social rules and laws, to set up an Australian citizen, who is also a soldier in the Australian Army, and if you want someone to take the blame, I will happily tender my resignation, effective immediately, good day to you sir, and goodbye” I said, and I ended the call, before turning off my phone.

“Did I just hear you resigned from your job as Administrator of the IOTA, effective immediately?” Sebastian asked me, and I almost burst into tears, “I have made a real mess of things, and the Federal Government are suggesting that I do as the Singaporean’s are demanding, and turn myself and Adam into them” I said as I fought back tears.

“Leave it to me, we will do what we did before, have a holiday at my Grandmother’s place” Sebastian said, as we gathered our luggage, and minutes later we had checked out of the hotel. “What about Adam, surely they won’t send him back to Singapore?” I asked sounding very concerned.

“We can take him with us, but I think with your resignation, the Singaporean’s should be happy that you are no longer involved in Australian Government work” Sebastian replied.

Within twenty minutes, we were in the air, and heading West for Christmas Island, where we would pack up all of my belongings at Government House, and move to the MV Huon. During the journey, Sebastian was on the phone most of the time, making arrangement, including talking to the twins.

After two hours of flying, we arrived in Broome for a quick refuel, before taking off once again, for the 2 ½ hour flight to Christmas Island. Once we were in the air, Sebastian informed me that the twins had already been to Government House, and collected all of my belongings, and that the MV Huon, was no longer anchored in the bay of Flying Fish Cove, but 12 kilometres to the East of the Resort, where is the closest spot to the airport.

“Once we have landed, we will catch a taxi to the resort, as if we are tourists, where a dinghy will be waiting to collect us and take us to the yacht, and from there we will sail West for the canal and onto the Mediterranean Sea, where we will stop in Cyprus, in 10 days’ time, and fly from there to Switzerland, and drive across the River Rhine to Liechtenstein” Sebastian said.

When we were approaching Christmas Island, the pilots had the plane flying like it was the regular flight from Darwin via Broome, and once we were in the terminal, the pilots refuelled and prepared for a return flight back to Broome, with passengers, that were wishing to return to the mainland.

Sebastian had cancelled all flights into the Indian Ocean Territories, so now there was only outgoing flights back to the mainland, once that is done, all flights by Wagner Air, are permanently cancelled.

A taxi took us to the resort, with me being dressed very casually, to try an hide my identity, and once the taxi had dropped us off, were headed directly to the small beach a few hundred metres up the road, where the dinghy will be waiting, and we were soon heading out to sea, to the waiting yacht, MV Huon.

Once we were safely aboard, with the twins greeting me with a group hug, we headed for our suite to try and relax. After entering the suite, I turned on my mobile, while it is still in mobile range, and it indicated that there were lots of voice messages, but I ignored them, and went to voicemail settings, and I changed the message recording.

“This is the former Administrator of Indian Ocean Territories, of Australia, Lewis Shaw speaking. I am no longer in Australia, and from this moment on, all messages will not be received. Goodbye and good luck” I said and I saved the message, before turning off the phone.

I then went to my laptop, and opened the emails, the IOTA email account had already been blocked from my access, so I deleted the account, and I switched over to my personal email account, where there were a number of emails waiting for me, one from Kylie, one from Jeremy, and one from Margaret.

All of the emails expressed concern, and they wanted me to call them back, so I decided to send one email to all three people.