Take me to Your Leader - 9. Take Me Chapter 9

We managed to convince our guests to take a short tour of the space cruiser and to meet some of the crew, plus the minister was given a full briefing of the approaching meteor before we were teleported back to Earth and we arrived in the front garden of Hugh’s home instead of the outbuilding where we left from. “Oh the front garden, I love wandering around this in the evening with the garden lights on, it gives such an interesting atmosphere to the property,” Hugh’s Aunt said when she realised where we had returned to.

“Where have you all been, we have been searching all over for you all. Minister, your driver is starting to get very worried about you,” Hugh’s mother said when she suddenly appeared. “It is alright dear, we were just having a wonderful stroll in this beautiful garden. We are perfectly safe and it isn’t like we had been abducted by aliens or anything,” Hugh’s Aunt Joyce responded, and the Minister gasped which we all heard but thankfully Hugh’s Mum was far enough away to have not heard it.

Hugh and I were doing our best to hide a smile and stop laughing at the comment as Hugh’s Aunt Joyce smiled and gave us a wink, before glancing up at the stars in the sky, “Isn’t the night sky glorious this evening,” she added, “Yes it is wonderful, isn’t it,” the Minister commented smiling as she too glanced up at the night sky. Back in the house, we sat down for some coffee or tea and chatted about nothing in particular. A little while later, Hugh and I walked the Minister and Joyce to their ministerial car that was waiting for them.

“Come to my office tomorrow at 9 am so that we can have a bit more of a discussion, I will make sure Joyce makes time for us, oh and come the conventional way, so we don’t cause any issues,” the Minister said to me and I smiled and nodded my head in understanding. “Thank you for your time Minister Henderson, it was an honour to meet you, and your Chief of Staff Ms Tibbet,” I said to the Minister, “The honour is also mine… Ambassador Terb Sua,” the Minister responded before she stepped up to the car and entered. “Thanks for the enlightening evening Hugh dear, and it was nice to meet you, Brett,” Hugh’s Godmother said before she climbed into the front passenger seat and they drove off into the darkness.

“Well, that went very well, I hope that this meeting tomorrow is just as successful,” Hugh said to me, as we returned to the house, just long enough to thank Hugh’s parents before we too were on our way, returning to the university campus. “Do you have any lectures or tutorials tomorrow morning, that may interfere with this meeting?” Hugh asked me, as we neared the student college where we lived. “Nope, I was planning on just spending some time at the library doing some studying,” I replied.

“I won’t be able to make it, as I have a tutorial at 10 am, so you will have to go on your own for this meeting,” Hugh said to me, “That is fine mate, I should be able to cope with this on my own, and if not I have some assistance nearby,” I replied, as I looked upwards to indicate the Star Cruiser that was in space, staying in communications range just in case they are needed and Hugh chuckled at his. “Did you see the expressions on their faces when they turned around and saw that they were in space?” Hugh asked me, “Yes, I did. I am glad that they only gasped and did not go into panic mode or worse… fainted,” I replied.

Once the car had left us, we remained outdoors to discuss a few things before heading indoors and going to our separate rooms to get a good night’s rest. The following morning, I was up early, and I headed to the dining room for a quick breakfast, before I returned to my room to shower and dress in a business suit, with my briefcase in hand, I headed outside when I received a text message to say that the Uber Car that I had ordered was waiting for me. I gave the driver the address on New South Head Road, Edgecliffe, just over two kilometres away from where we had dinner last night.

“Good Morning, my name is Brett Hamilton, I have an appointment with Mrs Joyce Henderson,” I said when I arrived at the reception desk of the Minister’s Electorate Office… “Yes, Mr Hamilton, Ms Henderson and the Minister are waiting for you in the conference room, allow me to show you the way,” the receptionist replied smiling once she saw on her computer that I did have an appointment.

Once the door closed behind me, I smiled towards my hosts, “Good morning Minister and Ms Henderson,” who stood on my arrival, and I saw them glance towards the door, “Mr Hamilton, welcome, please come and take a seat,” Joyce said to me formally, “Amanda, I am not to be disturbed for the next 45 minutes, unless the building is on fire, do you understand,” the Minister said into the intercom, “Yes Ma’am, understood,” came the response, before the minister unplugged the telephone, so no one could eavesdrop into the conversation.

“Now Ambassador Treb Sua, let’s get down to business shall we…” the minister said as she took a seat, and I gave a rundown of what I needed to say to the security council, which was a little more detailed than what the Minister was briefed on last night, and I was informed that the Minister was heading at the end of the week, to the UN for several meetings and to attend a UN Security Council Meeting early next week.

The minister informed me that she had a conference with her UK Counterpart last night, to ask for their assistance as a permanent member of the Security Council to allow for a briefing to the Security Council by the Foreign Minister of Australia without notice, and they had agreed to this unusual request.

I explained that due to time restrictions, because of my university studies, I would need to teleport to the UN Security Council Meeting and that we could communicate via text message when it is time for me to appear before the Security Council. I also mentioned that I would be carrying with me a small jamming device, that will block all audio and visual recording devices as well as all mobile telephone reception. The minister stated that she had no issues with that, as long as there were no weapons of any kind brought into the UN Building.

Once we had discussed everything that would take place at the UN next week, I thanked the Minister for her time today and thanked Joyce for being an awesome Godmother to Hugh, which made her laugh, before giving me an unexpected hug. Once out of the building, I decided to take a walk to clear my head a little, and just seven blocks later, I was beside a large park with a view of a Double Bay and a heck of a lot of yacht masts behind it, so I headed in that direction to check it all out.

I was at the bay glancing at all the yachts, when I felt my mobile vibrate, “How did the meeting go? Is it all finished now? Where are you?” was the text message from Hugh. “Yes, the meeting went very well, and all completed, I am at Steyne Park at Double Bay, looking at all the sailing yachts here,” I sent a response. “Our family has a yacht there, can you see it?” Hugh texted back, and I laughed at his silly comment. “LOL, very funny, how can I see it if I don’t know its name or what it looks like,” I texted back to him.

“That reminds me, my late grandmother had her home there just around the corner from Moore Park, which I am not sure if the family has sold it or not,” Hugh messaged me, “Oh ok, is it in a very high-class area, like your family home,” I responded, “No. The house is a Queen Anne-style two-level home built in 1905 and it has a swimming pool, and tennis court, and is a bit over half an acre in land area. It has been a while since I was last there, but I do remember spending lots of time there as a kid,” Hugh texted me.

“Sounds very grand and expensive, how many bedrooms does it have?” I responded, and there was a long wait before I got a reply, “Sorry, I was talking to my folks on the phone, they say that no decision has been made on the property yet, and they have asked me if I want it as my main home, as part of my inheritance from Gran… Oh my God, that would be so awesome, but I’m not sure, as it is a large 6 bedroom and 3.5 bathroom house, plus a separate staff quarters,” Hugh eventually texted back to me.

“That is up to you mate, it is your family’s property,” I replied, “Meet me after your last lecture at 4 pm, at Gate 2 on High Street, so we can go and check it out, you and me… ok?” Hugh messaged me, “Ok, if that is what you want mate, I will come with you,” I responded. Late in the morning once I was back on campus and in the library doing some study, I received another text message from Hugh.

“I have just been informed that my grandmother has already put in her will, that her home will go to me, so technically I already own the property, which has been vacant for four months which is when Gran passed away. Hey, I just had this absolutely wicked idea… How would you like to use the property as your ‘Embassy’? as well as we both live there?” the message read, and I quickly packed up my books and walked out of the library into the open courtyard. “What the heck, are you crazy?” I said as soon as Hugh answered his mobile, and I heard him laughing.

“Let me guess you had to step outside before making this call?” Hugh responded, “Of course, I bloody well had to, I was in the bloody library. Are you serious about this idea or just messing with my brain?” I asked Hugh. “You must admit, you do need a work base for your role as Ambassador to the Amixorpian Empire, or whatever they are, and you will be fairly central to everything. I worked out that you would be just 5 kilometres from central Sydney and just 9 kilometres from Sydney Airport, and I think I inherited Gran’s old car too,” Hugh said to me.

I was running a little late getting to gate two, and I looked at my watch anxiously, wondering what the heck Hugh was going to do I arrived at the designated spot just two minutes after 4 pm and saw no one around, I wondered what to do next, when I received a text. “Are you there yet? You are late?” the message read, “Yeah, I am here, just arrived, where the heck are you?” I responded, as I heard a car horn and looked behind me to see a silver Rolls Royce car approaching and stopped where I was standing.

I was in shock when I saw Hugh in the driver’s seat of this luxurious and expensive car. “You got to be kidding me This was your Gran’s car” I asked, “Yes, hop in, or we will block the heavy traffic,” Hugh said to me, and I looked behind the car to see nothing there which made me frown, then laugh. “You are such an idiot sometimes, I said as I opened the front passenger door and climbed in and he quickly drove off and turned right onto High Road as I secured my seatbelt.

“Where is this former home of your Gran’s exactly?” I asked Hugh as we drove past Randwick Racecourse and turned left onto Bounty Road and a few minutes later left again onto Alison Road. I was a little shocked when Hugh turned right on Darley Road, into the Centennial Parklands, and left through the Randwick Gates onto Grand Drive, travelling at a sedate 40 kilometres per hour. “What’s with the scenic tour?” I asked wondering where the hell we were going, as people stared at the car as we drove past.

“Since we are travelling in style, I thought we should travel through some beautiful parklands while we are at it, and we are almost there now,” Hugh responded, as I checked my watch and we had only been travelling for no more than eight minutes, as we slowed some more and passed through some more gates and turned left onto Robertson Road, and after passing a road on the left with the sign saying Martin Road, Hugh slowed to a crawl, before turning into a narrow laneway, called Oxley Lane.

Hugh made the righthand bend turn and stopped, then pressed a button on the console, before changing into reverse and looking behind him. As I too looked behind, I saw the garage roller door located on the corner finishing opening, and Hugh reversed into the open yard, as a second garage door slowly opened, he reversed in and stopped, as I saw the outer roller door closing soon followed by the garage door.

“Welcome to our new home,” Hugh announced as he stepped out of the car and I followed as we exited the garage and stepped into an outdoor entertaining area, with a huge old house right in front of us. “Wow, this is a real grand old lady of a house,” I commented, as Hugh chuckled. “Grand, she is. Let me show you around the grounds first, then we can go inside. My parents have insisted that I have some staff to help keep the house in good order, which they are financing themselves for now, you will meet them both in a day or two,” Hugh said.

We walked down the side of the house towards the front, where we stopped at the footpath leading from the front gate to the front verandah and front door. “That is Martin Road, and the house is Number 4, so the second from the corner that we just passed by, and we are in the suburb of Centennial Park,” Hugh informed me before he continued, and soon the tennis court appeared from behind the tall hedge, with a swimming pool just beyond that. “Wow, very nice indeed,” I commented.

Next to the double garage is a semi-open outdoor kitchen and lounge, with an additional bathroom, while the separate building next to it is the original barn, which is empty at the moment, and upstairs are the staff quarters. Ok, time for the grand tour now, let's go inside,” Hugh announced as we approached a door which he unlocked and stepped inside into a casual family room, dining room and kitchen area.

I was shown the formal dining room, sitting room and kitchen, with a store, pantry and powder room behind them, plus a set of stairs, while opposite are the sitting room and the mud room. Across the hallway is the formal lounge and front lounge, which has a retractable door to make it into one big room, and opposite in front of the sitting room is a large library office. “This place has twelve external doors on the ground floor, so you need to check it all if you are the last out of the house each day, but with staff coming soon, that shouldn’t be a problem,” Hugh said to me, as we returned the main central hallway, and started climbing the main stairs.

“As you may have noticed, near the kitchen there is a second set of stairs, just to confuse everyone, which are usually used by staff and guests, the master suite is located in this back corner, with one other bedroom on this side of the house at the front. As you see there are three bedrooms opposite on the tennis court side of the house, and down this passage, we have the first of two main bathrooms, the top of the secondary stairs, the second bathroom, linen room, laundry and the last bedroom at the end, which I am guessing will be your bedroom, if you choose to,” Hugh said to me.

I glanced into the last bedroom and saw a view of the swimming pool and tennis court through one window and the rear entertaining area out the other one, I also noticed there were plenty of cupboards, and I nodded my head and smiled to indicate that I liked the room. “When are you planning to move in?” I asked Hugh, as we exited the house and locked up behind us. “As soon as the whole house has had a thorough clean and the grounds have been tidied up a bit. So in about a week or two. Probably during the mid-semester break,” Hugh replied.

“I may have to be away for that time, depending on how this meeting at the UN goes,” I commented, “Understood, you have your duties to perform so I won’t interfere with them. When is it that you are going to the UN?” Hugh responded. “When I get the notice from the Minister on when she will be attending the Security Council Meeting, probably a few days after that I will have to hop over via the Space Cruiser,” I replied.

“When do you want to move into the house? I hope it isn't too long as it will get very lonely in such a big house like that,” Hugh asked me, “You do remember that you will have staff living there?” I asked, “Yes, but I will miss having you close by all the time. I like having you around me regularly, it makes me happy,” Hugh said to me smiling.