Take me to Your Leader - 11. Take Me Chapter 11

I had a feeling that there was a lot more that he wasn’t telling me about the house, but I decided not to push it, especially since we had to get organised for dinner, which by the smells coming from the kitchen, everything was in order in that department. “Good afternoon Mr Hugh and Mr Brett, would you like a pre-dinner drink while waiting for your guests?” Mary Abbott the housekeeper asked me.

“You know that I don’t drink, and Brett here is the same, and once we are decent, we will wait in the library for our guests’ thanks,” Hugh replied before we headed upstairs. A little while later we returned downstairs, only to hear some chatting, and while I headed to the library, Hugh went to the kitchen to investigate, returning a few minutes later smiling. “It looks like they decided to come after all,” Hugh said to me, without any more details. Moments later, dressed in waiter uniforms, Simeon and Travis entered the room holding silver trays.

“Would you like some canapes, sir?” Simeon asked me as he lowered his tray in front of me to see what was available, and I decided to try two available samples, Travis moved towards Hugh, who also took two of them and popped them into his mouth, as both of our college mates left the room. Waiting a few moments until I felt they were well out of hearing range, “Care to explain?” I asked as Hugh chuckled at my question.

“I thought they would like a bit extra income. I told them that it was at my place in Centennial Park and that I would be having some VIP guests, whose identities need to be kept highly confidential, and that you are my co-host. They were a little shocked at all this but agreed to say nothing about what they see or hear,” Hugh said to me. “That is good to hear, I just hope that we can fully trust them,” I responded, “That, I am sure you can, they are good guys, and I have known them for many years, not since before starting at University, I knew them from High school too,” Hugh informed me.

Twenty minutes later, Mary entered and informed us that one of the lads had let the guests in via the back door, and we both stood and headed to the Family room at the back of the house just as our two guests entered. “Good Evening Ms Henderson, I am so sorry to hear about your current situation, I think it is very unfair,” I said to the former Foreign Minister, “That is politics for you. It happens, there is nothing more I can do about that,” she responded, as she shook my hand. “Ms Tibbert, nice to see you again,” I said to Hugh’s Godmother, who had already received a warm hug from Hugh.

“Thank you, Amb… err Mr Hamilton, good to see you too,” she responded, “Shall we move to the library, where we can relax before dinner?” Hugh suggested, and I led the way while Hugh hung back and spoke to the staff briefly, before following, and he closed the door behind him after entering the library. “The staff are not sure what is going on… they did recognise you right away Ms Henderson, so I just told them that Aunt Joyce is her senior staff member and that this is an informal dinner among friends,” Hugh said to us.

After about five minutes of social chit-chat, there was a knock on the door and Hugh called out for them to enter, where Simeon and Travis entered with silver trays with canapes and asked the ladies what they would like to drink, before asking Hugh and me, what we would like to drink, and we asked for a fruit punch. Once the lads had left the room with the door closed behind them, we heard Ms Henderson sigh, which brought all our attention to her.

“I have had several conversations with my replacement, as well as with the PM himself. They are both demanding to know more about you, especially your identity, where you are from, and how you came about becoming the Earth representative for the Amixorpians. I told them that I had only just been informed by the person concerned at short notice and that I know very little about him, and what I do know I promised to keep confidential,” Ms Henderson said to me.

“What was their response to that?” I asked, “They demanded to know everything that I know about you sir, or else there would be consequences. I informed them, that is all the information that I have to say on the matter, and if they wish, they can accept my immediate resignation from the party, as I was happy to continue as an independent member of Parliament if need be,” Ms Henderson replied. “Well, I thank you for your loyalty on the matter, and I am sure that we can come up with some kind of compensation for it,” I said to her.

“On that matter sir, I have some news,” Hugh said to me as he lifted his arm and revealed an identical watch to what I have. “Someone was here?” I asked sounding shocked, “Yes sir, earlier this afternoon. As your protector Ghuh Sua, they… or should I say, Commander Otrebor Reo suggested that I have this to stay in touch, just in case they are not able to contact you.

I suggested that he teleport down here, so he could see where we are going to be living. We ended up having a long discussion as well as a tour of the property while my staff, Mary and Lance were out shopping,” Hugh said to me. “What came out of these discussions that you had with the Commander?” I asked my friend, “Well, the Amixorpians are aware that gold is a valuable commodity that they have a plentiful supply of as well, and that the Council had suggested that they finance establishing a physical embassy there on Earth, that will blend in with the community, like this place here,” Hugh said smiling.

I chuckled at his comment, “So they are going ahead with this idea of this place becoming an embassy?” I asked for confirmation, “Yes sir, oh and also Number 6 next door as well, as I had mentioned that the property next door was for sale, and they agreed that the additional space would be ideal. They also suggested that security be upgraded to Amixorpian levels to ensure the safety of everyone, which includes you also Ms Henderson. They have seen the media reports about what happened at the United Nations, and they are offering you a position assisting the Ambassador here since you have far more experience in that area,” Hugh said.

“So what exactly is next door going to be used for with this new embassy?” I asked. “If the all clear is given, I will answer that in person for you Ambassador,” a new voice said, which I soon realised was coming from my watch, “Just a moment Commander,” Hugh responded, as he opened the door, “Staff, no interruptions for the next half an hour please,” we heard Hugh call out, “Understood Mr Hugh. Dinner will be ready shortly after that time,” we heard Mary respond from the direction of the kitchen before Hugh closed and locked the door.

“Commander, it is clear for your arrival,” I said after tapping my watch and moments later, Commander Otrebor Reo appeared in the room, and he gave a short bow towards me. “Ambassador, it is good to see you again. Hello Ms Henderson and Ms Tibbett, nice to see you again, although we were not formally introduced when you came to visit us before, and Protector, thank you for your work so far,” the Commander said lastly to Hugh.

“Thank you, Commander. Now can you fill us in on details about our earlier discussions?” Hugh asked, “Certainly, I can do that, but first, the council has decided to appoint Ms Henderson to the position of Embassy Director since she has more knowledge of what Ambassadors do and how Embassies work having worked as the Foreign Minister for so many years, congratulations on your promotion,” the Commander announced, and we all gave a light applause in response to this. “Thank you, Commander. I will do my very best to honour the Amixorpian people and their council of elders,” Ms Henderson responded.

“I have with me a copy of the layout plans of the property next door, and work has already commenced with planned changes to the main building. As you can see it is not a very big or impressive house compared to the one we are standing in right now, but it does have a front entry driveway, which this place doesn’t have, so for starters, we will be strengthening and increasing the height of the front boundary wall, and have two new electronic security gates installed, plus enclosed electronic surveillance will be added.

In regards to the main building, some internal walls will be altered, with support pillars replacing walls, to make these two rooms into one big multi-use room, and a security gate will be installed between the two properties. For this property, there will be similar improvements done externally, with a stronger front wall, and a new pedestrian security gate, oh and both back gates will also be changed to stronger gates,” the Commander announced.

“As discussed earlier, it was suggested that bedrooms 3 & 4 upstairs, be turned into administration offices, while bedroom two, will become a small lounge, and the main bedroom can be used by the Embassy Director if required, but… since that discussion, I have come across another property, just down the same road, that is a lot more modern and possibly more suitable as a location for an embassy,” Hugh announced.

“Whichever is the best choice is best, I don’t mind, and I would like to retain my Chief of Staff as well,” Ms Henderson stated, “I see no problem with that, as long as Ms Tibbet is ok with it?” I responded, “Yes, I would like to continue to work for Susan,” Joyce Tibbet replied. Once the Commander had returned to the Space Cruiser, we exited the library and headed to the dining room for dinner, where we just had a social conversation for the rest of the night, which was enjoyable.

For the next few weeks, some major events happened. Not only did Susan Henderson resign from the party to become an independent she also announced that she would not be standing for re-election next year, announcing that she would be retiring from all politics, and after a holiday, she would be looking into working in the private sector, but in what field, she had not decided yet. Once council approval had been given for the security upgrades to Hugh’s property, the property walls were made higher and the gates were replaced.

In regards to the location of a new embassy, it was decided to go ahead with purchasing a larger property but not in central Sydney, and it was suggested that it be waterfront and further to the south of the city. After a lot of searching, we managed to find an ideal location in the suburb of Illawong, 11 kilometres to the southwest of the University in a straight line or 29 kilometres by road and it is located on the banks of the Georges River, that flows into Botany Bay, with a whopping 58 metres of river frontage.

The 1.97-acre semi-bush property, originally had a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom house on it, which was destroyed by a bushfire a few years ago, and now replaced by a U-shaped four-level solid concrete building, that is ideal for what we wanted, with a 50-metre-long access driveway from the main road to the start of the property, which makes it very private. Most of the trees had been retained with the rebuild, including half a dozen trees that are inside the U-shaped courtyard area.

The previous owners had by the looks of the design, planned to have it as a residence as well as a place for business and entertaining, as it has everything for that in this complex, which is located about halfway down the hillside, a further 50-metres from the end of the accessway, with a sealed road leading down to the complex. The Ground floor has a double garage on the north wing, a meeting room, men’s and ladies toilets, stairs going up to the next level, a store room, the main functions kitchen, a storage pantry, the lift that goes to all four levels, and a connecting passage between the kitchen and the very huge ballroom, that faces the river.

The south wing has the main formal entry foyer, complete with a store room and cloakroom, with an adjoining lounge room. Down the main hall, there is a large library, also stairs going down to the lower level, store rooms and men’s and ladies' toilets, with the main entry into the ballroom. Heading downstairs from the south wing, you enter directly into a lounge room, with a backup generator power room and laundry, as well as two staff quarters each with separate bathrooms, while in the centre of the complex, there is a courtyard and a gymnasium. Beyond this is the main Entertainment & Function room, with a kitchen & bar area as well as men's and ladies' toilets, and on the south side of the room there is a large lounge room, while on the north side, there is a billiards room. Down the north wing is the access to the lift, and a short passageway to a multi-use activity room and the 22-seat cinema.

Getting access to the top floors from the North Wing, which is the living quarters area, there is a long passageway that leads to all guest areas, which includes a master and 2^nd guest suite, a guest lounge, with a kitchenette and store, also to the lift, and main living area, with a kitchen dining area, living room and formal lounge room, plus a large outdoor verandah, all which have views of the river. On the south wing of this level, there is a long passage leading to two-bedroom suites, with separate bathrooms, and a master suite also with a separate bathroom. Both master suites, also have a private outdoor balcony that overlooks the entry area of the property. On the north wing next to the stairs, a separate door leads to a set of spiral stairs, that lead to the roof level where the administration offices are located. Entering from the lift, there is a short passage that passes a bathroom and a store room, before entering the reception office, where the spiral stairs are also located.

Leading off the reception is a staff kitchen, and a passageway that leads the the Embassy Manager’s office, the main conference room, and the Ambassador’s office with a separate bathroom and store room. The property also includes a river pool and concrete wharf with a lawn area around it, and there are concrete stairs leading up to where the complex is located. It took some work to get the place freshened up with fresh paint, as well as improved lighting, plus installing a solar power system on the roof of the roof level of the complex, which is the only level high enough to get any sunlight from which are just level with the top of the trees.

In between attending studies at university, I was having regular meetings with Ms Henderson, who I was leaving in charge of getting the complex ready to become the Amixorpian Embassy. One day Ms Henderson informed me that the property next door at the front was up for sale, that is 1/3 of an acre on the north side, with adjoining boundaries for 76 metres, and it is a 4-bedroom and 3-bathroom modern home, which would make an ideal gatehouse & staff residence, as it shares some of the accessway with the main property. On the southern side of the property is the park reserve, and with just two properties below next door also accessed from our shared driveway, we have a lot of privacy.

I also suggested that we try and make a very generous offer for the property at the bottom of our northern boundary, which is a modernised 3-bedroom and 2-bathroom house, with a separate boat jetty, and is just over half an acre in area, and would be ideal for additional staff accommodation. As the end of the University year neared, I had to pause all Embassy duties and concentrate on my end-of-year exams, which were fast approaching, leaving Ms Henderson to take on more of the workload which she was happy to do, and she stated that she was enjoying the new work and challenges, that it brings.