Country Retreat - 63. First Arrivals

By the time we arrived back at the property the next morning, we were tired but happy that we had a great few days together exploring the coast north of Perth, with Marcus back at the property, and he informed us that my Grandparents had returned home early the day before. He also mentioned that everyone would be returning the following day, as there had been some developments regarding the first arrivals, but that is all Marcus knew about it, so we would have to wait until Jarrad returned to find out more, so we just relaxed and helped Marcus with a few chores around the property.

When we returned indoors, we found Jarrad had arrived back early and this worried me a little, “Hey mate, do you have an update on what's happening with our new arrivals?” I asked. “I do, that is why I am back early, they will be arriving on this evening’s flight from the islands, so I wanted to let you guys know this?” Jarrad replied. “So you had an update from our contacts in Canada?” I asked.

“I have since Koen was out of contact, I was next to be notified, and I was informed of their pending arrival,” Jarrad replied, “Right, well we need to make sure that accommodation is set for them. By the way, how old are the Adamson brothers?” I asked. “19 and 16 years old, with the older brother having full custody of his younger brother,” Koen replied, “Wow, that is very young. In that case, we had better put them closer to staff, so how about we put them in the single quarters at the front of the main complex,” I suggested.

“What vehicle are we going to take to collect them tonight?” Jarrad asked me, “I think mine will be sufficient, and maybe Koen had better come with me since these lads are Canadian,” I replied, “Make sure that you do something to cover your licence plates before entering the Airport car park, as they have plate reading scanners there,” Jarrad said to me. “That’s a good point. I think I will just use some electrical tape to adjust the numbers and lettering a bit, so it gives a false reading,” I responded.

“Just to let you know what we can tell you, on what happened during the conference that we recently attended. Koen, Hugh and I managed to convince our superiors to set up a separate unit within the NCB of Interpol, that is similar to the Witness Protection Programme in many countries but will be limited to non-criminals who have been caught as witnesses or abductees by criminal persons or organisations.

We have named it the IPPU - International Protected Persons Unit, and we have authorisation to operate in 18 countries around the world, with permission to take up four Business Class seats on International Flights at little or no warning, and with no notification to any law enforcement agency including the Air Flight Marshals that may be on board the flight, with just one rule, which is that if there is a guardian for these IPP’s that they will not carry a weapon on the aircraft.

This time, no official guardian would be travelling with these lads, as it was urgent to get them out of Canada, but usually, it would be one of us who would be the guardian. Once Giles has completed basic training with the AFP, he will be joining us as one of the Guardians. I have a trusted relative who will be a temporary guardian for these lads, travelling as far as Singapore, making sure their new identities are in place and supervising them board their next flight to Darwin and then to Perth, before heading home.

We discussed plans for tonight’s pickup, and after some thought, we decided to take two vehicles and stay off the main highways which have a lot of cameras on them, instead of going a different route, this would mean some additional time travelling, but we wanted to make sure that we stay clear of as many traffic cams as possible, once we reach the northern suburbs, and additional roads are available to take.

The second vehicle, with Jarrad and Hugh, would stop near the Redcliffe Train Station on a vacant block of land where there is no lighting or cameras and wait there, while after some changes to the vehicle plates and taking out the fuse for the lights for the plates, I would take my vehicle through to the T2 & T3 Short Term Car Park, so Koen and I could collect our protectees from the domestic terminal. We left Manakoora two hours before the flight from Darwin was due to arrive, and we arrived with 35 minutes to spare, as I carried a soft bag that contained additional clothing and shoes, to change the lad’s appearance once through the arrivals gate.

We had been given details of what size clothing the lads wore, so that we could come prepared, to assist with getting them past any security cameras without being recognised, well, that was the plan anyway. Once passengers started to arrive, Koen and I were connected via our phones, as we looked for the two lads. Koen spotted them first and told me to head to the bathroom, as we watched them searching for anyone who where waiting for them as was planned. Koen walked past them before doing an about-turn, stopping for a moment, then walking casually up behind them.

“Hey Adamson boys, don’t speak, just follow me to the men’s bathrooms,” Koen said quietly to the lads as he passed them, and headed for the bathrooms, where I was waiting at the disabled cubical, and pointed the way. “Hello Simon and Tristan, in there is a bag, change your clothes and shoes, then come out, and wash your hands, then follow me out of the terminal,” I said to the lads.

Koen went into another cubical, and he turned his coat inside out and pulled out a hat, and reading glasses to change his appearance a little before he exited the bathroom. I was already at the sink washing my hands when the lads exited the cubical, and handed me the bag, before doing the same thing. “Tristan, you exit with me and I will carry your luggage, while Simon you wait a few moments, and follow us to the terminal exit, and out towards the vehicle, where Koen will be waiting for us,” I whispered to them.

Everything worked well, as we all left the terminal, and we were soon in the vehicle. “Hey again lads, I am Koen Alkins, I am a Canadian CSIS officer, currently on holiday here, as I went to high school here for a few years. My friend and boss here is Oscar Q Kingston, whose family owns the property where you will be residing for a while. Apart from my Aunt who travelled with you as far as Singapore, and those in our small organisation, no one else outside or within Australia knows that you are here, and you lads are the first guests to our project.

Our friends who you will meet tonight and tomorrow, are part of the Manakoora Project, of which some of them like me, are in Intelligence or Federal Law Enforcement in our home countries. Oscar here is the project manager, who is a qualified psychologist and counsellor, so if you need to talk to someone, he is the best person to chat too. In the other vehicle nearby, we have Jarrad Drake who is with the Australian ASIS and Hugh Oakly who is with the NZ Intelligence Service,” Koen said to the lads, as I continued the information briefing.

“Back at the base, you will meet Hunter Davidson, who is new to the team, he helps with kitchen and cleaning duties, as well as keeping us busy with sports and recreation activities, next there is Marcus Gresham, who is the property manager, and he manages all the outside work that needs doing on the property, which is a farm located on the coast, where we produce beef cattle, and we grow our own fruit and vegetables, we are off the grid as we have our own solar power station and water desalination plant.

Other team members who will be returning soon from their Christmas break, are Rebecca Sampson, who is one of our two paramedics, as well as helping with kitchen and cleaning duties, next there is Giles Harris who is our Computer and Information expert, who will shortly be joining the Australian Federal Police, and brothers Lincoln and Jamison Edgar are our newest recruits to the project, Lincoln assists Marcus on the property and he is our second paramedic, while Jamison is our main chef who feeds us very well.

Finally, there is Henry and Margaret Kingston… my grandparents and the official owners of the property, they oversee everything on the property and also assist with financing the Manakoora Project, which is totally privately funded and operated, to keep the place secret,” I said to the lads as we sat in the vehicle. “Mobile one, is everything ok there, over,” a voice over the radio said, which made the lads jump in fright a little. “Yes mobile two, all is good, just briefing the lads on some information, see you shortly, over,” I responded before starting up the engine of my vehicle.

“Nice vehicle you have here Mr Kingston,” Tristan said, speaking for the first time since stepping off the plane, “Thanks, it was a gift from my grandparents, and call me Oscar please as we are all around the same age, and we want you to feel at home here in Western Australia,” I replied. We stopped briefly to meet up with the other vehicle, where the lads swapped vehicles, before we went on the back road out of the airport area, travelling on a highway for a short distance, before turning onto a different road to cross over the river and railway, as we headed northwards.

While Jarrad and Hugh went on a more direct route home, Koen and I spent the next half an hour taking a lot of back roads, and we stopped briefly to remove the tape off the plates and put the fuse back into place before we eventually arrived home shortly after 1.30 am. “You guys took your time,” Jarrad said to us, after parking my vehicle in its storage bay. “We wanted to take extra precautions, just in case someone tries to track us down,” I replied, as we headed over to the main complex.

“How are Tristan and Simon settling into their new quarters?” Koen asked, “They are ok I think, Hunter took over getting them settled into their pod, and he gave them a basic tour of the main complex before letting them settle in, and he has checked on them every half an hour, with the last report Hunter said they were both fast asleep, no doubt because of all the air travel they have done,” Jarrad informed us. After a quick chat, while having some supper in the main dining hall, we retired to our pods to get some sleep, with it being the first full day of a new life for the newest arrivals.