Frontier - 23. FR Chapter 23

Boss we are miserable here, can we come back and work for you again, we don’t care if it is for less money, we just want to get away from here” Leon said. “When are, you scheduled to leave the Cocos Keeling Islands?” I asked the lads, “We are restocking for supplies, then we are leaving straight after, Mr Kingsley has gone with two of the other crew members to do the shopping, leaving one other crew member and us behind, and we are anchored about 100 metres off shore” Kirk replied.

“Ok guys hang tight, Jasper knows the federal police officers on that island, I will give Jasper a call right now, so get all of your luggage packed and ready to go, and be ready” I said to the lads. “One slight problem, Mr Kingsley has our passports locked away in the safe” Leon said to me. “Well, hopefully he hasn’t had a chance to change the code yet, try 951357, if that does work, grab just your passports and nothing else, don’t worry about any lost wages, I will speak to you again soon” I said and I hung up.

Next, I called Jasper on the satellite phone, and explaining everything that Kirk and Leon has told me, and included that I had given them the safe code to retrieve their passports. Jasper said that he would call the police at Cocos Keeling Islands, and that he would call me back when he has news of what has happened. I mentioned to Jasper, about the 2^nd cheque from Mr Kingsley being bounced by the bank, and as such the sale contract had been breached. After I had hung up from talking to Jasper, I ate my breakfast, paid the bill and went for a walk along the beach to try and relax a little.

A very long two hours later, when my phone rang, I jumped with fright, before I looked at the caller ID which said - Sat Phone. “Hello Jasper, how did it go” I said as soon as I answered the call. “The lads were in their cabin and ready when the police launch arrived, and the officers remembered them from when they first arrived on the Island, with the previous owners before you, the boys were encouraged to board their launch, with their luggage, with much disapproval from the other crew member, who apparently called them a lot of unsavoury names.

Mr Kingsley and the other two crew members arrived in their rib dinghy soon afterwards, and they tried to drag the lads back onto the yacht, which resulted in the officers warning them off. Mr Kingsley was informed that he had breached the sale contract of the trimaran yacht, and that the yacht was being seized till the court decides who the owner is. Since they arrived late last night, they hadn’t done the customs and quarantine check on arrival, and so Mr Kingsley and the three crew were told to sit in the saloon, while a customs check was done.

Apparently, the lads spotted a hand gun, and a large amount of cash in the safe, when they retrieved their passports, and mentioned it to the police officers, and gave them the safe code to open it. Mr Kingsley was not at all pleased about this, and a further search found a high-powered rifle and another hand gun, and this resulted in Mr Kingsley being arrested for carrying guns illegally into Australian Territory, and having over $22 thousand in Australian currency, plus $ 36 thousand in US currency.

The officer called me to check if I knew about any guns on the yacht, while I worked on the yacht, and I said that I only had my police service pistol, until I gave it to them back when he was on the island last, and that only I and my boss, had the code to the safe, until the yacht was sold last week” Jasper said to me. “So, what is happening to Kingsley and his crew now?” I asked Jasper, “Well Mr Kingsley is to be detained and sent to the mainland to be formally charged and processed through the courts, the three crew members are free to go.

I didn’t bother to find out what they are going to do, and I believe the yacht is being placed in a secure facility, until it is decided by the courts on what to do with it. I have arranged accommodation for Kirk and Leon on the island, till the next flight back to the mainland, which won’t be till Tuesday now. Can you organise the flights for them back to the mainland and Jurien?” Jasper said to me. “I will be very pleased to do that, and also I will pay for the accommodation too” I replied happily, pleased that everything has turned out well in the end.

Once I had finished talking to Jasper, I telephone the airline and booked and paid for two tickets back to Perth, and I decided to give the lads a short holiday in the city, so I booked and paid for a week’s accommodation in a 4-star hotel, so they could return to the catamaran, after the family has moved into the house.

Once I had checked out of the motel, I made my way back to the marina, and I could see the yacht approaching, as Jasper, Simon and Gramps finished their two-day charter. Leaving my weekend bag and backpack with laptop inside, beside my bike, I went to help with mooring the yacht at the jetty, and helped the guests to step onto the jetty and offload their luggage, and Jasper waved to me from the fly bridge, as I thanked the guests for their charter, and wished them a safe journey home.

Once the guests had gone, I went to retrieve my luggage, and found Mum and the boys there waiting for me. “Hiya mum, how was the shopping trip, did you get everything that you wanted?” I asked her as I picked up my luggage, and we made our way to the catamaran. “It went well dear, but I will have to make a second trip sometime during the week on my own, so I can get what I couldn’t get yesterday” Mum replied.

“Hey boys, did you have a good time in Geraldton?” I asked my brothers, “It was ok, I guess, better when we were not running around looking in all the shops” Jedd replied as we stepped on board. Simon, Gramps and Jasper were already seated in the saloon, when we arrived. “I need to let everyone know what had happened over the weekend” I started as I sat down next to Jasper, I was eventually able to contact Kirk and Leon, and the trimaran was in Cocos Keeling Islands, and they were very unhappy, their new boss had kept their passports locked away, and had been restricting their movements when in port.

I have agreed to let them join us again, and with the assistance of Jasper and his Federal friends on the islands, the lads got their passports back, and Mr Kingsley is currently being detained for illegal firearms. Kirk and Leon will be flying back to Perth, the day after tomorrow, and they will spend a week having a holiday, before they return to us here. By then, the family will be moved into our new home, so that will make room for the lads, on the yacht, and with them back, Gramps won’t be needed as much for charters, and I am sure he has lots of plans for that big shed at the back of our new home” I said and that received a number of chuckles.

“Jasper, Simon and the lads can do the charters when they come about, and in the meantime, I am thinking on getting more accommodation on our new property, so the crew can have rostered time off from the yacht. Saturday is moving day, so I would like all hands to assist, when the delivery trucks arrive” I announced to everyone.

“I have one truck, with a three-piece lounge, large dining table and eight chairs, a television cabinet, a dining dresser cabinet, two book shelves, a large office desk and office chair, three double beds, two single beds and mattresses to match, two bedside tables for each of the four bedrooms, due to arrive Friday mid-afternoon, and a truck with washing machine, dryer, microwave, a fridge/fridge, bench freezer and one very large and one medium size televisions, and surround sound system arriving Saturday lunch time.

I still need to do some shopping for a large outdoor dining table and chairs, a kettle, toaster, crockery, cutlery, cooking pots and pans and utensils, bedding and anything else that I have forgotten at the moment” Mum announced. “How about you and I go to Geraldton Wednesday morning, stay overnight, and come back Thursday afternoon, so that we can get everything else in one last go, I’m sure Anton won’t mind looking after the boys for one night” Gramps said to Mum, and she smiled, “That sounds perfect” she replied.

When I arrived at school the following day, after taking the boys to Junior school, I made my way to the senior school administration. “Hello Anton, I was just thinking this morning, that we have had no more incidences since the confrontation you had with those three lads, I think the whole school knows now not to cause trouble.

You have virtually wiped out the existence of any bullying or discrimination, well done young man” the deputy principal said to me with a smile. “Thank you, ma’am, but it was a team effort, not just me. The reason I am here today, is to ask permission to miss first class after lunch today, which is art, as I have an important business meeting that I need to attend” replied, “Yes, Anton that will be fine, I will let your teacher know, thank you for letting me know, and have a good day” the deputy principal responded, and I headed towards my locker to get my books for my first two classes for today. Each class seemed to drag on for ever, as if time had slowed down.

When the bell finally sounded for the lunch break, I grabbed my backpack and raced out the door, ignoring a call from the teacher to slow down and not to run. When I arrived at the local council offices, I was a little puffed from running, so I stopped and tried to calm down a little, before I stepped in and went to the main counter.

“May I speak to someone from the building department please?” I asked politely, and the receptionist looked at me strangely, before picking up the phone and speaking to someone briefly, “Take a seat, he will be with you shortly” the lady said to me in an annoyed tone, I thanked her and took a seat. Nearly twenty minutes later, a balding gentleman finally appeared from out the back somewhere, and he looked around, before seeing the receptionist point at me.

“How can I help you, young man?” the gentleman said to me. “Tell me sir, is it customary to make ratepayers wait for nearly twenty minutes, before being attended to” I said to him as I stood up, with my back to the receptionist, “What do you mean by ratepayer?” the council worker asked. “My name is Anton Hamilton, and not only do I own a property here in town, but I also own a tourism business, when I asked to speak to someone from the building department, I was not expecting to have to wait for twenty minutes” I replied feeling my temper starting to build.

“I am terribly sorry sir, the receptionist, just said that a school kid asked to see someone, and that it wasn’t urgent, and I said since it wasn’t urgent that I would be out as soon as I had finished my lunch” the gentleman responded. “Although that is not an acceptable response, it is not why I am here today, may we go somewhere to talk” I replied, and I was lead to a small meeting room, just around the corner from the reception foyer.

Taking a few breaths to try and calm down, before I started, I sat down and pulled out my laptop from my bag and turned it on. “The reason I am here is, that although I have just bought a five-bedroom home on 8 acres of land for my family, that being my grandfather, my widowed mother and my two half-brothers, I am in need of additional accommodation for my employees, when they are not working” I stated. “Can I just ask you, are you the family that owns the catamaran in the marina?” the council worker asked, “Yes, that is us, and I employ four staff when we are on charters around the region” I replied.

“I see, so what are your plans for additional accommodation then Mr Harrington?” the council worker asked me, and I presented to him a number of options, one being four one bedroom cabins, with bathroom and kitchenette, another option is two granny flats, that have two bedrooms each, or a four bedroom workers cabin, each one with their own bathroom, or the final option is a 4 bedroom, two-bathroom house with two living areas, cross shaped house.

The council worker suggested that maybe I should consider having maybe one granny flat and two cabins, situated away from the main house, so that in the future, if I wanted to sell the property, it could be subdivided, with the main house on one block and a extra group of accommodation, on the other block. I was given a few forms that needed to be filled in, and told that an architectural plan of the accommodation layout and a map of the property to be included in the application.

I thanked the gentleman for his assistance, and I left the building refusing to even look at the receptionist, and I headed back to the school, depositing the forms in my locker, before heading to the library for the last fifteen minutes of class.

At the end of the first school day of the week, I was pleased to be back at the marina, and once we were changed out of our school uniform, I asked Jasper and Gramps to join me in the office. Once the door was closed, I took the forms and lap top computer out of my backpack, and I began to present my ideas to the those in front of me. When I had finished, there was a long silence, and eventually gramps cleared his throat to speak. “I think that it is a good idea to provide the extra accommodation, and I agree with the council worker that we place the buildings further to the front and on the opposite side of the property” Gramps said.

I thanked them for their input and while Jasper left the room, Gramps remained to help me fill in the forms, and I printed out a copy of the layout plans for each of the two types of accommodation, and added them to the forms, and we completed them just before dinner time, as I planned to submit the forms on Wednesday, as soon as I had a copy of the property plans, that I would get tomorrow.

Just as we were finishing dinner, my mobile rang, and looking at the caller ID it was Kirk and Leon calling. “Hey guys, how are you going?” I said as soon as I answered, “Hey boss, we are good thanks to you and the skipper, the accommodation here is great too, thanks for organising the accommodation and the flights back to the mainland” Kirk and Leon said in turns, “I have arranged accommodation for a week in Fremantle, before you travel up to Jurien Bay.

The family has purchased a home, so there will be more room on the yacht, so by the time you arrive, we will have moved in, so you can settle into your jobs right away” I said to the lads, “That sounds good by us, thanks again for everything you have done for us, and we look forward to seeing you all again” the lads said and they ended the call.

Over the next few days, the routine of going to school, doing homework and looking after the boys, while mum and gramps were away in Geraldton doing some final shopping for our new home. After school on Wednesday, I submitted the documents and plans to the local council, and informed that it would be approximately two weeks before I know a response on my application.

On Thursday, after school, with Simon and the boys with me, I met with the real estate agent to finalise the settlement of the house, and once the documents were signed and I handed over the bank cheque, I was given the full set of keys to the house, and congratulated on my first home purchase. Once the real estate agent had left, we all went upstairs and had another look around the house, which was now officially mine and my families.

After a good look, around the house, we checked out the large two bay shed, and workshop, with the large water tanks nearby. When we had done that, we rode towards the front of the property, and I stopped about halfway, which is about 75 metres from the front gate, and I looked around the area, which has just small and medium sized shrubs around the area. “I think the village of accommodation can be on just one side of the driveway, starting about ten metres back from the road, with an access road in the middle” I said to Simon and the boys, Simon smiled and nodded his head in agreement.

When we arrived back at the marina, I was pleased to see Mum and Gramps had just arrived back from Geraldton, and the vehicle and trailer were jammed pack full of boxes of new purchases, along with another new vehicle. “Hello Mum and Gramps, I have completed the settlement, how about I change out of my uniform, and come with you to unload everything at our new home” I suggested.

“Simon and the boys and I have just come from there, how about Gramps looks after the boys, and Simon, Jasper and I come and do the unloading” I suggested, “Very well then, go and get changed and we will go” Mum said. Less than twenty minutes later, we were back at our new home, and we began to transport everything into the house, including the main item that I had ordered, a brand-new desk top computer with a large screen, which I placed in what will be my office.