Indian Ocean Invasion - 32. IOI Chapter 32

“Great, I just needed to let you know that the transfer that I had requested, has been accepted, and that I will be arriving at my new posting next week” Kylie announced. “Oh, so where are you off to now, somewhere boring like Canberra” I teased, and Kylie laughed.

“No silly, I will be there on Christmas Island, with you being there, they need two extra officers, to make sure you are looked after” Kylie replied, “Wow really, that is fantastic, but I will have two Army personnel as part of my staff, to look after me” I replied.

“Well, at least I will get to see my best friend a lot more often now” Kylie said to me, and I groaned, “I am not too sure about that, not after just reading two emails I have received.

The Attorney General has appointed me a Special Magistrate for the IOTA – Indian Ocean Territories of Australia, plus the senior Administrator of IOTA has just recently resigned, and the GG – Governor General, what’s me to take over the role, while based here” I announced.

“Wow, you will be a busy man, well I just rang to let you know, see you next week, bye for now” Kylie said, and she ended the call, and the phone rang almost straight after, Christmas Island Administrators office” I said when I pressed the accept button. “Commander, this is Colonel Harkins from Irwin Barracks” the caller said.

“Yes sir, how can I help” I responded, “As of now, Captain James Watts and Staff Sergeant Adam Lister are now officially on your staff, they have been informed of their change of duties, and I will leave it up to you to organise a place of residence for them” the Colonel informed me, “Yes sir, and thank you, goodbye” I replied before ending the call, and smiling.

Realising that I would no longer be able to continue my holiday for two weeks, I decided that I would need to start work early, so I showered and shaved, and dressed in one of my new suits, I grabbed my briefcase, and drove down Jin Pantai Road, towards my new place of work.

When I parked my vehicle, I noticed that an Australian and Christmas Island Flags were flying from the flag poles opposite the building, and the front lawns had been neatly mown, and the front garden had been weeded and mulched, as I stepped onto the front veranda, and walked towards the door, which opened suddenly, and Mrs Masters stepped out.

“Hello sir, and welcome to your new home” she said to me as she gave a slight bow, and I chuckled, as I stepped in and looked around the foyer.

“Let me guess, you had a tip off from Canberra, that I was already here” I said to Mrs Masters, “That’s’ right, Your Excellency, I had my suspicions on our first meeting, allow me to give you a tour of your new base” Mrs Masters replied smiling.

“I would honoured if you would be my head housekeeper please Mrs Masters” I stated, “It would be an honour sir, thank you for opportunity” she replied, “Good that is settled, now I will have two Army officers who will be my administration staff, I am not sure how many more staff I will need” I announced, “Most definitely a cook, and I can arrange that for you, and one housekeeper, should do it I think Sir” Mrs Masters responded.

“Good, I will leave that to you, now lets’ see what we have here shall we” I said, and the door on the left opened into a large function room or ballroom, with a low stage at the back, on the right-hand side was a large office, a bit bigger than a lounge room.

“That will be the administration office sir, with your office just down from that, with an office store and bathroom, between them” Mrs Masters informed me.

Through some double doors at the end of the foyer, there was only threedoors on the right-hand side, the first being a very short corridor, “To the left is your office, and to the right leads to the administration office” Mrs Masters explained, before returning to the main corridor, and she opened up the second door, which was a large conference room, with a conference table and 16 chairs already in place.

All administration furniture had arrived last week, and all of the household furniture and white goods’ will be arriving in a few days’ time, this room is also the formal dining room, for official dinners” Mrs Masters said, as she lead the way out of the room, and back into the main corridor, and through the last door on the right, which is a good sized library, with two walls having floor to ceiling bookshelves, and a large desk sits under the window.

“A library, that is good, I like to have a place to read” I commented, as we returned to the centre corridor, where there is a set of double doors leading into a short corridor, with two sets of bathrooms, on the left hand side, and a wide door on the right hand side, which Mrs Masters opened for me, to reveal a smaller dining room, with a table and 6 chairs.

Also, there was a set of stairs leading to the upper floor, just before the next set of double doors, which reveals a rather large kitchen, with refrigeration and store rooms to the right, and a single door leading to outside, at the back of the building.

“As you may have noticed sir, there is a set of stairs at the front of the building, that allows access to the front veranda, and a set of double doors leads inside, with the master suite on the front right-hand side of the building, with your own private bathroom.

Opposite your suite is a private lounge room, and there are 4 other bedrooms, with two shared bathrooms, and a large lounge room at the back of the building, where the stairs are that lead from here” Mrs Masters explained, as we began to climb the stairs.

Once I had seen all of the building, I asked about the small building at the back, and I was informed that it contained the house laundry, and a two bedroom living quarters for house staff, and I asked to have a look at it, with the quarters having a small kitchen dining area and a small lounge room, and one bathroom, which would be suitable for the two Army staff.

Just as we walked around the building, back towards my vehicle, I saw a second vehicle parked next to it, and we both walked around to the front, to see who it is that has arrived. On the front veranda, we found Captain Watts and Staff Sergeant Lister in dress uniform, chatting, and as soon as they saw me, they snapped to attention, as I approached.

Welcome to your new jobs gentlemen, I hope you will be happy working for me” I said to the two men as I shook their hands, “Very much so sir” the Staff Sergeant replied. “Good let me take you on a tour of the place, and we will see if we can get sorted on a few things, thankyou Mrs Masters, I will see you soon” I said speaking first to the army staff and then to my housekeeper.

“Mrs Masters is my senior housekeeper, she will be finding me a second house keeper and a cook for me” I said to the two men, as we stepped inside, where it is far cooler, thanks to the high ceilings and fans.

If you like there is a separate two bedroom living quarters at the back, but if you feel it is too small, I will find some accommodation for you” I commented as we walked into the administration office, which has three desks, with one near the back door of the room, leading to my office.

Once I had completed the tour, including the living quarters, Mrs Masters appeared, “Sir, I have a set of building keys for your staff, I presume you will not be needing a set” Mrs Masters said as she handed me the keys. “Just this set will be fine thanks” I replied, as I handed the keys to Captain, and we watched Mrs Masters walk down the road, obviously heading home.

“We have administration furniture, but as you may have noticed, nothing for the house, which I am told will be arriving in a few days, so I will remain where I am until all the furniture is in and the other house staff have settled in to their positions” I said as we wandered to the front of the building.

There are a few things that I would like to be done as soon as possible, firstly a traffic gate at the bottom set of traffic lights, just before the bridge, leading up here, which can be locked at sunset, and unlocked at dawn, to restrict traffic up here, and I would like this driveway to be narrowed to one lane, just for the front section, have the asphalt ripped up and replaced with lawn, and maybe a tree or two.

Also, I would like a garrison style fence from the rock wall near the traffic lights, along the edge of the road, all the way to the corner of the first small building around the corner, so we have a secure area at night, with double gates for access to the carpark, and a wide single gate in front of the front entrance” I said.

“How high would you like the fence to be sir?” the Captain asked me, “Oh, just 1.5 metres should be high enough I think, maybe the front gate can have an electronic latch, and an intercom system, so we can control it from inside, and we will need some surveillance camera’s around the outside as well” I added, “Right away sir” the Staff Sergeant said to me, with a slight bow, and he headed inside.

“One more thing Captain, I have been asked to take over as the senior Administrator of the IOAT, as the current one has resigned, so it may get quite busy for you at times, plus I have also been appointed a Special Magistrate, since most of the Western Australian Magistrates have a huge work load already, and they want me to be the stand in, when no Magistrate is available” I announced.

“Crumbs sir, that is a lot to take on” the Captain commented, “It is, that is why I asked for two Army staff to assist me with my work load” I replied, as we walked inside, and into the administration office, and I indicated to the Staff Sergeant to remain seated, as he was talking on the phone.

“I presume you will have the desk closest to my office, take a seat, see how you feel, as the new Private secretary to the Administrator of the IOTA” I said to the Captain, “Gee sir, sounds pretty daunting really” the Captain said as he sat down.

Make sure you get Mrs Masters to have that accommodation cleaned, if you both decide to move in, and I will see you both in the morning, as we need to arrange the official arrival of the new Administrator” I said with a smile.

Back at the villa, I sighed heavily as I sat down and tried to relax, knowing that the first few weeks would be extremely busy, just as my mobile rang. “Hello, Lewis speaking” I said to lazy to see who was calling.

“Sir, it is Captain Watts speaking, I have just had a call from the local Federal Police, informing me that the Navy Frigate HMAS Albany will be arriving in four days’ time, for the formal welcome of the new IOTA Administrator I was informed.

“Ok, well you better send an official invitation to the local Federal Police, and Local Councillors, plus leading businesses and residents, to attend the official welcome, and I guess you better organise with the HMAS Albany to have me sneak onboard their ship, maybe a helicopter can collect me from somewhere, I will leave that up to you, thanks Captain” I said and I ended the call.

Ten minutes later after making a cup of tea, I picked up my phone and dialled a number. “Hello, my best friend, what can I do for you” Kylie said, when she answered the call, “Kylie dear, I need you to get here asap, as I have an official arrival event happening here on Monday morning, and I need my best friend to be my co-host” I replied. “Oh, if I must… Yes, of course I will do that for you, and whenever you need me” Kylie said cheerfully.

“Good, thanks for this favour, and you will need to look spectacular, as I will be in Naval Dress uniform for the official arrival ceremony, which will mean a 19-gun salute from the ship, when we step onto the island” I said to Kylie. “Wow, that will be interesting, Ok, I will see if I can get onto this Saturday’s flight, see you then” Kylie said, and we ended the call.

After sending two emails, in reply to the two formal requests, which I reluctantly accepted, I headed down to a café to get some lunch, and to try and relax, after an interesting morning, and I was half way through my meal when my mobile rang, and the caller ID was Sebastian.

“Hello, my friend, I hear that you have been a very busy young man” Sebastian said to me, “What on earth are you talking about?’ I responded, and Sebastian gave a short laugh, “Don’t be sly, I know that you are on Christmas Island, and why you are there, I also know all about your recent awards, but don’t be angry with Margaret, I insisted on knowing” Sebastian said to me, and I signed loudly, as I stood up and left the café to get some privacy from my call.

“Well I guess you would have found out soon enough, but it has got a little bit more serious than what you have heard, I have been appointed Administrator, of the whole of the Indian Ocean Territories, and to add to my work load, I have been made a Special Magistrate as well, all because I was silly enough to start studying law early last year” I said to Sebastian, who began to chuckle.

“I hear that the projects in Kalbarri are going along very well, thanks to all of your ground work to get it started, and the twins are enjoying living there, so do I call you Baron or Sir Lewis or what?” Sebastian commented, and it was my turn to chuckle, “just call me Lewis, when you and the twins are alone with me, same as my relatives, that was quite a shock to me, when they awarded me the knighthood, caught me totally by surprise, by the way, where are you?” I said to Sebastian.

“I am on the yacht, taking a cruise. I had enough of business work in Europe and I decided I needed another holiday” Sebastian replied, “Does that include all of your house staff too, Mrs Cooper and Wyatt’s brother” I asked, “Yes they are having a holiday too, and loving it, not having to chase around after me” Sebastian replied.