Andee the Aquanaut

Chapter One Board Meeting

Chapter One

Board Meeting

It was a freezing, Manhattan-winter, Monday morning. The New York skyline was clear and blue, as the bright sun shone down over the tall city skyscrapers and cast its shadows across the busy sidewalks. The icy pavements were full of the hustle and bustle of New Yorkers rushing to get to work on time.

Among all of the mayhem there was one particular woman who stood out from the rush-hour crowd. She was tall and slim with an athletic build, and wore fiery-red, crocodile skin, high heels. Her long, jet-black hair flowed all the way down her back and swayed in time with her confident strut.

She wore the most expensive real, full length, fur coat that money could buy. It fell from the very top of the stiff collar, that gently warmed her stony cheeks, and down her slender body; its hemline brushed the dirty sidewalk.

She carried hordes of shopping bags from the most expensive brands on 5th Avenue.

Her face was stern, and her eyes were black as she sneered at people who dared to look at her. She cackled to herself when people noticed, and were disgusted, that she was wearing real fur. She didn’t care; she loved to see their horrified reaction.

She finally reached the business district of lower Manhattan, where she entered a high-rise building through a glassy door. She passed through security with ease. They gave her a knowing nod as she walked towards the elevator and pressed the button for the top floor.

Elevator music played softly while she tapped her long, black-polished, talon-like nails on the mirrored walls. She admired her reflection before the doors opened, then stepped out in front of the plush reception area, and sneered at the young woman behind the desk.

“Good morning, Ma’am,” said the trembling receptionist in a shaky voice, as if she was greeting royalty. “Everybody is in the boardroom waiting for you, Ma’am. Can I take your coat and bags?”

“NO!” snapped the woman. “Leave it!” She walked to the giant mahogany boardroom doors with her heels scratching the glassy porcelain floors.

She stopped and glanced, for a second, at the silver shiny plaque on the boardroom doors: Deep Core Sea Mining Excavation INC. She grinned evilly to herself then pushed the giant doors open and entered the boardroom.

There were at least twenty people sitting around a huge glass table, all of them chatting together. Suddenly, there was silence as they looked up and noticed who had walked in. Everybody became gravely quiet.

“Good morning, Ma’am,” said a quavering voice as everyone stood to greet her.

She curled her lips, walked to the head of the table, pulled out a large leather chair, and sat down. The other people took their seats quickly in silence.

“Well?” she snapped in an impatient tone, tapping her black nails on the table top.

People glanced at each other for a split second, like school children wondering who was going to speak up first. A shaky older gentleman stood and moved towards a flip chart; the others seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

“Ma’am,” he said, “I have good news.”

“Go on,” she said, as the old man looked around the room, pausing for a second.

He focused again. “Ma’am, we have managed to locate very large resources indeed, of gold from hydrothermal vents off the coast of Papua New Guinea. We have our ROV’s out there now, and they have reported back large numbers of vents, about 3700 meters deep. Samples are being sent back as we speak. It’s exactly what we’ve been searching and hoping for, Ma’am; a major breakthrough for the company…”

“Good. Good,” said the woman, almost eking out a smile. “Tell me more about the gold.”

“Well, Ma’am … if my calculations are correct, there will be over …”

“If? If?” the woman interrupted. “I can’t have any if’s! I’m not paying you millions of dollars for if’s!”

The old man stuttered. “Well … well, Ma’am … I am … very sure that we could find billions of dollars’ worth of gold down at these depths, off this coast at these hydrothermal vents …”

“Billions you say?” said the woman as she grinned at the man. “Go on, I’m listening.” Her nails tapped.

“Yes, billions…” said the old man. “Ma’am … with your permission, I want to set up a station at this key point and send in the robotic diggers to start the mining process as soon as possible …”

It was quiet as she considered what the old man had said. She glared around, directly staring everybody in the eye.

“There’s been a change of plan,” she said. “We are changing the mine site location!”

Suddenly, the once gravely quiet boardroom was filled with loud talking as everybody gasped and conferred with one another in shock.

“Change the mine site? Ma’am …” said the old man, worried and confused.

“Yes,” she said in a stern tone. “We are relocating the mine site to off the east coast of the United States continental shelf.”

There were even more gasps and even louder conferring.

“Ma’am,” said a woman in a shaky voice as she raised her hand to speak. There was silence again as everybody held their breath.

“Are you aware of the impact this would have on the marine-life in this area; the devastation to the continental shelf? Not to mention that the company does not have permission to mine off the east coast. What evidence do you have that there are even resources at this location?”

There was tense silence as everybody looked at the outspoken girl and then back at the woman in the fur coat…

Her nails screeched as she ran them down the glass of the table. “What … did… you say… girl?”

“Er… er…” the employee stuttered, “… I am pointing out, Ma’am, the impact this would have on the marine-life in this area, and that we as a company have an obligation to …”

“Silence!” shouted the woman. “What is your name, girl?”

“My name is Hannah, Ma’am,” she said in a frightened voice.

“Hannah, leave us now! And clear your desk at once! There’s no place for you here …”

“Bu t… but, Ma’am,” said Hannah with tears in her eyes.

“Leave us now… before I call security and have you thrown out!”

Hannah stifled a sob, stood up and made her way towards the boardroom doors.

Everybody else breathed a sigh of relief, thinking themselves lucky that they hadn’t spoken up.

The woman spoke again. “Relocate the base at once. Send in the machines and start the mining as soon as possible. Use all available resources; money is no object. I want that area mined for everything it’s got. Leave nothing unchecked or unturned. I have it on good authority that there is gold there … and I … want … that … gold. We will mine at that location at once.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” The old man shuffled some papers and gingerly walked around the large boardroom table. “I need some signatures, Ma’am, if you don’t mind …”

She signed the last paper then stood up, screeching her chair backwards. The board members stood up quickly, too, as she swiftly exited the room and made her way towards the elevator, down into the foyer and out onto the New York sidewalks again.

She marched hurriedly down the streets of the financial district towards the icy Hudson River. Rush hour was over now and less people were on the streets. She reached the Hudson and sat on a nearby bench, facing the river. It looked so cold as icy lumps floated past.

She grinned evilly and laughed with an evil cackle, almost like a witch.

She tossed her expensive bags to one side. A homeless man looked on eagerly, hoping she was going to leave something behind. Despite the cold, she took off her huge fur coat and tossed it to the ground. She sat there laughing, only wearing her underwear.

Standing to her feet, she ran like an athlete towards the sea wall. She jumped into the air, over the wall, and dived into the Hudson River below.

She was gone.

The bags and fur coat were left by the bench. The homeless man rubbed his eyes in disbelief then ran towards the sea wall and looked over the edge. The water was still and dark but there was no woman to be seen.

Under the water, deep below the surface, shimmered a glimpse of long, flowing, black hair, streaming behind the woman in the strong currents. A giant swish of a scaly fish’s tail appeared; propelling the woman forwards, as her long shark-like teeth grew.

A giant eel flashed past her. She grabbed it with both hands then took a bite out of its side.

No longer hungry, she sped towards the Statue of Liberty. In the depths below, she hesitated for a second as she looked up towards the Statue … grinning cruelly. And with one giant flick of her tail she disappeared … leaving a wake of bubbles.