Practise Bits: Fracking
November 2, 2011 in Articles
The PM leaned back in the leather executive chair, and carefully placed his weary, wingtipped soles on his desk.
“Kira…” He shook his head in admiration. “You don’t look a day older.”
“Thank you, Jordan.” She said, giving the apparently older man a bow. She still wore the same style as the last time he saw her: mini-skirt, this time it was green, and the loose blouse, with the buttons at the neck, and running shoes on her feet.
“How many weapons did you get past my security?”
“Four.” She lied, but there was no need to tell the truth and admit eight. He shook his head, and smiled.
“You told me. But I did not really believe.” He waved at her body, a muscular one-thirty, four foot eleven inches tall, with enough curvature to be attractive, but not mind-boggling.
“Does this bother you?” She asked cautiously. Coming back to Roverhampton, this had been one of her chief worries. She did not want to be taken to a lab and experimented on by men in white coats.
He laughed, and said ‘no’.
“It just reminds me of Asterine Island.” His eyes grew unfocused in memory, and Kira reminded herself that Jordan had lost his wife to cancer last year.
She grinned impishly as she knew he liked.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” And laughter gurgled in her throat.
“Yes, well,” He grinned for a second, and then sighed. “Business calls. Kira we have a problem.”
She assumed ‘we’ meant the Island Republic of Fortenavo, of which Jordan Hails was prime minister by the grace of Her Majesty and God.
“We import most of our oil, not that we use all that much compared to some of the other islands, but its enough. And the Kendrazi, our primary oil producers are threatening to jack up prices by three times.”
“But you have the Rastenac Coal Field.” Kira objected.
“We agreed to the Clean Coal Convention, so now we can’t use surface coal. And if we dig deeper, well, the Coal Miner’s Guild is threatening a strike saying that is extra work.”
Kira leaned back.
“Ok.” She said with one fingernail painted hand on her hip.
“So you need fuel for this winter, or people will freeze. What’s this I hear about a new oil field?”
The PM nodded, and drew down a map from the scroller on the wall. It was a blowup of the northern part of the island.
“Nice, big, beautiful oil field. Only thing is, we have to use underground fracking to get at the oil. And I
‘ve got twelve lawsuits against the government, alleging amon other things that we did not give the critics enough time. That was five years ago, and we still have not dug one hole.”
“That is slow.” She said.
“No, its sabotage. We think the money for these green advocacy groups is coming from the Kendrazi.”
She shook her head.
“They want to be your monopoly supplier.” She said, and he nodded.
“They plan to hold us hostage. In order to avoid that, or seeing the Queen’s subjects freezing, you need to get the oil flowing, Kira.”
She nodded, and accepted the file folder with data on major greens,a nd when they had last taken visits to the Kendrazi capital.
“Get the oil flowing, Kira.”
“Aye, Jordie.” She said, and came round the desk to kiss him on the forehead. He blushed and laughed.
“Maybe you’ll find another boy to help you save the world.”
“But none so cute as you were.” She called out over her shoulder as she sauntered out.