Depths Of Paradise Preview Chapters 1 to 4

Chapter 2

                                                                                                                                                6:38 PM, 4/8/2021 JST

It was late afternoon in Tokyo, Japan. Commander Okada Takahashi sat in his office, located in building A of the Japanese Ministry of Defense complex. The defense complex had five main building lettered A to E. He intently looked over the latest reports on the progress of the Japanese Marine Defense Force dolphin training drills. Okada Takahashi was in his mid-thirties. He was tall for a Japanese man, standing at six feet with a muscular build. He had black hair and brown eyes. He spoke in a thick authoritative Japanese accent. When on duty, his face always had a serious look on it. He also had a strong reputation for always having a serious no-nonsense attitude. His mere presence in a room intimidated most people. A perfectly cleaned and pressed Japanese military uniform covered his body. A knock on the door made Okada's eyes rise from his papers.

"Enter," he said. His personal assistant, Saburo Nakamura, entered the room and bowed deeply. Saburo was a thin built man with short brown hair. Unlike the intimidating presence Takahashi gave off, Saburo had a much more professional business presence to him. His professional suit, small glasses, and polite smile added to the aura.

"Sir, I just received a report from the American Coast Guard," Saburo said.

"Concerning what?" Okada asked.

"Thirty-two miles off the Hawaiian mainland, at exactly ten seventeen Hawaiian Standard Time, the Japanese fishing vessel Lucky Dragon was attacked and sunk," Saburo replied.

"Attacked by what?" Okada asked, expecting Saburo to say "pirates." Saburo paused for a few seconds, trying to find the right words.

"Well . . . I know this is going to be hard to believe, but the ship reported it was under attack by a large unidentified sea creature." Okada looked straight ahead with an unreadable stare on his face.

"Have any crew members been recovered?"

"Not that I know of, sir. The American Coast Guard is conducting a rescue operation as we speak."

"Bring me the full report as soon as you receive it, and make travel arrangements for me. I'm going to join my team on Niihau and personally look into this situation," Okada ordered.

"Yes, sir," Saburo replied. He bowed and started to leave the room. He stopped and turned to the commander. "Sir, may I ask something?" Okada shook his head yes. "Are you taking this sea monster report seriously?"

"I'm not making any assumptions until I have more information," he replied.

"Sir, what if the Lucky Dragon truly was sunk by a sea monster?" Saburo asked, concerned. "If the legends are true, then more ships may meet the same fate."

"I am confident my team and I can discover what truly happened to the Lucky Dragon. Once the truth is revealed, we will take appropriate action." Saburo smiled, satisfied with the answer, and left the room.