The flash of fear passed through the spine of Samuel, afterall he had never seen Johnny so hopeless!

All of a sudden, there were glowing light inside the tent, dazzling their eyes. 

It was Ultrina. Her eyes were beaming lights on the DeTriLo device. Johnny shouted, “Ultrina, I asked you to maintain complete darkness. Degolins can sense even a small amount of light from miles away. Turn it off!”

Ultrina didn’t turned off instead, she turned static light beams into pulsating one.

Samuel always subtly thought of Ultrina as a menace in their friendship. He immediately yelled, “See your tin machine is not......”. Before he complete cursing Ultrina, he noticed something in DeTriLo and his tone changed, “Hey where is that circle and those moving dots? Is your device dead?”

Johnny now understood what Ultrina was trying to convey. He jumped with joy, “They are gone, DeTriLo turns off display when Degolins changes their direction. This device can sense their energy field from 50 kms far.”

“So......! We are out of danger?”

“Yes Sammy Yes,” Johnny replied happily. Their sighting on Mt. St. Helens is a rare occasion as they live in ancient untraced caves of Mexico. But anyway, they may be just passing by. And they aren’t coming this side. WE ARE OUT OF DANGER NOW. “

Samuel took a breath of relief and said, “You should give this skull face a voice atleast, if you can’t give her a face. She could have told us this had she had the voice. You know, we are not much good in interpreting her sign language”

“Hmmm, “replied Johnny while still in deep thoughts.

“How about giving her voice of Lucy?”asked Samuel intentionally to his commitment phobic chum.

The dart hit straight on the target. Johnny was immediately out of trance like state and tried to decipher why Sammy has poked the name he is trying to suppress in his memories. He could see Sammy smiling cunningly.

****************

Few moments later both the pals were sleeping on thermal bed, with heater built in blankets covering up to their corses up to necks. Being out of danger, both were now out of the tent too! Enjoying pleasing beauty of star studded sky and vivid aurora.

Both were conversing petty things with their eyes stuck on the beauty of night sky.

“Johnny, you are an epitome of friendship, I swear! I ruined your years of hard work and one in a million chance of installing rovercube in the crater. And yet you have not been bad with me,” said Samuel in sleepy voice.

“I know you saved my life Sammy. I am grateful for that. But what’s squeezing my heart is the fact that perhaps we might have lost the only opportunity to plant rovercube into the crater. After years of struggle, I could find that greatest threat to mankind will enter our world through Mt. St. Helens’s crater” Johnny answered while still being mesmerized with aurora and spine chilling cold.

“You mean those Aliens? Come on, it’s just a myth.” Samuel was not ready to believe.

“Crater of Mt. St. Helens is actually a portal that has connection to the other world. The portal is protected by a robust unshakable layer of some unknown mater. Rovercube would have found if the layer is intact!” Johnny tried to explain, “Sammy it’s not about ME or YOU. It’s about entire human race. The threat is real and closer than anyone could think. We are going to go back tomorrow to see if anything can be fixed.”

Sammy was totally sleepy by the time. He blabbered in somewhat indistinct voice, “I don’t understand these big philosophies about saving entire planet. Why can’t we start with saving the ones who care for us more than themselves? Only if you could understand....” Sammy slept before finishing the sentence.

The uncompleted sentence evoked myriad of emotions in Johnny’s heart. He remembered how great he felt whenever Lucy looked at him with great unconditional love. He felt guilty for reading her message from notification but pretending as unread.

He took the mobile and read her message, “Johnny, I am in dire need of your help. Pls call me and come to me urgently.”

Johnny felt ashamed remembering how she nursed him for as long as one month after lethal assault by KGB on him. And he was not even responding to her!

He looked at sleeping Samuel and got upset that how peacefully he was sleeping after disturbing peace of mind of the other.

He threw away the blanket and shook sleeping Sammy fiercely. Sammy jerked with a scared shout, “Oye oye oye...F**k you Degolins. Go away. Johnny is going to kill you bastards!”

Johnny burst into laugh.

“What the hell Johnny. Is this a way to wake someone up? What...”Before Sammy can finish, Johnny pulled him by his hand and shouted, “Get back to the chopper right now Sammy. We are leaving for Washington DC. Ultrina, pack up the tent and get ready to fly.”

Samuel was still amazed what was happening but Ultrina immediately obeyed the order and start uprooting the tent.
 

Johnny was at Independence Avenue, Washinton DC after 18 hours waking towards Lucy’s residence with a fresh orchid and rose bouquet in his hands. He never felt so good in his life. He was wondering why he didn’t decide on proposing Lucy earlier. It was altogether a new feeling for him when commitment was feeling pleasurable to him. Now he was standing at her door step.

Johnny knocked the door with excitement. As soon as the door opened he screamed with joy, “Lucyyyyy, I am back. I’ve been.....” He couldn’t complete the sentence on seeing a young man at the door.

“Oops, maybe I am the wrong house. Sorry to bother you friend,” he apologized and thought, “I have to control my excitement”.

He turned backed and stepped down when he see the Lucy stepping up.

“Hey Lucy!  Thanks for spotting me. I mistaken this house to be yours,” Johnny spoke in one breath and handed over bouquet to her.

Charming Lucy took the flowers but her face was expression less. She was still looking at Johnny without saying a word.

Johnny was not able to decipher such a cold response when Lucy stepped up and asked, “You are at the right house Johnny. But maybe not at the right time! Please come inside.”

Eminent scientist turned spy Johnny sensed the reality in a fraction of second. His heart broken into pieces on realizing that she is with someone else now. He couldn’t move an inch.

Lucy pushed him gently inside and closed the door. And introduced both of them to each other, “Johnny, this is Maxx. Maxx this is Johnny.”

None of them asked who the other was. Johnny now noticed that Maxx was more handsome than him and younger to him and Lucy both.  He cursed his luck but didn’t want to exhibit his consternation. He tried to show his cool by tossing his shoulders and said, “You wanted to meet me Lucy, right? I saw your message.”

Lucy’s answer was as expressionless as her face, “Yes Johnny. I did. Thanks for responding to my 22 days old message!”

Johnny couldn’t match his eyes with her and looked sideways while saying in very low voice, “I was on a mission. I can’t share the details. But I was on a very very crucial mission.”

She didn’t show interest in knowing, “I understand Johnny. Thanks for coming. I guess you still want to help!” She looked him with edgy sight and then looked at Maxx. Maxx got the message and went away saying, “You both please sit and discuss WORK while I am finishing my task.”

 Johnny was in no mood to help but he couldn’t say it.

Lucy sat on the sofa without asking him to sit and fired the problem right away, “Formula for specially treated graphene diamene rope has gone missing from the lab!”

Johnny almost jumped with second shock in succession, “What! Don’t tell me this Lucy. These ropes are the only resource available on the earth - softest and yet strongest enough to protect us from bullets, bombs or even tie the Boeing without letting it move an inch. How it can go missing?”

“Remember we placed it on most secure server doubly encrypted with AES-256 grade! Now it is nowhere. Luckily, I have some ropes and material that can make some more. But without formula, we can’t reproduce when stock lasts. I need you help as we together devised the formula.”

“Yes, but it’s not possible to do that complex formula again. Instead, I would better find where it can go missing?” Johnny replied.

Lucy agreed by tossing her shoulders. “I know you enjoy being spy more than being a scientist! Do whatever way you like it.”

“Let’s go the cloud-9 lab then. I hope to find culprit there only. The formula must be there in the lab. It CAN’T be taken outside any way.”Johnny proposed his plan of action. Lucy nodded affirmatively.

“Maxx we are going! Pls close the door,” shouted Johnny to tease the new couple out of jealousy and frustration. He noticed that his bouquet was lying on coffee table now. Unnoticed!

Lucy didn’t think necessary to react and moved out to go the lab.
Cloud – 9 lab was located 35 stories beneath the ground floor at NASA.  Only a selected few knew about it being it one of the most secret lab on the planet. Johnny was swiftly moving his fingers on keyboard while being focused on results on supercomputer’s screen. Lucy was anxiously looking at the seemingly endless process.

“Lucy you have to wait a bit longer. I am getting the clues that Formula file is not stolen perhaps!,”said Johnny without moving eyes from the screen.

“No problems. I am ready to wait!”Lucy answered 

“So, you can wait for formula but not for Johnny. Loved to not that!,” Johnny stung in pungent tone, “Anyway congratulations for finding a 10 years younger bae!”

Lucy couldn’t take it more and swivelled his chair towards her.

“Have you ever asked me to wait? Have you ever tried to let me know what you think of our future? It’s been 5 years Johnny. And we have hardly stayed in touch for more than a few days in continuation. No woman can live forever like this.”Lucy’s voice was soaked with pain.

Johnny had no answer. He just said, “May be I deserve to be single! Anyways, I wish you all those things in Maxx you couldn’t find in me.”

Lucy didn’t want to decide whether it’s a complement or a taunt. She just kept mum and concentrated on screen.

Few moments went by without a single word. When Johnny realized something. He turned off the screen and closed his eyes with hands on his face.

Lucy asked, “Has superspy Johnny found something?”

Johnny nodded with closed eyes and said, “Formula is safe. It’s B.U.L.W.A.RK.”

Lucy understood that it’s not safe to converse more under super surveillance system as their each movement was being recorded. B.U.L.W.A.RK. – the AI developed secretly by Lucy and Johnny was devised in a way that would hide every critical information if it senses any kind of infiltration or danger.

Johnny tapped his fingers on his head with eyes closed. It seemed natural for a person under tension but Lucy deciphered the code that B.U.L.W.A.RK. is triggered and formula file has been hidden by their AI to protect the sensitive information getting into wrong hands.

Johnny opened his eyes and looked at Lucy with question in his eyes – “Who can be behind this?” Lucy’s eyes were carrying the same question. It simply meant a biggest ever conspiracy that can ruin million lives and the NASA itself.

Suddenly, Johnny’s mobile beeped. It was notification sent by Ultrina. On reading the message, Johnny was literally on cloud-9. He showed the message to Lucy which read, “Rovercube initiated its journey inside the mouth of the crater. It’s sending signals.”

Lucy could now understand what sort of lethal mission he was working on. She felt happy to see joy on Johnny’s face.  But very next message from Ultrina took all the joy all of a sudden.

Johnny snatched the mobile and read the message which said – “Signals decoded. Invaders  trying to break the layer. Might encounter SOON...!”