For Ellie (Wattys Version)

25. Master plan

"Boss, here's coffee." Thee-San slammed a takeaway cup from my favorite cafe on the desk right before the officials became to storm in.

I glanced up into her eyes but she just looked away, I've noticed she wasn't wearing the necklace today.

It suddenly hurt something deeply inside me. Was she mad, jealous about me and Henry last night or has she discovered my true sexuality was everything but what I had wished it to be.

"Thank you honey." I muttered sending her a smile which she ignored leaving the room.

The door crackled and the Kim brothers came in assisted by senator Warren and the head of science department Christoper. I looked away from them concentrating on the memories of last night.

Right after leaving the clinic me and Mark had flown to the ruins of the church. The sky was clearer because the queen ship has gone down to Earth, the desert gray in the artificial light of the satellites. Far on the horizon the distant lamps of the clinic.

"I need your brilliant brain now. How can I maneuver Outer Space through the asteroid field without the probe-sphere?" I've asked.

"Ahhhhh!"

Instead of answering Mark began to yell.

"What?"

"That's, that's a bad omen."

The boy looked as if he would faint any second pointing at something and I needed to narrow my eyes to distinguish the broken church bell.

"Those are just ruins of the earthquake." I sighed.

"You've brought me to a cursed place of bad luck!" Mark was trembling.

"Freaking concentrate! How can I get Outer Space through the asteroid field? Is there a way to build a new probe-sphere till September 24th?"

Unfortunately Mark wasn't listening at all watching the bell with the same frozen and frightened expression.

"Jaemin this is a bad omen."

"What does it freaking mean!" I yelled.

I was so done with him, Dejun, Henry, myself, everyone who wasn't Ellie or Jason.

"It means Outer Space will not launch." Whispered Mark through clenched teeth. "I need to leave from here or it will bring even more harm to all of us." He ran to Space Beyond hiding inside when I was standing there watching the ruins trying to grasp how could people be one species yet remain more indecipherable and mysterious than aliens.

Just not Ellie and Jason. Ellie and Jason the only two holding my universe from self-destruction.

"Take Off Investment seniors, the in authority Science Group, Kim&Kim action holders, Mr. Major, Senator Warren and of course our almighty Mr. Ju..." Henry's voice brought me back to here and now.

He has started the meeting in his usual way, I could tell those lines by heart now.

"Last night we have lost the probe-sphere because of some unfortunate act of betrayal." Hendery's eyes lingered on me when he emphasized the last word.

"What!" Senator Warren raised from his chair. "You've told me it has been Mr. Ju Senior's old spacecraft!"

"I wanted you to get a proper rest Mr. Senator and to not to worry you too much to include you into the current situation when we will have a solution ready."

I saw the Kim brothers discussing something eagerly.

"What does it mean for launching?" Senator Warren fell back  on his chair.

"It means we will have to launch earlier before comet 'Bianca' enters the Solar system."

I felt all hair raising on my body.

"Do you expect Outer Space to go out without a shield?" I asked buffed.

"Mr. Ju, the Science Group has spent the night on developing a project of a hull-probe. It will be a smaller version, one we will be able to complete before launching. It will be an integral part of the front side of Outer Space, won't have that range of the lost probe-sphere, but is good enough to be its eyes into the universe."

I let the air out. Have I been out of my mind last night, reacting with my instinct before thinking straight? Have I been insane to allow Henry to launch the probe-sphere in the first place?

"But what happened to the probe-sphere?" Asked senator Warren.

"It was supposed to launch in secret last night. Because of the unsettling protest caused by that zone 5 criminal we are double careful when it comes to the project, but the main engineer of the queen ship Mark has betrayed us. It has been proven that he had some link to that criminal Lee Jason and was working for him, so he broke the power field that would give the probe-sphere the right speed then escaped with the queen ship causing the sudden anomaly to push the sphere back to Earth. We have already captured the man, he's in jail awaiting the process." Henry's face didn't even twitch while telling all those lies, I was surprised and amazed at once.

"But why has he done it?" Senator Warren was still pale.

"He was only telling the police about some bad omens, he's definitely suffering under some mental illness which criminal Lee Jason has fully used for his goal to violate our project."

"What about that Lee Jason. Why isn't he in jail?" The senator closed his fists.

"Unfortunately he has powerful friends and accomplices who are hiding him in an unknown place." Henry looked my way again. "But we will get him soon."

An overfilled with tension silence fell when I was looking at the polished table top.

"So because comet 'Bianca' will enter the Solar System on September 2nd we need to launch earlier. I've checked all capacity of our current preparation phases. So we came to a conclusion the best launching date will be August 20th. We had put a new line of Destroyers into production last night, what means we will need only 7 days to build the launching platform, so on August 13th we will start the building process in The Lagoon. Everything is ready. The team is already working on the new probe-sphere, we just need your acceptance Mr. Na."

Henry looked my way triumphantly. Of course he had chosen my birthday as the day of destroying The Lagoon, his master plan of revenge for last night so sublime, I couldn't even speak a word against not making an idiot of myself and revealing what had really happened in Vigo Valley.

Thank you so much for your love. Do you enjoy the story? What do you think about Jaemin and Mark visiting the ruins, what about Henry's plan? Will Jaemin oppose it or agree to it?

Much <3