"First," Larry started explaining, "we have to brew the leaves, if you know what I mean. Then we leave them out to ferment for a whole day."

I stopped short and stared at him. "Fermenting?!"

"Uh, no, not the alcoholic kind of fermenting. This sort of different. It makes them sort of just settles in so they'll be ready for the mixture. I couldn't think of a better way to do it."

"Oh."

"You see the GMO works by invading the tumor and correcting the genetic malfunction. But we need something to actually do it. You know we all have bacteria in our digestive tract to help us get the vitamins and minerals out of food?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, we insert the GMO into a certain type of bacteria we've designed. And since they're living organisms, they've been trained, well not really trained, but created for that purpose. To correct the genetic make-up of the cancerous cells."

"Basically, you genetically alter the bacteria to correct other cells?"

"Kind of a paradox, but it does work. But if you have cancer, you'll need both things. The medicine from the plant which stops the spread of tumors and the GMO with the bacteria, which actually kills or corrects the cancerous cells within the tumors. Right now, we have less of the GMO one. The one that destroys the actual tumors. We call it Tumor Terminator."

"Smart name."

"Yes, but right now we don't even have a pound of the stuff."

"Not even a pound?!"

He shook his head. "Not even a pound of it."

"And, um, there's a question that's sort of troubling me, though, Larry?"

"What is it?"

"You think we should let the rest of the world know about this?"

"They're going to find out when we announce it. We have to announce it, Spiny."

I nodded. "Yeah, but what I mean is when? I mean, on the one side it's good because a lot of people could be cured or saved. But on the other hand it's bad, because once we do announce it…well, you know how corrupt and greedy human leaders are."

"Yeah. I know. All the presidents, prime ministers, kings, princes, and queens…they only care about themselves."

"Yeah, and when they find out, they're all going to say, 'Me first,' and, 'No, me first,' and all that. Before we know it, they're going to come with their guns and cannons and bombs and knifes, demanding to get it first."

"Fortunately, our guards are all prepared for those types of situations. We do have a plan of defense, and a certain protocol. We call it Operation Steal from the Public."

"Steal from the Public?!" I didn't really like the sound of that name. Or the operation, that is.

"You see the name…well, if anyone tries to steal or sabotage, then they don't get it."

"You mean…only those who deserve it will get it."

Larry gave a certain look in his face, like he was trying to explain something, but couldn't. "Well, that sounds cruel. We have to keep things in mind when buying and selling."

"Selling?! You mean we're going to sell it to the people?"

"Hold on, Spiny, hold on! Let me explain something to you. It just happened again. I said it wrong. Look, we live in a cruel world. Unfortunately, we are no longer the masters of this planet, humans are. And humans only care about money, not about helping others who are suffering. And if we don't keep buying the plants, then there's no medicine."

I sighed. "I guess that makes sense. But when it comes time to give it to the people, we won't charge anything, right?"

"Of course not. People suffer too much because of cancer. It's not worth making a profit of."

I nodded. I walked over to a table where there was a guy with a mask and gloves mixing plants. "Where are you getting the plants from?"

"From Brazil and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mostly Brazil."

I nodded.

"The mixture," Larry continued, "consists of the sap of a tree, the leaves another tree and the roots of s certain shrub."

"Which plants are those?"

He grabbed a paper in his binder and showed me. I saw the names of the plants, but I'm not telling you. You'll just have to guess and wonder forever and ever. Sorry.

"Oh!" Larry exclaimed. "And it also includes boiled tea from the petals of a flower which is nearly extinct."

"You're making it from endangered flowers?!"

"Yes. It's not really the kind of tea like from herbs. It's just the water that comes a result from when you boil the petals of the flower."

"And where does this flower come from?"

"That's kind of the bad part. It only grows in Brazil. And even there, it's extremely endangered. And it only grows in the deepest parts of the Amazon, in the inaccessible places. But that's not our biggest problem."

"What is?"

"They're in the vicinity of illegal mining and logging places."

The word mining and logging sent shivers all over me. I've been an environmentalist since forever and I've grown to detest and loath those kinds of companies and people. But Larry had more concerning news.

"Not only that, but Brazil has started to ask us why we want those flower petals."

"Are they suspicious?"

"I can't say that they're not. They know we're up to something. And they're determined to find out."

"And how will you do it so that things like spies, or satellites or spy planes don't catch us? I mean, they have eyes everywhere and on everyone these days."

I nodded. "I know. I thought about that. And that's why I've proposed to declare a no-fly zone over Amarkia."

I stared at him. "A no fly-zone? You mean, no planes of any sort from any other country can fly in our airspace?"

"It's a little extreme but it's necessary, Spiny."

I thought about that for a while. It was an extreme measure. I mean, suddenly tell the whole world that they can't fly in our airspace or travel by plane to Amarkia and not tell them the reason why? The thought kind of scared me, to be honest. But I knew that it didn't matter.

"I'm for it too. I would've said the same thing."

"So, you want me to inform the media?"

I nodded. "Yeah." I looked at my watch. It was almost six. Where had the time gone?! "Well, we need to get upstairs to dinner before the family starts to miss us."

"Yeah." He turned to the other workers. "Okay, thirty-minute break. Then back to work. Remember, this whole discovery was never made!"

They all nodded and agreed.

Larry and I went up back through the secret door that lead to our room. That way, nobody would miss us.

(MEANWHILE. ON A REMOTE PART OF THE COAST OF BRAZIL.)

12:59 pm, Local Time.

Location: Classified

"Okay, keep moving. Just two more boxes!" the commanding officer yelled.

Two young soldiers with the Amarkian emblem on their suits carried the last of the box with the Secret Luggage. Between themselves, they knew it as the Flower Petals. They had made a huge effort to make sure nobody had followed them.

Once the last box was in place, the captain said, "We all ready to go?"

"We are, sir," said the First Mate.

Before he could turn on the boat's engine, they heard a shout from the woods. "Halt!" Four Brazilian members of the armed forces came out, armed to the teeth. The captain's heart started lurching.

"We demand to speak to the captain," one of them yelled.

The Amarkian guards stopped them when they tried to get onboard. "You have no permission to get onto this boat."

"I have all the permission in the world," he said, cocking his huge gun at his head. "Now, what's going on?! What does your shadow government plan for now?"

"You better let us get on board and inspect those boxes," said another one of them.

The Amarkian guards pushed the two off and into the water. The captain ducked in his cabin, as the shooting began. He pushed the boxes under the windows and laid on them.

The struggling and shooting outside got worse. There was yelling and banging. He didn't know which side was winning. But he hoped. He kept on hoping.

He noticed that he'd barely started the ignition. He crawled on the floor to stay out of the line of fire. When he reached the dashboard, he revved it up and put the ship in full throttle. He felt the room moving on the waters and turned towards the east at full speed.

(BACK IN AMARKIA.)

Royal Palace.

6:55 pm

"That was a great dinner," I said. "Boy am I glad we've got you two," I said to the girls.

"Well, we're very thankful to have you. Otherwise, what would we do with all this food?" said Patty.

We all laughed. "I was thinking," Larry said, "why don't we all take a vacation on of these days? You know, see the sights. Visit historic places."

Before anyone could answer, a red light blinked on the wall. That usually means that an important news story is about to be transmitted. Then a part of the wall opens and a TV screen appears.

"We interrupt regular programming to bring you this special news bulletin: The government of Amarkia declared a No-Fly Zone about half an hour ago. This means that no foreign aircraft, military or commercial is allowed to fly in or near Amarkian airspace. At the moment, we have no more details. We'll keep you posted as we continue to find out."

Uh-oh.

Everyone was staring at me. And at Larry. I stared back, trying to look innocent. "What?"

"Spiny, what's this all about?" said Kathy.

"Yeah, why did you declare a No-Fly Zone?" Robert asked.

I looked at everyone. Then at Larry. He slightly shook his head. I turned back to my family. "That's classified information."

"Classified? Spiny, what's going on?" Kathy insisted.

"I already told you! It's classified and there's nothing to discuss. End of conversation!" I set my napkin down and stood up. "I'm going to my room."