Under My Skin

Under My Skin - Part 5

It was night, and the three men were dressed in a variation of forest gear; Reese in forest camo like a happy camper, Louis and William in a darker, tighter version of climbing gear. Except for the keypad at the entrance, the cave looked like any other mining shaft, dark, cold, and endless. The code at the entrance had a leeway time of two minutes before it activated the alarm to Kole's headquarters. Reese got it cracked in 34 seconds.

"When I'm good, I'm good," he whispered triumphantly.

"Great, now move it," said Louis, merging seamlessly with the pitch shadows.

"Good luck," said Reese to the younger agent. "I'll save you a donut."

With a salute to the red haired safecracker, William followed his partner into the cave, flicking on his flashlight as he went. There was nothing but rock walls. He caught up to Louis at a fork in the tunnel, sunglasses off, perusing the map. The circles under the blonde's gray eyes were darker than ever.

"Cetz, how's the reception on your end?" asked Louis through the SkySprechts.

"Fine, we're getting you two loud and clear," said the Head of Watch Two. "We don't know what kind of fancy gadgets Kore has hidden there, so keep base communications to a minimum."

"Got it."

The both signed off.

"Which way do we go," asked Will as he shined his light on the map.

Louis glared and pushed Will's arm down. "Left. Whatever you do, don't point that flashlight in my face."

"What's wrong?"

"My eyes hurt, okay!" Louis stalked away, leaving Will to follow.

***

Louis drew his breath slowly, looking at the air detector every five minutes. He tried to ignore how the stone walls were getting lower and narrower as he passed. He could feel the earth swell closer to him, eager to break the wooden beams holding it up, and bury him to never see the light of day.

*Keep moving*, he told himself. *Fanboy is right behind you, and you don't need to freak out in front of him.*

An hour later, he and Will came upon the first chamber stacked with boxes and crates. According to the labels they were guns, but the number of them was startling. Will, the one in charge of accounting for the things found, took out the camera and snapped a picture of the crates. To Louis's relief, the camera used a glowing, slow light instead of a heavy flash, and looking away was easy enough to do.

They passed three chambers, their path going higher into the mountain, and the number of crates was growing. Will geeked out at an item that looked like a lightsaber, until Louis pointed out it was a high-powered flashlight.

Louis froze as he uncovered a steel box. "Shit."

"What is it?"

Louis motioned to the box. "Look at what they got their hands on."

Will looked at the contents with a frown. It looked like a large motherboard, and at every inch a clear cylinder capped with metal laid across it, like florescent bulbs on a ceiling. "What is it?"

"The prototype that spawned the BTs," Louis spat.

"What's so dangerous about a BT? It's basic scanning and medical equipment."

Louis's lip curled as he shoved the prototype back into the box. "The BT was no miracle to medicine when it was first created. It was originally a pulse emitter that fried the skin off your bones, and that was just the first prototype. Like a tanning bed on steroids. Version two could emit a stronger pulse; fry the neurons in your brain. And now Kore's got version three."

Will was taken aback. "But, this is a prototype. Its obsolete technology compared to the later, more sophisticated versions the Watch has."

"The sniper rifle might be more sophisticated than the musket, but the musket still does a hell of a lot of damage." Louis discarded the box and continued on, checking his air gage. It was green, but it was sneaking closer to yellow. William looked thoughtful as he followed behind.

"You know a lot about BTs for someone who hates them," said Will.

Louis kept silent, wanting to find the virus and leave.

"Were you on a mission involving them?"

"My first mission," said Louis. "And I saw how they were originally mean to be used."

After another hour of trekking through the mine, Louis and Will had to put on their masks, the sensor glowing yellow. Finally, they came to the chamber holding the virus. Louis had a bad feeling. The seamless vial was suspended over a table in the center of the chamber, lit up by fiber optic wiring. He glanced at his partner and waved his hand towards the vial.

"Go ahead, Fanboy. Get it and let's go."

"I don't think it'll be that easy," said William, his voice wary. "This set up is like the opening scene of Raiders of the Lost Arc."

"And people wonder why I call you Fanboy. Stay here." Louis walked around the edge of the chamber.

Nothing else in the caves had alarms or traps; the same was probably true with the virus.

Probably.

Louis approached and with a flick of his wrist snatched the vial. All was normal and he slipped it into the canister on his belt, and then side stepped towards the chamber entrance where William waited.

Then the ceiling fell upon them.