Under My Skin

Under My Skin - Part 16

All Will's energy was focused on one thing. Yelling at Louis. He had one hand gingerly over his stomach and both eyes like missiles on his partner as he stepped towards him.

"You left the virus canister inside me! That's like a doctor leaving a scalpel in a patient! A scalpel that could kill thousands of people in a matter of hours!"

"I didn't do it on purpose!" retorted Louis. "It probably got unhooked while I was being thrown back and forth in your insides during the road trip from hell."

"Putting the blame on Beni? Real man of you."

"Don't—"

"Shut it both of you!" snapped Rachel.

The lab went silent, and Cetz let the Med Tech take the reins. Louis grudgingly turned to the doctor, and Will was sullenly mute as he retreated to sit on the bed again.

"The "how" doesn't matter right now," said Rachel. "We need to get the virus out of Will. The sooner the better."

"Can't we just wait and let it pass?" said Louis.

"No. We can't wait that long. You've unshrunk, and we don't know if the molecular density of shrinking will have stayed with the canister. Will's stomach acids could be eating away at it."

"It's a metal and carbon-fiber canister," protested Louis. "What the heck could he do to it?"

"You ever see what hydrochloric acid does to a piece of tinfoil?"

Will's eyes widened and he hunched over, crossing his arms over his middle. "I never thought I'd have to deal with this when I signed up for this job."

"Oh, quit whining, Fanboy," said Louis before he turned back to Rachel. "Can't you put that tube back down his throat to pick it up?"

"We don't have an endoscope wand that tiny or capable of picking up something half the size of a tic-tac."

"He could throw it up."

"He's barely got anything down there to throw up. And doing so risks aspirating into his lungs and losing it."

"Then what do you want me to do?" It suddenly dawned on the blonde the only option they had left. "Oh Hell no!"

"Oh yes." Rachel pointed to William, sitting hunched over on the bed. "You're going to go back in there and get it out."

Louis turned to the still quiet Head of Watch Two. "Cetz, don't make me do this. Not twice in one day!"

Cetz lifted an eyebrow, glanced to Rachel, and then rubbed his forehead with his hands. "I defer to the doctor on this matter. It won't kill you, Louis."

Louis's jaw dropped, and for a split second he was silent.

"Bloody fuckin' virus!" He roared to the ceiling. "If I ever get my hands on that Terrance Palmer, he'll wish he'd taken a one way trip to a trash compactor!"

Rachel, deaf to his cursing, took Louis by the arm into the other room to get changed into clean clothes and finish treating the scrap on his side.

Will groaned and dropped his head in his hands. "I don't suppose me and my throat get any say in this?"

"I'm afraid not," consoled Cetz.

Will huffed, almost a laugh. "This is a far cry from roasting marshmallows."

"Marshmallows?"

"You said, if we were good, after the mission you'd let us roast marshmallows."

"I was joking."

"I'm not."

Cetz lifted an eyebrow at Will. "I'll see what I can do." His headset beeped again and he sighed, moving back into the hallway to answer it and give Grant warning that the BT was still in use.

***

While Louis changed in the other room, still fuming, Will paced in front of the BT-10, tired but restless, his arms folded tight to his chest.

You'll be fine, he told himself. Even hydrochloric acid takes time to eat through tinfoil; the virus canister will be intact. No worries.

And yet he worried. He had seen his fair share of diseases, infections, and even AIDS. A small village in North Africa had been hit badly with infection and HIV and had been aided by the Salvation Army, which he had been a part of, and Doctors Without Borders. Stuffed animal in one hand and puppet in the other, he had been at a boy's bedside trying to make him smile though his body was slowly wasting away from a simple cold gone out of hand. The boy's tiny hands black-ice blue, and his eyes peered from hollows like a pit no one could crawl out of.

What could a maliciously man-made virus do in the wrong hands?

He shook his head of the memory. If he thought on it any longer he might remember... No, don't think about him.

Rachel came back and held out a jar full of clear gel to Will. "Here you go."

"What's this?" he asked. Curious, Will opened the jar and touched the gel. Rubbing the slick stuff between his thumb and finger, he felt no friction at all.

"A water based lubricating agent to help get Louis down easier. There are no ill effects if ingested."

"A what?" huffed Louis.

The door jerked open and Louis pivoted out, trying slip on a kind of rubber soled sock while walking. He was dressed in a dark blue jumpsuit that reached to his wrists and ankles, and was lined with a few pockets and a utility belt. On his hands were fingerless gloves in the same material as his socks. The outfit, intentionally or not, showed off Louis's wide shoulders, slim waist, and...

God's sake, Will, don't stare at his ass. He forced his eyes back up to Louis's scowling face and shades. He looks good in blue.

"Lubricant," repeated Rachel to the blonde agent. "Unless you want Will to slather you up with his own spit?"

"Gah..." said Louis, his face twisting in disgust.

"All I'm asking is that you take a dip in the jar before going down the slide," said Rachel, with a rare spot of patience. "You will use it. No matter how bad it might be for you, I'm sure it's just as bad for him. Got it?"

Louis growled and grabbed the jar from Will, grimacing at the cold gel. "Great, I'm an entrée with a sauce."

Will pressed his lips together hard, trying not to laugh. Not the best scenario I can think of involving me, Louis, and jar of lubricant. He sniffed the residual gel on his fingers and then touched it to his tongue. It had a chemical aftertaste and left a waxy film, as if he had licked a stick of margarine. Blech. It's not even cherry flavored.

"What are you so happy about, Fanboy?" glowered Louis.

Will started. "Nothing. Just glad to get this virus out."

"Weirdo," said Louis as he stalked towards the BT.

You have no idea. thought Will.