Under My Skin

Under My Skin - Part 23

Rachel snarled at the thought of having to talk to Martin Zachs, but she agreed to Cetz's plan. After getting off the phone Rachel went to Will's room. He lay slightly curled on his left side, the heating pad over his right still hot and soothing away the pain from whatever injury Louis had caused. His right arm lay crossed over his middle, the tube to the IV following his left arm. The IV bag was less then a third empty. She wondered if Louis was asleep too. Damn that she had to wake them up.

If Martin Zachs questions him for more than ten minutes, I'm going to smack him.

"Will?" she said, shaking his shoulder. "Will, wake up."

It wasn't until she jostled the arm on his stomach that he jolted awake, grabbing her wrist.

"It's just me," she soothed.

He cringed at his side and let her go. His voice was hoarse. "How long was I asleep?"

"Less than an hour. Sorry to wake you up, but Cetz needs to talk to you. Both of you. He'll be here any minute."

Will frowned at her insistent tone and then nodded, patting his stomach. "Louis?"

After a minute of silence he laid flat on his back and hissed.

***

Louis slid from his curled position in Will's stomach and awoke just as the chamber tilted, throwing him off balance. He thrashed, feeling at once confused and alone. For a moment he didn't remember where he was. Then the throbbing heartbeat and the moist heat hit his senses.

"Hey! What the hell, Will?" he snarled into the SkySprecht.

"He's awake," said Will on the other end.

"And pissed off! I just got to sleep." Louis could softly hear a female voice over the Sprecht and he turned up the hearing. It was Rachel. Was there something wrong with Will that he had to be woken up?

"How's it going on your end?" Louis asked.

A sour groan echoed around the blonde agent. "I've been better."

Before he could say anything else, Louis heard Cetz talking to Rachel.

"Stall him," said Cetz. "I'll need about five minutes."

"I'll introduce him to Bella," said Rachel as she stomped off.

"Oh, she must really be in a bad mood to introduce someone to the lab chimp," muttered Louis.

"What's wrong with meeting Bella?" said Will.

"You'll hear about it later."

***

Will tried to sit up straighter when Cetz came in, using the button to lift the upper part of the bed. The Head of Watch Two looked aggravated and worried.

"You wanted to see... I mean speak to us?" said Will.

"You know things are weird when you start using the royal plural," said Cetz in a spot of brief humor. He sat close by the bed, lowering his voice. "First off, can Louis hear me?"

"Loud and clear," said the smaller agent over the Sprecht.

"Yes, he can," said Will.

"Good. I have to be quick. First off, Martin Zachs is here and he's put Watch Two on lockdown. He says it's to protect the base because he thinks Kore knows someone was in his cave depot and is trying to find us; I don't believe a word of it." Cetz took a breath and rubbed his hands over the short buzz on his head. "Now, you guys wanted to know why I had you look around for equipment like ours in Randal Kore's cave?"

"Hell yes," said Louis.

Will nodded.

"What I have to say doesn't go beyond the two of you, me, Rachel, or Massaru. We have reason to believe the Watch has a leak. Randal Kore is known to deal with many different types of factions. If there was some sort of leak then any bribery or exchange of our confiscated technology it would go through him."

"The BT..." said Louis.

Will's mouth dropped. They had a leak? He had believed The Watch to be impenetrable; manned by loyal people with the same ideals. And now someone was selling BTs and information? If Louis' reason for his hatred of the devices was sound, it was like selling a torture machine. "Louis found a BT prototype in the cave."

Cetz grimaced. "Shit. Anyway, Massaru has recently found a lead on the possible leak. This is why I never told the higher ups about Louis. They don't know where he is right now, thus Zachs doesn't know either. And he needs to keep not knowing."

That meant Will would have to pretend Louis was gone. He could not imagine ignoring the occasional flutters inside him.

"When will I be able to get out?" asked Louis, sounding anxious by the whole exchange. Will relayed the question.

"After Zachs is gone," said Cetz. "He's doing his Security check of the base while he's here, and he's already been informed of Will's arrival alone. It needs to stay that way, so you're stuck there for now. And I don't know when he'll leave."

"A Security check could take days," said Will.

"It better fuckin' not," growled Louis.

"I know," said Cetz. "And this is where you're going to hate me. Will, I need your SkySprecht so I can deactivate it. Zachs doesn't know everything about them yet, but he knows I have a way to track you. If he asks to see the tracking screen I can't have him finding both signals in one place or he won't believe you came back on your own."

"You're kidding me," said Louis. "I'll have to endure hearing him, but he can't hear me back?"

"I won't be able to hear him," protested Will as he cupped his hand over the ear bud. "What if he gets in trouble? You saw what happened earlier."

"I'm sorry, both of you, but this is the best we can do for now."

"The best you could do is kick Zachs out!" yelled Louis.

Will grimaced and handed over the communicator. Cetz rose as he heard the shriek of an aggravated chimpanzee ring down the hall.

"I think Rachel has done all she can to stall Zachs. We've told him you suffered some internal bruising, so he can't talk to you for long. Keep up the injured and tired act."

Will huffed, pressing the heating pad closer and pointing to the IV. "It won't be acting."

"I know. However, keep your ears open for any clues as to why he's here. Good Luck."

With that Cetz was gone and Will was left alone and yet not alone. He cradled his hands over his stomach. Leaving Louis without a way to talk back to him felt like he was abandoning him. After feeling Louis nearly slip deeper inside his system, he didn't want to think of what else might happen. He never thought his own body could be so dangerous; and at one point he thought he was protecting Louis.

"This sucks," muttered Will.

He felt a tiny flutter, Louis hitting the inside of his stomach twice. Once for no, twice for yes; the system they used to communicate during their first mission with Louis inside Will. At least Louis agreed with him.

The agent awaited the meeting of a person he couldn't trust, and hoped he could keep safe one of the few people he did trust.