Under My Skin

Under My Skin - Part 25

Will's first impression of Martin Zachs was of a man who knew perfect order in himself, and expected it of others without having to ask. From the crisp lines of his suit to the hair that was perfectly combed back, he had control. And he was finding none of it amongst Watch Two. Still, he kept up a polite face.

"Good morning, Agent Rowe," said the Head of Security as he held out his hand. In his other he held a clipboard file. "I'm sorry you had to be woken for this."

"It's okay." Will forced a little rasp in his voice for the sickly aspect, and shook his hand, keeping his grip loose. "How can I help you?"

"You can fill in a few gaps for me about a few of your missions with agent Patriarch." Zachs tried his best to look sheepish. "I'm afraid I never got a vetted report from you about your mission with Freewill. If possible I'd like to start with that."

Will nodded. Considering what he knew of Zachs' nature, the man probably had the major points of Freewill memorized and was digging around for inconsistencies. It wouldn't be the first time Will lied by omission. "You have until my pain meds kick in again."

"Then I'll get to the point. After Freewill you were detained for sixteen hours in your return to base. Is that correct?"

"Yeah. They thought I might have a tracker on me, so they sent me to a safe house."

"What were you doing in those hours?"

"At first I was trying to find Louis, I hadn't seen him since getting knocked out on the compound. I could hear him on my communicator, but I couldn't find him. It was only after I realized I was being tracked by the men left from Freewill that I gave up my search. They were following me; I didn't want to lead them to my partner."

The suited man nodded and wrote a note on his clipboard. "In the records it says you came back to base alone after being fetched by Med Tech; however it doesn't say how Louis returned. Would you happen to know how he got in without going through a security scan?"

"I don't know, I was asleep." Knocked out by food poisoning more like. "The next time I saw him was when I woke up in Med Bay."

"He never told you?" asked Zachs.

"No. And I never asked." It occurred to Will that Louis didn't tell him a lot of things, like his ability to shrink. He swallowed down the bitterness. "He doesn't tell me a lot of things. He's not that sociable."

Will felt a slight flutter inside.

Yeah, I hope you're listening, Louis.

"Now about your more recent mission," continued Zachs. "Did you meet anyone while in the caves?"

"No. It was still night, and there was no one on patrol. The closest we got was a car coming up the road to the cave, but we had left by the time it had stopped. We got separated in the woods going to the rendezvous."

"Does your partner have any reason to want to seek out Doctor Palmer?"

Will frowned, and then quickly turned it into a slight grimace of pain, setting his hand on his side for effect. "He was pissed that Palmer went and turned over a deadly virus to criminals, but so were the rest of us."

"Do you know where he might go in case of an emergency? Or any contacts of his outside work?"

"Aside from here, no. Why are you asking so many questions about him?"

"I need to know if he can keep the virus safe," said Zachs.

"Yes, he can, and will. You'll see when he comes back." Nearly loosing the canister inside me notwithstanding. "Why the panic?"

Zachs smiled, still writing on his clipboard. "I just want assurance that he *will* come back."

Will dropped all pretense of politeness. His side was still burning, he was tired, and this man was accusing Louis of desertion. "He will be back. I know my partner."

"Do you?"

"You wouldn't have come to me asking about him if you didn't think so."

Zachs nodded, still smiling his smug, in control, smile. "Touché. I forgot you've lasted a bit longer than Agent Patriarch's previous partners." The man rose, apparently done with his questions. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience, and I hope you recover quickly."

Zachs left still smiling, as if he had gleaned something from his conversation with Will. It left the air in the room sour. Will curled back up on the bed, crossing an arm over his middle and pulling the heating pad closer.

"I don't like that man one bit."

Two kicks.