Under My Skin

Under My Skin - Part 37

Thermos in hand, Rachel put her bag containing the device in a locker and peeled off the latex gloves. A nurse approached.

"Rachel, I got a call from Cetz; he wants you in the BT lab."

"I'll be there soon. Tell Med Tech to caution their power usage and if possible turn off all unneeded computers."

"Got it."

A voice chirped down the hall. "Good morning, my sunshine!"

The nurse rolled her eyes. "Pretty sure he means you." She went back to work.

Rachel smiled grimly. "What are you doing here, Reese?"

"Is that any way to greet a man bringing the drink of the gods?" Guided by cheap smarm, the redhead offered a full thermos of coffee.

"Aw, how sweet," said Rachel, keeping up the act. "Are you bribing me?"

"Maybe."

"Right," she said before sipping the proffered coffee. Scalding, just the way she liked it. With as much slow grace she could muster, she handed over the thermos containing Louis. "How about you clean this one out while you're at it."

"No problem."

Rachel nodded and walked out of Med Tech, at once relieved that she had gotten Louis to Reese, but worried about the next step. She kept her stride strong as her white lab coat fluttered behind her. The coffee had given her a second wind of get-the-hell-off-my-back. She'd show Zachs what he wanted, and then wave the jerk goodbye.

***

Reese lingered for a moment at the nurse's desk. "She likes me you know."

The nurse muttered "whatever" and promptly ignored him. Reese took up the thermos, gently as he could be without being obvious and walked away. Once he was out of Med Tech his smile wiped off. He had ten minutes to get to the edge of the E.S.S. barrier. Quietly. And he couldn't be seen.

"Cake," he said, and entered the stairwell to the underground garage.

***

Zachs was more than ecstatic for the opportunity to see the BT-9 in action. It was in the same lab as the BT-10, used the same control room, and though it wasn't as big, it was just as impressive. One of the suits guarded the entrance to the lab, glaring at anyone that went by. The other had been assigned to overlook the Grant's regulation of the electrical grid. Cetz worked with Rachel in the control room, keeping the door open to hear Zachs, checking the power usage and estimating the best time for a power flare.

"Wonderful machine," said Zachs as he examined the readout panel on the side of the BT. "How often do you use the BT-9?"

Rachel, keeping her face blank at the control panel, wondered if she could arrange to have Bella break out of her cage. "We use it once or twice a week; most of the time to make sure it's running properly. More than we do the BT-10."

"Do you mind if I check it with the security wand?"

"Help yourself," said Cetz dismissively. He hoped Reese and Louis were in place.

***

"Could you be any more clumsy?" shouted Louis after he was tipped out of the thermos onto the ground. He whipped out his shades and slipped them on, preventing the lights in the underground garage from making him grow back to normal size.

"Clumsier. Could you be any clumsier," corrected Reese.

"You're not my spell-check, rust head."

The redhead knelt in front of one of the iron gates, like a portcullis, separating the garage from the outside of Watch Two. Earlier Grant had come out and marked the manufactured weak spot in the barrier. Two feet in front of the gate was a chalk line identifying the extent of the E.S.S. that domed Watch Two. On that line was a red mark pointing straight to one of the gaps at the bottom the gate. That was Louis' escape. Louis scowled at the distance.

"How long will the barrier be down?"

Reese sat on the ground next to him, keeping his voice quiet. "A few seconds. We'll know when the E.S.S. transmitters are weakened when the lights dim."

"Can you be more exact than "a few seconds"? I need to know how long I got to run this."

"Run? It's like two feet."

"To you it's two feet. To me it's a fifty yard dash."

"I could toss you through it."

"Touch me and I will break your fingers." Louis checked the clasp on the virus canister again. If the damn thing broke off mid-run he'd kill someone, starting with Reese. He looked up at the gate. It was massive, its very presence felt heavy to his small senses. "How long until the power goes down?"

Reese checked the digital on his watch. "We have five minutes, and then anytime after that."