I Took A Ride To Meet An Enemy 5/7
Title: I Took A Ride To Meet An Enemy
Author: safaiagem
Artist: sin-repent
Word Count: 37,206
Rating: hard R
Characters/Pairings: Arthur/Eames, ensemble
Warnings Sexual content, violence, language
Summary: After an attempt on Cobb's life leaves him in hiding Arthur and Eames begin to look into who could have taken out the hit. While they are eating dinner an assassin tries to kill them as well. They quickly move in and save Ariadne and Yusuf but the four of them find that they are in way over their heads. They must find help in an extremely unlikely source and keep one step ahead of a man willing to put any price on their heads.
I Took A Ride To Meet An Enemy
Part Five
The sound of Arthur’s phone ringing pulled Eames out of sleep. The other man reached over him and took the phone off of the table. He stared at the screen for only a second before answering it.
“Arthur here,” he said. Eames rolled onto his back and watched as Arthur’s half asleep expression turn dark and professional. “Are you sure?” He waited a moment, clearly listening to whomever was on the phone. “Yes, I’ll make it up to you, thanks so much.”
“What’s happened now?” Eames asked.
“That was Abby. Joe just returned to purchase some pistols as well. Now we have no idea how he’s going to attack.” Arthur fell back on the bed and rubbed his eyes. “We need to get him out of there today. I don’t care if that’s kidnapping, we can’t let him die.”
“Joe isn’t smart enough to break into the hotel where Fischer is staying. It can wait until he leaves for work later today,” Eames said and Arthur raised an eyebrow. “I may have gotten his schedule for the next week off of the private servers of what remains of his company.”
Arthur nodded and turned to face away from Eames on his side of the bed. Eames stared at the ceiling for a long while until he closed his eyes and welcomed a few more precious hours of sleep.
The alarm that woke them up a few hours later made Eames want to throw the phone against the wall but he was already wide awake. Arthur rose as well and vanished into the bathroom, no doubt to shower. They had three hours before Fischer would leave his hotel; the man liked to keep to a schedule, which was a good thing as far as they were concerned. Eames opened the adjoining room and flipped on the light. Ariadne swore in French which Yusuf followed with swearing in Swahili, both of which he understood.
“Change of plans. We need to leave soon so get ready.” Eames closed the door just as Arthur opened the bathroom door in nothing but a towel. The temptation, the need, to ravish him never went away and it took some considerable self control to walk by half naked Arthur and into the bathroom. His shower was short but hot and refreshing. When he opened the door Arthur was dressed in a button down with the sleeves rolled up and khaki’s; he looked like a tourist. He was also completely engrossed in whatever he was looking at on his computer and did not even look up when Eames dropped the towel to change. Arthur told Eames about his latest plan and they both decided that it was the best idea.
When they were both presentable The sniper rifle was going to be useless but they could not leave it behind. Instead they checked out of the hotel and left everything in the locked trunk of the car.
“Arthur and I will be on foot nearby but we need to make sure you two stay close to the car. Drive down the road but stay close. Fischer is going to get his morning coffee and find parking, which is when you can grab him,” Eames explained.
“What about you two?” Ariadne asked.
“Don’t worry about us; we can take care of ourselves,” Arthur replied. Ariadne and Yusuf were both armed as well but Arthur did not want to rely on their shots. Ariadne had gotten her license since the IDCA incident and Yusuf was trained as well but not nearly enough to take out a gunman with Joe’s kind of training. “We’ll meet up at the safe house location that I gave you earlier.” They both nodded. “Then let’s go.”
---
Ariadne and Yusuf took their rental car and Arthur started down the street with Eames several paces behind him. It took almost no time to get to the hotel where Fischer was staying. The former CEO’s car was nearby and the driver looked far too indifferent considering who he was driving around. Arthur turned around and nodded to Eames who crossed the street and lingered nearby, acting as if he was having some sort of argument on his cellphone. Arthur, however, waited to see if he could spot Joe. There was no sign of the man and once Fischer was in his car it would be much harder to to take him out since he was going to be in meetings all day.
Fischer emerged from the hotel and made his way down the street to the coffee shop he frequented. Ariadne and Yusuf were parked on the side of the road looking over a map as if they were lost. That was when Arthur spotted Joe because the man had not even bothered to hide his face. He had managed to slip right next to Fischer without Arthur noticing. Fischer was walking out of the coffee shop when Joe raised his arm to fire a gun hidden in his coat jacket and Arthur moved. He tackled Fischer to the ground as the gun went off. The sound of screams filled the street as people fled. Joe stared at Arthur until he recognized him and raised the gun again. Another shot went off and Joe barely managed to side step in time. He scowled and took off running as Eames joined him.
“Bugger got lucky with too many civilians around,” he said as Arthur moved away from Fischer whom he had managed to knock out. There was also a deep graze on his arm from the bullet that had narrowly missed going into his chest. Ariadne opened the back door and Arthur hauled Fischer into the back seat.
“We can’t let him just get away. Drive and we’ll see you later.” Arthur did not wait for Ariadne to argue before he took off after Joe. Eames was right beside him and they barely managed to see the would-be assassin duck down an alley. Arthur pulled out his gun and nodded to Eames. Eames nodded and the two of them rounded the corner slowly, making their way in the direction Joe had gone.
---
Eames had Arthur’s back as they walked down the alley toward Joe. As they came to the end of the alley it split into two directions and the logical thing would be to split up, yet all Eames could remember was the Shatner job where they had split up and nearly gotten each other killed. He was not going to do that again, because the thought of not being able to help Arthur made his stomach hurt. Arthur turned the corner as Eames watched the other alley but there was no sign of Joe. He was about to suggest that they move on when he saw movement down his alley.
“This way,” he said and Arthur followed. Arthur glanced around the corner just in time for someone to hit his hand with a metal rod. Arthur dropped the gun and Eames pulled Arthur out of the way. His wrist looked okay, maybe sprained, but his gun was out of his reach. Eames turned the corner and ducked to avoid a crowbar to the skull. Half a dozen men swarmed him and started throwing punches and swinging blunt objects. Arthur was on his feet trying to pull the men off but another half dozen swarmed Arthur. Eames felt a punch connect with his jaw just as he saw a kick take Arthur’s legs out from underneath him. Eames did not back down and three of the men hit the ground bleeding and with broken bones. Arthur had taken down four but one of the remaining two landed a sharp kick to Arthur’s stomach, enough to knock the wind out of him. They surrounded him. Eames threw another punch but the two men managed to grab his arms, twisting them painfully behind his back.
Eames could feel blood running from his previous injuries that had not healed entirely and he felt a little nauseous from the pain. Arthur did not look much better with a split lip and a cut on his temple. They looked at each other, not saying a word, until Joe emerged from around the corner. Arthur began to struggle but one of the men holding him twisted Arthur’s wrist enough to subdue him.
“Arthur and Eames. I’d say I’m surprised to see you here but I’m not,” Joe said cracking his knuckles. “There is a considerable price on your heads that I plan on investing in.” He walked forward and glared at Arthur. “I know all about you, both of you, and I know how close you are. Everyone in the business knows which is just so sloppy of you. Don’t you know what can happen when you’re close to someone?” Arthur did not reply but Joe did not act like he was expecting one. Instead he turned to Eames and backhanded him hard enough that he saw stars. “Talk, Arthur, or this is going to get worse.” Joe punched him again and his damaged nose exploded in white hot pain. Arthur was struggling now but Joe turned and hit him with something; Arthur went down hard. The men threw him to the ground and kicked him in the stomach, hard enough that he should have stayed down. But Eames was pretty sure it was just an act to get the men to drop their guard. Joe pulled out a phone and dialed a number.
“Yeah, hi, tell him I got two of them alive,” Joe said looking impatient. “Well, patch me through then, we have a deal to sort out.”
Eames looked at Arthur as he waited for some sort of movement from the point man; he was not sure he could take all of them in this state. Arthur cracked an eye open and smirked just a little. The four men were standing close by and that was all the motivation Eames needed to kick one of them in the shin hard enough that he went down. Without wasting a moment he snatched the gun from one of the men and shot Joe in the leg. The other man went down just as he turned to witness Arthur breaking the last thug’s neck.
Joe’s gun was just out of reach as the two of them walked forward and his phone was close by; the call was still connected. Eames trained his gun on the whimpering man as Arthur picked up the phone. He clicked a few buttons, activating the speakerphone.
“Mr. Saito, I’m glad you decided to take this call,” Arthur said.
“Arthur, and Eames I’m assuming is there as well. It’s lovely to hear from both of you. How are things? Going well?” Saito asked.
“Fan-fucking-tastic how nice of you to ask,” Eames snapped but Arthur shook his head. Dealing with someone like Saito was better left in Arthur’s hands.
“I’m going to find evidence that you are hiring these men to kill us,” Arthur said evenly.
“There won’t be anything to find. I’ve done no such thing, of course,” Saito replied.
“No? What about the civilians that have died? I’m sure their families would love to start an investigation. How would your reputation fair against the murder of a teenager and her father?” Arthur sounded sure of himself but there was doubt in his tone that no one else would notice. The line was silent for a long time until Arthur nodded at Eames. He fired a shot into Joe’s head. “That was the sound of your assassin dying. I decided to skip the part where he pretends he’ll turn you in. I’m going to find something on you.”
“I’d watch your step, Mr. Cohen, and you as well, Mr. Eames, because this is a dangerous road you are walking down. Making me angry was not a good idea.” The line went dead and Arthur tossed the phone in the trash. No one was going to be able to trace the call anyway, Eames was sure of that, and they needed to get away from this alley. Eames clicked his gun’s safety on and wrapped an arm around Arthur as the other man did the same. They supported each other as they walked away from the dead and dying men.
---
They managed to make it to the safe house without anyone asking too many questions. They stumbled and acted drunk, even singing a few songs, until the house came into view. Only then did some of the tension leak from Arthur’s shoulders. Eames winced when he saw the wound on Arthur’s head; head wounds were such a bitch because they bled so much. Two quick knocks and Ariadne practically threw the door open. He was about to lecture her about caution and being armed when she gasped.
“What happened to being able to take care of yourselves?” she demanded, pulling them into the house.
“We’re alive?” Eames offered, flashing his most charming smile which did not faze Ariadne in the slightest.
“Fischer has been awake for the last ten minutes whining and bitching around ransoms and what not and we can’t get him to shut up.” Ariadne handed them both towels which Eames pressed to his nose.
“Let’s go meet him face to face then,” Arthur said pressing the towel to his head. Eames walked through the house with Ariadne and Arthur as they made their way through the small corridors. As they opened the door they found Yusuf sitting with a gun looking bored as Fischer sat in a chair looking annoyed. He blinked when he saw Arthur.
“You’re the one who saved me from that gunman,” Fischer said. “So, do you want a reward or something of that sort, because we can pay.”
“We don’t want a reward. We need your help,” Arthur said frankly. Fischer narrowed his eyes.
“I know you,” he said pointing at Eames. “Why do I remember you, in a cab or somewhere like that?” Eames could feel Arthur’s eyes on him, warning him to be careful about what he said next, but Eames decided that sugar coating or skirting around the issue was not going to work here. He decided to be blunt.
“Mr. Fischer, you know me because I invaded your dreams in the airplane going from Sydney to Los Angeles the week your father died. All of my co-workers here did, actually, and we were hired by Saito Hiroshi to implant an idea into your head. That idea was for you to break up your company and it worked. Any questions?” Arthur, Ariadne and Yusuf were all staring at him like he had gone completely mad. Fischer, on the other hand, stared at him not moving. Eames was a few steps away from Fischer which made it all the more surprising when the former CEO jumped to his feet and punched him square across the jaw. Arthur had a gun on him in seconds but Eames blinked as he rubbed his jaw; Fischer had a good right hook.
“Did you get that out of your system?” Arthur asked though there was a hint of what could only be amusement in his voice. “Now sit down, we’re not done talking.” Fischer did as he was told but continued to glare at all of them. “Now the problem that we need help with is something that should interest you as well. Saito has decided to tie up the loose ends from the inception we performed on you by putting bounties on all of us, including you. That man who tried to kill you today was one of many who will continue trying unless you help us. In exchange for protection we need your help to find some way of either getting rid of the bounties or getting rid of Saito.” Fischer stared at them, not saying a word, until Ariadne knelt down in front of him.
“Can you honestly remember why it felt like a good idea to break up your company? Why you suddenly thought your father wanted you to ‘be your own man?’ Why the pinwheel was so important?” Ariadne said softly and that seemed to get Fischer’s attention. Eames was fairly sure he was not going to hit a girl and that Ariadne was probably trying to win him over with her doe eyes. Fischer swallowed and looked at all of them.
“You saved my life; now I guess I can save yours,” he said. Eames could not hide the small smile that formed on his face. They were finally getting somewhere.
---
Only after they locked Fischer in a room for the night, because they were not entirely sure if the man would run, did Arthur finally have time to look over his injuries. It was going to be weeks before he was 100% again and there was no telling when Saito would try to kill them again. It would be harder to get out of the country with Fischer but he also had no idea where they should go next. And he had no idea how to deal with their current situation. Telling Saito that he would report his connection to the civilian deaths was a bluff because it would just expose them and there was no way they would last a day in jail. Saito would have someone on the inside in hours and Arthur would be bleeding out in his cell before he got a phone call.
He turned down Ariadne’s offer to help with tending to their wounds but pulled Eames along to their room. He pulled out a first aid kit and began to clean Eames’ knuckles, which were caked with dirt and split open. Eames watched him do this but did not flinch even after antiseptic was added.
“Ten silent minutes went by. “Arthur,” Eames said.
“I don’t want to talk about it, Eames,” Arthur replied as he looked over his friend’s nose. It was not broken, but it was going to be sore for a long time. He put a bandage over it and tried to ignore the blood.
“You’re freaking out on me.”
“I’m not. Are you going to take a look at my head or just let me sit here and bleed?” Arthur took the towel away hoping it would be enough to change the subject.
“You need some time to clear your head. Hell, I do too, this is just as stressful on me as well.” Eames looked over the cut clinically. “You don’t need stitches.”
“Good because that would be a bitch. And I’d love to know where we will get the time. If you haven’t noticed people are gunning for us as if we somehow personally offended them.” Arthur rubbed his eyes and tried to get his nerves to calm down but it didn’t work. Okay, maybe I’m freaking out a little, but Eames did not need him to say that. Instead Eames reached under their bed and pulled out their PASIV.
“Five minutes will give us an hour to get our thoughts straight. I think we can spare fifteen to try and figure out our next move,” Eames said. He put the machine at the foot of the bed, knowing that Arthur was going to agree, because that made sense. Eames eased Arthur back on the bed and carefully inserted the needle into his wrist, lying down next to him. He looked at Arthur for confirmation and he nodded once. The last thing he saw as the world bled away was Eames watching him.
---
The dream was a city that he had been working on for years and Arthur was growing quite proud of it. It had elements from all of his favorite places, tweaked so they were just a little off. Every now and then they would pass a building that was leaning too far to one side but somehow looked stable just the same. It was a comfortable dream and he was confident that his projections wouldn’t be a problem. Eames had been in his mind so much that he was fairly sure that even his subconscious knew the man was not a threat. Sometimes that thought made Arthur panic a little and he saw that same panic in Eames when his projections did not go after Arthur either. Knowing someone as comfortably as they did, to the point that their security would ignore the other, was worrisome yet it never came up in actual conversation.
“Why don’t we go sit in that cafe from Venice that you love so much?” Eames suggested as they walked down the city streets.
“I think that sounds good,” Arthur replied. His mind was a mess right now and the weather in the city looked like a storm was brewing. It meant he was stressed out and that he needed to find a way to get everything under control. If Eames noticed he did not say anything but Arthur found himself walking a little closer than he needed to as they came to the cafe. They did not order anything, since eating in dreams was pointless, and took seats outside. “There is something I’m missing and I can’t for the life of me figure out what it is.”
“So you don’t think trying to connect Saito to those murders is a good idea.” Eames made it a statement, not a question, because of course he knew Arthur had been bluffing on the phone.
“I want him to squirm, just a little, because he might slip up somehow. If we can get something, anything, we can blackmail him for our freedom without any problems. Saito is a practical man, that’s why he’s doing this, and he values his business more than anything else.” Arthur sighed as he looked out at the city, his projections walking by and eying the sky warily; he really hoped it would not rain.
“No one is completely clean. You and I both know that, so there has to be something out there.” Eames frowned deeply and ran his hands through his hair. “If this was anyone else I would suggest just doing an extraction but we won’t get anywhere near him at this point.” Arthur was about to agree when he saw someone moving toward them out of the corner of his eye. He was about to pull a gun without looking at the projection when a warm hand touched his shoulder.
“Oh, you silly boys, you already have what you need,” a smooth voice laced with a French accent said, and Mal took a seat at their table. Arthur eyed Eames but Eames was too busy staring at the woman like she was a ghost. “Oh, stop staring, Daniel, of course one of you has a projection of me running around.”
“Forgive me for being a little on edge then. Since you’re my subconscious, I’m assuming you understand why,” Eames replied.
“Ah, but whose projection am I?” she asked with a smile. “Not that it matters, because I’m here to help you.”
“Help us,” Arthur repeated as Mal rested her chin on her hand and looked at him fondly. She looked happy and content in a way that Cobb’s projection had never been. She looked the way he remembered her.
“Yes, help you, because neither of you wants to die and I know that. Now, you said that getting inside Saito’s head would provide something you could use against him, yes?” Mal asked.
“Yes, we did just say that,” Arthur replied. She did not move to hurt either of them. The Mal that had haunted Dom had never been this subtle and it made him want to trust her a little. Even then he kept a hand close to his gun and knew Eames was doing the same.
“Oh you silly, silly boys, you seem to think getting into his head would be impossible,” she said smiling.
“Not impossible but bloody difficult and possibly suicidal,” Eames grumbled.
“My dears, why do you need to go into his head when you’ve already been there?” Mal asked. Arthur blinked as he stared at the table. He had not thought about the failed Cobol job, because that was the thing that had lad to this entire mess. They had been in Saito’s head that night but had left empty handed.
“I wasn’t the one who looked at the information, and Cobb has no doubt forgotten it by now,” Arthur said.
“Oh things are never really forgotten if you look hard enough.” Mal flagged down a waiter and ordered a cup of coffee.
“Are you suggesting we do an extraction on the best extractor in the business?” Eames asked and he laughed a little. “There is no way Cobb will let us dig around in his head. He told me that he seems to think that just plugging in will somehow make everything fall apart. He seems to think that the walls will come crumbling down and he’ll be trapped. In fact I’m not entirely sure he wouldn’t slam the door in our faces right now.”
“Who said anything about permission?” And this was the Mal that Arthur remembered. This was the woman who had been willing to go into the minds of war victims and psychotics because they fascinated her. “Daniel, Arthur, do either of you really have time to think this over? If anyone has what you need to bring Saito down it’s in my husband’s head. The fact that I’m here and suggesting it means that one of you is considering it.”
“This self aware projection thing is weird,” Arthur said and he took a deep breath, releasing it slowly. “What do you think, Eames?”
“I think he’d never forgive you,” Eames replied without hesitation. “However, he would be alive and safe, and we would be as well. We need to weigh the pros and cons of losing Cobb’s trust.”
“You already know the answer to that,” Mal said as she sipped the coffee the waiter had brought her. “And Daniel is right, he wouldn’t forgive you but I also know you adore my children and don’t want them hurt or alone in this world.” She set the coffee aside and leaned on the table to look at both of them. “I’ll leave you boys to your planning.” She stood and looked down at both of them for a moment before kissing both of their cheeks. “Please, keep my husband and children safe for me.” Without another word Mal turned and walked away from the café, coffee in hand. Arthur watched her vanish into the crowd and released the breath he had not known he was holding.
“Well, you were right about self aware projections being weird,” Eames deadpanned and Arthur scoffed. “She’s right though; somewhere in Cobb’s head, there’s something he saw in that safe that Saito didn’t feel it was necessary to hide. It also sounds like our best shot. I can’t speak for whether Ariadne or Yusuf would be willing to go against Cobb like this but I know that I’m in.” What Eames was really saying was that they were in this together no matter what it took. Arthur already knew that but it was still nice to hear that he would always have that support.
“Let’s get topside; we have an extraction on Dominic Cobb to plan.”
back forward
Author: safaiagem
Artist: sin-repent
Word Count: 37,206
Rating: hard R
Characters/Pairings: Arthur/Eames, ensemble
Warnings Sexual content, violence, language
Summary: After an attempt on Cobb's life leaves him in hiding Arthur and Eames begin to look into who could have taken out the hit. While they are eating dinner an assassin tries to kill them as well. They quickly move in and save Ariadne and Yusuf but the four of them find that they are in way over their heads. They must find help in an extremely unlikely source and keep one step ahead of a man willing to put any price on their heads.
I Took A Ride To Meet An Enemy
Part Five
The sound of Arthur’s phone ringing pulled Eames out of sleep. The other man reached over him and took the phone off of the table. He stared at the screen for only a second before answering it.
“Arthur here,” he said. Eames rolled onto his back and watched as Arthur’s half asleep expression turn dark and professional. “Are you sure?” He waited a moment, clearly listening to whomever was on the phone. “Yes, I’ll make it up to you, thanks so much.”
“What’s happened now?” Eames asked.
“That was Abby. Joe just returned to purchase some pistols as well. Now we have no idea how he’s going to attack.” Arthur fell back on the bed and rubbed his eyes. “We need to get him out of there today. I don’t care if that’s kidnapping, we can’t let him die.”
“Joe isn’t smart enough to break into the hotel where Fischer is staying. It can wait until he leaves for work later today,” Eames said and Arthur raised an eyebrow. “I may have gotten his schedule for the next week off of the private servers of what remains of his company.”
Arthur nodded and turned to face away from Eames on his side of the bed. Eames stared at the ceiling for a long while until he closed his eyes and welcomed a few more precious hours of sleep.
The alarm that woke them up a few hours later made Eames want to throw the phone against the wall but he was already wide awake. Arthur rose as well and vanished into the bathroom, no doubt to shower. They had three hours before Fischer would leave his hotel; the man liked to keep to a schedule, which was a good thing as far as they were concerned. Eames opened the adjoining room and flipped on the light. Ariadne swore in French which Yusuf followed with swearing in Swahili, both of which he understood.
“Change of plans. We need to leave soon so get ready.” Eames closed the door just as Arthur opened the bathroom door in nothing but a towel. The temptation, the need, to ravish him never went away and it took some considerable self control to walk by half naked Arthur and into the bathroom. His shower was short but hot and refreshing. When he opened the door Arthur was dressed in a button down with the sleeves rolled up and khaki’s; he looked like a tourist. He was also completely engrossed in whatever he was looking at on his computer and did not even look up when Eames dropped the towel to change. Arthur told Eames about his latest plan and they both decided that it was the best idea.
When they were both presentable The sniper rifle was going to be useless but they could not leave it behind. Instead they checked out of the hotel and left everything in the locked trunk of the car.
“Arthur and I will be on foot nearby but we need to make sure you two stay close to the car. Drive down the road but stay close. Fischer is going to get his morning coffee and find parking, which is when you can grab him,” Eames explained.
“What about you two?” Ariadne asked.
“Don’t worry about us; we can take care of ourselves,” Arthur replied. Ariadne and Yusuf were both armed as well but Arthur did not want to rely on their shots. Ariadne had gotten her license since the IDCA incident and Yusuf was trained as well but not nearly enough to take out a gunman with Joe’s kind of training. “We’ll meet up at the safe house location that I gave you earlier.” They both nodded. “Then let’s go.”
---
Ariadne and Yusuf took their rental car and Arthur started down the street with Eames several paces behind him. It took almost no time to get to the hotel where Fischer was staying. The former CEO’s car was nearby and the driver looked far too indifferent considering who he was driving around. Arthur turned around and nodded to Eames who crossed the street and lingered nearby, acting as if he was having some sort of argument on his cellphone. Arthur, however, waited to see if he could spot Joe. There was no sign of the man and once Fischer was in his car it would be much harder to to take him out since he was going to be in meetings all day.
Fischer emerged from the hotel and made his way down the street to the coffee shop he frequented. Ariadne and Yusuf were parked on the side of the road looking over a map as if they were lost. That was when Arthur spotted Joe because the man had not even bothered to hide his face. He had managed to slip right next to Fischer without Arthur noticing. Fischer was walking out of the coffee shop when Joe raised his arm to fire a gun hidden in his coat jacket and Arthur moved. He tackled Fischer to the ground as the gun went off. The sound of screams filled the street as people fled. Joe stared at Arthur until he recognized him and raised the gun again. Another shot went off and Joe barely managed to side step in time. He scowled and took off running as Eames joined him.
“Bugger got lucky with too many civilians around,” he said as Arthur moved away from Fischer whom he had managed to knock out. There was also a deep graze on his arm from the bullet that had narrowly missed going into his chest. Ariadne opened the back door and Arthur hauled Fischer into the back seat.
“We can’t let him just get away. Drive and we’ll see you later.” Arthur did not wait for Ariadne to argue before he took off after Joe. Eames was right beside him and they barely managed to see the would-be assassin duck down an alley. Arthur pulled out his gun and nodded to Eames. Eames nodded and the two of them rounded the corner slowly, making their way in the direction Joe had gone.
---
Eames had Arthur’s back as they walked down the alley toward Joe. As they came to the end of the alley it split into two directions and the logical thing would be to split up, yet all Eames could remember was the Shatner job where they had split up and nearly gotten each other killed. He was not going to do that again, because the thought of not being able to help Arthur made his stomach hurt. Arthur turned the corner as Eames watched the other alley but there was no sign of Joe. He was about to suggest that they move on when he saw movement down his alley.
“This way,” he said and Arthur followed. Arthur glanced around the corner just in time for someone to hit his hand with a metal rod. Arthur dropped the gun and Eames pulled Arthur out of the way. His wrist looked okay, maybe sprained, but his gun was out of his reach. Eames turned the corner and ducked to avoid a crowbar to the skull. Half a dozen men swarmed him and started throwing punches and swinging blunt objects. Arthur was on his feet trying to pull the men off but another half dozen swarmed Arthur. Eames felt a punch connect with his jaw just as he saw a kick take Arthur’s legs out from underneath him. Eames did not back down and three of the men hit the ground bleeding and with broken bones. Arthur had taken down four but one of the remaining two landed a sharp kick to Arthur’s stomach, enough to knock the wind out of him. They surrounded him. Eames threw another punch but the two men managed to grab his arms, twisting them painfully behind his back.
Eames could feel blood running from his previous injuries that had not healed entirely and he felt a little nauseous from the pain. Arthur did not look much better with a split lip and a cut on his temple. They looked at each other, not saying a word, until Joe emerged from around the corner. Arthur began to struggle but one of the men holding him twisted Arthur’s wrist enough to subdue him.
“Arthur and Eames. I’d say I’m surprised to see you here but I’m not,” Joe said cracking his knuckles. “There is a considerable price on your heads that I plan on investing in.” He walked forward and glared at Arthur. “I know all about you, both of you, and I know how close you are. Everyone in the business knows which is just so sloppy of you. Don’t you know what can happen when you’re close to someone?” Arthur did not reply but Joe did not act like he was expecting one. Instead he turned to Eames and backhanded him hard enough that he saw stars. “Talk, Arthur, or this is going to get worse.” Joe punched him again and his damaged nose exploded in white hot pain. Arthur was struggling now but Joe turned and hit him with something; Arthur went down hard. The men threw him to the ground and kicked him in the stomach, hard enough that he should have stayed down. But Eames was pretty sure it was just an act to get the men to drop their guard. Joe pulled out a phone and dialed a number.
“Yeah, hi, tell him I got two of them alive,” Joe said looking impatient. “Well, patch me through then, we have a deal to sort out.”
Eames looked at Arthur as he waited for some sort of movement from the point man; he was not sure he could take all of them in this state. Arthur cracked an eye open and smirked just a little. The four men were standing close by and that was all the motivation Eames needed to kick one of them in the shin hard enough that he went down. Without wasting a moment he snatched the gun from one of the men and shot Joe in the leg. The other man went down just as he turned to witness Arthur breaking the last thug’s neck.
Joe’s gun was just out of reach as the two of them walked forward and his phone was close by; the call was still connected. Eames trained his gun on the whimpering man as Arthur picked up the phone. He clicked a few buttons, activating the speakerphone.
“Mr. Saito, I’m glad you decided to take this call,” Arthur said.
“Arthur, and Eames I’m assuming is there as well. It’s lovely to hear from both of you. How are things? Going well?” Saito asked.
“Fan-fucking-tastic how nice of you to ask,” Eames snapped but Arthur shook his head. Dealing with someone like Saito was better left in Arthur’s hands.
“I’m going to find evidence that you are hiring these men to kill us,” Arthur said evenly.
“There won’t be anything to find. I’ve done no such thing, of course,” Saito replied.
“No? What about the civilians that have died? I’m sure their families would love to start an investigation. How would your reputation fair against the murder of a teenager and her father?” Arthur sounded sure of himself but there was doubt in his tone that no one else would notice. The line was silent for a long time until Arthur nodded at Eames. He fired a shot into Joe’s head. “That was the sound of your assassin dying. I decided to skip the part where he pretends he’ll turn you in. I’m going to find something on you.”
“I’d watch your step, Mr. Cohen, and you as well, Mr. Eames, because this is a dangerous road you are walking down. Making me angry was not a good idea.” The line went dead and Arthur tossed the phone in the trash. No one was going to be able to trace the call anyway, Eames was sure of that, and they needed to get away from this alley. Eames clicked his gun’s safety on and wrapped an arm around Arthur as the other man did the same. They supported each other as they walked away from the dead and dying men.
---
They managed to make it to the safe house without anyone asking too many questions. They stumbled and acted drunk, even singing a few songs, until the house came into view. Only then did some of the tension leak from Arthur’s shoulders. Eames winced when he saw the wound on Arthur’s head; head wounds were such a bitch because they bled so much. Two quick knocks and Ariadne practically threw the door open. He was about to lecture her about caution and being armed when she gasped.
“What happened to being able to take care of yourselves?” she demanded, pulling them into the house.
“We’re alive?” Eames offered, flashing his most charming smile which did not faze Ariadne in the slightest.
“Fischer has been awake for the last ten minutes whining and bitching around ransoms and what not and we can’t get him to shut up.” Ariadne handed them both towels which Eames pressed to his nose.
“Let’s go meet him face to face then,” Arthur said pressing the towel to his head. Eames walked through the house with Ariadne and Arthur as they made their way through the small corridors. As they opened the door they found Yusuf sitting with a gun looking bored as Fischer sat in a chair looking annoyed. He blinked when he saw Arthur.
“You’re the one who saved me from that gunman,” Fischer said. “So, do you want a reward or something of that sort, because we can pay.”
“We don’t want a reward. We need your help,” Arthur said frankly. Fischer narrowed his eyes.
“I know you,” he said pointing at Eames. “Why do I remember you, in a cab or somewhere like that?” Eames could feel Arthur’s eyes on him, warning him to be careful about what he said next, but Eames decided that sugar coating or skirting around the issue was not going to work here. He decided to be blunt.
“Mr. Fischer, you know me because I invaded your dreams in the airplane going from Sydney to Los Angeles the week your father died. All of my co-workers here did, actually, and we were hired by Saito Hiroshi to implant an idea into your head. That idea was for you to break up your company and it worked. Any questions?” Arthur, Ariadne and Yusuf were all staring at him like he had gone completely mad. Fischer, on the other hand, stared at him not moving. Eames was a few steps away from Fischer which made it all the more surprising when the former CEO jumped to his feet and punched him square across the jaw. Arthur had a gun on him in seconds but Eames blinked as he rubbed his jaw; Fischer had a good right hook.
“Did you get that out of your system?” Arthur asked though there was a hint of what could only be amusement in his voice. “Now sit down, we’re not done talking.” Fischer did as he was told but continued to glare at all of them. “Now the problem that we need help with is something that should interest you as well. Saito has decided to tie up the loose ends from the inception we performed on you by putting bounties on all of us, including you. That man who tried to kill you today was one of many who will continue trying unless you help us. In exchange for protection we need your help to find some way of either getting rid of the bounties or getting rid of Saito.” Fischer stared at them, not saying a word, until Ariadne knelt down in front of him.
“Can you honestly remember why it felt like a good idea to break up your company? Why you suddenly thought your father wanted you to ‘be your own man?’ Why the pinwheel was so important?” Ariadne said softly and that seemed to get Fischer’s attention. Eames was fairly sure he was not going to hit a girl and that Ariadne was probably trying to win him over with her doe eyes. Fischer swallowed and looked at all of them.
“You saved my life; now I guess I can save yours,” he said. Eames could not hide the small smile that formed on his face. They were finally getting somewhere.
---
Only after they locked Fischer in a room for the night, because they were not entirely sure if the man would run, did Arthur finally have time to look over his injuries. It was going to be weeks before he was 100% again and there was no telling when Saito would try to kill them again. It would be harder to get out of the country with Fischer but he also had no idea where they should go next. And he had no idea how to deal with their current situation. Telling Saito that he would report his connection to the civilian deaths was a bluff because it would just expose them and there was no way they would last a day in jail. Saito would have someone on the inside in hours and Arthur would be bleeding out in his cell before he got a phone call.
He turned down Ariadne’s offer to help with tending to their wounds but pulled Eames along to their room. He pulled out a first aid kit and began to clean Eames’ knuckles, which were caked with dirt and split open. Eames watched him do this but did not flinch even after antiseptic was added.
“Ten silent minutes went by. “Arthur,” Eames said.
“I don’t want to talk about it, Eames,” Arthur replied as he looked over his friend’s nose. It was not broken, but it was going to be sore for a long time. He put a bandage over it and tried to ignore the blood.
“You’re freaking out on me.”
“I’m not. Are you going to take a look at my head or just let me sit here and bleed?” Arthur took the towel away hoping it would be enough to change the subject.
“You need some time to clear your head. Hell, I do too, this is just as stressful on me as well.” Eames looked over the cut clinically. “You don’t need stitches.”
“Good because that would be a bitch. And I’d love to know where we will get the time. If you haven’t noticed people are gunning for us as if we somehow personally offended them.” Arthur rubbed his eyes and tried to get his nerves to calm down but it didn’t work. Okay, maybe I’m freaking out a little, but Eames did not need him to say that. Instead Eames reached under their bed and pulled out their PASIV.
“Five minutes will give us an hour to get our thoughts straight. I think we can spare fifteen to try and figure out our next move,” Eames said. He put the machine at the foot of the bed, knowing that Arthur was going to agree, because that made sense. Eames eased Arthur back on the bed and carefully inserted the needle into his wrist, lying down next to him. He looked at Arthur for confirmation and he nodded once. The last thing he saw as the world bled away was Eames watching him.
---
The dream was a city that he had been working on for years and Arthur was growing quite proud of it. It had elements from all of his favorite places, tweaked so they were just a little off. Every now and then they would pass a building that was leaning too far to one side but somehow looked stable just the same. It was a comfortable dream and he was confident that his projections wouldn’t be a problem. Eames had been in his mind so much that he was fairly sure that even his subconscious knew the man was not a threat. Sometimes that thought made Arthur panic a little and he saw that same panic in Eames when his projections did not go after Arthur either. Knowing someone as comfortably as they did, to the point that their security would ignore the other, was worrisome yet it never came up in actual conversation.
“Why don’t we go sit in that cafe from Venice that you love so much?” Eames suggested as they walked down the city streets.
“I think that sounds good,” Arthur replied. His mind was a mess right now and the weather in the city looked like a storm was brewing. It meant he was stressed out and that he needed to find a way to get everything under control. If Eames noticed he did not say anything but Arthur found himself walking a little closer than he needed to as they came to the cafe. They did not order anything, since eating in dreams was pointless, and took seats outside. “There is something I’m missing and I can’t for the life of me figure out what it is.”
“So you don’t think trying to connect Saito to those murders is a good idea.” Eames made it a statement, not a question, because of course he knew Arthur had been bluffing on the phone.
“I want him to squirm, just a little, because he might slip up somehow. If we can get something, anything, we can blackmail him for our freedom without any problems. Saito is a practical man, that’s why he’s doing this, and he values his business more than anything else.” Arthur sighed as he looked out at the city, his projections walking by and eying the sky warily; he really hoped it would not rain.
“No one is completely clean. You and I both know that, so there has to be something out there.” Eames frowned deeply and ran his hands through his hair. “If this was anyone else I would suggest just doing an extraction but we won’t get anywhere near him at this point.” Arthur was about to agree when he saw someone moving toward them out of the corner of his eye. He was about to pull a gun without looking at the projection when a warm hand touched his shoulder.
“Oh, you silly boys, you already have what you need,” a smooth voice laced with a French accent said, and Mal took a seat at their table. Arthur eyed Eames but Eames was too busy staring at the woman like she was a ghost. “Oh, stop staring, Daniel, of course one of you has a projection of me running around.”
“Forgive me for being a little on edge then. Since you’re my subconscious, I’m assuming you understand why,” Eames replied.
“Ah, but whose projection am I?” she asked with a smile. “Not that it matters, because I’m here to help you.”
“Help us,” Arthur repeated as Mal rested her chin on her hand and looked at him fondly. She looked happy and content in a way that Cobb’s projection had never been. She looked the way he remembered her.
“Yes, help you, because neither of you wants to die and I know that. Now, you said that getting inside Saito’s head would provide something you could use against him, yes?” Mal asked.
“Yes, we did just say that,” Arthur replied. She did not move to hurt either of them. The Mal that had haunted Dom had never been this subtle and it made him want to trust her a little. Even then he kept a hand close to his gun and knew Eames was doing the same.
“Oh you silly, silly boys, you seem to think getting into his head would be impossible,” she said smiling.
“Not impossible but bloody difficult and possibly suicidal,” Eames grumbled.
“My dears, why do you need to go into his head when you’ve already been there?” Mal asked. Arthur blinked as he stared at the table. He had not thought about the failed Cobol job, because that was the thing that had lad to this entire mess. They had been in Saito’s head that night but had left empty handed.
“I wasn’t the one who looked at the information, and Cobb has no doubt forgotten it by now,” Arthur said.
“Oh things are never really forgotten if you look hard enough.” Mal flagged down a waiter and ordered a cup of coffee.
“Are you suggesting we do an extraction on the best extractor in the business?” Eames asked and he laughed a little. “There is no way Cobb will let us dig around in his head. He told me that he seems to think that just plugging in will somehow make everything fall apart. He seems to think that the walls will come crumbling down and he’ll be trapped. In fact I’m not entirely sure he wouldn’t slam the door in our faces right now.”
“Who said anything about permission?” And this was the Mal that Arthur remembered. This was the woman who had been willing to go into the minds of war victims and psychotics because they fascinated her. “Daniel, Arthur, do either of you really have time to think this over? If anyone has what you need to bring Saito down it’s in my husband’s head. The fact that I’m here and suggesting it means that one of you is considering it.”
“This self aware projection thing is weird,” Arthur said and he took a deep breath, releasing it slowly. “What do you think, Eames?”
“I think he’d never forgive you,” Eames replied without hesitation. “However, he would be alive and safe, and we would be as well. We need to weigh the pros and cons of losing Cobb’s trust.”
“You already know the answer to that,” Mal said as she sipped the coffee the waiter had brought her. “And Daniel is right, he wouldn’t forgive you but I also know you adore my children and don’t want them hurt or alone in this world.” She set the coffee aside and leaned on the table to look at both of them. “I’ll leave you boys to your planning.” She stood and looked down at both of them for a moment before kissing both of their cheeks. “Please, keep my husband and children safe for me.” Without another word Mal turned and walked away from the café, coffee in hand. Arthur watched her vanish into the crowd and released the breath he had not known he was holding.
“Well, you were right about self aware projections being weird,” Eames deadpanned and Arthur scoffed. “She’s right though; somewhere in Cobb’s head, there’s something he saw in that safe that Saito didn’t feel it was necessary to hide. It also sounds like our best shot. I can’t speak for whether Ariadne or Yusuf would be willing to go against Cobb like this but I know that I’m in.” What Eames was really saying was that they were in this together no matter what it took. Arthur already knew that but it was still nice to hear that he would always have that support.
“Let’s get topside; we have an extraction on Dominic Cobb to plan.”
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