I Took A Ride To Meet An Enemy 7/7
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. There could not possibly be a worse person to have as an enemy. 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 Seven
Arthur blinked and the dream began to focus. He was standing on the sidewalk of the small town where he had sent Cobb and the kids. It was supposed to be a place far enough away that people would overlook it if they were searching for Cobb. It was far to the north and if credit card statements were to be believed Cobb and company had last been seen heading south. Arthur knew it would only keep people distracted for so long but he also knew that if it bought them any time he was okay with it. Cobb had been instructed not to leave the house so the actual city was just one giant maze. If all went according to plan Cobb would not leave the house at all and he should not suspect anything until he woke up. He would know the needle mark right away, Arthur thought, as he walked down the street to a small building. He knocked twice and the door opened.
Ariadne smiled and stepped aside to let him in. Eames and Fischer were both already there. Fischer looked a little anxious but if he had any reservations he was keeping them to himself. There was too much going on for him to worry about what Fischer was going to screw up.
“Ariadne, Fischer, you are both going to stay near the house but out of sight. Don’t do anything to tip off Cobb’s security. Eames and I will go see Cobb and Eames will plant the idea that he needs to think about what happened that night we tried to extract from Saito. Ariadne, we’ll pick you up and you stay with Cobb in the house. Fischer will come with Eames and I and we’ll go look for the memory,” Arthur explained.
“What if security catches on while I’m there?” Ariadne asked.
“Try to convince him for as long as possible that it’s someone gunning for you,” Eames replied. “But make sure you call and let us know. If he dies the entire thing will fall apart.”
“Are we ready?” Arthur asked and they all nodded. There was a car waiting for them outside since stealing one might tip Cobb off. There was no telling what could set the man off but as Arthur made his way down the main street it looked like his mind was fairly calm. He was also on the lookout for Mal but if she was around she was not making herself known. Ariadne mentioned that Cobb had let her go in limbo but that did not mean she was not still here. It was hard to remove someone completely from your subconscious. Arthur parked the car a block away and climbed out. Ariadne and Fischer stayed behind as he walked with Eames down the street.
“Just go along with anything I say,” Eames said.
“It would be stupid not to,” Arthur replied because that was the way things were. They knocked on the door and Arthur listened to the movement inside. He hoped Cobb had common sense and would check the window instead of the peephole so no one would put a bullet between his eyes. A curtain to the right moved just a little and then the door opened. Cobb looked the same, if a little tired, and even a little relieved to see them.
“Arthur, Eames, I didn’t think I’d ever hear from you guys again.”
“Oh you should know it’s not that easy to kill us,” Eames said, walking through the open door. Arthur followed and Cobb looked like he was about to hug one or both of them but stopped at the last second.
“I know. I was just getting worried. The kids are also starting to get a little stir crazy since we’re inside so much. Not that I’m not thankful for what you guys have done for us.” Cobb smiled and led them through the house. “So what do you know?”
“It’s Saito,” Arthur said; Cobb’s face slowly drained of color.
“He’s getting rid of the ‘evidence,’,” Eames grumbled. “Which is why we’re here, actually. Ariadne is out of Paris but we need a place where she can hole up until we figure out what to do. Can she stay?”
“Of course, of course.” Cobb waved them off but seemed to be processing the information. “What are you going to do?”
“We need to find something to hold over his head to make him call off the assassins.” Eames slid his hands in his pockets and managed to look very casual. “Arthur has already looked over his information but we were wondering if you remembered anything from the extraction you tried to pull on him. Right now, we aren’t safe and we need something to go on.”
“Anything you remember would be of help. Even if it seems insignificant, tell me anyway because we’re running out of time. We can only stay a step ahead of these people for so long.” Arthur crossed his arms and stared at Cobb intently because Cobb was not the only one who could make people uncomfortable by staring, or in Cobb’s case, squinting at them. Arthur had wondered whether Cobb would ask to have an extraction performed on him but it did not seem likely. An aware mind was always much more twitchy. Cobb frowned as he thought it over but sighed heavily after a few moments.
“The only thing we have on him is his mistress and I don’t think he’s going to call off a hit to save his marriage. Even more so since he obviously didn’t care about it to begin with,” Cobb said with righteous indignation that made Arthur want to roll his eyes straight out of his head. Instead he glanced at his watch and elbowed Eames.
“We need to pick up Ariadne from the bus stop,” Eames said. “Keep thinking about that job and call us if you remember anything.”
“I will, don’t worry,” Cobb said as they walked out the door. Arthur was on edge as he watched the projections walk by. They had not seemed to notice them yet, but there was no telling when Cobb’s mind would turn on them. Ariadne looked more than a little relieved to see them when they walked around the corner.
“How did it go?” she asked.
“He’s thinking about it which is what we need. Now we just need to figure out where he’s hiding his information and go from there. Are you armed?” Eames asked. Ariadne pulled aside her jacket and revealed a hidden shoulder holster. “Good. Now go to his house and don’t go anywhere. Keep him thinking about Saito if you can.”
“Be careful,” Fischer blurted out of nowhere. Ariadne stared at him and nodded slowly as she walked toward the house. Arthur waited until she rounded the corner to turn to Fischer and Eames.
“Let’s go.” The three of them started down toward the city street. It was crowded with projections but none of them seemed agitated.
“Memories aren’t like information,” Eames said as they walked. “We’re asking him to remember something he probably was not even consciously thinking about. The information he got from the safe was not what he was looking for so he disregarded it.”
“So the bank is out because why guard a memory?” Arthur said as he looked from building to building.
“What about the library?” Fischer offered and they both turned to look at him at the same time. “What? Memories are like archives and that’s basically what a library is. That or a computer.”
“It’s worth a shot,” Arthur replied. Fischer looked apprehensive when Eames snickered at the private joke but did not press the matter. Instead they walked until the city library came into view. The moment they set foot on the stairs the entire feeling of the dream changed. “Don’t stop and don’t turn around,” he said harshly when Fischer hesitated on the stairs. He could feel the eyes of every single person on the street burning a hole through his back. When Eames touched the door to the library a mob raced towards them.
“Get in!” he screamed shoving Fischer through the door. Arthur pulled out his Glock and shot three projections dead as he went in the door with Eames. Fischer was pushing a large desk against the door as Arthur helped him. It was an old building, fortunately, so there was not much in the way of windows.
“Flank out and secure the area,” Arthur said. “You cover my back, Fischer. If I get shot I’m shooting you when we wake up, got it?” Fischer pulled out his gun but did not respond. Arthur made his way further into the small library. There were several patrons inside that he shot on sight as he locked the windows. “Clear!”
“Clear!” Eames called back and they made their way back to the main room. Arthur picked up a random book as he was walking along and opened it. It was a memory, one from the first time Cobb met Mal, written in detail within the pages. He was in the middle of flipping through the book when Eames joined them in the room.
“Fischer was right; these are all memories,” Arthur said. He handed the book to Eames who looked through the pages.
“I guess this gives credit to the ‘my life is an open book’ statement,” he deadpanned.
“That was awful,” Arthur replied as he snatched the book back and set it aside. “There is some order here so look in the obvious places and go from there. If you see any movement say something but don’t hesitate to shoot. They’re going to get in here sooner or later.”
“I’ll take E for extraction and C for Cobol,” Eames said. “Fischer, you go with Arthur to look through I for inception and S for Saito. We’ll meet back here if we don’t find anything and look through J.” Arthur nodded and made his way through the library to the S section. The books had labels but most of them did not seem to make much sense. The entire building shook once but Arthur did not notice. There were volumes with Saito written on them and he had no idea what to possibly look for. He rounded a corner and only vaguely registered that Mal was standing in front of him before she shot him in the leg (Again? Seriously?).
“Arthur, I have to say that I’m surprised to see you here,” she said calmly. Arthur’s entire leg felt like it was on fire and his knee was a bloody mess of skin and bone.
“Keep looking!” he called out because he knew Eames was coming. He just hoped Fischer was not going to be an idiot and try to take on the projection of Mal Cobb.
“Yes, tell them to keep looking, but why don’t you just tell me what you’re looking for?” she asked pointing the gun at his forehead. Arthur had weathered through this type of pain before, but he was still annoyed that he had to do it again.
“I thought he got rid of you,” he said through his teeth.
“Rid of me? No, not really, I’m here as personal security now. I know I’m a projection but that also means I know you’re not supposed to be here.” Mal smiled warmly but it faded as she looked around. “Eames is here, Eames is always where you are, but there’s someone else.”
“It’s just the two of us,” Arthur lied. Mal glared at him and pointed her gun at his other knee. If she shot him again Arthur was fairly sure he would not be able to walk in the real world for a week. Mal’s finger hovered over the trigger for a moment until she moved it and fired right in front of her just as another bullet missed her. Fischer fell to the ground, blood pooling around his stomach.
“Robert Fischer. How surprising. I must say I’m surprised that I have not seen you here considering what he did to you. My husband does love his guilt complexes.” Mal looked thoughtful for a moment. “Ah, however, he would have to feel guilty for brain washing you. And now you’re here helping them? I’m shocked.”
“I’m a businessman,” Fischer said through his teeth. “And I know that it was just business for Arthur and everyone else. Saito is the one that deserves my rage.”
“How enlightened,” Mal mused. “Now, would you like to slowly bleed out or would you like me to end this quickly? Maybe you can watch the show as I make dear Arthur explain to me what you’re doing. I’d extract the information you, but you’d be too easy. My husband does love a challenge.” Arthur let his head fall back as he tried to think clearly again. Mal was going to torture him, which was not a first but they needed to get out of here before the rest of the projections broke in. Out of the corner of his eye Arthur spotted a small book hidden on the bottom shelf. It was smaller, easy to conceal, like something someone would forget about. It had Saito’s name on it and nothing else.
“Eames!” Arthur called out and he really hoped that he really hoped Eames understood what he was trying to say. Mal glared and pointed her gun at Arthur.
“Yes, come here, Eames, I’d love to see you again!” she called out. Her eyes were searching for Eames, her focus not on him, and Arthur slowly shifted his hand to the bookshelf, his fingers closing in on the spine. There was movement and Mal turned to fire. Arthur knew he would only be able to do this once before the pain was too much to handle. As soon as she raised her gun Arthur kicked her legs out from underneath her.
“Now!” Arthur shouted. The gun went off as she fell and Arthur threw the book down the hall. Eames was there in a second, book in hand, pointing his gun at Mal.
“You can be a right bitch, you know that?” he said as she smirked from her position on the floor.
“Oh my dear, you shouldn’t speak ill of the dead,” Mal replied as a window shattered. “I truly hope that you found what you’re looking for because they’re coming.” Eames did not hesitate to put a bullet through Mal’s head and another through Fischer’s.
“Don’t kick me out yet,” Arthur said through his teeth. “Drag me to a back floor and hole us up. We need to get every detail of that book.”
“I really fucking hate you sometimes,” Eames muttered as he pulled Arthur’s arm over his shoulder. The pain in his leg was bad enough that for a second Arthur thought he was going to black out. He was fairly sure he did since the next time he looked up, they were inside a storage closet. “That won’t hold them for long.”
“Then let’s get to work.” Eames sat down next to him but hesitated. “Let’s just hope there’s something in here.” Eames opened the book and slowly grinned.
“Darling, it looks like our good karma is finally paying off,” Eames said.
“We don’t have any good karma. Just read,” Arthur snapped ignoring the pet name. Arthur read as fast as he could, committing every detail to memory. He pointedly ignored the fact that Cobb had taken Mal back to his room instead of shooting her in the dream which could have prevented a lot of their problems. Instead he read every detail of the information in the folder. The building shook and began to collapse around them; Cobb was dead then. The roof was going to cave in on them any second but they could not waste time kicking themselves out early. Arthur glanced at Eames and read until the roof fell in.
---
Eames snapped awake with a gasp, his last memory of the wind being crushed out of him by a falling roof. As the world around him came back into focus he realized that Cobb was being held back by Yusuf as Ariadne was trying to calm him down. Fischer was still lying on the floor coughing as if he could not catch his breath. Arthur was awake as well and was already reaching for the notebook next to the bed. Eames did the same as he wrote every detail from the papers onto the pages. Yusuf seemed to have a screaming Cobb handled for now and only when he was done did Eames stand and shove the man into a chair.
“Calm yourself down, bloody hell,” he grumbled.
“‘Calm down?’ You want me to ‘calm down?’ You come into this safe house, more than likely compromising it, then perform an extraction on me with Robert fucking Fischer? Are you working for him now?” Cobb sounded unhinged, the way he had the night he pointed a gun at Eames’ head after a bad extraction.
“Actually we’re working for each other,” Arthur explained calmly. “Saito wanted him dead, too, and we needed someone with the resources to help us get around without being noticed.”
“You let him into my head. Hell, you invited yourself into my head. What makes you think you ever had free reign of my brain?” Cobb snapped.
“Cobb, please, we were trying to find--” Ariadne began.
“I don’t want to hear it. I want all of you out right now. I won’t have you bringing this shit to my kids’ door anymore.” Cobb sounded like he was talking to all of them but he was glaring daggers at Arthur. “I don’t need you anymore so just leave, now, before you bring an assassin to my door.” It was a low blow and if he had not been looking for it Eames would have missed the twitch in the corner of Arthur’s mouth. Without another word Arthur packed up the PASIV and walked out of the room.
“You owe us your life but you owe more than that to him,” Eames said as he walked out the door.
“Fuck off, Eames, I don’t owe either of you anything,” Cobb snapped. Eames did not wait to hear what he would say to Ariadne. Yusuf was right behind him, but she emerged a few minutes after looking completely flabbergasted.
“He actually said he would shoot me if he ever saw me again,” she whispered. With anyone else Eames would have thought that was an empty threat.
“Don’t take that lightly,” Arthur warned as they packed up the car. The drive back to the city was awkwardly quiet but Eames was not in any hurry to talk. Fischer seemed much more subdued than he had been an hour ago. They walked into the apartment building as Arthur sat down to look at his notes.
“If it’s like that every time you die in a dream,” Fischer said, “I’m impressed.”
“Do we have anything useful?” Yusuf asked as Eames sat down as well. He was not sure if Arthur had anything he didn’t so they put their notebooks side by side and began to look over the information. There was plenty to see but Eames was not sure what half of it meant let alone if any of it was useful. When Fischer joined them he was tempted to tell Fischer to go away but if there was anyone who could look at this information and make sense of it, it was probably Fischer.
“What were you trying to steal?” Fischer asked as they looked over the papers.
“Expansion plans,” Arthur replied without looking up. “He knew we were coming and hid them from us so it didn’t matter.”
“This part here though.” Fischer leaned over Arthur’s shoulder to point at a paragraph and Eames had to ignore the line of red he was suddenly seeing with someone so close to Arthur. The jealousy, he was not so petty that he was not willing to admit that’s what it was, was quickly pushed aside to listen again. “Right here are the numbers listed for a number of accounts that are off shore that he uses to move money around.”
“We do that all the time,” Eames replied. “When you have money that is not strictly legal you like to keep it moving so no one can freeze it all at once. Saito being involved with something illegal is not surprising, though, considering who he was hiring and what he hired them to do.”
“There is a pattern though,” Arthur said softly. “He moves different amounts but always in the same order.”
“Exactly. You can stop a major movement and hold the money ransom until he calls off the hits on us. We tell him we only know about those accounts so if he tries anything we can just go back and do it all over again.” Fischer looked a little too pleased with himself.
“I’ll contact Saito and arrange a drop in public.” Arthur closed his notebook and opened his phone. “We’re just going to have to hope he goes for it.”
“He will because I’m going to present it to him,” Fisher announced, effectively freezing Arthur mid motion.
“I don’t think so,” Eames said scoffing.
“Either I do it or we don’t do it at all. You need me to get to the drop point because he probably has your identities completely frozen by now. Without me you’re stuck here waiting for him to shoot you,” Fischer insisted.
“He’ll just shoot you too,” Arthur said reasonably.
“Either you let me do the drop or you’ll have to find some other way of getting out of the city without any assassins killing you.” Fischer turned on his heel and walked out of the room. Eames was half tempted to knock the kid out and go from there but Arthur was already opening his computer and typing furiously.
“He’s right,” Arthur grumbled, rubbing his temples. “We’re locked in the city. If we tried to go anywhere that isn’t private we’d be shot on the spot. Half of the underground community is here combing the area and looking for us. I don’t think we could go get a cup of coffee right now let alone get to another city away from Cobb.”
“So Fischer has us backed into a corner now along with Saito,” Yusuf said slowly. “I’m starting to think getting shot is less complicated.”
“So Fischer has to do the drop,” Eames stated and Arthur nodded.
“Looks like Fischer is making the drop.”
---
There were a few small rooms in the apartment building that they had been living in for the past few weeks. By now almost all of their wounds from the various run ins had healed but Eames still felt his muscles scream at him if he moved a certain way. They had contacted Saito and agreed to meet him the next day in downtown Los Angeles. Fischer was going to try and negotiate despite the fact that it was the last thing Eames wanted to happen. The vein on Arthur’s forehead looked like it was going to burst, and it took a lot of coercing to keep Arthur from locking Fischer in a closet. Now it was the middle of the night and they were in their room, lying side by side on the bed, listening to the sounds of the city.
“Tomorrow we’re going to stand in a wide, open area, where anyone could take a shot at us, with a daddy’s boy who’s going to try and bargain for our lives. Is that what our plan generally comes down to?” Arthur asked.
“Pretty much. I think at this point we can both agree that nothing has been going the way we wanted it to since this job started. Without Fischer we’re locked in the city and we have no contacts that could get us out,” Eames replied.
“So, basically, there is a good chance we could be dead within the next few hours.”
“I think that’s pretty much what it comes down to, yes.” This was one of the moments in his life where Eames was not sure what he was supposed to do now. He was good with people, great with them even, but Arthur was not like most people. This was the person that he depended on, that he trusted more than anyone else, his best friend, and there was a good chance that he could die tomorrow and never see him again. The thought hurt much more than any punch or kick he had received in the last few months. “Do you remember the end of the Shatner job?”
“Yeah, I remember. We got split up and they broke into your mind to extract my location from you. We barely got out alive,” Arthur replied.
“Yes, and I had to stitch you up in that run down motel in Jersey. Then we decided that we had to break up because we were worried that someone was going to use one of us against the other,” Eames said and smiled to himself.
“Right, for all the good that ended up doing us. We had to break up and possibly never see each other again and even if we did we had to be total strangers.” Arthur shifted on the bed so that their shoulders touched. Their arms were at their sides and Eames could feel Arthur’s pinky barely touching his own. Eames could remember standing in the doorway of that motel and watching Arthur walk out of the door. He remembered how it had felt like someone he knew had died and he was watching the car drive away. Eames turned to look at Arthur just as Arthur turned to look at him.
“I don’t regret meeting you,” they both said at the same time, repeating Arthur’s words to him that day all of those years ago when they thought they might never see each other again. Now they were here again, looking at each other, knowing that this could be the end. Arthur smiled and Eames grinned back, knocking their shoulders together. Their fingers brushed as Arthur rolled over and climbed on Eames’ lap, sitting over him.
“So, last night on Earth, what should we do?” Arthur asked.
“Well, we could fuck,” Eames suggested resting his hands on Arthur’s hips; Arthur raised an eyebrow. “But that seems a little too cliche.”
“We can’t have that.”
“I’d suggest we could spar but that usually leads to fucking anyway. We could get shit faced but again with the cliche. I would hope that I’ve helped you evolve past the boring after so many years.” Arthur glared and rolled his eyes dramatically. “So why don’t I give you one last ass kicking in poker and call it good?”
Arthur grinned and leaned over so they were nose to nose. “You’re on.”
---
The annoying beeping of his alarm woke Arthur up. The last thing he wanted right now was to get up and deal with the fact that he had to find a way to keep them safe while essentially walking out into the open with targets on their heads. Eames was asleep next to him and they were closer than usual but that was just because of the bed’s smaller size. Arthur rolled onto his back and sighed heavily, staring at the ceiling.
“Only you could think loud enough to wake me up,” Eames said, his eyes still closed.
“I’ll try to fix that for next time,” Arthur replied. He intended to come off as sarcastic but the clench in his stomach would not go away. Eames opened his eyes and they stared at each other for what felt like the five hundredth time in the last few hours. Normally Eames was a constant source of inspiration but now it was almost like he was a distraction. Arthur could not focus on protecting everyone because he was too focused on losing what he was trying to protect in the first place. There was no way of escaping the stakes and no way of looking at it objectively. This is what it must feel like to be emotionally compromised, Arthur thought grimly as he climbed out of bed.
“So what’s the plan?” Eames asked, throwing the covers off.
“Yusuf will be on standby to mask our escape,” Arthur replied as he pulled on his pants and buttoned up his shirt.
“And what else?”
“There isn’t anything else.” Arthur turned and looked at Eames. “Saito won’t show if one of us is missing. Those were the terms of the agreement. There isn’t anything I can do.” Eames stared and Arthur waited for some sort of argument, for something along the lines of how it was his job to keep them safe, but Eames merely shrugged.
“We’ll do what we have to,” he replied. Something in Arthur’s stomach dropped at the thought that someone did not expect him to work miracles. “I know what you’re thinking. You’re not perfect, Arthur, and this entire situation not ideal. There isn’t anything any of us can do about it though so let’s just make the drop and hope for the best, okay?” Arthur knew what he wanted to say but words would not come. Instead he took three large steps forward and pulled Eames into a kiss. Normally they would push and pull like they always did but this time they just kissed. There was nothing more that needed to be said as they pulled away and continued to get dressed. Fischer was awake and drinking a cup of coffee when they entered. Arthur sat next to the former CEO and stared him down.
“If anyone dies today, anyone, I’m not going to hesitate to put a bullet between your eyes, do you hear me?” Arthur said carefully.
“You and Eames really need to get over your little protective streaks,” Fischer replied rolling his eyes.
“You should take us seriously,” Eames said sitting down on the other side of the man. Fischer did not seem impressed but the three of them drank their coffee in silence. Ariadne and Yusuf joined them not long after.
“Eames and I will escort Fischer to the drop. Yusuf, I need you to stay as close as you can to us but also out of sight. We don’t know what kind of security Saito has but I want you to use a smoke bomb to help us get out of there if we need to. Ariadne, I want you to stay close to Yusuf and keep your head down. You’re the one he’s least likely to take a shot at since you’re actually an upstanding citizen.” Arthur paused. “If anyone fires a shot, anyone, get out of the area right away. Go into hiding, stay as low key as possible; we’ll figure out what to do from there.” He wanted to tell them that they were going to be okay, but lying was not his forte. “Let’s go.”
Ariadne did not try to hide her fear and she hugged everyone except Fischer a little harder than necessary. Yusuf exchanged tight handshakes and did not let any fear sink into his eyes. They split up into the two cars with Ariadne and Yusuf hanging far back as Arthur went with Eames and took Fischer to the meeting place. It was in public but there were plenty of vantage points for snipers.
“I forgive you,” Fischer said suddenly.
“‘Forgive?’ Forgive us for what?” Eames asked.
“For the inception. I forgive you for breaking into my mind like you did. I know you were just doing what you were hired to do and it wasn’t personal. Aside from our current situation, I’m better off for it so I forgive you.” Fischer sounded like he was making some sort of monumental leap or coming to terms with something but all Arthur could do was stare at him through the rear view mirror.
“You’re right. It was just business, which is why we don’t need your forgiveness either,” Arthur replied coolly. Fischer glared but did not say anything else. Arthur parked the car a block from the drop off location and climbed out slowly. He had a pistol underneath his jacket tucked safely in a holster and another around his ankle but there was no way of making any of that known or easy to get to without risk. Arthur braced himself for gun fire the second he opened the door but none came. He nodded to Eames and the two of them scanned the area. The table in the middle of the fountain area was empty but they were also early. He could see Yusuf hiding in a safe spot but did not acknowledge him.
“Let’s go,” Eames said. Arthur nodded and the three of them walked out into the open. It was a lovely spring day, not too warm, and there were people walking and talking all around them. It was almost a little eerie for Arthur, like a dream, but he could not risk touching his totem. He looked up and saw Saito walking toward them from the opposite direction with two guards flanking him on either side. The businessman looked a little taken back when he saw them but it faded quickly. Still no one shot at them and they were the first to reach the table. It felt like an eternity before Saito joined them; no one sat down.
“Robert Fischer. I’m surprised that Arthur let you out in the open at all let alone allowed you to do this,” Saito said. Arthur clenched his fists but did not rise to the bait; neither did Fischer. “Now, you seem to think you have some sort of bargaining chip? Let’s see it so we can continue this little game.”
“Mr. Saito, I’m aware of the extraction job that Arthur tried to perform on you for Cobol Engineering. While I might not be an expert about the dreamshare program I do know that while they did not find what they were looking for, they were inside your head.” Fischer held up a folder containing all of the account information. “I have all of the account numbers for all of your ‘less than legal’ funds right here. In exchange for dropping the bounties you’ve placed on our heads I will give them to you.” Fischer did not wait for a response before opening the folder and pointing at the account numbers. Saito’s expression was smug but as soon as he saw the numbers his smile faded.
“And what’s to stop me from shooting all of you right now?” Saito asked darkly.
“The second I go longer than two hours without replying to Peter Browning in a very specific way, all of this information including plenty of evidence linking you to my death plus the deaths of a family and a graduate student will be released to the press.” Fischer crossed his arms. “Take the deal, Saito, because I’ll only offer it once.” Arthur blinked and glanced at Eames. Even if it was a bluff, he had to give the man credit for staring down the person who wanted him dead.
“How do I know you won’t release the information anyway?” Saito asked.
“You don’t. But you’re going to take the deal anyway, and do you know why?” Fischer smiled. “Because it would be bad business not to, and in the end, you’re a businessman, just like me and just like my father.” Arthur’s fingers twitched at his sides as he watched Saito’s guards. Saito looked at the three of them, smiling a little to himself, as he pulled out his phone and quickly dialed a number.
“Call off the bounties,” he said calmly. “And make sure that confirmation of the cancellations is sent to Arthur’s phone.” Saito hung up and studied Fischer. “You would have made a formidable opponent were we still enemies.”
“What you should take from this is that you don’t want me, or any of these other people, as enemies at all,” Fisher replied as Arthur’s phone beeped. Arthur picked it up and looked over the information that had been sent to him; from everyone that he trusted passing on that the bounty had been called off.
“We’re in the clear,” he said.
“A simple business transaction is all it takes, Saito?” Eames asked.
“Mr. Fischer is right; I’m a businessman who cannot turn down the best deal,” Saito replied as Fischer handed him the folder. “And as far as I’m concerned my business with all of you is finished.”
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. There could not possibly be a worse person to have as an enemy. 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 Seven
Arthur blinked and the dream began to focus. He was standing on the sidewalk of the small town where he had sent Cobb and the kids. It was supposed to be a place far enough away that people would overlook it if they were searching for Cobb. It was far to the north and if credit card statements were to be believed Cobb and company had last been seen heading south. Arthur knew it would only keep people distracted for so long but he also knew that if it bought them any time he was okay with it. Cobb had been instructed not to leave the house so the actual city was just one giant maze. If all went according to plan Cobb would not leave the house at all and he should not suspect anything until he woke up. He would know the needle mark right away, Arthur thought, as he walked down the street to a small building. He knocked twice and the door opened.
Ariadne smiled and stepped aside to let him in. Eames and Fischer were both already there. Fischer looked a little anxious but if he had any reservations he was keeping them to himself. There was too much going on for him to worry about what Fischer was going to screw up.
“Ariadne, Fischer, you are both going to stay near the house but out of sight. Don’t do anything to tip off Cobb’s security. Eames and I will go see Cobb and Eames will plant the idea that he needs to think about what happened that night we tried to extract from Saito. Ariadne, we’ll pick you up and you stay with Cobb in the house. Fischer will come with Eames and I and we’ll go look for the memory,” Arthur explained.
“What if security catches on while I’m there?” Ariadne asked.
“Try to convince him for as long as possible that it’s someone gunning for you,” Eames replied. “But make sure you call and let us know. If he dies the entire thing will fall apart.”
“Are we ready?” Arthur asked and they all nodded. There was a car waiting for them outside since stealing one might tip Cobb off. There was no telling what could set the man off but as Arthur made his way down the main street it looked like his mind was fairly calm. He was also on the lookout for Mal but if she was around she was not making herself known. Ariadne mentioned that Cobb had let her go in limbo but that did not mean she was not still here. It was hard to remove someone completely from your subconscious. Arthur parked the car a block away and climbed out. Ariadne and Fischer stayed behind as he walked with Eames down the street.
“Just go along with anything I say,” Eames said.
“It would be stupid not to,” Arthur replied because that was the way things were. They knocked on the door and Arthur listened to the movement inside. He hoped Cobb had common sense and would check the window instead of the peephole so no one would put a bullet between his eyes. A curtain to the right moved just a little and then the door opened. Cobb looked the same, if a little tired, and even a little relieved to see them.
“Arthur, Eames, I didn’t think I’d ever hear from you guys again.”
“Oh you should know it’s not that easy to kill us,” Eames said, walking through the open door. Arthur followed and Cobb looked like he was about to hug one or both of them but stopped at the last second.
“I know. I was just getting worried. The kids are also starting to get a little stir crazy since we’re inside so much. Not that I’m not thankful for what you guys have done for us.” Cobb smiled and led them through the house. “So what do you know?”
“It’s Saito,” Arthur said; Cobb’s face slowly drained of color.
“He’s getting rid of the ‘evidence,’,” Eames grumbled. “Which is why we’re here, actually. Ariadne is out of Paris but we need a place where she can hole up until we figure out what to do. Can she stay?”
“Of course, of course.” Cobb waved them off but seemed to be processing the information. “What are you going to do?”
“We need to find something to hold over his head to make him call off the assassins.” Eames slid his hands in his pockets and managed to look very casual. “Arthur has already looked over his information but we were wondering if you remembered anything from the extraction you tried to pull on him. Right now, we aren’t safe and we need something to go on.”
“Anything you remember would be of help. Even if it seems insignificant, tell me anyway because we’re running out of time. We can only stay a step ahead of these people for so long.” Arthur crossed his arms and stared at Cobb intently because Cobb was not the only one who could make people uncomfortable by staring, or in Cobb’s case, squinting at them. Arthur had wondered whether Cobb would ask to have an extraction performed on him but it did not seem likely. An aware mind was always much more twitchy. Cobb frowned as he thought it over but sighed heavily after a few moments.
“The only thing we have on him is his mistress and I don’t think he’s going to call off a hit to save his marriage. Even more so since he obviously didn’t care about it to begin with,” Cobb said with righteous indignation that made Arthur want to roll his eyes straight out of his head. Instead he glanced at his watch and elbowed Eames.
“We need to pick up Ariadne from the bus stop,” Eames said. “Keep thinking about that job and call us if you remember anything.”
“I will, don’t worry,” Cobb said as they walked out the door. Arthur was on edge as he watched the projections walk by. They had not seemed to notice them yet, but there was no telling when Cobb’s mind would turn on them. Ariadne looked more than a little relieved to see them when they walked around the corner.
“How did it go?” she asked.
“He’s thinking about it which is what we need. Now we just need to figure out where he’s hiding his information and go from there. Are you armed?” Eames asked. Ariadne pulled aside her jacket and revealed a hidden shoulder holster. “Good. Now go to his house and don’t go anywhere. Keep him thinking about Saito if you can.”
“Be careful,” Fischer blurted out of nowhere. Ariadne stared at him and nodded slowly as she walked toward the house. Arthur waited until she rounded the corner to turn to Fischer and Eames.
“Let’s go.” The three of them started down toward the city street. It was crowded with projections but none of them seemed agitated.
“Memories aren’t like information,” Eames said as they walked. “We’re asking him to remember something he probably was not even consciously thinking about. The information he got from the safe was not what he was looking for so he disregarded it.”
“So the bank is out because why guard a memory?” Arthur said as he looked from building to building.
“What about the library?” Fischer offered and they both turned to look at him at the same time. “What? Memories are like archives and that’s basically what a library is. That or a computer.”
“It’s worth a shot,” Arthur replied. Fischer looked apprehensive when Eames snickered at the private joke but did not press the matter. Instead they walked until the city library came into view. The moment they set foot on the stairs the entire feeling of the dream changed. “Don’t stop and don’t turn around,” he said harshly when Fischer hesitated on the stairs. He could feel the eyes of every single person on the street burning a hole through his back. When Eames touched the door to the library a mob raced towards them.
“Get in!” he screamed shoving Fischer through the door. Arthur pulled out his Glock and shot three projections dead as he went in the door with Eames. Fischer was pushing a large desk against the door as Arthur helped him. It was an old building, fortunately, so there was not much in the way of windows.
“Flank out and secure the area,” Arthur said. “You cover my back, Fischer. If I get shot I’m shooting you when we wake up, got it?” Fischer pulled out his gun but did not respond. Arthur made his way further into the small library. There were several patrons inside that he shot on sight as he locked the windows. “Clear!”
“Clear!” Eames called back and they made their way back to the main room. Arthur picked up a random book as he was walking along and opened it. It was a memory, one from the first time Cobb met Mal, written in detail within the pages. He was in the middle of flipping through the book when Eames joined them in the room.
“Fischer was right; these are all memories,” Arthur said. He handed the book to Eames who looked through the pages.
“I guess this gives credit to the ‘my life is an open book’ statement,” he deadpanned.
“That was awful,” Arthur replied as he snatched the book back and set it aside. “There is some order here so look in the obvious places and go from there. If you see any movement say something but don’t hesitate to shoot. They’re going to get in here sooner or later.”
“I’ll take E for extraction and C for Cobol,” Eames said. “Fischer, you go with Arthur to look through I for inception and S for Saito. We’ll meet back here if we don’t find anything and look through J.” Arthur nodded and made his way through the library to the S section. The books had labels but most of them did not seem to make much sense. The entire building shook once but Arthur did not notice. There were volumes with Saito written on them and he had no idea what to possibly look for. He rounded a corner and only vaguely registered that Mal was standing in front of him before she shot him in the leg (Again? Seriously?).
“Arthur, I have to say that I’m surprised to see you here,” she said calmly. Arthur’s entire leg felt like it was on fire and his knee was a bloody mess of skin and bone.
“Keep looking!” he called out because he knew Eames was coming. He just hoped Fischer was not going to be an idiot and try to take on the projection of Mal Cobb.
“Yes, tell them to keep looking, but why don’t you just tell me what you’re looking for?” she asked pointing the gun at his forehead. Arthur had weathered through this type of pain before, but he was still annoyed that he had to do it again.
“I thought he got rid of you,” he said through his teeth.
“Rid of me? No, not really, I’m here as personal security now. I know I’m a projection but that also means I know you’re not supposed to be here.” Mal smiled warmly but it faded as she looked around. “Eames is here, Eames is always where you are, but there’s someone else.”
“It’s just the two of us,” Arthur lied. Mal glared at him and pointed her gun at his other knee. If she shot him again Arthur was fairly sure he would not be able to walk in the real world for a week. Mal’s finger hovered over the trigger for a moment until she moved it and fired right in front of her just as another bullet missed her. Fischer fell to the ground, blood pooling around his stomach.
“Robert Fischer. How surprising. I must say I’m surprised that I have not seen you here considering what he did to you. My husband does love his guilt complexes.” Mal looked thoughtful for a moment. “Ah, however, he would have to feel guilty for brain washing you. And now you’re here helping them? I’m shocked.”
“I’m a businessman,” Fischer said through his teeth. “And I know that it was just business for Arthur and everyone else. Saito is the one that deserves my rage.”
“How enlightened,” Mal mused. “Now, would you like to slowly bleed out or would you like me to end this quickly? Maybe you can watch the show as I make dear Arthur explain to me what you’re doing. I’d extract the information you, but you’d be too easy. My husband does love a challenge.” Arthur let his head fall back as he tried to think clearly again. Mal was going to torture him, which was not a first but they needed to get out of here before the rest of the projections broke in. Out of the corner of his eye Arthur spotted a small book hidden on the bottom shelf. It was smaller, easy to conceal, like something someone would forget about. It had Saito’s name on it and nothing else.
“Eames!” Arthur called out and he really hoped that he really hoped Eames understood what he was trying to say. Mal glared and pointed her gun at Arthur.
“Yes, come here, Eames, I’d love to see you again!” she called out. Her eyes were searching for Eames, her focus not on him, and Arthur slowly shifted his hand to the bookshelf, his fingers closing in on the spine. There was movement and Mal turned to fire. Arthur knew he would only be able to do this once before the pain was too much to handle. As soon as she raised her gun Arthur kicked her legs out from underneath her.
“Now!” Arthur shouted. The gun went off as she fell and Arthur threw the book down the hall. Eames was there in a second, book in hand, pointing his gun at Mal.
“You can be a right bitch, you know that?” he said as she smirked from her position on the floor.
“Oh my dear, you shouldn’t speak ill of the dead,” Mal replied as a window shattered. “I truly hope that you found what you’re looking for because they’re coming.” Eames did not hesitate to put a bullet through Mal’s head and another through Fischer’s.
“Don’t kick me out yet,” Arthur said through his teeth. “Drag me to a back floor and hole us up. We need to get every detail of that book.”
“I really fucking hate you sometimes,” Eames muttered as he pulled Arthur’s arm over his shoulder. The pain in his leg was bad enough that for a second Arthur thought he was going to black out. He was fairly sure he did since the next time he looked up, they were inside a storage closet. “That won’t hold them for long.”
“Then let’s get to work.” Eames sat down next to him but hesitated. “Let’s just hope there’s something in here.” Eames opened the book and slowly grinned.
“Darling, it looks like our good karma is finally paying off,” Eames said.
“We don’t have any good karma. Just read,” Arthur snapped ignoring the pet name. Arthur read as fast as he could, committing every detail to memory. He pointedly ignored the fact that Cobb had taken Mal back to his room instead of shooting her in the dream which could have prevented a lot of their problems. Instead he read every detail of the information in the folder. The building shook and began to collapse around them; Cobb was dead then. The roof was going to cave in on them any second but they could not waste time kicking themselves out early. Arthur glanced at Eames and read until the roof fell in.
---
Eames snapped awake with a gasp, his last memory of the wind being crushed out of him by a falling roof. As the world around him came back into focus he realized that Cobb was being held back by Yusuf as Ariadne was trying to calm him down. Fischer was still lying on the floor coughing as if he could not catch his breath. Arthur was awake as well and was already reaching for the notebook next to the bed. Eames did the same as he wrote every detail from the papers onto the pages. Yusuf seemed to have a screaming Cobb handled for now and only when he was done did Eames stand and shove the man into a chair.
“Calm yourself down, bloody hell,” he grumbled.
“‘Calm down?’ You want me to ‘calm down?’ You come into this safe house, more than likely compromising it, then perform an extraction on me with Robert fucking Fischer? Are you working for him now?” Cobb sounded unhinged, the way he had the night he pointed a gun at Eames’ head after a bad extraction.
“Actually we’re working for each other,” Arthur explained calmly. “Saito wanted him dead, too, and we needed someone with the resources to help us get around without being noticed.”
“You let him into my head. Hell, you invited yourself into my head. What makes you think you ever had free reign of my brain?” Cobb snapped.
“Cobb, please, we were trying to find--” Ariadne began.
“I don’t want to hear it. I want all of you out right now. I won’t have you bringing this shit to my kids’ door anymore.” Cobb sounded like he was talking to all of them but he was glaring daggers at Arthur. “I don’t need you anymore so just leave, now, before you bring an assassin to my door.” It was a low blow and if he had not been looking for it Eames would have missed the twitch in the corner of Arthur’s mouth. Without another word Arthur packed up the PASIV and walked out of the room.
“You owe us your life but you owe more than that to him,” Eames said as he walked out the door.
“Fuck off, Eames, I don’t owe either of you anything,” Cobb snapped. Eames did not wait to hear what he would say to Ariadne. Yusuf was right behind him, but she emerged a few minutes after looking completely flabbergasted.
“He actually said he would shoot me if he ever saw me again,” she whispered. With anyone else Eames would have thought that was an empty threat.
“Don’t take that lightly,” Arthur warned as they packed up the car. The drive back to the city was awkwardly quiet but Eames was not in any hurry to talk. Fischer seemed much more subdued than he had been an hour ago. They walked into the apartment building as Arthur sat down to look at his notes.
“If it’s like that every time you die in a dream,” Fischer said, “I’m impressed.”
“Do we have anything useful?” Yusuf asked as Eames sat down as well. He was not sure if Arthur had anything he didn’t so they put their notebooks side by side and began to look over the information. There was plenty to see but Eames was not sure what half of it meant let alone if any of it was useful. When Fischer joined them he was tempted to tell Fischer to go away but if there was anyone who could look at this information and make sense of it, it was probably Fischer.
“What were you trying to steal?” Fischer asked as they looked over the papers.
“Expansion plans,” Arthur replied without looking up. “He knew we were coming and hid them from us so it didn’t matter.”
“This part here though.” Fischer leaned over Arthur’s shoulder to point at a paragraph and Eames had to ignore the line of red he was suddenly seeing with someone so close to Arthur. The jealousy, he was not so petty that he was not willing to admit that’s what it was, was quickly pushed aside to listen again. “Right here are the numbers listed for a number of accounts that are off shore that he uses to move money around.”
“We do that all the time,” Eames replied. “When you have money that is not strictly legal you like to keep it moving so no one can freeze it all at once. Saito being involved with something illegal is not surprising, though, considering who he was hiring and what he hired them to do.”
“There is a pattern though,” Arthur said softly. “He moves different amounts but always in the same order.”
“Exactly. You can stop a major movement and hold the money ransom until he calls off the hits on us. We tell him we only know about those accounts so if he tries anything we can just go back and do it all over again.” Fischer looked a little too pleased with himself.
“I’ll contact Saito and arrange a drop in public.” Arthur closed his notebook and opened his phone. “We’re just going to have to hope he goes for it.”
“He will because I’m going to present it to him,” Fisher announced, effectively freezing Arthur mid motion.
“I don’t think so,” Eames said scoffing.
“Either I do it or we don’t do it at all. You need me to get to the drop point because he probably has your identities completely frozen by now. Without me you’re stuck here waiting for him to shoot you,” Fischer insisted.
“He’ll just shoot you too,” Arthur said reasonably.
“Either you let me do the drop or you’ll have to find some other way of getting out of the city without any assassins killing you.” Fischer turned on his heel and walked out of the room. Eames was half tempted to knock the kid out and go from there but Arthur was already opening his computer and typing furiously.
“He’s right,” Arthur grumbled, rubbing his temples. “We’re locked in the city. If we tried to go anywhere that isn’t private we’d be shot on the spot. Half of the underground community is here combing the area and looking for us. I don’t think we could go get a cup of coffee right now let alone get to another city away from Cobb.”
“So Fischer has us backed into a corner now along with Saito,” Yusuf said slowly. “I’m starting to think getting shot is less complicated.”
“So Fischer has to do the drop,” Eames stated and Arthur nodded.
“Looks like Fischer is making the drop.”
---
There were a few small rooms in the apartment building that they had been living in for the past few weeks. By now almost all of their wounds from the various run ins had healed but Eames still felt his muscles scream at him if he moved a certain way. They had contacted Saito and agreed to meet him the next day in downtown Los Angeles. Fischer was going to try and negotiate despite the fact that it was the last thing Eames wanted to happen. The vein on Arthur’s forehead looked like it was going to burst, and it took a lot of coercing to keep Arthur from locking Fischer in a closet. Now it was the middle of the night and they were in their room, lying side by side on the bed, listening to the sounds of the city.
“Tomorrow we’re going to stand in a wide, open area, where anyone could take a shot at us, with a daddy’s boy who’s going to try and bargain for our lives. Is that what our plan generally comes down to?” Arthur asked.
“Pretty much. I think at this point we can both agree that nothing has been going the way we wanted it to since this job started. Without Fischer we’re locked in the city and we have no contacts that could get us out,” Eames replied.
“So, basically, there is a good chance we could be dead within the next few hours.”
“I think that’s pretty much what it comes down to, yes.” This was one of the moments in his life where Eames was not sure what he was supposed to do now. He was good with people, great with them even, but Arthur was not like most people. This was the person that he depended on, that he trusted more than anyone else, his best friend, and there was a good chance that he could die tomorrow and never see him again. The thought hurt much more than any punch or kick he had received in the last few months. “Do you remember the end of the Shatner job?”
“Yeah, I remember. We got split up and they broke into your mind to extract my location from you. We barely got out alive,” Arthur replied.
“Yes, and I had to stitch you up in that run down motel in Jersey. Then we decided that we had to break up because we were worried that someone was going to use one of us against the other,” Eames said and smiled to himself.
“Right, for all the good that ended up doing us. We had to break up and possibly never see each other again and even if we did we had to be total strangers.” Arthur shifted on the bed so that their shoulders touched. Their arms were at their sides and Eames could feel Arthur’s pinky barely touching his own. Eames could remember standing in the doorway of that motel and watching Arthur walk out of the door. He remembered how it had felt like someone he knew had died and he was watching the car drive away. Eames turned to look at Arthur just as Arthur turned to look at him.
“I don’t regret meeting you,” they both said at the same time, repeating Arthur’s words to him that day all of those years ago when they thought they might never see each other again. Now they were here again, looking at each other, knowing that this could be the end. Arthur smiled and Eames grinned back, knocking their shoulders together. Their fingers brushed as Arthur rolled over and climbed on Eames’ lap, sitting over him.
“So, last night on Earth, what should we do?” Arthur asked.
“Well, we could fuck,” Eames suggested resting his hands on Arthur’s hips; Arthur raised an eyebrow. “But that seems a little too cliche.”
“We can’t have that.”
“I’d suggest we could spar but that usually leads to fucking anyway. We could get shit faced but again with the cliche. I would hope that I’ve helped you evolve past the boring after so many years.” Arthur glared and rolled his eyes dramatically. “So why don’t I give you one last ass kicking in poker and call it good?”
Arthur grinned and leaned over so they were nose to nose. “You’re on.”
---
The annoying beeping of his alarm woke Arthur up. The last thing he wanted right now was to get up and deal with the fact that he had to find a way to keep them safe while essentially walking out into the open with targets on their heads. Eames was asleep next to him and they were closer than usual but that was just because of the bed’s smaller size. Arthur rolled onto his back and sighed heavily, staring at the ceiling.
“Only you could think loud enough to wake me up,” Eames said, his eyes still closed.
“I’ll try to fix that for next time,” Arthur replied. He intended to come off as sarcastic but the clench in his stomach would not go away. Eames opened his eyes and they stared at each other for what felt like the five hundredth time in the last few hours. Normally Eames was a constant source of inspiration but now it was almost like he was a distraction. Arthur could not focus on protecting everyone because he was too focused on losing what he was trying to protect in the first place. There was no way of escaping the stakes and no way of looking at it objectively. This is what it must feel like to be emotionally compromised, Arthur thought grimly as he climbed out of bed.
“So what’s the plan?” Eames asked, throwing the covers off.
“Yusuf will be on standby to mask our escape,” Arthur replied as he pulled on his pants and buttoned up his shirt.
“And what else?”
“There isn’t anything else.” Arthur turned and looked at Eames. “Saito won’t show if one of us is missing. Those were the terms of the agreement. There isn’t anything I can do.” Eames stared and Arthur waited for some sort of argument, for something along the lines of how it was his job to keep them safe, but Eames merely shrugged.
“We’ll do what we have to,” he replied. Something in Arthur’s stomach dropped at the thought that someone did not expect him to work miracles. “I know what you’re thinking. You’re not perfect, Arthur, and this entire situation not ideal. There isn’t anything any of us can do about it though so let’s just make the drop and hope for the best, okay?” Arthur knew what he wanted to say but words would not come. Instead he took three large steps forward and pulled Eames into a kiss. Normally they would push and pull like they always did but this time they just kissed. There was nothing more that needed to be said as they pulled away and continued to get dressed. Fischer was awake and drinking a cup of coffee when they entered. Arthur sat next to the former CEO and stared him down.
“If anyone dies today, anyone, I’m not going to hesitate to put a bullet between your eyes, do you hear me?” Arthur said carefully.
“You and Eames really need to get over your little protective streaks,” Fischer replied rolling his eyes.
“You should take us seriously,” Eames said sitting down on the other side of the man. Fischer did not seem impressed but the three of them drank their coffee in silence. Ariadne and Yusuf joined them not long after.
“Eames and I will escort Fischer to the drop. Yusuf, I need you to stay as close as you can to us but also out of sight. We don’t know what kind of security Saito has but I want you to use a smoke bomb to help us get out of there if we need to. Ariadne, I want you to stay close to Yusuf and keep your head down. You’re the one he’s least likely to take a shot at since you’re actually an upstanding citizen.” Arthur paused. “If anyone fires a shot, anyone, get out of the area right away. Go into hiding, stay as low key as possible; we’ll figure out what to do from there.” He wanted to tell them that they were going to be okay, but lying was not his forte. “Let’s go.”
Ariadne did not try to hide her fear and she hugged everyone except Fischer a little harder than necessary. Yusuf exchanged tight handshakes and did not let any fear sink into his eyes. They split up into the two cars with Ariadne and Yusuf hanging far back as Arthur went with Eames and took Fischer to the meeting place. It was in public but there were plenty of vantage points for snipers.
“I forgive you,” Fischer said suddenly.
“‘Forgive?’ Forgive us for what?” Eames asked.
“For the inception. I forgive you for breaking into my mind like you did. I know you were just doing what you were hired to do and it wasn’t personal. Aside from our current situation, I’m better off for it so I forgive you.” Fischer sounded like he was making some sort of monumental leap or coming to terms with something but all Arthur could do was stare at him through the rear view mirror.
“You’re right. It was just business, which is why we don’t need your forgiveness either,” Arthur replied coolly. Fischer glared but did not say anything else. Arthur parked the car a block from the drop off location and climbed out slowly. He had a pistol underneath his jacket tucked safely in a holster and another around his ankle but there was no way of making any of that known or easy to get to without risk. Arthur braced himself for gun fire the second he opened the door but none came. He nodded to Eames and the two of them scanned the area. The table in the middle of the fountain area was empty but they were also early. He could see Yusuf hiding in a safe spot but did not acknowledge him.
“Let’s go,” Eames said. Arthur nodded and the three of them walked out into the open. It was a lovely spring day, not too warm, and there were people walking and talking all around them. It was almost a little eerie for Arthur, like a dream, but he could not risk touching his totem. He looked up and saw Saito walking toward them from the opposite direction with two guards flanking him on either side. The businessman looked a little taken back when he saw them but it faded quickly. Still no one shot at them and they were the first to reach the table. It felt like an eternity before Saito joined them; no one sat down.
“Robert Fischer. I’m surprised that Arthur let you out in the open at all let alone allowed you to do this,” Saito said. Arthur clenched his fists but did not rise to the bait; neither did Fischer. “Now, you seem to think you have some sort of bargaining chip? Let’s see it so we can continue this little game.”
“Mr. Saito, I’m aware of the extraction job that Arthur tried to perform on you for Cobol Engineering. While I might not be an expert about the dreamshare program I do know that while they did not find what they were looking for, they were inside your head.” Fischer held up a folder containing all of the account information. “I have all of the account numbers for all of your ‘less than legal’ funds right here. In exchange for dropping the bounties you’ve placed on our heads I will give them to you.” Fischer did not wait for a response before opening the folder and pointing at the account numbers. Saito’s expression was smug but as soon as he saw the numbers his smile faded.
“And what’s to stop me from shooting all of you right now?” Saito asked darkly.
“The second I go longer than two hours without replying to Peter Browning in a very specific way, all of this information including plenty of evidence linking you to my death plus the deaths of a family and a graduate student will be released to the press.” Fischer crossed his arms. “Take the deal, Saito, because I’ll only offer it once.” Arthur blinked and glanced at Eames. Even if it was a bluff, he had to give the man credit for staring down the person who wanted him dead.
“How do I know you won’t release the information anyway?” Saito asked.
“You don’t. But you’re going to take the deal anyway, and do you know why?” Fischer smiled. “Because it would be bad business not to, and in the end, you’re a businessman, just like me and just like my father.” Arthur’s fingers twitched at his sides as he watched Saito’s guards. Saito looked at the three of them, smiling a little to himself, as he pulled out his phone and quickly dialed a number.
“Call off the bounties,” he said calmly. “And make sure that confirmation of the cancellations is sent to Arthur’s phone.” Saito hung up and studied Fischer. “You would have made a formidable opponent were we still enemies.”
“What you should take from this is that you don’t want me, or any of these other people, as enemies at all,” Fisher replied as Arthur’s phone beeped. Arthur picked it up and looked over the information that had been sent to him; from everyone that he trusted passing on that the bounty had been called off.
“We’re in the clear,” he said.
“A simple business transaction is all it takes, Saito?” Eames asked.
“Mr. Fischer is right; I’m a businessman who cannot turn down the best deal,” Saito replied as Fischer handed him the folder. “And as far as I’m concerned my business with all of you is finished.”
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