Sweet Vendetta 1/3
Sweet Vendetta
Part One
The heat of the bar was stifling but Arthur didn’t care. There was an extremely important matter that he was taking care of. “The heat of the small Russian bar was stifling but Arthur didn’t care. There was an extremely important matter that he was taking care of. Eames, sitting on the other side of the table, was giving him nothing, not that this was anything new. Arthur had known Eames for more than five years and he still didn’t know the man’s tells. The blackjack dealer looked nervous as he stared at his own cards, the nineteen face up on the table. What had started as a small, meaningless game was now a tense moment, with a large pile of money sitting between them and spectators cheering for both players.
This was not an abnormal thing between the two of them. After a random meeting in a bar one night Eames was the person Arthur had worked with on his first dreams in the criminal underworld. After a terrible incident where they were used against each other and almost ended up dead Arthur and Eames decided not to work together anymore. If they would cross paths the plan was to act like they did not know each other. It went well for two years until Dominic Cobb and Mallorie Miles had called both of them in for a job. Cobb had pointed a gun at Eames and Arthur broke their cover story to save him. Arthur did not regret that, not for a second, and now a year later they had established themselves as one of the best pairs in the entirety of dreaming.
Eames smirked, as if he knew that Arthur was a little lost in his own head, and Arthur smirked back. The dealer looked between the two of them and waited.
“I’m ready,” Eames said.
“As am I,” Arthur replied. Eames got that look in his eye he always got when he either had a stupid idea or when he was going to do something that was awesome (but was probably illegal and/or was going to get them killed). He turned over his cards and smiled.
“Twenty,” Eames said and he reached for the money but Arthur snatched his wrist. Arthur grinned and turned over his cards.
“Twenty-one,” Arthur declared. The bar erupted into sounds of anguish and happiness as each of their fanbases reacted. Eames did not look annoyed or even upset by his loss as Arthur gathered the money. Eames threw back the last of his drink and the two of them made their way through the dispersing crowd to the bar.
“I hope you know the next round is on you,” Eames said.
“I wouldn’t count on that,” Arthur replied but he bought Eames another drink nevertheless. Eames did not call him on it, not that Arthur expected him to, since they were more or less a duo that shared everything these days. It was winter out and the amount of vodka in his system plus the heat was beginning to get to him a little. Arthur sat down at the bar and cracked his neck loudly.
“Count on it? Like you weren’t just counting cards?” Eames asked with a grin.
“Like you weren’t too,” Arthur replied flatly. Eames’ smile did not falter but he did not deny it either. The two of them had had plenty of experience ripping people off in small bars. They had hustled their fair share of money over various games of pool and counted cards for small fortunes in gambling. Eames leaned back against the bar and looked out at the people that were wandering around. A few of them gave Eames these little looks, indicating how sad they were that he had lost his money. Arthur drank his vodka and poked Eames in the ribs. “The heat in here is too much, want to leave?”
“Sure, sounds great,” Eames replied. They finished their drinks and paid their tabs with generous tips. A few more people nodded as Arthur and Eames walked out but their eyes were glassy and they would forget Arthur and Eames’ faces soon. The job they had just wrapped up a few hours before had gone well and they were both several hundred thousand dollars richer. Between the two of them, there was no need to worry about money, but Arthur still kept an eye on their finances. They had a few places all over the world where they could stay, safe houses, some that they shared and some that the other did not know about. It was not a lack of trust, Arthur trusted Eames with his life, but more a need to make sure the other was safe. Arthur knew that Eames still felt terrible about the time someone had extracted Arthur’s location from him and nearly gotten them both killed, the reason that they had the reason that they had stopped working together to begin with.
“You’re looking very pensive tonight,” Eames said, knocking their shoulders together.
“This job went well so I’m not panicking or trying to sneak us across borders,” Arthur replied, knocking Eames back. “Just thinking. Where do we want to go next?”
“Well, we haven’t been to London in a while,” Eames suggested.
“You just want to raid your stash of tea in the pantry,” Arthur said and Eames had the decency to look offended.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, and I’m hurt, truly hurt, that you would ever suggest I would do such a thing.” To the outside observer this little tirade would read completely sincere but Arthur knew better. He also knew better than to indulge Eames when he was being a sarcastic ass so he just continued on his way. “Arthur, you can’t ignore me.”
“I absolutely can and I am,” Arthur replied, not even looking at Eames.
“Fine, I can work with that,” Eames said and he took Arthur’s arm. Arthur turned only to have Eames back him into the nearest wall so they were well into each other’s personal space.
“You know someone could see us,” Arthur pointed out but he was not fighting Eames off either. It was the logical thing to do, fight Eames off, but he never did. There was one person in the world that he truly trusted and that was Eames. They had been through too much together and they knew each other too well not to. There was something between them, something that did not have a proper name, and Arthur would not have traded it for anything in the world. Eames smiled, because there was no doubt in Arthur’s mind that Eames knew he was not going to fight him off, and leaned in. The kiss was chaste, barely there, because if they touched now with so much alcohol and adrenaline running through their veins they would not be able to stop. “That was stupid, you might actually be stupid.”
“No one saw us, there is no one around, and this is a blind spot for security cameras. You think I didn’t think that through?” Eames huffed. “I do have some situational awareness, thank you.”
“Of course you do,” Arthur said as Eames eased out of his personal space. They walked through the bitter night to their hotel. It was late and their flight was early. As they rode the elevator up to his room Arthur smiled.
“I know that smile,” Eames said. “I know that means you have an idea that is either going to do some lasting property damage or something very good is about to happen.” Arthur did not reply until they were walking into their hotel room and Arthur pushed Eames against the door.
“We need to be up in about four hours to catch our flights,” Arthur said, leaning in close. “And if we sleep there is a chance we could be hungover. None of these things are in our favor so I think we should probably just stay awake.”
“I’m going to assume you have a few ideas about how we could go about staying awake,” Eames said and Arthur did not let his smile falter.
“A few.” They met each other halfway for the kiss. It was hard, dirty, dominating, the two of them did not seem to know any way of being around the other unless there was some sort of fight going on. Eames wrapped his arms around Arthur’s waist and began to ease them both toward the bed. Arthur kicked off his shoes and went to work on Eames’ moderately bright shirt. Arthur did not fight when Eames pushed him down on the bed and kissed the breath out of his lungs. Eames all but tore off his shirt and threw it across the room. It landed on a lamp that tilted dangerously and eventually hit the floor with a crack. They both pulled away, looked at the broken lamp and then at each other. At the same time they both started to laugh and Arthur did not stop until he thought he was going to be sick.
“I can't believe that just happened,” Eames said, resting his forehead on Arthur's shoulder. “Considering all of the things we've done you would have thought we'd have broken a lamp before now.”
“First time for everything,” Arthur said as he got himself under control. Eames shifted and they began to kiss again. Eames had a very good mouth and the years had only made him more talented with his tongue. Eames swore that one day he was going to get Arthur off with nothing but his mouth. Arthur insisted it would never happen but as Eames sucked on his tongue Arthur was willing to concede that it could happen someday. Arthur unbuckled Eames' belt and almost had his pants off when the phone rang.
“Oh my god, we are never going to have sex,” Eames groaned as he leaned over and answered the phone. “Yes? Oh, yes, I'm sorry I had a bit too much to drink and tripped. You are more than welcome to add it to my bill. I apologize.” Arthur stared because he was not sure that Eames had taken a breath as he said that entire sentence and hung up the phone. Arthur raised an eyebrow when Eames looked back at him. “Well I'm sorry, Arthur, but you and your stupid 'no sex on the job rule' has made me very frustrated.”
“It is not a stupid rule. There is now an extractor that won't work with us anymore because he caught us having sex at the office,” Arthur said. He was not ashamed of the fact that he was having sex with Eames, Eames knew it, and that job had been a mess from the beginning but that did not mean that they needed to push the issue anymore. The rumors were already starting to get very interesting and Arthur really did not want anyone else asking if they were true.
“Jesse was a twat and a crap extractor.” Eames ran his fingers down Arthur's sides and smiled. “We have the time to kill so let's kill it.”
Arthur grinned and yanked Eames back down into a kiss and pushed Eames' pants off. Eames bit on Arthur's lower lip and Arthur lifted his hips to help get his pants off. Arthur broke their kiss and brought Eames' hand up, licking him from wrist to middle finger. If it was anyone else besides the two of them Eames probably would have been embarrassed by the noise he made but Arthur knew that they had nothing to hide from each other. After Arthur had covered Eames' hand with plenty of saliva Eames shoved their underwear aside and lined them up.
It was perfect, it was always perfect between them, they knew each other’s bodies to a terrifying degree. If there was a moment where Arthur was uncomfortable Eames would twist his wrist in a way that made Arthur see stars. When a certain line of tension appeared in Eames' shoulders Arthur would shift and the tension would fade away. It was not just in their sex life that they seemed to be able to read each other’s minds. There had been so many times in dreams when Arthur had been able to find Eames and vice versa that an extractor once asked if they had some sort of communicator that had not been invented yet.
“You think too much,” Eames said and Arthur tumbled over the edge like someone had drop kicked him. Eames followed soon after and all but collapsed on him. Arthur was strong and he could hold Eames' weight but that did not mean he wanted to. Fortunately Eames moved aside before Arthur had to say anything and they both tried to catch their breath. “You're very pensive today.”
“Is that from your 'word of the day' calendar?” Arthur asked and Eames countered by punching him in the shoulder. “The jobs always make me a little thoughtful. I like how well they have been going recently. Sometimes I wonder if we are just getting lucky.”
“I don't believe in luck. We're just that skilled is all,” Eames said and he looked very confident.
“You're also a cliché,” Arthur said, rolling his eyes. “We should take a power nap now that we're a little spent.”
“You promise me so much and give me so little, Arthur,” Eames complained but he rolled over to go to sleep nevertheless. They did not wrap their arms around each other or cuddle, that was not them, that was okay because Arthur had a friend in Eames that could never be replaced.
+++
It had been too long since they had been to Vienna so that was their place of choice. They didn’t have any jobs lined up and they had enough money so traveling was a logical idea. Together they had seen every continent so far but there was still so much to see. Arthur had joined the army thinking he was going to travel the world when in reality he spent most of his army career learning how to build new worlds. It was not a bad thing, not by a long shot, and he did not regret signing up for the project, but now he only saw different places when the two of them had time to sit down and travel.
Eames was a perfect travel companion because he seemed to have a sixth sense for finding the 'hole in the wall' local bars where you could avoid the tourists. They would meet a variety of people and it was in one of those hostels that he found out that despite how well versed they both were in alcohol they had found out several weeks ago that they both had nothing on Australians. That night either went really well or really poorly depending on how they looked at it.
They were strolling down a street Floridsdorf area in Vienna when Eames suddenly took Arthur's hand and yanked him down a small street. That was not like him and it was even stranger when Eames pressed him against the wall and stayed close.
“What the hell, Eames?” Arthur asked because he was not fond of public displays of affection and he enjoyed being thrown into walls in public even less.
“I may or may not have made some enemies in Eastern Europe over the years,” Eames said nonchalantly.
“Right, how much did you piss these people off?” Arthur asked.
“Enough and they are also a bunch of bigots so let's give them something to look away from.” Eames kissed hi. This kiss was different this time because they were putting on a show for someone. Unlike their hard and dominating kisses this one was slow and dirty with lots of tongue. Eames moved his thigh between Arthur's legs and it felt good, it felt so good, despite the dirty looks he saw people giving them out of the corner of his eye. Arthur reached up and threaded his fingers through Eames' hair and if Eames moaned a little when Arthur tugged on the blond strands, well no one had to know. Eames eventually pulled away but they stayed close.
“Are we good?” Arthur asked.
“Always,” Eames said, his voice rough. “Oh, you were talking about the guys that want me dead, right. Yes, we're fine, they're gone, but we should probably get out of the city sooner than later.” Arthur nodded and they began to walk back to their hostel.
There was something Arthur had wanted to bring up with Eames but he was not sure how it would go over. On the plane was a bad idea because if this went poorly, not talking to each other would make the plane ride awkward and awkward plane rides were annoying.
“So I got a phone call from Dom Cobb,” Arthur said casually.
“Did you now,” Eames replied and he sounded annoyed.
“Yeah, he just wanted to see how we were and everything like that,” Arthur said.
“Did he want to shoot us in the face too? Because that's what happened the last time,” Eames grumbled.
“No one actually got shot in the face,” Arthur said and Eames gave him the 'are you serious' look. “Anyway he said he has gotten his shit more in order so the next time we're in the states we should have dinner with him and Mal. She wants to discuss forgery with you.”
“We'll see.” Eames did not sound convinced, probably about the 'shit in order' part and Arthur did not blame him because the last time had been a cluster fuck, but the fact that he was thinking about it was good enough for Arthur. They walked back to the hostel in comfortable silence.
+++
It turned out that they did not have to wait long before a job came in. They were in the airport looking for the next flight to somewhere when Arthur's phone rang. It was an extractor named James that they had worked for a few times in the past. He was not the most competent man but he always seemed to find jobs that tended to pay extremely well. He was not so keen on giving Arthur any details over the phone though which Arthur thought was in bad taste. James knew that Arthur and Eames were a package deal these days and when you asked for one, you were asking for both. James was in Italy so he was close at least, but he was being oddly evasive when it came to the job.
“It's bothering you,” Eames said as they got on the plane.
“It usually does,” Arthur replied as he began to look into possible exit strategies. Eames did not talk to him for the rest of the flight and Arthur was grateful because by the time they landed, he had finalized three different ways to get out of the country in a hurry. Arthur just hoped he would not need to use any of them.
+++
Eames was not as paranoid as Arthur when it came to trusting other people but there was something about this job that had him uneasy too. While saying the details of a job over the phone was not a smart idea, it was rude to not tell your team what you were doing at all. Eames did not trust James but there were few people in the world that Eames trusted at all. It was one of the reasons he was armed when they got to the meeting place on the edge of Naples despite the fact that showing up armed was an insult to the person you were meeting. The weird customs of the dreaming community sometimes bothered him but there was not much he could do about it.
James was an older man in his mid forties who looked like he should have been running for political office not breaking into people's dreams. Extractors always had to be likable or no one would ever tell them anything but James seemed to manipulate more than other people. His hair had gray streaks that stood out against the dark brown and his eyes were a beady black. Usually he was walking around like he owned the world but he looked like he was trying to make himself as small as possible. Eames glanced at Arthur who narrowed his eyes.
“James, it's nice to see you again,” Arthur said, extending a hand. James seemed to visibly pull himself together and he got that air of confidence back but Eames could see the cracks through the facade.
“Gentlemen, thank you for coming out,” James replied. “I'm sorry I couldn't give you more details on the job but it is a little sensitive and I didn't want anything to get out.”
“They're all sensitive. It's kind of the point,” Eames said and did not react when Arthur discreetly stepped on his foot.
“Right, well, my employer didn't want me to say anything on the phone. He was very specific about that. The job is a basic extraction for a location of another person. They have tried to get him to just give up the information but he refuses. My employer is at the end of his rope, hence why he hired us,” James explained. That did not sit right with Eames. If they were trying to get a location of another person that someone was not just willing to give up that did not sound good. It reminded him far too much of the time Arthur's location was extracted from him so someone could kill him. Eames trusted his instincts and they had saved his life one too many times for them to let him down now. In front of James was not the time to bring it up, however, because the last thing they needed was the obviously already hired extractor finding out about his suspicions.
“I'd like the name of the mark and some time to look it over before we give an answer,” Arthur replied professionally. It was not exactly a ploy but if James would not give up any information on the mark then they would be in their rights to walk away immediately so Eames might have been a little disappointed when James handed Arthur a small folder.
“I'd like an answer sooner than later,” James said.
“You'll get one when I'm ready to give you one or you'll get a 'no' right now,” Arthur snapped.
“So it would be in your best interest to let us figure out whether we want to work with you in an efficient and timely matter,” Eames said with his best smile. There was only one person who could see through that smile and they were standing next to him. James nodded sharply and they both turned and left. Arthur did not look at the file until they were locked in the hotel room and Eames had checked twice to make sure no one was following them. Arthur was sitting on the bed looking over the file when Eames joined him. “So, do you have a bad feeling about this too?”
“The job is on one Ethan Tomas and they want the location of Lilly Tomas, his sister. The file doesn't say why our client, Adam Todd, wants this information but I'm going to look into it. You're right; something feels off,” Arthur said without looking up. Eames stood up and walked over to the hotel room coffee pot, knowing that Arthur was going to need it to get some work done. Eames busied himself with looking over Arthur's exit strategies and memorizing every single detail of each one. If it meant that it was going to save their lives at some point it was worth the sleepless night.
The coffee began to brew and it smelled like insomnia.
+++
Arthur was a force to be reckoned with when he had a laptop and an internet connection. He was ruthless and seemed to have no problem looking into people's deepest and darkest corners of their pasts. Eames was fairly certain that Arthur knew who Eames lost his virginity to but was being polite enough not to say so out loud. Arthur was many things but outright mean was not one of them. Eames had all of the exit strategies memorized and was ready to get out of town quickly if they needed to. The longer Arthur seemed to look into this job the deeper he frowned. By the time the sun was coming up Arthur looked like he had just bitten into a lemon.
“What did you find?” Eames asked.
“Well first of all our mark has been missing for two months with a police report filed by his roommate and everything. His sister has been missing longer. From what I was able to find it looks like Lilly Tomas was a witness in a trial that never went to court and was not public. The records are very sealed and I haven't been able to crack into them yet but if I had to wager a guess I'd say that our client or someone close to our client was the person she was going to testify against. Her brother must have gotten her out of the country and paid someone to make her disappear. There's a paper trail but it's been covered up really well. Again, I'd need more time, but James wanted an answer sooner than later,” Arthur explained.
“So you think Todd wants to find Lilly to make her go away and Ethan is the only one who knows her location,” Eames said and Arthur nodded.
“I'd also guess that Ethan is being kept against his will.” Arthur paused as he looked over the information in front of him. “We would be directly involved with the killing of a young woman. Lilly Tomas is only nineteen years old. I know our morals are dubious at best but I don't think I can help someone pull the trigger on a kid no matter what the reason.”
“Agreed,” Eames said without hesitation. “I think we should stall them and find Ethan Tomas too before they just give up and kill him. I've never been tortured in reality for information but I imagined it hurts just as much as it does in a dream.”
“Stalling and rescue operation then; when did we become the good guys?” Arthur asked but he was smiling.
“We're the antiheroes at best,” Eames replied, grinning back. Eames liked it when they got to try different things and sweeping in to save someone was certainly different for them. Eames did not outright say it was going to be fun but it was heavily implied.
+++
It took Arthur three days to locate Ethan. Eames went and turned up the charm to eleven whenever he would meet up with James. He spun a long story about other jobs and family problems that he thought should be a movie script. James was getting impatient but he seemed to be buying most of it. However there was only so much he would take before he told them they had to make the call. Taking three days to decide whether or not to take a job was rude but considering they were supposed to perform an extraction on someone that had been kidnapped they were probably more worried about accidentally killing their only link to the key witness. The more Arthur seemed to find the more Eames became convinced that Ethan was not going to be in good shape when they found him.
“Todd is one sick son of a bitch,” Arthur said by the end of day three. He had a picture of Adam Todd in hand. The man was in his late forties with jet black hair and eyes so brown they were almost black. They had done their best to avoid direct contact with Todd but there had been one phone call when they had met with James on day two. The man had a deep and dark voice that held a promise of violence. “The police have linked him to half a dozen murders but they can't find anything concrete. Lilly Tomas was a link to the last case, looks like her fiance was a victim, until she fell off the grid. She and her brother were close and they have no other family so it made sense that they would remain in contact on some level.”
“They are probably torturing him,” Eames said. Over the last three days when he had not been convincing James to give them more time he had contacted every shady arms dealer in Naples and they now had enough ammo to stage a rescue operation. The fact that they were doing a rescue operation made Eames laugh to himself. Arthur closed his laptop and stretched. They had a location and they were going in the following afternoon. They needed to get some sleep but they were both too riled up. At the same time they both set aside their things and sat down side by side on the bed. Usually they would have sex before something like this but Eames was not feeling it. They might be saving someone tomorrow but there was a good chance that the person they would be saving could be better off dead. It was not exactly a situation that screamed 'we should fuck like we're going to die tomorrow'.
After a long silence between the two of them Arthur got up, changed into more comfortable clothes and went to bed. Eames stayed awake a little longer, running the plan through his head a few more times, but there were no holes. Arthur had looked it over so many times now that he probably had it memorized. If there were any holes in the plan Arthur would have found them. Eames was confident in Arthur and that was enough to ease his mind. Eames changed, crawled in bed and closed his eyes.
They both got up and ate a decent sized meal. It took some time to get all of the weapons ready and hidden so they could cross the city without drawing too much attention to themselves. Arthur's phone rang just as they were about to walk out the door but he ignored the call. It was probably James pitching a fit that they were taking four days to decide whether or not to take a basic extraction job. They nodded to each other and walked out of the hotel room. The place where Ethan was being held was across town and they managed to make it across without anyone noticing them or their hidden weapons. The place was an old building on the water with lots of rooms. They would have to split up to cover the entire building and Arthur had developed an app on their phones so all they had to do was hit one button, it would beep once and vibrate twice and that was the signal to get out.
Arthur had the downstairs and Eames was going to take the upstairs. Arthur always took point, that was his job, and there was no use arguing over it. There was no way he was going to let Eames take the lower levels where he could get trapped. It was not an insult of any kind, it was just the way Arthur ran operations, and it had not gotten either of them killed yet so it must be working.
“Listen for the signal,” Arthur said as he took out his gun and checked it. “If we need to get out we'll need to get out fast. We'll need to make sure we get Ethan out of the country and then we can disappear too.”
“Sounds good,” Eames replied. In a normal partnership this was where he was supposed to tell Arthur to be careful but he did not need to. He was going to be fine, Arthur was going to be fine, because they were not called the best for no reason. Arthur nodded and they moved into the building.
+++
Arthur closed in on the building and began his descent into the lower levels. There were lots of rooms down here, plenty that could be used to hold someone prisoner. Adam Todd had decided that taking someone and torturing them was a better idea than taking the chance that he might be convicted of any crimes. Arthur had done a lot of morally dubious things but he had never condoned anyone that thought torture was the answer.
He turned a corner and turned a corner and saw a guard. Within a few seconds Arthur could tell that he was armed and how much experience he had. Arthur put his gun in his holster and moved silently behind the man. A quick blow to the back of the head and he was out. Arthur dragged him around a corner and opened a closet door. He stripped the guard of his gun, ammo, keys, locked the door from the outside and left him there to fend for himself. The hallway was lined with doors and Arthur began to look them over. They were all identical but there were more scuff marks near a door about a fourth of the way down the hallway. When he tried the door it was locked; it took two keys for him to find the one that opened the door.
The smell was the first thing Arthur noticed when he stepped inside the small room. It was not the smell of death, Arthur knew that smell all too well, it was the smell of dirt. The room was underground for the most part but there was a small window letting in the barest of natural light. There was a small bed and a door that lead into a closet that had a toilet. On the bed was a frail looking body, far too skinny, in dirty clothes. It was a drastically underweight Ethan Tomas, Arthur recognized him from the pictures, and he appeared to be wearing the same clothes he was last seen wearing. He did not stir when Arthur opened the door and were it not for the fact that Arthur could see Ethan breathing he would have thought Ethan was dead. Arthur put his gun in the holster and walked over to Ethan, shaking him awake.
“Hey, Ethan, wake up. I'm getting you out of here,” Arthur said.
“I can't...” Ethan said. His voice was rough like he had spent the last two months screaming his lungs out.
“I got you, just help me as much as you can,” Arthur said as he swung Ethan's arm over his shoulder. Arthur hit the alert on his phone and held onto Ethan the best he could with one hand to get his gun in hand. “Can you hang onto me?”
“I'll try,” Ethan said. That was all Arthur could ask for from a dehydrated, starving, beaten man and he began to make his way through the building. Killing people in the real world was not his favorite thing but when he rounded the corner and had to shoot a guard with bloody knuckles in the head he did not feel too bad. That was not going to be the thing that kept him awake at night but more the feeling of dead weight on his shoulders. No one had thought anyone would come for Ethan so by the time he hit the road Arthur had only shot two people and knocked out a third. Eames was waiting for him at the door and he took Ethan as Arthur covered them.
It was harder to get Ethan back to the hotel than it had been to get across town with weapons. He looked like he had been stuck in a cell, covered in dirt and sweat and blood, but they managed to get a cab driver who looked the other way when Eames offered him some extra Euros. They pulled Ethan into their hotel room and he stumbled into the bathroom to shower mumbling a thank you.
“He needs a hospital,” Eames said and Arthur did not disagree but the city was not safe.
“There is a doctor we can trust in Rome. We'll get a car and get him out of the city as soon as possible,” Arthur said. Eames nodded and they both began to pack their things. Eames had a rather nice med kit and gave Ethan an IV in the back of the car. The man was asleep before the needle was even in his arm. Arthur got in the car and drove them out of Naples while Eames stayed in the backseat with Ethan. While at a red light Arthur sent a two word text to James; we're out. It was vague but there was still the chance that they could link Ethan's escape to them. It was not their MO so there was still a chance that no one would connect the dots right away. The light turned and Arthur tossed the phone into the passenger seat and focused on getting them out of the city.
+++
It took three days before Ethan was steady enough on his feet to travel. Arthur did not ask where he was going; he just just wanted Ethan to get out of the country safely. Eames did his best to direct the conversation away from their motives and after the first day Ethan stopped asking. Eames got him a fake passport and everything he would need to go into hiding and vanish off the grid like his sister. Eames was back at the hotel room packing all of their things so they could vanish as well as Arthur drove Ethan to the airport. Ethan was a little older than his sister at twenty with long black hair that sat flat on his forehead and he was too thin after two months captivity. Arthur could see the signs that there were going to be nightmares for this young man but Arthur could not remember what it was like to have nightmares.
“Thank you,” Ethan said softly when they pulled up to the airport. “I know you don't want to tell me why you saved me but I appreciate it.”
“Just follow the connecting flights and switch passports like I told you to,” Arthur said, ignoring the statement almost entirely. Ethan did not look surprised but he nodded twice and walked away from the car. Arthur watched him go for a moment and then started on his way back to the hotel. He was coming up on the hotel when he caught sight of his tail. That was bad and Arthur could not lead him back to the hotel and to Eames. Arthur took a sharp turn and headed toward the main city. He parked his car on the side of the road and began to pick his way through legions of tourists in Rome. Arthur dialed the number without having to look at the phone.
“What happened?” Eames asked by way of greeting.
“Nice to talk to you too,” Arthur replied.
“Yes, you're hilarious, now what happened?” Eames repeated.
“I may have picked up a few strays,” Arthur said.
“How many?”
“Three. I'm making my way into the busier parts of the city near St. Peter's but also keeping my head down. Be ready to leave as soon as I lose them.” Arthur did not wait for confirmation before he hung up because he knew he could trust Eames to do what was needed for them to escape. Arthur picked up the pace to a light jog and slipped in and out of large crowds of people. Blending in was something that he was very good at and if he was going to lose these people he needed to vanish.
It took him almost thirty minutes of ducking and dodging before Arthur turned a sharp corner and pressed his back against a wall. Three men burst from the crowd and Arthur could see that they were all armed. He had a small vantage point where he could see them but they could not see him. Arthur took in every detail of their faces, how they walked, where they kept their weapons, which arm was dominant, and cataloged it all so Eames could paint a life like portrait if need be.
They took off in the direction that Arthur wanted them to and vanished from sight. They did not have much time before someone figured out where he and Eames were staying. Arthur slipped back into the crowds and took the long way through the city back to the hotel. He looped around several times and made sure that he was not going to make it easy for anyone to follow him. Arthur was confident that he was alone when he took the stairs two at a time and used his key to open their hotel room. Eames was standing at the door, clearly armed, and supremely annoyed.
“We knew they would retaliate,” Arthur said as he gathered his things. They did not travel with the PASIV often and there was a courier that Eames trusted that they paid outrageous amounts of money who would take it across borders and not on planes. Eames must have done that while he was gone because the case containing the PASIV was gone.
“We really need to sort out our allegiances. I'm not too keen on getting killed for some kid I don't know,” Eames said, slinging his bag over his shoulder.
“They were going to come after us the second we turned down the job and James knew that. If we had said 'no' he would have told us some sob story about how this was not his fault and he was being forced to do this job against his will. They were going to kill us regardless.” Arthur put his bag on his shoulder and checked his gun that was well hidden underneath his jacket. Once he was sure that everything was set they left the hotel without a backwards glance. Arthur described each of the men that were following him to Eames as they made their way across the city. It was too risky to get into a cab and public transportation put too many people in danger. They were going to have to steal a car but it was the middle of the day during peak tourist season so trying to find a car where no one was nearby was not easy.
Arthur turned a corner just as a bullet ricocheted off the brick half an inch from his head. He ducked and Eames returned fire before they took off running down the street. When Arthur got a look at the men he realized they looked like henchmen in a movie. It made him laugh even as they ducked from incoming bullets. There was a dumpster in an alley that provided the cover Arthur needed to return fire.
“Four o'clock,” Eames said and Arthur fired without really having to look. Eames would not guide him wrong, not in a firefight, and certainly not with their lives on the line. “Nice shot.”
“Thanks, 11 o'clock,” Arthur replied and Eames shot another of the henchmen through the shoulder. More of them were coming and they ducked the incoming fire. “We need a car or they're going to run us down.”
“Can you cover me while I get us one?” Eames asked.
“Naturally.” Arthur looked around the corner and fired a few shots at the men trying to kill them so they had time to race down the alleyway and around a corner. Eames knelt down next to a car and began to pick the lock while Arthur covered him. The men were using the dumpster as cover now and they kept popping out. All Arthur could think about was how he wished he had a giant hammer and could play a real world version of whack-a-mole. “What's your ETA, Eames?”
“Door is open. Two minutes at the most,” Eames called back. Arthur turned to fire when a bullet clipped his arm. It did not hit him directly, just a graze, but it still hurt.
“Indirect hit,” Arthur said over a burst of fire. There were sirens in the background now, the police were on the way, and if they were taken by Interpol it would be a bitch to get out again.
“Got it, let's go,” Eames said. Arthur did not waste any time and he climbed into the passenger side of the small car. They sped down the road and away from the sounds of gunfire. Eames eased off the gas enough that they would not rouse suspicion as they pulled away from the city. No one was chasing them and if they were lucky the police would take care of the men that were trying to kill them. Arthur rolled his sleeve up and tried to get a good look at his injury. “How is it?”
“Not that bad. I think I'll need you to stitch me up. I'll make sure not to bleed on anything,” Arthur replied.
“Sounds good.” They drove for an hour before they ditched the car and got another one and it was a half hour after that that they had time to stop and have Eames stitch up Arthur's arm. It hurt, he firmly believed that anyone who says that stitches don't hurt is lying, but Arthur did not complain. The sun was starting to go down and they sat on the hood of the car passing a bottle of wine between the two of them. Their hotel room was around the corner and the town they were in was small enough but it was on a major travel route so strangers were not uncommon.
“So is there a place we can go where you aren't wanted?” Arthur asked.
“You already know the answer to that,” Eames said as he took a drink of the wine. Arthur did know that but he had long since figured out that people like it when you ask. “Let's just keep moving for now. I think if we sit too long they'll catch up with us. The sooner we're out of Italy the better.” Arthur took the bottle from Eames and took a long drink. There was still some blood underneath Eames' fingernails and Arthur wondered if it was his or someone else's.
“Sounds like a plan.” Arthur replied and they finished off the bottle of wine and half of another before they turned in for the night. Arthur was tired; being on the run was exhausting.
+++
Eames did not mind running when it was with Arthur. When they had separated and pretended not to know each other Eames had hated running. It was annoying and it left him drained. Running with Arthur also left him drained but they also laughed a lot. They drank local booze and found back alleys where they could sleep in the car. They crossed borders and time zones and there was one point that Eames was not sure what country they were in until he listened to the locals to see what language they were speaking.
It was in the south of France that Arthur answered a call and took it off to the side to talk. There were not many people that Arthur was not comfortable talking to in front of Eames and during the two minutes and fifteen seconds that Arthur was gone Eames compiled a list of every single one. Arthur sat down and Eames knew that he was about to be asked a question that he was not going to like very much.
“Okay, out with it, what's going on?” Eames asked. They were sitting in a dark pub tucked away in the corner where no one could hear them talking.
“That was Mal. She and Cobb have set a date for the wedding and they want us to come,” Arthur said. He looked a little bewildered as if Arthur was more thrown by the concept of being invited to a wedding than someone trying to put a bullet between his eyes.
“Does she know that a few weeks ago someone was trying to kill us?” Eames asked slowly.
“I told her and she said some nasty things about being a terrible friend and some questionable things about my character.” Arthur took a deep breath and released it slowly. “She said she really wants us there and it would mean a lot to her if we went. She said she was not above sending a picture with her looking sad to guilt us into coming.”
“She's not supposed to tell us she is trying to guilt or manipulate us, though I suppose Mal is many things but conventional is not one of them,” Eames said. “Is Cobb still crazier than a bag of cats?”
“She said he promises not to point any guns at your head or anywhere else,” Arthur replied. “We haven't had an incident since Italy so I think we've thrown them off our trail. I'll make sure to cover our tracks and we won't stay long in the area. It could be interesting and we would have the opportunity to ask someone who works in the business if their wedding lived up to their dreams.”
“You have the weirdest sense of humor,” Eames said dryly and he took another drink of his beer. “Could be interesting but if Cobb points any guns at me I'm taking back the gift.”
“Oh shit, we have to get a gift.” Arthur looked so surprised and panicked about something as silly as a wedding gift that Eames almost did a spit-take with his beer. Arthur shut him up by yanking Eames into a rough kiss and the rest of the night was a pleasant blur.
<-- masterpost | part two -->
Part One
The heat of the bar was stifling but Arthur didn’t care. There was an extremely important matter that he was taking care of. “The heat of the small Russian bar was stifling but Arthur didn’t care. There was an extremely important matter that he was taking care of. Eames, sitting on the other side of the table, was giving him nothing, not that this was anything new. Arthur had known Eames for more than five years and he still didn’t know the man’s tells. The blackjack dealer looked nervous as he stared at his own cards, the nineteen face up on the table. What had started as a small, meaningless game was now a tense moment, with a large pile of money sitting between them and spectators cheering for both players.
This was not an abnormal thing between the two of them. After a random meeting in a bar one night Eames was the person Arthur had worked with on his first dreams in the criminal underworld. After a terrible incident where they were used against each other and almost ended up dead Arthur and Eames decided not to work together anymore. If they would cross paths the plan was to act like they did not know each other. It went well for two years until Dominic Cobb and Mallorie Miles had called both of them in for a job. Cobb had pointed a gun at Eames and Arthur broke their cover story to save him. Arthur did not regret that, not for a second, and now a year later they had established themselves as one of the best pairs in the entirety of dreaming.
Eames smirked, as if he knew that Arthur was a little lost in his own head, and Arthur smirked back. The dealer looked between the two of them and waited.
“I’m ready,” Eames said.
“As am I,” Arthur replied. Eames got that look in his eye he always got when he either had a stupid idea or when he was going to do something that was awesome (but was probably illegal and/or was going to get them killed). He turned over his cards and smiled.
“Twenty,” Eames said and he reached for the money but Arthur snatched his wrist. Arthur grinned and turned over his cards.
“Twenty-one,” Arthur declared. The bar erupted into sounds of anguish and happiness as each of their fanbases reacted. Eames did not look annoyed or even upset by his loss as Arthur gathered the money. Eames threw back the last of his drink and the two of them made their way through the dispersing crowd to the bar.
“I hope you know the next round is on you,” Eames said.
“I wouldn’t count on that,” Arthur replied but he bought Eames another drink nevertheless. Eames did not call him on it, not that Arthur expected him to, since they were more or less a duo that shared everything these days. It was winter out and the amount of vodka in his system plus the heat was beginning to get to him a little. Arthur sat down at the bar and cracked his neck loudly.
“Count on it? Like you weren’t just counting cards?” Eames asked with a grin.
“Like you weren’t too,” Arthur replied flatly. Eames’ smile did not falter but he did not deny it either. The two of them had had plenty of experience ripping people off in small bars. They had hustled their fair share of money over various games of pool and counted cards for small fortunes in gambling. Eames leaned back against the bar and looked out at the people that were wandering around. A few of them gave Eames these little looks, indicating how sad they were that he had lost his money. Arthur drank his vodka and poked Eames in the ribs. “The heat in here is too much, want to leave?”
“Sure, sounds great,” Eames replied. They finished their drinks and paid their tabs with generous tips. A few more people nodded as Arthur and Eames walked out but their eyes were glassy and they would forget Arthur and Eames’ faces soon. The job they had just wrapped up a few hours before had gone well and they were both several hundred thousand dollars richer. Between the two of them, there was no need to worry about money, but Arthur still kept an eye on their finances. They had a few places all over the world where they could stay, safe houses, some that they shared and some that the other did not know about. It was not a lack of trust, Arthur trusted Eames with his life, but more a need to make sure the other was safe. Arthur knew that Eames still felt terrible about the time someone had extracted Arthur’s location from him and nearly gotten them both killed, the reason that they had the reason that they had stopped working together to begin with.
“You’re looking very pensive tonight,” Eames said, knocking their shoulders together.
“This job went well so I’m not panicking or trying to sneak us across borders,” Arthur replied, knocking Eames back. “Just thinking. Where do we want to go next?”
“Well, we haven’t been to London in a while,” Eames suggested.
“You just want to raid your stash of tea in the pantry,” Arthur said and Eames had the decency to look offended.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, and I’m hurt, truly hurt, that you would ever suggest I would do such a thing.” To the outside observer this little tirade would read completely sincere but Arthur knew better. He also knew better than to indulge Eames when he was being a sarcastic ass so he just continued on his way. “Arthur, you can’t ignore me.”
“I absolutely can and I am,” Arthur replied, not even looking at Eames.
“Fine, I can work with that,” Eames said and he took Arthur’s arm. Arthur turned only to have Eames back him into the nearest wall so they were well into each other’s personal space.
“You know someone could see us,” Arthur pointed out but he was not fighting Eames off either. It was the logical thing to do, fight Eames off, but he never did. There was one person in the world that he truly trusted and that was Eames. They had been through too much together and they knew each other too well not to. There was something between them, something that did not have a proper name, and Arthur would not have traded it for anything in the world. Eames smiled, because there was no doubt in Arthur’s mind that Eames knew he was not going to fight him off, and leaned in. The kiss was chaste, barely there, because if they touched now with so much alcohol and adrenaline running through their veins they would not be able to stop. “That was stupid, you might actually be stupid.”
“No one saw us, there is no one around, and this is a blind spot for security cameras. You think I didn’t think that through?” Eames huffed. “I do have some situational awareness, thank you.”
“Of course you do,” Arthur said as Eames eased out of his personal space. They walked through the bitter night to their hotel. It was late and their flight was early. As they rode the elevator up to his room Arthur smiled.
“I know that smile,” Eames said. “I know that means you have an idea that is either going to do some lasting property damage or something very good is about to happen.” Arthur did not reply until they were walking into their hotel room and Arthur pushed Eames against the door.
“We need to be up in about four hours to catch our flights,” Arthur said, leaning in close. “And if we sleep there is a chance we could be hungover. None of these things are in our favor so I think we should probably just stay awake.”
“I’m going to assume you have a few ideas about how we could go about staying awake,” Eames said and Arthur did not let his smile falter.
“A few.” They met each other halfway for the kiss. It was hard, dirty, dominating, the two of them did not seem to know any way of being around the other unless there was some sort of fight going on. Eames wrapped his arms around Arthur’s waist and began to ease them both toward the bed. Arthur kicked off his shoes and went to work on Eames’ moderately bright shirt. Arthur did not fight when Eames pushed him down on the bed and kissed the breath out of his lungs. Eames all but tore off his shirt and threw it across the room. It landed on a lamp that tilted dangerously and eventually hit the floor with a crack. They both pulled away, looked at the broken lamp and then at each other. At the same time they both started to laugh and Arthur did not stop until he thought he was going to be sick.
“I can't believe that just happened,” Eames said, resting his forehead on Arthur's shoulder. “Considering all of the things we've done you would have thought we'd have broken a lamp before now.”
“First time for everything,” Arthur said as he got himself under control. Eames shifted and they began to kiss again. Eames had a very good mouth and the years had only made him more talented with his tongue. Eames swore that one day he was going to get Arthur off with nothing but his mouth. Arthur insisted it would never happen but as Eames sucked on his tongue Arthur was willing to concede that it could happen someday. Arthur unbuckled Eames' belt and almost had his pants off when the phone rang.
“Oh my god, we are never going to have sex,” Eames groaned as he leaned over and answered the phone. “Yes? Oh, yes, I'm sorry I had a bit too much to drink and tripped. You are more than welcome to add it to my bill. I apologize.” Arthur stared because he was not sure that Eames had taken a breath as he said that entire sentence and hung up the phone. Arthur raised an eyebrow when Eames looked back at him. “Well I'm sorry, Arthur, but you and your stupid 'no sex on the job rule' has made me very frustrated.”
“It is not a stupid rule. There is now an extractor that won't work with us anymore because he caught us having sex at the office,” Arthur said. He was not ashamed of the fact that he was having sex with Eames, Eames knew it, and that job had been a mess from the beginning but that did not mean that they needed to push the issue anymore. The rumors were already starting to get very interesting and Arthur really did not want anyone else asking if they were true.
“Jesse was a twat and a crap extractor.” Eames ran his fingers down Arthur's sides and smiled. “We have the time to kill so let's kill it.”
Arthur grinned and yanked Eames back down into a kiss and pushed Eames' pants off. Eames bit on Arthur's lower lip and Arthur lifted his hips to help get his pants off. Arthur broke their kiss and brought Eames' hand up, licking him from wrist to middle finger. If it was anyone else besides the two of them Eames probably would have been embarrassed by the noise he made but Arthur knew that they had nothing to hide from each other. After Arthur had covered Eames' hand with plenty of saliva Eames shoved their underwear aside and lined them up.
It was perfect, it was always perfect between them, they knew each other’s bodies to a terrifying degree. If there was a moment where Arthur was uncomfortable Eames would twist his wrist in a way that made Arthur see stars. When a certain line of tension appeared in Eames' shoulders Arthur would shift and the tension would fade away. It was not just in their sex life that they seemed to be able to read each other’s minds. There had been so many times in dreams when Arthur had been able to find Eames and vice versa that an extractor once asked if they had some sort of communicator that had not been invented yet.
“You think too much,” Eames said and Arthur tumbled over the edge like someone had drop kicked him. Eames followed soon after and all but collapsed on him. Arthur was strong and he could hold Eames' weight but that did not mean he wanted to. Fortunately Eames moved aside before Arthur had to say anything and they both tried to catch their breath. “You're very pensive today.”
“Is that from your 'word of the day' calendar?” Arthur asked and Eames countered by punching him in the shoulder. “The jobs always make me a little thoughtful. I like how well they have been going recently. Sometimes I wonder if we are just getting lucky.”
“I don't believe in luck. We're just that skilled is all,” Eames said and he looked very confident.
“You're also a cliché,” Arthur said, rolling his eyes. “We should take a power nap now that we're a little spent.”
“You promise me so much and give me so little, Arthur,” Eames complained but he rolled over to go to sleep nevertheless. They did not wrap their arms around each other or cuddle, that was not them, that was okay because Arthur had a friend in Eames that could never be replaced.
+++
It had been too long since they had been to Vienna so that was their place of choice. They didn’t have any jobs lined up and they had enough money so traveling was a logical idea. Together they had seen every continent so far but there was still so much to see. Arthur had joined the army thinking he was going to travel the world when in reality he spent most of his army career learning how to build new worlds. It was not a bad thing, not by a long shot, and he did not regret signing up for the project, but now he only saw different places when the two of them had time to sit down and travel.
Eames was a perfect travel companion because he seemed to have a sixth sense for finding the 'hole in the wall' local bars where you could avoid the tourists. They would meet a variety of people and it was in one of those hostels that he found out that despite how well versed they both were in alcohol they had found out several weeks ago that they both had nothing on Australians. That night either went really well or really poorly depending on how they looked at it.
They were strolling down a street Floridsdorf area in Vienna when Eames suddenly took Arthur's hand and yanked him down a small street. That was not like him and it was even stranger when Eames pressed him against the wall and stayed close.
“What the hell, Eames?” Arthur asked because he was not fond of public displays of affection and he enjoyed being thrown into walls in public even less.
“I may or may not have made some enemies in Eastern Europe over the years,” Eames said nonchalantly.
“Right, how much did you piss these people off?” Arthur asked.
“Enough and they are also a bunch of bigots so let's give them something to look away from.” Eames kissed hi. This kiss was different this time because they were putting on a show for someone. Unlike their hard and dominating kisses this one was slow and dirty with lots of tongue. Eames moved his thigh between Arthur's legs and it felt good, it felt so good, despite the dirty looks he saw people giving them out of the corner of his eye. Arthur reached up and threaded his fingers through Eames' hair and if Eames moaned a little when Arthur tugged on the blond strands, well no one had to know. Eames eventually pulled away but they stayed close.
“Are we good?” Arthur asked.
“Always,” Eames said, his voice rough. “Oh, you were talking about the guys that want me dead, right. Yes, we're fine, they're gone, but we should probably get out of the city sooner than later.” Arthur nodded and they began to walk back to their hostel.
There was something Arthur had wanted to bring up with Eames but he was not sure how it would go over. On the plane was a bad idea because if this went poorly, not talking to each other would make the plane ride awkward and awkward plane rides were annoying.
“So I got a phone call from Dom Cobb,” Arthur said casually.
“Did you now,” Eames replied and he sounded annoyed.
“Yeah, he just wanted to see how we were and everything like that,” Arthur said.
“Did he want to shoot us in the face too? Because that's what happened the last time,” Eames grumbled.
“No one actually got shot in the face,” Arthur said and Eames gave him the 'are you serious' look. “Anyway he said he has gotten his shit more in order so the next time we're in the states we should have dinner with him and Mal. She wants to discuss forgery with you.”
“We'll see.” Eames did not sound convinced, probably about the 'shit in order' part and Arthur did not blame him because the last time had been a cluster fuck, but the fact that he was thinking about it was good enough for Arthur. They walked back to the hostel in comfortable silence.
+++
It turned out that they did not have to wait long before a job came in. They were in the airport looking for the next flight to somewhere when Arthur's phone rang. It was an extractor named James that they had worked for a few times in the past. He was not the most competent man but he always seemed to find jobs that tended to pay extremely well. He was not so keen on giving Arthur any details over the phone though which Arthur thought was in bad taste. James knew that Arthur and Eames were a package deal these days and when you asked for one, you were asking for both. James was in Italy so he was close at least, but he was being oddly evasive when it came to the job.
“It's bothering you,” Eames said as they got on the plane.
“It usually does,” Arthur replied as he began to look into possible exit strategies. Eames did not talk to him for the rest of the flight and Arthur was grateful because by the time they landed, he had finalized three different ways to get out of the country in a hurry. Arthur just hoped he would not need to use any of them.
+++
Eames was not as paranoid as Arthur when it came to trusting other people but there was something about this job that had him uneasy too. While saying the details of a job over the phone was not a smart idea, it was rude to not tell your team what you were doing at all. Eames did not trust James but there were few people in the world that Eames trusted at all. It was one of the reasons he was armed when they got to the meeting place on the edge of Naples despite the fact that showing up armed was an insult to the person you were meeting. The weird customs of the dreaming community sometimes bothered him but there was not much he could do about it.
James was an older man in his mid forties who looked like he should have been running for political office not breaking into people's dreams. Extractors always had to be likable or no one would ever tell them anything but James seemed to manipulate more than other people. His hair had gray streaks that stood out against the dark brown and his eyes were a beady black. Usually he was walking around like he owned the world but he looked like he was trying to make himself as small as possible. Eames glanced at Arthur who narrowed his eyes.
“James, it's nice to see you again,” Arthur said, extending a hand. James seemed to visibly pull himself together and he got that air of confidence back but Eames could see the cracks through the facade.
“Gentlemen, thank you for coming out,” James replied. “I'm sorry I couldn't give you more details on the job but it is a little sensitive and I didn't want anything to get out.”
“They're all sensitive. It's kind of the point,” Eames said and did not react when Arthur discreetly stepped on his foot.
“Right, well, my employer didn't want me to say anything on the phone. He was very specific about that. The job is a basic extraction for a location of another person. They have tried to get him to just give up the information but he refuses. My employer is at the end of his rope, hence why he hired us,” James explained. That did not sit right with Eames. If they were trying to get a location of another person that someone was not just willing to give up that did not sound good. It reminded him far too much of the time Arthur's location was extracted from him so someone could kill him. Eames trusted his instincts and they had saved his life one too many times for them to let him down now. In front of James was not the time to bring it up, however, because the last thing they needed was the obviously already hired extractor finding out about his suspicions.
“I'd like the name of the mark and some time to look it over before we give an answer,” Arthur replied professionally. It was not exactly a ploy but if James would not give up any information on the mark then they would be in their rights to walk away immediately so Eames might have been a little disappointed when James handed Arthur a small folder.
“I'd like an answer sooner than later,” James said.
“You'll get one when I'm ready to give you one or you'll get a 'no' right now,” Arthur snapped.
“So it would be in your best interest to let us figure out whether we want to work with you in an efficient and timely matter,” Eames said with his best smile. There was only one person who could see through that smile and they were standing next to him. James nodded sharply and they both turned and left. Arthur did not look at the file until they were locked in the hotel room and Eames had checked twice to make sure no one was following them. Arthur was sitting on the bed looking over the file when Eames joined him. “So, do you have a bad feeling about this too?”
“The job is on one Ethan Tomas and they want the location of Lilly Tomas, his sister. The file doesn't say why our client, Adam Todd, wants this information but I'm going to look into it. You're right; something feels off,” Arthur said without looking up. Eames stood up and walked over to the hotel room coffee pot, knowing that Arthur was going to need it to get some work done. Eames busied himself with looking over Arthur's exit strategies and memorizing every single detail of each one. If it meant that it was going to save their lives at some point it was worth the sleepless night.
The coffee began to brew and it smelled like insomnia.
+++
Arthur was a force to be reckoned with when he had a laptop and an internet connection. He was ruthless and seemed to have no problem looking into people's deepest and darkest corners of their pasts. Eames was fairly certain that Arthur knew who Eames lost his virginity to but was being polite enough not to say so out loud. Arthur was many things but outright mean was not one of them. Eames had all of the exit strategies memorized and was ready to get out of town quickly if they needed to. The longer Arthur seemed to look into this job the deeper he frowned. By the time the sun was coming up Arthur looked like he had just bitten into a lemon.
“What did you find?” Eames asked.
“Well first of all our mark has been missing for two months with a police report filed by his roommate and everything. His sister has been missing longer. From what I was able to find it looks like Lilly Tomas was a witness in a trial that never went to court and was not public. The records are very sealed and I haven't been able to crack into them yet but if I had to wager a guess I'd say that our client or someone close to our client was the person she was going to testify against. Her brother must have gotten her out of the country and paid someone to make her disappear. There's a paper trail but it's been covered up really well. Again, I'd need more time, but James wanted an answer sooner than later,” Arthur explained.
“So you think Todd wants to find Lilly to make her go away and Ethan is the only one who knows her location,” Eames said and Arthur nodded.
“I'd also guess that Ethan is being kept against his will.” Arthur paused as he looked over the information in front of him. “We would be directly involved with the killing of a young woman. Lilly Tomas is only nineteen years old. I know our morals are dubious at best but I don't think I can help someone pull the trigger on a kid no matter what the reason.”
“Agreed,” Eames said without hesitation. “I think we should stall them and find Ethan Tomas too before they just give up and kill him. I've never been tortured in reality for information but I imagined it hurts just as much as it does in a dream.”
“Stalling and rescue operation then; when did we become the good guys?” Arthur asked but he was smiling.
“We're the antiheroes at best,” Eames replied, grinning back. Eames liked it when they got to try different things and sweeping in to save someone was certainly different for them. Eames did not outright say it was going to be fun but it was heavily implied.
+++
It took Arthur three days to locate Ethan. Eames went and turned up the charm to eleven whenever he would meet up with James. He spun a long story about other jobs and family problems that he thought should be a movie script. James was getting impatient but he seemed to be buying most of it. However there was only so much he would take before he told them they had to make the call. Taking three days to decide whether or not to take a job was rude but considering they were supposed to perform an extraction on someone that had been kidnapped they were probably more worried about accidentally killing their only link to the key witness. The more Arthur seemed to find the more Eames became convinced that Ethan was not going to be in good shape when they found him.
“Todd is one sick son of a bitch,” Arthur said by the end of day three. He had a picture of Adam Todd in hand. The man was in his late forties with jet black hair and eyes so brown they were almost black. They had done their best to avoid direct contact with Todd but there had been one phone call when they had met with James on day two. The man had a deep and dark voice that held a promise of violence. “The police have linked him to half a dozen murders but they can't find anything concrete. Lilly Tomas was a link to the last case, looks like her fiance was a victim, until she fell off the grid. She and her brother were close and they have no other family so it made sense that they would remain in contact on some level.”
“They are probably torturing him,” Eames said. Over the last three days when he had not been convincing James to give them more time he had contacted every shady arms dealer in Naples and they now had enough ammo to stage a rescue operation. The fact that they were doing a rescue operation made Eames laugh to himself. Arthur closed his laptop and stretched. They had a location and they were going in the following afternoon. They needed to get some sleep but they were both too riled up. At the same time they both set aside their things and sat down side by side on the bed. Usually they would have sex before something like this but Eames was not feeling it. They might be saving someone tomorrow but there was a good chance that the person they would be saving could be better off dead. It was not exactly a situation that screamed 'we should fuck like we're going to die tomorrow'.
After a long silence between the two of them Arthur got up, changed into more comfortable clothes and went to bed. Eames stayed awake a little longer, running the plan through his head a few more times, but there were no holes. Arthur had looked it over so many times now that he probably had it memorized. If there were any holes in the plan Arthur would have found them. Eames was confident in Arthur and that was enough to ease his mind. Eames changed, crawled in bed and closed his eyes.
They both got up and ate a decent sized meal. It took some time to get all of the weapons ready and hidden so they could cross the city without drawing too much attention to themselves. Arthur's phone rang just as they were about to walk out the door but he ignored the call. It was probably James pitching a fit that they were taking four days to decide whether or not to take a basic extraction job. They nodded to each other and walked out of the hotel room. The place where Ethan was being held was across town and they managed to make it across without anyone noticing them or their hidden weapons. The place was an old building on the water with lots of rooms. They would have to split up to cover the entire building and Arthur had developed an app on their phones so all they had to do was hit one button, it would beep once and vibrate twice and that was the signal to get out.
Arthur had the downstairs and Eames was going to take the upstairs. Arthur always took point, that was his job, and there was no use arguing over it. There was no way he was going to let Eames take the lower levels where he could get trapped. It was not an insult of any kind, it was just the way Arthur ran operations, and it had not gotten either of them killed yet so it must be working.
“Listen for the signal,” Arthur said as he took out his gun and checked it. “If we need to get out we'll need to get out fast. We'll need to make sure we get Ethan out of the country and then we can disappear too.”
“Sounds good,” Eames replied. In a normal partnership this was where he was supposed to tell Arthur to be careful but he did not need to. He was going to be fine, Arthur was going to be fine, because they were not called the best for no reason. Arthur nodded and they moved into the building.
+++
Arthur closed in on the building and began his descent into the lower levels. There were lots of rooms down here, plenty that could be used to hold someone prisoner. Adam Todd had decided that taking someone and torturing them was a better idea than taking the chance that he might be convicted of any crimes. Arthur had done a lot of morally dubious things but he had never condoned anyone that thought torture was the answer.
He turned a corner and turned a corner and saw a guard. Within a few seconds Arthur could tell that he was armed and how much experience he had. Arthur put his gun in his holster and moved silently behind the man. A quick blow to the back of the head and he was out. Arthur dragged him around a corner and opened a closet door. He stripped the guard of his gun, ammo, keys, locked the door from the outside and left him there to fend for himself. The hallway was lined with doors and Arthur began to look them over. They were all identical but there were more scuff marks near a door about a fourth of the way down the hallway. When he tried the door it was locked; it took two keys for him to find the one that opened the door.
The smell was the first thing Arthur noticed when he stepped inside the small room. It was not the smell of death, Arthur knew that smell all too well, it was the smell of dirt. The room was underground for the most part but there was a small window letting in the barest of natural light. There was a small bed and a door that lead into a closet that had a toilet. On the bed was a frail looking body, far too skinny, in dirty clothes. It was a drastically underweight Ethan Tomas, Arthur recognized him from the pictures, and he appeared to be wearing the same clothes he was last seen wearing. He did not stir when Arthur opened the door and were it not for the fact that Arthur could see Ethan breathing he would have thought Ethan was dead. Arthur put his gun in the holster and walked over to Ethan, shaking him awake.
“Hey, Ethan, wake up. I'm getting you out of here,” Arthur said.
“I can't...” Ethan said. His voice was rough like he had spent the last two months screaming his lungs out.
“I got you, just help me as much as you can,” Arthur said as he swung Ethan's arm over his shoulder. Arthur hit the alert on his phone and held onto Ethan the best he could with one hand to get his gun in hand. “Can you hang onto me?”
“I'll try,” Ethan said. That was all Arthur could ask for from a dehydrated, starving, beaten man and he began to make his way through the building. Killing people in the real world was not his favorite thing but when he rounded the corner and had to shoot a guard with bloody knuckles in the head he did not feel too bad. That was not going to be the thing that kept him awake at night but more the feeling of dead weight on his shoulders. No one had thought anyone would come for Ethan so by the time he hit the road Arthur had only shot two people and knocked out a third. Eames was waiting for him at the door and he took Ethan as Arthur covered them.
It was harder to get Ethan back to the hotel than it had been to get across town with weapons. He looked like he had been stuck in a cell, covered in dirt and sweat and blood, but they managed to get a cab driver who looked the other way when Eames offered him some extra Euros. They pulled Ethan into their hotel room and he stumbled into the bathroom to shower mumbling a thank you.
“He needs a hospital,” Eames said and Arthur did not disagree but the city was not safe.
“There is a doctor we can trust in Rome. We'll get a car and get him out of the city as soon as possible,” Arthur said. Eames nodded and they both began to pack their things. Eames had a rather nice med kit and gave Ethan an IV in the back of the car. The man was asleep before the needle was even in his arm. Arthur got in the car and drove them out of Naples while Eames stayed in the backseat with Ethan. While at a red light Arthur sent a two word text to James; we're out. It was vague but there was still the chance that they could link Ethan's escape to them. It was not their MO so there was still a chance that no one would connect the dots right away. The light turned and Arthur tossed the phone into the passenger seat and focused on getting them out of the city.
+++
It took three days before Ethan was steady enough on his feet to travel. Arthur did not ask where he was going; he just just wanted Ethan to get out of the country safely. Eames did his best to direct the conversation away from their motives and after the first day Ethan stopped asking. Eames got him a fake passport and everything he would need to go into hiding and vanish off the grid like his sister. Eames was back at the hotel room packing all of their things so they could vanish as well as Arthur drove Ethan to the airport. Ethan was a little older than his sister at twenty with long black hair that sat flat on his forehead and he was too thin after two months captivity. Arthur could see the signs that there were going to be nightmares for this young man but Arthur could not remember what it was like to have nightmares.
“Thank you,” Ethan said softly when they pulled up to the airport. “I know you don't want to tell me why you saved me but I appreciate it.”
“Just follow the connecting flights and switch passports like I told you to,” Arthur said, ignoring the statement almost entirely. Ethan did not look surprised but he nodded twice and walked away from the car. Arthur watched him go for a moment and then started on his way back to the hotel. He was coming up on the hotel when he caught sight of his tail. That was bad and Arthur could not lead him back to the hotel and to Eames. Arthur took a sharp turn and headed toward the main city. He parked his car on the side of the road and began to pick his way through legions of tourists in Rome. Arthur dialed the number without having to look at the phone.
“What happened?” Eames asked by way of greeting.
“Nice to talk to you too,” Arthur replied.
“Yes, you're hilarious, now what happened?” Eames repeated.
“I may have picked up a few strays,” Arthur said.
“How many?”
“Three. I'm making my way into the busier parts of the city near St. Peter's but also keeping my head down. Be ready to leave as soon as I lose them.” Arthur did not wait for confirmation before he hung up because he knew he could trust Eames to do what was needed for them to escape. Arthur picked up the pace to a light jog and slipped in and out of large crowds of people. Blending in was something that he was very good at and if he was going to lose these people he needed to vanish.
It took him almost thirty minutes of ducking and dodging before Arthur turned a sharp corner and pressed his back against a wall. Three men burst from the crowd and Arthur could see that they were all armed. He had a small vantage point where he could see them but they could not see him. Arthur took in every detail of their faces, how they walked, where they kept their weapons, which arm was dominant, and cataloged it all so Eames could paint a life like portrait if need be.
They took off in the direction that Arthur wanted them to and vanished from sight. They did not have much time before someone figured out where he and Eames were staying. Arthur slipped back into the crowds and took the long way through the city back to the hotel. He looped around several times and made sure that he was not going to make it easy for anyone to follow him. Arthur was confident that he was alone when he took the stairs two at a time and used his key to open their hotel room. Eames was standing at the door, clearly armed, and supremely annoyed.
“We knew they would retaliate,” Arthur said as he gathered his things. They did not travel with the PASIV often and there was a courier that Eames trusted that they paid outrageous amounts of money who would take it across borders and not on planes. Eames must have done that while he was gone because the case containing the PASIV was gone.
“We really need to sort out our allegiances. I'm not too keen on getting killed for some kid I don't know,” Eames said, slinging his bag over his shoulder.
“They were going to come after us the second we turned down the job and James knew that. If we had said 'no' he would have told us some sob story about how this was not his fault and he was being forced to do this job against his will. They were going to kill us regardless.” Arthur put his bag on his shoulder and checked his gun that was well hidden underneath his jacket. Once he was sure that everything was set they left the hotel without a backwards glance. Arthur described each of the men that were following him to Eames as they made their way across the city. It was too risky to get into a cab and public transportation put too many people in danger. They were going to have to steal a car but it was the middle of the day during peak tourist season so trying to find a car where no one was nearby was not easy.
Arthur turned a corner just as a bullet ricocheted off the brick half an inch from his head. He ducked and Eames returned fire before they took off running down the street. When Arthur got a look at the men he realized they looked like henchmen in a movie. It made him laugh even as they ducked from incoming bullets. There was a dumpster in an alley that provided the cover Arthur needed to return fire.
“Four o'clock,” Eames said and Arthur fired without really having to look. Eames would not guide him wrong, not in a firefight, and certainly not with their lives on the line. “Nice shot.”
“Thanks, 11 o'clock,” Arthur replied and Eames shot another of the henchmen through the shoulder. More of them were coming and they ducked the incoming fire. “We need a car or they're going to run us down.”
“Can you cover me while I get us one?” Eames asked.
“Naturally.” Arthur looked around the corner and fired a few shots at the men trying to kill them so they had time to race down the alleyway and around a corner. Eames knelt down next to a car and began to pick the lock while Arthur covered him. The men were using the dumpster as cover now and they kept popping out. All Arthur could think about was how he wished he had a giant hammer and could play a real world version of whack-a-mole. “What's your ETA, Eames?”
“Door is open. Two minutes at the most,” Eames called back. Arthur turned to fire when a bullet clipped his arm. It did not hit him directly, just a graze, but it still hurt.
“Indirect hit,” Arthur said over a burst of fire. There were sirens in the background now, the police were on the way, and if they were taken by Interpol it would be a bitch to get out again.
“Got it, let's go,” Eames said. Arthur did not waste any time and he climbed into the passenger side of the small car. They sped down the road and away from the sounds of gunfire. Eames eased off the gas enough that they would not rouse suspicion as they pulled away from the city. No one was chasing them and if they were lucky the police would take care of the men that were trying to kill them. Arthur rolled his sleeve up and tried to get a good look at his injury. “How is it?”
“Not that bad. I think I'll need you to stitch me up. I'll make sure not to bleed on anything,” Arthur replied.
“Sounds good.” They drove for an hour before they ditched the car and got another one and it was a half hour after that that they had time to stop and have Eames stitch up Arthur's arm. It hurt, he firmly believed that anyone who says that stitches don't hurt is lying, but Arthur did not complain. The sun was starting to go down and they sat on the hood of the car passing a bottle of wine between the two of them. Their hotel room was around the corner and the town they were in was small enough but it was on a major travel route so strangers were not uncommon.
“So is there a place we can go where you aren't wanted?” Arthur asked.
“You already know the answer to that,” Eames said as he took a drink of the wine. Arthur did know that but he had long since figured out that people like it when you ask. “Let's just keep moving for now. I think if we sit too long they'll catch up with us. The sooner we're out of Italy the better.” Arthur took the bottle from Eames and took a long drink. There was still some blood underneath Eames' fingernails and Arthur wondered if it was his or someone else's.
“Sounds like a plan.” Arthur replied and they finished off the bottle of wine and half of another before they turned in for the night. Arthur was tired; being on the run was exhausting.
+++
Eames did not mind running when it was with Arthur. When they had separated and pretended not to know each other Eames had hated running. It was annoying and it left him drained. Running with Arthur also left him drained but they also laughed a lot. They drank local booze and found back alleys where they could sleep in the car. They crossed borders and time zones and there was one point that Eames was not sure what country they were in until he listened to the locals to see what language they were speaking.
It was in the south of France that Arthur answered a call and took it off to the side to talk. There were not many people that Arthur was not comfortable talking to in front of Eames and during the two minutes and fifteen seconds that Arthur was gone Eames compiled a list of every single one. Arthur sat down and Eames knew that he was about to be asked a question that he was not going to like very much.
“Okay, out with it, what's going on?” Eames asked. They were sitting in a dark pub tucked away in the corner where no one could hear them talking.
“That was Mal. She and Cobb have set a date for the wedding and they want us to come,” Arthur said. He looked a little bewildered as if Arthur was more thrown by the concept of being invited to a wedding than someone trying to put a bullet between his eyes.
“Does she know that a few weeks ago someone was trying to kill us?” Eames asked slowly.
“I told her and she said some nasty things about being a terrible friend and some questionable things about my character.” Arthur took a deep breath and released it slowly. “She said she really wants us there and it would mean a lot to her if we went. She said she was not above sending a picture with her looking sad to guilt us into coming.”
“She's not supposed to tell us she is trying to guilt or manipulate us, though I suppose Mal is many things but conventional is not one of them,” Eames said. “Is Cobb still crazier than a bag of cats?”
“She said he promises not to point any guns at your head or anywhere else,” Arthur replied. “We haven't had an incident since Italy so I think we've thrown them off our trail. I'll make sure to cover our tracks and we won't stay long in the area. It could be interesting and we would have the opportunity to ask someone who works in the business if their wedding lived up to their dreams.”
“You have the weirdest sense of humor,” Eames said dryly and he took another drink of his beer. “Could be interesting but if Cobb points any guns at me I'm taking back the gift.”
“Oh shit, we have to get a gift.” Arthur looked so surprised and panicked about something as silly as a wedding gift that Eames almost did a spit-take with his beer. Arthur shut him up by yanking Eames into a rough kiss and the rest of the night was a pleasant blur.
<-- masterpost | part two -->