Sweet Vendetta 2/3
Sweet Vendetta
Part Two
Apparently they were the last two to find out about the wedding because when Arthur called back to tell her that they were coming Mal had neglected to tell them that the wedding was in two weeks. Eames was annoyed but mostly because that gave them almost no time to find something that could pass as a gift. Arthur did not want to show up and look like an idiot but between the two of them they had no idea what passed as wedding gifts. There was no registry that they could find and there was no one they could call to get any information. They were not just flying blind, they were flying blind, deaf, and under the lingering effects of general anesthesia. Then there was the awkward moment where neither of them were sure if they should get one card or two.
“Can I get a card that says 'congratulations and thank you for not shooting me in the face'?” Eames asked as they drove to the airport.
“And you say my sense of humor is questionable,” Arthur replied. They were flying out of Paris to a wedding that was being held in Los Angeles and that meant a stay over in New York. Eames sat back in the chair and smiled.
“Do you remember the night we met?” he asked.
“Yes. It was January, cold and a total accident,” Arthur said without looking up from his paper. “We went back to your place and you took a sip from both glasses of brandy because you knew I was paranoid and wouldn't drink out of something I didn't see come out of a sealed bottle.”
“Your paranoia has indeed saved our lives quite a few times.” The silence that followed was comfortable and Eames watched the people around them, taking in the details and trying to decipher their stories. “We make a good team, Arthur.”
“We're a great team, Mr. Eames,” Arthur said and he was smiling now. The rest of the flight was comfortable even when Eames dragged Arthur into the first class bathroom to make out like teenagers. It was probably a good thing that the wedding was the following day because they were both extremely frustrated and tired by the time they landed. Arthur let Eames pin him to the bed and kiss him until Eames' lips were numb. They were both too tired and too jet lagged to do anything more than kiss and some heavy petting and when Eames rolled to his side of the bed he passed out, sedated and content.
+++
Arthur had never been to a wedding. He was an only child and his friends from high school and the army had gotten married after he had been declared dead. It was not like he could just show up at a wedding and say 'by the way I'm not dead do you have an open bar?' Within twenty minutes the government would have scrambled a team and put a bullet in his head. So this was his first wedding and he was not sure what the protocols were. Weddings were all about tradition and that meant that each one was different. After much debate he and Eames decided to go with one card from the two of them and some money. It was not exactly the most thoughtful present in the world but it was better than nothing.
If there was one thing about this entire endeavor that Arthur was really looking forward to it was the fact that Professor Miles was going to be there. Arthur very much wanted to pick the Professor's mind because he was one of the founding members of Project Somnican. There were probably things that he knew that neither of them could have even begun to comprehend. Whether or not these were things that someone would be comfortable enough to talk about at a wedding Arthur had no idea but it was probably worth a shot. The wedding was in the early afternoon so they had to drag each other out of bed because of the jet lag. When they were satisfied that they both did not look like they had traveled halfway across the world they set off to the church.
The first thing Arthur noticed when he walked into the church was that Cobb seemed to be having some sort of nervous breakdown. He was fluttering around wide eyed and panicked and spouting things about how Mal could do better and he could not go through with this. Arthur really had no idea how he was supposed to react to something like that, and when he glanced at Eames he looked surprised as well.
“Ah, good, you must be Arthur and Eames,” said a man with a posh accent and white hair. “As you can see my soon-to-be son in law seems to be having some sort of meltdown and I cannot tend to him and my daughter at the same time and keep this wedding from falling apart. Mr. Arthur, would you please calm Dom down and Mr. Eames could you go make sure my daughter does not drown herself in champagne? Thank you.” As quickly as he had come Professor Miles, Arthur could only assume that was who he was just talking to, was gone and talking to four different people at once.
“What just happened?” Eames asked after a beat of awkward silence.
“We just got delegated tasks despite the fact that we have no idea what's going on,” Arthur said as Eames nodded and followed women in bridesmaids dresses down a hall to where Mal was. Arthur watched Eames go for a moment and then went off to find Cobb. It did not take long; all he had to do was follow the ranting. By the time he had arrived three other men had seemingly given up and left Cobb to freak out on the front steps of the church by himself. Arthur sat down and let the silence hang uncomfortably for a moment or two.
“I can't go through with this,” Cobb whispered.
“Why not?” Arthur asked.
“She can do so much better than me.” Cobb sounded wrecked and Arthur wondered why he was here when Eames was probably much better at reading subtle cues than he was. Arthur also knew that he was good for something in this scenario and that was not sugar coating anything.
“You're right. She can do better,” Arthur said and Cobb looked horrified. “And you don't deserve her either but you also have to remember that Mal is a brilliant woman and you couldn't tell her what to do if you tried. So if she agreed to marry you it's because she wants to and you don't want her to find out that you tried to make her decisions for her. She'd probably throttle you.” Arthur paused and ran that image through his head. “On second thought you should tell her; that would be a hell of a show and I'd make a killing selling tickets.” Cobb laughed for the first time even if he still looked very uneasy.
“What if I mess it up?” Cobb asked though he sounded less panicked and more terrified now.
“You will mess up but that's inevitable. Nothing is perfect but you have to want to fix it. If you're worried about ruining her life and not concerned with your own you're ready to get married.” Arthur watched Cobb carefully as the slump in his shoulders began to slouch less, as he visibly pulled himself together and Arthur knew Cobb was going to be fine.
“You're right. I mean, you and Eames are basically the perfect couple--”
“--wait, what?--”
“--and you still fight like cats and dogs so I think we're going to be okay. Thanks for the pep talk, Arthur.” Cobb patted Arthur on the shoulder and strolled back into the church like he could take on the world.
“You're welcome?”
+++
Eames made his way through dressing rooms filled with women changing who did not seem to notice or care that he was there at all. He was also disappointed by the lack of reaction because it was comedy gold if nothing else. Eames found the door that people kept tapping on and that no one was answering. He knocked on it and was met with a slur of very nasty words and the door flinging open to reveal Mal in her underwear with a crazed look in her eye. The look melted the moment she laid eyes on him and before Eames could ask if she wanted to cover up Mal hauled him into the room by his shirt.
“When did you get here?” Mal asked as she walked further into the room.
“Yesterday. Are you okay?” Eames asked.
“Peachy. Did my father send you in?” Mal was moving around the edge of the room like a vulture ready to pounce as soon as a helpless animal had the gall to not keel over and die.
“Yes, he wanted to make sure you were okay. Now let's start getting you into that lovely dress,” Eames said. The two of them worked quietly and\ Eames knew a thing or two about putting female clothing on. Mal let him work and was even compliant when he made her sit down so he could work on her hair.
“Dom and I, we're two halves of a whole, we complete each other and I know that, so why am I so scared?” Mal asked.
“It's in our nature to be scared of things that make us happy,” Eames said as he got a rather stubborn curl under control.
“Because we're afraid of being happy?” she asked dubiously. “That sounds like a lot of crap to me.”
“Stop moving or I'll poke you in the eye with a q-tip. We're not scared of being happy, we are scared of the things that make us happy because we're afraid of losing them,” Eames explained and he went to work on her make-up. Mal closed her eyes and let him work his magic; Eames could apply makeup better than most women, and he also knew that she was not done yet. “I'm not a romantic, Mal, but you two seem to work. If it works then just let it work and if it needs fixing then you fix it.” Mal stilled his hand and opened her eyes; she looked radiant.
“Thank you,” she said. “You and Arthur already work so well and I hope that someday my relationship with Dom will be as steady as yours is--”
“--our what?--”
“--but I need you to leave so I can finish getting ready.” Mal ushered him out of the room and closed the door in his face. Eames blinked because he did not really remember getting manhandled out of the room by a French woman but here he was.
“Okay?”
+++
Eames allowed himself to take some credit for how beautiful Mal looked when she walked down the aisle. They said some very nice vows and kissed and it was like something out of the movies. After the ceremony was the reception which thankfully had an open bar. Eames stood next to Arthur as they watched the happy couple have their first dance. The way they looked at each other was so lovey dovey that it was almost a little sickening. Professor Miles walked over and joined the two of them at the bar.
“Thank you both for calming them down,” Professor Miles said.
“It's fine, sir, we were happy to help,” Arthur replied as the first dance came to an end. In a fury of white and lovely curls Mal came over and took Arthur by the hand, pulling him out onto the floor.
“Come dance with me, Arthur!” she said and Arthur barely had time to put his drink down. He quickly took back control of the dance and expertly led Mal across the dance floor. Eames knew Arthur could dance, he had charmed his way into the minds of too many fancy ladies not to, but it was different to see it in person. Eames watched, so mesmerized by the sight that he was a little surprised when Professor Miles spoke again.
“Mal has told me so much about the two of you,” Miles said.
“I sincerely hope not,” Eames replied reflexively.
“Well she told me that you two work on the less than legal side of dreaming and that is pretty much the only side of dreaming left,” Miles said. “I know my daughter and I know Dom Cobb so I’m certain they will continue to pursue dreaming no matter what.” This conversation felt like it was taking on a much heavier tone than Eames had been expecting. He put his drink down and looked at Miles. “Mr. Eames, there is only one thing I'd like to ask of you and Mr. Arthur; do not get my daughter or her husband mixed up in anything that would jeopardize their safety.” Eames knew how to read people, how to read between the lines, and he knew something was being implied but not outright said. And the unspoken 'or else' hung heavy in the air like smoke.
Professor Miles was exactly like his daughter: brilliant, calculating and terrifying.
+++
Arthur turned Mal on the dance floor and she laughed when he dipped her. She looked happy, so happy, and that made Arthur smile. He knew Cobb and he had come to know Mal very well in the time they had worked together. She must have trusted him to invite them to the wedding. It was not often that personal lives and the kind of lives in their business mixed often, and even then a wedding was not something Arthur had ever thought he would see. Yet here he was and he was glad that he had come.
“You and Eames should have a dance next,” Mal whispered into his ear.
“Why would we do that?” Arthur asked and Mal smiled brightly like there was some sort of joke going on that he did not understand. “No, seriously, why would we do that?” Mal did not answer as she broke away from their dance, interlaced their fingers and led Arthur back to the bar where Eames was talking to Professor Miles. Mal took his hand, placed it in Eames' and laced their fingers together, beaming.
“Dad, it's your turn to dance with me,” Mal said and she took Miles and dragged him out onto the dance floor. Arthur watched them go and then looked at his hand holding Eames'. It was a little strange and more than a little uncomfortable and when he looked at Eames he saw the same expression on Eames' face. They released each other’s hands and watched as Mal danced with her father and Dom danced with his mother. About halfway through they broke away from their respective parents and gravitated back to each other like magnets.
“Professor Miles is a terrifying man,” Eames said.
“I am Jack's lack of surprise,” Arthur replied and they both ordered another drink.
+++
At some point during the reception and after far too many drinks Mal managed to convince both of them to stay in the city. Arthur was not sure when that happened but before he knew it they were sending Cobb and Mal off to the airport. Arthur was hungover, Eames was worse, Cobb looked like Mal was the second coming and he was too proud to ask for a miracle, and Mal was thanking him for hanging around until after the honeymoon and breaking a few of his ribs in the process with her hug. Then they were gone and suddenly he and Eames had a week to kill and not much to do.
They traveled around the general area. They went to Northern California, they hiked in the redwoods, made their way through San Francisco, and walked along a cold beach in Point Reyes. It was a nice break because it was not long after Cobb and Mal vanished into the airport that Arthur got a message from her that the reason she had wanted them to stick around was for a job. Every time Arthur asked for details Mal sent him back a message that said 'ON MY HONEYMOON <3' and nothing else. He was beginning to think it was an automated response and wanted to hack it just to prove he could.
It was a nice week off until Mal called him and Arthur found himself once again having his ribs crushed by a French woman. She told them about the lovely night they had spent in a hotel right after the wedding and how the honeymoon had been amazing. Cobb and Mal looked at each other with these expressions of adoration that Arthur could not really wrap his mind around. It seemed dangerous the way they were so wrapped up in each other. It was not quite co-dependency but to lean so heavily on someone else seemed risky. There was a difference between Cobb and Mal and what he had with Eames. They depended on each other, trusted each other, but they worked with other people and they would be okay if separated. If Cobb and Mal were separated Arthur was not sure either of them would come away the same person.
Mal had rented a small apartment that paid by the week and had two bedrooms. Arthur wanted to chastise her for not letting him do this part of the job but arguing with Mal never seemed to work out well for him so it seemed better to just leave it alone. On the first night they sat around the small living room and passed around a bottle of whiskey though Mal declined any. She said she was not a whiskey drinker which left the bottle to Cobb, Eames and Arthur, and when it was gone Arthur felt relaxed and loose. Mal whispered something to Cobb and they both smirked.
“What's so funny?” Eames asked and Arthur did not remember when he had pressed his back against Eames' chest but there they were.
“Nothing, my dear,” Mal replied. Eames clearly did not believe her and neither did Arthur, but he decided it was best not to push the issue.
“Tell me about the job,” Arthur said, changing the subject.
“A chemist that we knew back when we were true academics called us just before the wedding and asked Mal if she could put together a team for an extraction,” Cobb explained. “Said we would need a forger and someone to work point so you two would be the logical choice.”
“Who are we extracting from? Can you give us any details?” Eames asked. Cobb and Mal knew how much Arthur hated going into jobs blind and the fact that they had accepted a job without asking more questions just revealed how naïve they both were.
“A lawyer wants to know which of his partners is taking bribes,” Cobb said without giving any names which was really irritating.
“Doesn't sound strictly legal,” Eames said casually.
“It isn't,” Mal said firmly. “Dreaming is not legal anymore and we still have so much that we want to see out there and we cannot do that without funds.”
“So you're doing this for the money,” Arthur summarized, which made sense if he thought about it.
“We have some interesting ideas on extreme depth we want to explore and Javier is willing to give us this low key job,” Cobb said and he and Mal smiled at each other again. Arthur glanced at Eames who was frowning deeply which Arthur could understand. They were meeting this Javier for lunch the next day and would be getting more details then. If they were not comfortable Arthur was fairly sure that Mal would only hate him a little if they pulled out and she would not talk to them for awhile if Arthur told them to get out as well but she would follow his advice. Arthur closed his eyes and listened to the steady sound of Eames' heartbeat.
+++
Eames did not trust this job. He knew most of the chemists out there if only by name and he had never heard of a Javier before. This did not mean much if he was an academic now but it still made him uneasy. Arthur was as well but it was not just the job that had him uneasy. He kept looking at Cobb and Mal like there was something about the two of them that bothered him. Eames was sure if pressed Arthur would not be able to put it into words what was bothering him but it was there. They had not done anything physical the night before though Eames had considered it just to get back at Cobb and Mal who made no attempt to silence themselves on their behalf.
The next morning they all sat around a coffee pot in near silence. Eames had nothing else to add to this job and Arthur had plenty that he was not saying. They were both armed while Cobb and Mal were not. This was not entirely surprising considering they thought they were just going to lunch but it did point out just how little they knew about this business. It reminded Eames of the night of the wedding and how Miles had warned them to keep Cobb and Mal safe. It was not a job Eames wanted to be saddled with but here they were.
Javier was a small man, Eames would have been surprised if he broke five feet, with big eyes and greasy hair. Mal greeted him like an old friend but Eames could see the nerves in the corner of his mouth, the way he hung his shoulders, and it made Eames want to reach for his gun. Eames glanced at Arthur who also looked like he was about to pull a gun on someone, almost twitchy, and Arthur was always a steady presence.
“What is this?” Arthur asked. Cobb, Mal and Javier were all sitting at a tiny table outside a small cafe but the streets seemed strangely deserted. Everything was too quiet and Eames could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.
“Lunch now, take a seat, boys,” Mal said with a flick of her wrist. But Arthur was not so easily swayed, neither of them were, and it had saved their lives too many times to not trust their instincts.
“I will only ask one more time; what is this?” Arthur asked and now he was angry. Eames was his back because Arthur was a point and he was always the first one forward. Cobb stood and seemed to realize that things were about to get out of control.
“Come on, guys, let's chat about this first,” Cobb said, which was rich coming from the person that had shoved a loaded gun in Eames' face when Mal got hurt the first time they worked together but Eames kept that to himself. It was not going to help.
“This is a job,” Javier said but his voice was an octave too high and it had been minutes since a car had driven by. This was LA, which was not a quiet city, and now everything was quiet. Eames had a terrible feeling they were well and truly in trouble.
“I can see that but who are you working for?” Arthur asked. Javier looked at the table and Arthur slammed his palms down hard enough that a glass fell to the ground, shattering on impact. Javier kept his eyes on the table but he flinched. Mal seemed to realize that Arthur would not act this way unless something was truly wrong.
“Javier?” she asked and his face crumbled.
“I'm sorry,” Javier whispered. The world around them exploded; there was a deafening crack of a gun and a hole in Javier's forehead. Mal screamed and Cobb pulled her down to the ground under the table.
“Stay down!” Eames screamed at the Cobbs and he turned his attention back to the streets. They were empty but there were too many vantage points for a sniper. Arthur caught the movement behind some cars first and fired a few shots. There were no screams or grunts of pain so he must have missed. Suddenly there were people moving all around them, too many and too fast to hit them all at once. Arthur kicked one of the small tables and used it as cover and Eames did his best to do the same but they were small and not too effective. Bullets rained down on them like a hailstorm and over it all he could hear Mal sobbing. She was tough, they both were, but this was not their world.
“We have you surrounded so it would be in your best interest to stand up,” a voice called out and Eames knew that voice. He had heard it over the phone during meetings and it made him want to kick himself. He glanced at Arthur who looked angrier than Eames had ever seen him. Eames looked at Cobb and Mal, shaken and terrified, and they really did not have any choice. Arthur tossed his gun over the table and Eames did the same. The four of them stood up slowly, hands in the air and Eames stared down Adam Todd. “Lovely to meet you boys in person finally.”
“Your issue is with us, not them,” Arthur said. If they could get Cobb and Mal out of here then Eames and Arthur could focus on themselves and they wouldn’t have to protect civilians.
“I'm afraid it is far too late for that,” Todd said. He glanced at a gunman to his left and nodded. Eames opened his mouth to say something, anything, to keep this from happening but the gunman fired a shot. Mal screamed and for half a second Eames thought she had been hit but it was Cobb that crumbled to the ground, a hand over his side. Cobb's shirt was already stained with blood but it was the sight of Cobb's blood on Mal's hands that made Eames see red. A quick glance at Arthur and Eames instantly knew that Arthur was going to tear these people apart. “We don't need him for this,” Todd said with a wicked grin. “And we don't need you either.” Eames was about to tell them not to shoot Arthur, that of course they needed him, he was so important, but pain knocked the words off of Eames' tongue. Getting shot never got easier no matter how many times it happened and Eames pressed a hand to the wound to stop the blood flow as he stumbled to the ground.
“Eames, Eames, look at me,” Arthur said. His voice sounded steady but his eyes were wider and more panicked than Eames had ever seen them. Eames wanted to say something but when he took a breath all he tasted was blood. “Don't close your eyes, you hear me? You've survived worse than this, I know you have, so keep your eyes open.” There was another voice in the background, it was Mal and she was crying, and something else that was in the background that Eames could not make out. Eames held onto Arthur's hand like a lifeline and Eames was sure if he let go he would never wake up.
“Stay the fuck away--” Arthur said and the hand was gone. Eames could see three or four men pulling Arthur away. He was fighting, Arthur was a fighter, and vaguely Eames could see someone dragging Mal away. Todd was taking them, just like he had taken Ethan Tomas, and Eames knew what happened to the people that Todd took. Someone yelled out in pain, not Arthur or Mal, and another table fell over with a crash.
Through tables of the cafe Eames could just see two men throwing Mal into the back of a car and moments later he saw four more that were barely containing Arthur. One of them raised a gun and Eames tried to warn Arthur but nothing came out. The sound of a gun cracking against Arthur's skull echoed and Eames could do nothing as Arthur collapsed. He was bleeding out and Todd was taking Arthur and Mal and he could do nothing. The world began to fade and the last things he heard were doors slamming and Mal screaming Cobb's name.
+++
Eames was surprised when he woke up. Everything hurt and the air smelled too clean. As his vision swam into focus Eames realized that he was alive, he could feel all of his limbs and he was in a hospital. He ignored the wave of nausea when he sat up and looked around. Cobb was in the bed next him, hooked up to machines but alive, and they were alone. Mal and Arthur were not there waiting for them to wake up and that meant that he had not hallucinated what had happened at that cafe. Eames closed his eyes and did his best to slow his pounding heartbeat. Arthur and Mal had been taken by Adam Todd and had mentioned a job. He and Cobb were alive and he knew nothing beyond that. The sound of Mal screaming Cobb's name and the sight of Arthur trying to fight off four men and looking like a wild animal ran through Eames' skull on an infinite loop.
The door opened and Eames half expected to open his eyes and see the barrel of a gun but Miles walked in. He looked pale with dark rings around his eyes but he also looked steady. They stared at each other for a moment until Cobb groaned and began to wake up. Without being told to do so Miles walked over and pinned Cobb to the bed. It was a good thing he did so because as soon as Cobb was coherent he began to thrash against the weight of his father in law.
“Where is she? Where is she?” Cobb screamed.
“We don't know yet, now calm down before you tear your stitches,” Miles replied sternly. Cobb stopped thrashing but he looked ready to defy all odds and bolt for the door. “Tell us what happened, Mr. Eames.”
“The chemist we were meeting set us up. The man that took Arthur and Mal is Adam Todd. Arthur and I turned down a job from him when it became apparent that he was going to use the extraction information to kill someone. He did not take the rejection well but we thought we had lost him,” Eames explained.
“He said he didn't 'need' us,” Cobb whispered. “What does that mean?”
“I'm assuming Todd wants them to do the job and at the end of the day you need an extractor and a point to get a job done. Arthur is well trained and could build a basic level,” Eames said. He did not apologize because there was really nothing he could say that would make this okay. Cobb looked sick but Miles looked a little thoughtful.
“He'll kill them after they do the job,” Miles said. Cobb made a choking sound but Eames nodded. “Mr. Arthur will know that so he will stall as long as possible so we can get to them.”
“We're going after them?” Cobb asked.
“He will keep Mal safe. I won't let Todd get away with this,” Eames said quietly. Cobb stared at him like he had never seen Eames before but Miles nodded.
“You two have been asleep for a day and a half and we can get you released from the hospital the day after tomorrow. No sooner, I'm afraid, but I will use my connections to get any information I can in the meantime. You focus on getting better and we can hope your Arthur is as strong as you think he is.” Miles turned to Cobb and the two of them began to talk quietly but Eames was not listening. Arthur was strong, stronger than anyone could ever predict, and Eames would burn the world down to get him back.
+++
Arthur was not sure when he woke up entirely. He had vague memories of waking up once in a car but someone hit him over the head again and the world went black. He spent the next hours or days in and out of various states of unconsciousness. He was being moved around a lot and he had no idea where he was anymore. Arthur knew that he was not alone because he caught glimpses of pretty eyes and dark hair. It was enough to keep him from losing himself in the darkness completely. His limbs were heavy, he was probably drugged, and it was like swimming to keep himself awake.
“Rest, Arthur,” a soft voice said and Arthur listened.
The next time Arthur opened his eyes he was on a cold floor staring up at a single light bulb hanging from a ceiling. His head was pounding and it felt like there was dried blood in his hair. Arthur sat up slowly and took in his surroundings. He was in a small concrete room with no windows. There was what looked like a small bathroom off the side that was nothing more than a toilet the size of a closet. The door was metal and let in only a tiny sliver of light. Along the wall was a small cot barely big enough for one person and Arthur was surprised to see Mal asleep on the cot. Arthur scrambled over to the bed and had to take some deep breaths to keep from blacking out. Mal stirred and she was there to catch him before he fell. She held him up and hugged him tightly.
“Thank god you're awake,” Mal whispered into his neck. “I wasn't sure you were ever going to wake up.”
“I'm okay,” Arthur said, hugging Mal back. Arthur pulled back and began to look her over; there was some blood on her hands and clothing but she did not look hurt. “What happened?”
“They took us,” Mal said. “They moved us around a lot, made sure you were unconscious the entire time, and put a bag over my head so I couldn't see anything either. I don't know why we're here or what they want.” Arthur clenched his fists and closed his eyes because this was the last thing he wanted. It was one thing for his and Eames' problems to get them in trouble but now they were dragging other people down with them. Arthur squeezed Mal's upper arms and they helped each other sit on the bed. “Arthur, Cobb and Eames, they were--” Mal choked because she could not finish that sentence.
“They're strong,” Arthur said as Mal leaned against him, resting her cheek on his shoulder. He hugged her tightly and did not want to lie. Arthur had no idea if Eames and Cobb were even alive but he knew that both of them would fight until the bitter end.
“What is happening?” she asked. Mal was involved now and that meant that she had the right to know.
“A couple of months ago Eames and I were hired to perform an extraction on a gentleman to find out the location of his sister. It became frighteningly apparent that Adam Todd wanted to find this girl so he could kill her. We didn't want any part in a kid dying even indirectly. Todd already had the brother so we broke him out and got him out of the country. Todd didn't take it well. We thought we had lost them but now we've dragged you into this mess,” Arthur explained. Mal did not blame him or scream at him, she just went deadly silent. After a long moment of silence, Mal whispered, terrified,
“Arthur, I have a confession
“What is it?” Arthur asked. She was silent for a long time as if she was having trouble finding the words. He gave her time, all that she needed, because time was all they seemed to have.
“I think I'm pregnant,” she said. Arthur felt his blood run cold because that was pretty much the worst thing she could say. There was literally nothing else that could make this situation even more dangerous for her than this. “I'm not far along, the 'danger zone' as they call it, but I took the test and it was positive. I was actually just going to consult for this job and have Dom and Eames handle the extraction. I was going to tell everyone after lunch. Not even Dom knows.” Mal was shaking and Arthur took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.
“I'm going to keep you safe,” he said.
“You can't make that promise,” Mal replied. Arthur released her from the hug and knelt down in front of her.
“I can and I just did. I'm going to keep you safe so you can tell Dom yourself that the two of you are going to be parents, okay?” Arthur took her hands and squeezed them. “I'm going to get us out of here.” Mal stared at him for a long time until she finally nodded slowly. Arthur was not sure if she strictly believed him but she seemed calmer. “Get some sleep and I'll keep watch, okay?”
“Okay, thank you, Arthur,” Mal said as she kissed him on the cheek. Mal climbed into the cot, wrapped the thin blanket around her body and fell asleep. Arthur sat down on the floor, his back against the bed, and watched the door. They would not be left alone for long and Arthur was not going to be taken by surprise when they got visitors.
+++
Arthur was not sure how much time had passed but Mal woke up after several hours of restless sleep. She did not sit up and they did not talk, however, and Arthur kept his eyes on the door. As more time passed he decided that his time might be better spent elsewhere so he began to look around their room.
It was cold and dark with little natural lighting so more than likely they were underground. He could smell that slight odor of mildew that came with concrete bunkers and there was a chance that they were in some sort of abandoned military storage unit. The door was steel and the latches were firmly in place so there was no way of taking it off the hinges or breaking it down. The blanket and pillow smelled like the rest of the room did but they looked old not dirty. The bathroom was little more than an alcove with a tiny toilet that Arthur tried not to think about too much. It flushed but it sounded like the pipes were going to burst whenever they did. It was all bolted down so there was nothing Arthur could use as a weapon. There was nothing else in the room and no way out. He checked every corner and every cranny but there did not seem to be any bugs or recording material in the room. They were not being watched and Arthur was not sure if he was insulted by that or not.
It was all a mess of time and Arthur was not sure how much had passed when the sound of the lock turning nearly took him by surprise. Arthur was on his feet in seconds and Mal stood behind him. This was not her fight and he would not let it become hers. The door swung open and Todd strolled in with two guards flanking him on either side. All three of them were armed and there was no way he could take all of them without getting shot in the process.
“Mr. Arthur, you're looking better,” Todd said, all smug superiority but Arthur held his tongue; someone else’s life was also on the line.
“What do you want, Todd?” Arthur asked instead.
“I want you to perform an extraction on Mr. Tomas. He's not feeling very well these days, but as long as I get my information, I don't really care,” Todd said.
“I won't do it,” Arthur said firmly and Todd did not look surprised. He nodded to the two guards who took Arthur by the arms and pulled him away from Mal. The first blow was straight to his solar plexus and knocked the wind from his lungs. It was enough to make him stumble and that was all the opening they needed. The two guards were strong and they made sure every blow hurt. They hit him in all of the soft places that would bleed and bruise. Vaguely, over the punches, he heard Mal telling them to stop, please stop, but they were not listening. Arthur groaned on the ground and ignored the flare of pain throughout his entire body.
“Mr. Arthur, you have to know that this isn't going to end well for anyone,” Todd said as the two guards yanked Arthur back to his feet. “You're protecting your lady friend. That's lovely, and I know that she can't go under for very special little reasons. If you do the job we'll set her free and she can go raise her baby as a single mother.” Arthur wanted to punch him for that comment and judging from the angry sound behind him Mal did as well. “How about you think it over?” The guards shoved Arthur back a few steps so Mal had to put her hands out to steady him. Todd left two water bottles and two supermarket sandwiches on the floor near the door, smirked at the two of them and slammed it shut, the lock sliding into place.
“If we do the job, if I do the job, they're just going to kill us,” Arthur said as Mal helped him sit on the bed. “The job is what Todd wants and nothing else.”
“They're just going to keep hurting you,” Mal said. She had picked up the sandwiches and water bottles and set them on the floor. She tore a piece of cloth from her shirt and pressed it against his head. Arthur felt the sting of his reopened head wound and did not even notice that he was bleeding again.
“I can handle it,” Arthur said and it did not taste like a lie. “I can do this while we wait for Eames and Cobb to find us.” Something in Mal's expression wilted and Arthur hated himself for putting it there, for putting her in this place at all, for getting both of them involved.
“He said--”
“He lied,” Arthur interrupted fiercely. Mal nodded slowly and pressed the cloth to his head. Arthur let Mal have a third of his sandwich and some of his water on top of her own. Despite her protests Arthur lay down on the floor instead of sharing the bed and closed his eyes. Everything hurt and the floor was going to make it worse but he was not going to let Mal sleep on this floor. Not when this was his and Eames' fault to begin with. He had to endure and Arthur knew he could do that. He closed his eyes and tried to ignore the aches and pain.
+++
Three days after Mal and Arthur were taken, the hospital discharged Eames and Cobb, but Eames knew it was going to be tough to get by. He was still in a considerable amount of pain but there was no way he could just leave Arthur and Mal to Todd. He had seen the kind of state Ethan had been in when they rescued him and just thinking that the two of them could be going through something similar or worse made Eames want to put his fist through a wall. Apparently he was not the only one because Miles met them outside the second they were released with a rather large pile of information about Todd and everything he was involved in.
"What are we going to do?" Cobb asked as the three of them sat down at a table. While Arthur was the one that normally did this sort of thing that did not mean that Eames was incompetent.
"Professor Miles has provided us with a lot of information regarding Todd and his movements. Give me a pot of coffee and a few hours to go through all of this and I'll see if I can find a location for us to start with," Eames said. Cobb nodded enthusiastically and darted off to make the coffee but Miles did not leave, which was unnerving if nothing else. "I'll find them."
"I'm sure you will," Miles replied. He sounded calm and collected but there was an undercurrent of violence there that set Eames' teeth on edge. This man was truly a force to be reckoned with. Fortunately Cobb swept in with coffee to relieve the tension and Eames threw himself into the papers to try and find something, anything, that could lead them to Arthur and Mal before it was too late.
Twelve hours later and Eames knew a frightening amount of information about Adam Todd. He was linked to a string of murders and incidences of torture where the victims never recovered and never uttered a word about what had happened. The information about the Lilly Tomas incident was scattered but it looked like he was more determined than ever to find her. It did not take long for Eames to find out that Ethan was missing again which could only mean that Todd wanted Arthur and Mal to perform the extraction.
"She can't," Cobb said urgently.
"I know. We already went over this; the second they do the job they're dead so of course they can’t do it," Eames said without looking up from his papers.
"No, no, it's not just that Mal shouldn't do the job, she can't," Cobb repeated which made Eames look up at him patiently waiting for an elaboration. "She doesn't know that I know but she's pregnant."
"She's what? How could you not mention that before now?" Eames asked.
"She doesn't even know that I know and I've been a little out of my mind on painkillers, thank you very much," Cobb snapped. "She can't go under because it could hurt the baby and she isn't very far along."
"Not to mention that the shit that Todd puts people through could cause plenty of complications." Cobb made a sound like a dying animal and Eames took a deep breath, releasing it slowly. "If Arthur finds out he'll do anything to keep her and that baby safe. We need to keep looking." Cobb looked a little relieved and they went back to looking over the information. Todd did not seem to have a huge presence in the states but there was enough information pointing to Phoenix that there could be something there. Todd did some drug smuggling on the side and Phoenix was one of the stopping grounds for getting it over the border.
"Then we will go to Phoenix," Miles said and he got on the phone booking a flight right that moment. Eames was about to argue that he did not need someone to pay his way but Miles did not seem to be the type of person that would accept that objection lightly. Instead Eames made a few phone calls to a contact he knew in the area and put in an order for guns. By the time they got there Todd would have had Arthur and Mal for four days. There was a chance they were already dead but he could not even think that was a possibility. Eames knew that Arthur was strong and he would hold out until help was on the way. Arthur knew that Eames would not let him rot in a cell and Eames hoped that was enough to keep Arthur and Mal alive. Eames managed to grab some sleep before their flight but for the first time since the program Eames thought he had nightmares.
+++
Phoenix was stupidly hot and Eames hated it right away. He had never been to this city before and while it was a dry heat, 100+ Fahrenheit was still like walking into an oven. He refused to let it bother him though and walked with Cobb and Miles through the airport. All of the evidence pointed to Phoenix but there were a dozen locations where Todd could be holding prisoners. Miles strolled through the airport like he did not have a care in the world and Cobb looked like he was on the edge of a nervous breakdown. This was his backup and Eames idly thought about how he wanted Arthur as his backup to find Arthur.
Eames took a cab so he could meet up with his arms dealer while Cobb and Miles followed behind in a rental car. Eames knocked twice and was let into a small basement apartment that smelled strongly like gunpowder and explosives. Ben was in the middle of the living room, a young man with horn rimmed glasses and messy hair, mixing chemicals while eating a poptart. If Eames was in any other business it would have been surreal.
"What brings you to my corner of the world, Eames?" Ben asked without looking up.
"Looking to cause a little trouble and get something of mine back," Eames replied. Ben took another bite of his poptart and narrowed his eyes as he looked at the chemicals.
"Do you need anything else besides guns? This one is going to pack quite a punch when I'm done," Ben said.
"I don't need to blow anything up, Ben, thanks though," Eames replied. "Do you know anything about Adam Todd?" To his credit Ben only flinched a little and it would have been missed by anyone else but finding people's tells was Eames' entire job.
"So you and Arthur were the ones that spit in Todd's face," Ben said as he finished off the poptart. "The only thing I can tell you is that he's been after blood since that whole incident happened. You might find whatever he has of yours alive but there might be a few pieces missing." Eames was not going to let anyone see his reaction to that, least of all someone who had shifting loyalties. Ben looked up from his chemicals and smiled because Eames' silence was all he really needed. "Back room has your order; do you have my money?"
"Wouldn't dream of trying to stiff you, Ben," Eames said, dropping an envelope on the table and walking toward the back room. He found a duffel bag with several guns and extra rounds of ammo. When he had made sure that everything he had asked for was in the bag Eames turned to walk out.
"You be careful, Eames," Ben said as he was walking out. "Just remember that Todd could always hire another team that doesn't have your moral code." It was the thing that Eames was trying hard not to think about. There was the chance that Todd would just kill Arthur and Mal and hire someone else who had no problems with extracting the location of a kid so they could be killed. Eames did not dignify Ben with a response and joined Miles and Cobb in the rental car.
"Do you know how to shoot in the real world?" Eames asked Cobb when they arrived at a small apartment complex that rented by the week. Eames took the guns out of the bag and began to clean and load them. "I know you can pull guns on people in the real world and not practice trigger discipline."
"You're never going to let that go," Cobb grumbled. "Yes, I know how to shoot."
"Have you ever killed anyone in the real world?" Eames asked though he already knew the answer. Cobb, however, did not reply right away. Instead he picked up one of the unloaded guns and looked it over.
"If it means I get Mal back I'll do whatever it takes," Cobb said. Eames nodded though he was not sure if Cobb really understood what he was saying. Instead he finished loading the guns as Miles looked over the information.
"I believe I have narrowed it down to a location," Miles said. "This warehouse here seems like the most likely place where Todd would keep Mal and Arthur. It looks like there are people guarding it."
“I can take care of it,” Eames said. He strapped a gun to his ankle, a shoulder holster and a thigh holster. Cobb actually seemed to know what he was doing now and did not do something stupid like stick a gun in the back of his pants or in a pocket. Miles drove them to the warehouse and left them alone because he did not want to get caught in the crossfire. “Stay behind me and cover my back. Once we’ve confirmed hostiles don’t hesitate to shoot.”
“I can do this,” Cobb assured him, though Eames was not sure who he was trying to convince. They moved forward quietly and Eames could hear people talking. They were saying something about a room in the back and how it had to be kept safe. They mentioned Todd’s name and Eames decided that he had had enough of this and he was getting Arthur and Mal back. He looked at Cobb, nodded, and raised a gun to fire.
From there it was a burst of chaos and bullets. Eames fired without hesitation at each of the guards that had automatic weapons. Eames was fairly sure he saw Cobb shoot a guard straight between the eyes without blinking which was surprising considering he had never killed anyone in the real world. It was a good thing, in some ways, because Eames was no longer worried about watching his back. There were not that many guards and by the time they reached a large metal door Eames had only wounded six men. That did not seem like enough but they were all scrambling to protect this door.
“It’s locked,” Cobb said when he tried to open it but Eames shoved him aside and began to work on picking the lock. The door was too thick to hear if there was anyone on the other side but the guards had been protecting this door and there had to be some reason for that. Todd was not present and Eames was disappointed. He began to think of how he and Arthur were going to hunt the man down when the lock clicked. He pushed the door open to reveal an empty cell. “Where are they? Why aren’t they here?” Cobb asked as he walked around the room. There was nothing here, not even any evidence that someone had ever been here, save for a single piece of paper taped on the far wall.
“Watch the door. We don’t want someone to run over and lock us in,” Eames ordered. Cobb looked wrecked but he nodded and stood near the entrance. Eames crossed the room and took the paper off of the wall and joined Cobb at the entrance. He opened it to reveal a picture of Arthur and Mal in an identical cell time stamped for the day before. Arthur was bloody and bruised but he was alive and standing in front of Mal when the picture was taken. They had been played, and Eames swore loudly. They had been alive, as of the day before, and Eames and Cobb were no closer to finding them.
<-- part one | part three -->
Part Two
Apparently they were the last two to find out about the wedding because when Arthur called back to tell her that they were coming Mal had neglected to tell them that the wedding was in two weeks. Eames was annoyed but mostly because that gave them almost no time to find something that could pass as a gift. Arthur did not want to show up and look like an idiot but between the two of them they had no idea what passed as wedding gifts. There was no registry that they could find and there was no one they could call to get any information. They were not just flying blind, they were flying blind, deaf, and under the lingering effects of general anesthesia. Then there was the awkward moment where neither of them were sure if they should get one card or two.
“Can I get a card that says 'congratulations and thank you for not shooting me in the face'?” Eames asked as they drove to the airport.
“And you say my sense of humor is questionable,” Arthur replied. They were flying out of Paris to a wedding that was being held in Los Angeles and that meant a stay over in New York. Eames sat back in the chair and smiled.
“Do you remember the night we met?” he asked.
“Yes. It was January, cold and a total accident,” Arthur said without looking up from his paper. “We went back to your place and you took a sip from both glasses of brandy because you knew I was paranoid and wouldn't drink out of something I didn't see come out of a sealed bottle.”
“Your paranoia has indeed saved our lives quite a few times.” The silence that followed was comfortable and Eames watched the people around them, taking in the details and trying to decipher their stories. “We make a good team, Arthur.”
“We're a great team, Mr. Eames,” Arthur said and he was smiling now. The rest of the flight was comfortable even when Eames dragged Arthur into the first class bathroom to make out like teenagers. It was probably a good thing that the wedding was the following day because they were both extremely frustrated and tired by the time they landed. Arthur let Eames pin him to the bed and kiss him until Eames' lips were numb. They were both too tired and too jet lagged to do anything more than kiss and some heavy petting and when Eames rolled to his side of the bed he passed out, sedated and content.
+++
Arthur had never been to a wedding. He was an only child and his friends from high school and the army had gotten married after he had been declared dead. It was not like he could just show up at a wedding and say 'by the way I'm not dead do you have an open bar?' Within twenty minutes the government would have scrambled a team and put a bullet in his head. So this was his first wedding and he was not sure what the protocols were. Weddings were all about tradition and that meant that each one was different. After much debate he and Eames decided to go with one card from the two of them and some money. It was not exactly the most thoughtful present in the world but it was better than nothing.
If there was one thing about this entire endeavor that Arthur was really looking forward to it was the fact that Professor Miles was going to be there. Arthur very much wanted to pick the Professor's mind because he was one of the founding members of Project Somnican. There were probably things that he knew that neither of them could have even begun to comprehend. Whether or not these were things that someone would be comfortable enough to talk about at a wedding Arthur had no idea but it was probably worth a shot. The wedding was in the early afternoon so they had to drag each other out of bed because of the jet lag. When they were satisfied that they both did not look like they had traveled halfway across the world they set off to the church.
The first thing Arthur noticed when he walked into the church was that Cobb seemed to be having some sort of nervous breakdown. He was fluttering around wide eyed and panicked and spouting things about how Mal could do better and he could not go through with this. Arthur really had no idea how he was supposed to react to something like that, and when he glanced at Eames he looked surprised as well.
“Ah, good, you must be Arthur and Eames,” said a man with a posh accent and white hair. “As you can see my soon-to-be son in law seems to be having some sort of meltdown and I cannot tend to him and my daughter at the same time and keep this wedding from falling apart. Mr. Arthur, would you please calm Dom down and Mr. Eames could you go make sure my daughter does not drown herself in champagne? Thank you.” As quickly as he had come Professor Miles, Arthur could only assume that was who he was just talking to, was gone and talking to four different people at once.
“What just happened?” Eames asked after a beat of awkward silence.
“We just got delegated tasks despite the fact that we have no idea what's going on,” Arthur said as Eames nodded and followed women in bridesmaids dresses down a hall to where Mal was. Arthur watched Eames go for a moment and then went off to find Cobb. It did not take long; all he had to do was follow the ranting. By the time he had arrived three other men had seemingly given up and left Cobb to freak out on the front steps of the church by himself. Arthur sat down and let the silence hang uncomfortably for a moment or two.
“I can't go through with this,” Cobb whispered.
“Why not?” Arthur asked.
“She can do so much better than me.” Cobb sounded wrecked and Arthur wondered why he was here when Eames was probably much better at reading subtle cues than he was. Arthur also knew that he was good for something in this scenario and that was not sugar coating anything.
“You're right. She can do better,” Arthur said and Cobb looked horrified. “And you don't deserve her either but you also have to remember that Mal is a brilliant woman and you couldn't tell her what to do if you tried. So if she agreed to marry you it's because she wants to and you don't want her to find out that you tried to make her decisions for her. She'd probably throttle you.” Arthur paused and ran that image through his head. “On second thought you should tell her; that would be a hell of a show and I'd make a killing selling tickets.” Cobb laughed for the first time even if he still looked very uneasy.
“What if I mess it up?” Cobb asked though he sounded less panicked and more terrified now.
“You will mess up but that's inevitable. Nothing is perfect but you have to want to fix it. If you're worried about ruining her life and not concerned with your own you're ready to get married.” Arthur watched Cobb carefully as the slump in his shoulders began to slouch less, as he visibly pulled himself together and Arthur knew Cobb was going to be fine.
“You're right. I mean, you and Eames are basically the perfect couple--”
“--wait, what?--”
“--and you still fight like cats and dogs so I think we're going to be okay. Thanks for the pep talk, Arthur.” Cobb patted Arthur on the shoulder and strolled back into the church like he could take on the world.
“You're welcome?”
+++
Eames made his way through dressing rooms filled with women changing who did not seem to notice or care that he was there at all. He was also disappointed by the lack of reaction because it was comedy gold if nothing else. Eames found the door that people kept tapping on and that no one was answering. He knocked on it and was met with a slur of very nasty words and the door flinging open to reveal Mal in her underwear with a crazed look in her eye. The look melted the moment she laid eyes on him and before Eames could ask if she wanted to cover up Mal hauled him into the room by his shirt.
“When did you get here?” Mal asked as she walked further into the room.
“Yesterday. Are you okay?” Eames asked.
“Peachy. Did my father send you in?” Mal was moving around the edge of the room like a vulture ready to pounce as soon as a helpless animal had the gall to not keel over and die.
“Yes, he wanted to make sure you were okay. Now let's start getting you into that lovely dress,” Eames said. The two of them worked quietly and\ Eames knew a thing or two about putting female clothing on. Mal let him work and was even compliant when he made her sit down so he could work on her hair.
“Dom and I, we're two halves of a whole, we complete each other and I know that, so why am I so scared?” Mal asked.
“It's in our nature to be scared of things that make us happy,” Eames said as he got a rather stubborn curl under control.
“Because we're afraid of being happy?” she asked dubiously. “That sounds like a lot of crap to me.”
“Stop moving or I'll poke you in the eye with a q-tip. We're not scared of being happy, we are scared of the things that make us happy because we're afraid of losing them,” Eames explained and he went to work on her make-up. Mal closed her eyes and let him work his magic; Eames could apply makeup better than most women, and he also knew that she was not done yet. “I'm not a romantic, Mal, but you two seem to work. If it works then just let it work and if it needs fixing then you fix it.” Mal stilled his hand and opened her eyes; she looked radiant.
“Thank you,” she said. “You and Arthur already work so well and I hope that someday my relationship with Dom will be as steady as yours is--”
“--our what?--”
“--but I need you to leave so I can finish getting ready.” Mal ushered him out of the room and closed the door in his face. Eames blinked because he did not really remember getting manhandled out of the room by a French woman but here he was.
“Okay?”
+++
Eames allowed himself to take some credit for how beautiful Mal looked when she walked down the aisle. They said some very nice vows and kissed and it was like something out of the movies. After the ceremony was the reception which thankfully had an open bar. Eames stood next to Arthur as they watched the happy couple have their first dance. The way they looked at each other was so lovey dovey that it was almost a little sickening. Professor Miles walked over and joined the two of them at the bar.
“Thank you both for calming them down,” Professor Miles said.
“It's fine, sir, we were happy to help,” Arthur replied as the first dance came to an end. In a fury of white and lovely curls Mal came over and took Arthur by the hand, pulling him out onto the floor.
“Come dance with me, Arthur!” she said and Arthur barely had time to put his drink down. He quickly took back control of the dance and expertly led Mal across the dance floor. Eames knew Arthur could dance, he had charmed his way into the minds of too many fancy ladies not to, but it was different to see it in person. Eames watched, so mesmerized by the sight that he was a little surprised when Professor Miles spoke again.
“Mal has told me so much about the two of you,” Miles said.
“I sincerely hope not,” Eames replied reflexively.
“Well she told me that you two work on the less than legal side of dreaming and that is pretty much the only side of dreaming left,” Miles said. “I know my daughter and I know Dom Cobb so I’m certain they will continue to pursue dreaming no matter what.” This conversation felt like it was taking on a much heavier tone than Eames had been expecting. He put his drink down and looked at Miles. “Mr. Eames, there is only one thing I'd like to ask of you and Mr. Arthur; do not get my daughter or her husband mixed up in anything that would jeopardize their safety.” Eames knew how to read people, how to read between the lines, and he knew something was being implied but not outright said. And the unspoken 'or else' hung heavy in the air like smoke.
Professor Miles was exactly like his daughter: brilliant, calculating and terrifying.
+++
Arthur turned Mal on the dance floor and she laughed when he dipped her. She looked happy, so happy, and that made Arthur smile. He knew Cobb and he had come to know Mal very well in the time they had worked together. She must have trusted him to invite them to the wedding. It was not often that personal lives and the kind of lives in their business mixed often, and even then a wedding was not something Arthur had ever thought he would see. Yet here he was and he was glad that he had come.
“You and Eames should have a dance next,” Mal whispered into his ear.
“Why would we do that?” Arthur asked and Mal smiled brightly like there was some sort of joke going on that he did not understand. “No, seriously, why would we do that?” Mal did not answer as she broke away from their dance, interlaced their fingers and led Arthur back to the bar where Eames was talking to Professor Miles. Mal took his hand, placed it in Eames' and laced their fingers together, beaming.
“Dad, it's your turn to dance with me,” Mal said and she took Miles and dragged him out onto the dance floor. Arthur watched them go and then looked at his hand holding Eames'. It was a little strange and more than a little uncomfortable and when he looked at Eames he saw the same expression on Eames' face. They released each other’s hands and watched as Mal danced with her father and Dom danced with his mother. About halfway through they broke away from their respective parents and gravitated back to each other like magnets.
“Professor Miles is a terrifying man,” Eames said.
“I am Jack's lack of surprise,” Arthur replied and they both ordered another drink.
+++
At some point during the reception and after far too many drinks Mal managed to convince both of them to stay in the city. Arthur was not sure when that happened but before he knew it they were sending Cobb and Mal off to the airport. Arthur was hungover, Eames was worse, Cobb looked like Mal was the second coming and he was too proud to ask for a miracle, and Mal was thanking him for hanging around until after the honeymoon and breaking a few of his ribs in the process with her hug. Then they were gone and suddenly he and Eames had a week to kill and not much to do.
They traveled around the general area. They went to Northern California, they hiked in the redwoods, made their way through San Francisco, and walked along a cold beach in Point Reyes. It was a nice break because it was not long after Cobb and Mal vanished into the airport that Arthur got a message from her that the reason she had wanted them to stick around was for a job. Every time Arthur asked for details Mal sent him back a message that said 'ON MY HONEYMOON <3' and nothing else. He was beginning to think it was an automated response and wanted to hack it just to prove he could.
It was a nice week off until Mal called him and Arthur found himself once again having his ribs crushed by a French woman. She told them about the lovely night they had spent in a hotel right after the wedding and how the honeymoon had been amazing. Cobb and Mal looked at each other with these expressions of adoration that Arthur could not really wrap his mind around. It seemed dangerous the way they were so wrapped up in each other. It was not quite co-dependency but to lean so heavily on someone else seemed risky. There was a difference between Cobb and Mal and what he had with Eames. They depended on each other, trusted each other, but they worked with other people and they would be okay if separated. If Cobb and Mal were separated Arthur was not sure either of them would come away the same person.
Mal had rented a small apartment that paid by the week and had two bedrooms. Arthur wanted to chastise her for not letting him do this part of the job but arguing with Mal never seemed to work out well for him so it seemed better to just leave it alone. On the first night they sat around the small living room and passed around a bottle of whiskey though Mal declined any. She said she was not a whiskey drinker which left the bottle to Cobb, Eames and Arthur, and when it was gone Arthur felt relaxed and loose. Mal whispered something to Cobb and they both smirked.
“What's so funny?” Eames asked and Arthur did not remember when he had pressed his back against Eames' chest but there they were.
“Nothing, my dear,” Mal replied. Eames clearly did not believe her and neither did Arthur, but he decided it was best not to push the issue.
“Tell me about the job,” Arthur said, changing the subject.
“A chemist that we knew back when we were true academics called us just before the wedding and asked Mal if she could put together a team for an extraction,” Cobb explained. “Said we would need a forger and someone to work point so you two would be the logical choice.”
“Who are we extracting from? Can you give us any details?” Eames asked. Cobb and Mal knew how much Arthur hated going into jobs blind and the fact that they had accepted a job without asking more questions just revealed how naïve they both were.
“A lawyer wants to know which of his partners is taking bribes,” Cobb said without giving any names which was really irritating.
“Doesn't sound strictly legal,” Eames said casually.
“It isn't,” Mal said firmly. “Dreaming is not legal anymore and we still have so much that we want to see out there and we cannot do that without funds.”
“So you're doing this for the money,” Arthur summarized, which made sense if he thought about it.
“We have some interesting ideas on extreme depth we want to explore and Javier is willing to give us this low key job,” Cobb said and he and Mal smiled at each other again. Arthur glanced at Eames who was frowning deeply which Arthur could understand. They were meeting this Javier for lunch the next day and would be getting more details then. If they were not comfortable Arthur was fairly sure that Mal would only hate him a little if they pulled out and she would not talk to them for awhile if Arthur told them to get out as well but she would follow his advice. Arthur closed his eyes and listened to the steady sound of Eames' heartbeat.
+++
Eames did not trust this job. He knew most of the chemists out there if only by name and he had never heard of a Javier before. This did not mean much if he was an academic now but it still made him uneasy. Arthur was as well but it was not just the job that had him uneasy. He kept looking at Cobb and Mal like there was something about the two of them that bothered him. Eames was sure if pressed Arthur would not be able to put it into words what was bothering him but it was there. They had not done anything physical the night before though Eames had considered it just to get back at Cobb and Mal who made no attempt to silence themselves on their behalf.
The next morning they all sat around a coffee pot in near silence. Eames had nothing else to add to this job and Arthur had plenty that he was not saying. They were both armed while Cobb and Mal were not. This was not entirely surprising considering they thought they were just going to lunch but it did point out just how little they knew about this business. It reminded Eames of the night of the wedding and how Miles had warned them to keep Cobb and Mal safe. It was not a job Eames wanted to be saddled with but here they were.
Javier was a small man, Eames would have been surprised if he broke five feet, with big eyes and greasy hair. Mal greeted him like an old friend but Eames could see the nerves in the corner of his mouth, the way he hung his shoulders, and it made Eames want to reach for his gun. Eames glanced at Arthur who also looked like he was about to pull a gun on someone, almost twitchy, and Arthur was always a steady presence.
“What is this?” Arthur asked. Cobb, Mal and Javier were all sitting at a tiny table outside a small cafe but the streets seemed strangely deserted. Everything was too quiet and Eames could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.
“Lunch now, take a seat, boys,” Mal said with a flick of her wrist. But Arthur was not so easily swayed, neither of them were, and it had saved their lives too many times to not trust their instincts.
“I will only ask one more time; what is this?” Arthur asked and now he was angry. Eames was his back because Arthur was a point and he was always the first one forward. Cobb stood and seemed to realize that things were about to get out of control.
“Come on, guys, let's chat about this first,” Cobb said, which was rich coming from the person that had shoved a loaded gun in Eames' face when Mal got hurt the first time they worked together but Eames kept that to himself. It was not going to help.
“This is a job,” Javier said but his voice was an octave too high and it had been minutes since a car had driven by. This was LA, which was not a quiet city, and now everything was quiet. Eames had a terrible feeling they were well and truly in trouble.
“I can see that but who are you working for?” Arthur asked. Javier looked at the table and Arthur slammed his palms down hard enough that a glass fell to the ground, shattering on impact. Javier kept his eyes on the table but he flinched. Mal seemed to realize that Arthur would not act this way unless something was truly wrong.
“Javier?” she asked and his face crumbled.
“I'm sorry,” Javier whispered. The world around them exploded; there was a deafening crack of a gun and a hole in Javier's forehead. Mal screamed and Cobb pulled her down to the ground under the table.
“Stay down!” Eames screamed at the Cobbs and he turned his attention back to the streets. They were empty but there were too many vantage points for a sniper. Arthur caught the movement behind some cars first and fired a few shots. There were no screams or grunts of pain so he must have missed. Suddenly there were people moving all around them, too many and too fast to hit them all at once. Arthur kicked one of the small tables and used it as cover and Eames did his best to do the same but they were small and not too effective. Bullets rained down on them like a hailstorm and over it all he could hear Mal sobbing. She was tough, they both were, but this was not their world.
“We have you surrounded so it would be in your best interest to stand up,” a voice called out and Eames knew that voice. He had heard it over the phone during meetings and it made him want to kick himself. He glanced at Arthur who looked angrier than Eames had ever seen him. Eames looked at Cobb and Mal, shaken and terrified, and they really did not have any choice. Arthur tossed his gun over the table and Eames did the same. The four of them stood up slowly, hands in the air and Eames stared down Adam Todd. “Lovely to meet you boys in person finally.”
“Your issue is with us, not them,” Arthur said. If they could get Cobb and Mal out of here then Eames and Arthur could focus on themselves and they wouldn’t have to protect civilians.
“I'm afraid it is far too late for that,” Todd said. He glanced at a gunman to his left and nodded. Eames opened his mouth to say something, anything, to keep this from happening but the gunman fired a shot. Mal screamed and for half a second Eames thought she had been hit but it was Cobb that crumbled to the ground, a hand over his side. Cobb's shirt was already stained with blood but it was the sight of Cobb's blood on Mal's hands that made Eames see red. A quick glance at Arthur and Eames instantly knew that Arthur was going to tear these people apart. “We don't need him for this,” Todd said with a wicked grin. “And we don't need you either.” Eames was about to tell them not to shoot Arthur, that of course they needed him, he was so important, but pain knocked the words off of Eames' tongue. Getting shot never got easier no matter how many times it happened and Eames pressed a hand to the wound to stop the blood flow as he stumbled to the ground.
“Eames, Eames, look at me,” Arthur said. His voice sounded steady but his eyes were wider and more panicked than Eames had ever seen them. Eames wanted to say something but when he took a breath all he tasted was blood. “Don't close your eyes, you hear me? You've survived worse than this, I know you have, so keep your eyes open.” There was another voice in the background, it was Mal and she was crying, and something else that was in the background that Eames could not make out. Eames held onto Arthur's hand like a lifeline and Eames was sure if he let go he would never wake up.
“Stay the fuck away--” Arthur said and the hand was gone. Eames could see three or four men pulling Arthur away. He was fighting, Arthur was a fighter, and vaguely Eames could see someone dragging Mal away. Todd was taking them, just like he had taken Ethan Tomas, and Eames knew what happened to the people that Todd took. Someone yelled out in pain, not Arthur or Mal, and another table fell over with a crash.
Through tables of the cafe Eames could just see two men throwing Mal into the back of a car and moments later he saw four more that were barely containing Arthur. One of them raised a gun and Eames tried to warn Arthur but nothing came out. The sound of a gun cracking against Arthur's skull echoed and Eames could do nothing as Arthur collapsed. He was bleeding out and Todd was taking Arthur and Mal and he could do nothing. The world began to fade and the last things he heard were doors slamming and Mal screaming Cobb's name.
+++
Eames was surprised when he woke up. Everything hurt and the air smelled too clean. As his vision swam into focus Eames realized that he was alive, he could feel all of his limbs and he was in a hospital. He ignored the wave of nausea when he sat up and looked around. Cobb was in the bed next him, hooked up to machines but alive, and they were alone. Mal and Arthur were not there waiting for them to wake up and that meant that he had not hallucinated what had happened at that cafe. Eames closed his eyes and did his best to slow his pounding heartbeat. Arthur and Mal had been taken by Adam Todd and had mentioned a job. He and Cobb were alive and he knew nothing beyond that. The sound of Mal screaming Cobb's name and the sight of Arthur trying to fight off four men and looking like a wild animal ran through Eames' skull on an infinite loop.
The door opened and Eames half expected to open his eyes and see the barrel of a gun but Miles walked in. He looked pale with dark rings around his eyes but he also looked steady. They stared at each other for a moment until Cobb groaned and began to wake up. Without being told to do so Miles walked over and pinned Cobb to the bed. It was a good thing he did so because as soon as Cobb was coherent he began to thrash against the weight of his father in law.
“Where is she? Where is she?” Cobb screamed.
“We don't know yet, now calm down before you tear your stitches,” Miles replied sternly. Cobb stopped thrashing but he looked ready to defy all odds and bolt for the door. “Tell us what happened, Mr. Eames.”
“The chemist we were meeting set us up. The man that took Arthur and Mal is Adam Todd. Arthur and I turned down a job from him when it became apparent that he was going to use the extraction information to kill someone. He did not take the rejection well but we thought we had lost him,” Eames explained.
“He said he didn't 'need' us,” Cobb whispered. “What does that mean?”
“I'm assuming Todd wants them to do the job and at the end of the day you need an extractor and a point to get a job done. Arthur is well trained and could build a basic level,” Eames said. He did not apologize because there was really nothing he could say that would make this okay. Cobb looked sick but Miles looked a little thoughtful.
“He'll kill them after they do the job,” Miles said. Cobb made a choking sound but Eames nodded. “Mr. Arthur will know that so he will stall as long as possible so we can get to them.”
“We're going after them?” Cobb asked.
“He will keep Mal safe. I won't let Todd get away with this,” Eames said quietly. Cobb stared at him like he had never seen Eames before but Miles nodded.
“You two have been asleep for a day and a half and we can get you released from the hospital the day after tomorrow. No sooner, I'm afraid, but I will use my connections to get any information I can in the meantime. You focus on getting better and we can hope your Arthur is as strong as you think he is.” Miles turned to Cobb and the two of them began to talk quietly but Eames was not listening. Arthur was strong, stronger than anyone could ever predict, and Eames would burn the world down to get him back.
+++
Arthur was not sure when he woke up entirely. He had vague memories of waking up once in a car but someone hit him over the head again and the world went black. He spent the next hours or days in and out of various states of unconsciousness. He was being moved around a lot and he had no idea where he was anymore. Arthur knew that he was not alone because he caught glimpses of pretty eyes and dark hair. It was enough to keep him from losing himself in the darkness completely. His limbs were heavy, he was probably drugged, and it was like swimming to keep himself awake.
“Rest, Arthur,” a soft voice said and Arthur listened.
The next time Arthur opened his eyes he was on a cold floor staring up at a single light bulb hanging from a ceiling. His head was pounding and it felt like there was dried blood in his hair. Arthur sat up slowly and took in his surroundings. He was in a small concrete room with no windows. There was what looked like a small bathroom off the side that was nothing more than a toilet the size of a closet. The door was metal and let in only a tiny sliver of light. Along the wall was a small cot barely big enough for one person and Arthur was surprised to see Mal asleep on the cot. Arthur scrambled over to the bed and had to take some deep breaths to keep from blacking out. Mal stirred and she was there to catch him before he fell. She held him up and hugged him tightly.
“Thank god you're awake,” Mal whispered into his neck. “I wasn't sure you were ever going to wake up.”
“I'm okay,” Arthur said, hugging Mal back. Arthur pulled back and began to look her over; there was some blood on her hands and clothing but she did not look hurt. “What happened?”
“They took us,” Mal said. “They moved us around a lot, made sure you were unconscious the entire time, and put a bag over my head so I couldn't see anything either. I don't know why we're here or what they want.” Arthur clenched his fists and closed his eyes because this was the last thing he wanted. It was one thing for his and Eames' problems to get them in trouble but now they were dragging other people down with them. Arthur squeezed Mal's upper arms and they helped each other sit on the bed. “Arthur, Cobb and Eames, they were--” Mal choked because she could not finish that sentence.
“They're strong,” Arthur said as Mal leaned against him, resting her cheek on his shoulder. He hugged her tightly and did not want to lie. Arthur had no idea if Eames and Cobb were even alive but he knew that both of them would fight until the bitter end.
“What is happening?” she asked. Mal was involved now and that meant that she had the right to know.
“A couple of months ago Eames and I were hired to perform an extraction on a gentleman to find out the location of his sister. It became frighteningly apparent that Adam Todd wanted to find this girl so he could kill her. We didn't want any part in a kid dying even indirectly. Todd already had the brother so we broke him out and got him out of the country. Todd didn't take it well. We thought we had lost them but now we've dragged you into this mess,” Arthur explained. Mal did not blame him or scream at him, she just went deadly silent. After a long moment of silence, Mal whispered, terrified,
“Arthur, I have a confession
“What is it?” Arthur asked. She was silent for a long time as if she was having trouble finding the words. He gave her time, all that she needed, because time was all they seemed to have.
“I think I'm pregnant,” she said. Arthur felt his blood run cold because that was pretty much the worst thing she could say. There was literally nothing else that could make this situation even more dangerous for her than this. “I'm not far along, the 'danger zone' as they call it, but I took the test and it was positive. I was actually just going to consult for this job and have Dom and Eames handle the extraction. I was going to tell everyone after lunch. Not even Dom knows.” Mal was shaking and Arthur took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.
“I'm going to keep you safe,” he said.
“You can't make that promise,” Mal replied. Arthur released her from the hug and knelt down in front of her.
“I can and I just did. I'm going to keep you safe so you can tell Dom yourself that the two of you are going to be parents, okay?” Arthur took her hands and squeezed them. “I'm going to get us out of here.” Mal stared at him for a long time until she finally nodded slowly. Arthur was not sure if she strictly believed him but she seemed calmer. “Get some sleep and I'll keep watch, okay?”
“Okay, thank you, Arthur,” Mal said as she kissed him on the cheek. Mal climbed into the cot, wrapped the thin blanket around her body and fell asleep. Arthur sat down on the floor, his back against the bed, and watched the door. They would not be left alone for long and Arthur was not going to be taken by surprise when they got visitors.
+++
Arthur was not sure how much time had passed but Mal woke up after several hours of restless sleep. She did not sit up and they did not talk, however, and Arthur kept his eyes on the door. As more time passed he decided that his time might be better spent elsewhere so he began to look around their room.
It was cold and dark with little natural lighting so more than likely they were underground. He could smell that slight odor of mildew that came with concrete bunkers and there was a chance that they were in some sort of abandoned military storage unit. The door was steel and the latches were firmly in place so there was no way of taking it off the hinges or breaking it down. The blanket and pillow smelled like the rest of the room did but they looked old not dirty. The bathroom was little more than an alcove with a tiny toilet that Arthur tried not to think about too much. It flushed but it sounded like the pipes were going to burst whenever they did. It was all bolted down so there was nothing Arthur could use as a weapon. There was nothing else in the room and no way out. He checked every corner and every cranny but there did not seem to be any bugs or recording material in the room. They were not being watched and Arthur was not sure if he was insulted by that or not.
It was all a mess of time and Arthur was not sure how much had passed when the sound of the lock turning nearly took him by surprise. Arthur was on his feet in seconds and Mal stood behind him. This was not her fight and he would not let it become hers. The door swung open and Todd strolled in with two guards flanking him on either side. All three of them were armed and there was no way he could take all of them without getting shot in the process.
“Mr. Arthur, you're looking better,” Todd said, all smug superiority but Arthur held his tongue; someone else’s life was also on the line.
“What do you want, Todd?” Arthur asked instead.
“I want you to perform an extraction on Mr. Tomas. He's not feeling very well these days, but as long as I get my information, I don't really care,” Todd said.
“I won't do it,” Arthur said firmly and Todd did not look surprised. He nodded to the two guards who took Arthur by the arms and pulled him away from Mal. The first blow was straight to his solar plexus and knocked the wind from his lungs. It was enough to make him stumble and that was all the opening they needed. The two guards were strong and they made sure every blow hurt. They hit him in all of the soft places that would bleed and bruise. Vaguely, over the punches, he heard Mal telling them to stop, please stop, but they were not listening. Arthur groaned on the ground and ignored the flare of pain throughout his entire body.
“Mr. Arthur, you have to know that this isn't going to end well for anyone,” Todd said as the two guards yanked Arthur back to his feet. “You're protecting your lady friend. That's lovely, and I know that she can't go under for very special little reasons. If you do the job we'll set her free and she can go raise her baby as a single mother.” Arthur wanted to punch him for that comment and judging from the angry sound behind him Mal did as well. “How about you think it over?” The guards shoved Arthur back a few steps so Mal had to put her hands out to steady him. Todd left two water bottles and two supermarket sandwiches on the floor near the door, smirked at the two of them and slammed it shut, the lock sliding into place.
“If we do the job, if I do the job, they're just going to kill us,” Arthur said as Mal helped him sit on the bed. “The job is what Todd wants and nothing else.”
“They're just going to keep hurting you,” Mal said. She had picked up the sandwiches and water bottles and set them on the floor. She tore a piece of cloth from her shirt and pressed it against his head. Arthur felt the sting of his reopened head wound and did not even notice that he was bleeding again.
“I can handle it,” Arthur said and it did not taste like a lie. “I can do this while we wait for Eames and Cobb to find us.” Something in Mal's expression wilted and Arthur hated himself for putting it there, for putting her in this place at all, for getting both of them involved.
“He said--”
“He lied,” Arthur interrupted fiercely. Mal nodded slowly and pressed the cloth to his head. Arthur let Mal have a third of his sandwich and some of his water on top of her own. Despite her protests Arthur lay down on the floor instead of sharing the bed and closed his eyes. Everything hurt and the floor was going to make it worse but he was not going to let Mal sleep on this floor. Not when this was his and Eames' fault to begin with. He had to endure and Arthur knew he could do that. He closed his eyes and tried to ignore the aches and pain.
+++
Three days after Mal and Arthur were taken, the hospital discharged Eames and Cobb, but Eames knew it was going to be tough to get by. He was still in a considerable amount of pain but there was no way he could just leave Arthur and Mal to Todd. He had seen the kind of state Ethan had been in when they rescued him and just thinking that the two of them could be going through something similar or worse made Eames want to put his fist through a wall. Apparently he was not the only one because Miles met them outside the second they were released with a rather large pile of information about Todd and everything he was involved in.
"What are we going to do?" Cobb asked as the three of them sat down at a table. While Arthur was the one that normally did this sort of thing that did not mean that Eames was incompetent.
"Professor Miles has provided us with a lot of information regarding Todd and his movements. Give me a pot of coffee and a few hours to go through all of this and I'll see if I can find a location for us to start with," Eames said. Cobb nodded enthusiastically and darted off to make the coffee but Miles did not leave, which was unnerving if nothing else. "I'll find them."
"I'm sure you will," Miles replied. He sounded calm and collected but there was an undercurrent of violence there that set Eames' teeth on edge. This man was truly a force to be reckoned with. Fortunately Cobb swept in with coffee to relieve the tension and Eames threw himself into the papers to try and find something, anything, that could lead them to Arthur and Mal before it was too late.
Twelve hours later and Eames knew a frightening amount of information about Adam Todd. He was linked to a string of murders and incidences of torture where the victims never recovered and never uttered a word about what had happened. The information about the Lilly Tomas incident was scattered but it looked like he was more determined than ever to find her. It did not take long for Eames to find out that Ethan was missing again which could only mean that Todd wanted Arthur and Mal to perform the extraction.
"She can't," Cobb said urgently.
"I know. We already went over this; the second they do the job they're dead so of course they can’t do it," Eames said without looking up from his papers.
"No, no, it's not just that Mal shouldn't do the job, she can't," Cobb repeated which made Eames look up at him patiently waiting for an elaboration. "She doesn't know that I know but she's pregnant."
"She's what? How could you not mention that before now?" Eames asked.
"She doesn't even know that I know and I've been a little out of my mind on painkillers, thank you very much," Cobb snapped. "She can't go under because it could hurt the baby and she isn't very far along."
"Not to mention that the shit that Todd puts people through could cause plenty of complications." Cobb made a sound like a dying animal and Eames took a deep breath, releasing it slowly. "If Arthur finds out he'll do anything to keep her and that baby safe. We need to keep looking." Cobb looked a little relieved and they went back to looking over the information. Todd did not seem to have a huge presence in the states but there was enough information pointing to Phoenix that there could be something there. Todd did some drug smuggling on the side and Phoenix was one of the stopping grounds for getting it over the border.
"Then we will go to Phoenix," Miles said and he got on the phone booking a flight right that moment. Eames was about to argue that he did not need someone to pay his way but Miles did not seem to be the type of person that would accept that objection lightly. Instead Eames made a few phone calls to a contact he knew in the area and put in an order for guns. By the time they got there Todd would have had Arthur and Mal for four days. There was a chance they were already dead but he could not even think that was a possibility. Eames knew that Arthur was strong and he would hold out until help was on the way. Arthur knew that Eames would not let him rot in a cell and Eames hoped that was enough to keep Arthur and Mal alive. Eames managed to grab some sleep before their flight but for the first time since the program Eames thought he had nightmares.
+++
Phoenix was stupidly hot and Eames hated it right away. He had never been to this city before and while it was a dry heat, 100+ Fahrenheit was still like walking into an oven. He refused to let it bother him though and walked with Cobb and Miles through the airport. All of the evidence pointed to Phoenix but there were a dozen locations where Todd could be holding prisoners. Miles strolled through the airport like he did not have a care in the world and Cobb looked like he was on the edge of a nervous breakdown. This was his backup and Eames idly thought about how he wanted Arthur as his backup to find Arthur.
Eames took a cab so he could meet up with his arms dealer while Cobb and Miles followed behind in a rental car. Eames knocked twice and was let into a small basement apartment that smelled strongly like gunpowder and explosives. Ben was in the middle of the living room, a young man with horn rimmed glasses and messy hair, mixing chemicals while eating a poptart. If Eames was in any other business it would have been surreal.
"What brings you to my corner of the world, Eames?" Ben asked without looking up.
"Looking to cause a little trouble and get something of mine back," Eames replied. Ben took another bite of his poptart and narrowed his eyes as he looked at the chemicals.
"Do you need anything else besides guns? This one is going to pack quite a punch when I'm done," Ben said.
"I don't need to blow anything up, Ben, thanks though," Eames replied. "Do you know anything about Adam Todd?" To his credit Ben only flinched a little and it would have been missed by anyone else but finding people's tells was Eames' entire job.
"So you and Arthur were the ones that spit in Todd's face," Ben said as he finished off the poptart. "The only thing I can tell you is that he's been after blood since that whole incident happened. You might find whatever he has of yours alive but there might be a few pieces missing." Eames was not going to let anyone see his reaction to that, least of all someone who had shifting loyalties. Ben looked up from his chemicals and smiled because Eames' silence was all he really needed. "Back room has your order; do you have my money?"
"Wouldn't dream of trying to stiff you, Ben," Eames said, dropping an envelope on the table and walking toward the back room. He found a duffel bag with several guns and extra rounds of ammo. When he had made sure that everything he had asked for was in the bag Eames turned to walk out.
"You be careful, Eames," Ben said as he was walking out. "Just remember that Todd could always hire another team that doesn't have your moral code." It was the thing that Eames was trying hard not to think about. There was the chance that Todd would just kill Arthur and Mal and hire someone else who had no problems with extracting the location of a kid so they could be killed. Eames did not dignify Ben with a response and joined Miles and Cobb in the rental car.
"Do you know how to shoot in the real world?" Eames asked Cobb when they arrived at a small apartment complex that rented by the week. Eames took the guns out of the bag and began to clean and load them. "I know you can pull guns on people in the real world and not practice trigger discipline."
"You're never going to let that go," Cobb grumbled. "Yes, I know how to shoot."
"Have you ever killed anyone in the real world?" Eames asked though he already knew the answer. Cobb, however, did not reply right away. Instead he picked up one of the unloaded guns and looked it over.
"If it means I get Mal back I'll do whatever it takes," Cobb said. Eames nodded though he was not sure if Cobb really understood what he was saying. Instead he finished loading the guns as Miles looked over the information.
"I believe I have narrowed it down to a location," Miles said. "This warehouse here seems like the most likely place where Todd would keep Mal and Arthur. It looks like there are people guarding it."
“I can take care of it,” Eames said. He strapped a gun to his ankle, a shoulder holster and a thigh holster. Cobb actually seemed to know what he was doing now and did not do something stupid like stick a gun in the back of his pants or in a pocket. Miles drove them to the warehouse and left them alone because he did not want to get caught in the crossfire. “Stay behind me and cover my back. Once we’ve confirmed hostiles don’t hesitate to shoot.”
“I can do this,” Cobb assured him, though Eames was not sure who he was trying to convince. They moved forward quietly and Eames could hear people talking. They were saying something about a room in the back and how it had to be kept safe. They mentioned Todd’s name and Eames decided that he had had enough of this and he was getting Arthur and Mal back. He looked at Cobb, nodded, and raised a gun to fire.
From there it was a burst of chaos and bullets. Eames fired without hesitation at each of the guards that had automatic weapons. Eames was fairly sure he saw Cobb shoot a guard straight between the eyes without blinking which was surprising considering he had never killed anyone in the real world. It was a good thing, in some ways, because Eames was no longer worried about watching his back. There were not that many guards and by the time they reached a large metal door Eames had only wounded six men. That did not seem like enough but they were all scrambling to protect this door.
“It’s locked,” Cobb said when he tried to open it but Eames shoved him aside and began to work on picking the lock. The door was too thick to hear if there was anyone on the other side but the guards had been protecting this door and there had to be some reason for that. Todd was not present and Eames was disappointed. He began to think of how he and Arthur were going to hunt the man down when the lock clicked. He pushed the door open to reveal an empty cell. “Where are they? Why aren’t they here?” Cobb asked as he walked around the room. There was nothing here, not even any evidence that someone had ever been here, save for a single piece of paper taped on the far wall.
“Watch the door. We don’t want someone to run over and lock us in,” Eames ordered. Cobb looked wrecked but he nodded and stood near the entrance. Eames crossed the room and took the paper off of the wall and joined Cobb at the entrance. He opened it to reveal a picture of Arthur and Mal in an identical cell time stamped for the day before. Arthur was bloody and bruised but he was alive and standing in front of Mal when the picture was taken. They had been played, and Eames swore loudly. They had been alive, as of the day before, and Eames and Cobb were no closer to finding them.
<-- part one | part three -->