Everything That Is Real (Comes Around)

Part Thirteen

            It was a relief when they all met in the office the next morning and things did not seem different. Ariadne acted like the dream had never happened and if she could do that then he could do so as well. Instead of dwelling on that, or anything else for that matter, Arthur focused on finding a way to get Susana alone long enough for them to do the job. The more he looked the harder he found it to see any possible way for them to get this done. The maze was nearly complete, he knew it backwards and forwards, and Ariadne was in the process of teaching it to everyone else though not to the degree that he knew it. The closer they were to being absolutely prepared, the more frustrated Arthur became that he could not figure out a way to get the job done. It was late one night after everyone had left and he was staring at his laptop when someone moved across the room. He knew exactly who it was and did not bother to look up.

            “Still can't find what you're looking for?” Eames said before he parked himself in a chair next to Arthur’s desk.

            “Once again I know the answer is staring me in the face and I have no idea what it is,” Arthur said and he leaned back in his chair. “Maybe I'm losing my touch.”

            “Please, you don't know how to do anything else,” Eames said and he grinned. Arthur rolled his eyes and focused on the screen again. “Maybe we're going about this the wrong way.”

            “What do you mean?” he asked and the forger looked deep in thought.

            “You're too literal so you're looking for a place in her set schedule that would work when maybe we should look for something that isn't happening.”

            “Are you going to tell me I lack imagination again because that statement is starting to get old,” Arthur replied and Eames waved him off without looking up.

            “Get some imagination and I won't say it anymore.” His voice was its normal mocking tone though Arthur knew that Eames was thinking of something. “I think we need to use Fischer again.”

            “He was reluctant the first time. What makes you think he'll be willing now?” Arthur asked but his words seemed lost on the forger’s train of thought.

            “She'll need to travel to get to a meeting with him. We can do what we did with Fischer and what you and Cobb did with Saito. The best time to get them is while they are traveling,” Eames said.

            “I've considered that but she does not fly for some reason and she rarely takes the train. She'll drive before anything else,” Arthur said.

            “People will do anything if there is a sense of urgency,” Eames said with a grin. “If Fischer finds some way to make it worth her while to get there fast, she'll do whatever it takes to get there. Make the call to Fischer and see what he thinks.” Arthur narrowed his eyes before he opened his phone and dialed the number.

            “Ah, Arthur, I was wondering when I was going to hear from you again. Did the tour help?” Fischer said without saying hello.

            “It was exactly what we needed and the level is complete. We do have a complication that we can't seem to get around,” Arthur said and there was silence on the other end.

            “What is the problem?” Fischer asked and there was a certain level of anger in his voice that was hard to miss. Eames was leaning in way too close, trying to listen to the conversation. He tried to push him away but after the third time just gave up.

            “Susana has a pattern that she rarely deviates from. I've gone over it hundreds of times and there is nowhere we can get the time we need to get the job done,” Arthur said and there was that same level of silence.

            “Are you telling me you can't get the job done?” Fischer asked and Eames gave him a knowing glance. This was not someone who accepted failure.

            “I didn't say that at all. What I'm saying is that we need help finding time to get the information you need. If you're not willing to help us, with this then we might have to resort to unconventional tactics to get the time we need. Who knows what will happen if something goes wrong there,” he said and Eames grinned with approval.

            “I see. If I want this information I'm going to have to convince her to meet with me again. Otherwise you'll do something stupid and get yourselves caught,” Fischer said before he paused. “How much time do you need?”

            “A little over two hours should be enough time for set up, extraction, and getting away without any problems,” Arthur said and Eames leaned in closer so they were almost cheek to cheek.

            “I'll ask her to meet me in San Diego on a Saturday. The time will be specific so driving will be out of the question because it will be too busy. Does that work?” Fischer asked.

            “Perfect, let me know the time so we can find out what train she is on and we can get this done,” he said and the line went dead.

            “Maybe you are getting more creative,” Eames said as he eased away. “She'll be on the next train once Fischer sets up a proper time.”

            “I know so we need to be ready. Are you sure you can take care of Dave?” Arthur asked and Eames scoffed.

            “I've taken care of worse in reality and dreams. Plus he's madly in love with her and she couldn't give a rat’s ass about him. It makes him much easier to manipulate.” He stood and looked down at him. “Are you going to be okay for the dream? Those projections are going to be gunning for you from the beginning.”

            “I can take care of myself,” he said in a low voice.

            “I know; you hate it when people try to protect you but that's why I keep doing it,” Eames said and Arthur looked up with wide eyes. A million questions were running through his head as he tried to come up with some logical explanation as to why Eames would know those words. Instead all he could do was stare, struck completely dumb. The forger smiled in a way that he had never seen before turning on his heels and leaving Arthur sitting there in the middle of the office. When everything seemed to be working properly again he gathered his things and hurried off to the hotel. He would snatch a few hours of sleep, wake up before everyone else, and tell them that the job was finally happening..

***

            He waited until everyone was present before he told them that they had a time and a place. There was a certain level of tension throughout the team as it became a reality that they were going into the mind of Susana Mitchell. She was trained and that was all they knew. She was unstable and there was no telling what it was going to be like in there. Cobb announced, much to Arthur’s dismay, that Ariadne was going under with them. Arthur wanted to protest but knew that it would only cause problems so he sat back and let everyone go over the last of the preparations. Yusuf said that in a train it would be hard to give them a kick if needed but Cobb said that they probably would not need one. Arthur knew why; he was not expecting to live long in this dream. None of them were and if they all made it out at the same time it was going to be nothing short of a miracle.

            So they went over the plan. They went over the maze again and again. Eames explained how he was going to trick her and win her trust. They discussed using the projections to fuel her paranoia. On paper the entire plan seemed almost perfect. They had a perfect architect, a perfect forger, a perfect extractor but there was a nagging thought in the back of his mind that he could not shake. Most jobs looked perfect on paper but rarely went as planned. The most basic job could go astray if the slightest detail was off. That was enough to set him on edge. Even after so many jobs, he never went in feeling confident because there was just too much at stake. Things could go horribly wrong in the dream and in the real world as well. Dave would be armed and if he got a shot off he could kill one of them easily. If Eames did not incapacitate him right away things could get complicated fast. So even after all of the careful planning he was still pacing and deep in thought.

            “You seem on edge.” Ariadne stood next to him as he leaned against the table.

            “There are a lot of things that could go wrong here,” he said without looking at her.

            “And you don't like it when things are so out of control,” she said and he smiled to himself because she knew that part of him well.

            “Yes, you know that better than anyone,” Arthur replied and he looked at her for the first time. She was not trying to close the distance between them, she was not turning to face him in any way, she was just leaning against the desk with him. Ariadne looked up and smiled. “Look, I'm sorry for what happened in the dream the other day. I was out of line. You said that we're done and I understand that. What I don't want is to lose a friend. Can we be friends, Arthur?” She offered a hand as a peace offering and he thought about not taking it. He thought about all of the people throughout his life who had walked away because they had attempted to associate with him but things had all fallen apart. He thought about the moment in his young life when he had first found out that his aunt had drained the trust fund his late parents left for her to manage. He thought about how she had taken all of that money and left him with nothing. He thought of the countless times those around him proved over and over again that no one was trustworthy.

            “With friendship comes trust,” he said and she smiled at him.

            “I'll do the trusting for both of us,” Ariadne said and kept her hand extended. It was the first time he could ever remember someone accepting the fact that he did not trust them. Arthur stared at it for what felt like a long time before he took her hand and clasped it tightly. “Friends?”

            “Friends,” he replied and the two of them stayed side by side for what felt like forever. Her presence was calming, it always had been, and it helped clear his head. It was almost relaxing to know that she was his friend again. It was like the way things had been during the inception job before the last year happened. He was grateful for that and it helped him ease back into place within the rest of the group. Eames nodded to him and Cobb patted his shoulder while Yusuf took back the last of the sedative when he said he would not need it anymore. These people were the reason he closed himself off and letting them think he was letting them back in was the right way to end things. Arthur had more or less accepted that, if nothing else, he was not going to walk away from his encounter with Walter unharmed. Seeing everyone relax made it worth it though because it made everything easier.

            They were in the middle of going through the maze when Fischer called and said that he had a time picked out for his meeting with Susana. A quick search through the records and he found the exact train she would be taking. Everyone gathered their things without a word and Arthur clasped the PASIV in his hand tightly. In his pocket he could feel his die waiting to show him reality when this was all over. The ending was in sight and he had never been more grateful. No more blackmail, no more side stepping issues, no more any of it, this was the end one way or another.

***

            Ariadne was more nervous going into this job than any before. This was not the first time she had dealt with a trained sub conscious since the Fischer job, but despite how no one else would talk about it this was different. They were going into the mind of a twisted person and no matter what they did there was no way to predict what would happen in that world. It was her maze and she knew it better than anyone but moving through it surrounded by the mark’s projections instead of her own, instead of Arthur's, was going to make it seem like a different world. She felt like a fool after he invaded her dream and she kissed him. Despite the fact that he had wrapped his arms around her in the dream it really did not mean much because as soon as they were awake he was out the door. She realized that he had made his choice and it was time she accepted it despite how much it hurt. Arthur did not want her, he did not want whatever they had had, and it was time to move on. Despite that Ariadne could not walk away on such a bad note so she had confronted him one last time and extended an olive branch of friendship. He had been reluctant at first but eventually seemed to warm up to the idea.

            The train station was very busy but even despite that it was not hard to spot Susana. Her fire red hair was up in a tight bun and her eyes darted everywhere as she walked along. Dave was next to her and he seemed to be watching the entire world like if it went anywhere near her he would kill it himself. Eames tilted his head to the side as he watched them.

            “He's armed,” he said.

            “One pistol in his belt and he's walking like he has another on his ankle,” Arthur said. The two of them stood side by side and she noticed that they both had that same expression on their faces. They were trying to get a handle on the situation.

            “Who actually puts a pistol around their ankle? Seems like such an amateur thing to do,” Eames said and Arthur scoffed.

            “That guy is anything but an amateur. Are you going to be able to take him?” he said and the forger did not say anything; he merely nodded. There was something in his eyes that she had never seen and it was like the first time she had truly seen Arthur angry; this was a dangerous person. If she had seen Eames for the first time at this moment he would have terrified her without even meaning to.

            “We need to remember the plan,” Cobb said as he joined them. No one agreed vocally but it did not need to be said. The plan was really the only thing they could go with in this situation. Everything else was too complicated to try and plan. It was probably giving Arthur another migraine but if he was in pain he was hiding it well. Susana had bought out an entire car which was not a surprise in the slightest. Still it was easy for Eames to lace the water that was going into their car while flirting with the waitress. He was a thief but this was the first time she had ever really seen him try and work that magic. A flick of the wrist and the waters were done. They watched the water go into the car and waited silently for it to take effect.

            That was the first thing that went wrong. Eames cursed loudly and walked back to their section of the car. They were nearly alone but they still did not want to catch the eyes of anyone.

            “The bastard didn't take a sip of his water; he's still wide awake,” he said and Ariadne felt her stomach twist into a knot. “Looks like we're going to have to do this the hard way.” He looked at Arthur and he nodded. She seemed to be the only one out of the loop. Eames cracked his neck before he walked right into the private car. She could see what was going on through a small window.

            “Hey, you, this is a private car,” Dave said and he moved toward Eames with a hand inching toward his belt. Eames turned so he was facing the door and Dave had his back to them.

            “Whoa, it's all right, I'm just passing through, no troubles,” he said holding up his hands in salute.

            “Everything you need you can get on the other side, now beat it.” Dave did not sound happy and Ariadne realized what a huge risk this really was. Arthur moved silently behind the bodyguard and pulled him into a choke hold. Arthur was strong, she knew this, but this man was considerably larger and built like a wrestler. Dave struggled and managed to toss Arthur off to the side. “Big mistake little man,” Dave said and her heart nearly stopped when he reached for his gun. Eames wasted no time punching the bodyguard hard enough to stun and Arthur regained his choke hold until Dave fell to the ground. Not only could they have easily been shot but now he knew their faces. It made a lump form in her throat as they all moved from the passenger car to the private one, closing the blinds and locking the door. Yusuf knelt in front Dave and gave him the drug that would keep him out for several hours.

            “I can scramble his memory a little but if he sees you two he's probably going to remember, if only a little, what happened,” he said.

            “Brilliant,” Eames said sighing heavily. “As if I wasn't already a wanted man. Now you get to join the ranks of the hunted.” He slapped Arthur's shoulder, receiving a dark glare in response. Arthur finished setting up the PASIV and Eames disarmed Dave. He handed Yusuf one of the guns and the chemist looked at him confused. “In case he wakes up.”

            “Just wonderful,” Yusuf muttered. All of the lines from the PASIV were drawn and Ariadne slipped the needle into her arm. Cobb set up Susana's line before he placed his own.

            “We have roughly a day in there to try and convince her to put all of her secrets in that panic room,” he said.

            “While being chased around by trained and possibly psychotic projections,” Eames added as he set his own line.

            “Well when you say it that way it doesn't sound as fun,” Ariadne muttered and he grinned at her. The timer was set and she took a deep breath, exchanging brief looks with everyone on the team. Yusuf pushed the button and she felt the rush of the chemicals.

            “Good luck.”