Everything That Is Real (Comes Around)

Part Seven

            After several hours of sketching Ariadne sat back and took a deep breath. These mazes were the most complicated thing she had ever drawn. They had to be, she knew that, because they were going into a war zone. There would be no second chances when it came to this job. If they did not extract the information the first time then it would be all over. All of their exploits would be public and she would either spend the rest of her life on the run or in a cell. Neither option sounded like anything she really wanted to do. Ariadne decided it was time to clear her head and she announced her intentions to take a walk with a look shot at Eames that said 'alone.' He seemed to get the hint and no one stopped her. As she walked out the door she turned around and for a second thought Arthur was watching her. His head was down, eyes focused on his computer screen, and she decided it was just her imagination or wishful thinking and she really had no idea which one she wanted it to be.

            So she walked into the heart of the city and loved the feeling of the cool breeze; their space was stuffy even with the windows open and the fresh air felt so nice. She turned and started walking toward the hotel because that was really the only route she knew in the city. Ariadne did not like the idea of getting lost in a place she did not know mostly because there was nothing worse than not being able to get somewhere you considered safe. So she would walk to the hotel and back, maybe more than once, and then go back upstairs and try not to resent every second she spent there.

            It was as if every smile, every laugh, every moment of joy that she felt from the past year with Arthur was fading from existence. Those moments when she thought he was opening up to her were not exactly lies but more of a cover up. He might have been opening up but he did not trust her and that was enough to deter her for good. Ariadne wanted to confront him, she wanted him to confront her, but this stalemate they were in left some form of hope that what was broken could be mended. Sometimes things don't fall into place, she had told him not two days before, and all you can do is pick up the pieces. This was something that might have been broken from the start, could they really fix something that never existed in the first place?

            Someone slamming into her shoulder and nearly knocking Ariadne off of her feet was enough to tear her away from her own thoughts. She muttered an 'excuse you too' under her breath before continuing along the sidewalk.

            “So how are those mazes coming along, Ariadne?” a voice behind her said and she froze in place turning around very slowly. The man who had hit her had hair that was going gray and a crooked smile, and she knew the face instantly. It was Walter. “Oh don't look so surprised; it's not like I don't know where you have set up camp.”

            “What do you want?” she asked suddenly glad for the distance between them. She understood why this man had Arthur so rattled; his eyes were a terrifying combination of stone cold and sick amusement.

            “I just wanted to meet the person Arthur is so fond of,” Walter said and he shrugged. “Though why he was out at three in the morning last night I have no idea.”

            “And it's none of your business anyway,” Ariadne said firmly but that only made the other man smile.

            “Well that's to be expected. I'll figure it out anyway because that's what I do. I find every little detail about your life and write it down for all the world to see if I should choose to share it. That would complicate things, wouldn't it?” Walter asked.

            “Arthur's going to find something on you and before long you're going to be the one begging us not to leak your information,” she spit out and the cold look on his face was enough to make her shiver.

            “If he lives long enough,” he said and she knew then that this was the man's intentions. Walter meant every word that he said. He did not say anything else, he simply walked across the street and vanished down another road. Ariadne released a breath that she had not known she was holding and ran the rest of the way back to the building trying to calm her shaking hands. When she walked through the door breathing hard everyone looked up at her, even Arthur, and instantly he looked as if he knew what had happened.

            “Are you okay? What happened?” Eames asked and he put his hands on her upper arms trying to get a good look at her.

            “I saw him,” Ariadne whispered and everyone knew exactly who she was talking about. “He's watching us, he knows where we're staying and where we're working.” Arthur watched her with his blank expression for only a moment before he looked back down at his work. He did not try to comfort her in any way, he just sat there, and the only hug she got was from Cobb. She was safe among her teammates and she knew that. They would not let anything happen to her, she was sure of it, and she also knew that they would not let anything happen to Arthur either. After her nerves calmed down everyone went back to work in an uneasy silence. Arthur kept his eyes straight ahead despite all of the times she looked at him. There was something new in his features now, something she had never seen in him before, and it was almost eerie.

            By late afternoon no one was in the mood to work anymore. So they packed up their things and locked the door behind them. Ariadne stepped out into the cool evening and suddenly longed for that stuffy office building because being out in the open made her nervous. Cobb wanted to get home as soon as possible and offered Yusuf a ride across town where he needed to pick up the supplies he had ordered the day before. So she stood on the side of the road with Eames and Arthur before they began to walk back to the hotel in silence. Arthur was trailing behind slightly before he took her arm and looked directly into her eyes. They were nothing like she had ever seen before; there was absolutely nothing behind them.

            “I never cared about you,” he said, and it was like someone had just punched her in the stomach.

            “You don't mean that,” Ariadne replied trying to keep her voice even.

            “Arthur, don't do this--” Eames said before Arthur interrupted him.

            “Eames, do yourself a favor and stay out of this.” His voice was hard and he never took his eyes off of her. “The only way to get the best jobs is to work with the best. I couldn't have the best extractor anymore so I took the best architect. So get any preconceived notions out of your head about what we never had.” With those words he released her arm and brushed by her and Eames without another word. Ariadne tried telling herself that she was not surprised, that she should have seen this coming, but that did not make the pit in her stomach feel any less heavy.

            “You're a heartless son of a bitch,” she said and he only hesitated for a moment before continuing down the road. Ariadne refused to let herself cry and any hurt she felt was soon replaced with rage.

            “He's only doing that to protect you,” Eames said carefully but she shook her head.

            “He might not have meant every word but the point got across; he doesn't need or want me anymore and probably never did,” she said.

            “You don't really think that,” he said, not making it a question. Ariadne shook her head and took a deep breath to calm her nerves.

            “I do, and once this job is over he can go wherever he wants for all I care,” she said before continuing down the street annoyed that she had to follow him to get where she needed to be. Eames did not say anything the rest of the way to the hotel but when she turned to go into her room he hugged her tight before kissing the top of her head. Ariadne did not say anything and neither did he; they both just walked into their respective rooms. The first thing she did was kneel in front of the end table and knock her bishop over. It fell just the way it was supposed to and the realization that it was not a dream made her stomach sink a bit. She was hurt, she was angry, and she wished she could get him out of her head for good.

***

            Arthur leaned heavily against the door in his hotel room. He half expected Eames to come down and clock him one and he knew he deserved it. What he had just done, what he had just said, was probably the worst thing he had ever done. After the way he had acted over their last year together he knew that she would take his words to heart. Knowing she would hate him would be enough to get him through the next few days now because she would be safer that way. It was a ruse if there ever was one but if it had any chance of keeping Walter away from her it was worth it. On his desk was the card Walter had given him in Rome and he picked it up and dialed the number before he could second guess himself.

            “Arthur, you are aware that calling so suddenly without forewarning is considered rude. Besides, I was going to call you when Fischer wants to meet you,” Walter said and he sounded amused, no doubt with a smirk on his face.

            “You stay away from my team,” Arthur said and the tone of his voice was surprising even to him; he sounded dangerous and he knew it.

            “Oh really? If it gets to you why would I do that?” Walter asked after a brief chuckle.

            “Because if they're rattled they can't get the job done. How do you think Fischer would react if I told him you are terrorizing the people he hired so they can't do their work? Exactly, that's what I thought. So here's the deal; you keep your distance and when this is all over we can sort out whatever disagreement we have. Otherwise I'm pulling out of this deal,” Arthur said without missing a beat.

            “If you do that everyone will suffer,” Walter warned.

            “I’ll take my chances with your leverage rather than have you torment innocent people.next time you call me it's going to be to meet Fischer and the next time I see you will either be at that meeting or when this job is over. I'm not taking any more of these threats from you; either back off or I'll call off the job,” Arthur said and there was a long silence on the other end of the phone. He could only imagine how furious Walter was right now and how he would no doubt pay for it later but that was the last thing on his mind.

            “Well I guess I'm the one with the ultimatum now. I'll call you when Fischer decides to meet with the location. I can assure you I won't be there for that meeting so remember this: the next time you see me will be when you're looking down the barrel of my gun.” Despite the threat Arthur smiled to himself because that threat, that promise even, really meant nothing to him right now.

            “Looking forward to it,” he said before hanging up.. He would not let people scare him or his team into anything else. So he dialed the next number before he could think twice because he hated that trait about himself. Arthur answered a few questions before being patched through to the person they needed to set straight next.

            “Arthur, to what do I owe the honor?” Saito's voice said on the other line. He did not sound like he was expecting a call so that could mean he was not involved.

            “Robert Fischer hired us for an extraction job,” he said without bothering with any formalities. “If you want to know the longer version you could basically say that we're being blackmailed into it but never the less we're working for him.”

            “I see,” Saito said after a long pause. “And who is he trying to get information from?”

            “Her name is Susana Mitchell and she worked for you five years ago. I'm sure you can figure out where I'm going with this,” Arthur said because subtle was never one of his better qualities.

            “Coincidence, I assure you. If that woman has any information about Fischer or anything concerning him, it certainly does not involve me,” Saito said.

            “The rumor is that she has information that would destroy the new company Fischer is building before it even starts,” Arthur said.

            “Even if that company takes off right away, it will be some time before I even register it as a threat. I have nothing to do with this, Arthur. I'm not going to hold it against any of you either; I was your client and that means once the money is dispersed, we have no ties anymore.” Saito's voice sounded calm. “Nevertheless, Cobb risked a good deal to pull me out of limbo so if there is anything I can do to help, just let me know.”

            “If this goes wrong we might come to you looking for shelter as wanted fugitives,” he said. He had no plans to apologize to Saito for suspecting him of anything. He really did not care about that and he assumed Saito did not as well.

            “I guess we'll see one way or another. Good luck, Arthur, and send my best to the rest of the team.” With that the line went dead. Another loose end was tied up. Walter was out of the way until the job was over and now they could focus on Susana and not tipping Fischer off to what had happened on the flight from Sydney to LA. For the first time in days Arthur felt under control and focused. Things were lining up, falling into place, and going the way they were supposed to.. He had work to do and he planned on getting it done without further distractions.

***

            Ariadne woke up from a dreamless sleep. This time she did not reach over to the other side of the bed expecting another body to be there. Instead she stared at that empty space and wondered if sleeping alone was different for Arthur as well. Mentally she chastised herself for even considering what he thought. She did not care, she could not care anymore, because it was over. Whatever they had had, it was over and nothing would be the same. It was like stepping off of that plane in LA after the inception job. Everything had changed. Ariadne wondered if she wanted to go freelance as an architect. She thought about going back to Paris and finishing school despite how mundane it would be. The dreamscape was going to be nothing but a reminder of the year of her life she had wasted on someone who could not care less about her. Even if he was trying to protect her his words rang too true for her to brush them off. It was not just his words but the way he had looked at her, as if she was something that he could own and toss away whenever he wanted.

            She climbed out of bed and made little effort to make herself look pretty today. She really did not care what anyone thought about her appearance at this point. Without even realizing it she had been dressing up for Arthur even after they had had their fight. Now she was just going back to whatever made her comfortable and if that was not good enough for anyone else then they could just get over it. There were mazes that needed to be designed and a world to build for a woman who could be out of her mind. There was too much on the line fo her to be thinking about someone who did not care about her. And even if he did then he had a crappy way of showing it and that was reason enough to kick him out of her life.

            Ariadne picked up a bagel from the continental breakfast in the lobby and walked down the street eating it. Walter might show up and after what Arthur had said it would not take much to get her rattled again. She did not want to show any more weakness; she was strong now and no one needed to protect her anymore. The door to the office was unlocked and she could only assume that Arthur was in there working as always. If they were alone she would ignore him and go about her designs. That was all that mattered, the mazes, finishing this job and getting as far away from all of this as she could. She could hear the sound of voices which was odd since most of them worked best in silence. Ariadne pushed the door opened and blinked back her surprise. Eames had Arthur pinned against a wall with his fists bunching the point man's shirt.

            “You really are a cold bastard, did you know that? I always thought that you at least cared about someone in this world but I guess you proved me wrong,” Eames said and she could see that Arthur's lip was split. He did nothing to fight back, he did not even react, and he only looked at her when she said something.

            “Eames, put him down,” Ariadne said and he looked over his shoulder at her. He looked furious but she just did not want to deal with this right now. “I can fight my own battles, just put him down. We have enough to deal with as it is. You don't need to protect me.” Eames released Arthur's shirt before glaring at him.

            “Cobb is going to deck you too when he finds out,” he warned and still Arthur said nothing; he just smoothed out his shirt and cracked his neck. He looked at her for only a moment before he walked back to his desk and went to work as if nothing had happened. Ariadne gave Eames a small smile before she went over to her mazes. She really did not want Cobb to deck Arthur either, in fact she was more upset that someone had witnessed what he had done, but they needed to work together for this to succeed. Once this was over she did not care what Eames or Cobb did on her behalf, she just wanted nothing to do with it. When Yusuf came in he took one look at everyone in the room and did not say a word. She gave him credit for not pushing the issue. Cobb, on the other hand, wanted an explanation right away. Arthur stood up and the two of them walked over to a corner of the office and began to talk in hushed tones. Cobb was obviously angry about something but Arthur just stood there and did not say a word. Ariadne heard him mention something about jeopardizing the entire team and that he had no right to make that decision on his own when she realized he was not getting yelled at for what he had done to her, maybe to an extent, but for something worse than that.

            Whatever the topic was neither of them mentioned it when they rejoined the group. Arthur spoke to Eames about how he needed to find a way to get close to Susana's body guard and Eames glared at him the entire time. If Arthur noticed he did not make it known or he did not care. Then he said he was going to spend the day trying to get into Susana's home and Yusuf asked how he planned to do that. Arthur just said not to worry about it and that he would be back later with the necessary information.

            “What about Walter?” Eames asked and there was a change in Arthur's expression for only a moment.

            “I took care of it,” he replied easily.

            “What the hell does that mean?” Eames pressed but Arthur just gave him a dark look.

            “It means I took care of it. Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to do.” With that he pulled on his jacket and walked out of the office, closing the door behind him. There was an uneasy silence.

            “What the hell happened?” Yusuf said finally and Ariadne did not want this to become some sort of secret.

            “Arthur basically told me that he never cared and that he was using me because I'm the best architect. And now we're going to drop it,” she said.

            “That explains why he did something so rash last night,” Cobb said and everyone looked at him. “He found information that linked Susana to Saito. We were not sure how to handle it so I said I would take care of it. I wanted it to be a delicate process so we could stay out of the crossfire. Instead Arthur called Saito and out right asked him about Susana. We're lucky that it's a coincidence, otherwise there’s no telling what would have happened.” That did not sound like Arthur at all. The man she knew was meticulous and seemed to plan even the smallest thing. To do something like that was so out of character for him that it made her wonder if it had come from the state of mind he had had to reach to say those things to her. Ariadne did not want to admit it but she was worried about what he might have done to get Walter to leave them alone. She remembered what Eames had said about obsession when it comes to point men and that only succeeded in making her more nervous. Eames flipped his poker chip into the air and caught it.