~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Carmen pov~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It had been a long time since I had seen him. Seven years to be exact. When I first saw him running down the street I thought it was one of those thugs and I was ready to stab him with my knife but when I looked…and I saw those brown eyes. I knew exactly who he was. I stopped and pushed Antonio into his hands. I didn't want either of them to get mixed up in this. I ran and ran and avoided them as much as possible. But when I hit the street I was out of options. It was open and I didn't have a means of transport. But then I saw him. Riding a motorcycle. He slowed down and I hopped on. I reached forward and slid his gun out of its holster and fired at the car in front of us. I took the tires out which caused it to crash and then held on tight to him as he followed the car in front of us. When we finally reached some warehouse I got a good look at him. He was still taller than me. His hair was slicked back and his hands were still shoved in his pockets. I smiled at him and wrapped him in a hug,
"Hello Arthur." He was hesitant at first but then he hugged back. His arms fit around my waist and held me tight,
"Carmen…" I didn't want to move. I was really tired and his shoulder made a very comfy pillow but Antonio said other wise,
"Carmen. Carmen!" I pulled away and got down at the boy's eye level.
"Antonio, this is Arthur." He looked up at Arthur and seemed rather nervous. "Don't be shy. Arthur's a good guy. He saved me, remember all those stories I told you?" His face visibly brightened,
"You saved my sister!" He smiled at the boy and also got down to his level,
"Yes, and she saved me many times too." He smiled and had a twinkle in his eyes. He always loved stories. Most of my stories though were from Inception. They made amazing bed time stories.
"Arthur, is there a phone I can use? I need to call my grandparents and have them pick Antonio up."
"Can't I stay with you Carmen?"
"No, you need to get a shower and get some food in you. Plus…I don't want you to get hurt." He smiled and hugged me,
"Alright." Something caught his eye and he wondered off towards it. Which left me alone with Arthur.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Arthur pov~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When she knelt down by Antonio I kept praying that he wasn't her son. I didn't want it to be her son because that would mean she was with someone. And I don't think I'd be able to handle that. But that was all swept away when he said that I saved his sister. I knelt down beside him and smiled at him,
"Yes, and she saved me many times too." Oh that was true. Even before Inception she and I had know each other. I was so caught up in old memories I almost didn't catch her request for a phone. When the boy wandered off I took her to a phone. I watched as she dialed the number and she smiled at me. God help me I was forever lost in that smile. It melted me every time. I couldn't help but let a small smile grace my lips as I watched her hang up the phone,
"Grandfather will pick Antonio up in a few hours." She leaned forward and hugged me again. Her arms were wrapped tightly around my neck,
"I missed you." I put my arms around he waist and held her tight.
"I missed you too." I buried my head into her hair which smelled of strawberries. They always smelled of strawberries. I could've stayed that way forever but Eames had to go and ruin the moment.
"Oi, don't I get a hug?" She laughed and sent shivers up my spine.
"Of course." I watched Carmen let go of me and she hugged Eames. She smiled at him and Cobb walked in,
"Hello Carmen."
"Hello Cobb." They shook hands and Ariadne walked in. Instantly Carmen went into predator mode. New blood was always hard for her ever since the accident. She raised an eyebrow at her and circled her like a predator circles its prey. She watched her intently.
"What exactly is this job offer you have for me?"
"Just like it used to be. Extraction and Inception."
"Of whom?"
"Robert Fischer Jr." Her head snapped towards Cobb.
"Really… why?" I knew that this was going to end badly.
"One last job. Then… I can go home." She didn't say anything but simply nodded her head.
"Alright…now what's the catch? You have your extractor. Your point man. You forger. And your architect. So…what do you need me for?" Cobb let out a sigh. He knew that this was coming. When he didn't say anything she stiffened. "How far down."
"Three dreams."
"Are you mad? Remember what happened when we went three dreams in? Have you tried waking up from three dreams deep? How do you know killing you will bring you back from the dream?" She was more than angry. She was livid.
"We can go without you. We have all the parts we need. We could go without you." Her eyes drifted toward me and simply nodded. She knew what game Cobb was playing it. She was the only one with the most experience with all the things that could go wrong in a dream world. She was always prepared for everything and knew how to handle just about every single scenario should something go wrong. She was a quick thinker.
"Yeah and watch you all go into a suicide dream. I don't think so." Cobb smiled knowing he'd won. She let out a sigh and ran a hand through her hair. "Alright. But when we get there if things don't go right I'm pulling the plug. And if I see any sign of Mal…I'm out." She walked out of the room and she went up the stairs and out onto the roof. Of course I followed her and when I got onto the roof she was leaning against the banister. I walked up beside her and leaned against the banister next to her.
"Arthur…I don't…If Mal's there all bets are off and all of us could be in serious danger. I…I don't want to loose someone…not again." She put her head on my shoulder and I pulled her close.
"This time I'm staying with you." She smiled and held on to me.
"And I'm glad for it."
