AN: Thanks, as always, to the amazingly lovely myparamour, for helping me improving my work, and to any other reader out there, thank you for your appreciation, and also I would love some sort of feedback, either as a review or a much more discreet personal message, anything! :)

Chapter Two

Alex, Owen and Birkhoff arrived at the designated point early in the morning; a bunker in the most secluded part of the mountains just outside the city. It looked cold and abandoned, with moss covering most of its front wall. Owen parked their Chevrolet Orlando parallel to the Range Rover that was already stationed on the right side of the building, and they exited the vehicle in silence. He knocked twice of the metal door, which opened with a loud creak, the scratching of the metal signifying a need for some repair.

The man she recognized as being Cobb was on the other side of the door, and with a polite smile he invited them in. As soon as Alex stepped one foot inside she froze in amazement. The same bunker that seemed cold and empty from the outside was now seen from the inside as a cozy home, serene and well decorated. The walls were covered in red brick, and although the floors were just polished cement, it was far from the bleak and gloomy working place she had expected.

Immediately to the right it was the entrance hall, a small console table, made of what appeared to be the top drawers of an old light-wood dresser which was supported by two iron trestles, decorated with a couple of small green glass bottles and a dark metal desk lamp. Across it was the main bathroom, and next to that a dark metal staircase, that Alex assumed led to the bedrooms. Beyond that, beams divided the main area into sections; the living room first, the kitchen slightly behind and to the right, and the dining room adjacent to that. There were wide windows and a door that gave access to the outdoors. Alex narrowed her eyes, as she tried to focus her sight. Was that a pool outside!?

Cobb closed the door behind them and greeted them. "Welcome to my weekend getaway."

"If this is a getaway, I'd like to see where he lives," Birkhoff whispered to Alex, as Owen and Cobb greeted each other.

"And you must be Ms. Alexandra Udinov," Cobb extended his hand. "My name's Cobb"

"Just 'Alex' is fine," she smiled.

He gave her a similar smile in return before proceeding down the hall. "Arthur is waiting outside, I'll show you the common area and we'll join him in a nice breakfast he arranged. Are you hungry?"

Alex nodded as Cobb showed them the main floor. The living room held a large, beige leather sofa, big enough for four people to sit in, and to its left a luxurious brown wool daybed. Across from that were two wire armchairs and a coffee table and the room was completed with a massive flat screen TV along the wall.

The kitchen had white wood cabinets with black marble countertops and a small island with two iron seats at the middle. The dark vintage appliances and the lack of much natural light could have made the area dim, but a beautiful plant with long and thin leaves at the corner of the counter, and the light that came from the small window looking out back made it bright enough.

The dining room was the area most exposed to natural light, and the light-wooded table surrounded by different leather armchairs and backless drafting stools gave it all a cozy feeling. But the best part was, without any doubt, the outdoors. Just outside the door a modular wood flooring extended through a large portion of the lawn, where a lounge and barbeque area were created, with smooth white seating pillows and acacia wood furniture, and to top it off there was a large pool that extended to the limits of the terrain, leading to a downhill with a spectacular view of the mountains.

Cobb led them outside, straight to the dining area, where a slightly frazzled suited man arranged a breakfast table. He was tall and slender, and the way the tailored suit and impeccable hair fitted him concealed his true age. He looked up, noticing the newly arrived guests, and greeted them with a firm shake of hands and a soft, warm smile. "I'm Arthur. Please sit." Cobb sat at the head of the table and his tone suddenly sounded irritated. "We'd better start, if we wait for Eames we'll starve"

"No need to worry, darling, I've arrived," Eames slid out from inside the house and took a seats at Arthur's left, picked up a piece of fruit and smiled deviously at the annoyed man that sat at his side. "I'm touched that you still think of me."

Arthur simply rolled his eyes in response to his provocations. They all sat silent for a few moments, eating peacefully, until Cobb's curiosity got the better of him and decided to request some answers from the guests. Cobb took one last sip from the coffee cup and cleared his throat before speaking, in his usually steady tone, "so, Owen, what brings you here? It must be important, since it couldn't be discussed over the phone…"

Owen eyed him, but it was Birkhoff who spoke, showing as much interest in the topic. "Oh, yeah, that was actually my idea, 'cause I'm pretty sure they have our lines bugged. You know, wiretapped."

Cobb eyed him suspiciously. "They?"

"Yeah, you know, the guys that have a bounty on your asses- Ouch!" Birkhoff's sarcastic tone suddenly changed to a howl of pain, as he looked at his left leg and reached down to rub where he'd just been kicked, hard. Alex shot him a sharp look, the kind that says 'if you speak again I'll make you choke on your own blood' as she proceeded to answer the unspoken question Cobb was about to ask.

"Cobol Engineering. It seems they are looking for a team to wipe you out."

Owen shot his hand up, trying to comfort their host. "Luckily, since they reached us first, we have leverage."

"What kind of leverage?" Eames spoke directly to Alex. He wanted an honest answer, and so far as he could tell, she was the best one to get it from.

Alex looked him in the eyes as she replied, "a seven hour window, before we decline the job and they hire someone else." She looked back to Cobb, whose eyes showed fear while his body language attempted to hide it. "We have arranged a meeting at four, that doesn't give you much time to run, but that's all you got"

"I'm not leaving." Cobb shook his head and looked down at his hands. "I'm sorry. I'm not leaving my children again."

"It's dangerous for you to stay behind, mate; James and Philippa will be well taken care by Miles," Arthur rationally added, but Cobb reacted negatively to the mention of his children's names.

"I'm not leaving them again!"

"And what exactly are you planning to do?" Eames spoke this time. "March into Cobol's headquarters and demand them to cease their pursuit on us?"

"We could try to make a deal with Kelly, the rep agent."

Arthur held his hand up, "they won't accept it; it's vengeance for them, the tying of loose ends. I doubt you can change his mind"

Alex smiled. "I'm sure you know Owen isn't the best when it comes to negotiating, but I can assure you that I am much more persuasive."

#.#.#.#.#.#.#.#.#.#.#.#

The meeting was set on a rooftop bar at a nearby hotel, an established place for businesspeople to assemble and execute contracts. It was the typical location for the typical operation, and as Cobb and Arthur sat at a secluded table and Eames sat at the bar, Alex and Owen approached the table where Mr. Kelly was already waiting for them, with Birkhoff following the whole operation through the hotel security cameras and the ear pieces he gave each one of them.

"Miss Udinov, it's always a pleasure. Have you taken into consideration my proposal?"

"I am sorry but I can't accept, Mr. Kelly." The room felt into silence, as she noticed it was almost empty. A few suited men entered the room in a quick pace, and everything happened fast but strangely as if it was almost in slow motion. In a split second men were scattered all over the room, approaching Cobb, Arthur and Eames, and before Mr. Kelly could raise and aim his gun at Alex she knocked it into the air and turned herself towards the man charging towards Owen, hitting him in his nose with her head, and as the man stepped away, disoriented, she kicked him across the chest, throwing him against a table before he fell unconscious.

She was about to turn back around before she was hit across the cheek with something hard and cold. As she felt to the ground the Mr. Kelly's weapon was lying on the floor, so she quickly grabbed it and as she got up, pointed it directly to the man's face, who was now aiming a gun at her forehead, so close she could feel the rough material in her skin.

She said nothing. She simply aimed her gun at the side of Mr. Kelly's neck. She watched steadily as he yelled in rage, "did you think you could fool me? I know every single detail on your miserable life, and you don't want to die over people you don't even know!" His anger opened a window for her and she made quick work, ripping his gun from his grip and holding it at her side before she froze, realizing what he'd just said.

All of those sad memories of what she had been through over the years hit her at once, all of the people she'd loved and lost, and she smiled sadly as she spoke with conviction. "Then you know what happens when I count to three." She unlocked the safety grip and counted. "One…" the man hesitated, and she continued, now pressing the weapon against his neck "Two…"

"Okay, okay, let's make a deal!" He yelled frustrated in surrender. When she didn't remove the gun he continued. "I have a proposition you won't decline. After that, Mister Cobb and his team can go on living their pathetic lives-"

Alex pressed the weapon harder into his skin, and spoke in a menacing tone. "Which is?"

"Amanda. I want you to perform an extraction from Amanda." He spoke lower through his teeth, infuriated by her sudden power over him.

"And after that their debt is paid?"

"Yes," He simply answered, feeling the pressure of the gun against his skin

"Deal."

#.#.#.#.#.#.#.#.#.#.#.#

Cobb kindly arranged the guest rooms in order for them to stay as long as they needed, something that was preferable over a hotel for Alex. She liked the way the safe house felt like a home, as a family shared beautiful unforgettable memories there, which were now scattered through the brick walls and in black and white photographs. Most of them were photos of his children, two dazzling blond haired, good-looking small beings, laughing and playing through the shots, a few with an older man and some of them with an older woman too, probably Cobb or his wife's parents, and a couple actually made her smile. One was Cobb and Arthur in a foreign city, Tokyo maybe, and the other was set in the garden, at the couch area, with both Cobb and Arthur slyly smiling in the picture, and Eames doing his own impression of an uninterested grin.

Arthur led them upstairs, to where the guest rooms were. Owen and Birkhoff were sharing a room, and Alex would have one of her own, with her own private bathroom, and the room 'with the best view of the house,' Arthur assured her with a soft smile. And he wasn't lying. The room itself was incredible, what used to be an unimpressive and dirty old attic turned into a cozy feminine bohemian style bedroom, a room previously designed for Cobb's daughter. The walls were all clean white, except the one at the end of the room, with the door that gave access to the small balcony, and the huge beams that crossed the white ceiling, they were mahogany wooded, as so was the floor. The room wasn't heavily furnished, but the essential fittings were there and it was well decorated.

The iron bed was nestled against the wall, and it was covered with thick white quilt, ethnic purple pillows and a small black blanket at the end of the bed. Across the bed, at the corner, was a dressing space, with a clothes rack, a footstool and a floor mirror. And in the other side of the room, a private bathroom was hidden within a blurred glass divider. She walked towards the huge bed and threw herself over the soft, fluffy white blankets, and buried her face in the pillows, overwhelmed by the soft fabric against her skin, and she almost fell asleep, if it wasn't by the voice that brought her back.

"You'd better clean those wounds," Cobb said, pointing to her face, and she smiled, getting up and sitting at the end of the bed. He moved closer and continued, "thank you, for literally fighting for our lives. It means more to me than you'll know. Now, goodnight and rest well, we have a busy day ahead."

AN: As you could see, I'm a interior designer aficionado, so I'm sorry if I bored you with the extensive interior description... -.-'

Hope you'd enjoyed chapter two, hopefully I'll update soon and please, share your thoughts on this!