Yay! So I had time to update since the college doesn't open til 10 tomorrow! Which means that I get to sleep in! So I decided to stay up late and get this posted. Hope you like this chapter. This will draw out many questions from all of you, but I like a little mystery :) Read and review! Thanks for all the alerts and reviews! It makes me so happy to read all of your reviews and to see that you all like my stories.
I don't own Inception...I will have to work harder on that huh? ;)
Ariadne was too occupied with her drawings that she didn't hear the flight attendant announce that they would be landing soon. It wasn't until a voice across from her spoke up that she finally paid attention.
"Excuse me miss?" The man called to her.
Her head snapped up and she looked at the man, her eyes narrowed at being interrupted.
"We'll be landing shortly." He told her. Her eyes softened when she realized he was only trying to help.
"Oh! Thank you sir." Ariadne smiled and quickly put her sketchpad away and buckled up.
"Are you vacationing in Paris?" The man asked again.
"No, I live here. Actually I'm going to school here. I started my Masters degree in Architecture a year ago." She replied, smiling.
The man chuckled. "I wouldn't have guessed that you lived in Paris. It doesn't seem like a place for a young woman like you."
"Why not? You don't think a young woman can enjoy Paris?" She raised her eyebrow at him and frowned.
"No, I never said that. Most women don't like to go to Paris alone. It is the city of love after all." The man answered, smiling at her.
Ariadne shifted in her seat uncomfortably. "Yeah, well I'm not most women."
"I can see that." The man chuckled. "So what's your name?"
Ariadne eyed him suspiciously before answering. "Ariadne."
"Ariadne. Interesting name. I'm Colin."
"Colin huh? What's an Englishman like you doing in Paris?" Ariadne asked, trying to get some information out of him. Something about him reminded her of Eames, but there was definitely something suspicious about him.
"Ah, I see you know your accents. I'm in Paris for a job actually. I'll be here for a few months. My brother is actually supposed to be meeting me here on Monday." He replied.
"A job? What kind of job? What do you do?" Ariadne asked, curiosity getting the best of her.
"Let's just say I'm an actor of sorts." Colin grinned. Ariadne frowned, he was being extremely vague with his answers, she wasn't sure she liked it.
"Actor? In dreams maybe." Ariadne scoffed, knowing that if he caught on to her subtle hint, he'd tell her.
"Ah, precisely." Colin smirked.
"I see…" Ariadne trailed off, giving Colin a look showing that she understood what he meant.
"What do you say we have a drink after we land? I'd like to talk to you some more, if you don't mind."
Ariadne thought for a minute, not sure if this was threatening or not. She nodded, knowing that Arthur taught her some self defense moves and how to use a knife if she needed to.
"Alright, I know a good coffee shop." Ariadne said before turning her attention back to her bag.
Colin grinned and turned to look out the window. Ariadne continued to stare at him. A small sense of familiarity with Colin was causing her to take interest in him.
She sighed and shook her head, knowing that Arthur wouldn't approve of her decision to have drinks with a complete stranger, but she didn't think Colin was very harmful.
Arthur woke up the next morning with one of the worst headaches he'd had in years. He instantly regretted drinking so much when he sat up and felt nauseated. Glancing around the large suite, he spotted a bottle of aspirin sitting on the farthest table from the bed. He groaned knowing that Eames was messing with him.
His feet hit the floor with a soft thud and he padded over to the table, willing himself not to throw up. When he reached the table he found a glass of water and a note also awaiting him. Before reaching for the note, he poured four aspirin into his mouth and quickly swallowed them with water.
He snatched up the note and gasped when he recognized the writing.
Arthur, meet me in Paris, there's a job we want you to be in on. – C
He let the note fall from his hands and it fluttered to the floor. He looked around and frowned, wondering how the person could have possibly gotten into his room so easily.
"This is what happens when I let myself get drunk." Arthur murmured and ran his fingers through his hair frustratingly. He quickly regained his composure and jumped in the shower. He spent half an hour in there, trying to refresh himself and wash off the smell of alcohol.
By the time he finished he felt much better and he packed everything he brought with him, preparing to leave for Paris. He was now breaking his own protocol, but if he was found, that meant that other people from the team could have been found…including Ariadne.
Ariadne found herself enjoying the company of Colin, he was a flirt, but she easily brushed it off, used to being hit on by Eames.
"So you're going to perform an extraction?" She finally asked once the conversation turned more serious.
Colin set down his tea and stared at Ariadne intently, as if studying her.
"Well sort of, we want to try something new, but we're not sure it's going to work. My extractor is on her way, but she was running late, so you may not get to meet her today."
"What is it that you want to do exactly?" Ariadne asked.
"Well we want to erase part of this subject's memory." Colin replied coolly, watching Ariadne's reaction.
"What? Why would you want to do something like that? That's cruel!" Ariadne shrieked louder than she meant. People turned to look at her, and she blushed.
Colin smirked at her before answering. "The subject wants us to do this, she had a bad childhood and would rather not relive some of those experiences over again."
"Oh." Ariadne blushed again at her reaction before hearing the whole plan. "So she hired you to erase memories?"
"Precisely. The thing is we've never done this before and we're not sure what we'll have to do to get it done."
"Then why did you take the job?" Ariadne asked, genuine curiosity in her voice.
"I like the challenge." Colin shrugged and smirked haughtily. "Plus I'd want to erase those memories too if I were in her place."
"It's really that bad?"
Colin nodded and kept his gaze on Ariadne. "I hear you're an excellent architect. Helped complete inception right?"
Ariadne looked at him stunned. "I uh, what? How did you find that out?"
"I have my ways." Colin replied. "So, are you in?"
Ariadne frowned and looked down at her cup of now cold hot chocolate. She finally looked up and nodded.
"Alright, just give me the time and place of meeting."
Colin grinned widely and handed her a folded piece of paper.
"I'm honored to have you on board. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to meet my extractor and chemist. I'll see you soon. It was a pleasure to meet you Ariadne." Colin shook her hand and quickly brought it to his lips and kissed it.
Ariadne smiled and watched as Colin walked off. She was curious about how he found out about her or even heard of her. She was new to the dream world, so he had to have strong connections. She unfolded the note and gasped at the contents on the paper.
So...what did you think? Review and let me know! I'll try to get the next chapter up soon!
