Disclaimer: Inception and its characters belong to the talented Mr. Chris Nolan.
A/N: CHAPTER 4 IS UP. FINALLY. I know. Please don't hurt me. It's a little overdue but it's out, yeah?
Thanks again to those who reviewed. I always keep in mind the things you say and it's super touching that you guys want me to continue writing. Thanks!
CHAPTER 4
"Eames, where are we going?" When Eames and Ariadne left their hotel, the Architect was surprised when Eames denied the offer for a cab.
"As I said to the stick in the mud, we're going to set up our workspace, love… after we explore." Eames offers a mischievous grin. Hand on her lower back, Eames leads Ariadne into the bustling streets of Shanghai. He tells her the history of the area, the people who reside here, and sometimes, Ariadne believes, are hints about the previous jobs that the Forger has done before.
It's been two hours into their journey when Ariadne starts to feel her stomach rumble. Eames, noticing the Architect's dilemma, turns her around and walks them back into an alley they just passed a few seconds ago. Ariadne gives a strange look at Eames. "What are you…" Before she could finish her sentence, she sees a night market at the end of the alley.
"We're going to take care of our stomachs before I take us to our little rendezvous spot." Ariadne's stomach rumbles louder when she smells a mixture of stir-fry foods and grilled meats.
"Sorry," Ariadne, red as a tomato, covers her stomach with both hands. Eames simply chuckles at her embarrassment.
"This is called a night market." Eames says when they enter the crowd. Red lanterns hang high in the air as if they were floating on their own. People are moving left and right, bargaining for lower prices on food. Baked and grilled ducks, pigs, chickens hang from the booths. Various snacks that Ariadne has never seen in her life fill her senses with such rich aroma that she's hungrier than ever.
Eames pulls her to a stop in front of a meat booth. Ariadne's eyes widen when Eames opens his mouth to speak with the seller. "Ba ge xiao long bao. Hi you jia liang bang gu lao rao. Xie xie."
Eames hands her a steamed bun when he's done speaking to the seller. "Are you kidding me? You speak Mandarin?" Ariadne stares at Eames astonished by his newfound talent.
"I'm not very good at it but I know enough to get by, especially when it comes to food. Come on, pet." Eames leads her to another booth to pick up other random goods.
Ariadne can't help but stare in awe at the Forger when he speaks again to another vendor. Ariadne realizes that Eames must notice her gawking because he immediately offers a remark that makes her face flame red. "Darling, now. I know I'm that good, but there's no need to idolize me. You can show your affection for me later." Eames winks at the Architect.
Before Eames could blink, Ariadne is already striding off into the distance. The Forger rubs the side of his shoulder as he quickly tries to catch up with his companion down the alley.
…
Fifteen minutes later of going in and out of various streets and alleyways, Eames guides Ariadne into a quiet secluded area and stops them in front of a small door. Eames looks around before he opens it with a key from his pocket.
"You were supposed to set this place up." Arthur says when they enter the room. The Pointman is lying back on his chair, reading a file in his hand.
"I will. After we eat." Eames lifts his arms to show Arthur the numerous bags he has in his hands.
"Thank you." Yusuf takes the food to his desk.
"Bloody hell, stop hogging the chicken!" As Yusuf and Eames bicker off at the side, Ariadne digs into one of the bags, pulls out a box of pork, and sits on the vacant chair next to Arthur. Possessing no utensils, Ariadne starts picking at the pieces with her fingers and popping them into her mouth. Noticing Arthur is staring at her, Ariadne offers a piece to the Pointman. Arthur raises an eyebrow at Ariadne before letting her feed one into his mouth.
Ariadne blushes when Arthur smiles softly at her. "Thanks." The smile disappears when they notice Eames walking back, holding a box of chicken out towards the two. "Are you alright, Arthur? You're looking more frightening than usual. Weren't you suppose to be with Mr. Chang at the moment?"
Arthur ignores Eames' comment. "Have a seat. I have some new developments." Ariadne realizes Eames is right. Something be bothering Arthur especially if he doesn't retort back at Eames.
"My meeting with Mr. Chang was brief. After a thirty-minute conversation, I asked Mr. Chang if I could meet his son. I sensed something was wrong when he initially declined. So I bluntly told him that if that were the case, I would have to politely decline his job offer. He immediately apologized and reluctantly agreed to my request." Arthur pauses, as if he was carefully choosing his next words.
"Daniel is a mute and he's been that way ever since his mother died."
Ariadne chimes in. "Wait… what? So when Mr. Chang said that he couldn't get a single word out of his mouth…"
"It was in a literal sense." Arthur finished. "But I wouldn't say that was our biggest problem."
"Then what is?" Yusuf says with his mouth full of pan-fried noodles.
"When I went to see Daniel, he was napping in his room. Mr. Chang didn't want to disturb him so he said that I could have a proper introduction tomorrow morning. A few minutes before I was about to leave, I heard screams from Daniel's room. The boy was having a nightmare and when Mr. Chang woke Daniel up, the kid pushed off from his father and hid himself into the corner of the room. The closer Mr. Chang got to Daniel, the louder Daniel cried and screamed." Arthur pauses to quickly pull the box of chicken away from Yusuf, who hand stolen it back from Eames, and hands it to Ariadne.
"It was only after Rina, Mrs. Chang's sister, arrived when Daniel calmed down and fell back to sleep. Mr. Chang, apologizing for the event, immediately excused himself. I questioned Rina about Daniel and she mentioned that he's been plagued with nightmares for the last three years. There hasn't been a day where he's gotten a fair amount of sleep."
"This is going to be troublesome." Eames quietly replied.
"What do you mean?" Ariadne asks.
"Children have boisterous imaginations and they often don't learn the difference between what's reality and what's not until they are older. His mind will be very different compared to that of an adult. To make things worse, the death of his mother must have traumatized him greatly because it seems from Arthur's narrative that he can't trust anyone but his own aunt." Eames furrows his eyebrows at the thought. "I need to do some observations on Mr. Chang and this… Rina. It's evident that Mr. Chang is still hiding something if his own son is afraid of him." Eames looks directly at Arthur. "You think you can get a hold of their schedules?"
Arthur gives him an approving nod. "If Daniel's mind is that unstable, I suspect we're going to face far more violent and suspicious projections. This is going to be dream at least two levels deep."
"I have some formulas that may be of use when we use the PASIV. It could calm the boy down, maybe even lessen the suspicion level of his projections." Yusuf suggests.
For the first time in a while, Ariadne realizes that she's still new to the business. She was lucky to have Cobb train her to become an architect but there is a lot more about the dream state she hasn't learned about yet. Arthur notices the slightly lost and frustrated face on the Architect. "Do you still want to do this job, Ariadne? You can sit this one out if you feel like you're not up to it."
"No. I want to do it." Ariadne offers a determined look to the team. "What can I do to help?"
Arthur thinks for a moment before answering. "Do you want to meet Daniel tomorrow?"
A/N: My Chinese pin yin is bit rough since I haven't used it for a while but basically the translation from earlier was "Eight steamed buns and two pounds of BBQ pork. Thank you."
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