A Nightmare in Paris
Chapter 4
Miles and Dom moved into the familiar warehouse, the latters eyes involuntarily moving towards the desk Ariadne had been hunched over for weeks designing their dreamscape - empty. Having landed at the airport a harried looking Miles had met them at the gate accepting a still sleeping James from Eames and walking alongside his son in law out of the airport. While Dom and Miles took the children back to Miles' home to stay which wasn't far from the university Eames and Arthur left the airport to find somewhere to work from. They did of course find themselves back at the warehouse. One because there was a slight chance whoever had Ariadne would come looking and two because Ariadne's empty desk would do nothing but push them harder to find her.
"Any news?" Miles enquired, his voice almost hoarse, forgoing any kind of greeting to the two men who were sat around Arthur's old desk. The point man in question nodded looking up, a similar weary yet determined and angry expression on his own face,
"The men we heard on the phone were speaking Albanian, based on their accents and dialects they're from a town called Tropoja" he explained leaning back in his chair watching Miles and Dom,
"North – and not somewhere I'd recommend for a vacation" Eames chimed in a darker tone that didn't suit him. The forger sat to Arthurs left another screen in front of him along with some different papers,
"The one I spoke to, his name's Marco" Arthur explained turning the computer to show them an image that was no doubt from a CIA file,
"We have information that a mobster boss by the name of Marco Odja moved to Paris about six months ago" Cobb nodded his eyes fixed on the screen, on the man they were going to find. Soon.
"Anita's parents are in England so we need find them quickly otherwise I'm sure they'll contact the police. As far as I know they speak regularly"
"We need to head to her apartment see if we can find anything more that will tell us who they are and where they might be" Eames said and Miles and Dom nodded,
"The kids?" Arthur asked after pulling the computer back towards him and closing it hastily,
"Settled and tucked in, they're with Maria" Dom answered receiving a curt nod.
Nothing in the alley way appeared out of place as they moved down it and Eames' eyes found the ladder that was still hanging down. Arthur was quick to point out the various footprints on the muddier sections of the a cobblestone,
"You two climb up and we'll head up the building see if there's anything?" Cobb suggested and was only met with agreement before turning and heading out of the alley way, Miles in tow.
"After you darling" Eames gestured and Arthur rolled his eyes before pulling himself up the ladder – almost grateful and the familiarity of Eames' annoyances. They climbed to the top in silence not because there wasn't plenty to say but because their heads were swirling with thoughts they were still trying to process. When Arthur effortlessly pulled himself over the side of the building his eyes instantly found the water tanks and his heart lurched as they zeroed in on the small object that lay beneath them,
"No padlock" Eames muttered from behind him swinging the latch shut. Arthur strode towards the tanks his eyes not leaving his focus, leaving the forger to track through Ariadne's steps as he would normally do. Arthur pulled his tie from his neck before picking up the phone making as little contact as possible. For a moment he just stared at it before noticing the small low battery symbol insistently flashing at him.
"Bloody hell" the curse from behind him made Arthur turn only to spy the blood on the brick wall that Eames was standing before. With a twisting stomach Arthur focused back on the phone before looking up its most recent activity, he saw the phone call that had apparently lasted for four minutes and thirty five seconds –it had felt to Arthur like hours and seconds all at once. He did however pause at the small video icon and frowning pressed it.
The sound that was emitted from the device was the same that had been running through Arthur's head for the past hours – ever since the phone call. Within seconds Eames had stalked across the rooftop and was at Arthurs side peering over his shoulder,
"Clever girl" the forger murmured. In the end it wasn't much, they could see boots and hear Ariadne's frantic breaths, they heard their own voices trying to calm her, giving her advice that hadn't helped. And they both flinched with the sudden movement that had the phone tumbling from the architects hands as she was pulled backwards. It had however landed upright and through the slats the tanks sat upon both men could see a flurry of movement. Black, Black, Black and red. The red of Ariadne's jacket was swallowed as a larger man wrapped his arms around her frame pinning her arms to her sides,
"There!" Eames all but yelled making Arthur flinch once more – not like the point man at all. He paused the video and their eyes widened. The man's forearm was thick and muscled but both men could make out the small tattoo on the outside of his wrist,
"Recognise it?" Arthur asked and Eames nodded,
"I've seen it before but I can't tell you much more than that. I'll send it through see if our friends at the CIA can tell us anything" it was then that Miles and Cobb emerged from the building with nothing to report. By the time Arthur had filled them in Eames had sent the video to one of his numerous contacts.
His phone rang a moment later,
"Sammy I need you to confirm whoever you can with that video and get whatever you can from it – also I got blood here do you think you could send someone out"
"Any cameras?" Dom asked a moment later spinning around on his heel searching the rooftop only for both Arthur and Eames to shake their heads having already looked, the latter having hung up a second prior,
"We should be able to get the ones from inside though" Miles suggested,
"If anyone walked up the stairs or elevators we should be able to see them" Arthur nodded and the four took one last look around them before heading back to the ground to venture across the street to Ariadne's apartment. They'd all been there and although they all had a copy on their key rings it was Arthur that fished his key out and opened her door.
Ariadne's travel bag – one that Arthur had brought her not too long ago, one that she indeed loved, still sat just inside her door, untouched. They took in the mess that was her living area, two of her chairs were upturned and there was blood on one of the walls while glass littered the floor and evidently the wine that had filled it. A single matching glass still sat on the counter half filled with wine.
Nothing else in the apartment was out of place or had been touched, nothing taken as far as they knew – just the two women who had occupied it only ten hours before.
"Eames?"
"Yeah" the forger answered not liking the wary tone of the voice on the other end. He flicked the phone onto speaker laying it on the desk in front of him,
"Ok I got the information about the tattoo – tell me who is Ariadne Phillips to you?" the man on the other end asked and Arthur frowned at the phone. That was never a good place to start a phone call like this,
"What have you got Sam?" Eames asked once more but there was a bite in his voice that wasn't there before, apparently the forger didn't appreciate his ex-colleagues tone either,
"Alright listen the tattoo is group ID are you alone or am I on speaker?"
Who's with you? - Eames had worked alongside the young man long enough to know what he was saying,
"Colleagues, they're fine to hear" Eames responded gruffly and they all heard a sigh on the phone,
"Ok the specialty of the groups coming out of this area is…trafficking of women" with three words Eames paled unlike he'd ever before, Arthur froze mid-word his eyes unfocused and his jaw clenched, the air left Ariadne's professor who hastily sat down placing a hand over his mouth and Dom simply stared at the phone unable to comprehend what he had just heard.
Trafficking of women. Trafficking.
"Dom help me…please…tell me …what do I do?"
"Keep going" Eames voice was gruff and slightly strangled,
"Okay" Sam's was slightly softer and apologetic,
"Their previous MO was to offer women from the emerging east European countries, Yugoslavia, Romania, Bulgaria jobs in the west as maids and nannies once they'd smuggled them in they'd addict them to drugs and turn them into prostitutes" an audible gasp came from Miles this time,
"Fuck" Eames cursed. Dom and Arthur simply remained silent. The silence that was too real – too thick, it was suffocating, like thick fog,
"Lately however they've decided that it's more economical just to kidnap travelling young women – saves on transportation costs" Sam continued hesitantly,
"What else"
"Based on what they know about how these groups operate our analyst says you have a 96 hour window from the time she was grabbed" Sam explained,
"To what?" Arthur asked sharply though they knew the answer, they all did,
"To never finding her"
Hi I know it's slightly dramatic – I hope not too much! It does however follow the plot of Taken (the movie) kind of.
Please, please, please review, let me know if it's at an alright pace. I feel as though I'm rushing a bit through it but at the same time I've got lots to go….and there was a taken 2 so you never know
Anywho thanks for reading and please review!