ARIADNE'S POINT OF VIEW

Ariadne hurried out of there like it was no one's business. She couldn't believe it. The whole day the usually polite, gentlemanly, and sophisticated Arthur had acted like an immature teenager. First with the dream, and then him trying to get her to forget about it by creating an imaginary reason that their boss was evil. Very mature.

Her phone began to ring in her pocket. She pulled it out and looked at the caller I.D. She looked up to the sky, thankful it wasn't Arthur.

"What Eames?" she snapped over the phone.

"How was your wonderful lunch date with Arthur?" he asked jokingly. She didn't answer.

"You two are aware we do actually have to work and we didn't set this up just so you two could flirt." He said, continuing.

"I'll be there in three minutes… goodbye Eames." She snapped the phone shut and wanted to chuck it across the street in hopes a car might run over it but her mobile was the only way she could talk to her parents while she was in England since she couldn't tell them that she wasn't actually at school where she was supposed to be. Before she decided for that she put it back into her pocket and just walked. It was only the afternoon and she felt exhausted. It was winter and she didn't have a jacket, all she had was a thin sweater. She shivered and started to run.

The hotel wasn't as full of people as it was in the morning, it was peaceful and quiet, as elegant violins played. She slid into the elevator and took the long ride up.

"Back," she said as she came in. Eames was still in the same position as when she had left. He gave her a smile, but she was glad he was too busy to get up and start talking to her again. Last night's plan didn't really go over well. Unless going over well was defined by a party full of people all over the age of forty coming to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Harry and Pat and Eames getting so drunk that she had to take his phone away before he drunk dialed everyone on his phone list. If so then yeah the night went awesome.

She went straight into the bedroom. The PASIV machine was on the desk, it hadn't been touched since they had left.

"Hi Ariadne…"

CRAP she grabbed her heart. Abbey came out from the corner with a smile. She hadn't expected her.

"Hi… Abbey," she said shaking her head, she could feel a headache coming on.

"Where's Arthur?" she asked hopefully.

"How should I know, you're his girlfriend…" she said as she opened the first drawer and pulled out a pad of paper and some pencils. She moved the machine to the ground and took a seat, ready to draw.

"Is that what he told you?" she asked flipping her wavy red hair out of her face, "We're just friends."

"Great for you," this chick was seriously starting to bug her.

"Sorry, for bothering you… I… I guess I just came to tell you that despite anything he may have done, Arthur really cares for you." Ariadne blushed. He had confided in Abbey about her?

"Thanks… I guess I know that now… I just wonder, Can we ever go back to being the same?" I said, trying to think clear. It was true, it was one hundred percent obvious that he did like her; otherwise he wouldn't have played along in the dream. Then again he did refuse her a kiss. He didn't listen to her while she was trying to argue with him in the diner, but then he created an excuse. It was a tossup.

"Ok…" she said unsure.

"Good bye now." Ariadne wasn't in the mood.

"Keep up the good work." She put down a sketch pad. The page was open to the third drawing. It was of Arthur. She blushed, she would have fought Abbey right then and there but then the team would have noticed and then they would ask why and her love of Arthur would come right out in the open, whether she wanted it to or not.

She flipped through the other pages. They had all been sketched when they had been going out, he had even posed for some of them.

"Abbey?" Ariadne went into the other room. Abbey was talking to Eames. She turned and smiled, "Yeah?"

"Thank you." She said. Abbey nodded her olive green eyes saying, you're welcome.

"What was that all about?" Cobb asked coming up to her. Ariadne turned and went back into the room, allowing her to follow.

"Ariadne, I am not blind. I know what's going on. As much as I am rooting for you and Arthur to turn out well we do need to remember that this type of job is life and death. We're using bare hands to play with fire. She nodded, blushing. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately. It frustrated her, she wasn't one to get like this over guys. She was usually very calm and played it cool, hard to get. In fact she was known for not getting to involved but there was something about him that made her go crazy. She loved him and he was the only person she had ever loved.

"I will try to work… I'm sorry Cobb." She said looking down at the few sketches she had already done.

"You helped me when I needed it, I will be there for you… if you need it." He tried to assure her. She smiled. She knew she could trust him. During the Inception job they had become great friends, since he shared information with her that no one else knew, plus he was a father of two. She guessed he needed practice before they turned into teenagers full of angst.

"Thanks… but I guess like you said… we do need to work. Arthur is convinced that our boss is an imposter of the real Grace Belle, but why would anyone want that?" she shrugged it away. Cobb waited patiently as she pulled out a map she had started to draw. It was a maze, he had never actually seen them before they wend under since the first time he hadn't exactly been able to see them or else they would have died from Mal killing them.

"So, the first level I was thinking that maybe we could use the company building itself. I researched it and found the building is located here in London, so I was hoping I could go and sketch the outside and maybe even the inside. Then I could turn it into a maze since I am sure that there are millions of floors, we won't need to even enter the streets there cause the building would be enough so the maze is more up and down than flat." She said motioning to the maze she had come up for different floors of the building. Cobb nodded, he knew that this time they would probably enter his mind as well because he was finally free of Mal, the one thing that had been holding him back from designing the dreams himself.

"So you have been working." He said lightly teasing her.

"A miracle," it was the first time she had felt herself smile in real life for a while, actually wanting to, actually feeling good. Usually she was happiest when she dreamt, the thought of it made her palms sweat and her heart flutter a little faster.

"So what is this 'nonsense' that Arthur is claiming?" he asked leaning up against the desk. She folded back the pad shrugging, "something about Grace actually being someone he knows and how she's evil or something sill like that…"

"Yes… silly." Cobb murmured more to himself than to her.

"So, I have to make an appointment with the company, would you like to come. I know that Eames is visiting Cal tomorrow but I need to just tour the building. Would you like to accompany me? I have to get everything perfect, event the marks on the floor." She was very meticulous about her work. She was told that jobs had blown up because small details like materials of possessions had given away the team's motive.

"Of course,"

"Great. I will set it up for tomorrow." She said, "I don't know if you know how to text but I will send you the details." She said with a playful smile. He laughed looking down at his shoes. The old extractor was really nice, he was a bit overlooked on the team. Yusuf had been too but he wasn't here this time. Everything Ariadne always talked to Eames and Arthur despite the fact she knew Cobb the best.

"It's a date." He remarked slyly. She couldn't restrain a giggle that left her lips as he left. She took out her phone and looked, a new message, great. She ignored it and dialed the operator. Making the appointment was the easy part, it was coming up with an excuse as to why she was there that was hard.

The rest of the day was pretty much spent trying to get the hide outs right. She wanted it to be spacious but not too obvious. This time the sub conscious shouldn't be too militarized, so maybe it would be easier but she couldn't be too sure. Last time there wasn't supposed to be a little dream army but there was and it almost ended it.

The day came to an end faster than she expected. It was always that way when she worked. She got so lost in making height and width of certain places, be correct to the exact millimeter that she became a bit OCD about it. But sure enough it was time to quit and she already had the first level done. It was great considering that they were going under in less than a week. Five days minimum, seven max. She was excited and nervous all at the same time, she loved the rush of it but was also worried about if it was going to work or not.

Usually the architect didn't come either but on a three level job, more people were necessary. This time it was going to be the five of them, the whole team. Abbey would do the first dream since she wasn't an asset and probably wasn't great with gun control, so she would dream the first layer, then the second they would go into Arthur since he was the next least important. He was great with a gun but they needed a forger more than a point man. Finally they would go under for the last time where Eames would have the dreamscape. This is where they planned to plant the simplest form of the idea of selling the company which most likely was going to be personal related, like the Fischer job. In theory it was going to be extremely simple but also very time consuming and dangerous, given that anything could happen in a dream.

"I will see you all tomorrow," she opened the door and headed for the elevator. They had all agreed on sleeping in different hotel rooms for the sake of privacy and only using the suite as headquarters. Each of them had their own room on a lower level. A chorus of good byes echoed as they all stood, coats in hand, getting ready to leave themselves. Her eyes searched for Arthur but he wasn't there, had he never come back?

As the elevator dung and opened for her she took out her phone. Another message was there. It was from him.

"Ariadne, I was wondering if you could come by my room tonight, remember the Fischer job. Remember the room number." His voice was in a hushed whisper. Barely audible, she had to hold the phone so close to her ear. She poked at the glowing number five.

"Five, two, eight," she repeated the combination to herself quietly. It was a little joke they had shared ever since the job. It was sort of a password for everything whenever they needed to share a code. She ran onto the floor, there was no one in the hallway. She looked at the row of numbers. She tried to read them, but an old maid blocked the first room number. Five two four, five two six, five two eight. Perfect.

Her knuckled turned white as she clenched them and brought them down on the hard wood. The knocking rang through the silent hallway. For some reason she expected an immediate answer. There was none at all. She knocked again… not even a hold on a second? What if he was kidnapped by the woman? What if he was being held hostage? What if it was a trap? She looked around the door, hoping there was some sort of pass card lying around. The maid! She looked back down the hallway. It was late, but very convenient. Quickly she ran to the cart and looked at the side. Sure enough there was a key ring with pass cards on the end. She slipped it into her pocket and ran back down. An easy entrance. She dropped it onto the ground in the hallway, hopefully she would just think she had accidentally dropped it, if not, at least they weren't completely stolen.

"Arthur?"

"Arthur… I am going to feel really stupid if you aren't even here." She said, why hadn't she thought of that before jumping to conclusions and breaking into his hotel room? It was a simple room. She passed the lone bathroom and came into the room that hosted two beds. Both of them had luggage on them. She gulped as she saw that the other one had luggage with flower stickers all over them, Abbey. She walked over, to it, not bothering to turn the lights on. He obviously wasn't here, but while she was, why not snoops a little. On top there was a pass key, she breathed a sigh of relief. She just hadn't made her way to the right floor yet, thank God.

She turned to look at Arthur's luggage. Anything he ever owned was always in his two brown suitcases. That was something he said he was taught by the point man that trained him, "Only pack what you can take in two suitcases." On top there was a pamphlet. It was for the hotel they were staying at. She picked it up and opened it. Written on it in sharpie was the room numbers 528 – 491, Abbey must have been in 491. If there even was such a room. Below it a room style was circled. It was the common room, under features it listed balcony. She didn't know that. Putting it down she went over to the wall where it face England.

"Don't even get me started," Someone said angrily. Through the glass there was a faint voice.

"Shut up Arthur!" A woman's voice spat back. The English accent sounded familiar.

"They will realize. They are smarter than you think." He argued. Ariadne had no idea what he was talking about.

"Oh, really? They are too wrapped up in the idea of money to see what is going on here. I know you are not going to tell anyone because if you do, I will kill your precious girlfriend. Or maybe I won't even let you go. Perhaps I could just untie you and if I accidentally push you off this balcony… who's to say it wasn't suicide?"

"Your damn fingerprints!" he hissed, "You're not going to kill me because I am going to go along with it. Making more money is better for everyone in this company. Working with a brilliant mind like you after this will just be a pleasure." He said. Ariadne was struck, he sounded serious. Whatever this woman was planning to do, it sounded like she was getting rid of them anyway.

"How do I know to trust you?" she hissed angrily, "Because if not no one will show up for the job and you can just shoot them instead. Besides why would I turn down the chance to make more money. I will be able to start over with Ariadne, my life will be better because of this." She swallowed. What was he talking about?

"Fine, this is an attempt to get rid of the competition without killing. You better not betray me… or else you all die." She said angrily. There was some movement. Ariadne had to get out of there. Arthur was right. Grace… or whoever she was, was evil and planned to kill them. She ran to the door and yanked it open. She closed it as quietly as she could, running back down the hallway. As she got into the open elevator she closed the door and held the stay button so that way it didn't move. She reached into her left pocket and pulled out the chest piece. She held it in her hand, like the die it was weighted in certain areas.

DING! The elevator refused to stay shut any longer. Ariadne dove to pick up her piece and stepped out as Grace stepped in. Ariadne held up her room pass, "Hi Grace… I didn't know you were here it's the floor my room is on…" she said making up the first excuse that come to my mind. As if she hadn't threatened anything she smiled with lipstick red lips, "Of course. Nice to see you again." The doors slid closed.

"Arthur!" Ariadne growled. She marched forwards back to the room.

"Arthur you better open this god damn door right this second before I…"

"Ariadne…" The door swung open. He held a towel to his head, it was soaked with blood, his hands wrists were bloody as well.

"What the hell happened?" she demanded pushing her way in. He slammed the door.

"I was right about…"

"You're going to kill us?" she asked.

"What?" A confused look came over his face.

"You need to let me explain." He said wincing as he tried to take the towel away from his head. Ariadne felt a sudden surge of guilt. She rushed forwards and grabbed him. Surprised he dropped the towel completely. After a moment he wrapped his arms around her as well.

"Arthur… what is going on?" she asked, a tear forming in her eye.

"It's a long and complicated story," he said quietly. She nodded, "I have nothing but time." Her hands went to a cut that was on the side of his head, his blood matting his hair, "And let me help you,"

"Ok… just be aware… I have a plan."

Ok so I hate cliffhangers so I promise not to leave you hanging for too long. I will say that this chapter is a bit confusing and the next chapter WILL clear everything up except for one thing. Please leave a review and tell me what you think. I really enjoyed writing this chapter even though its not as good as the other ones, the drama will start to pick up again I promise J