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The next two months flew by without any danger whatsoever. The entire group was very much surprised. They spent their time loitering around Ariadne's apartment, constantly on their guard. But as time flew by, they began to realize that they were actually safe for a moment. It seemed that there was finally some serenity for them all. Little did they know that this was just the calm before the storm.
"Eames, it's your turn to make lunch," Ariadne called to Eames, who was lying haphazardly on the couch in her living room.
"Isn't it Arthur's turn?" Eames moaned in return.
"No. Now, you can either go out or buy some groceries or you can go get some take out," Ariadne ordered, a stern expression on her face.
"Hey, where's Eames?" Arthur asked, "I'm starving here."
Ariadne looked up at him form her book.
"I don't know. He left, like, two hours ago."
Just as Ariadne finished her sentence, there was a series of loud knocks at the door. Arthur looked at her expectantly.
"Can you get that, honey? I'm actually really tired," she asked him, simultaneously turning back to her book with a smug grin on her face as he rose from his seat on the couch.
In all honesty, Ariadne wasn't really tired at all. She was initially going to answer the door, until she saw the expectant look on Arthur's face. Ariadne had had the sudden urge to wipe that look clean off his beautiful face. Telling to answer it for her had been exactly how to do that.
Her current occupation was growing rather tedious, so Ariadne sat up to decide on something else to do. Realizing that there really was nothing to do, Ariadne lay back down to try and sleep. When she thought a lot, she often put herself to sleep. Ariadne contented herself with thinking about how repetitive their schedule had grown after the police had questioned them about Robert Fischer's death. They had told their story and the police had bought it.
The sound of the front door banging shut interrupted Ariadne's attempts at falling asleep. She lazily opened her eyes.
Arthur stood before her, his face a mask of anger. He was holding up his cell phone.
"What's wrong?" Ariadne queried, sitting up straighter now.
"Read this."
Arthur shoved the phone towards her then, displaying a text message on the screen. It read:
Eames won't be coming back from his grocery errand. He took a little detour with us. If you want him back, meet me at the supermarket that Eames was at to begin with.
P.S Bring the girl with you.
Ariadne read it slowly, processing each word. So they weren't out of the woods yet. In actuality, Ariadne wasn't surprised at all. She didn't think Arthur was either. It was just very unfortunate that this happened just when they had let their guard down a little.
"So, what are we going to do?" she asked cautiously, "This is obviously a trap."
"I think it would be best if I checked the supermarket and you stayed here," Arthur responded, already reaching the front door with his coat in hand.
"No, Arthur, wait!" Ariadne jumped from her seat, meeting him at the door.
"Ari, I'd really appreciate it if you'd listen to me, just this once."
"But that text said that I have to be there with you. And I know it's a trap," Ariadne added, seeing Arthur had opened his mouth to say something. "And I can't just let you willingly walk into a trap while I just sit here," Her point being made, Ariadne crossed her arms and waited impatiently for his reply.
"Yes, but it wouldn't do much good for both of us to get trapped now would it?" Arthur said, walking out the front door with Ariadne right at his heels.
"But if I'm not there they might kill you instead of just trapping you," Ariadne argued. She was very persistent.
Arthur's expression turned to one of mild agreement, making Ariadne grin. Apparently, he either couldn't argue with her logic, or had finally decided that it just wasn't worth arguing with her. It was most likely the latter.
"What the hell?" Ariadne shrieked as they exited the supermarket. Several heads turned to look her way in astonishment, making her blush profusely.
"Ari, calm down. They could be hiding somewhere out here. We don't—" Arthur's sentence was cut off by a very loud gunshot resounding in the air.
It all happened so quickly after that. Everyone around them began to scream and run, some grabbing their children in the process. Ariadne could faintly hear a child crying but she could barely register the fact. There was a hot pain spreading throughout her arm. She looked down to see a red spot blossoming on her upper arm, near her shoulder.
"Arthur…"
Arthur turned in her direction now, seeming like he had forgotten she was there. His eyes widened as he beheld her wound. Grabbing the hand on her good arm, he began gently tugging her away from the scene, toward the direction or their parked car.
"C'mon, we have to get you to a hospital. I don't think they're gonna shoot again, whoever "they" are. This was merely a threat. How are you feeling?" his eyes softened as he asked her.
"Well… it's probably the worst pain I've ever been in, considering I've never really had many injuries. Don't worry though, I can handle it," she added towards the end, even though she knew he would still be worrying.
Arthur helped her into the front passenger seat of the car. She tried not to wince as the pain in her arm began to increase.
She failed.
Arthur noticed she was in pain and glanced worriedly at her for the majority of the drive.
Once at the hospital, Arthur never left her side, for which Ariadne was very grateful. The doctor managed to patch her up quickly: he removed the bullet from her arm, disinfected the wound, and wrapped some gauze on her upper arm afterwards. He questioned how Ariadne had managed to get shot in her arm, but Arthur was prepared. He simply told the man that there was a random shooting at the supermarket.
"So, what are we going to do now, Mr. Point Man?"
They had arrived at Ariadne's apartment fifteen minutes ago, and Arthur had been on his laptop the moment they had stepped into the room. He looked as stiff as a statue, hunched over the kitchen table. The light from the screen made his face appear luminous.
"I'm trying to see if I can hack into the supermarket's security cameras… Got it!" Arthur exclaimed, beckoning for Ariadne to join him.
From Arthur's laptop screen, Ariadne could see a slightly blurry, but identifiable, Eames. He was just roaming around in the vegetable aisle, scowling at everything he looked at. Eventually, a man approached Eames and began talking to him. His back was to the camera, but judging from his stature, Ariadne assumed he was fairly young. He swiftly turned away from Eames after a moment, revealing his face.
Ariadne gawked at the screen.
