This chapter moves the story along pretty quickly. I hope none of you mind too much; I sacrificed some details for the sake of keeping the plot interesting.
Thanks to all of you for reading and reviewing; I really appreciate it!
~M.
Yusuf begins test runs of his subconscious-unlocking compound the same day Whelan joins their walkthroughs. Cobb and Nash assist the chemist in running a gauntlet of experiments with the new serum while the others introduce Whelan to the dream layouts.
They regroup in the evening to do their first real test run—still divided into three separate trips under; even Arthur's desire for exacting accuracy won't let them risk falling into limbo. Ariadne shifts in her lawn chair to lean toward Yusuf and ask how the compound is working. He shakes his head and tells her it's still too unstable just before Arthur presses the plunger.
Whelan is a natural. 'Natural,' Eames notes, when Whelan is handcuffed in the other room of the first dream's warehouse, means he's slick enough to find what people want and use it to his advantage.
In six days Yusuf perfects his compound. In nine Cobb, Whelan, and Ariadne can maneuver through Saito's dreamworld with exacting accuracy, and have blocked out the game plan.
That night, as Cobb winds the IV lines and arranges everything back in the PASIV, Arthur gets his phone call to Saito. The businessman is back in Japan with a meeting in London that's vitally important, and will two days be a short enough amount of time?
Whelan gives the nod as he listens in, and Arthur says that will be fine, see you in two days.
Whelan makes the arrangements to have his jet take them to Heathrow in the morning. Arthur grabs Ariadne's hand and leads her up to their flat.
He kisses her on the threshold like the world is ending. She presses, 'I love you, I love you, I love you' into his skin as he breathes, 'I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.'
They've let themselves be consumed by their work; raising the job to drown out any thoughts of the future, but their monuments to the present are shattering, and Ariadne realizes that they have wasted too much time.
She holds back her tears until they are sitting together in her bed, sweat cooling on their bodies. He holds her, head resting against her own, and she loves him because he can sit in silence with her and not say things like, 'It's okay,' or 'everything will work out.'
They never formed a plan. She never let Eames teach her anything else after Nash grabbed her in the hallway, and there was never enough time alone for the team to plan anything. There's a hope in the back of her mind that Saito will work some sort of miracle, but she knows better than to trust in her own optimism.
Arthur waits until her eyes have run dry before speaking. "You'll have to go into hiding for a while, just in case Whelan decides to tie up loose ends. Get Saito to put you up in one of his homes for at least a month; his security should be enough to keep you safe. After that, Cobb can get you a fake passport and some currency. It's safest to hide in poor countries and remote towns. Pick an alias, change your hair color and clothing style, and don't ever pay for anything with a credit card, even if it's not in your real name. Watch out for security cameras. Don't stay in the same place for more than a few weeks, and always keep an eye out for people who seem out of place. If you see anything unusual, get out."
"I don't want to talk about this right now," she tells him.
"I just want to make sure you'll be safe after this is all over."
She pulls back so that she can see his face. "It's hard enough to map all the way to the end of the job. I don't want to think about anything else."
"If something were to happen to you after all this..." His voice drifts when she looks away and can't stop blinking. "Sorry."
She forces her eyes back to him, meeting his gaze with a glare. "Stop apologizing for the things you can't control."
He opens his mouth, shuts it again, and pulls her into his lap. "I love you."
They sit together in silence until the morning comes.
The team reruns the dream levels on the plane, making sure the details are perfect and fresh in their minds.
Whelan doesn't bother to bring his guards along for the ride. Instead, he smirks as he explains that he has snipers following Cobb's family around, and that if he doesn't check in at the right times, or if he gives the order, they'll be shot. "Not to mention the personal repercussions you'll all suffer," he adds as an afterthought. "Trust me when I say they'll be far more dire than you can imagine."
Ariadne turns her head because looking at the man has become physically painful, and finds Eames staring at her. His hands are fisted on his thighs, but he raises a brow at her, and, in spite of Nash's words of warning still camped out in the back of her mind, she can't help but think of what Eames told her weeks ago during their shooting lesson. She tells herself it was just a fluke that he was right about Whelan having people watching Cobb's family, but there's a small part of her that doesn't quite believe it.
They make it to Heathrow by 2:10pm, local time, and follow Whelan's slow, cane-aided, walk through the airport like leashed dogs.
In the car that Whelan has waiting for them, Arthur slides in beside Ariadne and takes his hand in hers. She tightens her grip and doesn't let go.
"Alright, then," Whelan says as he shuts the door of the penthouse suite he shepherded the team into. "Let's go over the logistics."
He reaches for the remote and turns on the tv that nearly covers a whole wall of the suite's living room. The screen lights up with the interior of a bedroom. The room is vacant, and it only takes Arthur a second to make the connection that Ariadne is still sorting out.
"You bugged his hotel room."
Whelan grins at the point man. "Of course. We can't exactly complete our task without knowing when our dear mark has put himself to bed. I've also had my people set up an airborne sleep aid to be triggered so we can ensure he won't wake as we get settled." He turns to Yusuf before continuing. "I assume you have the capacity to keep him asleep until after we've left his room?"
Yusuf nods and Whelan continues.
"The rest is all very straight forward: you work the job like you're supposed to, we fly back to Cairo, Saito picks most of you up, and you return to your lives just a bit wiser. I assume that is all clear enough for you."
"Actually, no," Eames says. "Those of us who won't be making it on Saito's plane are a bit curious as to how the rest of our lives will unfold."
He forms the words with simple curiosity, and Ariadne wonders how he can be so nonchalant about the countdown that's been set over his days. She counts it as a point for Nash's argument.
"Let's figure that out when the time comes, shall we? No sense getting worked up over the future when there's so much in the present that needs our attention," Whelan responds, before turning his focus back to the rest of the team. "Now, we have several hours, I'd imagine, before Saito finally succumbs to sleep. You are free to do as you'd like as long as you don't leave the suite. I had the hotel disconnect the phone line before our arrival, so don't worry about trying to call for help. Enjoy yourselves; maybe get some sleep or watch a film. Just know that you will be held accountable for your actions during this time."
He turns and disappears up a broad flight of stairs.
There's silence as the team waits for the click of the door to whatever room Whelan has found on the second story.
The door shuts, and Yusuf picks up his bag and moves to the sofa. "I brought enough somnacin for several more rounds of practice if any of you would like."
There's a beat of silence before Arthur says, "We were under nearly the whole way here. I think we're all ready for the job this time around."
"The job, sure, but there are other things you can do down there," Eames cuts in. "Time is of the essence for you and me; have some fun before the carnival closes."
"No." The word is flat, and Arthur is already moving up the stairwell by the end of it.
Eames drops into an armchair and cocks his head towards the others. "I didn't actually think he'd go for it, but I did try."
Ariadne starts up the stairs after Arthur, but a hand on her wrists makes her pause. She follows the limb up to the neutral expression hung carefully on Cobb's face.
"Let me talk to him," the extractor says.
The 'no' is already halfway up her throat before she catches it. As much as she would will it otherwise, she's pretty sure that years of close friendship—decades of killing and dying for one another, even if it's only in dreams—is stronger than several weeks of 'I love you's and sharing a bed.
She steps off the stair and Cobb brushes past, his shoes tapping softly on the wood.
"Well, love," Eames says, rising from his seat to retrieve the PASIV case from the table where Arthur had set it. "Since your previous plans seem to have fallen through, I wouldn't mind taking a few moments to show you an idea that I had."
Ariadne glances at Yusuf, who shrugs, before looking back at the forger's attempts to set up the device. Eames only makes it a few seconds before Yusuf intervenes, pushing him away from the spider web the tubing has begun to resemble.
"What do you want to show me?" Ariadne asks as Eames settles back into his chair.
"Just a few minor additions to the third dream level. Nothing too invasive, but I figured I should run them by you before using them in the job. Are you interested, or should I go upstairs and ask Cobb for his input instead?"
She's still feeling impossibly old and she still doesn't trust him.
Yusuf pauses, vials in hand, to look at her.
She holds out until the curiosity has eaten through her worries and doubts and fears of what one little dream can do to a mind when the wrong person is in control. "Five minutes."
"Five minutes will be plenty," Eames assures as she perches on the edge of the sofa where Yusuf is hooking up the PASIV. The leather under her fingertips is impossibly soft, and she has to wonder just how much a night in a place like this costs. The amount, she knows, will never be enough to give Whelan even a moment's pause.
"Here," Yusuf says, passing her a needle that she pins into her vein as quickly as any nurse. "Just remember you don't have to stay down there the full time. Don't let him manipulate you."
Eames reaches for his own IV. "Lovely little pep talk, but I assure you I have no nefarious plans, just a few ideas."
"Are you ready?" Yusuf asks Ariadne without looking across to Eames' seat.
She nods, and he counts down from three.
Closing her eyes, Ariadne waits for the plunge.