A/N: I did it! Third chapter written and uploaded tonight. I was so desperate to get this up before I went to sleep. So I hope you enjoy reading as much as I did writing it. :)

37.

Arthur stepped outside the office building as Denley came to a stop in front of the door. He heard Cobb move closer, his shoes clicking on the tarmac beneath his feet. Arthur walked in an arc around Denley, his eyes never leaving the smiling man, and stood next to his partner.

'Well, isn't this nice,' Denley said. 'All together again in another dream. Just like old times.'

Arthur kept one hand behind his back, his fingers resting on the butt of the Glock 17 tucked into his waistband. He wasn't taking any chances; not this time.

'Where's my good friend Robert then, hmm?' Denley mused. 'I thought he would be here to greet me, too. To see my glorious downfall.'

'I'm right above you, buddy. One false move and I'll blow your bloody head off.'

Denley chuckled as Eames' voice crackled over Arthur's radio. 'Ah, a talk-all radio. How quaint. I should have guessed, this being your dream and all, Arthur.'

'It's Eames', actually,' Arthur replied. 'I suppose he wanted to be able to hear everything you say before we take you down for good.'

'Yes, I'm sure he's got a few choice words for me. A shame he was never quite as eloquent as you.'

'I can see every damn hair on your head, pal. You really don't want to push me.'

'And none of that famed British reservation, either,' Denley sneered. 'Such a shame.' He looked between Arthur and Cobb, spreading his palms out towards them. 'Well, what are we waiting for? You're here to kill me, are you not?'

Arthur kept his expression blank as he gripped the handle of the gun. Not yet, he urged himself. He forced the temptation from his mind as he watched Denley shift his weight from one foot to the other.

'We're waiting for someone,' Cobb said. 'He should be here soon.'

'Actually, he's already here. Just up the street.'

Arthur peered around Denley to find Browning marching toward them, staring at the buildings around him as though utterly lost. He quickened his pace when he spotted the trio, stopping a few feet from Denley.

'Where the hell are we?' he demanded, glaring at both Arthur and Cobb in turn. 'What have you done to me?'

'You're in a dream, old man,' Denley replied before either one could open their mouth. 'Quite marvellous, isn't it?'

'What the fuck do you mean, a dream? Why are you lot here then?'

Denley sighed and shook his head, rolling his eyes at Arthur and Cobb. He muttered something that sounded like 'amateurs' as he looked away from the angry businessman. Arthur said nothing. He watched both men like a hawk, scrutinising their every movement, each breath they took. His fingers twitched on the trigger of the gun, ready to whip it out in case something unexpected should happen.

'If I may,' Denley began, looking Arthur in the eye again, 'I have a simple question.' He waited for the Point Man's nod, which never came. 'Why didn't you just kill us up there instead of devising such an elaborate scheme? It's rather over-the-top, particularly for you, wouldn't you say?'

Browning snapped his head up to look at Denley, his eyes wide as he spluttered at him. 'What the hell do you mean, kill us?' He turned to glare at Arthur. 'I told you, boy, you're in way over your head.'

Arthur cocked an eyebrow at him, unable to help the small smirk that lifted one corner of his mouth. 'Spare us the threats,' he sighed. 'You're really in no position to be making them. One bullet to your head and you'll be in an effective coma for the next ten years, until you finally wake up with no memory and little mind to speak of.'

He wasn't being entirely truthful – nobody knew precisely how long the Limbo-coma would last, after all – but his words had the desired effect on the businessman. He pursed his lips together and remained silent. Arthur could see his hands trembling as he clenched them into fists by his sides. The sight made his heart sing. Serves you right, you arrogant bastard.

'Well?' Denley prompted. 'Are you going to answer me or not? It makes little difference. I'm simply curious as to your way of thinking.'

'We're not like you, Denley,' Arthur said, his voice hard once more. 'We're not murderers. Projections are one thing, but living, breathing people are a different matter completely.'

'Oh, please, spare me the moral lecture,' Denley groaned. 'It's far too hypocritical to be convincing.'

Arthur narrowed his eyes at the man, the fingers of his left hand flexing around the cool metal; those of his right hand clutching the die in his pocket, gripping it until his palm began to hurt. He forced himself to stay calm, to wait – but for what, exactly? He knew what he should do. He knew the best thing was to send a bullet into Denley's head and be done with it. But something was stopping him. He had waited so long for this moment, and now ... he wanted to savour every second.

'It's too messy,' he said with a shrug. 'Leaving bodies in your wake ... someone will notice eventually. Though I doubt anyone would miss you too much.'

He felt rather than saw Cobb move a step nearer to him, his shoulder mere inches away from Arthur's own. He knew without asking – it was a show of solidarity from the one person he had grown to call his 'friend' over the years. Whatever happened, Dom was by his side, there to back him up as he always was. The thought comforted him more than he would have imagined possible.

'What are you waiting for?'

Eames' voice crackled through the tension-filled air. Everyone stared at the radio clipped to Arthur's belt, as though waiting for the Forger to speak again.

'Just shoot him, for crying out loud. Let's get this over and done with. If you don't hurry up, I'll do it and deprive you of the pleasure.'

Arthur heard Denley chuckle again and raised his head to look at him.

'He was never very subtle,' he sighed. 'Still, I suppose it doesn't much matter when you can morph into anyone you please. Such a rare gift. But there, that's all in the past now. What matters is the present. And the future, of course.'

'What the hell are you babbling about?'

Arthur watched as Denley's eyes crinkled at the corners, a grin splitting his face. Something about the way the Extractor was looking at him made his spine tingle, the hairs on his forearms prickling with a sudden heat. What was he missing?

'Have you not noticed yet?' Denley asked, his voice soft, threatening even. 'Look around you. What's different?'

Arthur flicked his eyes over his surroundings, then back to his target. The buildings were all the same, as far as he could tell. Not a single window was out of place. Eames had done a fantastic job of replicating the maze.

'It's awfully quiet here, don't you think?' Denley continued. 'No footsteps, no voices, no-one going about their daily subconscious business. No-one glaring at Robert up there, I assume?'

Arthur looked around him again, desperately trying to figure out Denley's cryptic taunts. Of course there was no-one around. They were in the centre of the maze, somewhere the projections wouldn't find them for ages.

Arthur felt his heart skip a beat.

The projections ...

'Ah, you've cottoned on,' Denley chuckled. 'I knew it wouldn't take your quick mind too long.'

'Of course there aren't any projections around,' Arthur said. 'Ariadne designed it so they'd be kept out as long as possible.'

'Oh, naturally. But it was rather odd that I didn't see a single one on the way here, either. I mean, a dream without a single projection ... who would have thought?'

Arthur felt as though he had just been kicked in the gut. Denley's words rang in his ears as his head swam, registering the unthinkable possibility. No, he couldn't have ...

He barely heard Browning's renewed demands for an explanation. Cobb put a hand on his shoulder, gripping it tightly as he tried to steady the dazed Point Man.

'Arthur, don't listen to him,' Dom whispered in his ear. 'He's bluffing. You know what he's like.'

'What the hell's going on down there?'

'Do you really want to take that chance?' Denley asked, addressing Cobb. 'It's an awfully big risk to gamble on.'

Arthur whipped his gun out from his trousers and aimed it at Denley's forehead. He could feel his chest heaving with the effort to steady his own breathing. It wasn't possible. When could he have done it? Arthur himself had been watching the case the whole time; his eyes never left it unless he went to the bathroom, or ...

Or when someone else took it for 'maintenance'.

'You understand now, don't you?' Denley whispered. 'You know what's going on here.'

'You son of a bitch,' Arthur growled. 'How did you sedate us without us knowing?'

'What the fuck are you lot talking about?'

Arthur ignored Eames' strained demands, focusing all of his energy on the blonde man in front of him. His hands were steady as he pointed the barrel of the Glock at his head, square between the eyes. One false move ...

'Arthur, what are you talking about?' Cobb muttered. 'We're not sedated. They are.'

Denley let out a loud laugh, the sound echoing around the empty cul-de-sac. 'Yes, we are. But so are you, my friend. Do you not see? My men – incompetent, mercenary fools though they are – did their job perfectly. They didn't take the PASIV for a maintenance check. They followed my orders and slipped our own brand of sedative into the mixture. Just in case you decided to try anything foolish during the Inception, you see. It seems my instincts were right.'

'What are you waiting for? Just shoot him already, for Christ's sake!'

Arthur cocked the gun, taking a step forward so that he could see the Extractor's dark eyes more clearly. He wanted to see the spark leave them as he killed him, to know that he had put an end to the bastard once and for all.

'I wouldn't do that, if I were you,' Denley warned him, his voice silky, menacing. 'Not unless you want to lose something very precious to you.'

Arthur barely had time to contemplate his ominous words before he heard the soft swish of the door to his right. He snapped his head round, feeling his heart drop out of his chest at the sight that met his eyes.

Ariadne was being dragged toward the small group by a suited, balaclava-wearing guard, the barrel of his pistol pressed firmly to her left temple. He flinched when he saw the cut above her eye, a single string of blood trickling down her cheek. She caught his eye as she was hauled next to Denley, and he could see the utter terror there, the plea for help that he couldn't answer. His head started to throb, the blood pounding in his ears as his brain fought to keep up.

'It seems we have a stalemate,' Denley sighed. 'What to do?

'Let her go,' Cobb snarled, taking a step towards him.

Denley held out his hand, a silent command to stop. 'Uh uh, I'm calling the shots now. You just stay right where you are. Unless you want the death of this poor girl on your conscience.' Arthur felt a wave of nausea wash over him at the triumphant smirk on his face. 'And Robert? Don't try anything stupid up there. If even one bullet comes this way I won't hesitate to shoot. And neither will he,' he added, gesturing to Ariadne's mysterious captor.

Arthur's radio was silent. Nobody dared utter a word as they tried to wrap their heads around the sudden change in the situation. How had they lost control? How had the momentum swung in Denley's favour in the blink of an eye?

'I thought you said there were no projections?' Cobb said, apparently trying to restore some sense of reason to the conversation. 'Why's he here if that's the case?'

Again Denley chuckled, clearly enjoying the change in fortunes. 'Ah, that's the clever part. You see, the sedative you used is rather ordinary. Yes, it leaves the inner ear function uninhibited, which is very impressive. But other than that it does nothing whilst you're in the dream. But mine – it's the same one I used on the young lady here' – Arthur forced himself to remain still as Denley reached out to stroke Ariadne's cheek; she tried to wrench her head away, with no luck – 'and Robert when we tried to perform those Extractions on them. It suppresses the subconscious, rendering it incapable of creating projections. Well, except her lovely recreation of you, of course,' he added, flashing Arthur a quick grin. 'That was – quite adorable, I must say. Infuriating, of course, but fascinating nonetheless.'

'That still doesn't explain how your projection is here,' Cobb insisted. 'We didn't use your subconscious as the primary to fill the dream.'

'No, of course not. But as your' – he gestured to each of them in turn – 'subs were unable to populate the dream, mine filled in. I'm sure Browning's here would have helped, too, but mine was too strong. It overpowered his.'

'But no-one can control their subconscious. And Ariadne's not the dreamer, so why is he holding her hostage instead of attacking Eames?'

'Ah, now we get to the good part!' Denley laughed. 'It's just a little trick I picked up in the intervening years. You see, I am better than you Cobb, whether you like to admit it or not. It just took a lasting separation for me to realise that potential. I've learned to control my projections for brief periods at a time. Not very long right now, but it's getting better. I mean, if we can experience lucid dreaming, and can change aspects of that dream as we see fit, why can we not apply that to shared dreams? That was my theory. And so far it's proving a huge success.'

He let out a loud, harsh laugh again, the sound grating at Arthur's ears as he squeezed his eyes shut. No, this can't be happening. I checked ... I checked everything. Nothing could go wrong ...

But there were so many variables, so many chances to make a mistake. Was it really any wonder it had gone so wrong?

The déjà vu hit him as another wave of nausea rippled up from his stomach. Why hadn't he shot Denley straight away? It was his fault, as usual. He had messed up again, and now Ariadne ...

He snapped his eyes open and stared straight at her. Her dark eyes were filled with unshed tears, with a raw fear he had never seen before. It was enough to tear his heart into pieces. She let out a soft whimper as the projection tugged at her hair, pulling her head back to stop her from looking at the Point Man. Arthur felt the fire burning again, deep down, rising like bile up his throat. He couldn't take it much longer ...

'You're despicable,' he snarled, glaring at Denley with all the fury he could muster.

'You see, that's the difference between you and I. You're all too soft. Your ridiculous, skewed sense of morality holds you back in this profession. You'll never see the bigger picture. You'll never achieve the greatest prize.' Before Arthur had the chance to react, Denley had whipped a gun out from his jacket and pressed it to Ariadne's other temple. 'Because you're not willing to do what's really necessary.'

The bullet exploded out of the barrel with a crack that shattered the last dregs of Arthur's resolve.

A/N: I couldn't leave without a brief note here. I'm so cruel, I know, to leave you at such a point. If it wasn't so late right now I'd write the next chapter. But alas, we shall all have to wait until tomorrow!

My heart was actually racing as I typed up those last few sentences. And my fingers are trembling now as I write this! I've been waiting for SUCH a long time to get to this point, so I hope it lived up to expectations.

All this adrenaline is rather exhausting, so I shall leave it here and bid you all a goodnight! See you soon for the next installment. :)