Note: I just wanted to say thank you to those of you who reviewed both of my Inception stories. Especially those who reviewed "She Was Lovely." I never thought a fic that focused on Mal would be read by a lot of people, nonetheless reviewed so wonderfully. Thanks so much for that. This fic will be a couple of chapters long, and it is somewhat a loose companion piece to "She Was Lovely," but if you haven't read it you'll be fine on your own. Hope you enjoy and let me know what you think!
"I told you that I didn't want you to come." It wasn't a plea or an argument, it was a simple statement. One that Mal Cobb brushed off with the greatest of ease.
"Honestly, dear, I'm a better driver than you are and I couldn't let you drive all of the way to the Las Vegas strip on your own," Mal replied her delicate hand moving the shift into reverse, then drive, before driving out of the hotel parking lot. Glancing at her husband, she allowed her red lips to curl up into a mischievous grin that Mal seemed to patent all herself. "Plus, if we are going to find my replacement, I want to make sure that the man is at least adequate."
Dominick Cobb sighed deeply, although his lips, too, formed a smile. Sinking into the passenger seat, he stared at the file in his lap. "No one could take your place, baby, but we gotta find someone. I don't mind you driving now, but I sure as hell don't want you doing any jobs."
"No jobs?" Mal asked with raised brows while she turned onto the highway with ease. "Dom, darling, I'm pregnant. I'm not dying of some strange disease. Women have done plenty of things while pregnant. I could make a list if you would like, powerful women with big bellies out on the front."
"Oh really?" Dom asked crossing his arms. "Could you please go through list for me? I'm curious."
Mal blinked and paused. "Well, the Virgin Mary for one."
"She rode a donkey and had a child in a barn. Granted the child was the son of God, I don't remember when she took on King Herod with a sidearm," Dom commented scratching at the stubble on his chin as if he was doing his best to remember that section of the Bible.
Admitting slight defeat, Mal laughed leaning over to smack her husband's leg. "I'm sure I'll come up with someone. But really, Dom. I'm fine. Besides, I'm only a few months in, no one can tell at this point."
Dom had this argument with Mal before, many times before. Yet, it didn't anger him that they were having it all over again. It seemed like every time they argued Mal warmed up to the idea of time off more and more. "You've already fallen out of a dream prematurely once," Dom pointed out. "We aren't sure why that happened and there was never any research done on the affects of dreaming and pregnant women. I'd rather not use you two as guinea pigs." He explained calmly as his hand found Mal's stomach.
At first, when Mal told him that she was pregnant, Dom pulled out her top and spun it.
He'd never been one for kids. They were foreign beings that were little versions of humans, but they didn't seem to understand society yet. Dom was never fond of teaching people, and it seemed like they needed to be taught everything. Even how to go to the bathroom, yeah, Mal would be in charge of that one. Now, though, Dom had some time to really think about becoming a father. Dom and Mal bought a house, one that they were furnishing and they began with the baby's room. He never thought he'd so excited about designing such a space. Sure, he'd done it before in dreams, but this was different. It was their baby. A piece of Mal and a piece of him. That fact that a smaller version of Mal would be soon brought into the world sold him on the baby idea. She was so damn wonderful, a baby of hers could only be as wonderful.
"If you insist, I'll miss it though," Mal admitted scrunching up her nose. Being the daughter of Miles did imply that she was born into the world of dreams. In fact, her first trip into a dream was when she was only seven years old. It was always a part of her life. "I'm still driving you around though."
A few chuckles fell from Dom's lips. "Fine, until your belly is too big you can't reach the wheel."
"I'll be ignoring that comment," Mal chirped not wanting to think about becoming that pregnant yet. "So, tell me about this person who is replacing me."
Dom opened the file, his eyes scanning through the information. "Name is A. Goode. He's the son of two former big shots in Vegas. They owned the Sunstone Casino. It's not as popular as Trump and such, but it has a respectable income. Both of Goode parents made at least a million a day on it before they died in the 70s."
"How did they die? I'm doubting it was innocent," Mal commented.
"I doubt it was innocent, too. It was listed as a car accident, although according to the crime report, their brakes might have been cut. Goode inherited it all, makes two million a day, probably more than that due to inflation," Dom stopped only to look up at the lights that welcomed him to Las Vegas. While Dom was never a gambling man, at least in that sense, he couldn't help but feel a certain level of excitement coming to such an iconic place.
Mal seemed to sense this and leaned over to pat Dom's leg. "Perhaps we can play a few rounds of Black Jack when we find our new co-worker. But I'm still not convinced that he's right for the job. Maybe if we were going to run a company ourselves, or play slots-"
"You didn't let me finish. The Goodes were connected to an interesting family. The Carmines. They were quite the deal in the 1920s. Prohibition age. It seems as if the Carmines had no problems opening some of their own little dancing establishments that had some drinking on the side."
"Let me guess," Dom nodded to Mal knowing that she could put two and two together. She continued, "The Goodes needed a loan for a new casino, the Carmine heir is glad to chip in as long as the Goodes help them out every so often and leave them free reign of the casino."
Dom winked at her. "You got it. Plus, it seems like Mr. Goode has gotten himself involved in some minor scuffles. The young, Derek Carmine, was also involved in each fight. They were always on the same side. Mr. Goode also seems antsy as of late. Buying more yachts and more cars. He needs something else in his life."
Mal glanced over at her husband. "So, we're going after Goode because he has knowledge of running businesses, something that we always deal with and he's obviously had some training from the mob."
"You're so smart, no wonder I married you," Dom replied closing Goode's file.
"Here I was thinking it was because you loved me for my good looks," She teased, stopping the car at a stop light. From the corner of her eye, she spotted a sign advertising for the casino that Dom mentioned. "We headed to the Sunstone then. To meet him?"
"I am," Dom corrected her. "I'm meeting him. You're dropping me off and you're going to drive around the neighborhood until I call you."
Mal followed the sign for the casino, although her whole body seemed to sink at this new information. This was the last time she would let Dom do all of the research while she was out picking fabric for the baby's room. "You know I want to meet him. It's a meeting, Dom, nothing more. It shouldn't be a problem."
"It's the mob, Mal. I'd rather it not be a problem," Dom said simply, his voice firm and unmoving. There was no way he was going to allow his pregnant wife to wander through a casino with strong ties to the mob. "I'll be sure to tell you all about it. And if you think I'm gone long enough, call Eames. Someone."
Mal scoffed. "Eames is going to run up from Australia to help you? No offense, baby, but I think you'll be dead before his plane lands." She pulled up to the Sunstone, her hands tightening around the wheel. The idea of leaving Dom here wasn't appealing. "Why can't we just get Eames to join us?" She asked knowing that they could trust the forger.
"You know as well as I do that Eames can't be tied down. He'll help here and there, but part of a permanent team? He can't even stick to one scent of cologne." Dom leaned in and kissed Mal gently on the lips. "I'll be fine, I promise. Who knows? Maybe I'll even bring back your replacement."
His wife closed her eyes for a moment before nodding. "Fine, but if you get yourself killed I'll be very angry with you."
"I'll be sure not to die then," Dom responded giving Mal another quick kiss before exiting the car and heading into the casino's main doors. Mal watched her husband show his card to an attendant. The card was fake. It said that Dom was a businessman, a powerful one, all that Dom needed to add was that he had an appointment with Mr. Goode. The attendant's face turned a ghastly white obviously nervous at being so close to Dom. It seemed that everyone knew what type of business connections were discussed at the Sunstone. He then led Dom inside of the casino.
"Breathe," Mal told herself before driving off. If Dom thought that she was going to wander around the city and wait for him, he was an idiot. Mal parked in the visitors' parking lot, paid the ridiculous fifteen dollar fee for doing so, and then slipped into the casino. Why not try some Black Jack?
Meanwhile, Dom followed the attendant inside of the main room of the casino. Women in barely any clothing serving drinks. Loud music. The smell of cigarette smoke everywhere. The annoying beeps and trills of the slots. The calls of the dealers at the tables…yes. It was Vegas. Though it didn't seem as if Dom was bound to enjoy any of it.
"Right this way, sir," The attendant opened a side door behind a walled curtain for Dom. "Follow the corridor up the stairs and show the men there your card. Have a nice day." Without a beat, the man quickly left Dom alone in the corridor. After experiencing the loud colors and loud noises of the casino floor, the corridor was rather boring. It was a simple hallway. White floors, white walls, white ceilings. Even the visible piping was white. Dom felt a little out of place standing there with his black suit and black tie.
Dom cleared his throat and moved down the corridor. Hopefully this would all work out in the end. He didn't want to drag this replacement thing out forever. Mal needed to be on the sidelines, and Dom needed to continue working. While they made a good amount of money doing what they did, very little of it stayed in their hands. They had to pay for bribes, for information, for the chemicals …even though it wouldn't seem like it…the money went quickly. And now that a baby was on the way, well, they had to pay for that new nursery somehow. Not to mention the house. Dom needed to be in a job as soon as possible, but he knew better than to go it alone. He needed one more person by his side. All he could do was hope that this meeting went well with Goode.
Turning a corner, Dom caught a glimpse of the stairs that the attendant was referring to. Reaching up to his collar, Dom loosened it. Think positively, he told himself as he climbed the stairs. When he placed his left foot on the top stair, he heard someone's sharp cry. It echoed down through the corridor. As soon as he placed his right foot next to his left, he heard a body hit the ground. Then another.
Dom reached inside of his suit jacket to pull out his gun. So much for this being an easy meeting. He kept the gun to his side as he inched closer to the end of the corridor. A few steps closer and he saw the two bodies on the ground. Big bodies, clearly bouncers who had a hefty steroid plan in the morning. One man had his arm around his neck as if he decided to choke himself with his own arm. The other had a small dart on his lower neck. Dom dipped down and placed two of his fingers to one neck and then another. They were alive, but barely. Who ever had done this wanted them to survive, but he or she wanted them out of the picture.
All Dom could think was 'Thank god Mal is in the car.' This was turning out to be much more interesting than he planned. Dom leaned his back against the wall, and pushed forward looking inside of the door that was cracked open. From what Dom could see, it was a posh office. Red carpets. Tapestries. Bar. The works. Dom cracked open the door a little bit more to see Goode. Mal's possible replacement was currently on the ground facedown, squealing for mercy. There also was a man's shoe planted firmly on the back of Goode's head.
"Why are you doing this?" Goode groaned spitting out some blood as he spoke. "I know you, man!"
Dom stood against the door now to see the man who held power over Goode. He was incredibly lean, incredibly young, and incredibly well dressed. "Not as well as you thought you did, Adam. You weren't the only ones to lose your parents, you know. You were there that night, and you're paying for it." The man uttered his voice a mixture of calm anger and…relief. Taking a step back, he aimed his gun at Adam Goode's head and pulled the trigger. The young man was now covered in Goode's blood.
Standing there in utter shock, Dom could only watch the lean young man crouch down and place the gun in Goode's hand. His finger around the trigger. Silently, he then pulled out a small packet of grey minerals and sprinkled it around Goode's immense head wound. Then he pulled out a piece of paper from his coat, and placed it inside of Goode's pocket. The man pulled one more thing out of his jacket, a handkerchief, which he used to wipe away the blood on his suit. He seemed incredibly displeased by this new stain. After doing what he could for the suit, the man wiped his face clean and then returned the handkerchief to his own suit pocket. The man took one last look at what was left of Adam Goode, and sighed, "Thank God it's over." Then he moved towards the window of the office. After opening it, he glanced around the scene one last time.
Dom dared to slip closer, almost inside of the room, wanting to get a good look at the man before he escaped out the window. When he did, he saw something that he hadn't noticed before. On the man's jacket was a small nametag, a nametag for the casino. It only had one name on it.
Arthur.