Chapter 2! Thanks to ILuvOdie for reviewing! Hope you enjoy.
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Raylie stared amused at the irritated Brit in front of her. "Give me my chips back." He demanded as she stacked her winnings. "I won them fair and square." She retorted nonchalantly. "You cheated!" He pointed an accusing finger at her only getting a smirk in response. "Settle down, it's not like you can't easily get your hands on some more." She gave the fellow Forger a knowing look as he let out an exasperated sigh, but seemed to calm somewhat. "That's not the point." He continued in a low whisper, not wanting people to overhear. "It's the principal of the matter. You snuck in a cheap shot."
It was Raylie's turn to let out a sigh, "You're just mad that you lost to me. If the roles were reversed, you'd be bragging your ass off and you know it. Now, Mr. Eames, let's not make any more of a scene. Why don't we head to the bar?"
He eyed her suspiciously for a moment, debating on whether or not he wanted to continue to talk with her. He had to admit, he was a bit curious why she was here, of course he would never admit that to her though. "You better be buying. Half of that is still mine you know." He gestured to the poker chips as she let out a little laugh, standing from her seat she collected her winnings before leading the way to the bar. "Shall we?"
Eames followed, somewhat reluctantly. He should have just walked away right then and there. He had told himself he didn't want anything more to do with this girl, but for some reason she tracked him down all the way in Africa, so maybe it was at least worth hearing what she had to say. Only maybe.
They found seats at the bar, and both ordered a drink. Raylie remained uncharacteristically quiet and Eames let out an annoyed sigh. He knew she was waiting for him to say the first words. Raylie was already getting under his skin, after all, she was the one who needed to talk to him, and so she should be the one to break the bloody conversation ice.
"How'd you find me?" Eames gave in and was the first to speak, giving the bartender a slight nod as the drinks were set down in front of them. Raylie picked up her own glass, deliberately taking her time to answer as she took a drink, savoring the flavor. "Well it's pretty simple. I just checked the usual places you run off to when you want to lay low." She told him like it was the most obvious answer. Eames, however, found it a little hard to believe considering he had many places that he liked to 'lay low' in. Some of the places being hundreds of miles away from each other. "Are you serious?" He still could never be sure with her. "I don't know, am I?" She retorted, giving him a playful smile before taking another sip, a mischievous gleam in her eye as she watched him.
Eames took a large swig from his own glass. He was going to need quite a few more drinks to be able to get through this conversation. "What do you want?" He asked bluntly, getting right to the point in order to decide whether or not he was wasting his time here.
"Just wanted to see you." She replied innocently enough with a slight shrug of her shoulders. Eames almost snorted at the response, "Darling, you and I both know that's a load of bollocks."
"I never understood you or your British 'bollocks,' but I did come to ask for your help." She finally confessed, her eyes watching him very carefully for any reaction. His laughter filled her ears, telling her everything she needed to know, "I think you've been dreaming a little too much sweetheart if you think I'm the person to help you." He couldn't believe she would even ask such a thing, especially from him. She would be the last person on this Earth that he would offer to help.
"I haven't dreamt in a long time." She glared at him, her tone completely serious. He ignored her glare, as well as the comment, and continued, "Well humor me then, what did you need my help with? Wait! Let me guess…have another run in with some 'organized crime' dealers?" Her silence was told him everything, even if he had been joking. The Englishman couldn't help but break out into more laughter, "Oh god woman, you're so unbelievable! You're putting my reputation to shame. You really are. But I can tell you right now that I'm not helping you one bit. Not even if you got down on your knees and begged, love. Not with our history. You should've already suspected as much."
Raylie sighed, half-expecting his answer to be just that. "Ok, well it was worth a shot…but the real reason I'm here is to fetch you. Cobb has another job." This threw Eames completely off guard, something he wasn't very used to. One story after another kept pouring out her mouth and it was hard to determine just what to believe anymore. He should've known better though, after all, it was a lie that tore them apart in the first place.
"Just what are you playing at?" He demanded, anger coming back into his voice as he was tired of being fucked around with. "Why are you really here? The truth, Raylie. Because you're lucky you even persuaded me to sit here with you." He wasn't the kind to lose his temper so quickly in normal circumstances. He was usually level-headed, at least when he was sober, and always the smooth-talker. He wasn't pleased to have the rug pulled out from under him and the roles reversed.
"Cobb is really the reason I'm here." She finally stated after gulping down the last of her drink, and apparently not noticing how irritated she had made the man sitting before her. Either that, or she simply didn't care. "Then what's with the phony story?" He questioned, still not knowing why she couldn't have simply got to the point in the beginning of their conversation and saved him from the headache.
"No, that was real too. If you had agreed to be a gentleman and help a poor damsel in distress then I probably would've just blown Cobb off, but since you'd rather be an asshole, Cobb needs you for a job." He couldn't believe the woman's audacity. She never ceased to amaze him and always gave him a run for his money (this time even in a literal sense).
"Then please, dear damsel" he began, his words dripping sarcasm, "tell me why in the world would he send you? Why would he send you if he was serious on me taking the job that is. He could have very well came himself. Cobol isn't on his tail anymore, not like it stopped him before though." He tipped back his glass one more time before setting it back on the counter signaling for the bartender for a refill. "I volunteered." She said smugly, eyeing the man she had once called a friend. It almost saddened her to think their relationship was ruined beyond repair…almost.
"Of course you did." He replied, "He couldn't stay away could he? And apparently you couldn't either." He met her gaze, his features stone-like as he meant to hold a sense of indifference for the girl. He wasn't about to tear down the wall he had built just because she decided to show up, especially wearing an outfit like that… He let his eyes linger down to a little exposed cleavage she had been showing. There was no harm in simply looking right? It wasn't going to fix anything between them anyways. He quickly snapped his gaze back to her face; the alcohol was getting to him. That was the only explanation. Her voice snapped him back into reality, the sound making him remember how much he loathed her.
"Well I would have gone on your guys' last mission but uh…I was little too busy refreshing my knowledge of the judicial system." She told him cryptically, but her meaning was obvious. She had been sitting in jail. "When I say you couldn't stay away, I'm not talking about the dream world, love." He replied with an arrogant smirk, his tongue licking his lips subtly as his hand held his drink, swishing its contents slowly. Raylie scoffed, "You're still full of yourself." There had been a point in her life where a comment like that would have made her weak in the knees, but those days were long gone.
"Then tell me, why does Cobb need another Forger if he's already got you on board?" Eames asked, but already knowing the answer as his eyes held a teasing gleam. Raylie sighed, "You know perfectly well, Eames." Eames raised his eyebrows as he faked a surprised look. A moment later he appeared to be deep in thought, as if trying to recall the bit of information he supposedly knew. "Hmmm…it seems as if you need to refresh my memory, love." He was simply mocking her now. She wasn't stupid.
"Piss off Eames." She replied irritably as she turned her attention to the other customers in the bar, her stubbornness not allowing her to tell him what he wanted to hear. "Well apparently I'm not needed since Cobb already has a skilled Forger such as yourself. You'll have to tell him that I respectively decline."
Eames was beginning to remind her just how much of an asshole he really was. And to think he always tried to put on such a charming gentleman act for the ladies. But of course she knew very well he was just playing it down especially for her. She also knew that he wasn't going to decline Cobb's job offer, he just needed her to humiliate herself first.
"Cobb needs someone who can forge people." She muttered quieter than usual as a scowl graced her features. "And?" Eames egged her on as a very amused smile formed on his face. "And he needs you because I can't forge people." She said very quickly through gritted teeth, "As you very well know…"
Eames let out a victorious chuckle. "Well then sweetheart, you're just in luck because I'm currently seeking employment." He gave her a pat on the back, a little harder than necessary as he gulped down the remainder of his drink, the smile never leaving his face.
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So what did you think? I know it's probably still very confusing with Eames and Raylie's relationship, but I assure you that I'm doing that on purpose. What fun would it be if I told you everything up front? It's obvious they have history, but I think it's more interesting to reveal bits as the chapters progress. I'm hoping that Raylie's character is ok. Eames is such a smug, yet intelligent character, and I thought it was fun to create kind of like a female-version of Eames to challenge him. If that makes any sense at all? Lol. Both of them are so alike that they can easily get under each others' skins and know exactly what buttons to push. Hope you are enjoying. Would love to hear from you! Good or bad comments are completely appreciated, so please review. Thanks!