Author's Note: Sorry I'm a bit later than usual in updating. My computer's infected with viruses and has been at a repair shop for the last week or so. Usual thanks in order to Kitty Quasar, you're wonderful, thank you so much for all of your reviews! Please keep them up, they're fantastic for me. I'm a little uncertain about this chapter but I hope you enjoy all the same.

Diclaimer: Surprisingly, I still own no part of Inception.

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Chapter Four

The car drive took the better part of an hour from the airport. Eames made the occasional attemptingly witty or charming remark, but they were wasted on both Arthur and the bearded man, so he eventually gave up and fell silent. They finally pulled up outside an elegant glass skyscraper with large bold writing beside the main doors and along the top of the building identifying it as the Fischer-Morrow conglomerate main offices. The bearded man escorted them both inside, keeping a hand constantly under the his jacket, gripped undoubtedly around his handgun. They were led to the top floor and into a very large, lavishly furnished room. The outside wall of the room was made up of glass windows, overlooking the city below them. The sun streaming into it silhouetted the figure standing with his back to them, one hand in his trouser pocket, the other curled around a glass of wine. The bearded man fell back, leaving Arthur and Eames standing near the center of the room as the figure turned around.

"Have a seat," Peter Browning told them, sitting down in a high backed leather chair with his back now to the view of the city. He gestured at the two winged armchairs across from him. "Leave us," he added, and the bearded man left the room along with a security man who had been standing beside the door, hidden in the shadows.

Arthur and Eames exchanged a quick half-glance before sitting.

"Can I offer you anything?" Browning asked.

"No, thank you," Eames replied, while Arthur just shook his head. Browning nodded, clasping his hands together loosely over a slight pot-belly.

"Good to see you again, Mr. Eames," Browning said in a quite strong American accent. "We were sorry to hear about your resignation. But then again, you weren't that invested in your employment with Fischer-Morrow, were you?"

"Ah, so you're the ones who hired Cobb then, are you?" said Eames in a falsely relaxed voice.

"We are," Browning said. "And according to Cobb, we'll be needing both of your services as well if he's to complete his job."

"He told you that?" said Arthur slightly aggressively.

"Not in those words exactly," Browning said, refocusing his attention. "I take it you're the point man, then."

Arthur hesitated. "Yes."

"Pleasure to meet you."

"What do you want, Mr. Browning?" Arthur said.

Browning let out a small huff, looking away for a moment. "It's come to our attention that you two are being less than cooperative with Mr. Cobb. It would be in all of our best interests if you both agreed to work with him."

"Oh, really?" Eames asked, resting his cheek on a closed fist. "Why's that?"

"So things don't have to get complicated," Browning replied. "As you already know, we have a considerable amount of power in this company, so, needless to say, you don't want to be on our wrong side. We know everything and everybody anyone's involved with. We still have enough time to ruin it all for either of you before this company's finished."

"You don't know anything," Arthur said. "You don't have any real leverage."

"Oh, really, you want to test that theory," said Browning. "You think you have nothing, do you? That's not true at all; everyone has so much to lose, they just don't realize it. Just as an example, what if we were to do something about that young architect studying at the Ecole d'Architecture in Paris?"

Arthur stiffened slightly, his eyes locked with Browning's.

"We know just as much about you, Browning," Eames reminded softly, sounding serious for the first time. "Don't you remember, we just did an inception job on your godson with a considerable amount of forging involved."

"I know all of that already," Browning replied, breaking eye contact with Arthur. "Neither of you are really in a position to be making the threats, here, Mr. Eames. Maybe you've forgotten about your younger sister in Hammersmith, or your old dad. Shall I go on?"

"Piss off."

"That's fine," Arthur said tersely. "We get the point."

"I hope so," Browning said. "Please don't forget who we are; what we represent. Cobb's been briefed already, he has everything you need. We need him to be successful. I trust you'll both make this job happen."

Arthur stood up. "Good day, Mr. Browning."

Eames looked up at Arthur and hastily stood up, as well. "See you around," he said, smiling slightly mockingly at Browning and sounding for all the world as though they had just completed a pleasant catch-up over tea.

Browning didn't reply as they left the room. The bearded man was waiting for them outside the room as they left and escorted them in silence back to the main level of the building.

The silence pressed down on them in the elevator.

"So," said Eames at last, looking at Arthur with a slight smile twitching at his lips. "You and Ariadne, then?"

"Shut up, Eames." Arthur didn't even look at him.

Eames did as told, but the smile that overtook his face briefly said everything he would have before they elevator doors dinged open and they walked back out to the dark car waiting for them. A part of him was just a little bit happy to be busy working again.

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Their keys were still sitting on the front counter of The Duke and Duchess, exactly as they had left them several hours ago. When the let themselves back into their suites, they found their bags waiting there. As Arthur sat down on the edge of his bed and massaged his forehead, he decided he didn't want to know whether the men who had delivered his luggage from the airport had gone through his things or not. He pulled out his totem. He had always had a good grasp of reality, but it was more habit than anything to check now. He rolled the die and felt a wave of fatigue roll over him as it came up with right number. Christ, he was exhausted, he thought of how much had happened since he had woken to his early alarm in Vienna. He'd been up for nearly twenty-four hours already, and it was still only late afternoon in LA.

He heard a faint knock at his door. Eames walked in without waiting to be given permission. "I'm going to get something to eat," he said. "And drink, God knows I'll be needing it if we're going to be prepping for three-level dreaming again. Care to come?"

"We need to talk to Cobb first," Arthur replied.

"You go ahead if you want," Eames replied. "I need some beer first, though. Cobb'll be fine for another half-hour; it won't hurt him to sweat a little longer." He looked down at Arthur, one side of his mouth pulling up into a smile. "Come on, even I can see you need a pick-me-up, Arthur."

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Cobb had spent the day tracking down a number he could reach Yusuf by. The chemist was back in Mombasa at his shop. He phoned him around mid-afternoon, and to his relief Yusuf answered fairly promptly, identifying his store in Swahili.

"Yusuf, it's Cobb."

"Ah, how are you, Mr. Cobb?" Yusuf said, switching back to English. "I bet this is going to cost me a fortune in phone bills, will it?"

"Don't worry, I'll cover it," Cobb replied. "I need your services again."

"So soon?"

Cobb could hear the surprise in Yusuf's voice. "I need copies of the compound you used on the inception job. And the ones you used to sedate us."

There was brief silence on the other end. "You're not planning another inception, are you?"

"No," Cobb said quickly. "And I wouldn't ask you, but-"

"Sorry, Cobb," Yusuf interrupted. "I'm not going into the field again. Not after the near misses of the last job."

"At least let me give you the details of this job," Cobb said quickly. He was already down Eames and Arthur, how the hell was he going to go three levels deep if so far his team was made up only of him?

"I can give you the compounds and show you what to do with them," Yusuf offered. "But that's as much as I'll do. Can you fly over here?"

"No, I can't get away from LA," Cobb said. "We can pay your way here and back, though, plus the usual for your time and the compounds."

"When do you want me there?"

"As soon as you can," replied Cobb.

"Expect me sometime in the next few days, then."

"See you then," Cobb said before hanging up. He would have time to convince Yusuf to play host to the first level of the dream again once he arrived at the hotel, he told himself firmly.

His thoughts went to his kids, and he felt a wave of all-too familiar guilt crash over him. His eyes shifted to the PASIV lying at the end of the table he had spread all of his work over. He considered taking a break; he needed to see James and Philippa. He felt his fingers close tightly over Mal's top in his pocket and he wrenched his eyes away from the PASIV. No, with Ariadne's help he had left that part of him behind him following the inception job. He wasn't going back to relive his memories again.

His fingers tightened around the top and he felt it digging into his palm. He knew this was reality. He didn't need to check.

Suddenly there was a loud bang as someone slammed the door to the meeting room open. Cobb jumped and swung around, his hand reaching instinctively for the gun at his back... except there wasn't one there. His thoughts swirled to remind him that this was reality; he only carried guns when he was in dreams.

Eames stood in the doorway, a bottle of beer in one hand. "Bet you're glad to see us."

Cobb blinked as Arthur stepped into the room behind Eames, closing the door much more quietly than Eames had opened it. "You came back."

"Well spotted," Eames said, moving off to one of the tables to the right. "Let it be known that I'm claiming this area as my work space and if either of you put any of your things with mine I'm not responsible for where-ever they may end up." He began unloading the assortment of things in his arms onto the table, setting up his work space and helping himself to any of the supplies he wanted stacked around the room.

Cobb was left with Arthur. "Thank you," said Cobb quietly. "What made you change your mind?"

"Browning," Arthur replied shortly, and added sarcastically, "Thanks for the heads up."

Cobb felt his heart sink. "I'm sorry." He could smell a faint trace of alcohol on Arthur, and he took that for his partner's unusually aggressive mood. His eyes went to Eames in the corner, and he knew that getting Arthur angry enough to chew him out was probably Eames' doing.

Arthur shook his head in annoyance. "You know, you could have just told us the truth from the start. Why does everything have to be such a puzzle with you, Cobb?"

Cobb didn't say anything.

"I've known you for how many years now?" Arthur continued. "And you're still keeping things from me. I'm here on one condition."

"Name it."

"No secrets," Arthur said. "That's what led to Saito falling into Limbo, and if we're going back down into three levels of Fischer's mind, none of us are going to be falling down there again. Understood?"

Cobb nodded.

"Thank you," Arthur said, moving off to a table on the opposite end of the room from Eames to begin setting up his own things.

Cobb breathed a silent sigh of relief as Arthur walked off. Arthur hadn't actually been that upset, something that didn't pass unnoticed by Eames. His eyes narrowed as he looked at him from across the room.

"I would have pissed him off myself if I knew that's all you had in you, Arthur," Eames said, sounding annoyed.

"We're not all born as quick-tempered as you, Mr. Eames," Arthur replied, not looking up as he unloaded his messenger bag.

"We'll have our first planning session in half-an-hour after you're both settled in," Cobb said before Eames could reply. "Yusuf will be arriving within the next few days. I hope you're both ready to start dreaming again."

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Sorry, not as long as usual, but the next chapter should be a little more exciting as they'll start dream sharing again and Yusuf will show up (briefly). If all works out as I have planned, Ariadne will show up the chapter after that. Reviews are wonderful, please let me know what you think!

~kat