Poker Face

Chapter Two-Alias

ShadowHeartofFaith

Disclaimer: I do not own Inception. Christopher Nolan does. I am not making any profit from this story. I do, however, own my OCs.

"So you got my message?"

"One would think."

"Cynical as ever, aren't you, Aribelle?" his voice chuckled over the phone line. "It's good to finally hear from you. Elric filled me in on your current situation. I didn't realize how far you'd…progressed."

Drawing my knees up to my chest, I rolled that thought around. It was undeniable now. I couldn't dream without a sedative. I was becoming a dream-junkie all over again. My job was like a drug to me. A fix that I craved constantly. "Yeah", I sighed. "I wouldn't worry about it too much."

"It doesn't bother you?" Cobb sounded less surprised than I had first anticipated.

"Nah. I can finally sleep after a job considering I'm not sick."

"Still not the world's best traveler, huh?"

"Of course not. But I know you're calling about something other than checking up on me like a good daddy should, Dom", I pressed, itching with apprehension and a tingling sense of excitement.

He laughed again. "Ever persistent. I missed your enthusiasm. But you're right." His tone dropped slightly as he continued. "I have a proposition for you. A job in need of a Gambit."

"Now you have my attention", I praised. "I'm listening." Dropping my legs back down, I settled into my seat, watching the door to the compartment. "I'm assuming you have a first-rate team, Dom. What do I have to work with?"

"I'll give you the specifics when you get here. Arthur will pick you up from the airport."

"Arthur?" I repeated in a daze, my earlier excitement rising to a peak. No more useless mistakes or lacking research. No more unrealistic dreamscapes or misconstruction. No more flawed masks and wily mannerisms. I would be working with Dom Cobb and Arthur! Two of the best in the business. The very men who introduced me to dream-sharing.

"You'll be working with some familiar faces. But I have a steady Chemist and a new Architect-"

"Any good?"

"She's the best."

"Better than you?" I jested, shifting the phone against my cheek.

"And more", Cobb assured me.

I hummed in response, biting back the question that I really wanted to ask. That I always wanted to ask when I was working with a different team.

"James! Phillipa! Come inside, please!"

I giggled behind my hand, listening intently as Cobb entered father mode. "Go take care of your kiddos", I insisted. "I'll be in Los Angeles soon enough to drive you mad with my endless questions."

"I'll hold you to that", Cobb returned. "I'll see you soon."

"Bye, dad." The line went dead and I was stuffing my cell phone back down into my pocket with my totem and that ancient letter. This was a dream come true, no pun intended on my part. Cobb had started my career in dream-sharing nearly seven years ago. He was like a father to me in nearly every sense of the word. Much like how Mal had been a motherly figure to me before she'd…passed. Arthur and I had nearly as much history. The Point Man hadn't been out of school much longer than I had when he and Cobb had recruited me.

That had been around the same time that I'd moved to London and distanced myself from my hectic family. I hadn't seen my parents in nearly three years and I hadn't heard from them for over six months. They both had busy and demanding-and legal-careers that were blossoming back home. My siblings had all dispersed not long ago.

My oldest sister, Florence, had married her high school sweetheart and moved to New York City to begin her life. My older brother, Nate, had gone to Africa to do work in the missions field. My younger siblings, Odette and Benjamin, had left home just months ago to study abroad. None of them knew what I did for a living and never would if I had anything to do with it.

That conversation would have gone well over Thanksgiving dinner. "Oh, yes. I have a job. It's not the most steady out of the few that I've held but the money is good and I get to travel quite a bit! What do I do, mom? Well, I'm a counselor for the troubled subconscious of the person that the rest of my team is conning. Yes, conning. I steal valuable information from the minds of brilliant and deeply troubled people across the world. I live out of hotel rooms and party my nights away with the drunken masses."

My father's jaw would probably descend into his mountain of mashed potatoes while my mother toppled from her chair and onto the floor. Florence would insist that I see a counselor of my own and Nate would ask me how much time I was spending with the Lord. Odette and Benjamin would, more than likely, be speechless. I flinched. Better they stayed in the dark and away from the maddening complexities of my life.

"Is this seat taken?"

The voice drew me from the disturbing images of my family. Glancing up at the figure out of the corner of my eye, I shook my head, reaching for the book that laid atop my bag. Skimming through the pages, searching for my place, I let out a sigh. This is too good to last, I grumbled to myself. Fishing around in my pocket, I retrieved my totem before flipping the medallion.

"Lucky charm?"

My fingers curled inwards, shielding the heavy coin from view. My eyes rose to the man who had seated himself in my compartment. He had dark hair and muddy eyes that were fixed on me in an almost suggesting way. He smiled when I met his curious stare evenly. I nodded with a slight shrug before returning it to my pocket. "Yes", I said meekly, my voice an octave higher than it was normally. "Family thing."

"Ah. Do you not like to travel or something?"

I shook my head, forcing a giggle from my lips. "No, I love to travel", I lied. "But I'm away on a business trip. I just miss my family." God, he's rude. Prying like that. Some small talk.

"A pretty thing like you? I thought you'd be on holiday." He leaned forward, extending his hand to me. "I'm Daniel."

I took his hand lightly, shaking quickly. "I'm Isabella. You can call me Bella", I supplied.

"Well, Bella", he smirked. "Where ya headed?"

"London", I answered quickly. "Important meeting with the company, you know the sort, I'm sure."

"Sounds quite demanding. Do you have some free time before your flight? Because if you do, I'd love to treat you to some coffee at the airport", he put in smoothly. His eyes strayed from my face, moving downwards.

Forcing myself to keep my palms pressed against my thighs, I continued with my lie. "I don't think my fiancé would be too agreeable with that sort of engagement of my time." I waved my left hand, the ring catching the light. Very rarely did I resort to the ring trick but this guy was a bit too persistent for my liking.

"Fiancé", he mumbled. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize that you were taken."

I nodded simply, staring at the array of diamonds that adorned my ring finger just a moment longer.

"I bet he's a lucky guy", Daniel continued when I didn't.

Unable to stop myself, I let loose another giggle. "Oh, I think I'm the lucky one." Inside I was gagging at the horribly garish disposition that this alias of mine had. Isabella Verone was meant to run opposite of me in nearly aspect of my life. If I were ever followed, she was my best bet at staying free.

"Oh?"

"He's very sweet and so charming", I sighed dreamily and I could feel my eyes clouding over with that far-off look that I'd seen other women take to. "I miss him very much." This guy is so creepy. If only he knew I was lying.

A/N: I apologize for the crazy long wait on this chapter. Life has been keeping me insanely busy with work and friends coming into and leaving the state. I am so so sorry for leaving you all hanging. I'll make it up to you by giving you two chapters on this update while I work on finishing the loose ends on the next chapter. I hope you like it!

And thank you to h2ofan, Echo101, and Lee Mayfair for the lovely reviews! They are very much appreciated.