Beautiful Stranger

Part Five

It was not until Eames was on his way back to the apartment that he realized just how much damage Arthur had done during their brawl. The kid was nothing short of deadly with his instincts, abilities and brains. He was the type of person that he hoped he would not run into again because there was no doubt in his mind that Arthur was the type to tie up any loose ends. Still the forger his cheek where a significant bump was forming and somewhere in the back of his head Eames wanted another round with the kid for his pride if nothing else. No one had hurt him like that in years and his ego wanted payback for the bruise he was going to be sporting for a while.

When Eames pulled up to the apartment he was surprised to see that the Cobbs were still there. He had expected to see the lights off and the car gone and had only gone back to double check. He parked the car and walked up the stairs. When he walked in Cobb was gathering the last of their things and looked up when he entered.

"Did you get him back okay?" the architect asked.

"I had to knock him out again but he's sleeping like the baby he is right now," Eames replied but narrowed his eyes when he saw Mal at her desk looking at the computer with an intensity that he had not seen in her before. "What's going on?"

"The general isn't answering my calls," she said. "It's late though so maybe he's just asleep. I'll call him in the morning." Mal closed the laptop and the three of them gathered the last of their things. She wiped down the entire apartment and made sure not to miss a spot. She used bleach on the blood that Eames and Arthur had left on the floor and scrubbed each surface clean. When they exited the room she closed the door with the rag and they went to their cars. The drive back was quiet because there was not that satisfaction that he usually got after a job. For some reason this one felt so different. He tried to brush it off as his fascination with Arthur and the fact that he had talked to the kid directly in the dream. Very rarely did he have a conversation with a mark about what exactly they were doing, why they were in their head, and for some reason it hit him a lot harder. And even after such an exhausting ordeal Eames lay in bed for hours unable to sleep. Every time he closed his eyes all he could see was Arthur's sad smile and the moment when he had said do you really think they're going to let me live?

When the sun finally came up Eames did not feel rested at all. The entire situation had him drained and all he wanted to do now was go home with his new earnings and drink this feeling of guilt away. The forger ran his fingers through his hair and walked outside to find the Cobbs looking over Mal's computer. They had worked together for almost two months and none of them seemed to care too much that they were in their night clothes though Eames did make sure that he wore pants at all times.

"What are we staring at, darlings?" Eames asked through a yawn and neither of them seemed to mind when he sat down on the other side of Mal.

"Just trying to get in touch with the general," she replied before the screen flicked on. They had not seen the general in person since they had started the job but this time his camera turned on and they were looking at their employer. He was an older man, in his sixties, wearing a military uniform adorned with many metals. There was a spot for a name tag that he had removed for this conversation and Eames was thankful that their camera was still off.

"I'm assuming this conversation means that you have found my information," the general said.

"That is correct, sir," Mal replied. "It looks like Arthur saw everything and even did some research on the side to make sure it wasn't a fluke."

"Did he now," the general said and something in his face changed. Eames knew that look, he had seen it many times before, and it made his stomach twist into a knot. "Your money has been wired to your accounts. Pleasure doing business with you."

"What are you going to do to him?" Eames asked suddenly and ignored the look he got from Mal.

"I'm afraid that is none of your concern. I am going to deal with the issue and "make sure this information never gets out. I'd suggest you forget it as well," the general replied with a smirk and the line went dead.

"I think we were just threatened," Cobb said and he sounded nervous.

"I think we just signed Arthur's death certificate," Eames said and he looked at the two of them. "I can live with a lot on my conscience but living with knowing that I helped get that kid killed? I don't think so."

"He did seem like a nice enough guy," Mal said thoughtfully. "Smart, thorough, great instincts and someone who could do well in this world."

"The general said to stay away and I think we should do just that," Cobb said but Mal placed her hand on his, squeezing it.

"Can you really live with knowing he's dead because of us?" she asked and Cobb seemed to think about it for only a second before he nodded.

"Let's go," he said and they all raced into their rooms. Eames threw on some clothes and gathered all of his things as fast as he could. He was not entirely keen on using a gun in the real world but he strapped on his belt holster, checked the chamber of his pistol, doubled checked the safety and slid it into place. When he checked on the Cobbs he saw Cobb holstering his own pistol and Mal hiding a small gun in her purse. They nodded and walked quickly out of the hotel as Eames pulled out his phone. He dialed Arthur's personal line and cursed loudly when it went to voice mail. He tried the number that Arthur used for business and this time it went straight to voice mail. They parked five blocks away from the apartment building. There was no sign of anyone sneaking in for a hit and the people going in and out of the building did not act like anything was wrong.

"I'm going up and you two should stay here. If I'm not back in ten minutes you should add a new definition to the word 'vanish,' sound good?" Eames said and Mal stared at him for a beat before she nodded. She and Cobb moved back toward their car and out of sight. The forger stood up a little taller and walked toward the building. By sheer luck someone was walking out when he got to the door and he was able to just slip in. He made sure to take the stairs and by the time he got to the third floor Eames felt the need to take his pistol out. He got to Arthur's door and was about to knock when he realized the door was open. The forger walked in carefully and took his gun out. The apartment had been completely torn apart like someone was desperately looking for something. He turned a corner and saw a body on the ground and it looked like there was blood on the ground. A lump formed in Eames' throat and he took a step forward until there was the sound of a gun cocking into place and a barrel to the back of his head.

"Nice to see you again, darling," Arthur said from behind him and the kid sounded nothing short of furious. "Give me one good reason not to blow you away right now."

"This guy came and tried to get you to leave, didn't he?" Eames asked and he held out his gun as a peace offering. The pistol was snatched from his hand and he turned slowly to see that Arthur looked even worse. There was a deep gash on the side of his head that was bleeding freely and his knuckles were torn to shreds.

"I get into a fight with you, I lose several hours of my life and have vague memories of a dream involving you, I wake up at home to you bashing my skull open and the next thing I know this asshole is trying to say that someone needs to 'have a chat with me' before pulling out a gun. It sounds like you're the one I should be blowing away right now," Arthur snapped but he kept his finger off of the trigger.

"The military hired me and my associates to extract whether or not you had witnessed that incident involving the terrorist suspects who were gunned down. We delivered the information this morning and then realized that this guy's method of 'dealing with a problem' was going to be to kill you. So we, I, came up here to warn you," Eames explained.

"So you basically threw me to the dogs and then felt guilty about it after you got paid," Arthur said.

"When you put it that way we sound like a bunch of jerks," Eames said and he managed a smile which Arthur did not return. "Look, I know it sounds bad and you have every reason not to trust me but don't you think it makes sense to take a chance on someone who might kill you than on someone you know will? You're all banged up from our scrap last night and it looks like that gentleman got a piece of you as well; you're really in no condition to try and fight back alone." Arthur stared at him with a completely blank expression and the forger could practically see the wheels turning in the kid's head. After a moment Arthur lowered his gun slowly.

"I don't trust you as far as I can throw you right now but it looks like I really don't have a choice," he said.

"Good move and my name is Eames," Eames replied and he pulled out his phone. Arthur narrowed his eyes and slid the gun into a belt holster as he began to look for a cloth to put to his head.

"I'm guessing he didn't blow you away," Mal said.

"No, not yet, but I think we should split up. You have a lot more to lose than I do and I don't want you two in this mess," Eames said.

"We're in this mess already," she replied but there was a brief pause. "I have a feeling you're not going to let me help anyway so just call as soon as you need me."

"Will do," Eames said and he hung up. Arthur was standing near the window and looking out the window his eyes narrowed. "What's up, darling?"

"Three people are walking toward the building and they look armed," Arthur replied. "And don't call me that."

"Whatever you say, kid," the forger said and that earned him a dark glare. Eames ignored it and took Arthur by the arm. "We're leaving."

"You don't need to lead me around like I don't know what I'm doing," Arthur said and he tore his arm free. "There is a set of stairs that lead to the roof. The next building over is close enough to jump and then we take that fire escape down the back alley. It's out of sight and we should be able to make it a few blocks without being seen." The kid started toward the stairs and Eames stared.

"Do I want to know why you have all of this mapped out?" he asked and Arthur scoffed.

"I dig up people's dirty work for a living so I've made my share of enemies," he replied and the two of them pushed the door open. Eames was surprised when everything the kid said was completely true and they made it to the road without being shot at. They moved through the shadows and the more Eames watched this kid the more he was convinced that Arthur had more training than he let on. The forger looked around a corner and saw the general and two armed men making their way toward them.

"Time to go for a run," Eames said as the first shot rang out.