FIVE

Juliet had a hard time grasping just what was happening to her. She was an art history graduate, a nanny and not some thug to be tied up to a chair. Desperate, she sought out anything that might scream out to her and reveal who these people were, but nothing said anything besides that they had a penchance for Victorian stylings and not in a very cohesive way.

Her wrists were rubbing raw from the ropes and her constant struggle to find a weakness. Her ties held good though and she was left sitting in an empty room after David had all but walked in, introduced himself and left. All she could do was wait and hope that Dom and the others would find her.

Juliet had just about memorized every scratch on the Tiffany lamp when a door swung open behind her. It closed quietly and at a leisurely pace, David came into her view again. He looked at her raw wrists, tsked and pulled up a chair infront of her to sit in.

"What are you doing, David?" She leaned forward, whispering.

He looked at her like she was her moronic brother. "Doing the job, Juliet."

"The job?" Juliet sat back, her mouth slack. "What job?" She was pretty sure she knew the answer.

"The one you wouldn't go in on. The one you just left for me to deal with." There was the David she knew, volatile and somewhat childish. The man she broke it off with because of his jealousy with her work.

She knew how to play his game. "I was never going in, you knew that. I was just doing your dirty work. Come on, David, what's this all about. Just let me go. Please."

He shook his head. "I can't do that. See, you know something very important to the people I work for. We need that information."

"All the research is back in my room. Just go and get it. I'm not stopping you." Juliet pulled at her restraints again, feeling the searing pain and a trickle of blood on her left wrist.

"Not that stupid stuff. The stuff about a certain ex-extractor, things like that." David was smiling and it was far from charming.

Her gaze drifted about the room. "Well, I've got nothing interesting to tell you." She wasn't lying when she said that. Juliet knew the rumours that ran about the dreaming circles when it came to her employer. Everyone knew them, she just had the added benefit that she knew them to be true. What he would want, she didn't know. Outside of that information, she only knew his family.

"Oh, I think you do. Now think, real hard, Juliet." He was patronizing her, something she didn't take kindly to. If her wrists hadn't been bound, she would have crossed her arms over her chest and stared him all. As it was, all she could do was stare.

"I don't know, David." Instead of a shrug, she used her eyebrows. "I wasn't exactly aware that I was sent in as a spy. I don't keep detailed notes."

"Yes you do."

"Not of a family, you sicko." Juliet frowned. Why would she write down what James ate that morning or what new piece of artwork Phillippa made for her father. She didn't keep track of Cobb's comings and goings; she sorted his mail now and then, and some addresses caught her eye, but that was it. How could any of that be of any use? Unless he was just trying to get her to recall some information...

Something in her eyes made him smile wider and get up to leave. "Thank you, Juliet."

"Wait, David," she was suddenly panicked. Something wasn't quite right. "David, where are you going? David? Please come back and talk to me. David!"

David stopped at the door. "Enjoy your stay. The sedative was rather strong, so I imagine you'll be here a while."

"A while?" Juliet's eyes were wide with terror. "How long?"

"You know?" He shrugged one shoulder, "I didn't ask."

"Thank you, Saito," Cobb pointed to a street, directing Arthur where to go as he spoke on the phone. "We'll talk soon."

"I have no doubt, Mr. Cobb."

They pulled up to an old mechanic's garage. The windows were boarded up and everything screamed that it was deserted. It was just Arthur and Cobb who had gone to the location they'd been given. Smaller numbers seemed like a better plan and Arthur was more than capable with a gun.

They took up a familiar routine, usually employed in the dream world. Guns were at the ready and each used hand signals to move the other one into position. Cobb tested the side door, finding it unlocked and shoved it open. Nothing happened. He crept into the dark place slowly. Arthur followed him, protecting his back.

Cobb got five paces in when he stopped and lowered the gun. On a dirty mattress, with an IV in her arm, lay Juliet. Arthur was in action without having to be told, going straight to her, checking for her pulse and checking the machine. "There's a lot of time left."

"How much?" He stuffed his gun into the back of his jeans and was rolling up his shirt.

"Dom." Arthur was shaking his head ever so slightly. Even as the younger man warned his old friend, Cobb was sitting down onto the mattress and reaching toward the machine.

"It's time we figured out what is going on, Arthur. Let the others know and get them here. Keep this place safe." He was readying the needle.

"You can't extract information from her. She'll be ready for that. The projections-"

Cobb shook his head. "No, she won't be expecting this." The routine was familiar: stick the needle in his wrist, relax and let it take over. For a brief moment he wondered if it was too easy to fall back into the routine. Was this like falling off the wagon?

Author's Note: This is the shortest bit to date, but that's because the next bit is probably going to be rather long and I didn't want to chop that bit up. Anyway... Once I had Juliet kidnapped, I honestly had no idea how I was going to get her out of it. I decided to just sit down and do it, see what happens and this is what happened. It sets it up for a nice bit of drama, angst, and character development for Cobb and Juliet. I'm kinda pleased about that. Hope you enjoy the story so far and thanks for the reviews and thanks for reading!