The Rescuer (Alternate Title: The Rescuer and Her Family)
13 (Thirteen; Treize; Trece)
Veda found Ariadne in a bathroom stall, shivering on the ground, eyes glossy. She swallowed back tears, pulling out her phone to call Arthur.
"Hey, Arthur, I found her."
"Oh thank God. Where are you?"
"Mumbai."
"What? They took her that far-" Veda could hear the quiet rage in his voice. He was about to lose control.
"I don't want to stay here," she said quickly. "They could still be around. Where are you?"
"Singapore."
"Well, do you wanna meet at a halfway point or what?"
"Tokyo. That's where Eames is. And if we run into anything, that's Saito's turf."
"Alright, I-" People come in. People with heavy footsteps, talking in Hindi. She knew who they were. "Damn. Bye." Veda ducked into the stall with Ariadne and gripped her gun under her leather jacket. This was not a dream. She couldn't miss, couldn't get shot. She inhaled, held it for a few seconds, and let it go, sliding her sunglasses over her eyes. The tremors needed to hold off until she was done shooting. She kicked open the door and pumped bullets into Ariadne's kidnappers.
Later on, Veda found out that the disturbance at that mall was passed off as terrorism. Veda had brought down that whole compound, taking the dead men's guns and raising hell, and she didn't care. Amidst the confusion, she slipped herself and Ariadne onto a private jet, flashing euros to the pilot.
When they reached Tokyo, Arthur and Eames were waiting most impatiently at the gate. Arthur saw them first, Veda with one arm wrapped around Ariadne's shoulders and Ariadne dazed with her mouth slightly open. The Point Man bolted forward, reaching for his Architect.
"Ari?"
No answer.
"C'mon." Arthur picked her up, not caring how it looked in a crowded airport. The four of them didn't speak until they reached the hotel. Arthur set her on the couch, arranging pillows and getting her comfortable.
"Get me a blanket- she's trembling." Eames passed him a down throw to wrap around Ariadne. "How'd you find her?"
"Bathroom stall in a strip mall. The store she was in was deserted, and there were henchmen. I tore that shit apart, Arthur. If they find out that was me…" She shook her head. "But during the flight, she didn't say a word."
"I've seen this before," Eames piped up. "Someone's messed with her head."
"What, you mean-?" Eames nodded. Arthur turned to Veda.
"I didn't want to believe it, but yeah, that's what this is. A de-wiring," she confirmed Eames' conclusion.
"Get me the PASIV."
"Arthur, we can't be hasty with this-"
"Eames! This isn't just some expendable Mark. This is Ariadne! Hook us up!"
"I'm going in too, then," said Eames. Veda got the PASIV, but held it back from Arthur.
"Wait, I'm not setting it up until you listen- there's going to be completely ridiculous firepower and her subconscious is gonna tear us to shreds if we're not careful," warned Veda.
"I got it, V. Let's go."
"You sure?" Arthur glared. "I'm just saying I can go in alone." If it was possible, his glare intensified. "Okay, okay."
The three of them hooked up, and Veda set it for six hours of dream time.
...
"We're still so far away," grunted Arthur, breathing heavily. They were in a blank room with nothing but a door in the distance.
"Run backwards," said Veda, getting an idea. Arthur turned around. "No, look at the door and run backwards." The three of them tried it, and within a few minutes, the door was arm's length away.
"Wow. How'd you know to do that?"
"It's Ariadne's head- she's not going to be straightforward," Eames said.
"Oh, you two- don't try and change anything like the scenery or the architecture." Veda thought a moment. "Don't dream anything unless you're holding it, like a gun. She'll know." Arthur pushed open the door, and they found themselves on a tall grassy knoll. Their heads darted around, taking in the new scenery.
The landscape was grassy but barren, with nothing in the distance. In front of them was a single, lone tower like a lighthouse on the rocky cliffs of the ocean. It was almost dawn, and there was a bone-chilling wind whistling through the air.
"That's the code for S.O.S.," said Arthur, pointing to the light blinking from the top of the tower. He moved forward; Eames grabbed the scruff of his jacket.
"No, look." Around the base of the tower was a stone wall; angry guards dressed in all black stood alertly on it. There were maybe a hundred of them. "You'll be dead in two seconds."
"Can't we approach from the sea?" The two men looked to Veda. She assessed the portrait in front of her, gears turning.
"No. That's probably the shores of limbo, and look at the sand- we're at low tide. See the stone wall? When it's high tide, the tower and its wall are just floating there. We should cross now, and when we cross, we'll have to move fast- the waves are getting choppier."
"There's no door to the lighthouse. How're we to get in?"
"Let me take care of that," said Veda. "Just get us past the wall, and then follow my lead from there." Arthur nodded, pulling a gun from behind his back.
"Let's go." The three of them sprinted down the hill, Arthur in front and Eames bringing up the rear. The guard projections saw them and began to shoot. Arthur shot back, a bullet narrowly missing his cheek. Jarring instructions from the projections bellowed into the air, and the language the projections used was harsh and guttural, like nothing any of them had ever heard.
There was a ladder to the left of them, near where the water met the wall. They ran down, missing bullet after bullet.
"Cover me!" Arthur cried, putting the gun away and stepping into the rungs of the ladder. Eames took down two projections as the point man climbed.
"Hurry up, darling, they're coming!" Veda started up next. Arthur reached the top of the wall, greeting a projection immediately. The guard threw a punch; Arthur dodged and almost lost his footing, forcing the metal of his gun into the projection's head.
"There's no physics, if you don't want there to be! Arthur, just do it!" instructed Veda, ducking her head as she made it onto the wall. She demonstrated what she meant by stretching down, walking on the side of the stone, parallel to the ground. Something in Arthur clicked, and he grabbed the nearest projection and threw him off the wall; he was light as a feather. Eames shrugged and walked up the wall.
"The lighthouse- we have a path through!"
"No, leave none of the guards alive- they're the remnants of the de-wiring!" Veda had two guns in her hand, shooting at the projections without discrimination.
"Well, in that case-" Eames took grenades from his pocket, deciding to take down the whole wall. Arthur kept advancing on the projections, punching and kicking them, as he was too close for gunfire. Explosions sounded from behind Veda and Arthur; they could feel the heat on the back of their necks.
It was lucky that Eames had decided to use a machine gun and blast the projections into oblivion- there were just too many of them to fight by hand. Finally, when all was quiet, they caught their breaths.
"Alright, now what do we do? We can't blow up the lighthouse." A rumbling shook the wall; Eames and Arthur looked alarmed.
"This way," said Veda, running forward, building cantilevered steps on the tower. They dashed up the winding stairs, energy renewed. Arthur passed Veda on the path once he saw the opening to the windows of the lighthouse. He stepped in first, Veda second, and Eames last.
"What the hell…" whispered Eames. Ariadne was passively curled in the arms of someone who held a surprising resemblance to Arthur. But something was terribly wrong about this Arthur, as he was glowering at them.
"How did you get up here?" He questioned, voice callous and defiant. "I sealed this off against those guards. You're forgeries, aren't you?" The Other Arthur paused, waiting for an answer. "SPEAK!"
"Don't worry, Arthur, this is just her projection of you, protecting her." Veda murmured in Arthur's ear. She spoke up, addressing the Other Arthur, "We're here to help."
"Veda?" He tilted his head. "How do I know I can trust you?"
"Have you ever seen me in her head before?" asked Veda. This Arthur thought a moment, then clutched Ariadne tighter.
"NO! I'm not handing her over to you." He looked down at Ariadne; her eyes were still dazed.
"Ariadne?"
"Don't talk to her! Talk to me!"
"Okay, Arthur, okay. It's alright." Veda held up her hands in surrender. "We just wanna help."
"Guns down. Now," he barked. The real Arthur still hadn't spoken; the three of them laid down their weapons.
"We saw your S.O.S," began Eames. "So we came." He nodded over to the blinking light behind the Other Arthur.
"Those projections have been trying to breach this lighthouse for days," complained Other Arthur. "I'm not sure on how you got up here, but I'm not letting you take her."
Arthur stepped forward. "Ariadne?" The Other Arthur covered her face, his facial features tightening. "Ari, I know you can hear me, sweetheart. I'm here."
"She's not listening to you, you stupid projection."
"I'm right here, and I'm sorry for not being there. But I'm not gonna let this happen to you, Ari." Arthur gulped. "I love you too much." The Other Arthur looked terribly confused at the absurdity coming from the real Arthur's mouth. But Ariadne stirred.
"A-Arthur?" Her eyes softened upon seeing the Point Man with a very relieved expression on his face. The Other Arthur's stare shifted down to her, his grip loosening. As Ariadne reached for Arthur, the projection began to fade away. "You came."
"Of course I did." He took her into his arms with a smile. Veda's eyes were dancing with joy- this was the first time she'd ever heard Arthur say those words. Eames was utterly and wholly impressed.
...
"Cobb! Cobb, I can't believe you're saying this. Do you hear yourself right now?" Arthur's eyes were wide, trying and failing to make sense of what his old friend was telling him.
"I know what I'm saying, Arthur. I don't want James and Phillipa to be a part of the world that you're in."
"We. We're in. You can't just cut us off-" He motioned to Veda and himself. Ariadne was already in the car's backseat, watching the conversation taking place on the sidewalk. Eames was leaning on the car roof, smoking a cigarette, trying not to interject. He'd known this was what was going to happen.
"They're just children, Arthur, who need their father!"
"We're their family too," Arthur said emptily. Really, Arthur had no right to tell Cobb how to run his children's lives. If Cobb wanted to break all contact with them, it was his call. But Arthur didn't know how to communicate how heartbroken he was that Cobb was leaving them out in the dust. He didn't know how to explain how violated he felt that the only place he'd ever really called home was being pulled out from under him. Arthur didn't know how to say that he loved Cobb. That Cobb was like his father, like his brother, and even like his child. He looked up to him, he looked out for him. This was like a knife of betrayal in Arthur's heart.
"I appreciate all you've done, Arthur, really. God knows I do." Cobb sighed. "But I know it's not good for them. They're growing up, they're asking questions- questions that I can't answer without breaking what's left of their innocence."
"I just- if you were still working with us, I know that what happened to Ari wouldn't've happened. I'm not ready- I'm not done." It was only a few days after they'd returned from Tokyo with Ariadne. Cobb didn't want to admit anything to Arthur.
"I'm sorry, I just can't do this. I've got more than enough saved up, and I'm teaching classes at the college. They need a normal life, and I can't have you four waltzing in with your burdens and issues."
"Fine. Cut us off." Arthur was fuming. How could he-?
"Dom." Veda touched his shoulder. "You can't get back what you had before Mal died, you know that, right?"
"I know. I just want to make things right."
"Okay." Veda hugged him. "We'll leave."
"What?" Arthur cried. "Cobol's probably still looking-"
"It's been a year, Arthur," said Veda. "They're not coming."
"Fine." Arthur threw up his hands and moved to the car. Veda stared into Dom's eyes, her heart understanding the sadness that lay there.
"I'm pregnant, Dom. With twins." His eyes widened, looking her over. He could see a slight baby bump. She continued, "And I know, without a doubt, that if something happened to me, you'd come running to take care of them. I would do the same for James and Phillipa. We all would. I need you to take care of those children fiercer than you've ever done before, and I'm not saying this as your friend. I'm saying this as someone who's seen the destruction of your wife. We'll leave you alone, but you have to let us know from time to time that you're happy." Her eyes cut to the house "That they're happy. He'll never say it, but Arthur loves you. We all love you. So take care of them and yourself." Veda backed away, staring at Dom.
"I will." Cobb swallowed, nodding his head. "I will." Arthur got into the backseat with Ariadne; her hand found his and squeezed it tight. She could see the tears in his eyes. She smiled a small, wistful smile at her mentor. Dom returned it; Eames nodded curtly at him, mouth in a sort of grimace. Dom's eyes burned into Eames', begging him to take care of Veda. Arthur stared sternly at Cobb until he looked at him; Cobb could see the hurt and sadness in him. Cobb knew that was his fault. All of it was. He smiled sadly at his Point Man, knowing that nothing could sever the cord of their history together. And his last silent goodbye was to Veda; she got in the car, put her whistle in her mouth, and tweeted three times. He half-waved as Eames drove off.
That was the last time they ever saw Dominick Cobb face-to-face. And while Veda was in the hospital about to give birth, she realized that that spot on the sidewalk was the exact place she'd told Dom to let Mal go.
James and Phillipa never asked about the pictures in their father's old studio, the pictures of a woman with a very pregnant stomach, the pictures of a half-remembered Arthur and a different woman in a white dress getting married, and the pictures of a Brit with a lopsided grin holding up two tiny balls of swaddled children.
14 (Fourteen; Quatorze; Catorce)
Arthur yawned, stretching out his arms. He and Eames spent the better part of the day researching- Eames had stationed himself around the Mark's family, trying to find an in, and Arthur had gathered information on the Mark.
"This is not gonna be easy. Why the hell's the bloke gotta be a recluse, for Christ's sake," grumbled Eames.
"He may be a recluse, but he's one of the richest men in the world." After pulling out the key to the flat they'd rented, Arthur unlocked the door. They found Ariadne adorning headphones, covered in wood shavings. She briefly looked up, gave a small wave with her utility knife, and went back to work.
"She hasn't moved, has she?" Eames raised his eyebrows at her diligence, moving to collapse on the sofa.
"No, not at all." Arthur smiled and reached for his phone at the dining table, hoping that no one, especially not their employer, had called. He found eleven missed calls, all from the same, unknown number and one from Veda. There was an unheard message as well. "Ariadne?" She didn't answer, consumed in the music and the model. Arthur tapped her on the shoulder.
"What?" Her voice expressed annoyance.
"Have you had anything to eat since we left?"
"I couldn't break- haven't found a stopping point." Eames shook his head, amused, and Arthur rolled his eyes.
"You've got to eat sometime." Arthur pressed the replay button on his phone, putting it on speakerphone.
"Arthur, it's Veda. Please, please, please call me back. I'll try Ari's phone next. Eames isn't answering." The phone clicked off.
"That didn't sound good…" Ariadne trailed off. She reached for her phone, and Eames grabbed his off the coffee table. They both had missed calls from her and played back their messages.
"Ariadne? This is Veda. Please call back. Where the hell are you guys?" She sounded panicked, like she was crying. The call dropped.
"Eames, it's V. Call me back- I had to take the twins to the hospital." Eames' eyes widened, and the message rolled to the next one.
"Eames- Cayenne and Grayson are sick-" a pause for a sob- "and the doctors are saying that it's meningitis. They're crying for you, and the doctors won't let me see them. Please come home. This is the hospital phone. Las Hadas Regional." The phone cut off. There was one more message, but Eames was already getting his suitcase.
"Eames- they got worse. They're airlifting them to LA's children's hospital-" There was a pause, where Veda was frantically telling someone that she was going in the helicopter too. "And I'm going with them. Where are you?" Another bit of silence- it sounded like she was crying. "They need you, you know. I need you." She hung up.
"Eames-" Arthur called. "Eames, wait!"
"What?" Eames was halfway out the door.
"We're coming with you," said Ariadne.
"C'mon then!" The three of them left in the next five minutes.
...
"Right this way." A nurse showed the three of them down the hall of the ICU. It was filled with people, many of them stared strangely at three of them, dressed so formally. It made Ariadne and Arthur a bit uncomfortable. Eames didn't care- he saw Veda ahead of them, staring through a window of a hospital room. She had her whistle in her mouth.
"Veda!" Eames' steps quickened, moving ahead of the nurse. Veda turned slowly, not wanting to take her bloodshot eyes off her children. When he got to her, she threw her arms around his neck, knowing who it was, and sobbed into his shoulder.
"Where- have- you- been?"
"I'm sorry, love, we were out all day, and the plane from Munich was delayed." He kissed her forehead. "How are they?" Eames peered into the room and saw two very similar, very fragile small bodies side-by-side in hospital beds. A pang of fear and a twinge of guilt tugged at his insides. For the first time in his life, Eames was very afraid.
"They need to make it through the night, the doctors said. If they can make it through the night, they'll be okay. They're just four years old- so little, and the doctors won't say it, but they're not hopeful." Veda broke down again. Arthur and Ariadne had caught up just in time to hear what Veda said. Still alarmed and heart pounding, Eames pushed open the door to his children's room, blood rushing through his head.
"So they're giving them treatment?" Arthur asked.
"Yes. I made them do every single possible treatment-" Veda sighed. "Eames, you shouldn't go in without a mask…"
"Screw the mask- they're my children." Eames reached for the first one by the door, which was Grayson. The color was drained from the little boy's face, brow furrowed and uncomfortable. Eames carefully stroked his hair and took his hand. "Hey, pup, I'm sorry I wasn't here." Eames saw the IV sticking out of his arm, lifted his head and saw the monitors and the machines his little boy was hooked up to. He choked on his breath.
"Here, Eames." Arthur reached out, handing him a mask to put around his face; he had one pressed to his mouth and nose already.
"Thanks." Arthur nodded, not knowing what to say. The twins were in bad, very bad shape.
A tiny, weary voice came from across the room. "Daddy?" A cough.
"Cayenne!" Eames dashed over to the other bed, forgetting his mask, and leaned forward into the bed. "Yes, pup, it's me."
"I don't feel good, Daddy." Cayenne moaned, gazing at her father with the same doe eyes Veda had. She scratched at the needle in her arm.
"I know, but you can't touch it, Cayenne. It's gonna make you better."
"I wanna go home." Eames pressed his lips to her forehead. His princess was shattering his heart into a million pieces.
"I know."
"I want my kitty." Cayenne looked around the room. "Where's Mama?"
"She's getting you some juice," replied Arthur, seeing Eames was unable to talk.
"Oh. Hi." Cayenne waved a limp hand at Arthur, then at Ariadne.
"Hey, Cayenne," said Ariadne, knowing that the girl couldn't see her smile under the mask. She petted her leg gently. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm cold. My whole body hurts."
"I'll find you a blanket if I can, okay?"
"Mhm. Thank you."
"Chimère, I have your juice." Veda had returned, holding a cup with a straw. "It's that pomegranate you like." As Veda crossed the room, Grayson's body began to jolt suddenly; his machines began beeping wildly. The juice splattered, painting the floor a dark, bloody crimson. She bolted forward to her son, eyes flooding with tears once again.
"NURSE!" Arthur called out the hall. "NURSE!" A troupe of nurses bounded in, immediately tending to Grayson, pulling down his bed and putting him on his side.
Cayenne began to scream wildly once she saw Grayson seizing, clutching onto Eames' shirt and causing her machines to go off too. Ariadne leaned on Cayenne's bed, tears stinging in her wide eyes. Arthur's knuckles went white on the window ledge, ripping his eyes away from the sick boy. Eames instinctively rubbed Cayenne's back, failing to comfort her. Veda's eyes connected with Eames', and they both, in that moment, prayed that their children would be okay.
12 (Twelve; Douze; Doce)
"Just take the trial," Yusuf pestered Arthur. "I just want to make sure there aren't any side effects."
"Side effects? Yusuf, I'm not a lab rat," grumbled Arthur. He continued typing on his laptop, researching information on their new Mark. "Ask Veda." He nodded over to Veda, who was sitting across from him, immersed in some nonsense on her screen. She gave him one of her trademark looks.
"The hell I will."
"Well, now, that would defeat the purpose," sighed the Chemist.
"What?"
"It's only going to be like three minutes. Honest." Yusuf looked positively desperate through his goggles, syringe in hand. Arthur raised his eyebrows at him, sighing.
"Fine, fine. What's this new drug?"
"It's an organic form of the compounds. Took me the better part of two weeks to manipulate them."
"Organic? Since when do you dabble in o-chem?" He let Yusuf swab his arm while settling himself in the chair.
"It's a challenge, Arthur. You're not the only one who likes challenges, now are you?" He grinned. "Tell me if everything is stable. Here we go." Veda watched Arthur fall asleep.
"What if it doesn't work?" Veda wondered.
"Oh, I'm positive the compounds will work." Yusuf monitored his heart rate. "When are you telling Eames?"
"How do you know it's him?"
"Psh." Yusuf cut his eyes at her. "I've known you two for years- I knew what was happening before you two did."
"Ha. Ha." Veda sighed. "I need to go to the doctor, but I don't-"
"We're back!" Ariadne, carrying coffees and tea, ambled into the warehouse with Eames close behind. She divvied up the cups, careful not to spill any.
"Well, good news is that the Mark's wife makes excellent pastries." Eames held up a paper bag; Veda's eyes lit up, gesturing for it. "So, drug trials, eh, Yusuf?"
"Mhm. Just about to wake him up."
"Oh, allow me." Eames grinned, and without another word, Arthur fell to the floor.
"AH! Dammit, Eames!" He glared up at him. Eames only chuckled and strode off to his seat at the table, shaking his head.
"Well, how was it?" Yusuf inquired.
"Fine. Same as normal." He dusted himself off and seated himself at his laptop again.
"Lovely. Your pulse was fine, and I didn't notice anything strange. I think the trial's done. Finally." Yusuf looked particularly pleased with himself.
"How long were you working on that compound?" Ariadne asked, biting into a muffin.
"Two weeks." Veda couldn't meet Yusuf's eyes. She busied herself with her tea.
"What is it?"
"Plant-based, organic somnacin. That stuff isn't cheap, I tell you. But I finally got it. My client's very happy." Veda smiled faintly at the cockiness coming out of Yusuf's mouth.
"Who's the client that needs organic somnacin?" Arthur asked. He didn't think Yusuf was doing it as a job, only for fun. Because that was Yusuf's idea of fun.
"Me," Veda said quietly. She turned her head slightly to the right, to look at Eames. "Because I'm pregnant."
"What?"
"Wow."
Eames had frozen in his chair, staring at Veda incredulously. And suddenly, in one swift movement, he stood, put his hands on her cheeks, and kissed her full on the mouth.
...
Eames was in a very good mood. Veda had left hurriedly hours before, getting a call from Miles. He was practically skipping around the flat they were renting for the job, thinking of nothing but babies. He wasn't even upset that he hadn't gotten to talk to Veda alone, that she'd only been in town for a total of six hours and forty-five minutes before she'd had to leave. Ariadne thought it was funny- Eames had never been so happy around them.
"May I, pup?" Eames bowed, arm out for Ariadne to take.
"Haha, you may." Eames took her hand and spun her around, singing.
"You're so stupid," grumbled Arthur, typing harshly on the computer, venting out his irritation.
"I think you're being what the Americans call a 'hater,' Arthur darling. I don't think you want that."
"You're being an ass," shot Arthur. Yusuf looked up from his beakers, and Eames let go of Ariadne and crossed the room. He leaned on the table.
"Okay, Mr. Pissy Britches, what's your deal? I'm having a baby!"
"And what are you gonna do with this baby, Eames?"
"What? Well obviously, Arthur, I'm going to raise the baby."
"Oh, so you're saying you're going to be responsible for once and marry Veda?"
"Arthur, I can't-"
"No, you won't marry her, fucking bastard. Look at the collar of your shirt! It's got lipstick stains! Who were you with last night? Certainly not Veda, the mother of your kid. She was in Morocco." Arthur got up.
"Arthur, you don't get-"
"What, your stupid identity issues? The reasons why you've got to sleep with everyone-"
"I study people! I-"
"Don't give me your 'I'm a forger' shit speech. I already know it. And I don't care. You sleep around, you lie, you cheat, you're a miserable alcoholic chicken-shit bitch with borderline multiple personality disorder." Arthur couldn't believe the words flooding out of his mouth, but he kept going. "And I don't know what Veda sees in you, Eames, but I swear to God, if you screw over Veda or that baby, I'll-"
"What, Arthur? You'll fucking what?" Eames sucked his teeth. "Oh piss off. You're all bark and no bite except when you're in a dream. And this is fucking reality."
"Reality? If this is real, then go do the right thing."
"THERE IS NO RIGHT THING RIGHT NOW!" bellowed Eames. He never raised his voice. Ariadne was almost positive one was going to hit the other. Eames took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. "Arthur, you don't know the first thing about me and Veda. At all. So just stay there in your fucking sweater-vested reality."
"You're so goddamn stubborn-"
"I don't- I don't need this. I'm leaving." Eames backed away, heading for the door.
"Oh, yeah, Eames, just run. YOU'RE JUST RUNNING THE HELL AWAY." Eames spun back, advancing on Arthur. He leaned into his face, gray eyes blazing with fire.
"Arthur- Arthur you prissy, holier-than-thou fucker! Don't tell me what I'm doing! I know what I'm doing! There's beauty that you don't see! I can see it, and I fuck because it gives me a small smidgen of that beauty! I lie so I can appear better than I am. I cheat because I'm not smart enough to get ahead the honest way. I drink to blur the lines of right and wrong because there is no right and wrong anymore. And dammit, my mind is so fucked up from all that I've done that it's compartmentalizing and- you know what? I don't have to explain shit to you. I'm leaving. You can do the fucking job without me!" Eames grabbed his duffel bag from the corner.
"Yeah, leave. LEAVE. I'm taking your share!"
"HAVE IT." The door slammed behind Eames. They heard his footsteps fade away. Arthur huffed and slicked his hair back with his hand.
"You should've-"
"Ariadne, I don't wanna hear-" She half-punched his shoulder.
"Oh, too bad, you're gonna hear it. I told you that we don't understand what happened, and we never will until they tell us. You can't force what you want on them." She sighed. "C'mon, we've got work to do."
"Dammit, I need a scotch."
"Me too."
"Me three," nodded Yusuf.