Like so many projections...
"For sleep, one needs endless depths of blackness to sink into;
daylight is to shallow, it will not cover one."
Anne Morrow Lindberg
~She was on the cold and dirty floor. A body was over her and the end was just a whisper away. Suddenly there were noises. Bangs, yelling and smoke. The body on hers jumped away and there were screams.
Unharmed, but stunned Ariadne curled into a ball. Her basic instinct telling her to make her body as small as she could. The voices were American. The easy drawl of a group of people afraid of nothing. They were all the voices of men. All authoritative and in control. There was gun fire.
"Clear!" someone shouted. Then someone came.
"Ariadne?" came a voice.
'It's happened.' she thought 'Arthur and the team had found me.'
"Arthur?" She croaked sadly. She felt sick and pitiful.
"Ariadne?" came the man's voice once more. The voice was not Arthur's or anyone she knew.
"Yes?" she said. Hands were on her again. Strong but gentle.
"Hold still. Were getting out of here." The voice said. Her bindings was cut and her blindfold removed. A dull light blinded her.
Who these men were she didn't know, but the man with the voice picked her up easily as she shielded her eyes from the light. It came to her that she was in a basement of some kind.
"We have an ambulance waiting outside." The man with the voice said. He held her close to his body and she somehow knew there were others in the room. They moved swiftly and made room for them as she was carried outside.
The fresh air felt like bliss. Her face felt dirty as the wind hit it. She managed to open her eyes and see that it was night. There were police cars and an ambulance waiting for her. The man carrying her put her down gently on a stretcher as if she were a child he didn't want to wake up.
The light from the ambulance was to bright. But the paramedic was kind and soft with her hands as she assessed Ariadne's body. She spoke in an elegant French accent.
"Fermer votre Dove petit eil, votre coffre-frort maintenant." (Close your eyes little Dove, your safe now)
Ariadne did as she was told and the kind woman started her IV. She could feel herself start to relax. She had a vague wish to ask about Arthur. The drugs put into her veins made her feel like that could wait. Soon she cared about nothing at all.
~Surely, it had been just a dream. Her kidnappers were taken out just like projections. She was safe. She felt comfortable in a clean bed. Her body felt good and there was noise outside that sounded like a hospital.
"Hello?" came a crisp American voice. It was a woman's voice. Ariadne opened her eyes to see she was in a privet hospital room. A middle aged woman, plump and pleasant looking was sitting next to her with a smile.
"Ariadne?" she asked. Her voice bright and concerned at the same time.
"Yes?" Ariadne said softly. Her voice hurt and she winced in pain. The plump little American sensed her need and filled a cup with water and gave it to her. Ariadne drank it down quickly and the lady kept bringing her more water. She looked at Ariadne as though she were a favorite child of hers.
"It's okay if you don't want to talk. My name is Agnes. I was brought in from the states to be your privet nurse."
Ariadne didn't say anything. She had hundreds of questions but her mind couldn't come together to pull one out. The nurse seemed untroubled by her patients lack of communication.
"My Dear, you were kidnapped from your home a week ago." The American Nurse said brushing back the Architect's hair. "A tactical unit, hired by a privet firm, got you out yesterday." The nurse leaned in close to the Architect and said gently, as if she were talking to a child who would not understand. "The hospital did an SAE and they said it was negative. They didn't hurt you like that."
Ariadne nodded and couldn't help the tears coming out. The American nurse sat on the edge of the bed and held her close to her warm soft body. The Architect cried. For relief, for anger, for no reason at all. The American Nurse held her and made soft comforting noises. After Ariadne cried herself out, the nurse gently brushed her hair. The action made the Architect feel like a little girl being comforted by a loving mother. She allowed the nurse to baby her, and asked no questions.
~"It's been two weeks!" Arthur fumed. Nothing made him content theses days. The Team had regrouped in Paris at the same warehouse they used to prepare for the Fischer inception.
Saito had passionately and valiantly argued with COBAL over Ariadne. He promised them the world, he threatened all out war. He said COBAL, was not willing to work with him.
Arthur could not accept this.
"I know." Eames said softly. He was willing to be the outlet of Arthur's rage.
Cobb had gone home to his children. He felt the absence of them sharply and could bare it no longer. He still worked from home and pulled in favors from everyone he could to find the Architect.
Miles had come back to Paris, and acted as Ariadne's next of kin. The police had no leads. It was as if she vanished.
Arthur thought constantly of the Greek myths. Of Hades opening up the ground and swallowing Persephone up. A beautiful, innocent maiden vanished like she never existed at all.
Eames looked at his feet with sad eyes.
"Arthur." He said softly. "We may need to prepare ourselves." Arthur stopped his pacing and glared at the Forger. "We need to prepare ourselves... that this may not end well." Eames looked up at his friend. For two weeks he had taken Arthur's abuse. Listened to rages not meant for him but listened to them none the less. Arthur shook his head.
"It's our fault." The Point Man said softly. "Its our fault this happened to her." He shouldered on his jacket for lack of anything better to do.
"When Cobb brought her in, he said 'don't worry, she wont go into the field with us'. When she came into the field, he said not to worry that she will be with him the whole time. He took her to limbo and she almost didn't make it out. Her life was fine until we showed up. We put her in danger. COBAL or whoever, is trying to hurt us." Arthur concluded before slamming the door on his way out.
Outside, on the streets of Paris, Arthur hailed a cab. The action made him remember the few times he had chivalrously seen her home..
~It was raining, night had fallen. Cobb was still obtaining their chemist and Eames. He and the new Architect had started their work on building mazes and dreaming, together.
"Arthur, this isn't necessary." She said as the cab carefully maneuvered the crowded city streets. The heavens has opened up and a hard downpour was pounding over the city. The Architect and Point Man were safely tucked away from the foul weather inside the cab.
"I'm not letting you walk home in the rain." The Point Man said.
The driver informed them, in broken English, that the street to her neighborhood was blocked off. The Point Man told him it was alright. He could take the long way. The Architect hid a smile behind her hand.
"What?" Arthur asked a smile creeping over his own face. She shook her head.
"Your French... it's..." She smiled again. Her eyes bright. He had to laugh at himself.
"I know." He conceded.
They rode in silence for a while. They watched the city practically glitter as their lights reflected off the wet streets. It felt as if they were cut off from the outside world. Hidden away in the tiny euro cab.
The driver hit a pot hole and the cab bounced it's passengers rudely. Ariadne was almost thrown into Arthur's lap as a series of horns honked after them. The driver said something impolite in French and Arthur found he was holding her hand as she looked worriedly out the window.
The Architect relaxed somewhat as the cab took them to a less trafficked street. Arthur wondered if she still knew her hand was in his. She looked tried. She sighed as she leaned back in her seat.
Her head starting to rest on his shoulder.
Her head was resting on his shoulder.
Her eyes were still looking hypnotized out the window. The driver was really taking the long way. She was asleep when the driver pulled up to her building. Arthur hated to rouse her. He would have gladly paid the fair for them to be driven all over Paris for the night. The moment had been so perfect.
"Were here." He whispered gently. She came awake then and looked around her, startled to find she had nodded off in the cab.
"Oh." She said sleepily.
"Do you want me to walk you up?" He asked preparing to leave to safety of the cab to escort her through the rain.
"No." She laughed. "I've lived on my own for a long time." She said grabbing her purse and jacket. "I'll be fine. Thanks for the ride."
"It was on my way." He shrugged. He made the driver wait until he saw her unlock the front door to her building. She waved at him. He still made the driver wait. When a light went on on the second floor, he relaxed.
"We can go now." he told the driver. Back in the opposite direction from where they started. He left the driver a generous tip for taking such a securitas route.~
Now in the back of a cab alone. He thought of that memory. Could almost feel her next to him. Smell her gentle subtle perfume. He looked to his left. Almost expecting to see her. But naturally, she was gone.