Disclaimer: Inception does not belong to me.
Cobb walked. He didn't care where to. He was drifting, alone, abandoned. Finally, he spotted a diner, and walked into it. Perching himself on a stool, he waited for the waitress to slide a laminated menu to him.
His mind felt empty, blank. No point, he thought, bitterly. No point at all.
Arthur swallowed. He knew he had to tread carefully.
"Disappointed?" he kept his tone casual. "Why's that?"
There was the sound of a faint laugh on the other end of the phone. "You know why." A pause, and Arthur swallowed.
"I trusted you."
"Really?" Arthur deliberately kept his answers short.
"I did." Fischer paused again, turning the conversation into an agonising verbal game of cat and mouse. "I trusted you to bring Dom Cobb and Eames to me. And that little Architect. You are a snake in the grass, Arthur."
Arthur looked at Ariadne. Her face was visibly paling. He exhaled, slowly.
"I would like to make a deal with you." Fischer's voice was soft, smooth. "You come back, and everything is fine. You don't come back..."
"Then what?"
"Life could get very difficult for you." Fischer's tone was taut. "Think about it, Arthur. Your team does not want you. The only person who can help you, is me. You are a bulimic, and incapable of making your own choices. I need you to get Cobb, and bring him to me. Then, you go into a clinic."
"And if I don't?"
"I will find you." Fischer's voice contained an element of menace. "I will find you, and you will be arrested. How long do you think you'll last inside a prison?"
Arthur clicked off. Ariadne looked at him, her eyes wide.
"Who-?"
"Fischer." Arthur spoke shortly, then turned to her. "Why did you bring me here, Ariadne?"
Trent got up. "I need to get packing."
The Forger looked at him, astonished. "You're leaving?"
"Yes." The Point looked at Eames. "I have nothing to stay here for."
"Well-" Eames stopped, thinking reflectively before he spoke again. "Cobb's walked out, Ariadne's taken Arthur from the clinic-"
"But you don't need a Point," Trent interrupted. "I doubt Cobb has completely abandoned you. He'll be back."
"But-"
"Eames." Trent looked at him. "Fischer clearly wants to manipulate the situation to get Arthur to perform an extraction on Cobb. So he can use him for corporate espionage. As long as Ariadne and Arthur stay away from Fischer, they'll be fine."
Suddenly, the cell phone on the coffee table began to vibrate. Eames looked at it. "Its Cobb's."
Trent swallowed. "I'd answer it."
"I brought you here because-" the Architect stopped. Arthur's dark eyes were boring into hers, making her shiver slightly.
"You don't have any idea, do you?" His tone was low, and there was a faint undercurrent of menace. She swallowed.
"I brought you here to get you out of the clinic," she replied. "Because I thought you'd-"
"I'd what?" He looked at her again. "I'd what?"
"I didn't think you'd -"
"You don't have any idea." Arthur's gaze was becoming disconcerting. "You brought me here for no other reason than you thought you could control me."
"Control you?" Her heart was beginning to pound.
"Yes, Ariadne. Control me. In the same way that other people have tried to control me all my life." He took a step closer. "You thought, if you got me out of the clinic, and here with you, you would have me under your thumb. I bet you thought that if I started to become too much of a problem, you could just threaten me with going back into the clinic."
"No!" Ariadne was shocked. "No, I never thought that!" She looked at him. "Why are you saying this, Arthur? Why are you being-"
"Being what?" He shouted, taking a step forward. "Being like this? Not being the dream man you envisaged?"
"Being so spiteful!" She shouted back. "I know you're angry with Eames and Cobb, but I love you! I did this because I wanted to get you away from Fischer, away from-"
"Well, that was Fischer," Arthur said, his voice cold. "And he will find me. And you. And then what do you think will happen to us?"
"Hello?"
"Well, is that Eames?"
"Yes." Eames recognised the other man's voice immediately. "And what can I do for you?"
"You can give me Arthur." Fischer's tone was smooth. "And I promise no-one gets hurt."
"Really? Empty promise there." Eames narrowed his eyes. "He's gone, Robert."
"So I gather. With his little girlfriend." Fischer's tone was mocking. "Quite a sweet couple - a deluded bulimic and an Architect. Very promising relationship."
"He's not coming back to the team." Eames' tone was cool.
"Really?" Fischer lowered his voice. "Thats what I thought. So, I'll make a deal. Tell me where Arthur is. Tell me where he is, and I will never, ever bother any of you again."
"So, my brother just left?"
The nurse looked up and smiled sympathetically at the distraught young woman in front of her. "Well, he did go with his girlfriend."
"His girlfriend?" Allie narrowed her eyes. "What did she look like?"
"Very petite, brunette." The nurse looked at her. "Thats all I can tell you."
"And where did they go?"
"I'm afraid I don't know." The male nurse was beginning to look out of his depth. Allie leaned forward, and carefully pushed him a hundred dollar bill.
"How did they leave?" She asked, silkily. The young man gulped.
"By cab." His voice was low. She smiled again, and pushed another hundred dollar bill towards him.
"Would you give me the name of the firm?"
"I don't know!" Ariadne shouted. "I don't know whats going to happen, but I do know that I-" she bit her lip. On impulse, she grabbed hold of him, and pulled him close, letting their lips touch.
Arthur melted into her embrace. Then, with a surprising display of force, he moved his hand to the back of her head, and pressed their mouths together.
"I can't tell you." Eames kept his voice emotionless. "Bye."
He clicked off. Trent looked at him. "Well?"
"Fischer." Eames looked at him. "Still want to leave?"
Trent swallowed. "Maybe not." He looked at the floor. "Let's see if we can find Dom."
Arthur rolled over, and felt Ariadne's arm press into his back. He smiled, briefly, and pulled her close. She buried her head in his chest.
"Don't leave." Her voice was muffled. He wound his fingers in her hair. "I'm not going anywhere." He closed his eyes. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For not being-" he struggled to find the words. "For being completely-"
"Repulsed?" She sat up, the covers wrapping around her shoulders. "Arthur, there is nothing repulsive about you. Believe me. You are-"
"Ugly." His voice was toneless. "Ugly, repellent, and disgusting. And thats for-"
"Its your illness," she persisted, leaning down and kissing him. "You are-"
He blinked. "Ari, this is hard. This is so hard-"
"I know." She leaned into him again. "But we will get through it. We will."
He struggled to sit up. "I need to-"
"Oh, sure." She moved aside, letting him get out of bed. He reached for his boxers, that had been discarded on the floor. "Back in a minute."
He moved towards the tiny bathroom. She rolled over, exhaling. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Frowning slightly, she got up, reaching for the motel issued bathrobe. She pulled it on, tying it around her waist. She opened the door.
To her surprise, a young woman was standing there. Dark haired, and expensively dressed. She smiled.
"Hello!" She looked at her. "You must be Ariadne!"
"Yes, I-" Ariadne felt completely confused - she'd signed them into the motel under a false name. Suddenly, the woman pushed past her, entering. "Hey!"
A toilet flushed, and Arthur walked into the room. His jaw dropped slightly. "Allie?"
"Hello, Arthur." Allie's face contorted slightly. "Still as ugly as ever."
"What?" He stammered out. "What are you-"
"Its very simple." She looked at him, then her. "You were warned." Silently, she reached into her bag, and pulled out a gun. "Both of you, come with me now. And I promise not to use this."
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