Disclaimer: Inception does not belong to me.

"Red paint," Ariadne muttered under her breath as she began to clean up for the day. "It should be..." she checked the bottom shelf of her store cupboard. The pot of red paint was there, as it always had been. Smiling, she switched off the light, picked up her lightweight jacket, and began to head for the door. She checked her watch - 4.30. She had time to get home and make herself presentable before she met Arthur.

Ariadne grabbed her window pole, and started to close the top windows of the art room. Suddenly, she jumped. A scream was echoing across the parking lot.

"MY CAR!" Robert Fischer, scarlet in the face and speechless with anger, was looking at his porsche. "MY CAR!"

Eames, who was walking across the parking lot to his own more modest hatchback, turned and looked. "Is something wrong, Robert?"

Furious, the other man glared at him. "Look," he spat. Eames' eyes widened as he spotted the red painted letters, luridly pronouncing "FISCHER EQUALS SCUM." "Well...bloody hell." He looked at Robert. "Can you get it fixed?"

Robert stared at him, witheringly. "Get it fixed? Eames, this is a porsche. A porsche. Not some old jalopy junk that you picked up for $100."

Eames swallowed, trying to keep his temper in the face of this latest insult. "Yes, I'm aware that its a porsche," he said, calmly. "But, I'm sure you can take it to a garage, get it cleared up-"

"Do you have any idea how much that would cost?" Robert was almost incandescent. "It would cost more than your paycheck for this month!"

"But that's just loose change to you, Robert," Eames said, smoothly. "We all know that." Turning, he began to unlock the door to his own car, letting the other man splutter with indignation. Ariadne appeared, and when she saw the mess, looked shocked. Fischer, who had the door opened, glared at her, got in, and slammed the door. He drove off, in a cloud of dust and with screeching tires. She shuddered.

"Its all right," Eames called out of the window of his car. "The big bad wolf has gone. Or the skinny, underfed wolf, to be fair. Now, you meeting Arthur?"

She nodded. "Yes, the coffee shop."

"Excellent. See you both there!"

Arthur scanned the coffee shop, and spotted Ariadne. He hurried over to her, neatly dodging the waitress. "Hey," he said, smiling.

She looked up. "Hi there." Her expression was one of relief. "Eames will be joining us."

Arthur nodded. "OK." He swallowed, and sat down. "What'll it be?"

"Latte will be fine," she said, hastily, and as the waitress approached, he placed her order, and a cappuccino for himself. As the waitress left, Eames arrived, and slid into the booth, next to Arthur. "Did you see Fischer before you left?"

Arthur shook his head. "Didn't have the pleasure." He looked at Eames, who was pretending to study the laminated menu. "Why?"

"Well, he was a bit upset over his car."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Well, someone had daubed it with red paint." Eames closed the menu. "Left a lovely little calling card on it."

Arthur turned to Ariadne. "Where was your red paint, Ari?"

"In the store room." She looked at him. "You asked me earlier."

"I know I did, and if its there, good. Because he can't pin it on you." Arthur fell silent as the drinks were brought over. "Fischer will happily accuse any of us of that."

"But did you-" she looked at the two men, uneasily. "Did you-"

"No." Arthur shook his head. "But I think I know how did." He leaned forward. "Did you notice how a couple of the Twelth graders had slightly red hands this afternoon, when you taught them?"

Eames nodded. "Now you mention it-"

"But if they used my paint-"

"They wouldn't," Arthur interrupted. "They wouldn't use your paint, because that means Robert-" he lowered his voice. "It would mean Robert could accuse you of setting it up."

She nodded. "I see."

"Still," Arthur continued, "the hearing. Ari, I'm just going to be honest. That he was harrassing you, and I lost my temper."

"Well, I'll tell you what I'm going to say," Ariadne said, turning to him. "That he pressured me into going on a date with him, spent the entire evening trying to grope me, I told him to stop, and you were a gentleman and just sticking up for me."

Eames grinned. "Sounds about right." He leaned back in his seat. "Speak of the devil."

Arthur blinked, and looked up. Robert Fischer was striding through the coffee shop, his eyes narrowed. As he saw the three of them he stopped. "Well," he said, pleasantly. "Isn't this cosy?"

Arthur looked at him. "Robert." His tone was neutral. "Is there a problem?"

"Oh, no, there's no problem," Robert replied. "Aside from the fact your school is housing a vandal." He looked at the slightly younger man, his glacial blue eyes flashing. "My porsche...was covered in red paint." He raised an eyebrow.

"Well, thats unfortunate," Arthur said, calmly. "Still, lucky you being able to afford to buy a new one!" He picked up his cappuccino, and took a sip. Robert reddened.

"Doesn't it bother you that you have a vandal?" He asked, coldly. "Doesn't it bother you that my property has been destroyed?"

Arthur put his cup down, and turned to Robert. "No." His tone was calm. "It doesn't." He took another sip. "But I'll tell you what does bother me. It bothers me that there is a member of staff in my school who is so disliked by the students that they'd vandalise his car. It bothers me that he's so arrogant and self-absorbed he's prepared to harrass a female member of the faculty. And it bothers me as well that when he was Vice Principal, he pushed three members of staff to quit. That bothers me, Robert." He looked at him. "The hearing is tomorrow. But I can assure you - when its over, you'll be facing a disciplinary. That will be all."

Arthur picked up his cappuccino, and took another sip. His face turning bone white, Robert turned and fled the coffee shop. Arthur smiled, and reaching over, placed his hand on Ariadne's.

"It'll be ok," he said, softly. "I promise." Nodding, she curled her fingers around his.

All reviews appreciated, thank you!