Disclaimer: Inception does not belong to me.

Cobb blinked. "Arthur. Calm down. What did you just say?"

"I just had a phone call." Arthur's voice, already compressed due to the use of the cell phone, sounded tighter than usual. "Robert."

"What?" Cobb blinked. "What happened?"

"He told me-" Arthur swallowed -"that he has Ariadne with him. He is not going to tell us where she is, and that this is-"

"Arthur, its a stitch up." Cobb felt slightly irritated. "She's probably at her apartment. Robert is just trying to mess with your head, and-"

"Blake told me that he was released. He's bitter, he's angry."

"He's also a criminal - they will get more evidence." Cobb felt exasperated. "Seriously, Arthur, calm down. This is ridiculous."

"Its not!" Arthur surprised himself with the loudness of his voice. "Its true! Why can't you accept what I'm saying?!"

"Arthur-"

"I'm calling Blake," Arthur snapped, and hung up.

Cobb, bewildered, stared at the dead phone.

Ariadne woke up, and shifted. The bed was unfamiliar, and so was the room. Eventually, her mind began to clear, and she started to remember. She had been grabbed outside her apartment, and suddenly, the world had gone dark. Shivering, she began to get up, and reached for the door. She had slept in her clothes, and frowning, looked down at her appearance. Running her fingers through her hair, she decided that she had to get out. Fischer was guilty of arson and leaning on a student - he had now added this to his repertoire. She wasn't going to let him get away with it.

Swallowing, she put her hand on the door handle, and pushed. To her astonishment, it opened. Pushing the door further, she realised that the bedroom opened onto a kitchen. She took a step.

Then her heart started to pound. She could hear noise. A loud, rumbling noise. Swallowing, she began to look round, careful not to make any extra sound herself.

A man was slumped in a chair, snoring. He was large, heavy set - but his stance and the deepness of his breathing indicated he was going to be asleep for a while. Ariadne blinked.

She had no idea where she was, but she knew she had to get out. Carefully, she walked across, to the door. Robert was obviously confident his hired goon could keep her in there, which she felt underscored the young man's arrogance. Deftly, she used her fingers to try and unlock the door.

"The guy's insane." Blake had not been at the station - the nervous young administrator who had answered the phone had informed Arthur that it was his day off duty. Arthur, not to be deterred, had immediately driven over to Blake's bachelor apartment. The young detective had still been in bed when Arthur had appeared, his sleepiness quickly becoming alarm when it transpired what had happened.

"This guy..." Blake muttered. "What did he say to you?"

"That he had her in a safe place, and that he hoped Cobb and I would be amenable to his returning to the school," Arthur said, his face distraught. "But- what if-"

"He won't hurt her," Blake said, shaking his head. "I think he's smarter than that. His lawyer got him off on a technicality. This is him trying to pressure you and Cobb into giving him what he wants."

"Can we arrest him? He's admitted what he's done!"

Blake bit his lip. "The fact he's being so brazen indicates he wants to be caught - so he can 'negotiate'." He nodded. "Let's find him."

Carefully, she turned the lock. Putting her hand on the door handle, she tried to turn it.

Nothing.

Blinking in shock, she tried to pull the door, and found it locked. Shocked, she realised that it was bolted from the outside. Suddenly, it swung open.

"Ariadne," Robert said, pleasantly. "Where do you think you're going?"

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