[FIC - Inception] The Helix Trap Chapter 13/19

[croik]

Sorry this chapter is a bit short!

Fandom: Inception
Title: The Helix Trap
Chapter: 13/19 (3,100 words) (For all chapters, art and graphics, please check my My main post)
Rating: R
Pairings/Characters: Eames/Robert, Arthur/Ariadne, Cobb, Yusuf, Saito, Browning, and others.
Warnings: Violence, sexual content.
Disclaimer: These characters and setting do not belong to me and are being used without permission but for no profit
Summary: Post-movie heistfic. After the Inception proves successful, Eames tracks down Robert out of concern for its unusual side effects. Meanwhile, Arthur is hired to a dangerous job that forces the rest of the team to take sides: whether to defend Robert and his fragile mind, or ruin him completely.
Notes: C&C Welcome and appreciated. Thanks to my betas chypie and tanithkitty for their input!




Finding Mr. Charles was not a difficult task, all things considered: Eames simply followed the waves of angry, veiled projections. They were surging down the curved streets in a steady flow, like cells through a vein, and though they did not try to deter him many reached out, touching his face or giving quick squeezes to his hands. All of them knew him, all of them encouraged him onward. He wanted to be relieved by their acceptance of him but their empty faces were too eerie, and he sensed ulterior motives in their tense greetings. He felt as if they would turn on him at any moment.

The torrent led to a group of soldiers holed up on the ground floor of a hotel. When they saw Eames they waved him forward, firing into the crowd of ghosts so they could open the doors long enough for him to enter. They patted his back and voiced greetings and thanks, but he continued through them swiftly to meet their commander.

Mr. Charles was in the kitchen with another group of soldiers, who were trying to batter down the wall-tall refrigerator door. He glanced back and gave Eames a sharp nod of greeting.

"Our dreamer's back there, I assume," Eames said as he joined him.

Mr. Charles nodded. "Don't worry; my guys are on it."

The door buckled, falling inward to reveal not a freezer, but a stairway leading under the hotel. Eames stood back and let Mr. Charles take the lead into the basement. The stairs led into another long, white corridor, and at the far end a man was punching numbers into a keypad on the wall. Mr. Charles immediately lifted his gun to fire but Eames rushed forward and grabbed his arm. "Wait--we can't let this dream collapse until we find Robert," he said quickly.

The man turned, and though Eames had only worked with him once before, he recognized immediately who it was. Nash paled and went back to pounding on the keypad until the far door opened.

"Nash!" Eames broke out in a run but he was too far away. As soon as Nash was through the door it began to close again, and by the time Eames reached it had sealed entirely. He growled a curse and slapped both hands against the iron.

"I think you just got blown off," Mr. Charles said.

"If they're taking precautions like this, they must have gone down another level." Eames turned toward the control panel and tried a few combinations without results. "Damn that Ariadne, she's sharper than she looks. They might have points like this all over the city."

When he tried another combination he felt a sudden impact against his chest, and was flung to the ground. He grimaced up at the tunnel lights.

Mr. Charles raised his eyebrows questioningly. "You feel that?"

I know this feeling. He struggled upright but he knew there was no time. Someone's waking me up.

Eames turned toward Mr. Charles, trying to think of some advice or instructions he could give that might make it back to Robert, and jumped again at the sight of a group of wraiths flooding down the stairs. Mr. Charles was so focused on Eames that he didn't notice their silent advance until one fastened both hands around his elbow. He spun, but by then they were swarming over him, and Eames could only watch, shocked, as one of them pounced and drew a black cloak over his head.

Eames was rocked again, and then the tunnel began to dissolve around him. "Wait," he gasped, reaching into the thrashing limbs. He tried to pull Mr. Charles away from the dark projections but they were drawing him into their fold. Just before the world fell away he saw one of them pressing a sleek, plastic mask into place.

Eames's eyes snapped open. The left side of his face was hot with the unmistakable sting of a slap, and hands were twisting around his collar. Before he could get his feet beneath him someone dragged him out of the study and shoved him into the back of the sofa.

"Son of a bitch," Browning growled nearby. "I knew it would be you."

Eames grabbed the back of the sofa to pull himself upright, but as soon as he was on his feet Yeates tried to punch him in the gut. He was fast enough to twist out of the way but then another man grabbed his arm. The two guards together managed to overpower him and pin him against the furniture. He allowed it, conserving his strength for the moment.

"I should say the same to you," Eames said. His lips curled in a sneer. "Only Peter Browning could do something like this to his own godson."

Browning stepped forward and struck him hard across the face with the back of his hand. It was surprisingly effective, and Eames needed a moment to make sure his jaw was still attached. "You watch your mouth," Browning warned. "I'm undoing the damage you goddamned extractors caused in the first place."

Back in the study, Cobb awoke with a sharp intake of breath. Browning whipped around and noticed him for the first time. "Marcus, get him out of there."

Marcus started. He and Erhard were standing against the wall, looking anxious and frustrated. "Sir," Erhard started, "I don't--"

"Shut up; you're fired." Browning pointed at Marcus emphatically. "You--go--get that asshole out of there."

Marcus grimaced and headed into the study, but Erhard remained stern. "With all due respect, I don't work for you, Mr. Browning."

"Oh shove it, Erhard," Yeates snapped. His voice buzzed comically thanks to the tissues jammed up his broken nose. "When this is over I'll take care of you myself."

Eames relaxed minutely as he took a quick glance around the room. Yeates was on his left and another of Browning's men on his right, but there was also a new, third bodyguard at the condo door. Outnumbered this time. Damn it.

Marcus pulled Cobb out of the room and urged his back to the wall, though he didn't bother to restrain him as severely as Eames. Cobb didn't seem about to fight anyway--he was blinking and disoriented. Eames tried not to squirm. "What happened?" he asked, hoping that Cobb had fared better than him.

Cobb shook his head. He looked honestly troubled, by something deeper than a sudden dream death. "Mr. Browning," he said sharply, "you have to let us go back under."

"Excuse me?" Browning turned on him. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

"I'm--" Cobb took in a quick breath. "My name is Charles," he said. "I'm an expert in shared dreaming. I was called here to help Mr. Fischer--"

"Oh, this is rich," Browning sneered. "Now every con with a silver case is an expert, hm?" He waved at his bodyguards. "Lock them in the guest room while I call the police. They're not worth getting our hands dirty."

"You don't understand--something's gone wrong!" Cobb insisted as Marcus tugged him away from the wall. "If you don't let us help them you're going to get Fischer killed!"

Browning stopped. Genuine concern showed in his face as he turned back, though soon enough it was replaced with distrust. "Don't think you can trick me," he said. "I know enough about dreamshare to know it can't kill you."

"Not normally, but Fischer's mind isn't stable," Cobb went on. When he tried to move closer to Browning, Marcus hauled him back. "His projections have been corrupted somehow, and they're ruining whatever plan there was. The entire team is in danger."

Eames gave a testing pull against the men restraining him, but their arms tightened quickly around him, and he knew he wouldn't be able to escape without seriously injuring one or both. Even if I get away it won't do any good if I can't get and stay under, he thought, trying to see into the study. I'd have to kill them all. "He's telling the truth," he said instead. "Do you even understand what projections are?"

Browning grunted. "Of course I do. I've been under before."

"Well Robert's are at war with each other." He glanced to Cobb, who was nodding with him, and was suddenly more grateful to him than he'd ever been. "It's chaos down there."

"All thanks to you!" Browning advanced on him and poked him hard in the chest. "Did you think I wouldn't figure out that something happened on that plane?" he said, and behind him, Cobb went pale. "The plane that asshole Saito bought just a week before? The plane that didn't have a single seat in first class open for Robert's security?" His fists clenched and Eames tensed, expecting another blow, but it didn't come. "As soon as I saw him in L.A. I knew something was wrong, and there you were, still after him."

"There are a lot of extractors in the world," Eames said evenly. "If something happened to him, it wasn't us that did it." He scoffed. "Would we be stupid enough to come back if it was?"

Eames knew he was a convincing liar, and he saw Browning begin to cave, if only a little. "Then why? You expect me to believe you're here trying to 'help' Robert out of the goodness of your heart?"

"Well." Eames smirked. "Not my heart."

Browning's face contorted, and at last his fist smashed heavily into Eames's jaw. Eames turned with the blow, and despite the pain hammering across his head and neck he spared a moment to be impressed: Browning knew how to land a punch.

"You son of a bitch," he growled, and then he grabbed Eames's jaw, yanking his face back around. He was red with anger, and just as Eames had hoped, the inception was suddenly the last thing on his mind. "Do you even know who you're fucking with?"

"I sure do," Eames laughed, but before Browning could hit him again there was a sharp gasp from the study behind them.

Cobb jerked away from Marcus and hurried to the open doorway. "Shit." He started to head inside but Marcus caught up and drew him back. "Yusuf, what happened?"

"What are you doing here?" Yusuf said, startled.

Cobb turned back to Browning with resumed agitation. "You have to let us back under."

"What are you talking about?" Browning moved to see inside the study for himself. "And why are you awake early?"

"He was one of their dreamers," Cobb said, and seeing him so anxious made Eames's pulse rise as well. "If he's awake that means the dream Fischer was in is collapsing. His mind will be ripped apart!"

"Don't try to tell me how dreamshare works," Browning snapped.

"He's right." Yusuf rubbed his arm as he moved to the doorway. "Dr. Banks changed the plan on us--they're in trouble down there."

"What do you mean? Changed how?"

"Mr. Browning, please." Cobb touched Browning's elbow, and though he pulled his arm away, he listened. "Tell us exactly what you asked Dr. Banks to do here."

Browning looked to each of them, and some of his anger gave way to confusion and even guilt. He rubbed the back of his neck. "I told her I suspected that someone--" he cast a heavy glare at Eames "--had been in Robert's mind. I couldn't let it get public, so I asked her to get a team together that could find out what was done to him and fix it. Fix it," he emphasized. "Or at least...'convince' him to step down for a while. If anything's going to kill him it's the board of directors, after all he's been doing!"

Yusuf leaned heavily against the open doorway. His eyes were wide and stunned. "That's...not what Dr. Banks told us," he said weakly.

Everyone looked to him. "What did she tell you?" Browning asked, at last coming around to the seriousness they were trying to impress on him.

Yusuf shook his head, overwhelmed. "She said..." He pushed his hair back. "She said you hired us to get Mr. Fischer removed from Fischer Morrow."

"By driving him insane," Cobb added. "Tell him, Yusuf--tell him how you're tearing Fischer's mind apart."

Eames's heart pulsed in his throat, and he couldn't restrain himself any longer. He twisted, pounding his fist into Yeates's groin and then easily breaking free from his loosened grip. The second man was so distracted by the goings on that Eames was able to jerk away from him, and then he was grabbing Yusuf's collar. "Yes, tell us!" he demanded. "What are you doing to him?"

Yusuf didn't try to fight him. "It's reversible, I swear! Except..."

Again Cobb filled in. "Except Arthur's already been split, and now that you're here that means Robert has, too. And if we don't go down right now and fix it, they're both going to lose their God damned minds!"

Erhard grabbed Eames by the shoulders and urged him back before he could question further. Eames struggled at first, but when he saw Yeates groaning on the floor and the other bodyguards crowding closer, he realized what Erhard was doing. He relinquished himself to the man's hold.

"You're lying," Browning said, wagging his finger at each of them in turn. "You--you're all in on something. I'm waking Charla up."

Cobb reached for him. "No, wait--"

Before Browning could take one step into the study he was halted by a blood-curdling scream. Eames paled, fearing the worst, but he realized swiftly that it wasn't Robert's voice: it was Nash. Shaking and terrified, Nash opened his eyes and scrambled to remove the IV from his arm.

"Nash?" Yusuf started toward him. "What are--"

"Get away from me!" Nash cried, clamoring to his feet. "Get off me--let me go!" He shoved past Yusuf and bolted into the great room.

"What happened?" Cobb tried to ask, but Nash plowed past him too, shoving him almost off his feet.

"Get the fuck off me!" Nash screamed again, but when he made a run for the door Browning's bodyguards intercepted him. He put up more of a fight than they were ready for, and when he almost wriggled free one of them pulled his fist back.

"Wait--" Eames said, but he was too late. It only took one punch to knock Nash out cold, and the men shoved him onto the sofa. Eames sighed sharply. "Now how can we ask him what happened?"

Yusuf crouched down next to the PASIVs. "He was one of our Level One dreamers," he said. "Which means his dream must be collapsing..."

Everyone peered into the study, watching the four still connected. Eames shuddered in Erhard's grip and expected at any moment that they would all burst awake, but in what condition he dreaded knowing. He couldn't take his eyes off Robert's pained face. After ten seconds had passed in uneventful silence he exchanged a tense glance with Cobb. "They're not waking up."

"Losing two dreamers like that should have collapsed everything," Cobb said, wiping sweat off his brow. "Almost instantly, even. How can they still be under?"

Browning grabbed Yusuf by the shoulder and pulled him upright again. "What's going on? What the hell are they doing to him?"

"I--I don't know," Yusuf stammered. "They should be waking up, but--"

"We don't have time for this." Cobb shook free of the bewildered Marcus and entered the room. "We have to go under and see for ourselves."

"You're insane yourself if you think I'm letting you anywhere near him now," Browning snarled, and to Eames's surprise, he stepped between Cobb and Robert protectively.

"But it's the only way to know what's going on. You have to believe me, we're only trying to help."

"Come with us," Eames said.

Browning looked to him in confusion. "What?"

"Come down with us," Eames repeated. "See for yourself what your money's paying for."

"I did not pay for this!" Browning smeared his hands down his face. "I've known Charla for almost forty years--why would she do what you're telling me?"

"The longer you make us wait, the less of a chance there is that he'll ever wake up," Eames persisted. "If we go down you can ask Banks yourself, but we have to go now."

"All right! Jesus Christ." Browning motioned for Erhard to let Eames go, which he quickly did. "Hunnigan, you're in charge. Make sure no one comes in or out."

"Yes sir," the man said, looking mostly dumbfounded.

Eames gave Erhard a thump on the arm and hurried inside. "Can you rebuild a dream that's collapsing?" he asked Cobb.

"I have before, but not under circumstances like these," Cobb replied. "But I'll have to use Nash's machine if I'm going to get to Banks." He frowned suddenly. "Yusuf, did you bring any sedatives?"

Yusuf's eyes darted to his brown satchel in the corner of the room. "What for?"

"Give me some."

Yusuf caught on swiftly, and he took a step in front of his supplies. "No."

"Sedatives for whom?" Browning asked suspiciously as he rolled his sleeve up.

"For Dr. Banks." Cobb's eyes hardened and he moved closer. "To make sure her dream doesn't collapse."

"No," Yusuf said again. "I know what you're up to, and whatever's going on I'm not going to let you do that to her."

Eames's stomach twisted nauseously, and he couldn't help but wonder how long Cobb had known about the effects of sedatives and dreaming, and how many times he had employed that knowledge. He's not going after Banks to negotiate, it seems. Not that I blame him. "There's another way," he said, pulling Cobb aside as Yusuf eyed them both warily. "Do you remember that trick of yours?" His lip quirked. "The one I told you never to do to a forger?"

Cobb straightened and glanced away awkwardly. "Yes."

"Do it." He gave Cobb's cheek a dull smack and moved further into the room. "Yusuf, you know the layout--where will we be able to find Robert?"

Yusuf was still watching Cobb. "He should still be in the subway, headed for Point Two. One in a grocery store in the northwest corner... one in a blue office building in the southeast. Charla will be in the northwest."

Browning sat down in the chair Yusuf had vacated earlier. "If I see something I don't like down there, I'm waking up and shutting this all down," he warned.

Eames pulled two IVs out of Ariadne's machine and handed one to him. "I can already promise you you're not going to like it."

Cobb retrieved a needle for himself and took Nash's chair. "Are you coming down on this one?" he asked Yusuf. "To keep an eye on me?"

"No." Yusuf folded his arms. "I can do that better up here." He looked to Eames. "Just make sure that everyone is on Level One before you wake anyone up. It has to be simultaneous."

"All right."

They all slid the needles into their arms.


To Chapter 14