VIDEO ♧ 001 ♧ there we were --- thick as thieves.

[forging]

[ Eames figures this is part of some grand scheme to get back at him. He's never been the kindest chap, so he has no doubts that he's ticked off someone somewhere. He's up against some fine dreamers, the attention of the place -- the authenticity and the details in the world building should make him feel intimidated, but Eames takes this is a gamble. All high stakes with a lot to lose. He doesn't believe the whole situation where they're in a world of Dreams, Death and Living - he figures it's part of the game to lull the mark into a false sense of security by showing him familiar elements.

So Eames will play along until he manages a better picture of what's been painted to him. When the feed turns itself on, Eames looks positively lost. You don't spend so much time pretending to be other people without learning a few tricks yourself, so the act is a solid one. His tone is hesitant. ]

Right. Well. So I guess, the nice - Kedan - wassit? Explained a couple of things with this -- [ he makes a gesture with his hands. ] place.

This is a bit much to take in. So I gotta ask - are they known for their honesty? They tellin' us the whole story with being between death and life and dreaming?

[ a beat. ]

Name's Freddy, by the way. Freddy Simmonds. I guess. I'm new.

[ Eames is gonna push this act as far as he can. ]

(( OOC | if there'd be any reason for your character to pick up on the fact that it's an act - go ahead! c: ))

Comments

[aloadeddie]

[That gets Arthur to frown deeply. Well, it answers one question, anyway. Though it still doesn't completely rule out the possibility that Costigan is some kind of forge.]

Fire. There should be a cafe, near the boundary between fire and metal. Give me thirty.

VIDEO -> ACTION.

[forging]

[ they've got a bit to discuss generally. ]

I'll await you with baited breath. [ all condescension in his tone. but he shuts off the feed with a bit of fiddling. eames tries to make his way, arriving to their location only a few minutes before arthur does. ordering a coffee for himself. leaning back against the chair, feigning being relaxed, leg crossed and idly thumbing the back of a poker chip.

his totem's done him no favours, and he's sincerely hoping arthur is better at shedding light in this situation before he starts experimenting with kicks. ]

ACTION.

[aloadeddie]

[Arthur's there, a couple minutes short of thirty, hands shoved into his pockets, wearing the clothes he arrived with, rather than the native look.

He sits down across from Eames without a word, orders a coffee for himself, and doesn't speak until he has it in front of him - strong and black, like always.]

A kick won't work, I already tried. [It's the first thing out of his mouth, because he knows it's the first thing Eames will think of - trying to wake himself up.]

[forging]

[ eames gets it. recognition outweighs the need to blend in. at least for the duration of this conversation. eames doesn't say anything either, only measures up arthur to try to assess his current mental state. it's been about roughly an hour and a half since the fischer job, eames was trying to find an airport taxi out of lax. it's honestly the last thing he recalls.

he takes a sip of the coffee. to distract himself from how much that statement affects him. setting the cup down before replying. ]

Risky move, consider what we're dealing with seems to be a rather strong compound. It'd be a last resort.

[ the subject's subconscious doesn't show signs of being militarized - just yet. ]

They've managed to hire a damn good chemist and an architect.

[aloadeddie]

Strong enough that not only didn't I wake up, I didn't even drop to a lower level. It just brought me right back where I started.

[He keeps his voice low, sipping at his coffee, his face neutral.]

And it was a last resort. Ariadne and I have been here a few months already. Cobb just arrived a few weeks ago. I don't understand the delay.

[Because they were all on the flight together, after all.]

Did something happen on your level? Ariadne told me she and Cobb went to limbo.

[forging]

Oh, only we had a visit from Mrs. Cobb and it was terribly inconvenient. They went to Limbo to pick up Fischer and Saito.

[ there's a hint of annoyance in his tone, about the general inefficient way the whole situation was dealt with. Mal was not a factor to the dream he wanted to concern himself with. ]

Short of that, not particularly anything that would stand out. [ that does raise a flag however. ]

Last thing I recall is looking for my luggage in LAX.

[aloadeddie]

[Arthur pulls a slight face at the mention of Mal. He's had far too many experiences with that particular projection lately. He's half expecting her to show up any day right here, on the turtle.]

Wait, what?

[That brings him up short.] LAX? That makes no sense. I was still in the dream.

[forging]

[ So is Eames, if he's being perfectly honest. He wouldn't even be the slightest bit surprised given that Cobb is here. But this is something that he needs to focus on. Because he's sure - he didn't wind up in Limbo, and he doesn't know why or how their collective subconscious would look like this. ]

And I'd left it. We woke up short after Fischer Jr's sentimental reunion with his father.

Did you have any loose ends when you dealt with the Fischer job?

[aloadeddie]

Loose ends? [Arthur rubs his forehead, trying to work it all out.]

The last thing I remember is being on the hotel level. I was trying to set you up for the kick. That makes no sense.

[forging]

[ that doesn't make sense either. ]

Well. Narrowing it down. We've confirmed the presence of both Ariadne and Cobb. Given that it's really the first job, we've run with Ariadne - it's no surprise whomever brought us here has eyes on those involved with the Fischer job. Didn't Cobb have a bit of trouble in Mombasa?

[ this just doesn't feel right. ]

Yeah, so someone's either messed up your memories or fabricated mine.

[aloadeddie]

Cobol Engineering. But you and Ariadne weren't part of that, and Cobol doesn't have the resources for something this advanced.

[Of course, no one has the resources for something this advanced, given that this is nothing like Arthur has ever seen before.]

Of course, this could also be someone else's dream entirely.

[forging]

[ right, loose ends with cobol. he remembers the price on cobb's head back in mombasa. ]

Can never be too sure. There's quite a number of possibilities that we can come to with regards to this situation. However, It's most likely in relation to the Fischer job, given the selection of people involved.

[ it's not like eames trusts anyone. ]

You think there could have been a leak and this is Fischer-Marrow getting back at us?

[aloadeddie]

[Arthur scowls down into his coffee, trying to think.]

If there was a leak, I'm not going to be any help, given that I don't even remember finishing the job. Ariadne and Yusuf are the only ones on the team I haven't worked with before - Ariadne doesn't have the connections and I don't see why Yusuf would risk his double share to rat on us. I suppose Saito could be double-crossing us, but that's a lot of trouble and expense, even for him.

[If anything, his scowl deepens the more he thinks about this whole situation.] Remind me never to do inception again.

[forging]

[ raising an eyebrow. ]

Not to raise even more white flags but you need to consider that a possibility, given that neither of them are here. I understand where Yusuf's coming from, from a swindler's perspective - say, if he put out a leak for that sort of information. That's an ample opportunity for a profit. Saito could have slipped after the job. God knows.

[ he gives a somewhat cheeky smile at arthur's exasperated expression. This situation is massively fucked up and god knows Eames will probably be tired of it once the novelty of it all wears off. ]

Shame though, I was really hoping this one would take.

[ and because eames has the inability to just let things sit, he quickly adds: ]

Alright. I don't suppose - you've devised a game plan to get us out of this?

[aloadeddie]

I'm not ruling them out completely, it's just inconsistent with what I know of them. Yusuf likes money, sure, but he's also risk-averse. Saito's probably the most likely at this point.

[Arthur never honestly believed they would manage inception, but he's willing to admit to himself that he was hoping, at least. For Cobb's sake, even though the guy can be a total manipulative bastard.

He's still a friend, after all.]

I have no game plan, right now. I don't have enough information about what's going on. If I don't even know what compound is being used, who the dreamer is, I can't know how to wake us up. Not without risking us being trapped here for even longer, or worse.

[forging]

Well, if you and Cobb managed a little tour of his head before hand - what's to say someone else didn't? I'm pretty sure this sort of thing would have taken priority over Proculus' other dirty laundry. Or Saito could be scheming to take us out of the game. Either, or.

[ now he's theorizing. eames is a little more paranoid and skeptical then he'll ever let on. god knows, eames keeps people at an arms length for a reason. ]

You've tried anything else out of the elegant solution of shooting yourself in the head?

[aloadeddie]

From what I know, Saito is all about efficiency. I suppose he could have a sadistic streak that might push him to want to do something this elaborate, but he's never struck me as the type.

[Arthur doesn't blame him for it, God knows he's been called paranoid more than a few times. It comes with the territory.]

There was an earthquake - turtle quake? A while back. Not big enough to be a kick. I'm out of options for waking up at the moment. [He pauses, then sips at his coffee.] I have a PASIV, but only a very limited Somnacin supply. I'm keeping my eyes open for a chemist.

[forging]

He just paid us to sabotage a conglomerate. I wouldn't put it past him.

[ dear arthur, i am sorry you have to deal with my absolute and utter lack of trust issues. xoxo, eames. ]

You don't actually believe this dreamscape is built on a turtle? [ and the look he shoots arthur is a distinct expression of: arthur, really? ]

Are you going to risk it? I'd wager going a level deeper would stretch the feeling of time even further, and we've yet to determine how badly a normal five minute dream on the surface could be here.

[aloadeddie]

To get a bigger market share. There's a difference between wanting to watch people suffer because you enjoy it and doing corporate espionage to increase your profit margins.

[Arthur says that with the tone of a man who is intimately familiar with people who belong to both groups.]

Have you been to see the shell? It's all over the place, especially when you get outside the city. And you weren't here when the whole thing took a dive. I mean, it literally dived to the bottom of the ocean. Don't ask me how, hell if I know. Even for a dream that's damn weird.

Anyway, it's my job to take calculated risks. I haven't tried going under yet, but I will, once I've done a full assessment and found a reliable chemist.

[forging]

So you think this whole set up is the work of a sadist rather than someone aiming for profit margins?

[ eames has conned both groups. but he knows the price of doing a neat job. ]

Not yet. I've been nursing the post-arrival hang over, but save from that - I wouldn't say no to a tour. Took a dive, you say?

[aloadeddie]

My point is, there would be easier ways to use us to get more money. So - I'd say chances are whoever is behind this is doing it for fun as much as profit.

[He shrugs a little.] It took a dive. It went under water, there was some kind of... magical forcefield or something. It was dark for days.

[forging]

[ see he's asked costigan to name a few incidents that were suspicious, to someone who really believed that they were on the turtle - the sort of act -- the concept of 'diving' wouldn't be so farfetched. ]

Then it does beg the question what is our host's connection to either Proculus or Fischer Marrow and why are we targeted in specific?

[ a beat. ]

How did the Architect shift the setting of the dream without the projections reacting violently?

[aloadeddie]

Those are all very good questions. [Arthur sighs and glances around.] Unfortunately, I have no idea where to even start - I can't tell who is a projection and who isn't. I mean, the kedan are pretty obvious, but could a good enough forger do something like that?

[forging]

If you can build a city, why can't you construct a few beasts? I've never personally tried it myself. Forging into something outside of the human template would require a more creative look at anatomical structures. Then there's this whole slew of motivations that don't exactly apply with human psychological constructs.

[ he just sort of really likes impressing arthur, it's a thing. bloody show off. ]

A few talented forgers could try to convince the subconscious of a norm. It's a very subtle art.

[aloadeddie]

I'd be much more interested in the science behind it, frankly. [Yep, he's scowling a little. Eames always likes to pull that crap on him, just because he's not as much the creative type. ANNOYING.]