Inception - Mind over matter

No Such Place

Tiffany opened her eyes to a frantic Eames. He held her in his arms, rocking her like a child. She sucked in a huge breath like she had come back from the dead. She felt the tears on her face and frowned.

After her breathing returned to normal, she looked up at Eames and asked,

"How long?"

"Just a few minutes," he replied, strained. "Do you remember anything?"

Tiffany tried to grapple with the smoky images in her mind, black and white, but they were gone. She gave a little shake of her head, "Just pain."

Eames covered his disappointment with a sympathetic smile, "Come on, let's go get a warm drink."

----

Tiffany scribbled away in her notebook. She didn't notice the man in a grey shirt walk in, or the way his eyes quickly slid over her. This was how she dealt with the world; by pretending it didn't exist and inventing new ones. A cold drink of orange juice and lemonade sat on her table untouched, despite the stifling heat.

A man pushed past, knocking her chair. Her hand flew to her belt by reflex, where the hilt of her knife was. But the man continued past her to the bar. Tiffany huffed and slammed down her pen. 

Darn it. He'd broken her concentration.

The disgusting sweaty and boozy smells of the bar came back to her, along with a loud hum of voices. Her eyes automatically searched for Eames; today he wore a rusty red shirt, which did not help her pick him out in the dim lighting and brown décor.

This bar was a scummy place to be. Even this early in the day it was packed. What was wrong with people?

Eames stood by the pool table, no doubt he had money on some game. He'd combed his hair to the side in an attempt to look smart. He looked up and caught Tiffany's eye. He winked, then motioned for her to join him.

She rolled her eyes. She carefully shuffled her notes into a shimmering notebook and snapped the magnetic cover shut. 

Her toes curled in her purple converse. If she had been in another reality her golden waves of hair would have scrunched into tight curls too. But this was no such place, so she just tucked it behind her ears and followed Eames to the balcony.

The man in the grey shirt got to his feet and opened his arms.

"Dom!" she cried, forgetting her irritation. She threw her arms around him. He was well built, but he was like hugging a marshmallow.

"Hey Tiffany, look at you!"

Eames cleared his throat.

"What, do you have different names here?" asked Dom.

"It's just a bit too public for names right now," Eames replied, constantly surveying the bar, "So anyway, what's this about?"

"Inception."

The word hung in the air for a moment.

"Now, before you tell me it's impossible-"

"Oh it's totally possible," Eames interrupted.

"You've done it?"

"We tried it, but the idea didn't take."

"Did you go deep enough?"

Eames twizzled the straw of his drink, "It's not just about depth, it's a very complex art,"

"Arthur thinks-"

"Still working with that stick in the mud?"

"He's good at what he does."

"Oh he's the best, but he lacks imagination. You need imagination for a job like this."

Dom pondered this for a moment.

Tiffany turned her back to them, put on her red-rimmed shades and looked out over the balcony. The busy streets of Mombasa bustled along below. Her attention remained on the two men, knowing she was going to be dragged into this eventually.

"Do you have a chemist yet? There's a man here, Yusuf, I can take you to meet him."

"Great, when is he available?"

"First," said Eames, gesturing to the bar, "You need to lose your tail."
Tiffany's heart jumped, but she didn't look round.

Dom dropped his voice, "Is the price on my head dead or alive?"

"No idea," said Eames, matter-of-factly, "Start running. See if they start shooting."

Tiffany smirked. Typical Eames.

"Meet you back here? They'll never suspect it."

"Sure. Tiffany, stay put a sec darling,"

She raised her drink in acknowledgement and stepped away from the balcony, shrinking into the shadow.

Dom climbed onto the balcony and leapt to the street below. Eames walked back to the bar, but his distraction clearly didn't work, as the two men rushed past and jumped after Dom.

Tiffany sighed. How nice it must be for normal people, not having to worry about tails and using real names in public places.