Inception - Hollingsworth Job

Rina

Rina smiled at him weakly, sitting next to him. "I understand that, I have my family here too and trust me, even I am a nurse here, I was not allowed to go in there. When my father suddenly showed sign that he was about to leave my family... It frustrated me so much..."

Her voice had sign of emotion, it was clear to Mercier that she went through such incident, and it disturbed her very much. The nurse stared at the water, then she continued.

"Then another nurse came up to me, giving me a cup of water. Telling me to relax, just like you, I tried to get her away from me. But, then you know, she told me I had to keep myself together... There were others i had to live for. Don't you have one?"

She again gave the cup of water to him, "It won't change the situation you are in, but you know, keep yourself collected. For the others you have to live for."

Said Rina, giving Mercier a warm smile.

Mercier looked at the nurse, then down at the cup of water. It wasn't that he felt no sympathy toward her circumstances, but, at the moment, it rather eclipsed by his own misery. So, if nothing else but to make her go away as quickly as possible, he downed the glass of water and handed it back.

"Thank you," he said mechanically, turning away from her toward the room where his mother was. It didn't sound good. He couldn't hear the frantic commands of the doctor or the beeping of the instruments. In fact, he couldn't hear anything.

This was terribly alarming, but only for an instant. The moment he tried to get to his feet, he slumped back against the chair, his brain fighting to remain conscious. In another moment, it was over.

Elliot peered from around the corner, then retrieved a PASIV from a laundry bin next to him and waved it at Rina. They were ready for the next level.

John stuck his head out of the door long enough to check Mercier's condition, but seeing the man slumped over, he quickly returned his attention back to Sofie. The sedative would only last another minute or so. He needed to get her on her way out. "Have you recorded the time of death?" He asked the nurses, and upon receiving an affirmative nod, John draped a sheet over Sofie's face.

"I'll take her down to the morgue then." John peeled away any remaining tubes and lines attached to the bed and pushed it into the hallway. He flipped out his pocket watch and glanced at the time. Should be about thirty seconds left...

He turned off into a supply room, where the unused beds were kept and pulled the sheet back before sitting down beside the still unconscious Sofie.

Ten seconds... Five...

John planted his palm over her stomach to keep her from jerking upward when she woke. During the trial runs of this drug, she'd had a violent heaving reaction half the times she woke from it, and they couldn't afford her being injured at this point in the game. Of course, she might also just wake up and be pissed off at the contact... Better safe than sorry.

Rina

Rina nodded at the chemist, it was time to enter the second layer. As Rina about to get the mark move to the next location, she saw John checking out the mark's condition; John was going to make his move as well.

Rina quickly took the wheel chair nearby, letting the Mercier slipped into the comfortable position. She covered his body with thin blanket, so that he would not be seen as wearing 'normal clothing. She gave another nod to Elliot, letting him to lead the way to the next location where they would travel to second layer.

[OOC: Illya, you can move Rina to the next location where they would go into the next layer]

Sofie jerked awake, gasping in surprise. John's hand was there to steady her, which she felt grateful for once she got her bearings back. Of course, she would never admit that to him.

"Do you normally grope old ladies?" she asked, a bit breathless, as she brushed his hand away. She took a few moments to gather herself, then sat up and shed the form of the old woman.

"Much better," she sighed, running a hand through her long, silky tresses and tosses them with careless glamor over her shoulder. "On to business then?"

She let John lead the way to the private room. Mercier had been wheeled there covertly, and Rina, Michael, and Elliot were already there and waiting.

"Good luck," Elliot said, smiling reassuringly as they gathered around the PASIV to strap in. Once everyone was ready, he waited for the nod from John, then pushed the button.

[OOC: Payne, you can start the next layer then.]

"I hate being this far away from the action." John complained as he peered through his binoculars.

"Deal with it." Michael shot back at him from the next window over in the abandoned apartment. "Since the security in this layer is minimal, you have to stay out of the way. The building across the street is the closest you can get."

John rolled his eyes, but be didn't complain again. Across the street, Mercier sat at a small table, sipping an espresso. "Let's just hope this meeting goes well..."

Sofie took a deep breath and inspected herself in the mirror. So far, so good. This was her show, so she had to make it convincing.

Smoothing out her dress, Sofie exited the bathroom of the café and strode in Lana Hollingsworth's gait - clipped, but a slight sway - to where the Mark was awaiting.

"Sorry, the powder room was occupied," she said apologetically, smiling as she took her seat. "Ah, they got the drinks then?"

"Right there," Mercier said, returning her smile as he indicated her cup. After a moment, however, it faded slightly as he set his espresso down.

"Lana, I wanted to talk with you about something," he began. Sofie gave a concerned look and leaned forward attentively, head tilted slightly. Idly, she wondered where the others were watching from at the moment, waiting for the right moment.

--------------------

Back on the first level, Elliot closed the door to the room holding the others, taking a deep breath. Well, they were on the two-thirds stretch now. With any luck, they'd be back before the projections started getting rowdy.

Still, it would be good for him to start moving. He could react - how well exactly was debatable. The others, however, were sitting ducks. He had to keep them safe.

Keeping Michael's directions in mind, Elliot set off down the hall, hoping the scrubs made him blend in.

[OOC: Hey, Payne, I don't think you really specified what I'm supposed to do on this level.]

Rina

Rina was with a suit case, in a clothing of usual tourist. She was away from the mark and their forger, but was close enough to see them. She was wearing her sunglasses to cover her eye movements; she had to follow Sofie and Mercier to the next location.

Rina took another gentle slip of her coffee, and then she looked at her wrist watch. They had still some time... if all this go as they planned.

"Looks like it's showtime." Michael said, not putting down his binoculars.

"Yeah. This is where we see what Sofie can really do." John responded, also glued to his binoculars to observe the scene across the street.

"You sound tense." Michael turned to look at the man, raising a questioning eyebrow.

"Are you sure you want to try and psychoanalyze a psychologist?" John asked without looking at him.

Michael rolled his eyes. "Why not? It's not like you and I are doing anything else."

"We're working." John responded.

"And I'm bored..." Michael shot back.

"Well, get un-bored..."

[OOC: Mainly, we need to plant a code to open the vault on the last level. If you think it will do any good, you can also try to influence Mercier's view of Lana. Not sure what you might want to do with that.]

Sofie watched as Mercier took her hand, his thumb dragging along her finger until it brushed her wedding ring.

"I know your father wasn't - isn't - particularly keen on our marriage."

"Oh, Gerard."

'"It's all right, my love. I understand. And I know you wanted to settle things with him first before we did anything definite, but..."

He hesitated, looking her directly in the eyes. He had such a keen, intense passion about him that Sofie wasn't sure if it was acting when she leaned forward in anticipation.

"Yes?"

"I think we should set a date for the wedding," he said. "I love you, Lana, and I want to see our future together as a solid, tangible thing."

Sofie clapped her hands to her mouth, forcing tears into her eyes.

"Oh, Gerard. Yes, yes. We should."

She removed her hands, smiling sweetly at him.

"What date? You pick it. First one that pops into your head," she said excitedly. Gerard blinked, then looked around.

"Uh... September... the 14th," he decided, smiling. "Why the spontaneity?"

09142015. They had their code.

"Planning is my father's thing," she said, sighing. "I want to act on feeling."

Giving an excited giggle, she got to her feet, tossing her long red hair over her shoulder as she moved over to him, throwing her arms around his neck. As she did so, she 'accidentally' knocked his coffee onto his lap.

"Oh, dear, I'm so sorry!" she gasped, retracting her arms as he gave a start at the hot splash. She helped him up, dabbing at his pants with a napkin.

"You'd better go to the bathroom and get that cleaned up," she said, looking apologetic. Gerard sighed, then gave her a sweet kiss.

"I'd stain every pair of pants I own if it meant being as happy as I am now," he said, smiling. Sofie pulled him into another kiss, then shooed him playfully to the bathroom.

Her other teammates watching should know the move to make, but in case it wasn't already clear, she picked up her napkin and clearly shook it out. The signal to move in.

Mercier would be ambushed in the bathroom, then taken to an empty backroom to do the final dive. The end was in sight.

"You're on, kid." John muttered.

Michael cast a brief, withering look in the man's direction before sitting aside his binoculars. With an unhurried gait, he made his way down the hall and towards the stairs. It was one thing to be called a young man, but kid was taking it a bit far. Wasn't it? Michael frowned, reflecting on it as he walked. Maybe an outside opinion was needed...

He stepped into the men's room and glanced at the man valiantly trying to scrub a coffee stain out of his pants. The Mark didn't seem to acknowledge Michael's presence for several silent seconds, but then, as if feeling the stare pointed in his direction, Mercier looked up.

"Do you think I'm a kid?" Michael deadpanned. Waiting only long enough to see the answer in the man's eyes, Michael raised a can of what looked like pepper spray and hosed Mercier's face with it. The effects of the aerosol sedative were instant, and Michael made no effort to break the man's fall when he tumbled to the bathroom floor.

"Asshole..." He was totally going to say yes.

Rina looked around, making sure she was not spotted; Rina entered the man's bathroom and there she saw Michael with fallen Mercier.

Rina quickly opened the suit case that she had; it had the sign of 'out of order' which she passed Michael to put it outside, and the device that would lead Rina and Sofie to the last layer of the job.

"Ready?" Rina asked Sofie as she handed the forger another line of the device. Then Rina gave a warm smile to Michael, "Keep us safe, young man."

With that she and Sofie head out to the last layer of the job.


Rina entered the last layer as the waitress of the show, passing the drinks to the subconscious and waiting for the opportunity to pick up the glass that Mercier had so that she could get the print from the glass.

She whispered to the private channel which Rina and Sofie should be sharing for this mission. "So far, so good... I never had this easy job before... what's your take in this?" she asked Sofie casually as they were no longer around the others.

"I'm so proud of you," Lana Hollingsworth whispered, placing a tender kiss on her fiancé's cheek. "Your work is beautiful."

Mercier smiled, taking her hand and pressing it to his lips.

"My work is pale and bleak next to you. I am eternally jealous of the fingers that divinely crafted you."

Lana blushed and smiled, her eyes gazing intently into it. Mercier took a last sip from his glass, then smiled as he held it out for the nearest attendant to take.

"Let me show you my favorite one," he said, leading her away.

--------------------

With Mercier's subconscious now bringing in his own Lana, Sofie was free to move about. Dressed as a security guard, she lurked around the basement corridor, making sure that they wouldn't be disturbed.

"Yeah, it's going unusually smoothly," she said. Well, with any luck, it would be over soon. She wondered how the others were faring. She hadn't even seen John on the second level...

Rina

The moment Rina saw Mercier finished with his drink, she moved into the position to take the glass from Mercier.

She just needed to take the cup and get the print.

It was not hard though, the moment she took the glass, she quickly moved into the blind spot of the camera. With little help from subconscious of the mark she went through smoothly to the elevator that could lead her to the vault.

Rina quickly looked at the wine glass that she got it from Mercier then gently took out flashed out UV Light that she had all this time, and without problems, it revealed Mercier's fingerprints. She quickly took out a special tape to lift the finger print from the wine glass and implanted it nicely to her own thumb.

Rina put down the wine glass gently to the floor of elevator which was heading down to the vault. 'Lifting finger print is too easy...' She thought, then she contacted her partner. "I am heading to the vault, wish me luck." Rina said cheerfully and she took off waitress clothing revealing tight latex clothing.

Everything should go alright... Well she was hoping it would.

"Good luck. I'll stand by."

Sofie unlocked the security room and observed the monitors, finding the one where Rina was passing. Sighing, she sat down in the chair and waited patiently. If all went well, this would be over soon.

Then she could be on her way again.

She would miss Rina, though she felt sure they'd cross paths again. Actually, they might all cross paths. Once you networked with someone, it was better to keep within the contacts you knew, rather than risking new ones.

But John... she doubted he would ever want to work with her again. That was probably for the best.

Rina

Rina nodded as she heard Sofie's confirmation; Rina tied her hair high and put face covering mask to hold her hair. She gracefully left the elevator, putting everything to the side.

Remembering that there would be a laser grid, Rina spray it to reveal itself to her. Rina blushed little as the grid looked like a shape of a name she knew.

"Talk about annoying man..." She commented, curling her lips. She carefully mapped it where lasers were connected and where she had to go over in order to reach the vault.

When the mapping was complete, Rina's fit and flexible body did not take long to bypass the laser grid to reach the vault.

Rina looked back at the laser grid she just bypassed, and shook her head. Han wasn't even her type, why is she thinking about him? She gave out quiet sighing, she put forward with the thumb print that was successfully merged with the mark's print and keyed in 09142015.

"I am in" Said Rina, "I will let you know when I am done." Waiting for the vault to reveal Mercier's secret.

The vault gave an audible confirmation of the code before a loud sound of mechanical locks echoed throughout the hallway. The door slid aside slowly aside. At first, it was difficult to figure out what was inside. After a moment, however, it became obvious that it was a man hunched inside. He appeared to have been asleep until the sound of the door awoke him. He stirred, raising his head to look up at her.

Mercier's eyes narrowed.

"This is a surprise. What are you doing inside here?" he asked, edging his way out of the vault to stand up. He stretched, sighing like someone who hadn't been outside in many years. He looked around the area, a most unfamiliar smile tugging at his lips.

"It is good to be out again."

--------------------

Sofie stared at the monitors, her attention riveted on the screen. Her eyes moved back and forth between the image of Mercier, standing arm in arm with his lovely fiancé, and Mercier, eyeing Rina with predatory interest.

"Rina... what the hell is going on?"

--------------------

Upstairs, the guests in the party had suddenly stopped. The loud buzz of indistinct conversation ceased with unnatural abruptness, causing Mercier to look about in confusion.

"What's going on?" he murmured to Lana. But she too was staring at him with blank, cold eyes. Mercier took a step back, feeling the weight of the entire party's gaze on him like a lead weight.

Was he awake? It felt like he'd just slipped into a nightmare.

Rina

"Who are you?"

Asked Rina; Rina could hear the panic voice of Sofie, but Rina was rather calm. She was once a psychology major and there was only one possibility that could explain such phenomenon. Split personality, but this was her first time... First time facing a target that had split personality.

She needed his name, Mercier might not even his name; Rina eyes were fixed at him, then she removed her mask, revealing her pretty face.

May be awakening this personality might make their job easier... Giving full reason for the girl to leave him. Or make him leave her.... coldly...

But what if that would lead her to commit suicide....?

"Oh where are my manners, name is Alex. So yours?" She smiled, and before anything could happen, she quickly block second Mercier's way. They needed more time.

As Sofie watched the monitor, things began to piece together slowly.

Another self, locked deep inside the subconscious.

A split personality.

Slowly, Sofie stood up. Her body seemed to be reacting faster than her mind could keep up. Before she knew it, she was hurrying back up the passage toward the stairs. She had to get to the party and grab Mercier. If she didn't, things were going to get ugly.

--------------------

Rina's question was rewarded with an amused smile.

"Yes, I guess it would be confusing if we went around with the same name," he said. "You can call me Jacque."

Jacque looked past Rina down the passage, then back to her.

"I know we're in his head," he said quietly. "Which begs the question, 'What are you doing in here?'"

A gun was suddenly in his hand, the tip pressed to Rina's forehead.

"You aren't the first girl I've killed, Rina," he said, smirking. "And if I have any say in it, you won't be the last. Now, tell me, why are you in here?"

--------------------

Gerard backed away, startled by the focus of every guest in the party. He didn't know what to say or do.

He was spared the decision, however, by the sound of the fire alarms and the bursting of sprinklers overhead. The guests all began to shout and move frantically about. In the ensuing chaos, Gerard found his arm seized and pulled toward the staircase.

"Come on," Sofie said, dragging him toward the second floor. "We need to get you out of here."

They needed to get out of this layer. With Mercier sedated, there was only one way to do that without sending him into Limbo - a kick, and a big one at that.

Rina

Rina smiled at Jacque, even though, the gun was pointing at her forehead, she did not show any fear.

"Well, here's a funny thought." Said Rina, still smiling warmly. "What if I tell you that I am here to help you to take your body back." She gently ran her backhand on Jacque's well fitted chest and there was a silent click.

There was a mild push of mini gun to Jacque's chest; a hidden weapon that Rina had been carrying all this time. It was meant to use to wake herself up from the dream. She was not the sedated one, so it wouldn't matter... However, that was the procedure that she had to take after Sofie woke Mercier.

Interestingly, that became even more evident that it should be the procedure... A procedure that must happen.

"Well, if you kill me, I will just disappear. But if I kill you, you might be lost forever." She added softly, "You know why?" Said Rina with sweet voice of hers, yet she had beautiful devilish grin, "The other personality been drugged."

She stared at Jacque's eyes as if a lover would stare into another's eyes.

"But I am here to help you to find a place.... A place to give you a strong 'kick'... To reclaim what was yours."

Then she put away her mini gun from his chest, "Do you know who made me?" A pause, a pause for Jacque to absorb all the information and to interpret what she said to him. It was also a pause for him to think about the question she had asked. "You."

Will such tactic work? She was betting it on 50% chance that it might.... If it not, she had to pray Sofie find the place for a kick in time for Mercier or else this dream space will collapse.

Jacque narrowed his eyes at Rina, deciding whether he believed her or not. It was possible, though unlikely. For now, however, it would be prudent to go along with things.

"Very well," he said, lowering his gun. "Take me."

--------------------

Sofie hurried up the stairs to the upper landing, taking a moment to glance down at the projections below. The distraction had worked, but only temporarily. The presence of two Merciers was too great a distortion to ignore.

The projections began to surge forward like a mob toward the stairs. Sofie redoubled her efforts, pulling Mercier with her to the elevator at the end of the hall. With tremendous luck, it was sitting waiting for them, and they only just got the doors shut before the pounding of fists against the metal began to echo through the elevator shaft.

Gerard, who seem to have finally recovered his voice, stared wildly at her.

"What the HELL is going on?" he demanded. Sofie sighed, wondering what story would be best to feed him while they rode up to the top. Hopefully, Rina would have a shortcut to access the roof and lose the alternate Mercier. Otherwise... well, she needed to focus on one thing at a time.

The door finally clambered open. To Sofie's chagrin, they were still inside the building.

"Why the hell doesn't this thing go all the way to the top?" she complained, grabbing Mercier and taking off for the stairs once more. Like the sound of roaring ocean waves, the projections were swarming their way up. Sofie and Gerard made it up the stairs and bolted the access door, jumping back as the loud hammering of fists rang through the night air.

Unfortunately, the projections weren't Sofie's only concerns. She only just had time to whip around at the feeling of a hand at her waist to find her gun pointed at her by Gerard.

"I want answers," he said, his voice shaking. "And I want them now."

Rina

Rina gave a smile at Jacque, and her small face with tempting lips came very close to his; it stopped before anything happens though, and she quickly turned around, glancing at Jacque. "Oh, my. I don't know with what purpose you have created me, but that second part of my nature could wait." She said teasingly, she looked at elevator right ahead.

The laser grid looked disabled as if it was inviting them to take the elevator... However, Rina knew that such setting doesn't happen often. It was practically asking this alternative Mercier to be the one to wake up first. But their original plan was not like that, and Rina knew she had to delay him long as possible.

She gave out clicking sound of her tongue, "I have to say, your other half isn't naive as he looks... he set-up a trap for us." Said Rina glancing back at Jacque with sweet eyes of hers. "We could take the staircase, which would lead to the very next floor or we could bet our luck on that elevator..." She pointed at the elevator that she came out from, which of course, Jacque isn't aware of... "I don't know how far it would take us, but I have a feeling its a trap... some of your other half subconscious could be waiting for us. To put you back into sleep."

Yes, letting Jacque to make his own choice, that was one of the tactic to delay him. Act like a guide instead of leading him to actual direction. He would give careful thought about how he want to proceed. "So? What's your choice?" She asked sweetly, and with little urgency to show that she wanted him to make the choice as she was, at the moment, just a subconscious created not long ago by him.

Delaying was not an option. Jacque was a risk-taker by nature, anyway. He moved toward the elevator in front of them, forcing Rina ahead.

"Let's go. I have an appointment to keep," he said, punching the button for the top floor. A quick observation showed him that it didn't reach the roof itself, but this was his world. He could easily rectify that.

--------------------

"You're dreaming."

Gerard stared at Sofie, then over at the door behind which tumultuous rioting could be heard.

Well, it made sense. More sense than this being real.

"I don't remember-" he began, but felt foolish. Sofie seemed to know what he was thinking.

"We never do remember sleeping. We always just sort of... appear in the middle of things," she said. Yes, Gerard struggled to think, but he couldn't even remember how they'd gotten to the gala that evening.

They... Lana...

She was down there, with that insane mob. She'd looked at him like they had, with dead, vicious eyes.

"Wake me up," he said earnestly. "Please."

Sofie nodded.

"I will. But first, there's some things you need to know. You created me, a part of your subconscious, to protect you. Protect you from something you hid down here."

Gerard shook his head, looking puzzled.

"I don't understand. I don't have anything to hide."

The sound of an elevator chime startled them. It was impossible. The elevators didn't reach the roof.

They turned and saw an elevator shaft emerging from the corner of the roof. Out of it stepped Rina, followed by another Mercier.

"What is this?" Gerard asked, staring transfixed at his doppelganger. Jacque merely smiled, eyeing the other three on the roof. Too many spectators.

There was a gunshot, and Rina collapsed to the ground. Sofie gave a start, shocked by the sudden move. She forced Gerard back, edging him toward the roof ledge as she tried to assure herself that it wasn't truly Rina. That she would be rising to the upper level any moment.

"We have so much catching up to do," Jacque said eagerly.

"What the hell are you?" Gerard demanded, taking a step back as Sofie nudged him with her arm.

"I'm you. Well, the you that got trapped down here. The real you."

"Real me?" Gerard said, shaking his head. "You're insane."

"Well, we're insane," Jacque corrected. "And quite content with it too, till she came along."

Gerard shook his head, uncomprehendingly.

"Lana," Jacque said distastefully. "Just another pretty face to snuff out. But you went and fell in love with her. You wanted to be a 'better man' for her. So you got rid of every trace of me. Wiped me so completely even the memory of me was gone. That's just cold."

Jacque smiled, advancing on him and Sofie with gun in hand.

"So, we're going to see how you like it trapped down here. I won't put you away completely. I'll let you stay away so you can watch me kill her. Then I'll get rid of that dead weight of a mother of ours."

[OOC: You don't have to have had Rina die right away. Probably better if she hears some of it. You can even try to get off a shot or something if you want.]

Rina

Thank goodness, the idiot did not know how actually kick works...

That was the only thought that Rina had as she was still awake; Rina knew Jacque should not be trusted, and even though she acted like she completely trusted him, it was an act of bait for him to shoot her.

Well, it worked like a charm, and thankfully he did not shoot her pretty face. If he did, she would have dodged it as the moment she heard the raise of his arm, she quickly let her pretty face drop to the floor. Well it would not have made her completely dodge the bullet though... it will scratch her head leaving some wounds... In any case, the guy thought that one shot would kill her, and he ignorantly thought so...

Were all guys this ignorant? That was the question in Rina's mind, but it could be answered later. As for now, Rina had to pretend to be dead and make a jump on Jacque to prevent him from taking over the body of Mercier's.

She could only hope Sofie do what must be done to wake Mercier; they had to jump from the roof...

Ever slowly, Rina gently stood up from where she once pretended dead, Jacque was going to get a good downward round house kick on his face; she would have done from his back, so it would be not easy for Jacque to see it coming. If it successfully connects, it would hard for Jacque to be in the shape of responding to what she did to him as it would knock out any normal human.

Those hateful words seemed to light a fire within. Gerard felt, for the first time, that he might have been capable of murder.

But was it for the first time?

It was a dream. He knew that much. Jacque might only be a figment of imagination. But if there was any merit to his words...

And then Rina rose.

Rina's move might have been full proof. Sofie had enough self-control to mask her surprise at Rina's sudden resurrection. However, she had not planned on the confused flicker of Gerard's eyes over to her. Jacque, already on edge with adrenaline, picked up on the move almost instantly.

The kick landed against his shoulder as he swiveled, knocking him to the ground. The momentary distraction gave Sofie the second she needed. Planting a hand firmly in his chest, Sofie gave Gerard a powerful shove, sending him toppling over the ledge of the building. He didn't plummet for long, however. As if by magic, he suddenly vanished into thin air.

"Rina, come on!" Sofie called as a strange thunderous noise began to echo all around. The sky seemed to be fraying at the edges, as though the world were being pulled apart into pieces. Sofie pulled out her gun and shot toward Jacque, who had stood and tried to get his own gun to shoot Rina.

Hoping that Rina had a sufficient opening to run, Sofie tossed herself over the edge to follow after Mercier.

[OOC: Don't worry about trying to kill Jacque. Just get out of there.]