Inception - Hollingsworth Job

Rina

The moment Sofie called Rina's name, Rina was on the way to the edgy of the roof as well; the shot fired from Sofie gave enough time for Rina to search the strength in her legs to make a huge jump.

Without hesitation, Rina made her fall. She was in the mid air, closed her eyes. The secret of Mercier was revealed, and now it was clear to her what to do.

She had to find the Jacque in reality, she was sure that would be enough to bring the relationship to an end.

Jacque got to his feet, watching as the others escaped off the edge of the building. He hurried over to the ledge, staring downward into oblivion as the dream space began to collapse.

"You won't escape me that easily," he muttered. He climbed onto the ledge, then threw himself down after them.

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

Sofie awoke just as Mercier began to stir feebly. She quickly grabbed Rina and helped her out of the bathroom as she began to come around herself.

"Get to John and tell him what happened," she told Rina as Michael hurried over to them, eyes questioning. "I'll see what the damage is."

Still assuming Lana's form, Sofie hurriedly tore off the Out of Order sign on the bathroom and hurried in.

"Gerard?" she asked, doing her best to keep in character despite her nerves. "Darling, I was getting worried."

Mercier had gotten to his feet, clutching his head as though it might burst. He staggered to the sink and leaned heavily on it, gasping in pain.

Now she really was worried. Sofie moved over to the Mark, reaching out for him, when he suddenly looked up, staring at his reflection. The face looking back was identical to his, but the expression entirely different.

"Surprise," Jacque laughed, reaching out through the mirror to grasp at his throat.

Sofie gave a cry of surprise and jumped back as the two toppled to the ground, Jacque on top of Gerard with mercilessly strong hands on the latter's throat. At the sound of Sofie's scream - or Lana's, rather - Jacque looked up with malevolent glee.

"Lana, ru-!" Gerard tried to say, but Jacque gave him a blow across the face and stood, lunging for Sofie. She tried to conjure a gun or some weapon, but the surprise at seeing the alter ego manifest up this layer had dulled her reaction times. He gave her a disarming blow to the diaphragm, winding her, then snatched her up and hauled her out of the bathroom.

Gerard, pulse pounding with fear, anger, and dismay, forced himself to his feet and clambered after them.

"John's in the apartment across the street." Michael said, grabbing Rina's hand to pull her along. "What happened that put that look on both of your faces?" He asked after an audible gulp.

As the two of them entered the building, John was already waiting for them in the hall. "You're early." His voice was icy, detached. "What went wrong?"

Rina

As Michael pulled her to meet the point man, she heard Sofie's scream, and saw two Mercier racing, one carrying Sofie and other trying to catch up to them. Rina could only make a comment, "That happened." to Michael.

Rina soon quickly took up the pace to enter the building with Michael to tell John, and there he was. He sounded detached, but she ignored it. Sofie was at risk, and their job was at risk.

"Jacque followed us, and Sofie is in trouble, we need to get her out of there..." Rina stopped, she realized that she sounded emotional.

She bite her lips, then opened it again, she had no time to pause too long. "Mercier had split personality disorder. We need to put Mercier's other personality, Jacque under our control. We need to lock him up in the layer. If he actually takes over the real body, Lana will be dead."

She tried her best to control the emotion that was surging inside her. She wanted to rush to Sofie's aid, but right now she had to act like an extractor. She had to state what would be the best course of action.

The corner of John's mouth twitched, the only physical sign that he'd heard what Rina said.

"So, wait." Michael looked confused. "Can't we just kill the bad one?"

"No." John interjected, cutting off the train of thought. "Multiple personalities are far more complex than that. If we kill off one of them, we could shatter Mercier's mind. I've had the misfortune of seeing it before..."

Michael paled at that. "How do we stop him then?" He asked.

"We don't. Mercier has to do that for himself. It's the only way to maintain his mental integrity." John frowned, clearly lost in thought.

"Well, we have to do something. He could kill Sofie!"

John flipped open his pocket watch and then stuffed it back into his coat. "Irrelevant... If he kills her, she just wakes up one layer back. We'll have to trust her to buy us some time before that though. What we need to do is setup two new dreamspaces, one for each personality. The first needs to be able to occupy the violent one for several hours at least, and the other, we'll need to use for intensive training."

John swallowed, looking somewhat green. "Rina, we're going to need you to intentionally militarize Mercier's mind so he can fight back..."

Acting was no longer necessary.

Sofie had gone quite limp in Jacque's arms, feelings of helplessness suddenly suffocating her. She felt herself being dragged outside the café and thrown helplessly into one of the chairs.

The area seemed strangely devoid of people now, though Sofie barely registered this fact. Jacque was crouching behind her, using her body as cover, his breath hot on the back of her neck. She shuddered.

"Don't you dare hurt her," Gerard growled, bursting through the door and stopping short at the sight of the gun pressed against the side of his fiancé's head.

This had to be another dream. There was no other way for two of him to be here. But even in a false reality, the idea of any harm coming to Lana was more than he could bear.

"I'm going to do more than that," Jacque hissed, forcing the nozzle painfully against Sofie's skull. The pain seemed to jolt her awake, and she desperately gathered her wits together.

"Killing me won't get you anything," she said quietly. "It'll just force a permanent schism between you."

Jacque said nothing, but she could feel the force of his gaze as intently as the gun he trained on her.

"Quite right," Jacque said, looking to Gerard. "You do it."

Gerard stared, dumbfounded.

"You can't be serious," he said, almost laughing despite how utterly without humor it all was.

"Oh, I am. You see, you think you're happy. But you're living a lie. And eventually, it's going to consume you. Don't you want to see the truth? Don't you want to become whole again?"

Rina

"Yeah, that sounds workable plan to me." Said Rina, confidently. "It wouldn't be my first time training person's mind."

Yes, she had trained someone's mind before... Someone who once really close to her... her ex....

"But seeing Jacque in first hand, Mercier needs more time and tougher training. I need sufficient time." Said Rina, she popped up her pocket watch, and then looked at the self-proclaimed genius architect. "Michael, you got this. Right?" She asked the architect.

Whatever the answer that architect, Rina will just go along with it; there was not much time if they want to save one of their own in time to see this job through.

"I can make it work." Michael said, frowning.

"Good." John responded. "In that case, you'd better pull together something quick. I doubt Sofie can keep them busy long, and what I have planned will only escalate things."

Turning towards the door, John was suddenly replaced by Mercier, who purposefully strode across the street.

"Talk about a rush job..." Michael complained. "Can you handle the dreamspace for Mercier?" He asked, turning to Rina. "I've got something I can use for Jacques, but the longer I have to tweak it, the longer I can make it last."

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"Define whole."

A third Mercier walked into the room, examining his fingernails, as if to say that neither of the other two in the room were important enough for his attention. John was lucky in the amount of prep there had been for this job. After his training session with Sofie, he'd finished getting Mercier's look right. The voice was still off by an octave, but considering the tension in the room, it was doubtful anyone would notice.

"The way I see it, you're both acting childish. I mean, seriously, how egocentric are we to appear three times in one dream?"

Rina

Rina smiled weakly at Michael, and she gave him a firm yet strong nod. "Yeah, I can do that. Like I said, this won't be the first I trained someone's mind."

Then Rina saw John turning into Mercier as well; it was now to follow the lead of John and bring each Mercier to different dream space for different purposes. One had to trained, one had to be trapped.

Hopefully Sofie and John could keep each other in good company as well....

Jacque, Gerard, and Sofie all turned in surprise at the place where a third Mercier had appeared.

Gerard was stunned into silence, but Jacque narrowed his eyes as his hand trembled, as though uncertain where to point his gun.

"Who the hell are you?" he demanded.

Sofie wondered that too, though only for a moment.

John.

It had to be. Rina must have gotten the message to him. As to what his plan was, she still hadn't a clue.

"I have to admit," Gerard said with surprising calmness, though it sounded as if his mouth were very dry. "I'm curious to know that as well."

He stabbed a finger in Jacque's direction.

"He thinks he's my murderous subconscious. I hate to think it can get any worse, but you might just surprise me."

A Cheshire smile slowly spread across John's face, but he didn't immediately respond to either of the Merciers. Instead, he placed his hand on the mirror running along the wall.

"Well, I hate to sound like the most egocentric of the group, but to properly acquaint you with all of ourselves, I suppose it's a necessary evil."

The floor lurched slightly, and the tiles took on a different color. One of the bathroom stalls swung open, revealing Mercier's head, larger than any of the three in the room.

"You see." The voice came from the mirror, where the larger Mercier now stood with either of the original two on his shoulders. "I am the whole, and the two of you are like the angel and devil on either of my shoulders."

In an instant, the bathroom has returned to its original state, and John, still smiling held open his arms, one towards each of the others. "What happens here is ultimately my decision, but as the opposing forces of my conscience, you're both welcome to argue your case."

"I do hope that we can keep it civil, but if it comes down to it, I'm not opposed to listening to the last man standing."

He was the whole?

Gerard shook his head. How could that be? He was real.

He might have been more assured of that fact before, but standing with two clones of himself and Lana held captive by one claiming to be a killer, nothing seemed real anymore.

"I don't know what the hell is going on," he said, looking between the two of them. "I don't know if any of this is real, or I'm real. But I know one: I love Lana Hollingsworth. And I'll do whatever it takes to get to her and keep her safe, even if I have to kill both of you."

He wasn't sure when he'd gotten the gun in his hand, but he now held it up with shaking fingers, alternating between John and Jacque. The latter seemed to have recovered from his shock and scoffed.

"You don't even know how to use that thing," he said. "I'm the one who retained that skill."

Yes, Gerard had neither the skill nor the stomach for it. But these were desperate times.

"Please, my love," Sofie said in a tremulous voice. She gasped as Jacque yanked her back by the hair, keeping her securely in place.

"I suppose if you really are the whole," Jacque said, ignoring Sofie's whimpers and looking at John. "then I should just go ahead and kill him and be done with it."

"I didn't realize we were this impatient." John grumbled, clapping his hands together loudly. In the moment that all attention turned to him, the bathroom stall doors swing open violently, knocking both Merciers and Sofie into the walls.

It was doubtful that would actually keep either of them down, but it served as an excellent distraction for John to disarm the situation. Reaching inside his coat, he pulled out a pistol, which clicked as a dart shot across the room and embedded itself in Jacques' leg. A moment later, a second dart hit Gerard in the chest, and John let out a long breath. "Well, that could have gone worse I suppose..." Left unsaid was the fact that it also could have gone much better.

"Make sure he's really out." John waved towards Jacques as he crossed to Gerard. "It's horse tranq, not one of the professor's miracle drugs."

Rina

When both Mercier knocked out, Rina quickly ran towards Sofie, checking out her status. Rina sighed in relief and gave her a tight hug. "Thank goodness, you are alright..." Said Rina with the smile of younger sister in relief to see her family member was alright.

Rina stood up confidently and gave a cold stare at the Jacque; if it was not for the job, she would have definitely fired a bullet, putting him in limbo. Then again, if she does that, it would just destroy Mercier... The other Mercier, Gerard need to do it himself if he wants to get that personality under control and do less damage to himself.

"I am ready to train Gerard." Rina said it confidently, giving the team a firm look.

Sofie felt relief flood through her, even if they weren't quite out of the woods yet.

Thanks to John's quick action, both Merciers were unconscious on the floor. Sofie got up, using the chair to support herself, as she didn't quite trust her legs yet.

"Well, I guess I know what to use next time you start irritating me," she said flippantly. Most people wouldn't have noticed, but someone as perceptive as John might see that she was trying to recover from her shock.

Forcing herself to stoop beside Jacque, she checked and found that he was quite unconscious, to her relief.

"All good," she said, looking over at John. "So, what's the plan?"

Rina entered, looking relieved, and Sofie offered her a smile. At the sound of training Mercier, she gave them both a puzzled look, then shrugged.

"Let's not waste time. Just tell me what I need to do."

John smirked in response to Sofie's barb. "Shoot me with horse tranq, and I will personally see that you find yourself signed up for a full spectrum of federally required anger management sessions."

Michael glanced between the two of them and shuddered. "You're both mental if you ask me." He grumbled as he pulled out a passiv machine, sticking Jacques with the needle.

"I can probably hold him for about ten hours." The Israeli said, this time speaking to Rina. "So, you'd better have one hell of a crash course ready."

"Would it be better or worse to send Sofie in as well?" John asked, frowning now.

"Are you kidding?" Michael raised a questioning eyebrow. "You just warped the dream space, twice, and in the presence of not one, but two consciences. You're gonna need all the help you can get to blend in after a stunt like that."

Rina

Rina nodded confidently, "It's enough." Then she had her device, ready to train Gerard's mind, then she shook her head as John suggested Sofie to be with her.

"Mr. David is right." Said Rina, "You probably need another person to back you up." She looked at fallen Gerard, she started setting up the device. "The moment Gerard gets his training done, it would be all out war..."

Rina was in position, "See ya all later."

[OOC: Illya, I will post the room after your post]

Sofie raised a brow at John, but didn't manage to say much, as Michael and Rina began to bustle about preparing things for the next stage.

What a royal mess this was turning out to be. She was going to give herself a whole shopping week in Paris after this.

She waited until Rina and Michael were both ready, then activated the PASIVs to put them under. Sighing, she stood and turned to John.

"So, what now?" she asked.

Rina

As Gerard opened his eyes, he would find himself in the room, with several reflection of himself. It looked like he was in some kind of mirror house.

Then, there was a whisper of young woman, "Do you really want to protect from Jacque? Or do you want him to take over your body and finish her off?"

Then one of the mirror showed reflection of Lana, or was it really her? But before he could actually identify it there was a gun shot.

Breaking Lana into pieces; it was just a reflection, then there Lana once again in other mirror. "Time is running out, Gerard. Decide now." the voice said coldly.

Then there was another gun shot, breaking the reflection of Lana, and there was a short scream. Lana was definitely inside the room, the scream told him that very well, but it also meant that Lana was not safe here.

"Now?" John asked, glancing in Sofie's direction. "We wait and try not to get ousted by projections..." He answered his own question as he rose to his feet and moved towards the door.

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

Michael sat amidst a crowd of kids, eyes all glued to the television screen. On the screen, Jacques stood in the middle of a hallway that seemed to stretch on forever in both directions. Faded numbers were displayed on the doors along either side, indicating that the hallway was either an apartment complex or a hotel. If Jacques attempted to open these doors, he would find all of them locked.

Ahead in the distance, one of the lights flickered erratically, as if the bulb were dying.

Michael smiled as Jacques kept walking, and the other children also seemed entranced by the spectacle on the screen. The numbers on the doors counted up slowly, at least until the light flickered a dozen times. Then, they started counting down instead. After another dozen flickers, the process reversed.

This was Michael's favorite warped space, his favorite game of logic. The number on the door beside Jacques read 107. Given the time it took the order to reverse, Jacques would never see any numbers below 99 or above 112 at his current speed.

Jacque stared down the hallway, his mind fuzzy. Where was he? What was he doing here?

His feet carried him slowly down the hallway as his mind attempted to piece things together. His eyes scanned the doors, watching the numbers ascend...

The light above flickered.

And the numbers began to descend.

Jacque stopped short, staring. He turned about, his mouth opening in confusion. He could have sworn...

He stared walking backwards, dimly aware of the feeble protests of the light above. It flickered again.

And the numbers ascended once again.

Jacque stopped short. He stayed quite still, his eyes moving up and down the corridor. Waiting.

The light flickered again. The numbers changed.

So that was it then.

He felt an impulse to suddenly smash the offending bulb, but he clamped down on it. No, he needed to use his brains here.

He began to walk slowly at his previous pace, judging things carefully. The lights flickered and reversed the numbers. He waited patiently.

Another flicker. Another change.

"Play games with me, will you?!"

Jacque suddenly took off in a sprint. He made it as far down as he could when an ominous buzz from the bulb came to his ears. He quickly yanked open the nearest door to his left and threw himself toward it.

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

Gerard stared around an unfamiliar room. Some sort of house of mirrors at a carnival, he surmised. Was this another dream? What was he doing here?

Suddenly, he heard a voice. Lana's scream. The shattering of a mirror.

Gerard felt his nerves fraying. He put his hands to his head, unsure if he were trying to block out the sounds or pull out his hair in frustration.

"Stop. Please!" he cried. "I'll do anything. Just stop this. I can't lose Lana. I can't..."

He fell to his knees, cradling his head between his legs.

Rina

Gerard.... he was truly in love with Lana... He was really in love with her...

.... But that was not enough..... he has to learn how to fight back.

"You want me to stop? Well, the only way I can stop.... Find me and stop me."

There was another gun shot, shattering of mirror and scream of Lana.

"Are you just going to watch helplessly and let me hunt Lana?"

It looked like he needed another motivation...

"Fine, I will hunt your mother too."

Then there was a reflection of Gerard mother... She was walking, very weakly.... then there was a gun shot, shattering it to pieces and the soft scream of his mother was heard...

"Fight back, if you want to save them." Said Rina, and she said it once more loud and firmly. "Fight back!"

If this goes well, his subconscious and himself would materialize weapons and start searching for her, and that's the cue for her to grab Gerard and toss him. Giving him the good kick to wake up and ready to fight Jacque.

Of course, she still need to see Gerard being able to fire shot at her properly though....

Michael fought down the urge to laugh as Jacques stumbled right back into the hallway he had just left from a door on the other side of it. Even the most complex mind could take hours to puzzle out the solution. None of the doors that Jacques could see would get him anywhere other than back to where he started. The only staircase was behind door 507, and even if Jacques found it, there were another half dozen of these floors waiting for him.

Jacque stumbled through the doorway, then froze.

No, impossible.

It bubbled up inside him like a broiling inferno. He suddenly whirled around, an axe in hand, and began to bash every door within reach in.

"You'd better hope I never find you," he whispered, teeth set.

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

"Stop it."

The voice was quite, but carrying. Commanding.

"Stop it!" he said, louder this time. He wasn't sure how it had happened, but a gun was in his hand. He pointed it about, his face a mask of eerie calm, though his eyes raged with a fierce fire.

"Don't make me do something I'll regret," he said, looking about. "Because if you touch either of them, I'll find you. And I swear, I'll kill you."

When had the man appeared beside him? And that other man? And that woman?

People seemed to be stepping out from nowhere beside him, armed and determined. He didn't stop to think if it would work. He simply ordered.

"Find them."

Rina

Rina smirked, seeing that training came to its fruition. Now it was for the final test.

Middle of nowhere, Rina appeared in front of Gerard; she was with Lana and Gerard's mother. Rina was holding her gun and pointing at them.

"Now, let's see if what you said earlier is true. Shoot me and stop me from hurting them."

Said Rina daring Gerard to shoot, there was a clicking sound. The gun was ready to fire at Lana and his mother.

It was, however, just a smart illusion created by the several reflection, and as Gerard successfully shoot her reflection, that indicated that Gerard was ready.

Signaling that it was time for Rina to give a strong kick to Gerard to wake him up.