Inception - Hollingsworth Job

"No, I don't."

Sofie said it with sincerity that surprised herself. She downed the rest of her glass, then reached for John's bottle and poured herself another drink.

"I guess you must think I am then," she said. She could honestly say that she liked Lana and Julian and even Mercier, to a degree. But none of them were going to pay her expenses. None of them were going to come to her in a time of need.

She couldn't even rely on Rina, in the end. If she didn't look out for herself, no one would.

She wasn't going to try to convince John though. Whatever front he put on, he was a good man. Damaged, most certainly, but still good.

"Did you ever wonder what they'd find if they plundered your subconscious?" she asked quietly, looking out through the window into the black expanse of the parking lot, cars only barely visible. "Who they might find?"

"Hardly..."

The corners of John's lips turned up in a light smile. "I think you're a realist, which is probably why the two of us can have a conversation like this with minimal bloodshed."

He drained the rest of his glass and then took the bottle from Sofie to refill it, taking his time to think over her musings while the amber liquid pooled.

"I think most people working in this profession wonder that at some point." John responded, barely audible over the background noise of the bar. "For some, the question you're asking is too much to take. It molds them, sometimes even breaks them..." He paused, swirling the contents of his glass before taking a slow sip. "But I think they're better off than the ones who never ask themselves, the ones who remain oblivious, because those are the heartless ones."

"And then, there are those of us that have searched deep within and found the answer to the question you just posed." John tipped back the remainder of his glass and sat it back on the bar without reaching for the bottle this time. "At the heart of yourself, you can only be you. Whatever you're capable of, good or bad, was always a part of you. Perhaps life gave you a nudge in a direction you didn't expect and showed you a piece of yourself you didn't expect, maybe that you don't even want, but at the end of the day, the collective of your thoughts, actions, fears, and doubts are what make you who you are."

Sofie gave a smile, one that held a mixture of amusement and wistfulness, as she set her glass down as well. She did not reach for the bottle either, instead gazing at the distorted reflection in the smudged glass.

"An interesting theory," she said after a pause. "Nature over nurture, I suppose then. You'd say that Mercier always had the potential to be 'Jacque' then? It just needed some opportunity to come out?"

She had to wonder what had birthed that other personality. It was probably better that she didn't know. The past, she knew, was better off lying where it was.

"Do you think this is where you would have always ended up then?" she asked. "That this is who you would have been, regardless of your circumstances?"

Perhaps he would have. But Sofie didn't believe that for herself. Who she was before she was Sofie... she wouldn't have had the nerves for this life.

John sighed and reached for the bottle again. "You're looking at it too directly, I think." He responded, filling his glass once more.

"Did Mercier always have the potential to be Jacques?" John repeated her question. "I believe so, yes."

"Was Jacques himself waiting to be set free?" He took a long sip before slowly swirling his glass in his hand. "Well, that's where things get interesting. Some would say yes, but I think potential is something that's easily wasted, regardless of good or bad. The way I look at it, Jacques was simply a coping mechanism that Mercier created to deal with a situation outside of his control. Who knows what the trigger was? What matters is that Mercier was always capable of violence. Jacques is just his way of compartmentalizing that capability."

He paused to take another sip of scotch, sitting the glass on the bar this time. "I think the same thing is true for all of us, myself included. We're all capable of being who we are now, and we always have been. It's the circumstances surrounding us that shape our reality though. Perhaps if things were different, we would have found out other things about ourselves, embraced different capabilities than we have."

John turned his head slightly, meeting Sofie's eyes for the first time since sitting down. "What you're asking is if I believe in something we call 'fate'..."

There was a moment of silence between them as his words trailed off and he searched her eyes for something.

"I was wrong about you." John suddenly said, his gaze seeming to intensify for a moment. "I thought you were a woman comfortable in your own skin, but maybe I needed to get a few drinks in you to see it..."

"You're a very good actor, Sofie." John said, finally turning back to his drink. "You even had me fooled for a while. Be careful though. Because the longer you keep fooling yourself, the more you'll hate who you become..."

Sofie laughed. It was cold, biting.

"Is that a fact?" she asked, turning to look at him. She no longer had that wistful, thoughtful look in her eyes. She was beautiful, strong, and confident once more - the kind of beauty carved out of solid, unfeeling ice.

"I know who I am. I shaped my reality. And I have no regrets."

In fact, her only regret was that she hadn't done so sooner.

"But I wonder, John," she continued, setting a hand on his wrist. "How comfortable are you in your own skin?"

Her nails bit into his flesh as her eyes narrowed critically at him.

"Don't forget. You're not the only psychologist here," Sofie said quietly. "You think I can't diagnose narcissistic personality disorder when I see it? I don't know what you're compensating for exactly, but it can't be pretty."

She released her hold on him and leaned back on the stool. Deciding she wanted another glass, she poured herself a large helping and held it up in a toast.

"It's like I said, John," she murmured, lip curling. "We're all a little damaged. What matters is what we do about it."

John didn't flinch away as Sofie's fingers dug into his arm. In fact, he leaned closer, making the moment that much more private from everyone else in the room. "See, that's the difference between us. I'm well aware of my own issues. In fact, I could list them for you if you'd like."

"You, on the other hand, have buried yours so deeply under your facade that not even you can see them anymore. Perhaps, for a time, that's what you need, but it's no way to live a life."

His face suddenly softened, and John darted his head in, giving her a quick peck on the cheek before he stepped back, throwing some cash on the bar. "Take care of yourself, Sofie, since you obviously won't let anyone else do it for you."

He turned away and left her sitting there, glass still raised in a toast that he wouldn't accept. God, the woman was equal parts intriguing and infuriating. It didn't matter though. He'd burned his bridges, and it was probably better this way...

Sofie said nothing. She did not watch him as he left. It was only at the sound of the door shutting that she lowered her glass, untouched, and set it on the bar.

For a long while, she simply sat there, looking off into space. She felt empty. So completely empty.

No, not totally. A little something lingered, almost unfamiliar to her. Loneliness? When was the last time she felt that way? Years. Many years.

With fingers that betrayed the slightest tremor, she reached into her pocket and removed the gold band of ring. She played with it a moment, as though making sure it was real, before slipping it away once more. Then, slowly and gracefully, she rose up from her stool and made for the door. This time she pulled no gazes from the bar's patrons. It was almost as if she'd become as isolated as she felt.

Sofie's eyes swept the parking lot, but she didn't expect to see John still there. It was amazing how he could simultaneously engage and repel her. She couldn't understand her desire to connect on some level with him, and yet there it was.

But he was gone now. It was probably best that way. There was no point second-guessing herself now. She'd chosen her path a long time ago.

[OOC: Nex, what's up with the lack of Rina-action here?]

Rina

Rina checked her phone, and she was surprised by the sound of the sports car. She raised her eyebrows, "Nice ride." she commented as the door next to the driver's seat was opened to her. Her date, Han, smiled. "Get in"

The ride was silent until Han finally spoke. "You must have questions..." he said, and Rina responded, "And you have the answers." Han smiled at Rina and then focused on the road.

"That I will tell you later, I do have a suggestion though." Rina sighed, "Sure... My ears are yours." Han raised his eyebrows, "You are willing to listen?" Rina curled her lips, "Why not?"

Han said it calmly, "Well, then, instead of confronting Lana, I suggest you to confront Mercier." Rina looked at Han, surprised. "Why?"

Han smiled, "Or confront them all. Julian, Lana and Mercier. All three."

"What?" Rina almost raised her voice. Han, still calm and collected, answered. "Then take your fall, burn everything down and disappear."

"You are kidding...?" Han's smile was gone, his face was serious. "You already screwed one job, you think you are going to be fine with second one? Better screw it up in style and fake your death."

Rina could feel cold sweat on her back, Han was not joking at all. "Why are you doing this?" Han sighed, "Don't know, may be you caught my attention. May be I care..." Han did not finish his sentences. The car stopped, they reached their destination. As they get off from the car, Han continued. "You wait in special room, darling. Julian, Lana and Mercier would be all invited in that room."

"Special room?" Rina asked, Han gave her a nod. "Julian is already there."

(Illya, I speed up the process if you don't mind? Let me know and I will edit it, if you don't like it.)

Rina entered the room that Han told her about. Rina swallowed it hard, and entered. "Hello, Julian." She said as she entered the room.

"I am expecting more guests..." She commented as she sat on the comfortable position on the chair, which was at the center of the table.

(You can have Lana and Mercier entered the room in your post if you don't mind this set up...)

Julian looked up as Rina entered the room, lips wrinkled slightly in displeasure. His expression darkened even more considerably at the mention of more guests.

"I expect," he said, "you have good reason for summoning me like this when you ought to be doing what I paid you to do."

Just at that moment, the door opened and Lana entered with Mercier, both looking puzzled.

"What's going on?" Lana asked, looking between her father and the unidentified woman. Mercier said nothing, though he gazed at Rina with a mild expression of discomfort. He looked as though the sight of her should mean something to him, but it didn't.

Julian's expression was pure ice as he turned from his daughter and her fiancé to Rina, silently demanding an explanation for this.

Rina

Rina smiled casually and offered the couple, who just entered, to take seats. "Please, I will start explaining my action, but I need you all to settle down first." Said Rina, calm and collected.

Rina leaned back on her chair comfortably as the couple took their seats, Rina smiled at her guests. "Nice to meet you, Miss Lana Hollingsworth, my name is Rina and I was hired to find your fiance's darkest secret." Rina smiled at Lana, and with confidence, she continued. "And successfully I did. However, I also found something unusual about you, Miss Hollingsworth."

Then Rina's attention was moved to Mercier and Julian,  "Did any of you notice something was off about Lana's behavior or was she so good that she fooled you all too?"

"I have to say, I am really displeased that I am going to put myself danger again, but here I am. To reveal Mercier's secret and also to reveal Miss Hollingsworth secret as well, and of course, I already burned confidentiality with my client Mr. Hollingsworth so that's done."

Rina shrugged, "Of course, how this chaos will end, its up to you all."

Rina's eyes shifted to Mercier, "Well to put Mr. Hollingswoth, in a bit better mood, I will start with you Mercier. You have a split personality disorder, you don't know this well, but your other side is known as Jacque, a wanted criminal. In other words, yourself is very dangerous individual to your father in law to be and your wife to be." She put out the files in front of the man and the rest of them. Han had it prepared, that sly man got lot of explaining to do when she was done with this. "Then there's you, Miss Hollingsworth, you have a secret you have been keeping well hidden from your father as well as from your beloved one. I'm sure you know what I am talking about. You are pregnant. Are you not?" Rina smiled weakly, she knew what she was doing, she was ruining the surprise and forcing Lana to uncomfortable position. "Then Mr. Hollingsworth, back to you again. You feel that it would go all well if you break them apart. But I will tell you something what would likely happen if you break these two apart, you are going to end up losing one of those. Your daughter or your life. You know what, I am going to say both."

Rina let what she had said sank into all of the individuals' head. "I gathered all of you here, so that you could come up with better term, or make amends now, or make a decision that could profit you all."

Rina raised two fingers, "There are two questions to each of you. First of all, Mr. Mercier, do you want to still stay with Lana Hollingsworth, even though, you could be very dangerous to her and as well as your future child? If you do, you have a hard fight ahead of you to make sure that another you doesn't come up from you. Or are you willing to leave Lana, let her go, which might make her life even more miserable, but which could be safest option? To you, Miss Lana Hollingsworth, are you ready to accept Mercier as who he is, a man with split personality? He might be the life threat to you and your future baby. Or are you willing to say good bye to Mercier and do what your father say? Lastly, to you, Mr. Hollingsworth, are you really going to use the information to break this couple with brute force and make their life miserable and let it hunt for your lives? or are you willing to wait them to make their choice and support the choice they make?"

Rina made an eye contact with each of them as she addressed two questions to them, then she leaned her back comfortably. "Choices are yours, lady and  gentlemen."

With that she successfully put all three of them to the spot light.

Now she just need to see how it plays out. In fact, that's all she could.

Stunned silence filled the room. Julian stood to his feet, face white like marble in his indignation. Mercier, on the other hand, sat utterly transfixed, staring blankly at the wall ahead. Lana seemed somewhere in between, her eyes constantly darting around the room as though looking for something stable to land on, her hands clapped tightly against her mouth.

"How... dare you..." Julian hissed, fists clenched at his sides. He seemed to be struggling very hard not to strike Rina.

Lana lowered her hands and stood as well, looking between Rina and her father.

"What gives you the right?" she whispered. "What gives either of you the right to ruin people's lives!"

She looked fixedly on Julian now, shaking her head.

"I can't believe you would do this, dad. You're..."

She seemed at a loss for words. Mercier, who had gotten up slowly and approached her, placed a hand tentatively on her shoulder. Lana flinched away from it on instinct. The look of hurt on Mercier's face was unmistakable.

"Lana..." he said, his voice strained.

"Don't you touch her," Julian snarled, approaching them.

"No!" Lana screeched, cowering away from both of them. "Leave me alone, please! I..."

Unable to find more words, she bolted from the room. Mercier watched her go, tears swimming in his eyes.

"You go near her again," Julian said, moving between him and the door. "And you'll regret it."

"My child-"

Julian grabbed him by the collar, eyes flashing dangerously.

"You will not have a claim in this family. Not now, not ever."

He released Mercier, who immediately retreated through the door. Julian watched him go before turning to Rina.

"I hope you're satisfied with yourself," he said acidly. "I also hope you have a large savings account, because if I have any say in it, you'll never work another job again."

He turned furiously on his heel and left the room.

Rina

Rina sighed as let herself sink on the chair. Then there was sound of clapping, it was Han. Rina looked at the man tiredly, "Now I can't even show my face to Sofie... I ruined her reputation cause she was the one who recommended me..."

Then there was a sound of click.

Rina looked at the man once more, he had a gun ready. A gun was pointing at Rina; Rina who had no idea what was going on, her eyes were widen with surprise.

Han smiled, "This will end everything."

Rina shook her head, it finally came clear. Han wanted her help because she was his target. She smiled at him weakly. "So this is your job?"

Rina asked Han, and Han, with his cold expression, calmly nodded. "Someone wanted you dead, and well, he also wanted your reputation to die as well."

Rina nodded, "Well I never thought it would be this soon though..."

And then there was a sound of 'bang'...

Spoiler:

"Is it true?"

Mercier stared off across the grassy expanse of the park, dimly lit by the moonlight. His fingers clasped and unclasped nervously as he sought an answer.

"I don't know," he said at last. "Before I met you... some things are a bit hazy. But I've always been myself. I've never lost sight of that in all the time I've known you."

He looked at Lana. There were tears in her eyes as she gazed at him.

"I would never hurt you. Or... our child," he said, reaching hesitantly to place a hand on her stomach. "I would kill myself first."

Tears were running now down Lana's cheeks. She buried her face in Mercier's neck, wetting his shirt.

"We'll figure it out," she said as the sobs subsided, thanks to the gentle rub of Mercier's hand on her back. "We'll get help, and we'll figure it out."

She pulled away from him and looked into his eyes. He smiled.

"I'll do whatever it takes to make this work."

She smiled too.

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

"She's dead."

Sofie had time to process it, but she still didn't know what to think. That didn't stop her from addressing it with a calm, composed professionalism.

"I'm not surprised," Julian said as the waiter placed a tray containing an omelet and toast before him. "If she conducted her business with others the same way she did with me."

Sofie had no argument for that. Whether Rina had brought it on herself wasn't the issue though.

"Did you do it?" she asked quietly.

Julian set his silverware down and gave her a hard look.

"I may be many things, Sofie, but a murderer isn't one of them."

Sofie looked down, feeling ashamed. She knew Julian better than that. Still, after the chaos Rina had caused...

"Have you spoken with Lana?" she asked. Julian took his time with chewing as he shook his head.

"Refuses to see or speak to me," he said, glowering at the omelet with enough heat to have cooked it himself. "She called me a monster. That man is the monster, but she won't let go of him."

Sofie smiled and touched his hand.

"You're not a monster."

He looked up, surprised.

"You're a hard man, Julian, but not heartless. You could have ruined my reputation for recommending Rina, but you didn't. You could have brought in an investigation on Mercier, but you didn't. You didn't want to hurt your daughter further."

Julian said nothing. He turned his gaze out over the country club estate, brooding.

"You're a good father," Sofie said earnestly. "She knows that, and she'll come to terms with it. It might take some time, but I believe that."

She stood up. She still had the funeral to catch. As she started to walk, Julian spoke.

"How can you be sure?"

Sofie stopped and put a hand on his shoulder.

"There are too many bad fathers out there for her not to appreciate what she's got," Sofie said.

Julian said nothing again. Sofie patted his shoulder gently, then walked off. Funerals didn't wait.

Rina

Rina's Funeral

Rina stared at the fake corpse of hers; Rina was wearing a large funeral hat covering her face, to even make sure she does not look alike, she was wearing a face mask. She looked pretty, but definitely she looked different individual.

Rina sat beside Han after putting the flower, Rina whispered quietly to Han. "How did you know my sizes?" Han replied quietly, "I guessed." Rina looked at Han, impressed. "We just kissed once..." Han gave sly smile. "And I had a chance to hug and hold your waist."

There was an awkward silence between the two, Rina was turning red. She shook it off, "We will discuss it later..."

Rina was quite surprised that she had more visitors... There were her families and her old crews. Even Zach was there. He looked guilty, well, he should be... Rina went out from her hometown crew because of him...

Then there was Alicia, who was still crying...Rina swallowed hard, she wanted to tell Alicia that she was fine... but she could not.... The dead doesn't speak to the living...

In fact, many old crews were in tears... there were crying for her... It made Rina feel more guilty about not telling them she was not dead.

Then there was her family; her mother looked blank, lost, and no strength to stand... She must have cried all night. Her siblings looked angry and sad at the same time. Probably they are feeling the world is not being fair to her sister... Or they might be asking a question of what their sister did so wrong to deserve this...

(OOC: You can have Sofie enter the funeral to offer the flower and look around the place, she should know Alicia and she could sit down with Alicia... Or bring John )

Sofie entered the funeral parlor, looking elegant in black. She wasn't quite sure what to feel at the moment. She'd been upset with Rina for doing something so foolish as ruining their job, but she never expected Rina to end up dead.

She approached the casket - closed - and laid a flower on the lid. She stared down at it, eyes hard.

"This is what happens," she thought. "When you leave yourself vulnerable to feelings."

She debated simply leaving, now that she'd paid her respects, but she spotted Alicia and moved over to sit beside her. Sofie offered a small smile of recognition and patted the girls shoulder before turning to the front.

Alicia faced Sofie and gave her a smile, very weak smile. Her eyes, however, were yet teary. "I did not expect to see you here... Alex said she decided to make horrible decision that might ruin your reputation.. and might have put you in terrible situation..." Alicia voice was trying its best to sound calm, "Well, I guess, she must have been terrible extractor..." Alicia tried her best to sound tough, trying to laugh little, "She was always affected by the morals.... She always tried to do what she thought it was 'right' thing.... I told her it was horrible idea to work outside the town..." Alicia couldn't continue... she burst into tears again.

Rina, who was on disguise, was quite surprised that Sofie was here... Oh how she wished she could apologize her for ruining the job like that... Well, she wanted to say sorry to all of her crews who decided to team up with her... But she was dead now... she should not create any chaos...

It looked like funeral had everyone who wanted to say good bye to Rina....then the door of the church opened so abruptly that everyone turned their heads to see who just entered.

It was Mike Moore...

Alicia's sadness suddenly turned into rage and shout at the man who just entered. "You don't deserve to be here! You killed her!"

That was strong accusation, and every old crew members, even Zach, who was supposed to be his best friend stood up and ready to stop Mike from going further.

Zach was the first one to stood in front of Mike. "We know what you did, Mike. Stop and go back. You don't deserve to offer her a flower.

"But, you do?" said Mike, then following Mike, other people entered the church. The first new face was a huge tanned man, who came to Mike's back, he looked like more of boxer than a dream sharer. "Is there a problem, Mike?" He asked, Mike shook his head. "I can handle it." He responded with authority. "Move, Zach. I don't think Rina want you to fight and bleed today."

Zach tightened his jaws, and went back to his seat. Mike smirked, "Now, that's a good friend." He muttered. Mike's eyes then traveled to where Sofie and Alicia were. Mike, who did not like Sofie, just ignored presence and met his eyes with Alicia. "That is very strong accusation, Alicia. What Alex had brought to herself is not my fault." Alicia's voice was full with rage, "Liar. I know what you did. You made her as your scapegoat for your past mistake." Mike smiled, "Right about that... I think I have something to read it out to you all."

Mike's company took seats at the front, as if they were all invited. Mike, who made a comment to Alicia's accusation casually walked his way to closed casket. "Funny to see you inside the coffin.... Glad that you are not alive to hear this..." He whispered as he put a white flower.

But Rina got to hear it. 'Han' had put a bug on a casket to let her hear every single good byes that would be said to her fake corpse. Rina, who was on her disguise, covered her mouth.

Mike eyes were widen as he spot Han; Han gave him a nod, Mike eyebrows were furrowed, but soon he faced everyone in confidence.

"I have a message from Alex, who some of you might know as Rina. It looked like she was being chased by hostiles, and she sent me this message because she felt little bit guilty of what she did as an extractor."

Alicia eyes stared at Mike with mixture of emotions.

"As I was the first one to discover her dead body, I felt obliged to share this with you all. So this is the message."

Mike cleared his throat, he started to read out a piece of paper.

"Mike, if you are reading this.... I do not know I will be alive or dead.... So I will just let you know where you could find me dead or alive. You will be able to find me in the area that I sent you with this message...

Anyways, if you found me dead, well, read this to everyone...
First of all, I want to let everyone, who came to my funeral, know that I feel ashamed. I want you all to know that I made several mistakes in my past extractions. I have made you lose money, made you lose clients and for some of you, I made you all lose connections... For that I am so sorry.

Second of all, I want all of you to know that all the mistake made by Mike in the past was because of me. I extracted information, but I was not able to get all the information in the dream sharing world....

Last, but least. I am so sorry for leaving you all this early.

Alexandrina Valente..."

Mike finished reading the piece of paper, and fold it in... putting it away to his pocket. "So you know now.... she was murdered because of her mistake...."

Then without a further ado, he started to walk straight to the exit, his 'friends' following him out.

There was an awkward silence roamed in the hall. "That son of a bi***.... he did it.... he actually made Alex as his scapegoat..." Alicia muttered, there was an anger inside her muttering.

Sofie was beginning to wonder if sitting next to Alicia had been a good idea. She was clearly quite beside herself. When she managed to make a lighthearted remark about Rina's extraction skills, however, Sofie managed a smile.

"Yes, she was pretty terrible," she admitted.

The conversation came to an abrupt halt, however, as an old associate of Rina's entered. Mike.

Sofie said nothing during the spectacle that followed. Mike didn't bother to acknowledge her anyway. She simply watched him with cold, expressionless eyes as he went through his charade before leaving. Sofie wondered idly why he'd even bothered. Anyone who knew Rina wouldn't buy it; anyone who didn't wouldn't care.

Still, it was a bold move to clear his name during the middle of Rina's funeral. She had to give him credit for that.

"Reputation doesn't matter for her anymore," Sofie said, laying a hand on Alicia's shoulder. "As long as the people who matter know the truth, he can't hurt her."

She stood, giving the coffin one last look, before turning and leaving the chapel. She'd had enough of death for one day.

Rina

Rina came out from the church with Han. As they both entered the car, Rina started to cry and she started to remove the hat, the mask, and everything that made her not Alex, not Rina...

Han offered her a pack of tissues, and gently let her head rest on his chest. "Let it out, don't hold it back."

An hour a later of crying and sniffing, there was a whisper...a dark whisper from Rina's beautiful lips. "I want him to be destroyed."

Han was surprised by her words, she continued. "I don't want him dead. But, I want him to be miserable... I want to make him afraid of entering the dream world..."

Han sighed, "Well, in order to do that. You need strong people to back you up and you need a strong crew members. You might have to make a decision... that may sound 'wrong'. Are you willing to do that?"

Rina nodded and she said it firmly..."Rina is dead... and I am done with being a good girl..."

Han sighed, "Well then, let's get you a new identity."

"I want to be Chinese..." She responded to Han's statement, Han furrowed his eyebrows. "Alright, Chinese it is..."