Inception - Bash Job

"I'm afraid that won't work, at least not in a traditional sense..." Karina cut in on Elliot's thought. "Ferral has already been secured, and we won't have a second, easy opportunity to capture him."

"If our Forger is as good as John would have me believe, she might be able to do a little single layer recon though." Trevor responded. "We'd have to set her up in the girl's dream first, since the job is time sensitive. Let her study up for one night, and then see what she can get from Ferral by playing the girl."

John cleared his throat, drawing the attention back to him. "His sub-conscience is militarized..."

"Wouldn't matter if the dream is his own." Trevor shot back. "That's the beauty in it. All we need is an idea of how deep he's in with her. As long as she plays along, he should tell her everything we need to know."

John frowned, but didn't respond immediately.

"For the record, Ferral did care for his grandmother. I do agree that revenge probably isn't the best thing to hinge our approach on though."

Sofie leaned back in her chair, looking annoyed as Trevor and John discussed whether or not she should be able to do something without getting her input on the matter at all. She was surprised - and a bit pleased too, if she had to admit it - that John seemed hesitant to put her at risk, but it wasn't enough to make her feel good about the situation.

"So, I have to work overtime doing John's job for him," she sighed.

"Maybe someone should go in with her," Hunter suggested abruptly, looking away quickly when Sofie turned her gaze at him. "Make sure she's all right."

Elliot slipped the folder he'd been scrutinizing into his bag with the rest of his things before shaking his head.

"The Mark won't be sedated, so there won't be any adverse effects if the subconscious were to turn on her," the professor reasoned.

"Does anyone care what I think?" Sofie asked coolly, glaring around at the rest of them. Elliot and Hunter stopped talking and shifted uncomfortably in their seats. When Sofie felt they were sufficiently cowed, she looked over at Karina.

"Can you get me access to the client's daughter?" she asked, knowing from experience how tricky involving the client's family could be.

Karina couldn't fight back the urge to grin at Sofie's handling of the men in the group. This wasn't a woman to be trifled with. Good. A capable woman was worth ten men in her book. Even that thought didn't stop the frown from taking over her face when asked about her client's daughter though.

"I can't officially arrange it, but I do have access to my client's home at all hours of the night. So, I could slip you inside while Mia is asleep. You would have limited uninterrupted time though. There's a guard that patrols that hallway every half hour. Is that enough time to get what you need?"

Sofie smirked as Karina listed the limitations for access to the client's daughter. It was better than she'd been expecting, quite honestly.

"Child's play," she said. "You give me the word, and I'll do the rest."

Hunter had to smile at her confidence. It was quite attractive.

"Uh, yeah, I guess the rest of us can set up a warehouse for practice?" he suggested, patting his laptop case. "I have some partial designs ready that I can modify for whatever approach we decide on."

"And I'll start looking into some of these compounds," Elliot chimed in.

[OOC: I think you can skip ahead whenever you want to, if there's nothing left.]

Later that night...

"Good evening, Alfonso." Karina nodded to the man standing beside the door as she passed by him. "I need to pull a few files from the library and go over them with my associate." She waved for Sofie to follow her.

Alfonso made a sound of appreciation as Sofie stepped past him. "She's new... Got a name?"

Karina rolled her eyes as she turned back to him. "Yes, she does, but you'll have to earn it from her, playboy. I'm not giving it to you for free." With a wry smile, she continued down the hall towards the stairs.

"I thought we were friends..." The voice followed Sofie and herself down the hall, followed by an offended harrumph.

Karina rolled her eyes again as she started up the staircase. "Unfortunately, he seems interested in you. So, I would suspect he'll bring us tea in the library. I hope you don't mind pretending to go over some documents with me for about half an hour before we get down to business?"

Sofie had to admit that Karina was starting to grow on her. By the time she had dealt with Alfonso and led Sofie up the stairs, Sofie could admit she liked the other woman.

"Oh, believe me, I've had worse covers," she said, smiling. She'd had to date John, after all...

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"Looks like a good setup," Hunter observed as the entered the warehouse Trevor had picked out. Elliot hummed his approval, then immediately set out for the corner and began to unload his bag.

"We going to do any work tonight, or wait to see what the girls dig up first?" he asked John and Trevor, setting his own things down on a nearby table. At the mention of the girls, his thoughts immediately drifted to Sofie. She was quite a woman; nothing like Anna. That's what he needed.

"Oh?" A hint of curiosity was audible in Karina's tone as she opened the door to a large library and moved towards a desk by the window. "Well, we've got half an hour. Care to swap stories?"

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"Well..." Trevor scratched his chin thoughtfully. "There's not a lot of sense in preparin something we won't be usin anyhow. So, I suppose we'll wait to see what the girls come up with."

"I suggest everyone be prepared to do the majority of their work in a dreamspace though. Considerin the timeframe we're workin with here, we'll need to do most of our planning and preparation while we're under." Trevor finished as he poured himself a drink.

"Agreed." John chimed in as he poured a drink of his own. "We only have three days before the Mark is supposed to be back in the office. If he doesn't show, Suavez might suspect something."

After taking a long sip, John sat his glass down and stepped over to where Hunter was spreading out his diagrams. "Need a hand with anything?" He asked, sounding surprisingly helpful.

Sofie smiled as she followed Karina into the library and over to the table, sliding smoothly into the other chair.

"Well, in recent memory, I've pretended to be a serial killer's fiancé and John's date, all on the same job," she said, smirking. "I haven't decided which was worse."

At the thought of John, she recalled his interaction with Karina on the plane, and she wondered how well they knew each other. Obviously, he was friends with Trevor, and by extension his wife. That's all.

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Doing most of the work in the dreamspace was probably the smart way to go.

"Going to be a bit tricky though," Hunter said, frowning. "I'll need some time out to design the layouts by hand."

"And I can't mix compounds in my head," Elliot chimed in from the back.

Hunter smiled at the professor's words before turning to his own things. To his surprise, John came over and offered his help.

"Hang on, let me check my totem. I think I might be dreaming," he said, fishing out his coin. He made a point of preparing to toss it, then slipped it into his pocket with a chuckle.

"Seriously though, you offering to help me?" the Architect asked. "What's the occasion?"

"Hmm..." Karina seemed to seriously think over the prospects as she pulled out a file and began laying papers out on the desk.

"How cute was the serial killer?" She asked when she finally looked up from the papers, grinning from ear to ear.

"I've been on a dinner date with John for a previous job that I contracted him for. So, I do know that he can treat a lady right. If I wasn't already enamorado, I might be envious, and the fact that it's still on your mind means he must have left quite the impression."

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"You've got jokes..." John responded, shaking his head slightly. "Maybe we rubbed off on you after all." He chuckled.

"Actually, I noticed the look on your face every time our Forger turned her eyes in your direction, and being a psychologist, I thought I'd make sure you were capable of actually getting work done in her presence, rather than following the sway of her hips as she walks across the room. Not that I blame you. They are nice hips..."

Somehow the question didn't surprise Sofie. She smiled at Karina's teasing.

"Quite, actually," she admitted. "If it weren't for the psycho alter ego, he would have been a catch."

John... he was tougher sell. He certainly could be charming enough, but there was an underlying incompatibility that seemed to grate whenever they were together.

"Oh, he always leaves an impression," Sofie said with a roll of her eyes. "Whether good or bad... your mileage may vary."

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"Scary thought," Hunter mused, returning to his work. At the mention of the Forger, however, he stopped short. It was more than a little embarrassing that he hadn't been nearly as discreet as he'd hoped. But there was more to it than that.

"You sure that's it?" he asked, eyebrows raised. "Not trying to clear out the playing field?"

He may not have been an omniscient psych like John, but even he could see there was something between John and Sofie. What it was, he couldn't be sure. But it was enough to make note of.

"Yes, a psychotic alter ego would make a girl think twice." Karina responded with a wry smile.

"I'll admit that I'm curious what John did to leave such a bad impression, but it's not my place to pry. If you want some pointers on how to get back at him for it though..." She shot Sofie a mischevious look. "I might know a few things that get under his skin, just between us girls."

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John shook his head and gave Hunter a light pat on the shoulder. "No offense, my friend, but the day I have to clear you out of the playing field might as well be the death of my sexual life. Besides, I don't do relationships with strings attached, and with Sofie, there are definitely strings. That woman probably has more baggage than an airport claim."

"That aside, I'm not the only one that noticed the looks you were giving her. She knows exactly what's going on in your head, bro." He continued with a wolfish grin. "That's another reason that she and I would never happen. It's probably not too far of a stretch to say that if you took my brain and put it in a woman's body, you'd get Sofie."

John gave Hunter another pat and turned back towards the bar for his drink. "I won't tell you what to do, but I figured you should know what you're signing up for."

Sofie had to smile. It was a tempting offer, to say the least, and they did have time to burn.

Leaning back in her chair, she rested a finger coyly on her cheek and gave Karina a tiny nod.

"All right. Do tell," she said.

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Hunter scowled at John's quip, though he had to admit he was curious as to what strings Sofie had and how John knew she came with them.

Then John grinned, and Hunter blushed at the implication that Sofie was seeing right through him. Fortunately, such thoughts were interrupted by the claim that Sofie was John's brain in a woman's body.

"Now there's a scary thought," Hunter said, raising his eyebrows. John departed back to the bar for another drink, leaving only words of caution behind. The Architect rolled his eyes and went back to his task. So much for the help.

Karina's lips ticked up in a slow smile as she leaned back in her chair, taking one of the papers they were supposed to be 'examining' with her. "Well, for starters, the man can't stand it if you finish his sentences." She said, sounding amused by the very thought of where this might lead. "I don't know if it's because he likes to hear his own voice or if it's because he doesn't like people knowing what's on his mind without him saying it out loud."

"That actually leads straight into the next thing, which is completely ignoring whatever he's saying. He seems even more annoyed about it if you ask him to repeat it later, as if you actually care, but you didn't have a reason to listen before."

A knock sounded at the door, and Karina's smile spread a little wider. She mouthed the words, "knew it" without any sound before calling out. "Come in."

Alfonso stepped inside, carrying an antique looking teapot and two cups. "I thought you ladies might like some tea while you work." He voiced smoothly as he crossed the room.

"You're always so thoughtful." Karina said, sounding genuinely appreciative.

"Well, I do try." Alfonso responded with a wink. He sat the cups on the desk between the women and poured tea into each of the cups, filling them halfway. "Two sugars for Mrs. Karina." He said to himself as he dropped the cubes into Karina's tea. "How do you take your tea, Miss..?" He trailed off the sentence, making it obvious that the second question of Sofie's name was being asked as well.

Sofie actually found herself stifling giggles as Karina talked about all the ways she knew to mess with John. They were so childishly simplistic, but perfectly suited to him. She would definitely need to use some of these later.

A knock on the door interrupted the fun, however, and Sofie raised her eyebrows. So, Karina had been right on the money.

Alfonso entered with some tea for them, which he poured out into two fine teacups. After serving Karina, he turned to Sofie, cleverly backing her into a corner to get that name he wanted so much.

"Sofie," she said, her lips curving into a graceful smile. "Sofie Verdreaux. One will be fine, thank you."

It seemed best not to encourage him too much with conversation. After all, they needed him gone for this to work.

"And one for Miss Sofie." Alfonso dropped the sugar cube into her teacup as a slow smile spread across his face. "Can I get you ladies anything else? Some cake? Background music? My phone number?"

Karina rolled her eyes. "I think we'll be fine without any of those things, Alfonso. Thank you for the tea though."

The man's smile fell slightly, but he caught it before it could disappear, pulling it back into place. "Very well. I'll be downstairs if you need me." He gave each of them a nod before sitting the teapot on the desk and turning to leave the library.

Karina took a sip of her tea while she waited for him to leave earshot, and she let out a contented sound. "Damn, the man makes a good cup of tea... My husband favors the British tea, and it's just not the same."

"You'll have to forgive him. Alfonso can be too nice for his own good, especially around a lady." She motioned to Sofie's cup of tea. "Might as well go ahead and drink up. He'll be offended if he finds out we left it, and it might make him suspicious, since he knows how much I like it."

Sofie gave Alfonso a grateful smile as he left, then sipped at her tea. She hadn't planned to do much more than that, but Karina was right. It was a good cup of tea.

"Well, I don't mind so much," she commented, taking another sip. "It beats the alternative."

She couldn't help but think of John. He was a charmer all right, but he was no good for a lady...

"Yes, I suppose it does." Karina responded with a grin.

"So, where were we?" She mused, taking another sip of her tea. "Ah, that's right. John."

Sitting her cup on the desk, Karina reached for the teapot to refill it. She remained silent while doing so, almost as if unsure of whether or not to say what was on her mind. Only after dropping two sugars into the new cup of tea did she finally speak. "The thing that gets to him the most though, the thing guaranteed to irritate him above all else..." She raised her cup in a mock toast to Sofie. "Well, that's having something he wants within his grasp, but not being allowed to keep it."

Sofie sipped at the last of her coffee as Karina poured herself some more. She watched with raised brows as Karina gave a mock toast, stating John's greatest weak point.

Having something in his grasp, but not being allowed to keep it.

The implication was hard to ignore, and yet, equally hard to accept. But ignore it she did. Finishing off her cup, she set it down on the table and smiled.

"Well, I'd hate to overstay my welcome," she said, indicating the door. "Shall we?"

[OOC: I'll let you take the lead from here, whether you want to go through the daughter's extraction or just timeskip or whatever.]

[OOC: We'll go ahead with the extraction. Sofie will go in alone, and you can have the dream be whatever you want. I'll control Mia once you set the tone.]

"Just another two minutes." Karina responded with a knowing smile before taking another sip of tea. "After that, the guard will move on, and we can be about our business."

After another few sips of tea, Karina sat her cup on the table and put the papers she'd been pretending to look over back into the folder on the table. "I'll leave these here. So, if anyone looks in, it'll seem like we went to the ladies' room."

Waving for Sofie to follow her, she stepped out of the library and turned down the hallway to the left. Three doors later, Karina slipped inside a barely cracked door. Across the room was a queen sized bed, where Mia slumbered silently.

"I only have enough chemicals for five minutes of dreaming." Karina pulled a small PASIV machine from her purse as she spoke. "The compact model was the only inconspicuous option."

"Five minutes is all I'll need," Sofie said, smiling. Confirming the status of the supposed lovebirds shouldn't be too difficult, and as it would be Mia's own projection of the Mark in the dream, she would certainly get an idea how Mia viewed the man, consciously or not.

Sofie slipped the needle in with a wince, then gave Karina the nod.

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"Will that be a table for one?" Sofie asked pleasantly, smiling more widely than she would ever attempt in her body. At the moment, however, she was a slightly plump hostess at a very private restaurant. The prompting should give Mia the nudge she needed to conjure the Mark into the dreamspace, at which point she'd be able to begin observing them as the very not-plump waitress. Ferral would have to be very enamored of Mia not to let his eyes wander with this Forger around.

"For two, actually." Mia responded with a slight blush. "He should be getting off from work now. So, I expect him in the next couple minutes."

She let Sofie lead her to a table in the back corner of the restaurant, where Mia slid into one of the chairs. "Could I have a glass of red wine while I wait for him?" Mia asked, flashing a brilliant smile.

"Two it is," Sofie said with a glowing smile, the kind that radiated just how lucky a girl she must be to have this mystery gentleman coming for her.

She led Mia into the back of the restaurant and seated her at a quiet little table for two.

"I sure can," she replied to Mia's order. It only took her a minute to dip into the kitchen and return with a bottle and glass. Once she'd poured some out to Mia's satisfaction, she gave another pleasant titter.

"Your waitress will be with you shortly then to take your orders," she said. The Mark had entered, something Mia had not noticed from her position sitting down. Sofie slipped into the back and found the women's restroom. It was empty. Good.

She locked the door and approached the mirror. She didn't known if the Mark had a type, so she went with Mia's appearance as her working model, then decided to perfect it. Yes, she'd be impressed indeed if he managed to overlook her.

"Fancy meeting you here." Ferral said, wrapping his arms around Mia from behind and planting a kiss on the exposed skin between her neck and shoulder.

She giggled and gave him a light shove to push him off of her. "It might have been more of a surprise if we hadn't planned it ahead of time."

"Well, there is that." Ferral responded, taking the seat across from her. "So, how are you this evening?"

Mia's smile seemed to brighten the entire room. "I'm great. We got in a load of horses at the shelter. They're still half-starved, but after an afternoon of washing and brushing, they're already looking beautiful again."

She took a sip of her wine before continuing. "How was work?"

Ferral smiled and rolled his eyes. "It was as interesting as accounting can be. As long as the numbers line up at the end of the day, all is well."

"Sorry, I don't mean to interrupt."

Sofie flashed a beautiful, white smile at the couple, brushing long dark hair behind her ear. Waitressing was hardly her calling; modeling would have been much more fitting.

"Can I get you something to drink?" she asked, then glanced at Mia's glass of wine. "Or start right on your orders?"

She turned to Ferral, letting her eyes linger on him a moment longer than was necessary, before looking attentively back at Mia and taking out her pen.

"A water with lemon." Ferral responded to Sofie, letting his eyes wander over her for a moment before returning his gaze to her face. "Please."

"Do you know what you want, Mia?" He asked, turning his attention back to the woman across the table from him, who shook her head slightly.

"I was waiting for you. So, I hadn't looked at the menu yet." She giggled again, reaching for the menu she'd just referenced. After looking over it for a few seconds, she looked in Sofie's direction. "What do you recommend?" She asked, while Ferral continued to browse the selections in silence.