"You got it?"

"Yes"

"How many tries?"

"Three"

"Age?"

"Not sure, perhaps 23.

"Impressive, I'll get the Pasiv ready"

"Thanks Arthur"

Click. Placing the phone back to my jacket's pocket, I started to fix the room. It wasn't that hard, Cobb had been having some 'tests' on the morning. After doing some minor tests I heard steps outside, I stood up and fixed my clothes to receive the new architect. And to my surprise it was a female.

I blinked a couple of time before taking the whole picture. Average height, slim, brunette, pale and a little tomboy. Cobb let her pass trough first and she started to look around with suspicion, clearly the place didn't look that trustworthy. If I was on her shoes I would definitely excused myself and call a friend and perhaps 911. But apparently the girl trusted her teacher therefore his son and that included me in the package.

Cobb didn't mind her looking around without even introducing herself, instead he walked towards the Pasiv and the two chairs fixed next to them.

"Is everything ready?"

I nodded and continued observing the girl.

"Come here Ariadne, I want to explain what we do in our business"

Cobb started to fix the cables and beckon the girl to join him on the chairs, she didn't look that pleased but reluctantly accepted his offer. He started to explain about the minor details of our job and how it is possible to go in someone's dream and see what this person has in its mind. At first she doesn't believe a word but after explaining a little further she starts to believe what Cobb is telling her. It is difficult not to be convinced by someone who specializes in extraction.

As he explains how the machine works, I approached the couple and started to fix up the cables and both needles. She freaks out a little at the sight of the silver instruments, but once Cobb calms her and tells her that she's not going to be drugged or it will cause any harm her, she accepts the procedure. I take a cotton ball from a plastic container and pour some alcohol on in. She looks at me and gives me a tiny smile, I smile back and rubbed gently the back of her wrist. I take the silver needle and look at her eyes for her approval, she nods and with care I place the needle into her. She bites her lower lip, clearly she's not used to be punctured. She'll get around it soon. I turn around and noticed that Cobb is already plugged to the machine and waits patiently. Before I punch the button the girl holds and looks at me.

"I didn't catch your name"

I blink in surprise and then I smile

"Arthur"

She smiles back and rests her back once more on the chair, looking at Cobb then again at me.

"This thing is not going to go and blow my mind right?"

I chuckle and look at her warmly.

"Not in the literal way"

And before she could retort, I pressed the button and watched as both drift into a dream. I checked my watch and put the timer on. Before heading back to my office I take a look at her and smiled walking to my office. From there I could get a clear view of how the progress of the dream was going, 5 minutes was more than enough.

I wonder how would this experience affect this young girl? Somehow I know it will be, like she put it, mind blowing. There's nothing greater for an artist to mend reality to its will. Most of the creative people in the world love how the idea looks in their head but few of them have the skills to pull it out. With this however that bridge is vanished and the idea floats naturally out of its owner's head.

I check my watch once more, 2 minutes left before they wake up. I verify some cables and the dozes; I frown and confirm the timer again, 1 minute left.

Fixing my vest from any wrinkle that might had appeared I approach them, taking caution in not to be too close to her, the first dream always comes with unexpected results. I still remember the time I awoke from my first dream and I'm sure Cobb does to, since I was the one who punched him in the face the second my eyes opened.

They started to stir, their eyes moving frenetically under their eyelids. Checking the timer once more, 30 seconds left. I place the music around them and start the song that will give Cobb the queue. The timer tells me there are 15 seconds remaining before the dream collapses. Her body starts to tense, apparently Cobb just told her she's dreaming and probably she's panicking at the moment. 10 seconds left and Cobb wakes up, sitting and removing the needles I look at him and he ignores me and waits for her to wake up. 5 left her body tenses even more, 4 she starts to move, 3 her breathe quickens, 2 some mumbling, 1 she stops breathing, 0 she opens her eyes and looks pale looking desperately for some coherence. She finds it on Cobb's eyes.

"Cause it's never just a dream is it? And a face full of glass hurts like hell. When you're in it, it feels real"

Finding it confusing his explanation she looks at me for another second point of view.

"That's why the military developed dream sharing-a training program where soldiers could strangle, stab and shoot each other, then wake up" I said before she turns back to Cobb

"How did architects get involved?"

"Someone had to design the dreams right?" Cobb looks up at me "Why don't you give us another 5 minutes?"

I limit myself to walk and fix the machine.

"Five minutes? What…? we were talking like for at least an hour"

I smile internally, oh yeah the first impression of relativity of time. I still remember that feeling.

"In a dream your mind functions more quickly. Therefore, time seems to feel more slow." Explained Cobb, while putting the needle on his arm.

"Five minutes in the real world gives you an hour in the dream world" I translate what Cobb tried to said and giving her a quick glance at her before checking the doze for five more minutes.

"Why don't you see what you can get up to in five minutes?"

She nods at Cobb then looks at me before nodding to herself, apparently convincing her mind that she wasn't going crazy. I nod at Cobb and she slowly closes her eyes, relaxing her body on the chair. I press the button and start the timer once more.

I walked back to my desk and started to check some paperwork. After 3 minutes I realize something is wrong, I glance up and see her body moving and her breathing is quickening, I frown and let the paperwork back on the desk. Approaching her I see her body shaking, I look at the timer, there's still 90 seconds on. I gulped and hope that nothing mind scaring happens inside. She starts to mutter something until I hear her scream.

"Cobb, Cobb! Let me go! Wake me up, wake me up!"

I looked at her shocked and then at Cobb. What the hell are you doing to her in there? Then my mind grasps what I suspected already… it wasn't Cobb who was doing something to her. Then Cobb starts to shake and scream.

"No Mal… No!"

Great… just what we needed, introduce the psychopath wife to the new architect. I will need to have a word with Cobb after this mess. Frowning and glaring at Cobb for causing this internal damage to the poor girl, I sighed and wait for the unavoidable to happen.

Ariadne jumps on her chair, grasping for air. I run towards her.

"Hey… hey" I sit next to her holding her right arm, she still is disturbed and her pulse is over the skies "Look at me… you're ok, you're ok" I keep rubbing her arm to comfort her, trying to make her look me in the eye and ease her pain somehow.

She holds her stomach… dear lord… I hope Mal didn't go that badly on her. She's still grasping for air, but at least her pulse is lowering.

"Why… why wouldn't I wake up?" she asks me, placing her left hand over her face. Her voice breaking. Somehow this stung me inside.

I sighed and gulped "Cause there was still some time on the clock and you can't wake up from within a dream unless you die" I told her, looking at her warmly.

"She'll need a totem" Cobb says standing up from the chair, I didn't even notice him waking up. I glance at him, my eyes reflecting a light shade of anger.

"What?" Ariadne looks at him in disbelief, I sighed and hold her right hand. Better change the subject.

"A totem it's a small-"

"That's some subconscious you've got on you Cobb. She's a real charmer!" she interrupts me and glares at Cobb, who already left the room.

Just like I thought "Oh...I see you met Mrs. Cobb"

"She's his wife?" looking at me in disbelief

"Yeap, So… a totem you need a small object, potential heavy, something you can have on you all the time that no one else knows"

"Like...like a coin?

"No. It needs to be more unique than that" I take out my dice and show it to her" This is a loaded die" she tries to grab it and I pull it out quickly "I can't let you touch it, that would defeat the purpose. See only I know the balance and the weight of this particular loaded die. That way when you look at your totem, you know beyond a doubt that you're not in someone else's dream"

She gulps and looks at me, still a little disturbed.

"I...I don't know if you can't see what's going on or if you just don't want to, but Cobb has some serious problems that he's trying to bury down there. And I'm not about to just open my mind to someone like that!"

She gets up and storms out of the room, great just great… I look at her perhaps for the last time, a shame. I start to roll up the cables before Cobb comes back into the picture, apparently he did check with his totem that in fact we're in the real world.

"She'll be back. I've never seen anyone pick it up that quickly before. Reality is not going to be enough for her now. When she comes back...when she comes back you're going to have her building mazes"

"What are you going to do?"

"I gotta go and visit Eames"

"Eames? Now he's in Mombasa. It's Cobol's backyard"

"It's a necessary risk"

"There's plenty of good thieves" frowning while hoping he changes his mind.

"We don't just need a thief, we need a forger"

Cobb starts to fix his jacket and sighs looking at the ceiling

"She's that good?"

Checking his eyes I noticed something. I know that look; he has the same look a child has before opening a huge present on Christmas. He shakes his head and looks back at me.

"You know Eames is the best forger we know" avoiding clearly my question.

"I had never said he wasn't, but as a person he is far from likeable"

"Well you just have to deal with it, you're just pissed because of the incident in Barcelona"

Anger starts to bubble inside and I glared at him.

"It was a year ago, get over it" he tells me while picking some papers from the desk nearby. Like he's the one to talk "I must go. As usual you're in charge. When she's back start with the Penrose stairs and also stay away from her"

I frowned, not comprehending entirely what he meant by that. I looked at him with a puzzled look, he just raised his left eyebrow

"I know what went in your head when you saw her the first time. I've been in your mind before and I know you more that I ought to. So just stick to work and nothing else. You god damn well know how difficult is to find a competent architect"

I make my face look blank, free from emotions, even if I feel a little insulted that he would suggest such a thing. True she does have some of the characteristics I find attractive in a woman, but that didn't imply I would stop thinking with the head I have over the shoulders and switch to the other one, like some moron forger we know.

"You should say that to Eames when you bring him here, you know that he jumps at anything that moves"

"I will. I have no problem shooting either of you in the head if I find out that our architect quit because of you"

I rolled my eyes and sighed "Have a safe flight"

He smirked and took his portfolio from the desk and walked out the door. I looked up and checked my watch, how long would it take for her to realize she belonged in this place?