Warnings for this chapter: Graphic violence, language, and sexual references

Seven devils all around you

Seven devils in your house

See I was dead when I woke up this morning

I'll be dead before the day is done

Chapter 1: Seven Devils

Eames

Numb. That's what I felt. Absolutely nothing at all. My legs were pumping uncontrollably fast, the pavement pounding against the soles of my shoes and my knees absorbing the shock of the impact. I couldn't feel the pain. I couldn't feel the blood seeping through my shirt and the pins and needles on the balls of my feet for running in leather dress shoes, and my body screaming out for me to stop sprinting. But I knew I couldn't stop. I couldn't stop even if I tried.

I had shut out everything around me, except for what was straight ahead of me. The red sedan. Get in the red sedan. I ignored the gunshots whizzing past me, narrowly missing my arms and legs by inches. The screams and shouts of the officers turned into muffled cries, as if I were ten feet underwater.

Black spots started to creep around my vision, and I willed God in heaven to let me make it to the red sedan. Fifteen feet, fourteen feet, thirteen feet…

The terrifyingly loud screech of tires rang through my ears behind me and I nearly turned to look over my shoulder. Rules of running from the pigs include: do not look behind you. In fact, never look behind you when running from anything.

However, in this case, looking over my shoulder might have helped me. Might have saved me had I known that two coiled wires were propelling towards my back, and about to dig into my skin through my clothes with hooked fangs and jolt me with 50,000 volts of electrical current. I would soon regard that as the worst mistake I ever made.

After I had finished my rather intense electrical-induced seizure, I fell forward and collapsed onto the disgusting pavement. The last thing I remember was seeing the red sedan drive away, and a pair of black shoes standing in front of my face. And then… I was numb again.

People always describe their being unconscious as black and void and soundless. That day, my unconscious was filled with bright flashing lights and swirling colors to keep me company, rather than the dark empty recesses of my mind. Or was that just from the stun gun? Either way, after a few seconds (Hours? Days?) my eyes fluttered open, and I was handcuffed to one of the metal bars surrounding me in the Major Crimes Unit in the lovely city of Los Angeles.

Now fully awake and alert, I looked around, noticing the crowds of tough-looking men, mostly gang-related. A stifled groan rumbled in my throat as I rolled up into a sitting position, wincing in pain. I wasn't numb anymore. Everything hurt, from the pounding headache to my back muscles to the chaffed skin around the handcuffs. Particularly, the most pain emitting from a spot in my side. Oh right. I had been shot.

Apparently, the pigs felt sorry enough for me to have the gaping hole that just barely missed my ribcage get patched up. I chuckled at the thought of the doctors rushing to save such filth like me, knowing that I've killed hundreds of people, and probably am responsible for thousands more. I briefly wondered if the thought crossed any of their minds. Just a simple slip of the hand while stitching up the open wound centimeters from my vital organs and they could have taken out another son-of-a-bitch who is responsible for all the evil and no good in this god forsaken world.

But I suppose that's why they're the doctors and I'm the criminal.

"Eames," A rough voice spoke across the cell, and I looked up from the bench I was sitting on to see a pudgy officer holding a pale yellow folder and searching the crowded cell. "Is there an Eames in here?"

"Present," I spoke in a smooth and calm voice, disguising any amount of pain that I had been feeling at the moment.

His eyes immediately darkened. "Get your ass over here. You're going to have a little talk with the Sergeant," the man spoke in the most patronizing manner, and I snickered.

"Well, darling, I would be delighted. However, there is a small problem. You see, there are these things called handcuffs, and unfortunately, your men decided it would be a jolly good idea to slap these lovely- " I clanged the cuffs against the bars, metal against metal, "beauties on my wrists for shits and giggles. Because in case you didn't notice from the bloodied skin underneath, these cuffs are fitted for a five-year-old and digging into my skin,"

Officer Pudgy made some sort of unattractive noise between a snort and a growl before he circled the outside of the cell where I sat wallowing in my suffering.

"Alright, mate," he mocked my accent with a sneer as he kneeled down and yanked the chain of the cuffs towards his belly. "Want me to wipe that smart-ass smile off your face?"

I tried with all my might not to let my pain show, but the jagged metal against my wrists contorted my face. The fat bastard laughed at my pained expression like some sort of sadist and stuck a small key into the hole. "If I could have my way, you would be laying dead in a fucking gutter with your stomach ripped out you murdering son of a bitch-" his voice grew low and harsh before a hand came down on his shoulder.

"Officer Reagan, report to my office immediately. You will wait for me there once I am done speaking with Mr. Eames,"

My eyes flashed up to meet the dark brown one's of the man who stood over Officer Pudgy, his expression uptight and strict. We locked eyes for a good four seconds before he broke eye contact and met Officer Pudgy's confused expression.

My heart increased as I recognized who this man was.

"Go," he ordered again, sounding more regimented, like a drill sergeant at an army camp.

Officer Pudgy begrudgingly climbed to his feet, taking his keys with him and turned to leave the tall dark-haired man standing above me like a sort of looming skyscraper. Everything about this man radiated power. From the impeccable leather business shoes to the clean pressed black suit and charcoal tie. But not only the clothes wore gave him an aura of ultimate authority. The way he stood, back rigid and tall, shoulder back and open, chin lifted and straight, showed how controlled he was. This was Police Deputy Arthur Davis. This was the man I was looking for.

Arthur finally bent down and removed his key ring from the inside of his black jacket. "I'm sorry you had to go through this. These are illegal handcuffs, obviously, and I am not sure where the officers got them. I do know who was responsible, and they are being taken care of."

I stared in awe at the hardened expression, the straight jaw line, the creamy skin free of stubble, the onyx hair slicked back with gel, and the thin rosebud-colored lips. I'd seen blurry newspaper photos and pixilated news footage of this man, but I had never realized the true magnitude of his beauty until I saw it up close. He was the most beautiful man I've ever seen.

The blasted handcuffs finally fell free of my burning wrists and Arthur straightened up before sliding them into his jacket pocket and walking around to unlock the cell door again. "Come on, Mr. Eames, we're going to have a little talk."

In a daze, I slowly stood up, gripping my bandaged side and pushed my way through the mass of huge, disgusting men. When I reached the exit, Arthur held up his hand, signaling me to stop. "I know you're in pain," he motioned to my wrists, rubbed red and raw from the jagged handcuffs, before he reached to his holster and pulled off a normal-looking pair of handcuffs, "But I'm going to put these on." He didn't sound at all like he had any remorse for what the corrupt officers did to me.

Nevertheless, I rolled my eyes and held out my wrists, letting the cool smooth metal slide over my wrists. I flinched when he snapped them shut, but clenched my jaw shut and held my chin high.

"Darling, you can cuff me anytime," I shot Arthur a wink and held my wrists out to him. For a fleeting moment, he looked taken aback by the comment, and almost shocked, before his expression changed back to that of a stoic and he rolled his eyes before grabbing me by the chain of the handcuffs and leading me to the interrogation room.

I bit my lip in amusement as the stiff man yanked me through crowds of police officers and cuffed criminals, until we finally entered a room. I squinted through the dim lights to see a few other officers surrounding the one-way glass of the interrogation room. And so the game began.

My arms were recuffed behind my back, just in case I decided to take on an armed officer with my bare hands, and a blinding light was shone straight into my eyes.

The Arthur walked back around and sat across from me. "Comfortable?"

"Delightfully," I replied sarcastically and squinted as my eyes refocused to the light. I could barely see the man's face.

"Do you know why you're here Mr. Eames? " He spoke clearly and smoothly.

"Vaguely," I sighed and began to tap my foot against the ground.

"Would you like to tell me what's going on?" Arthur leaned forward. His narrow face came into view under the light. His eyes were hard and rigid.

I clenched my jaw shut and stared stubbornly at him, not wanting to give him what he wanted just yet. Arthur noticed my demeanor and rolled his neck in a few circles, before standing up and undid the cuffs from around my wrist. I sighed in relief, bringing my hands forth and massaging the red skin with the pads of my thumbs, watching every movement of the beautiful man as he sat back down across from me.

"Better?" he asked.

"Why, yes darling, but I can't see you," I set my elbows down on the cool metal table and leaned forward.

Arthur looked over to the one-way glass and made a motion for the lights to be turned on. In a matter of seconds, I was blinking and looking into his face again. For the most ephemeral of moments, I caught a certain softness and energy radiating from his expression. Then as quickly as I had seen it, it was gone. His jaw hardened, his eyes darkened, and I was met with an intense glare that sent chills up my spine.

"I'm Deputy Chief Arthur Davis." He said curtly and nodded. "I understand from your file, that you have over a hundred proven counts of murder, stealing, forgery, smuggling, abduction, espionage, possessing illegal weapons, political offense, trespassing, and possession of illegal drugs." The room rang with the echo of his voice. "Did I miss any?"

"Ah, yes, I believe you forgot dangerously handsome," I tilted my head cockily and gave him a ghost of a smirk.

His eyebrow furrowed in irritation and his mouth formed a straight line in disapproval. "Mr. Eames," he said my name like he was scolding a four-year-old, "Do you know that you are the most wanted man in America right now?"

"Of course," I ran a hand through my hair egotistically. "I can't go a day without seeing my name in the headlines. They've made me a celebrity,"

"You're a criminal," Arthur's eyebrows were so slanted in anger, it almost looked exaggerated. I fought back a chortle.

"Why yes, how kind of you to notice," I said as if he were commenting on the weather.

Arthur exhaled sharply in frustration and began again, "There's a good reason you're here Mr. Eames. You're responsible for the death of not hundreds, but thousands of people. And you're telling me that you don't feel any remorse at all?"

I raised an eyebrow and held my tongue. That wasn't completely true. But I couldn't let him know that. It would shatter the illusion. "Many of them deserved it… Many were lying, cheating, no good filth."

"Like you?" Arthur lifted his eyebrows accusingly.

I paused for a moment, my mouth hanging open in shock before I shook off the insult and continued. "Do I seem like a cold-hearted man?"

"Cold-hearted men are usually the ones who commit hundreds of criminal acts," Arthur stated coldly.

I shrugged, "I don't kill for recreation, and I don't kill unless I have a good reason. So trust me, I have damn good reasons when I do."

"That doesn't change the fact that you have committed a criminal offense among the many others on your file," Arthur continued. "Stealing? How about that one? All those banks that you robbed, did those people deserve it?"

"Now that's different." I rolled my eyes.

"How? How is anything that you do justified?" Arthur snapped.

"I can't justify every little thing that I do," I snapped back. "How is what you do justified? You hire corrupt assholes that treat their prisoners like absolute shit. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't every abiding citizen have constitutional rights against stuff like this?" I held out my bloodied wrists and glared at Arthur.

"We're not talking about me!" Arthur shot up abruptly, sending his chair tumbling backwards with an ear-shattering clatter. "I'm here to find out where you're keeping Mal Cobb!"

I lifted the corners of my mouth at his frustration. "Now what in the world makes you think I have anything to do with the abduction of the Chief's wife?"

Arthur was practically seething, "Your men, your job."

"I don't have 'men'" I used air quotes, "per say. I hire new men all the time and then let them do as they please. I don't require them to stay loyal to me specifically."

"One mentioned your name," Arthur growled. "Where is she?"

I and shook my head. "How should I know? She could be anywhere…"

"She's been missing for three days now, and we've torn L.A. apart looking for her. So she's not here anymore. You must have transported her somewhere else, where the hell is she?" Arthur's face was beginning to flush in outrage.

I contemplated his words for a moment before I opened my mouth again, "I'd like to speak to the Chief of Police." I requested pleasantly.

Arthur sighed, his breathing returning to normal patterns as he stared me down intensely. I tried to decipher his expression to find out what he was thinking, but his face was kept hard and unyielding. Even during his outbursts, he was able to keep his emotions on lock. I could have fun with this man. Pushing him and pushing him until I was able to see through the cracks of his calm exterior and reveal the emotional side. He would become my new challenge. And boy did I love a good challenge.

He finally straightened out, smoothing his jacket, and turned on his heel to leave through the door.

"Will you come back darling?" I fake pouted, leaning back and propping my feet up on the table.

"We'll see Mr. Eames," He said without turning around, and left the room abruptly.

A deafening silence fell over the room, and I sighed and leaned back, knowing the pigs outside the enclosed room were still watching me. Closing my eyes, I smirked as I pictured Arthur's face all flushed and enraged, silently wondering if he would have the same expression if I planted a kiss on those beautiful lips. Shaking my head, I awoke from my thoughts and looked at the chair in front of me.

I needed to stop letting these lustful feelings get in the way of the job, and reminded myself why I was here. I needed to gauge Cobb's emotional reactivity, and use it to my advantage.

I abruptly sat up when a loud clang signaled the entry of none other than the Chief of Police, Dominic Cobb. The last time we had a run-in, I was in the middle of a drug deal. He and his men had squeezed the location out of one of my ex-men whom they had gotten a hold of somehow. That was a nearly a year ago. When I saw him last, he was collected and vibrant with a noticeable determination and mental strength. Now, he burst into the room with bags underneath his eyes, his long blonde locks splayed around his face like a wild lion's mane, and his suit rumpled and in disarray.

I jumped when he slammed a fist down on the table in front of me and stared me down straight in the eye like a beast about to make a kill. "Where's. My. Wife?" He said dangerously low, practically a whisper.

I chuckled before I spoke again, "Hello there Cobb, nice seeing you here. The last time I saw you, however, you looked a little more… well-rested," I couldn't help the smirk that spread across my face.

I could see the seething man trying to contain his rage, but it obviously wasn't effective enough. His hands shot out and grabbed me by the lapels of my jacket, pulling me close to his enraged face. "Where is she?" he shouted.

"Ah, ah, ah," I held up an index finger. "It's not that easy."

"What are you getting at you sick bastard?" He tugged my lapels again, jarring my head back and forth. "I swear if you hurt her-"

"Me?" I asked innocently, "Why, you and your pigs have me locked up here. How on earth could I possibly hurt her?"

"You know what I mean!" He pulled me up with brute strength, so my ass hovered a good three inches off the seat. "What do you want? What compelled you to abduct the woman I love?"

I gave him another malicious smile and let out a choked cough. The material bunching around my neck so tightly was not doing well for my oxygen supply. Cobb noticed this before he released my jacket and dropped me back into my seat.

"I don't want anything, darling. She's an awfully pretty woman, and I'm sure whoever whisked her away from you had a good reason." I said calmly.

"Stop diverting the blame, Eames, I know you're responsible for this!"

"You don't know anything," I cocked an eyebrow.

Cobb looked broken. I admit, I felt bad for the man. But he was so fun to play with, and I wasn't going to let up just yet.

"You have ten minutes in the cell." Cobb said darkly before he straightened up and walked around to recuff me. "If you don't start giving some answers, things are going to get ugly very fast, I can assure you that."

"Whatever you say, darling," I smirked and stood up as he dragged me out of the interrogation room. He yanked my wrists so hard, I winced, my skin still tender from the previous handcuffs I had on. Once we passed through the crowded lobby bustling with busy officers, I quickly scanned the room for an easy target.

I quickly locked my eyes on a young officer who was busy reading files. Cobb walked me closer and closer, and I dropped my pace, so that Cobb was practically dragging me. The young officer was three feet away, two feet, one foot… I purposefully dragged my toe over a passing man's foot, automatically losing my balance. Cobb didn't slow, and my arms were dragged out in front of me, causing me to fall directly into the young man I had been aiming for.

"Oh good Lord, I'm terribly sorry," I muttered after I had stealthily slipped the officers key ring from his holster and slid it over my index finger.

"Watch it Eames!" Cobb snapped and yanked me forward.

The flustered young man was too preoccupied with picking up the spilt papers to notice I had stolen his keys, and I grinned silently to myself as I followed Cobb back to the cell.

The loud clang of the cell door reverberated in my ears, and I watched Cobb's back disappear from sight. Quickly, I counted the number of guards surrounding the cell. Six. Six men I would need to kill. Making my way to the back of the cell, I sat down next to a burly Latino man who gave me a curious glance.

"Good evening," I nodded before I slipped the key ring off my finger, making sure none of the guards were looking at us too closely.

"You're Eames. William Eames right?" The man asked me cautiously. "The one who abducted the Chief's wife?"

"That's right," I looked back down and shifted the cuffs so I could maneuver the key into the hole, which I had become particularly good at after years of practicing.

"You're the one that they talk about all the time?" the man's eyes widened.

I nodded, and bit my lip in concentration, finally able to turn the key, which snapped open the handcuffs with a soft click. Looking up, I surveyed the guards in the room again, making sure they were still preoccupied.

"You got the keys?" the man eyed the keys around my finger.

"Yes, I do," I nodded, and held up my index finger. "Do not say anything until I give the word. I have a knife sewn into the waistband of my trousers. It will take about two minutes for me to get out. I need to you tell some of the other men to somehow create a commotion, something that would get the guards to open the door.

"Yeah, sure." The large man looked around at some of the other men in the cell, and slowly stood up, making his way around the area, whispering to the other prisoners discreetly. I shuffled over so I was almost out of view of most of the guards in the room before I pulled up the front of my shirt and ripped off one of the threads on the waistband of my trousers. A small gap in the seaming formed, and slowly but surely, I pulled out each stitch on the waistband, unfolding the fabric to reveal a small switchblade. It took me about a minute and a half.

The Latino man I had spoken to previously sat back down next to me and murmured almost silently, "One of the guys snuck a lighter. He's gonna light his jacket on fire and hopefully that will be big enough to catch the guards attention."

"Oh I'm sure it will," I smiled. Four minutes had passed since Cobb threw me in the cell. Six minutes remained.

I sat patiently as a tall skinny man casually slid his cotton jacket off of his shoulders, letting it fall to the ground. None of the guards noticed. Slowly, he knelt down and lifted his long stringy hair, removing something from behind his ear. I squinted to see that it was indeed a lighter. After opening the lid, he turned and shot me a glance. I nodded ever so slightly, and watched as he ignited the flame and lit the clothing on fire.

"Hey!" One of the guards had finally seen the flame and ran over to the cell, yanking out his key ring. "Stay back!" He shouted at the other men in the cell. "Get an extinguisher!" he barked at a few of the other guards.

Two left. That left four guards in the room. The one who entered the cell would be easy to take out. I would only need to reach the other three before they called the Chief, or worse, pulled out their guns.

Gripping my switchblade so tightly, it almost hurt, I watch very closely as two of the men entered the cell and attempted to stomp out the fire. My heart rate increased as I rapidly stood up and strode over to the frantic Officer before opening the blade with a loud click, and ramming it straight into the back of the Officer's head. The knife buried into the man's brain up to the hilt before I yanked it out, letting a gush of blood squirt out, the man let out a muffled groan before falling face forward. I quickly gabbed the flaming jacket and threw it in the face of the other Officer before yelling, "Now!" My knife buried deep in the man's stomach before I yanked out and led the flood of men from the holding tank.

The prisoners escaped ahead of me before running towards the other guards who were fumbling for their guns. I sprinted towards the closet guard and lashed out, slitting his throat open in one smooth motion. I ignored the warm spray of blood hitting my face and continued towards the other guard who had yanked out his gun.

My heart stopped as he lifted his gun, and with precision taking years to master, I aimed and flung my switch blade forward, watching as it spun and buried deep in the man's throat before he could remove the safety on his gun.

He attempted to shriek as I approached him rapidly and snatched the gun from his trembling hands, but the shrieks were turned into muffled gurgles, blood spilling down the front of his shirt. He clawed at his throat, in panic, and I felt a twist of guilt, as I pulled out the knife and, stabbing him in the stomach a few times, attempted to put him out of his misery. When he finally fell forwards in a slump, I whirled around and quietly thanked the men around me before wiping the blade on the uniform of a dead officer and exiting the room silently.

It was time to find the Deputy.

Holy water cannot help you now

A thousand armies couldn't keep me out

I don't want your money

I don't want your crown

See I have to burn your kingdom down

Disclaimer: I don't own Inception. All rights reserved to Warner Brothers.

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! This is my first Inception fanfic, and I am pretty proud of what I've written. I have big plans for this story, and I'm so excited to see how you guys react to it! I am a HUGE Joseph Gordon-Levitt fan, but I also obviously loved Tom Hardy in Inception. I used to be a huge Ariadne/Arthur fan, and although they are adorable together, Arthur/Eames is my favorite coupling now. They are both gorgeous and perfect, and they deserve each other :)

Please review! Thanks!