Post by Marcus Rodgers on Aug 29, 2010 0:44:40 GMT -6
Marcus Rodgers
Coffee shop, LACO campus, August 2010
The Los Angeles College of Oneirology was small and fairly unknown, even to long-time L.A. residents, and its coffee shop was barely big enough to hold a morning crowd. Marcus had picked this particular location for those exact reasons. The shop was not exactly inconspicuous, but it was not all showy either. No one would ask any questions.
"So, what's new?" Marcus asked idly, as if there was absolutely nothing untoward behind this plain and common question, innocently smiling at the gentleman seated across from him.
Neither the question nor the smile fooled Dominic Cobb one bit. His expression remained politely interested. Unbeknown to Marcus, he had his own reasons for appearing here this afternoon.
Referring to Marcus and Dom as "friends" would have been an exaggeration. The two men had studied together for a while, and they worked in the same (small) field. They could best be described, perhaps, as competitors, who mutually respected each other's work.
"Nothing at all," Dom replied in a mildly conversational tone, knowing that Marcus would not let the subject go that easily.
As Dom had expected, Marcus raised his eyebrows. "Nothing? You're back in the States- that should count for something. Welcome back, by the way."
Dom barely looked up from the mug he had been sipping from. "Thank you."
While Dom had, justifiably, become well known among dream infiltrators as being the best in the business, circumstances had forced Marcus to operate less openly, even among his peers. Even before he had gotten involved with extracting, he had offended many people as a private investigator, and had long since learned to keep his identity as closely guarded as possible.
Once it became obvious that Dom was not going to speak any more on the subject on his own, Marcus prodded, "The last time I heard from you, you were on the run. I'm guessing that something has changed since then."
Dom glanced up for a moment. "The charges were dropped. That's all."
"That simple, eh?"
"That simple."
Marcus made no attempt to hide the look of incredulity that had appeared on his face. "Then the rumors are true. You really pulled it off."
As Marcus spoke, Dom sat back and looked at him, almost as if he were going to respond. However, instead of replying to Marcus' statement, he posed a completely unrelated question of his own. "How's Mira been these days?"
"She's fine, being her usual self." The implication behind the question did not go unnoticed. Dom was either asking where Mira was and why she had not been included in this meeting, or simply wanted to guilt-trip Marcus a bit for excluding her. Marcus followed up with an equally touchy question. "How are the kids?"
"They're great. I've missed them." Dom seemed completely unaffected by the question. Marcus thought about mentioning Mal, but decided he was not that cold a person.
"So, what are you going to do now? I've heard you're out of the game." The inquiry was based a bit on professional curiosity, but Marcus had asked it mostly out of concern. Dom sensed this and seemed to come to some sort of decision.
"I'll find something to do. Something outside the realm of infiltration." He held up a hand as Marcus started to interrupt him, clearly about to protest his words. "I'm glad you asked. I've still been getting job offers, which of course I've been turning down. But I thought one of them might interest you."
Dom reached into a small briefcase and slid a small folder across the table to a very surprised Marcus. "The details are in there. I told them to expect a call from an acquaintance of mine. They're looking for someone who can pull this off, someone experienced. Tell them I recommended you."
Eyebrows raised once again, Marcus flipped through the very sparse file. In their line of work, paper trails were a nuisance at best, so hard copies were often hard to come by. All that was in the file was a sheet of contact information and a short biography of the mark, a woman who looked vaguely familiar to Marcus.
"Angelika Kiselowa. Her father is a Ukrainian bigwig in the UN energy talks. It's a straightforward extraction, except for one thing- she's a lucid dreamer."
Marcus looked away from the files and at Dom. The deal did seem self-explanatory, though infiltrating the mind of a lucid dreamer would definitely be a challenge. It was entirely possible that Dom was leading him into some sort of trap, but he had no reason to think Dom would attempt something like that. He had no motive, at least none that Marcus could imagine.
"And you...?" Marcus let the question fade as Dom shook his head.
"I don't want anything. I don't want any of the money or credit, but I also don't want any of you asking me for help. I'm done, and I'm only doing this to help you."
Marcus nodded. "Thanks."
"Just be careful. Let me know how it goes." Dom picked up his mug and pushed back his chair.
"Will do." Marcus wondered how much investigating the man had done into this new client before passing the job along. "Take care of yourself."
With only a nod, Dom stood up and pushed in his chair, and was soon on his way out of the shop.
Marcus glanced at the file one more time, then stuffed it under his arm and stood up as well. Explaining this to Mira would be difficult, but at least they now had another job.
"So, what's new?" Marcus asked idly, as if there was absolutely nothing untoward behind this plain and common question, innocently smiling at the gentleman seated across from him.
Neither the question nor the smile fooled Dominic Cobb one bit. His expression remained politely interested. Unbeknown to Marcus, he had his own reasons for appearing here this afternoon.
Referring to Marcus and Dom as "friends" would have been an exaggeration. The two men had studied together for a while, and they worked in the same (small) field. They could best be described, perhaps, as competitors, who mutually respected each other's work.
"Nothing at all," Dom replied in a mildly conversational tone, knowing that Marcus would not let the subject go that easily.
As Dom had expected, Marcus raised his eyebrows. "Nothing? You're back in the States- that should count for something. Welcome back, by the way."
Dom barely looked up from the mug he had been sipping from. "Thank you."
While Dom had, justifiably, become well known among dream infiltrators as being the best in the business, circumstances had forced Marcus to operate less openly, even among his peers. Even before he had gotten involved with extracting, he had offended many people as a private investigator, and had long since learned to keep his identity as closely guarded as possible.
Once it became obvious that Dom was not going to speak any more on the subject on his own, Marcus prodded, "The last time I heard from you, you were on the run. I'm guessing that something has changed since then."
Dom glanced up for a moment. "The charges were dropped. That's all."
"That simple, eh?"
"That simple."
Marcus made no attempt to hide the look of incredulity that had appeared on his face. "Then the rumors are true. You really pulled it off."
As Marcus spoke, Dom sat back and looked at him, almost as if he were going to respond. However, instead of replying to Marcus' statement, he posed a completely unrelated question of his own. "How's Mira been these days?"
"She's fine, being her usual self." The implication behind the question did not go unnoticed. Dom was either asking where Mira was and why she had not been included in this meeting, or simply wanted to guilt-trip Marcus a bit for excluding her. Marcus followed up with an equally touchy question. "How are the kids?"
"They're great. I've missed them." Dom seemed completely unaffected by the question. Marcus thought about mentioning Mal, but decided he was not that cold a person.
"So, what are you going to do now? I've heard you're out of the game." The inquiry was based a bit on professional curiosity, but Marcus had asked it mostly out of concern. Dom sensed this and seemed to come to some sort of decision.
"I'll find something to do. Something outside the realm of infiltration." He held up a hand as Marcus started to interrupt him, clearly about to protest his words. "I'm glad you asked. I've still been getting job offers, which of course I've been turning down. But I thought one of them might interest you."
Dom reached into a small briefcase and slid a small folder across the table to a very surprised Marcus. "The details are in there. I told them to expect a call from an acquaintance of mine. They're looking for someone who can pull this off, someone experienced. Tell them I recommended you."
Eyebrows raised once again, Marcus flipped through the very sparse file. In their line of work, paper trails were a nuisance at best, so hard copies were often hard to come by. All that was in the file was a sheet of contact information and a short biography of the mark, a woman who looked vaguely familiar to Marcus.
"Angelika Kiselowa. Her father is a Ukrainian bigwig in the UN energy talks. It's a straightforward extraction, except for one thing- she's a lucid dreamer."
Marcus looked away from the files and at Dom. The deal did seem self-explanatory, though infiltrating the mind of a lucid dreamer would definitely be a challenge. It was entirely possible that Dom was leading him into some sort of trap, but he had no reason to think Dom would attempt something like that. He had no motive, at least none that Marcus could imagine.
"And you...?" Marcus let the question fade as Dom shook his head.
"I don't want anything. I don't want any of the money or credit, but I also don't want any of you asking me for help. I'm done, and I'm only doing this to help you."
Marcus nodded. "Thanks."
"Just be careful. Let me know how it goes." Dom picked up his mug and pushed back his chair.
"Will do." Marcus wondered how much investigating the man had done into this new client before passing the job along. "Take care of yourself."
With only a nod, Dom stood up and pushed in his chair, and was soon on his way out of the shop.
Marcus glanced at the file one more time, then stuffed it under his arm and stood up as well. Explaining this to Mira would be difficult, but at least they now had another job.