Fic: A Father's Promise

A Father's Promise

Author: Aphrodite

Feedback: Yes, send to nsaphrodite@yahoo.com

Disclaimer: Fiction based on fictional characters.

Rating: R

Fandom: Inception

Summary: Arthur is dead and Eames seeks out to avenge his death.

A Father's Promise III

Detective Winters did keep her promise. Eames was in the middle of declawing Johnathan Gomes when he received the phone call. To put the man out of his misery temporarily, Eames delivered a blow to the back of his head to render him unconscious. Eames stepped over Gomes' body and exited the auto body shop where Gomes had retired to after their second job together. He climbed into his car and answered the call just before Winters was about ready to hang up.

"I assume you have new information to share," Eames responded after the customary greetings, "is it the toxicology report or the DNA results?"

"DNA should arrive in the next couple of days," Winters answered. "Right now, we just have the toxicology report."

"And..."

"This comes as a surprise although considering the theory, it shouldn't."

"Detective Winters, I'm a little busy right now, so please just spit it out."

"Arthur was drugged."

"That's a given considering the lack of bruises on his body, which would be the typical during a struggle. Besides Arthur might be lithe, but he was a stealth fighter. He was trained in hand to hand combat in the military. Arthur was no weakling. For someone to be able to defeat him, it would take more than strength and speed."

"Arthur was drugged, but it wasn't with what one would expect," Winters said, "Arthur wasn't drugged with some sedative, he was drugged with a derative of morphine."

"Morphine?"

"Yes, morphine, a powerful analgesic."

"I know what morphine is."

"Then you probably know that whoever drugged him wanted him to not feel pain while he was being killed, which further substantiates the theory that Arthur's killer was someone he knew, probably on a more personal level," Winters elaborated. "Acquaintances would not care one way or the other if Arthur suffered. This killer wanted to make sure Arthur was pain free as much as possible. Do you know pf any of Arthur's close friends who might want him dead?"

Eames didn't reply back. He ended his phone call with Winters and dialed an old friend's number. He let the phone ring for several times before giving up. While it would be courteous of Eames to call ahead of time, Yusuf didn't really need a warning anyways. Eames arrived right before Yusuf was about to close up shop for the night to his dream den.

"So you have arrived," Yusuf murmured, settling down at the reception desk.

"Sounds like you were expecting me, old friend," Eames responded, crossing the floor to stand next to the desk.

"Seems like everyone's expecting you these days. I figured it would be later rather than sooner."

"I received unexpected news."

"Unexpected news? That Arthur is still dead."

"Funny although I never pegged you as a guy with any sense of humor at all." Eames forced a smile as he sat down on a stool uninvited across from Yusuf. Yusuf fidgeted with the money drawer as Eames glared at him. "Why do you think I'm here for?"

"For answers that I can't give you."

"You can't give or don't want to give?"

"I know you want to know who killed him, but I don't know who did. I don't have a fuckin' clue."

"Then why are your hands shaking and why are you avoiding eye contact with me?"

"I said I didn't know who killed him, but that doesn't preclude me from his murder."

Eames cocked his head to the side and gave Yusuf a quizzical look. Yusuf sighed deeply, slamming the cash drawer shut.

"I got an anonymous request about a week ago to concoct a powerful analgesic that will eventually make the sufferer feel like he's in a deep sleep. It was only when I read the news about Arthur's death and the paper mentioned the Manhattan neighborhood that I realized I had sent the package to his address. After the news of his death broke, I received an email from the anonymous person thanking me on Arthur's behalf."

"You're not fuckin' with me, are you?"

"Does it really matter? You're going to crush in my skull anyways," Yusuf replied, solemnly.

"I need to verify that you're telling the truth," Eames uttered. Yusuf shook his head and leaned back in his chair. "What's the chemical compound of the drug?"

When Yusuf scribbled the compound of a morphine derivative, which matched the compound in the toxicology report, Eames knew that Yusuf was telling the truth. He grabbed the paper and crumbled it into a ball, tossing it in the waste basket. He slipped off the stool and marched toward the exit.

"Eames?!" Yusuf called out.

Eames stopped in his tracks and turned around. "I'm not going to hurt you. The pain is so unbearable, you can never understand. I feel like I've lost a part of me when he died. I need you to concoct the same compound for me after I've avenged Arthur's death."

"Eames, the pain will go away eventually."

"I'm not too sure about that, but we'll see," Eames said and then left.

Closing Notes: To read all my fics including this one and other Inception Slash stories, visit Aphrodite's Labyrinth. There you'll also find stories inspired by the sparkly boys of 'Nsync like the classic, "A Tale of Two of Boybands", first archived here a decade ago, and some stories inspired by my current muse, Jason Castro. For a complete collection of Jason Castro slash, vist my author's page at Castrofics.