‘ it matters. it matters to me. how much do you have on me? what did you know about my team’s operations? if I’m going to be given the right to speak to you, these are the questions that matter to me. these are answers I need. and if you truly want my cooperation on this collector matter ( which, you DO ), you’ll answer me. ‘
{ coɴтrol. ♦ } — ❝I know all about YOU. I know about
your former alliance with Shepard. Your reputation
precedes you. You’ve done a remarkable job. You’ve
a good eye & better aim.❞
The Turian’s scepticism was clear on her face despite the lack of eyebrows. Otherwise they would be raised high on her forehead at the Illusive Man’s words. She had to admit, the leader of Cerberus was known for his excellent wordplay and his persuasion skills but Nyreen had been on Omega long enough to know when she was being manipulated. Or that’s what she thought anyway.
A scoff left her and her mandibles twitched in irritation. “I thought you had Shepard dealing with the Reaper situation.” She said plainly before she started to pace, soft steps circling the hologram of the ‘great’ Illusive Man. “I have the Talons. What use are they to you, exactly?”
Could the manipulator or the manipulated recognize a fatal flaw when it slapped you? His brows knitted together, a look of concentration on his proud face. He could recognize irritation no matter the species. It was blatant.
❝Shepard can only do so MUCH. It will require more than a person to stop the Reaper threat. She requires firepower &faith. You have one of these things.❞
She wanted to believe him, to believe every word he said was TRUE, but it couldn’t be. Jack had yet to tell her to her face that he was the reason why her parents were dead & she knew he would always lie to her about it. Natalia had been lucky enough to have found the records of what had happened, most likely because he doubted she would ever dare to search for the truth.
Yet she HAD.
The need to ask him the truth was there, yet she couldn’t bring herself to do it. For better or worse, he HAD become a father to the orphan, even if the nurses & scientists had been the ones taking care of her the majority of the time.
it was all a lie.
How could she trust him after everything that has happened? After all the lives she had taken without mercy, when they could have been INNOCENT? The thought was silently killing Natalia the more she thought about it. She pulled away from him but stayed close, arms falling to her side cautiously. Natalia wanted to be by his side again, but it sounded more & more like she would be DAMNING herself to either die or be locked up for the rest of her life.
Was it WORTH the risk?
❛ How can I TRUST you? What guarantee can you give me that I would be FREE. Tell me the truth, Jack. ❜
{
coɴтrol. ♦ } — ❝Which truth
are you looking for?❞
Jack
swallowed his words. It was like chomping on METAL, teeth grinding
against one another. What a bitter,
painful
pill to down. For once, it wasn’t easy. He could lie
&
manipulate his way out of any situation. Not this one. The problem
was that he cared. He treated her like she was special, like they
were flesh &
blood
{
like Mia }.
There lied the rub.
❝I
can give you proof.
Documents.❞
He
approached her now, a steady step forward. His walk was TENTATIVE,
akin to a stranger approaching a rabid
or lost dog. With her, he assumed the latter.
His wrist dangled mid-air, sleeve peeling back to reveal a glimpse of
skin.
Still human.
No matter the claims, no matter his eyes. Still painfully human
& longing
for the UNATTAINABLE.
❝My
hand.❞
{
it wasn’t all a lie. }
❝My
WORD.❞
Desperate,
he was desperate,
clawing &reaching
for her at the same TIME. Did it show in his eyes?
He didn’t think so. The eerie, blue glow served as another mask.
“You manipulated my mother, so y’think you can manipulate me too.” She laughs bitterly, the sound dry and void of any humour. The laughter cuts itself off after a few seconds, and her face it back into its angry glare. “Fuck you.”
Why doesn’t she just leave? She doesn’t have to be here, doesn’t have to deal with this man who had been the one holding the leash of her would-be killer. She’s already beginning to step back and away from him; she won’t dare to turn her back on him.
“Just ‘cause you have some great love for your species doesn’t mean I do to. I’m nothing but Omega trash to most of my kind, and I’ve got barely any attachment to them. So sorry, but your little attempt at a sob story s’not gonna work on me,” she says. “So if you’ve got anything else t’ say, you’d better say it, ‘cause I’m leaving. I don’t want to be here, and I don’t want to look at you anymore.”
It’s the fear beginning to grip her, the instinctive panic at being so close to this man. It flickers in her eyes, and shows in the way her body’s tensing, coiling like a deer that’s caught sight of a wolf. And she’ll run like one if she has to.
{
coɴтrol. ♦ } — ❝Manipulation is a harsh
word, Liselle.❞
FUCK YOU.
It’s said loud &
proud, a strong resonance that reverberates inside his ear drums.
You, you, you. It’s a bitter echo. Despite this, he smiles.
It’s equally loud; it screams back a CHALLENGE. He shows off
his teeth, pearly white, surprisingly not yellowed from all
the smoking.
❝I
prefer the term: persuasion.❞
She
holds her ground &
that’s when he knows he has her in his cold grip. Ever so slightly,
his fingers curl until blunt nails graze
the calloused, worn palm of his hand. So close.
Close enough to feel,
close enough to taste.
❝You
forget.
Your mother was a part of that race. Think about her when you
consider
my offer. Think about how disappointed
she would be all because you declined
my proposal. This message will detonate soon &
you’ll be left with nothing.❞
I entirely and fully love your illusive man. Your writing is amazing and you put so much empathetic definition to his character, I can only find time to appreciate it.
♦oғғ-coм.
Thank you kindly, Shepard. That means everything to me! I only now realized that you run an amazing Claire blog. Resident Evil is one of the loves of my life, alongside Mass Effect. You’ve a real knack for writing yourself. It’s fun to play the Illusive Man & I’m glad to be back. ;~;
He wobbles, he teeters, but he doesn’t fall.
Fingers curl tightly until all the joints he never thought he had
snap & pop. In his hand, his crutch is a titanium cane
that sparkles. It doesn’t rust. The Shepard {
o! Great Messiah ! } made certain of that.
Jack is WILTING.
Wilting in front of a blast of cosmic light.
Under her control, his sentience is limited. She blessed him with
sight & sound & all things human. Static
echoes inside his cavernous skull, bouncing off the walls. Over time,
it reduces to fuzz. Whining, scraping. This is how he
goes mad.
{
coɴтrol. ♦ } — ❝Then, you’ve come to the wrong person,
Shepard.❞
He calls her this name for old time’s sake. A
lazy dog grin, teeth partly exposed, is his offering to her.
His eyes slit like a fox, sly & cunning, but betrayal
doesn’t corrupt his body anymore. She does. She infects
him.
❝I’m
full of useless
stories.❞
She
came for his consul.
Not
for mythology.
Her claws slick back his hair, riddled with so much
grey. He could be a husk; it would be simple. There’s
more humiliation in keeping the fox in the hen house, chained &
declawed in front of the prey. It’s more
satisfactory.
They walk together, their actions more
mechanical than human. The lights fixated to the ceiling are
blinding. Their shadows stretch until he cannot recognize
their form, elongated & mashed together into some horrific
new entity. He thinks to himself: Now, wouldn’t that be a
new species to explore.
Her voice drones, but it’s not unpleasant. It’s like an
alien machine, a soft hum that builds up suspense. He thinks
of the insects back on earth, a mosquito hovering near his ear
before delivering a petty bite & sluggishly
flying away.
{
coɴтrol. ♦ } — ❝I know you don’t care about money, Doctor.❞
The virus is her child, her creation & he
thinks it’ll be the cure. His cure. They could start a war,
these two, but disagreements would arise. He doesn’t
trust her fully. Doesn’t know where she came from &
if she came from anything at all.
❝Are
you looking for my story? Or her?
I’ll give you both.❞
There’s the irony. Nothing about Cerberus is HUMANE.
Nothing about the Illusive Man is humane. His barely formed
scoff resembles a laugh, tired with a faint hint of amusement.
He reaches for the tablet in front of the cell, glossing over the
vitals. Some significant changes, others not
noticeable. He doesn’t care about the latter. He cares about
progress.
{
coɴтrol. ♦ } — ❝Hm.❞
The words come from the corner of the shadowy cell.
Jack Harper raises a brow before lowering the tablet. Back into its
case it goes. Arms fold behind his back. He stands at attention,
as stiff as a board. No forward march, but the interest
of a child staring at an animal who feels desperate &
then grows fat due to hopelessness.
❝There
is no humane way, Christopher. There is only one way &
it’s dangerous, but necessary.
Cerberus weighs every decision carefully.
Doctor Benson ran numerous tests to ensure maximum efficiency.
You can come out now. That implant in fixated to your skull serves as
a tracker. Make your next move matter, Chris.❞
There’s
a blue glow
in the corner of the cell
that comes closer now.
