“I hardly consider any of it to have gone to waste.” Pale eyes are void of an emotion. It, of course, had been trained out of her by the others who had worked for this man. She doubted he had expected much of a reaction — and if he had, he would be sorely disappointed. "I more than make do with what I still have. Believe me, my talent can still be put to use elsewhere.“Some words were merely well-practiced lies that she had gone over and over should this day have ever come. When her past would undoubtedly come back to haunt her, Monica had decided that she would be ready with a mouthful of falsities that she had almost deluded herself into believing. Every mistake she had made since she had left could be covered up by the illusion she had created to make it seem as if she were now better off.
Even if she wasn’t.
"What do I have to owe for the… pleasure?”
Where there was once fire, there now lies cinder. Vibrant colors paled with humanity’s plight. The job changed you — a slow death from the inside out. Briefly, in the tart exchange, he reflected on his mercenary years — days growing colder & colder the more you pulled the trigger. The more you used biotics. Even the laugh of a killer sounded hollow, robbed of vivacity. He smiled, but it was instinctual. Habitual.
{ coɴтrol. ♦ } — ❝You belong with Cerberus. This
organization is your fate, your magnum opus.
You’re making a grave mistake.❞
His warnings were never empty. He had a handful of believers { dogs ! }, willing to sacrifice for the cause. She wasn’t worth his personal presence. His appearance or lack there of resembled a false shepherd, a false idol destined to lead poor lambs astray. Yes, there had been a cause once, but now there was rot & ruin. What might have well been the plagues.
A brisk sigh puffed out his lungs, made him seem tired, as though he hadn’t slept in centuries.
❝If you don’t return, then you know how this will end.❞