“You speak of artistry where all I see now is murder and lies,” she hissed suddenly. The same murder and lies she had committed for years at his bidding. All were her choice and she had been willing. Until the possibility of the truth had dawned upon her. The truth that she could no longer tell the difference between it and all the lies. Her fate could be damned, she did not belong with or to Cerberus. "At least on my own, I know who I am killing and what lies I am telling.“It was strange, hearing anger coming from her own lips. Something in hearing his words had lit up the emotion like a striking a match in the darkness. Where there had been nothing, now there was something. And she rarely exposed it.
"I know exactly how it will end. The same way as it does for everyone you deem a liability. After all, we are all expendable one way or another, even if we tell ourselves otherwise.” Anger, she could handle. What she refused to show him was the fear that accompanied the truth of their words. "The question is, how long do you feel like chasing me? You know how stubborn I can be.”
Old soldiers stuck in their ways seldom broke free from the somber spell that captured them. Cerberus’ agents were beginning to defect & here the Illusive Man thought he control them all. Could sway them all with silken words that clung to his wagging tongue. He played the Liar’s Game & lost, folded his House of Cards.
{ coɴтrol. ♦ } — ❝You could have changed
the outcome. You could have saved
yourself.❞
His
anger was a vicious force, scampering across his face via the slight
furrow of a brow. The sporadic twitch that made his very muscles spasm. He breathed, but forgot to inhale the crisp air. He was a man shrouded in mystery, masked by deceit.
He was Brutus incarnate.
With
his arms folded behind his back, thumb & forefinger seizes his
wrist. Pinched the nerves there so that he gritted his teeth which went
a-rat-a-tat-tat.
❝I intend on getting what’s rightfully mine.
You will fall & this will end in BLOOD.❞
“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.❞
Doɴ’т ιɴтerғere wιтн мy plαɴѕ, operativegaley.
Rebellion ought to mean that paradise is crumbling
with the people disillusioned, disenchanted, jaded.
More & more of Cerberus’ elite begin to stray. They
go rogue. They become defectors. Once a formidable
sniper, this woman’s no different. The cycle must
continue. So, he ought to rid himself of her.
Cheeks twitch, giving way to a ghostly smile. It’s the
kind of grin the Grim Reaper will flash before he
brings his scythe down — only, the Illusive Man is
a million miles away.
{ coɴтrol. ♦ } — ❝You had talent. It’s
a shame to see it go to waste.❞