Miranda staggered, taken aback by the open threat, "And what makes you," she responded, trying to regain her composure, "think that you can take out Commander Shepard?"
"All I have to do is make the call."
"You're extremely confident for one who knows so little about the man."
"I know that he recently got a crew put onto his ship to replace the regulars during their two week 'vacation'…"
"What does that have to do with this?"
"I also know that the body of one of those crewmate's won't be found until the two weeks are up – in which I will be long gone and so will what I need," the salarian was beaming with confidence, knowing he was pushing Miranda to the point of absolute paranoia, "I also know that we placed an assassin in that skeleton crew – who is now waiting for the order to kill the Commander.'
"So we won't return to the Ship," she said – thinking she found a hole in his plan, "and have the Alliance take all of the crew members into custody."
The Agent laughed, "Oh, but you won't do that."
"And why not?"
The salarian flicked open the remote, showing Miranda the lightish green trigger button – his finger hovering right over it, "I think we both know why."
She stared at the trigger, anger coursing through her body, "What do you want from us?"
"I want nothing from you, personally. My employer – however – wants certain information that you gathered during one of your missions for Cerberus. In exchange for that, you get to live – and work for us."
"Why would I want to work for you after this? After threatening Shepard and myself like you just have?" She said angrily, trying desperately to find a solution to the situation.
"Because every day that you work for us – is another day that Shepard lives," The Agent said, triumph obvious in his voice.
Miranda stood tall in an attempt to appear confidant in spite of the circumstances.
'There's no way out of this… is there?' she thought to herself.
Refusing to give the Agent the satisfaction of seeing her sweat, she restrained her anger, and panic, and calmly responded to him.
"You won't get away with this," she said firmly.
"Tell yourself what you have to. But if you want Shepard to stop the Reaper invasion when it comes – then you better do as I ask."
She glared at the Agent, "That depends on what you want."
The Agent kept the remote in his hand, fully aware of the damage Miranda could do if he gave her even the smallest opening. "Do you recall the Normandy's expedition to the planet Lorek? To investigate a missing Cerberus agent – Tyrone Rawlings, if I recall right?"
Miranda nodded.
"Good – your job is to get me that information."
She perked a brow is curiosity, "And what's so important about this information?"
The Agent laughed, "Don't worry your pretty little head about it," his tone then switched to demanding, "Just get me – the information."
Miranda was angered by the insult, but she remained calm. She knew her life now rested in doing this salarian's bidding, and she needed to buy herself sometime before she could find a way to get the virus out of her system.
"Fine."
The Agent nodded, "I knew you'd come to an agreement with us. Get me the information and then proceed to the Wards. I won't tell you where to meet me – I'll find you."
The Agent then turned to walk away, but he stopped just before he did, "Oh… and did I forget to mention? If you don't bring the information to me within the next couple of days – the virus will automatically activate – killing you, and with you dead – no one will be left to warn Shepard of his impending death."
The Agent disappeared into the darkness of the alley, laughing slightly as his boots hitting the ground sent out an ominous echo.
Miranda stared into the darkness, completely stunned at the events that had just transpired. She brought her hands up to her face, wondering how she could've been so stupid as to not put more thought into why she was bleeding after that man had bumped into her. She fell perfectly into the Agent's trap – and it was going to cost her. She now had to choose between betraying the man she loved and keeping him alive.