Illusive Man

The Illusive Man was rereading the preliminary report he received from Miranda with his customary glass of scotch in one hand and cigarette in the other. Wilson's betrayal was disconcerting. He was his top medical scientist. He had been trusted with running many projects, all of which fruitful. It made the Illusive Man wonder how long Wilson had been a double agent. The whys were of little consequence. He was dead, and his motivations no longer mattered. Who hired him was the question he really wanted answered. Cerberus had many very dangerous enemies that want no less than the group's destruction.

He wished Miranda would have taken him alive. He had methods and people well versed in obtaining information from reluctant parties. But that was the in past, and Miranda did what she felt was best. There was little he could do about it now.

His console beeped, letting him know that his new asset had entered the quantum entanglement device. He hit the necessary commands to start the transmission.

A fuzzy form finally coalesced. The armored man was looking about the small room on the other side of the call, probably wondering what was happening. QED communication was novel technology even today, let alone two years ago.

"Commander Shepard," he said, drawing the man's attention.

His brow furrowed, and he crossed his arms defensively. "Illusive Man. I thought we'd be meeting face to face."

He took a drag from his cigarette. "A necessary precaution. Not unusual for people who know what you and I know."

"Just so we know where we stand, I don't like you, and I certainly don't trust you. The only reason I'm even here now is because you're the reason I'm still alive. I want know why."

"You need to put your personal feelings aside."

"You don't get to tell me what I need to do," Shepard spat back.

"We can't be at each other's throats. Humanity is up against the greatest threat in our brief existence."

Shepard's defensive posture deflated a bit at the mention of the galaxy wide problem. "The Reapers."

The Illusive Man nodded. "Good to see your memory's still intact. How are you feeling?"

His eyes narrowed in lieu of a response. They weren't going to get anywhere if he kept acting like this.

"Cerberus isn't as evil as you believe, Shepard. You and I are on the same side; we just have different methods."

"Cut to the chase. What are the Reapers doing that made you decide to bring me back?"

Now they were getting somewhere. Hostile but willing was better than nothing. Common enemies did wonders for unsteady alliances, and there was no greater enemy than the Reapers.

"We're at war," the Illusive Man said definitively. "No one wants to admit it, but humanity is under attack. While you've been sleeping, entire colonies have been disappearing. Human colonies. We believe it's someone working for the Reapers. Just as Saren and the geth aided Sovereign. You've seen it yourself. You've bested all of them. That's just one reason we chose you."

"Fighting a war isn't Cerberus' style. You're more about surprise attacks on unsuspecting marines and killing admirals that get too close to the truth."

He ignored the jabs. Yes, Cerberus wasn't the cleanest of organizations, but they got the job done. "We are committed to the advancement and preservation of humanity. If the Reapers are targeting us, trying to wipe us out, Cerberus will stop them. If we wait for politicians or the Alliance to act… no more human colonies will be left."

Shepard shook his head. "This doesn't make sense. Sovereign was trying to harvest all life in the galaxy. Why would the Reapers target a few human colonies?"

"Hundreds of thousands of colonists have vanished. I'd say that fits the definition of 'harvesting.' Nobody is paying attention to it because it's random, and the attacks occur in remote locations. I don't know they've suddenly targeted humanity. Maybe you got their attention when you killed one of them. I want you to find the answer."

"If this truly is a threat against humanity, you need to mobilize the Alliance. I'm sure you have agents working higher up that could get the ball rolling."

It was true. He did have Alliance admirals on the payroll and could get the Alliance to investigate the empty colonies. But the Illusive Man knew that this was only the Reaper's first strike after Shepard defeated Sovereign. There was going to be much bigger foes to face, and the Alliance needed to be strong and ready if humanity was going to survive.

"They've suffered substantial loses fighting Sovereign. They're rebuilding, still stretched too thin to waste resources verifying the Reaper threat. Blaming the abductions on mercs and pirates is easier and more convenient."

Shepard didn't respond immediately. The Illusive Man could see the man's mind working through the possibilities. Finally, he asked, "You could've trained an entire army for what you spent to bring me back. Why?"

The deceptively simple question was much more loaded, and the Illusive Man was unwilling to tell him the entirety of the answer. He believed that having Shepard was the only way the humanity was going to survive the Reaper invasion. If he told him, however, it would give the man a lot of control, control he didn't want to relinquish. So he gave him a lighter version.

"You're unique. Not just in ability or what you've experience, but in what you represent. You stood for humanity at a key moment. You're more than a soldier – you're a symbol. And I don't know if the Reapers understand fear, but you killed one. They have to respect that."

Half-truths and lies always worked better when there were elements of sincerity mixed in.

There was another long pause. Then Shepard's face contorted as if he was forced to eat some bitter four-eye cuisine against his will. "If what you say is true… if the Reapers are behind this… I'll look into it."

The Illusive Man knew it was as good as he was going to get from the man. "I'd be disappointed if you accepted any of this without seeing for yourself. I have a shuttle ready to take you to Freedom's Progress, the latest colony to be abducted. Miranda and Jacob will brief you."

"You expect me to work with those two? Miranda killed Wilson in cold blood, and Jacob is just a gun for hire. Honestly, I wouldn't trust anyone with a Cerberus logo on their chest to watch my back. I don't want to work with any of them."

He took a drink from his glass, the biting alcohol sliding down his throat soothingly. "Wilson was one of my best agents, but he was a traitor. Miranda did exactly what I expected of her. And she saved your life in more ways than one."

"Still doesn't mean I'm going to trust her."

"Jacob's a soldier, one of the best. He's never fully trusted me, but he's always been honest about it."

Shepard smiled, but it didn't reach his angry eyes. "Maybe there is still some hope for him then."

"You'll be fine with them… for now. Go see what you can find at the colony."

He exhaled loudly. "Do I have much of a choice? I'm stuck on one of your bases with Cerberus all around me. What if I say no?"

"You always have a choice, Shepard," the Illusive Man answered. It was another half-truth. "If you don't find the evidence you're looking for, we can part ways." Another lie. "But first, find any clues you can. Who's abduction the colonies? Do they have any connection to the Reapers? I brought you back. It's up to you to do the rest."

Just as the Illusive Man was about to terminate the call, Shepard spoke.

"Fine. I just have one more thing I'd like to say."

The soldier unholstered his pistol, pointed it at him, and fired. If they had been in the same room, the bullet would have passed straight through the Illusive Man's skull. However, being light-years apart, it would end up ricocheting off the metal walls of the room he was standing in. That didn't stop Shepard from overloading his thermal clip.

The unmoving Illusive Man waited until he heard the click of the trigger. Once Shepard slid home a new thermal clip and holstered his weapon, the Illusive Man asked, "Are you feeling better now?"

"Much," he almost growled. It was an obvious lie. He appeared more frustrated than when he entered. He turned and walked out of the scanning area.

The Illusive Man took another puff from his cigarette as he closed the communication channel. The conversation with Shepard achieved what he wanted it to. The former Spectre had taken the bait. Now, all the Collectors needed to do was set the hook.

Author's Note:

Told you I would post another chapter today.

More stuff covered in the game. There's been a lot of it, I know, but I really wanted to put in Shepard emptying his gun into the Illusive Man's hologram. Also, it always bugged me how sole survivor Shepard seemed so neutral to the leader of Cerberus who tortured one of his men. I needed to change that.

I don't know how many more Illusive Man chapters will be in this story. I thought I would hate writing him, but I find his character intriguing. But I don't want you guys to get bored with dialogue already in the game. I'll play it by ear.

Thanks for reading and please review!