"I wouldn't say I've got you figured out. I've learned a couple of things, is all."
She sighed. "Yeah, Killian was a ginormous asshole. But he was an asshole with a vision, and enough charisma to sell it. He offered to give me my arm back, you know?"
"I lost my arm in 2008--about the same time your convoy was attacked and everyone thought you were dead or captured. Mustered out in 2009 on medical grounds. I had no idea what I was going to do. The army was all I knew."
"Then Killian showed up, offering a chance to be part of a radical experiment. So I grabbed it. And it worked." Ellen raised her left hand and wiggled her fingers, made a fist. "It hurt like hell, and for a good long time, but he came through just like he promised. I had my arm back, better than ever."
"So when he said he needed some of us to help him keep the lid on his project, to prevent the authorities shutting it down before he perfected it, I was more than happy to help."
She fell silent for a minute, thinking about it. About what she'd done. Or in Tony's case, tried to do, to protect Killian. Covering up the damage done by candidates who lost control, using "the Mandarin" to claim responsibility for the "bombings" so no one looked too closely at what had really happened. When the Mandarin claimed responsibility for that air base bombing, she'd thought it was more of the same. It was only later that she learned Killian and AIM had actually been responsible.
"That's how guys like him operate, you know? They pull you in, one step at a time. Always with the best of intentions. Hard choices made for a greater cause. By the time you look around and see what you're really doing, you're neck deep in it."