Lost, Season 5

The Man in Black:
[as John Locke] Do you mind if I ask you a question?

Ben Linus:
I'm a Pisces.

The Man in Black:
What happened that day at the cabin? When you first took me to meet Jacob?

Ben Linus:
Well, you clearly already know that I was talking to an empty chair, John. That I was pretending. Which is not to say that I wasn't as surprised as you were when things started flying around the room.

The Man in Black:
But why would go to all the trouble to make something like that up?

Ben Linus:
I was embarrassed. I didn't want you to know that I had never seen Jacob. So yes, I lied. That's what I do.

The Man in Black:
Alright, then.

Ben Linus:
Why do you want me to kill Jacob, John?

The Man in Black:
Because, despite your loyal service to this Island, you got cancer. You had to watch your own daughter gunned down right in front of you. And your reward for those sacrifices? You were banished. And you did all this in the name of a man you'd never even met. So the question is, Ben, why the hell wouldn't you want to kill Jacob?