()||<BIN>9</BIN><黑屏1>0,10</黑屏1><BGM>BGM_Empty</BGM>:
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<BIN>276</BIN><黑屏2><BGM>GF_EV9_Story</BGM>:A severed finger bearing a ruby ring sits on a white silk kerchief in the middle of the table.
NPC-Powell(0)<Speaker>Sakharov</Speaker>||:Efficient, ruthless and decisive... Very well, you have proven your skills with action.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<SE1>ClothingUp</SE1>:Gleb bows in response to the Chief Financier's praise. +Sakharov smiles and approaches, shaking Gleb's hand before turning his gaze to Valeriya behind him.
NPC-Powell(0)<Speaker>Sakharov</Speaker>||:Mr. Gleb, surely someone as intelligent and capable as yourself must have an extraordinary wife too, no? I don't remember you introducing her to me officially.
NPC_girill(0)<Speaker>Gleb</Speaker>||:Sir, this is my humble spouse Valeriya, who once spent some time in the Soviet Academy of Sciences.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<SE1>ClothingUp</SE1>:Valeriya curtsies in acknowledgment.
NPC-Powell(0)<Speaker>Sakharov</Speaker>||:What a surprise... May I know what field of research you were involved in?
NPC-Elijah(0)<Speaker>Valeriya</Speaker>||:Physics, sir.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:Sakharov nods to Valeriya in satisfaction and slowly walks back to the window.
NPC-Powell(0)<Speaker>Sakharov</Speaker>||:Very good, very good... +Intellectuals are the true wealth of a criminal enterprise. The future of the arms smuggling world will be paved by groups armed with intellect! +We ought to welcome you with open arms. +Only...
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<SE1>Rope</SE1>:Sakharov slowly sits back down in his soft leather armchair and shrugs. +Gleb and Valeriya exchange looks, and clouds of doubt start brewing in their hearts.
NPC-Powell(0)<Speaker>Sakharov</Speaker>||:There is another important rule among the Vory, "Have no family of your own," which naturally includes your parents, your siblings... and which precludes forming a family, having a wife, or having children. +If you cannot do that, then I'm afraid the two of you will have to leave this place for good... Can you accept that?
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:Due to the lighting, Sakharov's face is shrouded in shadows. +Even so, Gleb and Valeriya can still see the sly flicker in his eyes. +It would seem the harshest test has only just begun.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:Gleb licks his parched lips and his eyes dart to the side, before he smiles and approaches the table, apparently with an idea in mind.
NPC_girill(2)<Speaker>Gleb</Speaker>||:Mr. "Chief Financier", by the rules of the Vory, I should immediately forsake my beloved wife of many years... +But after joining the Vory, my wife is no longer simply one who shares my bed, but my most loyal and intelligent partner. +Surely you must have seen her contributions in the past few missions.
NPC-Powell(0)<Speaker>Sakharov</Speaker>||:I have taken Valeriya's contributions into consideration, but rules are rules.
NPC_girill(2)<Speaker>Gleb</Speaker>||:Nor do I intend to break the Vory's rules. In truth, I had heard of the strictness of your regulations before joining. +But the Vory have made it this far and grown so large not through blind adherence to rules and regulations— +Brothers have helped brothers and they have never once betrayed their comrades. +Valeriya and I hope to continue serving as two members of the Vory and not as husband and wife.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<SE1>ClothingUp</SE1>:Sakharov lightly strokes his beard while his brow furrows. He appears to have been moved by Gleb's words. +Gleb realizes victory is at hand and sighs in relief, his mouth quirking up in an imperceptible smile.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<BGM>BGM_Empty</BGM><震屏3><SE1>AVG_pistol_finalshot_n</SE1><SE1>AVG_Bullet_Drop</SE1>:Bang! +A gunshot shatters the heavy atmosphere in the room.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<BGM>GF_21winter_avg_pathfinder</BGM><controll_shake>%%type_id=2%%duration=3%%delay=0.1%%range=5</controll_shake><SE1>AVG_Door_Hit</SE1><SE1>AVG_Team_Running</SE1>:Black-clad bodyguards rush in, and together with the goons already in the room, they turn their guns on Valeriya. +Opposite her, still facing Sakharov, Gleb's body crumples to the ground, fresh blood gushing from the hole in his head and seeping into the soft carpet.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<SE1>AVG_weapon_reload</SE1>:Valeriya puts her gun down and slowly raises her hands, enunciating each word carefully—
NPC-Elijah(0)<Speaker>Valeriya</Speaker>||:Loyalty is proved with action, not words.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||:Her tone is as calm and even as a frozen lake. +The bodyguards in black clear a path and Sakharov strolls through them, a blend of emotions gleaming in his eyes.
NPC-Powell(0)<Speaker>Sakharov</Speaker>||:... +I understand why you opened fire. +But I am also curious. Would it not have been to your advantage to leave your husband alive?
NPC-Elijah(0)<Speaker>Valeriya</Speaker>||:Leaving me alive would have done him a world of good. +It would have given you the false impression that you had him by the balls, and it would have won your trust. +But to him, I was nothing more than a tool to be discarded at any time.
NPC-Powell(0)<Speaker>Sakharov</Speaker>||:...
NPC-Elijah(0)<Speaker>Valeriya</Speaker>||:I want to live, not as someone's tool, but as Valeriya. +And thus, I had to throw everything away.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<SE1>AVG_Applause</SE1>:Clap... Clap... +Slow applause echoes in the silent room. +Sakharov bows his head and looks admiringly at Valeriya.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<SE1>AVG_20Winter_Knife_Whoosh</SE1>:As everyone watches, Sakharov ceremoniously takes Valeriya's hand and cuts her palm with a knife.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<SE1>AVG_Water_Drip</SE1>:The blood flows along the lines of her palm.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<SE1>AVG_20Winter_Book</SE1>:Sakharov takes out a icon and ignites it. The firelight illuminates their faces and the embers of the burned paper slowly scatter in Valeriya's palm.
NPC-Powell(0)<Speaker>Sakharov</Speaker>||:Today, Valeriya, you are reborn. You shall join our enterprise and devote your life to the Vory until the day you die... +And should you break this pledge someday, you will burn in the fires of hell, just like the image of the saint in your hand. +Do you accept this?
NPC-Elijah(0)<Speaker>Valeriya</Speaker>||:Yes, I do.
()<Speaker></Speaker>||<SE1>ClothingUp</SE1>:Sakharov smiles, and places his hand on Valeriya's head.
NPC-Powell(0)<Speaker>Sakharov</Speaker>||:My dear Valyusha—please allow me to call you that... From this moment on, I grant you the name of "Sakharov". +O faithful Valeriya Sakharov, accomplish more impossible deeds for me and the Vory. +This is my reward to you and also my solemn expectation. Do you accept this?
NPC-Elijah(0)<Speaker>Valeriya</Speaker>||:... +I, Valeriya Sakharov, shall do as you wish.
()||<黑点1>: