1
Present Day
Nikita: When I stepped out of that jet and onto the slick airstrip in Hong Kong, I felt... like I had a purpose, for once in my life.
Jenna: That's a very liberating feeling.
Nikita: Yes. At the time, all I wanted was to grow in my new career. Career doesn't describe it perfectly, but you get what I mean.
I was too young and foolish to realize that my brother was right, I was throwing away my freedom.
Jenna: But you reconnected with your brother eventually, when was that?
Nikita: Quite a while later... it was way too late.
I just can't believe how wrong I was, and how right he was.
Jenna: But like you said, you didn't have much of a choice.
Nikita: No, Jenna, we always have a choice. Always.
It took me 20 years to learn this lesson from Pavel. So, you could call me dumb...
But I was never the bold leader my brother was.
Sometimes, I wonder if he's out there somewhere... hiding from Ri Zhou.
*Nikita stops and breathes in*
Nikita: So, at this point, I had already met Li and Cheng, but there were two more new faces outside the jet.
Past
This is... not how I expected any of this to go. I feel so... important.
If only my brother joined me! This is the next step for us!
I guess it's time to say goodbye to this awesome jet.
Nikita: Ri Zhou, thank you... for everything.
Ri Zhou: My pleasure.
*Ri Zhou looks at Li*
Ri Zhou: Introduce him to your team.
*Li nods*
Li: Of course.
*Li exits the jet*
Li: Come with me, Xinshen. I'll introduce you to the team.
You will be joining these two and working underneath me for a while.
The first job will tell me if you have what it takes, and if you're really as special as Ri Zhou thinks you are.
The first mission.
2
*You wait for Li to speak*
Li: Roland and Han are already well-informed, but I need to tell you about our job.
Roland is my enforcer and Han works under Roland when he needs assistance.
Our job is to grow Ri Zhou's overall profit in his cocaine business.
*You keep listening*
Li: I was informed that you were the mastermind behind the City Grill heist.
*You nod*
Li: You're the real deal... and I don't doubt your intellect for one second.
But I have several years of experience in this business.
*Li pauses*
Li: And, believe me, I will kill you if you betray any of us.
I don't want to, but I will if I have to.
Do you understand?
*You nod slowly*
Nikita: Yes, I understand.
*Li looks at you*
Li: Good.
I'm giving you your first test now.
*Li hands you a laptop and a briefcase of cash*
Li: Go find a hotel, get comfortable, and make a plan.
Don't try to run, we have eyes everywhere. I will see you in three days.
My Plan
3
My goal is to grow our drug trade business. A simple way to do this is to make our competitor, the Sun Yee On, less trustworthy than us. Another option is to find a cheaper way to produce our cocaine so we can release more competitive prices. A third, but more morbid, option is to kill a lot of the Sun Yee On members.
4
I want to minimize risk while maximizing our business's growth. I should probably avoid direct murder as means to grow our business. I should consider sneaky tactical plays first.
5
The data on this laptop told me our competitors are selling cocaine in a powder form.
I also know that cocaine being sold on the streets is diluted using another non-toxic agent to increase profits.
Before I can tamper with the Sun Yee On's product, I need to know who sells it so I can trace it back to its origin.
Once I know where the cocaine comes from, I can conduct espionage and break into that facility. Then, I can spike the cocaine.
Poison the Product
6
If I can alter the product in a sneaky way, I can destroy the reputation of the Sun Yee On. The amount their reputation falls by is directly connected to what I am able to do with a batch of their cocaine.
7
It's important to either spike a huge amount of their cocaine with a low-lethality poison or to spike a single batch of their cocaine with high-lethality poison.
8
There is an issue here. If I poison a large amount of their product, it might be caught before it even hits the market. I'll need to get more creative.
9
I can attempt to increase the demand of our product by damaging the reputation of the Sun Yee On.
Previously, I came to the conclusion that killing their end-users via their own product would probably make the biggest dent in their reputation.
The easiest way to create deadly cocaine would be to target the cocaine that goes onto the streets rather than the high-quality cocaine that goes to the rich. The stuff that goes to the rich is definitely double- and triple-checked.
Powdered ricin, perfect. It's incredibly deadly, but it won't kill the user instantly. This way, it will be difficult to detect which batches are toxic.
Moreover, the tiniest amount of ricin will be lethal. Even an amount smaller than the period at the end of this sentence will be lethal.
10
*You hear a knock on your hotel room door*
Nikita: Who is it?
*You hear another knock*
Nikita: I'm coming, one moment.
*You look through the peephole*
*You see Roland*
Nikita: Oh, it's you.
How can I help you?
Roland: Li told me to come check on you.
You have two days remaining before we need to take action against the Sun Yee On.
Do you have any ideas yet?
Nikita: I have a plan, yes, but I'll need a few things.
Present Day
Nikita: Roland was a bit skeptical when I told him I wanted to make ricin and spike the cocaine's dilution agent.
Jenna: Yeah... making ricin sounds like a recipe for disaster. Even a tiny amount of that stuff can kill you.
Nikita: Right, and we needed to find out where the Sun Yee On's lab was, break-in, and then plant the ricin.
So it wasn't the easiest plan, but, if done properly, it would be catastrophic for the Sun Yee On's business.
After describing the goal of destroying the Sun Yee On's reputation as a means to bring more business to us, Roland was more on board.
Past
*Roland listens to your plan*
Roland: Alright, I'll inform Li that everything is going smoothly so far.
*Roland leaves the room*
Conclude Investigation
1. What is Nikita's primary goal?
- Increase profits for the Triad
- Destroy the Sun Yee On
- Escape the Triad
2. Which part of the plan is most dangerous?
- Breaking into the Sun Yee On lab
- Attacking the Sun Yee On
- Creating poison
- Spiking the cocaine
- Stalking the Sun Yee On dealers
- Breaking into the Sun Yee On headquarters
3. How will Nikita achieve his primary goal with his master plan?
- He will try to monopolize the cocaine market
- He will create the cheapest cocaine
- He will create the highest-quality cocaine
- He will create a new type of cocaine better than ever before
4. Why is it important to ensure the Sun Yee On chemist doesn't die?
- Nikita wants to hire the chemist for a new job
- Nikita will use the chemist to create an entire batch of toxic cocaine
- Nikita will use the chemist to create a new type of cocaine
- Nikita doesn't need to keep the chemist alive
- Nikita, himself, wants to learn how to produce better cocaine for the Triad
5. Who checks on Nikita while he is creating the master plan?
- Li
- Cheng
- Ri Zhou
- Roland
- Han
- No one