Past
Ri Zhou: You're quite elusive, Nikita.
What the hell? Who are these people???
Oh, no... These people must be looking for their money...
Ri Zhou: You have something of mine.
It's over now... This is how it ends.
We were bound to get caught eventually. I just hope my brother doesn't come back yet. At least he can live... unless they go looking for him too.
Ri Zhou: But first, let's go over the situation.
What do you think the cost of a human life is, Nikita?
He knows my name.
Nikita: The cost of a human life? Um, I suppose it depends on the human.
Ri Zhou: Depends on the human...
Hmm, let's say... you're the human.
So, he's coming to reclaim the money I stole...
Ri Zhou: 1 million? 5 million? 10? 100?
Nikita: 240 million. That's what you want, right?
*Ri Zhou stares directly into Nikita's eyes*
And now comes the part where he kills me...
Nikita: I stole your 240 million, but you already know that. So, whatever this is, just get it over with.
Ri Zhou: A blunt man. I like that.
Here's the offer: Join me or die.
Join him? What?
Nikita: Join you? I don't even know who you are...
Ri Zhou: I'm the man giving you an out.
You are the one who said a human life cost 240 million.
And... coincidentally, that is how much money you and your brother stole from me.
He knows everything... but how?
Ri Zhou: So as far as I'm concerned, I own both of you now.
Both of you will work for me for the remainder of your lives...
Or Cheng can slice you into pieces... right here, right now.
*Cheng steps forward slowly*
Ri Zhou: The choice is yours.
There's no choice here...
But even if I do join them, he can't possibly trust me, right? I stole his money!!
He will probably end my life anyway... Maybe this is just a plan to extract me from the apartment.
Nikita: What choice do I have... I guess I'm in.
*Ri Zhou nods*
Ri Zhou: Wise choice.
Nikita: But as you can see, my brother isn't here... I can't speak for him.
Ri Zhou: I will find your brother and talk to him. Don't worry.
Nikita: How did you find me? How did you know my name?
Ri Zhou: I know a lot more than that, Nikita.
And I'm prepared to share everything, when both of you board my private jet.
What else does he know?
Nikita: Private jet? To where?
Ri Zhou: Hong Kong. We leave now.
Nikita: What? Right now? You want me to pick up my stuff and leave this instant? I can't do that...
Ri Zhou: Careful, Nikita. I own you, remember?
But besides that, there's another reason.
Nikita: And what is that?
Ri Zhou: I've solved a mystery that has been haunting you since you were a child.
There's no way...
*Nikita maintains strong eye contact*
*Ri Zhou drops a folder on the table*
Ri Zhou: This folder contains all of the secrets behind your parents' disappearance.
Your parents' mystery will be no more.
Once we are on our way to Hong Kong, you may read the files.
Leave everything behind.
YOUR FUTURE IS THE TRIAD.
You have one hour to meet me at my jet or I'm placing a hit on you. See you soon, Nikita.
Nikita: Wait, let me talk to Pavel. He will trust me more than any of you...
Ri Zhou: I found you here and I know everything about you.
Attempting to escape will be futile. I hope you know this.
Talk to Pavel, and I shall see both of you in...
*Ri Zhou looks at the time*
Ri Zhou: 58 minutes now...
Present Day
Nikita: That was the first time I met Ri Zhou.
Jenna: At the time, did you think the offer to join the Triad was legit?
Nikita: I was surprised he didn't kill me in the apartment. And he gave me a chance to talk with my brother... So after that, I thought his offer was legit.
It's so hard to talk about Ri Zhou... He was the man who ordered Alex to kill Pavel...
But Ri Zhou always treated me with such great respect, for the entirety of our time together.
I don't fully understand him... Even after 20 years, he still felt like he owned me?
I was his number one IM (incense master). He even mentioned that if he died prematurely I would take his place and lead the Triad.
20 years of massive success... and after all of that, he betrayed me. What kind of person does that?
*Jenna doesn't answer, she only listens*
Nikita: 36 minutes after that interaction with Cheng, Li, and Ri Zhou, my brother came home.
Past
Nikita: Pavel...
Pavel: Niki! Haha, why the sad face?
*Nikita doesn't move*
Pavel: Nikita? What's bothering you?
Nikita: The Triad... they were here while you were gone.
Pavel: Oh, god... we need to run. Pack your bags! Let's move!
What are you waiting for!? Let's go!
Nikita: There's no more running. I'm one of them now.
*Pavel pauses*
Pavel: What?
Nikita: I didn't have a choice; they were going to kill me.
Pavel: You're standing here right now! What do you mean!? There's always a choice, brother!
We can run! We can outsmart them!
Nikita: They found us here and they knew everything about us, brother.
Pavel: So, you just want to give up? Give up your freedom?
Nikita: Pavel! There was no choice, I tried!
Pavel: Nikita, our whole life is living proof that we can make it through anything. The hardest choices are the choices that define us.
Now let's go... pack up your stuff. We're off to Venezuela.
Nikita: Run away, just so he finds us again... and kills us.
We will be living a life of fear...
Pavel: To live on the run...
Or to not live at all.
The choice is clear, brother!
Nikita: He knows about our parents...
Pavel: What!? How??
Nikita: I don't know, but it's all part of the deal.
Pavel: What exactly is this deal?
Nikita: He will tell us everything if we board his jet and work for him in Hong Kong.
Pavel: You've got to be kidding me!
Has he shown you any proof that he knows about what happened to our parents?
Nikita: Not technically, but just the fact that he knows they disappeared is...
Pavel: IS WHAT!? THAT'S NOTHING!
This is ludicrous! Nikita, come on, we're leaving. Let's go.
Nikita: Pavel, he will kill us. I can guarantee it.
Pavel: You have so much faith in us, Nikita.
*Pavel takes a step backward*
Nikita: Please just come with me to the jet.
Pavel: Our whole life we have been trying to live in peace... trying to be free. And now you want to become the very thing that started this whole mess...
You want to join the darkness... But you know what scares me most, Nikita?
Nikita: You act as if I had a choice.
*Pavel looks into his brother's eyes*
Pavel: Do you know what scares me most?
Nikita: What?
Pavel: What if these "people" you met know about our parents because they had something to do with it?
What if you live a life working for someone who took away your entire childhood?
WHAT THEN!?
Nikita: You think I wanted this!?
*Pavel shakes his head*
Pavel: I don't know...
*Pavel begins to leave the apartment*
Nikita: Brother, wait! Where are you going!?
Pavel: If what you say is true, and this man knows everything about our parents... that scares the living hell out of me.
So, I am going very, very far away from here, wherever the winds may take me.
I can't watch you do this, brother.
Goodbye, Niki.
Nikita: STOP!
PAVEL!
*Nikita watches his brother fade away into the rainy streets of London*
I can feel my stomach churning with... this... strange pain.
My own brother... left me.
HE DOESN'T REALIZE HE'S A DEAD MAN!
12 minutes until I need to be at the jet...
They'll kill me if I don't bring Pavel! Damnit!
The hardest choices define us... You were right, Pavel.
So now I will face them alone.