Nikita: This is how you can tell we were young and stupid... We should have thought this part through a little bit more.

My brother and I were extremely annoyed with Victor. We wanted to leave as soon as possible, so we rushed things a bit...

We found a very cheap apartment and moved out before we had jobs. This put a lot of stress on us to find jobs, which was harder than we thought.

Unemployment rates were sky high and we had no guidance or tips for how to find a job. Every employer turned us down...

I had a plan, but it wasn't ideal... My plan gave us a way to entice almost any employer.

The standard jobs we found were not for us... You'll see why.

• 👉Getting the Job → Go to Page 2.

Pavel: I didn't realize getting a job would be so difficult.

Nikita: Remember when I told you I had an idea...

Pavel: Yeah, you said you knew how to find a job, right?

Nikita: Well, it involves a little bit of... deception.

Pavel: Hmmmm, oh Nikita, always scheming, let's hear it.

Nikita: Hah, yeah, you know me well.

Pavel: So what exactly are you saying?

Nikita: I think we need to show the boss of whichever job we want to get that we would love the job, that's step 1.

Pavel: Outwork our competition, that's pretty standard stuff though... right?

Nikita: Outwork is an understatement... We will work twice as much as everyone else.

Pavel: You want to assume one identity? You want to be the same person?

Nikita: I know... it sounds crazy, but if we are one person... theoretically, we can be twice the employee anyone else can be.

Pavel: Hahahaha, Niki... YOU'RE A GENIUS! That's awesome!

Nikita: Haha, alright, well thanks! So you think it'll work?

Pavel: I think employers will not turn down someone willing to work twice as much as everyone else.

There's no way an employer would turn down someone willing to work twice as much as everyone else!

My brother was right, my plan worked very well... We got the very next job we interviewed for.

Nikita: Yeah, I think we will be hired, but then we will need to swap every day at work.

Pavel: At the end of the first shift, we will switch places.

Nikita: We need to find a place that is open for at least 16 hours per day, then we can split the day into two pieces.

Memory: Work

• 🔍Recall interviewing using the new plan. → Go to Page 3.
• 🔍Recall other schemes. → Go to Page 4.
• 🔍Recall the workplace. → Go to Page 5.

My brother was the one who talked to the employer, he was more charismatic than me. When my brother came out of the building telling me he got the job, we were both extremely relieved. We would be able to support ourselves... this was a really big deal for us. I remember my brother telling me how shocked the man was when he told him he would work 16-hour days rather than the standard 8-hour days. When the employer told him that he couldn't pay him extra, my brother said all he wanted was to show the boss how serious he was about working here and being the best employee. The employer couldn't say no... how do you turn down that kind of return on investment? Any logical businessman would take the deal.

There are plenty of plans and tricks I've come up with over the years, as we progress through my story I'm sure more of them will come up. But for now, Jenna, I don't want to get too sidetracked. Although, there was a funny moment with the single-identity employee plan. One day, Pavel, my brother, ended his shift, and when he gave me his shirt to wear he forgot to tell me that the boss gave him specific instructions. Then, when we switched places and I came in to work and didn't wash the silverware, my boss was very confused, and thought I had forgotten instructions he had given me just one minute ago. That was an awkward situation...

We worked at a restaurant. It was simple work, just pretty tedious is all. There's not really a whole lot to say about the job but this job was very short-lived because I had an issue with the Russian mob pretty early on. I took the same route back to the apartment after my shifts from work, which intersected a popular region where Russian mobsters did business. There wasn't really any other way home other than over this particular bridge. I had a few bad encounters with the Russian mob. I don't want to give the details because it isn't part of the Triad in any way. But, to sum it up, we had to quit the job, so after two months we were unemployed again.

Memory: Lucky Break

• 🔍Recall being unemployed for the second time. → Go to Page 6.
• 🔍Recall the new job. → Go to Page 7.
• 🔍Recall the time while Pavel was at his new job. → Go to Page 8.

This was where we had a lucky break, because we bumped into a man who was interested in hiring night shift security. My brother bumped into him at the weirdest of places... the bathroom. It's a strange story, but there was a man getting mugged in the bathroom and my brother knocked out the thief. Coincidentally, the man who was being attacked owned a business and needed security guards, so he literally asked my brother to work for him right there on the spot. We were desperate, so my brother agreed. We were back on top, we were pulling in money again.

My brother was getting paid quite a lot, which got me wondering what exactly he was guarding. There's no question it was illegal, because this job led to a whole world of problems that I'll get into in a few minutes.

I had time to think... I had time to actually sit down and think about my future. With my parents disappearing at a young age and the encounters with the dangerous Russian mob, I came to the decision that I was going to fight crime. Part of me wanted to find my parents, their disappearance was a lingering pain that affected me all the way down to my core. I wanted to be a detective... spoiler alert, I never became a detective... but I did fight crime as a forensic analyst... not quite as heroic as a masterful detective, but anyways, that was years after my brother found his new job. Sorry, Jenna, I get sidetracked a lot, let's continue... here was just one of the problems that came from my brother's new job...

• 👉Blood for Blood → Go to Page 9.

*LOUD THUD ON THE DOOR*

Pavel: NIKITA! HELP ME!

*Nikita takes a deep breath*

That image of him... is forever burned into my mind... there was so much blood...

And that was my first taste of what the real world was like... I could see how dark it really was.

Nikita: What the? Who's at the door?

Pavel: NIKITA! HELP ME!

Nikita: Oh, my god! Brother, what happened!? You're bleeding everywhere!

*Pavel falls down*

Nikita: I'm calling the police, brother! STAY WITH ME!

Pavel: NO POLICE!!!

Nikita: What? Why??? What happened, brother?

*Pavel goes unconscious*

Think, think, think, why no police? What can I do? I need to stop the bleeding!

*The bleeding slows down*

I see an exit wound... He was shot in the shoulder. There's also a large gash on his forearm.

*Blood is slowly spreading along the wooden floor*

No police... Does that mean no hospital? I have no idea...

*Keep thinking*

I think there's only one option... I'll need to risk spilling my own blood to save my brother... Blood for blood.

I need to get medical supplies.

I can't afford medical supplies... and I need to act quickly!