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(dramatic music plays) The Thieves Guild

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by Jake Care.

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Episode 120:

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An Unlikely Partnership.

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Carch was unsure that the man sitting across from
him was actually the Blade

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of the Craft Guild. After all, he had seen the man
stir up

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hatred against the Merchant Guild, which was in
complete opposition of what Orion had

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wanted, as indicated in the letter that lay on the
table in front of Carch.

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Something was going on here.

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Carch decided to be silent as he could see nothing
to be gained by saying anything.

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The Blade, Vesper, stared at Carch an
uncomfortably long time before leaning

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back and smiling. He held out his hand.

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Hand it over.

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Hand what over?

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The letter on the table in front of you.

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The one that bears my guild seal, and the one that
you clearly read as I was watching you

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reseal the letter as I came in.

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How do I know you're Orion's Blade? You wear the
green of the Harvest Guild, and

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in the room outside, you were stirring up hatred
against the Merchant Guild, which, as we both
know,

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is now ruled by Orion's nephew.

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Vesper smiled as he pulled his hand back.

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What an interesting place we find ourselves in,
Carch.

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I am presumably betraying my Guild Master's
interest, and you are spying on his letters.

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Vesper slid a knife out from a sheath on his
thigh.

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I can easily prove I'm a Blade, but that would
leave you dead, and I don't

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necessarily want that to happen.

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So, why don't you just hand over the letter, and
then we can talk with more

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clarity?

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Carch considered fleeing. Vesper was entangled in
the chair, and the door

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was not far. But what would happen next?

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Vesper wore the Harvest Guild colors, and a shout
from him would have Carch

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quickly apprehended within the tavern. He handed
over the letter.

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Vesper carefully opened it along the wax seal with
his knife, which appeared

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disturbingly sharp. He read the letter while
glancing up at Carch

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every so often. When he finished, he tossed it
back onto the table.

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What do you think of it?

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It was a key question. If he told the truth and
this Blade was loyal

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to Orion, it could end up with Carch dead.

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But perhaps the truth was what this Vesper wanted
to hear.

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After all, he had just flamed the fires of rage
against the Merchant Guild

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minutes before.

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It's a foolish attempt by Orion to save himself
from his doomed partnership with

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Larsen. I'm sure Orion felt that the risk of
voting against the Harvest Guild at the Founder's

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Day Banquet was worth it. But everything after
that...

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Carch shook his head.

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... was pure insanity.

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As he spoke, Vesper nodded his head.

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Carch took it as a good sign, but you never could
tell with

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Blades.

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And you left with the Knight's Guild because you
recognized this insanity?

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Clearly.

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And Orion gave you that letter?

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Sax gave it to me on Orion's behalf. He told me to
deliver it personally to

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Polo. I told him that as Larsen's former deputy, I
would most likely be imprisoned or

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killed, but Sax didn't seem to think that was a
legitimate concern.

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He's stupid and arrogant. It's a dangerous
combination.

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Vesper stood up, and for a moment, Carch thought
that the conversation

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was going to end with Vesper killing him.

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But Vesper turned the chair around and sat back
down, crossing his legs

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and leaning back casually.

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The knife, however, still stayed in his hand.

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I believe we both find ourselves torn, Carch.

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I was imprisoned by the Thieves Guild, but they
spared my life and let me go if I acted as a

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spy for them with Orion.

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The Thieves Guild?

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The Blade smiled again, which was starting to
annoy Carch.

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You're not aware that the guild is real and
powerful?

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Carch had started to consider just that, but there
simply

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was never any proof. The robberies of the
warehouses and shops often

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appeared a bit too organized, and the efficiency
at which the goods simply

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disappeared also bothered him. Where did they go?

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But a full-fledged Thieves Guild, it still seemed
unlikely.

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I expected as much, but you clearly know more than
me.

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Carch left it at that, but it was all he needed to
say.

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Vesper outlined his mission to assassinate Raylan,
and what he found in the old

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quarter, and specifically the mighty Thieves
Tower.

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Carch felt it odd that the Blade seemed in such
awe of something so

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mundane as a tower.

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This Thieves Tower, is it a small structure across
the great bridge?

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You speak of it in almost hushed tones, but I've
never seen it.

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It is massive, much larger and taller than the
Merchant Tower.

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It dominates all of Ness from its position at the
base of the mountains.

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That's absurd. Everyone would be able to see it.

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It is well-camouflaged in front of the stone of
the mountain, but you are correct.

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I have not shared this with anyone, but I feel
there is some illusion or magic involved.

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It simply fades into the mountain the moment you
step over the great river.

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Carch could tell that Vesper was serious, but it
seemed absurd.

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Magic? A tower so large and one for, of all
guilds,

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the Thieves?

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Carch decided to file away the description as a
Blade's flight of fancy.

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And you took on this mission from Raylan?

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Carch almost couldn't bring himself to say the
vile boy's name.

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Yes. I met with Orion, and then Alard.

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I had two options after that, working on behalf of
the Thieves and sowing discord among the

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Harvest Guild, or feigning to do so and work
against the Thieves.

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"It is clear where your loyalties lie."

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"Oh, let me disabuse you of that sentiment.

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My loyalties lie with myself alone."

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Vesper again smiled his annoying smile.

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"I simply have chosen the winning side."

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"So you have chosen Relan."

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Vesper took a deep breath, as if he was preparing
to lecture a child.

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"No, you fool. I have chosen Polo. He will come
out on top no matter

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what happens with the thieves. The thieves have
also chosen Polo's side, so it is

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convenient."

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"I see. And how do I fit?"

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"That's what I'm trying to figure out. The other
guilds are a lost cause.

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You wear white, so ostensibly have chosen a losing
side."

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Karch was about to object, but Vesper interrupted
him.

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"But you are a slippery one. You have power and
you have skills that are rare.

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You are also like me, delightfully transparent in
your self-interest."

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Vesper picked up the knife and pointed it at
Karch.

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"So tell me, how do you fit?"

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Karch knew his life hung in the balance.

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He was positive this was Orion's traitorous blade.

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He also knew that he was most likely telling the
truth.

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He had chosen a side that made sense to anyone
with even a cursory knowledge

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of Ness politics, the Harvest Guild.

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At that moment, his future revealed itself.

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It was as if a light had exposed all that was dark
before.

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He would work with Vesper. They would depose Sax,
Orion, and

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his puppet nephew. There would be a leadership
vacuum that Polo couldn't fill on

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his own.

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Who would fill it?

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Why Larsen's deputy, the one who abandoned him due
to his love of

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Ness, the one who no one would blame for Larsen's
and Orion's sins,

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Karch.

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He would lead the Merchant Guild into a new age.

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Karch smiled and leaned back in his chair.

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"Here is how I fit, Blade Vesper."

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He held up Orion's letter.

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"I will burn this letter in the tavern fireplace
outside this room.

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I will return to Sax and tell him that Polo
rejects Orion's plea for unity, and

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that the Harvest Guild is planning on marching on
the lower quarter, clearing out the Merchant
Guild,

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the Craft Guild, and the Knight Guild.

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They will use boats, they will cross bridges, they
will swarm the Night Watch.

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The Harvest Guild will let loose on the other
guilds with a rage not felt since

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the Ash Fields burned."

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"Very good, Karch."

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Vesper stood up.

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"However, I fear Sax will not believe you."

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He held up a finger.

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"But stay, do not leave your chair."

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Vesper walked to the door and left the room.

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The Blade acted so oddly with his talk of magic,
and now his random

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departure. "He's unstable," Karch thought.

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"I must be wary of him."

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The door opened and Vesper walked in carrying a
bottle of clear liquid and two

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glasses. He sat down, filled both glasses, and
pushed one toward

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Karch.

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"Drink."

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Karch took a drink and coughed as the strong
alcohol burned his throat.

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He put the glass down.

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"This is vile stuff, Vesper."

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"It is a bottle of the fire of the outer fields.

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Very expensive, very strong."

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He nodded his head at Karch.

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"Drink the whole glass, and one more."

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"Are you asking me or telling me?"

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Vesper took a drink of his own and grimaced.

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"The fire burns, but it also cleanses.

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Let me just put it this way, Karch, it is in your
own best interest to drink two

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glasses."

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The Blade was clearly insane, so Karch did what he
was told.

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If he kept his wits about him, he may be able to
leave the room not only with his life,

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but with the Blade as an ally. He finished the two
glasses, and

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his throat burned and his lips were numb.

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"How do you feel?"

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"Numb."

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"Very good."

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Vesper stood up again, sheathing his knife.

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"That was a good sign," Karch thought.

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"Your plan is good, but it has one flaw.

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Sax is stupid, but he's not that stupid.

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He knows Polo will still blame you, at least in
part, for what Larsen did."

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Vesper walked around the table and slapped his
hand on Karch's back.

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"The good news is that it's possible that Polo
wouldn't have you imprisoned or killed,

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but it's also highly unlikely he would leave you
unpunished."

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And without any warning, Vesper swung his fist and
punched Karch in the

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face, sending him sprawling to the floor.

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Before Karch could defend himself or even think to
call for help, Vesper

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battered him with kicks to the face, the arms, and
the body.

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Karch cried out, and still Vesper kicked him.

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His lip was split and blood pooled around his
head, and still

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Vesper kicked him. He felt a searing pain as
Vesper's boot connected with

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the side of his chest.

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"Hopefully the fire has numbed some of the pain."

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Vesper walked toward the door.

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"You are welcome."

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He was in so much pain, Karch couldn't even roll
over to watch Vesper

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leave. He heard the door open and then Vesper's
voice through the fog.

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"Now Sax will believe you."

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(dramatic music)