Ilarion's eyebrows raised, and he smiled faintly. There was no humor in it.

"Believe me, there are worse things one can do to a man than killing him. Things that leave him praying for death."

He sighed, brushing nonexistent things off his lapel.

"I'm not concerned about your ability to pull the trigger, should the need arise. By virtue of your trade, that's a obviously a given."

Irinarhov had seemed to miss the point of what he was saying, or ignored it deliberately- the part about what the nature of the beast in question really was.

"In this State, there are no white knights. Only black. What you don't yet comprehend is that corruption and judgment and mercilessness will be the coin of the realm, if you work in the Ministry."

Lasha frowned sharply, glancing to the side.

"With few and rare exceptions."