Looking For A Legend (Book 1)

Looking For A Legend Chapter 55 - Viktoriya

            Despite Colonel Lytton dropping his investigation, they were making remarkable progress.  Gregori and Vikenti had finished translating all the journals and documents they had found in Mischa’s apartment, Abraham Horowitz’s farmhouse, and their offices.  Eli was tearing through the translations faster than they could finish them.  Unfortunately, none of what they found pointed at who might have attacked Sima, or what their motivation might have been.

There wasn’t anything else in London that was going to help them find her cousin.  Well, that wasn’t completely true.  Eli was still there.  In his recent depression, he’d confided something in Viktoriya.  It was something they shared.

By then, he’d taking up smoking on his own.  Viktoriya was on her way to lunch when she found Eli waiting to cross the street, and lighting a cigarette.  She elbowed him playfully and held out her own unlit cigarette.  Eli gave her the best smile he could muster - which was less than a second of a barely upturned corned of his mouth, and lit her cigarette.

“Spasiba, Coates.  Where are you off to?” She crossed the intersection with him.  Since Valentina broke up with him three weeks ago, he’d retreated into his misery.  Eli started dressing in several layers every day, even in the late August heat.  He’d stopped eating lunch with her, unless Viktoriya asked him, and insisted.  Their signing lessons had all but been forgotten.

Eli shrugged, and let out a smoky sigh.  He raised his hands, as if he were about to sign to her, but paused, and after a moment, just took a drag off his cigarette.

“It’ll get better, Eli.  They say it takes as many weeks as you dated in months to get over some one.  And you hadn’t been dating that long.” Viktoriya tried to offer.

Eli just shook his head.  He didn’t want to talk about Valentina.  She wasn’t sure what he did want to talk about.  Before she could broach another topic, they were interrupted.  A man that was walking on the other side of Viktoriya had decided to help himself to a hand full of her behind.  As suddenly as it happened, Eli stepped in front of the man.

With his cigarette still poised between his fingers, he signed.  With both hands he made a pinching motion, between his index and thumb of his left hand, and index and middle finger together against his thumb in his right, the cigarette still held between them.  Eli moved his left hand to his temple, with his thumb against his middle and ring finger, other two extended he moved his hand out, and then made a fist with his left and extended his index and middle finger in the “K” hand signs as he brought his hand down on his flattened right palm.  He wore a protective anger on his face.

“Whoa! Whoa, dude!” The man backed away from Eli. “I didn’t know she was your girlfriend.  But I mean, look at her!”

Viktoriya’s outfit did draw attention, a pair of tight jeans and a white ribbed tank top.  Even though she wore a red zip-up sweatshirt over top, the sleeves pushed up to her elbow, her dark colored bra was visible through her shirt.  But just the same, she had dressed for comfort, not for show.

Eli made another fist with his left hand, and put it over his palm-down flat right and moved them apart, he tucked his thumb between ring finger and small finger, put his finger tips together, and finally moved his hands apart.  After a moment he held both hands up above his head, and with index and middle fingers crossed and ring and small fingers tucked behind his thumbs, and extended both arms away from his body.

Viktoriya was surprised by Eli’s defense of her.  She didn’t think he ever noticed her as a person, but maybe that’s all he ever saw her as.  She wasn’t just a woman, his boss, or his friend.  To Eli Viktoriya was all of those, and even more.