Looking For The Light (Book 2)

Looking For The Light Chapter 10 - Andrej

            Somewhere in the hotel room, Andrej Searzy’s phone was beeping incessantly with an alert.  Valentina Lytton was somewhere nearby, but he wasn’t ready to meet her yet.  He stood in front of his bathroom mirror, covered with pictures of Elijah Coates, all taken from poor quality security footage provided to him from Mr. Horowitz, taped around the edges.  He still didn’t look enough like Elijah.  Andrej pulled at his chin, tugged at his nose, but there was only some much his gift could help him with.  Rubbing a hand a long his jaw line, the shadow of stubble helped hide the imperfections.  He combed at his hair, turning brown under fingers, getting thicker.  Eli’s eyes looked back at him.  Eli’s face looked back at him.  Almost.  The nose still wasn’t perfect. 

Andrej gave up, walking over to the bed where his suit was waiting.  He hated suits.  It felt like being in a straightjacket.  Layers of straightjacket.  Andrej had never been to England.  He wondered if it was really that cold in London.  Undershirt, underwear, socks, button down shirt, trousers, belt, leather shoes, vest, and then a coat.  He forgot his tie.  Andrej scowled at the tie, wondering how crucial it was to being Eli.  Could he get away without it? Would Valentina see through him?

Andrej wondered what fooling Valentina would mean.  He was hoping it would be as simple as showing up.  That she would exclaim what a surprise it was to see him in New York, and ask why he wasn’t in wherever he left London for.  From there it would be a simple job of offering to walking her home, drug her and put her in bed.  Let her wake up to think it was just a weird dream, while he was already flying back with a win for the Restorationists.  One step closer to finding Elijah, meant one step closer to having the hostage turned over to them.  One step closer to their movement being recognized as victims, exiled from their home, and scattered across the world.  One step closer to freedom.

Andrej had been raised in the movement along with his sister, Jovana and so many other children they had never met until recently.  More than twenty years ago, their parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, older cousins had been peacefully living in an isolated paradise, where people like them – people born with gifts, could live together, publically, using their gifts for the betterment of society.  This ever-growing Eden continued for many, many years.  They saw one of their own rise to a position of leadership in the community, and threw their support behind him.  They were prosperous, healthy, and happy.  There was no crime or violence.  But everything changed when some new pilgrims arrived – a young man in particular.  In those next five years, their peace was broken, shattered, profaned, blasphemed, and then culminating with the assassination of their leader.  This wretch took their leader’s place, ruining their society, destroying their values and breaking apart families and in his final terrible act, disbanding their settlement.

Militaries from many countries sent planes and helicopters to collect their expatriates, reclaim their runaways and return them to their prisons.  Many tried to return on their own accord, as they had arrived originally but they found the property blockaded off, guarded by armed men.  Resentment planted the seeds of a new movement.  All over Europe, these dispersed peoples formed a network, a new organization, the Restorationists.  They sought to restore the society that was taken from them.  They would rebuild, but first they needed justice against the man that had ruined their lives.  They would put Mikhail Shashenka Sima to trial for what he’d done, and let a jury decide his fate.

For Andrej, Jovana and the other children of the Restorationists, they were raised on stories of the former glory of the society, and the promise that it would come again.  Most of the next generation drank up the words, and sang the praises themselves.  But there were some that did not share their parent’s dream. 

Then, just months ago, an opportunity presented itself for the Restorationists to take Sima in to their custody.  All they had to do was provide a contingent of their youth to act as guards in a compound, and when the contract was fulfilled, Sima would be turned over.  The youth would even be paid for their services.  Andrej and Jovana Searzy were offered up from their family.  Their parents had a particular hatred of Sima.  However the contract was ever changing.  They became more than mere guards, serving as interrogators, servants, janitors, babysitters, and soldiers.  The next change came when their communication, already limited between a non-disclosure agreement, and bad service, was cut off from the Restorationist core.  And then their dealer altered the agreement again, only promising Sima when a young man, Elijah Coates was delivered to him, dead or alive, though there was monetary incentive for a live capture.