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Chapter Fifteen
Loeb
My life has imploded much like it began…in a burst of chaos and rejection. When I woke up this morning, it was to love, snuggles and adoration. My how the mighty have fallen. It started this morning when I looked over at the envelope on my desk and decided it was time to open it. I knew whatever was in it was going to change my life and I needed to open with people I trusted. I called the LT and my best friend Croix to meet me at headquarters.
A couple of hours later, after making love to my woman, hellbent on putting my son inside of her and telling her I would see her later, I walked out the door, not aware this was the day my fall would be complete.
“Loe. What’s going on?” my LT asks me sitting in his chair.
“Yeah man. Where’s the fire?” Croix asks, pouring some coffee.
“The guy I found, the one from the census, he brought me the details to help us find the sleepers.”
“That’s excellent.”
“Yeah” I agree. However, he also felt it was his due diligence to dig into my life and he said what is in this envelope could change everything.” I tell them, throwing it on the table between us.
“Well, what’s in it? I mean how bad could it be? We already know your father was a sorry excuse for a human.” LT grunts spitting out his Tobacco. I shrug because it’s true.
“Well then open it. geez.” Croiz says. I look at it a bit longer before ripping it open. At first glance I see newspaper clippings that mean nothing to me and pictures of a beautiful young girl, with a family in front of what could only be described as a plantation. Shaking my head, the confusion sets in as each of us grab the papers and try to decipher what he found. It isn’t until I come to an official document that the clouds thicken and the thunder booms.
“Holy shit.” I say, gripping the table so hard my knuckles begin to crack.
“What?” LT asks, grabbing the paper from my hand. I can’t answer him. There is bile and rage clogging my throat, preventing words from forming.
“Fuck.” LT says, looking at me. “You really had no clue?” I shake my head feeling like I am coming out of my skin. “What about Julius?” he asks, wondering if my cousin knew.
“I doubt it. His father might have been softer than mine, but he was still secretive.”
“Will someone tell me what the hell is going on.” Croix demands. Looking at my best friend I try to say the words.
“According to these documents, my father and his brother came over here in 1981 when he was 25 years old under the guise of being a foreign exchange student.” the words feel like poison on my tongue.
“So what’s the big deal about that?” Croix says still not getting it.
“He was born Gleb Turgenev. His birthplace was Kazan.” I tell him, knowing he will get it now. We have done plenty of missions there.
“You are not saying..” he stops, not able to say the words either.
“My father is a sleeper.”
“Holy fuck, Loe.” Yeah. Tell me about it. Images of my childhood begin flashing like one of those old toys where you hit the switch and another image appears. I see the house, void of any pictures of him as a child. I can remember holidays without his family, never meeting them or even knowing what their names are. I remember insignias hidden in his office, all of which seemed foreign. The one time I was brave enough to ask about them, I ended up with a split lip and a reminder to be grateful I wasn’t subject to the type of poverty and torture bestowed upon those in his ‘village’ that disobeyed. I was young then, the word Village never resonated, but now, it all makes sense.
I am so lost in trying to put the pieces together, that I don’t hear LT until he touches my shoulder. “I am afraid it’s worse than that.” he says, handing me one of the newspaper clippings in the envelope. What could be worse than finding out your father is one of the enemies you have been hunting?
Hands shaking, I grab the paper and read it, my mind not comprehending until I see the age progression photo. “No.” I call out, pain radiating my hands and my chest. I vaguely hear words…people grabbing me and being stuck with a needle. Nothing I knew was real. Nothing.
“Hey.” I look and see Lairn, one of my teammates.
“Hey. When did you get here?” I ask, my voice raspy and cracked. My gaze drifts to the clock and I see only a few hours have passed. They must have hit me with a small dose of lithium. Not enough to knock me out, but enough to snooze me long enough for me to calm down. I notice the room is destroyed and I gather I did that.
