Chapter Two

The Struggles Of The Heart: Part Two

Iason parked his vehicle in the shady looking area, peering around to ensure he was alone before he got out. He pressed the button on his scanner remote, effectively locking the car with his thumbprint.

He saw the entrance to the underground building, scanning his access card in the slot to have to door slide open for him.

Upon his arrival, a man sitting at a desk in the center of the room looked up and nodded at him. "You must be Iason McKinley," the brunette smiled, gesturing for him to have a seat. "I am Gunther, we spoke on the holophone briefly about you wishing to find someone?"

Iason sat down, pulling a holoscreen out from his messenger bag that was slung on his shoulder. "I am unsure of his last name, but his first name is Riki or something similar. He looks like this."

Gunther examined the screen. "Is this a picture from a news article?"

"Yes," he answered. "This might sound absurd, but the man I am searching for looks approximately like this man."

"Not at all, it will be a valuable help," Gunther dismissed. "I'll run this through my system and see if it matches anyone." He glanced back at Iason. "If I may be so blunt, are you that Iason McKinley? The son of Kaiden McKinley, the leader of the Atrora Syndicate, are you?"

Iason smiled wryly. "I am indeed."

Gunther stiffened a bit. "I...I'll have the results ready for you as soon as I can."

Iason projected the image of Riki from his holoscreen onto the ceiling of his temporary living space. He reached out to the image, wishing that it would come to life and he would be reunited with his beloved. "Oh Riki, where in this galaxy are you?"

He seemed to recall having someone similar to Gunther at his command while he was in power on Amoï, what was that young man's name? Katze. That was it! The redhead who had once been his Furniture before he dispatched him to his true profession of controlling his business in the underworld on his behalf.

Not having what he once did at his disposal was a tad irritating. But he was in an oddly similar role in this life, except he would walk in his Father's steps and beyond instead of carving his own path. With his Father's help, he could gain access to anything he needed. But he preferred to take care of his own issues, using only the basics of what his Father had given him to gain what he wanted. His status was already recognized, but not officially as he had not come to power. He did have a fair amount of power, but not compared to if he was the ruler of the Atrorian Syndicate, the second largest and most powerful after the Amoïan Syndicate, which he had once ruled.

It was definitely not a coincidence that he had a link to his past life even in his profession. The more research he did, the more connections he found and more clear it became that a thousand years was enough time to have passed and that he was slowly being directed back to Amoï.

Everything was falling into place. He just now needed his Riki and everything would be complete.

Gunther copied the results onto Iason's holoscreen. "You're in for a long search, my friend." He tapped the screen. "Twenty seven close resemblance possibilities, eight different planets. Five vague resemblances, three different planets. And six of the men are unknown in various locations. You could be searching for years to locate them."

"Years I do not have," Iason shook his head. "A year I do have."

"Then you'd better get started," Gunther suggested. "It'll take you time to get transported to each planet, let alone finding each individual."

Iason slid the holoscreen into his bag. "Then I'll take my leave now." He threw a wad of fresh bills onto the desk. "Thank you for your assistance."

Gunther stared, wide eyed at the was of bills. It wasn't especially uncommon to find money in bill form in the advanced society, but to see that many together was definitely impressive nonetheless. "My pleasure."

Iason stepped forward, showing his identification and then went through the security scanner before he went straight to his private shuttle. He couldn't be bothered with public transportation, as he had a long list of people to find and time was of the essence.

He entered into his room, setting his belongings in their place and then carried his holoscreen to the captain. "Head for Juyter immediately. Take the fastest route you are able to."

"Yes, my Lord."

Iason watched the coordinates be punched in and accepted and then headed back to his living quarters to lay down. Just the thought of having to track down all of these men without depending on systems his father had set in place was daunting. He was definitely limited as he was now. But nonetheless was he determined to find Riki, wherever he was and live the life they weren't able to when they finally accepted their love for one another.

Iason stepped out of the shuttle and onto the tarmac, carrying his belongings with him as he headed straight through the spaceport and to the vehicle that was awaiting to escort him. This planet did not possess high flying vehicles such as Amoï and Atrora did, but rather lower flying ones that hovered due to an opposing magnetic track below. Juyter did however possess the finest high speed skyrails, which were highly praised and adapted by Amoï and other planets.

"Take me to this address," Iason commanded, handing the screen over to the driver to examine and copy the coordinates. "And make it quick."

The driver immediately routed out the path to the address and gunned it, forcing his way through the traffic and arriving at a middle class neighborhood. He pulled up to a fairly decent home, and Iason stepped out of the vehicle.

Iason had wondered how he would know it was Riki, but he supposed if it didn't look like him and he didn't feel the same as he did while with Riki, then it wasn't.

He knocked on the door, and was greeted with a taller man with dark hair and muddy brown eyes. "Can I help you, Sir?"

"Are you Ritcher?" Iason inquired, looking the man up and down and immediately knowing this man was not Riki. He didn't look like him, and he didn't have the connection he did with Riki. He just knew when Riki was nearby.

"I am, who are you?"

"My name is Iason." He watched, hoping for some vague recognition if this man was some partially different reincarnation of Riki, but none occurred. "I apologize, I have the wrong address. Excuse me."

Ritcher watched as Iason turned, walking away in confusion then shrugged.

Iason slipped back into the vehicle, crossing off the first person and then instructing the driver to take him to the skyrail station, as the next possibility with six hours away. He feared this would be a very troublesome task. With a sigh, he pinched the bridge of his nose, wondering if his love was alive somewhere, if he remembered him, if he was searching for him too. Iason felt his dejected heart grow heavy in his chest as the driver headed out for the next stop.

He threw his bags back onto his private portal, assigning the next planet of destination to his driver. The two possibilities on this planet had been located and denied. It had taken the entire day just to locate the second one and when he did he was disappointed. Finding Riki was going to be a horrid task if he had so many look a likes.

Iason had to see them to verify if they were indeed Riki with a slight abnormal appearance or not. It seemed like a waste of time to search for someone who wasn't even remotely who he wanted.

It hurt.

It hurt a lot. To get his hopes up. To have the possibility of a quicker reunion ripped away left guilt eating at his insides.

What if every moment he was away Riki was suffering? What if he was about to die because he wasn't there to protect him?

Or worse.

What if Riki hadn't remembered his past life? What if he married and had a family? Would he be able to accept that?

Iason felt his stomach churn and his chest grow tight at the thought of Riki prospering without him. He would have no right to pull Riki back into his arms if he had a better life. He pressed a hand to his chest, trying to soothe his internal turmoil and distressed heart.

He could only hope it was not too late to have a proper second chance with his beloved Riki.

To Be Continued