by Tim Jopling
OUT OF THE
SHADOWS
(Akira and Deane Thriller Series Book 1)
Tim Jopling
Copyright 2017 Tim Jopling
Author Note
‘Out of the Shadows’ is book one in a series of novels and tells the tragic story of Akira and his quest to make his vision become a reality.
Acknowledgements
My biggest thanks go to my wife Hannah who has been a tower of strength for everything in my life but she has also had to listen to me talk about all the variations that this novel could have been over the years and the end result would be nothing without her!
Thanks also to all the test readers who have been so supportive and provided such valuable feedback!
Licence Notes
This novel is a work of fiction. Names, events, places, characters, incidents and businesses are either products of the Author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner with kind permission from their owners. As such, all characters are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Table of contents
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Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Underground Murmurs (Akira and Deane Thriller Series Book 2)
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(Akira and Deane Thriller Series Book 2)
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The path to revenge is not an easy one. Akira has been stopped once but his hunger and desire for global change grows stronger every day. With the help of a political puppet he starts down a dangerous path to bring a former super power back from the dead to aid his strike at the heart of the West.
With Russia in turmoil Thomas Deane is dispatched with his new partner to prevent a political uprising unaware that he is walking into a trap. With his health failing him he has to draw on all of his experience to survive, but standing in his way is Akira who will stop at nothing to gain his revenge.
With MI6 de-stabilised by an attack it’s forced to re-activate S.U.C.O. (Special Undercover Covert Operations) who together must prevent an attack on home soil. Masterminded by two of Akira’s closest allies, Jozef Kiprich and Zoltan Ferec what lines will S.U.C.O. have to cross to stop them? Sam Olsen leads his team into the depths of the London Underground network and its many abandoned stations. Deep beneath ground level in tunnels not touched for decades are the clues they need to stop another attack.
‘Excellent read! For anyone who enjoys action, suspense, mystery and espionage books then give this a go!’
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PROLOGUE
Saturday, December 24th 02:00,
Moscow, Russia.
In the shadows, along the banks of Moskva River in central Moscow, Akira closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind. As he did so, he thought of his future and the destiny he had envisaged for himself. He had come through so much in his past, and so many changes, but there was more to come.
His vision of the future had become the driving force of his life. A vision of what the world could be if he proved successful. Ever since he had left his old identity behind and forged Akira, he was determined to rid the world of the corruption that held it in such a vice. The West had to be conquered, there was no way to save it. It was time to start a new journey and Akira would be at the forefront. Nothing and nobody would stand in his way, not after what he had endured in the past.
The December gloom didn’t affect him as thick flakes of snow fell from a darkened sky onto a silent Moscow. Dressed all in black, Akira waited in the undergrowth for Martin Braga, the Moscow based MI6 agent he had tracked over the last two months. From his surveillance, Akira knew the man’s habits, and where his contacts were located around the city. The longer he waited to strike, the more chance there was of his presence being detected.
Russia would form the core of the change. Political control of the former super power would come in time as would his access to their nuclear capabilities. Akira had always favoured Russia, every corner of the country brimmed with power. A power that needed to be harnessed if his vision were to become a reality.
Along the banks of Moskva River, with the famous GUM department store in the distance, Akira saw his prey approach his position. Seconds passed and Akira leapt out from the undergrowth. He smashed into Braga, who reached for his weapon but Akira kicked it out of his hand in one swift motion.
The two men fell back and faced each other. Snow continued to fall and with it came eerie silence as the tiny flakes settled on the ground nearby.
Akira calmed his mind and his racing heart. There was no room for error, his first real test had begun and he was not about to fall at the first hurdle. With his hands outstretched, he made his first move in San Shou. Akira had always preferred the ancient Chinese hand-to-hand fighting style. With it came confidence, knowing that his opponents attack would be based around the fallible Savate style of fighting. Just like MI6 themselves, it was so one-dimensional.
That knowledge gave Akira all the confidence he needed. His past ensured he knew everything there was to know about Martin Braga and yet, to his opponent, he was an unknown quantity.
Akira moved forward and lashed out repeatedly. With his greater speed and power, he made sure his attacks did the damage from the start. The first blow struck hard into Braga’s neck, and the second broke a cheekbone. A heavy blow to the chest forced Braga on his back and though he hit back, Akira parried the blow and lashed out at his temples. With his prey dazed, Akira moved in for the kill. His hands locked around Braga’s neck and with all his strength he applied the force necessary to end the fight. For Akira, it was as personal as it could be. In all the years that had passed, he had waited patiently in the background, but the time had to come to emerge from the shadows.
Braga struggled to break free and started to contort his body.
Akira resisted and slowly felt the neck start to give way. When it finally snapped, the body of Martin Braga went limp. The snow continued to fall, and the silence gave him clarity on what he had done. It had been a necessary kill. There had to be sacrifice for change.
As he pushed the body away, Akira didn’t look at the lifeless face that stared back at him. Many would call him a cold-blooded killer, but was he? The West had betrayed him all those years ago. Had their failure forced him down this path? His memories of back then, in what seemed like someone else’s life, were inconsistent. Only fragments came back to him from time to time. As he closed his eyes, he tried to remember the finer details but instead, images flashed by. Static and grainy images of friends that should have helped him rather than turn their back on him in his most desperate hour. Friends he had once trusted with his life had betrayed him with devastating results. He had lost his soul mate and the only person who mattered, his beloved wi
fe Madeline.
A vivid memory took over his thoughts. It was the sound of the machines that had kept Madeline alive in her final days and the smell of a hospital room. Akira shuddered at the memory but it would not fade. During those final moments, Madeline’s voice had been so weak, and her smile so faint as she had stroked his face. That day, Akira had been born but even he sometimes wondered whether his soul was still there in that hospital room waiting to take in what had happened.
Amidst such grief, Akira had begun to hear Madeline’s voice in his mind. Doctors had said he had suffered some form of a mental breakdown but he had dismissed it. His desire to have some connection with Madeline had been so strong he didn’t want to consider any other possibility. Over time, her voice had grown stronger and when he needed her most she would come to him. In the years after her tragic death, he had become convinced they had both witnessed the vision they had been given and in some way, she could live on and help make it a reality.
Memories burned the remains of his heart and a single tear ran down his face. It didn’t matter how often he thought back to those dark times, he still felt the sorrow and the heartbreak. All he had wanted was a life of happiness with Madeline. Why had they not helped him when he needed it most? How could they betray him after everything he had done for-
Do not go back to that place my love. Time has passed and everything has changed. Our revenge starts now; do not doubt our vision of the future. They will pay the price for their betrayal.
Madeline. Whenever he needed support, she would come to him. Her voice sounded as clear as it always had. He closed his eyes and fought back more tears. ‘I wish you were with me. This is proving…difficult.’ His own voice broke for a moment.
Take control of your emotions and remember what they did to me, what they did to us! The West took away our future. They stole our happiness…
Akira nodded. Every word was true, but it was proving harder than he had imagined to start the journey alone.
The vision my love, remember the vision. What we saw could change so much, and do so much good. You must stay the course. Don’t forget what we lost, what we could have been!
‘I just wish you were with me. I need you.’
I will always be with you my love. We will be on this journey together, always.
Akira tried his best to remember the vision, and with it came a sense of hope and strength. The knowledge that only he and Madeline were aware of it somehow brought them closer together. That day had been unforgettable. The idea of a world without corrupt Governments and their deceitful foreign policies had given him a ray of light, in what had been the darkest days after losing his wife. A world of change.
Show no mercy and do what must be done.
In his mind, he felt her presence as if she were next to him. Seconds passed until he heard no more and he walked away from the body of the dead MI6 agent. Within minutes, he had leapt from the riverbank into the nearby Alexandrovsky Gardens. Every inch was covered with snow and a cold wind rustled the branches of the trees. With each step, Akira made a silent promise to himself and his dead wife, Madeline. His destiny was somewhere in the future and on that day, the West and its hypocritical Governments would fall. The world would change forever.
This was just the start…