Out of the Shadows (Akira and Deane Thriller Series Book 1)

by Tim Jopling

  Olsen watched from the shadows at the corner of the corridor. The thought of Rachel waiting for him soothed one half of his body but the other half, the man of skill that had dodged death and been trained to perfection, refused to let it go. It’s all been a sick joke. Olsen leapt out of the semi-dark corner, flew through the air and locked Drake’s neck into his muscled right arm, refusing to let go.

  Drake lurched to one side, dropped the files and gasped as he struggled for breath. His instinct knew who it was. ‘Olsen! Don’t make it any worse for yourself!’ He lifted his weak arms and tried everything he could to release himself from the brace but made no impact.

  The demons swirled around inside the mind of the former Government agent as he began to squeeze slowly, speaking quietly into Drake’s left ear. ‘You should be aware, everything I’m capable of I learnt from the training I was given by MI6.’ Olsen’s voice changed to a terrifying whisper. ‘You should never have crossed me.’ The thoughts inside of him took over again and within seconds he had made his decision.

  A powerful deep voice pierced the moment. ‘Sam…’ There was a long pause before the voice spoke again. ‘Let him go. He’s not the enemy and you know it.’

  Olsen’s ears pricked up in amazement. He turned around slowly, continued to hear his hostage choking and saw Deane standing nearby, just a few feet away. Olsen had to blink twice to be certain. Sure enough, the tall, powerful frame of his former partner and mentor stood there staring back at him. ‘You know what he’s done?’ Olsen still spoke in a whisper but it was tinged with sadness as if he knew he was making things worse but just couldn’t help himself.

  Deane took a step forward, his dark blue eyes locked onto the piercing dark brown of the man he regarded as his son. ‘I heard every word.’ He stepped closer still, keeping eye contact throughout. ‘But we can’t control everything, not even here. There are other ways to make a difference. Drake has his own agenda and you have yours.’

  ‘Don’t defend him.’

  ‘Never.’ Deane’s eyes burned bright as he held his ground. ‘This isn’t going to achieve anything; you know that. Let him go and come back with me.’ To Oman he wanted to say but he forced himself not to.

  ‘My career, my team, who I am; this man has gone out of his way to take that away.’ Olsen’s eyes looked lost.

  A faint smile came to his lips. ‘Unlike me…you’ve always been more than just the job. You’ve built a life away from the agency. The biggest mistake you could ever make would be to throw that away now. Don’t let someone like him take you away from what you were born to do.’

  Drake had given up trying to break free but glared at Deane ahead of him. He had never felt so helpless.

  Deane took another two steps and reached the boy he loved. He slowly placed a hand on Olsen’s arm and spoke in delicate tone. ‘Let him go…Rachel is waiting for you. I can take you to her. Come on.’

  Thoughts continued to scream at Olsen in his mind, but they were slowing down now. Just minutes ago when he had pounced on Drake he had struggled to make out one from the other. The contact from Deane had broken through to him and his pace of thought was now slowing. Olsen realised he was out of breath and for the first time registered Drake’s body next to his. He slowly released the Chief of MI6, who promptly collapsed on the floor. Olsen knelt down and saw the red-faced weasel gasping for breath. He spoke in a more controlled voice, the terrifying whisper now gone. ‘You should count yourself lucky.’ His large right hand grabbed Drake’s hair on the side of his head and lifted him slightly. ‘By the way, I quit.’

  Without so much as a second look he stepped over his adversary and followed Deane down the corridor. Along the way, a touch of sympathy welled up inside of him as he caught sight of Jordan sitting all alone in briefing room three, his head in his hands. No fiancée waiting for him…

  Deane studied Olsen’s features as they made their way out of MI6 headquarters. He struggled to decide what to say, with so many words to choose from. ‘Sam. Quitting is a drastic measure. There will always be a place for you in Oman with me.’ As they came to the security checkpoint, he saw a young woman in the distance. ‘For you and Rachel, if that’s what you want.’ He placed his huge right hand on Olsen’s shoulder. ‘I’d just hate to see you throw it all away and I don’t want to lose you.’

  Despite having his career crushed by one man and feeling terrified about what he would become, he still couldn’t repress a smile. Ahead of him was Rachel, who stood by the checkpoint, with the Thames nearby and a beautiful blue sky above her. Streaming golden rays of sunlight gave Rachel an almost angelic look about her. Olsen was worried about his future; there was no doubt about it. The lost at sea feeling he had been expecting had yet to come though and why would it? With Rachel beside him and Deane, as ever, always there, things could have been so much worse. He turned to face his mentor. ‘You know something, in the last three months I think we’ve learned more about each other than we have in the last twenty years. There’s never any chance you’ll lose me, I’ll always be here, no matter what job I do.’

  Deane closed his eyes briefly and grasped his former partner by the scruff of the neck. ‘Contact me if you change your mind.’ He couldn’t deny it, there was a deep sadness within him, knowing that Olsen was leaving and would no longer be doing what his destiny had led him to from the start. Feelings of failure welled up inside him and he couldn’t push them away.

  Olsen said his goodbyes and walked towards the love of his life. He felt better than he had expected but an uneasy feeling lingered in the background. He used every ounce of energy inside him to push it away as he tried to adapt to the future that awaited him.

  Jozef heard his boots squelch underneath the sodden grass, as he stood near his brother’s coffin in the bleak looking graveyard. The thick drizzle continued to pour down as dark, deadly looking clouds loomed overhead. Jozef stood next to Ferec. His dark green lifeless eyes focussed on the coffin in front of him. Jozef felt in a trance and had done for hours, as the loss of his twin brother refused to sink in. The words on the plaque almost changed to a different name; not Gyorgy. He bowed his head and didn’t feel the rain run down him, the senses inside him felt deadened with every passing moment. He grabbed Ferec’s arm and dragged him away from the bleak scene. Jozef spoke in an emotionless tone, one that was totally fixed on every word. ‘I don’t care how long it takes Zoltan, what we have to do, I will avenge my brother, I promise you that.’

  Ferec watched his friend walk back to the coffin and wondered what excitement was coming his way. For a moment he caught the glance of another mourner whose glare was so intense, even Ferec had to look away.

  Akira had heard every word, his eyes had never strayed from Ferec, who was beginning to walk off. Everyone in the cemetery could feel Akira’s vibe. No one stood near him and nobody spoke to him. The continuous rainfall soaked his darkened robe to the core but the scene to him seemed somewhat appropriate. The loss of Gyorgy Kiprich, a devoted follower to the cause, had been felt by the entire network but emotional revenge had no place in Akira’s thoughts or actions. He had considered intervening in the vow he had overheard but had immediately decided against it. Jozef, with Ferec at his side, could prove to be a formidable partnership, one that could well do some damage to their Western enemies.

  Akira lowered his head and trudged away from the scene. There had been danger, but Patrice Marraud was gone forever and could no longer threaten him. His bid for Salenko to be the next President of Russia was on course and the protectors of the West were diminishing in numbers by the day. Let Jozef have his revenge. My plans for the West are all that matters. The future will be so different.

  Look out for the next novel in the series…

  UNDERGROUND MURMURS

  (Akira and Deane Thriller Series Book 2)

  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 star
ts 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.

  Available now in print from Amazon and eBook format from Amazon, Kobo, Nook and iBooks

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  Tim Jopling