Out of the Shadows (Akira and Deane Thriller Series Book 1) (17 page)

On Al-Mina
Street, behind Geoff Olsen, a taxi coasted to a stop. Oscar Moas’s
accomplice got out and silently closed the door. Two other men did
the same from the other side. The accomplice gave a nod to his
colleagues and led them down the alleyway, closing in on the threat
they had been waiting for.

Minutes passed
as Deane rushed through the crowds, eventually finding himself back
at the Al-Nahda Hotel. The sun felt hotter to him than it had done
just an hour before, beads of sweat began to form on his forehead.
As he checked the area carefully, Deane tried to recover from his
sprint and felt his heart miss a beat at the sight of the empty
Toyota car to his left. He gritted his teeth and felt even more on
edge as he wondered where his target was. Wasting no time, he
rushed down the street and continued to look in all directions,
desperate to see a sign or a clue. Experience told him to return to
the hotel and wait but something inside made him walk on further.
The Mina Hotel passed him by, looking as deserted as it had done
before. Deane looked around again and was just about to give up
hope and turn back to the car, when a woman’s scream shattered the
relaxed setting. Without waiting to see what the cause was, he
sprinted off in the direction of the noise, rushing down the steep
hill of Al-Mina Street. Ahead of him, other Omanis were gathering,
some running down an alleyway to the left. Deane did the same and
almost fell to the dusty floor in shock. There ahead of him was
Geoff Olsen, lying motionless in a pool of blood. On first sight,
it looked like Geoff had been stabbed in the neck and lower
abdomen.

Deane lost all
colour in his face. His mouth was open, his eyes wide with
disbelief. The scene ahead of him was unthinkable; never had he
imagined his partner and best friend as fallible. A young Omani
woman was sitting beside the body of Geoff Olsen, screaming out for
help in Arabic. Still Deane stood on the sidelines. His body
shuddered under the weight of the emotions that were rushing
through his system
. I should have
insisted…made him realise we shouldn’t have split up.
Deane pushed his way violently through the crowd
and rushed over to his partner. Forcing himself not to analyse the
stab wounds, he assessed the situation quickly, looked for vital
signs and set about giving Geoff Olsen Cardiopulmonary
Resuscitation (CPR). Gently, he tilted the head back and checked
the airway. Switching onto autopilot as he desperately tried not to
look into his friend’s lifeless eyes, Deane pinched the nose closed
and gave two rescue breaths. With no signs of circulation, he
locked his hands together in the correct formation and placed the
heel of his right hand over his partner’s lower ribs.
‘One…two…three…’ Deane continued his compressions, as tears ran
down his face. After the first two breaths of mouth-to-mouth
ventilation, his friend gave no response. The Omani woman in front
of him mumbled in Arabic but Deane was not giving up. He brushed
his tears away and tried again, refusing to listen to the voice in
his head that was telling him it was his fault…

Silence was all there was
between the two men. Minutes passed and nothing was said. Deane
spoke first. ‘Let me give you a ride to the airport.’ His voice was
slow and full of emotion.

Olsen didn’t
respond immediately. To hear the true events, in such detail, after
all these years was a traumatic experience. But at the same time,
there was calmness inside his heart. As if the nightmare and
desperate feeling of wanting the truth were finally starting the
process of never coming back. He spoke so quietly, it could almost
be classed as a whisper. ‘It’s fine, I’ll get a taxi.’ He rose to
his feet and picked up his luggage.

Deane stood at
the door and raised his right hand. His normal presence as the
senior agent had seemingly returned. ‘Don’t think for a moment
we’re finished here. I’ve spent the last hour or so smoothing
things over with the authorities. You stole a police car and almost
wrecked the town for god’s sake.’

Olsen said
nothing and didn’t regret his actions.

Deane watched
his headstrong partner and still was at a loss as to where the
reckless streak in him came from. ‘I’ve contacted our agent in the
UAE; no doubt she’ll be on the lookout for those men.’ He sighed
and shook his head. The one thing he didn’t want on their last
operation together was to end on an argument. He had so much to say
and struggled to start. ‘Look…uh…outside the embassy, you did well
today, you hear me? I still don’t agree with your methods but you
were right to go for that truck; your instincts are…well-tuned.’
Deane wanted to touch on the subject of his young partner’s violent
temper but forced himself not to. Somehow, with words he couldn’t
muster, he so wanted to say how much he loved him but just couldn’t
start.

Olsen said
nothing and merely watched his mentor. This was their last
operation together, as Olsen was moving to become team leader of
S.U.C.O.

Deane knew the
partnership was in its final moments and was willing to do anything
to prevent it. He swallowed and ran a hand over his face. The time
he had spent with Olsen in Oman had been traumatic but at the same
time worthwhile. The Prince was still alive, an attack had been
thwarted, and despite the end drawing near, at least the air had
been cleared between them. ‘If you’re sure this is what you
want.’

Olsen was still
trying to come to terms with what he had been told about his
father. But that was all in the past now. There was no denying that
he regarded Deane as his father figure and mentor in the present
and that he loved him with all his heart, but he needed to prove
himself and stand alone. That burning desire never
faded.

The silence gave Deane his
answer. His eyes failed to focus on his young partner, who he would
always refer to as his son. ‘Promise me…promise me you won’t leave
the service?’ His voice was soft and touched with sadness.

Olsen could
feel the emotion welling up in his throat and wondered whether he
had picked up a hint of failure in his friend’s tone of voice.
Deane had saved his life on numerous occasions, had trained him to
be an effective Government agent and, more than anything, instilled
in him the cause to fight on behalf of his country. ‘I’ll contact
you, Tom.’

Deane remained in the doorway,
continuing to look away. ‘Just be careful…….Sam…’

Olsen gave his
long-time partner an emotion filled hug and quickly walked down the
stairs to the street below, not wanting to stay another moment in
case he changed his mind.

Chapter 13

Thursday, March 8
^th
08:00,

Moscow, Russia.

Icy winds passed right through Akira
despite the several layers of thick clothing he was wearing.
Beneath them, his silver locket bounded around his neck and at
times touched the chest that housed his black heart. The locket,
with its delicate markings and polished silver, was a solitary link
to a man long gone, to a heart that was no longer capable of
anything other than savage destruction.

Moscow in
February was always well below freezing but the weather was just a
distraction. His quest for global change was now moving into its
final stages of preparation. The failure in Oman had bothered him
greatly but compared to the changes he was hell bent on making, it
was small in comparison. Low key attacks served their purpose but
for real change, he knew all too well that he would need a super
power on his side; a country that when merged with his allies,
could not only stand equal with the West but be strong enough to
topple it.

Akira had
waited in the wings for many years. Finally, just as Madeline had
told him, the opportunity had arisen. The Russian elections were
around 4 months away, and now was the time to begin making moves
for change.

By now, several
Middle-Eastern countries were under his control, enough to have
already caused the deaths of hundreds, including many of the West’s
protectors; MI6, French, German, Canadian, C.I.A. or even F.B.I.
agents. In his mind and his heart, he could hardly contain himself.
His plan to have his long time friend and ally, Mikhail Salenko,
elected as the next President of Russia made him realise that he
had come so far but there was still much to be done. In time,
agents would come from the West, in their droves possibly, in an
attempt to dissolve the threat and have Salenko terminated, but he
would do everything to stop them, even if it meant giving his own
life to the cause. There was simply no one that could challenge
him. All of it was for Madeline, to ensure once and for all that
the corrupted West would cease its constant policies and be
dissolved.
Madeline can’t have died for
nothing.

Akira turned a
corner, saw more heavy snow falling from the sky and noted the
impressive sight of Trinity Gate Tower ahead of him; a huge
structure that was the entrance to the Moscow Kremlin. It stood
tall, with its blood like colour and impressive features standing
out so clearly in the dismal weather. He wondered when the day
would come when he would have the power of Russia at his
fingertips. The political influence infected him, as did the
stronghold of power that emanated from the impressive sight the
Kremlin gave.

Underneath the
Trinity Gate Tower, floods of tourists and locals passed him by.
None of them gave him a second look as he was dressed in a heavy
black jacket, black boots and a thick hat to keep out the cold. At
the far corner, he spotted his trusted ally. Rushing over, the two
men gave each other a warm hug, each knowing the importance of
their first meeting for months. Akira had been co-ordinating
Salenko’s election campaign from the East but knew it was time he
should be in Moscow in person. He spoke with a faint smile, feeling
supremely confident that the man in front of him would help change
the destiny of the planet forever. ‘Greetings, Mikhail. This is the
start of our journey together.’

S.U.C.O. team
leader Olsen cleared some files from his chair and sat down at the
nearest terminal in Operations Command. He could hear the usual
sounds of computers, printers and technicians rushing around. Olsen
scanned the key areas of an operation report sheet and found that
MI6’s agent in The United Arab Emirates had found no trace of the
Kiprich brothers. The Royal party had returned home and terrorism
had dominated all newspaper and TV reports on a daily basis. He put
the sheet down and thought about contacting Deane, who was still in
Oman. Olsen hadn’t spoken to him since the previous Thursday and
felt unhappy about how they had parted. With the operation now
behind him, he was slowly starting to come to terms with all the
emotion and hoped that in the days to come he would be able to look
forward.

Despite his
relationship with Deane in an unstable position, he knew it would
improve. A new voice had joined his thoughts, one that constantly
reminded him that what happened in Oman all those years ago had
been a tragedy and that he had been very lucky to have had Deane
guiding him ever since. Olsen was now starting to accept
it.

A copy
of
The Times
hit
his shoulder and landed on the desk. Olsen looked up to see one of
his S.U.C.O. agents, Dan Carter, taking off his dark blue jacket
nearby.

‘No sleeping on
the job, Sam.’ Carter slapped a large hand on his friend’s
shoulder. ‘I’m glad you’re all right. Heard what happened in Oman,
you doing ok?’

Olsen led his
friend to the nearest side kitchen. ‘I’ll survive, Dan, though
there were moments where I thought my time was up, in more ways
than one,’

Carter looked around and asked
quietly. ‘I’m impressed you went through with it, must have been
emotional hell.’

‘It was. At the
same time though, to finally hear the truth from Tom about what
happened to my Dad has taken a massive edge off it all. Sounds
crazy, but after all this time it feels like the healing process
has started. Knowing what actually happened was so painful but I
had to know. That whole operation has given me a greater
understanding that what happened was a tragedy but I’ve been so
lucky to have Tom with me over the years. I feel bad about how we
parted, but it feels too early to talk to him again.’

Carter rummaged around for a
spoon. ‘After everything you both went through last week, a little
distance might help. Your relationship will probably be stronger in
the future.’

Olsen thought
about it and hoped it would prove to be the case. ‘I really hope
so, Dan. We may not be working together anymore but I’ll always be
there for him.’

‘I heard a
rumour that the powers at be are going to assign him a new partner.
That would help, right?’

‘Absolutely. If Tom gives the
guy a chance, it could really give him a new challenge. I’ll have
to get in touch with him soon.’

‘Really sounds like you both
talked for the first time though, as crazy as it sounds after all
these years.’ A warm smile came to him. ‘Come to think of it,
whenever I worked with you two it was never exactly chatty.’

‘We really did talk. Maybe it
was the country or just the links to Operation ESPY. Just being in
Oman was hard though, the sights, the smells; everything that Dad
described was there. I even went to the street where…well, you
know.’

Carter listened closely. ‘Can’t
have been easy.’