Out of the Shadows (Akira and Deane Thriller Series Book 1) (28 page)

The man
lingered for a moment and waited for the woman to leave. He turned
around and looked straight at the older man. ‘Exactly what have
Olsen and Jordan done to deserve you in this mood, Drake?’ He asked
assertively.

The Chief of
MI6 showed no sign of annoyance at the tone of voice or line of
questioning. ‘I have a mandate for this agency and those two men
are incapable of change.’ His dark blue eyes gave a steely glance
to the other man. ‘One hour.’ Drake remembered his orders from the
Prime Minister and was already mapping out in his mind exactly how
he was going to achieve it. He leaned forward and spoke into the
intercom on his desk.

‘Yes, sir? How
can I help?’ spoke the assistant in the next room.

‘I want Burton
in my office in five minutes. Find him and get him up here, now.’
Drake terminated the link and found Burton’s personal file in his
drawer. He began to read several pages of intriguing
information.

French Special
agent Marraud tried his best but couldn’t repress the grin that was
spreading across his face. His gambles had paid off. Through the
binoculars, he saw Salenko and his ever-present companion exit the
black saloon and enter a small bungalow located on the outskirts of
Moscow, backing onto Gorky Park.

In the past
week, Marraud had been working hard on many things. Staying alive
was always his priority but at the same time, he was an effective
researcher and planned his work to perfection. Once again, he had
proven his talent and he’d been waiting for Salenko to arrive for
close to four hours. Situated just a street away, Marraud was
crouching behind some heavy fencing as he saw the men enter the
bungalow. So far, he had learned that Salenko was visiting all the
people from his college background that were now in the minefield
of Russian politics. In other words, calling in as many favours as
possible and from what he had seen, not always in diplomatic
fashion. The mystery man had a vicious temper and didn’t seem
afraid to use it. The possibility of a biased election in Russia
didn’t surprise Marraud, he had half been expecting it but with
every passing day he wondered why no other agents from Europe had
been dispatched to his location. The Russian threat was either not
being taken seriously or perhaps the French Secret Service had been
kept out of the loop.

Jogging down
the street, Marraud found himself at the back of the bungalow and
used all of his stealth to creep in undetected. Kneeling beside the
dining room window, Marraud heard the voice of Salenko and one
other but as ever, he wondered where the mystery visitor was.
Moving just millimetres to his left to catch a glimpse of the
inside, his heart skipped a beat when there was no sign of the ever
present companion. Moving back to the safe haven of his knelt
position, Marraud speculated in his mind as to why he wasn’t
there.
This is his election, his campaign;
he would want to know exactly what was being said. I’ve tracked
five other visits and not once did he leave the room.
A sense of dread spread through him.
Have I been detected?
Marraud didn’t want to hang around to find out, so moved away
from the bungalow, taking the back route that led to his Lada. On
his approach, he attempted to calm himself and as ever, went
through his safety checks upon reaching the vehicle. Despite his
best efforts, he couldn’t achieve full focus but persisted with the
checks. His eyes scanned the vehicle, its tyres, the boot and
bonnet and quickly looked around him before checking underneath the
car for any incendiary devices. He casually checked the back seat
and the driver’s compartment. As he got in the front and turned the
ignition key, sudden anxiety flashed through his body as he jumped
up and realised his mistake.

THE BLANKET! IT’S NORMALLY IN
THE BOOT!

Marraud spun
round just in time as the mystery man, masked and shrouded in a
black robe, leaped like a cat from the back seat…

Burton felt the
sweat run down his back as he came out of the lift and made his way
along the corridor to Drake’s office. His mind was in frenzy as to
what he had done to deserve a summons.
Relax Hal; just take it one step at a time. The guy probably
just wants to introduce himself. Focus!
Burton shook his head as he slowly came to the first door. His
hand trembled as he swiped his identification card through the
reader and watched the green light appear. The door opened slightly
and Burton saw the assistant at her desk. ‘Uh…yeah, your boss is
expecting me apparently. I’m-’

The young
assistant looked the visitor up and down, gave a roll of her eyes
and spoke with disinterest. ‘Hal Burton. I know. You can go
straight in, sir.’ She watched Burton open the large connecting
door and wondered whether he was about to be fired on the grounds
of unpleasant appearance.

Burton shut the
door and stumbled over to the nearest chair, cursing himself for
not having a drink before answering the summons. He stretched over
the desk and offered his hand. ‘I don’t think we’ve met, sir, I’m
Hal Burton, S.U.C.O. commander. It’s a pleasure to meet you.’
Burton managed a toothy grin but Drake failed to move from the
opposite chair. He sat back down and waited. It had been some time
since he had last been in the office and he instantly recognised
how well Drake went with the decor. The faded pinstriped suit was
no surprise and was in stark contrast to Ramsey’s designer
clothes.

Drake placed
his arms on the large mahogany desk and managed his first smile of
the day. ‘Thank you for coming, Burton. Now…you’re in charge of
team S.U.C.O. aren’t you?’

Burton
swallowed hard as he waited for his sacking. ‘Yes, sir. That’s
correct.’

‘I see. These
are changing times for MI6, Burton, a fact I’m sure you are well
aware of. You’ve come to a crossroad. You can either go forwards or
backwards.’

Burton felt his
heart sink.
I knew it. I’m done
for!
‘Uh…well, I guess I want to go
forward, sir. I’m not entirely sure what you mean, to be honest.’
Burton tried to loosen his collar, feeling the pressure that
lingered all around him.

Drake opened a
folder on his desk. ‘I’ve been looking through your lengthy file.
Makes for interesting reading. You’re aware today is the first of
the inquiry, aren’t you?’

‘I’m due to
give evidence at some stage, yes.’

‘Yes, I know.
It’s your evidence I want to talk to you about. It’s going to prove
rather crucial you see and I want to make sure you say the right
thing.’ He watched the agent continue to squirm whilst nodding in
agreement. ‘Good. The briefing you gave to both S.U.C.O. teams
before they left is the key. Especially in terms of any hostages
they might have encountered. What did you say on that? At your
briefing?’

Burton blinked
and tried to remember that far back. His constant days of excessive
drinking had taken their toll and his memory recalled fuzzy
recollections. ‘Well, uh, I’m sorry sir but I didn’t say anything
about hostages at the briefing. It simply wasn’t something we were
expecting.’

‘Yes, I’ve read
your report. Things are going to be changing around here Burton,
change for the greater good.’ Drake got out of his chair and began
to walk around the office before pausing behind Burton, who was
still seated. He placed both hands on the shoulders of the S.U.C.O.
commander. ‘As you know, I’m the chairman of this inquiry but
before that starts, I have an order for you. I want you to say on
the record that you gave direct orders to your team to rescue any
hostages. Is that understood?’

Burton felt the
sweat trickle down his face. ‘Sir…uh, I don’t mind doing favours
for people. I’m just not sure if this favour is legal, you know? I
like doing the right thing when I can.’
Yeah right!
Said a voice in his mind
and Burton had no idea where it came from. Memories of Operation
Safeguard came to him and he pushed them away quickly, not wanting
to remember his part in the betrayal.

Drake removed his hands from
Burton’s shoulders. ‘I have orders from the Prime Minister himself
for change here at MI6, so you should console yourself that your
actions are supported by the very top. Carry out my order.’

‘Yes sir, of course I will.’
Burton lowered his head and wondered how things could get any
worse.

‘Good.’ Drake began to walk
around his office once more. ‘When S.U.C.O. is disbanded, I’ll make
sure you have a seat on the new Security Council. I will see you
for the Inquiry at 11 a.m. Dismissed.’

Burton got up
from the chair and could feel his trousers and shirt sticking to
him as he shuffled out the door. He took out his hanky and wiped
his face, pushing back his black hair and breathing
uncontrollably.

The young
assistant took a sip of her drink and looked around to see Burton
almost shaking outside the connecting door. To her, he looked like
someone who had just come out of a torture chamber.
Or forced to run 10 miles instead!
‘Are you ok, sir?’ The young woman asked with her
mouth wide open, genuinely shocked at what was standing in front of
her.

Burton loosened
his tie and began to walk to the exit. ‘Something wrong with the
air conditioning, I think. It needs sorting.’ The soon to be former
S.U.C.O. commander stumbled out into the corridor and saw salvation
ahead of him as he made his way to a water cooler several metres
away.

Olsen waited in
a local café that was just a few minute’s walk from MI6
headquarters. Sitting by the window, he watched people race past
and for a moment wondered where each one was heading. He looked
back to the counter to see his fiancée, Rachel buying two teas.
Several days ago, over dinner, he had felt uncomfortable at the
news that she had insisted on accompanying him to the gates of MI6.
Now, he felt happy the girl he was going to marry was a stubborn
one. Olsen felt uneasy as to how the day was going to pan out but
was certain of one thing for sure
. Drake
won’t stop at just a caution; he’s out for blood!

The day before,
Olsen had received a phone call from Ramsey, informing him that the
inquiry was to be chaired by Drake and that it was to be a closed
hearing.
In other words, no defence and
lambs to the slaughter.
The suspended
Government agent tried to loosen his tie as he fiddled with his
black Armani suit. He watched Rachel walk over to him, shaking her
head. ‘Mine’s a strong tea, right?’

Rachel gave him
the drink and sat down whilst tugging at the figure hugging dark
blue jacket she was wearing. ‘Stopped raining?’ She asked casually.
The young woman looked out the window and fiddled with her long
dark brown hair that was in a ponytail. Her light blue eyes studied
her partner who was looking at the floor. ‘Hey…’ She put her hands
around his waist and moved closer. ‘It’s going to be ok, Sam. Even
if this Drake guy does do what you say he will, it’s not the end of
the world. We’ll still be together.’ She hoped that would be
enough. Since their lunch at Café Uno, they hadn’t really spoken
about her fears again. Rachel couldn’t deny she felt horrible for
hoping that S.U.C.O. would be decommissioned and her husband to be
would be forced to take a normal job.

Olsen smiled back at her. ‘I
know Rach, that doesn’t mean Drake should be able to get away with
this.’ He held her hand and felt a boost of hope.

Rachel watched
Olsen closely and felt more and more convinced that the loss of his
career would be the bombshell to their relationship she feared it
would be. In all the years she had known him, not once had she seen
him looking frightened but he did now. Clearly he couldn’t do
without his job despite his efforts of late to look at other
options.

Olsen pushed his drink away.
‘Do you mind if we get moving, I just can’t sit around right now.’
Rising from the chair, he led Rachel out of the café and along the
main road. He felt her place her arm around him and looked back to
see a warm smile that made him feel so much better. Olsen took hold
of her hand again and smiled at her. He felt so lucky to have her.
‘Can you believe it’s been 10 years since we met? 10 years!’

Rachel
tightened her grip and tried all she could to brighten her man.
‘I’ve never known you to be anything other than a Government agent
either Sam. It doesn’t matter what happens, you’ll always be my
knight in shining armour.’

Olsen led her
across the road and saw the unmistakable sight of MI6 headquarters
not far away. ‘I’ve said it before but it wasn’t what I wanted to
do, it was my Dad’s calling. Well, he worked with Deane for years.
I met Tom when I was…ooh, about 3 years old. My Dad brought him
round to our place one Sunday.’

Rachel listened intently before
asking. ‘Did they get on? Your Dad and Deane?’

Olsen felt a
shudder move through him as he recalled the pain of his recent
operation in Oman and decided he would tell Rachel all about Deane
and his father. One day, just not yet. ‘They did. My Dad and Tom
were a fantastic team, the very best. Tom used to be round our
place whenever he was in the country. I was always interested in
his stories, some of the most amazing stuff you’ll ever hear. Not
as amazing as Dad’s tales but there you go. Then years later, Tom
stepped in and offered me the chance to join the service. I
remember at the time, thinking over whether it was for me. I could
never really see myself as a Government agent in the world of
espionage and terrorism. But then, I remember my Dad telling me
when I was a kid how important it was to make a difference and help
other people whenever I could.’