Out of the Shadows (Akira and Deane Thriller Series Book 1) (33 page)

Ramsey repeatedly told himself
not to throw the weasel of a man up against the wall. His voice
powered through every corner of the room. ‘This is over! I don’t
care about your deal, have you seen the time on that report? Have
you? Bedford was dead before it even got to us. In other words, the
Kiprich brothers got to him. The whole operation was a set-up!’

Drake brushed
past. ‘I don’t care. This has come down from the highest level, the
PM wants radical changes here, and the Defence Minister agrees with
him! Your personal crusade is useless.’ He moved behind his desk
and reached for a folder from a tray. ‘How long have you been here,
Kevin?’

Ramsey had
started to pace at the window and looked agitated at the question.
‘What?’

Drake answered
for him. ‘Almost twenty-five years, by my estimate.’ He made eye
contact and spoke with real meaning. ‘For what it’s worth, I admire
your tenacity but this really isn’t the time.’ He leant over his
desk and put more emphasis on his words. ‘I will not be
challenged.’

Ramsey closed in. ‘I won’t back
down, this agency, this country, is in grave danger and your
foolish leadership is costing lives.’

Drake handed his deputy a
letter that had been stamped with the insignia of the Prime
Minister’s office. ‘You’d better read this.’ He lowered his eyes.
‘I am sorry.’

Ramsey’s eyes
burned with fury as he took the paper that had the seal of the
Prime Minister’s office. At the same time several titles caught his
eye, all referring to the mandate Drake had been given. As he
looked up, he noticed for the first time that three security guards
had entered the room and had surrounded him. Ramsey pulled out the
letter he had wanted to present but was immediately restrained by
the three men.

Drake stepped
in. ‘I had anticipated this Kevin, you haven’t changed.’ His voice
changed to a more formal tone. ‘You’re in breach of the protocols
laid out by the Prime Minister. I’m charging you with treason and
you will be held in an interview room until this inquiry is over.
After that we will review your future.’ He looked at one of the
guards. ‘That’s all.’

Ramsey struggled to break free
but knew when he was beaten. He was dragged out of the room towards
the nearest lift. As he heard the door shut behind him, he wondered
how he would be able to save his beloved agency with such a bleak
future ahead of him.

The next day,
Olsen glanced at his watch and noted it was five to eleven in the
morning. Outside the gates to MI6, he held the hand of his fiancée
tightly as they came to a stop. Olsen saw her look of concern
staring back at him and locked his arms around her slender waist,
ignoring the people around them. ‘You don’t have to worry Rach,
it’s not like I’m going down for twenty years.’ He said
gently.

‘But you did
say Drake has it in for you and the rest of your team. You don’t
know what he has planned.’ Rachel’s blue eyes grew ever wider at
the thought of her man being taken away from her. She wanted him to
leave MI6, there was no point in denying it but having him
imprisoned would be almost as bad as losing him
completely.

Olsen led her
away from the checkpoint, paused and put a hand in her long dark
brown hair. ‘It will be ok.’ He said confidently. ‘The way I’m
feeling right now, I’ll most probably just tell Drake where to
shove his job. We’re going to be ok, you hear me?’ He saw her nod
in partial agreement. Wanting to reassure her more than ever, he
leaned in and gently kissed her as he held her in his arms. As they
parted, Olsen smiled back at her and for a moment watched her
leave. From the other direction, he saw Carter passing the
checkpoint.

‘How’s she
handling it all, Sam?’ Asked Carter whose dark skin seemed slightly
paler than usual.

‘Not that
great, I just keep telling her it’s going to be ok, you
know?’

Carter looked
taken aback at his friends comment. ‘You’re kidding right? We’re
deliberately being crucified and it’s all on Drake’s say so,
whether we’ve given good service or not.’

‘It’s all politics now Dan, our
records don’t even matter.’

Carter nodded in agreement.
‘Don’t I know it. Do you remember when it just came down to your
ability and the team around you?’

‘Does it matter?’

‘Of course it
matters.’

Olsen entered
the Perspex tube, swiped his ID card through the reader together
with his security code and walked into the main lobby with Carter,
who had done the same from an adjacent tube. ‘That’s not exactly
what I meant Dan. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking these last few
days and I’ve been asking myself do I need to keep doing this? I
mean, really?’

Carter frowned in confusion.
‘It’s what we do. What we’ve always done.’

‘Right. But
with Drake back and his intentions abundantly clear, it doesn’t
look like we’re going to be given the chance to do anything. So why
wait until we’re pushed out?’

‘Look, don’t do
anything hasty; there are always opportunities around
here.’

‘And what about Rachel?’

‘What about her?’

‘We’re going to
get married Dan. I love my work, I won’t deny it but it doesn’t
appear to be the same anymore and I can’t keep treating her this
way. Here one minute and gone the next. Things are
definitely…changing.’ The thought of no more operations with his
best friend saddened him deeply.

Carter shook his head slowly,
reluctantly agreeing. His mind started to race and his own future
suddenly seemed worse with Olsen now seemingly set to leave. ‘I can
see what you’re saying, I guess… I never saw you leaving this
place. What are you going to do?’

‘I’ve no idea.
If Rachel is with me though, I know I’ll be fine.’ Olsen found a
smile. ‘Trust me.’ He looked away and tried to convince himself
that was the case but the other side of him, the side that relished
the danger and risk taking of the job, still wouldn’t fade. With
every step, Olsen never felt at ease and wondered how he would cope
without the life of a Government agent. It just didn’t seem
possible.

Drake took a
seat behind his desk and looked out at the people in front of him.
He fluffed his faded beige shirt, still feeling the heat from the
discussion with Ramsey and looked at the document at the top of the
pile. He stood up and waited for silence. ‘Thank you. This inquiry
is now in session. Our next witness is Hal Burton, S.U.C.O.
Commander.’

Burton got up
from his seat in the front row and stumbled over to the centre
seat. He had been at MI6 headquarters since seven that morning,
attempting to trace his wife and child. His hopes were fading by
the day. Burton had used every legal method he could in finding
them but there was still no sign.
Tomorrow
I’ll start contacting my mates in other countries. I have to find
them soon!
His concentration returned to
the here and now as he saw his boss speaking to him.

Drake
continued. ‘The whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you
god?

‘I do,
sir.’

‘Agent Burton, you may consider
yourself under oath. Please be seated. For the record, please state
your name and occupation.’

The exhausted
looking Burton wiped his mouth with the side of his sleeve and
slumped back in the chair. ‘I’m Hal Joseph Burton and I’ve been
with MI6 since time began.’ Burton laughed to himself but quickly
noticed the silence around him. ‘Sorry…uh…yeah, been here for
almost thirty years and for the last several I’ve been the S.U.C.O.
Commander. I coordinate the operations, give the orders and
briefings.’

Drake eyed up
Burton and wondered how his predecessor had not fired him years
ago. Every time he saw Burton, he felt surprised that it was the
same man he had first met over seven years ago. Back then he was
fit, slim, presentable and extremely dependable.
A far cry from the loser I’m looking at
now.
‘It’s the briefing you gave to the
S.U.C.O. teams that is at the heart of this inquiry, Agent Burton.
Tell us exactly what happened when you gave the briefing,
please.’

‘Sure. Well, it
was…’ He picked up a pizza-stained sheet of paper and squinted at
the time stamp in the right hand corner. ‘Monday February 12th, in
the afternoon. That’s when I gave my briefing. We covered all the
operation pointers, including the locations of the storage bay and
the house. I informed the team exactly what each one would be doing
and basically covered all the details they needed to
know.’

Drake worked
hard not to let his annoyance show.
Had
the man forgotten everything we talked about?
‘Details are important here. We’ve heard from Agent Jordan and
his deputy that hostages were found in the house. Did you cover
that possibility in your briefing?’

Burton answered
straight away. ‘Yes sir, I did.’

‘That’s a god
damn lie!’ screamed Jordan from the back of the room. ‘What’re you
talkin’ about Burton? You’re going to crucify us!’ Jordan raced to
the front of the room but was held back by several
guards.

Drake cut in. ‘No further
outbursts from the floor! Otherwise you will be removed.’ He
watched Jordan be placed back in his seat. ‘Continue Agent Burton.
May I remind you that you are under oath.’

The former
S.U.C.O. Commander felt his belly, feeling self-conscious after his
colleague’s comment. ‘Well…like I said. I covered the hostage
possibility in my briefing. It could crop up in any operation. I
have it here in my notes and I quote ‘any hostages should be
verified and transported back to base’, so it was covered, sir.’
Burton could feel several stares from the S.U.C.O.
agents.

‘Thank you,
Agent Burton. A very enlightening testimony. What is your opinion
on why the teams failed to recover those hostages?’

Burton shrugged
his shoulders. The tame feelings of guilt had already passed. ‘No
idea, sir. I wasn’t there, so I really couldn’t say.’

Drake made some
notes and gave a slight nod to the individual in front of him. ‘You
may stand down, Burton. The committee recalls Agent Samuel Olsen to
the stand please.’

Olsen shared a look with
Carter. ‘Wait for it.’

Drake watched
Olsen looking uncomfortable and knew the inquiry had reached its
crucial moment. For the first time, his mind switched to the bigger
picture, the threat to the UK that was present with each new day.
He recalled the mandate and conversation with the Prime Minister as
he justified his actions. ‘May I remind you, Agent Olsen, that you
are still under oath. Be seated. Now, following on from Agent
Burton’s testimony, do you have anything you wish to
say?’

Olsen locked
his hands together and placed them on the table. ‘I’m under oath
sir, so I’ll speak my mind. I remember the briefing clearly. It was
only a week ago. At no time was the possibility of hostages or any
scenario linked with that factor mentioned. It was never touched
upon.’

‘Are you saying
Agent Burton just lied under oath?’ asked the female member of the
committee.

‘Yes ma’am, that’s exactly what
I’m saying. His report sheets may be time stamped and look
authentic but they are incorrect.’

Drake scribbled
down some notes and spoke quickly to the agent he despised with a
passion. ‘So noted, Agent Olsen. However, those reports from Agent
Burton have been submitted and verified, which begs my next
question. Why did you and your team not go back and rescue those
hostages?’

What’s the
point here?
Wondered the soon to be ex-MI6
agent. ‘Several reasons, sir. Firstly, we were outnumbered six to
one and secondly, I didn’t know of the existence of the hostages.
If you’ll remember sir, our radios were unable to communicate with
Bravo Team. I couldn’t retrieve what I wasn’t aware of.’

‘We have no
evidence to prove that your radios malfunctioned. The previous
testimony from your S.U.C.O. commander states that hostages were a
priority.’ He leaned forward and studied the handsome features of
Olsen, eager to touch a nerve. ‘Does it bother you, the loss of
those hostages?’

Olsen felt his blood boil. ‘I
cannot worry about a situation I wasn’t-’

Drake
overpowered him as his voice bellowed over the microphone, reading
from documents in front of him. ‘Tomasz Waldoch, 37-years-old,
leaves behind a wife and two children.’ He found another sheet.
‘Andre Zerj, 23-years-old, was engaged to marry his girlfriend in
April of this year.’ He slammed the paper down on his desk. ‘You
abandoned them Olsen! Both you and Agent Jordan are accountable for
the deaths of these innocents! The rest of your team are innocent
in comparison. The blood is on the hands of you and your fellow
team leader.’ His lifeless dark blue eyes glared at the agent ahead
of him. ‘Have you anything to say at this point?’

Olsen merely
stared at the wall, knowing he was innocent of the atrocities just
mentioned and already thinking of his future. ‘No.’ he said calmly,
‘You seem to know all the answers.’ His voice was slow and
meaningful.

A long silence
lingered in the briefing, until Drake rose from his seat and
announced to the others. ‘The Committee will now take a short
recess to consider our recommendations.’ He led the other two
members out of the briefing room and into the nearest side office.
He caught sight of the female committee member nearby. ‘Don’t worry
my dear, you don’t have to do anything, you may as well get
yourself a drink from the machine around the corner. I’ve already
made up my mind on what to say.’