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

  OUT OF THE

  SHADOWS

  (Akira and Deane Thriller Series Book 1)

  Tim Jopling

  Copyright 2015 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.

  About the author

  My name is Tim Jopling and I love any spy and espionage books, TV, or films! People always say you write about what you know and although I've never had any personal experience (I've worked in the IT sector for 16 years!) I've read a lot of novels (you can't really beat the original Ian Fleming novels in my opinion) and watched as many TV shows and films as I possibly can. I'm a big James Bond fan (not the spoofy ones, my favourites are the grittier ones with Timothy Dalton my favourite Bond - nothing to do with the name mind you!) and loved all the seasons of 24.

  There were a number of things that made me want to try writing. I remember several years ago when I watched one of the Mission Impossible films and a James Bond film, both of which were so poor I was convinced I could write something better! Around the same time I remember a scene in 24 with a minor character that really hit a note with me and got the creative juices flowing! Whether I've written anything better remains to be seen but I have so much fun writing stories with the Olsen and Deane characters and Akira lurking the background! I'm currently working on the third and fourth novels in the series that will be available in 2015 / 2016.

  You can keep up to date with me via my website or connect with through Twitter (@tim_jopling) and Facebook (tim.jopling.3).

  http://www.timjopling.com/

  PROLOGUE

  Saturday, December 24th 02:00,

  Moscow, Russia.

  Destiny. Some people swore by it and others were certain it was nothing more than a myth or an old wives’ tale. For Akira it was the core of his heart and soul. He had come through so much in his past, so many changes and now he was on a date with the very thing he believed in the most, destiny.

  At the centre of his quest was the vision he had been blessed with. A vision of what the world could be if he proved successful. Ever since his transformation into Akira, he was now more determined than ever to rid the world of the cancer that held it in such a vice. The West had to be conquered; there was certainly no way to save it. The time had come to start over and Akira would be at the forefront. At just the start of his journey, he was not about to let anyone or anything stand in his way, not after what he had endured in the past.

  The December gloom of snow and icy winds had no effect on him as the thick flakes continued to fall from a darkened sky on a silent Moscow. Dressed in black from head to toe, Akira continued to give chase to the MI6 agent he had been pursuing since midnight. For weeks he had been tracking his movements and on Christmas Eve he had decided the time was right to take the risk and confront him. There would be no chance of anyone finding out his identity or his plans. It would end tonight.

  Russia was somewhere Akira had always favoured. Not only was it beautiful in a dark and sinister way but almost every corner of the country brimmed with power. A power Akira knew he had to harness if he were to make his vision a reality. To start that change, the MI6 protector ahead of him had to be the first to fall.

  Along the banks of Moscow River, the famous GUM department store could be seen in the distance as Akira made his move and lunged for the right boot of Martin Braga, MI6’s man in Russia.

  The two men rose to their feet and squared off against each other, knowing it was time to stop running. Snow continued to fall and with it came eerie silence as the tiny flakes started to settle on the ground nearby.

  Akira calmed his mind and his racing heart. There was no room for error, this was his first real test and he was not about to fail at the first hurdle. Outstretching his hands, he made his first move in San Shou, his preferred method of attack, which used an 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 alone 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.

  Moving forward all the time, Akira lashed out repeatedly. With his greater speed and power, he started to make his attacks count very quickly. The first blow struck hard into Braga’s neck, with the second breaking a cheekbone; nothing could stop Akira’s relentless attacks. After all, this was as personal as it could ever be. In all the years that had passed, he had been biding his time in the background and this first move was only the beginning.

  His mind was calm; his conscience clear as the final deathblow finished the job and Akira watched his victim slump to the floor. Still the snow fell and the silence gave him clarity on what he had just done. It had been a necessary kill; there always had to be sacrifice for change.

  Pushing the body away, Akira didn’t look at the lifeless face staring back at him. Many would call him a cold-blooded killer but was he? The West had betrayed him, after all. 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. Closing his eyes, he tried to remember the finer details but instead, images flashed by. Static and grainy pictures of former friends, those that should have helped him to the end rather than turn their back on him in his most desperate hour. The people he had once trusted with his life had betrayed him with devastating results. He had lost his soul mate and the only person that really mattered, his beloved wife Madeline.

  The more he thought about it, the greater the clarity and with it came the sounds of the machines that had been keeping Madeline alive and the smell of the hospital room. Pain surrounded everything but Akira could still remember the faces of those he had trusted, knowing they could have done more but chosen not to. In those final moments, Madeline’s voice had been so weak, her smile so faint and the chest wrenching heartbreak had been too much to take. Akira had been born then but even he sometimes wondered whether his soul was still there in that hospital room waiting to take in what had happened.

  In the weeks that followed, amidst such grief, Akira had no idea how it had come to be but somehow the voice of Madeline lived on inside his mind. When he needed her most he would hear her. In the years after her tragic death, he was convinced they had both witnessed the vision they were so committed to and in some way, she could live on and help make it a reality.

  The memories still 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 no
t 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 just wish you were here with me. This is proving…difficult.’ His own voice broke for a moment but he regained his composure quickly.

  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 slowly. Every word was true. It was just proving much harder than he had imagined, to start the journey alone.

  The vision my love, remember the vision. What we saw would change so much, do so much good. You must stay the course. Don’t ever forget what we lost, what we could have been!

  He emerged from his vision. With it came a sense of hope and strength as if the knowledge that only he and Madeline had witnessed it somehow brought them closer together. That day had been unforgettable. Just the idea of a world without corrupt Governments and their deceitful foreign policies had given him a ray of light, in what had been his darkest days after the loss of his wife.

  Show no mercy and do what must be done. I will always be with you.

  In his mind he could feel her presence, as clearly as if she were next to him that very moment. Seconds passed until he heard no more and he rose to his feet, leaving the body behind him. Within minutes, he had leapt from the riverbank into the nearby Alexandrovsky Gardens. Every inch of it was now covered with snow and a bitterly cold wind rustled the branches of the trees. With each step, Akira made a silent promise to himself and his dead wife. 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…

  Chapter 1

  Wednesday, March 1st 04:00,

  Operations Command, Military Intelligence Section 6,

  (MI6) Headquarters, London.

  Despite the early hour technicians were at every terminal working hard for one united goal, keeping the peace and bringing those who prevent it to justice. The humming of computer fans and the constant whir of laser printers could be heard all around, together with the rhythmic tap of keyboards.

  This was Operations Command, the nerve centre and beating heart of MI6; the Secret Intelligence Service responsible for any threats from abroad to British and European national security. Roughly the size of three tennis courts, there were computer terminals everywhere together with scanning booths, analysis tables and other specialist workstations. At one end of the vast space was a large digital wall of screens detailing the latest updates and progress on each individual operation around the world.

  Technicians swarmed from one desk to another providing intelligence data to the service. At the centre of the room were the Government agents; the sworn protectors and trusted knights of the service. Each one highly skilled and highly valued, they were devoted to the cause and whatever challenge they were given. What were looked on as the elite and pride of the MI6 service, a handful of S.U.C.O. agents (Special Undercover Covert Operations) were also in attendance, together with the core of the operation.

  Around that centre table stood that core, arguably the most effective partnership MI6 and the West had to offer: Thomas Deane and Sam Olsen.

  Olsen felt his phone vibrate in his back pocket and quickly flipped open his grey Samsung Galaxy S3. ‘Olsen.’ He said, half expecting one of the Operation contacts to be calling him with an update. ‘Oh hi….hold on a second.’ He caught the eye of his mentor and moved away from the centre table. ‘I need to take this.’

  Deane looked up from the papers spread out in front of him and frowned slightly as his piercing blue eyes studied his young charge. His partner had given no indication of the nature of the call but he knew Olsen very well and recognised it was personal. Frustration boiled away inside of him; this was not the time for anything other than dedication.

  Olsen ran a hand over his shortly cropped brown hair and recognised something he had seen before, a look of disdain etched across his mentor’s features. Not that he would worry about that now, not when his fiancée was on the other end of the phone. ‘Sorry hun, we’re just in the thick of things here. Are you ok?’

  Rachel Fadden smiled faintly at another one of her fiancée’s sayings. Exactly what did ‘in the thick of things’ mean? With the nature of his job and the damned Official Secrets Act, Rachel was always more in the dark than the light and she didn’t mind admitting that her worry had increased since his injuries from the previous job. ‘I’m fine, I’m sorry to call but I just had to know how you are? I know I’m probably interrupting but I’m really worried about you. How’s your hearing now?’

  Olsen walked to a nearby meeting point. He could hear the love in her voice and how much she cared. How she put up with his job and the lifestyle that came with it, he would never know. ‘I’ll live. I’m glad you called, I was worried about you too.’

  ‘Really?’

  ‘Well of course, whenever I’m working on an Operation I don’t know what it is but I just need to know you’re ok that’s all. I’m sure someone here could explain it but either way I’m glad you called. Are you at home?’

  Rachel was still in her nurse’s uniform and had not been long home. ‘I’ve not been back from the hospital long, it was a manic shift so I’m just about to make myself a tea and get to bed. You’re sure your hearing is ok? I’m not convinced.’

  Olsen leant his head to the right a little, as if it would dislodge whatever was causing the pain in that ear. ‘It’s still the same but I’ll survive.’

  Ever since his last work with Deane during Operation Decryption, working in Germany infiltrating a massive computer organisation, he had picked up numerous problems with his hearing. Olsen had saved the life of an insider who had been callously dumped into the sea to plunge to his death but it had taken its toll and he had barely escaped with his own life. Since that trauma he had experienced bouts of pressure in his right ear as if he were still underwater. The fact that it wasn’t going away made him feel on edge and not quite as indestructible as he used to. Not that the doctors had found anything to diagnose, it was all in the mind apparently, which made Olsen feel even less in control. Dressed in black trousers and a light blue shirt, he tried to clear his right ear again which helped a little. It was now a regular habit of his.

  Out of the corner of his eye, Deane saw and felt concern. In every way he wished it had been him that had saved the insider during the last operation but circumstances had prevented it. Deane knew he was a difficult man and not the easiest to work with but there was no doubt in his mind and his heart that Olsen was the son he would never have had and he loved him dearly. Just for a moment, he continued to watch from the centre of Operations Command but then went back to his work with the team of S.U.C.O. agents around him.

  ‘Are you sure you’re up to this?’ Asked Rachel.

  ‘It’s too late for me to back out now and the Doctor said it’s within my control, so it’s just something I’ll have to overcome. I’ll be ok. I’m sure Tom will look out for me, anyway.’ With that he glanced back to the centre table and saw Deane putting on a headset, most probably to talk with the MI5 agents that were working with them.

  ‘Well I hope he does.’ Rachel was saying ‘and if it doesn’t go away, I want you to see another specialist. This can’t just be buried, nor can they expect you to just carry on as normal.’

  ‘I agree. If this doesn’t change that’s what I’ll do.’ Olsen felt anxious to return to the Operation but still wanted to make sure Rachel was alright on her own. Not for the first time, the dilemma about his work and his personal life came to the fore.

  ‘I’m going to
let you go, Sam. I just had to hear your voice, that’s all. What you do makes things…difficult. Promise me you’ll be careful and come back to me in one piece.’

  Olsen smiled a light smile and closed his eyes for a second, appreciating the love he felt from her. ‘I will Rach, I will. Just make sure you get to bed and sleep ok?’

  ‘Don’t worry, I’m going straight to bed. I just wish you were coming with me so we could hold each other.’

  ‘I’ll be there soon, I promise. I love you, sweetheart.’

  ‘I love you too. Bye…’

  Olsen hung up the phone and returned to the centre table in Operations Command, dodging technicians and other agents loading their chosen weapons along the way. ‘Any developments?’

  Deane covered the mouthpiece of his headset and chose to stick with the business at hand rather than lecture his charge again about creating space between personal matters and work. ‘Our two MI5 colleagues have our target in their sights. They’re on a train to London Bridge, so hopefully we’ll find ourselves a lead. Operation Concealment is a go.’

  Olsen remembered all about the target. Robert Baynes was a low profile data encryption expert and appeared to have been recruited and radicalised over time, for his skills. There had been several reports that the Internet was their chosen tool of communication but the encryption level had proven so high, no one had yet been able to make a breakthrough. In recent weeks, Baynes’ movements had been sporadic and his activities had been picked up on one of several MI5 watch lists. Now he appeared to have taken on more than he could handle.