Out of the Shadows (Akira and Deane Thriller Series Book 1) (31 page)

Olsen came out
of the lift, rushed down the stairs, pushed the exit door open and
left the building. Ahead of him, the slender figure of Rachel
Fadden caught his eye. Olsen rushed over and hugged her tight. He
heard the question and replied softly. ‘It’s not looking good,
Rach.’

Chapter 20

Friday, March 16
^th
14:00,

Moscow, Russia.

Marraud winced with pain as the last
stitch was sewn into his stomach, sealing shut the gaping 4-inch
wound that had had been slowly killing him. How he had managed to
reach his flat had been a mystery; with the frequent blackouts, he
was shocked to have made it back at all. So many questions remained
regarding the mystery attacker and Salenko’s faithful follower.
Just who could he be? It was a question that would surely remain
unanswered for the time being.

In all his
life, he had never felt so weak and tired. He wanted to rest more
than anything but his drive and determination remained, despite his
weakened condition.

Forcing himself
up, he staggered over to the laptop that was sitting on the small
bedside cabinet. Time seemed to slow down as he waited impatiently
for the device to boot up and show the standard login screen.
Marraud checked his watch and felt some relief when the login
screen appeared, knowing it wouldn’t be long until Salenko’s
companion found him. Quickly entering his details, the laptop
complied and began loading the operating system. Marraud knew that
if he sent all his reports and details of the past week back to
Paris, it would turn the tide on Salenko and his partner, ensuring
reinforcements would arrive from France and no doubt other
countries as well. Without his information, Salenko and co would
remain a mystery; one that would prove to be deadly and untouchable
when he would no doubt win the election and be crowned the next
President of Russia. If at all possible, Marraud planned to send
the information and do all he could to return to Paris or find
somewhere else in Europe to lie low.

Finally, the
laptop loaded and Marraud moved quickly to collate all his
information and attach it to an encrypted email. Plugging in the
ethernet cable that connected to the nearby router, he waited for
the connection symbol to appear on the screen in front of him. His
right hand tenderly touched the wound on his left side but after
several seconds he froze with dread as he realised the modem had
gone silent. Checking the cables straight away, he tried again. The
seconds ticked by on the screen until his worst fears were
realised. A red error message appeared.

ERROR CODE 16. NO CONNECTION FOUND.
PLEASE CHECK THE CABLES AND SETTINGS AND TRY AGAIN.

Marraud stared
at the screen, not able to think straight. The modem had been
working fine that very day and he had not experienced any problems
in the past. One alternative came into his mind but he had to be
sure. Quickly, Marraud took the wire and plugged it into the
telephone on the lounge table. He lifted the receiver and waited
for a dial tone.

Nothing.

It too was
dead. Sweat was pouring down Marraud’s face now, knowing that his
position had been compromised and that someone had cut the nearby
phone lines. Grabbing a memory stick, he set about copying all the
data he had. A display popped up and showed the progress of the
data copy. When he it was finished he put the device in his jacket
pocket and planned to leave Russia any way he could. Opening the
front door slightly, he put one foot out onto the landing but
stopped in his tracks at the sight of someone coming up the
stairs.

Locking his
door, Marraud took hold of his black Heckler Koch pistol and
stepped out onto the metal fire escape. Just as he began to climb,
he heard the front door to his flat smash open and the sound of
footsteps rushing towards his window. Marraud locked his left hand
around the metal ladder and aimed his pistol at the
window.

Akira appeared
and smiled to himself, pleased with Denyer for finding his prey.
Excitement flowed through him as well, knowing he would emerge
victorious within the hour.
No more
chances, I will not fail Madeline again.
He
watched Marraud carefully and ducked down to avoid the incoming
gunfire.

Turning to
climb the ladder once more, the pain was unbearable and his stomach
cried out under the strain. Marraud locked down the safety pin on
his revolver and tried to tuck it into his trousers but with his
strength failing him, the gun flipped out and fell to the ground
below.

Desperately
trying to stop himself from blacking out, he reached the top and
slumped onto the roof. His blue eyes glanced down and saw the sight
of blood on his clean shirt. All the movement had caused his
stitches to burst and the wound to re-open. He felt the memory
stick in his pocket and rustled up thoughts of Martine once more.
Marraud was adamant in his heart and mind, he would not relinquish
his life; there simply had to be a way of escaping and delivering
the information. He slowly stumbled over to the other side of the
roof and looked out. The nearest building was some distance away
but Marraud still thought about gambling and jumping the distance
to escape. Before he could even consider it, sounds of someone on
the fire escape ladder made him spin around.

Akira stepped
off the ladder and stood tall as he looked at the weakened Marraud.
Madeline was right.
This ends now. No more
pity, no more chances.

Marraud summed
up the situation and knew immediately if he were to escape, it
would have to be through Akira. In the space of a few seconds, all
the operations he’d been involved in flashed by and with it came
the belief that had been with him from the very beginning; he was a
french Special Agent, and all he had ever wanted to do was help
others and make a difference somehow. Ahead of him stood his
greatest challenge. Not for the first time, a golden image of
Martine, his only true love, came to the surface. Her dazzling
smile and beautiful face captivated his heart and gave him
strength.
One more time,
for Martine…

Drake rushed
along the corridor, heading to briefing room three. He fumbled with
his papers, turned a corner and saw his deputy waiting for him.
‘Problem, Ramsey?’

The MI6 number
two waited at the door to the briefing room and sized up his
superior whilst thinking over Drake’s attitude in his mind.
He could cause the deaths of hundreds of our
agents, not to mention his intentions for S.U.C.O. I have to stop
him.
Ramsey spoke in a calm tone. ‘I want
to talk about this inquiry.’

‘Which will
resume in half an hour.’ Drake sighed and folded his arms. ‘I don’t
have time for meaningless discussions, now if you’ll
excuse-’

Ramsey took a
step closer and imposed his 6ft 6ins frame over the smaller Drake.
‘Make the time! I don’t care what the PM has said to you; this team
is the best we’ve ever had. I won’t stand by and let you crucify
them.’

‘If you’ve been listening to
the inquiry, you’ll know that this team isn’t as trustworthy as we
were lead to believe.’

‘They’ve put their lives on the
line ten times over in the past.’

‘That’s
irrelevant Kevin and you know it. If you’re finding the inquiry
uncomfortable, may I suggest you take over in Operations Command or
find yourself other matters to attend to?’

Ramsey watched
him closely.
What’s he hiding?
Knowing the seriousness of the situation, Ramsey
decided to back down and do all he could to remove Drake from MI6.
He moved towards the door whilst making his excuses. ‘Fine, I’ll
find some other work to get on with. Just don’t tear S.U.C.O. in
half, that’s all I’m asking.’

Drake brushed
past his deputy. He entered briefing room three and took his
position at the front of the room. Several reports were laid out,
from each member of the S.U.C.O. team. Drake began to read each one
carefully and took note of any irregularities that could be used to
his advantage.

Olsen paid for
the two fruit juices and sat down next to Rachel in the café near
MI6 headquarters. He looked into her blue eyes and spoke in a
downbeat tone. ‘I tell you, Rach; this isn’t going well at all.
It’s a shame you can’t hear all this stuff. Drake is going to take
us to the cleaners, I can see in his eyes how much he wants
it.’

Rachel raised
her eyebrows in surprise. ‘But this Drake guy, he’s part of MI6 as
well, isn’t he?’

‘Drake is the
Chief of MI6. I knew him years ago, when he was here the first time
around. He wants the service to be low profile and non-hostile; in
other words, full of intelligence analysts and nothing more. So,I
promise you he’s going to do everything he can to have us thrown
out.’

‘Was there no
way you could get around the security and allow me to attend the
inquiry?’ She asked questioningly. Frustration was growing inside
her; she wanted to know more about the world of MI6.

‘Not a chance.
Sorry Rach. It’s out of my hands; this whole thing has been
classified. I’m grateful you’re here though, I don’t really fancy
going through this one on my own.’

Rachel thought
over her next question. She still felt hopeful he’d be set free
from the service and was ashamed of those feelings. More than
anything, she was worried for the future. ‘Sam…what if this does go
against you? Would it really be so bad to leave?’

Olsen watched her closely and
could see the caution in her eyes. ‘You know…I wouldn’t blame you
if you secretly hoped I would be forced out. I’d understand, I
really would.’

Rachel shifted
in her seat and twiddled a strand of her dark brown hair. ‘A part
of me wants you to be set free from that place, so we can be
together at least.’ She closed her eyes and felt the pain. ‘I just
can’t lose you.’

‘I can’t lose
you either, baby.’

‘At first, when
we met at 20, it was exciting. As we’ve gotten older and closer
though, it’s been bothering me more and more. Ever since you asked
me to marry you it’s gotten worse by the day. You know that and
though I’ve really tried, I can’t push this away.’

Olsen took hold
of her nearest hand and held it tightly. ‘I wouldn’t want you to.’
He struggled with his words at first but then looked up. ‘This
isn’t an excuse but I’ve been trying to think how I got started in
all this and how I got in so deep. I don’t know…my Dad always
wanted me to follow this path and then there was Tom as well. I
just went with the flow, I suppose.’ Olsen’s deep voice changed to
a tender tone and for the first time in months he spoke from the
heart. ‘Rach…I may have done this job for eight years but all that
matters to me is being with you. I don’t want the rest of our lives
to be just a handful of years or months.’

Rachel kissed him and smiled
radiantly. ‘That’s all I ask.’

Olsen finished
his fruit juice and touched her hand again. ‘I’m sorry I can be a
real insensitive guy sometimes. If I’m going to leave this place, I
need to break out of the training I’ve had over the years. You
know, show nothing, say nothing and feel nothing?’ He felt better
and for the first time ever his mind opened up to the possibility
of doing something else but the other side of him, the side that
craved the action and the chance to make a difference, bubbled away
inside him and almost refused to let go.
How am I going to get past this?
He
looked at Rachel who was opposite him. ‘You staying here,
Rach?’

‘I’ll stick
around here for a while and then I’ll meet you outside as before.
Promise me you won’t lose your temper? It won’t help, you
know.’

Olsen nodded,
embracing her before making his way out of the café, towards MI6
headquarters.
Is this going to be my last
day as a Government agent? What else can I be?

Jozef dropped
some money into the drinks dispenser and waited for his drink to be
ready. He slumped against the machine in a trance as nurses and
other hospital personnel walked past him. For the past several
days, the 41-year-old had been staying in a private clinic in
Slovakia. After the attack on the MI6 teams, Jozef had been eager
to stay in Poland but knew the dangers of repercussions. By
contacting several allies of his, he had managed to have his
brother admitted to the nearest facility. Jozef took his drink and
slowly walked down the corridor. Waiting there was his long-time
friend, Zoltan Ferec.

‘Any change,
Jozef?’

Jozef stroked
his growing beard and closed his eyes. ‘No, Zoltan. According to
the doctor here, Gyorgy suffered serious chest wounds. The next
twenty-four hours will prove critical.’ For the first time, the
possibility of losing his only family hit home. His voice sounded
weak and fragile as he spoke again. ‘What will I do if he doesn’t
recover, Zoltan?’

Ferec didn’t
know what to say. He had just come from the side room around the
corner, where his friend’s brother was being treated. Ferec had
seen many terminal patients in his time and knew that Gyorgy was
not going to survive. Despite this, he couldn’t bring himself to
speak the truth. ‘Do not think like that, Jozef. He will survive
and then all three of us will continue our war with the West. You
must believe me.’