Out of the Shadows (Akira and Deane Thriller Series Book 1) (5 page)

A young agent
who had fast been gaining a talented reputation, William Hawk
passed him by. Hawk was a master of the Akido form of attack and
was popular in the ranks with everyone. Olsen smiled back at him,
remembering in particular their last training session where the
latter had only just gained the upper hand. No matter who it was,
there was always a feeling of togetherness and trust with everyone
he saw, from the agents, to the teachers and even the
administrators, all of whom were vital to the cause. As the lift
doors hissed to a close, Olsen chose the floor for the Chief of
MI6’s office and began to move down to the Underground
levels.

The last month had been routine
for Olsen. Unfortunately, for the agency, there had been no
progress made on the identity of the escaped terrorist, despite
joining forces with other Western Security Services such as the
C.I.A. and the German Security Services, GSG9. None of the captured
men had revealed any details on the cell, even though desperate
measures had been used.

Olsen had now been summoned to
see the Chief of MI6. As the floors passed by with speed, the doors
chimed and opened to reveal a dark and winding corridor. A small
lobby presented itself, with grey tiles and bare white walls
seemingly for as far as the eye could see.

Olsen rushed down the corridor
and came to a set of heavy wooden doors. He swiped his ID card
through the reader once more, waited for the expected clearance,
and smiled at the assistant who was sitting near the door. ‘He’s
expecting me.’ The strikingly tall young man opened the final door;
a heavy steel-plated one, and walked into a slighter darker room
than that of any other in the building. To his surprise, someone
else was sitting at the large mahogany desk.

Kevin Ramsey
had been covering the job of Chief of MI6 from the legendary
Richard Elliott for just a few hours. Since the latter’s sudden
trip to Europe, the 45-year-old second in command had spent every
available moment acquainting himself with the latest developments.
Looking younger than his years, the tall, heavyset dark skinned man
stood up from his chair and ushered in the agent at the door. ‘Our
superior is away for the next fortnight. Take a seat,
Olsen.’

Sunlight broke through the
semi-dark room as it streamed in from two nearby windows. Whereas
the rest of the building was modern in its design, almost cold in
places, the Chief’s office seemed detached from time itself. A
large grandfather clock ticked away slowly on one side, with the
entire décor a heavy mahogany brown. Bookcases were on either side
of the door, both stacked with dusty looking hardbacks. Unlike the
rest of the building, no fluorescent lights were hanging from the
ceiling. Instead, several quaint looking lamps were dotted around
the room. A deep noise filtered through the room as the grandfather
clock chimed 10 a.m.

Olsen
remembered the low point of the last operation and felt on edge. He
focussed his dark brown eyes on his superior and waited.

Ramsey clasped
his large hands together and placed both elbows on the desk.
‘Something has come up. I’m assigning you to Operation Safeguard.
You’ll be flying out to Oman on Wednesday, heading to Muscat, the
nation’s capital.’

Olsen sat
motionless in a state of shock. His heart sank like a stone. Oman.
The very mention of the place sent a shiver down his spine and made
his mouth feel dry. Oman had been the country where his father,
Geoff Olsen, had died years before. He had never been there or had
the urge to do so before. ‘Related to the British Royal visit
then?’ He said, in an unusually quiet tone.

‘That’s right.
As I’m sure you’ve read in the press, our own Prince David is going
to Oman on a three-day goodwill tour, focussing mainly on the
capital of Muscat, with some visits to other parts of the country.
Naturally, the usual team of security agents will accompany the
Prince. However, OMA1: Thomas Deane, will also play a part in
offering additional covert support. He was adamant about working on
his own but I don’t agree. I’m sending you to partner him.’ The
acting Chief of MI6 saw the furrowed brow of Olsen. ‘Now, obviously
this is a sensitive issue. The last time there was a British Royal
visit to Oman, we lost an agent. Not just any agent Olsen, but your
father.’ Ramsey shifted in his chair, looking uncomfortable. I
won’t force you to take this operation Sam, but I don’t want to
leave Deane alone to carry out the work either. If you decline,
I’ll find someone else. It’s not a problem.’

Dense, dark
black eyebrows moved slightly as a reply came. ‘I must admit, sir,
I wasn’t expecting you to ask me to go to Oman. It’s a bit of a
shock.’ Olsen paused and thought about the decision. There was no
doubt in his heart, he didn’t want to go to Oman but turning down
an operation was not his style. To do so would damage his career,
no matter what the circumstance. At the same time, did he not have
a duty, no matter what? He felt physically sick as he prepared to
reply, knowing all too well what he was committing to. ‘I’ll do it,
sir.’ How he was going to handle this operation he didn’t know, but
he had a duty to his country and he was going to carry it out no
matter what.

‘Very well,
I’ll make Operation ESPY, the operation your Father was on,
available to you. Archives are expecting you. I want you to be
professional about this.’ He raised his eyebrows and expected a
positive reply.

Olsen was still thinking about
reading the records of Operation ESPY, which he had never been able
to do before. ‘I will sir, this won’t be a problem.’

Ramsey
continued. ‘Don’t forget that as a member of the British Royal
family is visiting a Middle Eastern country, security will be at
its highest.’ A large folder with ‘Operation Safeguard’ written
across the front in heavy red type was handed across the desk. The
superior’s tone changed slightly, to that of someone issuing direct
orders. ‘I want you to work alongside Deane. Travel with the
British Royal party and offer additional security. Shadow every
move and make sure no threats are allowed to compromise the party.
Deane is aware of the operation objective and will shortly be
informed of your addition to the operation. Whatever the history, I
know I can rely on you both to be professional and effective. Deane
is based in Muscat. The details are in the folder.’

Olsen took the folder. ‘I can
handle it; you don’t need to concern yourself.’ He turned around to
leave.

Ramsey spoke
again. ‘There’s one more thing, Olsen. After this operation, I’m
assigning you permanently to team S.U.C.O. I want you to lead the
team from now on. We were very impressed with your leadership when
we seconded you there twice last year. I’ve informed Deane. We feel
your partnership has run its course; it has been eight years after
all. Deane objected but we’ve made our decision. Once this
operation is over, report here and take on team leader duties.’
Ramsey got up from the desk and straightened his designer suit. ‘As
for your current operation, do not deviate from the objective or
allow your personal feelings to get in the way.’ The acting Chief
of the service sat back in his brown leather chair and opened
another file as he was left alone in the darkened
office.

Olsen stumbled
out the door, completely overwhelmed at the changes. Team S.U.C.O.
was the most elite of its kind at MI6. It was an honour to be
assigned its leadership but what of Thomas Deane, the man he
regarded as the closest thing he had to a father? It was a lot to
take on. The thought of no more operations with Deane troubled him
but at the same time, he knew he was ready. Olsen couldn’t deny
there was a side to him that was desperate to step out from his
mentor’s shadow. The feeling faded quickly though as the biggest
change ahead of him broke through and lingered in his thoughts; the
trip to Oman.

Coming to the
end of the corridor, he entered ‘Archives’. There were two women on
duty and the room was one of the largest in the building. Several
computer terminals lined the walls, with thousands of old operation
files stacked on bookshelves behind the two women who worked as the
administrators. He approached the desk and handed a slip of paper
to a petite young woman who smiled at him but Olsen didn’t notice.
He was consumed with all the changes that lay ahead.

‘Agent Olsen?’ Asked the other
administrator.

‘Yes?’ Olsen
replied, nonchalantly.

‘I have an urgent message from
an Agent Deane. He has asked you to contact him after your meeting
this morning. The message states it’s of utmost urgency that you
talk to him as soon as possible. Is there anything I can do?’

Olsen took the
large folder for Operation ESPY and the message from the woman.
‘Thanks. I’ll deal with it.’
No doubt, Tom
wants to convince me to stay on with him as his partner. It can
wait. It can definitely wait.
Olsen sat
down at one of the tables and looked at the operation folder, which
was 13-years-old. At first, he didn’t really want to know much of
what each piece of paper said; it was such a painful experience. As
he continued to turn the pages though, it struck him that it might
be the only time he would ever be allowed to discover what had
really happened to his father, no matter how difficult it was to
read. Years ago when Olsen was 15, his mother had told him what had
happened. Deane visited the family home to give a few more patchy
details. Yet, there in the faded pages ahead of him, were the real
facts, the gruesome details that led to the death of Geoff Olsen.
His eyes began to study each page with intense detail as he read
on.

Akira kept his
head low as he walked out of Seeb Airport in the capital city of
Muscat, Oman. The searing heat and beautiful skyline made him feel
at home and far more comfortable than he had been in dismal London.
The last month had been a sequence of carefully planned journeys as
he passed through the borders of several European countries but he
had now arrived at his destination, The Middle East. Throughout his
journey he had kept up to date with the carefully planned bomb
attacks that were taking place in Moscow, all to destabilise the
Government, which was crucial to his vision. At that same time his
thoughts had turned to the West and its protectors, wondering how
they were handling the increasing danger. It was idle curiosity on
Akira’s part. He knew only too well that the Security Services were
unstable and on the back foot. It was only a matter of time before
they would be wiped out forever.

Turning left
from the airport into a side alley, he continued his way to his
meeting. Waiting at the far end were the Kiprich brothers, two men
from Hungary who in the past had proved themselves to be loyal
followers and more than capable, if a little reckless at times.
Despite their flaws, Akira knew they would be effective and more
than competent at disrupting a British Royal visit, together with
striking at the very heart of the UK. There was much work to be
done. Not only for the upcoming attack; the time was right to take
his vision one step further and change the face of the world
forever. That started with the death of Thomas Deane and Akira
couldn’t wait to see it happen.

It couldn’t be
right, it just couldn’t be! There it was again! Olsen sat back and
stared blankly out in front of him before looking at the page once
more. His mind flashed back to the moment when his mother had sat
him down and told him what had happened, together with when Deane
had visited the family home and told them both that his father had
died alone in Oman. Alone! Olsen looked at the operation report
page and once again, it stated the unthinkable. Deane had been
present at his father’s death and was with him during Operation
ESPY. Olsen mapped out the operation papers in order and read the
statements from Deane. His mentor had been there but they had split
up on his father’s insistence. He found another page that seemed to
contradict that fact, as Deane gave CPR to his father at the
scene.

Olsen sat back in the chair in
complete shock. To be told that Deane and his mother had lied to
him for so long felt like a bolt of lightning passing through his
very soul. What was already a sensitive issue had become even
cloudier. The operation ahead to Oman now seemed like the
impossible.

Chapter 4

Thursday, March 1
^st
16:00,

MI6 Headquarters, London.

Ramsey looked over several
word-processed schedules spread across his desk and pressed the
intercom buzzer. The assistant outside came through on the line.
‘Have Burton sent in straight away please, Amy. Thanks.’

The different
schedules, all detailing aspects of the British Royal visit to
Oman, were studied once again as the MI6 veteran made his decision.
The heavy, steel plated door opened in front of him, revealing Hal
Burton, commander of the S.U.C.O. team, doubling for security
advisor on Operation Safeguard. ‘Take a seat, Hal. Good
weekend?’

Burton walked
slowly into the room and sat down with a thud. ‘Not bad sir, and
you?’ His dark grey shirt had clearly faded after numerous washes,
the flimsy looking black and grey tie not a good match.

The acting
Chief of the Service made no mention of his staff member’s
appearance; it was normal for Burton to look a little dishevelled.
The surprising fact to him was that Burton was always so effective
in his work and a valued member of the team. For some months
though, Ramsey had felt the urge to talk to him about a sequence of
mistakes that had crept into Burton’s work, with a rumour going
around that family problems were beginning to take their toll; any
effort made to raise the subject, however, had always met a stony
response.