Out of the Shadows (Akira and Deane Thriller Series Book 1) by Tim Jopling

shoulder and walked
towards the nearby lift.
    Burton watched him leave, none
too happy at the help his friend had provided. ‘Cocky so and so…’
He looked at his drink, sighed again and began to walk back to his
office; realising begging for an advance in pay could be the only
immediate solution to his problems.
     

Chapter 5
     
    Friday, March 2 nd 09:00,
    Oman, Middle East.
     
    The sun was hotter than Olsen had ever
experienced. Placing his right hand over his eyes for protection,
he glanced up. Not a cloud could be seen in the beautiful blue sky,
just an angry looking sun that had no cover. Trying to ignore the
heat was difficult, especially when he felt so uneasy. A sense of
uncertainty spread through his body and mind as to why he was
there. Trying to focus, he looked around at his surroundings. What
presented itself was the dusty outskirts of Muscat in the capital
city of Oman, a Middle Eastern country
    Slowly, the
scene appeared to be one that was familiar to him. Yet, that was
the problem. Olsen knew he had not been there before, didn’t
recognise the people or the setting but at the same time, he did.
Before he could clear his mind, a disturbance came from behind. He
spun around and froze, feeling himself stiffen all over as he saw
the scene ahead. ‘Oh, no…please god, no.’ He said in a shaky tone.
His voice sounded distant. As if it had come from someone
else.
    Olsen felt his body weaken with
fear as he tried to sprint towards the sight ahead of him. His
breathing became frantic, yet again it sounded disjointed from his
body. As hard as he tried, he couldn’t make any progress. ‘No! Hold
on…I’m coming, just hold on, stay with me…DAD!’
    Several hundred
yards away from Olsen, his father was fighting for his life. Geoff
Olsen had already defeated one attacker but the second was coming
at him with renewed anger.
    Sam Olsen
pumped his legs as hard as he could but felt like he was sinking in
the desert sand. His right hand reached for his favoured Beretta
pistol but found nothing. Olsen outstretched his arms in a
desperate attempt to save his father. He caught sight of the fear
etched on his father’s face as they locked gazes with one another.
He screamed in anger, as once again it seemed inevitable that he
would fail his lost father. The young man stirred and looked back
sharply, feeling as if he was the next target. As the sand cleared
around him, another figure emerged, almost from thin air. The form
of Thomas Deane, his father’s partner and his future mentor
appeared. Olsen’s eyes were wide with fear, feeling helpless that
nobody was rushing to his father’s aide. ‘DO SOMETHING! YOU CAN’T
JUST STAND THERE!’ He shouted at Deane, his voice breaking with
emotion. Moments passed but his father’s partner didn’t move,
merely stood with his arms crossed, watching the horror unfold.
Olsen was now out of control, his hands were trembling, his
breathing erratic. One look to his father showed him on his back at
the mercy of the murderous gang that had now surrounded him. Olsen
tried again to help…
    ‘NO!’ A sweat
drenched Olsen sat up quickly in his bed as his heart continued to
pound away inside his chest. It had been a nightmare. Terrifyingly
real but thankfully, just a nightmare. When he had been just 16
years old and for several years after that, Olsen had endured
nightmares regarding the death of his father but none of those had
ever seemed so real. After reading the official operation documents
the day before and discovering the truth about his father’s death,
he had been unable to relax at all. Olsen rubbed his eyes and tried
to calm down as he made his way to the kitchen.
     
    Burton watched
the rain trickle down the windows of his office. The dark,
miserable looking clouds reflected how he felt in every way. The
conversation he’d had with a colleague at the drinks machine had
been playing repeatedly in his mind. As much as he didn’t want to
admit it, his colleague was