How does a man who dedicated his life to the Western world become a man of evil? Underground Murmurs tells the story of Akira, a broken man who is not only guided by the voice of his dead wife in his mind but now has his trusted vision of the future and is hell bent on making it a reality. Years before the tragic loss of his wife, he was Marcus Wade, partner of fellow MI6 agent Thomas Deane and patriot of the Western way of life. Both of them risked their lives repeatedly but neither saw the shatter-point that would shape their destiny. Marcus Wade’s wife Madeline would die in tragic circumstances and Deane’s part would forever be seen as a betrayal.
In the intervening years he would take on a new identity and leave his past behind. Marcus Wade’s memory is incomplete and with his ability to hear his dead wife’s voice in his mind, sees him begin to understand the world in a new light. Underground Murmurs begins where Marcus returns as Akira as he tries to weave together a tapestry of events that will lead to the West’s destruction. With MI6 at the forefront, their most effective partnership in Thomas Deane and his young charge Sam Olsen, are called upon together with their loyal S.U.C.O. (Special Undercover Covert Operations) agents to try to uncover the truth of the threat before its too late...
Prologue
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 Akria 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 affect on him as the thick flakes continued to fall from a darkened sky on a silent Moscow. Dressed all 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 more 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 using 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 entity.
Akira lashed out repeatedly and with his greater speed and power, 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 death blow finished the job and Akira watched his victim slump to the floor. Still the snow fell and the silence gave him the 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 and 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, not 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 not as he had once heard it now lived on inside his mind and 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 not helped him when he needed it the most? How could they betray him after everything he had done for them. 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 had always done. 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 himself and Madeline had witnessed it somehow brought them closer together. That day had been unforgettable and just the idea of a world without corrupt governments, their deceitful foreign policies and the complete lack of understanding 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 slowly 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, and the world would change forever...
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