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Book Two Preview: Stain on the Earth
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Make sure to pick up “Stain on the Earth,” the next installment of the Mobile Intelligence Series. Find out what happens in Johnny and Lizzy’s story!
Peshawar, Pakistan
Lizette Steyn disengaged the slide, pulled up the door handle and swung the aircraft door outward. Frigid air swept in and she barely repressed a shiver. “Freezing fudge buckets,” she muttered before greeting the ground agent at the top of the stairs. The miserable structure that was Bacha Khan International Airport looked archaic—with all the developing nations Lizzy had visited in the past five months—that was saying a lot. Peshawar, the wild west town of Pakistan, felt as cold as a dead man’s nose.
“Well isn’t that just grand,” Brianna muttered, stepping out of the wind. “All I bloody packed was a vest and a T-shirt.”
Lizzy refrained from rolling her eyes. The other two Cabin Attendants had as much sense as two rolling hamsters. Brianna, a hardy Irish g
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New York. Three Years Ago. Liberation was a few steps away. Today they’d finally be free. Sharon watched the shoppers spill out from jammed escalators. Long wait times fueled the oppressive atmosphere in the mall. Black Friday posters scattered throughout the pandemonium added to the frenzy. Arisha tugged at Sharon’s jacket, staring up with solemn eyes. “We need to find a seat, Mamma.” She ran a hand through her daughter’s thick black hair. Sharon despised her own wispy blonde hair and always kept it trimmed in a neat bob. Reaching down, she picked up their two small suitcases, nudging Arisha forward. “Then find us one.” The packed food court gave them few options. A man and woman situated nearest the terrace railing cleared their table and Arisha ran up and waited. The lady smiled. Her little girl captivated people, with her mother’s delicate features and her father’s Iranian ancestry. Sharon stepped up, and t
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Johannesburg. South Africa.Present day.Abby lowered herself into the water, welcoming the fluid embrace. Adjusting her goggles and tugging the back of her swimming cap down, she pushed off. God, she loved this, therapy for the soul. Soon she’d be warmed up enough to slide into an effortless rhythm and then the meditation would begin. The distant noises of the gym were drowned out by even breathing and the water sliding smoothly over her skin.Lap one. The tension rippling through Abby’s body craved release, and she pushed harder, cutting through the water with efficient strokes. Laps flew by as muscles burned. Quiet was how she liked it, and even though the rest of the lanes were empty, it was one of those days where it was impossible to unplug.Abby avoided peak times at the gym—early mornings or late evenings—especially during the week with screaming kids or swimmers jostling for la
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Johnny and Donnie left to trail Evans to her rendezvous with Muller. Once Abigail Evans stepped out, Max snapped up the opportunity to switch out a microphone in her bedroom that had fuzzy sound quality. Max slipped through Evans’s gate into the immaculate garden. Delicate paving ran along the neat flower beds. Rose bushes lined the wall. He’d watched her many times fussing around among her plants. The result was charming. Her dark porch made breaking in easier. It was late, and he was also glad she’d drawn the curtains before she left. Nothing like a nosy neighbor spotting him through the windows once he was inside. South Africa posed more challenges when it came to breaking and entering, so Donnie had acquired a copy of her keys from her bag in the gym locker. In Johannesburg, windows as an entry point were ruled out due to the hefty security bars crisscrossing them. Max clicked open the door mechanism before opening her sliding security gate. The smell of
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The following afternoon, Abby pulled into the strip mall and chose to park on the periphery of the frantic lot. Although there was a spring chill in the air, the late afternoon was pleasant. Due to the warmer weather, people spilled out of crowded cafés onto the pavements, La Coraggio was the busiest of the bunch. The Italian community loved the place, and the result was a boisterous, laid-back atmosphere with incredible cuisine. Honestly, she loved it too. Abby had an Italian grandmother, vague memories of a warm, loud lady enveloping her in happy hugs. Although her grandmother passed away when Abby was four, she felt a sharp pull towards her Italian roots. Abby was told growing up that she was the spitting image of Granny Lucy.Lucy had been married to Grandpa Noah for twenty-four years when she’d died suddenly of a heart attack. Abby’s father, Jimmy—their only child—turned in an extreme way to religion. A couple of years later, frustrated wit
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Where the hell had she parked? Max made his way through two rows of vehicles before shoving in his comms.“Where’s Evans?”Donnie’s voice barked in his ear. “It’s a clusterfuck, someone’s just jumped her.”Max stilled. “Where?”“Back of the lot. North side. Should I break cover?”Max took off. “Negative. I’m closer. Be ready in case I need you!”He moved soundlessly, spotting the distant figures. Was the son of a bitch her contact?“Are they having a meeting?” Max barked.“Not unless the agenda includes sexual assault and bashing her head in.”Anger gushed. The asshole was dead. Could she have parked any farther away?The bastard dragged Evans up by the hair, and all hell broke loose. Max choked on impotent rage, pushing his limits in a full-out sprint. They were gonna watch Evans die. Her attacker ram
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The noon sun filtering through the shades caused Abby to stir. Bruised muscles made rolling out of bed an ordeal; the head wound was tight and sore. Carefully covering it with a shower cap, Abby jumped into the hot spray. The steaming water helped a little, but it still took time to pull on a loose black T-shirt and a pair of grey leggings.One brewed cup of coffee later, and Abby was sitting on the front patio, warming herself in the pale sunlight. The soft breeze and chirping birds calmed her rolling anxiety. She wasn’t ready to analyze what happened, who the masked man was. All she could handle at that moment was the creamy cup of caffeine and the simple sounds of nature.She ignored the desperate need to phone the one person that mattered most, just to hear his beautiful voice. Her brain kept poking her—just use a burner phone—it’ll be a quick phone call, a minute tops. There’s no danger; no one will know. Abby knew better; sh
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A battered taxi blared its horn as it forced its way in front of them, ignoring the rules of the road and veering over the pavement in the process. Anton Vorster slammed on the brakes.“Shee-it!” Johnny white-knuckled the door handle in protest. TIA, buddy, this is Africa. Hell, this wasn’t just Africa. They were heading into Hillbrow, an inner-city neighborhood of Johannesburg riddled with gang activity. Hillbrow was known for high levels of population density, unemployment, poverty, and crime. Max glanced out the back window of the Jetta. It was a Saturday afternoon, and activity littered the streets. Gangs of men huddled on street corners, arrogantly watching over the scurrying locals. Anton pulled up at a light. Street vendors and beggars tapped at the windows, jostling for their attention. “Fok off!” Anton yelled, waving an aggressive window washer away. Anton was a neutral contact who would get them in Mandla Nkosi’s d
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It was a casual date, and casual was the keyword. Abby messaged Max, telling him that she only had time to grab a quick bite. Grocery shopping was on her list for the day, aside from the design work needing her attention.Abby refused to do the candles and roses thing with Max or any other man for that matter. Casual was her new favorite word. Casual dates, casual necking on the sofa, casual sex, especially when it came to a man as intense as Max. Hell, one more glance from those laser eyes and she’d climb all over that rock-hard body.Casual dating had never been Abby’s thing, and that was why she was staring at the third outfit she’d tried on in the space of five minutes. Her new neon-orange-and-white Nike sneakers were paired with dark blue jeans and a white Taylor Swift 1989 T-Shirt. The soft, worn T-shirt was one of her favorites, her lacy white bra subtly peeked through the thin white material, giving a hint of girl-next-door n
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Siren in the Wind - book one of the MIT2 series Book Two Preview: Stain on the Earth
Make sure to pick up “Stain on the Earth,” the next installment of the Mobile Intelligence Series. Find out what happens in Johnny and Lizzy’s story! Peshawar, Pakistan Lizette Steyn disengaged the slide, pulled up the door handle and swung the aircraft door outward. Frigid air swept in and she barely repressed a shiver. “Freezing fudge buckets,” she muttered before greeting the ground agent at the top of the stairs. The miserable structure that was Bacha Khan International Airport looked archaic—with all the developing nations Lizzy had visited in the past five months—that was saying a lot. Peshawar, the wild west town of Pakistan, felt as cold as a dead man’s nose. “Well isn’t that just grand,” Brianna muttered, stepping out of the wind. “All I bloody packed was a vest and a T-shirt.” Lizzy refrained from rolling her eyes. The other two Cabin Attendants had as much sense as two rolling hamsters. Brianna, a hardy Irish g
Siren in the Wind - book one of the MIT2 series Epilogue
Utah.Four months later.Max pulled into the drive. It was good to be home. He’d sold a generous acreage of his land in Colorado and decided to purchase the luxury log cabin in the mountains near the Snowbasin Ski Resort in Salt Lake City. Utah was a safe place to raise kids where they could comfortably live off the grid. Close enough to the city yet tucked away in their own slice of paradise. Abby loved the snow, trying out snowboarding and then skiing. As spring weather set in, she’d taken Gabriel on a couple of hikes in the Wasatch Mountains. Max couldn’t wait to join in.The recent three-month deployment he’d just flown in from, meant that he’d spent little time with them since settling down to family life. Max thought back on their journey after leaving the clinic in Namibia all those months ago. After arriving in Djibouti, a bunch of suits met them on the tarmac. Max refused to be separated, s
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Johannesburg. Four weeks later. That damn dog wouldn’t be able to fight its way out of a paper packet, never mind protect his Lizzy. Johnny watched her mom’s little rat dog take a shit on the sidewalk, before his blonde beauty bent over with a poop bag to sweep up the steaming parcel. Johnny paused to take in the spectacular view that was Lizzy’s incredible ass. Perky butt cheeks shaped beautifully by faded skinny jeans. Her retro outfit included a Michael Jackson “Thriller” T-shirt, silver sneakers, fire-engine lipstick and a bandana holding back curls. Where was she taking the ankle biter? There were no parks nearby plus she carried a bright red handbag. Not the wisest choice on the streets of Jo’burg, yet she wandered down the street like she was strolling through Central Park. Granted, it was a suburban area, but it wasn’t safe. Lizzy dropped the bag of rat droppings into a neighbor’s garbage can, then wiped her hands with a wet wipe. Her p
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Abby woke to two very different male snores. One loud and raspy and the other sounding like a squeaky puppy. Max lay stretched out on the chair, balancing a snoring Gabe like a football in his lap. The comical pair had her giggling, a sound she promptly regretted as a pain lanced through her chest.Max was by her side in a flash, tucking Gabe under his arm and stroking her hair. “Easy now, baby. Shallow breaths, you’ll be okay.”Abby breathed through the pain before grasping his strong hand in hers. Max laid a sleeping Gabe by her side.
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Windhoek, Namibia.By American standards, the German-run health facility was up to code. By African standards it was the Ritz Carlton. The floors were clean, walls freshly painted, it was well stocked and seemed organized. None of that alleviated the tension running through Max. They were still situated in fucking Africa, where he was relying on foreign medical staff he knew jack shit about to perform surgery on Abigail. Two hours had gone by and still no word. The nursing staff were giving Max a wide berth after he’d hounded them for the past hour.
Siren in the Wind - book one of the MIT2 series Chapter Forty
The only makeshift weapon in the austere room was a clay bowl situated on the bedside table. Abby lunged for it, as Roman pounced onto the mattress. Grabbing the lip of the bowl, Abby smashed it into the side of his head, causing him to collapse as the ornament exploded.Roman moaned as Abby scrambled off the bed. Due to her injuries, she moved far slower than she’d have liked, as though she were wading through quicksand. She crawled to the door, the swaying room and the hammering music added to the disorientation. She had to get to Gabe.“You fucking bitch.”
Siren in the Wind - book one of the MIT2 series Chapter Thirty Nine
The landing was rough. Fourteen miles per hour winds rocked the aircraft. A Cape windstorm descended on the city, and fifty mph gusts were predicted within the hour. Thanks to Mandla’s contacts, they’d secured a private landing strip on a wine farm near Sir Lowry’s Pass—thirteen clicks out. With lights and speed on their side, they were looking at a nine-minute drive. Khalid’s jet had landed at Stellenbosch Airfield twenty-eight minutes before them but had a longer commute of twenty-one kilometers. Praying that Khalid hit traffic, Max’s team raced for Somerset West.Mandla gave Max the stink eye. “N
Siren in the Wind - book one of the MIT2 series Chapter Thirty Eight
The helicopter landed just north of Johannesburg at Lanseria Airport. Max leapt onto the runway, followed by Donnie, Slater, and Anton. Go-bags were provided as they raced to a private aircraft, fueled and ready for takeoff. Mandla Nkosi and Johnny greeted Max at the bottom of the stairs. Johnny dude-hugged him before breaking the news. “Khalid hired additional help. We didn’t get there in time. Our drone saw five men entering Noleen’s safe house. They’re holding them hostage until Khalid arrives.”Mandla grabbed Max’s bag. “My six-man team got there as quickly as they could but we were too late.”
Siren in the Wind - book one of the MIT2 series Chapter Thirty Seven
Fifteen minutes after takeoff, Abby had to delay Khalid and his four guerrillas. There were too many of them to take on herself, especially with a limited knowledge of self-defense. If she guessed correctly, the flight was only eighty to a hundred minutes of flying time. You can do this, girl. Take what you know about aircrafts and formulate a plan. A history of extensive flight safety training might just give her an edge. Two of the four guards were buckled in their seats. One man in the lavatory while Roman stood near the cockpit. Khalid tapped away on his laptop, seated towards the front of the aircraft on the plush seats facing the cabin. The cold bastard behaved like an ordinary businessman on a work trip. The guard seated opposite Khalid was buck
