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Chapter Twenty Six
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2024-10-29 19:42:56MIT fucking one. Hidden in Lizzy’s message to the team.
Aside from selecting Ivan’s song, Johnny picked up on her constant emphasis and subtle play on the word one in her goodbye speech. Lizzy changed up the words to send her message and Donnie was the one to fit the pieces together.
“Listen to what Lizzy’s saying—‘I’m the one. I choose me…. And tell Jay Jay, he’s always been the ones. This song is for him. The one I’ve chosen for him.’ The word one is emphasized everywhere in her speech.” Donnie leaned forward. “Johnny, remember, we spoke about the teams with her, at dinner that night. We called them the ‘Ones,’ and mentioned that MIT1 works out of Lagos. Lizzy has visited Nigeria. She knows where she is.”
Slater played devil’s advocate. “What if Lizzy was just really out of it and confused her words? She seemed pretty far gone.”
Johnny reran the footage, slowing every time Lizzy said “one,” which
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Stain on the Earth book Two of the MIT2 Series Chapter Twenty Seven
It felt surreal. After so long, he had her all to himself. The Scythian carried an unconscious Lizzy over the threshold and into the bathroom. He laid her in the bath, then stripped off her soiled skirt and underwear.She looked like a limp porcelain doll. Dried blood and bruises marked her skin and he traced a hand over the damage. He’d caused that. The thought thrilled him, and he felt himself stir. In their future together, he’d be the only one marking her, for however long that may be. He injected her with another sedative, wanting time to admire his new acquisition.Then he stood and stretched his back before turning to the mirror. He looked like a scary-as-shit mother. Who knew this was what he’d become. His childish dreams as a kid never amounted to anything this spectacular. The scariest human on the planet.Getting to this point hadn’t been easy. It was hard work, developing such a terrifying brand. People walked arou
Stain on the Earth book Two of the MIT2 Series Chapter Twenty Eight
“The SOB is alive.” Max took a photo with his phone, looking as grim as Johnny felt.“It says ‘Kris,’ right?” Johnny confirmed.“That’s the only word that makes sense.” Max studied the markings.Slater crossed his arms. “If Kris Muller is alive and Lizzy tagged him, how does he play into this?”“This is the location of the message; I’m guessing he was in the room, and he sure as hell ain’t here now,” Johnny said.“Stands to reason then that Kris killed Ivan,” Max agreed.“Are we then looking for two crazy jerk-offs? Is he the Scythian’s sidekick?”Johnny answered Slater’s question with a shake of his head. “Negative. It’s too much of a coincidence.”“Now that we have a possible suspect, I’ll use Muller’s height and build; we can compare voice prints.” Donnie stoo
Stain on the Earth book Two of the MIT2 Series Chapter Twenty Nine
The rainforest surrounding Kris Muller’s fortress posed both an advantage and a logistical challenge, with one road leading in—and twenty-foot walls—causing possible breach delays.Even with all the security measures providing blockades, the teams slid in undetected. Thanks to past fieldwork, MIT2 worked seamlessly alongside the Delta team and MIT1. The familiarity nudged Johnny into full battle mode. This was what he did best. Lizzy’s welfare was now in his hands; they were no longer separated by endless miles or unknown terrors. It was Johnny’s game—as brutal as the Scythian’s—with a dash of justice on the side.His woman lay beyond the gate ahead. Behind those mansion walls. Johnny knew in his gut that Lizzy was close. Donnie and Max were the first to infiltrate the compound, slipping over a back wall. They made their way around to the front, took out the guards at the gate, then opened it for the rest of their team.
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Delta checked in, two of theirs were unaccounted for, three including Slater. Men ran towards them with Mason Clark strapped to a stretcher.“What the hell happened?” Max yelled.“The second prisoner ambushed us, a planted target. I think he used a grenade. The wall collapsed when we were already out in the hall.”“I’ll stay behind to help,” Donnie said.“No,” Max said over the chaos. “We have enough men on the ground. I’ve got this; I need you to help with both the injured assets, get them to the safe house.”Donnie hesitated.“Go!” Max ordered. “I’ll pull Slater out. I have two additional medics and seven men at my back. I’ll get our boy.”With one last look at Max racing down the passage, Johnny and Oscar hustled Lizzy out into the open, as Donnie covered their run to the MH6 assault bird.***Max scrambled to c
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Tinkling wind chimes teased her awake. Lizzy stretched, and her toes stuck out the bottom of the covers—her Lizzie McGuire bed cover. When last had she lain in her childhood bed? Hadn’t she outgrown this clunky wooden bed when she was ten? Too tired to care, Lizzy’s eyes ran over her bright blue walls. What on earth had motivated her to choose such a crazy color? Kids made no sense.The smell of pancakes wafted up the stairs. Mom made the best pancakes, with thick British syrup and loads of cream. Yum. She wiggled her toes.Time to get up. Lizzy looked up at her blue ceiling. Wait. Blue? She stared up at the open sky. The endless blue surrounded her tiny bed. Relaxing into the comfy duvet, she watched a single drifting cloud. Playing the shape game, she supposed it looked like a man on a horse. Two birds flew across the sky, their silvery wings capturing her gaze.Her eyes flitted back to the now pink cloud. No, wait&mdas
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He managed to stay away for a whole nine hours, even shaved and caught some shut-eye, before stepping into a viper’s nest. Lizzy was the spitting snake.Max loomed over her. “Don’t try it. One toe even touches that floor!”“And you’ll do what?”“Lizette Steyn, what the hell are you doing?” Johnny leaped forward as she swung her legs over the side.“You forgot to mention that Slater got injured trying to rescue my tiny ass!”Johnny glared. She glared back.“I didn’t want to stress you out.”“I want to see him.” She folded her arms.“He’s way over in the next building. When you’re feeling stronger, I’ll take you.”“What’s his condition. Be honest.”“His right arm is shattered. Compound fracture in his right humerus and a distal radius fracture. The surgery went well, b
Stain on the Earth book Two of the MIT2 Series Chapter Thirty Three
GermanyTwo days laterNot too shabby, Lizzy thought. She’d cruised through finger surgery. The doctors were pleased with the injury site.The next day the shady dudes in suits were back to question her. This time it was a lady with perfectly coifed hair and artfully applied makeup who made Lizzy feel like a soiled pile of bones, languishing in starched and sterile sheets. Refusing to have any family members present, Lizzy soldiered through the barrage of questions, pleased with her robotic responses. She’d handled it like a boss, all on her own. What was all the fuss about?Lizzy’s gloomy entourage was getting on her damn nerves. John looked like he wanted to start a phonebook-ripping rampage when Lizzy asked them all—including him—to leave the room while the agent questioned her.John could never know the details of her last day with the Scythian, and Lizzy didn’t need t
Stain on the Earth book Two of the MIT2 Series Chapter Thirty Four
Something crashed into his bed. Fucked-up situational awareness, Slater thought as he cracked open a lid.Lizzy’s curls swayed as she tried to reverse the wheelchair with one hand. “Crikey poop! You’d think they’d have at least one kid’s wheelchair in a place this huge. Drat!”Johnny’s voice boomed as he turned the corner. “I turn my back for one second—how the hell did you get in here so fast!”“It’s not my fault you need to stop at every vending machine to find the right muffin; you’re the one with the darn tapeworm.”“The muffin was for you, Lizbug! Easy with that thing. Don’t you dare use your right hand, keep it elevated!” Johnny grabbed the handles and smoothly parallel parked her alongside the bed.“No, wheel me to the other side! Line up my good side with Slater’s good side.”They were like a bickering old
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Stain on the Earth book Two of the MIT2 Series Chapter Forty Nine
WyomingThree weeks laterRay huffed out a snore as she rolled over to her side on the wooden porch. Scratching her velvety neck with his foot, Johnny took a swig of beer. The setting sun provided the perfect backdrop to Lizzy’s sweet profile as she strummed softly on her guitar.She paused, then swore. “Gosh, dang it.”“The finger again?”“Or lack thereof.”“Don’t push it. Give it time.”Lizzy stuck out her tongue, and Johnny grinned. She made a pretty picture, sitting cross-legged on the rocking chair with her hair twisted in a cute bun at the nape of her neck. Not quite long enough, tendrils fell around her face, dancing in the autumn breeze. Back to her normal weight with flushed cheeks—an outside observer would never guess at the trauma she’d experienced just a couple of months before. Dragging his chair closer, Johnny leaned i
Stain on the Earth book Two of the MIT2 Series Chapter Forty Eight
John kept to his word. Two days later and he was ready to be checked out of the hospital. Lizzy giggled as he waddled over to the bathroom. The back of his gown left little to her imagination.“Don’t laugh. It’s not funny. You’d think they’d have a larger gown for taller patients.”“I don’t think it’s your height, baby.” Lizzy laughed. “You look like the incredible hulk, hulking out of teeny human clothes.”Donnie walked in, grinning at John’s bare ass. “And the beard gives him a yeti vibe.”“I need clean clothes.”Lizzy spent a day in the ward, under observation. Charlie was kind enough to bring Lizzy a change of clothes the day before, but she’d mistakenly packed an old pair of John’s pants that no longer fitted around his muscled waist.“Relax, big man. I have your lumberjack clothing ready and waiting.”&ld
Stain on the Earth book Two of the MIT2 Series Chapter Forty Seven
Swiping at her mud-caked vision, Lizzy stumbled through the fence towards Charlie’s barn. When she’d flown off the porch steps, her immediate relief at seeing the deputy running towards her turned to horror when Muller’s bullet sliced through the man’s neck.Lizzy veered, then stumbled as a second one zipped past her cheek.Instead of heading for the road, she zigzagged across the field towards farm outbuildings that could provide cover. Her feet slipped, and she went down in the sloppy mud. Scrambling for purchase, she staggered towards the tree line before spotting the wooden barn. This time, tree bark shattered to the left of her, and she swung right, not daring to glance back.The farm was a ghost town. Charlie and her foreman were up at the hospital for her father’s third heart surgery. The rest of the staff had left early to set up a food stall at the Sunday farmer’s market in town. Still, a farm hand popped out from beh
Stain on the Earth book Two of the MIT2 Series Chapter Forty Six
“The storm could’ve damaged the phone lines,” Donnie yelled over the thrumming blades. Max ignored the logic, knowing in his gut that his family was in trouble and Johnny was either disabled or dead.His teammate should’ve made mincemeat out of Muller’s slimy ass and contacted Max by now. None of the mobile phones were being answered, and the landlines were dead.The colonel’s orders were to allow local law enforcement and the FBI to run the mission. But if Max was the first to arrive, he’d ignore that directive, just as he’d ignored the orders to stay on base until SOCOM briefed a fully manned black ops team.Defying orders, Donnie and Max threw on battle rattle and relied on a friend and chopper pilot to give them a ride. Now MIT scrambled to cover their men’s asses. They’d departed on a mission on American soil that was not fully authorized. Max didn’t give a shit. His pregnant wife and child w
Stain on the Earth book Two of the MIT2 Series Chapter Forty Five
Max hung up the call to his wife and strode into the meeting room. Abby wasn’t resting or eating as well as she should. Screw trying ever again for a third kid. This pregnancy was the most stressful shit Max had ever experienced, and that included going head-to-head with suicidal extremist bastards.Those worrying thoughts screeched to a halt as soon as Max saw his boss standing in the far corner. Max and Donnie had been pulled out of morning training and asked to meet one of their analysts—Jace Martin—on base. Jace was in the room but so was Colonel Jack Hearst. Was it to do with Slater’s replacement? Max doubted it, as he stood at attention. Donnie fell in beside him. The look on the distinguished MIT mogul’s face had Max’s skin itching.“Sir. It’s good to see you. What brings you to Utah?”“Erik, we’ve fucked up. Not just MIT but every agency in the northern hemisphere. Close the door and sit.&
Stain on the Earth book Two of the MIT2 Series Chapter Forty Four
The mattress creaked, waking Lizzy. She didn’t move, preferring to savor the safe moment. Cocooned in John’s bed and his love, she’d slept through the night and woken feeling at peace. It wasn’t quite morning, the hint of dawn scrubbed over by the sound of a storm sweeping in. Lizzy reached behind and felt the empty warmth as she heard John slam the window shut.Ray shifted next to her chest, and Lizzy snuggled deeper. “What time is it?”“Four thirty. I might as well get up; I need to check on the animals. This storm looks nasty,” he said before brushing his teeth at the sink.Lizzy dozed until the bed dipped, and he pulled his boots on.“Do you need help?”“I’m all good, Lizbug. If you feel like getting up though, I hear Abby banging around in the kitchen. I think Gabe woke her.”The wind howled as rain pelted against the window. “Five more minutes,” s
Stain on the Earth book Two of the MIT2 Series Chapter Forty Three
Two days later, Max and Donnie rolled out, headed for training at Camp Williams with the newest team member, Dylan Jenkins. A local Utahan sniper from the 19th Special Forces Group. Johnny admired the laid-back soldier. Aside from his Army career, the operator embodied a reckless, surfer-like attitude as a well-known snowboarder in Utah. It would be interesting to see how their uptight team leader handled the Owen Wilson wannabe. Dylan’s long-range marksmanship and excellent skills in the field would make him a valuable MIT member—aside from the additional training lined up for him at MIT headquarters later in the month. At Max’s insistence, Johnny stayed behind with Lizzy. As they were still evaluating Jenkins’ skills, it wasn’t essential for Johnny to be at Camp Williams. If they needed him, they’d call.***“I forget how hot the summers can get in some parts of the States, is late May supposed to be this warm?” Abby gr
Stain on the Earth book Two of the MIT2 Series Chapter Forty Two
Balancing tentatively on the ball of her foot, Lizzy poked her head through the canopy of leaves. Wyoming was truly breathtaking. Silence surrounded her. Not true silence as she could still hear insects buzzing, the leaves rustling in the afternoon breeze and a bleating sheep answered by three more. The distant hills looked so clear in the waning light, the golden rays contrasting with shadowed crevices in the craggy mountainside. She missed climbing trees; she still loved it.Her head sank back below the branches, and Lizzy looked down. The branch she balanced on bent under her weight, and she transferred her foot to a sturdier limb. The new branch instantly disintegrated, almost melting into thin air. Before she could comprehend her predicament, she fell to the earth, bouncing through and over battering limbs. Just before she slammed into the ground, strong arms caught her and they fell, rolling down a steep hill at a dizzying pace.A scarlet blur filled her vision a
