Stain on the Earth book Two of the MIT2 Series

Somewhere near the South Sudan/ Uganda border The black stallion skittered sideways, and the rider brought him harshly back into line. He couldn’t blame Atheas. Temperatures soared into the mid-forties and they’d been here too long. He patted the sweat-soaked stallion’s coat and called out to one of the men.“The horse needs water. How long does it take to clear a damn village?”“We’re almost done, master. I’ll find something.”“Fuck it. We’ve gone too far north. We’ll backtrack to the church we passed.”The church they’d ransacked. The Scythian adjusted his soaked hood, feeling perspiration chafing his already raw skin. This was the price he paid for being the most notorious extremist on the African continent. A woman started wailing, and her shrieks added to his already irritated mood.“Someone kill the bitch.”The

The rickshaw dropped them off in Clock Tower Square. Brianna scurried into the first rug stall and the other girls followed. The locals seemed friendly, and the store owner immediately offered them a traditional green tea. Lizzy loved the sweet tea native to Pakistan so she gladly accepted. Suzie turned her nose up and Lizzy quickly drank it to ease her companion’s faux pas. Lizzy had brought her digital Canon along and snapped photos along the way. The expensive camera had been a gift from her father on her last birthday and she loved it, thinking maybe someday she’d write a travel book.The narrow streets crammed with wares were an overload on the senses. Donkeys clattered among bearded men in turbans selling their textiles. A pakol hat maker tried to sell her a hat as she dodged a moped bike. The decaying Sikh architecture littering the gray and brown streets was fascinating. Unstable wooden buildings were stacked together in grimy colors. Wires, phone lines an

Not much got to Johnny. He liked to think he was a balanced soldier who’d seen a lot in his military career. Any challenging experiences in the field usually got resolved by physical work when Johnny returned home to his Wyoming cabin. The empty solitude had a way of flushing away the blackness of war from one’s soul.Looking into those troubled blue eyes and the sound of Lizzy’s sobs echoing in that dingy room had him wanting to put a fist through the wall. Johnny paced the hallway, waiting for the local men to liberate her from their obsolete confinement.Javid Ibrahim watched him carefully from down the hall. Johnny paused, then approached him. “Thank you for rescuing them.” He swallowed before continuing. “Without your help, they would’ve been stoned or beaten to death.”Javid nodded once. Johnny reached into his back pocket. “If you ever need any—”“I need you to look after Miss

At six in the morning the streets were quiet. Two vehicles pulled out; Lizzy sat in the back of the truck next to Johnny, and Max sat up front as Ryker drove. The rest of the MIT3 team trailed behind in a black SUV. Their plans had shifted. Lizzy would be flying back on the MIT2 transport with Johnny and Max.They’d take off from a private airstrip, land in Mogadishu to drop Max off to meet up with the rest of the team and, once refueled, Johnny would head on to Nairobi with Lizzy.She’d snuggled up beside him, and dainty snores filled the subdued space as her head lolled against his arm. Itching to wrap that arm around the tiny blonde, Johnny turned instead to stare into the dawning light.Peshawar and its neighboring war zone wasn’t Johnny’s favorite place. Too many violent memories, losing team members over his earlier years in Afghanistan. He hated that Lizzy was here. He wanted them gone.“Thanks for the escort.” M

The flame tree was in bloom and Lizzy couldn’t resist walking out of the front gates of her apartment complex and plopping down beneath the scarlet tree. She crossed her legs and picked up a bright flower as she waited for John.Lizzy loved people-watching, and this was the perfect spot for it. Locals ran for the bus stop, mopeds sped by, and cars negotiated through the morning bustle.The previous day had been a pleasant surprise. After a quick walk around the children’s home, Lizzy excused herself, helping in the kitchen by chopping up vegetables for the evening meal as John thoroughly walked the property, listing potential improvements.It shouldn’t surprise her; John took everything in stride, and his easy adaptability was one of the star qualities that attracted her to the man.By the end of the day, he’d accrued a workforce of teenage boys as a gang of wide-eyed little girls trailed his every move, peppering him with question