side and looked into the now unobstructed opening.
A number of objects nestled inside; all were quite strange and nothing like anything she had seen before, apart from something that looked like a larger version of her pendant. Reaching in, she drew it out. Measuring two and a half inches in diameter, it felt cold to the touch, as if it had been stored in a fridge. It was also slightly different to her artefact, not only in size, but in design. Whereas hers was quite simple, pentagonal with a single circle in the middle, this was ornate in comparison. Multiple symbols had been embossed onto its surface in what appeared to be some kind of text, although it didn’t look like any script she’d ever seen. They weren’t pictograms so it was either made before the earliest major civilisations or later. Considering where it was and what they had just found, she was betting it was pre-Babylonian by a long shot; perhaps even pre-human.
She noted that, unlike hers, this one had a metal clip at one end which she easily popped open using a couple of fingers. She looked inside to see it contained a roll of parchment. With her fingertips, she managed to coax it out. About to unfurl it, she paused. Was that an approaching vehicle she could hear? Slipping the paper-like material back into the large pendant, for it too had a hoop at one end, Sarah moved around from behind the craggy outcrop of rock where she’d been working to see that it wasn’t one vehicle, but five. Two black military looking short wheel-based lorries and three large desert-coloured SUVs roared up around the dig site, one peeling off towards Sarah, who rushed back to the canister-like box she’d just dug up. Yanking out items she stuffed them into her pockets; chucked a few under some rocks, and then they were on her. Two armed men jumped out of the SUV and grabbed her from behind, dragging her backwards as she tried to escape. She kicked, struggled and shouted at them before being slammed up against the side of the vehicle for her troubles. With rough efficiency, they then stripped her down to her underwear and removed all the artefacts she‘d concealed in her clothing.
She started to shiver as the two men swept the area. ‘Is that everything?’ one of them asked her after they had gathered together most of the items she’d hidden. Sarah glared at him with baleful eyes and didn’t answer.
‘It doesn’t matter,’ said the second man, ‘we’ll pick this site clean when the others get here.’
‘What others?’ Sarah said. ‘Who the fuck are you?’
The men ignored her. One of them picked up her clothes and shoved them into her midriff. After she had dressed they marched her over to the others. Trish looked terrified and Jason bled from a gash to his head. There was no sign of Carl.
Amongst the desert camo-clad soldiers, who now seemed to be everywhere, a tall, imperious man strode around issuing orders. He wore a pinstripe suit and looked extremely out of place, almost comically so, and yet the men obeyed him without question as he directed them this way and that. Then, appearing from behind one of the trucks, Carl came into view.
‘You fucking bastard piece of shit!’ Jason shouted, rushing at him.
Carl sidestepped the attack and stuck out a leg, and Jason hit the ground hard. They grappled for a moment in the dust, but Jason was soon overcome. Now on top, with Jason face down, Carl knelt on Jason’s back and twisted his arms behind him until he cried out in pain.
‘Stop it!’ Trish pleaded, in tears. ‘You’re hurting him!’
At that moment the suited man approached. He surveyed the scene with a critical eye, looking at Jason, Trish and then finally Sarah. ‘Get rid of them,’ he said to Carl in a strong and unmistakable Italian accent.
Carl hauled Jason up, dragged him over to a nearby vehicle and thrust him into the back seat. Trish and Sarah were forced forwards and Carl unceremoniously pushed them in to join their friend. As
A number of objects nestled inside; all were quite strange and nothing like anything she had seen before, apart from something that looked like a larger version of her pendant. Reaching in, she drew it out. Measuring two and a half inches in diameter, it felt cold to the touch, as if it had been stored in a fridge. It was also slightly different to her artefact, not only in size, but in design. Whereas hers was quite simple, pentagonal with a single circle in the middle, this was ornate in comparison. Multiple symbols had been embossed onto its surface in what appeared to be some kind of text, although it didn’t look like any script she’d ever seen. They weren’t pictograms so it was either made before the earliest major civilisations or later. Considering where it was and what they had just found, she was betting it was pre-Babylonian by a long shot; perhaps even pre-human.
She noted that, unlike hers, this one had a metal clip at one end which she easily popped open using a couple of fingers. She looked inside to see it contained a roll of parchment. With her fingertips, she managed to coax it out. About to unfurl it, she paused. Was that an approaching vehicle she could hear? Slipping the paper-like material back into the large pendant, for it too had a hoop at one end, Sarah moved around from behind the craggy outcrop of rock where she’d been working to see that it wasn’t one vehicle, but five. Two black military looking short wheel-based lorries and three large desert-coloured SUVs roared up around the dig site, one peeling off towards Sarah, who rushed back to the canister-like box she’d just dug up. Yanking out items she stuffed them into her pockets; chucked a few under some rocks, and then they were on her. Two armed men jumped out of the SUV and grabbed her from behind, dragging her backwards as she tried to escape. She kicked, struggled and shouted at them before being slammed up against the side of the vehicle for her troubles. With rough efficiency, they then stripped her down to her underwear and removed all the artefacts she‘d concealed in her clothing.
She started to shiver as the two men swept the area. ‘Is that everything?’ one of them asked her after they had gathered together most of the items she’d hidden. Sarah glared at him with baleful eyes and didn’t answer.
‘It doesn’t matter,’ said the second man, ‘we’ll pick this site clean when the others get here.’
‘What others?’ Sarah said. ‘Who the fuck are you?’
The men ignored her. One of them picked up her clothes and shoved them into her midriff. After she had dressed they marched her over to the others. Trish looked terrified and Jason bled from a gash to his head. There was no sign of Carl.
Amongst the desert camo-clad soldiers, who now seemed to be everywhere, a tall, imperious man strode around issuing orders. He wore a pinstripe suit and looked extremely out of place, almost comically so, and yet the men obeyed him without question as he directed them this way and that. Then, appearing from behind one of the trucks, Carl came into view.
‘You fucking bastard piece of shit!’ Jason shouted, rushing at him.
Carl sidestepped the attack and stuck out a leg, and Jason hit the ground hard. They grappled for a moment in the dust, but Jason was soon overcome. Now on top, with Jason face down, Carl knelt on Jason’s back and twisted his arms behind him until he cried out in pain.
‘Stop it!’ Trish pleaded, in tears. ‘You’re hurting him!’
At that moment the suited man approached. He surveyed the scene with a critical eye, looking at Jason, Trish and then finally Sarah. ‘Get rid of them,’ he said to Carl in a strong and unmistakable Italian accent.
Carl hauled Jason up, dragged him over to a nearby vehicle and thrust him into the back seat. Trish and Sarah were forced forwards and Carl unceremoniously pushed them in to join their friend. As
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