Page 23 of Enticing Kane

“No, Carter. I don’t take orders from you or whoever it is you really work for,” Kane said firmly, his hand resting on the grip of his gun. “You’re not taking Maggie or the artifact.”

Carter’s eyes widened slightly, his soldiers immediately raising their rifles. “Chaplin, think very carefully about what you’re doing. This isn’t a game.”

Kane’s gaze hardened. “You’re right. It’s not. This is about protecting something important, something that doesn’t belong in the hands of people like you.”

Without waiting for Carter’s response, Kane drew his weapon, his movements quick and practiced. He aimed directly at Carter, his finger hovering just above the trigger. “Get out of here, Colonel. Tell your superiors that this dig site is off-limits.”

The soldiers hesitated, glancing at each other, unsure of what to do. Carter’s face twisted in anger, but he knew better than to push Kane in this moment. The tension was thick, the air charged with the threat of violence.

“Chaplin,” Carter hissed, his voice dripping with venom. “You’re making a huge mistake.”

“Maybe,” Kane replied coldly. “But it’s my mistake to make. Now get out.”

Carter glared at him for a long moment, the tension between them crackling like electricity. Then, with a sharp nod, he gestured to the soldiers. “Stand down. We’re leaving… for now.”

The soldiers lowered their rifles, though their eyes remained on Kane, their expressions wary. Carter turned on his heel, stalking away with his men in tow, leaving Kane standing alone in the early morning light, his heart pounding in his chest.

As the dust settled, Kane let out a slow breath, his grip on his gun relaxing. He knew that this wasn’t the end—that Carter would be back, or someone worse—but for now, he had bought them some time.

He turned back to the tent, his thoughts on Maggie, still inside, unaware of the confrontation that had just taken place. He had made his choice, and now there was no turning back. The mission had changed, the timetable moved up, and his priority was clear.

Protect Maggie. Protect the artifact. No matter the cost.

Chapter Eleven

Maggie

Maggie sat hunched over the artifact, her fingers trembling slightly as she carefully manipulated the ancient device. The markings along its smooth, metallic surface glowed faintly under the dim light of the tent, casting eerie shadows on the walls. Her mind raced as she tried to decipher the final sequence of symbols that would unlock its secrets. She had been working tirelessly for hours, driven by a sense of urgency that had only intensified since Kane’s confrontation with Colonel Carter.

Outside, the camp was tense, the air thick with anticipation. Maggie could hear the faint murmur of voices, the occasional rustle of movement as Kane and Sara made their final preparations. But inside the tent, it was just her and the artifact—a relic from a past civilization that held the power to change the course of history.

Maggie’s heart pounded in her chest, her thoughts a chaotic jumble of fear, determination, and the knowledge that time was running out. Kane had made it clear that they needed to move quickly. He believed Carter and his men were on the brink of launching an all-out assault to seize the artifact, and Maggie knew that if they succeeded, everything she had worked for would be lost. The artifact would be used for purposes far darker than she had ever imagined, and the consequences could be catastrophic.

“Maggie, how’s it going?” Sara’s voice crackled through the small radio she had left on the table.

Maggie leaned over, pressing the button to respond. “I’m close, Sara. I just need a little more time. How’s Kane?”

“He’s keeping watch for them.”

“So you think he’s right? That Carter and his men will attack?”

“No doubt in my mind,” said Sara. “But Kane will hold them off; we’re running out of time. If you can’t unlock it, we need to get out of here,” Sara replied, her tone urgent.

Maggie swallowed hard, glancing at the artifact again. It was now or never. “I’ll have it in a few minutes,” she said, her voice firm despite the growing panic inside her. “Just hold them off a little longer.”

Sara didn’t respond, but Maggie knew she would do everything in her power to give her the time she needed. Maggie took a deep breath, focusing all her attention on the artifact. The symbols seemed to pulse in time with her racing heart, their meaning just out of reach. But she couldn’t afford to make a mistake—not now.

With careful precision, Maggie traced her fingers along the sequence of symbols, her mind piecing together the fragments of knowledge she had gathered since her arrival at the dig site. There was a pattern here, a language that had been lost to time, but one that she could now almost understand.

“Come on, come on,” she whispered to herself, her eyes narrowing as she concentrated.

Finally, the last symbol slid into place, and the artifact emitted a soft hum, the glow intensifying. Maggie’s breath caught in her throat as the device began to unfold, revealing a hidden compartment within. Inside, she saw what she had been searching for—a small, intricately detailed crystal, pulsating with an otherworldly energy.

Maggie’s hands shook as she reached for the symbol-covered crystal, using a pair of tweezers, her mind racing with the implications of what she had just uncovered. This was it. The key to everything. The artifact wasn’t just a relic—it seemed to be some kind of power source, one that might be able to be harnessed for unimaginable purposes.

“Sara,” Maggie called into the radio, her voice trembling with a mixture of excitement and fear. “I’ve got it. I’ve unlocked the artifact.”

There was a brief pause before Sara’s voice crackled back through the radio, filled with relief. “Good job, Maggie. Now we need to get that data out of here before they can take it from us. Can you transmit it?”

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