The covered truck stops at a large stretch of sand, featureless, barren nothingness seeming to extend in all directions. The driver, casually smoking a cigar, turned in his seat before remarking, "Well, here we are. A barren spot in the middle of nowhere, devoid of any landmarks and barely registering on my GPS. I'm trying my best not to question why you are out here, American, but first, I need payment."
Our lead, not saying a word, slides a credit card through a reader on the dashboard of the car, deftly inputting the PIN number attached to it. The driver smirked, and replied, "Well, I hope you have another ride out of here, American, because this is pretty far from my rounds. Ah, well, as long as you sent me some money before you died. Take care. Oh, and don't forget your things."
The driver carelessly tosses out a canvas rucksack before restarting the engine and pulling off towards the north. Picking up the pack, a beeping sound was heard from inside, the woman -- that is, the woman who is currently the main character of this story -- sifts through and finds her PDA, looking through the message that she had recently received.
TO: Ms. Wilde
FROM: Mr. KB Boseman
Dear Ms. Wilde, we have recently received an update on your assignment to find Artifact SN: W249, aka the "Tablet of Ancients". Due to the faith invested in you finding and locating this artifact, failure to retrieve it may be replied to with demotion or termination, as well as withdrawals of all services and goods entrusted to you. Payment will be suspended until completion of assignment. According to the latest cartographer report, the location is 50 yards SSE. Reply upon confirmation of secured artifact.
- Boseman
__________________________________________________________________________________
Sure enough, the location was there, behind a very massive dune. A house-sized structure stuck up from the ground, blocky and red, with an opening on one side. With a cursory look, it was gathered that there were no footprints or tire tracks. At least, none too obvious. It was past noon, the sunset feebly peeking over the dune behind her, a slowly greying sky ahead of her. She checked the coordinates on the map. It was correct: 29.51611 N, 45.83313 E.
As far as she saw it, if someone got to the Tablet first, she was dead. If she didn't find out where the real Tablet was, she was dead. And, if she was able to not only get the true location of the tablet, but also keep it from getting nabbed first, and it broke on the way... she got a pay cut. Still, not really a good thing. Ah, well, time to get on with the job.
First action?