The sun hovered low over the rose-red city of Petra, casting shadows across the ancient rock-hewn façades. Tourists shuffled through the narrow Siq leading to the Treasury, awestruck by the scale and silence of the city carved into sandstone. But Wolfe and Bunny weren't there for sightseeing. Their path veered away from the crowds, skirting the edge of the cliffs and down into less-charted terrain—where history wasn't displayed in guidebooks but buried beneath layers of secrecy.
Bunny adjusted the strap of her backpack, her breathing steady but her senses on high alert. "This place looks like something out of a myth," she said, scanning the endless stretch of ochre and amber rock.
"Most legends have a grain of truth," Wolfe replied, his voice low, measured. "And the Obelisk was never meant to be found by just anyone."
According to the coordinates from the stone tablet in Dubai, their destination was beneath Petra—below the ruins, in a hidden cavern system sealed for centuries. The markings they'd decrypted suggested that the Obelisk had been moved here generations ago by the remnants of Wolfe's former organisation—"those Old Bastards" who'd buried their secrets deeper than any archaeologist had ever dared to dig.
They descended through a dry, rock-strewn ravine, the silence broken only by the crunch of gravel beneath their boots. Ahead, the narrow mouth of a cave opened like a jagged wound in the earth. Bunny hesitated for half a second before following Wolfe inside, her torch cutting through the darkness.
"I'm not loving the vibe in here," she said, her voice echoing slightly. "It's got that whole 'booby-trapped tomb of doom' energy."
"You're not wrong," Wolfe replied. "They didn't just hide the Obelisk. They buried it beneath layers of protection—mechanical, psychological, and… lethal."
"Perfect," Bunny muttered. "A death cave. Just what I needed."
Still, she pressed forward beside him, her nerves wrapped in steel. They'd faced worse. Or at least, she hoped they had.
The air cooled as they moved deeper into the caverns. Symbols etched into the rock guided their path—some familiar from the decoding book, others more obscure. After thirty minutes of careful descent, they reached a fork in the tunnel. Wolfe examined both paths, cross-referencing with the symbols.
"Right passage is rigged," he murmured. "Left path… safer, but slower."
"We're not in a rush, are we?" Bunny asked, voice tight.
Wolfe's expression darkened. "He's not far behind us."
That was all she needed to hear.
They took the left path, winding through uneven corridors lit only by the faint glow of their torches. Bunny's muscles ached from the descent, but she pushed forward. The deeper they went, the more ornate the carvings became—depictions of rituals, encrypted texts, and symbols neither of them recognised. It was clear now: this was more than a burial site. It was a vault.
Finally, the tunnel opened into a vast underground chamber. Its high ceiling sparkled faintly with mineral deposits, while in the centre stood a stone pedestal, half-covered in dust and guarded by ancient mechanisms—levers, pressure plates, and complex stonework.
Wolfe approached cautiously. "This is it."
The pedestal bore the same sigils they'd seen on the tablet. Resting atop it was a black, angular object—perhaps stone, perhaps something older than stone—covered in silver markings that shimmered faintly even in the torchlight.
"The Obelisk," Wolfe whispered, reverence laced in his voice.
Bunny stepped closer. "What exactly does it do?"
He hesitated. "It's not a weapon. Not directly. But it holds… information. Codes. Names. Proof. Enough to control—or destroy—the organisation that once controlled me."
She stared at the Obelisk, the weight of Wolfe's words settling on her. This wasn't just leverage. It was power. Dangerous, ancient, and absolute.
A sharp crack echoed through the chamber. Bunny spun around. The rival had arrived.
He stepped into the room with a slow, deliberate gait, flanked by two others—men Wolfe had once worked with, if the stiff flicker of recognition in his eyes meant anything. The rival looked more focused than ever, his voice calm and venomous.
"I should've known you'd find the real entrance," he said, eyes locked on Wolfe. "Always two steps ahead… until now."
Bunny subtly stepped between Wolfe and the Obelisk. "You're not taking it."
The rival chuckled. "You really believe he'll give it up? That he's doing all this for you?"
"She knows more than you think," Wolfe said coldly. "And she's twice as capable as anyone I've ever worked with."
"Charming," the rival replied. "But this doesn't end with your lovely speech. That Obelisk doesn't belong to you."
"It doesn't belong to you either," Bunny snapped. "No one should hold that much power."
The rival raised a hand, signalling his men forward.
Before Bunny could react, Wolfe grabbed a concealed device from his belt and hurled it at the ground—a sharp bang exploded through the chamber, and smoke filled the air. Chaos erupted.
In the confusion, Wolfe pulled Bunny behind the pedestal. "The left tunnel," he whispered, already moving.
They ducked and sprinted into the shadows, dodging falling debris as one of the rival's men triggered a trap embedded in the floor—a sudden eruption of darts from the walls sent the attackers scrambling.
Bunny stumbled once but caught herself, adrenaline surging through her veins. "Do we have it?" she shouted over the noise.
Wolfe reached into his jacket and revealed the Obelisk, safely secured. "We have it."
They tore through the tunnels, the sounds of their rival's curses echoing behind them. The path twisted, narrowed, and finally opened into the ravine where they'd first entered. As daylight broke across the horizon, they climbed up the final slope, gasping for air.
They reached the ridge, falling into silence as they stared out at the desert stretching before them.
Bunny doubled over, catching her breath. "Well… that was absolutely terrifying."
Wolfe laughed, the sound short but real. "And effective."
She looked over at him, her eyes narrowing. "You knew he'd be there."
"I had a strong suspicion," he admitted. "I had a backup plan in place."
"You could've told me."
"You would've argued."
"You're damn right I would've."
Wolfe's smile faded, and he looked down at the Obelisk in his hands. "This changes everything."
"For them?" Bunny asked. "Or for us?"
He met her gaze, and for once, the certainty in his eyes wavered.
"Both."
She stepped closer, resting a hand over his. "Then let's make sure we change it the right way."
They stood in silence for a moment, surrounded by wind and sun, the Obelisk pulsing softly between them. Somewhere in the shadows behind, their rival would regroup. The organisation Wolfe once served would feel the ripple of what had just been unearthed.
And in front of them, a long road stretched into uncertainty—one that neither of them would walk alone.