Neoaima: Isle of the Reborn

Chapter 3-Hugo's Crew

"Found anything yet?" A poacher annoyingly asked his partner-in-crime, the two were at Marley Beach in Sydney, in the middle of the night, digging into the sand for eggs of large leatherback sea turtles.

"Ain't found shit yet, Dennis!" The other poacher said. "Bloody hell, these leatherbacks haven't exactly been too common these days—more then usual, that is."

"Damn it Finn, keep searching. We gotta find those blasted turtle eggs!" Dennis said as the two continued scooping up piles of sand, just trying to expose any clutch of eggs to the dim moonlight.

"Couldn't we have just waited till January?" Finn asked in a frustrated and whiny tone. "That's typically the best time to travel over to New Zealand and get some of the good shit."

"You're forgetting....The Australian Border Force has been keeping more of a watchful eye over the bloody reefs. We can't take a boat to New Zealand or any other neighboring island, not since the military secured that blasted New Devil's Island." Dennis said. "We're fuckin' stuck here!" Finn looked around, his headlamp flashing over the nearly empty beach; they were missing a third individual.

"Where the hell even is Hugo, anyways?" Finn asked in a strained manner, almost as if hours of shoveling up sand had taken its toll on him. "He's supposed to be helping us out."

"Running late as usual." Dennis begrudgingly replied back, "Always on the phone with our new client."

"He better hurry up with the blithering chitchat, if the border force finds us then consider us fucked!" Finn responded. They stopped digging for a split second as they heard the muffled roars of an engine from the distance. A jeep appears from the undergrowth and parks on the sandy terrain, it's headlights flashing at Finn & Dennis. Hugo emerged from the driver's set, still on the phone. "So, are we finally gonna get somewhere with this plan of yours, mate?" Hugo loudly asked over the phone, "You bet your ass, I'm on board and I'm sure the boys will be too—" Hugo looked over to Finn and Dennis then gazed away to the darkness, the tides almost muffling his voice. "You're promising some fascinating game that could get me paid very well, I'm not about to pass on such an offer!" Hugo exclaimed.

"What the bloody hell is he on about?" Asked Finn. The two looked puzzled as Hugo kept responding to the anonymous caller in an almost excited tone.

"What could be so exciting about this new game, we have good enough animals to catch." Said Dennis.

"Yeah and it's a pain to catch them with you half the time." Said Finn.

"Oh piss off, mate." Said Dennis, "I ain't utter shit at my job."

"I've watched you struggle to catch a wombat, you're so bad I'd gladly just lop off your arms and legs and leave your sorry carcass for the crocs." Finn responded back. Dennis, enraged, brandishes his machete at him. "How about I lop yours off and dump you in the ocean." Dennis cried out, "a little salt on the open wound outta make you wish you were being eaten by sharks."

"You got some fuckin' nerve—" Finn brandishes his own, as the two prepare to clash, they hear the cocking of a pistol; "Will you two shut the fuck up!" Hugo yelled out, titling his head to keep the phone on his ear while aiming his revolver straight at the two. They've seen this routine before, they knew what it meant. If one of them even gets slashed, the other will get shot right between the eyes—occasionally Hugo would threaten to just hit the legs and leave one of them to bleed out, or even eaten by wild animals if he was feeling sadistic at that particular moment.

"Huh?"

"Yeah, yeah everything's fine!" Hugo said to the caller, their voice muffled on the other end, Finn and Dennis just stood scared because Hugo still aimed his weapon at them. "Nothing serious, just a pair of pussies fighting as usual. Like two retarded hogs, I tell ya!"

"Piss off you dick" Finn whispered. Hugo drew his gun at him almost immediately, "What the fuck did you just say?" Hugo yelled.

"Nothing boss! Absolutely nothing!" Finn said as he raised his hands up in a panic. Hugo didn't respond, just gave off a stern look as he lowered his gun.

"So when do you want us to arrive?" Hugo asked over the phone.

"In three days? During the night?" Hugo screamed. "You think I don't know about the severe storms during the nighttime, that's bloody suicide!" Hugo said in a frustrated manner to the caller. "It's really the only way we can get in undetected?" Hugo asked. Finn and Dennis continued to listen in anticipation.

"Fucking....fine, I got a pal who can get us there." Hugo said.

"What's that? By the volcano?" Finn and Dennis looked at each other upon hearing that, their eyes widening.

"You sure it's inactive?" Hugo asked over the phone. "Very well, I'll try my best. Those animals better be as impressive as you say!" Hugo had finally hung up on the call. He turned to face his companions and said in mild enthusiasm, "Well boys...looks like we're going to New Devil's Island." Finn and Dennis stared at him in a mixture of excitement and confusion.

"May I ask?" Dennis reluctantly asked, "How the hell are we gonna get there?"

"The military guards every inch of the island."

"You remember our good old friends from China right?" Hugo asked.

"The ones we went pangolin hunting with?" Dennis asked back.

"Yes. You see, while China keeps butting heads with Australia trying to make that island into a part of their territory. Some poachers managed to sneak their way onto the island and collect some interesting animals."

"You don't say." Said Finn.

"One of them, Wang lei, traveled there not too long ago and acquired quite the specimens without being detected. A giant loggerhead sea turtle, some massive croc eggs, a small horned shark that lives right by the volcano and some weird looking dog." Finn and Dennis stared wide-eyed.

"The money we could make off of that." Finn said.

"We're gonna' be rich." Said Dennis. Hugo stared off into the full moon illuminating from the nighttime sky. He then gazed onto the shoreline, the tides stronger than normal. Still, he knew this wouldn't keep the Border Force away, they had to depart before they arrived.

"Let's go boys, we're going to China--and then to New Devil's Island."