Hugo stormed over to the truck and glared at the crate in disbelief. “How the hell…” He moved around to the back, keeping the cloth pressed hard against his cheek. “I told you to lock it right this time!” he bellowed.
“I did!”
“Then it’s broken.” Hugo pushed him out of the way and studied the cage. Primates, even capuchins, could be stronger than they looked. Especially when locked in an enclosure and panicking.
He spun the cage around with one hand, examining it closely in the dim light of a nearby lantern. He couldn’t see anything wrong. The thick wood frame still felt strong. He refastened the clasp and cable –– they locked securely. Finding nothing broken, he yelled and threw the crate, sending it tumbling over the ground.
“I saw him check it,” one of the others said.
Hugo shook his head, scowling. “Then you’re both idiots!” He glanced at the amount of blood on his cloth and threw it away.
“What the hell is happening?” he yelled. The night had already been a waste, with only a single capture between them. Now another was lost.
He didn’t know how the capuchins were escaping, but they were. Somehow.
“ETA?”
“About fifteen minutes,” Caesare replied.
Tiewater nodded from his hiding spot less than sixty feet from the poacher camp. Their faces painted black, both he and Anderson watched the poacher’s outburst from a distance.
“What’s happening?” Caesare called over the radio.
Tiewater spoke quietly. “Our friends are home and one of them seems to have gotten his panties in a wad.” He continued his reconnaissance, motionlessly.
From the other side of the encampment, Anderson also lay watching, listening to Tiewater through his own headset.
“How many are there?”
“Four. The big one is in charge. Camp is probably a couple thousand square feet, with two vehicles. One small and the other larger for cargo. Observable weapons are sidearms and some tranquilizer rifles. Doesn’t look like they’ve been here more than a few days.”
“Any defenses?”
“None.”
A few minutes later, Tiewater slid backward out of position and stood without a sound. Remaining low, he moved back through the trees where he found Caesare and Corso waiting in the darkness.
“What are they doing?”
Tiewater shrugged. “Eating. But it sounds like their poaching isn’t going too well.”
“What a shame,” Caesare remarked sarcastically. “We’re out of time. Otero is here. We need to find the monkey in a hurry.”
“Well, I suspect these guys have a pretty good guess as to where.” Tiewater motioned over his shoulder and turned back, followed by Caesare. But as Corso took a step forward, he suddenly paused. He felt something stuck in his collar and reached up to grab it.
It was soft, and only when he examined it closely could he make out the shape. One of Dulce’s flowers. He shook his head. Then, glancing forward to make sure he wasn’t seen, Corso raised it up and sniffed it.
Hugo was still stewing from his seat on a fold-out chair. He took another bite of dried meat and shook his head, keeping his eyes on the fire.
The other men were also seated around the fire, eating silently. They’d had a definite streak of bad luck. One that was refusing to break, leaving the last few hunting trips as complete losses.
“We need to try something else,” Vito replied, after dropping his metal plate to the ground. “They’re learning our ways.”
“They hear us coming,” Claudio, the third man, replied.
“Then what do you suggest?”
Vito turned around and faced the cages on the back of the truck. “Maybe we can use the ones we have…to catch more.”
“You mean as bait?”
“Yes. Maybe we tie one up in the forest to lure the others.”
“His screaming will warn the others before that.”
“Not if we sedate him.”
Hugo considered it. More of the powerful tranquilizer in such a short amount of time would cause problems with the animal’s nervous system, but if it allowed them to catch more, the risk would be worth it. If they caught enough monkeys, they could simply kill the bait.
Hugo raised his eyes and began to nod, then suddenly froze. The rustling behind Vito had been subtle. Not enough to be heard and barely enough to be seen in the dim light. At that exact moment, the other three poachers each witnessed the same dreaded sight –– figures dressed in black and hidden behind the barrels of their assault rifles.
From different directions, Caesare, Tiewater, Corso, and Anderson all stepped out in unison. Each emerging from a position visible by one of the poachers, all of whom froze in stunned silence…except one.