Reggie leaned across the weathered dock manager's cluttered desk. "Look, we need to find out everything you know about a passenger who ca through here few months ago"
The grizzled old sailor squinted at Reggie suspiciously. "I get a lotta faces passing through here daily, pal. You'll have to be more specific than that."
"His na's Blake," Gunther cut in impatiently. "Nice looking guy, dark hair, probably seed a bit...weird, and lost maybe."
While Reggie and his brothers were still having a conversation with the manager, a young sailor quickly walke over the counter and excused the manager to report that Jordan is still not back from his last trip.
***
Before the brothers could inquire further, the door to the office burst open and a frantic young sailor burst inside, eyes wild.
"Pablo? The hell's gotten into you, boy?" the manager barked.
The wiry sailor nad Pablo struggled to catch his breath, bracing himself on the desk. "It's...Jordan..." he finally gasped out. "He ain't back from that trip he took a few days ago!"
The dock manager's bushy brows shot up in surprise. "You don't an...?" His expression turned grave. "Boy, please don't tell that idiot went and paid that forbidden island a visit."
Pablo nodded frantically. "He did, I swear it! So snoopy lady nad Tessa ca through here chartering him to take her there - offered him a big fat pay packet he just couldn't turn down!"
Randall stepped forward, eyes narrowing. "What about Jordan? He back from that trip yet?"
The old man shook his head glumly and told Pablo to excuse him. As Pablo walked out of the office leaving the manager with Reggie and his brothers..."Got so bad news on that front, I'm afraid. Young hothead Pablo ca running in here, scared out of his wits." He paused to take a swig from his ever-present flask. "Seems Jordan still ain't returned from wherever that lady hired him to take her..."
The three brothers exchanged a worried look before Reggie urged the manager to go on. "What else did this Pablo guy say? Any idea where Jordan and this lady might've ended up?"
"Well now..." The manager stroked his whiskery chin thoughtfully. "From what I gathered, Jordan took the Tessa girl to that ole forbidden island despite Pablo's warnings not to."
Gunther's brow furrowed in confusion. "This...forbidden island. What's the deal with it?"
"You boys really aren't from around these parts, are you?" The manager chuckled darkly. "There's an unwritten law 'mongst us sailors - we don't never go anywhere near that spooky island again. Many have gone and never return. Sotis stubborn travellers pay money to travel there and they too never end up returning. In recent years most sailors go in group, dispatch the travellers and then head back.
But it seems whatever evil hovering around the island figured out our tactics and it's been hell since. Any poor bastard foolish enough to try...well, they ain't never co back from there."
A tense silence fell over the dock office. Randall was the first to find his voice.
"You're telling Jordan's stupid enough to chance taking a passenger directly into...what, so kinda forbidden haunted island? Despite knowing the risks?" He shook his head in disgust. "What would possess that idiot to--"
"Hold up there," Reggie cut him off. "This Pablo fella...did he happen to ntion what might've convinced Jordan to go through with a trip like that in the first place?"
The old sailor smacked his lips loudly. "Well now that you ntion it...Pablo did mutter sothing 'bout the lady offering Jordan one hell of a hefty payday to take her. More cash than that broke-down deckhand could probably turn down."
The brothers exchanged a loaded look, realization visibly dawning. They all knew the strong-willed Tessa wouldn't let anything stop her when she got so crazy idea lodged in her head.
"She wouldn't..." Gunther muttered in disbelief. "Please tell that lady didn't actually hire so sailor to smuggle her onto that godforsaken island you're going on about."
Reggie sighed, slumping against the desk in resignation. "Of course she did. Tessa's been so obsessed with finding out what really happened to her old man...she'd absolutely try pulling a stunt like this if she thought it might lead her closer to answers."
Randall snorted derisively. "Well, looks like her big mouth and stubborn streak finally landed her in serious trouble this ti."
After a somber pause, Reggie straightened and turned back to the dock manager with grim determination. "Alright, we're gonna need you to give us all the details on this creepy forbidden island - where exactly it's located, any potential dangers to watch out for once we're there..."
The scruffy old salt blinked in surprise. "Once you're...? Whoa now, hold your horses! You three ain't actually aiming to pay that place a visit yourselves, are you?"
Gunther cracked his knuckles aningfully. "You heard my brother. If Tessa's trapped out there, we gotta go in and extract her butt before she gets in over her head."
The manager opened his mouth, seemingly to protest further, but quickly thought better of it. He knew better than to argue with Reggie and his crew once they'd made up their minds.
"Wellllll alrighty then," he muttered instead, shuffling around his desk in search of so maps and charts. "Just don't go saying I didn't warn you folks about how nobody cos back from that accursed place..."
The manager suddenly furrowed his brow, shooting Reggie a pointed look. "Hold on a minute there, son. Weren't you fellas asking about so guy nad Blake just a few minutes ago? What happened to that? You gonna tell you're not interested in finding him anymore?"
Reggie exchanged a knowing glance with his brothers before turning back to the manager with a charming smile. "Of course, we haven't forgotten about Blake," he replied smoothly. "But right now, our priority is different. If Blake happens to be on that island, then we'll kill two birds with one stone, won't we?"
The manager scratched his head, still looking skeptical. "Well, I'll be damned," he muttered under his breath. "You boys sure got a funny way of going about things. But who am I to judge? Long as you know what you're getting yourselves into..."
As he rummaged through a pile of maps and charts, the manager couldn't help but voice his nagging suspicions. "Say, you fellas ain't cops, are ya? 'Cause I gotta say, y'all don't exactly look the part. Cops ain't usually built like the freaking Terminator!"
Reggie chuckled, a twinkle of mischief dancing in his eyes. "No, we're not cops," he admitted, his tone conspiratorial.
The manager raised an eyebrow, his curiosity piqued. "So, what are you fellas then? The Avengers or sothing? Going around looking for missing folks left and right?"
Reggie's smile widened, but there was a hint of sothing darker behind it. "Let's just say we're concerned citizens," he replied cryptically.
With a subtle shift in his deanor, Reggie released a surge of intense energy, causing the hairs on the back of the manager's neck to stand on end. A chill ran down his spine as he suddenly felt the weight of Reggie's presence bearing down on him.
The manager swallowed hard, his bravado faltering in the face of Reggie's imposing aura. He quickly cleared his throat, eager to bring their interaction to a close. "Right, well... I'll just go fetch those maps and charts for you then," he stamred, scurrying off to retrieve the requested items.
Reggie watched him go, a sense of impatience gnawing at him. Ti was running short, and they couldn't afford to waste any more of it with idle chitchat. It was ti to get down to business.
The manager returned, mind already made. These n were absolutely good looking n even though it rubbed him off the wrong way that he had to admit that. But even with their beauty, they were downright scary. He knew it was best not to pry any further.
"Here you go," he muttered, handing Reggie a weathered map with a few X marks scattered across it. "Here's what I got on that island. But don't say I didn't warn you - you're headed into so seriously dangerous territory."
Reggie accepted the map with a grateful nod, his mind already racing with plans and strategies. "Thanks for the heads up," he said sincerely. "We'll take it from here." With that, he turned to his brothers, a determined glint in his eyes.
Unknown to the manager, Reggie and his brothers are well aware of this island and the mysteries behind it...
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