Animal Whisperer: Take Back My Life and Love Chapter 436: The Ghost in the Water

The second feed came from the miniature device around Tabby King’s neck. The camera swayed with the cat’s predatory gait, capturing the low, rhythmic purr of his breathing and the faint crunch of gravel beneath his paws.

Aside from Simon, this was the first time these officers had worked alongside a feline operative. Hearing those small, soft sounds through their headsets made even the most hardened detectives crack a smile. They exchanged looks, a silent agreement passing between them: once this op was over, that cat was getting all the attention he could handle.

On the monitors, Zermatt met three men in a corner of the abandoned warehouse. He looked frayed. "The boat is gone! The cash you gave me is dried up. What’s the move?"

The other three were just as on edge. "We’re more stressed than you are! Without a hull to move product, the distributors are breathing down our necks!"

A man who had been leaning silently in the shadows checked his phone and stepped forward. His voice was a low rasp. "The boss just gave the word. Tonight, you’re coming with us." He paused, letting the weight of his words sink in. "We’re picking up the cargo. We move it tonight."

The monitoring team stiffened. This was the break they needed. Not only could they trace the source of the illicit goods, but they were about to be hand-delivered to the contact.

Zermatt blinked, his brow furrowing. "What about a ship? What are we using?"

"We secured a new one. Cost a fortune," the man in charge whispered. "Keep your eyes peeled this time. No mistakes."

Zermatt nodded. "Relax. We’ve been doing this for three years. Our routes are ghosts. The cops won't find a thing."

"Enough talk. Get on the boat."

The group boarded a speedboat, the engine turning over with a low growl in the silent harbor. From the warehouse roof, Master Crow ruffled his feathers and issued a command to a cluster of gulls.

"Alpha Squadron, get airborne. Shadow that boat!"

White shapes took flight like a silent cloud, trailing the speedboat from a safe distance.

Inside the command vehicle, Simon pressed his headset. His voice was cold and professional. "All units, target is mobile. Requesting immediate Coast Guard backup. Initiate Plan Bravo."

The patrol boat surged forward. Nancy and Simon stood at the bow, flanked by officers holding their breath. The engine was muffled to a low hum as the hull cut through the black water like a shadow. The sea was so still that the only sounds were the lapping waves and the thud of their own heartbeats.

Master Crow’s GPS signal pinged continuously. The red dot on the screen finally came to a halt twelve nautical miles to the northeast. That sector of the ocean was empty save for a few scattered, uninhabited islands.

Master Crow’s urgent cawing crackled through the mic. "They’ve stopped! There’s a medium-sized freighter waiting!"

The real-time feed cut in. Zermatt’s speedboat pulled alongside a stationary freighter, and the three men boarded quickly. The cabin door opened, and two masked men stepped out, one tall, one short. Their movements were guarded, their eyes constantly scanning the horizon.

"They’ve got heat," Master Crow warned. "Visible sidearms on both of them."

Nancy held her breath. The shorter masked man didn't look physically imposing, but he commanded a heavy, suffocating presence. The men around him bowed slightly, their expressions a volatile mix of respect and raw fear.

The short man turned to Zermatt, his voice cutting through the night wind. "This shipment has to land. This deal is the lifeblood of the organization." He paused, his gaze like a blade. "You’ll have three ships for cover during the hand-off. The buyers are sending scouts to watch your back. I want zero complications."

Zermatt lowered his head instantly. "Consider it done!"

Nancy and Simon locked eyes. Finally, the man at the top had been identified.

With the meeting over, the two masked men boarded Zermatt’s original speedboat and sped away.

"Split a team and tail them," Nancy whispered.

Master Crow took wing. "Unit One, Unit Two. Target speedboat. Keep your distance!"

The gulls streaked out like white arrows, syncing the coordinates to the secondary Coast Guard intercept team. Nancy kept her eyes locked on the boss’s boat. Tailing him likely meant heading straight for the nest.

Meanwhile, the lead patrol boat carrying Nancy and Simon continued to shadow the freighter Zermatt had boarded. With the surveillance net provided by Master Crow and his sentries, the freighter’s movements were transparent. They were invisible ghosts in its wake.

Nancy was focused on the audio feeds when she felt the patrol boat jolt. The vessel’s speed climbed sharply as if an invisible force was shoving them through the waves.

Samantha’s voice crackled over the comms from the stern, strained with a frantic edge. "Nancy! We’ve got a situation at the back... it’s an orca! It’s literally ramming its head against the hull to push us faster!"