Animal Whisperer: Take Back My Life and Love Chapter 437: The Ocean’s Predators

The moment the report came in, the boat surged forward again, sending a massive spray of saltwater over the deck.

Almost simultaneously, the comms from the other Coast Guard unit cut in, the voice sharp with the same frantic disbelief. "Nancy! We have an orca pushing us too! If we keep accelerating like this, we're going to lose our cover. We'll be exposed!"

Nancy felt like the wind was about to lift her off her feet.

She gripped the railing tight and stumbled toward the stern. There, a large, rounded head was power-shoving the back of the boat, its black-and-white back arching through the moonlight as it propelled them through the water.

"Heave! Ho! Look at my wake! I'm definitely faster than Erwin!"

The orca let out an excited chirp toward its companion pushing the other vessel. "Erwin, you’re failing! I’m already half a boat length ahead of you!"

The two apex predators had decided to treat the police patrol boats like floating race cars, competing in a high-stakes sprint across the silent sea. They were turning a covert operation into a disaster of splashing water and roaring engines.

It was a nightmare. Of all the things to encounter, they had run into a pair of ocean troublemakers.

Orcas are the undisputed kings of maritime chaos. They are elite hunters, but they are also notorious for finding creative ways to entertain themselves. Whether it is tossing sea lions like balls or slapping rays into the air, they are incredibly mischievous.

With the boat's speed climbing out of control, Nancy leaned over the side and shouted toward the stern.

"Stop! Stop right now! In this game, the faster you go, the more you lose!"

The two orcas froze, their momentum tapering off instantly.

"What? Why? Isn't faster always better?"

Nancy adopted the tone of a nursery school teacher. "We are playing a massive game of hide-and-seek! If the boat in front sees us now, we lose the whole game."

She felt like she was managing a kindergarten class on the high seas. "And that boat is carrying treasure. They’re sneaking off to meet their friends. We have to follow them quietly, and once all their friends are together, then we strike! That is how you win!"

She closed her hand into a tight fist. "If we only get a few, we fail the mission. To win big, we need the whole group!"

"Treasure! Winning! Catching them all!"

The two orcas were immediately hooked on this new, larger game. Their excitement was palpable.

Nancy struck while the iron was hot. "So now, the real test is patience. You have to be like the best hunters, following quietly, silently, waiting for the perfect moment."

The massive black-and-white heads bobbed near the stern, their round eyes blinking as they processed the instructions.

"Fine!"

"We’ll be quiet!"

"My wake is smaller than Erwin’s!"

"Liar! Mine is tiny!"

The pressure against the hull finally vanished, and the patrol boat’s speed returned to normal. The orcas stopped pushing and instead submerged on either side of the vessel, leaving only their dorsal fins visible like silent shadows escorting the fleet through the night.

The sea returned to its covert silence. But beneath that silence, they now had two world-class predators as teammates.

Guided by the silent signals of the animal scouts, the patrol boats remained undetected. Simon stared at the moving light on the screen and the electronic chart, his gaze suddenly narrowing. He saw through the enemy's intent instantly. Zermatt and the others were heading toward the edge of international waters to meet the mysterious buyers.

"Simon, Nancy," Samantha said, her eyes locked on the radar. Her voice was low and urgent. "The target is continuing east, closing in on the maritime border. At this rate, they'll reach international waters in twenty minutes."

Her finger landed heavily on the virtual boundary line on the map.

International waters are a gray zone beyond any single country's jurisdiction. For criminals, it is a natural barrier. Once they cross that line, the legal process for a coastal enforcement vessel to continue pursuit becomes complicated, and the window of opportunity shrinks.

It was a classic tactic. They would complete the deal right at the edge of territorial waters. If they spotted the Coast Guard, they would dive into the vast ambiguity of the high seas like a fish into a deep trench, using the jurisdictional gap to escape.

Now, that fish was swimming at full speed toward its safety zone.

Only twenty minutes remained. The mystery buyer had yet to surface, likely waiting just beyond the border.

Samantha’s brow was deeply furrowed. "Once they cross into international waters, our enforcement authority is limited. We’d have to trigger emergency cross-border protocols or international notifications. That process is slow and complex. It gives them the exact window they need to disappear."