Animal Whisperer: Take Back My Life and Love Chapter 438: The Silent Saboteurs

The voices crackling over the radio were thick with jargon and tension. Nancy, who was currently at the hull feeding salmon to the orcas, heard every word.

The two orcas heard it too. Though they couldn't grasp the human language, they were keenly sensitive to the spike of anxiety in the air.

Two massive black-and-white heads crowded close to the boat, their round eyes blinking. "What is it? What happened?"

"Are we losing the game? Is the treasure getting away?"

Nancy set down the bucket of fish and explained it in terms they could understand.

"Don't worry! The game isn't over. But the bad guys are being very sneaky. They picked a meeting spot right on the edge of a boundary line."

Nancy traced a virtual line over the surface of the water with her finger. "Inside this line is the territory of the Dracovian police. We have the right to catch the bad guys here. But as soon as they cross this line and get to the other side, our power to catch them is restricted. It is as if the rules of the game suddenly change, and we can't make a move anymore."

The larger orca on Nancy’s side was named Big T, while the slightly smaller but much more hyperactive one on the other boat was Erwin.

Big T flicked his tail fin in confusion. "A line? We swim through these waters all day and I've never seen a line."

Erwin popped his head up from the other patrol boat, chirping in excitement. "Exactly! We go wherever we want!"

Nancy’s eyes brightened. That was it. Human international law and maritime conventions meant nothing to the free inhabitants of the ocean.

"Great! Then, if the bad guys try to sneak across that boundary..." Nancy leaned forward, looking at the two giants with expectant pride. "Do you have what it takes to drive them back?"

"No problem at all!" Big T gave a steady slap of his tail against the water. "Chasing things is what we do best. Leave it to us!"

Erwin was already spinning in circles, sending up a jubilant spray of water. Their dark eyes sparkled with the thrill of the hunt.

…

Inside the Blackshark freighter.

Zermatt stared at the virtual boundary line drawing closer on his navigation screen. A cold sneer touched his lips. "Pick up the pace. The safety zone is right ahead. The buyer is already waiting on the other side."

"Even if we run into a Coast Guard patrol... they don't have the guts or the paperwork to cross that line."

The freighter came to a precise halt just outside the territorial border, in the legal gray zone of international waters. Almost simultaneously, the silhouette of another vessel emerged from the darkness. It was a modified medium-sized fishing boat, painted deep gray with high gunwales and a stripped-down superstructure. It looked utterly unremarkable.

It drifted closer in silence, two predatory shadows merging in the night.

…

Inside the Coast Guard vessel.

Master Crow’s report came in fast. "It's not just the two big ships!"

"There are six small boats, buzzing around them like fleas!"

On the surveillance monitors, the aerial feed from Master Crow clearly marked six high-speed light signatures. They were circling the two main ships like hyenas on the perimeter of a wolf pack, maintaining a loose, patrolling formation.

Simon scanned the distribution map on the electronic screen, reading the situation instantly. "A very clever formation."

"The big ships handle the deal inside while the speedboats provide security on the outside. If anything looks wrong, they can scatter in different directions, making it impossible to catch them all at once."

The layout was a sensitive early-warning net. Any vessel attempting to approach would be spotted long before they reached the center.

The buyers, the sellers, and the cargo were all in one place. The moment to strike had arrived.

But the clock was ticking. The two large ships were closing in, and the deal would be finished within thirty minutes. While the Coast Guard reinforcements were in position, they could only form a partial perimeter. If the suspects realized they were being watched, eight different boats scattering toward the high seas would be a nightmare to intercept.

Asking two orcas to stop a fleet of eight vessels was too risky. These were desperate criminals who wouldn't hesitate to use lethal force against animals.

"Simon," Nancy said, her voice low and rapid. "We still have the octopus squad. Can we have them disable the ships first? If we sabotage them now, they won't be able to run when we move in."

Nancy’s suggestion sparked an idea in Simon. To kill a ship’s momentum, you had to go for the propellers. The propeller is a ship’s legs; if they're broken, the vessel is dead in the water.

He turned to Samantha immediately. "Do we have any non-lethal gear that can foul a propeller instantly?"

"We do," Samantha replied firmly. "Specialized ceramic stop-blocks and high-strength micro-cables. They're small, designed for underwater deployment, and can be sucked into a propeller to seize it up instantly."