"Attention. Large moving object detected 0.5 kilometers from your position. Please acknowledge." The metallic and artificial female voice was the only thing that could wake up a snoozing Talon. He jolted awake, blinking rapidly and thrashing around.
Almost immediately, he stopped. There was no need. A red and white buoy wrapped around his waist, providing enough force to keep the security Pup comfortably afloat. Rubbing his drooping eyes one last time, Talon reached for his Pup Tag.
It wasn't there.
"Bugger!" Talon cussed, "Must have washed off!"
Suddenly, a tsunami-wave of feelings and emotions hit him, His stomach flipped and his lungs shrunk. Had he actually survived that? The explosion aboard the helicopter would surely have vaporized him and Ranger, yet he was here, bobbing on the ocean, unharmed.
" I must be dreaming."
"Object now 0.35 kilometers from your position and closing in at around 20 kmph. Please acknowledge."
His Pup Pack was a technological wonder, able to provide information about his surroundings, as well as launch heat-seeking missiles, yet it produced a voice that annoyed him so.
Brushing away his absurd comment and looking into the far distance. Indeed, a gigantic oil tanker was heading his way, plowing through the water and blaring its horns. It rattled Talon's bones, shook his brain and caused waves to push him around, yet his mind was focused on a question.
Talon had found a ride. A ride where?
Back to the PAW Patrol seemed like an obvious choice. His dear Pup friends were there, waiting for him to show up. Next came Ryder's parents' house, where he would be able to continue his security duties and act like a living GPS when the family was to go to their cottage.
But a new candidate overtook. Talon reluctantly recalled what Ranger had said to him earlier, back on the helicopter seconds before it blew up.
Rejoin us, or else."
What had he meant? Of course Talon knew Ranger would never forgive him for leaving the Army. He had ditched his comrades in pursuit of a career that would be comparably worse. Like who would gain more honor, a veteran or a bouncer?
And Slash. Yes, Slash was the definition of a cold-blooded killer. Unlike Talon, he trained as a ninja, one of the first, but owed his success to him. Back in the Army, Talon was a mentor to Slash, almost like a big brother. It was only after Talon's decision to quit that Slash turned rogue.
It was all his fault. He had refused his legacy, his destiny, his purpose.
Talon knew, he had to go back. He was a coward who escaped a life of hard work and pride. He had cheated himself. The security Pup knew what he was going to say to the captain of the oil tanker.
He was going to go back to the Army.