"Well, another new friend coming along for the ride today, Jesse?" an impressed Randolph called from the desk of the research boat, noting Judy with he and Jake this time.

"Yep. This is Judy. She really likes whales, and practically begged me to bring her along," Jesse introduced her to his older friends.

"Well pleasure to meet you then, Judy," beaming, Rae shook the girl's hand, "I'm Rae, and this is Randolph."

"I could have guessed. And thanks to both of you for caring about Willy and helping Jesse set him free after Mr. Dial tried to kill him; Jesse filled me in on the whole story on the way here," Judy commended them both, "You think we might see him out there?"

"As I've told Jesse, Judy, maybe, maybe not," the former whale trainer told her, "I guess it may depend on whether he's a residential whale, a transient whale, or an offshore whale."

"What's the difference?" Jake asked, slipping on a very large life preserver.

"Residential orcas live near the coast in large matrilineal families..." Rae started to explain to him.

"Matri-what?"

"It means it's structured off the female line, with the oldest female in charge of each pod. Sometimes up to four generations can travel together. Transient orcas live close to the shore too, but travel in smaller groups and are less vocal. Offshore orcas spend most of their lives out at sea."

"I think Willy sounds like a residential whale to me," Jesse mused, "Although hopefully they haven't taken up residence somewhere else now..."

"Well, let's go find out," Randolph started the boat's engine and gestured for the children to tie off again. Within minutes, they were heading out to sea once more. "So, you really like whales, Judy?" he asked her when she joined him in the cabin.

"My whole life. Like I told Jesse when I met him, I've always liked watching them from my bedroom window," she told him, "And like him, I've always liked the orcas best too; they're just so beautiful and graceful, you can't help but love them."

"I know what you mean," Randolph nodded knowingly, "You know, in my people's tradition, killer whales were considered the most powerful animals in the ocean..."

"Your people?"

"I come from the Haida tribe; my people have lived in the Pacific Northwest for centuries. In our tradition, killer whales took on the form of humans once they were underwater, and humans who drowned went to join them."

"You're serious?"

"Not just that, but my people believed that killer whales lived in organized towns with houses at the bottom of the ocean."

"Oh get out of town, Randolph...!" Jesse found that hard to believe.

"No, really, Jesse; that's what tribal traditions hold," his older friend emphasized, "We've long respected the power and majesty of the orca. You might say they really do rule the waves."

"And you're absolutely sure they wouldn't eat us?" Jake had to know.

"Don't worry, Jake, we're safe in that regard," Rae assured him, "Around these parts, orcas eat primarily fish-Chinook salmon, mostly. Now some other populations eat seals and sea lions, and others do attack larger whales..."

"Oh boy..." Jake mumbled, taking a large step into the cabin, "So what do we do if they think we're a big whale and decide to eat us...?"

"Oh I think they're smart enough to recognize a boat," the former whale trainer chuckled, "Now we've never seen it here, but in Norwegian waters, the orcas have been seen using carousel feeding. They blow bubbles to force fish into a ball, then slap them with their tails to stun them, then eat them."

"Neat," Jesse was impressed. His attention was now diverted by a beep on the nearest monitor. "I think we've got something," he declared, staring at it, "Pretty big again; you think it might be another plankton eater?"

"We'll see in a minute; looks like it's coming up to the surface now," Rae ran outside to look, followed by the children. Moments later, a large humpback whale burst out of the water and splashed down hard, rocking the boat with the outgoing waves (which sent Jake jumping back into the cabin). "Oh yeah!" Judy yelled in delight, "I love it when they do that!" she told both Jesse and Rae simultaneously.

"That's called breaching when they jump out of the water like that," Rae explained, "Here he comes now; Jesse, get another tracker ready," she instructed him. Jesse rushed into the cabin and thrust a hand towards Jake, who obligingly handed him a new tracker. Jesse stuck it on a pole, ran back outside, and pressed the tracker onto the humpback's back. Judy, meanwhile, couldn't help reaching under the railing and rubbing the whale's back as it went by. "I've waited my whole life to do this," she told Rae happily.

"Was it worth it?" Rae bent down to her level.

"Absolutely."

"Good," Rae beamed at her, "You know, I can't help seeing the young me in you, Judy. I was like this as a girl whenever my father took me along on his naval research trips."

"It awed you to watch the whales in action too, didn't it?"

"Yeah. That's what led me to want to become a whale trainer, and then to work to become a marine biologist."

"That's what I want to be," Judy told her, waving goodbye to the humpback, which was flipping its tail towards her as it dove back under the waves, as if waving goodbye itself, "Ever since I first saw a whale, I've wanted to work with them. Can you and Randolph help me with it?"

"We'll see what we can do, Judy. You want to do the next tagging?"

"Of course," Judy nodded eagerly. Rae turned to Jesse, who obligingly handed Judy the pole, then waved to Jake for another tracker. It was then that the equipment started ringing out with whale calls from the underwater microphone. "We've got more to the northwest, about six miles," Randolph leaned close to it, "Sounds like gray whales, about half a dozen. The migration must be ramping up now."

"This must be a really big area for whales to see so many out here-there, there they are!" Jake pointed out the front windows at air shooting up from blowholes in the distance.

"I see them," Randolph turned the ship in the gray whales' direction, "In fact, Jake, when we took our first look at the institute's previous research after we were hired, it hinted that whale populations in the area were growing at a pretty rapid clip in the last few years. Mr. Walker told us that he has a..."

"Whoa!" Jake cut him off with an excited gasp as one of the gray whales breached and splashed down in front of them. This apparently impressed him enough to join the others outside by the railing despite his nervousness with the water. "So, where are they all migrating to?" he asked Rae.

"Most of the gray whales around here migrate down to Baja California, Jake," she explained to him, "They have the longest known migration of any mammal; some of them go over six thousand miles from the polar regions to the tropics. And they go nonstop day and night most of the time. When they reach their wintering grounds, they'll give birth to their calves-one at a time, like with most whales. They come back this way again around March or April once the polar ice retreats back north."

"Neat," Jake was further impressed, this time not jumping when one of the passing whales exhaled from its blowhole, "So you definitely can't call them residential."

"Nope," Rae chuckled. "Ready, Judy?" she asked the girl, who was in position with the pole at the railing.

"Of course," Judy took a deep breath and attached a tracker to the nearest whale. "Enjoy your trip; we'll be watching," she waved to it as it went by. "How many have gone by so far?" she asked the adults.

"We've counted about twelve so far, but it should pick up in the next few weeks once the peak period..." Rae started to tell her, but Judy's head now shot to the northeast. "Orcas, I see some!" she exclaimed, pointing hard. Jesse's head shot around. Sure enough, the familiar black and white whales were splashing around by a series of rock outcroppings in the distance. His heart leaped: could a reunion with Willy perhaps be imminent...?

"Randolph, go, go, let's get over there, quick!" he shouted at him, then rushed to the bow, digging through his pocket for his harmonica. "Please be there, Willy, please be there..." he whispered under his breath. He wanted his friend to be there more than anything...

...but his first glimpse was not encouraging, for none of the eight or nine orcas that were swimming through the waves before them had a collapsed dorsal fin. Hopefully, that simply meant Willy's had straightened out since he'd returned to the wild. He put the harmonica to his lips and blew out a familiar tune that Willy knew well. None of the orcas in the water looked towards him. Jesse sighed sadly and slumped down on the railing. "He's not here," he mumbled sadly.

"You sure?" Jake leaned over his shoulder and stared at the orcas. "Willy, you there?" he called to them. Again, none of them responded. "Sorry, buddy, I guess it's the wrong pod," he comforted Jesse, trudging with him back to the cabin.

"Afraid it is," frowning, Rae bent over the underwater microphone console inside the cabin, listening to the orcas' calls as they rang out underwater, "Each orca pod has its own distinct set of communications. None of these orcas are using the calls Willy used when he was at the park. Sorry, Jesse, we're going to have to wait longer to see him again," she half-apologized to him.

"It's all right," Jesse mumbled, watching two of the orcas that had since gone underwater breach with loud splashes, "They're still beautiful animals, though."

"It's OK, we'll find him yet," Judy rubbed his shoulder sympathetically. "Hey, you guys want to do some really big jumps for us?" she called to the orcas, "We'd love to see what you can do."

One of the orcas turned and swam towards the boat, it's mouth open wide. "Sorry, I don't have a fish for you right now. "If you'll hold still a moment, though, we can get you set here," Judy groped for the pole and another tracker. She attached it to the whale's back. "There. Now we'll be able to keep track of where you go. You're performing a good service for science; you should feel good for that."

With a friendly squeak, the orca launched itself backwards and splashed down into the ocean, making Judy laugh in delight. Even Jesse managed a small smile at this. Seeing orcas swimming free and happy did put him at some ease, even if these weren't the orcas he'd been looking for.


"That must have been a transient pod," Randolph surmised, pulling the boat back to the dock an hour or so later.

"Makes sense," Jesse nodded. He had always envisioned Willy's family to be more than just eight or nine members anyway.

"Looks like something's going on," Jake pointed to the end of the dock, where Walker was conversing with several well-dressed individuals. "Ah, and here's our research staff now, congressmen and congresswomen," he exclaimed upon seeing his employees disembarking the boat, "Allow me to introduce Randolph Johnson and Rae Lindley, who are doing the research at the moment. If everything goes well, we can hire a lot more staff here. How did it go out there today?"

"The gray whale migration is rising into full gear now, Mr. Walker; we have a marked uptick in whales making the journey past here," Randolph said, looking not all that comfortable to be in an impromptu press conference, "We also saw humpbacks, orcas, and Pacific white-sided dolphins and tagged some of them."

"Wonderful. As you can see, ladies and gentlemen," Walker turned back to the congressional delegates, "These waters are now richer with whale life, and by extension other marine life, than we could have imagined just five years ago. So I'd like to again press you all to consider my proposal, to have the waters off here declared part of a national marine monument for the further protection of the whales and all marine life."

"Well I certainly see where you're coming from, Mr. Walker. But let me remind you, the fishing industry is quite big in this state as well," a congresswoman pointed out to him with a frown, "Not that I don't respect and treasure whales, but if we created a marine preserve here at the size you want, that would cut off a pretty large area from fishing. A lot of my constituents here in the state probably wouldn't approve of that at all."

"I'm well aware of that concern, Senator Mills, and I'm open to any compromise that would respect the rights and feelings of legitimate fishermen," Walker offered, "But just imagine the benefits: if you make this area permanently safe for whales, the tourist dollars could flow in rivers. This facility may not look like much now," he gestured at the construction scaffolding surrounding the outside of the institute's main building, "But just imagine what it can be with those protections in place for local wildlife: this building as a world class research facility employing dozens, including numerous local residents, with a museum and educational complex attached, including tanks for whales injured in the wild that would need to be brought in to recover, allowing an up close and personal view for guests. Imagine whale watching boats going out regularly throughout the day. Imagine a ferry taking guests over to the other side of the bay, perhaps to Northwest Adventure Park for the day, where they could see a properly staged whale or dolphin show among other attractions. The upside, ladies and gentlemen, is success beyond our wildest dreams, and all you have to do is at least consider drafting legislation to protect this area."

"And how do we know for sure it'll be worth it?" another congressman spoke up, "I've seen loads of boondoggles that were sold to us on such high and altruistic terms, Mr. Walker, but ended up falling well short of the mark. How do we know your proposed whale research facility wouldn't do the same?"

"Because it's worth it," Jesse couldn't help stepping forward, "If you protect the whales, everyone can see how magical they are. It's more than the money, it's about letting everyone learn and enjoy."

"I couldn't have said it better myself," Walker beamed. "Congressmen, congresswomen, I'd like to meet Jesse," he introduced the boy to them, "You might say he's a catalyst of sorts for this dream of mine. A few months ago, he was living on the streets and didn't care at all about whales. Now, he's become one of the biggest defenders of them in this area thanks to a special friendship he struck up with a killer whale over the summer."

"Oh, so you're the young man that set that whale at the park free?" Senator Mills bent down to Jesse's level, "I'd heard about that story on the news. Most amazing thing I'd ever heard of. Well, Jesse, you do approve of us perhaps drafting a bill for the president to consider naming this area a marine preserve?"

"I do," Jesse nodded firmly, "We have to look out for each other, Senator, and that includes the animals out there too. I've seen how the whales around here have been mistreated myself; anything you can do to protect them would be great-and maybe draft a bill to guarantee that whales in parks and zoos have to have the proper sized tanks and enough food and everything."

"Well, we'll definitely have to consider that, then," Senator Mills turned to her colleagues, some of whom were nodding softly now, "I can't guarantee the final bill would be exactly what Mr. Walker here wants, but we might be able to get something close to it."

"Wonderful, Senator. All right, now if you still need some convincing, follow me, and I'll show you exactly what I think we can do here at this facility with the proper budget," Walker led the congressional delegates down the walkway behind the main building, looking over his shoulder and mouthing at Jesse a grateful, "Thanks." Jesse gave him a thumbs up in turn. "So, now what do you guys want to do?" he asked Jake and Judy.

"Actually, Jesse, I'd probably better be heading home," Judy gave her watch a worried look, "We were out a little later than I'd thought we'd be. My mom would blow a fuse if she found out I was here. She's not exactly a fan of whales herself as it is..."

"So she's a stuck up hard case, huh?" Jake asked, following her and Jesse into the main building and through the front door into the parking lot.

"Extremely," Judy rolled her eyes, "In fact, she's..."

"JUDITH ANN CORWIN!" came the very angry shout from the near side of the parking lot. The very familiar shout to Jesse, in fact. He nearly doubled over in shock to see "Anita the Assassin" standing by a black town car with her hands on her hips and a murderous expression on her face. "Oh my god," he mumbled, "She's your mother!?" he turned to Judy.

"Unfortunately," Judy gulped worriedly.

"Get over here right now, young lady!" Mr. Dial's attorney bellowed at Judy, jerking a harsh finger towards the car. Judy sighed and complied. "Mom, I'm not doing anything wrong...!" she protested.

"I told you to be back at the house at three sharp so you could take your weekly legal tutorial with Mrs. Sharp," her mother snarled, "Fortunately, she saw you coming down the road to this dump," she pointed contemptuously at the institute, "while she was driving to the house, and let me know about it. Sneaking away so you could go joyriding on a boat with...!"

"Mom, I hate those tutorials! I don't want to be a lawyer; I want to be a marine biologist! I've told you that I don't know how many times!" Judy shouted at her.

"No daughter of mine is going to waste her life being a second rate Jane Goodall want-to-be, not after everything I've sacrificed to make your life as successful and comfortable as I have! I do not want to see or hear that you've been down here again, especially in the company of certain well known juvenile delinquents!" Mrs. Corwin scowled at Jesse.

"Mom, this is unfair! This is what I want to do...!"

"Enough! In the car now, we're going home!" her mother jerked her finger at their car. Lowering her head, Judy complied. Mrs. Corwin slammed the passenger side door closed behind her and stormed over to Jesse. "And you listen very good, you little brat," she warned him icily, "You are not to see or communicate with my child from here on, or else. Do you understand me!?"

"She's not your puppet, you ditch witch!" Jesse barked back, hating the woman even more now, "You don't control what she wants to do with her life...!"

"You watch your mouth with me!" Mrs. Corwin grabbed him by the collar, "I can guess you've had no respect for authority your whole life; bad apple kids like you are always like that. Well I want you to know, I have raised my daughter to be a productive member of society, and I will not let filth like you drag her down. If you do, then I'll make sure that any outstanding criminal cases against you that are within the statutes of limitations are prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Have I made myself perfectly clear!?"

"Yeah. Now let me make myself clear, Anita...!" Jesse retorted.

"Mrs. Corwin to you!"

"Anita!" he growled defiantly, "Tell Dial it's not over yet. We're going to get him back in court soon, and we'll keep bringing him back until he is convicted! I don't know how you live with yourself, defending him when you have to know what he's done! But it's probably the same as why you try and crush Judy; you just don't care...!"

"Oh I care, Mr. Richter. I care enough to crush you if you try and ruin my daughter's life. And don't think for a moment that I won't do it. You've been warned, Mr. Richter. You have been warned," Mrs. Corwin thrust a harsh finger in his face before storming back to her car. "She's Dial's attorney!?" a surprised Jake watched the woman drive off at a rather high rate of speed, visibly shouting angrily at her daughter as she did.

"Yep," Jesse nodded grimly, "No surprise though, right?"

"Nope," Jake agreed, "Given what you said about the guy, she's exactly what I'd suspect his attorney would be like. We can't let her get away with this though, right?"

"Absolutely," Jesse agreed with a firm nod. He wasn't going to stand by and let Judy's mother crush her dreams of whale research. "Well, I'd better head back too; the Greenwoods said they wanted me back by six," he checked his watch, "You want to come too?" he asked Jake.

"Not tonight, Jesse. Dad got dragged into an arbitration hearing with the union to try and end the garbage strike; he made it clear it'll be after midnight till he gets back. So I'll be all right tonight," Jake said.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, this time."

"Just call if you do want to come over, Jake," Jesse advised him. He climbed on his bike and followed Jake out of the institute's parking lot...

...not seeing the window of a car parked in the far back of the lot roll down. Inside, Wade lowered the sunglasses he was wearing and watched until the boys had disappeared from sight. With a nod, he climbed out and bustled over to a guard standing by the institute's front entrance. "So, what did you hear on the boat's radio tap today?" he whispered in the guard's ear.

"They found orcas, but they weren't the right ones," the guard hissed back, "I don't see why I have to stay undercover like this for this long over one whale, Lackey..."

"This whale's really important, Doug," Wade insisted softly, "Dial's already set up the deal; we just need to bag the whale."

"Even though there's no clue where he is? I work for Salkind, not for you and Dial, and I don't like being out in the open like this. If I get caught, it'll expose Salkind's whole operation..."

"Then you realize what's at stake here, right?" Wade lowered his sunglasses to glare at the man, "You had to have seen that idiot Walker bringing the congressmen in here. If they go ahead and give him that marine preserve, your business'll dry up real fast, won't it? You couldn't hunt for whales around here anymore, and there'll be lawmen patrolling the waters everywhere else to make sure you couldn't capture them elsewhere. Your livelihood's on the line right now, yours and every other whale hunter in the state, maybe the whole Pacific Northwest."

"They wouldn't put a marine preserve here. The fishing lobby's too strong in this part of the state."

"Maybe, but Dial and Salkind would prefer not to take chances. Catching that whale'll help us put this place out of business and guarantee you can keep catching however many whales you'd want around here. Now just buck up and keep us informed; Dial knows that particular whale'll be back in these waters eventually. We just need to be patient..."