Author's Notes: Hi, readers. Here's chapter four of "Ride the Wind II: Justice Unbound." I'm glad it took just five days to get out. This chapter features the first appearance of Jesse and Nadine. There is also a little bit of Jesse/Nadine. Randolph, Elvis, and Nancy will appear in the next one. Stay tuned for chapter five.

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Chapter 4: Sitting on the Swing

A bald eagle glided beneath the canopy on San Juan Island in the late morning. It spotted the Greenwood-Clausen residence. It headed downward. It landed on a branch near the bottom of a tree. It looked down to see Jesse sitting on the porch swing. He was drinking cream-filled coffee from a mug. He placed his other hand on it. He spoke gibberish before singing a little nonsense. He became quiet after ten seconds.

Jesse turned his attention toward the eagle. He seemed to be mesmerized by it. He remembered all the times eagles, owls, and other birds watched him from tree branches. He'd seen so many of them since and Nadine had moved into the cabin that he lost count. He felt fortunate to live so close to a forest. He wasn't fond of living in the suburb where Glen and Annie resided, though he did like how peaceful it was.

He rubbed his chin. He, Nadine, Nancy, Elvis, and Randolph began taking annual summer vacations to Seattle a year after his daughter's birth. They would stay in a rental house owned by their friends, Harry and Georgia Hanks. Their visits would last one to two weeks. They always had fun spending time with Glen and Annie. They would occasionally see Dwight. When Missy joined the Greenwoods, the visits became even more fun.

In September 2012, Jesse, Nadine, Nancy, Elvis, and Randolph had an encounter with J-Pod. They couldn't see Isabella amongst the orcas. Everyone hoped that she was just missed and that she might have been swimming underwater. Unfortunately, three more encounters over five days failed to turn up any sign of her. Nobody wanted to accept she likely died, especially Jesse. However, they came to terms with it.

Jesse, Nadine, Nancy, Elvis, and Randolph were elated when an encounter with J-Pod showed a new calf swimming next to Nikki three months later. It showed off its underside, revealing it was female. Jesse decided to name her Nessa. A week later, another J-Pod encounter revealed another new calf swimming next to Luna. It revealed its underside, showing it was male. Elvis decided to name him Kyle.

Jesse got a call from Randolph, who told him that he and Elvis would like to come over to the house and hang out with him, Nadine, and Nancy since they would be going to Seattle together. He said they would be more than happy to have them over. Randolph picked up Elvis at his house. They arrived here around ten-thirty.

Jesse rocked the swing back and forth. He took another sip of his coffee before running his hand over his face. He clicked his tongue three times. He watched the eagle spread its wings and take off into the sky. He listened to its screeching until it faded into silence. The back door opening caught his attention. He saw Nadine step outside and close it behind her. She approached him.

"Hey, Nadine," he greeted sweetly.

"Hey yourself, Jess," she replied and seated herself beside him. "You will be happy to know that everything is packed up in the van and ready to go."

"That's great," Jesse said in much happiness. He became very curious. "What are Nancy, Randolph, and Elvis doing right now?"

"They are looking at pictures of J-Pod orcas," Nadine answered and rubbed her nose. "When I walked by, they were talking about Willy."

"I remember when Willy was thinner than he is now. It was due to not being fed an adequate diet. Rae told me the fish that Dial bought for Willy was cheap crap when I helped her sort it out," Jesse said, looking disgusted. "A full-grown bull orca needs to eat four hundred pounds of food a day in order to maintain his energy. Willy was fed only one hundred pounds of fish a day. That was only one percent of his body weight of seven thousand pounds. He needed two hundred pounds or three percent of his body weight in food."

"Dial treated that poor orca like trash. He thought it wasn't worth the trouble to have Willy properly cared for by a team of trainers and veterinarians," Nadine mumbled, hints of anger lining her voice. "He wasn't even trained for medical examinations. Even if an animal isn't going to be a performer, it needs basic husbandry training in order to be given veterinary care."

"Dial was pissed at the amount of money he was losing with Willy. He thought I would be able to make it back with Willy's first performance. Of course, those bratty children ruined it," Jesse commented and gritted his teeth. "Their constant banging on the glass stressed him out so much that he rammed the tank wall and caused a leak in it."

"Orcas can hear a lot better underwater than they can above the surface," Nadine pointed out truthfully. "The banging traveled through the water and reached him. It's no wonder he wasn't into performing."

"If Dial had just roped off the observation area, then the performance would've gone off without a hitch. Then again, it is possible it wouldn't have been a success at all," Jesse murmured. "He wanted the insurance money after the failed performance. What better way to do that than widen the hole in the tank and make it leak out all the water, so Willy will die?"

"A million dollars was a lot of money back in 1993," Nadine admitted and rubbed her nose. "Wild-caught orcas are worth several million dollars today." She raised her eyebrows.

"A Russian aquarium will be paying that much to get Narnia," Jesse said and bit his lip. "Russia isn't well known for animal welfare."

"Aquariums are being built in China. They are looking to acquire Russian orcas. That country isn't well known for animal welfare either," Nadine commented.

"From pictures I've seen of Narnia, she seems to enjoy human company. One has a young man holding on to a rope with both hands. He has his knees bent and is making a face at her. She has her mouth and her head sticking out of the water. She appears to be laughing at him," Jesse explained, snickering under his breath. He frowned. "I wish she wasn't going into captivity, but it is what it is. I do hope future captures of Russian orcas will be banned or tightly regulated."

Nadine sighed sadly. She wished wild orca captures would just stop, but she knew the US government had no jurisdiction in what other countries did with their orcas. However, she had hope that it would stop importation of captured Russian orcas if an aquarium decided to apply for a permit to get one.

"Dial doesn't appear to be losing any money with Lilli. In fact, business has boomed since he got her from the Brighton Aquarium," she said honestly.

"We've scoured the internet for pictures of her, but the ones were found were too blurry," he muttered, shaking his head in disbelief. "No one knows where she came from. Records appear to be incomplete."

"That is the unfortunate reality with many aquariums," Nadine said with a heavy sigh. "The records may have been destroyed in order to cover something up."

"Who knows?" Jesse said, shrugging and making a funny noise. "You never know what businesses will do in order to cover their tracks."

She showed thoughtfulness. "Northwest Adventure Park doesn't even have a Facebook page. Many aquariums and zoos have Facebook pages. Some even have more than one like SeaWorld does for each of its locations."

"I guess Dial doesn't like being vain," Jesse suggested with a little annoyance. "It's been twenty years since he had Willy. You would think he wouldn't try to boost business with another orca."

"Yeah. However, his purchase of Lilli worked like a charm. The show featuring her, Jane, and Izzy appears to be rather popular. Many people have said they enjoyed it," Nadine whispered, biting her lip. "Dial even had the water cooled down to 60 degrees Fahrenheit, so she would be comfortable."

He huffed. "That doesn't mean he cares about her. He just cares about profiting off her. Once he feels she has outlived her usefulness, he will sell her to another place and purchase another orca."

She swallowed hard. She remembered reading stories about greedy trainers who profited off their performing animals as much as they could and selling them once they thought their usefulness was gone. She felt bad for the animals because they probably ended up in more not-so-good situations. At the same time, she hoped they found good owners.

"I remember the first time we brought Nancy out on the Nastelane. She was just three months old," Nadine said in much awe.

"We showed her to Willy. He was very mesmerized by her. He'd never seen a human infant before," Jesse commented.

"Nancy didn't know what to make of him, but she did laugh when he let air out of his blowhole," Nadine said, laughing in much warmness.

"Nancy is really looking forward to seeing her grandparents," Jesse said in excitement. "She wants to show them the orca bracelet we got for her for her fourth birthday."

"I can't believe she is already four," Nadine exclaimed and giggled softly. "It feels like only yesterday we were changing her diapers."

"As I recall, you nearly fainted from her smelly diapers several times," Jesse teased and pinched her cheek.

"So did you," Nadine retorted, grabbing his wrist and pulling his hand off. She laid it in his lap. "Don't pinch my cheek again if you know what's good for you."

She pointed her finger in his face. She moved it in all directions while speaking gibberish. He mimicked her movements with his head. He pretended to get dizzy. She became quiet and put her finger down. She planted a kiss to his cheek. He did the same to hers.

"I feel so lucky to have you and our daughter in my life," Nadine whispered lovingly.

"I feel the same way about both of you," Jesse responded and tickled her cheek. He mimicked his action with the tip of her nose. He sipped a tiny bit of his coffee. He smacked his lips. "I am really glad that Nancy got to meet not only Willy, but she also got to meet the rest of his pod, including Nikki, Max, Isabella, and Nessa."

"I remember the disappointed look on her face when she didn't see Isabella anywhere. She asked where the young orca could've gone. We reassured her that we likely missed her," Nadine explained with a frown. "We were forced to tell her that Isabella may have died after three more encounters with J-Pod failed to turn up any sign of her. We explained death in a way she could understand." She cleared her throat.

"She seemed to accept Isabella's death pretty well. She always talks about how much she misses her and that it doesn't seem fair it came so suddenly," Jesse pointed out matter-of-factly.

Jesse sniffled. "It doesn't. The bright side is Willy and Nikki's newest calf is very healthy. Nessa is just full of energy."

"So is Alex and Luna's newest calf. Kyle is just as healthy as Nessa is," Nadine whispered, sighing contently. "You and Elvis chose good names for those orcas."

"Nancy was excited to see new babies in J-Pod. The best thing about it is the births occurred within a week of each other," Jesse said, smiling in much warmth.

"Joy and Tilem l'nges's births occurred within three months of each other. Both of them seem to be quite healthy," Nadine commented, sweetness lining her voice.

"Let's pray that more healthy calves are born to the Southern Residents and that most of them are female," Jesse murmured gently.

Nadine nodded in agreement. "Yes. Let's do that."

Jesse and Nadine shared a sweet kiss. He put his arm around her, giving her a small hug. They looked toward the tree to see an American robin sitting on a branch at the bottom of it. They proceeded to watch it.