Author's Notes: Hi, readers. Here's chapter seventeen of "Ride the Wind II: Justice Unbound." I'm glad it took just four days to get out. This chapter features more hinting that Lilli and Isabella are one in the same. The show featuring Lilli, Jane, and Izzy will be in the next one. Stay tuned for chapter eighteen.

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Chapter 17: More Than a Feeling

Northwest Adventure Park bristled with activity everywhere. Many people yelled or screamed in delight as they rode the rides. Others waited patiently for their turn on them, though some children became impatient. European starlings scurried everywhere in their search for food along the walkways. They let out loud squawks and shook their heads.

Ashley, Karone, Nadine, Elvis, and Randolph waited at a table for Andros, Zhane, and Jesse near the concession stand three minutes later. The first three were seated on the right side. The last two sat on the left side. Elvis walked his index and middle fingers across the table and spoke gibberish. He moved his head from side to side three times.

"I find it interesting how much Jesse looks like Annie," Karone said, propping her head up with her elbow.

"Yeah. He feels very lucky to look like her," Ashley added.

"Jesse and Mom never had to worry about being mistaken for twins as he got older," Elvis said warmly.

"If Jesse had resembled Glen, I know one way they could solve the twin problem. One could have short hair. The other could have long hair," Nadine pointed out matter-of-factly.

"Who would have which?" Ashley wondered.

"That would have been for them to figure out," Randolph answered honestly.

Elvis waved his fingers in the air while speaking gibberish. He became silent before laying his hand in his lap.

"At least Jesse's brother wouldn't have had to worry being mistaken for Glen's twin," Randolph said, jerking his thumb toward Elvis. "He has all his looks from his birth father."

"If Elvis could be mistaken for Glen, then he could dye his hair and eyes to match Jesse's," Nadine joked with a snicker.

"You would be dreaming if you think I would let anyone do that," Elvis retorted in mock annoyance.

Karone squeaked and clapped three times. "I think you'd look great with blond hair and blue eyes, Elvis."

"After all, blond runs in your birth mom's side of your family," Ashley added.

"How about we dye your hair black and your eyes green instead, Elvis?" Nadine suggested.

Elvis should his head rapidly. "Nah. I think look better with brown hair and brown eyes."

"Chicken," Nadine mumbled with a roll of her eyes.

"Don't pretend I didn't hear that!" Elvis shouted and blew a raspberry.

Randolph chuckled "He's got you there!"

The women waved the men off. They observed people walking everywhere and listened to their chattering. They shifted their attention to each other with raised eyebrows.

"This place is even more crowded than it was when I worked here twenty years ago," Randolph admitted, swallowing hard.

"It has gotten a lot bigger since Willy left," Elvis added.

"Randolph, you said you often cleaned the water in the sea lion pools in addition to being Willy's caregiver, right?" Ashley wondered.

Randolph nodded at her. "That is correct, Ashley. When Willy and I first knew each other, he wouldn't even look at me. He wouldn't look at Rae either. Neither of us could understand why."

"It is strange an orca would never look at its caregiver or its trainer," Elvis murmured, giving a shrug.

"It does sound strange. Back to what I was saying, Willy could look at Jesse. I wasn't sure why. Neither was Rae. I told Jesse Nastelane's story to help him understand their connection. He came to realize that Willy understood he didn't have a family like him," Randolph explained.

"It can be hard to read an animal's emotions sometimes," Elvis said and spoke gibberish.

"No denying that," Ashley agreed.

Karone became very thoughtful. "People say that cats pacing back and forth in their zoo enclosures is a sign of great stress. The same goes for elephants swaying from side to side and bobbing their heads. While it is possible the animals are stressed, there can be other reasons. For cats, they could be getting impatient over waiting for their meals. With elephants, they could be swaying to music or shifting weight from one foot to the other."

"An orca or dolphin logging at the surface for long periods in its tank may be stressed. It could also be resting," Elvis added.

Nadine waved her hand in the air. "Exactly."

Just then, Andros, Zhane, and Jesse walked up to their girlfriends with coke-filled cups. They handed the cups to them. Ashley, Karone, and Nadine sipped their coke and nodded in approval.

"Thanks, boys," Ashley, Karone, and Nadine said gratefully.

"You're welcome, girls," Andros, Zhane, and Jesse responded in happiness.

"It's about time you got here," Ashley said and put her hand on her throat.

"What were you doing, your hair?" Karone joked.

"No. The line was just moving slowly. Two customers kept chatting and wouldn't move forward," Jesse grumbled in annoyance.

"How rude!" Ashley exclaimed.

"No kidding," Zhane agreed. "They were more interested in talking than allowing other people to get their drinks."

"Look on the bright side. You didn't whine and complain like some people do," Nadine said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah," Jesse agreed.

Ashley, Karone, and Nadine took small sips of their cokes. They smacked their lips before running their tongues all over the insides of their mothers.

"So, what have you five been doing while we were in line?" Jesse asked and crossed his arms.

"Just talking," Karone answered and exhaled.

"Elvis was the biggest talker of the group," Ashley said and snickered.

"I think the honor of being the biggest talker goes to Randolph," Elvis said, gesturing toward the Indian.

"Hey!" Randolph blurted out and shot a mock glare at him. "That is not true! You were the biggest talker!"

"Unh-unh!" Elvis said, shaking his head rapidly. "No way!"

Randolph stuck his tongue out at Elvis, who looked at him and mimicked him with his. They pulled them back into their mouths and pretended to give each other dirty looks. Jesse clapped twice, getting their attention as well as that of the others.

"Enough fooling around," Jesse said and jerked his thumb down the walkway. "Let's get to the aquatic theater before the show starts."

"Yes," Ashley said, getting up along with Elvis, Karone, Nadine, and Randolph. "Let's do that."

Jesse, Nadine, Andros, Ashley, Zhane, Karone, Elvis, and Randolph started walking. They saw the aquatic theater come into view. They spotted several people going inside. They stopped next to a large statue. The statue consisted of an orca and two bottlenose dolphins leaping out of a wave. The trio had their mouths wide open. Their dorsals were completely straight.

"When I first worked here, there was just an orca statue," Jesse said, furrowing his brow. "It had its mouth wide open."

"Then Dial replaced it with a statue of four leaping bottlenose dolphins," Randolph responded.

"Since he has an orca and two bottlenose dolphins now, it makes since he has this statue," Elvis added.

Ashley pointed her finger toward the entrance. "We should go inside."

Karone snorted. "You're right."

Jesse, Nadine, Andros, Ashley, Zhane, Karone, Elvis, and Randolph headed into the theater. They came out at the top of the stands. They could see Lilli, Jane, and Izzy swimming underwater. People passed them on either side. They went down to various rows to sit down. Jesse and Randolph had a feeling of déjà vu as they remembered Willy swimming around in the same place.

"It is astounding how much this place has changed since we were here twenty years ago, Randolph," Jesse exclaimed.

"No kidding, Jess," Randolph agreed. "The tank may be bigger, but it is still too small for an orca."

"The facility looks less than ideal, despite it has been expanded," Ashley said, shuddering badly. "The side pools are not even big enough to hold the cetaceans for long periods of time without causing health issues."

"Before Willy's disastrous first show, he was held in one of those side pools. He didn't swim into the main tank until Randolph opened the gate," Jesse commented, gesturing toward a side pool. "I guess Brenda convinced Dial to let Lilli, Jane, and Izzy swim in the main tank before every show. It is likely she wanted to get them warmed up."

"Most likely," Zhane replied, cupping his chin in his hand.

"Come on," Jesse said, waving his hand. "We should get a closer look."

The entire group headed down the stands. It approached the rim of the tank and looked into the water. Lilli, Jane, and Izzy surfaced in the middle of it. They let out loud bursts of air. They headed underwater, their tails swinging upward. They spyhopped not far from Jesse, Nadine, Andros, Ashley, Zhane, Karone, Elvis, and Randolph.

Lilli seemed to feel something click in her head as she caught sight of the group. She slipped beneath the surface with a squeal. She returned to it and came up to Jesse, Nadine, Andros, Ashley, Zhane, Karone, Elvis, and Randolph. She chattered in much excitement. She opened her mouth and folded her tongue. She rolled on her side and waved at them. Jesse started breathing heavily.

"It's her. It's Isabella," Jesse insisted quietly. "She recognized us."

"Are you sure, Jesse?" Ashley asked, looking toward him.

"I am absolutely sure it's her. She wouldn't have reacted like that if she didn't know us," Jesse responded.

"I don't know," Andros muttered in uncertainty. "She may be reacting like that because she likes people."

Randolph turned to his friend. "You and the others know Isabella always enjoyed our presence, Andros."

Elvis nodded in agreement. "Randolph is right. Lilli appears to enjoy our presence just as much."

"Just because Lilli enjoys our presence doesn't mean that she is Isabella," Karone pointed out seriously.

"Maybe we should watch her movements during and after the show," Ashley suggested.

"It wouldn't hurt," Nadine added, eyeing her boyfriend.

Jesse looked reluctant, but he nodded. "Okay."

Andros sighed in relief. "Good."

The speakers started crackling, getting the crowd's attention. Many people looked up, including Jesse, Nadine, Andros, Ashley, Zhane, Karone, Elvis, and Randolph. Lilli rolled right side up while emitting a soft click.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the orca and dolphin show will begin in ten minutes. You need to take your seats. We want to remind you that you must remain seated at all times during the show. Afterward, you may visit our gift shop for souvenirs of our lovely orca and dolphins," the speaker announced.

The speaker crackled once more. The theater started to fill with more people. Jesse, Nadine, Andros, Ashley, Zhane, Karone, Elvis, and Randolph looked at each other.

"We better take our seats," Jesse said seriously.

"Yep," Randolph agreed.

"I hope we can get good pictures of Lilli, so we can compare them to those of Isabella," Nadine said in a little uncertainty.

"All of us do," Ashley said, sighing softly. "Yes, we do."

"The most important parts we should take pictures of are her dorsal and saddle patch. They are the markings used to identify individual orcas most often," Randolph commented in thoughtfulness.

"Getting pictures of her eyepatches wouldn't hurt either," Nadine added honestly. "Nope, nope, nope."

Jesse, Nadine, Andros, Ashley, Zhane, Karone, Elvis, and Randolph started to walk to the second section. Lilli appeared to squeak disappointingly. She slipped underwater. She spyhopped as they went up to the seventh row. They seated themselves. She came back down, another disappointed squeak leaving her blowhole.

Lilli heard the sound of a whistle. She looked toward Brenda, who set two fish-filled buckets down close to the tank's edge. She swam toward her, though she was a little reluctant. She stopped before her and opened her mouth. Her trainer took her whistle out of her mouth. She reached in and patted her tongue. She removed her hand. The orca closed her mouth, exhaling air from her blowhole.

Jane and Izzy surfaced beside Lilli with excited chatters. Brenda petted their melons before giving them gentle scratches. They pressed their noses against her hands. She looked up, seeing many people coming into the theater. She smiled in great delight while clasping her hands together. She returned her attention to the orca and dolphins. She proceeded to talk to them.