Author's Notes: Hi, readers. Here's chapter thirty of "Ride the Wind II: Justice Unbound." I'm glad it took just a week to get out. Nadine's parents make their first appearance. I am so glad I finally did this. I've been wanting to do it ever since I realized I had forgotten about them. Stay tuned for chapter thirty-one.

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Chapter 30: Another Family Reunion/Important

Randolph, Jesse, Nadine, and Nancy laughed at Elvis's quacking as if he were a duck ten minutes later. He folded his arms under his armpits and flapped them as if they were wings. He got up to walk around the coffee table. He let out a soft quack before pretending to peck at the floor. He returned to the second armchair, sitting down. He unfolded his arms to lay his hands in his lap.

"What a great duck you made, Elvis," Nadine said in much sweetness.

"Thanks, Nadine," Elvis replied and sat up tall and proud.

"You shouldn't grow too long a neck. You don't want be a giraffe instead of a duck, do you?" Randolph quipped and snickered.

"No, I don't, Randolph," Elvis responded, looking toward him. "I should find a magic lamp and have the genie grant me a wish for you to become a giraffe."

"Do it. I dare you," Randolph taunted in a playful voice.

"Okay. I will," Elvis said and pretended he was about to get up and leave. "Nah. I like you as you are."

"I prefer that answer," Randolph said and chuckled. "Yes, I do."

Just then, the doorbell rang loudly. Jesse, Nadine, Randolph, Elvis, and Nancy looked toward the front door.

"I'll get it," Randolph said and stood up with a loud grunt. He made his way toward the door. "I hope it wasn't a kid who rang the doorbell and ran off."

"It could be a monster waiting for you to open the door, so it could eat us!" Nancy joked and giggled hysterically.

Randolph waved her off. "Sure, it is."

Nancy blew a raspberry. "Hey, I know it is."

Randolph stopped before the door and looked through the peephole. He could see fifty-seven-year-old Aiden and fifty-five-year-old Kylie standing close to it. Jesse, Nadine, Nancy, and Elvis stood up with loud grunts. Elvis stretched his arms above his head. He scratched his neck with both hands before putting them at his sides.

Aiden let out a small yawn and adjusted his glasses. He resembled Nadine, but he was as tall as Jesse was. He happened to be somewhat heavyset. His skin was so pale that he appeared to be a ghost. His brown eyes contained bags underneath them. His face was full of wrinkles, including laugh lines. His brown hair was in the style of a buzz cut.

Kylie moved her neck from side to side three times to stretch it. She held a bag filled with her homemade chocolate chip cookies. She was slightly taller than Nadine was. Her skin was a little tanned. Her light brown hair happened to be long. It was up in a ponytail with a few strands sticking out. Her face had wrinkles here and there. Her brown eyes had freckles underneath them. Randolph unlocked the door.

"Hey, Randolph," Aiden greeted as Randolph stepped aside and allowed him to come in. "It is good to see you."

"It is good to see you too, Aiden," Randolph replied and smiled. "Now, let's have a handshake."

Aiden offered his hand. "Sure."

Randolph took the former fisherman's hand. He heard a buzzing sound and pulled his away. Aiden held it up, revealing a hand buzzer. He broke into a fit of laughter.

"You fell for the old hand buzzer!" Aiden yelled delightfully.

"Nice one, sly dog," Randolph said, slapping him on the back. He pressed his fist to his cheek in which he got a laugh from him. "Come on. I am sure your wife wants to come in too."

Aiden headed into the living room. Randolph greeted Kylie as he guided her inside. He closed the door, its hinges squeaking somewhat. He locked it and clapped twice. Aiden and Kylie went over to Nadine, who hugged them tightly. They responded by giving her a bigger hug. They pulled apart with big smiles on their faces.

"Oh, Nadine. It's great to see you!" Kylie yelled, happiness radiating from her face.

"It's great to see you and Dad too, Mom," Nadine replied in much sweetness. "You pulled a good one with Uncle Randolph there, Dad."

Aiden chuckled. "Yep. Jesse and Elvis taught me that."

Aiden and Kylie looked toward Jesse as he came up to them. They hugged him quite tightly. They smiled when he hugged them back.

"We are so happy you are here, Jesse," Aiden said warmly.

"I am too, Aiden," Jesse responded and patted the top of the man's head.

"We can't wait to hear about more of your adventures with Willy and his pod," Kylie commented in much eagerness.

"Believe me. I have a number of them to share with you," Jesse said truthfully.

"I hope one of those adventures was he threw you through the air while you two were playing together," Kylie joked with a snicker.

"You wish," Jesse said and blew a raspberry.

"It would be really cool if Willy threw you through the air," Aiden answered, laughing to himself. "Perhaps you could grow wings after he did that."

"I wish that could happen," Jesse admitted and spoke gibberish. He rubbed his nose, followed by his chin. "Yes, I do."

Elvis went over to Aiden and Kylie, giving them a big hug. They responded by giving him a bigger one. They broke away from each other, smiles forming on their faces.

"We're really glad to see you, Elvis," Aiden said in a warm voice.

"So am I with you and Kylie, Aiden," Elvis said, eyeing Nancy as she came to his side. "Nancy is happy to be here."

"Come to Grandma," Kylie commented and picked up the little girl to hug her. Nancy hugged her back. Aiden came to her side and joined in on it. They pulled apart. "You've gotten so big since the last time we saw you."

"Blame Mommy and Daddy. They feed me too many cupcakes," Nancy squeaked joyfully.

"I can imagine," Aiden said, tickling her stomach in which it made her giggle. He looked at Randolph, who came to his side. "You look so healthy, Randolph. We know managing your diabetes hasn't been easy for you."

"It isn't, but I have more good days than I do bad ones," Randolph said in happiness. "Finding out I had this disease hit me like a ton of bricks. It made me realize my own mortality."

"You're not the only one that's happened to," Jesse pointed out matter-of-factly.

"Yep," Kylie agreed and held up the bag. "Well, I brought my chocolate cookies."

"Yay!" Nancy cheered with great joy.

"I am going to put a pot of coffee on," Randolph said, rubbing his hands together. "We have a bit to talk about."

"For sure!" Aiden agreed with a laugh. "Kylie and I want to tell you all about our sailing trip."

"Just don't bore us with a story of watching the ocean for hours," Elvis joked, a snicker coming out of his mouth.

"That was so funny that I forgot to laugh, Elvis," Kylie retorted with much sarcasm.

"You shouldn't have forgotten to laugh. I am the king of pranks in this circle of friends and family," Elvis declared, standing tall and proud.

"That you are, bro," Jesse agreed.

"Oh, yes," Nadine added.

"All right. That's enough," Randolph said while waving his hands in the air. He jerked his thumb toward the kitchen. "Let's get that pot of coffee going."

The others cheered very gleefully as Kylie put Nancy down. Randolph walked into the kitchen while singing nonsense.

00000

Randolph added sugar to two coffee-filled mugs sitting on a tray in the kitchen thirty minutes later. He stirred the contents in each of them. He looked toward the living room. Aiden, Kylie, and Nadine sat on the couch. Nancy was in her mother's lap. Jesse and Elvis were seated in the armchairs. A plate of cookies was on the coffee table. Aiden and Kylie talked about their sailing trip.

Randolph took the spoon to the sink to lay it there. He returned to the tray and picked it up. He carried it carefully into the living room while singing a scat. he came to the coffee table, laying it down. Aiden and Kylie grabbed their coffee. They sipped them and nodded in approval. They turned to Randolph, who sat in a foldable chair next to the coffee table.

"The coffee tastes great, Randolph," Aiden said with much warmth.

"Oh, yes," Kylie agreed.

"Thanks," Randolph said with much happiness. "I usually drink my coffee in the morning, but I will have the occasional afternoon cup."

"You should add lots of sugar to your coffee, Randolph. I want to see you bounce off the walls," Jesse joked.

"I need to dump a whole bag of sugar in your mouth, Jesse," Randolph threatened in playfulness. "I want to see you really bounce off the walls. You just might jump out the window and run around like crazy."

"You can if you let me dump a whole bag of sugar in your mouth first, Randolph," Jesse answered in a mock-annoyed voice.

"Bring it on," Randolph retorted while waving his hand toward himself. "I dare you."

"Okay," Jesse commented and acted as if he were going to leave. "Nah. I want to stay here."

"Spoilsport," Randolph mumbled.

"I heard that!" Jesse yelled in mock anger.

Aiden, Kylie, Nadine, Nancy, and Elvis broke into a fit of laughter. They became quiet ten seconds later. Aiden and Kylie sipped more of their coffee before putting them on the coffee table.

"What would you like to talk about, Randolph?" Aiden wondered in much curiosity.

"It is actually about Lilli," Randolph responded honestly. "You won't believe what I am about to tell you about her."

Kylie became confused. "What do you mean?"

Randolph took a deep breath. He hoped his friends wouldn't be too shocked. "I don't know how to tell you this, but Brenda gave me a sample of Lilli's blood to see if it matches Isabella's."

Aiden and Kylie gasped in much shock. They thought Randolph was joking, but they realized quickly he wasn't. Randolph leaned forward somewhat, seriousness showing in his eyes.

"Glen and Annie told Randolph, Nadine, Nancy, Andros, Ashley, Zhane, and Karone about Lilli and Isabella possibly being the same orca after we got here two days ago. It shocked us. Jesse and I believed it might be true from the start. Andros, Ashley, Zhane, Karone, Nadine, and Elvis were very skeptical, as was Missy. However, Zhane and Karone seemed to agree with my theory that whale hunters could've disguised their boat as one for fishing in order to carry out their capture operation. Elvis and Nadine were uncertain. So were Andros and Ashley. They, Zhane, and Karone agreed to go with us to see Lilli and get pictures," Randolph explained.

"When Lilli saw us before the show, she seemed to recognize us. She got excited and swam up to us. She did several things we know Isabella did a lot. She acted the same way after the show. Everyone in the group began to believe she was Isabella with the exception of Andros and Karone. Missy was still skeptical when we told her and our parents about what Lilli did. Mom and Dad said it confirmed their belief she was Isabella," Jesse added.

"Jesse and I went to Kenworth Café and encountered Dwight there that afternoon. We decided to wait for Brenda. After a while, we decided to leave. We encountered her as we were coming out. We told her about our suspicions regarding Lilli. She didn't believe us, but she agreed to get a blood sample from Lilli for DNA testing. She was adamant that it would prove Lilli wasn't Isabella," Randolph commented.

Nadine jerked her thumb in the Indian's direction. "Uncle Randolph got a call from Brenda this morning. She told him she managed to get a blood sample from Lilli last night. He was shocked. She brought a syringe and tube with her to the aquatic theater. While the trainers assigned to watch Lilli were on break, she drew blood from her. They arranged to meet at Kenworth Café, so she could give him the blood sample. They did just that."

Elvis rubbed his nose. "Randolph took it and Isabella's sample to the National Marine Mammal Laboratory for testing. We should get the results tomorrow."

"I can't believe all that happened," Aiden yelled in much amazement.

"Me neither," Kylie agreed. "Who would've thought you would meet Lilli's trainer and get a sample of her blood from her?"

"I know," Randolph murmured in gentleness. "Jesse, Nadine, Elvis, and I are very confident that the DNA test will prove Lilli is Isabella."

"That means Isabella will go home to her family!" Nancy yelled in much joy.

Aiden sighed heavily. "I hope the test proves Lilli and Isabella are the same orca. At the same time, I don't want to be disappointed."

"I don't either. It is also possible that Lilli could become depressed if she is separated from Brenda," Kylie pointed out bluntly.

"We are definitely prepared for that possibility, but Dial needs to pay for what he did," Jesse said in much seriousness.

"The Southern Resident orcas are in dire need of females. If Lilli turns out to be Isabella, she will be able to help provide babies for it," Elvis said, swallowing hard.

Kylie pressed her lips together. "We can see that, but what if Isabella doesn't want anything to do with her pod? What if she would rather hang around with people?"

Jesse clasped his hands together. "That is possible, but the Southern Residents are losing members faster than they can replace them. They can't keep going like this. Isabella could be a great contributor to the population. They need all the help they can get from her."

Aiden and Kylie looked at each other. Though they were unsure about what Isabella might want, they knew Jesse was right. They wanted her to help replenish J-Pod. At the same time, they understood it was possible she couldn't. They could take comfort in the fact that she would still have her family if she couldn't have calves.

"We see what you are saying, Jesse," Aiden said and breathed deeply.

"We just don't want to be—" Kylie started.

"I know you don't," Jesse said comfortingly. He knew his girlfriend's parents were talking about being disappointed about Lilli. "I just know the DNA test will prove Lilli is Isabella."

"Will you talk to Brenda about helping you to bust Dial for illegally obtaining a protected animal?" Aiden asked.

"We plan to. We aren't sure if she will agree to help us," Randolph admitted in some uncertainty.

"I hope she does. Dial can't be allowed to get away with the illegal capture of an orca for the second time," Aiden said angrily.

"He was lucky he got off the first time. It was thanks to knowing the police, especially the chief," Kylie grumbled with a roll of her eyes.

"Almost all of the police have been replaced, including the chief. He won't be able to turn to them for help," Aiden said in determination.

"Once Dial is in jail, then Isabella can go home to her family!" Nancy squealed with great glee.

"Yes, she will, honey," Nadine agreed. "She will be kept in a seapen first. Once her pod swims by, she will be released."

"It will be a wonderful thing to see," Jesse said in a hopeful voice. "I plan to help with Isabella's reintroduction to the wild."

"I do too," Randolph added warmly. He proceeded to talk about netting off the Rubbing Rocks for Isabella.