Author's Notes: Hi, readers. Here is chapter thirty-three of "Ride the Wind II: Justice Unbound." I am glad it took just three days to get out. Andros, Ashley, Zhane, and Karone return in this chapter. I am so glad to bring them back. There is some Andros/Ashley and Zhane/Karone. Stay tuned for chapter thirty-four.

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Chapter 33: Glad to Know/Coming In

Andros was pouring coffee into a mug in the Chant rental house's kitchen. He returned the kettle to the coffeemaker. He added two spoonfuls of sugar to it. He stirred the contents before tapping his spoon on the handle twice. He took the spoon to the sink, laying it there. He came back to his coffee and picked it up. He sipped it, nodding in approval.

He headed over to the table, where Ashley was sitting at the head and looking over pictures of the Southern Resident orcas. He seated himself on her left. She gazed at a picture of Willy, Luna, and Littlespot spyhopping together with Granny and Samish bowing in the background. He couldn't help but smile as he put his coffee down.

"Willy, Luna, and Littlespot look so cute spyhopping together in this picture," he said.

"I can't argue with that," she agreed. "It is astounding how much Littlespot has grown in the last few years."

"Elvis said that he freaked out when he saw Littlespot's dorsal flopping during one whale-spotting trip. He thought he was sick," Andros pointed out with a soft chuckle. "I don't blame him for reacting like that. He didn't know that Littlespot was in his sprouting stage."

"As the male orca nears the end of the sprouting stage, the cartilage in his dorsal becomes strong enough to support it," Ashley replied, holding up a finger. "Water pressure helps to keep it from flopping over."

"Captive orcas spend more time at the surface because that is where the food is. Due to higher gravity, dorsal cartilage becomes weak. It flops over as a result," Andros explained. "Sometimes, the dorsal flops over all the way. Sometimes, it doesn't."

"Ulises is the perfect example of an orca that has a partially-flopped dorsal. He lives at SeaWorld San Diego. Most captive male orcas have fully-flopped dorsals. For some reason, Ulises's dorsal comes down only halfway," Ashley commented in awe.

"He has been known to swim upside down. That probably kept his dorsal from flopping over completely," Andros suggested.

"It is pretty weird. It looks like a fish hook," Ashley said with a laugh.

"I bet he would enjoy catching fish with his fish hook dorsal," Andros joked and snickered under his breath.

"Okay. You can be the bait," Ashley said and punched him in the arm.

"I think that would not be a good idea," Andros said and swatted her fist aside.

"You are such a chicken," Ashley said and made clucking sounds.

"You are the bigger chicken," Andros retorted playfully.

She smacked him in the back of his head. He gave her a smack upside her in retaliation. He pointed his finger in her face and moved it in all directions. She mimicked his motions and pretended to get dizzy. They shared a laugh and punched each other in their shoulders.

"Ulises means wrathful in Latin, but he isn't like that at all. He is a big teddy bear," Ashley squeaked in delight.

"He has a black dot on his tongue. I wonder how he got that," Andros said in much thoughtfulness.

"Maybe someone painted it there," Ashley quipped with a snicker.

"The water would've washed it off," Andros said and smacked her on the shoulder.

She blew a raspberry. "I know that."

"Many orcas have unique features. For example, Luna has a white patch that resembles a crescent on her dorsal," Andros said matter-of-factly.

"Littlespot has black dots in his eyepatches," Ashley added.

"Willy's unique feature is the three black dots below his chin," Andros murmured, a smile crossing his lips.

"Rhapsody has a unique swirl in her saddle patch," Ashley commented and made a funny noise.

He blew softly. "We could go on forever with the unique features of orcas, whether they are wild or captive."

She grabbed the other pictures and put them together. She stacked them and straightened them. She laid them aside before clasping her hands together. She let out a loud sigh.

"I hope we learn the results of the DNA test soon," Ashley whispered.

"I do too," Andros said and bit his lip. "As much as I want Lilli to be Isabella, I am uncertain she is her."

"It's understandable," Ashley commented as she picked up her coffee and sipped a tiny bit of it. She put it down. "You want someone to turn out to be a missing person so much. At the same time, you don't want to be disappointed."

Andros swallowed hard. "If Lilli isn't Isabella, then it is likely she will spend the rest of her life at Northwest Adventure Park."

Ashley tensed. "Who knows how long that will be?"

Suddenly, Bryan Adams's Run to You started playing. Andros realized it was his IPhone and grabbed it from his pocket. He looked at it, seeing Randolph's name and number of 360-594-2223. He touched the back of his neck.

"It's Randolph," he said quietly.

"Maybe he got the DNA test results from Annette," she suggested.

"Most likely," Andros agreed and touched his IPhone. This stopped the ringtone in the middle of the second play. He put it to his ear and cleared his throat. "Hey, Randolph. What's up?" He gasped and furrowed his brow. "You got that DNA results?"

Ashley watched Andros stand up and go over to the coffeemaker. She listened to him talk to Randolph. Zhane and Karone came into the kitchen. They stopped next to her. Andros hung up his IPhone and slipped it into his pocket. He returned to his girlfriend and friends.

"Lilli and Isabella's DNA profiles were a perfect match. They are the same orca," Andros announced.

"Oh, thank God," Ashley said in relief. "I am so glad to know the truth."

"So am I," Zhane agreed.

"I feel foolish for being uncertain," Karone muttered in much regret.

"I do too, but nobody blames us for being that way," Andros said, taking Ashley's hand into his.

"You bet Zhane and I don't blame you at all," Ashley said and kissed the back of his hand.

"Dial needs to pay for what he did," Zhane hissed and formed his hand into a fist. He punched it into his other one. "He broke the law again."

"Randolph said he planned to call Brenda and tell her about the DNA results around noon as he believed she would be on her lunch break. He mentioned Jesse was eager to call her and tell her, but he managed to stop him," Andros said, rubbing his nose.

"It is good to know that Jesse and Randolph have already made plans for Isabella's reintroduction into the wild. They just need to gather evidence against Dial first," Karone commented.

"It won't be easy for them to convince Brenda to help them," Zhane said seriously and put his arm around Karone.

"If they do, I am willing to go with them when they carry out the sting. I want to see Dial being hauled into a police car so badly," Karone said bitterly. "That bastard stole ten months of Isabella's freedom from her."

"I want to see Dial get busted too," Zhane added in determination.

"Don't forget Ashley and me," Andros said, squeezing Ashley's hand.

"We want to see that happen as well," Ashley added eagerly.

"Don't worry," Karone assured gently. "Zhane and I won't forget you."

Andros and Ashley nodded at Karone, who winked at them. Zhane and Karone went over to the cabinet next to the sink. They grabbed mugs and approached the coffeemaker. He got the kettle and proceeded to pour coffee into his mug.

00000

People walked up and down the sidewalks thirteen minutes later. Their lively chatter filled the air. A young man drove his truck down the street. He spotted the Clausen Sports and Fishing Store on his left. He came to a stop after pushing his blinker bar down. The left blinker proceeded to flash. Three cars and two trucks passed before he pulled into the parking lot.

He parked in a space next to the entrance and turned off the engine. He climbed out and let out a light grunt. He blew a bubble in his gum while going inside. He popped it and used his tongue to get it back into his mouth. He stopped in front of the door. He stretched his arms above his head and put them at his sides. Aiden walked up to him with a smile on his face.

"Good morning, sir. May I help you with anything?" Aiden greeted.

"No, thanks. I'm just here to go to the bathroom," the man answered.

"Okay," Aiden said with a nod. He looked toward the door, seeing three young men walk past it. He shifted his attention back to him. "Isn't it a beautiful morning to be out and about?"

"Oh, yes," the man agreed matter-of-factly while peering over his shoulder. He turned back to him. "I wish it could be like that every day, but we know that isn't possible."

"Rainforests get a great deal of rain. That enables them to handle drought much better than other landscapes," Aiden commented.

"No kidding," the man exclaimed. "Their soils can absorb so much water that they hardly ever become saturated."

"The soils in and around Forks act in a similar manner," Aiden added thoughtfully.

"I've been up there several times. It is a beautiful town, but it is too rainy for me to live there," the man said and spoke gibberish.

"I agree," Aiden said as he scratched the back of his neck with both hands. "If my wife and I wanted to move there, we would have to sell our store. That can be a big hassle."

"Selling any type of property can be challenging, but it can pay big time," the man said with much pride.

"Yep," Aiden said, nodding. "Well, you better get to the bathroom before—well, you know."

"I'm getting ready to head there," the man commented and gave him a wink.

"Just watch out for the wall monsters. They may jump out and eat you," Aiden joked and snickered under his breath.

"I will," the man assured. "See you later."

Aiden observed the man heading toward the back. He headed to the register and laid his hand on the counter. Kylie came to his side, laying a hand on his shoulder. He gazed at her.

"If there is one thing that I love about running this store, it's walking up to customers and asking if they need assistance," Aiden said sweetly.

"I am with you on that," Kylie said, chuckling softly. She laid her hand on the counter. She looked ahead along with him. "It is great to be back in this store. I missed it a lot."

"I did too. Jeffrey and Lindsay did a great job running it while we were gone," Aiden commented, smiling widely.

She smirked. "Lindsay played a prank on Jeffrey the day before our return home. She played the sound of pants ripping when he bent over to get a pen off the floor. He stood up immediately. He looked very embarrassed. He really did think he ripped his pants. He laughed when she revealed the tape player."

"Lindsay knows how to make people laugh," Aiden said.

"How about we pie him and Lindsay come into work tomorrow morning?" Kylie suggested.

He raised his eyebrows. "Maybe another day."

Kylie groaned in disappointment. Aiden pinched her cheek and spoke baby talk. She grabbed his wrist and pulled his hand off. She placed it at his side and gave it a gentle pat. Just then, Jesse, Nadine, Nancy, and Elvis came in. They approached the register. Jesse picked up Nancy.

"Hey there, Mom, Dad," Nadine greeted.

"Hey yourself, Nadine," Aiden responded happily. "What brings you and the rest of the family to our store?"

"We are here to get breakfast sandwiches," Jesse answered and patted his daughter's back.

Nancy squealed in delight. "Uncle Randolph said he wanted one as well, so we are getting five!"

"You look so cute when you squeal like that," Kylie said, reaching over and pinching her granddaughter's cheek. "Yes, you do."

"Don't pinch my cheek!" Nancy said, pushing her grandmother's hand away. "That hurts!"

"Then I will just flick your nose," Kylie said and flicked the little girl's nose. "Is that better?"

"Very much so," Nancy said with a fast nod.

Jesse laughed to himself. "Rascals."

"So, are you two glad to be working again?" Elvis wondered with much curiosity.

"Yep," Aiden admitted with much warmth. "We loved sailing, but it's good to be back home."

Kylie giggled. "There is no place like home."

Jesse looked around carefully. He gazed at Aiden and Kylie before waving his hand toward himself. They complied, becoming very curious.

"We want you to know that Randolph got the DNA results regarding Lilli and Isabella from Annette earlier this morning," Jesse whispered.

"That's great," Aiden replied. "What did they say?"

"Their profiles are a perfect match. They are the same orca," Nadine commented and sighed warmly.

"That is great," Kylie said in much relief. She emitted a heavy sigh and shook her head in disbelief. "Unfortunately, it means Dial broke the law again."

"I wanted to call Brenda and tell her right away, but Randolph didn't let me due to the possibility Dial could overhear her talking to me. Moreover, she could be giving Isabella her medical examination right now," Jesse explained.

"Jesse and Uncle Randolph plan to talk to Brenda about their plan to bust Dial in the Kenworth Café parking lot," Nadine added.

"After Dial goes to jail, Isabella is going home," Nancy said happily.

"Yes, she will," Elvis agreed.

"It is good that all of you thought ahead of time ever since this scenario came about. At the same time, Isabella may not want to go back to the wild. If she doesn't, she will have to spend the rest of her life in captivity," Kylie warned.

"We know," Jesse said with a nod. "Randolph and I have already discussed looking for an area where she can be kept in a seapen. Anyway, Elvis and I are going to get the breakfast sandwiches."

Jesse put Nancy down with a light grunt. He and Elvis went over to the cooker. The former got two bacon-egg-and-cheese sandwiches while the latter got three. They returned to the register. They watched Aiden type in the price. Kylie grabbed a sack and put the sandwiches in it.

"That'll be eight dollars and forty cents," Kylie announced.

"Okay," Jesse answered. He grabbed his wallet from his pocket. He opened it and handed a ten-dollar bill to Aiden. He saw him type it in and get the change.

"One dollar and sixty cents is your change," Aiden said while giving him his change. "Thank you. Have a good day."

Jesse grabbed the sack after putting his change in his wallet and closing it to put it in his pocket. Aiden and Kylie observed their family leaving. They proceeded to talk about Isabella's return to the wild.