Author's Notes: Hi, readers. Here is chapter thirty-five of "Ride the Wind II: Justice Unbound." I am glad it took just six days to get out. I plan to have J-Pod make another appearance very soon. It has been a while since Willy and his family appeared. They are still important to this crossover, even if they haven't appeared anywhere near as much as they did in the prequel. Stay tuned for chapter thirty-six.

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Chapter 35: Ready for Examination/Tense Talking

Lilli, Jane, and Izzy did bows at the back of the tank. They returned to the surface very quickly. They spouted air from their blowholes before letting out soft squeaks. Brenda, forty-two-year-old Isis Ju, and forty-five-year-old Rudy Jefferson made their way toward the water. Brenda held a box filled with medical supplies.

Isis blew in a soft manner. She was Asian and happened to very tall for a woman. Her skin was rather pale. Her long black hair was up in a bun with a few strands sticking out. Bags could be seen under her brown eyes. Her face had other wrinkles here and there. Her cheeks were decorated with freckles. Scars went across the backs of both hands. The upper part of her right leg had a birth mark in the shape of a line going across the front.

Rudy spoke gibberish before making a funny noise. He was Caucasian and happened to be the same height as Isis was. His skin was rather tanned. He possessed a muscular frame. His brown hair was in the style of a buzz cut. His face contained some wrinkles, including laugh lines. His eyes were light blue and had scars underneath them. The backs of his hands had freckles in the middle of them.

The trainer and veterinarians reached the edge of the tank. She set the box down while taking a deep breath. The orca and dolphins swam toward them as they knelt down. Lilli approached Brenda, as did Jane and Izzy with Isis and Rudy. Brenda petted Lilli on her melon. Isis and Rudy did the same with Jane and Izzy on theirs.

"Hello, ladies," Brenda greeted very warmly.

"Are you ready for your medical examination?" Isis wondered very curiously. She laughed as Lilli, Jane, and Izzy nodded rapidly. "I thought so."

"I wish Dial and Harry wouldn't observe us giving the girls their medical examination. I find it a little distracting," Rudy complained bitterly and gritted her teeth.

"I do too," Isis agreed. "I have no doubt that Lilli, Jane, and Izzy have wanted to splash those businessmen at one time or another," Brenda commented honestly.

"But they never have," Rudy responded. "I guess they don't think it is worth it."

"Besides, those suits aren't easy to keep clean and dry," Isis added and blew a raspberry. "If mustard got on them, Dial and Harry would have a difficult time getting it out."

"They sure would," Brenda agreed.

"Then let's make sure we don't get mustard on our suits," a male voice said snobbishly.

"Yeah," a second male voice added.

Brenda, Isis, and Rudy winced painfully and looked up to see Dial and Harry coming down the stands. The duo reached the bottom and headed toward them. They stopped next to Brenda, who emitted a soft snort.

"Hello, Dial, Harry. It is good to see you two," Brenda said, giving her bosses a nod.

"It's good to see you, Isis, and Rudy too, Brenda," Dial answered, putting his hands behind his back. He noticed the box. "I see you are getting ready to give the ladies their medical examination."

Brenda cleared her throat. "Yes, we are. As always, we will start with Lilli."

"Great," Harry said and clapped three times. "Being our biggest moneymaker makes all the more important for her to be healthy."

"Don't forget Jane and Izzy. They've made you two tons of money as well," Isis pointed out truthfully.

"Of course not," Dial snapped in irritation. "They, Odin, and Hopper were our biggest moneymakers years ago. Now, that honor has gone to Lilli."

Harry smirked. "More money will be rolling in once her new orca companion arrives."

"That will be nice," Rudy whispered sarcastically. "If only that money could be used to expand the tank instead of adding on rides."

"Space is very important to cetaceans, especially orcas," Brenda added.

Dial scoffed. "Whatever. Now, get going on the medical examination. We will watch you three from the stands."

Brenda, Isis, and Rudy stared after their bosses as they went to the second section of the stands. Dial and Harry went up to the fifth row, sitting down with loud grunts. The trainers and veterinarians looked down at Lilli, Jane, and Izzy, whom all squeaked with curiosity.

"If only you three would do an alien and spit water on those guys," Brenda whispered and kissed Lilli on her nose.

"Yeah," Rudy agreed with a sharp nod. "They deserve it."

Isis waved her hands in the air. "That's enough. We better examine Lilli before Dial and Harry get on our asses for delaying."

Isis and Rudy rose to their full heights and went over to Brenda, who moved to her knees. They got on their knees as she opened the box. She proceeded to get the measuring tape out. Isis patted the water three times. Lilli swam over to her, a small squeak leaving her blowhole. Dial and Harry clicked their tongues three times.

"It is really interesting to watch trainers and veterinarians give whales and dolphins full checkups," Dial said, gesturing toward the humans and cetaceans.

"It sure is," Harry agreed. "Blood tests are the most important part. They can show how healthy a creature is."

"They can also determine which male fathered a calf if an oceanarium's population has two or more of them," Harry added.

"We won't have to worry about determining who the father of Lilli's calf is," Dial said, a big smirk crossing his lips.

"That's right," Harry said cheerfully while rubbing his hands together. "I read Hugo and Lolita mated many times and conceived several calves at the Miami Seaquarium. However, she never delivered a live offspring."

"I am not sure if that is even true. It is from a newspaper article dating back to 1981," Dial pointed out matter-of-factly. "There is no information on the calves being stillborn, miscarried, or born alive and died soon after birth."

"Nor is there any information on the gestation ages of the calves if they were stillborn or miscarried," Harry added.

"That is why we should always take anything with a grain of salt," Dial said, seriousness lining his voice.

"For large animals, it would be a huge grain of salt," Harry joked and snickered under his breath.

"Good one, Harry," Dial said while patting his partner's shoulder. "You are the best joker in this whole park."

"Isn't that the truth?" Harry said, sitting up tall and proud.

The businessmen observed Isis getting into the water and being handed the tape by Brenda. Isis opened her hand. Lilli nodded at her and opened her mouth. Isis put the end of the tape in the orca's mouth. Brenda pulled it back to her tail. She mumbled inaudible words.

"Lilli likes getting in on the action by holding the tape measure in her mouth," Harry said in much awe.

"Yes, she does," Dial agreed. "In fact, many orcas like holding the tape measure in their mouths as they are being measured."

"They just don't want to be left out," Harry commented with much pride. He ran his fingers through his hair. "No siree."

Dial snorted. "We should tell them about Ian the orca after they finish the examination."

"Though they will be happy to hear Lilli will have a new companion soon, they may protest Jane and Izzy's leaving again," Harry said honestly.

"Let them protest all they want. Jane and Izzy are leaving. That is final," Dial said bluntly.

Harry nodded sharply. "Right."

Dial put his hands behind his head as Brenda took the tape out of Lilli's mouth. Isis swam over to the middle of the orca. Brenda gave her the end of it. Isis proceeded to put it around Lilli.

00000

Dial and Harry observed Isis getting part of the tape around the middle of Izzy, who was on her back. They saw her hand it to Brenda. The veterinarian was in the water with the dolphin while the trainer held the end of it while leaned over. Rudy, Lilli, and Jane watched them nearby. Though it had been only an hour since the examination started, it felt like it had gone on for hours to the businessmen. They hoped it wouldn't be too much longer. They wanted to tell them the news about Ian.

Dial cupped his chin in his hand. He was glad Lilli was comfortable with people examining her. He remembered how uncooperative Willy was with medical examinations due to never having been trained for them. He thought Rae would've had him performing basic husbandry behaviors by the time Jesse came along. He knew those were necessary for successful checkups. At least he could take comfort in the fact that Lilli was cooperative with husbandry training from the start.

Brenda brought the tape together with its end. She mumbled inaudible words as she looked at it. She let go of it and leaned back. She jotted down the result on the clipboard. Isis gathered the tape and headed over to her. She handed her to the tape. Izzy rolled right side up, causing her to move back. Isis approached her to scratch her nose.

"Good girl, Izzy," Isis said in much proudness. "You stayed still the entire time just like when we measured the length of your body."

"Isis, could you get Izzy to give me a breath sample?" Brenda asked while holding up a petri dish.

"Are you ready for that, Izzy?" Isis asked. Izzy nodded in which it caused her to smile widely. "Great."

"All right," Brenda said and leaned over the blowhole with the dish. "I'm ready for her."

"All right. One, two, three," Isis answered while tapping her hand against the orca's nose with each count. "Go!"

Izzy spouted much air from her blowhole. Brenda caught some of the mist in the dish, her ponytail flying upward. This made Isis laugh very loud.

"It seems she wanted to make your hair fly away," Isis teased.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha. That was so funny that I died laughing," Brenda grumbled in sarcasm. She leaned back and put a top on the dish. She placed it in the box. She grabbed a syringe, a test tube, and a cap. She approached Izzy's tail. "Now, it is time for a blood sample from her."

Isis put her hand up. Izzy chattered obediently and spouted some air from her blowhole. She moved her head downward, lifting her tail high enough for Brenda to touch it. She waited patiently as her trainer rubbed the right fluke until he was able to feel a vein. Brenda stuck the syringe in and pulled the pump back until it was full of blood. She took it out and injected the blood into the tube. She capped the tube. Izzy lowered her tail and lifted her head. She opened her mouth. This allowed Isis to give her a tongue rub.

"You did so well with the blood test, Izzy. I wish I had a fish to give you as a reward," Isis said in regret.

"You should give her a knuckle sandwich as a reward," Brenda quipped while putting the tube inside the box. She proceeded to pack up the rest of the supplies.

"I'll leave that up to you, Brenda," Isis said as she swam over to the stage. She climbed out of the water.

Brenda looked up and shook her head. "I don't think so."

Isis nodded fast. "I do think so."

Brenda finished packing the supplies and closed the box. Dial and Harry rose to their feet and came down the stands. They headed toward the trainer and veterinarians. Brenda grabbed the box. She, Isis, and Rudy stood up. Their bosses stopped before them as Lilli, Jane, and Izzy swam away.

"Good job at giving the ladies their medical checkups," Dial complimented.

"Thank you, sir. We should get the results of the blood tests in the next day or so," Brenda said, grabbing the box.

"All three of us hope they are in perfect health like last time," Isis commented and cleared her throat.

"Yep," Rudy agreed.

"We do too," Dial responded and smacked his lips. "We don't want sick animals performing."

Harry elbowed Dial in the shoulder. Dial gazed at him in a bit of annoyance. He saw him mouth 'Tell them the news.' He nodded at him and turned back to his employees.

"I called some aquariums last night and left messages about possible purchases of their orcas," Dial said.

"Already?" Brenda asked in surprise.

Harry chuckled. "Yep."

"I got a call from the Rockford Aquarium in Rockford, New Jersey. They have a lone male orca named Ian. The owner said he was willing to sell him to me for a hefty price," Dial explained.

"How much?" Isis wondered.

Dial smirked. "That's for me to know and you to find out."

"What of Jane and Izzy?" Rudy whispered in uncertainty. "I hope you've changed your mind about selling them."

"I have not," Dial said very sternly. "I did tell the aquarium owner I would have to find a new home for the dolphins before I could get Ian. He said he was fine with that."

"I still think you should reconsider sending Jane and Izzy away. Lilli is very close to them. Their absence could make her depressed and even aggressive. She may attack Ian out of frustration," Brenda pleaded, sniffling.

"You need to get over yourselves. Lilli needs a companion of her species. Ian will be a great companion for her," Harry insisted through clenched teeth.

Rudy sighed heavily. "Hugo and Lolita lived together with Pacific white-sided dolphins at the Miami Seaquarium for years before the former died in 1980. We don't see why Ian, Lilli, Jane, and Izzy can't live together."

Isis cleared her throat. "All four of them could think of games they can play. They could even teach other their sounds."

"That's enough," Dial yelled sharply. "Jane and Izzy are leaving. That is final."

"If you don't like it, then you can look for another job," Harry added. "Rudy, you should take the blood and petri dish samples to the National Marine Mammal Laboratory. We need the results back as soon as possible."

The trio stared after the bosses as they headed for the stands and up them. Their eyes followed them until they were gone. They looked at each other.

"Those two are so obsessed with money that it makes my blood boil," Rudy hissed in anger.

"It makes our blood boil too," Brenda said, going over to him and giving him the box. "You should get this stuff to the laboratory. Dial and Harry will be pissed if the samples are still here."

Rudy nodded at her. "Sure. I will be back in a little while."

Rudy headed down the corridor while singing nonsense. Brenda and Isis listened to him until it faded into nothing. They looked at each other as Lilli came up to the stage.

"Are you going to get the girls ready for the show?" Isis wondered.

"Yeah," Brenda admitted. "That will take my mind off our bosses for a while."

"All right," Isis said, giving her a nod. "I will see you later."

Brenda watched Isis go down the corridor. She looked toward Lilli, letting out a soft sigh. She hoped Randolph got the DNA results. She was anxious to know whether or not the orca was Isabella. She prayed with all her heart it wasn't true. She approached her and got on her knees. She proceeded to pet her nose. Lilli emitted a pleasurable squeak. Jane and Izzy swam around the tank.