The Coffee Shop

Chapter 11 - Thursday 6th April, 19:00

"How do you steer this thing?"

It had been almost twenty four hours since James had confronted his kidnapper. After threatening to injure him, the man had weakened. They had come to an agreement.

James could go home, and in the meantime, he would help Edward garner a following online. James was not pleased, to say the least – that's why he had kept the knife at the man's throat until he knew he was safe.

As it happened, Edward had lied. His story didn't convince James the first time, and it didn't convince him the second time around either. James was young, but he wasn't stupid.

However, he wasn't sure where to go from here. He had told Edward to sit in the passenger seat so as to keep him where he could see him, and give him directions, which he barely understood.

"Look, this is useless." Edward protested, cantankerous. "We should dock up somewhere, then I can teach you how to drive the boat, if you absolutely insist."

"No. You'll just use that as an opportunity to stab me again. It isn't happening."

"It's getting dark," The man protested. "We won't be able to see much of anything soon."

"As I recall, it was dark when you kidnapped me. It didn't stop you then. It's not stopping me now. So I'm driving. The boat has lights on the front. We'll be fine."

Edward folded his arms. "I could still hurt you, if you don't hold up your end of the deal. Don't mistake my willingness for weakness."

James scoffed, suppressing a shiver of fear. He knew he had to do what the man told him to; else his life was on the line. So he stopped fighting his consciousness, and decided to act.

"It's not powerful enough," He began, "Your post, I mean. If you really want to get attention, you have to appear normal. Like by taking a selfie, for instance."

It was Edward's turn to scoff. "What's a selfie going to prove, other than me having narcissistic tendencies?"

"It proves you're a person behind the account," James said carefully. "That you're not just some anonymous nobody."

"...People will know who it is." Edward said, thinking it through, and James prayed silently that he would not spot what he was trying to do.

For James was setting a trap. If he could prove that the person behind the camera was just a human being and not an all-powerful deity, or something, then Edward's audience would no longer feel incited.

The added bonus was that posting a photo of his kidnapper would obviously give the police his facial identity, and therefore they'd have a better chance of finding him.

James gripped the wheel, his knuckles turning white.

"Won't that be strange?" Edward asked, suspicious.

James swallowed his fear.

"Not at all. They'll love it; I've grown up with social media, I know these things. Do it." Then, emboldened, he said, "What's the worst that could happen?"

"Hmm." Was all Edward said.

James tried very hard not to scratch his jaw and give away any signs that he wasn't being truthful. He focused on the water lapping at the sides of the boat, letting it compose him, and waited in agony.

"...Alright."

James released his grip.

"But I think you should do it. Take a picture of me at the steering wheel, and then we can figure out the caption."

"Okay."

He passed James his mobile and James opened the camera app. Edward motioned for James to get out of the way, and they swapped places. James felt his hands shake as he held up the phone.

"Look ahead, out onto the water. I'll capture you from the side."

The man did as he instructed, and James took the photo. He handed the phone back, his face impassive.

Edward looked at the photo, then nodded. "Good. I'll post it now."

James exhaled shakily. It worked, he thought to himself. It bloody worked.

"No caption, this time," James told him slyly. "Leave it to them to figure it out."

"You have a lot of good ideas, James Grant." Edward said.

James folded his arms. "Don't be sycophantic. You have to hold up your end of the deal. Show me how to drive this boat, and let me go home to my family. You agreed."

"I suppose that's only fair." Edward muttered. "Just let me post this first..."

So James waited, and watched as the sky above them darkened little by little. Unlike the previous night, the stars weren't visible – there were a lot of dense grey clouds.

Underneath them you could faintly see the blue.

"There, done. Now, what do you want?"

"I want you to show me how to drive this thing, drop me off at the docks, and never speak to me again."

"Are you usually this insolent?" Edward demanded. "What would your parents think?"

"My parents aren't here right now, thanks to you. If you're lucky, I won't tell them what you've done."

James still had his arms crossed, but he was hugging his sides now, hoping what he was saying would not put him in danger. He knew he had to appear stronger than he really was, to survive this situation, and he knew he had to be clever, in order to get out alive.

There was a tense silence while Edward thought this through.

"Fine. I'll sit here and tell you how to drive the boat, then you can drive us back to the docks."

"Good."

He sat down in the passenger's seat, and listened as Edward gave him instructions. Hopefully this would distract the man for a little while, and throw him off his scent.

"...And that's pretty much it. It isn't complicated. I'll turn the boat around for you, though."

James nodded, his hand in his pocket. It was where he kept his knife, as a precaution, just in case the man turned on him.

Edward steered the boat around, and turned on the lights; night was falling.

James could only hope that his plan would work. It was either idiotic, or brilliant.