Noble Causes

Chapter 3

When the website changed, the differences probably amounted to very little actual work for the people running the site but those differences made it clear to the entire world that none of us had any idea what we were dealing with or what this situation was turning in to.

 I read the contents of the page through tears of the most blinding, impotent rage I'd ever felt. I felt nauseous and my head throbbed. A navigation bar on the side of the page provided alternative viewing options for people having trouble with the feed on the main page. A counter above the video displayed an ever increasing sum of money and the site now included ads. I was incredulous the first time I saw them, the adverts on a website live streaming a kidnapping. The ads were for terrorist groups from Al Qaeda to the PLO, and Shining Path. Mixed in were ads for shady internet and off shore casinos. The worst part of all of it was the survey in the popup window. A message at the top read "On Friday, December 12th at midnight UTC we will remove something. You decide what that will be. (A) Toenails (B) Fingernails (C) Teeth." The second option, the fingernails, was leading by a significant margin the last time I looked at the site. I wanted so badly to be able to look in on Edward but this was too much.

 Although I refused to watch the video feed for a time I registered false names on different social media sites so that I could follow stories and, hopefully, look for good news. The theories that people espoused online ranged from the entirely plausible to the ridiculous. Some discussion threads suggested that authorities the world over were being outwitted by technologically superior adversaries while other threads on the same site might talk about how Edward had orchestrated the entire spectacle himself and that he was working with the CIA or Mossad or The Alien Lizard People. Okay, that last one wasn't real but it wasn't far off in some cases.

 The worst part of all of it was reading the comments from people who talked about Edward like he was a character in a movie. Everyone just seemed oblivious to the fact that he was a real, flesh and blood man with a family and friends and a girlfriend that loved him very much. I started carrying the inuksuk with me everywhere.

 Thursday, December 11th I spent the afternoon sitting in my kitchen with the girls and reminiscing about better times.

 "I met him at the Toronto festival." Avery said vacantly, her eyes not altogether focused on any one thing. "I was working at the Royal York and he was staying there. So many of the people staying there for the festival were so stuck up, not even celebrities, just industry people who couldn't be bothered with little people. Edward wasn't like them." I could hear the affection in her voice as she remembered the little things.

 "He liked you straight away. He told me so." I said through a big smile.

 "I know he did." Avery replied, her slight smile fading.

 "He likes her but he loves you." Kim interjected quickly.

 I turned the little stone statue over and over in my hands.

 "Did he ever tell you guys about the first time I met his family?" I asked them, never taking my eyes off of Edward's token.

 "Not really." Avery answered, distantly.

 "I met him in Montreal. He picked me up himself from the airport. I thought driving in London was scary but Montreal is terrifying." I laughed as I remembered how Edward actually seemed nervous navigating his way out of the city and into Laval where his family lived. He'd never seemed nervous before, even when I thought he should have been.

 "They are so sweet, all of them. His niece and nephew are adorable." I recalled. "It was normal, you know? Like I was any other girl meeting any other guy's family and his friends for the first time. It was really nice."