Wildcat Fall [NEW] Chapter 10

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Dear Readers, Here is a newly rewritten chapter that integrates with the core of the original Wildcat Fall. This is the continuing saga. I would appreciate any feedback. Constructive criticism is important to me as I am rewriting this story. Thanks.
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New Chapter Ten

Tiffany and Gina were hanging out with Teri and Jenn. Gina was looking at her phone online. “Well, everybody on social media seems obsessed with Teri and her mystery surgery. Word is out.”

Jenn looked over, upset. “This is all my fault. I never thought that a simple text to friends would become such a big deal.”

Gina shook her head. “A lot of people online are buzzing. No one knows what kind of surgery it was. All they know is that she’s doing well.”

Jenn blushed. “That’s all I said. I never went into any detail, but Teri wanted everyone to know she was fine.”

Gina patted Jenn. “Well, there are all kinds of speculations. Richard needs to be contacted. Teri’s surgery is being blown out of proportion. Here, look.” She handed her phone to Jenn.

As Jenn flipped through, she realized that all sorts of rumors had started from her simple text. There was a lot of speculation about what kind of surgery she had and more. Someone said she had a baby. People guessed she had a disease, and others thought she underwent reconstructive surgery. One person speculated that she might have lost a leg or an arm. Others wondered if she had been in a car accident after a wild night out fueled by alcohol and drugs that went wrong. Wild stories circulated about dog bites, shark attacks on vacation, and even skydiving accidents where the chute failed to open. There were even rumors claiming she was a drug addict and that the surgery was just a cover-up for detoxing.

After going through all of this, Jenn looked up at Gina with tears in her eyes. “This is terrible. Everything’s all distorted and blown out of proportion. These are all lies! And where did they get all these photos and news articles?”

Gina came over and looked with her. “Everything here is created by sad people who have a talent for using Artificial Intelligence. They like to stir up a lot of dust. These photos aren’t of Teri. It’s all fake and morally wrong.”

Jenn was shaking her head. “It’s just not fair. Her operation was a good thing, a happy thing. And now, strangers are fabricating lies and presenting fake photos to support their claims. What can we do?”

Tiffany wrapped her arms around Jenn. “Yeah, we need to stop all this stuff from getting out of control. Richard definitely needs to be involved. He’ll know what to do and how we need to announce this. We’ve got to get everything straightened out.”

Jenn buried her face in Tiffany’s chest. “I’m so sorry. It’s all my fault.”

Tiffany was rubbing her back. “No, stop that. It’s not your fault. You didn’t do anything wrong or bad. But somebody saw your positive statement about Teri being out of surgery and doing well, and shit happens. Believe me, Richard will know the right thing to do. But let's hold off sharing this with Teri or Amy. I know Conor would go out, find the guilty people, then kill them all.”

Jenn looked horrified. “Really?”

Tiff shook her head. “Uh, well, maybe not. But I know the man, and he’s all about protecting his own. But for now, we’ll call Richard.”

Gina, Tiffany, and Jenn all went outside together to talk to Richard. They made sure that they were out in the open where no one could eavesdrop on their call.

“Richard, we have a problem.”

“Hi, Gina. What’s wrong?”

“Well, I was looking at social media this morning, and people are speculating about Teri’s surgery.”

Richard moaned. “Yeah. I got wind of this earlier, but thought it was going to die out. Is it spinning out of control?”

Tiffany jumped in. “Yeah, it totally sucks. I’m looking at fake headlines and all these bad fake photos of the band, and well, it’s wrong.”

“Uh, hi, Tiff. Yeah, I agree. I saw some of this and was expecting a call. We’ll need to contact Gina’s dad. And we’ll create a news release, too.”

Jenn was furious. “They are talking about Teri having a baby, and saying she has a secret life. And here’s another one where she’s been institutionalized for a lobotomy. This is all crazy!”

Jenn was out of breath. “Yeah, okay. Thanks, Richard. Just out of curiosity. What kind of baby did Teri have?”

Richard laughed. “She had twins, a boy and a girl. You can even find Google pictures of her holding them proudly. Only one problem, Teri has six fingers on both hands.”

“It’s really not funny, is it?” Gina sounded concerned.

“Well, the problem is that it’s all about Yahoo, Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram. They’ll let people post anything, and the company owners won’t take things down unless you get a court order. Since you started your Cats video blog, more have popped up. But we’ve been monitoring all of that.”

Jenn was still upset. “Wow. But we didn’t do anything wrong. It’s not fair!”

“Right. But there is actually a law on the books that says that you can’t sue any social platforms for stuff that people publish on there.”

“Seriously! So they make money and don’t have to be accountable?”

“Yep.”

“Well, what can we do? Should we hold a press conference and clear this all up?”

“No. They’ll use that video to spawn hundreds of press conference copycats. It’s a lot easier to let them spread rumors that can’t be verified. People eventually realize they’re being taken advantage of. As long as it’s not illegal, we don’t act.”

“But how about all the lies they’re spreading?”

Richard sighed. “You’re just going to have to pretend that it doesn’t affect you. Just keep going on as if all this nonsense doesn’t exist or matter. Oh, and one important thing. Never acknowledge them or their actions. If you do, it means that they have reached you, and they will continue to do so. Never get online and try to argue with them. They thrive on that.”

“So, it’s useless. Dang. That’s not fair.” Jenn was embarrassed and angry.

“No, there’s nothing fair about all of this. However, social platforms lack guardrails or controls. That’s terrible.”

“Well, maybe we should stop our postings of our video blog. We could tell YouTube that we are done with them because they don’t have any censors.” Tiffany was boiling over with anger, thinking that their entertainment efforts were being misused for the wrong purpose.

“If you did that, you wouldn’t be proving anything. And you’d be punishing your fans, as they enjoy watching those videos for free. It’s family entertainment. That’s just the reality we live in. Punishing your fans for a few shits is not the way to go.”

When Richard said shit, all three of them looked at each other in surprise.

Tiffany spoke. “Okay. Thanks, Richard.”

As they were walking back in, Gina summed it up. “I have never felt more helpless. It’s like I don’t have control over anything. I don’t like it.”

Tiff hugged them both. “Ditto. We need to fight back, but we have to be smart.”

“So we have to agree to do what Richard said. Okay?”

They all had a group hug to seal the promise.

Edward Williamson Jr. had been texting back and forth about the Wildcats all night. Yesterday, someone exposed a private message from Teri’s girlfriend, Jenn. It was shared with friends, informing a few people that Teri had completed her surgery and was on her way to Recovery.

When they saw it online, the message lit up the chats, sparking a flurry of questions about what was happening. Everyone wondered what kind of surgery Teri had and why it was necessary.

In his mind, Eddie wanted to be a hero. He’d always dreamed of everyone admiring his brilliance. So, he’d been scrolling and searching through the most recent references to the Wildcats, but all he could find were mentions of the band taking time off after the Labor Day fundraiser.

Eddie loved the Wildcats. He had a thing for powerful, sexy women, and all five of the Cats rocked his boat. He even had a file containing photos and videos of the beautiful women in the band on a special hard drive full of other photos and videos of women that he would watch frequently when he was in the mood.

Eddie had it made. His mom always went to bed early. She worked at their local Whole Foods, and Eddie could amuse himself on the internet without being interrupted all night long. He had the perfect life, living in the basement downstairs. He had a fridge, a microwave, and a sink. He and his mom installed a full bathroom just for him.

When he was finishing up high school, his father had walked out on them and was living in a crummy apartment that Eddie only visited once. When he’d come by Dad’s place on his eighteenth birthday, his father was drunk. Edward Williamson Senior had offered him a beer instead of a present.

On the last night of his life, Edward Williamson was walking on the sidewalk on Tenth Avenue when a big Tesla ran him down. After the autopsy, he was cremated, and his ashes were scattered in the Cooper River Park.

His Mom found an injury attorney who took care of everything. Fortunately, during the trial, no one had looked too deeply into Edward Williamson’s social life. The night that he’d been crushed, the off-duty city bus driver was stumbling down Tenth Avenue after spending the evening with a new girlfriend who liked whiskey and cocaine. His alcohol level was twice what it should have been, and the drugs had surely addled his brain. But that became immaterial in court. More importantly, the judge and jury had seen the traffic camera video show the large sedan speed up, jump the curb, and mow him down before it raced through the streets. The automated drive sensors kept accelerating until hitting a hundred-year-old Red Maple, killing the sleeping driver.

The deceased driver’s insurance company and Tesla Automotive were the ones that their lawyer, Ralph Dombrowski, went after in court. After showing the traffic video several times and hearing from engineering experts, Tesla settled. They collected $5 million. The lawyer got half. The rest of the money set them up for life. Insurance paid off the mortgage on their row house, and they’d received a lump sum.

Eddie and his mom agreed that if they spent wisely, the two of them could continue living the way they had before his Pop had gotten squashed. Eddie even found a part-time job in the local McDonald’s.

But now, it was much more exciting to play the central figure in solving a real Wildcat mystery. His screen name was Runner. He’d named himself after the Wildcats' big song, Run, Run, Gone! And the best part was that everyone assumed he was female and in high school. It was cool because all these young girls confided in him, as if they were in school together. Runner had a lot of friends.

It is impossible to meet, which was a good thing. No one would approve of an overweight twenty-six-year-old guy carrying on with teenage girls. When they exchanged photos, Eddie wisely used photos of his niece that his sister-in-law had posted. He’d added a lot of Runner friends' photos to his hard drive. Sometimes, he was shocked by what the girls texted or the photos they shared. Of course, Eddie saved them all.

Eddie lived across the river from Philadelphia, so Runner volunteered to go scout around. He asked if anyone knew Teri’s address. Runner said she’d go after she finished her eleventh-grade classes that day.

They knew that Teri’s girlfriend, Jenn, was going to college and had gotten a place in West Philly. Someone dug deep and tracked down the deed transfer, so Eddie knew the address. He promised to hang around and take some photos with his iPhone.

The next morning, he told his Mom he’d be back for dinner and walked down to the PATCO train station. Eddie rode over the Delaware River into Center City and then over the Schuylkill River into West Philadelphia. He’d written down the address. He found a spot and watched.

He bought a pretzel and kept an eye on the entrance to their building. Eddie was always amazed by the amount of information available on databases that some people could search and find. All the girls in the Wildcats' fan clubs had a ton of information they happily shared. He struck gold and was able to photograph both Teri and her girlfriend walking three blocks to a Thai place for lunch. Teri wore a backpack. Eddie saw Teri reach in and take out an inflatable cushion to sit on as they ate. Eddie was so busy with his iPhone that he didn’t notice Jenn take a shot of him.

He had to buy lunch to keep up his surveillance. The food was good, but a bit too spicy. He documented everything as accurately as possible until lunch upset his stomach, and he had to head home to use the bathroom. Just the idea of using a public toilet gave him a headache.

That night, Runner shared all the photos online. They all wondered why Teri Nelson sat on the inflatable cushion.

After a lot of discussion, one girl said she found the answer. “Google says that those inflatable donuts are for back pain, hemorrhoids, coccyx injury, or people who are bedridden.”

“Nah,” texted another. “She just got out of the hospital after five days. They have to be connected.”

“Well, it says that those cushions relieve pressure on surgical sites.”

Runner was in on the chat. “Surgeries! Maybe she has rectal cancer or stuff like that!”

“Gross!”

Runner kept texting. “But we need to find out more.”

“How?”

Runner asked, “Can we get a copy of her medical records?”

“That is so illegal, and hospital computers are all safeguarded.”

Runner had watched movies about this. “Uh-huh. But doctors’ offices are easier to hack. And they get copies of everything. Let’s find out where her doctor’s office is.”

Three days later, they located Teri’s doctor in Allentown.

Runner was excited. “Do we know any hackers?”

“There’s a lot of gamers in my school. I’ll bet they know somebody.”

“I know a computer nerd who’s kind of a hacker. I’ll bet he could help.”

Runner was curious. “How ya gonna do that?”

“He likes me. I just gotta ask.”

A day later, their chat exploded. “This guy scored, and he’s posted all of Teri’s private medical records online. He says that Teri had a Metoidioplasty surgery.”

Richard called Teri when the Wildcats’ site was blowing up over her medical history being published. “It’s good that you’ve been totally upfront about your intersex diagnosis. Anyone can search and read the newspaper articles and interviews. The only thing that was newly added to your records was your surgery.”

Teri was wiping the tears as she held the phone. “Fuck, Richard. I don’t know whether I should be mad or upset. My whole life’s online, and how do you stop that?”

Richard was angry, too. “I talked to Gina’s dad. He says it’s literally impossible to take down what's been posted. We can initiate legal action and attempt to identify the hacker. That person can be arrested. What do you think?”

Teri was not in a forgiving mood. “I’d arrest whoever did this. It’s illegal and pisses me off, too.”

All the band members were sympathetic and realized their lives were becoming public. They fumed, knowing nothing could be done. Richard posted a news item on their site discussing Teri’s surgery. Rather than lie, everything was mentioned.

Gina’s dad sent letters to all the Cats doctors, urging increased security to be implemented immediately, implying that they’d be held responsible for any future leaks.

After the medical records were published, Eddie was elated. Runner remained a hero, and everyone included her in their chats. Her photos were posted, and she got noticed. Then it was all forgotten when news broke about Justin Bieber becoming a father.

Eddie was still loved playing Runner in their chat room, and while his status had dimmed, he was still part of the in-group. He’d forgotten all of it until the hacker was arrested. As the State Police stated in their news conference, it was an amateur job, leaving numerous digital fingerprints behind. They said he was cooperating fully with the FBI, discussing his accomplices as part of a plea bargain.

Eddie freaked out hearing this news. He was sitting with his mom in front of the TV, eating dinner. It was Taco Tuesday, and he’d been enjoying the Taco Bell steak grilled cheese burrito combo until he heard the news. He excused himself to go downstairs to lose his dinner. As he was flushing repeatedly, he realized that the cops could be knocking on his door tonight. Runner was one of the key figures in this whole scheme, and he knew they’d start tracking him down. Eddie envisioned them coming to the door with search warrants.

With the sounds of his mom still asking if he was okay, he hurried to disconnect his computer and his hard drive. He got out a shopping bag and loaded everything. Telling his mom that he’d be back soon, he walked down to the bus stop.

As he climbed on the city bus, he realized that he’d also kept all the photos of Runner’s friends. He’d taken some glee in looking at these high school girls showing off their new outfits and even some beach bathing suits, too. Now, all his saved stuff had to go. He shook inwardly, thinking about being arrested for porn and photos of underage girls saved on his computer and special drive. He had to get rid of everything. Even if they figured out who Runner was, he needed to get rid of anything that could send him to prison.

After getting off the bus, Eddie walked straight to the Cooper River and made sure no one saw him drop the hardware into the deepest part. He cried all the way home after losing his laptop and hard drive with his collections. He prayed hoping he’d never be caught.

The next day, Eddie used money he’d saved working at Micky D’s to buy a new computer. It wasn’t as nice or as big, but it would have to do. He didn’t bother buying a hard drive, swearing he’d never make the same mistake twice. In his mind, Runner died when the computer did the deep six. The hard drive and the computer were rusting in the river and would never work again.

That afternoon, he called their old lawyer, Ralph Dombrowski, and asked for an appointment. He wanted to establish client-lawyer confidentiality and ask about what he should do. He feared that this nightmare would never end. And it was all Teri Nelson’s fault.



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