NEW DEHLI, INDIA
Her phone arrived the next morning, and Rhonda wasted no time in linking the new device to her old account. She spent the rest of the morning with her eyes glued to the tiny screen, buried in research. Her search started with a simple background investigation into the public information of Burns Worldwide. It was best to start small, figure out which loose strings to tug at. If she was lucky, she'd hit upon the right one, and this entire ball of twine would start to unravel.
But she had to be careful as well. Pull the wrong end, or tug too soon, and all she'd do was tighten the knot.
She ran a basic search for "Montgomery Burns illegal" which lead her through several related links and onto a forum with a chat box idle in the sidelines. She scrolled through a few posts, and was about to log off when a text appeared in the chat box.
"You're looking for illegal activity from BWC?"
A small strong of dots indicated a second message was being typed. "You won't find much here."
Rhonda's spine tensed in apprehension. "How would you know."
The reply was almost instantaneous. "I've already looked. That old buzzard has gotten away with too much, abused people for too long. Wouldn't you agree?"
Rhonda paused. What if this was all some sting by Burns or his company? It was a risk she wasn't willing to take yet. "That's not for me to say," she finally replied. She ignored the chat box and resumed scrolling through posts, the chat box hovering to the side.
"You keep scrolling. You're looking for very specific things. I could help."
"Why should I trust you?"
"Why should you trust anyone? I suppose you probably shouldn't, but believe me when I say I'd give my life to this cause."
"May I ask who you are?"
"Adam Belfry. 'Adam:' for I am the first. 'Belfry' because: a belfry morning monk turns."
Rhonda huffed with annoyance. It sounded like a riddle, something she'd never been a fan of. She opened a second tab. A quick search of the name revealed nothing aside from a handful of bland social media profiles. Everyone wanted to be clever on the internet these days, with fancy names and made up titles. Rhonda felt her hackles rise.
"Alright then, Adam. Why do you want to help? What's in it for you? Why not just take care of everything yourself?"
"I'll be frank with you: I hate the man. I hate what he does and what he represents, the way he uses people them throws them away, ignores the very basics of human rights and decency. Why not do it alone? Do you know how easily he could silence a single individual? There's strength in numbers. The more of us working together, a multi-pronged attack, the easier we expose him for what he is. Even old man Burns can't watch all sides at once."
Rhonda drummed her fingers on the side of her phone before replying. "So you're part of a resistance movement."
"Let's just say I want to see Burns get what he deserves. You sound busy. I'll leave you alone now."
Despite the unchanging number of users, only her, Rhonda had the very real sensation of someone leaving the boards. Once again, she was alone. How had Adam done that, she wondered: kept himself hidden from the chat. She shook her head and resumed reading.
By the end of the day Rhonda was no closer to finding any concrete evidence of wrongdoing by Burns Worldwide, or even of C. Montgomery Burns himself. She was about to turn her phone off and go to bed when an alert chimed.
Curious, she picked up the phone and unlocked it. A single text message blinked, begging her attention.
"You didn't find anything, did you." It was signed "Adam."
Rhonda let out an audible gasp and clutched her hand over her mouth.
She resisted the urge to hurl the phone across the room.
"How did you get this number?" she typed.
The reply came back almost immediately. "You were using the mobile view of websites. It wasn't hard. I apologize for the intrusion, but you should be careful. Those phrases you were looking up today: very pointed. Very specific."
Rhonda squeezed the phone and looked around, suddenly nervous.
"How do you know this?"
"I keep a dossier on Burns and his schemes. I've been compiling it for years. Trying to build enough evidence against him, get enough people onboard. You won't find what you need on the web. You need inside information for that."
Rhonda's delicate fingers flew over the onscreen keypad.
"I don't need help."
"Yes you do, or you wouldn't be combing the internet where everybody and their cousin can track you."
"How do you know I was looking?"
The reply came quickly. "Web crawlers. I'm always trying to find people who share my goals. I send them out, hoping to connect with other people out there."
"So you're a hacker."
The reply seemed almost annoyed. "I'm a dabbler. Mostly a whistle-blower. Social justice, that sort of stuff." A few minutes ticked by. "You're in India?"
"How did you know that?"
"It shows from your IP address. Are you okay? Do you need help?"
Rhonda didn't give her reply a second thought. "No. I'll be returning to the United States shortly."
"I see."
Rhonda hesitated.
Adam's response came before she could say anything further.
"Here's my email. You can contact me through it. If you're worried about privacy, create a burner account online. I don't want or need your personal account. If you change your mind and want to find what you're looking for, reach out to me there. In the meantime, enjoy your travels. Be safe. I have to go."
With that, the conversation ended. There was no number tied to the text messages. It merely said "unknown." Feeling uncomfortably exposed, Rhonda turned her phone off, put it in the closet out of sight, and finished getting ready for bed.
