Free Anarchy in New Enlgand by Joe Jarvis Page B

take notes without having to physically type anything. She could control virtually anything on her tablet by just thinking if she wanted to, but touch could also be used.
    Molly could not believe how much was redacted from Barry’s personal report. It was not quite enough to make a big deal out of the redactions alone, but enough to arouse suspicion – or more suspicion in this case. She wanted to bring Barry Arbitration’s rating down, because she felt that the company deserved it; but she needed to build her case on solid evidence that readers could understand. As a reporter for Business Ethics Review, Molly’s job was to build a case against each company she rated, and present that case to readers. Some businesses were squeaky clean, others had their fair share of baggage. But rarely would a company be found to be so corrupt or unethical as to ruin its business; these revelations became less and less frequent as the years went on, and businesses learned that it was more profitable to remain legitimate.
    Luckily, the juiciest news these days was considered corruption in business. This kept companies honest, because so many professional journalists, as well as amateurs, were watching. Since everyday people had pocket sized portables or mini-tabs connected via Internet for video calling, messaging on the go, taking pictures, recording video, and browsing, the news was everywhere.
    "Hey Molly, check this out," Molly’s boss, Otto, said as he approached with his mini-tab in his outstretched hand. He spoke with a Northern European accent, which sounded like a mix of various pre-collapse accents, notably British and Scandinavian.
    Molly took her earbuds out, and looked at the screen. She was used to her bubbly boss interrupting to show her a video or to talk. She didn’t mind the break.
    "Remember this clip?" Otto asked, eyebrows raised.
    It was a shaky video of two men sitting at a table in a fast food joint, taken from the next booth over. They were speaking in hushed whispers conspicuously.
    "Yeah," Molly replied thinking back, "This was the owner of the packaging facility bribing the reporter to keep quiet, right?"
    "Yes and with facial recognition they were both identified and everyone learned of the heaps of rat shit in one of the facilities that the reporter had uncovered on a surprise visit." Otto spoke quickly with much expression. He drew in a large breath and continued, "Well it was 6 days ago that the kid who shot the clip sold it to us, and today the entire packing company has closed, for good. Done! I think that’s a new record for BER!" Otto excitedly finished with a geeky smile and two thumbs up.
    "Wow!" Molly was impressed, "Were all the factories just as bad?"
    Otto launched into a new round of eager explanation, "No! It was just the one that had anything wrong with it, but once we broke the story we got millions of hits in the first several hours. It went viral. And when the same facility was checked again the situation had already been righted, but by that point the reporter had already sold us the original footage to try to save face."
    "And no one even got sick? If the owner had just come clean and apologized he probably could have saved his business," Molly exclaimed with a dry laugh, shaking her head in disapproval.
    Otto nodded with an almost sympathetic closed mouth smile, and then he was onto the next subject. "So how’s the Barry Arbitration rating going?"
    "Eh, its fine," Molly sat back and gave a light sigh.
    "Ah, well I think this is going to shape up to be another one of the classic Molly Metis-" Otto made a smashing motion and sound effects, "-destroyers!"
    "Oh please," Molly laughed, "I haven’t ruined that many businesses. And they were all bad!"
    "Still, my favorite was when you audited and brought down the bankers skimming their currency," Otto acted like he had just tasted something exquisite, touching his fingers to his lips with a kissing sound. "Perfect! When I saw the bank close