The Charity Chip (36 page)

“Your time is almost up, Julio,” said Isak.

Julio knelt down and checked that the other bottle of diesel fuel shoved into the fabric still had the lid on. He used the third bottle and splashed the makeshift barrier of fabric and old sewing tables with fuel. He prayed that his timing would work.

“What are you doing?” asked Raúl. “Let’s go!”

Julio looked up at Raúl. “I promised Mamá that I would take care of you. I’ve kept my promise. You can jump into the elevator shaft and escape. Now go!” Julio struck a flame with his lighter and prepared to light the fuel-soaked fabric scraps. “I will stop Isak.” Raúl stood there, staring at the flame with his mouth open.

Julio extinguished the flame and grabbed him by the shoulders. “Remember what Mamá used to say? You have the power to make a difference in the world. Don’t waste that power.”

Raúl started to protest, but before he could utter another word, Julio turned him around and shoved him over the edge into the empty elevator shaft. Without checking on Raúl, Julio grabbed his lighter and lit the barrier of old tables and fabric and watched the makeshift barrier burst into flames. He hoped the bottle of fuel wouldn’t explode too early.

He squared his shoulders and stepped from behind the burning barrier. Through the building smoke, he saw Isak stalking forward with the black weapon at the ready. When Isak saw Julio emerge, he stopped and lowered the gun.

The smoke burned at Julio’s eyes, and he began to cry. The growing heat from the fire practically singed the hairs on his arms, but he didn’t move and waited for the buried bottle to explode. He was a dead man either way. He closed his eyes and waited for Isak, or the fire, to take him.
I kept my promise, Mamá. I’m coming soon.

He felt a tug at his collar and opened his eyes expecting to see Isak but found himself looking into the eyes of Raúl. Over the sound of the fire, he heard something whizz by and strike the wall. Before he could react, Raúl shoved him over the edge into the elevator shaft. His stomach surged into his throat as he fell, and he reached out in vain to Raúl, who was still standing in the open doorway as Julio descended. He landed with a thud on the pile of rotting fabric and struggled to his feet. The smell of urine and smoke burned at his nose and his eyes were still watering when he looked up at Raúl.

“Mamá believed in you, not me!” shouted Raúl. He tossed the Saint Michael’s pendant and cell phone into the shaft. “I’ll tell her you kept your promise. Now
you
go change the world.”

“No!” screamed Julio. He grabbed the pendant and cell phone and shoved them into his pants pocket before struggling through the tangled fabric scraps, trying to get to the ladder. Over the roar of the fire he heard a thump and looked up to see Raúl writhing in pain in the doorway. He could see his brother’s face twisted in agony and his eyes bulging out as the electricity surged through his body.

Still thinking that he could somehow save his brother, Julio made it to the ladder and grabbed the bottom rung. Before he could start climbing, something whizzed past his head and exploded against the concrete wall of the elevator shaft.

“You should have taken my offer to get rechipped,” yelled Isak from the open doorway as he sighted for another shot.

Julio jumped from the ladder as the second shot slammed into the wall where he had been. He sank up to his knees in the rotting scraps and felt like he was wading through mud. He crawled through the quagmire on his hands and knees scrambling to make it to the pipe opening before Isak could get off another shot.

At last, the buried bottle of diesel fuel exploded. Julio looked up and saw Isak Blixt smacking at flames on his jacket. Taking advantage of the distraction, Julio scrambled for the pipe opening. As he wiggled into the familiar pipe feet-first, he looked back at the open doorway. Isak had removed his black coat and was beating it against the floor to put out the flames. The black rifle lay on the floor. Raúl was lying on his side with his face toward Julio, still reacting to the effects of the electric shock. Julio thought he saw a smile on Raúl’s face. He knew he wouldn’t get another chance to escape.

For the second time in a week, Julio slipped into the dark sewage pipe to escape from
El Infierno
. He pushed himself along with his arms and pulled with his feet, ignoring the smell that burned at his nose. He began to cry, softly at first, but by the time he slid out of the pipe and into the cool night air, he was sobbing.

Fire erupted from the abandoned warehouse, and he watched it for a moment. The guilt for not keeping his promise and the grief at losing his twin felt like a fire raging through his soul. He had failed. He was alone. The emptiness threatened to consume him.

“Life isn’t fair, but God is merciful,” he mumbled to himself. He slipped the pendant of Saint Michael out of his pocket and kissed it before he hurried down the drainage canal still shivering from the cold, and from grief, hoping that somehow God’s mercy might find him.

When he got far enough from the burning warehouse to feel safe from Isak, he stopped and pulled out the cell phone. He shivered and tried to ignore the stench that reeked from his clothes and body as he played the video of the encounter. The picture was shaky and out of focus, but the audio of Isak’s voice was clear. “
Nobody has to die today. We can rechip you and your brother. You can both stay in the program, as long as you agree to the risks. I can even get you more money. . . . Everyone sells out sooner or later.
”

Everyone sells out sooner or later.
Julio thought about selling out. He could go back to Isak and make a deal to save his brother. The video on the phone could be his safeguard, his leverage. He could still save Raúl. He tried to convince himself that it would work, but he knew it would only delay the inevitable. Sooner of later, Isak would collect on the promise. Julio and Raúl knew too much, and that knowledge made them a danger to the program. Isak might smile and make promises today, but he would wait patiently for the opportunity to eliminate the danger and secure his position. If Julio went back to Caritas, he and Raúl would be harvested sooner or later, with or without the video.

He thought about Sofía Encuentro. He hoped evidence would make her sit up and notice. She could expose the entire operation, but it would take several days, or perhaps weeks, for anyone to act on that information. He didn’t have days or weeks. He had hours, or maybe just minutes. He needed someone that could get him to the Caritas facility now and help him save Raúl, someone sympathetic to his plight.
Carmen
.

Without his skateboard and with his clothing still wet with raw sewage and drainage water, it took him almost an hour to walk to Carmen’s house. The darkness hid his appearance, not that anyone really would have noticed. The entire neighborhood was still celebrating Alianza’s victory. He felt odd as he passed groups of Alianza fans drinking, singing, and setting off fireworks while he had so little to celebrate. The fireworks only served to remind him of his failure at
El Infierno
.

He knew he needed to hurry, but with each step he felt more sluggish and burdened with his failure. By the time he knocked on Carmen’s door, he felt like he had been walking for days. His legs felt like they were made of concrete. His shoulders felt like they were carrying an enormous invisible boulder. He could barely hold his head up.

Fortunately, Carmen answered the door instead of her husband. “Julio! What happened to you?”

“Isak took Raúl,” answered Julio, too numb for emotion.

“
Ah, pobrecito
, let’s get you cleaned up.” She pulled open the front door and ushered Julio inside. “
Qué olor!
The first thing we need to do is get you a shower and clean clothes.” She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him down the hallway to the bathroom. “You get into the shower. Just leave those clothes on the floor. I’ll see if I can find something for you to wear.”

Julio wanted to tell her everything and rush to Caritas, but he found that all of his willpower was gone. He slipped off the Saint Michael’s pendant and placed it and the cell phone on the sink. He peeled off his filthy clothes and let them drop onto the floor. He stepped into the warm shower.
I have to hurry. I have to get to Caritas. I have to save Raúl
. But instead he stood there under the steady stream of warm water, paralyzed by defeat.

When he finally stepped out of the shower, he found a clean pair of pants and a T-shirt on the toilet. All of his dirty clothes were gone. He dried off and slipped on the clean clothing. The pants were too large, but he was used to wearing clothing that didn’t quite fit. He took a moment to cue up the video on the phone and make sure it still worked. He kissed the Saint Michael’s pendant before slipping it over his neck and felt some of his energy return. He left the bathroom and found Carmen in the small kitchen at the front room of the house.

“Take a seat,” said Carmen as she busied herself in the kitchen. “I’m still waiting for my husband to come home. He is out celebrating Alianza’s victory.” She rolled her eyes and said, “
El fútbol.
” She set two teacups on the table next to a plate of bread and cheese. “Some tea should warm you up.”

“I need you to get me into Caritas,” said Julio without sitting down. “Caritas is not what it seems.”

Carmen frowned. “Get you in? What happened to your chip?”

Julio held up his hand and showed her the stitches. “I took it out. Isak and Doctor Kozyar have been harvesting us for organs.”

“What do you mean they are harvesting you for organs?”

“They use the chip to track us and control us and then when some rich family in Europe needs an organ, they kill us and take our organs.” He held up his phone. “I have proof.”

Carmen poured herself a cup of tea and sat down at the table. She cradled the cup and shook her head. “I don’t understand. I have been feeding the children at Caritas since it opened. It’s not possible.”

Julio sat down at the table, started the video, and slid his phone across the table for Carmen to see. Carmen turned pale as she sipped her tea and watched the exchange between Isak and Julio. When it was over she stared at her empty cup. “When my own children grew up and moved out, I wanted a job working with children, but I didn’t have any education. I was so excited when Isak offered me a job cooking for Caritas.” She looked up at Julio. “Several times I saw things that made me wonder, but Isak was good to me and we were helping children. I just figured I felt that way because Isak and Doctor Kozyar are foreigners.”

“Don’t blame yourself. They fooled everyone, including me.”

“Then how did you figure it out?”

“Angelica convinced me to help her investigate. She ended up in jail, and I ended up losing a brother.” Julio grabbed his phone. “That’s why I need you to help me get into Caritas. They took Raúl, and if we hurry we might still be able to save him.”

“But how did you get away instead of Raúl?”

Julio stood up. “Raúl sacrificed himself to save me, and Isak took him. My guess is that they are at Caritas right now about to take his organs. We need to hurry.”

Carmen stood and put her cup in the sink. “And what do we do once we get to Caritas?” She held up her left hand. “They put a chip in my hand as well. All Isak has to do is put me to sleep, and he can harvest you along with your brother. Even though I never expected anything like this, I knew the day he hired me that he wasn’t a man to be trifled with.” She shook her head. “I’m not taking you to Caritas. You sleep here tonight and we will go tomorrow with some help.”

“But by then Raúl will be dead! If you won’t go with me, I will go by myself.”

Carmen raised her hands. “
Bueno
, if you insist on going by yourself, at least drink something to warm you up before you go.” She stood and took the empty teacup to the stove. “How do you plan on getting in?”

Julio sat down and shook his head. “I don’t know.”

Carmen stirred the cup of tea and sat it in front of Julio. “Drink this. It will help you clear your head.” Carmen sat down at the table. “Once you get in, how will you stop Isak?”

Julio shrugged and sipped at the tea. She was right. He had no hope of success.

“Tell me. How did your twin brother end up with your chip in his hand?”

Julio looked at the floor. “When I took the chip out of my own hand, he stole it and put into his hand. He said the DNA sensors can’t tell the difference between identical twins.”

“Ah, and when you tried to warn him, he ignored you. Yes?”

Julio nodded and finished off the tea.

“And now you feel responsible for him and want to save him. You want to keep the promise you made to your mamá.”

“I did promise.”

“You promised to take care of him, not live his life for him. He was captured because he didn’t listen to you.”

“He was captured because I joined Caritas.”

“Why did you join Caritas?”

“I thought it was the only way I could take care of both of us.”

“And were you able to take care of the both of you?”

“Well, yes, until I figured out what Caritas was all about.”

“And when you figured out what Caritas was all about, what did you do?”

“I tried to save him, like I am trying to save him now.”

“You have seen Isak in action. Is your brother’s life more valuable than yours, or mine?” Carmen shook her head. “Is your brother’s life more valuable than Angelica’s? Or what about all the other children at Caritas? Like Carlos, Edgardo, Susana? Do I need to name them all?” Carmen put a hand on Julio’s shoulder and looked him in the eye. “You have already offered your life for his once tonight, and he rejected it. I won’t take you to Caritas tonight. It’s too dangerous. I will go with you tomorrow, but only after we talk to someone that can help us.”

Julio pounded the table. “I have to try! I made a promise.” He began pacing back and forth in the small kitchen.

“A promise that you have kept,” replied Carmen. “You promised to take care of your brother, not die for him. Tell me. What good will your death bring? Will it save your brother? Can you take care of him if you are dead? Have you not heard the expression—live to fight another day?”