Chapter 4

Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Julius and his sister spent most of the night talking and reminiscing about some of their childhood memories. David and Karen joined them once the children had fallen asleep, and shared with them part of their lived experiences throughout the years. Julianne was surprised by the number of families David had gone through when he was orphaned, but he assured her despite everything he had learned many things from each one. When he was a teenager, he did not give them the importance they deserve or appreciate the sacrifice they made to have him, which is why he ended up doing military service when he could. Now that he could think about everything with the necessary maturity, he was willing to go back to each and every one of them to thank them for their efforts and willingness they dedicated to him over the years.

"It’s a debt I owe them," he said melancholy. “And someday I will. Also, they should know that I’m fine. I owe them even that, to know they didn’t waste their time in spite of everything.”

They continued chatting and sharing anecdotes past midnight, when sleep forced them to go to bed.

The next day Joseph’s friends went to his house to meet his cousin who had come from the United States to visit him. It was the weekend, and although it was their custom to meet on Sundays to share games together, they made an exception that Saturday to meet Marianne. There were four of them: Aldo Peretti, as intelligent as he was badly faced, obsessive with the way of speaking and expressing himself, correcting his friends for practically everything: from a misspelled word to a badly spoken one, especially when it came to rudeness. Despite his character, he was accepted into the group due to Joseph’s need to learn Spanish well, but what neither he nor the rest of the group knew was that Aldo enjoyed having them as friends, although he did not always manifest it, since because of his nature, he didn’t have as many as he wanted. Another member of the group is, in spite of Aldo, the witty and funny Alberto Morales, who enjoyed seeing his almost always cranky friend rant against him when he brought up an idea that involved the odd rudeness. Alberto was a Venezuelan immigrant who arrived with his family in the country as a result of the crisis in his native land, and he represented the mischief and Caribbean joy of the Latino.

The third member of the group is Leandro Manzi, who can be said to be, along with Joseph, the one who brought balance to the group, especially when Aldo decided to fight Alberto; he is the mediator and peacemaker, despite having a shy and calm temperament. He was secretly in love with Valentina Ferrara, the last member of the group, a bright, intelligent and beautiful girl, who in turn was secretly in love with Joseph, who in the end is the undisputed leader of the group. Valentina kept deep within herself a dark and terrible secret, of which Joseph already knew without her having revealed it to him; he had in his hands the solution to the problem that had affected his friend, and he considered it was time to intervene. Of course, she didn’t know that he knew.

They were gathered in the living room of the house, Joseph was introducing his friends to Marianne and his aunt, and they were talking amiably. Since they did not know Spanish, Joseph acted as an interpreter for them.

"This is Alberto Morales," Joseph introduced him, "the loquacious of the group."

"You mean the ‘bad mouth’ of the group," Aldo said.

"Aldo doesn’t like Alberto’s witticisms," Joseph explained in English to Marianne and her aunt. “They are almost always arguing.”

“What are these witticisms?” Marianne asked.

"What did she say?" Alberto asked, somewhat uneasy.

"She asked what your ideas were," Joseph said.

"Come on, tell her one, the one about the new teacher," Aldo said, beginning to sulk. "Let’s see what your aunt says about a child making fun of an adult."

"Ah! That is a good one!” Alberto exclaimed, amused.

Joseph said that a new teacher had arrived at his school, and when Alberto heard her name, he immediately came up with one of his own as a mockery; the teacher in question was called Esíntela.

"Tell them what was the name I came up with," Alberto asked with a wide smile.

Joseph smiled at the memory of the name.

−Esfíntera.[1]

The boys laughed heartily, except Aldo, who kept ranting under his breath. Marianne and Julianne laughed later, when Joseph told them what part of the human anatomy was being referred to by the made-up name.

They continued sharing like this for a long time, when Joseph asked his friends to accompany him to do something very important.

“Where do you plan to go?” Julius asked, intrigued. “What are you going to do?”

"Don’t worry, dad. I’m going to do something quick. I won’t be late.”

"Well, but come back before lunch."

Joseph was already going to the door with his friends when he turned to see Marianne.

"Come with us," he said in English. “So you get to know the city a little.”

Joseph, his friends and Marianne walked through the streets of San Isidro for a few minutes, talking and showing the latter her favorite places to play and share. They were on Avenida del Libertador, and the Cathedral of San Isidro Labrador was already beginning to be seen in the distance, in front of Plaza Mitre, or as the residents called it Plaza de San Isidro, when Valentina stopped suddenly, seeing the neo-gothic style religious temple. Her friends continued for a few meters when they realized she had been left behind, and they turned to see her, surprised.

"Are you fine, Vale?" Leandro asked her.

Valentina was still staring at the cathedral. Joseph walked over to her and took her hand in his.

"Come on," he said softly, almost whispering. “We have to go, and you must get over it. I’ll help you.”

Valentina looked into his eyes, and like every time she saw them, she felt a calm and tranquility that comforted her and made her feel good. She couldn’t explain why she felt that way with Joseph, and it was part of what made her love him. She was about to lose herself again in the depth of his gaze, when she realized he knew what had happened to her. He knew it? How was it possible, if she hadn’t even told her parents? She removed her hand from his, and took a step back. The rest of his friends went back to where they were.

"What’s going on?" Leandro asked.

Valentina kept staring at him; in her gaze, Joseph could see and feel she was terrified, and somehow begging him not to take her there. He realized that she was not ready yet to face her trauma, and decided to leave her alone.

"Wait for me in the square," Joseph told his friends, as he began to walk towards the cathedral.

"What are you going to do?" Alberto asked him. “I’m going with you.”

"No," Joseph ordered without stopping. “I must do this alone.”

Surprised, they all walked to the plaza and sat on one of the benches. Valentina remained unmoved, and did not take her eyes off Joseph until he entered the cathedral. Aldo commented something about how strange the situation was, and Leandro seconded him:

"You know how strange Joseph is," he told them. “Maybe he wants to pray or something.”

Alberto was curious, and decided to go after his friend to see what he was doing inside the cathedral. When he entered, he crossed himself and saw Joseph standing in front of the altar, carefully observing the crucified Christ; he sat down on one of the benches at the end and waited. A few seconds later, a priest in a black cassock comes out of one of the side doors and stands next to Joseph, engaging in what appears to have been a conversation with him. In a little while Joseph points to the confessional on his right and they both turn to him, the priest entering it, and Joseph kneeling on the outside, next to the window that was already opening.

“He was coming to confess”, Alberto thought. "That’s all". He wondered if he would wait for him or not, and while making up his mind, he took the opportunity to read the plaque embedded in the wall to his left, which he had always seen but never read:

Diego Palma.

He died on February 27, 1891.

He was priest of this parish since March 9, 1837 until October 13, 1890.

The neighborhood of San Isidro dedicates this memory to his virtues.

Although the cathedral was inaugurated on July 14, 1898, the community dedicated its construction to the work of his beloved priest, who fervently sowed the seed of faith in the inhabitants. Now, more than a hundred years later, that faith was seriously compromised in a little eleven-year-old girl, who did not want to enter that enclosure any more as a result of one of the most aberrant acts of the human being.

Now Joseph was there, vindicating the faith, together with the one who broke it in the most infamous way.

Alberto was about to get up to leave, when he observed that Joseph got up slowly. For his part, the priest opens the curtains of the confessional and rushes out of it, as if scared, with wide eyes and, from what he could see, agitated breathing and beginning a pitiful cry. He was walking clumsily from the confessional toward one of the doors at the back of the altar, tripping over the steps and about to fall. When he was about to reach the door, he falls to his knees and continues his disconsolate, almost childlike cry. Joseph approached him slowly and, putting a hand on his shoulder, said something that Alberto could not hear from the distance. The priest turned to see him and could not meet his gaze, lowering it and trying to get up. Joseph helped him up and this time the priest was able to reach the door at the back, disappearing behind it. Joseph looked again at the Christ on the altar and immediately began to walk towards where Alberto was, looking for the exit. He realized his friend was there, and he had apparently observed everything, and when he was at his side he stopped, waiting for the inevitable question:

"What was that all about?" Alberto asked him. ”Was your confession so much like that, that you made him cry and practically run away?”

Joseph smiled, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“A man has repented of his sins and will seek his way again, which is not here, nor in religion. We will not see the priest again.”

Alberto was confused, he was used to Joseph’s strange attitude and, as always, he preferred not to ask more when he looked him in the eye again. Enigmatic eyes.

When they were outside, Joseph took Valentina by the hand and led her aside from the group. The others were surprised, but said nothing.

"You no longer have to worry about anything, Valentina," he told her. “Everything is set. Sure it will take time to heal the wound in your heart, but you will move on. From now on no one will hurt you again. He will leave the church today, and he will pay for what he did. You will not see him again.”

Valentina was confused, it seems that instead of her friend of eleven years, she was talking to her father. He looked down and just nodded. Before tears began to fill her eyes, Joseph led her back to the group.

"We’re going to continue showing Marianne the city," Joseph told his friends. “Since we left home, she has not been able to enjoy everything well. Let’s go!”

They continued on their way down Avenida del Libertador, Joseph was talking with Marianne and Leandro joking with Alberto about the people who passed near them. Valentina continued her selective silence and Aldo suspected that her friend was not well.

"What’s wrong, Valentina?" He asked after a while when they were behind the group. “You’ve been very quiet. You’re not normally like that.”

Valentina looked down again, she was recovering from the bad feeling she had when seeing the cathedral, and she did not want her friend to find out about her painful past. She decided to make an effort to cheer herself up.

"It’s okay," she forced a smile, and Aldo realized it. “I woke up a bit bad, but I’m already feeling better. That’s all.”

"And what about all that mystery with Joseph? You guys are kind of up to something.”

Valentina smiled again, but this time sincerely.

"He was asking me the same thing as you, and I answered him the same as you.”

They were passing in front of a cafeteria, and Aldo suggested having some refreshments.

"You say it because you have money, and we don’t," Alberto protested. “I have almost no money ...”

"I’ll pay everything," Aldo said. “Come on!”

Of the whole group, Aldo was the one with the wealthiest family; his parents were directors of a group of transnational import and export companies and they were doing well, despite the specter of the recession that was beginning to threaten Argentina. The companies they ran were part of a large conglomerate in the powerful Philip Richmond group of companies. For their part, Valentina and Alberto were from middle-class families; the first one with parents who worked for the State in the Port of Buenos Aires, and the second one a son of Venezuelan immigrants who, after a few months of searching for a job upon arrival, managed to find work: he, in an automotive parts manufacturing company, and she as a secretary in a firm for accountants and lawyers. Finally, Leandro was the son of university professors, Hansen’s colleagues, at the University of Caece.

Once they entered the cafeteria, they ordered the soft drinks and sat at one of the tables to drink them. A few seconds later a young man, perhaps thirty or thirty-five years old, and looking somewhat disheveled and unkempt, comes in asking the manager for a "help" to bring some food to his house. Everyone listened to what that poor guy was saying to the manager, trying to lower his voice, ashamed.

“Brother, help me, please ... I have nothing to eat, and at my house two children are waiting for me who have not eaten anything in two days ... I am desperate, I will do whatever you want: I will sweep the front and the street, I’ll wash the dishes, I’ll clean the place … Whatever, just give me some food in return ...”

"We already have a person who does all that," the manager replied dryly. “I don’t have a job for you, but I can give you two loaves and a coffee.”

With that said he looked for the two loaves and put them in a paper bag, then made an espresso and gave it to him. Joseph and his friends observed everything but did not dare to say anything. When the man was about to leave, Joseph got up and went to the bar, searching his pants pocket for something. Aldo thought that Joseph was going to give the man money and got up too, going after him. He rummaged through his wallet for some bills and stood next to Joseph.

"If you’re going to give him money, give him this one," he offered. Joseph looked at him for a few seconds and took the money. He called the man, who was about to leave.

"Wait there, sir," he said when he turned to see him.

"Please put three more loaves and two of those juices in a big bag," he ordered the manager, pointing to two-liter juices on a display. He, surprised, carried out the order and collected the money.

"That bag is too big for what you asked for," the manager told him. “Better take a small one.”

"This bag is perfect," Joseph told him, and then he went to the man and led him out of the cafeteria. Aldo and the others were surprised seeing everything from inside the cafeteria.

Outside, Joseph exchanged a few words with the man and handed him the bag, when he grabbed it he felt that it was heavy and almost fell, holding it with both arms underneath. Joseph helped him hold it better. The man looked surprised, so much so that he looked at Joseph with wide eyes and began to say things to him in a hurry, almost on the point of crying, and then began to walk quickly down the street. When Joseph returned inside the cafeteria, everyone was staring at him, including the manager and his two workers. Aldo approached him, staring at him.

"What was that all about?" He asked, almost whispering to him. The others got up and went to where they were.

Joseph gave them a frank smile.

"We only helped the man with some things," he said to Aldo. “You saw it. Everyone saw it: I gave him the bag, and nothing else.”

"Yes, brother," Leandro told him, "we saw it, but there was almost nothing in that bag, and that guy left as if he were carrying a huge rock.”

"Yes," Alberto supported. “Curiously, I have no idea for what I have seen, and that scares me.”

"That’s true, Alberto couldn’t think of anything," Valentina said. "That’s very strange, apart from that man and the bag. What happened, Joseph?”

“I repeat: nothing. I only helped that man by buying him some things with my money and Aldo’s. Come on, we must go home. Lunchtime is approaching.”

They all followed him out of the cafeteria and started walking back to his house. They still had questions about what they saw and continued talking about it all the way, questioning Joseph from time to time, and he did not give them answers no matter how much they asked him.

Nearby, a middle-aged man with graying hair followed them, at a safe distance, smoking a cigarette and carrying a newspaper under his arm. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a cell phone, fiddling with the screen for a few seconds. As he passed a trash can, he threw the newspaper inside, the same newspaper that the next day would present the news on the front page that the priest of the Cathedral of San Isidro Labrador had turned himself in to the authorities and confessed he sexually abused several minors, claiming repentance and a strong charge of conscience that did not allow him to sleep peacefully or find peace. The police would initiate the rigorous investigations.

Also, in a small box at the bottom right, the newspaper would review the story of a man who, after three days without eating, would run into a baby Jesus who multiplied the loaves for him in a bag.

Islamabad, Pakistan.

The busy streets of the Pakistani capital maintained the bustle of a large city, despite the late afternoon. The great movement of the commercial area contrasted with the order and cleanliness of its streets, with a large market for all kinds of merchandise, near the center. Young Yussuf was looking at some fruits at one of the stalls on the sidewalk, when another person stood next to him. He did not look Pakistani: his blue eyes and blond hair betrayed the features of a man with white skin, tanned by the sun, and when he asked for the price of apricots he hinted at a Western accent, perhaps an American.

"The fruits are bigger and juicier this day," said the man once he received the package with apricots from the seller. It was the password for Yussuf to identify him. He immediately faced him.

"I just bought these plums," Yussuf said, presenting him with a bag of fruit. "I’d like you to taste them."

But Yussuf hadn’t bought the plums that day. He had brought them from home in a bag with the intention of giving them to someone else that day, and now he was. The man took the bag, thanked him, and immediately walked away from the store down the street. Yussuf did the same, but in the opposite direction. After a few meters he took out a cell phone and dialed a number.

"Now the child is going to my sister’s house," he said once they answered him, "the taxi will be on time."

Across town, in a hotel room, a man was saying a short "ok" and ending the call he had just received from Yussuf. He reached into the nightstand drawer for a phone with satellite access, and dialed a number.

New York, USA.

The satellite phone rang inside the large desk drawer, and Philip Richmond pulled it out. He immediately answered.

"Give me the report," he said. “Was delivery made?”

"Yes, sir," the man said from a hotel room in Islamabad. “It is already in the hands of the agent. It will not take long to pass the information to the government.”

“Good. Just in time. Order the second team to begin the operation assigned to Israel, and not to waste time. For your part, finish everything you have pending there and return here immediately.

"Very well, sir, as you order."

[1] Alberto’s name for the teacher is very similar to the word Sphincter in Spanish.