Read Online The Charity Chip by Brock Booher - Free Book Online Page A

good to see that you truly are a man of your word,” said Isak. His Spanish had an educated and polished cadence, with only an echo of an accent. He paused and put his hands in his pockets. “But who is your friend?”
    Julio swallowed hard. “May I present Señor Barilla. He is my landlord, of sorts, and I asked him to come along because . . . well . . .” He glanced up at Doctor Barilla.
    Doctor Barilla stepped forward and said, “He brought me along because I am the closest thing to family that he has, and because I am a doctor. He thought I might be able to help evaluate this opportunity.”
    Isak’s blue-eyed stare rested on Doctor Barilla for an awkward moment. The doctor ended the standoff by extending his hand. “A pleasure to meet you, Señor Blixt. Your Spanish is impeccable, much better than any other foreigner I have met.” Isak gave a grateful nod. “I read about your organization online. My compliments on your facility and your success.”
    Isak shook Doctor Barilla’s hand and feigned a smile. “Thank you. As I’m sure you read online, Caritas is a pilot program, but it is making noticeable progress.” He finished the handshake and returned his hands to his pockets.
    Julio swallowed his nervousness. He thought for a moment that Isak was going to turn them away, but Doctor Barilla winked at Julio and poured on the charm. “Giving the money straight to the children in need is such a brilliant idea. How did you come up with it?”
    Isak’s smile became smug. “I worked for the United Nations in several campaigns. The inefficiency of their operation always bothered me. I merely combined my technological expertise from the Royal Institute of Technology and my desire to help those in need. With the latest money chip capabilities, the solution was quite simple really.”
    “Fascinating! Pure genius!” gushed Doctor Barilla. Knowing how Doctor Barilla felt about foreigners, Julio was surprised at how cordial and complimentary he could behave with Isak. He never knew the doctor capable of such flattery.
    “Well, I’m sure you’re a very busy man,” said Doctor Barilla with a wave of his hand. “I just wanted to make sure Julio got here safely.” Doctor Barilla began to turn for the door.
    “Perhaps you would like to see the facility before you go?” asked Isak.
    “It would be a pleasure to see such an avant-garde program,” swooned Doctor Barilla. “Can you spare a few minutes to indulge an old doctor?”
    “I have to explain the program to Julio anyway. You are welcome to join us.”
    Julio was amazed at Isak’s transformation, and even more surprised at Doctor Barilla’s cleverness. Seeing that the opportunity had not been lost, he breathed a sigh of relief.
    Isak turned to the receptionist. “Isabela, when is my next appointment?”
    She put down her magazine and glanced at her computer screen. “You don’t have anything until after lunch, Señor Blixt.”
    “Good, then I have time to get Julio started,” said Isak as he motioned for the front door. “Right this way, gentlemen.” Doctor Barilla followed Isak out the front door, and Julio shoved his skateboard into his backpack and fell in behind them. Isak exited the front door and took them to the second exterior glass door at the other end of the building. Just like the girl Julio had watched earlier, Isak held his hand up to the scanner to unlock the door before ushering them into the facility.
    The first thing Julio noticed was the smell of lunch cooking. It wasn’t a strong, overpowering smell, but the smell of boiled potatoes and chicken lingered in the small foyer lined with jacket hooks and small lockers. His mouth watered.
    “Participants in our program gain access to the facility through that door,” said Isak. “As you no doubt noticed, access is granted by an embedded chip.” Isak held up his left hand and ran his finger along the space between his thumb and forefinger. “This area of the hand has