Chapter 81 We never had a choice
Rafael
We debated for hours. Neither of us wanting to make the decision.
"Those children need help," I said. "But this is kidnapping. We'll be criminals."
"We're already criminals in Elena's eyes," Flora said. "The question is, can we live with ourselves if we don't help?"
At eleven PM, Flora finally spoke. "If we do this, we do it smart. And the moment something feels wrong, we leave."
"Agreed," I said.
We called Marco. Explained the situation. He agreed to meet us with weapons and a small team.
At midnight, we drove to Elena's coordinates. An abandoned parking lot. No lights. No people.
Elena's van pulled up beside us. She stepped out with six armed people behind her.
"You came," Elena said.
"We're here for the children," Flora said coldly. "Not for you."
"Good enough," Elena said. "The plan is simple. My team goes in. Disables security. Extracts the children. You provide lookout and transportation."
"And if something goes wrong?" I asked.
"Then we improvise," Elena said. "But nothing will go wrong."
"We don't trust you," Flora said.
Elena smiled. "Smart girl. But tonight, our goals align."
We drove in convoy toward the facility.
We stopped two blocks away.
Elena's team moved out.
We waited in the cars.
Ten minutes passed.
My radio crackled. "We're inside. Disabling cameras now."
Five more minutes.
"Children located. Beginning extraction."
Later.
"We have a problem. Guards weren't supposed to be here. There's a shift we didn't know about."
Gunfire erupted from inside the facility.
"Abort! Abort!" Elena's voice shouted over the radio.
Alarms blared. Lights flooded the building.
"We have to help them," Flora said.
"We can't," I said.
"They'll die," Flora said.
"Then they die," I said. "But we're not dying with them."
Flora stared at me in horror. "How can you say that?"
"Because I'm not losing you," I said.
The radio crackled again. "We're pinned down! Need backup! Now!"
Marco looked at me. Waiting for orders.
I made a decision I knew would haunt me.
"We go in," I said. "But we get the children and leave. We don't engage unless necessary."
We moved toward the building.
The facility was in chaos. Children were screaming. Elena's team were exchanging fire with security.
We found them in a basement corridor. Elena and her team protecting a group of terrified children.
"About time!" Elena shouted when she saw us.
"Where's the exit?" I asked.
"Blocked," Elena said. "They locked us in."
Marco pulled out explosives. Planted them on a wall. "Everyone back!"
The explosion rocked the building. Created a hole big enough to crawl through.
"Go!" Elena pushed the children through first.
We followed. Out into the waiting vehicles.
But as we drove away, I saw something in my rearview mirror.
Police. Dozens of them. Converging on the facility.
"We're not going to make it," Flora said.
Sirens surrounded us.
We were caught.
Police pulled us from the vehicles. Guns drawn. Shouting orders.
They separated us immediately.
Flora in one car. Me in another.
As they drove me away, I saw Elena in another police car. She was smiling.
She'd gotten exactly what she wanted.
We were now criminals. Just like her.
They kept me in holding for forty eight hours. No contact with Flora. No phone calls.
On the third day, Detective Walsh visited.
"You're in serious trouble," Walsh said, sitting across from me. "Breaking and entering. Assault on federal officers. Kidnapping."
"I was trying to help children," I said.
"You broke into a government facility," Walsh corrected. "You aided a known fugitive. You're looking at twenty years minimum."
"Those children were prisoners," I said.
"Those children were in protective custody," Walsh said. "Being studied to ensure public safety."
I didn't respond.
"The prosecutor is willing to offer a deal," Walsh continued. "If you testify against Elena, they'll reduce your charges. Maybe five years instead of twenty."
"What about Flora?" I asked.
"Same deal for her," Walsh said. "If you both cooperate."
"I need to talk to Flora first," I said.
An hour later, they brought Flora to a conference room. She looked exhausted.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
"No," she said. "But I'm alive."
They gave us ten minutes alone.
"Walsh offered a deal," I said. "If we testify against Elena, five years instead of twenty."
"So we betray her," Flora said.
"She used us," I said. "Why protect her?"
"Because those children needed help," Flora said.
"And now we need help," I said. "If testifying means you get a lighter sentence, that's what we do."
Flora was quiet. "What do you want to do?"
"I want to protect you," I said. "Everything else is secondary."
"Even our principles?" Flora asked.
"What principles?" I asked. "We broke the law. Now we pay the price."
Our time was up. Guards took Flora away.
The prosecutor entered. "Have you made a decision?"
I thought about Flora. About the children. About everything.
"Yes," I said. "We'll testify."
The prosecutor smiled. "Smart choice."
The trial came three months later.
The courtroom was packed. Media everywhere.
The prosecutor painted us as criminals. Terrorists. Working with Elena to undermine national security.
Our lawyer argued we were trying to help children. That we'd been manipulated.
But the evidence was overwhelming.
On the fifth day, I testified.
"Did you work with Elena Marino to break into a federal facility?" the prosecutor asked.
"Yes," I said.
"Did you know it was illegal?"
"Yes."
"Did you do it anyway?"
"Yes. Because those children needed help."
Flora testified next. Said the same things.
On the seventh day, the jury had a verdict.
"Guilty on all counts."
Flora grabbed my hand.
Two weeks later, sentencing.
"I'm sentencing you to five years in federal prison. Eligible for parole after three."
They led us away immediately. To different facilities. Different states.
I spent three years in prison. Working. Reading. Surviving.
Flora and I wrote letters. Talked when we could.
And every few months, I got a message from Elena.
"How's prison? You'll be out soon. And when you are, we have work to do."
After three years, I was released on parole.
Flora was released two weeks later.
We met at a halfway house in New York.
"We're free," Flora said, hugging me.
"Are we?" I asked.
Because Elena was still out there. Still building her new world.
My phone buzzed that night.
"Welcome back. Rest up. In two weeks, I'm coming to visit. And we're going to discuss your future. Whether you want to or not."
I showed Flora.
"She's never going to leave us alone," Flora said.
"No," I agreed.
Two weeks later, someone knocked.
Flora answered.
A woman stood there. She should be in her mid twenties. She has Flora's face.
"Hello," the woman said. "I'm Subject L-088. But you can call me Lily. Elena sent me. She wants to see you both. Now."
"And if we refuse?" I asked.
"Then I make sure your parole is revoked," Lily said. "Elena has evidence of violations. Ready to turn over. So you can come willingly. Or go back to prison. Your choice."
Flora looked at me.
We didn't have a choice.
We never did.
We got in Lily's car.