Gray closed his eyes as his worst fears came true. It took aneffort not to lash out and yell at his brother for pure, unadulterated stupidity, but Luke was already suffering enough. He had to play this smart.
“Who can I go to on the insurgency side to intercede for you?”
That took Luke by surprise, and he looked stunned at the offer. “There isn’t anyone.”
“You risked your life for those people, and it’s time for them to pay you back,” Gray said. “They’ve got political capital, and so do I. We are going to use it to get you out.”
Luke shook his head. “That’s ... that’s exceedingly decent of you, but it’s hopeless. I’m guilty. Most of the people I worked with have been arrested too.”
“Everyone?”
“Pretty much. The authorities found my code book and arrested everyone in it. I am now officially a sitting duck.” Luke tried to smile but couldn’t quite manage it. He provided what scant details he knew about how his cover was blown. Apparently the authorities had raided the raccoon shed, where he kept most of his correspondence.
“You were running this operation out of that ratty old shed?”
Luke shrugged. “I fixed it up pretty nice, and you never came within yards of it.”
“All those times you claimed to be coming to Cuba to trade in cigars and rum...”
“It was just a cover.”
Gray didn’t care what fool act Luke had done, he wanted his brother out of this prison. “Maybe I can get you into an American prison. The conditions here are unacceptable.”
“It’s not so bad,” Luke said, even as a bead of sweat trickled down his face. “It gets cooler at night.”
Itwasthat bad. It was revolting and awful, and it looked like Luke had already lost weight, but the worst thing was the despair in his brother’s face. The sense of helplessness was strangling, and Gray redoubled his efforts. He had negotiatedcontracts all over the world and knew how to cut through red tape, but this was uncharted territory. He was floundering, and he hated it.
“Tell me what to do,” he implored. “Surely someone can help. Philip Ransom? A politician here in Cuba? Tell me what to do!”
Luke smiled sadly. “Gray ... there’s nothing you can do. Go home and get the upper hand on the Magruders. Sell your spices and build your magnificent empire and don’t look back. Forget about me.”
“That’s not possible. Tell me what I can do.”
Luke looked prepared to deny him again, but then he paused. A hint of mischief lurked behind his eyes, and he leaned forward. “Actually ... maybe there is something you can do. Before I left, I was working on a plan to bring the Magruders down a notch.”
“What kind of plan?”
Genuine amusement lit Luke’s face as he outlined the plan. He quivered in excitement as he laid out the details, but Gray was appalled. It was typical Luke. Audacious, extravagant, and fiendishly clever.
“Almost everything was in place,” Luke said. “All I need is someone to carry it out.”
“Absolutely not.”
Luke reared back. “Why not? It’s brilliant.”
“It’s nothing more than a juvenile prank.”
Luke shook his head. “It will peel back the veil and show the world who the Magruders really are. It will throw a little egg on Clyde Magruder’s face right before his run for Congress. And lest we forget, it will be fun.”
Gray folded his arms over his chest. He didn’t like the Magruders any more than Luke did, but it was important to play by the rules.
Except ... Luke hadn’t really spiraled off course until fouryears ago when the deal with the Magruders went south. That was the incident that started Luke down this destructive path.
Someone banged on the door. “Five more minutes,” a guard shouted through the grate.
Gray stood, as did Luke. “You still haven’t told me how I can get you out of here. There has to be a way.”
“There’s not,” Luke said, trying to smile but almost weeping. “Don’t worry about me. Tell Caroline the same. I want her to soar and accomplish great things. I knew this was dangerous work, and I knew the price I might have to pay. I rolled the dice and lost.”
