The Prince of Spies (Hope and Glory #3) - Elizabeth Camden Page 0,19

window and the door, but in the meantime, he had work to do.

Clyde’s visit was like waving a red flag before a bull. Every instinct cried out for Luke to go find Marianne and start courting her in earnest. He could shower her with gifts and compliments and charm her until she was breathless. Two years ago that was exactly what he would have done in response to Clyde’s threat.

But his time locked in a Cuban jail cell had taught him a great deal. He had been taught patience and wisdom. He would do nothing to hurt Marianne, but he would double his fire at Clyde. The man had to be removed from Congress.

Luke swallowed back his anger and thought strategically. He cut another slice of strudel and made himself eat. There were so many reasons he wanted a front-row seat in the government’s study of poisonous food additives, but at the top of the list was a chance to personally strike a body blow against Clyde Magruder.

The advertisement calling for medical volunteers instructed men to apply at the Department of Agriculture beginning at nine o’clock. Applicants would be required to pass a physical exam and fall within the acceptable weight range for their height. Luke was still seven pounds underweight, but a gallon of water weighed eight pounds. He could fake it. He’d already drunk a quart of water but felt so bloated he didn’t know if he could get the rest of it down. Hopefully he wouldn’t have to, because there probably wouldn’t be many volunteers.

Slinging the jug of water over his shoulder, he meandered toward the Department of Agriculture, enjoying the warmth of the sun on his face. Winter was such a dicey time in Washington. Sometimes it was a frosty misery, but today he barely needed a coat.

As he rounded the corner, he was stunned to see dozens of men lined up outside the Department of Agriculture. Who were all these people? The line snaked down the steps and around the front of the building. Luke approached the last man in the line.

“What’s everyone waiting for?”

“Free room and board!” the man said. He held out a copy of the advertisement for the experiment. “All we need to do is pass a physical and agree to eat all our meals here. The doors open at nine o’clock.”

Luke scanned the crowd of young healthy men. There had to be over a hundred people in this line, and the department was only taking a dozen volunteers.

Luke uncorked the jug of water and began drinking. He was going to have to get the whole gallon down, and fast. It was going to take some quick thinking to convince the test administrators that he was as healthy as the other men in this line, but Luke had always been good at quick thinking.

By ten o’clock all the men had filled out basic forms to apply for the research study, then were ushered into the room where a doctor would make the first round of cuts. Luke reluctantly followed instructions to shuck off his heavy winter coat and boots before stepping on the scale. Nature was calling, but he couldn’t use the restroom until after he’d been weighed. A doctor and a nurse were doing the preliminary screen, weighing the men, shining a light into their eyes, a tongue depressor down their throats, and banging a hammer on their knees.

“We’re all insane for being here,” a tall volunteer with curly blond hair said. “They should probably use that hammer on our heads.”

“My head is harder,” a man beside him said. They looked so much alike that they had to be brothers.

“But mine is bigger,” the other replied.

“Yeah, but Mom still loves me the most.”

The two brothers kept up a nonstop stream of competitive banter all morning. When the doctor complimented the taller brother for how fast his eyes dilated, the other begged to be tested so he could dilate faster. They gave their names as Ted and Bradley Rollins, two brothers currently attending Georgetown University who rowed crew for the college. Luke simply thought of them as Big Rollins and Little Rollins. They were eager to flex their muscles for the fresh-faced nurse who seemed charmed as they argued about who had better grades, who had more muscle, and who could hold their breath longer. Big Rollins began boasting about the five-minute mile he’d run last weekend.

“Five minutes? That’s nothing,” the man next to Luke said. He had a lanky, athletic build