Ch. 39
Grantaire kicked the waste basket over and Courfeyrac moved to pick it up.
âYou know, itâs hard enough keeping this place somewhat clean with only having one useful arm,â Courfeyrac told him as Grantaire paced around the apartment.
âWhy the hell did he do that?!â he ranted. âHeâs still wounded! Not to mention he could have gotten out with us. There was no reason for him to turn himself in.â
âProbably because theyâre not going to care about us now,â Courfeyrac mused. âThey got the leader so most likely theyâre going to leave us alone.â
âThatâs not a good enough reason!â Grantaire yelled, knocking over the coffee table. Courfeyrac sighed. Grantaire finally lifted the table back up and crossed his arms. âWhat are we going to do then?â
Courfeyrac placed himself in one of the chairs around the table and leaned back. An idea crossed his mind, but he shook it out of his head.
âWhat?â Grantaire asked.
âNo, it wonât work,â Courfeyrac whispered.
âTell me.â
âNo, I donât want to go about giving you ideas and getting you in trouble,â Courfeyrac told him.
âTell me right now Courf,â Grantaire said in a low voice, âor so help me God I will throw every piece of furniture in your apartment on its side and leave you here to pick it up on your own.â Courfeyrac grumbled.
âFine, but if you do it and get caught, itâs not my fault!â he replied. He took a deep breath. âI was thinking, what if we broke them out from jail, Enjolras and Jean Valjean?â It took a second, but Grantaireâs face lit up.
âYes...Yes! We can break them out!â he said with excitement. Courfeyrac groaned, wondering what he had started. âWeâll get Marius to help and Eponine can help with the locks...â
âAnd we can wind up arrested too,â Courfeyrac stated. âOr worse: shot.â Grantaire shook his head.
âWeâll be fine,â he said, still thinking over the plan. Courfeyrac rolled his eyes.
âEnjolras was our strategist. Letâs face it. It wonât work,â Courfeyrac said firmly.
âHey, I planned the bank robbery, didn't I? Eponine, Marius and I pulled it off without a hitch!â Grantaire boasted.
âA bank robbery is one thing,â Courfeyrac started. âRaiding a jail is another.â
âBut we could do it...â Grantaire insisted. Courfeyrac racked his mind. He knew Combeferre had warned him once about what the law said the penalty for selling alcohol was. He ran back to the bedroom and emerged with a handful of Combeferreâs documents. He began flipping through them till he found what he was looking for.
âHere!â Courfeyrac pointed out, looking at a section of the Volstead Act. Grantiare sat next to him to get a better look. âIt wouldnât be worth it to break him out if this is what heâll get. For maintaining a place that stores and sells liquor he would be sentenced to no more than one year in jail and / or a fine of $1000. For selling the alcohol he canât be fined more than $1000 or imprisoned more than six months. The worst case scenarios would be a loss of $2000 or jail for a year and a half. Enjolras can handle that. Itâs much better than what you would face if you try to get in there...and what heâd get if you got him out and they caught him.â
âBut what if they connect him to other things, like the murder of Minette?â Grantaire whispered as if someone might overhear him. âEnjolras has done other things, you know? What if someone rats him out to get a deal or something? Thereâs enough against him that theyâd send him to the electric chair right away if they knew.â Courfeyrac grimaced. He hadnât thought of that. He neatly stacked Combeferreâs documents as best as he could and sat back in his seat in thought.
âWe may have to wait till his trial then,â Courfeyrac mused. âIf they only sentence him for the Flag, we let him go. If it sounds like someone is trying to make a deal, weâll figure out a way to get him out of there.â Grantaire shook his head.
âItâs not good enough,â he said, standing up and pacing once more. âEnjolras has enemies too. Enemies that are already in jail. They could get him in there.â Courfeyrac rubbed his face.
âChrist, Grantaire!â he sighed.
âThis is why I told you he shouldnât have let himself get caught!â Grantaire yelled. âI swear if he winds up on that chair I donât know what Iâll do.â
âHis trial is in a week. Weâll see what they say and weâll go from there,â Courfeyrac told him. Grantaire finally just nodded and accepted the idea. The phone began to ring and Grantaire rushed for it before Courfeyrac could move. Grantaireâs face warmed as he heard the voice on the other line. Once the call was over Grantaire smiled at Courfeyrac.
âWe had forgotten about bail!â Grantaire grinned. âHeâs got a hearing in two days. Iâm going to grab the money for him and bring it and we can get him out until his trial.â Courfeyrac smiled, much more content with the new plan.














