“Not that I believe a single word of it, but what are you talking about?” Captain Hall asked, making an obvious effort to appear aloof and skeptical of whatever she said.
“Well, for one thing, you know there are two different, incompatible official versions of what is happening,” she said. “One is that I sold out to the enemy, and the other, the one I guess you believe, is that I’m not really me, I am actually a ChiCom double.”
“You forgot the third one,” Robin added, “that you were kidnapped by parties unknown. That’s the story being given out to the newspapers, radio and television.”
Hall looked a little uneasy. “I know about all that. Multiple stories were intentionally spread for security reasons, to confuse the enemy.” He did not sound wholly convinced by this explanation.
“Does that appeal to your common sense, Captain Hall?” Jodie asked. “Or do you think there just might be another explanation?”
“I suppose you have a better one.” Hall was trying to sound uninterested, but it was clear that he was finding Jodie’s arguments persuasive.
“Maybe,” she said. “What if the treason story was rejected by the ranks, by the officers, by everybody who knows my record? You wouldn’t believe it, would you, Captain? The Shore Patrol who brought us here, they didn’t believe it either, and they’re Navy. And if career Navy men feel that way, how do you think the story would sit with the Army? So they had to come up with something else in a hurry. This conspiracy shows every sign of being a hasty, disorganized mess, which is why I said I was surprised to see you involved. Also…”
Before she could go any further, a door in the back of the room opened, and a tall, gray-haired man came in, wearing a black and gold naval dress uniform with the five gold bands of a Fleet Admiral on his sleeves. Robin, Merry and Jodie recognized him instantly; his face was burned in their memories. His name was Clarence Hall, and he had raped them and then tried to murder them in cold blood when they were cadets.
He was followed by another familiar figure, a short and rotund man dressed as a Rear Admiral. He had been Hall’s accomplice in the aforementioned rape and attempted homicide. His name was Robert Carroll.
The last man to enter was older than the others. He wore an Army uniform with five silver stars formed into a pentagon on each shoulder, the insignia of a General of the Army. None of them had ever met the man personally, although they all knew his face. His name was Alfred Murchinson, and he had been the Chief of the General Staff before Bernard Cafferson.
Strictly speaking, none of these men was entitled to the uniforms they wore, as none were currently members of the armed services. Indeed, they had all been obliged to retire under a cloud, Murchinson for a long string of defeats at the hands of the Chinese, and the two Admirals for treason, although this had not been made public.
“We were listening from the other room,” Admiral Hall explained. “Don’t pay any attention to the little bitch, son. She just blowing a lot of smoke, trying to confuse you.”
“So you’re the genius behind this half-assed junta,” Robin said. “We probably should have guessed. It certainly couldn’t have been anybody with brains.”
Admiral Hall strode briskly up to the handcuffed Robin. “Why don’t you just shut your stupid mouth, slut?” he asked. His hand shot out and smashed into her cheek hard enough to knock Robin and her chair to the ground.
Merry jumped up and started to go to her sister’s aid. Before she could take a step, Hall drove a fist into her midsection. She doubled over in agony, and dropped to her knees.
“I see you’re still as brave as ever, Admiral, and you can still beat up handcuffed prisoners,” Jodie ground out through clenched teeth, “but even if you can knock down a woman half your size, that still doesn’t explain why you have so many inconsistent storylines out there. Why don’t you explain to the Captain how I can be a traitor and a ugh!...”
Jodie was forced to stop in mid-sentence when the red-faced Admiral shouted, “Be quiet, whore!” and sank his fist into her gut. She curled into a ball and fell on the floor at his feet. When he moved closer and drew back his foot to kick her, his son jumped up and laid a restraining hand on his shoulder.
“Dad… sir, I can’t let you do that,” he said. “These people are in my custody, and I’m responsible for their welfare.” The angry admiral glared at his son, his hands at his side, still clenched in fists, and it seemed for a moment as if he might try to strike him as well. But then he backed away a step and, still breathing heavily, muttered something under his breath.
“Jonas, my boy, you’re wasting your sympathy on the wrong parties,” General Murchinson said. “There’s no need to worry yourself about what happens to these traitors. They haven’t gotten even half of what they deserve yet.”
“I thought they were spies, General, Chinese doubles who had replaced the real officers, not traitors,” Captain Hall replied. “Although, I don’t see why the Chinese would go to the trouble of replacing Cadet Bransom. Or is she the real one? I must admit, it’s getting a little confusing.” He looked at his father.
“Listen, son, there’s a very simple explanation…” the Admiral began. Then he trailed off. The elder Hall looked at the Naval Internal Security men and said, “General Murchinson, Admiral Carroll, Captain Hall and myself are the only ones cleared to interrogate these prisoners, for the present. You men are relieved. You will wait in the Ready Room, and we will call you when you are needed.”
The NIS men looked to their superior for confirmation, and after he nodded they obediently headed for the door. In a few moments, they were gone. General Murchison waited with seeming impatience until the door slammed behind the last one, then said to the elder Hall, “For Christ’s sake, Clarence, why don’t you just explain the facts of life to the boy? He’s old enough now to handle the truth.”
“What does that mean, exactly?” Captain Hall asked. He stared piercingly at his father.
Admiral Hall moved over to the desk, pulled out an old fashioned wooden chair and sat down. “Son, let’s say, just for the sake of argument, that there wasn’t any Chinese plot and that the real Lawrence is on the floor over there,” he said, indicating Jodie with a motion of his head.
“So then, you’re saying she is a traitor after all?” asked the bewildered Captain. “Dad, I have to tell you, I would need to see some pretty powerful evidence before I…”
“I’m saying that it doesn’t matter,” Admiral Hall interrupted. “I’m saying that the good of the country has to be put ahead of the good of any individual, no matter who it is.”
“Bernie Cafferson recommended her to be the next CGS, Captain, and if somebody didn’t take a hand, she was going to be it,” Murchinson put in. “Do you really want Cafferson’s fuck-toy, an empty-headed little cunt, running the entire country?”
Admiral Hall glared at his colleague. “What the General means is that we can’t afford to risk having someone young and unreliable at the controls, especially now. The international situation requires experienced, proven leaders, men like General Murchinson and myself, if we have any hope of holding off the Reds. Sometimes in an emergency it is necessary to go outside the rules, and take certain steps that you would not normally want to. The good of the country has to come before any other consideration. That is the true meaning of duty.”
Jodie had recovered enough to sit upright on the ground. She had obviously been following the conversation. “That’s the true meaning of bullshit,” she said. “And the first time I’ve ever heard anybody claim that duty and treason were one and the same. But putting lipstick on a pig doesn’t make it a supermodel, Admiral. How does it feel, Captain Hall, to find out what kind of crowd you’re working for?”
Admiral Carroll rushed over to Jodie. “How does this feel, cunt?” he asked, as he drew back his foot and kicked her hard on her lower ribcage.
Jodie gave a great cry, and fell over on her side.
Captain Hall’s hand fell to his sidearm. He stepped bet
ween the writhing Jodie and her assailant. “Respectfully, sir, I’m going to have to ask you to stay away from my prisoners from now on, Admiral Carroll, sir,” he said, his jaw muscles twitching.
Admiral Hall jumped up from behind the desk, and went to put a restraining hand on his son’s arm. “Of course he will,” he said. “Admiral Carroll is just so worried about the country that he got a little carried away. Isn’t that right, Admiral?” The expression on his face suggested that his subordinate would be unwise to disagree.
“Ah, yes, of course, my apologies, Captain Hall,” Carroll said quickly. “I just got a little… er… excited, as your father said. I didn’t intend to interfere with your prisoners.”
“Perhaps it would be a good idea for you to take a break yourself, take some time to think things over, to remember exactly who you are and where your loyalties lie,” Admiral Hall suggested. “We need some time alone with General Lawrence, to see if we can’t reach some kind of accommodation with her that will serve the best interests of the country.”
Captain Hall did not appear to like this idea very much. “Sir, my duty requires…”
“If you’re worried about your prisoners, you have my word that they will be treated with the respect they deserve,” the Admiral cut in smoothly. “Now go get a cup of coffee. I’ll call you in an hour or so, when our discussion here is over. That’s an order, Captain.”
Captain Hall looked at the three prisoners, and then turned to face his father again. He saluted, said, “Yes, sir,” and made a parade-ground about-face, then left the room. As soon as the door closed behind him, Murchison and Carroll let out withheld breaths.
Chapter Eight: “What’s long and round and soft…”
“Jesus, for a second there, I thought he was going to shoot me!” Rear Admiral Carroll said.
“Are you a hundred percent certain he is reliable, Clarence?” Murchinson asked. “Did you see the expression on his face when you told him the stork doesn’t bring the babies? He’s not exactly politically sophisticated, is he? And if he decides to go off the reservation…”
“You have nothing to worry about, Alfred,” Hall assured him. “He is a very idealistic lad, a little unrealistic at times, but absolutely loyal to me. Forget about him, and let’s give Cafferson’s whores a going-away fuck, before we get them out of our hair for good.”
“I thought you told Sonny-boy you weren’t going to hurt us,” Robin said. “He might be a trifle peeved if he comes back to find us all dead.”
Hall snorted. “I said you would be treated as you deserved,” he said, “and you will, I promise. Don’t you worry your tiny little brain about my son. He’s a big boy; he’ll get over it. Besides, you three whores are about to have troubles of your own.”
The three men approached the prisoners and pulled them up by their hair. The orange plastic ponchos that had constituted their only garments were ripped from their bodies, leaving them with no more covering than a layer of dirt.
The room was equipped for what was euphemistically called “enhanced interrogations”, previously known as torture, which had been permitted under the Murchinson regime but outlawed by Cafferson. Evidently, the men behind the creation of the secret Naval Internal Security unit had not felt constrained by the new rules. Their captors therefore had a wealth of devices available to use on their captives.
Robin and Merry were placed side-by-side in identical positions by General Murchison and Admiral Carroll. They were made to stand with their legs spread wide apart on stands six inches above the floor. Their wrists were left cuffed together and their elbows were forced painfully together with wires. Nooses at the ends of ropes that wound through overhead pulleys were fitted closely under the chins of the sisters.
Admiral Hall seemed to bear a particular animus for Jodie, and he had a different fate planned for her. She was bent backwards around a metal drum, with her hands secured far above her head and her legs splayed wide apart. The drum was on an axle, and it could be rotated backwards until the occupant’s head was submerged in a tank of water. There was also a small control panel that could be used to dispense electric shocks in any strength desired, and a selection of electrodes and clamps to administer them to various parts of the subject’s body.
While they were being tied up, Jodie tried to keep their spirits up by telling jokes. “Hey Robin, I have a riddle. What’s long and round and soft and filled with seamen?”
“If you had said ‘long and round and hard’, I would have guessed a submarine,” Robin answered. “But I don’t know this one.”
“Easy,” Jodie said. “It’s an Admiral’s cock.”
Murchinson’s face worked as if he was trying to suppress a laugh. Carroll reddened, and Hall continued to tighten the cable stretching Jodie around the cylinder without any visible reaction.
“Here’s one for you, Jodie, awk…” Merry began, then momentarily stopped as when Admiral Carroll pulled on the rope around her neck, forcing her up on her toes to escape strangulation. She continued haltingly in a hoarse, choked voice. “How do… sailors get… their clothes… washed?”
Jodie’s body was stretched to its limit around the metal drum, and the strain on her joints, particularly her shoulders and elbows, was becoming close to unbearable. Still, she managed to grit out an answer. “That’s a trick… trick question. Ahh! Everybody knows sailors… don’t wash.”
At this, General Murchinson gave a snort of laughter. “Good one,” he commented.
“Here’s one for you,” snarled Admiral Hall leaning down to bring his face an inch away from Jodie’s. “How long does it take for a smart-mouth cunt to grow gills?” He pushed the lever on the side of the drum, causing it to rotate backward and plunge Jodie’s head into the tank of water. “Give up?” he asked. “The answer is ‘too long’.”
He picked up a thin, whippy metal rod, and began to flay Jodie with it, raising a network of overlapping narrow red welts on the pale flesh. She twisted on the drum to the very limited extent permitted by the tight bonds on her body, while bubbles indicating her suffering disturbed surface of the water.
Admiral Carroll inspected the bodies of the naked Bransom sisters and was not happy with what he saw. “Look at them. Those bitches are filthy,” he said. “They have to be cleaned up before we touch them.”
“You’re right, Carroll,” said General Murchinson. “There’s a hose over there in that sink. You can wash them down with that.”
“Don’t trouble yourself,” Robin suggested. “Let us down and we’ll take showers, and then we can put on make-up and heels for you.”
“Waste of time, Sis,” Merry said. “He probably hasn’t had a hard-on for years.”
The Rear Admiral ignored the taunt. He picked up the hose, opened up the faucet in the utility sink and returned to the Bransom sisters, with the hose unreeling behind him.
He pointed the nozzle at Robin and played a jet of icy water over her naked body. She had been preparing herself for this, but was still unable to keep herself from squirming at the shock of the water soaking her naked flesh. She was barely able to keep her feet from slipping off the platforms on which she stood, and hanging herself.
After he had carefully washed down Robin, front and back, the Admiral gave Merry the same treatment. The younger Bransom was not quite as lucky as her sister. When the stream of water hit her, her left foot slid from the block. An instant later, she was doing a frantic dance in the air, dangling by her neck six inches above the floor.
“What the fuck are you doing?” General Murchinson exclaimed. He leaped forward to grab Merry around the waist and hold her up until she regained her footing. “I haven’t even had a chance to fuck her yet!” He looked down at himself. His jacket and pants were sopping. “And now look at my uniform. I’ll have to take it off and hope it dries out before I appear in public.” He began to undress, folding his wet clothing over the back of a chair.
While the sisters were being prepared to meet Admiral Carroll’s exacting stan
dards of cleanliness, Admiral Hall brought Jodie, sputtering, coughing and shaking her head, up out of the tank. He watched the rapid rise and fall of her chest as she pumped air into her starved lungs.
“Have a nice swim, General?” he asked. “I was strongly tempted to leave you in there longer. It would give me great satisfaction to finally repay you for destroying my career. But we have plenty of time, and there are so many other pleasures to enjoy before then.”
Jodie finally gathered enough oxygen to have spare breath for conversation. “This… isn’t about… the country… is it?” she puffed. “It’s not even… about power. You don’t care… if the coup is successful, you… don’t even care if you… are executed after this is over… as long as you get your revenge. That’s why you’re not worried about how shoddy the whole scheme is.” She realized as she said this, that Hall’s acts were not those of a rational man.
Admiral Hall smiled, making his thin face momentarily resemble that of a crocodile. “Still a clever little cunt, aren’t you?” he asked. “But it won’t matter to you what happens one way or the other, because by then you and your friends will be long past caring.”
General Murchinson and Admiral Carroll had dried the bodies of their “dates”, and were now enjoying themselves with them. Murchinson was standing in front of Merry, urging her on to greater efforts, saying, “Fuck me! Harder, you hot little bitch! Ride me, slut!...” and so forth. Merry had no choice but to cling to him with her legs encircling his body, as this was the only way for her to stave off strangulation.
Carroll was shorter than the General, so he had pulled up a stool and positioned it between her legs. He sat on the stool and pulled her down onto him, then holding her buttocks from below he bounced her vigorously up and down. This caused the rope around her neck to close her windpipe at the bottom of each stroke, and partially open it again on the upstroke. Robin was on the verge of unconsciousness, fighting off the gray mist gathering around her brain with hasty, inadequate breaths. She was far too busy concentrating on staying alive to hear Carroll’s stream of taunts such as, “I’m doing to you what you did to Clarence and me. How do you like it?” and “Don’t die too soon, now. The fun has just begun.”
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