Maragana Girl Ch. 14

Very reluctantly Dukov answered: "No Officer...no special restrictions."

Malka gave the Spokesman a slight, but very wicked smile. She was well-aware of Dukov's failed efforts to get Criminal # 98945 punished by a different officer and the resulting reprimand.

"Very well."

Malka touched Kim with her switch and Kim kissed her shoes.

"Criminal # 98945, stand up and face me."

Kim complied and quietly looked straight ahead. Malka moved in front of her, staring hard into her eyes. Kim did not avert her gaze from Malka's face. Instead, her dark eyes met Malka's, indicating that she had gotten over some of her fear of what was about to happen. Malka was somewhat disconcerted by the criminal's calm, fatalistic demeanor. The cop slapped her hard across the face.

"Don't you look at me with such arrogance!" She slapped Kim again, but the American did not stop looking into the officer's face. She had not been instructed to do anything else, other than stand and look straight ahead. The cop twisted back to slap Kim a third time. Dukov raised his hand and glanced at the court officials.

The judge interrupted. "Officer! You will stop striking that criminal across the face immediately! All she's doing is what you told her to do!" The judge paused, glanced at Dukov, and continued. "Officer Chorno and Spokesman Dukov, I am subtracting two strokes of the switch from this punishment, given that Criminal 98945 has been struck twice across the face. This punishment will end at the 48th, not the 50th, stroke."

Malka clenched her teeth in anger at the rebuke. She signaled her partner to help her with the criminal. The two officers grabbed Kim's wrists and jerked her over the punishment table. Quickly the two officers secured her wrists and ankles with the leather restraints. Kim's heart raced with fear and her face still hurt from the slaps, but she was more determined than ever to not cry or scream during this punishment. She closed her eyes and put her forehead to the table. She then found herself doing something very unexpected, silently praying to Upper Danubia's Guardian Spirits to get her through the ordeal.

Malka was in a bad mood. She despised Dukov and was offended by his presence in the room. The rebuke from the judge angered her even more, as did her resentment that she had to exercise at least some restraint while punishing Criminal # 98945. This time she was somewhat impatient, desperate to break the American as quickly as possible. There would be no slow or calculated trickery like last time, just a series of hard strokes, delivered at maximum force.

Dukov watched the officer with disgust. She had lost her temper and her self-control. None of this was about Kim's discipline; it was about Officer Chorno's personal vendetta. This was precisely the type of behavior the Spokesman hoped to outlaw with his proposed reforms. Dukov had seen police officers lose their tempers before, and that was always when things went wrong and the criminal's punishment had to be stopped. Dukov was convinced that if Malka did not regain her composure, he would have justification to end his client's switching early.

Officer Malka Chorno looked at the silent criminal and her waiting bottom; her legs parted and body stretched in anticipation of her punishment. Kim's forehead was pressed to the table and her fists were clenched. She was breathing hard, trying to control her fear. Her knees were quivering slightly.

Malka's partner handed her the switch. Malka slashed it through the air and then lined herself up beside her victim. She touched the switch to Kim's bottom, readjusted her position slightly, and then struck full-force at the base of the culprit's buttocks. The blow was so hard that the girl's entire body jerked. A vivid reddish line quickly darkened across Kim's brown skin. She gasped and bit her lip hard, but managed to stay quiet.

Officer Malka was infuriated. Once again the American drug addict thought she was better than an officer of the law. This arrogant little bitch is going to pay. Malka clenched her teeth, and with every bit of her strength, savagely slashed at Kim's bottom eight times; four blows from the left, and the other four from the right.

Criminal # 98945 tensed up, her knees shaking violently and her fists clenched so tightly her knuckles went white, but still, the only sound coming out of her were her gasps of pain. She pressed her forehead hard on the table, as she suppressed her instinct to scream. At just nine strokes, her bottom looked like it had been struck nine times with a whip. She had been struck so hard that the welts already had risen and quickly were turning dark.

Malka then struck Kim's upper back four times, trying to knock the wind out of her and break her resistance. Criminal # 98945 held her breath each time the switch landed. She would resist. If it killed her she would resist. Somewhere, from deep inside her soul, came the force she needed to stay quiet, in spite of the severity of what was happening to her.

Malka should have waited and allowed the strokes to take their toll on the criminal's endurance before continuing. However, she was shocked and infuriated that Kim had resisted 13 of the hardest strokes she had ever administered during an official punishment. She backed away and slashed savagely at Kim, quickly laying additional strokes on the welts already marking her bottom. She stuck at Kim's thighs, and then returned to her bottom. Blood blisters were quickly forming where the strokes had crossed each other.

Just 15 minutes into her punishment, Criminal # 98945 already had taken 32 strokes. She gasped desperately as she suppressed her screams. Her whole body was shaking violently. Malka still was furious, but now she was horrified at the thought Kim might actually make it through her punishment without crying at all. No, that could not be.

Dukov looked at the growing mass of blood blisters on his client's bottom and thighs. Some of them looked like they were just about to break. He raised his hand.

When she saw the Spokesman's hand in the air, Malka snapped. Disregarding her training and the standards of court punishment protocol, she ignored Dukov and, with every bit of her strength, quickly struck Kim's bottom hard two more times. As Dukov had feared, several of the blisters broke. He jumped between Kim and the officer.

"STOP! STOP! You will stop NOW!"

Malka's foot flew into Dukov's stomach. He doubled over from the force of the kick, all of the wind knocked out of him. Chaos broke out in the courtroom. Malka managed to strike Kim one more time before Dukov recovered enough to grab her arm. She hit him viciously across the chin with her free hand, but he did not let go. The tussle between Spokesman Dukov and Officer Chorno ended as court officials piled onto both of them and pulled them away from the punishment table. Malka struggled savagely as a court guard grabbed the switch out of her hand.

"I'M NOT FINISHED! I'M NOT FINISHED!"

Dukov remained doubled over and gasped as he tried to regain his breath

"Your Honor! My...client is bleeding! I...insist, under...Item 18 of...the Judicial Code...of 1780, that this punishment...be terminated immediately!"

"That request is granted, Spokesman! Under Item 18 of the Judicial Code of 1780, I am ordering this punishment terminated and Criminal 98945 released back into your custody! That is effective immediately! You may remove her from this courtroom!"

Dukov, holding his stomach and still gasping for breath, snapped his fingers at a cop standing nearby to undo the straps holding Kim in place. Kim was in so much pain she was almost passed out. In several spots where her skin had broken the welts oozed blood, and a drop of blood was making its way down her left thigh. As Kim was released from the table, Dukov grabbed her wrists and helped her up. He put his arm around her waist and lifted her hands to his shoulder. Thus supported by her Spokesman, Criminal # 98945 left the courtroom, the third switching of her sentence completed.

Dukov paged his two secretaries, who came clattering down the stairs to help both the Spokesman and his client. As they took Kim upstairs, Dukov doubled over and threw up.

"Call the doctor. I...want him in the...office immediately. I need to see...how badly she's hurt."

"What about yourself, Spokesman? What about you?"

"It's just a kick. I'll be fine. Take care of Kimberly."

A minute later Kim was lying face down on the recovery table, as one of the secretaries gently wiped away the blood and put disinfectant on her welts. An assistant police doctor arrived a few minutes later with a medical kit. He cleaned her more thoroughly, applied some special ointment to prevent Kim's skin from scarring, and placed three bandages over the most serious cuts.

"She should fully recover with no marks if she doesn't move about too much and keeps the cuts clean. She'll have a small scar on her left thigh, but I think that'll be it. This ointment's pretty effective."

"Well, what happened is still a violation of Item 18, scars or no scars."

"Oh, most definitely it's a violation. I'll write a medical report this afternoon and send it up to you. When you present that in court, Criminal # 98945 will leave the courtroom with Officer Chorno's badge in her hand."

"You think it will be her badge? Not just her switch?"

"Her badge, Spokesman. She struck your client three times after you tried to pause her, and at least one time when blood was clearly visible. There's no denying that, it's on videotape. And then on top of all that, she kicked you while you were performing the responsibilities of your office. That's her badge, and a criminal prosecution for assaulting a public official. There will be a hearing as soon as your client can attend court, and we'll release her for court attendance on Friday, after the head doctor examines her to make sure she's healed properly. On Friday Officer Chorno loses her badge. I would guess she'll lose considerably more than her badge. She'll leave the courtroom with a collar around her neck."

"It's about time. She's been a problem ever since that occurrence last year with her sister. I feel sorry for her, but she's become a threat to the whole judicial system. I'll be glad to see the last of her. Maybe it will be a lesson to the others. I don't know. Maybe this will help with the reform we have pending in Parliament."

"Don't be so arrogant, Spokesman. The only result of this incident is that one policewoman is going to lose her job, and another criminal will be added to your case-load. Nothing more will come of this. Malka Chorno will wear a collar for several years and maybe will consider correcting the path in life she has chosen to follow. That's the most you can hope for."

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Kim was in a painful daze when her Spokesman was talking with the assistant doctor, so she only was partially aware of what was going on in the office. She tried to sleep, but couldn't. Dukov warned her not to move unless it was absolutely necessary. Dukov didn't need to tell Kim not to move; the slightest movement sent sharp pains shooting through her body. She spent the afternoon lying facedown on the table, her body horribly marked up and the three white bandages standing out on her brown skin. Finally, after about four hours lying motionless on the table, Kim fell asleep.

Sergekt called Spokesman Dukov as soon as his shift at the restaurant ended. Dukov decided to meet with Kim's boyfriend in Danube City's Central Plaza, and waited for him at the steps of the Central Police Station. As dictated by protocol, Sergekt knelt and touched his forehead to the ground as he greeted Dukov. The Spokesman quickly ordered him to stand up, and the two men looked for a place to sit down, finally settling on an empty bench near the National Parliament.

Sergekt knew right away that Kim's punishment had not gone well. That much was obvious when her Spokesman told him to meet outside instead of allowing him to go directly to his office. Dukov quickly summarized what happened and explained that the punishing officer was facing the loss of her badge over the abuse of his client. Sergekt sat quietly for a long time, wondering what to ask next. Finally he asked the one question that seemed to matter much more to criminals than to outsiders.

"Spokesman Dukov, if may I ask...how long was Kim able to stay quiet? During the switching, I mean?"

"She didn't cry at all, Sergekt. That's what truly amazed me. Kimberly took the worst beating I have seen in my career, and she didn't cry. She didn't make any noise whatsoever, except her breathing. I don't know how she did it."

"Spokesman...I ask because...when I was with her last night, I...it...that was the most important thing for her. She was completely obsessed with not crying today. So...she succeeded."

Dukov and Sergekt sat for a long time in the late afternoon heat, each trying to think of something significant to say to the other. The passersby glanced at the strange pair, a naked young criminal and a middle-aged professional in a business suit. Finally Dukov spoke.

"If you had seen her today...she faced her fears and her worst enemy with complete calm. Kimberly was terribly afraid, but she conquered her fear. She looked that officer straight in the eye. When the officer slapped her, slapped her twice, in fact, Kimberly straightened up and continued to look right at her. I believe that is why that officer became so unbalanced. That officer's soul is damaged, and a damaged soul cannot face the truth. I want you to understand Kimberly is an extremely courageous young woman, and I hope you are able to truly appreciate how lucky you are to be with her."

"Yes, Spokesman. I know that the Spirits of the Ancients have truly blessed me by placing Kim in my life. In my prayers I thank them every night for that blessing."

"There's something else you should know, that should put your heart at ease. The worst of her sentence has passed. Officer Chorno faces the loss of her badge over her treatment of Kimberly. Another officer will administer her final switching in January. Under the law, I have the right to choose who the replacement officer will be. Probably I'll ask my son's partner to administer Kimberly's final switching."

There wasn't much else to say. Dukov planned to spend the night at his office, catching up on his case-load and watching over his client as she slept on the recovery table. Sergekt knew better than to ask Dukov if he could see her, because he knew the Spokesman considered that improper. He would have to wait until she had recovered.

Sergekt knelt in front of Dukov to say goodbye. He then went to the Socrates Club to tell Eloisa about Kim's horrific experience and amazing courage.

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The next day Criminal # 98945 was up and moving about fairly normally. Following the doctor's advice she avoided bending or sitting to allow her cuts to heal. She carefully showered, replaced her bandages, and had breakfast in the office with Dukov, his secretaries, and Eloisa. Kim had to eat standing up. After breakfast the two criminals went to their jobs at the music store.

Once at the store, Kim followed the post-switching custom of placing her hands on the counter and allowing her co-workers to look at her punished bottom and back. The entire staff was horrified at how severely she had been beaten. Only once had any of them ever seen a fellow criminal who had bled as a result of his punishment. Kim's boss asked her if she wanted to have the day off or work a reduced schedule.

"No sir, I'll work a normal day. The whipping is over, and from what Spokesman Dukov told me, that officer won't be punishing me in January. Now I want to return to my duties. I want live my life with honor and not feel sorry for myself."

That night Kimberly Lee, with her horribly marked backside and three bandages, sang with her friends on stage. Her voice had returned, but Eloisa noticed a slight difference. There was more power in Kim's singing and a touch of anger. The lead singer knew what was going on in her friend's mind. She was hoping that cop was watching her sing. She wanted to prove herself, to the band's audience, and to that cop, that no, she was not defeated. Not even that savage beating 36 hours before could stop Criminal # 98945.