Maragana Girl Ch. 22

The technician removed the transmitter from Kim's collar and handed it back to her.

"Congratulations. You're free."

With that Kim returned to her place in line, but as previously instructed, she stood, not knelt. Eloisa was next, and within a minute was back in line, standing next to Kim. The two friends stood at attention as the other members of the group stepped forward to get their collars off. It took nearly a half an hour to get through the entire group, but Kim was not rushed. The American wanted to savor every moment, to hear the satisfying "crack" of the firing pin as it broke one collar latch after another.

The two Spokesmen then carried bundles of clothing to the line of ex-clients. Each bundle had its owner's criminal number on it and was color-coded by sex, white for women and beige for men. Dukov walked up to Kim with her bundle and smiled at her as he set it at her feet.

"This court authorizes you, as free citizens, to get dressed."

Kim opened her package and pulled out its contents. There was a traditional Danubian dress and a pair of women's sandals. She quickly slipped the dress over her head and bent down to put on the sandals. Then she looked over at Sergekt, who was adjusting his tunic and putting on a pair of traditional leather boots.

The two Spokesmen took their positions in front of the group. They exchanged glances and simultaneously saluted, putting their fists against their right shoulders. The group saluted back.

The judge spoke next.

"People of the Grand Duchy of Upper Danubia, this court presents to you 29 persons who have earned the right to rejoin our community as free citizens."

Kim and her friends then turned around to present themselves to the Danubian nation. They held their collars up for the world to see they were indeed now free citizens. The room exploded into very loud cheering from the relatives of the 29 criminals. Kim only had one relative present, but Cindy was cheering, clapping, and making as much noise as possible.

It was over. Really, truly over. The emotion overwhelmed most of the members of the group, both men and women. Eloisa was crying, as she struggled to keep her collar held high in the air for her family to see.

I won't cry, Kim thought to herself. I won't cry. Even as that promise repeated itself over and over in Kim's mind, tears rolled down her cheeks.

----------

Kim and her friends were done with their de-collaring ceremony by 11:30. The celebratory atmosphere outside the courthouse continued for a while, as the families continued to take pictures of their newly-freed relatives, and as Kim's friends took dozens of group pictures, now dressed in their official formal clothing. Finally, however, the picture taking wound down and the crowd began to diminish as its participants began to bid the others goodbye and drift away. Within an hour the majority of the group had departed the Central Plaza with their families, including Eloisa and the rest of her band members. Eloisa hugged Kim hard and departed, along with her long-suffering fiancée and their respective families.

Only Sergekt and his relatives remained behind, to accompany the Dukovs and Cynthia Lee back to their house for a family celebration. As she watched the others depart, Kim wondered if the entire group ever would be completely together again. The friendships would remain, as well as the still-growing career of "Socrates' Mistresses", but would all of Sergket's friends ever sit together in one place again?

Tuko, for example, quickly would disappear from their lives for a full year. He had been accepted to attend the National Police Academy and faced 12-months of very intense training. He would leave the Academy wearing Malka Chorno's badge and a blue uniform. He would carry a service revolver, wield a switch, and have a female partner. He would come out of training a very different person than he was now. Kim wasn't sure if she would still like him once he was a police officer.

The two families celebrated at Dukov's house, on large tables loaded with fancy food that had been set up in Dukov's back yard. It was a chance for the Dukovs and Sergekt's relatives to get to know each other better, and for Cindy to have a good look at her future in-laws. Kim and Sergekt confirmed their plans to get married in October, on or around Kim's 21st birthday. They stood arm-in-arm as the made the announcement, to much cheering and toasting. The party thus became not only a celebration of the end of their sentences, but also the public announcement of Sergekt's plans to marry Kim. With Sergekt's announcement Cindy found herself committed to yet another trip to Danube City in the fall, to attend her sister's wedding.

----------

Although she officially was free, Kim spent the next day wrapping up some final details of her sentence. She went downtown wearing one of the sun-dresses that was in fashion that year. The dress was made of very light material, but Kim felt somewhat uncomfortable, still having to get used to the feel of cloth covering her body after two years of wearing nothing.

Dukov called his ex-client into his office to return her passport with the new "transition visa". Kim got her musty-smelling backpack back, along with plastic bags of clothes and jewelry. Dukov held up the T-shirt with the marijuana emblem and asked her if she planned to keep it.

"Yes, Spokesman Dukov, I'll keep it. What I want to do with it is hang it in my office with my collar...to show people who I really am and who I used to be." Kim then smiled. "But don't worry, sir. I don't plan to wear it around Danube City. I think my days of wearing marijuana leaves are past me. If I wore that everyone really would call me 'Maragana Girl'."

The final detail was a post-release mug-shot in the police booking room for Kimberly Lee's now closed police file. The words "Criminal # 98945" at the bottom of the closing photo had a line through the letters to indicate Kim's criminal number had been retired from the Danubian judicial system.

----------

Kim and Cindy worked out the final details of their trip to the United States with Eloisa's recording company. In exchange for a first-class flight Kim agreed to grant three interviews, one to a leading popular music magazine and the others to television stations doing features on Danubian music. Kim planned to spend the rest of the time trying to repair her relationship with her parents and touring her hometown.

The two sisters left that following Saturday, on a "Griffin Airlines" flight to Frankfurt, where they would change flights to go on to the US. From the trolley window Kim watched as she passed the yellow sign marking the edge of the Danube City collar zone, and within a few minutes she and Cindy were at the small and rather primitive King Vladik International Airport.

An hour later, Kim and Cindy walked across the tarmac to the plane, which, like every other large object in Danube City, had a huge griffin painted on it. Once airborne, Kim stared out the window at the strange little country that had so completely refocused her life. The plane rose above Danube City and then banked west through the clouds to make its way to Frankfurt.