A Tangled Web Ch. 10

There were two lamps in the room and, as it was still quite early, they were both well stocked with oil. She took one of them, blew it out and turned it over spilling the oil everywhere, concentrating on the wooden furniture. Then she used the other to set fire to the result. It wasn't long before the flames were licking at the very structure of the brothel, but it was important to her plan that this should be a real fire, not something that could be put out with a bucket of water. Nervously she waited until the smoke had built up. When it had filled the room and she was beginning to find breathing difficult she knew that, at last, the time had come. She dragged the drunken body of the recruit from the bed and over to the door. She was committed. Her bridges, along with the brothel, were burning .

"Fire! Fire! Quick help! Fire! The brothel is on fire!"

Several heads popped out of the adjoining rooms, both those of the girls and those of their customers. The smoke was now billowing out of the room Vera had just vacated and her cry was picked up by others. Vera had bargained on this creating chaos and she wasn't disappointed in the result. After a quick glance to confirm the extent of the blaze, everyone had one thought and one thought only; to get out as fast as possible. Even her recruit had woken up enough to gather that there was a panic on, and he too was stumbling along, following the general rush for the doors. Vera propped him up and together they followed the scrum as they made their way outside. Once there, once they were safe, she let him go and, as he reeled away she kept her head down and tried to find a way out.

The crowd in the courtyard was slowly separating into groups. Madam Yang and Lian, along with the cook and the guards employed to watch the gates, were herding the girls into one group; protecting their assets, making sure no one ran away. The regular customers were slinking away into the night not wanting any more involvement. The army recruits, and this, again, was what Vera had bargained on, were gathering around their sergeant and his corporal. She, in line with her disguise, went over and joined them. They were just a bunch of scared, drunk and confused lads who hardly knew each other and no one gave her a second glance. As the group of recruits shuffled about she worked her way closer to the main gate. The gate was open. She waited for a suitable moment, one where no one was paying attention and then tried to sidle away. Now was her big chance.

"And where do you think you're going!"

Vera had spent enough time around parade grounds to know that shout.

"Just... just over here, sarge," she replied, keeping her voice as gruff as possible.

"Never mind 'just over here, sarge'. You stay with the platoon. What's your name, soldier?"

Vera panicked a little. She hadn't thought of a name. She thought over some of her customers. "Lie... Lie Hong," she stuttered.

"Well, Hong, get back over here with the other lads."

"Yes, sarge." Vera returned to the group.

After a while the sergeant lined them up, did a headcount and, getting the right number, assumed he had everyone. Vera could see her recruit slumped, still naked, over a horse trough on the other side of the courtyard, a pool of vomit before him. Everyone else assumed he was a regular customer and was far too busy to question who he was and what he was doing there.

The flames had now fully caught hold of the brothel and the various groups were having to stand back to keep safe. The sergeant, concerned that the fire might attract unwarranted attention, was anxious to get going. After all, as he explained to Madam Yang, they couldn't do much to help and were only getting in the way. He lined up all the recruits into a rough column and marched them off. Vera breathed a huge sigh of relief as, for the first time in months, she was outside.

As they marched back to the camp site, Vera was on the lookout for ways to escape but the sergeant, taking position at the back of the column, was equally on the lookout for deserters and it quickly became apparent that Vera's best course of action was to play along for a while. She might not be completely free but she was out of the brothel and each step was taking her farther away. She told herself she'd get settled, get as far away as possible and, once she had found her bearings, she would then find her way back to....

Back to where? That, itself, was a question. She should, of course, make her way back to the British community but that held little appeal. She had never fitted in and, she knew from experience that her time in the brothel would, somehow, be seen to be her fault. She would be tainted, despoiled, gone native in the worst possible way, and she would never be accepted back into that society. Furthermore she knew her career as a spy was now over and she had now done too much, seen too much, to accept any of the other roles that were waiting for her back there. It would be like taking a bird that had been freed and putting it back in a cage. The deciding factor was her concern that Major Strickland would be waiting with some very awkward questions about why she had left the barracks. She was pretty sure he had followed her that night so he would be asking why she had been taken to the rebel compound, even if she wasn't there when the attack took place. No, for the time being, she had few other options; she had joined the rebel army.

After a four days' march, they arrived at the training camp deep, deep in the hills. Here security was somewhat laxer than on the road, but it hardly needed to be strict; there was, quite literally, nowhere to run to. There was only one way out of the narrow valley and that one was guarded. The camp itself was temporary. Their billets consisted of small tents with only two or three recruits in each. Vera was assigned a tent with one of the other new recruits and, when the time came to settle down for the night, Vera knew exactly the sort of braggart talk that was expected from a lad of eighteen; she had, after all, heard it time after time in the brothel. Somewhat to her surprise she found it easier than she expected to keep her gender a secret. She had to take some care in the latrines and with personal hygiene but, with a little subterfuge, everyone was simply too busy to notice.

The training came in three basic flavours. Firstly there was the physical side; marching back and forth endlessly and with little apparent point, always pushing them to the point of exhaustion. Vera wondered at first why they were doing this until she realised how this was helping to forge them into a team, teaching them to move as one, to act as one, even if their common bond was their hatred of the sergeant. Furthermore it was helping to toughen them up. Each run, each session around the obstacle course, each forced march, worked off a little more fat and toned up their muscles. Her activities in the brothel, both in and out of bed, had kept her fit and, except for some of the farm boys, she was one of the stronger recruits.

The second aspect was weapons training. Right from the first day they were issued with rifles. Vera noted that they were British Lee-Enfield .303's and wondered where they had come from. At first, they were only taught basic care and maintenance. Weapons inspection was a regular event and heaven help any recruit whose rifle wasn't in tip-top condition or whose bayonet wasn't polished and sharp. Vera's nimble fingers helped her to master this easily and helped keep her near the top of the class. However, there soon came a point where theory ended and practice started and Vera, practising on the firing range, realised that, one day, the shapes she saw through the sights would one day be real people rather than wooden cut-outs. The sergeant noted her reluctance when bayoneting sacks full of straw and her ranking slipped somewhat. His exhortation to imagine the sacks as British soldiers didn't help as much as he might have thought.

The third part of the training was indoctrination. An officer, whom Vera recognised as a Chinese version of Major Strickland, would gather them round and give history lessons so that they knew what they were fighting for. Vera was appalled at the way her country, her people, were being slandered but, as she listened, she began to see how she had also been lied to by her British teachers. Sifting any facts from either side's lies and distortions was nigh on impossible. All through the lectures she couldn't help but remember the refugee camp. They weren't lies, they weren't distortions; she had seen them for herself and knew their truth. Those brave women and their suffering, that was the real cost of war. Whose fault was it, Colonel Fortesque for burning down the villages or General Chang for provoking him to do so? And, in the end of the day, as far as the women were concerned, did it matter?

As they settled in, so friendships began to develop and, although she kept herself to herself, she was getting to know her fellow recruits. Not far below their bravado, they were lost and homesick and Vera felt almost motherly towards some of them. Her experience might have been slanted and limited but she knew more about how the world worked than most of her comrades. One, named Jinsong, worried her. He always seemed to be watching her in a way that made her feel uneasy. Much as she tried to keep out of his way, they were a small group and she couldn't help but have to deal with him on a more or less daily basis.

One day they found themselves on manoeuvres together and, for a while, they had to wait, hidden in the woods.

"There's something wrong about you," Jinsong said almost casually.

"What do you mean?" Vera replied.

"I've been watching you. You never take a piss with the others and you're always so private when it time to bed down for the night. What are you hiding?"

"I'm... I'm just a bit shy," Vera tried.

"Shy, no, I don't think that's it. You're forward enough at other times. No, I think you're hiding something and, whatever that something is, it's in your pants. And then there's that squeaky little voice of yours. What's up? Did somebody cut your jiba off? Maybe it shrivelled up and fell off. I'm close, aren't I?" Jinsong had noticed that how uneasy his questions were making Vera and was homing in. "That's your secret, isn't it. You're ashamed of your pathetic little shriveled up twig of a jiba. I think you're a freak, a nasty little freak. What are you, some sort of eunuch?"

"Of course not! Don't be silly!"

"Prove it then, whip your jiba out and show me."

"Why should I?"

"Because, if you don't, then I'll know it's because you can't. I know there's some little secret you're hiding and I'm going to find out exactly what it is. You can show me now, all nice and quietly or I'll get some of the lads and, when you're not expecting it, we'll strip you off and have a proper look, right there in the camp ground. What's it to be, nice and easy out here, or back in camp in front of everyone? It's your choice but it's now or never."

Vera thought fast. She was in no doubt that Jinsong would carry through his threat and then her secret would be well and truly out and who knows what sort of trouble she'd be in. On the other hand, although he was as treacherous as a snake, maybe she could make a deal with him.

"Jinsong, I'm not a eunuch, I'm... I'm a girl," Vera admitted.

"You're what!" Jinsong was genuinely amazed.

"A girl. I've... I've run away from home. Please, please Jinsong, please don't tell on me."

"A girl!" Jinsong's eyes lit up. "Prove it!"

With a sigh Vera undid her belt and pushed down her trousers just far enough to expose her crotch. Jinsong stared at her intently.

"There, seen enough?" Vera demanded bitterly as she refastened her trousers.

"Wow! It's true, you really are a girl," Jinsong seemed to think for a moment. "But what if you are? Why shouldn't I tell? What's in it for me? What do I get from you?"

'Here we go' thought Vera. She knew only too well what he'd want to keep him quiet. Not so long ago that would have been unthinkable but, with what she knew now, it was just another indignity to heap upon the pile with all the others. However, she mustn't seem to be too keen to make a deal.

"Well, if we keep this a secret, just between the two of us... well, I could... if you want... I mean, a handsome lad like you.... maybe we could..."

"Maybe we could what?"

"Please, Jinsong, don't make me say it."

"Are you saying that if I keep quiet then I get to..."

Vera could almost see the cogs whirling in his mind. As she'd found in the brothel, men would do anything for the promise of sex. She smiled coyly at him and averted her eyes.

"And you're saying...."

Vera just nodded.

"Let's get this straight," Jinsong wasn't in the mood for coyness. "If I keep this a secret I get to cao you whenever and however I want?"

"I... I guess so," Vera said quietly.

"You guess so," Jinsong queried. "You'd better be sure."

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Well, show us the goods again. A proper look this time. Drop your pants and show me your bi, the one I'm going to cao whenever I want. Go on."

Vera could guess where this was leading so she looked all about to make sure that they were alone. There was no one else anywhere close so she undid her belt buckle and lowered her trousers, hooking her underwear with her thumbs to pull them down as well. With her trousers and underpants around her ankles she stood and faced Jinsong.

"Well there's a sight for sore eyes." Jinsong's hand disappeared into his trousers. "And I get to fuck that whenever I want."

"I guess so." Vera bent down again and started to pull her trousers but Jinsong stopped her.

"Hang on, I don't know what you're pulling them up for. We haven't done it yet."

"What, here? Now?"

"Whenever I want, that's the deal," Jinsong reminded her, "but first I want a little show. Why don't you strip off completely and let me see the rest of the goods."

"Look, the others will be along in a minute and we'll be discovered." Vera's concern was very real.

"You mean you'll be discovered," Jinsong sneered. "I've got nothing to hide."

And then inspiration hit Vera. "Look, you don't want this to be found out any more than I do. Remember, if I'm discovered then it means no more cao for you. This deal works both ways. If you want to cao then you've got to keep it a secret and, if we're going to do it now we'd best get on with it." Vera found a suitable place, lay down, and kicked off her pants. "Come along, big boy, show me what you've got."

Jinsong could hardly wait to get his trousers down and, in a trice, he was on her, stabbing away blindly with his prick. Vera knew then that, for all his big talk, he knew less than nothing about what he was doing and this was almost certainly his first time. For her sake as much as for his, she reached down and took his prick in her hand and gave it a couple of strokes before guiding him towards her but, before she had even got the tip inside, he gave a massive groan and, she felt him spurt his load over her.

"Ooh, that was good, so good," she purred. She knew exactly what to say in these circumstances.

"Was it, was it really?" Jinsong started before he realised how much he'd given himself away. "Yeah, I'm the best. Get used to it, I'm going to cao you 'till you're walking bow-legged. Morning, noon and night. You're mine now, my whore, my concubine."

With a sigh, Vera realised that, for the moment at least, he was right.

Over the next few days Jinsong took every opportunity he could find to pester Vera and, when the opportunities arose, he would take delight in leading her deep into the woods, ordering her to strip and do a dance for him. But, for all that he was mean and twisted, he was also sexually naïve and Vera found that he was quite easy to manipulate. She could avoid penetration by, for example, letting him rub himself between her breasts and, when she took him in her mouth he thought that this was the best thing ever. Not that this was a particularly pleasant pastime, as his personal hygiene was less than perfect, but it was preferable to the alternatives and at least she wasn't at risk of getting pregnant.

The very next day the sergeant commented at how much better she was at bayonet practice and praised her for 'really sticking it to those British swine' as she bayoneted the bags of straw. His praise might have been more guarded had he known that, for Vera, each and every sack of straw was Jinsong and, as she plunged the bayonet in she fantasised about how she would love it to be his body on the receiving end. Her thoughts on how and where she would like to plunge her bayonet were far from ladylike.

And then, come the midday meal beak on the fourth day of their arrangement, Jinsong came up to Vera and demanded that she meet him in the woods behind the camp. With a weary sigh she finished her meal and then headed out to the woods. It was only when she got to their prearranged meeting place that she realised that he was not alone; three of the other recruits had been hiding and now surrounded her. She turned to go but her way was stopped.

"This is not what we agreed!" she said angrily to Jinsong. "The arrangement was with you and you alone."

"Not any more, it's not," he replied. "These guys have paid me good money and you're going to give them everything they want, any way they want, just as you do for me, ain't that so, lads."

"Yeah, right, everything," and, to emphasise their agreement, she was grabbed and thrown to the ground and her clothes were pulled from her.

"She really is a girl! Look, she's got tits and everything!" one exclaimed.

"Who's going to go first?" Jinsong asked. "Who wants to cao the bitch? Get her to suck your jiba, that's a good one."

"I'll get you for this!" Vera snarled.

"No you won't, not unless you want me to tell sarge. Now be a good girl and behave."

She didn't have much choice. The press of bodies pinned her to the ground and her ability to move was very limited. These boys were amateurs when compared to Chang's henchmen but the end result was going to be the same. With all four of them on top of her she could hardly tell who was doing what, not that it mattered that much. She could feel them groping her body, mauling her breasts and between her thighs. One of them undid his belt, pulled down his trousers and his prick was thrust at her face. Every fibre of her being told her to fight, to resist, but she knew she was trapped. She had to get out, she had to....

"Lads! Lads! What the cao are you doing out here?" A voice came through the woods.

"Never you mind. Leave us be, it's private business," Jinsong shouted back.

"If you don't get back to camp it will be punishment business. We're to be on parade in five minutes. Come on! The sarge will go mad if you're missing."

"OK, OK, we're coming," Jinsong shouted back and then, much quieter, to Vera, "and don't think we're finished with you either. Come on lads, apparently the sarge wants us!"

They got to their feet, buttoned themselves up and, leaving Vera lying on the ground, headed back to the camp.

Vera, badly shaken, sat up and started to pull on her clothes. One or two buttons had come astray but nothing too serious. She was half tempted to run but she knew she wouldn't get far. Maybe she should just go to the sarge and confess everything. But then, if she were to do that, she knew her cover story wouldn't hold up and it would come out that she was British. She would end up being shot as a spy and she already knew how it felt to have that hanging over her. She looked off towards the camp. Her attackers were now quite some distance away. She too had to be there if the sarge had called a parade. She got to her feet and followed them.