I Was Cured

Now, unless you are going to arrest me, Nellie, Laima and I are going to go for a walk outside of your security system. When Laima returns she is going to tell you what she WANTS to happen and you are going to make it so." I placed the emphasis on WANT so that any recording of my statement would indicate that I would not be forcing or coercing her in any way.

All the time I was talking I made sure I never threatened anyone, or acknowledged that I was behind the reappearance of the images, and never insinuated that there was any quid pro quo, or at least that I was not the beneficiary. Festus' office security system would have undoubtedly been recording our meeting and there was no way I wanted to give him any ammunition to use against me. I had him for now, but someone like that never just backs down and he would be looking for a way to nail me as soon as we left the office. As it happened we hadn't actually left before he tried his first hand.

All three of us walked out past a very nervous looking secretary who I guess had heard enough through the door to know what was happening. Right before walking out the main door Laima was called back into the office, and a few minutes later a man, who I assumed to be a lawyer, also walked in. She was obviously getting a briefing on what to say and what not to say.

Ten minutes later all three of us finally left the Town Hall. When we had reached the town limits I turned and walked into a meadow that was out of sight of the town and made sure no one was close enough to hear anything I said.

"OK ladies. Remove your clothes!" I said.

"What! Have you gone nuts? You are just this side of being arrested as it is and if you touch us my uncle will make sure you pay dearly!"

Both women slowly stripped, constantly looking around for any onlookers. Given what I had to endure at their hands made me smile.

When they were both naked I asked Laima to give me her clothes and told her to make sure that she didn't drop the hidden wire and mic. A furious looking Laima then watched as I crushed the mic and transmitter under my heel after first telling Festus where he could put the next one.

There were several rounds of begging me for to change my mind and forget the 'misunderstanding.' Only after I threatened to just go ahead and let my emails fly did I finally get the necessary silence to begin.

"Let me recap. Both of you have broken the law and ignored several chances I gave you to reverse course and spare an innocent man. In fact you clearly enjoyed making me suffer and it's even on video that you fully understood what you were doing and the options you had."

"But you broke the law too, Vito!" cried Laima.

"Yes, only because I had to, to save myself from unjust bodily harm. Testonia has just such an exception on its books, and even if it didn't, good luck in proving it was me. You have no idea how many servers and countries I went through to break into this town's servers. It would take an army of investigators with cooperation from several countries to get anywhere close. Your uncle is a big-fish here, but in the Central Government he has no pull whatsoever and from what I saw is despised by many central law makers."

"You both know what is in store for you should you be found guilty of falsifying evidence. I do not want to do that since unlike the both of you, I do not take pleasure in seeing anyone suffer. Plus I don't want my kids' mother in jail. However, I cannot just let this go."

"I do not want to hear a word out of either of your mouths until I'm done so if you feel the need to interject and piss me off even more just remember I don't have to give you any option if I don't feel like it.

"First, any physical prints or film taken of yesterday's events will be confiscated and destroyed. Any electronic copies are to be erased and the media reformatted. If I find ANY videos in the public domain then the authorities and will be taking a good look at your actions so you had better hope people comply and any copies already online can be taken down."

"In addition you must know that most of the population of Testonia take a very dim view of this whole sick medieval practice. If any images or videos become public I will personally make sure every news outlet in this country has copies, and how an innocent unsuspecting foreigner was railroaded and forced into a barbaric punishment. With any luck I may get on a talk show or two."

Laima wasn't giving up and reminded me that the video would be very embarrassing for me and making a big deal of it would certainly get it shown in the media back in the US.

"Yes, release of the video of my race would be certainly embarrassing for me but not nearly as degrading as it would have been had I actually ran. All it really shows is my wife beating me with a cane into submitting to a crude sexual act."

I turned to Nellie. "Outside of Testonia what you did to me is called sexual assault. Last night I wondered if it was actually possible to prosecute someone in the US for a crime committed in a foreign country. Guess what, I looked it up and it is! It's called extraterritorial jurisdiction or something. I don't want to but I could have you prosecuted back in the States for what you did to me." It looked like the law had not been tested and was perhaps on shaky ground. Plus I had no intention of using this against the mother of my children, but she didn't need to know those details right now.

"For several reasons prosecuting both of you publicly in a court of law is not my preferred course of action, but don't think for a second that I will not do so if I have to."

"So, with that out of the way what do I want from you two?" I asked as I eyed both women.

"In a few moments we will walk back to town and you will go to the town hall. Inside both of you will volunteer to participate in the women's infidelity-cure on the following day!"

That brought a sharp intake of breath from both Nellie and Laima who simultaneously exploded talking at a pace I'm sure only women are capable of. I couldn't have understood them even if I wanted to so I held up my hand and the look on my face must have told them that they should stop.

I continued. "I realize that it is short notice but that didn't stop you last time did it Laima? Anyway, you will participate in every event except the last which results in permanent bodily harm. It will still seem very strange for two people to volunteer, so to avoid any 'misunderstandings' you will sign a statement saying that you were not coerced and are doing this totally of your own free will. If asked you can say that it would be for the 'experience' or perhaps in support of Gonada's unique way of punishing infidelity."

"In addition, through-out the competition I expect you both to look like you are enjoying yourselves THOROUGHLY. If you have trouble smiling just think back to the way you felt before my race!" I paused and smiled. "If I see that either of you are not sufficiently having fun I will give you two warnings, and if I feel that I have to give a third then this whole sordid mess comes out in the open."

"Why are you doing this to me Vito? We're husband and wife!" wailed Nellie. "I know I was stupid but I was duped by that PI and I didn't know Laima was out to get some personal revenge."

"Nellie, I can't begin to tell you how disgusted I am in you! I did nothing but love and support you very day of the last fourteen years and you humiliate, degrade and possibly mutilate me based on nothing but your own malice. You were duped but you WANTED to be duped! You WANTED me to suffer! Most of all you ENJOYED watching me suffer!"

"I thought we were husband and wife too, but no real wife could do to her husband what you had planned. And after the actual race you were going to force me to do even more degrading things to buy your silence. I can no longer be married to a woman like that and once we get back to the States I will correct that."

My man-as-protector-of-women instincts wanted me to let them sweat and then back out at the last moment. But there was also a darker side rearing its head, probably the same side of Nellie that came forth yesterday, which wanted its pound of flesh. I'm pretty sure I won't go through with my threat, but who knows.

"You know what the real irony is of this whole thing?" I asked rhetorically. "This race was designed to cure me of the deceitful and hurtful practice of cheating on someone I claim to love. And I have done plenty of that, but not to you Nellie. Growing up I actually was the low-life you imagine me to be now. You never met her but by the time I met you I was already cured by a far better woman!"

"So, you both have a choice. Either cheerfully compete, avoiding the last event, or do the full competition and jail time. Since you two are the ones that got us into this mess, it's your call."