Rescue

As she plugged the cattle prod into an outlet, Jack heard a strange vibration. Jin Li must have heard it too for she looked around with a "Huh?"

She set the prod down and started walking around the room, searching for the source of the odd sound that had become steadily louder.

Suddenly, a pointed object burst through the floor about in the center of the room. Jin Li ran screaming up the stairs as a giant drill bit slowly emerged from the basement floor. Jack screamed too, but being chained to the wall, couldn't escape his certain demise at these fool subway tunnel builders who had obviously made a wrong turn.

The machine continued to climb through the floor as the point of the drill pierced the ceiling. Finally, though, the yellow body of the machine stopped when its door was centered between the floor and the ceiling.

The door opened and a man emerged wearing a blue uniform with a pastel yellow sash with an odd emblem sewn on it.

"Who are you?" Jack asked.

"I'm Virgil. You called for help. This is the danger zone, right?"

"Uhm, yes, I guess. But, uh, what the hell is that?" Jack asked pointing to the tunnel drilling machine.

"Brains calls that 'The Mole'. Now, we don't have much time." Virgil walked over to Jack and cut through his chain with a torch.

"Come with me, quickly," Virgil then said to Jack.

Jack followed Virgil into his "mole" machine and belted in.

Jack watched as Virgil piloted the tunnel drilling machine backward through the tunnel it had created to reach his location. After about five minutes, the drilling machine returned above ground and stopped atop its trolley. While still in the drilling machine, Virgil backed the mole and its trolley into a large green hangar.

Virgil unbelted himself and said to Jack, "Please follow me."

Jack followed Virgil out of the drilling machine and out of the hangar to see the hangar situated directly underneath a huge green cargo plane supported on four poles. A moment later, the plane lowered itself onto the hangar, causing the hangar itself to become the part of the plane's fuselage. Jack had never seen anything like this before in his life!

It was then that Jack noticed a winged rocket parked on its side, also supported by struts.

Another man, similarly dressed but with a pastel blue sash instead of yellow, walked over to Jack and Virgil and introduced himself. "Hi there. I'm Scott. You must be the person needing rescue."

"Uhm, yeah," Jack answered, realizing that he was still in considerable pain from his multiple puncture wounds and aching neck.

"Don't worry! At fifteen thousand miles per hour, we'll get you to the Torture Victims' Hospital in Copenhagen in about fifteen minutes. Come with me."

Jack knew that Scott was grossly understating the travel time top keep him calm, for he knew that the Concorde took at least three hours to cross the Atlantic. Still, Jack followed Scott aboard the rocket, and they lifted off without delay.

Jack was astonished when, about fifteen minutes later, he felt the rocket touch down and Scott announced, "We're here."

Jack was even weaker now, and Scott assisted him down the ladder from the rocket onto the lawn. A team of doctors was waiting there with a stretcher outside the hospital.

The doctors ushered Jack onto the stretcher and rushed him into the hospital. He was wheeled into an operating room and was immediately put under anesthesia.

Jack then woke in a bed in a room in the hospital with a hart monitor wired to his chest and an IV bottle attached to his wrist.

The doctor walked in and Jack tried to sit up when searing neck pain forced him back down.

"Stay laying down Jack," the doctor said. "I'm Doctor Sorensen. You're at Rigshospitalets."

"I know. Will I be okay? My neck and back hurts. And I ache all over."

"You're very lucky that you are not paraplegic. I am sorry to say that you will live with neck and back pain for the rest of your life. Still, the pain will ease with time. You have many injuries to your internal organs and you will need more surgery. First we have to remove the infection in your abdomen from the puncture wounds in your intestines. For now, just relax. Would you like to watch television?"

"Yeah, sure," Jack answered.

The doctor handed him the remote control and said, "A specialist will be in to see you later."

Jack turned on the TV, but all the programs were in Swedish, so he then turned it off and tried to sleep.

An orderly brought in a tray of food a little later, but Jack wasn't hungry. He tried to eat a little, but pushed it aside and dozed off to sleep.

When he woke the following morning, there was a fresh tray of breakfast. He ate a little better this time, but still didn't finish. He just gazed out the window down to the street below.

Several days went by. During that time, nurses routinely came to take his temperature and administer medications. Doctor Sorensen also stopped in every couple of days.

About a week later, during the afternoon, a different doctor walked into his room.

"Hello. I am Doctor Olsson."

"What happened to Doctor Sorensen?"

"Doctor Sorensen is still your doctor. I came to ask you a few questions."

"Sure. You're a psychologist, right?"

"I'm a psychiatrist specializing in the treatment of torture induced trauma."

"I see. Well, shoot, Doctor."

"I understand that you were tortured sexually by a female. Am I right?"

"Yes."

The doctor proceeded to ask Jack a litany of questions about his feelings toward women and sex.

Jack was cooperative, but it came through clearly that Jack wanted nothing more to do with women and sex.

The psychiatrist said, "You are a special case, Jack. We have a special program for victims such as yourself. A rehabilitation partner will be assigned to you. She will probably come in to see you tomorrow."

"I guess," Jack answered ambivalently.

As promised, the following evening, a Chinese woman entered Jack's hospital room carrying a small satchel. She set the satchel down by the door and said, "Hi, Jack! I'm Ping! I'm your rehabilitation partner."

"No!" jack shouted, grabbed the TV remote control, and threw it at her. "Get away from me!"

She dodged the projectile and rushed to Jack's side. "My poor dear. You must despise women after your ordeal. My job is to fix that."

"If you're a 'shrink,' I'd rather talk to Doctor Olsson. I don't need you. Go away!"

"I'm not a 'shrink,' Jack. I'm your partner. Doctor Olsson will still come in to see every few days."

At that moment, an orderly wheeled in a cart carrying two trays of food. Ping placed a bed tray over Jack's lap and placed the two food trays on the bed tray."

"I'm getting two meals?"

"No, silly. One is yours and one is mine."

"You're eating with me? Why? Don't you have other patients?"

"No. Partners work one-on-one with victims."

"Well, I don't want you!" Jack screamed and threw dish of apple sauce at her.

Ping stood and said, "Jack, I'm so sorry you were hurt so bad. I'll see you again tomorrow." She wiped some apple sauce from her cheek, smiled, and exited the room, leaving her satchel where she left it.

Jack finished eating his food in solitude. After a few hours, he finally fell asleep.

Jack woke the next morning as Ping wheeled in breakfast for two.

"Good morning, Jack. I hope you're feeling better today."

"I was until you walked in," Jack muttered.

Again, she placed the tray on the bed and set the two food trays on the bed tray. She spooned a bowl of rice and leaned over to place the spoon in his mouth.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm going to feed you, Jack. Come on, it'll be romantic."

"Romantic! Romantic? What the hell are you, anyway?"

"I'm your rehabilitation partner, Jack."

"What? Like a sex surrogate or something?"

"Yes."

"So, does every torture victim get a free prostitute here?"

"I'm not a prostitute, Jack. I'm a trained and licensed psychologist. Victims are given the treatment in accord with their needs. You need me."

"So you're with me until my treatment is over? Then you're assigned to the next victim? Then the next?"

"That's how it's supposed to work," she answered.

"I see," Jack said. "Well, I don't want a 'partner,' and I especially don't want you!"

"Oh, Jack. Please give me a chance. I want to help you."

"Just go away!"

Ping walked around the bed, pulled down the covers and sit next to him, gently putting her hand on his chest.

Jack grabbed her wrist and pushed her away, then shoved her off the bed.

She landed on the floor with an "Ow!" then walked out of the room, this time taking her satchel with her.

The day passed uneventfully. That evening brought a new visitor to Jack's room. Just after the orderly brought Jack's dinner, along with an extra meal, a different woman entered the room, also with a satchel.

"Hello, Jack," said the tall delicate blue-eyed blonde, "I'm Denise, your new rehabilitation partner. Now, I want to help you, but I won't put up with any shit."

Denise sat next to Jack's bed and started eating her meal. Jack sighed and ate his meal, ignoring Denise. At least she isn't trying to feed me like a baby.

Jack finished his meal and rolled over, facing away from Denise. He pondered silently, Yeah, she's gorgeous! And man, what knockers -- I could hardly tell that Chinese bitch had any at all. But I just can't be bothered. Maybe she'll just go away if I ignore her.

"Jack! Don't ignore me!" she ordered.

"What?" he asked as he rolled back onto his back.

She removed the bed tray and set it on the table. Then she walked over to the door and closed and locked it before walking back to the bed. She then climbed into bed, on top of the blankets, on top of Jack, straddling him. She lied down on top of him, her belly on his, her legs outside his, and her shoulders propped up on her arms with her elbows pressing down on Jack's chest.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"We're going to talk. I want you to tell me about yourself."

"What do you want to know?"

"Who are you? I mean, where did you grow up? What do you like to do? What were your past girlfriends like? That sort of thing."

"Why should I tell you? Why should you care, anyway?"

"Because," she answered, "like it or not, I'm your girlfriend while you're here."

"You're not my girlfriend."

"Oh, yeah? We'll just see about that!"

She climbed off Jack and fetched her satchel. She disappeared with it into the private bathroom for several minutes before emerging wearing a skimpy nightgown

"Oh, please!" Jack said sarcastically.

She walked around the bed and got in under the covers and snuggled up to Jack.

Jack was livid. "I don't want you in bed with me, bitch!" He jumped out of bed causing some of his chest electrodes to fall off and getting tangled in his IV tube. "Damn!"

"Jack, calm down! I told you I'm not putting up with any shit. Now get back in bed!"

"No fucking way am I getting in bed with you, you whore!"

"Get back in that bed you jerk ass! Now!"

"Fuck you!"

"Yeah, that's exactly what you need to do to bring closure to your trauma!"

"What?"

"To fuck me!"

"No fucking way am I fucking you!"

Their screaming match was broken at that moment by a knock on the door.

"Shit!" Jack added.

A voice from outside called in, "The monitor alarm just went off. Please unlock the door, or we're coming in with the key."

Denise walked over to the door. As soon as she opened it, Doctor Sorensen rushed in followed by a nurse and a couple of orderlies.

"Jack," the doctor said, "lie down on the bed. Please! Your life is in danger."

Jack went back into the bed and the nurse reconnected the heart monitor leads to his chest while the doctor injected his IV lead with a syringe. The orderlies just stood and watched with their arms folded across their chests.

"Are you okay, Denise?" the doctor asked her.

"Yes, Doctor. I'm fine. His reaction to me was normal for someone with his torture profile."

They all left then, including Denise. About an hour later, Denise returned, fully dressed again, with Ping behind her.

"Oh Crap!" Jack sputtered, "Now the two of you!"

"Jack," Denise asked, "Between the two of us, who do you prefer as your partner?"

"I -- I don't know."

"It's an easy question, Jack. Choose one or the other."

"Crap! You're a fucking bitch, Denise. You know that! So I'd take Ping over you, I suppose."

"Fine!" Denise said with a huff. She snatched her satchel and left the room.

Ping, who had also brought a satchel, set it down and closed and locked the door.

"You might as well leave too!" Jack told her angrily.

"No, Jack. This time, you chose me. I'm not leaving you again."

"Fu..." Jack caught himself before finishing it, lest Ping turn his curse to her favor as Denise had done.

Jack watched as Ping undressed before his eyes, folding her clothes and placing them in her satchel. Then she walked over, nude, and got in bed with him as Denise had done an hour earlier.

"Fine, sleep here if you want," Jack told her, "but I'm not screwing you."

"You don't have to screw me, Jack. It will take time for you to build up enough trust in me before you can screw me."

Jack rolled over away from Ping and closed his eyes. He fell asleep soon after.

The next morning, Jack awoke to find Ping spooning him from behind with her arm draped around his waist. It felt good.

He rolled over to face Ping causing her to awaken. "Good morning," she said with a smile.

"Yeah, good morning. Why are you doing this? Sleeping with a guy you don't know."

She reached out and touched his lips with the tips of her fingers. "Let me tell you what happened to me a long time ago. I -- I was raped and tortured because I spoke out against the Central Government of China. Some friends helped me escape through Hong Kong before it was turned over to China and they brought me here to Rigshospitalets."

"So you had a male, er, partner assigned to you who slept with you and everything, huh?"

"No, I wasn't tortured sexually like you were. But it took them a long time before I could function normally again. That's when I joined Amnesty International to work against torture and to help victims."

"So you sleep with torture victims as part of your job, huh? How many different guys have you slept with so far?"

"Jack, it took a long time to work up to this assignment. You will be the second man I will have relations with."

"Oh, just like that, huh? I will have sex with you?"

"Yes, Jack. You will."

"So I'll be your second, er, patient? You've had sex before with a different, uh, victim, huh."

"No, the rape was my first."

"Oh. Jeez! I'm sorry, Ping." Jack reached out and put his arm around Ping. She returned the embrace.

"So how did you, like, got to be a, well, sex partner for sexual torture victims?"

"I started out as an assistant here at Rigshospitalets when they had just started treating torture victims. I earned my Ph.D. in psychology and specialized in the treatment of torture victims. Victims of sexual torture, both men and women, were especially hard. When they had the idea to assign sex surrogates to sexual victims, I thought that I would like to participate and help someone in this special way."

"But you never got married or anything since then?"

"I've met a few nice men here at the hospital, and had a couple of boyfriends. But when they wanted to become intimate, I just couldn't. Each of us who have chosen to do this have different reasons, but for me, I learned that I could only be intimate with someone who had also been sexually tortured."

"And you were just assigned to me, like that, to be my lover?"

"I saw you being wheeled in, and Doctor Olsson gave me your case sheet to read. I think I could have refused to help you, but there are few of us. When you came in, there was only me and Denise available. You needed one of us, and Doctor Olsson thought I would be the better partner for you."

At that moment, a knock came from the door.

"Yes?" Ping asked.

"Breakfast!" an orderly replied.

"Come in," Ping answered.

The orderly unlocked the door and wheeled in their breakfast and left.

Ping and Jack ate together in peace for the first time, occasionally feeding each other.

"So Jack. You know my story. Now tell me yours?"

"I don't really have much to tell."

"What about previous girlfriends?" she asked. "What were they like?"

"Well, my first girlfriend was really bossy and full of anger and rage at the world. She told me how all her previous relationships had ended bad -- her boyfriends all left her after, like, a year or two. We had just started living together. She was always getting really furious at me for silly little things. Then one Friday night the weather was really bad and I was late getting home from work. It was about nine thirty at night that I got home, but she wasn't home yet either. So I took a shower and was going to go straight to bed because I was exhausted from the drive home in the storm and we had also been invited to a friend's wedding real early Saturday morning. She got home just after I gout out of the shower and asked me why I was in my bathrobe. I told her that I was about to go to bed, and she lit into me like I had committed bloody murder! 'Do you have to go right to bed? Can't I have a half-hour of your time when I get home? Man, you are so abusive to me!' she went on and on. She could have just asked me to stay up a little instead of ripping into me."

"What a bitch!" Ping said as she touched his shoulder.

"Yeah, and why do some people schedule their weddings and stuff so early in the morning? That is such a thoughtless and inconsiderate thing to do to your friends!" Jack said angrily.

"I understand, Jack."

"Anyway, that wasn't the end of it. I stayed up with her, and you know what she did?"

"What did she do?"

"She started watching some soap opera that she taped earlier that day. I started to talk to her. I asked her how her day was."

"How sweet! Did that patch things up?"

"No way! She lit in to me for talking over her show! Like it was a big inconvenience for her to hit rewind for two seconds."

"Oh, Jack!"

"Yeah, well, that's when I realized that I was the victim in an abusive relationship, but I thought if I hung in, maybe things would get better."

"Abusive relationships never get better, Jack, so I already know where your story is going."

"Yeah, the following day, I drove us to the wedding. They were holding both the ceremony and the reception at the hotel. It was still pouring rain, and so I let her out under the canopy in front of the hotel lobby and then parked the car. But do you think she waited for me in the lobby? Of course not! We were already late, so she went in without me. I had no idea which banquet room the service was being held in so I waited in the lobby. After about a half hour, I got back in my car and drove back to her place. I packed up my clothes and stuff and left while she was still at the wedding."

"Awww, Jack. But most women aren't like that."

"Maybe, I never had much opportunity to find out. I was never very popular with women."

"You never had much sex, then?"

"No, and even the sex I got was boring!"

"Really? How can sex be boring?"

"Well, I've always fantasized about kinky sex."

"Really?" she asked, "But you Americans don't know what kinky sex is!"

"No?"

"No! You Americans think giving head, or queening, or positions other than the missionary position, are kinky sex."

"Not me! My fantasies are much nastier than giving head or face-sitting! That's why I thought I'd try the BDSM scene. But that just was going from one extreme to the other."