The Courier Ch. 02

Chapter 2 -- The Interrogation Room

The four Danubian police officers hustled their captive through a locked door and into a small hallway. The cops and the prisoner then descended down a long flight of stairs to the terminal building's basement, turned a corner and entered a large room. It was in this room where Maria Elena would have her initial interrogation. It also was where she was destined to make several critical mistakes that would make her legal situation considerably worse. As the group entered the room the drug dog continued to bark happily, knowing that he had a couple more pieces of beef jerky coming his way before he had to go back to work.

The interrogation room was a large, windowless space with a row of chairs lined up along the back wall. To the right side of the entrance there was a white backdrop and a camera mounted on a tripod, which Maria Elena correctly assumed was used to take mugshots. Next to the photography backdrop there was another camera on a tripod and a video camera. To her left were shelves full of medical supplies and drug testing kits. Also in the room were an examination table and a gynecological chair. Both the examination table and the gynecological chair had straps and cuffs that could be used to immobilize uncooperative prisoners. Maria Elena saw two enema bottles hanging from special stands. She noticed that one of the bottles was full.

The room also boasted more sinister-looking items. Several cruel-looking police switches hung on the wall near the enema bottles. There was an electric cattle prod plugged into a charger. There were several leather harnesses and restraints hanging on the wall, as well as metal bars with cuffs designed to force apart a prisoner's arms or legs. Several additional sets of cuffs hung from chains attached to the ceiling.

There was more. In the center of the room was a medical cart loaded with yet more restraints and punishment implements such as paddles, a riding crop, and a cane. There were examination implements and a couple of flashlights. Also on the cart were lubricating gel, a vibrator, and a dildo.

Several more police officers and airport officials entered the room, along with three men and a woman in doctors' smocks. The man leading the medical group was a lecherous-looking old man, but what was more unsettling was the cruel, hungry expression on the face of the woman.

Maria Elena was so terrified that she was unable to think straight. In spite of the hopelessness of her situation, her instincts told her to do what she could to deceive the Danubians and hide the criminals for whom she was working. She had been instructed that if she was caught, under no circumstances was she to reveal the identities of her handlers or the owners of the cocaine she was carrying. She was to offer no cooperation to the police, unless she wanted to be killed in prison.

The medical staff took up their positions near the examination table, while most of the other officials sat down along the wall. The cops uncuffed Maria Elena, but then the dog handler's partner stepped back and again pointed her gun directly at the prisoner's head.

A stern-looking middle-aged man in an immaculate dark suit approached the prisoner along with a cop holding a cloth bag. The man in the suit addressed her in English.

"You will undress. You will remove all your clothing piece by piece and hand each item to my assistant."

"I...I no understand...I no speak English...I..."

The man tightened his lips. "Do you understand 'naked', or 'nude'?"

Maria Elena gave a terrified nod. To emphasize his point the man reached forward and undid a button on the prisoner's blouse. He spoke in a very slow, deliberate tone, making sure that even if the Colombian did not understand his words, his meaning would be quite clear to her.

"Excellent. So you do understand. You are now a prisoner, and in this country prisoners are always naked. Now, you will take off your clothing and you will put it in the bag." The man pointed at the bag; "...and if you don't, I will order my officer to shoot you."

He pointed at the female officer, who responded by cocking her revolver.

"Now, do you understand me?"

Maria Elena began trembling violently, her knees shaking so badly that she barely could stand up. She struggled to catch her breath, but managed to nod. With unsteady hands she fumbled with the buttons on her blouse. The cop with the bag opened it slightly, letting her know that she did indeed comprehend what the Danubians wanted from her...that she was expected to surrender her clothing.

She took off her blouse and sweatshirt together and reluctantly handed them over to the cop with the bag. As he pushed them out of sight she began unbuckling the belt on her mini-skirt. She handed over the belt and very reluctantly unzipped the side of her skirt. She forced herself to let go and the skirt fell at her feet with a slight clump. She stepped out of the skirt and passed it to the cop. Now she was naked except for her bra, panties, and shoes. The shoes were next, followed by her bra.

The prisoner covered her breasts and started crying, unable to proceed any further. With a disgusted sigh the man in the suit reached forward to jerk her panties to her knees. Maria Elena let out an anguished cry, immediately trying to cover herself. Finally the man in the suit had enough. He pulled out his own service revolver and pointed it at the captive.

"If you do not want to die in this room, you will step out of those panties, you will pick them up, and you will put them in the bag."

With two loaded guns pointed at their prisoner, the Danubians overcame the language barrier and established their will over the terrified Latin American. She did as she was told, stepping out of the fallen panties, picking them up, and handing them to the cop. Maria Elena still was wearing various rings, earrings, and a couple of necklaces, which she had to take off as well. Once those items were off her body, she finally was in compliance with Danubian law. As a criminal she would not be allowed to have anything covering her body; neither jewelry nor clothing.

Normally the next step would be to have her pose for her mugshots, which in the Danubian Republic comprised not only photographs of the criminal's face taken from various angles, but also detailed photos of the criminal's uncovered body taken from various directions and positions.

However, the supervisor decided to wait on the mugshots. He knew that the prisoner was in such shock and terror that getting her to pose correctly would take all afternoon, even if he continued to threaten to shoot her. However, he had a more important reason for waiting on the mugshots. Under Danubian law, once a detainee is photographed she also is immediately assigned a prisoner number, which formalizes her arrest. From the moment a person is formally arrested, the Danubian penal code establishes limited rights, which include some restrictions on the way she can be treated under interrogation. If Maria Elena was not yet formally arrested, she did not yet have any legal protection and the interrogation team could do with her as they saw fit. She would be interrogated first, and only later would she pose for the mugshots and receive her prisoner number.

Instead, the man in the suit ordered the female cop to put away her revolver and handcuff Maria Elena's hands behind her back. Her modesty now would make no difference, because she was completely unable to cover herself. The female cop again kicked her in the backs of her knees to force her to return to a kneeling position.

Now, properly naked and kneeling with her hands cuffed behind her back, trembling with terror and humiliation, and with tears running down her cheeks, Maria Elena Rodriguez-Torres was ready to face interrogation by the officers of the Airport Division of the National Police of the Republic of Danubia. The man in the suit picked up a leather switch and tapped the tip against the prisoner's right breast.

"Do you understand why you are in our custody, young lady?"

"Please...I...I don't know nothin'...I...tourist...I..."

In his had he held the five pellets and held them out in front of her.

"Oh really? You don't know what these are?"

"No...I don't know...I..."

"So, these were in your pocket...but you don't know what they are?"

"I...I don't know...I...please...no English..."

The man in the suit smiled slightly.

"I believe that we've established that you can understand English when you need to. So let's try this again..." he held out the five pellets. "DO...YOU...KNOW...WHAT...THESE...ARE?

Maria Elena started crying. "cocaína..." she mumbled.

"Very good. Smart girl. Cocaína. Now, why...did...you...have...COCAÍNA...in...your...pocket?

"I...don't know...I just tourist...I no have cocaína..."

The Danubians looked at each other in disgust. It was obvious that Maria Elena was lying. Of course she knew about the cocaine she was carrying. What the young criminal did not realize at the time was that she was violating a fundamental rule of the society that was holding her captive, that lying under any circumstances is not tolerated, and certainly not to a public official. She was dishonoring herself with her lies, and the Danubians consider that a person who is dishonored is a grave danger to everyone around her. Everyone in that room agreed that the young criminal's spirit would have to be broken, that she would have to tell the truth before the interrogation ended.

Both the leader of the interrogation group and the chief doctor knew that it was highly unlikely that Maria Elena was only carrying five pellets. That didn't make any sense, because couriers usually carry around 100. Now that she was naked, the officials could see that her stomach was bloated. They realized that the distressed look on her face not only came from the shock of being arrested and stripped, but also from physical discomfort. The answer was obvious; the rest of the cocaine was still inside her body.

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The interrogation team had several options at this point. The crudest and quickest way would have been for the chief investigator to simply point his gun at Maria Elena and tell her that if she did not start talking, he would indeed blow her brains out. However, he figured that he had pushed that option far enough as it was, because in truth he had no intention of shooting her and did not want to risk her calling his bluff.

The interrogators knew that the proper option would have been for them to call the Ministry of Justice and have a Spokesperson-for-the-Criminal come over to the airport. In the Danubian justice system Spokespersons were placed in charge of all criminal detainees and acted as a combination of defense attorney, counselor, and parole officer. Upon being officially arrested a detainee was officially assigned to a Spokesperson, who assumed formal custody for the duration of that person's sentence.

The airport cops knew that the person they needed to contact was Spokeswoman Kimberly Lee-Dolkivna, a naturalized Danubian citizen and the one person within the Ministry of Justice considered a "specialist" in dealing with foreigners. Calling Spokeswoman Lee-Dolkivna would have been especially appropriate in the case of Maria Elena, because it was likely that she knew someone who spoke Spanish and thus could arrange for a proper interview in the detainee's native language.

However, no one in the room seriously considered calling Spokeswoman Lee-Dolkivna any sooner than was necessary. The male cops were looking forward to having the attractive naked young woman at their mercy for several hours, while the senior officials figured they could handle Maria Elena better than any Spokesperson, regardless of the fact that none of them spoke Spanish.

The leader of the interrogation team had another reason for not calling the Spokeswoman any sooner than necessary. Given that Maria Elena had already shown herself willing to lie, he decided to get her to formally perjure herself. He would make her declare that she had no more cocaine on her, and then, in front of cameras and multiple witnesses, force her to expel the remaining pellets. If he could get that on film, there was no way that Spokeswoman Lee-Dolkivna could refute the perjury charge during trial. Holding out the pellets he again asked:

"How...many...of...these...do...you...have? The number...how...many?"

"I...cinco...f...five...no more..."

"No cocaine...in...your...clothes?" He tugged at his jacket to make sure she understood.

"No cloth...no cocaína..."

The man patted his stomach and glanced at the video camera to make sure it was turned on.

"Do...you...have...cocaine...in...your...stomach?"

Maria Elena paused. Even as she was speaking she knew that she was giving the wrong answer, an answer sure to make her situation worse.

"No...I no cocaine in stomach..."

"No cocaine in stomach? Are you sure?"

"No cocaine in stomach."

The man then addressed the medical team in Danubian. They were standing by, ready with a vial of a foul smelling chemical that would make a person retch upon sniffing it. The two attendants immediately approached Maria Elena and grabbed her arms. The female grabbed her hair to immobilize her head. The old lecherous doctor then walked up to the detainee and waved the vial under her nose.

The chemical's effect on the captive was immediate. She gagged instantly, leaning forward and giving a tremendous heave that expelled the 18 pellets she had swallowed only an hour before. The man in the suit snapped his fingers at the cameraman to direct him to focus in on the cocaine now lying on the floor. The doctor continued to wave the vial under the girl's nose. She tried desperately tried to resist breathing, but within a few seconds another whiff of that horrible concoction caused her to vomit yet again. Maria Elena was convinced that her stomach was turning itself inside out as she threw up several more times, leaving a total of about 40 pellets on the floor. The cops smiled coldly. Now they had her on the perjury charge. There was no refuting that fact, it was on videotape.

While the female medical assistant held Maria Elena's hair, the man in the suit slapped her hard across the face.

"No cocaine in stomach? ISN'T THAT WHAT YOU SAID? No cocaine in stomach? Then what's THIS?"

He picked up one of the newly expelled pellets and held it in front of the mortified prisoner. He threw it onto the floor and then he addressed the others in the room in Danubian.

"Clean her up. Give her some water and make sure she can stand. When she's ready, put her in the leg spreader and we shall continue."

The old doctor spoke next.

"Do you want her to have a rectal exam, Inspector?"

"Yes, Doctor. Most definitely I want her to have a rectal exam. I suspect we'll find the rest of the drugs when you conduct the exam." He turned to the cameraman. "And make sure that exam is properly filmed."

"Yes, Inspector."

Maria Elena's "bath" was the next part of her ordeal. She would be bathed alright, by two male cops who would fondle every part of her body while they soaped her. The cops uncuffed her, only to restrain her wrists from two cuffs hanging from the ceiling. The cuffs were about a meter apart, forcing the captive to stand with her arms spread. The cops sprayed her face and body with cold water before thoroughly covering her with soap. They sensuously ran their hands up and down her body, concentrating, of course, on her breasts, her bottom, and the sensitive area between her legs. Another dose of cold spray cleaned off the soap, but the cops were not done with her. One of them held a toothbrush to her face and told her in Danubian to open her mouth. Tears ran down Maria Elena's face while she faced the humiliation of having her teeth brushed by the cop in that crowded room. When finished the cop forced her to open her mouth and sprayed cold water inside.

The cops dried off the young woman, fondled her a bit more, and finally let her down. Before the bath Maria Elena seemed close to fainting, but the cold water had revived her. She now was ready for the leg spreader and the rectal exam.

The leg spreader was a relatively simple device, metal bar with U-shaped pieces facing outward on both sides and leather cuffs in the middle. Facing away from the row of chairs, the prisoner was forced to stand with her legs spread while the cops placed the restraint between her thighs underneath. She then was forced to bend over so her hands could be cuffed. Once the buckles where tightened around her wrists, she was unable to move. Her legs were spread widely and her bottom and vagina were lewdly displayed to everyone standing behind her. The doctor walked up behind the prisoner and lovingly stroked her tightly stretched bottom before putting on a pair of medical gloves. The cop with the camera began snapping pictures while everyone else took a seat to enjoy the spectacle.

The doctor lubricated his index finger and unceremoniously shoved it up Maria Elena's bottom. She winced upon feeling the pressure in her intestines. With his free hand the doctor spread the young woman's bottom-hole. Then he pulled out a grape-sized oval, identical to the ones that she had just thrown up. He held it up for the benefit of the spectators and the camera, before holding it to the prisoner's nose, forcing her to smell the odor of her own abused intestines. The camera continued to click as Maria Elena let out an anguished sob. The humiliation she was enduring was overwhelming, but there was still much worse to come.

The doctor dug out two additional pellets in front of nearly 20 witnesses, but then asked for a small pair of tongs to reach in and extract more of the pellets. Time and again Maria Elena felt the tongs slide into her bottom, only to slide out with yet another portion of the cocaine she was carrying. The doctor then pushed in a small speculum and shined a flashlight into her anus, before issuing an order in Danubian to one of the male assistants. The younger man immediately brought over the full enema bottle and a large metal bowl. The doctor removed the speculum, and then, moving in front of his captive so she could see what he was doing, lubricated the tip of the enema nozzle. Yes, in front of all those men, Maria Elena would be administered an enema.

Click...click...click...the camera continued documenting the young woman's ongoing torment as the doctor slowly, very slowly, inserted the enema tube. He waited for what seemed an eternity before releasing the water.

Maria Elena felt an overwhelming need to go to the bathroom the instant he unlatched the clip holding the tube shut. Her intestines ached as the warm water expanded in her guts and dislodged the remaining pellets. She would be spared nothing. She would pay for her lie many times over. She would be totally broken before any Spokesperson got a chance to talk to her. From her there would be no criminal code of silence; before she left that room she would confess and give up everything she knew about her handlers.

The female cop once again pointed her revolver at Maria Elena's head while the doctor removed the enema tube and unbuckled her wrists from the leg spreader. The device dropped to the floor with a loud clang as the prisoner put her hands over her stomach and gasped with pain. She was desperate to make it to the bathroom, but the Danubians were not about to allow her even that tiny shred of dignity. Two cops grabbed the young woman's wrists and forced her to squat over the large bowl. A spasm of pain finally forced her to give up. She released the contents of her intestines in full view of her spectators, filling the bowl with noxious brown liquid punctuated with yet more pellets. As her bowels expelled the last of the enema and the final pellets she had concealed in her intestines, the man in the suit stood in front of her watching, his arms crossed and his lips tightened. The photographer continued to take pictures non-stop, documenting the courier's on-going torment.