Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 ï>¿Maragana Girl by EC

   Chapter 5 - Two Dukovs in Court

   Vladim Dukov was a Spokesman-for-the-Criminal.  He son Vladik was a
police officer.  It was only a matter of time before Vladim would become
the Spokesman for defendants arrested by his son.

   The same day his daughter's school uniform issue was "settled", at least
in Vladim Dukov's mind, Vladik arrested two burglars.  Over the summer they
had broken into several homes around the Dukovs' neighborhood to steal
money and jewelry.  In two of the burglaries they had killed family dogs
protecting their owners' houses.  It was a Danubian crime-wave that
terrified the entire neighborhood.

   The two men finally were caught while trying to sell the jewelry to a
Russian who was working undercover for the Danubian police.  The case was
fairly straightforward, except the two suspects had been classmates of
Vladik, and were assigned to Vladim as clients.

   The case gave Kim a chance to see the trial and punishment of two newly
convicted criminals up close.  Kim's schedule of running all over Danube
City was changed that day, because Victor decided to have Kim go directly
to his brother's office and handle all the messages related to the trial.
Kim would have to spend the entire day relaying documents, signature
sheets, evidence, photos, and conviction packages between the police chief,
Vladim Dukov's office, Vladim's son Vladik, and the court officials across
the square.  Even though Kim would have plenty of down-time that day as she
waited for the case to run its course through the trial, it made more sense
simply to have one courier moving the documents instead of constantly
calling whoever was available at the moment.  The lovely part of the entire
arrangement for Kim was the temporary liberation from her boss's cell
phone. Cell phones were strictly prohibited in both the police station and
the courthouse.  As a result Kim's cell phone sat silent in Victor's office
during this particular assignment.  She looked forward to spending an
entire day not having to listen to her boss's voice.

   The day started with Kim picking up the arrest report from Vladik and
taking it upstairs to Dukov's office.  As she entered she passed two very
scared-looking naked young men kneeling on the floor of the reception area.
Kim sympathized, but at the same time felt a twinge of erotic excitement.
She would be on-hand to witness the collaring and punishment of these two
thieves, an event probably just an hour or two away.

   Dukov came out to unhook the handcuffs of the two suspects and had them
follow him into his office.  As he did for Kim, the Spokesman offered his
clients a light breakfast, although this time it was just tea and breakfast
rolls, no fruit.  As the two suspects ate, Kim handed Vladik's
investigation and arrest packages to Dukov.  The Spokesman thumbed through
the folders and sighed.  He addressed Kim in English.

   "There is very little in these papers that can help them.  I do not
believe I can rightfully request leniency; not with what is here.  I can
only hope that by conversing with them I might uncover something in their
favor not reflected in these reports."

   Dukov signed several acknowledgements of document delivery and then sent
Criminal # 98945 across the plaza to the courthouse to deliver them.

   Kim returned to Dukov's office with a trial schedule.  Within 30 minutes
the guard would arrive to take the suspects across the plaza to their
trial. Conviction and a full sentence were a sure thing for these two.  The
evidence against them was overwhelming.  Worse, while Kim was at the
courthouse, Dukov discovered that both men were ecstasy users, which was
why they were stealing.  Under Danubian law he did not have the right to
withhold that information from the police.  Dukov called the police doctor
downstairs and relayed the information.  The two suspects now had to be
tested for drug use before their trial.  Dukov then called the judge.  The
trial had to be delayed, pending the drug test.

   Vladik and his female partner quickly showed up to handcuff the two
young men and take them downstairs, where the police doctor and his medical
students were waiting.  Kim had to go as well, with a couple of medical
questionnaires.  Once those were filled out she had to run them back across
the plaza to the courthouse.  She felt a grim sense of nostalgia as she
entered the examination room.  This room was not a place of happy memories
for Criminal # 98945.  The medical students all looked at the American as
she entered, but fortunately today she was not the subject of their
testing. As Vladik and his partner entered the students saluted them.  They
saluted back and turned the offenders over to the head doctor.

   The police doctor was holding his switch, just in case there was any
hint of rebellion from these two thieves and drug-users.  They knelt on the
floor as the doctor explained to his class they would be testing the two
subjects for ecstasy.  He passed out testing kits and then called three
female medical students to step forward.  They would help prepare the
suspects for their medical exam.

   The doctor gave one of the kneeling suspects a sharp tap on the shoulder
and ordered him to stand up.  He hooked the suspect's handcuffs to a metal
ring on the side of the examination table and ordered him to spread his
legs and lean back a bit.  Once the suspect complied his pubic area was
completely exposed to everyone in the room.  A female medical student then
lathered the suspect's pubic hair with shaving cream and pulled out an old
fashion straight-edged razor.  The student needed to shave the suspect, and
she decided to have a little fun with her assignment.  She held the razor
close to the suspect's terrified face and smiled.  In Danubian she taunted
him: "You better stay VERY still when I shave you.  If you don't, something
else besides your hair might end up on the floor, something I really don't
think you'd want to lose."

   With that the student carefully shaved the suspect.  She fondled his
penis and testicles, gently massaging and pushing them back and forth.  By
the time she finished the suspect had a furious erection.  The female
medical students from the class stood in front of their victim, commenting
on the size of his organs and joking about the hard-on.  The older doctor
and the male students stood back, smiling and making crude sexual jokes at
the expense of the suspect.  The female student assigned to shaving
finished by rinsing off the suspect with a warm washrag, something that
aroused him even more.  She gave his penis a gentle squeeze and then
unhooked his cuffs from the examination table.  She ordered him to kneel on
the floor, his erection pointing up from between his legs and a truly
miserable expression on his face.

   The doctor then tapped the shoulder of the second suspect, and another
female student repeated the shaving ordeal on him.  There were more
comments from the females in the class and more jokes from the males.  Kim
shuddered.  Holy shit...  at least they didn't do this to me, she thought
to herself.

   The doctor laid two bedpans in front of the two kneeling suspects and
ordered them to pee.  One of them emptied his bladder with no problem, but
the other had the same problem Kim had, he just couldn't piss in front of a
room full of people.  The doctor picked up the leather switch and struck
him hard across the shoulders four times before the suspect was able to
comply with the demand to fill the bedpan.

   There was the same testing on the urine samples that there had been when
Kim was the subject, and there were 40 positive results, two for each
student.  Oh yes, documented drug users!

   There was the same test on the suspects' blood and the same over-all
medical check-up.  However, one of the female medical students had a wicked
idea when she noticed one of the suspects once again had a hard-on.  She
whispered the idea into the ear of the head doctor, who smiled and
commented.  "Ha, Magda, you are an evil little thing, aren't you?  Sure,
let's have some fun before these two go to trial."

   With that the eight female medical students in the class split up into
two teams, and the males placed bets on which team would win.  Kim wondered
to herself...  win what?

   The women ordered the two suspects to stand up.  Two members of each
team each grabbed an arm of their victim with one hand and started
massaging his chest with the other.  The other two team-members put on
medical gloves and took up their positions, one behind the victim and the
other in front.  The student behind each suspect shoved a finger up his
bottom and quickly located the suspect's prostate gland.  The student in
front grabbed the suspect's penis in one hand and his testicles in the
other.  At a whistle from a male classmate the females began rubbing and
massaging the two suspects' prostates and penises.  Quickly both young men
had furious erections.  They shivered and groaned as they came, shooting
sperm across the floor in front of them.  The male students whistled and
applauded.  They noted where the semen had landed and cheered Magda, the
leader of the winning team.  Her suspect had ejaculated first, and had
ejaculated farthest.  As Magda smiled and blushed, the whole room laughed
and shouted: "Doc-doc Magda!  Doc-doc Magda!"

   Kim stood dumbfounded, wondering if Dukov was aware of what was going on
down here.  Anyhow, Vladik and his partner were quietly watching the whole
affair with disapproving expressions on their faces.  Finally in voice that
reflected impatience and disgust he commented: "Doctor, I would very much
like to get these two to trial.  If you want to have sperm races down here
I'd appreciate it if you do it on your own time, not mine."

   With that the fun ended.  The two suspects were briefly un-cuffed to
shower and then re-cuffed to take across the plaza.  Kim, meanwhile, ran
the confirmation sheets up to Dukov's office for his signature and then
over to the courthouse for more signatures, then back to the Spokesman's
office.  By now the two unhappy defendants were standing outside his door,
ready to be taken over to the courthouse by Vladik and his partner.

   Kim was on-hand to witness the trial and punishment of the two thieves
and newly-identified drug users.  As a courier, she had the right to sit in
the press area of the courtroom, something she took advantage of to get a
better view.

   Dukov was not in a good mood at all.  Not only was he on opposite sides
from his own son; there was absolutely nothing in this case to allow him to
argue for a reduced sentence.  Still, he considered it a point of personal
honor to argue for some sort of modification of the punishment.  Finally he
settled on the idea of reducing the number of switchings the two thieves
had to face in favor of frequent drug-testing.  It was the best he could
do. As in every case he handled, his goal that day was to reduce the
suffering of his clients as much as possible.

   The trial went quickly and the sentence was standard for the crimes. 
The criminals got five years for the burglaries, two years for vandalism
and animal cruelty, and five years for ecstasy use.  They would be tested
for drug use every 30 days and switched every five months.  Furthermore,
they were prohibited from having contact with each other during their
sentences.  To make sure they could not see each other, the judge ordered
that they would have to draw lots to see which of them would move out of
the Danube City collar zone and into Rika Chorna.  Dukov's only success
that day was reducing the frequency of switchings from once every three
months to once every five months.  It wasn't much, but at least he had done
something for them.

   The two criminals looked at each other in fear as they knelt to have
their collars fitted and put on.  Once collared, they knelt forward to put
their heads on the carpet, their exposed bottoms and testicles high in the
air for anyone behind them to clearly see.  Dukov ordered his clients to
stand up and led them to his son and his female police partner.  The
Spokesman saluted his son and presented the two young men for judicial
punishment.  Both knelt to kiss the shoes of the two police officers.

   Although Vladik had been the arresting officer for both men, he needed
to turn over the punishment of one of them to his female partner.  He had
been classmates with both criminals, but one of them in particular he knew
very well, the two having played together in the school's soccer team. 
Under Danubian social protocol, Vladik could not punish his former friend,
nor would he have wanted to.  He needed to turn the punishment of his
former teammate over to his female partner.  The other criminal he would
punish himself, since he had not known him that well in school and did not
have the same social prohibitions against punishing him.

   Vladik quietly addressed his former teammate.  "You might as well go
first.  My partner will administer your punishment.  I want you to show
some courage while she switches you, which is something you seemed to have
lost over the last couple of years.  It hurts me to see you like this, but
you did this to yourself."

   "I'm sorry Vladik.  I really am."

   "I'm not Vladik to you anymore.  You have dishonored our friendship, you
have dishonored your teammates, and you have dishonored our school.  You
are now a criminal and I am a cop.  You will address me as Officer Dukov.
Please don't make that mistake again when you talk to me.  But...  but, I
guess...  I'm sorry too."

   With that Vladik and his partner took his ex-teammate's hands and guided
him over the table.  They secured his wrists and ankles with the straps. 
Vladik's female partner pulled him to the side and quietly asked him.

   "Vladik, do you want me to go easy on him, since he was your teammate?"

   "No.  I don't want you to show him any mercy, none whatsoever.  I want
you to switch him as hard as you possibly can without breaking his skin or
getting my father to intervene."

   The female cop nodded.  "As you wish, Vladik."

   Vladik's partner positioned herself near the punishment table, lightly
touched her victim's bottom with the switch, drew it back and laid a
fearful blow across the base of the criminal's bottom.  It was a vicious
blow aimed right at a very sensitive area.  Vladik's classmate groaned, his
voice close to breaking at the very first stroke.  She waited a few
seconds, then struck again, only slightly higher than the first blow.

   The female officer carefully timed the first 10 strokes, laying them
across both bottom-cheeks.  She struck hard, moving her entire body with
the swing.  Her aim was excellent.  She laid one hard stroke after another
on her victim's bottom, leaving it covered with vicious welts perfectly
parallel and very close to each other.  The criminal's voice broke at the
fifth blow.  By the tenth blow he was crying non-stop.

   Vladik's partner methodically moved on to the next part of the
switching, 10 full-force blows on her victim's right bottom-cheek and ten
more full force blows on the victim's left bottom cheek.  She carefully
aimed at the unmarked parts of the criminal's bottom, hitting so hard that
she came close to breaking the skin each time the switch landed.  Vladik's
ex-teammate screamed over and over, sobbing and begging for mercy.  Vladik
shook his head.  This ex-friend of his was dishonoring himself yet again
with all that racket.  The young police officer looked up at the cameras
focused on the criminal's punishment table.  Yes, Vladik thought to
himself, film it.  Let the whole nation know what a coward he really is.

   After just 30 strokes it was obvious there was no way Vladik's partner
could continue to punish his classmate's bottom.  Already both
bottom-cheeks were a mass of very severe welts and quite swollen.  Instead,
the female officer slowly worked her way down the offender's thighs, laying
seven full-force strokes on his left thigh and then seven full-force
strokes on his right thigh.  By now the criminal was sobbing so hard that
his body was jerking back and forth on the punishment table.  There were
only six strokes to go, all of which Vladik's partner laid across the
offender's shoulders.  Six very loud screams punctuated the final set of
strokes.

   Vladik and his partner quickly un-buckled the straps that attached his
former classmate.  As a gesture of contempt the two officers pulled the
sobbing criminal off the table and dropped him on the floor in the same
manner they might have handled a sack of rotten potatoes.  He remained on
the ground, still sobbing loudly.  Kim later learned that pulling a
punished criminal off the switching table and dropping him on the floor was
the supreme insult a Danubian police officer could level in the courtroom.
Normally the punishing officer allowed the criminal to get off the table on
his own, once he had sufficiently recovered to stand up.

   Vladik and the female officer then saluted each other, a quick formal
gesture indicating that Vladik was now taking charge of the switching table
from his partner.  He glanced over at the second criminal, the one he now
would punish.  He tapped the table with his switch.  The man sadly nodded
and bent over the table, extending his arms to fit into the straps on the
surface.  Vladik's partner quickly secured the criminal's wrists and
ankles.

   Vladik was a serious officer and never attempted to fondle or sexually
humiliate a criminal.  In that respect the criminals he punished were
lucky, since he did not like to have "fun" with them at their expense. 
However, like his partner, he was a severe disciplinarian who carefully
measured and timed the strokes to maximize the pain and impact of any
punishment he administered.  He wielded his switch with maximum effect.

   Using the same technique as his partner, Vladim began the switching with
10 parallel strokes across the criminal's bottom given full-force, then 10
strokes on each side, once again, given full-force.  He then slowly struck
the criminal's bottom again, trying to maximize the number of strokes on
the bottom before having to punish the subject's legs or back.  As a
result, Vladik's victim received 38 strokes on the bottom and 12 on the
thighs, none across the back.

   In spite of Vladik's talent with the switch, the criminal he punished
proved to be much braver than the one punished by his partner.  He gasped
and sweat during the first 38 strokes, but managed to stay quiet.  His
voice did not break until the 39th stroke, but even then, he had the good
sense to not beg for mercy and tried to keep his screams to a minimum. 
Once the punishment ended he forced himself to quit crying.  Vladik undid
the burglar's straps, but allowed him to get up on his own.

   Vladik and his partner led the two punished criminals before the bench.
The criminals turned their backsides to the judge, who in turn examined the
welts and signed the punishment certificates.  Then both criminals knelt at
Vladik's feet and kissed the toes of his shoes.  The braver of the two
criminals immediately thanked Vladik for punishing him.  Vladik touched the
man's shoulder with his switch and with a salute released him back into the
custody of Spokesman Dukov.  The other criminal knelt at the feet of the
female officer, still crying and trying to force out the needed "Spakeebo
dakub moigu." Finally he sort of got it out.  The female cop did not push
the issue.  She wanted to be rid of the pathetic creature.  She touched her
switch to his shoulder and released him back into Vladim Dukov's custody.

   As she sat among the reporters, Kim had a bit of a problem.  She was
totally turned on by the whole punishment scene, and during the entire time
had been gently rubbing her legs together.  Now she was as excited as she
had been when she saw her own punishment on TV, but she was in the middle
of a busy courtroom, officially at work as a courier, and needed to spend
the afternoon running messages and signature sheets back and forth.  She
was wet, and what was worse, a cameraman kept glancing over at her, as
though he knew something.  Kim quickly ran to the restroom and cleaned
herself up as best she could, but the burning erotic excitement continued
to torment her.

   Dukov's two criminals staggered across the plaza with their Spokesman as
Kim picked up their punishment certificates and sentencing sheets.  Once
again she was running all over the courthouse and the police station
looking for signatures, stamps, certified copies, delivering documents,
picking up other documents.  Finally she returned to Dukov's office and
passed the two criminals lying face down on recovery tables.

   Kim was a bit surprised to see Vladik and his partner in Vladim Dukov's
office when she entered to deliver some papers.  Vladik's presence
eliminated at least one trip for Kim, since now he was on-hand to sign
several medical certificates and receive a copy of the two criminals'
sentencing sheets.

   Vladim invited Kim to sit down and join them for a snack of Danubian
fruit punch and cheese-rolls.  As she sat down many questions entered her
mind, among them how did Vladim and Vladik Dukov handle the conflicting
goals of their jobs.  Dukov's answer surprised Kim.

   "Kimberly, our positions do not conflict at all.  We all work for the
same purpose, to keep our country safe under our laws.  It is all one
system.  I am a part of that system, and Vladik is a different part of that
system.  It is like saying your hand and your foot are different from each
other.  Yes, they are indeed, but the body needs both the hand and the
foot, just like a society needs policemen and its criminals need
Spokespersons." Dukov sipped his punch, smiled at Vladik, and continued. 
"I will tell you that Vladik and I are very proud when we salute each other
in court.  I take pride in knowing he is a police officer, and he takes
pride in knowing I am a Spokesman.  Perhaps we must challenge each other at
times, but in the end we want the same thing.  We want the Duchy to be a
safe and tranquil place for the people who live here."

   "...  and you're satisfied with the way things are here?  You like... 
the whole thing with the collars and the switchings...  and making
criminals run around in the nude?"

   "It is not that I like it, Kimberly.  I was a criminal myself and I know
what it is to dread the switch year after year.  I feel very bad for the
people who must suffer the consequences of their actions, which is why I
studied to become a Spokesman.  I do what I can to reduce the suffering
criminals must face and fight any injustices that may work their way into
the system.  You, for example, suffered a great injustice at the hands of
your friends and the prosecutor, which I had to address.  Yes, we have
problems, and our system has its deficiencies." Dukov took another sip of
his punch and continued.

   "But, think about it, Kimberly.  No matter how cruel you may think
things are here, remember one fact.  Our country has no jails.  We do not
confine anyone for more than one night.  The rest of the world says that
what we do to our criminals is barbaric.  But is it?  Is it not more
barbaric to put a person in a cage for many years and cut him off from his
loved ones, from his work, from any usefulness in life?"

   "Yes, Spokesman Dukov, I guess I see your point.  To be honest, I still
don't like what's happened to me, but you're right that it's better than
sitting in a prison cell."

   Vladik's police radio went off, calling him to an emergency a few blocks
away.  The two police officers excused themselves and left Dukov's office.
Dukov decided to change the topic in his conversation with Kim.

   "Kimberly, I would like to know something.  What do you think would have
happened to you if you had smoked your marijuana in peace and left the
ground behind the Temple of the Ancients?  If you had never been arrested
and continued on your trip to Prague?"

   "I guess we would have hit a bunch of discos in Prague, crashed at some
friends' places...  Tiff knows a bunch of people there.  We'd of partied,
maybe looked around a bit...  probably not that much though...  mostly we
were partying."

   "...  and the marijuana?  What would you have done with it?"

   "Smoked it.  Maybe party a bit with it...  invite some friends to
smoke...  Tiff wanted to trade some of it for some smack...  that's part of
the reason we had so much with us."

   "...  and do you perceive that as a worthwhile use of your time...  and
your money?"

   "No, of course it isn't.  But you know how it is...  people want to
party and they don't know when to stop."

   "Kimberly, another question...  if I may...  If you look back at your
life in June through the prism of who you have become in September, how do
you see yourself?"

   Kim thought about it.  Finally she answered.  "If you really want to
know, I don't think things were going well.  I mean...  we came to Europe
to see it, and all we were doing was getting high.  We spent a bunch of
money to get to Amsterdam, and we just sat in the pot cafes all day,
smoking weed.  I was doing more and more of it.  That's why I got kinda
desperate after lunch when we got here...  I just had to have a smoke.  It
was all weed for me, and...  here Tiff was talking about smack...  and I
would have tried it...  and I know better.  That stuff fucks you up, but I
would have done it anyway."

   "...  and there is my point.  You had dedicated your life to your
"partying," as you say it.  Your life was not going in a good direction. 
It is quite possible your experience may have ended elsewhere under equally
bad, or even worse, circumstances.  If you believe yourself unlucky please
give that consideration."

   Kim sat silent for a minute.  "Spokesman Dukov...  there is something
else that I realize.  I don't like who I was back in June.  I mean...  I
pulled a lot of shit on my parents and on everyone else.  I didn't
appreciate anything...  all I wanted to do was party."

   "Like in your bicycle poem...  "

   "Like in my bicycle poem.  Exactly Spokesman...  like in my bicycle
poem. I didn't appreciate anything...  not if it wasn't from Tiff and
Susan...  and now all that's gone, and I don't know what I want.  I really
don't know...  "

   Dukov smiled slightly.  "There is no rush.  You have two years to figure
it out.  That is one thing that seems to trouble you Americans; you think
you need to have everything in your lives resolved right away.  Such haste
in life is unnecessary.  Perhaps...  perhaps your two years in our country
will serve its purpose.  You will have time to reflect about your life, and
to think about what you really want for yourself."

   Kim sighed.  "I don't know." She tugged at her collar.  "This sure is a
rough way to do it."

   "It is never easy, Kimberly.  It is not meant to be easy.  It is meant
to work.  It is meant to force you to change." Dukov stood up and smiled.
"Come.  Let us return to my house and have dinner.  You can leave Victor's
bicycle up here instead of returning it tonight.  I will call him and let
him know that I instructed you to do so."



   Chapter 6 � The Day of the Dead

   In the middle of September there was another indication that Kim was
becoming more settled in her new life in Danube City.  She sat at the table
of Sergekt's mother for the first time.  Danubian social protocol mandated
that any social contact between a young man and a young woman had to be
preceded by the young man sitting at the table of the woman's father, or in
the case of Kimberly Lee, her guardian, Spokesman Vladim Dukov.  Sergekt
had complied with that custom and now came over to the Dukovs' house once a
week for dinner.

   The second phase of the social protocol, that the young woman sit at the
table of the young man's parents, only took place if the young man decided
that he wanted to become romantically involved with her.  By the middle of
September Sergekt had decided that he wanted Kim to become his girlfriend.
He asked Kim to eat at home with his mother and aunt.  She accepted, not
fully understanding the seriousness of what he was proposing.

   The afternoon before Sergekt arrived to escort Kim to his house, Dukov
sat in his library, wondering about the consequences of what was about to
happen.  He liked Sergekt tremendously.  He had all the makings of an
excellent Danubian citizen.  He was brave, determined, and had "proper
values".  He clearly understood the importance of friendship and protocol.
The fact that he was a convicted criminal did not bother Dukov at all.  If
Anyia were just a couple of years older, the Spokesman would have been very
pleased if Sergekt had shown an interest in her, collar or no collar.

   Dukov was somewhat puzzled by Sergekt's interest in Kim.  Kim was very
different from a typical girl from Upper Danubia and obviously would make a
fascinating friend for anyone.  However, to become romantically involved
with her was quite another issue.  At the end of two years Kim would be
going home to the US.  Did he hope to go to the US with her?  Did he expect
that Kim would stay in Upper Danubia past the end of her sentence?

   Dukov's instincts told him he needed to dissuade his client from any
romantic involvement with a Danubian.  However, he also remembered what he
had told Kim the first night she was at his house, that she had to live
from day to day and enjoy the small daily pleasures of life.  A romantic
relationship certainly would help her get through the difficult times that
lay ahead.

   Dukov glanced over at the picture of himself and his future wife on the
wall, the one in which they were naked and wearing collars.  The Spokesman
took his own collar off the wall and studied it, running his fingers over
its groves and touching the broken latch.  This piece of metal had been on
his neck for five years.  Like Sergekt, Dukov had worn this collar not so
much because of anything he had done wrong himself, but because he had
refused to betray his friends.  The circumstances had been different, of
course, but the Danubian definition of honor had remained intact over
time�a definition shared by the Spokesman and by his client's young
suitor.

   Kim�s suitor reminded Dukov so much of himself when he was young.  He
remembered the countless nights he had danced with Maritza at the Socrates
club, just like Sergekt was doing with Kim�and the nights they sat at the
tables of each other's families.  There were the good times and the hard
times�hard times, yes�very hard times.  The relationship between Vladim
and Maritza had survived through it all.  They had been together 28 years.

   Dukov's thoughts turned back to his client.  Kim hardly fit the image of
a proper Danubian woman, but she seemed to be moving in that direction. 
Two years�what would two years in Upper Danubia do to her?  Maybe she was
not destined to leave the country after all�

   In the end Dukov decided not to say anything.  Kim would sit at the
table of Sergekt's mother, just as Sergekt would sit at the Dukovs' table.

   ----------

   When Kim went to Sergekt's house, Sergekt's mother and aunt were dressed
in old-style Danubian dresses and the same elaborate dishes the Dukovs had
prepared for Sergekt were on the dining room table waiting for Kim. 
However, Sergekt's mother greeted his new girlfriend with skepticism.  An
American who was not even of European descent, a convicted drug user,
someone who could not express herself properly in Danubian�what on earth
was he thinking?  Kim faced a much more difficult task of sitting at
Sergekt's table than he faced sitting at hers.

   Kim sat uncomfortably while Sergekt's mother probed her with questions
that she struggled to understand and answer.  She resented being placed in
this awkward position, but at the same time realized that Sergekt had to do
the exact same thing for her.  If she wanted to live in Upper Danubia and
have friends, something she had no choice over for the next two years, she
had to play by the rules of the country.

   In the end Sergekt's mother warmed up just enough to allow Kim to
continue coming over.  It was not exactly an approval, but instead a
withholding of judgment.  In spite of all her deficiencies, "Geemberglek"
seemed like a decent-enough girl, so Sergekt's mother did not feel
justified telling her son she disapproved of her.  To do so would be unfair
and possibly cause problems for Sergekt and this strange foreign girlfriend
of his.  To condemn Criminal # 98945 also would have violated the Danubian
idea that a person should never form a negative opinion about another
person without a very specific reason.

   That night Sergekt took Kim back to Dukov's house.  Once again in the
trolley they held onto each other.  Once again she thrilled at the feel of
his body next to hers.  When he left her at the front door, he took her
hands in his and looked at her with a question in his eyes.  For some odd
reason Kim decided to answer in English.

   "You can kiss me, Sergekt."

   Perhaps he did not understand her words, but he did understand her
meaning.  They kissed, slowly at first, then passionately.  Eventually they
forced themselves to stop.  Kim squeezed Sergekt's hand and he was on his
way home.  In the US it would have been different; he would have come in
and spent the night.  Not in this country, and certainly not in Dukov's
house.  In Upper Danubia the pace of relationships, just like everything
else in life, was much slower.

   ----------

   As the weeks passed Kim became a regular member of Sergekt's social
group at the Socrates Club.  They went to the club at least twice per week
to drink Danubian beer, eat salted deep-fried vegetables, talk, and share
their music and thoughts.  Criminal # 98945 had found her place in this
hostile country, the one spot where she felt she belonged.  She chatted
with the others and danced with her boyfriend.  Increasingly they danced
closer and closer, enjoying the feel of each other's bodies.  Over time
their souls became more and more connected.  Over time Kim thought about
Sergekt more and more when she was not with him.

   In mid September Kim listened to "Nem�t mi bicikl�t" performed live
for the first time in the Socrates Club.  When she heard to the song and
understood the words, tears ran down her cheeks.  The song and its sad
message of not appreciating the good things of life until it was too late
deeply moved not just Kim, but everyone who listened to it.  Quickly it
became popular throughout the entire criminal community and the club scene.
Within a year the song was featured on Danubian radio.  With a simple,
heartfelt speech, Kim had left a lasting influence on Danubian popular
culture.

   ----------

   The following week was the Autumn Equinox, and also the Danubian Day of
the Dead.  The holiday was the most important celebration in Upper Danubia,
much more important than Christmas, New Year's Day, or even the birthday of
Vladik the Defender, Upper Danubia's greatest king.

   The Day of the Dead marked the end of the summer growing season and the
country's long descent into darkness, cold, famine, and death.  It had been
celebrated in the same manner since Pagan times, and it remained very much
a Pagan event.  It was a dark, morbid holiday, designed to appease the dead
spirits by letting them know that those still alive were all too aware of
the fate that awaits all living things.  It was the chance for the living
to show their respect and to assure the dead spirits that they appreciated
the fleeting gift of life.  Once the country converted to Christianity in
900 AD, Catholic Saints were incorporated into the Day of the Dead, but the
ceremony itself and its purpose were only slightly changed.  Now that
Christianity was on the wane in Upper Danubia as it was in the rest of
Europe, the ceremony had almost completely returned to its Pagan roots.

   On the day of the equinox all electrical power in Upper Danubia was shut
off, with the sole exception of emergency services in hospitals.  All
battery-operated devices had to be shut off.  All telecommunications had to
be shut off.  The borders were closed and no motorized vehicles could
operate.  The country became completely silent for 36 hours, from sun-down
on September 21st to sun-up on the 23rd.  The Dukovs observed the holiday
by dressing in black capes, as did everyone else in the neighborhood.

   Kim did not spend the Day of the Dead with Dukov's family.  Kim was a
criminal, and the Day of the Dead was the one day out of the year criminals
had an honored place in Danube City.  Criminals played a central role in
the main ceremony and the collective request for atonement.  Shortly before
sun-down on the 21st, Kim, Sergekt, and every other criminal in Danube City
rode trolleys downtown.  The criminals gathered in the plaza in front of
the Temple of the Ancients, joining about 900 additional people who were
not criminals, but instead performing public penance.  There were over
3,600 criminals and penitents altogether.  They lined up in groups, where
their organizers were waiting with white and black body-paint.  Every
criminal in the city would be painted, first white, then with black
highlights.  The make-up job had been done in the same manner for 3,000
years.  It was primitive, but very effective.  From a distance, the
criminals looked ghoulish, half-way between cadavers and skeletons.

   The marchers were all painted by the time it was dark.  Kim was amazed
at the effect of seeing 3,600 naked, painted bodies all gathered in one
place.  It actually did look kind of scary.  Temple officials passed out
3,600 torches with over-the-shoulder torch slings and explained how to
carry the torches to minimize the strain on the marchers' arms.  The
participants then divided into two groups and started filing out in
opposite directions.  They would circle the city that night and meet again
on the opposite side of Danube City in the morning.  The following night
they would complete their march by returning to Temple of the Ancients
through the city center.  Kim later learned that part of the purpose of all
this was to present the Spirits of the Dead with an opportunity to walk the
earth again through the marchers, if they so chose.

   The criminals marched all night in single file.  The group that included
Kim and Sergekt followed the trail upstream along the Danube River and
finally turned right to head inland.  They walked along dark country roads,
their surroundings illuminated only by their own torches.  All along the
route ordinary citizens silently knelt in their black robes, apparently
praying for forgiveness for whatever they had done wrong over the past
year. Death seemed to hang in the air.  Kim could feel it all around her,
as though the dead spirits really had woken up.

   Kim's eyes shifted back and forth from Sergekt's back to the kneeling
crowds, as she tried to comprehend her own participation in this very
strange ceremony.  No one had asked her about doing this.  It had just been
taken for granted that Criminal # 98945 would participate along with all
the others.  She was a Danubian criminal and a member of Danubian society,
whether she liked it or not.  As such she had certain responsibilities.

   Criminal # 98945 spent part of the night wondering about her forfeited
life in the US.  She would go back home in two years�probably.  Suddenly
she wasn't so sure.  How could she return to her old life, after everything
she had been through?  Kim knew that she was changed.  Less than three
months into a two year sentence she had changed.  Was it possible to change
back?  She thought so, but wasn't so confident about that anymore.  This
Day of the Dead, for example.  Walking naked at night over silent country
roads, covered with white and black body-paint, carrying a torch in front
of thousands of kneeling Danubians�how on earth could she explain what
she was doing to someone in the US without sounding like a total nut?

   There were breaks in the marching about every two hours for going to the
bathroom, exchanging torches, and drinking blackberry punch.  The punch was
dark red and stained the criminals' mouths.  Some of the criminals,
including Sergekt, allowed the punch to drip down their chests to give
their body paint the appearance of being covered in blood.

   Kim's group walked a half circle around the city.  Shortly before
sunrise she made out the torches from the other group as they came from the
opposite direction.  The distant line of torches and the white bodies
underneath truly did look scary.  The two lines converged on a campsite
made up of military tents and bed-rolls.  The criminals would sleep and
relax during the day and after sunset resume the march back through Danube
City to the Temple of the Ancients.

   Kim and Sergekt slept holding hands.  She woke up in mid-afternoon to
absolute silence.  Most of the others were still sleeping.  Ceremonies were
going on in the Plaza of the Ancients, but they were too far away to be
heard from the campsite where the marchers were staying.  Kim got up to go
to the latrine, get something to drink, and get her body paint touched up.
As she stepped outside the tent she was amazed at the absolute quiet
surrounding her.  An occasional bird chirping or insect flying by: that was
it.  It truly did seem like all life had stopped.

   After it got dark there was a religious observance and group prayer for
the marchers.  Then the procession back into Danube City resumed.  The two
columns of criminals walked side-by-side along the city's main boulevard,
their torches partially illuminating the spectators.  Once again Kim felt
death all around her.  She began to get scared as strange ominous
sensations swept through her body.  Kim had no idea what was going on, but
she had no choice but to continue walking.  Finally the weird feelings
passed, leaving her apprehensive and shaken.

   As the criminals approached the Temple of the Ancients, they were
greeted with ancient music and choir singing.  Suddenly every church bell
in the city started ringing.  The kneeling spectators then stood up and
joined the singing, in this weird mix of Pagan and Christian customs.  The
sudden noise after two nights of absolute silence somewhat unnerved Kim.

   The marchers walked straight behind the old temple towards the Danube
River.  They threw their torches into a huge bonfire near the shore.  To
symbolize their return to the land of the living, the marchers walked out
to a submerged stone platform in the river to clean off the body paint. 
Death was washed off, momentarily defeated.  The criminals then filed back
through the Temple of the Ancients and back out onto the plaza.  As the sun
came up they sang an ancient hymn and then dispersed.

   Kim and Sergekt walked silently with some of his friends, all of them
lost in thought as Danube City slowly came back to life.  They made their
way back to the Socrates Club to wash off properly, have breakfast, and
then go to the Central Police Station.

   The day after the equinox was the day that the police handed out winter
clothing for the city's criminals.  Criminal # 98945 was a bit surprised
and somewhat relieved at the news that yes, even criminals wore clothing
during the winter.  She had wondered about that, with winter coming up. 
When Sergekt saw that his girlfriend seemed happy about the winter outfits
he commented in Danubian.

   "Kim, when you see what that outfit actually looks like, you won't want
to put it on unless it's absolutely freezing outside.  They do that on
purpose, giving you something that no one in his right mind would want to
wear."

   Along with the others, Criminal # 98945 picked up a garment bag and a
set of bright orange boots.  Bright orange boots.  That was not a good
sign. Sure enough, when she opened her garment bag she pulled out the most
hideous piece of clothing she had ever laid eyes on.  It was a bright
orange top that looked something half-way between an army poncho and a
cape. It had a hood and a sewn-in wool shirt underneath.  There was a
yellow stripe running up the middle of the cape and blue reflective strips
sewn around the edges.  There were several drawstrings to tighten the hood
and waist.  On the back was a large patch of Velcro.

   "You need to pick up your criminal number from Spokesman Dukov and keep
it attached�that is, IF you want to wear this.  They�ll let you wear
the boots without the cape during the winter�which is what I did last
year during the day.  If you keep your feet warm and stay moving when
you're outdoors it's not so bad.  Not bad enough to wear this."

   Kim agreed.  Better to stay naked than wear a bright orange cape with a
yellow stripe and blue reflectors, but at least she did have something to
put on during cold snaps.

   When Criminal # 98945 went to Dukov's office to pick up the Velcro patch
with her number, he seemed in a very serious mood.  She hoped that it was
not over something that had anything to do with her, but unfortunately it
was.

   "Kimberly�please sit down.  I need to talk to you about�a very
unfortunate event."

   "Spokesman?  Did I do something wrong?"

   "No, Kimberly, nothing like that.  You have committed no transgressions.
But�where to begin�I will tell you that I have taken the liberty of
staying in contact with your parents in the United States.  I believe that
it was my obligation to make sure they understood your situation.  I even
sent them pictures of my house, my family, and your room, so they could see
and understand�and perhaps not be so worried about you."

   "Did that cause a problem?"

   "No Kimberly.  No problems.  But the same afternoon you had to go to the
Plaza of the Ancients I received a very bad piece of news from your mother,
which she instructed I should relay to you at an appropriate moment.  It is
the obituary of your friend Susan."

   "Susan�she's�dead?"

   "Yes.  I will let you read it, and then I will inform you about the rest
of what I found out."

   With that Dukov handed his client a cut-out piece of newspaper from her
hometown in the US.  She read:

   "Tyrone and Debbie Taylor announce the commemoration and celebration of
the life of their daughter, Susan Taylor, at 2:00 p.m.  Saturday, July 19
at the Eastwood Baptist Church.  Funeral services will be held Sunday, July
20 at the Eastwood Public Cemetery.  Susan passed away unexpectedly on July
12, while vacationing in Prague, the Czech Republic.  She is survived by
her parents and brother.  We all love you Susan.  We love you so much."

   Kim sat silently, absorbing this horrible new shock.  "Susan�my God.
But�how?"

   "I called the American embassy in Prague, but of course that was foolish
of me.  They refused to tell me anything.  So I called a colleague I have
there, and he made some calls to the coroner's office and hospitals.  It
turned out Susan died of anthrax.  I also determined that your friend
Tiffany contracted anthrax, but she survived and returned to America."

   "Anthrax�but�how'd they get that?  Where'd it come from?"

   "They were sharing a needle at a night club.  Two young Czech men who
were with them contracted anthrax as well.  One died, the other survived."

   "Shit�Tiff had said that in Prague we were gonna..."

   "Yes, Kimberly.  I recall you telling me that you were planning to
experiment with 'smack', as you say it, in Prague.  With needles, I
presume?"

   Kim nodded her head.  She stared blankly at the floor, not really
knowing what to think.  She no longer really considered Susan her friend,
but still, the shock of knowing she was dead�

   "I suppose this is a terrible blow to you.  I believe your mother might
know more than I do, although you can relay to her what I learned from my
Czech colleague.  You may call her from my office if you wish."

   Kim quickly dialed home.  She talked to her mother, telling her a
censored version about her participation in the Day of the Dead Ceremony.
However, she quickly got to the reason she called.  It turned out that it
was only by chance her parents even learned about Susan's death.  They had
missed the obituary when it first came out in July, but when Mr.  Lee was
unfolding old newspapers to clean up an oil spill in the garage, he just
happened to notice the name Susan Taylor on one of the pages.  Needless to
say, he was shocked to read that his daughter's friend had died only a week
after she had been sentenced in Upper Danubia.  Kim's parents called the
Taylors, who verified that, yes indeed, their daughter had died in Prague
in July.  They refused to talk about it further and abruptly hung up.  Mrs.
Lee decided to forward the obituary to Vladim Dukov.  Kim then relayed what
Dukov had told her about what he learned from his end.  Kim's mother had a
final question for her.

   "Honey, I need to know something, and you need to be honest with me.  If
you had gone to Prague, you would have gone to that nightclub with Tiffany
and Susan, right?"

   "Yeah, Mom.  I was gonna go."

   "And shoot up?"

   "Yeah."

   "Honey, how could you?  How could you do that to us?"

   "Mom, I don't know why�it just would have happened�we were
partying�"

   "And you would have died of anthrax!  Just like Susan!"

   "Yeah�Mom�that's what would've happened."

   Suddenly Kim heard her mother crying on the other end of the line. 
Finally Mrs.  Lee pulled herself together enough to continue.

   "Honey, I�can't talk to you right now.  But I gotta talk to Mr. 
Dukov."

   Dukov took the receiver.  He sat quietly as Kim's mother cried into the
phone.  Finally he started to answer some questions.

   "No, Mrs.  Lee�there is nothing like that here�Our laws are much
stricter�Yes, Mrs.  Lee�I assure you I will watch after her�Maybe you
are right, Mrs.  Lee, maybe it was for the best she was arrested...Thank
you, Mrs.  Lee, but it was my duty as a Spokesman for the Criminal, nothing
more�Thank you, Mrs.  Lee�Yes, you too, Mrs.  Lee, please take care of
yourself."

   Dukov hung up.  He folded his hands and looked at Kim.

   "Do you remember what I told you a few days ago, when I said that had
you not been arrested, it was quite possible your experience may have ended
elsewhere under equally bad, or even worse, circumstances?  That I told you
that if you believe yourself unlucky, to please give that consideration? 
Do you remember that?"

   "Yes Spokesman Dukov, I remember that."

   "I believe we now know where, and when, your experience would have
ended. You life would have ended in a Prague hospital, on or around July
12. Is that not so?"

   "Yes, Spokesman.  That is so."

   "Kimberly, you will understand that you cheated Death.  Is that not so?"

   "Yes, Spokesman Dukov.  That is so."

   ----------

   Criminal # 98945 spent the rest of the day writing an essay about her
feelings.  It most certainly was something she wanted to share with her
friends at the Socrates Club.  They needed to know.  Kim's story was worth
hearing, because there were plenty of lessons to be learned from it.  She
sat writing for the entire morning at a spare desk in the reception area,
in spite of having not slept the previous night.  Dukov looked over his
client's text in the afternoon and made some minor corrections to make some
of the imagery more understandable to a Danubian audience, and then helped
her translate.

   That night the Socrates Club was full.  The night after the Day of the
Dead ceremonies always was a time when plenty of club-goers had a lot on
their minds, so it was one of the few nights of the year with no music,
just criminals talking about their thoughts and experiences.  There were
over 40 speakers altogether.  However, no one was rushed.  The speakers
could take their time and speak their minds.  The song-writers listened
attentively.  Usually the night after the equinox was one of their best for
gathering ideas and phrases for their music.

   The night after the equinox Criminal # 98945 gave her second reading at
the Socrates Club.  She had not had time to practice her speech and was
horribly tired.  However, she spoke from her heart, even more so than she
had spoken about her bicycle.  As Kim spoke the obituary clipping
describing the death of Susan Taylor made its rounds through the audience.
She spoke at length about her feelings of betrayal.  She spoke about the
feelings of guilt and relief over not having been in that disco in Prague
when that poisoned needle was passed to her two friends.  Finally she spoke
of the pain of having her own mother cry on Dukov's phone over her
stupidity and her narrow escape.  The thoughts were burned into her soul,
making up for the fact she had not had time to practice her speech.  The
audience was silent after Kim finished speaking.  For a moment the American
stood at the microphone, also in silence, as tears ran down her cheeks. 
Finally she added, in accented but flawless Danubian:

   "The police woman who arrested me kept calling me 'Maragana Girl'.  I
hated her for doing that, but who knows?  Maybe she knows me better than I
know myself.  Maybe that's all I am�just the stupid 'Maragana Girl'."

   Kim stepped off the stage to rejoin her boyfriend and his classmates. 
For a couple of minutes she sat in her seat, crying while Sergekt tried to
comfort her.  Around the room sympathetic glances went in her direction. 
Finally she managed to calm down.  That night other criminals had stories
to tell.  Kim owed it to the others to listen with respect and try�try to
understand.