 


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

   Chapter 9 ï¿½ Kim's second punishment

   Dukov and Kim returned to the Central Police Station as soon as the
classmates had entered their school.  Kim removed her cape as soon as they
entered the building, since she was strictly prohibited from wearing it
inside.  She folded it over her arm and followed her Spokesman back to his
office.  Upon getting back upstairs, Dukov and his client helped the
secretaries set up four recovery tables.

   All of the Spokespersons previously had agreed among themselves to help
Eloisa's classmates as much as possible.  Spokesman Havlakt had persuaded
the sentencing judge to grant several concessions to ease the suffering of
the group.  The most important was forcing the punishment to be moved
indoors.  There was the psychiatric release for Eloisa that spared her any
physical humiliation by forbidding the punishing officers to touch her. 
Finally, the sentencing judge had agreed that as soon as each criminal's
switching was over he or she would immediately be released back into the
custody of the Spokesman, instead of having to wait for the entire group to
be finished.

   The police had arranged to switch the ex-students in groups of four. 
Once each group was punished, there would be a brief break while the
punished criminals left the school, and then the following group would be
tied down and punished.  The ex-students had agreed that the women would be
punished first so they could be released and returned to Spokesman
Havlakt's custody as soon as possible.

   Part of the males' motivation for allowing the women to go first was out
of self-interest.  The men knew they faced sexual humiliation at the hands
of the female police officers assigned to punish them.  They did not want
their female friends to see that part of their punishment, so they
preferred to have the women from the group leave the school and return to
their Spokesman's office before their own switchings began.  There were
eight women and 20 men, so the first two groups to be punished would be the
females.

   Spokesman Havlakt hired a van to bring the punished criminals back to
the Central Police Station, paying for the service out of his own pocket.
The other Spokespersons helped by having their recovery tables set up in
their offices.  Dukov planned to take four of the criminals, including
Eloisa.

   Kim was hoping to have Sergekt come to Dukov's office.  She wanted to
comfort him, but Dukov explained why that would not happen.

   "Kimberly, it is not proper that you see Sergekt after he has been
punished.  Nor is it proper that he be present following your punishment.
If you love another person, do you really want to see him broken, crying,
and humiliated?  Is that how you would want Sergekt to see you?"

   "No, Spokesman Dukov, I guess notï¿½I guess I really wouldn't want him
to see meï¿½"

   "Then you will allow Sergekt to preserve his dignity in your presence,
and he will do the same for you.  You must not see him after he has been
whipped.  The person who needs you today is not Sergekt, but Eloisa."

   About a half an hour after the recovery tables were set up, Spokesman
Havlakt called Dukov to let him know that he was coming in with the first
four women from the group, including Eloisa.  The van pulled to the side
door of the police building that was closest to the stairs leading up to
the Spokespersonsï¿½ office area.  Dukov, Kim, one of Dukov's secretaries,
and two other Spokesmen-for-the-Criminals were on hand to receive the four
women and help them get upstairs.

   Spokesman Havlakt opened up the side door of the van to reveal four
naked women, all of them Kim's friends.  He helped each one get out. 
Eloisa's face was distorted with pain and tears were running down her
cheeks.  She was not crying.  The other three were sobbing and holding on
to each other, but Eloisa was absolutely quiet.

   The three sobbing women quickly went inside and made their way upstairs,
guided by the other two Spokesmen.  Kim took a quick look at their
backsides.  The bottom of each was badly marked up with dark reddish lines,
punctuated with ugly-looking purple welts.  All of the women had been
struck across the upper thighs as well.  One had four red lines across her
upper back.  However, as bad as the marks were, in no place had the skin
been broken and within two weeks all traces of the punishment would vanish
from the women's bodies.  It would take much longer for the marks to vanish
from their minds.

   Eloisa stood alone in the cold, shivering with her arms wrapped around
herself.  She sadly stared at the ground, seemingly unaware of her
surroundings.  Forgetting about Eloisa's fear of physical contact, Kim
walked up to her friend and tried to touch her shoulder.  Eloisa squealed
and backed away.  She looked at Kim with a truly horrified expression.

   "Eloisaï¿½please.  You have to come upstairs.  I promise I won't try to
touch you again.  But you have to get out of the cold.  You'll get sick if
you stay out here."

   Dukov stepped near Eloisa, gently adding, "Eloisa, please come with us.
Kimberly is here to watch over you.  You must come to my office and rest."

   Shivering ever more violently, Eloisa nodded and slowly made her way to
the door.  By now her body was almost white from the cold, making her
switch-marks looked like red slashes of paint laid across a marble statue.

   Dukov and Kim breathed a sigh of relief when Eloisa made it through the
door into the heated police station.  She was shivering violently and still
hugging herself, but with a slow, unsteady walk she managed to climb the
steps.

   Kim studied Eloisa's face as she ascended the steps alongside her
Danubian friend.  Kim realized that Eloisa must not have cried at all
during her switching.  She had focused all of her internal torments into
one purpose, to not let the police hear her cry.  Kim could tell that she
still was tensed up from that effort, and she needed to release her pain
and emotion.  Eloisa's face almost seemed locked in that horrified
expression.

   After a very slow, laborious climb up two flights of stairs, Dukov's
secretary held open the main door to allow the Spokeman and the two
criminals to enter.  Eloisa stopped in the reception area, staring the four
recovery tables.  She put her hands on one of them to steady herself.

   "It's my fault" she said quietly.  "It's all my fault.  I'm the reason
the others have to do this."

   Rather than argue with her, Kim decided to try to get Eloisa to release
her pent-up anguish.  She stood close to her friend, as close as she could
without touching her.

   "Eloisa, you are a very brave girl.  You did good not to cry.  But now
you're safe, with people who love you.  It's all over, and you have to let
yourself cry now.  Please, you have to cry.  It's OK.  There's just me.  No
one else will hear."

   Eloisa looked up at Kim, then straight ahead.  Suddenly she did start
crying quietly.  She sank to her knees, holding onto the table and burying
her face in her knuckles.  Kim so badly wanted to hold her, to try to
re-assure her with a simple touch from a friend, but she couldn't.  She
worried that if Eloisa completely sank to the floor, there would be no way
to get her up.

   "Eloisa.  Eloisa.  Please, you have to get on the table.  I have to make
sure you're not hurt."

   Eloisa struggled to get back on her feet and slowly positioned herself
face-down on the table.  Her body jerked with sobs.  Kim studied the red
and purplish stripes on Eloisa's bottom and legs.  They were no worse than
the markings on the other three classmates, but Kim felt that to punish
Eloisa in such a manner was an abomination.  She had suffered so much, and
through no fault of her own, continued to suffer.

   As Eloisa lay crying, Kim studied her backside.  The welts on her bottom
now formed hard, ugly ridges where the switch marks had crossed each other.
It was obvious it would be several days before she could sit normally, not
until the blood drained out of the welts and the skin had softened again.
In spite of Eloisa's fear of being touched, Kim planned to wait until she
went to sleep and then would gently spread some lotion on the welts to
soften them.

   When Eloisa finally cried herself to sleep, Kim set to work with the
lotion.  She put small amounts on her fingertips and very gently applied
the lotion to the welts.  As she softly touched her friend's damaged
bottom, Kim again felt that strange sensation of arousal and sexual
excitement.  She totally forgot about her earlier view that punishing
Eloisa was an abomination.  At that moment Eloisa looked so graceful and
tragic, lying on the table with her pale body contrasting sharply with the
dark red and purple marks from the switch.  Kim now badly wished she could
have witnessed Eloisa's switching, instead of just being tempted by
studying its aftermath.  As Eloisa's body relaxed and her bottom spread,
Kim could see her open labia and bottom-hole, nestled in a small patch of
unmarked skin among all those welts.  Like the others, Eloisa had shaved
prior to her punishment, so the most private parts of her body were
completely on display.  Kim suddenly felt the urge to lean down and gently
kiss Eloisaï¿½

   Kim came to her senses with a start.  What in the hell was she thinking?
This was her friend, and here was Kim, getting aroused by the sight of her
punished body.  She felt horribly guilty.  And yet, Kim continued to see a
strange beauty in Eloisa at that moment.  Somehow it seemed that suffering
fit the melancholy singer, just as her collar and welts seemed to
complement her beautiful figure and soft pale skin.

   ----------

   Kim's first Christmas in Upper Danubia was the most emotional she ever
experienced.  She badly missed her family in the U.S.  She envisioned her
parents and her sister, her cousins and grandparents, all gathered to
celebrate without her.  Kim knew full-well there would be plenty of
uncomfortable discussion about why she could not be in the United States
this Christmas, and why she would miss the next Christmas as well.  Kim
knew that her actions had left a huge hole in her family's soul.  Once
again her heart filled with remorse as she remembered last year, how she
had been so desperate to break away from her parents to go off with Tiffany
and Susan and get drunk with a bunch of classmates.  If only she had known,
if she could have appreciatedï¿½but now of course it was too late.

   Kim's Christmas in Danube City, however, promised to be full of fun and
social events.  She had to divide her time between the Dukovs, Sergekt,
Eloisa, her co-workers, and her friends at the Socrates Club.

   It was only natural that Vladim and Maritza Dukov would want Kimberly to
spend as much time as possible at their house during Christmas vacation. 
She made the rounds to visit various relatives and friends of both Maritza
and Vladim as they took her to dine at other people's houses.  The elder
Dukovs also took her to several churches and pageants.  Often the events
required her to stand outside for long periods of time, so like it or not,
she had to wear her criminal's cape.

   One night, as a member of Vladim Dukov's family, Kim even had dinner
with Vladik's fiancï¿½e and her family.  The visit to the house of Vladik's
fiancï¿½e was the most awkward of that first Christmas season, because she
was the only criminal in a house full of 25 people.  During dinner the
American was forced to sit naked at a table full of formally dressed
members of Dukov's family and the family of his future in-laws.  To make
things worse, Dukov was treating Kim in the same manner he treated his own
daughter, and introducing her as though she was family instead of a foreign
client serving a two-year sentence.  Dukov's future in-laws stared at Kim
with unabashed curiosity throughout the dinner.  Things got even more
uncomfortable when Kim's singing career was mentioned and she was asked to
join eight other women in singing Christmas hymns.  The group stood in the
living room, Kim's bare figure contrasting sharply with the bright dresses
of her companions.  However, in the end Kim survived the evening and was
left with the impression that everyone in the household liked her.

   The elder Dukovs treated Kim very warmly on Christmas day.  She cooked
dinner with Maritza and Anyia.  Later she ate with the entire family,
including Victor Dukov, his wife, and their two sons.  Kim had to spend
this Christmas separated from her own family in the US, but she was
fortunate enough to be part of another.

   ----------

   Kim spent more time with Eloisa than she originally had planned, given
that Eloisa's singing was very much in demand at the end of the year.  Kim
found herself on stage with Eloisa's other back-up singers almost every
night between December 20 and January 1.  On December 24 the five singers
appeared at Danube City's main cathedral to sing several ancient Danubian
Christmas hymns.  The event was televised, with Eloisa's performance
prominently featured as part of the Christmas programming.  Many Danubian
television viewers were intrigued by Kim's appearance among the back-up
singers, amazed to see the American "Maragana Girl" singing Danubian folk
music that was hundreds of years old.

   During all their Christmas performances, including the televised one,
Eloisa and her back-up singers remained completely naked except their
collars.  In spite of their contribution to the nation's Christmas
celebration, the five young women were criminals, still subject to the laws
that denied them the privilege of wearing normal clothing at any time
during their sentences.  When they finished, always to loud applause, the
five lead singers, as well as the men who were playing the instruments,
acknowledged both their gratitude and their place in society by kneeling on
stage and touching their foreheads to the floor instead of bowing.  Kim
knelt and leaned forward to put her forehead to the stage floor along with
the others.  The practice had long since stopped bothering her.  She was a
Danubian criminal and it was what society expected of her.

   By the end of the year Kimberly Lee's identity had undergone a profound
change.  She no longer saw herself as a graduate from her high school, as a
tourist from the United States, nor even really as an American.  Kim
instead had become a full member of Danubian criminal society.  All of her
closest friends were criminals, her co-workers were criminals, and even her
de facto parents were ex-criminals.  In some ways Kim's life was fairly
easy.  As a part of the criminal sub-culture she was forced to adhere to
very strict rules and protocol.  She had her place in society, a place as
well defined as that of a professional such as Vladim Dukov, or even that
of a policeman such as Vladik.

   Kim's friends were the most important part of her existence.  The group
was very close.  Kim felt that any of them could be a soul-mate, not just
Sergekt and Eloisa.  She could talk to any of them about anything.  Most
importantly, her Danubian friends were people she could trust.  They shared
everything: their free time, their suffering, their hopes for the future,
their dreams.

   The place where Kim most fit in was the group's musical band.  She sang
in harmony with Eloisa's other three back-up singers, to the point that
Eloisa decided to start training Kim to sing songs with Danubian lyrics. 
Eloisa listened attentively to Kim's singing, occasionally telling her how
to re-sing a word of phrase to cover her English accent.  By January, the
American was a full member of Eloisa's group of back-up singers, able to
perform as well as any of the others.  Kim's soul came out in her singing
every bit as much as Eloisa's soul came out while she was on stage.

   One part of Kim's life as a criminal was not easy, however, and that was
building up the courage she needed to face the next of her four corporal
punishments.  As Christmas passed and New Year's day rapidly approached,
Kim's soul filled with apprehension.  The punishment would take place on
January 2.  Vladim Dukov confirmed that the arresting officer would be
available to switch his client.  In fact, the female cop was planning to
cut short a vacation in Vienna with her boyfriend precisely to be on-hand
to punish the American.  Dukov also learned that the cop's male partner
also would be present for sure.  He planned to cut short his vacation with
his family at the other end of the country to return to Danube City on the
1st, to be on-hand for Kim's punishment the following day.

   Dukov was concerned about the two officers' enthusiasm.  "Those two seem
quite determined to punish you.  It is not common for a police officer to
cut short a vacation solely to be present at a particular criminal's
punishment.  You know that police officers can stand in for each other, but
in your case the two officers have been adamant that they will remain in
charge of your punishment."

   Kim spent New Year's Eve with Sergekt and his friends.  By this time the
group's members were fully recovered from their punishments and back to
their normal selves.  Kim spent the entire evening in extreme apprehension,
nervously watching the clock.  Within 36 hours she would have to face those
two cops again.  She wondered if the two officers had thought of some
horrible new way to punish or humiliate her.  She trembled at the knowledge
that the two officer's hands would be able to touch her wherever they
wanted.  She knew they would, that their rough hands would fondle her most
intimate regions, that her body would hide no secrets from her two
tormenters.

   Sergekt was as kind as he could be to Kim throughout the evening.  He
knew what she was going through, having gone through the exact same
emotional turmoil just two weeks before.  There was very little he could
say to comfort his girlfriend, other than to tell her to remember that,
however horrible the moment of her punishment might be, at some point it
would be over.  "I tell myself that every time I have to face the switch.
It doesn't help when I'm actually being punished, but it helps a little bit
before because it is the truth, nothing lasts forever."

   Kim and Sergekt stayed as long as they could at the Socrates Club after
New Years Eve.  Before returning to Dukov's house they sadly and quietly
made love in one of the "intimacy rooms".  When Sergekt finally said
goodbye to her in Dukov's livingroom the following morning, Kim held him
tightly as tears rolled down her cheeks.  She faced punishment in less than
24 hours.  She would not see him again until after the switching.

   Dukov now had to get his apprehensive client through the day.  He and
Maritza took Kim back downtown to watch some New Year's festivities. 
Dukov's idea of keeping her busy that final day worked.  In fact, there
were moments, however brief, that she was able to focus on something other
than her upcoming punishment.  The day went by fairly quickly and
pleasantly.  That night, Kim followed Sergekt's advice and shaved off her
pubic hair.  Shaving beforehand ensured that at least she would not suffer
the indignity of being shaved in public or by one of those sadistic medical
students in the medical classroom in the basement of the Central Police
Station.

   Kim woke up the next morning after spending most of the night
wide-awake, tossing in her bed.  Dukov entered her room with a very forlorn
expression on his face.  He no longer saw Kim as a client.  To Dukov she
was his daughter.  He wanted to protect her and save her from hardship, but
in this case Danubian law was firm.  Kim had to be punished, and there was
nothing he could do about it.

   "Kimberly, we must go." He held up Kim's criminal cape.  "Do you want to
wear this?"

   Kim shook her head.  "No, Spokesman Dukov.  I'll just go in my boots."

   With that Dukov and his client silently took the trolley downtown.  Once
they got to the police station Kim took off her boots.  Once they entered
his office Dukov instructed her to get a drink of water and use the
bathroom one last time.  When she came out, the Spokesman told her to kneel
in the middle of the reception area and wait for the police escort to
arrive.  The police escort would handcuff her and take her downstairs for
the switching.

   As much as she had feared this moment for the last several weeks, when
the time actually came for Kim to wait for her escort, she felt very little
emotion.  She felt a bit numb from fear and depression, but that was about
it.  She quietly stared at the carpeting as her Spokesman sorted through
her file and pulled out several forms.

   When the police escort arrived, Spokesman Dukov saluted while Criminal #
98945 knelt forward and touched her head to the carpeting.

   "Put your hands behind your back."

   Kim complied, and quickly felt the metal cuffs wrap around her wrists.
The numb feeling quickly vanished from Kim's soul, replaced with fear.  The
fear seemed to grip her chest and restrict her breathing.  She felt the
officer's hand roughly grip her arm.

   "Get up," he snapped.

   Kim struggled to her feet as the officer's fingers dug into her upper
arm.  She heard Dukov's voice, sounding as though it was coming from very
far away.  "Tatiana, please set up a table.  I expect Kimberly and myself
to be back in an hour."

   Kim walked down two flights of stairs to the main police corridor.  She
relived the ugly memory of her first day at this station as she was marched
down the busy hallway and passersby stared at her.  However, instead of
being taken across the plaza to the courthouse, she was led to a much
smaller room towards the back of the main police building.  Because Kim was
not on trial, there was no reason to have her punished in the court.

   The audience for Kim's second punishment was much smaller than it had
been back in July.  An assistant police doctor, three medical students,
three policemen, one court photographer, and five witnesses were sitting in
the audience area.  The judge presiding over the punishment was not the
same judge who had presided over Kim's trial.  A single video camera was
pointed at the punishment table, with its operator adjusting its settings.

   The two arresting police officers were present, but the female cop did
not have the same enthusiastic look in her face she had back in July.  Her
expression was neutral, perhaps even a bit upbeat.  She had remembered that
officer was quite pretty, but taking another look at her Kim was amazed at
how pretty the cop really was.  She was not pretty in the way a model would
be pretty, but rather she had a cute country-girl appearance.  She wondered
if perhaps the officer would not be so harsh this time.

   The officer and Dukov saluted each other.  The female cop had a question
for him.

   "Spokesman, are there any restrictions concerning the punishment of this
criminal that I need to be advised about?"

   "No Officer, no special restrictions."

   "Very well."

   With that Dukov reluctantly let his arm down, ending the salute and
indicating that Criminal # 98945 had been released into the custody of the
officer.  The female cop and her male partner walked up to her and took off
the handcuffs.  She knelt forward and kissed each of their shoes, four
shoes altogether.

   "Young lady, stand up and face me."

   Criminal # 98945 stood, looking the police officer directly in the eyes.
There was no cold hard stare, just a very relaxed expression.  At that
moment something very strange and very unfortunate happened to Kim.  Along
with her fear she was feeling a hint of erotic excitement.

   The cop picked up on the criminalï¿½s mixed emotions and decided to go
beyond simply punishing her.  The officer began by gently running her
fingertips down Kim's breasts, down her stomach, and over her shaved pubic
area.

   "Kimberly Lee, it was very considerate of you to have shaved for me. 
Too many criminals don't do that.  Too many criminals don't respect
authority.  But youï¿½"

   Very gently the police officer brushed her fingertips up and down Kim's
body until she began to relax.  She then concentrated on her victimï¿½s
inner thighs and lightly touched the sensitive area between her legs. 
Against her best judgment, Kim spread herself slightly to allow the cop to
explore her further.  She felt genuine erotic excitement as the copï¿½s
fingers gently brushed her clitoris.

   "You know, Kimberly Lee, you are very beautiful."

   Kim then felt another set of hands gently touching her back.  The second
set of hands glided to her bottom.  It felt so good, so relaxing and yet so
stimulating.

   "You lovely Americanï¿½Does it feel good?  Do you like it?"

   Kim gasped "Itï¿½feels so goodï¿½oh."

   Dukov watched the scene with alarm.  He knew what was about to happen,
but he had no way of being able to warn his client.  He was prohibited from
interfering in the punishment other than to prevent serious injury.  Had he
tried to intervene now, he could risk losing custody over Kim and seeing
her re-assigned to another Spokesperson.  The officer looked over at Dukov
and smiled.  She said nothing with words, but her challenge to Dukov was
clear enough in her expressionï¿½do it, Mr.  Spokesman, say something.  I
dare you.

   The two officers gently led Kim to the punishment table.  While the male
officer tightened the straps around Kim's wrists and ankles the female
continued to gently play with Kim's body.  It felt so good, totally the
opposite of what Kim was expecting.  Kim's defenses were completely down.
She thrust herself backwards, desperate to feel the tender caressing
fingertips in her most sensitive areas.

   The female cop nodded to her partner.  Very quietly he passed the
punishment switch over to her, as she continued to gently caress Kim
between the legs with her free hand.  The male then took his partner's
place caressing Kim as she positioned herself to begin the switching.  Kim
gasped with her eyes closed, totally unaware of what was about to happen.
The female cop gave a sharp nod to his partner.  He quickly jerked his
hands away as the switch descended against the lower part of Kim's bottom
and her exposed labia.

   Kim screamed as the pain seared into her exposed flesh.  The shock tore
into not just her bottom, but also into the sensitive area between Kim's
bottom-cheeks.  Kim was caught completely off-guard.  The officer did not
wait, but instead quickly struck four more times, landing savage blows
close to where she landed the first.  Kim screamed each time the switch
landed.

   The officer quickly changed sides and laid five additional blows against
Kim's bottom from the other side.  Again and again Kim screamed, as the
switch marked Kim's bottom with bright pink stripes.

   The officers smiled to each other.  Their plan had worked beautifully.
Today it seemed "Maragana Girl" wasn't so tough after all.  Her resistance
had broken with the very first stroke.  Now she was reduced to a sobbing
spectacle, and the officers still had 40 strokes to go.  They had all day
to deliver them, if they so chose.  They could take their time and enjoy
Kim's suffering.

   The female cop waited for Kim's crying to die down a bit.  She delivered
two vicious blows across Kim's left bottom cheek that set her screaming
again.  She waited for the sobbing to die down.  She then passed the switch
to her male partner, who laid two vicious strokes across Kim's right bottom
cheek.  Two more strokes, two more screams, much more sobbing.  The cops
stood back to gloat over the spectacle of the crying American.

   The cops spent the next hour punishing Kim at a very leisurely pace. 
They never struck until Kim's crying had died down.  They continued to take
turns.  The female officer always struck first, with two sharp strokes to
Kim's left bottom-cheek, then her partner took the switch, to concentrate
two blows on the right side.  The pain was savage in its intensity.  Kim
sobbed over and over as the punishment went on and on.

   It was nearly an hour later when Dukov finally was able to raise his
hand to re-direct the switch against Kim's back.  The officers had punished
Kim with precision, delivering a total of 46 vicious blows against Kim's
bottom and thighs without breaking her skin.  Dukov was hugely relieved
when the switch started descending on Kim's back, because it meant the
punishment was close to ending.

   More than an hour after the switching had started, the female cop
finally laid the 50th stroke against Kim's upper back.  The American
continued to jerk with sobs as the two cops undid her straps and released
her from the table.  However, Kim remained stretched on the table, in too
much pain and too traumatized to move.

   The female cop moved her head close to Kim's tear-stained face and
addressed her in Danubian.  "You thought you were pretty tough, didn't you?
You thought you were better than me, and that you could resist me.  Well,
Maragana Girl, here's my answer.  You don't try that with me.  You are
nothing but a pathetic little cry-baby druggie, and that's all you'll ever
be." Then, returning to her broken English, the cop ended with "I much hurt
you, Maragana Girl.  You much cry."

   With that the cop and her partner reached for Kim's arms to pull her off
the table, but Kim still had a trace of resistance left in her.  She
struggled to stand up before the cops could grab her arms.  She backed away
from the table and quickly fell to the ground.  Kim ended up on the floor,
but at least it was not because the cops had dropped her there.  She
continued to sob at the feet of the two punishing police officers for
several more minutes as they stood over her with triumphant expressions. 
Finally the pair of police officers grabbed Kim's arms and led her to
before the judge.  Kim's body still was shaking from her sobs as she stood
with her back to the judge.  The judge quickly signed the punishment
certificate.  There was no doubt this criminal had been properly punished.

   There was one final part of Kim's ordeal, thanking the two officers. 
Kim tearfully looked over at Dukov, who reminded her to thank the cops by
putting his hands together and lip-synching the word "spakeebo".

   Kim managed to get into a kneeling position.  She kissed the shoes of
both her tormenters.  Between sobs she tried to thank them.  However, the
female cop showed her no mercy, not even with the phrase of thanks Kim
needed to utter to officially end her punishment.

   "Spï¿½ Spakeeboï¿½dï¿½dak..ub moiï¿½moigu

   "What was that?  What did you say?  You spoiled little American, you
will have to speak better than that.  Remember, I'm just an uneducated cop.
I can't understand your foreign mumbling."

   Kim sobbed, and quickly got out "spakeebo dakub moigu".

   "I still can't understand you, and I didn't like your tone of voice."

   Kim had to try six times before the cop finally accepted Kim's "thank
you".  It was Maragana Girl's final humiliation, one the cop enjoyed almost
as much as beating her.  But finally she did touch Kim's shoulder with her
switch.

   "Very well, then.  I'll see you in six months.  It'll give you something
to look forward to."

   Dukov and the two police officers saluted each other, and with that Kim
was released back into Dukov's custody.  Kim was still crying and somewhat
disoriented.  Dukov was extremely worried.  Kim had to walk out of the room
on her own, but once they got through the door, the Spokesman would help
Kim get up the stairs.  Dukov quietly addressed his client in English.

   "Kimberly, walk to the door.  Walk with me to the door, without touching
me.  Once we pass through and I close it, I will assist you."

   Kim staggered to the door.  Dukov was enormously relieved when Kim made
it through and he kicked it shut.  Kim immediately fell into her
Spokesman's arms, sobbing.  Dukov put his arm around Kim's waist, careful
to avoid touching any of the welts.  He led her upstairs as she continued
to cry into his shoulder.  They entered Dukov's office.  Dukov wanted to
get Kim up on a recovery table to make sure her skin was not broken
anywhere, but she tightly held onto him as she continued to sob.  Dukov
quietly told his secretary to look over Kim as she remained standing.  Kim
continued to cry, with no sign of letting up.

   This punishment had taken a much bigger psychological toll on Kim than
her first punishment.  Dukov had to hand it to those two cops.  They had
thought long and hard about how they would administer his client's second
punishment.  That female cop had her completely figured out.  As another
woman, she was able to read her vulnerabilities and use those
vulnerabilities to completely trick her.

   Dukov was angry at his own inability to offer any meaningful help to
Kim. He felt an overwhelming desire to protect her, but when the moment
came for her to be punished there was nothing he could do.  He officially
had to release legal custody of his client over to the arresting officer
during the punishment, so at the moment she was being switched Dukov had as
little control over her fate as would a bystander off the street.

   For the first time in his life, Dukov began to question Upper Danubia's
justice system.  He had grown up in the country, been convicted himself,
served his sentence, and came out quite well in life in spite of
everything. His son was an excellent and upright police officer, a fine
example to Upper Danubia's police force.

   However, to see poor Kim like this, emotionally devastated because she
had been so cruelly tricked, made the Spokesman think that perhaps some
legal modification of the way the police could administer punishments was
necessary.  Dukov did not question the system of corporal punishments, but
he did feel that the time had come to outlaw the practice of sexually
fondling criminals.  Dukov pondered how he could begin that process, the
long, difficult task of changing people's minds and eventually pressuring
the National Parliament to pass legislation.

   Dukov's more immediate problem was Kim.  He needed to comfort her and
slowly pull her out of her emotional abyss.  Tomorrow would be another day,
one in which she would return to work and see her boyfriend.  However,
today was the day she had to get through first, a day in which a world of
pain, trauma, and humiliation would be the only things on her mind.  For a
very long time Criminal # 98945 remained hugging her Spokesman, crying and
crying.

   ----------

   Kim spent the rest of the day in Dukov's office, slowly recovering from
her ordeal.  For a very long time she just wanted him to hold her and
comfort her.  She felt as though her Spokesman was the only source of
kindness and stability in her life, momentarily forgetting about Sergekt
and her other friends.

   Finally, exhaustion overtook Kim.  She lay down on the recovery table
and fell asleep, at last giving Dukov the opportunity to examine her and
make sure she was not injured.  The young woman's bottom was badly marked
up, but nowhere was the skin broken.  Dukov breathed a sigh of relief. 
Within a week or two the welts would be gone and she could move ahead with
her life.

   That night Kim returned home with Dukov on the trolley.  She had
somewhat recovered from her switching, enough that she was able to ride
home unassisted.  The weather was bitterly cold, but she insisted on
wearing only her orange boots.  Like most other criminals, Kim took pride
in not wearing her winter cape, even if it meant momentarily exposing her
body to the cold at the trolley stop and her welts to public view in the
trolley itself.  Dukov chose to stand next to his client on the way back.
Both of them tried to ignore the constant stares directed at her welts from
the other passengers in the crowded trolley.  She seemed lost in thought,
so Dukov stayed silent as well, respecting his client's quiet mood.

   Kim's body was horribly marked up.  To Dukov it seemed the welts were
even more severe than they had been the first time she was switched.  Dukov
marveled at how completely in control that cop had been, pushing the
punishment to its legal limits without passing them.  Under the
circumstances Dukov had been powerless to really offer much help, except at
the very end when he was able to re-direct a few strokes away from Kim's
battered bottom.

   As he looked at his petite Asian client, Dukov pondered his own role in
her life.  Since the very beginning he had felt an overwhelming desire to
protect Criminal # 98945.  That night he felt he had failed her.



   Chapter 10 ï¿½ A letter from Criminal # 98945

   Kim returned to her normal life the next day.  She went to work at the
normal time in her normal manner, taking the crowded trolley downtown to
the music store wearing nothing but her collar and orange boots.  Her
co-workers, of course, were curious to see the results of Kim's latest
punishment.  As was customary, Kim turned around and placed her hands on
the cashiersï¿½ countertop to show off her welts and bruises to her
co-workers.  Some of them commented that the welts seemed particularly
severe.  Kim recounted her punishment, going into some detail about how the
female cop had so cruelly tricked her.  Some of her co-workers sympathized,
having experienced the same abuse themselves.

   There still was a half an hour before the store had to open, so there
was time for Kim to talk in depth about her experience.  She discovered
that being able to casually discuss what had happened to her with others
who had endured similar experiences helped her considerably in coming to
terms with the trauma of the previous day.  Her co-workers were sympathetic
in exactly the right manner to help her recover.  They weren't patronizing,
nor did they express the phony sympathy of someone who had not endured the
same experience.  At the same time, they helped put Kim's punishment into
perspective.  It simply was something she had to face as part of her
sentence; she endured it, recovered, and now had to move on with her life.
Eloisa noted:

   "Remember what Sergekt told you.  Nothing lasts forever, not even
suffering.  It's over.  Anyhow, tonight I need you for rehearsal, because
we've got to get ready for our concert on the 6th."

   "Butï¿½but I wanted to see Sergekt tonight."

   "Yes, and you will.  You'll see him at rehearsal.  I already told him to
bring his instrument.  We don't have any choice.  Either we practice, or we
look like a bunch of fools on national television."

   Suddenly another thought hit Kim.

   "Eloisa, there's something else.  I can't go on national television in
three days.  I'll still be all marked up."

   "Will that affect your voice?"

   "No, butï¿½"

   "Then what's the problem?"

   "The problem is I'd like to think I still have some pride in myself.  I
don't want to show up on television with a bunch of welts on my butt."

   Eloisa sighed.  "Kim, the reality is that you are a convicted criminal.
In this country criminals are beaten.  When we are beaten we still have to
show ourselves in public.  It's part of our punishment.  It's the way
things are and everyone understands that.  You just accept it and you move
on with your life.  Now, as for you and your 'pride', if you really want to
take pride in yourself, then you need to show that cop who switched you
that she didn't break you.  The only way you can do that is to sing with us
on the 6th."

   Kim remained silent.  Eloisa continued.

   "Look, the rest of us did the exact same thing the days leading up to
Christmas.  We were all marked up, but we still sang and we did it where
everyone could see us.  And why?  Two reasons.  First, the music we create
is more important than is any one of us individually.  It is our gift to
the nation.  Without us there is no music.  So, no matter what each of us
must suffer, we cannot let that interfere with our purpose in life.  I
sing, no matter what, and that's what I expect from all of you; to sing, no
matter what.  The second reason is to show everyone that, maybe we're
nothing but a bunch of naked criminals, but they can't defeat us.  They
beat us, they humiliate us, and we suffer, but we move ahead in our lives,
and we can take pride in that.  Nowï¿½think about that cop who switched
you. If she sees you singing your heart out on TV just four days after she
punished you; it will show her she didn't win after all.  You're still
here, in spite of what she did to you.  If you try to hide, then she really
will have defeated you."

   For a long time Kim was quiet, while her friend waited for an answer. 
Eloisa then added, "Didn't that cop tell you that you were nothing but a
pathetic cry-baby druggie and that's all you'll ever be?  Don't you want to
get up on stage and prove her wrong?"

   Finally Kim agreed.  "OK, I'll stay for rehearsal tonight.  Any new
music?"

   "Yes, we have two new winter solstice hymns we practiced last night that
you need to learn.  I'll go over them with you during lunch break.  I think
if you and I practice a bit this afternoon you should be ready for the
rehearsal tonight.  There's something else I want to try with you, an
experiment.  I'll explain at lunch."

   With that Kim took up her position at the store's information counter as
another co-worker unlatched the front door.  Customers were crowded
outside, because in Upper Danubia January 6th was an important gift-giving
holiday, almost as important as December 25th.  Kim was still quite stiff
from her ordeal 24 hours before, but life moves on and does not wait for
any single person.  She spent the morning answering questions about the
store's music and trying to ignore the customers' stares at her marked
backside.  She wondered what Eloisa had in mind for her.

   In the lunchroom the American was shocked when Eloisa told her that she
wanted Kim to help her sing lead in one the hymns.  The hymn required two
lead singers, one who would sing immediately ahead of the other.  Eloisa
would sing and Kim would echo her, while the other three women would
provide the back-up voices.

   Kim wondered why none of the others objected to Eloisa's arrangement,
given that the others were Danubian and thus one of them rightfully should
have been the lead singer's companion at the main microphone.  However, in
reality she knew the answer; it was because Eloisa's instinct for music was
so powerful that everyone else had long since stopped questioning her
judgment when it came to choosing the group's songs and deciding how they
were to be presented.  The groupï¿½s lead singer liked to take risks, but
in every case the success of her decisions proved her right.  Now she was
gambling that the American had a better voice for the hymn than any of the
others.  It was not because of any favoritism for Kim that Eloisa wanted
her to help sing lead, it was because Eloisa genuinely thought Kim's voice
was the best for that role.

   Eloisa led Kim through the hymn with ease during the short time they had
for lunch.  Kim was amazed herself at how effortlessly she was able to
follow Eloisa's voice through the immensely sad notes of the ancient hymn.
The song was a true Danubian lament of suffering, written hundreds of years
before, probably in the dead of winter during a famine.  It was a dark,
morose piece of music, infinitely sad and moving, perfectly suited for
Kim's mood at the time.

   Kim spent the next three nights rehearsing with her friends, which
turned out to be the best way for her to get over her punishment.  Under
Eloisa's leadership, her mind fell in line with the rest of the group in
pursuit of a single purpose in life, the January 6th presentation.

   As much as she needed to spend time with him, during the first week of
January Kim's time alone with Sergekt was limited to quick trips home on
the trolley, very late at night after practice.  Like everyone else, his
mind was on the presentation.  His voice was not good for singing, but his
ability to play was a true asset to the group.  Thus Kim and Sergekt gave
up their personal lives for something far greater, the presentation to be
led by Eloisa.

   Very late at night, in the bitter cold, Sergekt always took Kim back to
Dukov's house.  They hugged each other closely in the trolley connecting
their bodies as much as possible for warmth.  She felt guilty about him
having to go home alone in the cold after leaving her, but he was stubborn.
However, in the brief moments they were together, Kim and Sergekt realized
how much their souls truly were connected.

   ----------

   On January 5, the day before the concert, Criminal # 98945 changed her
outward appearance to better match the changes taking place inside her
soul. She remembered she had not cut her hair since her arrest and she
decided to try to get it styled.  As she looked at herself in the mirror,
she realized that her hair was long enough to braid in the traditional
Danubian style.  That night Kim approached Dukov's daughter about helping
her with her hair.  Anyia, who fortunately happened to be in one of her
rare good moods, spent the next hour braiding Kim's hair and explaining how
to do it.  When the American went to work the following day, her co-workers
greeted her new hairstyle with complements and enthusiasm.  Eloisa was
especially happy to see Kim's hair done up in traditional braids, since it
made her fit into her group of singers even more.

   ----------

   The January 6th concert was a turning point in the lives of Kim, Eloisa,
and the other members of the music group.  Eloisa and fourteen of her
friends were performing on stage at the National Theater, 5 female
vocalists and 10 males playing various instruments.  As required by their
sentences, they performed completely naked except for their collars, in
front of 3,500 people and the cameras of the National Danubian Television
Network.  The fading switch-marks on the American's bottom and back showed
up vividly, a message to the world that Criminal # 98945 was condemned to
suffer but had learned to overcome it.  Kim took Eloisa's message to heart
and concentrated on one thing that night, singing as best she could.  She
owed that not just to Eloisa and her friends, but also to the audience who
had taken time out of their lives to listen to the music.

   Eloisa and her four friends sang for nearly two hours, all of it
televised.  The performance was flawless, a very public demonstration of
Eloisa's incredible talent for singing and conducting the other voices in
her group.  Upper Danubia was amazed to see the American "Maragana Girl" in
traditional Danubian braids and taking the lead microphone alongside her
Danubian friend.  The public was even more amazed to hear the American
perform an ancient song in flawless Danubian.  Kim even surprised herself,
realizing that she could sing Danubian much better than she could speak it.

   As the criminals knelt on stage to thunderous applause at the end of the
performance, they were able to appreciate just how popular they had become.
They had come from nothing, a group of convicted high school rioters and an
American marijuana smoker.  However, under the leadership of their talented
lead singer, the 15 individuals on stage stood on the threshold of
something truly great.  The coming year would be filled with recording
sessions and public performances, hard work and endless time at rehearsals.
Their music eventually would be heard beyond the borders of Upper Danubia.
The music had been the purpose of Eloisa's life, but now it would become
the purpose of all 15 members of the group.  They would face the future
together, putting whatever personal plans aside for their greater purpose.
At that time Kim was only vaguely aware of that fact, but her own plans for
the future would be completely set-aside for Eloisa and her music.

   ----------

   The hairstyle change symbolized a significant turning point of how
everyone around Kim saw her and how she saw herself.  Increasingly Kim's
American identity was fading away, replaced by a new perception of herself
as Danubian.  To a bystander on the street Criminal # 98945 might still
have had a somewhat foreign appearance, but to the people she knew, Kim was
one of them.  She was a full and trusted member of Vladim Dukov's family, a
full and trusted member of Eloisa's musical group, and just another
employee at the music store.  Her romantic heart belonged to Sergekt, to
the point that she no longer could imagine her life without him.  She no
longer judged people's behavior through the eyes of a person from the US.
Her definition of proper behavior and values now were forged by the society
in which she lived, not the one from which she came.

   Kim's changing identity did not mean she loved or idealized Upper
Danubia.  Her integration into her surroundings was complete enough for her
to have balanced view of Danubian society.  The society that had so
forcefully adopted her was unjust and close-minded, superstitious and
obsessed with its own past.  Upper Danubia would never be a powerful or
influential nation, largely because its people lacked much imagination for
anything other than music.  Still, Kim realized that the society had many
positive points.  The Duchy's lack of imagination and ambition meant that
its people lived quietly and courteously, not competing against each other.
The noise and aggressiveness of other major cities was totally absent on
the silent streets of Danube City.  Upper Danubia was a very peaceful
country, not eager to impose itself on the rest of the world, but also
determined that the rest of the world should not impose itself on Upper
Danubia.

   The duet Kim sung with Eloisa on January 6 was the first out of several
songs the two women sang jointly.  The group's lead singer had taken a real
liking to Kim's voice and her ability to sing and the fact that her
partner's voice was slightly different from any of the other voices in her
group.  As a result, Kim found herself not only echoing Eloisa, but later
actually singing side-by-side with her.  The American "Maragana Girl"
became a feature of the stage at the Socrates Club, as many song-writers
were curious to test their music with the Eloisa-Kim duo.

   Kim's life continued uneventfully throughout the rest of January and
February.  The marks from her switching were gone within two weeks.  She
continued to eat with Dukov and his family, or with Sergekt's friends, or
with Sergekt's mother.  She continued to dance with him at the Socrates
Club and spend time with him in the club's intimacy rooms.  She spent
endless hours with Eloisa, not just at rehearsals, but also talking alone
with her and relaxing with her in general.  There were recording sessions
and performances, praises and parties.

   The beginning of the year sped by.  Kim's prior existence became only a
distant memory, which only intruded upon her when she talked to her parents
in the US.  Her life had become quite pleasant, in spite of the limitations
placed on her by her sentence.  She had everything any reasonable person
could want, a great romantic relationship, a wonderful host family, close
friends, a reasonably fun job, and the challenge of her music.  All of that
far outweighed the restrictions of her sentence.  In fact, it was precisely
because of her restrictions that Kim was able to fully appreciate the
positive aspects of her life.

   ----------

   As much as she was forgetting about her American life, Kim's situation
was a constant torment for her family back in the US.  The thought of their
poor daughter stuck in that awful back-water country, naked and with a
collar around her neck, filled the Lees with horror.  They easily could
have traveled to Upper Danubia to visit Kim, but they could not bear the
thought of seeing her in her current status as a convicted criminal.  The
very thought of seeing their daughter naked in public made them physically
sick.

   However, Kim's father spent a considerable amount of time and money
researching ways he could extricate his daughter from Upper Danubia.  He
thought of everything, ranging from litigation to a human-rights campaign.
He even briefly considered hiring mercenaries to grab Kim and get her out
of Upper Danubia by force.  Finally he settled on a lawyer who claimed he
could obtain her release through the European Union.  Upper Danubia was not
yet part of the EU, but its government wanted to join and could ill-afford
to do anything major that would upset Brussels.  The lawyer proposed
including Kim's release as a condition for some upcoming trade negotiations
between Upper Danubia and the EU.  It would be expensive, but the lawyer
seemed reasonably sure that he could get her released before her next
switching in July.

   The elder Lees decided to send Kim's older sister Cindy to Upper Danubia
to explain the situation and let her know that her family in the US was
trying everything they could to get her out of Upper Danubia.  Cindy flew
to Europe on March 2, first to Frankfurt, and then on to Danube City in a
connecting flight.  Vladim Dukov rode a trolley out to the airport to pick
up Cindy.  He went alone because the airport was 15 kilometers outside
Danube City, well outside the Danube City collar-zone and inaccessible to
any convicted criminal.

   As they rode back to the Danube City's Central Police Station, Cindy Lee
quickly laid out her father's strategy for getting her sister out of Upper
Danubia.  Dukov took Cindy to his office to discuss the matter in greater
detail.  Dukov was somewhat dubious about the whole idea.  To him it seemed
to include a criminal's release as part of a trade deal was a bit
far-fetched and to be honest, an insult to Upper Danubia's justice system.

   "Well, the other option we got is to litigate this through the courts,
either here or over at the EU."

   Dukov admitted that was possible and told Cindy he was willing to help
argue the case in Kim's favor, should it get to that level.  However,
privately, he did not believe releasing Kim from her sentence at that point
in her life was a good idea.  She was doing extremely well with her job,
with her friends, and with her participation in Eloisa's musical group. 
She had a fulfilling life in Upper Danubia, and probably did not have much
of a life waiting for her back in the US.  If she were released, would she
go back to using drugs?  Would she track down Tiffany and do something
stupid to get even with her?  How long would it be before she could get
into college?  And what about Sergekt and Eloisa?  It wasn't just Kim's
life at stake anymore, but theirs as well.

   Dukov ultimately knew that his client would have to make her own
decision about appealing her conviction.  He suspected she would go along
with the appeal, even though he felt that would be a mistake.  It was only
logical that a convicted criminal would want out of having to serve her
complete sentence and most certainly Kim would want her freedom back.  What
concerned Dukov was what she would do with her freedom, especially if she
were expelled from Upper Danubia and not allowed to return.

   Dukov and Cindy met Kim at the music store when she got off work.  To
avoid totally shocking her sister, Kim had taken her criminal's cape to her
job and wore it as she left the building.  As soon as they entered another
building she would have to take her cape off again, but she would deal with
that problem and her sister's reaction when the moment came.  The two
sisters tearfully hugged each other.  They had talked enough on the phone
to be caught up on each other's lives, so the conversation focused on Kim's
job.  "It's actually a lot of fun," she concluded, "and I'd like you to
come over tomorrow and meet everyone."

   "Yeahï¿½sure.  I guess it'd be good for me to see what you're doing."

   Cindy still was not checked into a hotel, so Dukov made a few phone
calls and booked her a room.  The hotel was within walking distance of the
Central Courthouse and the Central Police Station, the two places Cindy
would have to visit frequently if she decided to pursue her project of
obtaining an early release for Kim.  They had to go back to the main police
station to pick up Cindy's suitcase.  Upon entering the building Kim would
have to take off her cape and boots, and thus confront her sister with the
most disturbing reality of her sentence.

   Kim knew that Cindy would be deeply troubled and probably offended the
moment she stripped off her cape.  Kim and her sister had not seen each
other naked since they had been very small children.  Cindy knew what was
coming, which, in fact, was why she had come instead of her father.  Still,
when the moment came to actually be confronted with the sight of Kim's
naked body, Cindy would have to overcome a terrible shock to the values she
had grown up with.  As they climbed up the steps outside the Central Police
Station Kim warned Cindy:

   "You know that once we get inside I'm gonna have to take off my cape.  I
don't have any choice, it's part of my sentence."

   Cindy breathed deeply.  "There's no way you could keep it on?  I
meanï¿½"

   "Sorryï¿½"

   With that Kim quickly pulled her cape over her head and kicked off her
boots.  Cindy looked away.  However, Dukov and his client had to walk up
the stairs ahead of her sister to lead her to the Spokesman's office. 
Cindy could not avoid studying her sister's bare backside as she followed
her upstairs.

   As they entered Dukov's office everyone hung up their coats.  Kim picked
up a tray of tea and sweet rolls the secretaries had left before going home
for the night.  She returned with it to Dukov's desk and poured tea for
herself and the other two.  However, Dukov decided to leave the two sisters
alone for a while.  He quickly emptied his cup and stood up.

   "Kimberly and Cynthia, I believe it is appropriate that I should excuse
myself from your conversation for a while.  I must go to the courthouse
anyway.  I will return within an hour.  Cynthia, once I return we will
accommodate you at your hotel.  Kimberly, you may stay with Cynthia or
return home with me, as you see fit."

   Cindy was enormously relieved to see Dukov depart, but his absence made
Kim feel somewhat uneasy.  For the first time Cindy had a chance to get a
good look at her sister's face and see what eight months in Upper Danubia
had done to her.  There was, of course, the sight of her collar.  Kim's
hair was a bit of a shock as well.  She looked soï¿½differentï¿½with her
hair done up in braids.  There was the expression in Kim's face.  That was
different as well.  Cindy had expected to see her sister with a broken,
miserable demeanor, but instead saw a look of relaxed confidence that
somewhat unsettled her.  Cindy realized that no matter what might have
happened to her, Kim was not miserable.

   Cindy laid out the same strategy to Kim that she had laid out to Dukov,
pursuing her release through the EU trade treaty and simultaneously
litigating her case through the courts in both Upper Danubia and the EU. 
At first Kim was excited about the prospect of her release, especially if
it could be taken care of before the July 2nd switching.  To head home a
year early, that would be great!

   However, Kim's mind started to fill with doubts when she started talking
about her current life in Upper Danubia.  When she thought about her
Danubian friends, the Dukovs, and even her job, she realized how much she
would miss them.  Kim also fully understood the devastating impact her
departure would have on Eloisa's musical group.  They were just starting to
achieve real notoriety, and her departure would be huge blow to the entire
project.  And there was Sergektï¿½Sergekt, how could she explain this to
him?

   Dukov returned.  He quickly looked at his client's face, hoping to gauge
what was going on in her mind.  He was somewhat relieved to see Kim's
expression, not full of happiness, but instead full of worry and
apprehension.  It turned out she was smart enough to realize the difficulty
of the choice she was facing.

   Kim decided to spend the night with Cindy, but not to talk to her
anymore about her case.  There were many other issues she had to resolve
with her sister, painful confessions and the hope that the relationship
with the rest of her family somehow could be re-built.  Cindy slowly
reconciled herself to Kim's constant nudity as they talked at length about
their pasts and Kim's relationships with the other members of her family.
Cindy came to realize just how messed up Kim's life had been before her
trip to Danube City.

   At that point Kim still took it for granted she would be going home
shortly.  She wanted to repair as much of the damage in her life as
possible, but knew going back would be extremely difficult.  As she
conversed with Cindy, she began to realize how difficult returning to her
life in the US truly would be.

   One problem Kim faced was the complete lack of a social life waiting for
her at home.  Her high school friends had scattered.  Cindy told her sister
that one of her ex-boyfriends was in jail for ecstasy-dealing, another
friend had died in a car-wreck, and yet another had overdosed and never
completely recovered.  Some of Kim's friends were out of state at various
universities, others were sitting at home, not doing anything other than
getting drunk or getting high.  As for Tiffany, no one had any idea where
she was.  She spent a long time at her mother's house recovering from her
bout with anthrax, but then she vanished.

   "Well, what about college?  Do you suppose I'd get into college?"

   Cindy sighed "Kim, that's something else I got to tell you.  Your
grade-point average in school was 1.9.  You won't be getting into any
college with that.  All the places you applied to turned you down.  Maybe
you could take some classes at a community collegeï¿½then you could build
up an academic recordï¿½I don't know.  Maybe you could try the military,
see if that would help you.  Dad seems to think that's what you should do."

   The conversation turned to their parents.  Details came out that further
filled Kim's mind with doubts.  There was a final blow coming.

   "You know that you really hurt Dad with all your crap.  I mean, it seems
like you've changed, but I can't see that he'll ever really forgive you.  I
meanï¿½we all love you and want the best for you, and of course we want you
back home, but sometimesï¿½you just push things too far and they can't be
fixed.  Once you get back Dad wants you to get your own place.  I suppose
you could stay with me a while, till you find something."

   With that the two sisters got in bed and turned off the lights.  Cindy
immediately went to sleep, but Kim spent the night in restless thought. 
The familiar sound of her sister's breathing brought back many memories in
Kim's mind.  Tears rolled down her cheeks as she relived much of her past,
the pleasant memories of her early childhood, and the not-so-pleasant
memories of her more recent years.  Cindy's bleak words continued to echo
in Kim's mind.

   "Sometimes you just push things too far and they can't be fixed."

   ----------

   The next day Kim called her boss at the music store to tell him she
would be late for work that day.  She urgently had to see Spokesman Dukov:
immediately, first thing in the morning.  He went to his office an hour
early to accommodate her.

   Kim laid out her situation.  Dukov listened attentively to what he
already knew, Kim had very little to go back to in the US.  She would be
giving up a lot if she left Upper Danubia.  With a series of questions
about her life the Spokesman made Kim clearly understand her situation. 
She had no job, no prospects of study, no friends, no family with whom she
could live, no boyfriend waiting for her in the US.  Nothing awaited her
except a bleak emptiness.

   "Kimberly, this is your life and only you can make this choice.  I will
support either decision you make.  If you decide you want to go home, I
will do what I must, even go to Brussels if need be, to ensure your
release. If you decide to stay here, your life in my house will continue as
before.  I cannot decide what is best for you, but I care for you and want
to see you happy, no matter what your decision."

   "I don't knowï¿½I mean...I wanted to go back so muchï¿½but what am I
gonna do when I get home?"

   "I have the same concern, Kimberly.  Indeed, what will you do with your
life in the United States?"

   Kim sat silent for a long time.  Finally she came out with a question
that somewhat surprised her Spokesman.

   "Spokesman Dukov, what would happen if I complete my sentence and then,
say, married Sergekt?  Is that possible?  Like, could I stay here?"

   "It is possible, yes.  Upon finishing your sentence your passport will
be returned to you with a 'transition visa'.  That visa will remain valid
as long as you retain your current employment.  Should you quit your
employment, your status will revert back to tourist and your visa will
expire in 30 days.  If you marry with a transition visa, you would have to
apply to become a Danubian resident.  You would be eligible for full
citizenship after another year."

   "Thenï¿½I hate to say thisï¿½but the truth isï¿½I don't have anything to
go back to.  I mean my life's gone.  It's likeï¿½I'm stuck here."

   "You are faced with a choice, Kimberly.  Neither choice is pleasant, but
then very few choices in life are pleasant.  But your decision is a real
one.  You can return, or you can stay.  My suggestion?  I firmly believe
you should complete your sentence.  You are changing; your character has
transformed.  Do you not want to see where that transformation might lead
you?  Do you not want to see where your time with Eloisa and Sergekt might
lead you?  Or do you want go home, face life alone, and change back to who
and what you were before you came to our country?  That is your choice."

   Kim shook her head.  "I can't believe this.  I can't believe I'm making
this decision.  I meanï¿½"

   "So you wish to stay?"

   "I can't go back, Spokesman Dukovï¿½I just can't.  It's not that I 'wish
to stay', butï¿½to go backï¿½ I can't do that ï¿½there's nothing thereï¿½I
don't want to go back.  But, what am I gonna tell Cindy?"

   "Kimberly, your sister will remain in our country four more nights. 
Take her with you and allow her to see your life here.  Let her understand
what you will give up if you go home.  In doing so, by showing her your
life, I believe that your decision to stay will be better resolved in your
own mind as well.  Remember what I said, you Americans are too impatient.
Not everything needs to be resolved instantly."

   Kim went to work, while Dukov went to the hotel to pick up Cindy.  He
had to attend a trial in the morning, so he asked his daughter to take a
day off from school to show Kimï¿½s sister around Danube City.  Cindy was
impressed by the peacefulness and tranquility of a city that was not jammed
with cars like every other place she had ever seen.  Danube City, like any
other European City, did not look its best during the late winter, but it
still looked pretty good with its historical architecture and well-kept
appearance.

   Once Dukov's newest client had been switched and was lying on a recovery
table in his office, the Spokesman decided to take a couple of hours off
work to take Cindy to Kim's music store.  Cindy was reluctant to go in when
she saw the entire staff was working nude, but Dukov explained to her the
reason and the store's significance in the Danube City music scene.  Cindy
agreed to go in and confronted the sight of naked cashiers and information
clerks, all of them wearing metal collars.  What struck her was the fact
the staff's demeanor was that of any other store.  They worked the
registers, tidied up the shelves, and interacted with customers in a
perfectly normal manner.  Cindy watched Kim from a distance as she bantered
with some German customers in English.

   Kim turned the information counter over to a co-worker and greeted her
sister and her Spokesman.  She toured Cindy around the store and introduced
her to Eloisa.  Kim then took Cindy upstairs and showed her the recording
and rehearsal studios.  She then excused herself, needing to get back to
work, but she mentioned that Cindy would be invited to have dinner with the
Dukovs that night.  Dukov took his guest back to the Central Police Station
and temporarily excused himself as well, since he needed to finish up with
his new client and contact his parents to pick him up from the Spokesman's
office.  Dukov encouraged Cindy to walk around a bit and perhaps visit the
National Parliament, which had a famous museum of medieval artifacts.

   Cindy found herself alone during the late afternoon, walking the streets
of Danube City in the cold drizzle of late winter.  Her emotions were in
turmoil.  She was angry that she had come all this way to get her sister
out of Upper Danubia, and here Kim was, working at that damn store as
though it were just an average day.  It was a bit of a shock for Cindy to
be confronted with the fact that Kim actually was happy in Upper Danubia.
Somehow she had pictured her sister sitting next to a sign at the edge of
her collar-zone, crying and wistfully dreaming about her lost freedom. 
Instead she seemed content with her life.  It was obvious she was very
close to that blond girl in the store and that she liked her job.  And Kim
was singing?  What was up with that?

   Cindy suddenly had her own doubts about her father's idea of bringing
Kim home, especially if he wasn't going to let her live with him.  Her life
had been very messed up in the US.  She now seemed to be doing OK, here in
this weird little country.  Maybe pulling her out wasn't such a good idea,
not if she didn't have anything to go back to in the US.  Still, no matter
what, Cindy's task was to get things moving for overturning or shortening
Kim's sentence.  She resented Kim's nonchalant attitude about the entire
project, not yet realizing the truth that her sister really did not want to
leave.

   Dinner with the Dukovs did not help Cindy's mood any.  The traditional
formal clothes worn by the Dukovs somehow bothered her.  This was just too
strange, having dinner at some medieval costume party, with her sister
sitting naked among this family and talking to them in Danubian.  And yet,
Kim seemed to like these people.  She had a nice room, in some ways better
than the one she had at her parents' house in the US, and certainly better
than anything she would be getting upon returning.

   The next night Kim performed on stage with Eloisa.  The performance was
much simpler than the ones the group normally did.  It was just Eloisa,
Kim, and three guys on stringed instruments, including Sergekt; while the
backup singers and most of the other musicians had the evening off.  Once
again Cindy was confronted by the reality that Kim actually had a life in
this country.  Cindy realized that her sister had a beautiful voice for
singing, something that no one in Kim's life, not even Kim herself, knew
before her trip to Europe.  It was very strange to see her up there on
stage with that blond singer, their hair done up in exactly the same
manner. What was truly bizarre was that, in spite of her Asian features,
she really did not look out of place among the Danubians.

   After the performance, Kim introduced Cindy to Sergekt.  All three of
them knew that the only purpose for the introduction was to allow Cindy to
see what Sergekt looked like, since neither spoke the other's language. 
This meeting was yet another shock to Cindy, being confronted with the
sight of her sister's nude boyfriend.  She felt very uneasy about the
situation, but at the same time she realized this naked European was far
better than anyone Kim ever had gone out with in the US.

   The following night, the fourth out of six nights Cindy planned to stay
in Danube City, the two sisters sat down in a booth in the back of the
hotel restaurant for dinner.  Cindy had spent the day very agitated that
there seemed to be no progress on any of her efforts to challenge Kim's
sentence.  She began berating her sister about not pushing Dukov to get the
ball rolling on the appeal.  She only had two more full days here and could
not go back without having something to show for her trip.

   Kim realized that telling Cindy truth could not be put off any longer.
It was time to break the news about her decision to not appeal the
conviction.  Kim stared at her plate and twirled a spoon on the table as
she nerved herself to speak.

   "The truth is, I don't think I ought to go home.  I don't think this
appeal is such a good idea."

   Cindy's lips tightened.  Deep down she knew Kim was right, but was not
ready to admit that to herself yet.

   "Kim that's bullshit.  What they've done is they brainwashed you.  Of
course youï¿½"

   "No.  That's not it and you know it.  It's what you said the first night
you were here, in your room upstairs.  That's what got me thinking."

   "What was that?"

   "That 'sometimesï¿½you just push things too far and they can't be
fixed'. I realized that's true.  Everything you told meï¿½Mom and Dad, my
friends, my grades, the job situation, it allï¿½just made me realizeï¿½I
really don't have anything to go back to.  There's nothing there.  So why
bother with all this appeal stuff, getting the Danubian government pissed
off at the US, messing up the trade deal, spending all that moneyï¿½just to
have me go back and sit in your apartment with nothing to do?  What's the
point?"

   "The point is that we still love you and we want you home.  We want you
out of that stupid collar and with your clothes back on.  We can't stand
seeing you like this."

   "I don't like it either, but it'll end.  And maybe, by July of next
year, I will have gotten something out of all thisï¿½I mean I have gotten a
lot already.  If you think about it, my life's really not that bad.  I'm
better off than a lot of my friends from school, from what you've told me
about them."

   "Well, yeah, but they're just a bunch of druggies."

   "ï¿½and that's what I was becoming, a druggie.  It wasn't just pot,
Cindy.  I was doing other stuff as well, and it was getting worse.  When I
came here I stopped, stopped completely, but it's because I was forced to.
To be honest, you put me back in the US, with nothing to doï¿½and no
friendsï¿½what do you think is gonna happen?  I'm gonna start using again.
I won't want to, and I'll hate myself for it, but it's what'll happen. 
It's just the way it is."

   "So that's why you don't think you ought to go back?  You're afraid
you'll start using again?"

   "Yeah.  I really don't think I ought to go back.  I don't want to go
back to being who I was last year.  It just isn't what I want."

   For a long time Cindy sat silent.  Finally she asked.

   "So that's it?  You really don't want to push the appeal?"

   "No.  I can't see how it's gonna help me.  From everything you told me
about back home, I think I'm better off staying here, in spite of all the
criminal crap I have to put up with.  I never thought I'd say that, but I
think it's the truth."

   Cindy stopped arguing.  It was blatantly obvious Kim was right.  There
really was nothing waiting for her in the US, apart from boredom,
depression, and a return to using drugs.  Cindy was convinced.  The only
thing left was to convince their parents.  That would be Cindy's job, not
Kim's.

   The day before Cindy left Upper Danubia, Criminal # 98945, in her own
handwriting, composed a letter to the Danubian government.  The letter had
to be stamped at the Central Courthouse and then notarized at the US
Consulate.  At Kim's request, Cindy would take an original copy with her to
the United States and turn it over to her father's attorney.  The letter
read:

   I, the United States citizen Kimberly Annette Lee, under my own
judgment, wish to formally express that I have no desire nor plans to file
any legal challenge to my conviction for marijuana possession and the
public use of marijuana in the territory of the Grand Duchy of Upper
Danubia.  My decision not to appeal my conviction is final and I wish to
have it respected in the courts of law of the Grand Duchy of Upper Danubia,
the United States of America, and the European Community.  I am determined
to complete my sentence to the satisfaction of the judge who sentenced me,
the laws of the Grand Duchy of Upper Danubia, and my Spokesman for the
Criminal, Vladim Dukov.
Signed:

   Kimberly Annette Lee

   Criminal # 98945

   ----------

   Cynthia Lee's final night in Upper Danubia passed quietly, since there
no longer was any urgency about her purpose for being in the country. 
Cindy and Kim felt enormously depressed, at yet at the same time somewhat
liberated, given that Kim's situation was settled.  Perhaps what she was
doing was not the most courageous decision that she could make, but it was
the only logical decision, given her circumstances.  There now was time for
the two sisters to simply relax and try to repair the relationship between
each other.  Cindy promised to visit Kim later in the year.

   The following day Kim accompanied her Spokesman and Cindy on the trolley
as it headed to the airport.  They got off at the last stop within the
Danube City collar zone.  Kim bid her sister a final tearful goodbye. 
Dukov and Cindy then caught the next trolley, leaving the naked criminal
standing alone and shivering at the trolley stop.  In spite of the cold she
stood in the chilly drizzle for quite some time.

   She had made the right decision, the only logical decision she could
have made.  For better or worse, life had stranded Kimberly Annette Lee in
Upper Danubia.  She couldn't leave without facing a completely empty and
meaningless existence back home, one that would completely consume her soul
and destroy her.  Maybe, thinking of her lost friends, especially of Susan
and Tiffany, and of her jailed ex-boyfriendï¿½maybe Kim was the most
fortunate of them all.  At least she currently had a life that meant
something.

   Criminal # 98945 caught the trolley going back into Danube City.  She
headed to the Socrates Club where Eloisa, Sergekt, and the other members of
her musical group were waiting for her.