The Courier
Copyright 2008 by EC
EC's Erotic Art & Fiction - http://www.ecgraphicarts.com/

(warnings: erotic discipline, sex between adults, medical fetish, 
public nudity, harsh police interrogation)


Chapter 3 – Spokeswoman Lee-Dolkivna

Upon receiving the call from the chief inspector, Spokeswoman 
Kimberly Lee-Dolkivna wrote down the pertinent information: that 
a Colombian drug courier had been arrested with a kilo of cocaine 
in pellets concealed in her stomach, that she had undergone an 
initial interview, and that a Spanish-speaker needed to go to the 
airport to translate the suspect’s recorded statements and 
conduct a follow-up interview.  The Spokeswoman cringed at the 
words “undergone an initial interview”, because she was well-
aware what that actually meant.

Kim called the one person she knew who spoke Spanish, her friend 
Cecilia Sanchez, who was a US citizen studying at the National 
University in Danube City.  She asked Cecilia to go directly to 
the airport, where they would meet and see how badly the hapless 
courier had been treated.  Once she hung up, she went the 
arraignment room to pick up a temporary criminal’s collar, which 
would allow Maria Elena to be transported around Danube City 
without a police escort.  Kim’s new client would have to wear the 
temporary collar until her trial.  Upon being sentenced she would 
be issued a permanent collar by the Ministry of Justice.

Knowing the reputation of the Airport Unit, the Spokeswoman was 
certain that what awaited her would not be pleasant.  Undoubtedly 
Maria Elena already had undergone physical punishment as part of 
the interrogation.  Hopefully she had not attempted to lie to the 
Inspector, because Kim knew that he was notorious for nailing 
suspects with perjury.  Furthermore, she figured that if the 
Colombian did not speak any English, she probably did not have a 
clue what was going on and would be scared out of her wits.  Just 
getting her calmed down and explaining what was happening was 
going to take a lot of effort, and then there was the issue of 
teaching the suspect basic criminal protocol before taking her 
out on the street.  Kim knew that Maria Elena already had been 
stripped and was sitting naked in a holding cell, but probably 
she was not yet aware that, as a criminal, she would be 
prohibited from wearing clothing at any time.  No doubt she would 
face a rough afternoon dealing with her newest client.

The Spokeswoman took an express trolley from the Central Plaza to 
the airport, where her friend already was waiting for her.  
Cecilia had been born in New Jersey, but she was fluent in 
Spanish because she had spoken it in her Dominican household 
while growing up.  Although she was only 24 years old, she held a 
fairly important position at the National University; as the 
exchange program coordinator for 60 US college students studying 
abroad in the Danubian Republic.  Cecilia already had spent four 
years in Danube City and clearly had “gone native”.  Her black 
hair was done up in elaborate braids and she always dressed 
immaculately in fine Danubian linen.  Apart from her elaborate 
hair and fine clothing she wore three pieces of silver jewelry, a 
necklace, a hairpiece, and a silver ring, engagement gifts from 
her boyfriend.  To her program’s exchange students she struck a 
severe and oddly foreign image, but one that was necessary for 
them to understand what they faced studying in Danube City.

The two women went into the airport chatting about the previous 
night’s storm and Cecilia’s students.  Kim exchanged salutes with 
several airport officials on her way to the interrogation room by 
touching her right fist to her left shoulder.  The two women 
descended the staircase that led to the interrogation room, 
knocked, and were let in by the Inspector.

The two officials, even though they did not like each other, 
exchanged courtesies and salutes before addressing why Kim and 
Cecilia had been summoned to the airport.  The case itself was 
fairly routine; the only detail that complicated it was the fact 
that the suspect did not speak a language commonly taught in 
Danubian schools.  Kim introduced Cecilia to the Inspector, 
before promptly having her sit down to listen to the recording of 
Maria Elena’s confession.  The Dominican translated the most 
important points to Danubian and passed her notes to Kim, who 
looked them over and handed them to the airport official.

“Inspector, have you formerly arrested the Colombian citizen 
Maria Elena Rodriguez-Torres?”

“No, Spokeswoman, we haven’t.  We figured that it would be proper 
for you to be present during her arrest and the assigning of her 
criminal number.  So we chose to wait for you to come.”

Bullshit, thought Kim to herself.  You waited so you could play 
around with her, you fucking pervert.  

However, to the Inspector she said nothing.  Her duty was not to 
worry about what already had happened, but instead to take 
custody of Maria Elena, convince her that she needed to cooperate 
with the police, and get her out of the airport.

“May I see the suspect, Inspector?”

“Of course, Spokeswoman.”

Kim whispered to Cecilia in English:  “She’s gonna be in bad 
shape, so don’t be shocked when you see her.  Don’t make a big 
deal about it.  Just do what I tell you and keep your mouth shut 
unless you’re translating.”

The Inspector flipped a light switch next to the cell door to 
illuminate the tiny room.  He drew his gun and opened the door.  
Immediately Maria Elena crouched in the corner, trying to cover 
herself.  She made a truly pitiful sight.  Her hair was 
disheveled from being grabbed, her bottom was badly bruised, two 
switch marks crossed her back, and the left side of her face was 
swollen from having been slapped multiple times.  However, those 
details paled in comparison with the raw terror and absolute 
despair in her expression.

“You can close the door, Inspector.  I would like to speak to my 
client alone, please.”

“As you wish, Spokeswoman.”

As soon as the door closed, Kimberly spoke in English, which 
Cecilia translated:

“Your name is Maria Elena?  You are from Colombia?”

Maria Elena nodded.

“Maria Elena, my name is Spokeswoman Kimberly Lee-Dolkivna.  
Later I will need to explain to you what exactly that means, but 
for now you can consider me your public defense attorney.  It 
will be my duty to represent you in court.  Do you understand 
me?”

Again Maria Elena nodded, but she remained crouched in the 
corner.  Kim’s next words shocked Cecilia, who thought she was 
being very cold-hearted, given the Colombian’s traumatic 
situation.  However she dutifully translated:

“I want you to understand that I will do what I can to ease your 
situation and protect you from those who wish to harm you.  That 
is my position, my path in life.  However, I also want you to 
understand that I am a public official, and at all times you will 
treat me with the respect that is due to my status under Danubian 
law.  When I speak to you, I do not consider nodding an 
appropriate response to my questions.  When I am in your 
presence, I do not consider you crouching in the corner 
appropriate.  Do you understand me?”

“I…si, senora…entiendo…lo siento…”

“Very well.  I expect you to get on your knees in front of me.  
You are not permitted to speak to me or any other public official 
unless you are on your knees.  You will kneel straight, you will 
look straight at me, and you will place your hands on your 
thighs.  You will not hunch over or try to cover yourself.  
Covering yourself is forbidden.”

Reluctantly Cecilia translated, adding:  “I’m really sorry about 
this, but you have to do what she says.  That’s the rule in this 
country, you gotta kneel when you’re talking to anyone from the 
government, and if you don’t do it, they’ll whip you.”

Tears ran down Maria Elena’s cheeks as she knelt in front of her 
Spokeswoman.  As directed, she knelt straight, forcing herself to 
put her hands on her thighs instead of using them to cover her 
breasts.  

Once her client was properly positioned, Kim commented:

“The path of your life is to behave properly as a criminal, just 
as the path of my life is to protect your well-being and serve as 
your mentor.”

Cecilia was distressed that instead of comforting her new client, 
Kim was treating her in such a cold-blooded manner.  However, Kim 
knew what she was doing, because protocol was a vital part of her 
relationship with all of the criminals in her custody.  She was 
her clients’ mentor, not their friend.  When they had problems 
they would come to her for help and advice, and she would consol 
and comfort them, but never as an equal.  Very early in her 
career Kim learned why protocol was so important for the 
relationship between a criminal and a Spokesperson, because 
without protocol she could not have properly done her job. 

There was another important reason why Maria Elena needed to know 
how to display proper protocol before leaving the holding cell, 
one that Kim did explain to both the translator and the detainee.  
The Spokeswoman was formally assuming custody over her client, 
which meant that the Inspector and the other members of the 
Airport Unit no longer had any right to abuse her.  As Kim put 
it:

“As your Spokeswoman, I now exercise custody over your life and I 
will determine how other public officials can interact with you.  
Anyone who has anything to ask from you or say to you must go 
through me.  I must approve anything that happens to you.  You 
are to listen to no one except me.  You are not to take orders 
from anyone except me.  When we go into that other room and you 
kneel in front of me, you are letting them know that they can’t 
hurt you anymore, because I won’t let it happen.”

Maria Elena’s mood changed upon hearing Cecilia’s translation.  
She realized that, as bad as her situation might be, apparently 
those awful cops no longer could do anything to her.  She was 
frightened of the young Asian woman who claimed to have “custody” 
over her, but if the Spokeswoman could protect her from that 
Inspector and his crew of sadists, Maria Elena was willing to do 
anything to please her.

With the prisoner still kneeling and Cecilia nervously 
translating, Kim asked her about the arrest and the interrogation 
that followed.  The Spokewoman’s expression changed slightly when 
Cecilia translated the description of her effort to convince the 
Inspector she had just five pellets, only to be proven to be 
lying.  Kim asked for a detailed description of that part of the 
interrogation.  She tightened her lips and sighed upon learning 
that, like so many others, Maria Elena had committed perjury.  
That simple act of lying in the wrong place at the wrong time 
would add 20 years to her formal sentence.  The Spokeswoman would 
have to break the bad news later, when she could talk to her 
client alone in her office.

Maria Elena realized that something was wrong, but before she had 
time to react, Kim continued:

“I’m not going to be able to do anything about the length of your 
sentence, but what I can do is argue for better conditions.  Some 
of that will depend on how much you are willing to cooperate with 
the Inspector.  When you go on trial, he and I will have to work 
out the details of your sentence with the trial judge.  If you 
cooperate with the Inspector, he will cooperate with me in 
court.”

When Cecilia translated, Maria Elena responded:

“But…I did…talk to them…I…”

“He’s going to want to re-interview you and get your full story.  
He’ll ask you all those questions again, this time with a 
translator.  Basically he’s going to want to make sure he has 
everything straight before he does his report.  You’re going to 
have to give up whatever you know about your former drug group.  
Also, the Inspector is gonna want a recording of your voice that 
doesn’t have a bunch of your crying mixed in with your 
information.  Once that interview is done, you’ll be coming with 
me.”

Noting the fear in Maria Elena’s eyes, Kim commented:

“I’m sure you’re still afraid of what your drug group can do to 
you.  Right now that doesn’t matter because they can’t do 
anything to you.  What you need to worry about is us, not them. 
Under our laws, the Danubian government now owns you.  You are 
property of the Republic of Danubia.”

Kim waited for the translation, fully expecting a shocked 
reaction and having to elaborate her last point.  She had to do 
that with almost all of her foreign clients.

“According to our laws, you have proven yourself incapable of 
exercising free will.  So, that portion of your life has ended.  
You now have an owner, the government of the Republic of Danubia.  
Whatever information that is in your head belongs to the Danubian 
government as well, so you will discuss, in detail, what you 
know.”

Kim paused, waiting for the translation.  Then she finished with:

“As for your former employer, if they’re stupid enough to send 
anyone into this country to come after you, the Danubian Secret 
Police will catch that person and they will execute him.  The 
drug groups know that, and we’re the one country in Europe they 
won’t mess with.”

Cecilia finished with Kim’s final statement, totally taken aback 
by her friend’s blunt words. 

“Your drug group is no longer in charge of what happens to you.  
Do you understand me?”

“Si, senora.  Entiendo.”

“And one more thing I expect from you.  When you answer me, you 
need to answer in Danubian.  When you say ‘yes’, it will be: 
‘doc-doc, Advodkatna Lee-Dolkivna’.  Repeat, please… doc-doc, 
Advodkatna Lee-Dolkivna.”

Maria Elena repeated several times; until the Spokeswoman was 
satisfied her client could be understood by other Danubians.

“That’ll work for the time being.  When you say ‘no’, it will be: 
‘negat, Advodkatna Lee-Dolkivna’.  Repeat, please… negat, 
Advodkatna Lee-Dolkivna.”

Once again Maria Elena repeated until Kim was satisfied she had 
it right.

“Congratulations, Maria Elena, you’ve just learned your first 
three words in Danubian: doc-doc, negat, and Advodkatna.”

Cecila felt very uneasy about seeing her friend’s domineering 
behavior up close.  Although she had known Kim for years, she had 
never seen the Spokeswoman introduce herself to a client.  With 
her clients there was no room for doubt, no question that she was 
in complete control.  

Cecilia noticed a change in the prisoner.  Like most of Kim’s 
other foreign clients, Maria Elena’s situation would force her to 
be emotionally dependent on the Spokeswoman, at least during the 
first several months of her sentence.  Trapped alone in a country 
where she could not even communicate properly, surrounded by 
hostile individuals, and stripped of her clothing, she knew that 
the only person she could turn to was Kim.  The Spokeswoman 
already had shown herself as strict and intolerant, and Maria 
Elena was afraid of her.  However, she offered the criminal some 
hope in her life and the promise of protection.  More 
importantly, she clearly explained what her client needed to do 
and what was expected of her, which gave Maria Elena a sense of 
direction and made her desperate to please her.  Only a few 
minutes after meeting Kim, Maria Elena already was adapting to 
her new life as a Danubian criminal.  

The next task was collaring the detainee.  Like every other 
criminal in Danubia, Maria Elena would be required to wear a 
metal collar and would be prohibited from wearing anything else, 
with the exception of orange boots during the winter.  There were 
no jails in Danubia, no such thing as incarceration.  There were 
a few holding cells, like the one Maria Elena was sitting in now, 
but a holding cell was just that, a very temporary place where a 
criminal was kept until she could be collared.  

“When I mentioned that you will be serving a sentence, you will 
understand you won’t be serving any of that time in jail.  We 
don’t have jails in this country.  Instead you will spend your 
sentence serving the people around you, and you will live your 
life in humility. And the mark of a criminal’s humility is the 
collar…”

She held up the temporary collar…

“…which you’ll have to put on before we leave this room.  The 
collar shows you to the world for what you are, a criminal.  
However, it gives you some legal status, which is something you 
didn’t have when you were being interrogated.  Once I put this on 
you, the Inspector and his subordinates cannot touch you.  That’s 
why they waited.  They didn’t want you collared because that 
would have given you rights under our laws.  Before you talk to 
the Inspector again, you’ll need to put this on…unless…you want 
to risk being treated like you were the first time.  Do you 
understand me?”

Maria Elena looked at the collar in Kim’s hand with a very 
worried expression as she listened to Cecilia’s translation.  The 
thought of having that thing around her neck terrified her, 
because she suspected, quite rightly, that once she put on the 
collar it would not be coming off anytime soon.  However, the 
thought of being tormented by the interrogation team a second 
time horrified her.  Her only choice was to trust the Spokeswoman 
and hope she was telling the truth.  She took a deep breath and 
replied:

“Doc-doc, Advodkatna Lee-Dolkivna.”

Kim directed Cecilia to hold up the detainee’s hair while she 
positioned the collar around her neck.  She locked the collar 
with a key, which she then put in her pocket.  Finally she pulled 
out a small receiver and tested it against the collar’s 
transmitter to make sure it worked.  Maria Elena’s collar not 
only marked her as a criminal, but also allowed the Ministry of 
Justice to know where she was at all times.

“Alright, Maria Elena, let’s go back and talk to the Inspector, 
and then I can get you out of the airport.  Remember, how quickly 
our conversation ends depends on how thoroughly you answer his 
questions.  If you try to hide anything, he’ll keep at you until 
you answer, and it will affect what happens at your trial.”

“Doc-doc, Advodkatna Lee-Dolkivna.”

Kim banged on the cell door to let the guard know she, her 
translator, and her client were ready to come out.  The three 
women crossed the hallway and entered the interrogation room.  
Upon entering the Spokeswoman ordered Maria Elena to kneel and 
Cecilia to stand at attention.  Then she crisply saluted the 
Inspector and the other cops in the room by touching her right 
fist to her left shoulder.  The Inspector and the cops saluted 
back.

In spite of the strict protocol and professional courtesies, Kim 
and the Inspector intensely disliked each other.  Kim felt that 
the Inspector was a sadist and sexual pervert, while he resented 
the fact she was foreign-born but still held a position in the 
Danubian government.  However, their mutual dislike did not 
prevent the two officials from cooperating and working together.  
Their understanding was that, in exchange for convincing her 
clients that they needed to share whatever information they had, 
Kim could expect him to ask for lenient sentence terms during 
trial.  The Inspector was always true to his word in court.  As 
long as Kim’s client cooperated with providing information, he 
tried to convince the trial judge to impose the minimum number of 
judicial switchings during sentencing.

Maria Elena trembled as she knelt upright.  She was terrified of 
the Inspector and very worried about displeasing her Spokeswoman.  
Her nakedness left her feeling very vulnerable, while the pain in 
her bottom, her burning intestines, and her sore stomach reminded 
her of the consequences of lying. 

However, more than anything else, it was the sinister feeling of 
cold metal around Maria Elena’s neck that convinced her that her 
old life was completely gone.  She had lost her free will, and 
now was nothing more than property of a foreign government.  The 
unforgiving feel of the hard object around her neck drove home 
that point more than anything else that had happened to her that 
morning.  Over and over her Spokeswoman’s words repeated 
themselves in her mind: “the Danubian government now owns you”. 

Maria Elena’s new understanding of her path in life had an 
immediate effect on her behavior.  As soon as she started 
talking, it was obvious that she would cooperate completely.    
She found it surprisingly easy to speak honestly about her life 
as a drug courier.  Not that she had all that much useful to tell 
the interrogation team, but it was clear that she would tell them 
whatever she knew about her group.

Later Maria Elena would share her personal life with her 
Spokeswoman, but for the moment the Inspector’s only interest was 
the story of her ill-fated trafficking venture.  Armed with her 
cell phone and address book, the Inspector pushed the prisoner 
for names, contacts, and addresses: in Pereira, in Bogota, in 
Panama City, and in Frankfurt.   As he expected, she didn’t know 
anything about her trafficking group that was not related to her 
own experience.  It was obvious that the trip was her first 
effort at drug trafficking and that she really did not know what 
she was doing or understood what she had gotten herself into.

Maria Elena’s story took her from her hometown of Pereira to 
Bogota, where her boyfriend introduced her to his boss.  After a 
couple of nights of partying she went from the Colombian capital 
to Panama City, where she met a very sinister-looking subject 
called Alex Mejia-Silva.  Alex’s girlfriend spent a couple of 
days training Maria Elena to swallow pellets by having her 
swallow grapes without chewing them.  Once she was satisfied that 
the courier could ingest pellets without gagging, she turned her 
back over to Alex.  Alex put Maria Elena in a cheap hotel room 
and booked a ticket on Flight 2298, which flew directly from 
Panama City to Frankfurt.  He went over to the hotel and gave the 
courier the cocaine, divided into 100 small tight ovals wrapped 
in bluish-gray plastic.  Upon arriving in Germany, Maria Elena 
was to call a number programmed into her cell-phone and ask for 
“El Flaco”.  She then would go to a hotel room and expel the 
pellets.  Assuming she expelled 100 pellets, supposedly she would 
get her 15,000 Euros and be allowed to leave.  Because the only 
language she spoke was Spanish, Maria Elena’s plan was to travel 
to Spain immediately after receiving her money, where she would 
attempt to find a job and settle.  In spite of what she had told 
people in Colombia, her plan had been to establish herself in 
Spain and permanently escape from her old life.

The Inspector briefly pondered what really would have happened to 
his prisoner had she successfully completed her trip.  It was 
quite possible that her first venture into drug trafficking would 
have been her last, even if she had successfully delivered all of 
her pellets.  It just sounded too good to be true: 15,000 Euros 
and a visa…for delivering a kilo of cocaine?  Yeah, right…

The Inspector pushed that thought aside.  He needed to finish his 
report and deliver it to INTERPOL.  Whatever might have happened 
to Maria Elena Rodriguez-Torres in Germany was irrelevant, 
because she now belonged to the Danubian government.  

Before leaving the airport, the Inspector had to formally arrest 
the detainee and take her mugshots.  The photographer turned on 
the lighting for the blank backdrop and set up his camera.  The 
Spokeswoman unlocked Maria Elena’s temporary collar and ordered 
her to stand up.  The photographer snapped his fingers to tell 
the prisoner that she needed to position herself to be 
photographed.  She glanced at her Spokeswoman with a pleading 
expression, but Kim tightened her lips and pointed at the camera.  
Yes, Maria Elena would pose completely naked for her official 
arrest photos.

Cecilia translated the photographer’s commands to turn around and 
assume various poses to the mortified prisoner.  The first shots 
were of her face; one from the front, one from the back, one from 
above her head looking down, one from each side, and two taken 
from different angles.

Next came the full-body shots: hands at her side…facing the 
camera, facing away from the camera, facing left, facing right. 
Then another series of shots, this time with her hands behind her 
head and her legs spread: front, back, left, right.

As soon as the prisoner was released from the photo session, the 
Spokeswoman ordered her to kneel to allow her to put the collar 
back on.  Once again the collar clicked shut around Maria Elena’s 
neck.

Finally, the Inspector handed the Spokeswoman a small facial 
photograph of the prisoner which included her full name and her 
arrest number.  Cecilia explained to Maria Elena that, at the 
moment the photo was generated with the arrest number, her legal 
name had been changed by the Ministry of Justice.  Instead of 
Maria Elena Rodriguez-Torres, she would be known as, and listed 
in official Danubian documents as, Prisoner # 101025.

“You can have your friends call you Maria Elena if you want, but 
that’s not your name anymore.  As far as the Danubian Ministry of 
Justice is concerned, your name is Prisoner # 101025.  After your 
trial it’ll change to Criminal # 101025.  You’ll have to get used 
to it, because that’s what everyone’s gonna call you.”

Maria Elena gasped with horror at this latest piece of bad news.  
The Danubians truly were planning to take everything away from 
her, her freedom, her clothing, her dignity, and even her name.

------------ 

The Spokeswoman asked for her client’s arrest report and copies 
of her mugshot photos, which she put in a briefcase to later 
start a criminal file.  She and the Inspector saluted each other 
before the three women turned to go out of the interrogation 
room.  As she stepped into the hallway, Maria Elena instinctively 
covered herself.  Yes indeed, she was about to be taken into the 
main terminal completely naked.  It would only get worse, because 
her Spokeswoman then would take her into Danube City.  How could 
she do this horrible thing, forcing her client to walk naked on 
the street?  Maria Elena gave Cecilia a pleading look, but the 
Dominican ignored her and pointed at the staircase leading out of 
the basement.  

Suddenly Spokeswoman Lee-Dolkivna spun around and snapped at her 
client to kneel.  When the order was translated Maria sank to her 
knees, but still tried to cover herself.

“Listen, Prisoner # 101025, you will remove your hands from your 
body this instant!  I already told you that you are violating 
your status as a prisoner by doing that.  Now, uncover yourself, 
immediately!”

Tears ran down the prisoner’s cheeks as she struggled to obey the 
order by lowering her hands.  She turned to Cecilia and begged 
her in Spanish:

“Please…for the love of God…don’t make me go out naked…I’d rather 
die than go out naked…please…”

“It’s the way they do things here.  You’re a prisoner and you 
can’t cover your body.”

“Please…I’d rather die.”

“It’s not that big of a deal, Maria Elena.  You’ll see that it 
really isn’t.  We’re not in Colombia.”

Kim commented to Cecilia in English: 

“Look: just tell her that if she tries covering herself again, I 
will request a police escort and she will have to go downtown 
with her hands cuffed behind her back.  People won’t pay that 
much attention to her if she’s simply walking with us, but they 
will want to have a better look at her if she’s cuffed.”

Cecilia, still taken aback by Kim’s harsh treatment of her new 
client, reluctantly translated the Spokeswoman’s last statement.  
She concluded with:

“We have to get out of the airport and get you downtown.  
Spokeswoman Lee-Dolkivna’s really not that bad, she isn’t.  But 
you have to do what she says.”

Maria Elena took a deep breath, looked up the stairs, and then 
glanced at her two escorts.  She realized that there was no point 
in any further resistance.  Her old life had ended and there was 
no point in holding on to values that apparently had no relevance 
in the life she was about to begin.  She would have to uncover 
herself, walk up those stairs, and accept whatever her new life 
demanded of her.

She took a deep breath, wiped away her tears, and responded:

“Doc-doc, Advodkatna Lee-Dolkivna”

----------

The three women emerged onto the main terminal building floor.  
Maria Elena, with every bit of will-power left in her, forced 
herself to keep her hands at her sides.  She tried to ignore the 
stares of hundreds of startled passengers as she walked past the 
security checkpoint, away from the boarding area and away from 
any hope of escape.  She cast one last look at the passenger 
waiting area, thinking about her flight, which had long since 
departed for Germany.  

Kim tapped her on the shoulder and pointed at the front entrance 
of the terminal building.  Maria-Elena worked up the courage to 
go outdoors in the nude.  She hoped that outside would be less 
crowded than the terminal building itself, but the thought of 
being outdoors with no clothing mortified her.  She never had 
been naked in a public location in her life, and almost never had 
been naked, even alone, except when taking a shower.  The only 
two people who had ever seen her uncovered body had been her two 
lovers: the boyfriend who had loved her, and the other boyfriend 
who had betrayed her.

With Kim leading the way, the three women stepped out through the 
main entrance.  It was a hot sunny August afternoon, with the air 
still damp and muggy from the previous night’s storm.  In front 
of the airport there was not a parking lot, but instead a small 
park with a statue of a king holding a sword.  Later Maria Elena 
would learn the statue was of the airport’s namesake, the 
country’s national hero King Vladik the Defender.  On the other 
side of the park was a large trolley stop that was full of 
commuters and luggage.

The sidewalk felt hot on the prisoner’s unprotected feet as she 
and her escorts made their way to the trolley stop.  Maria Elena 
gave her companions a look of total despair, because she had been 
under the impression that “going downtown” meant getting into a 
car.  She looked around at the front of the airport and realized 
there was not a private car in sight: only a couple of police 
vans.

Cecilia commented: “I know this is all new to you, but the only 
way to get downtown is in a trolley, unless you want to walk.  
This place doesn’t have cars ‘cause there’s no room for them.”

So, Maria Elena’s body had to face a new round of public exposure 
as she lined up with hundreds of Danubian airplane passengers, 
family members, foreign tourists, airport employees, and police 
officers.  The foreigners stared at her with wide eyes, but the 
Danubians only gave her fleeting glances.

Among the throng of clothed people she noticed several that were 
naked, all of whom, just like herself, had collars around their 
necks.  She noticed two naked young men moving suitcases onto the 
trolley for several older couples who couldn’t move baggage 
themselves.  

An old man tapped the prisoner on the shoulder and started 
speaking to her in Danubian.  Cecilia translated:

“He needs you to put his wife’s stuff in the trolley.  Her 
suitcases are over there.”  

Noticing the puzzled look on the prisoner’s face, Cecilia 
continued:  “If someone asks you to do something, as long as it’s 
reasonable, you gotta help them out.  Criminals have to make 
themselves available to serve the public.  Just move the 
suitcases next to where the old lady is sitting.  If they get off 
before we get downtown, we might have to get off too, so you can 
help them get their suitcases to their house.”

Exasperated, Maria Elena struggled to carry two enormously heavy 
suitcases onto the trolley while the old man followed carrying a 
much smaller bag.  Her feet ached on the hard cement and the 
suitcases scraped her bare legs.  Her bottom still throbbed from 
the paddling and her stomach and throat burned from the forced 
vomiting she had endured during the interrogation.  She was sick, 
exhausted, frightened, and mortified with embarrassment.  
Nevertheless, even in her condition she was expected to exert 
herself carrying someone else’s belongings onto a trolley, and 
the only reward she could expect might be to have to carry the 
luggage to the old couple’s house.

The trolley’s seats were full by the time Maria Elena had the 
suitcases in place next to the old lady.  Noticing that all the 
seats already had been taken, she reluctantly grabbed a handrail, 
thus exposing herself even more to the crowd in the trolley.  
Cecilia stood next to her, but decided not to say anything unless 
Maria Elena spoke first.

The old man took the seat next to his wife, as the pair looked at 
the three young women with total curiosity.  Spokeswoman Lee-
Dolkivna, Cecilia Sanchez, and Criminal # 101025 were the only 
non-Europeans in the packed trolley.  Added to that detail was 
the fact that Maria Elena was naked, collared, and her bottom 
covered with welts and bruises.  However the detail that most 
disturbed the old couple was the fact that the Colombian’s thick 
black hair was disheveled and not properly braided.  At least the 
other two had the decency to braid their hair.  Kim, noting the 
old couple’s look of disapproval, explained in Danubian:

“I apologize about the dishonorable condition of my client’s 
hair, sir.  She was arrested just this morning and I need to get 
her to the Central Police Station.  I assure you I won’t let her 
go back out like this.”

The old couple’s disapproving expression relaxed as they 
responded: “Doc-doc, Advodkatna.”

Cecilia sighed, feeling very sorry for her naked companion.  In 
this harsh and restrictive society, there were many things 
Prisoner # 101025 would have to learn very quickly.  She would 
face many hardships; struggles that she would have to endure that 
she was not even aware of yet.  



