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

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


Chapter 10 - A moment in life with Victor

Maria Elena woke up with a start. She was not in her own room, 
not lying uncovered on top of her own mattress. Instead, she was 
under a cover, sharing a warm bed with her lover. She nervously 
glanced at the bedroom door, realizing it was open. She 
remembered that Victor had closed it the night before. She 
wondered if he had gotten up in the middle of the night; or if 
Cecilia had peeked in and not bothered to close it. She closed 
the door, hoping it had been Victor who had left it open.

She returned to the bed and sat down. She looked at him, studying 
his lined face and aging body. Time and stress had taken their 
toll on his health and appearance. He was not physically 
attractive, but she had not been looking for that when she began 
her relationship with him. She wasn’t worried about being with 
someone who was young. Instead she wanted to be comforted and 
protected by a person she could look to as an authority figure, 
someone who she could respect and who she felt could guide her. 

As a young teen, Maria Elena Rodriguez-Torres had been fascinated 
with some of the older male teachers at her school, especially 
the school director. Nothing ever came of her interests, nor 
could she ever figure out why older guys would fascinate her. She 
had never taken any psychology, so she did not have the education 
that would have helped her understand her own needs. A 
psychologist could have looked into the girl’s past and quickly 
identified her basic issue with men. Her father had abandoned her 
mother when she was very young, forcing her to be a single parent 
throughout most of the girl’s life. Senor Rodriguez was missing, 
leaving his daughter with the burning desire to find an older man 
who would give her some direction. Of course the popular culture 
around Maria Elena told her that she needed to find a handsome 
young guy her own age, which clashed with her hidden hope of 
finding someone older who could replace her father.

Maria Elena’s traumatic experiences over the most recent two 
weeks had intensified her subconscious need to find a mature man 
with authority who could protect her. Victor Dukov, who was a 
business owner and the head of the household that had taken her 
in, fit her aspirations perfectly. Victor’s own circumstances; 
the fact he was recently widowed and his sons were grown-up, 
added to his availability and desirability in Maria Elena’s mind. 
She would heal him, and he would heal her.

----------

Maria Elena lightly kissed Victor on the cheek and stood up. 
She’d have to go downstairs and get the kitchen set up for 
Cecilia to cook. It was Monday, so once the kitchen was ready 
she’d come back to her lover’s room and help him get dressed. She 
would be his adoring partner…he would rely on her and not be able 
to live without her.

It turned out that Cecilia already was awake and had gone into 
the kitchen first. A quick glance sent the message that yes…she 
did know the prisoner had spent the night with their host. There 
was no greeting. The Dominican simply began with: 

“I hope you understand what you’ve gotten yourself into. If it 
goes bad, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

The prisoner blushed. Cecilia continued:

“I saw you two last night…in the living room. I checked the 
bedroom later on…and I left that door open on purpose.” 

There was another pause, because Maria Elena didn’t know how to 
respond. Cecilia gave her a very skeptical look.

“You don’t have…anything to say about…what you did?”

“Not really…it just happened.”

“No, Maria Elena, it didn’t ‘just happen’. I saw it coming as 
early as Thursday. I warned you. You knew that I was watching 
you, and you knew why…”

“But was it really that wrong? We love each other…”

Cecilia rolled her eyes.

“You love each other? After six days you love each other. You 
don’t even speak the same language, but you love each other. He’s 
46 years old and you’re 19, but you love each other. Please…give 
me a break. You can’t love someone you don’t know in just six 
days…It doesn’t work like that!”

“Well I do love him! I don’t care about any of that stuff you’re 
telling me! I love him! What’s wrong with that? Why can’t I love 
him?”

Cecilia rubbed her forehead and sighed. She thought: Maria Elena, 
you don’t get it…

“You can’t love him because you belong to the Danubian 
Government! That’s what I was trying to tell you last week! 
There’s nothing wrong with you having a relationship, but it 
really has to be with another criminal, with someone in the same 
situation as you. If you’re married to another criminal, the 
Ministry will try to respect that and they’ll do what they can to 
keep you together, as long as you…”

“I don’t want a relationship with another criminal! I want 
Victor! I mean…what about Tiffany? She’s not married to another 
criminal! What about her? Why can’t I just do what she’s doing?”

Cecilia did not know how to answer Maria Elena without spending 
the entire morning explaining the unique circumstances that had 
brought Vladik Dukov and Tiffany Walker together. It was true 
that he was a cop and she was a criminal, but they first met when 
he was suspended from his position with the National Police and 
performing Public Penance. When he and Tiffany started their 
relationship, Vladik was little more than a criminal himself. 
Anyhow, Cecilia didn’t want to argue further. She wasn’t going to 
convince her housemate not to pursue Victor; the only thing she 
could do was try to get her to think about what she was doing.

“Maria Elena, it’s a long story about Vladik and Tiffany. Your 
situation is different. It just is. I’m worried about you and 
Victor, and I don’t want to see either of you get hurt. I just 
don’t think you being with him is such a good idea. Right now…I 
really can’t figure out how to tell you why I feel that way. But 
I know him. I know this country. I know what it’s like to be 
criminal. And, I know some things about you. I really think that 
a year from now, you’re gonna have different needs and Victor’s 
not gonna be able to fill them. That’s when things are gonna go 
bad between you two.”

Cecilia’s words were met with a hard, skeptical look from the 
prisoner’s eyes. No, she wasn’t going to be convinced. Her only 
option was to give up on trying to dissuade her housemate and 
fall back on at least making sure she adhered to criminal 
protocol:

“I hope I’m wrong. But I do want you to think real hard about 
what you’re doing. And there’s something else…”

“What?”

“The next time you see her, you’re gonna have to tell Spokeswoman 
Lee-Dolkivna what’s going on. That’s not just protocol, it’s the 
law. The Spokeswoman holds custody over you, so she gets final 
say over whether or not you can have a relationship with someone. 
You need to talk to her, because if you don’t, you’ll get charged 
with insurrection and in theory you could get Victor in trouble.”

“But…she’ll simply say no.”

“Not necessarily. What she will do is force you to be sure, in 
your own mind, why you want to be with him. And, I’d imagine 
she’ll want to talk to him as well. Then she’ll make a decision. 
She won’t say no until she talks to both of you.”

As Maria Elena knelt to hand Victor his shoes and finish helping 
him get dressed, her heart was very heavy. She was learning that 
romance, especially for a criminal, was not something that simply 
happened in Danubian society. For her to love Victor, other 
people had to get involved. Her romantic life would be documented 
in her criminal record. To have a relationship with Victor she 
would have to obtain official permission, and to marry him she 
would have to seek permission yet again. She felt enormously 
sorry for him, because for her sake he would have to seek the 
approval of Spokeswoman Lee-Dolkivna, someone half his age (and 
his former employee on top that) for a decision that really 
should have been up to him to make.

----------

Maria Elena returned to the university that morning with Cecilia 
and Jason for a normal day of work, class, and exercise. She 
spent most of the afternoon with Carmen, realizing that the 
Californian was her best chance at having a friend among the US 
students. Maria Elena was aware that there was nothing Carmen 
could really do to help her situation, but it was nice just to 
have someone else to talk to in Spanish besides Cecilia.

After class, the norteamericanos split up by sex to undress and 
attend physical fitness training. As usual, Cecilia handed Maria 
Elena her running shoes, which she was only allowed to use during 
exercising. As usual, the gringas took off their clothes in the 
locker room for a ritual that many still were not comfortable 
with.

Exercise proved to be a very unnerving experience for Prisoner # 
101025. The instructor announced that she was ready to fully 
participate in the program, which included the runs. The 
Colombian would be expected to run three kilometers non-stop, 
which was the distance that the other women typically ran every 
other day. Cecilia made the mistake of telling the instructor 
that she couldn’t use her switch to punish Maria Elena because 
she was going on trial the following week and faced a full 
judicial switching of 50 strokes. The instructor cheerfully 
responded:

“That’s not a problem, Director Sanchez. Since you are in charge 
of the prisoner and are responsible for her success with us, then 
I will simply give you any strokes she earns. If she fails to 
live up to my expectations, then I will hold you responsible.”

Maria Elena noticed the Dominican’s dark skin turn a shade 
lighter. Cecilia turned to her and translated what the instructor 
had just said, adding:

“You’d better do what she wants, and do it right. If I have to 
take any strokes for you, I’m gonna be pissed.”

“No…Tell her I’ll take the strokes…It’s not your problem.”

“It is my problem, because you have to go on trial next week. 
When it’s over and you get sentenced, you’re gonna get your butt 
whipped. You can’t have any marks on you when that happens, so in 
the meantime I have to take your punishments for you ‘cause I’m 
in charge of you. The only thing is, I’m not gonna take any 
punishment for you ‘cause you’re not gonna earn any, ‘cause 
you’re gonna bust your ass on that run. Get it?”

“Yes, Cecilia, I get it.”

Maria Elena certainly did try as hard as she could, but there was 
no way she was capable of running three kilometers non-stop. She 
fell to her knees and threw up after completing just half the 
distance. Cecilia screamed at her to get up and keep moving. 
Maria Elena cried as she staggered along the university sidewalk, 
pain tearing through her sides and her legs trembling from 
weakness. She put everything she had into the run, terrified that 
Cecilia already was in trouble. It was just a simple physical 
exercise, something that everyone else in the group had long 
since mastered, but for Maria Elena it was every bit as awful as 
what had happened to her the previous week in the interrogation 
room.

When Cecilia and Maria Elena finally crossed the finish line, 
both were expecting the instructor to hit Cecilia several times 
with the switch. However all she said was:

“Good effort, Prisoner # 101025. You put everything into it, and 
that’s all I’m asking. Wednesday I’ll expect you to do a bit 
better.”

----------

Cecilia had to stay late at the university that night, because 
one of the male participants had decided to quit the program. He 
was having trouble with the Danubian language, was not getting 
along with his host family, and to top off everything else, he 
had taken three strokes that afternoon from his physical fitness 
instructor. The program director was used to dealing with crises 
stemming from Americans struggling to adapt to Danubian culture. 
Normally she was able to convince the students to stay by 
reasoning with them. They already had paid their money and could 
not get a refund, if they left Danubia they would lose the 
semester because there was no time left to enroll back in 
Chicago, and if they quit, that decision to give up would forever 
haunt them. If a student was determined to leave, she did what 
she could to get him or her to put it off as long a possible. 

There were cases where Director Sanchez spent an entire semester 
convincing a student to “wait just one more week…just another 
week…is that really gonna hurt you? Just one more week?” She 
always pointed out: “I know it’s hard, but if you at least wait 
another week or so, do you think you’d really lose anything? If 
you really can’t stand it, you can always decide to leave later 
on, but once you leave, you can’t decide to come back.”

In the end the student usually procrastinated one week to the 
next, right up to the end of the semester. During the three years 
Director Sanchez had been counseling exchange students, 130 had 
participated in the program and only 4 ended up leaving early.

----------

Maria Elena went home by herself. She noted that Victor was 
helping Cecilia’s nephew with a homework assignment, so she 
started dinner and began straightening up. She washed a load of 
clothing, set the table, served three portions of food and set 
aside a fourth for her housemate, for whenever she came home. 

All the while she was attending to the needs of the house; two 
huge worries loomed in her mind: her upcoming trial and the 
horrific switching she would have to endure, and her concern over 
what to do about Victor. She dreaded the upcoming session with 
her Spokeswoman even more than she dreaded her trial, because she 
was convinced that Kim would put an end to her relationship with 
her host and embarrass him at the same time.

Victor made sure Pedro was properly cleaned up and in bed before 
putting on his prayer robe and performing his nightly vigil 
beneath his wife’s picture. Maria Elena wondered if the Danubian 
Church had a formal mourning period and if Victor would ever get 
over doing that strange ritual and move on with his life. She 
felt that he could move on, but that he would need her to do so. 
That was something Prisoner # 101025 could tell her Spokeswoman; 
that Victor’s future depended on her. She was offering him the 
chance to emerge from his emotional pit of grief and guilt. Maybe 
she was his last hope, the final opportunity he would ever have 
to return to a normal life. Did Kim really have the right to take 
that away from him just because of protocol?

With that thought Maria Elena felt much more confident of 
herself. Yes, she now knew what she needed to say that would 
counter the doubts of both Cecilia and Spokeswoman Lee-Dolkivna. 
Victor’s life was at stake. Maybe his relationship with his guest 
was not “correct protocol”, but did anyone have a better option 
for him? Did anyone else know how to get him to return to his old 
life and find happiness? 

She finished in the kitchen and set a pot of water to boil for 
tea. As usual she would make a cup for her host and kneel beside 
him to serve him. She now knew a few words and phrases, so she 
could communicate with him at a very simple level. As she waited 
for the water to boil she went to the bathroom and studied her 
reflection in the mirror. She noticed that her breasts now were 
as tanned as the rest of her body, that the marks from her 
swimsuit were completely gone. She was developing a new tan-line, 
the one on her lower neck that was the result of constantly 
wearing a collar. She knew that her neck would be uncovered very 
briefly the following week, when she would take off the temporary 
collar and be fitted with her permanent one. For a few minutes 
her neck would be uncovered, then covered again, permanently.

Permanently. This would be her life. How strange…only a week 
before she had been sitting on a plane, worried about delivering 
a kilo of cocaine. Just two weeks before she still was in 
Colombia. Just two weeks, but it felt like so much more than two 
weeks. So much had happened in just two weeks…so much… The 
worries she had just two weeks before had no presence in her life 
at all now. She was a different person, worried about different 
things, with different goals and aspirations. It was not her 
choice to become different, but nonetheless she was able to 
accept what had happened to her. Just one week after her arrest, 
Maria Elena had fully adjusted to the Path in Life that the 
Creator had set up for her. 

The prisoner knelt with her cup of tea. This time Victor quickly 
finished his prayer and took the cup. He stroked her face and 
touched her hair. Yes, she was his escape, the sign sent to him 
by the Creator that he was free to stop grieving about his dead 
wife and move on with his life.

A few minutes later they were upstairs in his room. Maria Elena 
pulled off his prayer robe and carefully hung it up. He took her 
hands and kissed her passionately. The couple embraced, then he 
explored her bottom with his hands. He felt bad, because within a 
week her backside would be covered with painful welts, but after 
her trial he would comfort her. She would spend the night crying 
on his bed, as he gently rubbed lotion onto her body. Finally he 
would hold her hand and she would fall asleep. The next day she 
would wake up, and he would be there for her…and for once he 
would be the one with a cup of tea for her…and she would begin 
her new life…

Yes…my poor little foreigner…

He became aroused much more quickly the second night than the 
first. She had reawakened those old feelings and passions, 
something that just a week before he felt that he had no right to 
enjoy. There was so much in him that she had brought back, so 
much of his life that she had restored. He now had something to 
live for, apart from running his business and serving his 
employees and clients. He held, in his arms, a lovely girl that 
he could call his own and love.

That night she got on her hands and knees on the bed and he took 
her from behind. She was so lovely…so different from the Danubian 
women he had known…so lovely…his Maria Elena…

----------

The next day Cecilia asked the university gardener to let 
Prisoner # 101025 off work early so the two women could see 
Spokeswoman Lee-Dolkivna before lunchtime. At 11:00 she met Maria 
Elena at the shower. The Colombian sighed, because the trip meant 
that she would have to come clean about her relationship with 
Victor sooner than she had wanted. She cast an angry look at 
Cecilia, suspecting that she must have placed a call to 
Spokeswoman Lee-Dolkivna to arrange the appointment, precisely to 
mess up her plans with him. The Dominican, who was extremely 
observant and picked up on everything, snapped: 

“Quit looking at me like that. I didn’t call your Spokeswoman. 
She called me. She wants to talk about your trial. It’s got 
nothing to do with Victor.”

The two women arrived at the Central Police Station and entered 
the Spokeswoman’s office. At that moment Maria Elena saw the 
reality of her future close-up, because a badly beaten criminal 
was lying face-down on a foldable table that looked like a padded 
massage table. He was very young, perhaps even younger than Maria 
Elena. His bottom and the top part of his thighs were a solid 
mass of reddish welts that were about a centimeter wide each. 
Where the blows crossed each other they formed blisters that were 
purple. Six reddish stripes crossed the criminal’s upper back. In 
spite of the severity of the punishment, Maria Elena noted that 
he was not bleeding anywhere, but that was not much consolation. 
It was obvious the young man was in a lot of pain and content to 
just lie still on the table.

Cecilia explained that all criminals received their first 
judicial punishment immediately after they were convicted. The 
first switching was part of the ritual of trial and the 
criminal’s formal introduction to the reality of his sentence. No 
matter how many or how few switchings were assigned during 
sentencing, the first one always came at the end of the trial. A 
formal police switching consisted of 50 blows administered to the 
criminal’s bottom and upper thighs over a 30-60 minute period. 
Following the switching, the punishment was certified by the 
trial judge, and then the criminal had to be photographed. Once 
that was taken care of, the convict normally spent a couple of 
hours lying on a “recovery table” in the Spokesperson’s office 
until he could stop crying and walk home.

“No matter what happens during your sentencing hearing, next 
Monday you’re gonna be switched and this is where you’ll have to 
recover. A week from now this is gonna be you.”

Maria Elena looked at the man, studying the painful welts and 
blood blisters that covered his backside. She had known being 
flogged was going to be part of her punishment, but to actually 
see it up close...

“Your Spokeswoman had to go through this three times. She told me 
that it feels like you’re being ripped apart, like it’s gonna 
kill you, like it’s never gonna end. When the cop is whipping 
you, it’ll be the longest hour of your life. You’ll want to 
scream, but you need to resist and stay quiet because that’s part 
of a criminal’s honor. You’re gonna have to show courage when 
you’re on the switching table or else your fellow criminals 
aren’t gonna respect you. That’s the reality you’re facing. But 
it’s the same for everyone who gets convicted. Everyone who wears 
a Ministry of Justice collar goes through the same experience. 
You’ll go through it and you’ll survive, just like everyone 
else.”

Maria Elena stood in horrified silence as Cecilia continued:

“In one way you’re a lot luckier than most of the foreigners that 
come through this office. Most people go on trial the day after 
they’re arrested and really don’t have a clue what’s going on…and 
you can imagine how scary that would be. You’re lucky because the 
Ministry had to wait to put you on trial. You’ve had a chance to 
get used to things here. You know what it’s like to be a 
criminal, you know what to expect, and there won’t be any 
surprises. Most prisoners don’t have that opportunity.”

The two women passed into the back office, where Kim was 
organizing a folder with her client’s information. As usual, 
Cecilia stood at attention while Maria Elena knelt and put her 
head to the floor. Kim told her client in Danubian:

“Please rise, Prisoner # 101025, and take a seat so we can 
fulfill our Paths in Life.”

“Thank you, Spokeswoman Lee-Dolkivna.”

Tiffany, now in the final weeks of her pregnancy, struggled to 
move about the office as she served glasses of blackberry punch 
and buttered dinner rolls. Maria Elena and Cecilia were grateful 
for the snack, because the trip downtown would force them to miss 
lunch. As the prisoner and her translator ate, Kim laid out what 
was going to happen the following week:

“I think you’re going to be in luck next Monday. The Inspector 
seemed concerned that he and his crew roughed you up too badly. 
He doesn’t want the details of what they did to you coming out in 
the trial, for obvious reasons. So, your corporal punishments are 
going to be cut way back. At most they’re gonna ask for only two 
switchings per year, and I’ll argue it should be less than that, 
at least later on in your sentence. So, getting whipped is not 
something that you’re gonna have to worry about all that often.”

Kim waited for Cecilia to translate and continued:

“Anyhow I’ve got another piece of good news. Because of the 
information you gave us, the Germans arrested ‘El Flaco’. That’s 
the first time they were able to act on anything we gave them 
that we got from someone working at your level. For once we 
actually managed to mess up the bad guys’ day.”

Maria Elena was less than elated, because her old fear of 
retaliation came back to her full-force. There was no question 
that “El Flaco” would want to come after her. Kim picked up on 
her nervous reaction.

“El Flaco’s not going anywhere. He’s got major problems right 
now. You know that he’s not really a cocaine trafficker; he just 
did that on the side. His group was focused on running a white 
slavery operation. What they’ve been doing is to get women to 
come into Europe as cocaine couriers, then they take their 
documents away and sell them.”

“Sell the documents, Spokeswoman Lee Dolkivna?”

“No, not the documents; the women. They sell the women, you 
know…to brothels, strip joints, pimps, that sort of thing. From 
what the Germans told us, El Flaco’s specialty was moving 
Ecuadorians, Colombians, and Peruvians into and out of Germany. 
Their investigators traced a couple of your fellow couriers to a 
brothel in Bucharest and some others to a place in Istanbul. 
Those are the only ones they found so far. They don’t know where 
the others are, but the Frankfurt police recovered 42 passports 
from his apartment. That’s at least 42 women that have gone 
missing, because the records show them entering Germany but not 
leaving. Now they know who’s responsible.”

“…and they all flew out of Panama City…to Frankfurt…”

“Yes, for some reason Alex and ‘El Flaco’ liked moving their 
women out of Panama…the Germans will have to figure out why that 
was. From what I know about these groups, I’m gonna guess ‘El 
Flaco’ had customs officials paid off in both airports to let you 
guys through. I suppose that’s why it was always Panama City-
Frankfurt.”

As Cecilia translated, her expression clearly read: “I told you 
so…” Maria Elena’s heart sank at hearing, for certain, what she 
already suspected. There was no way El Flaco would have simply 
paid her off and allowed her to depart for Spain. She now 
understood that it was not the kilo of cocaine that she was 
transporting, but herself. Had Maria Elena’s flight not been 
diverted to Danubia, she would have delivered herself right into 
the control of a white slavery ring.

Kim waited for her client to fully understand the significance of 
what she had just said. Judging by her sick expression, it was 
obvious that she did understand.

“Prisoner # 101025, I want to ask you something. Knowing what you 
know now, about what was waiting for you in Germany, do you still 
regret having landed here last week?”

“No, Spokeswoman, I don’t regret it. I’m sorry that I got on the 
plane in Panama. That I’m sorry about.”

“You getting on that plane was inevitable. You were obsessed with 
a dream, and nothing was going to stop you from chasing it. Alex 
promised you quick money and an escape, and you didn’t have the 
common sense to see that you were getting into a trap. You had no 
way of knowing because you were ignorant. You didn’t even bother 
to find out why they were giving you so much money or why you 
were flying alone. Nothing could have stopped you.”

“I suppose that’s true, Spokeswoman.”

“I want you to understand that is was not luck that saved you. 
The Creator chose to save you. The Path of your Life led you here 
to Danubia and the Path of your Life is to stay here and serve 
our country. You need to ask yourself, why you and not the 
others? Why were you spared? You cheated Death, but why?”

Maria Elena did not know how to respond to Kim’s deeper question. 
However, her narrow escape from horrific enslavement and a likely 
early death gave her the courage to comply with her duty to 
report her relationship with Victor. After a long silence she 
said:

“Spokeswoman Lee-Dolkivna, last night I slept with Victor Dukov. 
I slept with him because I love him.”

Kim glanced at Cecilia:

“You were aware of this?”

“Yes, Spokeswoman, I was. But I thought it would be better for 
Criminal # 101025 tell you herself.”

Kim pondered how to proceed. She knew that both Cecilia and Maria 
Elena were expecting her to simply say that the relationship 
needed to end immediately. However, because of her suspicion that 
her client had come to Danubia for some special purpose, the 
Spokeswoman was reluctant to pass judgment on what was going on 
between her and the man she used to work for.

“You do understand that, by the standards of our society, what 
you two are doing is not proper at all?”

“Yes, Spokeswoman, I understand that.”

“Now for another question. Why did you do it? And why with him? 
Why Victor?”

“Because he needs me, Spokeswoman Lee-Dolkivna.”

“And what about you? What are you getting out of it?”

Maria Elena thought for a moment. “I…I guess it’s because I’m 
tired of being with people I’m afraid of. I’m tired of living my 
life in fear. When I’m with him I don’t feel that way; I’m not 
scared. When I’m with him I feel different.” 

Kim contemplated her client. Maria Elena’s expression was 
perfectly calm: she was not ashamed of what she was doing with 
Victor, nor was she proud or defiant. It was clear that she saw 
the relationship as part of her Path in Life, even if she didn’t 
understand it in those terms yet. As improper as Maria Elena’s 
behavior might have been, Kim did not feel that she was in a 
position to simply prohibit her from spending time with Victor.

“Right now I can’t tell you how I’m going to handle this, 
Prisoner # 101025. I’m going to have to go to Victor’s office 
this afternoon, talk to him, and see what he has to say about his 
feelings towards you. If he’s as sure about you as you seem to be 
about him, then I will have both of you submit written statements 
about your relationship and your intentions to the Ministry. Once 
I get them approved, they will go in your criminal file. Then I 
will have to grant you provisional permission to continue seeing 
him. But there is something that you’ll always need to remember.”

“What is that, Spokeswoman Lee-Dolkivna?”

“As a criminal, the Path of Your Life is to serve the people of 
Danubia. If the Ministry of Justice decides that it needs to move 
you to better serve the Danubian public, then you will have to 
obey, and your feelings for Victor won’t matter. That’s the 
reality of being a criminal in this country. Your life belongs to 
the Ministry, not to Victor or anyone else. I’m sure he 
understands that, but I need to make sure you understand as 
well.”

“Yes, Spokeswoman Lee-Dolkivna.”

----------

A few minutes later Cecilia and Maria Elena returned to the 
university. Cecilia went to her office to make some phone calls 
to Chicago, while her prisoner barely had time to make it to 
Danubian language class. 

Meanwhile, Spokeswoman Kimberly Lee-Dolkivna went to Merchant 
Victor Dukov’s office to deal with the uncomfortable situation of 
trying to determine if her former boss would receive permission 
to have a relationship with one of her clients. She was sure that 
she had no choice other than to tentatively approve the 
relationship, because she had worked for Victor Dukov when she 
was a criminal herself. He had not been particularly nice to work 
for, but she later understood that Victor’s personality and 
behavior did not reflect what he really thought of her. As her 
months working under him passed, she acquired more respect for 
him. 

In theory the Spokeswoman was legally above Victor Dukov, because 
he was a private citizen while she was a public official. 
However, in no way did she see herself as his superior. Kim 
always considered Victor as her former boss and never would she 
see him in any other manner. The thought that he owed her any 
deference never entered her mind, no matter what she might have 
said to her client. Even the mere thought of forcing him to 
justify his relationship with Maria Elena made the Spokeswoman 
cringe. However, because of her position and her client’s legal 
status, at the very least she would have to go through the 
formality of talking to both partners before filing a report 
about the relationship.

Kim took a deep breath and entered Victor’s office. As soon as 
she saw him, her doubts about interfering with his relationship 
with Maria Elena were confirmed. He looked better than he had in 
years and his normally dour expression had softened considerably. 
He knew why she had come to his office, and also could tell that 
she was uneasy about what she was doing. 

Kim began the interview by asking about some other clients who 
were working for Victor's company and he responded with honest 
assessments about their performance. Following that, Kim asked 
him to tell her how Prisoner # 101025 was doing in his house. 
Victor replied:

“Well, Spokeswoman Lee-Dolkivna, you must know what’s happened 
between us, or else you wouldn’t have come to see me.”

“Yes, I do know, Merchant Dukov. Prisoner # 101025 came to my 
office and reported her relationship with you, which was her duty 
as a prisoner and as my client.”

Victor tried to think of a response, or something he could say 
that would somehow justify his behavior, but Kim continued:

“The only question I have for you is this: do you love my 
client?”

“I think so…You know, it’s been such a long time…married so long, 
and widowed…I’ve loved one person over many years, but I’ve 
forgotten what falling in love felt like…and I saw her…and she 
loves me…”

“If you love a person, you will always want the best for her, is 
that not so?”

“Yes, Spokeswoman, I do want the best for her.”

“…and you think you can do that for her? Provide guidance to her 
and do what you can to ensure that she properly fulfills her Path 
in Life?”

“I can try. I will seek the guidance of the Ancients and I will 
try.”

“Then, Merchant Dukov, there is something else I’d like to ask of 
you. Prisoner # 101025 will go on trial next week on Monday. I 
need you to take that day off from work so you can be here to 
comfort her. I don’t want you in the courtroom; but I want you 
here in the office when I bring her up. I want you to attend to 
whatever injuries she might have, and wipe her tears and stay 
with her. Can you do that?”

“I would be honored, Spokeswoman.”

“Very well, Merchant Dukov. I am not going to ask you about your 
relationship because I know you are a man of honor. But you do 
understand I need you to fill out a report for the Ministry of 
Justice and I need to put it in Prisoner # 101025’s file. You 
understand that?”

“Yes, Spokeswoman.”

Kim stood up and Victor saluted her. Out of respect for her 
former boss, she saluted back. 

“May the Ancients protect you, Merchant Dukov.”

“and you, Spokeswoman…may the Ancients protect you.”

With that Kim did a sharp about-face and left his office. 
Undoubtedly she would see him soon enough at a Dukov family get-
together and she could drop the formality and talk to him 
normally. However, because the meeting involved an official 
discussion over her client, both Victor and Kim felt that it was 
necessary to exercise proper protocol, even though they were 
alone in his office. Anyhow, it was done. Victor knew from 
Danubian protocol that Kim would recommend approval of his 
relationship with Maria Elena. He was relieved about that, but at 
the same time he knew that she fully expected him to be 
supportive of her. He was taking on a responsibility with the 
Ministry of Justice, because he was caring for a person who was 
considered public property.

----------

Later that night, once Cecilia and her nephew were asleep, Maria 
Elena entered Victor’s room with a cup of tea and knelt. He took 
her hand, asked her to stand up, and kissed her. With that the 
couple spent their third night together.

Both Victor and Maria Elena knew that there was no way they could 
know how much time they would have. Most people either live in 
the future, thinking about their plans and what they are going to 
do, or they live in the past, pondering what was or what might 
have been. In life most people either look forward or backward, 
but neglect where they are at the moment. Victor and Maria Elena 
were different, because they had only the moment at hand. For 
each of them, the past was nothing but regret and missed 
opportunities, while the future seemed bleak and ominous. They 
knew that the only choice they had was to live in the present and 
enjoy whatever time the Creator would allow them to share.



