Thursday, May 4th
07:08 GMT+7 (00:08 GMT May 4th)
HMS ALBION
Twenty-six nautical miles to the west
Gulf of Thailand
Her morning had gone all to hell.
She had been in amphibious operations for 05:00 to listen out for the successful rescue of the team. The Merlin HC.4 helicopter had launched at 05:20 for the short flight into Cambodia. At 05:38 had come the announcement that the flight crew had spotted a firefight, less than a mile from Landing Zone Lima. A minute later, another report that six people had been spotted making their escape from pursuing forces. That told everybody that Commander Lawrence had been found. Then, at 05:42 came the devastating news that the helicopter was under attack and taking fire from an unknown airborne threat, just as the Merlin was engaging the ground troops. The ALBION had instantly lit off its Type 996 radar and immediately identified the enemy contact providing vectors for the Merlin to make its escape. The damaged helicopter had one engine out and was flying at sixty knots on the remaining two engines, one of which was in a bad state. It was not until 06:15 that the badly damaged helicopter had eventually sagged onto the flight deck with two of three engines out and four badly injured Royal Marines aboard. The mission was in tatters with Fusion One still ashore and in harm's way.
The Principal Warfare Officer (PWO) had ordered Sarah to go take a walk when he had seen how upset she was.
..._...
"Lieutenant Perrin to the ops room, Lieutenant Perrin to the ops room!"
The pipe galvanised the young officer into action, and she bolted from her cabin. She was in the operations room in less than a minute where she caught the eye of the PWO who waved her over.
"We've just received an emergency signal from Fusion One," he explained. "We're trying to get voice now."
"Sir, we have them," a rating announced a minute later, passing a headset to the PWO who indicated Sarah.
Sarah took the headset. At first, all she could hear was hissing, then came a voice.
"Alpha November, this is Fusion One. Over."
The call was on an encrypted digital channel and very quickly, the audio quality sorted itself out. The voice sounded very stressed, but it was recognisable as Jennifer.
"Fusion One, this is Alpha November, state your number. Over."
"Alpha November, Fusion One is two, repeat two. We have the package, but four, repeat four, are missing. Over."
"Fusion One, your orders are to stay put and avoid engagement until an extraction can be arranged. We will monitor this channel and we will be here should you need us. Over."
"Acknowledged. Avoid engagement and stay put. Fusion One out."
"What is being done, sir?" Sarah asked the PWO as she removed the headset.
"Nothing yet – we need more information. We intend to launch a drone this afternoon to get that information."
"Why aren't we launching another Merlin?" Sarah demanded.
"Not an option."
"Why the bloody hell not!?"
"Lieutenant!" the PWO, a full commander, cautioned the young officer.
"Sorry, sir, but those are my friends."
"We know, lieutenant. The second Merlin took damage when the first landed and two tyres exploded. They're repairing it now. We're doing everything we can."
"It's not bloody good enough, sir!"
Wednesday, May 3rd
20:10 GMT-6 (02:10 GMT May 4th)
Glenview
Chicago, USA
The kids were enjoying their time together and Paige had kept them all very busy to focus their minds away from their missing family members.
At that moment, the kids had been cycled through getting washed and ready for bed. Stephanie was the last to appear, her hair still damp from the shower. Hot chocolate with liberal helpings of marshmallows was passed out amongst the youngsters as they sat in the living room. Their night-time ritual was interrupted by a knock on the front door. Megan went to open the door, and she was very surprised by the unexpected visitor.
"Hi, Marcus!" Megan exclaimed happily. "What are you doing here?
"I have bad news, kids."
Paige looked up from the couch in the living room and she took in Marcus' dour expression.
"Not the girls," she said in horror. "Not Dave and Josh."
"Mindy, Dave, Chloe, and Joshua . . . they have all been taken prisoner," Marcus explained. "As far as we know, Jennifer and the Commander are hiding in the jungle."
"How?" Megan demanded with a horrified expression.
"As I understand it, the helicopter was right there and about to land . . . only, it came under heavy fire and had to depart."
"Mommy...," Anne-Marie muttered as she began to cry.
Danny followed suit as he hugged his sister. Stephanie simply looked angry, as did her brother. Becky, however, the little girl looked stunned by the news.
"Mummy . . . Daddy," she muttered as she collapsed to the floor sobbing.
"What's being done to get my Mum?" Stephanie demanded as the Predator inside took over.
"I don't know, Stephanie," Marcus replied.
"Well, who the fuck does?" Jamie growled.
Marcus had nothing more to tell them.
Thursday, May 4th
09:12 GMT+7 (02:12 GMT May 4th)
Cambodia
Jennifer and Craig
Jennifer was struggling to keep it together.
She was alone with a wounded man whom she did not know and who was in severe pain from the numerous beatings he had endured over his weeks of captivity. For the moment, they were hidden and safe, and Jennifer had taken the opportunity to perform a full head-to-toe check of the commander, treating each and every wound as she went.
"I enjoyed that," Craig chuckled, causing Jennifer to blush.
"We need to find somewhere to hole up and stay safe until we can get out of here."
"I might know of a place which could help," the commander commented. "Got a map?"
Jennifer dug through her pack.
09:15 GMT+7 (02:15 GMT May 4th)
Mindy
Mindy regained consciousness lying down.
Strangely, she felt reasonably comfortable – at least she was much more comfortable than what she had been enduring for the previous few days. She felt soft carpet under her fingers – where the hell was she? For a few moments, she listened to her new environment. She could hear the metallic rumblings of an industrial air conditioning system – it kind of reminded her of the subterranean safehouses back in Chicago. Mindy opened her eyes and she looked around. She was lying on her front, so her vision was limited, but from what she could tell, the room was large and tastefully decorated with dark wood. With some effort, as her body ached, she pushed herself up onto her backside. She still wore her muddy clothing, including her boots, although her jacket and weapons were missing.
"I see that you have awoken, dear lady."
Mindy's head snapped around in the direction of the voice. The voice was male and resonated with a noticeable Russian accent beneath the otherwise perfect English. The voice belonged to a man seated behind a large wooden desk. The man wore standard Russian Army fatigues which bore the three stars denoting a Colonel of the Russian Army. That explained the attack helicopter of the previous night, Mindy thought, but why was she in the hands of the Russians? Mindy ignored the pain as she regained her feet and she walked over to the man. Behind her, she could see a soldier in similar Russian fatigues with no visible rank which marked him as a simple private soldier.
"Where am I and where are my people?" she demanded.
"You are where you were last night and so are most of your people," came the cryptic response.
"I want to see them," Mindy persisted.
"All in good time, all in good time. Now, I think it is time for us to talk, don't you, Mrs Lizewski."
Mindy did her best to hide her surprise at the fact that the man knew her name. However, she had no idea how long she had been out, so taking her fingerprints would have been simple. The key question was, did he know more about who she was?
"What would a young woman, such as yourself, be doing in a jungle hellhole like this?" the colonel asked politely.
"Private holiday," Mindy responded. "We got separated from our guide and happened across the camp. Soldiers began shooting at us and we ran."
The colonel raised an eyebrow indicating that he wasn't buying one iota of what Mindy was selling.
"What about the fact that you were armed?" the colonel went on, continuing the charade.
"Protection against people who may want to do us harm."
The colonel chuckled.
"A very diplomatic answer, Mindy – do you mind if I call you Mindy?"
"Do I have a choice?"
The colonel did not respond as he began flicking through some papers on his desk which Mindy was unable to get a look at from where she was standing. However, the colonel appeared distracted, so Mindy took her chance, kicking out at the guard who was just three feet behind her, and sending him flying. Mindy had made it six feet beyond the guard before her whole body tensed up and she felt the familiar assault of a Taser pulsing current through her body and freezing her muscles. She collapsed to the ground as the current was cut off.
"Возьмите ее одежду!"
Mindy grimaced as she translated the Russian words in her mind – the humiliation part of the interrogation was about to begin, she thought. Four strong men appeared, and they began to rip off her clothing, not stopping until she lay on the plush carpet completely naked.
"Пит!"
It was a single word: 'pit'.
What was to be her fate, Mindy wondered as she was forced to her feet and frog-marched out of the room, her head forced downwards onto her bare chest and looking down her naked body.
Captivity – Day 1: Thursday, May 4th
09:33 GMT+7 (02:33 GMT May 4th)
Dave
Dave could not remember much as he opened his eyes.
The sunlight was bright, and it took a few moments for his eyes to become adjusted to the intensity. He remembered being kicked and kicked until something had struck his head . . . and then blackness. He felt around him and found himself lying on bare dirt. As his eyes became more accustomed to the light, he found himself facing a grid of bamboo. As he looked around, he found bamboo on five sides with the one to his right having hinges on one vertical side and a chain with a padlock on the other vertical side. Another, empty, cage sat two feet away to his left, and another to his right. He was in the third of eight identical cages. He was also totally naked. The mound on which the cages were built was visible to all and only a mat of reeds over the roof of the cage protected him from the direct heat of the sun. He could see soldiers as they walked past the mound, six feet below him. A guard stood on the bamboo and wood walkway which ran along the front of the cages where the openings were located. He grinned at Dave, laughing at his plight for a moment before resuming his gaze out over the camp.
Dave's next thoughts were for his team, beginning with Mindy and then the others.
..._...
10:17 GMT+7 (03:17 GMT May 4th)
The day moved on and at one point, he was sure that he had heard a woman's scream, only it had been muted and too brief to focus on.
He had seen no sign of anybody other than the Cambodian guards which was both good and bad, especially as he knew that Mindy should have been taken with him and she should have been around there somewhere. He feared the worst, and as the day wore on, the lack of food and water caused his brain to produce detailed imagery of Mindy suffering any one of a dozen different deaths at the hands of the soldiers – not to mention ideas on where Mindy might have been right at that moment. Nobody came to speak with him. Nobody came to bring him food. Nobody came to bring him drink. He was very much alone and that began to chafe at his psyche as he worried about himself, his wife, his family, his friends, and everything else in between. As the heat and humidity permeated his body, his flagging mind saw only loss and sorrow. He sagged down to the dirt, knowing that he needed to save his energy and limit his movements. His alter ego was doing what it could to encourage Dave and to keep him positive, but it was struggling. Dave needed something to focus his mind on. Something positive which would allow his mind to stay positive. Kick-Ass began to feed Dave's mind with positive events centred around Hit Girl and their partnership.
As Dave slipped into a troubled sleep, the guard was surprised to see a broad grin on the captive's face.
..._...
12:37 GMT+7 (05:37 GMT May 4th)
Dave awoke with a jolt.
The guard was at his cage and pushing something between the bars. It was a battered-looking aluminium cup that on closer inspection was filled with what appeared to be water. Dave forced himself not to wolf down the glorious liquid but instead, he took small sips which soothed his parched throat. The water was tepid at best, but it felt like nothing on earth at that moment. The mental relief at drinking even that tepid liquid was an amazing feeling. As he forced himself into what amounted to a sitting position, he looked around. With his raised position, he had a reasonable view. From his cage, Dave saw a truck entering the main gate full of soldiers. He examined their expression, hoping to find out what had happened to the others. Unfortunately, they were smiling and talking animatedly amongst themselves. The chatter was meaningless to Dave, but it was obvious that they had not returned empty handed. The truck stopped about twenty yards from his cage, and as he watched, his heart sank.
"Josh," he muttered to himself. "Oh, no – they got Chloe, too."
They were all but thrown out of the back of the truck, falling most of the way to the dirt track, part of which was still wet from the previous night's rain. Chloe staggered as she was pulled to her feet and thrust forwards, her hands bound before her with thick ropes. There was blood coming from a wound to her forehead, and she was limping slightly. As for Joshua, he was bound, too. His hands had been tied to each end of a long wooden pole which had been pushed under his armpits, restricting his movements and causing him some obvious pain in his shoulders. Then things turned nasty as Dave lost sight of Joshua and then Chloe.
However, he began to hear Chloe's screams and Joshua's yells.
12:46 GMT+7 (05:46 GMT May 4th)
Joshua and Chloe
Joshua yelled out as Chloe was set upon by half a dozen soldiers.
But, he could do nothing as he found himself dragged off and then a kindly soldier took the butt of his AK-74 across the back of Joshua's head, dropping the young man to the muddy ground. As for Chloe, a dozen hands reached for her clothing, pulling at it. Chloe could not fight off the men as her hands were bound and her feet were pinned in place. As she held her hands over her face, she felt her belt being released, then her trousers and underwear pulled down her legs. Her jacket was pulled open and her T-shirt roughly pulled up her body. Her sports bra followed, and she felt hands on her bare breasts and other hands tugging at her pubic hair. Her mind reeled as she considered what might be about to happen to her.
Then, out of nowhere, a loud male voice barked out in the Khmer tongue.
"ចាប់យកនាងអ្នកសត្វ! ឈរនាងឡើង។"
Chloe felt the hands vanish and the men all stood back as Chloe felt strong hands pulling her to her feet.
"I am so terribly sorry," a voice said in perfect English, but with traces of a Russian accent. "Please..."
The man ordered Chloe's bindings to be released, but just long enough for Chloe to adjust her clothing and regain her dignity before her hands were rebound and the man waved her towards the central hut. Chloe could see the bloodstains on the ground from where she had killed the guard during the initial assault to rescue Craig. As they walked, Chloe took a moment to look at the man who wore standard Russian Army fatigues with the rank of Colonel. Why were the Russians at the camp, and what interest did he have in her?
Things were turning very bad indeed she figured as she was led up the wooden steps.
..._...
Chloe followed the Russian officer to the back of the hut, and into . . . an elevator?
The elevator fell, sharply. It dropped a similar distance to the elevator which served Safehouse F, back in Chicago, before it stopped and the doors opened onto a well-lit concrete space. Chloe could feel the air conditioning on her skin – a relief after two days in the tropical country. The quality of the construction was not the best, but it appeared to be dated in some way. The electrical fittings – lights and switches – were also older than Chloe might have expected. As the Russian officer moved towards a wooden door set into the concrete, a young Russian soldier came to attention, his AK-105 assault rifle slung across his chest. They approached a set of tall double doors made from a highly polished dark wood. There was an ornately carved sign screwed to the right-hand door: 'Комната K'.
The soldier opened the door, allowing Chloe and the colonel to pass through before pulling the door closed behind them.
..._..
"Please, take a seat, er. . . Miss Bennett, is it?"
Chloe forced her mouth to close; it had dropped open at the mention of her name.
"It is Miss Bennett?" the colonel pressed politely as Chloe sat down.
"I have no idea what you are talking about," Chloe responded.
"Look, girl, I have been doing this for many, many years, so don't try to fuck me around."
Chloe tensed up as she realised that the polite interview had suddenly taken a nasty turn. The colonel stood up and he walked around the desk. He placed both hands on the back of the chair that Chloe was sitting in. Then, without warning, both hands grabbed the shoulders of Chloe's jacket and she was thrown across the room, landing against a large bookshelf. Chloe yelled out in pain and she tried to move, but a soldier had appeared, and he aimed his AK-105 assault rifle at her head. Chloe's green eyes blazed as she glared at the colonel.
"An angry girl; good, very good . . . but pointless," the colonel said coldly. "Now, get up, stupid girl!"
The last part had been bellowed and it had caught Chloe off guard. Chloe pushed herself to her feet which was not easy with her hands securely bound in front of her. The soldier grabbed her right arm with his left and shoved her towards the doorway and then down the corridor to the elevator. The colonel followed and the three of them headed upwards and returned to the bamboo hut above ground. As they walked, the Colonel pointed towards a gap in the side of the hut which passed for a window.
Chloe looked through and she saw what appeared to be an aluminium jib or lifting apparatus. From the business end, a cable descended into what appeared to be a very large well, or similar, with concrete blocks forming the edging. As Chloe watched, the colonel barked out an order to the slovenly-looking Cambodian soldier who stood beside a control box which obviously operated the electric motor on the crane. The man stabbed a button and the wire began to reel in. At first, Chloe saw nothing, but then the hook on the end of the cable appeared. On the end of the hook, there was a pair of chains, each of which led out at a shallow angle to the ends of a two-metre length of aluminium framework. A few inches in from each end of the framework, a metal ring hung. On each metal ring, a rope could be seen secured and under tension from something hanging below.
As the device rose upwards into the air, Chloe was appalled to see that the ropes were tied around a pair of wrists.
..._...
The wrists and hands were those of a woman – a young woman.
Chloe felt her heart sinking lower and lower – no . . . it could not be. More of the woman appeared . . . the arms . . . a head, the hair dishevelled and hanging loosely around the shoulders . . . the woman's chin rested on her bare chest, her identity hidden behind the same hair which hid her features. As the body rose, Chloe was sickened to see that the woman was stark naked, her breasts readily visible to all who were watching, as was her vulva with its mass of thick dirty-blonde pubic hair. Dirty, stinking water ran from the body and while the tide mark around the woman's neck showed how far the body had been dunked into the cesspit, the visible skin above the neck was bathed in sweat. Chloe could see leeches attached to various parts of the body's skin.
Eventually, the woman's feet rose above the edges of the pit and the jib was swung off to one side. Chloe remained staring at the naked body which hung from the framework. The size and shape matched – no, she refused to believe it. The body appeared to be dead, but then a hose was turned on it and the first blast took the person in the face before moving down the body, front and back, washing off the urine and excrement from the pit. As the face came up, spluttering, Chloe was horrified to see that it was Mindy . . . however, she felt joy that her mentor was alive. Mindy's legs twitched as she struggled to make sense of what was going on around her. It was obvious that Mindy had been in the pit a while – hours probably – and she had lost consciousness due to the stench and the oppressive heat. Mindy was lowered to the ground where her wrists were unbound, and her quivering body was carried away by two Cambodian soldiers.
"Keep watching, Miss Bennett," the colonel suggested.
Chloe did. She could see movement, just out of sight, then the soldier on the controls pressed his buttons and the wire reeled in, pulling up the apparatus. There was another victim strung up on the aluminium framework. Chloe grimaced as she saw who was attached.
"You fucking bastard!"
Chloe could not take her eyes off Joshua as the unconscious youth was lowered into the cesspit, his body stripped and naked, just as with Mindy.
13:56 GMT+7 (06:56 GMT May 4th)
Dave
Dave moved within his cage as he heard feet approaching.
He immediately recognised his wife as she was carried like a side of beef by the two soldiers. She was barely conscious, and her naked body was shining with a sheen of water.
"What have they done to you?" he breathed as her body was shoved into the next cage to his right, just three feet away, but beyond the reach of his arms.
He studied Mindy and he could see that she was breathing, at least. Then he looked up as there was a loud commotion coming from the buildings. He recognised Chloe's voice as she screamed obscenities at the guards. When she came into sight, she was being dragged by four of the guards as she struggled against their hold. As they approached the bamboo cages, Chloe was thrown to the floor and the four men set about her. By the time Dave was able to see Chloe again, she was naked as the day she was born. Her fair skin was marked with vicious red marks from the men's punches and she was very muddy. The sixteen-year-old girl was shoved into the next cage to the left where she fell against the back wall and then onto the floor, sobbing her heart out. It wasn't the first time that Dave had seen the girl naked, but he was horrified to see her beautiful body marked so badly. Once the guards were gone, Dave called over to Chloe.
"Chloe . . . Chloe."
Chloe slowly sat up, covering her breasts and crossing her legs.
"They've got Josh – they dunked him into the same stinking pit that Mindy just got pulled from."
Chloe's tone was one of abject humiliation. That showed how badly events had hit Chloe, as normally, Chloe loved to be naked – even in front of others.
"What pit?" Dave asked with concern in his tone.
"I saw them lifting Mindy out of a cesspit . . . she was naked and covered in shit, piss, and leeches."
"That would explain why she looked like she'd just had a shower," Dave said. "She's over here."
Chloe looked past Dave and her eyes filled with sorrow as she saw her mentor lying on the bottom of her cage. Mindy was groaning and struggling to breathe.
"Is she okay?"
"She will be. Her body is intact, and mentally, she's unbreakable," Dave replied, wishing it was true.
19:06 GMT+7 (12:06 GMT May 4th)
Chloe
The sun was setting beyond the jungle when Chloe awoke.
She had not realised how long she had slept – she had obviously needed the sleep. For a moment she had no idea where she was but then her hands struck the bamboo of her cage and it all came back to her. She looked at herself, seeing her naked body and realising that none of it had been a dream – well, a nightmare – it had all been very real. To her right, she saw Dave, his eyes closed – he was naked too. Beyond him, Mindy was curled up in a tortured sleep, just as naked as she was. There was nobody in the cage beyond Mindy. With trepidation, Chloe looked to her left and she burst into tears with relief when she saw Joshua lying in the next cage.
"They brought him in a couple of hours ago. He's been unconscious since then – he took a hefty beating," Dave explained, his eyes still closed.
"What the fuck are we going to do, Dave?"
"Stay calm, Chloe. We just need to stay together . . . and together we will get through this."
"How can you be so damn patient about this?" Chloe demanded.
"Many years practice with madam here," Dave grinned, indicating the sleeping Mindy.
"I hate seeing her like that," Chloe said.
"She's regenerating," Dave said. "They can beat the living crap out of her, but they'll never destroy the spirit within her. Damon may have been a total bastard, but he gave Mindy something which keeps her going, no matter how much shit comes her way. She's seen so much in her short life, but she is also our ticket out of here. When she's ready, it'll be like a fucking twister just touched down."
Dave was always good at rebuilding morale and he was right. They had nothing but one another. They had no clothes, no dignity, no privacy, but they had each other. Just talking had allowed Chloe to begin thinking positively.
"What did...?" Chloe began but she screamed as she was viciously poked by a stick.
She looked up to see a guard glaring at her.
"No talk!" he said.
23:30 GMT+7 (16:06 GMT May 4th)
Mindy
She had awoken well after dark to find Dave snoring and Chloe enduring a twitchy sleep which had to be full of nightmares.
While she had been overjoyed to see Dave, she had hated seeing him caged . . . and out of her reach. She needed his touch. She was pleased to see Chloe, although not pleased to see her just as naked as she was. 'What had the girl been put through?' Mindy had wondered.
"Good to see you awake," a voice hissed.
"Hi, Josh – you okay?"
"Had a lovely bath in shit, but yes."
"That was bad," Mindy admitted, feeling instantly bad for the young man.
"We're together and that is what matters right now," Joshua pointed out.
"Yes, we are. We will get out of this, I promise."
"I know."
"You know?"
"I don't see you hanging around for long," Joshua explained. "You'll go stir crazy in here and bust out, killing everybody within twenty miles."
Mindy actually found herself laughing.
"I'll see what I can do."
Captivity – Day 2: Friday, May 5th
09:26 GMT+7 (02:26 GMT May 5th)
It was Mindy's second trip to 'Room K', only, she was bound and completely naked as she was pulled out of the elevator and pushed past the young Russian soldier whose eyes moved to watch the naked woman as she went past.
Mindy's mind was struggling to focus on what she was being put through. The shock of being forced to surrender (capitulate!) had hit her deep within her psyche. In years past, she would have fought to the death, but not now; there was far too much at stake for that sort of ultimate sacrifice. That shock had only grown worse after she had endured a verbal sparring match with the Russian colonel, and then been stripped and dunked into the stinking, putrid, disgusting mess that was the facility's cesspit. Being stripped by four goons and then paraded before them while she was tied to the aluminium frame had been humiliating. She had felt the hot sun and the ninety per cent humidity on her bare skin. Then, having her hands pulled up above her head to be fastened to the frame had simply exposed her body even further. The pain in her wrists as she had been lifted off the ground had switched her mind from humiliation to concern for her own wellbeing. She had smelt the putrid mess a full minute before she had been dangled high above it.
The feeling of total exposure had been even worse when she was hoisted twenty feet off the ground where even more people could see her naked body as its pale skin shone in the bright sunlight. Then, she had dropped down and down. Her feet had touched the gloopy liquid which had been very warm to the touch. However, as her feet and lower legs had sunk through the slimy surface, she had felt the substance sucking at her legs. She had sunk further until the muck had reached her pubic hair, then her stomach, and finally her breasts. The lowering had ceased when Mindy's chin had been barely an inch above the slimy surface. The stench had been unbearable and just breathing had been all but impossible. The heat of the liquid, along with the general warmth of the air had begun to lull Mindy and her eyes had closed, time and time again. She was fighting the sleep which her body craved for. She had not eaten in many hours. She had already lost track of time, and she knew not how much time had passed since their capture.
Her thoughts had remained locked on her husband and her children as she had eventually succumbed to the heat and the stench and passed out.
..._...
Being kept in a cage without the luxury of anything – not even clothing – had not helped Mindy's morale.
Waking up to find her husband beside her in the next cage, and her best friend in the next cage over had buoyed her morale. Seeing that Chloe was just as naked as Dave and that she had bruises and welts on her skin had upset Mindy and the tears had come unbidden. Then, before Dave had been able to intercede in her sorrows, two Cambodian soldiers had appeared, and they had pulled Mindy out of her cage. Not surprisingly, Mindy had struggled, receiving a vicious slap across her face as a reward before her hands were bound behind her back. Mindy then had to endure being frogmarched, still completely naked, through most of the camp. She could hear the leering comments, if not understand them, and she could see the grins as everybody took in her breasts and her pubic hair, not to mention Mindy's perfect curves and her thighs which were to die for.
The shock of the air conditioning on her bare skin had Mindy shivering as they had left the elevator. The short walk on the cold concrete did not help her bare feet, but as those same bare feet sunk into the thick carpet of 'Room K', Mindy felt relieved, even if it was just her feet which were comfortable. Her skin prickled with the cool air and then it prickled with the humiliation of standing naked in a large room, plushly decorated with dark wood furniture. She felt very out of place as she stood just inside the doors which had been closed behind her, the guards remaining outside.
"Hello, again, Mindy."
Mindy scowled as the Russian colonel strode out from a side door, towards the far end of the room. The man barely glanced at Mindy's nude state as he waved her towards a canvas-covered chair which sat before a capacious wooden desk. The colonel sat down, and he opened a card folder.
"We did not get much done during our last meeting," the man commented dryly. "The soldier is expected to make a full recovery, and his manhood does not appear to have been affected . . . too badly."
"What are you doing to my people?" Mindy demanded.
"You came here without invitation – you and your 'people' are now mine to do with as I see fit."
"So, you keep us living like animals!" Mindy barked back.
"A necessity, I am afraid. I am sure that you can see my point. You are a dangerous woman, your partner is just as dangerous, and as for the younger members of your team – they have shown that they can be hazardous to my men's health."
"Should I give a fucking shit?"
"Yes, you should. Your life expectancy may be short and if you wish to ever see life outside of this jungle hell, then you should cooperate with us."
"Who, exactly, is 'us'?"
Mindy never received a response as she was dragged out of the room.
..._...
After a brief trip in the elevator, Mindy found herself back out in the oppressive humidity of the Cambodian jungle.
Being sans clothes had its advantages, she thought; it kept her cooler, however, the constant staring at her snatch and her breasts was getting to her. Parading naked was not something she did, except in the privacy of her own bedroom and bathroom, or maybe in the showers at a safehouse, and it felt totally alien to her, being forced to allow dozens of total strangers of the opposite sex to view every part of her nude body. Chloe was more of an exhibitionist, but Mindy could tell that she was decidedly uncomfortable with the situation. For most females, clothing was a first layer of defence against sexual attack. As Mindy was marched through the camp's muddy pathways, she felt vulnerable with her hands bound behind her restricting any ability to prevent an attack of any kind.
Mindy's dour mood lifted for a moment as she saw Chloe being marched in her direction, still nude, her beautiful body marred by cuts and bruises, not to mention mud. Mindy assumed that her body was much the same – it felt like it. The two friends smiled as they passed one another, knowing that talking was not allowed. But Mindy was not always one to follow the rules.
"Stay strong," she whispered as they passed each other.
Mindy then yelled out in pain and fell to her knees as she was struck on her thighs from behind by a bamboo rattan. The strike caused what felt like fire to course through her thighs and it took a moment for Mindy to blink away the tears of pain and humiliation before she regained her feet in time to see Chloe vanishing into the central hut. When Mindy regained the relative sanctuary of her cage, she found Dave missing, but breakfast had arrived. A battered aluminium mug, half filled with water, and an aluminium plate with what looked like cooked rice sat on the ground just inside her cage waiting for her. She sat down, forcing a smile for Joshua who was grimacing as he ate his own meagre rations. Mindy understood as she took a small mouthful of rice – it was bland and tasteless. However, it was food, and they had to keep their strength up should they have any desire to escape.
Mindy forced the horrible meal down, drinking the tepid water in slow sips.