Chapter 3: Trouble in Trabbia
Of course, the American women were much too dedicated to their scholarly pursuits to waste any more time away from their appointed tasks. They worked extra hard the next few days to make up for the morning spent observing justice being delivered, until one afternoon when the tropical heat became almost unbearable. Sarah moaned, “God, I wish there was somewhere to swim here.”
Jennifer said, “I know there’s a river about a half-mile away. I wonder if there’s a place to swim and a way to get there without getting lost in the jungle.”
“Let me go ask Thura,” Susan volunteered. She returned about 15 minutes later, smiling. “He says there is a place to swim if you just follow the trail from behind the dining hall. He says it’s technically forbidden, but many people swim there anyway.”
Priya had a bit of a bad feeling. “Are you sure we should risk trouble after that little demonstration we saw the other day? “
“Well, Thura assured me it’s alright and that many Trabbians and foreign guests have been there without any problems, so I don’t see any cause for worry,” Susan replied.
Jen seconded the idea “It’s soooo hot, if I don’t get some relief, I might pass out.” Sarah agreed.
Faced with the peer pressure from her classmates and the approval of her professor, and the presumed permission of their Trabbian host, plus the fact that she too was suffering from the heat, Priya agreed to join them.
“So let’s put on our swimsuits and go down to the clearing by the river” Susan told them. “I’ll see if I can score a few cold beers from the kitchen. I think we’ve all been good and deserve a break.” About 10 minutes later, the women assembled, dressed in 2 piece swimsuits and sandals, each carrying a towel. Susan had her small day pack with 4 bottles of the local beer she had found in the refrigerator. They left the camp on a jungle path, accompanied by the screech of monkeys and the cries of beautiful exotic birds. After a short descent, they reached the edge of the clearing where they could see the water directly ahead, looking very inviting.
Without further hesitation, the women deposited their towels and Susan dropped her pack, and they all plunged into the water, which was blissfully cool, having flowed down from the mountains some distance away. They floated and played, Sarah and Jen splashing each other and hugging. Watching them, Priya felt a strong urge to hug Susan but she felt far too ashamed of her feelings to act on them. After a while, they got out and lay on their towels, able to enjoy the feeling of the tropical sun on their skin now that the water had cooled them off.
“Boy, I’d love a joint right now,” Sarah sighed.
“Are you insane?” Priya asked, incredulous, “After what we saw them do to those 2 for smoking a joint?”
“I’m just kidding,” Sarah replied. “Believe me I wouldn’t do anything that stupid while we’re here. But I would love one of those beer you brought,” Susan.
“Me too!” Jen cried and Priya nodded that she would like one too, so Susan pulled the beer bottles out of her pack and gave each of them one and opened one for herself. They sat happily, enjoying the sun and the quiet of this lovely spot.
As they were relaxing, they heard footsteps on the path and looked up to see 4 uniformed police officers, 2 males, one rather young and fairly tall for a Trabbian, the other older and shorter, and 2 females, both strong and rather dyke-looking, similar enough that they could have been sisters. The officers had their cell phones out, as though they were filming the American women. The 4 cops strode purposefully across the sand to where the women were sitting and stood over them with stern expressions on their faces. The older male officer, who appeared to be a sergeant based on the stripes on his uniform, asked, in good, but accented English, “What is going on here? It is forbidden to be here. The river can be dangerous and people have drowned, so it is not allowed.”
“We are archaeologists working at the Mongha camp,” Susan replied, “And we just wanted to relax. Besides, our host Thura told us it was OK to swim here.”
“I know Thura and I doubt he would say that,” the Sergeant told her, “And even if he did, it’s still against the law.”
One of the female officers knelt and picked up one of the beer bottles and said something to the sergeant. “Is this beer?” he asked the girls. “How old are you?” he demanded looking back and forth between Jen, Priya and Sarah. “Do not lie,” he advised, “It will be very easy to check your passports.”
“I’m 20,” Sarah replied.
“19” Jennifer indicated.
“20” Priya added.
“I see,” the sergeant nodded, “The drinking age in Trabbia is 21, so all of you are too young to drink here. Where did you get these?” he asked.
Susan stood up. “I borrowed them from the camp refrigerator,” she told him. “We have been working really hard and I felt my students deserved a break. We are visitors, not familiar with your laws, so I’m sorry if we did anything we are not supposed to. I will be happy to buy a whole case to replace those bottles.
The sergeant turned to Susan and told her “This is a serious matter under our laws. We have underage drinking, we have trespassing and we have theft of government property. You will have to come with us. Stand up.”
Priya was puzzled and nervous over this show of force on the part of the authorities. She knew that they were honored foreign guests of the Trabbian government, and she imagined that they wouldn’t want an international incident over such a petty matter as drinking a beer and swimming. Then she thought about the 2 young students, their asses welted and bleeding over a couple of joints. “Who knows what kinds of idiotic laws they have in this crazy country?” she thought. “God knows, they might even cane people over something like this.” She shivered despite the heat
Before Priya could speak, Susan, as the oldest and most experienced, took charge, “Look, officers, we are very sorry. We really meant no harm.”
The sergeant took out his cell phone and tapped a few things into the pop-up keyboard. After a moment, it appeared he found the site he was looking for. “I hope you ladies realize how much trouble you are in,” he told the foreign women. “Read this aloud,” he instructed, handing the phone to Susan.
Students receive 6 strokes of the cane for underage drinking,” she intoned.
The sergeant took the phone back. “It’s from the ‘Pranda Times’, an English-language paper in the capital,” he told them. “Do you know what a judicial caning means in Trabbia?” The women nodded. Priya wondered if he knew that they had witnessed two of them. “It is extremely unpleasant, to say the least. You will not like it at all.” The other cops were making swinging motions with their arms and imitating the swish of the rotan.
After a moment’s further scanning on the phone, he announced “Here is another,” handing the phone to Susan again.
“Drunken teen partiers get 10 strokes,” she read. The students all gathered around, reading over her shoulder.
“Three to be caned for trespassing at beach,” read a third. All were dated within the past year. Priya’s stomach was churning. “Could this possibly happen to them? Surely they wouldn’t cane foreigners?” she wondered, suspecting that they might very well.
“This is outrageous,” said Sarah. “We were just trying to cool off on a hot day.”
The sergeant looked down at her, his face showing a mixture of anger and regret. “Maybe in America the authorities are willing to tolerate such behavior or excuse it with a small fine, but here in Trabbia we protect the public order. And don’t think you will escape punishment because you are foreigners. While you are in our country, you are under our laws. In fact, I suspect the judge might even want to make a special example of you because you are from abroad. The law allows up to 18 strokes for these offenses; usually the judge gives fewer than that as you see from the paper, but he might give you the maximum. You ladies are in serious trouble.”
Susan, looking ashen, told the Sergeant in a soft voice that they had witnessed canings recently and knew how horrible they were.
“And don’t think you can be found not guilty; we have your entire little escapade on video,” the Sergeant told them. He touched the screen of his cell phone and showed them the video. They saw themselves swimming, their faces very clear, as was the fact that all of them were drinking from beer bottles. Worried looks passed between the American women. “It would be very much in your interest to make sure that we do not make an official report,” the sergeant warned.
“What do you want us to do?” Susan asked in a nervous tone. “I don’t think any of us have much cash on us back at camp, because there isn’t anything to buy there. We were going to take out money when we went to Pranda.”
“How much do you have?” the sergeant asked.
Susan conferred with her students. “Maybe 50 dollars” she told him. The sum was met with uproarious laughter from the 4 cops after the Sergeant translated. Priya was puzzled by the reaction. Surely this was all a shakedown for a bribe as was common in this part of the world.
“We would be risking our jobs and criminal penalties of our own for taking a bribe. You can’t expect us to let you go for such a laughable amount,” the sergeant explained after his collagues had stopped chortling. “I’m afraid it would require serious money.”
Jen interrupted, “Look, if you take us to the nearest town that has a bank, we could get some from an ATM. How much do you want?”
The sergeant relayed this in Trabbian to his colleagues, who seemed to find it humorous as well. One of the female cops said something that caused all the Trabbians to laugh. The sergeant told the Americans, “Police officers escorting foreigners to an ATM would attract notice. And of course they all have cameras. Anyway, you could only get a couple of hundred dollars at one time from an ATM. For the amounts it would require to make something as serious as this go away, you would have to arrange bank transfers and that would be reported to the financial authorities. I’m afraid that is not possible.”
“So, I don’t know what we can do,” Jen replied with real worry in her voice.
“The only possibility is to offer something other than money. You are all attractive women and I think we could make an arrangement if you were willing to be co-operative.” The officers, both the male and the females were leering at the American women as the sergeant spoke.
Now it became clear to Dr. Gelden and her students what the situation they were facing was. Priya felt a chill run down her spine as she considered the possibility that she would be forced into sex with these corrupt cops. “What are you saying?” she asked nervously.
The sergeant explained-“Just a little harmless fun, some relaxation from our stressful jobs. If you do as we ask, then we will let you go back to the camp and that will be the end of the matter. If you don’t, we will arrest you and take you to the station. It is your choice entirely. Take a minute and discuss it, but then I must have your answer. All of you must agree or we will have no alternative but to arrest all of you.”
The women formed a huddle, looking into each other’s eyes for support. “No way, I’m letting those pigs do shit to me,” Sarah proclaimed in her usual defiant manner.
Susan felt compelled to disagree, “You saw what that caning was like. Do you want that? I mean I know this is disgusting, but what choice do we have?”
“How do we know they aren’t bluffing?” Jennifer asked.
Susan grasped Jen’s arm and looked at her searchingly “Do you think really think they are, Jennifer? Are you willing to risk your butt on that-literally?”
“Susan, I’ve known I’m gay since I was in elementary school. I really don’t know if I could stomach those guys and their cocks in me,” Jen pleaded. “I could do those women if I had to, I guess, though they aren’t really my type.”
“Alright, let me talk to the sergeant and see what I can do,” the professor responded.
“Sergeant, may I speak with you in private?” she asked. He stepped away from his colleagues and beckoned Susan over. They had an animated conversation for a few moments, before Susan returned to speak with her students. “Okay, he’s agreed that you and Sarah only have to take care of the female officers. Priya, you and I will be with the guys, but oral only, no fucking.”
Priya was almost too ashamed by the whole thing to speak, but she knew she had to lay things out, “I really don’t have much experience with, um, sex, so I don’t even know if I’ll be able to, you know, satisfy them.”
Susan stared at her. “Don’t worry, I’ll help you; just follow what I say and do. I don’t think we have any choice. I think they are quite serious about what will happen to us if we say no. Sucking those creeps off will be disgusting for sure, but having our butts shredded will be worse. I think we have to do what they ask. Are we agreed?” Jen and Priya nodded, looking resigned. Sarah remained silent.
“Sarah, we all have to do this together. Please, you can’t be responsible for all of us getting caned. It won’t be so bad-we eat out those 2 women and that's it. Don't let them shred our asses like those 2 we saw,” Jen implored her lover.
Priya could see that Sarah was having trouble resisting the combined entreaties of her professor and her girlfriend. Sarah muttered, “What fucked up shit this is. Alright, I’ll do it.”
Susan turned around and looked at the cops. “OK,” she said, “We agree. Jen and Sarah will take care of the women and Priya and I will do you and your friend. Then you let us go back to our camp. Deal?”
“Yes, professor, it’s a deal. Now let’s get to work, shall we? Susan, as you are the Professor, I think you should show your students how to provide oral relief in such situations. Please be sure that failure to do a first rate job will result in this party going down to the police station.”
TO BE CONTINUED
