And then everything changed in an instant. Three figures ran toward an armored German vehicle parked at the side of the road just in front of the bus stop, tossed three grenades into it, then turned and leaped over the bench on which Suzette sat. Several onlookers pointed in their direction. A second later the vehicle exploded in flames, throwing Suzette backwards and onto the grass behind the sidewalk, as the others raced away.

German soldiers were on the scene in seconds. One onlooker pointed in Suzette's direction. "Her. Take her in for questioning," the soldier screamed. And before Suzette could clear her head after the blast, she found herself being escorted down the street toward police headquarters, two German soldiers holding her arms.

* * * * *

The basement room below the station into which Suzette was taken was walled in brick and empty except for a padded rack in one corner. The soldiers, however, moved her to the center of the room, then moved away from her.

"Why did you blow up the car?" The German sergeant asked softly.

Suzette could not believe the question. "What? I was sitting on the bench !! I was almost killed by the explosion !! I had nothing to do with it !!"

"Very well," the sergeant replied. "Then we will need to ask you more questions. Please remove your blouse."

"But I have done nothing wrong. I have never ..."

"Remove your blouse or the corporal will do it for you."

Suzette looked at the corporal, then back to the sergeant. Both stared blankly back at her.

Slowly, Suzette reached down and grabbed the sides of her blouse, then pulled it over her head and dropped it on the floor by her feet, revealing a shapeless white bra that made her look more matronly than her 27 years, but could not hide her shapely figure.

"Continue," was the only response from the sergeant.

Suzette took a breath, and then pulled her skirt down and stepped out of it and out of her shoes. She steeled herself to remove her last two garments, then reached around to unhook her bra and pull it into her hands. Finally, just as she dropped the bra to the ground and reached for the sides of her panties, the door to the room opened ... and a parade of German soldiers ... at least 20 in number ... entered the room. Now there were not just four eyes staring at her nearly naked body, but dozens. Suzette started to shake.

"Why have you stopped?" the sergeant shouted at her.

Suzette scanned the room. So many eyes staring at her. So many smiling mouths, eager to see what was under her thin panties, enjoying the sight of her naked and well-shaped breasts, which were large for her otherwise thin frame.

Finally, Suzette summoned her courage and pulled her panties down and off. Then she stood upright, naked, in front of the soldiers.

"Major, she is yours," the sergeant nodded toward one of the soldiers who had just entered the room.

"Prepare her for questioning," the Major shouted, and two soldiers instantly moved toward the terrified Suzette, and quickly chained her wrists to an overhead chain, forcing her to stand on the tips of her toes. [see Pic 1] Her body was now completely visible to the soldiers. And they liked what they saw.

"We know that you were among a group of four members of the resistance who bombed a German vehicle less than 30 minutes ago. I want the names of the other three." The Major stood in front of Suzette, about eight feet away, his arms folded. "You will tell us sooner or later. For your sake, make it sooner."

"I did no such thing !! I was just sitting on the bench waiting for the bus. I was nearly killed by the explosion !!"

"Apparentlly, your memory needs some assistance." With a nod from the Major, one soldier walked behind to Suzette, reached up, and blindfolded her with a white cloth that he tied at the back of her head. He then released on of her wrists from its chain and moved it to a chain a shoulder width apart. This made it even harder for Suzette to keep her toes on the floor. But that was not a problem for long as two soldiers grabbed her legs and pulled them an equal distant apart before securing them to chains hooked to the floor. All of her weight was now borne by her shoulders, her feet off the floor. The soldiers ignored her groans.

Suzette could hear a cart being rolled closer to her, and, when she felt clamps placed on her nipples and big toes, and a small plug inserted between her legs, she knew what the cart was for.

"Please, Major, please. I am telling you the truth. I am telling the truth !!"

"We will learn whether you are very soon, Fraulein. Very soon. Since we have no time to waste, we are not going to play games with you. We need your information now." [see Pic 2]

Suzette suddenly felt the electricity surge through her body, from her chest to her loins to her toes and back and around. Her body began immediately to shake and spasm and the loud noise that escaped her lips was not exactly a pure scream, but it certainly made clear that she was in great pain. Her wrists and ankles pulled against their chains as her body leaped forward. Five seconds. Ten seconds. And then the soldier sitting by the generator on the cart flicked the switch back and Suzette's body fell backward, her muscles still spasming.

"The names !!" The Major demanded.

Suzette struggled for breath. "I ... I can't tell you what I don't know !! I wasn't part of it. I was just ..."

This time the electric current surged with even greater power through her body and the force of her grunts also increased. Now her wrists and ankles leaped so far forward, and she struggled so frantically to free herself from the pain, that she chafed her wrists and ankles until they began to bleed. Ten seconds. Fifteen seconds.

When the current was again cut off, and Suzette's body fell back again, her entire body was sweating profusely and she was gasping for breath.

"You know the question," the Major's voice was sharper now.

"But I don't know the answer !!" Suzette complained.

"Do you realize that the settings these first two times have been 2 and 4. The machine goes to 10. Do you want to see if a 10 loosens your tongue?"

Suzette was now panicked. She was certain that the last jolt must have been on the highest setting. To learn that it was not even halfway up the dial. She started to whimper. "But I don't know. I don't know."

The Major was wasting no time. Again Suzette felt the current surge threw her body, this time far greater than the other times, and she screamed at the top of her lungs as she felt like a knife was cutting out her organs. She knew that she must have lost control of her bladder. She wished that she could lose complete control of her mind so that she could not feel the pain. But she could. She defintely could. Unlike anything that she ever felt before. Unlike anything that she felt any human being could survive.

When her body again crashed down, Suzette had no idea how long it had been. She couldn't even remember for sure exactly where she was, although she knew that it was the German version of hell. She knew that her head had fallen to her chest. But then, again, was the dreaded voice.

The names."

Chest heaving, body drenched in sweat, wrists and ankles chafed and bleeding. Suzette could not be sure that her nipples and big toes were still attached to her body. Although she knew that they must be or the current would have been broken. She knew that the plug between her legs was still there because she was sure that she smelled a burning odor from somewhere on her body.

But she had no answer to the Major's question, and it was pointless again to deny that she did beyond slowly shaking her head.

The Major smiled and turned away from Suzette, toward the two Lieutenants closest to him. "At least now we know that she doesn't know," he whispered. "No one with information has ever failed to talk after 20 seconds of a 7. Still, she's a worthless Frenchwoman. She may be innocent of this charge, but she's certainly guilty of many others."

The Major turned back and walked toward Suzette. "It's time to say good-bye, traitor. We have learned the information from another, and at least one of the bombers has confessed your involvement," he lied to her.

"No. That is impossible !! That is not true !!"

"You need to save your breath, Fraulein. Since you haven't much left."

The Major nodded to the soldier seated behind the cart. The soldier turned the dial all the way to the right, fully to the number 10, and sat back to watch the result.

Suzette's body immediately arched as far as her chains allowed, and she screamed with all of the strength that remained in her. Her body remained stretched and screaming as the Major and the soldiers watched. Twenty seconds. Thirty seconds. Her stomach then began to shake and spasm uncontrollably before it started also to twist back and forth, all in a desperate effort to end the current and end the pain.

And then, with a savage suddenness, Suzette's body strained even further, separating her shoulders, before crashing down. But this time the current continued to surge through her, and her body continued to spasm.

But, finally, Suzette felt nothing.

"Announce that we have captured and executed one of those responsible for the bombing today, and that she has given us the names of the others, on whom we are closing in," the Major ordered his Lieutenant. "The rest of you are dismissed."

The Major watched as the other soldiers left the room, leaving him alone with the hanging Suzette. He walked over to the cart and turned off the current, then approached her and lifted her chin to stare at her face. "Ain't war a bitch?" He removed his hand and her head fell back to her chest as he left the room.