"Enough !" The command was clear, and the lieutenant immediately lowered the whip and approached his subject.

Clothed only in a thin white pair of panties, the figure was hanging by her ankles from a chain in the ceiling, her wrists secured tightly behind her back. When he had first pulled her body up into that position, her skin had been smooth and white. [see Weakheart pic] But now her nearly nude body, continuing to sway from the force of the earlier blows, was striped, front and back, by the marks from the terrible beating he had methodically administered over the last three hours. All under his commanding major's direction.

It was difficult to find an inch on her back, stomach, breasts or legs that was unmarked. But the uglier marks were the result of the long hot iron that he had used once across each breast and thigh, before being ordered to return to the whip.

Now the lieutenant wondered what he would be asked next to do to her helpless form, hanging from the center of the interrogation room below the army headquarters. The rebel forces were strongest on this Indonesian island, and the lieutenant knew that responsibility for breaking them fell to his outpost.

What more could she take? She had broken fairly quickly, and begun to give them what they wanted, but then continued to resist as more and more information was demanded from her.

"You have done, excellent work," the major smiled. "We will break this rebel cell. But there is still more that she can give us. Let her gain a little strength."

But the major was wrong. He would learn nothing more from this rebel. The lieutenant's face turned ashen as he took his hand away from her neck after searching for a pulse. "Sir, she is dead."

The major gave a start, then slumped in his nearby chair. He stared ahead for a full two minutes. The lieutenant made no move, nothing to draw attention to himself, wondering if he would be blamed for this unfortunate development.

Finally, the major spoke. His voice was surprisingly calm. "We know that she was a member of the rebel's central cell, and that there are ten ... now nine ... members. She gave us the names of six members of the cell, but claimed not to know the others, that no one knows all 10 for security reasons. But even as to the six she named we have no confirming information. I think that she was telling us the truth, given the ... circumstances. But ... we can't be sure and we can't make our move until we are sure."

He paused before again continuing. "She also told us that the cell was planning to bomb the governor's home tomorrow night during his reception for the U.S. ambassador. And she indicated ... at least that's what I understood ... that the cell had someone on the inside who was going to help them get in during the party. And that was the name we were working on when ..." He clenched his teeth. "So close ..." The body had finally ceased to swing, hanging straight down now, bringing its first degree of rest in a long while. The two men in the room, however, were no longer paying it any attention.

"So the question, sir, if I may ...?" The lieutenant waited for his commander to signal him permission to continue, which he did. "Do we take the risk of letting the reception proceed, so that we can catch them in the act, with our knowledge of what they are planning? It is our best opportunity. Or must we cancel the affair, and take no chances?"

"Although it is a large estate," the major responded, "there are only three entrances. I think that we can safely guard those. And see what happens ..." The lieutenant smiled. Perhaps there would soon be more subjects for him to interrogate.

The major hit the buzzer on the table near his chair. Two soldiers entered. The major motioned the lieutenant to follow him. As the two reached the door, the major directed the two soldiers. "Take her down and dispose of her." The officers left the room. The soldiers' hands were immediately all over the hanging woman. This time, however, she felt no pain.

Awaiting the start of the reception, still 10 hours away, the lieutenant examined the guest list, sure that it would provide a clue as to the likely suspects. Seventy guests or so, he estimated. Many of the country's leading officials. And, indeed, his attention was drawn to one of them. The young and beautiful wife of the Minister of the Interior. It had been somewhat of a scandal when the two had married the year before, she being 35 years his junior with a rather mysterious background. The press had called her a gold digger and worse. But never a spy or a traitor. Could she have gone so far as to enter into this marriage not for love or money or prestige, but for access to the inner circle, the lieutenant wondered. Would a woman go so far as to live and sleep with a powerful enemy whose views and actions must have repulsed her, while waiting for the perfect opportunity to help her cause?

But he could not rule out completely any of the other names on the list. No, he could not be absolutely sure, and mustn't make any assumptions about any of them. No need to. He and his men would watch the three entrances. Surely something would develop, and they would be ready for it.

The lieutenant then turned, for the hundredth time at least, to the list of six names that he obtained from the unfortunate seventh. Accurate names and addresses, it appeared, though only one had been spotted so far, and put under surveillance. Were the others readying for an attack in some secret hideout? Had they been tipped to their betrayal and fled? Or had the failure of the seventh to return to them caused them to fear the worst and abandon their plans for the moment? But she had been absent for only a number of hours. Perhaps they did not yet realize ...

The preparations were made. And now there was nothing to do but wait for evening. Surely the mole would reveal herself, or himself, sometime during the evening. As long as he was watching. And he would watch everyone. But mostly he would watch the Minister's wife. The lieutenant smiled. It would be one of the rare times that his own wife could not complain about him watching a beautiful woman. Yes, there were far less pleasant things to do than watch the Minister's wife, he thought. And, with any luck, he might have her hanging by her wrists from the major's dungeon before the night was over.

Chapter 2

Policing the guests and entrances at the reception that evening was proving much easier than he had expected. The guests seemed pretty much to be staying in the main ballroom, rather than wandering the lush grounds. He was beginning to think that, whatever may have been the cell's original intentions, its plans must have changed. Or was this just the calm before the storm? He and his men -- two at each entrance -- mustn't lose their focus. This kind of work was always 99% boredom, and as much danger lurked there as in the 1% of time filled with terror. That is, if concentration was lost.

A few guests had come outside for brief periods for some fresh air, but then quickly and quietly returned. In the dim light, it was hard to identify them as individuals. So many of the men looked alike in their formal dress. And with their long gowns and pulled back hair, the women were not as distinguishable as they might have been at other times.

But the woman who now exited the back of the mansion was dressed differently, though it was difficult to make her out exactly in the moonless night, with only the few low flickering lights around the grounds to aid him. He signaled the soldier with him, and radioed the other two entrances to send one man each for backup. His eyes followed the woman as she moved slowly toward the gate, carrying a bag whose form the lieutenant could not clearly discern. As she exited through the gate, the lieutenant and his men raced to it, poised on both sides, and waited for a few seconds, while the lieutenant listened to determine whether the woman was going to return. The two other soldiers soon joined them. In a matter of seconds, the woman returned, without the bag, and the soldiers pounced, forcing her onto her back just inside the gate.

Before she could utter more than a surprised gasp, a soldier had his hand over her mouth. The lieutenant directed two of his men to find the bag, and pointed his flashlight at her. One of the house employees !! Which explained her different dress -- just a shirt and pants. Her eyes showed her terror at her situation, but she did not try to scream.

The soldiers returned with the bag, and emptied it. Nothing but trash from the party. The lieutenant realized that he had seen this woman ... this surprisingly beautiful woman ... before in the governor's home. He wondered if her looks had helped her get the job, and whether he job for the governor might have involved more than just housework. But, that possibility aside, was she just an innocent employee bringing out the trash, or was she actually a part of the rebel cell who had smuggled something out in the trash that her conspirators had immediately removed before his soldiers got there?

The lieutenant strongly believed the former, and was about to tell his soldiers to release her, when his eye caught the figure of the only person at the reception he had no trouble identifying even in the dark. She walked slowly along the west end of the complex, by the seven foot wall that surrounded it everywhere except the three entrances that they were watching. He watched as she casually threw a small item over the wall and then continued walking toward the far entrance.

Had the other one been a planned diversion? With only one man now at the entrance toward which the woman was walking, he again radioed for backup, this time sending the remaining soldier from the third entrance to that toward which the woman was walking.

Directing two of the soldiers holding the first woman to "take her in, we can't be too careful," and the third to find what it was that the second woman had thrown over the wall, the lieutenant hurried to catch up with her. "Excuse me. It's dangerous out her in the dark. I must ask what you're doing?"

The Minister's wife looked at him calmly. "My husband doesn't like me to smoke in his presence. So I came out here. And there can't be much danger if you're here to protect me." She smiled, and attempted to light her cigarette with a match, but the wind blew it out, and she tossed the match over the wall. "That's the third one. Do you have a light?"

Chapter 3

The lieutenant obliged, shielding the flame from the light breeze. The Minister's wife inhaled deeply, held the smoke, and then exhaled contentedly. "It's so stuffy in there," she said softly, almost intimately. "Can you believe that that room holds most of the power on this island?"

They walked a few more paces, the lieutenant playing back in his mind the sweet voice of the beautiful woman. But suddenly his mind focused on the meaning of her words, not their sweet tone, and he stopped, shuddered involuntarily, and realized ...

The employee possibly, but certainly the Minister's wife had been the diversion. And he had fallen for it, deploying his men to the back two entrances and leaving the third exposed. But it was too late.

The explosion rocked the far side of the house, and shattered the windows even on the side where the two were walking. He had been walking closer to the building, and his body shielded the woman's, as both were thrown to the ground, he on top of her. He felt the shards of glass hit his back and legs, and heard screams fill the house and the courtyard, those relatively uninjured racing about in shock, but many more invisible from the debris heaped upon them, known to live still only from their moans.

The lieutenant rose, and found one soldier from the far entrance at his side. "Take her to headquarters now!" he screamed, as he grabbed the woman's wrist, lifted her forcibly to her feet, and handed her to the soldier. He expected that she would resist, but the force of the blast had dazed her, and she allowed herself to be led away, likely not realizing the purpose behind his order.

He then turned to the mayhem around him. Sirens and flashing lights now seemed to be arriving from every direction. He entered what was left of the house to assist any rescue efforts. And after two hours, he called his wife to tell her that he had survived. The governor, the Minister and the U.S. ambassador had not been that fortunate.

Chapter 4

Another hour later, the lieutenant found himself sitting in the major's office. The major, seated behind his desk, was silent. When he finally spoke, the words came out slow and even: "I should have you court-martialled tomorrow for incompetence, and shot at dawn."

The lieutenant said nothing, waiting, hoping, that the next word from the major would be "but". His prayer was answered. "But if the colonel knew how incompetent you were, it would reflect badly on me. He would ask me why I put someone so incompetent in charge of such a mission. After all, it was your idea to allow this reception to proceed despite the danger." There was the first tinge of anger in the major's voice.

"Yes, sir," the lieutenant stammered, though both knew that it had been a joint decision, which meant that the major, the superior officer, had had the final say. Perhaps that was what saved the lieutenant now.

"I have advised the press that preliminary forensics has shown that the bomb was placed under the house long before the blast, and that what happened was therefore the responsibility of the personnel who had swept the house for devices much earlier in the day. Which was not us." The lieutenant could see that the major was pleased with this. "Does anyone outside our unit know that we have two suspects?" the major continued.

"No, sir. I listed the Minister's wife and the woman servant among the dead. It is not likely from the condition of the bodies that the coroner will be able to determine the exact number of dead. And not for a long time, even if he does."

"Very good. You're not totally incompetent." The major paused. "Still, we don't have a long time. What the cell did shows their ability ... and their danger. We must break them now, before they can gain any support from the people. You have two hours, after which I will join you for a full report on the results." The major rose and left the room.

It was interesting, the lieutenant thought, that the major did not like to attend the interrogation sessions until near their end. Could it be that he really was interested only in the purpose for which they were designed, for the information that they obtained, and not in the techniques used that led to the subject's "cooperation," or the physical sensations that the sessions provided for the interrogator and any observers?

The lieutenant doubted that either captive was in any way prepared for what he had in mind. He was skilled at what he did ... even if the last session had not been a complete success. Two hours should be enough time. And he knew that one of the captives deserved to scream.

The lieutenant and two of his men walked down the stairs and long narrow corridor, passing two doors before stopping in front of the third. "Things are as you ordered, sir," one of the men assured him.

They entered the room, closing the heavy door behind them, and were instantly transformed from modern day Indonesia to 15th century Spain. The room was large, with stone walls and a ten foot ceiling. Torches placed at regular intervals midway up the walls provided what dim light there was, and the room was very cold. The floor was dirt.

In the center of the room was a small table and two chairs. Toward the far left side was the first woman, still clothed in her pants and shirt. Her shoes had been removed. Her wrists had been chained high above her head by chains that ran through a hook in the ceilling and were secured to a hook in middle of the far wall. The chain had been pulled high enough to force the woman to stand on her toes. She faced away from the room's center.

On the other side of the room, lying face down on a waist-high table was the Minister's wife ... rather, his widow, her limbs chained to the four corners of the table. She too remained clothed in the long black dress that she had worn to the reception, although her hair was no longer in an up sweep, but was visible under the gag and blindfold that she now also wore. She too faced away from the center of the room. She lay still, making it difficult from a distance to know whether she was conscious.

Chapter 5

"Good," the lieutenant nodded to his men. He had instructed that the subjects be restrained so that they could not see each other. If both were members of the cell, he wanted to make sure that no signals passed between them. But he wanted them in the same room so that they could hear each other scream.

The lieutenant approached the employee. He had been trained, in circumstances like these, always to interrogate first the subject that he thought was weaker. In that way, the weaker subject could not gain strength by seeing how the stronger subject resisted, and, at the same time, the stronger subject might be loosened by seeing what happened to the other before her own interrogation had begun.

"Junita, we know all about you" the lieutenant said gently. His men had investigated her background in the hours since her capture. "Six members of your cell have given us your name as one of its members. It's time to tell us the truth." Which, of course, was more than he was now telling Junita, since they had not yet questioned , or even found, the persons named by the woman with the too weak heart.

Junita shook her head violently from side to side. "No. No. I work for the governor. I am loyal." Her voice already sounded of panic. She would be easy if she had anything to tell, but the lieutenant was fairly certain that she did not, and, if he were right about that, it would be a sad thing for both of them.

"I'm going to give you a chance to tell me the truth." The lieutenant was now standing next to Junita, holding her chin in his hand. Her eyes were opened wider than he thought physically possible. "I'm going to say six names. You tell me whether each is a member of your cell." Three of the names on his list would be names given him by Ms. Weakheart, true suspects. Two would be police officials from another district with unusual names that weren't likely to be mistaken for any others and could not possibly be members of the cell. And the sixth name would be Junita's brother, who was not suspected either, but whose name provided a kind of control to see if she were even trying to tell the truth. It would also serve to remind her that the lives of others dear to her depended on her telling the truth.

He began. Junita shook her head as each of the first four names was read ... the two suspected cell members, then the two policemen. Then he read her brother's name. Junita's face froze. She started to wail. "No. Not my brother. No. He is not a traitor. No !!" She continued to weep and wail for several minutes, fearing that somehow something that she had done or not done or been accused of doing had damned her brother. She had, at least, passed that part of the test, the lieutenant thought. When she finally stopped sobbing, the lieutenant calmly read the sixth name. Junita weakly shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Junita. You have failed the test," the lieutenant advised her. "You had your chance, and now I shall have mine." He removed a long thin knife from his belt, and held it in front of her face. He could hear her breath quicken and see her face begin to sweat. She tried to speak, but no words came out of her mouth.

The lieutenant slowly cut straight down the front of her shirt and the bra that she wore under it . She started to squirm, but realized that her movement would not avoid the result, but would only risk that the lieutenant might cut more than her clothes. After he cut through the bottom, the lieutenant returned the knife to his belt, and, with one hand on each side, pulled the shirt and bra completely open and then off in his hands. He was pleased to find that her breasts were larger than he had expected.

He turned away from her and walked slowly back to the desk in the middle of the room. He had not taken three steps when the two soldiers moved in on Junita, holding a device that appeared to consist of two small black boards. She had never seen anything like it, and could not imagine its function ... until the soldiers placed the lower board under her breasts and the upper board above them and begin to turn the large metal screws on each side that held the boards together. Finally, one of the soldiers placed a collar around her neck, and then ran a chain from it down to secure to the top board. Any backward pull on her hair now would tighten the device even further. Both the top and bottom board were filled with small holes, whose purpose, again, Junita could not yet contemplate, but would too soon discover.

The men screwed the boards closer until Junita's breasts were firmly secured in them, but stopped before they yet brought any great pain upon her. [see Junita pic]

From his desk, the lieutenant spoke, this time in a louder voice because of the greater distance between them, but mostly because of the greater force it thus carried. "Junita, my men are going to read the six names to you again. Please try harder this time."

Chapter 6

The two soldiers, one on each side, then secured the ends of the top board to two chains hanging from the ceiling, and pulled those chains until Junita was forced to arch her back and strain for her toes to find the floor. Finally, one of them released her chained wrists and tied them behind her back so that her full weight was now supported by her breasts, save only for whatever help her straining toes could provide to relieve the pressure.

This was not much, and Junita's screams filled the large room. The soldier with the list of names waited for several minutes to allow Junita more time to realize her horrible situation. Then he began.

"Yes," Junita cried after each of the first three names was read. These were, indeed, the three actual suspects. The lieutenant wondered if he might have been wrong about her, if she was indeed a member of the cell. But then the scream of "yes" followed the fourth and fifth names, the "control" names, and he nodded slowly. Only an indecipherable grunt followed the name of her brother, and the lieutenant shook his head when the soldier asked if he wanted her response clarified.

"My dear Junita," the lieutenant approached the helpless woman, grabbing her chin, and forcing it back so that he could look into her tear-stained eyes. The movement added even more pressure to her strained chest, and her screams rose again, as her throat became raspy. "I'm afraid that you have failed again."

She looked at him without comprehension. How could she have failed? She had confessed to all, just to end this pain. And now there was to be more? Her body began to twitch uncontrollably.

"This will be your final chance. For your sake, please tell us the truth this time." The lieutenant released her chin, slightly relieving her pain, and stepped back to give his men room. Junita strained her eyes to try to see what the soldiers were preparing for her, and saw one hold up two long very thin skewers that appeared to be sharpened and tapered at one end.

The sight itself raised her screams to the top of her lungs, and she twisted in her bonds, which only increased even more the pressure on her already bruised chest. Even in her swirling mind, she realized that, of the names that she was to be read, some were suspected and others were not, and she had to get them all right.

She felt the point of the first skewer prick the underside of her left breast through one of the small holes in the press. "Here?" the soldier holding it asked the other?" He removed it. "Or here?" She felt it prick her an inch farther to the left. "Here, I think," and the soldier pushed it through the original hole an inch into her. The scream that echoed off the stone walls was not an unexpected response. As her mind began to blur from the pain, the soldier read the first name.

Other than her brother's name, she recognized none of them. This first name sounded ... well, it sounded guilty. "Yes," she guessed. She went through the same process after each name. And since was sure that a "yes" response might be as wrong as a "no," she boldly answered "no" after hearing her brother's name.

Two "yeses," four "nos." The lieutenant smiled. She had answered "yes" to one suspect and one policemen, and "no" to two suspects, one policeman and her brother. Three right out of six. It was obvious that her responses were complete guesses. He nodded to the soldier holding the second skewer, who, without delay, jabbed it an equal distance into the underside of the frantic woman's right breast. Her resulting scream was her loudest, before, mercifully, she fainted.

Whatever small doubt the lieutenant had had about her innocence was now gone. But she had served her purpose. For during her last test, he had heard moans, and then gasps, coming from the right side of the room, where the Minister's widow knew that it was only a matter of time before it would be her turn.

Chapter 7

The lieutenant walked over to the moaning woman, the Minister's widow, and removed the gag. "Hello, Niania. So nice to see you again. My condolences on your loss."

"What is going on, here? Why are you doing this?" she demanded.

"Oh, it's not for you to ask the questions, my dear. Now you must learn to play by the rules. There's this little matter of your central cell, and I need some information from you. Is that going to be a problem?"

She gave no response, but her heavy breathing, before he had even begun, told him that her breaking point was probably not far off.

He replaced the cloth gag with a ring gag that he pushed under her teeth, and then moved to the foot of the table. He slid his hands under her long black dress, felt that she was wearing a slip and panties, and slid them both down as far as her spreadeagled position allowed. He then caressed her now naked buttocks with both hands. "I'm going to read you a list of six names," he said. He knew that, while she had heard Junita's screams, she could not have heard the names, so he could use the same ones. "And you are to tell me which are members of your cell. It's all very simple." He moved his hands to her undergarments, bunched the slip up, and, with one motion, ripped both garments apart and removed them, dropping them on the floor at the side of the table. He then smoothed her dress so that it continued to cover her.

He had learned that, with a stronger subject, he should not begin with pain, but with more "personal" control, to show his complete dominance of his subject. He opened the buttons running down the back of her dress from her neck to her waist, took his knife from his belt, and cut the back and shoulder straps of her bra. He removed it, and then re-buttoned the dress.

He returned to the top of the table, and lifted her head with one hand, while removing her blindfold with the other. He stared into her eyes as they adjusted to the dim light. "We're going to start in a few minutes. You control your degree of suffering."

He walked slowly back to the table in the center of the room, and signalled his two men, who moved quickly toward the chained and spreadeagled Niania. It was time for round two.

Chapter 8

The lieutenant sat in his chair by the table in the center of the room to watch the proceedings. He generally did not participate in this stage designed to put the captives that needed it into a frame of mind that softened them to the physical pain that followed. It was ironic, he thought, that he did not participate in this stage out of respect for his wife, yet she found the phase of interrogation in which he not only participated, but excelled -- the infliction of continuous physical pain that quickly loosened most tongues -- to be even more vile than the sexual abuse. In fact, she had asked him many times to ask the major to allow him to serve his country in a different capacity than as a "torturer of helpless women." He had tried to assure her that the only persons that suffered at his hands deserved far worse, and that his work was important to the safety of the country, but he could see that she never really believed it.

"What kind of a country tortures helpless women?" she had asked, "for whatever purpose." What would she have thought had she known that, while he told her that he repeatedly asked to be transferred, he never had. What would she have said had she known that he had even turned down a promotion in order to stay in his present position, which, though he could never admit to her, excited him more than she now did -- or ever could.

His thoughts returned to the scene before him. One of the soldiers had mounted the helpless Niania, his body now stretched out over hers, his hands forced underneath to massage her breasts through her dress, the weight of their bodies pressing them deeply into his hands. Then, slowly, he began the rhythmic motion that made it clear to her, as if it needed to be made clearer, what was to happen next. His hands moved out from underneath their bodies, and first grasped her chained wrists, to force the full weight of his body on her, and then moved his hands down to the dress at her knees. Sliding his hands up and down against her thighs as the rest of his body rubbed back and forth against her backside, he gradually forced the dress upwards, until, using both hands, he pushed it up around her waist, leaving her naked from the waist down.

From where he was sitting, the lieutenant could not see her face, so he could not know whether she might be enjoying her encounter. He heard no screams, but reckoned that she probably was determined not yet to provide him with that satisfaction. He heard her grunt as the soldier entered her and moved his hands back under their two bodies again to squeeze her breasts. He could see the soldier's backside moving more quickly now -- none of these soldiers could last too long in these situations. He hoped that they were better with their wives and girlfriends, but, with a helpless -- and this time beautiful -- captive, all of them seemed unable to control their excitement. Still, that probably made her feel more like the worthless creature that she was being made to feel in order to speed the interrogation. And, of course, allowing the men to handle this part of the process created great loyalty to him. Kind of a bonus for good service.

With a final thrust that he held as long as he could, the soldier collapsed on the spreadeagled woman. He remained there for several minutes, and then rolled off of her. He straightened his clothes, lowered the dress back over her body, and moved to a chair in the far corner of the room to recover.

The second soldier now looked hopefully toward the lieutenant, but was disappointed when the lieutenant raised his hand to signal him to wait, and then moved his chair to the top of the table, near Niania's face. He grabbed her hair and turned her face toward him. She was sobbing. This was good. This was the result that he wanted.

Chapter 9

"Did you mean to blow up your husband with the others?" The lieutenant said coldly. Her eyes widened for just a second, then closed tightly. She hadn't known, but then how could she? She had been taken here immediately after the blast. He wished that he could read the meaning of her reaction, but he could not.

"Do you know how many you killed?" He released her hair, and she turned her face away from his. Then back again, she looked at him. "I killed no one. No more than you did."

An interesting addition to her denial, he thought. If she were a member of the cell, then certainly she thought that he had killed many, so that the deaths at the reception were no more than he, whether personally or as a symbol of the government, had killed. And he had killed a few, that was true. Miss Weakheart being the last, although he hadn't meant to kill her. Not so soon, anyway.

"In a few minutes, I'm going to read the six names. I expect the truth from you." He then returned with his chair to the desk in the middle of the room, and signalled the second soldier, who had been most patient in his impatience.

The soldier moved to the head of the table, and grabbed Niania's hair, forcing her face straight ahead, her eyes level with his crotch. He unzipped his pants, and quickly removed his already hardening penis, which he slid through the ring gag in the woman's mouth. The ring gag is the dungeon's version of safe sex, he thought, protecting him from any subject who might decide to summon her courage for a heroic act. He pushed himself deeply into her, her protests soon replaced with the sounds of gagging. While he knew that the gag prevented her from using her teeth, she could still use her tongue, if she chose to try to make the best of the situation, perhaps thinking that an effort to add to his pleasure might gain her a bit of mercy from him during whatever was next planned for her. But she did not.

To slow his excitement, the soldier tried to think of other things, and his mind turned to his superior officer. It was strange, the soldier thought, that the lieutenant never took part in the sexual aspects of interrogation, apparently out of respect for his wife. Yet he seemed to complain, more frequently of late, how the two of them didn't get along the way they used to since he was assigned his current position, that she hated the things that he did to helpless women as part of his job. If the job was costing him so much with his wife, why didn't he at least balance the loss with a little gain? But no matter, the soldier thought. More bonus for me. And he truly appreciated his superior officer for allowing it to him. Especially this time. With a woman so beautiful.

When nothing that he could think or do could any longer restrain his excitement, however, and the soldier feared that the lieutenant might get nervous about the time that he was taking, the soldier grabbed the woman with both of his hands on the side of her head, and thrust himself out and then deeply in -- once ... twice ... again ... again ... and again, holding himself in as deeply as he could for as long as he could, until he could restrain himself no more.

She immediately began to cough up what she could and continued coughing as he withdrew, fixed himself and moved to the floor near the chair where his comrade sat in the corner of the room.

The lieutenant waited several minutes before bringing his chair to the side of the table near Niania's head. She was turned away from him, but now quiet, except for her labored breathing. He read the first name, one of the known suspects revealed by his prior victim.

Chapter 10

Without turning her head, he heard her respond softly after a few seconds. "Yes." The lieutenant sat up in the chair. He read the second name, one of the police officers. Slowly the woman turned her face toward him, looking confused. It was apparent to him that she didn't know this name, and didn't know how to respond. She was probably wondering whether this was one of the three cell members she didn't know, and trying to figure out if he knew, or thought she knew. Finally, deciding that to tell the truth was her only hope, she responded, "No."

His reaction revealed nothing. He continued to read the names, and wait for a response, until he had read all six. She answered "yes" to two of the suspects, and "no" to the other four. Five out of six correct. And the one incorrect -- the third suspect revealed by Miss Weakheart -- was probably one of the ones that she did not know.

Trying to hide his pleasure, he moved his chair back to the table, and called over the soldier sitting on the chair. "We have the confirmation that we need. Get the word out to round up the seven whose names we were given." Since Niania had confirmed two of these names, and given no false positives, it seemed enough confirmation to the truth of what they had previously learned. The soldier left the room, the heavy door slamming behind him.

"Now, my dear," the lieutenant stated firmly. "I need three more names from you." He did not want simply to read the names of the other known suspects, since he feared that the woman might figure out that he knew that each of the cell members could identify only six or so others, and chance saying "yes" to these to shield the others whom she knew. But she could not do this if required to give the names herself, since she didn't know for certain which members were known to the others.

He heard a loud groan from the table. "No more. Please." He wondered. Had she suddenly regretted so easily revealing the first two names? Did she really require more persuasion?

"Very well." He called the remaining soldier, who obviously had not fully recovered from his previous activity, but who quickly rose and moved to a table behind the spreadeagled woman. When he returned, he was ready for phase three. The lieutenant wondered if she was.

The soldier returned to the side of the table, placed what he had been carrying on the floor nearby, and, using the knife that he carried on his belt, cut through the top of Niania's dress on each side, from the neck to the sleeves. The dress now lay flat under Niania, offering her no protection, her entire backside exposed. She tried to struggle, but her struggles did nothing more than indicate that she did not approve of his actions.

He then moved to the foot of the table, and grabbed the hem of the dress with his hands, one on each side. He slowly moved backward about five feet, pulling the material along with him until it was freed from the weight of her body. He then tossed the dress out of his way. His subject was now completely naked. [see Niania pic]

He picked up from the floor the dildo that he had brought, placed its tip between her legs, and slowly began to push it into her. It was not uncomfortably large -- the soldier laughed, thinking that she would enjoy this more than she enjoyed his comrade. She twisted to try to see exactly what he was doing, but could only see that a long electric cord and plug extended from the back of the inserted object. Her body shuddered. She had once, accidentally, suffered a minor shock, and it had been very painful. She could not imagine what a severe electrical shock would feel like. And she had only shocked her finger. A shock there ... her body quivered.

The soldier inserted the plug into the electrical outlet. Her body tensed involuntarily. But there was no pain. Nothing.

The soldier then moved to her breasts, attaching a small, x-shaped device onto each, centered at her nipples. From these, too, long cords and plugs extended. The soldier plugged these into the outlet. Again her body tensed. Again nothing.

The lieutenant moved back to the table, this time standing over her. Nothing. She looked at him. He smiled. Then she felt a gradually warming sensation where the devices were in contact with her body. It was very pleasant. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine such a feeling under better circumstances. Oh, this felt good, she thought. What is going on? She found that she could not help rhythmically moving her hips, as far as her bonds allowed, and soft moans escaped her lips.

"I'm so glad you're enjoying yourself," she heard the lieutenant say.

It took her five minutes -- a very pleasurable five minutes -- before she realized that the areas of her body in contact with the devices were no longer just pleasurably warm. They were getting hotter ...

Chapter 11

Her moans were soon replaced by screams as the heat from the devices intensified, burning her most sensitive areas.

"Three names!" the lieutenant screamed, sensing that he was close to victory, and noticing that it had been just 90 minutes. He didn't want the major to think that he had been lax. In fact, so confident of success was he that he sent the remaining soldier to find the major and tell him to come to the room immediately, to get the results and to see that it had not taken him the full two hours that he had been allowed.

The lieutenant's instincts in these types of situations were always quite good. With just the two of them now in the room -- well, three counting the still unconscious Junita -- he simply shouted his order again at her. "Three names !!"

He wasn't sure that he would be able to distinguish a name shouted in the midst of the horrible screams that were now filling the room as the heat continued to build. He listened to see if he could make out any words, and thought he could hear cries of "stop" and "no" buried somewhere in the generally incomprehensible rasps coming from her throat.

But finally, between the screams and the gasps for breath, Niania managed to shout a name clearly ... Sum Megawati. He now had nine of the ten names. The six given him by Ms. Weakheart. Ms. Weakheart herself. Niania. And now this Sum Megawati. Just one more.

The sound of the screams from the helpless, spreadeagled woman had grown even louder and more frantic as the heat had increased during the few minutes that it had taken her to reveal the ninth name. The lieutenant figured that it should be just a matter of seconds now ... assuming that, between them, his two victims knew the names of all ten. He prayed that the next name that she screamed would not match either of the two remaining names that Ms. Weakheart had given.

His instincts as to how long it would take were, as usual, right. "Surayama Radji. Surayama Radji." She said it twice to make sure that he had heard.

The lieutenant slumped back in his chair, remaining still for several seconds, his heart racing. This name was one he had not heard before in this room. It did not match any of the other names that he had been given. It was, indeed, the tenth name. She had given him the tenth name. He had succeeded in his mission. Totally succeeded.

Yet, hearing the tenth name, and knowing that his victim had no more to offer him, he felt a strong urge for vengeance. She had been involved in circumstances that had caused many high government officials their lives. And, worse, at least to him, the success of her mission had embarrassed him greatly and nearly cost him his job ... and perhaps even more ... if the major had not had his own selfish reasons for protecting him.

He left the devices in place while he wrote his report, and smiled as she continued to scream. He was still smiling when the major entered with the soldier who had been sent to retrieve him, and the soldier who had spread the order to round up the other suspects.

Chapter 12

"So are you close yet?" The major asked immediately.

"More than close, sir. I have all the names," the lieutenant replied. "All 10."

"Then why are you still torturing this woman?" The major demanded to know.

"She is a traitor to our country. A confessed traitor. She deserves no mercy," the lieutenant's reply dripped with venom.

"That is not how true soldiers behave," the major reprimanded him sharply, promptly directing the two assistants to remove both captives from their torments.

As the soldier removed the burning dildo from Niania, and then the two heated x-patches from her breasts, her body continued to spasm uncontrollably, and it took several minutes before her screams were reduced to whimpering. He released her wrists and ankles from their chains, but she had no strength to do anything but lie on the table, body still shuddering and twitching. Seeing that this was likely to continue, and that he could not leave her unchained waiting for it to end, the soldier lifted the helpless, shaking woman, carried her to the far wall, and chained her wrists together just over head, through rings in the wall set there for just such purpose. Niania's head immediately slumped to her chest, her knees buckled, and she slid down until her arms were stretched and the chains prevented her from sliding any further. She appeared to be conscious, but not really aware of what was happening to her.

At the same time, the other soldier carefully removed the press from the still unconscious Junita, including the narrow spikes pushed through it and into her breasts, and then removed the chains, catching her as she fell. Her breasts, sadly, were no longer her greatest asset. He brought her to the same far wall, about five feet from Niania, and secured her in a similar manner. Junita, too, slid into much the same position as her fellow victim.

"You have instructed that the ten be arrested?" The major wanted to be sure. "The first seven, yes. Here is the complete list. I only learned of the last three names a few moments before you arrived." The lieutenant handed the major a slip of paper.

The major scanned the list. The first seven names he recognized as those provided by the previous subject. "And these last three? Niania ..." The major had trouble reading without his glasses. "Her. The Minister's wife," the lieutenant responded before the major had finished, and pointed to the far wall.

"And next is ... Sum Megawati?" The major slowly read the name. "We still need to find her," the lieutenant replied.

"And the last name? Junita Devi?" "Her," the lieutenant pointed to the chained Junita. "Already in our custody, as you can see."

"Excellent work, Lieutenant Radji. We should have quite a few more subjects for you very soon." The major turned and exited the room. "Please give my best to your lovely wife Surayama."

No sooner had the major left than the lieutenant gave orders to his two men. "These are two of the members of the cell, as you just heard. Two traitors to our country. I have orders that they are not to be tortured. But, as you may or may not know, they are both reported as being among those killed in the explosion at the governor's mansion, their bodies unidentifiable. See to it that those reports are made accurate."

The soldiers obeyed their superior officer without hesitation or question. This was one of the benefits of giving them what they wanted. Each removed his sidearm from his belt, one moving to 15 feet in front of Junita, the other the same distance in front of Niania. Each soldier fired three times, nearly simultaneously. Each victim lurched upward and forward, and then back down again, as each bullet struck a different part of her chest. The soldiers then removed the chains, and dragged the two bodies out of the room through a side door. Lieutenant Radji was left alone.

"So you find my job repulsive, do you?" he said to the image of his wife that appeared in his mind. No one but he had heard the last names that Niania had given. No one but he knew that he had falsely identified Junita as the tenth cell member.

Three on the list that he had given the major now could never reveal this lie. As for the others, their interrogations would not focus on a mere repeat of the names that had already been revealed. And even if one of them tried to add an eleventh name, it was unlikely to be believed. Considering the circumstances. No. A traitor claiming that Surayama Radji was one of the cell members would not be believed. So she was safe. For now. From everyone but him. Her beloved husband. She had no conspirators left with whom to try to betray him. And, of course, she would now be required to show him -- and his job -- the respect to which both were entitled. After all, it -- and he -- had saved her life.

The lieutenant rose. He was going to have this job for a long time, he thought. And no one was ever going to complain about that fact again. Particularly not his wife.