Manuel

Manuel Ortega stood looking at the woman before him, hanging by her wrists. Her whole body was covered in bruises, her eyes closed, unable to see. One thumb seemed to be hanging from her hand, black, swollen and crushed. Even if Mary was released now, the thumb could never be repaired. But Mary Ellis was not about to e released, not until Manuel had the information he needed. And so far, three days into her interrogation, Mary had given him nothing.

Surely she could see he would eventually get the information from her? Why was she being so stubborn.

It had started three days ago when Mary was at the airport, waiting for her plane back to Britain. Four guards had approached her and asked her to follow them, as they needed to ask her a few questions.

Innocently, Mary had obliged, and was led across the airport and through an unmarked door, then into a small holding cell., with two chairs and a table.

Sat in one of the chairs was a dark haired man, wearing a long leather coat. Mary was struck by how unsmiling he was as she entered the room, and was shown to the other chair.

“Miss Ellis”, the man started. “We have reason to believe you are smuggling drugs from our country. Under our legislation, you will be searched, and if we find any, you will be arrested, and subjected to trial at a later date. Do you have anything to say before you are searched?”

Mary looked over at the man, not knowing what to say. She would never smuggle drugs anywhere. She had seen too many of her friends addicted to drugs, and hated what they had done to them.

“Sir” replied Mary, rising to her feet. Two of the guards pressed on her shoulders forcing her to sit down again. “Sir. I have no idea what you are on about here. I am not smuggling drugs, or anything else for that matter. I insist you take me back to my plane”

“Maybe you can catch a later flight, Miss Ellis. But first we have to satisfy ourselves that you are, indeed, not carrying drugs through our airport. Your coat, please”

Mary began to protest, but from nowhere, a backhander sent her reeling from her seat, sending her crashing to the floor, tears welling up in her eyes, as one of the men began to rip her coat from her.

Mary tried to protest, but it made no difference to the man sat in the other chair, unmoved by what was happening in front of him.

“Miss Ellis. You can do this here, and hopefully catch the next flight, or we cam take you with us, and it could be days before you are able to fly home. The choice is yours.”

Manuel’s voice carried enough menace to frighten Mary. What ever she did, she knew she was not catching her planned flight home.

“Okay, Sir. What do you want?” her voice quivered as she spoke.

“I would like you to get undressed. Miss Ellis. You will then be given a body search, whilst your belongings are also being searched. If our information is wrong, and you are drug free, you will be allowed to catch the next flight home.”

Relc6tantly, Mary nodded her head, and stood by the table/. Slowly. Reluctantly. She followed Manuel’s instruction and began to undress, handing her clothes to the two guards behind her. Down to her underwear, Mary stopped.

“I am sorry, Miss Ellis, we need all of your clothes. Drugs can be hidden in seams, to be opened when you get home. You see, Miss Ellis, you were not chosen at random. We have information stating that you are smuggling. We need to be sure, before we let you leave, that the information is without substance.”

Mary wanted to know who had suggested she was  smuggling, but the man refused to say, simply repeating that she should finish undressing.

As she finally removed her underwear, Mary stood with one hand covering her pubes, whist the other arm did it’s best to cover her buxom chest.

The two guards began searching the seams of her bra and knickers, but even before they could tell their leader that the girl was clean, one of the other four guards ran into the room, speaking excitedly in a language Mary did not understand, and waving a packet of tampons in his hand.

Even before Mary could get everything in her head together, Manuel lifted a weapon from his side, and aimed at Mary’s neck. With unerring accuracy, the dart hit Mary on target, as her hand flew to her neck.

Even before she could pull the dart out, the fast acting tranquilliser had begun to take effect. And Mary crumbled to her knees on the hard concrete floor. The last she remembered, before darkness claimed her, were her hands being pulled cruelly behind her, and something solid fastening around each wrist. Then nothing. Darkness.

When she awoke. Mary’s shoulders screamed in agony. Her wrists hurt, where ropes had been tied on them, and she had been lifted into the air, her whole weight pulling on her shoulders.

It was dark inside her cell, the small window to one side showing darkness outsider as well. She had no idea how long she had been unconscious, but guessed it had been many hours.

As she awoke, as if on cue, three men entered the cell through a door to her left. Immediately, a bright light shone in her eyes, blinding her. Though she knew the other men were there, she could see nothing through the light.

“Miss Ellis”. The voice was of the man who had questioned her earlier. “You have been found guilty of conspiring and attempting to smuggle drugs through our borders. Your case was heard a few hours ago, in your absence. You have been sentenced to five years hard labour, to be followed by the death penalty. This is how we treat smugglers. I am sure you think your government will intervene on your behalf, but the British government hold no sway here. If they choose to enforce sanctions, we will not be bothered by them, as we have no dealings with them at all. I want you to understand all of this, Miss Ellis. There is no appeal. You will serve five years in a hard labour camp, and when it is completed, you will be put to death. Your arrest and sentence have already been posted on the internet, in an attempt to dissuade others from attempting the same thing. However, Miss Ellis. The court may repeal the death sentence, if you help us out. We need to know who supplied you with the drugs, where in the UK they were to be delivered. If you give us this information, the death sentence will be repealed, and you will serve life in the camp instead. As I said previously. There is no appeal. You will  not leave this island, Miss Ellis. But it is up to you how long you live. Do I make myself clear?”.

Mary was dumbstruck. How could this be happening? How could she have been tried and convicted, when she had no opportunity to offer a defence? How could they do this to her?

Even as all these questions went through her mind,  Manuel ordered the other two men to release her arms. Marty dropped like a stone to the floor, her arms screaming in agony as they fell to her sides. Immediately. The two men picked her up and threw her into a chair, and began to tie her legs and her arms to it. Without thinking she lashed out at the man to her right. The response was immediate, and brutal, as his fist crashed into her face. Stars filled her head, and she tasted blood, as her head was viciously rocked from side to side. Tears filled her eyes, as the man grabbed her hand and pulled it towards the side of the chair, tying it in place, and rendering Mary helpless once again.

“That was silly”,  Manuel said, as Mary was finally secured. “Any repetition will cause you severe pain. Now then. I will ask you simply, where did you get the drugs, and where are they going?”

Mary didn’t know what to say. She had no idea she had been carrying drugs in the first place, had no idea where they had come from, and certainly no idea where they were going. She protested her innocence, but that was met only with scorn from Manuel.

“Miss Ellis. In your luggage we found five boxes of tampons. A few too many for a three month trip, don’t you think? The boxes, however, did not contain tampons, they were mere camouflage for the cocaine hidden inside them. Between the five boxes, we discovered almost six kilos of the drug. This, Miss Ellis, is a very large shipment. Perhaps the largest we have caught. There can be no denying you were taking it from the country, it was inside your own luggage. We have this on video tape, and this tape was shown to the courts. Hence the sentence. However, as I said. Tell us from whom you got the drug, and to where it was being delivered, and you will not be put to death”

Mary screamed again that she didn’t know anything about the drug. Someone had obviously planted the drug in her luggage without her knowledge.

“Miss Ellis. Did you pack your case before leaving for the airport? Or did someone else pack it for you?”

Mary knew her answer would not help her. She had packed the case, and it had not left her side since. Not until she had been arrested at the airport. The tampons did belong to her,  but her own tampons had not contained cocaine. Someone had switched them in her room.

“I don’t know what happened” she sobbed. “I wasn’t smuggling. Please. You have to believe me”

“The evidence, I am afraid, goes against you, Miss Ellis. However, your reluctance to give the information we need, will not go well for you. I am your court appointed interrogator, and if it takes forever, I will get the information we need. Be aware of that, Miss Ellis. You WILL tell us what we need to know.”

With that, Manuel and his two men moved out of the cell, leaving Mary alone. After a few moments, the light went out, leaving her in the darkness of her cell, tied to the chair, and frightened.

For three days Mary was questioned. Each time she refused to answer, her torture grew worse.  At one time, Manuel had ordered one of his men to break her thumb. The scream had echoed around the cell as she felt the agony. As the man grabbed her thumb, twisted, pulled and then hit it with a heavy metal hammer. The sound of bones breaking could clearly be hard in the cell, and had made Mary pass out.

Manuel was not worried. There was no time limit on his interrogations. And her sentence would not start until he had the information he wanted.

She was again, strung up by her wrists. Her whole body was covered in bruises, but still she had not given the information that he wanted. He knew, more drastic methods would be needed, but doubted Mary’s ability to take the punishment that would be meted out.

Before he started, he ordered his men to take her into the yard the next morning. Another girl was facing the death penalty. Maybe seeing someone else die, would loosen Mary’s tongue.

The next morning Mary was taken, dragged, into the courtyard of the building. There were already three others in the yard, one on his knees, his right arm seemed to be tied to a small wooden plinth, and she could see him trying to struggle to get it free, but it was securely tied.

A second mad was tied to a tall metal frame. His arms had been forced through holes and his hands tied in front, forcing him to hug the frame. His legs had been secured to the frame, with half of each foot protruding from holes at the base. He, too, seemed to be struggling to get free.

The third person was a young women. Mary thought she was in her early teens, certainly no more than twenty years old. She was kneeling on a platform some six feet from the ground. Her arms were bound behind her at the wrists and elbows, and, as Manuel explained, her knees and ankles were also tied together, so she was unable to move from where she was.

A man in a dark hood entered the courtyard, carrying what appeared to be a heavy sword.

“The man on the right” said Manuel to Mary, “Has stolen from a shop. We do not like thieves, and for his crimes, his right hand will be removed. The other man, has tried to escape from prison. This was his third attempt, and to try to stop him, the toes of both feet will be removed.”

He looked over at Mary.

“The girl on the platform is a murderer. She killed a man who she picked up in a bar. First she led him on, and then when he wanted sex, she ki8lled him. For that reason, she is to be beheaded. The reason I show you this now, Mary, is that you, too, will be beheaded when your prison sentence is complete. So far, you have given me no reason to appeal the sentence, and if this continues, then this will be your fate.”

Mary looked at the helpless girl as she knelt on the platform. She looked so young, so frail, and so helpless. But it was the sword in the hooded man’s hands that caught more of Mary’s attention.

Standing over the first of the men, he raised his sword above his head, and waited. The man on his knees began pleading for mercy. Mary didn’t kneed to understand what the man was saying, she could feel it inside her. But the pleas were in vain. Manuel looked over at the hooded man, and nodded his head.

Seconds later the sword descended with force, slicing through the man’s wrist as if it were butter.

Screams of agony echoed around the walled courtyard. Mary found herself trying to hide her face, but Manuel turned her head, forcing her to watch, as the severed hand rolled over a few times, and came to rest some feet from the, now unconscious, prisoner.

The hooded man moved over to the second man. Again, the sword was raised, and Manuel’s signal awaited. The man on the frame was screaming, begging for mercy that would not come. Mary closed her eyes as she saw the sword start to fall. The screams filled her head, as she tried to pull away from her place. But Manuel would not let her go.

“Now, Miss Ellis. We turn to the young lady on the platform. She is not much younger than you, though she wont be serving five years in hard labour first. I want you to watch this carefully, Miss Ellis. Watch how easily the blade cuts through flesh and bone. Watch how cleanly the executioner slices the girl’s head from her shoulders. See what will happen to you, if you do not give us the information we want.

Two men climbed onto the platform and forces the bound girl forwards, trapping her shoulders in place by a wooden stock. No matter how hard she struggled now, she would not be able to lift her head.

Mary watched through half closed eyes, as the hooded man climbed onto the platform, standing above the girl.

Mary wanted someone to free the girl, she begged, anyone, let her go. But Manuel simply laughed at her side.

“Take note, Miss Ellis. This will be you”

With that, Manuel nodded to the hooded man, and without a word, almost in pure silence, the sword began to drop. There was no sound from the girl’s lips as the sword sliced through her neck, her head, seemingly holding it’s place for a second. Before bouncing off the platform, rolling across the yard, the eyes still open in disbelief.

Mary tried not to look, but there was something compelling about the head as it rolled, stopping a few feet away from Mary, they eyes still wide open.

The legs were still kicking on the platform as the head finally came to rest. Mary couldn’t help herself, and threw up.

The girl had no begged for forgiveness, not begged for mercy. It was as if she knew it would all be a futile waste of time. She had not even tried to turn her head as the sword had made its final journey towards her vunerable neck, and sliced her head free of her body.

Mary was dragged back to her cell, her wrists freed, only to be tied in the air again, as the two men hoisted her off her feet. The pain in her shoulders was like a fire.

Minutes later Manuel entered the room, and sat in a chair in front of her.

“Now then, Miss Ellis. We are going to get serious with you. You will, in the end, tell us everything, and we shall help you.” With that he stood up and grabbed a long piece of wood, like a baseball bat, and moved close to Mary.

“I know if I asked you where you got the drugs, you would say you didn’t know. I want you to know what happens when you do give that answer.”

Without a word he pulled the bat back as if he were playing baseball. Seconds later the room erupted in an agonising scream. As the bat made contact with Mary’s shin. Mary bounced in agony on her ropes, trying to find a way to stop the pain. But there was none. Her tears filled her eyes, as the pain seemed to find its way through the whole of her body.

Manuel was unmoved, and lifted the bat again. Mary tried to turn away from it, to get free, her wrists bleeding as she twisted against the ropes.

The bat made contact with her other shin, as Mary’s scream echoed around the cell., her body being unable to take the pain,. Sending her into unconsciousness.

Manuel stood in front of her, and smiled. The English girl didn’t realise it yet, but her ordeal had only just begun.

He left her overnight. His men had, once again, tied her into the chair, her legs pulled wide open, her arms tied securely to the side. This way, she would be defenceless in the morning when he finally told her she would be serving her sentence, and would still be put to death after she had served it.

It was early morning when Manuel returned to Mary’s cell. She was awake, and looked as if she had not slept at all.

“Miss Ellis” he started, his voice as even as it always was. “We have given you every opportunity to give us the information we need, but you have, for whatever reason, chosen not to give it to us. Therefore, I can offer you no appeal to your death sentence. In a  while you will be taken to the prison compound where you will serve your five years in hard labour. But before we send you there, we have one or two things to see to.”

Taking a bag from his drawer, Manuel placed it on the desk in front of Mary. Whist one of his men plugged a soldering iron in to heat up.

Standing directly over Mary, Manuel took a long needle from the bag, and showed it to the shaking girl.

“Every prisoner has to be easily located at all times” he started. “To ensure this, we are going to pierce you and fit you with a couple of bells. Where ever you go, we can hear the bells, I wish I could tell you that this is not going to hurt, but I would be lying if I said such a thing.”

With that, Manuel leaned forwards and grabbed hold of Mary’s right nipple between his fingers. Teasing it, forcing it to stand out. As soon as it did so, he took a pair of forceps clamps and grabbed her nipple between them. Only then did he show her the long needle. Mary could only relate it to a knitting needle, and screamed and squirmed as she saw Manuel move it closer to her body.

Her screams filled the cell as Manuel used pure brute force to pierce her. The needle slowly found its way through the centre of her nipple, tearing nerves as it did so. Only when the needle had passed all the way through, did he extract it, though by that time Mary was, once again, unconscious. It would not matter, now, if she felt it or not. Once in place, the bells would remain, forever, a part of her.

Following what he had done to her first nipple. Manuel soon had the second nipple pierced, before threading strong metal rings through each. On each ring there was a small length of chain, and a bell. Passing the rings through the still bleeding nipples, he grabbed the soldering iron and soldering wire. Within minutes, the rings were sealed, never to be removed.

Satisfied with his handiwork, Manuel told his guards to deliver her to the prison as soon as she awoke. The female guards would not treat her lightly, but that was no longer Manuel’s concern.

As he left the cell he smiled to himself, as he looked at the five packs of tampons on the table in front of Mary. He knew she could never give the information he wanted, she didn’t know it.

His own men had placed the tampons in her luggage after she had been kidnapped at the airport. And it was kidnap.

But before he could move onto the next girl. And American who was due to leave the country a few days later.

End