Chapter 22: Punished

“Mischa, I cannot tell you how disappointed we are by your actions. Every week I deal with patients who are suffering the emotional trauma of rape. And every day your mother deals with the physical and emotional trauma caused by rape. We know on a personal and professional level what rape can do to a person. Do you know the legal definition of rape? Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without that person’s consent.”

“Did you have Daniel’s consent, Mischa?” Carina asked her daughter who was staring down at the bed.

“Uh ... no, ma’am,” she said without raising her head.

“Do you know the penalty for rape in Spanish waters?”

“Uh ... no, ma’am,” she said.

“It’s an automatic minimum of six to twelve years in a federal prison. And Spanish prisons do not have time off for good behavior,” Roland said.

At that, Mischa really began bawling. Her parents just let her cry. They had been dealing with rape and abuse for their patients for many years and what their daughter had done, horrified them. I wanted to say it was no big deal, but truthfully, it was. Because if Mischa thought she could do it to me, had she, or would she do it to others? So, I kept my mouth shut, and hoped that Roland and Carina were almost through.

But they weren’t quite through yet. First, she whispered to Roland who immediately left the room. Then turning to Anna, Carina said, “And what was your part in all this?”

You could see panic in Anna’s eyes and suddenly, Mischa looked up at everyone.

“Well?” Carina asked Anna again.

“I didn’t know ... I mean we talked. I mean Mischa told me that she wanted Daniel. But we never talked about ... raping him!”

“So, what Mischa did in my room to Daniel had NEVER been discussed by the two of you?”

“Well ... Not the rape part. We did talk about the sex part,” Anna said.

“Mischa, is that true?”

“I think you’d better tell them the whole story, girls. You know, the one about discussing how you were going to wake him up!” Archara said threateningly. “The one that I overheard while straightening up your sister’s stateroom and you talking with your door wide open.”

Both girls had jumped when Archara had walked in. They quickly realized that they had been found out. It was a crying chaos for several minutes, as both mom’s put their heads together and whispered back and forth. Meanwhile, Mischa was lying on the bed and Anna had dropped to her knees beside the bed and both were crying and trying to tell me how sorry they were.

“Daniel, they have done something very wrong, and plotted to do it in advance, which is even worse. Do you want to press charges when we get to Gibraltar? It will probably mean six years in the adult women’s prison for Anna, and possibly twelve for Mischa?”

“I don’t want them to go to prison,” I said flatly, for which both girls looked at me gratefully.

“Well, the only other punishment I can see is a spanking. Just like Anna had Wednesday night. Will you settle for that instead of prison time for the pair of them?”

Carina was laying it on a little thick, but I understood her objective. She wanted to make an impression on the girls about how serious a crime this was. Granted, I hadn’t been hurt or traumatized by the event, but the girls still needed to learn some respect. So, I just nodded my head.

“Whatever you feel is best,” I replied.

“Alright girls, assume the position,” Archara commanded. “Carina, will you go get everyone? I want plenty of witnesses for this.”

“Even our guests?” Carina asked.

“If they’ll come,” Archara cackled evilly.

You’d almost swear they had rehearsed this little drama. But then, those were two VERY pissed-off mamas. While Carina was gone, Archara told them, “I want you girls to count each stroke out loud. If you miss, or mess up, or forget, we’ll start all over at one.” Then she pulled out one of the lower drawers and set it on the floor between their legs. “You’ll spread your legs wider than the drawer and keep them spread. If you pick them up or try to close them, we’ll start all over at one. Now grab hold of the rail on the other side of the berth and don’t let go. If you let go, we’ll start all over at one.

About then, Phillipe and Henri hurried into the room, but before they could comment, Archara gave them a nasty stare. They were followed by Vivienne, Charlotte, and of all people, Hiromi and Maura.

Carina stepped up with a wooden paddle about eighteen inches long, four inches wide, and a good half inch thick. There were dozens of tiny holes drilled into the wood. And it was varnished to a slick shine.

“Anna, instead of six years in prison, you will receive six strokes on your bare ass. You know the rules, bend over.” Archara said.