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Chapter 13
The afternoon was sunny and serene in the south-west suburbs of one large and affluent metropolis. Manicured lawns and expensive cars in the driveways were a dead giveaway that the occupants were not short on material wealth. A red brick house with five frontal windows on the much coveted River Woods road was basking in the sunlight of an awe inspiring, late-spring day. Melissa was laying down on the plush and flowery surface of her bedding sheets, keeping her attention on the screen of a laptop. Minutes passed by quickly as she was engaged in talking to one of her best female friends about a whole series of seemingly unconnected topics. The one that caught her attention the most had to do with a couple of men that she and her friend had met the night before. The guys were both dashing and handsome, educated in competing Ivy League schools, which was a constant source of playful rivalry between them. They were entertaining and worldly, which Melissa found refreshing in comparison to the drudgery of typical males she came in contact with. She had trouble finding men living up to her standards despite the fact that she carefully chose to attend the most exclusive hang-out spots that she could get into, and given her stunning looks, there were few doors that remained closed to her. The recollection of last night provided for an animated topic of conversation for Melissa and her friend.
“I like the fact that they didn’t behave like pompous asses while trying to get our attention.” – said Melissa. By now, the conversation has switched from instant messaging to a Skype video call. “I am so tired of men who act like they own the world and pretend to be confident in our presence when I know that they are shaking in their trousers while trying to impress us.”
“I know!” – replied Paula – “They always think I can’t tell that their voice is quivering because they speak as loud as they can, and give high-fives to everyone around. I hate this phoniness. At least these guys yesterday were capable of having a normal conversation and not doing some rote seduction methods that they memorized and bring up on every occasion.”
“Lol, exactly. The funniest thing is that some of these guys try to talk to me again after I turned them down, acting like old pals, but they hit on me with the same exact lines and stories as before! I guess it’s all the Martinis they drink for courage that cloud their minds. I laugh in their faces when that happens, but it is a little bit insulting. Don’t you think?”
“Well, obviously. They think that if they hit on a hundred pretty girls then at least one will have a complete retard moment and cater to their primitive come-ons. There must be so many of acute cases of blue balls out there!”
“No kidding! Justin and Chris had a couple of bad moments, but I think we can give them the benefit of the doubt. As long as they pamper and spoil us, obviously. I will not settle for any less than five genuine compliments tonight!”
“Perfect. So where do we meet and when?”
“Well, they wanted to meet us at 8pm so let’s get there about twenty minutes late. We can meet in front of the Crescent Moon. It’s just around the corner from the restaurant so we can plan our strategy from there.”
“Ok, girl.” – chirped Paula – “I always rely on your planning abilities. It works out well for me. I’ll talk to you later then. Oh, wait, I almost forgot to tell you who I saw at Borders today…”
There was a knock on the door of Melissa’s room, which diverted her attention from the conversation. Paula continued talking for a few more seconds, but eventually noticed her friend’s distraction and stopped in mid-sentence.
“Come in!” – shouted Melissa.
Melissa’s mom opened the door and leaned her head inside. She was a very attractive forty-something woman who seemed to avoid the ravages of time and take in only the finer aspects of aging like a quality brand of wine. She was a proud yet bubbly person who had the disarming ability to charm anyone who came in contact with her. Now, however, her face was a bit ashen and an expression of uncertainty shone through a composed exterior.
“I need you to come downstairs Melissa.”
Typically, Melissa would engage her mother in some casual banter, but she noticed that there was seriousness in her tone of voice, one that she hasn’t heard in several years, ever since she became too mature for childish follies. There was nothing in her recent exploits that would warrant any kind of scornful attention from her parents. In any case, she was wholly independent and the only reason why she stayed in the family house was the fact that she was biding her time finding a place of her own, and she was one demanding shopper. She did actually have an apartment downtown in the nearby metropolis, but she has already decided that it was too pedestrian and cramped for her tastes. Melissa got up and walked out of the room passing her mother as she exited.
“What is it mom?”
“Please just come downstairs. There are a couple of police officers downstairs who say that they are looking for you.”
“What? For me? What about?”
“I don’t know, Melissa, but they said they need to see you immediately.”
“God! I hope nothing bad happened to anybody.”
The mother and daughter duo of lovelies came downstairs just as the man of the house tried in vain to extract information out of the two stout, blue-clad police officers. Upon seeing Melissa, the officers shifted their attention to the approaching women. They quickly fixed their eyes upon the younger of the Gallagher women. Melissa was wearing a white tank top decorated with some delicate frills and a pair of dark grey cotton pants that hugged her body tightly around her hips and thighs expanding to wider bottoms. Her bare feet looked dainty and cute against the back drop of the granite tiled floor. The officers’ trains of thought were obviously stopped in their tracks for just a moment, but they were able to snap out before the situation got overtly awkward.
“Melissa Gallagher?” – asked the elder of the two policemen.
“Yes.” – said the girl, paying attention to keeping her voice steady.
“The ICBG council has decided that you are to be detained in preparation for your trial. It is likely to take place in a couple of weeks.” Melissa’s eyes grew wide in bewilderment and she could feel her heart rhythm accelerating rapidly while the officer continued.
”You will hear the charges when you are brought in front of a judge. In the meantime I can only tell you that the indictments against you are severe enough to necessitate detention. Mr. Gallagher …” – said the officer addressing Melissa’s father – “we might all want to sit down for a bit to discuss the details.”
“Ok, officer. Let’s go to the dining room.” – despite the anger and tension that he felt, Mr. Gallagher decided to play the part of the strong, reasonable man.
“What are you all talking about?!” – shouted Melissa. “What is this?”
“Miss! We are under orders to notify you of your indictment. Trust me, it’s not the most thankful task that we get to perform, but somebody has to do it. Just calm down for the moment and let’s take this slowly.” Mrs. Gallagher, who was about to hush her daughter down, now turned reproachfully towards the officer who dared to take that task upon himself. Under normal circumstances, she would never allow anyone to talk down to her daughter, but she sensed that an aggressive retort would do more harm than good at this moment.
“It’s ok, Melissa, we’ll get this straightened out.” – said Mr. Gallagher in a soothing manner, although his inner feelings resembled a hurricane crushing ashore.
The whole party proceeded towards a large and well lit room, which was seldom used other than for decorative purposes and during large family assemblies. Melissa walked along with the others, feeling uneasy and frenetic from anxiety though trying to maintain her composure at least externally. The experience was similar to the times when she forgot her homework at school, only multiplied by an order of magnitude. Soon the Gallagher family, along with the two officers, was seated around an oval dining room table. Melissa was located next to the younger of the officers, whom she might qualify as handsome under different circumstances, but at this moment all she could feel was an unusual sense of intimidation. It was a rare experience for her as most men were never in any serious position of power over her, quite the opposite actually, and it was more than a little unnerving.
“We have two basic options here.” – said the senior officer – “Melissa can either surrender herself right now and come with us or we can schedule a time for her to come in within the next three days. Now, the difference is that if she is taken in immediately, she will be presumed innocent… at least until the trial. If she waits, then she will be taken to an ICBG prison right away when she comes in. Obviously it’s not even an option to fail to appear at the specified date. So, take a minute or two to decide how you want to proceed.”
“Officer!” – Mr. Gallagher spoke up in a controlled yet tense manner – “Could you explain to us why exactly are you here? What is it that you claim my daughter did?”
“Mr. Gallagher.” – responded the officer sternly, but softly – “I only have an order to take your daughter into custody with an option of giving her an opportunity to surrender at a later date. ICBG does not operate in the same manner as the rest of the law enforcement and they are not very keen on explaining their reasons. I am afraid that you will have to wait a while before you get your explanation.”
“I am not going to let you take my daughter like some criminal unless you give me a very good reason!” – Mrs. Gallagher was reaching the limits of her patience as well.
“Please understand…” – spoke the younger officer, his deep voice sounding authoritative yet placating – “We are just here to do our job and there is nothing we can do to help you other than figure out what will be best for Melissa given the options.”
“This is outrageous!” – sighed Mr. Gallagher – “So what do you recommend that we do again?”
“It would be best for Melissa to come with us right now. ICBG prison is not a cakewalk and with some luck, your daughter will never get to experience it.”
“I just don’t believe what I am hearing! Heads will roll when I get to the bottom of this. I understand though that you officers are just doing your job so we don’t have much of a choice. I think that I would prefer for my daughter to remain home, we can come up with something in the meantime, but… what do you think Melissa?” – asked Mrs. Gallagher.
Melissa was sitting on pins and needles listening to this exchange. Her chest was tightened almost uncontrollably and she felt utmost embarrassment over the unfolding events. Several times she tried to say something, but every time the right words would not come to her mind or at least she could not make herself utter them. Finally though, she could not remain quiet any longer. Her self preservation instinct was starting to override the embarrassment over the situation.
“I didn’t do anything wrong! I never broke the law. I am staying here!.”
“Listen, Melissa. I’ve had the unfortunate duty of transporting quite a few girls from ICBG prisons to court in recent months and I know that the lock-up at our regular jail is a much better proposition. There is nothing to be gained for you if you stay free for two more days and the repercussions of that are not worth it.”
“What do you mean repercussions?” – asked Mr. Gallagher – “You said she has an option of self-surrendering in a few days.”
“That is technically the case, sir. But like I said; Melissa will then have to go to an ICBG facility and that implies much worse conditions. Besides, the ICBG facility will know that she refused to cooperate immediately, even if it was within her rights to self-surrender, and they will make sure she feels that they do not approve of that.”
“Ok…” – this time Melissa’s voice quivered a little as she spoke – “What’s going to happen if I do go? Now, I mean…”
“We will give you a brief explanation and you’ll have a minute alone with your parents before we go…”
As the older officer was speaking, the handsome young lawman pulled out a set of handcuffs from the holster at his hip and laid them on the dining table. Melissa was transfixed by the sight of the shining yet menacing object. At once she had a premonition of her wrists being placed within its confines and the impending humiliation threw her stomach into a tight knot. Before she knew it, her cheeks blushed a crimson red, even more so when the officer retrieved and placed on the table a set of slinky leg irons. The young officer noticed the girl’s reaction out of the corner of his eye and chuckled inwardly at her predicament. He loved these innocent girls who were so unaccustomed to anything less than affectionate pampering by everyone around. The idea of being placed in restraints because they couldn’t be trusted with their movements was completely alien to such spoiled and coddled girls.
“…then we will walk you to the van and drive you to the county jail.”
“Ok… I’ll just go now. Let’s get this sorted out as quickly as possible, but what are these?” – asked Melissa pointing to the chains on the table.
“Don’t worry Miss. These are just part of the standard procedure. Mrs. Gallagher.” – said the elder officer – “I would advise that you get some comfortable shoes for Melissa. Flip-flops would be the best because she will not be allowed to keep any closed shoes that could conceal contraband. That way she won’t have to be barefoot during her stay. Also, it will make walking in chains easier for her.”
“Listen! My daughter never hurt anybody or broke any laws!” – Mrs. Gallagher was growing impatient – “What is it with this country all of a sudden? I’ve heard about these prisons, specifically designed for women, but I thought they were supposed to house the criminal element! How can you possibly think that Melissa did anything against the law? And where is your evidence?”
“Like I already told you, madam. I am not privy to the charges against your daughter issued by the ICBG. I just need to know what your decision is.”
Mrs. Gallagher looked at Melissa with tenderness and alarm. Her daughter held her gaze steadily trying to convey reassurance as much as she sought it for herself, but the motherly heart was pierced with sadness and uncertainty.
“Ok, I’ll get some shoes for Melissa, but as Barry said, we’ll be looking very closely into what happened here. I really hope that you officers are not hit with any repercussions for what’s happening here.”
“Hmm… don’t worry madam. The ICBG is a very mighty protectorate. Maybe more so then we would wish ourselves, but on the other hand… it’s good to know that we are looked after until our retirement.”
Mrs. Gallagher left the room taking sharp, measured footsteps intended to accentuate her disagreement with the proceedings. Largely unaffected, the younger of the officers, seated next to Melissa, now got up from the table and took her by the elbow gently raising her from her seat.
“Please follow me!” – said the officer in the deepest, authoritative, yet most soothing voice he could muster. – “Stand right here with your face against the wall!” – he said, pointing to the empty space between the entrance to the kitchen and a wall-mounted oval mirror.
Melissa assumed the designated position though she felt the full force of indignity at the treatment imposed on her. It was humiliating to put her face just a few inches from a plain-painted wall and keep it that way simply because some random man, even if compelled by law, ordered her to do so. This wasn’t the worst of what was to come though. A few seconds later, the older of the officers walked right behind her back and stopped as if contemplating his next moves.
“Ok, young lady. We are going to get you ready for transport. Just stand as you are for the moment and don’t be alarmed. We are just following the standard procedure for this circumstance.”
The officer knelt down behind Melissa’s back and she could her loud clanking of chains behind her as they were dropped to the floor. She inhaled deeply a couple of times, which was a practiced exercise to relieve the stress in her Yoga classes, but it did little or nothing to relieve her anxiety at this moment. The prospect of being locked in chains was too traumatic to accept. All of a sudden she could feel the touch of cold steel around the backside of her right ankle and metallic ratcheting soon told her that her leg was now confined. Soon the same procedure followed for her left ankle.
“Turn around!” – the loud and decisive order snapped Melissa out of her reluctant procrastination – “Put your hands in front of you!”
Melissa almost felt regretful that it was the older of the officers who now stood in front of her placing the handcuffs around her wrists, but this silly sensation was immediately overwhelmed by the embarrassment of being restrained in chains in front of her loved ones. The officer made quick game of securing a chain around her waist, which he conspicuously concealed in his hands until now, and used a couple of padlocks to connect her leg irons to her waist and the loose end of the chain to her tightly affixed handcuffs.
Almost at the same time as the officers were finished chaining her daughter, Mrs. Gallagher arrived wielding a pair of white flip-flops that she knew were Melissa’s favorites. However, as soon as she saw the level of restraint that her little girl was subjected to, she broke down in tears and dropped her arms by her sides in futile despair. Mr. Gallagher quickly moved to console his wife with a youthful spring in his step although his heart was also breaking at the sight of his daughter’s debasement. The only difference was that as much as he tried, he could not repress the unmistakable twinge of excitement at seeing this marvelously beautiful girl, his daughter or not, endure her humiliating restraints.
“Ok Miss, all set. We will step outside so you can talk to your parents. Take no longer than five minutes and knock on the door when you are ready to go.”
The officers left leaving the Gallaghers standing around in a circle a few feet from each other. Both of the parents tried to avoid gazing at their daughter’s restraints even though they were, naturally, compelled to do just that. None of them spoke for some time as it was difficult to find the right words.
“This is pointless, I don’t like you seeing me like this, I’ll just go.” – said Melissa – “Please do something quickly so I can go home…” – Melissa’s voice trailed off as her throat constricted in a suppressed sob.
“Don’t worry Melissa. Will get all of this straightened out very fast.” – spoke her father, calmly as he could muster. “We’ll go to court right away and demand an explanation. But, is there anything at all that you think may be causing this?”
“You mean, did I do something stupid or illegal dad? Gee… thanks for having such faith in me! No, I didn’t do a slightest thing. I don’t know why this is happening!”
“It’s ok Melissa. I didn’t mean anything bad by it. I am sorry, I love you sweetie…”
Her father was still trying to console her when Melissa pivoted around on her shackled feet and reached out as far as the waist chain would allow to knock on the door. Only a couple of seconds later the doors opened and the officers took Melissa by her upper arms on either side, leading her towards the police van parked in the driveway. Melissa was shocked when the van’s door was slid open. In the space where a regular civilian vehicle would house the back seats, there sat an imposing metal box, all solid except for a small barred opening around the eye level. The younger officer opened the door of the box and helped Melissa up into the vehicle, which was made difficult by the chain hobbling her legs. She had to rotate her slender body in the tight space inside the box to be able to sit on the cold metal bench on the opposite side. Once she was in place, the officers made sure that no part of her body, clothes or restraints was sticking out and locked the door shut.
The sensation that Melissa experienced when the door was locked was surprisingly impressionable. It was a mixture of deep shame at being locked in a cage like an animal with a tinge of sexually charged excitement at being thus humiliated. The officers swiftly took their seats in front of the van, started the engine and pulled out of the Gallachers’ driveway drawing numerous gazes of the gossipy neighbors.
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