The rape of Sergeant Amanda Woods Parts 1-15

[lowblow emma]

Amanda crawled across the rough concrete floor, slowing gathering her scattered clothing. One military boot was just to her left. The other was ahead of her and some way off. She’d collect that when she’d picked up her blouse and trousers that lay to her right in a neat pile almost as if they had been set out for an inspection. Her socks she found stuffed into the second boot. She had to cross the whole of the floor to fetch her underwear. Her hipster shorts were screwed into a ball and stained at the crotch. She hardly needed a bra to contain her small breasts, but she wore one out of decency to try to prevent her nipples showing. She finally spotted it under the window.

With her clothing in her arms she rose to her feet and stumbled into a corner, where she crouched hugging herself and rocking as tears rolled down her cheeks.

Sergeant Woods had just been raped.

And she was sure she knew the men responsible.

They were all members of her platoon.

 

[lowblow emma]

CONCLUSION OF MEDICAL REPORT ON SERGEANT WOODS


She had abrasions on her hands, knees and the soles of both feet, and a scratch to her left breast. There was no damage to the skin of her buttocks or back.

Her inner thighs and external genitalia showed extensive bruising consistent with forced intercourse. There was a large quantity of semen in her vagina. She told me that her attackers had used condoms, but admitted to a single sexual encounter earlier in the day. The quantity of semen is more consistent with repeated intercourse, more likely with multiple partners.

There were rectal fissures consistent with aggressive anal penetration, which she denied had taken place.

Mentally, she appeared distressed.


William Foster MD

 

[lowblow emma]

NOTE PREPARED FOR PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL OF SERGEANT WOODS


Woods came out top in last year’s selection for the special forces unit.

Since her arrival, there have been concerns about her performance. It is not unusual for soldiers to have problems settling in to the particular needs of this unit, so they are being treated as adjustment issues for the moment. If they continue, a disciplinary approach may be required.

Briefly, she has not established a good rapport with her platoon. Her manner has been described as sexually provocative, which naturally unsettles the soldiers, especially as there is no much close quarter combat training ahead of next year’s deployment. And her approach to discipline is based on humiliation.

There are also rumours that she may have developed a sexual relationship with her Corporal, Mike Goldman, but no evidence so far.


Suzanne Wiseman. Captain

 

[lowblow emma]

VOLUNTARY REPORT OF MISCONDUCT BY CORPORAL GOLDMAN


Goldman came to me this morning to report himself for misconduct by sexual relationship with his Sergeant, Amanda Woods. He told me that he had heard rumours that she had been sexually assaulted yesterday and wanted to put on record his relationship with her.

He said that he had been attracted to her from the moment she took over his platoon, but had not initiated any relationship with her until she made known that she was attracted to him and suggested that they meet out of camp. They did so and their relationship developed to the point where it became sexual a month ago. He realised that this was misconduct under the disciplinary code as they were in the same chain of command. He apologised for this.

He told me that he had had sexual relations with the Sergeant during their lunchbreak yesterday. This had become a regular arrangement. They met in the disused barrack block in the south-east corner of the camp, which is apparently a regularly meeting point for couples.

This is what he told me. I did not know what might be relevant, so I asked for as much detail as possible. She was there when he arrived; they always went and left separately and by different routes so as not to attract attention. She was wearing only her underwear and immediately began disrobing him. She allowed him to remove her shorts and bra, and pulled him on top of her. He penetrated her easily as she was already aroused and says that he pumped her for about 15 minutes before he ejaculated. She had not had an orgasm and told him that he could not return to duty until she had. With her assistance – I gathered that this involved oral and manual stimulation – he was able to resume intercourse after about five or six minutes, this time with her on top. She came to orgasm fairly quickly and asked him if he wanted to ejaculate again. He said he did, so they swapped positions until he had finished. They dressed and left separately to return to duty, again by different routes.

Asked about her relationship with the platoon generally, he said that she was a strict disciplinarian but fair. She was as fit as any of the guys in the platoon and always demonstrated that her skills were as good or better than theirs, as she had done in the unarmed combat session that afternoon.

Asked whether she was having a relationship with any other member of the platoon or anyone else on camp, he denied any knowledge. He said he had never seen any sign that she had been with another man when she met up with him. But he added that she was highly sexed and would not have been surprised if she had had other guys ‘on the side’, as he put it.


Ryszard Borkowski, 2nd Lieutenant

 

[lowblow emma]

FORENSIC EXAMINER’S REPORT – CONCLUSION


I collected samples from the Sergeant’s body and clothing, as well as from the warehouse where the alleged incident occurred. They have been submitted for DNA testing.

I doubt whether they will provide any useful evidence. The Sergeant had engaged in self-defence training with her platoon that afternoon, so her clothing will have been covered in their DNA. She will also have transferred some of that DNA to her body when she collected her clothing. And by collecting her clothing she disturbed and contaminated the scene.

The tests are marked for PRIORITY. I will report on the results when they are available.


Ceri Schwartz, Examiner, Army Forensic Service

 

[lowblow emma]

INTERVIEW WITH SERGEANT WOODS BY MAJOR JESSICA BURNS


Major Burns leaned forward sympathetically towards Sergeant Woods.

‘Sergeant, Amanda, I just want you to know that I understand how you are felling right now and that I’m going to do my damnest to find the bastards who did this to you.’

‘What the fuck do you know?’ Amanda snapped back. ‘How can you possibly understand what I feel like?’ She paused and waited for her breathing to settle. ‘I’m sorry, Major, it was wrong to speak like that. You mean well, but really you don’t understand, no one can who is in my position.’

Jessica waited for a few moments before speaking.

‘Actually, I have been in your position. I had just made 1st Lieutenant when I was sent out to investigate corruption in a Quartermaster’s store. Some of the guys there thought I needed to be taught a lesson and did just that. There were three of them, but rapists are the same the world over I guess, and your statement reads a lot like the one I gave. Those guys are still in military prison and that’s where those guys from your platoon will be before long. OK?’

Amanda nodded.

Jessica moved her chair closer.

‘Right, I’ve read your statement, so I can just pick up on the points I need some more information about. Go back to the beginning. How did you feel when you were selected for the unit?’

‘Proud, so proud. It has always been my ambition to join special forces. Getting in was fantastic and coming out top of the pool was beyond my wildest dreams. I came out ahead of everyone, including the men. And then I was told I was being put in charge of a platoon right away, that was even better.’

‘Proud, and powerful too, I expect.’

Amanda straightened her shoulders and smiled.

‘Oh yes, Major, powerful, very powerful.’

The men monitoring the camera feed from the interview suite looked at each other and grinned.

‘She’s good, isn’t she,’ said one.

‘It never fails,’ the other replied. ‘Is it true, what she said, about being raped?’

The first man shrugged. ‘Who cares, so long as it works, that’s what matters.’

In the interview room, Jessica nodded encouragingly to Amanda.

‘But I knew that the guys would resent me, because I was a woman but also because I was new. I had to be accepted, so I had to prove that I was worthy to be accepted.’

Jessica sighed.

‘Isn’t that typical. We wouldn’t make a guy feel like that, but they make us feel that way. But go on, you felt you had to earn their respect, right? How did you decide to do that?’

‘I decided to show them that I was as good, if not better, than them. I went on training runs, carrying a full pack like they did, and ran as far and as fast as they could. I tackle the assault course alongside them. I took part in physical combat and managed to beat all of them.’

Amanda sat back, beaming with pride. Jessica moved the conversation along.

‘We’ve made some preliminary enquiries and word is that the guys found you very sexual. Provocatively so, in fact.’

Amanda laughed.

‘That just shows how they felt about me. They couldn’t see me as an equal member of the unit. They could only see me sexually. They just couldn’t get their heads round a woman behaving like a soldier. Any time I touched them, it had to be sexual. Any time our bodies were in contact, I was coming on to them. If that is what they are saying, they’ve given themselves away.’

‘They say that you touched them, shall we say sexually.’ Jessica’s tone was gentle.

‘And even if I did, would that excuse them raping me?’ Amanda snapped back. ‘Look, Major, I’m guessing you haven’t done much physical training. My unit has to engage in close quarter silent combat because that is what we will be doing on deployment. It isn’t a tea party. Nothing is off limits. They did the same to me, getting a grope whenever they had the chance, but I didn't complain.’

‘So you treated them as you would the enemy behind the lines?’

‘No, I was far more gentle. In real life, I’d take a guy out by smashing his balls. But I couldn’t do that to my own men, obviously.’

Jessica nodded and waited.

‘I don’t blame the men, Major. They super fit, strong, overdosing on testosterone. Any contact with a woman is going to, well, they’re going to react to it. That’s just normal, I don’t have any problem with that. I’m a woman, I get the same feelings, they’re just not as obvious as the men’s’ reaction.’

‘Meaning,’ Jessica prompted.

‘Meaning, the guys got hard when they fought me and they wanted me to know, pressing against me when they got the chance, letting me know what they’d got between their legs. They were letting me know how they really felt about me.’

‘And you were feeling the same about them. Did you let them know how you were feeling?’

‘No,’ Amanda snapped, ‘of course not, that would have been the end of any discipline if I had.’

Jessica waited.

‘Except,’ Amanda added slowly, ‘except Mike. That was different.’

‘OK,’ Jessica stood up and stretch. ‘We’ll take a break and you can tell me about your relationship with Corporal Goldman.’

 

[lowblow emma]

INTERVIEW WITH SERGEANT WOODS BY MAJOR JESSICA BURNS CONTINUED


The men in the monitoring room took advantage of the pause in the interview to adjust the feed.

‘Sounds like she was winding those guys up, giving them the chance to feel her up as she grappled with them,’ was the opinion of the younger guy.

‘Yea,’ his colleague agreed, ‘and getting herself off at the same time. Not,’ he added quickly, ‘that that justifies raping her.’

‘No,’ his colleague replied, ‘not if that is what happened.’

In the interview suite, the Major was eager to get the interview started again.

‘So, Amanda, tell me about Goldman.’ Her tone was business like.

‘He stood out from the others, just like I would expect of a corporal. He had more strength, more stamina, more skill in close combat. He ticked my boxes, if you see what I mean.’

‘Sorry, Amanda, you need to be explicit for the recording, please. He ticked your boxes, you say …’

‘Yea, I has been concentrating so much on selection and my new role that I had neglected my social life, so I’d not been with a guy for almost three months by the time I had settled into the routine with the platoon.’

‘Are you saying that you were sexually desperate at that time?’

Amanda nodded, but Jessica prodded her for a reply.

‘OK, Major, yes, I was desperate for sex. I am sure you’ve felt the same, most women have felt like that at some time.’

‘And he was the guy who could last longest, is that what you are implying?’

‘Last longest, and be most powerful of the guys, yes.’

‘And that was it?’ Jessica sounded sceptical.

‘Well, no, not everything. Obviously, I have some more personal needs and he made it clear that he had those.’

‘Needs? What needs? You must be explicit, please.’

‘Alright, the guy was hung like a stallion.’ Jessica shifted in her seat. ‘And before you ask how I knew,’ Amanda continued, ‘it was because he pressed himself against me one day when we were rehearsing some self-defence moves. He sent me a message that I couldn’t miss.’

‘You make it sound like a calculated decision on your part,’ Jessica consulted her file, ‘but Goldman says you were attracted to each other from the start.’

‘That may be how it was for him. I’m telling you about me.’

‘And where did you meet?’

‘In the old barrack block. It’s quite popular.’

‘And you met him there during your lunch break on the day you were attacked.’

‘That’s right.’

‘He says that you were stripped to your underwear when he arrived and almost tore his uniform off him. That sounds rather more personal than the cold, calculated impression you’ve given so far.’ Jessica was licking her lips.

‘Just practical, Major, just practical. He was always slow arriving and we didn’t have much time, so we had to get on with it. I don’t cum quickly, which is why I need a guy with stamina, like I said.’

‘And he says you had intercourse twice, is that right?’

‘Yes, he came too soon for me, so I had to get him going before he could finish me off.’

‘And how long did that first session last?’ Jessica licked her lips.

‘A quarter of an hour, maybe a little longer. I wasn’t timing him.’

‘And he ejaculated twice within minutes of each other.’ Jessica seemed a little breathless.

‘That’s right.’

‘And was he the only guy you had intercourse with before the attack?’

‘Yes, he was.’

‘It is just that the medical report says your vagina contained a large quantity of semen, surprisingly large for one man to provide in quick succession.’ Jessica was biting her lower lip now.

‘Mike is a virile guy. That’s why I chose him. All that spunk is his. No one else’s. Test it, you’ll see I’m telling the truth.’

‘It is being tested,’ Jessica told her primly. ‘Now, there’s another matter I want to ask about and then I’ll let you have another break if you want.’

‘Ask away.’

‘The medical report mentions rectal fissures, consistent with vigorous anal penetration. How did they come about?’

‘That’s another of my needs, Major, but one that Mike wouldn’t accommodate unfortunately, so I have to rely on my best friend. My dildo,’ she added before Jessica could insist on a specific answer.

Jessica rose, but Amanda carried on.

‘Look, Major, it was wrong, I know, to get involved with a guy under my command. I accept that and understand that there may be consequences. I just want that on record.’

‘That is noted. I am not responsible for any misconduct investigation, but I will pass your admission on to your commanding officer. Back in 15 minutes please.’

The younger guy in the monitoring room raised his eyebrows.

‘Bitch on heat,’ he remarked as he switched off the feed.

His colleague laughed. ‘Both of them by the look of it.’

 

[lowblow emma]

INTERVIEW WITH SERGEANT WOODS – THE ACCOUNT OF THE RAPE

The Major strode into the room and down to signal that the interview had recommenced.

‘I want you to tell me now, in as much detail as you can, what happened in the incident that you have reported. Take your time and tell me as much detail as you can remember. But please start by telling me why you are sure that Corporal Goldman was not involved. I know from what you have told me already that he is virile and so it is entirely possible that he could have performed later in the afternoon.’

Amanda knew this was the most important part of the interview. She took a deep breath to settle herself and made eye contact with the Major.

‘Major, I know Mike. We’ve been intimate a lot. I know how he handled me, I know what his body feels like when it is pressed against mine, I know what he smells like. It wasn’t him. Trust me on that, please.’

The Major made a note and nodded for Amanda to begin.

‘OK, so I met up with Mike and we made our way back to the gym where we would be practicing close quarter, unarmed combat. I went first, like I always do, to show the correct technique. The guys have had this drilled into them endless times, but it is important for it to become instinctive. So I went over it again. And then I demonstrated on Mike.’ She paused. ‘Right, let me be honest, I knew he had expended a lot of energy over his lunchbreak, and I wanted to see how strong he was after a short rest. And I wasn’t disappointed. He gave me a tough ride, so to speak, showing the men that he was a match for me. And, no doubt, sending me a message too.’

The Major shifted in her chair and the men in the monitoring suite grinned.

‘So, to come to the incident as you call it, we finished the practice and cooled down. I left the men to go back to their barracks and clean up their kit for an inspection later. I was turning a corner on the way back to my office when I found myself facing six guys in balaclavas. I was about to ask what they were doing there and dressed like that, when one of them punched me in the gut. I was not prepared and was winded by the blow. As I grunted, they grabbed me and lifted me off the ground. I thrashed about, trying to free myself, got one foot free and managed to kick one of the guys in the stomach and another in his balls. Sorry, Major, in is groin. That was when they dropped me, and two took hold of each of my legs, and pulled them apart. The guy I had kicked in his … his private, punched me in the crotch. That put an end to my struggling and I was carried into the warehouse where …. where it happened.’

Jessica waited and then pushed a glass of water across the table. Amanda ignored it.

‘They pulled my boots and uniform off. The guy who got my pants sniffed them and smelt them. The others laughed. I think they thought I had wet myself, but I hadn’t. I wasn’t afraid, angry but not afraid. They were wet from Mike’s spunk, sorry, semen. It had been running out during the afternoon session. I want that noted please.

The Major duly made a note.

Amanda was silent for a long time, her eyes down and her hands clenched. When she looked up, tears were welling in her eyes.

‘They were laughing at me, Jessica, sorry, Major, laughing at me, pointing at my breasts and making hand gestures like I was flat chested and pulling at me, at my, at my labia. Poking me with their fingers. I tried to roll away, but they were all round me. Then they unzipped and pulled out … pulled out their … members. And I knew this wasn’t a game.’

She put her head onto the table and wept. Jessica came round to sit beside her, resting an arm across her shoulder.

‘Take your time, Amanda, take your time. We’ve got as long as you need.’

 

[lowblow emma]

INTERVIEW WITH SERGEANT WOODS – THE ACCOUNT OF THE RAPE CONTINUED


Amanda lifted her head, her face streaked with tears.

‘It’s got to be them,’ her voice was so low the team in the monitoring suite turned up the sound, ‘it’s got to be.’

‘Who,’ Jessica prompted, ‘say who you think they were.’

‘The platoon, my platoon, it had to be them, well six of them anyway.’

‘Why?’ Jessica persisted. ‘Did you recognise them?’

‘No, but they didn’t say anything. They knew what to do and took it in turns, to grope me, and then,’ she paused and swallowed, ‘and then, p-p-pen-etrate me.’

Jessica waited, not sure she followed Amanda’s reasoning.

‘Like a drill, do you see, like they had trained for this and could carry it out without a word, just discipline. It’s got to be a platoon, used to working together.’

‘But why your platoon?’ Jessica pushed Amanda to be as explicit as she could.

‘Who else would hate me that much?’

Jessica nodded, although she was not yet convinced.

‘Hated you so much that they did what? Tell me what they did, in as much detail as possible. Take you time. We’ve got as long as you want.’

Amanda took a sip of water and visibly steeled herself.

‘They put on condoms, then they pushed me onto the floor, on my hands and knees, like a bitch. And then they fucked me, hard, fast, until they came, one after another, all six of them. Each one took me while the others stood around watching. Watching how long their friends could last, seeing how strong and virile they were. Watching them treat me like a dog, not even like a woman.’

‘And you just knelt there,’ Jessica asked gently, ‘you didn’t resist or protest?’

‘How could I?’ Amanda almost pleaded with the Major to understand. ‘There were too many for me, I was in shock, and I was still in pain from the punch to my groin. And-‘

Jessica sat quietly, leaving Amanda time to continue.

‘And – I was so embarrassed. How can I ever command anyone again, when everyone will know how I was treated? They’ve destroyed my career. They’ve destroyed me.’

 

[lowblow emma]

THE RAPE INTERVIEW REACHED A CRITICAL PHASE


‘It’s always the same,’ the older guy in the monitoring suite remarked, ‘it’s the lack of respect that’s get them. It doesn’t matter what has been done to them physically, it’s the effect it has in their head that is worst for them. That,’ he added, ‘and responding physically during the attack. They get wet and think that that means they actually enjoyed it, when it is just a physical reaction that doesn’t mean anything.’

‘Shush,’ his colleague gestured at him to keep quiet, ‘Jessica isn’t finished yet.’

The Major was sitting next to Amanda and almost whispering in her ear, so that the microphones barely picked up what she was saying.

‘Are you sure that is it? Everything? There’s nothing you want to add?’

Amanda raised her tear stained face and shook her head.

‘Nothing to add … or to change?’ Jessica suggested quietly.

Amanda’s demeanour changed in an instant. She pushed her chair back and turned to confront Jessica.

‘What are you saying, Major? Don’t you believe me, is that it?’

‘No,’ Jessica’s tone was soothing, ‘it isn’t that I don’t believe you. It is just that I often find that when someone has been through what you have – and remember what I told you about my first investigation - the account isn’t quite what happened and it is very difficult to change once the formal interview is over.’

‘Not quite what happened?’ Amanda demanded. ‘What the fuck are you suggesting exactly?’

‘What I mean is,’ Jessica began slowly, ‘what I am trying to say is that you are upset and embarrassed about what happened, so naturally you want to give an account that deals with that embarrassment.’

Amanda stared at her, seeming not to understand what the officer was saying.

‘Let me just give you an example,’ Jessica persisted, ‘I’m not saying this is what you have done, just giving a for instance sort of example. But let’s suppose – well, no let me start somewhere else. You are proud of your physical fitness and your ability to overpower the guys in your platoon. You take them all on and beat them all. So when you aren’t able to fight off your attackers, you naturally don’t want it to appear that you were too weak. Or that you froze and felt unable to fight the attacker off –’

‘Just a fucking minute,’ Amanda snapped, ‘what’s all this about attacker, singular. There were six of the bastards. Six. I can count, you know.’

‘Like I said,’ Jessica ignored the attitude and disrespect, ‘this is just a for instance, that’s all. Let’s say that you might not want to admit to being unable to take on a guy as you would in real combat. Or that you don’t want to admit that you were overpowered by one guy, or maybe just a couple. I can understand why you would want to embellish the number just to try to reclaim some of your self-respect. That’s all.’

 

[lowblow emma]

AMANDA CHANGES HER STORY


Amanda slowly pulled herself upright, took a deep breath and nodded.

‘How did you know,’ she asked eventually, ‘that I had embellished the story?’

‘It was all too neat and tidy,’ Jessica explained, ‘too much like a military drill. Rape isn’t like that, it’s messy. Guys don’t stand in line, they’re hard and randy and competitive. Rape is about jostling for position, claiming status among the guys as well as about power over the woman. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. I did it, lots of us do it. Just tell me what happened.’

‘I was afraid, you see,’ Amanda launched into her justification. ‘I froze. How could I admit to that? How could I lead a platoon into combat if I froze at the first real test I ever faced? I won’t be allowed to go on the mission, will I? They’re take the platoon off me, won’t they?’

‘Rape isn’t like combat,’ Jessica explained patiently. ‘It’s not like anything else. Your body’s response and your mental reaction are completely different. This has nothing to do with whether you go on a mission. But tell me, you mentioned losing the platoon. Is that why you blamed the guys, to give you a justification – in your own mind – for not leading them into action? That would be a natural way to thin in your situation.’

Amanda shook her head vigorously. ‘No, Major, no, I’m sure that the guys were from the platoon. I’ve fought them, you see, so I know how they feel. What size they are, if you follow me.’

But Jessica insisted on hearing the words ‘for the recording, please, Amanda. Just say it, the words won’t hurt you.’

‘Well, when we fought, the guys would get aroused, some of them, some of the time, and they’d press against me, showing me … showing me.’

‘Go on,’ Jessica prompted, ‘showing you …’

‘Showing me, how they were feeling, that they saw me as a woman, something to fuck, not someone to respect as their leader. Showing me how big they were,’ she ended in a rush.

‘So you could tell they were members of your platoon from the size of their genitals. That means you know who they were.’

Amanda nodded, but looked defiantly at the officer.

‘Alright, Amanda, so tell me what happened. We can come back to the guys who did it later.’

‘It was like I said, more or less, but there weren’t six. Just two, well three. Two who raped me, but I am sure there was a third one. It was all such a blur. I was taken by surprise, punched in the gut so hard I was winded, and then I was dragged inside and the guys pulled my legs open and I was kicked, hard, right in the cooter, sorry, right in the crotch. I’ve never felt pain like it, I just couldn’t think or even see clearly.’

She paused and then went on slowly, taking take over each word.

‘I was stripped, and pushed on my knees and one guy took me from behind like a dog and then the other pushed him aside and took me. Then the first one took me again. They used condoms, because I saw them on the floor, but they picked them up when they left. And all the time I thought that there was like a shadow, of someone standing to one side, watching. Oh my god,’ she stared at the Major in horror, ‘you don’t think, no, they couldn’t, he wasn’t … filming me?’

The thought had already occurred to the Major.

‘I’m not going to lie to you, it is possible, but that is all, there is nothing, so far, nothing to show that it did happen. Let’s stick to what we know, that is the best way to catch these guys. Now, you said each of the two guys took you. Was that it, there were just two penetrations?’

‘No, the first guy took me again as soon as the other one had finished. I took tell it was the same guy from the way he moved.’

‘That was very quick,’ the Major’s tone sounded sceptical. ‘Are you sure this wasn’t the third guy.’

‘No, Major, no. I knew it was the same man from the way he moved. And I know he came, sorry, had ejaculated before because I felt his cock, sorry, penis, jerking and he was grunting and moaning.’

‘And the second time, Amanda, did he ejaculate again?

‘Yes, he did and then the second one tried again but he couldn’t get hard enough and the first one tried again, but couldn’t manage it either. And that was when they left. And I heard their footsteps, and I am sure there were three of them – they were slightly out of step, you see.’

‘Anything else? Anything at all, however insignificant?’

‘Only that the first guy was much bigger than the other. Very much bigger.’

The men in the monitoring suite exchanged knowing looks.

‘That guy was a real stud.’

‘Yea, if you believe her. This all sounds like a fantasy by a bitch on heat to me.’

‘I wonder what the hot Major thinks. Is she going to accept that version and get on to who the guys were?’

 

[lowblow emma]

REPORT BY LIEUTENANT ROSE HARDCASTLE FOLLOWING INTERVIEWS WITH MEMBERS OF THE PLATOON

Major,

I beg to report the results of my interviews with the members of Sergeant Woods’ platoon, except for Corporal Goldman.

All the men give the same basic account. They report that Woods engaged in more physical contact, unarmed combat than any sergeant they had had before. She obviously enjoyed showing the men that she was stronger than they were and they all accepted that she was a good fighter and managed to get the better of them every time. They respected her for that.

They claim that she was using her body in ways that were not appropriate for the exercise. It was more like she was trying to arouse them and most admitted eventually that she had done so. Some of them evidently enjoyed letting her know what they were ‘packing’ as they put it, which I took to mean their penis size. And they all claim that she was getting off on this as much as they were. As one soldier put it, ‘I could smell her crotch, she was so hot she was steaming’.

All but one professed not to know what has happened to Woods, although they obviously knew more than they admitted. The exception was Private Mostyn. He came across cocky and a bit insolent at first, spending more time looking at my breasts than my face. After a while, he said, ‘she was raped, wasn’t she.’ I did not respond but he went on. ‘She was made to kneel and then taken like a bitch.’ Again I did not react, although this was close to Woods’ account. ‘There were three of them, one filming.’

I asked him why he was making those assertions, suspecting my now that I had one of the perpetrators about to confess or at least to implicate the others involved. So I tried your suggested provocation tactic.

‘That’s what she deserved, isn’t that what you’re saying. You and the other guys don’t like being under a woman sergeant so you put her in her place the way guys know how.’

He became very angry, thumping the table and shouting and cursing me. Eventually, he cooled down and opened up.

‘I don’t do rape, Lieutenant. I’ve got a reputation that guarantees me what I want, there have been no complaints so far, not seen my first time. And I wouldn’t anyway, not after-‘

He became upset at this point and took some sips of water.

‘Not after …’ I prompted him.

‘Not after what happened to my sister. Two years ago. She joined the army and she was raped. She didn’t report it and I’ll deny telling you this if I have to make a formal statement. Everyone knows what goes on, but no one admits it. That’s why the sergeant is trying to put the blame on her platoon. At least, that’s my guess, or maybe she really doesn’t know and actually believes what she’s saying about us.’

I did not react and let him rest until he went on.

‘It’s an initiation, you see. By the young officers. They get points. My sister was only worth five points. Five for each of the guys. That was because she was just a private and just straightforward fucks. They’d had scored ten points if she had been a lance corporal, twenty for a corporal and forty for a sergeant. Taking a platoon sergeant from special forces, well I’m not sure because I’ve never heard of this before, but that must get extra points. And then there’s be points for taking her doggy or anal. Plus more for multiple rapes. Depending how many times she was fucked, the officer could have earned 100 points or even more.’

He looked like had had finished, but I reminded him about the filming.

‘Well,’ he told me, ‘they have to prove what they did.’


Rose Hardcastle, Lieutenant


ENDORSEMENT BY MAJOR BURNS

This is valuable new information that opens up new line for inquiry. The soldier knows how many men were involved, how the sergeant was raped, and about the filming. He will have to be interviewed again, in due course.

We must now look for a junior officer who is prepared to rape a special forces platoon leader. The advice of our profiler is that the man will be proud, arrogant, confident and assertive, probably one of the most outstanding officers on the base already marked for development and promotion.

 

[lowblow emma]

MEETING BETWEEN MAJOR BURNS AND COLONEL ADAM DAVIS

The Colonel paused at the door of the conference room and braced himself for what he expected to be a difficulty interview.

The Major snapped to attention as he entered, but he waved her to her seat and sat opposite her.

‘This is good work, Major, and fast too, congratulations on what you have done.’

The Major had learned to be suspicious of initial praise. There was so often a ‘but’ to follow.

‘Thank you, sir, it was not all my own work, but I will pass on your appreciation to the team. I’ve asked for this meeting,’ she hurried on, ‘to get your approval for the next stage of my investigation.’

‘Yes,’ the Colonel made a show of consulting her memorandum of recommendations. ‘I see you want to interview these three officers who fit the profile and to broaden your investigation to cover not just Sergeant Woods but also the other victims.’

‘Yes, sir, exactly. I want to break up this gang once and for all.’

There was an ominous pause before the Colonel replied.

‘Yes, I see, but I wonder if that is the best approach.’

The Major face set like stone.

‘Your profile paints these officers as arrogant and strong-willed. And, I may add, woman haters. Are you the best person to follow this investigation through?’

‘I am sure, sir, that I can and will remain professional and now allow myself to be diverted by their attitude to my sex. You do want to find out who did these rapes, don’t you, sir?’ Her tone conveyed a hint that this might be a cover up by senior male officers who in their own day, well that was best not thought about.

‘Of course, I want to find them, Major. In fact, you seem to have done so already. But I want to do something more important than that. I want to catch them and I don’t think that your tactics are the right ones, which is why I am taking charge of the next stage of the investigation.’

Do I understand,’ the Major struggled to control her voice, ‘that you are relieving me of my command?’

The Colonel silently congratulated himself on knowing that this would be difficult.

‘No, I am taking personal control of the next phase.’

‘May I ask, sir, what is wrong with my tactics exactly?’

‘What is wrong,’ the Colonel explained as patiently as he could, ‘is that you attacking the enemy at its strongest point. What I am going to do is seek out the weakest point. There is always a junior officer, in every intake, who doesn’t fit in but wants to belong. Someone who will be easily led. That is the person to interview first. Find that man and he will give you everything you need to get the rest, if you handle him right.’

The Major kept quiet, but had to admit that the Colonel might have a point.

‘And in the meantime,’ the Colonel continued, ‘I want you to carry on questioning the platoon, so that we don’t give away that we are looking elsewhere.’

Again the Major had to admit that her superior officer had a point.

‘That’s all,’ he told her smartly to forestall any further questions. ‘Keep me informed of what you discover and I will let you know how I get on.’

The Major rose and saluted smartly, spun on her heels and made for the door.

‘Oh, and Jessica,’ the Colonel called after her, ‘take care, OK?’

The Major resisted all temptation to slam the door behind her.

The Colonel looked at the last page in his file of papers. It was a copy of a notice:

ADDENDUM

MAJOR – 1000 POINTS. PLUS 250 FOR ANAL AND 500 FOR HAVING HER ON HER KNEES SUCKING YOU OFF.

The officers were openly targeting the officer investigating their conduct. She was in danger, but this was also an opportunity to trap the leaders. The Colonel picked up the phone.

 

[lowblow emma]

Interview with Second Lieutenant Walt Bramwell

The Colonel knew he had made the right choice as soon as the young officer marched into the room and saluted smartly. Fresh faced, eager, willing to please, although obviously nervous at being summoned to see this officer.

‘Have a seat,’ the Colonel indicated a chair with a wave of his hand.

The Lieutenant’s buttocks had barely made contact with the chair when the Colonel began.

‘It’s about the initiation rituals.’ He paused for that to sink in. Walt attempted an innocent expression, not entirely successfully. ‘Nothing new about initiations, they’ve been around as long as there have been soldiers. Good thing too,’ he continued, ‘helps bond the men – and women nowadays of course – builds camaraderie. Had them in my day and got up to all sorts of pranks. Stole the commanding officer’s wife’s panties once. Took the whole lot and wore them on parade. Some of those were very tight,’ he grinned at the memory.

Walt said nothing.

‘Pranks. Just a bit of fun. No harm done, although it was a bit draughty for the wife I expect.’ He paused, but there was still no reaction. ‘Rape isn’t fun, though, is it.’ Again, no reaction. ‘WELL,’ he shouted, ‘IS IT?’

‘No, sir, no, it isn’t, definitely not, sir, no.’

‘But that’s what’s going on at this base, isn’t it?’

Walt nodded.

‘The last victim was a special forces sergeant. They grabbed her, stripped her, and fucked her doggy style around a warehouse. Were you involved in that one?’ he asked quietly.

Walt shook his head vigorously.

‘But you’ve seen the video, I expected.’

There was a long pause before Walt finally nodded. ‘We all have, sir. All the videos are circulated, as evidence, sir.’

‘It’s like this,’ the Colonel’s voice was stern now, ‘this is going to stop and those responsible will be punished. They will be discharged and sent to prison for their crimes. Their careers will be over and their reputations will be destroyed.’ He let that sink it. ‘But I need some help to do that, which is why you are here. You help me and I’ll help you out of the hole you’re in.’

‘Whatever I can, sir, yes I want to do that, to make amends, yes sir.’

‘OK, this is the deal. First you tell me what you’ve done, everything mind. If I find out that you haven’t told the whole truth, the deal’s off. Then, you give me the information I need to catch the others. And in return I’ll let you walk away. Your career is over, but you can leave with your reputation intact. Make a clean start. Is that clear?’

‘Yes, sir, absolutely.’

‘So, tell me.’

‘I’d heard about initiations. There were lots of rumours. I thought they were, like you said, sir, pranks. But when I was finally told, I felt sick. I knew I had to take part or … well my life would have been impossible. I went along and filmed a couple of … of attacks. But in the end, I was told I had to participate.’ He swallowed and stopped. The Colonel waited patiently.

‘She was a recent recruit, in the financial section. I’d seen her around and thought she was cute. Nice ass. Anyway, we grabbed her and stripped her. She was off duty so she wasn’t in uniform and other officer, he went first. I, well, it was difficult, I couldn’t get hard at first, but I managed to get stiff enough to get a condom on and get inside her. I came almost at once.’

‘And was that all? Nothing else? No others?’

‘No, sir. The guys laughed at me about not being man enough and said I wasn’t up to any more, so they said I would just have to film for others, but no one asked me.’

‘Right,’ the Colonel took some paper from a drawer and passed it across. ‘I want to write out all that you know, everything. What you did, what others did. Who were the victims. I want to know everyone’s names. And,’ he paused, ‘I want to know when the next attack is planned and who the victim is going to be. Come back when you’re done.’

It was two hours before the young officer returned and handed a sheaf of papers to the Colonel.

‘What do I do now, sir?’ he asked hesitantly.

‘Nothing, behave as normal, don’t let anyone suspect that you’ve told me. I’ll let you know what to do when the time is right.’

Left on his own, the Colonel turned to the last page to see when the next assault was planned and who the victim would be. He raised his eyes and smiled.

 

[lowblow emma]

MAJOR BURNS CONFRONTS THE COLONEL

Major Burns stormed into the Colonel’s office, slamming the door behind her. She stomped across to his desk and stood confronting him.

‘Bastard,’ she spat at him. ‘Fucking bastard, you knew what was going to happen. You set me up, didn’t you.’

The Colonel adopted a placatory tone, which he was sure would not appease the Major.

‘No, Major, Jessica, I didn’t set you up. Those officers decided to attack you. It was nothing to do with me. It was their idea, because they knew you were getting close to identifying them.’

The Major was indeed not placated.

‘OK, but you knew it was going to happen. You must have known because you had men waiting to intervene. But you didn’t warn me, you let it happen, you could have intervened sooner without-’

She stopped abruptly and sat down in the nearest chair.

‘Yes, I admit I knew. Yes, I could have warned you, but then you might have alerted them by your behaviour, unconsciously obviously. And yes, I could have prevented it. But then we would not have the evidence we need. You want these men convicted and you have just helped do exactly that.’

‘BOLLOCKS,’ the Major’s face was puce. ‘You had all the evidence we needed. You could have walked in as soon as they-’

Again she swallowed her words and looked sick. The Colonel waited patiently for her to continue.

‘You know what they did to me, don’t you. I bet your men enjoyed themselves while they waited for that perfect moment to intervene. And I bet you’ve got yourself off watching the film they took. This was a way to punish an uppity woman who wanted to stop the boys’ games.’

The Colonel sighed.

‘Jessica, I am sorry about what they did to you, really I am. But we had to wait until they had gone so far that they could say it was just a prank.’

Jessica stared at him in disbelief.

‘And just what was it about what they did that might have constituted a prank, as you call it? Was it when they threw a bag over my head and dragged me into an empty building? Was it when they stripped me, me, a superior officer and a woman, ripped my uniform off, pulled off my underwear, mauling me and pawing at me, laughing and commenting on my choice of style and colour of panties and bra? Or maybe it was when they pulled out my tampon and left me with blood running down my thighs? Was that it? WAS THAT IT?’ She was leaning across the desk now, her spittle splattering the Colonel’s face.

‘And if that wasn’t bad enough, it is all recorded, being watched right now by goodness who, copied and passed around. How many people are going to see it, see me naked with my thighs pulled open for inspection? How many will hear them discussing my breasts and my ass, wondering how tight I would be when they fucked me? Do you know how that feels, Colonel, as an officer, as a woman?’

‘No, Major,’ the Colonel intervened to try to take control of the conversation, ‘I don’t and can’t even begin to imagine what it must be like. It was my decision and I take responsibility for it. The buck stops here, that’s what being in command means. I am sorry, Jessica, really and truly I am, so very sorry.’

Jessica was running out of breath, but not out of anger.

‘And do you know the worst, Colonel, it’s not all the physical stuff, it’s the mental stuff, it’s what’s in my head and will always be in my head. Just like it will be for that poor sergeant. I will always know that the men under my command are stronger than I am and are only tolerating me. I will know that any man, or group of men, can take me and use me at will. My position doesn’t count. My rank is irrelevant. The fact that I am a woman means nothing. And every time I go with a man, I will remember what those men said and know that that is how the man climbing between my thighs is thinking.’

And with that she stormed out, slamming the door behind her.