Nu Khin rolled over in bed. She was still alone. She stretched to reach for the clock. It was 2:00 a.m. She had hoped that he would have been home long before now to find her wearing her sexiest chemise and panties and understood what she was hoping for. [See Pic] But he wasn't and now she wondered what to do. Than was not usually this late. In fact, in another hour, he would be three hours late, the time when she had been instructed to take "stage 1 precautions."

She had learned during their three years together that Than was actively involved in the fight against the Myanmar military, organizing resistance in their small town. The military had dominated its citizens for Nu's entire adulthood and longer, so she knew no other way of life. Of course, her adulthood had not been that long. Nu had met Than when she was 22 and he was 25.

Tonight was another of his secret meetings that he never allowed her to attend. Nu dreaded these meetings. They would begin very late and Than would tell her what time to expect him to return. If he was three hours late, she was instructed to assume the worst and leave the apartment, no matter what the time, and go to the safe house that he had designated for that night.

But Than had been two hours late several times before, and that is all that he was now. And he had always returned during that final hour, explaining that the meeting had run long, that recruiting was going well, that there had been a lot of questions, or some other reason for his tardiness, but never that there had been any danger. So it was not time yet to worry, she thought.

And then Nu heard the outside door to the apartment open, and was surprised to realize that it had awakened her, that she had fallen asleep. It was still dark. She knew that, in a moment, Than would enter, disrobe, kiss her on the cheek, but likely no more, and then go to sleep. He was a wonderful man, but his level of physical desire for her was much less than she would have preferred. Still, considering everything ... and perhaps tonight he would notice her special nightclothes.

And, yes, this time, after the expected kiss, she felt one hand move under her body and his other around her until both found her small firm breasts. She was instantly excited by his touch, as his mouth moved to the back of her neck, and his hands began to squeeze and massage her breasts and nipples. This must have been a very good and exciting meeting, she thought.

Nu began to turn over on her back, to make her whole body available to him in the darkness, as she knew he liked. Than's attentions to her were conventional, and she really didn't understand why he wasn't as creative in his love-making as in his political thinking. But she was not going to focus on this one short-coming, no matter how much she wished it were otherwise.

But this time, he stopped her, and instead moved her onto her stomach, with both his hands now pulling her chemise up over her head. She raised her arms to help him, and in a second it was on the floor. He then slid down her panties below her knees, and she did the rest. When she kicked them away, she was completely naked, on her stomach, his body on top of hers. She could feel him pressing against her.

Nu tingled with excitement. To other women, this would have been just a common position, but Than had never done even this, never taken her with her facing away from him. She felt the strong body against hers, and realized that he had not undressed, but had just pulled his trousers down far enough. Too excited even to undress ... she couldn't wait to hear about this meeting. Well, actually she could wait. She hoped that she would be enjoying this encounter for a long time, and then expected that Than would fall asleep immediately. But in the morning she would learn what had apparently so excited him.

With his hands grasping hers and holding them over her head, she felt him position his body between her legs, moving them apart just enough for him to enter her hard and begin thrusting into her. Her mind exploded. So much better than ever before. Over and over again. Deeper and deeper. She heard the sounds of moans, and then screams, before she realized that they were hers. Tonight, he was wonderful. Maybe things would be better between them sexually now. If they were, she would have everything.

She didn't know how long it was before she felt the pace quicken to where she knew he would soon release himself into her. She knew it was longer than it had ever been before, though. And when it happened, her mind and body both were spent, in sheer physical joy.

As Nu felt him rise from on top of her, she continued to moan, her breathing quick, her body covered in a thin layer of sweat. She heard him go into the bathroom, and flick on the light. She lay there, motionless, in the same position as he had taken her, on her stomach, arms over her head, legs still apart, her head turned to the side, her eyes closed.

After another minute she rolled to the other side, opened her eyes, and saw him standing at the open bathroom door, pulling up his trousers.

Nu screamed.

Chapter Two

The man, dressed in the government's military uniform, was not Than. She had never seen him before in her life. He laughed as she looked at him. "You enjoyed me, I could tell." At the same time a burst of laughter sounded from the far wall of the bedroom. As Nu turned and sat up to reach to cover her nakedness with the sheet on the bed, she saw four other men also dressed in government military uniforms. "Quite a performance," one said, and the others again laughed.

"What are you doing here?" Nu screamed. But she knew instantly. It was now beginning to grow light outside. A quick glance at the clock showed 5 a.m. Five hours late. No sign of Than. And she had not taken the "stage 1 precautions" for which they had prepared in just this event.

"Stand up. Your cooperation is required at the square." The one who spoke was apparently the leader of the group. The bars on his uniform indicated "Major."

"But I ..." Her protest got no further when one of the soldiers quickly moved toward her and slapped her hard across the face with the back of his hand. The force of the blow sent her sprawling onto her back on the bed. Her hands released the sheet that she had been holding, again exposing her breasts. Another soldier then pulled the sheet off the bed, completing her nakedness.

"You were told to stand up." The same voice, very firm. This time Nu quickly obeyed.

"Clasp your hands behind your head and move your feet farther apart." Again, she obeyed. The position forced her breasts to rise, and she saw the men staring at her small but well-portioned, thin body.

"Sir, please. I will answer all your questions here. Please. There is no need to take me to the square. Please."

The Major nodded almost imperceptibly to another who kicked hard upward between Nu's legs, sending her retching to the floor, her hands moving to the targeted area. "All questioning of this kind is done at the square. You should all know that by now."

The same soldier pulled her to her feet, while another tore a long strip from the white bed sheet, placed it over her eyes, and tied it tight behind her head. The ends of the sheet were still long enough behind her head to allow him to tie her crossed wrists to it behind her head, leaving her in nearly the same position as she was when her hands had been clasped.

The Major moved in front of her, another soldier behind her. Two soldiers on the sides held her by her elbows to guide her naked, blindfolded figure out of the apartment. The fifth soldier would stay in the apartment to look for ... or to plant, if necessary ... evidence of guilt.

Chapter Three

Nu was grateful that it was summer, so, although the morning air was cool, it was not cold. Nu sensed that many in the small town were just coming out to begin their days. As she was marched past them, she could hear both muffled gasps from the sympathetic and jeers from those who supported the government, or pretended to in order to avoid any chance of a fate similar to that which she now faced. She also heard a few whistles, no doubt inspired by her nakedness. Nu had witnessed scenes like this herself several times, the unfortunates being led to the square for questioning. Both male and female. Sometimes, but not always, naked for the march. Always naked at the time of questioning, though.

She also knew that soon she would hear the sirens and the voice over the loud speaker system announcing the coming event. "The loyal people are invited to witness the interrogation of a suspected traitor to our cause." The townspeople knew that, although they were not required to attend these interrogations, it was wise to be seen there more than infrequently, lest the government begin to suspect their sympathies lay elsewhere than with the government. So the turnout was always in the dozens, sometimes the hundreds.

Nu pictured the square in her mind. It was about a mile from her apartment, and they had been walking for awhile now, so it would not be long before they arrived. Long enough, however, for the crowd to begin to gather.

Often, the questioning was directed at several subjects at the same time, all tied at various points to a very long horizontal bamboo pole that ran neck high to most of those questioned. She wondered if she would be questioned with anyone else. Maybe Than, she thought. What had happened to Than? Killed? Captured? Escaped? She had no idea, and no way to know his probable fate. Her body trembled, as much in fear for his imagined situation as for her real one.

A few of those questioned were actually released upon determination that they had answered the questions without deception, and were, in fact, innocent of the charges. This helped the government keep the people in line, by demonstrating to them how fair and democratic it supposedly was. Most of those questioned, however, met one of two other fates. Those believed to hold significant information were declared in need of more lengthy interrogation and brought to police headquarters -- more accurately, to the dungeon below police headquarters -- and were not likely ever to be seen again. The rest -- the ones that the soldiers determined were neither innocent nor important, but had told the little that they knew -- were found guilty of treason on the spot. These were then executed in front of the crowd, in one fashion or another, depending upon the preference and mood of the particular official in charge of their questioning.

From the rising noise, Nu realized that they were now approaching the square, and, when the soldiers stopped their march a minute later, she knew that they had reached the steps leading up to the interrogation platform.

The soldier behind her pushed Nu forward until her feet hit the first step. She then stepped slowly upward, six steps in all, until she was standing on the platform itself. Immediately, a soldier pulled her toward what she felt was near the center of the horizontal bamboo pole. This meant, she thought, that there would be no or few other persons interrogated with her.

Chapter Four

Nu was smaller and shorter than the average prisoner, so, when she was pushed back to the bamboo pole, it touched her an inch or so higher than her neck. When the strap attached to the pole was then run across her neck and secured to the pole on the other side, which normally did nothing more than hold the prisoner in place, Nu found herself forced to rise onto her toes to keep the strap from choking her.

She then felt her wrists released from behind her head, and attached to similar straps, one on each side of the pole. Her arms, bent at the elbows, now formed 90 degree angles. She knew that the questioning would now begin soon, unless there were others who also needed to be secured. The rising murmur from the crowd told her that there were no others.

Nu tried to prepare herself. She knew that it was important to answer all the questions immediately, that hesitation signaled deception. The questions would not be asked in any rhythm. Sometimes two or three questions would come rapid fire, sometimes there would be a long pause between them. All designed to keep the subject off balance and to ensure that any untruths would be revealed.

"You are a traitor to the country, admit it." The voice was the Major's.

"No, sir. I am not. I am loyal."

"What is your name?"

"Nu Khin. Sir."

"Who lives with you?"

"Than Garuda. Sir."

"For how long?"

"Three years. Sir."

"He is your lover?"

"Yes, he is. Sir."

Quick questions. Nu's responses were immediate and truthful. Then a pause.

"Your lover is a traitor to his country?"

She had been prepared for this question, thinking about it during the long walk to the square. "I thought he was loyal. Sir. But now that you have decided to question me, I am not sure. I think you are questioning me because he may be disloyal."

"Why are you no longer sure?"

"Because my government suspects him, and, if my government suspects him, there must be good reason to question his loyalty."

"What do you say if I tell you that your government suspects you, also. Is it right?"

"No. Sir. That would be a rare case in which it is not right."

"Where is Than now?"

"I do not know. Sir."

"Where was he going last you saw him?"

"He said he was going out. I did not ask where. It is not my place to ask a man where he is going." Trying to portray herself as a helpless woman was not to her liking, but Nu believed she had no choice.

Another pause.

"Did he tell you to go to a safe house if he did not return by a certain hour?"

Her first hesitation, and it was noticeable. "I ... I don't understand the question. Sir."

A pause.

"Did he leave you instructions to go to a safe house?"

Chapter Five

Nu trembled. Than told her that she would find the address of the safe house for that night taped to the back of the dresser. He reasoned that, if she needed it, she would take the small paper with her. If she didn't, he would remove it when he returned. She never saw him do it, and had never needed to look for it, figuring that it was better that she not know unless she needed to know.

Now Nu was uncertain whether the soldier left in her apartment had found it. And she had to give an answer promptly.

"No, sir." Her first outright lie. She had no choice but to deny it. If she answered "yes," the Major would know that she had lied about not knowing more about Than's activities, and that would earn her a place in the police dungeon. She heard a few people in the crowd yelling. "She is lying." "That was a lie." "Too long to answer."

A longer pause this time. And then she felt her blindfold being removed. It took her eyes a minute to adjust to the bright light of the morning. She wanted to turn her head to see if Than was next to her, but the strap prevented her from doing so. And she would have restrained herself even if she had been able to look, since even a glance would indicate concern for him that would not help her situation.

Nu saw that the crowd was about average size, perhaps 40, and it was positioned on three sides of her. Everyone seemed to be looking at her, so she thought it likely that no one else was on the platform with her. She was suddenly again very aware of her nakedness, which had been of no concern to her during her interrogation.

"Then what is this?" She could barely hear the Major's low voice above the crowd. He held a small paper in his hand. "It looks like an address. An address that my men visited within the last 30 minutes. A safe house? Left behind the dresser in your apartment."

The noise from the crowd rose with this revelation.

"I have never seen it before." A truthful, but not likely helpful, answer.

"But you know what it is?"

"No. Sir." Her second outright lie.

"Your lover, Than, was captured earlier tonight. In the vicinity of this house. He has been taken directly to the station for questioning, since it would serve no purpose to question someone like him here. What should we do with him if he is guilty?"

"The guilty should be treated harshly, sir." Nu immediately wondered whether Than had been captured going to the meeting, or returning from it. Or, her body again shuddered at the thought, had he been captured after the soldier had found the address in her apartment.

"Have you ever attended a meeting with your lover?" The words "your lover" hissed from the Major's lips.

"No. Sir. Never." It was some relief that she could again tell the truth.

"You are faithful to your lover?"

"Yes. Sir."

Another pause.

"You are?"

"Yes. Sir."

"You mean that you have not engaged in sexual intercourse with another man during the three years you have been with him?"

"No. Sir."

"How noble of you. Were it true."

"It is true. Sir."

A pause. The Major approached her, and, with his boot, pushed her legs apart enough that the strap holding her by the neck tightened as she struggled to keep her toes on the ground.

"You mean that this beautiful body of yours has not known another man for three years?"

"No. Sir."

The Major nodded down to his soldiers. One of them climbed the steps to the platform.

"What about him?" The man moved into Nu's line of sight. "Did you have sex with him last night?"

Nu suddenly realized and began to sob. "He ... he raped me ..."

"Raped you? You mean that you resisted? You told him no?"

Nu realized that the Major knew what had happened, and that there was no way her explanation could satisfy the crowd, even if she could make herself heard above its now growing clamor that she had hesitated and was a liar.

Chapter Six

"You have now lied to me three times, have you not? Do you have any more lies to tell us?"

Of course, there was no way for Nu to respond to this question.

The Major approached and cupped Nu's chin in his hand, and brought his face close to hers.

"It is clear from our questioning that you were aware that your lover was engaged in acts of treason, and you did not report him. Therefore, you too are an enemy of the state. If your lover had given you more information, we would take you to see him one last time, to see what else you might know. But it appears that he did not trust you with any valuable information."

The Major turned and walked away, nodding to his soldiers. Six of them took positions in a near semi-circle around Nu, each about 15 to 20 feet away. The portion of the crowd that had gathered on the sides of the platform quickly moved to join the others at the front, wanting to see, but not be too close to, what was going to happen.

Nu immediately realized and started screaming. "Sir. No. I can tell you more. Please. I can offer valuable service to the state. Please."

The Major continued to walk away, seeming to ignore her pleas. Then he turned. "Yes, Ms. Khin. You can and will offer valuable service to the state. For which the state thanks you." And again he turned his back and resumed his walk.

The soldier on the far end of the semi-circle raised his rifle, aimed and fired. The bullet struck Nu's naked left breast, tearing into its flesh, but, because of the angle of the shot, it did not penetrate her chest. Nu screamed, but, held by the strap around her neck, could not even look down. Perhaps it was better that she could not see how the bullet had deformed her beautiful body.

After a few seconds, the soldier on the other far end then raised his rifle, aimed and fired. His bullet struck her in the right breast, in much the same manner. Before her first scream had died, she was screaming again, louder and longer than before.

Now the third and fourth soldiers raised their rifles in unison, aimed and fired. The bullets struck Nu in the upper right thigh and upper left. Her screams turned to rasps and gurgles as her throat grew raw.

More slowly now, the fifth soldier raised his rifle, aimed and fired. The bullet hit Nu in the lower stomach, just above her pubic bone. Her feet slid out from under her and back under the pole, tightening the strap around her neck. Only the front of her toes held contact with the ground.

By now, Nu's entire body twitched and spasmed. The sounds from her throat were incoherent. The crowd, which had roared after each shot -- some in actual enjoyment of seeing a traitor pay the ultimate price for her treachery, others out of a sense of necessity to appear loyal -- could no longer tell whether the spasms were the movements of a living woman.

Finally, the sixth soldier raised his rifle, aimed ... and fired. His bullet struck Nu in the center of her chest, just below her mangled breasts. Her body leaped against its bonds once, and then, held firm, fell back down. The twitching -- whether it had been voluntary or involuntary -- stopped.

Her arms and neck remained strapped firmly to the pole, her feet sliding behind it, her naked deformed body displayed for all. Her eyes remained open, staring, her face reflecting the absolute terror of her last few minutes.

Nu had paid the price for her association with her treasonous lover and his "creative political thinking." Her body would now remain in the square for the next several hours, as a reminder of the kind of fate that awaited all such persons ...

Epilogue

At the same time, less than two miles away, in the dungeon below the police station, Than was paying his own price. He would be a tough one to break, the Colonel interrogating him knew. But, at just the right time, at a moment of weakness, Nu would indeed meet her lover once again when her lifeless body was brought into Than's interrogation room, so he could learn that his "stage 1 precautions" had not saved her, but that she had befallen a horrible, and deadly, fate. The Colonel expected that, just perhaps, the sight of his beloved Nu, and the knowledge that he was the cause of her fate, might break his resistance.

In this way, Nu would indeed offer a valuable service to the state. Just as she had offered.