You see the woman shining the light, then approach her yourself, placing your hands in the air. She looks at you, unsmiling. She is a beautiful young woman, either of Asian or Native American descent, you can't really tell in the dark. You try to speak to her.
"Officer," you say "Well.. uh, officer the bus broke down a few blocks from here, and.."
"Hold your left arm out, please," the woman says. She is all business. As you hold out your arm, she grasps your wrist with one hand and scans an implant near the fleshy joint of your elbow with the other, reading the data.
"And I only live a few blocks from here, and.." She cuts you off.
"Do you mean the bus over there?" You nod. She continues. "Well, you should have remained with the bus driver. We have contingencies to deal with these kind of situations." She half smiles at you, then speaks into the radio, eyes on you. "I need backup and a supervisor." You start to speak again
"This is ridiculous. I'm not a child. I can walk one freaking mile in the..." She cuts you off, edging the bike towards you so that your legs straddle the front wheel, forcing you back.
"Up against that wall there. No talking for now." You comply as she forces the wheel between your legs and studies you, hunched forward on the handlebars. Within a few minutes three other women show up. One of them, a nordic looking blonde, is clearly a bit older than the other women and has some insignia on her uniform indicating rank. You repeat your story to them, but they are unsympathetic. The blonde shakes her head.
"I think we're probably looking at field correction here as an appropriate punishment. Marcia, can you administer that for me, please? And don't forget to note it in his permanent record." The woman who had initially stopped you suddenly grins wide, looking into your eyes. She pulls a few items out of a utility pack strapped on the back side of her bicycle. One of the items is a folding chair, which she quickly assembles in front of you. The other is a large black paddle with the insignia of the enforcement detail on it with several holes drilled into it.
Marcia swishes the paddle around in the air a few times, smiling as she gets the feel of it. She then sits in the chair, spreading her legs a bit and patting her lap. The supervisor looks at you.
"All right, sir. I must ask that you drop your pants and lean over the officer's lap at this time." |