PART TWO a – the Bad Thing

  By the time we got in, Right was already in bed. We all ended up in my room, talking quietly. We'd all been in the hot tub enough times that a shower and bath wasn't critical. Me and him usually sleep naked, a fresh couple still infatuated so go figure. There was the tiniest tick tick tick at the door. I looked at him, he looked back. That was something new. I grabbed a giant T shirt, and he donned some boxers before he went to answer our bedroom door. Which I can't remember the st time that went on. It was Lightning. In her own giant T shirt for a sleeping shirt, and probably underwear.

  She stood there, for all the world looking like a young girl. Abashedly looking down. Asking if she wasn't tired yet, if she could talk to us for a while. Christ. The good kid wants to hang out in mom and dad's room. Why not. She sat in the chair, then I patted the bed. She looked at it, then hopped on. Again resembling to me? A 14 year old girl wants to hang out on the bed and talk with her friends or sisters.

  That was her look. That was her face. That was even her body nguage. She ended up ying her head back on me, and ying her legs over him. We ended up with her head and neck using my midsection as a pillow, and she goaded him to come closer to me to get her knees comfortably over his stomach. We formed a giant H on the bed. I guess it stood for "Hurry" because it was my bed.

  She talked like a young girl too. The events of the party. How happy she was that Wizzy really liked her after all. Dancing her long dancer's legs and feet over his tummy. Like a little girl, her legs and feet worked on their own and it didn't seem to be a nervous tic. In keeping with the teenager sleepover theme, he did what now seems corny but appropriate.

  "I see Paris, I see France…"

  She suddenly giggled, kicked her legs a little and squealed along with him the st line everyone knew from childhood.

  "You see Lightning's underpants!"

  Yeah, just like a kid would, she ughed longer than the "adults" did at the same joke.

  "Sorry, Wizzy. Hurry said… three dates first. Right?"

  I shrugged and nodded.

  "That's what I did. Assuming you think I'm a good girl."

  Her attention flitted back to Wiz.

  "I don't wanna… make you…"

  "Make me what? Horny?"

  "Well. I was gonna say, something like… make you uncomfortable."

  "Light? I've been checking out your leg and pantie show every morning now, for weeks. Kinda used to it."

  She smiled.

  "I know. You're very nice. You don't… stare. You look away, and you only look when you can get away with it. Thanks. Most guys, would… stare and say something."

  "Hurry would strangle me, dear. I might be in for it now, and just don't know it yet."

  "Wizzy? Thanks."

  "For?"

  "Different things. But, you stuck up for me. Guys don't usually do that. If some guy calls me a whore, they just ugh along with the guy. I mean, I'm standing right there and its like I don't even exist sometimes. You're supposed to wait till the person goes to the bathroom or better yet leaves? To talk shit. No one's ever really done that for me here. I don't think, anyways. It means a lot to me."

  "Its fine dear."

  "Light?"

  "Yes, mom…"

  "Can I ask something?"

  "Its your bed."

  "Does the person that owns the bed, make the rules for that bed?"

  "Um. Sure."

  "When… you go over to a boy's room. Is it… his bed. His rules then?"

  "I guess. Makes sense. Sure. I mean, as far as bed, bed goes? I don't have a lot of rules. A few. Not many. But in general? Yeah. His bed, his rules. Why?"

  "Just curious. Can I ask what those few rules are? That you take with you, even to his bed, his rules. You have no no's."

  "Well. Take some kinda genius like you, to figure out I have a no choo-choo rule?"

  "Chew, chew. No eating in bed? No biting…"

  "No, silly. Choo-choo. I don't pull train."

  "Oh."

  "Nope. One boy at a time. No matter what. And your friend? Doesn't get to watch. He can listen at the door, he can put a… coffee cup to the wall, like everyone else. I'm not making porno's for phones getting out on the internet."

  "That would prevent a lot more than, phone videos leaking out."

  She closed her eyes and swallowed a sudden lump in her throat. It went away quick.

  "Yeah, like I said. Specially you? Not genius work to figure on that rule."

  "No… tag team games."

  "That's where choo-choo comes from. No way."

  "Other rules?"

  "Well. No punching, kicking. Nothing like that. I mean, normal hitting or teasing is fine."

  "Define… normal hitting. Normal teasing. Examples if it helps."

  "Gee whiz. Obvious. Sp my ass, I love it. Pull my hair, if you know how to do it right. Teasing? Pinching, spping, tickling. Now, within reason. Of course once a guy gets going you get spped around a little, but that's fun. But, don't punch me, and while a little pimp sp here or there is cute? You're not allowed to mark my face up. I'm real firm on that, too. I mean, this is just standard girl rules, I'm sure."

  "I guess. So, you do set… limits. You set, boundaries. Up front."

  "Oh. Definitely. I just told you my rules."

  "What if, during the course of the… evening. You, get uncomfortable. How do you… stop the festivities."

  "What do you mean?"

  "What if… you get uncomfortable where things are going. How do you stop the ride."

  "The hell would I wanna do that for?"

  "No, or stop."

  "Oh. I get ya. See, that's one I don't have to worry about. All taken care of. Automatic. Built right in."

  "How's that."

  "Well. I don't… you know, date. If I'm coming over? I'm not coming over to py checkers, usually. What am I there for."

  "What does that have to do with dating?"

  "Well… regur girls date. They might wanna fuck? Then again they might not. See how it goes. I don't have to deal with any of that junk. I already know I wanna fuck. Guy knows that's why I'm there. Why the hell would I want him to stop, right in the middle of fucking me? Oh. I know, some girls like to py that… traffic light game. Start, stop. Yellow light? Go again! Hurry, I'm there for… well, it ain't for the coffee. And this protects boys, too. Makes them feel safe."

  "How does this…"

  "Lots of boys are scared of girls, Hurry! What if they think they got the green light, and misread it. But, they don't wanna be shy, or the girl gets outta the mood and leaves. No. They now don't have to worry. I'm worry free. Close the door, light on or off is your business. If you don't punch me or mark my face up… the hell would they have to stop for anyways? Besides. Once guys get going… any half decent fuck can't be stopped anyways. We all know that."

  "Can… I ask something, that might… trigger…"

  "Oh. That stuff. Uh, yeah. Thanks for asking. I think if I know to… get ready? Might go better. Can I ask Wizzy something first?"

  "Yeah. Ask."

  "Well, don't I have to ask Wizzy if I can ask him?"

  "Sure its fine, but ask him anyways."

  "Wizzy…"

  "Yes, dear."

  "Were you joking about teaching rape prevention csses?"

  "Yes and no."

  "Which part is yes, and which part is the no, then."

  "Yes, I taught them. MP thing. No, because we didn't have a row of costumes. No, because I refused to date any of the women."

  "Oh. Shit."

  "Oh shit? Little Lightning, just for you. If you want me to make you wear a costume? I'll rent one. I promise."

  "No, silly… I meant, oh shit, you refuse to date any of the rape prevention girls. Now? I gotta choose. Between? My… highly anticipated… third date? And… getting some prevention css from you. I kinda was thinking… both."

  He sighed.

  "Uh… there's two kinds of rape prevention csses, Light."

  "What's the one kind?"

  "Well. We jokingly called it, how to actually prevent rape css. Obviously a little MP only, in joke thing."

  "What's the other kind."

  "Ugh. Well, we jokingly called that one? How to pretend to prevent rape css."

  "Pretend? To prevent?"

  "There's another in joke we all had. There is a third css. We call that one, how to absolutely, positively, stop all the raping, css."

  "Can… you describe them? I might like one over the other."

  "Well. One is… more of a self defense css. Its supposed to empower the women. To take care of themselves. The joke? Kick, punch, spray css. You're trying to take a bunch of women, who never pyed a sport, and think they're gonna pull superhero bullshit in some dark alley. Like I said, that's the lets pretend we're gonna prevent rape css."

  "Self defense doesn't work?"

  "Limited usefulness. Mace works great. Tasers can be okay, with training. As far as training women to actually disable big and possibly armed thugs with bad intent? I won't lie to you. Its not a lot of success when it came down to it. And a lot of girls were running around, kind of bragging. I had my css. I can defend myself. Its… just not realistic. Its not got the success numbers to support it. If it was a soccer team? Its, got like one win and about a thousand losses."

  "Hey. The truth matters. And… what's the actually preventing rape css like."

  "I… wouldn't want to offend you, Light."

  "People call me a slut and a whore like I don't matter. I doubt you can offend me. Please?"

  "Oh boy. Actual rape prevention. Now, I understand when people say, it was the victim's fault? That's bullshit. But… when you look at rape statistics, and I mean the cold hard numbers. Read the reports. You start to notice a hell of a lot of simirities. Now, a smart person? Would not want to do those things, that most women that got violently raped, did. Am I right?"

  "Duh. Like, definitely."

  "And? Women that didn't get raped, or… who caught on something was up and got away in the nick of time. You'd want to look at them, and do those things, right?"

  "Big duh."

  "Now, this actually effective css? Gets shut down."

  "You got a css that works a little, and who would want to shut down what works? That's like saying, you want women to get raped more. The hell."

  "God's truth. Everybody likes that the css works. Nobody, just about, likes what the css teaches."

  "Try me."

  "Okay… any woman that was ever raped, and it got investigated? Had her picture taken. At the hospital. You can easily see the stack of photographs of the victims, and draw some quick conclusions."

  "Like?"

  "I'm… uncomfortable telling you, Light."

  "Please? This is, like… important here."

  Big, long, sigh.

  "Well? If I was to tell you, that all the victims just about, wore the color green, you wouldn't want to wear green going out, right?"

  "Duh. No."

  "Yeah. Numbers are numbers. I don't have to expin the why, I point to numbers. Problem is? You look at the victims, and their outfits… almost all of them. Showing a lot of skin. Showing their bellies. Miniskirts, tube tops. You know the ripped jeans? The ones that the girls really rip them up and show off. See through clothing. High heels, sexy hooker boots. Or running around in string bikinis at the beach towns. Sandals pop up a lot too."

  "Oh. I'm not offended. But, I can see where this is going."

  "Light? It ain't me. I can see a girl dressed like that, I don't do it. But… the guys that do it? That, is what the typical victim looks like. Now, girls come and take the css, then they run and call the TV reporters. This is bullshit! We need to teach men not to rape! We’re bming the victims before it even happens! Which I dig it, it ain't right, you should be allowed to wear anything you want. But… its some w of the jungle."

  "Hurry. He sounds just like the football coach, doesn't he."

  "Yes. You and the football coach? Could have a beer, and agree on this one. Marine drill instructor."

  "Moving right along. Situations. Typical rape location? Dark alley. Abandoned area. Late at night. Parking lots, parking garages. Rapists need privacy. Rapists like dark. Down at the river, railroad tracks. Back roads. In the woods. Once again? Women are allowed to go where they want, when they want! You're teaching that rapists own these pces! Women are allowed out te at night! Dressed how they want!"

  "Yeah. It… makes sense."

  "It does."

  "Any other… css tips?"

  "Company you keep. Pack of women? Strength in numbers. Girls that stick together? All make it home. Very, very rare for two or more women to get raped. Almost always, a single girl, alone. Also… the numbers tell us that if you're the only woman somewhere, especially if there's alcohol or drug use involved? You don't want to be the only girl surrounded by boys. So… if you get to a party? Oh, no one's here yet. Come in, we'll get you a beer. Uh uh. I don't care if its your friends you known your whole life, you don't want to be the only girl, at some keg party out in the woods. These are all situations, that victims seem to share."

  "Sounds just like the football coach."

  "Now, wrapping up. Here's the best way to get raped. Dress like a complete slut. Show as much skin and look as fuck-able as possible. Go out by yourself, te at night. Go to all male bars and parties, alone. Walk down dark alleys and explore abandoned buildings, and walk the river and railroad tracks, at night. Dressed for fucking, by yourself. Now… you do the complete opposite of all that? Your odds of getting raped go to near zero, where they should be."

  "Anything else?"

  "Its a long css, sure. Those are the basics."

  "So? Tell me something else."

  "Uh, when you investigate… well, simply anything? Its common after any interview, to ask the person. So, sum them up in one word. What would that one word be. When you investigate rape cases, you get a lot of one word descriptions that start to stand out at you after a while. Not all of them, but its obviously one of more than one trend going on."

  "So? How do a good bit of girls that got raped get described."

  "Loud know it all. A real smart ass. A bitch on wheels. Complete cunt. Insults everyone, particurly men. Bosses everyone around, men and women. Now, its not like sweet wallflowers don't ever have it happen to them sometimes, its just that these descriptions stand out of the crowd. So. To really put it all together? Dress like a hooker, and just be a bossy cunt, while getting drunk and not watching your surroundings. If you were looking for the worst statistics possible? That right there. Now. If you were to do the complete opposite? I think that would be the best statistics you could hope for. Dress normal. Be a little pleasant. Watch where you go alone after dark, if its a lonely pce."

  "It makes sense, Wizzy. But, sweet nice girls get it. You said, wallflowers are victims, too."

  "Well. You can cssify rapists, different ways. I don't know if these cssifications are official, or just what we called them. A stranger rapist. Uh, dy's walking home after dark from work te, gets grabbed and dragged into an alley. That's a stranger rapist, when it happens in a city or bigger area. Those victims? Tend to be… let's just say that clothes and looks, and being alone, seems to be the main simirity. Plenty of wallflowers in that type."

  "And the non stranger kind?"

  "We called it a social rapist. They've probably seen the victim before, but they don't seem to be in their peer group. There has to be a rge group of strangers, with typically alcohol involved. This is where we start to notice descriptions of the victim start to pop out a lot more."

  "Can you give me an example? For my first css, Wizzy."

  He sighed. He pinched his nose.

  "I'll give you an example? Sure. No names. It was a huge airbase. Um. Girl worked there. She was in uniform. When the girls are working? They have the same hair and uniform as everyone else. Its the service. The girls go out on the weekend? They, well. A lot of them? They really dress up. Some of them? Really, ah, act up. And some of them? Do both. Do you see where I'm going with this case?"

  Lightning wiggled her lower legs slung over his waist, and calcuted. Looking up.

  "Dressed worse than a hooker, really acting like a spoiled cunt."

  "By descriptions, investigating? Yeah. She'd been there, I think three years already. Not just men, women too. Everyone described her as an extra mean, bossy bitch. Now. If a girl got raped that goes out to the bars every weekend? One thing we're looking for, is guys she might have spped and really put a talking to publicly on them. We're all MPs. If we're going out anyways, we might as well all head for the bars on that end of the base. Talk to people."

  "I hear you. Get suspects. You guys get one?"

  He sighed. Chuckled. Sighed again, pinched his nose again.

  "Some cases? You can't find a suspect. Other cases? Well. Too many suspects. Our joke was a couple weeks in? The suspect pool, is any guy that ever ran across her and got within ten feet of her. We could only rule women out as suspects? Because a man raped her. I know, that's a sick joke, but… its how it was."

  "She was a cunt with a cape on. Super cunt."

  "She was a real piece of work, yeah."

  Lightning giggled.

  "Raped? I'm wondering who in the hell would ever fuck her."

  He now ughed, and it seemed genuine.

  "I'm with you on that one. But, as it turned out… it seemed like she didn't go out without taking someone home to fuck them. Couldn't even call them boyfriends. All one night stands. Don't get me wrong, good looking girl, just… like I said. A real piece of work. Suspect pool? Going by descriptions we get out of her from in the dark, she's drunk, te at night in the parking lot? He was probably some guy in the service, probably under thirty. Basically, nothing to go on."

  Lightning wiggled her legs and asked for more.

  "She get hurt? Or just…"

  "She got hurt. Superficial damage. Her description, guy appeared out of nowhere, and punched her. And again her words? Like a man. She got… what. Broken nose, split lips. Two bad bck eyes. Couple cracked ribs. He basically beat her up. She wasn't quite knocked out, but she's out of it and drunk. Then? He did his thing. Oh yeah. When it was over? He cut her hair, with a penknife. Down near the scalp in a lot of pces. She had to shave her head, to get her hair even again."

  "I can see it. He beat her up, then raped her. I hope he wore a condom."

  He got really quiet. Little Lightning had to prod him to speak again. When he spoke, he was extra quiet about the next part.

  "Well. No condom needed, when its a beer bottle. You know those little beer bottles? Pony bottle. One of those. It had to be… extracted medically, at the emergency room."

  "He shoved a small beer bottle up her cunt?"

  He got quiet again, she once again had to prod him to keep going. He practically whispered.

  "Yeah. That too. But it had to be medically extracted, from… I'll say the alternate location."

  "Oh."

  Lightning waited a bit.

  "How bad are you gonna yell at me, Wizzy. If I said… she kinda deserved it?"

  "I wouldn't yell at you. I also, wouldn't repeat some of the things all us MPs said, talking about this case, privately. Stolen cell phone? You work that case very little. A violent rape? Well, you work that case harder and longer. We had… off the record things to say to each other, over the investigation. I mean, the more we investigated, the more stories we got? The worse the whole thing got."

  "Hmm. I can see where the men you interviewed that had met her, didn't make her look good."

  "That's the thing, Light. It wasn't just the men. The women who knew her to see her out? That's people that worked at her big bars, and the other female bar patrons? Women hated her, too."

  "Well? What was she like."

  "Well. She basically, never met a guy she didn't sp and insult. Nice looking young kids comes up. Hey, can I buy you a drink? You're a pretty dy. Flip a coin. She either takes the drink, then runs him off, to get the next one? Or. What makes you think I'd let the likes of you, buy me, a drink. You disgust me. I'm good looking enough, I don't have to fuck midgets. Like that."

  "Oh. Really bad when she got drunk. Gotcha."

  "Um. She'd do this from the first drink. This was her normal MO."

  "Holy shit. Oh! Let me guess. Some short guy got her, huh."

  "Um. You might think, but, as it turned out? No. Kinda tall, going by her description. She was, like, 5'8" or 5'9", her description put his chin around her forehead, so. We decided, what. Somewhere just below or above six foot. Honestly, that was only way we could weed out the huge suspect pool. Under thirty, dark hair, 5'11" to 6'2". Hair like a guy in uniform would have. Which, is all of them. Short blonde guys, were all we could eliminate as suspects."

  "Okay. This is the kind of girl you mean, when you say that attitude, figures into the victim getting hurt."

  He pinched that nose first. He was doing that a lot for this conversation.

  "Yeah. I mean, you can't just say it, like, oh you shouldn't have worn that dress. But, as far as asking for it? A case like this, I would call it a worst case scenario, yeah. Now keep in mind. Its one thing for a girl to get too drunk, start spping guys and being a cunt. It happens. But, we're talking every weekend, for three years straight. Started the moment she walked in, anywhere. Hurry. Honey. You wanna jump in here and help me with this one? Miss psych major, and all."

  "Technically, she was raped. Foreign object counts. He raped her with a small beer bottle, sounds like first vaginally, then anally. But, in yman's terms? He didn't even have sex with her. He basically, just beat her up. When you take the beer bottle out of the equation. Without the foreign object involved? She acted up every weekend, and finally got hurt for it. In a textbook? This is called… a corrective rape. And the cutting her hair short? I have two things to say, about that feature."

  Lightning and him both looked at me, to go ahead.

  "Teenagers and college students cut each other's hair at parties as a prank. It happens. Hair is more important to a woman, obviously. Doesn't hurt a guy to get a crew cut after passing out and someone cuts chunks of his hair off. The one thing that stands out to me? After world war two ended. The French women that were dating the Nazi's that occupied them? The resistance gathered all those women up, and shaved their heads. Publicly. The rest of the popuce, cheered it. It was simply to shame them. This case? On the record. The perpetrator felt she had it coming, and that anyone would do what he did, just didn't have the guts to follow through."

  He asked me what about off the record.

  "Off the record? Privately. She was practically asking for it. Any more details of this poster girl for rape victims? Kind of shit she pulled."

  Another nose pinch.

  "Guy was just standing near her, not even talking to her, talking to other people in a crowded bar. She'd sp a guy, for nothing. Out of nowhere. Get the hell away from me. Like that. Mind you, this went on every night, all night. She was rude to other women. Constantly. Barmaids hated her. She'd walk up to a man and a woman, talking. Talk to the guy. Get between them. Girl says anything? Knock her drink out of her hand, toss her drink in her face. Like that. We would get, like, three different kinds of descriptions out of anyone that had ever seen her out. One? Everyone had a story to tell, like this. A good number of people? Would all but ugh and shake their head. But a lot of people? Just, no comment, didn't wanna talk about it. And normally? That might be a mild suspect, but… we had so many of those? We got nowhere. And before either of you suggest that we weren't trying hard enough? We were. If there was a little bit less sympathy for the victim? And I admit, off the record, sure. We were worried that after a taste of getting away with this, it might lead to… it happening again. You know, each victim, less and less deserving of it. This was, about halfway through my 4 year tour. We never saw another MO like this, those next two years. Looked like a one time thing, near as any of us could figure."

  Lightning asked what happened, in the end.

  "The case, it couldn't be solved. Dark hair, six foot or a little taller, carries a little penknife? Can't even guarantee the guy even wore a uniform. Most of the civilian workers, tend to adopt the haircut too. Christ, you're describing half the guys in the service. This was a huge airbase, and tens of thousands of personnel from other branches coming in and shipping back out, for csses and training, constantly. She ended up a complete wreck. Discharged. Under a medical discharge. You know. Cutting her wrists, but never enough to actually bleed to death, then running and wanting help. That kind of thing."

  He paused.