The Feminist Queendom Charlie’s War 50

© Beverly Taff

List of Characters.

Charlie Sage Maths and electronics genius.
Shirley Sage Charlies elderly mother
Chloe Charlie’s one time early school friend.
Josephine Flint Surgeon and associate of Chloe’s.
Mrs Jane Anston Director of Anston Aerospace.
Ronnie Garage mechanic at top of lane
Pauline Garage owner, Ronnie’s sister.
Briony Pauline’s teenaged daughter.
Billy Pauline’s middle son.
Abigail (Abby) Pauline’s youngest daughter.
‘Poppy’ Charlie’s little micro-runabout.
‘Doris’ The armoured mobile home.
‘Lady’ Chloe’s Sports Car.
Dawn Charlie’s armoured spaceship.
Colonel Wilson Vindictive misanthropist doctor.
Margaret Thomas ‘Failed’ police security guard.
Sally. 1st Oz Special forces trooper
Jacky 2nd Oz Special forces trooper.
Juliet Charlie’s Mal engineering assistant.
Laura The second mate of the Second Dawn
Kate (Katherine Bergson) The Australian defence minister.
Lieutenant Engadine Asi Charlie’s second prisoner.

Chapter 50.

Being a man, Charlie easily outpaced his female escort to the interrogation suite and he arrived at the entrance several seconds before her. The security guard stepped across his path to obstruct him but Charlie was in no mood to be delayed.
He stuck his arm out at the last second and shoved the guard off her feet as he sprinted through the doors. The guard cursed and went to fire her taser but the escorting captain screeched out an order.

“Don’t you dare bloody touch him! What was that screaming?”

“They’ve got an uncooperative prisoner down there.” The guard advised as though such screams were the norm.

“Damn you!” She cursed the guard. “You’d better hope that his prisoners have not been hurt. D’ you know who that is?”

“No Ma-am.”

“Well you’d better get onto the general with that radio of yours, she’s meeting the prime Minister at this very moment. Tell them they’re needed here immediately.”

“Yes Ma-am.”

The captain continued running into the detention wing only to find Charlie bent over a heavily built woman who was sitting dazed on the floor of the corridor with blood pouring from a cut over her eye.

“What happened?” She demanded.

Charlie just nodded towards the detention cell where his second prisoner was sitting tied to a strong chair that was bolted to the floor. The young lieutenant’s face was covered in bruises and blood was coming from her nose.

“Oh shit! Did she do that?”

Charlie nodded as he confirmed.

“I caught her doing it. I don’t know what’s going on, but you’d better get some safe people down here, fast!”
The captain dashed back up to the administration room and yelled at the lieutenant who was talking to the security guard.

“Has the general been called?” She asked the guard.

“Yes Ma-am,” the guard confirmed.

“Good! Lieutenant, you’d better pray that the other prisoner is unharmed and where is she by the way?”

“What’s happened?”

“You should know, it’s your business to know what’s happening in your department. Who authorised the assault?”

“What assault?”

“Just get your arse down there lieutenant and make sure that thug of a guard does not invite any more injury to herself. And DO NOT touch the man or the prisoner, there’s been enough fucking damage done here this morning. Now where’s the other prisoner?”

“In interview room Jay for Juliette. It’s the tenth room along.”

“I can count lieutenant. Go and get her and bring her to me, up here.”

“I can’t leave my post Ma-am. I’ll send my clerk.”

The captain suddenly realised that any evidence leading to the source of what now seemed like some sort of conspiracy was probably sitting on the lieutenant’s computers. She sat herself down and ordered the lieutenant to stay away from the computers as she barked an order to the clerk.

“Go and bring both prisoners here, where I can see them and watch them. Also check on the state of that bruiser who was beating the first prisoner!”
“But there’s a man down there!”

“I know perfectly well there’s a man down there! He’s the only safe bastard in the building!”

“Who is he Ma-am?”

“He’s the man the Prime Minister has arranged to meet, so there had better be no more fuck-ups.”

The captain started tapping her fingers impatiently and glaring at the lieutenant until eventually the clerk returned with both prisoners, Charlie and the abusive female guard.

“Are you alright Charlie?”

“Don’t worry about me, it’s my prisoner I’m worried about and this guard will need attention, I hit her rather hard I’m afraid.”

The captain stared at the guard’s face and shuddered. She was well known as something of a butch bruiser who had bested everybody on the base during combat practice but she now looked as though she’d run into a truck.

“Did he do that?” She asked the bully.

“You bet he did!” The injured prisoner interjected. “She fucking deserved it’”

“You’ll speak when your spoken to.” She warned the prisoner before turning to Charlie.

“What happened captain Sage, Sir?”

Her addressing Charlie as ‘Sir’ immediately warned all present that Charlie’s captaincy was a naval rank and equivalent to a colonel. A nervous silence settled on the office as they realised this was the same officer whom the Prime Minister wished to see.

“I entered Lieutenant Asi’s detention cell to find this guard beating her around the face and skull while she was tied down to a chair. That, Captain; is torture in my book so I stopped it immediately. The guard refused to obey my order to stop, so I intervened physically.”

“Very physically, it seems.”

“It was a very violent beating. I think my prisoner’s skull might require an X-ray. She was almost unconscious when I intervened. I’m not a happy bunny Captain. My promise to the lieutenant was broken, but not by me! That guard,” (Charlie nodded cursorily towards the bully.), got what she deserved for breaking my promise. I don’t normally hold with violence.”

“No but you’re obviously capable of it.”

“It was only one punch Captain and I’m not proud of having been forced to use it to stop her beating my prisoner. Lieutenant Asi is a witness to my restraint. The guard tried to pull her taser on me.”

Charlie pulled the offending taser from his pocket and placed it on the desk.

“She can reflect that she tried to disable an officer with four rings on his sleeve. Now I’m glad to report that they had not got around to assaulting my second prisoner. Nevertheless, I’m taking both prisoners with me now, under a proper protective guard to wherever your medical facility is. Lieutenant Asi needs to have her skull checked and that guard might need checking too.”

Charlie turned to the duty lieutenant.
“The captain will remain here to ensure no computer messages are deleted while you order an ambulance for both these parties.”

The duty lieutenant bristled slightly at Charlie’s implication.

“I won’t be deleting any messages sir. They prove I was following orders.”

“Really Lieutenant, orders passed over the internet; orders from whom?”

“Well that remains to be seen doesn’t it Charlie?”

Charlie span around to meet the PM, Katie and the general entering the little duty office while their entourage stood crowding the corridor outside. He grinned at her as he stepped forward to shake her hand.

“Well am I glad to meet you again. Had a decent flight I hope?”

“Yes. But a worrisome one. Have these prisoners shed any light?”

“I haven’t had a chance to speak properly with them yet but I’d like to speak with you and Katie privately, - very privately. We can perhaps do so while Lieutenant Asi gets her skull X-rayed. Yes prime Minister, whoever they are, they nearly got to Lieutenant Asi to shut her up. I want her properly protected by reliable trusted soldiers.”

“Don’t we all?” The Prime Minister sighed. “Custodiens Custodes?”

“Yeah, that an’ all!” Charlie agreed. “That’s why I’m escorting the two prisoners myself to the hospital.”

ooo000ooo

While Lieutenant Asi was being checked out, Charlie and the two ministers had chosen a safe place to talk after one of the PM’s staff had swept the room for bugs.

“What! Even here, in the hospital?” Charlie watched incredulously.

“Especially in the hospital,” Katie replied, “that’s where people are at their most vulnerable and let their guards down.”

“Ah well, I suppose so. Now that we’re presumably safe, what is it that’s so important.”

“We were hoping you had something for us. Did you get anything out of your prisoners.” The PM. Wondered.

“Not the first one, she went straight from her plane that was hanging off my hook, to the helideck of HMAS Diamond. I’ve had no chance to speak to her at all. I got the feeling that the navy were keen to keep her from me and by extension, your people.”

“Interesting Charlie. Now what about your second prisoner, Lieutenant Azi or something?”

“Lieutenant Asi.” Charlie corrected her. “I got the distinct feeling that when she realised I was in command of Dawn she realised that not everything she’s heard about Australia and the feminista was entirely true but she keeps things very tight to her chest. I’m having the devil’s own job to work out why.

There was another thing as well. She just didn’t seem to project the same degree of misanthropy that I usually get from known feministas. Something doesn’t sit right and I’d like the chance to speak to her again BEFORE your specialist interrogators get their claws into her. Will you allow me that privilege?”

“What about the other prisoner?”

“I never met her. I was only in the captain’s cabin on the HMAS Diamond with her for a few minutes and all she gave to the navy was name, rank and number. After that, I was back to Dawn then up and away to find Lieutenant Asi the last intruder.”

“So have you any thoughts about a way forward?”
“It might be a good idea to let her see her wing mate Lieutenant Asi, to see that she’s in good hands and being treated properly. I’ll be with them both and ask them to speak only in English. Strange thing is, Asi speaks good English with a pronounced Aussie accent. I think she’s lived in Oz or possibly even born here. I think I might be able to get her to trust me, it’s just that something just doesn’t add up and for the life of me, I can’t put my finger on it.”

“Hmm. That’s interesting Charlie. What are your thoughts?”

“Do you trust me prime Minister?”

“I have to Charlie. Since we’ve met, you haven’t put a foot wrong.”

“Well, you flatter me a bit but you’re pretty much right; after all I don’t want to be deported.”

Katie and the PM chuckled.

“That’s not going to happen Charlie; antigravity and all that.”

They chatted at length about many issues and ideas until the radiologist and trauma surgeon emerged with the Scans and X-rays of Lieutenant Asi’s skull.

“Well fortunately Prime Minister, we cant find any evidence of fractures but there is some internal bruising to soft tissue under her cranium. Somebody has been hitting her with a soft, heavy cosh or heavy hands causing encephalitic trauma. We don’t envisage any cerebral swelling so she should be good to go in a couple of days. We usually keep them in for observation after being unconscious anyway.”

“Very well, doctor. I need to stay with the girl while she’s in hospital. I’ll need a proper observation facility and a guard on the door.” Charlie advised.

The doctor looked askance at Charlie. Here was a man -no less-, giving instructions in front of the prime Minister. It entirely conflicted with her perceptions of the feminista world so she glanced at the PM.

“Give him what he wants doctor, and when the young Lieutenant is discharged, she is to be discharged to Captain Sage’s custody, is that clearly understood.”

Both doctor and radiologist nodded and promptly wrote up instructions over Asi’s ICU bed. The PM, Katie and Charlie read them to make sure there was no ambiguity and Charlie settled down to supervise his prisoner. The PM stood up with Katie and bid him farewell.

“We’ll be going back to Canberra with the other prisoner and they can keep in touch by video link daily. Let me know if you get anything useful from your ward.”

“Okay,” Charlie affirmed. “I presume my wife Chloe and my first officer Juliet, are free to come and go as they require. I believe Juliet wishes to return to Woomera and keep tabs on progress with Dawn two while I’m sure my wife Chloe wants to see our children.”

“Be our guests,” The PM assured him. “You have full board here at the base until this business is sorted.”

ooo000ooo