by Louis Woodley
"Okay, Miss Clarke, we're going to start now. Remember that you have no one else but yourself to blame for the situation you now find yourself in. You chose to do this; but when you make bad choices you're well aware of the consequences. And if you've convinced yourself that 'only' a dozen strokes doesn't sound that bad, you've got another think coming. Maybe this will teach you not to make a similar mistake in the future, because if I see you again, it's going to be even worse."
Pam Clarke was 19, blue eyed, blond haired, full-figured, bare bottomed and terrified. She already had tears in her eyes, and she hadn't even received her first stroke yet. But there would be no sympathy for her from Lt. Mary Decker. Lt. Decker had been on this job for three years now and had dealt with any number of Pam Clarke's during that time period; girls who thought they were far too clever, or the rest of the world was too stupid for anyone to ever catch on to them, or just too oblivious to notice things like red lights and speed limits. They always looked like deer in the headlights when things fell apart for them.
Lt. Decker had given up the job of arresting the miscreants and then testifying against them in court. There were some days when she missed being out on the beat and taking down a troublemaker. But now she and her fellow officers only dealt with someone like Pam after she'd been convicted and sentenced. Their task was carrying out the sentence that had been imposed.
Sometimes the punishment would be carried out at the City Judicial Center, but there were also vans of varying sizes for both pre-scheduled appointments and impromptu situations, like now. Today she was on roving patrol duty with her partner, Sgt. Mike Wilson. A male and female officer always worked together, so that for decorum's sake an offender would receive their punishment from an officer of the same sex.
She and Sgt. Wilson had received the dispatch call to report to the Westside Mall. A pair of teenage girls had been caught shoplifting. Confronted by the manager, they'd tried to bluff their way out of trouble, but they'd been bundled into the back office. Facing the video evidence and threatened with handcuffs they'd quickly folded and pleaded not to go to jail.
They were offered the opportunity for alternative punishment and being banned from the store for six months, to which they quickly agreed. They had to wait while the Punishment Police were dispatched, and their sentences would be carried out immediately. Sgt. Wilson had taken the call and they were on-site within 10 minutes. It was a long 10 minutes for Pam and her partner-in-crime, Christy Norton.
The specially equipped vans that the Punishment Police used for house calls were very familiar to the local residents. So as Lt. Decker found a parking spot, people eyeballed the vehicle and knew that they had to be there for a reason. Somebody must have gotten busted and now they were about to get their butts busted for it. There was always idle curiosity as to whether they knew the party or parties about to get punished, so as they entered the mall, they attracted a small crowd tailing behind them like they were a pair of pied pipers.
They arrived at the department store and their audience settled in to wait as they entered the manager's office. Their head-to-toe black uniforms had been designed for maximum intimidation effects, and the two teens flinched when the merchants of their doom arrived. Christy recovered quickly and tried to act as if she'd been unaffected, but Pam looked like she was in danger of throwing up. There was a brief review of the charges, admissions of guilt, and acceptance of the punishment. Then it was time to escort the two girls and the manager out to the van.
In the few minutes since they'd arrived, the crowd outside had doubled as the news spread. Pam and Christy held their heads down and tried to walk as quickly as possible, praying that none of their friends (or, even worse, none of their parents' friends) were in the audience and would recognize them. Sadly, fate was not kind to them as Meredith Alston happened to be passing by. Her eyes lit up as she recognized her classmates. She whipped out her phone and sent a blast to her friends, letting them know who'd just gotten busted at the mall and were about to get spanked.
Sgt. Wilson found the crowds in situations like these annoying; they were like a bunch of buzzards swooping in to feast on the misery of others. But Lt. Decker felt that visibility like this served the public good. It reminded folks that there were consequences for breaking the rules and gave them an incentive to stay out of trouble, so making an example out of this pair might discourage others contemplating a similar attempt. And even though the program was only for those 18 and over, some parents used them as a warning for their teenage kids to behave. So, Pam and Christy were making life better for those families, although that was small consolation for what they were about to endure.
The van was big enough to give Mike Wilson plenty of room for a full backswing, although in this case it would be Mary Decker administering the punishments. They opened the back door and dropped the steps to guide the miscreants and the manager inside. Two cameras began recording in case there were any subsequent allegations of mistreatment. A video link put them in front of a magistrate, who accepted their pleas and pronounced judgment. Since there were no charges being pressed in this instance there was no need to involve attorneys, although they were a video connection away at all times should one girl back out and decide she'd rather be arrested.
Once the paperwork was completed it was only a matter of who would be going first. The manager was now invited to leave the van; he could wait outside with the rest of the crowd. Pam looked the more contrite and vulnerable of the pair; Christy was still trying to act unconcerned, but the Punishment Police were well familiar with attempts at bravado. Those convicted might convince themselves that they could hold out and refuse to give their punisher the satisfaction of hearing them howl, but anyone who'd actually been on the receiving end knew that was a forlorn hope. They were experts in their craft, and with all that practice there wasn't a prayer in the world they wouldn't be sobbing before the final stroke was administered.
The punishments delivered at the Judicial Center and during scheduled home visits were more formalized. In those instances, the recipient had time to both mentally and physically prepare themselves for the ordeal, and a specific amount of time was allocated for administration of punishment. However, the ones that Lt. Decker would be delivering were slightly more ad hoc, since there was no telling when another call might come in.
But the punishments were always delivered on the bare bottom, regardless of age or sex. A grandmother and her granddaughter might find themselves bent over together for the same offense should the circumstances merit it. Likewise, Lt. Decker might wallop Mom and then Sgt. Wilson deliver a blistering to her husband or son. If you pled guilty you forfeited any protection for your backside.
So Pam and Christy should be grateful that matters were being dealt with behind closed doors, even if everyone in the parking lot knew what was happening and would see their shattered looks afterwards. Some zealots had wanted to make punishments public demonstrations, so they could potentially have been baring their bottoms in the middle of the food court right now.
Lt. Decker decided to start with Pam. She looked to be the follower, so it was likely Christy's idea and Pam had gone along with it to appease her. Now that blind loyalty was about to cost her dearly and given the social changes of the past few years, it was an even bet that if her parents discovered what had occurred she'd be doing a spanking war dance at home as well. She suspected that Christy might be among those whose parents weren't as strict on their little darling.
However, she couldn't solve the world's problems or tell parents how to raise their kids; but when they screwed up she could give them a powerful incentive to change their ways. And right now, Pam and Christy were about to discover that shoplifting wasn't a victimless crime; in this instance their bottoms would be victimized.
Pam was led behind the curtain while Christy remained under Sgt. Wilson's watch. After checking her temperature to make sure she was healthy enough to wallop, the girl was ordered to pull her jeans and underwear off and then walk over to the padded contraption. Pam was already terrified, and her fingers fumbled as they tried to handle the task. Finally, a slim pair of buttocks stepped to their doom.
However, there was still the possibility of postponement of her fate, although that would have resulted in either a later visit to the Judicial Center or a house call. Before cinching her into place, Lt. Decker examined her backside for any signs of recent punishments. If her butt showed signs of recent damage that would make her unable to withstand her full punishment, it would have to be rescheduled.
However, in this case her bottom was pristine white and therefore fair game. Lt. Decker knew from long experience that skin this fair would redden easily and stay that way for a while. Assuming her parents were spankers, if Pam wanted to keep this a secret from them, she needed to stay a saint until the evidence faded away. The paddle marks were pretty distinctive and led to awkward conversations when discovered unexpectedly.
Now straps were applied to her wrists and ankles to hold her in place, and a small pillow was forced under her groin to further elevate her backside. Only then did Lt. Decker undo the cabinet that held the official Punishment Police implements of choice. There were three paddles of varying lengths and thicknesses. Sometimes a particular option would be prescribed, but in other instances like now they were given a certain degree of discretion in determining which to use. She always viewed the evaluation of her options as playing Goldilocks: 'too hard, too soft, just right!'
The most potent was typically wielded by Sgt. Wilson against younger and healthier male backsides; Lt. Decker only used it against the most egregious female miscreants. The middle version was the Lieutenant's weapon of choice, although it saw its fair share of use from her partner as well. The mildest wasn't used often, mostly for older defendants or in instances where the punishment was more attention grabbing than designed to raise blisters.
In this case, Lt. Decker chose to use the middle option (known in the system as the number 2 paddle). She announced for the video record Pam's name, age and address, and made her confirm that she was indeed guilty and had requested a dozen strokes as punishment.
The Lieutenant had been stretching her arm and shoulder on the walk back to the van, a further reminder to her audience of the exercise she'd be undertaking shortly. She needed to be flexible; the last thing she needed was to pull a muscle and have to work the rest of her shift using her off arm. And she certainly never wanted to give these girls a reason to be smug. Now she began making a few warm-up swings, starting at quarter-speed, then half-speed before a couple of full-speed ones to confirm that she was ready to roll.
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