“You are Kathryn Branch?” One of the FBI men spoke quite gently. Branch shook her head, she might not be able to lie with a succubus present but she could say nothing. It took an effort because she had this continued urge to please the daemon in front of her.
Five hours later, she had, with great effort, managed to continue her refusal to speak. Maintaining silence had taken every bit of strength she had but it had been worth it to see the frustration on the faces of the two FBI men. The daemon just stared at her, emotionless, unblinking, evil.
“We’re not going to get much out of her.” Sith eventually sighed, “we can carry on tomorrow.”
Luga stared at the girl. “I’m hungry.”
“So am I. There’s some nice restaurants in town.”
“No, I’m hungry now. They look nice.” Luga pointed at Kathryn Branch’s breasts.
“Luga, you can’t!” Sith was horrified.
“You can’t stop me. I’m stronger and faster than you and it takes a lot of bullets to kill us. And I’m hungry now.” Luga reached out and ripped open Branch’s blouse, then grabbed one of her breasts. She pulled it, stretching it out and opened her mouth exposing her fangs just a few inches from her supposed snack.
“Get her away from me!” Branch panicked, screaming the words, mixed out with weeping and fear. “Get that hell-spawn away from me. I’ll tell you anything, just don’t let her….”
Luga stepped away and grinned at the two stunned FBI men. “There you are. You humans are so afraid of being eaten. Of course, you can’t use her confession in court. Call me back if there are any more problems with her.”
Kathryn Branch was already babbling out a long list of the people she had contacted in her espionage ring. As she left, Luga stopped and patted her on the head. “Kathryn, fangs for the mammaries.”
Chapter Thirty
Eastern District Federal Court, Raleigh, North Carolina
“Your honor, this is the most outrageous infringement – no, your Honor, infringement is too mild a word – the most outrageous flouting of my client’s constitutional rights that it has even been my misfortune to encounter. Miss Branch was denied legal representation… .. “
“Objection! Your honor, the defendant made no request for legal representation, in fact she made no statement at all until her final breakdown.”
“Sustained. Strike the reference to the defendant being denied legal representation.”
“My client was also drugged and threatened with sexual assault and mutilation at the hands of a cannibalistic….”
“Objection! Miss Sharmanaska is not a human being therefore the accusation of cannibalism is contrary to fact. In any case, as the videotape records of the interrogation clearly show, the defendant was never threatened or hurt in any way. Nor was she deliberately drugged. At this point, we believe it would clarify matters greatly if the court was to watch these videotapes. We believe they clearly refute the statements made by the defense.
Judge Candlass looked at the courtroom, the federal attorney prosecuting the case, the FBI agents who had made the interrogation and the succubus who had assisted them. His eyes were drawn to Lugasharmanaska, noting the yellow eyes with slit pupils set in darkly-shadowed sockets, the dead white skin of the face and hands, changing to the shiny black of the rest of her body, the red horns emerging from the pinkish hair. She was, he thought, quite charming. Then he shook himself. “Very well, we will watch the videotape. How long is it?”
“Five hours and five minutes your Honor.” The judge winced.
“Your Honor, the defense is prepared to stipulate that my client said nothing for the first five hours. The essential part of the tape is the last five minutes. We would be agreeable to showing just the first ten minutes of the tape to prove my client made no incriminating statements and the last ten to show the court the despicable assault upon her constitutional rights.”
“That sounds reasonable.” The judge spoke with relief. “Clerk of the Court, please show the tape in the manner described.”
Up on the television screen, the grainy image showed Kathryn Branch refusing to answer the questions put to her. The two FBI agents couldn’t even get her to confirm her name or any other personal details. She just sat their, ignoring their increasingly-irritable questioning. Throughout the whole procedure, Lugasharmanska just sat there, emotionless and unblinking, her yellow eyes fixed on Branch. Eventually the Agent-in-Charge turned to his assistant.
“We’re not going to get much out of her.” Sith eventually sighed, “we can carry on tomorrow.”
Luga stared at the girl. “I’m hungry.”
“So am I. There’s some nice restaurants in town.”
“No, I’m hungry now. They look nice.” Luga pointed at Kathryn Branch’s breasts.
“Luga, you can’t!” Sith was horrified.
Lugasharmanska turned slightly and the videocamera picked up her winking at Sith. Then she turned back to Banch and stared at her again. Branch went white, her eyes widening in fear, then she suddenly collapsed across the table, sobbing in fear. “Get her away from me!” Branch panicked, screaming the words, mixed out with weeping and fear. “Get that hell-spawn away from me. I’ll tell you anything, just don’t let her….”
Luga stepped away and grinned at the two stunned FBI men. “There you are. You humans are so afraid of being eaten. Of course, you can’t use her confession in court. Call me back if there are any more problems with her.”
Kathryn Branch was already babbling out a long list of the people she had contacted in her espionage ring. As she left, Luga stopped and patted her comfortingly on the head. The tape continued to run, showing Branch continuing to pour out all the information she had on her spying activities. Then, it ended.
“Your honor, the prosecution submit that the tape clearly shows the defendant was neither drugged nor coerced. In fact, except for the brief, comforting, pat on the head as she left, there was no physical contact at all between the law enforcement authorities and the defendant.”
The Judge frowned and privately wished this case had gone before somebody else. Judge Simpkins perhaps, Candlass had never liked him. This case had the potential to be a career-ender.
“Your Honor, the key part of the defense case is not shown by this tape. Succubae are well-known to have pheremones that make those around them sympathetic to them and they also have the daemonic ability to entangle people’s minds and make them see and experience things that are not real. We contend that Miss Sharmanaska’s presence in the interrogation room was equivalent to drugging my client and that she implanted the visions in her mind that led to her collapse. She may not have been physically coerced, but the threat of mutilation was very real Miss Sharmanaska herself confirms it when she said, and I quote, ‘You humans are so afraid of being eaten.’ And she herself said ‘Of course, you can’t use her confession in court.’ I submit that my client’s confession should be thrown out on these grounds. And, of course, any information derived from it should also be cast out as the fruit of the poison tree.”
“Your Honor, Miss Sharmanaska is not a lawyer, her opinions are those of a lay…. lay,” The prosecuting attorney hesitated then settled for the conventional, “person.”
“I think Miss Sharmanska should answer for herself on this. Clerk of the Court, swear her in.”
Lugasharmanaska took the stand and the Clerk approached her, a little nervously. “Repeat after me, I affirm that the evidence I shall give will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so he…” From sheer force of habit, the Clerk had almost ended the oath with the traditional ‘so help me God.’
Luga smiled at him and helpfully added “So help me, me?”
The Federal attorney took up the questioning. “Your name is Luga Sharmanaska?”
“It is now. My original name was Lugasharmanaska, one word. All daemonic names are one word. But when I became an American citizen, it was split into two.”