Stark: Due Process

by Randalynn

"The wild, cruel beast is not behind the bars of the cage.
He is in front of it." - Axel Munthe

The blonde woman who sat down across the table from her was dressed for business, but still managed to convey an air of unforced femininity.

That had always been a difficult line to walk, Josie thought. She had fought that battle herself for years, trying to balance being an attorney in a male-dominated profession with being a woman and wanting to look like one. But this woman in front of her seemed to manage it effortlessly.

Still, Josie's confusion overcame her sense of admiration. Police had come for her in the middle of the night, read her a Miranda warning, then dragged her off to central headquarters and placed her in this interrogation room, still in handcuffs. Her requests to contact a lawyer had been ignored. So she had waited here, silently, for over three hours -- waited for someone to come and tell her why she was here, and what she was accused of. She passed the time wondering how many lawsuits she could file for this wanton disregard of her civil liberties. As an attorney, Josie Raines knew her rights, and tonight, someone was going to pay.

Then this woman had entered, striding confidently to the chair across from hers with a briefcase in hand. She sat gracefully, placing her case on the table as she did so, and looked at Josie as if she were an exhibit in a zoo. They sat in silence for a few moments, until Josie's curiosity overcame her sense of caution.

"What is going on?" she snapped. "Why am I here? Who are you?"

The woman across the desk held out her hand, palm forward. Josie reared back, surprised.

"My name is Stark," the woman said, her voice level. "I have no official standing with any police department or federal agency. I just have a lot of friends in the community, and a decided interest in the concept of justice. And you, Ms. Raines, are in deep, deep shit."

The expletive falling from those ruby lips in such cultured tones only served to confuse Josie further. Her visitor opened the briefcase and proceeded to place a series of pictures and documents on the table in front of her. "Last night, agents of federal and state law enforcement raided a compound in northwest Georgia and discovered fifty three men being held in captivity, being treated as babies or small children. Seventeen of them were dressed as little girls. One of them was your ex-husband, Barry Costigan."

Stark placed a series of photographs in front of Josie. Barry was much thinner and more frail than the last time she had seen him free. He was wrapped in a blanket, being led to an ambulance by several men in windbreakers with "FBI" across the back in large letters. Josie could see Barry's hair being blown by a breeze, the long curls bouncing. The skirts of his pink party dress fluttered behind him. The pictures were so sharp, she could even see the tears flowing down his face as he cried, presumably with happiness.

He held a plastic baby doll in a death grip.

Stark saw Josie smile as she looked at the pictures. She took another stack of papers out of her case and dropped them on the table.

"Examination of the records at the compound showed that you have been paying the owner of the establishment to keep Mr. Costigan imprisoned there for over seven years, first as an adult baby, then as a little girl. From the questionnaire you filled out when you first requested their services, he was planning to divorce you and had announced that fact at a company dinner, in front of all of your friends and co-workers. He had also been unfaithful to you, and had been for years."

She slipped a copy of a signed contract out and placed it next to the other records. "This specifies what you required and how much you were willing to pay for it. That is your signature, isn't it?" Josie said nothing. Stark shrugged.

"The compound's records indicated that he was forcibly taken and flown to their facility at your request, and everything that was done to him was done with your express approval."

She took still more papers out of her case. "Court records reveal that you even lied under oath to a judge, when you claimed that it was his desire to be an adult baby that caused the break-up of your marriage, and allowed you to claim all of his assets as your own. The 'evidence' was all manufactured by the people offering the service."

"And finally, financial records show that you recently converted your monthly payment plan to a lifetime investment portfolio, to 'care for' Mr. Costigan (also known as Barbie) for the rest of his natural life."

Stark began picking up each stack of papers and placed them back in the briefcase. She continued speaking, still in that measured, reasoned tone.

"Your ex-husband is currently under psychiatric care. Whatever self-image he may have had before was crushed under the weight of seven years of being treated like a child. A girl child. He's still clinging to reality by his pink fingernails, fortunately. There is some hope. Some of the others rescued with him were less fortunate. To avoid the endless humiliation, they have retreated into fantasy. They actually believe they're baby girls. The doctors don't think they can bring those men back. They aren't even sure about Mr. Costigan's ability to function in the adult world anymore."

Josie smiled wider. The woman smiled back, then slammed the briefcase shut with such force that the entire table rattled. Josie jumped back in the seat, shocked at the raw anger emanating from this woman. Stark snapped the briefcase shut savagely and rose to her feet.

"Your capacity for self-delusion is remarkable." Her voice cut through the air in the closed room like a scythe. "I mean, here you are, in custody ... and you actually still think this was justified. I've been chasing people like you for more than a year. I've caught and punished hundreds. But I've seen few that equal your cold-blooded disregard for the rights of another human being. Admittedly, Barry might have been a womanizing, egocentric jerk, but that's hardly a criminal offense. And yet you took it upon yourself to take his life away, have him imprisoned and humiliated, both publicly and privately. And you intended to keep him in this pink prison for the rest of his life."

Josie stayed quiet. She knew better than to say anything without an attorney present.

Stark turned away and walked over to the one-way mirror, visibly trembling. "Have you any idea what you've done?" She spoke to the woman's reflection. "Are you so self-centered that you think it's okay to destroy the life of another human being ... any human being... for petty revenge? His humiliation of you at that dinner party lasted only minutes, and undoubtedly diminished him in the eyes of everyone who saw what he did to you. At that moment, he proved he was a despicable human being."

Stark turned back to the other woman, her eyes blazing. "But you went a step further, didn't you? Your actions over the past seven years clearly show that you've resigned from the human race completely. You're like some ... thing out of Edgar Allen Poe -- some madman who sips his Amontillado while bragging to his rich friends about the fool he walled up in his wine cellar."

"One of your friends said you told her what you had done a short while ago, but she didn't believe you. She said you told her you had bought a gun ... that you had almost killed Barry before you found ... this. She told investigators you acted as if it was somehow to your credit that you didn't murder him outright! Excuse me? You think you deserve a gold star for stealing his life instead and sentencing him to a living hell -- exchanging his freedom for years of diapers, pretty dresses, and constant humiliation?"

Josie stared back at her, outwardly unmoved but deeply frightened inside. Stark visibly pulled in her rage, settled herself, and walked back to the briefcase.

"Now, normally I take matters like this completely into my own hands," she began again, once more in measured, reasonable tones, "But when I found out about this place you sent your husband to, I decided to turn everything over to the FBI and assisted them in any way possible. Of course, I made sure the media had access to all these records as well. I'm sure it will make such a wonderful story for them to keep alive and obsess over, probably for years. You'll never escape what you've done as long as the ratings stay up. And who knows? It might even discourage others like you from doing something this horrifying again." She shrugged. "I doubt it, but hope springs eternal."

"Right now, they have you for conspiracy to commit kidnapping, accessory to kidnapping, perjury, accessory to assault and psychological battery ... well, I'm not sure of everything you're going to be charged with. After all, I'm not really an attorney. I just look like one today." She flashed a grim smile. "But the list goes on and on. You will be going to prison for a good long time, and I wanted to have this chance to give you a few parting gifts to remember me by."

"First, your new husband-to-be was given a rundown of all of this evidence earlier today. After he finished throwing up, he told us to let you know he never wanted to hear from you again. Your children are in shock -- they received the same briefing, and were horrified to hear what you'd done to their father. I don't think you'll be getting any family visits in the state pen."

"The judge you deceived years ago has started the process needed to get you disbarred. She also voided the original dispensation of assets from your divorce proceedings and awarded everything to Mr. Costigan." She smiled, baring her teeth as Josie gasped. "Oh, unusual, I know, but she had help from my attorneys getting all that squared away. And the civil suit they will be filing in Barry's name will take care of any assets we haven't found yet." Her eyes flashed. "I don't care how much it costs. You WILL be penniless when you get out of prison -- if you ever do."

"But my biggest gift is still to come," she purred, leaning over the table. "While you were waiting in here, all alone, I had subliminal programming pumped into the room non-stop. That one-way mirror there makes an excellent conductor of sound, or so I'm told. I've given you a whole new set of priorities. When you get to prison, you'll behave like an extremely submissive lesbian slut -- a love slave for anyone there who wants you. You'll be everyone's bitch. Whatever anyone wants, you'll do your best to deliver. Of course, deep inside you'll be screaming, because I've made sure to keep your ego intact. After all, we wouldn't want you to start 'enjoying' being a slut, right? What kind of humiliating punishment would that be, if you ever learned to like it?"

Stark picked up the briefcase. "Part of the programming includes confessing to everything, naturally, and pleading guilty at your trial. Unfortunately for you, you'll also deliver impassioned speeches, curse at and piss off the judge, and hopefully be sentenced to the longest possible prison term. Lots of opportunities for ... girl-on-girl action?"

Josie's lip quivered. "I'll fight it! Your programming won't last."

Stark smiled. "Of course it won't. I only had a few hours to work with, after all. But it doesn't have to last. You'll be everyone's play toy for two ... maybe three months. But by the time the 'real' you regains control, no one inside is going to want the 'free lunch' to end. They'll make you stay their bitch, whether you want it or not." She looked right into Josie's eyes. "This is so much better than having you stay programmed. Now you'll have something to look forward to -- years and years of being forced to be something you're not. Sound familiar?"

She turned and walked to the door. "As much as I'd love to stay and watch you 'confess,' I've got too many other women to give 'gifts' to. I need to get to them all before the hearings start. I wouldn't want to miss a single one."

"Wait!" Josie's shout bordered on a scream. Stark turned to watch her cold mask being ripped away by the turmoil inside. Josie stood up, knocking her chair to the floor behind her, and reached out a hand.

"You said you thought it was wrong to destroy the life of another human being ... any human being... for revenge?" Stark nodded. "Then how can you do this to me?"

Stark looked at her. "Because you're not human," she replied softly. "When you did this to Barry, you gave up your status as a person. Permanently. Like others before you, you went and turned yourself into ... a thing. So I really don't care what I do to you. As long as you suffer." She opened the door and stepped through. "Say hi to the girls in stir for me, will you? Give 'em a great big wet sloppy kiss, from me. The first of many, I'm sure."

The door swung shut, turning Josie's rising scream into a muted howl. As Stark walked away, heels clicking on the hard tile floor, the sound behind her became lost in the hustle and flow of the busy police station, where, once in a while, justice was served.

since 6/07/06