1942

Jake’s soldiers checked the rest of the farm. The man in the barn was dead, and it looked like he too had been used for bayonet practice. A girl, about ten, was found dead in the bed in the farmhouse. She had been raped repeatedly and then had her throat cut. Like the others, she had been dead for a couple of hours.

“I don’t know what the Chinese do about their dead, but let’s bury them quickly.”

“What about the Japs?” Hawkins asked.

Jake thought for moment. “Put the bodies in the truck and we’ll drive it into the woods. Maybe it’ll take them a long time to find it. And don’t forget to take their weapons.”

Later, as they hiked back to their camp, Jake sensed the uplift to his men’s spirits. They had finally struck back, and it felt good. They might have to play hide-and-seek with the Japs for a while, but Hawaii was a big island, and they could take advantage of every rugged inch of it.

Better, the people of Hawaii would soon know that the Americans were still around.

“Hawk,” Jake said, “why did you go into that barn alone?”

“Lotsa reasons, sir. If I hadn’t, you might’ve, and you’re more important than I am. Also, the fucking Japs pissed me off. I like Chinese food.”

The two Japanese soldiers detailed to take Alexa home had been ordered not to attack her. They obeyed but decided the orders allowed them to paw and fondle her. When they arrived at her home, they pushed her out of the car and onto the lawn.

Her return attracted Melissa, who helped the stunned and half-naked woman up from her hands and knees and into the house. It was barely dawn, and none of their few neighbors appeared to notice the event. In a handful of terse sentences, Alexa told her friend what had happened and said that she wanted a bath.

Melissa drew the bath and helped Alexa into the comforting hot water. She watched sadly as her friend attempted to wash away all vestiges of the terrible night. It wouldn’t work, of course, but Alexa had to try, and she scrubbed her body with an almost manic fury, even putting the soapy washcloth into her mouth, which made her gag. Her stomach was empty, so she could only retch.

When Alexa finally tired, she left the tub and lay down on her bed. Melissa then called for a doctor she knew who was very discreet. He was of Hawaiian extraction and was still permitted to practice. He examined Alexa, gave her a pelvic exam, suggested she douche, and left them.

Somewhat revived, Alexa filled Melissa in on the details.

“Do you have a diaphragm?” Melissa asked.

“Of course. I was so stupid. I didn’t think I’d need it.”

“Just make sure you take it the next time. It won’t save you from some of the sick games he likes to play, but it should keep you from getting pregnant by the bastard.”

Next time? Pregnant? Alexa hadn’t given that a thought. Dear God, would it happen again? Yes, she realized, it would happen again. And again, and again, and again. The colonel had made it clear that she was his possession, his mistress. There would be more times with him mounting her, more sessions with Han, and more times with her sucking Omori’s penis and tasting his semen. She wanted to be sick.

Melissa stayed with her as long as possible through the day, even offered to stay the night with her child, but Alexa said no. She would deal with her problem herself.

Thus, she was alone and the house was dark when the rear door burst open. Three men dressed in dark clothes and hoods grabbed her, and one covered her mouth with his hand before she could scream. She had been ready for bed, and there were no lights on.

One man was the leader. “Please be quiet, Mrs. Sanderson, we are not your enemy. We wish to talk with you. Will you promise not to scream?”

Alexa agreed. Once again she saw no choice.

“What do you want?” she asked when they released her. They didn’t behave like burglars. “And why those hoods?”

The leader handed her a robe, which she put on eagerly. She’d been wearing only a short cotton nightgown. The act of tying the robe around her waist comforted her.

The leader gestured for her to sit down, and he did as well. The other two took up stations as guards, looking out the windows. “I am sorry that I was too late to help you in your dealings with Omori. I can only hope that I can now be of assistance. As for these ridiculous hoods, it is better for everyone if you do not know our faces at this moment.”

“Then you know what happened?”

“Yes. He raped you. He forced you to serve him in order to save someone else. The Japanese will do this wherever and whenever they can. The threat of sexual assault is a weapon of terror for them.”