Operation Honey Trap vs The Emperor of the Apocalypse-Chapter 151: Punished

General Meyer and the clan warrior, Casey, were about the same height; the General may have been marginally broader, but overall they were well-matched.

"Umm, Casey, why don’t you put me down so you can focus on your spear fight with General Meyer?" asked Delphi.

"No. We’re fighting over a woman. Why would I put you down?"

Delphi sighed in despair. How could she go from fierce General who was holding her own against the best female warrior in the clan, to damsel in distress stuck on a thug warrior’s shoulder?

This wouldn’t do! She jack-knifed upwards, but he bent her back in half, like he was training a dog.

"Stay still woman," he growled, pushing her head back into his chest where she tried not to breathe in his sweaty male smell, turning her face to the side.

He gripped her head and turned it back into his chest in a show of dominance.

He was used to the female warriors in their tribe fighting much harder and dirtier than this young woman, so he was easily able to manage her.

"Alton!" she cried in despair.

Alton had to laugh. The scrapes this woman seemed to get herself into!

Alton pressed the advantage he had with the spear while Casey was largely fighting with one arm.

He struck at the man’s spear in a flurry of strikes, forcing him to keep giving ground and stepping backwards, until he managed to get past the man’s spear and knock it aside.

He didn’t want to tackle him in case Delphi was thrown to the ground, so he ran to grab her. Casey turned to run away with his ’criminal’, and Alton grabbed her legs from behind, tugging on them. Casey grabbed her arms, and Delphi now floated between them held aloft by her arms and legs.

"Alight men, I give up," she cried, "please don’t tear me in two".

"Let her go, Casey," growled Alton.

"You let her go, General. She clubbed me in the back of the head. She has to be punished."

"How are you planning to punish her?"

"Clan law," Casey grinned.

Who the hell knew what that would result in? thought Alton. Whatever it was, he couldn’t allow it.

"She’s my woman, so I’ll punish her." 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

It was worth a try throwing it out there.

Casey stopped pulling on Delphi’s arms and nodded at Alton.

"Fair enough. What’s the punishment?"

"I’ll beat her."

"Hey!" yelled Delphi. "I’m still here and I can hear you both you know. I don’t accept that punishment!" she said primly.

"Good," nodded Casey, ignoring her entirely. "She needs to learn not to club people in the back of the head. It’s dishonourable."

"I told you it was an accident," she muttered.

Casey handed her over to Alton, laying her across Alton’s shoulder like a sack of potatoes being moved from one man to another.

"Listen, this is not the Ice Age to be handing women around like chattels," she grumbled.

"She’s a bit mouthy, too," Casey said to Alton. "You need to teach her better."

Alton nodded. "I do my best, but she’s a fiery one."

"Mm. The fiery ones are sometimes the best once you tame them."

Delphi sighed in desperation. "You sound like the man we’re trying to overthrow, Casey."

"Be a good girl and pipe down," Alton hissed over his shoulder at her. "Haven’t you caused enough trouble already? I’ve just saved you from some God-awful clan punishment."

"I thought you were going to beat me," she said sarcastically.

"I am."

"You’re not serious, are you?" she whispered.

"Yes," he whispered back. "If I don’t follow through, we’ll lose face with the clan warriors. Just play along with me, okay?"

"No! If I play along with you, I’ll lose face with the warriors!" she hissed from his back.

"You’ve already lost face with them, by clubbing their best warrior from behind. This is how you regain your face. Once you’ve taken the punishment, they’ll forget about the crime, and it will never be spoken about again. In fact, they’ll respect you more for taking the punishment without complaint. That how their traditional law works."

"Bill," called Alton, "where’s the punishment hut? I have to administer a punishment to this woman for attacking a warrior from behind."

"Bill, I never..." called Delphi.

"Don’t make excuses," Alton interrupted her. "To earn respect you acknowledge the crime and take the punishment bravely."

"It’s the shack next to the meeting hall, General," called Bill. "The weapons are hanging on the wall."

Alton nodded his thanks to the man.

"W... weapons?" asked Delphi nervously. "Why do you need weapons to punish me, Alton? What kind of beating are you intending to give me?"

"One that satisfies Casey and his men."

"Well what’s going to satisfy them, Alton? Quick tell me. Put me out of my misery. I don’t know the first thing about clan law."

"We’ll see when we get in there, but there’s probably spears and clubs. Possibly I can just use my hands..."

"I’ll ’use my hands’ on you," she muttered. "You can see if I’ll agree to this madness when we get there..." she stormed angrily.

They reached the hut, and Alton opened the door and carried Delphi inside, placing her down on the floor and shutting and locking the door behind them.

"Why are you locking the door, Alton?" she cried in alarm.

"So people can’t come in and watch. Though you can be almost certain there’ll be kids peeping through the knotholes to watch us and they’ll report back to Casey and Bill."

"Good!" she said firmly. "I’m sure Bill will come and stop you if you try to touch me in anger!"

"Delphi, Bill just told me the way to the punishment hut," he reminded her, raising one eyebrow.

"Alton, then what are you planning to do to satisfy them," she whispered, looking around at the walls for evidence of hidden eyes peeping at them.

"Whatever you agree to and ask me to do to save you from Casey’s punishment, girl," he stage-whispered back. "Otherwise, I can hand you back over to him and tell him you refused to take ’your man’s’ punishment. They’ll go even harder on you when they hear that. You’ll be punished for hitting a man from behind in battle and punished again for disobeying your man."

"Since when are you, my man?" she asked indignantly. "You don’t even talk to me, so how could you possibly be my man?"

"Since we started courting, and since I publicly claimed you in front of the clan to save you from Casey. Whether a couple is talking is irrelevant to the question."

"Aagh!" she sat down crossly on what looked to be the punishment bench.

"Where’s the justice in this? Do I get to punish you when you commit a crime?" she asked him.

"Almost certainly, yes, if it’s a crime committed against you, as my woman."

"You’ve committed crimes against me as a woman," she muttered to herself. "Where’s the justice? When do I get to punish him?"

Alton laughed. "Alright, man up. Which option are you choosing. First, do you choose me or Casey to administer your punishment?"