Skipper continued his work on the back of her neck while his flippers rubbed her shoulders. She struggled against him, unintentionally spurring him on. He moved his flippers down the white-bleached body and came to a rest at her hips. His beak nipped her skin through her fur.

"Arlene," he murmured again. "Such a beautiful form... it's a shame you happen to be homicidal..."

She kicked and pulled but the ropes held her still for Skipper to touch and grope her. She couldn't get away.

"There's no point torturing you for info... she's dead... and I will punish you for that." He nipped her again, relishing in her reaction. "But what to do with a mammal?"

He moved around her and placed his flippers on her thighs, gently forcing them apart, so that she was exposed to him. Tears welled in her eyes from her helplessness and fear combined.

Skipper rubbed her thighs and smiled. "Oh, Arlene, you didn't really expect me to let you get away with murder, did you? And your punishment won't just be the torture. A girl like you, you'll be used to pain, am I right?" He looked up at her eyes. She was too scared to shake her head. "No, pain won't be that much of a problem. You won't crack. So why don't I just take my chance to enjoy myself down here? I'm that type of penguin. Besides, it's not like I can possibly ever see anything like this again, now that you've killed the one other mammalian female I would do things to, given the chance."

He resumed inspection of her vaginal area with interest. Every so often, he would turn his head slightly and nip at her thighs, or tilt his head up to nip her belly. He just smiled lustfully when she shivered or squirmed.

"Arlene..."

She whimpered almost silently through her gag but he didn't respond. After a while he touched her curiously in her most delicate and private area with the tip of his flipper... this pervert was the first man to get anywhere near. She couldn't take it any more. She burst into tears, startling Skipper out of his mesmerisation. He straightened up and looked her in the eyes.

"Now, listen here... I don't know what you're trying to pull..." he grabbed her shoulders threateningly. Marlene cringed, but before he could do anything else, the other three penguins burst in. Private was covering his eyes like he expected to see her in pieces. "It's only been four minutes!" Skipper snarled at his men.

"Skipper!" panted Kowalski. "Don't touch her!"

"Why not?"

"Because... my test results... oh, why hadn't I seen it sooner?" He swallowed. "She's been telling the truth. Arlene is Marlene. Her fur was bleached."

Skipper glanced at her. Before she could catch his eye he turned away. "Untie her."

"Can I look yet?" whimpered Private. Marlene's ropes were cut and her gag was removed. "What happened to her, Skipper?"

"That's classified... but nothing much." Private sighed in relief and hurried over to hug Marlene.

Finding her voice, she said, "Lucky you figured it out, Kowalski." She heard Skipper mutter something to himself as she wiped her tears away. She didn't look at him.