"One!" Danielle said when the first official swat landed. He didn't hit her too hard, but if he was handling this like the last time, this would just be the warmup. "But sir, I wasn't actually at the protest. I was at a nearby pub meeting up with my two friends who happened to be at the protest. They were at the protest, not me."

"We're not friends!" Jennifer said.

Danielle yelped when the next swat fell, low on her ass. Having some experience now, she knew that was the region where she'd feel it most when she sat down. "Two!" she called out. "Three! Four! Five!" It was starting...