Jasmine's War

ACT ONE • Late Friday night February 25, 2022, in the city of Kharkiv, Eastern Ukraine. Heavy artillery fire can be heard in the distance. Russian armored vehicles enter the northern suburbs. Civilian cars rush through the streets. • In the Meduza Dance Club in NW Kharkiv, a large crowd is drinking and dancing to rock music. We see a table of mostly women, and focus on two in their late 20’s: Jasmine, a willowy blonde, and Marina, with long dark hair. They laugh and gossip about the particular men they would like to dance with. [Jasmine works in advertising and speaks multiple languages. Marina is a nurse.] • Suddenly multiple explosions shake the building. The lights and music stop, rendering the club pitch black. Red “exit” lights come on. People scream and run for the exits. Jasmine and Marina grab their purses and run. • Out in the parking lot, Jasmine yells to a male friend: Where’s the best place to go? He says: School Number 3 is solid concrete and designated as a bomb shelter. Jasmine pulls Marina into her car, and they speed off to the school. • Amid more nearby explosions, the car screeches into the school’s parking lot. The women run to the school, which has all the windows blacked out. A civilian policeman at the door encourages them to hurry down into the basement. • When the women enter the dimly-lit shelter, Jasmine sees her Uncle Mischa, a gray-haired man in his late 60’s, over at the back wall. Mischa is sitting on a bench in front of an old upright piano that is used in school activities. He waves them over. • Helpers go about distributing rubber mats for people to rest on. Jasmine and Marina sit on a mat at Mischa’s feet. Marina is agitated, worrying about the safety of her son, Arkady, who is home with a babysitter. Mischa advises her that her apartment is far enough out in the suburbs that she doesn’t have to worry about his safety. • Out in the dark night we see a long column of Russian armored personnel carriers, tanks, and trucks coming south down the E105 highway from the Russian border. • In the chilly shelter, volunteers are handing out blankets to people. • Suddenly a team of armed Russian soldiers crash into the shelter. At first there is screaming and pandemonium. Captain Zastranov (Russian) takes charge and yells for quiet. The soldiers go through the room, taking everybody’s telephone and money. The phones go in a bag. Zastranov puts the money in his pocket. • Cut to a Ukraine Army command trailer: An Army colonel is using a large map to brief a group of field commanders. “The Russians are trying to encircle Kharkiv—like this. But we’re going to cut through their column HERE.” [Points to the 10 o’clock position.] “All those forces south of there will be cut off without supplies and without reinforcements. We can take every damn one of them prisoner.” • Outside School Number 3, Captain Zastranov yells for his sergeant. “Take two or three men and go find me a bus. Full of fuel. With a driver. We have to take at least a dozen of these women to a prison in Russia.” • Back inside the shelter, the lights are off, most people are sleeping. Mischa and the two women quietly talk about escaping. Zastranov comes back into the shelter and walks through the room. He informs everyone they are going to a prison camp. Then, he walks over to Jasmine, kneels down close to her and says, “Take off your pants. I am going to fuck you.” • From her prone position on the floor, she looks up at him, eyes blazing with fury, and says, “No you are not!” • Zastranov’s jaw drops. His hand moves toward his pistol. He growls, “I can do any goddamn thing with you that I want.” • She glares at him and says, “Go ahead. You can kill me and have sex with a dead body.” Zastranov is temporarily confused. • She continues, “OR, you can give me $100 of that money you stole, and I will give you the best ride of your life.” Zastranov stares at her speechless. She grins impudently. • “You can brag to your men that you fucked a corpse. Or you can tell them you had world-class sex with a hundred-dollar whore.” • She stares him eye to eye. This is a moment of high tension. He shrugs, pulls a wad of bills from his pocket, throws two $50 bills at her, and growls, “Take your pants off, bitch.” • She hands the money to Mischa and, still under her blanket, begins pulling her jeans off. She asks him, “Where’s your condom?” • Zastranov: “No haf condom.” • Jasmine: “No condom, no pussy.” Turning to Mischa, “Uncle do you have a condom?” Mischa, momentarily in shock, turns and pulls several condoms from his backpack. • Jasmine expertly tears a condom open. “Get under my blanket, Captain, and let me put a wrapper on that thing.” • Zastronov lowers his pants, drops to his knees, and orders her, “Unbutton the shirt. For a hundred dollars I get to see tits.” • She quickly complies, baring her breasts. “Okay, big boy. How’s this?” • Zastranov crawls under her blanket. She puts the condom on him and raises her legs. He is facing downward as she helps him get inside her. • As they have sex, she gently urges him on, strokes his hair, and coos into his ear. She grins up at Mischa, gives him a devilish wink, and rolls her eyes. • Without a word, Mischa turns to the piano keyboard and begins softly playing the theme from Dr. Zhivago. • Zastronov doesn’t take long. He grunts as he finishes, stands up, removes the condom and throws it on her chest. “You are stupid woman—to pass up chance to have strong, Russian son.” He zips up his pants and walks away, leaving the shelter. • Afterward Mischa tells Jasmine she scared the hell out of him. He says, “I really thought he was going to shoot you.” She laughs, “I was terrified too, but I’m just goddamn tired of being raped. Women have a lot of power, but most women are ashamed to use it.” • Mischa says, “Well, honey, it’s good he didn’t hurt you,” as he pulls a 20-centimeter hunting knife from his backpack. “He was only an arm’s length away from me—with his pants down. He would have died so quickly.” ACT TWO • An empty tour bus arrives at School #3 escorted by a Russian armored car. The sergeant gets the Ukrainian driver out and holds him at gunpoint. “Wait here for my Captain, who will tell you where to go.” • Zastranov comes out of the shelter and interrogates the bus driver about his fuel. The bus must travel 130+ km. • A column of Ukraine armored vehicles is seen moving rapidly along an urban street. In the lead vehicle, an armed Ukraine Army Major sits in the passenger seat instructing the driver where they will be able to cut off the Russian advance. • Zastranov is back in the shelter: “I will take 16 of you women who will go to nice quarters where you will have a bed and food. The rest of you will go to prison camp. When I point to you, go outside and get on bus.” • A clamor ensues. Zastranov pulls his pistol and brandishes it. “Anybody who resists me will be shot. I don’t care.” He points to Jasmine. “I want you to be the leader of these women. Tell them to behave and they will live. You go with the women and help them. If any get away, I will kill you.” • Outside, Jasmine takes the name of each woman as she boards the bus. The driver asks the sergeant where they are going. He replies you don’t need to know, just follow me. Marina is crying because she is frantically worried about her child, Arkady. • As one of the women boards the bus, she spits on the ground and says, “You worthless whore, you used your pussy to gain favor.” Jasmine replies, “It was better than getting shot. Now get on the bus, you ignorant cow.” • The tour bus proceeds up the road northbound and comes upon a fierce firefight. Zastranov stops and comes to talk to the bus driver. The driver knows a route around the area, so Zastranov stays on the bus while his armored car follows. They take some gunfire, multiple bullet holes in the bus windows, as the women scream and dive to the floor. • One woman is wounded by the gunfire. Marina, who is a nurse, attends to the wounded woman as best she can. • They reach the Russian border. Zastranov sends the vehicle and his men back to their unit in Kharkiv. He and one rifleman stay on the bus. • Early morning, they arrive at an old bankrupt hotel near the village and heritage preserve of Krinitsa. It was seized by a Russian army group headed by Zastranov’s commander. A small detail of Zastranov’s unit stands guard over the building. • Inside, Zastranov gives the women preliminary instructions as to what their duties will be as hostesses for visiting officers. He tells them it is a voluntary job, and any women who refuse will be sent to a women’s prison about 30 km. away. He puts Jasmine in charge of finding rooms for the women. • In the forest a short distance away, a group of men in heavy camouflage is seen observing the hotel with night vision equipment. • Jasmine and Marina are in a room together. They are exhausted, but they discuss possible escape plans. Marina says, by “hostesses” what they really are is sex slaves. Jasmine says yes, here we’ll be raped by a few officers but at the women’s prison we’d be raped by many soldiers. That’s far worse. • Early morning in the outskirts of Kharkiv, Ukraine forces are pounding the Russian invaders who can be seen retreating. • The kidnapped women are busy finding food and cleaning up the shambles of the hotel. Jasmine is in the basement laundry room and is approached by a stealthy man in camo. He identifies himself as a Ukraine deep cover scout name Felix who entered the hotel via a hidden tunnel. He says, “We learned about you by sat-phone. The fucking Russians didn’t think about the GPS on the bus, and we tracked you to this place. We’re going to get you out.” He wants Jasmine to meet him again later that morning. • Zastranov calls all the women to the dining room. He says, your job as a hostess is to entertain our officers who come here for rest and relaxation. You must do everything to please them. If you choose not to do that, then you will be sent to the women’s prison. Oh, and each officer must pay you $10 for your services. Legally you are a prostitute, not a sex slave. Then he tells Jasmine, you let me know if any of my officers misbehave. ACT 3 • In Kharkiv, much of the Russian armor is being destroyed by drones and anti-tank weapons. Infantry units are retreating back toward the north. Everybody, even civilians, fight the Russians. • It’s still dark when Jasmine and Marina carry piles of laundry into the basement laundry. While the machines are running, they sneak into the storage room, lock the door, and meet with Felix. He has a plan to get them back across the Ukraine border, which involves a huge diversionary attack. • Later in that day, multiple field officers show up (having freshly retreated from Ukraine) want a hot bath and a woman. Jasmine and Marina set about managing their “customers.” Several of the women volunteer to handle the Russian officers. • After their customers are bedded down, Jasmine and Marina corral all the women downstairs and into the tunnel. • Going to the kitchen for a late-night snack, Zastranov discovers that all the women are gone and orders a search of the entire premises. It takes them a while to find the tunnel. • Felix has wired the tunnel with explosives and a surveillance camera. When he sees the Russians entering, he blows it. Several soldiers are killed, but Zastranov survives. • Twelve kilometers away at the Donetski Russian army depot, explosive charges destroy fuel tanks and ammunition bunkers. A major alarm is raised and all available troops in the area are ordered to come help. Zastranov objects to the order because his women have escaped, but his superior calls him an idiot and tells him to HELL with your whores, we need ALL of our goddamn troops here to defend our base. Zastranov reluctantly sends his men, but keeps two to help him. • Felix commandeers the original bus with its Ukrainian driver. Escorted by a pickup truck and a jeep full of Felix’s men, the bus heads south for the Ukraine border. Felix’s men are NOT uniformed but rather wear sloppy looking civilian clothes (in case they are captured) but they are well armed. • At the Ukraine command center in Kharkiv, the C.O. receives a sitrep from Felix and orders drone operators to attack the Russian border command post on the E105 highway (to give Felix a better chance of getting through). • Zastranov tries to contact that border command post, but nobody responds. He orders his men to grab an armored vehicle and they take off in rapid pursuit of the bus. For communications, all he has is a walkie-talkie which has very short range. • The bus full of women and Felix’s jeep travel southbound along with Russian army units who pay them no attention. • Zastranov and his two soldiers with automatic weapons race down the highway, cutting in and out of the southbound military traffic. Zastranov tries to get help from the military traffic, but his walkie talkie is useless. In a fit of anger, he smashes it and throws it away. • Felix spots Zastranov’s vehicle chasing them, so he orders the driver to exit and take a side road. Zastranov follows, and his men begin shooting at the bus. The bus’s diesel engine (in the rear) sustains damage and begins smoking but continues running. • At the Ukraine Army HQ in Kharkiv, the commanding officer is following Felix’s progress using a small surveillance drone. He calls the drone command unit to ask what other assets are in the area. Answer: We have a [drone type] that is actually a tank buster. BUT we’re not allowed to use it over Russian territory. • In the bus, Felix asks Jasmine if she knows how to shoot. Answer: Yes, I had time at the rifle range when I was a reservist. I am good with the AK. He loads a magazine into an AK-47 and hands it to her. They break out the back window of the bus and start shooting back at Zastranov’s armored vehicle. • The C.O. in Kharkiv tells the drone officer: We are not allowed to take offensive action over Russian territory, but this is strictly defensive. We need your drone to save Ukrainian lives. After a short but heated argument, the drone officer agrees. • The bus engine is damaged and smoking, and the bus is moving ever more slowly. Zastranov’s vehicle gains on the bus. Felix and Jasmine and the men in Felix’s jeep cover Zastranov’s armored vehicle with rifle fire, but it has little effect other than forcing Zastranov to keep his head down. • The bus, with Felix’s jeep following it, are approaching the border station on the back road. The Russian armored vehicle takes several shots with its heavy gun, but misses. Then we go close in to Zastranov and see him ordering his gunner to NOT hit the bus. “Those are MY women, dammit, and I don’t want any of them hurt. When we catch them, I’m going to pull their leader off the bus and rape her in the dirt.” • The C.O. in Kharkiv watches the drone video but doesn’t give the order to fire on the Russian vehicle because it is too close to the Ukraine bus. • The Russian border station is unmanned. One hundred meters farther, armed guards come running out of the Ukraine guard station. The bus crashes through the guard station gate, followed by the Ukraine team’s vehicle, and followed immediately by Zastranov’s vehicle. The Ukraine guards surround all the vehicles but hold their fire. • Zastranov and his men exit their vehicle with arms raised. The leader of the Ukraine detachment recognizes Felix. The Russians are quickly disarmed and placed in handcuffs. • Some of the women get off the bus. Felix points his rifle at Zastranov and asks Jasmine, “Is this the man who raped you? If so, that is a war crime, and this is a time of war. I can legally kill him right now.” • Felix racks a shell into his weapon. There is a moment of high tension. Jasmine smiles. Then she says, “No, it was not rape. He paid me.” • Felix lowers his weapon and says, “Well Captain, apparently you’re just an ordinary prisoner of war.” And to his men, “Take him away.” • Jasmine rushes to Felix, hugging and kissing him. In the background we hear strains of the Ukraine national anthem. The End