Chapter 23

Once the two black women had finished their fun, they withdrew from the room leaving Carol still clutching the edges of the table and sobbing quietly to herself. "Stop that snivelling," snapped the remaining officer, "and stand up straight!" After a struggle, Carol managed to do as she had been told and, as she stood there before him, she wiped away the tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand. "That's better," he complimented. "Now, I need to report to my superiors and give them my recommendations with regard to what we do with you. It strikes me that we have three options - you can face charges here or we can send you back to Britain to face charges there or we can simply let you go. Needless to say, I know which option you'd pick but it's not up to you, now is it? In the meantime, you'll be transferred to M'Chikaba Woman's Prison and held there. Luckily for you, you rate special treatment - solitary confinement."

"That's special... ?" mocked a still tearful Carol.

"Very much so. The other prisoners would just love to have a white woman to play with; there's still a lot of resentment against the old colonial powers, you know. And, not only is M'Chikaba the largest women's prison in the whole of this part of Africa, it's also the largest brothel."

"Brothel?" asked a puzzled Princess.

"Of course. All those interned women with no option as to what they do. The Governor's got a really nice little business going there. He's one of the richest men in the country now... and his staff the happiest. Did you know that there's a three year waiting list to be transferred to work there? No, I guess you don't... and I'd also guess that you don't give a damn about it..."

"But... that all that must be illegal..."

"I told you before," the officer sighed, "there's no such thing as human rights here. Besides, as I already hinted, the Governor pays his staff extra and allows them certain fringe benefits... and declares his income for tax purposes... even the customers are happy so everyone gains. Who's going to object?"

"The women?" suggested Carol.

"They lost the right to object when they were arrested. Just like you. Now, let's get you ready for transportation." Moving to the door, the officer rapped loudly on it twice and the two women that were so intimately known to Carol returned carrying a small bundle and a box. Carol instinctively shied away from them until the male officer snapped out an instruction for her to stay were she was. Marigold then tossed the soft bundle down in Carol's lap. Taking the hint, the white woman opened it up to discover that it was a simple sleeve of cloth with a hole cut for her head to pop through and two further holes for her arms. In colour, the garment was bright orange with black strips. The box was then opened and a cheap pair of plastic sandals removed. Carol dressed and quickly realised that any escaped prisoner either had the choice of running about like some sort of demented, overgrown bumble bee or trying an escape stark naked. "Right," announced the man, "Let's get you to the transport..."

The streets were quiet and dark as Samantha walked home from her local pub. She'd had a couple of drinks and a friendly chat with some of the other regulars; nothing special, just an ordinary night out. Faced with the choice of cutting through the park or taking the longer way round the outside, Samantha opted to save her legs; she wasn't worried for she was a police officer, well trained in how to handle herself...

As she walked down the winding path, Samantha's ears alerted her to the fact that she was being followed; glancing over her shoulder, she spotted two shadowy figures closing in purposely upon her. Picking up her pace, yet still trying to give an impression of confidence, Samantha pressed on... only to spot another pair of figures approaching from the front. Trapped between the two pairs, Samantha took to the grass and started to walk quickly away and off into the darkness. The figures immediately broke into a run and moved after her. Samantha picked up her pace again and was soon running flat out... but those who were following had the advantage in that they only had to run an intercept course and one of them soon brought the off duty policewoman down with a flying rugby tackle. As Samantha rolled over ready to defend herself, one of the track-suited figures stood over her, smiled down nastily and said, "Evening, Sammy. Going somewhere?"

"Fiona? Is that you... ?" replied a rather worried Samantha, her stomach turning over in fear.