“As long as that girl is being kept in the cage, they’ll have to fly over every day feed her and check she’s still alive. When I was in there, it was never exactly the same time every day, but  usually  in the morning.”

Joanne was explaining to Francesca how dangerous a rescue attempt might be if it were to come at the wrong time.   Her idea was to strike when the helicopter was on the beach, not high up and in an inaccessible position. It was vital to capture the aircraft and stop it getting back to the mainland.  Knowing what she did of the increasing lack of any properly functioning machinery in this brave new world, she had little doubt that the capture of the helicopter would be a heavy loss to the State and a replacement would be months before it could make its appearance.  In all likelihood they would be left alone indefinitely, in the hope that they starved from lack of food - quite a probability!  They might send a boat, but that was doubtful - they needed the small navy to support the fight against the growing rebellion.

“I know you make sense, Joanne, but that poor girl has been there a week already.  She must be going mad! It makes me half crazy, just thinking about what it must be like! Can’t you think of something? I don’t see why you can’t make contact at night with the new people.”

“I don’t trust them, Francesca.  Maybe one of them is a plant.  Maybe they aren’t’t totally sure Annie and I are dead and they‘re trying to flush us out.”  She was silent for some time, obviously thinking about the  wretched Angela.

“I’ll go up and speak to her tonight, Francesca.  Maybe I can open the cage and let her out for a while before they come back to feed her.  I’m afraid that’d the best I can or will do at present.”

And so Joanne crept up the steep path to the forbidden zone and the cage with its half demented occupant. She grimaced disgustedly at the stench. It had not rained since Angela had been put here and the ground underneath the iron cage was covered with faeces and urine.  She recalled how, at the end of her own ordeal she had been forced to spend her first painful hours of freedom cleaning up her own mess. She trod very warily!

“Can you hear me?” she called up .

“Yes. Who the devil are you?”

“Joanne Esterhazy.  They think I’m dead!”

“I know about that. I never thought I’d say this, Esterhazy, but am I glad to see you!  Can you get me out of here?”

I’ll try, but you will have to go back in well before it gets light. I can’t have them being warned off by the sight of an empty cage. They might fly straight back to the mainland to get reinforcements and that would never do! Promise you’ll get back in if I do let you out?”

“I promise! A couple of hours out of here a day and I’ll cope fine! Yes! You have my word as an officer that I‘ll get back inside and let you lock me back in!”

“Sounds good enough to me!” laughed Joanne. “Now, then! Let‘s see what I can do.”

 Joanne had brought a piece of wire along with her and she soon had the padlock picked. It was not much of a task to someone of her gifts.  The relieved Angela got out and stretched herself.  The couple moved away from the cage out of range of the smell, although Angela brought a fair amount of the odour with her!

“I must be pretty high after a week in there! Sorry about that!” she said to Joanne, who chuckled.

“Oh, don’t worry.  Just try and do a few exercises and then come and sit here and tell me all about yourself - and the other two. I need to know far I can trust them! I never doubted you, I could see how defiant you were - no faking there!”

Angela did as Joanne had advised and soon felt a great deal better. With a respite like this every night, she could cope with her ordeal perfectly well. Her spirits rose by the second. And she was inclined to think better of Joanne than earlier. She was not quite what she had expected. In fact she was very pleasantly surprised.  It was soon agreed that Angela would submit herself to Joanne’s command, along with Josephine and  Frieda, two good girls, she told Joanne.  Joanne asked Angela to be her second in command and this was readily agreed to.

After they had been talking animatedly for some time, Joanne saw with a shock that the eastern sky was getting light.  She had no time to waste, if she were to be out of sight when the helicopter came!

“Come on Angela, time to get back.  I’ll help you up, get on my shoulder!  I‘ll see you tonight - sorry you’ve  got to put up with more of this, and I can’t say how long. You may be here for the full time they gave you, which was?”

“Four weeks. Joanne! But don’t fret. With a break each day, it’s going to be a piece of cake!”

Joanne assisted the other woman back inside and then replaced the padlock. The pair exchanged farewells and Joanne made her way back to her vantage point, where Annie was anxiously waiting for her, having replaced Fran who was back in the water searching the wreck.

“How did she seem, Jo?” asked the little girl, her voice full of concern.

“Surprisingly well, Annie.  That is one tough lady.  They won’t break her in a hurry! In fact I doubt they ever will, not like they did me  -  wimp that I am!”

“I bet she couldn’t take what they did to you, any more than you could, Jo. I thought they were never going to stop and it was ages before you let out even a moan. Don’t run yourself down.”

Joanne flushed at this, partly out of pleasure and partly embarrassment. To be honest, she was proud to think herself tough. That was why  the shame of that day would live on in her mind long after the physical scars had healed - which they almost had, to her amazement. That ointment was no ordinary preparation! It must be…………But surely not!
 
Joanne decided to get all three of them on the original side of the island. The wreck could wait. It seemed firmly enough wedged on the rocks and would still be there in a week’s time.

The three carried a gun apiece, plenty of ammunition,  slung across their shoulders and food and drink  in backpacks, salvaged form the wreck,  giving them all the first kind of cover for a long time.  They all settled down to await developments.  Annie looked very glad to shed herself of her own load, being the first to do so. She looked  mightily relieved to be completely naked again. The others smiled at her earnestness as they quickly followed suit.  Joanne felt her love for the girl growing even stronger.

They all settled themselves down to await developments. The helicopter came over shortly after ten and Inspector Van Reisen’s familiar figure walked over to the cage, which she lowered by means of a pulley mechanism. Food and water were given to the captive and the cage raised. Joanne was amazed to see the Inspector go back to the helicopter and return with a bucket, which she filled from a tap set in the rock. That had not been there during her captivity - must a spring they’d tapped into. She was even more surprised when the ugly cow used it to clean up underneath the cage. Well, that should make tonight’s visit a little easier on the nose!

Van Reisen refilled the bucket and emptied it over Angela.  Better still! The cage was raised and the captive left,  cold but clean and sweet-smelling for the time being, ,  to breathe more dust as the helicopter took off.

Later that night, Angela and Joanne were sitting side by side and talking about the respective paths that had led them both to this place.

“Let’s face it Angela, we’re all here because we made the stupid mistake of getting caught. We have to learn from our mistakes. It must not happen again!”

Angela agreed, admitting that a fatal error of judgment had led her to recruit the member who had betrayed them.

“I went by my instincts, Jo and failed to check the fellow out. If I get back to my General, he’ll have my hide off!  I hope I do get back, though.  I’m not afraid to take my punishments and it‘s a great outfit to serve with.  I think you‘d get on well with us - you and your little naked band.”

“Take your hide off?  I thought you were an officer.”

“I am, but they’d bust me down to Private for a day.  Then they could flog me as hard as they liked and the next day I’d be back where I was - maybe a rank lower - sorer, but wiser !”

Joanne thought about this. It seemed a strange system. No way to treat an officer at all! But she was to return to the idea time and time again in the days which followed - with extremely unpleasant consequences for herself.  She told Angela about Annie and Francesca. When she spoke of Annie, the other woman could tell how fond of her she was. Then Angela talked about her two fellow prisoners.

“They were the only people in our unit of fifteen men and seven women to survive, as far as I know. They aren’t a bad pair, but they’re soft. Not physically, none of us were ever that, but they’ve no mental toughness.  I was always on their case, chivvying them from dawn to dusk.  They  loathe me! I bet they didn’t shed any tears when they put me in here! But you don‘t have to worry about them betraying you - believe me!”

Joanne decided to have a word with Frieda and Josephine right away. She told Angela to get back in, despite her having had only about forty minutes freedom that night.

“I want to see your two mates, Angela. I’ll give you a lot more time out tomorrow, hours and hours - I promise! When those two ugly sisters come to look over you, try to look as if you’re still suffering - those two are thick as two planks, but they do notice things from time to time!”

“Don’t fret, Joanne! I won’t need to put on an act! After five minutes it feels as bad as ever! You should try it sometime, though you’re so much bigger and taller it would feel even worse, if you could squeeze in!”

“I think I could just about get inside, Angela,   but I’ve no plans to find out for sure!”