Danielle admitted nothing in the hour of interrogation that followed her apparent arrest. She managed to become indignant and finally, once she realised that the flight home had departed, demanded access to the Australian High Commission. That request was denied, however she was left alone for a while.
She had no idea why they had been re-arrested, whether something new had arisen that had aroused the Indian authorities' suspicions, or whether this had been part of their plan all along. Whatever the reason, they had missed their flight and their new hosts were nowhere as hospitable as Chief Inspector Gupti had been.
After ten minutes the door to the office was opened and she was escorted further in to the maze of offices. They emerged somewhere underneath the terminal and she was ushered in to the back seat of a black sedan with darkened windows, her two female associates seated on either side of her.
'Where is my husband and where are you taking me?' she demanded.
'You are being taken to a holding cell pending further questioning...'
'On what grounds?' Danielle felt a combination of anger and fear and let the emotions combine in her words.
'National security grounds Mrs Price. We can detain you for seven days without charge.'
Danielle opened her mouth to protest before realising that there was nothing to say. She felt sick.
An hour later she was driven though several back streets and alleyways and into the grounds of a small house. She was led into building, then taken to the rear of the house and through a keypad locked door. At this point her hosts issued several orders and paperwork was passed back and forth with the two new guards, one male and one female. As soon as the others had departed, she felt a tension leave the air.
'Hello Mrs Price,' the female officer said, offering her hand. 'I am Corporal Nayana Desouza, and this is Lance Corporal Benji Nuttani,' she indicated her male companion. Danielle shook the corporal's hand but noted that Benji didn't offer his. Instead he let his eyes roam up and down her body, then turned and entered the small office where images flashed on a television. He turned up the sound and Danielle could hear an Indian pop song blaring out.
'Please come,' the Corporal requested. Her holding area consisted of five rooms: the office, a kitchen, a toilet and two crude bedrooms, one for her and one for her captors.
'I am sorry about the standard of the accommodation Mrs Price...'
'Danielle, or Dani, please Corporal Desouza.' Danielle had decided that this woman could be won over, and that if she was facing seven days here an ally was needed.
'Oh, and please, call me Nayana.'
'Nayana,' she acknowledged with a bow of her head. Despite the shapelessness of the coarse material of Nayana's battle dress uniform, Danielle could see that she possessed a slim figure, and that the severity of the bun into which her hair had been pulled and the lack of make up did nothing to hide her attractiveness.
Danielle's room contained a mattress on the floor, a metal table and chair that were bolted to the concrete floor and a ceramic wash basin and water jug. A few hours after she arrived, a change of clothes and several changes of underwear arrived, taken from her own luggage. She spent the next two days alone with her captors. On the third day she was interrogated for three hours in her room.
As her interrogators departed there was a heated exchange with Benji. He had still not acknowledged her other than catching him twice trying to watch her wash in her room using the jug and basin. She wondered what Stu was going through and guessed that it was far worse. She was probably being held to isolate him, to prevent word getting out that they had been arrested. If he eventually broke and told them who he was and what he was doing, she suspected that she would be treat as his accomplice. She also knew that it would mean the end of her business and her dream of living in India.
***
During her fourth night she was awoken by a cry of pain. She lay still, willing her breathing back under control. The silence closed in around her and she was about to go back to sleep when she heard another, quieter cry. Uncurling her form from the mattress she stood and edged her way into the corridor. A few steps later and she was outside the other bedroom door where she could hear noises.
She peered around the doorjamb and froze in shock. Nayana lay on the mattress her battledress top gone and her shirt open to expose her breasts. Her uniform trousers were bunched around her left ankle. Between her parted legs was Benji, fully dressed though his pants were bunched below his hips. It wasn't this sight that shocked Danielle, it was the sight of the long knife that Benji held and was pressing against Nayana's throat. His hips thrust in small violent movements, each forward thrust clearly causing some pain to Nayana.
Danielle felt revulsion rise in her throat and ran back to her own room to grab the ceramic water jug. Returning, she stepped into the other room and saw Nayana's eyes flick towards her involuntarily. Benji saw the look too and turned, revealing the snarl on his face. He started to stand but his pants hindered his agility and Danielle got there first, swinging the jug as hard as she could into his face.
The jug didn't break but connected with a loud, hollow thud. Benji collapsed silently onto the floor and made no further movement. Both women looked at him, waiting to see what would happen, then Nayana began to cry. At once Danielle moved to her side, grabbing the sheet from the mattress to cover the other woman. She held her close and stroked her hair. They sat like that for a while then Nayana spoke.
'I must get dressed.'
'Do you want me to leave?' Danielle looked with concern at Benji's crumpled form.
'No, not yet.' Danielle turned away to let Nayana dress, which she did quickly. Danielle marvelled at Nayana's composure as she then removed the knife from Benji and secured his wrists in a pair of handcuffs. They left the room, closing the door behind them which Nayana locked. They walked to the kitchen and sat down.
'Thank you Dani,' Nayana sobbed.
