_
			DAMSELS UNDER GLASS: THE SERIES
			Kat's Story — by Michael Masterton Chapter 5

“Well don’t just stand there with your mouth open,” Jo yelled, “give us a hand!”

“How can I give you a hand when they’re both cuffed behind my back?” Kathleen asked.

“Use your bloody initiative.  Put your arms behind that tree stump, then stretch your leg out.”

Kathleen walked over to the tree stump beside the bog.  She looked at it questionably, kicking it with her sneakered foot.  She crouched down and examined the top of the stump.

“What the hell are you doing?” Jo exclaimed.

“That’s funny,” Kathleen said, “this tree was chopped down with a chainsaw, and not too long ago, either.”

“Well done, Sherlock.  Now how about getting me out of here?”

“Hold your horses...”

“I’m not exactly going anywhere.”

“...this means this island must have people on it.  Or had people on it.”

“I hope so.  Maybe they can get me out of this mess.” 

“Sorry Jo, guess I can’t stop being a detective.”

She sat down in front of the stump, slinging her cuffed wrists behind it.  The bark was rough against her naked back, but not unbearable.  She stretched one of her shapely legs out towards Jo.  Jo pressed Kathleen’s ankle between her arm and her body.

“Okay, “ Jo said, “pull.”

 Kathleen pulled her leg back, biting her lower lip in concentration, her chin nearly resting on her bare breasts.  There was a squelchy pop as Jo was freed from the mud.  Kathleen kept pulling until Jo was close enough to the bank to lean forward and press her chest against the ground, and fully extract herself from the mire.  She rolled over on the bank, catching her breath.  Her naked body was smeared with a thin layer of glistening gray-brown mud.  She sat up, and looked towards the stump.

“You’re right,” she said, “that tree was chopped down with a chainsaw.  Hope we don’t stumble into a camp full of randy lumberjacks.”

After shuddering at this thought, they stood up, and resumed their journey.  After walking a little further they came to a long straight pathway cut through a grove of tall forest giants with buttressed roots.

“This has got to be man-made,” Kathleen observed.  They started walking up the path, as butterflies flitted around them.

Kat sat on the edge of Jamie’s bed, idly twanging the taut tie between the braided ponytail she had fashioned from Jamie’s red curls and tethered to her thumbs.  Jamie, still hogtied and gagged, turned her head away as much as she could.  She was going to speak to Margo about this.  Enough was enough!

“You like it here, don’t you, being on your own?” Kat asked.

Jamie looked at her strangely.  This was bad enough already—did Kat really have to play the clic hé d, rambling villainess?

“Margo often talks about how fond you seem to be of your solitary existence.  It worries her sometimes, actually.  I suppose I’m a loner too.  I don’t make friends easily.”

I’m not surprised, Jamie thought, if you’re always pouncing on people and tying them up.

“But I haven’t developed a fixation for technology.  That’s your problem—you love all these fancy gadgets Margo lets you play with, and even she’s realising that it could be a mistake.  I love all the gadgets I get to play with too—but I don’t depend on them.  That’s why I like to practice my ropework whenever I can.  There will be times when all I’ll have are my wits.”

“Security alert,” Eve interrupted.  "Island survellience has detected human intruders.”

Kat glanced at her wrist watch.  "About time," she mumbled.  “Details?”

“Two females, unarmed."

"Did they transport to the island from the starship Enterprise?" Kat asked, idly running one gloved hand lightly over the soft soles of the ballet slippers on Jamie's squirming feet.

"Please rephrase your question," Eve responded, after an unusually long pause.

"How did the intruders get on the damn island?" Kat asked.

"There is an 73% probability they landed on the beach at sector 17," Eve responded, "a 12% probability they landed on the beach in sector 16, a 9% probability..."

"And a 100% chance your beach and reef survellience systems are not yet online," Kat observed.

"That is correct," Eve answered.  "I have additional information."

“Yes?”

“They are both naked, and their hands are handcuffed behind their backs.”

“Stop frowning Dr. Seaton, I don’t think Eve is malfunctioning.  Eve—give me a visual.”

“Now displaying visual from camera 28A, sector 12.”

The screen on the wall showed two naked women, their hands apparently bound behind their backs.

“The dark-haired one is a mess,” Kat laughed.

“She fell in the bog in sector 11,” Eve informed her.

Kat watched as the two trespassers passed the camera.  She could now see that their wrists were cuffed behind their backs.

“Eve, zoom in on the cuffs.”

Soon the women’s wrists filled up the screen, and Kat could see that the cuffs were tightly applied.

“This is very interesting,” Kat said, “now why would they be naked and handcuffed?”

“The explanation is obvious," Eve observed.  "You asked Major Henstridge to abduct—”

“Shut up Eve, that was a rhetorical question.”

“Actually, the context suggested otherwise.”

“Shut up—you’re making Dr. Seaton frown again.”  Kat leaned forward and whispered in Jamie’s ear.  “I’ll be glad when your Eve gets her act together.  Until... how did the techno geeks in Seattle put it?  Until she gets her ‘cognitive functions fully integrated’?  Yes, that was it.  Right now, she’s like a super-genius toddler.”  Kat stood and walked to the view screen.  “Please continue, Eve,” she said in her normal voice.

“Apologies Ms. Mayfair and Dr. Seaton.  Shall I intercept the intruders?  If they don’t deviate from their current course they will be within the resort complex in approximately 15 minutes.”

“No, let them in the building.  Give them the standard welcome.”

“As trespassers?”

“No Eve, as guests.”

“As you wish, Ms. Mayfair.”

Kat turned to her confused captive and smiled.

“See—I don’t rely on technology.  I rely on my wits.”

Strange birds called out above in the huge trees as Jo and Kathleen paused to rest from the effects of the humidity.  Sweat trickled down their naked bodies. 

“What are you looking at?” Jo asked Kathleen, who was peering at something in the green, humid distance.

“I can see something through the trees,” Kathleen replied, and started to walk back into the forest.  Jo hesitated.

“Don’t stray off the track.  You might end up in a bog this time!” Jo protested, but Kathleen kept walking.

Jo sighed and followed.  As she caught up to Kathleen, they came to a large clearing.  In front of them there was a huge stone, stepped platform, covered with ornate primitive carvings, moss, and jungle vines.  They walked up the steps to the top.  There were two stone pillars about four meters apart and four meters in height.  Carved and overgrown like the rest of the stonework, each pillar had huge metal rings set in the inward facing sides, one very near the base, the other near the top.  Jo and Kathleen walked around the pillars, gazing at them in curiosity.

“This looks like...” Kathleen said.

“...something out of King Kong?” Jo added.

They looked at each other.

“No, can’t be,” they said in unison, and walked back towards the path.

“This is pointless,” Kathleen complained.

“At least the scenery’s changed,” Jo responded, looking towards the rising mountains.

The path started to follow a trickling creek.   Kathleen and Jo walked along the path until they came to a small pond at the foot of a cliff.  More of the carving was in evidence, in the style they had seen at the stone platform.  Across the pond, a large cave-like doorway led into the rock wall.  A substantial wooden drawbridge, conveniently lowered, gave the naked wanderers a means to cross the pond and approach the doorway.

Kathleen and Jo turned to face each other.  Jo shrugged and nodded towards the gaping entrance.  Without a word, they crossed the bridge and passed through the carved opening they hoped would lead to sanctuary and rescue.  They looked ahead, and at the far end of a long, wide tunnel could see what might be vegetation and a lagoon framed in a graceful arch.  As they walked, the sand underfoot gave way to rough stone, then to smooth tile.  They reached the arch... and found themselves in a decidedly modern setting of glass and pink coral concrete.  Fountains, pools, tropical garden venues, beckoning walkways, deck and lounge chairs, and all the other paraphernalia you’d expect at an exclusive resort.  Except that there was no-one there.

“What is this place?” Kathleen said.

Jo frowned, trying to remember something she’d seen or read.

“I know,” Jo said finally, “you remember that stink about an automated resort being built on one of these islands by that American woman?  It was called Gondolier or Gondana or something.”

“Gondaloo!”

“That’s it!  Gondaloo Island!  This must be it.  It’s supposed to open in a few weeks...  but it seems to be deserted.”

“Odd.  You'd think there'd be last minute bustling about and construction going on everywhere.  We’ve landed on an island with a deserted, fully equipped resort... and we’re naked and handcuffed.”

“Stop complaining —at least there’s no-one here to molest us.”

“There’s no-one here who can free us, either.”

“Shut up.  Let’s check it out.”

Jo walked up the paved path towards the front entrance, and Kathleen followed.

The huge doors at the entrance slid open, and they walked inside the enormous lobby.

“I feel like Goldilocks,” Kathleen quipped, “and imagine what would have happened to her if her hands had been cuffed behind her back.”

“Welcome to Gondaloo Island resort,” a female voice, which seemed to be coming from every direction, gently announced, startling Kathleen and Jo, “hope you enjoy your stay.”

A small cylindrical robot, as high as Kathleen’s waist, scooted up to the astonished pair.

“How may I be of assistance?” it asked.

“You’d be of assistance if you could get these damn handcuffs off,” Kathleen quipped.

“It will be my pleasure to assist you,” the robot responded.  A pair of bolt cutters sprang out from the robot’s body, and sheared through the cuff on Kathleen’s wrist, then repeated the process on her other wrist.  The remains of her handcuffs fell on the floor.  She lifted up her freed wrists in surprise, and watched as a much smaller robot, about the size of a small canister vacuum cleaner, scooted out of nowhere, daintily retrieved the remains of her handcuffs, and just as swiftly departed.

“Can you do that to my friend too?” Kathleen asked the larger robot, which remained, apparently anxious to perform more tasks for them.

“With pleasure,” the robot said, and scurried over to Jo, who turned around and held out her cuffed wrists, and was swiftly freed.  The smaller robot returned in an instant, and scooted away with the remains of Jo’s cuffs.

“Welcome to Gondaloo,” the larger robot said, before turning around and speeding up the corridor in pursuit of it’s smaller companion.  Kathleen and Jo looked at each other.

“I think we’ve just stumbled into paradise,” Kathleen said.

“Hopefully ‘paradise’ has a shower,” Jo replied, becoming self-conscious of her mud smeared body.

“You go and clean yourself up.  I’ll have a look around—this place must have a phone somewhere.  I’ll meet you back here.”

They walked off in different directions.  Kathleen wandered along the corridors until she came to an open doorway, where she hesitated.  Unlike any of the other doors she’d seen while exploring the resort, this one a small key panel beside it, presumably because access through it was supposed to be restricted.  But it remained open, even when Kathleen was standing beside it.  She shrugged her shoulders and walked through the doorway,  then the door slid shut behind her.  She turned back, but it didn’t open again.  She pushed gently against it.  Nothing happened.  There clearly was no going back, so she started to walk up the corridor, noticing that this part of the resort was much more spartan.

“I don’t feel like Goldilocks anymore,” she thought out loud, “...more like Alice in bloody Wonderland.”

Jamie squirmed helplessly on the bed, became increasingly anxious as Kat rifled through the drawers and cupboards of her quarters.

“What’s the matter, Freckle Fox?” Kat teased, then resumed her search, adding for rhetorical effect, “You know, there’s nothing worse than running out of rope.  There’s only so much I can hide in this catsuit, especially as it’s the thinner one I had designed especially for this tropical climate.  You must have some nice silk scarves around here... ah ha!”

The catalyst for Kat’s expression of triumph was discovering a drawer that resisted her attempts to pull it open.

“Now, what secrets can you hide away in a drawer that sticks?” Kat gloated as she struggled to open it.  Suddenly it gave way, and she toppled backwards.  The drawer crashed onto the floor, it’s contents spilling out.  Kat quickly gained her composure and sat up, seeing that the drawer had been full of neatly coiled bundles of rope.  She picked one coil up with exaggerated amazement.  Jamie buried her flushed, gagged face in the mattress.

“Well, well, what have we here?” Kat mused, enjoying Jamie’s embarrassment, “very nice quality, neatly coiled, and with the lengths neatly labelled on them as well.”

Kat stood up and strutted over to her hogtied captive.  Grabbing Jamie by her tethered ponytail, she pulled her head up, and held the coil of rope in front of Jamie’s face.

“There’s only two reasons why a girl hides rope away in one of her drawers,” Kat said, “either she ties up other people, or likes to be tied up herself.  Or both.”

“That’s three reasons,” Eve said.

“Shut up—I didn’t ask you,” Kat responded, “just concentrate on monitoring those two intruders, and give me a status report while you’re at it.”

“As instructed, I’ve led the blonde intruder through a series of dead ends in the restricted area.  She is currently in Storage Area 3A.  The dark haired intruder is currently having a shower in Suite 10...”

“Having a shower?  You mean taking a shower.”

“...having a shower in Suite 10.  She is also using the laundry facilities in Suite 10 to clean her socks and sneakers.”

“There’s no linen in the guest suites yet, correct?”

“Correct, Ms. Mayfair.  The linen is being delivered next week—”

“I’m not interested in housekeeping details.  I’m more interested in knowing if there’s any more rope around this dump.”

“Not counting quantities already in use, I have several thousand-metre reels in the Island’s stores,” Eve answered, “in a variety of colours.”

“I won’t need that much,” Kat laughed, “and white will do just fine.  Time to coax Blondie back here, while Kitty gets her mousetrap ready.”

Jamie’s eyes widened above her gag as Kat pulled out a slender but lethal looking pistol, and checked it was loaded.

“The blonde intruder is now in the corridor that leads to Dr. Seaton’s quarters,” Eve announced.

“Thank you, Eve,” Kat replied.  She patted the soles of Jamie’s ballet slippers, “now, time to bait my little mousetrap.  And what better bait than a mmpphhing damsel?”

Jamie remained stubbornly quiet.

“Oh, so you want to do this the hard way.  Okay, your choice.  I happen to know you’re very ticklish, especially on your sides.”

She leant over her prone captive, leather-clad fingers stretching outwards.  Jamie tried to roll on her side, but her hands were tied too close to her feet to complete her desperate manoevour.

“Now, now, that would be foolish, wouldn’t it?”  Kat laughed, “you’d just expose other ticklish areas.  Kitchy kitchy koo...”

Kat’s fingers danced down the sides of Jamie’s vulnerable torso, provoking loud involuntary peals of laughter that her mouth filling gag could never contain.