09.3 First Infiltration

Mala began to walk on barefoot in the dark over the grass, wet ground and lumps of sand, scattered pipes and fallen logs. Sharp wire, nails, tools, stakes and pins everywhere. She found a rut leading to the housing units and followed the track. After walking a while, she realised it was carrying her away from the shelters. She took course straight towards the complex.

Mala entered the lights and stopped to take a picture. She could only have thirty-six exposures so she took few. She felt extremely exposed that moment. She heard loud noise of hammering coming from the large shelter. She scurried to the building and leaned against the wall.

Mala put the camera firmly in her fist and peeped through the door. Wall panels on both sides and a hall in her view. It appeared spacious. People were working there. She took the chance to snap a photograph. Tiles laid to a diagonal square grid like a chequerboard. A white ceiling with tube lights suspended on case fittings. She could see indicator lights on a panel board and analogue meters of some kind of an instrument.

The south unit housed accommodation and she would dare not go near. A larger floor in the north wing supposed to house all aerial exchange equipment.

There stood four small cabins behind the main unit and those were the shelters she had to explore. She crossed the ground to the largest shed.

She entered a shelter that was reserved for emergency generators and there stood one in the middle. This hall dimly lit but an office on the right lit bright with glass panels on the doors.

She entered the office room and to her luck she came across the old filing cabinets stacked in the bottom. There were folders and books scattered over, steel case cabinets and pretty much in a large mess. She began to look for clues. Some tags were gone.

Mala took a few photos of the pile and dug into the files. The dust made her sneeze. That moment a guy entered from a rear door. He put his torch down on a table, removed an overall, humming through his lips. She forgot to put down an open folder in her hand. She slid behind a cabinet.

This guy switched off the lights and walked out shutting the door with a loud bang.

Mala put the camera chain around her neck and the flash in her mouth. Switched on and began to search on one section of the wall. That was her strategy.

After an hour or two she came to find absolutely nothing besides forms, claims and memos. She turned to the far side. There Mala found a cabinet with old files of appointments with local authorities. She touched a package in the bottom drawer. She ripped open to find a spool of film. On the cover it was written; ‘HMS Mellow – J136 27^th March 1944’.

Mala took a photograph of it and dug into several folders in this drawer. They were not in pockets but dumped rather. She found a folder that read; ‘Gan Lease’. She was digging into files from 1944.

She sat behind a cabinet and placed the torch to reflect on the wall so to produce a soft glow on the pages. She failed to hear rainfall on the roof. A soundproof office with a white ceiling. She sat calmly beside the wall taking photographs page by page. She ran out of film as she covered a twenty.

Mala came out of the generator house and began to walk towards the woods.

Halfway up the trail, a lorry turned up from the coast and rolled in her direction, its headlights jumping. Mala stepped out of the rut and stayed still with the camera firmly in her fist. A Bedford lorry passed by within few yards – dropping a shadow of a column on the ground to rotate in half circle and it was gone.

She treaded in wet soil after a sudden downpour. Like Habib said, she lost direction. Mala switched on her flash within fifty yards to the trees. Habib returned a signal flashing a red light in intervals pointed to the ground. She noticed it and reached him.

“Wrap up!” Habib cursed, “I’m bitten by the bug and wet in the rain. I’m petrified! What took you so long?”

“Nothing,” replied Mala, “I was digging. I think I found the filing cabinet.”

“Really!”

“Your flip-flops. Let’s get out of here! It is going to rain again.”

Habib and Mala returned to Kibili Point beside the water and joined the others. Don Raha began his prayer and touched the orchid on her hair. Mariam Mala placed the girdle on her hips and put on her dress. They collected their items and headed home.

“Deeni will sleep at Fanas tonight,” said Habib in an effort to block Shakir from taking an advantage on her in a highly excited state. “Take rest and start processing the film at the studio tomorrow. You did a fantastic job.”

“Hope we do not have to do this again,” uttered Shakir.