Saturday, June 26, 2004
The Security Breach
By Plump Shady
The complex lay just beyond the church, its tall walls forbidding even Jesus to enter. Security was tough. But she had to get in - she could not leave what was inside, what belonged to her, inside. The front gate was bolted and padlocked. Besides, the quarters of the live-in guards were all located around there - she would have to find a way in somewhere around the back. She knew there had to be a way in. A survey of the perimeter told her the walls were 8ft tall and about one foot thick, the tops embedded with shards of broken glass protruding about 5cm into the air. The whole wall was lined with two continuous spirals of razor wire, one on top of the other. The Great Wall of Taiwan, she mused. All she needed was a reasonably-sized gap between the wall and the razor wire. Setting off to the right to begin the search, she wondered about patrol guards and the likelihood of being stunned and exposed by the bright headlights of a security vehicle. And then what would happen? She distracted herself from this line of thought by concentrating on the task at hand.
The back wall of the complex was on a slope and she was relieved to find that as one section of wall connected to the next, the diagonal direction of the razor wire left small triangular gaps in the corners. The first one was small, and would require her to crawl over the wall head-first and figure out a way of landing on her feet. She kept walking. She was optimistic, depsite the darkness, and the exposure of the wall to the road that ran alongside it. She had walked down this road once before, and joked with her companion that this was where Taiwan must be hiding their anti-mainland missiles. Tonight, she wouldn't be surprised if this was true. The presence of the razor wire was leaving a harsh, cold impression on her.
She spotted a good gap, estimating that her long legs, bent inwards, would just be able to follow her torso sideways through that gap. She smiled and reached up to feel for glass. She was wearing a pair of old flip-flops, and a short black office skirt, hardly suitable for a spot of rockclimbing. She finally regretted not keeping up with the climbing - this was doable but her strength was down. Her determination, however, was up, and she knew there was a way over this wall. She was already lucky enough to have found that gap. The mission was half complete. She continued down the wall to the southern end of the complex. Bingo - some kind of industrial looking building with a pile of bread crates stacked next to the wall. There was not a light on inside the building, no sign of dogs, and no hum of a car coming down the road. She decided she only needed a couple. She grabbed them, wet and dirty in her arms, and walked the 200m back to the gap. Still no sign of life on the road. Things were running smoothly, much more smoothly than she had forecasted. The two crates allowed her to check out the surface of the wall on which she would soon be lying belly-down. Much of the glass had been chipped away. A couple of pieces still lying on top she brushed off and attempted the climb. The crates weren't enough. She walked back along the muddy path to the building and this time she grabbed another five to take back with her. It was now that she considered how to manage the stack of crates that would be left on the other side of the wall to be seen at sunrise. There was no way of taking them over the wall with her. First thing's first - get over the wall.
STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT INSTALLMENT OF PLUMP SHADY'S EXCITIING NEW NOVEL!
¶ 18:19
By Plump Shady
The complex lay just beyond the church, its tall walls forbidding even Jesus to enter. Security was tough. But she had to get in - she could not leave what was inside, what belonged to her, inside. The front gate was bolted and padlocked. Besides, the quarters of the live-in guards were all located around there - she would have to find a way in somewhere around the back. She knew there had to be a way in. A survey of the perimeter told her the walls were 8ft tall and about one foot thick, the tops embedded with shards of broken glass protruding about 5cm into the air. The whole wall was lined with two continuous spirals of razor wire, one on top of the other. The Great Wall of Taiwan, she mused. All she needed was a reasonably-sized gap between the wall and the razor wire. Setting off to the right to begin the search, she wondered about patrol guards and the likelihood of being stunned and exposed by the bright headlights of a security vehicle. And then what would happen? She distracted herself from this line of thought by concentrating on the task at hand.
The back wall of the complex was on a slope and she was relieved to find that as one section of wall connected to the next, the diagonal direction of the razor wire left small triangular gaps in the corners. The first one was small, and would require her to crawl over the wall head-first and figure out a way of landing on her feet. She kept walking. She was optimistic, depsite the darkness, and the exposure of the wall to the road that ran alongside it. She had walked down this road once before, and joked with her companion that this was where Taiwan must be hiding their anti-mainland missiles. Tonight, she wouldn't be surprised if this was true. The presence of the razor wire was leaving a harsh, cold impression on her.
She spotted a good gap, estimating that her long legs, bent inwards, would just be able to follow her torso sideways through that gap. She smiled and reached up to feel for glass. She was wearing a pair of old flip-flops, and a short black office skirt, hardly suitable for a spot of rockclimbing. She finally regretted not keeping up with the climbing - this was doable but her strength was down. Her determination, however, was up, and she knew there was a way over this wall. She was already lucky enough to have found that gap. The mission was half complete. She continued down the wall to the southern end of the complex. Bingo - some kind of industrial looking building with a pile of bread crates stacked next to the wall. There was not a light on inside the building, no sign of dogs, and no hum of a car coming down the road. She decided she only needed a couple. She grabbed them, wet and dirty in her arms, and walked the 200m back to the gap. Still no sign of life on the road. Things were running smoothly, much more smoothly than she had forecasted. The two crates allowed her to check out the surface of the wall on which she would soon be lying belly-down. Much of the glass had been chipped away. A couple of pieces still lying on top she brushed off and attempted the climb. The crates weren't enough. She walked back along the muddy path to the building and this time she grabbed another five to take back with her. It was now that she considered how to manage the stack of crates that would be left on the other side of the wall to be seen at sunrise. There was no way of taking them over the wall with her. First thing's first - get over the wall.
STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT INSTALLMENT OF PLUMP SHADY'S EXCITIING NEW NOVEL!
¶ 18:19
