its a hot day. august in moscow. abdel needs to go to the garage. the entrance may be watched so he has to go the back way. He leaves from Ali's appartment. Ali is an accountant from Kabylie, he studied in moscow and then stayed on. On the map Ali's appartment is marked by an X . Its on the 10th floor beside a very big road, lorries and cars thundering past. He has satellite TV and a sofa in the kitchen. In the cupboard are some malboro light, pasta, rice.

At the main door (N 55°51.329' E037°33.792' 143M) turn right. The concierge gives abdel a fright but he doesnt seem to notice a's presence. He heads past more blocks and into an area of garages. Slips through a gate and there is a wasteland with a big old brick building on the left, in ruins. On the right the garages and ahead the railway line (N 55°51.333' E037°34.280' 149m).

The slope up to the railway line is steep. Slippery. He had to come this way because the main entrance, juncture of the track with a road and then more railway lines, is being watched. They guys are pretty sure about it. Garage owners report that there's been a van parking there a lot with 2 guys in it, 1 of whom spends a lot of time on the telephone. ( N 55°50.914' E037°34.579' 159m ) We r not sure if its competitors or the police. But we're not taking any risks. we r moving stuff out. There are 3 cars still there which will have to wait but the lighter stuff we take out on foot by the backways.

Anyway Abdel is climbing the embankment, crosses gingerly the railway tracks and starts to slide down the other side. In front of him is a hidden world. Full of trees and vegatation. For a moment it seems like the entrance to the world between the tracks. the tear in the urban fabric. vision of nature. (N 55°51.327' E037°34.395' 155m )

From the embankment he sees some people. He's suddenly afraid. Would they be covering this back way too ? But they've seen him now and he has no choice but to go onwards - hoping that he will be taken for a simple excursionist. His false papers mean he is always nervous but what can they do, he has nothing on him, nothing against him. He carries on down. Its heavily vegetation at the bottom. He jumps over. He can see the people more clearly now - ( N 55°51.325' E037°34.409' 153m ) a family at a picnic table. He walks past - acknowledging them with a nod of the head. Their eyes take him in and then slip away, and he's past, walking through marshland. The sun warm in his face ( N 55°51.297' E037°34.415' 152m) dragonflies mating. miraculous presence of nature. winter & 3 million cars seem like another reality.

He walks gingerly along the side of the marshland, marvelling. Beneath some trees he sees more people (N 55°51.285' E037°34.414' 148m ) Its another family. a man and 2 women beneath a tree. one of the women is asleep on a blanket on the ground. Another standing further back dressed in bra & knickers. The man is beside a kind of table, on foot, his arms folded in front of him and he is staring at us, cold, unfriendly. Like a wild animal in the nature. Abdel passes him and heads up a slight slope. He can hear the sound of water. As he reaches the brow of a low hill he looks down to see a river (N 55°51.208' E037°34.415' 142m). a man is searching for something beside it (food ?). He looks like a vagrant. But could he be looking for something else ? He takes care to stay in the shade of a tree, just in case, and drinks water from the bottle he has brought with him.

There is a track there that leads back up over the railway. He climbs over and on the other side the river continues on. (N 55°51.162' E037°34.439' 146m) An old pipe like a bridge over the water has bottles lined up on it as if for target practise. He takes a shit beside the river & washes his arse with the water from the river, remembering Genet talking about his friend's shitting in a house when they go to rob it. The water smells bad but it seems to Abdel like a corner of paradise, a summer's day, the tinkling sound of poisoned water. The beach with its litter. He walks on through luxuriant vegetation & litter - following a path.

Emerging from the vegetation (N 55°51.125' E037°34.469' 146m ). 2 old cars in an abandoned area surrounded by all kinds of garbage. Looks like somebody is living in one of the cars, maybe the man searching beside the river. How can people live so filthily. He walks on, following what has now become a track - past a scrapyard where 3 men are pushing a broken forklift truck with another sitting on it, steering. They look at him as he walks past. He has a sudden sensation of vunerability. It seems like everybody is looking at him.

He's following the tree-lined track. Rubbish & more rubbish. Abel thinks about polluted post-industrial urban landscapes - the homeless & the recyclers turning over the ruins in search of anything while the rich float in stationary orbit. After a short distance he smells paint. It must be the garage. He hears the hissing sound of spray painting coming from behind a plastic curtain hung in the doorway of an old onecar garage. 2 cars are parked outside. Here is his meeting. He remembers Yussef (N 55°45.829' E037°33.748' ) saying "i have a friend who is really good at business" and the chess player and the mediterranean and the beginning of all this story.