The Paper Trail

The afternoon sun beat down mercilessly as Amani and Halima made their way through the crowded streets of Mombasa's government district.

Colonial-era buildings, their white facades yellowed with age and exhaust, housed the labyrinthine bureaucracy of Kenya's land administration system.

The air was thick with humidity and the mingled scents of street food, vehicle emissions, and the nearby harbor. Amani wiped sweat from his brow, his mind racing with the implications of what they'd discovered at the Continental Hotel that morning.

"Are you sure you want to tell Fatuma everything?" Halima asked quietly as they approached the lawyer's office. "About Victor Mwangi and the others? It might put her in danger too."