The two man lined them up neatly, a black car was already parked outside the narrowed hallway for them. The supervisor goes in the car first, then K, then Ivan.

This is a small car, and it barely fits all of them in, the air starts to thick with the scent of anxiety and stale silence.

K sat between the supervisor and Ivan, the bulk of Ivan pressing uncomfortably into him, making the cramped space feel even smaller. The handcuffs biting into his wrists as the vehicle jolted forward.

The two men in black, one behind the wheel and the other in the passenger seat, hadn’t spoken a word since they had taken them away. The low hum of the engine filled the void, punctuated only by the sound of the supervisor’s frantic muttering.

“Oh god, oh god,” the supervisor repeated, his voice cracking.

"He is not religious" Ivan suddenly commented

K turned to him, his face a mask of confusion and frustration. “What is there to fear? They’ll let us go, right? We haven’t done anything wrong. All we need to do is tell the truth.”

He was trying to convince himself more than the others, but the words seemed weak even to his own ears. Still, it was the only thing he could hold on to. The thought of being dragged away for no reason felt absurd.

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“I’ll raise a complaint,” K continued, his voice gaining strength. “These men have no right to do this. They can’t just take us without any proof. We’ve done nothing wrong. Nothing!”

His gaze shifted to the two men in the front seat. They had barely acknowledged them, their faces expressionless, their focus on the road.

Suddenly, the man in the passenger seat pulled out his phone. He spoke briefly in a voice devoid of any emotion, “We’ll be there soon,” he then hung up without another word.

The supervisor flinched at the words, his hands shaking in his lap. “Oh no, no, no,” he murmured under his breath.

Ivan suddenly spoke with a grave voice, “We won’t be let go.”

K glanced at Ivan’s face—pale, defeated, and filled with a sadness that seemed far too heavy for the circumstances—he felt an unsettling chill.

The car sped on through the silent streets, its tires humming against the asphalt, carrying them forward to a certain somewhere which none of them could name.