A light rain had started to fall, wetting the gray pavement.

At the side exit of the building, a black transport van was parked with its engine idling.

Two guards stood by the rear doors.

I stood under the concrete awning, watching the rain fall.

Ethan and Margaret were led out of the building in orange jumpsuits.

Their hands were chained to their waists, their feet shuffling in plastic slip-on shoes.

The rain fell on Margaret’s gray hair, flattening it against her skull.

She looked like an ordinary old woman now, stripped of her expensive clothes and her pride.

Ethan kept his head down, his shoulders hunched against the cold.

They were guided up the metal steps and into the dark interior of the van.

The guard slammed the heavy doors shut and locked them with a loud click.

The van pulled away from the curb, its tires splashing through the puddles.

I watched the red taillights disappear around the corner of the block.

My phone vibrated in my coat pocket.

I reached in and pulled it out.

The screen lit up with a notification from an unknown number.