Though the car the man Russell and the woman Kirstin bundled him into was ordinary, Ahreed realised immediately that the situation was serious. Afraid of the man who was driving, he turned to the young woman sitting next to him in the back seat. "Am I in some kind of trouble, Ms Kirstin?"
The woman looked out of the car window, smiling. "Why do you think that, Ahreed?" she asked, distantly.
Ahreed paused for a moment. "Because you are taking me away." The sound of the traffic outside filled the silence as she looked up at the rear vision mirror. Ahreed could see her eyes meet the man's as he drove.
"Where do you think we are taking you?" asked the woman, glancing back out of the passenger window. She seemed to be half ignoring Ahreed.
He looked down into his lap, feeling frustrated now, as well as frightened. Every question he asked was returned by another question. "How could I know, when you have not told me!?" he demanded, letting the woman know he was becoming impatient.
The woman smiled again, still staring distantly out at the bustling city of Sydney passing by.
Ahreed kept waiting for an answer. Neither the man nor the woman replied. Ahreed was afraid to ask any more questions. He looked around the car instead and noticed a sign stuck to the driver's visor. Ahreed realised it was a hire car.
The silver Commodore drove on, Ahreed noticing its entry to the M4. He recognized Paramatta, Strathfield and then Petersham pass by as his journey continued. He so wanted to ask about the destination, but his trust in the two strangers had been exhausted by the conversation leaving the Kings School. As the car turned towards Mascot and then approached the airport, his alarm bells really started to ring. Suddenly, he blurted out, "Where... where are you taking me?"
The woman beside him and the man driving kept ignoring him. The woman just reached into her handbag and took out a small tablet device, then started texting.
"This isn't fair!" protested Ahreed, "You can't do this!"
"Calm down, Ahreed," replied the woman, "We're just going on a quick flight to Canberra." Ahreed sat suddenly forward, looking out at the airport surrounds as if trying to find a bearing. The woman stretched out her arm and grabbed him by the shoulder, pressing him back into the seat. "Stay calm, Ahreed," she said, raising her voice slightly and placing her smartphone down on the next seat. "It's going to be alright...there's no need to be alarmed."
"But what is this!?" protested Ahreed. "You can't do this to me... this is Australia."
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