Arc 3 - Chapter 58: Miles and Hope vs Ada

(Reverence 6, 59 / 7:55PM)

‘Breathe Miles… breathe!’ Trying to steady his legs, his cheeks scrunched up from the pinching pain. Feeling like his heart might explode, his own lungs squeezed itself in. Losing his hearing, slowly, the sound of his pounding heart beat cruelly against—

His throat opened up. Taking in the biggest of breaths, he clamped his palms and fingers down on the metallic floor. Chucking air down his throat, he shook his head before looking toward Ada, who ran backward with a woman on her back.

‘Damnit… I told her to hide!’ He pulled out both of his double-barreled shotguns. Ada rushed toward a nearby wall, and slammed her back against it. A yell sprouted from Hope, who let go of her neck.

“Ah!”

“Don’t think about getting up!”

Thrusting her right foot out, Hope immediately twirled her body, but with her butt plopped on the floor. Narrowly avoiding the kick, the metal dented, and the wall trembled. Whilst Hope rose up, Ada pulled two of her knuckle dusters from her pockets. Fitting them on her knuckles, she glided her right foot back, and held her body weight on her toes.

“You think you can handle me?”

“I don’t know, but he may.”

She widened her eyes, and leaped to the right. Narrowly avoiding a strike from a shield, the blue light sprouted from the man’s wrists. The light softening the dark metallic walls, Miles bent his knees in.

“Double-teaming doesn’t sound fair.” Ada heard a reload, as ammo poured into Hope’s combat pistol. Straining her jaw, she knew what must be done. “So be it.”

With her toes already scrounged on the floor, she leaped right toward Miles. He jumped back, as her lunge made him raise his arms. His forearms acting as shields, he felt the impact, her metallic knuckles created a gust full of wind. Thrusting blow after blow, each ripple of wind bounced the strands of her hair. His spiked shields taking most of the impact, he frowned, and felt sweat blemish his cheeks.

‘Got to lower her guard.’

The train cart roared, the source of coming from the other end.

Leaping to the right, Ada slid her dress shoes against the metal. Her arms and hands still raised up, she avoided Hope’s bullets, her pistol ringing five times. Each time the barrel grew red, the recoil shivered her biceps and triceps, and her shoulders.

‘Luckily for me, I have Hope by my side.’ Lunging forward, he pulled back his right arm. As soon as he side-stepped to the left, he sprang out that spiked shield; until she crouched down.

‘Huh?’

This time, she sprang out her right fist. Having her whole body low to the ground, the difference in height was almost laughable. But that height difference gave Ada the advantage… as her right knuckle—

They heard another roar. Leaping back, he saw Ada standing still, while blood dribbled from her right hand. Two of her fingers, her pinkie and ring finger, looked to be mashed in by a bullet.

“G-Gah!”

Groaning, she slammed her back against the wall. Gunsmoke trailing from Hope’s pistol, the blonde-haired woman began reloading. For a split second he hesitated, as the sight of her mumbling grilled a hole in him. But she was the enemy, and she didn’t hold back at all.

‘I’m sorry…’ He lunged forward.

His whole bicep curled itself outward, and his back muscles girthed in size. Reaching right in front of her, Ada opened her eyes, with tears above her cheeks. Miles couldn’t look at her, but—

—His eyes glazed upon the ceiling.—

He stumbled back, and felt as if a hot piece of iron had snuggled his chin.

“Grah!” Blood swelled from his wound, and he wiggled his body around like a fish out of water. Hope, who saw it all play out, noticed Ada pulling back her right shoe, which also held knuckle dusters.

‘I have to heal him.’

Ada turned toward Hope. Rubbing the back of her shoe against the floor, she had on a frown that could freeze a bear.

“Try to heal him, I dare you.”

The sun barely setting into the horizon, the malevolent rays glittered the left side of Hope’s face. Wielding her pistol with both hands, if she tried to aim, it would give Ada the chance to strike.

‘W-What would Luke do? What would he try to do? What type of plan could he conceive to… do.’ Hope began tapping her gun. She noticed Ada’s intense stare, but it wasn’t directed at her. Seeing that she was locked on her gun, Hope lit up her mind at the revelation at hand.

“Your right hand doesn’t look good. From the amount of blood you’re losing, you’ll feel woozy.”

“And?”

“There’s medicine in my jacket.”

Ada clicked her tongue, as her cheeks slowly darkened once she returned her eyes on Hope. Seeing her frown, she tried to analyze the poker face, a face that glowed under the evening sun.

Hope moved her left hand into her pocket.

“I’ll surrender. But, if you want to take the medicine off of me, there’s one request that I must ask.”

“Quit your yapping.”

Hope felt her hand tremble, as the gun she wielded creaked against her sweat. Making the grip slime in warmth, Ada began to crouch, and she pushed her body weight on the tips of her toes.

“Just what are you planning anyway?”

Hope straightened her back, and glanced down at the pistol she carried. Knowing she was making her nervous, she dropped the gun. Hearing the butt of it click the ground, she turned her eyes onto Ada.

—“Like I said, giving you your medicine.”—

Another gunshot roared in the air.

Ada’s knees slammed into the floor. Blood riveting from her lips, she coughed, her throat patched with dryness that rivaled sand dunes. Burning her eyes crimson, she stared at Hope’s left; as she carried a thirty-eight snub pistol. The barrel plowing out smoke, the tip of it was blazed by the heat. Ada clutched her stomach. Pressing the wound with one of her hands, she glanced at her palm, and noticed the blood that stained her skin.

“You … you …”

Coughing once more, she could only stand on her shins. While she groveled in pain, Hope ignored the agent completely. Pushing the thirty-eight snub back into her pocket, it wasn’t long before she reached Miles. His clothes glued to his skin, sweat poured forth from every ounce of his skin. Kneeling right beside him, she extended out her hands, and had them hover where the wound was.

Slowly opening his eyes, his breathing slow, and he tried to muster a smile.

“How did you just…”

“It’s ok. I got you.”

His vision took in the yellow light. Stopping the pouring blood, his whole body loosened up from the chest down. Staring at the roof, his head laid on the floor, the metal barely able to cushion his hair. Once the wound was finally closed, Hope pulled back both of her—

Something hard slammed her cheek.

Like a metal wrench had flown toward her, she sprung herself on the floor, her shoulder hitting the metal. Red swelling around the area, she hissed air through the center of her teeth.

“You’re not getting out of here with straight limbs.”

She felt someone grab her hair. As if the person’s fingers were clad in iron, she was then dragged, her legs and butt grazing the surface with little care. Scalp popping from her head, she gasped and groaned under the pain she—

Her back hit the wall, hard. Squeezing her eyes shut, her whole body ached.

“You think I’m that stupid!? That I’m that easy to fool!?”

Hope could barely trace what was in front of her, and her eyes stared forward rather to the sides. Trying to squint, she tried to force strength in her legs, but her ears took in thumping footsteps.

“I’ll make sure you eat straws out of your ass!”

Her whole head arched up. Hearing her own teeth snap out, warm liquid trailed from her chin. Her jaw felt loosened, dislocated even, like a sledgehammer swung to her face.

“Take this too!”

Her nose caved in. Feeling more snaps litter her ears, she lay on the floor. Curdling herself, she tried to act like an armadillo without a shell. Squeezing her eyes shut, her breath fastened, while warm liquid gushed from her nose.

“And that! And that!”

Each thrust of Ada’s shoe gasped more air out from her lungs. Whatever oxygen she had, it was robbed. From her face down to her stomach, each kick held the force of a swinging shovel.

[Was that what’s bothering you? Ada dear…]

Hope extended out her hands, but grabbing her wrist, she kept her fingers there before sending another kick. Hard, fast, more pieces of white bone poured from her mouth.

[Don’t you dare try to fail me. Don’t follow in your mother’s footsteps.]

Until her frustration ceased. Breathing heavily, Ada’s whole body flushed the anger she had bottled up. Balling her hands, her face wrinkled from the chin up. Staring down at the woman she kicked…

Vomit rummaging with the blood, Hope’s nose was shifted sideways, and her cheeks caved into her mouth. Her cheekbones snapped in half, blue and purple swelled that gushing face. So much swelling, Ada took a step back and arched her head up, her eyes taking the ceiling.

‘Are you proud of me now… father?’

An explosion shackled the walls.

Panning to her right, she trailed the outline of smoke, all coming from the halfway point of the train. But as soon as she took a step… the back of her hair rose.

—Once a blue light grew in back of her.—

Turning toward the other end of the train cart, blue shields were implanted on his wrists. He didn’t wield his sawed-off shotguns, nor did he care to use them one bit. Staring at her with white scleras, the tips of his hair nestled his eyebrows. Like he was about to hunt down prey.

Having eyebags that could pull in a black hole, he slid his right foot back. “You shouldn’t have done that.”

________________________________________________________________________

(Maya 3, 50 / 11:41AM)

18 years ago.

She peered out of her window. Taking in the concrete scenery, the city named Lagefor was engraved in her dark irises. Cars, automobiles, citizens, the only difference between her, and them, was that she could see them. Trailing her eyes down, there was the usual white picket fence, and the one or two guards patrolling the grounds.

Pulling her head away, she turned toward the top of her drawer. Hearing a collection of wheeking, it was only one rodent, an animal with brown fur that ran around the pen. Slides and tubes on the sides of the cage, she felt a soft smile tug her—

She heard a knock. And upon hearing the door open, she turned to see a man walking toward her. Wearing the same circular glasses, his hair was tucked into his fedora.

“You’re supposed to be in the academy.”

The girl looked down.

“I don’t wanna… nobody likes me there.”

“Why do you want people to like you?”

“I want friends. I-I want friends to play with.”

“Ah, I see…”

He looked at the guinea pig, and his whole face wrinkled. So wrinkled in fact, he looked away immediately, and settled his eyes on the city bastioning her window.

So much business, so much commerce, the city was known for its economic prosperity. Seeing the world with his own two eyes, Ada saw the world differently, mostly because she was just a kid.

“Ada, In this world, you don’t need friends. In order to strive for success, the only thing you need is yourself.”

“B-But what about Mommy?”

“What about Mommy? Like I said, she’s only a failure. A failure you shouldn’t follow.”

She heard a crackle, and she glanced down at his right hand. Seeing it balled into a fist, it was soon released, as it looked like he was controlling his temper. In and out, his airways felt rejuvenated the more he inhaled that cold air. Hunching his head, he squinted into the city.

“Your mother chose to abandon us, abandon you. I’m not a man plagued by illness, nor insanity, so whatever she does doesn’t concern me. But as for you…” He turned around. Moving his hands toward his lower back, he kept them there, before blocking the city view with his body. No sunlight to light upon her face, she stared at a man whose frown groveled in ice. “You are my daughter. I expect the best out of you, whether it be in school, or at home. I cannot tolerate failure; you cannot follow failure.”

Her guinea pig squeaked even more, as it ran in circles in the cage on top of the drawer. Looking like it exhausted itself, it crawled to a water tube, and drank in silence. Her dad took a step to the cage.

“I only want what’s best for you, and the best is your best. Your fortune? Your happiness? I gifted that. Not you, not your Mom, not even God. Me.”

He didn’t have his eyes on her any longer. Opening up the cage, not a single lick of frustration licked his body. Keeping his whole body composed, cooled in equilibrium, he lowered both hands inside of the pen.

“To live a successful life, you only need to focus on yourself, and yourself only. I didn’t belittle little matters like friends, or helping others, or going out in nature. Time is money Ada.”

He picked up the guinea pig, which snuggled firmly on his two palms. Finally moving his eyes toward his daughter, Ada looked at the wheeking it continued to emit. Purring as well, her father raised two thumbs.

And settled them on equal sides of its neck.

“So why waste your time with animals such as these?”

—She heard a snap.—

The wheeking stopped. Lowering the pet in the cage, he straightened out his back and looked at Ada.She didn’t cry, but her eyes darkened. Unable to quiver, or even sniff, she stared at the dead animal with silence.

“Come. I’ll take you to the academy myself.” Without nodding, she followed right behind him. Unable to turn back, she kept her eyes either on him, or to the ground. But most importantly… the life in her eyes vanished.

________________________________________________________________________

Back to the present…

He zipped toward her like a javelin. Taking her by surprise, she leaped back, and avoided the punch that brushed away air. As she trailed smoke from her shoes, Miles spun his body 90 degrees, and avoided a punch she also threw. None of them could land their punches.

‘Damnit… that bullet is moving inside me.’

Both of them holding their body weights on the ground, Miles saw the way she played defensively. Feeling like she evoked a man’s wrath, or crumbled his promise, Miles couldn’t detail what was reality… or what was red. Seeing flashes of it, he growled, before lunging forward. He didn’t leap to the right or left, giving Ada the perfect chance to launch her foot—

Straight into his chin.

‘Grah!’

But he ate it like nothing. He didn’t stumble on his back, nor made him lose focus. Even when he felt the metal, he sprung his rigid shields forward, making her leap away. Sliding through the ground, trails of sweat washed down her face. Barely able to keep her feet close to the ground, Miles closed the distance once more.

‘Just what is he doing?’

Blood littering down her chin, Ada took it upon herself to strike again. Yet he didn’t crumble, even when the pain spread around his body. Like he was immune to it, he then threw forth a spring-like punch. Narrowly avoiding it, the rigid spikes scratched her cheek. Small lines of blood flowing out, Miles felt warm liquid travel down his lips.

‘Got to hold on…’

Closing the distance once more, she instinctively thrusted her right foot up. Kicking straight into his nose, he dug both of his hands onto her ankle, which sent her to groan. Feeling his nose cave in, he huffed and breathed through collapsed vocals. With frustrating strength, he sent her flying.

‘Got to… got to…’

Red speckled his eyes, while one or two loose teeth stabbed his gums. Spitting out a couple of them, he hunched his back forward, and shook his head. Trying to reaffirm himself, he felt the adrenaline begin to slow.

[Hey Miles, how was your day going?]

Like some wicked curse, he tried to ignore those voices. Hearing that soft vanilla voice, and who held it, it made him see more red than reality.

[Hehe, Jack and you always butt heads. Reminds me of Luke and Sean a lot, although they both don’t actually like each other.]

He bit down on his cheeks, as he saw two knuckle dusters close the distance. He arched his head back, and sprang his rigid shields to cover his face. Shockwaves throttled deep into his bones.

[Miles… thank you so much.]

“You made me do this.”

In one single motion, he grabbed both of her wrists. Without blinking, he dug his nails deep enough for blood to be drawn. Thrusting her right foot, she used the bottom of it to penetrate his leg in brass. But it didn’t push him to falter. His teeth still biting the insides, the taste of iron grew underneath his nose.

“Now eat this.”

He sprang his foot up. Landing a direct impact into the wound, it sent her flying back. Her arms and legs wailing in the air, her shoulders jumped and rolled against the metal. With her back slamming hard against the wall, blood gurgled from her throat.

Having her palm and boots pinned on the floor, she breathed heavily with blurred eyes. Slowly rising up, more blood wallowed from her mouth.

“You… gasps… won’t… gasps… beat me.”

“We’ll see about that.”

With a leap forward, he kept his hands close to his sides while seeing her drool. Lines of blood running down her neck, it looked like she stood on the tips of her toes. Lunging to the right, he spun around once more, and saw her try to throw a punch; but she missed.

His shields still spurring out blue light, he held his breath and sprang his left hand out. Trying to block it, her knuckles acted like shields, but his rigid spikes were sharper than hers. Pushing right into the metal, and especially her knuckles, a collection of cracks and snaps clicked his ears.

“GRAH!!”

Taking a step back, she screamed at the wound he inflicted. Twisting bones, out of place fingers, blood already lavished down her wrist and arms. Her breathing intensified, her nostrils rippled like a flag in the wind. Coughing out more blood, she lowered her right hand, as the pain squeezed itself relentlessly.

“I won’t kill you.” Speaking right alongside her ear, she threw a punch, but it lacked strength. Miles only needed to take a step, as he readied his fist. “But I’ll make sure you’ll never harm us again.”

Grabbing her throat, he raised her up, while his other hand curled itself tight. Choking on what little air she was receiving, she gasped and gurgled with a growing purple face. His shields pulling back, the light he carried turned the train cart dark. She began to kick him. Again and again, the butt of her boots repeatedly struck his stomach. It stung like a group of enraged wasps, as the burning heat expelled from his body. But the kicking turned worse.

“G-Gah… ah…”

Squeezing his eyes, he loosened the hold he had on her throat. The knuckle dusters she had, the metal that clung to her boots, strangled his eyes in veins. He kept the greatest of poker faces… but his vision blurred. Stumbling forward, purple completely floured her face, but unfortunately for him, the grip on her throat loosened drastically. All because of her kicking, she grappled his knuckles, and forced his fingers to snap in half.

“AH!!”

Completely letting go, purple mingled in his bones. She kept her fingers digging into his bones. Lunging forward, she hugged him, but not in the way many people would imagine. Low oxygen deprived her ability to speak. Her mind fogged, and her thoughts uncoordinated, her motor skills were running on fumes. But even so, she sprang her right arm back and thrust it toward his face.

Striking his cheek, she did it again and again. But by instinct, she let go of his chest and pulled back her arm, and swirled herself to the right. All with low oxygen, adrenaline unraveled every nerve in her body.

‘How is she still going…’

She grabbed his back. Climbing half a foot high, she immediately pushed her fingers into the back of his neck. The tips of her nails digging into his airways, the roles were reversed. Feeling the oxygen loosen in his body, he gagged, with saliva spazzing on the floor beneath him. Lowering himself to his knees, he raised both of his hands toward her knuckles.

‘No woman can hold… gah!’

Even when he felt his bones pop, he dug his nails into her knuckle dusters. Feeling his nails chip off, his eyes swelled red. Staring down at the floor, he took in the cruel oxygen she huffed out, as if she ran a marathon while holding her breath. The more he stared, the more those memories flashed before him. Warmth and pain, but those memories are what drove him forward. To be what he is now.

‘Sorry Luke…’

Ada’s whole body shook like a broken motor. He didn’t know what she looked like, but he knew her anger was something else. Something that was bottled for years, decades even.

—Until a gunshot roared the train cart.—

In that moment, Ada loosened her hold on Miles completely. Taste, smell, vision, they all were lost in that single second. Blood gushing from her eyes, all of her lower body swelled in static, making her muscles void of strength. Collapsing onto her stomach, she couldn’t even register pain.

‘I got her… I finally did it.’

From the floor, was a blonde-haired woman wielding a gun. Smoke plowing from the barrel, her cheeks were puffed purple, and her eyes were tainted by blood. Barely able to see, she quickly dropped her gun. And tracing the outline of Miles’s body, he looked like he could barely breath. She began her crawl.

‘Just wait… Miles…’

Dragging her whole body across the metal floor, her jaw rubbed against the surface. She bit her lips, but the swelling pain in her face override everything. Inch by inch, she made her way toward the fallen man.

‘Got to… heal him… got to…’

Coughing once, saliva mixed with red stained her skin. Her jacket and clothing groveled in it, she daggered her eyes forward… she reached him. Pressing her palms onto his back, a glow of yellow light pushed into his body. Like being enveloped in a warm blanket, Miles’s body shook once, before succumbing to deep sleep.

‘Almost there…’

While she healed him, Miles’s right fingers twitched, as the smell of iron still lingered. With a low groan rumbling his throat, the victor’s reward was at long last rest..

________________________________________________________________________

He saw black. In a world without color, without outline, he floated like a particle in the deep of space. Burnt steak, black rubber, it was a collection of smells that parried in elegance and filth.

Then came the yellow light. In front of him, the pulsating sight trickled his pupils.

‘Huh…’

Miles shook his head, and glanced to his left and right. Lockers, the metal kind that were rectangular shaped. Locks wrapping around the keyholes, there were also benches through the middle, with towels and water bottles sitting idly. Glancing to his left, and then his right, it was like he was back home.

“There’s trillions of bridges in the afterlife.” He heard a voice from behind. Turning around, he noticed an old man wearing a wintry jacket. Having a hat on his head, black winter boots, and a brown clipboard, he had one hand in his pocket. But above all, the man’s eyes were on the locker, while spinning the combination lock. “But every one of them leads to the two same kingdoms.”

“Coach…”

They both heard a click. While the coach spun the other lock the other way, far in the distance, was an endless hallway that held thousands, millions, maybe billions of lockers. All fogged in holy dust, it would take years to traverse the hallway.

Hearing another click, the man turned the lock clockwise for the last time.

“Every locker you see, from here to the end, has a name. A story. If you tried to read every single one; you’d be reading until the end of time.”

It wasn’t long before they heard that final click. Taking a step back, the coach unshifted the lock, and dropped it to the floor. Opening the lid, Miles was curious, as the two of them stared into the locker.

“So many pictures…”

“Not just pictures son.”

Squinting his eyes inward, all of the photos and frames moved. In real time, each movement played like a recording. Each point of view being from a man, whether he was a child, a teen, or an adult, the endless photos moved and ebbed. But there was a photo that catched his eye. He saw a teen running through the field, a teen that had dark-complected arms and a face.

“These are your memories.”

“And this is just one locker.”

Taking a step back, Miles noticed the name centered on the locker. Although he went by coach, the text read—

Robert White.

Looking at the other lockers, he saw the neverending hallway filled with them. Counting about a hundred or so, the yellow fog was the barrier, a buffer for their eyes to swell.

“So then… are these the rest of us? The rest of the team?”

“It’s surprising, you know, how a town from Kepputha got wiped off the map. We weren’t even part of the attack, yet luck wasn’t with us.”

Closing the locker, it was a gentle slam, while he picked up the lock from the ground. Pushing it into the hole, he sealed it tight, and turned around to face Miles. Staring right into the young man’s eyes, he didn’t see him as some soldier.

“Don’t feel guilty son. You did what anyone could have done. I even told you to run.”

“But what about the others? How did I survive?”

“You were always stronger than the rest. The others… aren’t so fortunate.”

The coach patted the locker, before walking toward the bench. Seeing a towel, and a spare water bottle, he picked the towel up first. Lacing it onto his back, he opened the lid of the bottle, and drank the clear liquid down until there was no more.

“You still have a long way to go…”

“What is my purpose coach? I’m just living off of ideals.”

“Well, you could start with keeping your promise. That’s a good one.”

“But I hurt people. I wound people. I make them bleed in order for me to—”

“But you never killed anyone out of malicious intent.” The lockers began to fade. Making the reality before them turn to white, it left the yellow light from afar glow hard. “You could’ve killed that agent, but you didn’t. That alone proves your morality.”

Memories make the man. Whether it be a man’s first throw, or a first piano lesson. A first pitch, or a first dance. A first cooking lesson, a first night of hunting, first kiss, first everything, it’s decided by a man who walks.

“Coach… I’m not well.”

“No. You’re just too merciful. Miles.” The coach turned around to face him. Staring at a man who grew in size, along with will, he looked like the ideal soldier. But most importantly, an ideal protector. “Do not mistake your mercy for weakness.”

In the blank white space, Miles saw everything began to fasten. From the imaginary walls, floor, ceiling, everything rushed forward like a trap. Like it was trying to enclose him in, Miles couldn’t formulate a single breath…

—“So with your strength, help others who have none.”—

As he was dragged back down; into the abyss.

________________________________________________________________________

“Coach!”

Springing his body like a coil, he sat up with his body already straightened out. Having both palms on the floor, he breathed harshly, before gazing his eyes forward. Looking for Hope, he noticed a sleeping woman with blonde hair and a swollen face. Near the woman was an agent, whose face was half swollen. No blood drooling from her nostrils, only her purple cheeks remained.

‘So she really did heal her. Guess we all have a bit of mercy in us.’

Letting his eyes wander off, he slowly rose from the ground, and patted dust from his pants. Walking toward the two women, he cocked his head to the right, and allowed a crack to release. Once he was near, he picked up Ada first.

‘Wait a minute… this train cart is the fourth one. It’s either the third or fourth where it houses those emergency breaks.’

Carrying her like luggage, he had her waist wrapped around his arm. Dangling her head, along with her arms and legs, he then bent down again to get Hope. Letting her rest on his left shoulder, while Ada was carried by his right arm, he looked around the cart.

‘And making sure those breaks aren’t used is our top priority. So…’

Glazing his eyes across the room, he noticed a small box sitting in a corner. Having a small lever inside, it was enclosed in glass, and the letters and words all proved his theory.

‘There it is.’

As soon as he reached the box, he dropped Ada to the floor, and pulled out his shotgun. Pushing air inside his lungs, he molded his face in strictness, before pulling the trigger. The echo bounced hundreds of times on the floor and walls. The double barrels still puffing out smoke, he waited for a few seconds, before pushing the shotgun into his holster.

‘Alright, that should do it. Now to check up on the others.’

Picking up Ada, he wrapped his arm around her waist again and walked toward a door. Each step jumping their sleeping bodies, the door was laced in metal, and it led to the second train cart.

Once he was near, he readied his right foot. ‘I don’t even want to know what Sean and Jack are cooking up…’ To which he kicked down the door with ease.