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From here]
Down this corridor, out to the patio, and then through two more doors and they'd be in. He could see the map in his head and they were so close. Assuming nothing happened between here and the kitchen...there was a chance, and that made him all the more hopeful.
Perhaps, now, something could be accomplished and he would actually be able to protect the people he traveled with rather than hope he didn't get in the way.
"How long have you been here, then?" Long enough to think being hopeful was strange. But how long that took just depended on the person, really.