If Max had been confused before, he was well and truly lost now, and somehow felt even further removed from ever finding his way out of the labyrinthine maze of corridors that seemed to make up whatever the hell it was that was going on today.
The group was now standing awkwardly in the fluorescent lighted, narrow hallway that was just off the garage. It wasn't necessarily the kind of place that he would have chosen, the lack of privacy afforded by the open space and the doors at either end that didn't require more than a team badge to open were less than favorable features.
Not to mention the fact that the acoustics of the space seemed to amplify every tiny little noise tenfold, and to such an extent that every step, every sigh, and every quietly mumbled word that passed between you and Dan felt uncomfortably loud, echoing in his ears and grating at his nerves until he felt rubbed raw and overstimulated in record time.
But while it may not have been his pick of locale for such an undertaking, especially in light of such glaringly obvious downfalls, Max refrains from vocalizing any of his concerns, regardless of how valid they might seem in his mind, as no one else seems to share his reservations and that matters more than anything else.
It's an old habit, one he'd love to be free of, that he can't quite seem to successfully break himself of, that had been ingrained in him at an early age, when he'd realized that he had a tendency to see the world and the people that populated it in a different light than those around him, and he had quickly learned that it was better for himself, for everyone involved, that he simply keep his own council on the vast majority of thoughts that crossed his mind.
He knew it was wrong, that it was foolish and childish of him just how quickly he'd invalidate his own thoughts, feelings or observations when he didn't think that the people around him shared them, but he seemed powerless in the face of such a long held, time honored tradition of keeping his own council. It didn't matter how deeply he believed something, how important it had been in the moment, how critical it had felt, he would dismiss it all entirely, suddenly absolutely certain that if he was the only one that had been of such an opinion then it was worth anything at all.
You, Daniel and Horner had claimed one side of the hall without a moment's hesitation, falling into place like you'd been here before, like this was known territory and giving him the impression that more likely than not, whatever it was that had happened early, while he'd evidently been the only person at Red Bull that had been focused solely on qualifying, had happened here.
Uncertain of where he should stand, feeling like the odd one out, and not having any particular interest or patience at present to bother with sifting his way through the politics of picking between the two opposing sides that had already been established, Max simply consigns himself to the most neutral options left open to him. He assumes position in no man's land, which in this circumstance happens to be the dead center of the hallway, paying painfully close attention to the exact stretch of floor he finally settles on, going so far as to start counting tiles until he's absolutely sure of the middle ground.
It doesn't take long at all for Max's initial theory to be confirmed, that this space had already been witness to some conflict, because in the time it takes for him to break the staring contest he'd been having with the ground, now feeling quite confident that his feet are safely planted in unbiased, unclaimed territory, and get his first good, proper look at the room around him, his eyes land on the fist sized hole in one wall.
His father had evidently given the mangled mess of drywall and plaster a wide berth, stepping around from the spot like it had done him some personal injustice, before coming to a halt a few feet away, which was all the evidence that Max really needed to start drawing rational conclusions as to what exactly had happened here. Glancing away from the damaged wall, Max casts his eyes around, looking for further explanation without having to ask it of anyone.
