Later on maybe Max will remark on how disgusting the smell of cooking sea monster was bound to be. His distillery was on an island near the port and the smell at low tide was something akin to fish mixed with death and then heated in the sun.

But right now everything has faded out around him, if this was a movie it would do one of those forced perspective things where only Max and his car exist as the camera pans behind them. As soon as Skulduggery says that, Max bolts away to his car, forgetting he was here with two other people, because that's not nearly as important as HIS CAR.

Almost like he thinks this might vanish the moment he gets close, he tentatively reaches out to put his palm against the door, giving his own responding chirp as the car seems to really be there. Pulling the door open he climbs behind the wheel and starts rifling around, trying to make sure no one has been driving his car, no one has touched his baby. Because if anyone has he's going to messily murder them. Satisfied that everything seems to be in order, he pulls out a cleaning cloth from the glove box so he can get every speck of dust off of her.

Skulduggery and Ava might have dropped off the face of the earth for all he's noticed. It's car time.