she could see him taking in the mercedes in all its shiny , expensive glory . `` how long do you estimate that it 's going to take for the ground under the north wall to soften enough to topple the structure ? '' madeline looked up at him , wondering what was going on behind his intense blue eyes . unfortunately , i was drunk and had forgotten to take off my boots first . the crowd pushed again , straining to break inside . my sight was greeted by a massive round figure . 