[ if sully had produced a cigar, he would have been subjected to a disapproving look from john. while time changed things, some habits were harder to shake, especially the familiar wave of apprehension that washed over him when the other man mentioned hearing sounds. ]

No, I can hear them too... but it's probably someone's idea of a joke. Things can sound real when you've got a few sound bites and a tannoy system to piss around with.

[ john explains in an acerbic tone that suggests that maybe, just maybe, someone has done something like this to him before. ]