Sydney siege survivor Jarrod Morton-Hoffman feared gunman Man Haron Monis was about to make a discovery that would mean certain death for him and the other hostages when he made the decision to escape the Lindt Cafe.
Mr Morton-Hoffman - the first hostage to give evidence at the inquest into the 2014 siege - has recounted the terrifying seconds leading to the moment he and five others ran for their lives as Monis fired at them.
As an increasingly agitated and paranoid Monis was walking to the kitchen to check an exit, Mr Morton-Hoffman came to the grim realisation his attempts at providing police with intelligence from inside the cafe may have been about to be discovered.
Over the course of the day, the then 19-year-old had been slipping notes under the same door, including one detailing the layout of the cafe and the location of barricades.
"It was 2am. I felt like our attempts at placating Monis were finished. This was the first time that he'd left the room throughout the day and I figured if he opened the door it would be death for the rest of us," Mr Morton-Hoffman told the inquest on Wednesday.
"This was our only opportunity to make a final escape before the police would be forced to enter the cafe, and if they did enter the cafe with so many people, there would probably be a lot of collateral damage."
As Monis, flanked by Fiona Ma and Selina Win Pe, who he was using as human shields, went to check the exit, Mr Morton-Hoffman, who had been ordered to stand at doors to the foyer, faced towards the other hostages and whispered: "I'm going."
Previously aired CCTV footage from the foyer of the building, played again on Wednesday, shows him entering the foyer ahead of five other hostages, to doors that lead to Phillip Street, where he pushes the emergency exit button as Monis shoots.
It was 2.03am.
"I heard Monis scream 'what was that?'," he said in reference to the sound of a glass crashing to the floor and breaking.
"I heard Joel scream 'he's chasing us'.
"The time for micro-managing was over. We needed help from outside."
Police entered the cafe at 2.13am, after Monis shot manager Tori Johnson.
Asked by counsel assisting the coroner, Jeremy Gormly SC, if there was any more he could add on Monis that would assist the inquest, Mr Morton-Hoffman said he believed the gunman was an "amateur".
He added that Monis failed to take a hostage count which meant hostages were able to escape without his knowledge; and hostages were given a large amount of "autonomy", allowing them to make plans.
Monis had also carried out the attack alone, he said.
"He didn't seem as if he had a set plan apart from to make chaos," he said.
Mr Morton-Hoffman later told reporters it had been a very "long" and "difficult" two days giving evidence.
"I just wanted to thank everyone for the support they've given me over the past, well, whole year-and-a-half," he said.
Ms Ma, who also worked at the cafe, began giving evidence on Wednesday afternoon, telling the hearing that Monis initially seemed "amiable and nice" when she helped serve him but that she was shocked when he pulled out a shotgun.
The inquest continues.
