Chapter 177
In this deep freeze, phones lagged badly and drained battery fast.
Victor’s idea was simple. The Goodmans would provide the equipment, while Nicole’s group would keep it running. Together, they would protect both the 17th and 18th floors.
Hughie looked uneasy. “If the doors are electrified, are we going to get shocked, too?”
“No,” Victor said. “I’ll install switches on both floors. There will be indicator lights when the power’s on. Just follow the setup when you go in and out.”
It wasn’t easy for Victor to make the trip back, so once they agreed, he got to work right away. Jeremy and Hughie helped where they could.
They worked late into the night before finally finishing.
The stair railings on both sides were cut, wires ran up to the 18th floor, and switches and indicator lights were installed.
Jeremy and Hughie tossed small scraps of fatty meat onto the doors. A faint sizzling smell followed.
Yeah. It definitely worked.
Out of basic decency, they even stuck a warning sign nearby.
[High Voltage. Do Not Touch. Enter at Your Own Risk.]
Back upstairs, Hughie was eager to prove himself. He volunteered first to pedal the high-resistance bike
to generate power.
The first ten minutes were easy.
Twenty minutes later, it started to burn. Thirty minutes, and he was already thinking about quitting.
By the one-hour mark, he collapsed, gasping. “Jeremy… I’m done.”
Weak was weak, no matter how much he trained.
Jeremy patted his shoulder. “Hughie, we’re men. We don’t say we’re done.”
“Then you do it.”
An hour later, Jeremy flopped down beside him. “Yeah, no. This is rough.”
Victor had made it sound easy. What a lie!
Beatrice watched the two of them struggling, then casually got on the bike. She pedaled for an hour without even breaking a sweat. “What’s wrong with you guys?”
They went quiet.
1/3
Jeremy stared at the battery level, shocked Nee W
He leaned
anet the doorframe, pretending to be easted
of a
ward fox
o
two hours Almost woped me on that should cover two days. Don’t common form
Two hours?
doesnt even swem, Nicole goes for two hours wrap, and Zagh
could probably do three without thinking Why are we always at the to
Jeremy took a long drink, frustration written all over his face. We work this hard, and we’re still the
Was this just how it was? Once you were behind, you stayed behand
No. That couldn’t be it
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