Zev Harcourt [break]
SPRING CLEANING

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Not all the liquor bottles were empty. Zev had dragged out crates of them from the refrigerator to see whether their contents were too old or too little to consider keeping. He began separating these on a nearby counter while the good bottles remained in the crates.[break][break]

"I give a fuck," he said, shooting Damien a glare.[break][break]

While the younger man worked hard behind the bar and usually kept to himself, Zev was not a fan of his combative personality. The need for a paycheck usually kept him in line, but small rebellions like this had been the norm since Damien's hiring.[break][break]

"This bar is a certified green business. A lot of our regulars feel good supporting us because of that." And keeping those regulars meant continuing to meet certain standards.[break][break]

Zev returned to sorting the bottles. As he unstoppered one and took a whiff of wine gone sour, all of the lights in the entire back area of the bar suddenly went out. At the same time, a searing heat filled his chest and spread through the rest of his body. He whirled around, eyes wide with alarm.

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Zev Harcourt [break]
SPRING CLEANING

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The circuit breaker. Of course. That made sense.[break][break]

Except that this was not the first time lights had gone out around Zev. He recalled the first occurrence on a smuggler's ship off the coast of Ever Grande City. It happened again back in Sootopolis, on the pier as he'd spoken with Cillian Quinn.[break][break]

"It should be in the basement," Zev said. Besides serving as extra storage for dried goods, the basement also housed the laundry machines they used to wash kitchen rags, napkins, and other cloth objects used by the bar.[break][break]

Zev moved toward a nearby set of stairs leading down. However, they were steep and narrow — too dangerous to traverse blindly. And nothing happened after flicking the lightswitch a few times.[break][break]

Turning back to Damien, Zev asked, "Got a flashlight or something?"

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Zev Harcourt [break]
SPRING CLEANING

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Zev winced as several (thankfully empty) bottles fell and smashed across the floor. He sighed, mentally adding "sweeping the floor" to the top of his task list. Reprimanding Damien was no use, however, since it wasn't the younger man's fault that the lights had all gone out.[break][break]

"Thanks," Zev said instead as he took the flashlight from Damien. He clicked it on, but nothing happened. Clicked it off and on again. Nothing.[break][break]

"Useless," he muttered under his breath as he set the flashlight down and fished in his pocket for a Pokeball.[break][break]

In a brief flash of light, his Illumina Chandelure appeared, casting a soft purple glow upon everything in the back room. The effect was eerie, ghostly.[break][break]

Zev pointed down the stairs leading into the basement, indicating that the Pokemon should take the lead. He obeyed without objection, floating down the narrow staircase, his master following at a short distance.[break][break]

"Stay up there, Russo," Zev called up even as he descended. "Let me know if the lights come on or not."[break][break]

In moments, he and Chandelure found the breaker box. However, none of the breakers looked tripped. Zev frowned and toggled the one for the back room.[break][break]

"Anything?" he yelled, hoping his voice carried up enough so Damien could hear.

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Zev Harcourt [break]
SPRING CLEANING

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A string of vile swears escaped Zev's mouth when Damien answered. The man did not often lose his composure, but only a few hours remained before they usually opened up the bar for customers.[break][break]

Zev reset everything in the breaker box and made his way back up the stairs. A storm of frustration brewed on his face, but he kept his anger in check.[break][break]

"Go home," he told Damien. "We can't do anything here without the lights. I'll call the electrical company to sort this mess."[break][break]

Unbeknownst to Zev, of course, the electric company would not be able to fix the issue. In fact, the electricity in the entire building was simply gone, though the equipment was not malfunctioning and had not been tampered with.[break][break]

No, the light had been eaten.

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Zev Harcourt [break]
SPRING CLEANING