The repair bill was a disaster. The central heating unit, according to the apartment complex manager, required specialized parts and immediate installation. Total estimated cost: $5,300. The emergency fund the team had slowly built up from their magazine profits and miscellaneous jobs amounted to less than $1,500.
"She hit us where it hurts," Nina said, staring at the repair estimate. "She didn't kill us. She gave us an eviction notice."
"We can't get evicted," Kofi said, running a hand through his hair. "The Sanctuary is here. Thea is shielded here. We lose this apartment, we lose our defenses."
"We know," Jake muttered, frantically running financial models on his tablet. "Even if we pull every dime from our savings and sell every piece of non-essential equipment, we're still short by over three thousand dollars."
"We can't ask my parents," Nina insisted. "They're still dealing with my grandmother's recovery. And your parents are overseas. We have to solve this ourselves."
