The plunger clattered to the floor again. This time, Eddie didn't pick it up.
Just as defeat began to settle into the station like a low fog, the bell rang. Not the emergency tone. The front doorbell. At 3:34 AM.
Standing under the flickering bay light was a man in a rain-soaked delivery driver uniform. He held a single VHS tape in a clear plastic case.
For the next forty-five minutes, they waged war. Lucy typed into every streaming service known to man. Eddie searched on three different browsers, including one that was just a purple dinosaur icon that he claimed was "for the dark web of comedy."
The tape hissed to life.
"Tonight," Lucy whispered, reverence in her voice, "everything is real."
Lucy even tried the unthinkable: she typed "Tacoma FD S04E01 In-YouTube Premium." The search bar laughed at her. She swore she heard it.
It was beautiful.