A/N: Alright, here is is. At the moment, this story is about 31,000 words worth of sloppy scenes. Each scene switches to somebody's POV, including a number of OC's. One POV is notably absent. This is an experiment or, more accurately, an exercise in using third person limited POV.

Status now is: editing and rewriting, but the whole of it is almost finished (which should more or less guarantee the absence of plot holes). Updates should be regular, if I don't, feel free to poke me.

Ah yes. Sequel to 'Specter Detectors parts 1-3.

Story Warning: rated for language, mostly. Please keep in mind they're all around 24 and act and talk accordingly.

Full Summary:

Business is picking up in Danny, Tucker and Sam's ghost hunting agency. Their current job - clearing out a ghost-rat infested warehouse - is taking a lot out of them, and a series of jewelry store robberies seems ghost related too. On top of that, Jazz decides to visit, bringing her fiancee Gary along. Now, Danny has to juggle two assignments while keeping his secret from his future brother-in-law...

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.

SPECTER DETECTORS LTD

Episode 4: Rat Race

Prologue

Jay Fletcher was running. He hadn't yet reached that pleasant haze, that fluid, easy feeling yet, sometimes called runner's high, so he was panting and struggling to keep up his speed. At six in the morning, getting high was very hard to do. The cold air was painful in his lungs, and his hands, though gloved, were still freezing. His footsteps on the quiet sidewalk somehow sounded distant, as if he wasn't really there, and the orange glow of the streetlights only served to increase the feeling of utter loneliness.

At the fence he stopped and he leaned against it to stretch his legs. He came by here every morning, and had seen the the gradual transformation of the area, from rundown neighborhood with lots of boarded up houses and closed shops to an area that was mostly bare, only the rubble of the torn down buildings remaining. The only thing still standing was the old apartment building. His building. Blackened, partially caved it, a hazardous place. Eight years it had been standing there, empty, burnt out. And now they were going to tear it down. This was his last chance.

He looked up at the huge sign with the picture of what they were going to do with the area. A new, completely white complex, some government agency. Lots of buildings, a large fence, a guarded gate. The people that lived in the neighborhood had moved, or had been moved, the squatters chased away, the tramps and the drug dealers herded out of there. All in the name of progress. He didn't disagree entirely, but he needed to get some closure. Now was the time.

Quickly, instead of continuing his run as he usually did, he slipped through an opening in the fence he had discovered several days ago. If it wasn't for that accidental discovery, he didn't think he would have gone through with it, but he had, and it seemed like too good a chance to pass up on. Still, once inside, he had second thoughts. He wasn't supposed to be in here, it was dangerous, and he'd be in so much trouble when they caught him...

Nervously, he glanced around. He was trespassing now, doing something illegal, and after the episode at school, where they had caught him carrying a knife, he really wanted to stay out of trouble. But then he pulled himself together. It was ten past six in the morning. The workers didn't start until seven. Everybody was asleep.

Carefully, he picked his way through the rubble, avoiding the metal wiring sticking out of the concrete, the splintered planks, the mud. It was a particularly cold morning, and he could see his breath fog when it left his mouth. He wasn't cold, though, and he knew he wouldn't be for a while, as long as he kept moving.

The entrance was open, the door was gone, and he entered what used to be the main entrance to the apartment building. Blackened concrete greeted him, an opening where the elevator used to be and the stairs next to it, thankfully also made of concrete, or they would have been burnt away also. Memories struck him as he stood there, memories of playing with friends, of running up the stairs because the elevator never worked, of shouts and laughs and...

He blinked. The images faded away, leaving him with... nothing. Echoes, in his mind. Slowly, he stepped through the hallway, ignoring the fact that his shoes picked up the black soot from the floor. He climbed the stairs, all the way to the fourth floor without so much as having to catch his breath. Once there, he automatically turned right and there it was.

The door was gone. There was rubble in the tiny living room and kitchen. Some remains of furniture, also black. He remembered the couch against the wall, but it was unrecognizable now. He took a deep breath, suddenly afraid. He didn't want to go in there. This was the place where his parents had died. This was the place where he had lived before that fateful day when he was out playing with his friends. This was where the explosion had taken place, starting the fire, killing not only his parents but also four other people in neighboring apartments. An accident, they had said. Gas and an unsafe stove.

He really should get out of there.

Instead, he tentatively stepped forward, entering the apartment. Now he really had a good view on the devastation. The front wall was completely gone. The place where his room had been was a black hole. He shuddered at the thought of what would have happened if he had been in there. He would probably have been evaporated.

His feet scraped against the floor and he winced at the sound of it. Suddenly, the place seemed ominous. He should leave. There was nothing here, all these years of worrying had been for nothing. He shouldn't have come.

Something cold brushed his neck and he shivered. His breath caught in his throat. There was a presence there... Frantically, he looked around. Again something touched him, and it felt eerily familiar. Move, he thought, move out of here. He couldn't. His feet seemed glued to the floor as the cold encircled him, wrapped itself around him, entered him...