"These books are amazing!" Ray flipped the page of a book about witchcraft and ancient rituals and like a kid in a candy store he couldn't be more excited. Not a moment where he questioned the fact how Edward Harrington aquired books like these because they are powerful books when used right. The books he's seen just by cover have already made an impression on him and he's just begun reading through the first book.
"They shouldn't be kept in a place like this, they should be studied in a place that's equipped to handle the potential dangers that come with it," he said as he grabbed another book and flipped the first page.
Meanwhile Egon was being led through a long hallway with paintings on the walls that depicted Africa and wildlife. Though one painting caught Egon's attention as he walked by it, it's one that showed Edward Harrington himself with his wife. Egon walked on as he rarely lingers to stare at paintings and he continued to follow William. They arrived at a door that's very heavily locked with security that required a scan of fingerprints. William placed his hand on a small screen and his prints were scanned and moments later the door opened.
"That's impressive security for one single room," Egon said as he pushed his glasses a bit further up his nose.
"What the room contains requires impressive security to keep any unwanted guests from entering." William opened the door and allowed Egon to enter first, though the first thing he noticed is that the room is kept completely dark. The only light is the one that creeps in from the hallway through the opened door.
Egon noticed two glass display cases that stood against the left and right wall as he looked around calmly. His pke meter tucked away inside his coat but close enough should he need it. He stepped toward the glass case on the left and it contained a small Mayan statue that's used in ritualistic sacrifices. William stood near the doorpost as he watched and observed how Egon examined the first Mayan artifact. The statue is ancient and Egon wondered how Edward Harrington even discovered it.
"Amazing isn't it?" William asked, and Egon turned and nodded and reached for his pke meter.
"Would you mind if I took a quick scan? " Egon activated the meter but stopped himself from taking the first initial scan, that is until William gave his approval with a slight nodding.
Egon aimed the meter at the first and only glass case he examined and moved it up and down, though the scan showed nothing. He turned and walked toward the other glass case which contained a knife that Mayan's used for hunting, odd markings showed on the handle of the knife that Egon recognised but he couldn't quite place them. The pke meter moved up and down as Egon scanned the knife but there was nothing to be picked up, both artifacts void of any supernatural influence. As Egon turned to face William again, the meter suddenly picked up on a psychokinetic spike but it disappeared all too soon. Egon shrugged as he deactivated the meter though his gut told him to scan a little longer, but he was done.
"I'm done. Thank you for allowing me to see these artifacts," Egon said as he approached William after he stored the pke meter away inside his coat. William smiled though he had been a mysterious host from the start, he allowed two strangers access to his uncle's home and take a look at the books he collected and even two of his Mayan artifacts. Egon has questioned the reason why Ray was invited to come here several times over in his head, but he eventually put it aside because curiosity took the better of him.
"We'll collect your friend and hear his opinion on the books he read," William said as he and Egon left the room and the door locked itself after being closed.
They encountered Ray in the hallway as he greeted them. "The books were incredible, thank you for letting me see them. Though are you sure that you want to donate them to a museum? If you don't mind me saying, Mr. Harrington, but those books are potentially dangerous when in the wrong hands."
"I wouldn't worry about that, Dr. Stantz. They'll be in good hands. I just wanted them to be read by someone like you before they'd leave this place. You have a lot of experience with the supernatural, so I know you understand how valuable these books are," William said as he shook Ray's hand.
"Well thanks again for allowing us an insight on the collection of Edward Harrington. We'll get out of your hair now," Ray replied as he noticed Egon's gesture and he nodded Ray to hurry up.
"Dr. Stantz, before you leave I'd like to give you a parting gift. Something that my uncle enjoyed," William said as he pulled a small black leather book out of the inside pocket from his navy blue blazer. "This particular book was my uncle's favorite, he studied the ancient ways of African's tribal rituals. I'm sure you'll enjoy it as much as he did."
Ray accepted the book with a grateful smile as he shook William's hand again and nodded. "I'm speechless, but I can't wait to read it. Thank you very much, and if you've ever got a problem with ectoplasmic entities, give us a call."
Ecto-1a roared as the engine heated up while Ray took another look at the book he was given. They both had an interesting experience while at the house, however Egon still had his doubts about William's honesty regarding the other artifacts and whether or not they really were stored in a private vault somewhere else.
"The artifacts he showed were not all that fascinating. A Mayan statue used in ritualistic sacrifices, though I know I've seen that statue before but don't know where. There was a hunting knife as well with markings on it that seemed to spell a name or word," Egon said as he crossed his arms though the spike he detected on the meter earlier is what puzzles him. However the reading was too brief and not worth mentioning even though it was a high spike.
"You should have taken a picture, I'd like to have seen that knife. Don't get me wrong I'm not excited by the blade but more so about the writing on it. Mayan's would often scribe the name of a god or being they worshipped on a tool so that it would be blessed," Ray said as he drove the Ecto-1a out on the highway with Egon turning his head to look at him.
"Yes, Raymond, I was aware of that."
Three of the four Ghostbusters eventually met up at headquarters as Egon and Ray found Peter using the EMD on the green blob in the research tank. Egon kept the research tank on the second floor where he has his lab, though the second floor also holds the sleeping quarters as well as a dining area. Peter turned around as he heard Egon clear his throat and he immediately stashed the EMD behind his back.
"This isn't what it looks like! The green thing wanted to escape, I had to use the EMD on him," Peter said as he nodded but still kept the EMD behind his back as if Egon and Ray hadn't seen him use it.
"The glass' particles are charged, it cannot escape. But maybe I should lock the EMD inside an electrical charged container, keeping you from using it whenever I'm not here," Egon replied as he shook his head and walked up to Peter and took back the EMD.
"Pete, why are you wearing a suit?" Ray asked as he grabbed a box of chocolate chip cornflakes that stood on the pool table and sat down on the long couch.
Peter himself strolled toward the couch while he unbuttoned his suit's jacket and removed his tie and threw both of them over a nearby chair. "I had a meeting with the Mayor remember? And just when you thought that meeting the big guy himself for the third time couldn't be more exciting, it got better. Peck showed up out of nowhere and apparently he's now our guardian angel. PCOC or Paranormal Contracts Oversight Commision, and Peck's the man for the job because it seemed that everyone else in New York was too busy," Peter said as he rolled his eyes and glanced over at Egon and Ray.
"He'll be keeping an eye on us now and we have to report to him on any job that we do. Oh and if we screw up too bad he'll shut us down because he's got the power. Doesn't that just make you want to strap on a pack and go crazy with a proton stream?" he continued.
"Interesting," Egon said as he cleaned his glasses and looked at Ray. "We can't have Peck shut us down again. If the storage facility is blown again we'll be finished, last time that happened we barely managed to catch every ghost that escaped. This time around we've got almost three times more the amount of ghosts in there than we did the first time we started."
"Imagine the explosion of that much psychokinetic energy all being released at once. It would be a destructive force that could level New York," Ray said as his eyes got bigger at the thought of such an explosion.
"Ray? Shut up, we get how bad it would be but I'd like to go to sleep tonight without nightmares about us blowing up New York. Imagine the bill they'd stick us with for blowing up the Big Apple," Peter said as he arched an eyebrow annoyed and sighed.
Ray stuffed his mouth with those chocolate chip cornflakes and they began to melt inside his mouth while Egon stood up and went on his way to store the EMD inside his lab. Peter watched as Ray chewed with an open mouth though not on purpose, and a sudden smack against the head caused Ray to spit out whatever was left inside his mouth.
"You jerk! Why'd you do that?" Ray asked as he rubbed the back of his head.
"You were chewing like a horse, I just did what any self-respecting woman would do if she was out with you. So where did you guys go?" Peter said as he winked at Ray and padded him on the back to ease the tension.
"I swear I'll stick you to a wall one day with the slime blower. Anyway Spengler and myself went to the mansion of Edward Harrington. I got an invitation from Edward's nephew to come take a look at the rare book collection his uncle had gathered over the years. It was really impressive and Egon got to take a look at some Mayan artifacts, I'd say it was a pretty good day," Ray replied as he grabbed a few chocolate cornflakes and began chewing again.
"Well, I'm gonna get rid of this monkey suit and pull on something that actually feels like clothing. Please continue chewing like no one's here," Peter said as he stood up and headed toward the sleeping quarters to change his clothes.