Chapter Five: Lost, One Best Friend
Spike stared at the cuffed figure in the worst of the briefing room chairs resentfully. It wasn't fair, wasn't fair that Wordy had been snatched away from his life and family, wasn't fair that Team One now had to deal with someone who might look like Wordy, but had none of his heart and soul. And it especially wasn't fair that Wordy's family might never see him again.
"What are you lookin' at geek-boy," Kevin sneered; disdain and disgust for Spike and the rest of Team One radiated from the Wordy look-a-like.
"At a guy who looks like my friend, but isn't anything like him," Spike retorted.
"Friend? You think the 'other' me's your friend? Boy, are you thick," Kevin drawled, leaning back in the chair he'd been cuffed to. "If he's anything like me, you're just an insecure geek who got his friend killed by a land mine to him."
Spike froze. When he and Ed had been trapped in Kevin's world, they'd discovered Lou was dead, but the sealed file meant Spike hadn't been able to find out how. "Land mine?" he finally managed, his voice raspy and horrified.
Kevin smirked, scenting blood. "Oh, yea," he confirmed airily, "You sent Lou downrange to reckie a bomb and he stepped on a land mine." At the look on Spike's face, Kevin stopped, savoring the horror. "Russian mine," he leered, his smirk growing, "One of those mines that doesn't go off when you step on it." Another pause as Spike fought and failed to mask his growing revulsion. "Just goes off when you step off it." Kevin actually laughed at the sick expression on Spike's face, then he added the punch line, "Sarge figured later that you probably planted the mines."
"He didn't," Lou put in from the doorway, his expression angry at Kevin for taunting his best friend. "The bomber planted those mines, not Spike. Maybe your Spike's a cold-blooded monster, but our Spike isn't." He stepped further into the room and added, "And Spike's not a geek. He's a geek with combat skills."
"Big difference," Spike automatically finished, still reeling over Kevin's revelation about the other Lou.
Kevin flinched, but turned toward Lou. "Hey, ghost-boy."
"I'm not dead and I'm not a ghost," Lou retorted. "You were talking about the Eco-terror bombings, weren't you?"
"So?"
"Probably got real close to a land mine that day, man, but I'm still here. Defused that bomb, got it outta there. Couldn't have done it without Spike's help."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever."
Lou tugged Spike to the doorway, far enough away to talk without Kevin overhearing. "How you holding up, man?" Lou asked, his eyes worried; Spike suspected he didn't have to ask how much Lou had heard of Kevin's taunts.
Spike offered up a limp smile. "Been better, Lou." His gaze traveled back to Kevin, his fear rising. "What-what if it doesn't work? What if we can't get Wordy back?" What if we're stuck with this guy forever?
"Spike, stop. We'll get him back. The Ghostbusters said they got their guy back, remember?"
"Well, yeah, but what about…" What if he's gone, what if they caught him?
Lou put a hand on Spike's arm. "Stop, Spike. No more 'what if's. Sarge would storm the gates of hell if that's what it took. And all of us would be right behind him. Wordy's fine. He's coming home. And when he gets home, we're going to smash that pocket-watch and yell at Wordy for opening it without thinking." Never mind that none of them could have predicted this turn of events.
Spike laughed. "Thanks Lou." Neither noticed the jealous look on Kevin's face as he watched them. His team would never come after him like this team was going after his 'twin'; they'd write him off and move on…easy come, easy go. For an instant, Kevin wondered what it would be like, to have a team that backed him to the hilt like this team did…that cared like this team did.
Greg and Ed traded tired looks. Greg had assigned himself the second watch, determined to handle the hardest watch himself. Ed had promptly informed the Sarge that he'd be on the second watch too and cast a look at Greg that dared him to argue. Greg read the near threat and opted for the better part of valor.
With Spike and Lou sent off to bed, Greg cracked his soda open and sipped it slowly. Ed had brought in his and Greg's stacks of paperwork, suddenly much more willing to tackle that particular chore.
"When'd you quit?" the still awake Kevin asked, breaking the silence.
Greg studied the man, noting a touch of actual interest. "Before I joined the SRU."
Kevin shifted in his chair. "And you think that makes you better?"
"Better than what?"
"My Sarge."
"Your Sarge is on the take," Ed pointed out, glancing up from his paperwork.
Kevin sneered. "And how would you know that?"
Ed smirked and leaned back in his chair. "Don't suppose you remember the day Spike got the better of you, do you?"
Kevin surged up and was caught short by the cuffs. "The imposters! That was you?"
"Yep," Ed admitted with a shrug.
"Funny how Scarlatti needed you to grow a spine," Kevin snarled, hate twisting his face.
"He's stronger than you think," Greg intervened. While he didn't know the details of Ed and Spike's misadventure, he planned on getting them as soon as Wordy was home.
"That so?" Kevin demanded. "You think you're better than us?"
"Think?" Ed asked, sarcasm reeking.
"Ed," Greg rebuked.
"You're not!" Kevin hissed, almost spitting in his rage. "You've got no right to keep me here." He glared at both men. "You," he gestured to Ed, "You needed Scarlatti to save you. And you," he whirled to Greg. "Maybe you don't drink, but I bet all it would take is a little push and you'd fall right back in."
Ed jumped up, but Greg waved him back, calm in the face of the accusations and the angry, hurting man behind them. "Ed needing Spike's help is not a crime. That's how our team works," he told Kevin, voice firm.
"And the Sarge isn't going to fall back into old habits," Ed added, his gaze on Greg rather than Kevin. "We're a team and we won't let him fall."
Greg's eyes warmed at Ed's stanch defense, but he kept on point and continued, "As for keeping you here, I admit we don't have a right to keep you here. But we can hardly permit you to go to our Wordy's home and we have no immediate means of returning you to your own life and team."
"You brought me here," Kevin argued, but his defiance was draining away. As much as he might not want to admit it, he knew they were right.
"If we'd known what opening that thing would do, we'd have smashed it," Ed snapped.
Kevin glowered at them, but had no ready response. Greg and Ed watched him for a few more moments but, when Kevin said nothing more, returned to their paperwork. Ed ignored Kevin, but Greg noted a few almost thoughtful looks from the man. The Sergeant wondered, just to himself, if the other Team One was about to see some necessary changes, but he wasn't going to hold his breath and he doubted he'd ever find out, regardless.
Jules and Sam traded wary looks as they trekked into the commandeered briefing room. Sarge and Ed looked up and departed, taking their paperwork. Kevin snored in his chair, something neither SRU officer minded. The snores were easier to handle than insults. The two constables silently agreed to stay as quiet as possible and Jules retrieved a deck of cards and a sheet of paper for a game of gin rummy.
The players spoke as little as possible, concentrating on their cards and idly keeping score as the night wore on. The room stayed, for the most part, quiet until the sun peeked through the blinds. Kevin grumbled and stirred in his chair; as he woke up, he did his best to stretch, despite the handcuffs and the fact that the briefing room chairs weren't meant to be slept in.
Sam waited until the cuffed man was awake to ask, "Need the bathroom?"
Kevin glared at the sniper, but nodded after a few moments. Jules rose, pulling her sidearm and covering Sam as he let the prisoner up. The two escorted Kevin to the locker room's restroom and back once he was done. Jules continued to cover Sam until Kevin was back in his seat and safely cuffed.
"So, when do you head off to your other job, Jules?" Kevin asked, a gleam in his eye that made Jules nervous.
"Other job?" Jules parried, hiking one brow as she regarded her friend's mirror twin.
Kevin actually blinked in confusion. Then he leered a bit and elaborated, "Oh, you know…your dancing job."
Dancing job? Jules blinked herself. "Don't have another job," she informed the bound man.
"Pity," Kevin remarked. "I bet Sam would love it if you did."
Sam growled, deep in his chest. "That's none of your business."
"Oh, come on! It's not like it's a big secret." The two SRU officers traded startled looks. Kevin laughed at them, derision written across his face. "Everyone knows. I mean, how could they miss it, what with you two practically all over each other."
"Not here we're not," Jules snapped.
"Even if we were, it still wouldn't be any of your business," Sam added.
"Yeah, uh, huh," Kevin mocked. "Keep telling yourselves that and maybe Sarge will believe it." At the expressions on both constables' faces, he laughed again.
Unable to take any more mockery, Jules shook her head, moved to the doorway, and hugged herself a bit. Sam followed, concern on his face.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Yes. No. I don't know." She looked back at Kevin, longing for their teammate writ large on her face.
"I miss him too, you know," Sam said softly.
"I know, Sam, I know." Jules sucked in a breath, thinking for a moment and tapping her fingers against her arm. "I'll get some breakfast for us."
"And him?"
"He can wait till we're done," Jules decided, a slight gleam in her eyes. No, she wouldn't starve Wordy's 'twin', but she wasn't going to cater to him either. Or give him the satisfaction of knowing just how much he'd rattled her.
Ecto-1's arrival was greeted with relief from Team One and ill-disguised fear from Kevin. The Ghostbusters bustled back and forth, unloading their equipment and enlisting Team One to help haul the heavier items into the briefing room. Ed and Greg broke up the large briefing room table into its 'component' tables, pushed the tables out of the room, and disappeared to locate the generator Egon Spengler insisted was 'vital, absolutely vital' to the upcoming retrieval.
The four Ghostbusters were as different from each other as it was possible to be. Egon Spengler was the tallest by far and sported a lanky frame and blond hair arranged with a curious flip on the front and a tiny tail at the back. Behind round, red-rimmed glasses, his eyes were blue and he had a very long jaw. His jumpsuit was blue with pink accents.
Peter Venkman was shorter by several centimeters and had a stocky frame. His hair was brown and very ordered, except for an errant curl of hair dangling over one eye. Green eyes glittered as he teased and bantered with his friends. He had a squarish jaw with a slight cleft to his chin. His jumpsuit was brown with green accents.
Ray was the shortest of the four, with enthusiasm that spilled over in his brown eyes and slightly overweight frame. His crew-cut red hair all but bounced as he bubbled to Spike about Ghostbusting. His smile emphasized his rounded jaw and his jumpsuit was a light tan with darker tan accents.
Winston Zeddemore, Commander Holleran's cousin, was as dark as his cousin, with close cut black hair and dark brown eyes. He was about the same height as Peter and had a similar facial appearance, but sported a more athletic frame. His jumpsuit was pale blue with dark red accents.
Spike peppered both Egon and Ray Stantz with questions, his eyes alight with an interest that hid the shadows in their depths. Lou stayed on the bomb tech's heels, refusing to let Spike dwell on the cruel remarks and the even crueler story of the night before.
Jules shot down Peter Venkman before the cocky man could even finish his spiel and Sam smirked at the bemused Ghostbuster. No way Jules was interested in anything other than getting Wordy back, preferably today.
Winston conferred with his cousin, the pair of them swapping stories as they hauled in equipment and started setting things up. The Ghostbuster interspersed his stories with calling out settings and readings to Egon and Ray. Egon checked them against the printouts in his hands and offered a few minute changes.
By the time Greg and Ed reappeared, lugging the generator, Ray and Egon had reassembled the smaller tables into their larger version and moved the Ghostbusters' packs onto the reassembled table positioned just outside the briefing room to begin adjusting them. The two left the packs for a few minutes to retrieve a large book from the converted hearse; Egon muttered something about double-checking which settings needed to be adjusted on the packs.
Peter and Winston hauled the portable trans-dimensional portal into the briefing room and started assembling it. The generator was attached at one side, with regular wall power on the other side. In short order, the two Ghostbusters had the device set up and humming as it came online. Peter left long enough to snag a PKE meter and started taking readings of Kevin, ignoring the snarls and generous swear words from the cuffed man. Other than a cringe or two at the more…colorful…swear words, Peter didn't react at all to Kevin's rantings.
Once he was done, Peter exited the briefing room, meter in hand. He snagged the paper Ray offered him and compared the readings there with the new ones he'd taken. "Other than the biorhythm differences we expected, looks like we're dealing with the same alternate reality, Spengs." The joking was gone, replaced by a professional who knew exactly what he was doing and what to expect from his equipment.
"Biorhythm?" Spike asked.
"Later, Spike," Ed intervened.
"Yes, quite," Egon agreed. He turned to Team One. "As I stated on the phone, we are depending on Constable Wordsworth retaining possession of the device for this procedure to work."
"And if he doesn't?" Ed asked.
"Then he will not be returned to our reality and we shall have to try something else," Egon replied. He smiled a bit at the startled group. "As we would not have left Raymond in the alternate reality and, I assume, you feel the same about your constable, I do not intend to leave without achieving success in our endeavor."
"That's our Spengs," Peter put in, his eyes dancing as he sought to break the rising tension, "With his shield or on it."
"I appreciate your dedication," Greg offered. "I know Wordy will enjoy meeting all of you."
Ray looked up from the packs. "I think they're ready, Egon."
"Excellent, Raymond. Once we've attached them and made our final adjustments we can begin."