CHAPTER 7

The Betrayal

There were three things Danny realized earlier whilst sitting in the tree above the now empty clearing. First, he should have realized that of course Vlad was involved. He'd expected it, considered it, but until that moment still had his doubts. They were unwarranted. As much as Danny hated to admit it, Vlad was smart. If he desired money from a foreign source, Lamia was the perfect choice with their massive mining operations for precious stones. Dells didn't seem like the kind of man that would make dealings with Vlad, but then again, he should know more than anyone how easy it is to hide your true self. Danny decided he wasn't surprised the president was willing to associate with the billionaire for personal gain, because what else could Vlad offer? If what Sam said about the militarization of the country was true, then both men had similar interests. Power was a temptation not easily avoided.

The second thing Danny realized after officially discovering the partnership, is that Dells' planned betrayal wasn't really a surprise. The only way a high profile assassination was going to succeed is if there was a scapegoat to pin all the blame on. Vlad posed to be the perfect option. An outsider on a quest for riches, with a fair amount of contact with ghosts, would easily be able to arrange something like this.

Lastly, and Danny really scolded himself not realizing this until an ectoblast soared from the bushes, is that he should have known Vlad would come back and face Danny after the meeting was over. But he didn't, and was thoroughly surprised when a pink ball of energy exploded beside him, sending him tumbling out of the tree. Danny lay dazed for a moment, sprawled out and vulnerable to attack, when another blast hit him in his exposed back. He gave a brief cry of pain before rolling over and scrambling to his feet.

Just as he started to transform, Vlad lashed out and a rope of ectoplasm soared through the clearing to pin Danny's arms to his side. He struggled against the bindings, twisting his hands around to shoot his own green blasts. But Vlad sent another constricting attack his way and pinned his hands together, palms facing inwards.

"So what now, Plasmius? Going to hand me over to your friend back there?" Danny jerked his head in the direction the president had walked off.

"Of course not, little badger. My business partner can't very well be distracted with tracking you down if I simply hand you over." Vlad grinned.

"He's going to betray you, you know." Danny scowled. He was a little surprised when Vlad burst out laughing

"I have no doubt about that, Daniel. His plan could hardly succeed if he didn't."

"And what plan would that be?" Danny narrowed his eyes at the older halfa, not really expecting a reply.

"It's quite simple. He just wants a little more power to himself."

"That's obvious enough, but what power?" Danny spat.

"If I have to spell it out for you." Vlad shook his head and sighed. "Military conquest, Daniel. When you're already the most powerful man in a country, and you crave more, you have to go somewhere else to get it. It's all fairly simple, really. An increasing number of ghost attacks creates unrest among the citizens and they start to lose faith, even if they don't want to. Such a shame it will be when the 'ghosts' finally kill an important political figure, and it all turns out to have been a ploy for the assassination to take place. Of course, there needs to be an assassin, so they know on whom to declare war. I have no doubt that, following the tragic day, evidence will come to light revealing I was contracted by one of Lamia's dear neighbours to help with their plot. The citizen's faith will be restored, and they will rally around a common enemy."

"So Dells is going to kill someone, blame it all on you, and start World War III," Danny clarified.

There was a beat of silence before Vlad responded with a chuckle. "Exactly. If you weren't such a poor student, you may have figured it out yourself."

"And why are you telling me all of this?"

"It's chess, Daniel. Sacrifices must be made."

"I can't really see how this could benefit you at all." Danny scowled, trying to follow Vlad's line of thought.

"Of course you don't, you're still just a child."

Tired of Vlad's superior attitude, Danny used the last thing he could think of. "If Dells finds out my secret, there's nothing stopping me from telling yours."

The raven-haired boy gave a triumphant grin, sure that he'd won. There was no way that Vlad would risk his secret, since he was working so hard to keep it.

"There is, just one thing, stopping you."

Danny's smile fell from his face.

"You're chance at survival. Do have fun, little badger. It would be a shame if something happened that you couldn't come back from."

Vlad transformed and flew away, and only once he was far enough away that Danny couldn't follow did the ectoplasm binding him disperse. Danny waited a moment, contemplating what he should do next. Making a decision, he transformed and turned invisible, flying back to the presidential building. He stuck his head through the wall of the meeting room, thankful when no ghost alarms went off. He scanned the table, noting neither Dells nor the general had returned. Ezra was probably scouring the grounds for Vlad, or whatever ghost had set off an alarm.

Danny found an empty room, transformed back, and headed back to the meeting. He'd just put his hand on the doorknob when Ezra walked around the corner. The general's gaze narrowed.

"Why are you out here?" He asked accusingly.

"Looking for the ghost," Danny answered. "I thought I could help more if I knew what you were facing. But I, uh, got lost. Just found my way back."

"A plausible excuse."

"A plausible truth," Danny falsely corrected. "Because that's what it is."

"Of course," the general said and walked past Danny. The men inside only paused briefly upon their entrance, before resuming their discussions.

"General," Danny said before Ezra could walk away. He glanced at the others, and lowered his voice so they couldn't hear. "About the president, I think he's-"

Before he could finish his sentence, the president himself stepped into the room.

"Ah, Ezra!" Dells smiled as he reclaimed his seat. "I assume the ghost was taken care of?"

"It's no longer on the premises," Ezra assured him. Danny frowned, that didn't sound like he'd 'taken care' of it. Chances were, Ezra's soldiers sensed Vlad when he was arriving. Now that he was gone, and Danny wasn't in his ghost form, there was nothing to sense.

"Excellent. Considering the hour, I see no point in continuing the meet," Dells said. "If possible, would you be able to join us once again tomorrow after your activities?"

"Yeah." Danny nodded and stepped aside as the various officials filed out of the room. Both Dells and Ezra held back, and soon they were alone. The halfa was hoping to divulge his suspicions to the general. It would be a long shot, since the man seemed intent on blaming outsiders, and was very loyal to his president. But he had to tell someone.

"Oh, Danny, I hope following Ezra after the ghost proved useful," Dells said cheerfully.

"He did?" Ezra asked, and Danny gulped, realizing the fault in his story. It was a minor one, but if the president asked Ezra anything, he could be on be in the track to learning Danny's identity. "It's a shame you got lost Daniel, sorry, Danny. I'm sure your expertise could have been useful to us. Now, I think your friends at the estate will be missing you."

"Yeah…" Danny nodded slowly and walked briskly out of the room, throwing one last look at the two leaders as he did so. Despite leaving the presidential estate much earlier than intended, Danny didn't make it back to the guest house until late. He opted to fly back rather than take on of the cars Dells offered, and along way was distracted numerous time. Apparently Vlad had already filled the request for stronger ghosts, which was astonishing. Danny and the others had eliminated the possibility of a portal to the Ghost Zone existing on the island country, which would be the fastest method of welcoming ghosts, because of the need for presidential approval. But if Vlad was working with the president, he definitely had it. And the construction could be hidden.

The portal didn't have to be anywhere in the city. From what Danny learned, ghosts weren't just occupying the capital, but they were seen in other towns all around the country.

The patrolling soldiers still had enough power to maintain the ghostly threat, so Danny focused his efforts on location the portal. Using his sense, he tried to pinpoint locations with higher concentrations of ghostly energy. He found nothing, not that he expected to at this time, and it could no longer be counted as late when he finally floated through the wall into the room he and Tucker shared.

Danny prepared to drop onto the couch piled with blankets and pillows. He and Tucker decided to alternate taking turns between it and the bed every night until the end of their trip, and tonight he had the couch. He started to drop onto the cushions, but noticed at the last second that Tucker was actually lying there. On instinct, Danny kicked out against the back of the couch, sending him toppling to the floor instead of on his friend. His momentum brought him rolling across the floor until he was halted by the base of the bed.

"Ow!" Danny shouted, rubbing his head after it bounced off the wooden board. He felt the covers brushing his dark hair shift as whoever lay there sat up.

"Danny?"

The halfa sat up on his knees. "Hey, Sam. Sorry to wake you."

"What the hell, Danny, where were you?" Sam hissed, crawling over to the side of the bed. They both heard movement from the couch as Tucker woke up as well.

"Dude, it's so late, what are you doing?" Tucker asked groggily, shoving the pile of blankets off of him.

"It's not late, Tuck, it's early," Danny answered.

"Seriously?" Tucker glanced at the clock on the bedside table. "Dang. If you guys are going to be so noisy, I'm going to Sam's room."

"We're not being noisy," Danny whispered. "I just want to go to sleep anyways, so you don't need to leave."

"Right, and where will you sleep? I'm not cuddling up with you here, so that just leaves the bed. And there's no way I'm staying in here with you two." Tucker grinned, draping one of the blankets around his shoulders like a cape.

"Tucker, gross." Sam chucked a pillow at the techno-geek, and he dodged sloppily, the corner of it sliding off his arm.

"Two questions, Sam. Would you get up and make the trek back to your room?"

"No way, this bed is bigger," Sam said, gathering the puffy comforter up to her chest.

"Right. Second question, do I need to wake you guys up in the morning, or will you both still be awake?"

"Tucker!" Sam and Danny shouted in unison. Sam threw another pillow after their fleeing friend, while Danny took the dramatic measure and a relatively harmless ectoblast soared from his palm. Relatively being the operative word. They heard Tucker yelp as he pulled the door shut, and Sam muttered a few choice obscenities as Tucker's footsteps faded.

"Danny."

"What?"

"Get off the floor."

"Hm? Oh, yeah." Danny climbed onto the bed, dropping down beside Sam.

"So, my earlier question. What happened to make you so late?"

"Trying to locate the source of the ghosts, but that's not the important part. Vlad and Dells are working together, I overheard a meeting. They're planning an assassination, to start a war."

"What?" Sam's voice was laced with disbelief, and Danny understood why. At one point in her life, Dells had probably been like an uncle to her. "Did you tell anyone?"

"I was going to tell Ezra, but then Dells came in, and Vlad pretty much told him who I am."

"You do know you could just tell Dells Vlad's secret, right?" Sam asked, used to dealing with a C student.

"I know that!" Danny gasped defensively. "But Vlad said something, confusing, so I won't reveal him yet."

"Fair enough. But what about Vlad and Dells? Do you know what kind of deal they have?"

Danny flopped backwards onto the bed, stretching his arms above his head. "Not exactly, just that Dells is going to cross Vlad and frame him for everything, and Vlad already expected this. I'm not sure what he's getting out of this, but I'm guessing it's money."

"We have to do something." Sam said as she lay back down.

"I know. I'm meeting Dells again tomorrow. I'll try and speak to Ezra, or learn more about what's going on. Try to avoid capture." Danny sighed and rolled onto his stomach.

"You won't try, you will. I don't exactly like what happens whenever people related to any form of government get their hands on you." Sam scowled, her hand brushing over Danny's shoulder, where a rather nasty scar was hidden beneath his jumpsuit.

Danny stiffened and changed back to human, the edges of the old wound peeking out from beneath his shirt collar. He pressed his face into the pillow, feeling Sam's hand trail across the puckered skin, and fell asleep.

'See' you next time!