Chapter 4

About a week later.

Sidus was curled up under the kitchen table when Kylie returned to the firehouse the next day. Roland was leaning on the counter flicking cheerios into the entrance to Slimer's bottomless pit.

Kylie sat down and fed the dog a piece of meatloaf she brought. "Any calls?"

Roland shook his head and popped another cereal into Slimer's mouth. "Egon's went to visit his relative for the week. Eduardo and Garrett got here about, say, half an hour ago. They were kind of bored, so now they're..."

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU BEAT ME AGAIN! I WAS SO CLOSE!"

"EDUARDO! THERE'S NO NEED TO SHOUT!" Janine shouted from the basement.

"...Upstairs playing Mortal Kombat on Egon's Dell 45-inch flat-panel?" Kylie guessed.

Roland nodded. "In a nutshell, everyone's going to go loco unless we're hired."

As if an answer to prayer, the phone started to ring. Janine could be heard dashing to her desk and grabbing the phone off the hook. "Ghostbusters! How may I help you?"

After a series of mumbling and muttering, the phone clicked, Janine passed her notepad to Roland and hollered up the stairway. "Pack it up, kids! You're needed on the other side of New York!"

"We gotcha, Janine!"

The foursome ran around getting Ecto-1 as well as their equipment ready.

"Have fun!" Janine called after the departing ambulance. Then she went back to refill the coffee machine. "I wonder why they took the dog with them..."

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Roland frowned at the windshield. "Um, Garrett?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you open the back window? There's... a living thing on the roof."

As soon as Garrett obliged, a large black German Shepherd with a star- shaped medallion clambered into the back beside him.

Eduardo glared at his four-legged archenemy. "Who invited you?"

Sidus growled back. Garrett rolled his eyes and sat back to give them more room for their "who's the better hypnotist" competition.

Kylie decided to intervene. "Lay off Eduardo! He's just a dog, for Assisi's sake! C'mere Sidus, and let Eduardo alone."

Sidus obeyed with a big smile on his doggy face. Eduardo watched as the dog smirked in his direction. "...Dumb mutt." He muttered.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

The Ecto-1 pulled over at an old factory later that night. Waiting for them was an old caretaker at the doorway.

"You took your time, alright!" He snapped.

"Where's the spook?"

The man pointed inside. "Got some oversized turkeys tearing the machines apart. The boss is paying for a good job done, so keep that dang dog under control!"

"We will." The team got into gear and shuffled into the ancient building. The floor was asking for a decent polish.

"That caretaker looked pretty calm for being spooked."

Kylie flicked on the pke meter. "Guess it's kinda hard to get freaked out by a pea-brain, Class 5 fowler."

Roland sneezed, raising another cloud of dust.

"Gesundheit."

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Lichmonde watched his newfound prey wander deeper into its territories. "This is easier than I thought it would be."

The large raven then descended next to the caretaker, and turned into a huge monstrosity, bearing features of both man and bird. The caretaker did not so much as flinch. His eyes were blank and glowing like lamps.

Lichmonde patted the caretaker like a street dog. "Well done, lad. In you go to get my office ready."

In a flurry of feathers, the caretaker turned into a dull brown sparrow. The sparrow chirped twice, and flew in through a window.

Lichmonde smiled and scratched a feathery chin with his forelimb talon. "This could turn out to be a very good day..."

= * =

What has LENG put the EGB up against?

Will they live to tell the tale?

LENG: Don't you just LOVE cliffhangers? ^_^

Zaki: /Glances at watch/ It's nearly 12 midnight.

LENG: Great, it's WAY past my bedtime, but at least I'm done! [Plops down on bed] G'night, Shiro!

Zaki: Night, LENG. And don't call me Shiro.

= * = * = * =