Over the many generations that the human species has spanned, there have
been heroes: Saint George who slayed the dragon, Washington who lead
America to victory against the British, Neil Armstrong who commanded the
team of astronauts who landed on the moon, and the officers of the NYPD and
FDNY who battled to save the lives of the civilians as the World Trade
Center burned.
And while these heroes became heroes in life...
...others became heroes in death.
Prologue
8:54PM
Feburary 29th
2002
The New York skyline, the most recognisable set of buildings that the world has ever known, have stood the test of time since the first high rise was built on Manhattan Island. The skyline has changed many times over the years, from construction and reshaping, to demolition and expansion. Even after losing one of the jewels in it's crown it is still is the most famous city skyline.
The beam of protons shot up to join the other three creating a pyramid of energy on the roof of the MetLife Building.
"Ray, open the trap!" Egon shouted over the noise of the energy leaving the proton gun.
"Trap open!" A fifth beam of energy shot upwards towards the demon ensnared in the beams. The demon was then lowered into the metal box that would serve as a temporary prison until it was loaded into the Containment Unit. Smoke from the partially melted barrels of the guns drifted into the orange cast sky, the sunset was ending.
"I'm too old for this." Winston walked over to the guardrail and sat down, his greying hair was still visable even in the dying light.
"I thought we'd got rid of the ghosts." Peter wiped his forehead and passed a hand through his thinning hair.
"We'll never truly be rid of them." Egon removed his glasses and adjusted the piece of tape that held one of the arms on.
"Well, we've saved the world once again." Ray fidgeted with the worn shoulder strap.
"Yeah and now we go back to our separate meagre jobs." Peter said miserably. Egon sighed.
"I would love to stay on, but it's not like the old days. We're just too old."
"Why don't we train some new members like in that short lived "Extreme" series we got?"
"I'm afraid that we might be too old even for that, and noone even wants to know the Ghostbusters anymore. The Firehouse hasn't attracted any customers in over a month."
"Close down the Firehouse again?" Ray glanced up with tired eyes.
"It hasn't been the same since it became the Ghostbusters Museum."
"But what about all those fans we saw on that site made by that Chad guy?"
"The fans of the Ghostbusters are a dying breed like ourselves, and there's nothing we can do." Winston tossed a stone over the guardrail. They sat in cold silence.
"Does anybody smell something burning?" Peter stood up looking for the source of the smell.
"What is it Peter?" Egon scratched his stubble.
"Oh Shit!" Peter stared down at the trap, smoke pouring out of the gaps in the door mechanism.
"We've got to get it back..." The four Ghostbusters shielded their eyes as a bright light began spreading from the trap. The light expanded, engulfing the four aged fighters. It continued to spread. the top of the MetLife Building dissapearing in it's swell.
***
"Alright madame, please move your car before I have to take you down to the lockup." Officer Franklin stood next to the Chrysler as the owner argued with her husband, in the middle of the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 34th Street.
"What the Hell is that?!" A shout caught his attention, he glanced at the car owner and her husband, they were staring off towards upper Fifth Avenue. The street quietened down, car horns silencing and people shocked into a quiet daze. He turned to follow their gaze. A ball of white light was expanding down the MetLife Building at an increaing speed. People in the street started to run, Officer Franklin soon followed.
***
Brad Matthews was on the Observation deck of the Empire State Building when he saw the start of the light ball, and was now advancing back towards the bank of lifts as it slowly gobbled up Midtown. He could see it expanding along the streets and avenues, getting quicker and quicker until it was only a few blocks away.
"Oh dear God no!" He pounded on the metal elevator doors along with the terrified New Yorkers and petrified tourists.
***
Viewed from Queens, the ball of energy engulfed Manhattan, strangely staying within the confines of the island, not crossing the rivers. Soon the entire island had disappeared beneath the ghostly white glow. Five minutes after the island had been entombed, the earthquake hit. Well, not really an earthquake but more like an aftershock of an earthquake. The already terrified populace of the island found a whole new stage of terror as their city was shaken apart, offices and homes fell apart as if they were made of cards. The more soundly built structures survived the shocks, and being so powerful they vibrated down into the bedrock beneath the island. Subway and road tunnels were shaken and split, and beneath that, a chamber that had remained devoid of human contact until 20 years earlier, slowly shifted. The massive rotating pillar shook as dust fell to the floor of the chamber, sections of ceiling and wall collapsed, a section of ceiling crashed to the floor, blocking a groove set into the floor by the chamber's designers. The pillar groaned as it's axle grease slid from it's stone surface. To add more indignity to it's strained stonework, a crack started to spread around it's circumference. The pillar let out one more groan and partially snapped in half. The pillar below faltered and remained partially intact, but that is a different story from what was happening above...
Chapter One
8:54AM
Feburary 28th
A shrill beeping filled the room as his alarm clock rang. He glared at the clock as he became fully awake. It's digital readout stared at him. He slammed his fist down on the button to silence the alarm and he sat up, rubbed his face and opened the window shade. He stared out at the traffic outside, busy as usual.
"Business as usual." He smirked and walked over to the small bathroom for his morning shower.
***
After he had dried himself from his shower he stepped in front of the cupboard, space was essential in the cramped apartment. He pulled out his favourite black t-shirt and a pair of work pants. Adding his combat boots completed the outfit.
***
He stood in the garage as he hung his dogtags that also had his cab licence around his neck, this done he walked over to the yellow cab with checker pattern along the midsection. He sat in the seat and inserted the I.D. The cab's dash lit up and the white sign on the roof flickered on.
"Glad to know you're finally awake." A gruff voice came from the radio.
"You know that I'm one of your best."
"If I had a nickle every time you've said that then I wouldn't be here." the voice replied sarcastically.
"It would make working a lot easier." The holographic map of the city appeared with the locations of customers marked as red "blips".
"Very funny, just try not to wreck the cab again Zack."
"I'll try." Zack smirked, the garage lit up as the rolling door slid up to reveal the city.
Chapter Two
Alex Rodriguez sighed and stared at the computer in front of her. Is this what the years of computer training and electrical skills had given her?
"Alex, have you sorted out that problem yet?" Alex slid her glasses back up her nose, a regular gesture.
"Already done."
"That's what I like about you, you waste no time." Her supervisor smiled and left the room, leaving her in near darkness, only the glow produced by the holo display of the computer softly lit the room. Normally on a work day she'd have about five diagnostic programs, three file searches and two security checks running. And while she'd placed her skills on her C.V. She hadn't told them about her hobby, hacking. Normally she didn't bother hacking into company databases as they were normally a bore. But this company had intresting rumours.
"Come on you scumbags, you must have something." she whispered. The holo display to her right flashed red.
"Bingo!" She typed frantically at her keyboard, passing by the firewalls and safety measures she herself had installed.
"Whoa." She stared in disbelief at the files opening up in front of her. This was some in depth information, and it didn't sound good. A red siren light began to flash.
"Shit!" She typed quickly and the message "copying" appeared on the holo display. A small line marking the amount of file transfer appeared beneath the message.
"Come on, come on!" The bar finished with a "ping". She disconnected her keyboard from the terminal and packed it in her bag, she then pulled a switch that shutdown the mainframe. On the way out she paused at the access panel and brought the butt of her pistol down on the keypad, shattering it.
"After her!" Her supervisor and a couple of guards were standing at the corner of the corridor.
"Oh boy!" She sprinted down the corridor and slid to a stop as an elevator opened up.
"Thankyou fate!" She stepped into the small car and pressed the button for the doors to shut, then she pushed the emergency stop button. She used a scewdriver to remove the face of the control panel and inserted the fibre optic cable from her keyboard into the plug used for servicing the elevator. The elevator system diagnostics appeared on the holo display and she typed in the commands. All other elevator cars on the diagram halted and she programmed in the procedure for a fire alert, she then stalled the sprinkler system. Typing furiously she unlocked her car from the lockdown and closed down the keyboard computer. She then unplugged her keyboard and pressed the button for the observation balcony. The elevator decended.
***
The elevator car slid to a stop on it's track, however the doors were locked down and so didn't open.
"Not a problem." She pulled the pistol out and shot the glass panel at the side of the car, it tumbled out into the chasm below. Along the side of the building was a small ledge that was normally used for maintenance, but it would do. All she had to do was move along to the balcony and jump into one of the taxi ranks. And thankfully enough they were on the same wall as the ledge she was on. She eventually made it out onto the balcony, people in business suits were banging on the glass doors as she ran towards the small booth that made the taxi rank, the indication light flickered on to announce it had a customer.
***
Zack was passing the MancerCorp building as a customer beacon lit up.
"Well, if it's a paying customer then I'm just gonna have to get him." He pulled the cab over to the building, passing other hovercars in the rush hour traffic.
(*"At least she's a pleasent change from men in suits."*) He though as he saw the woman standing in the booth. He pulled the cab alongside the booth and the doors opened.
"Where to?" He asked the black-haired woman wearing a MancerCorp technician uniform.
"Anywhere from them!" Zack looked into his rear-view display.
"Oh Shit." He pulled the cab out of the taxi rank and decended into the lower lane of traffic. A pair of MancerCorp security vehicles raced around the far corner of the building.
"Hold on, this ride's about to get bumpy!" Zack swerved and manoeuvered the cab through the traffic, trying to lose the guards in the concrete jungle that made up New Manhattan.
"What did you do!?" Zack shouted as horns blared behind them.
"Discovered something they didn't want known." The cab was rocked as a energy bolt struck the dented bumper with the "How's my driving?"sticker.
"Well you must have pissed them off pretty bad to make them shoot at us!" The cab flew down Broadway as Zack ducked down another level, now he was on the lowest level of traffic which bordered with the "no fly zone".
Chapter Three
The pillar groaned, it was surprising that it was still standing after so long, the wound caused the pillar to groan like an injured animal, and the fault caused the pillar to shudder. The tremor shook through the empty Subway tunnels, the tremor shuddered through the abandonned buildings. A small shattered store on one of Old Manhattan's abandoned streets collapsed. Knocking over another wall that allowed rare sunlight to illuminate a tired, weathered billboard. Soot and dust floated off of the faded paintwork and rotting wood to reveal the identity of the building.
***
The cab dived down, another shot smashed the bumper in half, causing it to fly backwards into the windscreen of one of the security hovercars. The cloud layer was thick and even the cab's headlights were having a hard time cutting through the murk. Alarms sounded.
"What the?!" The display read "collision alert". The cloud cleared and the headlights illuminated a billboard.
"Aaaggghhh!" Both Zack and Alex cried as the cab smashed through the billboard, part of the shrapnel produced read "AMSUNG". The cab sped across Times Square, lowering to a dangerous level, lampposts and dead cars loomed below as Zack tried to rid himself of his fare's pursuer. A lamppost clipped the security cars' underside, then a traffic light. Zack ducked the cab under a section of building that lay horizontally across the street. He was rewarded with an explosion.
"Now tell me, why were they chasing you?" a loud bang followed by more alarms grabbed his attention.
"The hoverpad's been smashed!" She shouted over the din.
"How do you know?!"
"Because I know a little about engineering, and the more obvious fact that your display is showing the hoverpads and saying "danger"!"
"Oh." He moved the flight yoke around trying to avoid the obstacles that were looming dangerously close.
"We're going too fast! I'm going to activate the ejector seat!" He pressed a button and the pilot and passenger cabins blasted out of the chassis of the cab. The booster rockets cut out and the parachutes deployed. Then it all went black.
Chapter Four
"Zack, wake up." Zack blinked a couple of times to clear his vision, he was in the pilot cabin, it was now resting on street level and his fare was standing over him waking him up.
"I'm up, I'm up! He blinked as his vision blurred for a few seconds. He felt his head as a headache raced through his brain, and was mildly shocked when his hand came away with blood.
"Ow." he muttered. the girl helped him out of the cockpit onto the steady surface of the street.
"How did you know my name?"
"It's printed on the I.D. tag in the dashboard."
"Must be the headache that's screwing up my thinking. Where are we?"
"Don't know exactly, somewhere Down Town. But the cab's computer is out of power so I can't be sure." She looked around for some kind of place to hole up until they could think of a way out of there. A building nearby caught her attention.
"Is it okay to move you? You took the landing pretty bad." She fixed her glasses that had become askew.
"I've been worse." he moaned. They moved towards the building.
"Huh, the door's unlocked. It must have been like that when the city was destroyed." Inside was a dark hall, not empty as the sounds didn't echo. The inside of the building was cold and slightly damp.
"What is this place?" Zack held his head as he was sat down in an old office chair.
"Don't know yet, but there was a sign outside. I'll be back in a minute." She got up and started walking towards the door.
"Oh, here's a light." she pulled a small lamp about the size of a wallet and threw it over to Zack. Zack caught it, a small indication of his brilliant hand/eye coordination.
***
She stood looking at the sign, most of it's text was about the building and opening times but there was one particular logo that seemed somehow familliar, like something from a history book. When she read the text at the top of the sign she knew exactly where they were.
"Huh, never thought I'd end up here." She walked back in.
Chapter Five
She walked over to Zack as he shone the light around the large room, light sparkling off glass cases.
"So now that you know my name, would you mind sharing that piece of information about yours?"
"My name is Alex, Alex Rodriguez."
"Nice name."
"If you think you can charm me then think again."
"Whoa, I never said I wanted to date you or anything, I just think Alex is a nice name. It suits you." Inwardly she felt a little saddned by what he said.
"Thanks. Don't you have a surname?"
"Yes."
"Then why isn't it on your I.D. tag? government regulations require it."
"Let's just say my cab licence isn't strictly legal." Alex studied a large glass case in the center of the room.
"What is it?" He stood up and limped over to her.
"I'm not sure, I can't see inside but the case is big enough to fit your cab in it." She held a hand over her eyes to shield some of the glare from the case. Behind the dust she could see dull white.
"Speaking of my cab, let's see if there's anything we can salvage from it."
***
"I knew that these cabs were built to sustain a crash landing but I didn't know they were this strong!" Alex said as she and Zack looked at the chassis sticking out of a wall of a ruined building.
"It's good that it's in one piece, but without the right equipment we can't put the cabin back in the chassis and fly out of here." Zack remarked as he examined the bodywork. "And with the power source in the chassis I can't use the radio to call Ryan."
"Who's Ryan?"
"Probably the best damn mechanic on this island." He grinned.
"Maybe we can use my computer to give your radio a power source." She started pulling something out of her bag.
"What computer? You didn't have one with you when you got in my cab." As she pulled out the keyboard computer, he gave off a whistle.
"Wow, I thought these weren't given out for civilian use?"
"They aren't."
"Then how did you get one?"
"Trade secret, I might tell you sometime if we can get out of this."
"Are you implying that you'd like to keep in touch with me after this?"
"I didn't say that, you did." She wore a mischievous grin.
"We'd better start work on rigging up the radio..." he drifted off in thought.
"What's wrong?" She asked as he looked up.
"What is this place exactly?"
"Oh, I almost forgot that. It's the Ghostbusters Museum."
"The Ghostbusters? I read that they became four of New York's greatest heroes after saving the world a few times."
"You know that?"
He looked annoyed. "Just because I drive a cab that automatically makes me uneducated?"
"I just never expected it, that's all." She gave him a side-glance grin.
"I can see working with you is going to be difficult."
Chapter Six
The radio sat on an old desk near the rear of the garage, Alex was plugging the fibre optic cable into the radio's information port when Zack joined her.
"I've checked the entire building, there's no power. But there is some weird looking equipment in a lab upstairs."
"We might be able to find something we can use up there." She sat back in the creaky desk chair and sighed.
"What's on your mind?" Zack sat down on a dusty corner of the desk.
"I'm just thinking how outdated this place looks." She gestured around the garage. "Look at this old computer, no holo display which makes it pre 2090. And you see that large glass case over there."
"A bit hard to miss."
"Well inside is a car which has wheels, which makes it pre 2140." He stared at the grubby case.
"In fact, the most recent addition to this building is the billboard outside, and the copyright for the museum is 2002. And if I've worked this out right, tomorrow is exactly 240 years since the city was destroyed and Mahattan Island sank into the bay." She rubbed her forehead.
"Well, we can dwell on the past once the rescue crew is on the way." He brushed some dust from an old desklamp.
"Yes the radio, my computer is working fine and so is the radio, but there isn't enough power to transmit. I need a larger power source." Zack was staring off towards the staircase.
"Zack, did you hear me?"
"I heard you, there's something over here." He stood up from the desk and walked over to a small area underneath the stairs.
"There's a banister rail stopping people from falling down nowhere, If you ask me there's a room down there." She walked over and joined him, she tested her boot on the floor in the main part of the garage. It made a deep "Crack" sound as she struck the tile, she then tested her boot on the area underneath the stairs, it made a hollow "Thunk".
"I think we have a winner." She pulled out her pistol.
"Stand back, this is gonna get messy." five shots left the pistol's barrel before the fake floor collapsed into a passage below.
"The plot thickens." They started to decend the set of steps into the darkness below.
***
The door resisted the onslaught brought on by his shoulder - it was incredibly strong for a wooden door more than 240 years old. The door gave out a "Crack" sound.
"It's giving way!" Zack stumbled into a larger chamber as the lock broke.
"What's that noise?" Alex joined him on a small balcony overlooking the chamber.
"It sounds like a machine that's powered up, somewhere over there." He gestured into the darkness.
"I wonder if..." She felt the wall next to the door, suddenly the chamber brightened to allow them a view of the machine they heard.
"Whoa." they both said.
Chapter Seven
Ryan worked the wrench around the greasy bolt.
"Come on, give me a break will you?!" A river of oil spilled out of the opening.
"Blrrr!" He slid out from beneath the cab.
"You trying a new look Ryan?" Mitch laughed.
"You're just lucky you're still training, because as soon as you graduate you're gonna be in the thick of it." he wipped the oil off his face.
"Not neccesarily, if I end up working on some of those new hovercars then I won't have to deal with working on the older models like you." Mitch walked off in the direction of the canteen.
"Unappreciative Yank." Ryan cleaned the last of the oil off his hands and slung the rag towards a pile of near-antique paint cans. Not that anybody cared about that though.
"Hey Ryan, Zack's calling for you."
"He's back already?" He stepped into the office of his employer.
"No, he's calling over the radio." Ryan sat down at the old radio set and spoke through the microphone - some things never change.
"What is it Zack?" Ryan said in a tired tone. His boss closed the door behind him and went to assist Katherine in the booking office.
"We've had a bit of a problem."
"What's this we stuff? You haven't got drunk with Paul again have you?"
"No, me and my fare."
"Alright, why do you need me?"
"We need your expertise to recover my cab."
"Where are you?" He pulled out a small electrical notepad.
"The Ghostbusters Museum."
"The what?" Ryan heard a quiet murmur in the background noise.
"Erm, I mean the corner of Varrick and N. Moore."
"Roger, over and out." He switched off the radio. He typed in the street names and walked over to his recovery truck, it resembled the cab in shape. But it had a crane to tow the cab back to the garage and a different paint scheme.
"What did he want?" his boss was standing outside the dirty office.
"He asked me to pick him up, he's in a jam."
"Probably smashed his cab again."
"I wouldn't put it past him." Ryan thought back to all the times he'd had to repair Zack's cab. Hardly any part of it was original anymore.
"Just be back before ten when the night shift starts."
***
The radio flickered and died.
"Well, that's as much use we'll get out of it for now." Alex sat down on a long counter lined with consoles and switches.
"So, if you know that this is the Ghostbusters' place, then what is that?" he pointed to the large red machine that dominated the opposite end of the room.
"I'd say that was the Containment Unit."
"Isn't it that thing they put the ghosts in?"
"Yes." Alex unplugged the keyboard and slung it over her shoulder.
"You know what?" He looked at her with one eyebrow raised.
"What?" She plugged the loose cable into a slot in the base of the keyboard.
"Well, you don't seem to have a job anymore from the look of it, and I'm having trouble paying my bills."
"So?"
"This"
"What?"
"THIS" he gestured around the room.
"The basement?" She wasn't getting his point.
"No, the Ghostbusters."
"What about the Ghostbusters?"
"Well surely they must have been making tons of money, plus if they were as succesful as we were told they were then it shouldn't be too hard a job."
"Maybe 200 years ago but you forget, the equipment is way out of date. Even if the power source is still active most of the components either aren't made anymore or are too far gone to work."
"Well I was thinking, that for the first missions or whatever they called them that we could use the old equipment and then once we have enough money we upgrade the equipment." She stared at him "What?"
"That isn't a half bad plan." She said
"Then why did you look at me like you weren't expecting it?" He asked. She remained silent. "Cat got your tongue?" She smirked at his joke.
"I'll go check out some of the equipment, if we're going to be taking over then we need to know how much equipment works." She said as she turned to examine the Containment Unit.
Chapter Eight
Ryan eased the rear thrusters to minimum output and reduced the power going through the pads on the undercarriage of the recovery vehicle. He stepped out of the pilot cabin and looked around at his surroundings.
"Nice neighbourhood." he muttered.
"Over here!" He turned to face the voice coming from a run-down firehouse.
"You sure know how to pick 'em Zack."
"Glad to see you Ryan."
"Where's the cab?"
"Over there." he pointed towards a building across the street.
"Ouch, I've got to hand it to you Zack. That's the worst one yet."
"Though the cab itself is in pretty good nick."
"Then why'd you call me down here?!"
"Because if I hadn't jettesonned the cabin then we might not have walked away from it."
"So you need me to reinsert the cabin, now at least that sounds reasonable. And where is your fare?"
"She's in the Firehouse." He pointed at the building.
"I'll make sure that you didn't do her any permanent damage with your piloting."
"You better not be thinking what I think you're thinking."
"I might be a mechanic but I do treat women with respect."
"Yeah, the real English gentleman."
***
"Anyone here?!" Alex heard a shout from upstairs.
"Down here!" She shouted back.
"Wow, that's an unusual piece of hardware!" He kept his gaze on the Containment Unit as he descended the rusty staircase.
"And you are?"
"Oh, I'm Ryan." He shook hands but remained fixed on the Containment Unit.
"Am I distracting you?" she replied sarcastically.
"No, I'm just admiring that piece of engineering. What is it?"
"I think it's the Containment Unit."
"And what does it do?" She gave him a surprised look.
"Haven't you heard of the Ghostbusters?"
"No, my family moved here five years ago. I missed out on the American education, were they big over here?"
"Not really, just saved the world about half a dozen times."
"Well they sure had a genius for an engineer. Sure the laser grid is outdated and the flaw in the casing could cause a breach, but the fact that it's still running is a testament to the brilliant design."
"How do you know that?" He smiled.
"Sorry, I frequently do that in front of people who don't know." He tapped next to his right eye. The iris moved unnaturally.
"A bionic eye? I didn't know they looked so lifelike."
"You'd be surprised how far artificial limbs have come, and now I count this eye as a blessing, it's been able to help me in my mechanic job more times then I can count. Hi, I'm Ryan Peters."
"I'm Alex Rodriguez, we met when you came in."
"Yeah but not properly, my concentration was off. I'm glad to see you're in good shape."
"Excuse me?" her expression darkened.
"Well, Zack's piloting isn't very smooth at the best of times."
"Oh, sorry." she smiled a half smile.
"It's okay, I normally give people the wrong impression."
"Your accent, English right?"
"Correct, though there have been times I've been confused for other parts of the Commonwealth. Could you let me know what happened - it would hurt Zack's pride to ask him."
"It's a bit of a long story."
"I'm not going anywhere anytime soon." He sat down in a nearby chair while she told him about what happened as far back as when she got into the taxi rank.
Chapter Nine
The recovery vehicle reversed as Zack linked up the chain so that Ryan could pull the cab out of the ruin.
"Linked up?"
"Ready to go."
"Right, step away from the ruin, it will probably collapse." Ryan started up the engine and the thrusters at half outtake. The ruin groaned as the cab started to move out of the hole it had created. As Ryan turned off the thrusters the ruin collapsed. He got out of the pilot cabin and examined the cab.
"You're right, she is in good nick. Probably from the work I've done on it over the years."
"How long will it take to reinsert the cabin?"
"About an half an hour, an hour without my garage."
"Then you'd better get started, we have big plans for that car." Alex approached them.
"What do you plan to do with it?" Ryan unhooked the chain.
"Something that also involves you." He stopped and stared at her.
***
"Let me get this straight, you want me to leave my job, steal this cab and join you two in restarting a business that hasn't been in operation in over two centuries?"
"Yes." Zack replied.
"And what's in it for me? My mechanic job is well paying."
"From what we've found, the Ghostbusters were paid at least twice what you're earning." Alex answered. Ryan fell silent for a moment.
"Just to clear things up, I'm only doing this for the money, I don't have any other interest in this business or in helping the city."
"Fine with us. Now that just leaves one problem." Zack said as he slouched in the chair.
"What is the problem?" Asked Alex.
"The Ghostbusters had four team members, we only have three. Does anybody know anyone who might be interested because I don't."
(*"Baxter Franklin?"*) Ryan thought.
"Neither do I." Alex said.
"Maybe, he's an old friend of mine. He might have some useful talents." Ryan smirked.
Chapter Ten
"Ryan Peters? Wow it has been a long time." Baxter spoke through the phone.
"Hi Bax, I was wondering, are you still in between jobs?"
"Yeah, never have been able to get one as good as when I was at the NYPD."
"I've got a propostion, have you ever heard of the Ghostbusters?"
"They're not making another movie about them are they?"
"No, nothing like a movie."
"Yeah I've heard of them."
"How would you like to make a lot of money by simply getting rid of ghosts?"
"I guess it could help me get out of this rut I'm in. Where should I meet you?"
"At the Ghostbusters Museum on the corner of Varrick and N. Moore."
"Isn't that under the no-fly zone?"
"Yes."
"Okay, but I might have a bit of trouble getting down there. I'll see you in about an hour." The image of Ryan faded from the screen as he switched off the phone.
"Become a Ghostbuster? Why not." He put on his leather jacket and picked up his I.D. card for his hovercar.
***
The banged up squadcar with faded NYPD paintwork came to a halt and slowly decended to the entrance of the Firehouse.
"A classic 2218 squadcar, and not bad condition either." Zack admired the old hovercar. Running his hand along the graceful lines that made up the bodywork.
"Glad to see she has a fan, now who are you?" the black ex-cop stepped out of the pilot cabin.
"He's with me." Ryan stepped out of the wooden double doors.
"Ryan."
"Bax, it's been too long." They shook each other's hands.
"So this is going to be the new group of Ghostbusters? an ex-cop, a cabbie and a brilliant mechanic?"
"And a hacker." A female voice said from behind Ryan.
"And who is this?"
"Bax, meet Alex Rodriguez."
"Nice to meet you." He forced a smile.
"Also meet Zack, he's the guy who came up with the idea." They shook hands.
"I've heard some amazing stories about you Mr. Franklin."
"Please, call me Bax. Everyone else does. I'm sure that Ryan is exaggerating, he's got far more intresting stories about him." they started walking into the run down building.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the future and past home of the Ghostbusters." Zack proclaimed, gesturing around the room with a sweep of his arm.
"Are you guys really sure you want to start out here?" Bax examined a rusty proton pack in a glass case.
"Apart from the fact that most of us haven't got the cash to buy a new place, noone would give us a lease in a modern building if they knew what we were setting up." Ryan answered. "And besides, we have all the things we need to start up right here."
"But there isn't even any power." Bax said as Alex attached an length of industrial strength power cord with a industrial plug into a large box next to the stairs. A spark shot out of the machine as power flooded into the old building. The lamp on the dusty desk near the back of the garage flickered on and the ceiling lights lit up. Had any of them been outside they would have noticed the neon sign with the Ghostbusters' logo flicker to life.
"It's a temporary measure until we get hooked back into the national grid, but as long as we don't run anything that has a high power drain then we should be okay." Said Alex, as she stepped away from the generator.
"I guess then this calls for a celebration." Ryan declared.
"We'll have to save the celebrations for now, we've first got to get this place clean and clear out the museum pieces that are too badly damaged. Once that's done we can get the old equipment working and start busting some ghosts. Once we've made enough money we can upgrade the equipment and the building." Zack said enthusiastically.
"Some of this stuff is going to take industrial strength cleaners to get out." Bax rubbed some green, liquidated mould in his hands.
"Now when people have ghost problems they're gonna ask: "Who you gonna call?"." They stared at Zack, he looked at them as if expecting them to say something.
"We'll talk about the advertising later, hopefully without HIM." Bax joked. Ryan brought in a set of four mugs with soda.
"Sorry, that's the strongest thing I had in the truck."
"It doesn't matter." Said Bax. They all grabbed a mug.
"To the Ghostbusters!" Proposed Zack.
"I'll drink to that." Grinned Bax. They all clashed their cups together and then drank from them.
Epilogue
A room, dark and nondescript apart from the table highlighted by the spotlights above. Hands rested on the very edges of the table, but the faces of those present remained shrouded in shadow.
"What is our status?" One of the shadows asked.
"Everything is going as planned."
"What about that hitch that happened this morning?" Another shadow asked.
"It doesn't matter, we're too close to success for anything so small to stop us."
"We've done much to get the ceremony together, Sir, we've spared no expense."
"Excellent, you have done well my friends." A shadow wearing gloves at the head of the table said.
"Is there anything else that needs to be brought to the table?" A shadow with rank bands on his sleeves asked.
"No, everything on today's agenda has been discussed."
"Well, if there's nothing else to discuss then this meeting is closed." Most of the people left the table, but two remained seated.
"Sir? Is something wrong?"
"Hmm, there's a disturbance. Something unexpected is on the horizon."
"A possible threat?"
"I doubt it, they're young, inexperienced. I doubt they will be anything more than a small inconveinience."
"Should I send someone to infiltrate them?"
"No, let's simply monitor their progress. If they prove to be a threat then we can eliminate them before they have a chance to stop us." He stared at a holo display showing four faces.
"Very well, Sir. Your appointment with the mayor is in an hour."
"Excellent, it's all falling into place." Even though the assistant knew what would be happening, he couldn't help wonder while his boss laughed in the darkness - was he doing the right thing?
"It has begun." The gloved figure at the head of the table said, and the assistant could swear he could make out a smile even in the darkness.
And while these heroes became heroes in life...
...others became heroes in death.
Prologue
8:54PM
Feburary 29th
2002
The New York skyline, the most recognisable set of buildings that the world has ever known, have stood the test of time since the first high rise was built on Manhattan Island. The skyline has changed many times over the years, from construction and reshaping, to demolition and expansion. Even after losing one of the jewels in it's crown it is still is the most famous city skyline.
The beam of protons shot up to join the other three creating a pyramid of energy on the roof of the MetLife Building.
"Ray, open the trap!" Egon shouted over the noise of the energy leaving the proton gun.
"Trap open!" A fifth beam of energy shot upwards towards the demon ensnared in the beams. The demon was then lowered into the metal box that would serve as a temporary prison until it was loaded into the Containment Unit. Smoke from the partially melted barrels of the guns drifted into the orange cast sky, the sunset was ending.
"I'm too old for this." Winston walked over to the guardrail and sat down, his greying hair was still visable even in the dying light.
"I thought we'd got rid of the ghosts." Peter wiped his forehead and passed a hand through his thinning hair.
"We'll never truly be rid of them." Egon removed his glasses and adjusted the piece of tape that held one of the arms on.
"Well, we've saved the world once again." Ray fidgeted with the worn shoulder strap.
"Yeah and now we go back to our separate meagre jobs." Peter said miserably. Egon sighed.
"I would love to stay on, but it's not like the old days. We're just too old."
"Why don't we train some new members like in that short lived "Extreme" series we got?"
"I'm afraid that we might be too old even for that, and noone even wants to know the Ghostbusters anymore. The Firehouse hasn't attracted any customers in over a month."
"Close down the Firehouse again?" Ray glanced up with tired eyes.
"It hasn't been the same since it became the Ghostbusters Museum."
"But what about all those fans we saw on that site made by that Chad guy?"
"The fans of the Ghostbusters are a dying breed like ourselves, and there's nothing we can do." Winston tossed a stone over the guardrail. They sat in cold silence.
"Does anybody smell something burning?" Peter stood up looking for the source of the smell.
"What is it Peter?" Egon scratched his stubble.
"Oh Shit!" Peter stared down at the trap, smoke pouring out of the gaps in the door mechanism.
"We've got to get it back..." The four Ghostbusters shielded their eyes as a bright light began spreading from the trap. The light expanded, engulfing the four aged fighters. It continued to spread. the top of the MetLife Building dissapearing in it's swell.
***
"Alright madame, please move your car before I have to take you down to the lockup." Officer Franklin stood next to the Chrysler as the owner argued with her husband, in the middle of the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 34th Street.
"What the Hell is that?!" A shout caught his attention, he glanced at the car owner and her husband, they were staring off towards upper Fifth Avenue. The street quietened down, car horns silencing and people shocked into a quiet daze. He turned to follow their gaze. A ball of white light was expanding down the MetLife Building at an increaing speed. People in the street started to run, Officer Franklin soon followed.
***
Brad Matthews was on the Observation deck of the Empire State Building when he saw the start of the light ball, and was now advancing back towards the bank of lifts as it slowly gobbled up Midtown. He could see it expanding along the streets and avenues, getting quicker and quicker until it was only a few blocks away.
"Oh dear God no!" He pounded on the metal elevator doors along with the terrified New Yorkers and petrified tourists.
***
Viewed from Queens, the ball of energy engulfed Manhattan, strangely staying within the confines of the island, not crossing the rivers. Soon the entire island had disappeared beneath the ghostly white glow. Five minutes after the island had been entombed, the earthquake hit. Well, not really an earthquake but more like an aftershock of an earthquake. The already terrified populace of the island found a whole new stage of terror as their city was shaken apart, offices and homes fell apart as if they were made of cards. The more soundly built structures survived the shocks, and being so powerful they vibrated down into the bedrock beneath the island. Subway and road tunnels were shaken and split, and beneath that, a chamber that had remained devoid of human contact until 20 years earlier, slowly shifted. The massive rotating pillar shook as dust fell to the floor of the chamber, sections of ceiling and wall collapsed, a section of ceiling crashed to the floor, blocking a groove set into the floor by the chamber's designers. The pillar groaned as it's axle grease slid from it's stone surface. To add more indignity to it's strained stonework, a crack started to spread around it's circumference. The pillar let out one more groan and partially snapped in half. The pillar below faltered and remained partially intact, but that is a different story from what was happening above...
Chapter One
8:54AM
Feburary 28th
A shrill beeping filled the room as his alarm clock rang. He glared at the clock as he became fully awake. It's digital readout stared at him. He slammed his fist down on the button to silence the alarm and he sat up, rubbed his face and opened the window shade. He stared out at the traffic outside, busy as usual.
"Business as usual." He smirked and walked over to the small bathroom for his morning shower.
***
After he had dried himself from his shower he stepped in front of the cupboard, space was essential in the cramped apartment. He pulled out his favourite black t-shirt and a pair of work pants. Adding his combat boots completed the outfit.
***
He stood in the garage as he hung his dogtags that also had his cab licence around his neck, this done he walked over to the yellow cab with checker pattern along the midsection. He sat in the seat and inserted the I.D. The cab's dash lit up and the white sign on the roof flickered on.
"Glad to know you're finally awake." A gruff voice came from the radio.
"You know that I'm one of your best."
"If I had a nickle every time you've said that then I wouldn't be here." the voice replied sarcastically.
"It would make working a lot easier." The holographic map of the city appeared with the locations of customers marked as red "blips".
"Very funny, just try not to wreck the cab again Zack."
"I'll try." Zack smirked, the garage lit up as the rolling door slid up to reveal the city.
Chapter Two
Alex Rodriguez sighed and stared at the computer in front of her. Is this what the years of computer training and electrical skills had given her?
"Alex, have you sorted out that problem yet?" Alex slid her glasses back up her nose, a regular gesture.
"Already done."
"That's what I like about you, you waste no time." Her supervisor smiled and left the room, leaving her in near darkness, only the glow produced by the holo display of the computer softly lit the room. Normally on a work day she'd have about five diagnostic programs, three file searches and two security checks running. And while she'd placed her skills on her C.V. She hadn't told them about her hobby, hacking. Normally she didn't bother hacking into company databases as they were normally a bore. But this company had intresting rumours.
"Come on you scumbags, you must have something." she whispered. The holo display to her right flashed red.
"Bingo!" She typed frantically at her keyboard, passing by the firewalls and safety measures she herself had installed.
"Whoa." She stared in disbelief at the files opening up in front of her. This was some in depth information, and it didn't sound good. A red siren light began to flash.
"Shit!" She typed quickly and the message "copying" appeared on the holo display. A small line marking the amount of file transfer appeared beneath the message.
"Come on, come on!" The bar finished with a "ping". She disconnected her keyboard from the terminal and packed it in her bag, she then pulled a switch that shutdown the mainframe. On the way out she paused at the access panel and brought the butt of her pistol down on the keypad, shattering it.
"After her!" Her supervisor and a couple of guards were standing at the corner of the corridor.
"Oh boy!" She sprinted down the corridor and slid to a stop as an elevator opened up.
"Thankyou fate!" She stepped into the small car and pressed the button for the doors to shut, then she pushed the emergency stop button. She used a scewdriver to remove the face of the control panel and inserted the fibre optic cable from her keyboard into the plug used for servicing the elevator. The elevator system diagnostics appeared on the holo display and she typed in the commands. All other elevator cars on the diagram halted and she programmed in the procedure for a fire alert, she then stalled the sprinkler system. Typing furiously she unlocked her car from the lockdown and closed down the keyboard computer. She then unplugged her keyboard and pressed the button for the observation balcony. The elevator decended.
***
The elevator car slid to a stop on it's track, however the doors were locked down and so didn't open.
"Not a problem." She pulled the pistol out and shot the glass panel at the side of the car, it tumbled out into the chasm below. Along the side of the building was a small ledge that was normally used for maintenance, but it would do. All she had to do was move along to the balcony and jump into one of the taxi ranks. And thankfully enough they were on the same wall as the ledge she was on. She eventually made it out onto the balcony, people in business suits were banging on the glass doors as she ran towards the small booth that made the taxi rank, the indication light flickered on to announce it had a customer.
***
Zack was passing the MancerCorp building as a customer beacon lit up.
"Well, if it's a paying customer then I'm just gonna have to get him." He pulled the cab over to the building, passing other hovercars in the rush hour traffic.
(*"At least she's a pleasent change from men in suits."*) He though as he saw the woman standing in the booth. He pulled the cab alongside the booth and the doors opened.
"Where to?" He asked the black-haired woman wearing a MancerCorp technician uniform.
"Anywhere from them!" Zack looked into his rear-view display.
"Oh Shit." He pulled the cab out of the taxi rank and decended into the lower lane of traffic. A pair of MancerCorp security vehicles raced around the far corner of the building.
"Hold on, this ride's about to get bumpy!" Zack swerved and manoeuvered the cab through the traffic, trying to lose the guards in the concrete jungle that made up New Manhattan.
"What did you do!?" Zack shouted as horns blared behind them.
"Discovered something they didn't want known." The cab was rocked as a energy bolt struck the dented bumper with the "How's my driving?"sticker.
"Well you must have pissed them off pretty bad to make them shoot at us!" The cab flew down Broadway as Zack ducked down another level, now he was on the lowest level of traffic which bordered with the "no fly zone".
Chapter Three
The pillar groaned, it was surprising that it was still standing after so long, the wound caused the pillar to groan like an injured animal, and the fault caused the pillar to shudder. The tremor shook through the empty Subway tunnels, the tremor shuddered through the abandonned buildings. A small shattered store on one of Old Manhattan's abandoned streets collapsed. Knocking over another wall that allowed rare sunlight to illuminate a tired, weathered billboard. Soot and dust floated off of the faded paintwork and rotting wood to reveal the identity of the building.
***
The cab dived down, another shot smashed the bumper in half, causing it to fly backwards into the windscreen of one of the security hovercars. The cloud layer was thick and even the cab's headlights were having a hard time cutting through the murk. Alarms sounded.
"What the?!" The display read "collision alert". The cloud cleared and the headlights illuminated a billboard.
"Aaaggghhh!" Both Zack and Alex cried as the cab smashed through the billboard, part of the shrapnel produced read "AMSUNG". The cab sped across Times Square, lowering to a dangerous level, lampposts and dead cars loomed below as Zack tried to rid himself of his fare's pursuer. A lamppost clipped the security cars' underside, then a traffic light. Zack ducked the cab under a section of building that lay horizontally across the street. He was rewarded with an explosion.
"Now tell me, why were they chasing you?" a loud bang followed by more alarms grabbed his attention.
"The hoverpad's been smashed!" She shouted over the din.
"How do you know?!"
"Because I know a little about engineering, and the more obvious fact that your display is showing the hoverpads and saying "danger"!"
"Oh." He moved the flight yoke around trying to avoid the obstacles that were looming dangerously close.
"We're going too fast! I'm going to activate the ejector seat!" He pressed a button and the pilot and passenger cabins blasted out of the chassis of the cab. The booster rockets cut out and the parachutes deployed. Then it all went black.
Chapter Four
"Zack, wake up." Zack blinked a couple of times to clear his vision, he was in the pilot cabin, it was now resting on street level and his fare was standing over him waking him up.
"I'm up, I'm up! He blinked as his vision blurred for a few seconds. He felt his head as a headache raced through his brain, and was mildly shocked when his hand came away with blood.
"Ow." he muttered. the girl helped him out of the cockpit onto the steady surface of the street.
"How did you know my name?"
"It's printed on the I.D. tag in the dashboard."
"Must be the headache that's screwing up my thinking. Where are we?"
"Don't know exactly, somewhere Down Town. But the cab's computer is out of power so I can't be sure." She looked around for some kind of place to hole up until they could think of a way out of there. A building nearby caught her attention.
"Is it okay to move you? You took the landing pretty bad." She fixed her glasses that had become askew.
"I've been worse." he moaned. They moved towards the building.
"Huh, the door's unlocked. It must have been like that when the city was destroyed." Inside was a dark hall, not empty as the sounds didn't echo. The inside of the building was cold and slightly damp.
"What is this place?" Zack held his head as he was sat down in an old office chair.
"Don't know yet, but there was a sign outside. I'll be back in a minute." She got up and started walking towards the door.
"Oh, here's a light." she pulled a small lamp about the size of a wallet and threw it over to Zack. Zack caught it, a small indication of his brilliant hand/eye coordination.
***
She stood looking at the sign, most of it's text was about the building and opening times but there was one particular logo that seemed somehow familliar, like something from a history book. When she read the text at the top of the sign she knew exactly where they were.
"Huh, never thought I'd end up here." She walked back in.
Chapter Five
She walked over to Zack as he shone the light around the large room, light sparkling off glass cases.
"So now that you know my name, would you mind sharing that piece of information about yours?"
"My name is Alex, Alex Rodriguez."
"Nice name."
"If you think you can charm me then think again."
"Whoa, I never said I wanted to date you or anything, I just think Alex is a nice name. It suits you." Inwardly she felt a little saddned by what he said.
"Thanks. Don't you have a surname?"
"Yes."
"Then why isn't it on your I.D. tag? government regulations require it."
"Let's just say my cab licence isn't strictly legal." Alex studied a large glass case in the center of the room.
"What is it?" He stood up and limped over to her.
"I'm not sure, I can't see inside but the case is big enough to fit your cab in it." She held a hand over her eyes to shield some of the glare from the case. Behind the dust she could see dull white.
"Speaking of my cab, let's see if there's anything we can salvage from it."
***
"I knew that these cabs were built to sustain a crash landing but I didn't know they were this strong!" Alex said as she and Zack looked at the chassis sticking out of a wall of a ruined building.
"It's good that it's in one piece, but without the right equipment we can't put the cabin back in the chassis and fly out of here." Zack remarked as he examined the bodywork. "And with the power source in the chassis I can't use the radio to call Ryan."
"Who's Ryan?"
"Probably the best damn mechanic on this island." He grinned.
"Maybe we can use my computer to give your radio a power source." She started pulling something out of her bag.
"What computer? You didn't have one with you when you got in my cab." As she pulled out the keyboard computer, he gave off a whistle.
"Wow, I thought these weren't given out for civilian use?"
"They aren't."
"Then how did you get one?"
"Trade secret, I might tell you sometime if we can get out of this."
"Are you implying that you'd like to keep in touch with me after this?"
"I didn't say that, you did." She wore a mischievous grin.
"We'd better start work on rigging up the radio..." he drifted off in thought.
"What's wrong?" She asked as he looked up.
"What is this place exactly?"
"Oh, I almost forgot that. It's the Ghostbusters Museum."
"The Ghostbusters? I read that they became four of New York's greatest heroes after saving the world a few times."
"You know that?"
He looked annoyed. "Just because I drive a cab that automatically makes me uneducated?"
"I just never expected it, that's all." She gave him a side-glance grin.
"I can see working with you is going to be difficult."
Chapter Six
The radio sat on an old desk near the rear of the garage, Alex was plugging the fibre optic cable into the radio's information port when Zack joined her.
"I've checked the entire building, there's no power. But there is some weird looking equipment in a lab upstairs."
"We might be able to find something we can use up there." She sat back in the creaky desk chair and sighed.
"What's on your mind?" Zack sat down on a dusty corner of the desk.
"I'm just thinking how outdated this place looks." She gestured around the garage. "Look at this old computer, no holo display which makes it pre 2090. And you see that large glass case over there."
"A bit hard to miss."
"Well inside is a car which has wheels, which makes it pre 2140." He stared at the grubby case.
"In fact, the most recent addition to this building is the billboard outside, and the copyright for the museum is 2002. And if I've worked this out right, tomorrow is exactly 240 years since the city was destroyed and Mahattan Island sank into the bay." She rubbed her forehead.
"Well, we can dwell on the past once the rescue crew is on the way." He brushed some dust from an old desklamp.
"Yes the radio, my computer is working fine and so is the radio, but there isn't enough power to transmit. I need a larger power source." Zack was staring off towards the staircase.
"Zack, did you hear me?"
"I heard you, there's something over here." He stood up from the desk and walked over to a small area underneath the stairs.
"There's a banister rail stopping people from falling down nowhere, If you ask me there's a room down there." She walked over and joined him, she tested her boot on the floor in the main part of the garage. It made a deep "Crack" sound as she struck the tile, she then tested her boot on the area underneath the stairs, it made a hollow "Thunk".
"I think we have a winner." She pulled out her pistol.
"Stand back, this is gonna get messy." five shots left the pistol's barrel before the fake floor collapsed into a passage below.
"The plot thickens." They started to decend the set of steps into the darkness below.
***
The door resisted the onslaught brought on by his shoulder - it was incredibly strong for a wooden door more than 240 years old. The door gave out a "Crack" sound.
"It's giving way!" Zack stumbled into a larger chamber as the lock broke.
"What's that noise?" Alex joined him on a small balcony overlooking the chamber.
"It sounds like a machine that's powered up, somewhere over there." He gestured into the darkness.
"I wonder if..." She felt the wall next to the door, suddenly the chamber brightened to allow them a view of the machine they heard.
"Whoa." they both said.
Chapter Seven
Ryan worked the wrench around the greasy bolt.
"Come on, give me a break will you?!" A river of oil spilled out of the opening.
"Blrrr!" He slid out from beneath the cab.
"You trying a new look Ryan?" Mitch laughed.
"You're just lucky you're still training, because as soon as you graduate you're gonna be in the thick of it." he wipped the oil off his face.
"Not neccesarily, if I end up working on some of those new hovercars then I won't have to deal with working on the older models like you." Mitch walked off in the direction of the canteen.
"Unappreciative Yank." Ryan cleaned the last of the oil off his hands and slung the rag towards a pile of near-antique paint cans. Not that anybody cared about that though.
"Hey Ryan, Zack's calling for you."
"He's back already?" He stepped into the office of his employer.
"No, he's calling over the radio." Ryan sat down at the old radio set and spoke through the microphone - some things never change.
"What is it Zack?" Ryan said in a tired tone. His boss closed the door behind him and went to assist Katherine in the booking office.
"We've had a bit of a problem."
"What's this we stuff? You haven't got drunk with Paul again have you?"
"No, me and my fare."
"Alright, why do you need me?"
"We need your expertise to recover my cab."
"Where are you?" He pulled out a small electrical notepad.
"The Ghostbusters Museum."
"The what?" Ryan heard a quiet murmur in the background noise.
"Erm, I mean the corner of Varrick and N. Moore."
"Roger, over and out." He switched off the radio. He typed in the street names and walked over to his recovery truck, it resembled the cab in shape. But it had a crane to tow the cab back to the garage and a different paint scheme.
"What did he want?" his boss was standing outside the dirty office.
"He asked me to pick him up, he's in a jam."
"Probably smashed his cab again."
"I wouldn't put it past him." Ryan thought back to all the times he'd had to repair Zack's cab. Hardly any part of it was original anymore.
"Just be back before ten when the night shift starts."
***
The radio flickered and died.
"Well, that's as much use we'll get out of it for now." Alex sat down on a long counter lined with consoles and switches.
"So, if you know that this is the Ghostbusters' place, then what is that?" he pointed to the large red machine that dominated the opposite end of the room.
"I'd say that was the Containment Unit."
"Isn't it that thing they put the ghosts in?"
"Yes." Alex unplugged the keyboard and slung it over her shoulder.
"You know what?" He looked at her with one eyebrow raised.
"What?" She plugged the loose cable into a slot in the base of the keyboard.
"Well, you don't seem to have a job anymore from the look of it, and I'm having trouble paying my bills."
"So?"
"This"
"What?"
"THIS" he gestured around the room.
"The basement?" She wasn't getting his point.
"No, the Ghostbusters."
"What about the Ghostbusters?"
"Well surely they must have been making tons of money, plus if they were as succesful as we were told they were then it shouldn't be too hard a job."
"Maybe 200 years ago but you forget, the equipment is way out of date. Even if the power source is still active most of the components either aren't made anymore or are too far gone to work."
"Well I was thinking, that for the first missions or whatever they called them that we could use the old equipment and then once we have enough money we upgrade the equipment." She stared at him "What?"
"That isn't a half bad plan." She said
"Then why did you look at me like you weren't expecting it?" He asked. She remained silent. "Cat got your tongue?" She smirked at his joke.
"I'll go check out some of the equipment, if we're going to be taking over then we need to know how much equipment works." She said as she turned to examine the Containment Unit.
Chapter Eight
Ryan eased the rear thrusters to minimum output and reduced the power going through the pads on the undercarriage of the recovery vehicle. He stepped out of the pilot cabin and looked around at his surroundings.
"Nice neighbourhood." he muttered.
"Over here!" He turned to face the voice coming from a run-down firehouse.
"You sure know how to pick 'em Zack."
"Glad to see you Ryan."
"Where's the cab?"
"Over there." he pointed towards a building across the street.
"Ouch, I've got to hand it to you Zack. That's the worst one yet."
"Though the cab itself is in pretty good nick."
"Then why'd you call me down here?!"
"Because if I hadn't jettesonned the cabin then we might not have walked away from it."
"So you need me to reinsert the cabin, now at least that sounds reasonable. And where is your fare?"
"She's in the Firehouse." He pointed at the building.
"I'll make sure that you didn't do her any permanent damage with your piloting."
"You better not be thinking what I think you're thinking."
"I might be a mechanic but I do treat women with respect."
"Yeah, the real English gentleman."
***
"Anyone here?!" Alex heard a shout from upstairs.
"Down here!" She shouted back.
"Wow, that's an unusual piece of hardware!" He kept his gaze on the Containment Unit as he descended the rusty staircase.
"And you are?"
"Oh, I'm Ryan." He shook hands but remained fixed on the Containment Unit.
"Am I distracting you?" she replied sarcastically.
"No, I'm just admiring that piece of engineering. What is it?"
"I think it's the Containment Unit."
"And what does it do?" She gave him a surprised look.
"Haven't you heard of the Ghostbusters?"
"No, my family moved here five years ago. I missed out on the American education, were they big over here?"
"Not really, just saved the world about half a dozen times."
"Well they sure had a genius for an engineer. Sure the laser grid is outdated and the flaw in the casing could cause a breach, but the fact that it's still running is a testament to the brilliant design."
"How do you know that?" He smiled.
"Sorry, I frequently do that in front of people who don't know." He tapped next to his right eye. The iris moved unnaturally.
"A bionic eye? I didn't know they looked so lifelike."
"You'd be surprised how far artificial limbs have come, and now I count this eye as a blessing, it's been able to help me in my mechanic job more times then I can count. Hi, I'm Ryan Peters."
"I'm Alex Rodriguez, we met when you came in."
"Yeah but not properly, my concentration was off. I'm glad to see you're in good shape."
"Excuse me?" her expression darkened.
"Well, Zack's piloting isn't very smooth at the best of times."
"Oh, sorry." she smiled a half smile.
"It's okay, I normally give people the wrong impression."
"Your accent, English right?"
"Correct, though there have been times I've been confused for other parts of the Commonwealth. Could you let me know what happened - it would hurt Zack's pride to ask him."
"It's a bit of a long story."
"I'm not going anywhere anytime soon." He sat down in a nearby chair while she told him about what happened as far back as when she got into the taxi rank.
Chapter Nine
The recovery vehicle reversed as Zack linked up the chain so that Ryan could pull the cab out of the ruin.
"Linked up?"
"Ready to go."
"Right, step away from the ruin, it will probably collapse." Ryan started up the engine and the thrusters at half outtake. The ruin groaned as the cab started to move out of the hole it had created. As Ryan turned off the thrusters the ruin collapsed. He got out of the pilot cabin and examined the cab.
"You're right, she is in good nick. Probably from the work I've done on it over the years."
"How long will it take to reinsert the cabin?"
"About an half an hour, an hour without my garage."
"Then you'd better get started, we have big plans for that car." Alex approached them.
"What do you plan to do with it?" Ryan unhooked the chain.
"Something that also involves you." He stopped and stared at her.
***
"Let me get this straight, you want me to leave my job, steal this cab and join you two in restarting a business that hasn't been in operation in over two centuries?"
"Yes." Zack replied.
"And what's in it for me? My mechanic job is well paying."
"From what we've found, the Ghostbusters were paid at least twice what you're earning." Alex answered. Ryan fell silent for a moment.
"Just to clear things up, I'm only doing this for the money, I don't have any other interest in this business or in helping the city."
"Fine with us. Now that just leaves one problem." Zack said as he slouched in the chair.
"What is the problem?" Asked Alex.
"The Ghostbusters had four team members, we only have three. Does anybody know anyone who might be interested because I don't."
(*"Baxter Franklin?"*) Ryan thought.
"Neither do I." Alex said.
"Maybe, he's an old friend of mine. He might have some useful talents." Ryan smirked.
Chapter Ten
"Ryan Peters? Wow it has been a long time." Baxter spoke through the phone.
"Hi Bax, I was wondering, are you still in between jobs?"
"Yeah, never have been able to get one as good as when I was at the NYPD."
"I've got a propostion, have you ever heard of the Ghostbusters?"
"They're not making another movie about them are they?"
"No, nothing like a movie."
"Yeah I've heard of them."
"How would you like to make a lot of money by simply getting rid of ghosts?"
"I guess it could help me get out of this rut I'm in. Where should I meet you?"
"At the Ghostbusters Museum on the corner of Varrick and N. Moore."
"Isn't that under the no-fly zone?"
"Yes."
"Okay, but I might have a bit of trouble getting down there. I'll see you in about an hour." The image of Ryan faded from the screen as he switched off the phone.
"Become a Ghostbuster? Why not." He put on his leather jacket and picked up his I.D. card for his hovercar.
***
The banged up squadcar with faded NYPD paintwork came to a halt and slowly decended to the entrance of the Firehouse.
"A classic 2218 squadcar, and not bad condition either." Zack admired the old hovercar. Running his hand along the graceful lines that made up the bodywork.
"Glad to see she has a fan, now who are you?" the black ex-cop stepped out of the pilot cabin.
"He's with me." Ryan stepped out of the wooden double doors.
"Ryan."
"Bax, it's been too long." They shook each other's hands.
"So this is going to be the new group of Ghostbusters? an ex-cop, a cabbie and a brilliant mechanic?"
"And a hacker." A female voice said from behind Ryan.
"And who is this?"
"Bax, meet Alex Rodriguez."
"Nice to meet you." He forced a smile.
"Also meet Zack, he's the guy who came up with the idea." They shook hands.
"I've heard some amazing stories about you Mr. Franklin."
"Please, call me Bax. Everyone else does. I'm sure that Ryan is exaggerating, he's got far more intresting stories about him." they started walking into the run down building.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the future and past home of the Ghostbusters." Zack proclaimed, gesturing around the room with a sweep of his arm.
"Are you guys really sure you want to start out here?" Bax examined a rusty proton pack in a glass case.
"Apart from the fact that most of us haven't got the cash to buy a new place, noone would give us a lease in a modern building if they knew what we were setting up." Ryan answered. "And besides, we have all the things we need to start up right here."
"But there isn't even any power." Bax said as Alex attached an length of industrial strength power cord with a industrial plug into a large box next to the stairs. A spark shot out of the machine as power flooded into the old building. The lamp on the dusty desk near the back of the garage flickered on and the ceiling lights lit up. Had any of them been outside they would have noticed the neon sign with the Ghostbusters' logo flicker to life.
"It's a temporary measure until we get hooked back into the national grid, but as long as we don't run anything that has a high power drain then we should be okay." Said Alex, as she stepped away from the generator.
"I guess then this calls for a celebration." Ryan declared.
"We'll have to save the celebrations for now, we've first got to get this place clean and clear out the museum pieces that are too badly damaged. Once that's done we can get the old equipment working and start busting some ghosts. Once we've made enough money we can upgrade the equipment and the building." Zack said enthusiastically.
"Some of this stuff is going to take industrial strength cleaners to get out." Bax rubbed some green, liquidated mould in his hands.
"Now when people have ghost problems they're gonna ask: "Who you gonna call?"." They stared at Zack, he looked at them as if expecting them to say something.
"We'll talk about the advertising later, hopefully without HIM." Bax joked. Ryan brought in a set of four mugs with soda.
"Sorry, that's the strongest thing I had in the truck."
"It doesn't matter." Said Bax. They all grabbed a mug.
"To the Ghostbusters!" Proposed Zack.
"I'll drink to that." Grinned Bax. They all clashed their cups together and then drank from them.
Epilogue
A room, dark and nondescript apart from the table highlighted by the spotlights above. Hands rested on the very edges of the table, but the faces of those present remained shrouded in shadow.
"What is our status?" One of the shadows asked.
"Everything is going as planned."
"What about that hitch that happened this morning?" Another shadow asked.
"It doesn't matter, we're too close to success for anything so small to stop us."
"We've done much to get the ceremony together, Sir, we've spared no expense."
"Excellent, you have done well my friends." A shadow wearing gloves at the head of the table said.
"Is there anything else that needs to be brought to the table?" A shadow with rank bands on his sleeves asked.
"No, everything on today's agenda has been discussed."
"Well, if there's nothing else to discuss then this meeting is closed." Most of the people left the table, but two remained seated.
"Sir? Is something wrong?"
"Hmm, there's a disturbance. Something unexpected is on the horizon."
"A possible threat?"
"I doubt it, they're young, inexperienced. I doubt they will be anything more than a small inconveinience."
"Should I send someone to infiltrate them?"
"No, let's simply monitor their progress. If they prove to be a threat then we can eliminate them before they have a chance to stop us." He stared at a holo display showing four faces.
"Very well, Sir. Your appointment with the mayor is in an hour."
"Excellent, it's all falling into place." Even though the assistant knew what would be happening, he couldn't help wonder while his boss laughed in the darkness - was he doing the right thing?
"It has begun." The gloved figure at the head of the table said, and the assistant could swear he could make out a smile even in the darkness.