As it turned out, fixing things wasn't as simple as finding where the guys were. Because after a few phone calls, they found out that where they were happened to be locked up in a psychiatric hospital.
On the bright side, they had managed to get there in a hurry. It turned out that Janine did have a car, even if she didn't use if much. Louis wasn't entirely sure if she was out of practice or if that was just how she usually drove. He probably shouldn't complain, seeing as he didn't have much idea how to work a car himself. And he supposed she was rather good at it, at least if you were judging by how fast she could get where you were trying to go. In terms of criteria more along the lines of 'keeps all four tires on the ground when going around a corner,' not quite so much. Again, he didn't want to complain, it was just…
"Louis? You alright there?"
Janine had already climbed out of the car after they'd swerved to a stop in front of the building, and looked back to find that he still hadn't moved.
He managed a shaky thumbs up, and then sharply turned away to press a fist to his mouth. He was glad it was dark out, because he was pretty sure his face had to be very visibly turning green.
"I'm gonna go see what we're dealing with, okay?"
"Yeah, good idea. You go on ahead." He muttered, more to himself than anyone, as she was already rushing inside. "I'm just… I'm gonna stay here. Probably not move for awhile…"
He let his head fall limply back against the seat and closed his eyes, at least until he heard a small rattle in his pocket. After checking in his coat, he quickly began thanking several-hours-ago-Louis for being a nervous wreck about his first date and making sure to pack generic brand Dramamine. At least that was enough to make him fairly confident that the pizza he ate for dinner wasn't going to reappear. Wouldn't that be a great memory to add to the night? But then again, he supposed things couldn't go much more off the rails than they already had.
Janine returned several minutes later, the frustrated look on her face suggesting that it hadn't gone entirely well.
"Alright, I've got good news and bad news." She announced. "Bad news is they've got a bunch of jerks at the front desk, and there's no way they're gonna let us take the guys out of there."
Louis leaned forward as a mischievous glint started to appear in her eyes. "What's the good news?"
She reached into her coat, and fished out a ring of keys that she proudly spun around on her finger. "Grabbed these."
Louis had spent enough time watching movies to be pretty familiar with the idea of going undercover for an infiltration mission. Of course, the people in those movies always seemed calm and remarkably suave, with an air of relaxed confidence. And he was really really trying to be the same way instead of grinning and bouncing in his seat, but this was so exciting!
"Okay, I think we're about ready. You got the plan down?"
Janine glanced up from tying a third knot into the string holding the ring of keys around his wrist, and he nodded eagerly.
"I go in, act like I work there until I can figure out where they are in the building, and then we all make a break for it together."
"See if you can find a clipboard or some papers to walk around with. People tend to be less likely to question someone who looks busy." She seemed to decide that the string was secure, but still didn't release his hand, and instead switched to distractedly tracing lines on his palm. "So, what do you wanna call this? 'Operation: Bavarian Fire Drill,' maybe?"
He glanced away as an embarrassed smile crept across his face. He did think it was a cool name though, so he still nodded a second later.
Janine sat there silently, her eyes tracing over his face. He puffed out his cheeks and then let out a nervous breath as he unconsciously drummed a hand against his leg. She was still staring at him, why was she staring at him? He scrambled to find something that felt natural to do and wound up reading the numbers on her dashboard. She was due for an oil change soon. He wondered if he should remind her so she didn't end up paying for engine repairs. He had only just opened his mouth to speak, but he stiffened and his breath caught as a finger began to trail up his chest, traveling upward until it hooked into the collar of his sweater. He didn't quite realize what she was doing until he felt a gentle tug, but the meaning of that look she was giving him finally clicked, and he was all too eager to loosen up again and let her pull him in. With everything that happened that night, it had nearly slipped his mind that they were really together now. Being pulled in for a kiss served as a very nice reminder.
She moved away again after a few moments, leaving him grinning even wider than before with the dashboard quite forgotten.
"Just for luck." She explained as she reached out to pat a hand against his cheek. "You're gonna do great."
For a while, he felt confident that things were going pretty well. At first he was a little worried about escaping notice as he wandered through the building. The more he saw people walking around in clean white uniforms, the more he felt he was dressed like a traffic cone. But even so, no one gave him a second glance. Or even a first glance, really. It would seem the fact that almost no one ever noticed him was turning out to be a good thing for once. Sometimes he wondered if he was just so short that he was below everyone's line of vision.
It didn't take him too long to find his way to the patient records and locate a file that would tell him where the guys were being held. And it still wasn't long after when he made it to the right wing of the building. That was where things got more complicated. The cells might still work on an old-fashioned lock and key, but getting into the right hallway in the first place required an ID card to scan. And no matter how beneath notice he usually seemed, it could only be so long before a guard felt the need to investigate the sight of someone trying to trick their way through the door by swiping a crumpled old business card.
He really didn't have a good explanation for who he was or what he was doing there, and of course he had nothing to show when the guard demanded to see something proving his authorization. At that point, he figured his best option was to come clean. So he'd explained all about how he needed to get the Ghostbusters out because everything was going nuts and a bunch of stuff that wasn't supposed to be alive was roaming around New York, and most importantly, his friend's baby had been carried off by some sort of ghost nanny with a flying stroller.
It turned out that was not a good thing to say to someone working in a mental institution.
"You can't keep us here! I know our rights! I demand you speak to our attorney!"
From somewhere behind him in the cell, Dr. Spengler lightly cleared his throat. "Louis, that would be you."
He paused to consider, and then went back to rattling the bars as the guard continued heading off into the distance. "I demand you get back here and speak to me!"
"Oh, give it a rest. These people aren't interested in hearing the truth." Dr. Zeddemore muttered defeatedly.
Louis was pretty sure the guys had largely given up hope, a suspicion that seemed more and more confirmed as the minutes ticked on. He tried coming up with a few ways to get out, though most of them would require some sort of paperwork that he had no way of getting access too. Admittedly, he'd gotten desperate enough to try using the Force at one point, but the keys hanging on the wall were staying firmly in place. At the very least, it had prompted Dr. Venkman to declare that he "wasn't staying locked up for years with these people" and renew his efforts of getting out.
While his boss was busy with whatever plan he was trying next, Louis had taken to pacing the floor as he tried to think everything through. Janine had to be getting worried that they weren't out by now. The people at the front desk already knew who she was, so she couldn't exactly go sneaking around the way he had. But maybe she'd still come up with something? He hoped so, because he really didn't think he was cut out for life behind bars. It never looked very pleasant on tv.
"Venkman, I really don't think you can pick the lock with a plastic spork." Dr. Stantz tried to interrupt his friend's escape attempts. "It doesn't even fit into the keyhole."
"Well they snap every time I try to eat anything, so as long as it's refusing to be used for it's intended purpose, I'm going to make it be useful for something." After a few more frustrated moments of struggling with the lock, he angrily muttered something under his breath and then glanced back into the cell. "What on earth is jingling in here? I can't focus with that noise going on."
Louis had noticed it himself, but he figured there had been more important things to worry about it. But now that he thought about it, it did seem to be coming from awful close to wherever he was standing. And it continued to sound close to him as he paced the room. Listening closer, he glanced down, and then stopped in place. The noise stopped as well. He reluctantly pulled his hand out of his pocket, and moved his arm up and down until something slid out and dangled from his sleeve.
He was cursed. When he came to keys, he was definitely cursed. He was officially convinced there was no other explanation. The one time they'd actually been tied to him and they managed to completely slip his mind.
"Alright, nobody get mad, okay?"
"Just give me those." Dr. Venkman muttered as he pulled them off Louis. At least he didn't quite sound angry so much as very impatient to get out.
However, it was at that moment the guard came back to the door of their cell, and Dr. Venkman hurriedly jammed the keys under a tray of food on the table. The guard didn't notice but had a key ring of his own, and he began unlocking the door.
"Good news, you boys are free to go. The mayor wants you back on the job."
"Now he tells us."
Louis did his best to quickly explain everything that was going on while the guys hurried to suit up and rush out of the building. The mayor must have really been getting on everyone's case, because the people working there already had their car waiting for them the moment they stepped outside. It wasn't long until they were speeding off with the siren blaring, and he felt he could breathe a little easier with the hope that they'd manage to sort everything out. A little easier, but not completely. He supposed he should feel that he'd done everything he could and there was nothing else to do but sit back and wait. But even if he tried to tell himself that, it didn't seem to do any good.
A second later, a hand slipped in to his, and he was relieved to turn and meet a familiar pair of brown eyes. He started to open his mouth to explain why it had taken so long and that he hadn't done quite as well as she hoped. But she seemed to have some idea what he was going to say and shook her head to stop him. She squeezed his hand and offered a reassuring smile, as if to say all that mattered was that they were all out now. She was right, it was more important to focus on what to do next.
"So… now what?" He asked. The street was surprisingly still, especially as the siren faded into the distance, but somehow that only made him feel more restless.
"I don't know." Her brow creased with worry for a few seconds, but then shifted to a look of determination. "But I don't want to just stand around. They might need help."
"But what can we do?"
She paused for a moment, thinking hard. Finally, she stated, "We'll go back to the firehouse. They've got all their notes there, maybe we'll find something useful."
He nodded, and followed as she led him over to where she'd parked. Back to riding in the car, he supposed. He was going to need more Dramamine.