Thank you to everyone who has decided to start riding this train with me! I hope you're ready for the next part of the ride... Enjoy, and feel free to let me know what you think!

"So have you guys ever been able to catch the light show the day after one of these things?" Sabrina asked Ray as the two of them scanned their detection devices directly over the site of the explosion.

"No, unfortunately. Our timing has just been off, sometimes only by minutes. We do have witnesses' reports, but that's not enough to make an accurate identification."

"The readings fade that quickly then?"

Ray nodded. "We've theorized there has to be a powerful entity connected somehow that's masking everything. It's the only reason we can come up with for what's been happening." He grinned at the woman. "It's actually really exciting. I love a challenge like this. Keeps things interesting."

Sabrina couldn't help but laugh. "I love a good challenge myself. I just wish I weren't so personally connected to this one."

The occultist's expression softened. "I'm sorry about that. But we'll do what we can to help solve it. With the information you gave us it should be easier to figure out whatever readings we do get."

"I hope so, Ray. I definitely hope so."

"What made you want to investigate the supernatural?" Winston asked Dillinger as that pair used their devices along the perimeter of the library.

The other man shrugged. "I was assigned to."

"So it wasn't by choice?"

"Come on, Zeddemore, you were in the military. You know how it works. Choice is not normally an option."

The black man raised his eyebrows at the chilling little smile that went with the comment. "So did you believe in this stuff before this assignment?"

Another shrug. "Never thought about it. Didn't see why it couldn't. Lots of stuff goes on that people don't know about or understand. Doesn't make it any less real." He raised an eyebrow of his own. "What about you? I've heard of you guys of course, but Sabrina's the one who read your dossiers. Maybe Lau, too."

Winston grinned. "I didn't believe; I was looking for a paycheck. I learned real quick how wrong I was. You can't face down a god and not believe."

"Buzz could."

"What?"

Dillinger laughed. "Buzz Buzzard. Our resident skeptic. What we call a nega-psychic. You'd have to get Sabrina to explain the exacts of it, but in general he's convinced that all this stuff is done with mirrors and guys in rubber suits."

"Hasn't been with you long, has he? Or he hasn't seen anything major."

"Oh, he was assigned to our team about three months after it was formed. And trust me when I say he's seen something major. We all have, repeatedly."

The black man blinked. "And I thought Pete was stubborn."

"You haven't met the rest of the team."

Winston just shook his head as the two of them continued their trek around the large building.

"So, Spengs, got any miracles for us yet?"

"No, Peter. I do believe the secondary manifestations have not yet occurred however. Winston was correct in suggesting we return to take readings."

"I liked the idea myself," Lau added. "Good man to have on the team."

Peter narrowed his eyes as he watched the Chinese man. The three of them were examining the perimeter of the blast radius with the equipment they were carrying. "Something wrong there, Lau?" he asked nonchalantly. "You seem a bit stiff."

Hazel eyes flashed over at the psychologist before returning to the screen of the device he held. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You're the only member of the team that wasn't here for that showdown with Spiritech. Does that bother you?"

"Should it?"

"Maybe."

"Why would it?"

"I can think of a few reasons. You're the only one that can tell me your reasons." The brown-haired man shrugged. "You don't have to, though. We do have another job to do."

Egon smothered a smile as he listened to the exchange. His best friend was at it again, doing what he did best, knowing when to push and when to back off to help someone who needed it. The physicist had noticed the stiffness in the third member of their trio as well, but hadn't been able to think of a reason for it.

It was harder for the blond to keep his composure when he overheard the Chinese man's grumbling under his breath. "Damn it, what is it with me and overly-observant psychologists? That's the reason I paired Sabrina off with Ray." In a more normal tone of voice, Lau sighed and said, "I'm not actually sure why it bothers me so much. It shouldn't. There's lots of things Sabrina and Dillinger did together before I was assigned as their field commander."

Peter smiled. "But none of it ever backlashed on you like this."

Lau shook his head. "No, not like this. We had to deal with Vega later, of course. And like Dillinger said, he killed the bastard. He was done, gone, out of our lives."

"And now something else from that original incident is coming back to haunt you, no pun intended." Peter's smile belied that remark.

There was a minute of silence as Lau considered how to say what he wanted to say. "I just heard that story for the first time on the flight out here," he said slowly. "I mean in complete detail. I'd been briefed - and that's an utterly accurate description - when we were facing down Vega, but I had no idea what had happened here beyond what was in the reports. I'm their commander. I should have known. Then again, it happened before I was assigned to them. It didn't have any direct bearing on anything I was involved in. And I was briefed on what I did need to know."

"You can't know everything about your teammates," Egon said sympathetically. "Even when you're their leader."

"I know. And I feel childish for wanting it to be different. But it's more than just hurt feelings. I'm just not sure exactly what."

"Because you weren't here originally, you're not sure what to expect from whoever or whatever is behind all this," Peter explained. "Like you said, you're their commander. You're in charge of their safety. I don't think you feel like you can do your job without all the facts, without being able to anticipate the bad guy's next move." The psychologist smiled. "You need to cut yourself some slack, Lau. The fact is they were here. They obviously know how to take care of themselves. And if anyone's going to be able to add those two things up and come up with a winning combination, it'll be Sabrina and Dillinger. Hey, if we're lucky, they'll even bring us along for the ride."

The commander returned the expression. "You know, you're almost as good as Sabrina." He laughed at Peter's offended countenance. "Hey, she knows me better. I bet you'd have her beat dealing with the other Ghostbusters."

Before Peter could respond, all seven detection devices began beeping and flashing. In the center of the explosion, right where Sabrina and Ray were standing, a phantom black van began to form, and another indistinct vehicle almost perpendicular in front of it. The two doctors jumped out of the way of the vision as Winston and Dillinger came running around the corner and across the lawn of the library, the latter with his handgun drawn. They all felt a chilling presence, causing shivers to crawl up and down their spines. Lights shot out from the second vehicle to impact with the front of the van in a very familiar pattern.

"Proton beams!" Ray cried.

"Particle weapons!" Sabrina and Lau chimed.

"Tell me I get to kill something," Winston heard Dillinger mutter as they got closer.

The scene continued, like a flashback for two of them, until it started to reach a blinding finale. "Hey, wait a minute," the only woman in the bunch protested, "they never fired on the van that long!" That's when the ghostly image exploded.

"Dillinger..." a sinister whisper echoed. Peter looked around sharply for the source, but the only other person who appeared to have even heard it was Sabrina, who had stiffened and turned her gaze quickly to her gun-toting teammate.

And then the shock wave hit.

"Well, I suppose something good came out of all this," Winston said as he adjusted the ice pack that rested on his right shoulder. "We finally got some definite readings."

"That's quite true, and with study they should prove to be enlightening," Egon replied, attempting to adjust the patch of gauze that covered a slight cut on his forehead.

"Leave it alone, Spengs," Peter growled at him, pulling at the Ace bandage on his left wrist. "You've been picking at it since we left the emergency room."

"Before, actually," Lau corrected, discreetly scratching at his own patch on his neck. "Since the doctor put it on."

"Are you sure she'll be okay?" Ray asked from where he knelt next to Sabrina. The woman was stretched out on the couch on the second floor sleeping, a large piece of gauze covering her right cheek and a brace on her right wrist. Ray's only bandage came in the form of the ring and pinky fingers of his left hand being taped together. The doctors suspected they were only sprained.

"She's lived through lots worse than this," Dillinger said quietly from the other side of the couch. He had somehow come out of the experience untouched.

"Is something wrong, Peter?" Egon asked, concerned, as the younger man pinched the bridge of his nose. That had been an overly-familiar gesture for him all afternoon. "You've been out of sorts since we left for the hospital, and you appear to have a headache."

"I don't know what the problem is," he snapped. "Ever since I heard that voice at the library, it's like a marching band has taken up residence in my head. Believe me, it isn't fun."

"What voice?" Ray asked. "I never heard anything."

"What are you talking about? There was this wicked voice that whispered 'Dillinger' right before we got hit with the aftermath of the explosion. I know I'm not the only one who heard it. Sabrina did, too. That's why she took the digger into the dirt. She had turned around to look at Dillinger."

"Unfortunately, I have to agree with Ray. I didn't hear anything either," Lau said. He wore a thoughtful expression. "But I don't think that means you didn't hear it, Peter."

"What are you thinking?" Dillinger asked, a suspicious look on his face.

"Have any of you shown any inclination toward psychic abilities?" the Chinese man asked, ignoring the question put to him.

The Ghostbusters shared a confused look. "Well, yeah," Ray answered. "Minor ones, like being able to tell when the phone is going to ring, and bad feelings about bad busts, things like that. We theorize that our repeated exposure to ghosts and PK energy has increased our sensitivity."

"Are any of you more sensitive than the others?"

"Lau, you aren't thinking... Are you serious?" The man in the black trenchcoat stared at his commander incredulously.

"I always thought Peter was a bit more sensitive to such phenomena, although he repeatedly denies such claims," Egon responded. "Are you suggesting that Peter's sensitivity allowed him to pick up a psychic message that the rest of us would be unable to receive?"

"And how does that explain Sabrina?" Winston added.

Lau shared a look with the sniper before answering. "I really shouldn't say. That's Sabrina's prerogative, and I won't betray her trust."

"Fair enough, but what about Peter?" Winston continued.

"I think Egon might be right," Lau said. "I can't be sure, though. The heightened sensitivity makes it quite likely."

"Fine, fine, fine," Peter grumbled. "But how do you explain the rush hour traffic in my head?"

"Psychic overload," a soft whisper from the couch responded. "You're not used to picking up such faint things, so the normal things you're used to are like bullhorns next to your ears. Give it a while longer and you'll be fine." Sapphire blue eyes fluttered open and Sabrina looked over at where Peter perched on the arm of the couch at her feet.

"Thank goodness you're all right," Ray said with a smile. "I was worried about you."

"I told you she's survived worse," Dillinger said calmly, one corner of his mouth twitching upward.

She looked up at him quickly. "Yeah, you at four o'clock in the morning after a session in the basement." Her eyes glittered with familiarity with the routine.

"Or better yet, Colonel Taylor after dealing with Dillinger at four o'clock in the morning after we had a session in the basement," Lau added with a relieved smile.

"Good point."

"Did you say the voice said 'Dillinger'?" Ray asked Peter.

"Yeah, it did." He squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed his hands over his face.

"That's what I heard," Sabrina confirmed.

"That suggests that Captain Dillinger is the ultimate target of the source of the disturbance," Egon offered.

Said captain rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?" Peter asked, cracking one emerald green eye open and peeking out from between his fingers.

"Only if you've decided life isn't worth living anymore."

"Down, Dillinger," Sabrina said calmly. "He's suffering from an overload headache. Cut him some slack."

"What does it all mean then?" Winston asked.

"I'd think it means our culprit is the man Dillinger faced off against while Sabrina chased down the agent with the book. He'd be the most likely to carry a grudge against him," Ray said. "I don't think Hawk would want to go after his teammates, especially when they didn't really have anything to do with his death."

"A logical theory," Egon approved. "Do you have any further information on this man?" he asked the E-Branch team.

"I don't think so," Lau said, then looked at the other two. "What do you guys have?"

"Don't look at me," Sabrina said quickly. "I was busy chasing down the book and dodging bullets."

"I didn't see much of him, and I certainly didn't stop to exchange pleasantries and a recipe or two. No one told me anything afterward, and I was more concerned with getting my remaining team member out of there in as close to one piece as I could." Dillinger scowled.

Lau crossed his arms across his stomach and tapped his foot in thought. "We'll see what we can get back at headquarters and head back to our hotel. We'll come by again in the morning. We can continue the investigation then. Will you be studying those readings tonight?"

"Look out, he's kicked into commander mode," Peter's muffled voice warned tauntingly.

"I was planning on doing so, yes," Egon replied as Ray and Winston grinned at their suffering friend. "We should have some results for you by the time you get back."

Sabrina sat up and reached into an inner pocket of the vest she was wearing. She pulled out a business card and handed it to Ray. "This has my cell number on it. Call if there's an emergency or if another explosion takes place. You're more likely to be contacted first." She smiled. "And if there's anything else you need you can call, too. I don't bite."

"Sabrina..." Lau chastised with a roll of his eyes.

"I know, I know. That number's not for social purposes. And that's not the main reason I gave it to them." She stood and ran a hand through her hair. "But if they just need to talk or something, I can do that, too." She winked at Winston, who was trying not to laugh.

"Let's just go. I want the people at HQ to look at you anyway. That bandage is unsightly."

"Jeez, Lau, when did you join the fashion police?" Sabrina followed her other two teammates toward the stairs to the ground floor. Dillinger stifled a snort of laughter at the comment. She turned back to the Ghostbusters. "We'll see you tomorrow." She waved and disappeared behind the two men.

Peter finally dropped his hands into his lap. "Well, this has been an interesting day." He flinched slightly at the sound of his own voice.

"Is it any better, Peter?" Ray asked gently, moving to sit on the now-open couch.

"Yeah, actually. Sabrina was right - it'll go away with time."

"Do you really think we can trust them?" Winston asked.

"They've done nothing to suggest we shouldn't," Egon refuted. "They were forthcoming with the story of the incident at the library. I admit we don't know everything about them; in fact, I believe they're probably still hiding something important. But all in all I'm willing to accept their assistance in this investigation."

"Not that we could turn it down in any case," Peter drawled. "They're definitely hiding something - that's a given. And you're right about them telling us about Spiritech and the library. What sells that one is they told us before the thing with Dillinger's name came up out there. And Sabrina seems to actually know how to relate to people on a consistent basis. Lau can get overbearing, and I'm not touching Dillinger with a ten-foot pole. But this is all pretty much a moot point. They're coming over tomorrow, and we're all going to work on the case. I say we grab something to eat then let you mad scientists check those readings we got before catching some shut-eye." He sighed and rubbed his forehead for a minute. "I only hope this headache is gone by then, because I have the feeling there's a whole new one waiting for us." They all moved into the kitchen in complete agreement.