My continued readership continues to make me so happy! Thank you all so much! Here's the next part of the adventure - enjoy, and feel free to let me know what you think!
The Ghostbusters offered to have Lau and Dillinger crash at the firehouse that night in case they received a call about the two missing psychologists. They agreed and settled into the first-floor guest room while Janine firmly planted herself on the second-floor couch. "If you think I'm going home while there's a chance I can help you've got another thing coming," she told them with a glare that matched her fierce tone. No one said anything else about her departing.
Egon, Ray, and Winston gathered in the third-floor lab once the other three were settled, not quite able to call it a night. "I'm going to see if I can narrow down that list of demons we came up with any further," Ray declared, moving toward the bookshelves to do just that.
"That's not a bad idea, Raymond. I believe I will examine the proton packs again, especially the destabilizer, to be certain they will be ready for tomorrow." Egon stepped over to the lab table where the destabilizer was resting.
"You think this is going to go down tomorrow then?" Winston asked, seating himself in front of the lab computer.
"It seems likely," Egon replied. "Vega has all the pieces of his revenge in place. There would be no advantage in delaying any longer."
Winston nodded. "It would actually be a disadvantage. The more time he gives Dillinger and the rest of us to find him..."
The blond physicist shot him a look over his shoulder. "Exactly."
"Do you think Peter is all right?" Ray asked softly from the second table where he had laid out a handful of books, one of them open in front of him.
"You bet I do," Winston reassured him immediately. "Like we talked about earlier, Pete's worth more to Vega alive. He's an easy way to keep Sabrina in line. And I think they'll both watch out for each other."
"Consider this as well, Raymond," Egon added. "Vega knows what we are capable of. He must, if he took our participation into account for his plan. He knows that we have the ability to come up with a creative, effective solution to the dilemma he has presented us and the members of E-Branch. What better way to handicap us than to kidnap one of us?"
Ray's head dropped slightly. "He thinks he can stop us from working against him since he has Peter," the redhead concluded. He straightened sharply and gave his teammates a stubborn, determined look. "I say we show him he doesn't know who he's dealing with. I'm going to find out which demon he's working for, and then we'll see who ends up handicapped."
The other two smiled at him, feeling their own spirits rise in reflection. "I know you will, Ray," Egon said simply, then returned his attention to the destabilizer while the younger man returned to his books.
"Are we going to have Lau and Dillinger wearing packs tomorrow?" Winston asked, bringing the spare pack that was normally stored in the lab over to where Egon was working. "We might need the extra fire power, and the only person I've seen use one better than Dillinger is Pete." He smiled ruefully. "Don't tell Pete this, but I think with a little more time, Dillinger would beat him hands down. He has a natural knack for firing accurately. I don't doubt Sabrina's claim that Dillinger is best sniper out there."
"I think it would be best if they were wearing packs," Egon said thoughtfully. "That would give us four streams plus the destabilizer, and we may need them if Vega's patron demon makes an appearance. Some of the demons Ray has discovered are quite powerful."
"That's for sure," Ray agreed. "I'd hate to meet some of these at less than full strength or without the destabilizer."
Winston nodded. "Then I'll go get the rest of the packs. I'm more than sure Dillinger can handle himself, but I'll run Lau through the basics of using the proton packs tomorrow before we go anywhere."
Ray looked up from another of the tomes he was searching through. "What about Janine? We know she can use a pack, and with Peter in trouble she'd want to come along."
Egon frowned as he considered it. "I don't believe we can risk her participation," he said slowly. "The reluctance to endanger her aside, we may need to have someone here in case Peter and Sabrina manage to escape. I wouldn't wish them to return to an empty firehouse."
"And once Vega's finished with his revenge, he and his boss may head this way to free the ghosts in the containment unit," Ray added, his brown eyes wide.
"We'll engage the safety measures before we leave for the final confrontation," Egon declared.
"Then let's get this work done and get some sleep," Winston said firmly, heading for the double doors leading out of the lab. "Sounds like we're going to have one heck of a busy day ahead of us."
The phone call they had been hoping for came in just before sunrise, but not from the source they were expecting. Janine snatched it up from the end table at the opposite end of the couch. "Ghostbusters," she said breathlessly.
"I would like to speak with Captain Dillinger," the voice on the other end of the line whispered menacingly.
The redhead blinked and turned to face the others that were beginning to gather around the second-floor phone. "He wants to talk to you," she said to the dark-haired sniper as he reached the top of the stairs, offering him the receiver, her bright blue eyes wide.
He strode over quickly, snatched it out of her hand and brought it up to his ear. "What do you want, Vega?" he asked coldly.
"You know what I want, Dillinger. And I have two somethings that will insure you come to give it to me. I know you understand the situation. You'd have to be a fool not to, and you may be an ass-kissing lackey, Captain, but I don't think you're a fool."
"Where?" Dillinger asked shortly.
"Where else? The library, tonight at ten o'clock. You can even bring Lau and the Ghostbusters if you'd like. They do have a stake in this, too, I suppose. It should be entertaining to watch their faces when I finally give you what you've always deserved."
"The hostages are alive, correct?"
"Of course. Marconi has a few things coming her way as well, and I need her to be awake enough to appreciate the significance of it all. Venkman is just insurance." There was a brief pause. "And cheap labor. Someone needs to haul the bitch around."
"What did you do to her?" Dillinger said suspiciously.
"I didn't do anything. It's not my fault she overloaded herself frying one of my agents. Although I suppose this is easier not having to deal with her mouth. You see, Dillinger? Venkman's a multi-purpose tool." A wicked snicker came over the line. "See you tonight, Dillinger." The line went dead.
"What did he say?" Ray asked as Dillinger replaced the receiver mechanically.
"The meeting's been set up for tonight at the library, ten o'clock," the man said emotionlessly.
"Are they okay? You asked what he did to her," Lau asked tensely.
"They're alive. I was right. He wants to torture Sabrina. Venkman's insurance for him."
"But what made you ask that question?" Egon insisted.
"She's not awake, and Venkman's carrying her around. Obviously they aren't staying in one place, probably to keep us from finding them before tonight. I'd like to do it anyway, to spoil his fun if nothing else. This ends before another sunrise, period. I will not deal with Vega ever again." The lack of emotion turned icy as Dillinger caught each of his audience's eyes, forcing his point home with the piercing gaze he fixed on them.
"I second that," Winston said determinedly. "This has gone way too far."
"Then let's do it," Lau said. "Janine, please stay here. Vega might call again, and we'll need to know."
She held his hazel gaze for a few moments and sighed. "Hold down the fort, gotcha. And don't think I don't know that this way I'm one less person that Vega can use against you. You just better bring Peter home in one piece, and Sabrina, too, or you'll face the wrath of Melnitz. I don't care if you're a government agent."
"Better listen to her, Lau," Winston warned with a clap on the Chinese man's shoulder. "She's completely serious, and we've learned that the wrath of Melnitz is something to be feared."
He gave the black man a tight smile. "I was planning on doing that anyway."
"Why don't we all go together in Ecto?" Ray suggested. "There'll be a pack for everyone, as well as the destabilizer. We know Vega's working for a demon, and we'd be foolish to think his boss won't show up if things start going against him."
"Very good point, Raymond," Egon praised him.
"You know, I just thought of something," Winston said thoughtfully. "Do you think there's any chance that Spiritech has something to do with this? I mean, they were willing to try to resurrect Vega in the first place. Why would this be any different?"
They all shared a look at the suggestion. "This just keeps getting better and better," Dillinger said, annoyed. "Everyone better keep their eyes open for human lackeys as well as spirit ones. Thanks for bringing that up, Zeddemore. We had too tight a focus on Vega."
"Hey, I'm no more fond of surprises than you are."
"Let's go, team. We've only got just over twelve hours to find Vega and put a stop to this. Sabrina's obviously down, and that'll slow Peter down as well." Lau moved to the converted white ambulance and was about to slip into the back seat when Winston stopped him.
"Hold it just a minute, Lau," the black man said. "You're going to need to learn the basics of using our proton packs before we go out, just in case we run into the demon Vega's working for. I don't think you want to go up against something too powerful without knowing how to use your weapon."
Dillinger nodded sagely, a twinkle in his dark brown eyes. "Zeddemore's got a point, Lau. Those things have a bit of a kick to them, and I'm sure you don't want your first few shots to be taking out anything like, say, a member of your team because you aren't prepared."
Lau shot him a narrow-eyed glare. "I get it, Dillinger. So are they anything like the particle weapons we're used to?"
The sniper shook his head. "Nope, not really. Those have a kick something like a shotgun. The proton packs feel more like a firehose when you fire. You have to brace yourself differently."
"Point taken. All right, Winston. Show me how it all works."
Winston gave him a small smile and proceeded to teach the E-Branch commander the basics behind firing the packs. When they were finished, the five men climbed into Ecto-1 and headed out to conduct their search.
The rest of the morning was spent chasing various false trails around Manhattan, ending mostly in narrow, dead end alleyways filled with rotting garbage. The five men inside the vehicle could only be glad they didn't have to get out and walk through it. But tension levels were high as noon approached, the fact that they had skipped breakfast only compounding the problem.
"We'd better get something to eat, or we're going to be useless when we finally catch up with Vega," Ray said from the passenger seat. "I think there's a Taco Bell around here somewhere..."
"God, no," Dillinger snapped. "Anywhere but there." He crossed his arms across his chest and leaned back against the side of the car in the seat in the far back. "Especially since Sabrina's not here," he muttered under his breath.
Egon caught the whispered comment, but chose not to say anything. "I believe I would prefer to eat somewhere else as well," he said nonchalantly.
The occultist shrugged. "That's fine. We've got lots of choices."
They ended up pulling through a random fast food burger joint and eating in the car, Winston admonishing them to be careful of the upholstery. Though Dillinger got a wicked look at that, the group managed to avoid their driver's wrath and followed yet another lead. Egon continually adjusted the PKE meter, manually working past the fluctuations that had led them astray before, and they found themselves near Central Park with a strong energy signature to follow.
Once they had gotten out of the car and loaded to bear, Ray took his own meter and set it to Peter's biorhythms. Both devices pointed to the middle of the park and they followed the silenced meters through the trees, avoiding the usual traffic in the park. When they broke through to the large open area the park was famous for, they found a somewhat transparent figure cresting a small oddly empty hill with a familiar brown jumpsuit wearing figure trudging along behind him. Peter was carrying a still unconscious Sabrina Marconi cradled against his chest, his head down as he obviously pushed himself to keep going.
"The bastard's mine," Dillinger breathed and brought his proton rifle up to fire.
At the exact same time, Vega caught sight of the fivesome, a vicious scowl transforming his features. He stopped in his tracks, and Peter would have run into him had he been solid. As it was, he jumped back when he felt the chill of the ghost's touch, his head snapping up to find out what had happened. Just as the sniper was about to press the trigger, the vindictive spirit passed through the pair trailing behind him, placing them in front of him and causing Dillinger to pull his shot with a wordless snarl.
Venkman blinked to clear his head after the ghostly pass and focused on the group before him at the bottom of the hill. His emerald green eyes brightened considerably and a grin broke out on his face. "Hey, guys!"
"Peter!" Ray called back, joy radiating from the youngest Ghostbuster in waves.
"Are you alright, Peter?" Egon asked, relief etched in his features.
"Oh, hey, can't keep me down," Peter quipped. "You guys okay?"
"We're fine, Peter. How is Sabrina?" The blond physicist kept a careful eye on the ghost behind his best friend as they talked.
"I think she'll recover. He said something about psychic overload. She's breathing all right, and her temperature's fine. If it's like my headache, she'll make it."
"He's right," Lau said softly. "If it really is overload she'll be back on her feet in hours, depending on when it happened in the first place."
"So this is Vega, huh?" Winston asked, his voice neutral.
"Yeah. Thoroughly unimpressive, isn't he?" Dillinger quipped chillingly. "Of course, that may have something to do with the fact that he's dead, but maybe that's just me. Oh, yeah. And no chance to get resurrected either. Not having a body to come back to puts a crimp in the plan, doesn't it? My heart bleeds for you." The smile that transformed his features was completely wicked.
"It just might yet," Vega returned. "And let's remember who has the hostages, shall we?"
Egon noticed Peter starting to tense subtly, obviously prepping to do something. He only hoped it didn't get him hurt.
"Oh, I remember. That's because I know who needs to compensate for a lack of balls. Whatever happened to facing your problems like a man?"
"Like you're one to talk, Dillinger. Who stood back who knows how many yards and pressed a detonator instead of dealing with me as an equal after the ceremony?"
"Who felt the need to play like a mustard commercial in downtown New York and exchange a grenade instead when we obviously didn't know who you were?"
"Who hides himself away and picks off his victims without their ever seeing his face? And you even think about moving one inch, Doctor Venkman, I'll have you possessed and strangling Doctor Marconi before you can say E-Branch."
Peter gritted his teeth in frustration as he realized he'd been caught. Don't worry so much, Peter, a familiar voice said inside his head. He couldn't do that to you right now if he wanted to. I wouldn't let him.
The brown-haired man's eyes widened and he took in a breath to respond. Not out loud! the voice said quickly. Let's keep this our little secret, shall we? Call me your ace in the hole, although I apologize for making you carry me around all morning. And, um, for talking to you this way at all. I don't like to do this without permission or at least some warning, but I think it might be necessary to keep my conscious state a secret for the time being. Oh, and if you want to talk back, just think it. I can pick up your surface thoughts, remember? Things would be a lot easier and we could do it at a longer distance if you were another telepath, but this works, too.
Peter managed to school his features into a neutral mask, and he kept one ear on the continuing insult exchange between Dillinger and Vega. They really don't like each other much, do they? he asked haltingly.
Never have. Of course, Vega's not really much of a loss in the person department. I've read his profile. If you think Dillinger's bad, imagine him completely unable to accept orders and enjoying his work to the point of sadism.
There was a pause. Are you trying to give me nightmares?
A giggle rippled through his thoughts. They say misery loves company.
So what was with the mustard commercial comment anyway? That just seemed so out of place, especially for this exchange.
She sighed. Why did I know I'd end up having to admit this to somebody before this was all over? Okay, here's the embarrassing truth. We'd gone out about midafternoon during our stakeout to get something to eat. Taco Bell to be precise. On our way back, a car pulled up next to us and started motioning for us to roll our window down. Dillinger did, and that's when Vega threw the grenade into our laps. We're just lucky it didn't set off everything else we had in there.
It was Peter's turn to laugh. Dillinger rolled down the window? Dillinger?
Just remember you're taking your life into your own hands if you ever bring that up with him. It wasn't one of his shining moments, and he really doesn't care to be reminded of it. We usually just agree that it was a stupid move by both of us - I didn't tell him not to after all - and go on. We blame the fact that we went to Taco Bell and agreed never to eat there again. Less embarrassing that way.
I should let them know you're okay. This conversation is dying out, and I know Vega's about to take us somewhere else.
You're probably right. Dillinger's repeating his insults, which usually means he's about to give up on words and resort to bullets.
Right now that would be really bad since he's toting around a proton pack.
Oooo, gotcha. Ask them if they've had lunch yet.
During the next lull in the dozens contest going on, Peter cleared his throat, mentally preparing himself to actually speak instead of just thinking his words. "So you guys catch lunch yet?" he asked casually.
The fivesome looked at him strangely. "Yeah, Peter," Ray answered slowly, a bit relieved at the distraction since it lowered the tension levels in the air. "We grabbed some burgers on the way here."
"What are you up to, Doctor Venkman?" Vega asked, his dirty brown eyes narrowed.
"Oh, well, I was just going to suggest Taco Bell. And remind you to ask for Grey Poupon." He shifted the woman in his arms deliberately.
"They don't serve..." the redheaded occultist began before Dillinger discreetly nudged him, his eyes casually half-lidded.
"Thanks but no thanks, Venkman. Whenever I open that stuff it just explodes in my lap."
"And I let you in my Ecto with food?" Winston asked incredulously, his dark brown eyes sparkling with knowledge that something was up.
"Fair enough," Peter said. "Just a suggestion. Just thought you might want to know what I was thinking."
"Hey, I understand," the trenchcoat-wearing man said with a shrug. "Thanks for sharing."
Vega looked from one man to the other, suspicion etched in his expression. "We'll be going now, Captain Dillinger. I don't suggest either trying to stop us or to follow. I have agents surrounding the area and I will make you regret any such thing." He smiled slyly. "If you don't believe me, let your civilian friends check with their little gizmos. They'll understand what I'm talking about."
Egon narrowed his eyes and checked his still activated meter. "He's right. According to these readings we are completely surrounded by entities in a range from Class Three to Class Five. While I'm not entirely concerned with our welfare since we are prepared for such a confrontation, I hesitate to act while Peter and Sabrina are vulnerable."
"As much as I hate to say this, we'll always have our chance at ten o'clock tonight. A draw then. Vega?" Dillinger gave the ghost a mocking smile.
"If you want to call your forced retreat that to feel better, by all means do it. But you're right in one thing. Tonight at ten o'clock. See you at the library." He grinned evilly before a shimmering shield surrounded him and his two hostages, popping out of existence and taking the three of them with it.
"He teleported them elsewhere. I can't exactly pinpoint where," Egon said tersely.
"I've lost Peter," Ray confirmed, checking his own meter.
"But are the ghosts that were surrounding us gone?" Lau asked.
"Affirmative," the physicist confirmed. "We're alone in the park."
"Then let's get back to the firehouse. We need to put together a plan to deal with this tonight." Lau gave everyone a quick look and began leading them back to the car.
"What was that weird conversation with Peter all about?" Winston asked Dillinger as they climbed into Ecto-1. "It didn't make any sense."
"Sure it did," the sniper said smugly. "Sabrina's just fine - and awake."
"How do you know?" Ray asked, a smile starting to turn up the corners of his mouth at the announcement.
"Venkman said it all, I think," Dillinger responded as Winston pulled into traffic and started to head back to lower Manhattan.
"Stop being so damn cryptic," Lau said with a scowl.
"Sabrina had to be feeding Venkman those comments telepathically. I'm not going to explain completely, but only she would have made those references. That's what Venkman meant when he said he just wanted us to know what he was thinking."
"That does explain Peter's surprise after Vega called him on his intended action," Egon mused. "That must have been the first time she sent him a mental communication."
"And it would be even easier for her to do it unnoticed with him being in direct contact with her like that," Lau finished. "She's been working on an ability that fools people into believing she's dead or unconscious. Guess it works."
"I love having an ace up my sleeve, especially knowing who I'm up against," Dillinger said as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Not that I can't take him alone, but it's always nice to have a back-up plan."
"Why don't we start working on that?" Egon suggested, and the group began doing just that.
Ten o'clock came quickly that night, finding the three Ghostbusters and two E-Branch agents waiting inside Ecto-1 as they had for the past half hour. They watched the swirling mass of sprits surround the library building as they had the day before, Ray and Egon constantly checking their meters. "It's about time for the showdown," Lau said as he checked his watch. "What's it look like out there?"
"The situation isn't nearly as dire as appearances would lead one to believe," Egon replied. "The actual number of entities present is equal to that at the park earlier, but manageable with the five of us. Fortunately we brought enough traps."
"Someone's coming," Lau said with a brief gesture toward the library.
The rest of them refocused their attention on the ground to the right of the vehicle, Dillinger with his gun drawn and below the level of the window, and took in the sight of a tall blond man walking confidently toward them. His chin-length hair was in disarray, and his steel-grey eyes twinkled with malevolent amusement. "I believe you're expected, gentlemen," he said in a deeper baritone, the light breeze catching the black robe he wore and setting it to fluttering. "You may wish to hurry since Mister Vega is not a patient man."
"Mister Vega can kiss my pasty white butt," Dillinger muttered under his breath.
"We're on our way," Lau called back through the open windows of the car.
"He'll meet you at the top of the steps." The man turned and walked away, quickly disappearing into the cloud of ghosts.
"I guess that's our cue," Winston said with a small sigh. "Here goes nothing."
"Oh, come on, Winston. This is going to be fun." Dillinger wiggled his eyebrows at the black man before he got out of the back of the hearse, holstering his handgun in the process.
Not long after they were all armed with proton packs and traps and ready to head out. "One thing," the sniper said shortly. "When Vega goes down, it's by my hand. I've seen news coverage of how you guys operate, and I guess I might be able to understand you pitching in to keep him in place, but I trap him. That's all there is to it."
Lau immediately agreed while the Ghostbusters shared a speculative look. "Considering how much grief he's put you through, I can see why you want the honor. If it's at all possible, we'll make it happen," Winston said.
Dillinger's eyes narrowed dangerously. "It better be possible," he practically growled.
"If it comes down to a choice of another of us trapping him and Vega getting away, I'm afraid we'll be forced to trap him," Egon declared firmly.
Dillinger released an explosive breath. "Fine. I'll just have to make sure it doesn't come down to that choice then," he gave in begrudgingly.
"We still need to deal with the demon behind it all anyway," Ray added.
"Him I don't care about. Vega's my concern."
"Then let's move. I think we're more than fashionably late," Lau said, gesturing down the long sidewalk that led to the stairs with a flourish.
Dillinger moved to the front of the pack as they did as requested, and the step or two proved to be enough for a solid wall of mist to cut him off from the rest of the group. "Dillinger!" Lau yelled.
On the other side of the barrier, the sniper heard his commander's call and shot a quick look over his shoulder. He took in the sight of the wall, his jaw clenching. "Well, that's one way to make sure he's mine," he muttered to himself. "I'm fine!" he called back. "I'm heading for Vega as we speak!" Dillinger then strode purposefully toward the long flight of concrete stairs where his nemesis was waiting.
"Damn it, Dillinger," Lau snarled softly at the other man's response. "The whole idea was we were supposed to do this as a team."
"Did you really expect any less?" Winston asked.
"We have our own problems, gentlemen," Egon said sharply, his PKE meter beeping urgently. "The spirits are converging on our location en masse."
"Let's move around this shell," Lau decided, starting to run to his right. "At the very least we can stretch out their line, and maybe we can find the edge and get behind this thing."
"Great idea, Lau," Ray enthused, right behind the Chinese man.
"I think I see an end to the haze at the edge of the building over there," Winston called, pointing ahead of them.
"We'll try to get there then turn and face them. We'll know what we're dealing with that way."
"That would be when and where I would approximate the arrival of the entities given both groups' speed and trajectory," Egon approved. The four of them then moved silently forward to meet the enemy.