The Scientist's quarrel

Chapter eight

    Arlo was in her office when she saw a group of people walk by. She ran out, "Ray is that you?" It wasn't. "This way." a man in a suit with a worker and a policeman walked passed her. Janine and Arlo cut them off. "Whoa, whoa, whoa." Arlo was pushed aside. "Excuse me. Just where do you think you're going?" Janine held out her hand. "Stand aside, miss, or I'll have you arrested for interfering with a police offi-"

Janine cut him off, "Oh no, hold on. I've seen TV, I know you can't come in here without a warrant, a writ or something." The man raised an envelope, "Cease and Desist All Commerce order. Seizure of Premises and Chattels. Ban on the Use of Public Utilities for Non-Licensed Waste Handlers, and a Federal Entry and Inspection order."

The three continued to the basement. "This is bad." Janine whispered as they followed them. The group came down the stairs followed by Arlo and Janine. "Egon." Arlo barricaded the containment system. "We tried to stop them, Egon. They have a warrant." Janine informed.

Egon and Louis held out their arms. "Excuse me, this is private property." The man in the suit pointed to the Containment Unit and the panels. "Shut this off. Shut these all off."

"I'm warning you." Egon pointed at them. "Turning off these machines would be extremely hazardous." Louis mimicked Egon again.

The man walked up to Egon, "I'll tell you what's hazardous. You're facing federal prosecution for at least half a dozen environmental violations. Now either you shut off these beams or we shut them off for you."

"Please try to understand. This here is a high voltage laser containment system. Turning this off would be like dropping a bomb on the city!" Arlo exclaimed. "Don't patronize me. I'm not grotesquely stupid like the people you bilk." the man spat in Arlo's face.

The worker stared at the Containment system as Peter came down the stairs. He patted the policeman on the back making him turn his head to Peter. "At ease, officer. I'm Peter Venkman. I think there's just been a slight misunderstanding and I wanna to cooperate in any way that I can."

"Forget it, Venkman. You had your chance to cooperate, but you thought it'd be more fun to insult me. Well, now it is my turn, wise ass."

"He wants to shut down the protection grid, Peter." Louis looked over to Arlo with a grin. "You shut that thing down and we are not going to be held responsible for whatever happens."

"On the contrary. You're going to be held responsible."

"No, we won't be held responsible."

"Shut it off! Archibald." the man walked over to the worker. "Don't shut it off." the worker turned to Peter who was pointing his finger at the Containment Unit. "I'm warning you."

"I- I've never seen anything like this before. I don't know-" The man cut the worker off, "Yeah, I'm not interested in your opinion. Just shut it off." An uneasy feeling swept the worker. He walked to the control panels. Peter walked over to the worker, "My friend, don't be a jerk."

The policeman spaced the two out. "Step aside." he warned. "If he does that again, you can shoot him. " the man in the suit pointed. The policeman pointed back, "You do your job, pencil neck. Don't tell me how to do mine."

"Thank you, officer." Peter said. "Shut it off!" The worker looked over to the man, then the police officer, then back to the man. Egon, Arlo, Louis, and Janine stepped away. Egon mimicked an explosion with his hands and whispered, "Boom." Peter, Egon, Arlo, and Janine walked up the steps. Louis watched the worker as he pulled a gray lever down. The lights dimmed and multiple alarms sounded. The red light above the Containment Unit flashed.

"Oh shit."

The walls of the basement shook. They all began to back away. Steam leaked from between the bricks. Everyone ran up the stairs as the bricks popped out of place. "Arlo, come on!" Egon grabbed her hand and hurried her out as the rest of them cleared the building. The roof exploded.

A beam of energy streamed out of the hole in the Firehouse's roof. People ran in different directions. "Are you alright?" Egon asked Arlo, moving the hair out of her face. She nodded, "And you?" He gave her a hug.

"This is it. This is the sign." Louis said as he walked passed Janine. "Yeah, it's a sign, all right. We're going out of business."

The Ecto-1 drove up with the sirens blaring. A crowd gathered behind the police barricades. Ray hopped over the barricade to Egon and Arlo. "What happened?" he questioned. "The storage facility blew." Egon answered. "That idiot shut off the protection grid." Arlo pointed to the man who stood by a van. "Oh, great." Ray rolled his eyes.

"That's bad, isn't it?" Winston asked. "Yeah." He nodded. "Hey, love bugs? Where's the Keymaster?" Peter questioned. "Shit." Egon said as he looked around. "Who's the Keymaster?" Ray asked. "Oh, come on." The group was about to leave, but was stopped by police officers.

"Hold it. I want this man arrested. Captain, they are in criminal violation of the Environmental Protection Act, and this explosion is a direct result of it." the man yelled at them. "Your mother!" Egon lunged at him, grabbing his collar and attempting to fight him, but Arlo and a few police officers pulled the two back.

"Come on, hold it! Hold it! Hold it!" The other police tried to keep the crowd in order. "Did you hear what he called me?" Peter questioned. Arlo was pulled away from Egon and handcuffed. "Hey! Wait a second!" Egon ran to her, but was pulled back by another officer and handcuffed. Winston and Peter were cuffed as well. "Let me go with her, please!" Egon begged.

     The police officer rolled his eyes and stuffed the two in the back of the same car. "You really tried to pick a fight with that idiot." Arlo chuckled, trying to light up the mood. "He deserves a few punches." Egon said.