The Scientist's quarrel

Chapter nine

"Hey, guard! Look, I want to make a phone call. I just work with these guys. I wasn't even there." Winston shouted behind bars. Ray, Arlo, and Egon got ahold of the blueprints of Dana's apartment building, "The structure of this roof cap is exactly like the kind of telemetry tracker that NASA uses to identify dead pulsars in deep space."

Ray pulled blueprints out of his jumpsuit and set it over the first blueprint. "Cold riveted girders with cores of pure selenium." Peter spoke up, "Everybody getting this so far? So what? I guess they just don't make them like they used to, huh?" Arlo slapped the side of Peter's head, "No, you idiot! No one made them like this. I mean, this architect was either a certified genius or some aesthetic wacko."

"Arlo, darling, for a moment, pretend that I don't know anything about metallurgy, engineering or physics and just tell me what the hell is going on." Peter said, resting his arm on her shoulder. Arlo rolled her eyes, "You never studied." Peter grinned.

"Basically, the whole building is a huge super conductive antenna that was designed and built expressly for the purpose of pulling in and concentrating spiritual turbulence." Ray said as he lifted his blueprints off the table, pointing at the one under. "Your girlfriend lives in the corner penthouse of spook central."

"She's not my girlfriend. I find her interesting because she's a client and because she sleeps above her covers. Four feet above her covers! She barks. She drools. She claws." The other inmates in the room gave Peter a questionable look.

"It's not the girl, Peter, it's the building. Something terrible is about the enter our world and this building is obviously the door. The architect's name was Ivo Shandor. I found it in Tobin's Spirit Guide. He was also a doctor. Performed a lot of unnecessary surgery. And then in 1920, he founded a secret society." Egon explained.

"Let me guess. Gozer worshipers."

"Bingo." Arlo looked up at Peter. "No studying." Peter said, making Ray sigh.

"After the First World War, Shandor decided that society was too sick to survive." The inmates began to inch closer to the table. "He wasn't alone. He had close to a thousand followers when he died. They conducted rituals up on the roof, bizarre rituals intended to bring about the end of the world. And now it looks like it may actually happen."

Peter began to sing, "So be good, for goodness sake! Whoa! Somebody's coming!"

"We have to get out of here." Ray said. "Somebody's coming!" Peter continued singing. "We'd have to find a judge or something." Arlo sighed. "Hey, wait a minute. Hey, hey, hey." Winston walked up to the table, "Hold it. Now are we actually going to go before a federal judge and say that some moldy Babylonian god is going to drop in on Central Park West and start tearing up the city?"

"Sumerian, not Babylonian."

"Yeah, big difference."

"No offense, but I gotta get my own lawyer."

A jail guard walked up to the bars, "Okay, Ghostbusters. The mayor wants to see you guys. The whole island's going crazy. Let's go." Egon and Arlo exchanged a glance before grabbing the blueprints. "I gotta split. The mayor wants to rap with me about some things." Peter said as he walked to the gate.

The group was escorted by police to New York City Hall. Dozens of reporters flooded the scene. Egon pulled Arlo towards him, guiding her through the crowd. The escorts tried their best to keep the reporters off the group as they walked up the stairs.

     The Mayor had gathered many other people in his office. A map of NYC stood in the room. "I got a city blowing up, and you guys are not giving me any answers!" the Mayor raised his voice. "All right. We're blocking the bridges, the roads. Ye-" The Mayor's secretary walked into the office, "The Ghostbusters are here, Mr. Mayor."

     "The Ghostbusters. Okay, the Ghostbusters. Hey, and where's this Peck?" the Mayor asked. Arlo rolled her eyes at the sight of Peck.

     "Peck. I am Walter Peck, sir, and I'm prepared to make a full report." he walked up to the Mayor's desk, "This group are consummate snowball artists. They use sensitive nerve gases to induce hallucinations. People think they're seeing ghosts. And they call these bozos," he pointed to the Ghostbusters, "who conveniently show up to deal with the problem with a fake electronic light show."

     "Everything was fine with our system until the power grid was shut off by dickless here." Ray said. "They caused an explosion." Peck argued. "Is this true?" the Mayor looked to Arlo. "Oh, yes. That man has no dick." Arlo answered. Peck lunged towards her, having to get pulled back by a few police officers.

     "Hey, come on. Knock it off. Hey, break it up! Break it up." a police officer warned. Peck retreated, "All right, all right, all right."

"Well, that's what I heard." Arlo mumbled.

     "This is City Hall! Now what am I gonna do here, John? What is this?" A fire commissioner sat on the couch, "All I know is that was no light show we saw this morning. I've seen every kind of combustion known to man, but this beats the hell out of me."

     "The walls in the 53rd precinct were bleeding. How do you explain that?" Peck was speechless. The Archbishop joined the group in the office. "Good afternoon, gentlemen." he said. Arlo frowned at her going unnoticed. "Oh, Your Eminence."  the Mayor said, getting out of his chair and kissing Archbishop's ring.

     "How are you, Lenny?" The Mayor gave the Archbishop a lighthearted slap on the cheek. "You're looking good, Mike. We're in a real fix, here. What do you think I should do?"

     "Lenny, officially, the Church will not take any position on the religious implications of these phenomena. Personally, Lenny, I think it's a sign from God. But don't quote me on that."

"I think that's a smart move, Mike." Peter said sarcastically.

     "But I'm not gonna call a press conference and tell everyone to start praying." Other officials sat down while Winston took a step forward, "Uh, I'm, uh, Winston Zeddemore, Your Honor. I've only been with the company for a couple of weeks. But I gotta tell you, these things are real. Since I joined these men, I have seen shit that will turn you white!"

     An official face palmed as Winston walked back to where he was. Peter then stepped forward, "Well, you could believe Mr. Pecker."

"My name is Peck." he mumbled.

     "Or you could accept the fact that this city is headed for a disaster of biblical proportions." Peter continued. "Well, what do you mean, 'biblical'?" the Mayor questioned. "What he means is Old Testament biblical, Mr. Mayor. Real wrath-of-God-type stuff."

"Exactly."

     "Fire and brimstone coming from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling!" Arlo began. "Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes! Volcanoes!" Egon added. "The dead rising from the grave!" The Mayor stood from his chair. "Human sacrifice. Dogs and cats living together. Mass hysteria!" Peter shouted.

"Enough! I get the point. What if you're wrong?"

     "If I'm wrong, nothing happens. We go to jail. Peacefully, quietly. We'll enjoy it. But if I'm right, and we can stop this thing... Lenny, you will have saved the lives of millions of registered voters." The Mayor smiled. Peck walked forward, "I don't believe you're seriously considering listening to these men."

     The Mayor stood for a brief second. Peter grinned. The Mayor pointed at Peck, "Get him out of here." Peter waved to Peck, "Bye." Peck fought back as he was dragged out of the office, "I'll fix you, Venkman. I'm gonna fix you."

     Peter pointed to Peck, "I am going to get you a nice fruit basket." he turned to Arlo, "I'm gonna miss him." Arlo smiled. The Mayor, who was previously looking at the map, looked at the Ghostbusters. "We got work to do. Now, what do you need from me?"