P.I.E - A Limey Rivalry

Part 4 - A Klutzy Introduction

The foreign man rose from his chair with a delighted expression. He held himself with a rare amount of self-confidence, which was lacking in so many paranormal investigators. His outfit was probably helping his sense of aplomb; Ghost would never be seen with such an 'out there' wardrobe and Toast – while wearing his typical shirt and waistcoat – never usually kept it as neat and tidy as he could have.

He made his way over to the two 'Johnnys' and began to shake Ghost's hand. He began talking enthusiastically, though neither of them were particularly listening. Toast hazarded a guess, assuming this unknown man was saying it was a pleasure to meet the two of them, or was just rambling about nothing important. Ghost, despite having his own arm shaken up and down – the man hadn't let him go yet – did not react. Nor was he aware of anything that was happening around him.

Ghost felt like there was a raging storm within his own head; he was thinking about so many things so fast. According to Sophia, this bizarre British man was her first choice. Who was this person, if he was so special that he was the go-to choice before paranormal investigators within the same neighbourhood?

After a solid twenty seconds of Ghost and Toast not talking, the man looked at Sophia for some sort of explanation. She was obviously as confused as he was and the man began to click his fingers in front of their faces. That snapped them out of their internal battles and they returned to the land of the living.

The man spoke again quizzically, though wearing a smirk, "Are you alright, sir? You looked as though you saw a ghost." He started to snicker to himself at his less than impressive joke.

"Y-yes. We're fine," Ghost answered shakily. His mind was still woozy. He turned to his partner, asking urgently, "Toast, can I have a word with you for a minute?"

Without an answer, Ghost sped off with Toast close by, leaving the man and Sophia alone in the room.

"...Well," the man said loudly whilst simultaneously clapping his hands together, "Whilst they're preoccupied, I should really start my investigation." He turned to Sophia, who was perplexed over what had just transpired. "Sophia, was it– Do you mind me calling you 'Sophia'?" he asked innocently.

"Umm, yes. Sophia's fine," she responded, finding it odd to use her own name.

"Excellent," He said and sat back down on the chair he came from. He tapped the chair next to his own, instructing her to sit. She timidly moved to the chair he had suggested and sat down. The man spoke again, "Tell me about the place. Anything you know, or anything you've been told."

Meanwhile, Ghost was hyperventilating outside. He would've done anything for a brown paper bag. Toast, meanwhile, was rubbing his back.

"Sir, I need you to calm down," Toast advised his panicked partner, "you and me both know that we can't work officially when you're like this."

"What's the point," Ghost angrily responded, "We weren't wanted for this case, anyway."

Toast was taken aback by Ghost's outrage, causing him to continue, "You heard her. He was her first choice and we were the backup."

Looking away, Toast gently warned Ghost, "Don't say stuff like that."

Ghost either didn't hear Toast or didn't care, because he continued ranting, "It barely surprises me that an upscale woman like that would want penniless hooligans like us in her house when she has that fetching gentleman to help her. Who are we kidding anymore, Toast?"

Ghost's voice cracked and he turned away from Toast, looking intently on the fountain ahead of him. Despite Ghost looking the other way, Toast could sense that he was tearing up. "Sir. Please... Don't be like this," Toast advised weakly. He kicked himself for being so bad at emotional support, "C'mon, sir... We came all the way here and... I'm sure that we'll still be needed. I'm sure."