This fic was previously published in Slime Trails 6, a Real Ghostbusters fanzine. It is being released to the net on 09/05/2004 with permission from the editor. If you desire ordering information, contact the Editor. More information on this and other zines can be found at Celestial Cat's Real Ghostbusters.

Yes, this was previously published in a fanzine, oh so long ago (How time flies!). Yes, this is a crossover. This story is more RGB (Real Ghostbusters), than F/X: The Series. Still, there is a fair amount of F/X. I don't think you'll complain too much. Oh! If you want or need to know about the Real Ghostbusters, there are character biographies on Celestial Cat's web site. I'm sure she did a much better job of it than I could. FYI, Real Ghostbusters was the animated series based on Ghostbusters. Or should I say Ghostbusters was based on them? In the RGB universe, the movies were made about them with Hollywood prevarications, er, variations. There are some distinct differences. If you are familiar with the Ghostbuster movies, but not with RGB, you might still want to check the bios out.

If there are any typos or other errors with this fic, they are probably my fault as I wrote both the original story and am now transcribing it for the net. (Yes, I don't have the original file anymore. Darn computers dying, misplaced floppies and other reasons.) Even with that though, it will give you more fic with minimal effort on my part. Ain't I a sneaky cad of a fic author? *cackle*

Disclaimer: I own neither Ghostbusters, Real Ghostbusters or FX characters. They belong to Columbia Pictures, DIC, Rysher, Fireworks Entertainment and Hallmark (and others that are probably not coming to mind). I neither make, nor intend to make, any profit from this and other similar endeavors. This is solely for mine and other fans' enjoyment. Now to the part you want - the fic!

Shrieks and catcalls were heard from the watching crowd as the menacing ghost slimed Peter Venkman in a sickly purplish-blue before soaring above his head with a nasty cackle. Ray and Winston fired, just missing both the ghost and Peter. Casting a glare at his partners, the brown haired Ghostbuster raised his thrower, determined to catch the pesky spirit. With a sheepish shrug, Ray joined Peter in maneuvering to the right, while Egon and Winston shifted left. "Okay, bunky! We're getting you this time!" yelled Peter. "This ghost is toast!" Just as the team of paranormal eliminators fired on the ghost, it dodged into the nearby green glass office tower. Startled screams and curses were heard as the Ghostbusters rushed into the nearest entrance. The foursome waded through the exodus of scared office workers, searching the atrium for signs of the noxious specter. Egon whipped out his PKE meter, activating it and scanning for the ghost, all in the space of a breath. "Fastest PKE meter east of the Mississippi" crowed Peter. "Come on, big guy, let's catch this spook. He's definitely not my color."

"Hmm. It appears to be headed for the rear of the next level." Egon headed for the escalators.

"Great! Let's get him!" Ray cheered, rushing ahead.

"Hey, you can't go in there! You're not authorized!" The security guard, who had been hiding behind his desk, bellowed. The team came to a halt and stared at the man in disbelief.

"Okay by me." Peter responded in saccharine tones. "You can just chase that ghost our way. I'm tired of running around anyway. These packs are heavy."

"Ah, come on man. You don't want that ghost running around in here. Your employers sure wouldn't like it." Winston turned confidently toward the security guard, certain the man would see reason.

"Maybe not, but you can't go up there unless you sign in first," the heavy set man replied stubbornly. He appeared ready to call an entire SWAT team to enforce the point.

Rolling his eyes at his partners, Winston moved over to the desk, signed them all in, and collected the plastic badges waved under his nose. Hurrying back to where his teammates stood looking bemused, the black Ghostbuster chuckled, "Can you believe this guy? Worrying about procedure while that spook's doing who knows what upstairs."

"Yeah. We're lucky he didn't make us wait for authorization first!" Peter rejoined. "Okay Egon, tell me we haven't lost that pest. Which way did he go?"

"The nether entity appears to have remained within the confines of this building, but its exact location is difficult to determine. There is a lot of electrical interference. We will have to divide our efforts to locate it." Egon answered as he studied his meter.

"Split up, huh? I don't think I like that. I've got a funny feeling." Peter shifted a trifle apprehensively. Something, the psychologist wasn't sure what, was going to happen. He could feel it as the hairs on the back of his neck rose.

"Ah, come on Peter. It's only a little class two. There's nothing really dangerous about those. He'll be a snap to catch!" Ray eagerly responded, ready to charge upstairs in search of the illusive spook. Even Slimer, their "pet" ghost, was more dangerous than this ghost.

"Ray's right, Pete. Let's bag this spud and get out of here." Winston was ready to end this chase and return to the firehouse. "That maintenance won't finish itself." Today had originally been scheduled for the heavy quarterly maintenance of their equipment. They had barely started the work when they had gotten this call from the mayor's office. Peter had been relieved to get away from the boring tasks, but the others were eager to be done with them for this quarter.

"Alright, already, keep your jumpsuits on. What's the plan, oh master of the PKE?" Peter peered around, certain he faced another ambush by the ghost. They always seemed out to get him and it wasn't just paranoia. Peter got slimed with greater frequency than the other Ghostbusters combined.

"I don't believe it has gone above the tenth floor." Egon rapidly laid out their strategy for tracking the elusive ghost. "I'll start there and work my way down. Winston, Ray, go to the fifth floor. You can go up and down respectively from there. Peter, you start here and work your way up. Check your meters and radios, everybody."

"Why do I always have to go up? We'll have to take the stairs, won't we?" The other Ghostbusters ignored Peter as they headed or the elevators.

"No, Peter." Egon sighed. "The stairs will only permit egress to the first floor in a building such as this one. They're for emergencies only and will be locked from the inside on other levels. We'll have to use the elevators."

"I wonder what's causing the interference." mused Ray as they headed up to begin the search for the ghost.

The tall physicist speculated as he considered the problem. "It could be several things, Raymond. Perhaps it is caused by an electronics lab. I believe I read that Carlisle Enterprises was diversifying into computer hardware development. The article said something about a new microchip. They own this building."

After two hours of pursuit, the destruction of one cheap stereo, a water cooler, and the door on the third floor men's room, shocking the two occupants, the Ghostbusters had their prey successfully trapped. Peter was feeling particularly smug since he had avoided another sliming and had convinced the building management to pay for the trapping. After all, the mayor might not have wanted to pay for the spud after they'd chased it off the city streets and away from the business lunchers and voters enjoying a perfect autumn day. An added bonus was the fact nothing bad had occurred. Whatever Peter had thought was going to happen, had failed to materialize, much to his relief. All the Ghostbusters were glad to leave the staid offices behind and pile into Ecto-1. "Dibs on the first shower." came the familiar call from the back seat of the old converted white hearse as they headed home.

"No argument from me, my man. You certainly need one." Winston chuckled as he expertly parked Ecto-1 in her spot at the firehouse. "I'll fix us up some sandwiches, then we can get back to work on that maintenance."

"Hey, what's that suppose to mean?" Peter sputtered indignantly. "Besides, after chasing that spud for hours, I figured we've earned a break!"

"No Peter, we have to finish the maintenance. After all, we don't want to risk a rupture in the containment unit." Though Egon's words were solemn, his blue eyes twinkled behind the red frames.

"And Peter, think how you'd feel if old Betsy didn't work right on our next bust!" Ray, cheerful as they teased their friend, gestured toward Egon who was unloading their packs from the back of Ecto. He whistled happily as he bounced downstairs to unload the trap.

"Okay, okay! Here's the paperwork for that bust, Janine." Tossing it in the direction of the red head's desk, Peter trudged upstairs, muttering to himself about slave drivers and thinking wistfully about the gorgeous day outside. Winter would be here soon and this might be the last good weather until spring.

Blue had given way to leaden skies promising a cold rain, when the Ghostbusters got up the next morning. Janine joined her employers for a morning cup of coffee and even Peter, never a morning person, had dragged himself from bed, complaining about the early hour.

"But Peter, it's after 09:00 already and there's still plenty of work left to do." Ray laughed as Peter scowled at him. Despite the cloudiness, Ray was bubbling with joy and a love of life. He was looking forward to completing the maintenance. Fortunately, the sound of the front door opening forestalled whatever response Peter was going to make. Janine hurried downstairs to see who were the first customers for the day.

"It's too early for ghosts," grumbled Peter, as he took another desperate gulp of coffee.

"Egon," Janine was upset as she came back upstairs. "They say they're the police; Detectives McCarthy and Gatti. They want all of you to come with them to Midtown South. What could they want with you?" She caught hold of the blond's arm, worried.

"I'm sure it's nothing Janine. Perhaps they wish to consult us about a manifestation at some crime scene." Egon's eyes gleamed at the thought of a new avenue of research.

"Don't worry Janine, I'm sure the mad scientists haven't been playing where they shouldn't have," teased Peter. Abruptly sobering, he turned to Egon. "You don't think it's Pop, do you?"

While Charlie Venkman had caused the Ghostbusters more than their share of trouble, Egon was fairly certain he wasn't involved in this instance. "I'm sure if it were your father, Peter, they would have told us immediately."

"Midtown South, that's where we busted that class two yesterday." Winston was thoughtful as he made the observation. "Could that have something to do with what they want?" The others considered the possibilities for a moment, but none of them could think of a reason for the police to be concerned with that particular ghost. The team piled downstairs to see what the police detectives wanted with them.

Peter took one look at the pair and murmured an aside to Winston about Mutt and Jeff. McCarthy proved to be a professional looking man in his mid to late forties, dressed in a gray business suit and darker tie, his light brown curls touched with gray. The older detective was of average height, but his partner, Gatti, a younger man in his early thirties, stood half a head shorter and had dark hair and eyes. He presented a more casual appearance in jeans, navy polo shirt and black blazer. They were polite, but uninformative, requesting simply that the team follow them to the precinct. The team followed them willingly enough, full of curiosity.

At Midtown South, a serious looking man in his late thirties, wearing a dark blue business suit, introduced himself as Captain Marvin Van Duran, as they were escorted to a room down the hall from the squad room. When McCarthy popped a tape into the waiting VCR, Peter asked if they were going to serve popcorn. The look he received from the detective was unreadable, but disturbing. The foursome stared shocked as the black and white security tape played itself out on the video monitor. Peter wished now that it had been his father and not this sick joke. It had to be a joke, there was no way this could be real. Peter shivered as he recalled the uneasiness he had felt yesterday when the bust had taken them into the Carlisle Building. Now, it was clear that that feeling had been all too accurate.

"But I didn't!" Ray protested, stunned after seeing the security video showing him blasting the small computer. "I didn't do it guys! I don't understand. How?"

"Come on, Doctor Stantz. Admit it. It's all there in black and white." NYPD Detective Leo McCarthy declared. "You blasted that computer. Carlisle says it's industrial sabotage. Who paid you to do it?" The gray eyes were shrewd as he observed Ray and the other Ghostbusters.

"No. If Ray says he didn't, then he didn't. That video's a fake! I don't know how, but Ray wouldn't do that!" Peter protested doggedly, not understanding what was going on, but certain of his partner. "Ray wouldn't do that!" As if repeating it would make the cops believe them.

"There is absolutely no reason for Ray to do such a thing, Detective McCarthy! What possible motive could there be? We..."

The shorter detective interrupted the tall physicist. "Money is frequently motive enough, Doctor Spengler. We all know ghostbusting doesn't make you rich, despite the hefty fees you charge." Gatti leaned back against the wall, confident of the research he and McCarthy had done before calling on the Ghostbusters. The foursome stirred uneasily at the observations. It almost sounded plausible the way the detectives were presenting the motive.

"The rest of the world thinks it does, Detective Gatti. What makes you think we need money?" Winston asked the question calmly, all the while thinking furiously, trying to discover an explanation. One that would be acceptable to this pair.

"Francis didn't say you needed money, just that you aren't rich, Mister Zeddmore. Which is obvious from your headquarters, and we did a little checking on your finances before we came by. The electrical company knows just how late some of those large utility bills have been paid. If they didn't know the consequences of cutting you off, you'd have been disconnected several times already." The older detective was calm and non committal as he faced the four tense men.

"Hey, we pay our bills, buster! And don't you forget it!" Peter was boiling now. He knew just what the financial situation was for the team and the allegations of the detectives struck a raw nerve. What right did these guys have to check up on them? And how could they believe Ray, of all people, would do something like this? Ray was always the boy scout, honest and loyal and eagerly ready to help anyone in trouble. Destruction of property wasn't something Ray did, at least not deliberately. Okay, they'd all had their share of accidents, but not deliberate destruction of property. And that ghost hadn't been anywhere near when Ray blasted that computer - apparently blasted that computer - Peter amended mentally.

"It doesn't matter," McCarthy stated. "Carlisle wants Doctor Stantz arrested and that security tape is more than enough justification for it. He'll be charged tomorrow and the judge will set bail. Until then Doctor Stantz, I'm afraid you'll be our guest. Francis, take him down to lockup."

"You can't!" "Wait a minute!" "Hold it, buster!" The three Ghostbusters protested, talking over each others raised voices. Surely this couldn't be happening. There had to be some way to convince the police that this was wrong or at least a misunderstanding.

"No guys, it's okay. I know you'll find out what really happened." Ray's words were soft, but instantly stopped the flood of protest from his partners. "I'll be okay." Gatti collected the quiet engineer, escorting him from the room.

"Just you wait, McCarthy! We'll prove Ray didn't do it, then maybe we'll charge you with false arrest!" Peter couldn't resist a parting shot at the detective as they left the interrogation room. The words were caused by worry and fear for Ray, more than a real motivation to get the detective.

"Peter." Egon's deep voice rumbled warningly. "Stop that. Detective McCarthy is just doing his job and it won't help Raymond."

"Yeah, but cops don't like us. Look at Frump! They probably won't even try to find out what's really going on." The words faded as the three Ghostbusters moved down the hall. Peter would have been surprised at McCarthy's thoughts, if he'd know them: the older detective had to agree with the Ghostbusters, Stantz seemed the least likely culprit in this case, but that tape certainly indicated otherwise.

Van Duran watched the three Ghostbusters leave, Venkman grumbling and complaining about what was happening. He moved forward, eyeing his older subordinate with knowing eyes. "McCarthy. You're up to something." The quiet words caused Leo to jump slightly before he turned to face his captain. Van Duran sighed, studying his older subordinate. "You going to Tyler again?" A move he should have predicted when he had handed this case to McCarthy and Gatti earlier this morning.

"Yeah, well Captain, it just doesn't add up. And if anybody can get anything from that tape, it's Rollie." The words were confident, Leo knew they had to be to convince the captain.

The methods used by the older man weren't always found in normal police procedures and had more than once caused the conservative captain a headache. But usually they produced results. Tyler had earned a measure of respect and acceptance from Van Duran when he had helped McCarthy crack the Seventh Brigade case. It had been Tyler and his movie friends that had gotten Harmon to tell the location of the large car bomb. With only five hours left to find the bomb, they had successfully created the illusion that it had already exploded. Harmon revealed the location with no time left to disarm it. McCarthy had driven the van containing the bomb into the nearby river. The pair had averted an Oklahoma City style disaster from happening in the middle of New York City.

"Very well, McCarthy. Get on it. As you pointed out to the Ghostbusters, Stantz will be charged tomorrow. But take a copy, not the original. It's our only evidence and I don't want someone saying we let something happen to it."

"Yes sir, Captain sir. Right away, sir." Leo moved, unwilling to risk a change of heart by his captain and anxious to see what his friend made of the situation. Something just wasn't right and Rollie Tyler was just the man to help Leo pinpoint the cause.

In his career as a New York City cop, Leo thought he'd seen just about everything, until he met Rollie. No matter how many times McCarthy entered Rollie's studio/home, he always felt like he'd fallen down the rabbit hole and kept expecting to meet Alice there. The old brick building had been a brewery in its earlier life, but now looked vastly different. Two sets of double doors led inside, both sets large enough for a decent sized delivery truck to go through; something Rollie found convenient, parking his own state-of-the-art custom truck inside the building. The main floor was a hodge podge of realistic looking movie models, a life-sized dragon's head, alien beings, masks and more, high tech electronics and equipment. Shelves were everywhere holding the tools of Rollie's trade and the walls were covered with movie posters, mostly movies Rollie had worked on over the years. Several sets of metal stairs led up to the living quarters spread over the back portion of the studio. Rollie's pride and joy, a small robotic "dog", barked a greeting at Leo. "Hey Blue, where's Rollie?"

"Over here, Leo." Sounding somewhat resigned to his fate, the lightly accented voice came from a lanky figure stretched out in one of several large overstuffed black leather chairs scattered on the first floor. A pen in his left hand, he had been reading a blue-bound script, making notes of the revisions in the margins. Rollie Tyler, transplanted Aussie and special effects wizard, was unique in the world as far as Leo McCarthy was concerned. And the most amazing thing was that he and the younger man had become best friends, or as Rollie put it, best mates, which to hear him tell it was better than best friends or even brothers.

"What do you want this time, Leo?" Leo generally came around for one of two reasons, one was for a buddy to unwind with - drinking, games, entertainment, eating, or because he needed help with a case. The latter had proved to be the cause of Leo's visits all too frequently of late, and if Rollie was honest with himself, he was fascinated by the problems Leo brought to him. They were often more challenging than anything he'd done for the movies and more satisfying. Fortunately for both of them, Angie Ramirez, Rollie's assistant and junior partner, was off for the day and so could not protest the distraction Leo was about to present him.

"Take a look at this and tell me what you make of it." Leo tossed the video tape to Rollie. "It doesn't add up in my book." He rummaged in the refrigerator on the first floor looking for a soda pop, while Rollie loaded the tape in the nearest VCR. "Hey, you're out of drinks again." He pulled out the last can, popping its top.

"Yeah, well sorry mate, but you haven't told me what you'd prefer. I've got plenty of yummy film stock though." Rollie's voice was mildly sarcastic. "Hey, this is a copy." He added as he watched the tape.

"Sorry about that Rollie. The captain wouldn't let me bring the original."

"No, I mean this is a copy of a copy."

"Not a big surprise, after all why would a big financier like Carlisle entrust the original to lowly cops. He's probably going to sue the Ghostbusters and that tape is pretty damning."

"Well, it's going to take a while to get anything off this tape. Why would a Ghostbuster blast a PC? That's not typical behavior, unless there's a ghost or something around. What's so special about that PC anyway? It should be easy to replace." Rollie's dark brown eyes were bright with curiosity.

"Ah, it had some new prototype chip or something, the next great thing in computers. At least that's what Carlisle and his partners claim. Ray Stantz was pretty adamant about not doing it. So were his friends. He was surprised when he saw that tape. I'd bet my next paycheck that he didn't do it. I need some answers pretty damn quick. Stantz will be charged tomorrow afternoon."

"I should have something by the morning. Leo, can you get the rest of the videos with the Ghostbusters in them?" Rollie was already setting up the software necessary to digitize the video and sounded thoughtful. Leo could see the wheels turning under the waves of shaggy brown hair.

"That shouldn't be a problem. Rollie, I know you. You've got an idea, what is it?"

"Later Leo, after I've checked the other tapes."

"I'll have Francis drop them off. Thanks Rollie. Call me when you have something definite." As Leo left his friend to work, he wondered idly what the Ghostbusters would say if they knew he was leaving their friend's fate in the hands of a motion picture special effects expert.

The remaining Ghostbusters had fallen silent as they left the precinct. None of them liked leaving Ray behind and the ride back to Ghostbuster Central was anxious and strained. Peter was furious as he stormed from the front passenger seat of Ecto-1. "How dare they?!? There's no way Ray could ever..."

"Pete, chill man. This won't help Ray and that video is proof enough or the cops, and the courts." Winston watched Peter, concerned about his volatile friend.

"You think he did it, Winston. Is that it?" Peter sounded dangerously close to punching someone and right now Winston was the closest person to be punched.

"No Peter and neither do you. We know Ray would never do that, but we've got to find a way to prove it. Running around antagonizing the police or each other isn't helping." Egon's deep voice was serious and he was probably the only one who could calm the furious psychologist down right now. Egon knew Peter than Peter knew himself and was at times the only person he would listen to.

"What's going on, Egon, Doctor V? Where's Ray?" Janine looked up from her desk, concerned by the angry words. She and Peter usually fought like cats and dogs, or brother and sister, though neither would ever admit it, but she'd seldom heard the psychologist this angry.

"He's been arrested for destruction of property and industrial sabotage." Peter's voice was cold. "That's what happened to Ray. The cops have this tape showing him doing it."

"He hasn't been charged yet, Pete. And if we can find out what really happened, he won't be, either." The ex-construction worker responded with quiet confidence.

"The cops are holding Ray? Why?" That startled the secretary; of all her bosses, Ray Stantz was the most gentle and she couldn't think of any one less likely to be arrested.

"They have a tape showing Ray blasting some damn computer! That's why! They're claiming it was deliberate, for money." Scorn dripped from Peter's last two words. He liked money and had, on occasion, been accused of being willing to do anything for it. But he wouldn't do this and neither would Ray, especially not Ray.

"What about bail?"

"They'll set bail tomorrow, Janine, when they charge Ray." Egon tried to be reassuring, but the words were still ominous to the petite woman. "Now, if you've got that out of your system Peter, let's think of a way to help Ray. Let's go over the facts and figure out what to do."

"Okay, Egon. Fact one, the cops have a video showing Ray blowing up a computer. Fact two, there wasn't a ghost in sight. Fact three, Ray wouldn't deliberately do that, ever! Fact four, Ray's in jail! So what do we do about it?"

Winston looked thoughtfully at the others. "Could Ray have been possessed? You know like when that demon Watt possessed Pete."

"Egon? Could that be it?" Peter was eager for any explanation for this nightmare, though this one made him tremble. He'd certainly done some things that he wouldn't normally do then. It wasn't an experience he'd wish on his worst enemy, never mind one of his best friends, but it was a possibility. Right now he would accept any possibility.

"Possible, I suppose, but doubtful. Why would a supernatural entity care about a computer? And why doesn't Ray remember anything? You knew exactly what was happening when you were possessed, Peter. Also, I detected no signs of anything capable of possessing Ray. I take it none of you did either, or you would have reported it. There certainly wasn't any sign of it last night, when Ray and I were running tests in the lab."

"Okay, then maybe there was a ghost there and it just didn't show up on camera. Maybe it's camera shy." Peter's response was slightly puckish as he made the suggestion. The others were relieved. Peter was calming down, thinking and acting normal again. Normal for Peter, that is.

"Again, it's possible, though we haven't encountered that phenomenon before. Still, why doesn't Ray remember doing it? We'll have to run tests, both at the Carlisle Building and on Ray. Winston, go see what you can find out from Ray and run the tests there. I'll check the site of the incident."

"I'm coming with you, big guy."

"No Peter. I want you to stay here and check Ray's pack. Determine how much charge he used yesterday."

"You're just trying to keep me out of trouble." The psychologist sounded as petulant as a six year old, and he could be just as stubborn as one as well. In the mood he was currently in though, he could cause more harm than good despite his knowledge of people.

"Peter, this is important. If we can account for the charge Ray used, we could prove that he didn't destroy that computer. Winston, ask Ray about everything he did in that building. Gentlemen, let's get busy. We have a lot of work to do and a short time to do it."

Winston dropped Egon off at the office tower on his way to Midtown South. There, it had taken time for Egon to talk his way through the layers of secretaries and assistants surrounding Robert Carlisle. More than once Egon wished he had brought Peter, but considering the younger man's current mood, he knew it was better for him to deal with this matter alone. Finally, his perseverance paid off and he faced the wealthy businessman.

"Thank you for seeing me, Mister Carlisle." Egon was collected as he entered the well appointed office.

"Doctor Spengler." Carlisle, distinguished in his designer suit and gray hair, stared coolly at the tall physicist. "Please be brief. I'm a very busy man."

"I would like to examine the room containing the computer Doctor Stantz apparently destroyed."

"To the point at least. The evidence is clear about what happened, Doctor Stantz destroyed a valuable project. Why should I allow you access?"

"We believe our partner is innocent. I would like to examine the room for proof of that innocence. It is possible that a supernatural force was behind the destruction. If so, our equipment will detect it."

Several tense moments passed as Carlisle considered both the Ghostbuster and his statement. "I find that highly doubtful. As I said before the evidence is clear. However, to eliminate this small doubt, I will allow you to examine the room. Under escort, of course."

"Of course. Thank you, Mister Carlisle." Egon sighed with relief as he left Carlisle. The man would have been well within his right to have the Ghostbuster escorted off his property.

"The police have what's left of the computer." Allen Henderson showed the fourth floor room to the physicist. He was a pale, overweight man with watery blue eyes, one of three people who had easy access to the PC and microchip that had been destroyed. He and his partner, Ben Whitmore, had created the microchip and sold the idea to Carlisle. Henderson seemed slightly nervous as he watched Egon. "I'm not sure what you hope to find, the video seems quite explicit about what happened."

"You're very kind to assist me in my search. We don't believe our colleague would perform such a destructive act deliberately. I had hoped to find evidence to support that belief." Egon sighed, the meter wasn't even fluttering. "The setback must have been most distressing. I believe I read about your new investment in BYTE. A new processor chip, wasn't it? It sounded most promising." He looked around sharply. The only evidence that remained of the incident were scorch marks on the desk, around one wall outlet and on the door. Odd, he would have expected more damage. And why hadn't it set off an alarm? Surely a smoke alarm, at least, would have been activated. The physicist suddenly wondered why they hadn't heard of what happened before today.

"Yes, Whitmore and I had put a lot of work into that chip. There's no way to recoup now. You know how fast developments are in the computer field." A non-descript man, unmemorable except for an imperious attitude, appeared in the doorway to the small office and gestured impatiently to Henderson. He obviously wanted to talk to him. NOW! "If you're done, Doctor Spengler? We really are quite busy."

"Of course, no need to see me out. I can find my own way." His minor effort to escape his escort was rejected instantly. Henderson insisted on showing him back to the guard's desk and watched as the physicist signed out. Egon was surprised to see the short detective coming out of the security monitoring center with a box of video tapes. "Detective Gatti?"

"Oh hi, Doctor Spengler, Mister Henderson. Just collecting evidence. Got to go." Henderson was startled by the detective's words.

Outside, Egon started speculatively after the police detective. He turned and watched Henderson scurry away, more nervous than ever. "Hmm, I wonder." He walked toward the subway, considering what he had just seen. The two detectives were up to something, the question was what and did it help Ray?

A short time later, the older detective was deep into a stack of paperwork, when his phone rang. "McCarthy." He proclaimed as he removed silver reading glasses and rubbed his nose.

"Hey, Leo. Can you do something for me?"

"Rollie. Francis bring you those tapes yet?"

"Yeah, I just got them. Look Leo, I need two things. I want to see what happens to a PC when it's fried by one of those packs the Ghostbusters use and I want that zip drive."

"You want to fry another computer? And where are we suppose to get this computer?"

"We'll use one of my old ones. Angie wants a new one anyway. Can you arrange it?"

"Well, yeah I guess so. One of them is with Stantz in the lockup right now. When and where do you want to do the dirty deed?"

"How about E.S.U.'s playground in back of the station in half an hour?"

"Okay, I think I can arrange that."

"And Leo, don't forget I want that zip drive, too."

"Why in the world do you want the zip drive? What good will that do?"

"They were running a test on the new chip when the PC was blasted. It looks like the zip drive was recording the test. The PC looks like a total loss, but I think I can salvage some of the test data from the drive."

"It's in evidence. I'll sign it out, before I collect our friendly neighborhood Ghostbuster." At least I hope he's friendly, Leo thought as Rollie hung up the phone. Shaking his head, he headed for the captain's office. He'd need permission to get that drive for Rollie. It had taken time to convince the captain, fill out the paperwork and collect the zip drive. Ray Stantz watched curiously as he'd asked Zeddmore to come fry Rollie's computer. The black Ghostbuster had been puzzled and reserved at first. But Stantz had talked him into it, to Leo's amusement. The pair had walked back to E.S.U.'s "playground", after a brief stop by Ecto-1 to collect a proton pack. There, they found Rollie already setting up the PC on an overturned trash can. It was one of the big metal ones E.S.U. sometimes used when they practiced disarming explosives. "Stone know you're playing with his cans, Rollie?"

Pete Stone was the gruff lieutenant in charge of E.S.U., the special unit that was a combination bomb squad and SWAT team. Stone and Rollie had not gotten off to a good start when they first met, but it hadn't taken long for Rollie to earn Stone's admiration. That had happened during the Hamilton Gold Exchange robbery. The robbery masterminded by a two strike loser had gone sour and Leo's girl friend, Colleen O'Malley, a police records researcher, had been one of the hostages. Rollie had driven the robbers into the arms of Leo and E.S.U. by making it appear that the helicopter requested by the robbers had crashed into the roof of the building, setting fire to it.

"Be ready in a sec, Leo. Blue's checking those tapes for me."

"Winston Zeddmore, Rollie Tyler." The detective introduced his colleague.

Winston wondered what Peter would make of this newest cop as he pulled on the heavy thrower. Or was he a cop? McCarthy hadn't actually said he was a member of the NYPD. The man appeared to be in his late twenties or early thirties, stood over six feet tall, with wavy brown hair brushing his collar, spoke with an accent and exuded a casual friendliness that didn't say "cop" or New York. The accent sounded more like Crocodile Dundee and he wore faded jeans, a light gray sweater, black leather jacket and hiking boots.

"Here's the zip drive. It doesn't look like much is left, but don't lose it. The captain will get both of us if you do." McCarthy placed the box next to the large extinguisher that stood nearby.

Tyler peeked curiously into the box. "Don't worry, Leo. I think I can get something off of it. Maybe not much, but it should be enough. Mister Zeddmore, I want you to blast my PC when I count to three, okay?" He pointed a small, thin electronic device toward the waiting target and gave the short count.

Winston obediently fired up his thrower and fried the target right on cue, causing a loud fiery blast. He wondered what the device was suppose to do. It looked a lot like one of those electronic organizers that were so popular now, the expensive ones you could attach to a PC and actually write on. Tyler checked the device, then grabbed the extinguisher and expertly smothered the computer's remains.

"Great bang!" was the only comment Winston received before he was thanked and sent on his way.

Returning to Ghostbuster Central, Winston found Peter bouncing off the walls waiting for him when he finally pulled in and parked Ecto-1.

"Thank God, Winston. He's driving me nuts, get him out of here." Janine complained.

"Come on Winston, Egon wouldn't tell me a thing until you got here. He didn't want to repeat himself." Peter grabbed his black partner, dragging him upstairs to the third floor lab.

"Don't you dare start without me!" Janine yelled after the disappearing pair. She hurriedly set the answering machine and followed.

"Okay, Egon, we're all here now. GIVE! What type of spook caused this?" Peter was eager to catch whatever demon or mega-spook that had dare frame Ray.

"None, Peter."

"None? What do you mean none?!?" Peter shrilled indignantly. "You made me wait for that!" The brown haired Ghostbuster fumed as he stared at his taller partner. Why couldn't Egon have said so before, instead of making him wait for Winston. It certainly hadn't taken long to say it and would have been easy to repeat.

"I mean I found no trace of any spectral activity besides the class two we incarcerated yesterday. However, the signs of damage in the room were somewhat less than what I would have expected from our equipment."

"Hey! McCarthy had me fry a computer for some guy named Tyler. Do you think the police suspect the same thing?" Winston voiced the possibility eagerly.

"Really, Winston? That is interesting. I find it curious that it took so long to report the damage to the authorities. It should have set off a smoke alarm at the very least. Also, I met Detective Gatti leaving the building with a box of video tapes."

"Tyler said something about tapes. And McCarthy gave him a zip drive. Want to bet it came from that computer, Ray supposedly fried?"

"Perhaps your conclusion that the police wouldn't look deeper into the matter was erroneous, Peter." Egon's look at the psychologist was pointed.

"You think they're trying to clear Ray, not dig the hole deeper?" Peter was wary, it wasn't easy for him to trust authority. He hastily added his findings. "According to the logs and readings, Ray's pack was fired eleven times yesterday."

"That agrees with what Ray told me. Five times on the street chasing the spook around, including when we nearly bagged Pete. Once when he bagged that stereo, once on the men's room door and four when you finally caught the darn thing."

"Now, if we could get the cops to listen to us."

That brought a chorus of "Peter!"s from the rest. From there the conversation degenerated. Because truthfully, there was little the Ghostbusters could do about Ray's situation, except maybe hire a good attorney. This was out of their line and league. A class seven ghost, a demon or even a demigod they could handle, no sweat, or at least a lot less sweat than this was causing. Winston may have been able to solve any mystery presented in a book, but it just wasn't the same in real life. Given enough clues, he probably could have figured it out, but those clues weren't available to him. Not until somebody found them. And acting as the Crimebusters that time wasn't the same. That was catching criminals, not solving crimes. It was getting late when they finally decided to call it quits for the night, and hope for inspiration in the morning. Peter told Janine to take tomorrow off, since essentially the office would be closed. The petite red head immediately declared she was spending the night in the spare bedroom and would be going with them tomorrow. No way were they leaving her behind, after all this was Ray and she was giving her moral support, too.

As the Ghostbusters settled in for the night, Leo McCarthy headed for Rollie Tyler's, certain his friend was still up and probably waiting for him. This time there was no friendly bark greeting him. Blue was concentrating on a high speed video. His master ate Chinese nearby, looking at something on the computer monitor. "Okay, Rollie, now what are you looking for?"

"Leo, grab some food, mate, and take a look at this." This proved to be a digitized still of Rollie's fried computer, side by side with one of the computer from the Carlisle Building. "That PC wasn't destroyed by a Ghostbuster. The damage is totally wrong. Looks more like an industrial laser to me."

"All right, even I can see the differences. But what about the tape? It shows differently."

"I think you've been Gumped Leo."

"Gumped? What do you mean?" Leo was puzzled. What did the movie Forest Gump have to do with this?

"You know how they digitally modified that scene with Kennedy and the Peace Corps. volunteers."

"Taking the volunteers out and putting Tom Hanks in. Yeah, I remember that. It was amazing."

"Somebody did that to your security tape. Bluey's looking for the footage of Stantz, they used to do it."

"Okay, I can buy that, but why? What's the motive?"

Rollie turned to where another computer was working away on something. All that showed on the screen were numbers, row after row of numbers. "I got this off that zip drive. Looks like that chip was a flop."

"A flop?"

"Yep. These are the results of the calculations for a test sequence. It starts out okay, but the longer it went, well, the math co-processor started making mistakes. Little ones at first, but they got bigger the longer the program ran."

"So it would have been to Carlisle Enterprises' interest to lose this one? That can't be right. He's too big a money man to worry about this. He'd just write it off, probably get a tax break."

"Yeah, but what about his partner, the ones who developed it? I bet they're a different breed and you're only as good as your last project in the computer world."

"They had that computer chip insured for a pretty penny. Make a real nice retirement plan."

"Especially if they skimmed a little out of the development budget as well."

"Could they Gump that tape, like you said?"

"Easily, they'd have access to the right equipment there. And they had time, since they didn't "discover" the damage until the next day."

"Okay, one or both of them could have done it. But how do we prove it?"

"Show 'em all the evidence and hope something ... cracks." Just then Blue started barking, the video had paused at a point showing Stantz missing the ghost and frying a cheap stereo system. Leo and Rollie regarded the monitor for a moment, then looked at each other.

"See you at the station in the morning." Leo clasped his friend's shoulder.

"I'll be there, mate. With bells and whistles."

As McCarthy was leaving Tyler's to get what sleep he could, Egon woke to an absence in the common bedroom he shared with the other Ghostbusters. Something was missing and it wasn't just Ray. As he listened to Winston's quiet snore, he realized what it was. Peter was up somewhere and knowing him, probably brooding. With a sigh, the tall physicist got out of bed, slid on his slippers, slipped his glasses on and went looking for his best and oldest friend. Finding no sign on the lower levels, Egon went upwards. Peter tended to do his most serious brooding on the roof. A cold breeze tugged at his night shirt as Egon stepped into the night air. The rain threatened earlier still had not come, but clouds obscured the stars. At least as many stars as you could find in a big city. The street lights reflected off the clouds and showed Peter perched on the edge of the building, looking skyward. "Peter."

"Egon." Peter was quiet now, his nervous energy worn off.

"It's much too intemperate out here for pajamas." Egon sounded exasperated.

"Hey big guy, at least my legs are covered."

"Peter. It won't do Ray any good if you catch a cold or pneumonia. At least come in where it's warm."

"Make some of that famous Spengler hot chocolate?"

"Of course, Peter." Egon gave a hand to Peter, pulling him to his feet and they headed for the stairs leading down from the roof. They slipped quietly past the door to their shared bedroom and headed for the kitchen.

Egon stirred the warmed milk and chocolate together, then poured it into two cups. He'd gotten Peter inside, now if he could get him talking, maybe they could both get enough sleep so they could be of use to Ray tomorrow morning. This morning, he thought with a rueful look at the kitchen clock.

"I just feel so useless Egon." At least Peter was read to talk and he hadn't had to do any coaxing either. "I mean, Ray's in jail and what have we got -- nothing. No real proof that Ray's innocent. And he's counting on us, on me." That last came out fierce and slightly bitter.

"Ray's counting on us to stand by him, Peter, and we will. He's perfectly safe, if not exactly comfortable. It's not the first night he's spent in jail after all."

"But we're usually together."

"True, but Ray is perfectly capable of handling himself. And I believe McCarthy and Tyler will find the proof of Ray's innocence for us.

"You sound so positive. How can you? I mean, why should McCarthy or this Tyler character even care?"

"The police aren't our enemy, Peter." Peter jumped at the unexpected sound of Winston's quiet tones, splashing some of the hot chocolate on his hand. Egon handed Peter a towel and poured Winston a cup. "Yeah, some of them are corrupt and some of them are lazy. But some of them, most of them, are good guys trying to do their job. And that's catching the guilty not the innocent. They were out there looking yesterday, not sitting on their butts twiddling their thumbs like they could have. After all, they had proof Ray did it, they don't need anything else. McCarthy's on to something, I don't know what, but Tyler is helping him find it. He seemed like an interesting guy. I think you'd like him. I know Ray would."

"Ray likes everybody. You really think they're trying to clear Ray?" Peter sounded young and scared. Frightened, they knew for his kid brother, for that was what Ray was to Peter.

"Yes Peter and so do you if you'd let yourself." Egon's voice was a soothing rumble. "You haven't failed Ray, Peter."

"Are you sure, big guy?" he whispered, uncertain.

"Yes Peter, you could never fail Ray."

"Come on, home boy. We're going to need our Z's, if we're going to have our wits about us today." Winston stated affectionately.

The atmosphere was subdued in the old firehouse, as its inhabitants got up early to see what the day would bring. "Miracle," muttered Egon, looking at a shockingly awake Peter. The promised rain had finally come, falling steadily. The day reflected their subdued moods perfectly. They all jumped when the phone rang, the shrill noise shattering the quiet.

"That better not be a sales person," Janine muttered as she grabbed the nearest phone. "Ghostbusters! What ya want?" The redhead stiffened, then held the receiver out to the physicist. "Egon, it's Detective McCarthy."

"Detective McCarthy? Yes, of course we'll be there. Right away." The other gathered anxiously around the tall blond. "That was Detective McCarthy."

"We got that part! What does he want?" Peter's nervous energy had returned, in spades.

"He would like us to come to Midtown South, for a conference."

"They're charging Ray, aren't they?"

"Peter, they do that in court not at a police station." Winston sighed, as smart as Peter was, sometimes he could be so dense.

"I know that! So what's this conference about?"

"We'll find out when we get there. Gentlemen, Janine, shall we?"

The ride to the police precinct was quiet, each of them wrapped in private reflection. All, except Peter, felt a cautious hope that today would find Ray free, not just on bond, but cleared of all charges. The psychologist had learned to fear and avoid hope when he was much too young. And despite the lessons he had learned from his friends, Peter dared not give into it now. The foursome found themselves escorted by McCarthy back to the room where the nightmare had begun. The VCR and monitor had been replaced by a larger monitor and PC equipment. It was already occupied by four other people. Gatti soon arrived with Ray in tow. The room that had seemed spacious before was crowded with so many people. Carlisle was easily recognizable from pictures they'd seen in the financial section of the local newspapers. Henderson was there, as was the imperious man Egon realized must be Whitmore. Winston pointed out a tall man talking to Captain Van Duran and quietly indicated that this was Tyler.

"Gentlemen, Ms. Melnitz. Thank you for coming on such short notice. We thought you might be interested in some things we've discovered. Rollie." With those words, McCarthy focused the attention of everyone in the room on Tyler.

Rollie sat down in front of the keyboard and filled the large monitor with an image of the destroyed computer. "Well, first off this PC wasn't destroyed by the Ghostbuster's equipment as you can see by this little demo." The demo was the one Winston had provided the police yesterday. It was obvious when the two images were shown side by side, that one was far more extensively damaged. The others in the room started muttering and Tyler noted the objection that was coming. Rollie was quick to forestall it. "Before anybody says that security tape proves otherwise, I think we should take a closer look at it."

The images on the monitor changed to the security tape. It clearly showed Ray firing on the PC, until Tyler zoomed further into the picture. "Really, Leo, it's not even that good a job. You can see where someone else was before. Essentially, you're looking at a doctored tape. Someone digitally took another shot of Doctor Stantz in action and merged it with the one showing the destruction of the PC." In rapid succession, the Aussie showed the poor matching of images, followed by the real image of Stantz blowing up the stereo. The Ghostbusters and their secretary heaved sighs of relief. Here was the proof needed to clear Ray of all charges. Carlisle was eyeing his partners with suspicion. Only someone with access to the building and security could have done this and that meant someone working for him.

Henderson stared accusingly at the imperious Whitmore. "You said the police would never figure it out. That by the time someone who could looked at the tape, we'd be long gone."

"Congratulations, fool. Now they know we did it. They couldn't prove a thing before. You! You did this! We would have gotten away with it if it hadn't been for you!" Whitmore snarled as he pulled a gun from his pocket, the gunshot thundered in the confines of the room. Before the audience's shocked eyes, Tyler dropped. Guns appeared as if by magic in the hands of every police officer in the room. More cops appeared in the doorway, all with guns pointed at the raving figure of Whitmore. The gun in his hand wavered nervously, pointing first at Carlisle, then at Ray, then at Van Duran, never staying in one place, jumping from potential victim to potential victim.

Leo was angry, angry at Whitmore for shooting his friend on his turf and worried about Rollie, uncertain how badly injured he was, praying he was okay, praying no one else would get hurt. "Drop the gun, Whitmore. You can't get away. You're in the middle of a police station. Drop it! Now!"

They had to get the gun away from Whitmore, he had obviously gone insane. Somehow they had to distract him, get him to surrender. That was when a vile, electronic spider scuttled from the monitor, climbing on top of it, flexing its legs as if preparing to leap. Whitmore screamed and aimed at the bizarre arachnid. Winston's strong hand clamped firmly onto the lunatic's gunhand, yanking the weapon from his grip. His other hand landed a very solid and satisfying punch on Whitmore's jaw, knocking him to the floor. The police officers in the doorway piled in. Cuffs appeared on Whitmore's wrists and someone took the gun from Winston. Van Duran ordered both Whitmore and Henderson taken away and charged.

"Don't forget to read them their rights!" Leo growled, even as he headed to his friend. The "spider" had disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. "Rollie? Rollie, are you all right?"

"Not to worry. It's just a scratch." The voice sounded exactly like Sean Connery. Rollie sat up rubbing the back of his head. There was a bit of blood on his left arm, but it was obviously minor.

"If you're doing Bond, I know you're okay. So that spider thing was yours?" Leo regarded his friend warmly, relieved he was relatively okay.

"Yep. Like it? It's an alien invader from cyberspace."

"An alien invader from cyberspace, of course. Where did you get that one from?"

"Cyber Nightmare, the movie we start shooting tomorrow. These alien spider things invade the internet, taking control of people's minds while they sleep. That hologram is one of the effects."

"So," Leo mused as he helped his friend from the floor, "how'd you activate it when you were flat on your back?"

Rollie tapped the small headset he was wearing. "Blue, activate spider." The spider reappeared, looking menacingly real.

"What I want to know is how Whitmore smuggled that gun in here." Van Duran snapped.

"It was plastic, Captain." Gatti replied as he returned to the room with a first aid kit. "The metal detector couldn't see it." Leo took the kit and started to clean the graze on Rollie's arm.

"Captain, you may be sorry you introduced Mister Tyler to me. I'm going to hire him away from you." Carlisle sounded determined as he looked at the hologram.

"You're welcome to try, Mister Carlisle. But it might be a bit difficult since he doesn't work for the department. He did this as a favor to McCarthy."

"You couldn't afford me, Mister Carlisle. Not full-time." Rollie stated with an amused glance at the businessman.

"Don't be so sure. I'm prepared to offer well into the six figure range, plus a bonus, of course." Carlisle stated the offer, certain it was very generous.

Rollie laughed. "I usually make more than that on one picture. No, I'll stay independent. I never liked offices, thank you very much!"

"Tyler, are you sure you're okay?" Van Duran questioned.

"I'll be fine. I shouldn't even have to explain all this to Angie."

Ray gaped at the spider. Peter eyed it nervously, he didn't like creepy crawlies and this one was certainly creepy. The others looked on in astonishment. "Gosh, Mister Tyler are you sure you're okay? I'm sorry you got hurt." Ray's voice developed an edge of guilt, as his gaze shifted to the injured man.

"I'm fine, Doctor Stantz. It really is just a scratch. A large Band-Aid will take care of it easily."

"Just a scratch? Rollie, you need to see a doctor. Bullets are dirty." Leo was suddenly concerned, it would be easy for the injury to get infected. And Rollie was known to occasionally ignore what he considered minor injuries, a legacy of his days as a stuntman.

"Relax, Leo. I'm up on my shots. I had my tetanus shot just three weeks ago."

"That figures." Leo replied dryly. "Humor me, okay?"

For a moment Rollie stared speculatively at Leo, then with a sudden, wicked grin nodded agreement. He pushed Leo's hand away and began working on the wound himself, cleaning it more thoroughly. He dug out a large Band-Aid and applied it. "But you're explaining it to Angie, if she finds out."

"Thanks a lot! She'll kill me."

"Only after she kills me first, mate."

Leo had to concede the truth of that statement. "Okay, deal." Angie was very protective of her boss, but had gotten angry at Rollie more than once for helping Leo.

"You were helping me." The guilt was taking a stronger on hold on the occultist. "I'm sorry!"

"Ray. Can I call you Ray?" Rollie paused until the auburn haired Ghostbuster looked at him and nodded. "You had nothing to do with this." He waved his right hand at his injured arm. "You didn't ask me here or wave that gun around. Don't feel badly. It is not your fault." Rollie smiled at him and Ray relaxed, returning it. Rollie turned to pack his equipment into their cases.

Ray suddenly noticed the little logos stuck on the equipment - a red F and white X, a logo he realized he recognized. "Did you do the effects for Earth Doom? That was great! I loved that movie! The effects were terrific!" The words bubbled happily out of the enthusiastic Ray Stantz.

Peter reached over and tapped the amused McCarthy on his shoulder. "So Tyler does special effects? Like in the movies?" McCarthy nodded. The psychologist considered that for a second. "So how come a special effects artist is helping cops solve crimes?"

"Oh, Rollie occasionally helps me out, if I ask. He certainly gives quicker results than the lab. They're too busy." The amused look was transferred to Peter and the other Ghostbusters.

"Uh uh and how did you two meet? I mean, come on, a cop and a special effects artist? That's not exactly common." Peter was really curious now. And people called the Ghostbusters an odd team?

"Now that's a long story involving a homicide, a car bomb..."

"Crooked Feds." Rollie chimed in.

"Big money, bigger crooks. My prime suspect, a special effects expert named Rollie Tyler." Leo looked expectantly at his young friend.

"I was framed."

"You're always getting framed."

"Just twice."

"I thought you were crazy and I was right."

"No crazier than you, mate."

"Rollie's not crazy and his effects are great!" Ray popped up with that, looking at the Aussie with admiration.

"I always said he was a genius." Leo stated smugly.

"You said he was crazy." Ray looked at Leo, puzzled.

"Same difference." Leo came back.

Ray, remembering Rollie's earlier words, turned curiously back to the taller man. "Who's Blue?"

"Help me get my gear back to the truck and I'll introduce you." Rollie knew Ray would appreciate his robot dog, Blue.

Peter, Egon, Winston and Janine shared a look of amusement, relief and joy. The nightmare was over, all was right with the Ghostbuster's world. And it looked like the start of a beautiful friendship.