Play@YSDC

St. Christopher's Church, Rittenhouse Square - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
4:30 PM - Wednesday, July 16, 1969
Father Nathaniel Levington was at the pulpit in St. Christopher's Church, where he worked with Philadelphia's youth. It was late afternoon, and the church was currently empty apart from him and a custodial worker who was currently cleaning the office. A young man walked through the large, double oak doors at the front and walked down the aisle toward the altar, his footsteps echoing on the marble floor. Father Levington watched him as he passed between the pews. The youngster looked like many of the other people he had counseled over the years, probably a college student. He looked to be about twenty years old, with blond hair and a confident air about him. He wore a brown jacket and a backpack.

The man approached the altar and looked at the priest. He hesitated for a moment before he spoke. "Father, will you hear my confession?" he asked.

Levington stepped down from the pulpit and sat in the front row of pews near to the young man.

"Have a seat," he told him, gesturing.

He watched the youth intently, making eye contact, and waited for him to speak his mind.

The young man sat down in the pew. He clenched his hands together, gathering the courage to speak. "Father, I don't know when my last confession was," he said at last. "I've done a lot of bad things, but today I did something worse than all of them, and now there's no turning back. I...I took something that belonged to my dad."

OOC,[b]Nathaniel[/b], roll Psychology.

Nathaniel was a good student of human nature. Even though he had just met this youth, he could tell that the confidence was a mask, and inside he was nervous. He did seem to feel genuine remorse for having stolen from his father, and there was also a quiet desperation about him.

"Listen," Nathaniel said,

OOC,If his read of the young man makes him think its appropriate to do, he puts his arm around the youth's shoulder

.

"Before you go on, I want you to know that there is nothing from which there is no turning back. No matter what you've done, the Lord has forgiven someone who has done something worse. Say what you need to say."

"My dad's a big shot scientist," continued the young man. "Maybe God would forgive me, but my dad's another matter. If he ever finds out, he'll be furious at me. He made this new drug that lets you control your dreams, and I took some of it."

"I know it was a stupid thing to do," he said. "I don't know what I was thinking. I guess I thought he wouldn't notice it was missing, but I'm sure he has by now. I figured it had to be worth a fortune. I just have to hope he never finds out. What do I have to do for penance, Father?"

Father Levington sat back in the pew for a moment, gazing off at the stained glass of the Mother Mary at front of the chapel.

"I think the best thing you can do is to be honest with your father," Levington said, turing to face the boy. "Its the closest you can come to making amends, and as you said yourself, he must suspect something by now. This will clear the air between the two of you."

Although Levington's face was a placid mask, internally, a he struggled with himself. He'd learned a long time ago not to pry to deeply into other peoples buisness unless there was good cause, but the young mans words kept echoing in his head.

... control your dreams... he thought. What could that mean?

"You don't know him," said the youth. "If I told him, there'd be hell to pay. He'd never suspect me otherwise, but he's probably noticed the Morpheus is missing from the lab by now. He's observant, and he's always checking up on things."

"I'm sure there will be hell to pay. Actions have consequences, not all of them plesant, but that doesn't mean you should only do whats right when it's safe."

"And besides,sometimes parents will suprise you. If you told him what happened you'd be displaying honesty and maturity well beyond your peers. Or for that matter for people my age," he said, smiling. "Maybe your father will see that after the anger settles. You'd be showing a lot of guts."

"And if that doesn't work, tell him the priest has decided to enslave you for pennance. This church could use a good cleaning."

"Yes, Father," said the young man, lowering his head. The custodian gave him the cleaning supplies and called it a day, and the youth took over for him, giving the church a thorough cleaning. It was almost 6:00 by the time he finished. "I'm going to go have dinner now, Father. That was hungry work. I'll think about what you said, but I can't make any promises."

"Thats all I can ask." Levington replied. "Your a good man for even coming to me about this, and for wanting to set things right. Thank you for cleaning around here today."

He saw the youth to the door, wishing him a good night.

"Before you go, I didn't catch your name."

After the youth replied he retired to his study in the back of the church, reading scripture and other literature till ten o'clock. After the hour became late enough that he was certain no-one else might wish to come to the church that evening, he locked the doors and took the long walk home. Along the way he said a prayer for the young man, and thought on the things he had said.

OOC,Obviously, if you want anything to happen before he leaves for the night, just interupt me.

OOC,Something probably will be happening during the evening. You may have to wait a while for events in some of the other threads to catch up to that point.

"You're welcome, Father," said the youth. "My name is Brian. Brian Anderson." He shook the priest's hand. Before he left, he paused and turned back. "Can I have your phone number, in case I need to talk to you?"

Father Levington reached over into one of the pews and pulled out an attendance card and a pencil and scribbled down a few numbers.

215-673-5177

267-465-9920

"This first one is the Church's number, you can connect to my office through that. This other one is my home phone. Feel free to call me any time, night or day. I've got answering machines on both, so if I'm not around, leave a message for me."

After the youth went on his way, Levington retired to his office to do some reading he'd neglected during the day. Somewhat bleary eyed, he read for a little while and fell promptly asleep in his office easy chair.

OOC,Area code 267 did not exist until 1997, so your home number would probably also be 215.

Father Levington was awakened by his office telephone ringing. A glance at the clock showed him that it was 7:40 PM.

Levington sat up, bleary eyed, and picked up the phone.

"Hello?" he said in a muggy voice.

A familiar young male voice answered. He sounded distraught. "Father, it's me," he said. "Brian Anderson. I...I'm in big trouble. I need your help."

"What's wrong Brian?" Levington asked, snapping awake.

"I got arrested," said Brian, sounding scared and confused. "I was set up. I was at a bar, and there was this crazy old man. I know he was the one who called the cops on me. I've never seen him before, but he accused me of trying to kill him! I don't want anyone else to know I'm here. Please, help me, Father!"

"Alright Brian, take it easy. I'll lock up here at the church and be there as soon as I can. What police station is it?"

"I'm at police headquarters," said Brian. Father Levington knew that it was not too far away, on Race Street between 7th and 8th. He could probably drive there in five to ten minutes.

"Alright," Levington said. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

Gathering up his things he went outside, locked the doors, and got into his car. He sat there thinking to himself for a few minutes.

I'll talk to him at least, he thought to himself. If he's telling the truth I'll see what I can do. But how do I know he's telling the truth? Something isn't right about all this.

With these thoughts on his mind he started the car and drove over to the police headquarters.

Police Headquarters, Franklin Square - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
7:50 PM - Wednesday, July 16, 1969

Father Levington pulled up in the parking lot oustide the Roundhouse, and he could see where it got its name. The walls were all curved, with round towers on the east and west sides connected to a central oval. He walked through the main entrance into a vestibule area with glass doors on the west and east sides. A window was in the north wall near the west door, and behind it sat a uniformed sergeant. "Can I help you, Father?" he asked, noticing the priest's collar.

"Yes, I'm looking for a young man named Brian. He was brought in here on attempted murder charges I believe. I would like to speak with him if that's alright."

"You too?" said the sergeant. "Damn, this guy's more popular than The Beatles. Uh, sorry, Father. They just brought him in not twenty minutes ago, and you're the second guy who's come to see him already. It's a little late for visiting prisoners."

OOC,[b]Father Levington[/b], roll Fast Talk to get the sergeant to let you inside.

"Look" Levington said. "I know its getting late, but Brian called me just a little while ago, and he's real scared. I'm his priest, and I really think he could use a friendly face. I'm not here to cause you good folks any trouble. I just want to make sure Brians okay. You think I could go back and talk to him for five or ten minutes?"

OOC,I also want to ask him about this other guy.

"Sure, Father, no problem," said the sergeant. "I'll just buzz you in. Come around to the security desk and I'll set you up with a visitor's pass." He pressed a button, and a buzzing sound came from the west door.

Father Levington opened the door and walked through before the buzzing stopped. The door closed automatically when he released it. The lobby of police headquarters was huge, with brown wood paneling. To the right was the security desk, behind which the sergeant who had buzzed him in and a couple of police officers sat. On the left was a memorial with many photos of officers who had fallen in the line of duty. Most of them were black and white, but the later ones were in color. Straight ahead and at the back were a pair of elevators with rounded walls, one on either side. Between the elevators was a large floor-to-ceiling window that looked out on Race Street, and in front of it was a large board with a portrait of Commissioner Frank Rizzo.

"Here's a visitor's pass," said the sergeant, handing Nathaniel a laminated card with a clip on the reverse side. "Just clip it to your coat. Brian Anderson is with his lawyer right now. The lawyer was the other guy who came to see him. Fellow named Alan Gains." The phone at his desk rang, and he answered it. "Uh huh? Yeah, he's here. Sure, I'll send him down." He hung up. "Nice timing. Brian wants to see you, it seems. Officer Jackson will take you down." He nodded to one of the cops behind the desk, who stood and came around to join the priest, leading him to the elevators. Jackson pressed the call button to summon one going down.

"Thank you sergeant."

Levington followed officer Jackson down to the elevator and waited with him for the elevator to arrive.

Finally, the elevator arrived, and Father Levington and Officer Jackson got in. Jackson pressed the B button, and the elevator slowly descended to the basement. When it arrived, the doors slid open to let them out.

A hall led to a large metal door with a barred window. In front of this door sat another sergeant at a desk. "The priest is here to see the prisoner, Sarge," said Jackson.

"Go right in, Father," said the sergeant. He pressed a switch, and the metal door slid open with a rumbling sound. The hallway continued beyond it.

"This way," said Officer Jackson. He led Nathaniel through the door and down the hall, into a guard room. Two uniformed policemen stood guard there, one a young black man about six feet tall, the other one pasty-faced, chubby, and a head shorter. The hallway continued beyond the guard room into a cell block. Several wooden doors lined the sides of the guard room, and a payphone was in one corner. "The priest is here to see Brian Anderson," said Jackson.

"In there," said the black cop, pointing to one of the wooden doors. Unlike the others, it was open. Father Levington entered.

OOC,Please move to the following thread:

Law