IC-Prologue-Rebel Rebel(Kathleen/John Hawkes/Barney/Harry)

[Mr. Handy]

Lenny's Bar, South Street - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
6:45 PM - Wednesday, July 16, 1969
Kathleen Scott sat in a booth in Lenny's Bar across from her fellow graduate student and girlfriend Maxine Grey. Maxine was in her early forties, somewhat tall and with short black hair. Her looks had not begun to fade yet, but she still wasn't as pretty as Kathleen. Lenny's Bar had long catered to the counterculture crowd, and it had originally been a hangout for beatniks back in the late fifties. The owner and bartender, Lenny Kramer, was a black man in his thirties who stood behind the bar, where a radio was playing "Let It Be" by the Beatles. It was still early evening, and because it was early summer it would remain light outside for some time. The women also had less to do for their assistantships at the University of Pennsylvania in the summer session, but they knew they'd be busy again once the fall semester started.

A small crowd had already gathered. Most of them Kathleen didn't know by name, but there was a handsome young man named Harry with long brown hair who had started hanging out here in the last week or so in a booth by himself that she recognized. He had tried to pick her up once or twice. There was a small cluster of hippies in another booth, but she had never associated with them before. Their nonviolent philosophy was at odds with her own.

Maxine reached across the table and held Kathleen's hand as they talked while they waited for their dinner, though their drinks had already been served. "So anyway, Kathy, I saw this flyer on the bulletin board in Logan Hall," she said. "Some sort of psych experiment involving sleep and dream studies. It's an overnight thing, a few nights in a row starting tomorrow. They're offering fifty bucks for student volunteers to participate. It sounds good, but I don't know. It seems too good to be true, so it probably is."

[Mr Zombie killer]

Kathy moved one hand slowly into her purse and fingered her pistol as she looked around the room. She smiled at Harry flirting with him over Maxine's shoulders. She then looked at Maxine and said, "$50 bucks is a lot of money especially now that Dad is saying he will cut me off from my inheritance cause I came out last week to him. Maybe I should not have but it just feels so good to be with you. How bout I go in and see about it and maybe after the first night if it works we both can go. Would that be ok baby?" She grabbed Maxine's hand and kissed it.

[Mr. Handy]

Harry returned Kathleen's smile and added a wink.

"I think you have to go to all three nights as part of the study," said Maxine. "It's scheduled for this weekend, starting Friday night at eight. The flyer I saw said to contact Dr. Gregory Anderson. He's a professor with the Psychiatry Department, in the School of Medicine. It's too late to do that tonight, but we can talk to him tomorrow morning. We'll both do this together. If you're going, I want to go too. You're right, fifty bucks is a lot of money. Besides, it might be fun, kind of like a slumber party." She took a sip of her drink. "The flyer said we'll get snacks in the evening and breakfast in the morning too. Speaking of food, I wonder when our dinner's going to get here."

"In a few minutes, ladies," called Lenny from behind the bar. "The cook's working as fast as he can, but there's a limit to how quickly you can heat up food, and you wouldn't want it underdone." He then spoke in a mock Scottish accent. "I cannae change the laws of physics, Captain."

Harry chuckled. "I bet on Star Trek they have some doohickey where you can just pop in your food and it'll be done in a minute," he said. "I still can't believe they canceled that show."

"Food in a minute?" Lenny shook his head. "Impossible!"

"Who needs Star Trek when we've got reality?" said Maxine. "Apollo 11 just lifted off this morning. In a few days they'll actually be walking on the moon! Is that trippy or what?"

[Mr Zombie killer]

Kathleen sipped her beer slowly and then said, "Well sure we can go tommorow to see Dr. Anderson together. Maybe we can get a room together and alone and you know honey. I need to go to the restroom. Be right back dear."

Kathleen got up. On the way to the restroom she pretended to drop her compact case on the floor next to Harry. She turned away from him to pick it up letting him see her cute little ass. Standing up she said, "ya like what you see? Maxine and I are always looking for a third partner at night." She smiled and walked into the restroom.

[Mr. Handy]

"Yeah?" said Harry, grinning as he watched Kathleen walk away. She went down the hall at the back that led to the bathrooms. A payphone rested against the left wall, waiting for someone's dime. There was a back door at the rear of the narrow hallway, which was closed. On the right were two doors with newly painted signs, one that said "Ladies" and one that said "Gentlemen." Kathleen went into the ladies' room.

"Did you see the last episode?" asked Lenny. "That was something else."

"Body-swapping, yeah," said Harry. "That was so freaky. I can't imagine what it must have felt like for Kirk to be a chick."

"Captain Kirk is a typical male chauvinist pig," said Maxine. "Maybe it did him good to see how the other half lives. It's too bad she didn't win. I was rooting for her the whole time."

"A girl in command of a spaceship? That'll be the day!"

Kathleen found that the ladies room was clean, at least compared to the rest of the bar. A mirror on the right-hand wall stood above a row of sinks. On the left side of the bathroom was a row of six open toilet stalls. Nobody else was in the ladies' room.

[Mr Zombie killer]

Kathleen washed her hands in the bathroom sink and redid her makeup. She then took her red hair and put it back into a ponytail. Kathleen then exited the bathroom and paused at the phone. She sighed and put a dime into the phone calling her parents.

[Mr. Handy]

Kathleen picked up the receiver, slid the dime into the coin slot, and dialed her parents' number. After three rings, someone picked up and a familiar female voice answered: "Hello?" Kathleen recognized her as her mother, Wanda Scott.

[Mr Zombie killer]

Kathleen said, "Mom I miss you. How are you and Dad doing?"

[Mr. Handy]

As Kathleen was making her phone call, the radio behind the bar began to play the new song called "Space Oddity" that had been released just last week because of the impending Apollo 11 mission:

Ground Control to Major Tom
Ground Control to Major Tom
Take your protein pills and put your helmet on

Ground Control to Major Tom
Commencing countdown,
engines on
Check ignition
and may God's love be with you.

A soft voice counted down from ten during the song. After "One" it said "Liftoff."

"Oh, Kathy!" said Wanda, her voice full of concern. "We're all right, considering, but your father isn't taking this well. Neither am I, for that matter, but I know this is just a phase you're going through. Once you give up this foolishness everything will be all right again. I do still love you, Kathy. So does Anthony, in spite of everything. How are you doing?"

The song continued:

This is Ground Control
to Major Tom
You've really made the grade
And the papers want to know whose shirts you wear
Now it's time to leave the capsule
if you dare

[Caporegime]

John occupied a corner booth at Lenny's, trying to keep to himself as was usual these days. Since he'd been out of 'the can' he'd not really found a decent bar he could get comfortable with yet, he just tended to drift from place to place, maybe staying in one area for a week or so the moving onto another drinking establishment. This was his first time in 'Lenny's' and so far he didn't care too much for the music.

John ordered another whiskey from the waitress who looked him up and down rather distastefully, 'She's not much of a looker herself' thought John. His own hair and beard were long and unkempt, the old black leather jacket he wore had seen better days and the left side of his face was dominated by a heavy scar, which had obviously been with him for many years. Something also didn't seem quite right about one of his eyes, the waitress making it quite obvious she'd just noticed as much. As she waked away with John's finger in the air behind her he did manage to catch sight of a pretty young thing leaving the bathroom, but his attention was soon diverted again as his drink arrived and he fell back into his own little world.

[Mr Zombie killer]

Kathleen said, "I am fine mother but it is not just a phase I am going through. I love Maxine and she loves me. This is like I felt with William only better. Its freedom or something. The world is changing and you need to see that. I will always be your little girl but I am an adult now as well. Anyway i just wanted to hear your voice. I will try to call again soon." She hung up the phone and went back to the booth where she buried her face into her hands and quietly sobbed.

[Mr. Handy]

The strains of the song continued coming from the radio as Kathleen returned to her seat:

This is Major Tom to Ground Control
I'm stepping through the door
And I'm floating
in a most peculiar way
And the stars look very different today

Maxine reached across the table and held Kathleen's hand. "It's okay, darling," she said. "I'm here. So's our dinner, by the way. The food came while you were in the john. Eat something, it'll make you feel better. Do you want to talk about it?"

For here
Am I sitting in a tin can
Far above the world
Planet Earth is blue
And there's nothing I can do

Once the waitress served John Hawkes, she steadfastly ignored him, as did most of the people in the bar. Maybe they were afraid of him, or they may simply have wanted nothing to do with him. The front door swung open, and a young man walked in. He was tall with blond hair, wearing a brown jacket, and he carried himself with an air of confidence. "Hey, Candyman," said Lenny.

"Good to see you," said the man. "I'll have a beer for starters. Miller."

"Coming right up." The music continued while Lenny filled a glass, expertly holding it under the tap at a 45 degree angle so that the foam would run off.

Though I'm past
one hundred thousand miles
I'm feeling very still
And I think my spaceship knows which way to go
Tell my wife I love her very much
she knows

When the glass was full, Lenny slid it down the bar and the young man caught it. "Anyone want any candy?" he asked. "Melts in your brain, not in your mouth."

[Caporegime]

"Junkie f*ck." muttered John, without looking up from his glass. Rather too loudly if truth be told, even for the 'pop crap' that was playing in the bar.

[Mr Zombie killer]

Kathleen quietly sobbed a bit more and then said, "Its just my mom thinks that you are a phase and my dad won't talk to me and i love them and wish they could understand what you mean to me!" She grabbed her fork and began eating her meal which was bean and vegitable soup. As she did so she asked Lenny, "Is there a way you can change the music? I think maybe not all our patrons like the music here. Maybe put on some Elvis or even better Beatles?" She then turned to look around the bar staring at John as well as the Candyman. While she did so her hand went into her purse fingering her pistol once more.

[Mr. Handy]

"What have you got?" Harry asked the Candyman.

The young man slid into the booth across from him, taking off his backpack. "I've got whatever you want," he said. "A little Mary Jane, some Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds...or maybe something new that'll blow your mind like you wouldn't believe. It's called Morpheus, and it's very rare and expensive - but well worth the price of admission."

"Sick of that song already?" asked Lenny. "They have been playing it a lot the last few days. I could switch to another station, but it's just about over anyway. Maybe the next song will be more to your tastes."

"My parents are even worse," said Maxine. "They're even older and more set in their ways. They act as if I don't even exist. It's harder to change one person than it is to change the world sometimes. But the world is changing, I can feel it."

The music from the radio continued while they spoke:
Ground Control to Major Tom
Your circuit's dead,
there's something wrong
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you hear me, Major Tom?

[Mr Zombie killer]

Kathleen looked at Maxine and said, "My parents have not had the best of marriages but it has been an ok marriage I think. I want to be happy and you make me happy..well you and the things we do together make me happy at least. Speaking of which I kind of told that guy Harry over there who has been flirting with me that maybe we could do a threesome sometime. If you agree we can maybe get him high and then take some money from him for the continuning enlightment of America of course. What do you think?" Kathleen ate some more of her soup. She then said, "What were your plans tonight? Think we could go gamble somewhere?"

[Mr. Handy]

An older man in his late fifties, wearing a tweed jacket with leather patches, emerged from the men's room and walked back into the main area of the bar as the song playing on the radio concluded:

Can you...

Here am I floating
round my tin can
Far above the Moon
Planet Earth is blue
And there's nothing I can do.

"Maybe," said Maxine to Kathleen. She peered at Harry over the top of her sunglasses. "He sure is a looker."

Harry nodded and smiled at her and her friend, but he didn't appear to have heard what she said. He then turned his attention to the backpack. "Let's see Lucy," he said.

Candyman nodded and withdrew a small tinfoil packet from the backpack. He placed it on the table and unwrapped it to reveal several blotters.

"You're a man who knows what he wants," he said. "I like that."

"That's the real deal all right."

"And it can be yours at a very reasonable price. How much do you want?"

At that moment, two men in suits and ties barged in through the front door. "How about five to ten?" said the taller of the two, an imposing figure of a man in his mid-forties with receding black hair. He and the other man, a strong brown-haired man in his thirties with a mustache, whipped out leather wallets and flashed their badges. A uniformed policeman followed them inside and took up a post blocking the front door.

"Police!" said the mustachioed man.

His partner, the balding man, placed a firm hand on Candyman's shoulder. "You," he said, poking a finger at his face, "are under arrest!"

"Don't you point your finger at me!" he growled. "I don't like that!"

[Mr Zombie killer]

Kathleeen watched this carefully. She had done drugs in the past and did not see what the big problem was with drugs on occassion but did not like them all the time. She kept her purse beside her with her pistol inside ready to pull it if needed. However she did not want to call attention to herself so she kept her hands in the open and ate her soup.

[Mr. Handy]

The old man who had come out of the bathroom stared around the bar in wonder. His gaze focused on Candyman, and he suddenly pointed at him and said "Officer, that man has just tried to kill me."

"I love it when these things just drop in our laps, Lou," said the cop with the mustache.

The other cop grinned wide. "This day just keeps getting better and better, Charlie." he said.

The radio behind the bar started playing "Jailhouse Rock," sung by Elvis Presley:
The warden threw a party in the county jail.
The prison band was there and they began to wail.

Candyman stared back at his accuser in shock. "Who the hell are you?" he snarled. "I've never seen you before in my life!" Cogs seemed to turn inside his head. "You're the one that narced on me! This whole thing is a setup!" He looked back at the cops. "You'll never make this stick! I'll be out of jail so fast your heads will spin! Don't you know who my father is?"

"No, but I'll be sure to ask your mother the next time I'm doing her," said the tall cop.

The band was jumpin' and the joint began to swing.
You should've heard those knocked out jailbirds sing.

"Why, you-" Candyman took a swing at him, his fist on a collision course with the cop's nose. But he was ready for it and blocked the punch effortlessly. Then he seized him and pinned his arms behind his back, thwarting his feeble efforts to break free. Charlie took a swing at Candyman, but his fist punched only air.

The music continued from the radio during the fight:
Let's rock, everybody let's rock.
Everybody in the whole cell block
was dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock.

[Mr Zombie killer]

Kathleen watched the fight with a smile on her face. She so hoped that a cop would get hit. As she saw the fight go from bad to worse however she got worried and picked up her purse putting it on the floor under the table. She then moved her legs in and moving her back to the wall kind of half lay on the bench. Turning to Maxine she muttered, "See the revolution will not come to pass as long as we have narcs spread in our ranks like pepper flakes in pure salt."