We’ll be back soon with Fiddle and Burn - Vol. 2 - The Serial Killers.

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Jason

Coyote Man and Pan Boy in…

The End?

Powell stands in front of a mirror in his home, wearing the Coyote Man uniform. Around his neck hangs a gleaming fang - The Mystical Talisman. He reaches for the Coyote mask and prepares to pull it on. Suddenly the room fills with a thick fog. “Do not act rashly, young one. The choice you make now sets the path for the rest of your life.”

Powell looks around the room. “Who said that?” he demands.

The fog clears, revealing a wrinkled, dark skinned old man, who wears a simple feathered head dress. “I am he who first bestowed the Great Talisman upon Donald Lamont.”

“The Shaman!”

The old man nods. “Is it truly your wish to become the new Coyote Man?”

“I… I have to. I promised Mr. Lamont I’d carry on his mission.” Powell holds up the fang. “He gave this to me…”

“But was it his to give? Donald Lamont was a worthy avatar. But what you now wear around your neck… he was only loaned.”

“I… I don’t understand…”

“Throughout history, in one form or another, there have been many who have taken up the roll you now contemplate. In the annals of time, there will surely be many more. You must now ask yourself… Is it your destiny to be one of them?”

Powell looks at the mask. “How… how can I know?”

The Shaman glances around the room and picks up a coffee mug. “When you look at this, do you see a simple cup or do you see a gleaming, jewel encrusted grail?” He points to the television. “Is that an ordinary entertainment device or is it a gateway into another dimension?” He steps to Powell and pinches his arm. “Is your skin soft flesh or is it solid and invulnerable as iron?” He steps back. “How you answer those questions determines whether you have been touched by the spirit of the Coyote.”

Powell stares at him and rubs his arm. He looks around the room. After a moment he takes off the Talisman and holds it out, in his open palm.

The Shaman nods. “You are brave and resourceful, but your destiny lies elsewhere.” He takes the Talisman and the room begins to fog again. “For a time, the world of the senses must now hold sway. But one day, when the burden becomes too great… when the men and the women and the children cry out for a dream… when that which is overwhelms and smothers that which should be…” The fog thickens, and the old man is completely hidden. “On that day… Coyote Man will return!” The fog clears.

Powell is alone.

Powell nods. “Um… It finally has the right ending now.”

“Lamont was something! It’s too bad…” He looks at Powell. “I know he meant a lot to you. I’m sorry…”

“No… Don’t be… He… Mr. Lamont… he passed away, but… He died the way he would have wanted to… As a superhero!”

Harry glances at the display case on the wall and then turns back to Powell.

Powell walks to the window and looks out. “If Lucy had gotten her way… He would have been shipped to Sleepy Meadows and they would have… would have drugged him up and shoved him on a couch in front of a TV… and he would have sat there for twenty years… But this way… He went down fighting! And he… he defeated his arch enemy’s greatest plot! He saved the country from the Illusion Ray Satellite!”

“But that was all imaginary…”

“It doesn’t matter! It was real to him!” He shakes his head. “They didn’t get it at the funeral either… I listened to all those speeches… It was like they were talking about a completely different person. And that tombstone. Just this… this generic piece of crap! None of them knew… none of them knew Mr. Lamont at all. None of them understood… I don’t think anyone does.”

Harry looks at him. Then he opens a drawer in his desk. “I spoke to Tommy the Tinkerer again. Gave him another full page ad in exchange for some custom action figures.” He pulls out two small dolls and hands them to Powell. “Check ‘em out…”

Powell examines them. One figure brandishes a frying pan and wears a mask that spells out the letters “P” and “B”. The other, larger one, swings a wrench high above its head. Its face is covered with a dog-like mask and a flimsy cape flows behind its body. On its chest is emblazoned a large letter “C”. Powell stares at Harry. “These are… These are wonderful!”

Harry walks over to the display case and Powell follows. “I’ve prepared a place of honor,” Harry says. “Top shelf, right between Superman and Batman… Go on, put ‘em in!”

Powell carefully places the figures. He looks at Harry and grins.

“Don’t worry about any useless funeral or idiotic tombstone, kid.” Harry points to the case. “This is all the monument Coyote Man needs!”

Powell stops and turns toward her. “What do you want?”

Lucy looks at him. “The… the service was very moving, wasn’t it?”

Powell shrugs.

“Why are you shutting me out?” Lucy asks. “Why won’t you talk to me?”

“I don’t think we have anything to talk about.”

“How can you say that? I thought we meant something to each other!”

“Um… I thought so too. But you lied to me. And now your father is dead.”

“That’s not my fault! I just wanted to send him someplace where he could be cared for! I didn’t want this to happen.”

Powell shrugs. “Like I said… We don’t have anything to talk about.”

“You don’t understand. You’re all I have left! My cousin… he… the voting for CEO was never officially closed. He got to Myrna before I could. She was only supporting me because of my father’s recommendation. Once she saw… saw daddy’s mental state… Mark convinced her to back him. He won the vote, fifty one to forty nine.” She looks down. “I can’t go back there. I won’t work for Mark, I won’t. I resigned my position.” She takes Powell’s hand. “And now daddy is gone… I don’t know what to do… I need you. Please don’t leave me.”

Powell pulls his arm away. “You were using me before and now you want to use me again. You don’t care about me at all. You don’t care about anyone!” He walks up to his car and opens the door. “People are just like tools on a shelf to you. You… you take advantage of them to do your jobs and then you throw them away when you’re done.” He gets into the car. “Well… um… not me. Not any more. Goodbye Lucy.”

She stares at him. “You bastard!” she yells. “You… you stuttering wimp! You’ll never find a girl who’s half the woman I am, you neurotic little geek!” She turns and storms away. After a moment, she looks back. “Go to hell!” she yells. She turns again and continues back toward the cemetery field.

Powell watches until she disappears from view. Then he shakes his head.

He closes the car door, and pulls out of the parking lot.

Powell rushes toward him.

Phillip loosens his grip and stares at him, uncertain. Lamont’s body convulses on the floor and he groans.

“Pan Boy!” Lamont shouts, in a broken voice. “Pan Boy!”

Powell leans down next to him. “I’m here, Coyote Man…”

“Being hit… by some sort of… energy beam…” Lamont mumbles. “The pain… unbearable… You have to… to destroy the control panel… cripple the satellite!”

Lucy stares in horror as Dr. Seren runs up to Lamont and feels his pulse. “This man is having a heart attack!” he yells. “Somebody call an ambulance, quickly!”

Powell steps to the panel. He picks his foot up and stamps down on it hard. It smashes into pieces. “It’s… it’s destroyed Coyote Man,” he says. “The satellite will burn up in the atmosphere without hurting anybody.”

Lamont nods. He looks at Mark, who stands several feet away, and he grins through the pain. “You’ve lost, Michael,” he says. “I’ve beaten you at last.” He turns back toward Powell. “Take… take the Talisman…” Powell stares at him. “Do it!” Lamont insists. “Take it and put it on yourself.” Powell pulls the necklace and fang from around Lamont’s neck. “Carry on my work, son.” Lamont says. “Promise me… There must always be a Coyote Man!”

Powell slowly nods and puts on the necklace. “I… I promise, sir.”

Lamont smiles. His body convulses fiercely.

Then it relaxes.

Dr. Seren leans down and feels Lamont’s wrist. He frowns and holds his palm in front of Lamont’s mouth. He pushes down hard on the old man’s chest several times and then tries once more to find a pulse. After a moment he stands up and shakes his head. He looks at Lucy. “I’m sorry,” he says. “I’m afraid he’s gone.” Lucy screams and runs to Lamont. She cradles his head in her hands and begins to sob.

Powell turns away. He runs his fingers along the fang that hangs from his neck and his eyes begin to tear.

Mark looks at Lamont. “Uncle Donald? What are you…”

“I will not let you trigger the Illusion Ray from your satellite and plunge the country into chaos!” Lamont runs to the podium and begins to pummel Mark with his fists. His blows are weak and ineffective.

“Uncle Donald!” Mark shouts, backing away. “Have you gone insane?”

Powell runs behind Lamont. “Coyote Man! Stop!” he yells. “Don’t… don’t worry about him… we have to, um… disable the triggering mechanism…”

Lamont stares at Mark and then turns to Powell. “You’re right, Pan Boy!” He looks at the podium, where a small panel of buttons has been fastened. “If we can separate the control board from its mounting and completely destroy it, there will be no way to trigger the Illusion Ray or steer the guidance system. The satellite will plunge to earth and the danger will pass.” He begins to pull at the panel. “Cover me while I pulverize this wretched mechanism!”

Lucy runs back into the room, followed by Phillip and Dr. Seren. Philip looks at Lamont and then turns toward Dr. Seren. “Should I?” he asks.

Dr. Seren nods. “Administer the tranquilizer.”

Phillip pulls out a syringe and runs toward the podium. “No!” Powell yells. “Stay away from him!” He thrusts himself between Phillip and Lamont. Phillip grabs his shoulder and effortlessly shoves him away. Powell falls back and his head hits the floor, hard.

Lamont strains at the control panel and it snaps off the podium. He loses his balance and tumbles to the ground. Phillip leans down next to him. He grips Lamont’s arm and holds it in place. The panel slips from Lamont’s hand. He struggles to pull away from Phillip. “Must… destroy… controls…” he mumbles. He tries to grab the panel with his free arm, but it slides to a stop a few feet out of his reach.

Powell pulls himself to his feet. Through a haze of pain, he watches as Phillip tears open Lamont’s jacket and shirt and steadies the syringe.

“Um… That’s right sir,” Powell says. “We’ve neglected it too long. Let’s leave right now and go out on patrol.”

“Holding three percent of the shares,” Mark declares, “Benjamin West.”

A man stands up. “I vote for Lucy Lamont, to be our new CEO.” He looks at Lucy, seated across from him, and smiles. She beams back at him. Mark works the control panel on the podium and the forty six under Lucy’s name changes to a forty nine.

Lamont stares at Mark. “That man!” he whispers to Powell. “How could I have been so blind? I thought he was my nephew… But that was just an illusion. Now that I’m wearing the Talisman, it’s so clear. That’s not my nephew, that’s my brother! That’s Captain Camouflage!”

“Oh, no, no!” Powell says. “That’s… he’s…”

At the podium, Mark looks at an elderly woman who sits near the head of the table. “And finally,” he says, “our first investor. Holding ten percent of the shares… Myrna Zalkin.” Myrna stands up. Just as she begins to speak, she sneezes. She looks around, sheepishly, and someone hands her a tissue.

“Those controls at the podium!” Lamont says. “They must be the triggering mechanism for the Illusion Ray Satellite! And that display! Why is my daughter’s name spelled out?”

“Um, Mr. Lamont… Maybe we should go back to the Coyote Cave and try to figure it out there?”

“Of course! The Illusion Ray affects people’s brains. It requires psychic energy to function. Camouflage must be drawing power somehow from my daughter’s mind. It’s his final insult to me. If it passes fifty, the Ray will be charged enough to trigger and Lucy will be turned into a vegetable!” He looks around, frantically. “So many people here… And no costume! My secret identity will be revealed to all. But I have no choice, it’s already at forty nine! We’re nearly out of time!” He stands up.

“Mr. Lamont, no!” Powell tries to push him down.

Lamont brushes him off and turns toward Mark. “Halt, villain!” he yells. Every head in the room snaps toward him. “Know that you face… Coyote Man!”

“After the meeting… She’s got some goons waiting to drug you up and ship you to that… that convalescent home by Albany. They call it a convalescent home but it’s really just a fancy jail. They’re going to have you declared incompetent and… and keep you prisoner there.”

“Holding forty percent of the shares,” Mark announces, from the podium, “Mark Lamont… For the position of CEO… I vote for myself.” He works a control panel on the podium and the one under his name changes to a forty one.

“Mr. Lamont, please,” Powell says. “We have to get out of here now!”

Lamont stares at him. After a moment, he sighs. “No, my boy… It doesn’t matter. If Lucy thinks this is for the best…”

“Don’t say that! She’s just trying to get rid of you! Let’s go! You can stay with me till we… till we figure out what to do. We’ll get a lawyer, we’ll fight this…”

Lamont shakes his head. “I’m too old to fight. And besides… I don’t have anything left. My life is over anyway.” He turns away.

“Holding six percent of the shares, The Levitt Fund, represented by Samantha Fielding.” Mark looks at a woman seated at the middle of the table.

She stands up. “The Levitt Fund votes for Lucy Lamont.” Mark nods and works his controls. The forty under Lucy’s name changes to a forty six.

Powell stares at the back of Lamont’s head and bites his lip. After a moment, he shakes his head. “No choice,” he mumbles to himself. He leans forward. “There’s something else…” he whispers. “Um… Before the meeting I… I went on patrol as Pan Boy.”

Lamont turns back toward him, his face confused. “Pan Boy?” he repeats.

“I… I ran into some minions of Captain Camouflage… We battled and… and I defeated them. I managed to capture this…” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out the cheap chain with the plastic tooth attached to it.

Lamont stares at it. “My… My Mystical Talisman,” he whispers.

“Take it Mr. Lamont.” Powell holds it out to him. “Your life doesn’t have to be over.”

Powell stands in the rear of the room. The fingers of his right hand roll back and forth along the plastic tooth, buried deep in his trousers’ pocket. He stares at Lucy, who sits near the head of the long table.

“Many years ago, this company was founded on a dream. My brother and I…” Lamont pauses and looks out at the crowd. He spots Mark and studies his face. “My brother and I shared a vision of cheap, clean energy. Working together…” He pauses again and looks down at the podium, where a simple control panel has been mounted. He shakes his head and continues. “Working together we made that dream a reality. My daughter has the vision and the drive to ensure that that dream continues to prosper and grow. I therefore endorse Lucy Lamont for CEO… Thank you.” As the room bursts into applause, he walks toward the table and sits down in front of Powell.

“Mr. Lamont,” Powell whispers to him. “We need to talk…”

Mark Lamont steps up to the podium. “As Acting Secretary,” he says, “it is my duty to call for order and to announce the vote for new Chief Executive Officer of Lamont Energy.” The room falls silent. “The two candidates are Lucy Lamont and myself.” He gestures toward an electronic scoreboard mounted on the wall behind him. “As the stockholders vote, I will display the running tally on this display, thoughtfully provided by my cousin.” Lucy grins at him. Mark punches something into the control panel on the podium and the board lights up. The left side displays the name “Mark Lamont” and the right side “Lucy Lamont”. Under each name is a large zero.

“Mr. Lamont,” Powell repeats, “Please…”

“Hush, son,” the old man mumbles, “the voting is about to begin.”

Mark looks at a man seated near the head of the table. “Holding one percent of the shares, the Addams Group, represented by Andrew Addams.”

The man stands up. “The Addams Group votes for Mark Lamont.”

Mark nods and punches something into the control panel. The zero under his name changes to a one. “Holding forty percent of the shares, Donald Lamont.”

Lamont slowly stands up. “I vote for Lucy Lamont,” he says. Mark works the panel and the number forty appears under Lucy’s name.

“Mr. Lamont, listen to me,” Powell whispers. “We should leave right now.”

“Leave? My boy, what are you talking about? The ceremonies aren’t over.”

“Mr. Lamont… Your daughter… She’s going to send you away…”

A very large man, with thick wavy hair, walks into the room. He spots Lucy and steps over to her. “Ms. Lamont?” he says. “Dr. Seren asked me to tell you that everything is ready, if you need us.” Powell’s eyes pop open.

Lucy clenches her fists and glances quickly at Powell. She mumbles “Excuse me,” to Myrna and walks to a quiet corner of the room. Powell and the large man follow. “Phillip,” Lucy says softly, “I specifically asked Dr. Seren to be discrete. You weren’t supposed to come in here, except in an emergency.”

“I’m sorry, Ma’am, I’m just following Dr. Seren’s instructions.”

“Well get out! I don’t want to see any sign of you unless a situation develops with my father.” Phillip nods and leaves the room.

Powell stares at Lucy. “That’s the gorilla from Sleepy Meadows! What’s he doing here? You promised me you wouldn’t have anything to do with that place!”

Lucy takes a deep breath. “I don’t have a choice. You saw Daddy with those comic books. You said it yourself, the issues he burnt… hundreds of thousands of dollars worth! What if he loses control here? This vote could still go either way. If he creates a scene… I need somebody who can give him something to calm him down before any damage is done.”

“After the vote… You’re going to… you’re going to send him there, aren’t you?”

“Powell, I’m going to be CEO of the entire company. I can’t… I’m not going to be able to take care of him. I won’t have time. At Sleepy Meadows they can give him the treatment he needs… Dr. Seren and Phillip will drive him up this afternoon.”

“You lied to me… you broke your promise!”

“I had no choice! You put me in an impossible situation! But… but I’ll make it up to you. Things will be so much better for us once he’s… when we don’t have to worry so much about him. We’ll have so much more time for each other.”

“You… you bitch! Mr. Lamont deserves better than this.”

Lucy’s face hardens. “Powell, I really care for you. I really do. I want to be with you. But I’ve been waiting to be in charge of Lamont Energy my whole life. Now that it’s finally happening, I can’t have any distractions. I can’t be a nurse. I just can’t. If you don’t want to accept that then… then I’m sorry.” She looks down. “We’ll talk about this later. It’s time to start the meeting.”