1. Chapter 1 (1/2)

this is another short story from the "fly on the wall" series...

("chess" was the 1st one and this is the 2nd one!)

disclaimer: the following prey characters and the world of prey do not

belong to me. i am not doing this for profit. i am just borrowing them for

a little while so i can

ing some fun and romance your way. i hope i am

able to

ing a smile to your face and a happy beating to your heart with

this little story...

twenty questions

by laury

"are you ready?""is that question number one?""nooo.but if you're going to have an attitude about this..we can just

stop.""slloooooaannn.. i'm sorry. i was making an attempt at humor but it seems

that i have failed miserably....""no..no. i'm sorry. i shouldn't have taken your comment so seriously

and... i'm sorry. i said this would be fun and look!... i'm nervous and

overly sensitive.. it was a good attempt, though, tom...really, it was...""you said this would be a fun way to get to know each other better..you

haven't changed your mind now, have you? do you want to do something else?""no, i want to do this...i'll try not to be so serious.. now, let's try

this again, shall we?"perhaps we should go over the rules of this 'game' once more.""love to....all righteee... we get to ask each other twenty questions. when

you are asked a question, you should answer it fully and completely..""soooo, it's like a test?

"was that an attempt at humor?""yes...at least i thought so..""hmmm. i think we need to work on that later, tom.. okay, back to the

'rules of the game'..

yes or no answers are not allowed..unless the person asked you a yes or no

question by mistake..then you're allowed to give just a yes or no answer..""all right. i follow you so far..""you must answer the questions truthfully and honestly...but you can give a

silly answer, too, or you can use humor..""was that specifically directed at me?""yes. humor should be used liberally and tastefully.""i wouldn't use it in any other way, sloan.""yes, well..we'll see, won't we?""yesss..""normally we flip a coin to see who'll go first. is that okay with you?""sure..""since you are new at this..i'll let you pick.heads or tails?""heads, of course.""hah! tails, i win.i get to go first!..""sllooooannn?.. wait. maybe i'm not ready for this...what if i can't answer

your question or what if you don't like my answers?""are you serious? oh, tom, plllleease! we can set limits on the types of

questions, if that'll help.""that isn't fair, though, sloan. if i am to truly commit to this game -

then i must answer whatever questions you ask... correct?"well, i guess so...i mean, i don't want to make you uncomfortable or

anything and i' sure there are things you'd rather not talk about... oh,

tom! i'm soooo sorry! this was a bad idea, wasn't it? i should've thought

about all the things you couldn't or wouldn't be able to answer..""i wanted to do this for you, sloan. i want to do this..i'm just not sure

that i can.""oh, i should've thought about this more..i'm so sorry. it never even

occurred to me - until now - that i could ask you something that would

trigger an episode like the one at the pillar.i just..oh, what a dope!""no. it's all right. believe me. i don't think you can trigger anything

like that..not by asking a simple question..not this time.""really? oh, i know! you can just say 'pass' if you can't answer

something...""if i can do that then so can you..or you can ask a different question..""yes! that's fair. yeah!""so..you won the coin toss...you go first.""ready?""is that another question?..""tooommmm.""sorry.""okay...tom? do you even know when your birthday is?""of course i know my own birth date, sloan..""well, i wasn't sure if they'd let you remember that sort of thing or not..

you still have to answer the question, you know.""it's august 18th, sloan.""no way! mine is august 15th! hey, wait a minute...i can't believe it..i

mean, did you make that up?""no, i didn't make it up, sloan. you said we had to answer

honestly..besides, i may not have definitive memories about a lot of things

but i do know my birth date..""hmm.i suppose..""what possible reason would i have to make up the date, sloan?""i don't know..and..i just realized that you probably already know all

sorts of things about me. that's not fair!""i know a few things about you, sloan..but just the basics.like your birth

date and your adopted parent's names, your sister's name, et cetera. i

don't know any of the interesting specifics about you..""no? well, that's good then..""sloan? trust me when i say that i will only tell you the truth..

otherwise, i'll just say 'pass', okay?""okay..and.. i don't know why i asked if you made that up...it was a dumb

thing to say and i'm sorry - again.""this is supposed to be fun, sloan..so don't let my past spoil it.""right. you're right! okay, your turn to ask me a question..""what's your favorite color?""red ~ all kinds of red and all shades of red. what's your favorite color?""blue ~ midnight blue ~ like the night sky.. you know, i probably should

have made a list because right now my mind has gone blank..""oh, you probably know a lot about me, anyway. i mean..did you have a file

on me...to study or something?""yes, i had a file and...isn't that your third question?""oh, could you maybe let that one go?""i suppose..but wasn't that another question?""yes, but so was yours!""okay, we'll let that go.. sloan, what is your favorite food?""dessert or main course?""both..""well, my favorite main course is chinese food....any kind of chinese

food.. i think you probably figured that out by now... then, my favorite

type of dessert is...oh, i guess chocolate ...a wonderful chocolate fudge

cake with fudge frosting...ummm... uhhh, what's your favorite food, tom?""i'm not sure that i really have a favorite food....not that i remember,

any way....""oh, come on! you guys do like food..i mean, you get some sort of enjoyment

out of food besides just being an energy source for your body and so

on...right?""yes, i enjoy food..to a certain extent... not the way you and ed seem to,

though..""hey, wait a minute! that sounds like an insult...""it was not an insult, sloan. what i meant was..""oh, i was kidding, tom. it's okay. i didn't really think you were

insulting me.""good and... i suppose i do enjoy italian foods more than anything...but i

don't have a favorite dessert...""chameleon school..err..training.. probably didn't allow desserts or

anything pleasurable like that, i suppose...""ummm.ahhh, hmmm. pass.""uh, oh..stepped on a land mine there, huh? okay, let's go on then..""perhaps you can introduce me to your favorite dessert of chocolate fudge

cake..""you bet! let's do that tonight!""you don't have to rush it, sloan..""you definitely don't understand, tom... now that you

ought it up and now

that it's on my mind...i won't settle for anything less than a delicious

slice of chocolate fudge cake...soon! and i'll even share it with you...""that should be interesting..but i think i'd like a slice of my own..""hmmm. there's promise for you yet, tom daniels!""was there ever any doubt?""shhhhh. now, on a very serious note... tom, ever since your house burned

down..where have you been living?""hotels or motels, mostly. after all, i can't use any of the chameleon

houses now and i'm not ready to buy another house yet, so. ...""whew! i didn't know if you were living out of your car or what! i mean,

you never have looked like you lived out of your car or anything..but i was

worried about it none the less. oh! that sounded awful, didn't it? what i

meant to say is that you always look nice and you smell so clean and.. oh,

my. i can't believe i just said that....i'm sorry.""don't be sorry...i mean, that was basically a compliment... i think...

besides, it's nice to know that you like my appearance and that you think i

'smell so clean'..""oh, yes. you smell great! all the time...it's so weird...""okay..let's go on to another question...it's my turn and since we are on

the subject of smells.. sloan, what is your favorite cologne on a man?""my favorite cologne.. i really don't know...it's been awhile since i

thought about it...i suppose my favorite would be drakkar noir...not too

much though..oh! i know! my favorite 'scent' on a man is a 'just out of the

shower' clean soap scent...""clean soap scent..well, that's certainly easy to remember..""okay..my turn. do you have a particular perfume or 'scent' that you like

on a woman?""a nice 'clean' scent is always good..""are trying to be humorous again?""an attempt.. and that is another question, you know.""sorry and you didn't answer the question..""i can tell you what i don't particularly like on a woman...heavy floral or

musk scents..""hmm. i'll file that away for later reference..i gather you like the way i

smell..my scent, i mean?""is that your question?""yes.""i like your scent very much, sloan. it's light and quite like the 'clean

soap' scent you mentioned earlier..is it from a perfume you wear?""well..this is soooo weird.. okay, i like body sprays..frescia or raspberry

are my favorites..and body sprays just tend to be subtle...not heavy like a

lot of perfumes can be..

so while we're on that note... is your sense of smell, taste, hearing and

so on better than those of a human?""in a word - yes.""how much better?""as i've told you before, sloan, i'm not a doctor or a scientist.. i don't

have statistics to give you.""i don't want statistics, tom. i want to know how much better those senses

are with you.""i don't have a good comparison..except..i know my eyesight is thirty-

thirty and that's better than basic human eyesight. i suppose my sense of

taste is more sensitive than most humans because i don't like foods that

are spicy or particularly 'hot'..that's because some of them give me an

instant headache - like thai food, for instance. and it's not from any food

allergies, either, because most of my species - including myself - do not

have allergies. also, my hearing is better then that of a human, but to

what extent - i'm not sure. i can't hear a dog whistle or anything like

that..so my hearing doesn't go into a different spectrum then that of a

human..at least, i don't believe so. smells are very important to us -

especially to me and perhaps that's because i was trained as a chameleon

and identifying smells was an important part of our training...""whoa. you know i could probably ask you questions about your training..but

i think i'll let that go for now..we're still having fun and i don't want

to spoil it...""i concur. now, i believe you have asked several questions. have you been

keeping track?""uh, no...and i guess i did ask the last couple of questions..so it's your

turn, tom..""all right. do you remember the first time you saw me?""of course.. you were in the lab talking to anne while you were posing as

an fbi agent... you were posing as one, weren't you?""yes and no... and that's another question, sloan..""oh, sorry..i keep forgetting..it's just my nature, you know..to ask

questions about everything...""i know and i like that about you.. first things first, though...you never

asked me what my assignment was or why i was talking to dr. coulter that

day..why?""because..well, i thought i had figured it out..i thought you were there

because of randall lynch.....""okay, that's partially correct. i was there to find out what dr. coulter

wanted with the fbi, how much she knew about my species, who she had told

about my species and what did she intend to do with the information..""do you remember what i was wearing that day?""yes, of course. you had on a short blue dress and blue casual shoes. you

were late that morning and you were a little distressed about it. you came

in carrying a backpack and i opened the door for you... you seemed a little

nervous and we made eye contact..""wow! that's so..incredible..""why do you say that?""well, i've often wondered if you noticed me that morning as much as i

noticed you and now i know... .but then again..i guess you would have

noticed me since you were sent to..well, you know.""oh, i noticed you all right..but it wasn't because you were my assignment,

sloan. you weren't..yet. i was assigned only to dr. coulter, at first. my

assignment regarding you came later...""oh..""your turn again..""well, let's see...so far we've covered birthdays, colors, foods, smells

and first impressions..how about music? why type of music do you like?""all kinds. i've been trained to appreciate all styles and eras. i prefer

classical or some forms of rock and roll...how about you?""i..well..i enjoy classical..a little...but mostly i like new age or

pop..rock 'n' roll, too, of course..""do you like to dance?""yes, do you?""yes. i've been trained in all forms...from ballroom dancing, to jazz, to

swing and even disco.""oh, my gosh!.oh, my!" (snorts and laughter ensue).."the image of me dancing makes you laugh?""oh, my, oh, my! the image of you disco dancing makes me laugh!" (more

snorting and giggles).."i'm sooo sorry, tom! it's just...i instantly

pictured you in a white suit..striking the john travolta pose from

"saturday night fever" and it was just too much!""well, you'll never get to see me disco dance then..it's your loss,

sloan...besides, i learned that one sooo many years ago..i probably forgot

how. as a matter of fact, i'm sure i forgot how... so let's move on to

another subject or question..""i'm sorry.so sorry, tom...""since we were on the subject of dancing.." (snickers and snorts burst

from sloan before she can stop them)..did you go to the prom or go steady

in high school?""me? heavens no! i was too much of a geek...a book worm..a nerd..""you? no. i find that very difficult to believe..""didn't you have pictures of me from back then? like in a file or

something?""no, sloan..i didn't study your childhood or delve into your past very much

but i still find it difficult to believe that no one ever asked you to the

prom.""okay! you got me...someone did ask me once but i wasn't interested..i had

my head stuck in a book all the time and i..i actually liked

homework....working out math equations..setting up science projects... oh,

i'm so embarrassed now..""don't be. the person you were then has helped make you what you are