*this challenge story comes right between A Matched Pair and Thank You So Much and is set right after the third-season story 'Utopia Now'; someone requested this story when the other two were written … I can't remember who. Anyway, the usual disclaimers apply and I hope you
like it but beware, I was in a goofy mood when I wrote it :)*
Another Wooly Mess
Saturday, November 9, 1985
7:30 PM
"Wow," was all Amanda could say as they pulled up in front of the house, parking the `Vette in the circular driveway. "This is just…"
"Yeah, I know what you mean," Lee told her.
A woman dressed as Queen Elizabeth strolled past the car, arm-in-arm with a man wearing a very brief toga. Swans and peacocks littered the brightly-lit front lawn of the mansion, weaving in and out of the assorted guests. At the very center of the front walk Amanda saw a fountain, the bubbling water reflecting a variety of colored lights. It was fantastic, she thought to herself…amazing, even…but at the same time it all seemed a little excessive.
"Look, we'll just go in, meet our contact and get out," Lee said, voicing Amanda's feelings exactly. "There's no reason for us to stay the entire evening."
"Good idea," Amanda said. "Um Lee…before you get out of the car…I need to tell you that you're sort of askew."
Lee gave her a puzzled look. "I'm sort of a what?"
"Askew," Amanda repeated. "Your hood, I mean." Reaching up, she managed to pull the sheep's hood straight. "There - that's much better."
"Gee thanks," Lee said. "The last thing I'd want to be is an askew sheep. Shall we?"
SMK SMK SMK SMK
"So our contact owns all this?" Amanda asked as they approached the house.
Lee nodded. "Bruno Cioffi inherited millions from his father. And according to Francine he has a reputation for being an eccentric…watch out!" Grabbing her shoulders, Lee suddenly pulled Amanda back against him, out of the path of the Indian brave, who was busy chasing a shrieking Cleopatra with a plastic tomahawk.
"I can believe the eccentric part," Even with the sheep's costume on, Amanda could feel the heat of Lee's body pressed against hers…was that the reason her cheeks were suddenly so warm? As suddenly as he'd grabbed her Lee released her, stepping back. Was it just her imagination, Amanda wondered, or did Lee look a little flushed himself?
"Your PLEASURE, ma'am?'
The voice belonged to a tall well-muscled man, wearing little more than a loincloth and sandals. In his hand he carried a tray of hors d'oeuvres, which he extended in her direction.
"No, thank you." Amanda shook her head.
"I can also get you a drink if you like," the waiter smiled. "Like I said, your pleasure."
Before Amanda could reply she felt Lee's hand on her shoulder. "We don't need any drinks," Lee said. "What we'd like to do is to speak to Marco Cioffi."
The waiter looked at Lee. "Are you sure, sir?"
"What do you mean am I sure?" Lee asked.
"It's just that some days his probatophobia really gets out of hand…"
"Probatophobia?” Amanda asked. She knew that word was familiar but for the life of her she couldn't remember why.
"Look, all we want to do is speak to Mr. Cioffi for a moment," Amanda told the waiter. "He's expecting us anyway, surely it wouldn't do any harm."
"You might be able to speak to him…" the waiter told Amanda when Lee interrupted.
"No, we're both speaking to him." he said
The waiter sighed. "It's your life, I guess." he said. "You'll either find Mr. Cioffi by the pool out back or in his theater, watching his VIDEO of NAUGHTY nurses; the only film he ever directed. Don't worry, it's not as EXPLICIT as it sounds."
"I'm sure it isn't," Lee said. "Come on, Amanda.""
SMK SMK SMK SMK
"Who would've thought a movie called Naughty Nurses would be a docudrama about medical mistakes?" Amanda said as they went out the French doors that led to the pool.
"Well they don't call Bruno eccentric for nothing," Lee said.
The back of the house was as well-lit as the front. Soft music was being piped in from an overhead sound system. In the pool about a dozen bikini-clad girls hopped around, playing what looked to Amanda like an informal game of pool volleyball. But where was…then she saw him: a large man clad in a black ZORRO costume. And he saw them as well. Amanda watched the man's eyes widen behind the mask he wore. Still holding his WHIP, Bruno Cioffi gave a roar as he charged in their direction.
And it was at that split-second that Amanda remembered what probatophobia meant.
"Lee!" she shouted. After that everything seemed to happen very quickly. Bruno leapt on top of Lee-there was a sickening crack as his fist connected with Lee's eye. Thinking fast, Amanda lifted her shepherd's crook, bringing it down hard - right at the base of Bruno's neck. Once, twice, until the larger man's body finally convulsed and then lay still.
"Thanks, Amanda," Lee croaked. "But now can you get me out from under him?"
SMK SMK SMK SMK
"Probatophobia, should've remembered that…it was one of Jamie's vocabulary words last
month…it's a fear of sheep. Lee, we really should put some ice on that, you know."
"Later," Lee smiled grimly. "I want to pay Francine a little visit first - thank her for this costume."
Story Notes:
Instructions:
1. You must use all the words in your story.
2. You can use the words in any order, and even more than once - But you MUST use them all AT LEAST ONCE
3. Each word must be CAPITALIZED, in order to make sure they stand out
4. Each word must be used EXACTLY as noted in the challenge. Please no changing tenses, adding prefixes or suffixes, or pluralizations
5. Your submission can be of any length, from line to a full-length stoy - and it can be SMK, B5 or anything else as long as it has a link to either SMK or B5.
1. You must use all the words in your story.
2. You can use the words in any order, and even more than once - But you MUST use them all AT LEAST ONCE
3. Each word must be CAPITALIZED, in order to make sure they stand out
4. Each word must be used EXACTLY as noted in the challenge. Please no changing tenses, adding prefixes or suffixes, or pluralizations
5. Your submission can be of any length, from line to a full-length stoy - and it can be SMK, B5 or anything else as long as it has a link to either SMK or B5.