0MN1 – ACT I
NCIS
One Month Earlier…
Timothy McGee straightened out the white scarf he'd chosen with the black coat for his cover outfit and re-checked his appearance in a hand-held mirror. The inside of the limousine they rode in was dimly lit, but there was just enough light for him, Ziva David, Abby Sciuto, and Michelle Lee to prepare themselves for their assignment. Ziva loaded her compact pistol and slipped it into a hidden pocket in the lining of her fashionable coat, Michelle holstered her Sig in her uncomfortably high garter to be covered by her rather short mini skirt, and Abby nestled a small can of pepper spray into the bra under her form-fitting dress. McGee popped up the collar of his overcoat and practiced his best smug smile to help portray his celebrity status for their entry into One Club.
Their case involved a dead sailor who was last seen with an escort, Lisa Delgado. They tracked her to a nightclub called One Club, an exclusive hotspot for celebrities. With the success of McGee's book, Deep Six, Gibbs devised a plan for McGee's entry under his pen name, Thom E. Gemcity, so they could find Delgado for questioning. The club was run by a man named Scott Pell, who was notorious for his underworld dealings and for his security.
Abby reviewed her makeup job in her own mirror before asking, "You think Metro cops tried wearing outfits like these to get into the club?"
Ziva snorted. "It wouldn't surprise me. I don't remember the last time I wore this little in public. How's the celebrity look coming, McGee?"
"It's coming along," he replied, checking his reflection. "I'm trying to think of things that make me smile, and so far the best one is when I imagine the look on Tony's face when he sees us on that security camera."
"You know I can hear you, right?" Tony buzzed in his earpiece.
McGee's smirk broadened. "Yup, and it helps." He rarely got to one-up Tony on missions, so he was milking this one for all he could.
The limo came to a halt in front of the club. A few paparazzi were lined up outside the entrance taking pictures of anyone they saw in case they might be famous. The door opened and Ziva slid out first, garnering camera flashes and encouraging comments as she posed. Abby exited next followed by Michelle and then McGee. McGee flashed his smile and stood close to Abby and Ziva as the cameras clicked. Ziva and Abby looped their arms around McGee's and they started forward.
"McGee," Gibbs' stern voice hummed in his ear, "if Delgado's inside, you get her out quietly."
McGee whispered, "How?" He tried to move his mouth as little as possible to not garner suspicion in front of the cameras.
"Well she's a hooker, Tim. Use your imagination."
McGee's smile faltered for a moment as he tried to imagine himself seducing an escort. He didn't want to disappoint Gibbs, but he could barely speak to women for a basic date, much less speak to a prostitute for an arrangement. They continued forward with Michelle dragging behind minutely.
"Lee," Ziva quietly hissed. "Can you please pretend you want to be here with us?"
"I'm trying," she whimpered through gritted teeth and a fake smile. "P.S. I don't know where your Sig is, but I'm having trouble walking."
Abby smiled, truly enjoying the situation and the attention. Offering her arm, she whispered, "Snuggle up, Lee. It's fun!"
The guard recognized McGee as his pseudonym, Thom E. Gemcity, and allowed them into the club. The slow, repetitive thump of the club music filled their ears as they passed through the door. The club glowed with dark blue light from the walls and square columns while spotlights and strobe lights flashed and moved with the music. The rectangular space was large and open with grated metal stairs leading up to catwalks on the second floor. The sides of the first floor were lined with private booths that were either open and available or occupied and hidden behind one-way mirrors. The center of the floor was occupied by a stage that could be seen from both upstairs and down. A large pole ran from ceiling down to the stage where a performer in a very small bikini danced her routine. Stretched across a wide side of the room was a large bar where many patrons stood while waiting for their drinks before filtering down to the scattered tables or upstairs to the catwalks. In each corner, lighting and speaker rigs rose up above the crowd.
Ziva's eyes scanned the club for any sign of Delgado, but found nothing. "We'll have our best chance of seeing her from the catwalks," she nearly shouted into McGee's ear over the din of the music.
"Agreed, but we should get drinks first to blend in," he replied.
With their arms still linked together, they strutted over to the bar to order drinks. As they gave their orders to the bartender, the music slowed to a slow but strong beat and the ambient light changed from blue to deep red. They turned to look at the stage and saw a man sitting in a chair on stage wearing white button-down shirt and tight black jeans. His black hair was short and cropped, his jaw was gently rounded under a short stubble covering his chin, and while his frame seemed a bit shorter than average his lightly tanned body seemed to be well-built underneath his clothing. From the back of the stage came a woman in black, seductive lingerie and a thin, black sheer robe that billowed behind her as she walked, showcasing her pale skin. Her blonde hair fell in waves down to her shoulders and her large heels clicked with each step. McGee generally wasn't interested in pole-dances or strippers, but he was curious to see what a two-person show would look like.
As the woman slowly began sliding her hands down the man's chest from behind, the man was looking out into the crowd. McGee turned back to view the show after getting his drink when his eyes locked with the male dancer's. Suddenly everything froze. The crowd instantly vanished and the music had gone with it. In that moment, the man's blue eyes reflected the spotlight's glow as they drew McGee in. McGee was unaware that he was holding his drink halfway to his face and ignoring it while he lost himself in the other man's gaze. The stare was intense but inviting. Even from the distance the man's eyes showed desire, warmth, yet surprise. McGee had an idea of what lust or objectification he expected to see in the eyes of a hooker or an escort, but this was something else entirely that he wasn't sure how to interpret. His heart seemed to stop beating and was instead reaching for the man on stage. He felt like he was right up close looking into those eyes, not halfway across a crowded club. He almost felt the stubble of the man's jaw, almost felt the warmth of the man's skin, and almost thought he heard the man say "Hello" from his eyes directly into McGee's mind.
As if in slow motion, McGee saw the woman's claw-like hand rest on top of the man's head and wrench it backward, unknowingly breaking their eye contact and resuming the routine. The thunder of the bass shocked McGee back into the crowd standing by the bar. McGee's eyes quickly tried to reconnect with the dancer's but the crowd had returned and the music's bass blared, shaking him from the moment. He blinked and quickly looked to see if the others were looking at him, but Abby and Lee were busy looking at the stage while Ziva was still looking around for Delgado.
McGee was surprised at himself and his reaction. While he had attractions to men in the past, he never felt that strong of a spark towards anyone on first sight. Well, except maybe one. McGee remembered the first day he was yelled at by that man in Norfolk. He felt a similar spark of attraction to the older man, but it was heavily overshadowed by fear of the man's reputation. McGee made excuses to keep working with him until he finally was allowed on the NCIS team with him. McGee knew it was against Gibbs' own rules to date a coworker, but McGee was happy to just be around him and loved getting things done right for him. This new man, however, was completely out of the blue. McGee knew nothing about him yet something in those eyes stuck with him – something he couldn't shake off, something he didn't want to.
He shook his head to regain his composure and thought to himself, 'He's probably a hooker like Delgado, anyway.' His stomach churned at the negative thought, but he dismissed it and returned to thoughts of work. He then leaned over to Ziva and asked, "Any sign of her?"
"Still nothing, let's go upstairs."
Ziva led the way, but when McGee motioned to Abby to follow she didn't move. Abby kept her focus on the stage not with a look of fascination but rather analysis.
He gently nudged her with his arm. "Abby?"
She raised her finger to silence him, then after another moment she shook her head. "I thought… nevermind."
"Come on, we gotta find Delgado. Blend in." He offered her his arm, which she took, and Lee joined him on his other side before they all walked upstairs.
The show continued on the center stage as they walked. The dancers' movements were timed to the loud beats of the music and seemed to depict a rough love scene. They writhed with the music, both still clothed but giving each other rough grasps, teasing kisses and even a loud slap across the man's face. McGee caught himself hoping to get the man's attention again, then dismissed the feeling with a slight pang of disappointment when he remembered where they were and who the man probably was. The woman was now straddling his lap and leaning back, allowing the audience a view of her barely-covered cleavage. Looking down from the catwalk, McGee tried to focus on finding Delgado but inevitably ended up looking through the man's now-unbuttoned shirt at his sculpted chest. Abby's gaze was also fixed on the show. She held a concentrated frown on her face.
McGee nudged her again, whispering, "What is it? Do you see her?"
She shook her head silently.
"Enjoying yourself, Mister Gemcity?" Tony jeered in his ear.
"No sign of her yet. Still looking."
Lee slipped discreetly from Abby's side over between McGee and Ziva with a very uncomfortable look on her face. "I'm starting to feel like an hors d'oeuvre from the looks I'm getting. Can we please move somewhere a bit less… occupied?"
Ziva leaned in and whispered, "Deal with it. This is our best view. McGee, put your arm around her and show them she's with us."
McGee quickly moved his arm behind Lee down to her waist and cast a glare to his left at a couple of men who were eyeing her. When he looked back at the stage, the man had the woman pinned against the stripper pole. His pants were unbuttoned but they stayed in place on his hips. She hooked her legs around his waist and with both hands she tore the man's shirt down his back. As the shirt was removed, McGee could see a large, black tattoo of a griffin with its large wings stretched down the man's back and its tail winding down and disappearing below his beltline.
Abby gasped, "It IS him!"
"Wait, you know him?" McGee asked with surprise. "How?"
"Not here. Come on, we gotta talk to him. If he's here he may know where Delgado is or may even be looking for her." She grabbed his arm and led him towards the stairs.
"Wait- Abby who is he?"
"Not here," she repeated.
They followed her down the stairs until they got close to the stage. The performance reached its peak with the two half-clothed performers making exaggerated thrusts while being lit by rapidly flashing strobe lights. The music suddenly stopped and the stage lights went dark, then the spotlight lit the pair up again as they posed somewhat dramatically for the audience. They stood with woman up against the man with her back to the audience, her hand on his chest, her one leg still hooked on his waist, and her head turned so she could look out at the crowd. He held a stern look on his face and looked around without moving his head. When his eyes landed on Abby, his stern look broke into a small smirk. His eyes moved just to her right where McGee was standing, and they locked gazes again. The man visibly fought a smile, then quickly broke their contact again when the pair turned to leave the stage.
McGee leaned over to Abby and whispered, "Who is he?"
She quietly muttered, "I can't say because he's working. Just wait here, he'll find us."
They waited near the stage while the next act began. Another woman came out from the back of the stage and immediately began working her way up the pole. After about five minutes of looking around, McGee and Abby finally spotted the man coming out of a door marked "Employees Only." He had on a new white shirt with its sleeves rolled up and a black vest. He made a gesture with his hand that McGee didn't recognize, but Abby nodded towards him and the man slowly began walking through the club towards them.
"Don't forget, we're patrons," Abby reminded the group.
The man finally reached them and looked seductively at each agent. Turning to Abby he finally asked, "Hey there, you guys looking for a private dance?" His voice was rich and smooth, but his tone was conspicuous and sarcastic as if he knew the answer.
Abby smiled and replied, "Yes we would..." she turned to Tim trying to give him a hint with her eyes, "… wouldn't we?"
"Uh… erm… yeah, sure. Let's go," McGee stammered, still not sure what was going on and feeling nervous at seeing the man up close. McGee felt the same spark he felt earlier and his heart couldn't find a steady beat.
The man was slightly shorter than McGee but just taller than Lee. He didn't look like the standard bachelorette party stripper, but his shorter frame made him look more agile and less bulky than the stereotype.
The man's eyes lingered on McGee's a bit longer before he looked back at Abby. "Good. Let's get Agent Mouse over there-" he gestured to Lee "-out of the snake pit."
They followed him to one of the private booths on the side of the club. The dark red-colored booth had room for the four of them to sit around a glass table for their drinks with room between them and the door for the dancer. He let them go in first, then closed the sliding mirrored door behind them. Once the door was fully closed, he turned back to them and smiled.
"We're clear," he declared. "They don't keep these booths bugged."
Abby shrieked and lunged at the man, pulling him into one of her signature vise-like hugs. "Oh my god, Riley! What are you doing here?" She asked excitedly.
He laughed and gripped her equally tight. "Same as you from the looks of it, I'm undercover! My god, I can't believe you're in the field! What's NCIS doing here? Who are these guys?"
She released him and turned to her teammates. "Oh, right! Guys, this is Special Agent Riley Mathis from the FBI. He used to work on our team a few years ago. This is Agent Michelle Lee, she's on our legal team," she pointed to Michelle.
Mathis reached out and shook her hand. "Yeah, sorry to say this but you were way too obviously not good at this. You looked like you were either new to the escort business or some kind of Fed."
Lee grimaced and replied, "Yeah, there's a gun sticking halfway into my business, so you'll understand if I'm not exactly comfortable."
He returned the grimace and gave her a sympathetic nod.
Abby continued, "This is Officer Ziva David, our Mossad liaison."
Mathis smiled and shook her hand. "A pleasure."
Ziva felt a stirring within as she looked over the man's body while shaking his hand.
"And this is Special Agent Timothy McGee," Abby finished.
McGee took Mathis' hand. His skin felt warm and not clammy, and the nerves under McGee's skin ignited happily under the contact. Mathis' grip was firm without being tight. With his sleeves rolled up, Mathis' biceps were well-defined even under the shirt, which McGee never even knew he liked. Mathis was a much shorter than Abby but had a broad frame. McGee could see Mathis' deep blue eyes more clearly now. They were bright, calculating, and confident, and he saw something else that he still couldn't put his finger on. He was snapped out of his trance by Mathis' voice.
"Nice to meet you, Timothy. I'm guessing if you're with Abby you must also work for Gibbs?"
McGee replied, "Yeah, we're-"
He was interrupted by Tony buzzing in his ear, "McGee, we might have eyes on Delgado outside. Standby."
McGee replied quickly, "Ok." Turning to the others he explained, "Tony thinks they spotted her outside."
Mathis cut in, "Wait, Tony? Tony DiNozzo?"
Abby answered, "Yeah, he's outside monitoring."
"Wow, this brings me back. What are you guys doing here?"
Ziva responded, "We're tracking a serial killer that killed a sailor. There's an escort that works out of here named Lisa Delgado who's our best lead. Do you know where she is?"
Mathis shook his head. "No, I've only been here for a couple of days."
Abby asked, "Why are you here anyway?"
"I'm tracking this criminal organization and I think Pell's laundering money for them through here. Couldn't get a warrant to legally hack into his computer, so I had to get in undercover as a stripper to get past security. I just need to wait until Pell leaves so more of the security is gone."
Lee raised an eyebrow at him and asked, "Couldn't you have just been a security guard?"
Mathis shrugged. "If I could've, do you think I'd be stripping? Believe me, I'd love to not have to get a rabies shot after every dance with 'Megan the Clawed Menace.'" He grimaced and rubbed his cheek where he was slapped during the routine. "But on the other hand it's nice to know I have a fallback career."
Gibbs came through on McGee's earpiece, "McGee, you'll need to get out of there soon but keep it quiet. Delgado and Pell are dead and we have an officer down. It might get ugly in there."
"Understood." McGee stood and turned to the group. "Delgado and Pell are dead. Gibbs said we should start to make our exit."
Mathis frowned. "Crap. If Pell's dead they may start searching people on their way out. Don't leave yet, stay here and wait for my signal."
"What will you-" McGee started to ask but was cut off by Mathis quickly slipping out the sliding mirrored door and closing it behind them. "What do you think he's doing?"
Abby smirked. "His job. Riley's a computer guy like you, so he's probably using the distraction to get into Pell's system."
McGee tried to visually keep up with Mathis through the glass but lost him in the crowd outside. "When did he work for NCIS?"
"Just after I joined, late '99. He was funny, a bit nerdy, basically the McGee of our team before we got the real thing," Abby smiled reminiscently. "We had some good times. He left just before Kate joined."
Ziva joined them at the one-way glass looking out at the crowd. "Why did he leave?"
Abby shrugged but hesitated before giving her answer. "I think it was just a better fit for him in FBI Cyber Crimes. It kinda came up suddenly."
McGee heard the uneasiness in her tone and studied her face. For a brief second he thought he saw the look he recognized as her bluffing face, but it quickly changed when she looked at him.
"What?" she asked, eyeing him inquisitively.
McGee shook his head and quickly replied, "Nothing," before continuing to observe the crowd.
Ziva gave a curious smile. "He certainly has quite the physique for someone in Cyber Crimes. That tattoo must've taken a long time."
"He's definitely bulked up," Abby agreed. "He was scrawny when I knew him but always had 'ok' tone. I kept in touch for about a year after he left, so it's been like three years since I last saw him. I hope we have time to catch up."
They watched for a few minutes, then were startled when the fire alarm started blaring over the club music. The lights brightened and the music ground to a halt as people looked around with confusion and started making their way towards the exit.
Ziva checked the gun in her coat then nodded. "Looks like that's our signal. Let's go."
McGee let the other agents through the door first and kept looking around as they walked. He spotted Mathis coming out of the same door from earlier. McGee tried to get Abby's attention but got separated from her by a group of drunken patrons stumbling for the door. He tried pushing through them but then felt a hand grasp his arm. When he turned back, Mathis had reached him and spun him around to be standing close to him while others passed by. Mathis looked worried.
"Where's Abby?" he shouted to McGee over the din of the alarm.
"Heading for the exit. We got separated." McGee shouted back.
"I've been made. The guards are looking for me. Guess you'll have to do."
Mathis quickly grabbed McGee by the scarf and pulled him close. He leaned up and whispered into McGee's ear, "Just go with it and don't swallow this."
McGee was alarmed to be so close to Mathis, feeling the skin of the man's cheek rubbing on his own and the hot breath tickling his ear. But he was definitely not prepared when Mathis quickly ducked back and pressed his lips against McGee's. McGee's brain overloaded with shock. His eyes widened and his lips were tightly pressed together under the unexpected pressure. McGee looked into Mathis' eyes as they slowly opened. Once again, McGee felt calm at their sight and seemed like he was being slowly pulled in by them. The screaming of the alarm was gone, the crowd and the club around them disappeared, and all he felt was the heat of the body in front of him. His lips relaxed and gently brushed against Mathis' as he slowly began to kiss him back. He tried to find a place for his own hands and ended up awkwardly placing them on Mathis' hips. He felt Mathis' left hand cup the back of his neck and pull him even closer. His body seemed to melt at the contact. Without even thinking he and ran one hand around Mathis' back and held him tight, partially to support himself but mostly to feel more of this man. Mathis pushed hungrily into the kiss, letting his tongue dart against McGee's lips.
McGee allowed the intruding tongue into his mouth and met it with his own. Mathis' other hand reached up and held McGee's cheek. Mathis' tongue retreated back into his mouth and McGee felt odd movement from Mathis' mouth momentarily as they kept their lip contact. A moment later Mathis' tongue returned carrying a small square piece of something that tasted like plastic. McGee was confused at the sudden change of taste on his tongue, and slowly remembered that they were in a nightclub with the alarm blaring and a crowd stampeding around them. McGee remembered Mathis' words, 'Don't swallow this…' and nestled the small chip under his tongue. Mathis held the kiss for a little longer, but McGee felt a small bit of disappointment when Mathis gently pulled back. Mathis stared up into McGee's eyes for a moment.
McGee saw surprise and confusion in the man's eyes before Mathis was yanked backwards by a pair of strong-looking security guards. Mathis struggled lightly but he shot McGee a mischievous smile while being pulled towards the "Employees Only" door. A third guard in a suit grabbed McGee's arm and held him in place. McGee was alarmed, but he remembered he had to play the part of the celebrity. He quickly contorted his face a snarl.
"Take your hands off me!" he yelled, trying to keep his cargo under his tongue.
The guard lessened his grip but kept his hand on McGee's arm. "Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to come with me."
McGee thought quickly on his feet and pulled out a persona he used for a diva in his first novel. "The only place I'm going is out of here. And believe me, you don't want me writing about this place in my next book because everyone will be swarming the front to get in."
"I just need to ask you a couple of questions," the guard explained.
"Fine, ask," McGee retorted as he pushed the man's arm away to release his grip.
"What did he say to you?"
McGee looked back at the door, then back at the guard. "He wanted me to take him home with me for the night. Some kind of hooker."
"Check your pockets. Is everything still there? Anything that shouldn't be there?"
"This is ridiculous," he muttered just loud enough for the guard to hear as he dug into his pockets. He showed the guard his phone, keys and wallet before stuffing them back into his coat. "Satisfied? He never touched my pockets."
The guard nodded. "Alright. Go on."
McGee stormed towards the exit, but once he was away from the guard he breathed a sigh of relief. He couldn't believe what had just happened. He wasn't sure how to interpret what he saw in Mathis' eyes, but he was even more confused by his own feelings. He would never have kissed a man in public like that, but something possessed him in that moment. The underside of his tongue slid across the plastic chip, and he was curious as to its contents.
He found Abby, Ziva, and Lee waiting outside. The paparazzi were swarming the crowd of evacuees with the clicking of cameras and the flashing of lights. Ziva approached him and put her arm around his.
"Where have you been?" she whispered while smiling for the cameras.
McGee felt uncomfortable with the chip still held in his mouth but wanted to be in private before examining it. He murmured, "Let's just go," and hailed their limo.
He went inside first and sat on the long seat on the side. While the other three were getting in, he tongued the small chip out from his mouth and wiped it off to see that it was actually a MicroSD memory card. He turned it over in his hand and examined it.
Abby dropped back into the seat next to him and squeaked, "Wow! That was fun. What'cha got there, McGee?"
McGee waited until the door was closed before holding it up and showing it to her as they got moving.
"A memory card?" she asked as she examined it curiously. "Where did you get it?"
"Mathis slipped it to me," McGee replied. He decided not to go into detail about how he got it. Other than never having expressed his feelings about men to any of them, he also was still processing the memory of the exchange himself. "He said he had been ID-ed and gave it to me just before he was grabbed by security."
"He's probably being searched or interrogated," Ziva speculated.
McGee's shuddered to think of what that meant for the man he just met. "You think he'll be alright?"
"Knowing Riley, he'll have something up his sleeve to get him out. I wonder what's on this, though," Abby commented as she handed the card back to McGee.
"Probably all the data he needs on Pell," Ziva reasoned. "Hopefully it will make this assignment worth it. Any agent would have some kind of backup for an undercover op, though."
Lee groaned with relief as she removed her thigh holster. "Ugh, I don't care what my next undercover assignment is, I'm wearing a longer skirt."
McGee sat looking at the floor as the others chatted on. He would occasionally look up at a mirrored strip on the mini-bar inside the limo, and when he'd look up at it he would see those sparkling blue eyes staring back at him for an instant. His mind wandered to the kiss. His lips quivered when he remembered the pressure against them and his hands twitched when they remembered the body they held. McGee tried to remember the last time he held someone that way, and found himself worried that he let it happen. He also felt worried about Mathis, thinking of what kind of interrogation he was going through. He was never impulsive and no one had ever gotten under his skin like that except Abby and Gibbs.
'Gibbs!' he thought to himself. He couldn't believe that he'd forgotten about him after being distracted by Mathis however briefly it may have been. He wondered how Gibbs would respond after reading that McGee had kissed Mathis in his report. Gibbs never made any overt gestures of possessiveness of McGee, but sometimes his hand lingered on McGee's shoulder for a few extra seconds, sometimes he stood closer to McGee than he needed to, and sometimes McGee caught Gibbs smiling at him instead of giving the usual eye roll after he would go on a tangent of technical verbiage. Those were enough to keep McGee's interest alive, but for once McGee found himself distracted and he didn't know if he liked that feeling. He tried to push the look of Mathis' eyes into the back of his mind, but the image didn't go quietly.
Abby noticed McGee's odd mood and nudged him. "Hey, you ok?"
"Yeah," McGee quickly lied. He sighed and brushed his thumb over the face of the memory card again. "Just a really weird night." He pocketed the card and stared out the window for the rest of the drive.