They descended in the glass elevator, floating silently into the lobby. It was more crowded now. People sat in the leather chairs, reading or talking or ordering drinks from the bar. A few slaves were kneeling silently beside their seated owners and one or two were sitting in chairs like free people. Tony relaxed at the sight. There were plenty of fancy places that had rules that made a stark distinction between owners and slaves. Depending on the place—be it hotel, restaurant, store, or even the enforcement of local laws of towns—slaves may not be allowed to sit on chairs, or even appear at their master's side. Oftentimes slaves had to be chained tightly as well, to ensure their obedience and safety in public areas. No wonder Gibbs didn't like going out much.
The restaurant, The Copper Kettle, unfortunately wasn't as lax in its rules as the lobby. Tony and Abby exchanged a look at the prominent sign proclaiming: All slaves must be collared, leashed, and on the floor at all times. No exceptions.
"If you guys want to go somewhere else, that's fine by me." Gibbs said to Abby and Tony, glaring at the sign.
Abby shrugged at Tony. "I don't really care. And I'm really hungry."
Tony nodded and looked to Gibbs. "It's fine with us."
"Fine." Gibbs turned to the host, a tall man with an upturned nose and dark hair.
"Two?" The man asked, looking at Gibbs and Ducky.
"Four." Gibbs growled. The host looked over Tony and Abby with a sniff and led them to a table that could seat two people. Ducky and Gibbs sat stiffly across from each other. Abby dropped down next to Ducky while Tony knelt beside Gibbs. The carpet was thick, but it had worn patches beside all the chairs. The host handed them two menus and outlined the specials before disappearing with the promise that their waitress would be by soon. Gibbs hooked Tony's leash into a clasp under his chair. Ducky did the same with Abby's.
"Do you have enough room, Tony?"
"Yeah boss. Thanks." Tony adjusted his feet under him and looked around the room. It was tough to see from where he was, but the place appeared to be less than half full. A big table in one corner contained about ten people laughing and being loud. It looked like some kind of business meeting. Other tables held couples or families and pretty much everyone seated had a slave at their feet, collared and tied. All the people here were able to afford having their own slaves. A couple slaves present were clearly close to the people who owned them, and they were included in conversations and even given food. Tony smiled a little at the sight of the happy slaves, reassured that not every owner—other than Gibbs and Ducky—was an asshole. A blond woman a few tables away caught Tony's eye. She gave him a demure smile and a wink. Tony grimaced slightly. Her red lips were botoxed to hell and the amount of makeup she had on gave her a raccoon-like, clownish appearance. She actually might have been attractive without all that gunk on her face. A young male slave was at her feet, broad-shouldered and dressed in short shorts and a sleeveless shirt. Tony looked away. They were a perfect tableau of his second owner, Morgan, and her menagerie of handsome male slaves she liked to treat as objects. That was not something he wanted to think about now. Or ever, for that matter.
The waitress showed up and asked for their drink orders.
"Can we have two more menus?" Ducky asked.
"Uh, sure." The waitress disappeared momentarily and returned with two menus, which she handed to Ducky. He passed them on to Abby and Tony.
"I'll have a Scotch." Ducky said.
"Ginger Ale." Gibbs peered over the choices.
Abby looked up. "Can I get raspberry lemonade, Gibbs?"
"Of course." Gibbs said. Tony glanced up at him.
"Coke."
"You guys order whatever food you want." Gibbs said as she walked away. They read over the menus in silence. Tony could still feel the blond woman's eyes on him. No doubt sizing him up and judging him. He'd been used to the feeling of women's eyes on him since he was in college. Being blessed with good bone structure and a killer smile was fun when he was freedom-loving bachelor, but slavery had kind of ruined all that. Free women—and some men—sized him up now not as a mate or one night stand, but as a potential plaything to buy and own, something he didn't think he'd ever get used to. With Gibbs holding his leash he wouldn't ever have to get used to it. But if they didn't solve this case…if she took them back…Tony couldn't even bear the thought.
He focused his attention on the menu. They had everything from cheeseburgers to salads to filet mignon to fish. Not to mention a three page wine section. Tony's mouth watered and he slid from his knees to a less constricting cross-legged position, sighing dramatically.
"Hm?" Gibbs looked down.
"Lots of choices."
"Tony, can I make a suggestion?" Ducky said. "You might want to stick with something light tonight, seeing as your stomach is still adjusting to a new diet, dear boy."
"Yeah. I hear ya, Ducky. As delicious as the bacon barbecue double cheeseburger sounds, I really don't want to spend tonight in the head."
"Me neither." Gibbs grunted. "Not with us sharing a room."
The waitress came back with the four drinks. She placed them on the table and took their food orders.
"Is there any way we could get some cushions for them?" Gibbs nodded towards Tony and Abby.
"Of course." The girl left and came back with two plush burgundy floor mats. Tony and Abby sat on them gratefully and sipped their drinks. They were making small talk about the rooms and the hotel in general when a shadow fell across Tony's half-empty coke glass. He glanced up and almost swore when he saw the blond woman from the other table standing beside him, giving Gibbs a dazzling smile. Her barely-clothed slave boy was behind her, leashed with a thin chain and staring at the floor.
"Excuse me." She said. Ducky stopped his story about African cuisine and looked politely up at the woman.
Gibbs raised his eyebrows at her.
"My name is Justine Bergman." She tossed a card down on the table. No one looked at it. "Are you the owner of this slave?" She pointed at Tony as if he were a pair of shoes she wanted to try on.
"Yes." Gibbs said.
"Are you by any chance looking to sell?" She asked pleasantly.
Tony lowered his drink and shut his eyes, his face flushing with humiliation. Did she really have to approach them here, now? With other people around and everyone watching—Jeez—in front of Abby and Ducky? Tony snuck a glance at Abby. She rolled her eyes and he grinned.
"No." Gibbs said in a controlled tone.
"Are you sure?" She said. "He's quite fine. I'd give you a good price for him—much more than he's worth."
"Madam," Ducky began. "What you're doing is very rude. We are trying to enjoy a peaceful dinner." Tony rubbed his head, the way he always did when he was nervous. Abby reached forward and squeezed his hand.
"DiNozzo." Gibbs said. Tony looked up at him immediately. "Do you want to be sold to her?"
"No, boss. No." Tony shook his head.
"There's your answer, miss." Gibbs said flippantly. "Now be on your way." The woman made a little sound of disapproval in her throat and looked down on Tony, who was now giggling at a comment Abby made.
"If you reconsider, my number's on the card." She said snidely before tugging her boy away by his short chain.
"Damn." Tony hissed after a minute. "That's embarrassing…"
He fell silent as Gibbs rested a hand on his shoulder, giving him a reassuring squeeze. Tony relaxed somewhat at the gesture but still, he didn't know what to think. He was pissed and embarrassed at the woman for doing this to him—in such a public place. He even felt somewhat wrong-footed, like he had done something bad to garner Justine's attention. He didn't know why he felt that way, and that made him even more anxious and annoyed. Should he have stood up for himself? That would have made him not look so weak. But he was a slave. Had he spoken rudely to her, he could have been punished for an insolent tongue—hell knows he had been plenty of times in the past. When the food finally came he wasn't hungry, having worked himself into a knot of despair so tight that couldn't even think about food.
"Tony." Gibbs leaned down as Tony was surveying his baked chicken breast. "Are you okay?"
"M'fine." Tony muttered.
"We can go back to the room if you want. We can leave." Again there was the soft touch from those hands that calmed him better than any words could. He glanced up at Abby, thoroughly enjoying her salad as she laughed at another of Ducky's Africa stories. It would be really shitty of him to pull them away now. Not when Abby was enjoying herself, and not after everything she had done for him.
"No, it's fine, boss." Tony said. Gibbs sighed and leaned away from him. Tony pushed his food around, eating some but mostly just staring at it. Gibbs insisted on a take-out box before he paid the bill with the credit card Ching-Lan had given him.
"Thank you, Gibbs." Abby hugged him in the hallway between their doors after Gibbs let Tony inside.
"You're welcome, Abbs." He unclipped her leash and handed it to her before giving her a good-night kiss on the cheek. He made sure she was safely locked into her room before turning to face his other slave. Gibbs paused and took a breath. He'd done what Ducky said. Tried to, anyway. And weirdly enough, it had seemed to work. Tony was chipper and making jokes all while they combed the hotel for employees. Even that goofy salute before dinner was a good sign. Maybe Ducky had been right about giving Tony commands and treating him like a senior agent instead of a slave.
Gibbs locked and bolted the door behind him and glanced at his watch. 1942. Dinner had taken longer than he expected. He walked away from the door and paused at the sight of the two empty beds. The head was empty as well. A quick glance around the room didn't reveal his old senior agent either. "Tony?" He said. Gibbs walked a little ways and sighed when he saw Tony at the side of his bed, kneeling on the floor with his nose pressed firmly into the carpet. Gibbs' shoulders sagged. Now what?
He sank onto the pillow-top mattress and pulled off his shoes. He pushed them to the side and stared down at his friend for a moment.
"That can't smell good." He said. Tony shifted a little and Gibbs thought he saw a tiny smile. "Kneel up." Gibbs said. "Let me take the leash and collar off."
"The collar?" Tony said softly, rising. "You gonna sell me to that woman, Gibbs?"
Gibbs felt stricken for a moment, then cursed himself. "No. No—leave it on." Gibbs took off the leash and coiled it up, placing it on his nightstand. He watched Tony glance at the clock. It read 1949.
"Tired?" Gibbs asked.
Tony shrugged. "A little."
"Tony." Gibbs sighed. He leaned down so he was eye level with his friend, giving him a look that he hoped would invite conversation. "Was it the woman in the restaurant?" He said.
Tony blinked. "Yeah."
That and the turmoil of being Gibbs' slave while not really being treated as a slave at all.
How pathetic he felt about being chained, literally, to Gibbs all the time while Abby and Ducky got to go free.
How he felt like crap for feeling so weak because he felt these things. He pushed the thoughts aside and spoke.
"I was kind of embarrassed, boss."
"Yeah, so was I. She had some nerve."
Tony's eyes had drifted away again and Gibbs took Tony's chin firmly in his hand and turned his head to face him. "Don't worry about her, DiNozzo. You really think I'd sell you?"
"No, boss. I know you won't."
"Good."
Tony gave him a little half grin and stood up. He glanced at the clock again and sighed.
"I can sleep on the floor if you want." He said quietly.
"What? No. No one's sleeping on the floor. Unless it's more comfortable for you," Gibbs said, remembering how Tony had slept on the floor with Abby until he could stand being in his bed. Tony nodded and peered quickly at the TV, which was currently turned off. Gibbs saw a look of longing pass over his face before he looked away again.
"Tony. You can watch TV."
"Really?"
"Yes. Christ." Gibbs tossed him the remote and rolled his eyes, then stopped himself. Ducky's words echoed in his head. "He's searching for leadership. You can offer him rules and discipline in a safe, caring environment…Give him some basic commands."
"But," Tony continued, "I didn't finish with the list of employees."
"We'll get it tomorrow."
"I was speaking out of turn at the restaurant…" Tony said, unsure.
"DiNozzo, do you want me give you a headslap?"
"Not really, boss."
"Watch, but don't stay up past midnight." Gibbs added. "We gotta be fresh for tomorrow. If you get hungry, there's the leftovers from dinner."
Tony nodded happily. "Thanks, Gibbs."
Gibbs nodded and went to the bathroom to wash up. He heard Tony flip the TV on, then the tinny strains of the Magnum P.I. theme song. Gibbs laughed aloud.