Chapter One
The lab had been quiet for days. Anyone who went down to the basement and expected to be blasted with sound as soon as the doors opened would be greeted with silence because for the past 3 days there had only been silence. Abby had been uncharacteristically absent in thought, turning up to work at 9 and leaving as soon as her work had been completed. All of her movements had been automatic with none of her usual spark; no laughter, no smiles and no hugs had been given out. Even a visit from Tony with an update on the usual hazing of McGee failed to gain a response.
As Gibbs entered the lab he found Abby staring at her computer screen. As soon as she heard him enter he knew she had closed a screen, only finding a table of results when he finally reached her side. He put the cup of Caf-pow on the desk next to her, lent over the table and slowly rubbed the base of her neck with his thumb. Usually this resulted in a smile from her but today she lent back against his hand with a sad smile on her face, black eye make-up smudged under her eyes from where she had been rubbing them. Although it was only early morning she looked like she had been up for hours.
"Abs, how much have you been sleeping lately?" he asked in soft tones.
From his vantage point he could see her close her eyes at his question, a slight murmur the only response he got.
"Abs, talk to me. You can't keep up like this, you look like you are going to fall asleep standing up."
"It's nothing Gibbs. I just need to sort something out and no, I don't need any help but thanks."
She pushed her self away from her desk and walked away from his touch. She felt claustrophobic when he was around her at the moment. She wanted nothing more than to break down and tell him what was eating her up inside, to fall into his arms and let him take care of everything but she knew that she couldn't. This was something that she had to deal with herself, she had promised herself along time ago that this was her problem and that she would sort it out herself. She had the scars from the past as proof as well as the emotional baggage, to involve Gibbs would only bring more problems and questions than she couldn't deal with.
Abby knew the game. Find a rich, older man, screw him, then screw him over. That was it. Simple in its design but you had to know the tactics, when to get in and when to get out, what it was they wanted and how far they would go to get it. Each mark was different and careful planning had to take place. Surveillance was important, knowing the " tells" that each mark had and what their cues were. But once you got the hang of it then it was like second nature. For Abby this hadn't taken long. Coming from a deaf family she was use to looking for physical, subconscious cues rather than evaluating the words people said. This had become invaluable to her and she quickly leant that it would earn her a lot of money.
She stood in front of the full length mirror and smoothed down her dress. A deep red, knee length silk dress, cut low at the front and even lower at the back. Her long dark hair was pined up to show her unmarked neck and back. For all intents and purposes she was a beautiful young girl who was studying at NYU and was being taken for dinner by her 'rich uncle'. To those in the know she was a high class call girl. Expensive and who specialised in satisfying clients most erotic fantasies. Underneath the sophistication was a dominatrix and seducer who was not above blackmail to get money to survive.
"And what is the point of the game if not to survive?" Abby thought to herself as she touched up her lipstick.
Taking one last look at herself in the mirror she turned and walked out of the bathroom. Surveying the crowd she spotted her 'uncle' and confidently walked towards him well aware of the eyes tracking her progress.
Mark was a small man both in statue and other things. He only reached up to Abby's shoulder when she had heels so she had a very good view of his balding head and dandruff. But his suit was expensive and so was the hotel room. She charged 500 for the dinner date, anything else was extra and with his job as a military contractor he could afford it. In one night she could pay her rent and bills for a month. Anything kinky and she had enough evidence to pay for her school tuition for the year as well. People say there is no beauty without pain. Well in Abby's world there was no living without doing something risky. She didn't apologies for it, it was just they way things were. Susie was her name on these occasions, her 'stage name' if you could call it that; it was the perfect preppie name that masked her true self. A client never knew her real name, everything about her was fake, her likes, dislikes, where she came from and went to school. It was a wall to separate her from her job.
"Susie darling, come and meet some of my business associates Jim Wilson and Steven Cooper. This is my niece Susie; she decided to accompany her old uncle to the party."
Abby tried had not to wince when Mark gently guided her into the introductions. Jim Wilson and Steven Cooper where the type of men your mother told you never take sweets from as a child. Their leering and drooling was so obvious it hurt and when she politely smiled and shook their hands she couldn't help but feel her skin crawl.
"Gentlemen, a pleasure as always, any business associates of Uncle Mark's are fabulous to meet."