Abby spent the last few days lost in perfecting her show. By Sunday night she was used to doing the routine in her four inch heels, and she had been though each of the numbers in the costumes that Ken had picked out for her.
Monday morning she was called to the Navy yard to go over the details of the evening. Eric accompanied her to the meeting. They walked in laughing over a stupid joke, not prepared to walk into a room full of people. Dressed in her usual Abby attire, Abby was shocked to see Gibbs, and the team, Hollis, Fornell and his team all sitting in the larger meeting room. Jenny directed her to a seat and Abby blushed as she felt all eyes on her.
"Abby, I want you to know that you will have someone nearby at all times, so you have no need to feel insecure, or unsafe. We'll have people at all the exits, as well as on the roof next door to the club" Jenny described the safety measures. "Abby's name for the show is Jamie Marks, so please, while she is mingling afterwards, call her by that name. I don't want any slip-ups. This guy has to feel like it's business as usual. I want people to keep an eye out during the show, but be discrete. Enjoy Abby's performance."
"Oh God, this will be embarrassing" Abby put her face in her hands.
The room broke out in a chorus of "Aww…"
"No, it'll be great. You know you're ready. You look amazing, your dance movies are hot, and your voice is sizzling. You know, this will be amazing." Eric hesitated before placing a hand on Abby's back soothingly. He hoped she would appreciate the fact that he was risking his life by touching her in front of Gibbs who was sitting directly across the table.
Abby looked up and rolled her eyes, before flashing Eric a devious smile, so small he nearly missed it. "I'm being turned into a pop-princess minus the heroin addiction and eating disorder. I'm turning pink… and sparkly. My new best friend is a flat iron, and I feel the strange urge to stand around and snap my bubble gum. I think I might need therapy after this, guys!"
"Abby, I am sure you will be fine. It is just the stress." Ziva tried soothing.
"No! If you ever see me in juicy couture sweats and Uggs, please, pretty please, shoot me."
Gibbs had no idea what she was talking about. He looked to Hollis who sat beside him and gave her a questioning look. She shook her head in response. She wasn't much into fashion.
"Hey, will you dedicate a song to me?" Tony asked, flashing a grin.
Abby thought over the songs she was singing, "Sure Tony."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I've got the perfect song to dedicate to you."
Tony leaned back in his chair, a smug look across his face. Abby walked past Tony and pinched his cheek. "Come on Eric, we've got to get going. I can't do this all by myself."
---
Gibbs smiled when he saw Abby. She was dressed in an impossibly short black skirt, and a red shirt that hugged her curves tightly. Black boots were laced up to just below her knees. His appreciation was cut short when he saw a man follow closely behind her. He recognized him as Eric, one of her dancers.
"Oh God, this will be embarrassing." He watched as Abby brought her hands to her face.
The room broke out in a chorus of "Aww…"
"No, it'll be great. You know you're ready. You look amazing, your dance movies are hot, and your voice is sizzling. You know, this will be amazing." He heard Eric sooth. His jaw muscles tightened when he saw Eric's hand move to her back. He wanted to reach across the table and grab Eric by the front of his shirt and pull him across the table. Eric made eye contact briefly before looking back at Abby.
When the meeting was over Gibbs tried to make eye contact with Abby, but she was focused on Tony and the smug look her had on his face. He watched her pinch his cheek, and then called for Eric to follow.
When Abby was out of the room, Jenny confirmed some last details on the location of the agents outside of the club. Gibbs watched everyone file out of the conference room. When the door finally shut, he slammed his fist down on the table and walked out.
---
Abby arrived at the club early to get ready. She went over the dance steps twice on stage with her dancers and looked out over the empty table and chairs where the audience would be, and then over to the bar. Promotional photos had been taken of her, and she saw her face plastered everywhere.
"Nervous?" Eric asked.
"Yeah, although I'm not sure what I'm more nervous about. Being used as bait for a killer or shaking my ass on stage in front of just about everyone I know."
Eric patted her shoulder and motioned that Ken and Sarah were ready to get her hair and make-up done. The club would be opening soon and she needed to get ready.
Abby sat in the makeup chair and waited patiently as Ken pulled a flat iron through her hair before attaching hair extensions to give her more volume. When Ken was done Sarah moved in front of her and started with a heavy layer of bronzer. Her normally pale skin soon had a sun kissed look. Her eyelids were covered in a shimmery eye shadow, and then Sarah lined her eyes with black charcoal, curled her long eyelashes and added two layers of mascara. Sarah applied a bright red lipstick to Abby's lips and then stood back, "Beautiful."
---
The agents assigned to the inside of the club arrived as thought they were patrons of the club. Dressed in a jacket and tie, Gibbs escorted Hollis into the club, and then moved to the bar to get two sparkling waters. As much as he wanted, no needed, a drink, he knew he couldn't with Abby playing bait. With two waters, he moved towards the stage, and motioned for Hollis to join him at a table, front and center.
Tony and Ziva found a spot along the wall, up close towards the side of the stage. From their position they had a great view of the stage, but also over the crowd. McGee escorted an agent from Fornell's team and took the opposite side of the room from Tony and Ziva. Various other agents were spread out among the crowd and they were all connected via earwigs.
Gibbs tapped his foot impatiently, he was uneasy about the whole idea. The fact that Abby was putting herself in front of everyone in this way, performing on stage for everyone to look at, made his stomach flop and he wasn't sure why. He often called her his Abby, but he had no claim over her. Still, the fact that there was a good chance that a killer was in the room, and would likely be interested in Abby made his heart beat faster. He wouldn't let anything happen to Abby, he couldn't.
The lights started to dim and a woman stepped on stage, "Good evening ladies and gentlemen. I'd like to welcome you tonight. We will start with an artist debut, Jamie Marks. Jamie will be out mingling with the crowd after the show, and we will have the pleasure of listening to the Steven Brothers jazz band. Enjoy the show!"
The woman stepped off stage and the room went dark. He could hear people moving onto the stage and his eyes strained to see what was going on. Low accent lights turned on and music slowly played over the speakers.
Gibbs wasn't prepared for what he saw.
---
Abby walked on stage in the dark. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and her fingers gripped the microphone with all that she had. She struck her starting pose, facing away from the crowd and waited for the music to start. She was wearing tight black leather pants, a leather corset that could just barely be seen under the small red jacket, similar in fashion to a traditional circus ringleader jacket. The music started and she opened her mouth and sang.
"There's only
two types of
people in the world
The ones that entertain, and
the ones that observe
Well baby I'm a put on a
show kind
of girl
Don't like the backseat, gotta be first…"
She spun around slowly and let her eyes adjust to the crowd in front of her. She closed her eyes briefly before opening her mouth to sing.
"I'm like the
ringleader
I call the shots
I'm like a firecracker
I make
it hot"
Her lips curved in a seductive smile.
"When I put
on a show…"
Her dancers moved onto the stage and surrounded her
"I feel the
adrenaline
moving through my veins
Spotlight on me…"
A bright light switched on, bathing her in light.
"…And I'm
ready to break
I'm like a performer
The dance floor is my
stage
Better be ready
Hope that you feel the same…"
Abby felt her confidence surge and she started on the chorus.
"All eyes on me
In the center of the ring…"
She danced around confidently, flirting with her dancers, demanding that all eyes in the room be on her.
"I run a tight ship" Abby cracked an invisible whip "so beware…" her eyes fell on Gibbs and she sent him a silent dare with her eyes. When the song ended, she stepped to the edge of the stage and took the time to introduce herself.
"Hi everyone, I'm Jamie and I would just like to thank everyone for coming out tonight to hear me sing. I'll be singing a mix of current popular songs as well as a few of my own. I hope you enjoy. This next song goes out to my great friend Tony. This one is for you" Abby winked at Tony and he gave her two thumbs up.
Turning around, two of her dancers stepped forward and removed the red jacket to reveal the corset underneath with a sparkling bra below that. The music started and Abby feel back into her role as singer.
"Superstar
Where you from, how's it going?"
She swatted at Eric's hands on her hips and pushed him away.
"I know you
Gotta clue, what you're doing?"
And then pulled him back to her with the tie he had around his neck.
"You can play
brand new to all the other chicks out here
But I know what you
are, what you are, baby
Look at you
Gettin' more than
just to re-up
Baby, you
Got all the puppets with their
strings up
Fakin' like a good one, but I call 'em like I see 'em
I know what you are, what you are, baby
Womanizer
Woman-Womanizer…"
Abby could see Tony roll his eyes when he heard the lyrics and Ziva stifling a laugh. Abby forgot all about Gibbs during this song, she put on a show purely for Tony. She knew he wouldn't be offended, and would likely ask for an encore tomorrow at work. Abby shook her ass in his direction and then winked at him. He cheered loudly.
"This next song is an original that I wrote. It's called 'Poker face'. I hope you like it."
"Muh muh muh mah…" The track started in the background.
"I wanna hold
'em like they do in Texas plays
Fold 'em let 'em hit me
raise it baby stay with me, I love it
Luck and intuition play the
cards with spades to start
And after he's been hooked I'll
play the one that's on his heart…"
"Oh, oh,
oh
I'll get him hot, show him what I've got…"
Eric and Keith danced forward and ripped the corset off, leaving her with just her sparkly bra and leather pants.
---
"Oh, oh,
oh
I'll get him hot, show him what I've got…"
Gibbs watched as the two men ripped the corset off Abby and his jaw tensed. He wasn't sure if it was the sight of the two men, ripping her clothes off, or the sight of Abby in a bra- her toned stomach showing for the him and the world to see.
He wanted to glance around, to see if he spotted anyone suspicious looking, but he found he couldn't take his mind nor his eyes off of Abby, no, his Abby.
He watched as she danced across the stage, her hips gyrating against her those of her dancers… simulating… no, he didn't want to think about that either. He listened to the words of the song and knew there was no doubt about her being the writer.
"I wanna roll
with him a hard pair we will be
A little gambling is fun when
you're with me, I love it
Russian Roulette is not the same
without a gun
And baby when it's love if it's not rough it
isn't fun, fun…"
Gibbs was pretty sure he had heard her say something similar in conversation before. Not directed at him of course, but he had heard the words come from her mouth before. He could only imagine. In fact, he had imagined it more than once; waking up with her name on his lips. He was surprised he hadn't yet called out her name while he was with Hollis.
Gibbs sat silently through the dance break. Abby's dancers entertained while she rushed back for a wardrobe change.
Gibbs couldn't hold back a smile when she walked back out on stage wearing the same white dress she had worn awhile back on Halloween as Marilyn Monroe. There's more if you're interested…. Mr. President. He was more than interested. This time she wasn't wearing the blonde wig, but she looked beautiful. Her long black hair was a stark contrast to the white dress. She had brought a stool to the center of the stage, directly in front of where Gibbs was sitting and sat down.
---
Abby pulled the stool to front and center on the stage and had a seat "I'm going to slow it down a bit with the next two songs. I hope you enjoy. The first is a cover of Rihanna's song 'Rehab'"
"Baby, baby,
when we first met
I never felt something so strong
You were
like my lover and my best friend
All wrapped in to one, with a
ribbon on it
And all of a
sudden, when you left
I didn't know how to follow, it's like a
shot
That spun me around and now my heart left
I feel so empty
and hollow…"
The song described perfectly how Abby had felt when Gibbs had left for Mexico after being in a coma. She had been shocked and heart broken when he said he was leaving. She remembered opening her mouth to beg him to stay, to stay for her, but he had silenced her with the touch of his finger on her lips and his lips on her cheek.
Abby finished the song and moved on to her song Halo.
"I can make love feel just like heaven
I can be a little devil in bed and…"
Abby winked at the crowd.
"Even clean and cook your breakfast
But I'm not perfect, I
I can take off when you need your time
I can cheerlead for you from the sideline
Whisper in your ear so divine
But I'm not perfect, I
Hope you can forgive me, baby
For all of the mistakes I've made
Be patient with me, baby
I'm just tryin' to make my way…"
Abby had a hard time not looking at Gibbs during the song, and by the look she saw on his face, she knew that he had figured out that they had been, at least somewhat directed at him. He would be dumb not to figure it out. She finally looked away when she saw Hollis place her hand over his that was resting on the table.
---
"I can make
love feel just like heaven
I can be a little devil in bed and…"
She winked and Gibbs could only imagine.
He listened closely to the words of the song and between the lyrics and the subtle looks from Abby on stage, he know the song was directed to him.
"That I'm
sorry I couldn't wear your
Halo, halo, halo, halo
Sorry I
couldn't be your
Angel, angel, angel, angel…"
Oh God, he hadn't put some sort of pressure on her to be perfect, had he? Gibbs wondered. He knew he joked about her being perfect in the lab, and being disappointed when he had to wait for results, but he thought she knew it was all part of his general hard-ass behavior. He knew she worked as fast and as hard as she could. But what about the 'love… heaven… devil… bed...'
He couldn't take his eyes away from her. He could feel Hollis' eyes on him, yet he couldn't look at her. When she placed a hand over his, he hesitated for a moment before sliding his hand away and grabbed his water for a drink.
---
Hollis had been uncomfortable with the idea of Abby on stage performing from the moment she had been filled in on the details. It's not that she was worried for Abby's safety, there were more than enough agents around, she was more worried about the effect it would have on Jethro. It's not that she would wish harm on Abby, but she easily sensed Abby's feelings for Jethro, and she knew he had a soft spot in his heart for Abby. It was the fact that Abby would be trying to mimic the shows of the two dead singers. The show would be full of sexual undertones and suggestive dance moves.
The first song wasn't bad, she saw Abby make eye contact with him once, but she was more focused on becoming comfortable on stage. The second song had even put a smile on Hollis' face, it had been directed at Tony and from what she knew, 'Womanizer' was the perfect theme song for him. She glanced over to where Tony was sitting and he was soaking up the attention from Abby who was scantily clad.
The third song had become more personal, and when Abby had announced she had written it herself, Hollis paid special attention to the lyrics. During the song 'Halo' she noticed that Abby had a hard time looking away from him.
Hollis reached out and put her hand over Jethro's hand that rested on the table. She wasn't sure if she was trying to remind Abby who he was leaving with that evening or if she was reassuring herself. She was disappointed when he slipped his hand away from her.
---
During her wardrobe change, before her second to last song she told her dancers to up the sex appeal a notch. Eric nodded with a smile. "He's so ready to kill me. When I die, tell my boyfriend I love him."
"Oh Eric, you'll live. I promise I'll tell Gibbs that you're gay after tonight. You won't have to fear for your life anymore."
"Thanks." Eric handed Abby her microphone and rushed her back towards the stage.
Abby returned to the stage in a pair of tight jeans, with a casual white and blue striped shirt that hung loose, exposing a shoulder. It fell to just above her bellybutton, and when she danced it gave everyone a nice view of her midriff.
She started the song crouched down, her knees together. As she stood up, singing, she ran the fingers of her right hand from the outside of her right knee, up along her thigh, until her hand was resting on her hip, while her left hand held the microphone.
"Boys call you
sexy
And you don't care what they say
See every time you turn
around
They screaming your name…"
Eric danced up behind her and placed his hand on her stomach and pulled her back against him. She rolled her back against him as she continued the song.
"Now I've got
a confession
When I was young I wanted attention
And I promised
myself that I'd do anything
Anything at all for them to notice
me…"
Keith danced up to her, and his fingers trailed over the spider web tattoo on her neck that they had decided against covering up.
---
Gibbs couldn't help the anger that flashed in his eyes at the way she was dancing with her dancers. The sight of fingers caressing her tattoo and hand grabbing her hips nearly pushed him to stand and walk away. As the song continued the dance moves teetered on the edge of vulgar, much to the delight of a majority of the audience but to the dismay of Gibbs.
Hollis tried to reach for his hand again, but he moved it to his face and his thumb and forefinger ran over his eyebrows in attempt to sooth the stress.
He was glad when the song finished and she left the stage for one last change of outfit. When she walked back out on stage to introduce her final song, his breath was taken away by the dress she wore. It was an emerald green dress made of satin that hung to just above her knees. The back hung low, exposing the cross tattoo that was etched into the fair skin of her back.
He didn't pay attention to what she said about her last song, he was too busy paying attention to her exposed skin that seemed to sparkle under the stage lights. He was startled as she started the song; her voice full of power.
"You won't
have me,
but that's ok
I'll hold out for you
One day
you'll stay…
Your breath on my neck
In the morning
Your hand on my back
At the end of the day
Your fingers on my thigh
At the end of a dream
This game we play
The dance I dance
I can't tell where it stops
And where my dreams begin…"
---
When Abby finished the song she thanked everyone for listening, thanked her dancers and walked off stage into Brittany's waiting embrace. "My God, Abby, you were fantastic! I've kept an eye on that agent Gibbs for you, he was well pleased with your show."
"Oh wow, that was super intense. I can't believe I did that. Anyway, I need to get out to the club play bait for a killer. After all that, we better catch that bastard."
Britney nodded, and Abby moved out to the club. Abby walked out to where people were mingling. It was overwhelming at first as people she didn't know pushed up to congratulate her on a show well done. Looking around she saw familiar faces everywhere she looked, the agents she recognized were dressed casually, pretending to enjoy a night out. She settled into her role as Jamie Marks and took the compliments as they came, chatting with people, and answering questions about her music. She noticed a man in his late thirties, dressed professionally, and seemed to be alone. Something didn't seem right about him.
She saw Gibbs approaching, and she smiled. Gibbs stuck out his hand as if to introduce himself. Before he was able to say anything she held his hand in hers and moved her fingers against his palm while muttering something about hoping he enjoyed the show. She could see that he was having a hard time feeling the letters she spelled out so she simplified her message 'He's here. My gut.'
Gibbs nodded and Abby moved on to talk to someone else. From the corner of her eye she watched Gibbs and Mann move over to have a seat at the bar and survey the place.
Abby mingled with other patrons of the club, after ordering a soda from the bar. As the rush of people who wanted to speak to her slowed down, she noticed the same man had edged a bit closer. She moved towards him and with a friendly smile asked, "Did you enjoy the show?"
He gave her a warm smile and nodded "I did. I enjoyed it a lot, in fact."
"I'm glad"
"I'm Brent"
"Jamie"
Abby found him easy to talk to, he was fairly charming, but something was off. He was almost too charming. They spoke of various aspects of the music business, and Abby pretended that she was desperately in search of a record deal with a label that would be open to her writing her own music. He nodded and said he understood that there were a lot of labels in the business that wanted full control over the artist.
Slowly he opened up a bit that he worked as a talent scout for a label and would be interested in bringing her demo into his office. Abby plastered a smile on her face and said she would be very interested in speaking to him more. She watched as he pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, and he asked if she would mind stepping out back so they could chat outside where it was quieter and he could have a smoke. A red light went off in her brain.
"Sure, let me just go set my glass down at the bar"
He nodded and she stepped past him and approached the bar where Gibbs and Hollis sat. Abby leaned in towards the bar and set the glass down. She was incredibly close to Gibbs and his smell was intoxicating, but she cleared her head enough to whisper, "I think it's him, we're headed out back".
Abby turned back to Brent. She shivered slightly, out of fear, when he put his hand on her lower back and directed her towards the back door.
---
After Abby had signed that she was sure the killer was in the room, he felt more on edge. His first instinct was to take Abby far, far away from there.
He and Hollis had moved to the bar, and he sat so he could keep an eye on Abby. Hollis leaned forward and whispered "This has got to stop."
"What?"
"Everything with Abby. I know you care about her, I understand that, but enough is enough already."
"What are you talking about?"
"Jethro, half those songs were directed at you. She's in love with you, it's obvious. Anyone with half a brain knows that. You've got to tell her that she needs to move on."
"I'm not having this conversation with you here. Drop it. Now."
"Jethro! You can't ignore this the way you ignore everything else that bothers you. It won't just go away." She knew she was overstepping the boundaries on the topic of his precious Abby, but she didn't care. After the way that Abby had danced around on stage in next to nothing, singing directly at the man beside her had pissed her off and she couldn't keep quiet any long.
"We are here for work. We are not discussing anything other than the fact that some psychopathic killer is in this room, likely praying on my Ab, my best friend."
Hollis knew it was an uphill battle she wasn't likely to win.
Gibbs eyes never left Abby who had started talking to a man in a suit. She had seemed relaxed talking to him, but when she brought her glass to the bar and whispered that she thought it was him, and they were headed outside, he could feel the tension radiating off her body.
He moved his eyes to look at Hollis and gave a slight nod. He then made eye contact with Tony who brought his wrist towards his mouth and gave a heads up to the agents located outside.
Gibbs watched her walk away and it took all his strength not to tackle the guy as he placed his hand over the cross on Abby's back.
---
Abby stepped outside when Brent opened the door for her. The evening air was chilly but she tried not to shiver.
"So Miss Marks, you're interested in becoming famous?"
Abby forced a smile, "I'm interested in singing."
"Well, I might be able to…"
Abby heard footsteps, Brent paused, and they both looked into the dark ally. Abby started to let out a sigh of relief as she recognized Fornell. Brent would've likely ignored him, however, as he stepped forward his badge flashed in the dim lights on the building, and before Abby knew what was happening, Brent had grabbed her wrist and pulled her against his chest. With one hand at her waist, the other held a knife to her neck.
"No one move."
Two more agents appeared out of the darkness and Brent backed up to the wall, using Abby as a shield. Gibbs, Hollis, Tony and Ziva burst through the door that Abby and Brent had walked through moments before, guns drawn.