NCIS. Abby/Kate. 033. Too Much. *
Title: Safe Words
Fandom: NCIS
Characters: Abigail Sciuto, Caitlin Todd, Jethro Gibbs, Tony DiNozzo, Timothy McGee, Donald "Ducky" Mallard, Jimmy Palmer
Prompt: 033 Too Much
Word Count: 5,765
Rating: NC17
Warnings: Some D/s, bondage stuff included within.
Summary: The investigation into a bondage-related death leads NCIS to a dominatrix.
Author's Notes: Any and all definitions come direct from Wikipedia.
Little Damn Table
Seaman Russell Donaldson's body was kneeling on the bed, knees spread and hands hanging limp between them. His fingers were curled into weak fists, the bruises ringing the wrists indicating he'd been recently and frequently restrained. He was being held up by a leather strap secured around his neck, digging into the skin, and tautly stretched between his neck and the headboard. He'd obviously died of asphyxiation, but the rest of the scene left little doubt as to what he'd been doing pre-death.
Kate was in the living room, gathering what information she could from the debris in there. Gibbs and Tony had taken the bedroom due to the sensitive nature of the corpse. Ducky stepped into the room and blinked. "Well. I wish I could say this was new..."
"Seen this before?" Tony asked, reluctantly bringing the camera up to take another picture.
"Oh, there've been a few," he said, setting down his gear. "It's still... shocking. I trust Caitlin..."
"Dodged the bullet," Gibbs said.
Ducky smirked. "Well, at least one of us was spared..."
Jimmy Palmer stepped into the bedroom and said, "Got the gurney, Dr. Mallard, as..." He froze when he saw the nude man on the bed, eyes immediately straying to the man's oversized erection.
"Shake your head, Mr. Palmer," Ducky snapped. "Your eyes seem to be stuck."
Jimmy blinked and said, "Um... s-sorry, Dr. Mallard."
He rolled the gurney over to the bed and Gibbs said, "You can take him down, Duck. We have all the photos we'll need."
"Or want," Tony said. He put a hand on Palmer's shoulder and said, "Just be sure you cover him up well before you wheel him out. This is a nice neighborhood."
They walked out to the living room, where they retrieved Kate. She was seated at the roll top desk, thumbing through Seaman Donaldson's address book. "He pays half of his bills on the tenth of each month, the other half on the twenty-fifth. Has each bill itemized and a total at the bottom of the page. He's so organized, it's scary."
"There's a reason people say 'military precision,'" Tony said.
"Anything else interesting?"
"Not so much something interesting as it is the lack of something..." She held the address book up. "On the fifteenth of every month, he pays a hundred and fifty dollars to... something. Everything else - the gas bill, the cable bill, water, everything - he itemizes. But on the fifteenth, it's just a simple hundred and fifty dollar deduction."
"Nice job," Gibbs said.
The front door opened and McGee entered, breathing heavily. Tony turned around and noted the sweat on the younger man's brow. "You get winded doing a door-to-door, probie?"
McGee shook his head and hooked his finger over his shoulder. "Dog. Mean, mean dog. Got out of... his fence. Chased me... about a block."
Tony patted his hip. "They issue us guns for a reason, McGee."
Gibbs said, "You shoot a dog, I shoot you."
"What rule is that?" Tony asked.
"The golden one." Gibbs tossed the address book back to Kate and said, "Find anything from the neighbors?"
McGee held up his notepad. "Neighbor across the street said Seaman Donaldson had a visitor from about 10:15 this morning until one this afternoon. Tall, brunette woman wearing a black trenchcoat."
"Ooh, very European," Tony said.
"Anything besides tall and her hair color?"
McGee nodded. "Got a license plate."
"Get out of here," Kate said.
McGee shrugged and Gibbs said, "Never underestimate the boredom of retired old ladies."
"How do you know it was an old woman?" Kate said.
"McGee?" Gibbs said.
McGee looked apologetically at Kate and said, "It... was a she. A 92-year-old she."
"With a white cat."
Kate rolled her eyes and said, "Oh, come on, Gibbs. Even if she does have a cat, why does it have to be white?"
Gibbs shrugged. "Doesn't have to be. But unless McGee was necking with the neighbor while he took her statement..."
McGee's eyes widened and everyone in the room turned to him. He looked down and saw long white hairs clinging to his suit jacket. He began brushing the hair off and said, "Oh. She, uh, she warned me I was sitting in... Sir Elton's favorite chair..."
"Probably why the dog attacked you," Tony said.
"Nah," Gibbs shook his head, moving towards the door. "Dogs, they can smell fear." Tony and Kate snickered, following Gibbs from the house.
---
They brought everything from the house back to the lab in large plastic crates, Gibbs leading the CSU techs out of the elevator. Abby greeted them at the entrance, drumming her fingers together as she watched the evidence being loaded in. "Ooh, what goodies have you brought me today?"
Gibbs put his box down and lifted the leather strap that had been holding Donaldson upright. Abby's eyes widened. "Kinky!"
"That's the most vanilla thing in these boxes, Abby."
"Gibbs!" Abby gasped. "You know what vanilla means?"
He shrugged. "You get called something enough times..."
He headed from the room and Abby said, "You're not vanilla, Gibbs. Maybe... Rocky Road."
---
Kate reported, "His CO confirmed Donaldson regularly showed up for duty with bruises, cuts and scrapes. He said he was just clumsy; no one had any reason to believe otherwise."
"Maybe the guy just gets off on violence," Tony said, leaning back in his chair. "Still... I don't get it. Choking... It just doesn't seem like it would be worth risking your life over."
"Can we please not talk about methods of..."
"Of what?" Tony asked.
She held up a hand, shaking her head. "Never mind."
Tony, sensing a sensitive issue, stood up. "Come on, Kate. You can say it. Master... Masterb..."
"What's that, DiNozzo?"
"Nothing, Master. Boss. Gibbs. Boss."
As Gibbs took a seat, McGee approached his desk and said, "Boss, we just got a hit on the license plate the neighbor provided us. It's registered to a Lynette Spiner in Fairfax."
Gibbs took the print-out from McGee and held it out towards Tony. "DiNozzo, Kate."
Tony snatched the paper and said, "You got it, boss."
---
The license plate belonged to a pristine red '69 Camaro, a sleek convertible that was parked in front of the address on the registration. The car had Tony melting the second he stepped out of the truck. "Oh! Oooh, no, this woman couldn't have had anything to do with Donaldson's death."
"Why?" Kate glanced over and tried to determine his reasoning.
"Because I'm in love with her car."
They headed up the front walk and Kate sighed, "You can't judge a person by their vehicle."
"Hitler designed the Volkswagen. Ugly little car from an ugly little man. Tell me that's a coincidence."
Kate rolled her eyes, ringing the doorbell and stepping back. "You can't judge anyone by something as arbitrary as the kind of car they drive. This woman could be a school teacher with a fondness for sports cars. Or she could..."
The front door opened and Lynette Spiner stepped out. She was wearing red-and-black lycra workout clothes and a smile. Her red hair was in a loose ponytail, loose strands dangling down around her face and on her shoulders. "May I help you?"
"NCIS," Tony said, lifting his badge. "Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, you can call me Tony. This is my... work partner... Special Agent Caitlin Todd."
"May we come in for a moment?" Kate asked.
"Do you have a warrant?"
Kate glanced at Tony. "We just want to talk, ma'am. We're here investigating a death and we believe you were the last person seen with the deceased."
Lynette frowned and said, "I don't see how that's possible. The only person I've seen... today is..." She took a step back. "Oh, my God. Did something happen to Russell?"
"We're afraid he's dead, Ms. Spiner. Could we talk about this inside?"
She nodded and stepped back, allowing them to enter. They got to the end of the entry hall before she said, "Shit. Wait..."
Before she could stop them, they stepped through the red curtain and into what they assumed to be the living room. Instead of a nice love seat and an entertainment center, they were cuffs hanging from the ceiling next to the fireplace and a person-sized cage in the corner.
As surprised as Kate and Tony were, the man strapped down to the table had them beat. When Lynette stepped into the room behind them, he said, "W-will I have to pay more for them? Because I will..."
Kate had to restrain herself from running out of the house.
---
Gibbs hesitated at the door of the morgue before finally stepping through. Russell Donaldson was on the table, his midsection covered by a maneuverable instrument table. "Ducky."
"Jethro," Ducky said, looking up from Donaldson's torso. He waved Gibbs over and gestured at the corpse's upper chest. "Take a look at this. Several healed scars, long cuts. There are more, here on his arms."
"Why didn't we see this at his house?"
"Oh, you can see the cuts are remarkably shallow," Ducky said. "They'd be all but invisible except under the perfect lighting conditions. Also interesting are the marks here on his wrists." He held up Donaldson's right arm and indicated the bruise. "Typical in restraint situations. But the peculiar thing is these are nearly healed. This man has been restrained on a regular basis."
"How about the asphyxiation? Any signs that was a regular procedure?"
"It appears so." He moved up, next to Russell's shoulder, and said, "There appears to be a wide swath of bruising from here to here in varying degrees of repair. Much more than could be caused from the one instance."
Gibbs nodded. "Any defensive wounds?"
"None," Ducky said. "If I could roll the young man onto his stomach, I would show you the wounds I discovered on his buttocks."
"It's a shame you can't turn him over, then," Gibbs said.
"Mm-hmm" Ducky chuckled. "They appear to have been caused by... well, a spanking." He sighed and said, "It's looking more and more as if this fellow didn't die by his own hand."
"Yeah," Gibbs sighed. "All right. Keep me informed, Ducky." He headed for the elevator, pausing to answer his phone. "Gibbs."
Tony said, "We're bringing Lynette Spiner in for questioning."
"What'd you find?"
"A naked man strapped down to her coffee table," Tony said. "Or... well, where her coffee table would've been."
Gibbs paused. "You stopped her from killing someone else?"
There was a pause and then Tony said, "Not, ah... not exactly. It seems this victim was... paying for it. He got bent out of shape when we tried to take Ms. Spiner into custody and wouldn't leave us alone until she promised him a refund."
Gibbs groaned. "Okay. Take her to interrogation when you get here. I'll meet you there."
He hung up and headed to Abby to check out what she had for him. He'd delivered the strap Donaldson had been hanging by, along with the ropes they'd found on the floor next to the bed. When he arrived, Abby was standing in front of the doors. "Oh. Hi, Gibbs!"
"Abs. I assume..."
She held up a sheet of paper and led him back into the lab. "Epithelials on the rope. Give me someone to compare them to..."
"Tony and Kate are bringing in a suspect."
Abby nodded. "Right on, right on!"
"Find anything interesting from the rest of the... stuff from the bedroom?"
She picked up a print-out. "The... extra-curricular devices contained samples from three different donors; one male and two female." She caught Gibbs' look and said, "Hey, not everyone's as up tight as you."
Gibbs shook his head and motioned for her to get on with it. She cleared her throat. "Okay, well. The male is, obviously, Seaman Donaldson. And please don't let Tony in here with all these sex toys and let him talk about Seaman Donaldson."
Gibbs smirked and said, "The other two... donors... you'll be able to match them to a suspect?"
"Definitely. If you scrape it, I will match."
He patted her on the head and left the lab. Abby turned to the sea of toys they'd brought her from Seaman Donaldson's house and shook her head. "My, oh my, to be a fly on the wall of that bedroom..."
---
Lynette Spiner was wearing a light green jacket over her cat suit, which Tony had originally believed to be exercise attire. While she waited, she'd rearranged her hair in the interview room's mirror and smiled at Gibbs as he stepped into the room. "Good afternoon," she said.
"Miss Spiner. I'm Special Agent Jethro Gibbs."
"You're Special Agent Todd and DiNozzo's superior?"
"Yes, ma'am."
She nodded. "I'd like you to apologize to them for me. I was so shocked by the news of Russell's death I didn't even remember poor Allan was still in the living room until it was too late."
"I'll make sure they get the apology," Gibbs said. "Speaking of Seaman Donaldson..."
She smiled. "I've known Russell for about three years. He's been a client the entire time, nothing more. I was his dominatrix. I would come over every month, usually on the fifteenth or thereabout. I would generally service him in the bedroom."
"What did this... service... entail?"
She smiled. "Agent Gibbs..."
He held his hands out. "Believe me, ma'am, if I could skip it..."
"I would tie him up. I would spank him, force him to strip while I insulted his body. I anally penetrated him with a harness. I electrocuted him with very low-voltage."
Gibbs looked down at his file and said, "That's quite a list, Ms. Spiner."
"I'm only halfway through."
Gibbs lifted his eyes to her. "Did you ever choke him?"
"Yes."
"Did you use your hands or...?"
"It depends. I've used my hand. It's safer, but sometimes the client prefers a strap."
"A leather strap."
"Yes."
He slid a photograph across the table. "This was the strap found around Seaman Donaldson's throat."
Lynette looked down, wincing slightly at the sight of her dead client. She pressed her lips together and pushed the photo away with the tips of her fingers. "That's the kind I use," she said softly. "I leave it at his home sometimes so he can... experiment."
"Experiment?"
"He was interested in auto-erotic asphyxiation. I assume that's how he died."
"Good guess," Gibbs said.
Lynette closed her eyes. "Agent Gibbs, please. There's no reason for me to kill my client."
"Not on purpose," Gibbs said. "Accidents do happen."
Lynette closed her eyes. "Call the Fairfax Police Department. Ask for homicide detective Aaron Lincoln and ask him about August 4, 1999."
"What will he tell me?"
"He'll tell you about the night I killed a man."
---
Kate glanced across her desk at Tony. He was typing up a report - or surfing the net, it was kind of hard to tell - and ignoring her for the most part. McGee was at his desk, also typing furiously. Kate glanced over her shoulder before switching to the net. She typed in a search request, fingers poised over the alt and tab buttons to quickly cover up what she was looking at.
She leaned forward, clicking on a BDSM website. The site was, thankfully, low on graphics and high on text. The words were red on a black background, making Kate think of Abby. She smiled and scrolled down and read some of the definitions the site gave in its glossary.
Dom, sub, bondage rigger, cat o' nine tails... breathplay? She clicked on that, knowing it couldn't mean what she thought it did. The definition said it was the practice of restricting or controlling the flow of air and thus oxygen into the body of one or more participants. Kate shuddered, knowing this was how Donaldson had died but still unable to bring herself to believe people actually got off on it.
Gibbs came around the corner of her desk and she quickly switched back over to her report, scooting forward in an effort to hide her screen. "DiNozzo, get Fairfax PD on the phone. Ask for Detective Aaron Lincoln and ask him for anything he has on Lynette Spiner, specifically 1999."
"Got it, boss."
"Kate," he said, motioning for her to follow him. She stepped into the elevator behind him and he quietly said, "I'm going to need you to read as much as you can on this... culture..."
"I've already started," she said, thankful for the excuse to have been surfing. "Apparently, it's very difficult to hurt or kill someone during BDSM sex."
"Seaman Donaldson had a leather strap tied around his neck so tight that it left a groove in his flesh. You're telling me this is safe?"
She shook her head. "No. Having the strap that tight could not have been intentional."
The elevator doors opened and they stepped into Abby's lab. She turned and held up both hands. "Oh, wait, Gibbs, let me put away my toys!"
"Funny," Gibbs said. "What've you got for me?"
"Seaman Donaldson was engaging in self-bondage. The only fingerprints on the leather strap or headboard belonged to him. He set the rig up himself."
Gibbs focused on the ropes rather than any of the rubber paraphernalia on the table. "Why?"
"Don't make me say the word 'masturbate' to you, Gibbs."
"Abby..."
"It intensifies the sensations. The rush of endorphins the brain releases, in addition to the sexual release, is like a... like a drug to some people."
Kate couldn't stop staring at the dog collar around Abby's neck.
"So this guy, people like this guy, strap themselves up and then... what?"
"Well, in most bondage situations, he'd have a dom nearby to release him. In self-bondage, he most likely had some kind of failsafe release. Some people use ice, in a sock. They handcuff themselves, put the keys in a sock. They put the ice on a high shelf where it will fall within reach and then balance it with ice. The ice melts, the sock falls and the restrainee gets his keys out."
"Sort of like a pornographic Rube Goldberg device," Gibbs said.
Kate flashed back to the bondage website. 'In a BDSM context, a collar is a device of any material placed around the neck of the submissive partner.' She couldn't stop staring at the studded leather dog collar Abby wore around her neck, the collar she'd worn as long as Kate had known her. Abby turned to look at her and Kate quickly averted her eyes.
"Anything on the other two samples?"
"Both are from women. One is definitely Lynette Spiner."
"You've already run her DNA?"
Abby nodded. "The other donor is Jane Doe for the time being."
McGee hurried into the room, glancing at the table before making a point of looking hard at Gibbs. "Uh, boss, just got off the phone with one of Seaman Donaldson's neighbors. According to him, Donaldson had a steady girlfriend."
"Donaldson referred to Lynette Spiner as his girlfriend?" Kate said, tearing her gaze from Abby's collar.
"Not unless she changed her hair color, height, vehicle and... um... name."
Gibbs motioned for McGee to give up what else he had. "Rebecca Colby. 330 Oak in Fairfax."
"Let's go," Gibbs said. "Kate, you stay here with Abby."
Once they were alone, Abby turned to Kate and lifted an eyebrow. "So, why couldn't you keep your eyes off me that entire time?"
Kate shrugged nervously. "I was just... paying attention to what you were saying."
"Uh-huh," Abby said. "I thought maybe you were looking at this." She brought her hand up and touched the studs of her collar. Kate swallowed sharply, forced to look at it.
Kate's mind recalled another definition from the website. 'A person wearing a collar may wish by doing so to make it known that she or he is submissive.' "I... D-does it mean what..." She cleared her throat and stepped closer to Abby. "You've never expressed... anything like this to me. I mean, are you... c-collared?"
"In the sense that I'm wearing a collar? Yes. Am I into torture and and whipping? No. I mean, in moderation, I'd spank you if you wanted..."
Kate shuddered.
"But I'm not a submissive. Come on, Kate, you should've realized that." She reached up and touched Kate's cheek.
"I was just confused. This case, this whole... thing... I didn't realize this stuff existed, let alone there were communities and online websites and..."
"Wearing a collar is part of the goth subculture," Abby said. "Just wearing a collar doesn't imply anything."
Kate smiled and looked down at the table. "So. Need any help with this stuff?"
"Yes, please!"
---
On the way to Colby's house, DiNozzo called Gibbs and filled him in on what Detective Lincoln had said. "Apparently, Lynette Spiner accidentally killed a client during a session. He struggled against the restraints, according to the ME's report, and strangled himself on a cord."
"Who called it in?"
"Spiner herself. Told the cops everything, took full responsibility for her part in it. The ME eventually ruled it an accidental death."
"She didn't face charges?"
"According to her lawyer, the victim regularly engaged in rough sex, bondage and the like. He argued that the guy might have died anyway, regardless of Spiner's involvement. The district attorney agreed and no charges were filed."
"Did Lincoln have anything else on her?"
"Nothing probative. A couple complaints about her, usually from neighbors of clients who thought she was a prostitute."
"Good work, DiNozzo," Gibbs said, closing the cell phone.
McGee motioned at the phone and said, "Pretty handy device, wouldn't you say?" Gibbs glanced at him, then back at the road. "Well... I-I mean, even just a few years ago, Tony wouldn't have been able to contact you with that information. A-as a law enforcement tool, even you would have to admit it's a highly valuable advance." His eyes widened. "I-I don't mean 'even you' to sound derogatory or insulting, just that you don't seem to have the best relationship in the world with..."
"McGee."
"Thank you," McGee said, grateful for the chance to shut up.
Gibbs smirked.
---
Rebecca Colby lived only a few blocks from Seaman Donaldson's house. Gibbs parked across the driveway, just a precaution to keep anyone from leaving the house, and led the way up the front walk. They rang the bell, Gibbs glancing up and down the street. Neatly trimmed lawns, short hedges and short white fences separating one property from another, Norman Rockwell's easel was probably hiding behind a tree down at the corner. "Wonder if Ms. Spiner has any clients in this neighborhood..." he muttered.
"Takes all kinds," McGee said.
"Money for smacking people around," Gibbs sighed. "Nice work if you can get it."
The front door opened and a young, blonde woman appeared. She looked at them both, wide green eyes searching for a clue as to who they were. "We're Christians."
Gibbs frowned. "Ma'am?"
"We don't want a subscription, we don't want..."
"We're federal agents," Gibbs said, holding up his badge and flipping the wallet to show his ID. "Special Agent Jethro Gibbs, this is Special Agent McGee. NCIS."
"NC..."
"Naval Criminal Investigative Services," McGee said.
Her eyes widened further, an act Gibbs wouldn't have thought possible. "Navy?" she gasped. "Is... oh, my God... Russell? He..." Her eyes rolled back in her head and she fell forward into McGee's arms.
McGee looked down at her, panicked, and then looked up at Gibbs. "Um... boss?"
---
They'd gotten the table mostly cleared off, getting fingerprints and samples from the toys. "This is the most disgusting thing..."
"It's just bodily fluid, Kate," Abby said. "All that's different is your perception of... you know... what kind it is and where it comes out."
Kate wrinkled her nose. "There are levels of bodily fluid. Blood is at the top, most tolerable. Semen, urine, feces..." She swallowed hard, fighting her gag reflex. "Even thinking about it..."
"Want some nose plugs? Vaseline to put under your nostrils?"
"I'm fine."
Abby smiled and lifted a leather harness out of the pile. "Hey, look at this..."
Kate walked over and Abby pointed to the crotch. She recoiled and said, "Abby, if this is..."
"No, seriously, look."
Kate leaned in and narrowed her eyes, hoping to see as little as possible. She saw it almost immediately; a blonde hair. "What color was..."
"Brown."
"And that..."
"Definitely blonde."
"Lynette Spiner is a redhead."
"I'm getting chills!" Abby said with a jump.
Kate said, "Grab that hair and I'll let Gibbs know what we found." She leaned in and kissed Abby's cheek. "Great work, Abs."
Abby beamed.
---
"Need anything else?" Gibbs asked, taking a seat across from Rebecca. She shook her head, sipping the water McGee had retrieved for her. She was alone in the house and they'd been forced to search her kitchen for glasses and dish towels. She came to as Gibbs was pressing the towel to her forehead, sitting up and apologizing for her fainting spell. "Can we ask you a few questions?"
"Yes, please, anything to help."
"We need to know if you were aware of a Lynette Spiner in Russell's life."
She sipped her water and looked at the coffee table. "Spiner... No."
Gibbs narrowed his eyes. "Are you positive? It's important."
"I'm sorry, Agent Gibbs. The name doesn't ring a bell."
Gibbs cell phone rang and he apologized, pulling the phone out. "Excuse me just a moment, ma'am. Gibbs. Yeah." He lifted his eyes and looked at Rebecca. She was wearing a paisley headband, holding her blonde hair out of her face. "Mm-hmm. All right. Thank you." He hung up and returned the phone to his pocket. "Sorry about that."
"Was it about Russell?"
"As a matter of fact, it was. Seems my people found something in the toys they took from his room."
"Toys?" Rebecca asked, glancing at McGee. He was still standing behind the couch, out of her line of sight.
Gibbs nodded. "Yeah. Seems there was a hair on it. Now, Russell had brown hair. Lynette Spiner was redhead... but the hair was found was blonde."
Rebecca's hands tightened around her water glass. Gibbs stood and said, "Now, Ms. Colby... don't go fainting again. It worked once, don't plan on it twice." She put the water glass down and hung her head, beginning to cry softly. Gibbs helped her stand, taking the handcuffs from his coat. "You were right, McGee. Pretty handy little tool."
---
Rebecca Colby started talking as soon as Gibbs stepped into the interrogation room. "I'm going to plead temporary insanity. It's not like I planned it; I loved Russell. You have to believe me. I loved him."
"Ms. Colby," Gibbs said, opening the file in front of him, "I have no doubt in my mind about how much you loved him. It's one of the more popular motives I've seen in my work."
She sat back, chewing her lip.
He sighed. "Why don't you tell me what happened?"
"I met Russell a few months back at the bar where I work. I knew he was Navy or Marine or something, at least. The haircut, he called me ma'am. And he was the designated driver. He volunteered. None of the regulars ever volunteer to be designated drivers. So I started talking to him. Before I knew it, he asked me out and I said yes."
"When did he tell you about his... predilections?"
"Two months ago. We'd had sex, but not... that. He told me he liked weird stuff and I was... turned off. To say the least. He said it wasn't important, he wouldn't force me to do anything I wasn't comfortable with. Then I go over to his house and I see..." She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth and chewed on it. "I see that... w-woman. And I go inside and he's... on the bed..."
"I was just... disgusted. In a blind rage. I... don't even remember getting on the bed or holding the cord. Until he stopped moving. Then I just... I ran. I got out of there."
"Donaldson never approached you to participate in his alternate life?"
"No. I would never do that... stuff... with anybody."
He slid the file across to her. "My lab found two DNA samples on several of the objects in Seaman Donaldson's room. One of them belongs to his dominatrix, Lynette Spiner. The other... well, we'll have to do the test, but my money is on you, Ms. Colby."
She looked at the file, a tear rolling down her cheek. "I would never do that stuff. I would never."
Gibbs sorted his papers and said, "I'll let you know what they find out."
He stood, making it all the way to the door before she said, "What would you do, Agent Gibbs? For someone you loved? Would you... degrade yourself if that's what they wanted?"
"I don't know," Gibbs admitted. "But I hope if I'm faced with the situation, I act wiser than you did." He turned and stepped out of the room.
---
"You heading home?" Tony asked, looking up as Kate pulled on her jacket.
"Yeah. Gibbs was going to handle Rebecca Colby's booking."
He nodded. "Abby was looking for you earlier."
"She say why?"
He shrugged.
"Thank you, Tony, you're so helpful." She headed for the elevators and said, "Good-night."
"Night-night."
She rode the elevator down to the lab, stepping out and looking for Abby. "Abby?"
"Kate!" Abby said, coming over from her desk. "I got something for you."
"Uh-oh," Kate smiled. "What is it?"
Abby held up a long strip of black and Kate leaned forward, trying to figure out what it was supposed to be. Her eyes widened and she said, "Is... i-is that a collar?"
Abby's smile faltered. "I'm sorry. I... y-you don't have to..."
"No," Kate said, lifting the bottom end of the collar and examining it. "No. It could be... interesting..."
"Can I put it on you?"
"Now?"
"In private."
Kate shivered and looked down at the collar again. She stepped closer to Abby and softly said, "Yes. Please."
Abby beamed.
---
Kate shed her jacket, placing it on the back of her armchair. She kept her back to the front hall, listening as Abby closed and locked the apartment door. When she heard Abby come into the living room, Kate turned and faced her. Abby still had the collar in her pocket and Kate couldn't help looking down, picturing it there, waiting. She licked her lips and slowly ran her hands down Abby's arms.
"We don't have to," Abby said. "If you want to just do it normally."
Kate leaned in and kissed her, stroking her face. "I want to. I'm just... building up my courage to do it."
"You can take all the time you want."
"Have you done it before?"
"Bondage? Or..."
Kate shrugged, looking down at her feet. "How far have you gone?"
"I've tied men up. I've been spanked. Threesomes."
"Threesomes?" Kate said.
"Down, girl," Abby smiled. "One thing at a time." She kissed Kate's cheek and said, "We need a safe word."
Kate's eyes widened slightly. "Why? What are you going to do?"
"Nothing you don't want. That's why we have the safe word. Just a precaution."
"Oh. Stop?"
"No. Too easy to say when you don't mean it."
Kate said, "If I say stop, I'll mean it."
Abby smiled. "Okay. For you, the safe word can be stop. So boring." She sighed and said, "If you can't say it, hold up your hand like this." She lifted her right hand, bending the pinky down so three fingers were pointed at the ceiling. "And cut it down." She swiped like a baseball umpire declaring a player safe.
"Okay," Kate said. She leaned in and kissed Abby, moving her hands up to untuck her shirt. She found Abby's breasts under the material, squeezing the cups of her bra and feeling her warmth. Abby moaned and broke the kiss, turning Kate around.
Kate was pressed against the chair by Abby's hips, leaning forward and gripping the arms of the chair with both hands. Abby withdrew the collar and said, "Last chance."
"Do it."
Abby looped the collar around Kate's head, getting it to her neck before she pulled it tight. Kate coughed slightly, her head bowed, as the cord cut against her windpipe. "It's okay," she said. "I'm okay."
Abby bit her bottom lip and reached down, unbuttoning Kate's pants as she held the collar in place with her other hand. Kate lifted herself off the chair to assist Abby, feeling her lover's hand squirm into her underwear a moment later.
"Oh, yes," she breathed. Abby's fingers tightened and the collar grew tighter. Kate closed her eyes, her jaw dropping as she felt herself cut off. Abby's fingers were in her, stroking her. She would normally be panting by now, begging Abby to go faster or slower, but she couldn't say anything. Her head was swimming. She curled her pinky against the palm of her hand, just in case, and closed her eyes.
The entire room seemed to have shifted on its axis. Abby's fingers felt like fire inside of her and Kate gasped roughly against the collar. Stars under her eyelids begged her to say the safe word, but she rocked her hips against the fingers inside of her. When Abby touched her clit, the stars became fireworks and Kate came, her entire lower body thrusting against the chair.
She immediately brought her hand up, swiping the three fingers through the air. The pressure was immediately released and she inhaled deeply, sagging against the chair. Her entire lower body felt wet, Abby's hand drawing a trail out of her pants and over her stomach. After a moment, she realized Abby was pressing against her from behind, head on her shoulder. "Was it too hard?"
"Yes," Kate said.
"You could've stopped..."
"I didn't say I didn't like it," Kate said, looking down at the collar. It had dropped from Abby's hand and was now coiled on the seat of the easy chair. She caught her breath and slipped out from beneath Abby, stepping to one side. "Bedroom?"
"Bedroom," Abby agreed, taking Kate's hand. "What are we going to do this time?"
"Just sex," Kate said.
Abby ducked her head, arching her eyebrow. "That, my dear, I think I can provide." She followed Kate into the bedroom, closing the door behind her and leaving the collar behind on the armchair.
Fandom: NCIS
Characters: Abigail Sciuto, Caitlin Todd, Jethro Gibbs, Tony DiNozzo, Timothy McGee, Donald "Ducky" Mallard, Jimmy Palmer
Prompt: 033 Too Much
Word Count: 5,765
Rating: NC17
Warnings: Some D/s, bondage stuff included within.
Summary: The investigation into a bondage-related death leads NCIS to a dominatrix.
Author's Notes: Any and all definitions come direct from Wikipedia.
Little Damn Table
Seaman Russell Donaldson's body was kneeling on the bed, knees spread and hands hanging limp between them. His fingers were curled into weak fists, the bruises ringing the wrists indicating he'd been recently and frequently restrained. He was being held up by a leather strap secured around his neck, digging into the skin, and tautly stretched between his neck and the headboard. He'd obviously died of asphyxiation, but the rest of the scene left little doubt as to what he'd been doing pre-death.
Kate was in the living room, gathering what information she could from the debris in there. Gibbs and Tony had taken the bedroom due to the sensitive nature of the corpse. Ducky stepped into the room and blinked. "Well. I wish I could say this was new..."
"Seen this before?" Tony asked, reluctantly bringing the camera up to take another picture.
"Oh, there've been a few," he said, setting down his gear. "It's still... shocking. I trust Caitlin..."
"Dodged the bullet," Gibbs said.
Ducky smirked. "Well, at least one of us was spared..."
Jimmy Palmer stepped into the bedroom and said, "Got the gurney, Dr. Mallard, as..." He froze when he saw the nude man on the bed, eyes immediately straying to the man's oversized erection.
"Shake your head, Mr. Palmer," Ducky snapped. "Your eyes seem to be stuck."
Jimmy blinked and said, "Um... s-sorry, Dr. Mallard."
He rolled the gurney over to the bed and Gibbs said, "You can take him down, Duck. We have all the photos we'll need."
"Or want," Tony said. He put a hand on Palmer's shoulder and said, "Just be sure you cover him up well before you wheel him out. This is a nice neighborhood."
They walked out to the living room, where they retrieved Kate. She was seated at the roll top desk, thumbing through Seaman Donaldson's address book. "He pays half of his bills on the tenth of each month, the other half on the twenty-fifth. Has each bill itemized and a total at the bottom of the page. He's so organized, it's scary."
"There's a reason people say 'military precision,'" Tony said.
"Anything else interesting?"
"Not so much something interesting as it is the lack of something..." She held the address book up. "On the fifteenth of every month, he pays a hundred and fifty dollars to... something. Everything else - the gas bill, the cable bill, water, everything - he itemizes. But on the fifteenth, it's just a simple hundred and fifty dollar deduction."
"Nice job," Gibbs said.
The front door opened and McGee entered, breathing heavily. Tony turned around and noted the sweat on the younger man's brow. "You get winded doing a door-to-door, probie?"
McGee shook his head and hooked his finger over his shoulder. "Dog. Mean, mean dog. Got out of... his fence. Chased me... about a block."
Tony patted his hip. "They issue us guns for a reason, McGee."
Gibbs said, "You shoot a dog, I shoot you."
"What rule is that?" Tony asked.
"The golden one." Gibbs tossed the address book back to Kate and said, "Find anything from the neighbors?"
McGee held up his notepad. "Neighbor across the street said Seaman Donaldson had a visitor from about 10:15 this morning until one this afternoon. Tall, brunette woman wearing a black trenchcoat."
"Ooh, very European," Tony said.
"Anything besides tall and her hair color?"
McGee nodded. "Got a license plate."
"Get out of here," Kate said.
McGee shrugged and Gibbs said, "Never underestimate the boredom of retired old ladies."
"How do you know it was an old woman?" Kate said.
"McGee?" Gibbs said.
McGee looked apologetically at Kate and said, "It... was a she. A 92-year-old she."
"With a white cat."
Kate rolled her eyes and said, "Oh, come on, Gibbs. Even if she does have a cat, why does it have to be white?"
Gibbs shrugged. "Doesn't have to be. But unless McGee was necking with the neighbor while he took her statement..."
McGee's eyes widened and everyone in the room turned to him. He looked down and saw long white hairs clinging to his suit jacket. He began brushing the hair off and said, "Oh. She, uh, she warned me I was sitting in... Sir Elton's favorite chair..."
"Probably why the dog attacked you," Tony said.
"Nah," Gibbs shook his head, moving towards the door. "Dogs, they can smell fear." Tony and Kate snickered, following Gibbs from the house.
---
They brought everything from the house back to the lab in large plastic crates, Gibbs leading the CSU techs out of the elevator. Abby greeted them at the entrance, drumming her fingers together as she watched the evidence being loaded in. "Ooh, what goodies have you brought me today?"
Gibbs put his box down and lifted the leather strap that had been holding Donaldson upright. Abby's eyes widened. "Kinky!"
"That's the most vanilla thing in these boxes, Abby."
"Gibbs!" Abby gasped. "You know what vanilla means?"
He shrugged. "You get called something enough times..."
He headed from the room and Abby said, "You're not vanilla, Gibbs. Maybe... Rocky Road."
---
Kate reported, "His CO confirmed Donaldson regularly showed up for duty with bruises, cuts and scrapes. He said he was just clumsy; no one had any reason to believe otherwise."
"Maybe the guy just gets off on violence," Tony said, leaning back in his chair. "Still... I don't get it. Choking... It just doesn't seem like it would be worth risking your life over."
"Can we please not talk about methods of..."
"Of what?" Tony asked.
She held up a hand, shaking her head. "Never mind."
Tony, sensing a sensitive issue, stood up. "Come on, Kate. You can say it. Master... Masterb..."
"What's that, DiNozzo?"
"Nothing, Master. Boss. Gibbs. Boss."
As Gibbs took a seat, McGee approached his desk and said, "Boss, we just got a hit on the license plate the neighbor provided us. It's registered to a Lynette Spiner in Fairfax."
Gibbs took the print-out from McGee and held it out towards Tony. "DiNozzo, Kate."
Tony snatched the paper and said, "You got it, boss."
---
The license plate belonged to a pristine red '69 Camaro, a sleek convertible that was parked in front of the address on the registration. The car had Tony melting the second he stepped out of the truck. "Oh! Oooh, no, this woman couldn't have had anything to do with Donaldson's death."
"Why?" Kate glanced over and tried to determine his reasoning.
"Because I'm in love with her car."
They headed up the front walk and Kate sighed, "You can't judge a person by their vehicle."
"Hitler designed the Volkswagen. Ugly little car from an ugly little man. Tell me that's a coincidence."
Kate rolled her eyes, ringing the doorbell and stepping back. "You can't judge anyone by something as arbitrary as the kind of car they drive. This woman could be a school teacher with a fondness for sports cars. Or she could..."
The front door opened and Lynette Spiner stepped out. She was wearing red-and-black lycra workout clothes and a smile. Her red hair was in a loose ponytail, loose strands dangling down around her face and on her shoulders. "May I help you?"
"NCIS," Tony said, lifting his badge. "Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, you can call me Tony. This is my... work partner... Special Agent Caitlin Todd."
"May we come in for a moment?" Kate asked.
"Do you have a warrant?"
Kate glanced at Tony. "We just want to talk, ma'am. We're here investigating a death and we believe you were the last person seen with the deceased."
Lynette frowned and said, "I don't see how that's possible. The only person I've seen... today is..." She took a step back. "Oh, my God. Did something happen to Russell?"
"We're afraid he's dead, Ms. Spiner. Could we talk about this inside?"
She nodded and stepped back, allowing them to enter. They got to the end of the entry hall before she said, "Shit. Wait..."
Before she could stop them, they stepped through the red curtain and into what they assumed to be the living room. Instead of a nice love seat and an entertainment center, they were cuffs hanging from the ceiling next to the fireplace and a person-sized cage in the corner.
As surprised as Kate and Tony were, the man strapped down to the table had them beat. When Lynette stepped into the room behind them, he said, "W-will I have to pay more for them? Because I will..."
Kate had to restrain herself from running out of the house.
---
Gibbs hesitated at the door of the morgue before finally stepping through. Russell Donaldson was on the table, his midsection covered by a maneuverable instrument table. "Ducky."
"Jethro," Ducky said, looking up from Donaldson's torso. He waved Gibbs over and gestured at the corpse's upper chest. "Take a look at this. Several healed scars, long cuts. There are more, here on his arms."
"Why didn't we see this at his house?"
"Oh, you can see the cuts are remarkably shallow," Ducky said. "They'd be all but invisible except under the perfect lighting conditions. Also interesting are the marks here on his wrists." He held up Donaldson's right arm and indicated the bruise. "Typical in restraint situations. But the peculiar thing is these are nearly healed. This man has been restrained on a regular basis."
"How about the asphyxiation? Any signs that was a regular procedure?"
"It appears so." He moved up, next to Russell's shoulder, and said, "There appears to be a wide swath of bruising from here to here in varying degrees of repair. Much more than could be caused from the one instance."
Gibbs nodded. "Any defensive wounds?"
"None," Ducky said. "If I could roll the young man onto his stomach, I would show you the wounds I discovered on his buttocks."
"It's a shame you can't turn him over, then," Gibbs said.
"Mm-hmm" Ducky chuckled. "They appear to have been caused by... well, a spanking." He sighed and said, "It's looking more and more as if this fellow didn't die by his own hand."
"Yeah," Gibbs sighed. "All right. Keep me informed, Ducky." He headed for the elevator, pausing to answer his phone. "Gibbs."
Tony said, "We're bringing Lynette Spiner in for questioning."
"What'd you find?"
"A naked man strapped down to her coffee table," Tony said. "Or... well, where her coffee table would've been."
Gibbs paused. "You stopped her from killing someone else?"
There was a pause and then Tony said, "Not, ah... not exactly. It seems this victim was... paying for it. He got bent out of shape when we tried to take Ms. Spiner into custody and wouldn't leave us alone until she promised him a refund."
Gibbs groaned. "Okay. Take her to interrogation when you get here. I'll meet you there."
He hung up and headed to Abby to check out what she had for him. He'd delivered the strap Donaldson had been hanging by, along with the ropes they'd found on the floor next to the bed. When he arrived, Abby was standing in front of the doors. "Oh. Hi, Gibbs!"
"Abs. I assume..."
She held up a sheet of paper and led him back into the lab. "Epithelials on the rope. Give me someone to compare them to..."
"Tony and Kate are bringing in a suspect."
Abby nodded. "Right on, right on!"
"Find anything interesting from the rest of the... stuff from the bedroom?"
She picked up a print-out. "The... extra-curricular devices contained samples from three different donors; one male and two female." She caught Gibbs' look and said, "Hey, not everyone's as up tight as you."
Gibbs shook his head and motioned for her to get on with it. She cleared her throat. "Okay, well. The male is, obviously, Seaman Donaldson. And please don't let Tony in here with all these sex toys and let him talk about Seaman Donaldson."
Gibbs smirked and said, "The other two... donors... you'll be able to match them to a suspect?"
"Definitely. If you scrape it, I will match."
He patted her on the head and left the lab. Abby turned to the sea of toys they'd brought her from Seaman Donaldson's house and shook her head. "My, oh my, to be a fly on the wall of that bedroom..."
---
Lynette Spiner was wearing a light green jacket over her cat suit, which Tony had originally believed to be exercise attire. While she waited, she'd rearranged her hair in the interview room's mirror and smiled at Gibbs as he stepped into the room. "Good afternoon," she said.
"Miss Spiner. I'm Special Agent Jethro Gibbs."
"You're Special Agent Todd and DiNozzo's superior?"
"Yes, ma'am."
She nodded. "I'd like you to apologize to them for me. I was so shocked by the news of Russell's death I didn't even remember poor Allan was still in the living room until it was too late."
"I'll make sure they get the apology," Gibbs said. "Speaking of Seaman Donaldson..."
She smiled. "I've known Russell for about three years. He's been a client the entire time, nothing more. I was his dominatrix. I would come over every month, usually on the fifteenth or thereabout. I would generally service him in the bedroom."
"What did this... service... entail?"
She smiled. "Agent Gibbs..."
He held his hands out. "Believe me, ma'am, if I could skip it..."
"I would tie him up. I would spank him, force him to strip while I insulted his body. I anally penetrated him with a harness. I electrocuted him with very low-voltage."
Gibbs looked down at his file and said, "That's quite a list, Ms. Spiner."
"I'm only halfway through."
Gibbs lifted his eyes to her. "Did you ever choke him?"
"Yes."
"Did you use your hands or...?"
"It depends. I've used my hand. It's safer, but sometimes the client prefers a strap."
"A leather strap."
"Yes."
He slid a photograph across the table. "This was the strap found around Seaman Donaldson's throat."
Lynette looked down, wincing slightly at the sight of her dead client. She pressed her lips together and pushed the photo away with the tips of her fingers. "That's the kind I use," she said softly. "I leave it at his home sometimes so he can... experiment."
"Experiment?"
"He was interested in auto-erotic asphyxiation. I assume that's how he died."
"Good guess," Gibbs said.
Lynette closed her eyes. "Agent Gibbs, please. There's no reason for me to kill my client."
"Not on purpose," Gibbs said. "Accidents do happen."
Lynette closed her eyes. "Call the Fairfax Police Department. Ask for homicide detective Aaron Lincoln and ask him about August 4, 1999."
"What will he tell me?"
"He'll tell you about the night I killed a man."
---
Kate glanced across her desk at Tony. He was typing up a report - or surfing the net, it was kind of hard to tell - and ignoring her for the most part. McGee was at his desk, also typing furiously. Kate glanced over her shoulder before switching to the net. She typed in a search request, fingers poised over the alt and tab buttons to quickly cover up what she was looking at.
She leaned forward, clicking on a BDSM website. The site was, thankfully, low on graphics and high on text. The words were red on a black background, making Kate think of Abby. She smiled and scrolled down and read some of the definitions the site gave in its glossary.
Dom, sub, bondage rigger, cat o' nine tails... breathplay? She clicked on that, knowing it couldn't mean what she thought it did. The definition said it was the practice of restricting or controlling the flow of air and thus oxygen into the body of one or more participants. Kate shuddered, knowing this was how Donaldson had died but still unable to bring herself to believe people actually got off on it.
Gibbs came around the corner of her desk and she quickly switched back over to her report, scooting forward in an effort to hide her screen. "DiNozzo, get Fairfax PD on the phone. Ask for Detective Aaron Lincoln and ask him for anything he has on Lynette Spiner, specifically 1999."
"Got it, boss."
"Kate," he said, motioning for her to follow him. She stepped into the elevator behind him and he quietly said, "I'm going to need you to read as much as you can on this... culture..."
"I've already started," she said, thankful for the excuse to have been surfing. "Apparently, it's very difficult to hurt or kill someone during BDSM sex."
"Seaman Donaldson had a leather strap tied around his neck so tight that it left a groove in his flesh. You're telling me this is safe?"
She shook her head. "No. Having the strap that tight could not have been intentional."
The elevator doors opened and they stepped into Abby's lab. She turned and held up both hands. "Oh, wait, Gibbs, let me put away my toys!"
"Funny," Gibbs said. "What've you got for me?"
"Seaman Donaldson was engaging in self-bondage. The only fingerprints on the leather strap or headboard belonged to him. He set the rig up himself."
Gibbs focused on the ropes rather than any of the rubber paraphernalia on the table. "Why?"
"Don't make me say the word 'masturbate' to you, Gibbs."
"Abby..."
"It intensifies the sensations. The rush of endorphins the brain releases, in addition to the sexual release, is like a... like a drug to some people."
Kate couldn't stop staring at the dog collar around Abby's neck.
"So this guy, people like this guy, strap themselves up and then... what?"
"Well, in most bondage situations, he'd have a dom nearby to release him. In self-bondage, he most likely had some kind of failsafe release. Some people use ice, in a sock. They handcuff themselves, put the keys in a sock. They put the ice on a high shelf where it will fall within reach and then balance it with ice. The ice melts, the sock falls and the restrainee gets his keys out."
"Sort of like a pornographic Rube Goldberg device," Gibbs said.
Kate flashed back to the bondage website. 'In a BDSM context, a collar is a device of any material placed around the neck of the submissive partner.' She couldn't stop staring at the studded leather dog collar Abby wore around her neck, the collar she'd worn as long as Kate had known her. Abby turned to look at her and Kate quickly averted her eyes.
"Anything on the other two samples?"
"Both are from women. One is definitely Lynette Spiner."
"You've already run her DNA?"
Abby nodded. "The other donor is Jane Doe for the time being."
McGee hurried into the room, glancing at the table before making a point of looking hard at Gibbs. "Uh, boss, just got off the phone with one of Seaman Donaldson's neighbors. According to him, Donaldson had a steady girlfriend."
"Donaldson referred to Lynette Spiner as his girlfriend?" Kate said, tearing her gaze from Abby's collar.
"Not unless she changed her hair color, height, vehicle and... um... name."
Gibbs motioned for McGee to give up what else he had. "Rebecca Colby. 330 Oak in Fairfax."
"Let's go," Gibbs said. "Kate, you stay here with Abby."
Once they were alone, Abby turned to Kate and lifted an eyebrow. "So, why couldn't you keep your eyes off me that entire time?"
Kate shrugged nervously. "I was just... paying attention to what you were saying."
"Uh-huh," Abby said. "I thought maybe you were looking at this." She brought her hand up and touched the studs of her collar. Kate swallowed sharply, forced to look at it.
Kate's mind recalled another definition from the website. 'A person wearing a collar may wish by doing so to make it known that she or he is submissive.' "I... D-does it mean what..." She cleared her throat and stepped closer to Abby. "You've never expressed... anything like this to me. I mean, are you... c-collared?"
"In the sense that I'm wearing a collar? Yes. Am I into torture and and whipping? No. I mean, in moderation, I'd spank you if you wanted..."
Kate shuddered.
"But I'm not a submissive. Come on, Kate, you should've realized that." She reached up and touched Kate's cheek.
"I was just confused. This case, this whole... thing... I didn't realize this stuff existed, let alone there were communities and online websites and..."
"Wearing a collar is part of the goth subculture," Abby said. "Just wearing a collar doesn't imply anything."
Kate smiled and looked down at the table. "So. Need any help with this stuff?"
"Yes, please!"
---
On the way to Colby's house, DiNozzo called Gibbs and filled him in on what Detective Lincoln had said. "Apparently, Lynette Spiner accidentally killed a client during a session. He struggled against the restraints, according to the ME's report, and strangled himself on a cord."
"Who called it in?"
"Spiner herself. Told the cops everything, took full responsibility for her part in it. The ME eventually ruled it an accidental death."
"She didn't face charges?"
"According to her lawyer, the victim regularly engaged in rough sex, bondage and the like. He argued that the guy might have died anyway, regardless of Spiner's involvement. The district attorney agreed and no charges were filed."
"Did Lincoln have anything else on her?"
"Nothing probative. A couple complaints about her, usually from neighbors of clients who thought she was a prostitute."
"Good work, DiNozzo," Gibbs said, closing the cell phone.
McGee motioned at the phone and said, "Pretty handy device, wouldn't you say?" Gibbs glanced at him, then back at the road. "Well... I-I mean, even just a few years ago, Tony wouldn't have been able to contact you with that information. A-as a law enforcement tool, even you would have to admit it's a highly valuable advance." His eyes widened. "I-I don't mean 'even you' to sound derogatory or insulting, just that you don't seem to have the best relationship in the world with..."
"McGee."
"Thank you," McGee said, grateful for the chance to shut up.
Gibbs smirked.
---
Rebecca Colby lived only a few blocks from Seaman Donaldson's house. Gibbs parked across the driveway, just a precaution to keep anyone from leaving the house, and led the way up the front walk. They rang the bell, Gibbs glancing up and down the street. Neatly trimmed lawns, short hedges and short white fences separating one property from another, Norman Rockwell's easel was probably hiding behind a tree down at the corner. "Wonder if Ms. Spiner has any clients in this neighborhood..." he muttered.
"Takes all kinds," McGee said.
"Money for smacking people around," Gibbs sighed. "Nice work if you can get it."
The front door opened and a young, blonde woman appeared. She looked at them both, wide green eyes searching for a clue as to who they were. "We're Christians."
Gibbs frowned. "Ma'am?"
"We don't want a subscription, we don't want..."
"We're federal agents," Gibbs said, holding up his badge and flipping the wallet to show his ID. "Special Agent Jethro Gibbs, this is Special Agent McGee. NCIS."
"NC..."
"Naval Criminal Investigative Services," McGee said.
Her eyes widened further, an act Gibbs wouldn't have thought possible. "Navy?" she gasped. "Is... oh, my God... Russell? He..." Her eyes rolled back in her head and she fell forward into McGee's arms.
McGee looked down at her, panicked, and then looked up at Gibbs. "Um... boss?"
---
They'd gotten the table mostly cleared off, getting fingerprints and samples from the toys. "This is the most disgusting thing..."
"It's just bodily fluid, Kate," Abby said. "All that's different is your perception of... you know... what kind it is and where it comes out."
Kate wrinkled her nose. "There are levels of bodily fluid. Blood is at the top, most tolerable. Semen, urine, feces..." She swallowed hard, fighting her gag reflex. "Even thinking about it..."
"Want some nose plugs? Vaseline to put under your nostrils?"
"I'm fine."
Abby smiled and lifted a leather harness out of the pile. "Hey, look at this..."
Kate walked over and Abby pointed to the crotch. She recoiled and said, "Abby, if this is..."
"No, seriously, look."
Kate leaned in and narrowed her eyes, hoping to see as little as possible. She saw it almost immediately; a blonde hair. "What color was..."
"Brown."
"And that..."
"Definitely blonde."
"Lynette Spiner is a redhead."
"I'm getting chills!" Abby said with a jump.
Kate said, "Grab that hair and I'll let Gibbs know what we found." She leaned in and kissed Abby's cheek. "Great work, Abs."
Abby beamed.
---
"Need anything else?" Gibbs asked, taking a seat across from Rebecca. She shook her head, sipping the water McGee had retrieved for her. She was alone in the house and they'd been forced to search her kitchen for glasses and dish towels. She came to as Gibbs was pressing the towel to her forehead, sitting up and apologizing for her fainting spell. "Can we ask you a few questions?"
"Yes, please, anything to help."
"We need to know if you were aware of a Lynette Spiner in Russell's life."
She sipped her water and looked at the coffee table. "Spiner... No."
Gibbs narrowed his eyes. "Are you positive? It's important."
"I'm sorry, Agent Gibbs. The name doesn't ring a bell."
Gibbs cell phone rang and he apologized, pulling the phone out. "Excuse me just a moment, ma'am. Gibbs. Yeah." He lifted his eyes and looked at Rebecca. She was wearing a paisley headband, holding her blonde hair out of her face. "Mm-hmm. All right. Thank you." He hung up and returned the phone to his pocket. "Sorry about that."
"Was it about Russell?"
"As a matter of fact, it was. Seems my people found something in the toys they took from his room."
"Toys?" Rebecca asked, glancing at McGee. He was still standing behind the couch, out of her line of sight.
Gibbs nodded. "Yeah. Seems there was a hair on it. Now, Russell had brown hair. Lynette Spiner was redhead... but the hair was found was blonde."
Rebecca's hands tightened around her water glass. Gibbs stood and said, "Now, Ms. Colby... don't go fainting again. It worked once, don't plan on it twice." She put the water glass down and hung her head, beginning to cry softly. Gibbs helped her stand, taking the handcuffs from his coat. "You were right, McGee. Pretty handy little tool."
---
Rebecca Colby started talking as soon as Gibbs stepped into the interrogation room. "I'm going to plead temporary insanity. It's not like I planned it; I loved Russell. You have to believe me. I loved him."
"Ms. Colby," Gibbs said, opening the file in front of him, "I have no doubt in my mind about how much you loved him. It's one of the more popular motives I've seen in my work."
She sat back, chewing her lip.
He sighed. "Why don't you tell me what happened?"
"I met Russell a few months back at the bar where I work. I knew he was Navy or Marine or something, at least. The haircut, he called me ma'am. And he was the designated driver. He volunteered. None of the regulars ever volunteer to be designated drivers. So I started talking to him. Before I knew it, he asked me out and I said yes."
"When did he tell you about his... predilections?"
"Two months ago. We'd had sex, but not... that. He told me he liked weird stuff and I was... turned off. To say the least. He said it wasn't important, he wouldn't force me to do anything I wasn't comfortable with. Then I go over to his house and I see..." She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth and chewed on it. "I see that... w-woman. And I go inside and he's... on the bed..."
"I was just... disgusted. In a blind rage. I... don't even remember getting on the bed or holding the cord. Until he stopped moving. Then I just... I ran. I got out of there."
"Donaldson never approached you to participate in his alternate life?"
"No. I would never do that... stuff... with anybody."
He slid the file across to her. "My lab found two DNA samples on several of the objects in Seaman Donaldson's room. One of them belongs to his dominatrix, Lynette Spiner. The other... well, we'll have to do the test, but my money is on you, Ms. Colby."
She looked at the file, a tear rolling down her cheek. "I would never do that stuff. I would never."
Gibbs sorted his papers and said, "I'll let you know what they find out."
He stood, making it all the way to the door before she said, "What would you do, Agent Gibbs? For someone you loved? Would you... degrade yourself if that's what they wanted?"
"I don't know," Gibbs admitted. "But I hope if I'm faced with the situation, I act wiser than you did." He turned and stepped out of the room.
---
"You heading home?" Tony asked, looking up as Kate pulled on her jacket.
"Yeah. Gibbs was going to handle Rebecca Colby's booking."
He nodded. "Abby was looking for you earlier."
"She say why?"
He shrugged.
"Thank you, Tony, you're so helpful." She headed for the elevators and said, "Good-night."
"Night-night."
She rode the elevator down to the lab, stepping out and looking for Abby. "Abby?"
"Kate!" Abby said, coming over from her desk. "I got something for you."
"Uh-oh," Kate smiled. "What is it?"
Abby held up a long strip of black and Kate leaned forward, trying to figure out what it was supposed to be. Her eyes widened and she said, "Is... i-is that a collar?"
Abby's smile faltered. "I'm sorry. I... y-you don't have to..."
"No," Kate said, lifting the bottom end of the collar and examining it. "No. It could be... interesting..."
"Can I put it on you?"
"Now?"
"In private."
Kate shivered and looked down at the collar again. She stepped closer to Abby and softly said, "Yes. Please."
Abby beamed.
---
Kate shed her jacket, placing it on the back of her armchair. She kept her back to the front hall, listening as Abby closed and locked the apartment door. When she heard Abby come into the living room, Kate turned and faced her. Abby still had the collar in her pocket and Kate couldn't help looking down, picturing it there, waiting. She licked her lips and slowly ran her hands down Abby's arms.
"We don't have to," Abby said. "If you want to just do it normally."
Kate leaned in and kissed her, stroking her face. "I want to. I'm just... building up my courage to do it."
"You can take all the time you want."
"Have you done it before?"
"Bondage? Or..."
Kate shrugged, looking down at her feet. "How far have you gone?"
"I've tied men up. I've been spanked. Threesomes."
"Threesomes?" Kate said.
"Down, girl," Abby smiled. "One thing at a time." She kissed Kate's cheek and said, "We need a safe word."
Kate's eyes widened slightly. "Why? What are you going to do?"
"Nothing you don't want. That's why we have the safe word. Just a precaution."
"Oh. Stop?"
"No. Too easy to say when you don't mean it."
Kate said, "If I say stop, I'll mean it."
Abby smiled. "Okay. For you, the safe word can be stop. So boring." She sighed and said, "If you can't say it, hold up your hand like this." She lifted her right hand, bending the pinky down so three fingers were pointed at the ceiling. "And cut it down." She swiped like a baseball umpire declaring a player safe.
"Okay," Kate said. She leaned in and kissed Abby, moving her hands up to untuck her shirt. She found Abby's breasts under the material, squeezing the cups of her bra and feeling her warmth. Abby moaned and broke the kiss, turning Kate around.
Kate was pressed against the chair by Abby's hips, leaning forward and gripping the arms of the chair with both hands. Abby withdrew the collar and said, "Last chance."
"Do it."
Abby looped the collar around Kate's head, getting it to her neck before she pulled it tight. Kate coughed slightly, her head bowed, as the cord cut against her windpipe. "It's okay," she said. "I'm okay."
Abby bit her bottom lip and reached down, unbuttoning Kate's pants as she held the collar in place with her other hand. Kate lifted herself off the chair to assist Abby, feeling her lover's hand squirm into her underwear a moment later.
"Oh, yes," she breathed. Abby's fingers tightened and the collar grew tighter. Kate closed her eyes, her jaw dropping as she felt herself cut off. Abby's fingers were in her, stroking her. She would normally be panting by now, begging Abby to go faster or slower, but she couldn't say anything. Her head was swimming. She curled her pinky against the palm of her hand, just in case, and closed her eyes.
The entire room seemed to have shifted on its axis. Abby's fingers felt like fire inside of her and Kate gasped roughly against the collar. Stars under her eyelids begged her to say the safe word, but she rocked her hips against the fingers inside of her. When Abby touched her clit, the stars became fireworks and Kate came, her entire lower body thrusting against the chair.
She immediately brought her hand up, swiping the three fingers through the air. The pressure was immediately released and she inhaled deeply, sagging against the chair. Her entire lower body felt wet, Abby's hand drawing a trail out of her pants and over her stomach. After a moment, she realized Abby was pressing against her from behind, head on her shoulder. "Was it too hard?"
"Yes," Kate said.
"You could've stopped..."
"I didn't say I didn't like it," Kate said, looking down at the collar. It had dropped from Abby's hand and was now coiled on the seat of the easy chair. She caught her breath and slipped out from beneath Abby, stepping to one side. "Bedroom?"
"Bedroom," Abby agreed, taking Kate's hand. "What are we going to do this time?"
"Just sex," Kate said.
Abby ducked her head, arching her eyebrow. "That, my dear, I think I can provide." She followed Kate into the bedroom, closing the door behind her and leaving the collar behind on the armchair.