Season 1, Episode 2: Idolize
Me
Part 3 of 4
Diamond bounded out of the
room and quickly ran to Nick. “I get to
go to the finals!”
Nick crossed his arms as a
scowl covered his face, “‘Hey Nicky,’ huh?”
“It was Lancy’s idea!”
Diamond chirped. “Oh! I should text him!” She pulled out her phone and proceeded to
type on the keypad.
“You were flirting with
other men while singing my name!” Nick spat, pulling her phone from her.
Diamond looked up into his
eyes; they almost burned in anger. He
put his hand on her shoulder.
“Entry number 006913,” the
male voice called again.
Nick grumbled, slowly
removing his hand from her shoulder and phone.
He stuck his hands in his pockets as he shuffled toward the open door.
Nick faked a smile for the
judges. “My name is Nick Carter, and I
will be singing…” He paused momentarily;
Lancy had given Diamond an idea, but he had no plan at all! He put his hand to his head and spit out, “an
untitled song.”
“Interesting…” murmured the
heavy judge, studying him carefully through his glasses.
“Very well. Off you go,” came the British judge’s curt
command.
Nick searched his head for
the first line that came to mind. “If
you want it to be good, girl, get yourself a bad boy!” Nick paused momentarily, and then began doing
some sort of pop-locking dance with pelvic thrusts. Something he found to be truly ingenious for
having just come up with the song he sang.
“If you want it to be wild…”
“Gotta know
just who to dial, baby (that's me)
If you really like it hot
Get someone who hits the spot, honey (oh yes)”
Nick spotted a folding chair
leaning against the wall. He strutted
over to it as though it had been his plan to grab it all along. “And if you
want it to get done…”
“Babe, you
gotta get the one
The one who's got it goin' on
If you wanna make it last
Gotta know just who to ask
Babe, he's gotta be the best (tonight it's me)”
Nick unfolded the flimsy
metal chair and gave it a swift kick. “If
you want it to be good, girl, get yourself a bad boy!” He then started a dance that involved a
little kicking the chair, and a little picking up the chair, and a little
walking away with the chair. He
continued his previous awkward, split-second dance from before he spied the
chair. He also proceeded to hump the
chair at one point. “If you really
want it good girl, get yourself a bad boy…”
“Get it
like it could be, would be
Yeah, like it should be
If you want it to be good, girl
Get yourself a bad boy
If you like it innovative
Better get someone creative, honey (yes)
And if you want it to be jammin'
Gotta get somebody slammin’, baby (oh yeah)”
The judges stared at Nick,
completely speechless.
Seeing their impressed -
disgusted was probably a better word - reactions, Nick continued his impromptu
song and dance. “And if you want it to get done…”
“Babe, you
gotta get the one
The one who's got it goin' on
If you wanna make it last
Gotta know just who to ask
Babe, he's gotta be the best (tonight it's me)
If you want
it to be good, girl
Get
yourself a bad boy
If you really
want it good, girl
Get
yourself a bad boy
Get it like it could be, would be
Yeah, like it should be
If you want it to be good, girl
Get yourself a bad boy"
He then walked over to
female evaluator and leaned against her section of the table, letting out a low
chuckle. “Now listen: these are
things your mama shouldn't know…”
“These are
things I really wanna show
These are things I wanna show you how
So won't you let me show you right now? (ooh baby)
And if you want it to get done…”
Babe, you gotta get the one
The one who's got it goin' on
If you wanna make it last
Gotta know just who to ask
Babe, he's gotta be the best (tonight it's me)
If you want
it to be good, girl
Get
yourself a bad boy
If you
really want it good, girl
Get
yourself a bad boy
Get it like it could be, would be
Yeah, like it should be
If you want it to be good, girl
Get yourself a bad boy
If you
really want it good…”
The British critic finally
put his hand up to stop Nick’s display.
“Wow… I dunno, dawg,” said
the first judge, shaking his head critically.
“That song was just weird, man.
But look, man, check it out – the singing actually wasn’t too bad. I kinda like your voice; I think you’ve got
some talent, dawg. I’ll say yes, but
pick a better song next time, dawg.”
“Well, I thought the whole
performance was fantastic!” exclaimed the female judge, her dark eyes shining
as she looked upon Nick in admiration.
“You have a real talent! You’re a
natural performer; I loved the choreography!
And your voice is just orgasmic…”
“Okay, Paulette!”
interjected the British man loudly, his eyes widening. Chuckling, he shook his head at Nick and
said, “If this were a dancing competition, it’d be a no from me. The choreography reminded me of some horrid
boyband from the late nineties. If it
were a songwriting competition, it’d be a definite no. The song was appalling. But… it’s a singing competition, and you can
sing. So it’s a yes. And I’ll agree with
Smirking, Nick nodded and
left the stage. How had he managed to
pull that off?
± ± ±
"Still
got an itch down there?" she asked, tinkering with a new weapon before
her, having set aside the in progress automatic bra due to a mental block on how
to work a problem out. Now the female
agent had a stylish hat sitting before her.
One of her superior's, actually.
She tapped her fingers against the metal shimmering desk before her,
wondering how she was going to accomplish the image she had in mind. An artist really, when it came to coming up
with these ideas of hers.
The
male agent turned, with a raised brow, away from the screen, and she smirked in
response. He was far too entertained by
the images before him.
"No,
not anymore. Heh, man has his needs
too."
"Any
sign of the figure you thought might be the guest our lovely blonde duo are
looking for?"
He
chuckled as he scratched his arm, before rubbing the goatee he had
growing. "Funny you tease them
about that."
"Exception
here."
"Funny
though."
"Oh
shush, at least we know they're in."
He
snickered to himself. "And how they
got in. Did you see her?"
Her
blue eyes focused once more on the object before her. "Yes, but I didn't stare like you
did."
"Nah,
your eyes were turned towards Nick more."
"Oh,
was not. Out of concern, purely. Didn't know he had such a voice, though; boy
never shows it off."
"Right,
change the subject."
"Heh." Her gaze went back on the hat. She picked it up and started turning it
around in her hands. Now, how to get a
razorblade discreetly in the bill area of the fedora...
Jay's
voice got her attention. "Isn't
that one of mine?"
The
dark-haired superior agent shook his head as he turned his attention back to
the monitor. "Not yet. Could have been seeing things; I don't think
my agents spotted it either."
"You
likely did see something; you've been in the game longer, trained us..."
He
tapped his fingers against the metal of the table, much like the companion
nearby had been doing moments before.
"That, or I'm worried."
"It’s
natural. Trust me. I'm like that right now too."
"You? You've been like that since the
incident. You and Nick both."
"And
you haven't?" she pointed out.
"Not
as bad," he retorted.
She shook
her head and got her tools out, again unwilling to discuss it. "Let’s just focus on what needs to be
done."
± ± ±
Nick tried to listen to the
judges intently, but a slight motion in the back caught his eye. A shadow near the sound control panel behind
the judges. Nick opened his mouth
slightly, beginning to pull his gun from his pocket, before coming to the
realization that he was trying to not draw attention to himself. The only good point about pulling out that
gun would be that he could finish his domino project back at Himitsu
Takana. Nick turned back to the judges,
keeping the figure in his peripheral vision.
To insinuate his focus, Nick gave a few nods here and there.
Nick bolted out of the room
to find Diamond. “Di—” He stopped himself
abruptly. “Desiree!”
Diamond looked up from her
phone, seeing Nick’s energetic running and shouting. She gave him a gleaming smile. “You made it too! Let’s get drinks and a hotel room and
celebrate!”
Nick shook his head. “Yes, but no.”
Diamond pouted. “No?”
Nick wrapped his arm around
her. “Well… I can’t resist that face…”
Nick hit himself in the head. “What am I
doing?”
“Buying me dinner,” Diamond
piped up.
“No, I mean…” Nick put his
head in his hand for a minute. “There
was someone messing with the sound panel!”
“The sound panel?” Diamond
puzzled. She gasped in surprise,
covering her mouth with her hand. “You
mean the people that are infiltrating the competition have struck?”
Nick nodded.
Diamond looked around. “How do we get there?” She then pointed to the door. “There?”
“Quietly,” Nick nodded. “As much as I miss my dominoes, I’m not going
back to HimTak.”
“You played with dominoes?”
Diamond squealed.
Nick put his hand over her
mouth and shook his head. “I’ll explain
tonight.”
“In bed?” Diamond’s muffled
voice broke through his hand.
“Wherever you want,” Nick
whispered, winking as he pulled his gun from his pocket. His other hand remained over Diamond’s mouth.
“This is a nice fantasy,”
she mused, “being kidnapped by Agent 008.
Can we play this tonight?”
“Yes, and it’s 00Carter!”
Nick hissed. He pulled the door lightly,
and the two stalked through the shadows quietly. The current audition was ending poorly.
“What was that?!”
the dry, English-accented voice sputtered.
“That was quite possibly the worst audition I have ever witnessed. Are you serious?”
The poor girl on stage was
quickly reduced to tears. It was painful
to watch.
Nick looked up to where he
had seen the shadowed figure. Nothing. He let out a growl. Where could the shadow have gone? He clenched his fist. This mission was his chance to prove himself,
and already he was getting distracted by playing sex games with Diamond and
posing as an idol. He had even gone so
far as composing and choreographing a song while he was in the process of
singing it! K would love this; he’d call
him a disgrace for sure. And then he’d
be stuck back at Himitsu Takana trying to line dominoes all through the
building. Of course, K would have discovered
the dominoes by then, and he’d have to find some new activity to occupy his
time! If they didn’t lock him in his
office while wearing a straight jacket first…
When the next contestant began,
Nick dragged Diamond from the room while putting his gun back in his
pocket. No sound emitted from his
motions. Once outside, he frivolously
checked the time on his watch. After
remembering it was incapable of telling time, he managed to find the
communicator once more. “Pearl!” he
shouted, “
± ± ±
She glanced up from her
computer. She had been trying to figure out
how long it would take the infiltrators to get the hypnotic device to work, if
her theory on it was correct, that was.
If she only knew who was leading the enemy's operation, she could try
and track them on her computer and see if she could hack her way into data on
it, or at least some kind of blueprints for the hypnotic device they would be
using. For now, all she had were
theories, and it irked her greatly.
Her superior used his
chair to roll towards the screen and bring back Nick and Diamond as the sole
camera focus on the monitor. After all,
they were the main focus at the moment.
Before they had brought them into focus, the main screen had been split
between all the agents out at the moment, so one could view all missions in
progress if he or she wished.
"They struck, or at
least started to," Nick replied as he started scanning the area, wondering
how they had possibly tampered with the system.
He and Diamond were both unsure if the figure had actually done it, or
if he had run off at the sound or sight of Nick.
Diamond smirked as she
ran her hand along the complicated sound system, keeping an eye out for anyone
seeing two "contestants" out where they weren't supposed to be. She'd handle it, male or female, easily;
nothing a little flirting couldn't solve if that tiny problem arose. Still, it'd be nicer if it didn't at
all. Nick would likely love it if a
female found them, though, and Diamond put her flirting skills to play... now
there was a fun game to play. Another
time, of course.
"When did this
happen?"
"Towards the end of
my audition," the male replied as he started checking out the sound device
more closely. "I'd tell you when,
but my watch doesn't tell time, remember?"
The agent next to her
snickered as he heard Nick. "Watch
that doesn't tell time, huh?"
A glare aimed at him from
the intelligent female got him to silence his chuckles. "Shush, Blondie. Jay, don't even go there."
"How can a watch not
tell time?"
Diamond raised a brow as
she listened to the noise emitting from the watch. "Your watch doesn't tell time?"
"Can we lay off the
watch? It does everything else under the
sun," she pouted. "00Carter,
were you facing this direction when you saw the enemy strike?"
He nodded. "Yeah, which wasn't easy while I was
supposed to be paying attention to snotty judges."
Jay went to another
computer that was hooked up to the camera system. He and K both knew the basics of bringing up
the camera feed; they had to, though
She stretched a bit,
cracking her back against her chair.
"I can, but it might take a few.
With this contest, they probably have more security walls than the CIA
does for their entire system."
"Get to it."
She rolled the chair back
to her own computer and started typing furiously. "It’s kind of sad, really, since it’s a
TV show made to mock everyone, and they protect it more than governments
protect their secrets. 'Cause we all
know knowing the winner too soon will cause the end of the world sooner than
secret locations of weaponry and terrorist bases."
Nick snickered. "Or instructions on how to make watches
that don't tell time."
"Watch it, or you
can walk home."
Jay chuckled. "You two keep an eye out. Diamond, go back to where the other
contestants are and see if you can find anything. We'll send you the information as soon as we
get it. Nick, make sure your camera
takes the entire sound system in so we can see if we can find any
abnormalities. Any new CDs in, any new
songs programmed, anything new or different, point it out."
The female agent was
silent but for the sound of her slender fingers tapping against the keys of her
keyboard, her eyes focused on the screen, decoding as fast as she could so she
could hack into the system at MGM Grand Casino's camera and security
system. Despite how the TV show would
have a lockdown on everything, they might not have covered every camera in the
casino, and that was what she was counting on.
If they had, that meant more work trying to drill a hole through the
many protective walls they undoubtedly had guarding recordings of the show.
"I don't see
anything different. I think he caught my
gaze earlier and split before changing anything."
"Alright, 008-"
"00Carter!"
"Did you catch any
details on him that might be useful?"
He scratched his tanned arm, knowing they had to nip this operation in
the bud, and quietly as well.
"I think he had
blonde hair."
"Well that narrows
it down,"
"I ain't done; blond
hair, skinny frame, sort of like...the old 009's, but this guy looked uglier
from a distance."
She winced at the
mention, but continued listening to Nick as she got further into the
system. "Continue."
"Might have been
wearing blue, not sure, it’s pretty dark back here."
Jay jotted this down. "If nothing else, this is a start. Have you seen him audition yet?"
Nick paused before part
of the audio controls. "I didn't
recognize him, so I don't think so."
"Alright, watch the
rest of the-"
"Got it!" she
exclaimed next to the superior above her, turning the screen towards him.
"It’s not that
clear."
"Blame the
lighting. It’s better than the other,
and you get a better idea of the features here.
I can start running scans to see if it matches anyone signed up to
audition at Global Idol, if I can ever get into their files. The casino is one thing; the Global Idol
database might be harder. I'm sending
the picture to the watch, which should print out a picture that's about half
the size of a wallet size. Hence why it
can't tell time. Diamond will get a copy
through her phone. I'm focusing it as
much as I can, but it’s still a bit blurry."
"You have your
suspect; now get to it," Jay commanded before the woman beside him shut
off her communication link.
She continued typing, already
trying to see if she could get into the show's system, knowing the time it
would take her. He was digging through
the files on their own database, seeing if it might match anyone the agency had
encountered before. The two were
determined to help their agents find their man, no matter who tried to stop
them. They were going to eliminate
anyone who wanted to get in the way.
Anyone.
± ± ±