Episode 2: Idolize Me
Part 3
Diamond bounded out of the room and quickly ran to Nick. “I get to go to the next round!”
Nick crossed his arms as a scowl covered his face. “‘Hey Nicky,’ huh?”
“I told you it was Lancy’s idea. I should text him and tell him how much Paulette loved it!” Diamond chirped. “He’ll be so excited!” She pulled out her phone and proceeded to type on the keypad.
“You were flirting with other men while singing my name!” Nick spat, his blood boiling as his muscles tensed. After pulling her phone from her, he put his hand on her shoulder.
Diamond looked up into his eyes. “You said to focus on the things I’m good at. If flirting with you would help me get to the next round for our mission, I’d do it in a heartbeat.” She leaned close to his ear, lowering her voice to a whisper. “I’m sorry… Nicky.”
The brush of her breath on his skin made the hair on his neck stand up as the anger subsided.
“After your first audition,” she continued to whisper, “I’ll take you upstairs and blow your mind too.”
“Desiree…” Nick whispered, leaning toward her as he snaked his hand up the back of her head, threading his fingers through her hair.
“Entry number 006980,” the same production assistant called.
Nick remained still, leaning closer to Diamond. “Think they’ll wait a minute? Or twenty?”
“Entry number 006980,” the male voice called again.
“Just go.” Diamond kissed his cheek. “You’ll do great. You’re always singing at headquarters and on missions, now K’s letting you do it.”
Nick grumbled, slowly removing his hand from her head and phone. He stuck his hands in his jacket’s side pockets as he shuffled toward the open door.
Once he reached the stage, 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 original 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 he had planned to grab it all along, then unfolded the flimsy metal chair and gave it a swift kick. 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. At one point, he even humped the chair. “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.”
The judges stared at Nick, completely speechless.
Seeing their impressed — disgusted was probably a better word — reactions, Nick continued his impromptu song and dance. “If you want it to be good, girl, get yourself a bad boy!” He then walked over to the female evaluator and leaned against her section of the table. “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.”
The British critic 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.”
Nick smirked to himself. How had he managed to pull that off? A slight motion in the back of the room 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 remembering that he was trying not to not draw attention to himself. The only good part about pulling out that gun would be that he would have plenty of time to finish his domino project back at Himitsu Takana. Nick turned back to the judges, keeping the figure in his peripheral vision as he nodded at their feedback.
“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 Randolph — you’d be smart to pick a much better song for the next round.”
Once they finished their critique, Nick bolted out of the room to find Diamond.
***
“Still got an itch down there?” she asked as she tinkered with a new weapon, having set aside the in-progress automatic bra due to a mental block on how to fix a problem. Instead, the female agent worked on a stylish hat that belonged to one of her superiors. She tapped her fingers against the shimmering metal desk before her, wondering how she would accomplish the image she had in mind.
The male agent turned away from the screen with a raised brow, 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 blond 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, you looked at Nick more.”
“Oh, did not. Out of concern, purely. Also I didn’t know he was so talented at songwriting.”
“Talented… 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?”
Pearl grinned, still examining the black fedora hat before her, the flawless white feather tucked along the side of it sliding against her slender fingers. “Got an idea for it. Any sign of the company you spotted yet?”
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 our 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 she 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.”
***
“Di–” Nick 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 room to celebrate!”
Thinking back on where they left off before his audition, Nick wrapped his arm around her waist. “Now we have two things to celebrate…” Nick started leading her away from the audition and toward the reservations desk, then abruptly smacked himself in the forehead. Ditching the mission to spend time with Diamond would also land him straight back at HimTak with his dominoes. “What am I doing?”
“Buying me dinner,” Diamond piped up.
“Yeah, afterward…” Nick held his head in his hand. “Someone was messing with the sound panel!”
“The sound panel?” Diamond gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. “You mean the people that are infiltrating the competition have struck?” When Nick nodded, Diamond looked around. “How do we sneak in?” She then pointed to a second door beside the one Nick had run from. “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 whisked away for interrogation by Agent 008. Can we play this tonight?”
“Yes, and it’s 00Carter!” Nick hissed, letting go of her mouth.
“Can’t wait.” Diamond winked as Nick pulled the door lightly, and the two stalked through the shadows. Inside, 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 began bawling; it was painful to watch.
Nick looked up to where he had seen the shadowed figure. Nothing. He clenched his jaw, baring his teeth. Where could the shadow have gone? His fist shook. This mission was his chance to prove himself, and he was already getting distracted by playing sex games with Diamond or 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 Nick would 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 silently dragged Diamond toward the sound system and ducked behind it. Once hidden, 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 whispered harshly. “Pearl, what’s the time?!” He hit his head again. “I mean… Pearl, we have a problem!”
***
She glanced up from her work as her superior tapped a few keys to switch the monitor back to a split-screen of Nick and Diamond staring at each other in the sound system’s shadow. After all, they were the main focus at the moment.
“I mean… Pearl, we have a problem!”
Pearl touched her headset idly. “Relax. Oh, and it’s 9 p.m., by the way. What’s the problem?”
“They struck, or at least started to,” Nick replied as he looked around, wondering how they had possibly tampered with the system. Had the figure had actually done anything, or had it run off when it saw them coming?
Diamond stood, smirking as she ran her hand along the complicated sound system and scanned the shadows. Nick chuckled at her smirk, wondering what could have been running through her head. They made the phrase “if looks could kill” with her in mind, so maybe she’d show him in their room later after some interrogation. Diamond glanced down at him, catching him staring, and ran her tongue over her lips seductively.
“Hey, focus! When did this happen?” Pearl asked, bringing the attention of both agents back where it should be.
“Towards the end of my audition,” Nick replied as he stood to check out the sound device more closely. “I tried to tell you, but my watch doesn’t tell time, remember?” A cocky smirk crossed his face.
Jay snickered as he heard Nick. “Watch that doesn’t tell time, huh?”
Pearl glared at both of them, wiping the amusement from their faces. “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 and isn’t the issue here!” Pearl pouted. “Were you facing this direction when you saw the enemy strike?”
Nick nodded. “Yeah, which wasn’t easy while I was supposed to be paying attention to snotty judges.”
Using Pearl’s computer, Jay pulled up the feed from Nick’s bug. Luckily, he and K both knew the basics of Pearl’s surveillance system even though she had done a complicated and extensive upgrade after taking over the science department. He started skimming over the rewound footage from Nick’s bug and paused when he thought he saw some sort of figure beyond where the judges were sitting. He waved Pearl over. “Looks like that’s him.” He had the computer zoom in on the image, but, unfortunately, it couldn’t make out the features because Nick had been too far away. However, it did reveal the time: 8:35 p.m. “Think you can hack into their camera system and find him?”
She stretched, 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, look for abnormalities. Any new CDs in, any new songs programmed, anything new or different, point it out and make sure your camera takes the entire sound system in.”
Pearl was silent except 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 MGM Grand Casino’s camera and security system. Despite Global Idol’s security for spoilers, 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 they caught my gaze earlier and split before changing anything.”
“Alright, 008–”
“00Carter!”
“Did you catch any details on him that might be useful?” Jay scratched his tanned arm, knowing they had to nip this operation in the bud, and quietly as well.
“I think they had short blond hair.”
“Well, that narrows it down,” Pearl quipped as she kept typing.
“I ain’t done; probably a guy, blond hair, skinny frame, sort of like…the old 009’s, but this guy looked uglier from a distance.”
Pearl 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 Nick’s description 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!” Pearl exclaimed, turning the screen towards him.
“It’s not that clear.” Jay frowned.
“Blame the lighting. It’s better than ours, 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. Another feature that’s more important than a clock. 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 Pearl 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. Meanwhile, Jay dug through the files on their own database, seeing if it matched anyone the agency had encountered before. They 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.
***