(After the Secret in the Siege)

This story is AU and rated T for language and violence.

I don't own Bones.

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Walking to his truck in the parking garage, Booth's hand fished in his jacket pocket for his keys.

"You have a lot of explaining to do."

Turning, Booth stood and faced the man glaring at him, "Go home, Max. I'm not in the mood to listen to your shit today."

Advancing on the Agent, Max stopped a mere foot from Booth and glared, "She asked you to marry her and you said yes then you said no. What the hell is wrong with you? You're breaking her heart, don't you know that or do you even care you selfish bastard?

Furious, Booth turned and continued to walk towards his truck when he felt a hand grab his arm and pull him sideways. Blocking Max's fist, Booth grabbed the older man's wrists and held them tightly, "I won't punch you because I might hurt you."

Trying to pull his wrists from Booth's iron grip, Max yanked them back only to feel the younger man's grip tighten further. "Let go of me you son-of-a-bitch."

Smirking, Booth released Max's wrists and stepped back, "I don't want to hurt you Max. Just go home and mind your own business."

His temper barely under control, Max snarled, "She loves you damn it. Why are you treating her like this? I thought I knew you. I don't know you at all. I trusted you."

Grabbing Max by the upper arms, Booth swung him around and slammed him against the support column behind him. Placing his mouth against Max's ear, Booth whispered, "I can't talk here. I'll meet you at Christine's cemetery plot in thirty minutes. Leave your phone in your car." His voice louder, Booth pressed Max against the column, "If you value your life, you'll walk away and leave me the hell alone, old man."

Glancing around, Max hooded his eyes, "The next time we do this dance, I might be armed."

Releasing Max, Booth turned and strode towards his truck, "Fuck you."

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Standing behind the tree and out of sight of the distant parking lot, Booth spoke quietly when Max appeared in front of his wife's tombstone. "Did you leave your phone in the car?"

Not turning, Max grunted, "Yeah, what the hell is wrong with you? Are you insane? One too many hits to the head? . . . Oh my God, has your brain tumor come back?"

Unamused, Booth placed his thumbs in his belt and leaned against the tree, "Not funny, Max. I'm in trouble. I'm in serious trouble and I don't know how to fix it."

Not in the mood to feel any sympathy, Max stared at the lettering on the tombstone, "What the hell did you do? Are you having an affair with some bimbo? If you are I'll kill you and that'll end your trouble."

His frustration mounting, Booth glared at Max, "I'm not having an affair with anyone. Shut up and listen to me for once."

Rubbing his lip, Max replied, "Go ahead, you tell me why you broke my baby's heart, you bastard."

Gritting his teeth, Booth responded, "This involves Christopher Pelant. Every law enforcement agency in the country has been searching for that bastard for months and we still can't find him. I want him more than anyone and I can't seem to catch a break. He framed Bones for murder for God's sake. It took months to clear her name. You know who I'm talking about."

Nodding his head, Max tried to be patient, "Yeah, I know who you're talking about. I'm not senile yet. What about him? Why are you in trouble? Did you murder him, I hope?"

"I wish I had." Sighing Booth explained, "He's a computer genius and he can hack into anything and I mean anything. Hell he probably can hack into a damn baby monitor. . . . Anyway, he uses cameras on the streets or in businesses or in elevators or he hacks into other peoples computers and he uses them to spy on people or manipulate them or steal or God knows what else. . . ."

Growing impatient with Booth's rambling, Max urged him, "Get to the point for God's sake. I'm not getting any younger."

Glancing furtively around the area, Booth replied, "He found out that Bones asked me to marry her and he told me that if I get married to her then he's going to kill five random people. If I tell her why I don't want to get married he's going to kill five random people."

Turning to face Booth, Max exclaimed, "I told you we needed to kill him. Damn it."

Shrugging his shoulders, Booth sighed, "Yeah, I know and I tried a few months ago but I failed and that psycho is still on the lose. I've been looking for him, trying to run down leads, but I can't find him." Pausing, Booth crossed his arms, "Bone is upset, I know that. I've tried to think of a way to tell her but I can't. She's not a very good actress and if I tell her and she starts acting happy, Pelant is going to know I told her. He's going to kill people and it will be all on me and the worst thing is he might start killing people I know or even members of my family."

Turning back to face the tombstone, Max stared at the gray stone and thought about it. "You're right, if you tell her then people will die."

Closing his eyes, Booth responded with hopelessness, "She's starting to hate me. I'm going to lose her and I don't know how to stop it. I need to find Pelant to end this, but I can't really tell anyone what I'm up to. The FBI and Angela are looking for him, but they don't have the same urgency that I have." Snorting, Booth opened his eyes, "Because I told Bones we shouldn't get married, Angela hates me now and is barely talking to me. I think she'd kill me if she could get away with it."

Nodding his head, Max placed his hand on the tombstone and replied, "This is what we're going to do. You're going to keep looking for him and I'm going to try to help you. I'm off the grid when it comes to computers and stuff so he can't keep track of me like he can you. I don't own a computer or a smart phone. I buy a disposable phone every two months but I may change that to every month. I have a kit at home that allows me to sweep my apartment for bugs and I use it weekly. I'm a very cautious man and I know how scum like Pelant can track people. Big Brother has the same capability that's why I don't own stuff that makes it easy for them. Hell, my car is old so it doesn't have a computer in it. . .. . I know you can't do that, but since I can that makes me a great ally."

"You believe me?" Relieved, Booth uncrossed his arms and let his hands fall to his belt.

A smile gracing his lips, Max glanced at Booth and then back at his wife's tombstone, "Of course I do. I know the kind of man you are. Why do you think I was so upset? You're one of the few people in this world that I actually trust. You're honest and compassionate. When you turned down Tempe, I didn't know what was going on and I was afraid that I'd misread you and . . . well, I'm glad I was wrong. . . . I don't know what you can do about Tempe. If you say anything that psycho might not just stop at five random people. You're right, he might start killing people that you know. We can't take that chance. I'll work my connections and see if I can find the guy, but, I'm not sure it will do any good. I'm old school. Pelant is a genius and he can control information. Information is power. It always has been."

Despondent, Booth remarked, "I'm going to keep trying to find him, but I need to rely on people like Angela to help me and right now everyone is pissed at me. Pelant knew what he was doing when he pulled this shit. Make me the bad buy and no one wants to cooperate with me. It's a good plan and it may end up working. I may lose Bones because of him. . . . I can promise you one thing. If that happens, I'll kill him. No trial, no jury. I'll kill him without remorse and I'll do it in a very painful way."

Hearing the hatred spewing from Booth, Max turned to stare at him, "You keep your head. We're going to figure this out. I promise, we're going to get that guy." Glancing down a bouquet of flowers lying next to the tombstone, Max remarked, "These are nice flowers by the way. Thank you."

Turning to leave, Booth replied, "She deserves flowers once in a while, Max."

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